Tigers Hire Brad Ausmus To Replace Leyland

The Detroit Tigers have hired former catcher Brad Ausmus as their new manager. Ausmus will be taking over for Jim Leyland, who was in Detroit as manager from 2006-2013 and retired about 2 weeks ago. Ausmus was a catcher for both the Tigers and Houston Astros, as well as the San Diego Padres and LA Dodgers from 1993-2010. He had 2 separate stints with Detroit, one in 1996 and another from 1999-2000. Ausmus was a very smart player who was thought of to be a future manager around the league, although people probably did not expect it to be this soon. I would like to provide an example of why Ausmus can be successful, even though he has no big league managing or coaching experience.

In 1964, the New York Yankees hired legendary catcher Yogi Berra to manage. Berra had just retired in 1963, and had no big league managing or coaching experience. Few people in the New York media thought that this move would work out. But Yogi proved them wrong, leading the Bronx Bombers to erase a large deficit and win the AL Pennant. Yogi was then foolishly let go by the organization who he had made his name with. It is true that that Yankee team led by Mickey Mantle was talented, but so is this Tiger team that Ausmus is taking over. Miguel Cabrera, Max Scherzer, Austin Jackson, Justin Verlander etc. should make the transition to big league manager a lot easier for Ausmus then, say, a guy like Mike Redman in Miami.

I am excited to see what Ausmus brings to the table, and Detroit fans who have grown tired of Leyland's old school style should be energized by Ausmus's youth.

That's it for this article. Thank you for reading.  

The Defense of a Dynasty

The Defense of a Dynasty: LeBron’s Quest for Immortality

NBA Writer Alex Gordon

If I am part of the Miami Heat organization right now, I am terrified.  From the front office to the ticket scalpers to the training staff to the video room guy, to Eric Spoelstra (who was the video room guy before he was the coach), and even the King himself.  In the post-game interview with the ESPN countdown crew LeBron put it perfectly.  “You need a little bit of luck to win an NBA championship,” and that is exactly what the Heat had. 

That is not why Mr. James should be worried; he’s worried because he know that the rest of the NBA is right there.  Let’s put into perspective how close the Heat came to losing that dramatic game 6.  Everyone keeps talking about how the Spurs were a rebound away from a championship. They weren’t.  They were a tipped ball away from a championship they, they were a loose ball foul away from a championship. They HAD won a championship barring the most miraculous shot in finals history, and that is exactly what they got.  A difficult catch and shoot by Ray Allen. With his momentum carrying him back, he was able to steady himself just long enough to rise up over the out stretched arm of Tony Parker, get the shot off, and the rest is history.  If anyone had knocked the ball into the air, if Chris Bosh had done anything with that ball beside EXACTLY the action he performed. We would have been talking about the failure of the big three for the rest of basketball eternity.  LeBron would have captured one title in three years with his “not five, not six, not seven team” (that everyone took way to literally), and with the important contracts running out at the end of the year “the decision” would have been a terrible one.   

Funny how one shot that a player doesn’t even take can change the way we look at him historically. Now all we’ll see looking back is that The King prevailed and now has a chance at basketball immortality. The three-peat.  Only George Mikan’s Minneapolis Lakers (In an era where you could score 20 a game in the playoffs with a fractured leg, which he did in 1951), Russell’s Celtics, Jordan’s Bull’s, and Shaq and Kobe’s Lakers have accomplished the trifecta.  This year is different however.  Six teams in the west have the potential to make a deep playoff run (Clippers, Spurs, Thunder, Warriors, Grizzlies, Rockets), but the question I have is can the champs get out of the east.  The besides the seven game bloodbath with the Pacers in the eastern conference finals the Heat pretty much walked through the east last year.  They swept the Bucks and rolled the Bulls in five.  This year is going to be different however, with four elite teams that might have what it takes to end The Kings reign over the east.

The Philadelphia 76ers

They beat the Heat on opening night, and are 3-0 with a convincing win over the Bulls… wait never mind I just got a call from the front office.  They’re horrified by the teams hot start and are afraid these crazy rookies and Jason Richardson on crutches will ruin their chances in the “Riggin-for-Wiggins” lottery.  So Three elite teams…

The Chicago Bulls

The Bulls got the last man not named “LeBron James” to win an MVP award back.  It’s horrible that people ripped on Rose for not returning last year.  Anyone who has been an athlete at any time in their lives has probably been injured, and they know the feeling of not being able to totally trust that body part.  You feel almost the absence of pain, and it takes time for you to feel right doing what you did before.  Especially if your game is as explosive and high impact as Derrick Rose’s. 
This team showed that it could hold its own without Rose’s top five scoring numbers.  They relayed on gritty defense, ball movement, and Nate Robinson’s irrational confidence to make a respectable playoff run.  Even with the loss of Nate the great, the rest of the roster remains pretty much intact.  The starting five of Rose, Jimmy Butler, Luol Deng, Carlos Boozer, and Joakim Noah might be the best defensive five man group in the league (even if the Booz is not the epitome of a lockdown defender). 

The X-factor is Jimmy Butler.  If he can improve from a very good defender to a lock-down type (yes these are technical terms, sue me) then the Bulls could send Deng, and Butler at Wade, and James at the same time.  The luxury of this, is most teams have only one guy (if any) capable of defending LeBron or Wade.  Barring injury, illness, trade, or Tom Thibodeau playing them 46 minutes a game in the regular season (don’t count the last one out), the wing defense of the Bulls might put them over the top. With the return of Rose the team brings back the second piece of the formula that always seems to give the Heat problems.  Elite point guard play, and size on both ends of the court has always been the Heat’s Achilles heel.  Even though Rose has struggled out of the gate, I’m certain he will return to all-star form at some point.  Along with the offensive production of Booz and the rim protection of Noah and Taj Gibson I expect a playoff series that you will tell your grandchildren about (multiple times… even though you know they’ve heard it already) from the Heat and the Bulls this year.
          
The Indiana Pacers

The Pace-show was very close to beating the Heat last year, and they did it without any bench production.  If the Pacers could have left the bench on the floor for any amount of time against the Heat they could have won.  Their starters had to play almost entire games in that series last year, and just simply didn’t have the legs come crunch time, and that’s where they lost the series. 

The Larry Bird and the front office addressed the problem very well during the offseason.   They brought in real NBA players (as Larry promptly let everyone he was not involved with signing go) to back up the very good ones they already had.  Luis Scola, and C.J Watson have both been productive offensive players coming off the bench and starting for teams in past years.  They also brought in Chris Copland who seemed to have a breakout year for the Knicks last year, to give them some outside shooting.  Along with solid backup center Ian Mahinmi, the bench becomes almost a strength for this team (maybe not defensively, but they can defiantly score).  As for the Achilles factor, George Hill doesn’t really provide elite point guard production, but do they ever have size inside.

 

The Starting front line of the Pacers is tailor-made to give the Heat all sorts of problems.  David West has always been one of the better low post scorers in the league, and unless Shane Battier puts on 75 lbs. very quickly the Heat have no choice to double West on the block.   The second member is most effective over seven foot center in the NBA Roy Hibbert.  The man is a legit 7’2’’ and the bane of anyone who tries to go anywhere near the rim as we saw in last year’s playoffs.  As Coach Vogal puts it, “the league’s best at drawing no calls,”  as he goes straight up not inducing contact just letting the attacking player figure out some way to get the shot to go against all that length.  The issue for the Pace-show last year was they didn’t have a shot creator to go to with the clock winding down.  They still don’t, but hopefully emerging super-star Paul George will be able to add this to his game this year along while still giving LeBron all he can handle on the defensive end.  Who knows if the Pacers have made the right moves to get over the hump this year, but if they do met in the playoffs we are all going to be winners.

The Brooklyn Nets 

Maybe the biggest question mark on this list, the Nets obviously made a huge splash in the offseason.  They brought in aging stars Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce along with offensive spark plug Jason “The Jet” Terry.  They also acquired their contracts, which put the team’s total salary at 101 million dollars (19 million dollars over the 82 million dollar salary cap).  There may never be another “win-now” team like this one with the owner Mikhail Prokhorov obviously burning money warm his house (and his car, and his office, and the Barkleys center, and Andrei Kirilenko’s new private island that were not supposed to talk about).  Their bench is among the best if not the best in the NBA with Shawn Livingston, Jet Terry, Kirilenko, Andre Blatche, Reggie Evans, and Mirza Teletovic.  Its versatile, it can score, it can provide spacing, and Evans can rebound for all six of them. 

The may not have the stopper types on the wing like the Pacers and Bulls, but they can give LeBron and Wade a lot of different looks (Kerilenko, Pierce, Joe Johnson etc.) which has proven to be at least semi-effective before.  Where they differ from the Bulls and Pacers is their offence.  The team is full of veterans who know how to move the ball and get the best possible shot every time down the floor.  They beat the Heat in the opening weak of the season (by one point but still), and you could help notice how well the ball moved from side, it never became stagnant nobody just stood there dribbling at the three point line as seconds ticked away.  They passed up good shots to get great ones, and that’s what you need to do against the Heat. 
KG, and Peirce will be effective for the Nets this season, but they are really, really quality starters at this point in their career’s they won’t (and shouldn’t) carry the team night in and night out.  To beat the Heat this team will need to get top-five point guard play from Deron Williams.  We know he is capable of it, but haven’t seen it for a while because of nagging injuries, and nagging ego.  They will also need all-star level production at the center spot from Brook Lopez.  He’s no Roy Hibbert defensively, but he has improved his shot blocking, and rebounding numbers in the past few years.  Roy Hibbert on the other hand is no Brook Lopez on the offensive end.  Lopez may be the most offensively skilled center in the league, and barring Greg Oden finding the fountain of youth they have no answer for him on the block or in the pick-and-roll game.  Who knows? in a seven game series the Heat might just turn every game into a track met and beat them in five with all those old legs not able to keep up.  Or Williams returns to form and impeccably executes one of the best half-court offense we’ve seen in years, they stop LeBron from running amok in the paint with KG and Lopez.  On paper they seem to have the worse chance of these three teams, but that’s just what it is a piece of paper.
I’ve learned never to bet against LeBron over the last few years, and I’m not going to start now.  His Heat however, are going to need to get through two of these three teams and whoever comes out of the west.  If LeBron can get back to the mountain top this time, through these teams put together with the sole purpose of stopping his dominance, we can finally put him in the discussion of all-time greats.   

 

NFL Week 9 Preview/Predictions/John Fox Likley Needs Heart Surgery

Here are my predictions for NFL week 10. This is another mostly dull week around the league. Let's get into it.
Note: Praise the Lord the Jacksonville
1:00 P.M.

 

Jaguars are not playing this week.
Chiefs(8-0) at Bills(3-5)
The Chiefs have been in my opinion the feel good story of this season. Just when it looked like Andy Reid's coaching career had reached it's end, he has completely turned around a franchise that was 2-14 in 2012. Add that to the tragedy Reid has had to endure with the death of his son, and it is really hard not to be happy for him to have the success he is having in KC. I expect the Chiefs to continue the roll that they are on against a mediocre at best Buffalo team, although I think it will be close considering KC is not known for blowing teams out.

Prediction: Chiefs 28, Bills 24

Vikings(1-6) at Cowboys(4-4)

The Cowboys are resembling a reality show more than a Superbowl contender, as they are nothing but drama, weather it has been blown out of proportion or not(Dez Bryant). However, Minnesota has had an awful year after making the playoffs in 2012. Tony Romo and Dallas will roll after that heartbreaker in Detroit last week.

Prediction: Cowboys 38, Vikings 17

 

Titans(3-4) at Rams(3-4)

Prediction: Rams 31, Titans 21

Saints(6-1) at Jets(4-4)
Drew Brees will once again do what Drew Brees does, and the Saints will take care of business against a Jets team that is looking more like the team we expected to see coming into the year after last weeks awful effort against the Bengals.

Prediction: Saints 45, Jets 24

Chargers(4-3) at Redskins(2-5)

Even though the Redskins nickname has been talked about more than their play on the field, I expect them to carry the momentum from last week's win over Chicago and win this one led by Robert Griffin III.

Prediction: Redskins 38, Chargers 24

Falcons(2-5) at Panthers(4-3)

QB Cam Newton and Carolina have been surprising this season at 4-3, while the Falcons have been incredibly disappointing at 2-5. I expect Cam and the Panthers to pull this one out because I fell that they have more momentum right now.

Prediction: Panthers 34, Falcons 24

4:05

Eagles(3-4) at Raiders(3-4)

2 mediocre teams. I will take Oakland in this one. They are playing at home and QB Terrell Pryor has the tools and is playing very well this season.

Prediction: Raiders 31, Eagles 20

Buccaneers(0-7) at Seahawks(7-1)
This game will prove that Halloween is not over yet. It will be scary.

Prediction: Seahawks 45, Buccaneers 10

 

4:25

Ravens(3-4) at Browns(3-5)

Baltimore has been disappointing a year after their Superbowl title. I still expect them to win this one over the Browns who are, well, the Browns. Art Modell will be watching from upstairs, as he owned and loved both of these teams.

Prediction: Ravens 28, Browns 17

Steelers(2-5) at Patriots(6-2)

Although New England is not the same team you are used to seeing, they are still good and the Steelers are not. Tom Brady is still Tom Brady and will do his thing.

Prediction: Patriots 38, Steelers 17

Sunday Night Football

Colts(5-2) at Texans(2-5)

Andrew Luck and the Colts will prolong the Texans disappointment, as they have been very good this season. I think they will win this one despite the loss of key WR Reggie Wayne.

Prediction: Colts 28, Texans 17

                                                           
                                                          Monday Night Football
                                                          Bears(4-3) at Packers(5-2)
Probably the best game of the week, I expect Aaron Rodgers, in my opinion the best QB in the game today, and the Packer offense to have another big night against the struggling Bears defense.
Prediction: Packers 41, Bears 24

In other football news, Broncos coach John Fox is expected to need heart surgery this week that could sideline him for as long as 2 months according to a team official. The 58 year old Fox was hospitalized after feeling light headed while playing golf in Charlotte, North Carolina, near his offseason home with friends and family on Saturday. Fox was aware that he had a heart condition that would require surgery and was hoping to avoid it until after the end of the season. Fox claimed to be ''doing fine'' in a text. Offensive coordinator Adam Gase and defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio are expected to have additional duties. This type of story reminds you that there are more important things in life then football, and I pray that Coach Fox has a strong recovery.

That's it for this article. Thanks for reading.

FSU Miami Preview/Prediction

Tonight at 8:00 on ABC, #7 Miami travels to #3 Florida State. Florida State has been so impressive this season, highlighted by a 51-14 domination of #8 Clemson at Death Valley. They are led by Heisman candidate, Freshman QB Jameis Winston. #7 Miami appears to have restored the tradition of the famous U, as they are 7-0. However, I think that although Miami is undefeated, they have been unimpressive in some of their wins, as they nearly lost to North Carolina and Wake Forest, 2 inferior opponents. I think that the fact that Florida State is home is huge, as they have been dominate at Doak Campbell Stadium for years. I think that this a fairly uneven game for a matchup between 2 top 10 teams. Winston will lead FSU to a fairly lopsided victory.

Prediction: Florida State 45, Miami 24 

College Football Week 10 Predictions

Here are my predictions for the notable games of week 10 of the 2013 college football season. Let's get into it.

12:00 P.M.
#24 Wisconsion(5-2) at Iowa(5-3)
The Badgers have a explosive offense lead by Sophomore QB Joel Stave, Sophomore RB Melvin Gordon and Senior WR Jarred Abbrederis. Their 2 losses have been by a combined of 9 points, both at Arizona State and Ohio State. The Hawkeyes are no pushover, as they nearly knocked off #4 Ohio State in The Horseshoe, and playing at Kinnick Stadium makes them a lot tougher. However, I expect the Badgers offense to help them pull out this one.

Prediction: Wisconsion 34, Iowa 21

3:30 P.M.

Navy(4-3) at #25 Notre Dame(6-2)

The Fighting Irish are having a bit of a down year compared to last year's team that was one win away from a national championship, but they are still dangerous and if they win out, could make a BCS appearance. Led by Senior QB Tommy Reese, the Irish have a solid offensive attack, and while Navy is not quite a pushover with their famed option offense, ND will just be too much for them in the 87th edition this historic rivalry.

Prediction: Notre Dame 41, Navy 24

#21 Michigan(6-1) at #22 Michigan State(7-1)

Michigan , led by dual threat QB Devin Gardener, is 6-1, but hasn't been very impressive in doing so, as they could have easily lost some of their games. Michigan State, on the other hand, I feel is an under the radar team in the Big 10. Although the Spartans, led by Junior running back Jeremy Langford, have not had a true quality win yet, I feel that they have been very impressive in their wins and are up to the task. I think the Sparty will take the 106th meeting between these 2 rivals.

Prediction: MSU 38, Michigan 30

Georgia(4-3) at Florida(4-3)
Both Georgia and Florida have been disappointments this season. I think that Florida, led by Junior QB Tyler Murphy, who replaced Jeff Driskel, who was lost for the year in week 4 with a broken right fibula, wins this one over star Senior QB Aaron Murry in the 92 edition of the Worlds Largest Cocktail Party.
Prediction: Florida 28, Georgia 24

 7:00 P.M.
#18 Oklahoma State(6-1) at #15 Texas Tech(7-1)
This should be a good one. Oklahoma State is propelled by an explosive offense led by junior RB Desmond Roland and Sophomore duel threat QB J.W. Walsh. Tech also has a great offense which is 3rd in the nation in passing yards, led by freshman QB's Davis Webb and Baker Mayfield. Tech is coming off of their first loss at Oklahoma. I think Oklahoma State wins this one on the road lead by their offense and because I think they are a better team.

Prediction: Oklahoma State 41, Texas Tech 38

I will pick the FSU-Miami game, the biggest of the week, in a separate article. Other top 25 games for this week include: #4 Ohio State at lowly Purdue, #8 Clemson at Virginia, Tennessee at #9 Missouri, #11 Auburn at Arkansas, UTEP at #12 Texas A&M, Mississippi State at #14 South Carolina, Nevada at #16 Fresno State, #17 Northern Illinois at UMASS, and Colorado at #20 UCLA.

That's it for this article. Thanks for reading.  

 

Dolphins Stun Bengals On OT Saftey

Remember when I predicted the Bengals to blow out the Fins? Well, forget I ever wrote that. The Bengals showed traces of who they used to be in their ugly 22-20 OT loss to the Miami Dolphins on Thursday night. The game will be most remembered for it's ending, in which Dolphins DE Cameron Wake sacked Bengals QB Andy Dalton for a safety and a Miami victory.

It was only the 3rd OT safety in NFL history, as the first happened in 1989, caused by Vikings linebacker Mike Merriweather, and the 2nd was by Adewale Ogunleye of the Bears in 2004.

The Bengals struck first a little over 3 minutes into the first quarter on a Mike Nugent field goal to make it 3-0 Cincinnati. The Dolphins would then take the lead on a 1 yard run by QB Ryan Tannehill to make it 7-3 Miami. The Fins would add 3 more points on a Caleb Sturgis field goal near the end of the 1st quarter to make it 10-3. That's how it would stay until the 3rd quarter, when DB Brent Grimes had a 94 yard interception for a touchdown to make it 17-3 Miami. The Bengals would fight back though, on 2 touchdown runs by RB Giovani Bernard, who had 79 yards on just 9 carries, the 1st a 3 yard run with about 2 minutes left in the 3rd quarter, the 2nd a beautiful 35 yard run to tie it at 17 early in the 4th.  The Bengals would then appear to seal the game on a Nugent field goal with 1:24 remaining in the game. But Miami would then battle back and tie it on a Sturgis field goal with 11 seconds to play.

We now go to overtime. Miami would have 2 unsuccessful drives and Cincinnati would have 1 before Wake sacked Dalton in the end zone with 6:38 left in OT to win the game, 22-20 for Miami.

Miami was lead by Ryan Tannehill, who was 20 for 28 with 208 yards passing. Lamar Miller would also help out, with 105 yards rushing, and Mike Wallace lead Miami with 6 REC for 82 yards. The Bengals were lead by A.J. Greene, who had 11 REC for 128 yards, and got a mixed to off game from Dalton, who had 338 yards passing, but was also sacked 5 times, lost a fumble, threw 5 ints as well as the game ending safety.

Well, that's it for this article. Thanks for reading.

NFL Thursday Night Football Week 9 Prediction

Here is my prediction for this weeks Thursday Night Football game between the Cincinnati Bengals(6-2) and the Miami Dolphins(3-4).

I like the Bengals in this one. They are on fire and should win fairly easily over a mediocre Miami team.

Predication: Bengals 34, Dolphins 17

Thanks for reading.

The Boston Red Sox Are Your 2013 World Series Champions

The Boston Red Sox captured the 2013 World Series title on Wednesday night, defeating the St. Louis Cardinals by a score of 6-1. It was the first time since 1918 that Boston won a World Series at Fenway Park, as their wins in 2004 and 2007 were both on the road. It is the 8th time in franchise history that the Red Sox have been kings of baseball, as they previously won in 1903, 1912, 1915, 1916, 1918, 2004 and 2007.

The Red Sox bats knocked around St. Louis starter Michael Wacha, getting all 6 runs off of him in just 3 and 2/3 innings. It was Wacha's 1st bad start of the postseason, as he had been so good in his first 4 starts, posting an ERA of 1.00. Boston starter John Lackey, on the other hand, was fantastic, going 6 and 2/3 innings and giving up just 1 earned run.

The Red Sox fun night began in the bottom of the 3rd, when Shane Victorino hit a 3 run double that made it 3-0 Red Sox. The Sox added on 3 more runs in the bottom of the 4th. First, Stephan Drew leadoff the inning with a solo homer to make it 4-0. Then, Mike Napoli singled to make it 5-0, and Victorino also singled to make it 6-0. The Sox never looked back from there. The Redbirds would score 1 run in the top of the 7th on a Carlos Beltran single, but it proved to be meaningless. Tonight was Boston's night. Koji Uehara came in in the top of the 9th in a non save situation, and got the first 2 men out, then struck out Matt Carpenter, and with that, Fenway erupted as for the first time in the lives of anybody in that stadium, the Red Sox won it all in front of their hometown fans. David Ortiz, as expected, was named World Series MVP after his phenomenal series, as he has earned a reputation as one of the best postseason hitters ever.

I would like to say, Mike Matheny, John Mo St. Louis Cardinals and their fans, congratulations on a great season. Even though it sucks not to win it all, it was still a great season and you guys have nothing to be ashamed of.

To the Boston Red Sox and their fans, congrats on a great season and World Series. Expectations were not high for this team following a 69 win season in 2012, but manager John Farrell did a phenomenal job turning around Boston, and free agent pickup Shane Victorino and the resurgence of pitcher John Lackey as well as a bounce back season from ace John Lester and the emergence of closer Koji Uehara played huge roles in getting Boston to where they are right now, as well as the stars who had been with Boston before 2013, like Ortiz, Pedroia etc. GM Ben Cherington and the Red Sox front office did a fantastic job putting this team together. Let's not forget the fans, most of whom had been waiting their whole lives to see their team win it all in person and finally got to do it tonight.

Well that's it for this post. Thanks for reading, and congrats to the Boston Red Sox.

Lester's Strong Start Backs Red Sox In Game 5 Win; Lead Series 3 Games To 2, 1 Win Away From Title

The Boston Red Sox are 1 win away from the 2013 World Series championship, thanks to John Lester's 7 and 2/3 inning, 1 run allowed performance, and well as some clutch late inning heroics.

The Red Sox struck first in the top of the 1st, as David Ortiz doubled to right, scoring Dustin Pedroia and giving the Sox a 1-0 lead. It would stay that way until the bottom of the 4th, when Matt Holiday crushed a solo homerun to deep center to tie the game at 1, which it would stay until the top of the 7th, when with 1 out and runners on 1st and 2nd, Boston catcher David Ross hit a ground rule double, scoring rookie Xander Bogaerts while Stephan Drew had to be held at 3rd. Drew would later score on a single by Jacoby Ellsbury, giving the Red Sox a 3-1 lead. That would be enough, as after Lester departed with 2 outs in the bottom of the 8th, Koji Uehara continued his fantastic postseason with a 4-out save, his 2nd of the fall classic. Starter Adam Wainwright pitched well for St. Louis, giving up 3 earned runs over 7 innings, but Lester was better, and that proved to be the difference in game 5.

The Red Sox will return to Fenway Park on Wednesday night, as they will try to take home their 3rd World Series title in the past 10 seasons. John Lackey will pitch for Boston, and he will oppose rookie Michael Wacha, who will look to continue his amazing postseason.

An interesting note. the Cardinals team plane's takeoff for Boston was delayed until 9:09 on Tuesday night because of mechanical issues. Also, Boston is expect to get left fielder Shane Victorino back in the lineup for game 6, and he was sidelined with back tightness.

That's all for this article. Thanks for reading.

Gomes 3 Run Blast Propells Red Sox to 4-2 Win, Series Tied At 2

Red Sox left fielder Johnny Gomes, who was a late addition to the lineup after Shane Victorino was scratched late with lower back tightness, hit a go ahead 3 run homerun off of St. Louis reliever Seth Maness with 2 outs in the top of the 6th inning to break a 1-1 tie and propel the Red Sox to a much needed win to tie the 2013 World Series at 2 games apiece.  The Cards struck first in the bottom of the 3rd on a Carlos Beltran single. However, the Sox would tie it in the top of the 5th on a sacrifice fly by Stephan Drew. That set the stage for the key moment of the game. In the top of the 6th, after 2 quick outs, Dustin Pedroia singled and David Ortiz walked. Mike Matheny than pulled starter Lance Lynn in favor of reliever Seth Maness to face Gomes. It proved to be a mistake as Gomes hammered a 387 foot blast to left field, giving the Sox a 3 run lead which proved to be the difference. I personally think Matheny should have stuck with Lynn to face Gomes. He was pitching well and had only thrown 89 pitches to that point. But I am not an MLB manager. The Cards would get a run in the bottom of the 7th on a single by Matt Carpenter to make it 4-2. Then in the bottom of the 9th, with 2 outs and nobody on, Allen Craig singled. Matheny called on rookie Kolten Wong to pinch run, with Carlos Beltran at the plate. Wong would end up getting picked off of 1st to end the game. Now it is unlikely that St. Louis would have won the game had Wong not gotten picked off, but with Beltran, one of the greatest postseason hitters ever at the plate, all the Cards needed was a double to get them within 1 run and have the tying run in scoring position. But, a lot of things happen over the course of a game, and to blame Wong for the Cardinals loss is just not right. Both teams got decent efforts out of their starting pitchers, as Lance Lynn pitch 5 and 2/3 innings, giving up 3 earned runs(2 off of the Gomes homerun),  and Clay Buchholz had a short but strong outing, giving up 1 run(0 earned) in 4 innings. The Sox got a big boost out of Felix Doubront, who relieved Buchholz and pitch 2 2/3 innings, giving up 1 earned run for the win.

Game 5 will be huge, and I think whoever wins will end up taking home the World Series title. Note: Up until this weekend, no postseason games had ever ended on a obstruction call of a pickoff. Both of those things happened in games 3 and 4.

Well that's it for this article. It should be a great rest of the series. Thanks for reading.

College Football Week 9 Recap: Missouri, Virgina Tech Upset, Miami Narrowly Escapes Wake Forest

Week 9 of the 2013 College Football season is in the books, and although it was not quite as dramatic as Week 8, it had some excitement of its own. We will start in the ACC, where #7 Miami took on unranked Wake Forest. The Demon Decons frustrated the Canes all day, and were ahead 21-17 late in the 4th quarter. But the Hurricanes prevailed when running back Duke Johnson, who had 168 yards rushing and 2 touchdowns on the day, scored on a 1 yard run with 53 seconds left, and the Canes kept their perfect season and National Title hopes alive.

We now move onto the Big Ten, where #24 Nebraska visited unranked Minnesota. The Gophers pulled off the upset, 34-23, led by running back David Cobb's 138 yards rushing. The Huskers fell despite 165 yards on the ground from running back Ameer Abdulla, and it was another crushing loss for Big Red.

We now move on to the Big 12, where #10 Texas Tech visited #15 Oklahoma. The Sooners handed the Red Raiders their first loss by a score of 38-30, led by WR Jalen Saunders, who had 6 REC for 153 yards and 2 touchdowns, and running back Damien Williams, who had 97 yards rushing and 2 touchdowns. The Raiders fell despite 385 yards passing and 2 touchdowns from QB Davis Webb.

We now move on to the Pac 12, where #3 Oregon took on #12 UCLA. The Bruins hung tough through the 1st half, as the game was tied at 14 going into the 3rd Quarter. But the Ducks pulled away, led by running back Byron Marshall, who had 133 yards rushing and 3 Touchdowns on the day, as the Ducks prevailed, 42-14. It was another impressive win for the cool uniforms as the are making a case for #1 in the country.

We now move on to the ACC, and the upset of the week. Unranked Duke came into Lane Stadium and stunned #14 Virginia Tech, 13-10. Surprisingly, the MVP for the Blue Devils on Saturday was kicker Ross Martin, who nailed 2 50+ yard kicks, one from 51 and one from 53, both in the second quarter, as Duke got their biggest win in recent memory. Duke's defense help them out as well, picking off VA Tech quarterback Logan Thomas 4 times. On paper, the Hokies dominated the game, led by Thomas who had 101 yards rushing and the Hokies only touchdown, outgaining Duke 387 to 198 in total yardage, but the Dukies scored more points, and that it all that matters. The Dukies are proving that their athletic program is more than just Coach K, as they are 6-2 on the year. It was a crushing loss for head coach Frank Beamer and the Hokies, who fall to 6-2.

We now move onto the game of the day, which took place in the SEC, where #5 Missouri took on #21 South Carolina. The Tigers led 17-0 going into the 4th quarter, aided by QB Maty Mauk, who was making his 2nd start since regular QB James Franklin was lost for the season with a separated shoulder, throwing a 96 yard touchdown pass to WR L'Damian Washington  in the 2nd quarter. It look like Mizzou had the game one, but the Gamecocks battled back, led by WR Bruce Ellington, who had 10 REC for 136 Yards and 2 Touchdowns on the night, to tie the game at 17 and force Overtime. In OT, Missouri would strike first on a 1 yard touchdown run by running back Marcus Murphy, but USC would tie it on a pass to Ellington from QB Connor Shaw to tie the game and force a 2nd overtime. In the 2nd OT, the Gamecocks would take the lead on a 40 yard field goal by Elliot Fry. Mizzou would have a chance to tie the game and send in to a 3rd OT with Andrew Baggett attempting a chip shot 24 yard field goal. It seemed like a chip shot, but Baggett's kick hit off of the left crossbar and USC pulled of the stunning upset, 27-24. The miss was not all Baggett's fault, as the laces on the ball were in instead of out, which made the kick more difficult. But, nonetheless, Mizzou lost and their dreams for a National Title are crushed.

The last game that I will go into detail about also took place in the Pac 12, as #6 Stanford visited #25 Oregon State. The Cardinal prevailed, 20-12, led by their defense and running back Tyler Gaffney, who had 145 yard rushing and 3 touchdowns.

In other news, #1 Alabama rolled over Tennessee, 45-10, #2 Florida State rolled over NC State, 49-17, #4 Ohio State embarrassed Penn State, 63-14, #8 Baylor was impressive yet again, destroying Kansas, 59-14, #9 Clemson defeated Maryland, 40-27, #11 Auburn pounded Florida Atlantic, 45-10, #13 LSU pounded Furman, 48-16, Johnny Football and #16 Texas A&M pounded Vanderbilt, 56-24#17 Fresno State escaped San Diego State, 35-28 in Overtime, #18 Northern Illinois pounded Eastern Michigan, 59-10, #19 Oklahoma State destroyed Iowa State, 58-27, #20 Louisville destroyed South Florida, 34-3, and #23 UCF pounded UCONN, 62-17.

That is it for Week 9. Thanks for reading.

World Series Games 1-3 Recaps

Hey, sorry I am so late. I have been busy, or lazy, and did not write recaps for games 1 or 2 of the 2013 World Series. So lets get started.

In Game 1, the Red Sox rode Mike Napoli's bases clearing 1st inning double and John Lester's arm to an easy 8-1 win. The turning point of the game came in the Bottom of the 1st, when David Ortiz hit a ground ball to 2nd Baseman Matt Carpenter, who flipped to Shortstop Pete Kozma for the force out. Or so we thought it was a force out. So it turns out, Kozma never had possession of the ball. The umpires got together and correctly overruled the call, which set up Napoli's 3 run double. A play that summed up the night for St. Louis happened in the Bottom of the 2nd inning, when Stephan Drew hit a pop up to Catcher Yadier Molina. The problem was, Molina and Pitcher Adam Wainwright could not decide on who would catch the ball, and it dropped between them. It was all Sox from there as they would score 5 more runs in the game to win 8-1. John Lester was fantastic, pitching 7 and 2/3 shutout innings for the win. Carlos Beltran would suffer a rib injury, but X-Rays came back negative and he is back in the Cardinal lineup. Wainwright would leave the game being roughed up for 5 runs(3 earned) in 5 innings. The Cardinals only run came on a Matt Holiday solo homerun in the Top of the 9th, but it was meaningless. Game 1 belonged to Boston.

Game 2 was a different story. St. Louis struck 1st in the Top of the 4th inning, with Matt Holiday scoring on a Yadier Molina groundout. However, the Sox would answer in the Bottom of the 6th on a 2 run homer by David Ortiz. The Cards would regain the lead in the next half-inning on a odd play. With the Bases Loaded and 1 out, Matt Carpenter hit a fly ball to Left. The throw by Johnny Gomez bounced past Catcher Jarred Saltalamacchia, allowing the tying run to score. Relief Pitcher Craig Brreslow than threw to 3rd, but the ball sailed over Stephan Drew, who was covering the base, and allowed the go ahead run to score. The Cards would add an insurance run on a Carlos Beltran single and would hang on to win 4-2. Both John Lackey for Boston and Michael Wacha for St. Louis were fantastic, but it was the rookie Wacha, who continued his unbelievable postseason, who's team would come out on top.
<

Game 3 was a wild one. The Cards struck first on a Holliday single in the Bottom of the 1st, and would add another run in the inning on a Molina single. The Cards would threaten to break the game open in the Bottom of the 4th when the loaded the bases with 0 outs. But Boston starter Jake Peavy would then strikeout Pete Kozma and get pitcher Joe Kelly and Matt Carpenter on popups to get out of a huge jam. The Sox would cut the lead in half in the Top of the 5th when Mike Carp grounded into a fielders choice, and would tie the game in the 6th on a single by Daniel Nava. The Cards would regain the lead in the Bottom of the 7th on a Matt Holliday 2 run double. The Sox would fight back, however. In the next half inning, they would cut the lead in half on a fielder's choice by Nava, than tie the game on a single by rookie Xander Bogaerts off of Cards Closer Trevor Rosenthal that came up on Kozma, who would not have had a play on it anyway. Ok, now lets get to the part that will be talked about for years to come. With 1 Out, Molina singled. John Farrell than called on lights out closer Koji Uehera to pitch to the recently returned Allen Craig. Craig would double, and the Cards had runners on 2nd and 3rd with 1 out. Now for the play that will forever go down in World Series lore. After John Farrel made what I think was a dumb move pitching to John Jay when he had an open base, with the weak hitting Kozma on deck, Jay hit a ground ball to 2nd. Dustin Pedroia, who made a great play to get the out at home. Saltalamacchia than made the curious choice of throwing to 3rd to try to get Craig, and the ball sailed past 3rd Baseman will Middlebrooks. Craig would than trip over Middlebrooks, who was on the ground. Johnny Gomes would throw home to get Craig, and the throw beat him easily. However, obstruction was called, so therefore Craig was ruled safe, and the Cards got a big 5-4 win. It was a call that is controversial among Red Sox fans, but was absolutely correct. When a runner trips over a fielder, no matter what the fielders intent, it is obstruction. Shoutout to 3rd Base umpire Jim Joyce for getting it right.


Overall, it has been a great first 3 games, and I cannot wait to see the rest. Thanks for reading.

NFL Week 8 Picks

Here are my picks for Week 8 of the 2013 NFL Season. Not a good slate of matchups for this week at all. Lets get into it.

Cowboys(4-3) at Lions(4-3)
1 of the 2 decent matchups for this week, the Cowboys and Lions both have decent teams, but I am going to go with Detroit in this one because they are at home and of their offense.

Prediction: Lions 34, Cowboys 24

 

Browns(3-4) at Chiefs(7-0)

Easy one. Chiefs will be too much for Cleveland.

 

Prediction: Chiefs 34, Browns 14

 

 

Dolphins(3-3) at Patriots(5-2)

Another no brainer. Tom Brady and co will come out firing after last week's madness in New York.

Prediction: Pats 35, Dolphins 14

                                                           Bills(3-4) at Saints(5-1)
Are you noticing a pattern here? Drew Brees will tear apart the Bill secondary and the Saints will roll.
Prediction: Saints 41, Bills 20

Giants(1-6) at Eagles(3-4)
A rap team vs. a not very good team. The crap team wins.

Prediction: Eagles 37, Giants 17

49ers(5-2) at Jaguars(0-7)
Jags still suck. The end.

Jets(4-3) at Bengals(5-2)
The other decent matchup thus week. It will be a close game, but I think the Bengals defense at the fact that they are at home gives them the edge.

Steelers(2-4) at Raiders(2-4)
Who the hell cares?

Prediction: Steelers 24, Raiders 14

Redskins(2-4) at Broncos(6-1)
Denver will be pissed off after last weeks lost to the Colts. Payton Manning and company will roll.

Prediction: Broncos 45, Redskins 21

Falcons(2-4) at Cardinals(3-4)
I think the Falcons still are talented and will win this one over the less talented Cards.

Prediction: Falcons 38, Cardinals 24

Packers(4-2) at Vikings(1-5)
Aaron Rodgers and the Pack will roll in this one.

Prediction: Packers 45, Vikings 17

Seahawks(6-1) at Rams(3-4)
The Rams will get smacked after losing QB Sam Bradford to a torn ACL. The Seahawks being 6-1 does not help either.

Prediction: Seahawks 37, Rams 13

Well, that's it. Boring post, boring week of Football. Thanks for reading.