Week 5 results

No matter what the week 5 results were, after the Jets beat the Vikings last night nothing could put a damper on the week.

The Jets beat up the Vikings, but Tinman beat up the predictions.

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Week 5 picks…it’s getting serious

It’s that time of the week again, the four-time-a-month excuse to get rowdy, obnoxious, justifiably biased and close-minded, and drunk.

First, though, I was dead wrong about Roccomeback.  Sheesh…talk about embarrassing.  Rocco, in his momentous return to fame went 0/3, was pinch hit for, and was dropped from the roster following the game.  So, yeah, I was wrong.  It’s tough to swallow sometimes, seeing as though this is the first time in my life I’ve ever been wrong.

This week is a matchup between an eclectic collection of NFL prediction competitors.  Our two new challengers, who will challenge Tinman, Chewie, the defending champ Harris, and I, are Ryan Froats of Endicott and Mike Rubenfeld of Cortland.  The rivalry is a bit bitter, too, because I was offered large contracts from both to play on their softball teams…and chose Rubenfeld’s.

Froats, who has interests the same as mine and has written pieces for the North County News, will look to redeem himself.

But after Harris’ week last week, who can tell?

To the 7 columned table and the picks that you should never use to bet with!…

Rocco’s Comeback Not the Greatest

In response to nicktgal’s “Roccomeback”

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Is nicktgal really saying that Rocco’s comeback has the potential to be one of the best comebacks in sports history? This is a joke right? It has to be.

I will give credit where credit is due. I admire Rocco for not letting his condition keep him away from the game he loves. Hell I even like Rocco despite everything I said about him. He’s a decent player who works hard to stay in the game, as he is proving by making the Ray’s playoff roster.

But to say that he is making one of the best comebacks in sports history might be taking it a bit over the edge.

I did a little bit of research on Mitochondrial Myopathy to grasp the extent of how exactly it can hinder you. Just as I suspected it is a horrible disease to have. But, it can be treated with some physical therapy and a combination of vitamins. Of course these treatments don’t work for everyone, depending on the severity of the case. There is no cure for Rocco’s condition but the treatments can help alleviate the intensity of some of the symptoms.

So that got me thinking, Rocco has access to the best physical therapy anyone can get. Even his doctor’s said his case would not keep him from being able to play in the Majors.

So his comeback is more of an “I can play well again” comeback, rather than an “I have beaten all the odds and am back by some miracle” comeback. Still, I will say congrats to Rocco and wish him the best of luck in the playoffs and his future.

Time for work,

Julian

 

Definitely cooler than Rocco

 

Roccomeback

Just a little newsflash.

Not long ago, in a galaxy right here, Julian and I had a heated exchange.  And, although many of our first F&B readers that have been with us from the beginning may believe that they’ve just wasted their time, their loyalty has paid off.  They get the opportunity to chance to root for the greatest Comeback Kid of all time.

WEEK 4 RESULTS!

Well, boys and girls, the week 4 NFL prediction results are in. And boy, was it a lucky one.

In a week where the the Colts lose to the Jaguars, the Bengals lose to the Browns, and the Bears lose to the Giants, there is no other explanation other than “Lady Luck” visited Jacksonville, Cleveland, and the Meadowlands. And, on her way to the Meadowlands, to Tinman’s house.

I know, it’s easy to say, “hey, the Colts aren’t the Colts of old,” “Carson Palmer sucks, it isn’t luck,” and “the Giants looked so damn good and Cutler looked so damn bad it’s definitely not luck.”
And it’s also easy for Julian to say “Look Nick, I’m making better picks than you, I have all year, stop saying it’s luck.”

But NO, it’s luck, I swear, it has to be.

And, on a side-note, do we have a new guru? Has Capoccia been ousted?

The results…

week 4 NFL picks…the week of nicktgal

The fourth week of the NFL is tomorrow, which is kind of like weekly Christmas.  No, Christmas, Hannukah, and Kwanzaa all in one.  Here at Forth and Backwards we celebrate all religions!

Unlike the weeks 1 and 3, which seem to have been two coincidental statistical outliers that should have never happened and have absolutely no relevance to my actual NFL prediction ability, week 4 will prove to be the week that turns nicktgal around.

To this week’s picks.

“We” or “They”

This is a side-note from the previous post, “Longoria Speak to Rays Fans,” about Evan Longoria and the Rays scarce attendance, but seemed to be a post in itself.

So, for those of you not interested in quick-speaking Evan Longoria, here is an excerpt from that piece.
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10/1/10

On the topic of fan alienation and all that other crap, I’m making a vehement stand for saying “we” rather than “they.”  When the Jets sign Ladainian Tomlinson, the correct summary is “WE just got fuckin’ awesome.”  When Mark Sanchez doesn’t make a pass for more than five yards against the Ravens: “Fuck US, all this Hard Knocks hype and we suck.”  When we beat the Patriots in the next week: “WE’RE awesome, the Super bowl is ours!!!”

Can Fireman Ed, at least, say "we"?

Just recently it seems I’ve been on this topic at bars and during conversations a bit more than usual.  The #3 wide receiver on our flag football team, who complains too much about me not throwing him the ball, is as fervent as I am in this stance, but on the other extreme.  He says “they,” defending that we aren’t players and have no impact on the team at all.  “We’re a bunch of money venders playing anti-Robin Hood.”

But my retort: “Without us, the fans, there would be no team.  We do indeed pay the money, but without that money the Jets and no other team exists.”

Except I then realize that, being a Playstation 3 owner, when Sony sells another PS3 I don’t say “We just sold another sucker a device that breaks too much.”  Then I try to change the subject before he uses this argument.

Seriously, though, I’ve mentioned sports, especially football, being about camaraderie (I mentioned this on one post… I promise… I’ll find it… it’s here somewhere…).  So when the Jets beat the Patriots and I can say to a Tom Brady mancrusher “We just owned your ass” (no pun intended) it’s a bit better than saying “The team that I like the most just beat the team that you like the most!!!!!”

Longoria speaks to Rays fans

Yesterday there were two things that reminded me that baseball (remember that thing?) is indeed still going through its home stretch and preparing for its playoffs.

1.  My buddy brought to my awareness that the Mets/Brewers starting pitcher matchup was Dickey vs. Bush, which was kind of funny.

2.  And Evan Longoria, the Rays 3rd baseman wrote headlines as he “called out” Rays fans for not attending games during their playoff run

Now, I’m a Yankee fan.  Before every baseball season I wait for it with as much anticipation as the NFL season (I know many of you don’t), and throughout the season, all the way up until week 1 of the NFL, it is “baseball season.”  100% baseball.  But I do admit guilt:  Whether it be because I am a Yankee (Yankees?) fan and have always been spoiled and have had the last week or two of the season be a player resting routine, or because this season I could not care less if the Yanks played Texas or Minnesota in the first round, I never, EVER, pay much attention from the 145th – 162nd game.

And between the hype of this years’ Jets and the Yankees starting guys like Chad Moeller, this year has been the worst of it all.  Even my fantasy team, sitting its ass in 3rd place since the all-star break in my boring Rotisserie league, is only checked intermittently.

side-note for any fantasy-heads: Sports banter is awesome.  Sports knowledge is even better.  People that can do both are even cooler.  I understand that Rotisserie Fantasy Baseball is the “true” test of baseball knowledge.  It leaves no room for “bullshit weeks” or tough, unlucky matchups, but there is no denying it being an evil lord of boredom.  Head-t0-head fantasy, for any sport, is more exciting, more current, and leaves room for the “bullshit week,” where a Jose Bautista home run (where the hell…?) on Sunday night leaves you thumping the floor, either with your feet or with your fists.

So when Evan Longoria spoke to, well, from his Twitter, Rays fans about sparse attendance, some pre-playoff attention was brought back to baseball.

Athletes must be punished more for drunk driving

Nick Adenhart

I  wouldn’t be surprised if many of you don’t remember who Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart is. He never really got the chance to make his name a memorable one.

The reason he never got his chance was because he was killed when a drunk driver ran a red light and T-boned the car he was riding in.

Yesterday the drunk behind the wheel finally got convicted for the murder of not only Adenhart but also two of the other passengers in the car: Courtney Stewart and Henry Pearson.

It’s a discomforting fact that being reminded of this tragedy today is the only factor that got me thinking that athletes should face severe penalties from their teams and leagues when convicted of driving drunk. Even for a first offense, even if they are .01 over the legal limit.

Whether they like it or not, athletes are role models for millions of people. Their decisions affect people of all ages at different levels. Becoming a role model comes with becoming a professional athlete. There is no running from it.

So teams need to make sure their players are acting like positive role models. And when they don’t, the team needs to take an action to ensure that the player will think five times before screwing up again.

And the players have to realize that their decisions won’t just affect them and their close ones but also people who look up to them.

When they do something like driving drunk they are not only putting their lives in danger but also the lives of anyone who happens to be in their way (this really goes for anyone not just athletes). And at the same time sending the wrong message to the many fans who look up to them.

When teams don’t punish the player that sends a message that can be just as damaging: “It’s ok that you drove drunk, you will just sit out a quarter.” (Thanks Jets for the “punishment” to Braylon Edwards)

But really this goes for any athlete in any sport. A simple slap on the wrist is not enough, both for the athlete and for the people who look up to them. I guess all I’m trying to say is that the penalty for an athlete getting caught drunk driving shouldn’t be to miss a quarter or a game. It should include a hefty fine and depending on the sport at least a 2 game suspension.

Drunk driving is an offense that happens all too often in sports. It took the life of a promising rookie in the MLB and if that isn’t a wake up call to the Leagues to implement tougher punishments on players who commit the offense then I really don’t know what will get them to change.

Enjoy your day,

Julian

P.S. Still beating nicktgal in the picks. Just saying.

Week 3 results…a close one

Week 3 has come to culmination, and all the way up to Bears edging out the Packers last night, it was, more than anything, a close one.

The Bills kept it close with the Pats, only losing by 8, Seattle won by two epic kick returns by (ex-jet…sigh) Leon Washington, Atlanta beat the Saints, Jets/Miami had both Julian and I hopping up and down like we weren’t trying to wet our pants, and Oakland lost to Arizona by a Sebastian Janikowski coke choke-job, but nobody really cares about that one.

One team that didn’t keep it close was the Giants, though, they mistook their way into a titanic, giant loss to the Titans. (see that? cool, right?)

This week’s “Forth and Backwards back and forth competition amongst NFL prediction airheads” followed suit.