Collins Comes Out + NFL Draft Thoughts

Yesterday news broke that NBA Center Jason Collins admitted that  he is gay in a story for Sports Illustrated. This makes him the first active major professional sports player to come out as gay.

From espn.com:

"I didn't set out to be the first openly gay athlete playing in a major American team sport. But since I am, I'm happy to start the conversation," Collins wrote. "I wish I wasn't the kid in the classroom raising his hand and saying, 'I'm different.' If I had my way, someone else would have already done this. Nobody has, which is why I'm raising my hand." – Jason Collins

First off, I applaud Collins for having the courage to do this. At the same time I also think it's sad that it even needs to be a story. I don't know about the rest of you, but I watch sporting events to watch talent, athleticism, and all of the excitement that live sporting events bring. And last I checked, being gay or straight doesn’t make you throw a football better,run faster, dunk better or hit a golf ball better. 

But I do understand that there is still a real fear that exists in professional sports, particularly male sports, with the whole locker room mentality. I don't want to get into a big political discussion here, but I will say this. I had to change for my high school PE classes in a locker room with all women and you know what? I now know that some of those women who I changed in the locker room with are gay. But I never felt uncomfortable (not any more than being an awkward teenager concerned with their looks). Maybe it's because I've known I've liked boys since birth (no, seriously. I was a huge flirt in my pre-school class) so it didn't occur to me to be concerned about women having an interest in me.

But I'd like to think that had I known that there were gay women in the locker room at the time that it still wouldn't matter. I've seen some pretty unattractive men show off more than I wanted to see (you know, the ones that have no business walking or running around with their shirts off?). Just because you're a man and I'm attracted to men doesn't mean I'm attracted to you.

I hope that more athletes are able to take after Collins example and feel comfortable to just be themselves. I’ve learned that one of the keys to happiness is accepting and loving yourself as you are. I can only imagine how some of these people must feel having to hide who they really are all of the time. I can’t imagine that makes one very happy, despite all of the fame, money and success that goes with it. People are always going to judge (hey, look at all of the lovers/haters of Tim Tebow for example) but that's their problem, not yours.

With that said, I’ll get off of my soapbox. Let’s focus on the great achievements and accomplishments our athletes are making on the field, the court, the rink, etc, okay?

So the NFL Draft was last weekend and were we excited or what? I did manage to watch a bit of ESPN's coverage of the annual event and you'd think Chris Berman was announcing the beginning of the Super Bowl, not the NFL Draft. Look ESPN, I know you're trying and I get it. But let's face it. The draft itself is boring. No one wants to sit around and watch 6 rounds of 32 picks. It's like watching grass grow. Sure, we want to know who our favorite teams pick but we can find that out on Twitter.

That said, I do have a few takeaways from the draft. #1, Rams Nation should be pretty happy with how the Rams organization drafted this year. Tavon Austin? A playmaker for Sam Bradford?

When Tavon met Sam. 

I'm excited about the Olgetree pick as well. The NFC West as a whole has moved far far away from the days of the NFL Worst. Arizona still has some holes to fill but I expect them to be better this year than last if their QB situation works out.

If you watched the draft, did you see how many times they panned to Geno Smith during the first round of the draft? Poor Geno did NOT look happy. Someone must have expected to get drafted in the first round and that didn't happen.

If I knew I was going to be drafted by the Jets, I'd feel the same way Geno.

Of course Geno did get drafted. Just not in the first round. And it was the Jets. I wouldn't blame anyone for being anxious about being drafted by the same circus that let Tebow in. But good news for Geno, Tebow has left the building. So he only has to compete with Sanchez and McElroy now. Which...may not be much of a contest. We'll find out how this story ends this fall!

Mante Te'o also did not get drafted in the first round as many has speculated, including myself. Te'o will find himself in San Diego this fall, which should work out okay for him but I don't anticipate San Diego being a championship caliber team this year. San Diego has some rebuilding to do.

The first round of the draft was just very interesting as whole. Only one QB drafted, and it was not Geno Smith or Matt Barkley. A majority of the first round picks focused on offensive line players and defensive players. But perhaps this is just simply a reflection of what NFL teams need. Sure, all teams want an elite quarterback but there just aren't that many of them available.

I won't go into further analysis of the draft because frankly, I can't. I'll see what happens come the NFL pre-season and if big name draft picks emerge as potential first season stars, such as Tavon Austin for example, then I'll pay attention. But for now, we just have to wait and see.

The NBA Finals are here and already the Lakers are out (surprising? Not really) and Miami looks primed to repeat. I honestly do think Miami will probably take the title again. I would love to see the Clippers, Oklahoma or Indianapolis win but Miami is just...well, for lack of better words a tough team to beat. Not impossible, but challenging for sure. They are just so good.

NHL playoffs started this week so we have officially entered what I affectionately call "the neverending playoff season." I don't know which one is longer, but the NBA and NHL playoffs seem to take forever. NFL and MLB? Much quicker (though Bud Selig keeps making the MLB playoffs longer with all of this wild card stuff).

That said, I'm going to try to follow both playoff events but I admit I've moved to full baseball mode. Hey, I have a fantasy baseball team to manage with real money on the line here. I've got priorities.

Baseball Is Back!

I know, it's been quite a long hiatus since my last post. I could come up with a plethora of excuses for why I haven't posted but I don't think you'd care to read them so let's just get to discussing some sports topics, shall we?

Baseball is back and in full swing and that makes me a happy girl. As I've mentioned before, I hate the period of time when the NFL ends and baseball hasn't begun yet. Not that I didn't enjoy the NCAA Tournament immensely. Did you see that National Title game? Such a fun game to watch and entertaining all the way to the end. Congrats to Louisville on winning the title, it was well deserved.

But baseball and football are my two sports loves, the ones that I follow closely and am by far the most knowledgeable about. I've said before that I do not claim to be anywhere close to being an expert on hockey and basketball. It's hard enough keeping up with the NFL and MLB. I don't know how some people manage to stay on top of all of the major sports if that's not part of their job. There just isn't enough time in the world to study it all otherwise.

This year I've delved into the world of fantasy baseball. I joined my office's team and so far, I'm not doing too bad. I was on a fantasy baseball team once years ago but there was no money or prizing involved, it was an auto draft and I found myself losing interest quickly. This time I'm much more focused although I will admit I probably should have done some more research on how the scoring and so forth worked prior to the draft. Fortunately for me I seem to have drafted a pretty decent team and have been able to create a strategy that seems to be working. It did hurt to lose Zack Greinke though.

Speaking of which, did you see the brawl that caused Grienke's injury? If you haven't, here's the clip:

The whole incident is just awful. Brawls seem to be a thing that happens in baseball (not frequently, but they happen) particularly when a player is hit with a pitch and they think it's on purpose. But causing a player to go on the DL because you get into a fight like you're a bunch of drunks in a bar is simply un-called for.

Despite this particular event the regular season seems to be taking off as most predicted although I will say that as usual (though I don't know why they still do considering the history) the Cardinals were a bit under-rated going into the season. They have been doing well for the most part, but if they don't figure out their bull-pen situation with relief/closing games it's going to be a long season with a lot of blown games. With Motte out likely for the season, Mozeliak's got his hands full figuring out that one. But the Cardinals always seem to come up with some unknown as a hero. I'm sure they'll figure it out.

I promise to try and update more and share more of my thoughts on baseball as the season progresses. Now that I'm actively in a fantasy league, I'm following multiple players on all different teams so that should help broaden my player knowledge beyond the birds on the bat. ;-)

March Mega Madness

Hello sports fans!

It's March, and as is typical, I haven't posted anything since the Superbowl. You know what would be perfect? If I could just talk my blog into a recording device that typed it all up for me while I'm driving to and from work. Because that seems to be when all of my blogging thoughts and ideas appear. But before I can think about writing them down, I have a full day at work, or I've just gotten home from a long day at work.

So. Lots of catching up to do. It's March and there is a lot going on in the NBA, NHL, College Basketball and yes, even though the NFL season is over it is still a topic of discussion. Plus baseball is just around the corner and I couldn't be happier. Am so excited for the new baseball season and hoping for another stellar year for my St. Louis Cardinals.

Speaking of which, my fellow Cardinals fans will appreciate this story. One of my co-workers gave me this child-size St. Louis Cardinals Pujols jersey (I believe it was given to him for his kids, but he's a Yankees fan so that wasn't going to fly) since I'm a huge fan and thought it would be a nice asset to add to my Cardinals shrine that occupies my cubicle. So we hung it up on my cube wall.

The other day (and it was a busy day so it took me a bit to notice), I turn around from my desk and notice that the jersey is gone, and in it's place was a sign that read "Cardinals Suck!" It didn't take long to figure out who the culprit was - there's only two Cubs fans in our department.

So, to retaliate, I put this on his computer:

Gotta love a good rivalry. Looks like it will be a fun baseball season in the office.

This is a tough time of year for me to listen to national sports media, because no matter what I listen to, or what station I watch, it seems like the NBA dominates the conversation.

Don't get me wrong. I like basketball a lot. I played basketball all through grade school and really enjoyed it (and still do enjoy a game now and then). I suppose the problem for me is, all everyone can talk about is the following: The Lakers demise, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James. Wash, rinse, repeat.

Since I'm in LA, I understand the Lakers conversation. And since the legendary Jerry Buss recently passed away, the Lakers organization as a whole has been in the forefront of the media (on a side note, there was a lot I didn't know about Jerry Buss before his passing. After reading about his history, I have to say I'm quite impressed with him and understand why he is revered so much, especially in LA).

I'm not sure what to say about the Lakers other than this: it's simply not their year. They are not going to win a championship. They have amazing talent on this team, but while talent is great, you have to also have good team chemistry, which I think everyone can admit that the Lakers simply don't have. From the coach, to the players and maybe the most important one, the age of the team.

Younger teams like the Clippers, Oklahoma City, the Nuggets...they are faster and a team such as the Lakers just can't keep up. If the Lakers organization wants to win another championship while Kobe is still able to play, changes have to be made.

As of right now, I like Miami, Indiana, Oklahoma City and the Clippers as favorites going into the playoffs. The Pacers in particular, have been quite impressive recently and perhaps the only team that can really match up against Miami. Last year in the playoffs Indiana looked like they had a shot at first until team LeBron and Wade took over and never looked back. But of all of the teams that could keep Miami from playing for another championship ring, I would pick Indiana as being Miami's toughest match.

Speaking of LeBron, he becomes a free agent in 2014. I'm certainly not the first person to say this and won't be the last but if I was a betting person (which clearly I'm not, otherwise I would have bet on this year's Superbowl and made tons of money) I would guess that his contract is up LeBron James will become a Los Angeles Laker. If that's the case, then I think the best shot Kobe has at winning another ring is with the Lakers, with LeBron in the 2014-2015 season.

This is the time of year where I really get excited about college basketball. Let's face it, it's very hard to keep up with college basketball all season (especially with the NFL going on for a good chunk of the season) and in reality, things don't really start to get interesting until we get closer to the tournament.

And here we are. Selection Sunday is a week and a half away. A bit of a surprise to me (but apparently not to Dan Patrick, as he noted on his show earlier this morning) is Gonzaga. Not that they aren't historically known for pretty good basketball teams, I just didn't expect them to be ranked #1. Kansas? Sure. Duke? Naturally. Gonzaga? Not so much.

It's been a disappointing season for Missouri. I do think they will squeeze into the tournament but I expected their performance to be much higher (especially after last season though losing in the first round of the tournament still leaves a bad taste in my mouth).

But another big surprise, how about the St. Louis Billikens and Notre Dame? Notre Dame wasn't even in the discussion last year and while St. Louis did make the tournament last year, their performance as of late has just been impressive. I really have to give major kudos to coach Jim Crews - he should be one the list for coach of the year. He bad big shoes to fill this season after the loss of Majerus and boy, has he delivered. I will definitely be rooting for the Bills (of course, it is my hometown) and hope they do really well in the tournament. Not sure they are a championship team but the great thing about the NCAA tourney? You just never know. Looking forward to getting my bracket filled out as soon as the announcement is made on the 17th.

In football news, typical off season moves are being made: trades, players released, players joining free agency, etc. San Francisco QB Alex Smith was traded to Kansas City, which was an expected move. Not that Smith would go to KC, but that he would be traded. Kaepernick is the future of the 49'ers.

Smith should do well with Andy Reid as coach. KC has a lot of great talent, but have been lacking in the QB department. It will be interesting to see how Smith does in the upcoming season.

RB Steven Jackson is a free agent, and one of the team's apparently interested? The Denver Broncos. If that happens, then Denver will have Manning and Jackson. As much as it pains me to say this (only because I would love for Steven to retire as a Ram) that could be pretty fun to watch.

I'm not going to talk about the NFL Combine, because quite frankly, I'm tired of hearing about Manti T'eo. I said it once, I'll say it again. He's a talented football player. We will get drafted, likely in the first round. Who cares about his sexual orientation? Why is this even a topic?

I honestly haven't been following hockey all that closely this season. Of the major four: NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL, hockey is the sport I know the least about. I enjoy watching it and going to games but because I didn't follow it as a kid, I'm just not as passionate about it as the others.

All I know so far is the Blues have been a disappointment. It's a shortened season, so we'll see what happens.

On a final note, FOX announced yesterday that they are launching their own sports network FOX Sports 1. The network looks like it will aim to rival ESPN, which has for the most part had a monopoly  in the sports network arena.

So far what I am excited about? The new FOX SPORTS DAILY show, which will feature many of the  NFL on FOX sports crew: Terry, Howie, and Jay for starters. I love the FOX NFL crew so am looking forward to seeing this show produced. Plus, since it's no secret that football is my main sports love (baseball is a close second) am interested in seeing the content of this daily show.

This was a longer post than I thought - I clearly need to post more often. More from the world os sports as I see it soon!

When the lights go down in the city...

Sports fans, sorry for the hiatus. I was going to post something after championship Sunday, especially since I picked the correct Superbowl teams at the beginning of the season, the Ravens and the Niners.

But things have been crazy busy lately, and I just haven't spent much time in front of a computer. Plus it's not like I was going to post anything about the Pro Bowl. I, like many people in the sports industry, think the Pro Bowl is a joke. All Star type games typically are more of an exhibition game in general, but the Pro Bowl, in my opinion, is the worst of them all. But I already ranted about this last year. And no, I didn't watch the Pro Bowl this year.

I realized that though I made my Superbowl prediction of Ravens vs Niners, I did not pick a winner prior to this post.

Well, I did pick a winner prior to the game. I picked Baltimore to win, and to win a close one. My friends, family and co-workers can back me up since they all asked who I thought was going to win and I said Baltimore.

But if you need further proof, here is a screenshot of my U Pick Em Football Pool entry that I made before the game.

Not only did I pick Baltimore to win, but I predicted a score of 34-30. The final score was 34-31. Wow. I really should have placed a bet in Vegas, I would have made some money. Next year I guess!

So, yes, the HarBowl, SuperBaugh, Harbaugh Bowl is officially down in the history books. And it was a historical night, that is for sure. The first blackout in Superbowl history, which I suppose is fitting, since people blackout in the city of New Orleans on a regular basis (sorry, couldn't resist).

Though seriously, the blackout during the Superbowl? Some of the funniest social media commentary was made. One of my favorites? "The Superdome wasn't ready for this jelly." Which of course, makes reference to the Destiny's Child "Bootylicious" song and since Beyonce had just finished her halftime show, yeah.

Prior to the blackout, the Baltimore Ravens were steamrolling over the 49ers, which Jacoby Jones having just run a kickoff return for a touchdown. It was starting to look like it was "lights out" for San Francisco when the lights, well, literally went out.

Many people called conspiracy, but I highly doubt that's true (thought I will say, there were many hilarious posts on twitter). However, it did give Baltimore plenty of time to lose their momentum, and plenty of time for the 49ers to gain theirs.

After the 30+ minute delay, San Francisco came back with a vengeance. The Ravens struggled offensively, and the defense couldn't read Kaepernick. It came down to the wire, and the 49ers looked like they had a chance to win the game, driving down the field, 1st and goal. But the 49ers were unable to score a touchdown, though many feel that on 4th down holding should have been called. In fact, that play itself has been a big topic today, and of course, Jim Harbaugh has mentioned it, oh, a few times.

Here's the deal here. The refs make a lot of bad calls, non-calls, etc. all the time. In bigger games, for whatever reason, they seem more reluctant to call holding and so forth and just "let them play the game." Personally, I think that mentality is wrong. Ref calls shouldn't change whether it's regular season or postseason. Maybe it means they shouldn't call these penalties period unless it's blatant and clearly would have an impact on the game. Although ask any Rams fan and we'll tell you that in Superbowl XXXVI, the refs were clearly on the Patriots side that game. Nevermind the fact that the Rams still had a shot at the end of the game and their defense blew it, or that Mad Mike Martz coached that game horribly.

When your team is the one losing, it's easy to get angry. But at the end of the day you have to give credit to the Ravens and John Harbaugh. The first half set the outcome of this game. And as much as people may want to harp on this or that, the fact is, the 49ers didn't show up until the 2nd half. And that was a half too late.

It was still a very fun Superbowl to watch. And I'm sure that Jim and the 49ers will continue to have a shot at future Superbowls. The Ravens? This was probably their best shot at winning. So congrats to them. I'm not going to say Ray Lewis because, well, I'm not a big fan of his but I'm happy for John Harbaugh, Joe Flacco, Anquan Boldin, Ed Reed, Torry Smith, Jacoby Jones, etc.

What was not fun to watch? The whole CBS pre-game/during game/post game crew. I'm sorry, but I just find the CBS announcing crew boring. Listening to Phil Simms and Jim Nance is like watching paint dry. Not that the A Team of Joe Buck and Troy Aikman at FOX are that much better but...at least they show some emotion.

And no offense to Shannon Sharpe, but during blackout he was given was too much screen time because I guess they didn't know what to do with the booth being out as well (not that Simms and Nance had much to say anyway). Look, I respect Sharpe for his NFL career but as a commentator? Oy. Dan Marino isn't much better. The best thing CBS Sports has is Greg Gumbel.

And why is it that CBS Sports has no women? FOX, NBC and ESPN do? Why is CBS all male? Maybe that's why the broadcasts are so boring. Hey CBS, I've love to provide some female commentary. ;-)

This is my least favorite time of the year. No football, no baseball (yet). I know NBA and NHL is going on, but...I'm just not as engaged with the NBA/NHL, at least not until the playoffs start. Part of it is because the seasons for both are typically so long, though this year the NHL is not.

I am going to try to follow both more. If I don't this blog may not get updated until April. I do think the St. Louis Blues have a good shot at the cup this year. They did last year, but the LA Kings spoiled it. I will admit the shortened season has me following the Blues a bit more. We'll see.

More of my opinions from the crazy world of sports coming soon.

Lance. T'eo, and Championship Sunday

It's been quite a busy week for sports: hockey is back, NFL playoffs are here, and in the arena of sports drama we have one bizarre story and one that was really more of a non-event.

We'll start off with one of the stories that's been headlining not just sports news, but pretty much every news outlet. This past week, cyclist Lance Armstrong had an interview with Oprah Winfrey, and admitted he took PED's to help his cycling career. The news that Lance had doped was about as shocking as Lance Bass or Ricky Martin coming out as gay. It's something most people suspected to be true, but until the word came out of the horse's mouth, couldn't quite 100% be sure.

It's disappointing for sure. Lance Armstrong has done a lot of good with his Live Strong charity. He won 7 Tour de France's and made cycling a sport Americans paid attention to. Because let's face it, cycling isn't exactly a popular American sport. Most of us aren't tuning in to watch a cycling race. We have enough distractions with baseball, football, basketball, hockey, world series of poker...

I will say this. At least he finally admitted it. Lance Armstrong taking PED's doesn't hurt me personally - I don't know him and I don't idolize him. But I also try not to idolize public figures like sports players or entertainers. I respect the talent, but I don't look up to them as people who mold how I should live my life.

In the ongoing PED debate in sports, it seems like in order to be clean in sports you can't take anything. Just recently two Seattle Seahawks players were suspended for a few games due to taking Adderol, which is commonly prescribed for ADD, but is considered a PED because it makes you more alert. So does Red Bull, so are energy drinks out?

Obviously I will say that blood doping, which Lance did should be illegal (not only that but it sounds dangerous) but I don't envy the powers that be struggles with where to draw the line. And if you let everyone be free to take PED's, then athletes will feel pressured to take them in order to compete, and that's dangerous.

I don't these this athletes who take PED's should be rewarded. The only way stuff like this will stop is if the punishment is harsh enough. Although I wonder, for some of these athletes, is the 15 minutes of fame enough for them to later on be stripped of titles and denied entry into hall of fames and so forth? Mark McGwire will probably never get into the baseball hall of fame. But he was VERY relevant during the home run race in the 90's. Were those years enough to make it worth it that any punishment later doesn't matter?

I'm starting to think that more and more, some athletes feel it's worth the risk. If they don't get caught for awhile they're admired, watched, important, winning or beating records, making tons of money. So what if a few years later it comes crumbling down? They still made money. They still had the spotlight at one point. And they'll always be remembered.

The other big story this week is one of the most bizarre stories I've ever heard. Manti T'eo, defensive player for Notre Dame, apparently was involved in a hoax about his girlfriend who died.The stroy of Teo's girlfriend became public in the media because his grandmother and his girlfriend Lennay, both died on the same day. The hearbreaking story brought T'eo to the forefront in the media and some say it may have helped his Heisman Trophy bid.

Lennay never died you see, because well, she never existed. The relationship was mostly online though there are several stories out there saying they met in person in 2009 that T'eo denies and his own father claiming that the two met but the truth is, Te'o never met her and the whole thing was concocted by a man named Roniah Tuiasosopo.

The big question is, did Te'o know, was he in on it? Or was he really duped? It's also lead to a new meme craze called "Te'oing."

I would hope a young man wouldn't make up a girlfriend and kill her off just to try and increase his Heisman Trophy chances - how does that even work? I guess if you're talked about more in the media, people know who you are and therefore start paying more attention to you. If that is the case, it's really sick.

Some say how could someone fall in love online and never meet a person, how could he have been duped? It happens more than people think. I did a research paper in college about online dating (this was in the early days before it became more common) and through my research I found so many stories of people who developed long term relationships through the internet and the phone only. It does happen.

We may never know the full truth. Some think this story will hurt Te'o's NFL draft options. I find this laughable. He will still get drafted first round if he's that good of a football player. The NFL is full of talented football players who aren't exactly pariahs of virtue in real life. Michael Vick went to prison for 2 years for participating in dog fighting and he came back to the NFL. Leonard Little, killed a human being in a drunk driving incident, barely paid any jail time, and still played in the NFL.

If he's a good enough player, he'll make it to the NFL. If he was in on the hoax, it's absolutely horrendous. But is it as bad as killing someone in a DUI? Killing innocent animals for fun? 

I guess we'll find out come the NFL Draft this April.

Okay, enough about PED's and hoaxes. Championship Sunday is upon us, and to my surprise, at this moment my Superbowl pick is still in tact. The Harbaugh Bowl could still happen, though most don't think it will.

I did want the Broncos to win last week. I still don't understand why Fox had Peyton take a knee at the end of the 4th quarter to go into OT with :30 seconds left and 2 time outs. At least try to see if you can get into field goal range. Although to be fair, it wasn't Peyton's greatest performance. He doesn't seem to do well in cold weather.

So, after this Sunday we'll know who will make the trip to New Orleans for the Superbowl.

NFC Championship: San Francisco Vs Atlanta

Colin Kaepernick had quite an amazing day last week against Green Bay. I thought the game would be much closer but the Niners - wow. It gives me a little hope as a Rams fan that we beat them and tied them this past season. Anyway, Atlanta is a good team, but I don't know if

they have what it takes to beat this 49'ers team. I've love to see Tony Gonzalez get a chance at the Superbowl since he's likely retiring at the end of the season, but I have serious doubts about the Falcons ability to pull this one off. After seeing the Niners against Green Bay last week, I don't think you can bet against them. Niners will win this game. I'm not saying that just because I picked them to go to the Superbowl, although it would be silly for me to pick against them now.

AFC Championship: New England Vs Baltimore

Almost every single sports pundit I've heard this week thinks Patriots have this game, hands down, no contest. Colin Cowherd, host of ESPN's The Herd, is so enamored with the New England Patriots as a whole sometimes I can't even listen to him (I'm limited to Dan Patrick or The Herd on the radio on my way to work in the morning).

I'm not the biggest fan of the Pats. Superbowl XXXVI and years of being a Peyton Manning/Colts fan are the reasons why. That doesn't mean I don't respect that Coach Belicheat, I mean Belichick, and Tom Brady and so forth aren't talented. But I'm human and it's normal to dislike teams that consistently keep your favorite team out of the playoffs or big games, or beat them in one of them. It's why I understand that any fanbase in the NL Central outside of Cardinals Nation is probably not a fan of the St. Louis Cardinals. They win too much.

The thing here is, I didn't expect Baltimore to do what they did last week in Denver. And what I saw last week was a team that had zero desire of quitting. And there is something to getting hot at the right time.

The Pats have been hot too, but the Ravens have a score to settle. They should have won the championship last year. So if anyone thinks they won't be hungry for this game? You're fooling yourselves.

I going to pick Baltimore here. Because why pick against them now when I picked at the beginning of the season, and I just can't stomach picking the Pats. I think it'll be a hard fought game.

We'll see what happens tomorrow!

NFL Divisional Playoffs

Quick post as I wanted to get my NFL Divisional Playoff Picks before the games start. I meant to post a blog earlier this week and things just got crazy.

First congrats to Alabama. It was hardly even a game. In fact it was so boring Brent Musburger was forced to do nothing but rant about how beautiful AJ McCarron's girlfriend was. It got so awkward that it's been perhaps the most talked about event from the game this week. You know Katherine Webb was Miss Alabama. Think Brent could have left it at that.

I was 3-1 in my playoff picks last week. I knew Cincinnati was a bit of a stretch but I just hadn't liked how Houston had played recently. The Bengals have talent but they are just not quite there yet. If they can make some good off season moves it might be another story next season.

Houston vs New England.

Have to go with the Pats here. I don't even think this is a close game. Pats smoked them earlier this season and they are going to have Gronk back.

Denver vs Baltimore

Even though I picked Baltimore to go to the Superbowl at the beginning of the season, I'm going against that pick here. I think the Broncos win this game. It won't be a blowout, but I do think the Broncos win this relatively easily.

Green Bay vs San Francisco

This one is tough. I picked the 49ers to go to the Superbowl and they definitely have the potential to go there. Green Bay has looked hot lately and they're finally heathy. However, they are playing in San Francisco and the Niners beat them handily in Lambeau earlier this season. AP put up yards last week and I expect Gore to do the same this week. I'm taking San Fracisco here.

Atlanta vs Seattle

Seattle has certainly impressed, but I think Atlanta has the advantage. They are at home, and they have to be hungry for this playoff win after missing so often. I think this is a close one, but I think Matt Ryan will find a way to win this game.

All right, time to watch the games. More in depth post later, I promise.

Oh and hockey. Welcome back.

Playoffs?

Happy New Year sports fans! Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and enjoyed the plethora of football we've had lately with the end of the NFL season and the start of College Bowl Game mania.

So, the NFL season is over, and sadly, my Rams did not make it to the playoffs this year. However, considering they only won 2 games last season the 7-8-1 finish isn't all bad. I saw a lot of good things from this Rams team and coach Jeff Fisher this past season and I expect that the Rams, along with the rest of the NFC West, are going to become tough teams to beat. I do like that the Rams only lost 1 game to a division rival - the last game against Seattle. Rams fought hard for this game but in the end, it's just super tough to win on the road in Seattle. Looking forward to an even better season - playoff contender type - next year for the Rams.

Wild Card weekend starts tomorrow (well, today technically) but we were treated to an NFL season where week 17 mattered - at least to Cowboys and Redskins fans.

Raise your hand if you knew that the Washington Redskins had a fight song? And a marching band? (If you're a Redskins fan, it doesn't count).

Until last Sunday, I did not know this. I was watching Sunday Night Football, as I do every week, and all of a sudden the game ended and I start hearing a marching band and fight song - I thought for a moment my cable decided to change the station on me and I was watching a college bowl game. Nope, they really have a fight song. Proof is here:

So the Redskins filled in that last playoff spot, much to the Cowboys dismay. I have to admit, the Cowboys are a bit of an enigma to me. Tony Romo is not a bad quarterback, at least when you look at QB ratings he isn't. But in the playoffs or in clutch positions? He's Tony Romo "Oh No!" Not that Romo is the reason why the Cowboys didn't make the playoffs. Cowboys have lost of issues. I'm a bit surprised that Jason Garrett survived "Black Monday" but there is still time. We'll see what Jerry Jones has in mind for the 2013-2014 season son. 

Speaking of "Black Monday," wow a LOT of fired coaches this week, and one of them already has a new job! That's just how they roll in the NFL. Most of these were not big surprises: Norv Turner, Andy Reid, Chan Gailey, Romeo Crennel and Pat Shurmer were all rumored/predicted to lose their head coaching jobs. The only one in this group who was thought to possibly have a chance at keeping his job was Reid, but apparently the Eagles decided it was time to clean house and start anew.

Two coaches that I didn't necessarily expect to get fired were Ken Whisenhunt and Lovie Smith. Whisenhunt I see a bit more as Arizona has pretty much been an abysmal team since Kurt Warner retired, and a big part of that is due to the fact that the Cardinals haven't found a replacement QB. Lovie Smith was a bit of a surprise to me. I get it, the Bears at the beginning of the season looked like they might upset the Green Bay Packers as NFC North division winners. But the Bears took a turn mid-season, and part of that was due to injuries, but some of it could have been due to something else. The team deflated and allowed themselves to lose their chance at the playoffs, which I guess was too much for the Bears organization to stomach. I'm sure Lovie will find a new coaching job - if not a head coach job, he's a hell of a defensive guy (want to come back to the Rams Lovie? We're not sure the guy we hired will ever be allowed to coach in the NFL again).

A coach who didn't get fired but thought he should have? Rex Ryan. Seriously, the Jets were just a horrible trainwreck this season all around. Why not clean house? They fire the GM but not Ryan? Um, okay. Regardless of who's decision it was to bring Tebow to NY Ryan's management of this Jets team has been awful. Maybe the Jets saw they had too many holes to fill and thought they should keep Ryan another year - who knows? All I know is, the Jets circus needs to come to a halt.

The first of the 7 fired head coaches to land a new job was announced Friday morning. Fired Monday, new job on Friday. Nice. Wish all layoff situations were as easy as that but I'm guessing most Americans who go through this process don't find a new job that fast.

Andy Reid has accepted a head coaching position with the Kansas City Chiefs. Wait, what? Hold the phone...need to clear out my ears, must have heard you wrong...I didn't?

Yes, it's true. Reid is going to Kansas City.

Nothing against Kansas City. It's just that many saw Reid fitting in better at San Diego, or Arizona. But perhaps Reid wanted the chance to have more control over the team, and in KC he does have that. They have a top draft pick, and they have Jamaal Charles and Dwayne Bowe - both top talent in their positions. But Matt Cassell is his QB. We'll see how things shape up in the off-season.

Anyway, so Wild Card weekend is about to begin, so before the games start wanted to get in my thoughts on each of the matchups.

Cincinnati Bengals vs Houston Texans

The Houston Texans have shown weaknesses throughout the season, and those weaknesses cost them a first round bye in the playoffs, so now they face Cincinnati. I think this is going to be a tough game. The Bengals are a good team, better than their record shows. I like a lot about the Texans - JJ Watt is a beast. But I just have a feeling that the Texans have lost their momentum. And if the Bengals can rack up some points early, Houston has shown they aren't so great at coming back from behind. So I'm going to take the Bengals in this game.

Minnesota Vikings vs Green Bay Packers

Adrian Peterson is amazing, and will likely win MVP and/or Comeback Player of the Year. But AP alone can't lead the Vikings down the road to the Superbowl, and I think that road stops here at Lambeau Field. AP will have almost 200 yards, but Green Bay wins this game. Green Bay will have all of their major playmakers healthy for this game, homefield advantage and a desperate drive to beat them after losing to them last week. Green Bay wins.

Seattle Seahawks vs Washington Redskins

This one is a tough one for me to pick, because as a Rams fan, I don't really want to pick another NFC West team, and the Redskins have been so up and down all season it's hard to predict what will happen with this team. You have two rookie quarterbacks, both who have had amazing seasons. But I think Seattle has something that the Redskins don't: a really tough defense and homefield advantage. It is extremely difficult to win a game in Seattle. Ask the Rams, 49ers or Cardinals who have to play there every year - not an easy stadium to play a game in. While it pains me to pick them, I just think that Seattle will end up the victor here.

Indianapolis Colts vs Baltimore Ravens

This game is going to be full of emotion. You have the Indianapolis Colts, rallying around their coach, Chuck Pagano, who is back coaching after chemotherapy treatment, and you have the Baltimore Ravens, who know that Ray Lewis is retiring, and this weekend's game could be his last. On top of that, you have the Colts who used to be the Baltimore Colts competing against the new Baltimore team. I can't think of any game this weekend that has more emotion or drama than this one. My heart, because I do love the Colts organization, wants to say the Colts win this game. They have had such an amazing season coming back from winning only 2 games last year to making it to the playoffs - thank you, Andrew Luck. However, I think the Ray Lewis factor will hinder the Colts chances. Lewis will be amped, the team will be amped, the stadium will be amped and though Andrew Luck is an amazing offensive talent, I don't think the Colts offense can compete with the Ravens defense. While the Colts still have defensive greats Freeney and Matthis, their secondary has been horrendous and I think Flacco and co will exploit that. Baltimore wins this game.

So that's my wild card weekend predictions. At the beginning of the season I predicted a 49ers-Baltimore Superbowl. We'll see if that sticks. I feel confident on the 49ers pick, but not so sure about Baltimore. I think the Broncos or Pats have a better shot. But we'll see.

That's all I have for now. Enjoy watching the games this weekend, and thanks for reading.