Don't Get Lazy: Sports by Cannon

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Friday, January 13, 2012

NFL Playoff Predictions

Divisional Round

By Mike Cannon

It was certainly an interesting wild card weekend last week. There weren't too many surprises other than the Denver game, which I'm still shocked that happened, but the games were entertaining for the most part. An interesting note is that all 4 home teams won last week. Let's see if that trend will carry over. I went 2-2 last week. I'll try to do better this week. Starting with the AFC.

Denver @New England (Saturday, 8:00 pm)

The Greatest Thing You've Ever Seen.

I should probably give up on trying to predict what Tebow does in a given week. I thought he didn't stand a chance against Pittsburgh last weekend and he proved me wrong. I have doubted him over and over again this year and a lot of my criticisms seem to be right, yet he still finds a way to win. I don't want to hear excuses about the Steelers being hurt, or it being it Denver, either. Sure they are factors, but this guy has proven throughout this year he finds ways to win in certain situations. This may be the only time I will be hardcore rooting for Tebow. Is anyone really going to root for New England outside of Pats fans? How hilarious would it be if Tebow (after already losing to New England this year) comes into Foxboro and ends their season making it an one and done for New England three years in a row and seeing Brady's stupid face confused and upset? I know I would love it. I don't think it will happen, though. Patriots are too tough offensively and although their defense isn't the strongest, their run defense is better than their pass. And Bellichick was successful with his strategy against Tebow last time. So I will continue my pattern of doubting Tebow. Only this time I really hope he proves me wrong. Pats win.

Prediction: Denver: 13 New England: 27

Houston @Baltimore (Sunday, 1:00 pm)

I was impressed by Houston last week. Their defense showed up and frustrated Dalton all day. They got 3 picks from him and were able to maintain a stable lead the entire game on Cinci. Good for them and their first ever playoff win. Unfortunately I see that streak coming to an end this week. Ravens are out for something to prove this year. They have always been contenders but in a way have fallen second fiddle to Pittsburgh in the past. This year is different. They sent a message week 1 when they blew out the Steelers, they have had some signature wins this season, and now the AFC is wide open for them to take. Even Joe Flacco has something to prove and wants some props. I like how this team finished the season too. Aside from the San Diego loss, they won 6 of their last 7 in relatively easy fashion. That, along with the game being in Baltimore, makes me think Houston has a chance unless Foster somehow runs for 200+ yards.

Prediction: Houston: 10 Baltimore: 21

On the NFC:

New Orleans @San Francisco (Saturday, 4:30pm)

Flaccer.

This one was the toughest game to pick as you could imagine. I like both of these teams a lot. They are opposites in a way too. Saints have an unstoppable offense, 49ers have a dominating defense. It's a matter of who's strength is better. The Saints are coming into this game as 4 point favorites, but I can't be so sure about it. Guys like Aldon Smith and Patrick Willis will need to have huge days for San Fran. Alex Smith will also need to play mistake free football, which he has been doing all year. That is a major factor in their success. The 49ers have allowed only 1 runningback to gain over 100 yards rushing this year. I think the Saints will get their first real scare facing a lot of pass pressure as well. The 49ers won't stop Brees and the Saints, that's a given, but containing them is a possibility. If the 49ers can do that, along with the home crowd behind them, I think they can pull it off. I'll go with the mini upset here, and say San Fran takes it.

Prediction: New Orleans: 20 San Francisco: 23

New York @Green Bay

Their last match up earlier in the year was great. Very exciting right to the end. The Giants showed they can compete with the best of them. I like the Giants right now, I think they are finding themselves at the right time. They essentially shut out the Falcons last week with not allowing an offensive score. Their offense got off to a slow start, but then sure enough, we saw a ridiculous Hakeen Nicks touchdown. With their talented offense, and Green Bay's lack of defense, I don't see moving the ball downfield to be a problem. One thing to remember for New York Giants, though, is that they haven't left Metlife Stadium in over a month. (I don't count the Jets game as a true away game). They've been pretty comfortable in the same spot and going to Lambeau this time of year is never easy, let alone facing a 15-1 team. Giants Defensive End Jason Pierre-Paul seemed to have guaranteed a victory earlier in the week, but then has kind of backed off with it, for good reason. There's no doubt the Giants offense is capable when they're at their best to be right there with the Packers, but there is doubt in their ability to stop Rodgers when it counts. He's just too good. I'm rooting for another exciting end like last time, but when I think it's all said and done, Green Bay is coming out as a winner.

Prediction: New York: 27 Green Bay: 35 (Sunday, 4:30 pm)

Hopefully I'm a little better in my predictions this week. After looking at it, I noticed that I actually picked all four home teams. This didn't really have anything to do with the fact that all four won last week either, just found it interesting.

Thursday, January 5, 2012

NFL Playoff Predictions

by Mike Cannon
Follow @mcann333

It's that time of the year, everyone. The start of the NFL postseason is before us. These past few weeks as a Jets fan has been as antagonizing as can be, so in a way talking about football makes me cringe inside, but it's also good in another way because it makes me more of an objective spectator for the upcoming games.

The NFL season in itself has been absolutely crazy. It started with lockout talks, then missing some of preseason, a "dream team" forming, and finally evolving into a season with records breaking all over the place. Guys like Victor Cruz, Jimmy Graham and Rob Gronkowski are now popular household names among fantasy players. Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady and others have turned the QB position into even a more dominant role than it was, and a couple of teams have said either "fuck defense", "fuck the run game" or both. It's been an entertaining season to say the least.

I'm going to give my predictions and a brief synopsis of who I think will win these playoff matches to give fans a little something to think about going into this weekend. I'll start with the AFC first, then NFC. I will only do games this weekend. Then I will go week to week stating my predictions for the next rounds. This is a good opportunity for you guys to rip on me for anything I get wrong this round.

The Clippers' Big Move

by Mike Cannon
Follow @mcann333
If you’re an NBA fan, you’ll like this article, if not….read anyway:

I will say that with all these trade rumors, signings and rosters changing, I am becoming extremely excited to watch the NBA this year. The NBA has not gotten me this intrigued since the 90’s. That’s partly because the Knicks haven’t been good recently, but also the ‘90s had great storylines, rivalries and feuds. The last couple of years with trades, the lockout, multiple “big 3s”, last year's NBA finals, etc. have brought it back in that direction. Combine the drama that’s happened already with the fact the NCAA basketball has one of the most talented draft classes in years, we are looking at one of the better basketball seasons in a while.

Chris “CP3” Paul, one of the most talked about guys of the offseason, was traded Wednesday night to the LA Clippers. For those of you who are unaware, the Hornets traded Paul to the Clippers for guard Eric Gordon, forward Al-Farouq Aminu, center Chris Kaman and a first-round draft choice. (The Clippers also received two 2nd round picks from it as well)

First off, I want to say this is a great deal for the Hornets. They have very good young talent and a lottery pick to work around. I think the majority of the people agree this deal definitely works for them and would take it in a heartbeat. The more debatable topic is how it works for the Clippers. Some people say this made their team worse; I disagree. I like this move for the Clippers too. Even if you want to make the argument that the Hornets got the better of the trade, that doesn’t mean the Clippers should be upset by it. They should be excited. Blake Griffin IS excited big time, by the way. The NBA is a star-driven league, the Clippers have the pieces to be contenders now, and they acted on it. Plus, the Clippers have a different motive and direction than the Hornets for their future right now. There’s nothing wrong with a trade working for both teams.

Five Tips on NFL Game Attendance

by Mike Cannon
Follow @mcann333

On Sunday, I attended my first live NFL football game of the year. As a Jets fan I was happy with the overall outcome, no matter how many times the Jets feel the need to make you feel uneasy. I usually attend about two games per year, so this was nothing new for me. However, it feels new every time.

No matter how many games I see, I'm always amazed at the scenery, the size of everything, and the general atmosphere. Attending football games is one of the most exciting things to do as a sports fan, especially if your team is competitive like the Jets have been over the past couple of years.

Over my years of going to different NFL games, I have discovered there are fans who know what they’re doing when going to games, and then there are people you can tell have never been to a game before. There are a couple unwritten rules about being a fan at games some people need to follow. I’ll use going to a Jets game as an example:

Fireman Ed

1) IF YOU'RE A FAN OF AN OPPOSING TEAM, BE SMART ABOUT IT.

Expect to get yelled at. If you pick a fight in a stadium of 75,000 people in which 85% of them are not on your side, you’re just not going to win. It’s fine to root for your favorite team, but don’t be obnoxious about it. There’s two types of these people:

Opposing fans who taunt, mock and yell at the home crowd when their team is losing, which will ultimately lead to a fight or something being thrown.
The guy who wears a Tom Brady or Dan Marino jersey at a Jets-Bills game just to piss people off.

New York fans are not the friendliest in the world, and when you do it to a team, like the Jets, with a history of losing and blowing big games, they want no part of remembering it. One of my friends, who is a Bills fan, was with me Sunday, wearing a Bills jersey. He was walking around innocently, and even he got mocked several times, once by a 10-year old. He handled it well, so it didn't escalate. But don’t be the guy who ends up in the jail truck at the stadium because you couldn’t take a little trash talking. Be prepared for that stuff; it comes along with being the fan of a rival.

2) JERSEYS

Jumbo Elliott

Don’t wear jerseys of players who were terrible for your team--

history of bad draft picks and busts.

Be creative with your jerseys--I divided this into two parts. The first one explained what not to wear, but if you are going to wear one, be creative. Nothing helps make random friends quicker than wearing an old school jersey of a player that fans get a kick out of. While wearing a Sanchez jersey is the norm, it’s predictable. The guys who get the most fans and laughs are the guys with Ray Mickens, Adrian Murrell and Jumbo Elliott jerseys.

3) PICKING GOOD TIMES TO GET FOOD OR GO TO THE BATHROOM

This one is just using common sense. It’s just common courtesy to consider the situation. You don’t want to be the guy who gets screamed at by fans yelling “DOWN IN FRONT ASSHOLE!” because you’re in the way of their view. If it’s 3^rd and goal in a tie game, late in the 4^th quarter, going to the bathroom and blocking someone’s view of the play is not the brightest idea. And if you do it by mistake, you BETTER hope the play works out in a positive way or be prepared to get yelled at. It’s best to go in between plays. I have found it best to go after a punt return or kickoff. There is a stoppage in play and it’s rare for something meaningful to happen.

4) IF YOU ARE FRIENDLY TO PEOPLE AT A TAILGATE, YOU CAN GET FREE FOOD

Tailgating at games is just a great atmosphere. Everyone is happy, enjoying the weather, the alcohol, the food, and excited for a day of football. There’s really no reason for anyone to be in a bad mood at one of these, therefore, people are very generous when it comes to sharing. It’s best to look for the hardcore tailgaters, guys who come in fan trucks, party busses, etc. If they are diehard enough to travel to the game like that, they will be pleased when a fellow fan starts talking to them, and it’s almost always a guarantee they will have extra food and beer lying around. I’m not just talking about hot dogs and hamburgers. I’ve seen things from ribs, sushi, steaks, lobsters, meatball subs, pancakes, roasted nuts, you name it. Some people even have TV’s hooked up with inflatable seats. After the game, if it was an exciting for the home team, that’s the gold mine. After-parties in the parking lot can last hours.

5) Know the situation when leaving

If the Jets blew that game yesterday, all hell would have broken loose among the fans. I have witnessed awful losses as a sports fan, mainly because I seem to have awful choices in picking teams, like the Mets and Jets. I've been there for plenty of bad Jets losses, I have witnessed the Mets collapse in person numerous times, it’s just not a pleasant situation to be in. If a bad loss happens, there will be a lot of swearing and possibly things thrown. Expect to be pushed when going out of the stadium and any side comment like “uh, excuse me?” might make someone snap; just keep quiet. When pulling out of the parking lot, a lot of people will try to cut each other off. If it’s a big close win, people will be more patient, be so excited that they want to embrace it by staying a little longer. It’s amazing how the attitudes of people change.

Sunday, November 13, 2011

College Basketball Mid Major Sleepers for 2011-2012 and Some Tips for Your Bracket in March

by Mike Cannon

Follow @mcann333

We’ve heard plenty over the last week about the Penn State scandal. And we’ve heard now for 135 days about the NBA lockout. But what’s getting overlooked, in a sense, is the start of College Basketball. It’s one of my favorite things to follow throughout the year. Everyone loves March Madness and filling out the brackets. It’s one of those things where everyone seems to get involved no matter how much they watch over the course of the year. Some people watch and analyze games from November on, while others fill out brackets because they’re in an office pool and they've heard of Duke. Either way it’s fun for all types of fans.

Every year during the tournament, we see upsets by mid major teams that very few people predicted. This is partly what makes the tournament so great and exciting, but also, it's frustrating, as it ruins your bracket at times. It’s depressing when you think you’re the smartest guy in the world and predict an upset and it ends up backfiring on you. Or even worse; calling a huge upset that few people have, only for it to come up just short at the last second. There’s also nothing worse than seeing your bracket crumble to pieces while looking across from you and seeing some clueless person, who just picks teams based on colors and names, be, somehow, ahead of you in the standings . Even the people that just NEVER pick any upsets are annoying. The worst was when I had one girl ask me one time if the numbers (seeds) next to the teams were how many wins they had on the season. I jokingly said "Yes", to mess with her. Then she goes “Wow Duke isn’t really having a good year huh?” Duke was a one seed that year. I just cringed. It’s these kind of people that drive you nuts if they finish ahead of you.

"I'm really smart," he's saying.

Anyway, in more recent years, we’ve seen an increase in the number of mid-major and low-seed teams traveling further in the tournament. VCU last year, and Butler the last two years are just examples. There’s others even last year you forget about. Remember Morgan St. over Louisville? Richmond over Vandy? Over recent years you’re hearing more about Gonzaga, St. Mary’s, etc. A lot of mid-major sleeper teams have a good amount in common when it comes to upsetting the big schools. And that is: ball movement, three point shooting, and foul shooting. Athletically, the majority of the time, these mid-major teams can’t compete based on size and physicality. So they have to use something on more of an even playing field like teamwork and shooting as an advantage. Butler’s head coach Brad Stevens, for example, has always said when he recruits someone out of high school he doesn’t go crazy with high school stats, other than three point percentage and foul shooting percentage. From there, he finds undervalued guys and fits them into his system.

Let’s be honest, no one will ever get this perfect, and the tournament is impossible to fully predict correctly, but it helps if you know a little info beforehand about possible sleeper teams. Here are some possible mid-major sleeper teams coming into the 2011-2012 season that may surprise you come March.

An angry Keith Wright, and a scared white boy.

Harvard: Don’t laugh. These guys may be really smart, but they can also play basketball. The defending Ivy league co-champions are looking to bounce back from their heartbreaking loss in the one-game playoff against Princeton last year that decided who made it into the tournament. They have their leading scorer and Ivy League player of the year Keith Wright returning for another season. The 6’8" Wright is on the Naismith top 50 watch list for this year as well. Kyle Kasey is another athletic big man who can rebound and block shots. From what we’ve learned out of the Ivy League in recent years with Cornell and Penn’s success, and even last year with Princeton nearly upsetting Kentucky first round, is to not underestimate these teams.

Belmont: Sure, this pick looks a lot better based on their close game with Duke last night. But I've had this team on watch for a while. They were A LOT of people’s upset pick last year against Wisconsin in the tournament. They are excellent at moving the ball around. Head coach Rick Byrd has designed a quick- moving offense that finds an open shot; most of the time a three-pointer. The Bruins were one of the best three-point shooting teams in the country last year. Guys like Hedgepeth and Saunders will contribute, and Belmont is returning NINE out of eleven guys from last year. They can shoot, they are experienced, and they can compete with a ton of power conference teams. Watch the Duke game from last night if you don’t believe me. Look out for them.

Detroit: Now here is a team that hasn’t been relevant at the NCAA tournament level since 1997 and 1998 when they had back-to-back years of first round upsets beating St. John’s and UCLA. Since then, not much has come out from them. This year might be different though. They are a Horizon League team, and at this point, I think we know not to dismiss ANY team from there, based on Butler’s success. However, now that Butler lost some key guys, the conference is wide open. Detroit might be the most talented team in the conference. They return 100% of their team from last year. Ray McCallum Jr., the head coach’s son, is one of the conference’s best players if not the best. I was all ready to name this team my top sleeper team of the year. BUT THERE’S A HUGE PROBLEM! Eli Holman, the team’s PF/C is out on “indefinite leave” from the program on accusation of assault. Holman is huge in the front court, and his return is so speculative at this point it’s hard to judge when it will happen, if at all. They are still very good without him, but this sleeper pick highly depends on his return or not. If he comes back though, I like this team a lot.

Long Beach State: Although I don’t know much about this team as much as the others, everything I’ve read about them last year and this year look great. Casper Ware is the only player I’ve remotely heard of, as he is the reigning Big West Player of the Year. When doing my conference tournament picks last year I had them winning the Big West. They were the regular season champions. Came up short in the conference tourney finals two years in a row now. This year could be the year they breakout. They have a tough out of conference (OOC) schedule, but it will boost their RPI big time as well as give them an opportunity for impressive wins.

Scott Machado, Iona Gaels

Iona/Fairfield: I’ll put these two together since they are both MAAC teams. This may be a biased selection as I am a Fairfield University and MAAC fan in general, but could this be the year the MAAC actually gets two teams in the tournament since I was in 3^rd grade? Possibly. Siena and Manhattan have certainly given the MAAC a better reputation in recent years with tournament wins. The league is top heavy this year, but the top teams are legit. I’ll start with Iona. Most preseason predictions give Iona the very slight edge over Fairfield, and that is mainly because of the late acquisition of transfer Lamont “MoMo” Jones, who was recently cleared by the NCAA to play. If the name sounds familiar, you might remember him on Arizona last year as a key contributor in their Elite 8 run. Senior Mike Glover is one of the MAAC’s top picks for conference player of the year. Scott Machado showed last year he’s one of the conference’s premier point guards. The bar is high for this team, and they are talented enough to upset someone. Fairfield is another team right up there with Iona. The league’s regular season champions last year come in with a new coach in Sydney Johnson after Ed Cooley departed for Providence. Johnson arrived at Fairfield from Princeton. I already mentioned before how Princeton almost upset Kentucky in the first round last year, but Johnson as a player himself is familiar with upsets. (One of my favorite tournament upsets ever, Gus Johnson alert!!!) The Stags also have very high expectations. They are returning one of the league’s best players in Derek Needham. Ryan Olander and Maurice Barrow will help on the front court. Houston transfer Desmond Wade will be a nice addition as well. But the key for Fairfield is Boston College transfer RakimSanders. Easily could be league’s best player by year’s end. They have key OOC games that they can win like Providence, Minnesota, Old Dominion and Arizona St. These wins could help them a lot at a chance for an at large bid. It would be tough to get two MAAC teams in the tourney, but not impossible. If the Colonial League can get three in last year, MAAC can get two.

Some other notes and predictions:

The A-10 will be deep this year. Xavier is a potential final 4 team. Tu Hollaway is one of nation’s best point guards
Iowa St, Virginia, St. John’s and Indiana are power conference teams that could surprise people this year
Comeback Player of Year vote: Robbie Hummel (Purdue)
Major Conference Player of Year predictions: