Bik's Week 13 Picks: Drunk With Power

The commissioners are officially out of control.

It’s gotten to the point now where you can put the names of the commissioners of the big 4 North American sports in a hat, pull 1 out and complain about them for 30 minutes. So somehow I’m going to bypass the commissioner who has brought on his 4^th work stoppage in 20 years during his tenure. Somehow I’m going to avoid talking about the commissioner who is lobbying for 18 game seasons while player safety is becoming an increasingly dangerous predicament for the league. Somehow I’m going to ignore the commissioner who is about to see 3 stars go onto their first Hal of Fame ballots, but all 3 have a cloud of steroid mystery around them. Yep – David Stern, this one is ode to you.

Bik's Week 13 Thursday Night Pick: A Lockout Pool

This is for those who see the glass as half full.

One of the biggest losses throughout this NHL lockout has been losing all fantasy leagues and hockey pools. It’s a strong source of camaraderie that allows us to replicate, even on a miniscule level, managing and creating your own hockey team. No more can we trash talk in the office or amongst friends when Ryan Smyth had an unexpected 3 point night ruining another owner’s week.

So I present to you a new pool for your office or your friends. We need to salvage this aspect of this dreaded lockout. It’s a calendar pool as to when the NHL Lockout will end. Just make a calendar from today’s date until June 28^th 2013. The 28^th is the date for the 2013 NHL Entry Draft, so if the NHL hasn’t figured out this CBA nonsense by then, we might as well become basketball fans.

Charge $5 per date, you can choose as many dates as you want. And it works like TPIR (The Price is Right), whoever is closest to the date without going over. Multiple people can pick the same date and split the winnings if it lands on that date, but you have to pick a day that is more than a week in advance. This’ll create some anxiousness in the office and allow you to trash talk people for their optimism. “YOU THOUGHT FEHR AND BETTMAN WOULD SOLVE THIS BY DECEMBER 9^TH?!? PFFFFT!” Doesn’t this kind of talk excite anyone else? Is this me grasping at straws?

Mind you this entire pool is contingent on the NHL and NHLPA actually solving their issues, which at this stage seems like we need a prophecy from an Oracle and both sides to negotiate with a ‘Neo’ like belief.

“There is no spoon”

Rest of Week 13 Picks on Friday. Home team in CAPS.

Saints (+3.5) over FALCONS

Last Week: 7-7-1

Season: 86-87-2

Bik's Week 12 Picks: Thankful

I’m thankful for technology.

I take you back to last Wednesday. I was in a mad rush to get things sorted before I boarded my plane to Las Vegas. Then I touched down in Vegas on Thursday, the city lights and general euphoria about being in Vegas completely distracted me. You know that feeling when you go for a trip and you keep thinking if you forgot to pack something? Well I had that feeling from when I left my house and to this specific moment in Vegas. But I doubled n’ tripled n' even QUADRUPLED checked my bags. Wallet, keys, cell-phone, passport, cash... Check, check, check, check, check... What was I forgetting?

Bik's Week 11 Picks: TJ's Takeover

To start, this isn't Bik. He is off in Vegas this weekend. And I can only imagine he is salivating at the idea of a Sunday of football in the gambling capital of the world. Since he works so hard with his Bik's Picks I figured it was only fair to give him a weekend off. Time for me to take my hand at this picking against the spread thing. Because he can't get away from it I will have Bik's Picks in this post as well.

I am going to provide insight into each matchup but don't look too deep into it. I am still new to the NFL and am really just flying off the cuff.

Here we go. Week 11. Rookie v Veteran. Pride on the line (As a note I am not looking at Bik's selections until after I make mine)

Bik's Week 10 Picks: A Moment of Silence

If you’re not the type of person that will stop and pause for a moment of silence NO MATTER WHAT YOU’RE DOING this Sunday for Remembrance Day – then this piece is not for you. Just skip ahead to the picks below.

But if you will take a moment to remember those who sacrificed so much and have allowed us to live with the freedoms we have today, then join me and take a moment, or a few, to also remember the following:

Bik's Thursday Night Week 10 Pick: Letdown

Rest of the week 10 picks on Friday. Home team in CAPS.

JAGUARS (+3.5) over Colts

You know when you get back from a nice vacation that was just absolutely exhilarating, and that first day back to work is just THE WORST? You’re sitting at your desk, completely unmotivated thinking about the trip you just took. It’s just an emotional hangover and you gotta wait it out. This is that game for the Colts.

If you didn't already know but the Colts have used the story with their head coach Chuck Pagano and his battle with leukaemia as their rallying point. Last week Pagano spoke to his team pre and post-game and at home versus the Dolphins, Miami never stood a chance. It was an emotional high that was going to have the Colts on another level. They had a moment like this earlier this year when news of Pagano’s illness first broke. They played the Packers at home that week, surprise surprise the Colts won in an incredible game. This game is very much either a Pro-Colts or Anti-Colts pick because let’s face it – in no scenario are you going to be able to conjure up a Pro-Jaguars pick. Now there are several schools of thought in play for tonight’s game and how using Pagano will work or won’t work for the Colts.

1)      After that Green Bay win, everybody was set to jump on board with the Colts and ride this #ChuckStrong emotional wave the Colts were having. They followed up with a 35-9 loss to the New York Jets. They came up with a big win vs. the Dolphins, especially for the AFC playoff picture, and now play a major downer game vs. the Jaguars.

2)      Because it’s a Thursday game and they don’t have the full week to come down, they’ll still be on that emotional high and be able to ride it out in a win over the Jaguars.

3)      They’re a young but smart team so having already been through this roller-coaster once they’ll be better prepared for it now.

4)      The Colts are a young team and it takes more than 4 weeks to figure out how to manage these emotional swings during a long season.

The Colts are coming off a vacation and are set to go back to the real world. The regular rat race. You need those inspirational moments during a season, but you can't draw to that well every week. I think we see a repeat of that Jets game instead of a continuum of last week. It’s tough to come from that high, then hit the road into a crummy place like Jacksonville and keep that same level of focus on a short week.

Last Week: 5-9

Season: 64-67-1

TEP Drinking Game Series - Curling

If there is one thing Canadians love it's beer and ice sports. With hockey still on the shelf us

"ice" sports fans need our fix. With that in mind I present to you TEP's Curling drinking game. I want to preface this by saying it is still in it's Beta testing phase, but it will be amended as necessary.

Bik's Week 9 Picks: June 20th 1994

I may have only been a mere 9 years old but it’s stuck with me since then. And really its something that I will always look back to. I think about why can’t we get back to that point? But also about how we got to this point. And how potentially different it could have been.

As the NHL has finally done the inevitable and cancelled its show-piece regular season game, The Winter Classic, I think back to when I was 9 years old. June 20^th 1994 to be exact.

Bik's Thursday Night Week 9 Pick: Natural Disaster

Ok look – It’s Thursday and we’ve had a hurricane and 2 earthquakes in North America in the past week alone. I am freaking out. I’ve barely picked above .500 the past 3 weeks, but am still 1 game over .500 for the season. I’m hunkering down in a bunker until the world rights itself and until I’m well over .500. So today’s pick’s post is going to be a short one, but let’s get to it.

Thursday Night Week 9 pick. Home team in CAPS.

Chiefs (+7.5) over CHARGERS

When Norv Turner’s back is against the wall on a 3^rd n’ 5 in the 4^th quarter of a meaningful game – he unequivocally folds and things blow up in his face. The Chargers season hangs in the balance and his job security is as secure my nephews Halloween Candy haul. This game features 2 bad teams on a short-week. I’ll take the points especially since it’s over a touchdown. And Brady Quinn is no longer starting for the Chiefs, so this’ll be Matt Cassel’s first game starting after he was booed for being knocked out. The Chiefs really have no pressure on them because they just aren’t expected to compete in any games. I mean, when your coach is asked why Jamaal Charles got only 5 carries and his response is “Now, that I’m not exactly sure either.” The level of expectations are just lowered for you to do anything competently. So you’re a complete wildcard – and on a short week, the last thing a team that DESPERATELY needs a win and is ill-equiped to pull out clutch wins, is to face a team that has nothing to lose and will impress by doing fundamentals correctly. This is an end of an era game for the Chargers if they lose this... bye to Norv, bye to GM AJ Smith, potentially the ultimate demise of Phillip Rivers. No pressure or anything.

Last Week: 7-7

Season: 59-58-1