Tomorrow kicks off the LEC season, a great time for a preview both the men and the women:
men:
1) Keene state. They have the best player in the league this year (Ryan Martin) and 4 starters back from a team that finished 19-8 and beat undefeated Middlebury. However, that same roster lost 4 of 5 to close the season blowing a 2 game lead with 3 to play in the process.
2) Rhode Island College. Lost some big scorers in Mike Akinrola and Mason Choice, however they have some good playmakers coming back in Tom DeCiantis and Tahrike Carter. Bob Walsh is one of the best coach in the conference. They usually struggle early on, but turn it on in mid January.
3) Western Connecticut. They lose 4 of 5 starters and all time school scoring leader DaQuan Brooks is currently playing with the Maine Red Claws of the NBDL. They have good outside shooters, Russ Payton back after missing last year and will have more balanced scoring this year then the last 4 season.
4) Eastern Connecticut. Another Connecticut state school that loses 4 starters. Brian Salzillo played well at the conclusion of the season, and their hopeful to get Mike Garrow back this season after he missed all but 10 games last year.
5) Southern Maine. They play well at home. Since the conference isn't nearly as good this year as it was last year no reason they can't go 5-2/6-1 in home conference games this year
6) Plymouth. Another team that plays well at home and has to take advantage of a down year.
7) Massachusetts-Dartmouth. They finished 5th last year. Last year they compiled a 7-7 record, but they went 1-7 against the four teams that finished above them and 6-0 against the 3 teams that finished below them. Losing their 3 best players, I don't like them, but the coaches do, pegging them 5th in the preseason poll.
8) Massachusetts-Boston. 6 of their top 7 scorers from last year were freshmen. The cupboard isn't at all bare, but I think they'll struggle this year
Official preseason poll: http://littleeast.com/sports/mbkb/2012-13/news/20111213-mbkb-preseasonpoll
women:
1) Western Connecticut. Play great defense and have 4 of 5 starters back from a year ago.
2) UMass-Dartmouth. As long as they can keep Colleen Moriarty and Erika Bordeman on the court all season they'll be a threat. Like Western, they only lose 1 starter.
3) Southern Maine. They rarely lose at home which bodes well. They lose all conference selection Courtney Cochran but bring in Rebecca Knight, a division 1 transfer from the University of Maine who will help immensely.
4) UMass-Boston. Kirsten Morrison is the reigning LEC rookie of the year and Lauren Perra also averaged double figures, but they need a 3rd option.
5) Plymouth state. Colleen O'Hara and Kellie Walsh are two great guards that can score the ball. They've gone 2-26 in their last 28 LEC games however.
6) Eastern Connecticut. After a massive team suspension last season at New Years which derailed a team that was having a good season up until that point will look towards stability this year.
7) Rhode Island College. Massive graduation loss as 4 of their 5 starters graduated, and their coach departed.
8) Keene state. Another team that suffered mass graduation as they lose 4 of 5 starters. Siobhan Carnall will be leading the Owls and how she goes, so goes the Owls. This is going to be an extremely young team.
Official preseason poll: http://littleeast.com/sports/wbkb/2012-13/news/20121113-wbkb-preseasonpoll
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Sunday, November 4, 2012
Max answer's ATH questions
Around the Horn like PTI is a show that airs on ESPN. Unlike PTI, ATH is a sort of a "roundtable" discussion with 4 sports writers from across the country. I will answer the roundtable discussion topics as if they were directed at me. This is from Friday November 2 ATH.
First word:
How much will Thunder miss Harden?
I've been saying for the last year that the Thunder should trade Russell Westbrook. He's selfish on offense, doesn't look to give Kevin Durant the ball who is the star of the team, and just makes terrible decisions with the basketball. The Thunder traded James Harden right before the start of the season who was the 6th man of the year and was their team leader. Without Harden they have no leadership. On the final shot of the game vs. the Spurs, Westbrook got lost on defense and that set up Parker for the game-winner.
Which undefeated team is most likely to lose?
As we know none of the main team's lost (Alabama, Oregon, Kansas state & Notre Dame all won) and the other two undefeateds, Louisville & Ohio state also survived the weekend. To come back to this topic I would've said none of them, but to pick one I probably would've gone with Oregon losing to USC. Oregon really hasn't played anyone this year and USC beat them last year up in Eugene, Oregon.
Buy or sell: this is when a panlist "buys" (agrees) or "sells" (disagrees) with the topic at hand
Will travel issues affect game vs. Giants?
Sell. Due to hurricane Sandy that raveged the East coast last week, the Steelers will fly out to their game at New York Giants the day of the game. Per NFL policy teams fly out the day prior and some teams, usually playing across the country fly out 2 days prior. Plenty of people take a 7:00 AM flight from Pittsburgh to Newark, do business in New York for the day, take a 7:30 PM flight back from Newark to Pittsburgh, get back to their house at 10:00 PM and go to work in downtown Pittsburgh the next morning. The flight from Pittsburgh to Newark is like 45 minutes, it'll probably take the Steelers longer to bus from Newark to the Meadowlands then the flight will.
Note: Pittsburgh won the game 24-20 on a late TD in the 4th.
RG3 would rather be compared to Rodgers?
Sell. He's more comparable to Newton in the NFL, but more comparable to Rodgers in college. Both Rodgers at Cal and RG3 at Baylor were pretty much unknown until their junior seasons, but RG3 can run as well as Newton can, and until RG3 and or Newton can win a super bowl neither of them can be compared to Rodgers
Wants critics to shut up?
Buy. Its 3 games out of an 82 game season. Granted the Lakers haven't won a game yet this year (0-8 preseason, 0-3 so far in the regular season), the Lakers don't know how and shouldn't be running the Princeton offense, and aside from Kobe Bryant & Dwight Howard have looked awful on the offensive end, they still have 79 games left. In 2010, the Miami Heat started 9-8 with LeBron James, DWayne Wade and Chris Bosh yet made the NBA finals that year, the Lakers just need some time for Dwight Howard & Steve Nash to co-exist with Kobe Bryant. The Lakers will be fine.
Lightning round: Like the first word except shorter answers
Says Falcons don't get enough respect?
Their 8-0, the only unbeaten team in football at the halfway mark, but they play in Atlanta. If this was New York, they'd be all over the news and people would say their overrated, so you just can't win. The Chicago Bears & Houston Texans (both 7-1) might actually be better overall, but the only way to settle that is on the field.
First word:
How much will Thunder miss Harden?
I've been saying for the last year that the Thunder should trade Russell Westbrook. He's selfish on offense, doesn't look to give Kevin Durant the ball who is the star of the team, and just makes terrible decisions with the basketball. The Thunder traded James Harden right before the start of the season who was the 6th man of the year and was their team leader. Without Harden they have no leadership. On the final shot of the game vs. the Spurs, Westbrook got lost on defense and that set up Parker for the game-winner.
Which undefeated team is most likely to lose?
As we know none of the main team's lost (Alabama, Oregon, Kansas state & Notre Dame all won) and the other two undefeateds, Louisville & Ohio state also survived the weekend. To come back to this topic I would've said none of them, but to pick one I probably would've gone with Oregon losing to USC. Oregon really hasn't played anyone this year and USC beat them last year up in Eugene, Oregon.
Buy or sell: this is when a panlist "buys" (agrees) or "sells" (disagrees) with the topic at hand
Will travel issues affect game vs. Giants?
Sell. Due to hurricane Sandy that raveged the East coast last week, the Steelers will fly out to their game at New York Giants the day of the game. Per NFL policy teams fly out the day prior and some teams, usually playing across the country fly out 2 days prior. Plenty of people take a 7:00 AM flight from Pittsburgh to Newark, do business in New York for the day, take a 7:30 PM flight back from Newark to Pittsburgh, get back to their house at 10:00 PM and go to work in downtown Pittsburgh the next morning. The flight from Pittsburgh to Newark is like 45 minutes, it'll probably take the Steelers longer to bus from Newark to the Meadowlands then the flight will.
Note: Pittsburgh won the game 24-20 on a late TD in the 4th.
RG3 would rather be compared to Rodgers?
Sell. He's more comparable to Newton in the NFL, but more comparable to Rodgers in college. Both Rodgers at Cal and RG3 at Baylor were pretty much unknown until their junior seasons, but RG3 can run as well as Newton can, and until RG3 and or Newton can win a super bowl neither of them can be compared to Rodgers
Wants critics to shut up?
Buy. Its 3 games out of an 82 game season. Granted the Lakers haven't won a game yet this year (0-8 preseason, 0-3 so far in the regular season), the Lakers don't know how and shouldn't be running the Princeton offense, and aside from Kobe Bryant & Dwight Howard have looked awful on the offensive end, they still have 79 games left. In 2010, the Miami Heat started 9-8 with LeBron James, DWayne Wade and Chris Bosh yet made the NBA finals that year, the Lakers just need some time for Dwight Howard & Steve Nash to co-exist with Kobe Bryant. The Lakers will be fine.
Lightning round: Like the first word except shorter answers
Says Falcons don't get enough respect?
Their 8-0, the only unbeaten team in football at the halfway mark, but they play in Atlanta. If this was New York, they'd be all over the news and people would say their overrated, so you just can't win. The Chicago Bears & Houston Texans (both 7-1) might actually be better overall, but the only way to settle that is on the field.
Week 10 winners and losers
Winners:
Louisville. They won by more then 10 points for the first time since September 8. QB Teddy Bridgewater had another monster game throwing for 324 yards and 5 touchdowns. He's leading a team that is 9-0 and should be in the heisman discussion.
Notre Dame. They were down 20-6 to begin the 4th quarter and 20-12 with under 3 minutes to go and rallied to force OT against Pittsburgh. After both teams kicked field goals in the 1st OT, ND fumbled on their 2nd OT possessions and the Irish survived a missed Pitt field goal that would have won it. Pitt kicked a FG their 3rd OT possession and ND won it with a touchdown on their possessions to get them to 9-0 for the first time since 1993 and kick them squarely in the hunt for the national championship.
Army. Beat Air Force for only the 2nd time since 1996 and will leave the Army vs. Navy game in Philadelphia on December 8 for the Commander-in-Chief's trophy which goes to either Army/Navy/or Air Force whichever team wins the most games in a season. Army hasn't won the trophy since 1996.
San Jose state. With a 42-13 win over Idaho, improved to 7-2 on the season and look to be on their way to only their second bowl game since 1990, and first since the 2006 New Mexico Bowl. With a win next week @ New Mexico state, SJSU would match their 3 previous seasons wins total.
Indiana. Recorded a 24-21 win over Indiana and control their own destiny for a BCS bowl appearance. Even though ohio state & Penn state are the two best teams in the Big 10 conference, and both school's are in Indiana's division, both of them are ineligible for the conference championship. If Indiana can win their next 4 games, even though they'd only be 8-5, they'd be playing in a BCS bowl.
Losers:
Les Miles (LSU coach). LSU suffered a 24-21 loss to Alabama and some of Miles' calls had a lot to do with it. In the 2nd quarter of a 7-3 game, he went for a fake field goal on 4th down and 12 which Alabama snuffed out. After scoring a touchdown to make the score 14-10, Miles attempted an on-sides kick on the insuing kick off which was recovered by Alabama. In the 4th quarter, after LSU took the lead, Miles attempted to go for it on a 4th and 1 instead of attempting a 41 yard field goal with one of the best kickers in the SEC; Spencer Ware got stuffed for no gain for a turnover on downs. The biggest downfall for Miles occured after Drew Alleman missed his second field goal of the game to keep it a 17-14 game. After holding Alabama in check for most of the second half (up until that possession, Alabama had 5 possessions; 4 resulted in a 3 and out and the 5th [off of the LSU onsides kick attempt] resulted in a fumble) Miles decides to play a prevent defense which lead Alabama to drive down the field for the winning touchdown.
USC defense. They have given up over 1300 yards the last 2 games, including getting gashed for 426 yards on the ground by the spread offense of Oregon. Kenjon Barner for Oregon had an exceptionally good day; 38 attempts for 321 yards and 5 touchdowns.
Colorado rushing game. The Buffalo's are one of the most hapless teams in football. As if getting outscored 168-20 over their last 3 games isn't bad enough, yesterday against Stanford their 3 quarterbacks got sacked 8 times for a loss of 42 yards which resulted in the Buffalos as a team having 21 rushing attempts which went for negative 21 yards, meaning you had 21 more rushing yards watching this game then the whole team did.
Kentucky. The Wildcats have lost 9 games this year, 7 of which were by 13 or more points. The latest casualty a 40-0 pounding at the hands of the Vanderbilt Commodores resulted in the firing of Kentucky coach Joker Phillips.
Arizona. After beating USC last week, they had no such luck against LA's other school, losing 66-10 in the Rose Bowl to UCLA. UCLA started the game up 28-0 and the score was 42-3 at halftime. They got outgained 611-257 in the game.
Projected BCS standings:
1) Alabama
2) Kansas state
3) Notre Dame
4) Oregon
5) Georgia.
Top 4 remain unchanged. Notre Dame was pushed to overtime against a not good Pitt team, but Oregon gave up 51 points to USC and only win because they scored 62. And unlike in the polls, here at Max's Sports Blog we don't move down teams if they win, even if they win on a defensive safety getting 0 offensive yards, so since the top 4 won, they remain the same as last week. Georgia, who was #6 last week takes last week's #5 spot (LSU) in my rankings.
#6 Florida
#7 South Carolina
#8 Florida state
#9 Louisville
#10 Oregon state.
Florida, South Carolina, Florida state & Louisville all move up 1 spot. I moved Oregon state to #10 because to me they've been more impressive then LSU.
How I think they'll play out: Oregon jumps Notre Dame for 3rd, and LSU ends up somewhere around 7th or 8th in the rankings.
Louisville. They won by more then 10 points for the first time since September 8. QB Teddy Bridgewater had another monster game throwing for 324 yards and 5 touchdowns. He's leading a team that is 9-0 and should be in the heisman discussion.
Notre Dame. They were down 20-6 to begin the 4th quarter and 20-12 with under 3 minutes to go and rallied to force OT against Pittsburgh. After both teams kicked field goals in the 1st OT, ND fumbled on their 2nd OT possessions and the Irish survived a missed Pitt field goal that would have won it. Pitt kicked a FG their 3rd OT possession and ND won it with a touchdown on their possessions to get them to 9-0 for the first time since 1993 and kick them squarely in the hunt for the national championship.
Army. Beat Air Force for only the 2nd time since 1996 and will leave the Army vs. Navy game in Philadelphia on December 8 for the Commander-in-Chief's trophy which goes to either Army/Navy/or Air Force whichever team wins the most games in a season. Army hasn't won the trophy since 1996.
San Jose state. With a 42-13 win over Idaho, improved to 7-2 on the season and look to be on their way to only their second bowl game since 1990, and first since the 2006 New Mexico Bowl. With a win next week @ New Mexico state, SJSU would match their 3 previous seasons wins total.
Indiana. Recorded a 24-21 win over Indiana and control their own destiny for a BCS bowl appearance. Even though ohio state & Penn state are the two best teams in the Big 10 conference, and both school's are in Indiana's division, both of them are ineligible for the conference championship. If Indiana can win their next 4 games, even though they'd only be 8-5, they'd be playing in a BCS bowl.
Losers:
Les Miles (LSU coach). LSU suffered a 24-21 loss to Alabama and some of Miles' calls had a lot to do with it. In the 2nd quarter of a 7-3 game, he went for a fake field goal on 4th down and 12 which Alabama snuffed out. After scoring a touchdown to make the score 14-10, Miles attempted an on-sides kick on the insuing kick off which was recovered by Alabama. In the 4th quarter, after LSU took the lead, Miles attempted to go for it on a 4th and 1 instead of attempting a 41 yard field goal with one of the best kickers in the SEC; Spencer Ware got stuffed for no gain for a turnover on downs. The biggest downfall for Miles occured after Drew Alleman missed his second field goal of the game to keep it a 17-14 game. After holding Alabama in check for most of the second half (up until that possession, Alabama had 5 possessions; 4 resulted in a 3 and out and the 5th [off of the LSU onsides kick attempt] resulted in a fumble) Miles decides to play a prevent defense which lead Alabama to drive down the field for the winning touchdown.
USC defense. They have given up over 1300 yards the last 2 games, including getting gashed for 426 yards on the ground by the spread offense of Oregon. Kenjon Barner for Oregon had an exceptionally good day; 38 attempts for 321 yards and 5 touchdowns.
Colorado rushing game. The Buffalo's are one of the most hapless teams in football. As if getting outscored 168-20 over their last 3 games isn't bad enough, yesterday against Stanford their 3 quarterbacks got sacked 8 times for a loss of 42 yards which resulted in the Buffalos as a team having 21 rushing attempts which went for negative 21 yards, meaning you had 21 more rushing yards watching this game then the whole team did.
Kentucky. The Wildcats have lost 9 games this year, 7 of which were by 13 or more points. The latest casualty a 40-0 pounding at the hands of the Vanderbilt Commodores resulted in the firing of Kentucky coach Joker Phillips.
Arizona. After beating USC last week, they had no such luck against LA's other school, losing 66-10 in the Rose Bowl to UCLA. UCLA started the game up 28-0 and the score was 42-3 at halftime. They got outgained 611-257 in the game.
Projected BCS standings:
1) Alabama
2) Kansas state
3) Notre Dame
4) Oregon
5) Georgia.
Top 4 remain unchanged. Notre Dame was pushed to overtime against a not good Pitt team, but Oregon gave up 51 points to USC and only win because they scored 62. And unlike in the polls, here at Max's Sports Blog we don't move down teams if they win, even if they win on a defensive safety getting 0 offensive yards, so since the top 4 won, they remain the same as last week. Georgia, who was #6 last week takes last week's #5 spot (LSU) in my rankings.
#6 Florida
#7 South Carolina
#8 Florida state
#9 Louisville
#10 Oregon state.
Florida, South Carolina, Florida state & Louisville all move up 1 spot. I moved Oregon state to #10 because to me they've been more impressive then LSU.
How I think they'll play out: Oregon jumps Notre Dame for 3rd, and LSU ends up somewhere around 7th or 8th in the rankings.
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Week 9 winners and losers
Winners:
Notre Dame. Won a 30-17 decision at Oklahoma and remain undefeated. They will almost certaintly jump into the top 4 of the BCS, and only have 1 challenging game remaing: @ USC on November 24. Win that and they could very well play for the championship, but the win @ Oklahoma almost certainly locked up a BCS birth for the Irish.
Collin Klein (Kansas state QB). After recording 7 total TDs last week against West Virginia he recorded 4 yesterday against Texas tech, all 4 in the second half in leading K-state outscoring Tech 42-14 in the second half and a 55-21 rout of the Raiders and continue to be the front runner in the Heisman race.
Georgia. Saved their season with a 17-9 victory in Jacksonville over Florida in which they kept Florida out of the end zone. With the win they not only knocked their rivals from the unbeatens and possibly out of the national championship game, the Bulldogs now control their own destiny in the SEC race. A Florida win would have ended the race.
Washington. Another team that possibly could have saved their season, and knocked off an unbeaten team. They looked lifeless in a 52-17 loss in Arizona last week, but hit a field goal with 1:20 left yesterday to get a 20-17 win after blowing a 10-0 lead.
Western Connecticut. Have to give a shout out to my school who won their first football game since November 2009 yesterday in overtime against Montclair state after the Montclair kicker missed what would have been a game-winning 26 yard field goal at the end of regulation.
Losers:
Tennessee. Dropped to 0-5 in the SEC for a 3rd straight season after a late fumble resulted in a 38-35 loss. The days for Tennessee coach Derek Dooly could be numbered.
Gene Chizik (Auburn coach). Things don't get better for Chizik and the hot seat gets warmer after his Auburn Tigers were smoked at home by Texas A&M 63-21. Auburn now falls to 1-7 and 0-6 in the SEC this year and who officially is eliminated from participating in a bowl game this year 2 years after winning the 2010 championship.
Oregon. Its hard to be a loser when you score 70 points and win 70-14, but that's exactly what happened to Oregon this week. Oregon desperately needed USC & Oregon state to win out up to when Oregon played both of these teams to boost their strength of schedule, but both teams lost. Even if Oregon is able to beat both Oregon state and USC twice (since Oregon likely would play USC again in the Pac 12 title game) USC would have at least 4 losses at seasons end and possibly 5 if they lose to Notre Dame as well.
Defense in Arizona. Arizona state and UCLA combined for 1021 yards and 88 points in Tempe while about 110 miles down I-10 in Tucson, USC and Arizona combined for 1206 yards and 75 points including USC's WR Marqise Hill Pac-12 record 345 receving yards and finished with 469 all purpose yards after 2 big kick returns in the game. Even though USC finished with 618 total yards, 5 turnovers really hurt them in the 3 point loss.
Cincinnati & USC's time management. On Friday night with about 45 seconds left in the 4th quarter and the game tied, Cincinnati came up with a sack of Louisville QB Teddy Bridgewater to bring up a 3rd down. With 2 timeouts left deep in Cincinnati territory, Cinci could have used the timeouts to get the ball back or make Louisville make a play. They got bailed out by Louisville calling the timeout after the sack, but the quarter ran out after a holding penalty and a pass competion were the last 2 plays of the game. The timeouts don't carry over into the next game or into overtime, so if you have them, use them! You never know if they will have a bad snap, a blocked kick, a good return, etc. Cinci got the ball first in overtime, turned it over and Louisville won on a field goal on their possession. The first attempt was a bad snap but was negated by Butch Jones (Cincinnati coach) calling timeout, and the second attempt went right down the the middle.
Bring up USC on Saturday now. They got the ball back with 55 seconds to play at their own 13 yard line needing to go about 65 yards to get a good attempt at a game tying field goal with 0 timeouts. The Atlanta Falcons were in the same posistion a couple weeks ago against the Oakland Raiders except they only had 22 seconds and 1 timeout in a tie game. Atlanta was able to get off 3 plays by using the sidelines and using their timeout and won the game as time expired on a game winning field goal. In college football it is much easier to run the 1 minute drill because the clock stops on 1st down to move the chains, so even with 0 timeouts you can still use the middle of the field assuming you get the first down. However, Matt Barkley the QB had no sense of urgency. They were able to get 3 first downs and move into Arizona territory but they could get no futher and a hail mary at the end bounced off Lee's finger. More sense of urgency from Barkley and the USC coaching staff, they would have gotten closer then the Arizona 48 yard line and instead of a 48 yard Hail Mary maybe it;s only a 25 yard Hail Mary which is easier to convert. Coaches have to always know and practice time and situation, and both Cincinnati & USC possibly could have walked away with wins instead of 3 point losses if they knew the time and situation.
Notre Dame. Won a 30-17 decision at Oklahoma and remain undefeated. They will almost certaintly jump into the top 4 of the BCS, and only have 1 challenging game remaing: @ USC on November 24. Win that and they could very well play for the championship, but the win @ Oklahoma almost certainly locked up a BCS birth for the Irish.
Collin Klein (Kansas state QB). After recording 7 total TDs last week against West Virginia he recorded 4 yesterday against Texas tech, all 4 in the second half in leading K-state outscoring Tech 42-14 in the second half and a 55-21 rout of the Raiders and continue to be the front runner in the Heisman race.
Georgia. Saved their season with a 17-9 victory in Jacksonville over Florida in which they kept Florida out of the end zone. With the win they not only knocked their rivals from the unbeatens and possibly out of the national championship game, the Bulldogs now control their own destiny in the SEC race. A Florida win would have ended the race.
Washington. Another team that possibly could have saved their season, and knocked off an unbeaten team. They looked lifeless in a 52-17 loss in Arizona last week, but hit a field goal with 1:20 left yesterday to get a 20-17 win after blowing a 10-0 lead.
Western Connecticut. Have to give a shout out to my school who won their first football game since November 2009 yesterday in overtime against Montclair state after the Montclair kicker missed what would have been a game-winning 26 yard field goal at the end of regulation.
Losers:
Tennessee. Dropped to 0-5 in the SEC for a 3rd straight season after a late fumble resulted in a 38-35 loss. The days for Tennessee coach Derek Dooly could be numbered.
Gene Chizik (Auburn coach). Things don't get better for Chizik and the hot seat gets warmer after his Auburn Tigers were smoked at home by Texas A&M 63-21. Auburn now falls to 1-7 and 0-6 in the SEC this year and who officially is eliminated from participating in a bowl game this year 2 years after winning the 2010 championship.
Oregon. Its hard to be a loser when you score 70 points and win 70-14, but that's exactly what happened to Oregon this week. Oregon desperately needed USC & Oregon state to win out up to when Oregon played both of these teams to boost their strength of schedule, but both teams lost. Even if Oregon is able to beat both Oregon state and USC twice (since Oregon likely would play USC again in the Pac 12 title game) USC would have at least 4 losses at seasons end and possibly 5 if they lose to Notre Dame as well.
Defense in Arizona. Arizona state and UCLA combined for 1021 yards and 88 points in Tempe while about 110 miles down I-10 in Tucson, USC and Arizona combined for 1206 yards and 75 points including USC's WR Marqise Hill Pac-12 record 345 receving yards and finished with 469 all purpose yards after 2 big kick returns in the game. Even though USC finished with 618 total yards, 5 turnovers really hurt them in the 3 point loss.
Cincinnati & USC's time management. On Friday night with about 45 seconds left in the 4th quarter and the game tied, Cincinnati came up with a sack of Louisville QB Teddy Bridgewater to bring up a 3rd down. With 2 timeouts left deep in Cincinnati territory, Cinci could have used the timeouts to get the ball back or make Louisville make a play. They got bailed out by Louisville calling the timeout after the sack, but the quarter ran out after a holding penalty and a pass competion were the last 2 plays of the game. The timeouts don't carry over into the next game or into overtime, so if you have them, use them! You never know if they will have a bad snap, a blocked kick, a good return, etc. Cinci got the ball first in overtime, turned it over and Louisville won on a field goal on their possession. The first attempt was a bad snap but was negated by Butch Jones (Cincinnati coach) calling timeout, and the second attempt went right down the the middle.
Bring up USC on Saturday now. They got the ball back with 55 seconds to play at their own 13 yard line needing to go about 65 yards to get a good attempt at a game tying field goal with 0 timeouts. The Atlanta Falcons were in the same posistion a couple weeks ago against the Oakland Raiders except they only had 22 seconds and 1 timeout in a tie game. Atlanta was able to get off 3 plays by using the sidelines and using their timeout and won the game as time expired on a game winning field goal. In college football it is much easier to run the 1 minute drill because the clock stops on 1st down to move the chains, so even with 0 timeouts you can still use the middle of the field assuming you get the first down. However, Matt Barkley the QB had no sense of urgency. They were able to get 3 first downs and move into Arizona territory but they could get no futher and a hail mary at the end bounced off Lee's finger. More sense of urgency from Barkley and the USC coaching staff, they would have gotten closer then the Arizona 48 yard line and instead of a 48 yard Hail Mary maybe it;s only a 25 yard Hail Mary which is easier to convert. Coaches have to always know and practice time and situation, and both Cincinnati & USC possibly could have walked away with wins instead of 3 point losses if they knew the time and situation.
Friday, October 26, 2012
Week 9 predictions
There are 4 matchups between top 25 teams on the gridiron this week including 3 matchups between teams in the top 11 which highlight the 5 to watch for the weekend:
1) #5 Notre Dame @ #8 Oklahoma 8 PM on ABC.
Notre Dame leads the series 8-1, but these two storied programs have only met once in the last 44 years (October 30 of 1999 a 34-30 ND win). Notre Dame is 7-0, Oklahoma is 5-1 and both teams are still alive in the race for the national championship. For Notre Dame this game, and a game @ USC later on in the season are their only likely stumbling blocks the rest of the year. Doing no worse then splitting those 2 games to go along with wins over Stanford and Michigan, Notre Dame would seem like the choice to slide into the championship game should one of those top 4 0 loss teams (Kansas state, Florida, Alabama, Oregon) lose. Oklahoma already has a home loss to #15 Kansas state (now #3) and hasn't lost two games in Norman, OK since 1998 when they finished 5-6. The Big 12 currently has 5 teams ranked, so winning this game would more than make up for losing to Kansas state earlier and keep Oklahoma in the race.
Prediction: Oklahoma 31 Notre Dame 23
2) #14 Texas Tech @ #3 Kansas state 3 PM on FOX.
Kansas state finished 2nd in the big 12 last year, yet was picked to finish 6th this year. Texas Tech finished in 9th last year and that's where they were picked preseason. This matchup proves why preseason polls are meaningless. This is the end of a brutal 5 game stretch for Texas Tech. This is the 4th game of a 5 game stretch for the Red Raiders playing ranked teams which ends next week against Texas and the 2nd straight on the road. Tech blew a 10 point lead with 2:10 to go in regulation, but hung onto beat TCU in triple OT last week while Kansas state routed West Virginia on the road in part of QB Collin Klein's 7 total TDs. After this, Tech plays only 1 more ranked team the rest of the way (Texas at home) while Kansas state still plays two (Texas at home TCU on the road), and since the Big 12 has no more championship game, Tech still needs a big jump in the standings, and to get that juimp, Tech needs to win this week and next week, but Kansas state is just playing too well.
Prediction: Kansas state 31 Texas Tech 20
3) #2 Florida vs. #10 Georgia 3:30 on CBS (game in Jacksonville).
Every year with the exception of 94 & 95, this rivalry game has been played in Jackosnville, FL roughly half the distance between Georgia's campus in Athens and Florida's campus in Gainesville. Florida has owned the series of late winning 18 of the last 22 meetings, but Georgia leads the all time series 48-40-2. A Florida win clinches the SEC Eastern division for them, while a Georgia win leaves them in the drivers seat.
Prediction: Florida 27 Georgia 24
4) Kent state @ #15 Rutgers 3:30 SNY/ESPN Game Plan/ESPN3.com
Kent state is 6-1 with its lone loss to Kentucky being the lone game it has played against a BCS conference opponent this year. Rutgers is 7-0 and rolling towards its first BCS bowl this year. However, the MAC is a respectible 3-4 against the Big East Conference this year and Toledo at 6-1 knocked off previously unbeaten Cincinnati last year. The conference can't possibly do it again, can they??
Prediction: Rutgers 24 Kent state 14
5) Cincinnati @ #14 Louisville.
These two teams came in the Big East together prior to the 05 season, and their rivalry for the Keg of Nails dates back to the days when both teams were in Conference USA. This lost a little luster when Cincinnati lost to Toledo last week, but both teams are unbeaten in conference, and both teams look to be the biggest threat for Rutgers this year with Cincinnati having a slight edge because their game against Rutgers is at home while Louisville plays Rutgers on the road.
Prediction: Louisville 27 Cincinnati 14
Other games:
Kentucky 17 @ Missouri 10 12:00 PM ESPNU. Tough year for Missouri in the SEC, and might be for another 2 or 3 years. Kentucky is only 1-7, but at least has a football team capable of playing SEC ball while Missouri still has recruits for Big 12 style of play.
Indiana 14 @ Illinois 21 12:00 PM Big 10 Network. Both are 2-5 and 0-3 in Big 10 play. Indiana has lost 5 straight after starting the year 2-0, and both teams are a combined 2-10 against FBS foes. Illinois has been outscored by 29.5 their last 4 games.
North Carolina 28 @ North Carolina state 35 12:30PM ESPN3/ESPN Gameplan. UNC is ineligible for a bowl game this year, but their playing to end a 5 game losing streak to their lesser known Tobacco Road rival and can still play for the division title.
BYU 13 @ Georgia Tech 20 3:00 PM ESPN3/ESPN Game Plan. BYU is one of the best at stopping the run and Tech is one of the best at running the ball. Tech QB Tevon Washington has attempted 86 passes in 7 games which comes out to about 12 a game; 15 is the magic number; fewer then that and Tech wins, more and BYU probably wins.
Ohio state 24 @ Penn state 27 5:30PM ESPN. I like to call it the ineligible bowl. Ohio state is already bowl eligible, Penn state will be before the years up and would be if they win this game, however both teams are ineligible for a bowl game this year.
#22 Michigan 20 @ Nebraska 24 8:00 PM ESPN2. Both teams still have to play Iowa, but this likely decides who wins the Big 10 legends division.
#11 Mississippi state 10 @ #1 Alabama 27. Miss state is 7-0 but have only played 2 teams above .500 both out of the Sun Belt conference, while Alabama has only lost 2 games in Alabama the last 4 years. I doubt Miss state wins, but I doubt they get blown out either.
1) #5 Notre Dame @ #8 Oklahoma 8 PM on ABC.
Notre Dame leads the series 8-1, but these two storied programs have only met once in the last 44 years (October 30 of 1999 a 34-30 ND win). Notre Dame is 7-0, Oklahoma is 5-1 and both teams are still alive in the race for the national championship. For Notre Dame this game, and a game @ USC later on in the season are their only likely stumbling blocks the rest of the year. Doing no worse then splitting those 2 games to go along with wins over Stanford and Michigan, Notre Dame would seem like the choice to slide into the championship game should one of those top 4 0 loss teams (Kansas state, Florida, Alabama, Oregon) lose. Oklahoma already has a home loss to #15 Kansas state (now #3) and hasn't lost two games in Norman, OK since 1998 when they finished 5-6. The Big 12 currently has 5 teams ranked, so winning this game would more than make up for losing to Kansas state earlier and keep Oklahoma in the race.
Prediction: Oklahoma 31 Notre Dame 23
2) #14 Texas Tech @ #3 Kansas state 3 PM on FOX.
Kansas state finished 2nd in the big 12 last year, yet was picked to finish 6th this year. Texas Tech finished in 9th last year and that's where they were picked preseason. This matchup proves why preseason polls are meaningless. This is the end of a brutal 5 game stretch for Texas Tech. This is the 4th game of a 5 game stretch for the Red Raiders playing ranked teams which ends next week against Texas and the 2nd straight on the road. Tech blew a 10 point lead with 2:10 to go in regulation, but hung onto beat TCU in triple OT last week while Kansas state routed West Virginia on the road in part of QB Collin Klein's 7 total TDs. After this, Tech plays only 1 more ranked team the rest of the way (Texas at home) while Kansas state still plays two (Texas at home TCU on the road), and since the Big 12 has no more championship game, Tech still needs a big jump in the standings, and to get that juimp, Tech needs to win this week and next week, but Kansas state is just playing too well.
Prediction: Kansas state 31 Texas Tech 20
3) #2 Florida vs. #10 Georgia 3:30 on CBS (game in Jacksonville).
Every year with the exception of 94 & 95, this rivalry game has been played in Jackosnville, FL roughly half the distance between Georgia's campus in Athens and Florida's campus in Gainesville. Florida has owned the series of late winning 18 of the last 22 meetings, but Georgia leads the all time series 48-40-2. A Florida win clinches the SEC Eastern division for them, while a Georgia win leaves them in the drivers seat.
Prediction: Florida 27 Georgia 24
4) Kent state @ #15 Rutgers 3:30 SNY/ESPN Game Plan/ESPN3.com
Kent state is 6-1 with its lone loss to Kentucky being the lone game it has played against a BCS conference opponent this year. Rutgers is 7-0 and rolling towards its first BCS bowl this year. However, the MAC is a respectible 3-4 against the Big East Conference this year and Toledo at 6-1 knocked off previously unbeaten Cincinnati last year. The conference can't possibly do it again, can they??
Prediction: Rutgers 24 Kent state 14
5) Cincinnati @ #14 Louisville.
These two teams came in the Big East together prior to the 05 season, and their rivalry for the Keg of Nails dates back to the days when both teams were in Conference USA. This lost a little luster when Cincinnati lost to Toledo last week, but both teams are unbeaten in conference, and both teams look to be the biggest threat for Rutgers this year with Cincinnati having a slight edge because their game against Rutgers is at home while Louisville plays Rutgers on the road.
Prediction: Louisville 27 Cincinnati 14
Other games:
Kentucky 17 @ Missouri 10 12:00 PM ESPNU. Tough year for Missouri in the SEC, and might be for another 2 or 3 years. Kentucky is only 1-7, but at least has a football team capable of playing SEC ball while Missouri still has recruits for Big 12 style of play.
Indiana 14 @ Illinois 21 12:00 PM Big 10 Network. Both are 2-5 and 0-3 in Big 10 play. Indiana has lost 5 straight after starting the year 2-0, and both teams are a combined 2-10 against FBS foes. Illinois has been outscored by 29.5 their last 4 games.
North Carolina 28 @ North Carolina state 35 12:30PM ESPN3/ESPN Gameplan. UNC is ineligible for a bowl game this year, but their playing to end a 5 game losing streak to their lesser known Tobacco Road rival and can still play for the division title.
BYU 13 @ Georgia Tech 20 3:00 PM ESPN3/ESPN Game Plan. BYU is one of the best at stopping the run and Tech is one of the best at running the ball. Tech QB Tevon Washington has attempted 86 passes in 7 games which comes out to about 12 a game; 15 is the magic number; fewer then that and Tech wins, more and BYU probably wins.
Ohio state 24 @ Penn state 27 5:30PM ESPN. I like to call it the ineligible bowl. Ohio state is already bowl eligible, Penn state will be before the years up and would be if they win this game, however both teams are ineligible for a bowl game this year.
#22 Michigan 20 @ Nebraska 24 8:00 PM ESPN2. Both teams still have to play Iowa, but this likely decides who wins the Big 10 legends division.
#11 Mississippi state 10 @ #1 Alabama 27. Miss state is 7-0 but have only played 2 teams above .500 both out of the Sun Belt conference, while Alabama has only lost 2 games in Alabama the last 4 years. I doubt Miss state wins, but I doubt they get blown out either.
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Detroit vs. San Francisco World Series
Tonight starts the 2012 World Series between the San Francisco Giants who became the 4th NL team to rally from 3-1 down against the St. Louis Cardinals and the Detroit Tigers out of the AL who breeezed through the Yankees in the ALCS winning 4 games to none. I will break down the matchup (offense, defense, pitching, intangibles) and predict a winner.
Offense:
The Detroit Tigers have the majors first triple crown winner since 1968 and likely AL MVP (Miguel Cabrera). Him along with Prince Fielder make up a great middle of the order for the Tigers, however both have struggled so far in the playoffs. Two people that didn't struggle in the ALCS: Jhonny Perallta, and Delmon Young who was the MVP of the ALCS. What I don't like is the week off could've killed both Perralta's and Young's momentum from the ALCS (haven't played since last Thursday) and if that's the case they'll need Cabrera and especially Fielder to pick up the offense slack.
Giants rely more on pitching and defense, but Marco Scutaro, NLCS MVP was probably the best trade pick up the season from Colorado; he set an LCS record with 14 hits in the 7 games, producing at least 2 hits in 6 of the 7 games and the lone game he didn't he left the game in the middle of it after getting hit in the ribs. Him along with Angel Pagan set the table for the Giants by getting on base, however the 3-4-5 hitters of Pablo Sandoval, Buster Posey (likely NL MVP), and Hunter Pence have had trouble knocking them in. Against a great pitching staff like the Tigers, if Scutaro & Pagan get on base the middle of the order will have to drive them in.
Slight advantage: Tigers
Defense:
Coming into the playoffs, the main concern of the Tigers was going to be defense & the bullpen. In 83 innings so far in the playoffs the Tigers have only made 4 errors and allowed 1 unearned run and made some great defensive plays in the ALCS. In 108 innings in the playoffs, the Giants have committed 6 errors and allowed 0 unearned runs.
Slight advantage: Giants
Starting pitching:
The Tigers staff is on a roll. They held the Yankees to a .158 average in the ALCS, allowed only 6 runs that series, and 5 of the 6 came in the 9th inning meaning in 4 games the Tigers allowed only 1 run in innings 1 through 8 to the powerful Yankees offense. Through the last 3 games of the NLCS the Giants outscored the Cardinals 20-1, however Giants starters not named Matt Cain and Ryan Vogelsong have gotten lit up in the first couple innings.
Advantage: Tigers
Relief pitching:
Going into the playoffs, Tigers manager Jim Leyland said this about his closer Jose Valverde: "In order for us to win the Series, Jose Valverde will have to close games for us." Leyland brought him into game 1 of the ALCS in a non save situation up 4 runs in the 9th inning. He proceded to give up two 2 run homers in the 9th to tie game 1 at 4 (Tigers ultimately won 6-4 in 12 innings), however Valverde was never seen again in the series: he was warming up in the latter stages of game 4's 8-1 blowout, but he never appeared in the game. Former Yankees reliever Phil Coke closed out all 4 games against the Yankees, but Valverde will have to pitch and pitch successfully in order for the Tigers to win the championship. The bullpen for the Giants is the best and most important part of their team and will likely see more innings then the Tigers bullpen.
Advantage: Giants
Intangibles:
The last 4 occassions of a team sweeping an LCS and playing in the World Series against a team coming off a 7 game series have not gone well for the team that did the sweeping and sat around. In 1988, the Oakland A's swept the Boston Red Sox in the ALCS and lost in 5 games to the Los Angeles Dodgers who beat the New York Mets in 7 games. In 2006, the Tigers were in this spot: they swept the A's in the ALCS while the Cardinals beat the Mets in 7 games in the NLCS, and the Cardinals won the Series in 5 games. 1 year later, the Colorado Rockies swept the Arizona Diamondbacks in the NLCS, and got swept in the World Series by the Red Sox in the World Series who beat the Cleveland Indians in 7 games in the ALCS. The Tigers this year have better starting pitching then they did back in 2006: Justin Verlander is the reining Cy Young AND MVP and him & Max Scherzer finished 1 and 2 in the AL in strikeouts.
The Giants are 6-0 in potential elimination games while only 1-5 so far in the playoffs in non elimination games. Even though they have home field advantage, they'd probably feel better if they went to Detroit for games 3 through 5 tied at 1-1 or even down 2-0 then they were up 2-0. We know they can play with their backs up to wall, but in order to win the series for the 2nd time in 3 years they'll have to win games before they get backed into the corner, especially when they'll be facing Verlander for 2 games (1 and 5, and sometime in game 7 if it gets that far whether he starts it or pitches in relief).
Advantage: Even
Prediction:
Giants in 6 games. They start at home, and have momentum from playing live competition unlike the Tigers who were playing simulated games over the weekend against their rookie league team and didn't even arrive in San Francisco until Tuesday morning. In the 2010 World Series I was pretty much the only person that predicted they'd win the championship, and in that series they beat Cliff Lee who was almost as dominant that year as Justin Verlander is this year. The Tigers starting rotation is better than that 2010 Rangers rotation, but the Giants offense is better, but I still think the Giants get it done.
Offense:
The Detroit Tigers have the majors first triple crown winner since 1968 and likely AL MVP (Miguel Cabrera). Him along with Prince Fielder make up a great middle of the order for the Tigers, however both have struggled so far in the playoffs. Two people that didn't struggle in the ALCS: Jhonny Perallta, and Delmon Young who was the MVP of the ALCS. What I don't like is the week off could've killed both Perralta's and Young's momentum from the ALCS (haven't played since last Thursday) and if that's the case they'll need Cabrera and especially Fielder to pick up the offense slack.
Giants rely more on pitching and defense, but Marco Scutaro, NLCS MVP was probably the best trade pick up the season from Colorado; he set an LCS record with 14 hits in the 7 games, producing at least 2 hits in 6 of the 7 games and the lone game he didn't he left the game in the middle of it after getting hit in the ribs. Him along with Angel Pagan set the table for the Giants by getting on base, however the 3-4-5 hitters of Pablo Sandoval, Buster Posey (likely NL MVP), and Hunter Pence have had trouble knocking them in. Against a great pitching staff like the Tigers, if Scutaro & Pagan get on base the middle of the order will have to drive them in.
Slight advantage: Tigers
Defense:
Coming into the playoffs, the main concern of the Tigers was going to be defense & the bullpen. In 83 innings so far in the playoffs the Tigers have only made 4 errors and allowed 1 unearned run and made some great defensive plays in the ALCS. In 108 innings in the playoffs, the Giants have committed 6 errors and allowed 0 unearned runs.
Slight advantage: Giants
Starting pitching:
The Tigers staff is on a roll. They held the Yankees to a .158 average in the ALCS, allowed only 6 runs that series, and 5 of the 6 came in the 9th inning meaning in 4 games the Tigers allowed only 1 run in innings 1 through 8 to the powerful Yankees offense. Through the last 3 games of the NLCS the Giants outscored the Cardinals 20-1, however Giants starters not named Matt Cain and Ryan Vogelsong have gotten lit up in the first couple innings.
Advantage: Tigers
Relief pitching:
Going into the playoffs, Tigers manager Jim Leyland said this about his closer Jose Valverde: "In order for us to win the Series, Jose Valverde will have to close games for us." Leyland brought him into game 1 of the ALCS in a non save situation up 4 runs in the 9th inning. He proceded to give up two 2 run homers in the 9th to tie game 1 at 4 (Tigers ultimately won 6-4 in 12 innings), however Valverde was never seen again in the series: he was warming up in the latter stages of game 4's 8-1 blowout, but he never appeared in the game. Former Yankees reliever Phil Coke closed out all 4 games against the Yankees, but Valverde will have to pitch and pitch successfully in order for the Tigers to win the championship. The bullpen for the Giants is the best and most important part of their team and will likely see more innings then the Tigers bullpen.
Advantage: Giants
Intangibles:
The last 4 occassions of a team sweeping an LCS and playing in the World Series against a team coming off a 7 game series have not gone well for the team that did the sweeping and sat around. In 1988, the Oakland A's swept the Boston Red Sox in the ALCS and lost in 5 games to the Los Angeles Dodgers who beat the New York Mets in 7 games. In 2006, the Tigers were in this spot: they swept the A's in the ALCS while the Cardinals beat the Mets in 7 games in the NLCS, and the Cardinals won the Series in 5 games. 1 year later, the Colorado Rockies swept the Arizona Diamondbacks in the NLCS, and got swept in the World Series by the Red Sox in the World Series who beat the Cleveland Indians in 7 games in the ALCS. The Tigers this year have better starting pitching then they did back in 2006: Justin Verlander is the reining Cy Young AND MVP and him & Max Scherzer finished 1 and 2 in the AL in strikeouts.
The Giants are 6-0 in potential elimination games while only 1-5 so far in the playoffs in non elimination games. Even though they have home field advantage, they'd probably feel better if they went to Detroit for games 3 through 5 tied at 1-1 or even down 2-0 then they were up 2-0. We know they can play with their backs up to wall, but in order to win the series for the 2nd time in 3 years they'll have to win games before they get backed into the corner, especially when they'll be facing Verlander for 2 games (1 and 5, and sometime in game 7 if it gets that far whether he starts it or pitches in relief).
Advantage: Even
Prediction:
Giants in 6 games. They start at home, and have momentum from playing live competition unlike the Tigers who were playing simulated games over the weekend against their rookie league team and didn't even arrive in San Francisco until Tuesday morning. In the 2010 World Series I was pretty much the only person that predicted they'd win the championship, and in that series they beat Cliff Lee who was almost as dominant that year as Justin Verlander is this year. The Tigers starting rotation is better than that 2010 Rangers rotation, but the Giants offense is better, but I still think the Giants get it done.
Sunday, October 21, 2012
NCAAF week 8 winners and losers
Winners:
Collin Klein (QB Kansas state). Could be at the top of the heisman race after he accounted for all 7 of Kansas state's 7 TD's in their rout of #13 West Virginia (4 rushing and 3 TD's). Unfortunately for K-state everyone in front of them won this week, so they'll remain in neutral at #4 in the BCS, but as long as K-state can keep winning the Wildcats will be in the running for the BCS championship game and Klein will be in the discussion for the Heisman trophy at seasons end.
Duke. Yes, they do in fact play football at Duke. Duke was rolling their rivals from 8 miles up the road; 23-9 at the start of the 4th quarter, had completely dominated the game and looked well on their way to securing the Victory bell (What UNC & Duke play for in football). However, the 1st play of the 4th quarter was a fake punt on 4th and 2 that went for no gain which gave UNC the ball in Duke territory. The Heels would score TDs on their next two possessions sandwiched between a Duke field goal left the margin at 3 points. Duke went 3 and out on their next possession and gave UNC the ball back, and following one of the craziest TDs I had ever seen, it looked like Duke football would fall back into the abyss. The Heel TE caught a perfect pass in the middle of the field, the ball bounced around for a while, a Duke DB tried to scoop it up and run with it instead of falling on it, ball went straight through his arms and into the arms of the UNC backup QB who took the fumble recovery 4 yards into the end zone for the touchdown. In previous years Duke would have folded the tent, but 2012 is a different Duke team. They marched down the field and on 4th & 2 from the UNC 5 with 23 seconds left they got the game winning touchdown to get them bowl eligible for the first time since 1994 and the Victory Bell for the first time since 03.
Big East ranked unbeaten teams. Cincinnati did lose (I'll get to them later), but Rutgers & Louisville both had come back wins to remain in the top 25 and remain unbeaten. Rutgers was down 10-0 at halftime to Temple and rallied to win 35-10; Louisville trailed USF 25-21 and scored the game winning TD with 1:35 left to remain unbeaten.
Toledo. Beat Cincinnati 29-23 to knock the Bearcats from the unbeatens and notch another quality win for the MAC this year. So far this year the conference has gotten wins against: the Big 12 conference, the Big 10 conference, and the Mountain West conference. Will probably be the best non BCS conference to watch this year.
Michigan. There was only 1 touchdown scored in the game, but Michigan got 4 field goals including the winner with no time left to defeat in-state rival Michigan state 12-10 to become the first college team to 900 wins.
Losers:
Texas A&M. Got the ball inside the LSU 20 yard line 3 times and only got 10 points to show for it. That and one of the worst games of the season for QB Johnny Manziel was the reason they were on the short end of a 24-19 loss to LSU which pretty much knocks them out of the SEC & championship game race.
Baylor's defense. In 3 Big 12 games they've given up 70, 49 & 56 points. Not good, and no wonder they've fallen to 0-3 so far in the conference.
Gene Chizik (Auburn coach). He did win the 2010 national championship but since that January 2011 win vs. Oregon, Chizik is a robust 9-11 since including 1-6 so far this year, the schools worst start since 1952. Its difficult to fire a coach 2 years removed from a championship, but you can't take losing in the SEC, and in Alabama where the rivals across the state have won 2 of the last 3 championships and haven't lost to a non SEC opponent since January of 2009.
California vs. top 20 teams. California's 21-3 loss to Stanford left them 0 for their last 8 against teams ranked in the top 20 with an average margin of defeat of almost 2 touchdown's (13.9 points).
Utah. They only lost 21-7 to unbeaten and #8 Oregon state but 2 of Oregon state's 3 touchdown's occured off of Utah turnovers deep in their own territory (1 was an interception at their own 16, another was a fumble at their own 10), and a 3rd Utah turnover (they finished with 4 alltogether) was a fumble at the Oregon state 5 yard line on the 1st drive of the second half when the score was 14-7. They may not have won the game anyways, but they certainly didn't help themselves.
Best game of the weekend:
North Carolina @ Duke. Rivalry game, the crazy Touchdown, Duke becoming bowl eligible
My predicted top 10 in the BCS:
1) Alabama
2) Florida
3) Oregon
4) Kansas state
5) Notre Dame
That was the top 5 last week and all 5 won and aside from Notre Dame all won convincingly with Florida & Kansas state beating top 13 teams in the process, so can't see how you can bump any of them down.
6) LSU
7) Oregon state
8) Oklahoma
9) USC
10) Mississippi state
LSU was number 6 last week; they won by 5 on the road, ND won by 3 at home doubt they jump into the 5. South Carolina was #7, they got crushed so they drop out entirely which bumps Oregon state, Oklahoma & USC up 1. I swapped Georgia (1 loss to South Carolina) and Missippi statet (0 losses) for the final spot. Even though Miss state has played nobody you play the hands dealt to you and no matter how bad the schedule is, you get rewarded in my book for an unbeaten record. The next 3 games for Miss state are against ranked teams with 2 on the road against top 6 teams so in the coming weeks they'll either earn this spot and then some or drop off the page entirely.
Other's receiving votes: Georgia, Florida state, Rutgers, Louisville, South Carolina, Texas Tech, West Virginia.
Collin Klein (QB Kansas state). Could be at the top of the heisman race after he accounted for all 7 of Kansas state's 7 TD's in their rout of #13 West Virginia (4 rushing and 3 TD's). Unfortunately for K-state everyone in front of them won this week, so they'll remain in neutral at #4 in the BCS, but as long as K-state can keep winning the Wildcats will be in the running for the BCS championship game and Klein will be in the discussion for the Heisman trophy at seasons end.
Duke. Yes, they do in fact play football at Duke. Duke was rolling their rivals from 8 miles up the road; 23-9 at the start of the 4th quarter, had completely dominated the game and looked well on their way to securing the Victory bell (What UNC & Duke play for in football). However, the 1st play of the 4th quarter was a fake punt on 4th and 2 that went for no gain which gave UNC the ball in Duke territory. The Heels would score TDs on their next two possessions sandwiched between a Duke field goal left the margin at 3 points. Duke went 3 and out on their next possession and gave UNC the ball back, and following one of the craziest TDs I had ever seen, it looked like Duke football would fall back into the abyss. The Heel TE caught a perfect pass in the middle of the field, the ball bounced around for a while, a Duke DB tried to scoop it up and run with it instead of falling on it, ball went straight through his arms and into the arms of the UNC backup QB who took the fumble recovery 4 yards into the end zone for the touchdown. In previous years Duke would have folded the tent, but 2012 is a different Duke team. They marched down the field and on 4th & 2 from the UNC 5 with 23 seconds left they got the game winning touchdown to get them bowl eligible for the first time since 1994 and the Victory Bell for the first time since 03.
Big East ranked unbeaten teams. Cincinnati did lose (I'll get to them later), but Rutgers & Louisville both had come back wins to remain in the top 25 and remain unbeaten. Rutgers was down 10-0 at halftime to Temple and rallied to win 35-10; Louisville trailed USF 25-21 and scored the game winning TD with 1:35 left to remain unbeaten.
Toledo. Beat Cincinnati 29-23 to knock the Bearcats from the unbeatens and notch another quality win for the MAC this year. So far this year the conference has gotten wins against: the Big 12 conference, the Big 10 conference, and the Mountain West conference. Will probably be the best non BCS conference to watch this year.
Michigan. There was only 1 touchdown scored in the game, but Michigan got 4 field goals including the winner with no time left to defeat in-state rival Michigan state 12-10 to become the first college team to 900 wins.
Losers:
Texas A&M. Got the ball inside the LSU 20 yard line 3 times and only got 10 points to show for it. That and one of the worst games of the season for QB Johnny Manziel was the reason they were on the short end of a 24-19 loss to LSU which pretty much knocks them out of the SEC & championship game race.
Baylor's defense. In 3 Big 12 games they've given up 70, 49 & 56 points. Not good, and no wonder they've fallen to 0-3 so far in the conference.
Gene Chizik (Auburn coach). He did win the 2010 national championship but since that January 2011 win vs. Oregon, Chizik is a robust 9-11 since including 1-6 so far this year, the schools worst start since 1952. Its difficult to fire a coach 2 years removed from a championship, but you can't take losing in the SEC, and in Alabama where the rivals across the state have won 2 of the last 3 championships and haven't lost to a non SEC opponent since January of 2009.
California vs. top 20 teams. California's 21-3 loss to Stanford left them 0 for their last 8 against teams ranked in the top 20 with an average margin of defeat of almost 2 touchdown's (13.9 points).
Utah. They only lost 21-7 to unbeaten and #8 Oregon state but 2 of Oregon state's 3 touchdown's occured off of Utah turnovers deep in their own territory (1 was an interception at their own 16, another was a fumble at their own 10), and a 3rd Utah turnover (they finished with 4 alltogether) was a fumble at the Oregon state 5 yard line on the 1st drive of the second half when the score was 14-7. They may not have won the game anyways, but they certainly didn't help themselves.
Best game of the weekend:
North Carolina @ Duke. Rivalry game, the crazy Touchdown, Duke becoming bowl eligible
My predicted top 10 in the BCS:
1) Alabama
2) Florida
3) Oregon
4) Kansas state
5) Notre Dame
That was the top 5 last week and all 5 won and aside from Notre Dame all won convincingly with Florida & Kansas state beating top 13 teams in the process, so can't see how you can bump any of them down.
6) LSU
7) Oregon state
8) Oklahoma
9) USC
10) Mississippi state
LSU was number 6 last week; they won by 5 on the road, ND won by 3 at home doubt they jump into the 5. South Carolina was #7, they got crushed so they drop out entirely which bumps Oregon state, Oklahoma & USC up 1. I swapped Georgia (1 loss to South Carolina) and Missippi statet (0 losses) for the final spot. Even though Miss state has played nobody you play the hands dealt to you and no matter how bad the schedule is, you get rewarded in my book for an unbeaten record. The next 3 games for Miss state are against ranked teams with 2 on the road against top 6 teams so in the coming weeks they'll either earn this spot and then some or drop off the page entirely.
Other's receiving votes: Georgia, Florida state, Rutgers, Louisville, South Carolina, Texas Tech, West Virginia.
NFL week 7 predictions
Baltimore Ravens 17 @ Houston Texans 21. Both teams are 5-1 and the only 2 teams in the AFC that are over .500. Baltimore has injury issues as LB Ray Lewis is out with a triceps injury, CB Ladarius Webb is out for the year with a torn acl, and OLB Terrell Suggs looks to play in his first game of the year after tearing his acl playing offseason basketball. Houston suffered their first loss last week when they got shredded by Green Bay. I think they have enough to get the win.
Tennessee Titans 14 @ Buffalo Bills 31. Shouldn't be close. This is only Buffalo's 3rd home game and after this won't be home again until November 15.
Cleveland Brows 14 @ Indianapolis Colts 20. Cleveland ended their 11 game losing streak last week. Colts are 2-3 on the year but 2-1 at home. One of their wins was over Green Bay, however they lost at home to Jacksonvillle, so tough to get a read on them.
Green Bay Packers 27 @ St. Louis Rams 24. 1-2 on the road (Green Bay) vs. 3-0 at home (Green Bay). Rams play good defense, good enough to keep it close, but the Packers win in the end.
Arizona Cardinals 13 @ Minnesota Vikings 21. Were back to square 1 on the Cardinals merry go round QB rotation. John Skelton started off as the starter, he got injured vs. Seattle in week 1, Kevin Kolb came in and lead them to a 3-2 record (4-2 if you include the comeback win vs. Seattle). Last week vs. Buffalo, Kolb is injured, so were coming back to Skelton.
Washington 17 @ New York Giants 27. Giants got swept by Washington last year, but even with QB RG3, the Giants look to be one of the best teams in the NFC.
New Orleans Saints 28 @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers 24. Saints defense is awful, while the two teams the Bucs beat are a combined 2-9.
Dallas Cowboys 21 @ Carolina Panthers 24. These two are some of the most dissapointing teams in football.
Jacksonville 10 @ Oakland 24. Both teams are 1-4, so someone has to win, right?? Jacksonville has been outscored 51-3 the last 5 quarters dating back to the start of the 4th quarter vs. Cincinnati three week ago.
New York Jets 10 @ New England Patriots 35. Good news for the Jets? The Patriots are beatable this year, especially in the secondary. Bad news for the Jets? They have no passing offense. Pats no huddle offense will really slow down the Jets.
Pittsburgh Steelers 21 @ Cincinnati Bengals 14. This is Pittsburgh's first divisonal game while this will be Cincinnati's 4th of 6 total divisional games through the first 7 weeks of the season.
Tennessee Titans 14 @ Buffalo Bills 31. Shouldn't be close. This is only Buffalo's 3rd home game and after this won't be home again until November 15.
Cleveland Brows 14 @ Indianapolis Colts 20. Cleveland ended their 11 game losing streak last week. Colts are 2-3 on the year but 2-1 at home. One of their wins was over Green Bay, however they lost at home to Jacksonvillle, so tough to get a read on them.
Green Bay Packers 27 @ St. Louis Rams 24. 1-2 on the road (Green Bay) vs. 3-0 at home (Green Bay). Rams play good defense, good enough to keep it close, but the Packers win in the end.
Arizona Cardinals 13 @ Minnesota Vikings 21. Were back to square 1 on the Cardinals merry go round QB rotation. John Skelton started off as the starter, he got injured vs. Seattle in week 1, Kevin Kolb came in and lead them to a 3-2 record (4-2 if you include the comeback win vs. Seattle). Last week vs. Buffalo, Kolb is injured, so were coming back to Skelton.
Washington 17 @ New York Giants 27. Giants got swept by Washington last year, but even with QB RG3, the Giants look to be one of the best teams in the NFC.
New Orleans Saints 28 @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers 24. Saints defense is awful, while the two teams the Bucs beat are a combined 2-9.
Dallas Cowboys 21 @ Carolina Panthers 24. These two are some of the most dissapointing teams in football.
Jacksonville 10 @ Oakland 24. Both teams are 1-4, so someone has to win, right?? Jacksonville has been outscored 51-3 the last 5 quarters dating back to the start of the 4th quarter vs. Cincinnati three week ago.
New York Jets 10 @ New England Patriots 35. Good news for the Jets? The Patriots are beatable this year, especially in the secondary. Bad news for the Jets? They have no passing offense. Pats no huddle offense will really slow down the Jets.
Pittsburgh Steelers 21 @ Cincinnati Bengals 14. This is Pittsburgh's first divisonal game while this will be Cincinnati's 4th of 6 total divisional games through the first 7 weeks of the season.
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Grading MLB trade deadline
MLB's non-waiver trade deadline has come and gone (4:00 PM eastern today), but that doesn't mean the trading is over. In order to be eligible for the postseason, you have to be on a team by September 1, meaning players can still get traded to playoff contenders through waivers up through August 31. Usually the waiver deadline is more active then the non waiver deadline because a lot of teams that are the fence today (Toronto, Cleveland, St. Louis) about whether to go for a playoff push or reload will have a better idea where they stand 30 days from now. But I'm just rating what teams have done up until today.
3 best:
Los Angeles Dodgers. After going through an offensive drought in June when MVP candidate Matt Kemp was on the DL, they now look like one of the NL's best teams as they ransacked two struggling NL East team's getting power hitting SS Hanley Ramirez and LHP Randy Choate from the Miami Marlins last week, and late this morning trading for Phillies CF Shane Victorino, as well as strengthening the bullpen with the aquisistion of Mariners closer Brandon League. They could have gotten Carlos Lee to get more production at 1b, or Ryan Dempster to get the starting rotation another pitcher, but all in all, they did great
Chicago Cubs. It's too bad the Braves pulled their first offer for Ryan Dempster because they could have gotten Braves prospect Wilson Delgado, but that didn't stop them for dealing with each other. The Braves got Cubs starter Paul Maholm & outfielder Reed Johnson and the Cubs strengthen their minor league team with pitchers Jaye Chapman & Arolydis Vizcaino. Cubs are still trying to shed salary/dead weight under the Jed Hoyer/Theo Epstein reign, and this trade and Ryan Dempster to Texas was a start. Outfielder Alfonso Soriano will definitely clear waivers and I'd look for him to possibly get traded in August.
New York Yankees. Not that they needed to do anything, because they have the 3rd best record in baseball and largest division lead in baseball, but they had 2 holes to fill: An OF to replace Brett Gardner, and a corner infielder. The OF they turned into future hall of famer Ichiro Suzuki and the corner infield spot turned into Pittsburgh Pirates 1b/3b Casey McGhee. He's not great, but he'll fill in the next couple of days at 1b for Mark Teixeira, and then he'll platoon with Eric Chavez the remainder of the month and then a couple weeks into September at 3b to fill in for Alex Rodriguez. Once Rodriguez comes back, he'll give the Yankees a decent bat off the bench.
Honorable mentions: Detroit Tigers who fleeced the Marlins for Annibal Sanchez & Omar Infante, and the Phillies who desperately needed to dump salary before the start of next year.
3 worst:
Florida Marlins. After being cheap the first 19 years of their existance (the 2 years after they won the WS [97 & 03] they dismantled the team the following winter) they actually spend like a big market team last winter moving into a new park in downtown Milwaukee. Spending big money for White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen & pitcher Mark Buehrle, Mets SS Jose Reyes, and San Diego Padres closer Heath Bell, and the result has been disasterous this year: they had the worst record in the June & April, but looked like a World Series contender like most people pegged them in May. To help right the ship after they fell flat in June, they traded for Houston Astros 1b Carlos Lee (after he first declined a trade to the Dodgers). When that fell, the started their annual firesale last week; they got fleeced in that Tigers trade, and 3 weeks after trading for Lee, desperately wanted to get rid of him which failed to happen.
Toronto Blue Jays. Their stuck in that neutral posistion; 9 back of the Yankees in the division (who they won't catch) but only 4.5 back of the second wild card spot (but have to jump 5 times) so that might not be possible either, but the trades they made, made absolutely no sense. They got rid of 2 of their 3 LF's (the other one is playing RF while that starter is out with a wrist injury) and got like 6 relief pitchers who pretty much grow on trees. Last year they made a questionable trade of Edwin Jackson, but a couple hours later traded him to St Louis for Colby Rasmus which has turned out great, so was hoping the Blue Jays GM would pull something like that out of his hat, but did nothing Tuesday. I hope he doesn't wake up Wednesday morning, and look at the transaction page and think "oh crap, what the hell did I do Monday night??"
Oakland A's. They have a tight budget and their leading the wildcard, but they needed to get a SS/middle infield type player. They also have a lot of walk off wins (12- leads baseball), 1 run wins, and the pitchers have carried the team in July. A lot of the offensive guys have been having career years, and not sure they hold up for another 9 weeks
Incomplete:
Los Angeles Angels. Traded for Zach Greinke, the best pitcher on the trade market. However, this is a guy with known psychological problems, and I don't think pitching in a big market is going to help him very much. In 1.5 season in Milwaukee, he lost a grand total of 0 home games...so far in an Angels uniform he's made 1 home start and has 1 loss, meaning he has more home losses then he did in Milwaukee and he's only had 1 start.
Washington Nationals. Nitpicking at best with baseball's best record, but Stephen Strasburg is going to be shut down at some point this year, so they should've gone out an gotten a SP to fill in for him when he does get shut down. Luckily, there will be SP's on the waiver wire availble in August for them to pick up.
3 best:
Los Angeles Dodgers. After going through an offensive drought in June when MVP candidate Matt Kemp was on the DL, they now look like one of the NL's best teams as they ransacked two struggling NL East team's getting power hitting SS Hanley Ramirez and LHP Randy Choate from the Miami Marlins last week, and late this morning trading for Phillies CF Shane Victorino, as well as strengthening the bullpen with the aquisistion of Mariners closer Brandon League. They could have gotten Carlos Lee to get more production at 1b, or Ryan Dempster to get the starting rotation another pitcher, but all in all, they did great
Chicago Cubs. It's too bad the Braves pulled their first offer for Ryan Dempster because they could have gotten Braves prospect Wilson Delgado, but that didn't stop them for dealing with each other. The Braves got Cubs starter Paul Maholm & outfielder Reed Johnson and the Cubs strengthen their minor league team with pitchers Jaye Chapman & Arolydis Vizcaino. Cubs are still trying to shed salary/dead weight under the Jed Hoyer/Theo Epstein reign, and this trade and Ryan Dempster to Texas was a start. Outfielder Alfonso Soriano will definitely clear waivers and I'd look for him to possibly get traded in August.
New York Yankees. Not that they needed to do anything, because they have the 3rd best record in baseball and largest division lead in baseball, but they had 2 holes to fill: An OF to replace Brett Gardner, and a corner infielder. The OF they turned into future hall of famer Ichiro Suzuki and the corner infield spot turned into Pittsburgh Pirates 1b/3b Casey McGhee. He's not great, but he'll fill in the next couple of days at 1b for Mark Teixeira, and then he'll platoon with Eric Chavez the remainder of the month and then a couple weeks into September at 3b to fill in for Alex Rodriguez. Once Rodriguez comes back, he'll give the Yankees a decent bat off the bench.
Honorable mentions: Detroit Tigers who fleeced the Marlins for Annibal Sanchez & Omar Infante, and the Phillies who desperately needed to dump salary before the start of next year.
3 worst:
Florida Marlins. After being cheap the first 19 years of their existance (the 2 years after they won the WS [97 & 03] they dismantled the team the following winter) they actually spend like a big market team last winter moving into a new park in downtown Milwaukee. Spending big money for White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen & pitcher Mark Buehrle, Mets SS Jose Reyes, and San Diego Padres closer Heath Bell, and the result has been disasterous this year: they had the worst record in the June & April, but looked like a World Series contender like most people pegged them in May. To help right the ship after they fell flat in June, they traded for Houston Astros 1b Carlos Lee (after he first declined a trade to the Dodgers). When that fell, the started their annual firesale last week; they got fleeced in that Tigers trade, and 3 weeks after trading for Lee, desperately wanted to get rid of him which failed to happen.
Toronto Blue Jays. Their stuck in that neutral posistion; 9 back of the Yankees in the division (who they won't catch) but only 4.5 back of the second wild card spot (but have to jump 5 times) so that might not be possible either, but the trades they made, made absolutely no sense. They got rid of 2 of their 3 LF's (the other one is playing RF while that starter is out with a wrist injury) and got like 6 relief pitchers who pretty much grow on trees. Last year they made a questionable trade of Edwin Jackson, but a couple hours later traded him to St Louis for Colby Rasmus which has turned out great, so was hoping the Blue Jays GM would pull something like that out of his hat, but did nothing Tuesday. I hope he doesn't wake up Wednesday morning, and look at the transaction page and think "oh crap, what the hell did I do Monday night??"
Oakland A's. They have a tight budget and their leading the wildcard, but they needed to get a SS/middle infield type player. They also have a lot of walk off wins (12- leads baseball), 1 run wins, and the pitchers have carried the team in July. A lot of the offensive guys have been having career years, and not sure they hold up for another 9 weeks
Incomplete:
Los Angeles Angels. Traded for Zach Greinke, the best pitcher on the trade market. However, this is a guy with known psychological problems, and I don't think pitching in a big market is going to help him very much. In 1.5 season in Milwaukee, he lost a grand total of 0 home games...so far in an Angels uniform he's made 1 home start and has 1 loss, meaning he has more home losses then he did in Milwaukee and he's only had 1 start.
Washington Nationals. Nitpicking at best with baseball's best record, but Stephen Strasburg is going to be shut down at some point this year, so they should've gone out an gotten a SP to fill in for him when he does get shut down. Luckily, there will be SP's on the waiver wire availble in August for them to pick up.
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
ESPN Streak for the cash
Will never win (though I did finish in the top 20 in November 2010 though), SFTC as it's known is a game on ESPN where you pick different sports (anything from baseball to soccer. Mainly concentratest on the main 4 sports, but plenty of soccer, college sports and have even seen cycling and darts). The sports can range from anything from "who will win this game" to "how many goals will be scored" to "who will record more points." The person with the longest winning streak and most wins in any month win I think $2500, though if the longest streak reaches past 27 they can take home a lot of money (if June's winner passes W27, that person will take home $250,000). Picking games on SFTC you'd watch sports and events you really wouldn't pick otherwise. Only thing is you can only pick one game at a time, you can't pick again until your first choice ends, so you have to pick wisely...carefully, but wisely. Here's a sample for Wednesday:
"Finnish league (Lahti @ Inter Turko): How many goals will be scored: 2 or 3 vs. any other number?"
"French open 2nd round (Brian Baker vs. Gilles Simon): What will be the match result: Simon wins 3-0 vs. any other result?"
"NBA draft lottery: Which team will win the lottery: Wizards or Bobcats vs. Any other team?"
"Who will win this matchup: New York Yankees vs. Los Angeles Angels?"
"MLB: Will the Yankees hit a home run between the 3rd through 6th inning? Yes vs. no?"
Only time you even care about a Finnish league soccer game is when you pick one of the 2 teams. Some of my predictions for Wednesday:
I like 2 or 3 in the Finnish soccer game. Turku has scored 20 goals in 9 games, more than 1 goal per game while Lahti has scored 9 in 10 matches, just below 1 per game. Combined they've scored 29 goals in 19 matches. Banking on a 1-1 draw/2-1 win.
Kansas City Royals over the Cleveland Indians. Indians have lost 4 of 5 since sweeping the Tigers last week, and this is the final game of a 3 city 9 game road trip for the Royals where their 4-4 heading into the last game.
Spain: wins by 2+ over South Korea. Spain is prepping for the Euro championships over the summer while South Korea is testing for the 2014 World Cup.
New Jersey Devils over the LA Kings. Devils have 4 lines, all who can score, who will test King's goalie Jonathan Quick and the King's 9-0 road record in this year's playoffs.
Paul Pierce: field goals made or tie over Heat: winning margin. Since Pierce has the tie option, as long as the Heat lose, Pierce pickers win, even if Pierce makes 0 field goals. Celtics need to win otherwise that series is pretty much over.
Dwayne Wade with more points and assists than Rajon Rondo. Will be close because Rondo will have about 3 times as many assists than Wade will have while Wade won't outscore Rondo by that much. Wade will outscore him, and points are woth more than assists. If each have 8 (Rondo 6 assists and 2 basket's that only equals 12) while Wade has 2 assists and 8 basket's that's 18.
Yankees with a home run in the 3rd through 6th inning. Angels starter Ervin Santana has given up 13 home runs in 10 starts this year including 2 when he faced the Yankees in New York earlier in the year.
"Finnish league (Lahti @ Inter Turko): How many goals will be scored: 2 or 3 vs. any other number?"
"French open 2nd round (Brian Baker vs. Gilles Simon): What will be the match result: Simon wins 3-0 vs. any other result?"
"NBA draft lottery: Which team will win the lottery: Wizards or Bobcats vs. Any other team?"
"Who will win this matchup: New York Yankees vs. Los Angeles Angels?"
"MLB: Will the Yankees hit a home run between the 3rd through 6th inning? Yes vs. no?"
Only time you even care about a Finnish league soccer game is when you pick one of the 2 teams. Some of my predictions for Wednesday:
I like 2 or 3 in the Finnish soccer game. Turku has scored 20 goals in 9 games, more than 1 goal per game while Lahti has scored 9 in 10 matches, just below 1 per game. Combined they've scored 29 goals in 19 matches. Banking on a 1-1 draw/2-1 win.
Kansas City Royals over the Cleveland Indians. Indians have lost 4 of 5 since sweeping the Tigers last week, and this is the final game of a 3 city 9 game road trip for the Royals where their 4-4 heading into the last game.
Spain: wins by 2+ over South Korea. Spain is prepping for the Euro championships over the summer while South Korea is testing for the 2014 World Cup.
New Jersey Devils over the LA Kings. Devils have 4 lines, all who can score, who will test King's goalie Jonathan Quick and the King's 9-0 road record in this year's playoffs.
Paul Pierce: field goals made or tie over Heat: winning margin. Since Pierce has the tie option, as long as the Heat lose, Pierce pickers win, even if Pierce makes 0 field goals. Celtics need to win otherwise that series is pretty much over.
Dwayne Wade with more points and assists than Rajon Rondo. Will be close because Rondo will have about 3 times as many assists than Wade will have while Wade won't outscore Rondo by that much. Wade will outscore him, and points are woth more than assists. If each have 8 (Rondo 6 assists and 2 basket's that only equals 12) while Wade has 2 assists and 8 basket's that's 18.
Yankees with a home run in the 3rd through 6th inning. Angels starter Ervin Santana has given up 13 home runs in 10 starts this year including 2 when he faced the Yankees in New York earlier in the year.
Max answer's PTI questions
PTI is a show on ESPN usually involving Tony Kornheiser and Mike Wilbon who debate the day's sports and entertainment headlines. I'll pretend the question's are aimed at me
First Word:
1) Any hope for Celtics
I thought they (Celtics) would actually win the series, and the 14 point game 1 loss Monday night which actually wasn't even that close is a concern. Celtics had a tough 7 series last round against Philadelphia and losing game 1, on the road, with a short turnaround (48 hours) isn't all that surprising. I still think the Celtics win the series, but if they lose game 2, this could be a short series won by Miami in 4 or 5 games.
2) Did "Nasty" Speech Turn Game?
Gregg Popovich, coach of the San Antonio Spurs who have won 18 straight games dating back more than a month and a half, in the huddle at the end of the 3rd quarter with his teams trailing by 9, used words like "gain confidence" "every round gets harder" and "get nasty" caused a 25 point turnaround 2/3 of the way through the quarter and finally a 12 point turnaround as the Spurs won by 3.
3) Legit Rant or Sour Grapes?
A terrible call. Red Sox player Mike Aviles strikes out, but the umps say he fouled the ball. He ended up getting on a base to start a 3 run rally and the Sox ended up winning by 3. Replays show not only did the catcher catch the ball so even if he did tip it (which he didn't) he still should've been called out because catching a foul tip 3rd strike is a strikeout, and as I said Aviles didn't even tip the ball, he swung right through it. I think if the umpire told LeLand he missed the call he would've been less angry.
4) Should Giants Give Bonds A Job?
The guy put people in the seats when he was playing, but in the clubhouse he was a real a-hole to put it nicely. They don't owe him anything, Bonds probably wouldn't pay attention to people asking for advice he only cares about himself.
Headlines:
1) Gasol Wants To Play For Bulls?
Just because he wants to play there doesn't mean he's going to end up playing there. Whatever happens to Dwight Howard will decide where Gasol ends up. If the Magic do decide to trade him, the Lakers are a presumed favorited destination, and even though they'd have to give up Andruw Bynum, Gasol can become expandable. Bulls will probably have to part with Taj Gibson who played very well this year.
2) Is 8 Week Suspension Fair?
What a weird story. Marlins pitcher Juan Carlos Oviedo had been using a fake name "Leo Nunez" since he turned professional in 2000. He was arrested last Semptember, deported back to his native Dominican Republic and cleared up his visa with US official last week and is availble to rejoin the Marlins. The 8 week suspension is confusing. The Marlins knew what was up, they actually gave him an extension in the off season when it wasn't even known he would pitch again, so 1 would assume if he does get suspended it would actually be by his own team. So, Oviedo gets suspended for arouund 50 games + or - a few games for using a made up name, but Manny Ramirez only gets suspended 50 games for testing postitive for illegal drugs.......twice! I don't get it.
3) Schwartz Upset About Arrest?
These guys aren't in college or high school. You can't coddle pro athlete's 24/365 like you have to do in high school and even college. What these players want to do is their choice, you just wish they would make better decisions (5 Detroit Lions players have been arrested so far this off season).
Mail Time:
1) More impressive: Sale, Dunn or Konerko?
Gotta be Konerko. Hitting over .400 in the month of May and after getting drilled in the head 2 weeks ago he's 15-28 after sitting out 2 games with the injury. Max Scherzer of Detroit also struck out 15 hitters a week ago and did it in less innings than Sale did, while Adam Dunn's 11 homers this year are more than he had all of last year.
2) More credit: Frazier, Moyer or Ballpark?
These new ballparks are a joke. I think it's harder to hit a home run in a little league stadium now a days then it is to hit one at stadiums such as Great American Ballpark, Yankee Stadium or Citizens Bank Park. It was an outside pitch that Frazier flicked at, broke his bat and somehow went out of the stadium. That's a pop fly to 3rd base at your local little league park.
3) Franchitti An All-Time Great Now?
I can make 250 left turns too, am I an all-time great?
4) Better Catch?
The nominees were a centerfielder who lept over the fence and caught a ball on the other side of the fence, and a bunt pop up to the catcher who dropped it, and the pitcher made a diving, bare-handed play for the catch. Statistically speaking, it's the CF, just because you can see people make diving catchers, bare-handed plays, and miscues in every game, so combining all 3 isn't all that surprising. However, the ball the CF shouldn't have even counted as an out it should've been a home run. Unlike plays where you catch the ball in play and THAN fall over the wall, this guy fell over the wall and THAN caught it. So to me, it's a wash.
Big Finish:
1) Dolphins a good choice?
I'd think hard knocks would want a team where there's more than 1 or 2 known players. Even die hard football fans probably have a tough time figuting out who the Dolphins starting QB was, yet alone 5 players not named Reggie Bush.
2) Tied Connors for Slams Wins?
Roger Federer, one of the greatest tennis players.....ever.
3) Talking Comeback?
Dominek Hasek him, the 47 year old goalie is talking about a potential comeback to the NHL. He last suited up in an NHL uniform in game 6 of the 2008 Stanley Cup Finals against Pittsburgh and hasn't played since game 4 of the 2008 1st round series against Nashville. Really, who's in the market for a 47 year old goaltender who hasn't played in the league in 4 years?
4) Wants to Buy Padres?
Michael Jordan bought the Bobcats................and has done horribly. Magic Johnson just recently purchased the Dodgers who have the majors best record and largest division lead at this point. I guess now's the time for famous celebrities to buy sports franchise and Phil Mickelson looks like he wants in.
5) 8th in a row for Angels?
No. Yankees are just as hot as the Angels are (last night's walk off Angels win ended the Yankees 5 game winning streak) and Petittite has been pitching great since coming back from retirement. Pettitte cools down the Halo's tonight, for 1 game at least.
First Word:
1) Any hope for Celtics
I thought they (Celtics) would actually win the series, and the 14 point game 1 loss Monday night which actually wasn't even that close is a concern. Celtics had a tough 7 series last round against Philadelphia and losing game 1, on the road, with a short turnaround (48 hours) isn't all that surprising. I still think the Celtics win the series, but if they lose game 2, this could be a short series won by Miami in 4 or 5 games.
2) Did "Nasty" Speech Turn Game?
Gregg Popovich, coach of the San Antonio Spurs who have won 18 straight games dating back more than a month and a half, in the huddle at the end of the 3rd quarter with his teams trailing by 9, used words like "gain confidence" "every round gets harder" and "get nasty" caused a 25 point turnaround 2/3 of the way through the quarter and finally a 12 point turnaround as the Spurs won by 3.
3) Legit Rant or Sour Grapes?
A terrible call. Red Sox player Mike Aviles strikes out, but the umps say he fouled the ball. He ended up getting on a base to start a 3 run rally and the Sox ended up winning by 3. Replays show not only did the catcher catch the ball so even if he did tip it (which he didn't) he still should've been called out because catching a foul tip 3rd strike is a strikeout, and as I said Aviles didn't even tip the ball, he swung right through it. I think if the umpire told LeLand he missed the call he would've been less angry.
4) Should Giants Give Bonds A Job?
The guy put people in the seats when he was playing, but in the clubhouse he was a real a-hole to put it nicely. They don't owe him anything, Bonds probably wouldn't pay attention to people asking for advice he only cares about himself.
Headlines:
1) Gasol Wants To Play For Bulls?
Just because he wants to play there doesn't mean he's going to end up playing there. Whatever happens to Dwight Howard will decide where Gasol ends up. If the Magic do decide to trade him, the Lakers are a presumed favorited destination, and even though they'd have to give up Andruw Bynum, Gasol can become expandable. Bulls will probably have to part with Taj Gibson who played very well this year.
2) Is 8 Week Suspension Fair?
What a weird story. Marlins pitcher Juan Carlos Oviedo had been using a fake name "Leo Nunez" since he turned professional in 2000. He was arrested last Semptember, deported back to his native Dominican Republic and cleared up his visa with US official last week and is availble to rejoin the Marlins. The 8 week suspension is confusing. The Marlins knew what was up, they actually gave him an extension in the off season when it wasn't even known he would pitch again, so 1 would assume if he does get suspended it would actually be by his own team. So, Oviedo gets suspended for arouund 50 games + or - a few games for using a made up name, but Manny Ramirez only gets suspended 50 games for testing postitive for illegal drugs.......twice! I don't get it.
3) Schwartz Upset About Arrest?
These guys aren't in college or high school. You can't coddle pro athlete's 24/365 like you have to do in high school and even college. What these players want to do is their choice, you just wish they would make better decisions (5 Detroit Lions players have been arrested so far this off season).
Mail Time:
1) More impressive: Sale, Dunn or Konerko?
Gotta be Konerko. Hitting over .400 in the month of May and after getting drilled in the head 2 weeks ago he's 15-28 after sitting out 2 games with the injury. Max Scherzer of Detroit also struck out 15 hitters a week ago and did it in less innings than Sale did, while Adam Dunn's 11 homers this year are more than he had all of last year.
2) More credit: Frazier, Moyer or Ballpark?
These new ballparks are a joke. I think it's harder to hit a home run in a little league stadium now a days then it is to hit one at stadiums such as Great American Ballpark, Yankee Stadium or Citizens Bank Park. It was an outside pitch that Frazier flicked at, broke his bat and somehow went out of the stadium. That's a pop fly to 3rd base at your local little league park.
3) Franchitti An All-Time Great Now?
I can make 250 left turns too, am I an all-time great?
4) Better Catch?
The nominees were a centerfielder who lept over the fence and caught a ball on the other side of the fence, and a bunt pop up to the catcher who dropped it, and the pitcher made a diving, bare-handed play for the catch. Statistically speaking, it's the CF, just because you can see people make diving catchers, bare-handed plays, and miscues in every game, so combining all 3 isn't all that surprising. However, the ball the CF shouldn't have even counted as an out it should've been a home run. Unlike plays where you catch the ball in play and THAN fall over the wall, this guy fell over the wall and THAN caught it. So to me, it's a wash.
Big Finish:
1) Dolphins a good choice?
I'd think hard knocks would want a team where there's more than 1 or 2 known players. Even die hard football fans probably have a tough time figuting out who the Dolphins starting QB was, yet alone 5 players not named Reggie Bush.
2) Tied Connors for Slams Wins?
Roger Federer, one of the greatest tennis players.....ever.
3) Talking Comeback?
Dominek Hasek him, the 47 year old goalie is talking about a potential comeback to the NHL. He last suited up in an NHL uniform in game 6 of the 2008 Stanley Cup Finals against Pittsburgh and hasn't played since game 4 of the 2008 1st round series against Nashville. Really, who's in the market for a 47 year old goaltender who hasn't played in the league in 4 years?
4) Wants to Buy Padres?
Michael Jordan bought the Bobcats................and has done horribly. Magic Johnson just recently purchased the Dodgers who have the majors best record and largest division lead at this point. I guess now's the time for famous celebrities to buy sports franchise and Phil Mickelson looks like he wants in.
5) 8th in a row for Angels?
No. Yankees are just as hot as the Angels are (last night's walk off Angels win ended the Yankees 5 game winning streak) and Petittite has been pitching great since coming back from retirement. Pettitte cools down the Halo's tonight, for 1 game at least.
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Max answer's PTI questions
PTI is a show on ESPN usually involving Tony Kornheiser and Mike Wilbon who debate the day's sports and entertainment headlines. I'll pretend the question's are aimed at me (this is from Monday 4/30's show).
The first word:
1) Is one game enough?
I don't even think Rondo intentionally bumped the referee anyways, so I wouldn't have given him more than 2 regardless. But since the Celtics had already lost game 1 to the Atlanta Hawks the NBA can't have the Celtics down 0-3 in the series by the time Rondo comes back, so 1 game was pretty much by default. Ironically, they lose game 1 with him most of the game, and they win game 2 without him, go figure.
2) What does comeback mean?
This was a choke if I've ever seen. The Grizzlies were up by 24 points with 8:00 minutes left in the 4th quarter and preceded to get outscored 28-3 the remainder of the game including a 26-1 stretch to lose the game by 1. It doesn't mean much, I still think this is going 7 games, and if Memphis can win a game in LA this week, they take the home court advantage back in the series.
3) Did schedule lead to injury?
I've said this before playing 66 games in 120 days can cause injury. And because of this shortened truncated schedule, the Bulls can kiss the championship goodbye due to Rose's ACL tear.
4) Should RG3 be upset?
So, the Redskins trade 3 draft picks to St. Louis to trade up to pick Griffen at #2 and then in the 4th round they draft an equally capable QB out of college in Michigan state's Kirk Cousins, and the fact they have a backup capable of winning games in Rex Grossman, what the hell is that franchise doing? Griffen should still win the starting job, but will be tougher.
5) Impressed by debut?
He's 19 years old, but already Bryce Harper has already made noise for the Nationals. In his first game on Saturday he fired a strike from LF to home plate, that, if the catcher held onto the ball would have ended up winning them the game instead of losing the game. Tuesday night he started the game-winning rally in the 9th with a leadoff double down 1.
Headlines:
1) Nike Rep Blames Adidas Shoes?
What a stupid statement, like the shoes you wear causes injury. Next time a star player with Nike shoes Adidas should pipe "wouldn't have happened wearing Adidas."
2) Any chance for Knicks Tonight?
The only chance for the Knicks was to lose by less than 30 like they did Saturday, and probably less than 20 as well. With Amar'e Stoudamire out for likely the series by punching a fire extinguisher case after game 2's 10 point loss, the Knicks have no chance to win this series.
Mailtime:
1) Interference on OT goal?
There's always a lot of traffic in front of the goalie on goals, Brodeur was outside the crease and may or may not have initiated contact to begin with
2) Did Mavs blow best chance?
First games in a 7 game series aren't that importnant, but on the road when you lead for most of the game was dissapointing, but would be more dissapointing if they lost this at home.
3) Does New Logo makes Nets Hip?
This makes the Nets hip?? Looks like a logo a team from the 1930's would use.
4) Should Ump Tackle streaker?
They should worry about action on the field, but when a streaker runs past them and theirs no security in sight, I see no problem with the ump tackling him.
Big Finish:
1) More Impressive: Spurs or Lakers?
Andrew Bynum with a triple double and the Nuggets were playing better then the Jazz the Spurs opponent.
2) Still hasn't homered?
It's April 30, who cares? Maybe if at June 30 Pujols has less then 10 home runs, people can start to worry. He's still getting used to AL pitching spending his entire career in the NL.
3) Good fit with Raiders?
If Matt Leinhardt likes holding a clipboard I guess, but he probably won't even play.
4) Not ready to retire yet?
He may not be ready, but not a lot of teams are going to pick up Donovan McNabb, yet alone start him, so he may not have a choice
5) Who yah got tonight?
Pacers don't fall behind 0-2 at home, they win.
The first word:
1) Is one game enough?
I don't even think Rondo intentionally bumped the referee anyways, so I wouldn't have given him more than 2 regardless. But since the Celtics had already lost game 1 to the Atlanta Hawks the NBA can't have the Celtics down 0-3 in the series by the time Rondo comes back, so 1 game was pretty much by default. Ironically, they lose game 1 with him most of the game, and they win game 2 without him, go figure.
2) What does comeback mean?
This was a choke if I've ever seen. The Grizzlies were up by 24 points with 8:00 minutes left in the 4th quarter and preceded to get outscored 28-3 the remainder of the game including a 26-1 stretch to lose the game by 1. It doesn't mean much, I still think this is going 7 games, and if Memphis can win a game in LA this week, they take the home court advantage back in the series.
3) Did schedule lead to injury?
I've said this before playing 66 games in 120 days can cause injury. And because of this shortened truncated schedule, the Bulls can kiss the championship goodbye due to Rose's ACL tear.
4) Should RG3 be upset?
So, the Redskins trade 3 draft picks to St. Louis to trade up to pick Griffen at #2 and then in the 4th round they draft an equally capable QB out of college in Michigan state's Kirk Cousins, and the fact they have a backup capable of winning games in Rex Grossman, what the hell is that franchise doing? Griffen should still win the starting job, but will be tougher.
5) Impressed by debut?
He's 19 years old, but already Bryce Harper has already made noise for the Nationals. In his first game on Saturday he fired a strike from LF to home plate, that, if the catcher held onto the ball would have ended up winning them the game instead of losing the game. Tuesday night he started the game-winning rally in the 9th with a leadoff double down 1.
Headlines:
1) Nike Rep Blames Adidas Shoes?
What a stupid statement, like the shoes you wear causes injury. Next time a star player with Nike shoes Adidas should pipe "wouldn't have happened wearing Adidas."
2) Any chance for Knicks Tonight?
The only chance for the Knicks was to lose by less than 30 like they did Saturday, and probably less than 20 as well. With Amar'e Stoudamire out for likely the series by punching a fire extinguisher case after game 2's 10 point loss, the Knicks have no chance to win this series.
Mailtime:
1) Interference on OT goal?
There's always a lot of traffic in front of the goalie on goals, Brodeur was outside the crease and may or may not have initiated contact to begin with
2) Did Mavs blow best chance?
First games in a 7 game series aren't that importnant, but on the road when you lead for most of the game was dissapointing, but would be more dissapointing if they lost this at home.
3) Does New Logo makes Nets Hip?
This makes the Nets hip?? Looks like a logo a team from the 1930's would use.4) Should Ump Tackle streaker?
They should worry about action on the field, but when a streaker runs past them and theirs no security in sight, I see no problem with the ump tackling him.
Big Finish:
1) More Impressive: Spurs or Lakers?
Andrew Bynum with a triple double and the Nuggets were playing better then the Jazz the Spurs opponent.
2) Still hasn't homered?
It's April 30, who cares? Maybe if at June 30 Pujols has less then 10 home runs, people can start to worry. He's still getting used to AL pitching spending his entire career in the NL.
3) Good fit with Raiders?
If Matt Leinhardt likes holding a clipboard I guess, but he probably won't even play.
4) Not ready to retire yet?
He may not be ready, but not a lot of teams are going to pick up Donovan McNabb, yet alone start him, so he may not have a choice
5) Who yah got tonight?
Pacers don't fall behind 0-2 at home, they win.
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Max answer's PTI questions
PTI is a show on ESPN usually involving Tony Kornheiser and Mike Wilbon who debate the day's sports and entertainment headlines. I'll pretend the question's are aimed at me.
The First Word (note, this is from Wednesday's show [4/18/12]):
1) Worthy of lengthy suspension?
Absolutely. As of the show airing it was indefinitely and now it's 25 games meaning if the Coyotes were to win the Stanley cup, it would continue into next year. It's not the first time Rafi Torress has been in trouble from the NHL disiplinary office and even though Marian Hossa who Torres launched off his feet to crush, got released from the hospital with no apparant injury. I would've suspended him for even longer.
2) How impressive is feat?
Jamie Moyer just became the oldest pitcher to ever win a major league game with a 5-3 win over San Diego on Tuesday night. That's a great feat in it's own right, but I think the biggest feat is that he has 232 career wins after the age of 30! That's a lot more than pitchers have in their entire career. That and the fact he was almost out of the league makes 232 career wins after age 30 more impessive then becoming oldest pitcher to ever win a game. With the style Moyer pitches he can probably last a couple more seasons.
3) is Carmelo this year's Dirk?
No, because the Knicks aren't even that good. Sure, the Mavs may have gotten a bit lucky last year winning the championship, but at least they were a legit championship contender finishing 3rd in the West. The Knicks won't be finishing higher than 7th in the East, and will be a complete surprise if they even make it past the second round. Chances are they won't even get past round 1, yet alone win the championship
4) Does NBA have a tanking problem?
If the NBA actually drafted in the order teams finished (worst record drafts 1st, second worst second, etc), then I'd agree. Golden State is tanking however in order to keep their draft pick. If Golden state finishes outside the top 7 their 1st round pick goes to Utah. Charlotte, however is just bad. When your best player wouldn't come off the bench for some of the good teams, your team was doomed from the get-go.
5) Blocking player's transfer?
Next time a coach wants to leave a school for greener pastures and more money, the players should block the move.
Report Card:
1) Grading Philly Daily News Backpage?
A. It's not this from the NY Post Saturday: https://twitter.com/#!/maxl100/status/193769353030799361/photo/1 but the Philly Daily news labeled Sidney Crosby a "cowardly Penguin."
2) Grading Spurs win?
B+. Last week with Kobe Bryant, the Spurs let Andruw Bynum get 30 rebounds in a home loss to the Lakers. This time in LA without Kobe, the Spurs handed the Lakers their worst home loss in 4 or 5 years.
3) Grading Throwbacks?
F. Uniforms looked mustard color. Horrible design by the Steelers
4) Grading Ultimate Frisbee Catch?
C. There's an ultimate frisbee league, and you actually got the jumping, 1 handed catch on video??
Big Finish:
1) Will Attend Fenway Ceramony?
Good, Terry Francona should attend it. He was contemplating not attending, but wanted to do it for the fans. Him, along with Bill Buckner got one of the biggest ovations at Friday's ceramony for Fenway's 100 year anniversary.
2) Entire Starting 5 Going Pro?
Not surprising, everyone saw that coming. Now let's see if the coach joins them.
3) Pistons Led Cavs 100-50?
2 bad teams, but this is what happens when 1 bad team is actually trying to win games (the Detroit Pistons) and 1 bad team that just wants the season to end and is sitting everyone relevent (Cleveland Caviliers).
4) 12 Wins For Redskins?
What does Alex Trabek, the host of jeopardy, know about football??
5) Will Canucks Be Swept?
Even on Wednesday I would've said no. The games have been close; 3 previous games were all tied or 1 goal games in the 3rd period. President trophy teams don't get swept in the first round. They may still lose, and probably will, but because they won Wednesday night, they probably stretch this to 6 games.
The First Word (note, this is from Wednesday's show [4/18/12]):
1) Worthy of lengthy suspension?
Absolutely. As of the show airing it was indefinitely and now it's 25 games meaning if the Coyotes were to win the Stanley cup, it would continue into next year. It's not the first time Rafi Torress has been in trouble from the NHL disiplinary office and even though Marian Hossa who Torres launched off his feet to crush, got released from the hospital with no apparant injury. I would've suspended him for even longer.
2) How impressive is feat?
Jamie Moyer just became the oldest pitcher to ever win a major league game with a 5-3 win over San Diego on Tuesday night. That's a great feat in it's own right, but I think the biggest feat is that he has 232 career wins after the age of 30! That's a lot more than pitchers have in their entire career. That and the fact he was almost out of the league makes 232 career wins after age 30 more impessive then becoming oldest pitcher to ever win a game. With the style Moyer pitches he can probably last a couple more seasons.
3) is Carmelo this year's Dirk?
No, because the Knicks aren't even that good. Sure, the Mavs may have gotten a bit lucky last year winning the championship, but at least they were a legit championship contender finishing 3rd in the West. The Knicks won't be finishing higher than 7th in the East, and will be a complete surprise if they even make it past the second round. Chances are they won't even get past round 1, yet alone win the championship
4) Does NBA have a tanking problem?
If the NBA actually drafted in the order teams finished (worst record drafts 1st, second worst second, etc), then I'd agree. Golden State is tanking however in order to keep their draft pick. If Golden state finishes outside the top 7 their 1st round pick goes to Utah. Charlotte, however is just bad. When your best player wouldn't come off the bench for some of the good teams, your team was doomed from the get-go.
5) Blocking player's transfer?
Next time a coach wants to leave a school for greener pastures and more money, the players should block the move.
Report Card:
1) Grading Philly Daily News Backpage?
A. It's not this from the NY Post Saturday: https://twitter.com/#!/maxl100/status/193769353030799361/photo/1 but the Philly Daily news labeled Sidney Crosby a "cowardly Penguin."
2) Grading Spurs win?
B+. Last week with Kobe Bryant, the Spurs let Andruw Bynum get 30 rebounds in a home loss to the Lakers. This time in LA without Kobe, the Spurs handed the Lakers their worst home loss in 4 or 5 years.
3) Grading Throwbacks?
F. Uniforms looked mustard color. Horrible design by the Steelers
4) Grading Ultimate Frisbee Catch?
C. There's an ultimate frisbee league, and you actually got the jumping, 1 handed catch on video??
Big Finish:
1) Will Attend Fenway Ceramony?
Good, Terry Francona should attend it. He was contemplating not attending, but wanted to do it for the fans. Him, along with Bill Buckner got one of the biggest ovations at Friday's ceramony for Fenway's 100 year anniversary.
2) Entire Starting 5 Going Pro?
Not surprising, everyone saw that coming. Now let's see if the coach joins them.
3) Pistons Led Cavs 100-50?
2 bad teams, but this is what happens when 1 bad team is actually trying to win games (the Detroit Pistons) and 1 bad team that just wants the season to end and is sitting everyone relevent (Cleveland Caviliers).
4) 12 Wins For Redskins?
What does Alex Trabek, the host of jeopardy, know about football??
5) Will Canucks Be Swept?
Even on Wednesday I would've said no. The games have been close; 3 previous games were all tied or 1 goal games in the 3rd period. President trophy teams don't get swept in the first round. They may still lose, and probably will, but because they won Wednesday night, they probably stretch this to 6 games.
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
MLB predictions
Aside from a couple games over in Japan last week, and the opening game in North America last night, today is the opener for most teams, so seems like a good time for my predictions
AL East:
1) Yankees
2) Sox
3) Blue Jays
4) Rays
5) Orioles
Yankees are the Yankees, their old but they'll be fine. Sox have a new manager, GM, but are Yankees light and want to rebound from last year's 3rd place finish. They'll be without a closer as they traded their closer last year to Philadelphia, and the one they traded for Andrew Bailey is out until at least July. Blue Jays and Rays could be flip flopped, both are young, both could surprise and challenge for the playoffs, but both play in the wrong division. The Orioles are a shoe-in for last.
AL Central:
1) Tigers
2) Indiana
3) Royals
4) Twins
5) White Sox
Tigers won the division in a landslide last year as they were the only team that finished at or above .500 last year, and they just got better with the addition of Prince Fielder. Since going into the 2010 All Star game 15-1, Ubaldo Jiminez is a pedestrian 14-20 since and in order to catch the Tigers, Jiminez needs to get back to his first half form from 2010. Last place finishes and high draft picks seem to have paid off the Royals with the likes of Eric Hosmer and Alex Gordan in the big leagues. Season ending injury to closer Joakim Soria will hurt. Twins got bit by the injury bug last year, and if they can stay healthy they may pass the Royals. White Sox are rebuilding, but can still finish as high as 2nd just because 2-5 are so jumbled.
AL West:
1) Angels
2) Rangers
3) Mariners
4) A's
Angels added C.J. Wilson from Texas and Albert Pujols from St. Louis, while Texas replaces Wilson with Japanese import Yu Darvish. Both the Mariners and A's will be horrible offensive teams; Mariners made better moves over the winter so they get the higher spot. This will be the final year with only 4 teams in the AL West as the Houston Astros move from the NL Central to the AL West next year
NL East:
1) Phillies
2) Nats
3) Braves
4) Marlins
5) Mets
Phillies have to survive until June when they'll get their big hitters Ryan Howard and Chase Utley back in the lineup. Nats phenom Bryce Harper should be in the major leagues sometime around June 10, if the Nats can hang around until then they'll have a great team. Stephen Strasburg and Gio Gonzales the 2 ace pitchers are 22 and 24 respectively and Harper is 21, they'll be good for a while with Harper and Strasburg anchoring the team. This is the final year for Chipper Jones, who hopes he has a better October then last year; Braves were up 11.5 on August 30 and missed the playoffs. The Marlins have a new name, new park and new faces, but in order to even be successful they have to have Josh Johnson pitch a whole season which hasn't happened in 4 years. Mets are still recovering from Bernie Madoff, don't have enough to challenge with the other 4.
NL Central:
1) Brewers
2) Reds
3) Cardinals
4) Pirates
5) Cubs
6) Astros
The Brewers don't have a great bullpen, but they have a great offense and a pretty good rotation. I think that's enough to get them past the Reds. Reds have a terrible bullpen, ok rotation, but great offense, how will they handle expectations? Cardinals are the reigning World Series Champs, but will be hard pressed to get back there without Pujols. Pirates haven't had a winning season since 1993, that should change this year, but still not enough to compete. Theo Epstein, new president of the Cubs will have a tough year, that team needs a complete makeover. They were able to get rid of Carlos Zambrano, but they still have a couple other bad contracts to get rid of. The Astros are awful and will be shocking if they didn't get to 100 losses.
NL West:
1) Giants
2) D'Backs
3) Rockies
4) Dodgers
5) Padres
If the Giants can actually score some runs with Tim Lincecum on the mount this year, they should win the division with that great rotation. D'Backs were the division winners last year, but came as a surprise, not sold on them this year. Troy Tulowitski and Carlos Gonzales are great players for the Rockies, but they need some pitching to win which they don't have much of this year. Magic Johnson just purchased the Dodgers, so hopefully he can turn them around. Matt Kemp needs to compete for a triple crown to give them a chance. Padres may not have a player hit 20 home runs this year and traded away their best player
Wildcards:
Red Sox and Rangers in the AL, D'Backs and Reds in the NL. Red Sox and D'Backs get eliminated in that Wildcard series.
Division series:
AL: Yankees over Rangers and Angels over Tigers
NL: Phillies over Giants and Reds over Brewers
Championship series:
AL: Angels over Yankees
NL: Phillies over Reds
World Series:
Angels over Phillies in 6 games.
AL East:
1) Yankees
2) Sox
3) Blue Jays
4) Rays
5) Orioles
Yankees are the Yankees, their old but they'll be fine. Sox have a new manager, GM, but are Yankees light and want to rebound from last year's 3rd place finish. They'll be without a closer as they traded their closer last year to Philadelphia, and the one they traded for Andrew Bailey is out until at least July. Blue Jays and Rays could be flip flopped, both are young, both could surprise and challenge for the playoffs, but both play in the wrong division. The Orioles are a shoe-in for last.
AL Central:
1) Tigers
2) Indiana
3) Royals
4) Twins
5) White Sox
Tigers won the division in a landslide last year as they were the only team that finished at or above .500 last year, and they just got better with the addition of Prince Fielder. Since going into the 2010 All Star game 15-1, Ubaldo Jiminez is a pedestrian 14-20 since and in order to catch the Tigers, Jiminez needs to get back to his first half form from 2010. Last place finishes and high draft picks seem to have paid off the Royals with the likes of Eric Hosmer and Alex Gordan in the big leagues. Season ending injury to closer Joakim Soria will hurt. Twins got bit by the injury bug last year, and if they can stay healthy they may pass the Royals. White Sox are rebuilding, but can still finish as high as 2nd just because 2-5 are so jumbled.
AL West:
1) Angels
2) Rangers
3) Mariners
4) A's
Angels added C.J. Wilson from Texas and Albert Pujols from St. Louis, while Texas replaces Wilson with Japanese import Yu Darvish. Both the Mariners and A's will be horrible offensive teams; Mariners made better moves over the winter so they get the higher spot. This will be the final year with only 4 teams in the AL West as the Houston Astros move from the NL Central to the AL West next year
NL East:
1) Phillies
2) Nats
3) Braves
4) Marlins
5) Mets
Phillies have to survive until June when they'll get their big hitters Ryan Howard and Chase Utley back in the lineup. Nats phenom Bryce Harper should be in the major leagues sometime around June 10, if the Nats can hang around until then they'll have a great team. Stephen Strasburg and Gio Gonzales the 2 ace pitchers are 22 and 24 respectively and Harper is 21, they'll be good for a while with Harper and Strasburg anchoring the team. This is the final year for Chipper Jones, who hopes he has a better October then last year; Braves were up 11.5 on August 30 and missed the playoffs. The Marlins have a new name, new park and new faces, but in order to even be successful they have to have Josh Johnson pitch a whole season which hasn't happened in 4 years. Mets are still recovering from Bernie Madoff, don't have enough to challenge with the other 4.
NL Central:
1) Brewers
2) Reds
3) Cardinals
4) Pirates
5) Cubs
6) Astros
The Brewers don't have a great bullpen, but they have a great offense and a pretty good rotation. I think that's enough to get them past the Reds. Reds have a terrible bullpen, ok rotation, but great offense, how will they handle expectations? Cardinals are the reigning World Series Champs, but will be hard pressed to get back there without Pujols. Pirates haven't had a winning season since 1993, that should change this year, but still not enough to compete. Theo Epstein, new president of the Cubs will have a tough year, that team needs a complete makeover. They were able to get rid of Carlos Zambrano, but they still have a couple other bad contracts to get rid of. The Astros are awful and will be shocking if they didn't get to 100 losses.
NL West:
1) Giants
2) D'Backs
3) Rockies
4) Dodgers
5) Padres
If the Giants can actually score some runs with Tim Lincecum on the mount this year, they should win the division with that great rotation. D'Backs were the division winners last year, but came as a surprise, not sold on them this year. Troy Tulowitski and Carlos Gonzales are great players for the Rockies, but they need some pitching to win which they don't have much of this year. Magic Johnson just purchased the Dodgers, so hopefully he can turn them around. Matt Kemp needs to compete for a triple crown to give them a chance. Padres may not have a player hit 20 home runs this year and traded away their best player
Wildcards:
Red Sox and Rangers in the AL, D'Backs and Reds in the NL. Red Sox and D'Backs get eliminated in that Wildcard series.
Division series:
AL: Yankees over Rangers and Angels over Tigers
NL: Phillies over Giants and Reds over Brewers
Championship series:
AL: Angels over Yankees
NL: Phillies over Reds
World Series:
Angels over Phillies in 6 games.
Max answer's PTI questions
PTI is a show on ESPN usually involving Tony Kornheiser and Mike Wilbon who debate the day's sports and entertainment headlines. I'll pretend the question's are aimed at me.
The First Word:
1) Why did Kentucky win?
They won, because they were better, had better players, and made less mistakes then Kansas did. I can't count the number of times Kansas missed layups. Even though UK shot less than 27% in the 2nd half (26.9%), they were up 14 at half and held Kansas at bay. There were 2 key plays in the game:
1) Kansas had trimmed an 18 point deficit down to 14 at halftime. They scored first to begin the 2nd, forced a UK missed shot, had a run out on the subsequent rebound and missed a dunk that would have gotten it to 10.
2) Down 5 with 1:37 to go, Travis Relaford went for a steal, missed and got called for a reach-in foul. Anthony Davis made 1 of 2 free throws, and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist blocked Tyshawn Taylor's layup at the other end and that was that. Kansas made it a competitive game after trailing by double digits most of the game, but the missed layups really hurt them, and was the main reason why they lost.
2) What's next for Calipari?
A very good question. Now that he's got Kentucky their first title since 1998, any time they don't win a championship will be a failure. Tubby Smith succeeded Rick Pitino at Kentucky, won the 98 title his first year, never back it back to the final 4 after that, and the UK fans ran him out of town. Every stop in college under Calipari has been a success: got UMass to #1 in the country and the 1996 final 4; and got Memphis to the 2008 championship game. However, he had a brief career in the NBA with the Nets where he had a disasterous 72-112 record in 2 and a quater seasons. With as many as 4 people leaving school (Davis, Kidd-Gilchrist, Doron Lamb and Terrance Jones) with a possibility of a 5th (Marquis Teague), he'd have to do a serious effort to reload. With John Wall already with the Washington Wizards (played for Calipari in 10 at Kentucky), if the Wizards win the lottery and draft Davis they would have two Calipari players on the roster, and with an interem coach he could bolt back to the NBA like Pete Carroll bolted back to the NFL after winning a championship at USC after having a medicore career in 2+ seasons with New England. Since the Wizards have an interem coach, Calipari would draw interest, but I think he enjoys his time in college, and the recruiting trail is next for him.
3) Best big man since Duncan?
Yes. There haven't even been that many other true "big" man to come through college since Duncan anyways. Kevin Love at UCLA and Joakim Noah at Florida would be the only ones in the running with Davis anyhow.
4) RG3 refuses to work out with Colts?
Well, when was this "workout" supposed to be anyways, because he was in Denver at the women's final four? It's non news worthy, the Colts have their sights set on Andrew Luck, and I think Robert Griffin wants to go to Washington more anyways; the offensive system works better for him then in Indianapolis anyways.
Headlines:
1) Will Tiger win the Masters?
I can never get into a golf tournament, even the Masters even on Sundays, even if it's close. Tiger won his last tournament, and plays well at Augusta, but you have better odds picking the field then picking 1 player, especially when the field has caught up to Tiger and has won the last 13 majors. I'd look for Angel Cabrera, Phil Mickelson, Adam Scott or Rory McIlroy to challenge Tiger for the green jacket on Sunday
2) What's at stake for Griner?
Nothing, because she's a junior, so she'll be back next year along with the rest of the key contributors off of that team. Women's basketball isn't like men's basketball, most of these players stick around for all 4 years, only player I can ever remember leaving early was Candace Parker of Tennessee, and Griner has already said she'll be back for her senior year. Anyway, the team only has 3 seniors and 2 of them don't even play that much, so they have the ingredients ready to get back here next season. There's more pressure on Baylor as a team because basketball is a team sport: 39-0 heading in, and with a win would be the first team in basketball history to finish a season 40-0. They would be the 7th women's team to finish undefeated, but the highest previous total was 39-0. Indiana, the last men's team to finish undefeated, was 37-0. With teams only being allowed to play a maximum of 31 or 32 regular season games, it'd be pretty difficult to pass 40-0. Notre Dame was just in the championship game last year and Baylor couldn't even get to the final 4, so if ND starts out hot, that 39-0 record could be all for nothing. Note Baylor ended up pulling away the final 10 minutes to win 80-61; a lot closer then the score indicated
3) Claiborne's score leaked?
Who cares that Morris Claiborne the LSU CB scored a 4 on the wonderlic test? I don't even know what this test is.
Word:
1) __________ to give Votto Big Extension
Costly. The Reds own their own TV station (FS Ohio), but unlike other teams that own their own TV stations (Nationals, Orioles, Indians, Red Sox, Yankees, Mets), the Reds don't get as much profit as those previous 3 do. With Prince Fielder and Albert Pujols both gone from divisional rivals and out of the division, the Reds can compete for the next couple years. However, putting 22.5 million for 10 years to 1 player with not a high payroll team can cost them. Joey Votto is a great player, now probably the 2nd best offensive player in the division, but a 10 year extension for $225 million is big. Brandon Phillips, a key cog for the offense is probably gone after this season because the team will have no money to pay him. The Reds organization put all their eggs in 1 basket, I hope it works out for them and he doesn't get hurt like Joe Maeur did for the Twins.
2) Seahawks new uniforms are ______________________
Oregonian. Nike unveilved new uniforms for all 32 NFL teams. Nike is also in charged of handling the Oregon Duck uniforms, I don't think they've had the same pant/shirt combination in the last 3 seasons.
3) The Fray's national anthem was _____________
Not neccessary. I like a couple of The Fray's songs, but can people just sing the anthem and get on with the game?
4) Jets on "Hard Knocks" would be ________________
Media driven. They've already been on once. Get another team, but put a camera on linebacker Bart Scott though.
Big Finish:
1) 5 game suspension?
I'll take it. Ubaldo Jiminez hit his old teammate Troy Tulowitzski in the back over the weekend. 5 game for a pitcher is 1 start, not a big deal.
2) Back on the rise?
Los Angeles Clippers are on a 6 game winning streak, their best in 20 years. Their game against the Lakers tomorrow will go a long way to deciding who wins the Pacific division and avoids the Thunder in the second round (division winner would finish 3rd, second would finish either 4th or 5th and would play West #1 Oklahoma City in second round). Clippers currently trail by a game and a half and have a game in hand
3) Mood in Bulls Corner (Wilbon is a bulls fan)?
Tired, this is what happens when you play the equivlant of two college seasons in 1 season (66 games in about 125 days). Their still 2.5 up on Miami in the East, 9 up on Indiana in their division and have already clinched a playoff spot. Once Rose gets back for the playoffs, they'll be fine.
4) 4,000 fewer seats?
That means the Redskins have 4,000 less tickets to give away this year if they collapse down the stretch.
5) Will Yanks win this year?
6 times Kentucky has won a championship, the Yankees have won the World Series the following October. I say it ends this year, the AL is too strong, and the AL representative has lost in 4 of the last 6 World Series
The First Word:
1) Why did Kentucky win?
They won, because they were better, had better players, and made less mistakes then Kansas did. I can't count the number of times Kansas missed layups. Even though UK shot less than 27% in the 2nd half (26.9%), they were up 14 at half and held Kansas at bay. There were 2 key plays in the game:
1) Kansas had trimmed an 18 point deficit down to 14 at halftime. They scored first to begin the 2nd, forced a UK missed shot, had a run out on the subsequent rebound and missed a dunk that would have gotten it to 10.
2) Down 5 with 1:37 to go, Travis Relaford went for a steal, missed and got called for a reach-in foul. Anthony Davis made 1 of 2 free throws, and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist blocked Tyshawn Taylor's layup at the other end and that was that. Kansas made it a competitive game after trailing by double digits most of the game, but the missed layups really hurt them, and was the main reason why they lost.
2) What's next for Calipari?
A very good question. Now that he's got Kentucky their first title since 1998, any time they don't win a championship will be a failure. Tubby Smith succeeded Rick Pitino at Kentucky, won the 98 title his first year, never back it back to the final 4 after that, and the UK fans ran him out of town. Every stop in college under Calipari has been a success: got UMass to #1 in the country and the 1996 final 4; and got Memphis to the 2008 championship game. However, he had a brief career in the NBA with the Nets where he had a disasterous 72-112 record in 2 and a quater seasons. With as many as 4 people leaving school (Davis, Kidd-Gilchrist, Doron Lamb and Terrance Jones) with a possibility of a 5th (Marquis Teague), he'd have to do a serious effort to reload. With John Wall already with the Washington Wizards (played for Calipari in 10 at Kentucky), if the Wizards win the lottery and draft Davis they would have two Calipari players on the roster, and with an interem coach he could bolt back to the NBA like Pete Carroll bolted back to the NFL after winning a championship at USC after having a medicore career in 2+ seasons with New England. Since the Wizards have an interem coach, Calipari would draw interest, but I think he enjoys his time in college, and the recruiting trail is next for him.
3) Best big man since Duncan?
Yes. There haven't even been that many other true "big" man to come through college since Duncan anyways. Kevin Love at UCLA and Joakim Noah at Florida would be the only ones in the running with Davis anyhow.
4) RG3 refuses to work out with Colts?
Well, when was this "workout" supposed to be anyways, because he was in Denver at the women's final four? It's non news worthy, the Colts have their sights set on Andrew Luck, and I think Robert Griffin wants to go to Washington more anyways; the offensive system works better for him then in Indianapolis anyways.
Headlines:
1) Will Tiger win the Masters?
I can never get into a golf tournament, even the Masters even on Sundays, even if it's close. Tiger won his last tournament, and plays well at Augusta, but you have better odds picking the field then picking 1 player, especially when the field has caught up to Tiger and has won the last 13 majors. I'd look for Angel Cabrera, Phil Mickelson, Adam Scott or Rory McIlroy to challenge Tiger for the green jacket on Sunday
2) What's at stake for Griner?
Nothing, because she's a junior, so she'll be back next year along with the rest of the key contributors off of that team. Women's basketball isn't like men's basketball, most of these players stick around for all 4 years, only player I can ever remember leaving early was Candace Parker of Tennessee, and Griner has already said she'll be back for her senior year. Anyway, the team only has 3 seniors and 2 of them don't even play that much, so they have the ingredients ready to get back here next season. There's more pressure on Baylor as a team because basketball is a team sport: 39-0 heading in, and with a win would be the first team in basketball history to finish a season 40-0. They would be the 7th women's team to finish undefeated, but the highest previous total was 39-0. Indiana, the last men's team to finish undefeated, was 37-0. With teams only being allowed to play a maximum of 31 or 32 regular season games, it'd be pretty difficult to pass 40-0. Notre Dame was just in the championship game last year and Baylor couldn't even get to the final 4, so if ND starts out hot, that 39-0 record could be all for nothing. Note Baylor ended up pulling away the final 10 minutes to win 80-61; a lot closer then the score indicated
3) Claiborne's score leaked?
Who cares that Morris Claiborne the LSU CB scored a 4 on the wonderlic test? I don't even know what this test is.
Word:
1) __________ to give Votto Big Extension
Costly. The Reds own their own TV station (FS Ohio), but unlike other teams that own their own TV stations (Nationals, Orioles, Indians, Red Sox, Yankees, Mets), the Reds don't get as much profit as those previous 3 do. With Prince Fielder and Albert Pujols both gone from divisional rivals and out of the division, the Reds can compete for the next couple years. However, putting 22.5 million for 10 years to 1 player with not a high payroll team can cost them. Joey Votto is a great player, now probably the 2nd best offensive player in the division, but a 10 year extension for $225 million is big. Brandon Phillips, a key cog for the offense is probably gone after this season because the team will have no money to pay him. The Reds organization put all their eggs in 1 basket, I hope it works out for them and he doesn't get hurt like Joe Maeur did for the Twins.
2) Seahawks new uniforms are ______________________
Oregonian. Nike unveilved new uniforms for all 32 NFL teams. Nike is also in charged of handling the Oregon Duck uniforms, I don't think they've had the same pant/shirt combination in the last 3 seasons.
3) The Fray's national anthem was _____________
Not neccessary. I like a couple of The Fray's songs, but can people just sing the anthem and get on with the game?
4) Jets on "Hard Knocks" would be ________________
Media driven. They've already been on once. Get another team, but put a camera on linebacker Bart Scott though.
Big Finish:
1) 5 game suspension?
I'll take it. Ubaldo Jiminez hit his old teammate Troy Tulowitzski in the back over the weekend. 5 game for a pitcher is 1 start, not a big deal.
2) Back on the rise?
Los Angeles Clippers are on a 6 game winning streak, their best in 20 years. Their game against the Lakers tomorrow will go a long way to deciding who wins the Pacific division and avoids the Thunder in the second round (division winner would finish 3rd, second would finish either 4th or 5th and would play West #1 Oklahoma City in second round). Clippers currently trail by a game and a half and have a game in hand
3) Mood in Bulls Corner (Wilbon is a bulls fan)?
Tired, this is what happens when you play the equivlant of two college seasons in 1 season (66 games in about 125 days). Their still 2.5 up on Miami in the East, 9 up on Indiana in their division and have already clinched a playoff spot. Once Rose gets back for the playoffs, they'll be fine.
4) 4,000 fewer seats?
That means the Redskins have 4,000 less tickets to give away this year if they collapse down the stretch.
5) Will Yanks win this year?
6 times Kentucky has won a championship, the Yankees have won the World Series the following October. I say it ends this year, the AL is too strong, and the AL representative has lost in 4 of the last 6 World Series
Monday, March 19, 2012
women's tournament predictions
Kingston region:
#8 Kansas state 48 vs. #1 UConn 74.
This is the 5th time in 11 years Kansas state has ended up in UConn's bracket, but first time they will get the chance to play them. Last year as an 8 seed, Kansas state lost to Purdue in Storrs in the first round.
#3 Miami 65 @ #11 Gonzaga 72.
Don't call it an upset! Last year Gonzaga got to play their first 4 NCAA tournament games at home in Spokane, WA which is not surprising they made it to the elite 8 as an 11 seed last year. This year they play the first 2 rounds at home, and get a decided advantage against a team traveling 2,800 miles west. Miami was 3-3 in true road games against NCAA tournament teams this year.
#7 Green Bay 73 vs. #2 Kentucky 61.
Another game which shouldn't be that much of an upset. Green Bay is 31-1 on the season and probably underseeded, and Kentucky is probably overseeded. Green Bay knocked off host Iowa state Saturday while UK had trouble against 15th seeded McNeese state
Raleigh region:
#7 Louisville 65 @ #2 Maryland 64.
Coin flip game, but going with the Big East team since I have them advancing in my bracket
#6 Arkansas 54 @ #3 Texas A&M 73.
Texas A&M is the defending champions, they won't lose at home
Fresno region:
#1 Stanford 78 vs. #8 West Virginia 69.
This should be closer then it probably should be. Stanford has won 29 in a row since a loss to UConn in mid November, but haven't really been challenged. Of those 29 wins, only 4 have come against teams that made the tournament. West Virginia tied for 4th in the rugged Big East and handed Notre Dame 1 of only 3 losses on the year and the only 1 at home.
#5 South Carolina 56 @ #4 Purdue 54.
Purdue averages 67.3 ppg while USC gives up only 50.4 ppg. Offense wins during the season, defense wins championships
Des Moines region:
#2 Tennessee 83 @ #7 DePaul 61.
Tennessee is 19-0 all time against DePaul, and has never lost in the round of 32. That's good enough for me.
#8 Kansas state 48 vs. #1 UConn 74.
This is the 5th time in 11 years Kansas state has ended up in UConn's bracket, but first time they will get the chance to play them. Last year as an 8 seed, Kansas state lost to Purdue in Storrs in the first round.
#3 Miami 65 @ #11 Gonzaga 72.
Don't call it an upset! Last year Gonzaga got to play their first 4 NCAA tournament games at home in Spokane, WA which is not surprising they made it to the elite 8 as an 11 seed last year. This year they play the first 2 rounds at home, and get a decided advantage against a team traveling 2,800 miles west. Miami was 3-3 in true road games against NCAA tournament teams this year.
#7 Green Bay 73 vs. #2 Kentucky 61.
Another game which shouldn't be that much of an upset. Green Bay is 31-1 on the season and probably underseeded, and Kentucky is probably overseeded. Green Bay knocked off host Iowa state Saturday while UK had trouble against 15th seeded McNeese state
Raleigh region:
#7 Louisville 65 @ #2 Maryland 64.
Coin flip game, but going with the Big East team since I have them advancing in my bracket
#6 Arkansas 54 @ #3 Texas A&M 73.
Texas A&M is the defending champions, they won't lose at home
Fresno region:
#1 Stanford 78 vs. #8 West Virginia 69.
This should be closer then it probably should be. Stanford has won 29 in a row since a loss to UConn in mid November, but haven't really been challenged. Of those 29 wins, only 4 have come against teams that made the tournament. West Virginia tied for 4th in the rugged Big East and handed Notre Dame 1 of only 3 losses on the year and the only 1 at home.
#5 South Carolina 56 @ #4 Purdue 54.
Purdue averages 67.3 ppg while USC gives up only 50.4 ppg. Offense wins during the season, defense wins championships
Des Moines region:
#2 Tennessee 83 @ #7 DePaul 61.
Tennessee is 19-0 all time against DePaul, and has never lost in the round of 32. That's good enough for me.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Weekend thoughts
Some thoughts on the tournament which got wittled down to 16 yesterday:
-Only 4 times since the NCAA tournament field expanded to 64 teams in 1985 has a 15 seed defeated a 2 seed and hadn't happened since 2001 when Hampton defeated Iowa state; it happened twice on Friday in a span of about 3 and a half hours.
-Speaking of lower seeds knocking off high seeds UNC-Asheville became only the 3rd 16 seed since 1985 to go into halftime with a lead over a a #1 seed, however Syracuse prevailed in the 2nd half and Michigan state, UNC and Kentucky all won their games by double figures, so we'll have to wait 1 more year to see a 16 defeat a 1. Mark my words it will happen...eventually.
-The state of Ohio goes 8-0 in the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament and will comprise 25% of the sweet 16 field next weekend. This is the first time ever four teams from one state will make the sweet 16. Cincinnati rivals Xavier and Cincinnati are still on course to play for the championship and ultimate city bragging rights, but first Cincinnati has to get through Ohio state; the final team, Ohio University, the final team from the buckeye state, gets UNC.
-Want a reason why college basketball is better then the NBA? If Norfolk state Missouri was an NBA series, Missouri would win that series in 5 games. However, since it's the NCAA tournament and only one game, Missouri is ending their season a lot early then they had planned because they didn't play as well defensively as they had the whole season and Norfolk state shot about 25% over their season average. If they play 100 times, Missouri wins 99, however the one they lost is the one that counted.
-Watching a game, you can tell which coaches are good and which one's aren't just by how well their teams handle time management in close games. Good coaches will go over time and situation at a minimum once a week so it stays fresh in the players mind even in crucial moments. With 8 seconds left down 3, St. Bonaventure failed to get off a tying 3 pointer against FSU and that falls squarely on the coach. Taking the 2 with 6 seconds is fine, because you can extend the game and at worst you'd still be down 3, but once you get the offensive rebound off that missed 2, what are you doing taking another 2? You don't have time to foul them, take the 3! If the coach had gone over time and situation, they may have been prepared better.
-On the women's side of things, chalk mainly held as it usually does with the exception of Marist who knocked off Georgia and is well on their way to making another sweet 16 appearance for the 2nd time in last 5 seasons, both as 13 seeds. Alls that standing in their way is St. Bonaventure who won their first NCAA tournament game Sunday.
-I would love to see a Delaware vs. UConn championship game. Delaware is 30-1 on the year lead by a player of the year candidate Elena Delle Donne, who is the 2nd best player who's ever gone to a small school after Jackie Stiles of Southwest Missouri state who leaf SMS to a final four appearance in 2001. Elena Delle Donne got recruited by Geno Auriemma to play basketball at UConn and was on Storrs for all of 2 days before she decided to go back to Delaware for reasons unknown. She took a year off for volleyball, went back to play basketball at Delaware and turned them into a top 7 team in the country. I'd love to be at the stadium should a UConn vs. Delaware matchup take place for the championship.
The Amherst women's senior class went into Holland, Michigan for the D-3 women's final 4 with an NCAA record 124-6 record including a 51 game winning streak dating back to January of 2011...they left Holland and ended their career with only an overall record of 124-8. That's the second time in 3 years they've gone into the D-3 final 4 unbeaten on the season only to lose in the semifinals.
- I get why you play consolation games (send out teams on a high note), but I don't see why it's neccesary. The d-3 consolation game (the men got rid of theirs a few years ago and only the women play one now) was between Amherst and St. Thomas. Amherst was the reining champs riding a 51 game winning streak before losing, St. Thomas had won 30 straight prior to losing as their last loss was on the first day of the season. St. Thomas was excited to get another game against a quality opponent to help them next year should they get back in this spot, Amherst had no motivation. Amherst started the game up 10-8, st. Thomas went on a 20-8 run from there to go up double digits, got the lead as high as 20 in the first half, and Amherst never got it below 7 the rest of the way. Losing in the semi's is bad enough, I think it's time to scrap the consolation game.
-Only 4 times since the NCAA tournament field expanded to 64 teams in 1985 has a 15 seed defeated a 2 seed and hadn't happened since 2001 when Hampton defeated Iowa state; it happened twice on Friday in a span of about 3 and a half hours.
-Speaking of lower seeds knocking off high seeds UNC-Asheville became only the 3rd 16 seed since 1985 to go into halftime with a lead over a a #1 seed, however Syracuse prevailed in the 2nd half and Michigan state, UNC and Kentucky all won their games by double figures, so we'll have to wait 1 more year to see a 16 defeat a 1. Mark my words it will happen...eventually.
-The state of Ohio goes 8-0 in the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament and will comprise 25% of the sweet 16 field next weekend. This is the first time ever four teams from one state will make the sweet 16. Cincinnati rivals Xavier and Cincinnati are still on course to play for the championship and ultimate city bragging rights, but first Cincinnati has to get through Ohio state; the final team, Ohio University, the final team from the buckeye state, gets UNC.
-Want a reason why college basketball is better then the NBA? If Norfolk state Missouri was an NBA series, Missouri would win that series in 5 games. However, since it's the NCAA tournament and only one game, Missouri is ending their season a lot early then they had planned because they didn't play as well defensively as they had the whole season and Norfolk state shot about 25% over their season average. If they play 100 times, Missouri wins 99, however the one they lost is the one that counted.
-Watching a game, you can tell which coaches are good and which one's aren't just by how well their teams handle time management in close games. Good coaches will go over time and situation at a minimum once a week so it stays fresh in the players mind even in crucial moments. With 8 seconds left down 3, St. Bonaventure failed to get off a tying 3 pointer against FSU and that falls squarely on the coach. Taking the 2 with 6 seconds is fine, because you can extend the game and at worst you'd still be down 3, but once you get the offensive rebound off that missed 2, what are you doing taking another 2? You don't have time to foul them, take the 3! If the coach had gone over time and situation, they may have been prepared better.
-On the women's side of things, chalk mainly held as it usually does with the exception of Marist who knocked off Georgia and is well on their way to making another sweet 16 appearance for the 2nd time in last 5 seasons, both as 13 seeds. Alls that standing in their way is St. Bonaventure who won their first NCAA tournament game Sunday.
-I would love to see a Delaware vs. UConn championship game. Delaware is 30-1 on the year lead by a player of the year candidate Elena Delle Donne, who is the 2nd best player who's ever gone to a small school after Jackie Stiles of Southwest Missouri state who leaf SMS to a final four appearance in 2001. Elena Delle Donne got recruited by Geno Auriemma to play basketball at UConn and was on Storrs for all of 2 days before she decided to go back to Delaware for reasons unknown. She took a year off for volleyball, went back to play basketball at Delaware and turned them into a top 7 team in the country. I'd love to be at the stadium should a UConn vs. Delaware matchup take place for the championship.
The Amherst women's senior class went into Holland, Michigan for the D-3 women's final 4 with an NCAA record 124-6 record including a 51 game winning streak dating back to January of 2011...they left Holland and ended their career with only an overall record of 124-8. That's the second time in 3 years they've gone into the D-3 final 4 unbeaten on the season only to lose in the semifinals.
- I get why you play consolation games (send out teams on a high note), but I don't see why it's neccesary. The d-3 consolation game (the men got rid of theirs a few years ago and only the women play one now) was between Amherst and St. Thomas. Amherst was the reining champs riding a 51 game winning streak before losing, St. Thomas had won 30 straight prior to losing as their last loss was on the first day of the season. St. Thomas was excited to get another game against a quality opponent to help them next year should they get back in this spot, Amherst had no motivation. Amherst started the game up 10-8, st. Thomas went on a 20-8 run from there to go up double digits, got the lead as high as 20 in the first half, and Amherst never got it below 7 the rest of the way. Losing in the semi's is bad enough, I think it's time to scrap the consolation game.
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Best day of the year
The first day of the NCAA tournament is one of the best days of the year, if not best day of the year. Games from 12:15 in the afternoon to about 12 at night across 4 different channels all going on simultaniously, today's the day to have multiple TV's in your house.
As for my predictions I have Baylor, Michigan state, Florida state and Georgetown in the final 4 with Georgetown beating Michigan state for the championship. Time to enjoy the best 3 weeks of the hoops season!
As for my predictions I have Baylor, Michigan state, Florida state and Georgetown in the final 4 with Georgetown beating Michigan state for the championship. Time to enjoy the best 3 weeks of the hoops season!
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
NESCAC vs. Little East challenge this evening
In division 3, the NESCAC (New England Small Conference Athletic Conference) gets the most publicity...and rightfully so. The Amherst women are currently undefeted, have made the final four the last 2 seasons, and including this year have only 2 losses since the start of the 09/10 season. On the men's side it's probably even more deservedly so; Amherst, Williams and Middlebury all made the elite 8 last year, and Williams and Middlebury made the final 4 consist of 50% NESCAC teams (Amherst got matched up with Williams), but that was last year and this year is a different year, a year to have the LEC take some of that luster away from the NESCAC.
Middlebury is the most dominate team in the NESCAC this year; undefeated, and ranked #1 in division 3. Williams had some injury trouble earlier in the year, lost a few games because of it, and they haven't recovered from it (already with 5 losses and still have a road game @ Amherst left this year, finished with 3 all of last season), while Amherst is undefeted at home but has two questionable road losses to teams they wouldn't have lost to last season. Part of that strugging, is due to Wesleyan and Tufts turning their programs around, and being competitive this year (both teams beat Williams this year; Wesleyan beat Amherst and lost to Middlebury by 3).
The LEC is a step behind the NESCAC for east surpremecy; the top of the conference may actually be slightly better (the top 4 are seperated by 2 games), but it's 3 matchups over the course of the next 2 days that will show whether the LEC has closed the gap on the NESCAC or whether the NESCAC is still king in the Northeast.
1) Middlebury @ Keene state (Tuesday). As already stated Middlebury is undefeated and ranked #1. Keene state has won 7 of 8 games since the calendar turned to 2012, and 5 straight since they dismissed their leading scorer from the team to vault into the LEC lead with an 8-1 conference record. Keene's Spaulding gymnasium is one of the toughest places to play in the LEC, while Middlebury is coming off a 1 point win over Williams on Saturday.
2) Rhode Island College @ Amherst (Tuesday). This matchup was supposed to take place last season, but it got postponed with one of the blizzards, and unfortunately, the teams could not come to an agreement on a day to play it. However, they did end up meeting in the sweet 16, which was won by Amherst 78-74. It's unfortunate they couldn't meet in the regular season though.
3) Eastern Connecticut @ Wesleyan (Wednesday). Both coaches have turned these programs around to the top of their respective conferences. This is probably the best senior class in the 10 year's coach Bill Geitner has been on the sidelines in Willamantic, while Joe Reilley at Wesleyan might have the most exciting player to watch in the NESCAC in Shasha Brown. Wesleyan won last season's matchup by 1, expect another close game.
Other LEC vs. NESCAC matchups on Tuesday:
Colby @ Southern Maine. The men's game has two of the worst teams in the conference, but the women's game involves two programs in the top 50.
Tufts @ RIC (women). Probably the best game on the women's side. RIC is running through the LEC with a 9-0 record and has only been involved in 1 conference game that was decided by single digits. Tufts is a great defensive team, and will be the best team RIC has played since December. RIC comes in winners of 14 straight games.
Eastern @ Bowdoin (women)
Tufts @ UMass-Dartmouth (men)
Connecticut College @ Western Connecticut (men)
Should be a great night of basketball!
Middlebury is the most dominate team in the NESCAC this year; undefeated, and ranked #1 in division 3. Williams had some injury trouble earlier in the year, lost a few games because of it, and they haven't recovered from it (already with 5 losses and still have a road game @ Amherst left this year, finished with 3 all of last season), while Amherst is undefeted at home but has two questionable road losses to teams they wouldn't have lost to last season. Part of that strugging, is due to Wesleyan and Tufts turning their programs around, and being competitive this year (both teams beat Williams this year; Wesleyan beat Amherst and lost to Middlebury by 3).
The LEC is a step behind the NESCAC for east surpremecy; the top of the conference may actually be slightly better (the top 4 are seperated by 2 games), but it's 3 matchups over the course of the next 2 days that will show whether the LEC has closed the gap on the NESCAC or whether the NESCAC is still king in the Northeast.
1) Middlebury @ Keene state (Tuesday). As already stated Middlebury is undefeated and ranked #1. Keene state has won 7 of 8 games since the calendar turned to 2012, and 5 straight since they dismissed their leading scorer from the team to vault into the LEC lead with an 8-1 conference record. Keene's Spaulding gymnasium is one of the toughest places to play in the LEC, while Middlebury is coming off a 1 point win over Williams on Saturday.
2) Rhode Island College @ Amherst (Tuesday). This matchup was supposed to take place last season, but it got postponed with one of the blizzards, and unfortunately, the teams could not come to an agreement on a day to play it. However, they did end up meeting in the sweet 16, which was won by Amherst 78-74. It's unfortunate they couldn't meet in the regular season though.
3) Eastern Connecticut @ Wesleyan (Wednesday). Both coaches have turned these programs around to the top of their respective conferences. This is probably the best senior class in the 10 year's coach Bill Geitner has been on the sidelines in Willamantic, while Joe Reilley at Wesleyan might have the most exciting player to watch in the NESCAC in Shasha Brown. Wesleyan won last season's matchup by 1, expect another close game.
Other LEC vs. NESCAC matchups on Tuesday:
Colby @ Southern Maine. The men's game has two of the worst teams in the conference, but the women's game involves two programs in the top 50.
Tufts @ RIC (women). Probably the best game on the women's side. RIC is running through the LEC with a 9-0 record and has only been involved in 1 conference game that was decided by single digits. Tufts is a great defensive team, and will be the best team RIC has played since December. RIC comes in winners of 14 straight games.
Eastern @ Bowdoin (women)
Tufts @ UMass-Dartmouth (men)
Connecticut College @ Western Connecticut (men)
Should be a great night of basketball!
Thursday, January 5, 2012
January 5 schedule
NEC conference play kicks off tonight, and the final game of OOC play in the LEC tonight.
Robert Morris 76 @ Bryant 58.
Robert Morris is rolling, Bryant is struggling
Long Island 76 @ Sacred Heart 72.
I've written all about LIU about how their terrible defensively, and how their transition d sucks, but they can score, and score in bunches. SHU has played well to start the year, but I don't think they have enough offense to keep up, but they will keep it close.
SFU 65 @ Central 79.
Central's really struggled this year, but this is the part of the season that counts. SFU's only 2 wins are against FDU & Monmouth at home, and they are notoriously a terrible road team.
Wagner 85 @ FDU 52.
This game, the West Conn/CCNY women's game and the RIC/CUNY-York women;s game will be the 3 worst games of the day, and coincidentaly, they're all being played within 25 miles of each other.
Mount St. Mary's 65 @ Monmouth 62.
Both teams are terrible, MSM is slightly better
Quinnipiac 72 @ SFC 68.
Probably the best game of the day.
LEC men's action:
Lasell 67 @ Keene state 82.
Lasell is 3-6, but started the season with a 91-82 win at Brandeis. They also beat Anna Maria (won the CCC regular season title last year) and only lost by 3 @ RIC earlier in the year. Keene state has given up 83+ in 3 of their last 4 games, so they need to tighten it up on the defensive end with conference play resuming Saturday.
RIC 76 @ Wheaton 58.
This is RIC's first game back from break, and first game since they suffered their first loss to Eastern way back on December 10. Wheaton is 6-4, but got pounded by 17 against Tufts, the best team they've had on the schedule so far.
LEC women's action:
Boston 54 @ Merchant Marine 51.
Both teams are terrible, both teams have 2 wins, and each of these teams beat a non D-3 team for 1 of their wins, and beat a crappy d-3 team for their other win. Boston's non d-3 win was against the music school Berkeley college (out of the USCAA) while Merchant Marine's non d-3 win was against Vaughn (I have no clue who they are what conference/division they are a part of). Boston's D-3 win is against Wheelock (winless), while Merchant's D-3 win is against CCNY (1 win). Normally in these games I pick the home team, so why am I picking the road?? Boston beat Berkeley college 74-40, while Merchant Marine lost to Berkeley college 49-44; therein lies the difference.
Plymouth state 49 @ Johnson & Wales 52.
Another crap vs, crap game. Plymouth has been off since they lost by 17 to Dartmouth on Dec 10, J&W is coming off a 41-40 loss to Gordon last Saturday in which the score at halftime was 10-9. Each has 2 common opponents: J&W lost @ Dartmouth by 15, Plymouth lost there by 17. Plymouth lost at home to RIC by 29, J&W lost @ RIC by 48.
RIC 86 @ York 42.
I have a feeling RIC coach Marcus Reilley can have Rachel Riley, Cynthia Gaudet, Ashley O'Dell, Courtney Burns, Nicole Girard, and Stephanie Coro put on street clothes and I'm sure they'll win this going away. York is 0-11 on the season, have lost only 2 games by single digits, and have lost by an average of 33.8 their last 5 games. They haven't scored more then 43 points those 5 games, and have been held to 53 or fewer in 10 of their 11 games this year. They got beat by 50 by William Paterson and by 80 (yes 80, 8-0) against Eastern Mennonite. This could be an easier win then the West Conn men had against SUNY-Cobleskill back in December.
Western Connecticut 85 @ CCNY 43.
Another game where coach Kim Rybczyk could put Stephanie Slonski, Carly Muphy, Nicole Eanillio, Sciarra Brandt, Jackie Zilnicki, and Amber Litwinko in street clothes, and we'll probably win fairly easily. Actually, I'm gonna do a running count tomorrow between RIC & Western comparing 3 things because they both play absolutely awful CUNY teams: 1) Which team scores more points 2) which team gives up less points and 3) which team has a higher winning margin. I have RIC winning each category by the slighest margin (86 to 85, 42 to 43 and 44 to 42). CCNY's lone win is against New Rochelle, and haven't lost by fewer than 10 this year, but have been playing better in December then they did in November. CCNY has cracked 60 just twice this year.
LEC should do worse than 4-2 tonight.
Robert Morris 76 @ Bryant 58.
Robert Morris is rolling, Bryant is struggling
Long Island 76 @ Sacred Heart 72.
I've written all about LIU about how their terrible defensively, and how their transition d sucks, but they can score, and score in bunches. SHU has played well to start the year, but I don't think they have enough offense to keep up, but they will keep it close.
SFU 65 @ Central 79.
Central's really struggled this year, but this is the part of the season that counts. SFU's only 2 wins are against FDU & Monmouth at home, and they are notoriously a terrible road team.
Wagner 85 @ FDU 52.
This game, the West Conn/CCNY women's game and the RIC/CUNY-York women;s game will be the 3 worst games of the day, and coincidentaly, they're all being played within 25 miles of each other.
Mount St. Mary's 65 @ Monmouth 62.
Both teams are terrible, MSM is slightly better
Quinnipiac 72 @ SFC 68.
Probably the best game of the day.
LEC men's action:
Lasell 67 @ Keene state 82.
Lasell is 3-6, but started the season with a 91-82 win at Brandeis. They also beat Anna Maria (won the CCC regular season title last year) and only lost by 3 @ RIC earlier in the year. Keene state has given up 83+ in 3 of their last 4 games, so they need to tighten it up on the defensive end with conference play resuming Saturday.
RIC 76 @ Wheaton 58.
This is RIC's first game back from break, and first game since they suffered their first loss to Eastern way back on December 10. Wheaton is 6-4, but got pounded by 17 against Tufts, the best team they've had on the schedule so far.
LEC women's action:
Boston 54 @ Merchant Marine 51.
Both teams are terrible, both teams have 2 wins, and each of these teams beat a non D-3 team for 1 of their wins, and beat a crappy d-3 team for their other win. Boston's non d-3 win was against the music school Berkeley college (out of the USCAA) while Merchant Marine's non d-3 win was against Vaughn (I have no clue who they are what conference/division they are a part of). Boston's D-3 win is against Wheelock (winless), while Merchant's D-3 win is against CCNY (1 win). Normally in these games I pick the home team, so why am I picking the road?? Boston beat Berkeley college 74-40, while Merchant Marine lost to Berkeley college 49-44; therein lies the difference.
Plymouth state 49 @ Johnson & Wales 52.
Another crap vs, crap game. Plymouth has been off since they lost by 17 to Dartmouth on Dec 10, J&W is coming off a 41-40 loss to Gordon last Saturday in which the score at halftime was 10-9. Each has 2 common opponents: J&W lost @ Dartmouth by 15, Plymouth lost there by 17. Plymouth lost at home to RIC by 29, J&W lost @ RIC by 48.
RIC 86 @ York 42.
I have a feeling RIC coach Marcus Reilley can have Rachel Riley, Cynthia Gaudet, Ashley O'Dell, Courtney Burns, Nicole Girard, and Stephanie Coro put on street clothes and I'm sure they'll win this going away. York is 0-11 on the season, have lost only 2 games by single digits, and have lost by an average of 33.8 their last 5 games. They haven't scored more then 43 points those 5 games, and have been held to 53 or fewer in 10 of their 11 games this year. They got beat by 50 by William Paterson and by 80 (yes 80, 8-0) against Eastern Mennonite. This could be an easier win then the West Conn men had against SUNY-Cobleskill back in December.
Western Connecticut 85 @ CCNY 43.
Another game where coach Kim Rybczyk could put Stephanie Slonski, Carly Muphy, Nicole Eanillio, Sciarra Brandt, Jackie Zilnicki, and Amber Litwinko in street clothes, and we'll probably win fairly easily. Actually, I'm gonna do a running count tomorrow between RIC & Western comparing 3 things because they both play absolutely awful CUNY teams: 1) Which team scores more points 2) which team gives up less points and 3) which team has a higher winning margin. I have RIC winning each category by the slighest margin (86 to 85, 42 to 43 and 44 to 42). CCNY's lone win is against New Rochelle, and haven't lost by fewer than 10 this year, but have been playing better in December then they did in November. CCNY has cracked 60 just twice this year.
LEC should do worse than 4-2 tonight.
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