What a great and crazy weekend.

What a great and crazy weekend!!! I could blog about 10 things today!!! So I will take on a bunch of topics this week because so much has happened in 24 hrs. So let's get started.
Tonight is the finals of the NCAA tournament. Two teams are there that only 0.3% of the country predicted would be the match up. The two teams are vastly different but are the same in so many ways. Butler University is a "Mid Major" who has been building towards this moment over the past 5 years. They don't have a super star or a player who is a one and done guy. They play great defense. They have beaten Syracuse, Michigan St. and Kansas St. en route to this game and have not allowed a team to score more than 60 points in any games this tournament. This team plays together and does not care who is the hero. This team should be praised for what they stand for.
Their opponent is Duke University. Duke has been to 12 final fours and has a lineage of great teams and players and have won the National Championship 3 times under Coach K. This team is the only number 1 seed left in the tournament and have played great in this tournament. They can shoot the three, make free throws and defend. They have a couple blue chip players, but no one and done players. This team is unlike any of Coach K's great teams of years past. They rely on three players to score and the rest of the team must rebound and defend. If you give their guards an inch the will bury you with the three. Duke should win tonight by double digits.
The College basketball world should be excited for this game because this what the game needs. Kentucky, Kansas, and Syracuse ought to be ashamed of how they finished this season. Most of the country had them in the final four. Maybe Villanova too. Tonight's game pits two teams that have not sold out to their boosters or teams that have gotten caught up in the hype of winning at all costs. Duke used to get at least two or three top players a year. In the most recent McDonald's All American game I believe they only had 1 player committed to the school. Kids today want to go to a program where they can get to the league faster. Coach Cal seems to get all of those players. He is the premier recruiter in the land. He gets you on probation though, but schools don't care because of the money he generates. He built UMASS into a national program, only to see it destroyed these days. He Built Memphis and Memphis is about to get some sanctions put on them. Butler University probably does not have a first round player on their team and I certain they did not have any high school all- Americans there this season. Duke has refused to sell out as well. They have every excuse to sell out but I admire Coach K for sticking to what he knows. He says that coaching the Olympic team has made him a better coach. If he wins this title, most people will say that this is his best coaching job. I just don't want to see him crying on the floor. I have read his book and I have always felt that he was a great coach, just ran into bad match ups in the tournament.
So tonight while we are all watching of listening to this game,applaud for both teams. These kids are what is right with amateur athletics. I am all for people doing jobs just to get paid as long as it is honest and fair. Most of these kids will not be playing in the NBA any time soon. These are the young men that you want your daughter to marry some day. These are the future leaders of the country. These are the kids who go to class and get good grades and believe in themselves and the premise that hard work will get the results that you put into it. I hope that the game is an overtime thriller...

now i am going to tell how the east coast rocks

The eastern division in both National and American Leagues are pretty solid once all of the pieces are put together. I keep hearing about how this Phillie team is the best National League team that anyone has seen in 30 years. They are trying to get to the World series three years in a row. We haven't seen this type of dominance in the N.L. since the Braves of the 90's. The Big Red Machine of the 70's is the team that this Phillies' team is being compared to and I find it laughable. They signed Roy Halliday and people automatically put them in the world series. They are good but Halliday is going to find out that ball park gives up way too many home runs. Plus their closer Brad Lidge is coming off a horrible season and injuries that limited his performance. Yes they will hit a ton of home runs and they added the best number 2 hitter in the game Placido Polanco, but they will also strikeout a bunch too. This division is not a slam dunk like people think.
The New York Mets when healthy can play with any team in this league. They have power, speed, and excellent hitting but, the big question mark is their pitching. Who is healthy on this team? Beltran, Reyes, Perez, Murphy, Maine, Pelphrey, are all coming off injuries and David Wright had sorry numbers last year as a slugger. This team needs an infusion of positive energy and belief. If they get it and with the positive addition of Jason Bay, this team will be tough to beat come July and August. If they get of to the horrible start everyone thinks they are, then this team will explode. I am hoping for the best.
The Atlanta Braves are the talk of the spring. If they get Chipper Jones and Troy Glaus to stay healthy and get numbers from this behemoth of a rookie, they will be difficult to compete against this season. They have added depth to their rotation and bullpen and if healthy, the Braves will do whatever it takes to get Bobby Cox a chance to play in the Post Season. Cox has been a star as a manager since he took this job in the 90's and I am sure that these players will sacrifice everything to make sure his last year is successful. Quietly I am too.
The Florida Marlins have talent at every position and will be a menace to the N.l. society this season. They will score runs by power or running the bases and have a stud pitcher who can go toe to toe against anyone. This team rives me nuts. Uggla and Ramirez can do everything on the field you need and they will not let this team be pushed around by no one. We shall see...
The Washington Nationals have a great pitcher that everyone wants to see and a couple of good players that would stars if they were on better teams. Ryan Zimmerman is a star in the making and I hope he hits 40 home runs this year to prove my point. Adam Dunn will if he does not. This team is waiting for Steven St to come a calling. They are building and one day they will have a finished product.
The American League East is loaded for bear. The Phillies only want to play the Yankees in the World Series because they want revenge for last season. They may get what they want because the Yankees are hungrier than ever. A-rod does not have a monkey on his back. Girardi does not have the pressure to win since he did it last year. Jeter is going for 3000 hits. They spend money to be in the big game and by gum that is what they want to do.
The Red Sox have a lot to prove this season. No Jason Bay, Daisuke Matsuka has to prove he is worth something. Big Papi has to prove that he is not a steroid player. John Lackey has to prove that he has something in his tank since the Angels released him. Prove it, Prove it, Prove it. This either be a great season for them or a disaster. Is Jon Lester ready to be a number 1. How is Josh Beckett's head coming into this season? Can anyone play third base over there?
The Tampa Rays took a major step back last year and looking to redeem themselves this year. The pitching is solid. the lineup on paper is as well. But B.J. Upton cannot have a bad year like he did last year. Evan Longoria is a superstar and a stat machine. Carl Crawford got his contract and now he must produce. The starting rotation is solid but the bullpen needs to step up and deliver. This team is very scary.
The Toronto Blue Jays decided to destroy their team by getting younger and inexperienced. How do they expect to compete against the big boys in the A.L. if they don't have any proven talent with Vernon Wells? They got great talent in the Halliday trade but these kids are going to get their brains bashed in.. Reminds me of my team..
Baltimore Orioles have Brian Roberts and a great young catcher in Matt Wieters. They brought back Miguel Tejada but he is no where near the player he once was. This could get ugly...

So now you have seen my previews and I have objectively decided that this is how it is all going to turn out:
Yankees Phillies
Red Sox Mets(just Kidding) Braves
Tampa Marlins
Toronto Mets
Baltimore Nationals
Overall the playoff teams will be in the National League the Phillies, Cards, Dodgers and Braves
In the American League they will be New York, Minnesota, Los Angeles, and Boston
The World Series will be St. Louis vs. New york... Yankees in 6

the central divisions have chaos...

In both leagues the Central Divisions have one super team, one team that must win now or they are going to implode, one team that has a ton a questions, one team that flat out can't win, and then there are the Cubs. In the American League Central Division the Minnesota Twins are the Super team. They have a star player, a good starting lineup, good starting pitching, a great manager and a new ballpark. Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau can flat out hit, defend and lead. They have Jim Thome to learn from. The only missing piece is their closer Joe Nathan is out for the season. He has been in the top 5 in closers in the A.L. over the last 5 years. They need to sort out that situation before they can challenge the big boys in the east.
The Chicago White needs to win now or Ozzie is going to implode. They have good pitching, a good lineup, a good closer, but the starters are getting old and coming off injuries. Can Jake Peavy pitch in the league? How many more years does Mark Buerhle have in him? Freddy Garcia has not been the same in years. This team is old and needs to win now or forever hold their peace.
Cleveland Indians have good players and have left me questioning what they are doing. Grady Sizemore can play as well as anyone. Travis Hafner was out of the lineup a lot last year and needs to bounce back to regain his stature. Jhonny Peralta has great talent but he hasn't lived up to it. Fausto Carmona must lead this pitching staff or they are done. Kerry Wood must improve on last year. This team could be dangerous.
The Detroit Tigers can play and pitch but they are a station to station team. They have no speed. They have Justin Verlander who can pitch with the best of them. They have Miguel Cabrera who is an M.V.P. candidate every year. Johnny Damon brings veteran leadership. But Dontrelle Willis is a bust. Magglio Ordonez has been invisible. What is Jim Leyland to do?
The Kansas City Royals have a great pitcher and a great young player. Zach Greinke and Alex Gordon need a miracle.....
In the National League Central, the Cards are the great team. They have the super player, the super pitcher, the super manager but no closer. They have "the Machine", the Natural and Chris Carpenter. They have Ryan Ludwick, Yadier Molina, Wainwright, the right chemistry, and Mark Mcgwire. If they don't win 100 games it will be shocking..
The Milwaukee Brewers can score a thousand runs and give up a thousand runs. They need to win now or they are going to implode. Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun have to have big years for this team to succeed. Corey Hart must contribute as well. Trevor Hoffman is 100 year old and still gets people out with that change up. They don't have enough pitching to win and that is sad because they are going to end up breaking this team up.
The Cubbies have talent to win but who is going to step up for this team. They have star players and for some reason they suffer an injury or someone loses confidence and Lou Pinella never lets them forget who is boss. Derrick Lee and Alfonso Soriano have to lead this team to end their drought. They have Big Z, Ted Lilly, Ryan Dempster can pitch but they seem to lack the marathon ability to carry a team to a title. They have way too many peak and valleys. They can win if they stay healthy. I can't wait to see...
The Reds and Pirates have the same team. They have one good starter, one star player and whole lot of young players. The Reds signed this pitcher from Cuba who can throw 100 miles an hour, left handed, and filthy. They have Aaron Harang who can give innings but can only win 12 games. The Piartes have Zach Duke and Paul Maholm. They traded away Freddy Sanchez and Jason Bay over the last two years and have not improved themselves. Will be a long year...

it is time to preview the baseball season..

This baseball season is less than one week away and I am very excited. All of the talk surrounds 5 teams positively and 3 teams negatively. The positive 5 are the Yankees, Phillies, Cardinal, Red Sox, and Brewers. These teams have tons of talent and have the best shot at contending for a title. The three negative teams may surprise some but their fans understand. They are the Mets, Cubs, and Angels. The Mets are on this list because they start the season minus key players and the pitchers from last season that were hurt have not come back to for so far in the spring. The Cubs have more talent than the Brewers and the Cards and because of internal strife, most people feel that that they won't do much this season. The Angels got rid of three very important cogs to their recent domination in the off-season. They also got rid of players last season and got older instead of better. They have lost Lackey, Escobar, Vlad, Kotchman, and K-rod over the last two seasons. Hard to replace these guys... Today i will start with the previews of both western divisions and you will see why they are not on the big 5 list.
The National League West has the most questions of any of the divisions in baseball this year. You have four teams that have more players injured or in new places that you need a thomas guide to find where they are playing. The best team in the division is the Dodgers. The Dodgers have a great nucleus of players that have been together since the minor leagues. Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier, Russell Martin and James Loney have been playing together it seems forever. If Manny comes back and play like we all know he can the Dodgers will be tough to be. The Pitching is the weakness and if Vincente Padilla is your opening day starter, you got trouble. He has a world of talent but he loses focus too easily. The bullpen is solid but the starting pitching is what will either make them or break them.
The San Francisco Giants have two problems. They play way too many close games and they do not score a lot of runs. They can flat out pitch. Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain are beasts but the rest of the staff is old and unproven. Barry Zito has not delivered. Their bullpen last year was overused and this year I don't not see anything changing.
The Colorado Rockies have great young starting pitching and very little else. They have lost quality players but can stay in games with the pitching of Cook and De Los Santos. Todd Helton is continuing his march towards 3000 hits so he and Troy Tulo.. have to lead this team towards a title. They have a lot of promise in their outfield. This team always seems to suffer a bad injury and then they are done for a while, then they get hot and contend for the remainder of the season. Should be fun...
The Arizona Diamondbacks might be the scariest team in this division. If Brandon Webb is back to form and Edwin Jackson and Dan Haren pitch like they can, this team will be in every game. They have a team of gamers!!! They will grind out victories and if you are not careful one day you look up and they are in the playoffs. They need big years from Conner Jackson, Scott Drew and others. They are a year away.
The Padres have to pray and take advantage of getting the number 1 0r 2 pick in the draft and rebuild. The built this beautiful stadium and have one great player in Adrian Gonzales and the rest should be in the minor leagues. Good luck Padre fans. I don't have a clue what to say about you.
In the American League west, offense will reign supreme, despite the Mariners deep pitching staff. The Angels may have lost a lot of talent and that has evened the playing field, but they still have more than the rest of the division. The pitchers Weaver and Saunders can match up with anyone. Adding Kazmir last season gives them an extra number 1 arm.. He needs to stay healthy. The offense is led by Torii Hunter and Bobby Abreu. The stud is Kendry Morales. If he puts up numbers like he did last season, the angels will be fine. The bullpen gets Scot Shields back and Brian Fuentes is awesome. They will be challenged but they will some how get it done. I just don't understand the moves they have made. I know their farm system is good so I guess they are expecting Howie Kendrick to be a star. We shall see..
The Seattle Mariners have Cliff Lee and King Felix Hernandez. They will be a pain to every team they face. They have Ichiro who can still rake, but have a lot of young players trying to find their way. I want to see if Griffey has something left in his bat.Chone Figgins leaves the Angels and joins this team. Milton Bradley yikes..
The Texas Rangers improved their pitching last year and look forward to being better this year. They added Vlad and with him, Nelson Cruz, Michael Young, Ian Kinsler, and Josh Hamilton, they may strike out a bunch but when put the ball in play, look out. They are going to be a nightmare to pitch to. Bring your abacus and your best summer hat to watch them play...
The Oakland A's only added CoCo Crisp to their team this off season. nuff said..
My predictions:
Dodgers Angels
Giants Rangers
Rockies Mariners
Diamondbacks A's
Padres

Congrats to Joe Mauer

Congrats to Joe Mauer!!! You have made an entire state very happy and made other people very confused. You are a Minnesotan and you are going be there for life. The Twins are known for having players for life. Kirby Puckett, Kent Hrbek, Tony Oliva, just to name a few. Roy Smalley and Butch Wynegar were there for a bunch years before they became Yankees. The Twins have won the World Series twice in my lifetime so the opportunity to win there is possible. They have Justin Morneau and a rejuvenated Francisco Liriano. They have young talent in the outfield, and despite losing Joe Nathan for the season, I think their bullpen is solid. But come on Joe, you could have really broke the bank if he had become a free agent. He could have been the first 300 million baseball player. The Mets and Yankees would have broken the bank to pay him. The Red Sox and Angels would have as well. Plus he would have a greater chance of winning a championship with those teams than he will with the Twins. I know money isn't everything but winning is and the Twins have a lot of holes that need to be filled. Orlando Hudson is a great player but he is in his 30's and I wonder how healthy he can be for a season. Last year with the Dodgers he was great in the first half of the season but really struggled in the second half. They need him to just hold the fort because they have some minor league players ready to jump in. I applaud Joe Mauer for his loyalty but in this day and age of sports players need to understand that that they need to get paid because get voided or players get released. Plus there is a strike looming and players need to understand that the owners are not going to budge on their demands.
I saw the other day that Sports Illustrated was talking about the 100 million dollar baseball players in the history of the game. They had Mike Hampton, Kevin Brown, Carlos Beltran on the list. In fact most of the list consisted of Yankees or former Yankees, a few former Mets and for some strange reason, the Colorado Rockies have players on the list. The funny thing about the list is that had the Yankees not won the title last year, this list would have exposed that being a 100 million dollar type talent is not a guarantee for a title. Manny, Pujols, Jeter, may all have rings, but Giambi given a ton of money and won nothing with the "bombers". Griffey did not win when he could have broken the bank and gave the Reds a home town discount. Todd Helton may be the greatest Rockie to ever live but one world series appearance is not enough. Didn't the Angels sign Vlad for over 100 million too? He got one ring so I guess that was okay. In other words teams win titles. The Marlins won the series with tiny payrolls. So in conclusion, I root for you Joe Mauer because of your loyalty, but you are never going to bring a title to the Twin Cities. Justin Morneau will be a Met or Red Sox in the next two years and then where will the Twins be. It is a Yankees universe and you better spend more money if you want to be in that constellation...

i usually pride myself on being right

I usually pride myself on being the smartest guy in the room when it comes to sports. I speak with such conviction and confidence and I am usually pretty persuasive. After watching the NCAA tournament games this weekend I find myself keeping very quiet because i cannot comprehend what happened. How does Georgetown lose to Ohio. Kansas and Villanova lose their games to lesser opponents respectively. How does Xavier every year beat a team that they have no business matching up with. I picked Cornell go to the Sweet 16 and get beaten by Kentucky. I have Kentucky winning the entire thing so I am okay there. Why do upsets happen? Is it pressure? Is it lack of preparation? Is it that these kids are 18-21 and make mistakes that no one can understand? I think that the answer is pressure. I try to explain to my players that sports is more mental than physical. That kid in the Northern Iowa-Kansas game took that 3 point shot and everyone in America but him was screaming what the he..... and when he made everyone said, what a great shot!! In the Villanova loss, the kid banked in a 3 with under a minute to go and created the margin for victory. Belief is stronger than ability. My high school had smallish players playing football but they had heart and belief that they could block anyone big or take down anyone larger than they were. One of the big reasons why we succeeded was a great quote by one of our coaches when he said that it wasn't the size of the dog in the fight but it was fight inside of the dog that won the fight. In other words the one who wants it more will always win. You got to make plays, make shots and when the ball leaves your hand, you got to believe that it is going in. Dan Patrick asked Reggie Miller today whether or not he would rather be known as a scorer or a shooter. He said shooter because he knew that if he missed a shot, the next one was going in. I agree. I would rather be known as a shooter because I would know that that every time I got the ball, I know that if i can get a shot off, I am going to make it. When those kids hit those 3 point daggers this weekend, that is why they shot the ball. They believed that they were going to make that shot. Belief is a Mother...shut your mouth..
So as the journey to find a champion goes the team with the most pressure on them has to be the UConn women's team. They have won 73 games in a row and looked awesome yesterday. Remember belief is a mother... shut your mouth...

i am losing my edge..

I am losing my edge blogging these days because the sports world seems to have hit a lull. I know that there are stories galore out there but nothing has really grasped my attention. March is supposed to be filled with "madness" and I just don't see how this years tournament is going to have any magic moments. The Big East and Big 12 conference had the best teams playing this season and most people expect the champion to be from one of those conferences. Kentucky is the other team that people are picking to win it all but an early encounter with Texas could derail them.
In the women's game there appears to be limited obstacles to the Uconn march to greatness. They have won 73 games in a row and if the win the title they will be only 1o games away from tying U.C.L.A's mark of 88 straight games. They may have to play Tennessee in the national semi-finals but if they are clicking on all cylinders they will be tough to beat.
Did you see in spring training the other day that Cliff Lee threw at a player and now he is suspended for 5 games!!! Barry Zito hit Prince Fielder and it was swept under the rug but everyone knows that it was retribution for the great celebration from last year when Fielder and the Brewers walked off against the Giants. Lee was getting rocked so he did it out of frustration. He is going to struggle I think this year. Seattle has a good team and if he has any kind of season they may overtake the Angels. (baseball preview coming soon)
Tiger is coming back at the Masters and I have to tell you I am a bit surprised. I thought he would play Bayhill first and get a round in in competition. Maybe he feels that since he has played the Masters so many times the course changes won't affect his game. We shall see and I hope that he, Ernie, and Geoff Ogilvy are in a group together and they get into a brawl. Jesper Parnevik sucks so he won't be a factor.
Derek Anderson signed today with the Cardinals. I hope he does well and that the Browns and Cards meet so they can boo him. Matt Leinart better be ready to fight for his job. Speaking of the N.F.L. some of these off season moves are quite comical to me. The Bears need a receiver and they think that they can get him in the draft. T.O. may be past his prime, but he is still a threat and they should sign him. The Bengals took Antonio Bryant over Owens. No wonder why they lost to the Jets in the first round. Speaking of the Jets, they get rid of Thomas Jones and bring in L.T. They are the same type of back. The Redskins signed Larry Johnson I think because they are paranoid about the health of Clinton Portis. Mike Shanahan had Portis in Denver and traded him after a 1500 yard season. The Giants signed Antrel Rolle. He was a stud in college and I think he has underachieved since being in the league. We needed defensive back help so he could be a blessing in disguise. I am interested in seeing what unfolds with other contending teams. The draft has a lot of talented players coming out and i hope the my team signs someone who can impact the team right away.
I got to say that I wish this was 10 years ago. I had lost about 50 pounds and had game to back up what i say to people. My team is so talented and lack confidence. They don't play with a chip on their shoulder like they should. No one believes in them. I know this school is not a sports oriented school, but for no seniors to come out for the team says a lot. I respect that these young men aspire to be something in life, but one should never take the field or court unless you believe that you are going to succeed. In all my of years of working with kids, i have never heard a kid say what one of my kids said after we won 16-5. He was asked why his parents were not at the game, and he said that he thought that we were going to lose. I was needless to say hurt and disturbed. Now that game 2 is approaching we have not practiced well at all. We need to win and maybe that will make them feel that they can win. I hope so...