{"id":3359,"date":"2009-01-18T10:07:00","date_gmt":"2009-01-18T15:07:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.joeduffy.net\/blog\/2009\/01\/sunday-picks\/"},"modified":"2009-01-18T10:07:00","modified_gmt":"2009-01-18T15:07:00","slug":"sunday-picks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.joeduffy.net\/blog\/2009\/01\/sunday-picks\/","title":{"rendered":"Sunday Picks"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=Section1>\n<p><font size=3 face=\"Times New Roman\"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>The NFL conference championships have finally arrived, with <\/span><\/font><st1:City><st1:place>Philadelphia<\/st1:place><\/st1:City> at <st1:State><st1:place>Arizona<\/st1:place><\/st1:State> and <st1:City><st1:place>Baltimore<\/st1:place><\/st1:City> at <st1:City><st1:place>Pittsburgh<\/st1:place><\/st1:City>. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.betus.com\/ats\/10499\/sportsbook\/default.aspx\">BetUs<\/a> has the Eagles laying 3.5 with a total of 47 and <st1:City><st1:place>Pittsburgh<\/st1:place><\/st1:City> as a six-point chalk with a total of 34. There are some <a href=\"http:\/\/www.offshoreinsiders.com\/index.php?PageID=58\">fantasy football betting odds<\/a> for the sharpest players as well. <\/p>\n<p><font size=3 face=\"Times New Roman\"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Here&#8217;s a look in your Daily Sports Roundup.<\/span><\/font><\/p>\n<p><strong><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><font size=3 face=\"Times New Roman\"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>The Gridiron Spotlight<\/span><\/font><\/b><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><font size=3 face=\"Times New Roman\"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>The Ravens defense has allowed just 19 points so far over two playoff games, and they&#8217;ll be looking to keep up that pressure on Sunday when they play on the road in Pittsburgh in the AFC Championship Game (6:30pm ET, CBS). <\/span><\/font><st1:City><st1:place>Baltimore<\/st1:place><\/st1:City> knocked off top-seeded <st1:State><st1:place>Tennessee<\/st1:place><\/st1:State> 13-10 on the road last weekend, thanks to one Joe <span class=SpellE>Flacco<\/span> touchdown pass and two Matt Stover field goals. <span class=SpellE>Flacco<\/span> went 11-of-22 for 161 yards passing in that contest, while Derrick Mason had the TD grab.<\/p>\n<p><font size=3 face=\"Times New Roman\"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>The Steelers started their playoff run with a bang last weekend, bouncing <\/span><\/font><st1:City><st1:place>San   Diego<\/st1:place><\/st1:City> 35-24 at Heinz Field on the strength of Willie Parker&#8217;s 146 yards rushing and two touchdowns. Pittsburgh QB Ben Roethlisberger went 17-of-26 for 181 yards through the air in that win, with one touchdown pass and no interceptions.<\/p>\n<p><font size=3 face=\"Times New Roman\"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Division rivals <\/span><\/font><st1:City><st1:place>Baltimore<\/st1:place><\/st1:City> and <st1:City><st1:place>Pittsburgh<\/st1:place><\/st1:City> met twice during the regular season, with the Steelers winning both times (23-20 at home in Week 4, and 13-9 on the road in Week 15). The oddsmakers like the Steelers&#8217; chances of getting a bigger win on Sunday, as they&#8217;ve been listed as a 6-point favorite with the total at 34 points.<\/p>\n<p><font size=3 face=\"Times New Roman\"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>The Eagles got past the defending-champion Giants 23-11 last weekend to advance to the NFC Championship Game on Sunday in <\/span><\/font><st1:State><st1:place>Arizona<\/st1:place><\/st1:State> (<st1:time Hour=\"15\" Minute=\"0\">3:00pm ET<\/st1:time>, FOX). That win came despite sub-par performances from the team&#8217;s top offensive weapons; Donovan McNabb went just 22-of-40 for 217 yards passing with one touchdown and two picks, while Brian Westbrook ran for just 36 yards.<\/p>\n<p><font size=3 face=\"Times New Roman\"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>The Cardinals have surprised most observers with two straight wins over the Falcons and Panthers to start the playoffs, scoring 63 points over the two games. <\/span><\/font><st1:State><st1:place>Arizona<\/st1:place><\/st1:State> went into <st1:City><st1:place>Carolina<\/st1:place><\/st1:City> and came out with a 33-13 win last weekend, with Kurt Warner going 21-of-32 for 220 yards passing with two <span class=SpellE>TDs<\/span> and one INT. Larry Fitzgerald had a monster game, with 166 yards receiving and one touchdown, while Edgerrin James ran for 57 yards and <st1:time Hour=\"13\" Minute=\"20\">one score<\/st1:time> in the victory.<\/p>\n<p><font size=3 face=\"Times New Roman\"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Despite beating the Panthers the Cardinals still find themselves pegged as 4-point home underdogs on Sunday (with the total at 47 points). The Eagles and Cardinals met in <\/span><\/font><st1:City><st1:place>Philadelphia<\/st1:place><\/st1:City> in a decidedly one-sided affair back in Week 13; McNabb threw for 260 yards and four touchdowns in that 48-20 Eagles victory.<\/p>\n<p><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><font size=3 face=\"Times New Roman\"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>Best Bets<o:p><\/o:p><\/span><\/font><\/b><\/p>\n<p><font size=3 face=\"Times New Roman\"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>The future of sports betting is forensic Stevie Vincent. The Great One has turned the betting world upside down with his wave of the future, forensic <a href=\"https:\/\/www.joeduffy.net\/blog\/2007\/08\/betonsports360com_1.html\">sports handicapping<\/a>. It just so <span class=GramE><span class=grame>happens<\/span><\/span> that Baltimore\/Pittsburgh is the Biggest AFC Championship SIDE in HISTORY. Stevie also has the Level 5 total on Philadelphia\/Arizona plus the side. Stevie has three pro football winners in all. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.offshoreinsiders.com\/index.php?Page=Packages\">Click now to purchase<\/a> his entire card for just $40. <\/span><\/font><\/p>\n<p><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><font size=3 face=\"Times New Roman\"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>Sports Headlines<o:p><\/o:p><\/span><\/font><\/b><\/p>\n<p><font size=3 face=\"Times New Roman\"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Jon <span class=SpellE>Gruden<\/span> is out as head coach of <\/span><\/font><st1:place><st1:PlaceName>Tampa<\/st1:PlaceName>  <st1:PlaceType>Bay<\/st1:PlaceType><\/st1:place> replaced by <span class=SpellE>Raheem<\/span> Morris. Speculation has <span class=SpellE>Gruden<\/span> going to the Jets, Chiefs and even back to the Raiders\u2026The Sony Open sees <span class=SpellE>Tadd<\/span> <span class=SpellE>Fujikawa<\/span> leading\u2026Steve <span class=SpellE>Spagnuolo<\/span> is the new coach of the St. Louis Rams. <o:p><\/o:p><\/p>\n<p><strong><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><font size=3 face=\"Times New Roman\"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Other Notable Events<\/span><\/font><\/b><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span class=SpellE><font size=3 face=\"Times New Roman\"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Evgeni<\/span><\/font><\/span> <span class=SpellE>Malkin<\/span> and his Penguins will try for a win over the rival Rangers Sunday afternoon when the two teams meet at <st1:time Hour=\"12\" Minute=\"30\">12:30pm ET<\/st1:time>. Those clubs last met on January 5, with the Rangers rolling to an easy 4-0 home victory behind the goaltending of <span class=SpellE>Henrik<\/span> <span class=SpellE>Lundqvist<\/span>. There are three other games around the NHL on Sunday: <st1:City><st1:place>Calgary<\/st1:place><\/st1:City> at <st1:State><st1:place>Colorado<\/st1:place><\/st1:State>, <st1:City><st1:place>Phoenix<\/st1:place><\/st1:City> at <st1:City><st1:place>Edmonton<\/st1:place><\/st1:City>, and <st1:City><st1:place>Columbus<\/st1:place><\/st1:City> at <st1:City><st1:place>Vancouver<\/st1:place><\/st1:City>.<\/p>\n<p><strong><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><font size=3 face=\"Times New Roman\"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>The Rest of the Schedule<\/span><\/font><\/b><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><font size=3 face=\"Times New Roman\"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>The NBA has just two games on the schedule for Sunday, with <\/span><\/font><st1:City><st1:place>Phoenix<\/st1:place><\/st1:City> on the road in <st1:City><st1:place>Toronto<\/st1:place><\/st1:City>, and <st1:City><st1:place>Oklahoma   City<\/st1:place><\/st1:City> hosting <st1:City><st1:place>Miami<\/st1:place><\/st1:City>. The better hoops <span class=SpellE>matchups<\/span> look like they&#8217;ll be in the college ranks, with Seton Hall at No. 4 Connecticut and St. John&#8217;s at No. 23 Villanova. Other ranked teams in action on Sunday: No. 15 Xavier vs. La Salle, No. 19 Purdue vs. Iowa, and No. 18 Minnesota vs. Northwestern.<\/p>\n<p><strong><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><font size=3 face=\"Times New Roman\"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>A Peek at the Future<\/span><\/font><\/b><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><font size=3 face=\"Times New Roman\"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>A holiday Monday features many NBA afternoon contests, including <\/span><\/font><st1:City><st1:place>Dallas<\/st1:place><\/st1:City> at <st1:City><st1:place>Philadelphia<\/st1:place><\/st1:City>, <st1:City><st1:place>Denver<\/st1:place><\/st1:City> at <st1:City><st1:place>Houston<\/st1:place><\/st1:City>, and <st1:City><st1:place>San   Antonio<\/st1:place><\/st1:City> at <st1:City><st1:place>Charlotte<\/st1:place><\/st1:City>. As well, <st1:City><st1:place>Phoenix<\/st1:place><\/st1:City> will be in <st1:City><st1:place>Boston<\/st1:place><\/st1:City> and the Lakers will host <st1:City><st1:place>Cleveland<\/st1:place><\/st1:City> in the evening . . . there are two NHL matinees on Monday as well &#8211; Blues\/Bruins, and Capitals\/Islanders. Chicago will host Minnesota at night . . . college hoops action on Monday night will see Pittsburgh hosting Syracuse, while Kansas gets a visit from Texas A&amp;M.<\/p>\n<p><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><font size=3 face=\"Times New Roman\"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>News Headlines<o:p><\/o:p><\/span><\/font><\/b><\/p>\n<p><font size=3 face=\"Times New Roman\"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>We will commandeer the television sets at the international headquarters of <b style='mso-bidi-font-weight: normal'><font color=blue><span style='color:blue;font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-weight: normal'><a href=\"http:\/\/www.offshoreinsiders.com\/\">OffshoreInsiders.com<\/a><\/span><\/font><\/b> to watch the inauguration coverage on multiple television sets but we will pass on the <span class=SpellE>whistlestop<\/span> tour for the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.offshoreinsiders.com\/index.php?Page=Articles&amp;ArticleID=4405\">tour of non-stop winners. <\/a><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><span style='font-weight:bold;mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'><o:p><\/o:p><\/span><\/b><\/span><\/font><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"blogger-post-footer\"><a\nhref=\"http:\/\/www.offshoreinsiders.com\/\"><b style='mso-bidi-font-weight:normal'>OffshoreInsiders.com<\/b><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The NFL conference championships have finally arrived, with Philadelphia at Arizona and Baltimore at Pittsburgh. BetUs has the Eagles laying 3.5 with a total of 47 and Pittsburgh as a six-point chalk with a total of 34. There are some fantasy football betting odds for the sharpest players as well. Here&#8217;s a look in your &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.joeduffy.net\/blog\/2009\/01\/sunday-picks\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Sunday Picks<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3359","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.joeduffy.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3359","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.joeduffy.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.joeduffy.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.joeduffy.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.joeduffy.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3359"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.joeduffy.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3359\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.joeduffy.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3359"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.joeduffy.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3359"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.joeduffy.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3359"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}