2015 College Football Playoffs Predictions

And here we are. The playoff we have all been waiting for. Thank the lord we have a final four in college football now so that we can finally crown a real, more respectable, National Champion. It's taken quite a long time, but hopefully this is what the public wants when it comes to crowning the nation's number one program for 2014-15.


I am of the opinion that the 4 teams selected were put in the perfect slots and decided in the perfect manor. The Big 12 did get a little bit of a screw job, but at the same time, they only have Co-Champions and considering how Ohio State blew out the 2nd ranked defense in the nation in Wisconsin on a neutral field for the Big 10 Championship, you couldn't leave them out of the 4 spot. I like that Florida State didn't get a top 2 spot just because they were undefeated. Yes, they are defending National Champions and have the longest winning streak in the nation, but at the same time, if they played in the Pac 12 or the SEC, they would have lost 4, maybe 5 games. You better believe either Baylor or TCU would have taken a spot in the final four if Florida State would have lost during the regular season, but they are undefeated, so it's an easy selection to keep them in there. Then you have to two teams that I think even if the BCS was still around, most people throughout the country wouldn't have a problem with them facing each other in the National championship for 2015. Oregon had a slip up against Arizona early on in the year, but then they revenged that loss in the Pac 12 championship by throttling Arizona and finishing #2 in the country. They have the Heisman Trophy winner in Marcus Mariota who should be a solid pro come 2015. Then there's Alabama. The greatest team coming out of the greatest conference division (SEC West) by most media standards of all time. Shot me now. Yes, Alabama should be number 1, but let's not get too carried away about the SEC West. On the whole, the committee didn't go about the selection process correctly throughout the season, but when it comes to the outcome, it was spot on perfect. So let's get to the predictions shall we?


2015 Rose Bowl

#2 Oregon Ducks vs #3 Florida State Seminoles


Two Heisman Trophy Champions will face off against one another here in this first ever semifinal game in the history of college football. I really think this game could go either way especially if FSU can find a way to take care of the ball. If Jameis Winston can pull some 2013 magic out of the hat, FSU will be very hard to beat. The problem? Oregon has one of the fastest teams in the nation. Marcus Mariota won the Heisman in a landslide this season for a reason and if they can handle that Arizona defense like a ragdoll what make's people think that Florida State will hold any chance to stay relevant till late? But, if FSU can keep it within 10 going into the 4th quarter, hold on to your hats Oregon, because it could be a classic late. I just don't see it happening though.
Prediction: Oregon 41-27


2015 Sugar Bowl


#1 Alabama Crimson Tide vs #4 Ohio State Buckeyes


This is the game that the Big 10 is looking to cash out on in a major way. You talk about a conference that needs a recognition win for the ages, the Big 10 will be watching and cheering (Michigan too) hoping that they can become a legit contender siting in that 4 seed for years to come. A win by Ohio State here would mean wonders for the Big 10 and allow them to get the benefit of the doubt for the next 2-3 years automatically. But, it would take a miracle, because Alabama has the pedigree to destroy opponents when given ample amount of time to prepare. Does Ohio State really hold a chance against Alabama? I think so, I think that they have a pretty great shot at holding their own. The problem is, they don't have their best offense out on the field. They will be starting a 3rd string QB against the best program of this decade. If Ohio State wins this game, and their 3rd string QB wins it for them, it'll be one of the biggest surprises in college football history. I like Ohio State's defense to keep it close and keep it entertaining, but I think Alabama will run them down come middle of the 2nd half, and if they have a two possession lead on Ohio State, it'll feel like a 4 possession lead. Alabama should win this game, but Ohio State will keep it close.
Prediction: Alabama 21-13


2015 College Football Playoff National Championship Game


#1 Alabama Crimson Tide vs #2 Oregon Ducks


Well, I think the consensus is that this is who should be the two top teams in the National Championship. The best team from the best conference, and the best team from the second best conference with the Heisman Trophy Winner. No doubt about it that this will be one heck of a matchup. What's interesting about this game is that Oregon's Defense and Alabama's Offense might be the deciding factor. Oregon's defense is not SEC worthy and Alabama can run the ball all day on Oregon, the problem will be if Oregon takes the lead early and takes a big enough lead, will Alabama be able to run the ball effectively and use the run game as a weapon if they are down in the 4th quarter? That is the ultimate question, because if Alabama can handle that Oregon defense the way we all think they can, then Oregon better do their work on offense to take that early lead. Oregon has the offense to play against anybody and ultimately they can jump out to the lead they need to maintain the Alabama run game. It's going to come down to Oregon's fast offense against Alabama's walk it up the field mentality, but if Alabama can get the lead heading into the 4th, the clock will move a lot quicker than we anticipate. I just think that Oregon will find a way to get out to a quick lead and hold off Alabama just enough, but they need that quick lead or else the tide will turn.
Prediction: Oregon 38-35


Enjoy the rest of the Bowl games and enjoy the College Football Playoffs!

2015 NFL Playoff Predictions

So it took me a while to map out my predictions on here and I want to be clear that I did have the Denver Broncos winning the Super Bowl before the season and that I still think they can. The problem is the last 6 weeks they haven't looked like a team that can take their talent all the way to Arizona on February 1st. Can they do it without Peyton Manning playing a solid game? Absolutely. Do they need him to play better then average though? Of course. That is what makes the playoffs hard to predict this year, but their are still some dominant teams that should make head way in this postseason.




First off let me remind you that concurrent with Sports Illustrated this year, I was 77 games off in my predictions before the season (just like Sports Illustrated). Out of the 32 teams and where they may be slotted within their division, I put 17 teams in the correct spot within their division. 6 of the 12 teams I predicted to be in the playoffs got into the playoffs, all three top AFC seeded teams went where I projected them to be (Patriots, Broncos, & Colts) And in my predictions before the season, I did better than Sports Illustrated in 5 of the 8 divisions. I also predicted 4 teams in the NFL their correct record (Patriots, Giants, Ravens, & Seahawks). So with that, obviously, take my predictions with a grain of salt, because the NFL is unpredictable.




Here are my predictions & scores during wild card weekend in the NFL coming up for the weekend of January 3rd & 4th.




Wild Card Weekend




#5 Arizona Cardinals (11-5) @ #4 Carolina Panthers (7-8-1)


I know the Panthers are one of the most pathetic division winners in the history of the NFL, but don't let them fool you. They are also the first NFC South winner to win back-to-back NFC South titles in the divisional era (since the NFC South was formed). People also forget that Carolina was the #2 seed in the NFC last year and they had a vaunted defense. Arizona also has a vaunted defense, the problem is their offense is the equivalency of a broken wing. They won't go far, and with a third string QB at the helm, it will be tough for them to match Cam Newton on the other side of the ball. Carolina wins this one, but don't be shocked if Arizona makes it tough.
Prediction: Carolina 24-13


#6 Baltimore Ravens (10-6) @ #3 Pittsburgh Steelers(11-5)


This is the most treacherous rivalry in the AFC over the past decade. These two teams haven't liked each other long enough to where many children forget about the NFL being an actual contact sport. These teams used to hit so hard that I don't even think some of the former players remember who they are. This won't be that violent because women and children will be watching on a Saturday night eating their marshmallows and drinking hot chocolate, but don't be upset and call the PC Police if it gets a little toasty on the field. These teams have hated each other since the early 2000's and it will stay that way till time ends, and I expect an instant classic like it should be. The offensive firepower of the Steelers can match any team, but the Ravens do this thing in the postseason where they tend to crush dreams and Joe Flacco starts playing like Joe Montana. I think the Ravens find a way to win, but again, considering the power of this rivalry, my word practically means nothing. It's why they play the damn game.
Prediction: Baltimore 24-21


#5 Cincinnati Bengals (10-5-1) @ #4 Indianapolis Colts (11-5)


The scary thing about this matchup is that Cincinnati could come into Indianapolis and absolutely throttle them defensively and run the ball down their throat, or Indianapolis could come and deliver the same blow they did early on in the season. Both these teams have been highly inconsistent this season and the only thing keeping my finger on the Colts is that they have the most powerful QB in football in Andrew Luck. Nobody remembers in this short attention span society that Andrew Luck led one of the biggest comebacks in playoff history last season against the Kansas City Chiefs and found a way to get into the second round of the playoffs. He may have to do that again this year and frankly, it wouldn't shock me. With the struggles Cincinnati has had in the postseason over the past couple seasons, they still don't have the biggest identity to lean on except for a rookie running back out of LSU who is unproven in the most important NFL season; The Postseason. The Colts have an identity, and it's not run driven, but Luck driven. They'll find a way to win.
Prediction: Indianapolis 26-21


#6 Detroit Lions (11-5) @ #3 Dallas Cowboys (12-4)


Crazy to think that the #6 and #3 seed are only separated by 1 game. Well, that's the NFC for you, it's been absolutely nuts this year. The problem I have with the Lions is that they can't beat anybody over .500. Every team they have played with 9+ wins they have lost to (unless you count that Week 3 win against the Packers) and the Cowboys have found a way to obliterate every one they have faced since that Thanksgiving debacle against the Eagles. Weather it's on the Road or in the safe comfy Jerry Land in Arlington Texas, the Cowboys are playing like the Cowboys of the 90's over the last month. But this time, instead of Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, & Michael Irvin playing against Barry Sanders and the Lions, it'll be Romo, Dez, Spray Tan (DeMarco Murray), against Calvin Johnson and the boys. Should be a fun show, just don't expect Detroit to show up and play well.
Prediction: Dallas 34-17


Divisional Playoffs


NFC


#4 Carolina Panthers (8-8-1) @ #1 Seattle Seahawks (12-4)


... No No... I no breakdown game (Family Guy Consuela voice). The Panthers stand no chance against this high riding Seahawks team who's been on fire and caught stride at the perfect time. They can keep it close early, but the Seahawks will pull away eventually because they've had a week off. Once they dust the rust off in the 1st half, they'll put their foot on the Panther's neck in the 2nd.
Prediction: Seattle 21-9


#3 Dallas Cowboys (13-4) @ #2 Green Bay Packers (12-4)


This will be one of those games you will want to re-watch because I honestly could see it going either way and I guarantee you the 4th quarter will be amazing. But here's why Dallas is going to win. Look at how they have played since Thanksgiving and look at what Green Bay has done defensively. If you just take a quick look at their schedules, Dallas has dominated where Green Bay has been winning but they have also shown inconsistency and also have let bad teams hang around. The Cowboys don't have the best defense, but if they can get the Aaron Rodgers and make him feel a little flustered and keep that Packer Defense on the field, the Packers will wilt under their own home turf. The Packers are 8-0 at Lambeau Field this year, and at one point during the season they looked absolutely unbeatable. They still can win this game, but if the Cowboys can establish the run early, Aaron Rodgers will have to play the perfect football game to win. Considering the Cowboys have had the best running back in the NFL all year, and that their offense is peaking at the right time, they might be able to crack the Packers Defense in the 4th quarter. Again though, Aaron Rodgers is a zombie and I warn you, He... won't...die. This will be a classic either way.
Prediction: Dallas 31-28 F/OT


AFC


#6 Baltimore Ravens (11-6) @ #1 New England Patriots (12-4)


I feel like it's an every other year thing when these two teams meet up in the playoffs and I'm always curious to see which of which team shows up. Will the Patriots a chokers past find a way to let Joe Flacco and the boys squeak by? Or will Tom Brady play like the greatest thing since sliced bread and turn Joe Flacco into Gisele Bundchen in the kitchen. Yes, Tom Brady is Bruce Almighty, haven't you been watching the NFL for 10+ years? The point is, Baltimore scares me because if they beat Pittsburgh, they could go on a run all the way to the Super Bowl like they did two years ago, but I like the Patriots offense so much that it hurts. The other thing I keep forgetting is how potent that New England secondary is and I feel they have found a way to mimic Seattle and make it difficult to pass against. If Joe Flacco can't pass, then he might as well start prepping sandwiches to the defense now. Nothing like a Joe Flacco pick sandwich...In fact, make it two. I think Baltimore teases us, but New England will be the victor.
Prediction: New England 28-20


#4 Indianapolis Colts (12-5) @ #2 Denver Broncos (12-4)


I don't think people understand how long it took me to write this blog. It took me about 5 hours to write it, but at least an hour of it was focused on picking this game. Why? WHY AN HOUR WHEN A MONKEY COULD PICK THE GAME!? Because I don't know what the heck Peyton Manning is going to do! He's getting 2 weeks to rest and prepare and he's already played against the Colts already so he understands what it takes to beat them, but is he healthy enough and is that offense out of it's strange funk it's been in over the last month or so? I really can't tell, but the eye test tells me that somebody ate a bad case of cooked chicken and the worms are showing. I really don't like the inconsistency of the Colts, in fact, it makes me want to puke thinking they have a shot in the frigid Denver atmosphere and that Andrew Luck might actually have a chance to get to his first AFC Championship game, but it's hard to also pick the team that has consistently found a way to lose against good teams, and not put bad teams away early that makes me keep coming back to Andrew Luck and his capability to overtake the thrown of the Denver Broncos AFC Championship Crown. This game will be back and forth but in an odd way where it will be quick drives with many turnovers, but not a ton of scoring. This game could have a very odd feel to it, but I just can't pick against Luck considering how the Broncos have looked the past couple of months. I feel sick to my stomach, but I think the Colts will pull it out in Denver (even though I picked Denver as my preseason Super Bowl favorites).
Prediction: Indianapolis 26-24


Conference Championship Weekend


NFC Championship


#3 Dallas Cowboys (14-4) @ #1 Seattle Seahawks (13-4)


As we all know, the Cowboys beat the Seahawks earlier in the season in CenturyLink Field where it was thought of that the Seahawks were unbeatable. The Cowboys were then pronounced as the class of the NFL after that game, and deservedly so. The problem is, the Seahawks were completely wiped with injury issues at that point along with a whole bunch of locker room issues, chemistry problems from Percy Harvin, and that whole team hit a Grade A funk. Well, since that game, the Seahawks have pulled a complete 180 degrees and they now look like a team ready to repeat and nobody is questioning their capabilities now. Can the Cowboys do what they did earlier on in the season? Absolutely. Do I think the Cowboys can go into Seattle and dethrone the Defending Super Bowl Champions in their house on their way to Super Bowl XLIX looking to repeat as champions? Of Course. But here's why it's not going to happen. Tony Romo is a clutch player, people will laugh when reading that line but he is when nobody is watching. The problem is, everybody will be watching this game, and if can pull it off, he'll be heralded as the next Jesus Christ and religions across the land will prepare for the coming of their respective Lord. The issue with that possibility, Russell Wilson is already the God son of the NFL and he's already the living testament of the modern scriptures in what Jesus Christ is defining. Yes, I've gone completely Jesus on this bitch. The point is, Russell Wilson is the captain of the Millennium Falcon, all he needs to do is feed the beast, run the ball every time he can't find an open man, and let the defense receive the rest they need to keep attacking Tony Romo. If he does that, then the crowd will do the rest of the work. The Seahawks are playing like they did a year ago, and the past 6+ weeks they've been the best team in the NFL. They are going to Arizona to play for another championship.
Prediction: Seattle 27-17


AFC Championship


#4 Indianapolis Colts (13-5) @ #1 New England Patriots (13-4)


Well this isn't new. The only difference here is that the Colts don't have Peyton Manning and that's about it. Oh, and that the Patriots actually have a scary defense now and Andrew Luck stands no chance. If Andrew Luck finds a way to get to the Super Bowl, Buddhist Monks will fall from the sky and start to follow Andrew Luck in a perfect snake driven line till the end of time. He has to be their savior if he can beat the greatness of Tom Brady right? There's no way Tom Brady is losing this game. He's going to absolutely torch the Colts and make them wish they never played in the AFC and on top of Tom Brady torching them, the Colts offense is pass driven, and that's exactly what the Patriots defense is geared to stop. They won't be able get deep passes down the field and the Colts will be forced to keep their defense out on the field for too long and eventually the Patriots will be walking down the field by the 4th quarter. I think the Colts make it a closer game than it looks but this game will be over by the middle 3rd quarter.
Prediction: New England 35-23


AND NOW... FOR THE MOMENT YOU'VE BEEN WAITING TO READ...
(Which I'm sure you have already skipped to you impatient nitwit)


Super Bowl XLIX


#1 Seattle Seahawks (14-4) vs #1 New England (14-4)


Boy... this is a game that I want to see for the pure entertainment purpose of what the defenses will draw up to counteract one another and then to see the adjustments made in the second half to see which offense is ready come the 4th quarter to drive those precious yards in an attempt to win a historic Super Bowl. Why would this be historic? Well, it would be Tom Brady's 4th Super Bowl, or it would back-to-back Super Bowls for the Seahawks. I wish I didn't have to pick, but I know some team has to come out on top. I feel like if the Patriots have 2 weeks to prepare then Belichick will find the master scheme to offset the Legion of Boom. If you give Pete Carroll 2 weeks to prepare, he'll find ways to shut down crucial parts of the Patriots scheme. This would be the ultimate chess match. Two organizations fighting for the History that the NFL wants to unravel. The furry of the Seahawks and the calculated attack of the Patriots. Talk about a game that you could analyze from every angle and speculate what might go on. I hope it's these two teams because I want to see how they will match up on a neutral field. But... I'm picking the Seahawks, because this team is scary on 2 weeks rest, and if they find themselves with the lead in the 4th quarter, their run game will win the game. Period.
Prediction: Seattle 27-25


Super Bowl MVP: Marshawn Lynch


Thank you for reading! Enjoy the Playoffs!

Update on the writing stratosphere for sports!

I know, I haven't been up to speed on my blog over the past month and it's mostly because I haven't had anything to write about and... well, the stuff I do want to write on, my opinion has been quite wrapped up into my radio shows.


I'm here to update you and let you know that this Blog will now just become a sports prediction blog site. A place where you can go to view my long winded predictions on what's to come in the major sports either before the season, before the playoffs, before awards are handed out. You name it I'll write about it and write my predictions down here.


That doesn't mean I won't be writing freely here ever again, it's just going to be a rare sighting from now on. If I find a topic and write about it, I'll let you know about it. But for now, this will be mostly 98% prediction heavy blogging.


Which reminds me, If you are excited for the NFL Playoff predictions blog, that will be coming up next week about a week from tonight!


For all of you enjoying your holidays and watching the bowl games, Please spend as much time with family as you can this holiday season, for it is the people that we surround ourselves with that make us the people we are and the people that love us are what provide us the foundation for the future.


Enjoy your Holiday Season, and I'll see you in about a week!


Catch me on Twitter www.twitter.com/chrismorrison99 & on my two facebook pages with my two radio shows www.facebook.com/thedailycraze & www.facebook.com/thehooperslog

Personal Blog for Thanksgiving!

I know thanksgiving is in a couple of days and I wanted to personally write a blog to all the people who have been reading my blogs over the last couple years. I have been writing every week since January of 2013 and for those of you who have stayed loyal and, or, are friends of mine just taking a quick gander at what I write on a weekly basis, I just wanted to say thank you because with another year coming to an end here shortly, I just pray for everyone and their families for this upcoming holiday weekend. Please have a safe one.

As to what is to come in the sports landscape, I'm heavily disappointed in the high importance of football games for he NFL this upcoming Thursday. Don't get me wrong, I'm excited, but at the same time I like having some quality time with family that I hadn't seen in a while and with important games this Thursday I just hope that they are all blowouts because honestly, unless you are a complete loner, you'll more than likely have grandma chewing at your ear about the latest fling, or the most recent film she saw and if you decide to ignore her to watch these magnificent matchups on Thursday afternoon, then consider yourself a complete douche bag for ignoring your family.

Now if you can find a way to stay awake after gorging yourself with some amazing feast, you (one) didn't eat enough and (two) will get to watch some awesome football that is bound to be memorable. Hopefully you'll have some really cool family members to watch with, but if not either way, I hope you have a wonderful week reuniting with your family and shopping on those amazing deals that should be starting sometime Tuesday afternoon (especially with how Black Friday has turned into a weekly thing these days).

Have a wonderful thanksgiving!


See you next week!

Location:Thanksgiving Football

SEC West: Too Much Love

We have this new thing called the college football playoff and there is a hotly contested debate of how teams should be getting in and for reasons that are all money grubbing and "eye test" reasons that quite frankly just don't make sense in the scheme of what the new playoff system is trying to accomplish.

Why am I saying that the SEC West is getting too much love? I mean think about it. The very first college football playoff ranking on week 10 had 3 SEC West teams in it and two of them were from Mississippi. That's not to rip on Mississippi, but the purpose of the College Football playoff is to have the best 4 teams in college football play each other in the ultimate college football final four predicament. This week, it looks like even though Alabama beat the last undefeated team (Mississippi State) in the SEC West, many will still debate that Mississippi state should stay in the top 4. My question is why, and what is your evidence as to why they should?

Can we be clear about something. The SEC West is not all filled with NFL Players waiting to go pro, they are solid teams that are just as vulnerable each and every week as much as another one loss team in the power conferences in the FBS. This talk of how great the SEC West is shouldn't deter a team in the upcoming weeks of winning a power conference championship such as the PAC 12, BIG 12, and ACC Championship. The Big 10 with the way they have been presenting themselves recently might even have a minor say in the conversation as well. But people still keep getting antsy about a one loss SEC west team, who doesn't win a conference championship, should overtake another conference championship squad and why is that? Plain and simply, History.

Well let me tell you something, history means nothing when it comes to last season outside of FSU winning the National title this past January. The landscape of college football changes every single year and this year is no different. How can we make all these preseason predictions and assume that teams coming out of the SEC West should just duke it out in January for a national title bout when everything will figure itself out anyways? I understand the SEC has owned the bowl landscape of college football the past decade and that they have talent like no other conference. But at the same time, they shouldn't be running train all the way to January with 2 or even 3 teams where you could have other conferences bring in the same type of talent to the new Final Four of college football.

The more people keep buying into this hype of the SEC being the best conference in football, the more and more college football will alienate itself from the diversity and the parity conversation of separate conferences joining forces to make the almighty power conferences conversation begin.

I'm not a dummy, I understand the SEC West is stacked and filled with talent, but we need to calm down and look at the two teams running the BIG 12 right now (Baylor & TCU) the Heisman favorite in the PAC 12 (Marcus Mariota from Oregon), and the undefeated, resilient, defending National Champions in Florida State representing the ACC. I even forgot to mention the outside opportunity for Ohio State to represent the BIG 10, even though I think their chance this year are bleak, they too have an opportunity to open some eyes in the future. So you're telling me that there are 3 SEC teams that are better than these 4-5 teams I just mentioned. I can only think of 1 SEC team that is in the mix for a playoff birth right now, and that team has been Rollin Tide all decade to this point; Alabama.

Calm down about the SEC West talk and how they should just own the college football playoff. They are great, but the media is over hyping everything they are, especially at this point in the season. Let the teams who are fighting for these 4 spots do what's supposed to be done; proving it on the field.

See you next week!

AFC North Greatness

Yes, it is nearing the middle of November and I am writing about the greatness of the AFC North? A division that many would deem puny and unworthy the last couple of seasons, but this is 2014 and clearly a lot changes in a year.

The Baltimore Ravens (as of the end of week 10) are in last place in the AFC North. You are probably reading this in the year 2016 and saying who cares. They are 6-4. Think about that. Every team in the AFC North is at least 2 games above .500 while you have a team in the NFC South at 4-5, New Orleans Saints, who will be hand gifted a postseason birth sometime in the next 7 weeks.

To make things even more insane, along with ensuring an end of the world scenario playing out in front of us, the Cleveland Browns are leading the division and Johnny Football has had nothing to do with it. They are 6-3 and could very well have their first winning season this decade and it would be in the toughest division Race since the 2007 AFC South race.

As much as we could write about this division, I think the hardest thing to bring up is how come one of them won't make the postseason when there will be an NFC South team that will find a way into the Postseason? How about this, just for the 2015 playoffs, we have the last place AFC North team play in place of the winner of the NFC South winner this season, because nobody wants it in that division.

Similar to how the NFC West was won in 2010 when the Seahawks won the division at 7-9, nobody seems to want it in the NFC South as no teams are at .500. How fascinating will this already 2014 NFL Season become if every team in the AFC North finishes with 10+ wins in the AFC North and nobody finishes with 8 wins in the NFC South. The NFL will have some explaining... Not that they already do *cough* Roger Goodell *cough*.

See you next week!

The Brow is Ballin'!

So earlier this weekend I looked at myself in the mirror and saw that I had a minor unibrow forming. I looked at it while simultaneously looking at the stats Anthony Davis had put up the night before, I found myself becoming proud of my lack of up keeping in the brow region of my face. I then recognized that I'm not an NBA superstar in the making, and shaved it off rather quickly before anybody could comment throughout the day.

Superstar in the making? Yeah right, he's one right now. Anthony Davis is a Center for the New Orleans Pelicans and with the way he played this summer, it definitely carried over into this first full week of the season and it's not just bright, it's glaring for attention that is needed throughout the media today.

He is in his early 20's and is already in the elite category when it comes to the legends playing the game right now and he'll be the face of he NBA in a couple of years... Maybe even by the end of this season. This guy is so good that I needed to write about him and give him the props he deserves because I'm picking him to win the MVP in the NBA this season.

Only a week into the season, this guy is playing 40 minutes a game, putting up 29 points a game, grabbing 16 rebounds on average, averaging 6 blocks, and shooting 75% from the free throw line. You talk about a force in the paint we haven't seen since the likes of Shaq, you're looking at the closest thing since. I'm not trying to discount Tim Duncan, or any other good big man in the league right now, but this Anthony Davis guy is only 21 years old and is just getting started.

If this guy can gather the talent around him (which he seems to be doing slowly in New Orleans) and find a way to make more and more appearances in the postseason down the road, the title chances will be there for the taking. He deserves more praise than what the media is throwing his way and, in a sense, you could say he's been Tim Duncan like with how quietly he is putting up his numbers away from the major media market games.

But, don't get it twisted, when this guy is on, he makes the gym absolutely buzz. He's been the biggest force in the NBA in this early 2014-15 season and we got a loooooong way to go.

I'm excited to be writing weekly once again, and be prepared for some major topic blogs coming up weekly on Monday nights from here to come!

See you next week!

Field of Dreams; 25th anniversary, Greatest Game

The movie came out 25 years ago. I thought I would make the ultimate dream game scenario where I would hand pick my own team and have them play against another team that was equally if not better.

Considering it's October and the baseball season is still fresh on our minds, I figured I would make this dream game scenario would play itself out until it got to a Game 7 which in this case would occur on a Sunday because in my dream scenario each game would be played every day during that week. So pretend it's Sunday, on a chilly 55 degree day, the brisk wind hitting your face as the legends of the game take the field in a final Game 7 of what had already been a miraculous previous 6 games.

I'll start off by introducing My Team.

The stating line up 1 through 9:

RF-Ichiro Suzuki (Quite possibly the greatest leadoff hitter ever. A selfish player in his own right, but when you are the face of Japan for over a generation and you have nearly 4,000 hits in your career both in the MLB and Japan? You can do what ever you want. Oh and he also holds the record for most hits in a season, the most consecutive 200+ hit seasons, and he won countless Gold Gloves.)

SS-Derek Jeter (The best captain in baseball history. He led the Yankees to 5 championships and won 4 in 5 years after a long drought by the greatest franchise in sports. He also kept a clean resume throughout his time in New York which is hard by itself and he was a true testament to the game. He's also a top 3 short stop of all time in my book.)

LF-Ted Williams (He's the greatest contact hitter ever in my book. Oh and the guy served in WWII and if it weren't for his service, which we all root for anyways, he would have probably broken nearly every hits record in Major League Baseball history. A gentlemen in all categories and beast at the plate.)

1B-Jimmie Foxx (Imagine Albert Pujols in his prime but better and for a longer time, Jimmie Foxx epitomizes dominance at the plate for a first basemen. The guy could also play catcher and played it well, but his strong suit was at first base. Basically, if it wasn't for Babe Ruth, this guy would have stolen all the glory for his ability to mash a baseball and his consistency is ridiculous. It also helps when your nickname is "The Beast.")

CF-Willie Mays (Arguably the greatest player ever. Period. If you don't have Willie Mays in your top 3 list of all time players, then you are simply a moron plain and simple. He defined the term greatness when it came to the elegance, happiness, and passion that was brought to the game, the guy was simply fantastic.)

DH-Edgar Martinez (The greatest DH of all time and should be in the hall of fame some day. The guy is in the top 20 all time in on base percentage and did it as a permanent pinch hitter. He also was a clutch hitter, one of the most clutch hitters in the history of the game. He was and always will be my favorite player. Basically, if Mariano Rivera, the greatest closer of all time, said he was the hardest hitter he ever faced, put his face in Cooperstown.)

2B-Rogers Hornsby (Greatest hitting second basemen ever and it's not even close. For those of you who watch Robinson Cano and think he is the end all be all, imagine Robinson Cano and multiply that by 3. This guy was a freak at the plate and clearly is the best second basemen the game has ever seen.)

C-Ivan Rodriguez (Several Gold Gloves & All appearances and my Idol as a young catcher. "Pudge" as his nickname would be called, was one of those catchers that you looked at and were like, wow he made that look easy, and could do it all. The guy could hit, run a pitching staff, and was clutch when it mattered most. I wouldn't have any other guy run my pitching staff other than this guy.)

3B-Brooks Robinson (The greatest defensive 3rd basemen of all time, he is the staple of what a great defensive 3rd basemen wants to become what it comes to the hot corner. He couldn't hit that well, but his glove is what put him in the hall of fame.)

...and the Starting pitcher:

-Pedro Martinez for this Game 7 (Pedro has an opponents batting average just above .200 in his career which for the era he pitched in is beyond the term bonkers. The guy pitched in the heat of the Steroid Era and would have won more awards if some certain players weren't playing in this era. He also was always on the end of big games that the Red Sox needed back in the early 2000's and I would have no worries if he were pitching in a Game 7 for me)

The other starting pitchers for my team include:

-Nolan Ryan (Most K's ever, threw 100 mph till he was 40 years old, he threw 7 no-hitters and was very durable. This guy was also ridiculously competitive and really defined the term "Texas Heat" when the ball left his hand.)

-Sandy Koufax (Greatest left handed pitcher in the history of the game. His Slider was projected by hitters of his era as the most unhittable pitch they had ever seen and that the trajectory of the pitch was unpredictable the pick up. I've read in books that his slider would come in at 11 but would drop at 4. That's not supposed to happen. Pitches that come in at 11 always as supposed to come in at 5. He was straight nasty, and there was nothing you could do about it.)

-Greg Maddux (The most consistent pitcher of his era. It seemed to be a yearly thing when Greg Maddux would win 15+ games a year, and considering the speed that he threw, his location was unconscious. I've always said, that if you wanted to put paint on a baseball, Greg Maddux would be the Picasso of pitchers.)

-Randy Johnson (The nastiest left handed pitcher the game will ever see, and quite possibly the tallest. When Randy reared back and threw his 102 mph fastball with the sidewinding action that he delivered it, many people would wet their pants. Just ask John Kruk.)

My Bullpen:

-Babe Ruth (Yes, a perfect guy because he can pinch hit and relief pitch. He's also well known by many non baseball enthusiasts and is well known as one of the greatest players to ever play. But, many people forget he pitched before he started hitting homeruns, he could have gone to the hall of fame pitching too.)

-Dennis Eckersley (Can pitch in long relief and save a ball game, a guy who stuck out like a soar thumb and clearly resembled the look of California beach walker)

-Billy Wagner (The greatest left handed closer ever, he has the most saves as a left handed relief pitcher.)

-Trevor Hoffman (The second greatest closer of all time. Possibly the greatest change up anyone has ever seen.)

-Mariano Rivera (The Greatest Closer of all time. A humanitarian and a humble spirit. Also a man of the greatest Cutter the game has ever seen.)

Here's my bench as well which involves 5 players:

LF-Ricky Henderson (Why not have the all-time steals leader come off the bench in a pinch running situation? He was the best at it.)

SS-Honus Wagner (He was the hero back in the dead ball era and could play both sides of the infield if needed)

1B-Albert Pujols (Can play 3B, LF, and 1B obviously. The guy is just a notch below Jimmie Foxx, but a perfect guy if you need somebody off the bench to provide a hit and play good defense. His nickname is "The Machine" for he could hit in the gap as though he were a robot.)

C-Mike Piazza (Not a guy I would prefer on defense, but he is the greatest hitting catcher the game has ever seen.)

3B-Chipper Jones (A switch hitting guy who can also play some LF if needed, one of the greatest 3B's in the history of the game and the greatest switch hitter in the history of baseball)

So that is my team and they will face off against the other team that I have also assembled. As you can tell, all of my players (except for maybe the Catchers) are all "clean" players from Performance Enhancing Drugs. Ivan and Mike may have taken steroids back in the day but outside of those two, everybody else is very clean making this a pretty rooting friendly ball club and a scary team at that. So... you can picture who I would have on the other side then if you know the history of the game and the villains who will be on the other side. Well here is that other squad and their starting lineup. Let me remind you, this team has to have some way of functioning and they have to have some form of peace, so there are some really good guys on this team, they aren't all hard to root for.

Starting lineup for the Other Team 1 through 9:

CF-Ty Cobb (The greatest player of his era but also the most hated. This guy was an ugly bastard and I'm putting that nicely. He was also a menace if you were on the other team because he made your life a living hell for his talent and wit on the baseball field, but man he was a purebred asshole.)

RF-Tony Gwynn (The exact opposite of Ty Cobb, in fact, this was possibly the nicest human being to ever play the game. A kind soul, a man who had unbelievable character and could brighten even the darkest souls spirit. Also, he immolated Ted Williams swing, and he did it well)

1B-Lou Gehrig (Again, another kind hearted soul and a great human being. Also the original Iron Man and he was also one of the most productive players when came to hitting a baseball)

LF-Barry Bonds (The boo birds are already flying. This guy was the face of the Steroids Era as he cheated his way into breaking the all time homerun record and is the only member of the 700 Homerun-500 Stolen base category... but he also used steroids so go figure.. BOOO!!)

3B-Alex Rodriguez (You might as well boo for two straight batters. This player also has used steroids, lied about his use of performance enhancing drugs, and to many is the biggest pansy the sport has ever seen. It doesn't mean that he isn't also one of the most lethal players to ever play the game and in his prime you couldn't stop him)

DH-David Ortiz (Another guy to root for. A family man, a guy who has gone about his business the right way and also up their with Edgar Martinez as possibly the next best DH ever to play the game, he's also got a knack for clutch hits too)

SS-Cal Ripken Jr. (The Iron Man, and also a humble human being for what he provided on and off the field. The guy was not disliked at all, and even though he's most well known for his consecutive games played streak, the guy also had the most power of any short stop in the history of baseball)

C-Johnny Bench (People will debate forever that this is the greatest Catcher in the history of the sport and I would not debate them because they would have a valid argument. This guy was the anchor of the Big Red Machine back in the 70's and at the time the greatest catcher in baseball history. He could anchor down a defense like nobody in his era along with provide the power at the plate that had never been seen in at the catching position during his time)

2B-Craig Biggio (How could you hate Biggio? The guy was loveable and had a great kid persona about him. He also has the all time record in getting hit by the pitcher, and in many statistical categories leads many second basemen, so he's got to play in this game, even if it means batting 9th)

So as you can see the starting lineup is rather bipolar when it comes to the personalities and rooting interest, but you gotta have some nice guys with the scrubby guys. The starting pitcher for Game 7 is also a guy who's easy to boo as well.

Starting pitcher:

-Roger Clemons (A guy who took Performance Enhancing Drugs and still to this day denies ever taking them. He has 7 Cy Young awards and could throw gas with the best of them. He's clearly one of the greatest pitchers of all time, but won't get the recognition due to his use of Steroids.)

What a better matchup then to have Roger Clemons and Pedro Martinez face each other once again. It takes me back to my childhood of watching the two guys dueling it out in the greatest rivalry of the sport (New York Yankees vs Boston Red Sox). Everybody who wasn't a Yankees fan hated Clemons, everybody who wasn't a Red Sox fan hated Pedro. That I would pay to see again.

Here are the other Starters on the Other Team:

-Cy Young (How could you not have the guy with the most wins in MLB History and the guy who the best pitcher of the year award is named after? This guy won 511 games, a record that will never be broken, and pitched in the most games ever. He was the best pitcher of the dead ball era and it's not even a debate)

-Walter Johnson (If there was one guy you could pull from the dead ball era to put into the modern era, this would be the guy. Players reported that Walter Johnson's fastball was so fast they claimed they couldn't see it. He has the second most wins in MLB history and the pitches he threw were unlike anybody had ever seen. I still don't think he could pitch in todays era, but man it would have been nice to see.

-Warren Spahn (Now I say that Sandy Koufax is the greatest left hander in history and it's not even close, but people would argue with this guy right here. He has the most wins by any left hander in Major League Baseball history and he played in an era that is respected by many to have potentially carried over to today. So this guy could compete with the best of them and maybe, just maybe, he could have performed equally if not closely to as well as the players of today)

-Christy Mathewson (You want to talk about character, this man had the class that very few men could attain. Another dead ball pitcher but a guy who could help balance out the personalities of the starting rotation. He also was claimed to have thrown really hard but again, the era he played in may not have transferred to today but if it did, good lord he'd be unstoppable)

Many of these starting pitchers may not have been able to get past the team that I made only because of the era that they pitched in. I think they could hang and provide for an interesting series, but on the whole, they probably would get destroyed. That doesn't mean they wouldn't know how to win. You can't just win 400+ games as many of these men have and not be smart. These guys were all smart, and they could muster something together to keep themselves going in todays era.

Even though most of the guys in this starting rotation wouldn't need a bullpen, I have one just incase they needed the extra the relief.

Bullpen of the Other Team:

-John Smoltz (This guy could start and could also close. He has 100+ saves and 100+ wins in his career, he could definitely play a good role in Long Relief)

-Hoyt Wilhelm (This guy pitched in a relief and started every once in a while too. He also was an avid knuckleball thrower and was known to be one of the best)

-Addie Joss (Another typically great ballooned dead ball era pitcher who's stats couldn't be left off a team, guy was known as "The Human Hairpin" and was known for hiding the ball very deceptively before he delivered to the plate. With his career Earned Run Average at the second lowest all time and a Career WHIP at the lowest all time in Major League Baseball history, how could you not bring him out of the bullpen in a setup situation?)

-Arthur Rhodes (One of the best left handed set up men the game has probably seen on a consistent basis. In an era where bullpen guys come and go, Arthur Rhodes kept going. The guy currently holds the record for the most holds (which is a new stat conducted for keeping the lead heading into the 9th allowing the closer to get the save) I anticipate this record to shift places eventually, but for now Arthur holds the holds mark)

-Lee Smith (This guy was known by many as the "best one inning pitcher the game ever saw." This was prior to the emergence of one Mariano Rivera and Trevor Hoffman, but Lee Smith was the other guy in this instance and racked up 478 saves throughout his long term career. He's no slouch and bringing him out of the bullpen in a save situation would be a sight to see!)

Now let's get to the bench where the Other Team has another 5 guys to discuss:

UTIL-Pete Rose (Charlie Hustle as he's known for, is a guy who played hard on every play. He has the most hits in Major League Baseball history, but isn't in the hall of fame because he bet on baseball. He pretty much could play anywhere out on the field and if you put him there he would do as good a job as anybody could ask, oh and his bat was pretty lethal too. The definition of a hustle player and the perfect guy off the bench.)

CF-Ken Griffey Jr. (Yes, this guy is coming off the bench. You talk about one of the best players of his era, he could easily have taken Ty Cobb's spot, but I think Ty Cobb would have killed him if he did. Also, considering the statistical advantage Ty Cobb has, I had to put him in over Griffey. Griffey in his prime was like watching Michael Jordan play baseball [except better]. If anybody in the outfield got hurt, Griffey would step in and do just as good, if not a better job. The only reason he isn't starting is because of his risk of injury and because his batting average just isn't up there with the other three outfielders, outside of that, he'd be out there. If this guy didn't get hurt during his career, we would be talking about the greatest player to ever play this game)

LF-Lou Brock (He's the second leading base stealer of all time. Another perfect guy to bring off the bench to steal. With over 900 steals in his career, I'd say it's a pretty good bet he'd do a good job)

OF-Billy Hamilton (No, not the current Billy Hamilton who's in the MLB right now. I'm talking about "Sliding Billy." Another dead ball era great who played before the World Series era and was a 19th century great. Nobody really remembers Billy except for the historians of the game. He was a guy very proud of his ability to steal bases and if he was on base, he's another guy with 900+ stolen bases and if the game got late and this team needed another guy who could fly, lookout for Billy!)

C-Yogi Berra (Why not have a character in Yogi sitting on the bench hanging out and having a good old time? He's definitely not one of the greatest catchers when you breakdown stats and categories of the game at his position but his championships and All-Star game appearances are good enough for consideration. 18 All-Star game appearances, 13 Championships, and on top of that the guy was an alright manager? How could you not have him riding the bench?! Oh and did I forget to mention he's a 3 time American League MVP? Yeah, he's an easy choice.)

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So that's the teams, and remember, we are in a Game 7 scenario and I'll recap it all for you up until this Game 7 occurrence.

My Team has home field advantage (not that the field was leaving Iowa, but just to give the last at bats in a series situation). We played a 2-3-2 format (Home-Away-Home) even though we never left the same field. So here are the recaps of each game leading up to Game 7.

Game 1 recap:

Pedro Martinez pitched first vs Cy Young and Cy Young pulled magic out of his hat as he held my team in check for a solid 5 innings. The Other Team scored first in the top of first inning as Pedro gave up a 2 run bomb into the corn field by Barry Bonds, but after the 1st inning Pedro settled down and went the distance pitching 8 magnificent innings. Cy Young had a shutout until he ran into some trouble in the 6th inning giving up a leadoff homerun to Willie Mays, which cut the score to 2-1. Cy Young was pulled for Hoyt Wilhelm. Hoyt's knuckleball kept my team off balance, as they couldn't adjust to the knuckleball pitcher. Lee Smith came into the game in the 9th inning to try to close the door but it was definitely difficult. He got the first two outs in the inning, until he walked Derek Jeter (And then Ricky Henderson came in to pinch run). Ricky stole 2nd on the first pitch, then on the next pitch he stole 3rd, but Lee Smith had Ted Williams at 0-2. Ted hit a ball into the leftfield gap that looked like it would be the game tying double, but Ken Griffey Jr. (a defensive replacement) made a ridiculous catch to end the game. Other Team wins Game 1: 2-1, they lead 1-0 in the series.

Game 2 recap:

I had Nolan Ryan out there for Game 2 and they had Walter Johnson. You talk about a hard throwing matchup. Both these guys skated through the first 3 innings untouched and both had 7 K's heading into the 4th inning. That's when Ty Cobb got angry and mustered up a run in a fashion only Ty Cobb could do. He laid a bunt down the third base line where nobody had a chance to throw him out. He then stole 2nd on the second pitch to Tony Gwynn. The next pitch, Gwynn hit the ball on a hit & run to left field (shocking right?) and Ty Cobb scored easily to make it 1-0 Other Team. Lou Gehrig then hit into a double play, and Nolan Ryan struck out Barry Bonds on 3 straight heaters. Bottom of the 4th, that's when my team opened the flood gates. Ichiro got a single up the middle, Jeter got a base hit the other way, Ted Williams knocked in Ichiro to tie the game at 1-1, then Jimmie Foxx hit a 3 run homerun to make it 4-1 my team. Willie Mays reached base on a double in the gap, then Edgar worked the count and got an RBI base hit to make it 5-1 my team. That was when Walter Johnson got pulled, and in came John Smoltz who retired the rest of the batters in the 4th. Nolan Ryan went all the way until the 8th inning when he ran into some trouble as Barry Bonds and Alex Rodriguez both went back-to-back home runs off Nolan Ryan to make it 5-3 my team. The next batter, David Ortiz, was then drilled in the back by Nolan Ryan because of those two homeruns. It paid off though because Cal Ripkin hit into an inning ending double play to send the game to the bottom of the 8th. My team didn't respond with any runs, but that's ok because Rivera was warming up in the Bullpen. Mariano retired the 9th inning in order and my team won 5-3 to tie the series up at 1-1.

Game 3 recap:

This game my team was on the road and would be for the following two games until Game 6. I had Sandy Koufax out on the hill while the Other Team had Warren Spahn. The great debate of the greatest left handed pitcher would come forth in this one! Koufax retired the first 17 batters he faced and Warren Spahn retired the first 15 he faced. Both these teams clearly had a difficult time facing the lefties. But my team got on the board first as Rodgers Hornsby broke the seal with a leadoff double into the gap. Ivan Rodriguez sacrificed him over the 3rd base, Brooks Robinson popped out, and up came Ichiro. Ichiro did what he always does and lined a base hit up the middle to give my team a 1-0 lead heading into the bottom of the 6th and with the way Koufax was pitching, that was a scary thought. Koufax gave up his first hit to Craig Biggio of all people, then struck out Cobb looking on a nasty hook. Koufax retired the next 6 batters (2 innings) and headed into the bottom of the 9th where Mariano Rivera would pitch to save the game. Rivera got the first two hitters out but again, here comes Ty Cobb. Cobb figures he can't hit off Rivera so he lays a perfect running bunt down and gets to first easily. Billy Hamilton pinch runs for Cobb and he is absolutely livid that he's pulled from the game. So mad that he threatens to kill his own base coach. Fortunately, Tony Gwynn and Yogi Berra come out to restrain Cobb and get him out of the ballgame. You get these kinds of tirades with Cobb from time to time, but I don't blame him for getting upset because he want's to stay in and help the team win. Tony Gwynn finds a way to get a 2 strike base hit off Rivera and Billy Hamilton was running on the pitch. He decides to take the turn at 3rd and head for home, but Ichiro throws out Billy Hamilton at the plate and my team wins 1-0 and leads the series heading into game 4, 2-1.

Game 4 recap:

Greg Maddux was pitching for my team and Christy Mathewson was pitching for the Other Team. This game got ugly quickly. In the first inning, My team scored 8 runs and batted around twice and Matthewson was pulled after the first bat around with Cy Young. Cy then gave up another 4 runs as we batted around again. Cy was then pulled and in came Addie Joss and he shut the door on the rest of the inning. We were up 8-0 with Greg Maddux on the mound. Too easy. Well, that's what I thought. They put together a 5 run inning and cut the score to 8-5. Greg Maddux stayed in the ballgame but his pitch count was already in the 40's. The games rolled along to the 5th inning and this was when Greg Maddux's night hit the wall. He gave up a 3 run bomb to Barry Bonds and the score became tied at 8-8 in the bottom of the 5th inning. Maddux was pulled for Babe Ruth, who was then placed in the DH position as well (so he could hit and pitch). Ruth shut down the rest of the 5th, and he came up two innings later in the top of the 7th and broke the tie with a 2-run homerun to make it 10-8 my team. In the bottom of the 7th, Ruth gave up a pinch-hit homerun to Ken Griffey Jr. who again took over for Cobb, this time there was no altercation. The score was now 10-9 and Ruth was then put into right field, pulling Ichiro from the game, and put Bobby Wagner in to face the left handed portion of the lineup for the Other Team. He shut them down and stayed in for the 8th and this time handed the ball off to Trevor Hoffman in the 9th. I was confused too, but considering they almost scored on Rivera last game, might as well change it up. Bad decision from the get go. Barry Bonds hits a game tying homerun to make it 10-10 and the game would head to extra innings. Knowing that Other team needed this game to keep pace, they put in Roger Clemons (who was scheduled to pitch Game 5) so that he could keep this game going as long as he could. My team put in Pedro Martinez to do the same. Knowing that Pedro was working on 3 days rest, I figured he would do ok. Both teams were held scoreless for the next 8 innings. Pedro and Clemons dueled like it was the early 2000's again and it was a classic. Until the bottom of the 19th, where the Other Team had Alex Rodriguez up at the plate. A-Rod hit the game winning HR to win it for the other team 11-10 in 19 innings. Talk about a game. This one lasted about 8 hours but every minute of it was amazing. The Series was now tied up at 2-2 heading into a big time Game 5.

Game 5 recap:

Well knowing that Roger Clemons couldn't go, Cy Young could go, but he had pitched the previous day and struggled mightily, the Other Team only had One Choice, they had to go with Warren Spahn once again. My team turned to Randy Johnson, and boy was he ready to burn. Randy pitched 8 magnificent innings and Warren Spahn barely got out of the 4th inning. Spahn came back out for the 5th inning and instantly it felt like he had given up 3 runs. He hit's Jimmie Foxx in the leg on the first pitch, Willie Mays get's a rare infield base hit, then on the first pitch Edgar Martinez see's he hits it to dead center field over everything. It's 3-0 my team just like that. The Other Team puts in Hoyt Wilhelm and he holds off my team until the 9th inning where he is pulled for Arthur Rhodes. Rhodes pitched in the 9th and gave up another run as Derek Jeter hit an opposite field homerun to make it 4-0 my team to really put the game out of reach as Mariano Rivera shut the door in the 9th (as we learned to never put Trevor Hoffman in again) and we took win 4-0 to take the series lead 3-2 with home field advantage the final two games.

Game 6 recap:

Well this game Nolan Ryan wanted to start because he wanted to beat them sunsabitches by himself and nobody was going to stop him. The Other Team threw Cy Young out there to see what they could do and if they were to run into trouble, they would use everybody they could to try and get a win. Well this was one of the most unexpected games you could think of. Nolan Ryan gave up 6 runs in the first 5 innings and was pulled once his 5th inning of work was complete. He was pissed off, but on the other side, Cy Young was making the award named after him worthy of it's name. He had retired 15 of his first 19 batters faced and was on a complete role. It also helped that he had a 6 run lead heading into the 6th inning. But that's where he ran into some trouble. Cy Young gave up a 3 run homerun to Jimmie Foxx and the score was cut to 6-3 heading into the 7th. Dennis Eckersley came on for Nolan Ryan in the 6th and he performed masterfully until he was pulled for Babe Ruth in the 8th. Babe Ruth pinch hit for Edgar in the bottom of the 8th inning so that he could stay in the game and pitch extra innings if they needed him to go. His bat was very worth too as it gave my team a chance to do more serious damage. In the 8th, Babe Ruth came up big. He hit a game tying 3 run homerun to make it 6-6 heading into the top of the 9th. Babe Ruth stayed in to pitch, problem was he gave up the lead. David Ortiz does it again. He hit's a solo shot down the right field line and gives the Other Team the lead 7-6 and Lee Smith came into the ball game to close the door in the bottom of the 9th, tying the series 3-3, heading into what we will now breakdown as Game 7 of this amazing series of the Field of Dreams Greatest Game!

Game 7:

To remind you, Pedro Martinez was starting for my team, Roger Clemons was starting for the other team. Considering how well both pitched in that extra inning affair earlier in the series, they needed to face one another again. It was only fitting.

So here we go.

Top of the 1st inning:

Pedro struck out the side in a statement like fashion striking out 3 of the greatest contact hitters to ever play the game in Ty Cobb, Tony Gwynn, and Lou Gehrig. You knew Pedro was locked in when he left the mound in the solemn fashion like he did walking stoically off the mound.

Bottom 1st:

Clemons came out firing and shut down the first two batters in Ichiro and Jeter, but then came up batter Ted Williams. Ted worked the count to 2-2, in a 6 pitch at-bat and ripped a two out single up the middle. Then stepped in Jimmie Foxx who also worked the count to 3-2 and hit a line drive into the gap for a double, Ted came around 3rd but was gunned down by Barry Bonds in left field to keep the game scoreless heading into the next inning.

Top 2nd

Bonds led off the inning with a walk and promptly stole 2nd on the second pitch of the Alex Rodriguez at-bat. A-Rod then struck out on the third pitch to make it one out in the inning. I could hear the cheers of joy in my mind when A-Rod struck out... But then stepped in David Ortiz. The instant gratification of seeing such a giant and aura of his stature step into the batters box knowing he might break the game open for the first run, instead he popped out to Ichiro in right field to make it two outs in the inning. Then Cal Ripken came up and he grounded out to end the top half of inning.

Bottom 2nd:

Willie May dropped down a surprising bunt on Clemons and got to first easily as nobody had a chance to field it. Mays then stole 2nd base on the third pitch by Clemons in the Edgar Martinez atbat and Bench couldn't get the throw off in time. Edgar then hit the ball to the right side on the next pitch and Willie Mays moved over to 3rd base with 1 out. Rogers Hornsby stepped to the plate and all he needed to do was shoot a fly ball somewhere to give his team a 1-0 lead. He hit a fly ball, it just wasn't deep enough, as Willie couldn't tag up to score on the shallow fly. The next batter Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez then struck out to end the inning.

Top 3rd

Johnny Bench led off the inning with a weak grounder to 1st base where the first out was quickly made. Craig Biggio then struck out on three pitches and in stepped Ty Cobb. Cobb showed bunt, pulling in Brooks Robinson at third base, then pulled the bat back and slapped the ball right at Brooks where the ball hit him right in the face. Cobb ran down to the 1st and was laughing and muttering awful things about Brooks when he got to the base. Timeout was called, and Brooks had to leave the game in came Albert Pujols who hadn't played 3rd in a long time, but he could still provide a gold glove caliber glove. Tony Gwynn stepped in and hit a shot right to where Albert was shifted on the infield, and Albert made a fine throw across the diamond to end the top half of the 3rd inning still scoreless. Pedro was absolutely in the zone.

Bottom 3rd

Pujols led off the inning as he took Brooks Robinson's place in the batting order. He swung on the first pitch, and you could hear the different crack of the bat that comes off Albert's bat. It was a moon shot to leftcenterfield to make the score 1-0 my team. Ichiro then smacked a single into right field, but Derek Jeter hit into a double play to put two outs on the board very quickly. Then, miraculously, Ted Williams struck out on a Roger Clemons splitter ending the inning.

Top 4th

This is where Pedro ran into some trouble. Lou Gehrig led off the inning with a double into the left field gap, then Barry Bonds followed suit with the exact same thing tying the game at 1-1. Alex Rodriguez then came up and launched a homerun to left field making it 3-1 Other team with no outs in the inning. The pitching coach went out to the mound to have a quick talk with Pedro to calm him down, and it was what the doctor ordered. Pedro shut down the rest of the lineup.

Bottom 4th

Clemons started to find his grove in this inning. He shut down Foxx, Mays, and Martinez in a very orderly fashion to head to the 5th inning with a 3-1 lead and this was the Roger Clemons we all grew up watching as his stuff looked un-hitable.

Top 5th

Pedro then hit Craig Biggio with a pitch un-intentionally... but then drilled Cobb in the back intentionally. Cobb threatened to kill Pedro if he ever did it again, but Pedro didn't care to acknowledge him. Brooks Robinson gave a thumbs up as if to say thank you. That motion really inspired the rest of the team on the defensive side of the ball. Tony Gwynn came up with two runners on and no outs and pulled a ball down the right field line and Ichiro fielded it cleanly and threw out Cobb at third base. Biggio scored to make it 4-1, but this is where the benches cleared. When Pujols tagged Cobb, Pujols pushed Cobbs leg that was aimed at his face and Cobb called "Bush League" and jumped up like a mad man and started swinging. Everybody from both benches came running out on the field to get into the scrum and Pedro was the one who eventually tackled Cobb for good. Cobb left the game and Ken Griffey Jr. took his spot. Tony Gwynn was on 2nd base after the brawl and the score stayed at 4-1 with nobody out. Lou Gehrig popped up to center field, and Barry Bonds drew an intentional walk (not shocking), A-Rod then hit into an inning ending double play which kept the score at 4-1 Other team.

Bottom 5th

It seemed like the more runs the other team scored, the better Clemons got. This time, he struck out the side by shutting down Hornsby, Pudge, and Pujols making it 7 consecutive batters retired.

Top 6th

David Ortiz worked Pedro to a 3-2 count then hit a double into the right field gap. Billy Wagner started warming up in the bullpen, as Cal Ripken stepped up to the plate. Ripken moved Ortiz over the third base on a groundout to the right side, Bench struck out, and the inning was left up to Biggio. Biggio then hit a ball right back up the middle to make it 5-1 Other team and Pedro was pulled from the game as Wagner came in to face the heavy lefty lineup of the Other team. He struck out Ken Griffey Jr on three straight pitches to end the top of the inning.

Bottom 6th

Yogi Berra came in to catch for Johnny Bench as he was struggling at the plate all game and to allow for defensive replacement to occur. Lou Brock also came into the game in left field to cover defensively for Barry Bonds. Clemons was still rolling and retired the next two batters making it 9 in a row which was when he faced Ted Williams again. Ted Williams was facing another 2 strike count when he decided to lay down a random bunt that nobody was expecting and he reached base safely ending the batters retired streak by Clemons. That was when Jimmie Foxx stepped in an hit a first pitch fastball for a double into the right field gap and Ted Williams went flying around 3rd base to make it a 5-2 ballgame with two outs in the inning. Willie Mays then came up and hit 2-2 fastball into the cornfield to make it a 5-4 ballgame. Then came up Edgar Martinez. At this point is when Arthur Rhodes started warming up in the bullpen, but it didn't matter because Clemons shut down Edgar Martinez on a ground out for the third out in the inning.

Top 7th

Billy Wagner stayed in the game, but he gave up a hit to Tony Gwynn to lead off the inning. Luckily, Lou Gehrig hit into a double play to make it a quick two outs, then came up Lou Brock. A guy known for his speed he laid down a bunt and Pujols had no chance. Then Alex Rodriguez worked the count and Brock eventually got to third on a couple wild pitches by Billy Wagner. This was when you felt like everything was going wrong, then it was solidified by another homerun by A-Rod making it 7-4 Other team. Wagner stayed in to face Ortiz who he would strike out, but the damage had been done and Dennis Eckersley started warming up in the bullpen during the 7th inning stretch and the next half inning.

Bottom 7th

Rogers Hornsby was pinch hit for by Honus Wagner, he was the only guy I could think of who could seriously start a rally against a guy like Clemons and he delivered with a base hit up the middle to start off the 7th. Arthur Rhodes was still warming up but there was still no motion to the bullpen to go get him yet. Then Pudge hit another single and that was when Rhodes came into the ballgame. Albert Pujols on the first pitch hit's a game tying 3 run homerun to make it 7-7 in the bottom of the 7th. Wow, coincidence eh? There was nobody out. Then the next three batters (Ichiro, Jeter, Ted Williams) grounded out to end the inning.

Top 8th

Dennis Eckersley came into the game and he shut down all three hitters he faced in Cal Ripken, Yogi Berra, and Craig Biggio. It really doesn't get any simpler than that.

Bottom 8th

Arthur Rhodes did his job and shut down the power portion of the lineup for my team as Jimmie Foxx, Willie Mays and Edgar Martinez all went down in order as they all flew out to make it a 1-2-3 inning.

Top 9th

This is where Dennis ran into some trouble. He gave up a 2-1 fastball to Ken Griffey Jr. down the center of the plate and hit a blast as far as anybody could hit a pitch with his sweet stroke of his to make it 8-7 Other team. I wasn't even mad, his swing just made everything feel so much better even though it hurt so much. Tony Gwynn then got on base, Lou Gehrig got a base hit to put runners on 1st and 2nd with no body out. And then came Lou Brock once again. The guy hit a triple into the gap to score Gwynn and Gehrig to make it 10-7 Other team and I had to bring in Mariano Rivera to help close the inning out. Rivera shut down A-Rod, Ortiz, and Ripken as Lee Smith came in to pitch to close out Game 7 of this Greatest Game Field of Dreams 25th Anniversary edition.

Bottom 9th

10-7 game, save situation for Lee Smith, he just needs three outs and the game it over and the other team can walk off into the sunset as champions of the baseball universe. Well it was going to have to start with Honus Wagner once again. I also forgot to mention that Pete Rose also came in to play 1st base for Lou Gehrig for defensive purposes as well. Well Honus led off with a bunt single and started the rally going for my team. Mike Piazza then came in to pinch hit for Ivan Rodriguez, and he did it again. Piazza hit a two run blast to dead center field to make it a 10-9 ball game with no outs in the inning off of Lee Smith. Then came up Pujols, who struck out swinging. Ichiro bunted to get on base and Rickey Henderson pinch ran to give My team a chance to score the tying run. Derek Jeter was up next and he worked the count which allowed Rickey Henderson to steal both 2nd and 3rd. Derek worked the count to 3-2 and hit the ball up the middle to tie the score at 10-10. Next up was Ted Williams, and what better guy to come up to the plate. He didn't get a base hit, but he moved Derek into scoring position as he hit a weak grounder to 3rd base. 2 outs bottom of the 9th, Jeter on 2nd and Jimmie Foxx came up to the plate. On the first pitch Foxx hit the ball into the left field gap. Jeter sprinted around 3rd, scored easily, and won the game for my team 11-10.

It was an incredible moment as Jeter ran around 3rd with his fist up and Jimmie Foxx ran out of the batters box with both arms lifted in the a in triumph. Lee Smith instantly dropped his head and walked off the mound. This game, it reminds of all that was good and what could be again. 25 years later, the greatest movie in baseball lore, still is today, and hopefully you enjoyed my read for the greatest baseball game ever played. Have a wonderful winter, the next baseball season is right around the corner. It'll be here before you know it.

Janitor Bumgarner Cleans Up A Dynasty

This wasn't the most memorable game in World Series history, but it will definitely be remembered for one thing that nobody will soon forget. The greatest pitching performance in the history of the game.

You don't need to know anything other than how you saw Madison Bumgarner pitch those final 5 innings. You would have had no clue that he pitched 2 days prior and would probably wonder why he didn't start. In fact, I think 20 years from now people will forget that he didn't start, and when we look at the box score, we'll be confused in seeing the actual starter in Tim Hudson only pitch 1.1 innings. But the Royals put it to the Giants after the Giants took an early 2-0 lead after the top of the 2nd inning.

The bottom of the 2nd inning was when the Royals put together an inning to match the Giants tying the score at 2-2 heading into the 3rd inning where their late relief pitcher in Jeremy Affeldt took the reigns on he mound and he held them until the 5th when Bumgarner moped up the Giants third championship pitching the final 5 innings and only giving up 2 hits in the process.

Typing that out felt legendary, I couldn't imagine pitching it as Bumgarner did. He's clearly the greatest World Series pitcher to ever play the game and the scary part is he is 25 and might only add to that resume the next 10-15 years.

This was a Game 7 that will be remembered based upon the cumulative performance of the entire October by one Madison Bumgarner. He defined this month and he will be the face of the 2014 MLB Postseason. There's nobody else that needs to grace the face of how this playoff played itself out. He wasn't just the MVP of the World Series, he's the MVP of all of October.

I had a blast writing blogs every night to break down this masterful major league postseason and I have a special treat for all of you to read tomorrow afternoon. It's been a pleasure and I'll get back to writing weekly blogs starting the first Monday of November.

See you next week!

Settling in for Game 7; Royals Blow the Doors off Game 6

This game, by itself, is not worth talking about. The Royals laid a 7 piece on the Giants and 5 of the, came off of Yusmeiro Petit. That was when you knew the game was over and Game 7 was in the cards for 2014.

The one sparkling light from this game came for Yordano Ventura. The guy only gave up 3 hits in 7 innings pitched on exactly 100 pitches. You talk about the outing of a lifetime for a 23 year old, unbelievable stuff.

Outside of that this was one of those games that nobody will remember in the lore of postseason history with the final score of 10-0, but the setting it opened up for Wednesday night is only what movies could project in an on sight visual for the Kansas City faithful. Nobody in their right minds had Kansas City playing Game 7 of the World Series come late winter of 2014, and tomorrow that crazy idea will become a reality.

Tomorrow night is where the epicenter of sports takes place and where the intensity ratchets up to a level that can cause fans to literally fall into a coma if their team falters one ounce away from expectation. And with both of these teams seasons the way they have unfolded, don't expect a cleanly played baseball game, expect a layout of many peaks and valleys, where as the expectation won't be the outcome no matter what we project or how we think.

Game 7's are the ultimate Wildcard. They could be the greatest classic we've ever seen, they could be a shoot out of the unforgiving, or they could be one giant blockbuster flop. Either way, this game tomorrow night requires no need for introduction, Game 7 of the World Series is the greatest day sports can provide, and those of you who think other wise, I don't know what planet you are from.

Just shutout the noise, shutout the crazy fast lifestyle we lay before us everyday, and enjoy the final day of baseball in 2014 on Wednesday.

2014-15 NBA Preseason Predictions

Ahhhhhh yes. We dive into this fresh new NBA season with my team (San Antonio Spurs) as the defending NBA Champions for a 5th time in NBA History. Ring Night is tomorrow night, and Tim Duncan will get to see his 5th banner go up and become honored as he'll be one of the few players in this league to ever win 5 rings and one of two this entire era (Kobe Bryant being the other).

Do I think the Spurs are done? How could I? They are coming back with the same team from a year ago and if they delve the minutes out like they did all of last regular season, you can guarantee to see this team make another deep postseason run. How does the rest of the Western Conference look? Oddly enough I think the Western Conference got weaker. Not to say that the East is now the class of the NBA, but can we be honest for a minute, the Easter Conference has legitimately 5 teams that could make the NBA finals this year. The Western Conference has a lot of solid teams that can win 50+ games this season, but are many of them ready for a deep postseason run? I only see maybe 3, definitely 2 teams competing for a title shot this season in the newly sequestered NBA formation. And when I say sequestered, I'm talking where the players have shifted towards, especially in the Eastern Conference.

Don't get me wrong, I think the west is still a strong conference, the strange part is all the best players are in the Eastern Conference. LeBron, Rose, Noah, Love, Wade, Wall, Melo, Rondo, and George (who is hurt all year) are all players that could make other teams revolve an entire team around in the Western Conference. I'm not saying that Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook aren't apart of that cream of the crop because they are, but they truly are the select few in the Western Conference. Steph Curry, James Harden, and Damien Lillard are really the only ones that I can think of where you could potentially build an elite squad around. Now you're wondering how come I left Lob City (Blake Griffin & Chris Paul) out of the equation. Well, I think they are legit too, but the issue is Blake will never be good by himself and Chris Paul is starting to hit that age where I question if you should build around him anymore. It's the same thing for Duncan, Dirk, and Kobe. They are all superstars but you can't build around them today. 10 years ago, you better believe it, but today it would be a travesty.

Basketball is such a great sport to research especially when it comes to the NBA because there are not that many players to conduct how a team may perform in an entire 82 game season. The only issue is deciding how healthy, what kind of stretches will teams have, how will teams respond heading out of the All-Star break or even what will happen during the postseason 6 months from now can make it all so difficult to project. But that's what makes it fun and I'm here to give you a blurb on each team and to give you an idea of how each team will do this season, and who will make the big dance come April.

Eastern Conference:

Atlantic Division:

This is an odd division this year because I honestly could see it going so many different ways. The Nets improved at head coach with Lionel Hollins but lost an aging Paul Pierce who at points became the soul purpose of their late surge and playoff success last season. If you take away the early struggles of the Nets last season, they were actually the best team after the All-Star break in 2014. That doesn't take away from them still being the oldest team in the league, but let's not kid ourselves in saying this team is young. The Raptors have the same squad coming back this season with Lowry & DeRozan manning the back court. They still have an issue of size as they won't have anybody to help them out down low on the blocks, but if they can get into a battle at the guard position, they should be able to win more than most. Boston is a team that has a full year under their belt with new coach Brad Stevens and he should help them improve immensely this season, not saying they are a playoff team but they could make some noise in that division and spoil chances for other clubs by making a new name for themselves this season. The Knicks have gotten worse since last season and if they make the postseason I'll be shocked. Carmelo Anthony should be fine, but how will they operate with Felton and Chandler now in Dallas? Only time will tell with them. The 76ers have a long way to go to be relevant again and unless they can muster up some back court magic to go along with Micheal Carter Williams and the two young guys up front in Noel and Embid, then they won't be going anywhere anytime soon.

Prediction:
*Nets 47-35
*Raptors 46-36
Celtics 38-44
Knicks 35-47
76ers 26-56

Central Division:

This may be the best conference in basketball by the end of the season. They now have the best player in basketball in LeBron James and two of the best teams in all of basketball duking it out for potentially the top spot. This division should take a large flip considering the injury to Paul George for the Indiana Pacers and the trade the Lance Stephenson to Charlotte, but it doesn't take away from the power that is in this conference. The Bulls are clearly the class of this division unless the Cavaliers have something to say about it. The Bulls have one of the best starting 5's in basketball while their bench is also pretty sturdy and should make a large push at a title run this spring. We all know what the Cavaliers have done with their roster in acquiring a new big 3 in Irving, Love, and James but only will time on the court will tell if they mesh together and if that bench will provide the spark that they need to carry them into a 50 win team this season. I think the Pistons have a dark horse chance this season to creep up on some teams especially with how talented their front court is and with new coach Stan Van Gundy, I could see this team making a playoff push this upcoming season as well, they will just need some serious production from their back court this season to make waves throughout the Eastern Conference. The Pacers would be fine if they were completely healthy. I just don't see how they get back to the postseason knowing that their superstar is gone for the year, but that doesn't mean they aren't a playoff contender. The Bucks might just be the worst team in the league this year, but Jabari Parker for all we know could win rookie of the year and fool us all leading Milwaukee to a solid season, but in this division? Good luck with that.

Prediction:
*Bulls 55-27
*Cavaliers 53-29
*Pistons 42-40
Pacers 39-43
Bucks 20-62

Southeast Division:

Well this division looks like the most balanced division I've seen since 2009 before LeBron James made his first decision. I forget what the landscape of this division looked like before then but all I know is that their isn't a clear cut favorite to win this season. There is one team that looks relatively stacked and could make a push at the Conference Finals and that is the Washington Wizards. This team has the best back court in basketball in John Wall and Bradley Beal. Yes, Beal is out for a while early on in the season but once he's back these two will light it up and make Gortat and Nene look awesome. Losing Ariza may not look so bad considering how good Wall and Beal are, but if this team can improve as a squad this season, they could see themselves peaking into some serious May basketball in 2015. The Heat have clearly dropped off, but they are no slouches. Yes, they lost LeBron but they still have a solid Wade and Bosh, and now with new additions in McRoberts and Deng, they'll still be  playoff contending team with their experience. The Hornets are a huge wildcard to me because they could easily be a 50 win team this season or they could miss the playoffs entirely. They have the talent to compete but I just wonder if they have been making the right steps to stay relative this past off-season? They have the pieces to make a run in April but can they get over the hump of mediocrity and land themselves outside of the bottom 4 in the Eastern Conference? I don't see it yet, but they could always prove me wrong. The Atlanta Hawks overachieved last year and I don't see them getting back to the postseason. Again, with this division anything is possible and they could get back, but the likelihood of it happening is very slim considering the upgrades in throughout the East. The Magic need to stay healthy and pray they get some good players in the draft next season, outside of a that, 30 wins is their goal this season.

Prediction:
*Wizards 50-32
*Heat 45-37
*Hornets 40-42
Hawks 37-45
Magic 29-53

Eastern Conference Seed's
1. Chicago Bulls 55-27
2. Cleveland Cavaliers 53-29
3. Washington Wizards 50-32
4. Brooklyn Nets 47-35
5. Toronto Raptors 46-36
6. Miami Heat 45-37
7. Detroit Pistons 42-40
8. Charlotte Hornets 40-42

Western Conference:

Pacific Division:

First off, this division is very top heavy. There are only two teams I could see winning 50+ games this year and potentially 3 playoff teams, but considering the movement within the division, I don't see anybody winning 50 games. I see a 60 win team and a couple teams fighting for a playoff spot. The Clippers are the most entertaining team in the league for this upcoming season and they will be the lone 60 win team especially with another full year under the belt of Doc Rivers and improving that bench to make them one of the deepest teams in the NBA. Now with Steve Ballmer at the helm and making an effort to improve this Clipper franchise, I see them improving for years to come and it starts in year one. The Warriors worry me because last year they took a huge step back from the expectations I had for them. They also let go of one of the best coaches in the NBA in Mark Jackson and added Steve Kerr who I don't know if I can trust. I think they will be scrapping to get the wins they need to be in the upper portion of the western conference teams, but I just don't see it happening and I see them hanging around to make a push. The Suns are one of those teams so close to being in the postseason they can touch it. They were very close last season and this season I don't see it being much different. In fact, I could see Phoenix jumping the Warriors this season if the circumstances play out right and allow for them to get into the postseason, but it's truly a coin toss. The other two California teams in the Kings and Lakers, they just aren't good enough. Both teams have one legitimate superstar and that's about all that is worth watching because the rest of their teams just are not worth the price of admission.

Prediction:
*Clippers 60-22
*Warriors 49-33
Suns 44-38
Kings 39-43
Lakers 35-47

Northwest Division:

Considering the early injury to Kevin Durant, this division might be open early for the taking, but once Durant gets back, it'll be a battle till the end of the season. This division has a squad in Portland that has improved on it's bench and with another year of maturation under the belt of Damien Lillard, the Blazers could be the class of this division. The Thunder have had their team slowly stripped over the past couple of years but the main pieces stay intact to keep them competitive for a top spot in the Western Conference. I think this year hinges on the play of Russell Westbrook more than any other year because of the lack of bench depth that the Oklahoma City Thunder possess, considering the depth that the Blazers have added with Chris Kaman and and Steve Blake, they might have some championship swagger that could lead them over the top in that division and they could finally knock off the Thunder if Westbrook has to carry the load early on. Don't sleep on the Nuggets either, they are my serious dark horse for this entire NBA season. This is the one team I could see going either boom or bust with Faried as now a legitimate superstar and their goal should be to shoot for 50 wins and the could very well do it. The other two teams are not worth the time and effort to talk about. Utah will win 30 but that's the ultimate goal, and the Timberwolves are the most obvious choice at rebuilding and if they win 30 games in would be the best they could do.

Prediction: 

*Trailblazers 54-28
*Thunder 52-30
*Nuggets 48-34
Jazz 31-51
Timberwolves 30-52

Southwest Division:

Only the most glorious division in the Western Conference and the best state of basketball in all of the NBA; Texas. The Spurs are no guarantee to win this division, but for now with who they are bringing back and the formula they use to win games, you have to put them at the top especially as Leonard is only improving. Yes the other guys are getting older, but Popovich will find a way to alter their minutes to make sure the team is rested for another postseason run. The Rockets may have something to say about that as they added Ariza in the off-season to bolster their roster making them a legit contender in the Western Conference. If Dwight Howard can get back to any kind of Orlando form that he was in 3-4 years ago, this team could make a title run. The Dallas Mavericks are really old, but they now have a team that could contend for a top 5 spot in the West. Last year, they were lucky they made the postseason, but they proved that they can compete with anybody pushing the Spurs to 7 games in the first round. They also acquired Chandler Parsons from Houston giving them another option on the offensive side of the ball where they could use one more person when Dirk isn't going bananas. The Grizzlies didn't improve this off-season, and yes they have a very balanced team but they are a team I worry about when it comes to age and their bench. I feel that they will look good early and fade by the time the All-Star break comes. The Pelicans are another team I really like this season improving drastically. They could be considered my third dark horse team this year and could really sneak up on some teams and even potentially have a winning record depending upon what happens in the division. They have a scary lineup and with Anthony Davis looking meaner this year then ever before, don't be alarmed if New Orleans rings some bells this season and gets to the 40 win mark. But, this division is so rough that 40 wins might be a bit of a stretch, but it is definitely a goal they can shoot for and eventually will get someday.

Prediction:

*Spurs 58-24
*Rockets 55-27
*Mavericks 51-31
Grizzlies 45-37
Pelicans 40-42

Western Conference Seed's
1. Los Angeles Clippers 60-22
2. San Antonio Spurs 58-24
3. Houston Rockets 55-27
4. Portland Trialblazers 54-28
5. Oklahoma City Thunder 52-30
6. Dallas Mavericks 51-31
7. Golden State Warriors 49-33
8. Denver Nuggets 48-34

2015 NBA Playoff Predictions

Since this will all begin in April I don't anticipate to be accurate and I won't get into details about who wins. Plus, I'm kind of irritated because some other major sports magazine picked the exact same outcome as me, so I'll just give you my predictions of what happens in the postseason and run away into the night!

1st Round Predictions

1 LA Clippers over 8 Denver 4-1
5 Oklahoma City over 4 Portland 4-3
3 Houston over 6 Dallas 4-3
2 San Antonio over 7 Golden State 4-2

1 Chicago over 8 Charlotte 4-2
5 Toronto over 4 Brooklyn 4-3
3 Washington over 6 Miami 4-3
2 Cleveland over 7 Detroit 4-0

Semifinal Predictions

1 LA Clippers over 5 Oklahoma City 4-2
2 San Antonio over 3 Houston 4-2

1 Chicago over 5 Toronto 4-1
2 Cleveland over 3 Washington 4-3

Conference Finals Predictions

Western Conference Finals: 2 San Antonio over 1 LA Clippers 4-1
Eastern Conference Finals: 1 Chicago over 2 Cleveland 4-3

2015 NBA FINALS prediction

San Antonio Spurs over Chicago Bulls in 7 games (4-3)

MVP: Tim Duncan

Tim Duncan retires as an MVP of the NBA Finals and back-to-back champion, along with tying Micheal Jordan in championships (6) while beating the Bulls in the process.

Story book ending for the greatest Power Forward to ever play the game.

Enjoy the 2014-15 NBA Season Everybody!

Heeerrree's Madison! Giants take 3-2 Lead to KC.

I'm not going to breakdown the game because all you need to know is how incredible Madison Bumgarner is. He could literally host his own nightly show with how magnificent he is on the mound, I just think his ratings would be low because of how drool he is as a human being. But, his ability on the mound, let's put him up their with the greats right now.

The Giants win game 5, 5-0 as they head back to Kansas City with a 3-2 series lead. Brandon Crawford squirted across 3 runs, and Juan Perez hit the game clinching two run triple in the 8th that was an inch away from being a three run blast off a guy in Wade Davis who hadn't given up an extra base hit since August. As baseball ended in San Francisco for 2014, the Giants walk into the Kansas City ready to clinch a 3rd world title in 5 years.

But the only story that needs to be discussed is how incredible Madison Bumgarner is.

The guy has only given up one run in his World Series career and his earned run average is now below .30. This guy has 4 World Series starts in his career and nobody can seem to figure him out. If anybody is interested, listen in on my October 25th 2014 podcast about how outstanding Madison Bumgarner is and how I compare him to Tom Brady, yes, this guy is on the cusp of being like a Tom Brady in the world of baseball when it comes to the Starting Pitching position.

I think if he can start establishing himself in the regular season here over the rest of his career, you'll see this guy in Cooperstown before you know it.

Giants take the World Series back to Kansas City as Madison Bumgarner gets a complete game shutout in Game 5 of the World Series. Moon Shine Stupid. Take a freaking bow.