of resume and they were expected to win, and he believe

Chris Berman is taking his Swami Says NFL picks segment to ESPN Chalk. Each week during the NFL regular season, hell give his picks against the spread here with a little further analysis.Season record: 10-2 ATS (last week: 4-1)Washington Redskins at New York Giants?The Redskins are 0-2 (both losses at home) and desperate times call for desperate measures. Look for this team to bounce back and play well in New York. I like Jordan Reed to have a big game, but the Giants seem to have this close-game thing figured out this season. Give me the G-Men to win, Washington to cover.Score: NY Giants 24, Redskins 23ATS pick: WashingtonMinnesota Vikings at Carolina Panthers?Carolina clobbers teams at home and I expect nothing short of a great performance from the Panthers, which should give that community a rallying point of togetherness. That being said, Minnesotas defense keeps them in every game. Every game. I understand that Teddy Bridgewater is hurt. And Adrian Peterson. And Matt Kalil, the left tackle. But why wouldnt the D keep them close in this one? I think Carolina wins, but Minnesota plays the Panthers tough.Score: Panthers 23, Vikings 20San Francisco 49ers at Seattle SeahawksThe 49ers are much improved this season under Chip Kelly. I saw it in person Week 1 out in San Francisco in a 28-0 drubbing of the Los Angeles Rams. But I think Seattle starts to show signs that offense is coming in this one. The defense has shown me the same signs theyve showed for several years; that group has been lights out. Im going to lay the big number, even though thats not my M.O.Score: Seahawks 24, 49ers 13ATS pick: SeattleSan Diego Chargers at Indianapolis Colts?The Chargers have played seven good quarters, but are only 1-1. I know Keenan Allen is hurt, and Danny Woodhead is out. Indy is 0-2 and will play at hard at home. I get it. But Ive been on San Diego in the past in this spot and I think they get it done again here, winning outright.Score: Chargers 24, Colts 21ATS pick: San DiegoBaltimore Ravens?at Jacksonville JaguarsIve paired the two win-the-game contests here, where the spread isnt as big a factor. Jacksonville has gotten off to a disappointing 0-2 start after many thought theyd be on the rise this season. Baltimore is a veteran team, grinding out wins. Impressive victories over the Browns and Bills? No. But with a veteran coach and a slew of veteran players returning, dont overlook them. Baltimore gets it done on the road.Score: Ravens 22, Jaguars 19ATS pick: Baltimore Mike Bibby Jersey . Boucher previously coached the Tampa Bay Lightning and had a 97-78-20 record over two-plus seasons. He was dismissed by the team last March after the Lightning struggled in the lockout-shortened season with a 13-18-1 record. Lorenzen Wright Jersey . The Nashville Predators were glad their captain was still on their side. Weber had a goal and two assists, and Roman Josi scored the shootout winner to lift the Predators to a 4-3 win over the Flyers on Thursday night. http://www.grizzliesbasketballpro.info/customized/ . Thats about all he can do right now, so hes trying not to think about when he might be able to play again for the Los Angeles Lakers. Dillon Brooks Jersey . Jay Feely kicked a 41-yard field goal in overtime, and the Cardinals edged the Tennessee Titans 37-34 in overtime after blowing a 17-point lead late in the fourth quarter. Shareef Abdur-Rahim Grizzlies Jersey . Ryan Garbutt had a goal and two assists as Dallas snapped a six-game losing streak with a 5-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night. CLEVELAND -- Who wrecks the hex?Who can reverse the curse?The Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Indians will send their postseason aces into Game 1 of the World Series on Tuesday with an eye toward winning their first championship in three generations ... or much, much longer.You know the history by now.Cleveland has not won a World Series since 1948. The Indians came up short in their three most recent appearances, the last in 1997, when Edgar Renterias walk-off single in the 11th inning of Game 7 gave the Florida Marlins the title.The Cubs have not been in the Series since 1945 and have not won it since 1908. Numerologists suggest this might be the year. There are 108 stitches on a baseball. Wrigley Field sits on Chicagos planned development lot 108. The Cubs win the Series in the movie Back to the Future II, which has a running length of 108 minutes.And on and on.Not that the teams are focused on the history.After youve actually done it, thats when you really dwell on that particular thought, Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. In the meantime, I promise you, our guys are going to be in the present tense. I think we all have a tremendous amount of respect for history and whats happened before us or not happened before us. But, you know, you go in that room right now, theyre very young. Really not impacted by a lot of the lore, I dont think.Cubs left-hander Jon Lester and Cleveland right-hander Corey Kluber have been the two best starting pitchers in the postseason while lifting the Great Lakes neighbors this far. Each will make his fourth start of the postseason, his third in a Game 1.Lester is 2-0 with three quality starts, an 0.86 ERA and an 0.76 WHIP in 21 innings in the playoffs this year. He threw eight shutout innings in a 1-0 victory over the San Francisco Giants in the first game of the National League Division Series, gave up one run in six innings of a no-decision in the 8-4 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the first game of the NL Championship Series and gave up one run in seven innings in an 8-4 victory in Game 5 of the NLCS.You know, there will be nerves and there will be adrenaline and all that stuff when I go out there to throw the first pitch and kind of get the ball rolling, Lester said, but once you get into the game, I feel like then youre able to go back to your game plan.Klubers postseason ERA, 0.98, trails only Lester among pitchers who have made more than one playoff start this month. He won both of his previous Game 1 starts, throwing seven shutout iinnings in a 6-0 victory over the Boston Red Sox in the American League Division Series and 6 1/3 shutout innings in a 2-0 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays in the first game of the AL Championship Series.ddddddddddddIn Game 5 of the ALCS, he lost after allowing two runs in five innings.Obviously, youre in the World Series, and theres two teams left and all that kind of stuff, Kluber said. For me at least, its been all about getting prepared and being ready when it is time to throw that first pitch.The teams also have more than the usual familiarity.Cleveland manager Terry Francona led ghost-busting Boston to its first World Series title in 86 years in 2004, then to another crown in 2007, both times for general manager Theo Epstein, now the Cubs president.I know thats a really cool thing for fans to talk about and stuff, Francona said. It really doesnt enter into what were doing. I just think if you look too far back, you look too far forward, you miss whats right in front of you.Epstein interviewed Maddon for the Boston managerial job in 2004 before hiring Francona. Maddon said the other day the Red Sox made the right choice at the time.Our players are going to dictate who wins and loses on both sides, as it should be, but Theo had the guts to hire me up there when I didnt have a ton of resume and they were expected to win, and he believed in me, Francona said. We went eight years of a lot of good baseball.Lester won 65 games in his four full seasons as a starter under Francona, who was replaced after 2011 and hired by Cleveland in 2013. Lester is 8-6 with a 2.05 ERA in 19 playoff appearances, 17 starts, and he won four games in the Red Soxs run to the 2013 World Series title.I watch him pitch right now and when he takes the mound, extremely calm, Maddon said. Hes in the moment. There is something about that internal level of confidence and the ability to -- this is an overused term, but its true -- slow things down. I think some players have that ability better than others.The Cubs had 33 hits while winning the final three games of the NLCS against the Dodgers. Anthony Rizzo was 7-for-14 with two homers, Addison Russell 6-for-13 with two homers and Dexter Fowler 6-for-14 with two doubles.Clevelands staff, despite injuries to three start pitchers, has given only 15 runs in eight playoff games, sweeping Boston and taking out Toronto in five. ' ' '