Playoff Preview

Four teams still in the playoff hunt.  Three amazing games that ended within minutes of each other.  Two epic collapses that are now complete.  One incredible night of baseball.  Zero tiebreaker games that were necessary.  And that was just the appetizer.  Now it's time for the entree.  Hopefully it's just as delicious.

That Red Sox-Phillies World Series everybody thought was inevitable in March?  Not gonna happen.  Defending World Champion Giants?  Not for long.  Tampa Bay Rays, Team of Destiny?  Maybe.  Entering the 2011 postseason, I have no idea what's going to happen.  And that's what's so great about the month of baseball we have to come.  I can easily see any of the four American League teams winning the pennant, and I think the Phillies' "inevitable" march to the World Series could seriously be derailed by that feisty bunch in Milwaukee.  Playoff baseball is here.  I can't wait.

Yankees-Tigers
Since the Braves pissed away their wild card lead and that incredible Braves-Brewers series I was looking forward to, Yankees-Tigers becomes the best Division Series matchup.  I can honestly see this one going either way.  The Yankees have the best lineup in the American League, but the Tigers have the best pitcher on the planet.  And the Game 1 matchup at Yankee Stadium is the same as it was six months ago when these two teams met on Opening Day: Sabathia vs. Verlander.  But the Justin Verlander the Yankees saw on March 31 isn't the same Justin Verlander they'll see on September 30.  He's the reason I can definitely see the Tigers in the World Series, but not the only reason.  That lineup is incredibly underrated, and the rest of the rotation (Doug Fister, Max Scherzer, Rick Porcello) can certainly hold its own.  With Verlander pitching twice, the Yankees have to win all three of the remaining games.  And we'll find out whether the three-man rotation is a really smart move or an incredible mistake.  CC hasn't pitched in a week, so let's see if he's rusty in Game 1.  Then he'll come back on short rest in Game 4 (if there is one).  But that makes the Game 5 matchup Verlander vs. Ivan Nova.  That's why if the Yankees are going to win this series, they have to do it in four.  I'm not sure that happens.  Tigers in five.

Rangers-Rays
This is a rematch of last year's crazy Division Series in which the road team won every game.  The Rays certainly have that "Team of Destiny" thing going, but they're the only team in the American League that won't be throwing their ace in Game 1.  Instead, it'll be rookie Matt Moore against all-star C.J. Wilson.  But the pitching matchup favors Tampa Bay after that, as the Rays have Shields, Hellickson, Price in Games 2-4.  And if there's a Game 5, it would likely be James Shields on normal rest against Wilson.  The Rangers, however, are the defending American League champs.  And I don't need to tell you how good their lineup is.  It'll be up to Tampa Bay's pitching to shut the Texas offense down.  Even if they do that, though, will the Rays be able to hit enough?  I'm also curious if their incredible September run will carry over into October.  Remember the 2007 Rockies?  It definitely feels like the 2011 Rays could be that team.  But again, the Texas offense might just be too strong.  They went five last year, and I wouldn't be surprised if that happened again.  I don't think it will, though.  I think the magic carries over for at least one round.  Rays in four.

Phillies-Cardinals
Who are we kidding here?  The Phillies didn't care if they played the Diamondbacks or the Cardinals in the Division Series.  St. Louis has a slightly better chance of giving them a series, but for them, the only intrigue going into the NLDS is wondering whether or not Albert's playing his final games in a Cardinals uniform.  Even with that historic Braves collapse, I'm still not really sure how the Cardinals made the playoffs.  Regardless, here they are.  Chris Carpenter pitched the must-win game on Wednesday night, meaning he won't be available until Game 3.  And he might be in another must-win situation in that game.  It's Kyle Lohse and Edwin Jackson against Phillies co-aces Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee in Games 1 and 2.  Giants pitching shut down the Phillies' lineup in the NLCS last season.  That's why San Francisco won.  The 2010 Giants had a much better pitching staff than the 2011 Cardinals.  If Matt Holliday can't go, the St. Louis lineup takes a big time hit, and the Cardinals are going to need all the offense they can get against Philadelphia' trio of aces.  We saw what the Phillies did to the best offense in the National League in last year's division series.  It's great to see the Best Baseball Town in America's team  back in the postseason.  But the Cardinals won't be staying long.  St. Louis might steal a game, but they're not going to win three.  Not against this Phillies team.  Phillies in three.

Brewers-Diamondbacks
Other than (obviously) the St. Louis Cardinals, there's probably no team happier the Braves choked than the Arizona Diamondbacks.  A Phillies-Diamondbacks series would've been even worse than Phillies-Reds was last year.  Instead they get the Brewers, which I don't think is much better.  Tampa Bay has that team of destiny feel.  So does Milwaukee.  They won a franchise-record 95 games and their first division title in 29 years, when they played in the AL East.  Plus, they're unbelievable at home in front of that rabid fan base.  Think that No. 2 seed and the extra home game was important to the Brewers?  We all know about that offense with Ryan Braun, Prince Fielder, Rickie Weeks and Corey Hart.  But let's not forget, Milwaukee's also got a pretty solid rotation of Zack Greinke, Yovani Gallardo, Shaun Marcum and Randy Wolf.  Kirk Gibson has to be the NL Manager of the Year for the work he did in Arizona this year.  I seriously still don't know how the Diamondbacks made the playoffs.  But the Diamondbacks don't have a chance in this series.  The Brewers are a much better team.  I've been saying all along that they'll give the Phillies a run for their money.  I was really hoping for that Brewers-Braves series that seemed pretty certain even a week ago.  That series would've been a classic.  This one won't be.  The Diamondbacks win one of their home games, but that's it.  Brewers in four.

Unbelievable

That's the only word I can think of to describe the last 35-40 minutes of the 2011 Major League Baseball season.  All six divisions were clinched a week ago, but the wild card intrigue lasted not just until the last day.  It lasted until the final minutes of the season.  Entering the day, the Braves and Cardinals were tied for the NL wild card, while the Red Sox and Rays were tied for the AL wild card.  Meanwhile, not a single division winner knew who they'd be playing in the Division Series.  In fact, the Rangers and Tigers were fighting for home field advantage in the ALDS, while it was the same thing for Milwaukee and Arizona in the National League.

So how did it all turn out?  The Brewers beat the Pirates, making whatever the Diamondbacks did irrelevant.  The Tigers fell behind 3-1 against the Indians, rallied to take a 4-3 lead, blew that lead, then went ahead 5-4 on Jhonny Peralta's homer in the bottom of the eighth.  Then Jose Valverde converted his 49th consecutive save to complete a perfect season in that regard.  That meant the Rangers needed to win to avoid the Yankees.  Texas was tied with the Angels 1-1 until the top of the ninth, when former Angel Mike Napoli belted a two-run homer.  3-1 Rangers.  That was the final, sending Detroit to Yankee Stadium and setting up that yummy Sabathia-Verlander matchup on Friday night.

But all that was nothing compared to what happened in the two wild card races.  The Cardinals enjoyed the benefits of 1) having Chris Carpenter pitching and 2) facing the Astros, the worst team in baseball.  Carpenter threw a two-hitter and St. Louis won 8-0.  Now it was time to sit around and wait.

The Braves, meanwhile, drew the unfortunate assignment of the best team in the majors, the Phillies.  It was 3-1 Atlanta after three, and the Braves took a 3-2 lead into the ninth.  But Craig Kimbrel, who's been great all season, blew the save.  Fast-forward to the 13th inning.  The Phillies scored in the top half, meaning Atlanta needed to score to keep its season alive.  The tying run got on base when Dan Uggla walked, but Freddie Freeman then grounded into a double play.  Incredibly, the Braves, who led the wild card race by 8.5 games with 20 to go, were out and the Cardinals were headed to Philadelphia.

Believe it or not, that pales in comparison to what happened in the American League.  The Yankees jumped out to a 7-0 lead in Tampa and the Red Sox had a 3-2 lead in Baltimore.  It was still 7-0 Yankees going to the bottom of the eighth in Tampa.  That's when the Rays put up a six-spot to make it a game.  Now it's bottom nine.  Two out.  Two strikes to pinch hitter Dan Johnson.  The Rays' season is one strike from being over.  Then Johnson turns on Cory Wade's pitch and delivers it into the right field stands.  We're tied.

Meanwhile in Baltimore, the Red Sox and Orioles come back after a rain delay in the bottom of the seventh.  It's still 3-2 going to the bottom of the ninth and Jonathan Papelbon comes in for the save.  Adam Jones and Mark Reynolds (no surprise there) both strike out.  Boston's one out away from guaranteeing at least a one-game playoff.  Chris Davis is up next, and he doubles to right.  Now it's Nolan Reimold's turn.  He rips a double to the gap in right-center, tying the game at 3-3.  Then Robert Andino hits a sinking line drive to left that Carl Crawford can't grab.  Here comes Reimold.  Baltimore wins.

Minutes later back in Tampa, the Red Sox-Orioles final shows up on the scoreboard just as the Rays are coming to the plate in the bottom of the 12th.  B.J. Upton strikes out leading off the inning, bringing up Evan Longoria.  Longoria hit a three-run homer to get the Rays back in the game in the eighth.  That was nothing compared to what he does next.  He turns on a Scott Proctor fastball down the line in left.  Fair or foul?  It's fair.  It's gone.  Rays win!  Tampa Bay is the American League wild card and Boston is out of the playoffs.  Wow!

It's days like this that make baseball great.  The entire season came down to the final hour.  Every pitch in those three games was do-or-die.  We thought there would be two playoff games on Thursday.  Instead there are none.  When September started, it looked like Boston and Atlanta would run away with the wild cards.  Yet, thanks to two of the most historic September collapses in history, neither one made the playoffs.  So much for that Phillies-Red Sox World Series everybody predicted in Spring Training.

Wednesday night was also all the proof you need that baseball doesn't need another wild card in each league.  If there's five playoff teams, none of those games matter at all.  The Cardinals, Braves, Rays and Red Sox all would've already clinched playoff berths.  The Angels were the sixth-best team in the American League.  They finished four games behind Boston.  San Francisco has the sixth-best record in the National League, three games worse than Atlanta's.  Thus, extra playoff team=no pennant race=no incredible Wednesday.  Instead of amazing, Wednesday would've been anticlimactic. 

We just witnessed one of greatest, most dramatic nights of baseball in recent memory.  And that was just the opening act.  If we get that on the final night of the regular season, I can't wait for what the playoffs have in store!

Setting the Postseason Roster

I'm sure everyone has their opinions about who should make the Yankees playoff roster.  Outside of the obvious (CC), the pitching rotation is up in the air.  Jesus Montero has been all but guaranteed a spot, so who's spot is he taking?  And let's not forget Jorge.  I think it's a no-brainer that you have to take him.  It's not worth risking the PR hit and potential fan mutiny that would result if he wasn't on the roster.  But there are still plenty of questions.  That's what I'm here for.

Rotation
CC's going to be on super-extended rest in Game 1 of the Division Series on Friday.  That wouldn't have been my course of action with him (I would've had him go on three days' rest in one of the games yesterday, then be on normal rest on Friday), but my last name's not Girardi, so I'm not going to pretend I know what's better for the Yankees than that other Joe.  As for the right-handers, the six-man rotation has to be trimmed down to four, so two of them are out.  The two that are all but guaranteed spots in the postseason rotation are Ivan Nova and Freddy Garcia.  Rookie of the Year candidate Nova's a lock.  Garcia should be, too.  His bad games have been few and far between, and he often ends up on the right side of pitchers' duels.  That makes him a pretty solid selection for a postseason start.

So, that leaves Phil Hughes, A.J. Burnett and Bartolo Colon.  Colon's out.  He's been really shaky of late and is the only Yankee starter with a record below .500.  Colon hasn't pitched this many innings since 2008 and it's definitely showing.  Now we're down to two.  I think the choice is easy.  Despite all his well-publicized struggles, I'm handing the ball to A.J. Burnett in Game 4.  When A.J.'s bad, he's really bad.  But the good A.J. (the one that pitched Game 2 of the 2009 World Series) is one of the best starters in baseball.  I think his last two starts locked up his spot.  But I'm taking Burnett over Hughes for another reason, too.  Hughes has proven he can pitch out of the bullpen no problem.  You can't say the same about Burnett.  If you send Hughes to the bullpen, he won't get upset and he'll still be productive.  That's a dangerous arm to add to an already stacked bullpen.

Bullpen
Speaking of the bullpen, those selections, for the most part, should be pretty easy.  Mariano, Robertson and Soriano are all obvious.  As the only lefty, so is Boone Logan.  Luis Ayala and Cory Wade have also earned spots with their consistency throughout the year.  There's no need to go with 12 pitchers (and only four bench players) in the postseason, so there's only one spot left.  The three guys in contention are Hughes, Colon and Hector Noesi.  My pick is Hughes, for many of the same reasons I gave for picking Burnett as the fourth starter.  Hughes has shown he can do it.  As either a long man or a short man.  Adding that arm to an already ridiculous bullpen is borderline unfair.  Colon's value would be as a long man if A.J. falls apart.  Same thing with Noesi.  He's young.  His time will come.  You bring him along for the ride in the postseason, but you don't put him on the active roster.

Starting Lineup
Let's not kid ourselves, we all know eight of the nine position players who'll be in the Yankees' starting lineup on Friday night.  Russell Martin behind the plate.  Teixeira, Cano, Jeter and A-Rod around the horn.  Gardner, Granderson and Swisher left to right in the outfield.  The only question is who's going to DH?  Well, that's probably going to depend on who's pitching.  If they play the Tigers, Jorge Posada DHs against Justin Verlander in Game 1.  If they play the Rangers, C.J. Wilson is pitching, so Montero DHs.  I think it'll pretty much go like that throughout the postseason, although there are options at DH (lefty Eric Chavez and righty Andruw Jones).  Then there's always the possibility Eduardo Nunez starts and one of the infielders DHs.  But I'd be surprised if it's anything other than a Posada-Montero platoon, at least in the Division Series.

Bench
For the sake of argument while constructing a bench, we'll make Posada the starting DH.  Of the five bench guys I'm taking, three are locks--Eduardo Nunez, Eric Chavez and Andruw Jones.  The non-DHing half of Posada/Montero will obviously be a bench guy, as well.  That leaves one place.  If he was healthy, that spot would obviously go to backup catcher Francisco Cervelli.  But Cervelli's been out for a while with a concussion and I'd be very hesitant to put him on the postseason roster if I wasn't 100 percent sure he'd be able to play.  Thus, a backup catcher is needed.  There's been some talk that both Montero and Austin Romine will be on the roster so that Romine can serve as the backup catcher, but I don't think that's the way to go.  Russell Martin is more than capable of catching every inning of the postseason.  As a result, putting Montero on the roster as the "backup catcher," even if he's going to get a lot of DH at-bats is sufficient.  (Don't forget, Posada can catch too.) 

Besides, I think that roster spot would be better spent on an outfielder.  Andruw Jones being the only backup outfielder on the team for most of the year was really frustrating.  Especially since Girardi likes to take Nick Swisher out for defense late in games.  That's why my call for the 25th guy on the postseason roster is Chris Dickerson.  Dickerson was a frequent rider on the Scranton Shuttle all season, but he's earned a place on the postseason roster.  He's performed consistently whenever he's been with the big club.  He's fast, too, so that makes him valuable as a potential pinch runner, as well as a late-game defensive replacement for Swisher in right field.

So, in a nutshell, here's my Yankee roster for the Division Series, broken down by position...

SP: CC Sabathia, Ivan Nova, Freddy Garcia, A.J. Burnett
RP: Mariano Rivera, David Robertson, Rafael Soriano, Boone Logan, Cory Wade, Luis Ayala, Phil Hughes
C: Russell Martin, Jesus Montero
IF: Mark Teixeira, Robinson Cano, Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Eduardo Nunez, Eric Chavez
OF: Brett Gardner, Curtis Granderson, Nick Swisher, Andruw Jones, Chris Dickerson
DH: Jorge Posada

Week 3 Picks

That's more like it.  After a shaky start (8-8), I rebounded by going 12-4 last week.  This week, we have one of those lockout-protection weeks that the NFL built into the schedule.  Every game this weeked is a matchup of two teams that have a common bye.  Of course, that's no longer relevant because the lockout didn't cancel any regular season games, but it remains an interesting little factoid.  As for the matchups themselves, there are seven 2-0 teams.  Four are surprises (Buffalo, Detroit, Houston, Washington) and three are not (Green Bay, New England, Jets).  There are also seven 0-2 teams, two of which (Indianapolis, Kansas City) won their divisions last season.  At least one of the undefeated teams has to lose (New England visits Buffalo), while some of the winless teams have winnable games.  And with that, time for the picks...

Patriots at Bills: New England-The Bills are a surprising 2-0, mainly because they've played the Chiefs and the Raiders.  But they haven't beaten the Patriots since Week 1 of the 2003 season.  One of these teams won't be undefeated anymore after this game.  That team will be Buffalo.

49ers at Bengals: San Francisco-Cincinnati is technically favored in this game, but frankly, who really cares?  I think the 49ers are a better team (they should've beaten Dallas last week), so they're the pick.

Dolphins at Browns: Cleveland-Miami's not a very good team.  Cleveland isn't either, but the Browns are better than the Dolphins.  I'm not really sure how it worked out this way, but Cleveland doesn't play a team that was above .500 last season until December.  As a result, the Browns could end up with a pretty good record going into the season's final month.

Broncos at Titans: Tennessee-Our third straight "Who cares?" game of the week.  The game's in Nashville, so I'm taking the Titans.

Lions at Vikings: Detroit-Yes, the Lions might be a surprising 2-0, but I think this team is for real.  They're definitely on the way up, and the playoffs are a real possibility.  The Vikings have a chance to get their first win at home, but I think Detroit stays undefeated instead.

Texans at Saints: Houston-Outside of Buffalo, the 2-0 team most likely to lose this week is Houston.  The Texans visit a Saints team that dropped 34 on the Packers and 30 on the Bears.  Both of those defenses are better than Houston's.  The Saints take this one.

Giants at Eagles: Philadelphia-The Giants needed a win last week and got one against the Rams.  Meanwhile, Michael Vick got hurt and the Eagles completely fell apart in Atlanta.  This is the first meeting between the rivals since Matt Dodge, DeSean Jackson and the beginning of the Giants' December collapse.  The Eagles have owned this rivalry of late, and if the Giants couldn't even win that game in December, I'm certainly not taking them in Philly.

Jaguars at Panthers: Jacksonville-It's the 1995 Expansion Bowl!  There's a definite possibility here that Cam Newton picks up his first NFL win.  But I'm picking Jacksonville for some reason.

Jets at Raiders: Jets-In the first two weeks of the season, the Jets won a game they should've lost against the Cowboys, then absolutely dominated the Jaguars.  Now they head cross-country for their first road game of the year.  Fortunately, their opponent is the Raiders.  They should be 3-0 going into that Sunday night showdown in Baltimore next week.

Ravens at Rams: Baltimore-Here's what we know about the Baltimore Ravens: In Week 1, they absolutely destroyed their archrival Steelers.  In Week 2, they laid an egg in a loss to the Titans.  Which Ravens team shows up against the Rams?  I think it's the Good Ravens.  Although, St. Louis is in bigtime need of a win, which makes them a dangerous opponent in what could definitely be a trap game as the Ravens look ahead to the Jets.

Chiefs at Chargers: San Diego-For all those people who thought the Chiefs were anything other than a One-Year Wonder, look no further than the aggregate 89-10 score in losses to those powerhouse teams the Bills and Lions.  The Chargers are 1-1, but the loss came in Foxboro and can easily be forgiven.  San Diego finished a game behind Kansas City last year, in part because of a Week 1 loss to the Chiefs.  A win here goes a long way towards making sure that doesn't happen again.

Packers at Bears: Green Bay-The NFC Championship Game rematch is FOX's national game this week.  There isn't really that much insight I can provide about this contest.  I'm expecting a typical smashmouth Packers-Bears game.  But Aaron Rodgers is in a different league now, and the Bears aren't as good as they were last season.  As a result, I think the Super Bowl champs will win in Chicago for the second time in nine months.

Cardinals at Seahawks: Seattle-There's nothing like NFC West football.  The Cardinals probably should be 2-0, but choked in the fourth quarter last week in Washington.  This week they're in Washington again, Washington state, against the defending division champs.  The Seahawks have Falcons and at Giants in the next two weeks, so they would really like a win against Arizona.  I think they get one.

Falcons at Buccaneers: Atlanta-If Tampa Bay wants to be the NFC South giant-killer some experts think they can be, a win over the Falcons would make a nice statement.  But I think we all learned something about Atlanta last week.  The same team that got crushed by the Bears in Week 1 got what might end up being a signature win over their former quarterback and his new team last week on Sunday night.  Atlanta's the better team, and I think the Falcons ride the momentum of that victory over the Eagles to a road win in Tampa.

Steelers at Colts: Pittsburgh-When the NFL and NBC chose this as the Sunday night game, it was supposed to be a great matchup between Ben Roethlisberger and Peyton Manning.  Unfortunately, Peyton won't be playing.  The Colts aren't the same team without him, which takes all of the luster off what should be a marquee early-season matchup.  After that disastrous opener, the Steelers righted the ship by thumping the Seahawks last week.  The Colts are eventually going to win a game without Peyton.  It just won't be this week.

Redskins at Cowboys: Dallas-It's safe to say that I won't be watching the Monday night game this week.  As a good, loyal Giants fan, I hate both Dallas and Washington (although I hate the Redskins a little more).  In Week 1, the Cowboys lost a game they probably should've won.  In Week 2, they won a game they probably should've lost.  Washington is somehow 2-0 and leads the NFC East.  But the Redskins played two home games and the Cowboys played two road games.  This is the first game at Jerrywood since the Super Bowl.  Playing in their home opener, against their hated archrivals, on Monday Night Football, the Cowboys will win the game and create a three-way tie for first.

Last Week: 12-4
Season: 20-12

It All Makes Me Sick

I'm not a college football fan.  And all this nonsense with schools shifting conferences in pursuit of the almighty dollar everything else be damned isn't bringing me any closer to the Dark Side.  In fact, I'm more turned off by the BCS now than I ever have been before, and I didn't even think that would ever be possible.

I'm a Big East baby.  Always have been.  Always will be.  That's why it breaks my heart that Syracuse, one of the first schools you think of when you think "Big East," has decided to pack up and move to the ACC.  All because of the "instability" of the current situation in college sports.  You mean the instability that you're helping to create?  Yeah.  Just checking.  Just do us all a favor and say what your real motivation is.  Money.

Texas A&M's penis envy might've started the ball rolling, but all these hypocritical school presidents and conference commissioners need to stop kidding themselves and stop trying to get us all to believe that they're thinking about anything other than how much money their football team can make, things like rivalries and student-athletes actually being able to go to class be damned.  Who cares about the rest of the teams.  They don't make the school any money!  Besides, going to class is for suckers.  And who wants to play schools that are actually close to yours when you can get on a plane to Winston-Salem, North Carolina for that exciting Syracuse-Wake Forest football game!

In the past two years, we've seen all six of the BCS conferences, which include some of the greatest institutions of higher learning in the country, get very creative in the areas of math and geography.  Hopefully they don't offer graduate degrees in these fields.  The geography majors among us now know that Texas is now part of both the Southeast and East, Colorado is by the Pacific Ocean, and the Atlantic Coast now extends into both Central New York and Western Pennsylvania.  Meanwhile, the Big Ten has 12 schools and the Big 12 has nine.  Have you got all that?

For a while, it looked like a massive strain of defections was going to lead to the long feared "superconferences."  There was even talk of a Big 12-Big East merger.  But fortunately, Texas is as greedy as everybody else and didn't want to share any of the money it's going to make on the new Longhorn Network.  The only way that was going to happen was if the Big 12 stayed in tact.  It's in Texas' best interest to remain in the Big 12.  They know that.  As a result, the Big 12 isn't going anywhere.  Not if Texas can help it.  Likewise, the Big East is the only conference that's going to give Notre Dame what it wants (football independence, but conference membership in everything else).  The Irish would prefer to both stay in the Big East and have their NBC football contract.

So, it looks like the waters have cooled and the defections will only end up being minor ones.  The SEC still needs to find a school that's actually in the Southeast to join the conference with Texas A&M.  UConn wants to go to the ACC, and would probably bring Rutgers with it to give that league 16.  And the Big 12 is looking for at least one new member (likely BYU, which should be in a BCS conference anyway), but would probably take three so that there are actually 12 schools in the conference that has 12 in its name.

Meanwhile, the Big East is left scrambling.  Assuming UConn and Rutgers do go to the ACC, that leaves five football-playing members of the Big East (none of which is a founding member of the conference): West Virginia, Louisville, Cincinnati, South Florida and TCU.  Villanova's always had one of the best football teams at the FCS level, and they've indicated they want to move up to BCS.  That would obviously help the Big East out significantly.  But that still leaves at least two that are needed.  East Carolina has already applied for membership, so that's one down, but East Carolina's no Syracuse or Pitt.

What I think all these schools who are conspiring to create these superconferences are going to realize, though, is that bigger isn't necessarily better.  First off, I'm not really sure from a business perspective why these schools would rather split money 16 (or 14) ways instead of 12 ways, but that's a separate issue altogether.

My real point is this: the 16-team Big East works because they don't all play football.  In basketball, you can have 15 conference opponents and still play everybody.  The "superconferences" want to have 16-team football leagues.  That means conferences would likely be split into two eight-team divisions and you'd play maybe two of the teams in the other division each season.  In other words, a student-athlete could play four years and graduate having never played a home game against one of their school's conference "rivals."  Doesn't that defeat the entire purpose of conferences?

And I guarantee that there's going to be schools that will be in these super-sized conferences, but won't really be thrilled about it.  For argument's sake, let's say the ACC does add UConn and Rutgers, going to 16.  That creates an easy North-South split, with the six Big East teams (UConn, Rutgers, Boston College, Syracuse, Pitt and Virginia Tech) in the North division with Virginia and Maryland.  So, you're telling Maryland that instead of playing traditional rivals Duke and North Carolina, they're now going to play Rutgers and Pitt, as if that's somehow the same.  Maryland fans hate Duke and North Carolina.  They don't have an opinion one way or the other about Pitt and Syracuse.

Whether they meant it or not, Texas used that argument as a reason for staying in the Big 12.  They actually want to play their traditional rivals.  What a concept!  They want to be able to walk into a recruit's home and tell their parents that the games will actually be close enough to home to attend them all in person.  Money talks.  But it's nice to know that loyalty still means something.  So does integrity.

602

It's not like there was any doubt about it before, but now it's indisputable: Mariano Rivera is the greatest closer ever.  Again, it's not like this is a shocking proclamation to anybody, but he's now the all-time leader in saves, which makes this a good time to reaffirm how great Mo actually is.

At work today, right after he got the record 602nd save, my boss and I started having a conversation about whether or not anybody will ever catch him.  The save is still a relatively new stat (it only dates back to 1969), so I have no idea.  Is it possible someone else will come along and save 700 games?  I really don't know.  But I highly doubt it.  Think about all the variables that have had to come into play here.  For starters, Rivera's 41 years old.  He's been his team's primary closer for 15 seasons, which means he became the Yankees' full-time closer since he was 26.  Being that good and able to maintain it for that long are two key factors in Rivera's brilliance.  But let's not forget the other thing that's going to make him so hard to catch.  You've got to play on a team good enough to have 600 save opportunities.  Yes, even the worst teams win 65 games a year, but how many of those include save opportunities?  30?  35?  The Yankees have been consistently good, which obviously helped.

So, no, I don't envision somebody ever catching him.  Future Hall of Famer Trevor Hoffman, who's now second all-time with 601 career saves, was the face of the San Diego Padres for 15 seasons.  After the 2008 season, they decided he was too old to be their closer.  He went to Milwaukee and added a few saves in two years with the Brewers before retiring before this season.  Can you think of another closer with the longevity of Rivera and Hoffman?  That's one of the key factors if anyone is ever going to come anywhere near what the two of them have been able to do.

But Rivera trumps Hoffman in one other very obvious area, which is why it will be very hard for somebody to ever take away that "Greatest Closer Ever" label.  His career numbers in the postseason are staggering.  In 94 career postseason games, he's 8-1 with a 0.71 ERA and 109 strikeouts in 139.2 innings.  Oh yeah, he's also got 42 postseason saves to match the number on his back.  And the Yankees have won five World Series.  Without Rivera, that number would maybe be two.  (And the blown save in Game 7 of the 2001 World Series can easily be overlooked compared to the rest of the body of work.)  If the Atlanta Braves had Mariano Rivera, they would've won more than one World Series during the 1990s.

Major League Baseball retired the No. 42 for Jackie Robinson league-wide in 1997.  That's the year Mariano Rivera became the Yankees' closer.  Fifteen years later, Mo's the only guy left wearing the number.  It's only fitting.  Nobody's going to compare to either one of those baseball legends.  And no Yankee was ever going to wear No. 42 again anyway.  That number belongs on the wall in Monument Park, which is where it's headed when Mariano finally retires.

After he picked up save No. 601 on Saturday, the YES Network announcers were acting completely ridiculous.  Michael Kay and Kimberly Jones both actually asked the question, "Will it come tomorrow (Sunday) in Toronto or at Yankee Stadium?"  This qualifies as possibly the stupidest rhetorical question ever asked on the YES Network.  The fact that they lost 3-0 makes it a moot point, but if I'm Joe Girardi, there's no way Rivera pitches on Sunday, regardless of the score.  Not with an eight-game homestand coming up.

I've always been a person who wants records and milestones to be set at home.  When you do it on the road, fans of the opposing team will obviously appreciate the achievement, but there's something about doing it in front of your own fans, with the entire stadium cheering for you.  It was like that for Derek Jeter's 3,000th hit, and it was like that today.  There's an indescribable feeling every time the eighth inning ends, the bullpen door swings open and "Enter Sandman" begins blaring on the speakers.  This achievement is as much for Rivera as it is for Yankees fans.  Jeter's 3,000th and Rivera setting the all-time saves record.  Both at the Stadium in the same year.  Wow!  It took a little while, but I think the mystique and aura have officially found their way across the street.

Mariano Rivera has never been a stats guy.  He just wants the Yankees to win.  That's what's so cool about this record.  He's saved a Yankees win 602 times.  And don't forget about those 42 playoff games.

Some critics consider the save an overrated stat.  In some respects, I agree.  When Francisco Rodriguez set the single-season record with 62 saves, it was because the Angels won all of their games 5-2 or 6-3.  But Mariano Rivera's greatness has never been questioned.  Nor should it be.  First-ballot Hall of Famer?  Absolutely.  Greatest closer of all-time?  Case closed.  There will never be another like him.  Exit light.  Enter night.  Take my hand.  Off to Never Never Land.

Week 2 Picks

Yes, I have an opinion about what I heard regarding Pitt and Syracuse today and this whole can of worms that Texas A&M opened up.  But I'm going to wait until I get a little more info before tackling that subject.  Instead, it's time to make the Week 2 football picks.  I'm considering my stellar 8-8 opening week to be more of an aberration than a sign of things to come.  But if it happens again this week, I'm might have to rethink this whole picking football games thing.

• Raiders at Bills: Buffalo-I'm not surprised the Raiders won in Week 1, but I certainly didn't expect the Bills to win in Kansas City, especially by such a wide margin.  Oakland doesn't beat teams outside the AFC West, so I'm taking Buffalo to go to 2-0.
• Chiefs at Lions: Detroit-This is still a "Who cares?" game, even though both teams are now somewhat good.  The Lions won last week.  They should again in their home opener.
• Ravens at Titans: Baltimore-One of the most surprising results of Week 1 was the Ravens' thorough dismantling of their archrival Steelers.  If they did that to Pittsburgh, I almost don't want to think of what might happen to Tennessee.
• Browns at Colts: Indianapolis-The Colts' first game without Peyton in 13 years didn't go very well.  Things should go better this week, but they still might lose.  I have a little more confidence in Indy at home, though.
• Bucs at Vikings: Tampa Bay-Everybody in the NFC South lost last week.  Tampa Bay has a chance to give the division its first win of the season.
• Bears at Saints: New Orleans-One of the top games of the weekend.  It's the Saints offense against the Bears defense.  New Orleans has had some extra time to get ready after that opening night loss in Green Bay, which I think makes the difference.
• Jaguars at Jets: Jets-The Jets had no business winning that game on Sunday night.  But they did.  When good teams get lucky, that's when magical seasons can happen.  The Jaguars got a nice home win over the Titans, but Tennessee's nowhere near as good as the Jets.
• Seahawks at Steelers: Pittsburgh-This Super Bowl XL rematch features two 2010 division winners that lost their openers to division rivals.  The Steelers were left shell shocked by the Ravens last week.  But one of this team's most impressive characteristics is its ability to bounce back from games like that.  I'm taking Pittsburgh at home.
• Cardinals at Redskins: Washington-Both teams won in Week 1, but that doesn't make either one good.  All it means is that one of them will be 2-0 after this game.
• Packers at Panthers: Green Bay-The defending champs against the worst team in the league last year.  Uh, yeah, good luck Panthers.  Cam Newton's fantasy points aren't gonna help you against the Pack.
• Cowboys at 49ers: San Francisco-Remember when this was the marquee game of the season?  Dallas-San Francisco was the New England-Indianapolis of the 80s and 90s.  Unfortunately, it's not anymore.  The Cowboys are better, but the 49ers won last week and are at home.  I'm taking San Fran in the upset.
• Bengals at Broncos: Denver-Fortunately, there are two other late games on CBS.
• Texans at Dolphins: Houston-Is this finally going to be the year that Houston finishes over .500?  I know, it was only one game, but they looked really good against the Colts.  Although in fairness, that wasn't really the Colts they were playing.  Regardless, they should go to 2-0.
• Chargers at Patriots: New England-This is the game of the week, which is why it's the doubleheader game.  Both of them won games they should've won last week.  I'm going to have a hard time picking against New England at all this year, especially in Foxboro.
• Eagles at Falcons: Philadelphia-The "Vick Bowl."  I'm surprised the Falcons were beaten so badly in Chicago last week.  They're a better team than that.  Meanwhile, the Eagles looked mighty impressive in St. Louis.  The emotion of Vick coming back to Atlanta for the first time could definitely be a factor, but I don't think it will be.  If anything, I think that's why he leads the Eagles to victory.
• Rams at Giants: Giants-This is your Monday night game.  I think the Giants thought last week was another preseason game.  Because the starters only played a half.  From what I understand, the Rams will have enough guys to play in the game, even though seemingly their entire team got hurt in Week 1 against the Eagles.  Neither team can really afford to go 0-2, but that'll be a harder hole for the Giants to climb out of.  It'll be close, but the Giants pull this one out.

Last Week: 8-8
Season: 8-8

The Great Gold Glove Debate

Brett Gardner is quite possibly the best left fielder in the American League, if not all of baseball.  It's a shame that he has little to no chance of winning a Gold Glove.  Why?  Because for some reason, they award Gold Gloves to three outfielders regardless of position, and more often than not, they all go to center fielders.  This is completely absurd and needs to be changed.  The three outfield positions are completely different and all involve separate skill sets.

If they want to give Gold Gloves to three generic outfielders, they might as well award them to four generic infielders while they're at it.  Especially since playing shortstop is exactly the same as playing first base.  That, of course, is a ridiculous notion.  If they were to award the infield Gold Gloves the same way they did the ones in the outfield, middle infielders would have absolutely no chance of ever winning one.  Shortstops and second basemen make the most errors.  It's the nature of the two positions.  Everyone understands that.  That's why the four infield positions are given separate Gold Gloves, and rightfully so.

So why isn't that same principle applied to the outfield?  Left field, center field and right field are completely different positions, from the angles you need to play to the ground you need to cover to the way you should play caroms to where you're supposed to throw.  That's why giving Gold Gloves to three center fielders makes absolutely no sense.

Torii Hunter of the Angels won nine straight Gold Gloves, as a center fielder, from 2001-09.  But the Angels decided he lost some of his range and moved him to right this season.  Basically, they told him he's not good enough to play center field anymore.  Maybe that's the problem.  The managers as a whole seem to have such a low opinion of corner outfielders.  The corner outfield spots are the "easiest" positions to play, so it's harder to appreciate good ones.  That's where you stick the guys that you can't find anyplace else for.  During interleague play, the Red Sox stuck Adrian Gonzalez in right field just so David Ortiz could be in the lineup at first base.  They sacrificed their defense at two positions just to get a slow, fat guy's bat in the lineup.  Meanwhile, a two-time Gold Glove first baseman was stuck playing a completely foreign position.

Need further proof that the positions are entirely different?  Ichiro is the best right fielder in baseball.  He's won a Gold Glove every year since his 2001 rookie season.  The Mariners tried to move him to center field one year, and it was a terrible idea.  Ichiro was still good defensively, but he wasn't great.  Then Franklin Gutierrez arrived in Seattle, and Ichiro was promptly moved back where he belongs.  Right field.  Both of them ended up winning Gold Gloves last season.

I'm not saying that teams shouldn't put their best defensive outfielder in center field.  Quite the opposite actually.  Your best defensive outfielder should be in center field.  It's one of the most important positions on the field, and one of the hardest to play.  But it's completely different than playing the other two.  The center fielder doesn't have to play balls off the Green Monster in Boston (it's no coincidence that three successive Red Sox left fielders are residents of Cooperstown).  Or deal with bullpens.  Or worry about fans reaching over for balls near the line (ask Moises Alou about that one).  Center fielders are expected to hit the cutoff man.  Not throw out runners trying to score at the plate.  Left and right fielders have to do all of those things.  It would be nice if they could be rewarded with something.

Last year was unique in that a pair of left fielders actually won Gold Gloves, Carl Crawford, then with the Rays, in the American League, and Colorado's Carlos Gonzalez in the National League.  Ichiro, a right fielder, also won a Gold Glove (his 10th straight) last season.  Other than Ichiro, the last non-center fielder to win a Gold Glove was Atlanta's Jeff Francoeur, who got one as a right fielder in 2007.  But that year, there was a tie, so four NL outfielders got Gold Gloves.  And the other three were center fielders.  Prior to last season, the last non-Ichiro corner outfielder to win a Gold Glove in the AL was Angels left fielder Darin Erstad in 2002.

I'm not the only one who thinks they should award separate Gold Gloves for left field, center field and right field.  A discussion of Gardner led to Michael Kay and Al Leiter having this exact conversation during last night's Yankees-Mariners game.  Gary Cohen and Keith Hernandez, who knows a little something about winning Gold Gloves, did the same thing on SNY earlier this year.  And I'm sure it's come up at one point or another in each of the other 28 TV booths, as well as all 30 radio booths, and not to mention how many national broadcasts.  The opinion seems to be pretty unanimous.  So what's it going to take for Major League Baseball to finally make a change?

I'm not that crazy about "outfield" being one position on the All-Star ballot either, but there's at least a remedy for that.  Unfortunately, there's nothing that can be done if the managers decide that the second- and third-best center fielders in their respective leagues are better defensively than the best right and left fielders.  They might be.  But they play a different position!  It's time to acknowledge that.

Brett Gardner's not going to win a Gold Glove this season.  But he should.

Get Over Yourselves

That's a message that goes out to my friends at Texas A&M, as well as my "favorite" athlete who simply needs to shut up: Oscar Pistorius.  I've got some other things on my mind, but I'll start with those two.  Yes, I've already touched on each of these topics, but it's not like they're leaving the headlines anytime soon, so they're both still relevant.

• As I've said already, Texas A&M needs to accept the fact that it's not Texas.  Oklahoma State is fine with being Oklahoma's little brother.  So is Kansas State with Kansas.  If Oklahoma leaves for the Pac-12, Oklahoma State's going with them.  If Kansas decides to sue Texas A&M (which I completely advocate), Kansas State will as well.  If Kansas doesn't sue, Kansas State won't either.  My point is this: If Texas A&M doesn't want to be a part of the Big 12, they can at least actually say what the actual reason is.  Especially since we all know it already.
• The popular opinion is that BYU will join the Big 12 as Texas A&M's replacement.  I think this would be a tremendous move by both the school and the conference.  And, Texas A&M, this just in, BYU has a little more cache than you do also.  If not BYU, another school I've heard mentioned is Arkansas.  Arkansas is currently in the SEC, so the two conferences could in effect simply be trading Texas A&M for Arkansas.  I find that really funny.
• Last point on the Texas A&M thing: I really wish school presidents and athletic directors would think about something other than their football teams when deciding what conference to play in.  Otherwise, you might as well take the "student" part out of student-athlete.  Yes, football pays the bills.  But this has gotten beyond ridiculous.  Ask anyone at Boston College if they enjoy having their closest conference road game be in Maryland.  I give Texas credit for actually bringing up this point as a reason for staying in the Big 12 last summer.  The TV network also had a lot to do with it, obviously, but they at least realized that it's tough to do well in class if you're never able to go.  The existing conferences are built on rivalries with local schools that fans have grown to hate.  All the conference-jumping will also kill those rivalries.  Exhibit A: Oklahoma and Nebraska.
• Now on to Oscar, who's "Pist Off" (I can't take credit for that one, I've seen it in a couple other places and really liked it) that the IAAF told him he has to run the leadoff leg on the 4x400 meter relay.  You automatically have a slower split running the leadoff leg.  Pistorius claims that this slow split is the reason he was left off South Africa's relay team for the final at the World Championships (which went on to win the silver medal, by the way).  The IAAF's reasoning for its ruling is completely legitimate.  They're worried about the potential injuries that could occur if Pistorius were to get tangled up with another runner on a handoff.  He claims this is ridiculous, since he's run the other legs before and never gotten hurt.  They aren't talking about potential injury to you, you idiot!  They're thinking about all the other runners.  I already don't think this guy should be competing against able-bodied athletes, as I've already said.  His continued whining when he doesn't get his way makes me like him even less.  It's good to know I'm not the only one who thinks he's making a complete mockery of the sport.
• While I'm on the subject of track & field, check out this article from the Chicago Tribune that brilliantly states all of the reasons why Doha, Qatar (one of two finalists, along with London) should NOT host the 2017 World Championships.  The article is wonderful and I agree with everything said in it.  The basic jist of it is that Qatar wants to buy every major sporting event it can, completely ignoring the fact that its 120 degrees in that country in the middle of the summer!  And I'm not even going to get into some of the backwards political policies that are in place in Qatar.
• The U.S. Open ended on Monday for the fourth consecutive year.  I think once they get to five, the Monday final becomes official.  They didn't have to play the men's final on Monday, but they decided that would be the fair thing to do for the men that otherwise would've had to play four days in a row.  I have no problem with this, but I don't like the way they adjusted the schedule.  They kept the men's semifinals on Saturday afternoon as scheduled, followed by the women's semifinals on Saturday night (when the women's final was supposed to be played) and the women's final on Sunday afternoon when the men's final was supposed to be.  In other words, the men's semifinals were before the women's semifinals, even though the women's final was first.  How big a deal did this end up being?  Well, for starters, Sam Stosur got stuck playing a grand slam semifinal match on the Grandstand, which is the No. 3 court.  Her match started at 6 and was over around 8:30.  The Serena Williams-Caroline Wozniacki semifinal was supposed to start at 8, but there was a rain delay, Roger and Djokovic played five (that match is still too painful to talk about), and Nadal-Murray went another three hours after that.  Serena and Wozniacki didn't end up taking the court until around 9:30, and the match ended just before midnight.  Serena then had to take the court again (for a grand slam final) just 16 hours later.  Think it didn't effect her?  Think again.  I think the 6-2, 6-3 Stosur win is all the evidence I need to back up my point.
• I don't think it's completely out of the realm of possibility that it could be a Tigers-Brewers World Series.
• The 2012 MLB schedule came out today.  Could somebody please explain to me why the Yankees and Braves are playing an interleague home-and-home?  And why in a year that's supposed to be East vs. East, the Yankees (Reds) and Red Sox (Cubs) are both playing an NL Central opponent they played this season?

Week 1 Picks

Today I'm going to introduce something that might get promoted to a permanent Joe Brackets feature: weekly NFL picks.  I figured everybody else does them, so why don't I give it a try.  I've never gotten involved with points spreads and I probably never will.  All I care about is who actually wins the game.  If you're one who wants to pick the underdog because you think the 7.5-point favorite is only going to win by seven, go right ahead.  Just keep in mind that I won't be doing that.

So, here we go.  I'll start with the easy one.  The Packers will win a shootout.  OK, that one doesn't count, but I did pick Green Bay in my Yahoo! picks league, so I'm already out to a 1-0 start.  Now on to the rest of the games.  For some, I'll explain my thought process.  For others, the reason for the pick should be pretty obvious.

• Falcons at Bears: Atlanta-The Falcons are a better team, and they get lucky by having a road trip to Chicago in Week 1 instead of in December.
• Bengals at Browns: Cleveland-Does anyone even care about this game?  I didn't think so.
• Bills at Chiefs: Kansas City-The Chiefs aren't going to be this year's surprise playoff team.  In fact, I think they come back to the pack in the AFC West.  But playing one of the three worst teams in the AFC at home is a recipe for a 1-0 start.
• Eagles at Rams: Philadelphia-This is one of the better games on this week's docket.  Both teams are favored (at least by me) to win their division.  St. Louis will keep it close, but Michael Vick will find a way to pull it out late.
• Lions at Buccaneers: Tampa Bay-I'm taking Tampa Bay, but this one could go either way.  The Lions are much improved and could definitely make some noise this season.
• Titans at Jaguars: Tennessee-Will this game be on TV in Jacksonville?
• Steelers at Ravens: Pittsburgh-This matchup of AFC heavyweight and bitter rivals is CBS's national game this week.  It's both good and bad that Pittsburgh and Baltimore are playing each other in Week 1.  I'm sure the teams will be more than happy to get one of the two games out of the way immediately, but us fans lose out on both games being a little more meaningful.  I think having the entire offseason to prepare helped the Steelers more than it helped the Ravens, so I'm taking Pittsburgh by the standard Steelers-Ravens score of 17-14.
• Colts at Titans: Houston-Quick, who was the last quarterback other than Peyton to start a game for the Colts?  That would be 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh.  That all changes on Sunday, as Peyton misses the first game of his 14-year career and the un-retired Kerry Collins gets the start.  How long Peyton's out will have a direct bearing on the Colts' season.  This week, the shock value of not having him in there against an improved and determined Texans team (who beat them in Houston in Week 1 last year) won't be a good combination.
• Panthers at Cardinals: Arizona-The good news for one of these teams is that they get to start the season 1-0.
• Vikings at Chargers: San Diego-The Donovan McNabb Era in Minnesota begins in San Diego.  The Chargers didn't make the playoffs last year, mainly because their trademark early struggles went on a little too long.  Thus, a Week 1 win against a Vikings team that's nowhere near as good as its been over the past couple of years is a must.
• Seahawks at 49ers: Seattle-I'm going to take USC over Stanford in this Pac-12 battle.  Oh wait, Pete Carroll and Jim Harbaugh are both coaching in the NFL now.
• Giants at Redskins: Giants-Is there any more appropriate matchup on the 10th anniversary of 9/11 than New York vs. Washington?  This is actually the second consecutive meeting in Washington between these two (they played in Washington in Week 17 last season).  Eli Manning officially takes over the longest consecutive starts by a QB streak from his brother (a streak Peyton held for a whopping four weeks after Brett Favre finally missed a game in Week 14 last year) and Rex Grossman begins to realize that the Redskins will NOT win the NFC East as the Giants romp.
• Cowboys at Jets: Jets-In another appropriate scheduling move, the Sunday night game is across the river from where the tragedy took place.  The Jets have been to two straight AFC Championship Games and are definite Super Bowl contenders.  The Cowboys could easily go 12-4 and win the division or just as easily go 6-10.  The Jets lost at home (to the Ravens) in Week 1 last year.  I don't think it happens again.
• Patriots at Dolphins: New England-I'm not really sure why three of the four teams that are playing on Monday night are.  The Dolphins used to be the only team that could figure out the Patriots.  That's not the case anymore.
• Raiders at Broncos: Oakland-Part II of the Monday night doubleheader is a rivalry game that was really good in the early '90s.  Unfortunately, neither team is good now.  I can't believe I'm actually picking the Raiders, but they went undefeated in the division last year and Denver is slightly worse.  Besides, I had to pick one of them to actually "win" this game.  Bonus prediction regarding this game: I'll be asleep by halftime.

A Profound Sadness

As I was trying to think of a topic for today's blog, for a while the leading contender was one of those ones I do once or twice a month where I just list some bullet points with topics of the day and throw in my two cents on the subject.  Then stuff like the start of the football season, Peyton's injury, rain at the US Open and Oscar Pistorius continuing to be annoying simply didn't seem that important.  Not when I was overcome by sadness.  With the 10th anniversary of one of the darkest days in American history approaching this weekend, the sports world has been rocked by an equally unthinkable tragedy.  Early yesterday, a plane carrying the Russian hockey team Yaroslavl Lokomotiv crashed into the Volga River, killing 43 of the 45 passengers on board (the other two are in extremely critical condition), including 36 players, coaches and team officials.

It was one of the worst aviation disasters in sports history.  In an instant, an entire team was gone.  The only parallel I can even think to draw is the crash that killed the entire U.S. figure skating team on its way to the 1961 World Championships.  From a team-sports perspective, the crash involving the Marshall football team in 1970 (the inspiration for the movie We Are Marshall) is probably the closest parallel.  That crash took the lives of 75 people, including 36 players.

With 9/11 on all of our minds, I can't help but draw parallels to that dark day, as well.  After the attacks, sports took their proper place.  Everything was put on hold for a week so that America had time to grieve.  Then life gradually got back to normal.  And sports returned, too, but with a whole different purpose.  Once again sports took their proper place.  They're entertainment.  They gave us a chance to take a break from our lives and think about something else for a little while.  Perhaps most importantly, they uplifted us and made us feel as if it was OK to be happy about something.  They gave us a sense of pride.  Watching the Yankees never felt better than it did during the 2001 World Series.

Just like everything eventually returned to normal after 9/11, things will return to normal for Lokomotiv fans, as well.  It just might take a little longer.  The KHL rightfully postponed all games scheduled for this weekend, moving the start of the season to next weekend.  That season will begin with Lokomotiv.  KHL president Alexander Medvedev has said as much.  He's asked each of the other 23 teams in the league to designate up to three players that will be available for Lokomotiv to draft.  This solution has drawn the ire of some, but it's the right thing to do.  The team won't be the same.  It never will.  But it also needs to be rebuilt.  That's the only way the healing can begin.

Some people have argued that vowing to rebuild right away isn't showing the proper respect to those who were lost, but I think the opposite is true.  With the exception of Canada, Russia is possibly the most hockey-mad nation on earth.  Yaroslavl, located about 150 miles northeast of Moscow, is a city that loves its hockey team.  Lokomotiv gives Yaroslavl its identity.  Those fans need that team now the same way us New Yorkers needed the Yankees 10 years ago.  If they don't have a team to cheer for, it will only add to the pain.  Just ask residents of Brooklyn how it feels to lose your team.  Nobody will ever forget what happened.  But Lokomotiv fans also need the chance to move on.  And I can think of no better tribute to the fallen than Lokomotiv winning the KHL championship in their memory.

This is truly an international tragedy.  The KHL is probably the second-best professional hockey league in the world after the NHL.  In fact, a number of players have left the NHL for the KHL.  The Lokomotiv roster included players from 10 different countries, including Sweden, Belarus, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and, obviously, Russia.  Their coach was former NHL player Brad McCrimmon, a Canadian.  The roster included a number of former NHL players, including a few names that were instantly recognizable:

• Pavol Demeitra, probably the most recognizable name on the roster, played in the NHL for years, mostly for the St. Louis Blues.  He was also the captain of the Slovakian national team, leading them to a surprise appearance in the Olympic semifinals 17 months ago.
• Ruslan Salei, who played for the Red Wings last season and won the Stanley Cup with the Ducks in 2007.
• Josef Vasicek, Karel Ruchanek and Jan Marek, all of whom helped Sweden win three World Championships between 2005 and 2010.
• Goalie Stefan Liv, Henrik Lundqvist's backup on Sweden's gold medal-winning 2006 Olympic team.
• Igor Korolev, who played 795 games in 12 NHL seasons with St. Louis, Winnipeg/Phoenix, Toronto and Chicago.
• Dallas Stars defenseman Karlis Skrantis and San Jose Sharks prospect Daniil Sabchenko.
• Former New York Ranger Alexander Karpovtsev, who, along with Alexei Kovalev, Sergei Nemchinov and Sergei Zubov, was one of the first four Russians ever to have his name engraved on the Stanley Cup in 1994.

This tragedy is very different than what happened 10 years ago this weekend.  But I have a feeling the healing process will be very much the same.  After 9/11, I took comfort in listening to Lee Greenwood's beautiful hymn "God Bless the USA."  Today I listened to "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables" from Les Miserables and felt better.  If you've never heard the song, I recommend looking it up (I would've posted a YouTube link, but none had any volume).  And while you listen to it, think about Pavol Demeitra and Ruslan Salei and Alexander Karpovtsev and all the others who were lost.  Rest in peace gentlemen.

Pavol Demeitra at the 2010 Olympics

Football Preview, Part II (NFC)

Yesterday in Part I of my 2011 NFL preview, I looked at the AFC.  Today it's the NFC.  Like the AFC, the NFC is wide open.  Unlike the AFC, the top teams in the NFC aren't as clear.  Whereas I think the six AFC playoff teams are clear cut, that's not the case in the NFC.  This much is for sure, though: the Eagles and Packers are really good.

East
Redskins quarterback Rex Grossman has predicted that Washington will win this division.  Rex Grossman is wrong.  Unless the team that's listed at the bottom of the standings is the one that's in first place.  The team that will actually win the NFC East this season is the Philadelphia Eagles.  This prediction is obviously a painful one for me to make, but I'm working in the realm of objectivity here.  And objectively, Philly was clearly a winner in free agency.  They somehow managed to pull off the steal of all steals when they nabbed Nnamdi Asomugha to go along with Asante Samuel.  Seriously, how is anybody going to throw the ball against this defense?  And getting rid of Kevin Kolb made it pretty clear that this is Michael Vick's team.  With Vick and DeSean Jackson, the Eagles' offense is just as good as their defense.  The Eagles won the division last year (with a little help from the Giants), but lost to the Packers in the playoffs.  Philly's better this year.

The battle for second place will be between the Giants and Cowboys.  The Giants have tried hard to NOT make the playoffs in each of the last two seasons, missing out on the final day in 2009 and 2010.  Frankly, I think they were a better team last year.  But I also wouldn't be at all surprised to see them go 10-6 again.  The Giants are one of the most frustrating teams in football in that they'll play a great game and beat a good team, then lay an egg and lose to Carolina.  To get back to the playoffs, they need to limit the number of eggs they lay.  And they need to find some way to beat the Eagles.  Dallas is similar to the Giants in that you never know what you're going to get from them.  Their defense is solid and so is Tony Romo.  12-4 is definitely possible.  So is 6-10.  Unfortunately, 6-10 is the best the Redskins can expect.  For a team that's already not that good to not get any better in the offseason and go into the season in a tough division with Rex Grossman at quarterback, last place is about the best they can realistically expect.

North
Consider this: basically any Packer you can think of was hurt at some point last year, including enough guys to fill a starting lineup on IR in the postseason, yet they won the Super Bowl.  All of those guys are actually healthy coming into this season.  That's just scary.  If injuries weren't able to slow the Packers down last season, I don't know how anybody's going to stop Green Bay this year.  They aren't the best team in football, but it wouldn't be a surprise to see them defend their title, either.

After years in the cellar, the Detroit Lions have finally freed themselves from the stigma of Matt Millen.  In fact, I think the Lions have an outside shot at the playoffs.  They're not a playoff team yet, but they're certainly on the way.  I kind of like to compare them to the Pittsburgh Pirates.  Now that the Pirates are out of the race, .500 is their goal.  I think that's what the Lions should strive for, as well.  Then next year or the year after we'll be talking about the Lions as a playoff team.  The Bears were really good last year, but will probably come back to the pack a little this season.  That seems to be Chicago's standard M.O.  They're really good one year, then go 6-10 the next.  Jay Cutler is better than he's given credit for, though.  If the offense can play up to the same standard it did last season and the Bears defense continues to be the Bears defense, a return to the playoffs could be in store.  That won't be the case in Minnesota.  The post-Favre era begins with Donovan McNabb at quarterback.  Personally, I don't think McNabb was ever appreciated in Philadelphia and Washington simply wasn't the right situation for him.  Neither is Minnesota.  They probably would've been better off keeping Tavaris Jackson.

South
This is possibly the most competitive division in football.  The Saints won the Super Bowl two years ago, the Falcons won the division last season, and the Bucs are definitely contenders, as well.  Of the three, I think New Orleans is the best team.  They got caught up in a stretch of a bad couple weeks last season, which is what cost them the division, and that playoff game in Seattle was obviously something they'd like to have back.  But Sean Payton is one of the best coaches in the game and Drew Brees is a master at running that offense.  Plus, Darren Sproles can do a lot more things than Reggie Bush can.  The Falcons are still good, as well, and the addition of Julio Jones to an already strong passing game just makes them that much better.  But the flaws that the Packers exposed in that playoff thumping need to be fixed.  And with the NFL's insistence to schedule all of the NFC South's division games in December, the Falcons need to play their best football down the stretch if they have any hope of winning the division.

I don't think Tampa Bay is going to be a playoff team.  But the Bucs can certainly play the role of spoiler.  Tampa Bay's going to beat some good teams this year.  They're a young team, though.  That inexperience is probably what's going to cost them a playoff spot.  But it might also be what makes them a playoff contender.  The Falcons and Saints better watch out, because the Bucs could definitely jump in there and make a run if they slip up.  The Panthers are just a hot mess.  They were the worst team in football last year and won't be this year only because the Cincinnati Bengals are still in the league.  And drafting Cam Newton wasn't a good decision.  He's not going to be the quarterback everybody thinks he is.

West
The one prediction I'm going to make about this sorry division is that whoever wins it this season will have a record better than 7-9.  I'm not saying it won't be an 8-8 team that wins the NFC West, but we're not going to have to deal with that ridiculous situation of a sub-.500 team hosting a playoff game again.  My pick for that 9-7/8-8 division winner is the St. Louis Rams.  The Rams probably should've won this division a year ago, and there isn't really much stopping them this season.  All St. Louis needs to do is get out to a good start and a playoff berth should be in the cards.  If the Rams don't get off to a quick start, the Seahawks could defend their division title.  The big difference in Seattle this season is obviously the fact that Tavaris Jackson is their quarterback instead of Matt Hasselbeck.  Talk about a guy who wasn't fully appreciated, try Matt Hasselbeck.  But I think his problem is more that he wore out his welcome than anything else.

The 49ers were the chic pick by most (including me) to win the NFC West last season.  That, of course, did not happen.  As a result, Mike Singletary was fired.  They replaced him with Jim Harbaugh, who I think is a tremendous hire.  San Francisco's glory days in the 1980s featured a tremendous West Coast offense executed masterfully by Hall of Famers Joe Montana and Jerry Rice.  Harbaugh kept former No. 1 overall pick Alex Smith as his quarterback, which might prove to be a bad move, but in this division, Smith and Braylon Edwards going adequate Montana and Rice impressions might be enough.  After winning the division in back-to-back years and going to the Super Bowl three years ago, the Cardinals sure reverted back to being the Cardinals in a hurry.  Ken Whisenhunt doesn't think Matt Leinart's good.  He's entitled to his opinion, but I think he's wrong.  Leinart's certainly better than Derek Anderson and those other schmos they put under center last year.  He's also better than Kevin Kolb, who is at least an upgrade over that stellar trio of Pro Bowlers they used at quarterback last season.  Kurt Warner's not coming back anytime soon.  The Cardinals will be fine when they get their Sam Bradford, but right now, that's still a huge area of need.

The top three teams in the NFC are Philadelphia, Green Bay and New Orleans.  However, they're just slightly above the rest.  The battle for the wild cards is going to be wide open between the Giants, Cowboys, Falcons, Bucs and even the Lions.  I've got the Falcons and Giants winning the wild cards to join division-winners Philadelphia, Green Bay, New Orleans and St. Louis in the playoffs.  And in the NFC Championship Game, the Eagles will beat the Packers to set up a Super Bowl matchup with the Jets.  (It really pained me to write that last sentence.  Now I know how Mets fans felt during the 2009 World Series.)  As for the Super Bowl pick, I'm taking the Eagles to win their first NFL championship since 1960.

Football Preview, Part I (AFC)

Back in March, I divided the baseball preview into six parts, one for each division.  Football season begins on Thursday, so I obviously don't have the time to do eight separate installments prior to then.  And frankly, what would I say about teams like the Bengals and Panthers anyway?  So, I've decided that the best way to handle the football preview after the lockout and that crazy offseason crammed into three weeks is to break it down into two parts: AFC and NFC.  Today, we start things off with the AFC.

East
I'm not exactly sure how the two best teams in the conference (if not all of football) ended up in the same division, but that's once again the case with the Patriots and Jets.  Both teams got better during the offseason.  It'll be interesting to see how Chad Johnson fits into the New England offense (was I the only one hoping they gave him any number other than 85 just to mess with him?), and I'm not sure Albert Haynesworth is good for anything other than taking up space in the middle of the defensive line, but the Patriots' needs were very minimal.  And Bradicheck continue to annoyingly know exactly what they're doing.  However, I think the Jets might actually be the better team.  They've been to the last two AFC Championship Games, but lost both and Rex Ryan would love to actually win it this time.  The Jets jumped on basically any good free agent they could, and Plaxico Burress definitely represents an upgrade over Braylon Edwards.  They've proven that they don't need to win the division to win the playoffs, but it would still probably be nice to topple New England and actually get to play a home playoff game.

The Bills and Dolphins are also in this division.  The Bills changed their uniforms in the offseason, going from red helmets to white.  But, sadly, they're not going to be good until they figure out that they need an actual NFL quarterback instead of Ryan Fitzpatrick.  Other things are needed, but that would be a start.  Miami's just as much of a mess.  They'll have the added headache of needing to appoint a chaperone when Reggie Bush goes out in South Beach.

North
Like the East, the AFC North is a division that features two really good teams and two really bad teams.  The good teams, of course, start with the defending AFC champion Steelers.  Pittsburgh didn't really make that much noise in the offseason (the biggest Steelers news I can think of is Ben Roethlisberger's wedding), but, this just in, they didn't need to.  This is one of the most stable franchises in the NFL for a reason.  If it ain't broke, don't fix it.  The offense led by Roethlisberger and Rashad Mendenhall doesn't need to do a lot.  They just need to make sure they don't screw things up for Troy Polamalu, James Harrison and Co.  The difference between the AFC East and the AFC North is that while the Jets probably don't really care if they win the division, the Ravens need to finish ahead of the Steelers.  Baltimore's good everywhere, but they're a much better team at home.  Even still, the Ravens' offense is underrated and the defense, which has always been the team's trademark and generates all the headlines, is still a rock.  I'd be very surprised if Pittsburgh and Baltimore aren't both in the playoffs again.

Football in the State of Ohio, however, isn't so good.  It's not that the Browns have gotten any worse.  They just weren't that good in the first place and did nothing to get any better.  And after a few years of resembling a professional franchise, the Cincinnati Bengals have returned to their more familiar role as league punchline.  Their best player, Carson Palmer, would rather retire than play for them, which says all you need to know about the Bengals.  Palmer doesn't fit in with the Bengals anymore anyway.  He doesn't have a police record.  I will guarantee that the Bengals finish with more arrests than wins this season.

South
This just in, Peyton Manning is going to start the Colts' opener in Houston on Sunday.  You're an idiot if you thought somebody else was ever going to start that game.  His health is the only thing that makes this division somewhat questionable.  If Peyton is Peyton (as I expect him to be), the AFC South remains the exculsive domain of the Indianapolis Colts.  Otherwise, things could open up a little bit.  Indy would still be the best team in the division, but they'd be brought a lot closer to the field.  However, don't bet against the Colts.  Remember last December?  With the Super Bowl at Lucas Oil Field this season, the Colts have only one goal in mind.  And if they can avoid their trademark early playoff loss, they could very well become the first team to play in a Super Bowl it's hosting.

If the Colts slip up at all, I think the Titans are the best of the remaining three.  They finally got rid of Vince Young and replaced him with Matt Hasselbeck, who wore out his welcome in Seattle, but is still a quality NFL starter.  If Chris Johnson decides he actually wants to play and Hasselbeck can establish the passing game as an actual weapon, the Titans' offense will be much improved.  Tennessee's more complete than Houston or Jacksonville.  But I don't think the Texans are a complete lost cause.  They've got Arian Foster and Matt Schaub on offense and a solid if unspectacular defense.  Houston's eventually going to break through for the first playoff appearance in franchise history.  It probably won't be this year, but 9-7 is possible.  I don't know what's going on in Jacksonville.  Other than Maurice Jones-Drew (who I think is overrated) and David Garrard, I can't name a single player on the Jaguars' roster.  They're still looking good as the team that moves to LA.

West
Kansas City came out of nowhere to win the AFC West last season.  That probably won't happen again.  Even without Darren Sproles, the Chargers are the class of a weak division.  They're not as good as they've been in the past, but they still have Phillip Rivers, which gives San Diego the edge.  Keep in mind, the Chargers will be the sixth best of the six playoff teams, but they'll get a home game, which can be a difference-maker.  I don't think Kansas City is suddenly going to go back to a 5-11 team, I just don't see 10-6 happening again.  The Chiefs are definitely good, but I think they come back to earth this season.  But Dwayne Bowe is capable of changing a game all on his own, and the AFC West is one of the most unpredictable divisions out there, so, is a return to the playoffs possible for Kansas City?  Of course.

The Raiders (still) have all kinds of problems, not the least of which is Al Davis.  This is a team that's needed a quarterback ever since Rich Gannon retired.  They had a chance to draft Matt Leinart (who I'm still convinced can be a good NFL quarterback), didn't take it, were worse the next year and took JaMarcus Russell with the No. 1 overall pick.  In case they didn't learn enough from three years of having to pay Russell, they don't have a third-round pick in next year's draft because they decided to waste it on Terrelle Pryor in the "supplemental" draft.  Granted, Jason Campbell is their starter, but why does Al Davis love big, moblie quarterbacks who aren't really that good so much?  But with all that being said, the Raiders went 6-0 in the division last season, so if they can actually beat a team from a division other than the AFC West, they might actually somehow be a playoff team.  The Broncos' problems center around the fact that their fans (and all Florida fans) think Tim Tebow is the Second Coming.  He's not.  There's two ways of looking at the Tebow situation.  One is, "The Broncos aren't very good, so why not give him a chance?"  The other is, "Why not play the quarterback who gives the team the best chance to win?"  New coach John Fox (who took the Panthers to the Super Bowl in 2003) is from that second school of thought.  However, Kyle Orton still isn't John Elway.

I think the six best teams in the AFC are pretty clear, which is why they're my six playoff teams.  The division winners will be the Jets, Steelers, Colts and Chargers, with the Patriots and Ravens as the wild cards.  And in the AFC Championship Game, the Jets winning the division will end up making a huge difference.  They'll play the Patriots at MetLife Stadium and this time come out on top, beating New England for the second time this season (they'll split in the regular season) to advance to the Super Bowl.

Down to Six for 2020

The IOC's deadline to submit bids for the 2020 Olympics was today, and six cities submitted bids.  Sadly, one didn't come from South Africa, which would've been a prohibitive favorite (with Rio hosting in 2016, Africa is the only continent left).  There was some talk that Durban would bid, but it looks like they're going to hold off until 2024.  Regardless, whenever South Africa decides it wants to bid for an Olympics next, I'd be very surprised if it isn't successful.  And much to the disappointment of IOC President Jacques Rogge, the United States didn't submit a bid either.  The USOC and IOC are still trying to work out a revenue-sharing deal, which probably contributed to New York 2012 and Chicago 2016's losses.  With that still up in the air, the USOC wisely decided not to waste millions of dollars on a bid that would ultimately be unsuccessful.  In addition, an American bid for the 2022 Winter Olympics appears likely, and I think that one might have a pretty good chance.

So, we're down to six.  We know this much: the 2020 Olympics will either be in Europe or Asia.  It's split evenly down the middle.  Madrid, Rome and Istanbul in Europe, Tokyo, Doha and Baku in Asia.  The IOC will likely narrow it down to four finalists before picking a host city in 2013.  Before handicapping the race, here's a look at the six cities, starting with the three that have little to no chance:

Baku, Azerbaijan-This was the surprise bid of the bunch, and it's also the only bid that has absolutely no chance of hosting the Olympics.  Baku has bid in the past, failing to make the short list for 2016.  If, as I suspect, they go from six to four, Baku will be one of the cities dropped.

Tokyo, Japan-Are they serious?  I'm not exactly sure why Tokyo submitted a bid.  The 2018 Winter Olympics are in Korea, and they're not going to put back-to-back Games in Asia, let alone back-to-back Games in the Far East.  In my opinion, the money being used on the Tokyo bid that's going to fail would be much better spent elsewhere.  For starters, there was a pretty serious earthquake and tsunami in Japan earlier this year.

Istanbul, Turkey-Poor Istanbul continues to bid for the Olympics, even though the chances for success are about the same (not great) each time.  The Turkish Olympic Committee has said that it will bid until Istanbul finally gets to host an Olympics, and they've been men of their word.  This is the fifth Istanbul bid in the last six Olympics.  The only one that they've taken off was 2016.  That persistence might pay off eventually, but not this time.

Doha, Qatar-This is the most interesting of the six bids.  Doha bid for the 2016 Games and actually scored higher than Rio in the early rankings, but wasn't named a candidate.  The Qatari Olympic Committee and government in their delusional states said that the IOC was trying to "close the door on the Arab world."  No.  It's because it's 120 degrees in Doha in August and the IOC didn't want to hold the Games in October!  But this time they gave Qatar permission to hold the Olympics outside the July-August window the IOC prefers, so the bid has gone ahead.  If the IOC was still allowed to accept bribes in exchange for votes, I'd like Doha's chances, but they won't be able to simply buy the Olympics the way they bought the World Cup.  Despite how technically good a Doha bid might be on paper, I think that autumn timeframe, as well as some of Qatar's extreme political stances, will be frowned upon by a number of IOC voters.  Besides, there's still been no indication that Doha would successfully be able to pull off an Olympics.  People weren't sure about South Africa until last year's World Cup proved to everyone that South Africa will make a tremendous Olympic host.  The 2020 Olympics are two years before Qatar hosts the World Cup.  If the 2022 World Cup is a success, I have no doubt Qatar will eventually get to host an Olympics, as well.  But they'd be advised to wait until after the World Cup to make the Olympic bid.

Rome, Italy-Rome was the first city to officially bid for the 2020 Olympics, announcing its bid a year and a half ago.  Rome is looking to host for the second time 60 years after doing it for the first time.  Those 1960 Games were not only successful, they ushered the Olympics into a new era.  They were the first to be televised.  2020 is also the 150th anniversary of Rome being named capital of a united Italy.  Rome was considered the favorite going into the 2004 vote before the IOC decided to instead bring the Olympics home to Athens.  Italy then hosted the Winter Games two years later in Torino.  The fact that it's a European capital, as well as one of the most beautiful cities on Earth and a popular tourist destination all work in Rome's favor.  But I wonder if the IOC would be hesitant to go back to Italy so soon after Torino.  Regardless, the Rome bid is very solid and will be among the favorites for the duration of the bid process.  The fact that numerous sports regularly hold their World Championships in Rome also works in the city's favor.

Madrid, Spain-I'm installing Madrid as the early favorite.  Pyeongchang finished second in its bids for the 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympics before finally earning the right to host the 2018 Games.  Will the third time be the charm for Madrid, as well?  Madrid finished third for next summer's London Games (when it was actually the highest vote-getter in the second round), then placed second to Rio in its bid for the 2016 Olympics.  The only major European capital never to have hosted the Olympics, Madrid is chomping at the bit for the chance.  They might've won the 2016 Games if not for the fact that Madrid hosting would've meant three Olympics in a row in Europe (2012 London, 2014 Sochi) while South America still never would've hosted.  That's not a problem this time.  The 2012 bid was good.  So was the 2016 bid.  Obviously, this one is good as well.  Madrid's persistence is going to pay off eventually.  And with a South African bid looking likely for 2024, as well as the U.S. jumping back into the ring at some point in the near future (not to mention a likely Toronto bid coming up soon), this might be Madrid's chance.  This is Madrid's third straight Olympic bid.  They know the process.  They've also obviously built some good relationships with IOC members.  That all works in Madrid's favor.  So does the probability that the IOC would want to take an opportunity to go to Europe with little controversy.  Bringing the Olympics back to Spain would also be a nice way to honor the legacy of a man who did so much for the Olympic movement, late IOC President Juan Antonio Samarach.

The way I see it right now, this is a two-horse race between Madrid and Rome.  Doha will be a finalist and probably finish third, but that city's not ready to host an Olympics yet.  And, even though they're in two completely different parts of the world, South Korea and Qatar are still on the same continent, and back-to-back Games in Asia isn't going to happen.  If they narrow it down to four, which I think they will, that last spot is between Tokyo and Istanbul.  Tokyo probably has a slight edge over Istanbul, but all those two cities are fighting for is the opportunity to be the first one knocked off the final ballot.

We're still two years away from finding out which city will get the opportunity to host the 2020 Olympics, but right now all signs point to Madrid.  Earlier this year, Pyeongchang finally won the right to host an Olympics on its third straight bid.  I'd be surprised if the same doesn't happen for Madrid.