He was clearly dazed and confused on the ice

I am picking the Cardinals, but not just because I want them to win. I am picking the Cardinals to win because they have three reasons to get amped up to play one of their best games of the year:1) Favre torched the Cards for six TDs last year as a Jet. Now granted, Arizona played one of the worst halves of football by any team at any level that day, but c’mon. This year Favre is unbelievably playing the best ball of his life, so this may be wishful thinking. But if they can’t get up to wipe the smirk off of his face, they are not human.2) The Vikings shredded the Cardinals 35-14 last year around this same time, in this same stadium.

They can’t let that happen again.3) They are coming off an emotional loss they feel they should have won. This season they have not lost two games in a row.Pick: Cardinals Monday Baltimore at Green BayI’ll take Green Bay by a whisker, just because the Ravens barely escaped in a game where they were facing an untested backup QB.Pick: Packers Against the spread picksThis is where things get a little tricky. Veterans know that when you bet against the spread you aren’t simply picking the winner, you are also betting how close the loser will be on the scoreboard. When betting against the spread, if you choose the team that’s favored, they must win by more than the spread number in order for you to get credit for a correct pick. If you choose the underdog, they have to lose by less than the spread number in order for you to get credit.Week Twelve 3-2 Season prediction tally: 98-77 and my BetUS followers are loving me.At INDY (-6.5) vs. Tennessee (6.5) Bet TitansEven if they don’t win, VY and CJ will keep them close Mark it down. At PITTSBURGH (off) vs.

St Louis (9) Bet RamsChicago may win but their offense cannot be relied upon Check out all our Rankings, in our usual start sit fashion. It's clear wherever Alexander Ovechkin goes the spotlight follows; and the ever watchful eye of the National Hockey League moves as well to ensure one of its top superstars behaves in step. While the attention given by the league, the media, and the fans to players like Alexander Ovechkin is well warranted, it appears the NHL may be a little over zealous in handing out misconducts to players.Most recently it was the knee on knee collision between Alex Ovechkin and Tim Gleason. While the whole "second misconduct in three games" issue requires review by the league, and generally ends in a suspension, can the league truly expect players of this highest caliber to slow down and soften hits in the interest of being overly nice to the oppositionDid the hit on Gleason injure Yes, and while I have to agree with the league on the terms in dealing with two suspensions in three games, I disagree with their aggressiveness in demonizing the knee to knee hit.True, it is ugly, and can be a career ending hit Moreover it can be done intentionally. But the replay clearly shows Ovechkin in the process of a check and the knee on knee just sort of happened.

Additionally, take into account the fact that Ovie is generally not a "dirty" player and this hit is, by all accounts, accidental.Penalize him and review the hit, but don't punish him for something far beyond his control. Other players seem to be trying to take each others' heads off; to react in such a way to a harmless knee to knee seems a little over zealous.The first example to cause me concern regarding the NHL's overzealous approach to suspensions was James Neal. Ask any Stars fan and Neal would be at the very bottom of a Dallas Stars goon list. He was clearly dazed and confused on the ice.While I never like to see someone get hurt, it sort of fits the job description in hockey. The issue isn't the protection of players by the NHL, but the extreme coddling, to the point of overzealous punishment.Can the NHL truly take on a "guilt by association" approach to situations and expect the game not to be hurtCan the league think it's right to group upright players like Ovechkin and Neal together with real goons who constantly hit high, injure, and play dirty, such as Chris ProngerNothing positive will come from the over punishment of good, decent players. No regular player wants to injure, or even attempts to in most cases, but the NHL can't punish a player for a legal, clean hit just because it injures.I myself admit both hits are highly controversial. He also covers the Anaheim Ducks for SoCalSportsHub and covers the Texas and Dallas Stars for Hockey54 He can be contacted at karmer..