Weekend Viewing Guide 10/5/12

It's October.  Next to March it is my favorite sports month of the year.  With the NHL being locked out and already canceling the start of the season it is a bit tempered this year, but thanks to the Oakland Athletics and Washington Nationals making the playoffs, I'll have plenty to watch.

The NFL is past the quarter pole, college football is loaded with big games this month and of course the playoffs in baseball are about to get underway.  What more could a kid ask for?

Here's what I'll be watching:

10. Atlanta Falcons at Washington Redskins

Defenses need not apply to this game.  The Falcons have been the offensive juggernaut that I expected them to be and the Redskins have been the surprise of the league on offense behind star rookie RGIII.  The two teams are ranked 3rd and 4th respectively in the NFL in scoring this season and nothing should change on Sunday.  Matt Ryan has done nothing to dispel my prediction of league MVP and with Roddy White and Julio Jones playing against a terrible secondary, it's not a question of how, but how many times will they score.  So it will be up to the arm and legs of RGIII to keep the Redskins competitive and as of yet he has not disappointed.  This will be a big test for Washington to avoid giving up the big play and to use fellow rookie Alfred Morris to shorten the game, but the Falcons have just too good a passing game to expect an upset.  Final Score: Atlanta 34 Washington 24

9. MLB Wild Card Games: Baltimore Orioles at Texas Rangers and St. Louis Cardinals at Atlanta Braves

One and done.  After six months and 162 games the fate of these four teams will come down to nine innings (barring extra innings of course).  Anything can happen in a single game and that has to scare each player the most.  One bad start, one dropped fly ball (yeah I'm looking at you Josh), one strikeout with the bases loaded, it won't take much to win or lose this game.  Even though Baltimore has been playing better baseball down the stretch than have the Rangers, the experience factor of the last two seasons has to give them the edge.  Add that to being at home and having a better starting pitcher (Yu Darvish versus Joe Saunders) and I expect Texas to out slug Baltimore.  In the senior circuit Atlanta has a chance to do what they couldn't do to St. Louis last year when they lost their final five games of the season and that is to eliminate them.  They will have their biggest lucky charm, and best pitcher to boot on the mound in Kris Medlen.  The Braves have won 23 consecutive games with him starting.  What could possibly go wrong?  Not to be outdone, the Cardinals turn to Kyle Lohse who has had himself a fantastic season.  He went 16-3 which is eye opening, but he has not pitched to the level of Kris Medlen.  Until I see him and the Braves lose with him on the mound, I'm picking Atlanta.

8. #4 LSU Tigers at #10 Florida Gators

I'm not really sure what to expect when these two teams meet on Saturday.  At times both teams have looked downright awful and nowhere near top 10 teams.  Last week LSU fell down early to Towson before rallying to win with some cushion.  Florida played much better in their last game two weeks ago against Kentucky, but underwhelmed against the likes of Bowling Green and Texas A&M.  This will be a defensive struggle as neither team has a stout offense.  They're both ranked in the top 10 nationally in points against and that trend should continue.  Hopefully it won't be a snoozefest like the National Championship game, but it definitely won't be WVU v. Baylor.  I give Florida the slight advantage for not only being at home, but have a full week to rest and prepare.  They take down LSU in a game that will not be for the faint of heart 16-13.
 
7. Cincinnati Reds at San Francisco Giants

As with most postseason match ups, pitching is usually key and this series will prove to be no different.  I feel bad for quality hitters like Joey Votto and Buster Posey as they will be over shadowed by Matt Cain, Johnny Cueto, Madison Bumgarner, Arodlis Chapman and Sergio Romo.  Usually it is the unsung hero, the slap hitter with the limited skill set that comes through when pitchers take the forefront.  All the focus is on shutting down the main weapons that players like Drew Stubbs or Brandon Crawford that come out of nowhere to surprise.  I will also have my eye on the erratic Tim Lincecum to see what if anything he can provide to the Giants.  Fun fact: these two teams combined to have only 3 starts all season long not from their original starting five rotation.  Cincinnati continues to be underestimated, but they will knock out the Giants in four games.

6. New York Yankees at AL Wild Card Winner

I for one am really hoping the Orioles get another shot, 15 years later, at vanquishing some Jeffrey Meier nightmares.  Of course watching some 8-7 games between New York and Texas would be quite fun as well, but that doesn't hold a candle to the animosity that the two east cost cities hold towards each other.  Since I already picked Texas to beat Baltimore, I certainly can't let myself get caught up in what might be.  I've seen a lot of both the Yankees and Rangers down the stretch being an Athletics fan and I haven't been that impressed with the pitching.  The hitting on both sides can be unmatched at times and for casual viewers that will be the biggest draw.  The Yankees advance against either Texas or Baltimore in four games.



5. Denver Broncos at New England Patriots

Welcome back Tom Brady versus Peyton Manning.  The NFL missed this annual get together of future Hall of Fame quarterbacks that don't much like each other.  Both teams have already had their struggles, but both played exceptional last weekend combining to score 89 points.  This is what I am hoping for again this weekend.  A good old fashioned shootout that will come down to the final play of the game.  Unlike in years past where neither team seemed to use their running game with much effectiveness this year both are keeping good balance.  The Patriots had two running backs eclipse 100 yards rushing in the same game for the first time since 1980 last week.  Willis McGahee did the same for Denver.  In the four games this season he has alternated 100+ yards rushing with at least one touchdown with crap outputs.  He might want to switch that up if the Broncos have a chance.  Final Score: New England 31 Denver 23

 4. Washington Nationals at NL Wild Card Winner

Living just outside of DC I've watched the Nationals more than any team outside of Oakland and my two favorite teams have mirrored each other in a reverse type of way.  The Nationals started the season in a major hitting slump but their pitching was top notch.  They infused a young prospect and all of a sudden it clicked.  They played really well all season long until they lost their front end starter.  That's where the Nationals started to struggle.  They went just 10-10 down the stretch and couldn't put away the pesky Braves until game 160 when Atlanta matched Washington's loss that night.  That being said I won't count them out against Atlanta or even St. Louis, but I think their run ends quicker than most believe it will.  Atlanta matches up well against them and I think they take down the Nationals in five games.

3. Oakland Athletics at Detroit Tigers

Everything points to Detroit winning this series easily.  They have the better front line starters, they have the better lineup, they have postseason experience and for some godforsaken reason get to start at home.  The Athletics will need to get a great start from Brett Anderson if he is indeed healthy enough to pitch.  They will need at least a few of their young power hitters to him home runs, because I can't see them stringing together hits against Verland, Scherzer and Fister.  All Detroit will need to do is ride Justin Verlander to victory in Game 1, steal one of the middle games and have Verlander shut the door in Game 5.  This is not the best possible match up for the plucky Athletics and I think they fall in five games again.  

2. #8 West Virginia Mountaineers at #11 Texas Longhorns

Last weekend was fun for undefeated West Virginia scoring at will in front of their home crowd.  This weekend they might just find out that the Big 12 isn't going to be a cake walk.  They head deep in the heart of Texas to face the Longhorns who undefeated as well.  The good news for West Virginia is that Texas loves to play offense just about as much as they do.  The Mountaineers are 3rd in the nation at 53 points scored per game while the Longhorns are averaging just a shade over 47 a game.  With Gus Johnson at the mic on Fox, this can only end in tears of joy.  I've already waxed poetic on the abilities of Geno Smith as he continues his march to the Heisman Trophy, but Texas uses a far more balanced approach to score their points.  They average 267 yards through the air and 228 on the ground and they will need to be able to run the ball to keep Geno off the field.  I see Texas using their home field advantage to stave off West Virginia this time around although it guarantees to be fun.  Final Score:  Texas 45 West Virginia 42

1. #5 Georgia Bulldogs at #6 South Carolina Gamecocks

Welcome to the forefront SEC.  College football fans have had to suffer through Big 10 and Pac 10 games long enough.  It's time for the big boys to strut.  They're not messing around with this battle of Goliath's who are looking to give perennial power houses LSU and Alabama a run for their money.  The winner of this game will have the inside track to represent the SEC East in the SEC Championship game which always leads to a BCS Championship appearance.  Georgia has found a dynamic freshman duo of running back in Todd Gurley and Keith Marshall who have combined for nearly 1000 yards rushing and 14 touchdowns in their first five games.  Unfortunately the Bulldogs lost their top receiver Michael Bennett to a torn ACL at practice on Tuesday which will further increase the workload of the the two backs.  South Carolina is led by their defense which currently ranks 6th in the nation giving up just over 11 points per game.  They will need their defense to stay strong this weekend and the rest of the month as their next two opponents, LSU and Florida are also currently in the top 10.  Georgia goes on the road and ekes out a close game 23-20.

Pocket Pair 8/3/12

The weekend is here, time to kick back relax and enjoy yourself.  For those not heading to the beach or on some fantastic vacation, I offer up your weekend viewing guide in the world of sports.

5. Hall of Fame Game


Preseason football is here!!  It may not count, but it is football and I know you will watch.  This was the only game that was canceled last season during the lockout, but this year you get Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints versus Larry Fitzgerald and the Arizona Cardinals.  When it comes to thinking about the Hall of Fame, the Cardinals and Saints are two teams that don't come to mind.  Dan Dierdorf was the last player to be inducted from the Cardinals franchise and he retired in 1983.  The Saints have had a checkered history and have only seen three players inducted from their franchise.  The game is Sunday night so watch the Olympics live on Sunday so that you don't have go back and forth...NFL!!!!!!

4. Baltimore at Tampa Bay


Just when you thought both of these franchises were dead in the water they right the ship.  The Orioles have won 3 of 4 including 2 of 3 in New York while the Rays went 6-3 on a very difficult road trip to Baltimore, Los Angeles and Oakland.  Each team stands only 6.5 games behind the Yankees after being more the double digits behind just two weeks ago.  Do I think either will catch New York? No.  In all actuality they have their sights focused on the two Wild Card spots where they are only 1.5 games out.  Neither team made any key additions or subtractions at the trade deadline so the Orioles will continue to piece together a pitching staff, while the Rays will try and eke out enough runs to support their pitchers.

3. Los Angeles Angels at Chicago White Sox


After a grueling four game set in the heat of Texas where pitching was optional, the Angels now head to the mid-west to take on first place Chicago.  The White Sox have feasted off the Minnesota Twins of late winning 5 of 6 games and also took 2 of 3 from the struggling Texas Rangers.  They now begin a nine game home stand with both the Angles and Athletics coming to town.  The only downside of this series is the neither Chris Sale nor Jered Weaver are scheduled to pitch as the Angels are pushing back Weaver to line him up against my Athletics next week...screw you Angels, screw you.

2. Pittsburgh Pirates at Cincinnati Reds


A meaningful series for the city of Pittsburgh in August.  For the older generations that must just sound right.  The Reds are blazing hot (and doing so without Joey Votto) and hold a 3.5 game lead over the Pirates.  It's this close because Pittsburgh has yet to play a game against a team over .500 since the All-Star break.  Really! Look it up...Milwaukee, Colorado, Miami, Chicago, Houston and Chicago again.  Five crappy teams that are a combined 97 games BELOW .500.  Yeah that's a cake schedule.  Of course Cincinnati has gone 12-1 against very similar, soft, opponents in Milwaukee, Houston, Colorado and San Diego after starting the 2nd half against St. Louis and Arizona.  We really don't know if either of these teams are really good, but they are good at beating bad teams.

1. The Summer Olympics


Week one is wrapping up meaning short distance swimming and gymnastics are coming to a close and track & field is getting under way.  In between tennis, volleyball, soccer and basketball will start handing out medals as they are all just about finished with group stages.  There have been plenty of great moments for the United States, but there have been some disappointments as well...I'm looking at you Ryan Lochte.  Outside of the tape delay controversy here in the states, the lack of corporate sponsored fans filling the seats and the badminton scandal  the London games have been rather successful.  I still can't believe that baseball is NOT an Olympic sports, but dudes jumping on a trampoline is.  Something is wrong with that, really wrong.

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Yesterday I unplugged from the world at noon so that I could watch the Olympics at night the way were used to...hours late.  Here at work I am afforded the opportunity to watch everything live with multiple televisions and my iPad available at my desk, but I didn't feel like doing it yesterday.  I wanted to sit on my couch with my wife and watch Lochte vs Phelps one last time.  I held my breath every time Gabby Douglas flipped in the air.  I cheered when Rebecca Soni broke her own world record then night after setting it to win gold.

With me going back in time to the days of yore before internet, before Twitter and Facebook, I almost felt like reading a newspaper this morning...almost.  I really can't wait for the 2016 Olympics with live prime time events.  I've gotten used to getting information in real time and I like it that way.  I feel bad for Bob Costas having to fake dramatic speeches to keep the viewer locked in on NBC.  Its such a waste.  He must be so very bored, at least it looks that way.

I don't know if I'll try that experiment again, but it was fun for a night.

Pocket Pair 7/16/12

This was a fun weekend for baseball fans.  The season is now headed toward the playoffs, we are two weeks away from the trade deadline and teams are on a 14 day sprint to establish themselves as playoff contenders or pretenders.  I highlighted five series from this weekend that were very important for this time of year, so lets take a look at them and see what transpired.

5. Pittsburgh Pirates at Milwaukee Brewers

This was an entertaining series where both teams held a lead in each of the three games.  The Brewers took two of three despite Andrew McCutchen blistering the ball by going 7-12 with 3 runs scored and 4 RBI while hitting a home run in each of the three games.  Friday nights pitching match up of McDonald vs Greinke  fizzled out, but Milwaukee starter Yovani Gallardo dominated on Sunday striking out 14 Pirates while walking none in 7 near perfect innings.  Each team seems to be short a piece or two for contending.  The Pirates need another bat to protect McCutchen while the Brewers have the Leagues third worst bullpen ERA.

4. Detroit Tigers at Baltimore Orioles

I think we might be seeing the beginning of the end for the Orioles strong run this year.  What little pitching depth they had in the rotation took yet another hit with Jason Hammel exiting his start early with an injured knee.  Baltimore is now 3-4 starters short of a true rotation and they are running out of steam fast.  The Tigers on the other hand are finally playing like they should have from day one.  By winning 2 of 3 this weekend (only losing in 13 innings) they have vaulted the Cleveland Indians into second place and now can squarely shift their focus to the Chicago White Sox.  Justin Verlander erased his memory from his disastrous All-Star game appearance to dominate the Orioles striking out eight over 8 scoreless innings Sunday.

3. St. Louis Cardinals at Cincinnati Reds

On Friday I wrote: "Both teams are just waiting to pounce on the the Pirates at the first sign of trouble and a series win this weekend could find that team in first place by Monday."  Apparently the Reds were paying attention as they swept away their bitter rivals thanks in large part to a couple of ex-Cardinals and a Cuban missile.  Ryan Ludwick had the game winning hit on Saturday and Scott Rolen did the same on Sunday to help vault Cincinnati into first place in the N.L. Central.  Aroldis Chapman struck out 8 batters in his 3 innings of work this weekend touching 100 MPH on the final pitch of the series.  The Cardinals did get Lance Berkman back from injury, but this weekend belonged to the Reds.

2. Washington Nationals at Miami Marlins

As a rare wraparound series, the Nationals and Marlins still have one game to play tonight to finish their 4 game set, but the drama is already boiling over.  Ozzie Guillen couldn't resist getting himself into the spotlight by challenging the amount of pine tar on Bryce Harpers' bat yesterday.  He unleashed a foul-mouthed tirade towards the 19 year old overshadowing another dominant performance by Stephen Strasburg.  The Nationals were also able to finally solve Josh Johnson, giving him a loss for the first time in franchise history.  Mark Buehrle out dueled Gio Gonzalez on Saturday to give the fish a chance at splitting the series tonight.  There have been 13 total runs scored in the series so far, but we may see that many tonight with the unpredictable entities that are Carlos Zambrano and Edwin Jackson.

1. LA Angels of Anaheim at New York Yankees

The trio of Mike Trout, Albert Pujols and Mark Trumbo combined for 16 hits for the Angels while Derek Jeter, Mark Teixeira and Robinson Cano had 12 hits for the Yankees.  There is so much star power up and the down the rosters for these teams that fans of baseball would be treated to excellent post season play if they met up in October.  Angels reliever Scott Downs had given up only 1 ER this season until the Yankees roughed him up for 4 on Friday night for the loss and he nearly blew a 3 run ninth inning lead having to be relieved with the bases loaded.  At this point in the season I think both teams are virtual locks to play in the postseason although the Angels will have to climb past the Rangers to avoid a 1 game play-in game.

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I didn't highlight the series between the Oakland Athletics and the Minnesota Twins for a reason.  I didn't know the reason would be that my beloved A's would trounce the home team by hitting moon shots after moon shots.  They hit 9 home runs in the series and none of them were cheap shots.  Target field is not the easiest place to hit a home run in, but Oakland made it look like Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati.  The Athletics are one of the hottest teams in baseball winning 9 of their last 10 games climbing to a season high 3 games over .500.  This could all come crashing down this week as they have six games at home against the Rangers and Yankees.  

The two series should be a battle of the immovable object (Oakland's pitching in the Coliseum at a 2.81 ERA) vs the unstoppable force (the hitting of Texas and New York, ranked 1&2 in road OPS).  I never thought this years version of the Athletics would contend for any sort of playoff spot, but they sit only 0.5 game out of the newly minted 2nd Wild Card spot.

If the Athletics can somehow manage a 4-2 record this week I will be in full 'buy' mode for this team making a run this season even if they still unload Brandon McCarthy and Bartolo Colon for more young prospects.  If only they could get a new stadium and keep some of this young talent for more than a three year stretch.

Pocket Pair 6/29/12

With temperatures in the low 100's this week in the D.C. area, it looks like the perfect weekend to stay home and watch sports.  Unfortunately it is a slow weekend in sports, but fear not, sports fans, use my guide and you'll find enough to avoid outdoor chores.

10: NHL Free Agency Begins


This counts as sports right?  Sure it does.  By all accounts it is a shallow pool for free agents this season, but that makes the intrigue all the more.  Who will overpay for the likes of Zach Parise and Justin Schultz?  I understand this isn't sexy, but teams have holes to fill including my Washington Capitals.  Per my insiders (Japers Rink @japersrink and Neil Greenberg @ngreenberg) the two players to hope for in Washington are Shane Doan and Mikael Samuelsson who are both right wingers which is the biggest deficiency of talent on the roster.  For more visit Japers Rink and their thoughts on what the Capitals should do here.

9: NBA Free Agency Begins


For fans of a more popular sport, (unfortunate as that is to say) the NBA follows up its draft with Free Agency.  Deron Williams is the prized jewel of the free agent class along with aging superstars Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett. The New Orleans Hornets revamped their roster through the draft last night, but the key to improving next season is hanging on to their lone star Eric Gordon.

8. New York Mets at Los Angeles Dodgers


This ship is sinking fast for the Dodgers.  Injuries have taken their toll as now Andre Either has been added to the list of casualties.  The Mets are trending upwards and even though R.A. Dickey has seen his streak of scoreless pitching come to an end, they are playing really well of late.  They also get the nod for the Sunday night national televised game and Dillon Gee will be matched up with Clayton Kershaw.  If I were Kershaw I'd be worried about pulling a muscle or straining a hamstring.


7. AT&T National 

If you are brave enough to sit through the scorching weather here in the area, head on over to Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, MD this weekend.  Tiger Woods and a slew of relative unknowns are playing on a course that was recently seen hosting last years U.S. Open.  According to the people at Congressional, the course will play much harder during this tournament than when Rory McIlroy carved it up last year.

6. Pittsburgh Pirates at St. Louis Cardinals


Don't look now, but both of these teams are inching towards the Cincinnati Reds for 1st place in the N.L. Central.  The defending champion Cardinals are still hitting minus the services of Albert Pujols who left them for Anaheim and Lance Berkman who is injured.   The Pirates are being buoyed by A.J. Burnett who has won 8 consecutive starts for the first time in franchise history since Dock Ellis in 1974.  It looks as though the move from New York was indeed the perfect thing to reinvigorate his fledgling career.

5. Wimbledon

Usually the first week of a Grand Slam Tournament is rather mundane with the top seeds rolling through qualifiers and youngsters, but this year has already been a shocker.  Yesterday 5 time Wimbledon finalist Rafael Nadal was ousted in jaw dropping, dramatic fashion by 100th ranked unknown Lukas Rosol.  Less stunning, but still surprising was on the Ladies side of the draw where former #1 and current 7th ranked Caroline Wozniaki was dropped in the first round.  Add to the fact that Venus Williams again disappointed losing in the first round and you've got yourself an intriguing tournament for a change during week one.

4. Chicago White Sox at New York Yankees


Two first place teams that I equally don't like, but who are both playing really good baseball right now.  The Yankees have lost 2/5 of its starting rotation this week, but they are the Yankees and we all know they will find a way to survive.  More than likely they will just hit more home runs to make up for the lack of quality outings by their staff.  The White Sox also made noise by acquiring Kevin Youkilis from the Boston Red Sox.  Game one of this 4 game set went to the White Sox on a 9th inning 3 run blast by Dayan Viciedo.

3. Washington Nationals at Atlanta Braves


The first place Nationals look to stay that way as the All-Star Break approaches.  They will throw out both of their aces (Strasburg and Gonzalez) this series in hopes to add a cushion to their 3.5 game lead in the division.  The Braves who have lost Brandon Beachy and his 2.00 ERA for this season and probably next year as well with the dreaded, yet all too common Tommy John surgery.  The Braves are good, but I have a feeling this could be a possible last stand of sort if they are to contend this season.

2. Cincinnati Reds at San Francisco Giants


Guess which pitching staff is the hottest in the Majors right now?  They are located in the Bay area and their colors are green and gold...yes the Oakland Athletics.  Over their last 14 game the A's have given up more than 3 runs only three times.  That's nice and all, but its their cross bay rivals the Giants that have thrown 4 consecutive shutouts and vaulted the injured Dodgers into 1st place in the N.L. West.  The Reds are scuffling as of late, but still hold a slim lead in the N.L. Central.  Matt Cain looks to extend the scoreless streak for the Giants tonight.

1. Euro Cup 2012 Final


Spain vs. Italy.  Hopefully we get a game like yesterday when Italy scored early at shook Germany to the core.  All it takes is an early goal to have the coaches throw out the game plan and get their team scrambling.  Mario Balotelli showed all the good that he can bring to a team while leaving all the bad out  Spain hasn't given up a goal in a knockout game since 2006 so we know they will have a great defensive structure and it will be interesting to see how the Italians try and break through.  If Spain falls behind it should be fun, if they score first it could be a mind numbing 1-0 final score.

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I am headed to Texas to get away from the D.C. heat this upcoming week.  The wife and I are headed to visit her sister, but I am looking forward to eating some Texas brisket, some local Mexican food, eating some burgers and gaining 15 pounds.  I better walk around and see the sights or else I may not make it back in one piece.

I will probably not be updating the page too much unless I need a reason to stay out of the heat.  I will be posting pictures of my gluttonous conquests on my Twitter page so enjoy those.

Enjoy the week ahead including the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest on the 4th of July.  I do love me some food.