2020 Week #16

Jason and I are glad to take 3-1 records from all of the pre-Sunday Week 16 action in the NFL. Never bad to go 75% ATS no matter the scenario, unless you're parlaying. We actually have some dispute among our other picks, and he's not just going against my Lock but rooting hard against it. I'm up one in Locks, so if I win this week and he loses, it's all over. Here are our Week 16 picks, where we do battle on six games:

All of our thoughts and observations, including Cute Factor interactions to start the show, can be heard here:

NFL 2020 Week #16: Watch-Along While On The Air

2020 Saturday Three-Way

It's so 2020 to wake up on Christmas morning with some hope and happiness...and then find out that downtown Nashville was car-bombed. At this point, you can't do much but shrug. Jay and I checked in to make our picks for the Saturday NFL tripleheader and found ourselves hand in hand yet again with our picks. Maybe the Sunday games will produce some argument. At least we started the week off right thanks to the Saints. Here are the picks for the Saturday Three-Way:

All of our thoughts and observations can be heard here:

2020 Week 16 Saturday Three-Way

2020 Week #15

Two games! Jason and I disagree on two games this week. TWO! In all our 30 years of picking NFL games, I don't believe we've ever been this lockstep with our picks in a given week. I don't even know how to respond to us being that kumbaya with each other. And to think, we filled up our podcast (and spilled over into the aftershow) discussing the picks even though we were the same on 13 of them, 14 counting Thursday night. Guess when you love football, you can talk about it to infinity. Here are the very same-looking picks, which do not have us with the exact same Lock, at least:

 

All our thoughts and observations can be heard here:

NFL 2020 Week #15: Will The Real Steelers Please Stand Up?

2020 Week #14

There are more quality matchups this week than there normally seem to be, so for me it made picking more difficult. I had a number of picks where I could see either team coming out on top, and even talked myself out of a couple. Jay sees the week similar to me as we only disagree on five games not counting my Thursday victory, but the ones we disagree on, we really debated them. After his jokes about Taysom Tebow, he's Locking the Saints, and I'm picking against them and going Eagles even though I've been impressed with Taysom. Go figure. Here are all of our picks for NFL Week 14:

All of our thoughts and observations can be heard here:

NFL 2020 Week #14: Jay Ruth Calls His Shot

2020 Week #13

This past week will go down as very memorable in the NFL. It wasn't good by just about any standard, but it was unforgettable. It lasted from Thanksgiving morning to the following Wednesday evening thanks to coronavirus complications. It saw a bad college QB forced to play at the highest level, with predictable results. It saw a very good defense try to contain a stud RB while missing several defenders, also with predictable results. And it saw reschedulings and contortions and the league trying everything to keep the sanctity of the 17-game schedule. It was awful, and personally, it made me nauseous. The shit part about 2020 is that seeing the naked greed of the NFL makes one want to stop watching, but the NFL is one of the few things making this year manageable. Here are the picks for Week 13, where Jason and I go head-to-head on seven games:

All of our thoughts and observations, including an aftershow chat with our Steelers megafan Bryce in Brooklyn, can be heard here:

NFL 2020 Week #13: Shameful

2020 Week #12

Welcome to history, ladies and germs. We have never seen a week in the NFL quite like this, where so many players will be out with coronavirus and yet the league rages on with seemingly no concern. Half the Ravens come down with the goop? Ah, keep kicking the can, we'll get that game played eventually. It's against the Steelers, so it has to be played. If those two teams didn't matter, that game would have long been postponed or cancelled outright. And how about this Broncos game where the whole QB room is inactive because one guy got COVID and all the other QBs weren't wearing masks when talking to him? Quick, someone tell Denver there's a pandemic going on. Well, Jay and I did our best and made our picks for the week, with the exception of  the Pittsburgh-Baltimore game which we cannot pick right now because there's just no telling who's going to be available by Tuesday. Follow us on Twitter to get our picks for that game Tuesday afternoon: @imlddre and @imldjtg. Here are our Week 12 selections, where we differ on seven games not counting my sweep on Thanksgiving:

 

All of our thoughts and observations, including an aftershow dedicated to all the "Random Allen" backup quarterbacks, can be heard here:

NFL 2020 Week #12: Attack Of The Turkey Flu

2020 Week #11

All I can say about our trip down memory lane in the aftershow of our podcast is, it's undefinable. We covered everything--high school, record stores, Boys Town, commuter trains, suicide and getting squished by a truck. If you're a fan of aimless chats, this one's for you. As for the football, Jay and I are doing battle on six picks, but it might be seven if the Panthers decide to play XFL "star" PJ Walker at QB instead of Teddy Bridgewater. If they stick with Ted, I stick with Carolina. It's my first contingency play of the year. Here are the rest of our NFL ATS picks for Week 11:

 

All of our thoughts and observations can be heard here:

NFL 2020 Week #11: Wishing For Winston?

2020 Week #10

Jas and I had to hang our heads in shame after our Double Lock went up in smoke last week. Not much more embarrassing than having a football prognostication show and both independently come up with the same Stone-Cold Lock and have it go like that. But the Cards couldn't get it done, and worse, the Dolphins did, and we've been praising how hard the Dolphins play and how you can't count them out. I'm guessing that neither of us will be Locking against Miami again for a long time. This week, we're battling on five games, meaning we can't just split them down the middle like last week...unless there's a push. Here are our picks for NFL Week 10:

 

All of our thoughts and observations, including a little Real or Fake, can be heard here:

NFL 2020 Week #10: Double-Lock Lunkheads

2020 Week #9

With all of the frenzy and euphoria going on out here in America, we grind ahead and give you our picks for another week of football. And unlike Trump, we want to count all the games, not just some chosen ones. Jay and I face off on six games for Week 9, which is a lot but seems small considering we went heads up on eight games for the last three weeks each. We also have the exact same Lock of the Week in which we throw complete shade at Tua Time in Miami and hope that he doesn't fuck us both. Here are our picks for NFL Week 9:

All of our thoughts and observations, including election opinions, can be heard here:

NFL 2020 Week #9: Every Game Counts

2020 Week #8

I'm out of words to describe Jay and I disagreeing on eight games for the third week in a row. (Actually, last week it was nine games counting the Thursday nighter.) One of these weeks, one of us is going to trounce the other 6-2 or 7-1 if we keep going heads-up on eight picks. It should be a frightening Sunday not because of the Halloween weekend but because of the gusty weather in some of these games, and I'm no spoilsport when it comes to offense in today's version of football, but I'm looking forward to the elements challenging some of these guys. There have been QBs that I don't think are great but they keep putting up stats because there's no crowds to make things difficult, and the rules help keep them passing all day. It will be nice to see these offenses get tested. Here are our picks for Week 8 in the NFL as we near the half pole:

All of our thoughts and observations can be heard here:

NFL 2020 Week #8: It's The IMLD SPOOK-tacular, Charlie Brown!

2020 Week #7

Jason and I, not content to go head-to-head on eight games last week, now go head-to-head on nine here in Week 7, counting the Thursday night win for Jay. It's something that can't be explained after being so kumbaya in Week 4 and disagreeing on only two. We went very divergent after that. I'm frustrated by the sub-.500 season so far, but I'm also intrigued because I feel like there are developments to this unusual 2020 that will make things clearer as time goes on. I'm having a hard time remembering this many teams that present as inconsistent and hard to predict. I just know things will shake out as we move in to November and the second half of the campaign. I just hope I can decipher things before Jay does. Here are our Week 7 calls:

All of our thoughts and observations can be heard here:

NFL 2020 Week #7: Clash With The Titans

2020 Week #6

Jason and I are going head to head on a whopping eight of the 14 games this week, and both of us feel good about our picks. So this should be a Sunday for the ages as far as our bragging rights. He feels good that I am making these picks without having watched hardly any games last Sunday because my power went out. I feel good simply because I'm the one coming off an 11-win week. So we shall see who gets the upper hand. This is one of those weeks that could decide the whole season if one of us takes six or seven of these. Here are the picks for a contentious NFL Week 6:

All of our thoughts and observations can be heard here:

NFL 2020 Week #6: The Only Thing For Sure Is...Nothing's For Sure

2020 Week #5

There are a lot of interesting developments in the NFL this week. The slate of games is interesting, the drama surrounding the Coronapalooza games is interesting, even the moves made by lesser teams (Texans, Potato Skins) may produce immediate results. I know we only have a lowly football podcast, but Jay and I did our best to take people's minds off the terrible society we live in, and hopefully we did a good job of that. Now, there are circumstances that force us to not have all the Week 5 games. Broncos-Patriots and Bills-Titans are not on the board as of the time of this post because of Coronavirus availabilities and unknown game status, but we managed to pick one of those games based on our theory of what the spread eventually will be. Both of those picks will be available no later than the day of each game on our Twitter feeds. I am @imlddre and Jay is @imldjtg. Here are our incomplete Week 5 picks, which see us battling on seven games, not counting my Thursday win:

All of our thoughts and observations can be heard here:

NFL 2020 Week #5: And YOU Get The COVID! And YOU Get The COVID!

2020 Week #4

 Jay and I only disagree on two picks this week. I can't recall a week where we disagreed less. Uh, there's not much else to say about it. So here are the picks:

All of our thoughts and observations, including opinions on a very newsworthy week politically, can be heard here:

NFL 2020 Week #4: Can't Stop The Tennessee Goop

2020 Week #3

 After a dismal Week 2, I try once again to rebound and do much better with my Week 3 picks. At least Jason didn't make fun of my Lock this week. We once again face off on six games, and they're mostly the dog games so that gives us reason to watch. The prime time games should be two great games, so for entertainment, it should be a fabulous week, and the quality of play for the whole league hopefully takes a step up now that players have had a chance to shake off the rust. And for Pete's sake, let's not have any more franchise players suffer year-ending injuries. Here are our picks:

All of our thoughts and observations can be heard here:

NFL 2020 Week #3: Brought To You By Blue Cross, Or Red Cross

2020 Week #2

After a dismal Week 1 showing, I try to rebound in this year's Overreaction NFL Week 2. My craziest pick is also my Lock of the Week, which shows how blind I'm flying right now. But I do believe that the Jets can not only hang with a banged-up 49ers squad, but they can pull off the upset. There are a LOT of key injuries for San Francisco right now. Yes, I'm trying to talk my way into trusting it. Jason says to look for the SF defense to set up their offense with at least four possessions that begin in Jets territory, so he's all in on the Niners turning things around. That's the beauty of Week 2--do you go with what you believe about a team, or do you go with what you saw in Week 1? Jay and I are doing battle on six games this week, so let's see how it all shakes out:

All of our thoughts and observations can be heard here:

NFL 2020 Week #2: Vegas Baby Vegas!

2020 Week #1

 How fitting that our podcast lost connection and dropped us during the aftershow not more than a few minutes after Jason praised how clean the live show was from a tech standpoint. No voices breaking up, no hiccups in the connection, then wham. Very 2020-like. We got in all of our picks and basically all of our debate points about each game. It's going to be so good to have football back during this long period of Coronapalooza. Don't know how long it will last, don't know if a team is going to have a COVID breakout and be forced to miss games, but for now, all is well and the NFL is back. We can only hope our picks go as smoothly as the Thursday night opener, which Jay locked up and which I predicted the final score minus one point. We're battling on eight picks in Week 1:

Fav	Spread	Dog	Final		Dre	Jay
	Thu. Nite
KC	9	Hou	KC 34-20		KC	KC
	Sunday
MIN	2½	GB			Min	Min
Sea	1	ATL			Sea	Atl
BAL	7½	Cle			Bal	Bal
Ind	8	JACK			Ind	Ind
Phi	5½	WASH			Phi	Wash
LV	3	CAR			Car	Car	Elvis
BUF	6½	NYJ			Buf	NY
DET	2½	Chi			Det	Chi
NE	7	Mia			Mia	NE
LAC	3	CIN			LA	LA
NO	3½	TB			NO	NO
SF	7	Ariz			SF	Ariz
	Sun. Nite
Dal	2	LAR			Dal	LA
	Mon. Nite
Pit	6	NYG			NY	Pit
Tenn	3	DEN			Tenn	Tenn

All of our thoughts and observations can be heard here:

NFL 2020 Week #1: Football Hurts

2020 NFL Hall of Infamy Inductions

The only Hall of Fame induction show in our year of Coronapalooza 2020 is right here at In Much Less Detail. In this, our tenth year of the Hall of Infamy, I can only hope to exceed expectations and entertain and inform to the best of my abilities. Here we go! The 2020 NFL Hall of Infamy inductees are as follows:

• Wendell Davis - Wide Receiver - Chicago Bears. Infamous for: Suffering one of the most gruesome injuries on the field. 

Go to the 9:24 mark for the injury.

Jay and I have referred to this incident countless times throughout the years because we were both watching the game when it happened. If it's not the main reason why the Eagles got rid of that concrete-like artificial turf, it's right up there. The day was October 10, 1993. The Bears were beating the Eagles on a pleasant sunny day when QB Jim Harbaugh--yep, that Jim Harbaugh--lofted a deep ball for Davis who planted to jump for the pass...and never jumped. He just collapsed to the ground, sobbing in pain. Viewers didn't know at the time, but Davis's cleats had gotten caught in a seam in the turf and when he jumped, he tore the patella tendon in each of his knees. Reports were that his kneecaps had been pushed up all the way into his thighs. Davis never played football again. The Vet turf has a case for its own enshrinement, claiming a multitude of victims during its reign of terror, the most infamous being the Michael Irvin neck injury that shortened the Hall of Famer's career. But for us watching in Chicago, the Wendell Davis injury is marked in our minds indelibly as the standard for horrific non-contact football injuries.

•  Chris Zorich - Defensive Lineman - Chicago Bears. Infamous for: Being the role model for everything you want in a football player except for the playing football part. A couple of years before the Wendell Davis injury, the Bears drafted a man who had very high hopes and expectations placed on him despite only being a second-round pick. How is that possible, you may wonder? Well, a special group of circumstances made him out to be something he wasn't quite ready to be. His name was Chris Zorich. He was an All-American Notre Dame defensive tackle who won the Lombardi Trophy in 1989 and was MVP of the '91 Orange Bowl. Before that, he stood out at Chicago Vocational High School, not just as a player but as an exemplary person off the field. Being half black, Zorich had the lofty hopes and dreams of the entire black community as being the perfect example of what can be achieved with hard work and opportunity. And going to Notre Dame only enhanced those hopes and dreams, since Notre Dame was in its heyday of propping itself up as above all the other dirty college football programs, with the "Catholics vs. Convicts" feud with Miami firing up around that time. Take all that and have him drafted by the hometown Bears, the Monsters of the Midway, and you have a kid set up to be a superstar, right? Not quite. In five years with the Bears and five games with the Redskins, Zorich managed all of 16½ sacks, four forced fumbles, and one touchdown. But hey, he was a Pro Bowl alternate in 1993! Zorich may have never done much in the NFL as part of another franchise, but being in Chicago with the weight of the whole city on his shoulders certainly could not have done him any favors. When you hear that a draft prospect in any sport should not want to be taken by his hometown team, normally it's because there are bad influences to distract him at home, but sometimes it's because the pressure would be too much for a kid to handle. Everyone would love to be the next LeBron James, but no one wants to be the next Chris Zorich.

• Danyelle Sargent - Broadcasting napalm. Infamous for: Displaying high-grade levels of unprofessionalism on multiple occasions. Sports fans are well aware of the endless stream of ladies tasked with reporting or broadcasting while looking pretty. Some are good at it, some are not. But one was so bad that she is the precautionary tale for all who came after her. On March 9, 2006, Danyelle Sargent was working the desk on ESPNNews next to a young Robert Flores when their highlight package encountered some technical snafus. As Flores struggled through the package, Sargent, thinking her microphone was closed, loudly exclaimed to someone off camera, "WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?!?" This went out live to everyone watching at home. That was effectively the end of Sargent at ESPN. So that had nothing to do with football. Why is she in the NFL Hall of Infamy? Because Fox Sports decided to give her a second chance as a sideline chick, and she used that opportunity to embarrass herself yet again. In 2008, Sargent was interviewing the new coach of the San Francisco 49ers, Coach Psycho himself, Mike Singletary. She sputtered and stumbled through a question where she asked him about calling his mentor Bill Walsh after being hired as Niners coach. A stunned Singletary couldn't muster an answer before Sargent apologized and wondered aloud, "What was wrong?" This didn't make air, but it's also captured on Youtube for the world to see. What was wrong? How did you figure Bill Walsh was Mike Singletary's mentor considering Singletary never played for him or coached under him? Oh, and one more small thing: Singletary was hired in 2008. WALSH DIED IN 2007. That's what's wrong honey. Sargent got more broadcasting chances before doing what most no-talent sideline chicks eventually do: Married someone richer and smarter, in her case college basketball coach Eric Musselman. But even though her career is down the toilet, Danyelle Sargent is immortalized in our Hall of Infamy as the exemplary Godawful sports reporter. What the fuck was that, indeed.

• Kellen Winslow II - Tight End - Cleveland Browns, mostly. Infamous for: Failing to follow in dad's footsteps but succeeding as a serial rapist. As referenced in the Chris Zorich post, high expectations can cause destruction for a player before his pro career can even get off the ground. In Kellen Winslow II's case, his name and prolific college career set him up for failure, along with being drafted by the totally wrong franchise. Kellen Winslow is a Hall of Fame TE known for being one of the legit toughest and most talented at his position. His son put up a couple of first-team All American seasons at TE for the U. of Miami, setting him up to be drafted #6 overall in 2004 by the pitiful Cleveland Browns, who were coached by Butch Davis, the man who recruited Winslow II to Miami. Winslow couldn't stay on the field to produce for Cleveland, breaking his leg after his first two games, then tearing his ACL in a motorcycle accident the next year, then suffering a staph infection in 2008 along with several other members of the Browns. Winslow II had productive years for Tampa Bay but would never be as good as his Cleveland days. But he found another way to use his physicality. Winslow II was arrested in June 2018 on kidnapping and rape charges, and a charge was later tacked on that he raped an unconscious 17-year-old in 2003. In November 2019, facing multiple rape and lewdness charges, he cut a deal and plead guilty to the teen rape and a sexual battery of a 54-year-old hitchhiker, providing a wide range of abilities he never displayed in the NFL. Winslow II will get 12-to-18 years and lifetime parole whenever he gets out, but until the sentencing, he will have to accept his honors here, joining Darren Sharper as Hall of Infamy members who couldn't keep their members in their pants.

• Super Bowl XXXVIII Wardrobe Malfunction. Infamous for: Providing more exposure than any other halftime show in history. It's the reason we had to endure 70-year-old rockers at Super Bowl halftime shows for a decade after, it's the reason every live sporting event must be on what feels like a ten-minute delay--yes, it's the infamous Wardrobe Malfunction. It happened so quick that I was watching live and still missed it, but--you guessed it--Youtube is there for you in your moment of need.

Go to the :57 mark for the malfunction.

It was at the Patriots-Panthers Super Bowl in 2004 in Houston. The halftime show was Janet Jackson, one of the hot pop acts of the time, and the finale was Justin Timberlake performing his song "Rock Your Body" and starring Janet as the guest hook singer. Now, you have to understand what line Justin was singing when Nipplegate occurred so that you never again wonder if it was an accident. I'm telling you, it was totally planned. At the moment Justin sings "Bet I have you naked by the end of this song," Justin grabs Janet's breast and rips off part of her outfit, exposing her naked right breast adorned by a very intricate nipple piercing design. Think about how many things had to go a certain way for that to be an accident. Justin would have had a different move to end the act other than grabbing and pulling Janet's breast, Janet would have had to have the worst costume planning for it to detach at just that right time and along just that particular stitching, Justin would have had to sing any of the other lines in his song, none of which talk about having his girl naked--these would have all had to be coincidental occurrences happening at the same time. The only other explanation is that all of that was planned but Janet was supposed to have clothing underneath and just chose not to on her own, which would actually make sense. After all, Janet's career enjoyed a resurgence after the incident, and she became the most Googled person of 2004 and 2005. But she also was shamed and blacklisted afterwards in a way Justin never was, which was unfair. In any event, the FCC hammered down fines for the one-second exposing of a woman's chest, and some people reacted as if it was a harrowing experience that darkened their world. In the end, it was a hot woman's tit popping out for a moment. We should all be so harrowed.

And there is the Hall of Infamy Class of 2020. See you for football in a month, or if COVID-19 is still running wild, see you when it's safe again. 

Hall of Fame/Hall of Infamy: The Master List

Here is the long-promised list of all the previous Hall of Fame/Hall of Infamy inductions. I intend to update the list after every induction ceremony, so bookmark this blog post now!

Jay’s NFL Inductions

2011

Chris Hanson – P – Jaguars

Bert Emanuel – WR – Buccaneers

Phil Luckett – Ref

Frank Reich – QB – Bills

Freddie Mitchell – WR – Eagles

Rush Limbaugh – ESPN

Nick Harper – CB – Colts

Eugene Robinson – FS – Falcons

Bryant McKinnie – OT – Vikings

Sean Taylor’s Ghost – SS – Redskins

2013

Kim Etheredge – Publicist

Kevin Dyson – WR – Titans

Jimmy the Greek – Prognosticator

Charles Martin – DE – Packers

Darryl Stingley – WR – Patriots

2015

Jim Mora Wing of Quotes: Joe Namath’s Guarantee

Randy Moss’s Straight Cash Homey

Ricky Watters’s For Who? For What?

Bart Scott’s Can’t Wait

Ronnie Lott’s Boy Howdy

2017

Stanley Wilson Sr. and Jr. – Bengals/Lions

Jim Mora Wing of Quotes: Kurt Warner’s Dumplins

Darren Sharper – FS – Packers

Tommy Maddox – QB – Steelers

Jim Mora Wing of Quotes: Matt Hasselbeck’s We Want The Ball And We’re Gonna Score!

2019

Thurman Thomas’s Missing Super Bowl Helmet

Lance Easley & Derrick Rhone-Dunn – Fail Mary replacement refs

Vontae Davis – DB – Bills

Ron Mexico – Superhero alterego of Michael Vick

“Wild Cherries 5” – Porno telecast during Super Bowl XLIII

 2021

Jim Mora Wing of Quotes: Pac Man Jones' He Should Get A Grammy

Leon Lett -- DL -- Cowboys

"You Got Jacked Up!"

The Fog Bowl

Doug Flutie -- QB -- Bears/Bills/Chargers

2023

Jovan Belcher -- LB -- Chiefs

Blair Walsh -- K -- Vikings

Week 12 2020 Saints-Broncos: The COVID Era

Pat Tillman -- DB -- Cardinals

"Playmakers"

Dre’s NFL Inductions

2012

Scott Norwood – K – Bills

Lyle Alzado – DL – Raiders

William Perry – DT – Bears

Ben Dreith – Ref

Brett Favre’s Unholy Trinity – Cell Phone, Wristwatch, Crocs

2014

Rae Carruth – WR – Panthers

Mark Chmura – TE – Packers

Doug Williams – QB – Redskins

Jeff Blake and Carl Pickens – QB/WR – Bengals

The 2004 Chargers

2016

Tim Tebow – QB – Broncos

Steve McMichael – DT – Bears

Lawrence Phillips – RB – Rams

The 2005 Backup Colts

Jim Mora Wing of Quotes: Dennis Green’s They Are Who We Thought They Were

2018

The Tools of Terrell Owens

Aaron Hernandez – TE – Patriots

Jim Mora Wing of Quotes: Herm Edwards’s Hello? You Play To Win The Game

Sam Hurd – WR – Cowboys

Jim Mora Wing of Quotes: Brady Quinn’s Now I’m Done

2020

Wendell Davis - WR - Bears

Chris Zorich - DL - Bears

Danyelle Sargent - Broadcaster

Kellen Winslow II - TE - Browns

Janet Jackson's Wardrobe Malfunction

2022

Ron Goldman and Nicole Simpson - Murder victims of O.J. Simpson (if he did it)

Leonard Little - LB - Rams

Jeremy Green - Former ESPN podcaster

Jim Mora Wing of Quotes: Joe Namath's I Wanna Kiss You

Orchids of Asia Day Spa - Robert Kraft's building of happy endings

Dre’s Baseball Inductions

2017

Luis Salazar – IF – Cubs

Neifi Perez – SS – Rockies

Aaron Rowand – OF – Phillies

Dickie Thon – SS – Astros

Two-Way Pioneers Deion Sanders, Bo Jackson, and Brian Jordan

2019

Bill Buckner – 1B – Red Sox

Dwight Gooden and Darryl Strawberry – SP/OF – Mets

Jim Joyce and Armando Galarraga – Ump and SP – Tigers

Joaquin Andujar – SP – Cardinals

The 2005 Congressional Steroid Hearing

2021

Albert Belle -- OF -- Indians

Yuri Sucart -- A-Rod's Fake Dominican Cousin

Wing of Quotes: Earl Weaver Manager's Corner

Jim Abbott and Curtis Pride -- Inspirational Big-Leaguers

Milton Bradley -- OF -- A whole mess of teams

2023

Tom Emanski -- Baseball skillz guru

Steve Howe -- RP -- Yankees

Wing of Quotes: Rick Sutcliffe's Drunken Booth Visit

Jose Canseco -- OF -- Athletics

2003 NLCS Game 1

Jay’s Baseball Inductions

2017

Dave Dravecky – SP – Padres

A cheese grater

John McSherry – Ump

Tuffy Rhodes – OF – Cubs

Robin Ventura – 3B – White Sox

2018

Wing of Quotes: Lee Elia’s Rant

The Law Firm – Tony Womack, Doug Glanville, and Jermaine Dye

Don Denkinger – Ump

Dino Laurenzi, Jr. – Urine Collector

Jeffrey Maier – Orioles Fan

2020

Curt Flood – OF – Cardinals

Disco Demolition Night

The dove that Randy Johnson murdered

William Ligue, Jr. & William Ligue III – White trash White Sox fans

Tommy John – SP – Yankees

2022

The Shea Stadium Black Cat

Matt Holliday's Untouched Home Plate

Harry Chiti -- Mets

Brant Brown -- OF -- Cubs

Lee Elia Wing of Quotes: Thom Brennaman's Apology

Super Duper Bowl LIV

Niners. Chiefs. I had to pick one and Jay had to take the opposite of me. So here's my pick, for all the marbles and the handicapping title this year.

Fav	Spread	Dog	Final		Dre	Jay
KC (14-4)	1	SF (15-3)			KC	SF
				Last Week	104.4	100.4
					+4	+4
					=108.4	=104.4

All of our thoughts and observations can be heard here:

Super Duper Bowl LIV: No Pressure, Dre

Conf. Finals 2020

It is the calm before The Pick, as Jay has opted to punt on picking against me this week on Championship Sunday in order to preserve his four-point deficit and allow me to hang myself by picking the Super Bowl incorrectly.  He was good on the show laying on the pressure by repeatedly reminding me that in our seven-year podcast history neither of us have blown the Super Duper Bowl pick to lose the whole season, so I have three long weeks to think about that.  Hey, no sweat.  It was torturous last year being down one game on the nflpickwatch site and having to wait...and wait...and wait for the leader to make his Super Bowl pick so that I could then pick opposite of him.  Lucky for me, he took the Rams.  Jason is hoping for a similar boner from me, and considering I'm fucking 1-7 ATS in these playoffs, I'd say that's a smart move.  My picks this week came to me in a Moment of Clarity that I had not experienced making my other postseason picks, so maybe just in time, I'm finally developing a sense of these teams.  Or maybe I'm deluding myself, which is a talent of mine.  Here are our Siamese twin picks for the conference title games, although Jay said during the show that these probably would have been his real picks anyway:

Fav	Spread	Dog	Final		Dre	Jay
KC (13-4)	7½	Tenn (11-7)			KC	KC
SF (14-3)	7½	GB (14-3)			GB	GB
					104.4	97.4
				Last Week	+0	+3
					=104.4	=100.4

All of our thoughts and observations (after five minutes of dead air at the start of the show thanks to technical difficulties--aaaarrgh) can be heard here:

NFL Conf. Finals 2020: The Calm Before The Pick

Conf. Semis 2020

Jason decided to give me the honors to make my picks first this week, and I got choked up at the honor, then I did what I do best: gasbag and suck up all the time.  After going total lockstep with me and going 1-3 in the Wild Card round, he's opposing me on only the first game of the Divisional Round.  Jay sits seven points behind me in our playoff system, so he can cut that lead to four, or get pushed to the brink down ten.  (Or we'll stay seven points apart if the Vikings and Niners push.)  Here are the rest of our picks for the conference semis:

Fav	Spread	Dog	Final		Dre	Jay
	Saturday
SF (13-3)	7	Min (11-6)			Min	SF
	Sat. Nite
BAL (14-2)	10	Tenn (10-7)			Bal	Bal
	Sunday
KC (12-4)	10	Hou (11-6)			Hou	Hou
GB (13-3)	4½	Sea (12-5)			Sea	Sea
					102.4	95.4
				Last Week	+2	+2
					=104.4	=97.4

All of our thoughts and observations can be heard here:

NFL Conf. Semis 2020: Road Warriors Meet Home Gladiators

Wild Card '20

So that was a hot mess of a show we did for Wild Card Weekend. What had happened was, something happened in my area and my house lost power for a few seconds, and since I was hosting the show, that meant I got kicked off and couldn't get back on. After ten minutes of trying to get ourselves re-connected, Jason and I managed to call back in to the show, but we had a brief amount of time to get our picks in, then the aftershow got shitcanned because my internet flashed and disconnected me again. Stuff happens. I'm actually shocked my power hasn't gone down during a show before, because it doesn't take much inclement weather to knock us out. With all that said, apologies for the crappiness of the podcast, which wasn't the fault of the host site or the internet provider but rather my power company. Here are our picks for Wild Card Weekend, and our status as it pertains to our playoff point system for our handicapping championship:

Fav	Spread	Dog	Final		Dre	Jay	Coin
	Saturday
HOU (10-6)	2½	Buf (10-6)			Buf	Buf
	Sat. Nite
NE (12-4)	5	Tenn (9-7)			NE	NE
	Sunday
NO (13-3)	8	Min (10-6)			NO	NO
Sea (11-5)	1	PHI (9-7)			Sea	Sea
				Week 17	8-7-1	6-9-1	10-5-1
					0.533	0.400	0.667
				Season	127-121-8	117-131-8
					0.512	0.472
				Lock Total	7	9
					x200	x200
					102.4	94.4
				Lock Bonus	+0	+1
					102.4	95.4
				Scoring System
					Wild Card	2 pts. each
					Conf. Semis	3 pts. each
					Conf. Finals	4 pts. each
					Super Bowl	5 pts.

All (or most) of our thoughts and observations can be heard here:

NFL Wild Card 2020: So NOW Is The Dynasty Over??

2019 What I Learned About Each Team In One Sentence

Cowboys--Dak Prescott's contract year ballin' out couldn't mask the stench of the team's overall lack of direction and leadership.
Giants--They're in desperate need of a defensive talent infusion in order to compete and make it easier for Daniel Jones to develop as franchise QB.
Eagles--A biblical loss of manpower and an abominable bout of WR dropsies made life a living hell for Philly all year, but since they're in the NFC East, congratulations.
Redskins--It's not a good sign for their offense that the 34-year-old RB proved to be the steadiest presence.
Bears--A massive variance in quality of play by Mitch Trubisky appears to have the franchise in limbo.
Lions--They have a competitive streak that kept them in every game even after it was clear that it wasn't gonna be their year.
Packers--They should strike fear in whoever finds themselves in Lambeau Field in the playoffs just because Aaron Rodgers can still play as well as any QB.
Vikings--Such a stark difference between how their offense functions with a healthy Dalvin Cook at RB and when he's out or not healthy.
Falcons--Another season where they show their potential in the second half and make you wonder how good they could have been.
Panthers--Truly a franchise in transition as they trashed coach Ron Rivera midseason and seem prepared to move on from franchise QB Cam Newton.
Saints--They slowly jelled on offense and seem to be peaking at the perfect time as Alvin Kamara's explosiveness and Drew Brees's command of the offense return to prominence.
Buccaneers--Jameis Winston's never-before-seen 30 TD/30 INT season spiced up a moribund TB campaign.
Cardinals--Very optimistic rookie effort by Kyler Murray may foreshadow a high-flying future in Arizona.
Rams--Couldn't figure out how to get that futuristic offense in sync outside of a game or two.
49ers--A complete effort all year from San Fran which saw equal contributions from Kyle Shanahan's relentless offense and Robert Saleh's suffocating defense.
Seahawks--Infusion of youth on defense helped push Seattle back near the top of the NFC, and they have a chance for more with Russell Wilson making all the right moves.
Bills--Steady growth from Josh Allen at QB paired with a stifling secondary to make Buffalo a very tough task every week.
Dolphins--They appeared to be on the road to Tank City after their first few games, but fought much harder than expected and won many more games than even they could have imagined.
Patriots--Really looked washed most of the season as lack of WR talent caught up to their precise but weak-armed HOF QB Tom Brady, and defense benefited from weak opposition.
Jets--Glimmer of positivity for the future as Sam Darnold showed signs of life when he wasn't seeing the paranormal.
Ravens--Mesmerizing offense constructed by Greg Roman positioned Baltimore as the class of the NFL led by a QB in Lamar Jackson who was indefensible.
Bengals--When the season was lost, they decided to bench the QB in Andy Dalton to see what else they have and found out that they ain't got nothin'.
Browns--The most cartoonish, circus-like franchise in the league, they actually produced a record that wasn't outrageous but seemed like it was because of expectations.
Steelers--Through all the injuries at the skill positions, Pittsburgh kept clawing at a playoff spot thanks to an improved defense.
Texans--Secondary showed flaws once J.J. Watt got hurt and the pass rush faltered, but the offense flashed and led the way once DeShaun Watson stopped dancing himself into peril.
Colts--Overcame sudden retirement of Andrew Luck to fight and compete all year behind a high-achieving run attack.
Jaguars--Lack of focus on defense and disaster surrounding the high-priced free agent QB Nick Foles congealed into a garbage season and what feels like another franchise reset.
Titans--Inevitable call to try Ryan Tannehill at QB over Marcus Mariota worked for coach Mike Vrabel as well as could have hoped, and sprung RB Derrick Henry for a career year too.
Broncos--Defense took a while to jell under Vic Fangio, and QB Drew Lock stumbled early but looks to be the Joe Flacco replacement.
Chiefs--Pat Mahomes getting beat up put the brakes on a repeat of the MVP season from last year, but a much better back end of the D gives KC hope in the playoffs.
Chargers--The DNA from last season's 12-win squad seemed to still be there, but not the execution, certainly not from mistake-prone Philip Rivers.
Raiders--Rookie RB Josh Jacobs and talented QB Derek Carr gave Oakland a playoff window in their last season in Cali, but they didn't have the consistency to hold it together.