NFL Preview!

Last year I made some great predictions (the Bengals going 10-6 & the Colts making the Super Bowl) & some indefensible ones (the Giants will win the NFC & JaMarcus Russell is better than Joe Flacco). This year… well… it’ll probably be as hit & miss as ever because the NFL is crazy.

Now onto the predictions (playoff teams in bold).

AFC East

1. Dolphins 12-4

2. Patriots 11-5

3. Jets 9-7

4. Bills 3-13

That’s right, the Dolphins. A healthy Ronnie Brown plus Brandon Marshall & improvement from Henne and the defense equals a first round bye. The Patriots offense may be the best in the league but key injuries on the defense will hold them back. The Jets lead the league in hype, they won’t in offense. The Bills have C.J. Spiller & supposedly 52 other NFL players, but I’m skeptical.

College Football Preview!

Yesterday was the PAC-10 preview, now today I give you the full NCAA D-1 football preview including the top 10 teams, the winner of each BCS conference, the Heisman winner, & who will play in each BCS Bowl.

TOP 10:

1. Nebraska-Loses the best player in college football, Ndamukong Suh, & will actually improve. The defense should continue to anchor the team under coach Bo Pelini & the offense, which returns 9 starters, should be improved enough to get Nebraska its first BCS title.
2. TCU-if the Horned Frogs get through the Mountain West (which should be a BCS conference) undefeated they should finally break up the big boys club of the BCS & score a title game birth. & I believe they will as they return 16 starters from last year's team including QB Andy Dalton who leads all D1 QBs with 29 career victories going into the season.
3. Alabama-Bama, who returns only 1 defensive starter, won't be able to rebuild fast enough to get another BCS "Championship", but they should still win the toughest conference in college football.
4. Virginia Tech-Coach Frank Beamer & QB Tyrod Taylor are, simply put, winners. Then add in an always fantastic defense & 2 RBs in Ryan Williams & Darren Evans who have run for a thousand yards and what you get is the best team in the ACC.
5. Boise State-Returns an unfathomable 20 starters, including stud QB Kellen Moore, from last year's undefeated team. If they can get past Virginia Tech & Oregon State they may be able to reach the title game.
6. Iowa-a top notch defense that returns 8 starters including DE Adrian Clayborn (11 and a half sacks) & safety Tyler Sash (6 picks) plus an improving offense should allow Iowa to reach the Rose Bowl.
7. Ohio State-Dual threat QB Terrell Pryor & 13 other returning starters will be looking to make the BCS "Championship", if they can beat Iowa & Wisconsin on the road they should do so.
8. Texas-lost stud QB Colt McCoy & 10 other starters from last years team, but sophomore QB Garret Gilbert has already played in a national title game & Texas is never short on talent.
9. Miami-since coach Randy Shannon's first season in 2007, when the team went 5-7, the Canes have improved by 2 wins each season. Behind QB Jacory Harris & an improved defense Miami should add another 2 wins yet again.
10. Stanford-With a fantastic QB in Andrew Luck & an equally adept coach in Jim Harbaugh the Cardinal will eak out a PAC-10 title.

PAC-10 Football Preview

We're about to begin the last season of PAC-10 football, (Stanford & UCLA open the PAC-10 season on Saturday) before expansion begins, & the league is as wide open as ever. Realistically 5 teams have a shot at winning the PAC, though only 4 of those can reach the Rose Bowl thanks to USC's restriction from post-season play (maybe that will cut down some of their arrogance), & all 5 have serious questions to answer. Can USC stay motivated without a light at the end of the tunnel? Will Oregon be the same without former QB Jeremiah Masoli? Can Oregon State & their new QB play well throughout the entire PAC-10 season? Will Jim Harbaugh be able to replace Toby Gerhart & complete his transformation of Stanford into a PAC-10 power? & of course the biggest question of all: Can Arizona do what every other PAC-10 team has done & make it to the Rose Bowl? Well let me answer those questions for you.

2010 PAC-10 Final Standings

1. Stanford 7-2 (10-2 overall) (Rose Bowl)

Coach Jim Harbaugh & QB Andrew Luck lead Stanford to its first Rose Bowl since its Jan 1, 2000 loss to Wisconsin thanks to wins over both Oregon State & Arizona.

2. OSU 7-2 (8-4) (Holiday Bowl)

OSU’s tough non-conference schedule pays off, as most of the PAC-1o proves much easier than TCU & Boise State.

3. Arizona 7-2 (10-2) (Alamo Bowl)

Arizona fails to make it to the Rose Bowl yet again, but Stoops & the Wildcats can take solace in their first 10-win season since 1998.

4. Oregon 6-3 (9-3) (Sun Bowl)

The loss of Masoli proves too much for the talented Ducks who fail to live up to pre-season expectations.

5. USC 5-4 (9-4) (None, ahahahaha!)

For the second year in a row USC proves overrated as they fade down the stretch.

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama

As previously mentioned the Joeys feature 6 nominees (nominees also up for the Emmy are italicized) & I will also predict the winner of each category for the Emmys. Without further ado...

Josh Holloway (Sawyer, "Lost")-Holloway brought his performance to another level in the last 2 seasons of "Lost" as Sawyer became the leader of the castaways, along with Jack. Holloway earns this nomination for showing Sawyer's heartbreak over Juliet's death & his portrayal of shock & joy at reuniting with her in the sideways universe.

Michael B. Jordan (Vince, "Friday Night Lights")-The character of Vince could've easily become a cliche, a troubled black kid from the inner city with no dad & a junky for a mom, but Jordan was up to the task of making Vince into a full formed person. He completely sold Vince's evolution into a leader on the football field & a much better person off it.

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy

As previously mentioned the Joeys feature 6 nominees (nominees also up for the Emmy are italicized) & I will also predict the winner of each category for the Emmys. Without further ado...

Ty Burrell (Phil Dunphy, "Modern Family")-some people have criticized Burrell's Phil Dunphy as Michael Scott as a father, my response-what's wrong with that? Michael Scott is hilarious & so is Phil Dunphy, though to be fair as childish as Phil is he has a slightly better grip on reality than Michael & he's never nearly as offensive. & that's why Burrell get's major points from me, he's not allowed to be quite as unhinged as Steve Carell yet he manages to draw just as many laughs.

Glen Howerton (Dennis, "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia")-Charlie Day as Charlie generally gets the most credit for the many laughs on Always Sunny, however, as much as I love Charlie, I find Howerton's mildly more intelligent Dennis to be the best of the show's ensemble. His character's self-centeredness, and belief that he's far more intelligent than he is (due to the stupidity of those around him) never fails to make me laugh. He also gets a boost for reminding me of my good friend Jamie Becwar.

Nick Offerman (Ron Swanson, "Parks & Recreation") -Offerman's Ron Swanson is one of the great comedic creations of the last few years. He is extremely prejudiced of government, despite being the head of the Pawnee, Indiana Parks & Rec department. He's had 2 failed marriages with women named Tammy, & yes, his mother's name was Tammy. Of course all of that is just good writing, but Offerman only enhances the character with his brilliant mustache, slapstick talent, odd talents, & ability to convey Ron's overwhelming hatred for human interaction.

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy

Like the Emmys the Joeys feature 6 nominees (nominees also up for the Emmy are italicized) & I will also predict the winner of each category for the Emmys. Without further ado...

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy:

Alison Brie (Annie, "Community")-Brie more than held her own comedically against the rest of the hilarious cast, especially when Annie sprayed herself in the eyes with pepper spray. In addition her chemistry with Joel McHale allowed for a fantastic season finale cliff hanger.

Jenna Fischer (Pam, "The Office")-This was definitely the weakest season of "The Office", but of all the lead actors Fischer was the one who best acquitted herself throughout the season. She was at her best showing Pam's insecurities about the wedding & becoming a mother, as well as frustration & anger at Michael for first dating & then breaking up with her mother. Not to mention as long as "The Office" is on Fischer's getting one of my nominations.

Jane Lynch (Sue Sylvester, "Glee")-"Glee" had an up & down season (up for most of the first half, down after returning in April), but Lynch's Sylvester was always hilarious. She gave a needed break from the sometimes overbearing melodrama with uproariously inappropriate comments the best of which addressed the great deal of hair product in Mr. Schuester's hair. Lynch also was fantastic in her few dramatic moments involving Sue's mentally challenged sister.

The Joey Awards for Television

Ok so I've been slacking on my Top-10 Movies lists (don't worry I'll get there eventually), & sadly those lists will have to be pushed back another few weeks thanks to the upcoming College Football & NFL previews but today, in honor of Sunday's Emmys, I will be presenting the first annual Joeys.

Why am I doing my own awards in place of an Emmys preview? A. I want to give a shout out to my favorite shows. B. Emmy voters are the people involved in making television, hence they don't actually have that much time to watch television (which is why the TCA's, the Television Critics Awards, are generally much better), making me just as qualified to choose the best performance in television as the Emmy voters. C. Because Emmy voters don't watch that much television they often make ghastly, indefensible, choices such as never giving The Wire (considered by most critics, & Bill Simmons, to be one of the 2 greatest dramas in television history along with The Sopranos) an Emmy, & only 2 nominations to boot. More recently they gave John Cryer Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy for Two and a Half Laughs (O wait, that's supposed to be Men, my bad) over the brilliant work of Rainn Wilson & Neil Patrick Harris. Now on to the Joeys!

Top 10 Movies of the Decade

With the 2000's having come & gone I think it's high time I make a list of the top 10 movies of the decade, however I saw a lot of movies over the last 10 years and I don't feel listing only 10 of them would do the decade justice hence over the next month I will produce a top 10 list in 8 different categories (Why 8? I don't have a good reason so much as I started making lists and came up with 8). 

The categories will be Action, Animated, Comedey, Drama, Horror, Romance, Sci-Fi, and Sports before culminating with my top 10 overall films. A couple rules regarding the list: 1) No movie will appear twice on the list (excluding the top 10 overall). So you won't see District 9 or Star Trek on the Sci-Fi & Action lists. 2) Only one movie will be permitted per franchise, hence you won't see more than one Shrek or Lord of the Rings on the list. 

The first list should appear by the end of the week & hopefully you'll agree with my picks less you realize you have an inferior taste in cinema. Now I'm off to watch a few more movies before finalizing my list, adios.