Week 9 Picks
Thursday Night: Chargers (-7.5) over Chiefs
Gerbec or Green? Holmes or Larry Johnson? Wait these guys do not play for the chiefs anymore? Will Dante Hall be returning kicks for them this time? Oh no I am stuck in the past when the Chiefs were not a joke. Although I think the Chargers might also be a joke, I think they are much less of one. Chargers NEEED this one badly, and I think they will get it at home.

Sunday's Games
Bengals (+3.5) over Broncos
Bengals off the bye should come back strong. Like taking the points at home against a Broncos team that has come off with two wins against not so impressive looking teams. I'll take the points here.

Packers (-11) over Cardinals
Going to give the Packers another shot at covering a double digit spread. Although their defense is no where near as good as the 49ers, Cardinals are back down to Earth, and Rodgers should tear them apart. If Nelson plays, laying all those points seems a bit easier.

Colts (+2.5) over Dolphins
Dolphins have a solid defense and Matt Moore played very well stepping in for the injured Tannehill. Although it looks like the rookie will be back this week, he isn't offensively enough to match Luck. I love Luck at home. Their defense is not terrific, but they should be able to help keep the game close for Luck and company. Luck has to win this one through the air as Miami's run defense is the best in the league. Luck gets it done at home. Take the Moneyline cough cough.

Ravens (-.3.5) over Browns
Ravens are elite, and should win this one comfortably. Browns may be a little better than their record suggests, but after the bye, I'll take Ray Rice and company to beat their division opponents. Browns beat a struggling Chargers team that they were statistically favored to cover. Can't find the trend that says an elite team in the NFL will lose on the road in this one.

Texans (-10.5) over Bills
Line perhaps could not be high enough. Texans best team in the AFC, with a strong defense. Should be able to come up with the stops that allow for a double digit win. Although I normally hate giving so many points, not worried about this one.

Redskins (-3) over Panthers
RG3. RG3. RG3. Cam Newton? Frustrated quarterback, coming off yet another lose. They did not play terribly against the Bears who have a much better defense than the Redskins do. High scoring game, that RG3 comes out on top of.

Lions (-.3.5) over Jaguars
Lions offense finally showed up and so did their quarterback. Jaguars amongst the worst teams in the league. Brunell likely to come in this one and hand off to Fred Taylor for a chance at a backdoor cover. Look out for Jimmy Smith available in 100% of your fantasy leagues to have a big impact on the game. I like Stafford to show up again this week.

Titans (+3.5) over Bears
Nothing other then I think it is a bad spot for the Bears. Pick 6 saved them last week from a home loss. Offense is not anything impressive, and I like the Titans to keep this one close.

Seahawks (-5) over Vikings
Vikings true colors are finally coming out. Seahawks terrific at home with an extremely good defense. Ponder has not been playing well recently, and against a tough defense, he won't find much success.

Bucs (+1) over Raiders
Ean Dunn and need I say more? Bucs coming off a great win in Minny and are finally silencing some of the haters. I like the Bucs to get one more on the road this week.

Steelers (+3.5) over Giants
Offense that loves long drives and they still have a top defense with or without Troy. I'll take Big Ben over Eli in this one. Steelers in a good spot to be getting points, in a game they very well could win. Giants have looked good and this game will make for one of the best on Sunday. However, I trust getting the points more so then giving them to the Giants in this one.

Falcons (-4) over Cowboys
Nothing Matty Ice likes more than being at home. Well maybe he likes his 7-0 record more? He will love it even more when it becomes 8-0 after this one.

Monday Night Football: Eagles at Saints
My fingers will not allow me to type an outcome that doesn't result in an Eagles win, so I therefore neglect to comment.


Sorry I saw sports gambling written on the board and simply could not help myself. So now for the articles...

     The article says that people care about games that effect their team, but do not necessarily feature their favorite teams. It is what makes Wild Card races so important and exciting. Phillies fans become fans of teams playing the Cardinals, Dodgers, Brewers, etc. at the end of the baseball season if we are competing for one of the Wild Card spots. This also plays into flex scheduling which is mentioned later on in the article. Some games are subject to change based on their importance later on in the season. Often times meaningful games to standings are pushed back to later time slots in order for more drama and better ratings for specific teams.
     When they discuss the reasons behind participating in fantasy sports, they mention all things that are true. However, they left out a large factor, which is money. Money may not be something that draws someone into playing fantasy football, but it certainly intensifies the experience.
     Fantasy has also made its way to ESPN. Matthew Berry, is a fantasy expert for ESPN, and gives fantasy tips during Sunday NFL Countdown. Also, Adam Schefter dedicates his Sunday's to injury updates for fantasy owners. As an avid fantasy player, the information that they give can be very influential to my lineups. NFL Redzone is also now offered by cable providers. It updates fans on games that are about to have a score. Fantasy owners only really care about TD's from their players, and this allows them to watch out of market games and see how their players are doing. Also, live stats are also available on any site that allows owners to keep track of their match ups.
    This article shed light on something I never really considered. It was interesting to see how fantasy ownership really effected the number of viewers for certain matchups. It is something that does not seem like a big deal, but with the amount of fantasy owners out there, it seems that they must have a direct relationship.
    The second articles goes a bit more in depth with the specific types of media. It is also true that the number of time that you spend on fantasy sports means that you will spend more time involved with the actual sport. Football is easy, but basketball and baseball remain much more difficult. The amount of time spent on fantasy for those sports needs to be much greater than football. Therefore, it is not as popular fantasy wise. Being "good" at fantasy sports does require much time and research. While a fair portion of success is based on luck, there is research that need be done in order to do well.