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.
Showing posts with label college football. Show all posts
Showing posts with label college football. Show all posts
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Monday, September 3, 2012
Weekend Viewing Recap 9/3/12
The weekend for most isn't technically over. You still have the final round of the Deutsche Bank Championship (Golf, kids) with both Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods in the hunt, U.S. Open Tennis, Virginia Tech vs. Georgia Tech in college football later that night and the start of the Athletics/Angels and Yankees/Rays series in baseball. That plus a good barbeque should be enough to tide you over until Wednesday when the NFL begins with the Cowboys heading to New York to take on the defending Super Bowl champion Giants.
The final weekend before the return of profession football did not let us down. Let's take a look back just in case you hit the beach one final weekend and missed out.
7. College Football (Non ranked vs. ranked games)
The most eye opening score came from Pittsburgh as the Panthers lost to I-AA (eff that FCS crap) Youngstown St.. It's not the first Division I team to lose to the smaller schools recently (JMU vs Virginia Tech, Appalachian St. vs. Michigan), but it still is shocking when it happens. Navy went to Ireland to battle the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame and got blasted 50-10. Clemson retains the 'Tigers' moniker for this season as they beat Auburn who will now be called the 'Pumas' for the remainder of the year. That would have made the game much more interesting. Penn St. lost on the field after an off season of losing off the field. As noted on Twitter, they lost again Saturday to extend a losing streak that dates back to 1998. USC (not the Gamecocks who are neither USC nor Carolina...just South or Cocks, your choice) rolled over Hawaii in their first game as #1 in the nation. West Virginia claimed their state title as they whooped Marshall and my two favorite colleges (UNC and JMU) won by a combined scored of 117-7.
6. Boise St. Broncos at Michigan St. Spartans
In one of two ranked vs. ranked match ups this weekend, two new look teams squared off in a surprising defensive battle (of sorts). Michigan St. jumped out behind Le'Veon Bell who scored early en route to 265 total yards on the night. Boise St. couldn't muster much offense at all and it was a credit to their defense, who scored their lone touchdown of the night, that the game was as close as it was. In fact Boise St. held the lead going into the 4th quarter, but after Bell scored his second touchdown of the game, Michigan St. took the lead back for good. Both teams looked offensively challenged, save for Bell and he was the difference on Saturday.
5. St. Louis Cardinals at Washington Nationals
What a series these two teams gave us. After a miserable start for the Cardinals, losing the 1st two games by a combined 18-1 score we got two classic games to end the series. After seeing their bats go dormant for 48 hours in Washington, St. Louis spotted Washington 4 runs before scoring 8 over the next three innings to take an 8-6 lead. The Nationals answered back with a three run inning, but gave up single runs in the eighth and ninth to lose 10-9. Sunday, Nationals fans got one of their final looks at Stephen Strasburg this season and he was masterful throwing six scoreless innings and left with a 2-0 lead. That didn't last long as Sean Burnett promptly gave up a 2 run homer to light hitting David Descalso who had previously been 5 for his last 58. This time it was the Nationals that were able to respond as they scratched out two runs in the bottom of the 7th and held on for a 4-3 victory and a 3 games to 1 series victory.
4. Baltimore Orioles at New York Yankees
This close. The Orioles were this close to walking into Yankees Stadium and sweeping New York. Mark Reynolds hit two home runs in both the Friday and Sunday games as the Orioles outscored the struggling Yankees 14-4 in those two games. In the middle game, Baltimore was up 3-0 in the 4th and 3-1 heading into the bottom of the seventh when it all fell apart for them. With two outs and only one man on base, starting pitcher Wei-Yin Chen walk a guy and gave up a hit to cut the lead to 3-2. Pedro Strop 'relieved' him and walked the first two batters he faced to knot the game up at 3. Then when he finally threw a hittable pitch, Nick Swisher hit a ball to shortstop J.J. Hardy who booted it and allowed the go ahead, and eventual game winning run to score. Baltimore wins the series and creeps to within 2 games in the A.L. East as their dream season continues with the 4 game rematch in Baltimore starts Thursday.
3. U.S. Open Tennis
Nothing of note happened this weekend, which is good for the upcoming quarterfinals. Andy Roddick is still alive and plays next on Tuesday. The closest major upset was Maria Sharapova down 2 games to none in the third set, but she stormed back to win. Because of the length of that match and the rain delay last night, American John Isner was forced to start playing after 10 pm local time and of course his match against Philipp Kohschreiber went the full five sets and 3+ hours ending right around 2:30 in the morning. That seems quite ridiculous if I must say so. I don't understand why they can't just bring them back at 8 am because you won't get the television ratings you were expecting either way. Today another American is expected to be ousted as Mardy Fish has to play Roger Federer. Miracles can happen can't they?
2. Chicago White Sox at Detroit Tigers
I asked for a Detroit sweep and by God I got a Detroit sweep. The Tigers held serve on their home field behind strong starting pitching and a timely home run last night. The marquee match up was between Chris Sale and Justin Verlander yesterday and into the 6th inning it lived up to the billing. Tied at one in the bottom of the 6th inning, Sale threw one too many sliders (slurves if you listen to ESPN) to Delmon Young without changing his eye level with a high fastball (who am I to judge?) and he hit a 3 run home run. Even though Detroit has underwhelmed all season, they are still my choice to represent the American League in the World Series. Behind the one-two punches of Verlander and Max Scherzer on the mound and Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder at the plate, if they can play good enough defense I don't see anyone being able to beat them in a short series. Chicago may have seen their cushion slip away this weekend, but they will get their chance to strike back one week from today when they welcome Detroit to town for a huge 4 game series.
1. Michigan Wolverines vs. Alabama Crimson Tide
I tried to time it right on Saturday night as the wife and I watched The Dictator for our weekend movie which was actually disappointing. I figured I'd missed about 15-20 minutes of this game and that would be hardly enough to worry me, but that turned out to be quite incorrect. I flipped the game on and it was already 14-0 Alabama with 5 minutes left in the 1st quarter and I knew it was over. By the time I got back from the bathroom (too much information???) it was 21-0 and that was the last I saw of the game. Michigan kept it within 20 into the 4th quarter which sparked my curiosity knowing one of my friends had a small $1500 wager on Alabama and the 13 1/2 point spread, but the Crimson Tide scored again and he was safe. Lunch on him on Tuesday!!!!! Wake me when Alabama plays in the SEC Championship game which will probably be the BCS Championship game as well (sorry USC).
The final weekend before the return of profession football did not let us down. Let's take a look back just in case you hit the beach one final weekend and missed out.
7. College Football (Non ranked vs. ranked games)
The most eye opening score came from Pittsburgh as the Panthers lost to I-AA (eff that FCS crap) Youngstown St.. It's not the first Division I team to lose to the smaller schools recently (JMU vs Virginia Tech, Appalachian St. vs. Michigan), but it still is shocking when it happens. Navy went to Ireland to battle the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame and got blasted 50-10. Clemson retains the 'Tigers' moniker for this season as they beat Auburn who will now be called the 'Pumas' for the remainder of the year. That would have made the game much more interesting. Penn St. lost on the field after an off season of losing off the field. As noted on Twitter, they lost again Saturday to extend a losing streak that dates back to 1998. USC (not the Gamecocks who are neither USC nor Carolina...just South or Cocks, your choice) rolled over Hawaii in their first game as #1 in the nation. West Virginia claimed their state title as they whooped Marshall and my two favorite colleges (UNC and JMU) won by a combined scored of 117-7.
6. Boise St. Broncos at Michigan St. Spartans
In one of two ranked vs. ranked match ups this weekend, two new look teams squared off in a surprising defensive battle (of sorts). Michigan St. jumped out behind Le'Veon Bell who scored early en route to 265 total yards on the night. Boise St. couldn't muster much offense at all and it was a credit to their defense, who scored their lone touchdown of the night, that the game was as close as it was. In fact Boise St. held the lead going into the 4th quarter, but after Bell scored his second touchdown of the game, Michigan St. took the lead back for good. Both teams looked offensively challenged, save for Bell and he was the difference on Saturday.
5. St. Louis Cardinals at Washington Nationals
What a series these two teams gave us. After a miserable start for the Cardinals, losing the 1st two games by a combined 18-1 score we got two classic games to end the series. After seeing their bats go dormant for 48 hours in Washington, St. Louis spotted Washington 4 runs before scoring 8 over the next three innings to take an 8-6 lead. The Nationals answered back with a three run inning, but gave up single runs in the eighth and ninth to lose 10-9. Sunday, Nationals fans got one of their final looks at Stephen Strasburg this season and he was masterful throwing six scoreless innings and left with a 2-0 lead. That didn't last long as Sean Burnett promptly gave up a 2 run homer to light hitting David Descalso who had previously been 5 for his last 58. This time it was the Nationals that were able to respond as they scratched out two runs in the bottom of the 7th and held on for a 4-3 victory and a 3 games to 1 series victory.
4. Baltimore Orioles at New York Yankees
This close. The Orioles were this close to walking into Yankees Stadium and sweeping New York. Mark Reynolds hit two home runs in both the Friday and Sunday games as the Orioles outscored the struggling Yankees 14-4 in those two games. In the middle game, Baltimore was up 3-0 in the 4th and 3-1 heading into the bottom of the seventh when it all fell apart for them. With two outs and only one man on base, starting pitcher Wei-Yin Chen walk a guy and gave up a hit to cut the lead to 3-2. Pedro Strop 'relieved' him and walked the first two batters he faced to knot the game up at 3. Then when he finally threw a hittable pitch, Nick Swisher hit a ball to shortstop J.J. Hardy who booted it and allowed the go ahead, and eventual game winning run to score. Baltimore wins the series and creeps to within 2 games in the A.L. East as their dream season continues with the 4 game rematch in Baltimore starts Thursday.
3. U.S. Open Tennis
Nothing of note happened this weekend, which is good for the upcoming quarterfinals. Andy Roddick is still alive and plays next on Tuesday. The closest major upset was Maria Sharapova down 2 games to none in the third set, but she stormed back to win. Because of the length of that match and the rain delay last night, American John Isner was forced to start playing after 10 pm local time and of course his match against Philipp Kohschreiber went the full five sets and 3+ hours ending right around 2:30 in the morning. That seems quite ridiculous if I must say so. I don't understand why they can't just bring them back at 8 am because you won't get the television ratings you were expecting either way. Today another American is expected to be ousted as Mardy Fish has to play Roger Federer. Miracles can happen can't they?
2. Chicago White Sox at Detroit Tigers
I asked for a Detroit sweep and by God I got a Detroit sweep. The Tigers held serve on their home field behind strong starting pitching and a timely home run last night. The marquee match up was between Chris Sale and Justin Verlander yesterday and into the 6th inning it lived up to the billing. Tied at one in the bottom of the 6th inning, Sale threw one too many sliders (slurves if you listen to ESPN) to Delmon Young without changing his eye level with a high fastball (who am I to judge?) and he hit a 3 run home run. Even though Detroit has underwhelmed all season, they are still my choice to represent the American League in the World Series. Behind the one-two punches of Verlander and Max Scherzer on the mound and Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder at the plate, if they can play good enough defense I don't see anyone being able to beat them in a short series. Chicago may have seen their cushion slip away this weekend, but they will get their chance to strike back one week from today when they welcome Detroit to town for a huge 4 game series.
1. Michigan Wolverines vs. Alabama Crimson Tide
I tried to time it right on Saturday night as the wife and I watched The Dictator for our weekend movie which was actually disappointing. I figured I'd missed about 15-20 minutes of this game and that would be hardly enough to worry me, but that turned out to be quite incorrect. I flipped the game on and it was already 14-0 Alabama with 5 minutes left in the 1st quarter and I knew it was over. By the time I got back from the bathroom (too much information???) it was 21-0 and that was the last I saw of the game. Michigan kept it within 20 into the 4th quarter which sparked my curiosity knowing one of my friends had a small $1500 wager on Alabama and the 13 1/2 point spread, but the Crimson Tide scored again and he was safe. Lunch on him on Tuesday!!!!! Wake me when Alabama plays in the SEC Championship game which will probably be the BCS Championship game as well (sorry USC).
Friday, August 31, 2012
Weekend Viewing Guide 8/31/12
Finally. The summer doldrums are just about over and the best time for sports fans is upon us. Not only is baseball headed towards the playoffs, but both college football and the NFL are beginning. In a months time the NBA will be back and hopefully the NHL will be as well.
Let me say thank you to the Olympics, Euro Cup 2012, Golf majors, Tennis Grand Slams, the College World Series and last but not least Major League Baseball for getting us through a very hot summer. Baseball has been especially exciting for me as an Oakland Athletics and Washington Nationals fan. I will definitely not forgot about them come September, but with so many other options to choose from I will certainly have plenty of story lines to crow about in the next couple of months.
But enough about the next couple of months...we have a three day weekend ahead of us as the summer torch unofficially changes into the fall torch.
7. College Football (Non ranked vs. ranked games)
The first weekend of College Football is feast or famine when hoping to see a competitive game. Not every game will be LSU winning by 40 points against North Texas. There are some fun match ups to whet our palettes here in late August/early September. Teams that don't like each other very much meet up as Marshall and West Virginia square off. Clemson and Auburn will fight over which mascot gets to keep the name Tigers. Penn St. tries to return to normalcy as they begin their life post-Joe Pa and scandal against Ohio. USC starts the season #1 and welcomes Hawaii in for a warm up. One game I'm intrigued to watch will be Navy and Notre Dame playing in Ireland. With a perfect 9am start time it will be a great way to start the weekend (while at work for me).
6. Boise St. Broncos at Michigan St. Spartans
Gone are Kirk Cousins and Kellen Moore for the respective schools. With both teams starting from scratch it will be interesting to see if either team will be able to be a national contender this season. Whether successful or not this year, it is a fact that Boise St. will be leaving the Mountain West conference and heading to the Big East as of next year. Geographically challenged issues aside, it will be good for their school to finally face better competition to try and prove if they are actually as good as they think they are. This should be a rebuilding year for Boise St., but with a preseason ranking of 13 for Michigan St., hopes are high for a smooth transition from Cousins to senior quarterback Andrew Maxwell.
5. St. Louis Cardinals at Washington Nationals
A possible playoff preview in the Nation's Capital. The defending champions against a team primed to be in contention for the foreseeable future. This is a huge 4 game set for both teams. The Cardinals have been chased out of contention in the N.L. Central due to the continued excellence of the Cincinnati Reds, and are currently trying to fend off both the Pittsburgh Pirates and the L.A. Dodgers for the 2nd Wild Card spot. The Nationals have been slumping of late with a recent 5 game losing streak but starting last night, they have 11 straight games at home. They look to have a comfortable five game lead over the Atlanta Braves, but with the distraction of the Stephen Strasburg shutdown and the fact that they have never been in this position in September anything is still possible.
4. Baltimore Orioles at New York Yankees
I don't think anyone had this series circled in April one that could hold the key to who will win the A.L. East, but that's why they play the games. The Orioles sit only 3 games back of the might Yankees and with a miraculous weekend they could be tied by Labor Day. The Tampa Bay Rays are right there as well sitting one game behind Baltimore and are playing lowly Toronto with hopes of keeping this a 3 way race all the way until the end of the season. Maybe this will be the weekend where New York starts to build towards the playoffs. Since going to Oakland in mid-July the Yankees are only 18-21 and have nearly squandered the 10 game lead they had at that point. Nobody seems to understand just how Baltimore is winning. I'll put it simply...their bullpen has been fantastic. Without a great bullpen you can't go 24-6 in one run games and 12-2 in extra innings like the Orioles currently are.
3. U.S. Open Tennis
With the first couple of rounds out of the way, the real tournament can now begin. Even though he probably won't be around much past this weekend, American Andy Roddick has announced he will be retiring after the U.S. Open. For nearly a decade he was the best hope for the U.S. to win in Men's Tennis Grand Slam event after Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi retired. After winning the U.S. Open in 2003, Roddick could never climb that mountain again in a Grand Slam event. As for people who could win this year all the usual suspects are around (save for Rafael Nadal who is once again nursing injuries). Federer, Novak, Serena and Sharapova are all alive and are expected to contend, but when the lights are on in New York City magical things sometimes happen and that is why we watch.
2. Chicago White Sox at Detroit Tigers
I'll admit it, I called the A.L. Central over long ago. I thought for sure the Tigers would have run and hid from the White Sox by now. What do I know anyways? Heading into this series Chicago still holds a 3 game lead with no signs of wavering. This series also brings us Chris Sale vs. Justin Verlander on Sunday night. As the final Sunday without the NFL to compete with, MLB has given fans the ultimate treat as a send off. Two Cy Young candidates facing each other with the division title at stake...niiiiice. I'm still saying the Tigers win the division and I still say it will be by around 4 or 5 games so sweeping Chicago this weekend might be a good start to make me look less foolish.
1. Michigan Wolverines vs. Alabama Crimson Tide
The defending champions get a real test right out of the gate as Alabama and Michigan head to Dallas Cowboys Stadium to get the first weekend of College Football started off with a bang. This will be the first time that these two school meet outside of a Bowl Game and only the fourth time ever. Senior quarterback Denard Robinson will need to be more like he was in 2010 than 2011 for Michigan to keep close. After breaking onto the scene, Robinson regressed in almost all statistical categories last season. Alabama may have lost some key pieces, but they don't rebuild, they just reload and the defense that was NFL worthy last season should be extremely stingy once again.
Let me say thank you to the Olympics, Euro Cup 2012, Golf majors, Tennis Grand Slams, the College World Series and last but not least Major League Baseball for getting us through a very hot summer. Baseball has been especially exciting for me as an Oakland Athletics and Washington Nationals fan. I will definitely not forgot about them come September, but with so many other options to choose from I will certainly have plenty of story lines to crow about in the next couple of months.
But enough about the next couple of months...we have a three day weekend ahead of us as the summer torch unofficially changes into the fall torch.
7. College Football (Non ranked vs. ranked games)
The first weekend of College Football is feast or famine when hoping to see a competitive game. Not every game will be LSU winning by 40 points against North Texas. There are some fun match ups to whet our palettes here in late August/early September. Teams that don't like each other very much meet up as Marshall and West Virginia square off. Clemson and Auburn will fight over which mascot gets to keep the name Tigers. Penn St. tries to return to normalcy as they begin their life post-Joe Pa and scandal against Ohio. USC starts the season #1 and welcomes Hawaii in for a warm up. One game I'm intrigued to watch will be Navy and Notre Dame playing in Ireland. With a perfect 9am start time it will be a great way to start the weekend (while at work for me).
6. Boise St. Broncos at Michigan St. Spartans
Gone are Kirk Cousins and Kellen Moore for the respective schools. With both teams starting from scratch it will be interesting to see if either team will be able to be a national contender this season. Whether successful or not this year, it is a fact that Boise St. will be leaving the Mountain West conference and heading to the Big East as of next year. Geographically challenged issues aside, it will be good for their school to finally face better competition to try and prove if they are actually as good as they think they are. This should be a rebuilding year for Boise St., but with a preseason ranking of 13 for Michigan St., hopes are high for a smooth transition from Cousins to senior quarterback Andrew Maxwell.
5. St. Louis Cardinals at Washington Nationals
A possible playoff preview in the Nation's Capital. The defending champions against a team primed to be in contention for the foreseeable future. This is a huge 4 game set for both teams. The Cardinals have been chased out of contention in the N.L. Central due to the continued excellence of the Cincinnati Reds, and are currently trying to fend off both the Pittsburgh Pirates and the L.A. Dodgers for the 2nd Wild Card spot. The Nationals have been slumping of late with a recent 5 game losing streak but starting last night, they have 11 straight games at home. They look to have a comfortable five game lead over the Atlanta Braves, but with the distraction of the Stephen Strasburg shutdown and the fact that they have never been in this position in September anything is still possible.
4. Baltimore Orioles at New York Yankees
I don't think anyone had this series circled in April one that could hold the key to who will win the A.L. East, but that's why they play the games. The Orioles sit only 3 games back of the might Yankees and with a miraculous weekend they could be tied by Labor Day. The Tampa Bay Rays are right there as well sitting one game behind Baltimore and are playing lowly Toronto with hopes of keeping this a 3 way race all the way until the end of the season. Maybe this will be the weekend where New York starts to build towards the playoffs. Since going to Oakland in mid-July the Yankees are only 18-21 and have nearly squandered the 10 game lead they had at that point. Nobody seems to understand just how Baltimore is winning. I'll put it simply...their bullpen has been fantastic. Without a great bullpen you can't go 24-6 in one run games and 12-2 in extra innings like the Orioles currently are.
3. U.S. Open Tennis
With the first couple of rounds out of the way, the real tournament can now begin. Even though he probably won't be around much past this weekend, American Andy Roddick has announced he will be retiring after the U.S. Open. For nearly a decade he was the best hope for the U.S. to win in Men's Tennis Grand Slam event after Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi retired. After winning the U.S. Open in 2003, Roddick could never climb that mountain again in a Grand Slam event. As for people who could win this year all the usual suspects are around (save for Rafael Nadal who is once again nursing injuries). Federer, Novak, Serena and Sharapova are all alive and are expected to contend, but when the lights are on in New York City magical things sometimes happen and that is why we watch.
2. Chicago White Sox at Detroit Tigers
I'll admit it, I called the A.L. Central over long ago. I thought for sure the Tigers would have run and hid from the White Sox by now. What do I know anyways? Heading into this series Chicago still holds a 3 game lead with no signs of wavering. This series also brings us Chris Sale vs. Justin Verlander on Sunday night. As the final Sunday without the NFL to compete with, MLB has given fans the ultimate treat as a send off. Two Cy Young candidates facing each other with the division title at stake...niiiiice. I'm still saying the Tigers win the division and I still say it will be by around 4 or 5 games so sweeping Chicago this weekend might be a good start to make me look less foolish.
1. Michigan Wolverines vs. Alabama Crimson Tide
The defending champions get a real test right out of the gate as Alabama and Michigan head to Dallas Cowboys Stadium to get the first weekend of College Football started off with a bang. This will be the first time that these two school meet outside of a Bowl Game and only the fourth time ever. Senior quarterback Denard Robinson will need to be more like he was in 2010 than 2011 for Michigan to keep close. After breaking onto the scene, Robinson regressed in almost all statistical categories last season. Alabama may have lost some key pieces, but they don't rebuild, they just reload and the defense that was NFL worthy last season should be extremely stingy once again.
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