Gary Payton is back to bless us with his March Madness picks courtesy of BetUs.com. The Glove takes a break from the bike to breakdown Butler -1.5 over Michigan St. and Duke -2.5 over West Virginia.

Gary says put money on West Virginia and flip a coin for Michigan St.-Butler. He’s probably right. I didn’t come close in my original brackets or my second chance brackets so I’m the last person that should pass judgment on the next man’s picks.

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We’re down to the best 8 teams in the NFL. There are plenty of subplots to each game. The New England Patriots pursuit of perfection is the top story of the playoffs. The Cowboys-Giants game is the most interesting this weekend.

I’m an Eli Manning fan, so I want to see if he’s really turned the corner. Eli can make all of the throws, but he gets rattled under pressure. He’s gonna have to stand in against the Dallas pass rush so I hope he’s settled his nerves problem. TO’s ankle injury and recovery are the key to the game. The Cowboys offense can’t move without Owens on the field. We’ve all seen how well TO heals so I expect him to be on the field and good to go. The lingering issue is gonna be the play of Tony Romo. If he plays poorly, Romo’s Cabo vacation with Jessica Simpson is gonna get the blame. If he plays well, then he’s white Jesus.

I was 4-0 straight up but 2-2 against the spread wildcard weekend. I thought Seattle would win but not cover, and I thought the Jags would win and cover. Close..

As always, the home team is in bold type.

Green Bay -8 over Seattle
Saturday 1:30 pm PST on Fox
Prediction: Packers 27 Seahawks 17

New England -13 over Jacksonville
Saturday 5:00 pm PST on CBS
Prediction: Patriots 31 Jaguars 17

San Diego +8.5 over Indianapolis
Sunday 10:00 am PST on CBS
Prediction: Chargers 23 Colts 20

Dallas – 6.5 over New York
Sunday 1:30 pm PST on Fox
Prediction: Cowboys 27 Giants 20

Tags: NFL, Free Picks, NFL Playoff Schedule, Football

Sorry everybody but I’m back with more NFL picks. I ended up 112-113-9 on the season. That’s right.. A loser. If I was married my wife would be writing a column about how her picks are better than mine.

But it’s the playoffs now which means I’m 0-0.. I get a fresh start and a shot at redemption. Too bad I probably won’t do any better.

The home team is in bold type.

Washington +3.5 over Seattle
Saturday 1:30 pm PST on NBC
Prediction: Seahawks 19 Redskins 17

Jacksonville -2.5 over Pittsburgh
Saturday 5:00 pm PST on NBC
Prediction: Jaguars 20 Steelers 13

New York +3 over Tampa Bay
Sunday 10:00 am PST on Fox
Prediction: Giants 24 Buccaneers 20

San Diego -10 over Tennessee
Sunday 1:30 pm PST on CBS
Prediction: Chargers 27 Titans 12

Tags: NFL Playoffs, NFL Playoff Games, tv schedule

Here it is. The moment we’ve all been waiting for. I’m not talking about the New England Patriots and their chance at perfection.. I’m talking about my season record. I’m 105-105-9 heading in to week 17 which means a flipped coin is just as accurate as I am.

The games are a crapshoot this week. Teams are resting guys, teams wanna play spoiler. Half of the games feature home dogs. None of that matters now.. It’s all about going 8-7-1/9-7 or better. If I do that I can hold my head high and say I had a winning season. If not, I’ll probably lean on Johnny Walker’s black shoulder Sunday night thru the New Year, leading me to go Najeh Davenport on somebody’s lawn New Year’s day morning.

As always, I don’t pick sides in games involving the Philadelphia Eagles. The home team is in bold type.

NYG +13.5 over New England

Atlanta -1 over Seattle

Pittsburgh -3 over Baltimore

Chicago +2 over New Orleans

Cleveland -11.5 over San Francisco

Green Bay -5 over Detroit

Jacksonville +6 over Houston

Indianapolis +5 over Tennessee

Miami +2.5 over Cincinnati

Carolina -2.5 over Tampa Bay

Dallas +9 over Washington

St. Louis +6 over Arizona

Minnesota -3 over Denver

Oakland +8 over San Diego

Kansas City +6 over NYJ

Tags: NFL, NFL Week 17, Free Picks

I don’t pick sides in games involving the Philadelphia Eagles. The home team is in bold type.

Cincinnati +3 over Cleveland

Green Bay -8 over Chicago

Indianapolis -7 over Houston

Kansas City +5.5 over Detroit

New England -22 over Miami

Buffalo +3 over NYG

Jacksonville -13 over Oakland

Washington +6 over Minnesota

Arizona -10 over Atlanta

Seattle -11 over Baltimore

Tennessee -8.5 over NYJ

Tampa Bay -6 over San Francisco

San Diego -8.5 over Denver

I’m pressed for time so no beating around the bush this week. I don’t pick games that involve the Philadelphia Eagles. The home team is in bold type.

Miami +7 over Buffalo

Cincinnati -9′ over St. Louis

Dallas -11 over Detroit

Green Bay -10′ over Oakland

Houston +3 over Tampa Bay

Jacksonville -10′ over Carolina

New England -10′ over Pittsburgh

San Diego -1 over Tennessee

Minnesota -8′ over San Francisco

Seattle -6′ over Arizona

Kansas City +6′ over Denver 

Cleveland -3′ over NYJ

Baltimore +9 over Indianapolis

Atlanta +3′ over New Orleans

I went 9-6 last week, raising my season record to 78-78-9. I’m .500 and my picks are pretty worthless. One thing I’ve noticed is that I don’t have two good weeks in a row, but I can string together some bad weeks. It doesn’t look good for my plays this week because A) Since I was caught up in the Packers/Cowboys hype I forgot to post my side for that game, and B) I liked Green Bay to cover the 7.

I don’t make plays on games involving the Philadelphia Eagles, and the home team is in bold type.

Carolina -3 over San Francisco: I know I’m going against the Panthers never covering at home, but they gotta beat the Niners by a touchdown at home. If they don’t the Panthers should be forced to forfeit the rest of their games.

Jacksonville +6.5 over Indianapolis: He’s probably 3rd or 4th on the list but Jack Del Rio has to be considered for coach of the year. The Jaguars aren’t the sexiest team to watch but they bring it week in and week out.

San Diego -5.5 over Kansas City: The Chiefs stomped the Chargers 30-16 in San Diego and now the Bolts will return the favor.

Miami -1 over NYJ: First off, I’d like to thank Ricky Williams for his cameo appearance in the 2007 NFL season, and I’d like to congratulate the Dolphins in advance for picking up their first win.. One question though.. What is it about the Miami Dolphins and crappy fields? The Phins’ games in London at Wembley Stadium, and in Pittsburgh Monday night both had fields that completely fell apart.

Detroit +4 over Minnesota: I like the Lions here even though they could get caught looking past the Vikes to the Cowboys next week.. A well rested Cowboys team.

Tampa Bay +3 over New Orleans: There’s a lot on the line in this game. The Bucs can all but lock up the NFC south with a victory, and the Saints can keep their playoff hopes alive if they win. The New Orleans defense will let them down again.

St. Louis -3 over Atlanta: No Bulger. Slight problem, but not enough for me to trust the Falcons on the road. The ATL has one road victory this season and that was over Carolina, which as we’ve mentioned a million times, sucks at home.

Tennessee -3.5 over Houston: Buy the half point down to 3, and then watch the Titans defense control the game.

Buffalo +5.5 over Washington

Cleveland +1 over Arizona: Talk about giving one away. The Cardinals are in the NFC playoff mix, but to go out and choke a game away to the San Francisco 49ers (at home) shows that Arizona is probably another year away.

Denver -3.5 over Oakland: We’re buying the half point again, and watching the the Raiders season swirl to an end. Oakland had lost 6 in a row before rising up against Kansas City last week, and now they’ll start a new losing streak.

NYG -1.5 over Chicago: I’m sure the Bears are hyped after their comeback cover victory last week. I had the Broncos and I still can’t believe they let a late 14 point lead get away. It looks like Plax won’t play so Eli will have to lean on Toomer and Shockey more than usual.

Pittsburgh -7 over Cincinnati: If the field in Pittsburgh is still that piece of crap donkey track on Sunday then scrap this pick all together.

New England -20 over Baltimore: I don’t know whether or not the Eagles laid a blueprint for defeating the Patriots, but I do know the Ravens aren’t good enough to beat New England even if they had blueprints, playbooks, and Belichick’s camera crew.

Tags: NFL Week 13, Free Picks, Football, Point Spreads

 I got off to a 2-1 start with the first part of the week 12 picks. I had Detroit, Dallas, and Indy, and I’m an idiot for taking the Lions. Everything was telling me to take the Pack, but I figured with the season hanging in the balance, Detroit would be able to step up at home on Thanksgiving..Nope. The Lions are now a wonderful 5-6 straight up on Turkey Day over the last 11 years.. The loss leaves Matt Millen’s crew at 6-5, bunched up with the Seahawks, Cardinals, Redskins, and Eagles for a playoff spot.. I think we all know how this one ends.

As always, I don’t pick games involving the Philadelphia Eagles, and the home team is in bold type.

New Orleans -3 over Carolina: The Panthers absolutely refuse to cover at home, so there’s no way they cover after chillin for Thanksgiving..Right?

Denver +2 over Chicago: This is a hard game to pick. The Broncos are a tease, will we get the @ Detroit Broncos or the vs. Tennessee Broncos? The Bears have only lost back to back games once this season (vs. Dallas, @ Detroit), but now it’ll be twice.

Cincinnati +1 over Tennessee: I’m making this pick under the belief that the Titans’ defensive players won’t want to redeem themselves after that showing on MNF.. Here’s a hint, look out for Houshmandzadeh.

Cleveland -3.5 over Houston: The Browns in a shoot-out.

Jacksonville -7.5 over Buffalo: The good news for Buffalo is their 5-5 record and 2nd place standing in the AFC East. The bad news is their remaining schedule. After this loss to the Jags, Buffalo has @ Washington, Miami, @ Cleveland, NY Giants, and @ Philly. Those games, combined with a mini qb controversy, add up to 6 or 7 wins.

Kansas City -5 over Oakland: No Larry Johnson, no Priest Holmes… The Raiders can expect an extra helping of Gonzalez and Bowe.

NYG -7.5 over Minnesota: I don’t care who says Adrian Peterson is clear to play, I would rest him. His overall importance to the future of the franchise is bigger than a longshot playoff run.. In a related story, the Giants will pass the ball all over the Vikings.

Seattle -3 over St. Louis: The Rams have looked like a half decent team now that they’ve gotten half of their team back from injury. It doesn’t matter this Sunday but I’ll admit, it would be cool to see the Rams go 0-8 and then 8-0.

Tampa Bay -3 over Washington: How much money is Daniel Snyder gonna throw at it this off season?

Arizona -10 over San Francisco: The Cardinals are gonna finish 9-7, 10-6 with a little luck. The Niners are garbage.

San Diego -9 over Baltimore: It’s crazy that the oddsmakers can make the Chargers 9 point favorites over anybody after watching Philip Rivers play. It’s even crazier that I think you should lay the nine. The Ravens are a mess, and even San Diego should be able to beat them by 10.

Pittsburgh -16 over Miami: The Jets and Dolphins in back to back weeks.. That was a blessing for the Steelers..on paper. Last week’s loss to the NYJ means that John Beck can expect the Steel Curtain to be in effect. Joey Porter returns to Pittsburgh to show the fans that the team was right in letting him go.

Tags: NFL, Football, Week 12 Picks, Free Picks

The home team’s in bold type.

Detroit +3 over Green Bay: The Lions need this game, and after letting one get away last week against the Giants, they’ll come out and play tough. At 9-1, the Packers look like the third or fourth best team in the league. I wonder, if the Pack had gotten Randy Moss like Brett Favre wanted, would Green Bay be chasing a perfect season?

Dallas -14 over NYJ: This game should be over by halftime, but the Cowboys don’t like blowing teams out until the 2nd half. Romo and Owens will probably hook up a couple of times but look for the Jet defense to revert back to their non run stopping style, allowing Jones/Barber III to go off.

Indianapolis -12 over Atlanta: I’m gonna ride the Colts into the ground. They’re beat up, the offense is struggling, Jacksonville’s coming to town next week, and I’ve been wrong about them the past few weeks, but that’s not stopping me from rolling the dice.

Tags: NFL, Football, Free Picks, Thanksgiving

What up? Sorry the picks are coming late, but I got caught up in the real world… I hate that.. It’s not like y’all are missing anything either. I went 3-10 last week, as I predicted I would, so hopefully all of you went 10-3. My season record is all even, 63-63-9, heading down the stretch, and hopefully I can finish the season on a hot streak.

It’s hard to get a read on my predictions.. I’ve posted 11 wins twice and 4 wins or less 3 times.. I’m up, I’m down, I’m all over the place. I need to down some Zyprexa before I start typing to help balance out my picks.

Since I’m running behind, I’m not gonna give an explanation with each game this week, I’ll just plow straight ahead.

As always, I don’t pick for or against the Philadelphia Eagles, and the home team is in bold type.

Tampa Bay -3 over Atlanta

Cleveland -2.5 over Baltimore

New England -16 over Buffalo

Cincinnati -3 over Arizona

Dallas -10.5 over Washington

Green Bay -9.5 over Carolina

New Orleans +1 over Houston

Indianapolis -14.5 over Kansas City

San Diego +3 over Jacksonville

Minnesota -2.5 over Oakland

Pittsburgh -9.5 over NYJ

NYG -2.5 over Detroit

San Francisco +3 over St. Louis

Chicago +5.5 over Seattle

Tennessee +1.5 over Denver 

Tags: NFL Week 11, Football, Sports, NFL, Free Picks