Correct Calculations

Happy Monday Sports Fans,

So last night the sports world was informed officially who would be competing for the BCS National Championship Game.  If your an avid reader of my blog, you know that I wrote about LSU v Bama in the beginning of November in what I believed was the game of the year.  Last night, I read what appeared to be an immense amount of anger and frustration with the computer systems that the BCS uses to determine their games.  But then again, there was a lot of positive energy surrounding the January 9th showdown between the two SEC perennial powers.

Why Oklahoma St. is not in

All the credit in the world to the Cowboys and their performance this season in the Big 12.  However, lets look why they are NOT in the title game.  First off, the Cowboys best WIN of the year came against #8 ranked Kansas State. (10-2)  Their loss came against the Iowa State (3-6) (6-6) by six.  Yes, they crushed the pre season #1 Oklahoma Sooners who seemingly ended up with a disappointing season, yet again.

Why Alabama is in

Hats off again, to arguably the best coach in college football Nick Saban who has navigated his Crimson Tide to his third National Championship game.  Now, why is Alabama in and Ok St. not, here is why.  Alabama's best win on the season came against a higher ranked, and better opponent in the Arkansas Razorbacks.  A convincing win for the Tide put them ahead of the rest.  This is key, their LOSS, came against the #1 team in the country the LSU Tigers.  In OVERTIME, after missing field goals the entire first half!  Their defense kept the Tigers in check the entire game and it was a battle of the defenses.  So they are both from the SEC, it does not matter, they are the best teams.  If Alabama were to play Oklahoma State at a neutral site, you better believe the Tide will be favored, significantly because of their defense.


The bottom line here is, the two best teams in the country are playing for the National Title.  How can you argue with a computer system that takes into account the strength of schedule, your wins and losses and much more.  You cant.  It may appear as if I am a fan of the bowl system we currently have in place, thats far from the truth.  My point here is that who does not want to see LSU vs Bama again?  The BEST TWO DEFENSES in the country without question, which was pretty clear in early November in their matchup.  The SEC is the best conference in the NCAA and I find it to be a rare occurrence to were someone may argue that point with me.  You have the favorite to win the Heisman carrying the ball on one side of the line and arguably the Defensive Player of the Year in Tyron Mathieu on the other.

LSU was my pick to win the National Title at the beginning of the year and I asserted that in my last write up surrounding the hype of this match up.  You are all going to get to see a great football game again, the edge goes to the Tigers and I will have my final write up on this match-up at the end of the year.

A Fist Pump and Smile

I remember sending a tweet over the summer that said "Will Tiger ever find his old self again.." I had several responses and a number of individuals who voiced their opinions about Tiger.  A number of these people seemingly think Tiger has no chance to catch Jack.  Saying he's "burnt out" or "washed up".  I bit my tongue for the moment that finally came on the first Sunday in December 2011.  I could not of been more moved by Tiger's victory today at the Chevron World Challenge.

You could tell that Tiger felt an amazing sea of emotions with his victory.  Everyone was fist pumping in the gallery after his beautiful putt on the 17th green after lacing a beautiful iron up over the elevated green.  It seems as though people are beginning to accept him again.  You could see as he walked off the green the amount of fans trying to shake his hand and pat him on the back for his efforts this week.  Tiger stood on the 18th tee knowing what Zach Johnson had done yesterday after holing out at the end of his round.  He also knew, that holes 15-18 were very cruel to him this week.  It did not matter, we saw the Tiger of old today and if people in the golf world are not exciting about what is going to come in 2012, get ready.

After 749 days, TW finally rises back to the top of the golfing world after his win.  Jumping back to the 20th ranked player in the world after being outside the top 50 (52).  Tiger has won 83 tournaments world wide and today came his first since 2007.  For the week, he fired a -10 under 278 and beat out Zach Johnson by one stroke.  After landing his putt on the 18th green you saw Woods burst into an elated state of mind like he was the only one in the world who just witnessed.  Lets face it, the guy has been through hell and back ever since his scandal broke that November evening in 2009.

Losing his life long best friend on the bag Stevie Williams and his coach Hank Haney, Tiger had to do some soul searching as of late.  With a bad knee, and issues with his foot, some say Tiger would never win again.  False.  Yes, some may argue with me and say "Tiger won in a field of 18 this week and some of the best young guns were not in the tournament".  It does not matter, who ever you put in the field this week would not of lifted themselves above Tiger and won.  This was his time, he was destined to win this week and if you are not a believer that Tiger's game is coming back to form, check out his last few tournaments.  Outstanding performances outside of his lopsided loss to Adam Scott and KJ in the first pairing of the Presidents Cup, that was not an individual competition.

If you know anything about golf, and have been an avid watcher of Tiger's career, you can sense when he's going to wake up the world and make a statement.  Also, you would know that TW has handled more pressure in the game of golf than anyone to ever pick up a club.

So tonight, I'm going on the record to everyone reading this saying the man is back.  His swing looks phenomenal, he is hitting great iron shots again and has great control of the trajectory of his golf ball.  He was able to cut, draw and line golf ball all over the course this week.  You notice he has not been putting as much pressure on his knee and has worked drastically with his swing coach Sean Foley to improve his mechanics to best suit him in the long run.

Bottom line is, the man has 14 major victories and only needs a few more to break the record.  The ten time PGA tour player of the year will be 36 at the end of December heading into next year.  He was in contention at Augusta last year roaring back in the final two rounds only to come up a few shots short.  He will win TWO majors next year, one being the Masters, were he has had great success.  Let's face it, the world of golf needs Tiger and so does the rest of the sports world.


The 2012 Chinese zodiac says it will be the year of the dragon, wrong. It will be the Year of the Tiger. 


I sent this write up to Tiger via Twitter, hopefully he catches this on his way back to Florida.  


PJG

Tonights Posts

Tiger Woods and BCS Selection Sunday ... stay tuned

NFL Picks Week 13

Another week in the NFL and that means another week of picks on PJG Sports

Lets get at it.

Carolina vs. Tampa Bay - Carolina's struggles continue but no one can doubt the great season Newton has had.  They need to draft some more defensive players in 2012.  Look for Blount to have a solid game on the ground, close one though.  Panthers 24-21

Cincinnati vs. Pittsburgh - Bengals will seek revenge in this Week 13 matchup with the Steelers.  Look for Dalton to throw the ball more and try to take advantage of the Steeler secondary.  Won't matter though, Ben will throw for 275+ and lead the Steelers to another W.  Pittsburgh 27-17

Atlanta vs. Houston - This would be an awesome game if Matt Shaub was not injured.  Houston, who still sits atop the South will look to go on the ground a lot.  Pick day for Foster and Co.  However, Matt Ryan has been on fire the last three weeks.  I like Atlanta, Foster can only do so much.  Falcons 30-20

NY Jets vs. Washington - Roy Helu showed major improvements last week on the ground and is now the starter in Washington.  This is a must win for the Jets, seeing as the Steelers will probably beat the Bengals, they could gain a game in the Wild Card race.  Jets 28-21

Indianapolis vs. New England - Colts would be out of their mind to bring Manning back this season.  Take your losses and move on.  They stand no chance against the Patriots this week.  Look for Brady to have an absolute field day with Welker and Gronkowski.  34-13

Oakland vs. Miami - Miami has shown signs of improvement in the last few weeks, still Oakland has improved and Palmer appears to be settling in.  Oakland needs to win to keep their edge in the west.  Oakland 20-10

Denver vs. Minnesota - AP is out again this week, which means they will have to resort to Toby Gerhart at the RB position.  I picked against him last week and he proved me wrong,  good for you Tebow.  Broncos 20-17

Tennessee vs. Buffalo - Buffalo has not been what they were at the beginning of the season.  Very unlikely either of these teams will be in the playoffs seeing how the Wild Card is pretty much locked between three teams.  Who wants the better draft pick?  Buffalo 27-21

Kansas City vs. Chicago - No Cutler, struggling on offense with Matt Forte, confusing days for the Bears.  KC is just horrid and stands no chance with Palko at the helm.  Bears 17-13

Baltimore vs. Cleveland - Interesting to see how Hillis will fair against the Ravens, last year in the first meeting he ran for 144 and two touchdowns. Still wont matter, Baltimore will show some toughness and lock the Browns down.  Ravens 24-10

Dallas vs. Arizona - Dallas is playing great football right now.  Look for them to continue this against the Cards.  Beanie wells wont be having the type of day he had last week.  Romo and Co. 29-17

Green Bay vs. NY Giants - Packers need to get out of this game with a win.  The only questionable game would be against the Lions.  Eli and the Giants need to figure out their running game and get back on track.  Wont happen this week though.  Pack stays golden.  35-20

St. Louis vs. San Francisco - 49ers all day in this one.  49ers 27-10

Detroit vs. New Orleans - Game of the Week in the NFL.  Look for Drew Brees to have a big game against the Detroit defense.  Love how the Saints are playing lately, not so much the Lions.  Saints 30-17

Enjoy your football sunday!

PJG

Buckeyes Land Meyer

The next best thing.  Urban Meyer.  You know its extremely rare for very distinguished college coaches to jump ship and go from one major FBS program to another.  However, this is a huge hire for OSU and that football program.  Let me start off with some of the speculation I had been hearing after talking with a few individuals the past couple weeks surrounding the topic of Meyer.  It was clear, that Tim Tebow and the Florida Gators were Meyer's pride and joy and those two National Championships where the best years of his coaching legacy.  Suddenly Meyer announces his thought to retire because of health issues and wanting to spend more time with his family.  Here we are now, a year later and we are seeing one of the best coaches in CFB return to one of the most demanding college football programs in the country.  Ironic, some individuals actually believe Meyer wanted to get out of Florida because some of his best players were departing The Swamp.  

Regardless, here we are at the tail end of the 2011 CFB season and Coach Meyer has decided to get back into the saddle as the new head coach of the scarlet and gray.  Returning to his home state of Ohio and where he first started coaching back in the 80's is seemingly a dream job for any big time coach.  It is going to be interesting to take a note to all of the recruit's who decide to maybe alter their decisions solely because of this coaching change.  Meyer is very capable of bringing in the best of the best.  10 of the 20 Michigan Wolverine recruits hail from the state of Ohio.  Watch out, Michigan.  

So how long until he wins?  The answer is right away.  This Buckeye team has gone through a lot in the last eight months with the scandals and losing some of their best players.  However, with a year under their belt without former QB T. Pryor, look for B. Miller to make a splash in 2012.  Michigan State will return next season as a very hard team to beat in the Big 10.  Michigan is continuing to improve and there are other teams like Iowa and Nebraska who are always tough competition in the conference.   I am not saying Meyer will win the BCS next year, no.  I think the Buckeyes have a good chance to win the conference and get a BCS bowl game appearance.  

Meyer is going to bring in some of the best coaches in America to help lead the Buckeyes back to the promise land and if anyone is capable of doing it, its this man.  It will be an interesting story to follow over the next few months and looking at the staff he puts together and what recruits decide to sign on the line to come play in the Horseshoe.  

NFL Power Rankings Week 13 - Top 10

NFL Power Rankings Week 13 

1. Packers - No change here, the Packers continue to surge and that defense is improving week by week.  Can you say undefeated season?

2. Steelers - The lers play down to their opponent.  Rough week in KC, lets hope the status of Troy gradually gets better throughout the week.  The defense goes as he goes.  

3. Saints - Dont sleep on the Saints.  This team is the only team in the NFC who can knock off the Pack from going undefeated.  Drew Brees is having a career year, don't forget about that guy down in on Bourbon Street. 

4. Ravens - Yeah, I know some of you may not like their placement right now but guess what; all the teams above have way better offensive fire power and they say defense wins championships, but if the Ravens are going to go the distance, they need to find a way to start putting up more points.  

5. Patriots - Offense, offense, offense.  Pretty much defines the Pats and the onslaught they had against the Birds.  Big problem, defense.  You can't give up 400 yards passing, especially when their names not Drew or Aaron.

6. 49ers - Tough loss last week to the Ravens and their offensive line just got eaten up by the purple and black.  This has been a great year for the 49ers and they are about to clinch their first division title since '02.  Hats off to them, but the real favorites in the NFC are above.  

7. Houston - Good win last week for Houston.  As I said in my prediction for the South, they will win and actually if the playoffs started today, Texans would have home field through the playoffs.  Ironic.

8. Falcons - Matt Ryan is finally back to old form.  Solid performances in the last few weeks have jolted the Falcons back up to the top 10 in the PR.  

9. Cowboys - Jerry Jones is finally walking around with a smile on his face.  Tony Romo and Co. have been impressive the last few weeks.  Robinson continues to surge as the new go to guy in Texas, their running game has no signs of slowing down either.  

10.  Oakland - Picked the Chargers to come back and win the division in Week 17, does not look like that is going to happen.  Oakland controls their own destiny and looks like they are going to win the division.  Bad pick by me.  

AFC Playoff Projections

It's been an exciting season of NFL football and we're coming down to the last five weeks of the regular season.  As we look ahead to the remaining games we can start to get a gage of the 2011 AFC Playoff Picture.

Heres my projections for the AFC.


AFC North - Baltimore Ravens.  Few questionable losses in my book this season for the Ravens and Flacco's performance has been generally mediocre this season.  The defense is in my opinion the best in the league, after watching them against the 49ers on Thanksgiving Day they will definitely move up in my PR for next week.  The thing that obviously stands out for the Ravens is their season sweep of the Pittsburgh Steelers.  The Ravens will win the AFC North.

AFC East - New England Patriots.  I look for the Patriots to seemingly run the table the rest of the regular season.  Lets face it, their Week 3 collapse in the game vs. Buffalo was a joke.  Brady threw more picks in that game than he ever has in his career.  They were in close games with the Steelers and Giants, just could not pull it out.  They finish the year with three road games vs. Philadelphia, Washington and Denver.  They face Indianapolis, Miami and Buffalo at home.  Buffalo is falling off the map and look for Brady to seek revenge against the Bills.  They win the AFC East and clinch home field.

AFC  South - Houston is 7-3 and 3-0 in the division.  I know they lost Matt Shaub but the AFC South is all but locked up for the Texans.  They can ride Arian Foster to the playoffs but don't expect much after that.  The rest of the AFC South outside of Houston has a combined 8-22 record.  Jacksonville, Tennessee and winless Indy remain.  Tennessee is 5-5 and has the best shot but even so, don't look for the south to have any the division winner make it out of the first round of the playoffs.  Houston wins AFC South.

AFC West - What a mess.  This is hard to call.  A wide open division that could easily have a first place swing in two weeks.  If McFadden comes back and Bush continues to produce I like Oakland to finish 9-6.  Denver has been impressive as of late with their outstanding defensive effort.  This just is not the year for the Broncos and with all the media surrounding Tim Tebow.  They have a tough remaining schedule with games against New England, Chicago and San Diego who they will face this week.  San Diego has been disappointing and thats all there is to it.  The Chargers have favorable games the next three weeks against Denver, Jacksonville and Buffalo before heading to Baltimore, Detroit and Oakland.  I would say its safe to say the AFC West winner will be determined Week 17 against the Raiders. I know the Chargers are 4-6 but they should be 5-5.  It's tough, but I think that San Diego will turn it around and end up edging Oakland at the end of the year.  San Diego wins Week 17 and clinches AFC West.


Wild Card - Pittsburgh Steelers.  Cincinnati Bengals.

Steelers - Despite their loses to the Ravens.  Hats off to them for their performance to this point with the amount of injuries they have had to deal with. So they lost twice to the Ravens, so what. Tomlin has his troops geared up and motivated every week to come out and play.  They should not of lost the second game to the Ravens but their defensive collapse is going to make it hard for the Steelers to have a chance at the Division Title.  This is not a bias pick with sending the Steelers to the Superbowl.  Come play off time the Steelers are extremely hard to beat.  You have a relentless QB, solid defense and a crew of young playmakers in Wallace, Mendenhall, Brown, Sanders and Cotchery.

Bengals - What a start for rookie QB Andy Dalton.  This is what the Bengals needed out of Carson Palmer for years but they never got the production and their defense was quite stagnant.  I think the Bengals are going to fight off the Jets for the final Wild Card spot.  The Jets have three games coming up they should win which would put them at 8-5 and the Bengals still have to face the Steelers and Ravens again.  This is going to be a tight race coming to the end.  I am giving the edge to the Bengals.  However, don't expect them to make it far because they are going to end up playing Tom Brady at Gillette first round and we all know how the Patriots play at home in the playoffs.  Good comeback season though.


AFC Championship Game - Steelers vs. Baltimore.  AFC Champion - Pittsburgh Steelers.

No way Pittsburgh loses to Baltimore three times in one year.  The Steelers are likely going to have to go through New England to get to see the Ravens in the AFC Championship game but I don't see that being too much of a struggle.  It will be a good game but I think that the Steelers run game will wear down that Pats defense who is yet to shine this season.  Thats the downfall of the Patriots which is why, unless it improves, won't be making it to Indianapolis this February.

Steelers will beat Baltimore in this game for one reason; the QB Matchup.  Flacco does not even compare to Ben and seemingly never will. The Steelers have way to many playmakers on offense and by Week 18 the veteran Ravens defense won't be able to hang with the young guns of Pittsburgh.

Look for the NFC Playoff Projections this coming week.

PJG