NFL Week 8: Al Michaels

Our announcer in focus this week is: Al Michaels!

I don't have the space or the time here to detail Al's entire career here. Any sort of casual sports fan knows he is currently the #1, premier announcer in all of sports broadcasting right now - yes, even over Jim Nantz. I think Al was at his best about 5-10 years ago, and is starting to slip ever so slowly on broadcasts - but still, when he is doing an event, you stand up and take notice.

Al started at ABC in 1977; before that, he bounced around doing local broadcast in Hawaii, San Francisco, and yes, Cincinnati. He was the Reds play by play announcer with Joe Nuxhall for the early days of the Big Red machine. His first year was 1972 - which was the first year the Reds made the World Series. Here's the deciding game 5 at Old Riverfront,  9th inning, with the Pirates leading 3-2. Bench homers to tie it up; after a couple more singles, the winning run for the Reds comes in....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4EijwKZaCI

It's amazing how similar Michaels is to Vin Scully on some of those calls.

He then went to ABC sports in 1977 where he became an instant superstar in 1980 with the Winter Olympics and the call of the US-USSR hockey game. Legend has it that the ABC Olympics team had no one who did Hockey play by play regularly; they asked for volunteers and Michaels said he had done 1 game in the past - so voila! He's doing hockey!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gfD134ED54

I am just amazed at how Michaels can keep getting the Russian names correct during that last minute. How do you maintain the professionalism and call the play with 5 and 6 syllable foreign names during that? Amazing.

In the 80s, ABC seemed to be the premier network for sporting events - they had baseball, boxing, and the Olympics, and Monday Night Football. Michaels was on the call for the 1989 series - the Quake - and then the 1985 Series. Going back and watching game 6 of the 1985 series, I underestimated how tense this was. A team (Royals) trying to win their first series against their cross-state rival that clearly made them feel inferior.

And I don't know how I would have reacted if I was a Cardinal fan and seeing this happen to my team....this is worth a watch if you have a free 15 minutes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iL_W9MucEk

(Fun fact: When I played in the 2005 Iowa Mid-Am at a country club in Waterloo, IA, we had a rain delay; we all went into the locker room to wait out the storm; I was changing into dry clothes next to Don Denkinger's locker. Didn't have a camera phone at the time)

Al's gambling references are now legendary. Here's the best one I could fine, from 2013; the over/under on this game was around 50.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ol_2OjtDieA

As for the Browns, not too many highlights on Michaels doing Browns games. I do remember this Monday Night game from 1990; this is a Browns-Broncos game in Denver in early October; this is after we had lost the AFC Champ to Denver in 3 of the past 4 years. We were 1-3 are really needed a win...... we cut Matt Bahr in training camp for a CFL kicker, Jerry Kauric....down 29-27, we'll let Al take it from here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56vQgMtoU7o&t=132s

I remember watching that as a sophomore and getting excited. OK! We're back! 2-3! Now we will rally and win the weak AFC Central!

We won one more game that year; finished 3-13 and hired a new coach next year..... whose name we all know.

More recently, the last time the Browns were on Sunday Night football was in 2008 for week 2, at home against the Steelers. I know, many of you can't believe this - but Michaels and Madden were in Cleveland for a Sunday Night Game! In our lifetime!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d45ucbB2Tx0&t=15s

I was so ready for this game - we were going to kick their ass! Do I remember watching this game? No. Hurricane Ike came through Cincinnati that afternoon, knocking out power for 300,000 people in Cincinnati (including us), and causing ~$15,000 of damage to our roof. Power was out at our place for 4-5 days, and that was fun with a 2 week old Martin in the house.

Of course, we lost.

Vegas has put up odds:
Will Michaels be the play by play announcer for another Cleveland Browns game in his career?

Yes +300
No -450

I assume we will lose 30-10 this morning, by the way.

On to the games:
Buf 27, Oak 16. I can't see the Raiders putting up the same emotion on the road as they did last week. Their defense also has issues.

Cin 23, Ind 13. Don't like either of these two teams. Look for a low scoring game in the rain/cold.

NE 26, LAC 13. Not sold on the Chargers' O. They should have scored more against Oakland and Denver. The Pats' D is getting better. I don't see how they stay close here.

NO 31, Chi 17. Maybe I'm even being generous with the 17. How will the Bears score if the other team doesn't give them points?

Atl 27, NYJ 16.  Betting that the Falcons are trying to save their season with this game. If the Browns could outgain the Jets by 200 yards, I have to believe the Falcons will find something.

Phi 24, SF 20. The inevitable letdown by Philly. And I still like Kyle Shanahan.

Car 30, TB 23. The Bucs' D is awful. Carolina has to be pissed after last week. And is Winston hurt?

Sea 24, Hou 22. Sea's W last week masks their problems they still have on O. They can't reliably move the ball. Everyone is focusing on Watson vs the Seahawks D, but what about Sea O vs Hou D?

Dal 23, Was 20. Something about this game tells me both teams will try to run the ball. And what the heck happened to Terrelle Pryor?

Pit 27, Det 24. I see a high scoring game here, lots of passing, and a patented 4th quarter Detroit comeback/flurry before a last second Steeler field goal.

KC 23, Den 20. KC is vulnerable against the run, and I expect Denver to run run run the ball to keep it close. They have no other choice.

Best bets: 13 of them. Last week: 6-6-2; overall: 57-39-2
NO -9.5
Atl -6.5
Car +1.5
Car/TB over 46
SF +12.5
Buf -2.5
Ind/Cin under 42.5
NE -7
LAC/NE under 48
Hou +6.5
Dal/Was under 46.5
Pit/Det over 45.5
Den +7

Supercontest picks: Last week: 2-3; overall: 21-14
Buf -2.5
Atl -4.5
Car +2
Hou +5.5
Den +7

NFL Week 8 Anagram

OK, I have to do better than get the anagram out on the Saturday night before a morning Browns game.

This week's anagram:

"Each is mall!"

That could be what Chinese real estate investors say to each other when flying over America and wondering what those large, empty buildings are dotting the landscape with huge parking lots..... but rearrange these letters to form what NFL announcer?

Your Browns hint:

Hurricane Ike

NFL Week 7: Ian Eagle

This week's announcer in focus: Ian Eagle!

Ian is following a typical announcer's path to national prominence; he started at Syracuse while a student, doing play by play, and upon graduation got a job in New York at WFAN. From there, he got gigs with the Jets and then the Nets, before CBS pulled him to do games for the NFL in 1998. He has worked steadily upward on the CBS ladder since then, going from the #7 announcing team (where he did a record 9 Browns broadcasts in 2004*) to now being part of the #2 broadcast team for CBS with Dan Fouts.

*- OK, that was an exaggeration. But only slightly.

I love his voice and his professionalism, while at the same time being able to have fun when needed. He can pull stories out in boring 3rd quarters of Browns games when we are down 17 to actually make the telecast a bit enjoyable. His nickname is the "bird" and , with his current partner being Dan Fouts with his beard, the team is now known as "the Bird and the Beard". I think the nickname was born during a horrible Browns-49ers game in San Fran back in 2011.

Here's a sample of some levity they bring to a typical broadcast, including a Doug Henning reference!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UT_RmUU44zE

Ian is the play by play announcer for the Nets - which has to be a curse in its own right; there should be a special recognition for play-by-play announcers of teams that are horrid; lifetime honorees would include Herb Score, Jim Donovan, Ian Eagle and Van Miller. Ian also does plenty of CBS work during the year, such as being the host of Amen corner coverage and doing NCAA tournament games. He did the famous Pittsnogle game in 2005 where hometown boy Mike Gansey got hot:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMRokCAYpU0&t=55s

He is also one of the main radio play by play guys for the tournament; Westwood One provides the coverage (and is probably another international shadow company like Jefferson Pilot). Here's his radio call from last year's Wisconsin Florida classic:

https://soundcloud.com/cbssportspodcasts/03-24-florida-wins-84-83-on-chiozza-buzzer-beater-in-otmp3

As far as the Browns, I found two main highlights for Ian; the first has to do with this week's opponent - Tennessee . Another miracle comeback by the Browns in 2002 in the playoff season- down 14 with 3 minutes left to win. You have to watch at the 1:40 mark for the greatest onside kick I have even seen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDeI4LSVLuo&t=191s

This last highlight is a favorite around these parts; this is a famous 2007 game at the Ravens with the controversial field goal by Dawson that took 5-10 minutes to rule as good. I still hate the ref under the right goalpost - why are you signaling it no good? Talk with your partner!

And this is when all Browns fans learned of the word "stanchion" - the curved support bar of the goalpost....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=en65Ws1FNxE

Notre Dame 49 points last night...I'm sure that will rub off on Kizer today.... I'm so apathetic about this team. On to other games:

Buf 23, TB 17. I don't like what I see from TB; lack of discipline and Winston is getting loose with the ball. The Bills are solid and should take advtanage of Tampa's mistakes.

Car 27, Chi 17. I know Luke is out- but Car can take away the run game for the Bears - then what of they have left? Carolina should have enough offense to win.

NO 24, GB 23. Not completely sold on the Saints' D yet, and Hundley has a week to prepare. But a lot of questions for the Packers' D too!

Jax 23, Ind 17. Jax's pass defense should stop Brissett, meaning Grandpa Gore or Turbin willhave to win the game for the Colts? I don't think so.

LAR 30, Az 19. Boy, Arizona's pass D is awful. I was nervous all last week taking the Cards even when they were up 31-0. I will trust Goff and the short passing of the Rams in London.

NYJ 19, Mia 16. Who knows? I think Mia won games due to incompetence of opponents rather than anything good they did.

Bal 20, Min 17. I know the Ravens look awful on O - but their D is still stellar; how will Minnesota score, without Diggs? Low scoring game - meaning the Ravens can pull out one of their special miracles.

Dal 30, SF 27. Impressed with Beatherd last week in relief. I don't see Dallas fixing their defensive issues anytime soon.

Pit 23, Cin 20. Should be closer than most think; Pit still struggles to move the ball but will somehow get a win here due to their hex over the Bengals.

Den 27, LAC 13. First, who thinks the Chargers are any good? They beat the Giants in that injury game and they only scored 17 against the awful Oakland D. I give Denver a mulligan.

Sea 26, NYG 16. Explain to me how the Giants will score. Sea has a top pass D; they are weak in the run D but the Giants can't run. And Wilson won't make mistakes.

NE 27, Atl 24. This is one of those games that will go against all conventional wisdom. Somehow, one or both defenses will play well.

Phi 24, Was 20. So impressed with the Eagles. Their ball control offense with Wentz doing enough will take them far in the weak NFC.

Best bets: 14 of them. Last week: 8-4; overall: 51-33
Buf -3
Car -3
Jax -3
LAR -3
LAR/Az over 46
NYJ +3
Bal +4.5
SF +6
Dal/SF over 49
Pit/Cin over 40.5
Den -1
Sea -3.5
Atl/NE under 56.5
Phi/Was under 49

Supercontest picks: Last week: 4-1; overall: 19-11
Car -3
Bal +5.5
LAR -3.5
Den +1.5
Sea -5.5

NFL Week 7 Anagram

Your anagram for Week 7:

"Eel, again?"

This may have been what Eric said after his third business dinner in Suzhou, China, where seafood is the main cuisine .... but rearrange these letters to form the name of what NFL announcer?

I'll make the clues easy for you. Your Browns related clue:

a Stanchion

Your non-Browns related clue: Bird and Beard

NFL Week 6: Mike Patrick

This week's announcer in focus: Mike Patrick!

OK, I have to admit something. I like Mike Patrick. I think the team of Patrick and Paul McGuire was brilliant. I know this opinion is not very popular in many circles - especially as Mike Patrick gets up in age now and his mistakes are becoming more common. But he brought energy to the play by play broadcast and then set up McGuire excellent so McGuire could do his Tony Romo-like cheering. (The addition of Theismann in the booth with them - well, not so much).

Patrick is a native of Clarksburg, WV - which is actually the hometown of one of my friends in college, so I actually know where that is. He got his first job as a sports director in Jacksonville in the 70s and then quickly moved up to WJLA - Channel 7 - in Washington.

Patrick became one of the lead voices for the Jefferson Pilot broadcasts of college sports in the 80s. The 80s were a time when some college football and most college basketball games were independently produced and syndicated to all sorts of oddball stations. For instance, the Terps B-ball games that I remember were shown on Wednesday nights on channel 45 or 54 or something. (God forbid WJZ was going to pre-empty Knots Landing for Adrian Branch.)

(Was Channel 54 - WNUV - formed in the 80s just to be able to show ACC games and I Love Lucy re-runs? I need an answer to this....)

To be honest, I never really know what Jefferson Pilot was when I grew up. Was it a two-bit broadcasting company headquartered in Greensboro that had a good-ol-boy hold on the ACC broadcasts?  Some international conglomerate set up in Switzerland to pay off officials and ensure the Terps would always lose every close game to good teams? (That was always my thought). Just now, I am learning the Jefferson Pilot was in insurance and was bought out by Lincoln Financial in the past 10 years. Who knew?

Anyway, Mike Patrick became a staple of those broadcasts and was a voice in our house every Wednesday night during the winter. Here's a clip of an intro from those Jefferson Pilot broadcasts. Watch the whole thing to understand mid-Atlantic sports and why Lefty had no hair....( watch the first 2:30)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLhXbHnBv0c

(HOLY crap!!! For us Ohio folk, look who shows up at the 5:10 mark of that above clip....Wow...)



Mike joined ESPN and in the late 80s became the voice of the new Sunday Night football broadcast on ESPN. We'll get to the important Browns game on SNF in a minute. He did Monday Night football broadcast for 18 years - 18! - ending in 2005. His trademark catch phrase - "Holy Cow!" was used on almost every routine 15 yard catch multiple times each quarter.

The most famous broadcast he did was in 1999 - a Wild Card playoff game for ESPN/ABC. I don't even have to set this up - just click on the link. It's amazing what your opinion is when you see this play live and how it changes when you see the replay....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pfz4JViRkoA

In 1989, the Week 16 Sunday Night game happened to be Cleveland at Houston - and the two teams were tied for the division lead going into the last week. ESPN hyped it up as "the AFC Central Championship". And it was! Kosar! Moon! Slaughter! Givins! Mike Patrick was there...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TcH3wNn7g8

And it provided a heart attack moment for Eric - this was a play during the game at a key moment. Tight game, Moon goes back, sacks, and fumbles! Clay Matthews picks it up - and - what??? What does he do? IBM takes it from there....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqeOFMW6Xqc

(Boy, I miss "IBM presents You Make the Call" and "Alcoa's Fantastic Finishes!")

Ok, yeah, yeah, Browns at Houston this week. Boy, I wish we were in a position in a draft to take a young quarterback like Carson Wentz or Deshaun Watson. But we never seem to be in the right spot in the draft to take one. We're just unlucky, I guess.

On to the games:

Atl 31, Mia 13. How does Miami have 2 wins? Their offense seems to be as bad as ours. Atlanta should - should! - come off ready to play off their bye.

Bal 20, Chi 17. Just don't know how Baltimore scores without help from the other team...and this is Mitch's first road game. Have to believe Fox will be ultra conservative with the game plan..

GB 28, Min 24. Packers usually struggle in Minnesota, and their defense has holes. I know Diggs is out, but Minnesota still has some weapons and there will be points here.

NO 27, Det 24. Not sure about this game at all. How banged up is Detroit's O line? How good are each team's defense?

NE 28, NYJ 16. After watching the debacle last week - and other Jets games - I just don't see how they can sustain drives against anyone.

Was 30, SF 16. SF has come close 3 straight weeks - and now is on their 3rd straight road game. I see Washington coming out and dominating; I'm sure I'll lose this one by the back door.

Az 27, TB 20. Looked at Tampa's stats - they are very weak against the pass, and that's the one thing Arizona can still do. I think the Cards pull this out.

Jax 23, LAR 20. What a great, unexpectedly interesting game. Be interested to see Gurley vs. the Jags questionable run D.

Pit 20, KC 17. Pit has the Chiefs' number, and their backs are against the wall. They circle the wagons here and get the win. How many big games can KC show up for in a row?

LAC 26, Oak 24. Just not impressed with the Raiders, even if Carr plays. When the Ravens can move the ball downfield on you, what is Rivers going to do?

Den 20, NYG 13. Classic Milton Berle game here; Denver will do just enough to win the game - and their offense isn't dynamic enough to cover a huge spread like this.

Ten 23, Ind 13. The more I watch Brissett, the more I don't like his footwork. Can LeBeau take advantage of this? The Colts D is bad enough that it doesn't matter who the QB is for Tennessee.

Best bets: 12 of them. Last week: 10-4; overall: 43-29
Atl -13
Chi +6.5
GB/Min over 44.5
NE -9
Was -11
Az +1.5
Pit +4
Pit/KC under 47
LAC +3.5
NYG +12.5
NYG/Den under 39
(Ten -6.5)

Supercontest picks: Last week: 3-2; overall: 15-10
Was -10
Az +2.5
Pit +4.5
LAC +3.5
Ten -6.5

NFL Week 6 Anagram

Your anagram for this week:

"Rekick it, Pam!"

No, this is not what Jim said when his girlfriend hit the opening kick backward when starting off the office's annual soccer game - but rearrange these letter to form what announcer?

Your Browns clue is - the Astrodome!
'







Your non-Browns clue is:

NFL Week 5: Tom Hammond

This week's announcer in focus is Tom Hammond of NBC!

Tom is a native Kentuckian, and graduated college with a degree in Animal science, not broadcasting. He got his start in broadcasting at the 1984 Breeders' Cup - the first one! - and was brought on by NBC as a specialist alongside the main host - Dick Enberg. Hammond was apparently so impressive in his debut that NBC Sports signed him to be a part of the staff.

Here's the clip of the coverage - go to the 16:00 mark where Enberg doesn't even know his name; Hammond corrects him and then flawlessly predicts the winner. Grey horses are never supposed to win - but Hammond picked her!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ma-_Jjdinc


(sorry- got distracted watching that clip - Pete Axhelm and Jack Klugman talking horse racing at the 11:00 mark)....

Tom began doing more and more sports for NBC in the mid- and late-80s; he was part of the NBC Olympics broadcasting team in 1992 where he did track and field. Can't find a seminal moment from the track at those Olympics; his color analyst for track and field that year was....you guessed it, OJ. The last Olympics OJ did as a broadcaster.

Tom continues to do Olympic broadcasting today; he is now involved with the Winter Olympics as well and is the exact definition of a "third wheel" during figure skating coverage. He is the straight, play-by-play man in figure skating in the booth with Tara and Johnny. I'm not sure if he is proud or bewildered to be with these two.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=of7CGdZ50JY

As many of you know, NBC had the AFC football broadcasts up until 1999. NBC put Hammond in as one of the rotating play by play guys usually doing the #4 or #5 game for NBC. He was paired with an up and coming young color guy from the Midwest - a receiver that, to me, seemed to talk too much. Cris Collinsworth. Hammond did a playoff game for NBC as recently as 2010.


NBC got the Notre Dame contract in the 90s, where it was the sole broadcaster for all Notre Dame home games, and quickly became recognized as the voice of the Irish. I guess the most famous moment in that package is a game in 2005 vs. USC. We all know the final play of the game....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pz8rBlhSxeg

Now, to the Browns.....in 1993, we in Cleveland were starting to realize that maybe this Belichick guy could coach - a bit. Resurrecting a team with zero talent and old in 1990, Bill went 6-10, 6-10 in his first two years (note: we would give a coach a parade now for 12 wins in 2 seasons) and the team looked better going into '93. We had a 4 pm home start against the Steelers in October (remember those? East Coast games actually starting at 4 pm????)....and Tom was on the call.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZANnuzSFdag

You better watch the whole clip.....

I tried to put our answering machine up to our recording of the game to have Hammond's call of the 2nd punt return be our outgoing message on the machine in our apartment. That technology transfer didn't work so well as Hammond's voice did not come through on the machine.

Note: I think I still have 3 Metcalf jerseys somewhere in the basement.

When will we have excitement like that again in Cleveland????

On to the games:

Buf 23, Cin 20. Can we really trust Buffalo? They still have very little passing game. Can we trust the Bengals after looking good vs. the Browns?

Det 27, Car 20.  I think Detroit's defense is underrated and their D will stop Carolina enough. Detroit should score enough at home.

Ind 30, SF 20.  I like what I see out of Brissett over the past 2 weeks. This game is at home; he's comfortable, and he does have some weapons at receiver. Can Indy's D do enough?

Mia 27, Ten 19. The true home opener for the Dolphins; I think Cutler and Miami will do enough against a bad pass D for the Titans. And Mia's run D is good; so Ten has to pass with Cassel. Not a great strategy.

LAC 31, NYG 26. This should be a shootout with 2 teams that love to pass. And the Chargers getting out of LA should help them.

Phi 26, Az 20. I just don't see how Arizona puts up enough points here. Their D may keep them in the game - but can they actually move the ball with no running game?

Pit 24, Jax 13. Still not 100% that Pit's O is back to where it was last year. I'd love to see the Jags upset here, but can't trust them on the road.

LAR 23, Sea 20. On paper, this could be a Rams blowout; however, I have to believe that Carroll will be into his bag of tricks as he desperately needs to win this game. The coaching matchup will make this a close game.

Bal 20, Oak 17. All right, trusting the Ravens' D on this one. Not sure how Manuel and the Raiders will move the ball against the #1 D. Can Flacco find some holes in the Raiders' D? I think so.

Dal 30, GB 24.  Love this spot for the Cowboys. Coming off a loss and they are desperate, facing an injured Packers team at home. Dallas just needs to contain Rodgers and they should win.

KC 23, Hou 17. Will never bet against KC ever, ever again after Monday night. Watson can't play as well as he did last week. Can he?

Min 27, Chi 17. Although there is a good chance that us Cleveland fans will see another star QB born for another team on MNF....

Best bets: 14 of them. Last week: 8-6; overall: 33-25
Det -2.5
Ind -2
SF/Ind over 44.5
Mia +1
LAC +3
LAC/NYG over 45
Pit -7.5
Jax/Pit under 43
Sea/LAR under 47.5
Bal +3
Dal -3
KC -1
KC/Hou under 45
Min -2.5

Supercontest picks: Last week: 2-3 (with an asterisk); overall: 12-8
Det -2.5
Ind -1.5
Mia +3
Bal +2.5
Dal -2

NFL Week 5 Anagram

The anagram this week is:

"Damn - Hot Mom!"

This could be what Brian Griffin says about Lois in every Family Guy outtake - but rearrange these letters to form which NFL play by play announcer?

Two clues: First, the Browns-related clue; the announcer called a game with this famous player in it: Eric Metcalf!

Second clue: non-Browns related:

NFL Week 4: Bill Macatee

This week's announcer in focus is CBS's Jack of all trades, Bill Macatee!

Every sports network needs one of those announcers that are so versatile, they can be called on at any moment to do any sports needed. In the past, this role was held by people like Tim Ryan at CBS (who seemed to always be on some random mountain in the Alps for a World Cup ski race) and Al Trautwig for NBC (who had the 8th position in the draft for Olympic coverage, and gets biathlon/water polo).

Bill plays that same utility player role, but now for more premier events.

He started back in the 80s for NBC and was a host for NBC Sportsworld. Remember that? I didn't until yesterday. Sportsworld was NBC's answer to "Wide World of Sports" - except no one actually watched it. Here's a clip of what would be shown on Saturdays - boxing, auto racing, and a golf retrospective of the 1968 US Open (why?). Other sports in other clips include Sumo and figure skating....
(our hero is seen at the 0:35 mark).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykkUjUPm6lY

Bill went to the USA network in 1990 - USA, at the time, was the home for the early rounds of the PGA tour and the US Open tennis tournament. He then joined CBS in 1995 and did - well, almost everything. Most hard core golf fans know that he is the stand in for Jim Nantz in the tower at 18 when Nantz isn't there; I do believe that Nantz has a contract that states that Nantz will not do any sporting events that are held within 50 miles of Iowa or Arkansas. That's why - every single year - Bill Macatee is the main play by play guy for the John Deere coverage in Iowa. Nantz won't step foot in the Hawkeye state.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjadfYXScQo

Bill also was the lead announcer for the US Open tennis tournament from 2010-15, the last years that CBS had the rights to it. He was actually very good at this, building on his USA experience to call the men's final for 5 years. He worked that for CBS for 15, and I think I heard his voice 12 hours straight in August-September 2008, when we had CBS's US Open coverage of the middle weekend on in our hospital TV for the 2 days after Martin was born.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJ39mDYWEqA&t=8s

So Bill is a great addition to the CBS football team; whenever they needed a 4th or 5th announcer, he always filled in. Of course, he wasn't going to get the premier games - that was for Nantz - but they keep sending him to Buffalo, Nashville, Jacksonville and Cleveland to fill in spots. One of those games he did was a predicted yawner in 2010, when New England came to Cleveland as a double digit favorite. It was the "hoodie", Bill Belichick, vs. his student/disciple, Eric Mangini. And then a legend was born......the future cover boy of Madden.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJ39mDYWEqA&t=8s

Even now, I ask - how did that game happen? Did I dream that? How did we beat the Pats by 17? Even those years - in 2010 - we actually won games in convincing fashion while going 5-11. Now, we just hope to stay within single digits. It's sad......

Let's try not to get blow out today, ok?

On to the games:

NO 31, Mia 27. Neither team has a defense - last week NO got lucky and played an awful Carolina team on O.

Atl 20, Buf 17. Love Buffalo's D; the home field for Atlanta will just be enough to get them across the line here.

Pit 19, Bal 16. No idea. I'm not sure either of these teams are good.

LAR 27, Dal 24. I'm starting to be a believer in the Rams. And what has Dallas showed so far that is impressive?

Hou 28, Ten 20. Tennessee's pass defense is vulnerable - and I think Watson is slowly improving and will take advantage.

Det 24, Min 20. Min's outburst last week was mainly due to turnovers; if Stafford holds on to the ball, the Lions win.

NE 24, Car 17. We will see how bad NE's defense is with this game. If Carolina gets in the 20s, then Pats fans can truly panic.

Jax 23, NYJ 13. I know this is a big trap - but the Jax Run O should dominate the game.

Az 23, SF 17. I wanted to pick the upset here, but SF's defense is just too weak.

Phi 31, LAC 28. Can't pick the upset here. Can't trust the Chargers until they play 4 complete quarters.

TB 30, NYG 26. Just not understanding all the Giants love in this game. They still don't have an offensive line.

Oak 24, Den 17. What is so impressive about Denver? If Oakland can stop the run, they should win comfortably.

Sea 24, Ind 16. The line is 13 on this game....Seattle has trouble scoring 13 points in a game.

KC 23, Was 20. Should be a great Monday night game. Was's defense should keep them well in the game.

Best bets: 14 of them. Last week: 10-6; overall: 25-19
(in no order)
NO/Mia over 50.5
Buf +8
Buf/Atl under 48.5
Pit/Bal under 42.5
LAR +6
Hou +2.5
Car/NE under 49
Jax -3
Phi +2.5
Phi/LAC over 47.5
NYG/TB over 44.5
Oak +3
Ind +13
Was +7

Supercontest: 4-1 last week; 10-5 overall:
LAR +6.5
Hou +1.5
Jax -3.5
Oak +2.5
Was +6.5