BCS Bowl Predictions

I haven't spent as much time on college football as I have the NFL. And that's on purpose. I do enjoy college football but I don't follow it closely enough (not like I do NFL) to be able to comment on the plethora of college teams that play each year. Sure, there are teams that have a shot at a bowl game and those who don't, but college football has never been my sports forte. I went to a division III school (Go DePauw Tigers! Beat Wasbash!) so I don't know what it was like to be a student at Notre Dame, USC, Alabama, Florida, etc.

Just a random note. I remember specifically, one year, when I was in 7th grade, I had spent the holidays in California (was still a St. Louis girl at the time). The Bowl games all happened (at least the big ones) on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. My uncle had 3 TV's set-up so that on New Year's Day we could catch all of the games. When I got back to St. Louis, my 7th grade teacher did a trivia contest during class and I was able to answer correctly to every team that won a bowl game that year. That's when I knew something was wrong with me...just kidding.

So, bowl game predictions. I'm not as educated as I would like to be on these teams but am going to give it a shot anyway.

Louisville Vs Florida

Honestly? I think this could be a close game but I really don't know. My gut tells me Florida, because it's Florida.

Northern Illinois Vs Florida State

The Discover Orange Bowl? Wasn't it sponsored by someone else? Doesn't matter, all of these Bowl games have sponsors. They're just moneymakers. Anyway, here I've gotta go with Florida State. I love the midwest, but I think Florida State will have a bit of homefield advantage here. Plus, Northern Illinois State? Really?

Oregon Vs Kansas State

The Fiesta, I mean Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. Both teams have had amazing seasons. Both thought to perhaps end up in the national title game. Here, it is very hard to say but I like Oregon here. I think Kansas State has done wonderfully this year but they showed some flaws when they lost games and lost their chance at going to the title game. I take Oregon here.

Wisconsin Vs Stanford

Stanford wins. No diss to Wisconsin, but Stanford wins here. I admit, I am surprised at how Stanford has been able to bounce back after losing both Harbaugh as coach and Luck but they had a lot of good things going on this season. 

Notre Dame Vs Alabama

Ahh yes, the BCS National Title Game. Saban vs Kelly. The unbelievable Notre Dame Fighting Irish reaching #1 in the BCS Poll. The national pundits seem to be in Alabama's favor. I get it. I do. But who know what? Notre Dame has found a way to win, even win they had their backs to the wall. So I'm going to go with Notre Dame here. 

That's all I have. We'll see in January how these predictions turned out!

Thanks for reading.

NFL Playoff Picture & More

Happy Holidays sports fans!

Again, I apologize for the delay in posts. I've been super busy with work, the holidays and so forth that I just have really gotten behind on trying to get out a weekly post. Every day at work I sit in front of a computer for 8 hours so sometimes when you get home the last thing you want to do is, well, get on a computer.

So. A lot has happened in this month of December in the NFL. As of today, the AFC playoff picture is set. The NFC? Has been a crazy wild ride and we won't know the full picture for another week. There will still be several teams with something to play for in Week 17 which is fantastic for the fans.

On a somewhat random sidenote, it looks like I am about to win my first fantasy football championship game. I've been playing fantasy football for at least 6 years now and have been commissioner of several leagues, have made it to the playoffs relatively consistently, and have made it to the championship game at least twice before this year, always finishing second. I was in 3 leagues this year, made it to the playoffs in two (just missed the one by one spot - ouch), lost out in one league in the first round, and am in the championship game in my work league. At this point, unless my opponent comes up with 40 points (which is possible with Lynch and Crabtree playing though it's now the 4th quarter and it's not looking too good), it looks like I will win. Special kudos to the following players: Aaron Rodgers, Jamaal Charles, Mikel Leshoure, Eric Decker, Wes Welker, Marques Colston and Matt Prater. Thing that kills me is I sat the Rams D which put up 19 points. The 49ers D right now, which I started? 2. Now that the Giants are out of the playoffs? The scariest team to face undoubtedly, is the Seattle Seahawks.

At the beginning of the season I made playoff predictions. Let's see how I've done shall we?

AFC EAST

Division Winner Prediction: New England Patriots

Actual Division Winner: New England Patriots

This one was likely the easiest one to predict. The Pats struggled early but came back strong, not that it really mattered as the Pats hardly had much competition in the division. The Bills and Miami are going to finish mediocre, which is where we thought they would be. I whiffed on the Jets though. I thought they might have a shot at a wild card spot and even though they did manage to stay in contention through this week they have just been awful. How this team managed to beat the Rams is beyond me. Jets are going to have to make some major changes for next season - it's time to clean house.

AFC NORTH

Division Winner Prediction: Baltimore Ravens

Actual Division Winner: Baltimore Ravens

The Baltimore Ravens have somewhat quietly won their way into the playoffs. After Ray Lewis suffered an injury that benched him for the season, there were many questions about this Baltimore team and they just weren't talked about as much in the national sports media. I don't think they are as good as last season, and I see them struggling against New England or Denver, but they did look good tonight against the Giants. Perhaps moving Caldwell to OC and finally getting Ray Rice back into the game will make a difference.

I also mentioned that I thought the Bengals would contend for a wild card spot and guess what? Right again. Bengals have a tough road ahead of them though. Dalton hasn't been as sharp lately and in order for the Bengals to have a hope of advancing the passing game needs to be spot on.

AFC SOUTH

Division Winner Prediction: Houston Texans

Actual Division Winner: Houston Texans

This one was pretty much a no-brainer - I think every sports media pundit predicted the Texans to win the division. Though the Colts certainly gave them something to compete with for awhile there, which I totally whiffed on and had no idea that this Colts team, one year after winning only 2 games, would be 10-5 at this point and a wild card playoff team. They were not even in my thoughts as a potential wild card team. You have to give credit to Andrew Luck, Chuck Pagano and his staff, and a team that just seems to believe they can win. It also tells me just how bad Curtis Painter was at QB. Sure, the Colts gutted a good chunk of the offense but they kept a good amount of players from last year and the defense didn't change much. I always thought Curtis Painter looked like he should be competing for the US Surfing Championship, not the NFL.

Curtis Painter = Sean Penn ala Fast Times at Ridgemont High?

AFC WEST

Division Winner Prediction: Denver Broncos

Actual Division Winner: Denver Broncos

The AFC Worst, I mean West, seemed like a bit of a crap-shoot at the beginning of the season. No one was quite sure if Peyton was in the form we all know Peyton to be, and the rest of the division seemed to have talent that was just all sub .500/.500 caliber. What many of us didn't predict and I certainly did not was how the Broncos would just simply take this division like it was a walk in the park. Questions about Peyton Manning? He's as good as he has been and has a really good chance at getting to the Superbowl. I have to say I'd love to see it. I've always been a huge fan of Peyton and it would just be so great to see him go back to the Superbowl after everything that's happened.

NFC EAST

Division Winner Prediction: NY Giants

Actual Division Winner: TBD Cowboys or Redskins

This division. Honestly. Giants are officially out of playoff contention so I big time whiffed here. I did pick the Cowboys and Eagles as potential wild card contenders which the entire NFC East was at one point but Philly has just been awful. Michael Vick, talented as he is, just can't stay healthy. RGIII needs to pay attention to this, because he's already been hurt this season and missed games, to many fantasy football fans dismay.

The Cowboys-Redskins game has been moved to next week's Sunday Night Game so we'll have to wait until then to find out who wins this division and see how the wild card shapes up. At this point, I'm not sure who to pick but I'm leaning a bit toward the Redskins, if RGIII can stay healthy. 

NFC NORTH

Division Winner Prediction: Green Bay Packers
Actual Division Winner: Green Bay Packers

I said in my prediction post that I didn't think the Bears were good enough to top Green Bay, and to prove my point the Packers beat the Bears both times this season. The Packers had a bit of a rough start but managed to pull it together later in the season. For awhile there, it looked like the Bears might take the division. Now, they are fighting for a wild card spot. In the NFC, we won't know for sure until next week. One team I really whiffed on was the Vikings. Really. Congrats to Adrian Peterson, the likely Comeback Player of the Year. He will likely hit 2,000 yards next week, but needs over 200 yards to beat Eric Dickerson's record. Vikings are still alive in the playoff hunt and the Bears. But after tonight's win against the 49'ers, Seattle has clinched a spot. So the window is thinning.

NFC SOUTH

Division Winner Prediction: Atlanta Falcons
Actual Division Winner: Atlanta Falcons

The Falcons were the popular pick here, and now we all know why. Falcons are red hot right now. QB Matt Ryan has been outstanding. Tampa Bay and the Panthers ended up...just mediocre. I honestly thought the Panthers would be a bit better but Cam Newton showed some true colors this year. For one, the attitude needs to change if he expects to stay long term in the NFL. No one likes a diva. Doing Superman moves in the endzone? Come on (though I've seen worse touchdown dances. Hmm, that would be a good blog. Top NFL touchdown dances. The Bob-N-Weave would certainly be in there. Have a suggestion? Let me know). The Saints struggled, which was expected, but they're going to manage to end their season respectably. Just makes you wonder how they would have done if Bounty Gate hadn't happened. Perhaps they'd be in the playoffs and giving Atlanta a run for their money in the division.

NFC WEST 

Division Winner Prediction: San Francisco 49'ers
Actual Division Winner: San Francisco 49'ers OR Seattle Seahawks

The NFC West, which used to be referred to the NFC Worst, is hardly that. I expected the 49'ers to be where they are, but expected them to have a commanding division win by now. I 100% whiffed on the Seahawks."Seattle has a top ranked defense and I think will be a scary team once all of the offense holes are filled but can Russell Wilson really lead them to offensive greatness this season?" Answer? Yes, he can. Never expected them to be as good as they have been. They are now clearly the scariest team in the NFC to face, and I doubt any playoff team wants to go to Seattle to play. They are lights out at home.

The Rams were better, as I predicted, and I didn't expect them to do better than 9-7. They are 7-7-1. So I think I was pretty close there. I like a lot of what Jeff Fisher's influence has brought to this team and expect them to be a bigger force to recon with next season. I still like Bradford, though I have my doubts. I would like to see a full season with strong healthy receivers (I love Ammendola, but he's injury prone). They also could use a little extra help on the O-line. Like seeing Kendricks and Givens developing into potential stars. I didn't expect this to be their year but next year? It's going to be interesting.

WILD CARD

AFC Wild Card Predictions: Jets, Steelers

Actual AFC Wild Card: Colts, Bengals

NFC Wild Card Predictions: Saints, Eagles

Actual NFC Wild Card: TBD, but none of the above

I 100% whiffed on my wild card predictions, wow. Not even close. All of the teams I picked are out. Guess we'll have to see how the NFC picture turns out next week.

BCS Bowl Predictions in my next post. Thanks for reading.

Happy Movember

This sports blog post is brought to you by...

Who do you think you are Rodgers, Keith Hernandez?

Okay, well...it's a close one.

I don't know if Rodgers has the stache because of prostate cancer awareness month, aka "Movember," or if he just likes it. But seeing it in action on Sunday night definitely brought back memories of some of the great 80's baseball staches, such as Keith Hernandez's.

Sports fans, I apologize for my last post because it didn't have much substance and was more of run on of random thoughts. I've been meaning to post more often but for whatever reason, I caught November-itis. Good thing it's almost December so I can put that behind me.

Thanksgiving weekend is one of my favorite weekends of the year. Why?

1. I love spending time with family and friends and sharing food, fun and memories together.

2. Once Thanksgiving is over, I can officially put up my Christmas tree.

3. A LOT of football.

We were treated to 3 NFL games on Thanksgiving Day, had college football to carry us Friday and Saturday, then more NFL on Sunday through Monday night.

Before I get to my thoughts on the NFL at this point in the season, I'd like to take a moment to talk about BCS Bowl Madness.

I am one who has never really been a fan of the BCS. Main reason? Whoever goes to the national championship game shouldn't get there based on voting, but based on winning games to get there. The BCS poll is very subjective though it doesn't take super mathematics to figure out how the standings fall. I know we'll be moving to a playoff format soon but I wanted to state that I've always hated the BCS rankings deciding the national title game matchup.

But I have to say, seeing Notre Dame rise to #1 and clinch a trip to the national title game this year was pretty exciting. I've always liked Notre Dame. I didn't go there, but I'm Irish and Catholic, so there's that. But also growing up my family always seemed to like Notre Dame. My mom even has a button that plays the Fighting Irish song. I've known how that song goes since as early as I can remember.

Are they the best team in the country? It's debatable. They beat Oklahoma, Stanford and USC - all good teams. Alabama and Georgia are both great teams - maybe even better than Notre Dame, but they lost games. Now those two teams will play for the opportunity to play Notre Dame in the national championship.

Based on what I've seen from Notre Dame this year, I do believe they can compete with Alabama or Georgia. However, I think a match-up against Alabama favors them a bit more, because Alabama tends to win games with their defense. Notre Dame-Alabama would be a close game.

Georgia, on the other hand, could be more problematic for Notre Dame if ND's offense can't keep up with Georgia's. Not saying they couldn't win, but I think if you're a ND fan right now, you're probably hoping Alabama wins this game this weekend.

I'd like to see Notre Dame win a national title. It's a great story. And anyone who doesn't think Brian Kelly should win coach of the year? Tell me who else. Maybe Bill O'Brien from Penn State, who took over the Penn State job after all of the scandal, lost a ton of players, and the team finished 8-4. But I still think Brian Kelly should win - no one expected the Fighting Irish to have a shot at the national title game this year, except Notre Dame fans of course.

So, NFL. Week 12.

Calisportsdiva's Top 10 NFL Thoughts of the Week

10. If Norv Turner and Andy Reid still have their jobs at the end of the season color me surprised. Want to know a crazy stat? The Eagles have not won a game since September 30th. The Philadelphia Phillies last win of the season was on October 1st. That means, the Phillies have won a game since the Eagles last won (granted, by one day. Thanks DC for pointing out the stat). Nevertheless, that pretty much sums up just how bad the Eagles season has been. I think there is still a shot that they keep Reid, but not likely. Probably time to clean house. Michael Vick is an inconsistent injury prone mess and Foles could have potential, but we just don't really know yet. As for San Diego, it's looking like another disappointing season. How any defense can allow a team to get a first down when the game is on the line on a 4th and 29 play is beyond me. That Ravens-Chargers game this weekend, IMO, sealed the impending fate for Norv Turner. 

9. Houston, we have a problem. Okay, so the Texans are still at the top of the AFC South and still hold the best record in the AFC, but what was considered one of the top 2 defenses in the league at the beginning of the season is starting to look a bit circumspect after 2 near loses in a row to the Jacksonville Jaguars and Detroit Lions - and in reality, Houston should have lost both of those games but managed to hold on. Houston will make the playoffs, no doubt. But if I was a Texans fan these 2 games would have me seriously concerned about how they may perform in the playoffs.

8. Welcome back New England (*insert golf clap*). The Patriots we've all grown to love and hate, are back. They had some early losses this season but have been pretty strong the past several weeks, in fact, garnering some criticism for running up the scoreboard in games that they clearly had won, particularly against Indianapolis and the Jets. I'm not surprised, it's Belichick and he's done it before, with the Pats. I'm not a fan though. I just don't see the point in shoving it down the opponent's throats. Plus, risking your starters getting injured as the opposition gets more angry and frustrated with you running up the score. Gronk's injured now because of that. Well, all I can say is, karma will get you if you get too greedy.

7. The St. Louis Rams are undefeated against NFC West rivals (hey, a tie is a tie, not a loss). I know that may not seem like a big deal, but to a fan who has watched so many losing seasons it is nice to see this team start to come together. The Rams defense is becoming a force to recon with. Actually, the whole NFC West has really upped their defensive game. I've also seen a lot of offensive promise with the Rams. Chris Givens has so much potential at wideout. Danny Ammendola, when he can stay healthy, is a great offensive weapon. Steven Jackson's still got a lot of life and back up Richardson shows amazing promise for the future. The Rams, even at 4-6-1, could in theory have potential at a wild card spot. I think it's unlikely, but if they were to win the rest of their games this season they'd finish 9-6-1. And the rest of their match-ups are winnable games: San Francisco, Buffalo, Minnesota, Tampa Bay and Seattle. Realistic? Probably not, because I think the wild card will go to whoever doesn't win the NFC North - Green Bay or Chicago. But it's nice to think you still could maybe sort of have a shot.

6. Speaking of Green Bay, wow did they look awful on Sunday night, and I'm not talking about Rodger's stache. Mr. Rodgers only gave me 5 fantasy points this week so you know it's a bad week when that happens. The New York Giants apparently awoke from their recent slumber and just completely dominated this game. I've said it before, but I have to honestly say this. I know the Giants don't always have an amazing winning record regular season. But when they get hot, is there any team that is more scarier than the Giants? I don't think there is.

5. QB controversy? In the infamous 49'ers-Rams game that resulted in a tie, QB Alex Smith left the game with a concussion and a young guy named Colin Kaepernick took over and was...surprisingly good. Smith needed another week off so Colin got his first start against the Chicago Bears and the Niners won 32-7. So this week rolls around and even though Smith is cleared to play, Colin gets the start. Niners win though New Orleans fought hard. The question now becomes: who is the starting QB for San Francisco? In my opinion, though Kaepernick has looked sharp, I think if Alex Smith is healthy he should get the start. He lead this team to the NFC Championship last year (and nearly won that game) and SF was certainly not having any problems winning games before he got hurt. Niners have no idea how Kaepernick will perform under pressure in a playoff setting. And if they continue to bench Smith, it's going to cause some animosity. And it can affect performance should something happen to Kaepernick and Smith is asked to go back in. I just think, we've only seen 2 starts from Kaepernick. But maybe Harbaugh knows something I don't.

4. Andrew Luck has been pretty amazing. To go from the abysmal Colts team from last season to be 7-4 and having a really good shot at the AFC wild card, is just simply amazing. Hearing interviews from Colts players about Andrew Luck, I hear a lot of comparisons to Peyton Manning. Taking charge of the offense. Learning quickly. This guy is special, indeed. The Colts also have developed a strong team vibe in supporting their coach, Chuck Pagano, who is fighting leukemia. Colts players shaved their heads in support of the coach. There is just something that feels good about this team. Could we see a Broncos-Colts AFC Wild Card weekend game? It just might be in the cards...

3. The Chicago Bears clearly perform better with Jay Cutler at the helm. Cutler was knocked out of the game with a concussion (same week as Alex Smith) and had to miss a game but was back last week and the Bears had a nice win against Minnesota. I like a lot about the Bears, and I definitely see them in the playoffs - they may actually win the NFC North. They have to keep Cutler healthy though, because without him well...see 49'ers-Bears game, week 11. 

2. Peyton Manning is leading this Broncos team to the playoffs. It wasn't exactly a pretty win against Kansas City this week, but they have taken a commanding lead of the AFC West. It's not like Peyton's doing anything new - we know that he's competitive and will do what it takes to get the win. The Broncos will be an interesting postseason team to watch.

1. Apparently, running back Jamaal Charles asked Peyton Manning for his autograph after Kansas City's loss to Denver on Sunday. Read more about the story here. This lead to some discussion on sports radio today about whether that was okay or not. My thoughts? Peyton Manning is a hall of fame quarterback. He may play on the opposing team, but is it not okay to respect talent? If it was, oh, I don't know, Cam Newton, then yeah, that might seem silly. But when you're talking about top talent that's hall of fame bound? Why not get his autograph when you have the chance? I know I would.

That's all I have in the world of football. 

Welcome to the Los Angeles Lakers, Mike D'Antoni

Mike D'Antoni has officially taken over as head coach of the Lakers. A lot of fans were outraged by this hiring as they were hoping Phil Jackson would come back, but for whatever reason, it just didn't happen.

Here's the thing. The Lakers organization (and fans, for the most part) don't consider a season a success unless they win the NBA championship. And since Jackson has done that before, and D'Antoni, has not...let's just say there's a LOT of skepticism.

Coaching matters, that is for sure. But there is no way of knowing if Jackson could have led this Lakers team to a title. Maybe it's D'Antoni's turn to win a title. Maybe Lakers fans need to relax and be happy their team always has a shot as the playoffs, unlike Carolina or New Orleans.

Point is, it's HARD to win a championship. And it should be. If it was easy to win year after year and the same team kept doing it people (except for the fans of that team) would lose interest. So if D'Antoni does lead this Lakers team to a championship? Better give him credit. But for now, it's early, and there's a lot of season ahead of us.

All right, that's all I have for tonight. Promise to have more insightful posts soon!

An Update

I'm alive, in case you all were wondering. Life has been rather hectic lately and in some ways I blame the election. Typically, I listen to sports radio on my commute to and from work, but the last couple of weeks I was listening to a lot of NPR and news radio.

But, that doesn't mean I haven't been following sports. I have. And though it's late, congrats to the San Francisco Giants on their World Series win. The story of how that team won is just simply amazing. Not as amazing as the 2011 Cardinals (sorry Giants fans, but Game 6 of the 2011 World Series was pretty epic). And, you know, it's okay. The Giants won in 2010. Cardinals won in 2011. Giants won in 2012 so...Cardinals in 2013? :-)

We're over halfway into the NFL season and it's becoming clearer as to which teams have a shot at the playoffs, and which ones have no chance or a long way to go.

Since I'm behind a few weeks, instead of my Top 10 Afterthoughts I'm just going to list my thoughts on the NFL as of today, in no particular order.

- Andrew Luck. The Colts are 6-4 after today's loss to the Pats. Granted, today's loss was abysmal. But no one expected the Colts to be here. They are a AFC Wild Card contender. You have to give props to Andrew Luck who has just been amazing. There is a lot of promise with this team in the future.

-The Rams tie a game against the 49'ers then lose to the...JETS. My heads hurts. How in the world can you almost, hell, had multiple times to beat the Niners and then bow down to the Jets at home. Completely unacceptable. I just....no.

- The Cowboys are what we thought they were...mediocre.

- Peyton Manning could lead this Bronco team to the playoffs. Some may say he isn't the Peyton they remember but...he's still good.

- Falcons lost to NO last week. They almost lost to Arizona today. Team to beat in the NFC? We'll see.

So all I've hard about lately is the whole Lakers fiasco of: Fire Brown, Don't hire Jackson, hire D'Antoni.

All I have to say is this: sure, Lakers fans wanted Jackson back. But would he have been a good fit with this team?

Also, how about them Irish? Notre Dame will likely hit #1 in the BCS this week thanks to losses by Kansas State and Oregon.

Was a weird week in college football. We'll see how things go.

That's all I have for now, more insights soon.

Baseball, Football, Basketball...No Hockey

Fan = short for fanatic.

I have been a fan of the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team since birth. Want proof? Here's me rooting on the Cards in 1982:

The problem with being what we often call "hard core fans," is we get so emotionally attached to our teams. We feel amazing when our team wins. We feel dreadful when our team loses...

For about 48 hours. So, I posted a blog last week about the Cardinals Collapse in the NLCS and I did not follow my normal protocol after my favorite teams loses.

That is, don't talk about it, analyze it, or think about it for 48 hours. Because during that 48 hours, you're just going to be upset and angry.

So, if my earlier post seemed a bit...angry, unappreciative, etc. I apologize. I should have waited another day.

Because the truth is this: the Cardinals got BEAT. What's hard to stomach is the 3-1 lead but as I look back at those games that the Cardinals won...they never won by a blowout. They struggled with the Giants pitching but managed to take advantage early, only to fall apart later.

But what can you say about the Giants pitching? Giants are now up 3-0 in the World Series against the Detroit Tigers and have shut down the Tigers offense 2 games in a row. I would not be surprised if the Giants close it out tonight. Even if they don't, they'll get it done. The Giants are a team that just can't be beat, no matter what the odds. Kudos to them and manager Bochy. 

Oh, something somewhat funny? ESPN Radio in LA kept promoting "The World Series. On 710 ESPN Radio." Except that...Lakers pre-season games override the World Series apparently. Wow. If there was any doubt that LA is a basketball town...yep. Look LA, I get it. But let's wait until the season starts. Point? The St. Louis Rams were 4-0 last year in pre-season. They finished the regular season 2-14.

So NBA? Until next week? Not thinking about you yet.

I haven't posted anything about college football this year. I try to follow, but it's hard to do. But how about that Notre Dame-Oklahoma game last night? Wow. I know there was a controversial interception call. I didn't see the play so can't comment but if you take that out? Oklahoma got straight outcoached and outplayed. Wow. The Fighting Irish are 8-0. 

What's that weird buzzing in my ear? Oh, the NHL is still locked out? Who watches hockey? 

So...NFL anyone? I'm so behind on my weekly round-up that we already have new games to talk about. 

Calisportsdiva's Afterthoughts of the Week (No Top 10)

1. Rams actually battled with the Packers, but just couldn't secure a win. It's nice to see the Rams fighting during games though. They are not a playoff caliber team right now but expect good things from them going forward. As for the Pack, well, expect to see them in the playoffs.

2. 49'ers beat Seattle. If anyone thought the Niners wouldn't fight back after the loss against the Giants the week before? There you go.

3. Cowboys beat the Panthers to stay alive. Cowboys biggest test is right now against the Giants. Big game and a must win for them.

4. Jets ALMOST beat the Pats. Ugly game. After thinking about this game it just makes me wonder how the Rams could NOT compete today against the Pats. But the fact that the Jets were in it until OT? Impressive. Or are the Pats just starting their downfall?

5. Narrow win for the Giants against the Skins. Are the Giants the best team in the NFC? Most dangerous perhaps. I like RGIII and the Skins battled but team Eli and Co? Hottest team in the NFC right now outside of Atlanta.

6. Colts are 3-3 after win against the hapless Cleveland Browns The Colts may end up with a better record than my St. Louis Rams this year. Luck is impressive and outside of Houston, the AFC South is just so-so.

7. Houston proved why they are a probable Superbowl contender with their thrashing of the Baltimore Ravens. I picked the Ravens to go to the SP. Ray Lewis is out for the season. Ravens have a lot to work on to try and get to the big game. Houston? Continues to prove why they should be there.

That's all I have for now. Hope to have a more thorough NFL analysis next week. 

Cardinals Collapse

That's how ESPN described the NLCS ending last night: Cardinals Collapse. Not Giants win, but Cardinals Collapse.

Because honestly, how else could you describe what happened in the last 3 games of the NLCS? Cardinals were up 3-1 and had 3 chances to clinch another chance at the Fall Classic. 12 out of 14 teams that were up 3-1 had gone on to the World Series. David Freese said it best "yes, but what about the other 2?"

Ironically, the other 2 teams to fall from a 3-1 lead? The St. Louis Cardinals in 1996 and the New York Yankees in 2004.

Want to know an even more bizarre baseball stat?

1996 was Tony LaRussa's first season with the St. Louis Cardinals. They won 88 games that year and went up 3-1 against the Atlanta Braves, only to lose the series in Game 7.

2012 was Mike Matheny's first season with the St. Louis Cardinals. They won 88 games and went up 3-1 against the San Francisco Giants, only to lose the series in Game 7.

Oh, and to top it all off? Matheny was on that 1996 Cardinals team. Seriously?

Something had to give here. Cardinals were facing their 7th win or take all game. Giants were historically 0-5 in Game 7's in the NLCS. Once I heard the 0-5 stat, I just had a bad feeling about this game.

I have to hand it to the San Francisco Giants. They simply played better. The Cardinals appeared to completely shut down. 1 run in 27 innings. 10 unearned runs. You can't expect to win a championship that way.

The thing that kills me is the fire that drove that historic NLDS Game 5 comeback just disappeared halfway through the NLCS. Once Game 5 of the NLCS started it was like the Cardinals had just shut down, given up. Horrible at bats, just awful. Late swings all around. Poor defense. Pitching meltdowns. And the Giants capitalized on every single one.

Not their year. Great run though. Thank you Cardinals, for giving Cardinal Nation a reason to watch baseball in October. There's a lot to look forward to with this team and they always compete, so I look forward to next year. 12 in 13.

But this year it comes down to Detroit vs. San Francisco. Detroit is certainly hungry for that World Series title after losing to the Cardinals in 2006. The Giants seem unable to be stopped. Will be an interesting series. I always root National League though so I guess I'm rooting for the Giants. Though right now that thought is still hard to stomach.

Will post my NFL weekly round-up soon.

Baseball! Plus NFL Week 6 Round-Up

I promise to get to the weekly NFL Round-up. But first, can I say how much I love this time of year? For a Cardinals fan like me, it's postseason fun plus football - what's better than this?

I spent last weekend in San Francisco so my family and I could beat each other up about which beard was better, Wilson or Motte.

(Wilson won. He's not playing, so I guess he has more time on his hands to tend to his beard).

The other topic of conversation was...Joe Buck. Yes, the FOX MLB/NFL commentator. Prior to my weekend with the fam recently, I did not realize there was so much hate for Joe Buck outside of St. Louis. I now stand corrected.

St. Louis fans have often criticized Buck, because he is the son of legendary Jack Buck, the voice of the St. Louis Cardinals. Jack Buck is to the Cardinals what Caray is to the Cubs and Scully is to the Dodgers = legendary. Jack was the radio voice of the Redbirds.

Joe, in the eyes of many St. Louis fans, isn't "homer" enough. Meaning, anytime he is doing the play-by-play for the Cardinals, he's not showing any sign that he's a Cardinals fan.

Joe is not employed by the St. Louis Cardinals. His dad, when doing local radio, was. Joe's first gig was fill in time for his dad and maybe he lucked out in making it big because of that, but...he was ultimately employed by FOX to do NFL and MLB play-by-play. His dad may have helped him get noticed, but his talent and drive is what led him to getting the gig with FOX. Joe had to turn down local radio to do this. Some Cardinals fans hate him for this because they hoped he'd replace elder Buck. Joe chose national media over the opportunity for a home town gig.

On Sunday, Joe Buck and Troy Aikman called the 49'ers-Giants game, and Buck, took a helicopter from Candlestick Park to AT&T Park, they threw out a ladder and...Joe Buck climbed out and jumped onto the field ala James Bond.

Okay, he didn't. But FOX made sure everyone knew what was going on. What Joe did was take a trolley to get to the NLCS game...just in time to call the game with Tim McCarver.

Poor Tim McCarver.

Joe is not "homer" enough for Cardinals fans, but is too much of a "homer" for everyone else. My family feels that in the 2002 NLCS (which the Giants won, BTW) he favored the Cardinals. I remember that series all too well. I remember St. Louis fans tearing UP Joe because he wasn't enough of a Cards fan on air. Even though his job is to maintain as neutral as possible.

He just can't win. But at least he's better than McCarver.

So...NFL!

Calisportsdiva's Top 10 Afterthoughts of the Week

10. GregTheLeg, Legatron, YoungGZ is unable to make a 66 yard field goal for the Rams to tie up the Rams-Miami game at the end of the 4th quarter. Amazing thing? He had the distance, it just went too far left. Rams lose this one despite Sam Bradford throwing for over 300+ yards. Tough loss and Miami improved to 3-3...along with the rest of the AFC East.

9. Seattle bests the Pats. Really. REALLY? Come on man, really? Yes, it's true. The Seattle Seahawks stunned the Pats by overcoming a deficit and coming back to take the lead and ultimately win, 24-23. Perhaps Russell Wilson drank some Cardinals Juice. Baseball Cards, that is.

8. Matt Ryan threw 3 interceptions and Atlanta STILL found a way to win the game and remain undefeated. The Falcons are now the only undefeated team left in the league. They may just be the scariest team to face in the NFL right now.

7. Detroit wins a close one versus Philly. I'm just not sure what to think about either of these teams. I expected Detroit to be better than they have been this year, and Philly too. Just not so sure about these two teams. There's a LOT of talent in the NFC this year. The competition for the wild card is going to be fierce.

6. J-E-T-S! They're back! Sanchez + Tebow = magic! Shonn Green fantasy owners rejoiced as he finally established a running game! Wait a minute, they were playing...The Colts? Look, I heard Rex Ryan all giddy about the win but the truth here is, they beat a team that they should have beat. Andrew Luck's going to be amazing but the Colts right now are still rebuilding and while the 35-9 win was great, the Jets still have a lot of holes to fill. Enjoy the win, but don't for a second think they've got everything figured out.

5. Really Cowboys? Really? Just horrendous time management at the end of the game. Dallas had a good shot at making a field goal to win the game but the clock management was just awful and they had to scramble to get the play off before time ran out. Baltimore may have won, but they lost Ray Lewis for probably the season, so not so sure how that bodes for them. I picked them as my SB pick for the AFC, but now I'm not so sure.

4. The Giants on the road. New York manhandled the 49'ers on Sunday. Just incredible. I don't understand how the Giants can fall apart at home and be so scary good on the road. Big win for the Giants, but fortunately for the 49'ers, they are still at the top of the NFC West. 49'ers aren't going anywhere.

3. The Patriots lose to the Seattle Seahawks. The fact that the Pats lost this game isn't the biggest surprise, it's HOW they did.They had the lead for most of the game...and let the Seahawks stage an amazing comeback win. Fortunately for the Pats the AFC East should still be winnable for them, considering ALL of the team in the division are now 3-3. Tough loss for New England but I still expect them to bounce back and win the division.

2. Rodgers throws 6 TD passes in the MNF game against Houston. Just in case you didn't remember that Aaron Rodgers is amazing. Or that the Green Bay Packers are a good team. Texans got their butts kicked and are no longer undefeated. However, the Texans are still good. Green Bay is also still good. Expect to see them in the postseason.

1. Peyton Comeback Manning. Are we tired of Peyton's comeback wins yet? Hell no! Broncos were down 24-0 at the half. Right where Peyton wanted them. They only came back in the second half to ultimately shut San Diego down and win 35-24. Nothing new, right? We expect this from Peyton. This is why the Broncos are better than what their record says.

That's all for now. Tigers won yesterday so they are headed to the World Series, where they will face either the Giants or the Cardinals. Cardinals are up in the series 3-1, with an important Game 5 tonight.

Tigers-Cardinals rematch from 2006? Sure, I'll take it. Go Redbirds.

Red October

“They just…won’t…go…away.” – Joe Buck, Game 6, 2011 World Series

Sports fans, when I think about this years MLB Division series, only one word comes to mind.

EPIC.

Postseason baseball is full of stories. You had the Moneyball Athletics fighting for a chance to advance. The Nationals bringing DC it’s first posteason baseball in decades. The Yankees pulling A-Rod for Ibanez which may go down as the best decision they made this postseason. The San Franciscio Giants losing 2 in a row at home, only to go into Cincinnati and win 3 in a row on the road to advance to the NLCS.

And then…there was Friday night.

I’m still in shock. Did last night really happen? I think most people are asking that question, especially Nationals fans.

The Cardinals had ace Wainwright on the mound for game 5. Cardinals fans felt pretty good about this...until he gave up 3 home runs in the first 2 innings and the Cardinals went down 6-0. You could hear the hearts of Cardinals fans across the country sinking fast. How in the world could the Cardinals come back from this deficit? 

Nationals fans didn't think they could. The stadium was absolutely thunderous as fans thought they had it. There was no way the Cardinals would come back and win this game.

Now way? Don't tell the Cardinals that. I was out with some friends and one of them said to me “wow, this must really hurt.” I said, “It’s only the 2^nd inning. Don’t count them out yet.”

This Cardinals team never quits. They do not give up until the last out of the game. I don’t know why I should have been surprised that they would come back and do what they did Friday night. Look what they did in Game 6 of the World Series last year.But...it seemed rather unrealistic that they could pull that off again.

But they did. Bernie Miklasz wrote this excellent piece in which the team describes the comeback. Chris Carpenter took the lead and energized this Cardinals team to not give up. They fought and chipped their way throughout the game, and then in true Disney-like fashion, scored 4 runs in the 9^th inning to take the lead 9-7 and never looked back. Closer Jason Motte stepped up to the plate to close it out and the Nats didn’t even have a chance to think about trying to score a run in the 9^th to get back in the game. The Cardinals, had done it again and stunned the world.

I do feel for Nationals fans because that is a heartbreaking loss. Those of us who love sports have all been there before. It’s not fun. And I’m sure there are a lot of people who are going to run around saying “if only they had started Strasburg…”

Perhaps. But you really don’t know. No one expected Adam Wainwright to give up 3 home runs  No one expected the Cincinnati Reds to lose 3 games at home when all they had to do was win 1 game to advance. Nothing is ever a guarantee in sports. To Nationals fans, I would say be proud of the fact that the team kept you in it. They got to game 5. They had a chance to win it.

They got beat by a tough team. The Cardinals may not have had the best record this season. They lucked out by winning the 2^nd wild card spot, and of course there will be continued speculation about the bad infield fly call in the Braves-Cards wild card game. The Cardinals have now won 6 elimination games in a row in the past 2 postseasons. The mental toughness of this team is astounding. This is why they are dangerous, and why you can never ever count this team out.

So the ALCS and the NLCS are officially underway.  Before game 1 of the ALCS started, I thought the Yankees would win this series. The excitement in how they won the ALDS and Ibanez wearing the Mr. October title, I thought the momentum would be in their favor. 

But, after the first 2 games the Yanks are down 2-0 and to make matter even more devastating, Derek Jeter broke his ankle in game 2 of the ALCS and is done for the season. Yikes.

They can still come back. I know better. No one thought the Giants could come back in the NLDS after going behind 2-0 and we know what happened there. But, at this point, especially with the Jeter injury, I think Detroit is in a good place right now to take this series.

As for the NLCS, both the SF Giants and StL Cardinals are amped after both pulling off the impossible to advance. This will not be an easy series for either team as well. The Cardinals took game 1 last night, but neither team scored any runs after the 4th inning. The bull pens, on both sides, are tough. And after the Cardinals went up 6-0 last night did the Giants give up? Of course not. I think we can expect these games to be close and both teams will fight until last out.

Prediction? The Cardinals win this in 7. Why not? They seem to like playing in potential elimination games so why would this series be any different? And even though I’m being a homer because I’m a fan, even if I wasn’t? Not so sure I can go against the Cardinals after what I saw last night. As Joe Buck said in Game 6 of the World Series last year, they just won’t go away.

So my World Series prediction is a Cardinals-Tigers match up which could be interesting since the Cardinals won against the Tigers in 2006. I would imagine the Tigers are still a bit bitter about that one since they were expected to win. But again, this could just as easily end up being a Giants-Yankees World Series. Or Cardinals-Yankees. Or Giants-Tigers. The way this postseason has turned out, you really just can't predict anything.

Fasten your seats baseball fans. It’s going to be a fun, nail biting ride. Can’t wait.

Go Cardinals. #12in12

NFL Week 5 Round-Up

I am in such a sports overload right now I can hardly stand it. The Cardinals are still alive in MLB postseason PLUS NFL football. I've always loved the fall. The leaves changing, the cool crispness of midwestern fall air, hot apple cider, Halloween...there's lots to love about fall.

Before I get t my thoughts on week 5 of the NFL, there was some other major NFL news that occurred within the past week that perhaps didn't receive much national coverage. AEG's proposal to build Farmer's Field, a brand new NFL stadium in Los Angeles, was approved. However, unlike when St. Louis built the then TWA Dome, or the movie Field of Dreams, in this case, "if they come, we will build it." That is, if the city of Los Angeles hopes to have another NFL team here, an existing NFL franchise must agree to move here before they will break ground on Farmer's Field.

Since the proposal to build this stadium has come together, there has been much speculation on what team in the NFL might be enticed to move to LA. The two most discussed have probably been the Oakland Raiders and St. Louis Rams, since both are former LA franchises. Oakland seems highly unlikely though. The Rams however, should Stan Kroenke decide to move them, do have the option of moving after 2014. This has spawned much debate in St. Louis, as fans are worried about the team leaving. I hope Stan doesn't decide to do this.

I'm a Rams fan, and sure, if they were out in LA I'd be able to go to games, and watch more games on local TV. But losing the Rams franchise would be devastating to the city of St. Louis. They already lost the Cardinals NFL team in the 80's, if the Rams were to leave I think it could potentially lead to the city of St. Louis never having an NFL team...ever.

St. Louis is a great sports city. And while fans have been disheartened in recent years (the Rams are currently over .500 for the first time since 2006...that's a 6 year drought) and ticket sales may have slumped during those years, fans still come out, they still manage to sell out games (in whatever their definition of "sell out" is) and they are loyal to the franchise. It would be a shame to shake that up and move them to LA just because Stan can, if he wants.

That said, I do think there is a need for an NFL team in LA. The obvious choice to me is the San Diego Chargers. The Chargers have trouble selling out games, and based on my experience living in LA for 2.5 years, it seems to me that the Chargers seem to be a big fan base in LA. There are a few Oakland and Rams fans, and since LA is a melting pot of transplants, you have fan bases from all over the country. But a lot of people I know from LA are Chargers fans.

San Diego is only about 2 hours from LA (with no traffic of course, which is...never). If the Chargers moved to LA, they could still keep a lot of the fans in San Diego engaged with the team (and still be able to make a weekend trip to go to games), pull in the LA Chargers fans, and gain new fans throughout LA.

To me, this seems like the most ideal situation. Will it happen? Who knows. Jacksonsville and Minnesota could also be in the running, and who knows who might step in last minute. Maybe Roger Goodell will approve an expansion team. All I know is this: I don't want it to be the Rams.

"You take my Rams away from The Lou I'll pop you in your grill." - Nelly

Calisportsdiva's Top 10 Afterthoughts of the Week

10. Dear Cam Newton, no one likes a diva. Apparently after Carolina's loss last week Cam Newton remained in the locker room sulking...long enough that he made everyone else wait on the bus until his hissy fit was over. Come on Cam, how old are we, 4? Cam didn't do anything this week to prove he deserved his diva attitude either. Panthers lost to the Seawhawks, and man, what a disappointing season so far for Carolina. Perhaps someone needs to put Cam in his place. They need to do something. My fantasy team needs more Steve Smith catches and touchdowns.

9. Buffalo? Still has a long way to go. The Bills got smashed by the 49'ers this weekend. Doesn't matter which semi-injured running back they used, Buffalo just could not get an offense going. There is a reason why the 49'ers defense is top ranked, and they showed it. But not only that, check this out. In my fantasy league, Alex Smith put up 30 points for me. I started him because Stafford has a bye and he delivered more points than Stafford has all season. Go figure. Smith may not be your typical QB, but he runs a good offense and doesn't make many mistakes. Singletary vs Harbaugh? Coaching matters, folks. 

8. Keep it classy, KC. Who cheers when one of your own players goes down and out with an injury? Apparently Chiefs fans do. QB Matt Cassell went down and had to leave the game during the KC-Baltimore matchup and what did KC fans do? They cheered! I don't even...wow. I know KC hasn't been doing well, and yes, Cassell hasn't seemed to do as well in KC as he did in that one season in New England (newsflash: maybe coaching has something to do with it?) but cheering an injury is just plain pathetic, rude and disrespectful. I know it only takes a few drunks to get something going (I've sat next to many of them at NFL games) and clearly KC fans are frustrated but...come on, man. To rub salt in the wound, Baltimore still won the game. Guess Brady Quinn isn't your answer either KC. By the way KC? I can think of worse QB's than Matt Cassell. See Banks, Tony. 

7. Paging Kevin Kolb. Can you still walk after being sacked 9 times? The Arizona Cardinals were 4-0 going into Thursday night's NFC West showdown against the St. Louis Rams, but the Rams handed them their first loss of the season. The Rams defense completely exposed Arizona's shaky offensive line. The Rams defense was impressive, yet again. The offense...well, Sam Bradford was not. Speaking of O-Line issues, the Rams have many. Sam may not have been sacked as much as Kolb, but he was hit a lot. And was forced to make quick decisions which led to a lot of incompletions. Bradford only completed 7 passes the whole game. Fortunately for him, 2 of those passes were touchdowns. It wasn't the prettiest offensive game, but the Rams have life and show signs of improvement. This year isn't likely their year, but they continue to get better and that's exciting. As for Arizona, I think their 4-0 start was kind of a fluke, and I wouldn't be surprised if they finish around 8-8. They are more of a .500 team.

6. RGIII should learn from Michael Vick's history. RGIII learned an important lesson the hard way this week, and he has the lingering headache to remind him. RGIII was knocked out of the game with a concussion this week. Back-up Cousins wasn't half bad, but unfortunately, the Skins were playing Atlanta, and they took control of the game and improved to 5-0. But RGIII, we know you like to run. But look at Vick. He's injured A LOT. Why? Because he runs like a running back, doesn't slide and as a result gets hit hard. If you want to avoid injury, you have to be careful, especially on those running plays. RGIII tweeted that he's all right, and should be back next week. Play safe, buddy.

5. T.O. to the Jets: "I'm available." During MNF tonight, Terrell Owens tweeted the following: "Hey JETS!!! I'm available! I'm ready, willing and able! Call my agent @jordanwoy and let's make it happen." Excuse me while I go laugh hysterically for a few minutes...still laughing...still laughing...still laughing...okay, I think I'm okay now. The Jets are terrible, but sorry T.O., you are not the solution to all of their problems. They have so many holes. Besides, who's gonna throw to you, Tebow? He might end up as the starting QB after tonight, because Sanchez got OWNED by Houston's J.J. Watts tonight. Watts is a freakin' beast. Was there any doubt that Houston would win this game? 5-0 and standing tall at the top of the AFC South.

4. Andrew Luck is one sick mofo. Yeah, I said it. Who picked the Colts to beat Green Bay this week? I didn't. ESPN's Colin Cowherd went down in his eliminator pool this week because he picked the Colts to lose. It's Luck's rookie year, Colts have had a lot of changes and are rebuilding. Reggie Wayne anyone? Oh yeah, he's still there and Luck and Wayne looked like Manning and Wayne of old out there. Heck, Luck looked like Manning out there. The Colts trailed 21-3 at halftime. Luck rallied this team in the 2nd half to be back in the game and have a shot at winning the game with seconds left. How long does it take to throw a TD pass? 35 seconds...BOOM! Remind you of anyone Colts fans? This is why they drafted Luck. The kid is smart, not to mention amazing skills, and he will be a great QB in the NFL. Can't wait to see what else Luck's got in store. As for Green Bay...guess that Seattle loss is REALLY hurting right now. But they are far from out of playoff contention.

3.

Da' Bears!

How about them Chicago Bears, eh? Grab a brewskee and a polish sausage Chi-town fans, because the Bears...look pretty darn good. Sure, they played the hapless Jacksonville (soon to be Los Angeles?) Jaguars this weekend and it was expected they would dominate. But Da' Bears are 4-1, and if I had to rank the scariest defenses to face in the NFL right now? 49'ers, Texans, Bears, Ravens. Poor Blaine Gabbert. Love my Mizzou guys, but the NFL just doesn't seem to be working for him. 

2. Willis McGahee = EPIC FAIL. I would NOT want to be McGahee on the flight back from New England having to face Peyton Manning. I imagine Peyton's facial expression might look like this:

You just HAD to be visited by the fumble fairy. Damn you McGahee!

Overall? The Broncos had a tough battle against New England. The Pats seemed eager and ready to prove that they could best Manning once again. And it seemed like all was hopeless...until the 4th quarter and Manning was...well, Manning. Quick TD got the Broncos within 10. Big stop by Denver D. Manning drives the Broncos down the field and it looks like they will score with 4 or so minutes left. Would Manning perform another 4th quarter miracle?

They hand off the ball to McGahee and...he fumbles the ball! New England recovers! Which ultimately led to the Broncos never having a chance to score again, and New England wins.

I think we can all agree on this: damn you McGahee. Because come on, outside of Pats fans who didn't want to see if Peyton could do it? It's exciting football. But alas, it wasn't to be. 

1. Drew Brees surpasses Johnny Unitas's record of most consecutive games with a TD pass (48). Drew Brees is an amazing player, and keeps breaking records. But last night's record is pretty darn special. Why? Well the record has stood since...1960. Manning hasn't done it. Brady hasn't done it. Favre didn't do it. Very special day for Drew Brees, congratulations. Such a fun player to watch and couldn't happen to a better guy. To make the night even better? Brees lead the Saints to their first win of the season against the Chargers. Anyone else have Marques Colston on their fantasy teams? Thank you Brees. Not just for breaking the record, but for those 3 TD passes to Colston.

That's it for this week's NFL news and thoughts. Before I sign off for the night, I do have to say one quick thing...

St. Louis Cardinals tied the Washington National 1-1 in the division series today. The Redbirds were on fire today, putting up 12 runs. Hmmm...12 runs, 2012, title #12, right #12in12. 

Go Cardinals. :-)

Infield Fly...Happy Flight

Baseball postseason is here! I know I haven't posted a lot about baseball lately. I get distracted when the NFL season starts. The NFL is a little easier to follow since there are only 16 games in a season. Baseball has 162 regular season games, THEN the playoffs. So while I do love baseball, it's not as easy to follow every game like you can with the NFL. And the NFL seems to always have weekly drama, whereas in baseball, typically the height of drama is at the end of the season.

Which I can say most definitely was true this season. It was the first season where 2 wild card teams instead of 1, would be chosen from each league. How this works is that the 2 teams who win the wild card would play a one game playoff to decide who would move on to the division conference.

Why was this put in place? Well, I see several reasons. The one that MLB has consistently stated is that they wanted to give teams more incentive to win their divisions. In the past, winning the wild card didn't seem to really be all that bad. Sure, you had the play the team with the best record in the division series, but if you won the spot, you at least were ensured that you got to the division series.

With a 1 game playoff, now it's much harder for the wild card team to get there. So I do believe that MLB did accomplish their goal of giving the division winners more incentive. Most teams would prefer to not have to play in a do-or-die situation to move on in the playoffs. It's a very foreign concept for baseball, which is used to a minimum of a best of 5 series.

The second thing the added wild card spot did was make the race to the end more exciting and kept more MLB franchises engaged. In the National League alone you had the Cardinals, Dodgers, Brewers all fighting for that last wild card spot to the end. If there had only been 1 wild card team, all 3 of these teams would have been out of the race much earlier, and so would have many of their fans.

Think about it. From MLB standpoint, the 2nd wild card kept many franchises still in the race, so fans wanted to buy tickets to watch these last nail biting games. What does that mean?

MLB baseball is "cashin' out" at the end of the season by adding this 2nd wild card team. It's a matter of simple economics. First off, there are now 2 more playoff games (one in the NL and one in the AL) so they get additional revenue from those playoff games.

But it also helps increase the probability that there will be more sold out games towards the end of the season because of the simple fact that there are more teams in the race down the stretch which keeps the fans interested and wanting to go to the games. Because truth is, once your team is automatically eliminated from playoff contention, many fans lose interest (unless your Cubs fans, who expect the Cubs to not make the playoffs every season). 

So, I get the benefit of the 2nd wild card. At first, I wasn't so sure how I felt about it and about the 1 game playoff. But I liked the thought that it gave more teams a chance to compete and that finally division winners can feel like they have more of an advantage.

Wild Card Friday was yesterday, and I suppose you could say the suspense of a one game playoff definitely delivered?

The Texas Rangers lost the division title in the last days of the season to the...Moneyball Oakland Athletics. That lead to a one game playoff against the Baltimore Orioles. Both teams finished the season with 93 wins, so it wasn't going to be an easy game, most of us thought it would be close.

But it wasn't. Baltimore crushed Texas 5-1, and will now face the Yankees in the ALDS. The lesson here that Texas learned the hard way? Win your division. If Texas hadn't let that division title slip away, they'd be in the ALDS and who knows who would have won in a Baltimore-Oakland showdown. 

Then there was the Cardinals-Braves matchup in Atlanta.The Braves won 94 games, the Cardinals 88. On paper, Atlanta seemed like they had the advantage. But if there's one thing I've learned about the Cardinals in recent years is, they don't give up and never think that they don't belong there.

It was going to be a tough win on the road for them though. The Braves had their ace Medlen ready to go, who has only lost 1 game the whole season and was considered un-hittable. The Cardinals gave Kyle Lohse the start, who had a pretty stellar regular season but historically had been dreadful in the post-season. As a Cardinals fan, I had prepared myself for a nail biting stressful game.

When Lohse gave up the 2 run homerun in the 2nd? I thought "oh no, this is going to be hard to come back from." And then the Cardinals did what they always seem to do: surprise me. They came back in the 4th inning to go up 3-2, though a throwing error by Chipper Jones helped. After that, Atlanta seemed to self-destruct. The Braves had 3 throwing errors which ultimately helped the Cardinals to roll to a 6-2 lead.

Then...all hell broke lose over an extremely controversial call by the umpires after a late infield fly rule was invoked which lead to this...

And inspired this...

In short, it was a bad call by the ump, and instead of Atlanta having the bases loaded with 1 out, it was 2nd and 3rd with 2 outs. 

Atlanta fans immediately started booing and throwing bottles and debris on the field after the call was made. It lead to a 19 minute delay of the game as they had to clean the field, and Atlanta's manager told the umps they were playing under protest. MLB didn't allow the protest and the game continued, and ultimately the Cardinals won the game 6-3.

MLB is saying that the umps made the right call, yada yada. They have to, they have no choice. It's not a play that can be reviewed. It's a subjective call and it was made, whether right or wrong. Unfortunately in this situation I do think it was the wrong call. However, the behavior of the Atlanta fans was completely unacceptable and immature.

Booing, okay, I get that. But throwing your beer on the field (first off, that's an expensive beer. And second, that's a waste of good beer!) is just awful. If the game had been in St. Louis and that call had been made, I would hope that St. Louis fans wouldn't do that. It doesn't accomplish anything but make you look bad as fans, and now the whole country has seen the footage.

There's no way of knowing what would have happened if the infield fly rule hadn't been in play. Maybe Kozma would have caught the ball. Maybe the Cardinals would have turned a double play from the next batter. Maybe the Braves would have hit a grand slam to take the lead. Maybe not.  

I'm thrilled that the Cardinals won and are advancing to the NLDS. I just wish it wasn't tainted by this awful call. But the reality is they won, and now we have to move on.

The Cardinals now face the Washington Nationals, and that is not going to be an easy series. But I have confidence in the Redbirds. They have something that the Nats don't have: experience. The Cards have been there, they know what it's like to be the underdogs. So I don't expect it to be an easy series. It should be fun to watch.

Go Cardinals! #12in12!

NFL Week 4 Round-Up

Sports fans, before I get to the NFL fun of week 4, I have to take a moment to state the following:

THE STL CARDINALS ARE IN THE PLAYOFFS!

Congratulations Bud Selig, thanks to my Cards making that last playoff slot I am officially a fan of your new wild card playoff system. Why? Because my team now has a shot at winning a 12th World Series Championship. #12in12 as Cards fans would say. To say I'm nervous about the one game playoff against the Braves would be an understatement. Do I think they can do it? Absolutely. Anything is possible.

I will try to post more baseball playoff thoughts tomorrow. For now, let's get to week 4 NFL thoughts, shall we?

The regular refs are back, and everyone is so happy!




At least, until everyone realized that the regular refs still make calls you don't like, agree with, or just plain and simple are wrong. Ah, well. It was nice while it lasted, right Ed Hochuli?

Calisportsdiva's Top 10 Afterthoughts of the Week

10. The Arizona Cardinals are 4-0 and I still can't wrap my head around this. I get that their defense is pretty solid. The whole NFC West has pretty solid defenses. But how Arizona has managed to get to 4-0 with so many questions surrounding their offense is amazing. Skleton or Kolb? So far, Kolb seems to be doing enough. I'm very interested in seeing how the game goes tomorrow night between the Rams and the Cardinals. While I do think the Cardinals are improved, I don't buy them as a playoff contender...yet. We'll see.

9. Who are the Eagles? I still struggle to figure out exactly what this team is about. On paper, they should be good. They have a lot of weapons on offense and on defense, but turnovers seem to plague this team more than any other. And yet, despite throwing a lot of interceptions, Vick still manages to find a way to win, though they are close. Philly sits at 3-1 but have yet to win a game by more than 2 points. That's cutting it awfully close.

8. Oh, there you are New England. The Pats proved why they are still the favorite to win their division by thrashing the Bills in a 52-28 beat down. The Bills looked good at the start, but once Brady got going the Pats ran away with the game. If any Pats fans were worrying...well, don't. You know they'll still win the division.

7. Minnesota keeps winning. Talk about another surprising team. Everyone had pegged the Vikings to be terrible and they keep finding ways to win. Granted, they haven't faced a super tough opponent yet though most would have expected the Lions to take this game and they looked pretty awful. Detroit may be one of the most disappointing teams in the NFL right now. I thought they would at least make a run for the playoffs, at least a wild card spot but man they do not look like the team I expected. Makes me wonder how in the world the Rams still lost that game in week 1.

6. Speaking of the Rams...one week after Golden Tate's non-catch to beat Green Bay, Seattle found themselves slapped back to reality. No replacement refs here to help you out. It wasn't a pretty game, but the Rams were able to beat Seattle proving that a) the Rams defense is good and b) the Rams are a better team than most think. The Rams are now 2-2, and while I don't think they are to the point where they are a playoff caliber team, I like how Jeff Fisher has turned this team around in one year. I had someone say to me "oh, the Rams will win 3 games this season." Well, they've already won 2 and we're heading into week 5 and I know they'll at least win one more, they play the Jets. But overall, yes I expect this team to win a lot more games. 9-7, folks. Who knows, that may be enough for a wild card spot. Stranger things have happened...

5. Speaking of the Jets...IT"S TEBOW TIME!

"Put me in coach! I'm ready to play!"

 I just don't know what to say about the Jets. They are what we thought they would be. An utter trainwreck. The 49'ers completely destroyed them (my fantasy team benefited from this so I was happy about that) and Sanchez just looked awful. But before everyone starts the "Tebow!" chants, let's just think about this for a moment. Sanchez may not be the best QB, but he's simply got nothing to work with. Santonio Holmes was his best wide out and now he's out for the season with injury. The running game is abysmal. Dustin Keller is not Gronk. The fact is, upper management has focused too much on building the Jets defense and not enough on offensive players. Put any QB in Sanchez's situation and they would struggle. Maybe Brady or Manning would make some young Jets wide out the next Wes Welker or Pierre Garcon but the fact is, most QB's would have a hard time winning with the offensive line-up the Jets currently have. So, where do the Jets go from here? I don't see Tebow starting yet but with Holmes out I think they have to consider finding more ways to get him involved with the game. Sanchez is the better QB and once you bench him...you lose him. tough situation for the Jets. Tough season period.

4. Atlanta Falcons are 4-0. And clearly a legitimate 4-0. I continue to be impressed by Atlanta. I haven't seen a Falcons team this good since the "Dirty Bird" years.

Gotta love NFL touchdown dances.

The NFC South looks to be theirs to lose. But realistically speaking, who's going to give them a run for their money? The 0-4 Saints? The "What Da' Hell Happened to Cam?" Panthers? Tampa Bay? Come on, man. Make no mistake. The Falcons are good and if they lose the NFC South it will be a HUGE upset.

3. Houston, we don't have a problem. Speaking of teams with divisions that are theirs to lose...how about the Houston Texans? Another legitimate 4-0 team who looks to be a team to watch out for. Several NFL pundits have picked Houston to make it to the Superbowl and I can see why. This team is excelling on defense, offense, special teams...the Texans are solid. Poor Tennessee just couldn't compete in fact, QB Jake Locker got knocked out of the game and that brought in...Matt Hasselback! I forgot he was still in the league. Houston will win the AFC South. Tennessee will...be looking at a top draft pick at the end of the season.

2. The Broncos are adapting to the Peyton Manning offense. It's no secret that the Broncos have had a bit of an up/down season so far, but this week's smackdown against Oakland showed a lot of what many Colts fans are used to seeing: classic Peyton Manning. As time goes on I expect to see the Denver Broncos to improve as long as Manning's healthy and the offense is able to adapt. I still think Denver wins their division and makes the playoffs. How far they go? I'm not sure I'd say Superbowl contender but you never know.

1. Tony Romo..."Oh no!" 5 interceptions for Tony Romo on Monday night, oy. The Cowboys are another team where you think they should be great, but yet they still seem to fail to meet that goal. The Cowboys aren't in as dire a situation as the Jets...at least the Cowboys have offensive weapons with Bryant, Austin and Murray but things just don't seem to be gelling the way they should. 5 interceptions is ridiculous. They did play the Bears, and their defense is certainly solid but wow, 5 picks. However the Cowboys are tied with the Skins and Giants at 2-2 so anything can happen,.

And that's the week 4 round-up. Before I forget, I realized I didn't post a Superbowl pick before the beginning of the season, but wanted to post it now. I promise I haven't been influenced by circumstances since the season started, and once you see my pick I think you'll see that.

So, my pick for Superbowl? 49'ers vs Ravens. The Harbaugh Bowl. I still think that can happen, but see some other teams that could spoil this scenario. At any rate, that was my pre-season pick.

That's all for this week on the NFL. Hope to post a baseball blog tomorrow with my thoughts going into the post-season.