Categories
NFL General

2009 NFL Week 6 Picks and Podcast

There should be some slightly better games this weekend despite some double digit spread laughers. Hey, they can’t make the Browns play the Bills again, right? Cleveland beating Buffalo 6-3 was the nadir of the young football season. I feel sorry for anyone who had to watch that. The featured games this week are Baltimore @ Minnesota, NY Giants @ New Orleans, Arizona @ Seattle, and Denver @ San Diego.

You can download the podcast directly (running time 90 mins) or subscribe to the feed.

If you use iTunes, just click here and then click subscribe and iTunes will take care of the rest.

Categories
NFL General

2009 NFL Week 3 Picks and Podcast

Week 3 is always a pivotal week in the NFL. Teams with playoff hopes that go 0-3 might as well just throw in the towel and teams you’re unsure of at 1-1 might establish themselves as legit if they can just get to 2-1. We break down all the games in the podcast as well as give you betting advice. This week, the featured games are Titans @ Jets, Falcons @ Patriots, Dolphins @ Chargers, and Colts @ Cardinals.

You can download the podcast directly (running time 90 mins) or subscribe to the feed.

If you use iTunes, just click here and then click subscribe and iTunes will take care of the rest.

Categories
NFL General

2009 NFL Week 2 Picks and Podcast

Here we go with the week 2 of the NFL picks. Last week, the Sportscolumn crew went a very respectable 12-4 straight up with the peso going 8-8 on random flips. Against the spread, Ryan went 10-6 and won the week. This week, the featured games are Patriots @ Jets, Steelers @ Bears, Giants @ Cowboys, and Colts @ Dolphins.

You can download the podcast directly (running time 90 mins) or subscribe to the feed.

If you use iTunes, just click here and then click subscribe and iTunes will take care of the rest.

Categories
NFL General

2009 NFL Week 1 Picks and Podcast

Football is back folks! Here we go with week 1 of the 2009 NFL season. Based on the feedback from you degenerate gamblers out there, we’re doing every game against the spread as well as straight up this year. Also, we’re joined by a Mexican peso aka the random coin flip to see if we can beat Burton flipping for results. You can download the podcast directly (running time 90 mins) or subscribe to the feed. If you use iTunes, just click here and then click subscribe and iTunes will take care of the rest.

Categories
NFL

2009 AFC Preview – The Once and Future King

By Ryan McGowan

Consider this my August article.  To paraphrase Jimmy Buffett, it must be August 31 somewhere.

My colleague Trevor Freeman broke down the NFC this past weekend and mentioned how baseball has become “unwatchable” for him.  Alas, unlike this sad soul, I am still watching the Sox on a nightly basis, and I generally hate watching preseason football, so it usually takes me a little while to mentally adjust to football.  Watching preseason football, to me, has always seemed like watching someone else play blackjack—sure it can be entertaining, and you can make comments about the play, but it’s no fun unless it’s real.

Categories
Philadelphia Eagles

Can McNabb handle inevitable calls for Vick?

A couple of weeks ago, while we were broadcasting Poor Man’s PTI, RJ called in and informed me that the Eagles had just signed Michael Vick.  Like the rest of football America, I was shocked and dumbfounded.   Not because I had any objection to Michael Vick being back in the NFL but because I had no idea what the Eagles wanted Michael Vick on the team for.

The only time I’ve been confident in an NFC Championship game was when the Eagles took on the Atlanta Falcons.  There was no way that Michael Vick, even with his considerable athletic skills, could read and react to the defense that Jim Johnson was going to throw at him.  Rarely am I that correct on anything.

The problem with Vick then is the problem with Vick now — he’s just not a very good quarterback.

Categories
NFL

2009 NFL Draft preview

This weekend marks the yearly tradition of men sitting around for hours on end, throwing back beers, eating crappy food, and watching what could be called the most repetitive and mundane sports coverage of the year… and loving every minute of it!

That’s right, the NFL draft is upon us.  So prepare yourselves for a full day of hearing about the linebacker who is “an absolute beast,” the tackle with a “tremendous upside,” and the quarterback that teams are “truly in love with.”  And if there are no big trades or shocking picks, who cares?  At least you’ll enjoy seeing some crazy suits and watching the pained look on a prospect’s face as he pretends to be excited to join that team.

Categories
General Sports

March 5 2009 episode of Poor Man’s PTI

Vin and special guest, RJ (don’t call him Dan LeBatard!), run through this week’s top news stories.You can download this week’s podcast directly (running time 90 mins) or subscribe to the feed.

If you use iTunes, just click here and then click subscribe and iTunes will take care of the rest.

This week’s topics include:

  • What little we know about the hockey deadline
  • More on the NBA’s business operations
  • Brian Dawkins
  • The TO fiasco Part 2? Or is it Part 3 now?
  • The missing NFL boaters
  • Phil Simms sucks
  • guess the state
  • Other NFL free agency talk
Categories
NFL NFL General

NFL off-season update

The NFL off-season is in full swing with the start of free agency landing some big names in the headlines via fat new contracts, big time trades, and surprising cuts. While all of the changes can be a bit hard to follow, unemployment has blessed me with the ability to watch SportsCenter 14 hours a day, so I’m here to help. And remember, this is no fun for me. I’m gluing myself to ESPN every day for you people, so… yeah, you’re welcome.

Categories
NFL General

NFL, Retirees Remain In Tussle on Benefits

By Diane M. Grassi

 

Super Bowl XLIII was no better a reminder as to why so many Americans have made the National Football League (NFL) the king when it comes to the most watched professional sports league in the United States. And it is no coincidence that it continually is rated the favorite of sports fans in poll after poll. Additionally, the NFL also has bragging rights when it comes to yearly revenue, expected to be about $8 billion for the 2008 season as compared to Major League Baseball’s nearly $7 billion annually.

 

And there is perhaps no better time to remember those who made it possible for the NFL’s owners and players today to be able to revel in its continued success, by virtue of the players who helped to build the league.

 

For the past couple of years, it has become public knowledge that a select group of retired NFL players have been struggling physically and economically since putting their playing days behind them. It is a serious matter, covering a complex and vast number of interrelated issues, rife with conflicts of interest.