Week Twelve

Owning Up

Head coach Marvin Lewis may be in hot water.
(Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images)

I feel there is a lot of owning up to do, not for me but for my hometown team, the Cincinnati Bengals. What went wrong? Last year was a terrific year for the Bengals as they went undefeated in the AFC North and made it to the playoffs. This year they did not lose too many players other than troubled field goal kicker Shayne Graham (which in all reality was probably for the best). Cincinnati was able to pick up multiple weapons on offense in Terrell Owens, Jordan Shipley, and Jermaine Gresham. Seemingly, the Bengals should have done even better this year with a more high-powered offense to go with that stellar defense of last season. However, as most of us know, that is not how it has turned out.

Cincinnati now sits at 2-9 and the only real positives are the success of TO and the seemingly high draft pick the Bengals will have next April. Now the question for Cincinnati becomes: What do they fix? I think the biggest problems are the men behind the play-calling on offense: Head coach Marvin Lewis and offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski. Defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer has dealt with his fair share of bad luck this season with all of the trouble at the safety position (i.e. injury/age of Roy Williams and injuries Gibril Wilson, Chris Crocker, and Chinedum Ndukwe. Also, injuries to corners Adam Jones and Brandon Gee have not helped.

The trouble is more on the offensive side of the ball. The Bengals' play-calling has been absolutely horrendous this season. The offense has been attempting far too many runs in long-yardage situations. We all know of Carson Palmer's struggles at quarterback. His numbers are not terrible, but he will make just a few throws every game that put the team in a position to lose and leave Cincinnati fans shaking their heads. His play this year has some people thinking that it may be time for a change for the men in stripes, on the sideline and on the field.

Predictions


Those darn Cowboys are starting to play well with Wade Phillips out. I may have to start picking them...or not. Last week was a good one for me despite forgetting completely to pick the Monday Night Game. My record for Week Eleven was 10-4 which leaves my season record at 70-58. I do believe I will go with the same strategy as last week to see if I can build a sizable streak. Here are my winners for this week:

Packers, Steelers, Browns, Giants, Redskins, Texans, Raiders, Chiefs, Eagles, Rams, Ravens, Colts, 49ers


p.s. Be sure to listen in this Saturday as I get back on the mic for Ross High School basketball as the Rams take on the other Rams from Badin. I would tell you who I am announcing alongside, but I do not know yet. I will keep you posted. Catch all of the action on ross.localsportsradio.com.

p.p.s. My Ohio Bobcats lost the MAC East this weekend. 'Tis a sad day in Athens when we give up the conference title to Miami.

p.p.p.s. How do you like my new design? I am still working on it.

p.p.p.p.s. For more senseless babble, follow me on Twitter. twitter.com/bradley_w_parks

Someone should light a fire under the Heat

Heat players look on from the bench in their 93-77 loss to the Pacers
(AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

The Miami Heat were supposed to run the table. They were supposed to be unbeatable this year after Pat Riley went out and snagged LeBron James and Chris Bosh this offseason to play alongside Dwayne Wade. However, things have not gone as swimmingly as a lot of people figured they would for the "New Big Three."

The Heat lost their opening game against, in my opinion, the real "Big Three" of Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and Paul Pierce and the Boston Celtics. An 88-80 defeat at the hands of Eastern Conference powerhouse Boston was not what was expected of high-powered Miami. Now the Heat sit at 8-6 and play the Orlando Magic tonight and could perhaps be facing yet another loss.

Coming into tonight's matchup, the Heat are on a two-game losing streak after being slammed by the Pacers on Monday, a game in which Wade only had three points. Although Bosh has finally gotten his game going averaging 24.5 points and 10.25 rebounds in the last four games, Wade has fallen off the radar only averaging 10.3 points in the past three games he has played in. (Wade sat out the loss to the Memphis Grizzlies.) That's more than 11 points lower than his season average of 21.4.

Now fingers are being pointed at head coach Erik Spoelstra. Los Angeles Lakers coach Phil Jackson said in a phone interview that he thinks Wade, James, and Bosh should get Riley to coach. In theory, it is a good idea. However, I think that it may be a more complicated issue than Spoelstra being a run-of-the-mill coach.

The Miami Heat have a problem with their depth and a lack of extraordinary talent outside the New Big Three. This was plain for me to see at the beginning of the year. Yes, three superstars are intimidating, but if you look at the rest of the team, there is nothing to say that Miami is a big threat. Center Zydrunas Ilgauskas has had a very decent career in Cleveland, but coming into this year with the Heat he is 35 years old. Unlike 38-year-old Shaquille O'Neal of the Celtics, Ilgauskas has never had stellar athleticism. As a young buck a player can be a little slow and still have a sizable impact much like Ilgauskas did in his early days in Cleveland. But now slow becomes slower and a slow 35-year-old center cannot do much to stop quick young centers and forwards like Orlando's Dwight Howard and New York's Amar'e Stoudemire. The reason I make the comparison to Shaq is because he once had that quick step that Ilgauskas never had. Quick can become slow and still be effective (for example, Shaq), but slow becomes slower and becomes ineffective (for example, Ilgauskas).

Still, Big Z is not the only problem with the Heat bench. Pat Riley brought in Mike Miller who has yet to play this season as he is nursing an injury. Miller looks to return Christmas day to face the Lakers. Also, point guard Mario Chalmers has not produced this season with his lack of minutes. Chalmers is averaging just around seven minutes per game while a high ankle sprain suffered this summer still nags him.

With the lack of depth of the Miami Heat it is difficult to see much success in their future even with the incredible talent of the New Big Three. Carlos Arroyo and James Jones provide only small sparks to the Heat's flame and Ilgauskas and Juwan Howard are not exactly in their primes. Miami picked up veteran Eric Dampier with Udonis Haslem out for the season after having foot surgery. Things are not on the up for the self-proclaimed powerhouse of the NBA.

As the Heat head into Orlando tonight to face the Southeast Division-leading Magic and Dwight Howard, they may be in for a long night despite the court-wiping Miami performed in the duo's last matchup in which the Heat won by 26. In this game, as I mentioned earlier, the Heat have lost two straight and are not playing stellar basketball. They look to turn it around tonight, but if they do lose and lose badly, the Heat's flame may just die out.

p.s. I am picking the Magic to win tonight.

p.p.s. My Phoenix Suns play the Bulls tonight. Go Suns.

p.p.p.s. For more senseless babble, follow me on Twitter. twitter.com/bradley_w_parks

Week Eleven

Owning Up


The Lions and Bills had one of the best games of the day, including some late-game drama. It probably would have been a lot more dramatic had Detroit quarterback Shaun Hill not tossed the ball out of the back of the endzone instead of to a receiver, but we can't win them all. The Bills, on the other hand, can't lose them all now as they picked up their first win of the season. Cheers.

Apparently a victory over the Cardinals does not hold as much weight as I thought it did as the Vikings were trounced by Jay Cutler's Bears. Hats off.

Somehow the Dolphins got it done. I cannot explain it. With their quarterback woes, beating Tennessee was not an easy task, but they won easily. Applause.

The Texans are all of the sudden falling apart and the Jags have surged to become the surprise of the AFC South rather than Houston. Snaps.

The Broncos cannot decide whether they would like to prove me right or wrong. I claim them as my dark horse and they get blown out by Oakland. I take back my claim and they smash the Chiefs. Wish-wash.

Who really expected the Cowboys to win? Really? High five.

The Patriots and Steelers was really a tossup. Both teams are having incredible years and this game showed exactly why it was such a difficult game to pick. The Pats had the advantage though as it looks like, at least for now, Tom Brady is still a few notches above Ben Roethlisberger.

Predictions


Last week was rough. My picks are on a roller coaster right now. After a 9-4 week, I followed that up with a 6-7 stinker of a week. That puts my season record at 60-54. Although I am still above .500, it could be much better. This week due to me being home from school on break and my wanting to focus on picks rather than reasoning, I'm just going to give my teams and we'll see how it goes. Here are my teams:

Bengals, Lions, Redskins, Chiefs, Packers, Jets, Steelers, Ravens, Browns, Falcons, Saints, 49ers, Patriots, Eagles


p.s. Keep those ears open as the dynamic duo of Colby Bowman and I will be back announcing high school basketball this season. Keep those computers locked on ross.localsportsradio.com for all of the exciting action. I am excited to get back to doing play-by-play.

p.p.s. Get well soon, Steve Nash.

p.p.p.s. For more senseless babble, follow me on Twitter. twitter.com/bradley_w_parks

Week Ten

Owning Up


Those tricky, tricky Browns have everybody stumped. Their big win over the Patriots proved me very wrong. I suppose we should be looking out for the Browns.


Well would you look at that. The Chargers have won a couple games in a row and are now back in the hunt at 4-5. Big ups to the Bolts for showing me up.


Along with the tricky, tricky Browns there are the tricky, tricky Raiders to look out for as they upset a solid Chiefs team last week.


The Colts v. Eagles game was close as expected, however, Michael Vick continued his Hollywood story by toppling Peyton Manning.


Predictions


Week Nine marked a good one for me as my picks led me to a 9-4 record for the week, bringing my season record to 54-47. Here is what I have this week:


Lions over Bills This is the battle of the two unluckiest teams in the NFL this season. The Bills have fought every game to lose only by a few in most. The Lions have done the same, with solid play at quarterback from both Matthew Stafford (when he has played) and backup Shaun Hill. One of these teams will catch a break. However, if there is a game to end up in a tie this year, it will be this one. 24-21


Vikings over Bears Last week's victory over the Cardinals should have done enough to energize Brett Favre and the Vikings. Although, the Vikes did not play particularly well they still managed to come back and win showing determination and fight. I like that win to boost their confidence this week. 28-21


Jets over Browns As well as the Browns have played under rookie quarterback Colt McCoy I still cannot bring myself to pick them, especially against a great team such as the Jets. New York's run defense should be able to slow down Peyton Hillis a bit, or at least enough to force McCoy to throw more. 24-14


Colts over Bengals As much as it pains me to continue picking against my hometown team, the Bengals have not proven that they can beat a team like the Colts. They have shown their comeback ability last week against the Steelers and also in Week One against the Patriots. However, they did not win either of those games. Manning and the Colts will not be as easy for the Bengals to contain long enough to come back again. Cardiac Cats fall. 28-17


Titans over Dolphins Even though the Titans have a game-time decision coming at quarterback with Vince Young still a little banged up, I do not believe Chad Pennington has what it takes to lead the Dolphins to a victory. The Dolphins have the weapons in Ronnie Brown, Ricky Williams, and Brandon Marshall, but they do not have a good leader at the quarterback position. Young and backup Kerry Collins are able to lead a team. Oh and did I mention the Titans picked up a guy named Randy Moss? That may help. 21-10


Buccaneers over Panthers I stand by my claim that the Panthers are the worst team in the NFL. The Bills, as I mentioned, play hard every game and are a group of winners that just cannot win. The Panthers are far worse than Buffalo and have all sorts of problems. Perhaps they should turn to third-string rookie Tony Pike at quarterback. Pike played well at Cincinnati and was in the Heisman race before he got injured. If Matt Moore and Jimmy Clausen have not been able to do it, why not give Pike a shot? Carolina really has nothing to lose. 31-7


Texans over Jaguars This will be a tight game. The Texans began the year as if they would live up to the great expectations, however, have not as of late. The Jaguars, on the other hand, have not really had many expectations to live up to, so in a sense they have exceeded expectations. With the Jags playing well and the Texans not so much, this is a tough pick. But I have confidence it Matt Schaub's ability to get a W today. 28-21


Chiefs over Broncos Perhaps my biggest screwup of the season, the Broncos are no longer a dark horse in the NFL. They are not playing well at all and do not have much to look forward to as they sit at 2-6. Unless they run the table, this dark horse will stay in the stable for the rest of the year. 14-6


Giants over Cowboys I just love that the Cowboys continue to prove me right week in and week out. It is truly sad that a team with their potential has crashed and burned this season, but you cannot say I did not warn you. Dallas was far overrated coming into this season and has proven it every single game. This one shall be no different as the Giants have seemingly returned to their Super Bowl-winning form. 35-10


Seahawks over Cardinals Another screwup of mine, Seattle is no longer fun to pick in games. They sit at 4-4, the Cardinals at 3-5. The NFC West is shaping up to be exactly what it has been in the past: boring and exciting all at the same time. The Rams and Seahawks sit atop the division at 4-4, followed by the Cardinals, and in the basement is San Francisco who surprisingly is not out of it at 2-6. With dismal records and intense competition all at the same time, the NFC West is just being the NFC West. 17-14


49ers over Rams Two compelling games right in a row. How lucky am I? I like Troy Smith at quarterback as I always have. He is getting his shot and it is his job not to screw it up. Sports Illustrated's Peter King thinks that Smith will hold onto the job for the rest of the year at least if he plays well this week. I am right along with my fellow Bobcat, King, in that thinking. 24-20


Steelers over Patriots This could be the game of the year. Both the Steelers and Patriots sit at 6-2 and are playing completely lights out. It has shown how much Troy Polamalu means to the Steelers as he has provided a huge spark to that defense. New England has played well all around too. The one factor that caused me to swing toward the Steelers for this one was the Browns. The Steelers managed to defeat Cleveland, whereas the Patriots were trounced by them. It was the deciding factor for me. 35-28


Eagles over Redskins As I said earlier, Michael Vick is continuing his Hollywood story. This week should be no exception as he goes against the former Eagles quarterback Donavon McNabb. It should be a close one, but I like Vick in this battle. McNabb will either have a confidence boost or kill after being benched for Rex Grossman by coach Mike Shanahan in their previous game against the Lions. We'll see how that plays out on Monday night. 27-21


BONUS COVERAGE: Kanye West


This does not pertain to sports, but I have felt some extremely strong feelings about Kanye West's recent spouting-off about the media. West was angry at Matt Lauer and the Today Show for what West said was them trying to "force" his answers. I was curious as to what he meant, so I watched the interview online. All Lauer really did was ask West tough questions and he had no way to respond to them. It was a great journalistic triumph for Lauer to be able to give Kanye a question that he would have a lot of trouble answering.


In the aftermath of the interview, West went on Twitter and rattled off a whole lot of things in an attempt to defend his inability to answer tough questions. Here is what he said in multiple tweets:


"I went up there to express how I was empathetic to Bush because I labeled him a racist and years later I got labeled as a racist....


While I was trying to give the interview they started playing the "MTV" under me with audio!!!!!!!


I don't mess with Matt Lauer or the Today Show ... and that's a very nice way for me to put it!


HE TRIED TO FORCE MY ANSWERS. IT WAS VERY BRUTAL AND I CAME THERE WITH ONLY POSITIVE INTENT."


West went on to describe how he is "tortured," "forced," and "misunderstood." That is not exactly it, Kanye West. We understand you perfectly.


Kanye West has taken his blunder and is attempting to blame it on everyone else. Why would it be his fault? West described later on Twitter about how he is a creator and said, "I just want to create." Nobody is trying to stop him from doing that. However, as his job is to create music, it is our (the media's) job to tell stories. Kanye needs to realize that as he is only trying to do his job, that is the same thing we are trying to do. Matt Lauer was doing his job by asking questions, however, West is trying to make up for his inability to answer coherently by saying that Lauer is in the wrong for "forcing" his answers.


Also, West was angry that the producers at the Today Show played the footage from the MTV Video Music Awards when West had taken the microphone away from Taylor Swift during her acceptance speech. What he does not realize is that this is a regular practice. Somebody should explain to Kanye West that b-roll is used every single day in the media. It is video that pertains to what is being said that keeps the viewer from becoming bored with the same picture. West took it as the producers trying to make him look bad and addressed it on camera.


If only Kanye knew that he too is a member of the media before he took so many shots at us. He, along with other musical artists, is an editorialist and storyteller. He puts his views on things into his music and also tells stories through song for the public to see. If we break it down as such, Kanye West was taking shots at himself by taking shots at the media. He truly is troubled.


p.s. I am a huge fan of Kanye West's music, but he should not be trying to tear down the journalism field because he was made to look like a fool.


p.p.s. I am sorry for not providing a pick for the Thursday game. I probably will not be providing those picks any time soon. It throws off my schedule.


p.p.p.s. For more senseless babble, follow me on Twitter. twitter.com/bradley_w_parks

Week Nine

Owning Up


The Bengals once again let me down. A late pick thrown by Carson Palmer turned the lights out on that game.

Do I really have to own up to the Cowboys' loss? If you have read this blog before, you know how I feel about the Dallas Cowboys. I gave them the nod last week, but the Jags torched them. I proved myself wrong and right all at the same time.

Even though I picked the winner, I predicted a high-scoring contest between the Jets and Packers. Did anyone expect a defensive struggle with those high-powered offenses? I'll take the win, but in no way did I expect it to be a 9-0 one.

Warn the villages, the Chargers won.

Probably my biggest blunder of the week, the Seahawks getting destroyed by the Raiders. My "surprise" teams in the Broncos and Seahawks have gotten slammed by the Raiders two weeks straight. I've got my back against the mat on this one.

How about those Saints? That win against the Steelers was definitely their best of the season. The Saints have had a mysterious season and a backfield riddled with injuries, however, they got it done against one of the best teams in the league last week. Perhaps the Saints are back. We shall see.

Predictions


Last week was not my best as I went 6-7, however, my season record remains over .500 which is a good thing. I now sit at 45-40. Not great, but not terrible. Let us try to improve on that this week. Here's what I've got for this weekend's games:

Falcons over Buccaneers A tough pick this was as both teams sit at 5-2. The Bucs are 3-0 on the road heading into Atlanta, but the Falcons are 3-0 at home. These teams are essentially even on paper, but I will give the nod to the Falcons simply based on last week. The Bucs were able to beat the Cardinals but only by a slight margin. The Falcons are a much better team. 24-21


Bears over Bills No matter how many interceptions Jay Cutler throws, he manages to get scores for his team. I would give the nod to the unlucky Bills if it weren't for the Bears defense. Both teams will have their troubles on offense with turnovers as expected, but Cutler can still get in the endzone better than Bills' quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick can. 21-17


Patriots over Browns Despite Colt McCoy's solid play in his first two games, the Browns are still the Browns and the Pats are still the Pats. It seems as if Tom Brady and the boys have returned to their championship-winning form. 35-10


Jets over Lions The Jets had unfortunate offensive struggles last week against the Packers. I don't think they expected it nor did anybody else. I feel this week they will be looking to unleash against the Lions defense. I'm going with the Jets, but this should be a hot matchup. 28-21


Vikings over Cardinals Who would have thought that this would be the snooze-fest of the week? The Cardinals' struggles were expected after the retirement of Kurt Warner and the departure of Anquan Boldin before the season began. However, nobody expected these kinds of struggles from the Vikings. The plan should be very simple for the Vikes: get the ball to Adrian Peterson. Peterson is an absolute steed in the backfield and it seems like sometimes they forget to use him enough. 17-14


Saints over Panthers After that huge win against Pittsburgh, the Saints will be looking for a way to keep the momentum going. What better way to do so than to steamroll one of the worst teams in the league, eh? 31-7


Ravens over Dolphins The Fins were able to take advantage of the Bengals' poor play last week, but the Ravens are a different beast to tame. Joe Flacco has been loving the big target in Anquan Boldin and it shows. The Ravens cannot afford to budge a single inch with the Steelers right there atop the AFC North alongside them. They'll take this in a close one. 20-14


Texans over Chargers The Texans were put back in their place last week as the Colts toppled them in response to that Week One loss. However, today the Texans take on the Chargers, one of the leagues biggest mysteries this season. Although the Chargers got a big win against the Titans last week, I do not feel as if that will be enough to lift them up back to the Chargers of old. 28-24


Giants over Seahawks Like I said last week, I love picking the Seahawks. But last week's poor showing against the Raiders does not make me feel too confident in picking the Birds this week. The Giants have been one of the pleasant surprises of the season. I am excited to see what they can do later into the season and the postseason. 24-10


Chiefs over Raiders As well as the Raiders have played in the past two weeks, they are facing a much more formidable opponent in the Chiefs today. Another pleasant surprise, the Chiefs sit at 5-2 and have played simple but solid football. If the Raiders are to win it will not be by nearly as much as the past two weeks. Still I give this to Kansas City. 21-14


Colts over Eagles The much-anticipated return of Michael Vick comes today. The bad thing for Vick is that it comes against the Indianapolis Colts. The Colts, despite a few early slip-ups with the Texans and the Jaguars, have played extremely well. To put it simply, the Colts have been the Colts. I see them improving to 6-2 this week. 27-24


Packers over Cowboys Dallas's pass defense was absolutely scorched last week by David Garrard and the Jaguars. There is nothing that says Aaron Rodgers will not do even more damage to America's team. Al Michaels and Chris Collinsworth may get tired of saying, "Touchdown Packers!" tonight. I see a blowout in the future. 38-14


Steelers over Bengals I'm sure when this game was put on the schedule, ESPN was not thinking the Bengals would be 2-5. After sweeping the AFC North last season and acquiring three huge offensive threats in Terrell Owens, Jordan Shipley, and Jermaine Gresham, things looked promising for the Bengals. However, Carson Palmer struggled early on and the defense has struggled all year. It seems nothing can go right for the Bengals. Still I feel like they will show up and give the Steelers a contest this week. On the other side of the field, the Steelers are looking to get back to form after a disappointing loss in New Orleans last weekend. 24-17


p.s. Those Ohio Bobcats have done it again, winning against Buffalo on Senior Night. Congratulations to my school!

p.p.s. My Phoenix Suns have a tough test tonight against the Hawks tonight. Steve Nash and the guys are looking to get up to .500.

p.p.p.s. For more senseless babble, follow me on Twitter. twitter.com/bradley_w_parks