2014 NFL Picks Week 17

And so we've reached the final week of the 2014 regular season. I ended up with an OK record for Week 16, finishing 10-6 due to a lot of non-competitive games. I would need to be perfect this week to reach my goal of 70% for the season, so I don't think that's going to happen. I did fare well for upset picks however, going 2 for 3 to bring my season total to 19 and 16. Unless I go crazy and pick 4 incorrect upsets this week, I will finish at .500 or better for the season. That's a vast improvement from last year, when I was terrible. I correctly picked Green Bay for my Pick of the Week, and improved to 14-2 for the season.

Well, there were 2 games I lost this week because I really wanted the Eagles to make the playoffs. The first was Philadelphia losing to Washington at home, which was just painful to watch. The second was picking Indianapolis (who had nothing to play for) to beat Dallas on the road. Oops. I was truly surprised that Baltimore could not beat Houston, and I'm pleasantly surprised at how well Houston has played this year to stay in the playoff race. Other losses included St. Louis at home against the New York Giants, Buffalo at Oakland, and Denver at Cincinnati. On to Week 17!

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

*Pick of the Week*
upset picks as of 12/28 12:00pm

**no favorite

Previous Results
Week 1: 11-5
Week 2: 9-7
Week 3: 11-5
Week 4: 5-8
Week 5: 11-4
Week 6: 13-1-1
Week 7: 11-4
Week 8: 9-6
Week 9: 10-3
Week 10: 9-4
Week 11: 8-6
Week 12: 12-3
Week 13: 11-5
Week 14: 9-7
Week 15: 14-2
Week 16: 10-6
Season: 163-76 (68%)

2014 NFL Picks Week 16

I certainly made things much easier on myself to reach my goal of 70% on the season after last week, as I only lost 2 games to go 14-2. It raised my overall percentage back to 68%, and gives me a chance to get 26 more correct picks over the last 2 weeks. I was correct in picking my only upset pick of the week (Arizona over St. Louis) and also my Pick of the Week (Baltimore over Jacksonville). I gave myself a cushion for upset picks (17-15 on the season) and improved to 13-2 for PotW.

I only lost 2 matchups this week, and 1 was certainly not picked by many. Green Bay lost in an upset to Buffalo, and unfortunately Dallas beat Philadelphia on the road. On to Week 16:

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

*Pick of the Week*

upset picks as of 12/18 8:15pm

Previous Results
Week 1: 11-5
Week 2: 9-7
Week 3: 11-5
Week 4: 5-8
Week 5: 11-4
Week 6: 13-1-1
Week 7: 11-4
Week 8: 9-6
Week 9: 10-3
Week 10: 9-4
Week 11: 8-6
Week 12: 12-3
Week 13: 11-5
Week 14: 9-7
Week 15: 14-2
Season: 153-70 (68%)

2014 NFL Picks Week 15

Pretty terrible week last week, finishing 9-7. My overall percentage dropped a point to 67%. I will now need 40 wins over the next 3 weeks to reach my goal of 70% correct for the season. I did manage to correctly pick my Pick of the Week (Green Bay) and was right in my only upset pick (Seattle). Records on those picks are 12-2 and 16-15 respectively, as I am finally above .500 for the season again for upset picks.

I had some bad luck last week, but also some terrible picks. I dropped the first of 2 games with no favorite, as I incorrectly picked Tennessee to win at home over the New York Giants. Once again I cannot predict how Pittsburgh will play with any accuracy, as they easily beat Cincinnati on the road after I thought they'd lose. Another team impossible to predict is New Orleans, who apparently forgot they had a game to play against Carolina. I had contemplated switching my pick in the Baltimore-Miami game to the Ravens, but didn't get to a computer before kickoff. I lost the other game with no favorite, with Arizona finding a way to beat Kansas City. San Francisco somehow lost to Oakland in a game that nobody saw coming. And lastly, I really don't know why I picked San Diego over New England, but I got that game wrong too. On to Week 16, which can't be any worse. Right?

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

*Pick of the Week*

upset pick as of 12/11 8:00pm

Previous Results
Week 1: 11-5
Week 2: 9-7
Week 3: 11-5
Week 4: 5-8
Week 5: 11-4
Week 6: 13-1-1
Week 7: 11-4
Week 8: 9-6
Week 9: 10-3
Week 10: 9-4
Week 11: 8-6
Week 12: 12-3
Week 13: 11-5
Week 14: 9-7
Season: 139-68 (67%)

Thanks for all the good times J-Roll

Longtime Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers today. While his skills have certainly diminished over the last few seasons, there's no denying that J-Roll was a Philadelphia favorite and an excellent player through his tenure as a Phillie. I wish him all the best in LA, but this is my favorite memory from him:

#HappyHolograms

NEW YORK, DECEMBER 8, 2014 – Cartmaaan Bra is trending in the season finale of “South Park” titled “#HappyHolograms,” premiering Wednesday, December 10 at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT on Comedy Central.

Still burning over Ike calling him a Grandpa, Kyle teams up with some heavy hitters in the entertainment industry to create the most extravagant televised Holiday Spectacular ever. He’s sure that this event will be just the thing to bring families together again. Meanwhile, multiple holograms are still on the loose in South Park.



SPS

2014 NFL Picks Week 14

I maintained the status quo last week, going 11-5 and keeping my overall percentage at 68%. I barely won my Pick of the Week (Miami), but improved to 11-2 on the year. I managed to win my only upset pick (Philadelphia wasn't favored for some reason) and am back to .500 on the year at 15-15. Keep in mind I finished last year at 22.5% picking upsets, so I'm faring far better this year. Lastly, I misspoke last week when I said I needed 50 correct picks from the remaining 64 games to reach 70% on the year; turns out I was a week off! NOW there are 64 games left in the regular season, and I will need 49 wins to reach that goal.

I ended up picking 2 of 3 Thanksgiving games correctly, as San Francisco failed to show up at home against Seattle. Baltimore also lost at home, but San Diego needed a last minute come back to win. The New York Giants gave Jacksonville their 2nd win of the year, after blowing a 21-0 lead. Pittsburgh only lost by 3 at home to New Orleans, but the game was never that close. Side note: can I just not pick those teams anymore? They're next to impossible to predict! Lastly, Arizona was unable to beat Atlanta on the road but still maintain the #1 seed.

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

*Pick of the Week*

upset pick as of 12/4 6:00pm

**no favorite

Previous Results
Week 1: 11-5
Week 2: 9-7
Week 3: 11-5
Week 4: 5-8
Week 5: 11-4
Week 6: 13-1-1
Week 7: 11-4
Week 8: 9-6
Week 9: 10-3
Week 10: 9-4
Week 11: 8-6
Week 12: 12-3
Week 13: 11-5
Season: 130-61 (68%)

#REHASH

NEW YORK, DECEMBER 1, 2014 – At 9 years of age, Kyle finds that a new generation is passing him by in an all-new episode of “South Park” titled “#REHASH,” premiering Wednesday, December 3 at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT on Comedy Central.

Kyle can’t figure out why Ike and his friends want to watch people comment on things going on around them rather than experience it for themselves. Meanwhile, the Marsh family needs money after Stan spent it all on freemium games so, Randy is forced to perform live to bring in some cash.



SPS