Experimental Nonsense

Thursday, January 15, 2015

Experimental Nonsense Happy 2015

Thursday, October 16, 2014

Experimental Nonsense Returns! by Experimental Nonsense

Thursday Night Football

New York Jets at New England Patriots

So far this season Thursday Night Football has been pretty boring. Every week has been a blowout with the exception of last week's Colts win over the Texans. But even in that game the first half was decidedly one-sided. Unfortunately, this week has the makings of another blowout. The struggling 1-5 Jets travel to New England to take on the 4-2 Patriots.

The first 4 games of the season the Patriots did not look good. The offense was horrendous, and the defense was not nearly as stout as originally predicted. There was even chatter around the league that Tom Brady was in decline. However, the last two weeks have been great for the Patriots. Brady has been efficient again, and Rob Gronkowski looks healthier.

The Jets have been the opposite. They started the season with a win, and even though they lost the next two games their young QB, Geno Smith, was showing some promise. However, he has become a turnover machine, and overall the Jets have lost 5 straight games. The Jets are not any easy team to get a read on, but things are not looking good for Rex Ryan.

The Jets can be scrappy, but their secondary is horrible. This is the type of match-up tailor made for Brady to look like a 3 time Super Bowl winner. I expect it to start out slow and kind of boring before the Patriots take over and cruise to victory.

Patriots 33 Jets 13

Sunday, September 28, 2014

NFL Week 4 Picks

It is already Week 4 of the NFL Season. As always this season has been full of surprises. So far the Thursday Night games have been complete blowouts. This week was no exception as the Giants throttled the Redskins, I mean, the team from Washington. I am going to give you my Week 4 picks in this post along with a brief write up on some of the more intriguing match ups.

Green Bay Packers At Chicago Bears

So far the Packers have been a huge disappointment. Many people thought they were a realistic threat to win the Super Bowl this season. Their offense has looked pedestrian, and their defense is the same porous unit it has always been.

The Bears look a bit better on defense this year, and they have a ton of weapons on offense. However, they are a hard team to get a read on. I am not sure what to think of them so far.

That being said, I think the Bears pull an upset over the Packers today. Then we will see if Aaron Rodgers is still telling us to R E L A X.

Bears 31 Packers 23

Philadelphia Eagles At San Francisco 49ers

The Eagles are 3-0, but they have gotten off to sluggish starts in all three games and had to make 2nd half comebacks. LeSean McCoy is struggling this year, and Nick Foles has only looked good in one game. Is it just a matter of time until this Chip Kelly offense is firing on all cylinders?

The 49ers are plagued by injuries and suspensions on defense. Their offense has also been hard to predict. Frank Gore is not getting nearly the touches he is used to. This is as close to a must win game as you can have in September.

I like the Eagles in this game, but it is a tough one to predict.

Eagles 34 49ers 19

The Rest of the Picks

Texans 24 Bills 10

Colts 31 Titans 13

Panthers 20 Ravens 14

Lions 30 Jets 13

Steelers 38 Buccaneers 9

Dolphins 10 Raiders 9

Chargers 27 Jaguars 20

Falcons 35 Vikings 17

Saints 52 Cowboys 45

Patriots 20 Chiefs 17

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

NFL In Crisis

The NFL is way too big to fail, but the last few weeks have been a trying time for the Shield. The Ray Rice incident was tough to watch, and there are many questions about a cover up, or why the NFL did not act more appropriately given that Rice told Goodell he hit his wife. The Adrian Peterson issue is also a problem. Some will say that he just disciplined his child. The problem is, Child Abuse Statutes were adopted to protect kids from abusive PARENTS!!!!!!!!! There is a line. One side is discipline, the other is abuse. Whether Peterson knew it or not, what he did is definitely abusive.
The NFL, despite being considered a nonprofit, has limitless money and resources. I am sure they will rectify this situation quickly, but it has definitely been a rough few weeks for the United States' most popular league.

Sunday, July 6, 2014

Ronda Rousey vs Alexis Davis

UFC 175

Wow! Ronda Rousey left no doubt in her title defense last night. Of course, the UFC does not have a single female in the same league with her, so she continues to fight fighters that are far less skilled than her. Going into the fight nobody expected this fight to last long.

Ronda is a legitimate MMA star, but can she continue to ascend with no real competition. She is a fighter fighting fitness models and other women that were just more athletic than other girls growing up. No woman in the UFC right now is a legit contender.

Now, if the UFC can somehow sign Cris "Cyborg" Justino, Ronda will finally have someone on her level. Hopefully we will see a contract worked out. I am getting pretty tired of seeing Ronda walk through the current women fighters.

The man that beat the legend pushed his record to 12-0 last night. After two straight wins over Anderson Silva, Chris Weidman defended his title against Lyota Machida last night. Machida made it interesting in the 4th and 5th rounds, but it was a clear cut victory for Mr. Weidman.

It will be interesting to see what the final PPV numbers are on this UFC card. The popularity of the sport has been waning the last few years for a variety of reasons. Perhaps the biggest reason is the UFC completely over saturated the market with their fights. There are fights on 2 to 3 times a month now, but they lack the star power to consistently draw viewers to the screen. It will be interesting to see where the sport is in about 5 years.

Wimbledon

The Men's Singles Final is on today. It will feature Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. I would love to see Federer get one more Slam title, but he will have his hands full with Djokovic. Grass is Federer's best surface, and maybe that is enough to steal a victory today. If Federer can win one more Grand Slam tournament, it will be hard to say he is NOT the greatest tennis player of all time.