2010 NFL Preview of the AFC and NFC West

Well these two divisions well be less than competitive. The AFC West is pretty much wrapped up for the season. The Broncos made it interesting for a while last season but the house of cards fell.
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The San Diego Chargers should easily win the West. Although they lost LT, it will be ok. Obviously, I am just kidding. Philip Rivers is the most underrated QB in the game right now. He makes good decisions and doesn’t make the big turnover. I do miss the rivalry he and Jay Cutler had. Chargers win it at 10-6.
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The Chiefs, Raiders, and Broncos are eons behind the leader. The Broncos are a seven or eight win team. They’ll win a big one and lose a daisy. The Chiefs won’t win anything special, although; I am a Matt Cassel fan. Oakland is better than they’ll ever get credit for. I really like their defense. However, both KC and the Raiders are sub six win teams.

The NFC West will be difficult to watch. The two time defending Cardinals have NO chance to win it. Or do they? I anticipate an 8-8 team to take it. That team- San Francisco. I don’t enjoy watching Alex Smith play football but he’s better than the rest. It used to be a no brainer that the Seahawks would win the West.
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Now, I can’t really count on the oft injured Matt Hasselback. The running game in Seattle is atrocious. I’ll take my chances with Mke Singletary and the running game they throw out there. The Cardinals and Rams aren’t worth talking about. Sam Bradford, good luck! He’ll be injured by week eight. And as for a Warner-less Arizona squad, there won’t be any playoff games like the one you had with Green Bay last season.
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Top 5 MLB Players of All-Time

Albert Pujols has had quite a career. His latest homers have made me decide to rank my best five of all-time…and I’m starting at the top.
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1. Babe Ruth. It’s easy. He will always be the best homerun hitter to anyone who knows the game of baseball. Hank Aaron passed him and so did Bonds, with steroids. Yet this guy was a pitcher until about the sixth year of his career. In his final year as a pitcher he hit 29 homers. If he’d of had more plate appearances in those years, Ruth would have 900 big ones.

Putting aside his 714 homeruns, 2,213 RBIs, 2,174 runs, and a career batting average of .342, the guy was a dominant pitcher too. Who else can you say that about!? Best ever.

2. Willie Mays. If you haven’t mimicked the over the shoulder Mays catch, you’re not a baseball fan. He had a glove. Actually, he had 12 gold ones, in a row. We often forget how good of a hitter he was because of all the dazzling catches he had.
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500 doubles, 660 homeruns, and the second best to ever grace the field. He was a great player but he’s an even better man. When he sits down to tell old stories interviewers become children again. Begging to hear more stories from the once-titled MVP. Baseball knowledge files out of his mouth like carbon dioxide does out of mine. Truly, a great.

3. Nolan Ryan. Cy Young was great but the award should be called Nolan Ryan. When a pitcher gets 250 strikeouts it’s fantastic. So, when a player eclipses that eight times what’s that?
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Ryan was the intimidater. He put guys in headlocks when he was balding so age wasn’t a factor. When he was 42, he won 16 games and struck out batters. No one does those things anymore. That’s why he’s the best pitcher of all-time.

4. Honus Wagner. So far I listed a pitcher and two outfielders but this guy was a shortstop. It’s arguably the hardest position to play in the field because right handers hit to the left and right of position number six.

Honus didn’t hit homeruns but he had a few RBIs. He also stole 722 bases in his day. Fun facts: his baseball card is one of the most valued of all-time, he was only in the post season twice, and his real name isn’t Honus it’s John Peter. If you’re ever bored look up Wagner’s stats because their ridiculous.

5. Ted Williams. I would put Bonds here but he played during the most difficult era to describe in baseball history. Williams was the last to hit .400 in a season and no one will ever do it again. Period.
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He served our country over playing ball and for that we thank him. On top of his good character, there was a mighty fine player. He was a true power-hitter and RBI machine. However, he had a clean average to go with it. He only eclipsed 50 strikeouts three times and it was in his first four seasons. Take that Adam Dunn! Finally, there’s something to say for playing your entire career with one team. Boston was lucky to have him.

These players will never be duplicated. They’ll probably never be topped either. Guys like Bonds and A-Rod can try but they did it the wrong way. Pujols could end up on this list if he keeps up what has become the best 10 year stretch ever. Who knows, maybe a Nationals player could make it on here. Probably not after a crucial arm injury though. Ouch Washington.

LeBron Visits the King

Larry King will host LeBron James on his show Friday night. The featured questions will surely be about where King James is leaning towards ending up for the 2010-11 season.
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LeBron has been more of a media junky than Brett Favre this year. Will he or won’t he has been the topic of every Cleveland newspaper for months. They didn’t even care about the playoffs this year. How sad is that?!
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My opinion, James better stay with the Cavs. He will become the most hated player in sports history. Players that demand trades or create this drama don’t end up well liked.
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Just ask the Denver Broncos how much they like how Jay Cutler and Brandon Marshall treated them. Red Sox fans weren’t too big of Manny fans after his demands. The Eagles and Terrell Owens…enough said.
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LeBron is loved in Cleveland without the ring. He needs to stay or he will forever be remembered as the guy who left the Cavs and the city in the dust. I mean, they even forgave him for the dreaded Yankees hat at the Indians game stunt. STRIKE ONE!

Barring any unbelievable collapse, Ubaldo Jimenez will win the Cy Young. With a no hitter under his belt, a 10-1 record, and an ERA under one, he has it locked up.
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Jimenez is truly gifted. But this talent has sort of come out left field. He was quite good last year. 15 wins and an ERA just under 3.50. Before that his ERA was just under 4.00 in 2008 and he was 12-12. However, how do you get here from there?
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Whatever the 26 year-old is doing it is working. He is sensational. Ubaldo is giving us a reason to watch the Rockies who are playing in a very competitive NL West.

I still think that the Dodgers will win that one with the Giants taking the Wild Card. But hey, the Padres are great too and if Jimenez can try and keep his club in it, who knows? well, I do. It’ll be L.A. and San Fran. STRIKE TWO!

I took some time to wait and release my feelings on the 2014 cold bowl. To be honest, who cares?
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This game is played in all kinds of climates during the year. The Chargers never see a spec of bad weather in San Diego. Now, if they go to their division rival in Denver late in the year, they could be bombarded with snow.
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Every team should be prepared for this kind of weather so it really shouldn’t matter. Football analysts are going crazy and I heard Mike and Mike in the morning go nuts over this too. But come on guys, it’s football.
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The Colts-Bears Super Bowl was plyed in pouring down rain. So what? It’s the game we love to watch. I don’t prefer rain over snow or clear skies over cloudy scary-looking skies. We are being ridiculous here. The fact is the East got this Super Bowl and good for them. I hope they start putting these games all over the U.S.

Maybe Soldier Field could get one? STRIKE THREE AND I’M OUT!

Panic Time in Boston?, NBA Picks, MLB Picks

Don’t freak out yet Fenway lovers. The team isn’t lost.
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I do think the Yanks might run away with this division but it isn’t completely over. Last year Ortiz struggled but came back after a couple horrific months and produced. It’s hard to look at what happened today though. A three game sweep, no wait, a four game sweep against the Rays. Not good.
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The Rays will be one of those teams competing for the fourth spot in the post season but it will fall short. AND once they lose Crawford after this year they’ll fall even further back. Losing Jason Bay was dumb. Yes, he isn’t flaming hot in New York but they are terrible. Look at the numbers when Bay’s season is over. I bet they are better than J.D. Drews. STRIKE ONE!

The NBA playoffs have started and it’s been interesting. I have no upsets in the East. Celtics and up all take it. Some of these series might be ugly too (Cleveland and Chicago…why watch?).
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In the West there might be some dicey games. I like the Lakers and Nuggets easily. And I know I’ve written earlier that an upset could be San Antonio to take over the Mavs but realistically I like Dallas. Finally, Portland won game one. If and ONLY if they can steal another on the road, they just might win. I’ve always had a thing for Nash but the Blazers came to play. It should be a fun series. STRIKE TWO!
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My much delayed MLB division winners are in. I’ll easily take the Yankees in the East and Boston behind them for the wild card. In the Central I’ll take the M&M sluggers of Mauer and Morneau. In the West lies my upset the Mariners. Pitching and defense will win them the title. However, I have the Yanks over….
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The Cardinals of the NL Central for the World Series final. They’ll win the Central with ease this season. The East will go to Philly who have an outstanding lineup. Don’t worry, the once pathetic West will bring two teams. The LA Dodgers (behind Kemp and Ramirez) will win the division over the wild card winning Giants and their two time reining Cy Young. STRIKE THREE AND I’M OUT!

Cain gets his, Smith-You’re Number One, Go Nets Go

Matt Cain signed a nice little deal with the Giants (over 27 million for three years). Believe it or not this is a steal.
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Cain has been awesome since he joined the majors. His career ERA sits at 3.53 in 137 starts. Nice. He’s a solid number one pretty much anywhere that doesn’t have a Cy Young (or a two time winner). Last year his ERA was 2.89 and he had 14 wins. I think this guy has the stuff.

So why settle for a short 3 year deal when you’re young and could test the market in a years time? He sees what him at his buddy Tim can do. Win. They could win the division this year with Sandovol, Molina, and the addition of DeRosa. Behind one of the best pitching staffs since the Braves of old, they got a good shot.
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And imagine, when they reach the post season they have the kind of staff that can really hurt bats. A great one-two punch. Look out NL! STRIKE ONE!

Steve Smith came out recently and said he doesn’t want to be the number one receiver in Carolina anymore. I wouldn’t either after the way Delhome carried the pigskin last year.
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Smith said that he wants a young gun to come in there and beat him out so he could become the number two guy. This is a lot like what happened when he arrived and Muhsin Muhammadtook the backseat. Smith has been a little unproductive lately due to his QB situation. Yet, he is still a top 10 wideout who tends to say things that don’t make sense.
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Why is it that most prolific wide receivers say things like this. Listen Steve, you do want to be number one because you want to be payed number one money. You don’t want to be Tory Holt in Jacksonville, Issac Bruce in San Fran, or the ever so popular Jerry Rice retirement in Denver. Steve, just be quiet and play football. STRIKE TWO! (more…)