Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Eagles vs 49ers: Behind the Numbers 2014

Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later. Unfortunately it happened sooner as the Philadelphia Eagles lost for the first time this year, falling to the San Francisco 49ers 26-21. Before the game the Eagles were the best second half team, and the 49ers were the worst second half team. So naturally the Eagles went scoreless after halftime, and the 49ers scored 13 points in their come from behind victory. The Eagles defense played fairly well and special teams accounted for all their points. The offense was anemic, as I'm sure the numbers will support:


Monday, September 29, 2014

Gluten Free Ebola

NEW YORK, September 29, 2014 – The consequences of eating gluten are dire on an all-new episode of “South Park” titled “Gluten Free Ebola” premiering Wednesday, October 1 at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT on Comedy Central.

Mr. Mackey is now gluten free and everyone is annoyed when he won’t quit preaching about how great he feels. But, after witnessing a disturbing demonstration of what happens to your body when you do eat gluten, South Park becomes the first town in America to go gluten free.

No preview available at time of posting.

(SPS)

Thursday, September 25, 2014

2014 NFL Picks Week 4

And so begins the bye weeks! There won't be 16 games a week until much later in the season now, so each pick is weighted more from week to week. I fared pretty well last week, finishing at 11-5 and bringing my overall to nearly 65%. I was 2 for 3 in upset picks, bringing my season total to 7 for 11 (about 64%). Statistically I'm picking upsets just as correctly as the rest of my picks, so I can't really get too mad at that. If anything, I should be picking more upsets; but that is the nature of picking NFL games. Correctly picked New England to beat Oakland for my Pick of the Week, though barely. 2-1 in that department. Before my Week 4 picks, let's go over where I went wrong last week.

Houston looked to be doing pretty well so far this season, so I felt a win against the winless NY Giants was inevitable. WRONG. Green Bay looked great last week, and Detroit looked terrible so naturally Detroit shut down Green Bay for the win. I have no idea what is wrong with San Francisco, but they fell apart on the road against Arizona. Miami looked great week 1, but has yet to play anywhere close to that level the last 2 weeks; meanwhile Kansas City looked awful the first 2 weeks but beat Miami with no problem. In pretty much the same fashion, Pittsburgh took care of Carolina convincingly. Onward to Week 4!

Thursday, 8:30pm
New York Giants at Washington Redskins
Sunday, 1pm
Miami Dolphins at Oakland Raiders
Detroit Lions at New York Jets
Green Bay Packers at Chicago Bears
Buffalo Bills at Houston Texans
Carolina Panthers at Baltimore Ravens
Tennessee Titans at Indianapolis Colts
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Pittsburgh Steelers
Sunday, 4pm/4:25pm
Jacksonville Jaguars at *San Diego Chargers*
Atlanta Falcons at Minnesota Vikings
Philadelphia Eagles at San Francisco 49ers
Sunday, 830pm
New Orleans Saints at Dallas Cowboys
Monday, 830pm
New England Patriots at Kansas City Chiefs

*Pick of the Week*

upset picks as of 9/25 11:00am

Previous Results
Week 1: 11-5
Week 2: 9-7
Week 3: 11-5
Season: 31-17 (64.6%)

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Go Fund Yourself

NEW YORK, September 22, 2014 – The boys launch a Kickstarter campaign and get down to business on an all-new episode of “South Park” titled “Go Fund Yourself” premiering Wednesday, September 24 at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT on Comedy Central.

 After Cartman and the boys name their new company, The Washington Redskins, they just sit back and watch the funding roll in. The head coach of the Washington Redskins football team demands that they change the name but Cartman digs in his heels. The Washington Redskins may never mean the same thing ever again.

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Jim Carrey to host SNL this season

From Vulture:
We already know that Chris Pratt, Sarah Silverman, and Bill Hader are scheduled to host the first three episodes of SNL this season. Now The Wrap reports that Jim Carrey will also hostSNL this fall. This will make a third turn as host for Carrey, following his 1996 and 2011 appearances. The Wrap doesn't specify a date, but it will be surrounding Dumb and Dumber To's November 14 release, so at minimum, expect one or two sketches where Carrey wears a sweater.

Monday, September 22, 2014

Eagles vs Redskins: Behind the Numbers 2014

Well, looks like the Eagles finally decided to show up for a full game! Unfortunately no one informed the defense, which was essentially non-existent the entire game. The offense picked up the slack though, as the Philadelphia Eagles beat their divisional rivals Washington Redskins in exciting fashion 37-34. 3-0 for the first time since 2004! It was certainly an exciting offensive shootout (I think both teams are still scoring touchdowns), so let's see how the numbers support what we saw:

Sunday, September 21, 2014

Thursday, September 18, 2014

2014 NFL Picks Week 3

Really wish I changed my "Pick of the Week" for week 2 once the Adrian Peterson news came out, but unfortunately I didn't (it would have been New England). That being said, I still expected New Orleans to defeat Cleveland. There were plenty of other surprises last week though, as I managed to finish at 9-7. Overall I am 20-12 after 2 weeks, good for 62.5% correct. Let's see where I went wrong:

I already mentioned my Pick of the Week, and 4 of my remaining 6 losses were upsets. Those included Buffalo over Miami, San Diego over Seattle (which nobody in their right mind had winning), beat up St. Louis over Tampa Bay, and Chicago coming back to beat San Francisco. I also didn't start the week off great, as I incorrectly picked Pittsburgh to upset Baltimore (though who expected them to play that badly?). My final loss was also an incorrect upset pick, this time being wrong for picking Detroit over Carolina. 2-2 in upset picks (5-3 overall) and 1-1 overall for Picks of the Week. Last week before the byes start, so I'm hoping to get some wins in. There's some damn tough games to pick though:

Thursday, 8:30pm
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Atlanta Falcons
Sunday, 1pm
Minnesota Vikings at New Orleans Saints
Indianapolis Colts at Jacksonville Jaguars
San Diego Chargers at Buffalo Bills
Dallas Cowboys at St. Louis Rams**
Tennessee Titans at Cincinnati Bengals
Washington Redskins at Philadelphia Eagles
Houston Texans at New York Giants
Baltimore Ravens at Cleveland Browns
Oakland Raiders at *New England Patriots*
Green Bay Packers at Detroit Lions
Sunday, 4pm/4:25pm
San Francisco 49ers at Arizona Cardinals
Denver Broncos at Seattle Seahawks
Kansas City Chiefs at  Miami Dolphins
Sunday, 8:30pm
Pittsburgh Steelers at Carolina Panthers
Monday, 8:30pm
Chicago Bears at New York Jets

*Pick of the Week*

upset picks as of 9/18 12:00pm

**No favorite

Previous Results
Week 1: 11-5
Week 2: 9-7
Season: 20-12 (62.5%)

Darrell Hammond to become new SNL announcer

From Variety:

The new “voice” of “Saturday Night Live” is going to have a familiar tone 
Darrell Hammond, the versatile impressionist who held forth on the program between 1995 and 2009 – the longest tenure of any cast member on the show – will return to the venerable program as its announcer, Hammond and show executive producer Lorne Michaels said in interviews with USA Today and The New York Times. He will replace Don Pardo, the program’s longtime announcer who passed away in August. 
Hammond has some familiarity with his new duties. He has at times quietly substituted for Pardo when he had voice problems, according to the reports. 
Michaels told USA Today that Hammond would not replicate Pardo’s voice, but would come up with his own take on the role. “”I just knew it wouldn’t be anybody who sounded like Don or replicated him,” Michaels told the media outlet. “It can’t be what it was, but it could sort of be in the same tradition. And it will be nice to have Darrell around. He understands the show and will probably be helpful in ways we haven’t yet figured out.”

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Avengers: Age of Ultron plot details

From Marvel's press release:

Marvel Studios presents “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” the epic follow-up to the biggest Super Hero movie of all time. When Tony Stark tries to jumpstart a dormant peacekeeping program, things go awry and Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, including Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, The Incredible Hulk, Black Widow and Hawkeye, are put to the ultimate test as the fate of the planet hangs in the balance. As the villainous Ultron emerges, it is up to the Avengers to stop him from enacting his terrible plans, and soon uneasy alliances and unexpected action pave the way for an epic and unique global adventure. 
Marvel’s “Avengers: Age of Ultron” stars Robert Downey Jr., who returns as Iron Man, along with Chris Evans as Captain America, Chris Hemsworth as Thor and Mark Ruffalo as The Hulk.  Together with Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow and Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye, and with the additional support of Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury and Cobie Smulders as Agent Maria Hill, the team must reassemble to defeat James Spader as Ultron, a terrifying technological villain hell-bent on human extinction. Along the way, they confront two mysterious and powerful newcomers, Wanda Maximoff, played by Elizabeth Olsen, and Pietro Maximoff, played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and meet an old friend in a new form when Paul Bettany becomes Vision. Written and directed by Joss Whedon and produced by Kevin Feige, Marvel’s “Avengers: Age of Ultron” is based on the ever-popular Marvel comic book series “The Avengers,” first published in 1963. Get set for an action-packed thrill ride when The Avengers return in Marvel’s “Avengers: Age of Ultron” on May 1, 2015.

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Eagles vs Colts: Behind the Numbers 2014

The kick is up and it's GOOOOOOOD! Eagles win 30-27!!!

The kick is up and it's GOOOOOOOD! Eagles win 30-27!!!

See what I did there? I hate icing the kicker; can someone please do a study on how ineffective it is? I had no doubt that Cody Parkey would drill the kick the second time, and he did just that to give the Philadelphia Eagles a dramatic 30-27 comeback win over the Indianapolis Colts as time expired. Once again the Eagles found themselves in a first half hole before storming back in the last 30 minutes. The game was still fairly close throughout with the Colts and Eagles seemingly evenly matched, so let's see if the numbers support that:

Thursday, September 11, 2014

2014 NFL Picks Week 2

It wouldn't be the NFL if there weren't plenty of surprises after Week 1. Luckily I was able to correctly predict some of those upsets, finishing 11-5 overall and 3-1 for upset picks. I also was correct with my "Pick of the Week", as Philadelphia was able to take care of Jacksonville after a terrible first half. Of the 5 games I incorrectly picked, I truly wasn't surprised by any of them.

New England losing to Miami was certainly not expected, but Miami always tends to play well against NE it seems. Same situation with Atlanta and New Orleans; division rivals that play tough. If I were to pick one surprising upset, it would be Buffalo over Chicago. Chicago played awful at home. Ditto for Kansas City, losing to Tennessee at home. Lastly, Washington looked pathetic losing to Houston on the road, but I don't think anybody had high hopes for them anyway. On to Week 2:

Thursday, 8:30pm
Pittsburgh Steelers at Baltimore Ravens
Sunday, 1pm
Miami Dolphins at Buffalo Bills
Jacksonville Jaguars at Washington Redskins
Arizona Cardinals at New York Giants
New England Patriots at Minnesota Vikings
*New Orleans Saints* at Cleveland Browns
Detroit Lions at Carolina Panthers
Dallas Cowboys at Tennessee Titans
Atlanta Falcons at Cincinnati Bengals
Sunday, 4pm
Seattle Seahawks at San Diego Chargers
St. Louis Rams at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Sunday, 4:30pm
Kansas City Chiefs at Denver Broncos
Houston Texans at Oakland Raiders
New York Jets at Green Bay Packers
Sunday, 8:30pm
Chicago Bears at San Francisco 49ers
Monday, 8:30pm
Philadelphia Eagles at Indianapolis Colts

*Pick of the Week*

Upset picks as of 9/11 12:30pm

Previous Results
Week 1: 11-5
Season: 11-5 (69%)

Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Apple unveils iPhone 6

Everything you need to know is here

Personally, I'm glad I just got the iPhone 5s. The current trend of "mini tablets" as phones is just not for me. I need a phone that is going to fit in my pocket for Christ's sake! I have a tablet that I carry around when I need to, and phones, no matter how big, do not have the capabilities of a tablet or computer.

Monday, September 8, 2014

Eagles vs Jaguars: Behind the Numbers 2014

**For those new to BTN, be sure to check out previous installments every week by clicking the tag below each post**

Yesterday marked the opening day of the 2014 NFL season for the Philadelphia Eagles, so today marks the return of Behind the Numbers! The game against the Jaguars was certainly a tale of two halves (how many times have you heard that already?) but in the end the Eagles won in a blowout 34-17. Even though they were down 17-0 at the half, the game never really felt out of reach; what will the numbers say?

Thursday, September 4, 2014

2014 NFL Picks Week 1

Football is back, baby! (On my birthday of all days!) And so am I, with my third (second full) season of NFL Picks. I finished the 2012 season with 65% correct and 2013 with a slightly worse 60% correct. Obviously looking to improve on those numbers this year.

Before I get to this year's picks, I'm going to take a quick look back at last year. Though I finished the season at 60%, I was straight up not good in the playoffs. I was 5-6 (45%) overall, including an incorrect Super Bowl pick. I hope nobody took any betting advice from me! I plan to change that this year though.

Almost ready for the picks, but a couple things to go over. I am adding a new feature, which will be my "Pick of the Week". This should help fans in suicide pools, and will be noted by an *asterisk*. Like last year, upset picks will be shown in italics and my winners (picked straight up) will be bolded. Without further ado:

Thursday, 8:30pm
Green Bay Packers at Seattle Seahawks
Sunday, 1pm
New England Patriots at Miami Dolphins
Cleveland Browns at Pittsburgh Steelers
New Orleans Saints at Atlanta Falcons
Tennessee Titans at Kansas City Chiefs
Cincinnati Bengals at Baltimore Ravens
Oakland Raiders at New York Jets
Minnesota Vikings at St. Louis Rams
Jacksonville Jaguars at *Philadelphia Eagles*
Buffalo Bills at Chicago Bears
Washington Redskins at Houston Texans
Sunday, 4:25pm
Carolina Panthers at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
San Francisco 49ers at Dallas Cowboys
Sunday, 8:30pm
Indianapolis Colts at Denver Broncos
Monday Night Football
New York Giants at Detroit Lions (7:10pm)
San Diego Chargers at Arizona Cardinals (10:20pm)

*Pick of the Week*

Upset picks as of 9/4 10:45am

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

FYI: Removed "reactions"

Just some B Long Blog news real quick: I removed the "reactions" option at the bottom of each post. Nobody used them anyway, so I don't think anyone will mind. I still encourage everyone to comment and share though!

2013 Eagles vs. Opponents: Behind the Numbers

Way late, but it's actually relevant again now that we are only a couple days away from the start of the 2014 NFL season. Like I did for the Eagle's miserable 2012 season, I am back again with a "year in review" for the 2013 season. Let's go a bit behind the numbers of the pleasantly surprising NFC East Division champion Philadelphia Eagles, finishing the season at 10-7 after a first round playoff exit.