This is Part 1 of my three-part NFL Mock Draft, my take on how things are going to play out. I will provide a full first round drill as well as a live post forum chat on NFL Draft day and it will go through the first round. I’ll be there to break down all of the draft coverage and answer any questions you have about any of the prospects. Here are my top 10 picks in the 2007 entry draft.

1. Oakland Raiders: Calvin Johnson, wide receiver, Georgia Tech.

This is the pick that makes the most sense for the Raiders. Johnson is an impact player who should be able to play right away. I can imagine the Raiders making a play for Daunte Culpepper once they release him from Miami. If that happened, this move would make a lot of sense. Culpepper would have Johnson, Moss and Jerry Porter to throw if the offensive line can protect him.

2. Detroit Lions: Joe Thomas, offensive tackle, Wisconsin.

It’s not flashy, but I think this is the pick if the Lions don’t go down. If both QBs are still on the board, I could see Minnesota making a play to move up to #2. Although I doubt the Lions want to do a division rival any favors.

3. Cleveland Browns: Brady Quinn, quarterback, Notre Dame.

I’m not saying this is the right path to go at quarterback, but I think the Browns will take Quinn as No. 3.

4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Amobi Okoye, defensive tackle, Louisville.

Okoye seems like a perfect fit for Tampa to me and the admission of marijuana use as a freshman shouldn’t affect his draft stock at all.

5. Arizona Cardinals: Jamaal Anderson, Defensive end, Arkansas.

Arizona needs help on both of its lines. If Joe Thomas goes down here, I think the Cardinals would be on him. If they want to trade, they could make a play for Levi Jones late in Round 1.

6. Washington Redskins: Gaines Adams, Defensive End, Clemson.

Adams could be very dominant and would be a good fit in Washington with Gregg Williams and his blitz schemes.

7. Minnesota Vikings: JaMarcus Russell, quarterback, LSU

Russell reminds me a lot of Daunte Culpepper with his size and enormous arm strength. If he falls to Minnesota at seven, the Vikings have to get him.

8. Atlanta Falcons (from Texans): LaRon Landry, Safety, LSU.

Atlanta needs a deep playmaker and this is the guy that can be that for the Falcons.

9. Miami Dolphins: Dwayne Bowe, wide receiver, LSU.

Playmaker receiver who will be a good fit under new head coach Cam Cameron.

10. Houston Texans (from Falcons): Adrian Peterson, running back, Oklahoma.

This would be ideal for the Texans, as Peterson could come in and start right away and make Texans fans forget they could have had Reggie Bush.
Discuss, debate or disagree with this or any topic in the Sportsmemo forum post

How to bet on football matches? Perhaps this is the first question that a beginner player asks himself when deciding to bet on his favorite team. The answer to this question is that there are many ways. Each form has its own defined set of rules that must be followed in order for the betting game to proceed properly. Anyone wishing to participate in the game of betting must be aware of these rules to ensure that their winning potential is maximized. To better equip our readers with the basics of soccer betting, here follows a summary of the basic terminology used in betting.

A bet is the amount at stake. How to bet on soccer games means always knowing how much the bet is, as this determines the win ratio of winning bets.

The organizing group that facilitates the betting game establishes a bet. Usually, this group can be the site where the player placed his online bet. You can bet on a particular team or on a score spread. A score margin is the points that a betting team must score higher with one point or more for the bettor to be considered a winner. For example, if the score spread is set to three, the bet team must beat the opponent and be ahead by four points or more. If the betting team wins on points exactly as the stated score, it is considered a ‘push’ or ‘no action’ and the money is either redeposited or returned to the bettor.

If the betting team wins with pints below the scoring margin, it is considered a loss by the bettor. The scoring margin varies and is again determined by the bookmakers. The term football betting lines refers to the different ways in which a player can place their bet. You can usually see a plus (+) or minus (-) sign right after a number listed on each piece of equipment. There are two by which to interpret these signs, depending on the chosen bet line.

How to bet on soccer games requires knowing the different betting lines involved in the game. These include straight, total or over/under bets, money line, half time, parlay, teasers, future book bets, and proposition bets. Straight bets imply that the team being bet on wins one point or more than the score spread. The negative sign (-) next to the nominated team means that that team must win one point more or less than the score spread and if the bet is placed on the other team, that team must win or lose by less than the score spread. punctuation. The totals work in the same way as the straight up bet, only this time it involves the combined scores of the two teams. The money line bet implies an outright win for the team wagered on.

Salary is a fixed amount and does not involve points. A minus (-) sign next to the team name means one is risking that amount per $100 wagered, unless otherwise stated, and a plus sign (+) means the winning amount per $100 wagered. Halftime bets can be point spread, money line, or mixed, but the difference is that the salary is true for halftime only. This can be the first half or the second half. Parlay is the sum of winnings and the amount of the bet to the new amount at stake.

This line is also called ‘combos’ because it combines previous collections to be the next amount bet. Parlays are not allowed in half times because the first and second half are connected as one game. Future book betting means placing bets for future events. Teasers are a selection of two or more teams. Proposition bets are anything but the under/over type. Usually these are questions like who will score the first goal, what will be the score in the first half, etc.

No one knows what to expect from an NBA season, as much as analysts and broadcasters try to pretend. At the end of last season, who would have thought that Shaquille O’Neal would propel the Cavaliers to the top only to be eliminated for the year? Few could have, considering he didn’t even play for Cleveland. A lot has already happened in another wild NBA season on satellite TV, but the biggest questions remain. Where will these paths take sports fans as the NBA season heads to the playoffs?

1. The road may fork in San Antonio. Like the late-dynasty Yankees in 2001, the San Antonio Spurs are the Rasputins of the NBA. Until they’ve been eliminated, they could take their strict play style all the way to the Finals. Coach Popovich makes his well-armed soldiers play with the quiet intensity of Pop himself. Tony Parker’s injury will hurt them, but the resurgence of crafty Argentine Manu Ginobili has hinted at good things to come. The 20-point beating of the Celtics (in Boston) on satellite TV might have just been a taster.

2. Big man status in Cleveland. The Cavaliers go as far as Lebron will take them, but after 2009 it became apparent that the mighty LBJ needs a big man in the mix. With Ilgauskas up and down the depth chart, there are plenty of questions floating around in the wake of Shaq’s devastating injury. With characteristic confidence, O’Neal promised that he would return to destroy them all, but unfortunately bones don’t always heal as quickly as we hope. NBA League Pass subscribers would be advised to keep an eye on the big man’s situation in Cleveland.

3. The other beasts from the East. Superman Dwight Howard showed many people why his mighty shoulders and commanding presence in the paint shouldn’t be overlooked. The charmed 2009 Orlando Magic looked set to make another deep run, but replacing Turkoglu with Vince Carter hasn’t been an incredibly smooth transition. Check out NBA TV and TNT HD broadcasts of Magic games to see how this team fares.

4. Flash will not go silent. Before Shaq was associated with King James (and after Kobe), Dwayne Wade was the man he set picks for. The Flash has been blowing up every night in Miami as the Heat push toward the playoffs. As he demonstrated with his performance in the NBA Finals, and again with his performance at the 2008 Summer Olympics, no one can beat Dwayne Wade when he’s hot.

5. The year of Dallas? Some time ago, the road to the NBA Finals lay through Texas, with Dallas and San Anton always in the mix. After some disastrous playoff strangleholds, Dallas appears to have matured and is playing at a level not seen in recent years. Keep your satellite TV networks tuned to the big D and see if this year is your year.

The short answer is “Yes”, it is possible to file bankruptcy for free, which means, at no cost to the filer. First, the costs of filing bankruptcy include the court filing fee, which is currently $335.00 for a Chapter 7 case and $310.0 for a Chapter 13 case. These are the mandatory court filing fees, however they may be waived.

To get a waiver of bankruptcy court filing fees, at least here in the Central District of California, in some situations, the court may approve a filing fee to be paid in installments or waived entirely. Note that if an installment payment plan is approved, the payment schedule must be met or the bankruptcy case may be dismissed without the debtor obtaining a debt discharge.

Chapter 13 Petition Package – In Chapter 13 bankruptcy cases, waiver of filing fee and payment in installments are generally not allowed. The purpose of chapter 13 is to keep up with payments, and therefore if the filing fee is not affordable, the court will question the debtor’s ability to succeed in a chapter 13 case. 99% in Chapter 13 without an attorney, due to the complexity of a payment plan case.

Chapter 11 Petition Package – In Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases, fee waivers or installment payments are generally not allowed. Here, as in Chapter 13, filing without a bankruptcy attorney will doom your case, again, due to the complex nature of these cases.

Chapter 7 Petition Package – If a debtor files a Chapter 7 bankruptcy case and the debtor’s income is less than 150% above the HHS Federal Poverty Guidelines (which varies by family size), the court may waive the fee entirely submission or approve installment payments. The debtor must make a written request to the court and file the request at the receiving window of the Clerk’s Office at the time the bankruptcy petition is filed. The intake staff will contact the judge assigned the bankruptcy case, and the judge will make a decision as soon as possible. This may require the debtor to wait in court for a few hours if the judge is not immediately available, or the debtor may have to return the next day the court is open. Even if the court does not waive the filing fee, the court may allow a debtor to pay the filing fee in installments.

My understanding of the fee waiver program in our courts is that the judge’s position in deciding whether to waive the fee is this: You cannot get a fee waiver if you hire a professional to help you in the filing phase. the petition. I agree with our courts that if you can hire even one petition preparer at your maximum allowable fee of $200.00, then you certainly can afford the filing fee of $335.00.

In addition to the court filing fee, two credit counseling courses are required. You can usually get a fee waiver if you are low-income eligible. You will have to ask, but this is also possible.

After that, the only additional costs are incurred if you hire a non-attorney petition preparer, or if you hire an attorney to represent you in your bankruptcy case. Now, don’t get me wrong, attorney-assisted bankruptcy filings tend to work much better than a case prepared without one, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible.

Someone looking to save money by filing bankruptcy should consider whether they have anything to lose by doing so. Simply put, in Chapter 7 bankruptcy, the trustee’s job is to find assets to take, to pay off your creditors. If you have assets to protect and are unfamiliar with how to properly protect them from forfeiture by the trustee, it would be wise to hire an attorney.

However, if you are truly low-income and have no assets to protect, then you are an ideal candidate to file for bankruptcy on your own and get waivers for filing and counseling course fees. In fact, here in the Central District of California, we just changed our forms, in the hope that it will be easier to file. We also have Electronic Self-Representation (ESR), so you can handle all of this from the comfort of your home and file bankruptcy from your computer. As if that wasn’t enough, there are also self-help videos and a self-help desk at most of our courthouses.

So if you have nothing to lose but time, preparing your own bankruptcy case can save you money. It may even turn out better than finding the cheapest bankruptcy lawyer, paying him, and ruining your bankruptcy case. Fear not, if you get into trouble, or if you find yourself with a dissatisfied trustee asking you questions or recommending you consult with a lawyer, we are still here to help you and correct the record; for a fee.

Yes, you read that right. It’s not a lower back injury, but a neck injury. The mechanism is the same, but I wanted to address neck pain in this article. The fact is that you can strain any muscle or joint by doing almost any activity.

In this example, a patient of ours was shoveling snow and turned his head as he raised the shovel to fling some snow to the side. He mentioned that he was careful with his back: bend the knees, use the thigh as a support point, not lift too heavy a load, etc. But when he turned his head to the right, he immediately felt his muscles on the right side of her neck, from the back and side of her head to her upper back, sixteen up. He said that he felt like a big spasm or cramp.

We have seen this many times before, this same thing can happen in the lower back or in the leg as well. People can sometimes describe it as a “Charlie horse” feeling. So why can this happen by doing an activity that you wouldn’t think would cause it?

The answer is this: sometimes a muscle or joint is about to become irritated. Let’s say, for example, that the night before the blizzard you were on the computer for hours; your neck was tight afterwards but it seemed to go away. Then you went to bed and got up early to shovel. Half asleep, while everyone was still in bed, you put on your jacket, hat, and gloves, braved the cold, and started shoveling.

In the example above, you can see how the shoveler’s neck was probably still sore from the night before (it may have gotten worse in his sleep, too), then without warming up the muscles a bit (taking a shower or stretching a bit would have marked a big difference), or even drink some water (this obviously helps to hydrate the body, in this case the muscles and joints, which helps prevent injury). In this case, the individual probably shakes the body up a bit, gets out into the cold, and begins to do a fair amount of physical activity.

Now, I’m not saying that doing this or anything similar will cause a neck or back injury, and I know most of us have been guilty of it in the past. However, if one is in the habit of doing this kind of thing often, they can and will eventually hurt themselves. I’m going to give you some tips that you can use to heal your neck once you strain it, but keep in mind that the real goal is to prevent it from happening. Trust me, I’ve seen people who have pushed themselves so hard or pushed and restricted over and over again, that their neck is to the point where it doesn’t heal as easily or quickly. So, as you can probably guess, my first step in curing a sprained neck is to prevent it in the first place.

Neck Sprain/Strain Healing:

1. Try to avoid it and prevent it from happening. This goes especially for those of us who have injured our neck before and have an idea of ​​what causes it.

2. Improve or correct the alignment of the spine. To do this, see a chiropractor, osteopath, or someone who does this professionally. A massage often helps because a good massage can help relax the muscles and ligaments, allowing the spine to move back into place.

3. Use natural therapy first. Heat and ice are easy to make, cost nothing, and you can use them anytime. In reality, a prescription muscle relaxant is rarely needed.

4. Start doing gentle neck stretches once you start to feel better. This will help lengthen the muscles, breaking up muscle adhesions and preventing future strains. The most commonly needed stretch is the side tilt of the head. Slowly draw one ear toward your shoulder until you feel a stretch; hold for 10-20 seconds, relax and repeat.

5. Muscle massage at home. Use your fingertips to find those tight spots to massage. You will find that it is often a “hurt” type of feeling. Once you get a massage or spinal alignment, you’ll have a better idea of ​​how you feel.

6. Use a cervical pillow to sleep. This also helps relax the muscles helping to align the spine. It can also and should be used as one of the neck pain prevention methods.

There you go! The next time you strain your neck or feel a neck spasm coming on, use the tips above. My best recommendation is to use the list above for prevention or maintenance of the spine, if desired. We’ve all heard it before, but I’ll say it again: an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!

In case you haven’t heard yet, Jason Richardson is now a Charlotte Bobcat! On June 28, 2007, Richardson, along with the draft rights to forward Jermareo Davidson’s 2007 draft pick from Golden State with the 36th pick, were traded to the Charlotte Bobcats for the draft rights to the 8th pick. Brandan Wright.

But you probably know that J-Rich is one of only two players, along with Michael Jordan, to have won two NBA slam dunk contests. In the 2003 competition, Richardson wowed the basketball world with a successful back, between the legs, one-handed dunk.

In fact, Jason Richardson’s unlikely dunk between the legs and behind the head to win the 2003 dunk contest was voted the best dunk of the dunk contest by NBA.com users. With 94 percent of the fanatical judges giving Richardson a perfect 10 for this color, J-Rich beat out Michael Jordan, Vince Carter and others for the overall title.

“I really wanted to win the dunk contest. It was something I had been dreaming of since I was a little kid. To really be there and have to ‘spin the wheel,’ I hoped it would land on Dominique. Wilkins’ dunk because I knew them all and could do them all. I was lucky… I think there was one more pin and it would have landed on someone else’s dunk, but it ended up staying on Dominique Wilkins’ dunk.” -Jason Richardson

Although J-Rich always had crazy jumps – “For me, jumping has always been a given”, that doesn’t mean he doesn’t work on it at all. For example, J-Rich used to jump rope.

1000 times a day, 2 sets of 300 and a set of 400, 5 times a week! After each week he increased his reps per set by 100.

Jumproping is one of the most efficient exercises that works to increase the vertical. It works all the major muscles in your lower body (calves, quads, hamstrings) and, to a lesser extent, your upper body. But be careful: do not jump every day, you will only overwork your legs and lose verticality.

Here are the other exercises he used to improve his vertical:

Cone Hops:

Place 8 cones in a straight line (at 3 foot intervals). Now quickly jump over the cones, one at a time, with both legs. Do not make more than 5 passes at a time. You can also use just one leg.

depth jump:

Starting position: Stand on a 2-foot box and hold a 10-pound medicine ball in your hands. Now step down, land on two feet, and quickly explode up to touch the rim (or dunk the ball). Do 10 to 15 repetitions.

For more jumping exercises and crucial things to know about the vertical jump (like why what you “don’t” do is often more important than what you “do”), take a look at this page. I strongly recommend:

The blast hit is similar to an iron hit from the fairway. There are three launch shot setup mods that affect clubface alignment, body alignment, and stance. The clubface is slightly open and aligned with the target of the blast. The open clubface prevents digging too deep into the sand. Before gripping the club, open the clubface slightly; then take your neutral grip position.

Your body alignment should be slightly open to the target line, rather than square as in the full swing. This setting counteracts the influence of the open clubface, producing a straight shot rather than a push. Modifying the stance provides you with greater stability during the swing. As you take your stance, dig your toes into the sand a few inches.

This places more weight toward the balls of your feet. By placing your feet below the level of the sand as you swing the pitch, the club enters the sand several inches behind the position of the ball. To avoid touching the sand, hold the stick slightly above the sand while setting up. These build mods allow you to use your pitching swing move in the arena.

The trajectory of the explosive shot is quite high and the ball falls with little rolling. The sandwedge (SW) by design is the most effective club for the explosive shot. However, a pitching wedge (PW) or 9-iron can also be used. Directional and distance control comes with practice and experience. The key to sand shots is making contact with the sand at the same point in your swing every time. This helps you build confidence in swinging across the sand, making the ball fly with the sand.

From spring-loaded handguns to fully automatic electric rifles, the variety of weapons available to airsoft players today is vast. Airsoft players have more options than ever when it comes to choosing which types of weapons to add to their collections. Guns used for airsoft fall into one of three main categories based on how they work:

spring loaded

Spring-loaded pistols fire single shots using the potential energy stored in a spring, which is compressed when the gun is cocked and then released when fired. Cocking a spring-loaded weapon compresses the spring in preparation for the next shot, so spring-loaded weapons must be cocked before each shot.

In general, spring-loaded airsoft guns cost less than their electric or gas-powered counterparts, making them popular starter guns for newcomers to the sport. Electric or gas airsoft guns are preferred by most experienced players for their power and realistic feel.

Electric

Electric pistols, also called airsoft AEGs (automatic electric pistols) due to their automatic or semi-automatic capabilities, use an electric motor powered by a rechargeable battery to drive an internal piston or spring that fires the pellets. Because of their power, performance, and realism, AEGs are the most common type you’ll see in the sport of airsoft, and they’re also the most widely available.

Gas

Gas guns work with pressurized gas, in the form of green gas or CO2, which is used to propel the pellets from the chamber. Unlike spring-loaded pistols, gas-powered airsoft pistols do not have to be manually cocked before each shot. Gasoline airsoft guns are famous for their power and accuracy. Furthermore, they are classified as recoilless or blowback airsoft guns.

A blowback airsoft gun will have a slide that recoils each time a shot is fired, mimicking the feel of firing a real gun. Recoilless pistols, on the other hand, have fixed slides and turrets, and do not recoil like blowback pistols do. Recoilless pistols provide airsofters with an inexpensive alternative to blowback gas pistols, but due to their realism, blowback pistols remain the most popular type of gas pistol.

Deciding which type of weapon you prefer for the sport of airsoft can take a bit of trial and error. Many airsoft players have different types of guns to use for different purposes.

And then there were none! Three Division I teams began Saturday undefeated, but by the end of the day, all three had lost. No. 1 Duke lost at Georgetown (87-84) and No. 2 Florida lost at Tennessee (80-76), both falling to 17-1. No. 9 Pittsburgh (now 15-1) lost at St. John’s, 55-50.

My free game for Sunday is varsity hoops, Xavier over St Louis at 7:00 ET. I’ll be playing BOTH NFL title games on Sunday, featuring a LEGEND play (14-3 in FB ’05!) in the Car/Sea game plus my first Las Vegas Insider play of the postseason in the Pit/Den. I will also be posting my first total of the postseason, my playoff total for the year of 20*! Regular visitors to the site will remember that I won my ONLY 28 bowl game season total at Tulsa/Fresno St ‘low’ (my 20* bowl total for the year!).

After a GREAT Saturday at BKB in which I won my 20* GOY in the Eastern Conference first half (NJ 103-83 over Boston), my 22* at CBB (Stanford over Arizona St), my 20* Sun Belt GOY (Troy St over Mid Tenn St) and ‘pushed’ with my last 15* (LSU), BE SURE to check out my BKB action for Sunday, available at 10:00 ET!

Pittsburgh was the first team to go down, playing at St John’s at 12:00 ET. The Panthers shot 7-of-26 from the floor in the first half and committed 12 turnovers. St John’s led 31-19 at the half and held on to win by five. Duke’s game at Georgetown began at 1:30 ET. Georgetown jumped out to a 42-28 lead at the half, as the Hoyas shot 67 percent. After opening up a 16-point lead early in the second half, the Hoyas withstood a furious rally from Duke as the Blue Devils had a chance to tie on their final possession.

Georgetown’s 87-84 victory was accomplished through a barrage of back layups (a Princeton tradition) and dogged, old-fashioned defense (an old John Thompson-era Hoya tradition). John Thompson III, Thompson’s son and Princeton graduate (and former head coach), ends Georgetown’s nine-game losing streak against ranked opponents and marks the school’s first win over a No. 1 ranked team since February 27, 1985. Duke’s JJ Redick matched his career-high 41 points in the game, but Duke’s other All-American, Shelden Williams, scored just four points.

Florida took court in Tennessee knowing that Duke and Pitt had already lost. The Gators, who were unranked in preseason, were looking for the No. 1 seed Monday with a win. The Gators led by six at the half, but couldn’t hold. The game was close for the final 10 minutes and was tied at 76, with 45 seconds remaining.

To cap off a BIG day in college basketball, Savannah St beat Longwood, 70-69. The Tigers won on a basket with five seconds remaining and the win is significant because it marks the school’s first in a Division I program since January 22, 2003! You read well! Savannah St became the second school in the past half century to go winless last year (0-28) and two years ago went 4-24 but had to forfeit all four wins for using an ineligible player. Savannah St opened this year with a win over Wilberforce (an NAIA school) but had lost 18 in a row before Saturday! Longwood, by the way, is 3-16.

Sunday’s CBB schedule features just nine games, none on national television. However, ABC begins its television coverage of the NBA on Sunday. The 76ers are in Minnesota to take on the Timberwolves (Minnesota is a six-point favorite with 190 total) and the Nuggets are in San Antonio to take on the Spurs (SA is a seven-point pick with 190 total).

To this day, the Pistons are clearly the best team in the league, having opened with an NBA-best 32-5 mark. The fast start is the best in franchise history and includes two DOMINANT wins over the SA Spurs, who beat the Pistons in seven games during last year’s NBA Finals. The Pistons are seemingly unmatched in the East, unless the Heat start playing much better than they currently do.

While the Spurs have matched their 31-9 start last year, tying a franchise record for best start in 40 games, Manu Ginóbili hurt his ankle (AGAIN!) in Friday’s win over the Heat. With Ginobili expected to be out for a while, the Spurs could struggle to stay ahead of Dallas (30-10) and maybe even Phoenix (26-13) for the best record in the West. We’ll see?

AFC Championship Game

The Steelers face the Broncos in Denver at 3:00 ET. The Broncos are favored by three points and the total is 41. Pittsburgh has won six straight games (5-1 ATS) and will try to become the first No. 6 seed (since 1990) to advance to the Super Bowl. The Steelers have won in Cincinnati and Indianapolis so far and could join the 1985 New England Patriots as the only teams to win three straight road games in the same postseason.

Pittsburgh is 15-3 on the road since the start of the 2004 season (including the postseason) and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is 14-1 SU and 12-3 ATS as a road starter. Big Ben is the first quarterback since the merger that has led his team to a conference championship game in his first two seasons. After a poor performance in the postseason last year (3 TDP / 5 INT / 61.3 QB rating), he has been outstanding this year (5 TDP / 1 INT / 124.7 rating).

Historically, the Broncos have been a great home team and are 6-1 all-time in AFC title games, including 4-0 in Denver. Shanahan won two Super Bowl titles (’97 and ’98 seasons), beating Cowher and the Steelers in Pittsburgh 24-21 in 1997, in the AFC title game. Cowher is 1-4 in five previous AFC title games, and all five have been played in Pittsburgh.

In Plummer’s three years in Denver, the Broncos are 21-4 SU at home, but just 12-11-2 ATS! They come into this game as one of two teams that have gone 8-0 at home during this year’s regular season and, including last Saturday’s win over the Patriots, have won 11 straight home games.

NFC Championship Game

The Panthers visit the Seahawks at 6:30 ET, where Seattle is favored by 3 1/2 points on 43 1/2 total. Carolina, like Pittsburgh, is trying to win its third straight road playoff game this postseason and will, in fact, be playing its fourth straight road game (won at Atlanta in Week 17). Also like Pittsburgh, Carolina has been a formidable road team.

The Panthers have tied an NFL record with FOUR straight road playoff wins (2003 and 2005 postseasons) and quarterback Jake Delhomme is 5-1 as a playoff starter (10 TDP / 2 INT / 108.4 rating of QB). Four of those wins have come on the road, tying Delhomme with Hall of Famers Len Dawson and Roger Staubach for the most road wins in postseason history. Going back to the 2003 season, Carolina is a remarkable 17-2 ATS as an underdog!

Seattle, in just its second championship game in its 30-year history (this is Carolina’s third championship game in its 11-year history!), is like Denver, unbeaten at home this year. The Seahawks are now 9-0 SU after beating Washington, going 7-2 ATS. Seattle quarterback Matt Hasselbeck is making just his fourth career playoff start (1-2) and Shaun Alexander, the league’s 2005 MVP, is expected to be okay after leaving the game last week with a concussion (note: Alexander has averaged just 2.3 YPC in three previous playoff games!).

The Seahawks’ win over Washington last week ended a 21-year playoff drought and gave Mike Holmgren his first win in four playoff games with Seattle. Of course, Holmgren won a Super Bowl with the Packers after the 1996 season and lost in the Super Bowl to the Broncos the following season.

The Seattle Seahawks have had their share of ups and downs since their team started in 1976. This year they will be playing their 33rd season. They will try to improve from 10-6, which was a pretty good score, and return to the playoffs, continuing their five-season playoff streak that has lasted from 2003-2007. In terms of coaching, this will be Mike Holmgren’s last season as head coach, as he announced on January 22, 2008. Next year, Jim Mora will assume head coaching duties. How do you see the future of the Seattle Seahawks? There is some uncertainty in the air, regarding the management and the players.

First, you have to wonder why Gil Haskell, the team’s offensive coordinator who has worked for eight years with the Seahawks (and even longer with Mike Holmgren) was passed over by a coach who was fired from the Atlanta Falcons and passed through a coach. I work in Miami. Will there be any dissension in the office because of this next move? The official answer is that it’s not a problem, although of course management is expected to say that.

On the field there have also been some notable changes. First, the team has suffered some notable roster losses, including kicker Josh Brown, who went to the St. Louis Rams, wide receiver DJ Hackett, who went to the Carolina Panthers, tight end Tom Ashworth and running back Shaun Alexander, who was published. Were there any notable additions? Yes, actually, five new players, including Carolina Panthers guard Mike Wahle, Dallas Cowboys running back Julius Jones, Detroit Lions running back TJ Duckett, New Orleans Saints placekicker Olindo Mare and punter Reggie Hodges.

There was some concern about the Seahawks’ playing vacancies, especially considering that coach Holmgren will be leaving in a year. Therefore, the 2008 Draft was particularly important for the Seahawks. Who did management pick at its most important hour? The first-round pick went to defensive end Lawrence Jackson, followed by tight end John Carlson, defensive tackle Red Bryant, fullback Owen Schmitt, long snapper Tyler Schmitt, running back Justin Forsett and punter Brandon Coutu.

Apparently, early on the team would need some serious inside line talent, which explains Wahle’s draft choice. The team is also focusing on their running game, backfield and offensive line. What was the reaction of the experts and fans regarding the draft? Jackson’s first-round pick was seen as unsettling, especially since the team already had two proper defensive ends. Bryant’s pick had better receiving, as did Carlson, who is a proven pass catcher. Schmitt will be effective in taking Mack Strong’s place, while long snapper Tyler Schmitt met with more scorn, considering most long snappers are signed as free agents, not crucial draft picks.