Texas Rangers v Detroit Tigers ALCS Preview: Analysis, Prediction, TV Schedule, Pitching Matchups

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Only a mere 12 months ago Texas was in the World Series where they came up sort versus the San Francisco Giants. Over the next eight days, they have a chance to return to the showcase of baseball’s finest. In their way stand the Detroit Tigers, who defeated the New York Yankees in five games following their first division title since 1987.

Both of these teams are easy to get behind. One team advances, the other will have to spend the winter waiting for their next chance.

The MLB postseason is down to its final four and these two teams could be matching up for a classic.

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Chicago Bears at Detroit Lions: Monday Night Football Preview and Prediction

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This week’s Monday Night Football matchup  features a rivalry from the old “black and blue” division. The Chicago Bears (2-2) will travel to play the undefeated Detroit Lions (4-0).

The Lions have been the NFL’s best surprise this season. They had been playing better for the past two seasons, but now with Matthew Stafford healthy they’re a seriously dangerous team. The Bears, though, have been consistently inconsistent with their passing and running game showing up at time but never at the exact time.

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Bettor’s Guide: NFL Week 5 Picks, Point Spreads, Over-Unders

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Those first two weeks, when I went a combined 15-15-2, are now a distant memory. After a 12-4 Week 3, and a solid 9-7 Week 4, the overall record is now 10 games over .500 at 36-26-2, a win percentage of 57%. And some of the losses last week were by the narrowest of margins, so I’m feeling good.

What’s on tap for this week? A Monday night game in which Detroit is favored by six points over Chicago. That’s really all you need to know about the NFL in 2011.

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Viewer’s Guide: NFL Week 5 TV Schedule, Announcer Assignments, and Coverage Maps

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I don’t know why it irks me so much, but if I have to hear the phrase “at the quarter pole” to describe the first weeks of the season being done, I’m going to scream. Sure, it’s accurate, but something about so many NFL talking heads using the phrase has just begun to grate at my ears.

But I digress.

Week 5 is here, and there are several games to look forward to as you plan your Sunday of football viewing.

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Fantasy Football Week 5 Start Em, Sit Em Sunday Live Chat

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Every Sunday morning starting at 10:00 CT (11:00 ET) we are here to answer your last minute start/sit questions.

I’ll kick things off, then Zach will take over, and there might even be an appearance from Drew. There will not be a call-in show today, so pose your questions below.

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Milwaukee Brewers vs. St. Louis Cardinals Preview: Analysis, Prediction, TV Schedule, Pitching Matchups

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Behold the power of cheese.

Things have been pretty good in Wisconsin in 2011. Outside of all that political crap, the sports scene has been unreal. From the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day, to the Packers’ run through the playoffs and their Super Bowl XLV win, and even Marquette and Wisconsin making it to the Sweet Sixteen, it has been a dream season for everyone in America’s Dairyland.

And then there are the Brewers.

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Green Bay Packers v Atlanta Falcons Analysis and Prediction – Sunday Night Football Preview

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There are two undefeated teams left in the NFL heading into Week 5, and both are in the NFC North. The Packers and the Lions are those two teams, and Green Bay will attempt to keep their perfect record alive this Sunday night in Atlanta.

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Fantasy Football Week 5 Stock Report: Sanchez, Decker UP; Fitzpatrick, Colston DOWN

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Oh byes.

We don’t like them, but the players do need their rest.  With the rest periods starting now, there are some crucial decisions that need to be made regarding your roster.

Who is going to fill in for Ray Rice?  Issac Redman can’t carry the load for an injured Mendenhall…can he?  And so many more.

Now is the time that we want to highlight players who might be on your bench or floating around on waivers waiting to be picked up in hopes that he can provide that stopgap service.  Everyone knows that Jason Witten is good for your health but how about Brandon Pettigrew?

There are questions galore to be answered in the Week 5 stock report.

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Al Davis dead at age 82

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Wow. I don’t think anyone was expecting this today.

After seeing a couple of tweets from @ThunderTreats and @Deadspin I went to the Oakland Raiders’ website, and there, in giant letters was the following:

AL DAVIS

July 4, 1929 – October 8, 2011

The Raiders family will issue a statement later today.

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Nyjer Morgan sends Brewers past D’Backs to set up NLCS featuring “the most intense rivalry in MLB”

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Until early Friday evening, there had been two sporting events that I had personally attended in my life which I put above all others. One was a tense game on an early fall afternoon on the final weekend of the strike-shortened 1981 baseball season, when the Milwaukee Brewers downed the Detroit Tigers to earn the franchise’s first ever playoff berth.

The other came nearly eight years ago when the Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks went to sudden death overtime in the first round of the NFL playoffs. The game ended with Al Harris’s ‘Divine Interception’, with Harris crossing the end zone literally right in front of me.

The Milwaukee Brewers walk-off win against the Arizona Diamondbacks last night to move on to the National League Championship Series may have them both topped.

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Big Ten Game of the Week: Ohio State at Nebraska – Preview, Prediction, and Poll

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What was supposed to be one of the marquee matchups in 2011 Big Ten conference play has lost some of its luster over the past two weeks.

Ohio State will travel to Lincoln, Nebraska to face the 14th-ranked Cornhuskers Saturday night in a meeting of powerhouse programs desperate for a conference win.

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#11 Texas v #2 Oklahoma Preview, Prediction, and Keys to Victory – College Football Game of the Week

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This weekend’s game of the week features one of the best rivalries in college football as #11 Texas and #2 Oklahoma square off for the 106th time in the Red River Rivalry.

Both of these teams are coming off impressive wins and are 4-0 heading into this game for just the second time in seven years.  Oklahoma is looking to keep their national championship hopes alive as they face another top notched opponent.  Texas has been a bit of a surprise at 4-0 and will have a legit shot at winning another Big 12 conference title with a win on Saturday.

This game has all the makings of another classic game between these two elite programs and here is what you can expect. [Read more...]



This Week’s College Football TV Schedule and Point Spreads for Week 6 – Saturday, October 8th

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Week 6 of the 2011 college football season is upon us. Crazy to think that we’re nearly half way through the regular season.

Last week saw Arkansas scrap out a victory over Texas A&M, Illinois escape a scare from Northwestern, Pittsburgh destroy ranked South Florida, Air Force win in OT over Navy, and Oklahoma narrowly beat my Ball State Cardinals…62-6.

This week more exciting and entertaining college football games are on their way. Oklahoma and Texas meet up in the Red River Rivalry in Dallas, Florida travels to Baton Rouge to take on LSU, and Ohio State and Nebraska both try to rebound against eachother Saturday night.

So settle down, relax, set your fantasy college football rosters (yeah, that’s right), and get ready for another great weekend of college football. As always, here are some of the marquee games to pay attention to this week, then the entire college football TV schedule for week 6.

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Pursuit of Perfection: Will the Vikings or Packers Be “Perfect” in 2011?

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[Editor's note: Drew and Amanda often exchange Facebook messages, tweets, and emails that include lots of Packers-Vikings trash talk. This post is an email thread between the two in which Drew does his best to jinx the undefeated Packers and Amanda tries to hold back her laughter while discussing the winless Vikings.]

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3 Important Issues the Ongoing Discussion About Paying Student-Athletes is Distracting Us From Dealing With

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What are you doing this weekend? You're reading this book.

Taylor Branch’s cover story in this month’s The Atlantic, “The Shame of College Sports,” added some zest to the already spicy debate about how to compensate student athletes, particularly those in revenue sports.

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