Beat the Blogger – Week of Feb. 7

Folks,
I have moved this over to the SCD site, where it will be from now on.

CLICK
HERE to play.

Continue reading about Beat the Blogger – Week of Feb. 7 »

First and foremost, congratulations to Bob Simmons, who selected 8 of the 9
games correctly. Well done.

This week’s match-ups are posted below.

Copy and paste our link and send it to your friends so they can be a part of the
action, http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/.
Remember to provide a tie-breaker, as noted below. 

I’ll also require contestants to post their e-mail address with their picks so I can
track down the winners easier. For those unfamiliar with the Beat
the Blogger contest, the idea is simple. The Blogger posts 10 match-ups each
week and then selects his choices for the winners of those match-ups. Contestants
enter the Beat the Blogger contest by clicking on the “Comment” section below the
post with the match-ups and then select their own winners.

If you Beat The Blogger’s total and post the high score for the week, you win. The
regular weekly prize is an authentic signed 8-by-10 color photo of a professional
athlete.

Week of Jan. 31 matchups (with Blogger’s picks in parenthesis)

Super Bowl
Green Bay vs. Pittsburgh (GB)

NCAAM

UConn at Seton Hall (SH)
West Va. at Villanova (WVU)
Ohio State at Minnesota (OSU)
Kentucky at Florida (Kent)

NHL

San Jose at Boston (Bos)
Minn at Phoenix (Minn)

NCAAW

DePaul at UConn (UConn)
Iowa State at Oklahoma (Okla)

Golf

Winner of the Waste
Management Phoenix Open shoots -18 or better overall Yes or No? (Yes)

Tie-breaker

Total points scored in Super Bowl: (37)

Continue reading about Beat the Blogger – Week of Jan. 31 »

First and foremost, congratulations to Michael Mahnke and Darren, who selected
9 of the 10 games correctly. Well done. I forgot to provide a tie-breaker for this
round, so both will received a signed 8×10 photo.

This week’s match-ups are posted below.

Copy and paste our link and send it to your friends so they can be a part of the
action, http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/.
Remember to provide a tie-breaker, as noted below. 

I’ll also require contestants to post their e-mail address with their picks so I can
track down the winners easier. For those unfamiliar with the Beat
the Blogger contest, the idea is simple. The Blogger posts 10 match-ups each
week and then selects his choices for the winners of those match-ups. Contestants
enter the Beat the Blogger contest by clicking on the “Comment” section below the
post with the match-ups and then select their own 10 winners.

If you Beat The Blogger’s total and post the high score for the week, you win. The
regular weekly prize is an authentic signed 8-by-10 color photo of a professional
athlete.

Week of Jan. 24 matchups (with Blogger’s picks in parenthesis)

NCAAM

Kansas St. at Kansas (Kansas)
Louisville at UConn (UConn)
Missouri at Texas (Missouri)
Minnesota at Purdue (Purdue)

NCAAW

Baylor at Texas A&M (Baylor)
Tennessee at Arkansas (Tenn)

NBA

Miami at Oklahoma City (Miami)
Boston at LA Lakers (Boston)

Golf

Tiger places in Top 10 Yes or No (Yes)
Tie-breaker – Tiger’s final round score (71)

Continue reading about Beat the Blogger – Week of Jan. 24 »

First and foremost, congratulations to Glen Berger, who selected 9 of the 10
games correctly. Well done.

Going forward, I will discontinue the doubler aspect – I believe the tie-breaker is
enough of a separation point.

This week’s matchups are posted below. I picked Saturday and Sunday games to provide
a little more time. Should be some 10s here.

Copy and paste our link and send it to your friends so they can be a part of the
action, http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/.
Remember to provide a tie-breaker on the week’s last game. Contestants are asked to
predict the total score from the last game on the list and the closest to the actual
score will be deemed the winner.

I’ll also require contestants to post their e-mail address with their picks so I can
track down the winners easier. For those unfamiliar with the Beat
the Blogger contest, the idea is simple. The Blogger posts 10 matchups each
week and then selects his choices for the winners of those matchups. Contestants enter
the Beat the Blogger contest by clicking on the “Comment” section below the post with
the matchups and then select their own 10 winners.

If you Beat The Blogger’s total and post the high score for the week, you win. The
regular weekly prize is an authentic signed 8-by-10 color photo of a professional
athlete.

Week of Jan. 17 matchups (with Blogger’s picks in parenthesis)

NCAAM

Ohio St. at Illinois (OSU)
Texas at Kansas (Kan)
Villanova at Syracuse (Cuse)
Mich. St. at Purdue (Purdue)

NCAAW

Texas Tech at Baylor (Baylor)
Texas A&M at Iowa State (ISU)

NFL Playoffs

Green Bay at Chicago (GB)
NY Jets at Pittsburgh (Pitt)

NBA

NY at Oklahoma (NY)
Indy at Portland (Ind)

Continue reading about Beat the Blogger Results and New Matchups »

I will have the results from last week and some new matches posted by the end of the day today for the week of Jan. 17…stay tuned!

Continue reading about Beat the Blogger »

All right folks, get your thinking caps on.

This week’s matchups are posted below so Play Beat the Blogger

Copy and paste our link and send it to your friends so they can be a part of the
action, http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/.
Remember to provide a tie-breaker on the week’s last game. Contestants are asked to
predict the total score from the last game on the list and the closest to the actual
score will be deemed the winner.

I’ll also require contestants to post their e-mail address with their picks so I can
track down the winners easier. For those unfamiliar with the Beat
the Blogger contest, the idea is simple. The Blogger posts 10 matchups each
week and then selects his choices for the winners of those matchups. Contestants enter
the Beat the Blogger contest by clicking on the “Comment” section below the post with
the matchups and then select their own 10 winners.

If you Beat The Blogger’s total and post the high score for the week, you win.
The regular weekly prize is an authentic signed 8-by-10 color photo of stars such
as LaDainian Tomlinson, Drew Brees, Marshall Faulk, Santonio Holmes, Gale Sayers,
Catfish Hunter and many more. From time to time, the Blogger will sweeten the
pot for the weekly contest so look for special prize packages.

Week of Jan. 10 matchups (with Blogger’s picks in parenthesis)

NFL Postseason
Seattle at Chicago (Chicago)
Green Bay at Atlanta (Atlanta)
Baltimore at Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh)
NY Jets at New England (New England)


NCAA Basketball

Missouri at Texas A&M (A&M)
Illinois at Wisconsin (Wisconsin)
Butler at Detroit (Detroit)
Cincy at Syracuse (Syracuse)

NBA

Miami at Chicago (Miami)
Dallas at San Antonio (San Antonio)

Tiebreaker: Total points in Seattle-Chicago game: (28)

Good luck!

Continue reading about Beat the Blogger Matchups »

While it wasn’t quite the grand finale I was hoping for, the Blogger posted a respectable score of 6 in a week full of upsets in his final week of hosting the Beat
the Blogger Contest. Rick K claimed the prize with an impressive score
of 9 with many others falling victim to the numerous upsets. Congratulations to Rick
and thanks to all of your for playing over the last three years. Tom Bartsch will
takeover duties as the new Blogger and the contest will continue as usual so continue
to play and encourage your friend, family and co-workers to join in as well.


This week’s matchups will be posted soon so Play Beat the Blogger and spread
the word to your friends and co-workers. Simply copy and paste this link http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/

Copy and paste our link and send it to your friends on Facebook, Twitter and anywhere
else so they can be a part of the action and we can boost our total list of contestants, http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/

Copy and paste our link and send it to your friends so they can be a part of the action, http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/ This
week’s winners are posted below so check to see how you fared against the field. While
I enjoy giving prizes to several people vs. having just one weekly winner, from this
point forward contestants will be asked to provide a tie-breaker on the week’s last
game so we narrow our winner down to one. Contestants will now be asked to predict
the total score from the last game on the list and the closest to the actual score
will be deemed the winner).

I’ll also require contestants to post their e-mail address with their picks so I can
track down the winners easier. For those unfamiliar with the Beat
the Blogger contest, the idea is simple. The Blogger posts 10 matchups each
week and then selects his choices for the winners of those matchups. Contestants enter
the Beat the Blogger contest by clicking on the “Comment” section below the post with
the matchups and then select their own 10 winners.

You can also designate one of your picks as a “Doubler” and you will receive an extra
point if you’re correct so don’t forget to designate your “Doubler” pick and increase
your chances of winning. If you Beat The Blogger’s total and post the high
score for the week, you win. The regular weekly prize is an authentic signed 8-by-10
color photo of stars such as LaDainian Tomlinson, Drew Brees, Marshall Faulk, Santonio
Holmes, Gale Sayers, Catfish Hunter and many more. From time to time, the Blogger
will sweeten the pot for the weekly contest so look for special prize packages.

Xmas Contest matchups with winning picks in parenthesis
Jan. 8, 9

NFL Postseason
New Orleans at Seattle (Seattle)
NY Jets at Indianapolis (NY Jets)
Baltimore at Kansas City (Baltimore)
Green Bay at Philadelphia (Green Bay)
NCAA Football

Pittsburgh at Kentucky (Pittsburgh)
Nevada at Boston College (Nevada)
NCAA Basketball

UConn at Texas (UConn)
Marquette at Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh)
Minnesota at Ohio St (Ohio State)
Iowa at Purdue (Purdue)

Tiebreaker: Total points in Iowa-Purdue game: 127

Be sure to check out our other blogs and videos:
7th Inning Stretch

http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/


Bustin’ Wax

http://blog.tuffstuff.com/bustinwax/


For Pricing information, check out these sports price guides
http://www.tuffstuff.com/priceguides/



Check out our sports-related books
http://shop.collect.com/category/sports-cards

Continue reading about Beat the Blogger Results »

While it wasn’t quite the grand finale I was hoping for, the Blogger posted a respectable score of 6 in a week full of upsets in his final week of hosting the Beat
the Blogger Contest. Rick K claimed the prize with an impressive score
of 9 with many others falling victim to the numerous upsets. Congratulations to Rick
and thanks to all of your for playing over the last three years. Tom Bartsch will
takeover duties as the new Blogger and the contest will continue as usual so continue
to play and encourage your friend, family and co-workers to join in as well.


This week’s matchups will be posted soon so Play Beat the Blogger and spread
the word to your friends and co-workers. Simply copy and paste this link http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/

Copy and paste our link and send it to your friends on Facebook, Twitter and anywhere
else so they can be a part of the action and we can boost our total list of contestants, http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/

Copy and paste our link and send it to your friends so they can be a part of the action, http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/ This
week’s winners are posted below so check to see how you fared against the field. While
I enjoy giving prizes to several people vs. having just one weekly winner, from this
point forward contestants will be asked to provide a tie-breaker on the week’s last
game so we narrow our winner down to one. Contestants will now be asked to predict
the total score from the last game on the list and the closest to the actual score
will be deemed the winner).

I’ll also require contestants to post their e-mail address with their picks so I can
track down the winners easier. For those unfamiliar with the Beat
the Blogger contest, the idea is simple. The Blogger posts 10 matchups each
week and then selects his choices for the winners of those matchups. Contestants enter
the Beat the Blogger contest by clicking on the “Comment” section below the post with
the matchups and then select their own 10 winners.

You can also designate one of your picks as a “Doubler” and you will receive an extra
point if you’re correct so don’t forget to designate your “Doubler” pick and increase
your chances of winning. If you Beat The Blogger’s total and post the high
score for the week, you win. The regular weekly prize is an authentic signed 8-by-10
color photo of stars such as LaDainian Tomlinson, Drew Brees, Marshall Faulk, Santonio
Holmes, Gale Sayers, Catfish Hunter and many more. From time to time, the Blogger
will sweeten the pot for the weekly contest so look for special prize packages.

Xmas Contest matchups with winning picks in parenthesis
Jan. 8, 9

NFL Postseason
New Orleans at Seattle (Seattle)
NY Jets at Indianapolis (NY Jets)
Baltimore at Kansas City (Baltimore)
Green Bay at Philadelphia (Green Bay)
NCAA Football

Pittsburgh at Kentucky (Pittsburgh)
Nevada at Boston College (Nevada)
NCAA Basketball

UConn at Texas (UConn)
Marquette at Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh)
Minnesota at Ohio St (Ohio State)
Iowa at Purdue (Purdue)

Tiebreaker: Total points in Iowa-Purdue game: 127

Be sure to check out our other blogs and videos:
7th Inning Stretch

http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/


Bustin’ Wax

http://blog.tuffstuff.com/bustinwax/


For Pricing information, check out these sports price guides
http://www.tuffstuff.com/priceguides/



Check out our sports-related books
http://shop.collect.com/category/sports-cards

Continue reading about Beat the Blogger Results »

Oh what a week in the NFL. With the huge “playoff-like showdown” between Seattle and St. Louis now in the books and the postseason roster all set, the week leading up to the playoffs shifted focus to the revolving door coaching changes that always accompany the final game.

For those who missed it, the short version is as follows: Eric Mangini
is out in Cleveland because he and Mike Holmgren couldn’t co-exist and the Browns
took a step back this year, Tom Cable is out in Oakland after allegedly choosing to
implementing his own game plans each week (the nerve) instead of using the play calls
passed down from owner Al Davis and Carolina’s John Fox was shown the door because,
well, did you see the Panthers this year?

From there, focus shifted to the possible replacements in those cities as well as
with the Broncos and 49ers, who beat the rush and booted Josh McDaniel and Mike Singletary
weeks ago. Other coaches like Marvin Lewis in Cincinnati not only escaped the axe,
but was even rewarded for the Bengals impressive 4-12 record this year be getting
a contract extension. That’s a smart business move in Bizzaro World and no where else.

As we delve back into the absurdity that is the coaching carousel, the coach de jour
is, and continues to be, Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh. Despite not having ever been
a head coach at the NFL level and just two years of experience as an NFL assistant,
several NFL squads have reportedly been waving $7-8 million in his face with hopes
of enticing him to lead their respective teams. To put that in better perspective,
consider that Bill Belichick, almost unanimously considered the best coach in the
business, currently gets $7.5 per year to coach the Pats. So if you’re an NFL owner
how can you even consider giving an unproven coach like Jim Harbaugh similar cash?

While Harbaugh might be a great “Rah-Rah” motivator who can get more out of a 19-year-old
athlete than some others, and the pro-style offense he employs might help lure those
same kids away from Oregon and into Cardinal Nation, it doesn’t necessarily translate
into success at the NFL level. Don’t believe me? Just ask Steve Spurrier, Butch Davis,
Nick Saban, Mike Riley, Pete Carroll or Rich Brooks.

It appears that Harbaugh has shunned the advances of Michigan, Miami and Denver and
his future will likely lead him to San Francisco or back to Palo Alto. My guess is
he’ll join QB Andrew Luck and stay at Stanford and explore greener pastures after
next season. Maybe by then NFL GMs and owners will come to their senses and figure
out that NCAA Golden Boy coaches who enjoy success are almost always failures when
they try their hand at the NFL game. 

Continue reading about Don’t Know Jim Harbaugh, But Know He’s No Bill Belichick »

The holiday matchups proved to be tricky for many including the Blogger, but Chris
L had no problem picking winners. He picked 8 of 10 correctly and then hit on
his doubler to win last week’s Beat the Blogger. Congrats to Chris and thanks
to everyone for playing.


This week’s matchups are posted below so Play Beat the Blogger and spread the
word to your friends and co-workers. Simply copy and paste this link http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/

Copy and paste our link and send it to your friends on Facebook, Twitter and anywhere
else so they can be a part of the action and we can boost our total list of contestants, http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/

Copy and paste our link and send it to your friends so they can be a part of the action, http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/ This
week’s winners are posted below so check to see how you fared against the field. While
I enjoy giving prizes to several people vs. having just one weekly winner, from this
point forward contestants will be asked to provide a tie-breaker on the week’s last
game so we narrow our winner down to one. Contestants will now be asked to predict
the total score from the last game on the list and the closest to the actual score
will be deemed the winner).

I’ll also require contestants to post their e-mail address with their picks so I can
track down the winners easier. For those unfamiliar with the Beat
the Blogger contest, the idea is simple. The Blogger posts 10 matchups each
week and then selects his choices for the winners of those matchups. Contestants enter
the Beat the Blogger contest by clicking on the “Comment” section below the post with
the matchups and then select their own 10 winners.

You can also designate one of your picks as a “Doubler” and you will receive an extra
point if you’re correct so don’t forget to designate your “Doubler” pick and increase
your chances of winning. If you Beat The Blogger’s total and post the high
score for the week, you win. The regular weekly prize is an authentic signed 8-by-10
color photo of stars such as LaDainian Tomlinson, Drew Brees, Marshall Faulk, Santonio
Holmes, Gale Sayers, Catfish Hunter and many more. From time to time, the Blogger
will sweeten the pot for the weekly contest so look for special prize packages.

Xmas Contest matchups with Blogger’s picks in parenthesis
Jan. 8, 9

NFL Postseason
New Orleans at Seattle (New Orleans)(Doubler)
NY Jets at Indianapolis (NY Jets)
Baltimore at Kansas City (Kansas City)
Green Bay at Philadelphia (Philadelphia)
NCAA Football

Pittsburgh at Kentucky (Kentucky)
Nevada at Boston College (Nevada)
NCAA Basketball

UConn at Texas (UConn)
Marquette at Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh)
Minnesota at Ohio St (Ohio State)
Iowa at Purdue (Purdue)

Tiebreaker: Total points in Iowa-Purdue game: 116

Be sure to check out our other blogs and videos:
7th Inning Stretch

http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/


Bustin’ Wax

http://blog.tuffstuff.com/bustinwax/


For Pricing information, check out these sports price guides
http://www.tuffstuff.com/priceguides/



Check out our sports-related books
http://shop.collect.com/category/sports-cards

Continue reading about Beat the Blogger Results/Matchups »

After watching more football than I probably should have and putting my
relationship with my fiance in serious jeopardy because of it, I came up
with several observations that I thought I should share. If my
overindulging ways are going to ruin my wedding before it even gets
here, I figure I’d better pass on this wisdom before I go to sleep one
night and wake up in a sack in the middle of Lake Michigan. She couldn’t have been that mad, could she?

Anyway, as for the observations, is it just me or does the NFL seem to postpone
its games a lot more easily than they used to? I’ve been watching NFL games since
1975 and I don’t remember any games being postponed in my first 34 years of viewing
and now we’ve had two in a week? I understand that the Metrodome’s spaghetti strainer
impression forced last week’s switch and that the latest “NorEaster” to hit the East
Coast and the 50-MPH-er winds that accompanied it made that postponment necessary
and understandable. Now I haven’t checked with Al Roker on this but I’m guessing that
at least once in the last three decades at least one stadium in the NFL has experienced
a similar storm and the game went on as usual. Apparently fan safety is equally important
as player safety in 2010. And I’m also guessing that the NFL took the possibility
of 20,000 no-shows and the lost revenue from concessions into consideration. The new
NFL mantra: “The league that cares about its players and fans, but not quite as much
as it cares about the bottom line.”

After a sideline tirade with the QB he hand-picked during his team’s 25-17 loss to
St. Louis, San Francisco pulled the plug on the Mike Singletary Project. Despite one
game remaining on the season and two years left on his recently signed contract extension,
Singletary and his unusual ways are now where they belong, hitting the bricks. While
Singletary may be one helluva defensive coordinator, he looked liked a deer in headlights
from Day 1 and despite a HOF resume as a player, he had no business being a head coach
in the first place. Hopefully Singletary’s stumbles won’t hurt other black coaching
candidates who could now continue to get passed over because of his ineffectiveness.
Singletary and Cincinnati’s Marvin Lewis set back the black coaching movement more
than 20 years and everything Mike Tomlin and Tony Dungy had built up is now lost.
Good job “Samari Mike”.

The lower tier of the 2011 NFL Draft has been established and the Carolina Panthers
are the lucky losers. Anybody who witnessed the Panthers 27-3 loss to the Steelers
last week knows the Panthers are very much in need of some help and while the top
pick in the draft won’t fix all that ails them, they gotta start somewhere. After
watching that team a couple of times this year, I can’t see one position that wouldn’t
be described as a “position of need”, including quarterback, where last year’s second-round
pick Jimmy Clausen doesn’t appear to be anywhere close to being the answer.

Stanford’s junior quarterback Andrew Luck appears to be the consensus No. 1 pick and
the Panthers would be wise to transform Clausen into the backup he’s destined to be
and make Luck their quarterback of the future. Unfortunately for Carolina, Luck has
recently announced he might stay in school and wait for the 2012 Draft to take his
talents to the NFL. He must have seen the Panthers-Steelers game, too.

While their record is a modest 5-10, the Detroit Lions appear to be a team on the
rise and will likely soon be anointed the NFL’s “Next Big Thing” coming into 2012.
And unlike this year’s winner of the “Next Big Thing”, the 49ers, the Lions may actually
live up to the billing. Armed with a scary front four on defense led by Rookie of
the Year Ndamukong Suh, an All-Pro wideout in Calvin Johnson and a talented, yet unproven,
franchise quarterback, the Lions are armed and dangerous. If they can add a solid
cover corner with the No. 9 pick in the draft (and then add three more in Rounds 2,3
and 4), their worst-to-first turnaround could come to fruition sooner rather than
later.

The last observation I had over the weekend is two-fold regarding the Chicago Bears.
Despite posting an impressive 11-4 mark, winning seven of its last eight games and
posting victories over Green Bay, Philly and the New York Jets, the Bears continue
to be treated like the guy at the bar with three DUIs who’s always trying to “bum”
a ride home at closing time. Maybe its Jay Cutler’s easy-to-hate personality, or maybe
its because there are reality stars (and I use that term loosely) on the Food Channel
more well known than their receiving corps, but Chicago just doesn’t get any love.
With a solid quarterback, an above-average ground game, a top-five defensive unit
that typical tests your patience and makes you dink and dunk your way down the field
along with the scariest return man in the game, Chicago could easily come out of the
NFC and represent the conference in Dallas this year. Then again, they could get picked
apart by quick slants like the Jets did Sunday and Cutler could revert back to his
early season impatient ways and they could be one and done. I guess that’s why they
play the games.  

   

Continue reading about Andrew Luck, Al Roker, the Bears and Lions Oh My »

Contrary to one salty post who questioned our request of asking our total participants to reach the 150 mark or cancel the Beat
the Blogger contest altogether, we came up a little short but being that it is
the holiday season, we will still award the prize package to one lucky winner. The
Blogger made it as tough as he could with a 9-point performance, but it wasn’t enough
to deny Bill Geary and his impressive 10-point total. With the victory, Bill
wins a prize package that includes (5) McFarlane figures, (20) autographed 8×10
photos and (30) unopened packs of cards.


This week’s matchups are posted below so Play Beat the Blogger and spread the
word to your friends and co-workers. Simply copy and paste this link http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/

Copy and paste our link and send it to your friends on Facebook, Twitter and anywhere
else so they can be a part of the action and we can boost our total list of contestants, http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/

Copy and paste our link and send it to your friends so they can be a part of the action, http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/ This
week’s winners are posted below so check to see how you fared against the field. While
I enjoy giving prizes to several people vs. having just one weekly winner, from this
point forward contestants will be asked to provide a tie-breaker on the week’s last
game so we narrow our winner down to one. Contestants will now be asked to predict
the total score from the last game on the list and the closest to the actual score
will be deemed the winner).

I’ll also require contestants to post their e-mail address with their picks so I can
track down the winners easier. For those unfamiliar with the Beat
the Blogger contest, the idea is simple. The Blogger posts 10 matchups each
week and then selects his choices for the winners of those matchups. Contestants enter
the Beat the Blogger contest by clicking on the “Comment” section below the post with
the matchups and then select their own 10 winners.

You can also designate one of your picks as a “Doubler” and you will receive an extra
point if you’re correct so don’t forget to designate your “Doubler” pick and increase
your chances of winning. If you Beat The Blogger’s total and post the high
score for the week, you win. The regular weekly prize is an authentic signed 8-by-10
color photo of stars such as LaDainian Tomlinson, Drew Brees, Marshall Faulk, Santonio
Holmes, Gale Sayers, Catfish Hunter and many more. From time to time, the Blogger
will sweeten the pot for the weekly contest so look for special prize packages.

Xmas Contest matchups with Blogger’s picks in parenthesis
Jan. 2

NFL Regular Season
Minnesota at Detroit (Detroit)
Oakland at Kansas City (Oakland)
Tampa Bay at New Orleans (New Orleans)

NY Giants at Washington (NY Giants)
Dallas at Philadelphia (Dallas)
Arizona at San Francisco (San Francisco)
Miami at New England (Miami)
Tennessee at Indianapolis (Indianapolis)
Chicago at Green Bay (Chicago)(Doubler)
St. Louis at Seattle (St. Louis)

Tiebreaker: Total passing yards for Sam Bradford: (262)

Be sure to check out our other blogs and videos:
7th Inning Stretch

http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/


Bustin’ Wax

http://blog.tuffstuff.com/bustinwax/


For Pricing information, check out these sports price guides
http://www.tuffstuff.com/priceguides/



Check out our sports-related books
http://shop.collect.com/category/sports-cards

Continue reading about Beat the Blogger Results/Matchups »

It had been 56 long years since the San Francisco Giants had tasted
World Series success and the long drought just made it that much sweeter
for their fans when it finally arrived.

Ever since the Giants finished off the Texas Rangers back in November, the team’s
long-suffering fan base has opened its arms to embrace everybody and everything relating
to the Giants. As is often the case under similar circumstances, the team’s role players
became stars and its stars morphed into superstars. Fans simply can’t get enough of
their beloved Giants and to prove it, you have to look no further than the many Bay-area
card shops, where
business has been booming ever since San Francisco claimed the 105th World Series.

Much like the Giants themselves, the baseball card market has been stagnant in recent
years but bringing a World Series title to the Bay has rejuvenated the appeal of the
team and the cardboard featuring its players. Several Bay-area card shop owners have
reported a huge uptick in sales in recent weeks with players like Rookie of the year
Buster Posey leading the way.

Posey has been a hot commodity for collectors ever since the Giants made the talented
catcher the 5th overall pick of the 2008 MLB Draft, but since exploding onto the scene
midway through the season and almost single-handedly carrying the team into the postseason,
his hobby stock has risen faster than the price of gold. Posey’s Rookie Card could
be had for about $3 during his first season but has soared into the $15-$17 range
since his second-half heroics.

Other Giants taking top billing with collectors are pitchers Madison Bumgarner, Matt
Cain and closer Brian Wilson along with veteran Edgar Renteria. The aging shortstop
captured World Series MVP honors and captured the hearts of the Giant faithful in
the process. Renteria’s clutch three-run homer that helped win a Series-clinching
Game 5 forced veteran collectors to dust off their old Renteria cards and begin the
search for current ones. His once forgettable pasteboards are now among some of the
most highly sought after in the hobby, proving just how fickle collectors can be.

So while the hobby has seen its share of better days, years and even decades, it’s
been, and will continue to be, resurgent. Whether its collectibles featuring your
favorite teams or more specifically your favorite players, their popularity is only
a championship away. 

Continue reading about Card Popularity Just A Title Away »

Despite a week full of upsets, the matchups were no problem for Barbie, who
posted a score of 10 to win last week’s Beat the Blogger contest.

There will be no Beat the Blogger contest this week as we gear up for the Xmas
Contest the following week (Dec. 25 games). The Xmas Contest will be the
last of the year and will feature a prize package of five McFarlane sports figures, 20
signed photos and 20 unopened packs of cards to one lucky winner. The great
prize package will be given away with one caveat and that is: that we get to 150
entries. If we fail to reach that number of entries the contest will be shut
down and no prizes will be awarded. So all of our regular contestants will need
to secure 3 new contestants and we should make the mark and you’ll have two
weeks to get your recruiting done so get busy. Good luck.


The Xmas Contest matchups are posted below so Play Beat the Blogger and spread
the word to your friends and co-workers. Simply copy and paste this link http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/

Copy and paste our link and send it to your friends on Facebook, Twitter and anywhere
else so they can be a part of the action and we can boost our total list of contestants, http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/

Copy and paste our link and send it to your friends so they can be a part of the action, http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/ This
week’s winners are posted below so check to see how you fared against the field. While
I enjoy giving prizes to several people vs. having just one weekly winner, from this
point forward contestants will be asked to provide a tie-breaker on the week’s last
game so we narrow our winner down to one. Contestants will now be asked to predict
the total score from the last game on the list and the closest to the actual score
will be deemed the winner).

I’ll also require contestants to post their e-mail address with their picks so I can
track down the winners easier. For those unfamiliar with the Beat
the Blogger contest, the idea is simple. The Blogger posts 10 matchups each
week and then selects his choices for the winners of those matchups. Contestants enter
the Beat the Blogger contest by clicking on the “Comment” section below the post with
the matchups and then select their own 10 winners.

You can also designate one of your picks as a “Doubler” and you will receive an extra
point if you’re correct so don’t forget to designate your “Doubler” pick and increase
your chances of winning. If you Beat The Blogger’s total and post the high
score for the week, you win. The regular weekly prize is an authentic signed 8-by-10
color photo of stars such as LaDainian Tomlinson, Drew Brees, Marshall Faulk, Santonio
Holmes, Gale Sayers, Catfish Hunter and many more. From time to time, the Blogger
will sweeten the pot for the weekly contest so look for special prize packages.

Xmas Contest matchups with Blogger’s picks in parenthesis
Dec. 25

NFL Regular Season
New England at Buffalo (Buffalo’s total TDs+FGs+Extra Points or New England’s
winning margin
NY Jets at Chicago
Baltimore at Cleveland
Tennessee at Kansas City
San Francisco at St. Louis
Detroit at Miami
Washington at Jacksonville
Indianapolis at Oakland
Houston at Denver
NY Giants at Green Bay

Tiebreaker: Total passing yards for Eli Manning:

Be sure to check out our other blogs and videos:
7th Inning Stretch

http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/


Bustin’ Wax

http://blog.tuffstuff.com/bustinwax/


For Pricing information, check out these sports price guides
http://www.tuffstuff.com/priceguides/



Check out our sports-related books
http://shop.collect.com/category/sports-cards

Continue reading about Beat the Blogger Results/Matchups »

With the seemingly never-ending saga of Redskins ultra-slacker defensive
tackle Albert Haynesworth taking on a new twist Tuesday, I decided to
revisit all of the facts in this bizarre soap opera before I offered an
opinion.

Now, I’ve never met Washington coach Mike Shanahan before, but from the news conferences
and interviews I’ve seen with him, he always came across as a little douchey. You
know, the kind of guy that compliments you in front of others and belittles after
you leave to go to the rest room. Doesn’t
seem like a trustworthy guy to me and I always thought his two Super Bowl wins with
the Broncos were won in spite of him, not because of him.

So when Haynesworth and Shanahan started butting heads this summer during mini-camp,
I assumed that it was a new, old-school coach marking his territory simply trying
to make a statement. That statement was: “This is my team and just because we have
an impulse-shopper owner who overpaid you by about $90 million, I’m the captain of
this ship now and you will fall in with the others or face my wrath.” A seismic pissing
match ensued with Haynesworth now being suspended without pay for the team’s final
four games for what Shanahan and the Redskins are calling “conduct detrimental to
the team.”

According to the veteran coach, Haynesworth “repeatedly refused to cooperate with
our coaching staff in a variety of ways over an extended period of time.” The final
straw came this past week when Haynesworth showed up late for practice on Friday and
claimed he had an illness and couldn’t take part in the team’s scheduled workout.
One website has reported that Haynesworth was not sick but rather simply hungover
from a late night on the town the night before. Haynesworth admitted he was out tipping
back a few but said he went home early after not feeling well.

Shanahan added that Haynesworth continually refused to play in certain defensive packages
and often refused instruction from defensive coaches during practices and games. Who
does this? To top it off, Haynesworth told Redskins manager Bruce Allen that he would
no longer speak with Shanahan which prompted Shanahan to make him inactive for last
Sunday’s game against the Giants and ultimately pull the plug on his season four games
early. His bio said he was 29 but his actions scream 11.

This latest episode comes months after Haynesworth skipped optional offseason team
workouts, boycotted a mandatory mini-camp session, failed a common conditioning test
(ESPN host Mike Golic, 18 years his senior, passed the test on his first try) several
times after arriving late to camp and has resisted his role in the Redskins new 3-4
defensive scheme, insisting he’d dominate like no other if the team switched back
to a 4-3.

In a interview Monday, Haynesworth blamed the report on “haters” who don’t like him,
said he was too upset to meet with Shanahan Tuesday, and again proclaimed he could
be the greatest ever if he could play the way he wants to play.

“Yeah, I went out on Thursday but left early because I wasn’t feeling good and went
home,” Haynesworth said. “And then they want to sit here and say I was hung over and
drunk and something like that? … For these people to make up lies to try to make
me look bad, it’s ridiculous.”

What’s ridiculous Albert, is having to convince a guy who signed a 7-year, $100 million
contract last year to do his job. What’s ridiculous Albert is having to constantly
cater to your special needs and requests after you signed the third largest contract
in NFL history. It’s also ridiculous to have to coddle to a guy making $10 million
a year who takes more plays off than Randy Moss ever has. If Haynesworth was still
producing at that same level that made him a two-time Pro Bowler in Tennessee, maybe
the Skins would look the other way on some of his “quirks.” But in the eight games
he’s played in this year, he’s produced just 16 tackles and two and half sacks. That’s
about $625k per tackle or in layman’s terms, way too much for that little bit production.

I’m no pro athlete, in fact I’m in the bottom tier of my over-40 pick-up basketball
games I play at the gym. But if I was given the ability to play professional football
at an elite level, I’m fairly sure I would bust my hump for as long for as I could
knowing my dream “career” could end at any moment and that I’ve been blessed to play
a game for a living. Add in the fact that someone was willing to ensure that I will
never work another day in my life when I retire and afforded me the opportunity to
buy anything I see fit and I can assure you I would be giving you my best each and
every time I put the uniform on. Apparently those “perks” of the job were lost on
Haynesworth. Somewhere along the way he put the horse in front of the carriage and
decided that his life walking down East Street began the day he signed his $100-million
deal and not the day the contract expires.

So upon further review, I would like to apologize to Mr. Shanahan. While I do still
believe he’s a little shady, this battle of wills that started as a power trip, ended
with the only possibly solution and Shanahan ultimately regained the respect of his
team and one mistaken scribe. 

Continue reading about Haynesworth Forces Reversal In Shanahan Evaluation »

The Blogger posted a solid total of 7 in last week’s Beat the Blogger contest
but it was no match for Joe Ranyak, who missed just one pick and almost nailed
the tiebreaker on the nose to win last week’s prize.



This week’s matchups are posted below so Play Beat the Blogger and spread the
word to your friends and co-workers. Simply copy and paste this link http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/

Copy and paste our link and send it to your friends on Facebook, Twitter and anywhere
else so they can be a part of the action and we can boost our total list of contestants, http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/

Copy and paste our link and send it to your friends so they can be a part of the action, http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/ This
week’s winners are posted below so check to see how you fared against the field. While
I enjoy giving prizes to several people vs. having just one weekly winner, from this
point forward contestants will be asked to provide a tie-breaker on the week’s last
game so we narrow our winner down to one. Contestants will now be asked to predict
the total score from the last game on the list and the closest to the actual score
will be deemed the winner).

I’ll also require contestants to post their e-mail address with their picks so I can
track down the winners easier. For those unfamiliar with the Beat
the Blogger contest, the idea is simple. The Blogger posts 10 matchups each
week and then selects his choices for the winners of those matchups. Contestants enter
the Beat the Blogger contest by clicking on the “Comment” section below the post with
the matchups and then select their own 10 winners.

You can also designate one of your picks as a “Doubler” and you will receive an extra
point if you’re correct so don’t forget to designate your “Doubler” pick and increase
your chances of winning. If you Beat The Blogger’s total and post the high
score for the week, you win. The regular weekly prize is an authentic signed 8-by-10
color photo of stars such as LaDainian Tomlinson, Drew Brees, Marshall Faulk, Santonio
Holmes, Gale Sayers, Catfish Hunter and many more. From time to time, the Blogger
will sweeten the pot for the weekly contest so look for special prize packages.

This week’s matchups with Blogger’s picks in parenthesis
Dec. 11

NFL Regular Season
Cleveland at Buffalo (Cleveland)
NY Giants at Minnesota (Minnesota)
Tampa Bay at Washington (Tampa Bay)
Oakland at Jacksonville (Jacksonville)
Seattle at San Francisco (San Francisco)
Miami at NY Jets (Jets) (Doubler)
Denver at Arizona (Denver)
New England at Chicago (New England)
Kansas City at San Diego (San Diego)
Philadelphia at Dallas (Philadelphia)

Tiebreaker: Total yards (rushing + passing) for Michael Vick: (376)

Be sure to check out our other blogs and videos:
7th Inning Stretch

http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/


Bustin’ Wax

http://blog.tuffstuff.com/bustinwax/


For Pricing information, check out these sports price guides
http://www.tuffstuff.com/priceguides/



Check out our sports-related books
http://shop.collect.com/category/sports-cards

Continue reading about Beat the Blogger Results/Matchups »

Had some random thoughts after watching some random sporting events this
past week and just had to share them. Nothing too deep and maybe not
even that interesting, but sometimes you throw it out there and hope you
get some takers.

When assessing the weekend’s NFL action, there were some impressive performances,
both team-wise and individual-wise, but the effort I was most impressed with was the thrashing
Andre Johnson put on Titans cornerback Cortland Finnegan. For those who haven’t
seen “the fight”

click the link and sit back and watch a whooping reminiscent of Nolan
Ryan’s beatdown of Robin Ventura. While most people would considering
the following advice to be a given, it was apparently lost on both Finnegan and Ventura
so I’ll repeat it to prevent any future beatings. If you’re gonna pick a fight, make
sure you know you can take the guy or you’re gonna end up a bloody mess and be known
simply as “jackass” from that day forward. And when I say from that day forward, I
mean it. Ventura moved to Tanzania shortly after the Ryan barrage and the natives
are still muttering “Jackass” in Swahili when he saunters through the village. 



Finnegan is known as a cheap-shot artist and seeing him getting a mouthful
of Johnson’s knuckles after he antagonized him into fighting looked like sweet justice
from where I’m sitting. I don’t condone fighting

but if ever somebody had it coming, it was him.

In MLB “news” this year’s list of possible Hall of Fame candidates was announced
Monday and upon further review … I think we need to re-evaluate the screening process.
While there are certainly several players who should warrant some minor consideration
(Larry Walker, Harold Baines, Jeff Bagwell, Bert Blyleven, Fred McGriff and even Dave
Parker) more times than not, the guys getting nominated have less chance of ever getting
to Cooperstown without a ticket than Tommy Lasorda does winning “Dancing With The
Stars.”

It would be easy to dismiss almost all of the players on this year’s list but I’m
not even sure how someone can put a name like Kirk Rueter or Lenny Harris on a Nomination
Ballot and keep a straight face. This is the same Rueter who posted a 130-92 record
with a microscopic 4.27 ERA in his 12 years in the Bigs and the same Harris who pounded
out 37 home runs and hit .269 in his … wait for it … 18 seasons. Sure, Harris
was a clutch pinch hitter and Rueter did win 16 games … once, but c’mon people,
Cooperstown worthy, let’s be serious.

The complete list is as follows: Roberto Alomar, Carlos Baerga, Jeff Bagwell, Harold
Baines, Bert Blyleven, Bret Boone, Kevin Brown, John Franco, Juan Gonzalez, Marquis
Grissom, Lenny Harris, Bobby Higginson, Charles Johnson, Barry Larkin, Al Leiter,
Edgar Martinez, Tino Martinez, Don Mattingly, Fred McGriff, Mark McGwire, Raul Mondesi,
Jack Morris, Dale Murphy, John Olerud, Rafael Palmeiro, Dave Parker, Tim Raines, Kirk
Rueter, Benito Santiago, Lee Smith, B.J. Surhoff, Alan Trammell, Larry Walker.



Of those on the list, Alomar, Blyleven, Baines, Bagwell, Walker and the Cobra might
eventually make it into the Hall but it appears it will be after several tries each
and mainly by default. If you stack their numbers up against some of the players on
this year’s list, they actually do look HOF worthy. But when you use guys like Schmidt,
Robinson, Mantle, and Koufax as the benchmarks, it’s clear they simply don’t measure
up.



Time for a recount.

Continue reading about Picking Your NFL Battles And MLB HOF Wantabees »

First off, hope everybody had a great Thanksgiving Holiday. Also wanted to say thanks to those who recruited some new players to play Beat
the Blogger. We had a couple people ask if it was OK to recruit their children
and/or spouses to play and my answer to that is: “What took you so long, the more
the merrier and the better the prizes.” So spread the word and remind the newbies
of the rules and to use their “Doubler” and good luck to all.

With several upsets on the docket there were only a handful of contestants that bettered
the Blogger’s total of 7, but Joseph Schuld was one of them with a 9 total
and he won last week’s Beat the Blogger contest by virtue of his tiebreaker total,
edging newcomer Ryder Gilman.


This week’s matchups are posted below so Play Beat the Blogger and spread the
word to your friends and co-workers. Simply copy and paste this link http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/

Copy and paste our link and send it to your friends on Facebook, Twitter and anywhere
else so they can be a part of the action and we can boost our total list of contestants, http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/

Copy and paste our link and send it to your friends so they can be a part of the action, http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/ This
week’s winners are posted below so check to see how you fared against the field. While
I enjoy giving prizes to several people vs. having just one weekly winner, from this
point forward contestants will be asked to provide a tie-breaker on the week’s last
game so we narrow our winner down to one. Contestants will now be asked to predict
the total score from the last game on the list and the closest to the actual score
will be deemed the winner).

I’ll also require contestants to post their e-mail address with their picks so I can
track down the winners easier. For those unfamiliar with the Beat
the Blogger contest, the idea is simple. The Blogger posts 10 matchups each
week and then selects his choices for the winners of those matchups. Contestants enter
the Beat the Blogger contest by clicking on the “Comment” section below the post with
the matchups and then select their own 10 winners.

You can also designate one of your picks as a “Doubler” and you will receive an extra
point if you’re correct so don’t forget to designate your “Doubler” pick and increase
your chances of winning. If you Beat The Blogger’s total and post the high
score for the week, you win. The regular weekly prize is an authentic signed 8-by-10
color photo of stars such as LaDainian Tomlinson, Drew Brees, Marshall Faulk, Santonio
Holmes, Gale Sayers, Catfish Hunter and many more. From time to time, the Blogger
will sweeten the pot for the weekly contest so look for special prize packages.

This week’s matchups with Blogger’s picks in parenthesis
Dec. 4

NFL Regular Season
Jacksonville at Tennessee (Jacksonville)
Denver at Kansas City (KC)
Cleveland at Miami (Miami)
Buffalo at Minnesota (Minnesota)
Washington at NY Giants (NY Giants)
Carolina at Seattle (Seattle)
St. Louis at Arizona (St. Louis)
Oakland at San Diego (San Diego)(Doubler)
Chicago at Detroit (Chicago)
Pittsburgh at Baltimore (Baltimore)

Tiebreaker: Total passing yards for Ben Roethlisberger: (246)

Be sure to check out our other blogs and videos:
7th Inning Stretch

http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/


Bustin’ Wax

http://blog.tuffstuff.com/bustinwax/


For Pricing information, check out these sports price guides
http://www.tuffstuff.com/priceguides/



Check out our sports-related books
http://shop.collect.com/category/sports-cards

Continue reading about Beat the Blogger Results/Matchups »

Translation: “Much like last week when we got lucky on a nearly perfectly defensed
Hail Mary pass on the final play, we got lucky yet again. Maurice Jones-Drew had an
outstanding game and single-handedly won this game for us. Thank god for him because
in spite of the fact that I did my best to blow it, most people will now forget how
I have no business being a starter in the NFL because somehow because we won and we’re
tied for the division lead.” 

After his team gave up 31 unanswered points and his season and his career all but
came to an end after a 31-3 loss to the rival Packers, Vikings quarterback Brett Favre
was asked about his future now that Minnesota fell to 3-7 and effectively ended any
hopes of a postseason run.

“I’m here, and we’re in this thing together”

Translation: BS, BS, BS. I’ll be here for six more games because that means
six more million dollars in my pocket. I’ll be here and I’ll keep my Consecutive Games
streak intact because this season has been one embarrassment after another and my
enormous ego can’t handle many more hits. So I’ll be here saying the right things,
collecting checks and trying to do some more damage control with Deanna at home because
it looks all the Hush money I paid to make this Sterger mess go away was a bigger
waste of money than the $500 I paid for that camera phone. Plus, I finally talked
Ziggy into firing Chilly, I’ll be in early every day from here on out”

Wide receiver Terrell Owens commenting after his Bengals blew a 35-14 lead, allowing
35 unanswered points to the Buffalo Bills and falling to 2-8 in the process.

“We are terrible,” receiver Owen said, taking off his sunglasses for emphasis. “And
I don’t blame the fans for booing us. I don’t blame people for not wanting to come
and see the performance we’ve put up the last (seven) ballgames.”

Translation: “The Bengals are terrible.” This a very rare occasion when what
an athlete is saying is the truth. Congrats to T.O. for the honesty. He’s finally
all growns up, he’s all growns up.

Tennessee head coach Jeff Fischer when asked if high-tempered former starting quarterback
Vince Young will still be the starter after he threw his shoulder pads and jersey
and stormed out of the team’s post-game meeting after being pulled from the Titans
16-13 overtime loss to the Redskins.

“He threw half his uniform in the stands. I think clearly that is no way to respond,
and so we have some things that we have to sort out with him,” Fisher said of Young.
“He may need surgery. And if that’s the case, he’s done for the year.”

Translation: “He’s dead to me. He’s an overrated, self-absorbed spoiled kid
with no heart. He walked out on me, his teammates and this organization and I would
rather lose with an untested sixth-round Practice Squad QB named Rusty than have him
try to lead this team again. I hope his injury is worse than he thinks it is because
it will save him the embarrassment of explaining why he isn’t playing in the next
six games.”

Houston Texans owner Bob McNair asked about the team’s future after the Texans slipped
to 4-6 after blowing a fourth-quarter lead when Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez connected
on a six-yard touchdown to Santonio Holmes with :55 seconds left.

“It was a great comeback, then we let it slip away,” Texans owner Bob McNair said.
“When it’s going tough, you’ve got to step up. They stepped up. We didn’t. They are
all painful.”

Translation: “Heads will roll after this one. Coach Kubiak is done. He’s been
given the benefit of the doubt far too many times already. We’ve got a top-tier QB,
one of the best backs and the best receiver in the game and we’re 4-6 and looking
at another season of missing the playoffs. Tell our D-Coordinator I want to see him
in my office immediately and he should bring his playbook.”

Continue reading about Reading Bewteen The Lines of NFL Speak »

Due to some technical issue beyond my control with the website, many of last week’s contestant entries were not saved. Because of this we are forced to eliminate last week’s Beat
the Blogger contest from the books and provide this week’s Beat the Blogger winner
with a special prize package as our way of saying “sorry” for the error. This
week’s winner will receive: (2) sports books, (5) autographed 8x10s and 12 unopened
packs of football cards.



This week’s matchups are posted below so Play Beat the Blogger and spread the
word to your friends and co-workers. Simply copy and paste this link http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/

Copy and paste our link and send it to your friends on Facebook, Twitter and anywhere
else so they can be a part of the action and we can boost our total list of contestants, http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/

Copy and paste our link and send it to your friends so they can be a part of the action, http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/ This
week’s winners are posted below so check to see how you fared against the field. While
I enjoy giving prizes to several people vs. having just one weekly winner, from this
point forward contestants will be asked to provide a tie-breaker on the week’s last
game so we narrow our winner down to one. Contestants will now be asked to predict
the total score from the last game on the list and the closest to the actual score
will be deemed the winner).

I’ll also require contestants to post their e-mail address with their picks so I can
track down the winners easier. For those unfamiliar with the Beat
the Blogger contest, the idea is simple. The Blogger posts 10 matchups each
week and then selects his choices for the winners of those matchups. Contestants enter
the Beat the Blogger contest by clicking on the “Comment” section below the post with
the matchups and then select their own 10 winners.

You can also designate one of your picks as a “Doubler” and you will receive an extra
point if you’re correct so don’t forget to designate your “Doubler” pick and increase
your chances of winning. If you Beat The Blogger’s total and post the high
score for the week, you win. The regular weekly prize is an authentic signed 8-by-10
color photo of stars such as LaDainian Tomlinson, Drew Brees, Marshall Faulk, Santonio
Holmes, Gale Sayers, Catfish Hunter and many more. From time to time, the Blogger
will sweeten the pot for the weekly contest so look for special prize packages.

This week’s matchups with Blogger’s picks in parenthesis
Nov. 28

NFL Regular Season
Green Bay at Atlanta (Atlanta)
Jacksonville at NY Giants (NY Giants)(Doubler)
Minnesota at Washington (Minnesota)
Tennessee at Houston (Houston)
Kansas City at Seattle (Kansas City)
Miami at Oakland (Oakland)
St. Louis at Denver (Denver)
Philadelphia at Chicago (Philadelphia)
Tampa Bay at Baltimore (Baltimore)
San Diego at Indianapolis (Indianapolis)

Tiebreaker: Total passing yards for Peyton Manning: (316)

Be sure to check out our other blogs and videos:
7th Inning Stretch

http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/


Bustin’ Wax

http://blog.tuffstuff.com/bustinwax/


For Pricing information, check out these sports price guides
http://www.tuffstuff.com/priceguides/



Check out our sports-related books
http://shop.collect.com/category/sports-cards

Continue reading about Beat the Blogger Matchups »

With several upsets throwing off the picks of many in last week’s Beat the Blogger,
they didn’t affect several contestants who continued to cruise despite the surprises. The
Blogger posted a respectable 7 total but it wasn’t enough to deny Rick K. the
win, as he posted a score of 9 and won by virtue of his tiebreaker total.



This week’s matchups are posted below so Play Beat the Blogger and spread the
word to your friends and co-workers. Simply copy and paste this link http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/

Copy and paste our link and send it to your friends on Facebook, Twitter and anywhere
else so they can be a part of the action and we can boost our total list of contestants, http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/

Copy and paste our link and send it to your friends so they can be a part of the action, http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/ This
week’s winners are posted below so check to see how you fared against the field. While
I enjoy giving prizes to several people vs. having just one weekly winner, from this
point forward contestants will be asked to provide a tie-breaker on the week’s last
game so we narrow our winner down to one. Contestants will now be asked to predict
the total score from the last game on the list and the closest to the actual score
will be deemed the winner).

I’ll also require contestants to post their e-mail address with their picks so I can
track down the winners easier. For those unfamiliar with the Beat
the Blogger contest, the idea is simple. The Blogger posts 10 matchups each
week and then selects his choices for the winners of those matchups. Contestants enter
the Beat the Blogger contest by clicking on the “Comment” section below the post with
the matchups and then select their own 10 winners.

You can also designate one of your picks as a “Doubler” and you will receive an extra
point if you’re correct so don’t forget to designate your “Doubler” pick and increase
your chances of winning. If you Beat The Blogger’s total and post the high
score for the week, you win. The regular weekly prize is an authentic signed 8-by-10
color photo of stars such as LaDainian Tomlinson, Drew Brees, Marshall Faulk, Santonio
Holmes, Gale Sayers, Catfish Hunter and many more. From time to time, the Blogger
will sweeten the pot for the weekly contest so look for special prize packages.

This week’s matchups with Blogger’s picks in parenthesis
Nov. 21

NFL Regular Season
Buffalo at Cincinnati (Cincinnati)
Washington at Tennessee (Tennessee)
Arizona at Kansas City (Kansas City)
Green Bay at Minnesota (Green Bay)
Houston at NY Jets (Houston)
Cleveland at Jacksonville (Cleveland)
Tampa Bay at San Francisco (Tampa Bay)
Indianapolis at New England (New England)
Oakland at Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh)(Doubler)
NY Giants at Philadelphia (NY Giants)

Tiebreaker: Total yards rushing/passing for Michael Vick (Philadelphia): (304)

Be sure to check out our other blogs and videos:
7th Inning Stretch

http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/


Bustin’ Wax

http://blog.tuffstuff.com/bustinwax/


For Pricing information, check out these sports price guides
http://www.tuffstuff.com/priceguides/



Check out our sports-related books
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Continue reading about Beat the Blogger Results/Matchups »

With allegations swirling around Auburn star Cam Newton and to a lesser degree
former University of North Carolina star Hakeem Nicks getting paid and paying,
respectively, it makes you wonder what really goes on behind the scenes during the
college recruiting process.

I have believed and will continue to believe that universities have been paying players
in one form or another for decades. ESPN’s 30 for 30 movie “The
Greatest That Never Was,” the Marcus Dupree story (a must-see by the
way), openly discussed the improprieties involved in his recruitment battle for his
services between Texas and Oklahoma (and others), and that was 30 years ago.

With 13 different top D-1 colleges all vying for Dupree’s services, one can only imagine
the various offers and personal favors that were afforded to one of the most highly
recruited athletes ever. Oklahoma flew Heisman Trophy winner (Dupree’s boyhood idol)
Billy Sims in for a personal visit to help “persuade” Dupree into becoming a Sooner
while both Oklahoma and the University of Texas had a member of its recruitment team
move down Dupree’s hometown for months to help keep the Longhorns and Sooners 
fresh on his mind. Oklahoma eventually won the “bidding war” for Dupree but after
a falling out with Sooners coach Barry Switzer Dupree left school after his freshman
season and only came back after a new double-wide trailer for his grandmother magically
showed up in her yard courtesy of Sooner Nation.

The point of the Dupree references are only being made to show the correlation between
then and now. The difference is … there is no difference. Yesterday’s Marcus Dupree
is today’s Cam Newton. And today’s Cam
Newton will be tomorrow’s sixth-grade standout. Dupree received jewelry, women and
cash and Newton likely received the same with 30-years of inflation factored in.

I’m not saying I’m a proponent of breaking NCAA rules and paying star athletes for
their services, but I’m also not naive enough to think that it doesn’t happen each
and every year when a star high school senior starts considering where he’ll attend
school the following Fall. Whether it’s shoes, clothes, women or cars, star athletes
having been receiving “perks” to come play at schools ever since school officials
figured out there was big money to be made if their athletic programs were successful.

Every time a Newton-like scandal is made public knowledge, the masses cry for stiffer
penalties and throw out the idea of paying the athletes as a quick-fix solutions to
the problem. While both ideas are fundamentally sound, don’t expect either to ever
stop the goods from being delivered to the studs. As long as their are hundreds of
millions of dollars on the table for the nation’s top programs to battle for, the
best of the best players will continue to get “taken care” of by those universities
vying for their services.

Not sure how to fix the problem because with so with much money on the line universities
and their boosters will always find a way to circumvent the rules. Let’s just all
take our collective heads out of the sand and understand that paying athletes is standard
practice for the top universities in the country and likely always will be. We can
all treat this like the Steroid issue in baseball and pretend it doesn’t exist if
we want to, but closing our eyes and singing “la,la,la,la,la” while your favorite
school is being implemented for recruiting violations won’t make it go away. If you
don’t believe me, ask Auburn and Cam Newton in about three months. 

Continue reading about ESPN’s 30 for 30 film mirrors Cam Newton scandal 30 years later »

The Blogger brought his game last week and it still wasn’t enough to deny one
contestant from taking home the weekly prize. The Blogger posted a score of 10 but
came up short against Chad Knipe, who picked 10 of 10 correct and then nailed
his Doubler for a perfect score of 11 to win last week’s Beat the Blogger contest.



This week’s matchups are posted below so Play Beat the Blogger and spread the
word to your friends and co-workers. Simply copy and paste this link http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/

Copy and paste our link and send it to your friends on Facebook, Twitter and anywhere
else so they can be a part of the action and we can boost our total list of contestants, http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/

Copy and paste our link and send it to your friends so they can be a part of the action, http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/ This
week’s winners are posted below so check to see how you fared against the field. While
I enjoy giving prizes to several people vs. having just one weekly winner, from this
point forward contestants will be asked to provide a tie-breaker on the week’s last
game so we narrow our winner down to one. Contestants will now be asked to predict
the total score from the last game on the list and the closest to the actual score
will be deemed the winner).

I’ll also require contestants to post their e-mail address with their picks so I can
track down the winners easier. For those unfamiliar with the Beat
the Blogger contest, the idea is simple. The Blogger posts 10 matchups each
week and then selects his choices for the winners of those matchups. Contestants enter
the Beat the Blogger contest by clicking on the “Comment” section below the post with
the matchups and then select their own 10 winners.

You can also designate one of your picks as a “Doubler” and you will receive an extra
point if you’re correct so don’t forget to designate your “Doubler” pick and increase
your chances of winning. If you Beat The Blogger’s total and post the high
score for the week, you win. The regular weekly prize is an authentic signed 8-by-10
color photo of stars such as LaDainian Tomlinson, Drew Brees, Marshall Faulk, Santonio
Holmes, Gale Sayers, Catfish Hunter and many more. From time to time, the Blogger
will sweeten the pot for the weekly contest so look for special prize packages.

This week’s matchups with Blogger’s picks in parenthesis
Nov. 14

NFL Regular Season
Detroit at Buffalo (Buffalo)
Minnesota at Chicago (Minnesota)
Tennessee at Miami (Tennessee)
Carolina at Tampa Bay (Tampa Bay)
NY Jets at Cleveland (NY Jets)(Doubler)
Houston at Jacksonville (Houston)
Kansas City at Denver (Denver)
Seattle at Arizona (Arizona)
St. Louis at San Francisco (San Francisco)
New England at Pittsburgh (New England)

Tiebreaker: Total yards passing for Tom Brady (New England): (256)

Be sure to check out our other blogs and videos:
7th Inning Stretch

http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/


Bustin’ Wax

http://blog.tuffstuff.com/bustinwax/


For Pricing information, check out these sports price guides
http://www.tuffstuff.com/priceguides/



Check out our sports-related books
http://shop.collect.com/category/sports-cards

Continue reading about Beat the Blogger Matchups »

The Blogger brought his game last week and it still wasn’t enough to deny one
contestant from taking home the weekly prize. The Blogger posted a score of 10 but
came up short against Chad Knipe, who picked 10 of 10 correct and then nailed
his Doubler for a perfect score of 11 to win last week’s Beat the Blogger contest.

This week’s matchups will be posted Tuesday p.m. below so Play Beat the Blogger
and spread the word to your friends and co-workers. Simply copy and paste this link http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/

Copy and paste our link and send it to your friends on Facebook, Twitter and anywhere
else so they can be a part of the action and we can boost our total list of contestants, http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/

Copy and paste our link and send it to your friends so they can be a part of the action, http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/ This
week’s winners are posted below so check to see how you fared against the field. While
I enjoy giving prizes to several people vs. having just one weekly winner, from this
point forward contestants will be asked to provide a tie-breaker on the week’s last
game so we narrow our winner down to one. Contestants will now be asked to predict
the total score from the last game on the list and the closest to the actual score
will be deemed the winner).

I’ll also require contestants to post their e-mail address with their picks so I can
track down the winners easier. For those unfamiliar with the Beat
the Blogger contest, the idea is simple. The Blogger posts 10 matchups each
week and then selects his choices for the winners of those matchups. Contestants enter
the Beat the Blogger contest by clicking on the “Comment” section below the post with
the matchups and then select their own 10 winners.

You can also designate one of your picks as a “Doubler” and you will receive an extra
point if you’re correct so don’t forget to designate your “Doubler” pick and increase
your chances of winning. If you Beat The Blogger’s total and post the high
score for the week, you win. The regular weekly prize is an authentic signed 8-by-10
color photo of stars such as LaDainian Tomlinson, Drew Brees, Marshall Faulk, Santonio
Holmes, Gale Sayers, Catfish Hunter and many more. From time to time, the Blogger
will sweeten the pot for the weekly contest so look for special prize packages.

This week’s matchups with Winning picks in parenthesis
Nov. 7

NFL Regular Season
Tampa Bay at Atlanta (Atlanta)
Chicago at Buffalo (Chicago)
NY Jets at Detroit (NY Jets)(Doubler)
Miami at Baltimore (Baltimore)
San Diego at Houston (San Diego)
Arizona at Minnesota (Minnesota)
NY Giants at Seattle (NY Giants)
Indianapolis at Philadelphia (Philadelphia)
Kansas City at Oakland (Oakland)
Dallas at Green Bay (Green Bay)

Tiebreaker: Total yards passing for Aaron Rodgers (Green Bay): (289)

Be sure to check out our other blogs and videos:
7th Inning Stretch

http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/


Bustin’ Wax

http://blog.tuffstuff.com/bustinwax/


For Pricing information, check out these sports price guides
http://www.tuffstuff.com/priceguides/



Check out our sports-related books
http://shop.collect.com/category/sports-cards

Continue reading about Beat the Blogger Results »

Despite some upsets in the NFL last week, picking the winners was no problem for one Beat
the Blogger contestant. Eddie “Onions” Weiss picked all 10 winners and
added his doubler for a perfect score of 11 to easily win last week’s Beat the
Blogger contest.

This week’s matchups are posted below so Play Beat the Blogger and spread the
word to your friends and co-workers. Simply copy and paste this link http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/

Copy and paste our link and send it to your friends on Facebook, Twitter and anywhere
else so they can be a part of the action and we can boost our total list of contestants, http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/

Copy and paste our link and send it to your friends so they can be a part of the action, http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/ This
week’s winners are posted below so check to see how you fared against the field. While
I enjoy giving prizes to several people vs. having just one weekly winner, from this
point forward contestants will be asked to provide a tie-breaker on the week’s last
game so we narrow our winner down to one. Contestants will now be asked to predict
the total score from the last game on the list and the closest to the actual score
will be deemed the winner).

I’ll also require contestants to post their e-mail address with their picks so I can
track down the winners easier. For those unfamiliar with the Beat
the Blogger contest, the idea is simple. The Blogger posts 10 matchups each
week and then selects his choices for the winners of those matchups. Contestants enter
the Beat the Blogger contest by clicking on the “Comment” section below the post with
the matchups and then select their own 10 winners.

You can also designate one of your picks as a “Doubler” and you will receive an extra
point if you’re correct so don’t forget to designate your “Doubler” pick and increase
your chances of winning. If you Beat The Blogger’s total and post the high
score for the week, you win. The regular weekly prize is an authentic signed 8-by-10
color photo of stars such as LaDainian Tomlinson, Drew Brees, Marshall Faulk, Santonio
Holmes, Gale Sayers, Catfish Hunter and many more. From time to time, the Blogger
will sweeten the pot for the weekly contest so look for special prize packages.

This week’s matchups with Blogger’s picks in parenthesis
Nov. 7

NFL Regular Season
Tampa Bay at Atlanta (Atlanta)
Chicago at Buffalo (Chicago)
NY Jets at Detroit (NY Jets)(Doubler)
Miami at Baltimore (Baltimore)
San Diego at Houston (Houston)
Arizona at Minnesota (Minnesota)
NY Giants at Seattle (NY Giants)
Indianapolis at Philadelphia (Philadelphia)
Kansas City at Oakland (Oakland)
Dallas at Green Bay (Green Bay)

Tiebreaker: Total yards passing for Aaron Rodgers (Green Bay): (337)

Be sure to check out our other blogs and videos:
7th Inning Stretch

http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/


Bustin’ Wax

http://blog.tuffstuff.com/bustinwax/


For Pricing information, check out these sports price guides
http://www.tuffstuff.com/priceguides/



Check out our sports-related books
http://shop.collect.com/category/sports-cards

Continue reading about Beat the Blogger Matchups »

Despite some upsets in the NFL last week, picking the winners was no problem for one Beat
the Blogger contestant. Eddie “Onions” Weiss picked all 10 winners and
added his doubler for a perfect score of 11 to easily win last week’s Beat the
Blogger contest.

This week’s matchups will be posted soon so Play Beat the Blogger and spread
the word to your friends and co-workers. Simply copy and paste this link http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/

Copy and paste our link and send it to your friends on Facebook, Twitter and anywhere
else so they can be a part of the action and we can boost our total list of contestants, http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/

Copy and paste our link and send it to your friends so they can be a part of the action, http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/ This
week’s winners are posted below so check to see how you fared against the field. While
I enjoy giving prizes to several people vs. having just one weekly winner, from this
point forward contestants will be asked to provide a tie-breaker on the week’s last
game so we narrow our winner down to one. Contestants will now be asked to predict
the total score from the last game on the list and the closest to the actual score
will be deemed the winner).

I’ll also require contestants to post their e-mail address with their picks so I can
track down the winners easier. For those unfamiliar with the Beat
the Blogger contest, the idea is simple. The Blogger posts 10 matchups each
week and then selects his choices for the winners of those matchups. Contestants enter
the Beat the Blogger contest by clicking on the “Comment” section below the post with
the matchups and then select their own 10 winners.

You can also designate one of your picks as a “Doubler” and you will receive an extra
point if you’re correct so don’t forget to designate your “Doubler” pick and increase
your chances of winning. If you Beat The Blogger’s total and post the high
score for the week, you win. The regular weekly prize is an authentic signed 8-by-10
color photo of stars such as LaDainian Tomlinson, Drew Brees, Marshall Faulk, Santonio
Holmes, Gale Sayers, Catfish Hunter and many more. From time to time, the Blogger
will sweeten the pot for the weekly contest so look for special prize packages.

This week’s matchups with winning picks in parenthesis
Oct. 31

NFL Regular Season
Washington at Detroit (Detroit)
Miami at Cincinnati (Miami)
Carolina at St. Louis (St. Louis)
Denver at San Francisco (San Francisco)
Green Bay at NY Jets (Green Bay)
Tennessee at San Diego (San Diego)
Tampa Bay at Arizona (Tampa Bay)
Minnesota at New England (New England)
Seattle at Oakland (Oakland)
Pittsburgh at New Orleans (New Orleans)

Tiebreaker: Total yards passing for Drew Brees (New Orleans): (305)

Be sure to check out our other blogs and videos:
7th Inning Stretch

http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/


Bustin’ Wax

http://blog.tuffstuff.com/bustinwax/


For Pricing information, check out these sports price guides
http://www.tuffstuff.com/priceguides/



Check out our sports-related books
http://shop.collect.com/category/sports-cards

Continue reading about Beat the Blogger Results »

The Blogger struggled a total of 6 this week but it likely wouldn’t have mattered, as a slew of players were far superior. Peter,
Julie, John Karbowski and Matt Gilman also posted scores of 9 and missed the tiebreaker
by just one to tie for the top spot in last week’s Beat the Blogger contest

This week’s matchups ARE NOW POSTED BELOW so Play Beat the Blogger and spread
the word to your friends and co-workers. Simply copy and paste this link http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/

Copy and paste our link and send it to your friends on Facebook, Twitter and anywhere
else so they can be a part of the action and we can boost our total list of contestants, http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/

Copy and paste our link and send it to your friends so they can be a part of the action, http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/ This
week’s winners are posted below so check to see how you fared against the field. While
I enjoy giving prizes to several people vs. having just one weekly winner, from this
point forward contestants will be asked to provide a tie-breaker on the week’s last
game so we narrow our winner down to one. Contestants will now be asked to predict
the total score from the last game on the list and the closest to the actual score
will be deemed the winner).

I’ll also require contestants to post their e-mail address with their picks so I can
track down the winners easier. For those unfamiliar with the Beat
the Blogger contest, the idea is simple. The Blogger posts 10 matchups each
week and then selects his choices for the winners of those matchups. Contestants enter
the Beat the Blogger contest by clicking on the “Comment” section below the post with
the matchups and then select their own 10 winners.

You can also designate one of your picks as a “Doubler” and you will receive an extra
point if you’re correct so don’t forget to designate your “Doubler” pick and increase
your chances of winning. If you Beat The Blogger’s total and post the high
score for the week, you win. The regular weekly prize is an authentic signed 8-by-10
color photo of stars such as LaDainian Tomlinson, Drew Brees, Marshall Faulk, Santonio
Holmes, Gale Sayers, Catfish Hunter and many more. From time to time, the Blogger
will sweeten the pot for the weekly contest so look for special prize packages.

This week’s matchups with Blogger’s picks in parenthesis
Oct. 31

NFL Regular Season
Washington at Detroit (Detroit)
Miami at Cincinnati (Cincinnati)
Carolina at St. Louis (St. Louis)
Denver at San Francisco (Denver)(Doubler)
Green Bay at NY Jets (Jets)
Tennessee at San Diego (Tennessee)
Tampa Bay at Arizona (Tampa Bay)
Minnesota at New England (New England)
Seattle at Oakland (Seattle)
Pittsburgh at New Orleans (New Orleans)

Tiebreaker: Total yards passing for Drew Brees (New Orleans): (289)

Be sure to check out our other blogs and videos:
7th Inning Stretch

http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/


Bustin’ Wax

http://blog.tuffstuff.com/bustinwax/


For Pricing information, check out these sports price guides
http://www.tuffstuff.com/priceguides/



Check out our sports-related books
http://shop.collect.com/category/sports-cards

Continue reading about Beat the Blogger Results/Matchups »

Beat
the Blogger Results

The Blogger finally put up a respectable total, connecting on 8 of 10 picks
and hitting the doubler for a total of 9. Unfortunately for the Blogger it was good
enough to hold off Emily who scored 10 to win last week’s prize in the Beat
the Blogger contest.

This week’s matchups ARE NOW POSTED BELOW so Play Beat the Blogger and spread
the word to your friends and co-workers. Simply copy and paste this link http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/

Copy and paste our link and send it to your friends on Facebook, Twitter and anywhere
else so they can be a part of the action and we can boost our total list of contestants, http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/

Copy and paste our link and send it to your friends so they can be a part of the action, http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/ This
week’s winners are posted below so check to see how you fared against the field. While
I enjoy giving prizes to several people vs. having just one weekly winner, from this
point forward contestants will be asked to provide a tie-breaker on the week’s last
game so we narrow our winner down to one. Contestants will now be asked to predict
the total score from the last game on the list and the closest to the actual score
will be deemed the winner).

I’ll also require contestants to post their e-mail address with their picks so I can
track down the winners easier. For those unfamiliar with the Beat
the Blogger contest, the idea is simple. The Blogger posts 10 matchups each
week and then selects his choices for the winners of those matchups. Contestants enter
the Beat the Blogger contest by clicking on the “Comment” section below the post with
the matchups and then select their own 10 winners.

You can also designate one of your picks as a “Doubler” and you will receive an extra
point if you’re correct so don’t forget to designate your “Doubler” pick and increase
your chances of winning. If you Beat The Blogger’s total and post the high
score for the week, you win. The regular weekly prize is an authentic signed 8-by-10
color photo of stars such as LaDainian Tomlinson, Drew Brees, Marshall Faulk, Santonio
Holmes, Gale Sayers, Catfish Hunter and many more. From time to time, the Blogger
will sweeten the pot for the weekly contest so look for special prize packages.

This week’s matchups with Blogger’s picks in parenthesis
Oct. 24

NFL Regular Season
San Francisco at Carolina (San Francisco)
St. Louis at Tampa Bay (Tampa Bay)
Pittsburgh at Miami (Pittsburgh)
Philadelphia at Tennessee (Tennessee)
Jacksonville at Kansas City (Kansas City)
Washington at Chicago (Chicago)
Cincinnati at Atlanta (Cincinnati)
Arizona at Seattle (Arizona)
New England at San Diego (New England)
Minnesota at Green Bay (Minnesota) (Doubler)

Tiebreaker: Total points in Indianapolis-Washington game: (48)

Be sure to check out our other blogs and videos:
7th Inning Stretch

http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/


Bustin’ Wax

http://blog.tuffstuff.com/bustinwax/


For Pricing information, check out these sports price guides
http://www.tuffstuff.com/priceguides/



Check out our sports-related books
http://shop.collect.com/category/sports-cards

Continue reading about Beat the Blogger Matchups »

The Blogger finally put up a respectable total, connecting on 8 of 10 picks
and hitting the doubler for a total of 9. Unfortunately for the Blogger it was good
enough to hold off Emily who scored 10 to win last week’s prize in the Beat
the Blogger contest.

This week’s matchups will be posted Monday p.m. so Play Beat the Blogger and
spread the word to your friends and co-workers. Simply copy and paste this link http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/

Copy and paste our link and send it to your friends on Facebook, Twitter and anywhere
else so they can be a part of the action and we can boost our total list of contestants, http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/

Copy and paste our link and send it to your friends so they can be a part of the action, http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/ This
week’s winners are posted below so check to see how you fared against the field. While
I enjoy giving prizes to several people vs. having just one weekly winner, from this
point forward contestants will be asked to provide a tie-breaker on the week’s last
game so we narrow our winner down to one. Contestants will now be asked to predict
the total score from the last game on the list and the closest to the actual score
will be deemed the winner).

I’ll also require contestants to post their e-mail address with their picks so I can
track down the winners easier. For those unfamiliar with the Beat
the Blogger contest, the idea is simple. The Blogger posts 10 matchups each
week and then selects his choices for the winners of those matchups. Contestants enter
the Beat the Blogger contest by clicking on the “Comment” section below the post with
the matchups and then select their own 10 winners.

You can also designate one of your picks as a “Doubler” and you will receive an extra
point if you’re correct so don’t forget to designate your “Doubler” pick and increase
your chances of winning. If you Beat The Blogger’s total and post the high
score for the week, you win. The regular weekly prize is an authentic signed 8-by-10
color photo of stars such as LaDainian Tomlinson, Drew Brees, Marshall Faulk, Santonio
Holmes, Gale Sayers, Catfish Hunter and many more. From time to time, the Blogger
will sweeten the pot for the weekly contest so look for special prize packages.

This week’s matchups with winning picks in parenthesis
Oct. 17

NFL Regular Season
Seattle at Chicago (Seattle)
Miami at Green Bay (Miami)
Detroit at NY Giants (NY Giants)
Baltimore at New England (New England)
New Orleans at Tampa Bay (New Orleans)

Atlanta at Philadelphia (Philadelphia)
Kansas City at Houston (Houston)
Oakland at San Francisco (San Francisco)
Dallas at Minnesota (Minnesota)
Indianapolis at Washington (Indianapolis)

Tiebreaker: Total points in Indianapolis-Washington game: (51)

Be sure to check out our other blogs and videos:
7th Inning Stretch

http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/


Bustin’ Wax

http://blog.tuffstuff.com/bustinwax/


For Pricing information, check out these sports price guides
http://www.tuffstuff.com/priceguides/



Check out our sports-related books
http://shop.collect.com/category/sports-cards

Continue reading about Beat the Blogger Results »

With a ton of upsets in the NFL last week it didn’t take much to Beat the Blogger and
to beat the field for that matter. Despite a record-low total of 7, Keith McManus walks
away with the weekly prize by virtue of nailing the tiebreaker right on the head.

This week’s matchups are now posted so Play Beat the Blogger and spread the
word to your friends and co-workers. Simply copy and paste this link http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/

Copy and paste our link and send it to your friends on Facebook, Twitter and anywhere
else so they can be a part of the action and we can boost our total list of contestants, http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/

Copy and paste our link and send it to your friends so they can be a part of the action, http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/ This
week’s winners are posted below so check to see how you fared against the field. While
I enjoy giving prizes to several people vs. having just one weekly winner, from this
point forward contestants will be asked to provide a tie-breaker on the week’s last
game so we narrow our winner down to one. Contestants will now be asked to predict
the total score from the last game on the list and the closest to the actual score
will be deemed the winner).

I’ll also require contestants to post their e-mail address with their picks so I can
track down the winners easier. For those unfamiliar with the Beat
the Blogger contest, the idea is simple. The Blogger posts 10 matchups each
week and then selects his choices for the winners of those matchups. Contestants enter
the Beat the Blogger contest by clicking on the “Comment” section below the post with
the matchups and then select their own 10 winners.

You can also designate one of your picks as a “Doubler” and you will receive an extra
point if you’re correct so don’t forget to designate your “Doubler” pick and increase
your chances of winning. If you Beat The Blogger’s total and post the high
score for the week, you win. The regular weekly prize is an authentic signed 8-by-10
color photo of stars such as LaDainian Tomlinson, Drew Brees, Marshall Faulk, Santonio
Holmes, Gale Sayers, Catfish Hunter and many more. From time to time, the Blogger
will sweeten the pot for the weekly contest so look for special prize packages.

This week’s matchups with Blogger’s picks in parenthesis
Oct. 17

NFL Regular Season
Seattle at Chicago (Chicago)
Miami at Green Bay (Miami)
Detroit at NY Giants (NY Giants)
Baltimore at New England (New England)
New Orleans at Tampa Bay (New Orleans) (Doubler)
Atlanta at Philadelphia (Philadelphia)
Kansas City at Houston (Houston)
Oakland at San Francisco (San Francisco)
Dallas at Minnesota (Dallas)
Indianapolis at Washington (Indianapolis)

Tiebreaker: Total points in Indianapolis-Washington game: (45)

Be sure to check out our other blogs and videos:
7th Inning Stretch

http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/


Bustin’ Wax

http://blog.tuffstuff.com/bustinwax/


For Pricing information, check out these sports price guides
http://www.tuffstuff.com/priceguides/



Check out our sports-related books
http://shop.collect.com/category/sports-cards

Continue reading about Beat the Blogger Matchups »

Here’s a shocker. Apparently sports agents who cater to the top
football athletes who are months away from a financial windfall in the
NFL, are paying players. Really? Unbelievable. Other recent newsflashes
worth noting include: Brett Favre will soon be trading the Tempurpedic
Foam bed he used to share with Deanna for a comfy couch in the garage
and Randy Moss catches the football better than he throws it.

From the world of Duh comes a former sports agent telling Sports Illustrated he
paid college football players early in his career, and several of them confirmed it
to the magazine. In the Oct. 18 edition, Josh Luchs said he paid more than 30 players
from 1990 to ’96, including many who didn’t sign with him. Is there really anybody
out there that is naive enough to believe this is something new? I hope not because
paying amateur athletes is as old as the currency being exchanged.

Whether its concert tickets, video game consoles, restaurant gift certificates, gas
cards, cars, rent or whatever, the top athletes at the top universities having been
“taken care” of for decades. It just makes me wonder why this startling admission
from an agent is receiving so much attention. I truly thought this was common knowledge.

The only real news to come out of this story was that despite the agent admitting
and documenting what he gave each former college athlete, several of the now-Pro athletes
are still sticking to their stories and denying any wrong doing. If this long-standing
tradition/problem is to ever be cured, stories like this are the first step in the
clean-up process and cooperation from the former athletes is a must.

Because I was apparently mistaken in my belief everyone knew of this practice, I would
say the more admissions like this the better. That way we can educate those who have
been sticking their heads in the sand for years in an MLB/Steroids issue kinda way.
Perhaps, once the general public fully comprehends the depth of the situation, we
can start implementing stiffer penalties for all of those who don’t follow the rules.

Others argue that paying all of the student-athletes would solve the problem but the
cash-cow universities won’t allow that to happen any time soon so don’t hold your
breath on that one.

The most logical suggestion to solving the problem I heard tossed around is allowing
the athletes to basically continue their current relationships with agents except
do everything above board. Meaning, instead of accepting gifts and cash from their
agents and later refunding the payments when they start cashing their checks as professionals,
they can do so without fear of any future legal entanglements.

Why doesn’t the NCAA and the Universities work on on a student loan-like system in
which athletes can sign a binding contract to borrow money legally from agents with
the agreement that they will pay it back when they turn pro. That way, the can’t-miss
pro prospects can continue to drive Hummers, live in off-campus lofts and eat and
drink the best food and beverages without having to sneak around to do it.

Let’s face it, these top amateur athletes generate millions of dollars for their universities
in ticket and memorabilia sales so why not let them roll the dice and sign their future
away legally if they decide to? It has to be better than the current system of back-alley
payouts and millions of others living in denial.

Continue reading about Agents Paying Student-Athletes, That’s Not New »

With a ton of upsets in the NFL last week it didn’t take much to Beat the Blogger and
to beat the field for that matter. Despite a record-low total of 7, Keith McManus walks
away with the weekly prize by virtue of nailing the tiebreaker right on the head.

This week’s matchups will be posted Tuesday so Play Beat the Blogger and spread
the word to your friends and co-workers. Simply copy and paste this link http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/

Copy and paste our link and send it to your friends on Facebook, Twitter and anywhere
else so they can be a part of the action and we can boost our total list of contestants, http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/

Copy and paste our link and send it to your friends so they can be a part of the action, http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/ This
week’s winners are posted below so check to see how you fared against the field. While
I enjoy giving prizes to several people vs. having just one weekly winner, from this
point forward contestants will be asked to provide a tie-breaker on the week’s last
game so we narrow our winner down to one. Contestants will now be asked to predict
the total score from the last game on the list and the closest to the actual score
will be deemed the winner).

I’ll also require contestants to post their e-mail address with their picks so I can
track down the winners easier. For those unfamiliar with the Beat
the Blogger contest, the idea is simple. The Blogger posts 10 matchups each
week and then selects his choices for the winners of those matchups. Contestants enter
the Beat the Blogger contest by clicking on the “Comment” section below the post with
the matchups and then select their own 10 winners.

You can also designate one of your picks as a “Doubler” and you will receive an extra
point if you’re correct so don’t forget to designate your “Doubler” pick and increase
your chances of winning. If you Beat The Blogger’s total and post the high
score for the week, you win. The regular weekly prize is an authentic signed 8-by-10
color photo of stars such as LaDainian Tomlinson, Drew Brees, Marshall Faulk, Santonio
Holmes, Gale Sayers, Catfish Hunter and many more. From time to time, the Blogger
will sweeten the pot for the weekly contest so look for special prize packages.

This week’s matchups with winning picks in parenthesis
Oct. 10

NFL Regular Season
Jacksonville at Buffalo (Jacksonville)
Tampa Bay at Cincinnati (Tampa Bay)
Kansas City at Indianapolis (Indianapolis)
St. Louis at Detroit (Detroit)
Chicago at Carolina (Chicago)
Green Bay at Washington (Washington)
NY Giants at Houston (NY Giants)
New Orleans at Arizona (Arizona)
Tennessee at Dallas (Tennessee)
Philadelphia at San Francisco (Philadelphia)
Tiebreaker: Total points in Philadelphia-San Francisco game: (51)

Be sure to check out our other blogs and videos:
7th Inning Stretch

http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/


Bustin’ Wax

http://blog.tuffstuff.com/bustinwax/


For Pricing information, check out these sports price guides
http://www.tuffstuff.com/priceguides/



Check out our sports-related books
http://shop.collect.com/category/sports-cards

Continue reading about Beat the Blogger Results »

Even if you’re not one of the millions to actually play Fantasy
Football, you’ve undoubtedly encountered the affects of it. It’s become
so big these days that there really is no where to hide from it.

Anybody who works in an office or basically anybody who ever ventures out of their
house from time to time has run into one of the Fantasy Football guys described below.
They come in all shapes and sizes and the all have a different type of personality
depending on their experience in playing the game.

I’ve been playing myself since 1991 and during that time the “game” has evolved from
a small niche to a billion-dollar business which has spawned a whole new breed of
players. Depending on your own level of experience playing, you’ve likely come across
or have morphed into one of these guys yourself. I’ve done my best to try and avoid
the transformation myself but I will admit I’ve likely taken on the personality of
each and every one of them during my 19 seasons. After several years of counseling,
I think I’m much better now.

If you play, you might recognize the descriptions that follow and see a little of
yourself in each and every one them. If you don’t play, you might at least understand
your co-workers better and identify which definition fits which person best. For those
who play the game and you see yourself identifying with two or more of these personality
types, get some help would ya? You’re annoying everyone around you.

Fantasy Football Personality Types

(not in order of annoyance)

1. 12-League Know-It-All Guy: This is the guy who joins way too many
leagues with the idea that if he joins a dozen leagues he’s bound to win one of them.
Unfortunately for anybody playing in more than two leagues, he’ll undoubtedly be cheering
for several players on Sunday only to find out those same players are costing him
the victory in one of his other leagues. Remember, just like girlfriends after the
age of 30, it’s quality over quantity that you’re looking for here. Join a league
or two and enjoy. Any more than that and you’ll drain every ounce of fun out of your
Sunday afternoons.
2. Woe-Is-Me Guy: This is the guy who feels he would win every league
he enters if he could just avoid injuries. Newsflash buddy: the NFL has major injuries
every year on every teams. Get used to it and stop your whining.
3. Luck-Be-A-Lady-Tonight Guy: This guys insists that Fantasy Football is all
luck when his team comes up short but also insists he’s a genius when his squad comes
out on top. Can’t have it both ways people. Fact is you need to be lucky to win any
Fantasy sport you play (see No. 2).
4. Jeckyl-and-Hyde Guy: This is the guy who wants to talk about nothing but
his Fantasy team when he wins on any particular week but then pretends to be more
interested in the yard work he got done over the weekend when he comes up short. Are
you a fanatic or are you in the league to make some new friends and talk about your
gardening prowess? Pick one and stick with it would ya?
5. Waiver-Wire Wonder Guy: This is the guy who makes five transaction pick-ups
10 minutes after your draft ends and doesn’t stop working the waiver wire until the
offseason. He’s constantly making pick-ups and exchanging his tight ends each week
based on their matchups. And if your league charges for transactions made, he typically
ends up “winning” $100 for finishing in 2nd place but owes $75 for his transaction
fees, effectively killing his profit margin.
6. Curious George Guy: This is the guy who professes to be a fantasy veteran
with mad skills but yet he comes to your for advice before he makes any of his moves,
whether it’s who to play from week to week or if a trade makes sense. And the funniest
part of it is, he typically disguises his numerous queries by saying, “Just curious,
what would you do?” “Yeah, that’s what I was gonna do, too.” Think it through and
pull the trigger would ya? I got my own team to worry about.
7. It’s-Not-A-Lie-If-You-Believe-It Guy: There is one of these guys
in every office. The guy who tells you so much about his team that you eventually
know it better than your own whether you want to or not. During the course of you
getting to know his squad you can get a pretty good sense of how this team is doing
from week to week. But yet to help himself feel better about his pathetic squad he
starts to be bend the truth a bit about his weekly results. Then when you question
how he can be stacking up the “Ws” week after week with half his squad on Injured
Reserve, he says something to the effect of “he pulled out another close one” or “It’s
a good thing the team I was playing sucked more than mine.” Whatever helps you sleep
buddy. It’s fantasy football, not life or death. No need to lie about it.
8. Originally Slim-Shady Guy: This is the guy who tries to trade you his back-up
kicker for Peyton Manning every year. You know the guy, the one that offers a pile
of garbage and then starts rattling off stats of why you’ll enjoy that same garbage
and how much he’ll miss having that garbage guy on his team. He hits up every owner
of every team in the league spewing his non-sense trades until all his phone calls
are screened, his emails go straight to the trash and he’s “unfriended” by every one
of them on Facebook. Time for you to find 11 grandma’s who want to join a league so
you can start ripping them off because nobody’s buying what you’re selling.

Beware of all of these guys and especially be afraid of the guy who possesses all
of these traits. They’re killing Fantasy Football as we know it.

Continue reading about The Many Faces Of Today’s Fantasy Football Owner »

A few upsets along the way made it quite an interesting Beat the Blogger contest
this past week. When the smoke cleared two players managed to post scores of 9 but
it was Joann K winning the prize by virtue of her tiebreaker. The Blogger posted
a respectable total of 7 and is do for a breakout week so bring your A-Game this week.
This week’s matchups are now posted so get your picks posted and tell your friends

This week’s picks ARE POSTED BELOW so Play Beat the Blogger and spread the
word to your friends and co-workers. Simply copy and paste this link http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/

Copy and paste our link and send it to your friends on Facebook, Twitter and anywhere
else so they can be a part of the action and we can boost our total list of contestants, http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/

Copy and paste our link and send it to your friends so they can be a part of the action, http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/ This
week’s winners are posted below so check to see how you fared against the field. While
I enjoy giving prizes to several people vs. having just one weekly winner, from this
point forward contestants will be asked to provide a tie-breaker on the week’s last
game so we narrow our winner down to one. Contestants will now be asked to predict
the total score from the last game on the list and the closest to the actual score
will be deemed the winner).

I’ll also require contestants to post their e-mail address with their picks so I can
track down the winners easier. For those unfamiliar with the Beat
the Blogger contest, the idea is simple. The Blogger posts 10 matchups each
week and then selects his choices for the winners of those matchups. Contestants enter
the Beat the Blogger contest by clicking on the “Comment” section below the post with
the matchups and then select their own 10 winners.

You can also designate one of your picks as a “Doubler” and you will receive an extra
point if you’re correct so don’t forget to designate your “Doubler” pick and increase
your chances of winning. If you Beat The Blogger’s total and post the high
score for the week, you win. The regular weekly prize is an authentic signed 8-by-10
color photo of stars such as LaDainian Tomlinson, Drew Brees, Marshall Faulk, Santonio
Holmes, Gale Sayers, Catfish Hunter and many more. From time to time, the Blogger
will sweeten the pot for the weekly contest so look for special prize packages.

This week’s matchups with Blogger’s picks in parenthesis
Oct. 10

NFL Regular Season
Jacksonville at Buffalo (Buffalo)
Tampa Bay at Cincinnati (Cincinnati)
Kansas City at Indianapolis (Indianapolis) (Doubler)
St. Louis at Detroit (Detroit)
Chicago at Carolina (Chicago)
Green Bay at Washington (Green Bay)
NY Giants at Houston (Houston)
New Orleans at Arizona (New Orleans)
Tennessee at Dallas (Dallas)
Philadelphia at San Francisco (San Fransisco)
Tiebreaker: Total points in Philadelphia-San Francisco game: (44)

Be sure to check out our other blogs and videos:
7th Inning Stretch

http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/


Bustin’ Wax

http://blog.tuffstuff.com/bustinwax/


For Pricing information, check out these sports price guides
http://www.tuffstuff.com/priceguides/



Check out our sports-related books
http://shop.collect.com/category/sports-cards

Continue reading about Beat the Blogger Matchups »

A few upsets along the way made it quite an interesting Beat the Blogger contest
this past week. When the smoke cleared two players managed to post scores of 9 but
it was Joann K winning the prize by virtue of her tiebreaker. The Blogger posted
a respectable total of 7 and is do for a breakout week so bring your A-Game this week.
This week’s matchups will be posted later today so get your picks posted and tell
your friends

This week’s picks will be posted later on Monday so Play Beat the Blogger and
spread the word to your friends and co-workers. Simply copy and paste this link http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/

Copy and paste our link and send it to your friends on Facebook, Twitter and anywhere
else so they can be a part of the action and we can boost our total list of contestants, http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/

Copy and paste our link and send it to your friends so they can be a part of the action, http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/ This
week’s winners are posted below so check to see how you fared against the field. While
I enjoy giving prizes to several people vs. having just one weekly winner, from this
point forward contestants will be asked to provide a tie-breaker on the week’s last
game so we narrow our winner down to one. Contestants will now be asked to predict
the total score from the last game on the list and the closest to the actual score
will be deemed the winner).

I’ll also require contestants to post their e-mail address with their picks so I can
track down the winners easier. For those unfamiliar with the Beat
the Blogger contest, the idea is simple. The Blogger posts 10 matchups each
week and then selects his choices for the winners of those matchups. Contestants enter
the Beat the Blogger contest by clicking on the “Comment” section below the post with
the matchups and then select their own 10 winners.

You can also designate one of your picks as a “Doubler” and you will receive an extra
point if you’re correct so don’t forget to designate your “Doubler” pick and increase
your chances of winning. If you Beat The Blogger’s total and post the high
score for the week, you win. The regular weekly prize is an authentic signed 8-by-10
color photo of stars such as LaDainian Tomlinson, Drew Brees, Marshall Faulk, Santonio
Holmes, Gale Sayers, Catfish Hunter and many more. From time to time, the Blogger
will sweeten the pot for the weekly contest so look for special prize packages.

This week’s matchups with winning picks in parenthesis
Oct. 3

NFL Regular Season
San Francisco at Atlanta (Atlanta)
Seattle at St. Louis (St. Louis)
Denver at Tennessee (Denver)
Baltimore at Pittsburgh (Baltimore)
Carolina at New Orleans (New Orleans)

NY Jets at Buffalo (NY Jets)
Cincinnati at Cleveland (Cleveland)
Houston at Oakland (Houston)
Washington at Philadelphia (Washington)
Chicago at NY Giants (NY Giants)

Tiebreaker: Total points in Chicago-NY Giants game: 20

Be sure to check out our other blogs and videos:
7th Inning Stretch

http://blog.tuffstuff.com/7thinning/


Bustin’ Wax

http://blog.tuffstuff.com/bustinwax/


For Pricing information, check out these sports price guides
http://www.tuffstuff.com/priceguides/



Check out our sports-related books
http://shop.collect.com/category/sports-cards

Continue reading about Beat the Blogger Results »