NFL 2010: Conference Championships

And then there were four -- the 2010 season is down to its final four with Pittsburgh hosting the New York Jets for the AFC title while Green Bay travels to Chicago for the NFC. Pittsburgh and Green Bay are both favored by 3 1/2 points. They surely are legit favorites.

The AFC game is Pittsburgh's to win unless their injuries -- pretty banged up after a vicious struggle with Baltimore -- take a toll while the Jets will play with unquestionable enthusiasm. Their defense is sort of like Baltimore Lite and the Steelers just beat Baltimore. The Steelers won't get rattled should they fall behind early in the game. Look how they came back against the Ravens.

The Packers issue earlier in the year was health. Now they're healthy and hot. Jay Cutler has erased much doubt in recent gamesand the Bears defense is strong but Cutler is no Aaron Rodgers and everything is clicking for the Packers. The Packers have certainly proven a good road team having clobbered Atlanta in their own home after knocking off the Philadelphia Eagles on the road as well. Healthy, organized, and road-proven, it's hard to see how the Packers can fail against the Bears.




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NFL 2010: Divisional Playoffs -- Some Really Fun Matchup's

As if the wild card contests didn't live up to their billing, wait until the next round concludes. The AFC has a rivalry that has rapidly installed itself on par with the greatest face offs in sports history: Red Sox/Yankees, Michigan/Ohio State, UNC/Duke. When Baltimore plays Pittsburgh, it is war!!!!

Who knows, though it won't be easy when the top team has earned dynasty status, New England versus the New York Jets could be warming up to provide an extensions of the Red Sox/Yankees into the NFL -- though in the Big Apple, the Jets have always been the ugly little toady step brother to the Giants even though the Jets have been far more interesting recently.

The NFC match ups don't have the instant story lines the AFC ones do, but clearly the Green Bay visit to Atlanta will be the hotter contest. The Falcons have been the NFC's most consistent team in 2009, but the Packers when healthy are explosive.  It's hard to warm up for the Seattle trip to Chicago. Seattle is a team entering the post season with a losing record, but they sure looked like they belong in the fight given the ass-whoopin' they laid on New Orleans in Seattle last weekend. Nobody saw that coming.

Stock up on beer and munchies, fire up the grill, get that big pot of chili cooking, invite some friends over to show off that new HDTV and get ready to watch some football. Let's look at the games.

Saturday:
Baltimore @ Pittsburgh (-3 1/2), 4:30 pm, CBS
The commentators talk about this as "old fashioned" football or football the way it's supposed to be played. Translation, don't look for a lot of fancy trendy offensive strategies. No this will be grind it out in the trenches hard hitting football where each team's defense will do everything possible to rip its opponent to pieces. The match up seems to be as much Palomalo versus Reed as it would be Roethlisberger against Flacco. These games have a habit of playing close with which team pulls off the big play toward game's end winning. Pittsburgh might have a couple more intangibles on their side, but that does not suggest the Ravens can't win. They can and win very ugly. There will be nothing pretty about this game besides the cheerleaders.

Green Bay @ Atlanta (-2), 8:15 pm, FOX
Here's another game almost too close to call. Aaron Rodgers is more the big play, dramatic QB where Matt Ryan is more the mechanic. Our snapshot would call the Falcons superior on defense but give the edge on offense to Green Bay. We'll give Atlanta the slight edge.

Sunday:
Seattle @ Chicago (-10), 1:00 pm, FOX
Here's the one game if one team were to prevail, the results would be seen as a true upset. Look at it this way, it's unthinkable that a team with a 7-9 record could even make it to the playoffs, but not only did they make it, they obliterated the defending champions convincingly. The Seahawks with their Pom-Pom Prince, Pete Carroll,as head coach have nothing to lose. They're there to have fun and anything they accomplish is a plus. But fans should never forget, Carroll understands big games and the pressures that come with such distinctions given his winning tenure, championships, and huge success at USC.

"Da Bears" must approach the game with workman like precision, stick  to their strengths, and execute their plan without mistakes. They have a strong defense with Julius Peppers and Brain Uhrlacher leading the way. Jay Cutler must prove he can play a must win game without mistakes. No question, if this were all based on past performance and stats, the Bears win, but add the human element where anything Seattle accomplishes is gravy and the Bears could have a coach fighting to preserve his job, all things are possible, but it would be foolhardy to actually pick Seattle unless one hedges  --why not?

New York Jets @ New England (-8),4:30 pm, CBS
For those getting a glimpse of this contest through the lenses of the New York media or sports stations, with all the showmanship Jets coach, Rex Ryan, has been feeding them, the game itself might seem anti-climatic regardless of outcome. Make no mistake, Ryan has brought life to the Big Apple's other team making it to the playoffs for the second consecutive year. Ryan's humor and boastfulness certainly adds a little fun to a game which often is taken way too seriously. However, making comments like "it's personal" between him and Tom Brady or Bill Bellichick and the constant prattle for every open microphone,Ryan is getting to seem a lot like a professional wrestler working up the crowd before hopping in the ring. On the other hand, pretty boy Tommy and Yoda, the New England QB and coach are going at it quietly with such secrecy you'd almost think they're working on some clandestine black magic as if the talent and organization of the New England Patriots alone doesn't equal championship expectations.

It looks like New England will put its collective foot down and the Rex Ryan travelling freak show will be done. If New England breaks Jets QB Mark Sanchez early, this game could be a blowout. While a Jets win is not impossible by any stretch, New England can dispirit another team like no other.

The Baltimore byline....
It's so hard not to crave a Ravens and Jets win leading to a AFC Championship played in Baltimore. Keep dreamin' baby. It's not impossible, just improbable!!!!

NFL 2010: The Wildcard Games -- It's Now Or Never

The playoffs to decide the Super Bowl contestants for the 2010 season feature some familiar playoff participants: Baltimore, Indianapolis, New Orleans, and Philadelphia, a team that is something of a Cinderella team, Kansas City, and a team that simply is hard to figure why they are in the field with a losing 7-9 record, Seattle, but given the mess the NFC West is right now, they’re the last men standing and their victory to get there was not of little consequence. The showoff between the Seahawks and St. Louis with the winner gaining the final playoff berth achieved record ratings for NBC’s Sunday Night NFL programming.

In making our selections, we’ve examined how each team has played down the stretch, the matchups they’ve face, how healthy the players are, and the ever present intangibles and here are our selections in order of their broadcast time.

New Orleans (10 ½) @ Seattle [Saturday, NBC, 4:30 pm]
Are you kidding, the national champs versus the chumps. Seattle is 1-3 in their final four games only beating St. Louis. They lost to San Francisco, Atlanta, and Tampa Bay. New Orleans is 2-2, but lost to the kinds of teams they’d have to beat to repeat – Baltimore and Tampa Bay. This is the one game on the slate that could be a blow out if Drew Breese gets everything running. The Saints march on.

New York Jets @ Indianapolis (-2.5) [Saturday, NBC, 8:00 pm]
This has not been a typical year for Payton Manning and the gang. Their spot in the playoffs was not secured until the final Sunday but nevertheless they are getting healthier and have won their last four games including Jacksonville in week 13 the team they needed to top to secure their playoff berth. The Jets are 2-2 in their final drive losing to Miami and Chicago but QB Mark Sanchez is finding his lack of experience getting in the way of winning. Rex Ryan will throw every defensive trick in the book at Payton Manning, but what quarterback except maybe Tom Brady researches his opponents more? The Colts look like a convincing pick.

Baltimore (-3) @ Kansas City [Sunday, CBS, 1:00 pm]
Baltimore has certainly raised questions with their week performance in the second half of crucial games with their defense looking gassed and their offense not using up the clock and putting up the points. The important thing is they are winning and are 4-0 down the stretch including knocking off the champs from New Orleans, aside from a foolish loss to Cincinnati in week 2, the Ravens have lost to the most elite teams in the game this year, one game to Pittsburgh, New England, and Atlanta. These are teams they might have to face later to be the champs. They should beat the Chiefs but they’ll have to pick up their game to look worthy of what lies ahead.

Green Bay @ Philadelphia (-2 ½) [FOX, 4:30 pm]
Philadelphia comes into the playoffs Eastern Division champs after the New York Giants closed up shop playing against them in week 15. Since then, they haven’t won but didn’t really need to in the final week. Still, they have two home losses against a decimated Minnesota Vikings and the Cowboys. Meanwhile, Green Bay had to win on the last day of the season to clinch their playoff spot being a strongly favored team early in the year but facing considerable injuries which are only now being resolved. Green Bay began their stretch run with an embarrassing loss to the suddenly hot Detroit Lions and then went to Foxboro and got beaten by the Patriots. They finished with wins against a playoff rival, the New York Giants and then beat their division winner, Chicago, at Lambeau Field. This could perhaps be the closest match in this year’s Wild Card field but we’ll give the edge to the Green Bay Packers. How about a little Wisconsin cheese topping that Philadelphia Cheese Steak, huh?



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NFL 2010: Playoff Picture with Four Weeks Remaining

The AFC post season pool is pretty much set. It’s just a matter of jockeying for position at this point.

Here’s the field:
(East) New England: 10 - 2 – Home field through out
(North) Pittsburgh: 9 - 3 – First Round Bye
(West) Kansas City: 8 – 4
(South) Jacksonville: 7 - 5
(Wild Card) New York Jets: 9 -3
(Wild Card) Baltimore: 8 – 4

In the North, the Ravens are three games ahead of Cleveland – no race there unless the Ravens can pull ahead of the Steelers to win the division. The Jets are three games up on the Miami Dolphins – same scenario as the North, but New England would go 2 – 2 for the rest of the season? Doubtful.

The race is in the AFC South. Jacksonville is one game up on the Colts and two games up on Tennessee and Houston. The Colts must get healthy. Their slaughter at the hands of Dallas showed how torn apart the Indianapolis team is. Indianapolis hosts Jacksonville in two weeks. That game could decide the division.

Who would have expected Kansas City to be playoff bound? San Diego was surging but gave up an embarrassing loss to Oakland and now stand two games back. Oakland has the tie-breakers over San Diego. Kansas City faces both San Diego and Oakland so tie-breakers could come into play if they lost both games and their competition won their remaining four games. The bottom line is if Kansas City wins three games, they’re in.

Incidentally, there are no teams beside the six teams we show seeded for the playoffs who currently hold a winning record in the AFC.

The NFC is a different matter. There are plenty of open races, but the West could really embarrass the NFL with a division leader with a losing record.

(South) Atlanta: 10 - 2 – Home field through out.
(North) Chicago: 9 – 3 – First Round Bye
(East) Philadelphia: 8 – 4
(West) Seattle: 6 – 6
(Wild Card) New Orleans: 9 – 3
(Wild Card) Green Bay: 8 – 4

Here are other contenders:
New York Giants: 8 – 4 – Wild Card or East title
Tampa Bay: 7 – 5 – Wild Card, South title (long shot)
St. Louis: 6 -6 – West title

In the NFC, all conferences are open races and two teams have a shot at the Wild Card beyond the two we show as seeded.

The Dallas Cowboys are surely the team nobody in contention wants to face. Since the dismissal of Wade Phillips, they’re winning convincingly with just one loss. Jason Garrett has the team on the move which had been a laughing stock through October. The Eagles do battle with the Cowboys twice, at Dallas, this weekend and then finish against them at home.

With four weeks to go, the AFC field looks almost set in stone. The NFC, the surest bet would appear to be Atlanta winning the south, but would anyone bet against the possibility of Green Bay overtaking the Bears if they are healthy. With two games against Dallas, and the New York Giants getting things pulled back together, the Eagles could fall. The West is total chaos. One team will win by default. With all these possibilities in play, it’s way too soon to project the final Wild Cards. Today’s first place teams could be the Wild Cards at season’s end.

MLB 2010: The Texas Rangers Win AL Pennant

Alex Rodriguez at bat, called strike 3, the New York Yankees fall to the Texas Rangers earning the Rangers their first trip to the World Series since becoming a franchise as the Washington Senators in 1961. For most of the year, the New York Yankees had the best record in baseball defending their 2009 championship, but as the season entered the September stretch drive, it was becoming clear that the Yankees pitching was not performing up to expectations. Andy Pettitte, the dean of the pitcher’s mound in post season spent much of the summer on the disabled list. A.J. Burnett completely lost control of his game leaving the rotation in the hands of C.C. Sabathia who certainly lived up to his roll as the team’s ace until his first loss in the League Championship series and Phil Hughes who was no match for Texas.

Texas just dominated in every facet. How ironic it is that Alex Rodriguez would be the last out. Rodriguez had been a Texas Ranger, but the team realized they could not support the long term contract they signed with their stellar shortstop. They traded him to the New York Yankees as the beginning of a rebuilding program that yielded the champs they are today. His trade to the Yankees was supposed to secure the Yankees as perennial world champs, but from 2004-2008, the Yankees failed to accomplish the top honor even not making the playoffs in 2008. In 2009, a Yankees-Texas connection surfaced again regarding one of the Rangers’ top players, and unwillingness to tender a huge contract was the issue again. Mark Teixeira was to be one of the young homegrown stars that the Rangers would build their team around after trading away A-Rod. In 2007, they sensed they would not be able to retain their all-star first baseman and traded him to the Atlanta Braves who then traded them to the Los Angeles Angels to help their post season run. The Yankees won the bidding war before the 2009 season to get the slick fielding slugger who played a critical roll in the Yankees offensive attack the past two seasons. How ironic it was then that he should pull a hamstring muscle in game 4 of the Championship Series putting his former team up with a 3-1 game advantage.

Cliff Lee, a former teammate of C.C. Sabathia in Cleveland and pitcher in last year’s World Series serves as the Texas Rangers’ ace in their starting rotation. What could be another strange irony could be that his fine performance in the playoffs could serve as his audition to earn a lucrative free agent contract with the Yankees who will stop at nothing to augment their suddenly vulnerable rotation.

Josh Hamilton was selected as the Championship series Most Valuable Player. How valuable was he? He was strong enough that the Yankees to intentionally walk him three times in the final decisive game.

The Rangers will start the World Series either in Philadelphia or in San Francisco with Cliff Lee ready to do the honors. For the Texas Rangers who’ve called Arlington, Texas home since 1972, this occasion will seem long overdue. Now only the Seattle Mariners and the Washington Nationals (former Montreal Expos) have never played in the World Series and how much of the US population was alive that last time the Chicago Cubbies earned such honors? Every other team aside from these three has made the World Series since the divisional era began in 1969.

The outcomes are the same, the message is the same. In many respects only the players are different. Both the American League and National League Championships are even at 1-1. The four best starters in the business are depended on to get their teams into the World Series. Each team has one: the Rangers have Cliff Lee, the Yankees - C.C. Sabathia, the Phillies - Roy Halladay, and the Giants have Tim Lincecum.  The teams from the East have the tougher batting orders. To put it mildly, the Yankees and the Phillies are stacked, but this is the year of the pitcher and the timeless cliche is that good pitching beats good hitting every time. The Yankees starting pitching has not looked good. Sabathia was handled roughly in game 1 in Texas. Phil Hughes was even worse in game 2. Andy Pettitte is the next man up, but he is not that far recovered from the disabled list. A.J. Burnett has been so awful in the second part of the season, the Yankees had hoped to keep him out of the post season rotaton.

Tonight's game in New York will be particularly ironic.  Cliff Lee will start for Texas in what very well could be his audition for his contract for next year, not with Texas but with the Yankees. If he handles the Yankees, his asking price for 2011 will go higher. He'll also be available for game 7 if needed. However, this is the first ALCS game in New York this year. That New York state of mind along with one demonic lineup could be the equalizer.

The Phillies went 1-1 in their happy home in Philadelphia. Now they're off to San Francisco. The Phillies are the one team in baseball that is three aces deep. As if Roy Halladay and Roy Oswald aren't deep enough, Cols Hammel is set to start game 3 tomorrow. He was the ace behind Philadelphia's championship two years ago. San Francisco does not have a strong batting attack, one where roll players must function to their capacity to succeed.

The Phillies and Yankees must look like the favorites to advance to the World Series, but one would have to think with the Yankees starters struggling and the Phillies triple threat, the Phils should prevail particularly with the added advantage of games 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 if needed in Philadelphia stripping the Yanks of their DH.

By Thanksgiving, the champ wll be known. This year's schedule like others under the current TV contract are simply too stretched out.

MLB 2010 -- Yankees and Phillies Should Win and Face World Series Rematch

ALCS: Game One – New York Yankees vs. Texas Rangers, Friday, 10/15/10, TBS
NLCS: Game One – San Francisco Giants ant Philadelphia Phillies, Saturday, 10/16/10, FOX

The 2010 Baseball Season is down to its final four as the Texas Rangers prepare to host the New York Yankees for the American League pennant, while the Philadelphia Phillies host the San Francisco Giants for the National League.

The Yankees and Rangers played to a draw in regular season competition. Much of the Rangers’ hopes will rest on Cliff Lee while the Yankees will need great work from Lee’s former Cleveland teammate C.C. Sabathia. The Yankees are deeper than the Rangers are and should have the edge. This is the first team the Rangers, who entered baseball in 1962 as the Washington Senators, have advanced in the post season. They are one of three teams never to participate in the World Series.

The Philadelphia Phillies are almost certain to win the National League for their third consecutive trip to the World Series. While the Giants and Phillies both have the highest level #1 one starters in Tim Linceum for the Giants and Roy Halladay, who no-hit Cincinnati, the National League’s hottest offense in the NLDS, what the Phillies have for their 2nd and 3rd starters surpasses any other team in baseball’s rotation. Consider how brilliantly they finished off the Reds and see what the Giants have ahead of them. With Roy Oswalt, acquired from Houston, and Brad Lidge, the ace of their 2008 campaign, the adage of “good pitching stops good hitting” should hold true especially given the Giants do not have a particularly strong offense.

The 2010 World Series should be a repeat of last year’s contenders, but with Philadelphia having home field advantage this year and their two additions to the rotation, the Phillies should have the edge over the Yankees to win their second championship in three years.

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MLB 2010: American League Divisional Round -- That Sinking Feeling

The hard reality of a five game wild card series, destruction happens so fast. Consider the plight of both the Minnesota Twins and Tampa Bay Rays. Both teams had home field advantage, two games before their loving fans to attempt to gain the advantage. Both teams lost their first two games, and now must not only win three straight but do so having to conquer the next two on enemy territory.

The blow must be especially painful for Tampa Bay Ray fans knowing as a small market club with dreadful attendance and limited media clout, some key players like Carl Crawford may have played their last game before the hometown crowd. If one thinks of the miserable home attendance during the regular season, it's no big deal. However, to see a team that has made the post season two out of the last three years going up against the Yankees and Red Sox to do so that they could be a weaker and less interesting team next year is a shame.

The future could be much brigher for the Twins in a weaker division, a lovely new ballpark, and some of their core nucleas players signed to long contracts.

It's not over yet, but the fat lady is tuning up.

Super Bowl XLIV: The Saints March On

The Indianapolis Colts shot off to a 10 to 0 lead making the game look like another one of those Peyton Manning precision assaults, dissecting the New Orleans Saints defense and running up the score. On defense that Dwight Freeney contributed a sack when it was questionable that the Colts’ top defender would even be able to play made the Colts win seem that much more inevitable, but it was on that Saints drive when the momentum slowly began to change. They’d score two field goals in the second quarter while holding the Colts scoreless keeping Peyton’s gang off the field. At halftime the Colts held a 10 to 6 lead.

Who would prevail as the teams took the field for the second half with the Saints kicking off to the Colts, but New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Peyton had a dastardly scheme in mind, an almost unthinkable move, kicking an on-side kick which when the pile of bodies was untangled gave the Saints the ball. From that point on, the Colts seemed to unravel. The Saints scored the first touchdown of the second half but the Colts responded with one of their own, with the score standing at Colts 17, Saints 13. From then on, it was all the Saints with barely a whimper out of the Colts scoring one more field goal in the third quarter before two game cinching touchdowns in the second half the final one of which was hastened by a Peyton Manning interception which Tracy Porter raced back for a touch town with about 3:20 left to play.

The atmosphere in New Orleans looked like the Mardi Gras on steroids as jubilant fans celebrated the city’s first pro championship in their first Super Bowl after decades of futility.

The Detroit Lions are the only NFL team that existed when the AFL and NFL merged that has not played in a Super Bowl unless the Cleveland Browns would care to be counted since there was a Cleveland Browns at the time, but they moved to Baltimore where as the Baltimore Ravens won Super Bowl XXXLV. However, the legacy and records of the old Browns, of course remain in Cleveland and the Browns who resumed play in 1999 have not played in the Super Bowl. The Jacksonville Jaguars (1995) and the Houston Texans (2002) are the only other teams not to join the party.

While the history of the New Orleans Saints is thought of largely as a franchise mired in futility they did enjoy some success under head coaches Mike Ditka and Jim Mora; however, now they have the Vince Lombardi trophy. Many teams who’ve made it to the big game still don’t have their ultimate reward. Ask fans in Buffalo who went to four straight Super Bowls to come home empty each time.

Surely the over-analytical critics will pose questions about Peyton Manning’s effectiveness given how many times the Colts have bombed out in post season during his tenure. What those critics don’t take into account aside from there are ten other players on the field plus defense and special teams, how many Super Bowls or post season games might the Colts have played were it not for Peyton Manning’s heroics in the first place. Sure, this game’s late interception at the hands of Tracy Porter will be played again and again and will cut like a knife in Hoosier state fans for months to come. The Colts end the first decade of the 21st century as the most winning franchise in the NFL for that period.

The Saints played a brilliant tough and intelligent game to beat the Colts. All hail to the Saints. They are true champions for Super Bowl XLIV.

Super Bowl XLIV: Our Two Cents

This might be one of our toughest challenges since launching “RMF” over a year and a half ago, to write something timely or meaningful about the Super Bowl that hasn’t already been said. What event draws more press ink and microphone babble than the NFL’s championship game? This is the event, after all, where the advertisements get more conversation than practically the whole season of regular prime time television – advertisements that corporate America spends millions to broadcast. We’ve already opined on the Tim Tebow pro choose life campaign. If anyone thinks the left wing in this country is still the voice of tolerance their uproar against what is reported to be a mild-mannered, upbeat presentation, that person would be sadly mistaken.

What more can be said about the match of Drew Brees versus Peyton Manning or how Payton’s dad Archie labored for years as QB for the hapless New Orleans Saints or that Peyton grew up and played high school football in Saints Country.

We’ve seen how far the NFL’s marketing machine reaches and the absurdity of the application of intellectual property in some instances. Some New Orleans fans found out that their time-honored cheer of endearment, “Who dat?” has been booked with an NFL trademark. To that controversy we say, “What dat all about?”

Okay, let’s try to do what our local sportscasters do, look for the local angle. Oops, maybe we don’t want to go there because it brings memories of that dreaded cold March night, 1984 when the Mayflower vans took our football memories and dreams to Indianapolis. Many Baltimore fans still haven’t gotten over that and will go to their graves hating what Robert Irsay did to the Colts. While Irsay truly was a drunken old sot, those of us who saw the Ravens play in a hastily gussied up Memorial Stadium perhaps could finally see that the stadium our fathers were proud to make the “World’s Loudest Outdoors Insane Asylum” was a total disaster as a football field. Think of where the seating bowl ends in the upper deck or what the lower seats are like surrounding that which used to be the Orioles’ outfield. There sure is some irony that the facility for which the Colts bolted town like so many other sports venues is no longer standing. We have our M&T Bank Stadium, one of the finest outdoor facilities in all of football where we’ve patiently and quietly accepted artificial turf and perhaps think those terrible towels people in Pittsburgh should do the same for much the same reasons we made the change.

Which brings our little sound-off to the legacy of Colts field goal kicker, Matt Stover, Stover is a man we respect so deeply here in Baltimore. We’d be tempted to cheer for the Colts just so Matt could earn another Super Bowl ring. Matt was deemed too old for the Ravens as the soul survivor to make the trip from Cleveland to Baltimore. If there were ever an athlete parents could look to as the perfect roll model for their kids, Matt Stover stands peerless. When teammates want to look to a fellow who is looking out for them and is professional to the highest degree? That’s Matt Stover. When the game’s on the line with the clock running out and three points can win the game, fans and the head coach know, that’s Matt Stover time. Even the most miserable jilted Baltimore Colts fans have to have a place in their hearts for Matt Sunday night.

Add it all up, it’s easy to cheer for New Orleans, a city that has been through so much in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. What American city has been through so much? We think of the horrible images that were broadcast from the New Orleans Superdome and remember how triumphant their first home game, a dramatic victory on Monday night football just one year later was. The Saints truly represent the unity, hopes, and dreams of a region on the rebound a little over four years after one of the most horrible natural disasters to hit the United States.

Champs Ready for the Super Bowl

Surely, there were few surprises for AFC fans as the Colts prevailed beating the New York Jets 30-17, but give the Jets credit. They played a strong first half, but despite leading at halftime, a late score before time ran out was a tip off for things to come as Peyton Manning showed he was tuned up and ready to pick the Jets superb defense to pieces.

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It took a field goal in overtime for the New Orleans Saints to finish the Minnesota Vikings 31-28, but getting there was quite a journey. Outside of the Big Easy, many fans will argue the Brett Favre's offense lost the game more than the Saints truly winning the game. Through out the game, we saw some of the most awkward and amateurish fumbles this side of a local beer league's play, but perhaps the whole Vikings season and Brett Favre's comeback season will come down to a late 4th quarter interception.

We'll have more to say about the Super Bowl as the big event approaches, but for right now, it's hard not to imagine a Colts victory. Peyton Manning is on the march.

NFL 2009: Conference Championship Playoffs

New York at Indianapolis (-7 1/2)
Minnesota at New Orleans (-3 1/2)

These are intriguing matchups, and for the fun of it all, we're picking the underdogs for both. For the AFC game, Indianapolis supposedly has a weak attack against the run though they sure shut down Baltimore's last week. Likewise, the Jets have nothing to lose with their powerful defense. If they can control the ball and take the lead early on, they could pull the unthinkable.

Minnesota fighting New Orleans is a closer proposition. If Brett Favre can overcome the crowd noise at the Superdome and play his kind of offense, they could beat the Saints.

Ravens 2009: It's Over

The Baltimore Ravens lost to the Indianapolis Colts 3-20. Making last week's pounding of New England look like a distant memory, the old demons of penalties and turnovers vexed the Ravens as Peyton Manning's mastery intensified as the game progressed. Look at Ed Reed's highlights to see the team's fate. He had one interception called back for a penalty. He fumbled the other. Both had the potential to be game breakers. Add to the fumbles and penalties, a few too many dropped passes, the Ravens never put up a successful attack.

The Ravens Defense did okay, good enough to lose. Reality says a team should plan on scoring more than 20 points to beat the Colts.

For a season that got the Ravens to the second round of the playoffs, their effort provided more than its share of frustration after winning their first three games, which they promptly negated losing their next three, only once in the remaining of the season would they win two straight during the regular season facing the Detroit Lions and the Chicago Bears. They appeared to blow a lock on the playoffs in their horrible game in Pittsburgh in week 16 but slid into the playoffs with a sharp win in Oakland.

Looking at this year's experience and the 2008 season, the Ravens are a good team, good enough to make the playoffs. They still have work to do to become a championship team. They'll need help with their receiving corp and defensive secondary to do so.

The frustration of this season won't heal easily, but as fans turn their attention to next year, the Ravens can stand proud that they were among an elite few who made it to the playoffs for two years in a row, and if they make some important adjustments to their roster, they should make it three in a row next year.

NFL 2009: Playoffs - Divisional Round

Lots of football fans consider the Divisional Championship round of the playoffs the best weekend of all. Why not? It’s two days of football, four games total between some darned good teams. This year, three of the eight teams return from last year, Baltimore, San Diego, and Arizona. Of course, last year’s champ, the Pittsburgh Steelers have been watching all the playoffs from home.

Arizona at New Orleans (-7)
A team that gave up 45 points to Green Bay cannot withstand New Orleans attack with Drew Brees under center. The Superdome will be rocking at the Saints attempt to move deeper than they ever have as a team before.

Baltimore at Indianapolis (-6 ½)
As a Ravens fan, my worst nightmare is the thought of a Matt Stover field goal as the clock runs out winning for the Colts. The Ravens must be sure it can’t come to that. The defense must hit Peyton Manning early and often while maintaining their strong running game eating up the clock and keeping the bowl out of Manning’s hands. If they do that, they’ll win.

Dallas at Minnesota (-3)
This is perhaps the tightest matchup of the weekend. Dallas is on a roll, but one should; never underestimate what Brett Favre can accomplish in the heat of battle looking for one last hurrah. With a noisy dome screaming at Dallas, the Vikings should squeak this one out.

New York Jets at San Diego (-7 ½)
Over the last eleven weeks of the season, San Diego has been the NFL’s most consistent performer and overall has more talent than the New York Jets. If the Jets are really fired up, they could pull the upset, but their Cinderella run will probably run out on the west coast Sunday evening.

Ravens Score Two Touchdowns in First Four Minutes Against New England to Advance in the Playoffs

Terrell Suggs had a miserable 2009 season, but what play better defined the Ravens slaughter of the New England Patriots better than the number he laid on Tom Brady forcing a turnover shortly on New England's first offensive drive? Well if you were late getting in front of the television that would make sense but the Ravens were already in business thanks to the long scoring drive Ray Rice cut lose 83 yard run for a touchdown in the first minute of play. That plus playing one tough running game gives Rice the game ball, but it was an all-out team effort, and of course, Ed Reed got a red hot interception with a nice long return too. Sure, the Ray Lewis was right in the heart of the action laying four tackles and nine assists. If no one heard the name, Derrick Mason, so what? For the record, Mason did have one reception for eight yards in a game with just four receipts for a total of just 34 yards from the air attack. The Ravens were taking strength to weakness, their running game against a weak New England running attack. In the Arctic cold, catching a football is like standing in front of a flying rock.

The Ravens played a vicious dominant game on both sides of the ball and special teams did what they had to do as well. Chris Carr provided a 34 yard punt return. Four minutes into the game, the Ravens were up fourteen zippo and New England barely showed signs of life through out this modern day Boston Massacre.

No doubt, the Patriots spin machine will make excuses about missing Wes Welker, Brady not being 100%, and the whole string section of the Boston Pops will play the violin for their team. The Ravens aren’t exactly strangers to the trainer’s room either with Joe Flacco himself dealing with an assortment of ailments as were a number of the team’s clutch players. The bottom line is the Ravens were ahead 24 to 0 at the end of the first quarter making it a long cold afternoon for the fans in Foxboro.

Today’s game is one of historical achievement for the Baltimore Ravens. The Patriots have one of the best home records in football and have never lost a home game in the post season under the Belichick/Brady era. While no one predicted the Patriots would massacre the Ravens, the sports media, local and national, almost universally picked New England unless playing the role of the ultimate Baltimore homer. Still, based on how the Ravens played New England earlier and all things considered, it was a good matchup, but no one would have predicted the Ravens could have blown out the mighty Patriots.

It’s on to Indianapolis. It will be interesting to see how Saturday night’s matchup will be predicted. For so many reasons beyond being a Ravens fans, it’s time for Indianapolis to go down.

NFL 2009: Wild Card Playoffs: Don't Pick the Favorites!

The opening round of playoffs for the 2009 season feature three matchups with teams who played each other last weekend, one game will be played at the same stadium as last Sunday. What an intriguing puzzle for fans picking favorites trying to look at last Sunday’s games and wondering to what extent some teams might have been sandbagging their effort saving their firepower for the wildcard round. Green Bay returns to Arizona. The New York Jets face Cincinnati and Philadelphia travels to Dallas.

New York Jets at Cincinnati (-3), 4:30 pm, NBC
The Jets appeared to handle the Bengals with ease in their house last weekend, and though they will be playing on the banks of the Ohio not the Hudson River for this contest, there are just two many variables that favor the Jets. From a purely subjective basis, the Bengals appear to be a team that peeked early and have been quite suspect. Their amazing season rests largely on their ability to beat their division rivals, Baltimore and Pittsburgh both at home and away this year. Had they split, they’d be 8-8 and out of it. Their performance had as much to do with problems the Ravens and Steelers were dealing with as excellence on their part. Nevertheless, the big change for Cincinnati this year is having Cedric Benson adding a strong running attack giving Carson Palmer all the options. New York’s tough chaotic defense should be able to neutralize their offense. The question is how well can rookie QB Mark Sanchez perform to get enough points on the board to win. Don’t be surprised if the determining score comes from the New York Jets defense forcing a turnover or interception leading to a scoring drive if not scoring outright.

Philadelphia at Dallas (-4), 8:00 pm, NBC
How badly we want Philadelphia to win but they just have not shown the consistency and Dallas surely knew what to do to defeat them in the one game of matchups that truly had something at stake last week. In Philadelphia’s stadium, Dallas won decisively. While Dallas has shown its old tendency to self-destruct, this year, they seem to be able to keep things under control as Tony Romo looks suddenly all-pro. We’d love to call the upset, but in the real world Dallas prevails.

Baltimore at New England (-3 ½), 1:00 pm, CBS
Wes Welker is banged up and out of action leading the list of hobbled Patriots while the Ravens aren’t exactly playing at 100%. While the odds makers favor New England, at 3 ½ points, they’re only giving the Patriots a ½ point advantage over the customary field goal given the home team. The Ravens secondary will determine the game. If they play adequate defense and stop big plays meaning not being so obsessed with Randy Moss the other guys sneak in and do the job, they will prevail. A strong running attack utilizing Ray Rice and Willis MaGahee to their maximum advantage with just enough passing attack to keep from being too predictable should finally give the Ravens their opportunity to prevail over New England.

Green Bay at Arizona (-1 ½), 4:30 pm, FOX
The Green Bay Packers are a team on the move and show all the fired-up intensity of a team ready to prevail in the post season. Meanwhile, Arizona shows they are a playoff quality team in the weaker NFC, but for starters Antoine Boldin is hurt. Green Bay should win by at least a touchdown and should be making everything look cheesy as the second half begins.

What's Hot in Crab Town? The Ravens!!!!

The Baltimore Ravens are the hottest thing in town, but when we're experiencing the coldest weather in recent memory, that makes the triumph all the better! While we cozy around our televisions next Sunday, the long range forecast calls for mostly sunny weather in Foxboro with a high temperature of only 21 degrees and a low of 14. Don't even ask for what the windchill could be. The conventional wisdom is that should favor the running game and mess up the kicking and passing game as if New England's passing game isn't already comprised with Wes Welker out for the post season.

No team can say, "been there, done that" in the post season like New England can. The Ravens have a formidable opponent to be sure. But the 2009 Patriots have not been the dynastic team of seasons past. They can be humbled.

The Ravens must avoid making mistakes. Penalties have been an Achilles' heal for the purple pounders and one seldom hears the name Frank Walker during a broadcast unless he's in the middle of a disaster.

The Ravens must play solid defense and turn things over to largely the talents of Ray Rice and Willis MaGahee to advance to round two.

Ravens fans must have hope that a trip to Foxboro this January is anything but mission impossible.

2009 MLB Playoffs: Philadelphia Freedom! (...at last)

The Philadelphia Phillies continue their defense of the 2008 World Championship facing the Los Angeles Dodgers for the second year in a row in the National League Championship Series to move on to the World Series.

While the Phillies perhaps have a stronger starting rotation for 2009, their offense is essentially the same adding Raul Ibanez basically an even-up swap out for Pat Burrell who left for Tampa Bay. Their bullpen has become their biggest weakness starting with closer Brad Lidge who was perfect in 2008, 41 saves, 41 chances but fell off to 31 out of 42 this year.

In the divisional round, the Philly bullpen bent and shook but did not fold coming through to preserve both victories in mile high Denver territory.

If Philadelphia intends to beat Los Angeles in the League Championship Series, winning in five games will be more difficult. The 2008 Dodgers went 84-78 just a tad over .500 while the Phillies posted a 92-70 record. This year, however, the Dodgers improved by eleven games with the best record in the National League, a 95-67 record while the Phillies upped their total by one game finishing 93-69.

The Dodgers refined their lineup making it deeper with a more resourceful bullpen. Add to that, they’ll enjoy home field advantage. What a tough series to call!

2009 Baseball Postseason: The LA-LA World Series?

LA LA! Perfect mascot for LA versus LA World Series!!!

An all Los Angeles World Series??? We’re Halfway There

Sitting here writing while watching the Sprint Cup chase play out in the far eastern suburbs of Los Angeles, the prospect of an all LA-LA west coast World Series is looking pretty strong. LA-LA the Dodgers versus LA-LA the Angels, GO FIGURE!!!

The Angels have played well all year overshadowed perhaps by the extent to which the New York Yankees have dominated the American League, but consider this, in head-to-head competition, the Angels and the Yankees played to a 5-5 draw. Some will point out that two of those Yankee losses came early in the season before the team was up to full strength.

Before we go further, we apologize to Minnesota Twins fans for writing them off so soon, but they didn’t win a single game against New York in the past season and the Yankees only need one out of three games to move on.

With 97 wins, the Angels were the second best team in the majors. The Red Sox and the Dodgers both posted 95 wins, but where were the Red Sox, what happened to their bats. Apparently they found them good enough for six runs in Fenway Park this afternoon, but the Angels did them one better with a 7-6 win. Who’d ever expect River Dancin’ closer, Jonathan Papelbon would blow a save with the season on the line? He converted 38 out of 41 chances during the regular season.

Did anyone think the Dodgers didn’t wrap things up with the stunning way they won game 2? Matt Holiday’s error in the outfield seemed to be one of those historical plays like the ball that went through Bill Buckner’s legs in the 1986 World Series or the bogus home run awarded the New York Yankees when New York fan robbed a ball in play by leaning over the Yankee Stadium right field railing resulting in the umpire on the scene calling it a Derek Jeter homerun. Today with homerun recall, aside from the fear of the New York fan, who knows what would have happened. Still, there are those events that clearly seem to be the pivotal moment on which post season series turn. No home cooking and friendly home crowd could undo the harm inflicted on the St. Louis Cardinals. In the Joe Torre versus Tony LaRussa matchup, give this one to Gentleman Joe.

The Angels perhaps have not received the recognition they’ve deserved perhaps because east coast fans aren’t as tuned into games that start at 10:00 pm for night games. Was it not noteworthy that they won two out of three from the Red Sox at Fenway Park in Mid-September?

The Angels offense boasts four players with 20 or more homeruns. Los Angeles pitching is not as strong with two dominant starters with Jered Weaver (16-8) and Joe Saunders (16-7) setting the pace, John Lackey (11-8) in 27 starters and Matt Palmer (11-2) also contributed to the team’s success. The bullpen shows room for concern. While closer, Brian Fuentes wracked up a respectable tally of 48 saves, he also blew seven. Among the rest of the bullpen, only three additional saves were posted against 16 chances. In total, that means the Angels blew nineteen save situations.

The message to Angels opponents is knock them out early and get to their bullpen. However, John Lackey appears to be a solid clutch performer. While the Yankees should be the clear favorite especially with home field advantage, the Angels are a formidable opponent that they’ll have to throw every resource on the field to stop.

Colorado and Philadelphia are even as they begin play in Denver tonight. Imagine a game postponed for snow and ice!!! It’s not helpful for Philadelphia that their starting rotation ace, Cole Hamels, was setting up excuses for potential losses complaining about having the Phillies first round home field advantage translate into two early afternoon starts. Hamel started game two, gave up four earned runs in five innings to suffer the loss, a one run game, the Phillies could have won. Perhaps it was a good sign for Philadelphia that their suspect bullpen only gave up one run but it was the margin of victory in their game two loss.

With two games at Denver and one game if needed in Philadelphia, the Colorado Rockies would appear to have the edge against the Phillies, but how would either team perform against Joe Torre’s men?

The Dodgers posted a 4-3 mark against Philadelphia. Should Colorado prevail to face the Dodgers, the Dodgers beat their divisional foe 14-4 including winning the last two games of the regular season against the Rockies.

Things look good for the Dodgers for sure.

So get ready for red carpets, H-O-L-L-Y-W-O-O-D on the hill, and the so called beautiful people (plastic surgery augmented human forms), the prospects of a Los Angeles matchup looks strong.

MLB 2009: The Post Season Begins -- Playoffs, Round One

The Season that Refused to End

Did anyone think that the Twins would roar back after splitting their four game season against the Tigers last week?

They went into Friday’s play out two games, magic number two, for Detroit. Then Friday night, Minnesota won, Detroit lost, magic number still two, but Minnesota was then just a game out. Reload and get ready for Saturday, again Minnesota won, Detroit, lost, everything was even. Bring on Sunday, if one team wins and the other loses, the winning team wins. If both teams win or both teams lose, a shootout on Tuesday in Minnesota delayed one day by the Brett Favre Bowl Monday night in Minneapolis. Both teams won setting the stage for the sudden death elimination game, the game (and season) that refused to end. Detroit scored 3 runs in the top of the first answered by a single run by Minnesota who would then score one in 6th and two in the 7th to briefly pull ahead4-3. Detroit would tie the game in the top of the eighth sending the game into extra innings after neither team scored in the 9th. Detroit took the lead in the 10th scoring a single run which was answered by Minnesota in the bottom of the inning. Finally, in the bottom of the 12th, Alexi Casilla, who had been brought in as a pinch runner and now was batting as the DH drove in the winning run, Twins win!!! Twins win!!!

Surely, this is tough medicine for Detroit, a metropolitan area in deep recession with the fall of the auto industry. The Tigers had been in first since early May and as late as September 16th held a 4 ½ game lead over the Twins. The Twins held out faint hopes that they could master the Tigers in their next to last series in Detroit.

The irony in all this is the Hubert Humphrey Metrodome set to close for baseball action with the end of the season lives on to host at least one more game in the playoffs before the Minnesota Twins open Target field next April, no more boomers of the baggy and fielders losing fly balls in the fabric covered ceiling. The New York Yankees will endure one more visit to the dome in game three.

Post Season Preview

With a 103 win season, stellar performances by Mark Texiera, C.C. Sabathia, Derek Jeter and others, the New York Yankees look ready to march through the playoffs to yet another World Championship for 2009. Who can stop the Yankees?

Truthfully, any of the other teams competing in this year’s post season. Considering the first series is only five games, if the Twins gets hot, it’s over. However, the Yankees have a great record against the Minnesota Twins this year, then it’s on to either compete with either the Boston Red Sox or Los Angeles Angels. The Yankees dominated the Red Sox in their later matchups but the Sox handled them with ease early in the year. The Angels were one of the Yankees toughest competitors this past season.

Sorting out the picture in the National League is more difficult. Philadelphia is the defending champion, but they’re probably not as strong as they were last year. First, their closer, Brad Lidge, has been a disaster especially during the second half of the season. The Dodgers looked like a team that simply did not want to finish the deal playing effectively only in spurts after the All-Star break with Manny Ramirez, the troublesome outfielder, being largely ineffective since coming off suspension for performance enhancing drugs. Meanwhile, since mid-June, no team in the National League has played better than the Colorado Rockies who were buried in last place 14 ½ game out on June 4th. Meanwhile, the St. Louis Cardinals hung around near the top in the early season before becoming rock solid and consistent completely taking command of the NL Central in the 2nd half. Adam Wainwright (19-8, 2.63 ERA) and Chris Carpenter (17-4, 2.24 ERA) led the starting rotation with unthinkably low ERA’s in today’s game getting added support from Joel Pineiro (15-12, 3.49), the Cardinals hurlers set the stage for arguably the game’s best player to work his magic in the batter’s box. Albert Pujols added to his Hall-of-Fame credentials with 47 homers, 136 RBI’s, and a .427 batting average. Adding Matt Holiday in the outfield in a deal with Oakland provided some lineup protection and a body on the bases with his .353 average with the Cardinals. Adding to the offense is right fielder, Ryan Ludwick’s production, 97 RBI’s and 22 homers.

It’s interesting to note how close the final records of the NL playoff teams were with the L.A. Dodgers leading the pace at 95-67, followed by Philadelphia at 93-69, Colorado at 92-70, and St. Louis at 91-71. While St. Louis has the weakest season long record, given the strength of their starters and proven offense anchored by Albert Pujols, it’s hard not to see them as the potential favorite. Here's the action...

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Divisional Series Schedule

Today
NL: Colorado at Philadelphia, 2:30 pm, game 1
AL: Minnesota at New York, 6:00 pm, game 1
NL: St. Louis at Los Angeles Dodgers, 9:30 pm game 1

Thursday, October 8
NL: Colorado at Philadelphia, 2:30, game 2
NL: St. Louis at Los Angeles Dodgers, 6:00 pm, game 2
AL: Boston at Los Angeles Angels, 9:30 pm game 1

Friday, October 9
AL: Minnesota at New York, 6:00 pm, game 2
AL: Boston at Los Angeles Dodgers, 9:30 pm, game 2

Saturday, October 10
NL: St. Louis at Los Angeles Dodgers, 6:00 pm, game 3
NL: Philadelphia at Colorado, 9:30 pm, game 3

Sunday: October 11
AL: New York at Minnesota, game 3, TBD
AL: Los Angeles Angels at Boston, game 3, TBD
NL: Philadelphia at Colorado, game 4 (if needed) TBD
NL: Los Angeles Dodgers at St. Louis, game 4 (if needed) TBD

Monday, October 12
AL: New York at Minnesota, game 4 (if needed) TBD
AL: Los Angeles Angels at Boston, game 4 (if needed) TBD

Tuesday, October 13
NL: Colorado at Philadelphia, game 5 (if needed) TBD
NL: St. Louis at Los Angeles Dodgers, game 5 (if needed) TBD

Wednesday, October 14
AL: Minnesota at New York, game 5 (if needed) TBD
AL: Boston at Los Angeles Angels, game 5 (if needed) TBD

Predictions:

AL:

The Yankees swept the Twins in seven regular season games and given the Twins start game one rushed into New York for a 6:00 pm start, the Yankees should dominate this series with ease. No one should be surprised if game 3 in Minnesota will be the last baseball game ever at the Dome.

The other AL contest is a little trickier. While the Red Sox won 4 to the Angels 5 in regular season competition, the Red Sox have clearly had the Angels’ number in postseason matchups. In the quirky mess of the MLB schedule, the Sox played six games in Anaheim in April and May before playing three games at home against the Angels in September. In their recent matchup, Boston prevailed 2-1. While Boston’s performance was uneven in September, given rest and the chance to get their pitching lined up properly, the Sox should edge the Angels, but it could take all five games.


NL:
Philadelphia must score early and often so as not to be dependent on the Phillies miserable bullpen if they are to advance, so our pick is for the Colorado Rockies to prevail. With timely hitting and solid starting pitching, St. Louis should conquer the Dodgers.

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