2015 MLB Preview and Unbiased Predictions
For as well as I've done in my NFL predictions the last couple of years, I've done just as poorly when it comes to my MLB predictions. Last year I had the Cardinals beating the Rays so that is all you need to know on how well I did. There are only two divisions that I would be money on knowing the division winner and they're both in the National League. I could easily see 12 American League teams vying for the five playoff spots. The National League isn't quite as up for grabs with only 8-9 teams with a real shot at making the playoffs in my humble and usually wrong opinion. This year I'm correct though about everything, I swear.
AL East
To be honest, I could pick any of the four teams not named the Rays and be able to make a case for it. The Blue Jays have re-loaded in the hopes of finally getting back to the playoffs. The Red Sox have a great offense but question marks galore in their new starting rotation. The Yankees saw Derek Jeter retire, but welcome back (no laughing) A-Rod and a stout bullpen as they try and emulate the Royals path to the playoffs. Then there are the defending champion Orioles who did jack squat in the off-season, losing Nelson Cruz, but getting back Manny Machado and possibly Matt Wieters from injury. Each team has some strengths and multiple weaknesses so I suppose it comes down to which team can hide those weaknesses long enough to make some deadline deals and make a run for the playoffs.
New York Yankees 86-76 (#3 Seed)
Baltimore Orioles 85-77
Toronto Blue Jays 83-79
Boston Red Sox 83-79
Tampa Bay Rays 74-88
AL Central
Just like the AL East (and spoiler alert the AL West too) this will be another division that could be won by all but one team. The Twins will try and steal a few games here and there, but will be an afterthought be Memorial Day. The Tigers added Yoenis Cespedes to an already potent lineup and have basically traded away Max Scherzer for David Price for the 2015 season. Their biggest question, again, will be the bullpen. The Royals were on the cusp of being one of the most improbable World Series champions last October with their speed, defense and bullpen. Not much has changed other than losing 200+ innings from James Shields. The White Sox added Jeff Samardzija and Adam LaRoche to be paired with Chris Sale and Jose Abreu to create an intriguing core. Will they still be a piece or two short remains the question. The Indians have enough offense, starting pitching and bullpen to win, but can they break through the mental hurdle of believing they can win similarly to the way Kansas City did a year ago. I say yes, yes they can.
Cleveland Indians 88-74 (#2 Seed)
Detroit Tigers 86-76 (#2 Wild Card)
Chicago White Sox 81-81
Kansas City Royals 79-83
Minnesota Twins 70-92
AL West
The Angels were the class of the West last year, but may be without Josh Hamilton while Albert Pujols is another year older. Of course they still have Mike Trout and that might just be enough. The Seattle Mariners made some key off season moves adding Nelson Cruz and Seth Smith and have a very deep starting rotation. The Athletics have made the playoffs three straight years and turned over 2/3 of their roster, but now have a young stable of pitching that could surprise or be a disaster. The Rangers have already been snake bit to the injury bug yet again this year by losing Yu Darvish, the one person they couldn't afford to lose. The Astros have acquired some more ex-Athletics and Evan Gattis in the hopes to outscore opponents every game. Their bullpen won't be nearly as laughable as it was last year.
Seattle Mariners 90-72 (#1 Seed)
Los Angeles Angels 88-74 (#1 Wild Card)
Oakland Athletics 83-79
Houston Astros 76-86
Texas Rangers 72-90
NL East
Once again the Nationals are primed to run away with the division where they will get to face their playoff demons head on once again. Outside of early season injuries, their doesn't seem to be a weakness on the roster. Well there is Matt Williams. The Marlins have Giancarlo Stanton and will get back Jose Fernandez just in time to make a run at a wild card where nobody will want to play them. The Mets are building through their young pitching, but have already lost Zach Wheeler for the season the same way Matt Harvey went down last season. Another year away, again. The Phillies and Braves will be battling for the basement with their horribly constructed rosters. Both teams are stuck in a rebuilding mode, but neither have a clue of how to do it.
Washington Nationals 91-71 (#2 Seed)
Miami Marlins 87-75 (#1 Wild Card)
New York Mets 78-84
Atlanta Braves 71-91
Philadelphia Phillies 69-93
NL Central
This will be the most hotly contested division in the National League and really the only thing to pay attention to playoff wise come September. The Cubs are everyone's trendy pick to win with Joe Maddon running the ship and their cavalcade of young stud hitters. Oh yeah John Lester is there too. The Reds have a nicely construct lineup, a true ace and a stud closer, but something just doesn't seem to mesh over a six month season. The Pirates will see how much Russell Martin really meant to the team, but have a great core of young players that should challenge again for the division. The Brewers, well they play in Milwaukee and have Ryan Braun, Matt Lucroy and Carlos Gomez. The pitching staff on the other hand is, not good (Mike Fiers, I do like though). Then there are the Cardinals, the perennial division winning Cardinals. How can we forget about them? They'll be the odds on favorite to win the division yet again.
St. Louis Cardinals 89-73 (#3 Seed)
Chicago Cubs 84-78 (#2 Wild Card)
Pittsburgh Pirates 83-79
Cincinnati Reds 78-84
Milwaukee Brewers 72-90
NL West
Home of the defending World Series champion Giants (again), this is another division like the NL East where almost everybody will be picking one team to win and it won't be San Francisco. The Dodgers should again win this division by 5-10 games with ease. The Giants haven't gotten any better, but are a plucky bunch. The Padres went crazy in the off season with a flurry of trades and free agent signings, but will it be enough to make up 11 games which is how many games they were out of a playoff spot in 2014? The Diamondbacks are still stuck in between young and old, good and bad, rebuilding and contending. Good pieces but not enough of them. The Rockies are in trouble this year. They need a healthy Troy Tulowitzki, not in order to win a World Series, but in order to trade him away for more bodies.
Los Angeles Dodgers 93-69 (#1 Seed)
San Diego Padres 83-79
San Francisco Giants 82-80
Arizona Diamondbacks 77-85
Colorado Rockies 69-93
Awards
AL ROY: Daniel Norris over Rusney Castillo
AL Cy Young: Felix Hernandez over Carlos Carrasco
AL MVP: Mike Trout over Michael Brantley
NL ROY: Joc Pederson over Jorge Soler
NL Cy Young: Clayton Kershaw over Max Scherzer
NL MVP: Giancarlo Stanton over Andrew McCutchen
Playoffs
American League
Tigers over the Angels in the play-in game
Mariners over the Tigers in 4 games
Indians over the Yankees in 4 game
Mariners over the Indians in 6 games
National League
Marlins over the Cubs in the play-in game
Dodgers over the Marlins in 4 games
Nationals over the Cardinals in 5 games
Nationals over the Dodgers in 6 games
World Series
Nationals over the Mariners in 6 games
World Series MVP Jordan Zimmermann
Showing posts with label washington nationals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label washington nationals. Show all posts
Sunday, March 29, 2015
Thursday, March 27, 2014
2014 MLB Preview and Unbiased Predictions
MLB Preview and Unbiased Predictions
AL East
Tampa Bay Rays 92-70 (#1 Seed)
Boston Red Sox 88-74 (Wild Card #1)
New York Yankees 83-79
Toronto Blue Jays 79-83
Baltimore Orioles 78-84
Quick thoughts: The AL East is up for grabs, but I think the Rays flaws are less than that of the rest and I don't think the Red Sox have the exact same magic from a year before.
Quick thoughts: The AL East is up for grabs, but I think the Rays flaws are less than that of the rest and I don't think the Red Sox have the exact same magic from a year before.
AL Central
Detroit Tigers 90-72 (#2 Seed)
Kansas City Royals 86-76 (Wild Card #2)
Cleveland Indians 78-84
Chicago White Sox 73-89
Minnesota Twins 71-91
Quick thoughts: Again its the Tigers to lose, but the gap over the Royals is possibly gone and I wouldn't be surprised if they overtake Detroit if Cabrera is hampered by injury again.
Quick thoughts: Again its the Tigers to lose, but the gap over the Royals is possibly gone and I wouldn't be surprised if they overtake Detroit if Cabrera is hampered by injury again.
AL West
Los Angeles Angels 87-75 (#3 Seed)
Oakland Athletics 84-78
Texas Rangers 83-79Seattle Mariners 79-83
Houston Astos 69-93
Quick thoughts: I wanted to pick Oakland, but Jarrod Parker going down eliminated that. I wanted to pick Texas, but look at their injury concerns. I defaulted to the Angels because of Mike Trout and Jered Weaver.
Quick thoughts: I wanted to pick Oakland, but Jarrod Parker going down eliminated that. I wanted to pick Texas, but look at their injury concerns. I defaulted to the Angels because of Mike Trout and Jered Weaver.
NL East
Washington Nationals 89-73 (#3 Seed)
Atlanta Braves 86-76 (Wild Card #2)
New York Mets 77-85
Philadelphia Phillies 72-90
Miami Marlins 71-91
Quick thoughts: Two horse race and right now the Nationals are the heathier team and should be able to hold off the Braves.
Quick thoughts: Two horse race and right now the Nationals are the heathier team and should be able to hold off the Braves.
NL Central
St. Louis Cardinals 94-68 (#1 Seed)
Cincinnati Reds 88-74 (Wild Card #1)
Pittsburgh Pirates 85-77
Milwaukee Brewers 74-88
Chicago Cubs 66-96
Quick thoughts: St. Louis is so deep and talented that I just can't see Cincinnati or Pittsburgh keeping pace. All three will feast off the Brewers and lowly Cubs.
Quick thoughts: St. Louis is so deep and talented that I just can't see Cincinnati or Pittsburgh keeping pace. All three will feast off the Brewers and lowly Cubs.
NL West
Los Angeles Dodgers 93-69 (#2 Seed)
Arizona Diamondbacks 84-78
Colorado Rockies 81-81
San Francisco Giants 78-84
San Diego Padres 72-90
Quick thoughts: The only no-brainer division winner. The Dodgers will have nearly two weeks to rest up after clinching in September.
Awards
AL ROY: Masahiro Tanaka (Yordano Ventura 2nd)
AL Cy Young: David Price (Yu Darvish 2nd)
AL MVP: Mike Trout (Prince Fielder 2nd)
Quick thoughts: Tanaka wins because he's on the Yankees and already will have the world watching although Ventura and Jose Abreu of the White Sox will fare well. I'm all in on Tampa Bay and David Price this year. Mike Trout finally wins what he deserves.
NL ROY: Billy Hamilton (by default b/c there are a ton of guys who could win IMO)
NL Cy Young: Clayton Kershaw (Stephen Strasburg 2nd)
NL MVP: Paul Goldschmidt (Andrew McCutchen 2nd)
Quick thoughts: I really don't think the NL ROY is going to start on a major league roster in April. That being the case, anyone can win. As for Cy Young, the NL is very deep at stud pitchers, but I think Kershaw/Strasburg will get the most ink thoughout the season. I couldn't go with Bryce Harper at MVP because I don't think he's well liked enough to win.
Playoffs
American Leauge
Royals over Red Sox in the play-in game
Rays over Royals in 6 games
Tigers over Rangers in 7 games
Rays over Tigers in 6 games
National League
Braves over Reds in the play-in game
Cardinals over Braves in 5 games
Nationals over Dodgers in 7 games (Please be Strasburg vs. Kershaw!!!)
Cardinals over Nationals in 6 games
World Series
Cardinals over Rays in 6 games
World Series MVP Matt Carpenter
Quick thoughts: The only no-brainer division winner. The Dodgers will have nearly two weeks to rest up after clinching in September.
Awards
AL ROY: Masahiro Tanaka (Yordano Ventura 2nd)
AL Cy Young: David Price (Yu Darvish 2nd)
AL MVP: Mike Trout (Prince Fielder 2nd)
Quick thoughts: Tanaka wins because he's on the Yankees and already will have the world watching although Ventura and Jose Abreu of the White Sox will fare well. I'm all in on Tampa Bay and David Price this year. Mike Trout finally wins what he deserves.
NL ROY: Billy Hamilton (by default b/c there are a ton of guys who could win IMO)
NL Cy Young: Clayton Kershaw (Stephen Strasburg 2nd)
NL MVP: Paul Goldschmidt (Andrew McCutchen 2nd)
Quick thoughts: I really don't think the NL ROY is going to start on a major league roster in April. That being the case, anyone can win. As for Cy Young, the NL is very deep at stud pitchers, but I think Kershaw/Strasburg will get the most ink thoughout the season. I couldn't go with Bryce Harper at MVP because I don't think he's well liked enough to win.
Playoffs
American Leauge
Royals over Red Sox in the play-in game
Rays over Royals in 6 games
Tigers over Rangers in 7 games
Rays over Tigers in 6 games
National League
Braves over Reds in the play-in game
Cardinals over Braves in 5 games
Nationals over Dodgers in 7 games (Please be Strasburg vs. Kershaw!!!)
Cardinals over Nationals in 6 games
World Series
Cardinals over Rays in 6 games
World Series MVP Matt Carpenter
Friday, March 7, 2014
Sports Bucket List
Now that I'm inching towards the halfway point of the average life expectancy (77.4 years as of 2008 per Wikipedia) for men I figured I'd better start piecing together my Sports Bucket List. Everyone will probably create some type of bucket list during their lifetime and I'm sure I'll do one as well that is not centered around sports, but for now this is what I want to do/see/visit/enjoy before I'm laid to rest.
What a morbid topic Jason...let me tell you what got me thinking about this. I was watching the first UNC v Duke men's basketball game this year and tweeted to @midatlanticbias (another Jason) who happens to be a Duke fan that we should watch a season series of UNC/Duke with each other. Him walking into the palace that is the Dean Dome and me slithering into the cramped, overheated high school gym that is Cameron Indoor Stadium. Now I have already watched a game in each of the two locations. About a decade ago I went with a high school friend to watch a U. of Maryland vs Duke game near the height of their rivalry. I wore a red t-shirt with the words 'Kick Their Ass' written on it in the heart of the 'Cameron Crazies.' Outside of the ticket taker, not one student said a mean word to me. I didn't even get that many dirty looks. Duke won which probably kept me from getting into a shoving match post game, but the experience was fun. Just last month I finally got to see UNC play at home when they defeated Pitt. The place was loud and it was nice to be surrounded by a bunch of fans rooting for the same team unlike my previous three UNC games that I had seen in person: 1) at Princeton 2) in DC during the ACC tournament with a mixed bag of fans 3) at the ACC Championship game last season with a bunch of Miami fans in my section as the Hurricanes won the title.
Okay I'm getting off track...back to the bucket list.
The easiest way for me will be going from sport to sport (whether you like it or not, I will be including poker as a sport).
Baseball
1) Attend a Game 7 - any Game 7 (bonus points to it including the Oakland Athletics or Washington Nationals). I was fortunate enough to see a playoff game finally two seasons ago when Jayson Werth hit a walk-off HR in Game 4 against St. Louis for the Nationals. I don't remember what ever came of that Game 5 though.
2) See the All-Star festivities - Mainly I want to watch a HR derby. Yes I'm an old soul when it comes to baseball and I thoroughly enjoy a good old fashioned HR derby. I'd go to the All Star game too, but the derby does it for me more so.
3) 30 games in 30 (or 31) days - Maybe not like this one, but something similar without the plane flights. Me and three other people in a camper going coast to coast. It can be done with the right scheduling by MLB as long as the teams who share cities play on the same day and night so you can hit both in one day. I'll blog it if somebody's wants to pay for it :)
4) Throw live to a major league hitter - This one is about 4 years expired as my shoulder has gone to hell, but what I wouldn't have given to throw live to any MLBer during my prime. Sure they would've crushed me, but what fun I would've had.
5) Spend a week with my High School pals in Arizona for Spring Training - My core high school group of friends included two A's fans, a Cubs fan, a Brewers fan, a Yankees fan and a Tigers fan. 4-2 Arizona to Florida (plus I've been to spring training in Florida).
6) Go to Opening Day - This seems like an easy one to accomplish, but I have never gotten around to doing it. Shame on me.
Football
1) Watch the Redskins play (and win) an NFC Championship Game at home - This has many factors that 20 years ago looked to be a distinct possibility, but now looks near impossible. The Redskins have hosted just two playoff games since moving out of DC. I could be sitting on this one for a while.
2) Go to a Super Bowl when the Redskins aren't playing - Jokes aside about how easy this one could be, I don't think I'd like to be in house while the Redskins are playing in a Super Bowl. I'd much rather be around my friends and family. Football is the one sport that I like watching in a social atmosphere. I cuss far too much when watching baseball, hockey and college basketball to be around people I care about.
3) See JMU make the jump to Division 1 and watch UNC play for a National Championship - JMU seems on the cusp of making the leap away from 1-AA (I'm not using the proper terminology for a reason). Then when they beat Virginia Tech it won't be as much as a shock. UNC had a great season in 1997 and have been up and down since (with some help from some boosters and tutors). My hope is they at least play in a BCS level game in the next few years and possibly have that one magical season within the next 10-15 years.
Basketball
1) Go to a Final Four - I possibly could stomach watching UNC live there, but I'd probably be escorted out of the building before the first television timeout. There was a distinct possibility that I was going to get to go to the Final Four in New Orleans in 2012 through a work connection via my sister if UNC had gone, but stupid ass Creighton had to go and injure Kendall Marshall and derail a probable UNC/UK rematch. Still, and forever, bitter.
2) Watch UNC/Duke in both arenas - Already discussed above.
3) Be on UNC's campus during a Final Four/Championship victory - I have been on campus for four UNC games in my life. I was there when UNC lost to Duke, I was there when UNC lost the 1998 Final Four to Utah and I was there when UNC lost to Florida in the 2000 Final Four. Thankfully UNC beat Pitt last month or I may have never gone back.
4) Watch JMU become the next GMU/VCU/Wichita St. - I went to James Madison University (shocking as that is with my affinity to UNC throughout this blog) from 1996-2000. After making the NCAA Tournament in 1994 which was the culmination of 5 straight CAA regular season titles, I had hopes that JMU might be really good while I was there. After all they had legendary head coach Lefty Driesell at the helm. He had spoken to the freshman during orientation in 1996 and then promptly stepped down after our freshman year to go to Georgia St.. JMU won 16 games my freshman year, 11 my sophomore year, 16 my junior year and then had a great senior year with 20 wins. They didn't make the NCAA throughout until breaking a lengthy drought with an appearance last season where they picked up a play-in (1st round) win before losing to Indiana. What I want to see is JMU become the darling of the nation for three weekends in March/April. They don't have to win it all, but to emulate what fellow CAA members GMU and VCU have done would be nice (as long as they don't step on UNC like GMU did).
5) Witness the Washington Bullets Wizards return to glory - The reason I'm a Detroit Pistons fan is because the Washington franchise was just too embarrassing when I was a youth. I like the direction they are finally heading in with youthful talent and hopefully they're getting good enough to woo a veteran superstar to get them over the hump. No I don't think LeBron is headed to D.C., but I just can't understand why people won't consider playing here now that Washington has a couple of pieces in place to win.
Hockey
1) Go to the Winter Classic in 2015 - There is only one item on my Christmas list this year and it's to go to the spectacle that is the Winter Classic. With the Washington Capitals trending downward, next year could be a major crossroads for the franchise. Which leads me into the only bucket list item that matters for this category...
2) Witness a Stanley Cup for the Capitals franchise - I've been to regular season games, 1st round playoff games, 2nd round playoff games and even an Eastern Conference Final game back in 1998. I've sat through four overtime horror shows and screamed in excitement after a Game 7 OT game winner (thank you Joel Ward). The highs have been high and the lows have been soul crushing. I know I will literally weep like a baby if the Capitals ever hoist Lord Stanley's Cup.
3) Watch a Game 7 playoff game live when the Capitals win - I've never been to Game 7 in the playoffs and for good reason as a Capitals fan. It hasn't been pretty. One year I'll suck it up and go to try and break the trend, but the fan in me knows what will happen.
Poker
1) Play in the WSOP Main Event - $10,000 buy in with the longest odds of winning millions of dollars. I just want the chance.
2) Play in a $5,000 WPT Event - 1/2 the cost, much better odds of winning.
Obviously I better start making some more $$ if I want either of those to come true.
Golf
1) Hit a hole-in-one - It's every golfers dream and I got within 10 feet once when I used to play a bit more. Simple dream, difficult to achieve.
2) Watch the Masters in person - It's not spring until I start seeing commercials for the Masters on CBS. The best looking course in the world with the best players competing, what more could one ask for?
Soccer
1) Watch the USA win the World Cup - I was fortunate to go to a World Cup match back in 1994 when Mexico and Norway played at RFK in D.C.. I love international soccer (really any international competition when the best are playing the best in any event) and just once the USA will make that magical run to shock the world.
Olypmics
1) Go to an Olympics: Summer or Winter or both - I love the Olympics for the same reason I love the World Cup. I'm a competition junkie. I took off of work during the 2nd week of the Winter Olympics once again to watch the Men's Hockey tournament in peace and quiet. It's what I do. The USA is due to host the Summer Olympics within the next 20 years and I'm in wherever they may be. Same goes for the Winter Olympics and especially the Men's Hockey....
2) Watch the USA men win Gold Medal in the Olympics - The one sporting event I wish I had been at live would easily have been the 'Miracle on Ice' in 1980. While the USA winning a gold medal won't reach the fervor that occurred in 1980, it'll still be fantastic.
Horse Racing
1) Go to the Kentucky Derby - I have already asked my wife to book a trip to Kentucky for my 40th birthday which just happens to be the next time that the Derby falls on my birthday. Perfect. I'll see you there in 2018. I'll be betting on the 5 horse and the 10 horse.
I'm sure I'm missing stuff like going to the Big House to watch a Michigan game or tailgating before an Auburn v Alabama game in college football. I want to go to Dodger Stadium and sit in the 5th upper level or just sit with Vin Scully for nine innings. I'd love to meet a ton of people including Dean Smith even with his heartbreaking mental state right now. I'm sure my list could go on and on because outside of my personal favorite teams, I just love sports.
I know I'd love to sit in with Bill Belichick or any other NFL head coach for a week and see what exactly goes into game planning for a week. Obviously coaching a single MLB game would be ridiculous.
So many things to do so little time and money to do them.
I have knocked some items off the list:
1) Visit Fenway/Wrigley Field
2) Go to the College World Series (although going and seeing UNC win would be perfection)
3) Play basketball on a NBA court (sure I was 12, but I got to shake Charles Barkley's hand)
4) Visit Notre Dame
5) See the Oakland A's play in Oakland (I've also seen them play at Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Chicago (both White Sox and Cubs) and Pittsburgh).
I would enjoy any feedback and any of my reader's bucket list items. Maybe it'll jog my ever crumbling mind on things I have forgotten.
Friday, October 5, 2012
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.
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.
Monday, October 1, 2012
Weekend Viewing Recap 9/30/12
The more things change, the more they stay the same. That's the old saying, but I'm saying that in the sports world, that's a bunch of crap. Nothing was predictable this weekend. Absolutely nothing. On a scale of 1-10 this weekend was eleventy billion on drama, excitement and awesomeness.
Here are some things not covered by my Top 10:
RGIII and the Redskins finding a way to win with kicker Billy Cundiff saving his job on a last second field goal
The Atlanta Falcons pulling victory out of defeat with a last second drive to stay undefeated against the Carolina Panthers
The Green Bay Packers getting screwed by another set of officials, but surviving at home sending New Orleans to an 0-4 start.
The University of Texas outlasting Oklahoma St. on the road with a last minute touchdown run.
The University of Georgia combining with Tennessee to score 88 points in the first 3 quarters before running out of steam and only scoring 7 in the final 15 minutes with Georgia hanging on between the hedges.
The University of Nebraska winning a close game against Wisconsin despite being forced to wear Scrabble tiles for uniforms.
Homer Bailey of the Cincinnati Reds throwing a no hitter against the Pittsburgh Pirates matching the MLB record of 7 total no hitters pitched in a single season.
Outside of that, nothing much else happened...but I'll still cover the 10 things I was watching this weekend:
10. #14 Ohio St. Buckeyes at #20 Michigan St. Spartans
7-3 at the half. Yup, another riveting Big 10 game. I don't give a damn that it ended up being a 1 point game the two teams were a combined 10-28 on third downs. They couldn't sustain a drive to save their lives. The 3rd quarter was the only watchable quarter where *gasp* 20 whole points were scored. Defensive dominance?? No. More like putrid, slow, outdated offenses. The worst part about it is that Ohio St. won to stay undefeated meaning the Big 10 will still stay on the radar for another couple of weeks.
9. Miami Dolphins at Arizona Cardinals
Beware of the trap games. I tried to warn everyone that this looked too good to be true for Arizona. Everything was in their favor and it took Kevin Kolb pulling a rabbit out of the hat to survive. Miami held a 13-0 lead into the 3rd quarter when Arizona finally woke up putting together 14 consecutive points to take a lead. It lasted just over two minutes. Brian Hartline caught an 80 yard touchdown pass en route to 253 yards receiving while collecting dust on my fantasy football bench. Arizona answered back, scoring the game tying touchdown with only :22 left. In overtime, Jay Feely blasted a game winning 46 yard field goal to keep the Cardinals undefeated heading into their prime time, nationally televised game on the Thursday night against the St. Louis Rams. I had the game being 20-17 Arizona and it finished 24-21...not too shabby.
8. A.L. Central Race (Detroit Tigers at Minnesota Twins & Tampa Bay Rays at Chicago White Sox)
Ding dong the White Sox are dead...almost. After a very promising start to the weekend with Detroit losing and Chicago winning Friday night, it was all down hill for the White Sox the rest of the way. Chicago was shut down as the Tampa Bay Rays rolled out Matt Moore and David Price who combined to give up just 2 runs in 12.1 innings. The Minnesota Twins didn't help Chicago either against Detroit as Justin Verlander dominated them on Saturday and Prince Fielder hit a go ahead 2 run home run in the 8th inning Sunday. This leaves the A.L. Central exactly as I predicted at a 3 game spread with 3 to go. Get the champagne ready Detroit.
7. Washington Nationals at St. Louis Cardinals
In a potential playoff preview, the Washington Nationals continued to show some cracks in the mighty exterior against a quality opponent. Their starting pitching struggled (Edwin Jackson and Ross Detwiler gave up 16 runs, 11 earned in just 4 total innings) and when Jordan Zimmermann actually gave them a good start, Drew Storen blew a 9th inning lead. The Nationals survived in the Storen game, but they lost 2 of 3 and are now 7-9 in their last 16 games. Because the Dodgers swept the Rockies while giving up just 1 run all weekend, the Cardinals didn't clinch a playoff spot and the Nationals are still stuck with a magic number of 1 because the Braves won 2 of 3 against the Mets. Washington welcomes Philadelphia to D.C. with the champagne still on ice while St. Louis plays their main rival, the Cincinnati Reds to end the regular season with the playoff hopes on the line.
6. #25 Baylor Bears at #9 West Virginia Mountaineers
There were no rational words to describe this game. The scoring came easier than {insert racy, adult joke here}. 133 total points. I pray to God you all bet the over. Each team scored double digits in each quarter except the 3rd where Baylor only mustered 7 points. Luckily West Virginia scored 21. It was 35-35 at the half thanks to your average, run of the mill 67 yard (non Hail Mary) touchdown pass on the final play of the second quarter. You name an offensive record and it was probably broken. I had predicted the score to be 38-27, but I forgot that they play two halves and not just one in the Big 12. Geno Smith, the quarterback for the Mountaineers, made his Heisman statement by going 45-51 for 656 yards (not a typo), 8 touchdowns and 0 interceptions. He also added 31 yards on the ground, but who is counting? He now has 20 passing touchdowns and only 28 INCOMPLETIONS on the season with no interceptions. That's absurd. Nick Florence did his best to keep pace for Baylor throwing for 581 yards, 5 touchdowns and rushing for a score as well, but the Bears ran out of time. Somewhere between this and what the Big 10 produces is good, quality college football. (Hint: its called the SEC).
5. New England Patriots at Buffalo Bills
For more than half of this game, it looked as though Buffalo was ready to take control of the AFC East and put a boot to the throats of the Patriots. Then reality set in. New England reeled off 35 straight points after falling behind 21-7 in about 13 minutes of game time. In all the Patriots scorched the Bills for 45 second half points and climbed back to 2-2 along with Buffalo by winning 52-28. My score of 27-20 New England was spot on if the game had ended after the 1st minute of play in the 4th quarter. Somehow I keep underestimating the quality of offenses and the lack of defense in both college and pro football. Not only did New England get 340 yards passing and 3 touchdowns from Tom Brady, but they had two running backs (Stevan Ridley and Brandon Bolden) eclipse 100 yards while scoring three times total. Buffalo had both of their running backs (Fred Jackson and C.J. Spiller) quasi-healthy for the game, but they were held in check rushing for only 62 total yards on 21 carries.
4. New York Giants at Philadelphia Eagles
What started out as a snooze fest, turned into another dramatic, down to the last play, controversial ending, classic NFC East grudge match. The keys for Philadelphia (per me) was to involve LeSean McCoy more and he had 26 touches for 140 yards. Michael Vick didn't turn the ball over and since both of my two keys came true it only meant that the Eagles were destined to win a close game. Down by just a point late in the 4th quarter, the Eagles were forced to settle for a field goal after having a 1st and goal. This left just under 2 minutes to play and Eli Manning with yet another chance to win a game late. Thanks to a very, very questionable pass interference call, the Giants moved to within field goal range with only seconds to play. That didn't stop them from taking one last shot to the end zone, but Manning under threw the receiver and he was forced to tackle Nnamdi Asomugha for offensive pass interference. The Giants were now forced into attempting a 54 yard field goal which they missed. But wait...Andy Reid called a timeout. The Giants got a second chance and this time the kick split the uprights, but fell two yards short. The Eagles won 19-17 which was kind of close to my 27-26 prediction.
3. A.L. West Race/Wild Card (Seattle Mariners at Oakland Athletics & Los Angeles Angels at Texas Rangers)
Both of these series were incredible. The Athletics took care of business easily on Friday night, but looked to be dead in the water on Saturday. Heading into the 8th inning they trailed Seattle 4-1 and the half empty (shocker) O.co Coliseum crown was listless. They scored a run in that inning, but the rally was squashed when the potential third run was gunned down at the plate. But the 9th inning in Oakland is when the magic begins for these Athletics. After a walk to Josh Reddick, Josh Donaldson hit a game tying 2 run homer and in the 10th inning, Brandon Moss hit the game winning 3 run homer to give Oakland its 14th walk off victory of the season. Sunday saw the Athletics hit two more home runs in the 8th inning to break open a 2-2 tie to sweep the Mariners. In Texas, the Angels survived a late rally to win game one of their series. Saturday was rained out forcing the two teams to play a double header on Sunday. The Rangers were an out away from evening the series at a game apiece when Torii Hunter smashed a two run double and the Angels won game two in dramatic fashion. Game 3 was more of the same at the start as the Angels raced out to a 4-0 lead. The Rangers were staring at a one game lead heading to Oakland, but rallied to score the next 8 runs. Los Angeles hit a 3 run homer to close the gap to 8-7, but that was all she wrote. Texas goes into Oakland needing just one win to clinch the West while Oakland needs a win or a loss by both Tampa Bay and Los Angeles to clinch a playoff berth. With the Rangers win, they are in the playoffs as are the Orioles and Yankees.
2. A.L. East Race (Boston Red Sox at Baltimore Orioles & New York Yankees at Toronto Blue Jays)
So I called for the Orioles to sweep the Red Sox. Yup. So I called for the Yankees to take two of three from the Blue Jays (after losing game one of the 4 game set Thursday). Yup. Nailed it. Baltimore and New York are tied atop the A.L East (and Wild Card #1 for the matter) with only three games left. Baltimore has by far the tougher road as they go to Tampa Bay for their games, although they will miss both David Price and Matt Moore. The Yankees get to head home and welcome the horrid Red Sox to town. Now nothing would make Boston fans somewhat happier than watching the Red Sox cost New York a division crown, but I don't know if the players on the field have enough talent to even make it close. Their heart may be in it, but the current Red Sox suck to put it bluntly. They have lost 9 of 10 as they limp to the end of a disastrous season. As much as it pains me to do so, I think the Yankees win the division outright by a game as Baltimore has to settle for a one game playoff against (probably Oakland) someone.
1. The Ryder Cup
I don't think even the most talented writer would be able to piece enough glorious prose together to give what actually happened justice. To put it simply, the USA got beat by the better team in remarkable fashion. After the first two days, the Americans held a very commanding 10-6 lead. Only once (in 1999) had either side come back to win on Sunday when trailing by 4 points or more. That lead was 10-6 for Europe and the Americans made a outrageous comeback on home soil. This time, with the tables turned, but still on American soil, nobody gave Europe much of a chance to win away from home. The strategy that was employed by captain Jose Maria Olazabal was to put his best players out first to try and quiet the raucous crowd. It worked perfectly. The Europeans won the first four matches out of the gate and the score was even at 10. Since Europe had won the previous Cup they only needed 14 total points to retain it, while the Americans needed 14 1/2 to win it. The next two groups split victories to keep the score knotted at 11. The Americans took a 12-11 lead, but Europe erased that quickly winning two straight and took their first lead of the weekend 13-12. All they needed was one more point. It wasn't going to come easy as Jason Dufner won to tie the score at 13. It came down to the final two matches and with Europe leading in one and trailing in the other things were looking good for them. American Steve Stricker holed a par putt to force Martin Kaymer to sink a six foot putt to win and that's just what he did. It was an epic collapse, but the tension was unmatched. I had predicted a 16-12 American victory and that's how it should have happened, but sports doesn't work that way. Win, lose or draw that's the way I like them.
Here are some things not covered by my Top 10:
RGIII and the Redskins finding a way to win with kicker Billy Cundiff saving his job on a last second field goal
The Atlanta Falcons pulling victory out of defeat with a last second drive to stay undefeated against the Carolina Panthers
The Green Bay Packers getting screwed by another set of officials, but surviving at home sending New Orleans to an 0-4 start.
The University of Texas outlasting Oklahoma St. on the road with a last minute touchdown run.
The University of Georgia combining with Tennessee to score 88 points in the first 3 quarters before running out of steam and only scoring 7 in the final 15 minutes with Georgia hanging on between the hedges.
The University of Nebraska winning a close game against Wisconsin despite being forced to wear Scrabble tiles for uniforms.
Homer Bailey of the Cincinnati Reds throwing a no hitter against the Pittsburgh Pirates matching the MLB record of 7 total no hitters pitched in a single season.
Outside of that, nothing much else happened...but I'll still cover the 10 things I was watching this weekend:
10. #14 Ohio St. Buckeyes at #20 Michigan St. Spartans
7-3 at the half. Yup, another riveting Big 10 game. I don't give a damn that it ended up being a 1 point game the two teams were a combined 10-28 on third downs. They couldn't sustain a drive to save their lives. The 3rd quarter was the only watchable quarter where *gasp* 20 whole points were scored. Defensive dominance?? No. More like putrid, slow, outdated offenses. The worst part about it is that Ohio St. won to stay undefeated meaning the Big 10 will still stay on the radar for another couple of weeks.
9. Miami Dolphins at Arizona Cardinals
Beware of the trap games. I tried to warn everyone that this looked too good to be true for Arizona. Everything was in their favor and it took Kevin Kolb pulling a rabbit out of the hat to survive. Miami held a 13-0 lead into the 3rd quarter when Arizona finally woke up putting together 14 consecutive points to take a lead. It lasted just over two minutes. Brian Hartline caught an 80 yard touchdown pass en route to 253 yards receiving while collecting dust on my fantasy football bench. Arizona answered back, scoring the game tying touchdown with only :22 left. In overtime, Jay Feely blasted a game winning 46 yard field goal to keep the Cardinals undefeated heading into their prime time, nationally televised game on the Thursday night against the St. Louis Rams. I had the game being 20-17 Arizona and it finished 24-21...not too shabby.
8. A.L. Central Race (Detroit Tigers at Minnesota Twins & Tampa Bay Rays at Chicago White Sox)
Ding dong the White Sox are dead...almost. After a very promising start to the weekend with Detroit losing and Chicago winning Friday night, it was all down hill for the White Sox the rest of the way. Chicago was shut down as the Tampa Bay Rays rolled out Matt Moore and David Price who combined to give up just 2 runs in 12.1 innings. The Minnesota Twins didn't help Chicago either against Detroit as Justin Verlander dominated them on Saturday and Prince Fielder hit a go ahead 2 run home run in the 8th inning Sunday. This leaves the A.L. Central exactly as I predicted at a 3 game spread with 3 to go. Get the champagne ready Detroit.
7. Washington Nationals at St. Louis Cardinals
In a potential playoff preview, the Washington Nationals continued to show some cracks in the mighty exterior against a quality opponent. Their starting pitching struggled (Edwin Jackson and Ross Detwiler gave up 16 runs, 11 earned in just 4 total innings) and when Jordan Zimmermann actually gave them a good start, Drew Storen blew a 9th inning lead. The Nationals survived in the Storen game, but they lost 2 of 3 and are now 7-9 in their last 16 games. Because the Dodgers swept the Rockies while giving up just 1 run all weekend, the Cardinals didn't clinch a playoff spot and the Nationals are still stuck with a magic number of 1 because the Braves won 2 of 3 against the Mets. Washington welcomes Philadelphia to D.C. with the champagne still on ice while St. Louis plays their main rival, the Cincinnati Reds to end the regular season with the playoff hopes on the line.
6. #25 Baylor Bears at #9 West Virginia Mountaineers
There were no rational words to describe this game. The scoring came easier than {insert racy, adult joke here}. 133 total points. I pray to God you all bet the over. Each team scored double digits in each quarter except the 3rd where Baylor only mustered 7 points. Luckily West Virginia scored 21. It was 35-35 at the half thanks to your average, run of the mill 67 yard (non Hail Mary) touchdown pass on the final play of the second quarter. You name an offensive record and it was probably broken. I had predicted the score to be 38-27, but I forgot that they play two halves and not just one in the Big 12. Geno Smith, the quarterback for the Mountaineers, made his Heisman statement by going 45-51 for 656 yards (not a typo), 8 touchdowns and 0 interceptions. He also added 31 yards on the ground, but who is counting? He now has 20 passing touchdowns and only 28 INCOMPLETIONS on the season with no interceptions. That's absurd. Nick Florence did his best to keep pace for Baylor throwing for 581 yards, 5 touchdowns and rushing for a score as well, but the Bears ran out of time. Somewhere between this and what the Big 10 produces is good, quality college football. (Hint: its called the SEC).
5. New England Patriots at Buffalo Bills
For more than half of this game, it looked as though Buffalo was ready to take control of the AFC East and put a boot to the throats of the Patriots. Then reality set in. New England reeled off 35 straight points after falling behind 21-7 in about 13 minutes of game time. In all the Patriots scorched the Bills for 45 second half points and climbed back to 2-2 along with Buffalo by winning 52-28. My score of 27-20 New England was spot on if the game had ended after the 1st minute of play in the 4th quarter. Somehow I keep underestimating the quality of offenses and the lack of defense in both college and pro football. Not only did New England get 340 yards passing and 3 touchdowns from Tom Brady, but they had two running backs (Stevan Ridley and Brandon Bolden) eclipse 100 yards while scoring three times total. Buffalo had both of their running backs (Fred Jackson and C.J. Spiller) quasi-healthy for the game, but they were held in check rushing for only 62 total yards on 21 carries.
4. New York Giants at Philadelphia Eagles
What started out as a snooze fest, turned into another dramatic, down to the last play, controversial ending, classic NFC East grudge match. The keys for Philadelphia (per me) was to involve LeSean McCoy more and he had 26 touches for 140 yards. Michael Vick didn't turn the ball over and since both of my two keys came true it only meant that the Eagles were destined to win a close game. Down by just a point late in the 4th quarter, the Eagles were forced to settle for a field goal after having a 1st and goal. This left just under 2 minutes to play and Eli Manning with yet another chance to win a game late. Thanks to a very, very questionable pass interference call, the Giants moved to within field goal range with only seconds to play. That didn't stop them from taking one last shot to the end zone, but Manning under threw the receiver and he was forced to tackle Nnamdi Asomugha for offensive pass interference. The Giants were now forced into attempting a 54 yard field goal which they missed. But wait...Andy Reid called a timeout. The Giants got a second chance and this time the kick split the uprights, but fell two yards short. The Eagles won 19-17 which was kind of close to my 27-26 prediction.
3. A.L. West Race/Wild Card (Seattle Mariners at Oakland Athletics & Los Angeles Angels at Texas Rangers)
Both of these series were incredible. The Athletics took care of business easily on Friday night, but looked to be dead in the water on Saturday. Heading into the 8th inning they trailed Seattle 4-1 and the half empty (shocker) O.co Coliseum crown was listless. They scored a run in that inning, but the rally was squashed when the potential third run was gunned down at the plate. But the 9th inning in Oakland is when the magic begins for these Athletics. After a walk to Josh Reddick, Josh Donaldson hit a game tying 2 run homer and in the 10th inning, Brandon Moss hit the game winning 3 run homer to give Oakland its 14th walk off victory of the season. Sunday saw the Athletics hit two more home runs in the 8th inning to break open a 2-2 tie to sweep the Mariners. In Texas, the Angels survived a late rally to win game one of their series. Saturday was rained out forcing the two teams to play a double header on Sunday. The Rangers were an out away from evening the series at a game apiece when Torii Hunter smashed a two run double and the Angels won game two in dramatic fashion. Game 3 was more of the same at the start as the Angels raced out to a 4-0 lead. The Rangers were staring at a one game lead heading to Oakland, but rallied to score the next 8 runs. Los Angeles hit a 3 run homer to close the gap to 8-7, but that was all she wrote. Texas goes into Oakland needing just one win to clinch the West while Oakland needs a win or a loss by both Tampa Bay and Los Angeles to clinch a playoff berth. With the Rangers win, they are in the playoffs as are the Orioles and Yankees.
2. A.L. East Race (Boston Red Sox at Baltimore Orioles & New York Yankees at Toronto Blue Jays)
So I called for the Orioles to sweep the Red Sox. Yup. So I called for the Yankees to take two of three from the Blue Jays (after losing game one of the 4 game set Thursday). Yup. Nailed it. Baltimore and New York are tied atop the A.L East (and Wild Card #1 for the matter) with only three games left. Baltimore has by far the tougher road as they go to Tampa Bay for their games, although they will miss both David Price and Matt Moore. The Yankees get to head home and welcome the horrid Red Sox to town. Now nothing would make Boston fans somewhat happier than watching the Red Sox cost New York a division crown, but I don't know if the players on the field have enough talent to even make it close. Their heart may be in it, but the current Red Sox suck to put it bluntly. They have lost 9 of 10 as they limp to the end of a disastrous season. As much as it pains me to do so, I think the Yankees win the division outright by a game as Baltimore has to settle for a one game playoff against (probably Oakland) someone.
1. The Ryder Cup
I don't think even the most talented writer would be able to piece enough glorious prose together to give what actually happened justice. To put it simply, the USA got beat by the better team in remarkable fashion. After the first two days, the Americans held a very commanding 10-6 lead. Only once (in 1999) had either side come back to win on Sunday when trailing by 4 points or more. That lead was 10-6 for Europe and the Americans made a outrageous comeback on home soil. This time, with the tables turned, but still on American soil, nobody gave Europe much of a chance to win away from home. The strategy that was employed by captain Jose Maria Olazabal was to put his best players out first to try and quiet the raucous crowd. It worked perfectly. The Europeans won the first four matches out of the gate and the score was even at 10. Since Europe had won the previous Cup they only needed 14 total points to retain it, while the Americans needed 14 1/2 to win it. The next two groups split victories to keep the score knotted at 11. The Americans took a 12-11 lead, but Europe erased that quickly winning two straight and took their first lead of the weekend 13-12. All they needed was one more point. It wasn't going to come easy as Jason Dufner won to tie the score at 13. It came down to the final two matches and with Europe leading in one and trailing in the other things were looking good for them. American Steve Stricker holed a par putt to force Martin Kaymer to sink a six foot putt to win and that's just what he did. It was an epic collapse, but the tension was unmatched. I had predicted a 16-12 American victory and that's how it should have happened, but sports doesn't work that way. Win, lose or draw that's the way I like them.
Friday, September 28, 2012
Weekend Viewing Guide 9/28/12
This is the week that every baseball team has been working towards since Spring Training started in March. With six games left for everyone it's time to punch your ticket to the postseason or go home. The American League holds all of the drama as none of the divisions have been decided. There are also no less than four teams still vying for the two Wild Card spots. Four of the five playoff teams, including two of the three division winners, have already been decided in the National League and the final Wild Card looks to be all be sewn up, but Washington still has some work left to do and they are still vying for the top record in all of baseball with Cincinnati.
The big news in the NFL is that the real referees are back and started last night in Baltimore. Football is much more boring when you only have to focus on the game. Thank heavens for fantasy football or else I would have turned off the Ravens/Browns game early with the way each team started. Outside of the ref issues it was quite amazing to have a week like the last one where Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers, Ben Roethlisberger, Peyton Manning, Michael Vick and Philip Rivers all lost. That's a big chunk of the face of the NFL going down all at the same time, and you can't even say it was the next generation doing all the work as Cam Newton, RGIII and Andrew Luck all lost too.
College football has a light schedule, but I'm sure there will be a big upset (*Editors note* Did you see Stanford lose late last night??) and some crazy finishes worth noting. Thankfully the PGA has the Ryder Cup going on to balance the weekend out.
Here's what I'll be watching:
10. #14 Ohio St. Buckeyes at #20 Michigan St. Spartans
I realize this is a meeting of two top twenty teams. But this is the Big 10 after all. We've seen what happens to the Big 10 when they play out of conference, it gets quite ugly. You can hype this game up as much as you want, but the fact is neither of these teams are good enough to contend. This game will be exciting like watching paint dry. I hate the Big 10 and I just don't know why I included this on my list. I probably should have stuck with nine games. The winner of this game will be zzzzzzzzzz....sorry fell asleep on my keyboard. Michigan St. 24 Ohio St. 21
9. Miami Dolphins at Arizona Cardinals
In my NFL preview article I predicted the Houston Texans to defeat the Atlanta Falcons in the Super Bowl. They are both 3-0. There is only one other 3-0 team in the NFL and that is the Arizona Cardinals. Yup, I'm as shocked as you are. Not only did they lose their 'starting' quarterback John Skelton to injury and had to turn to their real 'starting' quarterback Kevin Kolb (who they paid big bucks for last season, but lost all faith in him real fast and now have no choice but to play him and he is finally producing the way he was supposed to so maybe they should have stuck with him after all because that only makes financial and football sense anyways), but they have already won in New England so it might be time to take them seriously. Their defense has been stellar as they haven't given up more than 18 points in a game. In fact they have only given up 40 points all season which is about one games worth to us Redskins fans. Even without the services of Skelton and newly injured (re-injured? perpetually injured?) running back Beanie Wells, this should be a cake walk for Arizona. Miami is not very good and their only offensive weapon, Reggie Bush is injured. They also have to travel cross country for Ryan Tannehill's second ever road game. This game will be a blowout, won't it? Arizona 20 Miami 17
8. A.L. Central Race (Detroit Tigers at Minnesota Twins & Tampa Bay Rays at Chicago White Sox)
All season long I have been sticking by my prediction that the Tigers would win the A.L. Central by 4-5 games. It finally looks like I may be right. After losing to Tampa Bay last night, the White Sox have now dropped 3 in a row and are 2-8 in their last 10 games. Detroit has won 4 in a row and 7 of their last 10 to take a seemingly insurmountable two game lead with six to go. Detroit plays only the Twins and Royals the rest of the way and at worst they will go 4-2. Chicago is not going 6-0. This race is...how do you say it Hawk???? O-vah!!! You can put that on the board. Detroit will be up by 3 come Monday.
7. Washington Nationals at St. Louis Cardinals
Two teams that have all but wrapped up their playoff seeding meet. This will be fun to see if the Nationals clinch the N.L. East crown on the same day that the Cardinals clinch the 2nd Wild Card. Dual celebrations!! This is a potential NLDS match up so the advanced scouts will be out in full force trying to pick up on any trends that either team might be showing. Rookie Bryce Harper has found his stroke again and is getting hot just at the right time. The Cardinals welcomed back starting pitcher Chris Carpenter who has missed the entire season since pitching in Game 7 of the World Series in last October. Saturday features the marquee match up with Kyle Lohse who is still an astounding 16-3 against Jordan Zimmermann who has been elevated to the #2 man in the rotation with the absence of Stephen Strasburg. I think Washington wins two of three clinching the N.L. East on Sunday. St. Louis must wait a day for their celebration.
6. #25 Baylor Bears at #9 West Virginia Mountaineers
West Virginia is in the Big 12. West Virginia is in the Big 12. It will take time to remember that one and Saturday they make their debut hosting the Baylor Bears. Geno Smith is a star and on the young season he has 1072 passing yards, 12 touchdowns and 0 interceptions. Baylor has replaced RGIII with Nick Florence and he has responded in kind with 1004 yards passing, 11 touchdowns and 4 interceptions over his first three games. There was a memo sent out to the city of Morgantown where WVU is located reminding fans and students to not burn any couches. Yeah, that will work. Let the couches burn!! West Virginia 38 Baylor 27
5. New England Patriots at Buffalo Bills
The Bills have done this recently, the Patriots have not. Last year Buffalo jumped out to a 3-0 record after beating these same Patriots at home. They eventually climbed to 5-2 before injuries took hold and Buffalo dropped seven straight in route to a 6-10 season. The last time the New England Patriots who are 1-2 were below .500 at any point in the season was 2003 when they lost the opening game to the Buffalo Bills. It all comes full circle friends. Buffalo can not only stay atop the AFC East standings with a win, but they can also put two full games between them and New England. I realize that the Patriots aren't worried. After all, when they started 0-1 in 2003 they still won the Super Bowl. But if they lose on Sunday and fall to 1-3 they will be 2 games below .500 for the first time since week 2 of 2001 and that year...oh crap...yeah they won the Super Bowl that year too. New England 27 Buffalo 20
4. New York Giants at Philadelphia Eagles
Now this is an intriguing game. Both teams stand at 2-1, but only the Giants have looked halfway decent doing so. The Eagles have been using smoke and mirrors to offset their 12 turnovers, which is the worst in the NFL, but that won't work this week. The Giants will take full advantage of any sloppy play by Philadelphia which in lies the key to the game. If Michael Vick can play smart and if Andy Reid relies heavily on their best player, LeSean McCoy, the Eagles will win. If not the Giants will roll out of Philadelphia victorious. New York might have found their newest incarnation of Thunder and Lightning with what Andre Brown did last week and with the return of Ahmad Bradshaw. Add that to what we know Eli Manning can do with Victor Cruz and a healthy(ish) Hakeem Nicks and mix in the emergence of Martellus Bennett and this team has the potential to even be better than the Super Bowl winning squad of last year. Final Score: Philadelphia 27 New York 26
3. A.L. West Race/Wild Card (Seattle Mariners at Oakland Athletics & Los Angeles Angels at Texas Rangers)
The two races very near and dear to my heart. Oakland missed out on a glorious chance yesterday to put the fear of God into Texas. With a win they would have closed the gap in the A.L. West to two games, but instead sit four back. With three head to head games left in Oakland, nothing is wrapped up just yet for the Rangers but they are getting close. It won't be easy as the red hot Angels stroll into town with Jered Weaver, Ervin Santana and Zack Greinke pitching. Both teams are in dire need of victories (obviously LA more so) and if the Angels win two of three, the door may be wide open for Oakland to control their own destiny come Monday. The Athletics welcome the Mariners to town which may sound good, but Seattle has been playing with heart. Justin Smoak is on a torrid hot streak, but without Felix Hernandez pitching, I don't see them winning more than a game this weekend. I say both the Angels and Athletics win two of three and the Athletics stay two up on Los Angeles and Tampa Bay while closing the gap in the West to three games.
2. A.L. East Race (Boston Red Sox at Baltimore Orioles & New York Yankees at Toronto Blue Jays)
Six games left and the surprising Baltimore Orioles refuse to go away. Not only are they leading the first Wild Card by a game over the equally surprising Oakland Athletics, but they trail the mighty Yankees but just a single game. I could make a case for either team winning the East because what I have seen all season long doesn't make sense. Baltimore has roughly used 79 different starting pitchers this season while the future Hall of Fame lineup that New York rolls out every night continues to be hot and cold. Both teams have had devastating injuries, but that is not any different than the rest of MLB. All I know is that the emotion in Charm City this weekend will be palpable. Fans of the Orioles haven't been treated to this since 1997 and they will definitely turn out in droves to sweep away the Red Sox. The atmosphere in Toronto will be a bit more subdued, but it shouldn't stop the Yankees from winning two of three this weekend. Give me a tie atop the standings come Monday morning!
1. The Ryder Cup
If you know anything about me, you know I'm a sucker for high level golf. If you know anything else about me, you know I'm a glutton for country versus country sporting events. The Ryder Cup gets me. USA versus Europe in 72 hours of day long golf with three different formats. The best golfers playing not only for personal pride, but for their country. Yes Rory, Tiger and Phil are all there. So is the FexEx Cup winner Brandt Snedeker. In fact 9 of the top 10 golfers in the world rankings will be partaking in this weekends event. Only Australian Adam Scott is missing. This tournament is only played once every other year and as it rotates between the Unites States and Europe, its only here once every four years. In 2010, Europe held serve by winning 14 1/2 to 13 1/2 so it is imperative for the States to respond on home soil. On paper the United States has the edge, they have home field advantage and I think they win this one with a bit of a cushion 16-12.
The big news in the NFL is that the real referees are back and started last night in Baltimore. Football is much more boring when you only have to focus on the game. Thank heavens for fantasy football or else I would have turned off the Ravens/Browns game early with the way each team started. Outside of the ref issues it was quite amazing to have a week like the last one where Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers, Ben Roethlisberger, Peyton Manning, Michael Vick and Philip Rivers all lost. That's a big chunk of the face of the NFL going down all at the same time, and you can't even say it was the next generation doing all the work as Cam Newton, RGIII and Andrew Luck all lost too.
College football has a light schedule, but I'm sure there will be a big upset (*Editors note* Did you see Stanford lose late last night??) and some crazy finishes worth noting. Thankfully the PGA has the Ryder Cup going on to balance the weekend out.
Here's what I'll be watching:
10. #14 Ohio St. Buckeyes at #20 Michigan St. Spartans
I realize this is a meeting of two top twenty teams. But this is the Big 10 after all. We've seen what happens to the Big 10 when they play out of conference, it gets quite ugly. You can hype this game up as much as you want, but the fact is neither of these teams are good enough to contend. This game will be exciting like watching paint dry. I hate the Big 10 and I just don't know why I included this on my list. I probably should have stuck with nine games. The winner of this game will be zzzzzzzzzz....sorry fell asleep on my keyboard. Michigan St. 24 Ohio St. 21
9. Miami Dolphins at Arizona Cardinals
In my NFL preview article I predicted the Houston Texans to defeat the Atlanta Falcons in the Super Bowl. They are both 3-0. There is only one other 3-0 team in the NFL and that is the Arizona Cardinals. Yup, I'm as shocked as you are. Not only did they lose their 'starting' quarterback John Skelton to injury and had to turn to their real 'starting' quarterback Kevin Kolb (who they paid big bucks for last season, but lost all faith in him real fast and now have no choice but to play him and he is finally producing the way he was supposed to so maybe they should have stuck with him after all because that only makes financial and football sense anyways), but they have already won in New England so it might be time to take them seriously. Their defense has been stellar as they haven't given up more than 18 points in a game. In fact they have only given up 40 points all season which is about one games worth to us Redskins fans. Even without the services of Skelton and newly injured (re-injured? perpetually injured?) running back Beanie Wells, this should be a cake walk for Arizona. Miami is not very good and their only offensive weapon, Reggie Bush is injured. They also have to travel cross country for Ryan Tannehill's second ever road game. This game will be a blowout, won't it? Arizona 20 Miami 17
8. A.L. Central Race (Detroit Tigers at Minnesota Twins & Tampa Bay Rays at Chicago White Sox)
All season long I have been sticking by my prediction that the Tigers would win the A.L. Central by 4-5 games. It finally looks like I may be right. After losing to Tampa Bay last night, the White Sox have now dropped 3 in a row and are 2-8 in their last 10 games. Detroit has won 4 in a row and 7 of their last 10 to take a seemingly insurmountable two game lead with six to go. Detroit plays only the Twins and Royals the rest of the way and at worst they will go 4-2. Chicago is not going 6-0. This race is...how do you say it Hawk???? O-vah!!! You can put that on the board. Detroit will be up by 3 come Monday.
7. Washington Nationals at St. Louis Cardinals
Two teams that have all but wrapped up their playoff seeding meet. This will be fun to see if the Nationals clinch the N.L. East crown on the same day that the Cardinals clinch the 2nd Wild Card. Dual celebrations!! This is a potential NLDS match up so the advanced scouts will be out in full force trying to pick up on any trends that either team might be showing. Rookie Bryce Harper has found his stroke again and is getting hot just at the right time. The Cardinals welcomed back starting pitcher Chris Carpenter who has missed the entire season since pitching in Game 7 of the World Series in last October. Saturday features the marquee match up with Kyle Lohse who is still an astounding 16-3 against Jordan Zimmermann who has been elevated to the #2 man in the rotation with the absence of Stephen Strasburg. I think Washington wins two of three clinching the N.L. East on Sunday. St. Louis must wait a day for their celebration.
6. #25 Baylor Bears at #9 West Virginia Mountaineers
West Virginia is in the Big 12. West Virginia is in the Big 12. It will take time to remember that one and Saturday they make their debut hosting the Baylor Bears. Geno Smith is a star and on the young season he has 1072 passing yards, 12 touchdowns and 0 interceptions. Baylor has replaced RGIII with Nick Florence and he has responded in kind with 1004 yards passing, 11 touchdowns and 4 interceptions over his first three games. There was a memo sent out to the city of Morgantown where WVU is located reminding fans and students to not burn any couches. Yeah, that will work. Let the couches burn!! West Virginia 38 Baylor 27
5. New England Patriots at Buffalo Bills
The Bills have done this recently, the Patriots have not. Last year Buffalo jumped out to a 3-0 record after beating these same Patriots at home. They eventually climbed to 5-2 before injuries took hold and Buffalo dropped seven straight in route to a 6-10 season. The last time the New England Patriots who are 1-2 were below .500 at any point in the season was 2003 when they lost the opening game to the Buffalo Bills. It all comes full circle friends. Buffalo can not only stay atop the AFC East standings with a win, but they can also put two full games between them and New England. I realize that the Patriots aren't worried. After all, when they started 0-1 in 2003 they still won the Super Bowl. But if they lose on Sunday and fall to 1-3 they will be 2 games below .500 for the first time since week 2 of 2001 and that year...oh crap...yeah they won the Super Bowl that year too. New England 27 Buffalo 20
4. New York Giants at Philadelphia Eagles
Now this is an intriguing game. Both teams stand at 2-1, but only the Giants have looked halfway decent doing so. The Eagles have been using smoke and mirrors to offset their 12 turnovers, which is the worst in the NFL, but that won't work this week. The Giants will take full advantage of any sloppy play by Philadelphia which in lies the key to the game. If Michael Vick can play smart and if Andy Reid relies heavily on their best player, LeSean McCoy, the Eagles will win. If not the Giants will roll out of Philadelphia victorious. New York might have found their newest incarnation of Thunder and Lightning with what Andre Brown did last week and with the return of Ahmad Bradshaw. Add that to what we know Eli Manning can do with Victor Cruz and a healthy(ish) Hakeem Nicks and mix in the emergence of Martellus Bennett and this team has the potential to even be better than the Super Bowl winning squad of last year. Final Score: Philadelphia 27 New York 26
3. A.L. West Race/Wild Card (Seattle Mariners at Oakland Athletics & Los Angeles Angels at Texas Rangers)
The two races very near and dear to my heart. Oakland missed out on a glorious chance yesterday to put the fear of God into Texas. With a win they would have closed the gap in the A.L. West to two games, but instead sit four back. With three head to head games left in Oakland, nothing is wrapped up just yet for the Rangers but they are getting close. It won't be easy as the red hot Angels stroll into town with Jered Weaver, Ervin Santana and Zack Greinke pitching. Both teams are in dire need of victories (obviously LA more so) and if the Angels win two of three, the door may be wide open for Oakland to control their own destiny come Monday. The Athletics welcome the Mariners to town which may sound good, but Seattle has been playing with heart. Justin Smoak is on a torrid hot streak, but without Felix Hernandez pitching, I don't see them winning more than a game this weekend. I say both the Angels and Athletics win two of three and the Athletics stay two up on Los Angeles and Tampa Bay while closing the gap in the West to three games.
2. A.L. East Race (Boston Red Sox at Baltimore Orioles & New York Yankees at Toronto Blue Jays)
Six games left and the surprising Baltimore Orioles refuse to go away. Not only are they leading the first Wild Card by a game over the equally surprising Oakland Athletics, but they trail the mighty Yankees but just a single game. I could make a case for either team winning the East because what I have seen all season long doesn't make sense. Baltimore has roughly used 79 different starting pitchers this season while the future Hall of Fame lineup that New York rolls out every night continues to be hot and cold. Both teams have had devastating injuries, but that is not any different than the rest of MLB. All I know is that the emotion in Charm City this weekend will be palpable. Fans of the Orioles haven't been treated to this since 1997 and they will definitely turn out in droves to sweep away the Red Sox. The atmosphere in Toronto will be a bit more subdued, but it shouldn't stop the Yankees from winning two of three this weekend. Give me a tie atop the standings come Monday morning!
1. The Ryder Cup
If you know anything about me, you know I'm a sucker for high level golf. If you know anything else about me, you know I'm a glutton for country versus country sporting events. The Ryder Cup gets me. USA versus Europe in 72 hours of day long golf with three different formats. The best golfers playing not only for personal pride, but for their country. Yes Rory, Tiger and Phil are all there. So is the FexEx Cup winner Brandt Snedeker. In fact 9 of the top 10 golfers in the world rankings will be partaking in this weekends event. Only Australian Adam Scott is missing. This tournament is only played once every other year and as it rotates between the Unites States and Europe, its only here once every four years. In 2010, Europe held serve by winning 14 1/2 to 13 1/2 so it is imperative for the States to respond on home soil. On paper the United States has the edge, they have home field advantage and I think they win this one with a bit of a cushion 16-12.
Monday, September 24, 2012
Weekend Viewing Recap 9/24/12
Even though I had a rare full weekend off from work, I found myself doing more work at home than I ever do for my actual job. Isn't that always the way? Saturday was community yard sale day so we lugged out half of our house and tried our very best to give away some junk. Six hours and a bunch of bartering later we made barely enough to cover our efforts, but the house was cleaner and that was what we were aiming for. My wife and I both let go of our childhood furniture that was being used in the guest bedroom. We cleared room for the nursery which now needs painting...anybody willing to help?
Sunday was more cleaning. We started in the kitchen and cleared out the pantry and all the cabinets. Our house wins for most trash bags out on the curb this weekend. Of course this is just the beginning. I'm going to go room by room and gut the house of all the crap that we've acquired in the last five years. With the baby on the way I am going to need all the room I can get for his toys and diapers and stuff. This should be fine.
If you were like me and spent your free time doing housework and hawking junk in a yard sale you probably missed some sports. Here's your recap on the biggest events of the weekend:
10. Houston Texans at Denver Broncos
This was a much better start for Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos. They got an early safety and field goal to take a 5-0 lead and things were looking peachy. Then I blinked and the Texans had responded with 3 consecutive passing touchdowns by Matt Schaub and it was 21-5. The lead was extended to 31-11 after Schaub fired his 4th touchdown of the game and this one looked to be wrapped up with a pretty little bow. Peyton was having none of that though as he threw two fourth quarter touchdowns and with three minutes to play it was suddenly a nail biter. Even though the Texans weren't able to run the clock out they only left Manning 30 seconds and 85 yards to score. No miracle this time as Houston looks to be for real and continues to be my favorite to be the AFC representative in the Super Bowl. Denver is going to be okay as Peyton continues to shake off the rust and as they are mired in a season opening gauntlet of tough games. I guessed 30-24 Houston and got 31-25...I win.
9. Milwaukee Brewers at Washington Nationals
As predicted this series has been pretty even. Of the first three games (the fourth being played today) only Friday had final inning fireworks. The Nationals clung to a 2-1 lead before Ryan Braun and the Brewers hit him around for three runs and Milwaukee won 4-2. Saturday was all Washington as Ryan Zimmerman and Ian Desmond both hit 3 run, 4th inning home runs. This was more than enough for Gio Gonzalez who notched his 20th victory of the season, becoming the first pitcher this year to do so and the first Washington pitcher to accomplish the feat since 1933. That was done by some fringe major league pitcher name Walter Johnson. Quite a feat Gio, quite a feat. Sunday lived up to the name thanks to a beautiful, bright sun field that caused Bryce Harper to miss a fly ball leading to the first runs of the game as Milwaukee won to take a 2-1 series lead. Jordan Zimmermann should even the series up for Washington if my prediction is to come true.
8. #22 Arizona Wildcats at #3 Oregon Ducks
Thanks for showing up Arizona. Luckily I was far too exhausted to even give this game a chance Saturday night and I didn't miss much. Matt Scott came into this game on fire and left ice cold. He threw three interceptions including two that were returned for touchdowns as Oregon thumped the Wildcats 49-0. Neither Kenjon Barner nor De'Anthony Thomas were able to score for the Ducks, but none of that seemed to matter. They did have 175 combined total yards on 36 touches which while far lower than the norm were still enough to keep Oregon moving up and down the field. The big takeaway from this game has to be the Oregon defense. Posting a shutout in college football is tough to do. Posting a shutout against a team in your conference is even harder and if they happen to be ranked at the time, well that's a bold statement. Maybe the Ducks are for real this season.
7. Oakland Athletics at New York Yankees
This series was not for the faint of heart. Being an Athletics fan did not help. Hating the Yankees with every ounce of my soul didn't help either. Friday was a classic pitcher's duel between C.C. Sabathia and Jarrod Parker. Down 1-0 in the 9th, Brandon Moss hit a pinch hit home run to tie the score up. Russell Martin trumped that home run with a walk of home run an inning later for New York. Saturday was probably the game of the season in MLB. Oakland started with 3 straight doubles to take a 2-0 lead, New York scored 3 in the bottom of the half of the first. They trade two runs each as the Yankees led 5-4 heading to the 7th when Oakland tied it up with sac fly. Then the offenses went into hibernation. My wife and I walked into Babies R' Us to set up our registry just as Oakland tied it up and two plus hours later we walked out as Jonny Gomes was hitting a go ahead 2 run home run in the...wait for it...13th inning. That was followed by two more mammoth home runs by Oakland and they had a 9-5 lead. Unfortunately they had no major league caliber pitchers left. Three straight singles, a wild pitch, a sac fly and a home run later it was 9-9. The 14th inning went quietly for Oakland and then they basically conceded the game by sending Tyson Ross out to pitch the bottom half. That Yankees scored on an error with two outs and the bases loaded giving Ross his 10th loss on the season in only 73 innings pitched. Sunday was another back and forth with Oakland taking a 3-0 lead only to see New York score 4 to take the lead right back. Oakland tied it up and then took a one run lead in the 6th and miraculously it held up for their lone victory of the series. The Yankees stay a game up on the Orioles in the A.L. East who are one game up on Oakland for the 1st Wild Card spot. Oakland is 2.5 games up on Los Angeles and 3.5 games up on Tampa Bay for the 2nd Wild Card.
6. #18 Michigan Wolverines at #11 Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Notre Dame did everything in their power to lose this game. Luckily for them, Michigan tried even harder to lose. It appeared as though both teams were on the take and were trying to shave points before any were even scored. I had this game pegged as my upset special and if Denard Robinson had played even average, Michigan would have walked out of South Bend with a victory. He threw four interceptions during the game which kept the Wolverines scoreless until the 4th quarter. They weren't out of it, though as it was only 10-0. This game was ugly. It wasn't LSU vs. Alabama ugly with two pro defenses facing off, but just ugly, ugly. Notre Dame will continue to rise in the rankings and as long as they keep passing these tests I suppose we have to take them seriously, but they had better play a lot better if they think they are going to beat an SEC team.
5. #15 Kansas St. Wildcats at #6 Oklahoma Sooners
If you were going to tell me that Kansas St. was going to get 149 yards passing and 0 touchdowns from starting quarterback Collin Klein I would have told you Oklahoma won by 30. This did not happen. Kansas St. used a stingy defense that kept Landry Jones in check (at least compared to his dissection of the Wildcats a year ago) and a seemingly unstoppable running attack to upset Oklahoma on the road. John Hubert carried the ball 23 times for 130 yards and a touchdown and while Klein could throw with any significance he did have 79 yards on the ground along with touchdown. Both of these came in the 4th quarter which had started with Oklahoma leading 13-10. Oklahoma will now plummet in the rankings and Kansas St. will now shift its focus to staying undefeated until their trip to Morgantown to face West Viriginia in late October. That will be some couch burning fun.
4. Chicago White Sox at Los Angeles Angels
What a dud of a series this turned out to be. The streaky Angels have caught fire again behind their pitching staff and swept away the White Sox from southern California. Los Angeles held the potent Chicago lineup to only 5 runs over the weekend. This included another stellar start from Cy Young candidate Jered Weaver on Sunday who earned his 19th victory with 6.1 innings giving up just a run. Dan Haren and Ervin Santana did their part as well giving up only 3 runs over their 13 innings. With the day off Monday, Los Angeles can even skip the scheduled start of the struggling C.J. Wilson and keep their big guns in turn. For Chicago things could have been much worse. After winning the first game of their series, the Detroit Tigers were promptly swept in a Sunday doubleheader by the Minnesota Twins to lose that series. That leaves Detroit a game behind Chicago even with the White Sox on a current 5 game losing streak.
3. New England Patriots at Baltimore Ravens
This game will go down in Baltimore Ravens history as the Torrey Smith game. Playing with a heavy heart from losing his brother just hours earlier Sunday morning, Smith responded with his best game of the year. He hauled in 127 yards and two touchdowns to help bring the Ravens from behind to upend the New England Patriots 31-30. Sure this game was not without its share of unneeded controversy thanks to the replacement refs and sure maybe, just maybe, that last second field goal leaked a little right, but when the Ravens look back it will always be remembered for what Torrey Smith was able to do. After the Patriots scored the first 13 points, it was a Smith touchdown that got the team right and the fans back into it. Ray Rice then took over through the middle of the game amassing 150 total yards and scoring a touchdown. For the Patriots it seemed as though the only thing that could slow them down was their tricky play calling or the fact that they refused to run the ball to milk away the clock when they had the lead. Both Wes Welker and Brandon Llyod eclipsed 100 yards receiving, but when push came to shove, New England couldn't get that final first down that would have iced the game. Not only that, but their incomplete passes kept stopping the clock giving Baltimore invaluable time and timeouts to keep their hopes alive. They took full advantage, scraping together one final drive and hitting a game winning 27 yard field goal as time expired.
2. PGA Tour Championship
Yeah about the Tiger, Phil and Rory Sunday I was hoping for...that didn't happen. The three mega stars of the Tour combined for a +2 weekend and were not a factor at all. Maybe that's why I didn't watch too much golf. Instead American Brandt Snedeker came out of nowhere to capture the Tour Championship and in turn he won the FedEx title. He's not the sexiest of names and the poor performances of the 'Big 3' certainly cost the PGA some viewers, but what it does is give another American some good feelings heading into the Ryder Cup in Chicago. Instead of man versus man it becomes USA vs. Europe. Yippee!
1. #10 Clemson Tigers at #4 Florida St. Seminoles
This was fun. This was college football of the past. Forget suffocating defenses and playing for field position. I wanted a Tecmo Bowl like atmosphere and by God I got it. Twelve touchdowns and just one lonely field goal later, Florida St. emerged as true championship contender. Sure their defense might need to be shored up a bit, but Clemson has a dynamic offense so giving up some points was to be expected. I came in to the game watching what Tajh Boyd was going to do, but it was Florida St. quarterback EJ Manuel that left me with my jaw on the floor. He had 482 total yards, eclipsing 300 in the air and 100 on the ground. That's a good day at the office. As for the game itself, Clemson held a 31-21 advantage midway through the 3rd quarter until the Seminoles reeled off 28 straight points in just under a quarter of play. That was all she wrote and now Florida St. looks at a schedule where they have only one currently ranked team left to play and that isn't until Thanksgiving. In between they have a tough test at Virginia Tech, but this is a very manageable schedule to weave through to get to a possible BCS championship game. Better luck next year at becoming big time Clemson. I had predicted a 13 point FSU win and they won by 12 so not too shabby.
Sunday was more cleaning. We started in the kitchen and cleared out the pantry and all the cabinets. Our house wins for most trash bags out on the curb this weekend. Of course this is just the beginning. I'm going to go room by room and gut the house of all the crap that we've acquired in the last five years. With the baby on the way I am going to need all the room I can get for his toys and diapers and stuff. This should be fine.
If you were like me and spent your free time doing housework and hawking junk in a yard sale you probably missed some sports. Here's your recap on the biggest events of the weekend:
10. Houston Texans at Denver Broncos
This was a much better start for Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos. They got an early safety and field goal to take a 5-0 lead and things were looking peachy. Then I blinked and the Texans had responded with 3 consecutive passing touchdowns by Matt Schaub and it was 21-5. The lead was extended to 31-11 after Schaub fired his 4th touchdown of the game and this one looked to be wrapped up with a pretty little bow. Peyton was having none of that though as he threw two fourth quarter touchdowns and with three minutes to play it was suddenly a nail biter. Even though the Texans weren't able to run the clock out they only left Manning 30 seconds and 85 yards to score. No miracle this time as Houston looks to be for real and continues to be my favorite to be the AFC representative in the Super Bowl. Denver is going to be okay as Peyton continues to shake off the rust and as they are mired in a season opening gauntlet of tough games. I guessed 30-24 Houston and got 31-25...I win.
9. Milwaukee Brewers at Washington Nationals
As predicted this series has been pretty even. Of the first three games (the fourth being played today) only Friday had final inning fireworks. The Nationals clung to a 2-1 lead before Ryan Braun and the Brewers hit him around for three runs and Milwaukee won 4-2. Saturday was all Washington as Ryan Zimmerman and Ian Desmond both hit 3 run, 4th inning home runs. This was more than enough for Gio Gonzalez who notched his 20th victory of the season, becoming the first pitcher this year to do so and the first Washington pitcher to accomplish the feat since 1933. That was done by some fringe major league pitcher name Walter Johnson. Quite a feat Gio, quite a feat. Sunday lived up to the name thanks to a beautiful, bright sun field that caused Bryce Harper to miss a fly ball leading to the first runs of the game as Milwaukee won to take a 2-1 series lead. Jordan Zimmermann should even the series up for Washington if my prediction is to come true.
8. #22 Arizona Wildcats at #3 Oregon Ducks
Thanks for showing up Arizona. Luckily I was far too exhausted to even give this game a chance Saturday night and I didn't miss much. Matt Scott came into this game on fire and left ice cold. He threw three interceptions including two that were returned for touchdowns as Oregon thumped the Wildcats 49-0. Neither Kenjon Barner nor De'Anthony Thomas were able to score for the Ducks, but none of that seemed to matter. They did have 175 combined total yards on 36 touches which while far lower than the norm were still enough to keep Oregon moving up and down the field. The big takeaway from this game has to be the Oregon defense. Posting a shutout in college football is tough to do. Posting a shutout against a team in your conference is even harder and if they happen to be ranked at the time, well that's a bold statement. Maybe the Ducks are for real this season.
7. Oakland Athletics at New York Yankees
This series was not for the faint of heart. Being an Athletics fan did not help. Hating the Yankees with every ounce of my soul didn't help either. Friday was a classic pitcher's duel between C.C. Sabathia and Jarrod Parker. Down 1-0 in the 9th, Brandon Moss hit a pinch hit home run to tie the score up. Russell Martin trumped that home run with a walk of home run an inning later for New York. Saturday was probably the game of the season in MLB. Oakland started with 3 straight doubles to take a 2-0 lead, New York scored 3 in the bottom of the half of the first. They trade two runs each as the Yankees led 5-4 heading to the 7th when Oakland tied it up with sac fly. Then the offenses went into hibernation. My wife and I walked into Babies R' Us to set up our registry just as Oakland tied it up and two plus hours later we walked out as Jonny Gomes was hitting a go ahead 2 run home run in the...wait for it...13th inning. That was followed by two more mammoth home runs by Oakland and they had a 9-5 lead. Unfortunately they had no major league caliber pitchers left. Three straight singles, a wild pitch, a sac fly and a home run later it was 9-9. The 14th inning went quietly for Oakland and then they basically conceded the game by sending Tyson Ross out to pitch the bottom half. That Yankees scored on an error with two outs and the bases loaded giving Ross his 10th loss on the season in only 73 innings pitched. Sunday was another back and forth with Oakland taking a 3-0 lead only to see New York score 4 to take the lead right back. Oakland tied it up and then took a one run lead in the 6th and miraculously it held up for their lone victory of the series. The Yankees stay a game up on the Orioles in the A.L. East who are one game up on Oakland for the 1st Wild Card spot. Oakland is 2.5 games up on Los Angeles and 3.5 games up on Tampa Bay for the 2nd Wild Card.
6. #18 Michigan Wolverines at #11 Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Notre Dame did everything in their power to lose this game. Luckily for them, Michigan tried even harder to lose. It appeared as though both teams were on the take and were trying to shave points before any were even scored. I had this game pegged as my upset special and if Denard Robinson had played even average, Michigan would have walked out of South Bend with a victory. He threw four interceptions during the game which kept the Wolverines scoreless until the 4th quarter. They weren't out of it, though as it was only 10-0. This game was ugly. It wasn't LSU vs. Alabama ugly with two pro defenses facing off, but just ugly, ugly. Notre Dame will continue to rise in the rankings and as long as they keep passing these tests I suppose we have to take them seriously, but they had better play a lot better if they think they are going to beat an SEC team.
5. #15 Kansas St. Wildcats at #6 Oklahoma Sooners
If you were going to tell me that Kansas St. was going to get 149 yards passing and 0 touchdowns from starting quarterback Collin Klein I would have told you Oklahoma won by 30. This did not happen. Kansas St. used a stingy defense that kept Landry Jones in check (at least compared to his dissection of the Wildcats a year ago) and a seemingly unstoppable running attack to upset Oklahoma on the road. John Hubert carried the ball 23 times for 130 yards and a touchdown and while Klein could throw with any significance he did have 79 yards on the ground along with touchdown. Both of these came in the 4th quarter which had started with Oklahoma leading 13-10. Oklahoma will now plummet in the rankings and Kansas St. will now shift its focus to staying undefeated until their trip to Morgantown to face West Viriginia in late October. That will be some couch burning fun.
4. Chicago White Sox at Los Angeles Angels
What a dud of a series this turned out to be. The streaky Angels have caught fire again behind their pitching staff and swept away the White Sox from southern California. Los Angeles held the potent Chicago lineup to only 5 runs over the weekend. This included another stellar start from Cy Young candidate Jered Weaver on Sunday who earned his 19th victory with 6.1 innings giving up just a run. Dan Haren and Ervin Santana did their part as well giving up only 3 runs over their 13 innings. With the day off Monday, Los Angeles can even skip the scheduled start of the struggling C.J. Wilson and keep their big guns in turn. For Chicago things could have been much worse. After winning the first game of their series, the Detroit Tigers were promptly swept in a Sunday doubleheader by the Minnesota Twins to lose that series. That leaves Detroit a game behind Chicago even with the White Sox on a current 5 game losing streak.
3. New England Patriots at Baltimore Ravens
This game will go down in Baltimore Ravens history as the Torrey Smith game. Playing with a heavy heart from losing his brother just hours earlier Sunday morning, Smith responded with his best game of the year. He hauled in 127 yards and two touchdowns to help bring the Ravens from behind to upend the New England Patriots 31-30. Sure this game was not without its share of unneeded controversy thanks to the replacement refs and sure maybe, just maybe, that last second field goal leaked a little right, but when the Ravens look back it will always be remembered for what Torrey Smith was able to do. After the Patriots scored the first 13 points, it was a Smith touchdown that got the team right and the fans back into it. Ray Rice then took over through the middle of the game amassing 150 total yards and scoring a touchdown. For the Patriots it seemed as though the only thing that could slow them down was their tricky play calling or the fact that they refused to run the ball to milk away the clock when they had the lead. Both Wes Welker and Brandon Llyod eclipsed 100 yards receiving, but when push came to shove, New England couldn't get that final first down that would have iced the game. Not only that, but their incomplete passes kept stopping the clock giving Baltimore invaluable time and timeouts to keep their hopes alive. They took full advantage, scraping together one final drive and hitting a game winning 27 yard field goal as time expired.
2. PGA Tour Championship
Yeah about the Tiger, Phil and Rory Sunday I was hoping for...that didn't happen. The three mega stars of the Tour combined for a +2 weekend and were not a factor at all. Maybe that's why I didn't watch too much golf. Instead American Brandt Snedeker came out of nowhere to capture the Tour Championship and in turn he won the FedEx title. He's not the sexiest of names and the poor performances of the 'Big 3' certainly cost the PGA some viewers, but what it does is give another American some good feelings heading into the Ryder Cup in Chicago. Instead of man versus man it becomes USA vs. Europe. Yippee!
1. #10 Clemson Tigers at #4 Florida St. Seminoles
This was fun. This was college football of the past. Forget suffocating defenses and playing for field position. I wanted a Tecmo Bowl like atmosphere and by God I got it. Twelve touchdowns and just one lonely field goal later, Florida St. emerged as true championship contender. Sure their defense might need to be shored up a bit, but Clemson has a dynamic offense so giving up some points was to be expected. I came in to the game watching what Tajh Boyd was going to do, but it was Florida St. quarterback EJ Manuel that left me with my jaw on the floor. He had 482 total yards, eclipsing 300 in the air and 100 on the ground. That's a good day at the office. As for the game itself, Clemson held a 31-21 advantage midway through the 3rd quarter until the Seminoles reeled off 28 straight points in just under a quarter of play. That was all she wrote and now Florida St. looks at a schedule where they have only one currently ranked team left to play and that isn't until Thanksgiving. In between they have a tough test at Virginia Tech, but this is a very manageable schedule to weave through to get to a possible BCS championship game. Better luck next year at becoming big time Clemson. I had predicted a 13 point FSU win and they won by 12 so not too shabby.
Friday, September 21, 2012
Weekend Viewing Guide 9/21/12
"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." - Ferris Bueller
Last night I got to witness some mini-history as the Washington Nationals clinched a playoff spot. The crowd was quite electric in watching a DC based baseball team punch its ticket to the post season for the first time since 1933. Of course last night's win only guarantees one extra game at this point, but its a start. When you go to a sporting event, or even watch it at home, you never know what type of history you'll see. Not every game will produce a memorable result, but every once in a while you will get to say "I was there" and those memories might just last forever.
This weekend might just produce one of those jaw dropping, wish I was watching, tell all your friends moments. Those moments that are etched in the hearts and souls of the die hard fans. They will make you weep with sorrow and cry in ecstasy. To this day every time I see Kirk Gibson limp around the bases after hitting the game winning home run off of Dennis Eckersley in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series, I well up in anger and fling the remote across the room. I was 10 years old. It was the first time I cried while watching sports. I was hooked for life.
Here's what you should be watching this weekend in the hopes that you catch one of those indelible moments:
10. Houston Texans at Denver Broncos
The incredibly tough schedule that faces Denver to start the season continues this week as they host my Super Bowl winner Houston. After already facing Pittsburgh and Atlanta, the Broncos still have New England and San Diego on the road before their bye week (with Oakland as well) and then New Orleans coming out of the break. Peyton Manning looked downright awful to start on Monday night, but rebounded to give the Broncos a sporting chance. There have been very little issues for the Texans so far this season. They have handled both the mediocre Dolphins and inept Jaguars with relative ease for their 2-0 start. Behind the two headed monster of Arian Foster and Ben Tate (184 yards, 3 TD's) and a very good defense, it has been just like early 2011 before all the injuries hit when the Texans were the breakout team of the season. Final Score: Houston 30 Denver 24
9. Milwaukee Brewers at Washington Nationals
Fresh off of clinching a playoff spot, the Washington Nationals will now turn their focus into wrapping up the N.L. East crown. They host the surging Milwaukee Brewers who have come out of nowhere to threaten for a playoff spot. They have leapfrogged practically the entire National League in the last 30 days with a 22-6 record since August 19th when they were 12.5 games out of the 2nd Wild Card spot. Today they have passed six teams and are only 2.5 games out from making the playoffs. The turnaround has been quite remarkable and has been spearheaded by reigning MVP Ryan Braun who has put together yet another MVP season with 40 home runs, 105 RBI and a current 6.6 WAR for you SABR nerds out there. For Washington, their magic number is 7 meaning they could theoretically wrap up the division as early as Monday with some help from Philadelphia. Realistically these two teams split the four game and Washington clinches on the road.
8. #22 Arizona Wildcats at #3 Oregon Ducks
More west coast football taking the big stage. After last weekends shocking Stanford upset of #2 ranked USC, the Oregon Ducks now have a chance to stake their claim as BCS Championship contenders. Sure the talk will be all about what horrific concoction Oregon rolls out for their jersey of choice, but after we get past that it will be all about their high powered offense. They are currently averaging 54 points a game against inferior competition, but I don't think Arizona will want to do much to slow the pace of the game down. In their only competitive game, the Wildcats won a shootout against then #18 ranked Oklahoma St. 59-38. That is the type of scoring I'm hoping for in this game. Arizona will do their damage in the air behind Matt Scott who has nearly 1000 yards passing already while Oregon will run the ball early and often with Kenjon Barner and do everything athlete De'Anthony Thomas. Thomas leads the Ducks in receiving with 11 receptions and 3 touchdowns, but he also has 13 rushes at 17.5 yards per carry and 4 more scores. That's some silly production to start the season. Final Score: Oregon 55 Arizona 34
7. Oakland Athletics at New York Yankees
So we meet again...unfortunately not for the last time. The team that can't spend enough versus the team that doesn't have any money to spend. The Bronx Bombers versus Moneyball. The future Yankees versus the current Yankees. $197 million payroll vs. $55 million payroll. East coast bias versus a team that is trying to leave its home city. All the differences and yet these two teams come into the final two weeks of play separated by a single game. The Yankees lead the A.L. East by 1 game over the Baltimore Orioles who are tied for the Wild Card lead with the Athletics. Oakland has lost their only 3 veteran starters within the last month and are now completely reliant on a bunch of rookies and castoffs in their rotation. New York on the other hand has recently re-added veteran Andy Pettitte to the rotation which already has former Cy Young award winner C.C. Sabathia. Oakland is hanging together with bubble gum and fishing line, but this weekend could be a disaster if the pitching doesn't hold up. I see the Yankees winning at least two with a real chance at a sweep.
6. #18 Michigan Wolverines at #11 Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Is it time to take Notre Dame seriously? This would normally be the type of game where the Irish would fall flat after a huge win, but maybe this year version is different. Michigan has picked themselves up off the mat after being throttled by Alabama with wins over Air Force and Massachusetts who aren't quite at the same level as the defending champion, #1 ranked Crimson Tide. Frankly I don't know what to make of Michigan just yet, and that makes me think maybe they can win this one. The key will be how Denard Robinson handles another good defensive unit. We saw him struggle mightily against Alabama, but Notre Dame is no Alabama. Classic trap game here: Michigan 26 Notre Dame 23
5. #15 Kansas St. Wildcats at #6 Oklahoma Sooners
Quick story: Kansas St. always makes me remember a quarterback they once had, Chad May who wore #5. May 5...my birthday, I always liked him for that reason. This Wildcats team is much more competitive than they were with May at the helm, but this week they head to Norman, OK to face a much better Sooners team. Fans will be hoping for a more competitive game than last seasons that ended in a 58-17 blowout in favor of Oklahoma. The scary thought is that game was in Manhattan, KS and it might be even uglier this year around. If anything at least we will get to watch stud quarterback Landry Jones try and carve apart the Wildcats secondary (505 yards passing last year) once again. It will be a bit closer this go around but the story will remain the same Oklahoma 42 Kansas St. 24
4. Chicago White Sox at Los Angeles Angels
That loud sound you hear in southern California is the clock ticking away on the Angels season. Every time they make a mini surge they drop a series that they have to win. After winning the first game at home against Texas, they dropped the final two of the key series. With only 12 games remaining the Angels now face the arduous task of making up 5 games on either the Orioles or the Athletics to attempt to salvage a disappointing season. Their opponent, the Chicago White Sox have everything to play for. They have a slim two game lead over the Detroit Tigers in the A.L. Central and will give the Angels fits. I think Chicago wins two of three (okay...I really really really hope they do) and puts a near virtual end to the Angles season...YOU CAN PUT THAT ON THE BOARD....YESSSSS!!!!
3. New England Patriots at Baltimore Ravens
I know NBC was hoping for a 2-0 vs. 2-0 battle between these two Super Bowl contenders when the schedule was release. I definitely know that nobody foresaw the loser of this game dropping to 1-2 on the early season. Both teams lost games last week that they should have won. The Patriots with Tom Brady at quarterback had only lost once at home and never in a home opener until last week. They looked awful and lost starting TE Aaron Hernandez for at least a month with an ankle injury. The Ravens had a 10 point halftime lead and a six point fourth quarter lead, both of which they blew losing by a single point. This will be their second prime time, nationally televised game and the schedulers at the NFL will do them no favors as they have to play again four nights after this game. I think Baltimore responds at home with a 27-23 victory.
2. PGA Tour Championship
So it all comes down to this. Can Rory run away with the title by winning his 3rd straight event? Can Tiger come all the way back and hoist the trophy again? Will he quit mid stream because he is too intimidated by Rory? Will Phil come out of nowhere to get back to the top of the mountain? All we can hope for all three of them to be with a shot or two of each other on Sunday afternoon. The NFL season is still early enough that you can miss out on a couple games and settle in for some top notch golf with abundant story lines. I've said it before and I'll say it again, fans must savor weekends like this where the generational gap will be crossing paths. There will only be a small window where we get Tiger and Phil playing top notch golf along with the newest wunderkind in Rory. Just the fact that I can write this entire preview and not use a single last name says all you need to know about the popularity of these three golfers. For the record I have to go with Rory to put a cherry on top of his stellar run here at the end of the season with another victory.
1. #10 Clemson Tigers at #4 Florida St. Seminoles
It's been a while since Florida St. has been this good. Even though they have not played any quality opponents, they have done exactly what has been asked out of them by stomping the living crap out of them. Through their first three games they have outscored their opponents 176-3. That is not a misprint. Clemson vows to be a bit more of a test with the likes of Tajh Boyd, Andre Ellington, Sammy Watkins and DeAndre Hopkins all a threat to score every time they get their hands on the ball. If the offense of Clemson can find a way to penetrate the stout Florida St. offense this game could get really exciting. Last season with very similar rosters, Clemson won 35-30 at home, this year it will be the other way around as Florida St. will hold serve and win a shootout 37-24.
Last night I got to witness some mini-history as the Washington Nationals clinched a playoff spot. The crowd was quite electric in watching a DC based baseball team punch its ticket to the post season for the first time since 1933. Of course last night's win only guarantees one extra game at this point, but its a start. When you go to a sporting event, or even watch it at home, you never know what type of history you'll see. Not every game will produce a memorable result, but every once in a while you will get to say "I was there" and those memories might just last forever.
This weekend might just produce one of those jaw dropping, wish I was watching, tell all your friends moments. Those moments that are etched in the hearts and souls of the die hard fans. They will make you weep with sorrow and cry in ecstasy. To this day every time I see Kirk Gibson limp around the bases after hitting the game winning home run off of Dennis Eckersley in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series, I well up in anger and fling the remote across the room. I was 10 years old. It was the first time I cried while watching sports. I was hooked for life.
Here's what you should be watching this weekend in the hopes that you catch one of those indelible moments:
10. Houston Texans at Denver Broncos
The incredibly tough schedule that faces Denver to start the season continues this week as they host my Super Bowl winner Houston. After already facing Pittsburgh and Atlanta, the Broncos still have New England and San Diego on the road before their bye week (with Oakland as well) and then New Orleans coming out of the break. Peyton Manning looked downright awful to start on Monday night, but rebounded to give the Broncos a sporting chance. There have been very little issues for the Texans so far this season. They have handled both the mediocre Dolphins and inept Jaguars with relative ease for their 2-0 start. Behind the two headed monster of Arian Foster and Ben Tate (184 yards, 3 TD's) and a very good defense, it has been just like early 2011 before all the injuries hit when the Texans were the breakout team of the season. Final Score: Houston 30 Denver 24
9. Milwaukee Brewers at Washington Nationals
Fresh off of clinching a playoff spot, the Washington Nationals will now turn their focus into wrapping up the N.L. East crown. They host the surging Milwaukee Brewers who have come out of nowhere to threaten for a playoff spot. They have leapfrogged practically the entire National League in the last 30 days with a 22-6 record since August 19th when they were 12.5 games out of the 2nd Wild Card spot. Today they have passed six teams and are only 2.5 games out from making the playoffs. The turnaround has been quite remarkable and has been spearheaded by reigning MVP Ryan Braun who has put together yet another MVP season with 40 home runs, 105 RBI and a current 6.6 WAR for you SABR nerds out there. For Washington, their magic number is 7 meaning they could theoretically wrap up the division as early as Monday with some help from Philadelphia. Realistically these two teams split the four game and Washington clinches on the road.
8. #22 Arizona Wildcats at #3 Oregon Ducks
More west coast football taking the big stage. After last weekends shocking Stanford upset of #2 ranked USC, the Oregon Ducks now have a chance to stake their claim as BCS Championship contenders. Sure the talk will be all about what horrific concoction Oregon rolls out for their jersey of choice, but after we get past that it will be all about their high powered offense. They are currently averaging 54 points a game against inferior competition, but I don't think Arizona will want to do much to slow the pace of the game down. In their only competitive game, the Wildcats won a shootout against then #18 ranked Oklahoma St. 59-38. That is the type of scoring I'm hoping for in this game. Arizona will do their damage in the air behind Matt Scott who has nearly 1000 yards passing already while Oregon will run the ball early and often with Kenjon Barner and do everything athlete De'Anthony Thomas. Thomas leads the Ducks in receiving with 11 receptions and 3 touchdowns, but he also has 13 rushes at 17.5 yards per carry and 4 more scores. That's some silly production to start the season. Final Score: Oregon 55 Arizona 34
7. Oakland Athletics at New York Yankees
So we meet again...unfortunately not for the last time. The team that can't spend enough versus the team that doesn't have any money to spend. The Bronx Bombers versus Moneyball. The future Yankees versus the current Yankees. $197 million payroll vs. $55 million payroll. East coast bias versus a team that is trying to leave its home city. All the differences and yet these two teams come into the final two weeks of play separated by a single game. The Yankees lead the A.L. East by 1 game over the Baltimore Orioles who are tied for the Wild Card lead with the Athletics. Oakland has lost their only 3 veteran starters within the last month and are now completely reliant on a bunch of rookies and castoffs in their rotation. New York on the other hand has recently re-added veteran Andy Pettitte to the rotation which already has former Cy Young award winner C.C. Sabathia. Oakland is hanging together with bubble gum and fishing line, but this weekend could be a disaster if the pitching doesn't hold up. I see the Yankees winning at least two with a real chance at a sweep.
6. #18 Michigan Wolverines at #11 Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Is it time to take Notre Dame seriously? This would normally be the type of game where the Irish would fall flat after a huge win, but maybe this year version is different. Michigan has picked themselves up off the mat after being throttled by Alabama with wins over Air Force and Massachusetts who aren't quite at the same level as the defending champion, #1 ranked Crimson Tide. Frankly I don't know what to make of Michigan just yet, and that makes me think maybe they can win this one. The key will be how Denard Robinson handles another good defensive unit. We saw him struggle mightily against Alabama, but Notre Dame is no Alabama. Classic trap game here: Michigan 26 Notre Dame 23
5. #15 Kansas St. Wildcats at #6 Oklahoma Sooners
Quick story: Kansas St. always makes me remember a quarterback they once had, Chad May who wore #5. May 5...my birthday, I always liked him for that reason. This Wildcats team is much more competitive than they were with May at the helm, but this week they head to Norman, OK to face a much better Sooners team. Fans will be hoping for a more competitive game than last seasons that ended in a 58-17 blowout in favor of Oklahoma. The scary thought is that game was in Manhattan, KS and it might be even uglier this year around. If anything at least we will get to watch stud quarterback Landry Jones try and carve apart the Wildcats secondary (505 yards passing last year) once again. It will be a bit closer this go around but the story will remain the same Oklahoma 42 Kansas St. 24
4. Chicago White Sox at Los Angeles Angels
That loud sound you hear in southern California is the clock ticking away on the Angels season. Every time they make a mini surge they drop a series that they have to win. After winning the first game at home against Texas, they dropped the final two of the key series. With only 12 games remaining the Angels now face the arduous task of making up 5 games on either the Orioles or the Athletics to attempt to salvage a disappointing season. Their opponent, the Chicago White Sox have everything to play for. They have a slim two game lead over the Detroit Tigers in the A.L. Central and will give the Angels fits. I think Chicago wins two of three (okay...I really really really hope they do) and puts a near virtual end to the Angles season...YOU CAN PUT THAT ON THE BOARD....YESSSSS!!!!
3. New England Patriots at Baltimore Ravens
I know NBC was hoping for a 2-0 vs. 2-0 battle between these two Super Bowl contenders when the schedule was release. I definitely know that nobody foresaw the loser of this game dropping to 1-2 on the early season. Both teams lost games last week that they should have won. The Patriots with Tom Brady at quarterback had only lost once at home and never in a home opener until last week. They looked awful and lost starting TE Aaron Hernandez for at least a month with an ankle injury. The Ravens had a 10 point halftime lead and a six point fourth quarter lead, both of which they blew losing by a single point. This will be their second prime time, nationally televised game and the schedulers at the NFL will do them no favors as they have to play again four nights after this game. I think Baltimore responds at home with a 27-23 victory.
2. PGA Tour Championship
So it all comes down to this. Can Rory run away with the title by winning his 3rd straight event? Can Tiger come all the way back and hoist the trophy again? Will he quit mid stream because he is too intimidated by Rory? Will Phil come out of nowhere to get back to the top of the mountain? All we can hope for all three of them to be with a shot or two of each other on Sunday afternoon. The NFL season is still early enough that you can miss out on a couple games and settle in for some top notch golf with abundant story lines. I've said it before and I'll say it again, fans must savor weekends like this where the generational gap will be crossing paths. There will only be a small window where we get Tiger and Phil playing top notch golf along with the newest wunderkind in Rory. Just the fact that I can write this entire preview and not use a single last name says all you need to know about the popularity of these three golfers. For the record I have to go with Rory to put a cherry on top of his stellar run here at the end of the season with another victory.
1. #10 Clemson Tigers at #4 Florida St. Seminoles
It's been a while since Florida St. has been this good. Even though they have not played any quality opponents, they have done exactly what has been asked out of them by stomping the living crap out of them. Through their first three games they have outscored their opponents 176-3. That is not a misprint. Clemson vows to be a bit more of a test with the likes of Tajh Boyd, Andre Ellington, Sammy Watkins and DeAndre Hopkins all a threat to score every time they get their hands on the ball. If the offense of Clemson can find a way to penetrate the stout Florida St. offense this game could get really exciting. Last season with very similar rosters, Clemson won 35-30 at home, this year it will be the other way around as Florida St. will hold serve and win a shootout 37-24.
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).
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