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Monday, February 28, 2011

The Doctor Is In!

Change is sometimes a good thing. Recently we have heard much about college football and changes in its conferences. Now there are talks of changes in the NBA. Retraction seems to be the idea that keeps popping up. Essentially they would kick teams out in a way to get more star players on more teams. This got me thinking, what would I do to leagues to make them better? Looks like the doctor is in!
NFL: My prescription, to move some teams. With all these talks of lock out, they need some new markets to make money in. Two places I’m thinking of are Los Angeles and Grand Rapids. Los Angeles needs a football team. It is such a big market that the NFL could taken advantage of. All they would need to do get a new stadium in LA and move the Raiders back. I know that LA fans are very dedicated and that Al Davis might not agree, but it would be a great move for the NFL. Grand Rapids may be a harder case. They are one of the next candidate cities for a pro team and have a dedicated sports state. I feel that everyone on the west side of the state would go crazy for a team. Then the NFL could market the cross state rivalry between the Lions and the Grand Rapids team. I would take the Jaguars out of Jacksonville and put the new team in the AFC South. Now there are two new markets and loads of $$$!
MLB: My prescription, tweaking the schedule. No teams would be changed in this deal. All I would want is more day games and more inter-league play. The day game is a lost piece in the MLB. Baseball’s history is playing in the middle of summer in the middle of the day. It is so necessary for a great season! They could also take on the big issue of shortening the season with day games. More double headers = less days in a season, and less games in a season=more time for the post season. Now there are more viewers for the postseason and you can make more money because the World Series isn’t over shadowed by regular season football. More inter-league play would be more for fun and entertainment. We could all finally get to see how are teams are doing in retrospect to the whole league. The old days of baseball are gone and we can finally break this tradition and give meaning to mid season baseball.
That’s it for today, but tune in later this week for more changes in sports and the return of the Big 5!
Thanks for reading!

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

I Have MMS

March 13th, 2011 is a sacred day for all college basketball fans. It is selection Sunday is when we franticly print off brackets and try to find the “winning formula”. Recently, I have been infected by MMS (March Madness Syndrome). I just want it to get here. Enough of all this speculation, let’s just start the thing! Many of us seem to live for those memories that could only happen in March, but you can’t help but think of what might happen. Will MSU make it this year, will BYU be a one seed and of course who will win are all WILLs that show up in early December. I have been thinking about these for the past few days. I can’t help but be a little hypocritical and make my own predictions. Let’s be real though people, these are just snapshots of a frame of time in college basketball. In a few days all of this could be wrong. There are still the last few crucial regular season games and of course the conference tournaments (Want to know an obsession? I do brackets for these just because I can’t wait any longer!). I know I called the Super Bowl right, but this is truly that hardest thing to call in all of sports! So don’t take any of these to heart and name the teams that I call the written word. So here we go:
#1 Seeds  
Ohio State- Big 10 Champions
Pitt- Big East Champions
Texas- Big 12 Champions
Duke- ACC Champions
#2 Seeds
Kansas- Loses in Big 12 Championship game
San Diego State -  Champions
BYU- Mountain West Champions
Notre Dame- Loses in Big East Championship game
#3 Seeds
Arizona- Pac 10 Champions
Purdue- Loses late in the Big 10 Tournament
Georgetown- Loses late in Big East Tournament
Florida- SEC Champions
#4 Seeds
Uconn- Loses late in Big East Tournament
Wisconsin- Loses late in the Big 10 Tournament
Syracuse- Goes on a big run in the Big East Tournament; loses late
Villanova- Loses late in the Big East Tournament

Are the Michigan teams in?
Michigan- Late losses and bad Big 10 Tournament force them OUT.
Michigan State- Late wins and good Big 10 Tournament, they are IN. (Don’t sleep on them in the big dance either!)
Thanks for reading!

Sunday, February 20, 2011

An All Star of an All Star Game

             Nothing says amazing like jumping a car and dunking like a beast in front of thousands of your adoring fans. This is exactly what Blake Griffin did on his way to winning the 2011 Sprite NBA Dunk contest. This only makes me love this kid even more! He is making many of us eat our words about his first season. I never thought that this guy could be this good. Now my new favorite player in the NBA, Blake has made himself the rising star in the NBA. He combined with John Wall, DeJuan Blaire, and the rest of the NBA Frosh and Sophs gave us hope in the future of the NBA.
 At a time when NFL football may be locked out, it is a good time to be an NBA’er. I haven’t been a huge NBA fan for too long, but I can’t remember a year that I have liked more. The quality of your product is rated by how good your overall performance is. In terms of all the All-Star games, the NBA is by far the best. They have all the attractions that you need to fill up a good weekend. There is the skills contest, the 3-point contest, the sophomore and freshmen game, the celebrity game, and of course the game itself. The NBA gets an A+ for their effort to entertain me during their break. All other leagues fall short. The NHL gets an A, MLB gets a B+, and the NFL gets a D. The NBA just has so many features to this great weekend.
One of those features is the celebrity game. I was surprised to see that Bieber won the MVP award. It looked like he had some skills, but come on. Give that award to one of the old NBA guys, not some punk kid that makes fun of Tom Brady’s hair.
Anyway, back to something that matters. How about the rest of the NBA Season? That sounds good to me. This is what I think the Playoffs are going to look like:

East
1. Boston
2. Miami
3. Chicago
4. Orlando
5. New York
6. Atlanta
7. Charlotte
8. Philadelphia

Philadelphia v Boston (0-4) <--- Series Record
Charlotte v Miami (1-4)
Atlanta v Chicago (1-4)
New York v Orlando (2-4)

Orlando v Boston (3-4)
Chicago v Miami (4-3)

Chicago v Boston (4-2)

West
1. San Antonio
2. Oklahoma City
3. Los Angeles
4. Dallas
5. New Orleans
6. Portland
7. Utah
8. Memphis

Memphis v San Antonio (0-4)
Utah v Oklahoma City (0-4)
Portland v Los Angeles (1-4)
New Orleans v Dallas (1-4)

Dallas v San Antonio (2-4)
Los Angeles v Oklahoma City (3-4)

Oklahoma City v San Antonio (2-4)

NBA FINALS
Chicago v San Antonio (2-4)

Well there you go! I’ll revise it when the playoffs get here.

Thanks for reading!

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

February Frenzy

Welcome back sports fans! It seems to be that college basketball has gone though two #1’s since we last talked! As much as this would seem to be a big deal, it really isn’t. Sure, it was thrilling to see Wisconsin fans rush the court (Though it is extremely dumb! We will save that for another day! Plus, Sullinger claims he was spit on by a ‘Sconnie fan is the process. He can talk to that green that Tiger treated the same way this week!) and Kansas State do the same a couple days later, but its basketball. You don’t need to fight every week so you can make the championship game like our BS…oops… BCS system in college football. To make it to the big dance all you really need to do is finish in the top 50. It is good to make your way to the top four spots though. Let’s take a look at the current top four. #1 Kansas (who lost this week) is in the tough Big 12. They will lose at least one more this year, but still stay in the top four. #2 Texas is also from the Big 12. They also have a good chance of losing another. They still have the advantage for beating Kansas earlier this year. #3 Ohio State probably won’t lose again this year, but they will still have some close games. #4 Pitt is from the Big East and is sure to lose one or two games due to the toughness of the Big East and the Big East Tournament. Speaking of tournaments, everyone is talking about who the one seeds will be in the tournament this March. This is how I see it

Texas- They will be the number one team in the nation coming in to the tournament. With a big win over Kansas and a Big 12 title, they will be the favorites.
Kansas- Will be limping in to March, but just a little. Look for them to be primed for a big run to at least the Elite Eight.  
Duke- The Champs are back and ready to go. The ACC, being weaker this year, will be eyeing another title from a one seed.
Ohio State- a good Big 10 Tournament keeps the bucks in the top four and ready to win.

Pitt will be a two seed because they will lose in the Big East Tournament. They will be the strongest two seed.

Thanks for reading!

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Wednesday Big Five

Monday Tuesday  Wednesday Big Five!
1. The Pack Attack
Well it was Aaron Rodger’s Super Bowl début and did he ever make the most of it! He was able to throw all over the Steelers tough defense! He was finally able to step out of the shadow of Brett Favre and into the hearts of Packers fans. He would also collect the MVP award, a championship belt, and a new Chevy Camaro. This Super Bowl wasn’t only about A-Rodge’, it was about the rest of the Packers. Of course everyone cares about the MVP, but how about Greg Jennings? He looked absolutely ecstatic! With a line that will live forever “It’s a great day to be great”. I was so happy for all the young guys to get a ring. I can’t forget the old guys either! Woodson and Driver also get their first rings as well! Overall I was very pleased with this Super Bowl! Being a lifelong Packers fan and all, I was truly given chills when they won. I was at the game when they lost to the Lions. I thought at that moment that any chance of the Packers winning it all had died. Sure enough they got hot in the playoffs and made it to the top! Congrats again Packers!
2. Rivalry week
If you were to pick one week to watch regular season college basketball, I would strongly suggest that you watch this week. There are a lot of great games that could catch your eye. Two big ones include the #11 Georgetown @ #13 Syracuse (which I am watching now) and #21 North Carolina @ #5 Duke in the best rivalry of them all. I know, you probably won’t catch either of these after you read my blog, but they will both be big parts in deciding conference supremacy. There are big games every day and there is a loaded Saturday. All of these games have implications for Conference Tourneys and the big one in March. So get your fill early so you can do really good on those brackets in a few weeks (A Few WEEKS?!?! I KNOW!!!!)!  So I have to applaud ESPN for making such a great schedule because I’m hooked this week and the rest of the season! (Check ESPN.com for local listings).
3. Carmelo Trade
Now it’s time for the latest trade rumors in the NBA. Carmelo Anthony has been the center of all the trade rumors since the big Heat this summer. There was a time when he was going to the Nets and now the Knicks look like the front runner. Recently, the Lakers have decided to throw their hat in the ring and say they want him. Both places are intriguing to me. Anthony could go have instance success in LA, but would have to share the stage with the stars that are there. In New York, he would have to work a little harder, but he has Stoudemire. Plus New York is his home town. I can see him going either place, but I feel he would rather go to the Knicks. There’s even more drama. Now there are reports that he would stay with Denver if a trade isn’t done. So whatever happens, I still feel that there will be a power shift in the NBA coming our way.
4. A Friendly Affair
Soccer games were abundant today. There were countries playing each other out on the pitch; battling it out just for kicks though. Many of these games were just tune ups for 2012 Euro qualifying. There was no lack in action today, but there were no upsets. The Netherlands won handily 3-1 over Austria. I strongly suggest you look at the highlights because there are some amazing plays. Other big games included: England 2-1 Denmark, Argentina 2-1 Portugal, France 1-0 Brazil, Germany 1-1 Italy, and Spain 1-0 Columbia. I was also very pleased to see soccer on ESPN as well. I really encourage all of you to get into soccer. It is a great game and we have our own very league! So please, go watch some soccer!
5. Spring Training
Well MLB Spring Training is on its way! The players are reporting and the games are coming! In the upcoming months, I will be giving my predictions for the MLB season. Count down the days, the baseball season is almost here!
Thanks for reading!

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Just saying...

If you looked, my Super Bowl prediction was spot on! I picked the winner, the MVP, and came within one point of the real score! I hate to brag, but that's super! Sorry I don't have any posts today (due to the fact I am still celebrating the Packers victory), but I will be back tomorrow with my Monday Tuesday Wednesday Big Five! I'm talking Super Bowl, College Basketball, and NBA. Until then, stay classy sports fans!

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Super Bowl XLV

It is finally Super Bowl Sunday! Today I make my pick and give you some other things to think about.
Special Teams
Special Teams is very important to every game. In many cases it is the reason a team wins. I think that the Packers and the Steelers both have good units. The Packers have the edge in punting. Tim Masthay is on a roll, just look at his game against the Bears. He took Devin Hester out of the game! In the kicking game, the Steelers have an advantage. Shaun Suisham has a way better percentage and has a few more years of experience. Punt Returning is going to the Packers.  Tramon Williams has a good average and has almost broken a few. The Kick Returning has to go to the Steelers. Antonio Brown returned a kick for a touchdown the first time he touched the football. He is a definite X-Factor for this game!
The score is now:
Packers(7) Steelers(6)
Before I make my pick, there is one thing I would like to break down.
That is the Terrible Towel VS the Cheese Head! Both are very good fan props and both have great origins. The Cheese Head started from the name that Cubs fans gave Brewers fans. The Packers embraced the term and made hats. Myron Cope started the Terrible Towel as a hook for fans to come to the game. Now they have many different versions of it and the proceeds go to local Pittsburgh schools. As cool as the Towel is, the cheese head takes the cake! (Cheese Cake you might say). It is by far the most recognizable prop in football and I love it!
To the pick! This was hard, but this is what I’ve got!

Packers 31 Steelers 24
Aaron Rodgers MVP
Thanks for reading!

Saturday, February 5, 2011

Now Time For the Defense!

Sorry for the lack of posts my fellow sports fans; I have a very busy life! So anyway, today is going to be a very busy day on the blog! I am making my complete defensive advantage picks so get ready!
The defensive side of the ball is very hard to pick apart. Both teams have extremely good defenses (Pitt’s is ranked first, Green Bay’s is second). Trust me, they do have their differences. It starts up at the defensive line. The Packers have big B.J. Raji, Cullen Jenkins, and Ryan Pickett. All are very skilled at getting pressure and making big plays. The Steelers have the same abilities. The Steelers recorded 47 sacks this season; one more than the Packers. The difference is that most of the Steelers sacks came from the linebackers. This makes two of my points. The Packers have a more dynamic line and can take advantage of the Steelers missing their starting center. The Steelers will have the advantage in the linebackers.  James Harrison and the rest of his teammates just hit harder and move faster than Clay Mathews and the Packer LBs. The Steelers also have a slight lead in the stats!
So the score now stands:
Packers(4) Steelers(3)
Now we have to shift to the Cornerbacks and the Safeties. It is clear to me that at the safety position, the Steelers have a huge advantage. Troy Polamalu can be classified as a game changer all by himself. Whenever he plays, it seems that he is on a higher level than everyone else. Ryan Clark is considerable weaker, but still a good complement to Polamalu. Don’t get me wrong, Nick Collins and Charlie Peprah are great for the Packers, but everyone needs to be aware of THE HAIR a.k.a. Troy Polamalu. Both teams also have great corners, but the Packers have this one on lock. Charles Woodson is just as important to the Packers as Polamalu is the Steelers. Woodson is a game changer and is the heart of the defense. Tramon Williams is a game changer too, he is able to fly to the ball and make the all important interception. Pittsburgh has a great pair of corners as well. Bryant McFadden and Ike Taylor are extremely good, but I feel that they just can’t be as clutch as the pair from the Packers.
The score stands today at:
Packers(5) Steelers(4)
This next one goes out to the ladies! No I’m not a sub-par karaoke bar, but I am picking something that might matter to them. That is, who has the better jerseys? I have to say, both have very historic jerseys that haven’t changed much. Both use yellow in all the best spots. I have to go with the Packers. This was a hard decision, but I feel the green is better than the black. Honestly though, there is no wrong answer to this question. These are the best two uniforms in the NFL today!
One last thing! The real expert in my house made his pick yesterday. My dog, Max, has chosen the winner of the Super Bowl. I laid two identical bowls of food on the floor. One had a cheese head behind it, the other had a terrible towel. We let Max go and he chose…







The Packers
So there you go! The real expert made his prediction!
Thanks for reading!

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Boom Boom Pouncey?

Now we are four days away from the Super Bowl! My comparison of the two teams continues today, but also something else that’s kind of related with the game. Enjoy the show my friends!
Offensive Line
The O-line is very important to any football game, but the will be the key to this game. Both teams have a pass rush that can get to the quarterback and both are great run stoppers. The team that is able to control the game at the line of scrimmage will be able to win the game. The Steelers probably had the better offensive line in the regular season, but with the loss of Maurkise Pouncey I think there might be some problems. First would be the snaps. I know that there will have been a week for the new center to practice with Big Ben, but he still won’t have the same flow as Pouncey would. The other aspect is that Pouncey won’t be making the big blocks. The Packers line isn’t very good either. They have had a lot of injuries and have been letting in a lot of unblocked defenders. Even with those faults, I still see them doing better than the Steelers line. The Packers have been on a roll, this helps the o-line win the battle.
Advantage: Packers
Packers(3) Steelers(2)
At the half way point the Packers have a very slight lead, but the rest of the week I have the tough task of picking the better parts of both of the excellent defenses!
In the spirit of the half way point, it’s time to break down the half time show!
This year’s half time show will feature The Black Eyed Peas. I love that the NFL is finally going back to an “MTV” band (Ever since Justin Timberlake got a bit “too into the music”, the NFL has turned to the likes of Bruce Springsteen and The Who).  It is good to forgive and forget (Though I doubt anyone is going to forget those mental images!) and the NFL has finally done that. Let’s get real people, this is the Black Eyed Peas. They are actually quite terrible live and do you really think those guys from the “Never Miss A Super Bowl” club are going to tap their toes to “Boom Boom Pow”? (I doubt it, they are like 80! Plus they are there for the game). So good job on going back NFL, I’m so proud of you! I pray to God though that you can pick a better band next year!
Grade: B+
Thanks for reading!

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

More Superbowl Coverage!

Today was Media Day for both the Packers and Steelers. Every hour they grow closer and closer to the game they have both been waiting for. It’s only Tuesday so let’s not get ahead of ourselves because I have a lot more matchups to break down! The running backs and tight ends are the points up for grabs today!
Running Backs
This is one of the key aspects to this game. We know that both teams are tremendously good at the passing game, but both teams are a little shaky in the running department. The Packers had an early loss when Ryan Grant was plagued by injury. Brandon Jackson would try to take his place, but the running game was never the same. During this season the lack of a running game was the Achilles heel of the Packers. This was still the trend heading into the playoffs until they found their diamond in the rough. James Starks, a sixth round pick from the University of Buffalo, emerged as the Packers major threat. Throughout the playoffs, Starks ran for 263 yards and one Touchdown. If you crunch the numbers he is averaging 87.7 yards per game. For the Steelers running hasn’t been that big of an issue in the regular season. Rashard Mendenhall spearheaded the Steeler ground game. He would have a 1,000 year season and lead his team to the playoffs.  Once in the playoffs, he slowed a bit. Only 167 years in two games (83.5). Starks has a slight edge in my book. He is warming up at the right time and I feel that he is primed for a big game. You have to realize that in a game with defenses like these, a big game could be 50-70 yards with a touchdown.
Advantage: Packers
Packers (2) Steelers (1)
Tight Ends
With both team’s arsenals of wide receivers, the tight ends are easily overlooked. Just like the running backs with the Packers, early injuries would hinder them. Their star TE, Jermichael Finley was having a great year until he was knocked out of season. Since then Andrew Quarress, Donald Lee, and Tom Crabtree have all filled in. They have done a very good job for the situation that they were in, but they still created a weakness for the Packers. The Steelers also have a star tight end. Unlike the Packers, theirs stayed healthy all year. Heath Miller had the stellar season that Steeler fans have come to know (He was third in receiving yards).  It is very clear to me who has the edge. With Finley out, I have to give the edge to the Steelers.
Advantage: Steelers
Packers(2) Steelers(2)
Well thank for reading! Tune in tomorrow for more Super Bowl XLV stories!