Big Al McMordie Articles
Article Topics: View All Articles By Big Al McMordie | NFL | College Football | NBA | College Basketball | NHL
Date added: 07.10.08
Big Al McMordie
NFL Season Wins Forecast
With the NFL season just around the corner, this is a good time to look at what might happen this fall on the gridiron. Future numbers are out for each team. A year ago in this column I looked at the Jacksonville Jaguars, who were projected at 8 ½ wins: “Jacksonville might have been the best 8-8 football team in NFL history in 2006. Their ... read more
Big Al McMordie Bio and Picks
Date added: 07.01.08
Big Al McMordie
2008 MLB Season, A Mid-Year Review
It’s almost as if last year’s bizarre football season has carried over into baseball. 2007 was an incredible season of shockers in football. Every week, it seemed, the No. 1 team in the nation got beat. We saw USC lose at home as a 41-point favorite over Stanford, the biggest upset ever based on wagering lines. No team had ever been a ... read more
Big Al McMordie Bio and Picks
Date added: 06.19.08
Big Al McMordie
Handicapping Baseball Defense
It's important for a team to have strong defense at key positions such as outfield, shortstop and catcher. Defense at centerfield, shortstop and catcher are where the term "Strong up the middle comes from." Good teams use defense to assist their pitching, turn double plays and help keep team ERAs down. From a betting standpoint, defense ... read more
Big Al McMordie Bio and Picks
Date added: 06.12.08
Big Al McMordie
Rise and Fall of AL Totals
Successful handicappers need to keep track daily of changes in baseball of things that may influence the side and total of a game. The Red Sox, for instance, went three straight games under the total when slugger David Ortiz went on the shelf with a wrist injury. When they got shut out by the Mariners as a -150 home favorite, they were without Ortiz, ... read more
Big Al McMordie Bio and Picks
Date added: 06.02.08
Big Al McMordie
Back to the Future
There's no doubt what the theme of the 2008 NBA Finals is: Back to the Future! Celtics/Lakers is going to have producers combing through archival NBA playoff footage from the 60s and 80s, with Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain crashing the boards, and Larry Bird and Magic Johnson running the break in their short shorts. It was always billed as a ... read more
Big Al McMordie Bio and Picks
Date added: 05.25.08
Big Al McMordie
NBA Playoff Notes: Defense and Adjustments
For the record, 75% of NBA teams in a 1-1 series that win Game 3 go on to win that series. That will give a little comfort to the Celtics after their surprisingly easy win in Game 3. It is already shaping up as an odd series. After home teams dominated the last round, the Celtics and Pistons then saw the road team win two of the first three games. ... read more
Big Al McMordie Bio and Picks
Date added: 05.18.08
Big Al McMordie
Baseball's Post-Steroid Era
It’s not your imagination: Nobody is scoring runs! Home runs are down 20% from two years ago. It’s tough to clarify exactly why this is the case, but one answer might be cool weather. Historically home run hitters start slow as April and May have cooler weather, which helps pitchers. Sluggers don’t normally get cooking until the hot ... read more
Big Al McMordie Bio and Picks
Date added: 05.12.08
Big Al McMordie
What's Wrong With....
Each baseball season expectations are strong for most teams, at least as far as improvement. Then the season starts. Suddenly, things don't go quite according to plan. Some teams play better than expected, others stumble through hitting slumps or injuries. Fortunately, it's only May, so there is plenty of time to get things straightened out. Here's ... read more
Big Al McMordie Bio and Picks
Date added: 05.04.08
Big Al McMordie
NBA Playoffs Strategic Adjustments
It's the time of the season where NBA coaches REALLY earn their money. The NBA Playoffs is largely about three key points: Talent, defense, and adjustments. Naturally, you can't win without talent on the court. Defense is another key, as well as strategic adjustments by the coaching staff. If you don't think coaching strategy is that important, think ... read more
Big Al McMordie Bio and Picks
Date added: 04.06.08
Big Al McMordie
NBA Stretch Run Notes
In the East, the Celtics and Pistons have wrapped up the No. 1 and 2 seeds. In the West, it’s a different story, with the Hornets, Spurs and Lakers all with a shot at No. 1. The amazing Hornets are certainly playing like a hungry team that wants that No. 1 slot, on a 9-1 SU, 8-2 ATS run. It will be their first postseason since 2004. The Hornets ... read more
Big Al McMordie Bio and Picks
Date added: 04.01.08
Big Al McMordie
Streaking-Slumping Toward the Finish Line
As we come down the home stretch of the NBA season, it’s a great time to utilize a different handicapping angle. Namely, are teams motivated to finish strong? Or have they given up? Teams fighting for playoff berths are the most obvious at being extra-motivated. But other times, even teams with losing records can be motivated to finish the ... read more
Big Al McMordie Bio and Picks
Date added: 03.23.08
Big Al McMordie
Down the Stretch
There are a couple of key points to keep in mind from a handicapping perspective as the NBA season begins to wind down. One is that this is the end of a long season. That means teams have had to endure a lot of road trips, airline flights, and all the difficulties that hinder a professional team away from home. Keep in mind that road trips can be very ... read more
Big Al McMordie Bio and Picks
Date added: 03.10.08
Big Al McMordie
More Tourney Tips
If you didn't get enough madness this weekend, or were out of town, don't sweat it. You get to go mad all over again! This is a unique week as teams play for conference titles with trips to the postseason play at stake. One of the great parts of March tournament play is the amount of sidebars that can pop up with respect to handicapping. That is, tournament ... read more
Big Al McMordie Bio and Picks
Date added: 03.10.08
Big Al McMordie
NCAA Tourney Tips
Many times during the season, and even in some conference tournament games, you can find teams that are less likely interested in wanting to play hard. That is, they know they’re going to get hammered, or they’ve slumped so badly down the stretch that they realize they have no shot at going anywhere in tourney play. In short, they’ve ... read more
Big Al McMordie Bio and Picks
Date added: 02.11.08
Big Al McMordie
Inside the Numbers
As we pass the mid-point of the NBA season, let's take a look at some overall season stats. What correlates more with success, a good offense or good defense? Well, let's take a look at the highest scoring teams in the NBA: They are, in order, the Suns, Warriors, Lakers, Nuggets, Jazz and Magic. What stands out is that these are good teams in the ... read more
Big Al McMordie Bio and Picks
Date added: 02.03.08
Big Al McMordie
Big Al's News and Notes February 08
The Cavaliers ended up with a 14-point rout of the Clippers, 98-84. On the surface it appeared to be a one-sided game. However, a closer look reveals a different story. The victory was tougher than it should have been. LeBron James returned after sitting out last week's loss against the Seattle SuperSonics due to a sore right ankle. He wasn't 100 ... read more
Big Al McMordie Bio and Picks
Date added: 12.02.07
Big Al McMordie
The Wacky College Football Season
Is there any doubt that whoever is #1 heading into the BCS title game will win? That’s because of the #2 curse in this crazy 2007 college football season. If the #2 team can’t even beat Stanford or Pitt, what chance does it have against #1? West Virginia’s shocking loss at home to Pitt only muddies the crazy national title picture. ... read more
Big Al McMordie Bio and Picks
Date added: 11.21.07
Big Al McMordie
Upsets and Bowl Runs
2007 has been the year of the upset in college football. It happened again this past weekend, with No. 2 ranked Oregon getting knocked out of the national title picture, followed by Oklahoma. And as we approach the final few weeks of the regular season, there are a lot of key games and teams off emotional highs and lows. This needs to be considered ... read more
Big Al McMordie Bio and Picks
Date added: 10.23.07
Big Al McMordie
Football's Emotional Ups and Downs
Emotion is an enormous angle to consider when handicapping football games. A fired up, focused team can wipe out a lot of bad stats that they may also possess. We saw this on Monday night a few weeks ago when the Bills hosted the Cowboys. It was the first Monday night game in years for the team and the fans of Buffalo, and they played inspired football ... read more
Big Al McMordie Bio and Picks
Date added: 10.12.07
Big Al McMordie
Football Adjustments
It was a wild football weekend last week, and the biggest surprise (in my handicapping lifetime) was USC losing 24-23 to Stanford as an incredible 39-point favorite (and the odds were even higher than that mid-week), ending the Trojans’ 35-game home winning streak. As far as odds are concerned, it was the biggest upset in college football history. ... read more
Big Al McMordie Bio and Picks
Date added: 10.01.07
Big Al McMordie
Football's Upset Weekend
There’s a reason they play the games, of course: You never know! That was certainly evident after this past weekend’s slate of wild games and crazy upsets. This past weekend the dogs were in full force in both the colleges and the pros. It started with a Friday game as mighty West Virginia was a road favorite at South Florida. But this ... read more
Big Al McMordie Bio and Picks
Date added: 09.29.07
Big Al McMordie
NFL Week 3 Review: Offenses Wake Up
Two weeks ago I wrote about how defenses are often ahead of the offense early in the NFL season, as it takes time for new offensive personnel to click. The under went 10-5 the first week of the NFL season, but that sure changed in Week 3. Offenses are beginning to click all over the league, and the overs started 11-3 this past weekend! Green Bay struck ... read more
Big Al McMordie Bio and Picks
Date added: 09.19.07
Big Al McMordie
Football Flops
We just started the pro and college football seasons and several teams are playing up to expectations: USC and LSU in college; the Cowboys, Colts, and Steelers in the NFL. Preseason analysis was accurate in regards to how those teams have thus far played. But what about the flops? There are several teams that have been huge disappointments, and here’s ... read more
Big Al McMordie Bio and Picks