Is It Baseball Season Yet?

Seriously. Opening day cannot come soon enough for me. Good thing I only have to wait until Wednesday! While I'm disappointed in the news about Carpenter for my Cardinals, I still am very excited about their season. And baseball in general.

Speaking of which, congratulations to Guggenheim Partners, or as everyone in LA keeps referring to it, Magic Johnson's group, on winning the bid on buying the LA Dodgers. Now that the sale is done, they can focus on the team and making it the franchise that it should be.

No, I'm not becoming a Dodgers fan. But this whole debacle with Frank McCourt - the divorce, the bankruptcy...it hasn't allowed for good development and growth for the Dodgers franchise. I may be a Cardinals fan, but at the core I love good baseball. It's good to have competition in the league. If there's no competition and the same team keeps winning and winning over and over again, people lose interest.

So hope the Dodgers are able to overcome this and I look forward to seeing the Dodgers-Cardinals matchup live at Dodger Stadium this season.

NCAA Final Four was this weekend and the only real surprise? Kansas upset Ohio State by coming back from behind at the half to win by 2 points. I guess I understand now why Mizzou had problems beating KU this season. They are one tough team.

Kentucky beat Louisville, so that means tomorrow night's championship game is Kentucky vs Kansas. As a Mizzou fan, I just find it so difficult to root for KU, even if they are in the Big 12. Kentucky's been the #1 since the beginning of the tourney, so KU's the underdog. I think I may just have to say this: I look forward to watching a good game.

The Tebow-Sanchez drama has really gotten...well for lack of better words, quite ridiculous. Every sports pundit is reporting on their thoughts about whether this was a good move for the Jets, whether Sanchez should feel like his job is on the line, and so forth.

Okay, yes. The move brings up a lot of questions. But it's April. NFL season doesn't start until September. The draft hasn't even happened yet. A lot of things will change between now and then. I don't have any clue what the reasoning is for the Jets picking up Tebow but Tebow doesn't seem to sound like he's going to be a back-up. He clearly wants to fight for the starting QB job. Well, I guess one thing's for certain. Hard Knocks shouldn't even question what team to choose for their show this season.

In NBA news...honestly, other than Jeremy Lin being out for the season with injury, I haven't kept up with it much. I told you, the NBA is not my forte. Kobe had a rough week this week, but he's Kobe. He's picked it up and in today's game was the leading scorer.

In NHL news my St. Louis Blues clinched the Central Division Title, albeit not exactly in the fashion that they had hoped as they lost to the Blue Jackets 5-2 last night. As the NHL season starts to wind down, it'll be interesting to see how the playoff picture turns out. None of the national sports peeps (at least in LA) seem to care about hockey, but I imagine once the playoffs come around it'll be "oh, did you hear about this?"

Growing up in St. Louis, had no clue how little respect the NHL gets on a national scale. Now that I'm in LA, who has 2 NHL hockey teams? Wow, yeah I get it. The NHL gets such little coverage on a national scale. In LA, when it comes to sports talk on the radio in the morning, I have Dan Patrick, Colin Cowherd, or the San Diego sports station. It is uncanny how often Dan and Colin are talking about the same thing...at the same time!

If I had to guess, I think that most national sports coverage focuses on the following primarily: NFL, MLB and NBA. Everything beyond that is included because it's topical. We aren't hearing much news about NCAA football, are we? Nope. We're hearing about NCAA basketball because the tourney is still going on. But what about after? No.

The NHL should get more coverage, but they don't. It's a shame. I'm not just saying that because The Blues are doing well. The LA Kings are doing well too, and no one out here seems to care. It's sad.

And...that's all I've got for tonight folks. More updates soon on my thoughts on the world of sports.

Playoffs?

Wild Card weekend is down in the books and what a wild weekend it was. I was 3-1 in my picks for the weekend. I picked Denver, Cincy, New York and New Orleans to win, I should have picked Houston. My initial thought process on that was I wasn't sold on Yates, and thought Dalton would have the better day. I clearly underestimated the Houston defense, and of course, did not factor in the impact of Arian Foster. Congrats to the Texans on their first playoff win. They're going to have a tough game ahead against Baltimore this weekend.

The Saints-Detroit game started out as the track meet we thought it would be, but in the 2nd half New Orleans got on a roll and the Lions were just unable to catch up. I expected this game to be a little closer, but New Orleans is just so tough to beat at home. They are going to have a very tough game next weekend against San Francisco. The 49'ers offense may not be as explosive at New Orleans, but that defense it super tough. Especially against the run. Brees will have to throw a lot of touchdowns (which is not usually a problem) because if I recall correctly, the 49'ers have yet to give up a rushing touchdown this year.

The Giants had a pretty easy win against the Falcons. I'm not sure what happened to Atlanta but their offense completely fell apart and the Giants defense did not allow them to score any points. The only points Atlanta got were from a safety. For a bit the game looked like a really bad lopsided baseball game score. And I have to say, is there any team right now that is hotter than the Giants? Manning was solid with 277 yards and 3 TD's. And while Victor Cruz has been the star receiver of late, today's game saw Hicks re-emerge as Eli's top wideout. The Giants running game has steadily improved since early December and Bradshaw and Jacobs combined for 150+ yards on the ground. And the Giants defense has been solid. I still stand by my original pick of the Giants to go to the Super Bowl. I know many thought I was crazy but I don't think so. They have a great shot at beating Green Bay next weekend. Sure, Rodgers is a beast. But Green Bay's defense? Not so great. The Giants defense can pressure Rodgers. Plus, the Giants almost handed Green Bay their first loss in December when they played last. It is definitely possible. If anyone thinks this game will be an easy win for Green Bay, or the Giants for that matter, they are mistaken. I think this is going to be a really close tough game and it will come down to the wire.

What can I say about the Denver-Pittsburgh game. How is it that Tebow threw for over 300 yards, 2 TD's and only had 10 completions? I picked Denver to win this game because I liked the fact that they were playing at home and the Steelers were beat up with Big Ben hurt and no Mendenhall. When Tebow threw that pass to Thomas to score the winning touchdown on the first play of OT, I was stunned. Simply just could not believe what I just saw. Wow. Say what you will about Tebow. Is he the best QB out there? Absolutely not. But what I see in Tebow and this Denver team is passion to win. And that game tonight was fun to watch. I like rooting for guys like Tebow. He seems like a genuinely good guy. Big Ben? Not really a standout guy personally. I can respect his talent, just like Michael Vick for instance, but do not care for the guy. Tebow is a class act both on and off the field (so far anyway, we all know how fame can change a person). I'm happy for the Broncos. They should enjoy this win, because their next stop is New England, and even though New England's defense is atrocious, I think they are going to have a really tough time in that game.

Which leads me to my picks for this coming weekend's Divisional Playoffs...

Denver vs New England: As much as I would love to see the Broncos pull off another amazing win, I think the magic stops here. The Patriots at home are super tough to beat (as a Colts fan, I know this all too well) and despite New England's horrid defense, I think Tom Brady will be able to out duel Tebow. I'd like to be wrong, but gotta go with the Patriots here.

San Francisco vs New Orleans: This is a difficult matchup. Most would say New Orleans for sure, because Brees is a much better QB than Alex Smith. However, the Saints have to play in San Francisco and struggle more on the road. And the 49'ers defense is not going to make this easy for them. And let's face it, New Orleans defense is okay, but they've let a lot of teams rack up points against them. And New Orleans lost to the Rams. If Brees is pressured and that O-line starts to fall apart, watch out. I think this will be another close game, I don't think this will be a 40+ point day for Brees, I'd say the game will probably end up being 28-24 or something, and I do think that the 49'ers will triumph in the end and win at home. My pick is the 49'ers.

Baltimore vs Houston: The Texans had a very impressive win this weekend against Cincinnati, and I'm so happy for them and the fans that they got their first playoff win. However, I do not see them getting past Baltimore. Baltimore's defense will make it hard for Foster to get a running game going, and Yates is okay at QB, but he's still a rookie and that Baltimore defense will be all over him. Plus Baltimore is playing at home. Baltimore wins this one.

Green Bay vs Giants: Green Bay is a great team, no doubt. They're playing at home and have had a fantastic season. However, the Giants are getting hot at the right time. Both of these teams are going to be on fire and have tons of drive to win this game. I think this one will be close, but I really like the Giants. The Giants have a much stronger defense than GB, and they're on a roll. If they can get pressure to Rodgers? That can be a big game changer. Again, I think this is close but I am going to pick the Giants for the upset in this game.

I still like my pick of Baltimore-Giants in the Super Bowl.

We shall see! More on the NFL playoffs next week!

NBA Season Begins, NFL Season Winding Down

Sports fans, I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday. I personally enjoyed myself over the weekend. After all, what could be better than Christmas Eve NFL and Christmas Day NBA and SNF? It was a good sports weekend.

I'm the first to admit that I've never really followed the NBA much. There isn't a team in my hometown of St. Louis so I tended to follow college basketball more than the NBA.

The big talk around here is of course, the Lakers and the Clippers. The Clippers are now suddenly a real threat with the addition of Chris Paul. There's a lot of bandwagoning going on in LA. Suddenly all of these people are Clippers fans even though they probably couldn't tell you the last time they a) watched a Clippers game or b) went to a Clippers game.

The Lakers are having a shaky start to the season. Not sure if it's time to start panicking if you're a Lakers fan, but they are definitely not the same Lakers team that won the championship 2 years ago. They tried to trade for Paul first, but the NBA rejected the trade, which of course has a LOT of people upset because the NBA approved the deal for the Clippers. I guess I see where the NBA is coming from they are trying to prevent teams from being able to hoard all of the top players on one team. They need to do this, to keep the league competitive. If every NBA player wanted to play for the Lakers and all of the good ones went there and the Lakers won the championship by a landslide every year it would be boring, and fans would stop following the league. Except for Lakers fans of course.

So I get it. Paul definitely seems to be helping the Clippers quite a bit. They've started the season 2-0 and beat the Lakers in their preseason opener. Will be interesting to see how this shortened season unfolds.

As the NBA season starts to heat up, the NFL season is coming to an end, which makes me sad. I know I still have a month of playoffs still but I hate when the NFL season ends.

Tim Tebow's storybook season has had a major reality check the past 2 weeks. If anyone really thought the Broncos would beat the Pats, well, they were proven wrong. Because as bad as the Pats defense is, the Pats offense is just too explosive for Tebow and co to try and overcome all of those points. And then this past weekend Buffalo just crushed the Broncos 40-14. Guess the Disney story is over. However, the Broncos can still make the playoffs. They play Kansas City this weekend and they are beatable (though Green Bay may beg to differ). It looks like it'll either be the Broncos or Oakland.

In the "suck for Luck" race, the Colts won another game this past weekend under Dan Orlovsky. The Rams, Vikings and Colts are all tied for that worst in the league title with only 2 wins, however, the Colts are in the lead due to schedule (the Rams and Vikes had much harder schedules, whereas the Colts had many more winnable games).

It'll be interesting to see how this plays out. The Rams play the 49'ers this weekend. Sam Bradford won't play. The Rams aren't going to win this game. The 49'ers are fighting for that playoff bye week and I don't think they will have too much trouble winning this game (but I could be wrong, the Rams did beat the Saints).

The Colts play the Jacksonville Jaguars, who are just awful. A very winnable game for the Colts. So if you're Bill Pollian and Jim Isray, do you tell the team to basically kind of throw the game to ensure you keep the #1 pick? If the Colts win, they will lose out on that opportunity and it will go to the Rams (unless the Rams win). The Rams won't draft Luck, they already have a franchise quarterback in Bradford. But they can get a lot for that pick, and the Rams need all of the help they can get.

If the Colts win this weekend they may well indeed pass up an opportunity of a lifetime. We all hope that Peyton is able to play again but there are no guarantees. And even if he does play he probably has 3-4 good years left? I think you have to take the opportunity to get Luck. If Peyton turns out to be healthy and good to go then you deal from there, but the Colts have to look to the future. And that's tough for me to say because I really love Peyton and hope he plays and retires with the Colts but we just don't know if that's going to happen or not.

Pro Bowl players were announced today. Tebow didn't make the list, so sad. Honestly? The Pro Bowl is the biggest joke of a game. MLB, NBA, NHL all seem to make their all star games have some sort of meaning or are at least entertaining. The Pro Bowl is a complete joke. Truly. It means nothing, the players just want the honor because it can be added to their resume, and the game just seems to lack any sort of heart. I've tried to watch it but I usually end up tuning it out and it just becomes background noise.

The playoff picture will be complete after this weekend. Looking forward to the final games of the season and the chance to put the Rams and the Colts horrendous seasons behind them and look forward to next year. How about a Colts-Rams Super Bowl in 2013? Hey, it could happen!

Tebow Time

It seems that everywhere you turn someone is talking about Tim Tebow. Every sports talk station I listened to this past week was talking about Tebow. Every interview with coaches, former NFL players, etc. all talked about Tebow.

The Tebow phenomena has seemed to take the country by storm. It is a nice story, very Disney-esqe. In fact, my opening to my fantasty football recap last week was "Coming soon to a theater near you, by Walt Disney Pictures 'Angels in the Endzone' starring Tim Tebow and the 2011 Denver Broncos."

It's so true, right? Hollywood has written this script over and over again. They guy no one thought could have the talent. The team everyone dismissed. Then all of the sudden they have a miracle year and prove everyone wrong.

And it's hard not to like Tebow. He's a very religious guy, but I don't feel like he shoves it in anyone's face. He just is very devout, and in a league that's full of players who accidentally shoot themselves in the foot with a gun in a club (see Buresss, Plaxico), or run a dog fighting ring (see Vick, Michael) or kill someone in a drunk driving incident (see Little, Leonard) it is refreshing to see someone who really seems to have good ideals and values. Someone that we would actually be okay with our kids looking up to and admiring.

Tebow's luck ran out today against the Patriots, but honestly, did anyone really believe that the Broncos could outlast Brady and co? The Pats defense has been atrocious, but the reason the Pats are still able to win is because their offense is so explosive. And while the Broncos defense is pretty solid, after about 3 quarters they started to get tired, and Tebow and co. just couldn't keep up with the Pats explosive offense.

Of course, we knew they would lose. Jesus took the day off. At least, according to SNL he did:

The Broncos still look poised to make the playoffs. Their last 2 games are against Buffalo and Kansas City. Both winnable games (although KC just ended Green Bay's winning streak today so don't count the Chiefs out. Fortunately for Denver they will be playing at home).

Odds are, Denver will make the playoffs. Will they may it to the Super Bowl? Never say never, but it would be a tough road. They'd have to beat the Patriots, Ravens or Steelers. Not an easy feat. But Tebow has God on his side, right?

One thing is for sure, the Broncos are fun to watch and it will be interesting to see how the rest of the season turns out.