Ndamukong Suh: Aggressive or Just Plain Dirty

Yesterday Ndamukong Suh was kicked out of the game between the Lions and Packers in the third quarter after he stomped on a Packers offensive lineman while he was down. There is no doubt this will lead to a fine of some sorts and if so this would be the fourth time in his career already that he has been fined. 

A lot of players have accused him of being dirty while commentators and football analysts have just said he is an aggressive player. At this point, when you repeatedly smash someone's head into the ground and then stomp on their arm, that means you are dirty. Suh claims he lost balance but if you clearly watch the replay he knew what he was doing. In the bigger picture the penalty that Suh cost led the Packers to a touchdown instead of the field-goal that they were getting ready kicked.

The question has to be asked now and that is, is Suh helping the Lions or is he hurting them? There is no doubt that he is very talented and is becoming a very feared player in the league, but if he can't keep his emotions in check then is he doing more damage then good. Suh is not the only Lions player thats been accused of being dirty. Its been reported Nick Fairley is dirty as well. 

The Lions are on the verge of a meltdown between Stafford's inconsistent play and poor decision and defensive players being dirty. If the Lions are to make the playoffs they have to get it together and win the next few games. Right now Suh is the big story but the bigger story is going to be if the Lions miss the playoffs because of all of this. 

2011 NFL Week 12 Predictions

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. I hope you all enjoy the food, the friends and family you have and hope you enjoy some football.

Green Bay Packers (10-0) at Detroit Lions (7-3)

Finally the Lions have made Thanksgiving football mean sometime again. The Packers maybe undefeated but if they are going to lose a game it's going to be this one. I believe that because this is in Detroit that the crowd and the atmosphere will lead the Lions to victory and make this Thanksgiving a special one for all their fans. The Lions have nothing to lose in this game where the pressure is on the Packers. Lions win a tightly contested game. 

San Francisco 49ers (9-1) at Baltimore Ravens (7-3)

This is going to be a true test for the 49ers and I believe with the momentum they have had they will pass. The Ravens defense is banged up and the offense has been very inconsistent. I believe the 49ers keep their winning streak going and blow a road for themselves right into the playoffs.

These are the two big marquee games this week and I will leave you with a little less this week so you can enjoy your holidays. Here are the odds from Vegas.com

National Football League
Time		Caesars- Hilton	MGM- Mirage	Stations
Nov. 24	Green Bay
9:30 a.m	at Detroit
Favorite		GNB	GNB	GNB
Point spread		-6½	-6½	-6½
Total		56o/u	55½o/u	56½o/u
Total money line		-110	-110	-110
Nov. 24	Miami
1:15 p.m.	at Dallas
Favorite		DAL	DAL	DAL
Point spread		-7	-7	-7
Total		45o/u	44½o/u	44½o/u
Total money line		-110	-110	-110
Nov. 24	San Francisco
5:20 p.m.	at Baltimore
Favorite		BAL	BAL	BAL
Point spread		-3½	-3½	-3½
Total		40o/u	40o/u	39o/u
Total money line		-110	-110	-110
Nov. 27	Arizona
10 a.m.	at St. Louis
Favorite				STL
Point spread				-3
Nov. 27	Buffalo
10 a.m.	at N.Y. Jets
Favorite		NYJ	NYJ	NYJ
Point spread		-9	-8½	-8½
Total		42o/u	42o/u	42o/u
Total money line		-110	-110	-110
Nov. 27	Cleveland
10 a.m.	at Cincinnati
Favorite		CIN	CIN	CIN
Point spread		-7½	-7	-7½
Total		37½o/u	37½o/u	37½o/u
Total money line		-110	-110	-110
Nov. 27	Houston
10 a.m.	at Jacksonville
Favorite		HOU	HOU	HOU
Point spread		-3½	-3½	-3
Total		37½o/u	37½o/u	37½o/u
Total money line		-110	-110	-110
Nov. 27	Carolina
10 a.m.	at Indianapolis
Favorite		CAR	CAR	CAR
Point spread		-3	-3½	-3
Total		45o/u	45o/u	45o/u
Total money line		-110	-110	-110
Nov. 27	Tampa Bay
10 a.m.	at Tennessee
Favorite		TEN	TEN	TEN
Point spread		-3	-3	-3
Total		43o/u	43o/u	43o/u
Total money line		-110	-110	-110
Nov. 27	Minnesota
10 a.m.	at Atlanta
Favorite		ATL	ATL	ATL
Point spread		-9½	-9½	-9½
Total		44½o/u	44½o/u	44½o/u
Total money line		-110	-110	-110
Nov. 27	Chicago
1:05 p.m.	at Oakland
Favorite		OAK	OAK	OAK
Point spread		-4½	-4½	-4½
Total		41½o/u	41½o/u	41½o/u
Total money line		-110	-110	-110
Nov. 27	Washington
1:05 p.m.	at Seattle
Favorite		SEA	SEA	SEA
Point spread		-4	-4	-4
Total		37o/u	37o/u	37o/u
Total money line		-110	-110	-110
Nov. 27	New England
1:15 p.m.	at Philadelphia
Favorite				NWE
Point spread				-3
Nov. 27	Denver
1:15 p.m.	at San Diego
Favorite		SDG	SDG	SDG
Point spread		-6	-6½	-6½
Total		42o/u	42½o/u	42o/u
Total money line		-110	-110	-110
Nov. 27	Pittsburgh
5:30 p.m.	at Kansas City
Favorite		PIT	PIT	PIT
Point spread		-10½	-10	-10½
Total		40o/u	40o/u	39o/u
Total money line		-110	-110	-110
Nov. 28	N.Y. Giants
5:35 p.m.	at New Orleans
Favorite		NOR	NOR	NOR
Point spread		-7	-7	-6½
Total		51o/u	50½o/u	51½o/u
Total money line		-110	-110	-110

2011 NFL Playoff Picture After Week 11

After week eleven some teams are sitting in playoff heaven. Some teams solidified their spots and others took themselves out so here is how it looks after this week.

NFC
1 Green Bay
2 San Francisco
3 New Orleans
4 Dallas
5 Detroit
6 Chicago

In the Hunt
7 Atlanta
8 NY Giants

AFC
1 New England
2 Baltimore
3 Houston 

4 Oakland
5 Pittsburgh
6 Cincinnati

As you can see the AFC picture looks a lot more clearer then the NFC. Both conferences are have their dominant teams but the AFC has shown more dominance this year. I believe the playoff picture wont change much over the next few weeks unless some upsets happen. Keep staying tuned for more.

Tony Stewart Wins 2011 Sprint Cup Championship

When people look back on this season 10 years from now they will always remember how competitive the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup season was. No one ran away with the championship this year and at the last race it came down to two men separated by three points. Carl Edwards led by three points and had the pole whereas Tony Stewart started 15th and had to fight his way to the lead. Stewart and his crew were warriors in the last race of the year. They made multiple pit stops early on to fix a hole in the grill. At one point Stewart was all the way back in 40th position.

This is Stewart's 3rd Cup Championship but his first as a car owner making him the second driver/owner to win a championship. The first man to do it was the late Alan Kuluwicki in 1992 driving the #7 Hooters car. Stewart never one a race before the chase but won four during the chase which gave him the momentum headed into Miami. He and Carl Edwards battled it out the entire race amongst each other and with other drivers. In the end, Stewart won the race and championship. At the end of the race both men had the same amount of points, but Stewart won the tiebreaker because he won the most races in the chase.

Here are the standings for the top 12 who were in the chase and how it looks now the year is over.

1  Tony Stewart 2403 Leader
2  Carl Edwards 2403 Leader
3  Kevin Harvick 2345 -58
4  Matt Kenseth 2330 -73
5  Brad Keselowski 2319 -84
6  Jimmie Johnson 2304 -99
7  Dale Earnhardt Jr. 2290 -113
8  Jeff Gordon 2287 -116
9  Denny Hamlin 2284 -119
10  Ryan Newman 2284 -119
11  Kurt Busch 2262 -141
12  Kyle Busch 2246 -157

I think the NASCAR officials knew what they were doing when they redesigned the points system before the beginning of the year. It put an emphasis on winning and finishing good consistently. I believe this year was the start a new and great era in NASCAR. Now we wait two months and it's right back to the greatest race of the year, the Daytona 500. 

CM Punk Wins WWE Title at 25th Anniversary of Survivor Series.

Tonight was the 25th annual edition of Survivor Series and while most of the night was centered around Never Before! Never Again!  a lot of people are missing a bigger picture. Tonight CM Punk edged his name in WWE history and started to solidify his legacy by capturing the WWE Championship at Madison Square Garden. Stars like Kevin Nash, Big Show, Shawn Michaels, Chris Benoit, Bret Hart, and Hulk Hogan have won World Championships at the "World's Most Famous Arena." While Punk may have won the title tonight at Survivor Series the lasting image people will have is watching The Rock standing tall at the end of his tag team match tonight.

The Rock and John Cena had the most tension out of any two tag team partners I have ever seen. It made for a great story and tag match against The Miz and R-Truth. The Rock shined tonight and he looked like he had never been away as long as he has been. I think he will be even more impressive when Wrestlemania 28 rolls around.

There is only one thing I disliked about the show and that's the conclusion of Mark Henry and The Big Show's match. Either Daniel Bryan should have came out and cashed his Money in the Bank briefcase or Kane should have returned. A few things that I liked the stuck out to me were the fact Randy Orton has lost four pay-per-view matches in a row and Wade Barrett continues to get pushed a long with Cody Rhodes. I really thought the finish to Beth Phoenix and Eve's match was impressive. It looked like it hurt both Diva's but the crowd loved it.

Tonight was a solid show, and WWE should be happy with what they put out there. The Rock maybe been the drawing and selling point but CM Punk winning the WWE Title was worth watching the PPV. Only the strong survive but tonight the strong shined.

Results
The Rock & John Cena def. The Miz & R-Truth
Big Show def. World Heavyweight Champion Mark Henry (Disqualification)
CM Punk def. WWE Champion Alberto Del Rio (New WWE Champion)
Team Barrett def. Team Orton (Traditional Survivor Series Elimination Tag Team Match)
United States Champion Dolph Ziggler def. John Morrison
Divas Champion Beth Phoenix def. Eve (Lumberjill Match)

Summer and Fall Feuds Conclude at 25th Anniversary of WWE Survivor Series

This Sunday is the 25th anniversary of Survivor Series and before I talk about the present I want to talk to about the past and present my top 10 favorite matches in Survivor Series History so here we go with the list which is no particular order

1987- Team Savage vs. Team Honky
1989- The Hulkamaniacs VS. The Million Dollar Team
1992- Mr. Perfect and Randy Savage vs. Razor Ramon and Ric Flair
1994- The Bad Guys vs. The Teamsters
1995- Bret Hart vs. Diesel for the WWE Championship
2001- Team WWF vs. Team Alliance
2006- Team DX vs. Team Rated RKO
2009- John Cena vs. Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels for the WWE Championship
2009- Team Kingston vs. Team Orton
As you can see the history of Survivor Series has been a rich and memorable but now it's on to the present. This Sunday marks the conclusion of many feuds that have gone on this summer and fall. This is a big night for the WWE and here are the matches that have most importance headed into Sunday.

Team Orton (Randy Orton, Sheamus, Mason Ryan, Kofi Kingston & Sin Cara) vs. Team Barrett (Wade Barrett, Cody Rhodes, Jack Swagger, Hunico & Dolph Ziggler) 

This match is combining all the most recent feuds that have taken place as of late. These are all the mid-card feuds that have been taking place under the Main Events. I believe that these 10 men have bright futures ahead of them and it's their chance to shine on Sunday. I believe Team Orton will win with one or more people getting an RKO in the process.

Dolph Ziggler (c) vs. John Morrison for the WWE United States Championship

This match is very important from a political and backstage point of view. John Morrison's contract expires soon and he is reportedly wanting to leave the company. WWE officials want to re-sign Morrison because of his unique abilities in the ring. Therefore I believe the title will be put on John Morrison to keep around awhile longer. If this does happen, my hats off to Dolph Ziggler who has had a great and lengthy reign as champ.

John Cena and The Rock  vs. The Miz and R-Truth

Never Before! Never Again! has been the title of this Survivor Series match. Cena and Rock have their match at Wrestlemania 28 but their verbal feud has been going on all year long. The Miz and John Cena have been feuding on and off for a very long time now and I believe this is the conclusion to that feud. Awesome Truth has made a impact this summer and fall by being more aggressive in their actions. However this is Madison Square Garden and The Rock's first match in over seven years. I have no doubt in my mind that Cena and Rock will win but look for fireworks after the match ends.

Mark Henry (c) vs. Big Show for the World Heavyweight Championship

Mark Henry's title reign have been impressive. I believe he's showing everyone what he has been made of all along. It's hard to pick a winner in this match because both men deserve a title and both have put in their time to be a champion. I believe Mark Henry will remain World Champion but don't be surprised if after the match the lights go out and and the bell tolls. 

Alberto Del Rio (c) vs. CM Punk for the  WWE Championship

Both men have tremendous ability in the ring and I think it's going to remind of the matches Steamboat and Flair had back in the late 80's. The WWE title has had it's share of controversy since CM Punk won it back in July and I believe because of how CM Punk has captured a lot of people's attention I think he will become the rightful owner of the WWE Championship. 

It's the 25th Anniversary of Survivor Series and it's going to be red hot and what better place to have it then Madison Square Garden in New York City. Only one questions remains: Who will survive?

Baseball Off-season Moves as of 11/18/2011

It's been a fairly quiet off-season in baseball so far but their still have been a few big moves. Here are just a few that have happened thus far.

-San Diego Padres agreed to terms with OF Mark Kotsay on a one-year contract.
-Philadelphia Phillies agreed to terms with RHP Jonathan Papelbon on a four-year contract. Also agreed to terms with 1B Jim Thome on a one-year contract.
-Pittsburgh Pirates agreed to terms with C Rod Barajas on a one-year contract.
- Kansas City Royals traded OF Melky Cabrera to San Francisco for LHP Jonathan Sanchez and LHP Ryan Verdugo
-New York Yankees agreed to terms with LHP CC Sabathia on a five-year contract. Also exercised the 2012 options on the contracts of 2B Robinson Cano and OF Nick Swisher.

Those are just some of the big moves made so far. I am sure after Thanksgiving is over you will see a lot more wheeling and dealing being done. December is usually the big month for free agency so stay tuned and keep checking back for more.

2011 NFL Week 11 Predictions

Well it's week eleven and for some teams its beginning to feel like playoff heaven. Here are my predictions for the week.

Cincinnati Bengals (6-3) at Baltimore Ravens (6-3)

Both teams have played extremely well this year but that Ravens defense is still pretty mean and nasty. Both teams are trying to keep up with the Steelers and get a playoff spot of their own. I think the experience of the Ravens defense is going to beat the inexperience of the Bengals offense.

Tennessee Titans (5-4) at Atlanta Falcons (5-4)

A battle of playoff hopefuls are playing their season alive. I believe the Georgia Dome is going to be loud and proud and make it hard for the Titans to play. I am giving the Falcons the nod for this game but I have a feeling it's going to really close.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-5) at Green Bay Packers (9-0)

This could be the upset of the year but then again it's at Lambeau Field.  I find this game interesting only because the Bucs are better then what they're record shows. I think Green Bay will win easily but don't overlook the Bucs because they just might pirate a win. 

San Diego Chargers (4-5) at Chicago Bears (6-3)

This is do or die for the Chargers. If they do not win this game I believe their playoff hopes are done. The Bears have been good, but what Jay Cutler will show up this week? You never know from week to week but I think the Bears will win this one and continue the momentum they have been having. 

Here are the odds from Vegas.com for the week. 

National Football League
Time		Caesars- Hilton	MGM- Mirage	Stations
Nov. 17	N.Y. Jets
5:20 p.m.	at Denver
Favorite		NYJ	NYJ	NYJ
Point spread		-6½	-6½	-6½
Total		39½o/u	39½o/u	39½o/u
Total money line		-110	-110	-110
Nov. 20	Tennessee
1:15 p.m.	at Atlanta
Favorite		ATL	ATL	ATL
Point spread		-6	-6	-6
Total		44o/u	43½o/u	44o/u
Total money line		-110	-110	-110
Nov. 20	Buffalo
10 a.m.	at Miami
Favorite		MIA	MIA	MIA
Point spread		-2½	-2	-2
Total		43o/u	43½o/u	43o/u
Total money line		-110	-110	-110
Nov. 20	Cincinnati
10 a.m.	at Baltimore
Favorite		BAL	BAL	BAL
Point spread		-7	-7	-7
Total		40½o/u	40o/u	41o/u
Total money line		-110	-110	-110
Nov. 20	Jacksonville
10 a.m.	at Cleveland	-115
Favorite		CLE	CLE
Point spread		-1	-1
Total		34½o/u	35o/u	34½o/u
Total money line		-110	-110	-110
Nov. 20	Oakland
10 a.m.	at Minnesota
Favorite		OAK	OAK	OAK
Point spread		-1	-1	-1½
Total		45o/u	45o/u	45o/u
Total money line		-110	-110	-110
Nov. 20	Carolina
10 a.m.	at Detroit
Favorite		DET	DET	DET
Point spread		-7	-7	-7
Total		47½o/u	47½o/u	47½o/u
Total money line		-110	-110	-110
Nov. 20	Tampa Bay
10 a.m.	at Green Bay
Favorite		GNB	GNB	GNB
Point spread		-14	-14	-14
Total		48½o/u	48½o/u	49o/u
Total money line		-110	-110	-110
Nov. 20	Dallas
10 a.m.	at Washington
Favorite		DAL	DAL	DAL
Point spread		-7½	-7½	-7
Total		41½o/u	41½o/u	42o/u
Total money line		-110	-110	-110
Nov. 20	Arizona
1:05 p.m.	at San Francisco
Favorite		SFO	SFO	SFO
Point spread		-9½	-9½	-9½
Total		40½o/u	41o/u	41o/u
Total money line		-110	-110	-110
Nov. 20	Seattle
1:05 p.m.	at St. Louis
Favorite		STL	STL	STL
Point spread		-2½	-2½	-2½
Total		39o/u	38½o/u	39o/u
Total money line		-110	-110	-110
Nov. 20	San Diego
1:15 p.m.	at Chicago
Favorite		CHI	CHI	CHI
Point spread		-3½	-3½	-4
Total		45o/u	45½o/u	45o/u
Total money line		-110	-110	-110
Nov. 20	Philadelphia
5:25 p.m.	at N.Y. Giants
Favorite		NYG	NYG	NYG
Point spread		-4	-3½	-4
Total		47o/u	47o/u	47o/u
Total money line		-110	-110	-110
Nov. 21	Kansas City
5:35 p.m.	at New England
Favorite		NWE	NWE	NWE
Point spread		-15	-14½	-15
Total		46½o/u	47o/u	46½o/u
Total money line		-110	-110	-110