World Series Experience

As many of my readers may know I went to game 2 of the World Series last night, and despite the fact that I am dead tired it was an amazing experience.
Me, my brother, and my dad took a Mega Bus to New York and midway through we had to make a stop on the turnpike because get this, the door would not close all the way yet the bus was still driveable. After sitting in traffic for the last 30 minutes of the trip we were dropped off in a different spot then we were expecting luckily one of the guys we met during the break helped us get on the right subway line to get the stadium we got there around 6:45-7. Then my dad and my older brother decided to go to a bar to get something to drink and since I am under the age of 21, I was not allowed in so I had to wait outside IN NEW YORK CITY BY MYSELF. After they finished drinking a few beers and buying something we got into the stadium and found our seats, in the 2nd level left field bleachers. Personally I was not that impressed with the stadium and think Camden Yards, Jacobs Field, Bank One BallPark, Fenway, and Nationals Park are all better.
Before the game Jay-Z and Alicia Keys performed empire state of mind, it was good but clear that they were lipsynching. Also John Legend sung the national anthem and Derek Jeter was given the Roberto Clemente Award for off the field man of the year, it should have gone to Pujols for a 2nd straight year.
Then the game got started and I was sorrounded by Yankee fans with a few Phillies fans mixed in. Yankee fans really annoy me they complain about everything when Burnett through a ball that ended up near the opposite batters box they booed thinking it was a strike. Also they refuse to give an opponent credit, for example when talking about Game 1 they said Utley's two homers were gifts by CC and Cliff Lee's historically great performance was due to the Yankees not hitting well and a bad ump. Furthermore they need to be more original in their taunts I heard so many cheese steak references when insulting Philly fans and heard tons of "Who's Your Daddy Chants" for Pedro, the opposing pitcher. Ironically Pedro made that statement in September 2004 and less then a month later pitched Game 5 in the Red Sox's historic comeback from 3-0 down to beat the Yankees. On top of all this I heard some Eagles suck chants and the Eagles were not even playing and also made it further then the Giants did last year. I am not saying that all Yankees fans are bad but a few bad apples spoil the bunch.
As for the actual game it was good but dragged on in the beginning but picked up towards the middle with the two Yankee homers. In my opinion there were two key points in the game one was Manuel letting Pedro come back out for the 7th when he looked done in the 6th and the double play in the top of the 8th when Utley should have been called safe thus making it 1st and 3rd for Howard in a two run game instead of him coming up to leadoff the 9th and having no shot of tying the game.
After the game we tried to find some more souveniers but could not get any good deals so we headed for the subway. While waiting in line we met someone who knew one of my brother's best friends and a close family friend (basically my 3rd brother) through college at Delaware she helped us get back to the right place and find a place to eat and kill time. Then we headed back home after stopping in Philly to drop other people off, I got back to Towson around 6. All in all it was an amazing experience and I have to thank my dad, my brother, and all the nice people we met for making it so. My goals now are to see a final four, World Cup, NBA Finals, Stanley Cup, and Super Bowl as well as a World Series game where either the Orioles make it or my favorite team, the Cardinals make it. I am sticking with my prediction of Philly in 7 but the MVP will be Lee.

NBA Season Preview 09-2010

I am a little hesitant to post my predictions for the brand new NBA season due to my track record but here goes nothing:
Atlantic Division
1. Celtics (#1 seed)
2. Raptors (#7 seed)
3.76ers
4.Nets
5.Knicks
Central Division
1. Cavs (#3 seed)
2. Bulls (#8 seed)
3.Pistons
4. Pacers
5. Bucks
Southeast Division
1. Magic (#2 seed)
2. Hawks (#4 seed)
3. Wizards (#5 seed)
4. Heat (#6 seed)
5. Bobcats
Southwest Division
1. Spurs (#2 Seed)
2.Mavs (#5 seed)
3. Hornets (#7 seed)
4. Rockets
5. Griz
Pacific Division
1. Lakers (#1 seed)
2. Suns (#8 seed)
3. Clips
4. Warriors
5. Kings
Northwest Division
1.Blazers (#3 seed)
2. Nuggets (#4 seed)
3. Jazz (#6 seed)
4. OKC
5. T-wolves
AWARDS
MVP: Lebron
DPOY: Dwight Howard
Sixth Man: Manu
Coach: Flip Saunders
ROY: Tyreke Evans
Most Improved: Courtney Lee
PLAYOFFS
East:
1st round
Celts over Bulls in 5, Magic over Raptors in 6, Cavs over Heat in 6, Wizards over Hawks in 7
2nd round
Celts over Wizards in 6, Magic over Cavs in 6
Conference Finals
Magic over Celtics in 6, the Celtics age catches up to them and the Magic's depth pays off
West:
Lakers over Suns in 4, Spurs over Hornets in 5, Blazers over Jazz in 6, Nuggets over Mavs in 7
2nd round
Lakers over Nuggets in 6, Spurs over Blazers in 5
Conference Finals:
Spurs over Lakers in 7, the Spurs young guys (Hill, Blair, McClinton) will have matured by this point and Timmy and Manu will be very well rested
NBA FINALS
Spurs over Magic in 6 MVP: Tim Ducan
PS I am going to the World Series game tomorrow and I can't wait.

World Series Preview

Well unfortunatly we get the Yankees and Phillies in the World Series, and although I am hoping for a swine flu outbreak to force these two teams out of the World Series, I will preview it anyway breaking it down position by position.
Catcher: Carlos Ruiz vs. Jorge Posada: Although Posada has a good experience edge I feel he is past his prime as Ruiz is about to enter his: Edge-Phillies
First Baseman: Ryan Howard vs. Mark Teixeira: A great matchup but the experience edge of Howard from last year and the fact that he is surging while Tex is struggling gives Philly the edge.
Second Baseman- Chase Utley vs. Robinson Cano: A good matchup but Utley is a little better then Cano in every facet of the game giving the Phillies yet another matchup edge.
Shortstop- Jimmy Rollins vs. Derek Jeter: An amazing matchup but picking against Jeter in the playoffs is moronic so the edge goes to the Yanks
Third Baseman: Pedro Feliz vs. A-Roid: Despite the fact Feliz will be playing in his 3rd world series this decade vs. A-Fraud's first I have to give the edge to the former 3 time MVP and NYY.
Right Field: Jayson Werth vs. Nick Swisher- Werth is incredibly hot right now and is a superior defender to the cold Swisher, thus the Phillies have the edge.
Center Field: Shane Victorino vs. Melky Cabrera- A fantastic matchup between two young stars but the experience edge of Victorino gives Philladelphia the edge.
Left Field: Raul Ibanez vs. Johnny Damon- Raul Ibanez had started off hot but has cooled off recently but his far superior defense gives the Phils yet another advantage.
Bench: Dobbs, Bruntlett, Stairs vs. Gardner, Matsui, Hairston The Yankees have a clear edge hear with the speed of Gardner, the power of Matsui, and the versatility of Hairston
Starting pitching: Lee, Martinez, and Hamels vs. CC, Burnett, and Andy P. CC and Lee cancel each other out while Martinez barely edges out AJ and Pettite's experience edges out Hamels so it is a draw.
Relief: Durbin, Madsen, Myers, Park, Blanton vs. Coke, Joba, Hughes, Marte, Gaudin the length and experience edge of the Phillies gives them the edge in this matchup
Closer: Brad Lidge vs. Mariano Rivera- Rivera is the greatest playoff closer ever...enough said
Intangibles: the Phillies and Yankees are very similar in terms of makeup and experience in the World Series so the home field edge gives the Yankees the Intangibles advantage
Managers: Charlie Manuel vs. Joe Girardi- Manuel's experience from last year gives his team the edge.
In the end i see Philly winning this series in 7 thanks to their experience throughout the roster and the depth of their bullpen

New York Yankee blog

I decided that since my predicitions have not been going so well I wanted to blog about a team that epitimizes everything wrong with sports, the New York Yankees. The New York Yankees and their 200 million dollar payroll are ruining baseball, just look at the fact that in the next 3-4 days Scott Kazmir will be pitching for the Angels, this is the same Scott Kazmir who was the Rays top prospect for years and their ace. They had to trade him because they knew the yankees and red sox would out bid them so they had to trade him and now they are considering trading Carl Crawford for the same reason. This would be like the Falcons being forced to trade Matt Ryan and Roddy White because they are afraid the Jets and Giants would outbid them and sing their players or the Spurs having to trade away Tim Duncan, when he was in his prime, and Tony Parker because they were afraid the Lakers and Knicks would out bid them. This leads to all but 5-8 teams having a consistent chance to compete while the rest of the league has to build for 5-10 years just for one shot like the Marlins of 97 and 03 or Last years Rays.
Also Yankee fans annoy the crap out of me and the fans of the other 29 teams in baseball with their pompousness, their belief that is their god given right to win a world series, their whine when they lose attitude, their belief that they have the best of everything (stadium which I would not even rank in the top 5), and their overall loudness and rudeness. They believe in the ghost of yankee stadium and complain about no TVs in the stadium bathrooms and complain about every single ball/strike call that doesn't go their way like it cost them the world series and their lives
Yankee fans for your information here are a list of fans that can talk shit to you: DBacks fans, Angels fans, Marlins fans (if they exist), Red Sox fans, White Sox fans, Cardinals fans, Phillies Fans you know why because they all have won a world series since 2000, we have seen 2 new presidents be sworn in since then and there are 9 year olds who were alive when they last won a world series so shut up and enjoy watching your team choke away another series lead.

MLB Playoff Preview

Well after last nights thrilling AL Central tiebreaker we have our 8 playoff teams I got 6 of the 8 (missed the Yankees and Rockies had the Rays and the Cubs making it). So I am here to announce my predictions for the post season awards and the playoffs (round by round)
POSTSEASON AWARDS:
AL MVP: Joe Mauer, Joe Mauer basically carried his team to a division title and if he does not win the MVP it will be because of New York Bias and it would be a travesty.
NL MVP: Albert Pujols, He was critical in keeping the team in contention until Holiday got there and once Holiday get there he made Holiday better because people would put him on to face Holliday and people pitch differently when runners on and people would not pitch as carefully to Holliday as they would for Pujols. Furthermore Pujols' defense was critical, he set the major league record for assists in a season.
AL Cy Young: Zack Greinke, Yes I know he played for the Royals but with limited run support he got 16 wins and led the majors in ERA and if he would have been on a semi-good team he would have more then 20 wins.
NL Cy Young: Chris Carpenter, as you probably know by now that you could make a case for Lincecum, Carpenter, or Wainwright but I choose Carpenter because of the fact he only lost four games all year, led the NL in ERA, and had a WHIP (walks and hits/innings pitched) of 1.
AL rookie of the Year: Rick Porcello, he was a great pitcher all season and helped keep his team in contention all year with 14 wins and an ERA under 4, also there is a very weak rookie class.
NL Rookie of the Year: Chris Coghlan, He has been on fire for the entire second half and finished up with a .321 average.
AL Manager of the Year: Ron Gardenhire, his best power hitter got hurt mid-way through the season and his top two pitchers were Scott Baker and Carl Pavano yet he was able to win a division title and come back from 7 down in September and 3 down with four to play, which had never been done before
NL Manager of the Year: Jim Tracey, he took over a team that was dead in the water and led them to over 90 wins and a playoff berth... enough said.
PLAYOFF PREDICTIONS
ALDS: Yankees over Twins in 5, the Twins will go down 0-2 but will refuse to end their season in the Metrodome and will probably have their two best pitchers in game 3 and 4 but in game 5 CC will come back and win it for the Yanks
Angles over Red Sox in 5, they finally get the monkey off their back and take advantage of the emotion of Nick Adenheart, homefield advantage, and their advantage in pitching and hitting depth to win it
NLDS: Cardinals over Dodgers in 3, thanks to Carpenter and Wainwright the Cardinals will win the first two in Dodger Stadium and then Joel Pinero will close it out in game 3 as the Cardinals beat up on Vicente Padilla and advance.
Phillies over Rockies in 5, the Rockies experienced a major loss with Jorge De La Rosa not being able to go in the NLDS forcing them to start Jason Hammel and Jason Marquis which will cost them the chance to close it out at home after stealing game 2 from Philly and they will lose in 5 with the Phillies closing it out at home.
ALCS: Angles over Yankees in 6 the Angles will be able to steal at least one game in Yankee Stadium and dominate at home winning at least of 2 of the 3 they play there and putting the pressure on the Yankees to win both game 6 and 7 which they wont be able to do. the major advantage in this series will be Mike Scosia managerial edge over Joe Girardi and the inability of the Yankees to control the Angles speed on the bases.
NLCS: Cardinals over Phillies in 5- The fact that the Cardinals swept the Dodgers and the Phillies went to 5 with the Rockies gives the Cardinals the advantage of starting Carpenter and Wainwright in games 1 and 2 while the Phillies would have used Cliff Lee and/or Cole Hamels to beat the Rockies and they would be unavailable for the first two games allowing the Cardinals to steal one if not both of the first two games in Philly and then close it out in St. Louis, thanks to the 2-3-2 format of the LCS and World Series. Also don't forget that there is the chance that Brad Lidge will have to face Albert Pujols in the playoffs and we all remember the last time that happened, that ball from 2005 may still be traveling.
World Series: Cardinals over Angles in 6, Again the Cardinals will be able to throw Carpenter and Wainwright at least a combined 4 times and I see them winning at least 3 that Means that Pinero and Lohse/Smoltz will have to win only 1 of 2 games at home and the managerial advantage the Angles had in the ALCS will swing to the Cardinals and Tony La Russa/Dave Duncan. This victory (their 2nd in 4 years and their 3rd world series appearance in 6 years) make the Cardinals the team of the 2000's, MVP of the World Series: Albert Pujols

NFL 1st quarter report

Well back again with another Blog and although most of predictions about College and Pro Football are not looking too good right now I have decided to look at the NFL a quarter of the way through the season.
We currently have 5 undefeated teams (Colts, Saints, Vikings, Broncos, and Giants) and 6 winless teams (Panthers, Titans, Chiefs, Browns, Rams, and Bucs) and in my opinion the last unbeaten team will be the Colts and the last winless team will be the Rams. Also the most fradulent of the undefeated teams is the Broncos because they have played no one and we will see how truly good they are in their next 4 games which are the Patriots, Chargers, Ravens, and Steelers. The winless team most likely to turn it around is the Panthers, because they are only 0-3 not 0-4 and if they get back to running the football with Stewart and Williams they can take some pressure of Jake Delhomme by limiting his throws thus limiting his interceptions and turnovers.
When it comes to the biggest suprise and disappointment, Denver is by far the biggest suprise and the Titans are the biggest disappointment because they have played a weaker schedule then the Panthers and loss less then Carolina.
In terms of awards right now the MVP is Peyton Manning, the Offensive Player of the Year is Drew Brees, the Defensive Player of the Year is Darren Sharper, The Coach of the year is Josh McDaniels, The Offensive rookie of the Year is Mark Sanchez, and the Defensive Rookie of the Year is Brian Cushing of Houston.
Awards at the end of the year: MVP: Peyton, OPOY: Brees, DPOY: Ray Lewis, Coach: Sean Payton, OROY: Moreno DROY: Cushing
Now for my revised playoff predictions:
AFC: 1. Colts 2. Ravens 3. Patriots 4. Chargers 5. Steelers 6. Broncos
NFC 1. Saints 2. Giants 3. Packers 4.Cardinals 5. Eagles 6. Vikings
AFC WC round: Pats over Broncos, Steelers over Chargers
NFC WC round: Packers over Vikings, Eagles over Cardinals
AFC Div round: Ravens over Patriots, Steelers over Colts
NFC Div round: Giants over Packers, Saints over Eagles
AFC Championship: Ravens over Steelers
NFC Championship: Saints over Giants
Super Bowl: Ravens over Saints MVP: Ray Lewis
Tomorrow Baseball playoff preview