AFC Wild Card Round:
All of the above average teams in the NFC reside in one division. The four teams in the NFC East are far and away the best teams in the conference. Every team in this group could win 10 games with Dallas being the cream of the crop. The Brett Favre-less Packers will take a serious step backward after a year that saw them overachieve by about four games. The NFC West should not be allowed to be represented in the playoffs, it is the NFL equivalent of MLB's NL West. The odd coincidence with this analogy is that Arizona will win in both sports. Now for more bad picks:
The AFC is the deeper of the two conferences with heavyweights New England, San Diego, Indianapolis, and Pittsburgh. But the storyline in the AFC all season will be super annoying Brett Favre. The Patriots and Chargers will each win a ton of games in terrible divisions and the AFC South will rival the NFC East for the best division in football. Darren McFadden will be sensational as a rookie, much like Adrian Peterson last season and the Dreadful Dolphins will win more than one game. Without further adieu, NFL picks that are sure to be wrong, AFC Edition:
After countless wasted hours of speculation and pontificating by the media, Senator Obama finally unveiled his choice for VP. The campaign did a remarkable job at keeping the senator's pick away from the prying press, who could not wait for this monumentally important revelation. It is important to remember that the only time anyone cares about the VP in a campaign is the lead up to his selection, as the super smart talking heads can yell and scream at each about who it could or could not possibly be. Soon-to-be-Senator Mark Warner would have been the best choice, but he seems contempt winning a crushing victory in November. Senator Clinton might have been the best pick when it comes to the electoral map, but could not be chosen given the tenor of the campaign. Governor Tim Kaine was in the running, but lacked enough experience to get the call. Senator Evan Bayh was a Clinton supporter and helped secure her victory in Indiana in the primaries, thus he was not going to be chosen. For me, I liked the thought of Governor Kathleen Sebelius, a centrist Democrat who was re-elected as governor of Kansas in 2006 by 17 points.
The Olympics are here an it is the only time when sports like swimming, volleyball, and track & field are interesting. While some would ponder why a country with the track record of China should have been rewarded with the attention of the world, others would tell us to forget about Chinese treatment of Tibet, it's environmental record, the country's despicable human rights record, and why Taiwan is required to compete as Chinese Taipei without its national flag (what will there anthem be if they win gold?) and enjoy Michael Phelps and the return to dominance of US basketball. Phelps is the story, as the Golden Boy is now 3-3 in his quest to win 8 gold medals. This would be a pretty impressive athletic feat, kind of like the time I walked the bases loaded before subsequently striking out the side when I was 14. Some would say winning one Olympic medal would be impressive, thus Phelps is merely a show-off. The record for career gold medals is 9, which Phelps tied earlier this evening with 5 more races to go. If you missed the amazing finish in the men's 4 x 100 relay last night, go here and watch it.
I was among those who loved the Ryan Ludwick story in the first part of the season, which culminated in a trip to the All Star Game, but thought there was no way this could last. Over the last 10 games, Ludwick's average has gone from .292 to .307. Over this stretch, he has 6 HR and 11 RBIs. He now has 6 more home runs (29) and 9 more RBIs (82) than Albert Pujols. No one thought this possible, not even Ryan Ludwick's parents. The Not-So Crappy Cardinals have played a decent brand of baseball as of late, but the bullpen is becoming a major issue. Isringhausen does not have it right now, Franklin is not dependable, and McClellan is not ready for the spotlight despite a great rookie campaign thus far. Chris Perez, who has 24 career appearances, got the save against the L.A. Many Ramirez's last night. This is not the guy one wants closing out games this weekend against the front-running Cubs. TheCubs seem to have a stranglehold on the division, but the Cards remain only one game out of the Wild Card, trailing the Brew Crew. The Double C gave another great performance on Tuesday, pitching 5 scoreless (only 51 pitches) innings before taking no-decision when Izzy & Co. blew a 4-run 9th inning lead. I pose the same query form last week when it comes to the Cards. They can hit, but can they pitch? I wish I knew.
The long national nightmare is over, Brett Favre has a new team at last. I would rather watch Fox News go back to running a continuous loop of Jeremiah Wright clips or MSNBC commentators identifying more lobbyists in the John McCain camp or John McCain and Barack Obama continually bickering over tire pressure than another ESPN reporter live from Green Bay. Over the past two weeks, there was a 200% chance one could turn to ESPN News and see someone yakking about the old man. I have had about as much interest in Favre's final destination as I do about who will be America's Next Top Model. Did this clown really think the Packers were just going to release him and let him go to the Vikings or Bears? I am almost ready to move Favre up to #3 on my list of all-time annoying players in NFL history. Chad Pennington was immediately cut, which means he will end up on the Dolphins, as the quarterback situation seems dire (go here for a good laugh). I think baseball pennant races are still ongoing, so could ESPN stop with the saturation coverage of this buffoon. I actually heard someone say Broadway Brett. The Jets just went from a 5-6 win team to an 8-9 win team and nothing more, so keep any Joe Montana to the Chiefs talk to yourself.
The Double C returned from a long, long, long stint on the DL to pitch effectively on Wednesday night. He only went 4 innings and threw 67 pitches, but he also only gave up one earned run. Needless to say, this was a much better return than the Mark Mulder experience. A healthy Chris Carpenter will add stability to a pitching rotation that has survived despite countless injuries. As of late, the bullpen has been obnoxiously bad. Rookie Kyle McClellan seems overworked, Ryan Franklin has shown he is better suited for the set-up role, and Ron Villone has been awful. A sweep at the hands of the Cubs has put the Brew Crew in a tie with the Cardinals in the Wild Card, but the resurgent Mets and insurgent Marlins are close behind. The Cards can hit (more runs scored than the Brewers), the question is, can they pitch?
The All Star game was one to remember. I would like to put forth a notion that no one should be allowed on the field if they are unable to play. Why have Kazmir in the bullpen if they do not want him to pitch? If the game counts (as they have told us continually), these guys have to act like it. Credit to Clint Hurdle for throwing his guy for three innings before bringing in Brandon Webb.Guys to keep an eye on: Chase Utley (4), Dan Uggla, Hanley Ramirez, Jose Reyes, Ryan Braun, Ryan Ludwick, Carlos Quentin, Jermain Dye, Milton Bradley
Top Arms:
Guys to keep an eye on: Justin Duchsherer, Brandon Webb, Dan Haren, Ben Sheets, Carlos Zambrano, Roy Halladay, JOe Saunders, Ervin Santana
It is rare that you could say that losing two defensive ends is a good thing, but that is exactly what Redskins fans are thinking today. After losing starter Phillip Daniels and reserve Alex Buzbee, the Redskins moved quickly and acquired the heart and soul of the Miami Dolphins, Jason Taylor. Taylor has more sacks than any active player by a wide margin (117 to Kevin Carter's 100) and was named Defensive Player of the Year only two years ago. Having suffered as a Dreadful Dolphins fan my entire life, I can say that the one constant with this team over the past 10 seasons has been the play of Taylor. For several years he has been the only reason to watch this team play, thus losing him to a franchise as utterly annoying as the Redskins is irritating. Parcells never warmed up to the idea of Taylor doing "Dancing with the Stars," so Taylor had to go. I think this exhibits a bit of stubbornness on the part of the new executive VP and leaves the franchise without a face for the coming season. As for the Redskins, the one thing they have severely lacked for the last 5 seasons is a bonafide pass rushers. Solid play from the team's linebackers and secondary has gone to waste because of a lack of pressure up front. The acquisition of Taylor will single-handedly fix their problem and add to my suffering.
The problem with posting your thoughts on the Internet is that anyone can go back see how wrong you were in your preseason projections. While my World Series pick of Tigers over Mets did not seem bold at the time, it seems like a long-shot now (although the Mets are currently playing a great brand of baseball, winners of nine in a row). Johan Santana and Vladimir Guerrero will not win their league's respective MVP awards, Erik Bedard will not finish in the top 10 in AL Cy Young voting, and while Santana has pitched like one of the three best pitchers in the NL, a lack of run support will cost him that NL Cy Young he covets. Without further adieu, I present the lowlights and highlights of my preseason predictions:
The Not-So Bright:
Nostradamus, anyone?:
