So i went 8-3… power rankings… Week in review..

I ended up going 8-3 in picking bowl games, as Bama beat LSU 21-0 in a boring game. I would have liked to see LSU-Ok. State but it didn’t happen. I am starting a weekly power ranking of my top 5 NBA teams:

1. Miami Heat, 8-1: The Heat have been great, there is no other way to say it. Led by LeBron, they are leading the NBA in scoring. Oh, and Dwayne Wade has missed a few games. Who knows how good they will be with their team full strength.

2. Oklahoma City Thunder, 8-2: This team is well equipped for the condensed season, led by young stars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. James Harden has had a good year, and Serge Ibaka has blocked a huge amount of balls. Throw in Kendrick Perkins, a great defender, and you have a well rounded team with star power.

3. Philadelphia 76ers, 6-2:  Believe it! The Sixers look for real this year, and they are deep and young and this short season is made just for them. They have the highest point differential in the NBA, and have a suffocating defense. Oh, and they have played just three home games, going 3-0. 16 of their next 20 games are at home.

4. Chicago Bulls, 8-2: The Bulls have a good defense, led by Joakim Noah. Their offense hasn’t been great so far this year, but they get the job done. Derrick Rose, the reigning MVP, is just as good as he always is, and the Bulls have a very good all around lineup, with Rose, Rip Hamilton, Luol Deng, Carlos Boozer, and Noah.

5. Portland Trail Blazers, 6-2: These Blazers are solid all the way down the roster. It has amounted to a 6-2 start. LeMarcus Aldridge is on a rampage, averaging 23 points and 8 boards a game. Their lineup is rounded out by Wes Matthews (SG, second on the team in scoring), Gerald Wallace (SF, averaging 15 points and 7 rebounds per game), Raymond Felton (PG with 7 assists per game), and Marcus Camby (C, the great rebounder and good defender). They also have great 6th and 7th men in Jamal Crawford and Nicolas Batum. They have a lot of impressive wins, including against Philadelphia (6-2), Denver (6-4), OKC (8-2), and the Lakers (6-4).

NFL Week in review:
Oakland’s Hue Jackson was fired, and Packer’s OC got horrible news: His son was found dead.

In the playoffs, the Texans looked good against the Bengals in a 31-10 win.  Next round: @ Ravens

The Saints broke more records to add to their astonishing season, and beat the Lions 45-28. Next round: @ 49ers

The Giants smothered the Falcons offense, not allowing a point (a safety were the Falcons’ only points) and Eli Manning and co. won 24-2. Next up for the Giants and their smash mouthed defensive line is @ the Packers

TEBOW and the Broncos beat Big Ben and the Steelers in a shocking, exciting playoff game. Tebow completed 10 passes for 316 yards, 80 of them in OT to Demarius Thomas, who finished with 204 and a score.. next up is @ the Patriots

NHL Week in review:

Halfway point of the NHL season. Rangers and Canucks are tops in the league.

MLB Week in review:

Barry Larkin was elected to the HOF and Jack Morris nearly did. I’m happy to report that Mark McGwire lost votes, getting only 19.5% of the vote.

NBA player of the week:
Josh Smith, ATL SF/PF:

Smith had 5 games last week, and he showed up. After a slow start to the season, in the last 5 games he has scored 106 points, (over 21 a game), shot .557 from the field, hit 1 3, pulled down 51 boards (over 10 a game), dished the ball out for 16 assists (over 3 a game), and added 12 steals and 11 blocks, both over 2 a game.

Fantasy pickup of the week:

Matt Barnes, LAL SF:
He isn’t owned in that many leagues, and has been on fire in the past two games, with 31 points, 16 boards, 7 assists, 3 steals and 3 blocks. He was named the Lakers’ starting SF. PICK HIM UP!

Honorable mention to Nikola Vucevic of the Sixers

Drop of the week:
Michael Beasley, MIN:
It isn’t quite time to pull the plug on Beas, but he has had a subpar year and recently got hurt. Also, coach Rick Adelman might put him in a 6th man role when he comes back… All that = disappointing.

NFC East and MLB HOF ballot…

First for my HOF Ballot:

Tim Raines

Jeff Bagwell

Barry Larkin

I think anyone else is a stretch, with Bernie Williams and Jack Morris just missing out. I am one of the people that would rather see a borderline candidate out than in. Raines, Bagwell and Larkin are the only surefire candidates on this years HOF Ballot.

BTW, in your fantasy basketball leagues make sure to sit: Zach Randolph, Manu Ginobli, Corey Maggette, Eric Gordon (all injured)

NFC EAST:

New York Giants, 9-7: The Giants had a vastly different approach this year than in recent years. They turned into a pass first, bad defense team. It turned them into a 9-7 playoff team, one that benefited from being in a bad division. QB Eli Manning had his best season, throwing for nearly 5000 yards to go along with 29 touchdowns. He cut his interceptions to 16 from 25 last year, while throwing the ball 50 more times. The running game suffered. Ahmad Bradshaw missed four games and ran for only 659 yards, down from 1,235 a year ago. Brandon Jacobs continued declining, running for only 571 yards, down from 823 last year and 1,089 three years ago. Victor Cruz, the young WR, came out of nowhere this year. He caught 82 passes for 1536 yards and 9 scores. Hakeem Nicks, who is the Giants best WR in terms of skill, added nearly 1200 yards, and TE Jake Ballard caught some key passes, and some very acrobatic ones. On defense, Jason Pierre-Paul had a great second year, racking up 16.5 sacks. Michael Boley was very good as the starting middle linebacker. The Giants will be favored by a very slim margin in their playoff game against the Falcons, but look for them to come out hot and keep Matt Ryan from his first playoff victory.

Philadelphia Eagles, 8-8: This Eagles team was sooo frustrating. After Vince Young labeled this team, “Dream team,” before the start of the year, they go on to go 8-8. Young, by the way, was a disappointment at backup QB. The Eagles team outscored opponents by more than 60 points, but failed to hold onto 4th quarter leads. Michael Vick had a bad season, one year after having his best across the board. He threw for only 3300 yards and 18 TD’s, to go along with 14 INT’s. LeSean McCoy was the team’s best player, electrifying crowds with 1300 rushing yards and 20 combined rushing and receiving TD’s. DeSean Jackson had contract issues and his game suffered because of that. Jeremy Maclin was very good, but dropped too many passes and was injured for a chunk of the season. TE Brent Celek was phenomenal in blocking and in receiving. On defense, the team had two difference making defensive ends, Jason Babin and Trent Cole, who combined for 29 sacks. Next year, the roster will be similar, and the coach will be the same. This team will need to rebound with a good season.

Dallas Cowboys, 8-8: The Cowboys had a late season collapse. After starting the year 7-4, but finished the year 1-4, including losses to Arizona, Philadelphia, and New York twice. Tony Romo threw for nearly 4200 yards and 31 touchdowns. DeMarco Murray took the starting RB slot from Felix Jones in the middle of the year, and impressed, with 900 rushing yards and 5.5 yards per carry. The Cowboys were pretty balanced in the WR category, having 4 players with 550+ yards. Miles Austin finished with 579, but would have had much more if he hadn’t gotten injured for major amounts of time. TE Jason Witten led the team in yards with 950, and Dez Bryant, who is tremendously talented, added 930. Sean Lee was the anchor of the defense, leading the team in tackles and interceptions. The Cowboys will probably be predicted to finish in 3rd in this division next year.

Washington Redskins, 5-11: There isn’t much to say about the Redskins. They just don’t have much talent. They are a below average passing, rushing, and defensive team. Rex Grossman, Roy Helu, and Jabar Gaffney as the top players at passing, rushing, and receiving won’t cut it. Expect the Skins to remain at the bottom of the NFC East.

FANTASY PLAYER OF THE DAY:

Chris Bosh, PF MIA:

Bosh had to pick up the slack yesterday, as the Heat were missing LeBron and Dwade, and he did. He scored 33 points with 14 rebounds and 5 assists. He added 2 blocks and steals apiece. He also hit a 3, and went 14-27 from the field and 4-4 from the line. He did have 7 TO’s, but that is one sweet night.