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Guest Blog: Pickmoto Tracks the ESPN NFL Pickers

November 16, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Editor’s note: This blog is a series from Pickmoto, a fantasy sports mobile app.

WEEK 10

Wickersham and Mortensen keep on climbing. Wickersham has gained points in 9!!! of 10 weeks and Mort has in 8 of 10. As the leaderboard illustrates, they are in a tier of their own – the Experts of the “Experts”. They didn’t take any big upsets in Week 10. Just smart, sound picking. Mort was one of only (surprisingly) two ESPNers who took the Vikings over the Lions. That’s the sort of pick that really impresses us: two fairly evenly-matched teams and Mort correctly picked the less popular, less sexy Vikings.

Merrill Hoge was the week’s big winner as he was the lone man to correctly take the Bengals over the Giants. That was quite a pick: the Bengals, who hadn’t really beaten anyone of note this year, took down the defending Super Bowl Champs. And it wasn’t even close.

On the other end of the spectrum, again, was Eric Allen. He managed to go 6-8 even though he basically just took favorites. The only underdog he took – the Chargers – was the typical misguided pick of someone not paying attention. Despite big names at QB, TE and a “genius” offensive head coach, the Chargers are much worse than their reputation. And the Bucs have quietly been very good since their bye week. We like Eric Allen as a commentator. But as a prognosticator? If he dips below 0 in our scoring, we’ll be calling for relegation from the Experts picks page.

ESPN Experts Leaderboard – Week 10
-Everyone starts with 300 points.

+Seth Wickersham – 673
+Chris Mortensen – 594
+Adam Schefter – 325
+Merrill Hoge – 320
Keyshawn Johnson – 302
Ron Jaworski – 276
Mike Golic – 229
+Mark Schlereth – 215
Cris Carter – 203
+Mike Ditka – 171
+Tom Jackson – 130
Eric Allen – 83

Pickmoto is fun, quick, easy competition. It recreates the fantasy sports experience on mobile. Its first game for the 2012 NFL season is free for iPhone and iPad. Its second game for the NBA season just hit the AppStore.

Pickmoto asks the most basic question in sports – which teams will win. It’s pick’em with a twist: there’s a crowdsourced scoring system that rewards correct picks based on their popularity – the less popular, the more points.

Filed Under: Apps, ESPN, NFL Tagged With: , , ,

Watching NASCAR: Fight to the Finish in Miami

November 16, 2012 by Leave a Comment

A change at the top with a week to go means good news for somebody, in this case Brad Keselowski, and bad news for someone, obviously Jimmie Johnson. Johnson’s drive for a sixth NASCAR Sprint Cup title hit a wall last weekend.

Wrecks abounded, some accidental and some intentional, and the result was that Johnson had a blown tire on the track forcing him into the pits at a moment when his top rival, Keselowski had just moved to the front of the pack. Keselowski could not maintain the top position, Kevin Harvick won the race in nice fashion after a pair of late restarts, but the sixth place finish was good enough for a move to the top spot and a 20 point lead. If he manages to finish 15th or above this week the title is his.


Following Harvick across the finish line was Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, then Kasey Kahne in forth followed by Ryan Newman. Johnson finished 32. There was some bad driving, questionable decisions on NASCARs part and the settling of past grievances all of which made for a day of interesting, if ugly racing.

You knew that tempers would be on edge last week but the fight between Jeff Gordon and Clint Boyer was amazing. Or rather between their pit crews. This came after Gordon intentionally hit Clint Boyer’s car late in the race last week, a move that cost Gordon 25 points and $100,000 and a rest of season probation (really?). It also eliminated any chance that Boyer could contend for the title. Not really clear how Gordon avoided a suspension, but he did.


With Boyer saying that he might retaliate this week, I am sure NASCAR will be keeping a close eye on him and this could turn out to be like hitting someone in the NFL, the second guy always seems to get the big fine. As an oddity to the race Keselowski was fined $25,000 for having an on-board computer in his car. You know, a cell phone.

This Week: Ford EcoBoost 400
All of the chickens will come home to roost this week at the Ford EcoBoost 400 at the Homestead-Miami Speedway. Drivers are still looking for bragging rights, enhance standing with existing or future teams and let’s not forget prize money. Also I would not be surprised if a few grudges are settled early in the race. Or late for that matter.

Broadcast: Nov. 18 at 2 pm ET on ESPN

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Sprint Cup Standings
1) Brad Keselowski
2) Jimmie Jonson -20
3) Kasey Kahne -50
4) Clint Boyer -52
5) Denny Hamlin -62
6) Matt Kenseth -74
7) Greg Biffle -78
8 ) Kevin Harvick -86
9) Tony Stewart -87
10) Martin Truex Jr. -111
11) Jeff Gordon -115
12) Dale Earnhardt Jr. -160

Nationwide
Joey Logano once again proved that he is the man in Nationwide racing, winning last week to give him nine wins this season, Points leader Ricky Stenhouse Jr. is probably burning a candle in thanks that Logano did not get a full season in.

Stenhouse moved from a tie for the lead with Elliott Sadler to a commanding 20 point lead after a strong finish in the race and only needs a 16th place or better finish to repeat as the Nationwide champ. He finish third in the race with Brian Vickers finishing just in front of him and was followed by Kyle Busch and Kasey Kahne.

Sadler continued his run of misfortunes late in Nationwide races, this time causing a three car accident very late in the race that greatly harmed his chance to win the title this week. The accident sent him to the pits, from which he never returned.

This Week: ForEcoBoost 300
Broadcast: Nov. 17 4 pm ESPN 2

Nationwide Standings
1) Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
2) Elliott Sadler -20
3) Austin Dillon -25
4) Sam Hornish Jr. -107
5) Michael Annett -162

Filed Under: Athlete to Follow, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Danica Patrick, ESPN, Greg Biffle, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, NASCAR, Nationwide Series, Rickey Stenhouse Jr., Sam Hornish Jr., Sprint Cup Series, Tony Stewart Tagged With: , , ,

Guest Blog: Pickmoto Rates the ESPN NFL Experts, Week 9

November 9, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Editor’s note: This blog is a series from Pickmoto, a fantasy sports mobile app.

Week 9 featured four games that the ESPNers split evenly on: Dolphins-Colts, Bucs-Raiders, Steelers-Giants, and Eagles-Saints. It’s these close calls, these coin tosses that should offer the best opportunity for prognosticators to demonstrate superior insight.

And by that measure, Ron Jaworski was the top Expert Week 9. Actually, by any metric he was. He went 12-2 total, 4-0 in the close calls, and gained 43 points on our Pickmoto scoring system. Jaworski’s only misses were the Cowboys and RGIII over Cam, which all dozen had backwards.

Of course, The Colts and Steelers baaaaaaaarely won. But we’re not talking knuckles scraping the endzone or replacement ref fiascos. Jaws went a legitimate 4-0. He’s now closing in on the magic 300, the number a beagle should get if he made picks every week.
Elsewhere, the top 2 and bottom 2 put some distance between themselves and 300. Wickersham usually picks a big upset, but smartly passed this week. Mort went out a ledge with the Browns and Jaguars, but was strong enough with his other picks to still take home a positive number.

At the other end of things, Allen and Jackson both went 10-4, but their wins came in low point value games, so they fell even further behind. Allen, we like because of his work in the Bay Area. Jackson, we’ve been tuning out for years and now we have empirical proof why we should continue.

ESPN Experts Leaderboard – Week 9
-Everyone starts with 300 points.

+Seth Wickersham – 668
+Chris Mortensen – 576
Keyshawn Johnson – 333
Adam Schefter – 320
+Ron Jaworski – 279
Merrill Hoge – 277
+Mike Golic – 229
+Cris Carter – 226
+Mark Schlereth – 208
+Mike Ditka – 166
Eric Allen – 142
Tom Jackson – 125

Pickmoto is fun, quick, easy competition. It recreates the fantasy sports experience on mobile. Its first game for the 2012 NFL season is free for iPhone and iPad. Its second game for the NBA season just hit the AppStore.

Pickmoto asks the most basic question in sports – which teams will win. It’s pick’em with a twist: there’s a crowdsourced scoring system that rewards correct picks based on their popularity – the less popular, the more points.

Filed Under: Apps, ESPN, Fantasy Sports, NFL Tagged With: , , ,

Watching NASCAR: Johnson, Keselowski to Duel in Phoenix

November 9, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Two weeks ago Jimmie Johnson passed Brad Keselowski to move into the top position in the Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship and last week he passed him in a two lap shootout to remain the top dog in the Chase.

In what I am sure Johnson hopes is a portent for the last two races and Keselowski hopes does not, the two were side by side on a restart on lap 334 in the 335 lap race, and Johnson outsprinted Keselowski and then held on to win the race. The third restart in the last laps ensured that it would go one extra lap, but after the first half lap Johnson was in control and stayed there.

The two were very close the entire race, as witnessed by the side by side banging that occurred late in the race but others played a major role in the race, including the drives that continually caused all of the late restarts. Third place finisher Kyle Busch led for 80 laps and was followed by Matt Kenseth and Tony Stewart taking fifth.

This week: AdvoCare 500 at Phoenix International Raceway

The second to last race of the season and the point differential is only 7, but that can be a lot to make up. However a number of drivers such as Busch have been shining of late and I am sure that they would relish a spoiler role.

Broadcast: Nov. 11 at 2 pm ET on ESPN

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Sprint Cup Standings
1) Jimmie Johnson
2) Brad Keselowski -7
3) Clint Boyer -36
4) Kasey Kahne -58
5) Matt Kenseth -72
6) Jeff Gordon -72
7) Denny Hamlin -73
8 ) Tony Stewart -80
9) Martin Truex Jr. -80
10) Greg Biffle -83
11) Kevin Harvick -101
Dale Earnhardt Jr. -151

Nationwide
The chase to win the Nationwide title got a great deal tighter as Elliott Sadler has company in the top spot as Ricky Stenhouse Jr. has tied him for the lead by managing a fourth place finish last week in what appeared to be a very badly handling car.

First let’s not forget that Kevin Harvick had a dominating performance at the track, leading 127 of the 200 laps to win the race. With just a few laps to go Sadler started to fade from his sixth position after a restart and ended up finishing 11th. The top five was filled out with Ryan Blaney in second, Kyle Busch in third and Denny Hamlin taking fifth.

Good news for Danica Patrick fans. She has signed to do two ads for GoDaddy that will run during the upcoming Superbowl. There had been some question if the company’s new advertising agency would retain her services.
This week: Great Clips 200 at the Phoenix International Raceway
Broadcast: Nov. 10 at 3:30 pm ET on ESPN

Nationwide Standings
1) Elliott Sadler
2) Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
3) Austin Dillon -21
4) Sam Hornish Jr. -95
5) Michael Annett -157

Filed Under: Athlete to Follow, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Danica Patrick, ESPN, Greg Biffle, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, NASCAR, Nationwide Series, Rickey Stenhouse Jr., Sam Hornish Jr., Sprint Cup Series, Tony Stewart Tagged With: , , ,

Guest Post: Pickmoto Tracks the ESPN NFL ‘Experts’

November 2, 2012 by Leave a Comment

(Editor’s note: This is a guest blog from the folks at Pickmoto, a fantasy sports mobile app.)

One thing that ESPN is right about with its “Experts” Picks is that predictions are, indeed, a skill. Week 8 is evidence of that. Only 4 Experts’ scores went up – Wickersham, Keyshawn, Schefter, Hoge – and (surprise), they are all in the Top 5. The bottom 7’s scores dropped.

Wickersham picked against the grain with 4 of his picks – Bucs, Lions, Colts, Cowboys – and was a knuckle away from nailing all 4. We particularly like his Bucs pick. Vikings stock hadn’t been higher all year. And the Bucs are better than their record: all four of their losses are by a touchdown or less. Classic case of an undervalued team against an overvalued team.

On the other end of the leaderboard, Allen and Jackson played it safe, save for their pick of the Redskins over the Steelers. Not a bad pick. The Redskins are playing better than expected and the Steelers worse. But at this point, when those 2 put their heads together, you know what’s going to happen.

Even though he’s third from last, Ditka deserves credit for being the lone ESPNer who tabbed the Browns and for going out on a limb with the Rams and Cowboys. If you are going to be an “Expert”, might as well offer some out of the box thinking.

Week 8 – ESPN Experts Leaderboard
-All players start with 300 points.

+Seth Wickersham – 660
Chris Mortensen – 563
+Keyshawn Johnson – 360
+Adam Schefter – 340
+Merrill Hoge – 288
Ron Jaworski – 236
Cris Carter – 220
Mike Golic – 208
Mark Schlereth – 187
Mike Ditka – 158
Eric Allen – 153
Tom Jackson – 126

Pickmoto is recreating the fantasy sports experience on mobile. Its first app for the 2012 NFL season is free for iPhone and iPad. Pickmoto asks the most basic question in sports – which teams will win. It’s pick’em with a twist: there’s a crowdsourced scoring system that rewards correct picks based on their popularity – the less popular, the more points.

Pickmoto’s 2nd app for the NBA season just hit the AppStore. Try it today.

Filed Under: Apps, ESPN, NFL Tagged With: , , , ,

Watching NASCAR: Watch out Texas, Here They Come

November 2, 2012 by Leave a Comment

There is something very familiar about this week’s standings in the Chase — Jimmie Johnson is back on top. However not by much as Brad Keselowski has shown that he is not going away as the two of them appear to be making the Cup Championship a two-man event.

The two have been close and Johnson winning last week in the Tums Fast Relief 500 managed to finally dislodge Keselowski from the top spot in the standings. All things considered Keselowski had a solid day, starting in the back of the pack and working his way to a brief stay at first before fading to a sixth place finish. Johnson ran a strong race and got bonus points for most laps led, among others. Kyle Busch took second followed by Kasey Kahne, Arix Almirola, and Clint Boyer. Dale Earnhardt Jr., back after missing two races due to a concussion, finished in 21st.
http://youtu.be/AhjCtHOfWf8

In other news it looks like Dodge may return to NASCAR. ESPN reported that Ralph Gilles, president and CEO of the SRT Brand and Chrysler Group LLC told the sports broadcaster that the manufacturer is looking to return and that it saw NASCAR as a very good investment. After its lone team, Penske, said that it was moving to Ford earlier this year Dodge announced it would depart NASCAR next year. Now it has to go hunting for a team.

This Week: The AAA Texas 500

Broadcast: Nov. 4 at 2 pm ET ESPN

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Sprint Cup Standings
1) Jimmie Johnson
2) Brad Keselowski -2
3) Clint Boyer -26
4) Kasey Kahne -29
5) Denny Hamlin -49
6) Jeff Gordon -54
7) Martin Truex Jr. -63
8 ) Matt Kenseth –65
9) Greg Biffle -69
10) Tony Stewart -71
11) Kevin Harvick -88
12) Dale Earnhardt Jr. -140

Nationwide
No race last week.

This Week: O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge at Texas Motor Speedway

Broadcast: Nov. 3 at 7 pm ET ESPN


Nationwide Standings
1) Elliott Sadler
2) Ricky Stenhouse Jr. -6
3) Austin Dillon -26
4) Sam Hornish Jr. -98
5) Michael Annett -150

Filed Under: Athlete to Follow, Dale Earnhardt Jr., ESPN, Greg Biffle, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Kurt Busch, NASCAR, Nationwide Series, Rickey Stenhouse Jr., Sam Hornish Jr., Sprint Cup Series, Texas Motor Speedway, Tony Stewart Tagged With: , , ,
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