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?:
The Philadelphia 76ers went from marginal playoff team to Eastern Conference contender and it only cost them about $80 million dollars. This team overachieved last season in making the playoffs, let alone going up 2 to 1 against the mighty Pistons in the first round. Brand is a career 20 and 10 guy and instantly becomes one of the two best power forwards in the Eastern Conference alongside KG. In the East his chances at becoming an All Star and making it to the NBA Finals increase exponentially. His signing will allow Reggie Evans, a high energy guy who lacks the tools to be a dominant NBA power forward, to come off the bench and hopefully allow Sammy Dalembert (who has been a disaster since being given a big contract) to develop offensively. Andre Miller had a career year scoring the basketball last season (17 ppg), but his assists were down. The addition of Brand will allow him to find a even ground between scoring and handing out assists. Andre Igoudala needs to shoot better, but having a bona fide threat in middle will allow him room to slash to the basket, which is what he does best. Brand, when healthy, took the Clippers to within one game of the Western Conference Finals, yes the LA Clippers, so his credentials needed not be brought into question. I am assuming somewhere in the city of LA Baron Davis is sobbing. At least he has those $80 million to fall back on. The East is still all about the Mighty C's, but the Sixers will now be worth watching, especially if they someone, anyone, who can shoot the ball from the outside.
The MLB All Star Game is the best of its kind with the Pro Bowl being the most insufferable. There are two major problems with the Summer Classic, first is the fan voting and second is the fact that the winning team gets home field advantage in the World Series. The second is so inane and irritating that I cannot devote anymore space to it here. The fan voting is irritating when the entire infield is made up of Yankees and Red Sox in the AL and the NL outfield is littered with undeserving Cubs. It is the job of the managers to fix what the fans do and for the most part a good job was done this year with two glaring exceptions. Brian Wilson is not an All Star. A certain amount of credit is due to the man for leading the NL in saves, but his ERA is 4.37. The conversation on Mr. Wilson ends there. But the biggest offense is Jason Varitek. His selection is embarrassing. He is not the second, third, fourth, or fifth best player at his position in his league. Varitek is hitting .215. You read that right, .215. It is not clear to me when .215, even for a catcher (one who is not a great defensive catcher mind you) was relegted to All Star level. I will argue that it is not.Go see what the old man's got cooking here.
It is amazing how superior the NBA Draft is to the NFL equivalent. It probably has a lot to do with team's only having five minutes in-between picks in the first round and two minutes in the second round. Also, only two rounds instead of seven helps. Most importantly is the fact that Chris Berman is not on the stage. This is not to say that the NBA Draft is perfect. There is still the Stuart Scott and Steven A. Smith problems and there is always Jay Bilas' overuse of his newest favorite phrase to describe players that no one has heard of. It appears that wingspan is the new upside. All in all, it was a draft that provided few surprises.
My earliest NBA memory is the 1986 NBA Finals and euphoria that accompanied the Celtics winning their 16th title. I still remember the images of Bird and Walton on the sideline in the game's waning moments and how the fans stormed the court like one only sees in a college game today. The Celtics returned to the finals the following season and lost to the Lakers, thus ending the glory days for my favorite team. Since that last championship, Celtics fans have endured the deaths of Len Bias and Reggie Lewis, the breakdown of Larry Bird's body, the Rick Pitino experiment, not getting Tim Duncan in 1997 draft, and Antoine Walker as a number two scorer, I could name more. During this dark period there has been one ray of hope that has shined on, albeit very dimly at times, Paul Pierce. Of all the great Celtics, none have dealt with more pitiful circumstances than "the truth." The acquisition of Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen made this team an instant contender. And yes, now that they have won a title we can refer to them as "The Big Three, V. 2.0." Also, the signing of James Posey was a great signing. Say what you will about the guy, but he can play. He has a Robert Horry quality to his game. Depth was the major question mark coming into the season for the Mighty C's. But solid play from the likes of Leon Powe, Glen Davis (much to my surprise), Eddie House, and later P.J. Brown answered that question. Another question was the play of everyone in the starting lineup not named Pierce, Garnett, or Allen. Young Rondo demonstrated that he is on the cusp of becoming a top flight point guard in the NBA. He shot better than was expected throughout the season and played sensational defense. He is starting to blossom under the tutelage of a coach who was a pretty good point guard in his own right. Kendrick Perkins is one of the more frustrating players to watch, as he shows signs of being able to take over a game with his interior defense and rebounding, but has problems staying on the court because of foul trouble. He showed something during these playoffs, a toughness and improved presence on the block that should make all Celtics fans excited.
Yesterday came the expected announcement that the remainder of the UNC starting five will be returning to Chapel Hill next season. It is not clear if anyone thought that Ty Lawson, Wayne Ellington, and Danny Green would actually go in the first round (Lawson had a shot, but late) of the NBA Draft, but personally, I am glad no one convinced them that they would. These three will reunite with the country's best player, Tyler Hansbrough, Marcus Ginyard, and Deon Thompson to form the most talented, experienced team to take to the court in many years. The only key losses to are Alex Stepheson (transferred) and Quentin Thomas (graduated). Besides having another year and deep run in the tournament under their belts, this team will be stronger at point guard with the return of Bobby Frasor. Most forget that Frasor was the starting point guard in his freshman year before the arrival of Lawson and Ellington. He missed almost all of last year with an injury and will more than ably fill the void left by his replacement last season (Thomas). Also, Will Graves will be worth watching coming off the bench, as he seemed to get better with every game last season. Oh yeah, I almost forgot the three top flight freshman who will also be coming along for the ride...
The big story upon waking up this morning was that the Mets fired manager Willie Randolph. This should have surprised no one, as there have been hints of this taking place since Memorial Day. It is not clear what the Mets were doing with this situation over the past several weeks. Why let the man fly to Anaheim and win for a third time in four outings and then fire him? Is it amateur hour in the Big Apple? Now, to be fair to the Mets brass, Randolph has disappointed as a manger. This team should have won the World Series in 2006 but lost in dramatic fashion to you know who in the NLCS (go here for a refresher). Then last season's record collapse did not do much for confidence. Many of the smartest baseball minds thought the Mets were a shoo-in to win the NL this year (like here), but this team has not played anywhere close to its potential. For the older generation's take, go here.
The Mighty C's held serve through the first two games of the NBA Finals. After leading by 24 with 8 minutes to play in Game 2, the Lakers roared back, cutting the lead to 2 by way of a three-point barage normally reserved for the NCAA tournament. Needless to say, this was a bit unnerving. The story for Boston was the play of Leon Powe, who went for 21 in victory, shooting more free throws by himself than the entire Laker team. Garnett has dominated the glass and Pierce has been brilliant in the series thus far. The key to victory in the first two games has been keeping Kobe in check (holding him to 24 and 30 is considered hodlding him in check, as he is the best player on the planet). Kobe is due for dominating performance, so look out. As good as Boston has been at home in the playoffs (12-1), the Lakers have been better (8-0). The 2-3-2 format used in the NBA Finals is obnoxious, but as long as the Celtics manage one win out of the three in LA they will be in great shape to unfurl banner #17 from the rafters.
Another month of a senseless war with no end in sight, leading to the loss of more American lives. Certain news agencies have decided to talk about the casualties, but only in the context that May was lowest casualty rate of the war. Only 35 American troops died in May (21 in Iraq and 15 in Afghanistan)!! Is this reason to celebrate? Even Bill O'Reilly took a break from the Great American Culture Quiz and his weekly blathering with Dennis Miller to acknowledge that there is in fact a war going on in which Americans are dying. Of course, he did not talk about the Americans who sacrificed their lives, he talked about how Brian Williams had failed to to talk about the low casualty rate for the month of May on the NBC Nightly News. Nice work by Mr. O'Reilly, be sure do visit his website and get dad a No Spin hat for Father's Day. For those of us who take a vested interest in the loss of any American life on foreign soil. Here is the continuing list of Americans who served and died that I have chronicled here:
Top Bats:-Guys to keep an eye on: Ryan Ludwick, Dan Uggla, Nate McClouth, Ryan Church, Brian McCann, Xavier Nady (4), Carlos Quentin, Magglio Ordonez
Top Arms:
-Guys to watch: Adam Wainwright, Brandon Webb (3), Billy Wagner, Joe Saunders, Ryan Dempster, Francisco Rodriguez, Shaun Marcum
LWAL's preseason pick of Tigers over Mets in the 2008 World Series is in critical condition. Granted it is still May, but for how long can one continue to say "it's only April," "its only May," its only the All Star break?" Before breaking out today, the Mets had lost 5 in-a-row, falling to two games under .500 and 4.5 behind the super surprising Marlins. You know things are going bad when Fernando Tatis is starting in the outfield. Bad bullpen pitching and injuries in the outfield are seriously slowing down this offense. Also, Jose Reyes has not been able to evolve into the dominate lead-off hitter it seemed like he would be at this time last year. As for the Terrible Tigers, they still reside in the basement of the AL Central, 6.5 behind the White Sox (another surprise at the top). The only team with a worst team ERA in all of baseball is a team everyone expected to be there, the Pirates (5.05 compared to the Tigers robust 4.98). For the record, it does not matter how many runs you score if you give up five runs a game (Detroit is third in the AL in runs scored and team batting average). There is still a lot of time, but time is of the essence in Detroit and Queens.
It must be an amazing feeling when at the age of 24, throwing a no-hitter at the big league level ranks third in a list of life accomplishments. The story of Jon Lester's triumphant return to the super annoying Red Sox last season after being diagnosed with a treatable form of lymphoma was well-documented. Just pitching last season was not enough for young Lester, as he went on to pitch 5.2 innings of shutout baseball in Boston's Game 4 win over the Rockies in last year's World Series. With that being said, pitching a no-hitter last night against the Royals pales in comparison to being the winning pitcher in a World Series clincher, and more importantly, kicking cancer's ass. I would list all of the things I had accomplished by the age of 24, but I do not want to embarrass any who read this.
The picture above is from Senator Obama's campaign stop in Portland, Oregon yesterday (read story here). An estimated 65,000 people showed up to see the Senator speak, the event has been dubbed the "Obama Mass" by Matt Drudge. A split in tomorrow's primaries (Obama will handily win Oregon and Senator Clinton will easily win Kentucky) added to the newfound civility being exuded by the Clintonistas and the continuous trickle of super delegates into the Obama column will make for a smooth landing at the top of the Democratic ticket for Senator Obama in the coming weeks.
Clash of the Titans was terrible movie that anyone attending elementary school after its release in 1981 was forced to suffer through. While Hollywood is predictably remaking this movie (all movies will be remade one way or another) for release in 2010, a Clash of the Titans took place along the Ohio River with Cliff Lee battling Edinson Volquez on Sunday (numbers 1 and 2 on LWAL's power pitcher rankings). This game, like the original movie, did not live up to the "Epic Entertainment Spectacular" that we thought it might be. Going into Sunday's game Cliff (who's ERA was so low he could be Medusa and Kraken all in one) had allowed a mere 4 earned runs in 7 starts spanning 53.2 innings. On Sunday, the Little Red Machine scored 5 in only 5.2 innings, more than doubling his ERA from 0.67 to 1.37. Perseus Volquez slayed the beast, allowing 2 earned runs over 6 innings. Unfortunately for Volquez, there is no Princess Andromeda for him at the end of this epic struggle, but he might get the top spot in the next round of top pitchers...
For the second time in the month of May, the Mighty C's have been taken to a Game 7 by an inferior opponent and won, thus making the Celtics perfect at home and winless on the road in the 2008 playoffs. As a fan, this has been quite unnerving, especially with the Pistons and one the three best from the West on the horizon. The story of Sunday's game was Pierce and Lebron, with Cleveland living up to the moniker I game them here, the Cleveland LeBron James'. His team is pitiful. James scored 48.9 percent of the team's points. This guy is one Pau Gasol away from leading a bad team to an NBA title. In the end, it was Pierce's 41 that won the day (FYI-Larry Bird's career high in a Game 7 was 39), relinquishing Lebron to Dominique Wilkins status. Wilkins' 47 points and fourth quarter duel with the aforementioned Bird (34 for the game, 20 in the fourth quarter) in Game 7 of the 1988 Conference Semifinals in the Boston Garden is still the standard bearer for great performances in a losing effort in a Game 7. Pierce's performance was certainly one that will be remembered as one of the greatest in the storied playoff history of the Mighty C's. He has been the only constant on a team that has overachieved for most of his career (the 2002 trip to the Conference Finals exemplifies this point most clearly), thus as a fan, watching Pierce dominate a Game 7 on a great team is extremely gratifying. Worth noting is the performance of P.J. Brown in yesterday's game. He played 20 minutes, going for 10 and 6 on 4-4 shooting from the floor, including a super-clutch 17-footer in game's waning moments. I did not think the old man had it in him, but credit to Doc for acquiring him late and recognizing how effective he could be when provided the opportunity.
Jason Isringhausen's season is spinning out of control. After being relieved of his closing duties, Tony LaRussa has inexplicably continued to use him in close games. This has not worked out. In his last five outings, the much maligned veteran is 0-3 with 3 blown saves. During this time, he has allowed 6 earned runs in 4 innings pitched. For the year, he has an ERA of 8.00 and 6 blown saves. Paging Tony LaRussa: Stop putting this guy in the game unless you are up by 10!! The Not-So Crappy Cardinals are playing a very crappy brand of baseball recently, losers of 7 of 9 and falling to third behind the Cubs and the surging Astros. Pitching has been a struggle as of late, which is not surprising considering the excellent start. All teams will struggle, the key is how does a team weather the struggling. This might require LaRussa's best coaching job yet, which begins with the immediate cessation of putting Izzy into close games. Some random thoughts from around baseball:+Go here and consider the best players of this generation and here for thoughts on the sad state of veteran players from my childhood.
