Not that anyone thought the Trail Blazers were going to give them fits or anything, but the San Antonio Spurs, visiting Portland, looked in good shape as the defending NBA champs tonight. Not only that, but the FanYard crew had this first game of the season almost nailed right on the head!
San Antonio’s 106-97 victory was just one more than what the Yardstick’s 8-points-or-more called for. Here’s to a great season, all. **toasting with a glass of red wine**
Some of you may notice that the FanYard site is slow loading, or does not load at all, intermittently today. We apologize for the inconvenience. There seems to be an issue with the internet in the part of the U.S. where our servers reside, which has been noted and is being looked into. We appreciate your patience while we look into this matter and we hope to have it resolved very soon.
Everything seems to be back on track now. Again, thanks for your patience!
Enjoy the Green Bay at Denver game tonight. The Yardstick is calling for a Packers win by at least a field goal. Let’s see if Favre can toss his first-ever touchdown in Denver with Champ Bailey and Dre’ Bly waiting on the wings to pick him off. If they play, that is. Bailey is listed as doubtful, which would bode well for Donald Driver in my fantasy league!
While those poor, cold, wet Englishmen were forced to watch what might have been the most boring NFL game of the 2007 season this far, there were some exciting things happen today. The biggest thing, of course, is that we now have NBA and NCAA Basketball live on FanYard!!
That is about the only thing that could make the NFL season even better for me, is having basketball ready to roll, too.
Man, we gotta start believing even more in those crazy Patriots. A 45-point win over the Redskins?? Wow! This upcoming Pats at Colts game will hopefully live up to even an ounce of the hype that has begun.
On another note, during the Red Sox win over the Rockies tonight (it is not over yet, but it may as well be), in the 8th inning, they are now reporting that Alex Rodriguez has decided to opt out of his contract with the Yankees. That means the Yankees do not receive the 21-million dollars that they would be due from the Texas Rangers. They have said they will not negotiate without that part of his contract, so it looks like A-Rod is going to be a free agent. With Boston winning this World Series, would they be willing to pay the quarter of a billion dollars or so it will take to bring in A-Rod next year. Hopefully he goes to Kansas City. That way, we a won’t have to hear the rumors anymore.
Quick update on basketball, site navigation and our points system.
NBA NCAAB Launch
If all goes as expected, we will have NBA and NCAA men’s basketball
sections live on FanYard over the weekend.
Site Navigation
We are aware that it can be a pain to find your college team with
so many games in any given week and the issue will increase with
the launch of NCAAB as there are way more NCAAB matchups in a week
than NCAAF. So, we are making a couple of changes that will help
address this issue.
1. We will be adding a conference menu (in the form of a drop
down) that will allow you to filter the big list by conference
(thank Gazaar for writing
in with this idea).
2. We will be adding “team list” pages that will list all the
teams by conference and division. From there you will be easily
able to find your team and click through to the game yard.
TIP: You can click any date on the calendar to see what games
are listed for that day only.
Points System
Some of you have written asking why there are people with low
accuracy at the top of the leaderboards for the season. Our
points system was designed to represent the “quality” of a
members win picks. If two fans picked the Partriots to win,
one picks them to win by 1 point or more, the other picks them
to win by 7 or more and the outcome is Patriots win by 7, while
both are credited with a win, the fan that picked 7 would be
awarded more points because they were “more accurate.”
We realized that in theory, it would be possible for someone who
makes lots of picks over time and if the ones they win earn them
lots of point, they could in theory climb the leaderboard even
with a lower than average accuracy rating. As some of you have
pointed out, this has turned out to be the case and we are
currently testing a new point system that should better reflect
the quality of one’s picks so we’ll keep you posted.
This Week’s Wrap Up.
Congratulations to Adama Anderson for reaching the
top of last week’s NFL Leaderboard. That Belgium air must be
doing you good Adama…or maybe it is the beer? PRESCIENCE once again headed up
the NCAAF Leaderboard and congrats are well deserved, as that
makes three weeks in a row! And congrats to you all, as we had
10 out of 14 NFL Yardsticks with accurate predictions last
weekend.
The 42′ HD TV is still very much up for grabs. Just use the
invite system and get your friends signed up. You can import your
contacts from some email systems as well, which certainly can
save you time.
Hard to believe that some teams will be fully halfway through
their season by the time this weekend’s games end and that next
week could feature another game between undefeated teams. It
would be just the sixth time in the 85 or so years of the NFL
that two undefeated teams would meet that late into the year,
but the second time this season alone.
Catch up on how we are doing in our NFL
picking contests with the Hot Girls and with Jon over at
Pyle of List.
As always, here’s to a safe and enjoyable weekend. Have fun
making your picks and best of luck to your teams!
With just over four minutes left in the Boston College at Virginia Tech game, I managed to remember it was on, as I had been stuck watching the World Series Game 2. The Eagles were down 10-0 and the Hokeis were on the field, but being held in Boston territory. Instead of going for a long field goal, the Hokies did a pooch punt, downing the ball at the eight-yard line.
Then it started. Eagles QB Matt Ryan drove the team 92 yards for a score. Then the Eagles attempted an onside kick. The ball did not travel the requisite ten yards, but it was touched by a Hokie and an Eagle fell on the ball near Boston College’s 40-yards line. Again, Ryan drove the team down the field and into field goal range. They had one touchdown called back for offensive holding, and it looked like they would have to settle for a field goal to send the game to overtime.
Then, with 11 seconds left on the clock, Ryan, who had been flushed out of the pocket and was running around on many occasions, hiked the ball with both feet leaving the ground from the 18-yard line into the endzone for the go-ahead score.
On those last two drives, Ryan more than doubled his passing yardage for the evening and evened up his TD to INT ratio with the two scoring tosses, encouraging the talking heads to, of course, discuss how the last few minutes had renewed his Heisman possibilities when, just moments before, they had all but declared him out of the running.
The final score: BC 14 - VT 10, making for an accurate Yardstick on this game, too.
Man, to be a sports fan in the Boston area right now. It just doesn’t seem fair. Oh yeah, the Red Sox are leading in Game Two by a score of 2-1 going into the 8th inning.
These were some kinda crazy games, and we both made a couple very nice calls here. Read more to find out who between us made the better picks in NFL Week 7. Remember, like the Yardstick, we have to pick the correct NFL team and we want to be as close as possible to the amount of points that team wins by, without going over with our pick. Jon from Pyle of List is our fellow combatant. See what he thinks of Chris Berman.
BB: Patriots by 14 over Dolphins:
JP: Pats by 11 over Dolphins:
The Pats could only manage a 21-point victory over the finless Dolphins even after Ronnie Brown went down for the season? I can only imagine that Belichick has not been able to sleep a wink over his decision to sit Brady for a while in the second half. Unconscionable. One more notch on the Yardstick.
BB: Saints by 3 over Falcons:
JP: Saints by 7 over Falcons:
Juuusst a little bit over by Jon here, as the Saints marched over the backs of the Falcons by six points, not seven. So close, but still, I know he’s smilin’ at the fact that Joey’s back. BB up by two.
BB: Cowboys by 6 over Vikings:
JP: ‘Boys by 10 over Vikings:
Can you say, “Right on the money!” I knew you could. Jon gets two for a direct hit and we’re tied up, just like that.
BB: Giants by 7 over 49ers:
JP: Giants by 1 over 49ers:
Apparently Jon has more faith in the Niners than the FanYard players who help us find the Yardstick. But no one thought it would go this badly. Giants get an 18 point win, and I get one more point.
BB: Ravens by 3 over Bills:
JP: Bills by 4 over Ravens:
Color me impressed with this pick. Jon was almost bang-on again, as the Bills beat the Ravens by five at home. Tied up again.
BB: Steelers by 5 over Broncos:
JP: Steelers by 14 over Broncos:
No winners here, as the Broncos surprised the Yardstick, me, Jon and even themselves, with their third last-second field goal victory; it is the only type of win they have had all year.
BB: Eagles by 3 over Bears:
JP: Bears by 1 over Eagles:
Another nice pick here by JP, as the Bears won on an amazing final drive by Brian Griese, who called his own plays.
BB: Titans by 2 over Texans:
JP: Titans by 4 over Texans:
Yes, there was a ton of field goals in this game. Normally that is boring, right? Right. Except that this is the exception that proves the rule, at least in the fourth quarter.
BB: Bengals by 6 over Jets:
JP: Bengals by 3 over the Jets:
Almost bang on again, but the seven-point win by the Bengals is still good for one more precious point.
BB: Redskins by 6 over Cardinals:
JP: Cardinals by 6 over ‘Skins:
The two-point win by the Skins was not enough for points here, as they almost gave the game away in the second half.
BB: Seahawks by 7 over Rams:
JP: Rams by 3 over Seahawks:
I am not sure about the Rams making the playoffs anymore, man. They’ll have to play a little bit better if they want to save this season, that’s for sure. Meanwhile, the 27-point win in Seattle was overshadowed by a huge sale at Nordstrom’s and you can notch another point for Blake and the Yardstick.
BB: Lions by 2 over the Buccaneers:
JP: Lions by 6 over Bucs:
Jon’s call almost brought him within a point here, but I’m sure he’s gonna be happy with the one point he gets for almost exactly predicting this touchdown victory for the squad of miracles.
BB: Chiefs by 2 over Raiders:
JP: Raiders by 2 over Chiefs:
Now this, friends, was a nice, exact call to make, going against the favorite and taking a road dog while hitting the margin of victory right on. The Chiefs’ two-point win has them sitting in sole possession of first place in the AFC West. I am fine with being proven wrong about old Coach Hermie and I’ll take the two points, but I am pretty sure he is just elevating me enough to bring me down.
BB: Colts by 4 over Jags:
JP: Colts by 13 over Jags:
Nice call, JP, thinking the Colts would want to prove something. Well, they proved something all right. That they can play football very good and that Del Rio’s job was in jeopardy at the start of the season for good reason. Why is it that coaches seem to relish in making the worst decisions possible when playing the Colts? I guess Peyton really does screw with people’s minds. Maybe I should be giving the credit to Manning for the idiotic play-calling of Herm Edwards and Bill Billick for the lack of logic in their game plans against the Colts in last year’s playoffs, too.
Week 7 Points -
BB: 9
JP: 6
Total points –
BB: 30.5
JP: 23
Week 7 Record –
BB: 10-4
JP: 10-4
Overall Record –
BB: 46-25
JP: 42-29
In our contest against the NFL predicting hotties over at Hot Chicks Hot Picks, we have fallen behind by one game after the second week. In Week 1 of this battle of the sexies, the ladies tied us up. We were helpless in our efforts to get ahead and both ended up with seven correct.
How this works is that ALIKAT pulls herself away from fighting with her bathroon contractors long enough to go through all the weekend’s NFL games and, using a point spread, pick the winners of each. We use the Yardstick and, depending on what you, the FanYard community has said en masse about the outcome of each game, make our picks using the same numbers as her.
If she takes Oakland to win, minus two points, but the Yardstick actually says Kansas City will win by at least two points, we would take Kansas City to win by at least two. Since the opposite side of the line she is using would be Kansas City plus two, we would take that side and go against her Oakland minus-two pick. This happened in one of the games this weekend, and the Chiefs did win by two. Perfection.
Unfortunately, it does not always work that way. In the Giants vs. Niners game, she had the Giants to win, minus nine points. The Yardstick for that game said that New York would win by seven or more. Since her line said nine, and ours said seven, we took the other side, which was San Fran plus nine points. Well, of course, the poor Niners offensive woes continued and they were whupped. The final score was NYG 33, SF 15. Add nine points to the Niners and we lose. Subtract nine from the G-men and they still win. Unnastand?
Those are two of the seven games we disagreed on and the Dallas / Minnesota game was a tie. The others:
1) The girls had Tennessee -1.5 and the Yardstick was set at a one-point Titans win. They won by two one a last-second record-breaking eight field goal by Roberto Bironas. Notch one for the chicks.
2) Chicks were taking the Redskins to win by at least 10, while we had them by just 6. That meant, we took the Cards plus 9.5 points, and when the Skins won by just two. Boom!
3) The Saints had the ladies in their pockets with nine points to shave, but they could only manage a 6-point victory. The Yardstick suggested just 3, so we won another point.
4) With Cincinnati getting 6.5 points taken away, this was a tough pill to swallow. The girls jumped on it and we had a Yardstick of 6 for the cats, so we passed. They won this battle.
5) The Seahawks had to win by more than eight for the girls to get a win and they won by 27! We saw at least a 7-point win, but it was not enough, and was the tie-breaker.
Last week’s score:
TheFanYard - 7-6
Hot Chicks - 7-6
This week’s score:
TheFanYard - 7-6-1
Hot Chicks - 6-7-1
Tomorrow we see how FanYard did in our competition with Jon from Pyle of List.
The Lions are 4-2, after their seven-point win over the Buccaneers today. They need to win six of their final ten games in order for Jon Kitna to retain his faith, and keep his truthiness.
Hot chick ALIKAT made a great call, taking Tennessee at minus 1.5 points, even though Vince Young did not play. Thanks to a record eight fiels goals by rob Bironas, the Titans pulled off a last-second two-point victory to cover for her. The Yardstick for that game ended up pointing to at least a one-point victory for the Titans, which is great, but not high enough for us to have taken the Titans at the line she was using, so score one for the girls.
I love this game. (Is that trademarked?)
Wow. I can’t say I am too surprised, but it is crazy to see a quarterback like Tom Brady - with three Super Bowl rings already to his name at the age of 30 - who set his personal best with five touchdown passes just last week, have five GD TDs in the first half of this game today. The 6-0 Patriots at the 0-6 Miami Dolphins. It is the biggest mismatch in a couple decades, yes, but…again, wow. 42-7 at the half. Will they keep blasting away? Can they set the record for points in a game? According to the NFL Record and Fact Book (which contains many mistakes, at least the online version, by the way), the record is 72.
Here comes the second half…
Oh, man, this is funny stuff!
I presume most of you know Buffalo has a big hate-on for their former running back Willis McGahee, who now plays for the Ravens and returns to Buffalo this Sunday for the first time since they traded him. In an interview with Penthouse last January, McGahee put down the women, bars, weather and pretty much eveything else about the city of Buffalo and suggested the Bills should move to Toronto.
Well, now there’s a site dedicated to hating Willis, and there’s even a DVD you can buy and a song called Our Turn To Speak. I never read the interview as I look at Penthouse for the pictures, but McGahee is on my fantasy team and I’d rather have him than any Bill I can think of. Of course, I had to listen to the song and lemme tell you, I think it just gave Willis more ammo and me a headache.
At least, that’s my five cents on Buffalo’s beef.
Predict these NBA games! Predict these college basketball games!
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