Guessing Games

Same friends, same feature, new picks of the weak. All picks were made prior to the Phillies' Game 1 NLCS game:


Brian Westbrook—two broken ribs, a sprained ankle, and still in the game last week—amazing! Westbrook can win the game on his own. The only problem is, I think he found where he left his glass jaw at the beginning of his Eagles' career.

Unfortunately, Westbrook's shoes are going to be hard to fill, and if he doesn't play to his potential, Correll Buckhalter is going to have a hard time picking up the slack. Also, Andy Reid did not do Donovan McNabb any favors this season, as he was unable to provide the team with reliable support from a number one wide receiver.

McNabb, an exciting player and definitely in the top 15 of active NFL quarterbacks, does not have the ability to single-handedly win a game like his comrade, Westbrook. Both teams are evenly matched, and the Eagles are traveling across the country to play in hostile territory. It will be a close game, and will take an incredible team effort from the Eagles to win this week in San Francisco. Eagles 45, 49ers 10. — Troy V. of Yardley


Finally, the red-headed step child of professional sports is off and running, and none too soon… this baseball season needs to be cut in half, seriously. But I digress. The Flyers will not be intimidated by the Rangers’ good 2-0 start. Largely because the Rangers will be weary from their time in and flight from Prague. That, and a band of gypsies will steal their gear. — Kurt


Y'all busted on me last week for picking soccer matches. Now Kurt goes with hockey! Hockey?!? Seriously??? I thought the NHL shut down a few years back? — Phil


We may need a new rule for the picks: to choose a game, the sport's athletes must have more teeth than fingers and toes combined. Sorry, Kurt, that could hurt the chances for hockey. — John


I will once again go back to the Eagles flying out West to play the 49ers but they will win by a field goal only. I’m concerned that the Phils will lose the series to L.A. and end their season. And Pennsbury will again win (this time by 3 TDs) to Bensalem on Friday night. — Dave


I'm not sold on the Eagles this week—Pennsylvania’s best football team this year is probably Penn State, right Phil? I do know one thing: no matter what happens against the 49ers, Reid will make sure they don’t lose next week. “Bye” is a beautiful word.

I'm going back to the well for my pick: Jamie Moyer and the Phillies in Game 3 Sunday against the Dodgers. I’ll even go out on a limb and say the victory will give the Phils a 3-0 lead. I’ve got to put my misplaced faith in Philly teams somewhere now that the Eagles are playing like the Golden Era of Ray Rhodes. — John


I'm glad to see we're talking more about “the beautiful game.” Anyway, moving on...I’ll continue discussing futbol partly because I enjoy the game, but mostly because it requires John to look up soccer scores to see if I’m right or not!

As we all know, the Premier League is on hiatus whilst World Cup 2010 qualifying is underway. So I, too, will turn my attention to WC10 qualifying. There are more things [certain] in heaven and earth, Horatio [Dave], than a Pennsbury victory...like England taking care of Kazakhstan in Wembley on Saturday. England leads its group with 6 points and is undefeated while Kazakhstan has lost its last two matches by a combine 6-1. — Phil


My Pick: Dodgers over Phils, Game 3. The Phils will probably be 2-0 before this game, thanks to the home-field advantage and ever-so-slight pitching advantage. But when the action shifts to the Left Coast, expect a new series to emerge. The Dodgers will be red-hot once again, and the patient and disciplined squad managed by Torre and Bowa will break things open with at least two wins in L.A. Expect things to be tense when the action comes back to the Bank! — Carnac the Magnificent


Two weeks in and some of us already have our routines: John = Old Man (Moyer); Carnac = ManDate wannabe (Bowa); Phil = Futbol (But really, Kazakhstan? I'd have thought we'd make at least a month til they made the blog); Dave = Scary Gambling (betting points on HS football). Then the surprises: Troy V. of Yardley picking the Eagles? Hockey mentioned? And I thought our poker table talk was strange. — JR


Impressive work by all of you. I now know what is going on in the sports world without a TV! — Kevin