Cappers Buzz

The Patriots are having some issues on their offensive line during training camp. Starters Matt Light and Stephen Neal are both out with injuries…but Tom Brady isn’t too concerned…for now anyway.

“No. I don’t have any,” he said. “I know they’re working hard to get back. I know the guys we have in there, we have a lot of confidence in. They’re guys who have played. Billy (Yates) has played. Wes (Britt) has played. (Nick) Kaczur’s played. They’re going to be fine.”

Once the regular season kicks-off, rest assured Brady wants Light and Neal back to protect him. And those two have a lot to make-up for after getting torched by the Giants in the Super Bowl.

By the way, Nick Kaczur was arrested for possession of oxycodone (OC’s on the street) back in April. To save himself from prosecution, Kaczur cooperated with the DEA…or in other words…he became a RAT.

UCLA’s luck hasn’t changed from last season. In 2007, the Bruins had significant quarterback issues because of injury…they used 4 different starters.

New head coach Rick Neuheisel made a nice hire with Norm Chow taking over as his offensive coordinator…Chow famous for his work with Pete Carroll and USC…not so famous for his lackluster results in the NFL with the Tennessee Titans.

And Chow had the pieces to get back to his productive ways with 2 pretty good QB’s…Patrick Cowan and Ben Olson at his disposal.

All is gone now. Cowan tore his ACL in spring practice – in a non-contact drill. He’s out for the year.

Then Olson went down with a broken bone in his foot during spring practice – and yes, you guessed it, also in a non-contact drill.

But time healed him up, and he was on schedule to be the starter on September 1^st when the Bruins host Tennessee in their season opener.

Things changed yesterday with more bad news when Olson learned that he’ll need surgery to repair the same bone he previously broke during practice – believe it or not – in another non-contact drill.

So UCLA is back to where they ended last season…without an experienced QB.

Wow. I was just going through the Sacramento Kings box score from their March 2^nd game at home against the Miami Heat. These two teams put-up amazing shooting numbers…the most impressive shooting performance I’ve seen in the NBA in quite some time.

Miami: scored 109 points on 56.3% (40-71) shooting from the floor. They shot 45.8% from 3-point land (11-24), and hit 18 of their 21 free throws for 85.7%.

Sacramento: scored 120 points on 56.2% (41-73) shooting from the floor. They shot and eye-popping 70.6% from 3-point land (12-17), and hit 26 of their 30 free throws for 86.7%.

The most impressive thing about those numbers is the fact that the Kings and Heat only combined to have about 185 possessions for the entire game.

This game has to be one of the best all-around shooting efforts in the NBA in a long, long time.

I think we can expect regression from both teams in their next games. Sacramento hosts the Lakers tonight, and Miami plays Wednesday at home against Toronto.

You’ve heard about it all week. You’ve seen the promos on every ESPN commercial. Everybody has an opinion on the game.

Tennessee at Memphis is still 7 hours away from tip-off.

So let’s stray from all the regurgitated stats being spewed about this game, and give you 5 random…not being talked about in the mainstream media…tidbits on “The Big Game.”

1. Tennesseans are not friendly people…at least not for this game. With this being an in-state mach-up, you’d think fellow statesmen would act differently (read, nicer) than they would have if Memphis was facing another team ranked # 2 from a neighboring state. No love lost between Vols’ fans and Tigers’ fans.

2. One would think those involved with University decisions would get a “complimentary” ticket to the biggest college basketball in school history. Pay-up ladies and gentlemen. Maybe they just want to avoid any scandal that could result in a freebie.

3. While the world thinks this game is big, the two coaches don’t think so. Tennessee’s Bruce Pearl and Memphis’ John Calipari offer their best coach-speak saying this game is not about either school, but more about the state of Tennessee. You guys are coaches, not politicians. Just admit the truth.

4. Can Peyton’s team beat undefeated Memphis like little brother Eli’s Giants did to the Patriots in the Super Bowl?

5. If you’ve got an extra $10,000 hanging around, you can get your way in the door to see this “ego” game between two teams that mirror one another.

Let’s hope the actual game lives up to the hype.

This is the second meeting between these two, and Oregon will be out to seek revenge for their 95-86 home overtime loss to USC back on January 26^th. I remember that game well as I had a play on the Trojans plus the points. And the main reason for that was the fact that USC’s defense would be able to contain the Ducks offense. But even though they got the straight-up win, the Trojans did not keep Oregon’s offense in check for the entire game like I thought. USC did hold Oregon to just 20 first half points, but the Ducks exploded for 66 in the 2^nd half as they were able to play their fast-paced style. They also hit 11 three’s in the game, and Oregon should be able to get their preferred fast tempo tonight which will give them a greater shot at the win. USC’s defense suffered a huge loss when starting guard Daniel Hackett was lost with a stress fracture in his back. Hackett was the primary defender in the triangle-and-two defense the Trojans use. Without Hackett, head coach Tim Floyd is not sure if the Trojans can use that defense. “Daniel was in the middle of that,” Floyd said. “I don’t know if it will be as effective with him not in there.” The loss of Hackett leaves the Trojans shorthanded with only seven healthy scholarship players available. “The problem is, who becomes the backups or subs?” Floyd said. The key to this game is the pace, and the belief here is that Oregon will get to play the way they want, fast, because there’s no Hackett for USC. We also note that this series has been dominated by the underdog (8-2 against the spread) and the road team (9-1 ATS, 7-3 straight-up) over the last 10 meetings. Play Oregon plus the points.

Super Bowl XLII Props

Eli Manning Under 21 ½ completions (- 150)

In 14 of 19 games, Manning has had 21 or less completions. In the earlier season game vs. the Patriots, he had 22 completions while the Giants scored 35 points. I don’t think the Giants will come close to matching those points therefore Eli will not have that many completions.

Will Tom Brady throw an interception? No (- 115)

Brady has thrown an interception in only 7 of 18 games this year. He’s played in 2 games off a bye week, and he’s thrown 8 touchdown passes and 0 interceptions. After throwing 3 in the AFC Championship game, Brady will be on top of his game and not throw an INT here.

NY Giants longest field goal Over 42 ½ (+ 125) … Must be 1 FG for action

Lawrence Tynes has been very consistent this year. He made 85% of his kicks (23 of 27) including a perfect 8 of 8 between 40 and 49 yards. 5 of those 8 were 43 yards or longer.

Will there be a special teams or defensive touchdown? Yes (+ 140)

Both teams were in the top 5 of the league scoring defensive touchdowns. The Patriots scored 6 defensive touchdowns, and had 2 returns for TD’s. The Giants scored 5 defensive touchdowns, and had 1 return for a TD which came in the earlier season meeting.

NE Patriots Longest field goal Under 39 ½ (- 120) … Must be 1 FG for action

Stephen Gostkowski only attempted 24 field goals this year. Of those, only 5 of them were longer than 40 yards. He only made 3 of those attempts.

Total pass attempts by both teams Under 72 ½ (- 115)

If you add the pass attempts in each game of Brady and Manning, only 5 games saw them combine for more than 73 pass attempts with an average of 67.3 pass attempts. In the Week 17 game, the QB’s did combine for 74 pass attempts. But it’s unlikely this will be a back and forth game like that which had a combined 73 points scored.

With full disclosure, you all know that I am a Patriots fan. Born and raised in Boston, the Pats have always been “my team.” But this selection is not based on emotion. I am not talking from the heart when I break this game down. So here goes.

History is in the making. It’s been one heck of a season for the Patriots, and they cap it off with a big win in Super Bowl XLII. This is one of the biggest mismatches in all of Super Bowl history. New England’s numbers are off the charts. They’ve broken numerous team, NFL, and individual records this year. Too many to name. But there’s more to this game than those seasonal numbers. The Pats were not all that impressive in their two playoff games this year, at least not in the eyes of the public and the national media. But what is lost on these people is the fact that the Pats have always been a team that does what they need to do to win. It’s been like that ever since Bill Belichick arrived in Foxborough. Just go back to the San Diego game when the Pats got the ball back with a little over 9 minutes left in the game. They were in no rush to run their offense, but instead they understood if they maintain possession, the game would be over. And that’s exactly what happened. The Chargers never got the ball back. If the Pats wanted to score, they could have, but there was no reason to. And that concept goes over many heads. They just don’t understand. The Pats had a ton of pressure on them just to get to the Super Bowl, and that’s all they wanted to do. Their mission was accomplished.

But here’s where the floodgates open up. The Pats have had two weeks to refresh. And bye weeks have been murderous for Patriots’ opponents. In the regular season, the Pats went to Buffalo with a week of rest. And the week before the bye, the Pats played at Indianapolis and did not have one of their better games as they were down by 10 with a little over 7 minutes left. But they pulled out a 24-20 win. Off that bad performance and a week of rest, the Pats played just about perfect in a 56-10 blowout of Buffalo. Tom Brady went 31-39 while throwing for 373 yards, 5 touchdowns, and no interceptions. Their next bye opportunity came in their first playoff game against Jacksonville. New England ended the regular season with an exciting, yet not good, performance at the Giants. They won a wild and wacky game 38-35, a game that had Teddy Bruschi saying “it was the most pressure packed game of my career.” Off that bad performance and a week of rest, the Pats played perfect again in a 31-20 win over Jacksonville. Tom Brady went 26-28 while throwing for 262 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions. There’s a pattern there, and Brady will continue it.

The two weeks off is a huge disadvantage for the Giants. NY was on a huge roll, but all of their momentum was interrupted by the break. It will be extremely difficult for them to just turn it on here. I wish I had a nickel for every time I heard one of the talking heads mention that the Giants won 10 straight road games. Yeah, and what does that mean? Absolutely nothing. This is a neutral site game, and it’s only natural for the players not to have the road warrior mentality because they know they are not playing in their opponent’s home stadium. While the 10 straight road wins is impressive, how come you never hear about the Patriots winning all of their road games this year? Because the media needs storylines to run with, and the Giants road success is perfect for them. Let’s face it; the Giants are a mediocre team that got hot at the right time. The Patriots have ever edge imaginable in this game, and this game will not be close. The Patriots players also want to make amends for the 35 points they allowed the Giants in Week 17. They have said it was their worse defensive effort of the season and with two weeks of prep time, look for their underrated unit to stifle Manning and the Giants. There’s only one word to sum up this game. BLOWOUT! Go with New England.

I want to thank you for joining me last night for my 5* NBA Game of the Month on the Phoenix Suns (- 1 ½) over the LA Lakers.

The game played out perfectly for us as the Suns led from the opening tip-off, and the Lakers never had a lead in the game. The Suns were up by 18 points heading into the 4^th quarter before winning by 8 points, 106-98.

It’s always nice when the game wins that easily.

And for those of you who did not join us for this rare 5* selection (only my 4^th over the last 4 seasons, 3-0-1 against the spread), here is the write-up I sent out to those that did.

Phoenix @ LA Lakers 10:35 PM EST

Play On: Phoenix (- 1 ½)

Heading into this season, the Suns owned the Lakers. But the reverse has been true so far this year as the Lakers have won both meetings this year by 7 and 21 points. But a big reason for those easy wins will be missing in this game. Lakers center Andrew Bynum absolutely dominated the two games on both offense and defense. Bynum hit a combined 18 of his 23 shots en route to scoring 42 points in the two games. He also kept Suns center Amare Stoudemire in check allowing him to hit just 8 of 21 shots while scoring only 26 points over the 2 meetings. But unfortunately for Bynum and the Lakers, he’s out for a couple of months with a knee injury. Without Bynum, the Lakers have no answer for Stoudemire in the middle. In the previous 5 meetings between these two before Bynum cracked the lineup, Stoudemire had point totals of 27, 27, 24, 20, and 23. That is a huge match-up edge for the Suns that was not available to them earlier this season.

Phoenix also enters this game off an ugly 97-90 loss at the Clippers. The Suns scored just 90 points on 40.7% shooting, and they only had 4 fast break points which is totally out of the norm for them. But Phoenix always bounces back strong after a bad offensive game, and more specifically, after scoring less than 100 points. In games following, the Suns are an awesome 21-3 straight-up over the last two years including a 6-1 mark so far this year. The Suns average 110.1 points in those games and allow an average of 100.3 points for an average win margin of 9.8 points per game. When revenging a same-season loss, Phoenix is 23-12 (65.7%) against the spread the last 35 times it’s occurred. The Lakers are hot having won 7 straight and 9 of their last 10, but their spread results have turned for the worse. After covering 6 of the first 7 games, they’ve failed in their last 3 including the only game without Bynum. Phoenix was a 2 ½-point road favorite in the last meeting with Bynum, but is less here without him. The Lakers have their hands full in this spot against a Suns team that has the match-up and motivational edge to win this game going away. Go with Phoenix.

Jeff Bower resigned from Southern Miss after 17 years on the sidelines. Reports are saying that he was forced out, and that assumption comes from Bower’s comments: “I want you to know there’s a lot of fight left in Jeff Bower, and I am not done yet.” He will still coach against Cincinnati in the Papajohns.com Bowl, and his players will be ready: “The coaches are still coaching hard,” linebacker Gerald McRath said. “They’re not going to lie down. They teach character. They teach how to handle adversity. And that’s what this is. Are you going to lie down and point fingers, or are you going to step up?” “We owe it to Coach Bower and this staff,” McRath said. “He’s done so much for this program. He’s helped build this program. He’s the reason why I’m here in the first place.” “I’m glad he’s staying for the bowl,” center Rick Thompson said. “He’s just a great coach, a great person. That’s the way it should be, going out and coaching the last game.” Oklahoma St offensive coordinator Larry Fedora will take Bower’s place in 2008.

I heavily considered taking the over 66 ½ in this game and making it a late phone selection, but I’ve decided not to and make it just an opinion play. This game should be very high scoring because both offenses have really good passing games while neither defense has a good secondary. The running game’s of both teams is virtually non-existent which means we’ll see a lot more passing than running. But what kept me off this game on the late phones is the fact that its Florida Atlantic’s first ever bowl game. And although they are extremely excited to be in this game, sometimes that emotion gets the best of a team and their on-field performance suffers a bit from it. Had this not been the case, then I would definitely have made the over a late phone selection. You don’t see two 400 + offenses and two 400 + defenses too often, but that’s what these teams are. Laying off this game as an official play, but I do favor the over tonight.