Time for a Change

Okay, I get it. The SEC is a good football conference. They have the National B(s)C Champions for another year...but once again, not without controversy! Alabama did win this game easily. Yes, there was a back-up freshman playing for Texas, but that's another story. However, was Texas the best possible team for Alabama to play for the championship?

On the official BCS website, it states: "The BCS was created by the conferences and schools before the 1998 season to assure a matchup between the top two teams..."

Okay, so has that happened? Well first off, it is a lie. The BCS was created by the Big Six conferences and Notre Dame. The Mountain West, WAC, MAC, C-USA, and Sun Belt are not invited to the BCS unless specific qualifications happen and even then they still can't get a fair shake at a title game. On to the second part which is to 'assure a matchup between the top two teams'...


1998: Tennessee vs. Florida State

--Tennessee was undefeated and deserved to be in the National Championship game.
--Florida State:
1 loss: North Carolina State (finished 7-4 regular season)
Key wins: Texas A&M (11-2, Big 12 champ), Florida (9-2, L vs. Tenn/FSU)

--Other Teams with consideration for Championship: Tulane UCLA (10-1), Ohio State (10-1), Wisconsin (10-1), Tulane (11-0). Tulane didn't have any signature wins, so they are out. UCLA is rightfully out because of common opponent (Miami) as Florida State being their only loss. Obviously, the Big Ten should have a championship game to determine the winner, but since they don't...Ohio State lost to Michgan State who didn't make a bowl game, so they are eliminated. But what about Wisconsin? Their only loss came at Michigan (whose three losses were against Syracuse, Notre Dame, and Ohio State). However, they played a weak non-conference schedule and probably didn't deserve a bid.


--4 Team Playoff Look: Tennessee vs. Wisconsin, Florida State vs. UCLA

--8 Team Playoff Look: Tennessee vs. Syracuse, Florida State vs. Tulane, UCLA vs. Texas A&M, Wisconsin vs. Ohio State

--12 Team Playoof Look: Byes: #1 Tennessee, #2 Florida State, #3 Kansas State, #4 Ohio State--Games: #5 UCLA vs. #12 Syracuse , #6 Texas A&M vs. #11 Nebraska, #7 Arizona vs. #10 Tulane , #8 Florida vs. #9 Wisconsin

--FINAL SAY: The BCS gets this one right...especially after a Tennessee win. BCS 1 Playoff System 0


1999: Florida State vs. Virginia Tech

--Florida State was undefeated and deserved to be in the National Championship game.
--Virginia Tech: was also undefeated and maybe deserved to be in the National Championship game.

--Other Teams with consideration for Championship: Marshall finished the regular season undefeated and beat two teams that Virginia Tech did (@ Clemson 13-10, vs. Temple 34-0) but probably can't make much of an argument for a NC game. However, what about Nebraska? Nebraska finished the regular season 11-1 with their lone loss coming @Texas. However, they played on a neutral field for the conference championship and Nebraska dominated the game winning 22-6. Other key wins for Nebraska: #7 Kansas State (41-17), #14 Texas A&M (37-0)


--4 Team Playoff Look: Florida State vs. Marshall, Virginia Tech vs. Nebraska

--8 Team Playoff Look: Florida State vs. Stanford, Virginia Tech vs. Marshall, Nebraska vs. Wisconsin , Alabama vs. Tennessee

--12 Team Playoof Look: Byes: #1 Florida State, #2Virginia Tech, #3 Nebraska, #4 Alabama--Games: #5 Tennessee vs. #12 Stanford, #6 Kansas State vs. #11 Marshall, #7 Wisconsin vs. #10 Florida, #8 Michigan vs. #9 Michigan State


--FINAL SAY: The BCS gets partial credit for this one. Florida State overmatched Virginia Tech and Nebraska probably could have put up a better fight. BCS 1.5 Playoff System 0.5


2000: Oklahoma vs. Florida State

--Oklahoma was undefeated and deserved to be in the National Championship game.
--Florida State lost one game...and it was to Miami who lost one game, who lost to Washington who lost one game.... DID NOT deserve to be there.

--Other Teams with consideration for Championship: This was the first time that the BCS REALLY screwed things up. Florida State, Miami, Washington, Virginia Tech, and Oregon State all ended the regular season with one loss. FSU lost @Miami. Miami lost @Washington, Washington lost @ Oregon (who finished with 2 losses), Virginia Tech lost @ Miami and Oregon State lost @ Washington. Confused yet? Against the other teams with one loss, FSU, VTech & OSU went 0-1, Miami went 2-1, and Washington went 2-0. Washington had the best record against the top 6 teams and didn't get a sniff of the title game.

--4 Team Playoff Look: Couldn't have even made a 4 team work in this year...

--8 Team Playoff Look: Oklahoma vs. Michigan, Miami vs. Florida, Florida State vs. Oregon State, Washington vs. Virginia Tech

--12 Team Playoof Look: Byes: #1 Oklahoma, #2 Miami, #3 Florida State #4 Washington--Games: #5 Virginia Tech vs. #12 Michigan, #6 Oregon State vs. #11 Notre Dame, #7 Florida vs. #10 Oregon, #8 Nebraska vs. #9 Kansas State

--FINAL SAY: Not Even Close. Playoff wins by a landslide. National Championship game was Oklahoma 13, Florida State 2. Boring. BCS 1.5 Playoff System 1.5


2001: Miami vs. Nebraska

--Miami was undefeated and deserved to be in the National Championship game.
--Nebraska lost one game...and didn't even win their conference...but still got in. WHAT A JOKE!!!

--Other Teams with consideration for Championship: Colorado absolutely CRUSHED Nebraska in the Big 12 Championship game, 62-36. However, they still finished the year with two losses. Nebraska had only the loss to Colorado. Oregon finished with only a home loss to Stanford and Big 10 champion Illinois lost a game to Michigan.

--4 Team Playoff Look: A tough call, but probably Miami vs. Illinois, Colorado vs. Oregon

--8 Team Playoff Look: Miami vs. LSU, Nebraska vs. Maryland, Colorado vs Illinois, Oregon vs. Florida

--12 Team Playoof Look: Byes: #1 Miami, #2 Nebraska, #3 Colorado #4 Oregon --Games: #5 Florida vs. #12 LSU, #6 Tennesee vs. #11 Washington State, #7 Texas vs. #10 Maryland, #8 Illinois vs. #9 Stanford

--FINAL SAY: Once again, a playoff system would have worked better than the Nebraska/Miami game. Miami cruised 37-14. To be fair, nobody would have beat the 'Canes that year. BCS 1.5 Playoff System 2.5


2002: Miami vs. Ohio State

--Miami was undefeated and deserved to be in the National Championship game.
--Ohio State was undefeated and deserved to be in the National Championship game.

--Other Teams with consideration for Championship: HOORAY!!! One that works!!!

--4 Team Playoff would have looked like: Miami vs. USC, Ohio State vs. Georgia

--8 Team Playoff would have looked like: Miami vs. Florida State, Ohio State vs. Oklahoma, Georgia vs. Washington State, USC vs. Iowa

--12 Team Playoff would have looked like: Byes: #1 Miami, #2 Ohio State #3 Georgia #4 USC --Games: #5 Iowa vs. #12 Florida State, #6 Washington State vs. #11 Michigan, #7 Oklahoma vs. #10 Texas, #8 Kansas State vs. #9 Notre Dame

--FINAL SAY: What can I say? BCS worked (only thanks to two undefeated teams). BCS 2.5 Playoff System 2.5


2003: Oklahoma vs. LSU

--Oklahoma lost one game and didn't even win their conference...
--LSU lost one game.

--Other Teams with consideration for Championship: Guess who else lost one game and was ranked #1 in both polls? USC. They lost to a California team who finished 8-6. Oklahoma beat Texas earlier in the year but you CAN'T play in the championship if you don't win your conference, especially when you get destroyed 35-7!!! Lastly, LSU lost to Florida who went a weak 8-5. Another year where the playoff would have made things so much simpler!

--4 Team Playoff Look: USC vs. Michigan, LSU vs. Oklahoma

--8 Team Playoff Look: USC vs. Kansas State, LSU vs. Miami, Oklahoma vs. Florida State, Michigan vs. Ohio State

--12 Team Playoof Look: Byes: #1 USC, #2 LSU, #3 Oklahoma #4 Michigan --Games: #5 Ohio State vs. #12 Georgia, #6 Texas vs. #11 Miami (OH), #7 Florida State vs. #10 Kansas State #8 Tennessee vs. #9 Miami (FL)

--FINAL SAY: Playoff wins again. Three one loss teams and probably the best one didn't get into the championship game. BCS 2.5 Playoff System 3.5


2004: Oklahoma vs. USC

--Oklahoma was undefeated.
--USC was undefeated.

--Other Teams with consideration for Championship: Well, Auburn was also undefeated so was this other team out of the Mountain West called Utah. Four undefeated teams, but only two get to play for the title. Oklahoma's best win came against Texas and outside of that, nothing else was great (except for the defense shutting out weak Big 12 offenses). USC ran through everyone including a season opening win against ACC champion, Virginia Tech. Auburn had a weak non-conference schedule but ran through the SEC, while Utah took out teams from the ACC, Big 12, Pac 10 and a drubbing of Big East champion Pittsburgh in the Fiesta Bowl.

--4 Team Playoff Look: USC vs. Utah, Oklahoma vs. Auburn

--8 Team Playoff Look: USC vs. Pittsburgh, Oklahoma vs. Michigan, Auburn vs. Virginia Tech, Utah vs. Texas

--12 Team Playoof Look: Byes: #1 USC, #2 Oklahoma, #3 Auburn #4 Utah --Games: #5 Texas vs. #12 Pittsburgh, #6 Georgia vs. #11 Michigan #7 Virginia Tech vs. #10 LSU #8 Boise State vs. #9 Louisville

--FINAL SAY: Ummm...playoffs? Three teams finish the season undefeated. We have two national champions. BCS 2.5 Playoff System 4.5


2005: USC vs. Texas

--USC was undefeated and ready for a repeat
--Texas was undefeated and coming off of a 70-3 blowout conference championship game.

--Other Teams with consideration for Championship: A Year after four teams finish the season undefeated, USC and Texas were it. The battle for it all came down to one game.

--4 Team Playoff would have looked like: I honestly don't know...USC vs ? , Texas vs. Penn State ?

--8 Team Playoff would have looked like: USC vs. Florida State, Texas vs. West Virginia, Penn State vs. Georgia, Ohio State vs. Oregon

--12 Team Playoff would have looked like: Byes: #1 USC, #2 Texas #3 Penn State #4 Ohio State --Games: #5 Oregon vs. #12 Florida State, #6 Notre Dame vs. #11 West Virginia, #7 Georgia vs. #10 Virginia Tech, #8 Miami (FL) vs. #9 Auburn

--FINAL SAY: BCS wins once again...thanks to two undefeated teams...more on this coming soon. BCS 3.5 Playoff System 4.5


2006: Ohio State vs. Florida

--Ohio State was undefeated and deserved to be in the game.
--Florida had one loss and well....turned out they should have been there after the result...however

--Other Teams with consideration for Championship: There was another team who was undefeated. They even won a BCS game over big and powerful Oklahoma. Hello world, here is Boise! Turns out Florida deserved to be in the National Championship game after the fact they beat Ohio State. But, with a playoff system, we would have known for sure. Michigan went to the 'Shoe' and lost by three, felt slighted and laid an egg against USC. Things might have been different in a playoff system.

--4 Team Playoff Look: Ohio State vs. Boise State, Florida vs. Michigan

--8 Team Playoff Look: Ohio State vs. Wake Forest, Florida vs. Oklahoma, Michigan vs. Louisville, Boise State vs. USC

--12 Team Playoof Look: Byes: #1 Ohio State, #2 Florida, #3 Michigan #4 Boise State --Games: #5 LSUvs. #12 Wake Forest, #6 USC vs. #11 Notre Dame #7 Louisville vs. #10 Oklahoma #8 Wisconsin vs. #9 Auburn

--FINAL SAY: A Cinderella could have emerged if you would have played the two teams that were undefeated. Boise State is the only team to finish without a loss, yet is not considered a national champ. BCS 3.5 Playoff System 5.5



2007: Ohio State vs. LSU

--Ohio State had one loss.
--LSU came into the game with two losses.

--Other Teams with consideration for Championship: The game nobody wanted to play in. Or that everybody did. Not a single team stood out in this year, all the more reason for a playoff. The lone undefeated team? Hawaii with a 12-0 record. So, let's see. Ohio State tripped up the second to last week against Illinois. LSU beat ACC conference champ V-Tech at home, but didn't get to face the best team from the SEC (Georgia), Oklahoma won the Big 12 but didn't face Kansas who had one loss. USC lost the last week against UCLA...as I said, nobody wanted to play in it!

--4 Team Playoff Look: Ohio State vs. Hawaii, LSU vs. Virginia Tech

--8 Team Playoff Look: Ohio State vs. Hawaii, LSU vs. West Virginia, Virginia Tech vs. USC, Oklahoma vs. Georgia

--12 Team Playoof Look: Byes: #1 Ohio State, #2 LSU, #3 Virginia Tech #4 Oklahoma --Games: #5 Georgia vs. #12 Florida, #6 Missouri vs. #11 Arizona State #7 USC vs. #10 Hawaii #8 Kansas vs. #9 West Virginia

--FINAL SAY: The year a playoff would have absolutely made sense. BCS 3.5 Playoff System 6.5


2008: Florida vs. Oklahoma

--Florida had one loss coming at the hands of Ole Miss.
--Oklahoma wasn't even the best team in the Big 12 as evidenced by a loss on a neutral field against Texas.

--Other Teams with consideration for Championship: There were two teams that finished undefeated--Utah & Boise--and once again, they get shut of a title chance! Seven other teams finish with one loss! Texas beat Oklahoma who beat Texas Tech who beat Texas. Alabama's first loss came in the SEC Championship game against Florida. USC lost in Corvallis on a Thursday night, while Penn State fell at Kinnick during a night game. All could have been solved in a slug-it-out playoff!!!

--4 Team Playoff Look: 4 teams would have not justified the play from this year!

--8 Team Playoff Look: 8 TEAMS WOULD HAVE NOT EVEN JUSTIFIED A PLAYOFF SYSTEM! 7 One loss teams and 2 undefeated!!!

--12 Team Playoof Look: Byes: #1 Oklahoma, #2 Florida, #3 Texas #4 Alabama --Games: #5 USC vs. #12 Virginia Tech, #6 Utah vs. #11 Cincinnati #7 Texas Tech vs. #10 Ohio State #8 Penn State vs. #9 Boise State

--FINAL SAY: Another year to the playoffs.... BCS 3.5 Playoff System 7.5


2009: Alabama vs. Texas

--Alabama actually deserved this game based on their schedule. But...
--Texas got through an easy Big 12 schedule...and...

--Other Teams with consideration for Championship: There were still THREE other teams that were undefeated! Boise State, TCU, and Cincinnati had no real chance of ever making a National Championship game under this stupid BCS formula. This could have been a great playoff year!

--4 Team Playoff Look: 4 teams would have not justified the play from this year!

--8 Team Playoff Look: Alabama vs. Georgia Tech, Texas vs. Ohio State, Cincinnati vs. Oregon , TCU vs. Boise State

--12 Team Playoof Look: Byes: #1 Alabama #2 Texas, #3 Cincinnati #4 TCU --Games: #5 Florida vs. #12 LSU, #6 Boise State vs. #11 Virginia Tech #7 Oregonvs. #10 Iowa #8 Ohio Statevs. #9 Georgia Tech

--FINAL SAY: And there you have it.... BCS 3.5 Playoff System 8.5


FINAL THOUGHTS:

In all reality, the BCS has worked ONE YEAR. YES, ONLY ONE YEAR! The very first year, when Florida State was obviously the second best team behind Tennessee. The other two years that the BCS worked fully were in 2002 and 2005 -- only thanks to ONLY two teams going undefeated! You can make the argument for 1999 as well, but I still think Nebraska was a better team that year than Virginia Tech.

It's time for a change. Time for a playoff system. This system is so simple. It works...ask the NFL, the MLB, the NHL, ask the rest of the NCAA (you know, Division II, III, JUCO) -- all of them have PLAYOFFS. Maybe one day they will figure it out...but who knows. We can crown Alabama or Florida or whover as BCS Champions...but until there is a playoff there is NO TRUE 'NATIONAL CHAMPION'.

What a 12-team playoff would look like...

Well, here is the final standings in the B(s)C, I mean BCS:

1. Alabama
2. Texas
3. Cincinnati
4. TCU
5. Florida
6. Boise State
7. Oregon
8. Ohio State
9. Georgia Tech
10. Iowa
11. Virginia Tech
12. LSU

So, if you want to see what a twelve team playoff would like like with my formula from the previous post, then here it is:

Round 1 byes: Alabama, Texas, Cincinnati, TCU
Round 1 games:

Game #1: Florida vs. LSU
Game #2: Boise State vs. Virginia Tech
Game #3: Oregon vs. Iowa
Game #4: Ohio State vs. Georgia Tech

Round 2 games:
Game #5: Game #1 winner vs. TCU
Game #6: Game #2 winner vs. Cincinnati
Game #7: Game #3 winner vs. Texas
Game #8: Game #4 winner vs. Alabama

Round 3 games:
Game #9: Game #5 winner vs. Game #8 winner
Game #10: Game #6 winner vs. Game #7 winner

CHAMPIONSHIP:
Game #11: Game #9 winner vs. Game #10 winner


Wow, it's that easy to make a playoff work...maybe the NCAA can figure it out sometime...

The B(s)C strikes again!

Okay, seriously, this needs to be fixed. You have not one, not two, not three, but FIVE, yes FIVE undefeated teams in the NCAA. Guess what? That means three teams will not be playing to win a national championship! This system is beyond flawed and needs to be fixed as soon as possible. How can you tell who deserves to play in the Championship? Since Alabama and Texas started the season ranked higher than the rest, of course they are the easy picks. But, pre-season rankings are another story. TCU looked better in the last month than Texas did, but instead of playing Alabama, they are left with Boise State. That's unfortunate because either team could stick with or beat Florida, Cincinnati, Texas, or Alabama. There is one easy way to figure out who is the best team in football. Do you know how to settle an argument of who is the best team?

A PLAYOFF! What a system?!?! Who would ever thought something so simple would work? For some reason, the FCS can figure it out, but the FBS can't? I thought they were supposed to be the 'smarter ones'? So, Texas is playing Alabama in some sort of big game and whoever wins is going to be names the 'champion'. Don't mind that Cincinnati, TCU, and Boise State all finished the regular season undefeated. Plain and simple, there needs to be a playoff in college football. Why wait? Just change it now! Look, student-athletes (especially high profile players at the D1 level for football) are mostly a joke. Do players actually study, get time off etc.? Why don't you ask Dan Hawkins, coach of the Colorado Buffaloes?




Implement a college football playoff. Start the season one week earlier, play the first round after conference championship week and still give the players two weeks off for there, ah hem, "FINALS". Then pick it up with the last 8 teams to decide on the field who is the REAL champion. But, A-Ro, how do we decide who is playoff worthy? I have the answer my friends:


College Football Playoffs Selection Procedures

PART I: Qualification for Playoffs:

1. The champions of the Atlantic Coast, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-10 and Southeastern conferences will have automatic berths into one of the playoff seeds.

2. The champion of Conference USA, the Mid-American Conference, the Mountain West Conference, the Sun Belt Conference or the Western Athletic Conference will earn an automatic berth in the playoffs if either:

• Such team is ranked in the top 10 of the final NCAA Playoff Standings, or,
  
• Such team is ranked in the top 14 of the final NCAA Playoff Standings and its ranking in the final NCAA Playoff Standings is higher than that of a champion of a conference that has an annual automatic berth in a playoff spot.

3. Notre Dame will have an automatic berth if it is in the top 10 of the final NCAA Playoff Standings.

4. Whatever slots remain open after application of provisions 1 through 3, then at-large teams will be selected to complete the 12 different playoff slots.

5. An at-large team is any NCAA Division One team that meets the following requirements.

• Has won at least nine regular-season games with three losses or fewer, and
  
• Is among the top 16 teams in the NCAA Playoff Standings.
  
• No more than three teams from a conference can be selected, unless team number four has three or less losses with only two of those losses coming from within the conference play.

If fewer than 12 teams are eligible for selection, then any team can be selected as an at-large team that has won at least nine regular-season games and is among the top 20 teams in the NCAA Playoff Standings subject to the three-team limit noted above and also subject to the following: (1) if any conference has three or more teams in the top 16, then two of those teams must be selected and (2) from the teams ranked 17-20, the playoff can select only a team from a conference that has fewer than two teams in the top 16.

If expansion of the pool to 20 teams does not result in 12 teams eligible for selection, then the pool shall be expanded by blocks of 4 teams until 12 eligible teams are available subject to the three-team limit noted above and also subject to the following: (1) if any conference has two or more teams in the top 16, then two of those teams must be selected and (2) from the teams ranked 17 or lower, the playoff can select only a team from a conference that has fewer than two teams in the top 16.

Relative to the two preceding paragraphs, all teams ranked in the top 16, other than those from conferences which have already had two teams selected, must be included in the playoff selection.

Note: in order to participate in a NCAA Playoff game, a team (a.) must be eligible for post-season play under the rules of the NCAA and, if it not an independent, under the rules of its conference and (b.) must not have imposed sanctions upon itself prohibiting participation in a post-season game for infractions of the rules of the NCAA or the rules of its conference.


PART II: Team-Selection Procedures:

The playoffs will select their participants from two pools: (1) automatic qualifiers, all of which must be selected, and, (2) at-large teams. The following sequence will be used when establishing pairings:

1. The rankings of the team will be determined by the NCAA Playoff Standings.
   
   
2. The top four seeds in the final NCAA Playoff Standings will be automatically given a first round bye.
   
   
3. Seeds five through eight will face seeds nine through twelve in the first round games with the lowest seed facing the highest seed and so on.

PART III: Tie-Breaking Procedures:

The following steps will be used to resolve any ties in the standings or selection procedures after the computation is carried out to full decimal points:

1. Look to head-to-head result;
   
2. If the tie is not resolved by No. 1, then won-lost-tied percentage in common games, minimum of two.
   
3. If the tie is not resolved by Nos. 1-2, then strength of victory.
   
4. If the tie is not resolved by Nos. 1-3, then strength of non-conference schedule.
   
5. If the tie is not resolved by Nos. 1-4, then strength of overall schedule.
   
6. If the tie is not resolved by Nos. 1-5, then best combined ranking among all teams in points scored and points allowed.
   
7. If the tie is not resolved by Nos. 1-6, then best net points in all games.
   
8. If the tie is not resolved by Nos. 1-7, then best net touchdowns in all games.
   
9. If the tie is not resolved by Nos. 1-8, then final standings from previous year.
   
10. If the tie is not resolved by Nos. 1-9, then coin toss.

PART IV: NCAA Playoff Standings:

The Harris Interactive Poll, USA Today Poll, and AP Poll each combine to make up first three parts of the Playoff Standings. Each team will have a ranking from each poll from starting from 1 and going through all teams that receive votes.

· To provide the initial pool of potential panelists for the Harris Poll before the 2005 regular season, each Conference submitted the names of 30 qualified individuals; Harris Interactive randomly selected 10 panelists from among the names submitted by each Conference.

· Notre Dame submitted a list of six qualified individuals, from which Harris randomly selected three. Army and Navy together submitted a list of three qualified individuals from which Harris selected one.

· When a person leaves the panel, the conference that originally nominated the individual nominates three others to take the spot, one of whom is randomly selected.

· The first Harris poll is released on the last Sunday in September each season.

The computer rankings will make up the fourth part of the Playoff Standings. Each team will receive a number for each spot ranked in the polls and that number will be divided by four to get the total ranking.

The six computer ranking providers are Anderson & Hester, Richard Billingsley, Colley Matrix, Kenneth Massey, Jeff Sagarin and Peter Wolfe. Each computer ranking provider accounts for schedule strength within its formula.

The NCAA Playoff Standings are used for:

• Determining the rankings of the top twelve teams that would qualify to play in the NCAA playoffs schedule.
  
• Determining the top four teams to get first round byes in the playoffs.
  
• Determining any other automatic qualifiers; and,
  Establishing the pool of eligible teams for at-large selection.

The NCAA Playoff Standings will be released eight times each season, including the final Standings on selection Sunday. The National Football Foundation compiles and releases the Standings each week.

---

Well, if you don't like a Playoff or any kind of system involving the playoffs...then just follow Jim Mora's lead and don't talk about it.

Maybe I should write something...

But I like to let the pictures do the talking...





Great, now I just jinxed the Cubs again and will probably watch the Cards come back from a 2-0 deficit....

Look at the first half; Predictions for the second

Well, let's take a look at some of those pre-season predictions that yours truly said would happen.

AL Winners: Rays, Twins, Angels, Yankees as WC

Well, If the season ended today, the Angels and Yankees would be in the playoffs. The Rays have struggled a little this season and the Twins are still four back. I still both teams have not played up to their potential and are capable of making a run during the second half. Both have had some pitching problems and when it comes around, they will be tough to beat

AL MVP: Mark Teixiera
Under the radar: Justin Morneau
AL Player to falter: Dustin Pedroia

Both Teixiera and Morneau are MVP canidates and will continue to fight to get the award. Jason Bay is another canidate as is Morneau's teammate, Joe Mauer. This will be a tight race as nobody has really distanced themselves from the others. As for Pedroia, he is having a good year, but it won't compare to last year. He his hitting 20 points lower and only has 4 home runs so far. Again, a very good player, but nowhere near where he was in production from the last year.

AL Cy Young: Roy Halladay
AL Cy Yuk: AJ Burnett

If Halladay gets to stay in the American League, it will be a two horse race between him and Zack Grienke for the Cy Young. This could be something like Lincecum and Santana did last year in the NL. Burnett hasn't been bad, but he hasn't been great either...he leads the AL in walks, but has an 8-4 record to go along with an ERA under 4.00. If I had to choose a Cy Yuk, it would be Fausto Carmona, who has been demoted.

Five position players that will breakout:
Adam Jones, OF, Baltimore Orioles....umm...Check! All-Star! Absolutely raking!
Kendry Morales, 1B, Los Angeles Angels....he is starting to play everyday and showing he belongs. Has been hitting over .300 since June 1st.
Alexei Ramirez, SS, Chicago White Sox....In the middle of May, he was batting .200. That average is up to .280. Ramirez is really starting to come around, has shown more plate discipline and has the speed and the power. I would say he is on his way!
Shin-Soo Choo, OF, Cleveland Indians....Choo is hitting over .290 with double digits in steals and home runs. He is one of the few bright spots on the roster and looks like he will be in the Indians outfield for years to come.
Alex Gordon, 3B, Kansas City Royals....Injuries have made him worthless this year.

Five pitchers that will breakout:
Joakim Soria, RP, Kansas City Royals....Soria has been dominating has a closer with a brief moment on the DL. You should have heard of him by now
Kevin Slowey, SP, Minnesota Twins....Slowey started off cold and picked it up in May and early June. He is on the DL now, but still has 10 wins and a very solid K:BB ratio
David Price, SP, Tampa Bay Rays....Price finally got the call up and looks like he won't be back down ever again. He has had his ups and downs but you can see why he was a number one pick
Brett Anderson, SP, Oakland A's.... As with all young pitchers, has been good and bad. Remember, he is still only 21 years old...
Rick Porcello, SP, Detroit Tigers...Started off very fast and has cooled off since then. Still has nasty stuff but I would like to see more strikeouts.


NL Winners: Mets, Cubs, Dodgers, Phillies as WC

The Mets and Cubs have been devastated by injuries. For the Mets, Delgado, Reyes, Beltran have all been on the DL. The bullpen is much better than previous years, but they need to get healthy quickly if they want to make a run. The Cubs have had two, count them, TWO games with their opening day lineup. If Soriano and Bradley ever start hitting, this will be a very dangerous team. The Phillies just signed Pedro and along with the Dodgers are both trying to pry away Halladay from the Blue Jays. Both of those teams should make the playoffs.

NL MVP: Manny Ramirez
Under the radar: Hanley Ramirez
NL Player to falter: Ryan Ludwick

When you get suspended for 50 games, you aren't winning the MVP. The way Hanley has played the first half puts him in the race. Unfortunately for him, he has Albert Pujols in the way. But, unfortunately for Pujols he has Ryan Ludwick and others hitting behind him with a batting average of .240. Pujols should not be thrown to the rest of the year and will be on Ludwick and others to carry the Cardinals.

NL Cy Young: Johan Santana
NL Cy Yuk: Roy Oswalt

Johan started out filthy, but had an ERA over 6.00 in June. He is going to have a tough time to catch either Lincecum or Dan Haren. Oswalt strugged the first two months, but is starting to come around. I don't usually fault guys for being hurt, but Brad Lidge is nowhere close to the form he was last year and would probably get the award at the moment.

Five position players that will breakout:
Andre Ethier, OF, Los Angeles Dodgers....Ethier strugged a little bit with Manny out of the lineup, but has had some huge walk-off hits for the Dodgers. He will be a great player.
Stephen Drew, SS, Arizona Diamondbacks....Drew was injured early in the season, but has been raking since he came off the DL. It looks like he is on his way though.
Elijah Dukes, OF, Washington Nationals....Was given a chance and now is back in the minors.
Justin Upton, OF, Arizona Diamondbacks....An absolute beast in right field with power, speed, and average. He will be a very, very special player.
Joey Votto, 1B, Cincinnati Reds....Votto has missed a huge portion of the season, but while he has been playing, all has done is hit over .350 with power.


Five pitchers that will breakout:
Ricky Nolasco, SP, Florida Marlins....Sent to the minors, but has been dominant since he has been back.
Chris Volsted, SP, Florida Marlins....Up and down just like the other young pitchers.
Jonathan Sanchez, SP, San Francisco Giants....Also sent to the minors, came back and threw a no-hitter. The stuff is there, can he keep it together?
Sean Marshall, SP, Chicago Cubs....Sent to the bullpen since the Cubs needed a lefty out there. Been a great reliever, might get chance to start in second half.
Yovani Gallardo, SP Milwaukee Brewers....He has been filthy and carried the Brewers pitching staff.


Second half predictions:

AL East: Red Sox. They have the Yankees number this year and have enough pieces to pick up whatever they may need at the deadline.
AL Central: Twins. I think the pitching will come around and they can catch the Tigers and the White sox.
AL West: Angels. The Mariners and especially the Rangers will make things much more interesting than they were last year
AL Wild Card: Rays. I think they can hold off the Yankees...especially with the lack of pitching the Yankees have.

AL MVP: Justin Morneau. Expect a big second half from him.
AL Cy Young: Roy Halladay if he stays, Zack Grienke if he doesn't.


NL East: Phillies. The Mets aren't healthy, the Braves & Marlins both have issues. Phillies also could make a move to get Halladay
NL Central: Brewers. If the pitching holds up, they will make the playoffs easily holding off the Cubs and Cardinals.
NL West: Dodgers. With Manny fully back, they will run away with the division. Pitching and hitting is already top notch.
NL Wild Card: Cubs. If this team gets healthy and starts to hit, watch out. The pitching has been there all season, just need some timely hits.

NL MVP: Albert Pujols. Only because of his first half. He shouldn't get pitched too the rest of the year...but he still will for some odd reason. GIVE HIM THE BONDS TREATMENT!
NL Cy Young: Tim Lincecum. Any questions?


Playoffs:

AL Division: Red Sox over Twins, Angels over Rays
NL Division: Dodgers over Cubs, Phillies over Brewers

AL Championship: Angels over Red Sox
NL Championship: Dodgers over Phillies

World Series: Dodgers over Angels in 6.

And then there was ONE

One game. One goal. One dream. One more chance. Winner take all. Game SEVEN. Are you ready?



The National Hockey League, where we are finally off of life support happens! The NHL could not have scripted a better ending....except maybe an overtime to go with the game? The Detroit Red Wings trying to repeat as champions and bring some hope and joy to the city (like Michigan State failed to do) against the Pittsburgh Penguins and superstars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Gary Bettman has to be the happiest he has been in a LONG time.

Each team or city can claim their own fame with a victory tonight:

Detroit: Where we still have the Red Wings to cherish.
Pittsburgh: The city of champions (plus the Pirates).

If you want a recap from the previous six games, check out this article by Scott Burnside by clicking here! Or if you would rather get a game seven preview, check out this one.



This is truly what hockey needs. Two great teams going at each for sixty minutes (maybe more) to be crowned a champion. If the Red Wings play like they have at home all season and the playoffs, it should be a breeze. They need to come out early and push the Penguins around and establish their dominance on the home ice. The Penguins need to get a big game out of Crosby or Malkin or both. Neither have scored a point during the past two games. The biggest x-factor in this game will be Marc Andre-Fleury. If the Penguins goalie can fight off the Red Wings attack on the net, the Penguins might come out on top, if not, it will be another championship in Detroit.



The NHL: Where game SEVEN in the Finals happens. (Penguins 3-2)

Now, THAT is a ring!

Just stare at them. Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. I guess that's what happens when you become World Champions for a SIXTH time! Anyways, if you want the full story about the rings go here: http://news.steelers.com/article/105667/ or if you want to read the story from the Post Gazette, visit: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09161/976217-66.stm

5 things that will fix the Cubs

Alrighty, this .500 record garbage is making me sick. This team should be winning more than it is losing. With that in mind, here are five things the Cubs can do to take control of the NL Central and get to the playoffs again.

1. The easiest and most obvious is get healthy. When Rich Harden comes back, it will instantly upgrade our rotation and our bullpen. With him, Z, Dempster, Lilly and Wells, our bullpen can now go in order of 9th inning backwards: Gregg, Marmol, Guzman, Heilman, Marshall, and Ascanio. Sorry, the Patton experiment should be over. That should solve some of our bullpen issues.
2. If something still fails in that bullpen, go and find a left handed reliever. There are two lefties out there that might be available for the right price. Jeremy Affeldt from the Giants and Dan Meyer from the Marlins. The Giants are looking for another batter and when Miles and Ramirez come back, we would have some extra infielders at our exposal. The Marlins always are looking for pitching as we have found out with many trades.
3. In my mind, I still think we do not have an everyday second baseman. Look, Mike Fontenot is a great player. I just don't think you can play him a full week and especially against lefties. He can fill it at third and second when the Cubs are facing some tough righties. Rumor is Dan Uggla might be available and it would get the Cubs another right power bat. Another option might be Felipe Lopez from Arizona with the D'Backs falling mightily this year.
4. TRADE for Jake Peavy. Look, Peavy will give up his no trade clause for the right team. That right team is the Chicago Cubs! Put together a package that would be acceptable for the Padres and snatch him up for the next four years!
5. Don't do anything. What? Confused yet? Okay, when and if the Cubs stay healthy, we have already seen what their pitching will look like.

• OF's -- Soriano, Kosuke, Bradley (Johnson & Hoffpauir)
• IF's -- Ramirez, Theriot, Fontenot, Lee , Soto (Blanco, Scales, Freel, Hill)

This is a lineup if used properly can win games. Sori, Theriot, Fukudome, Ramirez, Bradley, D-Lee, Soto, Fontentot...or if Kosuke struggles like he did last year, switch him with D-Lee and go from there.

Don't panic Cubs fans. There is still plenty of time left in this season to win some more games!!

Lakers vs. Magic, who ya got?

THE NBA: "Where our dream match-up failed happens". Okay, so there is no Kobe vs. LeBron in this years NBA final like 95% of the watching public and David Stern wanted to happen. But, we still have a couple of intriguing things between the Los Angeles Lakers and the surprising Orlando Magic. Okay, maybe the Magic are just "happy to be here", but maybe not. If they play like they have since game 5 of the Boston series, Orlando will wrap up this series easily.

Here are the biggest storylines heading into the series.

1. Can Kobe Bryant win a title without Shaq? Kobe is 3-2 in the NBA Finals. The three wins came when Shaq was the best player on the team and that is indisputable. The two losses, Kobe was the best player and what did he do in those two series? In 2004 vs. Detroit, he averaged some great numbers (24-4-3, along with a 38% FG and 17% 3Pt) and last year against Boston he came away with (26-5-5, 40.5%, 32% and 4.7 TO's per game). Kobe needs a title without Shaq to defend his legacy and he is running out of time.
2. Can Dwight Howard become the next great big man? Look, Dwight Howard is Superman, but is he more than that? All season, critics asked if he could be more mean and not have so much fun. If he plays like he did against the Cavs, he could be on his way to getting more than his share of NBA titles.
3. Can Orlando continue to shoot the way they have the last 10 games and can L.A. defend them? Orlando has been shooting at a 45% clip from beyond the arc. Absolutely ridiculous and if it continues they will win this series. The Lakers have the players to match up with Orlando. Odom can check Lewis, Ariza checks Turkoglu, and Kobe can defend Alston. The Magic will no longer have 6'3 and 6'1 guards on them like they did in the Cleveland series.
4. Can Jameer Nelson be effective? If Nelson plays and plays well, he will be the X-factor. Nobody on the Lakers can defend Nelson's quickness and getting him back is going to be a HUGE difference for Orlando.
5. Can somebody else step up for Los Angeles? Andrew Bynum, this is for you! Derek Fisher? How about anybody coming off the bench? The Lakers would like you to play now.
6. Will the referees continue to make dumb calls? Does this question really need to be asked?
7. Last and most important...it is the individual match-up that we have been waiting for since 2006. We FINALLY get to see....J.J. REDICK vs. ADAM MORRISON with a championship on the line!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So, who you got?

I have Lakers in six.

Tony Romo misses cut

In case you missed it, because you probably did, Tony Romo attempted to qualify for the 2009 U.S. Open. Romo started off with a fine round, shooting even on the front nine in the rain. However, the back nine was not as kind to him. He had a back nine score of 44, including five bogies and one triple-bogey. So, what can we say about Romo's golf game compared to his football career. Let's take a look:

2006: Romo started 11 games...first six games, he was 5-1, the last five he was 1-4 including a playoff loss

2007: Romo started 17 games...first thirteeen games, he was 12-1, the last four, he was 1-3 with another playoff loss

2008: Romo started 13 games...first nine games, he was 7-2, the last four, 1-3 again and the Cowboys missed the playoffs


I see some sort of correlation between his golf game and his football game...Tony Romo starts off hot and fades down the stretch...The stats don't lie!!!