Happy Monday and a very happy Halloween to you all! I hope everyone enjoyed a fun filled weekend with plenty of Halloween festivities. While we were all dressing up and getting into the holiday spirit, there was a great weekend in sports going on.

We’ll start this week’s “Weekend Recap” in Chicago, where the World Series literally stole the spotlight from the NFL. The Fall Classic is certainly living up to its moniker, as this has been a tight and tense series to this point. Games 3 and 5 looked and felt like World Series baseball, where every pitch and at-bat mattered. This Chicago story though, is being upstaged by the Cinderella run of the Cleveland Indians.

Much of the media attention with this World Series has centered on the Cubs trying to break the 108-year championship-less drought. The Cleveland Indians look like a team playing with nothing to lose with a manager who can’t seem to make a tactical error. The Cubs on the other hand, have looked like a team that feels the pressure to win.

Of course, this series is not over though. In baseball they say that the last three outs are the hardest to get, well the same could be said about finishing off a series too. This last win could be tough to get for the Indians. Chicago gets Jake Arrieta and Kyle Hendricks pitching in Game 6 and Game 7 respectively, which is certainly to their advantage.

Prior to this series I picked the Cubs to win in 6, and obviously that’s not going to happen, although I think we could be in for something special here. I’m pulling for a Game 7 in the worst way now, and not because I want the Cubs to win. The MLB needs a Game 7 from Cleveland on Wednesday night.

Baseball has definitely taken a back seat to the NFL and NBA in recent years. Last night, a World Series game beat Sunday Night Football in the ratings for the first time in five years. That speaks volumes about the mainstream appeal of this matchup and the stories behind these two teams.

I will be the first one to tell you, the two best words in all of sports are “Game Seven.” A game for all of the marbles between these two teams could produce a classic that we will be talking about for years to come.

It’s not often that the NFL will play second fiddle to anything in popular culture, but rightfully football took a backseat this weekend to the World Series. That doesn’t mean that nothing great happened yesterday though. I’ll get more into the bigger picture of Week 8 tomorrow, but for now I’ll touch on a couple of things that caught my attention yesterday.

There was a ton of “free football” yesterday with three games needing overtime to come to a conclusion. London got its first taste of NFL overtime between the Bengals and Redskins. Unfortunately though, those fans watched as both teams mucked up the overtime period and the game ended in a tie (much to the surprise of Washington coach Jay Gruden, who just found out about ties last week). Somehow, there has now been a tie in back-to-back weeks for the first time in almost two decades.

Some analysts have been calling for changes to the overtime rules, but honestly that kind of talk is nonsense. Ties are a part of the game in the NFL, hell, just a few years ago Philadelphia tied a game that ended up helping them make the playoffs and they came a few plays short of making the Super Bowl.

The second overtime game of the day between Oakland and Tampa Bay looked destined for the same result after Sebastian Janikowski missed his second 50-yard field goal of the game. However with just over a minute left in overtime, Derek Carr connected with Seth Roberts, who broke away from two colliding defenders, on a 44-yard touchdown pass to win the game for Oakland. The Raiders stayed undefeated on the road, and kept pace with the defending champion Broncos in the AFC West.

For the second straight week the Sunday night game went to overtime. Philadelphia blew a ten-point fourth quarter lead, which led to the third overtime game of the day. Dallas won the toss and marched down the field capped off by Dak Prescott turning a broken play into the game-winner. A huge comeback win for the Cowboys now cements them atop the NFC East with a two-game lead over the Eagles and Giants, who will play each other next week.

Let’s quickly shift our focus tonight’s game between the Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears. Minnesota is coming off of a tough loss in Philadelphia last week and Chicago is in the wrong place at the wrong time. Mike Zimmer ripped his team after the loss to the Eagles and I expect this team to come out tonight with something to prove.

Chicago may get back Jay Cutler tonight, which is an improvement over third-string QB Matt Barkley, but even that won’t be enough to beat this Minnesota defense, which I have said many time this year is up there with the likes of Denver’s defense.

The Bears just don’t have enough on either side of the ball to beat the Vikings tonight; I just can’t envision a scenario where they win. Fittingly this game is taking place on Halloween because this game could resemble the worst parts of a slasher film. Give me the Vikings (-5) to cap off a great week for my NFL picks (currently 8-4 for this week).

That’s it for me today, I hope you all have a fun and safe Halloween. I’ll be back tomorrow with “No Huddle” to go through all of Week 8. Stay tuned to Shooting the Moon all week for everything in the sports world. It’s the most wonderful time of the year with all four major sports going strong right now. Follow me on Twitter @thereal_jmooney and go like the Shooting the Moon page on Facebook.

I swear it feels like once the summer is over the weeks go by faster. Cannot believe it is Thursday already. As always for the Thursday “No Huddle” I’ll be identifying and breaking down the best games the week has to offer, preview tonight’s primetime game, and pick every game for this week. With six teams on a bye, this is a light slate of games for Week 8.

Just because there are only 13 games this week doesn’t mean there aren’t a few great games on tap though. Truthfully most of the teams on a bye this week are boring teams to watch, with the exception of Pittsburgh, so hopefully this will up the excitement factor. There will be a few games to circle on the schedule. We’ll start with a pair of games during the 1:00 PM block of games on Sunday.

Revenge games will be a bit of a theme on Sunday as there are two divisional rematches from earlier in the year. The first one of those games takes place in upstate New York with New England traveling to take on Buffalo. The Patriots will have the opportunity to avenge its only loss of the season, a Week 4 drubbing at home against these same Bills.

There are a few differences this time around though. Tom Brady is back, Rob Gronkowski is healthy, and Lesean McCoy is likely going to miss this game. Obviously these are massive factors that will play into this game. Bill Belichick coached teams rarely lose twice to the same team in a year, so I believe that revenge factor will be a huge talking point in the Pats locker room this week. Brady is on fire and Gronk is looks like he is impossible to cover now that the Patriots are working with a full assortment of weapons on offense.

The loss of McCoy in this offense is massive as he has been one of the NFL’s best running backs this season. Buffalo may even be without backup Mike Gillislie as well. So this top rushing attack would likely turn to Reggie Bush to carry the load. The Bills defense will have to bring it’s A++ game if they want to stay in this game, otherwise Buffalo will be on the wrong end of a statement game.

Turning our attention to west Florida, there is a potential shootout in the making between Oakland and Tampa Bay. These were my two sleeper teams coming into this season and in the case of Oakland, they have more than proved themselves as legit playoff contenders. Tampa Bay is quite the wild card on a week-to-week basis, so there is a bit of intrigue surrounding this matchup.

Why do I think this could be a shootout? I’m glad you asked. Simply put, these secondaries are pretty bad. Tampa Bay ranks 13^th in the league in passing yards allowed, averaging about 250 passing yards per game. Oakland on the other hand, ranks dead last in that category averaging about 302 passing yards per game. Both of these offenses average over 250 passing yards per game, so there is a potential for these defenses to get lit up like a Christmas tree. Potentially huge games are in the works for Derek Carr, Amari Cooper, Michael Crabtree, Mike Evans, and Jameis Winston. This is one of those games that could dominate the Redzone channel during the early session.

As far as who has the edge in the game, it has to be Oakland for me. The Raiders are 4-0 in road games this year and have gotten a reputation for being a much better team away from home. Most analysts point out the “West Coast team traveling East” argument in games like this, but that doesn’t seem to apply to Oakland for some strange reason. This might be my favorite matchup of the week, although not by much.

A colossal NFC East matchup comes in as a close second for me this week. The Sunday night game between Philadelphia and Dallas should provide a much more entertaining game than we were treated to last week in primetime. Headlined by the clash of rookies Carson Wentz and Dak Prescott, there are plenty of layers to this game to sink our teeth into.

Personally, the matchup of the Dallas offense against the Philadelphia defense will be a great one to watch during the game. Dallas has the best offensive line in the league, while Philadelphia’s defensive line is possibly the toughest test the Cowboys have faced all year. Dallas is the picture of efficiency with its offense, so in order for Philadelphia to have a chance to win they will have to keep the Cowboys off schedule and force three-and-outs.

The Eagles will also need to get this offense going when they have the ball. If Philadelphia can flip the script on Dallas and control the ball they will have a good chance in this one. Carson Wentz will certainly need to cut down on his mistakes, if he turns the ball over like he did last week the Eagles will be in a world of trouble.

Definitely keep an eye on the San Diego/Denver and Green Bay/Atlanta games in the late window on Sunday. Those are the only two games in that block, but both could be fantastic games. Also, the games get started early again this week with the final London game taking place between Washington and Cincinnati. Set your alarms and make sure to get the fantasy lineup set early.

Now let’s turn our attention to tonight’s AFC South game between Jacksonville and Tennessee. In all honesty, this is a pretty bad game on paper. Both teams reside in the NFL’s worst division and the game should resemble that type of game. This will be bad football at its finest.

Tennessee has a solid rushing attack led by Demarco Murray and I wonder how the Jags plan on slowing it down. The Titans can play some good defense on occasion and I expect them to give Jacksonville some issues in this game.

Not really much else to get into with this game so lets just get right into the picks. I’ll take the Titans (-3) tonight. Here are the rest of my picks for Week 8 (Winners in Bold).

Last Week: 7-8   2016 Season: 55-52

9:30 AM (London)

Washington vs. Cincinnati (-3)

 

1:00 PM

Kansas City (-3) vs. Indianapolis

Oakland (Even) vs. Tampa Bay

Seattle (-2.5) vs. New Orleans

Detroit (+2.5) vs. Houston

NY Jets (-2.5) vs. Cleveland

Patriots (-6.5) vs. Buffalo

Arizona (+3) vs. Carolina

 

4:05/4:25 PM

San Diego vs. Denver (-4.5)

Green Bay (+3) vs. Atlanta

 

Sunday Night Football

Philadelphia (+5) vs. Dallas

 

That’s it for me today folks, I’ll be back tomorrow with a quick NBA predictions post if I have enough time to get to it before I’m off to cover St. Joes (Hammonton) and St. Augustine tomorrow night. Follow me on Twitter @thereal_jmooney and go like the Shooting the Moon page on Facebook.

The halfway point of the fantasy season is here folks. Bye weeks are ramping up and trade deadlines are approaching. We have officially entered the dog days of the season.

It wouldn’t be another week of fantasy if there wasn’t another group of injuries to track as the week progresses. First up is the big news of the day, a second opinion on CJ Anderson’s injured knee revealed a bone bruise. This could keep him sidelined through the Broncos’ bye week in Week 11 given the “several weeks” timetable reported by NFL Network. He isn’t officially out yet but this will be a situation to keep a close eye on this week. It may be a week too late to get him on the cheap, but Devontae Booker is a must-add for all CJ Anderson owners, or if you are in need of running back help this week.

In other injury news, Tevin Coleman will likely miss Sunday’s game against the Packers. Devonta Freeman owners rejoice! One of last season’s best fantasy players will be getting his heavy workload back, for a short time at least. Now the Falcons held Freeman out of contact drills today, but it looks like this is more of a precaution to save him for a huge amount of touches this week. Terron Ward was promoted from the practice squad and must be on your radar if you own either Freeman or Coleman. An interesting note for Coleman’s injury is that if he isn’t ready for Sunday then he might miss the Thursday game Week 9 as well.

Last week I touched on the Lesean McCoy injury situation, and just when it looked like he may miss last week’s game, he amazingly was able to play. The Bills may be regretting that decision not to hold him out, because he only made his injury worse. Backup Mike Gillislie is also dealing with an injury. Keep a close eye on this running back situation this week. A clever move might be to snag Reggie Bush and monitor the news coming out of Bills’ practices.

An interesting development out of Green Bay came in the form of wide receiver Ty Montgomery. With Eddie Lacy and James Starks out for the foreseeable future, Montgomery played over 80% of his snaps lined up at running back. He played extremely well in the Thursday night game against Chicago and should see more work out of the backfield moving forward. If you are in an ESPN league, you got a very nice gift in the form of dual-eligibility for Montgomery at RB and WR. He is a must-add in free agency if available and is a guy to target in a trade if you can afford him. The dual eligibility is rare in fantasy football and will make him a one-man flex play as we head into the biggest bye weeks of the season.

Speaking of bye weeks, this is the first of the big ones. Week 8 sees Baltimore, Los Angeles, NY Giants, Miami, Pittsburgh, and San Francisco all taking a bye.

Hopefully you have all planned accordingly for these byes. Stream where you can but just looking at the teams, there are plenty of replacement options that you should have already rostered. Le’Veon Bell owners should just go back to the suspension plan they enacted at the beginning of the year. There are plenty of receivers to fill the void of Antonio Brown, Odell Beckham, and Jarvis Landry. Big Ben was already injured so just continue that back up plan.

If you are desperate at quarterback this week, go get Jameis Winston as he draws the Raiders defense this week. Oakland should have no way of stopping Mike Evans, which will make for a potentially great day for Winston.

This brings me to the matchup portion of my Week 8 primer. So lets just get right into the best and worst matchups of the week.

Best Matchup: Oakland vs. Tampa Bay (Both teams)

I already touched briefly on the Tampa Bay portion of this game. Oakland is one of the worst passing defenses in the league and will turn this game into one hell of a shootout. The Raiders also draw a weak Tampa Bay secondary as well. The Raiders play better on the road and Derek Carr is looking like a MVP candidate. This game is worth loading up on, this has the makings of a 42-35 ballgame.

Worst Matchup: Chicago (vs. Minnesota)

New week, same answer. Just avoid Minnesota at this point you will only regret it. This defense is an automatic bye week for your players. Jay Cutler coming back doesn’t mean a thing, other than more turnovers for the Vikings to force. Alshon Jeffrey, Cameron Meredith, Zach Miller, and any Bears RB shouldn’t be in the lineup.

Good Matchup: Seattle (vs. New Orleans)

This has to be the week where Seattle turns it around right? They will be in the dome facing one of the worst defenses in the NFL. Jimmy Graham faces his former team so I would expect big numbers out of him. If New Orleans sells out on him, that could mean Doug Baldwin gets a chance to break out of his early season slump.

Tough Matchup: Indianapolis (vs. Kansas City)

T.Y. Hilton has been fantasy gold this season, along with Andrew Luck. That won’t be the case on Sunday as the Chiefs can play some serious defense. This Kansas City defense absolutely shut down Oakland a few weeks ago on the road and I expect a similar performance on Sunday. Temper expectations for your Colts this week.

Other Good Matchups: Green Bay (vs. Atlanta), Atlanta (vs. Green Bay), Cincinnati (vs. Washington), Houston (vs. Detroit), Minnesota (vs. Chicago)

Other Tough Matchups: Carolina (vs. Arizona), San Diego (vs. Denver), Buffalo (vs. New England), Detroit (vs. Houston), Cleveland (vs. NY Jets)

 That’s it for me today. I’ll be back tomorrow with a “No Huddle” breaking down the best games heading into Week 8. I may even slip a little NBA predictions post in there as well with the season tipping off yesterday. Follow me on Twitter @thereal_jmooney and go like the Shooting the Moon page on Facebook.

Week 7 got a little interesting didn’t it? A pair of upsets shocked the NFL over the weekend and began a big question across the league. Is there a truly dominant or elite team in the NFL this season, aside from New England? As we approach the midway point of the season there are a bunch of teams in contention but many of them have a fatal flaw that can be exploited.

We found out for certain that despite the dominant play of the Minnesota defense, the offense is capable of letting down the whole team. Atlanta may have a terrific offense, but a familiar problem is starting to rear its ugly head. They have a lot of trouble against a good passing game. Pittsburgh will only go as far as its health on offense will allow it. Denver is still bringing Trevor Siemian along, so if the running game falters, or sustains another injury (CJ Anderson may be out a few weeks with a bone bruise) they could be in some trouble.

I could go on and on picking apart the weak links of the upper echelon teams in the NFL. Trust me, there are plenty of problems to keep these coaches busy throughout the coming weeks. Many teams will be heading into bye weeks over the next three weeks so we’ll see what adjustments they’ll make as we move forward.

It certainly makes for a very interesting time for analysts and prognosticators as they pick the top teams in the league. As you could probably imagine, I have a few changes to make in my own power rankings this week. Plus, I’ll touch on a team that may be bringing itself back from the dead.

So let’s jump right into the mix and go over my top five teams and the watch list heading into Week 8.

(1) New England Patriots (6-1) – Last Week: 2

Well that didn’t take long for Minnesota to cede the top spot. I wasn’t lying when I said the first Minnesota loss would vault the Patriots back to the top of this list. This is clearly the best team in the NFL right now. The offense is humming with Tom Brady back at the helm and a healthy Rob Gronkowski in the fold. Defensively this team will allow some yards but scoring points is a tough task. This week New England gets a chance to avenge its only loss of the season as they travel to Buffalo to face Bills team that will likely be without Lesean McCoy, among others. If there is one thing the Pats don’t do, it’s lose twice to the same team in a season. Big revenge game on Sunday.

(2) Dallas Cowboys (5-1) – Last Week: 3

Okay hear me out on this one. Dallas is one of the most complete teams in the NFL right now. The weakness is on defense but they are able to mask it by controlling the tempo of the game with its offense. The Cowboys do this better than just about every team in the league. I brought up last week that the Cowboys are converting third downs at a ridiculous rate, and that’s normally a third and short situation. They also convert first downs on two plays more than any other team in the league. Smartly, Jerry Jones and Jason Garrett decided to keep Tony Romo on the bench and let Dak Prescott continue this amazing run he is on to start the year. I believe there is a passing of the torch in Dallas. This week will not be an easy task in a divisional game against Philadelphia. A classic matchup of the unstoppable force meeting the immovable object is forming between the Dallas offense and the Philadelphia defense. The return of Dez Bryant only adds to the intrigue of this matchup. I’ll be talking about this game more in-depth tomorrow.

(3) Minnesota Vikings (5-1) – Last Week: 1

I touched on my big takeaway for the Vikings in Week 7. Teams were bound to feast on that injured offensive line, which already had struggled prior to those injuries. This is a team built to play with a lead right now until they can get right in terms of health. Special teams miscues doomed the Vikings against the Eagles on Sunday, and those are rare to see from this team. I still think this is one of the best teams in the NFL because of this defense. They will win Minnesota a lot of games considering it only gave up 21 points in a loss (the most they have given up all season). Minnesota will have a great opportunity to get back on the winning side of things on Monday Night Football against the Bears.

(4) Seattle Seahawks (4-1-1) – Last Week: 4

Thank goodness Seattle “forced” a tie against Arizona on Sunday night. If Seattle didn’t have the Legion of Boom, that game could have gotten very ugly. Luckily, this defense showed once again why it is one of the best units in the league. The issue for me with Seattle is the inconsistent play of this offense, due in large part to the poor play of this offensive line. They couldn’t hold a block for more than two seconds against the great Arizona pass rush, which limited all aspects of this offense. The lack of improvement game-to-game on the offensive side of the ball is frightening, but this defense will continue to keep them in ball games. Seattle may have just the right remedy on the schedule this week, the New Orleans defense. This could be a huge confidence builder for a unit that desperately needs to improve. The game is in the Superdome, which will make for a tough assignment for the Legion of Boom though. Interesting matchup there.

(5) Denver Broncos (5-2) – Last Week: Watch List

Man, I really wanted to put Oakland here. I just can’t bring myself to do it. The Denver defense is just that great. As long as the Broncos have this, they will be in every game they play this season. Now, CJ Anderson may be out as a noted earlier, but Denver has the backup plan already in motion with Devontae Booker. He actually out-touched Anderson on Monday night and looked great toting the rock. The Broncos will have the opportunity to get a bit of revenge this week against the Chargers. Philip Rivers is one of the few quarterbacks to have success against this defense, but its tough to beat a good team twice in this league.

Watch List: Oakland (5-2), Kansas City (4-2), Green Bay (4-2), Pittsburgh (4-3), Philadelphia (4-2)

Okay so this is where you would usually see the Eliminator or teams that are drawing close to the ban saw. Well there is going to be a little bit of a wait and see mentality here as we go along. I already eliminated about a quarter of the league, and I think that is enough for now.

That being said I may have jumped the gun a little too fast on one team, the San Diego Chargers. This is a team that is a few bizarre bounces away from having one of the best records in the league. A disastrous start has led to a truly remarkable few weeks from the Bolts.

Philip Rivers is keeping this team in every game despite the early losses of Keenan Allen and Danny Woodhead. This receiving core, including the tight ends, still has plenty of talent for Rivers to work with. Not to mention, Melvin Gordon has clearly put his rookie struggles behind him as he leads the NFL in touchdowns (10).

Now the Chargers will most likely lose to the Broncos this week, but keep an eye on this team because they are the epitome of a “tough out” and could be playing spoiler for the remainder of the season. The AFC West is going to be a tough division to win, but San Diego could sneak into the Wild Card if things finally start going its way. The comeback upset against Atlanta was a good step in the right direction. There are loads of winnable games in the second half of the season for the Chargers, including a rematchs against Kansas City and Oakland at home. This team may be coming back from the dead before all is said and done.

Stay tuned to Shooting the Moon for “Reality of Fantasy” a little later today. Follow me on Twitter @thereal_jmooney and go like the Shooting the Moon page on Facebook.

We’ve finally made it the World Series is here. A matchup with more than 170+ years of history behind it begins tonight in Cleveland. The Indians and Cubs square off in the best-of-seven Fall Classic. Both teams and their respective fan bases have waited a long time for this.

The Indians haven’t been in the World Series since 1997 and are trying to win their first world championship since 1948. Famously, Cubs fans haven’t had it much better. Chicago is appearing in its first World Series since 1945 and trying to break a 108-year title drought.

This is a matchup so rich with all sorts of storylines that add so many dramatic layers to this edition of the Fall Classic. Interestingly enough one that has flown a little under the radar is the curse-breaking connection to the 2004 Red Sox. Terry Francona, who served in the same position on that famous Boston world championship team, manages Cleveland. The architect behind the Cubs is team president Theo Epstein, who was the general manager in Boston during that 2004 run. Twelve years after breaking the “Curse of the Bambino” both men have the opportunity to end lengthy title droughts.

Already we have the makings for a fantastic series in the storyline department, but then these teams certainly earned their right on the billing. The Cubs had the best record in baseball during the regular season, sporting one of the most talented and versatile lineups in the game. Cleveland is a blue-collar team that grinds out games with clutch hitting and a lockdown bullpen.

Let’s put these teams under the microscope and break down what we should see in a fantastic World Series matchup.

Starting Pitching

Right away you have to give the edge to the Cubs. They have two Cy Young candidates in Jon Lester and Kyle Hendricks, who have been tough to beat so far this postseason. Jake Arrieta and John Lackey follow them up in the rotation. This rotation is deep and all four of them have the ability to shut down the opposing lineup.

That isn’t to say that Cleveland has a bunch of slouches in its starting rotation. I just don’t see how they match up to Chicago. Corey Kluber is probably the best pitcher that Cleveland has at its disposal and he does have the ability to go deep into games carrying the Indians with him. He’ll need to be the difference for the Indians in this series.

Bullpen

This is a tough call, but Cleveland’s bullpen has been nearly untouchable and is the reason that they got past Toronto. The Indians get the slight edge due to the strong pitching from Andrew Miller and Cody Allen. Both of them have the ability to pitch multiple innings a night which can allow the Indians starters to only need to pitch well for a few innings and just keep them in games until the fifth or sixth inning. The Andrew Miller deal at the trade deadline will be looked at as the trade that changed the season for Cleveland.

Now, the Cubs do have some firepower coming out of its bullpen to shut the door on games. Closer Aroldis Chapman literally throws fireballs to the plate, and its tough to hit a guy that throws 103-105 mph.

A fun part of this series will be the creative ways that Terry Francona and Joe Maddon use their bullpens on a game-to-game basis. That will be a fun chess match, especially when the series is playing NL-rules in Chicago during games 3-5.

Lineup

Chalk another one up for the Cubs. This lineup is absolutely loaded from top to bottom. Anyone can be the hero on any given night. They can play small ball if they need to but can also make you pay with the long ball if they have to. Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant, both MVP candidates in the NL, are the heart and soul of this lineup. Bryant has been the consistent force while Rizzo’s bat coming alive late in the NLCS was a huge turning point in that series. The versatility of this lineup is interesting too, because multiple guys can play various positions, Joe Maddon is able to tailor the ideal lineup based on the pitching matchup.

Versatility is a calling card of the Cleveland lineup as well. Cleveland can mix and match 1-9 to play to the gameplan. Jason Kipnis and Francisco Lindor are the names to keep an eye on in this series for the Tribe.

Managers

 This one is a dead heat because both of these managers are among the best. Terry Francona always has a great feel for his team and has done one of his best jobs with a team during this run with the Indians. He has seemingly pushed all of the right buttons in every single game Cleveland has played. This team wouldn’t be here with a lesser manager despite all of the good pieces the Indians have on this team.

Across the diamond is Joe Maddon. He is arguably one of the best managers to have never won a World Series. Maddon is always thinking one or two steps ahead of the opposition and is known as the most prepared manager in the game. He is not afraid to play a matchup when he sees the opportunity to exploit one, even if that means shaking up his lineup to do so.

The game within the game between these two will be a treat to watch throughout this series.

Prediction: Cubs in 6, MVP – Kris Bryant

As much as I want to see the Cubs win the World Series in Chicago, I just don’t see the Indians going down so easily. Chicago is the better team on paper, but the Indians have what it takes to challenge the Cubs. Hot bats and a couple of gems from Lester and Hendricks will be the difference.

Enjoy the game tonight, it should be a great one. I’ll be back tomorrow with “No Huddle” and “Reality of Fantasy” breaking down Week 7 and looking ahead to Week 8. Follow me on Twitter @thereal_jmooney and go like the Shooting the Moon page on Facebook.

Happy Monday everyone, I hope you all had a fantastic weekend. As always it’s the “Weekend Recap” to catch you up on the biggest moments from the weekend. The headliner this week is an absolute doozy too. It was a lot of fun watching everything go down so let’s just get right into it.

Cubs Clinch the NL Pennant, Punch Ticket to the World Series

Folks we are witnessing something truly historic setting up in the Midwest. Perennial losers turned young powerhouse, the Chicago Cubs now sit four wins away from its first World Series title in 108 years. The scene in Chicago on Saturday night was one of pure jubilation.

Chicago has seen success in the past couple of decades. The Bulls won six titles with MJ, Phil, and Scottie in the 90’s. The ’85 Bears tore through the NFL win the Lombardi trophy. More recently the Blackhawks have been the resident dynasty of the NHL, winning three Stanley Cups since 2010. Hell, even the White Sox won a World Series about a decade ago (yes, I know those are far from Cubs fans). Not the beloved Cubbies though. No matter how far they got in the playoffs, which in itself was a small victory, they always found a way to lose in spectacular fashion.

Prior to Game 4, things were looking pretty grim in Chicago, down 2-1 after being shut out in consecutive games and most of the key players slumping badly. A familiar feeling of doom was beginning to set in. However with the sage-like Joe Maddon running the show, these Cubs regrouped and looked like the team that dominated during the regular season.

Three wins later, and here we are. Tomorrow night kicks off a Fall Classic with a ton of history on the line on both sides. Chicago’s World Series drought is well documented, but on the other side is a Cleveland franchise that hasn’t won the World Series since 1948.

I’ll be doing a full preview of the Fall Classic tomorrow but this in itself was worth talking about. It’s not often we get to witness something this historic, I’ll certainly remember where I was when the Cubs clinched the pennant.

Arizona and Seattle Battle to a Tie on Sunday Night Football

I know I usually leave the NFL talk out of the recaps, but this couldn’t be left out. Last night’s tie between the Cardinals and Seahawks may not have been a thriller the whole way through, but those last few minutes of overtime was the real shocker.

Truthfully, I may have been one of the few people to watch this one to its anti-climactic conclusion. It was like watching a NASCAR car crash, I knew I shouldn’t watch but I just couldn’t look away. Not one, but TWO missed chip-shot field goals in the final five minutes of the game forced this game to end in a tie.

If you looked at the stats, it’s even more surprising that this was the outcome. That box score screamed a two-touchdown blowout won by Arizona. Somehow, some way this ended in a tie though. Arizona will be looking back at this one the rest of the way especially if they don’t make the playoffs. Seattle truly stole one, even if they didn’t technically win.

Penn State Upsets Ohio State

Speaking of shockers, the Nittany Lions welcomed the Buckeyes into Happy Valley and sent the former #2 team in the country home with a loss. Penn State blocked a field goal and returned it for the go-ahead touchdown with about five minutes left in the game.

This was not only a huge momentum swing, but the play itself was roughly a ten-point swing in Penn State’s favor. Ohio State would have been ahead by seven had the kick been made, but instead the Buckeyes were down three in a hostile environment.

As a Rutgers alum, its tough to see Penn State win like that, but I have to give credit where it is due. That is a massive win for coach James Franklin and his program going forward. Now the Nittany Lions are ranked for the first time in five years and have put themselves in a position to be a dark horse in the race to make the Big Ten championship game.

Ohio State’s national title chances certainly take a hit, but with games against Nebraska and Michigan left on the schedule, they will still control their destiny. Games like this are college football at its finest, so kudos to Penn State for pulling this upset off.

Monday Night Football Preview

Okay so let’s move onto Monday Night Football, which features a matchup between the Houston Texans and the Denver Broncos. The big story here is the return of Brock Osweiler to Denver after leaving in free agency to take the starting QB job in Houston. That is more of a surface storyline though as Osweiler was just the backup to Peyton Manning throughout much of his time in Denver, aside from the handful of starts he got last season.

The real story for me is how the Broncos respond after suffering an upset loss ten days ago to the Chargers. These are the defending Super Bowl champions we are talking about here, so I expect them to come into this game looking to make a statement.

This would be the prime opportunity to do so on one of the biggest national stages the NFL has to offer. I said before the season that the ground is shrinking beneath the champs in the AFC West, and so far that prediction has held true. The Raiders and Chiefs are both looking great right now, and the Broncos need to keep pace. Luckily, they get a Houston team that just doesn’t seem ready to tangle with the big boys yet.

Osweiler, for all of the hype he generated coming into this season, has been quite a dud for the Texans. Despite the 4-2 record, this doesn’t look like one of the upper echelon teams in the AFC. This offense should be lighting up the scoreboard weekly but that just hasn’t been the case as they have only averaged 18 points per game.

The Broncos should be able to hold Houston’s passing game in check, which will put a ton of pressure on the Texans to dominate on the ground with Lamar Miller and generate quick-change opportunities defensively.

All told, I just don’t think the Texans have what it takes to go into Mile High and come out victorious. I’m taking the Broncos (-9) tonight to hopefully end a rough week with a victory for my game picks.

Enjoy the game tonight. I’ll be back tomorrow with a World Series preview and a shortened version of “No Huddle” to recap Week 7. It’s going to be a big week here at Shooting the Moon so stay tuned! Follow me on Twitter @thereal_jmooney and go like the Shooting the Moon page on Facebook.

Hello all, and happy Thursday to you. Today’s “No Huddle” has a few different topics to cover. I’ll be talking about the latest injury news, previewing Packers-Bears, setting up the rest of Week 7, and giving my picks against the spread to finish up.

It has certainly not been a slow news week in the NFL. Today saw more running back injuries will be affecting this week and beyond for a few teams. I said earlier in the season that injuries come in bunches in the NFL and while last Sunday didn’t see many people leave games injured, the lasting effects have been putting guys out left and right. Ben Roethlisberger looked like the only big name that would be missing significant time with a torn meniscus.

Boy did that all change within the last 24 hours. As of now, two more starting running backs will be joining Big Ben on the sidelines for the next few weeks. Bills running back Lesean McCoy left practice yesterday with a hamstring injury, and there didn’t seem to be much concern out of Buffalo. Today, it was reported that McCoy could be out for a few weeks with this hamstring injury. That is a huge hit to the red-hot rushing attack in Buffalo led by McCoy.

Just around the same time as the McCoy news came a report about Packers running back Eddie Lacy, who was already going to miss tonight’s game with an ankle injury. Well that ankle injury turned out to be much more serious than initially thought. Lacy underwent surgery to repair his injured ankle. With backup running back James Starks already injured, the Packers will be thin at running back tonight against the Bears.

The ever-developing Lacy story only added to the mess in Green Bay, going into what has become a must-win divisional game at home. To put it politely, the Packers are struggling this season. This offense just doesn’t look right and it starts with Aaron Rodgers (wow, never thought I would type that).

Opposing defenses are sitting back in coverage and are making Rodgers force passes into tight windows. You saw that last Sunday especially as Dallas forced turnovers with a three-man rush. Considering the NFL is a copycat league, I could imagine that the Bears will employ a similar strategy in order to keep Green Bay offense in check.

Lacy’s injury already did not help matters much tonight, but the surgery news is more about the long-term effect in that backfield. As far as tonight goes, the Packers are turning to practice squad call-up Don Jackson to carry the load. Don’t be surprised to see receiver Ty Montgomery work out of the backfield as well.

Defensively, Green Bay could be in a lot of trouble trying to cover Alshon Jeffrey and Cameron Meredith. The Packers secondary is depleted right now and will be missing a few starters tonight.

Now, Chicago is 1-5 for a reason. This is just not a good football team right now, despite some of the talent they have on offense. I was never a fan of this defense at the beginning of the season and I still have not seen anything to change my opinion there.

So what does all of this mean for the outcome of tonight’s game. Well it means it will probably be an ugly game, but I don’t think it means we’re going to see an upset in Lambeau tonight. Green Bay is still the better team and despite his struggles, I’ll take Aaron Rodgers over Brian Hoyer every day of the week and twice on Sundays. My pick will surprise you a bit though. I’m going to take the Bears (+7.5) but only because I don’t think the Packers will cover. This season they are 0-2-1 against the spread at home, although the Bears aren’t much better against the spread.

Now let’s breakdown some of the best games that are on the slate in Week 7. We’ll start where NFL Sunday will finish. Sunday Night Football features a great rivalry game between two of the NFC’s best teams. Arizona and Seattle square off in the first of two games that will ultimately decide the fate of the NFC West.

The Cardinals seemed to have recovered from a slow start and have fought their way back to .500. Seattle started slow as well, but was able to win when they weren’t playing their best. This will be a great matchup of two of the best defenses in the league.

I’ll be keeping an eye on the Arizona defense against the Seattle offense. This is where this game will be either won or lost in my opinion. The Seahawks lit up the Jets prior to their bye week, but aside from that they haven’t exactly been the offensive juggernaut most experts thought it could be. Arizona is a big play defense and loves to send pressure against opposing QBs. A lot is riding on the performance of Russell Wilson on Sunday night.

Elsewhere in the NFL on Sunday is another huge NFC matchup between the Minnesota Vikings and the Philadelphia Eagles. Expect there to be no love lost in the city of brotherly love as the Eagles welcome Sam Bradford back to town.

Philadelphia is riding a two-game losing streak into this game and could not have drawn a tougher matchup to try to get out of this current slide. Fletcher Cox and company will have to step up and go tit for tat with the Minnesota defense. To use a boxing analogy here, styles make fights. Points will be at a premium in this game as both defenses rank 1 and 2 in points allowed.

The battle in the trenches will likely dictate how this game will play out. The Eagles are still trying to figure out how to replace suspended right tackle Lane Johnson after allowing five sacks last week. Minnesota’s offensive line hasn’t been great this year either. This should put both defenses in control of this game and likely enhance the importance of special teams on Sunday.

Rightfully so, the experts are not giving the Eagles much of a chance, but don’t count out Philadelphia so easily.

Some other games to keep a close eye on Sunday are the Patriots-Steelers, Redskins-Lions, and Chargers-Falcons. Obviously the Patriots-Steelers would have lead the “best of” portion prior to the Big Ben injury, but this will still be an entertaining game even if there isn’t much chance the Patriots lose. Pittsburgh still has the weapons to keep things close, but I just can’t see Brady losing to Landry Jones.

Washington-Detroit could turn into a shootout on Sunday, which is a big reason I’m mentioning it here. I’ll be very interested to see if the Redskins can continue this hot streak they are on, having won four in a row after an 0-2 start.

I’m putting the Falcons on upset alert this week, despite the fact that I think they’ll be able to score on a weak San Diego secondary. After a tough loss last week to the Seahawks, there is always a chance for a let down. Don’t be shocked if the Chargers are hanging around for a while in this game.

Before I get to my game picks for this week, I just want to remind everyone that football gets started early on Sunday. The Giants-Rams game is the second London game of the year so plan your day accordingly and also make sure to set your fantasy lineups on time.

Now, let’s get to the game picks for Week 7. My streak of five weeks above .500 ended last week with three backdoor covers, which put me in quite the hole going into the late games. Any given Sunday right? Well its time to start a new streak, so I’m shooting to make this my best one yet. Here are my picks for this week (Winners in Bold)

Last Week: 7-8       2016 Season: 48-44

9:30 AM (London)

NY Giants (-3) vs. Los Angeles

 

1:00 PM

New Orleans vs. Kansas City (-6.5)

Indianapolis vs. Tennessee (-3)

Minnesota (-3) vs. Philadelphia

Cleveland (+10) vs. Cincinnati

Washington (+1.5) vs. Detroit

Oakland (+1) vs. Jacksonville

Buffalo vs. Miami (+3)

Baltimore (+2) vs. NY Jets

 

4:05/4:25 PM

Tampa Bay (EVEN) vs. San Francisco

San Diego (+6.5) vs. Atlanta

New England (-7.5) vs. Pittsburgh

 

Sunday Night Football

Seattle vs. Arizona (-1.5)

Enjoy all of the games tonight everyone! Follow me on Twitter @thereal_jmooney and go like the Shooting the Moon page on Facebook.

Hello once again fantasy owners, its time yet again for another “Reality of Fantasy.” Today I’m going to talk some trade theory and give a more abbreviated version of the best and worst matchups.

If you read yesterday’s “No Huddle” then you already know how I felt about Week 6. For those of you who didn’t read it I’ll briefly sum up the rant. Last week was an incredibly weird week for fantasy football, and the NFL in general. It happens, and there is no way to predict it. Sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and deal with it.

Mark Ingram owners have to be livid that he got vultured on the goal line by Coby Fleener. Then there are the Jamaal Charles owners who watched him get stopped on the one-yard line, only to have defensive tackle Dontari Poe score on a screen pass the very next play. That’s fantasy football guys and girls, these types of things will happen.

So now that we’ve addressed the elephant in the room, let’s talk trades. I’m sure every week you get a few offers here and there from a guy looking to shake things up. Every league has those guys. Personally, I’m a little more conservative when it comes to wheeling and dealing in fantasy.

In any situation, trading is all about timing and most of all research. You have to know the guy you are targeting like he is already one of your players. Otherwise you end up on the wrong end of a trade where you’re left with nothing but regrets when your newly acquired player flops.

Due to the injuries that have occurred so far this season, running back is the position of need. This makes the value at this position much higher than usual. Now I’m not saying that you should be offering Jaquizz Rodgers for Antonio Brown. You’ll get laughed right out of the building and end up the butt end of a few jokes that day.

Be reasonable but leave yourself the ability to strike a deal that you can ultimately win. Obviously if someone offers you a lopsided deal where you can get good players at a bargain, accept it and don’t think twice about it. It’s not your fault that the other owner made a mistake. No one will think less of you for it.

I believe timing is the most important aspect in the art of the deal. Buy low, sell high are terms you see every week in fantasy advice columns. Those are words to live by. However, you need to understand just exactly what buying low means. Obviously you are targeting someone who is struggling, and what we need to decipher is whether or not better days are ahead.

This brings the research back into the equation. “Player X” could have just played the most difficult stretch of the schedule, or there were injuries around him that affected his production. There are a ton of factors that are at play in football since this is such a team sport. The key is to look for the signs of a breakout.

Usually when I’m looking for a breakout candidate I look for two things. The first is opportunities for production. That could mean carries/targets for running backs, targets for receivers and tight ends. A more in-depth indicator is snap-share (the percentage of plays a player is on the field relative to the rest of the depth chart). Seeing an uptick in any of those areas is a good first sign.

Once you see the uptick in opportunities and production, then you have to look at the schedule. We’re looking at two distinct areas of the schedule: the next few games and the playoff schedule (Weeks 14-16). You want to give yourself the best possible opportunity to clean up if you make it to the big dance.

**While we’re talking about playoff schedules, no team has it better than Tampa Bay. They play New Orleans twice in the playoff weeks and a matchup against Dallas sandwiched in between.**

The final thing I will say about trading is don’t be the person in the league that “cold calls.” By that I mean don’t just throw random offers out there and hope to strike gold. In my experience either the trade just isn’t what the other owner wants or in more casual leagues, the trade offer just sits there until it expires.

Send a text or email to the other owner. Negotiation is the only way to get something done. It won’t always be easy, trust me. Talking out a trade is the real way to make a deal.

Another side note here about vetoes. The rule of thumb is that a trade should only get vetoed if there is a clear instance of collusion, where one side is overwhelmingly dominating a trade. If you see Odell Beckham getting traded for someone like Derrick Henry, something is seriously wrong there. But if there is a deal involving multiple players where one side gets the best player in the deal and some okay pieces and the other gets a few mid-level guys, just let it happen. You can’t control someone else doing something stupid. However, always be alert to someone being handed a stud on a silver platter and if see it then you get the league involved for a vote.

That should about do it for trade theory, if you have any individual questions about your own team, don’t hesitate to send me a message on the Facebook page or my Twitter account (@thereal_jmooney). I’ll do my best to answer in a timely fashion.

Okay, lets take a quick look at the best and worst matchups for Week 7.

Best Matchup: Tampa Bay (vs. San Francisco)

The Niners are in free-fall mode and just don’t have the same edge without Navarro Bowman manning the middle of the defense. Tampa Bay had two weeks to prepare for this matchup and should be poised for a good fantasy day. Jameis Winston has been up and down all year but this is a game where he can shine.

Worst Matchup: Philadelphia (vs. Minnesota)

Shocker, right? Minnesota is the rare defense that is not only the best in the NFL but also the overwhelmingly top rated fantasy defense. Philadelphia allowed a season-high five sacks to Washington last week in the first game without right tackle Lane Johnson. The Vikings have shut down every team it has faced, and the Eagles offense is nothing special. Avoid the Eagles at all costs this week.

Good Matchups: Green Bay (vs. Chicago), Kansas City (vs. New Orleans), Tennessee (vs. Indianapolis), Washington (vs. Detroit), Oakland (vs. Jacksonville)

Tough Matchups: New Orleans (vs. Kansas City), Houston (vs. Denver), Pittsburgh (vs. New England), Miami (vs. Buffalo), Seattle (vs. Arizona), Arizona (vs. Seattle)

 Good luck to everyone this week in your fantasy matchups, I hope this strategy chat was informative. I’ll be back tomorrow with a “No Huddle” to preview Week 7. Follow me on Twitter @thereal_jmooney and go like the Shooting the Moon page on Facebook

Well that was kind of a weird week wasn’t it? Denver losing to San Diego should have been the first sign that is was just going to be one of those weeks. Then, Coby Fleener scores a rushing touchdown for New Orleans and it hit me like a lead brick to the head, Week 6 was going to be off-kilter.

A little later on in the day, I see that Kenny Britt just scored his third receiving touchdown of the game and I just threw my hands up in disbelief. A buddy of mine is breaking my wagons from across the living room because of course he saw that coming. I mean, come on, really?

Add to the mix, Pittsburgh is getting roughed up in Miami, with Jay Ajayi working towards his 200-yard rushing day. Truthfully, I think the multiple shots of Pittsburgh defenders throwing up on the field is a pretty good summary of how that game went.

Finally, as the early session of games are ending I’m checking the scores against my picks for the week and I’m starting to feel a little better. I was looking at an okay start to the day feeling supremely confident about my picks the rest of the week. Then out of freaking nowhere I get hit with about three backdoor covers. All of a sudden, my decent start turned into a nightmarish 2-7 to start the day, having already lost the Thursday Night Game. Awesome.

The moral of the story here is that nothing is ever certain in the NFL. The “any given Sunday” mantra of the league definitely held true this week. I know I had a similar rant earlier in the season, but my goodness does the NFL know how to throw out curveballs.

Coming into Week 7, it looks like I’m going back to the drawing board with the power rankings and the watch list. Weirdly enough, four of the eight teams I eliminated won last week as well. No resurrections yet there, but one team has definitely earn its place in the Eliminator this week.

But first, lets take a look at the new-look power rankings going into Week 7:

(1) Minnesota Vikings (5-0) – Last Week: 1

No movement here for the resident top dogs of the NFL who just enjoyed a bye week while everyone else took some lumps. I’ve routinely waxed poetic about my love for this defense and the improvement of this offense. Sam Bradford will certainly have a ton of motivation to have a huge game this week as the Vikings travel to Philadelphia.

(2) New England Patriots (5-1) – Last Week: 2

If the Vikings are #1 then the Patriots are #1B until Minnesota loses. Tom Brady is playing at his usual MVP level and this two tight-end package is looking unstoppable. New England is getting the added bonus of running back James White in the passing game, just to give more versatility to this offense. This week was a more methodical approach against the Bengals than the offensive explosion against the lowly Browns, but you can’t argue results. This week the Pats get a huge break playing Pittsburgh without Big Ben, so unfortunately that big game we all hoped for will not quite happen.

(3) Dallas Cowboys (5-1) – Last Week: Watch List 

I’m going to get this one out of the way now. Dak Prescott has earned the right to keep the starting quarterback job in Dallas. You don’t mess with something that is working well. It’s that simple. The Cowboys are the best team in the NFL on third down and get the most first downs in two downs (the best CFL team is what the experts call that). Ezekiel Elliot is a dominant force running behind the best offensive line in the NFL. Dallas is able to get a lead and protect it with its offense by controlling time of possession, which is another key stat that Dallas is one of the best. However, because this is Dallas there will continue to be talk of going back to Tony Romo as the Cowboys enter the bye week.

(4) Seattle Seahawks (4-1) – Last Week: Watch List

Seattle won a slugfest against Atlanta last week, which earns them a place at the table this week. Yes, I do think the Seahawks got away with PI at the end of the game, but honestly what ref is going to make that call in Seattle in crunch time? Regardless, this is the best the Seahawks have looked defensively in a season or two. The Legion of Boom is going to be difficult to beat especially once Kam Chancellor is back in the lineup. Offensively, Russell Wilson isn’t running as much likely due to his nagging injuries but as a whole it looks like they are figuring things out. Just in time for a huge NFC West showdown in the desert against a resurgent Arizona team.

(5) Atlanta Falcons (4-2) – Last Week: 4

We learned a lot about this Falcons team last week in Seattle. It was a hard fought loss so they only get dropped one spot this week. The Matt Ryan-Julio Jones connection is looking fantastic in recent weeks, powering a red-hot offensive attack. The running back tandem of Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman had a down week but this is one of the better groups in the league. Defensively, this unit looks much improved from last season, due in large part to the young pieces playing well. Vic Beasley Jr. has come alive in the last two weeks, looking like the player we thought he would be coming out of Clemson a couple of years ago. The presence of safety Keanu Neal has been a much-needed addition giving this defense a run-stopper in the secondary. Atlanta draws an interesting matchup against San Diego this week, we’ll continue to find out whether this team is for real or not.

Watch List: Denver (4-2), Pittsburgh (4-2), Washington (4-2), Buffalo (4-2), Oakland (4-2), Kansas City (3-2)

 

Now it’s time to lay another team to rest for this season. If you’ve been tuned into any sports talk the last two days, it should come as no surprise that the 1-5 Carolina Panthers will join the ranks of the eliminated. I was holding off after last week since I thought there was a chance that they would turn things around and get a win in New Orleans.

However, this is just not the same team that we saw last season. This secondary can’t seem to cover anyone, which is forcing this offense to be something that it just isn’t designed to be. Cam Newton is putting up stats and looks great on a fantasy team, but this offense is supposed to be a ground and pound attack using play-action passing as a compliment. Instead, they are forced to be a pass first team which doesn’t suit them well at all.

Prior to the season I believed that the Panthers could buck the trend of Super Bowl losing teams missing the playoffs, but man was I wrong there. Better luck next season Carolina.

That’s it for me today; I’ve got a long night of playoff baseball ahead of me tonight. I’ll be back tomorrow with “Reality of Fantasy.” Follow me on Twitter @thereal_jmooney and go like the Shooting the Moon page on Facebook.

 

Welcome back everyone, I hope you all had a fantastic weekend. It’s back to the work week and another edition of the “Weekend Recap.” This weekend gave us some exciting finishes from all corners of the sports world, so let’s not waste too much time and dive right into the recap.

MLB Postseason Drama

The MLB is getting the top spot this week with the postseason drama reaching a fever pitch. On the AL side of the playoffs, Cleveland defended home-field and took a 2-0 lead over Toronto. Don’t look now, but the Indians still haven’t lost a game in this postseason. Manager Terry Francona is pushing all of the right buttons right now with this Indians team.

Do I think this series is over? No, far from it actually. This series shifts back to Toronto for the next three games and you would have to imagine that the Blue Jays’ lineup comes alive in front of the home crowd. There will be a ton of pressure on Toronto to right the ship quickly though, having missed the opportunity to steal home-field advantage from Cleveland in this series. Tonight will be a must win for Toronto with Marcus Stroman taking the mound for the Jays against Cleveland’s Trevor Bauer.

On to the NLCS now, which has produced one of the moments of the entire postseason. Miguel Montero’s pinch hit grand slam in Game 1 vaulted the Cubs to a huge comeback victory. The momentum from that win was short lived though due in large part to the performance of Clayton Kershaw in Game 2.

Kershaw has been one of, if not the, most important players for the Dodgers this postseason. He is putting his previous postseason struggles behind him and it could not have come at a better time for LA. The Dodgers stole home-field advantage from the best team in baseball, just has the series heads out west for Games 3-5.

It may even be time to hit the panic button in Chicago. Something is seriously wrong with this vaunted lineup that includes two MVP candidates. One of them is in a serious slump right now and if the Cubs want to finally put an end to the World Series drought he needs to get out of this funk.

I’m talking of course about first baseman Anthony Rizzo. He was one of the pillars that the Cubs are built around and his struggles are shocking to say the least. Rizzo is currently batting .043 (1-for-23) with six strikeouts. With a slump this bad, I’m a little shocked teams are still pitching to Kris Bryant and just going after Rizzo. I doubt that Rizzo will stay quiet for much longer, but they’ll need his bat desperately to get past the Dodgers.

The Cubs will have the opportunity to get back ahead of the Dodgers in Game 3 with Jake Arrieta on the mound tomorrow night.

Alabama Dominates Tennessee, While Ohio State Escapes In OT

The #1 and #2 teams in the country both had much different experiences on the road this week. Alabama took Tennessee to the woodshed in a huge road test for the Tide, once again reminding everyone that this is the best team in the country. A 49-10 victory will do that, and honestly the game wasn’t even that close. Now the Tide still aren’t out of the woods in the SEC. Next week brings a monster showdown against #6 Texas A&M, however the Tide will be at home for this one, which is a huge difference maker there.

Ohio State got quite the battle from Wisconsin on Saturday night. The Buckeyes needed overtime to finally get past a tough Badgers team, 30-23. J.T. Barrett and company erased a ten-point halftime deficit and got a late field goal to force the overtime. From there, the better team reigned supreme. Ohio State, like Alabama, still has some major hurdles to clear before the end of the year. Games against #8 Nebraska and #3 Michigan are still down the line for the Buckeyes.

In other NCAA news from the weekend, the ACC had a very rough weekend. Clemson barely squeaked by NC State in overtime while Miami and Virginia Tech were both upset on Saturday. #4 Clemson still has the big win against #7 Louisville and the undefeated record to fall back on, but these close calls are going to catch up to the Tigers at some point. Miami lost to a pretty good North Carolina team at home, but that makes two straight losses for the Hurricanes after reaching the top-ten in the polls. Virginia Tech won’t get the same benefit of the doubt, as the road loss to Syracuse will definitely go down as a bad loss.

The ACC looked pretty safe for a playoff bid for its champion. But with the strong teams in the Big 10 and SEC plus an undefeated West Virginia in the Big 12, that bid no longer looks as good. With the first playoff rankings just a few weeks away, it will be very interesting to see how the committee is looking at this situation.

Monday Night Football Preview

Week 6 of the NFL concludes tonight in the desert with the Jets and Cardinals squaring off. This is a big game for both sides as each could desperately use a win to creep back into playoff relevance.

The big story here is the return of Carson Palmer for the Cardinals after missing last week due to a concussion. He is the key piece to this puzzle for Arizona on offense since David Johnson and Larry Fitzgerald basically carried Drew Stanton last week. The Jets front-seven does pose an interesting test here for Arizona, but Palmer should be able to attack this secondary if the line can hold up.

The struggles for the Jets got even worse before the weekend with the announcement that wide receiver Eric Decker will undergo season-ending shoulder surgery. That is a massive hit to an offense that has already had its issues so far this season. Possibly at the worst time too, considering the Cardinals have one of the most talented secondaries in the league. Things are not looking good for the Jets, and I think this early season slide continues. I’ll take Arizona (-7) tonight on Monday Night Football.

I’ll be back tomorrow to recap a wild Week 6 in the NFL. Follow me on Twitter @thereal_jmooney and go like the Shooting the Moon page on Facebook.