Week 8 NFL 2016

Cowboys-Eagles highlight the week

The Cowboys-Eagles clash in Dallas highlights Week 8 of the NFL schedule. The Eagles fly in fresh from a big win over Minnesota looking to add the Cowboys to their list of victims.

The week kicks off in England again with the Redskins and Bengals clashing with Cincy desperately needing a win.

Another 8-7 record for Week 7 has my record at 66-42 on the season, looking for improvement this week.

Ok, let's pick 'em!

Washington vs Cincinnati

The Bengals are hoping they have turned the corner.

Bengals 31-27

Kansas City @ Indianapolis

Chiefs 27-17

Oakland @ Tampa Bay

Could the Bucs go 2-0 against the Cali Bay Area?

Bucs 31-30

Seattle @ New Orleans

Seahawks 23-14

Detroit @ Houston

Texans 28-20

NY Jets @ Cleveland

Jets 24-13

New England @ Buffalo

Pats 34-30

Arizona @ Carolina

Time for a turnaround from the Panthers

Panthers 19-17

San Diego @ Denver

Two over the Broncs for SD??

Chargers 27-24

Green Bay @ Atlanta

Falcons looking to bounce back at home.

Falcons 31-30

Philadelphia @ Dallas

Maybe one more from Dallas before QB controversy??

Cowboys 31-28

Minnesota @ Chicago

Vikings 34-20

That will do it until next week...

NCAA Week 9 206

Clemson - Florida State in tilt of the week

Clemson's visit South to take on Florida State is the headline NCAA football this weekend. There wil be another battle in the state of Florida as Georgia and Florida clash in Jacksonville.

Last Week, I finished 16-9 for Week 8 so I'm 152-48 for the season.

Ok, let's pick some games!

Louisville (5) @ Virginia

The Cards are hoping to move up into the Football Four if another team slips up.

Louisville 41-24

West Virginia (10) @ Oklahoma State

W Va 30-17

Michigan (2) @ Michigan State

The Spartans have disappointed this season!

Michigan 35-17

Penn State (24) @ Purdue

Penn State 40-20

Florida (14) vs Georgia

Defense will carry the Gators again.

Florida 24-20

Baylor (8) @ Texas

Baylor is still unbeaten...perfect chance for Texas to salvage a little of their season.

Baylor 42-32

Washington (4) @ Utah (17)

Huskies need this one on the road.

Washington 27-21

Northwestern @ Ohio State (6)

Ohio State 35-24

Boise State (13) @ Wyoming

Boise State 30-17

Kansas @ Oklahoma (16)

Oklahoma 45-20

Nebraska (7) @ Wisconsin (11)

Badgers pull out another one!

Wisconsin 23-21

Auburn (15) @ Ole Miss

Auburn 34-28

Tennessee (18) @ South Carolina

Tennessee 31-10

New Mexico State @ Texas A&M (9)

A&M 51-17

Clemson (3) @ Florida State (12)

Let's put the ACC in turmoil Football Four wise.

Florida State 30-28

Central Florida @ Houston

Houston 41-21

Minnesota @ Illinois

Illinois 30-14

Cincinnati @ Temple 

Cincy 29-17

Army @ Wake Forest

Wake 34-23

Miami @ Notre Dame

When is last time neither was ranked for this game?

Miami 28-17

Texas Tech @ TCU

TCU 31-27

Tulsa @ Memphis

Memphis 24-13

Stanford @ Arizona

Stanford 23-21

That will do it...until next week!

Week 10 VHSL 2016

Two weeks left to get into playoffs

Back in Virginia, VHSL teams are looking for advantages as the season winds down towards the playoffs. There will be several key games along with rivalries to be settled along the way.

For my Blog Picks in Week 9 , I went 7-3 so I'm 71-19 on the year. I changed a few picks in my Fearless Forecaster and had a perfect 25-0 week so I'm 188-42 on the year!!

On to this week....pick 'em!

Bassett @ Martinsville

Martinsville by 19

Magna Vista @ Tunstall

The Warriors may be thinking GW-Danville next week but will pull through.

Magna Vista by 28

Franklin County @ Liberty Christian

Christian by 9

Halifax County @ GW-Danville

GW by 30

Chatham @ Appamattox County

Appamattox by 24

William Byrd @ Lord Botetourt

Byrd by 4

Patrick Henry @ Blacksburg

PH by 10

Salem @ Cave Spring 

Salem by 41

Radford @ Glenvar

Glenvar by 13

Pulaski County @ Hidden Valley 

Pulaski by 17

Until next week....NCAA picks tomorow!!

Early picks for the week

Va Tech and Navy feature in early games

Thursday and Friday night's NCAA football games may usurp the NFL early game between Jacksonville and Tennessee.

Virginia Tech travels to Pittsburgh on Thursday night hoping to avoid another road letdown like the one at Syracuse a few weeks ago. On Friday Navy travels south for a match up with South Florida hoping to grab a big away win.

Ok, early picks...

NCAA

Virginia Tech (25) @ Pittsburgh

Tech comes in with a road win over North Carolina under their belt and are looking to keep pace with the Tar Heels in the Coastal Division of the ACC. Though the Panthers had a one point loss in Chapel Hill, that was their only conference loss. 

The Hokies are the stronger of the two on paper and should not have a slip up though it will be a close one.

Va Tech 27-22

Navy (22) @ South Florida

The Midshipmen take their high octane offense south to battle the Bulls who have remained largely under the radar this season though they have a 6-2 record.

Each team sits atop their respective divisions in the American Conference heading into the final quarter of the season.

Pretty much a coin flip, but will go with Navy.

Navy 30-24

NFL

Jacksonville @ Tennessee

The Jags and Titans are both under .500 though with a win, the Titans could reach the break even point.

Good enough to pick them!

Titans 34-30

Back with more tomorrow.

World Series picks

It will be one to remember

The 2016 World Series will be known as the one where the Chicago Cubs finally made it!!

Long suffering Cub fans will get to witness their squad in the Fall Classic for the first time in 71 years and looking for their first win since 1908.

People forget that Cleveland Indians are nearly the Cubs of the American League....no World Series win since 1948 though they have three appearances with the most recent a loss to the Florida Marlins in 1997 where they came within two outs of taking it all.

Ok...here we go.

World Series

Chicago Cubs vs Cleveland Indians

Which one of the long suffering fan bases will be celebrating? Cleveland had a breakthrough in basketball finally and will be hoping there is a carryover effect. 

Among the subplot is the Boston effect in former Bosox manager Tito Francona who currently manages the Indians will face former GM and architect of that Boston Club Theo Epstein.

Many experts have tipped the Cubs to win and I will join them in doing so. I figure the MVP will come from one of the Chicago hitters...Rizzo or Bryant.

2016 World Series Prediction: Chicago Cubs in 6

Week 7 for NFL

Giants-Rams meet in London

The Giants and Rams travel to England to start the action for Week 7 of the 2016-17 NFL Season in a game where the G-Men will be favoured.

I scraped in at 8-7 for Week 6 and am now at 58-35 for the season.

So not a lot of fanfare...let's pick 'em!

NY Giants vs Los Angeles 

England fans get another look at NFL action and it should be a decent game. The Giants are trying to stay within striking distance of the Cowboys.

Giants 24-17

New Orleans @ Kansas City

Chiefs 30-27

Indianapolis @ Tennessee

Colts 28-27

Minnesota @ Philadelphia

Bradford returns to the City of Brotherly Love where the Eagles will be waiting. The birds have cooled off of late and will find it tough against the Vikings.

Vikings 31-21

Cleveland @ Cincinnati

Bengals 35-24

Washington @ Detroit

Lions 23-21

Oakland @ Jacksonville

Raiders 35-31

Buffalo @ Miami

Bills 27-23

Baltimore @ NY Jets

Back to back games against NY teams for the Ravens....they gain a split!

Ravens 30-28

Tampa Bay @ San Francisco

Bucs 24-13

San Diego @ Atlanta

Falcons 38-35

New England @ Pittsburgh

Somehow the Steelers pull it off...

Steelers 30-28

Seattle @ Arizona

How beat up will the winner be after this one!!

Seahawks 19-17

Houston @ Denver

Another defensive struggle!

Texans 20-14

That will do it for this week!!

NCAA Week 8 2016

Another test for Alabama

After easily disposing of Tennessee last weekend, the Alabama Crimson Tide will roll into Saturday's home game with Texas A&M hoping to keep their perfect record intact. The Aggies have been known to give the Tide problems in the past so it will be a tough test for 'Bama.

I finished 20-5 for Week 7 putting my record for the year at 136-39. Only thing left to do for this week...pick some ball games!!

Wisconsin (10) @ Iowa

Could be a tricky road test for the Badgers...

Wisconsin 27-23

NC State @ Louisville (7)

Another chance for State to pull off a major upset...but another miss.

Louisville 34-24

North Carolina (22) @ Virginia

UNC  35-24

Memphis @ Navy (24)

Memphis may just pull one out...

Memphis 30-27

Illinois @ Michigan (3)

Michigan 45-20

Purdue @ Nebraska (8)

Nebraska 38-17

TCU @ West Virginia (12)

WVa 30-28

Texas A&M (6) @ Alabama (1)

Is 'Bama that much better than the rest ... of the SEC?? For now it seems so.

Alabama 30-22

Eastern Michigan @ Western Michigan (20)

W Mich 40-14

Utah (19) @ UCLA

Utah 31-24

Arkansas (17) @ Auburn (21)

Arkansas 24-20

Oregon State @ Washington (5)

Washington 40-20

Houston (11) @ SMU

Houston 42-24

Ohio State (2) @ Penn State

Ohio St 30-17

Oklahoma (16) @ Texas Tech 

Oklahoma 38-30

Ole Miss (23) @ LSU (25)

Ole Miss 23-21

East Carolina @ Cincinnati

Cincy 31-21

Oklahoma State @ Kansas 

Oklahoma State 40-14

Texas @ Kansas State

Texas 23-17

Old Dominion @ Western Kentucky

WKy 31-30

Colorado @ Stanford

Stanford 28-24

Rutgers @ Minnesota

Minnesota 30-12

Hawaii @ Air Force

Air Force 34-31

Until next week...

VHSL Week 9

Fine tuning before playoff time

The VHSL season is heading towards playoff time with some teams hoping to solidify their spots while others are hoping to find a way in.

Good luck to all in their quests...

I finished at 9-1 for Week 8 in my Blog picks so I'm 64-16 on the season. As a Fearless Forecaster  , an 18-4 week has me at 153-42 for the year.

Ok....let's pick 'em!!

Bassett @ GW-Danville

GW by 38

Halifax County @ Franklin County

Franklin County by 6

Patrick County @ Magna Vista

MV by 46

Martinsville @ Tunstall

The 'Dogs are in the playoff hunt...in fact both are...will be interesting.

Tunstall by 4

Gretna @ Dan River

Dan River by 16

Chatham @ Bluestone

Bluestone by 18

William Byrd @ Alleghany

Byrd by 20

Blacksburg @ Cave Spring

Cave Spring by 3

Galax @ Narrows

Galax by 7

Patrick Henry @ Salem

The big one takes place at Salem this season with both squads on top of their game.

Salem by 12

That will do it for this week...enjoy the games.

Thursday night football

Green Bay and Boise State get Thursday night  spotlight

Thursday night's football will be headed by Green Bay and Boise State with both expected to gain big home wins.

The NCAA will kick off the night with a game of interest in Blacksburg between Miami and Va Tech that could figure into the Coastal division rep for the ACC Championship. Soo...let's pick 'em!

NFL

Chicago @ Green Bay

Not the show stopper of years past, this one has turned into another you the games scheduled type of scenario.

Green Bay should not have trouble with the Bears in this one. Watch the Cubbies instead!!

Packers 35-17

NCAA

Miami, Fla @ Virginia Tech

The 'Canes travel to Blacksburg having lost two in a row to face a Tech team that was surprised in Syracuse last week. With Notre Dame on the horizon, the 'Canes need this one but the going will be tough.

Looking for a bounce back!

Miami 27-23

Brigham Young @ Boise State (14)

BYU comes in on a three game winning streak but will face a Bronco squad that is looking to stay undefeated and move up in the rankings.

The Blue Turf Kings will be too much for the Cougars!

Boise State 31-27

Back with more over the next few days...

Week 6 in NFL

Dallas-Green Bay and Atlanta-Seattle are games to watch

The NFL week will be highlighted by the Cowboys' visit to Lambeau and the battle of the birds in Seattle when the Falcons drop in.

I finished 8-5 for Week 5 and currently I'm 50-27 for picking NFL games this season.

Let's pick 'em!

San Francisco @ Buffalo

Bills 30-17

Philadelphia @ Washington

Eagles 30-37

Cleveland @ Tennessee

Titans 34-24

Baltimore @ NY Giants

NY Giants 27-20

Carolina @ New Orleans

Panthers 24-20

Jacksonville @ Chicago

Bears 30-24

Los Angeles @ Detroit

Lions 24-21

Pittsburgh @ Miami

Steelers 31-17

Cincinnati @ New England

Pats 35-30

Kansas City @ Oakland

Is the silver and black back??

Raiders 31-27

Atlanta @ Seattle

The Falcons take their high scoring attack west to face a stingy defense ... will the 'Hawks be able to put up enough points to defend?

Seahawks 24-21

Dallas @ Green Bay

The Cowboys ride high in Cheesehead Country and will be thoroughly tested. Win or lose, it will be an indicator of whether the 'Boys are for real.

Packers 34-31

Indianapolis @ Houston

Texans 27-17

NY Jets @ Arizona

Both teams have concerns....both teams have hard hitting defenses which could cause more concern injury wise.

Going with the home crew!

Cardinals 20-14

Until next week...

Week 7 for NCAA

Bama-Tenn and Ohio St-Wisconsin highlight the weekend in the NCAA

The big games for Week 7 of NCAA Football action will take place in Knoxville and Madison with Alabama visiting the Vols and Ohio State dropping in on the Badgers. There are a couple of other interesting games on tap as the season gets midway through the critical month of October.

For Week 6 I went 19-6 and sit at 116-34 on the season.

Here we go....Week 7!

NC State @ Clemson (3)

Clemson 41-30

Kansas State @ Oklahoma (19)

Oklahoma 34-20

West Virginia (20) @ Texas Tech

Tricky road game for the Mountaineers!

WVa 44-34

Wake Forest @ Florida State (14)

Florida State 28-20

Western Michigan (24) @ Akron

W Mich 34-14

Kansas @ Baylor (11)

Baylor 40-13

Alabama (1) @ Tennessee (9)

Might as well throw a spanner into the works!!

Tennessee 28-26

Nebraska (10) @ Indiana

Nebraska 35-17

North Carolina @ Miami (16)

Hurricanes bounce back!

Miami 30-24

Virginia Tech (17) @ Syracuse

Tech 31-17

Missouri @ Florida (18)

Florida 28-10

Utah (21) @ Oregon State

Utah 28-13

Ole Miss (12) @ Arkansas (22)

Another SEC elimination game!

Arkansas 30-28

Tulsa @ Houston (13)

Houston 45-20

Ohio State (2) @ Wisconsin (8)

Camp Randall will be tough for Ohio State!

Wisconsin 24-20

Colorado State @ Boise State (15)

Boise state 38-14

San Diego State @ Fresno State

SD St 40-18

Pitt @ Virginia 

Pitt 31-21

USC @ Arizona

USC 30-24

La Tech @ Umass

La Tech 41-10

New Mexico @ Air Force

Air Force 35-24

Northwestern @ Michigan State

Northwestern 31-28

Stanford @ Notre Dame

Stanford 30-20

Arizona State @ Colorado

Colorado 31-30

Until next week....

MLB picks

LCS time in MLB

After seeing my Cleveland and Chicago picks come good only to be let down by Texas and Washington, I'm moving on to make my ALCS and NLCS predictions and reveal my World series teams!

ALCS

Toronto vs Cleveland

The Blue Jays surprised me by disposing of Texas with ease and now go on to face Cleveland.

This series will go at least six, possibly seven games. With that in mind, Toronto may get out to a quick start again but I'm taking the Indians to advance in six for a fairy tale World series against the Cubs.

Cleveland 4-2

NLCS

Los Angeles vs Chicago

While many would love nothing more than Vin Scully calling and bowing out in a World Series for the Dodgers, even more would love nothing more than finally seeing the Cubbies come through and advance.

This may well be the season that the long suffering ChiTown fans get their wish as the Cubs are the most complete of the four teams left chasing a title.

Chicago 4-1

VHSL Week 8

Week 8 means crunch time!

In Virginia, Week 8 of the VHSL season means it is crunch time as the playoff picture starts to take shape.

In Week 7 , I finished off at 7-3 to take me out to a record of 55-15 in my blog picks. As a Fearless Forecaster, I had a 21-4 week and am 135-38 for the season.

Ok, let's pick 'em for the VHSL!

Magna Vista @ Franklin County

Magna Vista by 8

Patrick County @ Bassett

The Bengals finally get a win for the season when the Cougars come to town.

Bassett by 14

Martinsville @ GW Danville

GW by 22

Tunstall @ Halifax County

Tunstall by 4

Nelson County @ Chatham 

Chatham by 10

Dan River @ William Campbell

Dan River by 10

Northside @ William Byrd

Byrd by 11

Pulaski County @ Blacksburg

Pulaski by 20

Salem @ Christiansburg

Salem by 30

Jefferson Forest @ Amherst County

Amherst by 22

Done until next week...enjoy the games!

Early football picks

Light schedule for early week games

Louisville (7) - Duke in the NCAA and San Diego - Denver have the spotlight for early games this week as the MLB playoffs are in full swing. Not a lot to elaborate on so straight into the picks...

NCAA

Duke @ Louisville

Though the Blue devils have a road win over Notre Dame, going to Louisville will be a much more difficult task. The Cardinals are out to make sure there are no more slip ups after their road loss at Clemson and are still hopeful of gaining a spot in the Football Four at season's end.

Duke will be up against it from the start...

Louisville 47-17

NFL

Denver @ San Diego

The Broncos dropped their first game of the season to Atlanta at home last week and will be looking to get back on track in San Diego.

As much as I'd love to see my Chargers pull one out...have to be logical...

Denver 27-23

Back with more in the next couple of days...