After predicting almost 100% of the World Cup football results correctly, Cortana adds NFL predictions, just in time for NFL season.

Cortana Adds NFL Predictions

We moved our long-time league to NFL.com and it was a much better experience compared to Yahoo Fantasy Football. I had pick #8, which is a weird place to be because in the first round you miss out on the top 5 and then you end up waiting a long time between picks, making it harder to plan your roster properly. Anyway, I think it turned out reasonably well, considering the unusual path the draft took.

What do I mean by that? The first pick was Peyton Manning! Also, in the first round, THREE quarterbacks were picked. So clearly, not a traditional RB/RB/WR/QB style of a draft. Having said that, here's my team:

1. Eddie Lacy
2. AJ Green
3. Randall Cobb
4. Julius Thomas (I was running out of true difference makers, and running backs around here were mostly meh)
5. Joique Bell (This was a reach in some ways, but I am hoping the Lions do at least a 50-50 split)
6. Nick Foles (Not a bad choice for a 6th round QB pick)
7. Eric Decker (Hope Geno is a good QB this year)
8. Fred Jackson (Carried me many a week last year, giving some love back :-))
9. Carson Palmer (Cards are going to throw a lot, not a bad choice for QB2, even though this was probably my highest reach)
10. Danny Woodhead
11. Justin Hunter
12. Pats D/ST
13. James Starks (Glad to secure the handcuff this late in the draft)
14. Jordan Matthews

So overall, just a little worried about RB2, but otherwise, reasonably satisfied with the roster. The key, as always, is the waiver wire pickups. There will be injuries and breakouts and busts, and it is how vigilant one is during the season that will determine the results.

Can't wait for the season to start!

http://www.flickr.com/apps/slideshow/show.swf?v=71649

That would be great for him and a little boring for us :-)

I was actually looking forward to seeing some trades up at the top and stuff, but looks like the Lions have chosen their first pick as a QB. Hopefully now they will win a game next season …

All this is perhaps good news for Sanchez because that means he is the hot QB on the board now. Wonder if Seattle will take him. It would be good for him to sit out behind Hasselback like Carson Palmer did behind Jon Kitna.

I will be looking forward to seeing how the USC LB’s land up … there seems to be a lot of buzz around them but usually the buzz does not translate proportionately to pick numbers, so we’ll see!

What exactly has Texas Tech done to deserve #2 ranking besides beating then #1 Texas?

Let’s see the out of conference schedule - Eastern Washington (3-5 and not even Div 1), Nevada (5-4), Southern Methodist (1-8) and hold your breath, UMass (6-3 but in Div 1)!!

Granted that they were highly ranked and they beat then #1 but what was the justification before the Texas game to have them ranked so high?? Were there not enough teams with better resumes? Should teams start scheduling cupcakes so that they get to unbeaten records by October to justify a high ranking??

This is B.S. and I hope the people who rank teams week in and week out stop hyping up the Texas Tech train. They are absolutely overrated and they do not deserve to be so high up in the rankings.

Bring in what your arguments are … would love to discuss.

Check it out …

[youtube www.youtube.com/watch

Ricky Williams shocked the sporting world by announcing that he is retiring at the age of 27.

I was shocked to hear the news. Its not like he has been a superstar and a legend that he can retire. Its not like his body cannot take it anymore. He has to prove that he is capable of a long career and set some records before he can retire.

And the saddest part about it for Miami at least, is that he announced this right before training camp. Not two weeks back, when Eddie George was still available. Not before the draft, where several good running backs were available. He did it now.

I am listening to some sports talk shows on the radio and they claim that he may be running from some drugs issues. If that is the case, and if he comes back after a year or two, it would be completely unacceptable in my books. He has let the team down. He has let the fans down. He is quitting on everyone, for apparently no reason.

Shame on you, Ricky.

Yahoo News reports that the BCS has changed its formula and is going to give AP writers and the coaches polls more weightage.

Does this solve our problems? No.

Will this solve our problems? Who knows.

One way or the other, we need a playoff structure so that all the fans see for themselves what could’ve been. Like USC/LSU meeting for a true national championship last year.

If Mike Williams comes back to USC, I would say that they will be ranked #1 in pre-season. How they play their games will determine if BCS formula is going to be important or not.

First game is against Virginia Tech, which is no puppy. So let’s get the momentum going!

Football, can’t wait for it to start! :-)

ESPN.com - NCF - Mike Williams files for reinstatement with NCAA

Now, keeping fingers crossed so that he can be reinstated. It will be good for college football if he can come back to USC.

National Championship retained? Who knows. Don’t want to woof it ;-)

And what better way to start it than Carson Palmer and the Cincinnati Bengals. Marvin Lewis wants them to win the Super Bowl this year!

Wow. Wow. That’s a lot for a ‘rookie’ quarterback. Will he step up and deliver? I hope so.

I am not a big AFC fan, but in this case, Go Carson!!

I am not a big soccer fan. Sorry, football. But I noticed how everyone was talking about England and how they were shocked when they lost.

Granted that it was a great match, but didn’t they have a self-goal? Didn’t the highest paid player David “Posh Spice’s husband” Beckham miss a penalty kick? Didn’t he miss one earlier?

The English media elevates their teams and players to the highest levels. Case in point - Tim Henman. Any time he reaches the quarters of a Grand Slam, the talk starts. There is in fact a Henmania at Wimbledon every year.

Another case in point - the cricket team. Teams like Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka have won the World Cup, but England has not. In fact, I can’t remember the last time England won a significant tournament. This is after the fact that their domestic cricket structure is probably the most well-developed.

Is all the hype and hoopla around the English teams and players worth it?

The Tradition Continues, Video Of 2003 USC National Champ Football Season

Should be COOL!