Attention

Attention Loyal Readers:

Around The Corn Sports Blog will not be posting until after Shark Week has concluded.

Sincerely,

K. Becks

No, I'm just kidding. However, it does seem like everything else on TV does take a backseat when Shark Week is on the Discovery Channel. Twice during work today I changed the channel to ESPN and came back thirty minutes later with the TV mysteriously switched to the Discovery Channel. In other words, I'm going to have to put the DirecTV controller somewhere no one else can find it tomorrow.

Sharks may be taking center stage this week, but a certain "island" is competing for the spotlight, for better or worse. The island I'm talking about is "Revis Island", or more specifically, Darrelle Revis. Today the New York Jets began training camp without their All-Pro cornerback, who is sitting out due to a contract dispute. Revis wants to become the highest paid cornerback in the league, and go figure, the Jets don't really want to pay him enough for that to happen. I think the Jets are handling this situation very smartly. For Revis to become the highest paid cornerback in the league, his contract would have to exceed Raiders cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha's three year, 45.3 million dollar contract extension that he signed last season. The Jets don't want to pay that kind of money because, quite frankly, Oakland made a poor decision in dishing out that much money to a defensive player. It is true that Revis is possibly the best defensive player in the league, and it is also true that if the Jets don't have him on the field, their defense will likely suffer at least a little bit. However, he isn't worth more than 45.3 million dollars to the Jets, or any other franchise. Nnamdi Asomugha, for as good as he is, isn't worth that kind of money either; he just is lucky enough to play for a franchise with a dysfunctional front office (seems contradictive, right?) that agreed to pay him that outrageous sum of money. The Jets don't have to worry; they'll sign Revis, and for a reasonable amount.

So, on a scale of one to ten, how silly does Albert Haynesworth look now? A month ago, Haynesworth made a huge deal about having to play in a 3-4 defense, and now he is too out of shape to complete the Redskins conditioning test. I don't think this is really about Haynesworth's lack of conditioning. This is about him learning that Coach Mike Shanahan runs the show, and if you don't like the way it is run, too bad. Shanahan is humbling Haynesworth, and we all know that the big defensive tackle is in dire need of some humble pie. When he finally does pass the conditioning test, I don't think we'll be hearing much from Albert Haynesworth until the season is underway. After this humiliation, Haynesworth should get the message that he isn't bigger than the Redskins, especially with Shanahan at the helm.

The more I think about it, the more I am starting to believe that the Ochocinco and T.O. marriage could be a great thing both off the field and on the field. Whenever I see them in an interview together, there is no denying that they are cocky as hell. However, it also is apparent that both men are aware of what kind of things can be achieved if they put aside their personal agendas and work together. In a sense, it's almost like the Miami Heat situation, only on a much smaller scale. Cincinnati is in no way the overwhelming favorite to win the Super Bowl like the Heat will be to win the NBA championship, but the Bengals do have the offensive weapons to overwhelm almost any defense that they will have to face. They also seem to realize that if they demand less for themselves and sacrifice for the good of the team, that they have the ability to reach heights that neither of them could reach on their own at this point in time. Could T.O. really have matured, and realized that this is his last chance at a Super Bowl ring? We'll be able to tell early on, as Cincinnati has to play New England and Baltimore in their first two regular season games.

About seventy-five percent of my readership (in other words, three of the four of you) have already told me that you are anxiously anticipating my college football preview. Well, I have good news for you all; tomorrow I will begin my college football preview by breaking down one conference per day until I have covered each major conference (major in my eyes, of course). I will be working across the United States from East to West, which means that all you Pac-10 fans (come to think of it, I don't know if I have any readers who fit the bill) will have to wait awhile before I tell you all that I think that a team who is ineligible to participate in postseason play will win your conference. Oops. Anyway, college football will be the focus of many of my future posts for at least the next week. Hopefully I will get some conversation started either here or on the Facebook fan page, or as always, you can email me at aroundthecornsportsblog@gmail.com. Thanks everyone.



- K. Becks

It's Been A While

Lots of big stories in sports this week. Texas basketball loses twice. Carlton Fisk slams Mark McGwire. NASCAR decides to relax their rules. Australian Open. Some of them I'll get to writing about later on in the upcoming week, but unfortunately I was unable to get to them when they were hot topics. For all of you that are still in school, you can relate to this: writing papers sucks. Throw writing a paper on top of all my other schoolwork and I've got almost no time for anything else. And due to the fact that at this point the only people who are reading my blogs are people from my school who make fun of the fact that I sign off here with K. Becks, writing new posts is getting progressively lower on my list of things to do.

However, predicting the NFL conference championship games is a must. Here are my picks for the games this weekend.

AFC Championship Game
New York vs. Indianapolis

How many people expected New York to be here? Whether you think Rex Ryan is a savior or just full of hot air, you have to give him credit for taking a team led by a rookie quarterback this far. However, I think that this is the weekend that Cinderella's ride ends. The Colts, unlike the Bengals and the Chargers, have not really been questioned on whether or not they're the real deal. I believe that the answer is obvious. This game could affect Peyton Manning's status as one of the game's best quarterbacks ever. Great quarterbacks deliver, especially when their team is the favorite. If he fails to pull through, with only one Super Bowl to his name, is he really one of the best ever? Fortunately for Peyton, I don't think we'll have to ask that question.

Final Score: 34-14 Indianapolis


NFC Championship Game
New Orleans vs. Minnesota

On paper, this game should be the better of the two this weekend. It's the Old Guy who wants one last shot at the Big One vs. the Talented Guy in his prime who wants his first ring. New Orleans looked very good at home last weekend. Let's remember though that they weren't facing Jared Allen and the Viking defense. If Drew Brees has enough time to find his receivers, then they could be headed to their first ever Super Bowl. However, I think New Orleans will have trouble with Minnesota's defensive front, allowing Minnesota to stay in the game. I predict Brett Favre will drive down the field late in the fourth and complete another thriller to add to his legacy.

Final Score: 38-35 Minnesota


I will try to post a few more entries this week if I can. I can only hope the games this weekend distract me from finishing my paper.


- K. Becks

Back In My Day...

Well, I was going to write about Ohio State upsetting Purdue on Tuesday night, but I think that the game did the talking for itself. Bottom line: when Evan Turner is healthy, he is the best player in the Big 10. Robbie Hummel also deserves a lot of credit for his outstanding first half performance.

Last week, I went 1-3 in picking the NFL playoff games. I think that this week I can better that mark, if only by one game. Here are my picks for the Divisional Round of the NFL playoffs.

AFC Divisional Round
Baltimore vs. Indianapolis

Baltimore was the shocker of last week; however, I really don't know how good the Patriots actually were. Indianapolis, on the other hand, is the real deal. I've been a supporter of their decision to give up the perfect season in hopes of maximizing their playoff productivity. I don't think that Indy will have any problem beating the Ravens at home. Since the game is in a dome, it should be a high scoring game, and that will favor the Colts. Look for Peyton Manning to have a good day.

Final Score: 35-21 Indianapolis


New York vs. San Diego

With all due respect to the Cowboys, I believe that San Diego was the hottest team going into the playoffs. Rex Ryan and the Jets aren't going to do anything to slow down the 'Bolts either. I believe both quarterbacks have a chance to take their team to the Super Bowl; but in Mark Sanchez's case, I mean future Super Bowls. Sanchez has shown some good stuff, but is too young to lead his team to a victory against a team like the Chargers. Remember, New York's win last week was against the Bengals, who had a rollercoaster of a season to say the least. San Diego will keep on rolling here.

Final Score: 31-17 San Diego



NFC Divisional Round
Arizona vs. New Orleans

This game has the potential to be the best one of the weekend. It's been a month since New Orleans' last win, and unless they come out firing on all cylinders, they could be in trouble. Let's remember that the turning point (that is, when everyone started saying "How about them Saints?") was after they beat New England back in November. The Patriots, as it turned out, weren't as good as everyone thought. If the Saints don't get after Kurt Warner and allow him time in the pocket, then they could be done for the season. It should be close, but I'm calling the upset here.

Final Score: 38-35 Arizona


Dallas vs. Minnesota

This is a tough game to call. Dallas is playing very well right now. But Minnesota, when Adrian Peterson doesn't turn the ball over, is very hard to stop as well. I like the experience of Brett Favre over Tony Romo. However, the Vikings need to stop guys like Cowboys TE Jason Witten if they want to win. If the linebackers forget about him, then Romo will look very good in this game. I like Minnesota in a close one.

Final Score: 35-31 Minnesota



- K. Becks

Wild Card Weekend

I had meant to post an entry yesterday to review the National Championship game and give a look back at some of my favorite games of the bowl season. However, due to the fact that the NFL Wildcard games start today, I'm going to have to put that on hold. As for the National Championship, I'm not saying anything that people haven't already said; it was a decent game, but we're left wondering "what if?"

Since the wildcard games start today, I've decided to give my picks for the games. Each week I'll make new picks as we work our way down to two teams. This year's matchups are particularly interesting, especially since many of these teams played each other just last week.

AFC Wildcard
New York vs. Cincinnati

I don't think that Cincinnati should be extremely concerned about last week's performance (other than the fact that they couldn't catch the ball). Carson Palmer needs to have a solid game against the tough Jets passing defense for Cincinnati to win. If he can do that, and Cincinnati can make Jets QB Mark Sanchez look like a nervous rookie in his first playoff appearance, then they will play another week.

Final Score: 24-17 Cincinnati


Baltimore vs. New England

The Patriots are pretty banged up heading into this one. Without wideout Wes Welker (say that one 5 times fast), guys such as Julian Edelman are going to have to step up big time. If the Ravens want to win this one, then RB Willis McGahee is going to need to gouge the Patriot defense much like he did last week against Oakland. The Patriots are 8-0 at home this season, and are also a perfect 7-0 at Gillette Stadium in the playoffs, but I think that the Ravens have the ability to win a close one. This game could be the most interesting of the wildcard weekend.

Final Score: 20-14 Baltimore



NFC Wildcard
Philadelphia vs. Dallas

This is probably the most anticipated matchup of the weekend. We will finally get to see if Tony Romo and Wade Phillips can win in the playoffs. Philadelphia has yet to beat Dallas this season, and trying to do that in Dallas will be no easy task. Time is running out for Donovan McNabb to get his Super Bowl ring, so he is going to need to play much better than he did last week if he wants to keep his season alive. Making Tony Romo revert to his previous late season play will be key for the Philly defense, and I think that they are capable of doing that.

Final Score: 35-33 Philadelphia


Green Bay vs. Arizona

This is my favorite game this weekend. I really don't want to see either team lose, because both have major upsides that are capable of taking them to the Super Bowl. Green Bay is one of the hottest teams in football right now, and QB Aaron Rodgers has been making people in Green Bay say "Brett who?" Arizona faces a tall task in stopping Rodgers, and I just don't see them doing it well enough. This game should be closer than last week's, but the "W" will go to the same team.

Final Score: 34-24 Packers



Like my picks? Think I have no idea what I'm talking about? I'd love to hear your comments. Shoot me an email at aroundthecornsportsblog@gmail.com or post a comment under this entry, and I'll try my best to get back to you in a timely manner. Thanks everyone.


- K. Becks