Celebrations in Cincinnati
In 1999, the Cincinnati Reds played the New York Mets in a one-game playoff. The Reds had the perfect mix of a star-in-the-making (or at least we thought) First Baseman, a veteran shortstop, a veteran power threat, and average pitching. All in all, I wasn't at all surprised when they lost to the New York Mets. The Mets were led by Mike Piazza, Edgardo Alfonzo, Robin Ventura, John Olerud, Rickey Henderson, Orel Hershiser, Al Leiter, and Armando Benitez. This is a Mets team that would lose to the Braves in the NLCS, but go to the World Series in 2000. They were built to win championships and the sport is, obviously, built to benefit the the Northeast and California markets.
On Tuesday night, I witnessed Jay Bruce's division-clinching home run. I saw a young team come together in celebration. Champagne bottles were popped. A city was truly free to go crazy for the first time since, well, 1990. On Tuesday, the Cincinnati Reds won the pennant.
The Reds failed in 1999. Why? They weren't built to win. This Reds team is built to win and they are built to win for a very, very long time. The most carefully constructed National League team since the Philadelphia Phillies, the Reds feature a Triple Crown-threat at first base, a hungry, loyal soldier at second base, a veteran shortstop, a generational talent at third base, and a slew of outfielders. When your team can limit a pure baseball player such as Laynce Nix to a comfortable 162 at-bats during a season, you know things are going well for your team.
Eight Reds Pitchers have started at least 8 games this season. Wake-up call, baseball world: They're all quite talented. That's a great prblem to have going into the post-season. And the bullpen was just serviceable, good yet unspectacular, until the Reds decided to call up a Cuban pitcher that can throw a 105 mile per hour fastball to strike out left-handed hitter, IE Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Raul Ibanez, Jason Heyward and Brian McCann.
Simply put, the Reds are a great team. If they happen to draw the seemingly invincible Phillies and fall during the Division Series, don't panic. The Reds of 2011 will be better than the Reds of 2000. They will not collapse a la the Milwaukee Brewers, although steps will have to be taken to sustain the team in the long run. The Cubs have built themselves a big hole, the Brew Crew are rebuilding, Houston is rebuilding, and the Pirates are, well, the Pirates. The Cardinals will continue to be a significant threat, but the Reds will be as well.
More amazing than the fact that Dusty Baker can manage: Walt Jocketty isn't a moron.
Bengals - Browns Preview
On Sunday, the Cincinnati Bengals will visit the Cleveland Browns. The Cincinnati Bengals are coming off back to back wins against the Baltimore Ravens and the Carolina Panthers. As of yet, the Cincinnati Bengals have been unable to develop a consistent running game, nor have they been able to get Terrell Owens an offensive touchdown. That being said, Jordan Shipley has been highly productive for the Bengals out of the slot and Jermaine Gresham looks like a star in the making. Expect Carson Palmer to put up an elite passing day this Sunday against a porous Browns defense. As for the Bengals defense, it will be solid as always, led by the likes of Dhani Jones, Rey Maualuga, Leon Hall, and Jonathan Joseph.
As for the Browns, expect Seneca Wallace to continue to produce for the Browns at the quarterback position, hence continuing his quest to play football and prevent Colt McCoy's doomed-to-fail promotion. You have to love what Joshua Cribbs has been able to do for the Browns so far this season, scording two receiving touchdowns whilst also producing with the ball in his hands on six rushing attempts. While Peyton Hillis will almost certainly not repeat his effort against ht Ravens, one can expect him to continue to run the ball behind Joe Thomas and Eric Steinbach, an elite Left Tackle and Guard combination. Unfortunately for the Browns, however, the defense just isn't there yet.
Bengals win, 31 - 17.
Steelers - Ravens Preview
The Cleveland Browns showed a weakspot in the Ravens defense: The power running game. Not only are the Baltimore Ravens, simply put, a bit banged up on defense, but they allowed Peyton Hillis to have a career game against their elite defensive squad. This is simply fire for Ray Lewis, who will attempt to lead his Baltimore Ravens to a brilliant rebound performance against Rashard Mendenhall and Issac Redman. And, if the Ravens are able to shut down the Steelers running game, despite the efforts of Charlie Batch, the Ravens will win. As for the Joe Flacco-led offense, the Jets - Ravens game taught us that Joe Flacco is willing and able to spread the ball around if Anquan Boldin is covered by an opposing defense. With Derrick Mason, TJ Houshmanzadeh, and Todd Heap going forward and Ray Rice going sideways, expect the Ravens to be able to pass the ball against this Steelers defense if Aaron Smith and the Steelers pass rush cannot get to the passer. However, Ray Rice will not be able to run the ball against the Steelers.
All in all, for the Steelers to win, Rashard Mendenhall will have to run the ball against Ray Lewis, and Ray Lewis still hasn't forgotten the text message Rashard sent to Ray Rice during the 2008 Steelers Super Bowl season prior to a Monday Night Football game between the two squads in which Mendenhall stated that he would run all over the Ravens defense. While Ray Lewis (hopefully) will not be able to break Rashard Mendenhall in two again, it just speaks to the depth of the rivalry between these two teams. For pete's sake, Ray Lewis even went into public and said that Ben wishes he was on the field, despite the beatdown the Ravens gave him during the 2006 season.
In fact, I bet the Ravens are hungry to strike at the Steelers, especially when one considers the five touchdown passes Ben Roethlisberger threw in one half during a Monday Night Football game between the Steelers and the Ravens during the 2007 season.
Look, it's THE fiercest rivalry in the AFC, probably in the entire NFL (All due respect to Packers - Bears). While I'm not going to say that the Ravens aren't favorites, I will say that fans should expect the expected and the unexpected to happen at the exact same time. A must-watch game for any true football fan.
Ravens win, 17-13
College Football Predictions: Week 5
Alabama over Florida
Ohio State over Illinois
Boise State over New Mexico State
Stanford over Oregon
TCU over Colorado State
Boomer Sooner over Hook 'Em Horns
Auburn over Lousiana-Monroe
Michigan State over Wisconsin
LSU over Tennessee
Miami (FL) over Clemson
Iowa over Penn State
USC over Washington
Michigan over Indiana
North Carolina State over Virginia Tech
Nevada over UNLV
Ohio University over Eastern Michigan
Notre Dame over Boston College, because Notre Dame was better than his dream job.
Fantasy Football Start 'Em Sit 'Em: Week 4
My theory on Fantasy Football is and always shall be simple: Don't overthink it. Use common sense. Use tendencies. Big time players are big time players for a reason. An old player on a fantastic team is worth playing. And, you don't hear of the little people because they just aren't that important.
All predictions are for PPR leagues only
Start:
Quarterbacks
Donovan McNabb vs. Eagles
Michael Vick vs. Redskins
Kyle Orton vs. Titans
Carson Palmer vs. Browns
Running Backs
LaDainian Tomlinson vs. Bills
Jason Snelling vs. 49ers
Justin Forsett vs. Rams
Wide Receivers
Donald Driver vs. Lions
Chad Ochocinco vs. Browns
Tight Ends
Heath Miller vs. Ravens
Jermaine Gresham vs. Browns
Sit 'Em:
Quarterbacks:
Vince Young vs. Broncos
Eli Manning vs. Bears
David Garrard vs. Rest of the bloody season because the Jaguars are drafting a QB next season
Running Backs:
Ahmad Bradshaw vs. Bears
Tim Hightower vs. Chargers
Marshawn Lynch vs. Jets
Denver's Stable of Backs vs. Titans
Wide Receivers:
Mike Sims-Walker vs. Colts
Michael Crabtree vs. Falcons
Tight Ends:
Brent Celek vs. Redskins
NHL Season Preview: Central and Atlantic Divisions
As if you couldn't already tell, this blog will cover certain divisions in a great detail. In football, the AFC North will be the prime subject. In baseball, it will be the NL Central. In hockey, I have chosen to cover the Atlantic and Central Divsions.
And, those of you who follow hockey know that these are, by far, the strongest divisions in hockey. Over the last three years, the Atlantic and Central Divisions have sent representatives to the Stanley Cup Final.
Atlantic Division
Pittsburgh Penguins: For me, the surprise of the off-season wasn't the signing of Paul Martin or Zybynek Michalek. In fact, these signings have been discussed, at length, in the sports world. As such, I will take this time to discuss a few pressing matters currently plauging the minds of Penguins fans: The line combinations and the 6th defenseman.
First of all, you know you have a championship contender when one of your pressing concerns is the 6th defenseman. Ben Lovejoy is signed to a two-way contract for the 2010-2011 season. Great. Bon. Bien. Yay. Cool. That means Simon Despres gets a 9-game tryout a la Kristopher Letang in 2006-2007 to see if he is worth keeping on the big league team this year. Keep this in mind folks: During that 9 game stretch, Kristopher Letang was great with the puck on his stick. He was continually able to find a way to get the puck in the net. If I recall correctly, during one game against the New York Rangers, Jordan Staal (who was also on a 9 game tryout; he stayed) and Kristopher Letang combined for two to three goals.
This is a veteran team. I don't see Despres sticking unless he is already better than Jack Johnson.
As for the line combinations:
Kunitz - Crosby - Dupuis
Staal - Malkin - Comrie
Cooke - Talbot - Asham
TK - Adams - Rupp
That is, of course, totally dependent on what will come of the Eric Tangradi - Tyler Kennedy situation. I cannot see the Penguins keeping both of those players on the big squad, although how much playing time Tyler Kennedy actually needs is a valid question, one that brings to mind the idea of ceiling, potential, and what has already been reached. Mike Rupp is a fighter that can actually play. He stays. Craig Adams is to Dan Bylsma as Michell Ouellet is to Michel Therrien, only Craig Adams is actually an A+ student. He's sticking.
Anyone who has seen Kunitz, Crosby, and Dupuis skate together know the line can produce and attack the neutral and offensive zones whilst also maintaining solid defensive coverage. The Cooke - Talbot - Asham line is incredible to see in person. If Mike Comrie can't score 25 goals with Jordan Staal and Evgeni Malkin, then Jordan Staal is going to marry Taylor Swift and Malkin will marry Milla Jovovich so as to make Mike Comrie feel inadequate.
I went there.
New York Islanders: You know, I really like the Islanders this year. They're underrated. They got a good young core of players, including several superstars in the making. If Rick DiPietro can stay heal...
I can't even finish that word. Then again, this is the year I drafted Ronnie Brown in two fantasy football leagues, so perhaps I should be more optimistic. Even if DiPietro stays healthy, the defense in front of him will almost certainly not be strong enough to maintain a lead in the 2nd period, let alone the 3rd period. That being said, don't be surprised if the Isles sneak in as a #8 seed. Tavares won't put up the numbers of Steven Stamkos, but he'll do everything he can to push this team into the hunt.
New York Rangers: Would someone please fire Glen Sather already?
First of all, this team would look much better with the late Alexei Cherepanov sharing a line with Artem Anisimov and Alexander Frolov. However, one cannot play such what-ifs and expect to remain sane. As a Penguins fan, I often wonder what the early 90s squads would have looked like if they had drafted the likes of Patrick Roy and Teemu Selanne. It just isn't healthy.
Artem Anisimov, Brandon Dubinsky, Chris Drury, Vaclav Prospal, Alex Frolov, Marian Gaborik, Ryan Callahan, Ruslan Fedotenko, Tim Kennedy, some goons, and Sean Avery. Not a bad forward squad.
Marc Staal, Michael Rozsival, Daniel Girardi, Michael Del Zotto, Wade Redden, and whomever they choose to put at #6. Not a bad defensive squad either.
Martin Biron will back up King Henrik, Bill Clement's lover on the EA Sports NHL series. Not bad.
Look, they're a solid team. But, how often will Frolov go to sleep this season? On that note, how many times will Fedotenko, Vaclav Prospal, and Tim Kennedy take a nap? How many minor penalties will the goons take, let alone Sean Avery? How many times will Marian Gaborik and Chris Drury fall to injury? With Wade Redden's assumed inability to play up to his contract, albeit overstated, how solid will their defense truly be?
It isn't that the Rangers are going to be a bad team. They just aren't going to be a good team. They're solid. Their playoff spot belongs to the likes of the underrated Carolina Hurricanes and the overhyped Tampa Bay Lightning.
Philadelphia Flyers: Beastly. Simply beastly.
Expect Mike Richards to put up 70 to 80 points every year. Expect Jeff Carter to put up 30 to 40 goals every year. Danny Briere, when healthy, is a great Top 6 forward. Ville Leino is a solid forward, but he won't be what he was during the playoff run.
Onto the other forward. Expect a breakout year from James Van Riemsdyk. He's a great young forward with an absurd amount of potential. Claude Giroux will continue his march forward. Nikolai Zherdev can be counted on for his ability to draw defensive attention and register 25 goals and 30 assists. That isn't bad. Oh, and Scott Hartnell is still pretty good.
The grinders are going to remain a force for this team. Ian Laperriere is a tough player to have in the bottom six. The same can be said for Darroll Powe and Daniel Carcillo. All in all, the powerful forecheck of the Flyers will help carry this team into the playoffs and, barring matchups in the First Round, far into it if I may be so bold.
Andrej Meszaros, Matt Carle, Chris Pronger, Kimmo Timonen, Braydon Coburn, and whomever you want at #6. Another great defensive squad.
But, when it all comes down to it, the Flyers still have a major hole at goalie. Their situation is worse than the Blackhawks. It's worse than the Blue Jackets. It's worse than any other team in the division. That's why this team will not win a Stanley Cup. They give up soft goals to Patrick Kane in overtime.
New Jersey Devils: I really want this team to collapse. But, they won't. They're going to be as boring as usual. Kovalchuk won't score as many goals as people expect of him, but he will generate some offensive chances. Expect this team to make the playoffs and almost certainly fail. I will never pick the Devils to make it out of the first round.
Central Division
Detroit Red Wings: Early Stanley Cup favorite, to be so bold. They return the majority of their squad from a year ago, which came on late following an injury-riddled season. Mike Modano will stabilize a third line. Jiri Hudler is going to show off what he learned over in Russia: Zilch. Don't worry, he'll be as productive, if not more productive, than Nikolai Zherdev. The defense will be as solid as usual. Jimmy Howard will produce at the goaltender position. There isn't much to say about the certain-to-be Central Division champions. They are going to be a fun watch, if you love everything that's great about hockey.
St. Louis Blues: This young, talented team finally received the goaltender it deserved in Jaroslav Halak. It isn't the goalie the Canadiens needed, althoug he is better than Carey Price. A slew of young forwards will lead this team into the playoffs. Expect Erik Johnson's stalwart defensive presence to put him in the discussion for the Norris Trophy.
Columbus Blue Jackets: No. Just no. Sorry. They just aren't a good team. They may not even be a solid team. The foundation that was built just two years ago has already caved in on itself.
Nashville Predators: Good defensive. Good goaltending. Great coaching. They're the Buffalo Sabres of the Western Conference. They will make a push for the playoffs. Their scoring depth is slim. They don't have what it takes for a deep run.
Chicago Blackhawks: It realy is a shame that I'm not going to get to hear the Blackhawks goal horn this season. It's one of the best in hockey. They lost a lot of depth and a lot of fan favorites. However, defensively, they are built to succeed. Replacing Cristobal Huet with Marty Turco was a smart move. Expecting Marty Turco to fill in Antti Niemi's shoes is bold. No. Their defense shall continue to be strong. But, they will not be able to play the same exciting style that brought the city of Chicago a Stanley Cup. For now, the Central Division appears to belong to the Red Wings. Expect the Blackhawks to make the playoffs as a #6 or #7 seed.
