Weekend Viewing Guide 9/6/12

Last week welcomed College Football back and this weekend it is all about the NFL.  Wednesday night got it all started as the Dallas Cowboys went into New York and stunned the Giants.  I predicted the Cowboys to make the playoffs and the Giants not to, so good start through one game!!

The week in baseball has been a crazy one with the Orioles and Rays continuing to inch closer to the New York Yankees in the A.L. East.  The Detroit Tigers stumbled a bit against the lowly Cleveland Indians as the Chicago White Sox regained a one game advantage in the A.L. Central.  The Texas Rangers took advantage of playing the Kansas City Royals by extending their lead out west to 5 games as the Los Angeles Angels swept away the once hot Oakland Athletics in Oakland.  Not only did the Athletics lose, but they also lost starting pitcher Brandon McCarthy after he took a ball off the head hit back at him.  There are now five teams within 3 games of the two Wild Card spots in the American League.

In the National League, the Washington Nationals are in total cruise control even with the impending shutdown of Stephen Strasburg.  Their lead is 7.5 games and a divisional crown is only a matter of time now.  The same can be said in the Central where the Cincinnati Reds continue to maintain a sizable advantage over both the St. Louis Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates.  Needless to say, both of those divisions are sewed up, but that can't be said about the N.L. West.  The Los Angeles Dodgers are trying to hang in the race with the San Francisco Giants with their new $8 billion roster.  The Wild Card has four teams within 1.5 games and two others on the fringes at 6.5 games back.

This weekend will continue to paint the playoff picture for baseball fans, but all of that will get overshadowed by the first weekend of the NFL.  Mix in some PGA playoffs, the end of the U.S. Open and the second weekend of College Football and boy do we have a fun 72 hours ahead in the world of sports.

Here's what you should be watching:

10. BMW Championship

Last weekend Rory McIlroy won the Deutsche Bank Championship for his 3rd victory of the season and tied Tiger Woods for top spot in that category.  He also took the lead in the FedEx Cup standings with this weekend and next weekend as the final two events.  I am predicting that Tiger Woods answers back and finally puts together a complete tournament to win this weekend.  That should set up a glorious final weekend in Atlanta to decide the Cup winner.  Take advantage of this moment in time with both McIlroy and Woods playing high level golf because the window could close anytime as Woods hands the torch to McIlroy as the World's greatest active golfer.

9. College Football-Upset Alert

No marquee games this weekend with the NFL starting, but there are a couple of teams that should be on high alert for an upset.  No, I am not talking about Florida St. who is a scant 70.5 point favorite to beat Savannah St. (not that I was looking or anything).  Southern Cal might be traveling cross country, but they should handle Syracuse with ease.  Missouri is welcomed to the SEC by hosting #7 Georgia and it should be a good test for the Bulldogs.  #13 Wisconsin struggled to beat Northern Iowa and now has to go west to face Oregon St. who has yet to play this season.  The final game that could bring an upset is #16 Nebraska who heads to Los Angeles to take on UCLA.  Not the greatest slate of games, but its still better than nothing.

8. Washington Redskins at New Orleans Saints

Okay I admit this was has a bit of personal backing to it, but I think everyone is eager to see what RGIII can do in the NFL.  With apologies to Andrew Luck, Indianapolis is not Washington D.C. and a match up against New Orleans who is wrought with dramatic story lines themselves is too tasty to pass up.  Washington kept the playbook for Griffin under wraps during the preseason which just adds to the intrigue.  On the other side of the ball, the Saints will be without head coach Sean Payton and linebacker Jonathan Vilma for the season due to 'Bountygate'.   They are also the host city for the Super Bowl and all the curses that go along with that so it will be interesting to track each team this season for two totally different reasons.

7. San Francisco 49ers at Green Bay Packers

The defensive stalwart of 2011 versus the offensive juggernaut of 2011 who both came up short last season thanks to the New York Giants.  Both teams expect to be in the hunt for this years Super Bowl with the same formula that got them to the playoffs last season.  San Francisco did add Randy Moss and Mario Manningham in an attempt to solidify some of their offensive woes, but it will be their defense that wins them games this season again.  The Packers will continue to air the ball out and play just enough defense to win, but they had better try and find a running attack for when the weather turns cold or else it could be another early exit for them in the playoffs.

6. Texas Rangers at Tampa Bay Rays

The league's best offense against the league's best pitching staff.  Yes this is playoff baseball in September.  Yu Darvish who has regained his dominant form will face David Price on Saturday and on Sunday 'Big Game' James Shields will face underrated Matt Harrison.  This will be a tough series for hitters and pitchers alike and excellent for fans to watch.  If only they could find a better stadium than the dump that is dubbed 'The Trop' for it to take place.  Speaking of showing up...where are you Tampa fans?  Your team tries so hard and you don't give a damn.  (Now if this is not the pot calling the kettle black, as my Athletics constantly play in front of small crowds).  Common denominator: crap stadiums. 

 5.  U.S. Open Tennis

Yes it was sad to see the career of Andy Roddick come to an end.  Mardy Fish had to withdraw and thus no American male made a run to the title once again.  Instead, outside of the unending rain, the story shifted to which of the 'Big 3' would win the seasons final Grand Slam event.  But a funny thing happened on the way to glory for Roger Federer.  He was upended by Tomas Berdych in the Quarterfinals.  That left just Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic left as expected finalists.  On the Women's side of the draw three of the top four seeds are still alive in the Semifinals.  Maria Sharapova is playing the best tennis of her career and she will face #1 seed Victoria Azarenka while nobody seems to be able to stop Serena Williams on the bottom half of the draw.  She has yet to drop a set and will face 10th seeded Sara Errani with a trip to the Finals on the line.

4. Los Angeles Dodgers at San Francisco Giants

The lone notable series in the National League deals with the only division that has yet to be decided.  Of course all that could change if the Giants, who have a 4.5 game lead, sweep away their rivals from the south.  It all starts with two pitchers who have had their share of controversy this season as new arrival Josh Beckett goes for LA and Tim Lincecum starts for San Francisco.  Nobody knows what to expect from either pitcher, but they have both pitched big games and it should be a treat...a San Francisco treat (groan).  The other two games appear to be mismatches with Matt Cain toeing the slab for the Giants on Saturday against Chris Capuano, while Sunday the tables are turned with Clayton Kershaw having the obvious advantage against Barry Zito.


3. Detroit Tigers at Los Angeles Angels

With the White Sox hosting the Kansas City Royals, this could be a very bad weekend for the Tigers.  The Angels have found their groove again as they push back into playoff contention.  With a half game separating the two and 3 teams to climb over to secure a playoff spot, neither team can afford to have a bad series.  Detroit does have Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander going while the Angels will be without the services of All-Star Jered Weaver who is nursing a bruised shoulder which gives Detroit a much needed advantage on the mound.  The Angels can play small ball with their team speed and long ball with the likes of Albert Pujols and Mark Trumbo.  Oh and don't forget Mike Trout.  Verlander vs. Trout...yes please.

2. New York Yankees at Baltimore Orioles

In what can only be described as the biggest series at Camden Yards since 1997, the Baltimore Orioles could conceivably be all alone in 1st place in the A.L. East by Sunday night.  Going into the huge four game series, Baltimore stands only 1 game back of the Bronx Bombers.  I only hope fans of Baltimore can forgive Peter Angelos for just one weekend and turn out at the best ballpark in the land and give the Orioles a true home field advantage.  If they don't, I'm sure there are plenty of Yankees fans that will flood into Baltimore and turn the city into New York south...show up or shut up Orioles fans.

1. Pittsburgh Steelers at Denver Broncos

The game that everyone is interested to see is on prime time Sunday night.  The return of NFL spokesman Peyton Manning, this time in a Broncos jersey, is here.  The NFL didn't do him any favors as he tests his oft surgically repaired neck against the always dangerous Pittsburgh defense.  The Broncos are trendy favorites to come out of the AFC to be in the Super Bowl, but fans realize that Peyton Manning's career could be over with one James Harrison hit on the first series of the game.  Everyone will be holding their breath each time Manning steps back to pass.  For Pittsburgh, they have plenty of question marks with the health of Big Ben, the multiple injuries at running back, a new offensive coordinator and a disgruntled diva wide receiver in Mike Wallace.