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.