Beat the Guru: AFL Week 10
Adam Markowitz
Thursday May 1, 2008
These are the famous words from the infamous speech that the late Jim Valvano gave during the first ever ESPY awards in 1993. In honor of the first AFL V Week, Jimmy V is going to be the theme of Week Ten’s article.
Before I begin, I want to say what a great thing it is for the Arena Football League to get involved in one of the greatest foundations this world has to offer. For those that don’t know, The V Foundation for Cancer Research was formed in honor of Jim Valvano to raise awareness and bring in donations for cancer research. The AFL lost Justin Skaggs last season to brain cancer, and is proof once again that cancer can strike anyone.
I know it’s not in everyone’s budget to be handing out donations, but this is a foundation well worth investing in. Please take the time to visit the V Foundation’s website. You can also make donations by calling 1-800-4JIMMYV (1-800-454-6698). The AFL is sponsoring an action for various memorabilia. You can check out what’s available and place bids, and know that your money will be going to a tremendous cause.
Last week was a perfect case of me not giving up despite being down in Week 8. I rebounded with a stellar 6-2 effort, putting me a shade short of 60% on the season. Take that oddsmakers! Though no one knocked off my 6-2 mark, my arch-nemesis AFLJunkie matched my six victories, keeping him above the 60% line. In his speech, Valvano quoted Ralph Waldo Emerson. “Nothing great could be accomplished without enthusiasm.” So I’m emphatically going out there in hopes of finishing #1 in this competition as we enter the second half of the season.
For what it’s worth, I’m now up two games on the amateur Guru from across the street at Arena Football Online, and I’m inching closer to claiming the championship belt that we have on the line. Oh, and that 8-Ball… if it’s still man enough to show its face in public and produce an accurate record… it’s merely 24-47 on the campaign.
Disclaimer: This information should be used for entertainment purposes only. Should you choose to actually lay real money on these games, that’s purely your choice, and neither I nor ArenaFan are responsible. All lines are courtesy of Olympic Sports as of Wednesday evening.
Philadelphia Soul (-11) @ Cleveland Gladiators: Even though I was one of the two yutzes who continually voted for Dallas #1 in the Sports Network power poll, even I must succumb to the fact that the best team in the AFL is in Philadelphia. The Soul are unstoppable right now. As for the Gladiators, they have begun their predictable decline through the ranks of the National Conference, and could fall out of the playoff picture entirely after this one. Still, I’ll take my chances that the Glads aren’t going to give up and this one to at least keep it remotely close.
Guru’s Pick: Soul by just 8
8-Ball’s Pick: Soul
Grand Rapids Rampage (+1) @ Colorado Crush: Speaking of giving up… My weekly rampage (no pun intended) against Crush quarterback John Dutton continues. This past week’s game against Chicago marked the third straight outing with two INTs, and the seventh game out of eight in which Dutton has thrown at least one INT. Though Jimmy V suggests that you never give up, I’m still thinking that it’s time to give up on Dutton if the Crush want to return to championship form.
Guru’s Pick: Rampage by 4
8-Ball’s Pick: Crush
New Orleans VooDoo (-1) @ Georgia Force: Is there a better city that exemplifies “never give up” than the city of New Orleans? The city has rebounded from one of the greatest catastrophes in American history. The New Orleans Saints bounced back from a season with no home to come one step short of the Super Bowl the next year. The New Orleans Hornets never gave up on this season, and are now a couple steps short of the NBA Finals. And our beloved VooDoo, who were one of the worst teams in the AFL a year ago, have had the most opportunities of all to give up. Not only did I call them the worst team in the AFL (on several occasions!), they had to respond to the loss of their top receiver, Derrick Lewis, before the season ever began. Then Steve Bellisari went down, and since the ‘Doo have only lost once. The VooDoo may never give up, but an increasing difficult schedule down the stretch could catch up with these guys. If the Force don’t want to give up on the 2008 season, they really have to start stringing some wins together soon.
Guru’s Pick: Force by 7
8-Ball’s Pick: Force
Dallas Desperados (-6.5) @ Columbus Destroyers: I’m going to go on the record right now, stating that the Desperados absolutely will not win the ArenaBowl if they continue to play with the effort that they put out on Monday Night Football this week. They played with zero heart and zero intensity from the opening kickoff, and it showed in the final score. This is the same old Dallas team that couldn’t fight adversity the past two seasons when it looked them right in the eyes, and they can’t fight it this year either. You’re weak, Dallas. Very, very weak. That being said, you return to the scene of the crime of last season, and should be more than happy to take out your frustrations of Columbus and Philadelphia this week quite easily.
Guru’s Pick: ‘Rados by 30
8-Ball’s Pick: Destroyers (naturally!)
San Jose SaberCats (+2.5) @ Orlando Predators: The Cardiac Predators almost overcame a three TD deficit in the 4th quarter against the rival Tampa Bay Storm on Saturday night. Preds signal-caller Shane Stafford spends a lot of his free time working with cancer patients, and he is living up to never giving up on the field. Against Chicago, he turned the ball over five times and still led the team to victory in the 4th quarter and overtime. Against Georgia, he had to take a dozen stitches in the ear, then came back in the 4th two bring the team back from down two scores in the closing minutes to win. Despite a four turnover effort on Saturday, Stafford came a few yards short of giving the Preds an opportunity to notch their 6th come-from-behind victory of the season. Orlando hasn’t lost at home in back-to-back weeks since 2003, but they also haven’t beaten San Jose 2001.
Guru’s Pick: SaberCats by 6
8-Ball’s Pick: SaberCats
Okay boys and girls, it’s bonus game time!
Jason Lucas’ Media Team (+8) vs. Other Media Team: That’s right, it’s the weekend of the big Media Bowl in Orlando, and I’ll have a front row seat covering the action (because I’m far too much of a girly man to actually partake in a football game). The only stat you need to know about this one is that my cohort Jason Lucas has never had a Media Bowl in which he hasn’t thrown at least one INT. In the post-game interview two years ago, Coach Gruden was asked about the quarterbacking job of Jason Lucas. “No comment.” Good enough for me.
Guru’s Pick: Other Media Team by 26
8-Ball’s Pick: Jason’s team
Now back to your regularly scheduled Arena Football selections…
Kansas City Brigade (+3.5) @ Utah Blaze: Geez, I said ARENA FOOTBALL, not an excuse for two AFL teams… Jimmy V may not give up on these two teams, but I’ve already stuck a fork in both of them for 2008. Valvano said that there were three things that you had to do to have a successful day. You need to laugh, to think, and to cry. There’s plenty to cry about, and this game should be laughable, but I’m not so sure how much thinking will be involved on either sideline…
Guru’s Pick: Upset Special, Brigade by 12
8-Ball’s Pick: Blaze
Arizona Rattlers (+2) @ Los Angeles Avengers: Poor Ed Hodgkiss. He’s given up on Sonny Cumbie. He should be giving up on Tim Hicks. Maybe if he calls up the Soul, they’ll be interested in trading Tony Graziani back to La La Land. Until that day comes, there’s no way you’ll catch me backing this Avengers team.
Guru’s Pick: Rattlers by 7
8-Ball’s Pick: Rattlers
Chicago Rush (-5.5) @ Tampa Bay Storm: Meanwhile, while each and every one of you thought that my Predators would beat the Storm easily last week, I was the only one to not give up on Tim Marcum’s boys. Haven’t you learned anything about gambling yet? If it looks too good to be true, it probably is. Coach Hohensee and the Rush will find out that this Tampa Bay team is much better than the record suggests in what should be a tremendous game on Monday Night Football.
Guru’s Pick: Upset Special, Storm by a deuce
8-Ball’s Pick: Storm
I’m going to take a second to quote one of the many unscripted parts of the “Never Give Up” speech.
“That screen is flashing up there thirty seconds like I care about that screen right now, huh? I got tumors all over my body. I'm worried about some guy in the back going thirty seconds? You got a lot, hey va fa napoli, buddy. You got a lot.”
Ok, ok, give me just one more second and I’ll be finished.
Take a moment to listen to the voice of ESPN’s college basketball coverage, Dick Vitale. He has dedicated his life to two things. 1) The sport of basketball… He has been honored by being named to the basketball Hall of Fame. 2) Raising money for cancer research… There isn’t a moment in Vitale’s life that he forgets his roots and what’s around him.
I turn 23 years old this Sunday. I’m a pretty average guy with a pretty average job and a pretty average life. I’m probably a lot like most of you out there. I can’t really say that cancer has truly changed my life in any way, shape, or form, but there is one person in my family who is a survivor of breast cancer. I’m sure if we all looked around, we’ll find some friend or relative who has suffered through or will suffer through some form of cancer.
I don’t have to throw all of the statistics about cancer out at you. That isn’t the point. There are those around us that aren’t nearly as fortunate as we are, and whether that is donating money, volunteering your time, or simply enhancing cancer awareness, I implore us all to join the AFL in the fight against cancer in the first AFL V Week.
Beat the Guru’s Top 10 (Must have 25 games selected to qualify)
AFLJunkie: 41-27 (60.3%)
AFLGuru: 42-29 (59.2%)
PhillySoul04: 22-17 (56.4%)
Arena Guru: 40-31 (56.3%)
Rush43: 35-28 (55.6%)
Es63ne10: 38-32 (54.3%)
InsideSix: 36-35 (50.7%)
EKUVolley: 30-33 (47.6%)
MBoyle: 19-21 (47.5%)
SoulPhan71: 15-18 (45.5%)
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Adam Markowitz is an accountant living in Orlando. Adam is an old school AFLer, having followed the AFL since 1991. He attended or covered well over 200 games, including 17 ArenaBowls. Adam worked for the Arena Football League for two years as a columnist and historian before retiring in 2017 when the 50-yard indoor war left the Sunshine State. Adam still muses about the AFL on ArenaFan from time to time, and you can follow him on Twitter @adammarkowitzea.
