“I’ve been through the whole experience,” said Duckett, who lost his mother to cancer when he was a kid.  “I know what they’re going through.”

After meeting the kids and their parents at the West Michigan Cancer Center, Duckett surprised the group with limo transportation to the “Formula K” fun spot in Mattawan.  There, Duckett treated the kids to go-cart racing, bumper cars, air-hockey, arcade games, and host of other activities.  

“When my mother was sick, she really didn’t have the ability, the energy or the time to do things like this,” Duckett told me this afternoon.  “Being able to take kids out who are in the same situation I was in and give some relief to their parents… I think that’s half the battle.  When you’re sick you worry about how other people are doing, especially your children.”

Duckett also gave each of the kids his personal cell phone number, as he gets set to head to Seattle for training camp. 

“I don’t want these kids to feel like they are by themselves,” Duckett said.  “(I want to) give them a chance to call me, whatever it is, in any situation that comes up, when they feel alone or they feel they don’t have anyone to talk to.  If I can talk to them on the phone when they’re having a bad day, I can remind them of what we did out here today.”

A simple gesture by a good man… yet one these eight young men, will never forget.

31-16 on the season isn’t exactly where I wanted these picks to be, but I have to try to get better. Too bad for me, but Detroit is off this week and so I can’t pick against them to get a good guaranteed winner of a pick. Regardless, this is the week that I bounce back and return to my glory days. Here you go, go ahead and make some bets based on these picks and you won’t be sorry.

Atlanta at Carolina – Carolina
Carolina is going to get back to winning this week. Of course it is helpful that the team they are playing sucks.

Cleveland at Cincinnati – Cincinnati
The only reason I am picking Cinci, even though they make me cry on the inside, is that they are playing the Browns. I am still pretty unsure of this pick as Cinci is quite amazing and may find a way to lose this one.

Houston at Jacksonville – Jacksonville
Jacksonville has not been looking like the AFC contender that people (myself included) were picking in the preseason. However they get to play Houston this week and they are at home, so they get the nod.

Denver at Kansas City – Denver
If you’re really quiet, you can hear people in Kansas City calling for Herm Edwards’ firing.

San Francisco at New Orleans – San Francisco
This is my pick that I am making so that if it happens, I look really smart. However, this pick also makes me look dumb. All in all, I am not really sold on New Orleans this year. I’m not sold on San Francisco either but after last week, I’m thinking that O’Sullivan got the confidence boost he needs and it will carry over to this week.

Arizona at New York Jets – New York Jets
This week Brett Favre and company will bounce back from last Monday’s loss and bring it against the Cardinals.

Green Bay at Tampa Bay – Green Bay
Everyone keeps talking about how Brian Griese passed for 400 yards last week. They always seem to ignore the 3 picks he threw also. Oh, and they also seem to forget that he sucks. You know who is pretty good? That Aaron Rodgers fella.

Minnesota at Tennessee – Minnesota
I think that Kerry Collins could guide the Titans past the Vikings, however this one might be close. Vikings have the running game and defense. Oh yeah, and Gus Frerotte.

San Diego at Oakland – San Diego
Oakland sucks. I know they have surprised me earlier this season but this is not one of those weeks.

Buffalo at St. Louis – Buffalo
The Buffalo offense is not going to have much problem against the Rams. The Rams are really starting to look good for that coveted first overall pick next season.

Washington at Dallas – Dallas
Until some other team looks better, Dallas is the team to beat.

Philadelphia at Chicago -Philadelphia
The Eagles seem to have rejuvinated themselves and have some confidence. McNabb is sort of looking like the McNabb of old and the rest of this team is improving every week. Their one loss is to Dallas, and that game could have gone either way.

Baltimore at Pittsburgh – Baltimore
I would have like to have said Pittsburgh here, but Mendenhall made me pick Baltimore. Don’t know if you heard but he sent his friend, a Raven, a text message saying he would have a big day. His friend then sent it to the defense of the Ravens who are looking forward to discussing his big day with Mendenhall. Regardless, if Mendenhall comes out of the game alive we will all consider it a victory.

There you have it kids. The Week 4 picks by us here at Sports By Joe.

Go put some big money on these picks.

This post and many others can be seen first at http://sportsbyjoe.blogspot.com/

Kansas City at Atlanta – Atlanta – CORRECT
Atlanta went back to looking like a fantastic football team. If only their whole season were filled with opponents like the Chiefs and Lions.

Oakland at Buffalo – Buffalo - CORRECT
I picked it right, although just barely. However, I will take it as I am in need of help here with my picks.

Tampa Bay at Chicago – Chicago – WRONG
Nice way to blow a game, Bears. Oh yeah, having a quarterback throw for 407 yards is nice and all, but let’s not get carried away and say that it was a spectacular performance. (I’m looking at you ‘Inside The NFL’ which is now on Showtime and sucks.) He also threw 3 picks.

Carolina at Minnesota – Minnesota – CORRECT
Alright Gus Frerotte! I knew you could do it! Oh wait, I still think you suck.

Houston at Tennessee – Tennessee – CORRECT
Kerry Collins, even though he is 87 years old, leads his team to victory.

Cincinnati at N.Y. Giants – Giants – CORRECT
I really thought the Giants were going to blow this one. Thankfully, they pulled their heads out at just the right time.

Miami at New England – New England – WRONG
What? Huh? Oh yeah, you are supposed to have linebackers to stop a running game. Too bad New England doesn’t have very fast ones. *********************************

St. Louis at Seattle – Seattle – CORRECT
Between the Rams and the Lions, there sure will be a fight for the number 1 pick overall at next year’s draft.

Detroit at San Francisco – San Francisco – CORRECT
Well, at least we fired Millen. We did one thing right this week. Onward to 0-16!

New Orleans at Denver – Denver – CORRECT
I’m still not completely sure about Cutler, but I have to back him as he is on my fantasy team. After all, the Broncos are only a play or three away from 1-2.

Jacksonville at Indianapolis – Indianapolis – WRONG
*************

Cleveland at Baltimore – Baltimore - CORRECT
Joe Flacco does it again. Granted he was playing the Browns, but I’ll take it.

Pittsburgh at Philadelphia – Pittsburgh – WRONG
That’s one hell of a running game you had there, Steelers. Thanks for making my pick wrong.

Dallas at Green Bay – Green Bay – WRONG
The Cowboys are actually looking like the team to beat this year, what with the Patriots looking like crap and all.

N.Y. Jets at San Diego – San Diego – CORRECT
I’m not going to say that I am glad the Jets are playing like we expected they would before Brett Favre came to town, but I sort of am.

Alright, so here are the tallys:
Week 3: 10-6
Season: 31-16

It’s getting better, but I still need to improve.
*Asterisks represent an edit for content. Get the unedited post at http://sportsbyjoe.blogspot.com/
Get this post and more at http://sportsbyjoe.blogspot.com

Arizona at Washington – Arizona
Granted, I don’t think the Cardinals are going to the Super Bowl this year, but Jason Campbell hasn’t really impressed me that much this season.

Kansas City at Atlanta – Atlanta
I think this week Matt Ryan bounces back from last week. He’s playing Kansas City, which is only a small step up defensively from the Lions, whom he torched in week 1.

Oakland at Buffalo – Buffalo
Look out Oakland, here comes Trent Edwards.

Tampa Bay at Chicago – Chicago
Tampa Bay is not really looking that good, nor are the Bears. However, I think that Tampa is not going to have a great day against a Bears defense that is going to pick this week to show up to the game.

Carolina at Minnesota – Minnesota
Tavaris Jackson is benched, and so in steps Gus Frerotte? Am I reading that right? Oh well, the defense is stepping up more this year and they are going to have to so even if Peterson doesn’t play (I don’t think he will) I think that the Vikings will be fine.

Houston at Tennessee – Tennessee
Kerry Collins gets the start over Vince “No Confidence” Young. Luckily for the Titans, they get to go up against the Texans.

Cincinnati at N.Y. Giants – Giants
I wonder how long before “Cinco Ocho” goes nuts. I also wonder how long before Carson Palmer retires because of having to deal with him.

Miami at New England – New England
If you’re looking for an explanation of this pick, stop here since you won’t find one.

St. Louis at Seattle – Seattle
Hard to pick this one. I picked Seattle because they are playing at home but it could really go either way.

Detroit at San Francisco – San Francisco
Detroit is terrible. Martz (who was fired) and his starting quarterback (cut), have every reason in the world to show up the team that would supposedly be better off without them.

New Orleans at Denver – Denver
Cutler is going to have a great year this year and we are only seeing the beginning of it.

Jacksonville at Indianapolis – Indianapolis
At the beginning of the season, I maybe would have picked Jacksonville to win this. However, the way they are playing they are not going to have enough to beat the Colts at home.

Cleveland at Baltimore – Baltimore
Baltimore is coming off its ‘bye week’ because of a hurricane and Browns are going to feel the full effect of a week off.

Pittsburgh at Philadelphia – Pittsburgh
I think that defense is going to show up this week in Philadelphia, only it will be the Steelers going to 3-0.

Dallas at Green Bay – Green Bay
This one is tough however I think that being at home with that crowd completely behind him is going to give Rodgers just enough of a boost to keep his game going. It will also keep the defense pumped all game long.

N.Y. Jets at San Diego – San Diego
It is a big game for the Chargers who need to win to keep the season alive. I think they pull it out this game.

There, let’s see how this week shakes out. It had better be better. I don’t think I could handle the obscurity of AM sports talk radio.

I’ll talk at you later.

This entry and many more unedited entries can be found first at http://sportsbyjoe.blogspot.com.

Yeah, so here is how the picks fared from Week 2 in the NFL.

Chicago at Carolina – Chicago – WRONG
After week 1, I thought Chicago would keep it going.
Tennessee at Cincinnati – Cincinatti – WRONG
I guess that Cincinnati really is the new Detroit.
Green Bay at Detroit – Green Bay – CORRECT
Not a hard guess here. This game was a prime example of what happens when you have a lead but can’t run the football.
Buffalo at Jacksonville – Jacksonville – WRONG
Is Buffalo really this good or is Jacksonville just really this bad?
Oakland at Kansas City – Kansas City – WRONG
I guess being at home for Kansas City isn’t what it used to be.
Indianapolis at Minnesota – Indianapolis – CORRECT
I might have made the pick, but luckily I didn’t say points at all because I didn’t think it would be so close.
New York Giants at St. Louis – New York – CORRECT
No brainer.
New Orleans at Washington – New Orleans – WRONG
On his punt return, Reggie Bush pointed back at the defenders on his way into the endzone. This angered the before mentioned football gods who promptly made the Saints lose.
San Francisco at Seattle – San Francisco – CORRECT
J.T. O’Sullivan is getting warmed up to face the Lions.
Atlanta at Tampa Bay – Tampa Bay – CORRECT
Matt Ryan looked like an All-Pro vs. the Lions. However when matched up against an actual defense, he fails.
Miami at Arizona – Arizona – CORRECT
Again, no brainer.
San Diego at Denver – Denver – CORRECT
A little closer than I would have thought and a little help from Ed Hoculi but they still win.
New England at New York Jets – New England – CORRECT
No QB? No problem.
Pittsburgh at Cleveland – Pittsburgh – CORRECT
Not a huge surprise, since I don’t remember the last time the Browns beat the Steelers.
Philadelphia at Dallas – Dallas – CORRECT
Again, much closer than I thought it would be. Although you would think for all the All-Pro and high draft picks playing in the secondary, (Dawkins, Adam Jones, Roy Williams to name a few) one of these teams should have been able to stop the pass.
Baltimore at Houston – Baltimore – Thankfully this game has been postponed. It really only helps me and these pathetic picks.

11-5 last week

10-5 this week

21-10 on the season.

So, I swear that eventually I will get back to the way I was last season (for those of you who remember) and start to pick better. However, until then, I wouldn’t use my picks to wager any money.

I’ll try to do better next week.

I’ll talk at you later.

Remember, all these and other posts can be found on my other blog. If you like, feel free to send fan/hate mail to sportsbyjoe@gmail.com.

Chicago at Carolina – Chicago

I think the defense will hold up again, and Carolina won’t be lucky at the end again.

Tennessee at  Cincinatti – Cincinatti

Again, Cincinatti just makes me cry inside.   Oh, and I don’t see it getting any better.  Luckily for them, however, is the fact that Vince Young’s ego is made of fine porcelin

Green Bay at Detroit – Green Bay

Sorry Lions fans, but the Pack are looking pretty good even without that Favre guy.

Buffalo at Jacksonville – Jacksonville

I don’t see Jacksonville losing at home even though Buffalo looked pretty good last week, I don’t see that continuing this week.  I think this is the week we start to see the real Jacksonville.

Oakland at Kansas City – Kansas City

Maybe Oakland could win if playing at home, but not in the sea of red.

Indianapolis at Minnesota – Indianapolis

If Minnesota’s defense steps up we might see a game, but I see Manning and company rebounding this week.

New York Giants at St. Louis – New York

St. Louis is going to spend this week continuing the fight for the first overall draft pick as well as the fight to get a new head coach.  The seat under him is getting pretty hot right now.

New Orleans at Washington – New Orleans

I picked against them last week, and I payed the price.  I’m not letting that happen again.  They just have too much on offense at this point against the Redskins.

San Francisco at Seattle – San Francisco

Hasselback might be a Super Bowl quarterback, but who’s he going to throw to?

Atlanta at Tampa Bay – Tampa Bay

Let’s see how Atlanta does against a team that can actually tackle.

Miami at Arizona – Arizona

The safe pick this year is whoever is going against the Dolphins.

San Diego at Denver – Denver

2 reasons for this pick.  One, the Chargers are without Merriman.  Two, Jay Cutler is on my fantasy team.

New England at New York Jets – New England

I seem to remember the Patriots doing pretty good after that Bledsoe guy got hurt a few years back.  I don’t see Brady leaving as a big enough blow to the team.

Pittsburgh at Cleveland – Pittsburgh

The Browns looked terrible last week.   Willie Parker continues to roll this week.

Philadelphia at Dallas – Dallas

I think that Dallas might be the team to beat in the NFC this year.   Also, Philly played a junior high team last week so you really can’t count that.

Baltimore at Houston – Baltimore

All hail the new king of the NFL, Joe Flacco!

Make sure you all tune in next week so that you can see how my wonderful picks go up against the actual results.  Of course, if I do poorly feel free to let me know by either posting here or even by sending me some wonderful email (I love reader emails, they make me smile) sent to sportsbyjoe@gmail.com.

As always this post and many more posts can be found at http://sportsbyjoe.blogspot.com

Washington at NY Giants – New York Giants – CORRECT

As expected here.  Even though I don’t think the Giants are going to do much this season, they have enough to beat the Redskins.

Detroit at Atlanta – Atlanta – CORRECT

Sorry, all you Detroit apologists.  The Lions are on their way to another 5-11 season.  I know I hated Shaun Rogers but that game is what happens when you bring in nothing to stuff the middle on running plays.  Good thing about the Lions inability to stop the run, since now every team will come and run the ball all day on them.  One day, they might stop it.

Seattle at Buffalo – Buffalo – CORRECT

Seattle is in a world of hurt now as they are missing too many key players.  They are missing their top 4 receivers at this point.  This game was just the tip of the turd for them.

Jacksonville at Tennessee – Jacksonville – WRONG

Thanks David Garrard, for turning the ball over 3 times.

NY Jets at Miami – NY Jets – CORRECT

Not really a shocker here.

Kansas City at New England – New England – CORRECT

The result is as expected, but the loss of Brady will prove huge as the season moves on.

Tampa Bay at New Orleans – Tampa Bay – WRONG

Tampa needed to stop the pass, which they didn’t.

St. Louis at Philadelphia – Philadelphia - CORRECT

St. Louis is one of only 2 teams that I’m pretty sure are going to be worse than the Lions.

Houston at Pittsburgh – Pittsburgh – CORRECT

Willie Parker has a great game and starts his season off right.  (He’s on my fantasy team, so I’m going to be nice to him.)

Cincinnati at Baltimore – Baltimore – CORRECT

Cincinnati continues to make me cry.

Denver at Oakland – Denver – CORRECT

Here you see Oakland, the other team that might be worse than the Lions.

Carolina at San Diego – San Diego – WRONG

Still trying to figure out how a person could pass for 3 touchdowns and still lose.  I guess the Chargers are just special that way.

Arizona at San Francisco – San Francisco – WRONG

Maybe this will finally be the year that Arizona gets into the playoffs.

Dallas at Cleveland – Dallas – CORRECT

Pretty easy opponent for Dallas in week 1.

Chicago at Indianapolis – Indianapolis – WRONG

The Bears so far are looking like the team that went to the Super Bowl a few years back.  Defense won this, and the offense didn’t make too many mistakes.

Minnesota at Green Bay – Green Bay – CORRECT

Aaron Rodgers started his career off with a win.  In a few weeks, we might just start to hear “Brett Who?”  (I doubt it honestly, but I thought I would be one of the 900 bloggers to start typing that.)

11-5 for the week.  Not too bad, but not really good either.  Of course I’ll try to do better but you should probably know by now to not take my picks for the week and lay any money on them, as I really don’t know what I am doing.

I’ll have the next week’s predictions later on this week.  For the updates of the WOOD TV fantasy football league, go to http://sportsbyjoe.blogspot.com/ for the details.

I’ll talk at you later.

Talk to you later.

Anyway, here are the Week 1 Sports By Joe picks…..

Washington at NY Giants – New York Giants

As much as I would like Clinton Portis to have a good game (fantasy reasons) I sort of know that now matter how well he does, the Giants are winning.

Detroit at Atlanta – Atlanta

If there is one thing you should know, it’s that the Lions can’t win on the road.  Oh, and they suck really bad.  This will be the first loss on the way to a great 5-11 season this year.

Seattle at Buffalo – Buffalo

Only picking Buffalo because they are playing at home.

Jacksonville at Tennessee – Jacksonville

Jacksonville is on an upswing and is playoff bound.

NY Jets at Miami – NY Jets

As much as Favre made me hate him and the Jets, the Dolphins are probably not going to be a really tough test.

Kansas City at New England – New England

Insert explanation here.  None needed.

Tampa Bay at New Orleans – Tampa Bay

The Bucs are probably playoff bound.  The Saints?  Not so much….

St. Louis at Philadelphia – Philadelphia

St. Louis is going to be the major competitor this year to the Lions for one of the top 5 draft picks.

Houston at Pittsburgh – Pittsburgh

I’ve seen several people picking the Texans.  Of course, all of those people are the crackheads that I see down at the bus station.

Cincinnati at Baltimore – Baltimore

I feel sorry for Carson Palmer.

Carolina at San Diego – San Diego

Hard to not go with LT and Merriman.  Of course, that depends on if Merriman’s knees hold up.

Arizona at San Francisco – San Francisco

Gotta go with the home team here.  Also got to go with O’Sullivan at QB for the niners.

Dallas at Cleveland – Dallas

I didn’t see much improvement from Cleveland in the off season and Dallas is probably going to the playoffs this year.  Not a really hard pick.

Chicago at Indianapolis – Indianapolis

Chicago makes me cry on the inside.

Minnesota at Green Bay – Green Bay

I don’t think Rodgers is going to make anyone forget about Favre, but they are always tough at home and they still have a solid defense.

Denver at Oakland – Denver

Oakland fans should start to scout the college ranks for whom they are going to pick 1st overall in the next draft.

There you have it.  I will review these picks sometime after Monday night’s games.

Talk at you later.

Mind you, I didn’t choose this team, but I did give very specific instructions to my proxy drafter.  (For those of you who are retarded and/or host AM radio shows, ‘proxy drafter’ means that this person was drafting in my place.)  My team:

Starters this week:  Jay Cutler, Clinton Portis, Willie Parker, Chad Johnson, Donte Stallworth, Heath Miller, Packers D, Phil Dawson

On the bench: Edgerrin James, J.T. O’Sullivan, Deuce McAllister, Ben Watson, Reggie Williams, Panthers D, Kevin Jones

About some picks:

I think my proxy drafter (Miles, who is also in the league but I promised him half the winning money if I should win) picked Kevin Jones for fun, as it was the second to last pick in the draft. 

I told Miles to specifically pick J.T. O’Sullivan if he is there after the 8th round.  Martz is the coordinator in San Francisco now and he was always high on O’Sullivan.  For some reason, I think he might actually do something in SF, mostly due to the fairly strong he has.  Oh yeah, don’t say I didn’t warn you.  Notice in that post the whole part about how O’Sullivan would eventually be the starter in San Francisco.  I figured it would take the bulk of this season, so I guess I was wrong a little.

About the league:

Yes, most of the people in this league work here at WOOD TV.  This league is not affiliated with WOOD TV in any way.  However, due to some of the team names being of an ‘adult’ nature, I am not allowed to post direct links to the league page in this blog.  However, feel free to go to the other page, http://sportsbyjoe.blogspot.com/ to get any additional information.

I will keep you informed of the league as anything important develops. 

I’ll talk at you later.