Who's the bigger A-hole?

In the first clip is DREAM lightweight champion Shinya Aoki...



And in the second clip is UFC lightweight contender Diego Sanchez, who recently got sent through a meat grinder by BJ Penn. Wait for the end as he receives the award...



Let the voting begin.

-Bess

NFL game on Christmas

Trap game in Vegas...Titans win and cover, keep playoff hopes alive.

Titans (-2.5) over Chargers
Under (47.5)

-Bess

Golf Channel's Brutal Photoshop Job

I saw this banner rollover ad on ESPN this morning and it caught my eye, not because it was cool, but for a couple other reasons:

A) The Golf Channel went with Phil Mickelson instead of Tiger Woods
B) Phil's follow through didn't look right.

As a lefty golfer, his top hand would be his right hand. In this picture, his left hand is his top hand. And his follow through would lead the club across the right side of his body, meaning it would be in front of him in the photo from this angle; here, it's across his left side.

Clearly, this is a terrible photoshop job by the agency handling The Golf Channel's online advertising. What a travesty. How does someone not stop that from launching?

Merry Christmas.

-Bess

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!

From The Sports Brief!


Keefe's Best Movies of the Decade (Non-Comedy/Horror) Coming Soon...

Jimmy the Greek's Week 15 Picks

I'm a basketcase right now. Three weeks left and I was in third place, down three to the leader in my dad's office pool. Payout is a couple grand to first place, so winning this thing would be a nice little payout. Which means I'm overthinking every freakin pick I make. The result? I swung and missed on both the Colts and Saints so far this week. And the lead is up to four. As for the rest of the week, here are the picks:

Bills (+6.5) over Patriots
This will be a grinder of a game. The Bills have an atrocious run defense, but with Ty Warren and Vince Wilfork out, Fred Jackson and Buffalo's run offense should find some seams. Pats win, but it'll be a 20-16 type of affair.

Rams (+10.5) over Texans
I'm going Rams here simply because everyone expects the Texans to blow them out. Steven Jackson is playing, and I'm going with the home team getting the points. Houston has a feeling of dropping a bomb when they shouldn't, and I'm facing my buddy Kevin in week 2 of our two-week fantasy playoffs; he has Schaub and Johnson going. F him.

Dolphins (+3.5) over Titans
VY was a GTD and the Dolphins are just as motivated as their opponent this week. I love the Dolphins style of football. Physical, they can run the ball, and Chad Henne is limiting his mistakes. The Titans have been on a nice roll, but they dug themselves too big of a hole and the end of the year schedule is a grind. It will catch up, starting today.

Cardinals (-10.5) over Lions
Bounce back game for Arizona. Fitzgerald is playing. Culpepper starting for the Lions. Gross.

Falcons (+4.5) over Jets
Matt Ryan and Michael Turner are starting for the Falcons. Sanchize returns, but from injury; how will that affect him? Atlanta was eliminated from playoff contention last night, and I like a team playing for pride today. After today, it'll be the Pats and Dolphins left in the AFC East.

Chiefs (-2.5) over Browns
Another team that I think makes a pride statement. They've struggled this year despite high expectations with the arrival of Matt Cassel. Look for Cassel to find his stride with the returning Dwayne Bowe, and Jamal Charles to run rampant.

Broncos (-13.5) over Raiders
I don't even remember who is starting for the Raiders at QB today. That's how bad it is. And I have Marshall going against Kevin. I'm hoping he breaks his own record.

Bengals (+6.5) over Chargers
Never bet against an emotionally charged team. OchoCinco will explode.

Eagles (-8.5) over 49ers
West coast team playing on the East coast and dealing with the remnants of a blizzard? Classic Philly style game with a big play or two mixed in. 27-17 Eagles.

Packers (+0.5) over Steelers
Green Bay is rolling, and Palamalu isn't playing. Rodgers to Jennings (I have Jennings) all day baby!!! Maybe? Please?

Seahawks (-7.5) over Bucs
East coast team playing in the upper northwest? Check that, a really bad east coast team playing in the upper northwest? Hasselbeck will light it up today.

Bears (+10.5) over Ravens
If this was a 9.5 point spread, I'd take Baltimore at home. 24-14 Ravens.

Vikings (-7.5) over Panthers
Panthers may not score a touchdown tonight against that run defense, and Matt Moore is a bad quarterback. Let's go Percy Harvin! And I'm hoping AP gets lost on his way to the field, Kevin has him going.

Giants (-3.5) over Redskins
I like the Giants here to win on the big stage. Their backs are against the wall, especially after Dallas beat the previously undefeated Saints last night. Tom Coughlin will have his squad ready to go, and I think the Redskins recent run of good play is an aberration. They beat a bad Raiders team last week.

Last week: 8-8
Overall: 114-94

-Bess

Keefe's Pick 3 for Week 15 & Strikeforce

Saints (-7) over Cowboys
Eagles (-8.5) over 49ers
Seahawks (-6.5) over Buccaneers

Last week: 3-0
Overall: 23-16

Strikeforce Saturday Night

Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza over Matt Lindland
Gilbert Melendez over Josh Thompson
Cung Le over Scott Smith

Last Week UFC 107: 3-0
Overall: 11-4


RIP- Chris Henry- what a sad and tragic story. The guy had cleaned his life up, and he was only 26, father of 3. How do the Bengals respond to a fallen friend and teammate?


-Keefe

Best Movies of the Decade: Part 2: Horror

10. The Descent (2005)
Pretty unique horror film, which is refreshing considering the majority of the movies in this genre the past decade have all been re-makes. If you suffer from claustrophobia, this movie will freak you out. There are also bat- like cave people mixed in as well.

9. From Hell (2001)
Great Jack the Ripper story, starring Johnny Depp as Inspector Frederick Abberline. Since they really don't know the true killer, the film makes it's call, and I think it's convincing.

8. Shaun of the Dead (2004)
This horror-comedy will be considered a horror for the purpose of the "Best of the Decade" here on The Sports Brief. Great twist on the countless zombie films.

7. Feast (2005)
Feast was the winner on that Project Greenlight show awhile back with Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. They grabbed a director and then chose from a bunch of scripts. It was real entertaining, and had a heck of a concept... people trapped in a deserted bar with a creature outside. Ok the idea isn't original but the movie was.

6. Saw II (2005)
Maybe not as scary as it's original, but definitely creepy and perhaps a better story. Donnie Wahlberg is man, however Jigsaw doesn't agree.

5. Dawn of the Dead (2004)
Remakes can be good, most can be bad, some can be great. This remake, re-imagination of George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead, is fantastic. It modernizes the original and never lets up from beginning to disturbing end.

4. Saw (2004)
Just when you thought legendary Horror Villains were a thing of the past, Leatherface, Freddy Krueger, Jason, etc... then Saw comes along with Jigsaw and their 5 sequels. There will be blood... and it's not involving Daniel Day Lewis.

3. The Ring (2002)
Really, really scary. Let's move on.

2. American Psycho (2000)
What an unreal story. It leaves you with a lot of questions at the end. Christian Bale has one of his best performances as Patrick Bateman, who is just out of his mind. Not sure if it's defined as a true horror movie, but why not.

1. The Devil's Rejects (2005)
One of my favorite horror movies of all time. This is the sequel to Rob Zombie's first film House of 1000 Corpses. It follows the Fire Fly family as they are being chased down by the cops and hired bounty hunters played by the extremely bad ass Danny Trejo and Diamond Dallas Page. This movie is not for the easily queasy.

Honorable Mention:
The Strangers (2008), House of 1000 Corpses (2003), Final Destination (2000), Secret Window (2004), Hide & Seek (2005), Wolf Creek (2005), Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003), Hostel (2005), Wrong Turn (2003), Open Water (2003), Scream 3 (2000).

-Keefe

Best Movies of the Decade: Part 1: Comedy

With the early 2000s coming to a close, what better time to compile "Best of the Decade" lists. Rather than do teams, athletes, or even games, which a normal sports blog would do, I'm going to break down the best films of the past 10 years.

Part 1 will be Comedy; Part 2- Horror; Part 3... non comedy/horror. If the lists are as big a hit as I expect them to be I may even make more in the next couple of weeks.

"Best Movies of the Decade" will include a Top 10 as well as honorable mentions. Feel free to leave comments below, calling me an idiot, agreeing with me, and or giving your list. On to the funny...

10. Meet the Parents (2000)
Just a classic at this point with so many great lines. "That smell is our shit Bob, Focker flushed the toilet in the den last night." The sequel wasn't as good in my mind.

9. Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (2006)
"Give me a smile pussycat." -Borat talking to a feminist group.

8. Best in Show (2000)
If you're a dog person you'll like this even more, but you don't have to be. From the people who brought you Spinal Tap and Waiting for Guffman it's a must see.

7. 40 Year Old Virgin (2005)
One of the best supporting casts in a comedy out there. The whole crew at Smart Tech is better than Steve Carell who plays a solid straight man in this.

6. Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgandy (2004)
Maybe the most quotable movie on the list along with the most quotable voice. "The human torch was denied a bank loan..."

5. The Hangover (2009)
Fantastic. A ridiculous soundtrack too. Out on DVD today!

4. Superbad (2007)
Nearly a decade before Superbad there was American Pie as the cutting edge high school movie. This one raises the bar and really introduced Michael Cera to the non- Arrested Development audience.

3. Made (2001)
If you missed this one make sure you see it. Written and directed by Jon Favreau, starring him and Vince Vaughn it's like bizarro Swingers. Vince is not smooth... at all, and it may be better than any other movie with both of these guys in it.

2. Wedding Crashers (2005)
It may be a little long and a little too cheesy in some parts, but there are still plenty of laugh out loud moments. Bradley Coooper's asshole role has taken on a new appreciation following The Hangover.

1. Old School (2003)
I'm pretty sure this would be in the top spot for a list of the Top Comedy films of the last 10-20-30-40 years. It's all good. Even a cameo by Craig Kilborn! Feel free to "Bring your Green Hat!"

Honorable Mentions:
Step Brothers (2008), Bad Santa (2003), Team America: World Police (2004), Grandma's Boy (2006), Mean Girls (2004), Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back (2001), Super Troopers (2001), Strange Wilderness (2006), Pineapple Express (2008), Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008).


-Keefe

Coming next, Part 2: Horror

Besse's UFC 107 picks

Several months ago, tonight was a night we couldn't wait for. We were finally going to see Quinton "Rampage" Jackson square off against Rashad Evans after some of the most intense sh*t talking this sport has seen. And TUF10 was going to get us even more jacked up for the fight. Unfortunately, "Rampage" got cast as the old Mr. T in the new "A-team" flick - with Liam Neeson, who's a badass, and Bradley Cooper, who was the man in "The Hangover". According to Dana White and "Rampage" himself, he'll return soon to settle the score.

But instead of that being tonight's main event, we get a lightweight title fight between BJ Penn and Diego Sanchez. Penn is uber talented at lightweight, and Sanchez is maniacal. I can't help but think part of the antics Sanchez displays are merely an act, but good lord this dude is awkward. I just don't see anyone beating Penn at lightweight. I thought Florian had a chance, but his brother is retarded and developed the worst gameplan in the history of MMA. And instead of holding Keith culpable, Ken-Flo dumps one of the best trainers in the game, Mark Dellagrotte, so he can go hang on GSP's nuts a little more with Firas up at Tri-Star. Here are my picks for the three main fights tonight...

BJ Penn defeats Diego Sanchez via submission (rear-naked choke) in the 3rd round
Frank Mir defeats Chieck Kongo via submission (kimura) in the 1st round
Kenny Florian defeats Clay Guida via decision

-Bess

World's Strongest Man wins MMA debut

Well there wasn't much in terms of technique, but the power and brute force displayed by Mariusz Pudzianowski last night was stunning. I have no idea what kind of "prospect" he can be in the MMA game, and with his advanced age, you have to use the term prospect lightly. But look, there's no question you won't find a man stronger than him. Not Brock Lesnar, not Bobby Lashley, not anyone. At the same time, I'm not sure his opponent landed a single punch during the short fight, nor threw anything even remotely threatening. He essentially beat the crap out of a moving punching bag. So let's not start calling for Fedor, but you have to enjoy the beatdown. Look at those leg kicks!!!

-Bess

Celtics Talk

I had to chance to talk with Brian Robb, one the head writers from Celticshub.com, a member of the TrueHoop Network, and someone recorded the whole thing and turned it into a podcast. So head on over to www.celticshub.com and give it a listen.

Some of the topics include: the injury to Marquis Daniels, the resurgence of Kevin Garnett, and a look around the Eastern Conference.

-Keefe

Keefe's Pick 3 for Week 14 & UFC 107

Ravens (-13.5) over Lions
Dolphins (+3) over Jaguars
Chargers (+3) over Cowboys

Last week: 1-2
Overall: 20-16

Week 14 starts tonight with Steelers at Browns.

Goodluck to all of you in fantasy football, whether it's week 1 of the playoffs or the final game of the regular season. After 13 weeks, 3 teams, I had an overall record of 21-18... 1 team in the playoffs, 1 with a chance, and 1 preparing for next August's draft.

UFC 107
B.J. Penn over Diego Sanchez (for Lightweight Championship)
Frank Mir over Cheick Kongo
Kenny Florian over Clay Guida

Overall MMA Record (since keeping track of Pick 3's): 8-4

Enjoy the fights and football this weekend!

-Keefe

Super Bowl Spot

Doritos has issued a challenge to those creative types to come up with a commercial that will air during the upcoming Super Bowl. Besse and I dropped the ball on this one, but you know who didn't? Friend of the Brief, David Storch and his crew from Sans Pants Productions, that's who. All you got to do is watch their proposed commercial, the number of views will help narrow the choices for the Cool Ranch people, before turning it over to a voting process in January.

I know you will all enjoy it. I sure as heck did... Sorry I couldn't upload the video right to the blog, you'll have to click on the link below. (It does take a second or two to load, after the counting thing click on the "skip intro" on the lower right. That should about do it.)

http://www.crashthesuperbowl.com/#/video/5015/

-Keefe

James Thompson had a feelin'...

...that it was going to be a good night, singing and dancing along to Alistair Overeem's entrance.



And then they had to fight...



The loss was embarrassing, but not as bad as being choked out by a standing guillotine. What a loser.

-Bess

Keefe's Pick 3 for Week 13 & TUF 10 Finale

NFL PICKS

Bengals (-13) over Lions
Seahawks (pick) over 49ers
Patriots (-3.5) over Dolphins

Last Week: 3-0
Overall: 19-14

The Ultimate Fighter Season 10 Finale:

Houston Alexander over Kimbo Slice
Matt Hamill over Jon Jones*
Roy Nelson over Brendan Schaub**

MMA Picks: 6-3

*Upset special, Hamill (+250)
**Fight is for UFC contract/ winner of Season 10.

-Keefe

Danny Green steamrolls Roy Jones Jr.

No, not that Danny Green. The guy from Australia, who knocked down RJJ with an overhand right, then absolutely blitzed him against the ropes and eventually forced the referee to step in and halt the assault. A potentially embarrassing end to what has otherwise been a legendary career. For an entire decade, RJJ was the face of boxing and one of the greatest pound for pound pugilists ever.

-Bess

NBA Grab Bag 2.0

The New Jersey Nets are 0-17. That ties the record for worst start in NBA history. They already fired head coach Lawrence Frank, next 5 games: vs. Dallas, vs. Char., @NY, @Chi., and vs. GS. They'll set the record at 18 and then have a couple of chances for a win, but don't count on it.

Celtics look old, but sit atop the division at 13-4, no other team in the Atlantic is .500. In fact the Eastern Conference (as of the last day in Nov.) have only 6 teams with winning records; Magic, Celtics, Cavs, Hawks, Heat, Bucks.

Speaking of the Bucks my boy Brandon Jennings has struggled a little bit lately as they have lost 4 in a row, where he has averaged just 14 points per game over than span. Season averages of 22.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 5.5 assists though for the overwhelming favorite for Rookie of the Year.

In what was supposed to be such a weak Rookie class, check out all the players averaging double figure points right now... Brandon Jennings, Tyreke Evans, Jonny Flynn, Marcus Thornton, Darren Collison, Stephen Curry, Omri Casspi, Terrence Williams... that's 8 with James Harden, Ty Lawson, and Chase Budinger not far behind. And don't forget the only sure thing in the draft, #1 pick Blake Griffin hasn't played a minute yet.

The Suns continue to surprise me, out to a 14-3 start and the only team that is unbeaten at home (6-0).

The Top 10 scorers in the NBA played a combined 9 seasons of college basketball... with 4 of those 9 belonging to Danny Granger. (Dwyane Wade went to Marquette for 3 years but was ineligible as a freshmen so I only credited him with 2 seasons.)

Closer look at the Top 10 scorers... Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Durant, and Chris Bosh were all one and done in college. LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Monta Ellis were drafted out of high school. Brandon Jennings went to Italy for a season. Dirk Nowitzki came over from Germany. Wade and Granger were the only 2 who played college basketball for at least 2 years.

Gerald Wallace is 3rd in the NBA in rebounding, 11.8 per game.

Allen Iverson retired? No he didn't. Did he?

Chris Paul is shooting 65.5% from 3... (19/29).

Chris Bosh has posted a double-double in 15 of his 18 games this year, making a push for a monster contract. With all the talk about LeBron and Wade, how about Bosh? 25.4-12.2 right now.

Alright that's all I got for now. Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving.

-Keefe

Quick thoughts on the Red Sox possibly trading for Halladay

I'm hearing that the package includes Clay Buchholz, Daniel Bard and Casey Kelly. I can certainly deal with sending Buchholz. I think he'll be a very good major league pitcher, but to me he's still unproven at the Major League level. I said to my buddy Kevin last night that last year in the ALDS, Buchholz didn't start a game. In fact if they went to Game 4, it's not a given he would have gotten the ball. But if the Sox had Halladay, where would he have fallen into their plans? Well, he would've started Game 1. Over Lester, over Beckett. Enough said on that front.

With Bard, I'm okay sending him as long as Theo has a plan for Papelbon. If they are going to give him the big dollars he wants, make the deal. He's a top-3 closer in baseball. I have Rivera and Joe Nathan giving him a run for his money. Or if they foresee another free agent closer they'll pursue given Papelbon leaves, then that's okay.

But what I'm not okay with is dealing Casey Kelly. I don't care about how good he is as a baseball player. Look at the kid's girlfriend. Absolute smokeshow. How can you send her to Toronto like that? It's ludicrous. Take a look and judge for yourself. If I'm Theo Epstein, I'm telling the Blue Jays to either find another top prospect or I force Kelly to break up with her and then sign the chick to a lifetime contract as a player wife.





What do you think?

-Bess

Jimmy the Greek's Thanksgiving Treat

I'm posting these having come upstairs from working out at 12:15pm and learning Stafford and Johnson were both playing. Unfortunately, my picks were locked. And I just watched some idiot Jordy Nelson fumble the opening kickoff, then moments later see Stafford AND Johnson hook up for a 7-0 lead. Fantastic.

Please note these spreads are slightly different from Keefe's, as they come from CBSSports.com.

Packers (-10.5) over Lions
I made this pick with the understanding that Stafford was not playing and Johnson was highly questionable with numerous injuries. Unfortunately, Jim Shwartz is as trustworthy as Eric Mangini.

Cowboys (-13.5) over Raiders
Barber could have a field day, same goes for Felix Jones. I think the Cowboys break out of a recent mini-funk on offense and bust one on Oakland. I'm convinced last week's win over the Bengals was an absolute fluke and Gradkowski's outing was an aberration.

Broncos (+6.5) over Giants
Players only meeting? Good enough for me. Plus I heard Tedy Bruschi on ESPN say the Broncos would rebound and win tonight. If Tedy Bruschi told me the Earth was flat, I would believe him.

Happy Thanksgiving.

-The Greek

Keefe's Pick 3 for Week 12

Going with the 3 Thanksgiving games this week for the Pick 3. So once again remember to have those fantasy lineups set, this time with 6 teams in action on Thursday.

Packers (-10) over Lions
Cowboys (-14) over Raiders
Broncos (+7) over Giants

Last Week: 1-2
Overall: 16-14

*MMA record for November (6-3)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING FROM ALL OF US AT THE SPORTS BRIEF!

The Sports Brief's MMA Rankings 11/23/09

There has been 3 big MMA events since our last rankings, Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers; UFC 105: Couture vs. Vera; and UFC 106: Ortiz vs. Griffin II. Needless to say the rankings have changed since last month. Coming up in December we have The Ultimate Fighter Finale, UFC 107: Penn vs. Sanchez, Strikeforce: Thompson vs. Melendez, WEC 45, and another SENGOKU event. But before all that let's take a look at the rankings heading into the last month of 2009.

Heavyweight

1. Fedor Emelianko

2. Brock Lesnar

3. Josh Barnett

4. Frank Mir

5. Antonio Rodrigo Noguiera

6. Randy Couture

7. Cain Velasquez

8. Shane Carwin

9. Alistair Overeem

10. Brett Rogers

Junior Dos Santos, Cheick Kongo, Gabe Gonzaga, Fabricio Werdum, Ben Rothwell

Light Heavyweight

1. Lyoto Machida

2. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua

3. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson

4. Anderson Silva

5. Rashad Evans

6. Forrest Griffin

7. Gegard Mousasi

8. Thiago Silva

9. Antonio Rogerio Noguirea

10. Randy Couture

Luiz Cane, Rich Franklin, Keith Jardine, Tito Ortiz, Babalu Sobral

Middleweight

1. Anderson Silva

2. Dan Henderson

3. Vitor Belfort

4. Nate Marquardt

5. Robbie Lawler

6. Yoshihiro Akiyama

7. Jake Shields

8. Michael Bisping

9. Chael Sonnen

10. Yushin Okami

Demian Maia, Jason “Mayhem” Miller, Ronaldo Souza, Nick Diaz, Wanderlei Silva

Welterweight

1. Georges St. Pierre

2. Jake Shields

3. Jon Fitch

4. Thiago Alves

5. Josh Koscheck

6. Paul Daley

7. Martin Kampmann

8. Matt Hughes

9. Dan Hardy

10. Mike Swick

Paulo Thiago, Marius Zaromskis, Jay Hieron, Nick Thompson, Carlos Condit

Lightweight

1. B.J. Penn

2. Shinya Aoki

3. Eddie Alverez

4. Joachim Hansen

5. Tatsuya Kawajiri

6. Kenny Florian

7. Diego Sanchez

8. Frankie Edgar

9. Gilbert Melendez

10. JZ Cavalcante

Gray Maynard, Mizuto Hirota, Satoru Kitoaka, Sean Sherk, Josh Thomson

Jimmy the Greek's Week 11 picks

Even though the Thursday night game has come and gone, I'll still include that here so you saw my rationale. Let's get to it...

Panthers (-3.5) over Dolphins
Ronnie Brown is out, and Carolina is rolling. If Brown was playing, you would have seen probably the two most dynamic rushing offenses in football, but the Panthers have the edge here. And I think that gives them a definitive edge.

Packers (-6.5) over 49ers
Green Bay is home and coming off an impressive win over Dallas. San Fran looked good against Chicago, but Jay Cutler threw 5 picks. Aaron Rodgers won't do that. The Pack have the 4th best rushing defense, so they should contain Frank Gore and force Alex Smith to throw the football. Expect a 24-14 type win.

Jaguars (-8.5) over Bills
Sometimes a coaching change will inspire a football time. Sometimes having Ryan Fitzpatrick as your quarterback sucks. The latter will be the case here. MJD3 will run wild today.

Redskins (+11.5) over Dallas
Divisional game here, and Washington comes off a big win over Denver while Dallas comes off the aforementioned loss at Green Bay. Dallas wins, but Washington will hang tough and probably register a late FG or TD to cover.

Falcons (+6.5) over Giants
Both teams desperately need a win here. Michael Turner is out, and Matt Ryan will need to step up with him gone. The Giants have key injuries on defense, and I think that's why Atlanta covers. But I do think the Giants will have success running the football, and coming off a bye week, get the win.

Seahawks (+10.5) over Vikings
Vikings are 23rd in pass defense. Hasselbeck and Houshmanzadeh are hitting their stride. And Justin Forsett could find success running some draw plays to keep the defense honest. I wouldn't be surprised if we see an upset here.

Steelers (-9.5) over Chiefs
Palomalu may be out, but the Chiefs don't have Dwayne Bowe for the next four weeks. Pitt is 1st in the league in rushing defense, and Kansas City is ranked 26th and 25th in rushing and passing defense respectively. Look for Pitt to roll here.

Saints (-11.5) over Bucs
Part of me wants to go with the surging, pesky Buccaneers. But the other part of me realizes the Saints can go off at any time. I think Brees and the Saints offense hits its stride today and rolls, despite some key injuries this week. They'll set up a huge showdown with the Pats on Monday night next week.

Detroit (-3.5) over Browns
Gus Johnson game of the week? Has to be.

Colts (+.5) over Ravens
It's basically a pick 'em, but how is Indy getting the half point in case of a tie? The sexy pick this week is Baltimore pulling the upset, but that defense has been inconsistent and shaky at best this year. I think Peyton rolls.

Cardinals (-8.5) over Rams
Arizona's offense in a dome, on the road? I'll take it. The Cardinals are 4-0 away from home this season, and Kurt Warner returns to St. Louis. This offense could explode today.

Pats (-10.5) over Jets
This could be traumatic for the New York Jets. Even though the game is in Foxboro, it could be reminiscent of the Boston Massacre, this time with the Patriots issuing the fatal, devastating blows.

Chargers (-2.5) over Broncos
Chris Simms starting at quarterback is enough for me. Denver is spiraling at this point, and I don't think they recover this week. The 6-0 start was a nice story, but we had to know it would come to and end. We just never thought it would be this ugly.

Cincy (-9.5) over Raiders
Bruce Gradkowski takes over for the immortal Jamarcus Russel. Ouch. Chad OchoCinco promised Adam Schefter on Twitter this morning that he would carry the load and make sure Schefter's upset pick would NOT ring true. I believe him.

Eagles (-3.5) over Bears
I think Cutler folds under the national spotlight once again. And Philly needs a big win in the worst of ways. Mcnabb seems to like this position, and he'll deliver on the road.

Titans (+4.5) over Texans
A few weeks ago, this game looked gross. But all of a sudden Vince Young has the Titans at 3-6 and making people wonder. Chris Johnson, in the words of Gus Johnson, has running from the cops speed. The Texans come off a bye and Matt Schaub could have a field day against this defense. Should be explosive. I like Tennessee with the points.

Enjoy the games.

-The Greek

Karo Parisyan Out of UFC 106 & UFC

According to Dana White on twitter, "Karo Parisyan has f****d over the UFC, the fans and his opponent again!!! He will not be fighting saturday or ever again in the UFC!!"

There you go, Karo was expected to make his comeback to the octagon Saturday Night at UFC 106 in the Main Card against Dustin Hazelett. No word yet on if Hazelett will get another opponent or what pre-lim card will move to the Main Card. (Tough blow to the fans as the pre-lims air live and free on Spike TV, so the best one, perhaps Davis vs. Saunders now moves to ppv.)

In Parisyan's only fight of 2008 he was knocked out by Thiago Alves. He was then set to fight Yoshida at UFC 88 but pulled out right before the weigh-ins with a "back injury." He finally returned to in the cage at UFC 94 (Jan. '09) vs. Dong Hyun Kim and won barely in a split decision... which was overturned after getting busted for pain killers.

It's been a bumpy ride for Karo Parisyan, who is still a Top 20 welterweight in the world. He has career victories over Matt Serra, Nick Diaz, Nick Thompson, Ryo Chonan, Chris Lytle, Josh Burkman, Drew Fickett, and Dave Strasser in his 1st UFC fight back in 2003 less than a month after his 21st birthday. His only losses are to Alves, Diego Sanchez, Georges St. Pierre, and Sean Sherk (twice).

If Karo wants to fight, and it seems like a big if at this point, he would be a guy that Strikeforce would certainly target. He's only 27 years old and boosts an 18-5 record.

Karo Parisyan vs. Nick Diaz II perhaps? We shall see.

-Keefe

Keefe's Pick 3 for Week 11 & UFC 106

Keefe's Pick 3 is a perfect 6-0 in the past 2 weeks in the NFL, and 4-2 in MMA. Here's 6 more picks for the weekend. In fact let's get started with the Thursday Night Game. (HEADS UP get your Dolphins/Panthers in or out of your lineup... and if you have Ronnie Brown, I am sorry.)

Panthers (-3) over Dolphins
Lions (-3.5) over Browns
Patriots (-10.5) over Jets

Last Week: 3-0
Overall: 15-12

UFC 106
Tito Ortiz over Forrest Griffin
Josh Koscheck over Anthony Johnson
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira over Luis Cane

Last Week: 1-2
Overall: 4-2

Enjoy the fights and the football!

-Keefe

I liked Belicheck's decision...

"I thought we could make it. I don't know how we could not get a yard on that (play) but we didn't...We came out here to win." - Belicheck via @Trags on Twitter.

That's exactly why I liked Belicheck's play call on 4th and 1 at the NE 28 yard line. If they get a yard, the game is over. Done dada. And the Pats are sitting at 7-2, the Colts 8-1, and New England holding a tie-breaker for home field throughout the playoffs. And he's right, they should have gotten a yard there.

I like the call for a few reasons. He went for the kill. On the road against an undefeated Colts team with one of the best quarterbacks of our era, he tried to finish them off without giving Peyton a chance to win it. But I have to think that Belicheck saw the Jets lose today and figured at this point, it will be hard for the Patriots to lose the AFC East. They hold a 2-game lead over the Dolphins and have already beaten them (27-17 at home last week). The Patriots will contend for a Super Bowl, and he is showing confidence in his TEAM for the rest of the season, which is more important than showing confidence in his defense for one game that, in the grand scheme of things, isn't really that big of a deal.

Let's face it, it's not a guarantee that had the Pats won, the Colts would lose another game and/or the Pats will win out. Because in order to hit that tiebreaker, that's probably what would've needed to happen. And even if the game goes through Indy for the playoffs, I'm a fan of the Pats offense indoors. They dropped 34 points on the Colts tonight. And they can probably do it again. So relax everyone, the Pats are fine. If the Pats were tied for the division lead and on the bubble for a playoff spot, I think Belicheck punts. But they're not. They'll make the playoffs as the AFC East champs and he knows that. You should too.

-Bess

Brandon Jennings is Absurd

Last night Brandon Jennings dropped 55 points on the Warriors in a Bucks win. He shot 62% from the floor including 7/8 from 3. Jennings also added 5 rebounds and 5 assists. He's got a Bucks team, playing without Michael Redd, at 5-2 to start the year.

You think the Knicks (Jordan Hill), T-Wolves (Ricky Rubio debacle), and even Grizzlies (Hasheem Thabeet) would like to have their draft picks back. Minnesota drafted 2 point guards ahead of Jennings. Unbelievable.

Rather than dominating the PAC-10 and all of college basketball, Jennings went to Italy, where he struggled playing professional basketball against grown men. Well, he certainly got the most out of it, and was much more prepared than a year of college (See: Holiday, Jrue).

I am a huge Jennings fan, and the Knicks & T-Wolves will regret their picks for years to come.

-Keefe

Also UFC 105 is in the books. Randy Couture gets the win over Brandon Vera. Dan Hardy, shockingly earns a welterweight title shot following a decision victory over Mike Swick, and Michael Bisping beat Denis Kang.

Tito vs. Forrest II this Saturday!

Jimmy the Greek makes his return - Week 10 NFL picks

Sorry I've been missing lately...had a couple back-to-back busy weekends and couldn't get anything up. However, while I was gone I happened to win $300 in an office pool picking against the spread. I've still been winning, and I'm rolling into this week looking to keep it going. Hit a little roadbump on Thursday night, taking the Bears (+3.5), but I feel I can justifiably blame it on Jay Cutler throwing 5 picks, including 2 in the end zone. Loser. Here are the rest of the picks...

Dolphins (-9.5) over Bucs
Freeman makes his first start on the road, and I think he and the rest of his team will come back to Earth after an unbelievable upset over Green Bay. Miami is much, much better than this team.

Lions (+16.5) over Vikings
Minny will win comfortably, but this many points just scares me. All it takes is a late score to screw you over, and I feel like that will happen here. Detroit is still a threat to cover large spreads. Is that when you know you've hit a new low? When you're labeled as a team that's a threat to cover a large point spread in your favor?

Jaguars (+6.5) over Jets
A buddy of mine said last night the Jaguars are the best worst team in the NFL. Well spoken. MJD3 will slow down the blitzing of the Jets and Garrard will get some passes off. I don't know if they win, but they'll cover.

Saints (-13.5) over Rams
Blowout.

Broncos (-6.5) over Redskins
Denver rebounds against a struggling 'Skins team. Look for Brandon Marshall to have a big day, and the Broncos defense to step up and save this team from a losing streak.

Bengals (+6.5) over Steelers
Pitt wins this game at home, but Cincy threatens late until a Carson Palmer pick by Palomalu seals the deal. OchoCinco scores and Adam Schefter loves it.

Falcons (-1.5) over Panthers
Matt Ryan bounces back with a great game against Carolina. D'Angelo Williams is a little banged up and the Falcons secondary will pick off Delhomme twice.

Titans (-6.5) over Bills
Tennessee is rolling and will keep it going. Can they win out and sneak into the playoffs? Absolutely not.

Chiefs (+1.5) over Raiders
The Gus Johnson Game of the Week.

Packers (+2.5) over Cowboys
Green Bay bounces back and surprises a lot of people with a win over Dallas. Don't count out Aaron Rodgers. The kid is legit and will have a huge day. Hopefully to Greg Jennings.

Seahawks (+8.5) over Cardinals
Arizona wins comfortably through the air, but Hasselbeck and the Seahawks can score too. They'll keep it close.

Eagles (+2.5) over Chargers
Mcnabb and the Eagles bounce back. SD shouldn't have won last week, but NYG choked in the secondary. If Rivers didn't find Jackson in the back of the end zone, this wouldn't even be a thought.

Pats (+2.5) over Colts
Brady engineers a late TD drive, just moments after Manning engineered one of his own for a short lived lead. An all-time classic.

Ravens (-10.5) over Browns
This is awful.

This week: 0-1
Last week: 10-3
Overall: 74-56

-The Greek

Keefe's Pick 3 for Week 10

Finally did what I set out to do when I started (Week 2) and that's a 3-0 week. Also went 3-0 on the Strikeforce fights. Let's try and make it another 6-0 weekend between NFL Week 10 and UFC 105.

Bengals (+7) over Steelers
Patriots (+3) over Colts
Ravens (-11) over Ravens

UFC 105
Couture over Vera (decision)
Swick over Hardy (2nd round KO)
Kang over Bisping (1st round KO)

NFL Pick 3:
Last Week: 3-0
Overall: 12-12

-Keefe

Out onaliM's Daily Streak for the Cash Lock

There are more than a few matchups ESPN has given us that I would love to bite on today. Spain over Nigeria in the U-17 World Cup Semi looks promising, but rumor has it Nigeria is at home and is very tough to beat there. Bowling Green over Miami-OH is another attractive matchup, but BGSU's has a lowsy run defense and Miami has a solid run game. Both teams don't score a lot of points so I would think we'll see something very close.

I may be going against the grain with my pick today (with just 23% of the picks), but this game is as close to a lock as you can get without calling Tim Donaghy for a little help.

Cleveland is coming off a physical game last night with the Magic. Yes, we all know Lebron is on fire (averaging 30 pts/gm in the Cavs last 4), but so is DWade (who has dropped 40 in 2 of his last 3). El Heat arguably have the league's best pure scorer in Wade, and with the Cavs coming off a hard fought battle last night I suspect we will see Wade pick the tired Cleveland defense apart at home.

The Pick: Miami Heat over the Cleveland Cavs (Dwayne Wade over Lebron James)

Current Streak: 3

Out onaliM's Daily Streak for the Cash Lock

The guys in Bristol aren't giving us much to work with today: lots of European soccer, a Tiger Woods golf line, and some NHL pick 'ems. The one that stood out to me that looks too easy to be up there is a tennis match line:

ATP - BNP Paribas Masters (Andy Murray vs. James Blake): How many TOTAL GAMES will be PLAYED? 11:45 AM
20 Games or Fewer
21 Games or More

You have to be crazy not to take the over here. You can get to 21 games in 2 sets if there is a tie breaker. I checked out their rankings and Murray is currently #4 and Blake is #41, so you'd suspect Murray would make quick work of him. However, looking at Blake's history, he's had pretty good success against top ranked opponents and holding his serve. I suspect we'll see well over 21 total games in this match. Better get on this quick though, they stop taking picks on this match at 11:45am EST.

The pick: Andy Murray vs. James Blake (21 Games or More)

Keefe's 12 Favorite & Least Favorite NBA Players

Favorite:
1. Paul Pierce
2. Gilbert Arenas
3. Shawn Marion
4. Brandon Jennings
5. Deron Williams
6. O.J. Mayo
7. Dwyane Wade
8. Brandon Roy
9. Jason Kapono
10. Ray Allen
11. Caron Butler
12. Rudy Fernandez

Least Favorite:
1. Joakim Noah
2. J.J. Redick
3. Tyler Hansborough
4. Andersen Varejao
5. Andrew Bynum
6. Ben Wallace
7. Hedo Turkoglu
8. Robin Lopez
9. Oleksiy Pecherov
10. Luke Walton
11. Tony Allen
12. Derek Fisher*

*If he never played for the Lakers he would be no where near this list.

-Keefe

Keefe's Pick 3 for Week 9

Texans (+9) over Colts
Seahawks (-10) over Lions
Bengals (+3) over Ravens

Last week: 2-1
Overall: 9-12

-Keefe

I'll also take Gegard Mousasi, Jake Shields, and Fedor Emelianenko, but you wouldn't win squt with those picks because they are all heavy favorites. If you want an underdog this weekend try Kevin Randleman (+160) vs. Stanislav Nedkov at SENGOKU 11 in Japan. Goodluck!

The Sports Brief's MMA Rankings (11-5-09)

A pair of big free fight weekends coming up here in November. This Saturday CBS will be showing their Strikeforce event featuring the #1 Heavyweight in the world Fedor vs. the #10 Heavyweight (according to The Sports Brief) Brett Rogers. Also on the card Jakes Shields fights Jason "Mayhem" Miller at middleweight and Gegard Mousasi battles Sokoju. (You'll find 3 out of those 4 names below.)

And then a week from Saturday you get UFC 105 from Manchester, England, Live and Free... (well tape delayed and free) on Spike TV. Randy Couture vs. Brandon Vera at Light Heavyweight is the headliner, but it also features Mike Swick vs. Dan Hardy, and Michael Bisping vs. Denis Kang.

These rankings are sure to change after those two cards are complete, but let's take a look at where we stand right now.

MMA RANKINGS

Heavyweight

1. Fedor Emelianko

2. Brock Lesnar

3. Josh Barnett

4. Frank Mir

5. Antonio Rodrigo Noguiera

6. Randy Couture

7. Cain Velasquez

8. Shane Carwin

9. Alistair Overeem

10. Brett Rogers

Junior Dos Santos, Cheik Kongo, Gabe Gonzaga, Ben Rothwell, Heath Herring

Light Heavyweight

1. Lyoto Machida

2. Quentin “Rampage” Jackson

3. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua

4. Anderson Silva

5. Rashad Evans

6. Forrest Griffin

7. Gegard Mousasi

8. Luiz Cane

9. Thiago Silva

10. Babalu Sobral

Rich Franklin, Keith Jardine, Brandon Vera, Antonio Rogerio Noguirea, Tito Ortiz

Middleweight

1. Anderson Silva

2. Dan Henderson

3. Vitor Belfort

4. Nate Marquardt

5. Robbie Lawler

6. Jorge Santiago

7. Yoshihiro Akiyama

8. Chael Sonnen

9. Yushin Okami

10. Demian Maia

Michael Bisping, Jason “Mayhem” Miller, Denis Kang, Ronaldo Souza, Nick Diaz

Welterweight

1. Georges St. Pierre

2. Jake Shields

3. Jon Fitch

4. Thiago Alves

5. Josh Koscheck

6. Mike Swick

7. Paul Daley

8. Martin Kampmann

9. Matt Hughes

10. Paulo Thiago

Marius Zaromskis, Jay Hieron, Nick Thompson, Dan Hardy, Carlos Condit

Lightweight

1. B.J. Penn

2. Shinya Aoki

3. Eddie Alverez

4. Joachim Hansen

5. Tatsuya Kawajiri

6. Kenny Florian

7. Diego Sanchez

8. Frankie Edgar

9. Gilbert Melendez

10. JZ Cavalcante

Gray Maynard, Mizuto Hirota, Satoru Kitoaka, Sean Sherk, Josh Thomson

-Besse & Keefe

Jack Chop!

You may have already seen this, but it's a classic. Jack-Chop!

-Keefe