Catz's No Ragretz Picks!!!

Spurs -8.5 vs Pelicans

Of all the teams, somehow the Pelicans have been the biggest thorn in the side of the Spurs. 3-0 in their last three home games against San Antonio has Nawlins feeling confident going in to tonight's match up. Luckily for the gambling folk out there, Greg Popovich is an excellent adjustment maker who knows how to stop a team from having his number. Expect a blowout from the Spurs tonight that makes people say "oh yeah, the Spurs are good...they might challenge the Warriors". 

SAC +7.5 vs DAL

We got a heavyweight showdown in Big D!! And no I'm not talking about Wrestlemania, that's still a few weeks away. I'm talking about the match up of heavyweight centers in ZaZa "The Bond Villian" Patchouli Oil, and DeMarcus "Motherfuckin Boogie" Cousins. Expect blows to be exchanged, elbows to be thrown and for one giant man to rise above the rest. That giant man is DeMarcus Cousins, and the Kings will get the outright win in this contest.

OKC +7.5 vs GSW

Might as well start updatin my resume, because this pick is going to get me fired!! The all knowing, all powerful Editor has banned me from picking against the Warriors, but if there's one thing we all know, it's that you can't control the Catz!! Thunder blew a 17 point 4th quarter lead last night in LA, and absolutely no one is giving them a chance in this game. Not only do I expect the Thunder to play a great game, I expect them to win this game outright!! Ending the Warriors home winning streak, and putting a dent in their plans to surpass the Bulls 72 wins. As an added bonus, Steph Curry is questionable after sitting out two nights ago.

THURSDAY'S TOP THREE BETS!

DET +1 vs. MEM

This is a revenge opportunity for the Pistons, as the last time these two teams met it was decided on a Matt Barnes full court heave that miraculously stole the game for the Grizz! They both play basically the same style of slow it down, defend the shit out of you not fun for the casual NBA fan basketball, so it should be a close one. Ultimately I think the revenge factor is just enough for the Pistons to secure a victory in Memphis.

CLE +6.5 vs. SAS

The first decent NBA match up on national TV since Christmas day!! The Spurs are riding a 31 game home winning streak at the moment, but if you had to bet one team with one player that could end it, it would have to be LeBron and the Cavs right?? Plus knowing Pop and his disdain for the NBA, he might sit all of the starters tonight for the Spurs to send a message or something and then watch as his back-ups somehow keep it closer than anyone expected. Good ol' Pop. Cavs win on the road and end the streak!


SAC +2 vs. UTA

I honestly do not understand how the Jazz keep plugging along and haven't fallen into a Suns-like spiral of ineptitude with all of the injuries they have suffered. If Sacramento loses just one of their rotation players they might not win a game for six months, but for Utah it doesn't matter who they roll out, they are still competitive. Really speaks highly of Quinn Snyder's coaching ability. And even though I just waxed poetically about the Jazz, I'm taking Boogie and the points on the road here.

Catz's Cuality Cutz

After winning a decent amount of money on a fifty cent bet one beautiful Wednesday morning (don't judge me) I decided to do what any fiscally responsible adult does in their mid-twenties. Just kidding, I ran to the nearest GameStop and bought a brand new Xbox One. Early returns on my investment are positive, but its too early to tell if it is truly worth the 500 dollar price tag, especially with the comparable PS4 being a hundred dollars cheaper. At least if you decide to invest in one, these game reviews will be helpful on deciding which games to purchase.

NBA 2k14

You fire this game up, and immediately you are treated to some eye candy the likes of which have never been achieved by a console previously. This game is gorgeous, the players are identical to their real life counterparts and everything runs seamlessly. Then you get to the start menu and realize that most of the time in development was focused on the in-game stuff and they threw in the rest two weeks before shipping. This is especially noticeable if you have played the 360 or ps3 version. Basically you have three modes to choose from. Play Now, My Player, and My GM. The real star is the GM mode. For the first time in years they actually switched something up when it came to Franchise mode. You get to choose the owner that you want to work for based on their personality traits, some owners are more interested in winning, while others are interested in the bottom line (ironically none of them are concerned with associating with black people). Also the owner will give you random tasks to do during the season like trade a player who is not fitting well, or upgrading your bench which help break up the monotony of building a dynasty. Those goals can be weird sometimes though and actually hurt more often than help. The actual game play which I mentioned earlier is fantastic. Some of the advanced dunks really drop the hammer, and getting dunked on has an embarrassing feel to it. The only gripe I have is that on offense your CPU teammates do too much standing around instead of playing away from the ball, unless you call a play. Also Hall of Fame is really hard, teams will go on crazy runs, and it is not rare to have an opponent shoot 75% from the floor. All in all this is a great first edition for an NBA game on the new system, and with some minor tweaks could be an all-time great game next year.

Assassins Creed IV: Black Flag

If you have ever wanted to control Johnny Depp while he runs around in the Pirates of the Caribbean, this is the game for you. The game visually is stunning, and it actually makes you feel like you are sailing the high seas of the Caribbean. Every once in a while the dreaded "rogue wave" will surprise you in the open seas, and if you do not take preventative methods it will absolutely rock your shit. Additionally there are tons of things to do when you are not completing the main story missions; including hunting marine life, doing side assassinations, hijacking other ships, and discovering buried treasure. Especially fun are the whale/shark hunts, in which you find yourself in a tiny little canoe facing off against some of the most terrifying creatures that the open seas have to offer. If you do not shit yourself the first time a great white shark pops out from underneath the calm ocean seas and tears your canoe into pieces, then congratulations you are a much stronger man than I. Eventually it does get a little repetitive with all of the following missions that you are forced to do, and I wish that the combat was a little bit harder especially when it comes to some of the more important characters. All in all though this a game that you will truly enjoy at least playing through once, and satisfies every guys need to grab the helm of a pirate ship and plunder all of the loot you can possibly get your dirty little hands on. Watch out for the rogue waves and the infamous "white whale" and enjoy the open seas.

TITANFALL!!!

The name of this game deserves to be capitalized because that's the type of energy it brings to the Xbox One. As one of my fellow writers put it, its basically Call of Duty: Transformers, but that is certainly not a bad thing. You basically get to enjoy the classic shoot em up multi-player of COD game, but every once in a while you get to switch things up with a little Titan action!! Titan's are very entertaining to get in, and if you are even a half decent player you can go on quite the rampage towards opposing players. If you do find yourself on a Titan and you hear "warning, outnumbered, leave the area" then get the fuck out of there because your Titan will get destroyed faster than a box of doughnuts at a police convention. All in all this is a very satisfying game with a lot of replay value, especially when new maps/modes/weapons are released in the next few months. The only real knock here is the glaring lack of a campaign mode that would at least give you the chance to get away from multi-player mode and try something different. But alas, there is none (do not even try to tell me about the one that have labeled as a Campaign, its not) maybe that will be remedied in Titanfall 2: Revenge of the Titans. 

There are at least three game reviews for you, arguably the three best games out right now for the Xbox One, more to come soon!