Week 13: Pick ‘Em

Seahawks vs Bears- The Bears D is going to make it very uncomfortable for rookie quarterback Russell Wilson. BEARS

Texans vs Titans- The Texans will continue their dominance of sub .500 teams. TEXANS

49ers vs Rams- The Rams have a long ways to go before I will pick them over any super bowl contender again. 49ERS

Patriots vs Dolphins- Call it a homer pick but I don’t see Tannehill and the Dolphins scoring 50 points today. PATRIOTS

Jaguars vs Bills- After last weeks performance of Mario Williams with 3 sacks, look for another solid performance today. BILLS

Colts vs Lions- The Colts are a solid team, but the Lions showed they were for real last week, barely losing to the Texans 31-34. LIONS

Vikings vs Packers- Look for Aaron Rodgers to have a big game against this secondary. PACKERS

Panthers vs Chiefs- Cam’s played well, if he can keep his attitude in check he may go off for another 3 or 4 touchdown game today. PANTHERS

Cardinals vs Jets- Tough for a New England fan to pick, but you have to think the Jets will get their heads out of their asses at some point. JETS

Buccaneers vs Broncos- The Broncos have Peyton Manning, enough said. BRONCOS

Browns vs Raiders- I’m taking the Browns in this toilet bowl. BROWNS

Bengals vs Chargers- I like what 2^nd year quarterback Andy Dalton and rookie wide receiver AJ Green are doing in Cincinnati. BENGALS

Steelers vs Ravens- GAME OF THE WEEK! I’m taking the Ravens defense over the 3^rd string quarterback Charlie Batch. RAVENS

Eagles vs Cowboys- This game is going to come down who chokes last. Cowboys in a painful to watch turnover filled battle. COWBOYS

Giants vs Redskins- My upset pick of the week, The Giants are a pass rushing team, and I think RGIII is going to be able to buy the time he needs to make the throws he needs to make to beat the Giants. I am a believer in RGIII and like what he’s doing in Washington. REDSKINS

Spurs Fined $250k

Greg Popovich is in his 17^th year as the coach of the San Antonio Spurs, a man with 4 NBA championships, 9 division titles and 15 playoff appearances; only missing the playoffs in his first year as coach. This doesn’t sound like a guy who should be fined for a coaching decision. Which is exactly what happened when Commissioner David Stern dropped a 250 thousand dollar find on the Spurs for sitting there starters in Thursday’s game against the Miami Heat. Stern said that the Spurs cheated the fans both in Miami and on the nationally broadcasted game on TNT.

So Commissioner, what you’re telling us is that you decide who the coaches start? Just one question, when should the coaches make their first substitution? This call by Stern to fine a team for not playing their starters is absolutely ludacris. Not only is it totally beyond the NBA commissioners jurisdiction to make that call, there were solid reasons to why coach Popovich made the call to send his four starters home early.

The Spurs were on a 6 game road trip in 9 days. That’s not only a lot of basketball, but a lot of miles in between. If you know anything about the Spurs you know that the core of the team is all over the age of 30; Tim Duncan 36, Manu Ginobili 35 and Tony Parker 30. Popovich has built his reputation on keeping his ageing Spurs fresh for the end of the season. Whether that means him resting his starters for an entire game or strategically in the middle of a game, that’s the coach’s call to make.

The Spurs played without their four best players and still only lost 105-100, yet Stern still laid down the quarter million dollar fine. Besides Stern totally stepping out of bounds here on this call, this really concerns me about the future. What Stern just did with that fine is lock in a precedent, saying he has final say in who starts and who sits. I don’t think that’s healthy for any sport, nor do I think that is what the NBA is all about. I understand that every professional sport is a business, but what is this business trying to do, sell the most tickets or win the most championships? Not sure about you readers, but I know who won last year’s championship, but I couldn’t even begin to guess who sold the most tickets, nor do I care.

Stern has made some questionable calls in the past, but I see this move as him flexing his muscles. Or maybe he was trying to gain some respect with the fans here, which back fired. Any real NBA fan understands the reason why Pop sent his 36 year old center home early from a road trip. I would love to see this call reversed and an apology from Stern, but that’s just me dreaming. Let’s just hope that this is the first and last coaching call the NBA commissioner makes.