Aaron's NFL Post-Season predictions

NFC Wild Card:
NY Giants over Phil
Seattle over Carolina

NFC Division Playoffs:
New Orleans over NYG
Seattle over Minnesota

NFC Championship:
New Orleans over Seattle

AFC Wildcard:
Indianapolis over Jacksonville
Buffalo over Pittsburgh

AFC Division Playoffs:
New England over Indianapolis
S.D. over Buffalo

AFC Championship:
San Diego over N.E.

Super Bowl:
San Diego over New Orleans

Brad's NFL Post-Season Predictions

NFC Wild Card:
Giants over Vikings
Panthers over Eagles

NFC Division Playoffs:
Panthers over Seahawks
Cowboys over Giants

NFC Conference Finals:
Cowboys over Panthers

AFC Wild Card:
Colts over Steelers
Patriots over Jets

AFC Division Playoffs:
Jaguars over Patriots
Colts over Chargers

AFC Conference final:
Jaguars over Colts

Super Bowl:
Jaguars over Cowboys

WaxFL

Hey - I set up a new website just for the Waxenfelter Football League. I'm hoping the title to this blog-entry takes you there. If not, go to http://waxfl.blogspot.com/. It'll be a site where I can post scores and charts (and hopefully get some good comments on some of the games). Enjoy!!

Blazers - Hill or Jackson?

The season is inching closer every day. Decision making time draws near. We have 2 players scrimmaging with the team who have a very good chance of making the final roster. The question is; Who should we keep - Luke Jackson or Steven Hill?

Pros/cons for Luke Jackson:
Luke is a great outside threat. We don't have anyone on our team that can match his consistency from deep. His back injuries haven't allowed him to show off his shot in the NBA yet but he is healthier than ever and ready to prove himself. We could really a guy to replace James Jones as in the way he opened up the middle by drawing players deeper out on the perimeter. Luke could do that for us. He is Oregon-raised and it'd be great to have an Oregon Duck on the team. But Luke is not that great on defense and who knows when his back will flare up again?

Pros/cons for Steven Hill:
Steven is a blue-collar Center from Arkansas (and grew up in Branson, Missouri, about 1/2 hour from where my parents live). He was a nice surprise during the summer league and proved he can block shots with vigor and rebound well too. He isn't afraid to grind and muscle his way to get position against his opponent. Word is that he's been blocking Greg Oden's shots during recent practices. I see him as Joel Przybilla Jr. I like that because Joel is one of my favorite players due to his work ethic and toughness. But, much like Joel, Steven is limited on offense. He'll be able to get a few put-back rebounds but that's about it.

If we choose Luke we'll be able to get some instant offense off the bench, open the floor for the big men to do their work, and further infuse the Oregon fan base with Blazer-mania.

If we choose Steven we'll be adding a 7-footer who can stop opponents on the block and make lane drivers nervous. The fans that appreciate the hustle of Jerome Kersey will love Steven Hill.

They're both young players with great potential. What this really boils down to is roster need. As recent as last week I was leaning toward Luke, but with the up-coming shoulder surgery of Raef LaFrentz (not to mention Channing Frye's ankle surgery), I think we should keep Steven Hill. He'll give us a third big man behind Oden & Przybilla which will be handy when they both get in foul trouble. We have plenty scorers on this team - I think we'll be able to get offense without Luke. If we don't sign him then Nick Batum will get the scrub time at Small Forward and allow him to develop faster (although I still think it was a mistake to sign him... Luke Jackson would be so much better!!). We will need the size and fouls of Steven Hill more.

My vote: Steven Hill.

The Waxenfelter League

Each year for the past few years my 2 brothers, my nephew Austin, and I pick 8 teams each near the beginning of the NFL season. We use the following rules to score throughout the year:

Win = 10 Points
Shutout = 5 Points
Score 30+ = 3 Points
Score 40+ = 4 Points
Wild Card Win = 20 Points
Quarter Finals Win = 40 Points
Conference Finals Win = 60 Points
Super Bowl Win = 80 Points

Our first round is auto-selected with our favorite team and the loser from the previous year gets to start the picks in the 2nd round. This simple fantasy set-up makes for a fun NFL season and since we don't have prizes for the winner we don't get overly down if our teams lose.

Last night we got together for some unique Estacada cowboy food (have you ever tried beer- battered fried avocado?) and made our picks for the 2008 season. Here they are:

Grady:
Seahawks
Packers
Rams
Patriots
Jets
Bengals
Chiefs
Redskins

Royce:
Vikings
Chargers
Eagles
Cowboys
Browns
Titans
Falcons
Lions

Aaron:
Bills
Steelers
Saints
Panthers
Bears
Texans
Buccaneers
Dolphins

Austin:
Colts
Giants
Jaguars
Broncos
Cardinals
Raiders
Ravens
49ers

Since we missed the 1st week we'll start the scoring in the 2nd week. I'll be posting the scores on this website.

updated NFL Playoff Predictions

After seeing some games yesterday, I can see my initial predictions were off in several areas. The Seahawks can't run very well and have a beat up receiver crew. The Bills D-Line is WAY better than I thought it was. The Rams were very disapointing. And since the Vikings QB is out for a bit they may not be as good as I had hoped. With Tom Brady possibly out for the year the Patriots aren't going to be as good. I think the Giants will probably go 10-6 and still not make it into the playoffs.

Here are my revised predictions:

AFC Wild Card Round:
Bills over Patriots
Steelers over Colts

NFC Wild Card Round:
Saints over Seahawks
Cowboys over Vikings

AFC Divisional Playoffs:
Chargers over Steelers
Bills over Jaguars

NFC Divisional Playoffs:
Panthers over Cowboys
Eagles over Saints

Conference Championships:
Eagles over Panthers
Chargers over Bills

Super Bowl:
Chargers over Eagles

By the way, I some people (who will remain nameless) are thinking that the Jets are going to make the playoffs this year with Favre at the helm. I should remind them that they beat the Dolphins yesterday... The Dolphins. Don't get me wrong here. I like Brett just as much as the average American, but the Jets are still the Jets. They play in the same division as the Patriots and the Bills. They can get another win against the Dolphins and get lucky a couple more times, but in the end the Jets will win 4 more games this season, leaving bandwagon fans everywhere looking for another hero to root for.

2008 NFL Playoff Predictions

Since the first NFL starts tomorrow I wanted to post my playoff predictions for this year:

AFC Wild Card Round:
Colts over Browns
Patriots over Steelers

NFC Wild Card Round:
Eagles over Rams
Cowboys over Panthers

AFC Divisional Playoffs:
Chargers over Colts
Patriots over Jaguars

NFC Divisional Playoffs:
Vikings over Cowboys
Seahawks over Eagles

Conference Championships:
Seahawks over Vikings
Chargers over Patriots

Super Bowl:
Chargers over Seahawks

Nicknames #1 - Football Players and Various Coaches

When I recently posted my favorite football players blog, I noticed several of them had a nickname that they are known by, just as if it’s part of their name. I wondered if that is as common recently as it was during the last part of last century. And then I thought… Chad Johnson is officially Chad Ocho Cinco… that’s now his legal name. Wow. But still, I don’t think nicknames are as prevalent now, or at least as good. Either way, just for fun I wanted to list some players and their nicknames. I’ll need to split it up into two posts: 1 with football players and various coaches and another with basketball players.

My two favorite nicknames are Cornbread and Pork Chop. Food nicknames appeal to me for some reason!

Feel free to comment on this blog if you have anyone to add and I will revise the list to include them.

Football Players:
‘Mean’ Joe Green – Steelers
Dwight ‘Mad Dog’ White – Steelers
Thomas ‘Hollywood’ Henderson – Cowboys
Ed ‘Too Tall’ Jones - Cowboys
Billy ‘White Shoes’ Johnson – Oilers
Jevon ‘The Freak’ Kearse – Eagles/Titans
Dick ‘Night Train’ Lane - Lions
Cornelius ‘Biscuit’ Bennett - Bills
Lionel ‘Little Train’ James - Chargers
O.J. ‘Juice’ Simpson - Bills
Chad ‘Ocho Cinco’ Ocho Cinco - Bengals
Walter ‘Sweetness’ Payton – Bears
William ‘Refrigerator’ Perry – Bears… AKA ‘The Fridge’
Jim ‘Wrong Way’ Marshall – Vikings
Gene ‘Big Daddy’ Lipscomb – Rams/Colts/Steelers
Gary ’Big Hands’ Johnson – Chargers
Al ’Bubba’ Baker – Lions/Cardinals/Browns/Vikings
Clyde ’Bulldog’ Turner – Bears
George ’Butch’ Byrd – Bills
Ottis ‘OJ’ Anderson – Cardinals/Giants
Joe ’The Jet’ Perry – 49ers
Ken ‘The Snake’ Stabler – Raiders
Jake ‘The Snake’ Plummer – Broncos
Harold ‘Red’ Grange – Bears/Giants… AKA ‘Galloping Ghost’
Elroy "Crazy Legs" Hirsch – Rams
Edgerin ‘Edge’ James – Colts/Cardinals
Jack ‘Hacksaw’ Reynolds - Rams
‘Broadway’ Joe Namath – Jets
Lawrence ‘LT’ Taylor – Giants
LaDanian ‘LT’ Tomlinson - Chargers
Deion ‘Prime Time’ Sanders – Falcons/49ers… AKA ‘Neon Deion’
John ‘Riggo’ Riggins – Redskins
Adam ‘Pacman’ Jones – Titans/Cowboys
Roland ‘Champ’ Bailey – Broncos
Terrell ‘T.O.’ Owens – 49ers/Eagles/Cowboys
Randy ‘Superfreak’ Moss – Vikings/Raiders/Patriots
Darren ‘Run DMC’ McFadden – Raiders
Ben ‘Big Ben’ Roethlisberger – Steelers
Shawn ‘Lights Out’ Merriman – Chargers
Gilbert ‘Gravedigger’ Brown – Packers
Terrell ‘TD’ Davis – Broncos
Floyd ‘Pork Chop’ Womack – Seahawks
Steven ‘Action’ Jackson – Rams
Kordell ‘Slash’ Stewart – Steelers
Tory ‘Big Game’ Holt – Rams
Rod ‘He Hate Me’ Smart – Panthers
Carnell ‘Cadillac’ Williams – Buccaneers
Joseph ‘Live or Let’ Addai – Colts
Jerome ‘The Bus’ Bettis – Steelers
Dave ‘The Ghost’ Casper – Raiders
Carlton ‘Cookie’ Gilchrist – Bills/Broncos
Andre ‘Bad Moon’ Rison – Falcons
Byron ‘Bam’ Morris – Steelers/Chiefs
Charles ‘Boobie’ Clark – Bengals
Daryl ‘Moose’ Johnston – Cowboys
Christain ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ Okoye – Chiefs
Elbert ‘Ickey’ Woods – Bengals
Craig ‘Ironhead’ Heyward – Saints
Reggie ‘The Minister of Defense’ White – Showboats/Eagles/Packers
David ‘Deacon’ Jones – Rams
Anthony ‘Booger’ McFarland – Buccaneers

Also, here are few coaches who are known for their nickname:
George ‘Papa Bear’ Halas – Bears… AKA ‘Mr. Everything’
Paul ‘Bear’ Bryant – Alabama
Joe ‘Pa’ Paterno – Penn State
John ‘The Wizard of Westwood’ Wooden – UCLA
Bobby ‘The General’ Knight – Indiana & Texas Tech
Arnold ‘Red’ Auerbach – Celtics
O.A. ‘Bum’ Phillips – Oilers/Saints

Nicknames #2 - Basketball Players

Clyde ‘The Glide’ Drexler – Blazers
Robert ‘Chief’ Parish – Celtics/Hornets
Glenn ‘Big Dog’ Robinson – Bucks
Corliss ‘Big Nasty’ Williamson – Kings
Antoine ‘Employee #8’ Walker – Celtics
David ‘The Admiral’ Robinson – Spurs
Tracy ‘T-Mac’ McGrady – Rockets
Jamal ‘Monster Mash’ Mashburn – Mavericks
Daron ‘Mookie’ Blaylock – Hawks
Chris ‘C-Web’ Webber – Kings/Warriors/Bullets
Daniel ‘Boobie’ Gibson – Cavs
Wilt 'The Stilt' Chamerblin - Warriors/Lakers
Nate ‘Tiny’ Archibald – Celtics
Antione ‘Big Dog’ Carr – Spurs, etc.
Derrick ‘DC’ Coleman – Nets
Tom ‘Googs’ Gugliotta – Bullets
Manu ‘Obi-Wan’ Ginobili – Spurs
Michael “Kandi Man’ Olowonkandi – Clippers
Rafer ‘Skip To My Lou’ Alston – Rockets
Earl ‘The Pearl’ Monroe – Bullets/Knicks
Anthony ‘Mace’ Mason – Knicks
Stacy ‘Plastic Man’ Augmon – Hawks/Blazers
Sam ‘Big Smooth’ Perkins – Sonics/Lakers
Olden ‘O.P.’ Polynice – Sonics, etc.
Scottie ‘Pip’ Pippen – Bulls/Blazers/Rockets
Xavier ‘X-Man’ McDaniel – Celtics/Sonics
Craig ‘Speedy’ Claxton – various
Tyrone ‘Mugsy’ Bogues – Hornets
Robert ‘Pac Man’ Pack – Nuggets/Blazers
Sergio ‘Spanish Chocolate’ Rodriguez – Blazers
Jason ‘White Chocolate’ Williams – Kings
Chris ‘CP3’ Paul – Hornets
Leonard ‘Truck’ Robinson – Bullets/Jazz, etc.
Walt ‘Clyde’ Frazier – Knicks
LeBron ‘LBJ’ James – Cavs… AKA ‘King James’
David ‘Skywalker’ Thompson – Nuggets
Richard ‘Rip’ Hamilton – Pistons
Kobe ‘Black Mamba’ Bryant - Lakers
Allen ‘The Answer’ Iverson – 76ers/Nuggets… AKA ‘AI’
‘Sir’ Charles Barkley – 76ers/Suns… AKA ‘The Round Mound of Rebound’
Hakeem ‘The Dream’ Olajuwon – Rockets
Michael ‘Air’ Jordan – Bulls… AKA ‘MJ’
Chuck ‘The Rifleman’ Person – Pacers
Cedric ‘Cronbread’ Maxwell – Celtics
Carmelo ‘Melo’ Anthony – Nuggets
Chris ‘Birdman’ Anderson – Hornets/Nuggets
Kenyon ‘K-Mart’ Martin – Nets/Nuggets
Gilbert ‘Agent Zero’ Arenas – Wizards… AKA ‘Wizard of Odd’ and ‘Captain Quick’
Andrei ‘AK-47’ Kirilenko – Jazz
Jamal ‘Big Cat’ Magloire – Hornets/Blazers
Stephon ‘Starbury’ Marbury – T’Wolves/Suns/Knicks
Paul ‘The Truth’ Pierce – Celtics
Tim ‘Big Fundamental’ Duncan – Spurs
Caron ‘Tuff Juice’ Butler – Wizards
Kevin ‘Duck’ Duckworth – Blazers
Chris ‘Caveman’ Kaman – Clippers
Julius ‘Dr. J’ Erving – Nets/76ers
Steve ‘Franchise’ Francis – Rockets
Darnell ‘Dr. Dunk’ Hillman – Pacers
Theo ‘The Rattler’ Ratliffe – Pistons/76ers/Blazers
Cutino ‘Cat’ Mobley – Rockets/Clippers
‘Down Town’ Freddie Brown – Sonics
Connie ‘Hawk’ Hawkins – Suns
Wayne ‘Tree’ Rollins – Hawks/Magic
Dennis ‘DJ’ Johnson – Sonics/Celtics
Vince ‘Vinsanity’ Carter – Raptors/Nets… AKA ‘Half Man, Half Amazing’, and ‘Air Canada’
Kevin ‘KG’ Garnett – T’Wolves/Celtics…AKA ‘The Kid’, ‘The Big Ticket’
Bryant ‘Big Country’ Reeves – Grizzlies
Earvin ‘Magic’ Johnson – Lakers
George ‘Iceman’ Gervin – Spurs
Brent ‘Bones’ Barry – Sonics/Spurs
Robert ‘Big Shot Bob’ Horry – Lakers/Spurs
Marcus ‘Cambyman’ Camby – Knicks/Nuggets
Glen ‘Big Baby’ Davis – Celtics
Dennis ‘Worm’ Rodman – Pistons/Bulls/Spurs
Glen ‘Doc’ Rivers – Hawks
Charles ‘Oak Tree’ Oakley – Knicks
Anthony ‘Spud’ Webb – Hawks
Karl ‘The Mailman’ Malone – Jazz
Kevin ‘KJ’ Johnson – Suns
‘Thunder’ Dan Majerle – Suns
Vernon ‘Mad Max’ Maxwell - Rockets
Leandro ‘The Brazilian Bomber’ Barbosa – Suns
Shawn ‘Rainman’ Kemp – Sonics
Anfernee ‘Penny’ Hardaway – Magic
‘Pistol’ Pete Maravich – Jazz
Kenny ‘The Jet’ Smith – Rockets
Gary ‘The Glove’ Payton – Sonics/Heat
Jerome ‘Junk Yard Dog’ Williams – Pistons
Rick ‘The Dunkin’ Dutchman’ Smits – Pacers
Darrell ‘Dr. Dunkenstein’ Griffith – Jazz
Alonzo ‘Zo’ Mourning – Hornets/Nets/Heat
Larry ‘Grandmama’ Johnson – Hornets/Knicks
Martyn ‘Moochie’ Norris – Rockets
Vernell ‘Bimbo’ Coles – Heat
Clarence ‘Spoon’ Weatherspoon – 76ers
Marvin ‘The Human Eraser’ Webster – Knicks…AKA ‘Marvin the Magnificent’
Ronald ‘Flip’ Murray – Sonics
Rumeal ‘Meal Time’ Robinson – Nets/Blazers
‘Dollar’ Bill Bradley – Knicks
Darryl ‘Chocolate Thunder’ Dawkins – 76ers
Vinnie ‘The Microwave’ Johnson – Pistons
Morris ‘Mo-Pete’ Peterson – Raptors/Hornets
Jerry ‘Mr. Clutch’ West – Lakers
Bill Ray ‘The Manilla Gorilla’ Bates - Blazers
Joel ‘The Thrilla’ Przybilla – Bucks/Blazers… AKA ‘Vanilla Gorilla’
Zach ‘Z-Bo’ Randolph – Blazers/Knicks
Walt ‘Wizard’ Williams – Kings/Blazers/Mavericks, etc.
Otis ‘O.T.’ Thorpe – Rockets/Blazers
Bill ‘The Owl Without a Vowel’ Mlkvy – Warriors
Sebastian ‘Sea Bass’ Telfair – Blazers/T’Wolves
Brandon ‘B-Roy’ Roy – Blazers
Nick ‘The Quick’ Van Exel – Sonics/Lakers/Blazers
John ‘Hot Rod’ Williams – Cavs/Suns
Dwayne ‘Flash’ Wade – Heat… AKA ‘D-Wade’
Isaish ‘J.R.’ Rider – T’Wolves/Blazers…. AKA ’Pop Can’
Johnny ‘Red’ Kerr – Nationals
Jerry ‘Stack’ Stackhouse – 76ers/Mavericks
Ben ‘Big Ben’ Wallace – Pistons/Bulls…AKA ‘The Beast’
Rasheed ‘Sheed’ Wallace – Blazers/Pistons
Dikembe ‘Mt. Mutombo’ Mutombo – Nuggets/76ers/Rockets
Othella ‘Big Fella’ Harrington – Knicks, etc.
Adolph ‘Dolph’ Scahyes – Nationals/76ers
Sam ‘Sam I Am’ Cassell – Rockets/Bucks/Clippers/Celtics
Damon ‘Mighty Mouse’ Stoudamire – Blazers/Grizzlies/Spurs
Latrell ‘Spree’ Sprewell – Warriors/T’Wolves
Arvydas ‘Sabas’ Sabonis – Blazers
Robert ‘Tractor’ Traylor – Bucks/Hornets
Al 'Big Al’ Harrington – Pacers/Warriors
Fred 'The Mayor’ Hoiberg – Bulls/T’Wolves
Shawn ‘The Matrix’ Marion– Suns
Tony 'The Croation Sensation' Kukoc - Bulls/Bucks
Oliver ‘Big O’ Miller – Suns
Oscar ‘Big O’ Robinson – Royals/Bucks
Dominique ‘Human Highlight Reel’ Wilkins – Hawks
Isaiah ‘Zeke’ Thomas – Pistons

And then there’s Shaquille O’Neal…. most of his nicknames are self-proclaimed:

Shaq
Diesel
The Big Aristotle
Shaq Fu
Big Daddy
Superman
Kazaam
Hobo Master
Officer Shaq
Real Deal
The Big Agave
The Big Cactus
The Big Shaqtus
The Big Galactus
The Big Baryshnikov
Wilt Chamberneezy
Dr. Shaq