Hook's NFL Picks
Hookscenter’s guaranteed pick for Super Bowl XLIII against the spread.5 Star Super Bowl pick: Arizona (-7) vs Pittsburgh.
The key to Arizona winning Super Bowl XLIII is the emergence of Edgerrin James in the playoffs. The future Hall of Famer has regained his starting position and has looked the the old “Edge” from his hay days in Indianapolis.
The fire burns in James to get that elusive Super Bowl ring he longs for. He left the Colts as a free agent to sign with the Cardinals and the following year, Indianapolis won the Super Bowl. The Colts in a fittingly gesture, presented James with a Super Bowl ring. A class act on the part of the Colts.
If Arizona can amount any sort of running game against the Steelers, it’s going to be lights out for Pittsburgh. An effective running game will open up the Cardinals explosive passing attack. Look for Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin, and Steve Breaston to have huge game as game MVP, Kurt Warner, delivers strike after strike against the vaunted Steel Curtain.
NFL Posts
Rams sign QB Boller to backup Bulger for 2009 in St. Louis.The St. Louis Rams signed Kyle Boller on Saturday to be the backup to starting quarterback Marc Bulger. The 27-year-old Boller spent all of last season, his sixth with the Baltimore Ravens, on injured reserve with a shoulder injury sustained in the preseason. He was Baltimore’s first-round pick in the 2003 draft. “We are happy to add Kyle to our roster,” new coach Steve Spagnuolo said in a statement. “We feel that he’ll be a valuable addition to our team.” Boller... Read more »
Raiders sign QB Jeff Garcia to one-year deal for 2009.Quarterback Jeff Garcia is returning to the Bay Area after agreeing to a deal with the Oakland Raiders. Raiders senior executive John Herrera told the Associated Press that the four-time Pro Bowler will join the club’s offseason workout program immediately alongside starter JaMarcus Russell. Garcia spent the past two seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, starting 24 games and leading them to the playoffs, but wasn’t re-signed by the club. The 39-year-old quarterback enjoyed the best... Read more »
MLB Posts
Brewers lose 2009 season opener to Giants on West Coast.Although Tim Lincecum readily acknowledged he was mostly awful in his first opening-day start, he left the ballpark excited about what happened. For just about the first time since the NL Cy Young Award winner became a full-time major leaguer, he didn’t have to be outstanding for the San Francisco Giants to win. Travis Ishikawa hit a three-run triple, Aaron Rowand had three RBI and the Giants overcame Lincecum’s struggles for a 10-6 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday in the... Read more »
Brewers get first win of 2009 against Giants in San Francisco.Yovani Gallardo instinctively hacked at the high fastball, not thinking much about the pitching great who had thrown it, and his three-run homer dropped sharply beyond the fence in the left-field corner. Although Gallardo has been alive only slightly longer than Randy Johnson has been a major league pitcher, the Milwaukee Brewers’ promising right-hander started off his season with an achievement even more remarkable than his solid effort on the mound. He’s the first pitcher to hit a home... Read more »
College Fooball Posts
Central Florida review shows normal football training program.UCF’s football program’s conditioning activities are rigorous “but within the range normal to other Division I football programs,” according to a review ordered after a player died and another collapsed last year. The review released Friday was done by an attorney hired by the university and recommended better communication between team physicians and the athletics department administration, an extra athletic trainer for football and an increased exposure to a nutritionist... Read more »
Nebraska signs head football coach, Bo Pelini, to an extension.Nebraska football coach Bo Pelini signed a contract extension Monday following a 9-4 season, boosting his annual salary to $1.85 million. The contract runs through February 2014 and makes him the sixth-highest paid coach in the Big 12. When Pelini was hired by the Cornhuskers in 2007, his five-year contract called for a salary of $1.1 million a year. Athletic director Tom Osborne announced the extension, praising the progress the team has made under Pelini in such a short time. The Huskers tied for... Read more »
NASCAR Posts
Greg Biffle wins 2009 Nationwide spring race in Phoenix.A spate of late caution periods played into Greg Biffle’s hands Friday night, as the driver of the No. 16 Ford held off Jason Leffler to win the Bashas’ Supermarkets 200 Nationwide Series race at Phoenix International Raceway, team owner Jack Roush’s 100th victory in the series. Biffle beat Leffler to the stripe by .338 seconds in a green-white-checkered-flag finish to win his second Nationwide race of the season and the 20th of his career. Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano and Kevin... Read more »
Mark Martin snaps 97-race winless streak in Phoenix with victory.Mark Martin puts in long hours in the gym and thinks the last time he ate fast food was a Burger King run some 15 years ago. He lives his life like a man half of his age. And drives like it, too. The 50-year-old Martin became the third-oldest winner in NASCAR history Saturday night, snapping a 97-race winless streak with a dominating run at Phoenix International Raceway. “I told the guys I don’t have any problem keeping up with a 25-year-old — at least not for the next 15 minutes,”... Read more »
Other Sports
2009 NBA playoff first round preview (4/19) – Sixers vs Magic.Dwight Howard and Stan Van Gundy have mapped out a playoff plan. Now it’s time for the Orlando Magic’s star player and coach to put it to work. A 59-win regular season has ballooned expectations and put pressure on the Magic’s leading men to make a deep playoff push. That road begins Sunday against a Philadelphia 76ers team eager to break its own trend of early postseason exits. “If we don’t get as far as we need to go, the two people standing on the firing line are... Read more »
Flyers pound Penguins to cut 2009 playoff series deficit in half.The Flyers showed flashes of the old Broad Street Bullies spirit that revved up the crowd, jolted the offense and got them back in their playoff series against Pittsburgh. Jeff Carter and Mike Richards scored their first goals of the series early for a sorely needed fast start. Claude Giroux and Simon Gagne put the Flyers ahead for good in a 6-3 victory over the Penguins on Sunday. Pittsburgh leads the opening-round series 2-1 and Game 4 is Tuesday night in Philadelphia. Unlike last season’s... Read more »