Some Tips For Winning and Thriving in a Football Survivor Contest

The survivor contest has become a popular contest in football predictions. It is where you pick one team to win each week throughout the NFL season, and ignore the little details of how much a team wins by.

While the contest does not normally include the point spread, it is frequently just as difficult to pick the straight up winner each week throughout the regular season.

Predicting results in the NFL is usually all about picking that game's winner anyhow so the point spread is not that crucial. When you get into a survivor contest, the goal is to pick a single team to win each week during the season. Once a team has been used you cannot use them again, since you can only use that team one time for the season. This can make predicting winners at the end of a long season more difficult as many of the easy winning teams have already been used earlier. What things do you need to remember and how do you go about winning a survivor contest?

The first thing about a survivor contest is not to worry about saving squads for later in the season. Worry about the next week coming up and just pick the team you think will win this week. You cannot get picky if you want to survive. If you think the Colts will win at home vs Jacksonville then take them. Picking a home team when you're in a survivor contest is practically always a very good idea. Home teams win more than road squads and you cannot be guessing as to when a home team will lose.

If you cannot decide and are wondering which team to pick for a given week then remember to go with a losing team that is on the road. You may want to go against the Bills or the Lions if they are on the road. You truly do not want to be picking a match where the line is small, which is another thing to keep in mind with a survivor event. It is very difficult to decide on who will win if you have a match between Green Bay and Minnesota so just avoid that type of even match. Late in the season, if you are still alive in the survivor contest, keep in mind that playoff squads are not the ones to use. Teams that have already clinched a spot have nothing to play for, so you likely should not pick them for winning that week's game. They simply will not be as enthusiastic as a team fighting to earn their place in the playoffs, and they may even hold their best players in reserve to make sure they get enough rest before the post-season.

Keeping involved in NFL gambling throughout the season is simple and exciting with a survivor contest. See how long you are able to stay alive while you pick a single team each week to win its match-up. Keep some of these tips in mind as you look to win your survivor contest this season.

Michael runs a number of websites discussing various sports and games, from the NFL to the NBA and World Cup Soccer. You can visit his site here to read more about predictions for football games, as well as reviews of various match-ups as they are played throughout the season and playoffs: http://www.nflgamereview.com/

Last Season's Final Statistics Show How the Nation's Top Five Teams Can Be Beat

It is not often when the coaches and the media agree on their opinion of who should be in the preseason Top 25 college football polls, but this year at least their Top 5 picks are mirror images-Florida (1), Texas (2), Oklahoma (3), Southern California (4) and Alabama (5).

Of a possible 60 first-place votes in the media's AP Top 25 Poll, Florida collected 58 votes and Texas 2, setting a record (96+%) for the most first-place votes since the poll was first started in 1950, long before there were ever Bowl Championship Series (BCS) games.

Florida is such an overwhelming favorite that one might think there is no need to play the games this year, since the Gators will probably run the table (go unbeaten). This, of course, is sheer nonsense.

Florida won the National Championship for the 2006 and 2008 seasons and, if it repeats during 2009, the Gators would become only the second team to do so since Nebraska won the National Championship 3 out of 4 years, winning the title outright in 1994 and 1995, and splitting the title in 1997.

However, going unbeaten to do so is entirely another matter. It is tough to go undefeated in a major conference, and then win the national title.

For openers, only one team (Utah at 13-0) went undefeated last season, and that happened because Utah does not play in a major conference. It the Utes played in the SEC, Pacific 10, Big 12 or Big Ten Conferences, there is no way they would be undefeated.

Florida, Southern Cal and Texas all lost a game last season. Oklahoma and Alabama were beaten twice.

You may be interested to know that the best team in the nation statistically last year was not Florida, which won the National Championship by beating Oklahoma 24-14, but rather Southern Cal. That's right, USC. Maybe that is why Florida won; they were playing Oklahoma and not Southern Cal for the title.

Oklahoma had a great offensive team-ranking 1st nationally in scoring (51+ points), 3rd in passing offense (349+ yards per game) and 3rd in total offense (547+), but the Sooner defense was nothing to get excited about. They were 99th in pass defense, 68th in total defense and 58th scoring defense. There are only 119 BCS (Division 1-A) teams.

Florida's pass defense was ranked 20th, and the Gators held Oklahoma to only 14 points, despite Oklahoma having the No. 1 scoring offense in the country. Shoot, the Sooners scored 51 points a game but gave up 24 a game, exactly what Florida scored to win the title. The Gators were ranked 4th in scoring defense, giving up only 13 (12.93) points a game. That shows you how accurate averaged statistics can be over the course of a season.

Texas was horrific in passing defense, ranking 104th of 119 teams. You may recall that Texas Tech beat Texas last year 39-33 on a pass play by NFL first-round pick Michael Crabtree. Texas A&M got swamped by Texas last year 49-9, in part because Texas A&M's passing defense was ranked 95th, only slightly better than Texas, which had the 7th best passing offense.

Alabama was 7th in scoring offense last year, but its passing offense was 97th (yikes) and its total offense was only 63rd. The Crimson Tide defense won most of their games, ranking 2nd in rushing defense, 3rd in total defense and 7th in scoring defense. Sounds a whole lot like their coach Nick Seban.

So what is the big deal with Southern Cal? Well, its offense was pretty balanced, ranking 22nd in rushing, passing and scoring. The defense was the best in the nation, ranking 1st in passing defense and 1st in scoring defense, 2nd in total defense, and 5th in rushing defense.

Think about it, leading the nation in 2 defensive categories and being among the top 5 in rushing and passing defense, total defense and scoring defense. USC's one loss came on the road at Oregon State, 27-21.

Was USC unfairly penalized by the pollsters when selecting the BCS title game participants? I think so. Heck, Alabama lost 31-20 to Florida on the road, so the Gators deserved a shot.

But Oklahoma? Get real. The Sooners lost to Texas at home, 45-35. Just the score of the game itself makes you shiver, 80 points between them, as opposed to 48 points between USC and Oregon State, and USC was on the road. If Oklahoma thinks Oregon State (9-4 last year) was a pushover, they should play the Beavers at home, where they were 5-1, losing only to Oregon.

So what does it all mean? Well, Oklahoma was the best offensive team in the country last year, and Southern Cal was the best defensive team; there is no argument when you look at the statistics.

Despite being the best offensive team in the country, Oklahoma could not beat Florida, losing 24-14. Southern Cal, which dispatched No. 6 Penn State 31-16, in the BCS Rose Bowl Game, might well have held Florida to fewer than 24 points. We will never know.

What we do know is that Southern Cal had a better passing offense, a more balanced offense, and a much better passing defense than Florida.

There is a reason why the Sagarin College Football Ratings show Southern Cal, not Florida, as the top team in its 2009 preseason poll. That reason is because the ratings are based on last year's actual statistics and results, not opinion.

As I see it, Florida was fortunate that it faced Oklahoma, which has lost 4 of its last 5 BCS games. In other words, lame like Ohio State, which has lost two straight BCS National Championship Games to Florida and LSU in 2006 and 2007, and then lost again to Texas in its BCS game last year.

Let's just say it-the East Coast bias among coaches and media is really bad. Two factors drive this inequity. One is population as 58% of the people (approximately 175 of 300 million) live on the East Coast. The second is the time difference as the West Coast is 3 hours behind the East Coast.

When media types get done watching football games Saturday around 10:30 p.m. EST, key games are just beginning on the West Coast and are never seen by poll voters. They are overwhelmed with watching East Coast football, and remain a servant slave to it.

If the powers to be had any size grapefruits at all, when Florida got rid of Oklahoma, their next assignment for the national title should have been Southern Cal, and then we would have seen the rubber hit the road.

Copyright © 2009 Ed Bagley

Read more of my football coverage, including:

"Back-to-Back Winning Seasons and Bowl Appearances Say Michigan State Is Back"
"Look for Steve Sarkisian to Turn Around Washington's Woeful Football Program"
"Not Being Selected Among the Top 25 in the Preseason Coaches' Poll Is the Kiss of Death - You Have No BCS Title Shot"
Find Out Which Division 1 School Had the Worst Football Team in 2008.
Find Out Which Division 1 School Had the Worst Coaching Staff in 2008.
Individual Articles on All 34 of College Football's 2008 Bowl Games.
15 Weekly Wrap-Up Articles on College Football's 2008 Regular Season Games.
Articles on the Washington Huskies (0-12) 2008 Football Season.
Articles on the Michigan State Spartans (9-4) 2008 Football Season.
Articles on College Football's 2007 Regular Season and Bowl Games.

http://www.edbagleyblog.com
http://www.edbagleyblog.com/Sports.html

Nash Couldn't be Happier to be Home

Our Cup Correspondent Steve Nash was so excited to be returning to his birthplace for the first time in 35 years, until he ran into the vuvuzelas. For more World Cup coverage and Nash updates visit www.cbssports.com www.twitter.com www.facebook.com



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIqTi8FUum4&hl=en

GOAL 2 living the dream movie part 1

GOAL 2 living the dream movie part 1



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTT6Y4mHkAw&hl=en

Skillful Assists

Music: Bond - Victory (Mike Batt Mix)



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2010 NCAA Football Predictions

With spring practice in the books, it's time to start making your 2010 college football predictions. I give mine below with the teams I predict will finish in the Top-10, along with a few teams just outside of it as well as my national champion.

Top-10 Teams for 2010-11 Season:

1.) Alabama - I smell a repeat with the pieces Nick Saban has in place. It took this excellent college football coach only three years to bring a title back to Crimson Tide country, and he is primed to win another this year. That's because all of his playmakers are back on offense, from QB Greg McElroy to the RB tandem of Mark Ingram and Trent Richardson, all the way to WR's Julio Jones and Marquis Maze. This offense should be even more explosive than it was a year ago. Only two starters return from the No. 2 defense in the nation last season, but Saban has gotten the recruits that should have this unit near the top of the defensive rankings again in 2010. The Tide host Florida in Tuscaloosa, their biggest competition to come out of the SEC. They could slip up once along the way, but even a 1-loss Alabama team will be making a return trip to the national championship this season, and they'll win it all again.

2.) Ohio State - I'm convinced that this is Terrelle Pryor's breakout year. He finished strong last season, earning the MVP in their Rose Bowl win over Oregon after accounting for 338 yards of offense. The Buckeyes have won 5 straight Big Ten titles, and have earned a trip to a BCS bowl seven of the past eight seasons. Tressel is 36-4 in the Big Ten over the past five years and the Scarlet and Grey will be standing atop this conference again come season's end.

3.) Boise State - 20 starters return, led by QB Kellen Moore who owns a 26-1 record as a starter. The Broncos went 14-0 last season and playing in the WAC makes another unbeaten campaign a likely scenario. If they can beat Virginia Tech in Landover, Maryland in their season opener, the sky is the limit for this team. It would be hard to keep another unbeaten Broncos team out of a national title shot.

4.) Nebraska - Playing in the weak Big 12 North, the Huskers will make a return trip to the Big 12 Championship game, and they'll win it this time around after falling just seconds short of knocking off Texas last year. Nebraska welcomes back 18 starters from last year's squad, and once again they'll be led by a defense that ranked No. 1 in points allowed last season at 10.4 PPG. The Huskers get Texas at home on October 16th, a game where I see them having their revenge.

5.) TCU - The Horned Frogs bring back nine starters from an offense that averaged 38.3 PPG last year. QB Andy Dalton leads the way, and TCU is primed for a return trip to the BCS with the playmakers he has at his disposal. Not to mention, the Frogs had the No. 1 defense in the country in terms of yards allowed, surrendering just 239.7 YPG. Their non-conference schedule includes Baylor at home and Oregon State in Arlington, Texas. These two games will likely decide their fate as they have an excellent chance to run the table in a down MWC.

6.) Virginia Tech - Offense will actually be a strength this season for the Hokies, behind QB Tyrod Taylor and the RB duo of Ryan Williams and Darren Evans. Jarrett Boykin and Danny Coale are two big targets for Taylor, who can create on his own similar to what Michael Vick brought to this team back in his hay day. National title hopes are on the line in their opener with Boise State.

7.) Iowa - The Hawkeyes continue knocking on Ohio State's doorstep this season. They took the Buckeyes to overtime at the Shoe with the Big Ten title on the line, only to fall in overtime. But that game represented the second contest that Ricky Stanzi missed due to injury, and the Hawkeyes lost both games he was out, also falling to Northwestern. Iowa started last year 9-0 and with their biggest conference games against Ohio State, Penn State, Wisconsin and Michigan State all being played in Iowa City, I like their chances to give the Buckeyes a run for their money again this year. Another BCS appearance is a likely possibility with Stanzi back and all four starting defensive linemen returning, including big-time NFL prospect Adrian Clayborn.

8.) Florida - The Gators will almost certainly take a step back this season with the loss of Tim Tebow and several key pieces along the defensive front. Still, Urban Meyer has the recruits in place who can step in and have the Gators not suffer too big of a drop-off. QB John Brantley has a big arm and Florida could be an even better passing team this year, but you cannot replace the intangibles that Tebow brought to the table. Once again, Alabama stands in Florida's way from winning an SEC title.

9.) Texas - Like Florida, the Longhorns will have to replace their all-everything QB in Colt McCoy. Garrett Gilbert has the credentials coming out of high school, but this is another level and he struggled replacing McCoy in the title game against Alabama. With a full year to prepare to be the next big thing in Texas, Gilbert should be as ready as he can be. But you cannot replace the most successful QB in college football history, and that's the task that lies ahead for him. Texas is the only Big 12 South contender heading into this season with no starting experience at QB, so a defense that features an excellent secondary will have to carry this team.

10.) Oklahoma - Despite winning just eight games a year ago, the Sooners were not far off from being one of the top teams in the country. They lost four of five games by a combined 12 points, and only a long list of injuries kept them from being a national title contender. Bradford, Gresham and McCoy are gone, and they will not be easy to replace, but young players got valuable experience last season when forced into action and that should pay off this year. QB Landry Jones has the keys to the offense and he has WR Ryan Broyles and RB DeMarco Murray to make plays for him. That's if the offensive line holds up, which doesn't look too promising at this point. The Sooners should be there in the end, as they've finished inside the Top-11 in all but two seasons since 2000.

Next 5 Teams - Wisconsin, USC, Pittsburgh, Arkansas, Miami

If you want to beat the college football lines this season, then be sure to check out NCAA football picks to guide you to monster profits in 2010.

College Football

Should the UK Get to Have Four National Football Teams Representing Them?

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland as it is formally known is one nation under one flag with all its citizens holding one passport and one nationality yet they have four national football teams to represent them. This despite the fact that they are a nation with a population that is about the size of Germany with territorial space that is half the size of France. All of which in my opinion making it unfair that they be allowed to present four national football teams to the world cup when all other nations are only allowed one.

Of course, in this argument I am aware that the average Briton would respond that they are four nations that make up one. This being the case since the UK is comprised of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland which to a certain extent are not the same country though all their inhabitants are considered subjects (not citizens since they are a constitutional monarchy) of the same country yet it is to this argument that I would respond in the following manner. Before its disintegration the USSR or CCCP was also one nation comprised of many different nationalities, after all that is why it was called the "Union Of Soviet Socialist Republics" with an emphasis on the word republics; among them being Ukraine, Latvia, Uzbekistan, Georgia, Estonia and other countries. It even being a case where some of these countries were larger than not only England but the UK as a whole and had even been for the most part of their history completely independent yet despite this factor the Soviet Union played as one nation and not each republic independently.

Another argument presented by the British to keep the present situation and this one perhaps being the strongest, is that since England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own separate football leagues; they should also have their own national teams. As that is how it has always been. I however fail to see this as reason to justify four national teams to represent one country and again I use the case of the Soviet Union. It being they who also could have easily established or allowed separate leagues in each Republic that was a part of their country and by doing so they also would have had several teams to represent them in world football which in their case would have been 13 national teams.

The UK however is represented by one team during the Olympics as they are in many sports though for the reason of separate leagues they are not in either football or rugby yet I feel that if they can make one team to represent them in some sports then they should be able or rather be forced to do the same in football and rugby as well. Regarding the next Olympic games to take place in London however, it has already been decided that there will be for the first time a football team called UK.

Of course I am also aware that a lot of people from Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and England would not be happy with one team to represent them but if one thinks over the matter; it is unfair to the rest that they should get four teams when everybody else only gets one. I however for my part feel that a united team would be stronger and have more depth as I could imagine how it would have been back in the sixties to see George Best on the same team with Bobby Charlton. This a combination that obviously worked for Manchester United in 68 when they won the European championship. As for other combinations which also could have proven suitable on the field, I could think of Jordan, Keegan, Dalglish and Brookings in the 70s or Lineker, Shilton, Rush, Armstrong and Whiteside in the 80s or Gigs and Gascoigne in the 90s yet it was not to be though perhaps it should have been.

Another reason perhaps why one team would be a good thing for all is that in all reality England is the strongest of these teams. As they have the best record of the four in the world cup by far; this leading to many players from the other countries choosing to play for England. This given that with England they stand a much better chance of not only playing in the world cup but of possibly even winning it.

This the case since in all frankness, Northern Ireland has only qualified to three world cups with their last appearance being in 86 in which they failed to make the second round or even win a match. It also being that probably their greatest player; "George Best" never got to taste the glory of a world cup.

As for Wales, though theirs was to play well and go out with their dignity in 58 (after only loosing 1-0 to a great Brazilian team in quarterfinals); they have not qualified to another world cup since or even really come all that close to doing so. All of which perhaps making some Welsh players choose to play for England instead given how they may present a case of having lived in England longer than in Wales and since the nationality is the same; it should not represent a problem to choose England over Wales.

As for Scotland, I have come to believe (jokingly of course) that if four out of four teams could move on in to the second round; they would find a way not to qualify. This being the situation since in 7 world cups and 2 European cups, they never managed to go beyond the first round. This despite the fact that in the 86 and 90 world cups which they played in, 16 out of 24 teams qualified. Actually looking back they would have qualified to the next round in 82 had they been using the system which was used in the 86, 90 and 94 world cups but unfortunately for the Scots it was not. Scotland would also manage the feat of not qualifying further than the first round in the European championship in 96 which by virtue of being held in England was practically played in their own country.

Regarding England, it is they who are the most successful team to come from the British isles since it is they who have not only won a World Cup but have managed a fourth place and to qualify to most of the world cups they have participated in yet I wonder how much stronger their team would have been with Best in Mexico 70 or Jordan, Gemmil and Dalglish in 74 and 78 or with Gigs in 2002. All of which making me of the idea that perhaps it is high time the British thought of having one strong team instead of four weaker ones.

In conclusion I would like to claim that I believe (along with many others) that it is really unfair that one country get to have four teams to represent them even if they have four leagues, as the Soviet Union with all its republics could have easily done likewise yet choose to have one team represent them. Naturally in all this, I am equally aware that such thinking could lead some to ask if it is really fair that the UK also get to have more teams represent them in European cups such as the Champion's League and UEFA Cup?

My name is Gianni Truvianni, I am an author who writes with the simple aim of sharing his ideas, thoughts and so much more of what I am with those who are interested in perhaps reading something new. I also am the author of the book entitled "New York's Opera Society" which is now available on Amazon.