2012 Olympics

I know. I've been MIA for awhile. I've had ideas of posts in my head and somehow they just don't seem to make it here. Maybe it's because the NFL season hasn't started yet. While I love baseball, it's a long season and I will admit my favorite time of the year for sports is September - January. Why? Because you get the baseball crunch time to the playoffs, the playoffs, college football season + bowl games, the NFL season and the NFL playoffs. I <3 fall sports.

Quick note before I go into the Olympics. First, a shout out to the NL for winning the All Star game and securing home field advantage to the NL team that reaches the World Series this fall.

Speaking of baseball, wow, have my Cardinals got themselves in a situation. On the one hand, they are definitely in the hunt for the 2 wild card spots. On the other, they currently stand 5.5 games behind the Reds for the NL Central division. I don't really care how the Cards get into the playoffs as long as they do. It's been a rough season. They lost Carpenter for the season and while the offense has been pretty productive the bull pen is another story.

I'll sum up the past month with this note:

Dear Cincinnati,

Would it be too much to ask for you to lose some games? How about a game or two?

Sincerely,
Cardinals fans everywhere

Now, to the Olympics.

I love the Olympics. Both winter and summer. Why? Because it's an opportunity to see some really amazing athletes and also see some sports that you don't see very often on display.

Other than the winter Olympics, when do you ever watch curling? Other than the summer Olympics, how often do you watch track and field (my runner friends are exempt from this question). We are exposed to major league sports on a regular basis, but network TV does not showcase much other than those major sports.

Gymnastics and figure skating get more TV exposure because the US has history of dominant Olympians in those areas. But swimming? Soccer? High jump? Not so much.

I watched the opening ceremonies tonight. I always feel like the opening show feels like some sort of interpretive dance/broadway musical mesh and London didn't disappoint. There were a lot of great moments, don't get me wrong. I loved Daniel Craig as James Bond picking up the Queen for the Olympic opening ceremony. And the lighting of the Olympic flame was very cool. And of course, for this Beatles fan, it doesn't get better than Sir Paul McCartney.

But, in the end, I've seen Broadway shows that have engaged my interest more than the opening ceremonies. Where was Monty Python? They should have had Eric Idle and John Cleese produce a bit. Why wasn't Sir Paul (and possibly Ringo?) included earlier on? I saw people dressed up in Beatle's clothing from the Sgt. Pepper albums but there was no explanation and it came and went quickly. For a music group that defined a generation world wide you'd think the Brits would have milked it more but, maybe they realize that the younger generation doesn't get it.

Anyway, the point is the Olympics are here. And I am looking forward to the next two weeks. It's going to be hard to not be spoiled since London is 8 hours ahead of me but I'm going to try not to be spoiled.

I can't say that I know a ton about the Olympians. Obviously I know about Michael Phelps (who doesn't at this point?) and am starting to get to know and follow the women's gymnastic team.

But there is much more to watch and enjoy than those two sports. I love diving, but I know it's not a strong US sport. I still love watching it.

But my absolute favorite summer Olympic sport, has to be, by far...synchronized swimming. Just look at the amazing technique of the team below:




More updates to follow (I hope) as the Olympics continue. I'm sure there will be many amazing stories at the end of the day that NBC will be sure to highlight. Especially the synchronized swimming competition.

Until then, Go USA!

Congrats to the LA Kings...

Hey there sports fans! Remember when I had a blog and was actually posting once a week?

Yeah, I know, I know. I've been a slacker. To my credit, I've been working a lot and traveled out of town twice in the past month so have been a bit busy/distracted. If writing for sports was my day job I'd be posting every day. Multiple times a day. Every time something major happened.

But alas, that is not my life so my random little posts and thoughts about the world of sports will just have to suffice.

A lot has happened in the past month+ so I'm going to sum up my thoughts on a few things:

NHL:

Congratulations to the LA Kings on receiving their first Stanley Cup. This is a team that has definitely fought hard all season to get here. When my Blues went down in the 2nd round to the Kings, I knew the Kings were going to win it all. This team just had a fire, a tenacity, a drive to win. Jonathan Quick was stellar. No one could really score off of him. Vancouver? Nope. St. Louis? Nope. Phoenix? Not really. New Jersey? Except for one game, they were very limited.

I don't know if I posted it here, but I said at the beginning of the NHL/NBA playoff madness that of all the teams that made the finals (Lakers, Clippers, Kings) the only one I saw making the final and potentially winning was the Kings.

So, congrats to the Kings and the LA Kings fans (and bandwagon fans, you know who you are. I've watched you pop up around town over the playoff series). It's nice to have a champion in town.

NBA:


The Lakers and the Clippers didn't advance, which really wasn't a surprise. Oklahoma City is a younger and faster team that was just too much for the Lakers, and the Spurs had a lot of talent and experience over the Clippers. Still, LA had 2 teams in the playoffs. Ask Charlotte fans how they feel. Or New Orleans. They may respond, "we have an NBA team?"

Anyway, the rest of the playoffs turned out to be somewhat exciting. For a moment there it looked like the Pacers might upset the Heat. Until Lebron did what Lebron does, which was pretty much everything. He had some help from Wade, but there's no mistaking that Lebron was a HUGE factor in the Heat's success in the playoffs. I specifically remember watching a game against eh Pacers where it seemed like every rebound was Lebron. Every turnover seemed to be caused by Lebron. He may not be the best at freethrows but when it comes to defense Lebron delivers.

On the OKC-Spurs side it seemed like a pretty even series until Oklahoma just started to run with it in the end. The Spurs certainly have a lot of talent but OKC is young and fast and they have some amazing players - Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook continue to amaze me.

It's hard for me to not like the Thunder. Derek Fisher is on the Thunder and he's a former Laker and I really enjoyed watching him when he was on the Lakers and it would be nice to see him win another title.

And it's also because the final is down to the Thunder and the Heat. As much as I respect Lebron's talent, I just don't really care for him as a person and have zero reason to like the Heat. The Thunder just seem to give me more reason to root for them. Not that I'm about to go out and buy Thunder gear and jump on the bandwagon. It's simply that between the two teams left, I like the Thunder and hope they end up winning the championship. So far, they've got 1 game under their belt. 1 down, 3 more to go!

MLB:

What a turn of events since my last post. It's always good to remember when getting excited about the beginning of baseball that it's a) a long season and b) you really can't predict playoff contenders until mid to late July.

The Cardinals started off the season great, so great in fact, most Cardinals fans were saying "Albert who?" But it's been a tough last month for the Redbirds. Injuries have been a big factor. Carpenter still is not back, Wainwright has been slow to regain elite status post Tommy John surgery and while the rest of the starting pitching started out strong, there have been some issues with the bullpen and hitters seem to have found out how to hit off of the Cards.

That said Cards aren't in bad shape. They are in the NL Central one of the most easiest divisions to be in. So they remain within spitting distance of regaining first place status. If they can remain there and gain momentum at the right time, they'll win the division. At least, that's the hope.

Oh, and it's okay the Cardinals don't have Albert. They have Carlos Beltran. Who currently leads the NL with most home runs. Not a bad off season pick for the Cards. We'll see how things progress throughout the season. After all, the 2011 Cardinals were thought completely out in early August. Then the cardiac Cards found ways to keep winning to barely make the playoffs. Then they won the World Series. So you just never know. That's the great thing about baseball. Things can change at any moment.

P DIDDY'S SON/UCLA SCHOLARSHIP:

So, for those who may not have heard P Diddy's (or Puff Daddy, or Sean Combs, or Sean "Puffy" Combs) son Justin Combs, received a $54,000 scholarship to play football at UCLA next season. The university claims that giving Combs this scholarship will not affect need-based scholarships given out.

This has caused some controversy over whether the young Combs should accept the scholarship, as his father, P Diddy, can more than afford his college tuition.

Here's my thoughts on this. If Justin Combs is that good of a player then yes, he should be eligible for the applicable sports scholarships. He should be able to receive the honor.

However even if this scholarship doesn't affect need-based students, he doesn't need it. P Diddy can afford it. So my thought is this. So Justin accepts the scholarship, fine. But P Diddy donates money to UCLA to use to assist future athletes at UCLA. Justin gets his scholarship. Diddy gets a tax deduction off of his donation. And some future athlete(s) out there receive help to be able to attend UCLA. Sounds fair to me. So what say you, P Diddy?

What else is there to talk about? The NFL hasn't started yet but training camps will start next month. Apparently Chad Ochocinco just signed with the Miami Dolphins, who were chosen as this year's team for HBO's Hard Knocks. Coincidence? Just add a little T.O. and that should make for tons of drama.

I know there is more to talk about. More updates to follow, I promise!

Singing the Blues...

Round 2 of the NHL hockey playoffs has started and how has the series gone for the #2 overall seed in the playoffs, the St. Louis Blues?

Answer: Not good. The Blues lost both games against the Kings at home. Ouch. And speaking of ouch, the game last night was a mega ouch. Blues lost 5-2. The Blues seemed rattled ever since key defensemen Alex Pietrangelo got hit badly in Game 1. The Kings were penalized for the hit but it was shortly after that hit that the Kings scored their 2nd goal in Game 1 and they were never able to get catch up.

I don't claim to be an expert in hockey, I'm not. I enjoy attending and watching games but I don't follow hockey as closely as baseball and football. So I can't really begin to explain what's going on with the Blues but I can tell you this, it's not pretty going down 0-2 and having to play the next game away from home. But it's not impossible. They have until Thursday to regroup and who knows, maybe they will come to LA and win 2 in a row. 

Phoenix has also taken a 2-0 lead against Nashville, while the other 2 matchups between NY-WSH and NJ-PHI are tied up at 1-1. There's a lot of games left to be played still. Because, after all. It's the NHL playoffs. It's takes a whole month just to finish a round.

Speaking of "the blues," it seems that a former King of Baseball is certainly singing them. I am speaking of course of Albert Pujols.

Going to go on a bit of a tangent here but it's relevant, I promise. I've lived in LA for over 2 years now and have gotten a good feel for sports loyalties and the local fans.

If there is one key thing that I've learned it's this: LA fans love the Dodgers and the Lakers. Very passionately too. I've met quite a few Dodger fans that are definitely true fans. They love them regardless of whether they are good or bad. 

The Angels and the Clippers appear to be less popular than the Dodgers and the Lakers. The Angels have larger popularity in the OC and surrounding areas, but if you're in LA proper, it's Dodger blue all the way.

The Clippers are more popular now because they have a good team that's in the playoffs. But they do not appear to be as popular as the Lakers.

Plus, there is an inner-city rivalry with these teams. If you're a Dodgers fan, you can't like the Angels, and vice versa. Same seems to apply for the Lakers-Clippers.

It's like a lot of cities that have two teams in different leagues. If you're a Yankees fan, do you root also for the Mets? Nope. If you're a Cubs fan (and if you are, I'm sorry) do you also root for the White Sox? Typically no. 

That said, there is a King of Baseball in this town, and his initials are not AP. This city simply cannot get enough of Matt Kemp.

Matt Kemp is certainly doing his best to prove why he is MVP quality. He leads the league in HR's and his average was over .400 for all of April. On top of that the Dodgers are sitting at the top of the NL right now with 17 wins. (Although my Cardinals are right at their heels in 2nd with 15. Just sayin').

Albert Pujols is struggling. He still has yet to hit a single home run and his average currently sits at .217, the worst start of his career I think, but can't quote that for sure. His last 10 games? .105 average. Oi.

I've heard all of the national sports talk peeps talking about Albert and what's the deal and can he turn it around. I know that he can turn it around because he's had seasons before with the Cardinals where it took awhile for him to get hot. 

But...this is why the Cardinals organization was unwilling to pay big dollars and sign him to a 10 year contract. They just weren't willing to take that gamble and drain the available dollars to sign good players to create a better all around team. 

I do think Albert will hit his stride and have a few good seasons with the Angels. But he isn't going to be the savior of the team, and if any Angel fan thought so, well, you shouldn't have.

Baseball is not a sport where one person can bury the load and lead the team to greatness. You can have that in the NBA. 1 or 2 great players can make a HUGE difference. But in baseball, you can have great hitting but if your pitching staff is subpar, you're not going to win a championship. In baseball, you need that balance of good solid pitching AND good solid hitting. 

I heard SO many people say "oh, the Cardinals are toast without Albert." It's only April, but the Cardinals are at the top of their division and 2nd in the NL overall. Doesn't sound like they are crumbling after Albert's departure.

One player does not = winning formula. 

I hope for Albert's sake he turns it around and has a good season. He's a talented player and I'd hate to see him continue on this declining path. It's too early for that.

The NBA playoffs have begun and despite Metta World's Mishap, which lead to a 7 game suspension for Mr. World Peace, the Lakers are doing all right and have jumped to a 2-0 lead on the Nuggets. San Antonio, Oklahoma City, and Miami are also sitting at 2-0 leads. There's been a lot of love for LeBron lately in the national media. Can't say I can argue with them. LeBron and Kobe are 2 of the best, if not THE best players in the league, hands down.

The rest of the NBA matchups sit at 1-1, with the Clippers at a 1-0 start as they don't play game 2 until tomorrow. The NBA playoffs are similar to the NHL playoffs as they last forever and never seem to end. We're only in round 1 of the NBA playoffs. We won't have a champion until June. 

That's all I have for today. More posts soon!

Blues Win!

There's a lot of good things going on right now if you're a St. Louis sports fan. The Cardinals are continuing their hot streak winning series after series, and the St. Louis Blues just won their first playoff series since 2002. Not only that, since Vancouver was knocked out of the playoffs, the Blues now have home field advantage throughout the playoffs as they are the #2 seed.

The Blues will face the LA Kings next, which is quite convenient for me, since they will air the games on local TV here and though it's a long shot, might be able to snag some tickets to a game, which would be super fun. I actually like the Kings, but the Blues are my team. I really have liked what I've seen from the Blues this season and hope that they go all the way to the championship. It would be so much fun to watch, and fun for Blues fans who have not seen a Blues team this good in a very, very long time.

It's only April, but am definitely liking what I'm seeing from the Cardinals so far, for the most part. It's comforting to see them continuing to win and so so without their top ace pitchers. Carpenter is still out, and Wainwright is struggling to get his control back after recovering from Tommy John surgery. I am sure Wainwright will continue to get better and be the ace we know he is but wow, it's been a rough April for him so far.

The Cardinals still have a star in Carpenter though, Matt Carpenter that is. Lance Berkman has been fighting injury so Matt Carpenter was brought in to start at 1st. This kid is exciting. He is now 2nd in RBI's for the team behind David Freese.

It seems to me that this Cardinals team is just solid. There is something about this team, I can't figure it out. But it feels really good. Am looking forward to see how the season goes. #12 in 12!

The Cardinals aren't the only team that's hot though. The Rangers have been super good so far and so have the Dodgers. Now that the Dodgers have all of the Frank McCourt drama behind them perhaps they can turn this season into something really exciting. The Yankees are also doing pretty well, but they're kind of expected to, right?

How about the Angels? Well...it's been a slow start for them. Albert Pujols has yet to hit a home run and after today he is hitting just under .250. Ouch. Karma's a bitch, right? I kid, I kid. Pujols had a rough start last year at this time with the Cardinals and he picked it up and became the guy we all know and love. He'll get there. Once he gets into his stride there will be no turning back.

The NBA season is almost over and it got ugly today between the Lakers and the Thunder. Not only was the game tough going into OT with the Lakers finally winning, but Metta World Peace smacked Thunder player James Harden with his elbow after celebrating making a basket. It's hard to tell from the footage if it was intentional or not but one has to wonder how could he NOT know that Harden was standing right there?

Check out the video below for yourself and decide for yourself. Looks suspicious to me.

This wouldn't be anything new for Mr. World Peace, aka formerly known as Ron Artest. Artest made quite a big name for himself during the infamous brawl between the Pacers and the Pistons. I still remember walking around Indianapolis at that time and seeing someone wearing a "Free Artest" shirt (as he was hit with quite a hefty suspension after that debacle).

Thought he had learned from that and changed a lot (and I do think he has). But his actions tonight definitely stirred up some memories. I would guess that Metta will likely be suspended through the first playoff series, but we'll see.

If you haven't seen the epic Pacers-Pistons brawl, you have to check it out. Not the best quality, but you get the idea.

Finally, the NFL Draft is this week. It feels like we've been talking about the draft for years and now it's finally almost here and we can be done talking about it. Don't get me wrong, I love the NFL. But the draft has never really excited me all that much, at least all of the speculation beforehand. And you really have no clue how these guys are going to pan out. Andrew Luck could be the next Peyton Manning, or the next Ryan Leaf. I doubt he will be a Leaf but the fact is, we don't really know how most of these guys are going to be until they have the chance to play an NFL game.

We all know that college football is so different from the NFL. You can be awesome and top notch in college but utterly fail at the NFL. We've seen this over and over throughout the years. So, I guess what I'm saying is, I'm interested in the draft as I want to know who my teams pick, but beyond that, I just can't get into the whole speculation talk.

But, I can say this with certainly. The Colts are going to pick Andrew Luck. The Redskins are going to pick RGIII. The rest we will all know by the end of next week. And then we will wait until September to see how everyone's choices pan out for their teams.

I think that is all I have for this week. We're entering that period of time where both the NHL and NBA playoffs are going on, which won't end for another 10 years. Or at least it feels like it. It took almost the whole month of April just to get through round 1 of the NHL playoffs. Even the MLB manages to get through their playoffs and the World Series in about a month give or take a week or two. The NHL and NBA finals won't happen until June. Longest. Playoffs. Ever.

All right, that's it for me sports fans! More updates in the exciting world of sports coming your way soon,

Baseball is Back!

What does Carlos Beltran, David Freese, Yadier Molina, Matt Holliday and Shane Robinson have in common?

They all have at least one homerun (Freese, Beltran, Holliday & Molina have 2), which is one more than Albert Pujols has. Albert's first at bat as an Angel? Hit into a double play, which I couldn't help it, I laughed.

Albert won't be like that all season, he'll get back into true Albert form. But, part of the reason why the Cardinals lead the league in double plays last season was due to Albert. So it was a bit of poetic justice to see him hit into a DP after bailing on the Cards to join the Angels.

I know, as a Cardinals fan, I shouldn't really care about Albert. And I don't, really. However, it is nice to see that the Cardinals are doing just fine without him so far, and proving to the critics that this team is good and will do just fine without Albert.

The Cardinals have looked fantastic so far, sitting at the top of the NL Central at 4-1. Hitting, starting pitching and defense have all been solid. And this is without Carpenter and Craig. This is good news. Granted, it is still very early in the season and things will change. You never know what will happen with injuries, players get into slumps, etc.

I'm going to make a bold prediction here. This team reminds me a lot of the 2004 Cardinals so far, only this team seems to almost have a better vibe overall as far as the players getting along, working together and having fun. So, with that said...I think this team will get 100 wins. I think they win the NL Central but it will be a close race with the Brewers.

Really excited about the season and can't wait to see how things turn out this fall.

This week starts the NHL playoffs, which lasts about a millenia. At least it feels like it. The NHL playoffs lasts at least 2 months. Round 1 starts Wednesday and doesn't end until April 25th. Then there's 2 more rounds before the Stanley Cup. Baseball and Football both manage to get the playoffs done in about a month. The NBA is just as bad as the NHL when it comes to playoffs.

Oh well. The Blues have a a solid chance at making it far into the playoffs. They are the #2 seed and will face The Sharks, which won't be easy but they have home field advantage and hopefully get their first playoff win since...I think I heard 101 ESPN say this morning since 2002. Wow. That's a 10 year drought. Time to break that trend boys.

The NBA season is winding down too, and soon we'll be knee deep in NBA playoffs as well. The big talk seems to be about the Bulls, the Heat and the Thunder, but odds are the Lakers will make it to the playoffs and could be a potential contender. Both the Lakers and the Clippers are neck and neck right now. Should be interesting to see how it all turns out.

At least they aren't Charlotte, who I saw has only won 7 games. OUCH. Sometimes it's easy to take for granted what you have. The Lakers may not win a title this season, but fans still saw a lot of good basketball. If you live in Charlotte, or New Orleans for that matter, you probably aren't buying tickets to basketball games unless LeBron or Kobe is in town and you want to watch them, because the hometown team isn't going to do squat.

And that's all I have for now. Very excited about baseball. It's so nice to be able to listen and watch games again.

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.

Manning's a Bronco, Tebow's a Jet, NCAA Brackets Bust

I know I'm a little behind on all the juicy sports news from this week, but better late than ever!

Peyton Manning is officially the new quarterback for the Denver Broncos. Wasn't surprised by this choice, I had a feeling it would be the Broncos or Tennessee. While there was a bit of speculation that he could end up on the Niners I had a feeling Peyton would stick to an AFC team. Peyton doesn't want to have to go up against his brother Eli any more than he has to, and plus Peyton knows the AFC a lot better than the NFC.

Plus it seems that Elway and Peyton are a good match. Elway is a former quarterback, and he must have reassured Peyton that he would accommodate the team to play Peyton's way of football. That meant of course, that Tebow would not be sticking around Denver.

Pretty much knew that Tebow would be traded if Peyton went to the Bronocs. Tebow can't really be a back-up to the type of football Peyton plays. The offense would have to completely switch gears if Tebow were to take over should Peyton be out, and that's not good.

So, immediately after Manning mania ended, Tebow mania started. Fortunately for us watching at home, it didn't last long. And now we can look forward to Tebow's future as...a New York Jet?

This move had many scratching their heads. The Jets had just signed QB Mark Sanchez to a 3 year extension. Does this mean Sanchez is in the hot seat? Will Tebow just be used for certain plays, or is the quarterback job up for grabs? The drama that is the New York Jets continues, and it will certainly be interesting to see how it all plays out.

As for this Peyton fan, well...it was so awkward to see them roll out that bright orange #18 jersey, I admit. I will always prefer Peyton in Colts blue, but what's done is done and Peyton has a chance to start over and maybe win another championship. Good for him. I will continue to root for Peyton and I suppose be a temporary Bronco fan (as long as they aren't playing the Rams). As for the Colts...I was always a Peyton fan first. The Rams are my home team and I was a Rams fan LONG before I ever became a Colts fan. If Peyton hadn't been a Colt I might not have become a fan of the team, and it's the honest truth. The Colts have to win me over again with their rebuilding to remain my AFC team of choice.

The NCAA tourney did what it always does...feature surprising upsets and bracket busters. I had picked Missouri, Florida State, Georgetown and Kentucky in the final 4. Well, got 1 right. Even the president had Missouri in his final four. No one expected them to lose in the first round to Norfolk State. But that's the NCAA tourney. I will say I was impressed with the St. Louis Billikens. They played a very close and tough game against Michigan State but it ran away from them in the end. Hope this means good things in the future for them going forward and we'll see them in the tourney again next year.

This year's final four will be: Louisville, Kansas, Kentucky and Ohio State. It's a Midwest thang, y'all. This final four really shouldn't surprise anyone. These are schools that have consistently had excellent basketball programs and are no strangers to the NCAA tourney. As to who wins? I honestly have no idea. These are going to be 2 excellent games and an excellent championship game. I cannot find it in me to root for Kansas as a Mizzou fan, so maybe I'll root for Louisville. They're the underdog of the 4 so I guess I can go for that.

Congratulations to the St. Louis Blues to being the first team in the NHL to secure a playoff spot! Due to Manning-Tebow-NCAA madness I don't think this got much coverage outside of St. Louis sports. Other teams have since secured spots as well but it's quite an impressive year the Blues have had. I will look forward to following them in the playoffs, as long as baseball doesn't occupy most of my time.

Baseball. We are getting closer to opening day and I can't wait. I'm really looking forward to this season and getting the chance to go to some games. The Cardinals received a bit of bad news with pitching ace Chris Carpenter. He seems to be suffering from not only a bulging disk, but nerve issues. Not good. He is out indefinitely, no one can say for sure. Only good news is, he doesn't seem to need surgery. But he could be out for weeks or months, we just don't know.

Is it too much to ask to have Wainwright and Carpenter healthy together for a season? Please? Despite this set-up the Cardinals rotation seems to be doing pretty well in spring training. Wainwright has been stellar, and Lohse, Garcia, Lynn and Westbrook seem to be doing well also. I feel confident that it will be a good season for the Cardinals. They still have every bit of a chance to win the NL Central. Of course if Carp were in the mix that would make that chance just a little stronger but it's a long season. It's so hard to predict what teams will make it to the playoffs at the beginning of the season. Last August, no one thought the Cardinals would make it and they shocked everyone by gaining momentum at the end of the season to comeback and make the playoffs and eventually win the World Series. So, anything can happen.

I'm also kind of interested to see how Albert Pujols does with the Angels. I don't have any ill will towards him, I'm disappointed he couldn't stay a Cardinal but that doesn't mean that I wish bad things. It will be interesting to see how Angel fans embrace him and how he does this year. There are very high expectations for the Angels this season with all of the changes the organization made in the off season.

Well, that's it for this week's wrap up. More on my thoughts in the world of sports coming soon!