It Always Ends In Tears

Kids, don’t give your heart to sports.

It’s messy and unpredictable and stupid and just don’t do it!

I’m speaking from experience here. Less than 24 hours ago, for the 3rd year in a row, I watched the Dallas Cowboys lose on the final day of the regular season and at the same time waving goodbye to a playoff birth.

It hurt. It still hurts. I don’t want it to hurt. But it does.

In my sports fan life I cheer for the…
⋆ Toronto Blue Jays
⋆ Montreal Canadiens
⋆ Toronto Raptors
⋆ Dallas Cowboys
⋆ Toronto Argos

With the exception of the Argos, nobody has won anything of any importance in almost 20 years. In fact, it looks like this…
⋆ Toronto Blue Jays: World Series Champions, 1993
⋆ Montreal Canadiens: Stanley Cup Champions, 1993
⋆ Toronto Raptors: No NBA Championships since entering the league in 1995
⋆ Dallas Cowboys: Super Bowl Champions, 1995

I’ve spent some sad days watching sports and wondering what went wrong, or how things can get better, or when they’ll get better, or if they’ll get better.

I’ve hung my hat on Jose Theodore, Saku Koivu, Roy Halladay, Carlos Delgado, Vince Carter, Damon Stoudamire, Drew Bledsoe, Julius Jones, and many many many other athletes who have pulled those sweaters over their heads.

Not a single one of them brought a championship or a celebration or a parade for me.

I love sports. I won’t ever stop. And I love being a sports fan. The connection to something that I can’t control, to something bigger than me, and being part of a community of fans that stretches across borders and timelines and oceans… it’s amazing. It’s powerful. It brings the hope that a huge high and celebration is coming.

But those celebrations are years apart for a lot of fans. Trust me.

So instead we muddle through. We cheer for winning streaks. We cheer for wins over rivals. We agonize over losing streaks and injuries and overtime heart breakers.

And every year we tell ourselves that this could be the one. That things could start to turn around. That the breaks could go our way.

But they don’t.

Don’t give your heart to sports kids.

It always ends in tears.

NFL Week 7 Picks!

Week 7 is here!

And to be honest, I wasn’t ready for it. I missed my pick on the damn Thursday game! And that sucks because it was pretty much gonna be the Seahawks all over Cardinals 100%.

However, I’ve got to move on. And before we get to the picks this week, keep these things in mind for week 7.

☆ Gronk is back in New England. He’s practised this week and it looks like he’ll play against the Jets. Brady will be happy. And if he can move, the AFC better watch out.

☆ Megatron will play too. That’s right, Calvin Johnson is back. Albeit with a compression sleeve on his knee, but having Johnson on the field is better than not having him on the field!

☆ DeMarcus Ware travelled to Philly but will not play. He’s missing his 1st game in 9 years.

☆ Vick’s still out for the Eagles.

☆ Peyton vs Luck in Indy is going to an awesome thing… pretty much however it goes down.

☆  Stevie Johnson is in for the Bills vs Miami… and so is CJ Spiller.

So, there’s lots going on. It’s going to be a fun week. And when I picked, I tried to pick with my head and not my heart.

Let’s look:

☞ Seattle (not picked)
☞ Arizona
☞ Detroit
☞ Miami
☞ New England
☞ DALLAS
☞ Chicago
☞ Carolina
☞ San Diego
☞ San Francisco
☞ Green Bay
☞ Kansas City
☞ Pittsburgh
☞ Denver
☞ Minnesota
☞ Byes: Oakland, New Orleans

Note: Go Cowboys!

First place in the NFC East is on the line in Philly. That’s HUGE. Here’s hoping for a big Dallas win and them getting on a roll.

But the story that everyone will be paying attention to tonight at 8:30 is Peyton Manning’s return to Indy where he was awesome and built his career. Nobody disputes that Andrew Luck is a great QB and could be for a long time for the Colts, but Peyton came first, and tonight he should win in front of his old fans.

And while I did pick the Patriots with my head, my heart hopes that the Jets can get he upset and beat Tom Brady. I always want Brady to lose.

Good luck to you with all of your picks this week. Unless you’re in my pool.

And I hope that you didn’t forget to pick Seattle on Thursday. I know I won’t let myself make that mistake again!

Have a great week. Be awesome.

NFL Week 6 Picks!

Happy Thanksgiving Canada, and happy Week 6 to everyone!

This week I got back on track by winning the Thursday game – I’m sorry Giants fans… I really don’t like you because of the whole divisional rivalry thing – but 0-6 hurts bad.

Speaking of hurting… after a good start to my pool season I’ve seen a sharp drop off. I’m only 4 games off the lead and 1st place – but it feels like 10.

Here’s hoping that I grab 10-12 wins this week and get back on track again.

Also, big ups to Tony Romo’s Week 5 numbers. I know the end was a heartbreaker for Cowboys fans. But man, what a game!

Let’s take a look at my full list of Week 6 picks before I start eating turkey and cranberries.

☞ Chicago
☞ Cincinnati
☞ Detroit
☞ Kansas City
☞ Carolina
☞ New York Jets
☞ Philadelphia
☞ Green Bay
☞ Houston
☞ Denver
☞ Seattle
☞ New Orleans
☞ San Francisco
☞ DALLAS
☞ Indianapolis
☞ Byes: Atlanta, Miami

Note: Go Cowboys!

It’s going to be an interesting week.

How many points will Denver win by against Jacksonville?

Can the Cowboys win at home and take back 1st place in the division?

What will Josh Freeman look like in a Vikings uniform?

Can New Orleans win on the road against New England? (I Hope So!)

Here’s hoping that you enjoy the games and have some luck with your picks. Unless you’re in my pool – then I hope you’re wrong every time you pick against me.

Enjoy the football.

Be awesome!

NFL Week 5 Picks!

Welcome to week 5!

To start, I need to confess that I am not happy about losing on my Thursday night pick for the first time this season. It sucked. And it sucked even more for the Bills who lost the game and quarterback EJ Manuel with an LCL sprain…

Next, I need to express my desire to have a bounce back week after winning only 9 games in week 4 and dropping to 4th in the pool. Yes, I’m only 2 wins off the top, but it was still a crappy week for picking winners. Week 5 has gotta be better kids. It’s gotta be!

So, here’s hoping that these picks are more… winning.

Note: Dear Tony, please win today. It would be awesome and everyone would talk about you being elite and the team being on track to win the division. Thank you.

☞ New Orleans
☞ New England
☞ Green Bay
☞ Kansas City
☞ Seattle
☞ St. Louis
☞ Miami
☞ NY Giants
☞ Carolina
☞ DALLAS
☞ San Francisco
☞ San Diego
☞ Atlanta
☞ Byes: Minnesota, Pittsburgh, Tampa Bay, Washington

Note: Go Cowboys!

So there you have it, my picks are in for week 5. I hope that we’re all better off because of them.

And I hope that Josh Freeman finds a job soon. Maybe Buffalo should give him a call.

As always, please remember, it’s all fun and games until you lose a ton of money. So play smart and within your limits.

Good luck to everyone not in my pool.

Enjoy the football.

Be awesome!