Champions League Round of 16: Part two

After a week that saw Celtic downed in Scotland and Real Madrid battle Manchester United to a 1-1 draw, the Champions League round of sixteen still has much to offer in it's second week.

Though there may not be a match up with the same weight or interest as the Real-United tie, there are still some juicy pairings. 

Tuesday pits the bipolar Arsenal against the Bundesliga leading Bayern Munich and Spanish Club Malaga against Porto from Portugal. 

Arsenal Bayern is the match of the day as it sees two very poplar clubs fighting it out and has many great story lines. One of those story lines is the one of Lucas Podolski. Podolski had a long history with Bayern and came to Arsenal in  the off season. His return to Germany is only overshadowed by Ronaldo's return to Manchester. 

Another big story line will be the one of Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger. Pressure has been mounting on the man that has been the brains for over a decade at the historic London club. After this past week's FA Cup loss to Blackburn many are calling for his head. A big win against Bayern could fix that. 

The Porto-Malaga tie should be an interesting one as well. The Portugal-Sapin rivalry is always interesting and both clubs have a huge opportunity to get to the next round. 

As for Wednesday, the matches are just a little more interesting. First, there is the classic matchup of AC Milan and Barcelona. The two have formed a 'rivalry' in the Champions League because of their frequent meetings. 

Barcelona has seen the upper hand of many of the most recent meetings, but Milan's new found form could change that. It will be a sight to see Balotelli and Messi on the same field. I'm a huge fan of both players and I'm eager to see what they can do for their respective sides.

The other Wednesday game features the Turkish club Galatasaray and the German club Schalke 04. Both can be considered dark horses for the semi-finals  and I'm sure many clubs see them as a huge threat. 

Schalke has the German tenacity and fight to get through and players like Klaas Jan Huntelaar will surely supply some spark. 

Galatasaray loaded up on star power during the transfer window. Signings like Wesley Sneijder and Didier Drogba will be eager to show their worth to the club. 

With all that said, here are my picks. 

Arsenal vs Bayern - The German side will be too much from start to finish. Arsenal will create a few goals, but ultimately they will be out maned and lose 6-2 on aggregate. 

Porto vs Malaga - Porto look to be back in shape for a deep run. They will take an early lead and keep it to the end. I got Porto 3-1 on aggregate. 

Barcelona vs AC Milan - Milan will make it interesting early, but Messi and the passing offense of Barcelona will be too much. Barca win 5-2 on aggregate. 

Galatasaray vs Schalke 04 - The Germans take care of business at home, but the start power will show it's worth for the Turkish. Gala win 3-2 on aggregate. 

UEFA Champions League Round of 16: Part One

To a commoner, February is a month filled with love and gifts for many people. For soccer fans, February marks the return of the Champions League. Since December's match draw, millions have been drooling over eight of the best soccer games you will see all year.
The first two days of the knock out round are filled with match ups that are sure to thrill any sports fan. On Tuesday, the hard nosed Scottish club Celtic takes on the high flying Italian club Juventus and the big spending French club Paris St. Germain takes on the forgotten Spanish club Valencia. Wednesday is the big day because Manchester United and Real Madrid face off in an epic pairing while Shakhtar Donetsk from Ukraine takes on the upstart Borussia Dortmund from Germany. As many of you may know, these matches will take place over two legs (a home and home series if you will) with the winner being determined by the aggregate score.
On the eve of these huge games, I will give you my predictions of both legs and who will be moving on to the quarter finals.

Celtic vs Juventus 
This is an interesting match up between two teams dominating at the domestic league level. Celtic fought through a group that included Barcelona and had success against them in Scotland. The Bhoys are currently leading the Scottish Premier League by 18 points. They play a tough style of soccer and get some scrappy goals at times. They will rely heavily on striker Gary Hooper for goals. He has scored 13 times in the SPL and usually comes up big for the Hoops. Juventus got through a group that included Chelsea  the reigning European Champions. Juve currently leads Serie A by 5 points. They use a more spread out style on play than Celtic and have many scoring options.
In the end, I think these two legs will come down to the Celtic defense. They allow an average of 1.33 goals per game, but only allow .67 at home. If they can stand up and play their physical style against Juve, I think they will grind out the win. They will take the lead early in the legs and take a 2-0 lead going to Italy because of their great home crowd. In the second leg, they will fall behind 0-2 early, but score an aggregate winning goal in the final 15 minutes.

Celtic 3-2 (agg.)

PSG vs Valencia 
PSG did a lot of big spending in the off season and January transfer window. They brought in Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Thiago Silva and everything has turned around from there. After a rough start in Ligue 1, the mega spenders find themselves up 6 points and on a hot streak. The only issue for the club from Paris is that they live and die by Ibrahimovic. He has scored 21 goals in Ligue one this year and is their only frighting attacker. Valencia is not the same team that earned the Champions League spot last year. They are in 5th place in La Liga and are 9 points behind third place. They allow more goals than they have scored and have a hard time scoring on the road. This spells death in the two leg system.
I think PSG earns a 2-1 win in Spain and demolishes Valenica in France 4-0. As a side note, Ibrahimovic will score 4 of PSG's goals.

PSG 6-1 (agg.)

Shakhtar Donetsk vs Borussia Dortmund 
Donetsk is not well known even by soccer fans. Though they have been one of the top Ukrainian clubs for most of the 21st century, the Ukrainian Premier League is not respected as well as others. They are currently dominating the UPL and have won 4 out of their last 5 matches. To be honest, I don't know much about them. I do know they made things hard on Chelsea, so this team has what it takes. Borussia Dortmund won back to back Bundesliga titles and are currently sitting in second place. They are a young team with a lot of promise. Striker Robert Lewandowski will be the man to watch. He has 14 goals in the Bundesliga and has created chances for others.
I think Donetsk will gave Dortmund some issues and that these games will be closer than many fans would like to see. Donetsk will earn a 2-2 tie in Ukraine, but Dortmund will take a 2-1 win at home and win in the aggregate.

Borussia Dortmund 4-3 (agg.)

Manchester United vs Real Madrid  
If you get the chance to watch one Champions League match, make sure it's this one. Two historic clubs clashing in the early rounds makes for one huge match. Manchester United, winners of three Champions Leagues, come in with a mighty league in the English Premier League. They are one place to set one of the highest point totals in EPL history, but have been letting in a surprising number of goals. Robin Van Persie, Wayne Rooney and Javier 'Chicharito' Hernandez are all guys to watch out for. Rooney and RVP both have double digit goal totals in the EPL and Chicharito isn't far behind. Real Madrid, winners of nine Champions Leagues, come in having a down year. they are essentially out of the La Liga race and are in third place. They play a spread out style of soccer and have plenty of dynamic players. United will have to watch out for Cristiano Ronaldo, who transferred from Manchester in 2009. His quick feet and dazzling footwork will really test the shaky Red Devil defense. United will also have to watch out for Mesut Ozil and Karim Benzema. These two supply most of Madrid's assists and are vital in the passing game.
When the smoke clears after this battle, I think Real Madrid will come out on top. United's defense will get torched by the Madrid attack and they won't be able to keep up. I see Real Madrid winning 4-2 at home before going to England and winning 3-2.

Real Madrid 7-4 (agg.)

Thanks for reading!

Superbowl XLVII: Ray and the Rookie

The high holy day of American sports is almost here. Super Sunday is a day unlike any other and this year we have a match up unlike any other. For some reason, I'm really falling in love with this game. Maybe it's something about how both teams came up just short last year and now they are getting their chance to win it all.

Maybe it's the history of both teams. The San Francisco 49ers have had so much success in the past, but have stumbled for most of my life time. To see them reach the big game once again brings back shades of all the great players embedded in their past. The Baltimore Ravens have had a strong tradition of a great defense, but never seemed to have the offense to make it. I can't count the times I've seen this team get picks to make it to the Superbowl, just to tall short because they don't have any offense. 

Maybe it's the fact that the coaches are brothers and I can't help but think of the awkward family reunions for years to come. Though all of those are great reasons to get excited for this game, there is a different reason for my excitement: Ray vs the Rookie. 

I am so excited to see Ray Lewis and his Ravens defense take on Colin Kaepernick and his 49ers offense. They are the best two stories of the NFL playoffs and they are meeting in a way no one one could have imagined. Kaepernick is following in the footsteps of Tom Brady by making it to the Superbowl as a rookie. Lewis will be playing in the final game of his NFL career and will be looking to go out like John Elway and Jerome Bettis. Only one of these stories will have a happy ending. Now that's what you call drama. 

Superbowl XLVII: The Baltimore Ravens vs The San Francisco 49ers

From an offensive and defensive standpoint, the 49ers have a huge advantage. Despite their 23rd ranking passing attack, the boys from SF have a running game that averages 155.7 points per game. They also have the most dynamic QB playing in the game right now. Kaepernick  is on fire and will make a huge impact early and often. The Raven's defense can't just focus on him. TE Vernon Davis and RB Frank Gore are two other players that will need to be covered. They have been making big plays all year. The 49er defense is outstanding as well. They are good at stopping the pass and run though they have been beat up by two great offenses in the Playoffs. 

Baltimore will really have their work cut out for them. The Raven offense is not as dynamic as the 49ers and I'm not sure if they can keep up scoring wise. They haven't been able to score over 40 points in the playoffs, but their defense has really kept them in games. Lewis has been an emotional leader and you would be crazy to doubt that this team could rise to the occasion and  really put a beat down on the 49ers. I think Joe Flacco will need to be nearly perfect to win this game and RB Ray Rice will need to find space in the running game. 

With all of this taken into consideration, it's hard to pick a winner. I want to pick the 49ers because I think they are the better team. At the same time, I can't pick against the Ravens just because of the leadership of Ray Lewis. I know he will have his guys ready for this game and that is a powerful weapon. So with that, I say the Ravens beat the 49ers 31-28 in the first overtime game in Superbowl history.

Thanks for reading!

Conference Championship Sunday

Only two games remain before Superbowl XLVII and there are a lot of familiar faces in the Conference Championships. The Ravens and Patriots will renew their constant playoff clashes in a rematch of last year's AFC title game and the 49ers will try to avoid a repeat performance of last year's muffed punt fiasco against the Falcons in the NFC title game. All in all, these are a pair of really good games. The NFC we have some high flying offenses, while the AFC will be another Pats Ravens match up we will remember for a long time. So let's see who's going to the Superbowl!

The Baltimore Ravens vs The New England Patriots
The Ravens have fought for two great wins in the playoffs. The problem is if last week was a 'miracle', as proclaimed by the Raven's radio broadcasters, a win the week could just be a direct act from some higher power. The Raven's are going to need to get Ray Rice going in this game. As we saw last week, if he can find some space, it opens up the passing game. The Patriots have the 9th best rushing defense in the league, so the Ravens might have some issues moving the ball. As for the rest of the offense, the other man to watch is WR Anquan Boldin. Everyone in the media is talking about WR Torrey Smith and his ability to go deep. That's great and all, but Boldin is the guy that opens the defense up for Smith. He attracts defenders because of his play making ability shown through out his long NFL career. The other thing that could happen would be that the new emphasis on Smith could open up Bolden. Either way, Boldin will play a huge role today. The Raven's defense, known for it's tenacity, could be the weakness for the Ravens. Though Ray Lewis is playing like he's from another planet right now, Tom Brady knows how to work a defense into a tail spin.
Speaking of Tom Brady, he's having another banner year. He has thrown for nearly 5,000 and has led this offense to 5 games with 40 or more points. The Pats are also blessed with options on offense with Wes Welker, Aaron Hernandez, Stevan Riddley. We all know what the Patriot offense can do and will do today, the major question is what the defense will do. The Pats have a stout run defense, but the pass defense is terrible. Ranking 29th in the league, the Patriots allow an average of 271.4 yards per game though the air. That should give Joe Flacco and his receiving corps plenty of opportunities.
So who wins? It's going to be close. Both defenses have major flaws and I think the teams will go back and forth for a while. I just can't pick against the Patriots. I have New England in the Superbowl again after they win 34-31.

The San Francisco 49ers vs The Atlanta Falcons 
Matt Ryan finally won a playoff game. As a reward, he gets to play against one of the most elusive quarterbacks in the game. Fun for us, not for him. The Falcon's passing game is insane  Matt Ryan has one heck of an arm and has receivers like Julio Jones and Roddy White to throw to. There is no doubt that the Falcon offense that averages 281.8 passing yards per game will show up. The problems will be the defense and the running game. Micheal Turner has had a pretty good year. The problem is that the offense is averaging less than 90 rushing yards per game. Some of this can be attributed to all the passing they do, but it still isn't a great sign if they want to have a chance. The defense has let in huge amounts of yardage to a lot of teams and have been burned a couple times by mobile QBs. That isn't a good sign for a defense taking on Colin Kaepernick.
Kaepernick is the 49ers reason for success. His abilities to run, pass, and extend plays are a deadly combination. Kaeprnick has also gotten some help from veteran running back Frank Gore. With over 1,000 yards, Gore has been a great security blanket for his young quarterback and a driving force in the middle of the field. Just like the Falcons, the 49ers have an array of talent in the receiving game. Vernon Davis and Micheal Crabtree are just a few of the names that will be called a lot when Kaepernick is throwing the ball. The 49er defense is also really good. They don't give up a ton of yards through the air or ground.
I think the 49ers are going to win this game because they have more experience and more play makers on both sides of the ball. The 49er win 38-29.

NFL Playoffs: Divisional Round

With a fresh slate of classes and CM-Life taking over, today's post is a little short and a little late. Last week's Wildcard Weekend didn't disappoint. All three games proved to be pretty interesting and all the games went the way I picked them. Whoo hoo. This week, it gets a little harder for the teams that tasted victory last week. The Packers head west to take on a 49er team that beat them 30-22 in week one and Baltimore and Denver clash in Peyton's first playoff game as a Bronco. Sunday gives us a battle of the NFC's best and hottest teams in the Atlanta-Seattle game and another blowout rematch in the Texans-Patriots game. Who has a spot in the Conference Championships? Let's find out.

The Baltimore Ravens vs The Denver Broncos 
Who would have thought Denver would have been here a year ago. Of course, when a team adds Peyton Manning to the roster, almost anything can happen. Manning has lead the Broncos by passing for 4,659 and 37 touchdowns which is hardly a shocker. The Bronco defense is the real story for Denver. They only allow an average of 199.6 passing yards per game and 91.1 rushing yards per game. This should be enough to hold the Ravens mediocre offense in check. The Ravens will need RB Ray Rice and QB Joe Flacco to have career days if they want to win. Joe Flacco was able to do this when these two teams face in week 15 by throwiing for 254 yards and two touchdowns. Now the Ravens need Ray Rice need to show up this time.   The once stellar Ravens defense looks like it could be torn up by Manning again this season and I think they will.
According to the NFL on FOX, Manning is 0-3 in playoff games when the temp is below 40 degrees. The forecast calls for a kick off temperature of 19 degrees. Though that is an interesting stat, the Broncos are 7-1 at home and are on an eleven game winning streak. I have the Broncos winning 35-17.

The Green Bay Packers vs The San Francisco 49ers
The outcome of this game falls squarely on the Packer's defense. They need to stop the run for another week. The Packers did a hell of a job containing Adrian Peterson last week and they will need to do the same to Frank Gore this week. It will be a tough task since the 49ers average 155.7 rushing yards per game. San Fran QB Colin Kaepernick will be a great weapon for the 49ers because the Packer's have yet to face him and won't be able to handle his dual threat capability. When all is said and done, the 49ers will slow down Aaron Rodgers and tear up the Packers defense to win 33-20.

The Seattle Seahawks vs The Atlanta Falcons
This will be the first meeting of the season for these two teams which makes for interesting playoff games. The Seahawks will have to use RB Marshawn Lynch to attack a Falcon's defense that allows an average of 123.2 rushing yards per game. Russel Wilson will also help with his ability to make plays on the ground and extend his passing plays. Falcons QB Matt Ryan will have to face a defense that allows an average of 203.1 passing yards per game. The Falcons are also at a disadvantage because they lack in the running game.
I think the Seahawks defense will slow down the one dimensional Atlanta offense and Marshawn Lynch will run rampant on the other side of the ball. I got the Seahawks winning 27-19.

The Houston Texans vs The New England Patriots
This match up doesn't look good for the Houston Texans. Ever since New England their  blasted them 42-14  back in December, I haven't been able to see this team getting to the Superbowl. New England has Tom Brady and the rest of that exciting offense and a defense that can stop the run. That spells danger if you're the Texans. The Texan's one hope is in the passing game. Tight End Owen Daniels is a mismatch and could cause some issues for the Patriot defense.
In the end, I don't have enough faith in the Houston defense. Tom Brady carves them up for a second time this season and leads the Pats to a 29-10 victory.

Thanks for reading!

Max's BCS National Championship Pick

Watch this video to see who Max picked to win!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gei3pFgu8rI

After a rough start, Max hopes to improve on his 1-3 record this year!

Thanks for watching! 

The National Championship: Notre Dame vs Alabama

Well this is it. Months of football, tailgates, fight songs, mascots and anticipation have led to this: The National Championship. On one side you have the up start Irish who have used their defense to get to this game. On the other side you have Alabama, the reigning National Champions who have a defense that can match Notre Dame's and a supreme rushing attack.
Way back at the start of the season, I had Notre Dame going 8-4 with losses to MSU, Michigan, Oklahoma and USC. I couldn't have been more wrong. They have shut down all of the teams on their schedule with their defense. They allow an average of 10.3 points per game and allowed a season high 26 in a triple overtime game against Pitt. Manti Te'o is the star of this defense and should receive a lot of credit for how he rallies this team. My issue with the Irish is their lack of an offense. Yes, I know they went undefeated, but the Irish offense was woeful in many performances. If it wasn't for blowouts against a weak Navy side and a lack luster Miami, their offensive stats would be laughable. Just look at Everett Golson's stats against Michigan, which had one of the better defenses they faced. 3-8 for 30 yards, no touchdowns, two interceptions, and a passer rating of 19.0. I expect a similar night for him against the Tide tonight. The only hope the Irish have are their run game which averages 202.5 yards per game.
At the start of the season, I saw Alabama losing one game and just missing out on the National Championship game. if the infamous K-State and Oregon weekend didn't happen, I would be looking really good, but enough of that. Alabama has one heck of a defense. They allowed an average of 10.7 points per game while thriving in the tough SEC. Unlike the Irish, the Tide have an offense that scores an average of 38.5 points per game and averages 224.6 yards per game on the ground. RBs Eddie Lacy and T.J. Yeldon will have issues at first, but will start to find running lanes behind their powerful line. QB A.J. McCarron will put the Tide well ahead of the Irish with his ability to extend plays and make the necessary throws.
When the wistle blows on this one, I see a game that looks very similar to last year's. The Alabama defense will pin the Irish back in their own territory for most of the game which will allow the Tide's run game to take care of business. I see the Tide winning their second National Championship 26-10.