This Is Baseball Heaven

Sports fans, it's my favorite time of the year. I've always loved fall. The leaves change, Halloween is one of my favorite holidays, I love hot apple cider and pumpkin spice lattes...

But more importantly, it's the best time of year for a sports fan: you get football, baseball, hockey and basketball all at the same time.

And for me, October is particularly exciting because I have been fortunate enough to enjoy my favorite baseball team, the St. Louis Cardinals, in postseason play a lot in the past decade. Not many fanbases can say the same.

I can't remember ever NOT loving baseball. When you grow up in St. Louis, it's nearly impossible to NOT be a Cardinals fan.

Me, at nearly 2 years old. Already a die-hard fan.

As a fan, the hope every year is that your team will make it to the playoffs and win a World Series. It's not an easy thing to do. Getting to the postseason is hard, and some fan bases, like the Cubs, haven't won a World Series in 105 years.

On opening day, in cities across the country, 32 different fanbases hope and dream that this will be the year that their team makes it all the way to the postseason and hold up that World Series trophy. But only one team can get that honor each year.

I realize that I am very lucky to be a Cardinals fan. While Cubs fans still wait for their curse to be broken, I have watched my team win 3 World Series Championships (well, I was alive in 1982. I can't say I remember it. But I was representin', as evidenced in the picture above) and they are now poised to win a 4th.

The Cardinals are moving on to their 2nd World Series in 3 years. They lost Tony La Russa. They lost Albert Pujols. They lost ace Chris Carpenter, Jaime Garcia, and closer Jason Motte and were forced to rely on developing rookies into star pitchers.

And it worked. America may be sick of hearing about "The Cardinal Way," but you can't deny that they have established a culture that is based on winning and excellence. You hear it in the way the Cardinals players speak, manager Mike Matheny, and GM John Mozeliak.

I understand that outside of Cardinal Nation, no one was rooting for the Cardinals. Because in America, we like winners...until they win too much. Teams that have won too much, such as The Yankees, The Patriots and The Lakers garner a lot of hate from other fanbases because you're just tired of seeing the same team win all of the time. And when it's a team that over and over again prevents your team from advancing (for me, the Patriots constantly beating the Colts in the postseason was BRUTAL) you can't help but feel resentment and hatred. Why do they always have to win?

The St. Louis Cardinals now fall into that category of winning too much. 

But that doesn't mean that fans of the Cardinals are going to stop cheering on our team and say "oh, you haven't won in 25 years? Okay. Here. Let me tell my team to suck so you can win." Would Lakers fans do that? I live in LA. I can tell you that would be a "HELL NO." Would Yankees fans do that? Please, you jest.

There's been a lot of chatter and heckling about the whole "best fans in baseball thing." I'm going to say something here that many Cardinals fans may not like. I HATE the best fans in baseball thing.

How can anyone say who has the best fanbase? To say so is completely subjective. How it is judged? Attendance? Jersey sales? Ballpark environment? Smartest fans?

When you claim to say you're the best, you have to have evidence to back it up. Otherwise you just sound arrogant. Do the Cardinals have a case for being the best fans in baseball? Sure. The media has said it is. Players have made comments that suggest it is. But you won't hear me saying it. I'm proud to be a Cardinal fan and love the fanbase and definitely believe we have one of the best fanbases out there, but I'll leave it at that.

I mean, Cubs fans have been waiting 105 years for a World Series ring and they are incredibly loyal. That's dedication there. It's easy to support your team when they're winning. To keep supporting year after year and getting disappointed? Major respect. The Cardinals haven't given fans much to be disappointed about (though going up 3-1 last year against the Giants and losing still hurts).

It's been an exciting postseason and I am thrilled to see my St. Louis Cardinals vying for their 12th World Championship. This is what fans live for. You never know who the hero is going to be. In 2011, hometown boy David Freese made his way into the history books as the MVP of the 2011 World Series. In the 2013 NLCS, rookie Michael Wacha amazed us all by beating the probable Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw twice. He hasn't allowed a single run in the postseason. If he keeps this up, he will be a potential Cy Young candidate in the future.

Carlos Beltran is now finally going to his first World Series. I really hope he gets his first ring. Class act and all around amazing player. And in a way, the Cardinals owe it to him. Because it was the Cardinals who denied his previous World Series chances in 2004 when he was with Houston, and in 2006 with the Mets (sorry Mets fans, I know that one still stings). 3rd time is the charm?

This is Baseball Heaven. 2013 National League Champions. World Series Bound.

It's a great time to be a Cardinals fan. #12in13

Quick NFL Thoughts

Sports fans, I know I've been behind on posts. I was out of town for a wedding last weekend and I have been very distracted by postseason baseball (will post about that shortly).

We're about to head into week 6 of the NFL season, and we're starting to figure out what teams will be playoff contenders, which ones have a shot at being contenders, and some that are just plain not going to be in the picture.

At the beginning of the season, I completely whiffed on the NY Giants. I don't know what's going on over there, but it's not good. Who could have predicted that of  two New York teams, the Jets would have the better record? At some point the Giants will win a game and the Jets have a tough schedule so I would expect them to look more like the sub .500 team we expected them to be. But of the 2 teams, the Jets look like they have more of a shot to have a winning record this season. 

After Thursday night's game against the Bears, Eli Manning now has 15 interceptions on the season.

Gonna be a lot of this Manning face this season, I'm afraid...

While Eli is pacing himself for the possibility of most interceptions in a season, brother Peyton is looking like he is gunning to win back the title of most touchdown passes in a season. Peyton already has 20 TD passes in the first 5 weeks of the season. That's average of 4 TD's a game - wow. He's on pace to hit 64 TD passes. The record is 50. And Denver gets to play Jacksonville this weekend. 

Denver is definitely looking like the team to beat in the NFL, though the Cowboys sure made an exciting effort last week to steal a win. I don't know what this game is a reflection of, that Manning and Romo are just THAT good or if the Broncos/Cowboys defenses are THAT bad. Fortunately for Manning and Co., Tony Romo did was Romo does best...

To be fair to Tony, it was a tie game and had the Cowboys defense let the Broncos score quickly they might have had a shot at getting the ball back and a chance to win. But, those Tony Romo interceptions late in games definitely hurt.

Speaking of interceptions, what on earth is going on with Matt Schaub? Yikes. Granted, they were playing the San Francisco 49'ers who have one of the top defenses in the league. But that Houston - San Francisco game was just AWFUL.

It just further confirms why I wasn't high on Houston this season, and picked the Colts to win the AFC South. Houston has a lot of the pieces needed to be an excellent football team, but somehow they just can't seem to get it together. They may get a reprieve this week, since they get to play the Rams, who beat Jacksonville last week but not rather convincingly. The Rams, unfortunately for this fan, have a lot of their own problems.

The Colts, on the other hand, look GOOD. I mean, REALLY good. Did you catch that Seattle-Indy game? Wow. So impressed with the Colts. I think we all knew that Andrew Luck was going to be an elite quarterback, but to get this team from zero to the playoffs last season and continue to excel and get better this season? Winning against Seattle is huge. They are a fun team to watch. How lucky are Colts fans to go from Manning, perhaps the best quarterback the NFL has ever seen, to Luck, who could be the next greatest? 

Have to congratulate Andy Reid - I don't think anyone expected the Chiefs to be 5-0. While the Broncos look like the best team in the league, the Chiefs are giving them competition to win their division, which is kind of fun. At least gives both teams reason to keep striving for wins. 

Philip Rivers is throwing for 400 yards and San Diego still keeps losing. Great for fantasy fans, not so great for Chargers fans. 

We'll see what fun and surprises the NFL holds this weekend! What a great weekend of sports - NFL and postseason baseball - my favorite time of the year.

Working on a baseball post that will be up shortly. Until then, Go Cardinals!

NFL Week 3 Roundup

Sports fans, I apologize for the delay in getting this posted. Has been an extremely busy week.

Since we're already in week 4, I'm going to keep this brief...

Who Wore It Best?

It was an abysmal day for the Rams and the Giants, who looked like for awhile like neither team was ever going to score any offense. Fortunately for the Rams, Bradford did manage to find Austin Pettis in the endzone late in the game, but it was far too late to start any sort of comeback against the Cowboys.

Sam didn't have much help from his receiving core - they were dropping passes like it's hot. If this continues, it's going to be a LONG season for the Rams.

Seriously guys. Even Hot Hands figured out how to hold onto the ball.

Speaking of the Little Giants, Eli Manning and co. looked a lot like them. The Giants, unlike the Rams, never did find the endzone and they are 0-3. It's looking like my prediction of the Giants winning the NFC East was all kinds of WRONG. You never know with the NFC East, but right now the Cowboys are looking awfully good.

Calisportsdiva's Top 10 Afterthoughts of the Week

To make this brief, I'm going to sum up this week via #hashtags.

10. The Kansas City Chiefs are 3-0. #didnotseethatcoming

9. DeMarco Murray can run against the Rams. #wishherushedlikethateveryweek #stillrunning

8. Cincinnati put the smakdown against Green Bay. #discountdoublecheckedit

7. Peyton Manning only threw 3 TD's this week. #slacker #Broncoshavearunninggmae

6. The Jets won. Again. #areyoukiddingme #playoffs

5. San Diego blew another game. #theyarewhatwethoughttheywere

4. Cleveland traded Trent Richardson to the Colts, then proceeded to win their first game of the season. #AreYouSerious #Really

3. Miami is also 3-0 after beating Atlanta. #FalconsFail #WatchOutForMiami

2. The Rams and Giants are just BAD. There's more holes in the offensive lines for this team than a slice of swiss cheese. #RunningAllDay #OffenseFail #WhatHappenedToTheRamsDefense

1.The Colts now have a running game, but it wasn't Trent Richardon who owned the 49'ers, it was Ahmad Bradshaw. #TheColtsBeatTheNiners #TheColtsHaveADefense

That about sums up week 3. If you haven't checked out the Justin Timberlake/Jimmy Fallon hashtag skit, check it out below. It's awesome.

NFL Week 2 Roundup

Football fans, week 2 is now in the history books. Could the drama and excitement of week 2 match-up to the craziness of week 1?

Not sure it was quite the same but it was definitely another entertaining and interesting week. How could it not when we were presented with Manning Bowl 3?

Or as I like to call it…

MANNING FACE VS MANNING FACE

In the previous 2 outings, older brother Peyton schooled younger brother Eli, winning both outings. Would Eli finally have a chance to best Peyton in the big leagues?

Eh…not so much. It was a rough and I mean ROUGH outing for Eli and the Giants. Peyton and the Broncos owned the field, both passing and rushing (oh, hello Knowshon Moreno. Where the hell have you been? Do the Broncos finally have a starting running back?).

The Giants are still struggling on the running back front and failed at getting anything started on the ground which lead to Eli making a lot of bad throws down the field and he paid for it dearly. The end result was a 41-23 thrashing with Eli throwing 4 interceptions. Eli holds the record for most interceptions in the league thus far and if he keeps this pace up...yikes.

Peyton, on the other hand, holds the record for most touchdown passes in the league thus far. So who is the better Manning?

Peyton is now 3-0 against younger brother Eli. I don't care if Eli has one more ring. Dan Marino has zero. All I know is, if I had to choose between the two, I know who I'd be picking.

This Manning Face.

Not this Manning Face.

The Manning Bowl wasn't the only game on this week of course, so let's get to...

Calisportsdiva's Top 10 Afterthoughts of the Week

10. Steven Jackson scores a touchdown against his former team in the Atlanta-St. Louis showdown only to immediately leave the game due to injury. And St. Louis fans everywhere just can't help but laugh. No offense to SJ39, but it is why the Rams opted to let him go and not re-sign him. The Falcons had the last laugh here though as they were able to hold on to a 31-24 win after Sam Bradford rallied the Rams to a comeback after being down 21-0. Really impressive to see this Rams team stay in the game and fight until the end.  Also, congrats to rookie Tavon Austin on scoring his first and second TD passes. Hoping to see more of those in the future from this guy. 

9. Tom Brady threw a TD pass but it was not to Julian Edelman, a popular waiver wire pick this week in fantasy as Brady really had no one to throw to except Edelman (except apparently some dude named Aaron Dobson who caught the one TD pass). The Patriots managed to pull off a win but it was ugly. To be fair, the Jets defense is the one thing they do have going for them. I still think it will be tough for the Pats as long as they continue with the lack of receiving core.

8. Plus the Pats may actually have some competition in their division. How about those Buffalo Bills? Say hello to the newest rookie quarterback star, EJ Manuel. With seconds left in the game, Manuel marched the Bills down the field and won the game with a TD pass to Stevie Johnson with 2 seconds left in the game. Wow. Sorry Carolina. 

Watch out for this kid.

7. Ladies and gentlemen, Green Bay has a RUNNING GAME! You jest? No seriously! The Packers posted their first 100+ rushing day in...ages. And it was all thanks to...James Starks.

Eddie Lacy left the game with a concussion - enter James Starks. I'm not sure if Green Bay finally found a running game or if Washington's defense was just that bad. On top of that stellar running game was a career high 480 yard 4 TD day for Aaron Rodgers. Fantasy owners rejoice!

For RGIII and the Redskins...it's looking rough. It's becoming more and more apparent that RGIII has not recovered from the knee injury and he is struggling because he can't move around like he's used due to the knee. The Skins do have the fortune of being in the NFC East (in which all teams lost this week) so I wouldn't count them out but it doesn't look great at this point.

6.

 

Do you know who this guy is? No, really, do you? You all remember Eddie Royal? Haven't really heard much of him since his days with the Broncos but everyone knows who he is now. In fact, he even joked about it on his twitter account:

I don't know where he's been hiding but he is clearly the new favorite target of Philip Rivers. Royal has 5 TD's so far this season. Last year? He had 5 TD's for the WHOLE season. Go crazy fantasy waiver wire fans, go crazy. 

Michael Vick looked sharp, throwing for over 400 yards. It was an offensive showdown, but San Diego surprisingly managed to get a win scoring a field goal in the last seconds of the game. I still don't know what to think of San Diego. As for Philly, they are still an interesting team to watch and I expect them to be in the playoff conversation because well, they are in the NFC East.

5. Kansas City is 2-0. Yep. Watch out Denver, you may have some real competition in your division. San Francisco may not have wanted Alex Smith, but KC is enjoying him just fine so far.  I am very interested in watching the upcoming KC-Philly game this Thursday. 

4. Luck ran out for Andrew Luck in the Colts home opener. You know, no one is really talking about Miami. Maybe they should. The Dolphins have a pretty solid pass rush. Tannehill threw for over 300 yards. I'm not saying Miami is playoff caliber here, but perhaps they have been a bit overlooked. 

3. How bad are the Steelers? That offensive line is abysmal. Nice win for the Bengals this week. I'm still not sure if I'm sold on Andy Dalton as a franchise quarterback. It seems like Cincy has the talent to have a lot more passing yards and TD's than they do. As for the Steelers, I didn't think they would be a playoff contender before the season started and I believe I was right.

2. Watch out for Da' Bears. 


1. Colin Kaepernick and Russell Wilson supposedly made a bet prior to the Seattle-San Francisco Sunday Night showdown that whoever loses the game would have to shave off one eyebrow. It wasn't much of a contest. Seattle annihilated San Francisco. I think it's safe to say that there's not a single team in the NFL that wants to play in Seattle. Best home field advantage stadium in the league. Though Seattle won, and won by a lot, it doesn't mean that the Niners are out of it by any stretch of the imagination. But the NFC West is going to be very interesting to watch.

So about that bet...did Kaep keep up his end of the bargain? Or did he pull an Aaron Rodgers?

See for yourself...

Eh, kinda lame guys. But I suppose it's better than completely chickening out, like Aaron Rodgers.

That's the wrap up for this week. Looking forward to week 3!

Oh and I haven't forgotten about baseball. I've been following my Cardinals down the stretch - believe me. I promise to post something once as the playoff picture starts to get a little clearer.

Thanks for reading!

NFL Week 1 Roundup

Sports fans, I'd like to begin this week's post with an ode to, in my opinion, the BEST quarterback in the NFL.

You da' man, Peyton.

What a start to the NFL season! Last Thursday's game between the Broncos and Ravens was quite the historic night. At first though, it looked bad for the Broncos, who are clearly missing Von Miller. That didn't turn out to matter much because the Ravens defense was abysmal. Mr. Manning threw 7 TD passes, making a fantasy star out of TE Julius Thomas, yet somehow amid the glory of all of those passing yards and TD's Eric Decker was nowhere in the mix. In fact, he dropped a potential touchdown. Total fantasy fail.

Speaking of fantasy fails, explain to me just how a Peyton Manning fantasy owner manages to lose their match-up with 46 points in the bag? Well my team "Bring It To The Lou," did just that. Besides Manning and Vernon Davis, the rest of the team decided they had the week off.

UTTER FANTASY FAIL.

Calisportsdiva's Top 10 Afterthoughts of the Week

10. I completely whiffed on Arizona. Not that I think they'll be a Superbowl threat by any stretch of the imagination but they've finally found an NFL caliber quarterback with Carson Palmer at the helm and are a much better team. Larry Fitzgerald fantasy football owners rejoice!

Welcome back, Larry!

9. How bad is Jacksonsville? They are so bad that not only did they fail to produce any sort of offense (much to MJD owners dismay) the only reason they had ANY points on the board is because the other team messed up. Seriously! A safety by the other team is your only offense. Yikes. Maybe Jacksonville should give Tim Tebow a call.

8. Speaking of safeties, at the half on Sunday 3 different games had scored safeties, and another safety was scored on Monday night. That's 4 safeties in the first week of the season. Only 13 safeties were committed in the entire 2012-2013 regular season. Not only were there 4 safeties, but the Tennessee Titans managed to commit a safety on the OPENING kickoff. If you're The Colts or the Texans, you gotta love how awful Jacksonville and Tennessee are.

7. Oh San Diego, don't go changin.' The Chargers never fail to disappoint, do they? They could have a 40 point lead and still find a way to lose. That Houston-San Diego game was ugly. It reminded me why I'm not big on Houston this year and think the Colts will take the division, and why San Diego despite looking really good on offense at times, will end up a .500 team. It probably doesn't matter anyway, Denver will own the AFC West anyway.

6. Hey Baltimore, remember this guy?

Can you explain to me just WHY you let this guy go? 

5. RGIII looked AWFUL on Monday. He's definitely not fully recovered from his injury. Though the Redskins mediocre performance was out shined by the fast and furious Eagles, who just are so much fun to watch under the new Chip Kelly offense. In fact, Kelly said he thought the offense was "too slow" and could be faster. Really? Who is he expecting Michael Vick to be, Speedy Gonzalez?

4. How bad is Indy's defense and just how good is Andrew Luck? Watching the game I saw missed tackles ALL over the place - Pryor had all day to run around the pocket and find a receiver to throw too. The Colts won that game because of one guy - Andrew Luck. This is why I think the Colts will win their division, but won't go far in the playoffs. Luck is good enough to get points on the board to keep up with the other team, but don't expect the Colts defense to hold onto a lead.

3. Da' Bears!

I wasn't high on them in my NFL predictions but watch out for these boys - could be a tight race between Green Bay and Chicago. Mark it.

2. EDIT: The Giants always struggle in games against Dallas, but despite David Wilson's abysmal play and turning the ball over 6 times the Giants managed to stay in the game, they just couldn't overcome all of those errors. Giants better figure out that running back situation quick, otherwise it's going to be a LONG season for them. The NFC East will be interesting to watch this season, especially with that new Philly offense in play. I picked the Giants to win the division because well, somehow they always seem to find a way but it's going to be super tough this year. As for the Cowboys, there's no denying that they have weapons and an explosive offense, but keeping Tony Romo upright is the problem here. He went out of the game after a hit and fortunately for Dallas fans, he only got the wind knocked out of him. 

1. The Jets win. I repeat, the Jets win. Now, Tampa Bay isn't exactly a tough team to play but they're not the Jacksonville Jaguars either. Oh Lavonte David. Most people didn't know who the hell you were before this game but they know who you are now. Tampa Bay appeared to have the win. All they had to do was stop the Jets from getting into field goal range. We're taking Gino Smith here. What does David do? Commits a costly 15-yard personal foul putting the Jets into field goal range and wins the game.

LaVonte, for your costly penalty, you get the Seth and Amy REALLY? of the week:

That's it for this week's recap. Enjoy week 2 of the NFL!

NFL Predictions 2013-2014 Edition

Remember when I had a sports blog and I used to write in it? That seems like another lifetime ago, in fact, it seems I haven't posted anything since late April. I attempted to write a few blogs and just never got around to completing them (I'd post them now, but they are so dated there is no point).

But, football is back. If anything is going to break me out of my writer's blog block it's football season. First game is tomorrow night and I couldn't be more excited. Fantasy teams are locked and ready to roll and the never ending drama that the NFL always seems to provide is just around the corner.

So, to get back into the swing of things here I thought I would post my NFL predictions for this season.(Check out my 2012-2013 predictions here). So, without further ado...

AFC EAST

DIVISION WINNER: New England Patriots

WHY: Steve Johnson said this week that no New England Patriots linebacker can stop him - not even Patrick Chung. Which shows how well Johnson know his Patriot defenders - Chung plays for the Eagles. But he has a lot of respect for Chung and they're good buds. Such good buds Stevie just failed to remember which team Chung played for.

Chung may not be able to stop Johnson for the Pats but I'm sure they have plenty of other players who will do their best. The main reason the Pats have the best shot at winning the division is simply their competition. Let's face it, the Jets are a complete mess, Buffalo is in my opinion, a .500 team at best and Miami, while having the best shot at giving the Pats competition, probably won't.

That said I don't expect the Patriots to completely dominate. With the lack of tight ends and no Wes Welker it will be interesting to see how the offense performs. Don't be surprised if they run the ball more. The Pats will win the division, but I say they finish 10-6.

AFC NORTH

DIVISION WINNER: Baltimore Ravens

WHY: The defending Superbowl champs still have a lot of their weapons from last year - sure, there's no more Ray Lewis but he alone did not lead this team to victory last year. I expect Baltimore to be the team to beat in this division.

That said, I don't think it's going to be an easy battle. I think both the Bengals and the Steelers will make the division race competitive, but I have a hard time picking either team over the Ravens. Cincy as of late can be so hot and cold - I love the dynamic between Andy Dalton and A.J. Green, I just haven't seen enough for me to say Cincy can beat Baltimore. Cincy and Pittsburgh will likely be in the playoff hunt as possible wild cards, so even if they don't win the division they might still have a shot.

As for Cleveland, well...Trent Richardson is great but he alone can't carry the team. Still a lot of work to do there.

AFC SOUTH

DIVISION WINNER: Indianapolis Colts

WHY: I know what you're thinking. Are you daft? Indy over Houston? Just hear me out, okay?

No one expected Indianapolis to even come close to making the playoffs last year and not only did they do that, they gave the Texans some competition at winning the division throughout the season. They did this with Andrew Luck as a rookie leading a team that was in a complete rebuilding year. Indy drafted well, they've made some changes and they have Andrew Luck.

The thing about Houston is, a lot of the players are getting older. Arian Foster is great when he's healthy but that's been a challenge. This team was favored by many to go to the Superbowl last year and nearly got knocked out in the wild card round by Cincinnati, then got creamed by a New England Patriots team that was in all honestly, not the Pats that we've known in recent years. I don't think any offense wants to play against JJ Watt and the Houston defense but I think Houston's biggest struggle will be being able to keep up offensively.

Both Indy and Houston have a shot at the division title and/or a wild card spot. Would not be surprised to see both of these teams in the playoffs come January.

As for Tennessee and Jacksonsville...do I really need to say anything here? Come on, man!

AFC WEST

DIVISION WINNER: Denver Broncos

WHY: Denver is going to be a better team this year than last year, and fortunately for them they play in a division full of sub to .500 level teams. I don't even think it's a contest. Raiders? Chargers? KC? Are you kidding me?

In fact, the Broncos are my AFC Championship pick.This is the year for Peyton, I think. He's going to be hungry from that loss to Baltimore last year. And he desperately wants another ring. I expect Denver to be a very tough team to beat this year.

NFC EAST

DIVISION WINNER: NY Giants

WHY: Because the Giants seem to always find a way, and this division could really go any way because all of these teams are about 8-8, 9-7 caliber teams. I can't pick the Cowboys though because they haven't impressed me, the Redskins have a better shot if RGIII can stay upright and healty, but those are big questions for the season, and the Eagles in a similar venue, have to figure out a way to keep Vick from getting injured because Foles is not going to make it happen. Will be interesting to see what Chip Kelly does with this team.

Ultimately someone is going to win this division, the Giants historically seem to have found a way to make it happen, so I'll go with the Giants. I do think however, the only way any of these teams has a shot at the playoffs is if they win their division. 9-7 may not be good enough for a wild card slot with the talent across the NFC this year.

NFC NORTH

DIVISION WINNER: Green Bay Packers

WHY: Green Bay is not the winner here by a landslide, but I think they ink this one out. I want to like Detroit with all of the talent they have on that team but boy were they a disappointment last year. The Bears I also want to like and then they fall apart like last year. The Vikings are still young and rebuilding so honestly, I think the division is Green Bay's to lose, but it's not going to be easy. Green Bay is not the same team that won the Superbowl and they are beatable.

I do the Bears or Lions could have a shot at a wild card spot, but as I said before, the wild card spots are going to be a tough race in the NFC.

NFC SOUTH

DIVISION WINNER: Atlanta Falcons

WHY: Tony Gonzalez REALLY wants that Superbowl ring. I like the addition of Steven Jackson to the team. They still have essentially the same team as last year. They will be good.

Don't discount New Orleans though. Thy had an off year last year due to the sanctions from bounty gate but they won't have that this year. I expect with the return of Sean Payton you will see a different team out there. That said, it could take the Saints a bit to get their groove going after the mess of last season. The Falcons won't have those same hurdles. I think it will be close, but I like Atlanta's odds here.

As for Carolina and Tampa Bay, other than expecting to hear Cam Newton whine again I don't have a whole lot to stay about these teams. I tend to underestimate Tampa though - they could be a dark horse here. I still think Atlanta takes the division though.

NFC WEST

DIVISION WINNER: San Francisco 49'ers

WHY: Toughest division in the NFL is right here - the NFC West. 3 of the most difficult defenses lie right here among the 49'ers, the Seahawks and the Rams.

I hate picking San Francisco but how can you not? They are a good team that almost won the Superbowl last year. They drafted well and have all of their weapons back - they will be tough.

They will also have some brutal competition. The Seahawks and yes, the Rams are both going to be good teams this year. Teams that can win the division? Odds are not likely. Teams that can make the wild card? Absolutely. Seattle has a tremendous defense and Russell Wilson seemed to be the right choice last year in getting something started with their offense.

The Rams, u der Jeff Fisher have become a force to recognize as well. And I'm not just saying that because I'm a fan. The defense is good. They have been working at building a better O line and drafted the talented Tavon Austin who is expected to have a great rookie season. The big question? Sam Bradford. He has the weapons now so we'll see how he does.

Arizona...is still trying to figure out what to do since Kurt Warner left. Sucks to be Larry Fitzgerald. No chance this season.

WILD CARD TEAMS

AFC: Cincinnati and Houston

NFC: Seattle and St. Louis

SUPERBOWL

Denver Broncos vs San Francisco. Denver wins. It's Peyton's year.

So, there are my picks for the 2013-2014 season. We'll see how I did come January!

Now, let's get this season started, shall we?

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.