NCAA Title Game Prediction

 

Hello again. I was in Boston over the weekend, so I did not get to preview the Final 4. But I am back at it to preview tonight's conclusion to March Maddens, as #7 UConn takes on #8 Kentucky for all of the marbles. Let's breakdown this game and I will give you who I think will be crowned the 2014 NCAA Men's Basketball Champion.

Offense
No brainer here. The Cats, led by Julius Randall and the Harrison twins, are a solid offensive team and have been this whole tournament. UConn, on the other hand, has struggled offensively all year long, and it has continued the past 2 games, with the Huskies scoring 60 and 63 points respectively. Shabzz Napier and DeAndre Daniles are both solid, but I just think the Wildcats have more offensive firepower.

Edge: UK

Defense
This is where the Huskies have an advantage. When a team is 144th in the country and makes it to the title game,  they must be doing something right defensively. The Huskies have size and are very athletic, and the same could be said about UK. I just fell that UConn has a slight edge, as the Cats cannot force turnovers, while the Huskies rank in the top ten in the country in steals per game.

Edge: UConn

Coaching: Calipari>Ollie. Not a lot of explaining needs to be done here.

Edge: UK

Overall: These teams match up very evenly, but I feel that one huge stat to point out is that UK is 5th in the country in offensive rebounding. I feel that that stat could be the key to tonight's game. As for experience, UConn does not have anymore then Kentucky does when it comes to big games, no matter how many Freshman UK has. I feel that while both teams were not expected to be here, UK has more talent and has thought through more adversity, as they have played in more close games.

Therefore, Kentucky takes it home tonight.

Winner and 2014 NCAA Men's Basketball National Champions: Kentucky Wildcats

Opening Day 2014: My thoughts on the best day of the year

As always, Opening Day of the Baseball season brought a lot of excitement, drama and if nothing else, knowing that Baseball, the greatest sport of all time, will be back for another 6 months. Spring is here, and as you all know, spring is the revival of hope. Well, enough of the corny  lets talk about the games.

The first game was on Sunday night, and it was a good one. The LA Dodgers took on the San Diego Padres. LA took a 1-0 lead into the 8th inning behind the steller pitching of Hyun-Jin Ryu, and a single by Carl Crawford for LA's 1st and only run of the game. For a while it looked like that run would hold up for LA, but the game was not over yet. Brian Wilson entered the game for LA, and the first batter he faced was pinch hitter Seth Smith. Smith would proced to crush one into the Right Field stands, and just like that the game was tied at 1. Big Blue would unravil after that. A walk and an error, followed by a double steal would put runners at 2nd and 3rd for Chirs Deneforia. Denforia would single, scoring Evreth Cabera and Yasmani Grandal, giving San Diego a 3-1 lead. Dale Thayer would shut down LA in the 9th, and the Padres would end the night with a 1-0 record, while LA would fall to 2-1.

The next game we will discuess took place in the great city of Baltimore, Maryland, where the Orioles defeted the Boston Red Sox by a score of 2-1.  Both Nelson Cruz(Baltimore) and Grady Siezmore(Boston) hit homeruns in their debut's for their respective teams. Siezmore's homer was extra meaningful, as it was his first game since 2011. Cruz's homer ended up being more significant in terms of the games outcome, as it broke a 1-1 tie in the 7th inning, and wound up being the deciding run. Tommy Hunter would nail down his first save as an Oriole, and the Birds left Camdon Yards with a 1-0 record.

The final game we will talk about took place at PNC Park, where the Pittsburgh Pirates took on the Chicago Cubs. The game was tied going into the Bottom of the 10th inning, but that would change when Neil Walker hit a walkoff homerun over the Clemente Wall off of Carlos Villanauvia, to give the Bucs a 1-0 win. I was at this game, and it was fantastic. The Pirates played a solid game overall, and deserved to win this one.

Overall, opening day was fantastic, and had a lot of things that I love about Americas Pastime.

Thats all I have to say about that. Thanks for Reading!