Author Archive
MLB Spring Training: Interpreting Derek Jeter’s Press Conference
Posted: 26th February 2010 by Andrew Zercie in MLB
Whenever New York Yankees captain Derek Jeter speaks, it’s rare that he allows much to be known: Jeter likes to keep his true thoughts to himself, always has.
Earlier this week, Jeter held a press conference prior to the first day that position players were obligated to be in Tampa for spring training.
While most of what he said to the media was the usual vanilla—uncontroversial stuff he’s stuck to for 15 years—there ...
Roberto Alomar Leads Stand Outs among Baseball Hall of Fame First-Timers
Posted: 4th January 2010 by Andrew Zercie in MLB
Of all the various sports Hall of Fames, none invites more debate than the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Every January, the inductees are announced, followed by countless arguments, in print and over the airwaves, about the players who should have gotten in but didnÆt. For each snubbed player, there is a statistic that backs up their claim.
In looking at the players on the ballot for the first time, some shouldnÆt merit ...
Like a playoff contender fading down the stretch, my picks have faltered as the regular season winds down.
Following a horrid 4-12 week, and a loss on Thursday nightùsee my mistake here: http://masterprocrastinator.wordpress.com/2009/12/17/week-15-thursday-night-pick/ , IÆm now just 108-101 as week 15 begins.
My advice would be to see who IÆve picked, and go with the opposite team.
I havenÆt been on the money in a while, and I certainly wouldnÆt want anyone out ...
The Ledger: NFL Week 13 Review and Steelers-Browns Pick
Posted: 9th December 2009 by Andrew Zercie in NFL
As the season winds down, unpredictability seems to be on the rise in the NFL.
As a result, it was another losing week with aá7-9 record against the spread, bringing my overall record to 104-88 on the season. While the record is still far above .500, itÆs been a few weeks since IÆve had 10 or more correct picks.
The article willáreview the Week 13 games and discussáthe Thursday night game between ...
New York Yankees Should Focus on Adding John Lackey, Not Roy Halladay
Posted: 7th December 2009 by Andrew Zercie in MLB
With the Baseball Winter Meetings set to open on Monday in Indianapolis, expect the rumors to fly, and figure the Yankees to be garnering headlines.
In fact, some stories have already come out, with predictions that the Yankees will reduce their payroll for the 2010 season. Of course, like last year, the public pronouncements about slashing payroll could be nothing more than a smokescreen, something that Yankees general manager Brian Cashman ...
The Ledger: NFL Week 12 Review and Jets-Bills Pick
Posted: 1st December 2009 by Andrew Zercie in NFL
This week, the Ledger will focus solely on the Sunday and Monday games. As published earlier, I went 2-1 on Thanksgiving, and thereÆs no sense in re-hashing the events of games that are nearly a week old at this point.
As it turned out, the best part of the long weekend was Thursday, both from a food and football standpoint. The highlight of my week was watching the Broncos dismantle the ...
Off to a solid 2-1 start for week 12, thanks to the Packers and Broncos, IÆm hoping to see that success continue into the rest of the weekend. ItÆs been a while since IÆve scored a big week I must admit. Following an 8-8 week 11 showing, and the 2-1 start to this week, my record on the season is now 93-70, which isnÆt bad. However, after starting off hot, ...
The Ledger: NFL Week Nine Review (Plus A Bonus Pick!)
Posted: 11th November 2009 by Andrew Zercie in NFL
This was the week of the Close Call from my perspective, as a few games that should have gone down in the win column for me went horribly wrong, and one backdoor cover worked out in my favor.
As a result, for the first time all season, IÆve strung together back-to-back losing weeks. I wound up picking just six-of-13 correctly, which puts my overall record against the spread at 74-55.
Now, a ...
As the NFL begins its second half, parity has been thrown out the window.
It seems that, week in and week out, there are clear-cut favorites and underdogs in more than half of the games played. There are fewábizzare point spreads on a weekly basis.
Outside of the 6-1 Denver Broncos being underdogs every week (including this one), there areávery few head-scratching favorites and underdogs. Also, the double-digit favorites are easier to ...
A third of the way through the 2009 NFL season, weÆve reached the point where the favorites and underdogs have become predictable on a week-to-week basis, for the most part.
The lone exception continues to be the Denver Broncos, who have been favored once all season (at Oakland) and are 6-0 against the NFL and the spread, a remarkable turnaround for a franchise that collapsed in their final three games last ...