Where Does He Rank All-Time?

Tony La Russa retired today, three days after winning his third World Series as a manager.  I give him a lot of credit for going out on top, on his own terms.  He's only 35 wins behind John McGraw for second all-time, but said he wasn't going to stick around next season just to get those 35 victories.  And it's not going to change his legacy.  It does create a loaded Hall of Fame ballot in 2014, though, when the three greatest managers of our generation--Joe Torre, Bobby Cox and Tony La Russa (all Hall of Fame locks) become eligible, and so do first-ballot players Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and Frank Thomas.  It'll be a good summer to be in Cooperstown in 2014.

All three managers probably won't get in right away.  But Torre, Cox and La Russa will be the 21st, 22nd and 23rd managers inducted into the Hall of Fame.  And they all rank in my top 10 list of the greatest managers in the game's history.  "Where?," you ask.  Good question.

10. Bobby Cox (Braves 1978-81, 1990-2010; Blue Jays 1982-85)-The fourth-winningest manager in history with 2,504 victories, Cox was a four-time Manager of the Year.  He won an AL East title with Toronto in 1985, then, of course, had that amazing run with the Braves.  From 1991-2005 (with the exception of the 1994 strike year) Atlanta won its division every season.  The Braves went to five World Series in the 1990s, winning the title in 1995.  In his final season, the Braves earned the NL wild card on the final day, allowing Cox to finish his career where he belonged--in the playoffs.

9. Joe McCarthy (Cubs 1926-30, Yankees 1931-46, Red Sox 1948-50)-It may surprise some of you that Miller Huggins isn't in my Top 10, but his successor with the Yankees comes in at No. 9.  McCarthy gets the nod because he's the all-time winningest manager in Yankees history (1,460) and has the highest winning percentage of any manager ever (.615).  He won the pennant with the Cubs in 1929, then eight more with the Yankees (1932, 1936-39, 1941-43).  The Yankees won seven of those World Series, including four straight from 1936-39.  McCarthy was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1957.

8. Bill McKechnie (Pirates 1922-26, Cardinals 1928-29, Boston Braves 1930-37, Reds 1938-46)-This is probably the least familiar name on this list.  His record of 1,845-1,679 might not seem that impressive compared to some of the other managers in the Hall of Fame, but McKechnie was the first manager to win World Series titles with two different teams (1925 Pirates, 1940 Reds).  He also took the 1928 Cardinals to the Series, making him one of only two managers to get there with three different clubs.  Beyond that, McKechnie turned the Braves from horrible to moderately good during eight years in Boston, and he helped the Indians win the 1948 World Series as Lou Boudreau's bench coach.  In 1962, he received his plaque in Cooperstown.

7. Tony La Russa (White Sox 1979-86, Athletics 1986-95, Cardinals 1996-2011)-I rank La Russa as No. 7 all-time.  He's No. 3 all-time in wins (2,728) and the winningest manager in Cardinals history (1,408).  He also holds the record for wins by an Oakland Athletics manager (798).  In 33 years, his teams made 14 playoff appearances, winning six pennants and three World Series titles.  He won a division title with the White Sox in 1983 and went to three consecutive World Series with Oakland (1988-90).  Then he went to St. Louis and won three more pennants in an eight-year span.  La Russa won the World Series with the 1989 A's, then two more with the Cardinals (2006, 2011).  In 2006, he joined Sparky Anderson as one of only two managers to win one in each league.  And let's not forget, he went out on top.

6. Tommy Lasorda (Dodgers 1976-96)-The man bleeds Dodger Blue.  He's been a part of the organization for six decades.  He succeed another Hall of Fame manager, Walter Alston, and somehow outdid him.  In 21 seasons, he led the Dodgers to eight division titles and four pennants.  The Dodgers won the World Series in 1981, then again seven years later.  And they seemed to have the NL Rookie of the Year every season.  He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1997, his first year of eligibility.  But his greatest accomplishment came after he was already a Hall of Famer.  In 2000, he managed the U.S. Olympic team to its first (and only) gold medal with an upset of Cuba in the gold medal game.

5. Sparky Anderson (Reds 1970-78, Tigers 1979-95)-Sparky won 2,194 games during his 26-year career, sixth most in history.  He was the first manager to win a World Series in both leagues, winning a pair with the Big Red Machine (1975-76), then another with the awesome 1984 Tigers.  It says something that both the Reds and Tigers honored him with memorial patches on their uniforms this season.  It also says something that his number was retired by both teams.  The best team doesn't always win (just ask this year's Phillies), but Sparky took the Big Red Machine to four World Series during his tenure in Cincinnati.  A 2000 Hall of Fame inductee, his legacy can be seen in his protege, Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson, this year's likely NL Manager of the Year.

4. Connie Mack (Pirates 1894-96, Philadelphia Athletics 1901-50)-The winningest manager in Major League history (3,731), Mack also holds a record that will never be challenged by managing same team for 50 years.  Of course, that record comes with an asterisk since he also owned the Philadelphia Athletics.  He started as a player-manager for the Pirates in the late 1800s before moving to the Philadelphia entry in the new American League in 1901.  He had two dynasties in Philadelphia.  The Athletics won three World Series in four years in the early 1910s (1910-11, 1913), then back-to-back titles in 1929-30.  However, Mack managed a lot of bad teams, too, which is why I didn't rank him higher.  He and John McGraw squared off in the 1905 World Series, and became the first managers inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1937.

3. Joe Torre (Mets 1977-81, Braves 1982-84, Cardinals 1990-95, Yankees 1996-2007, Dodgers 2008-10)-Torre wasn't a Hall of Fame manager until he put on the Pinstripes.  Then he led the Yankees to four World Series titles in his first five years and 12 straight playoff appearances.  A nine-time All-Star as a player and the 1971 NL MVP, Torre had moderate success with the Braves and Cardinals before joining the Yankees.  Six pennants later, he left the Yankees to become manager of the Dodgers in 2008, and LA lost the NLCS to the Phillies in each of his first two seasons.  He retired at the end of last season and now works for the Commissioner's Office.  Overall, his 2,326 wins are fifth-most in Major League history.

2. John McGraw (Baltimore Orioles 1901-02, New York Giants 1902-32)-After a falling out with American League founder Ban Johnson, McGraw took over the New York Giants in 1902 and WAS that franchise for 30 years.  A very good player in the late 1800s, McGraw was an even better manager.  He holds the National League record for managerial wins (2,669), and his 2,763 total victories are second only to Connie Mack.  Under McGraw, the Giants won 10 National League pennants and finished second 11 other times.  McGraw's Giants won three World Championships and are still the only National League team in history to play in four consecutive World Series (1921-24).  In 1937, he was inducted to the Hall of Fame.

1. Casey Stengel (Brooklyn Dodgers 1934-36, Boston Braves 1938-43, Yankees 1949-60, Mets 1962-65)-Stengel had a successful 14-year playing career, but he's a Hall of Fame manager.  Like Joe Torre, he hadn't had much success as a Major League manager before taking over the Yankees.  All he did in the Bronx was win seven World Series and 10 pennants in 12 years.  The Yankees won an unprecedented five straight titles from 1949-53, a record that almost certainly will never be challenged.  After dropping a seven-game World Series to the Pirates in 1960, Casey was fired, only to move across town as the first manager of the expansion Mets.  He's the only person ever to wear the uniform of all four New York teams, having played for the Giants (with whom he won the 1922 World Series), and been both a player and manager for the Dodgers.  Stengel won 1,905 games during his career and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1966.

Week 8 Picks

First, a team that had no business making the playoffs, only doing so because somebody else pissed away a three-game lead with five games left, wins the World Series.  Then, there's a freakin' snowstorm in New York in October.  Maybe Hell really has frozen over.  That might explain why I've been doing so horribly in my NFL picks this season.  It might be all the upsets and crazy things that have happened during the first seven weeks, but I haven't been on top of my game at all.  Now that baseball season's over, I'm hoping that'll change.  Starting with this week.

• Colts (0-7) at Titans (3-3): Tennessee-I'm sticking with my policy of picking whoever's playing the Colts until Indy finally picks up a win.  Especially after last week's debacle.  Fortunately, I was watching the baseball game instead of that embarrassment.
• Saints (5-2) at Rams (0-6): New Orleans-New Orleans moved up from No. 8 to No. 5 in the AP Poll after thumping Youngstown State (the Colts) in its homecoming game.  The Saints continue looking to improve their BCS standing this week, as they continue their journey through the NFL's version of I-AA with a matchup against Alabama A&M (the Rams) in St. Louis.  I'm surprised they're actually going on the road for one of these contests.  It's obviously not a guarantee game for Alabama A&M.
• Dolphins (0-6) at Giants (4-2): Giants-After last week, I'm truly convinced after last week that the Dolphins are taking this "Suck for Luck" thing to heart and losing on purpose.  It's Miami's second game at MetLife Stadium in 13 days.  They lost the first one, and they'll lose this one, too.
• Vikings (1-6) at Panthers (2-5): Minnesota-The Vikings looked like a different team last week under Christian Ponder.  Maybe he is the quarterback of the future after all.  If not for Ponder vs. Newton, this matchup would be completely unwatchable.  It'll still be bad football, but it'll at least be slightly more entertaining.  Oh yeah, and the Vikings will win.
• Cardinals (1-5) at Ravens (4-2): Baltimore-What happened last Monday in Jacksonville?  Seriously.  I have no idea.  I put the game after the World Series ended and it was 12-7 with two minutes left.  That must've been some thrilling football I missed.  The Ravens are too good to lose to a team like Jacksonville, but they did.  As a result, they'll take it out on the Cardinals.
• Jaguars (2-5) at Texans (4-3): Houston-I can take some comfort in the fact that as bad as I've done in my picks this year, at least I was right that this might finally be Houston's year.  The Texans took over first place by completely steamrolling the Titans last week in Nashville.  This time, they get to play a division game at home.  The result will be the same.
• Redskins (3-3) vs. Bills (4-2) in Toronto: Buffalo-The Bills play their annual "home" game North of the Border, and the matchup is a good one between surprise playoff contenders.  And it might be the best game those SkyDome fans get to see this year after what the Argos (currently 5-12 with one game left) have made them watch.  Reality is starting to set in for Washington.  One Canadian point is worth two American points, so the Bills will end up scoring a lot of them.
• Lions (5-2) at Broncos (2-4): Detroit-After starting the season 5-0, the Lions have come back to Earth a little bit with back-to-back losses against San Francisco and Atlanta.  Do I need to explain the differences between the 49ers and Falcons, two NFC playoff contenders, and Denver?  Tebow somehow pulled one out in Miami.  But keep in mind that the Dolphins aren't good.  The Lions, however, are.
• Patriots (5-1) at Steelers (5-2): Pittsburgh-This showdown of first-place teams is easily the Game of the Week.  The Ravens' collapse in Jacksonville combined with the Steelers' win in Phoenix last week moved Pittsburgh into the driver's seat in the AFC North for the first time this season.  Meanwhile, New England has lost only to Buffalo and boasts the best record in the conference.  These are obviously the two best teams in the AFC, and they're very evenly matched.  I'm expecting a close one here.  And a Steelers victory.
• Browns (3-3) at 49ers (5-1): San Francisco-Little known fact about the Browns and 49ers: these two teams dominated the old AAFC so much, it lead to the league's collapse, and they were both absorbed into the NFL when the leagues merged in 1950.  60 years later, the 49ers are a first-place team coming off a big win in Detroit and their bye.  They've only played six games and they already have a three-game lead in the pathetic NFC West.  The 49ers are going to the playoffs.  And a win over Cleveland will help them keep pace with the Packers, who are off this week.
• Bengals (4-2) at Seahawks (2-4): Seattle-I'm not sure how Cincinnati is 4-2 or how they're just a half-game out in the AFC North.  Seattle isn't good and is coming off a thrilling 6-3 loss in Cleveland.  Yet, I'm taking the Seahawks for some reason.
• Cowboys (3-3) at Eagles (2-4): Philadelphia-The Sunday night game is a good one this week.  The Eagles need a win and are coming off their bye week.  Andy Reid has never lost in the game following the bye.  He'll have his team ready for its hated division rivals.  They'll still have a lot of work to do to make the playoffs, but it can be done from 3-4.  2-5, though, makes things significantly tougher.
• Chargers (4-2) at Chiefs (3-3): San Diego-Monday night gives us an AFC West showdown.  Last year, the Chiefs won this one on a Monday night in Week 1, and it got them going on the way to a dvision title.  Kansas City snapped Oakland's winning streak in division games last weekend, while the Chargers blew an early lead in a loss to the Jets.  In fairness, though, the Jets needed that win and played like it.  Anyway, that loss brought san Diego back to the pack a little bit.  A Kansas City win this week creates a three-way tie for first place between these two and Oakland at 4-3.  I don't think that happens, though.  The Chargers will rebound from last week's loss and nab a division road win.

Last Week: 7-6 (not good, I know)
Season: 64-39

It's Broke, So Fix It

As I've made perfectly clear, I have no interest in the NBA.  I don't watch it, nor do I plan on starting.  This hasn't always been the case.  The NBA in the 1990s was outstanding.  Then there was the 1998-99 lockout.  That's what turned me off to the NBA.  12 years later, I still haven't come back.  While I'm still not really that clear on the details of that work stoppage, I do know this: the current lockout is a direct result of that one.

The six-year CBA they agreed to in 1999 expired in 2005, when a new six-year agreement was reached.  That deal expired on June 30, and the lockout started on July 1.  The main points of contention are that the players receive 57 percent of all basketball-related revenue (which seems a bit high) and the owners wanting to institute a hard salary cap.  The league claimed that it was losing $300 million a year.  The players disputed that and opposed every change the owners wanted to institute.  This lockout was inevitable.  Everybody saw it coming.

And this lockout is completely different than the NFL lockout.  For starters, the NFL lockout was simply about both sides being greedy.  They both wanted to get as big a portion of the more than $1 billion the league makes annually as they could.  But was there a single person who actually thought they wouldn't get a deal done before the start of the season?  The NFL is the king.  Why risk losing any part of that status by not starting the season on time?  There was way too much money at stake.  Both sides knew that.

The NBA, however, has actual issues that aren't going to be resolved that easily.   Or anytime soon.  That's why the negotiating sessions have been few and far between.  The owners and players are so far apart that it's not as easy as "give a little, get a little."  The players have agreed to lower their cut of BRI from 57 percent to 54 percent.  The owners came back with 46 percent.  That's a significant difference.  Likewise, the owners don't just want to institute a hard salary cap, they want the players to take pay cuts, too.  I'm not going to take a side,  but I will say that the owners' problems are entirely of their own making.  The only reason the players are making exorbitant salaries in the first place is because the owners are willing to pay them that much.  What are the players supposed to do?  Say "No?"  However, I do think there are enough owners losing money that they felt a lockout was the only option.  Sound familiar?

This lockout is reminiscent of the one that wiped out the entire 2004-05 NHL season.  Everyone saw the NHL lockout coming, too, and everyone knew that it was going to be a prolonged struggle.  The system was broken, and it needed fixing.  The owners were willing to sacrifice the season if that's what it took, and that's exactly what they did.  And when the lockout finally ended, they ended up with a better business model as a result.  It obviously sucked for the fans to not have hockey, but that lockout was a necessary thing.  Six years later, I'd even be willing to argue that it was a good thing.  The NHL not only has a better business model, it's been a better product since the lockout ended.

It's safe to say that right now the NBA's business model is a broken as the NHL's was six years ago.  Back then, the NHL owners felt that their only recourse was to lockout the players.  They cancelled an entire season to show that they were serious.  The NBA needs to do the same thing.  The owners know that they'll eventually reach an agreement with the players, just like the players know that they'll only be able to hold out for so long before they inevitably give in on at least some issues.  If it takes the cancellation of an entire season, so be it.  The NHL took that drastic step and ended up better for it.

David Stern has already cancelled the first two weeks of the NBA schedule, with more cancellations to come.  They probably won't play on Christmas, which has always been one of the NBA's signature days.  There probably won't be an All-Star Game.  And was there seriously anybody who didn't see all of this coming?  The players are prepared for there to not be a season.  That's why so many of them have signed contracts to play in Europe, much like the NHL guys did in 2004-05.  So are the owners.  Seeing as the lockout was their doing, that might've been their goal all along. 

While the entire season hasn't been wiped out yet, I'd be shocked if there's any NBA basketball played this year.  Frankly, it wouldn't benefit either side if there is.  It would mean they both caved and rushed into a deal that neither side really liked just to save the season.  And that would mean we'd have this situation all over again when that CBA expired.  If games have already been cancelled, why rush into a deal instead of agreeing to the best one possible?  Again, this isn't the NFL.  The lockouts are entirely different.

Now, let me be clear about something.  I don't care one way or the other whether the NBA plays this season at all.  We all know they'll come to an agreement eventually and all of you people who actually watch the NBA will make your way back shortly thereafter.  And when you do, you just might find a league that's better than the pre-lockout one you loved before.

Happy Birthday Joe Brackets

Ladies and gentlemen, yesterday marked the one-year anniversary of the first-ever Joe Brackets post.  Of course, I marked the occasion by completely forgetting and not putting up anything new until today.  (The fact that I couldn't really think of anything to talk about contributed to it, as well.)  But here we are with Year 2 of Joe Brackets officially upon us.

With all that out of the way, it's time to start talking some sports.  If you've followed this blog at all over the past year, you know that baseball is my favorite sport.  I've seen every pitch of this year's World Series so far, and it certainly wasn't what I was expecting until last night's Cardinals rout in Arlington.  Some thoughts on the first three games:

• What was Ron Washington doing sending Esteban German up to pinch hit in Game 1?  The Cardinals had a 3-2 lead and Texas obviously had to pinch hit for Ogando, but wasn't that the whole purpose of adding Matt Treanor to the World Series roster?  Rzepczynski was in there so he didn't want to send a lefty up.  I get that.  But Washington added the third catcher so that he could use Yorvit Torrealba in pinch-hitting situations or at DH and still have another catcher available.  In other words, Treanor was added to the team so that he could have Torrealba available as a pinch hitter.  Yet he left Torrealba on the bench and instead sent up a weak-hitting middle infielder who hadn't had an at-bat since mid-September.  And German promptly struck out to end the inning.  Texas didn't have another base runner the rest of the game.
• Tony La Russa completely outmanaged Washington in Game 1, but he outmanaged himself in Game 2.  Regardless of whether or not it was an error by Pujols that moved Andrus to second, taking Motte out of the game was the wrong move.  The tying run was already on second and first base was open, so he easily could've walked Hamilton to set up both the double play and the force at home.  Instead he lifted Motte and brought in Arthur Rhodes to throw one pitch, which ended up being the game-tying sac fly.  Another pitcher, another sac fly by Michael Young, and Texas wins.  I'm not saying the inning plays out the same way if Motte stays in there, but if it does, Beltre's grounder is an inning-ending double play and the Cardinals go into the bottom of the ninth tied instead of behind.  Motte's also much more of a strikeout pitcher than either Rhodes or Lance Lynn, so maybe he gets a strikeout and a double play, and St. Louis wins 1-0 instead of losing 2-1.
• Tim McCarver further proved that he's a complete moron after Yadier Molina's walk in the bottom of the ninth in Game 2.  He suggested that the Cardinals have Ryan Theriot pinch run for Molina, then have Gerald Laird come in and catch if the game went into extra innings, conveniently forgetting that they were the last two guys left on the bench and Theriot had to be available to pinch hit for the pitcher in the 10th inning.
• Don't let it be forgotten that a blown call at first base led to all hell breaking loose in Game 3.  It's only 1-0 Cardinals in the top of the fourth when Matt Holliday hits a grounder to short.  Albert's out at second, but Ian Kinsler's throw to first is wide.  It doesn't matter, though, because Mike Napoli clearly makes the tag before Holliday touches the base (that's why he tripped when he touched first).  However, Holliday, who never touched home when he "scored" the game-winning run in the 2007 NL wild card game, was called safe and later scored the first of four Cardinal runs that inning.
• Everybody's talking about Albert's three bombs in Game 3, and rightfully so, but no one seems to care that he also tied a World Series record with five hits (in five consecutive at-bats).  He's only the second player ever to record five hits in a World Series game, joining Paul Molitor, who did it against the Cardinals in Game 1 of the 1982 Series.
• If Ron Washington wants to win the series, he can't keep relying on Alexi Ogando.  He threw Allen Craig the exact same pitch twice in St. Louis, and Craig hit a go-ahead RBI pinch-single each time.  Then last night, Craig was the only guy he was able to get out.  Ogando's stuff is electric, but he's leaving everything right over the plate to good hitters.  Ogando needs to figure out a way to fool these Cardinals hitters, because what he's doin' ain't workin'.  If I'm Washington, I can't risk using him in a big spot tonight.
• Last night's game was more what I was expecting than the two in St. Louis.  I expect it to be more of the same tonight.  Edwin Jackson's not going to get out of the fourth.  The Rangers need Derek Holland to be able to shut the Cardinals down for at least a little while, though, because Ogando and Feldman are completely worthless right now.
• A.J. Pierzynski called out Albert before Game 3, and he really got going.  There's obviously no direct correlation, but maybe he needs to call out Josh Hamilton, too.  Hamilton is a combined 3-for-32 in the Rangers' two World Series appearances.  If Texas is going to win this series, their best player needs to actually start hitting.
• ESPN.com made it a point to mention that they moved the start of Game 3 back to a normal time after starting it at 6:30 last year.  Last year they made that move to appease the people who complain that the games were ending too late.  The second-lowest World Series game later, they moved the start back to 7:30 with an 8:00 first pitch, proving the point that I made last year about the time change: there's nothing wrong with an earlier start, but 6:30 is too early.  People do things on Saturday afternoons, and they're probably not going to be done with them by 6:30.

Week 7 Picks

With today being the World Series off day, it would've been easy for me to take advantage of that and break down Tony LaRussa's outmanaging Ron Washington in Game 1 and outmanaging himself in Game 2, but I'm not going to.  Nope.  Not today.  Today gives me a good opportunity to switch gears and unveil the weekly football picks.  So, that's what we're going to do.

Seahawks at Browns: Cleveland-Neither one of these teams is good, so I'm going to take the one that's at home.  Side note regarding this game, Colt McCoy is now my fantasy quarterback.  I added Jason Campbell for the Rams' bye week, and he promptly got injured.  With Bradford also out this week, I needed a QB, so McCoy it is.

Falcons at Lions: Detroit-The Lions are no longer undefeated after falling to San Francisco last week.  The ensuing controversy regarding the Jim Schwartz-Jim Harbaugh handshake aside, Detroit lost to a good team in the 49ers.  Now they take on another good team in Atlanta.  The Falcons have alternated wins and losses this season, and are coming off a win over the Panthers.  That combined with the fact that the game's in Detroit is enough to convince me that the Lions are going to bounce back and pick up the W.

Texans at Titans: Houston-This battle for first place in the AFC South pits a Texans team that got slaughtered in Baltimore last week against a Titans squad that's coming off a bye (and was smoked in Pittsburgh the week before that).  This is Houston's chance to prove its the best team in this division.  Even without Mario Williams on defense, I think the Texans ARE the better team.  Houston wins on the road to take over the division lead.

Broncos at Dolphins: Miami-The first "Suck for Luck" elimination game is also Tim Tebow's first NFL start.  Conveniently, it comes in Florida, where Gators fans will probably make up a majority of the attendance.  The Dolphins are still my pick to land Andrew Luck, but I do think they'll pick up their first win of the season in this one.

Chargers at Jets: Jets-I'm not sure if you're all aware of this, but Rex Ryan made some comments about the Chargers and Norv Turner during the week.  He's also confused as to why the Jets aren't favored in this game against the AFC West-leading Chargers.  Yes, they lost three straight before getting off the skid last week, but in fairness, they played the Dolphins.  Regardless, I don't know why the Jets are the underdogs, either.  LaDainian Tomlinson has a big day against his old team in a Jets win.

Bears vs. Buccaneers: Tampa Bay-The annual London game takes the Bucs (and their owner Malcolm Glazer, who also owns Manchester United) across the pond for the second time.  Their opponent is the Bears, who make their second straight appearance as the road team in an international game (they played the Bills in Toronto last year).  Chicago is favored, but Tampa Bay is coming off a huge win over New Orleans that moved them into first place in the NFC South.  Because of that momentum, plus the fact that this isn't their first time playing in London, I'm taking the Bucs.

Redskins at Panthers: Washington-The Rex Grossman Era in Washington lasted a whole five games.  Was last week's loss to the Eagles a sign that the Redskins are actually the team that the rest of us all thought they were?  It'll be tough to tell how much of a lasting impact that loss will have.  They're playing the Panthers this week.

Chiefs at Raiders: Oakland-The Carson Palmer Era in Oakland begins.  I'm not sure how rusty he'll be having not played in the NFL all season, but how hard is it to turn around and hand the ball to Darren McFadden?  I still don't think Oakland's that good, but neither is Kansas City.  And the Raiders haven't lost a division game in two years.  That's not going to change on Sunday.

Steelers at Cardinals: Pittsburgh-It's the first meeting between these teams since Super Bowl XLIII, which the Steelers won on a touchdown in the final minute.  This game won't be anywhere near as close, but the result will be the same.

Rams at Cowboys: Dallas-I'm not really sure how it world out that the St. Louis Rams ended up playing a road game against the football equivalent of the team that the St. Louis Cardinals were visiting in the MLB playoffs on back-to-back Sundays, but they have.  This one's even crazier because the Rams-Cowboys game at Jerrywood takes place just a few hours before the Cardinals and Rangers meet in Game 4 of the World Series across the parking lot.  That's one crazy Sunday in Arlington, Texas!  The Cowboys win part one of the sweep.

Packers at Vikings: Green Bay-Now that the Lions have lost, the defending champs are the only remaining undefeated team.  Whether it's Donovan McNabb or Christian Ponder or even Brett Favre at quarterback, I don't see that changing against the Vikings.

Colts at Saints: New Orleans-For the second straight year, the NFL has scheduled a Sunday night game opposite the World Series.  When the schedule came out, it looked like this would be a great matchup, the first between the Colts and Saints since Super Bowl XLIV.  Instead, it's a first-place team against a team that's winless and looks clueless without its leader.  I'm still convinced the Colts will eventually figure out how to win a game without Peyton.  It won't be this week, though.

Ravens at Jaguars: Baltimore-The AFC South is giving the NFC West a run for its money as the NFL's worst division.  The Ravens have won three straight and might be the best team in the AFC.  I'm not entirely sure why they decided to make America endure a Monday night game in Jacksonville.  Or why they picked a game the Jaguars have absolutely no chance of winning.

Last Week: 9-4
Season: 57-33

2011 World Series Preview

It seems so weird to say it, seeing as they're good every year, but I'm shocked the St. Louis Cardinals are in the World Series.  And I don't think I'm alone.  I'm still not even really sure how they made the playoffs.  Let alone how they won the pennant.  But they did.  First the Braves pissed away an 8.5-game lead, then the Cardinals beat the two best teams in the National League (winning both clinching games on the road) to advance to their 18th World Series.  It's safe to say that this is the most unexpected of those 18 appearances.

Meanwhile, the Texas Rangers defended their American League crown, mainly because Nelson Cruz came up in the 11th inning twice in the ALCS.  I'm not going to say the Rangers being here is completely unexpected, but it is at least a little bit of a surprise.  That lineup is ridiculous, but a rotation that includes C.J. Wilson and three other guys you wouldn't expect to be able to carry a team to the World Series.  But it did, and the Rangers became the first World Series loser to get back the following year since the 1991-92 Braves.  Now they look to become the first team to win the World Series the year after losing it since Cardinals manager Tony La Russa guided the A's to the title in 1989.

Regardless, here we are with a World Series matchup between teams that represent states we've since learned are part of the Southeast, not the Midwest.  The Wild Card-inals became the eighth National League wild card to advance to the World Series (and the fourth to do so by defeating the winners of their own division in the NLCS), and the first since the 2007 Rockies, while the Rangers are the first team to win consecutive American League pennants since the 1998-2001 Yankees.  And in a crazy little twist, the AL won the All-Star Game every year from 2003-09, earning home field advantage in the World Series as a result.  Now the Rangers have won back-to-back AL pennants, and started the World Series on the road each time.  (Cool fact courtesy of Wikipedia: Game 1 will be the Rangers' first game ever in St. Louis.  The only time the Rangers and Cardinals have ever played an interleague series was in Texas in 2004.)

The lack of a DH in Games 1 and 2 really hurt the Rangers last year.  I don't see that being as big of an issue this time, though.  Somehow they managed to make everything with Michael Young work out, and he'll probably start at first base.  Seeing as the No. 9 hitter in the Texas lineup throughout the postseason has been either Mitch Moreland, Yorvit Torrealba or Craig Gentry, I don't really think putting a pitcher in that spot is going to make that much of a difference.  And considering the fact Nelson Cruz hits seventh! in this lineup, I don't think the Rangers are going to have the same problem scoring runs against the Cardinals that they had against the Giants last year.

As for the Cardinals, I still don't know who three-quarters of the guys on this team are.  There's Albert, Yadier Molina, Matt Holliday, Lance Berkman, Chris Carpenter and, yeah, that's about it for the guys I've heard of.  Their best pitcher is Adam Wainwright, who's been on the DL all season!  Seriously, how is this team in the World Series?  It certainly isn't because of their starting pitching.  The Cardinals' starters weren't good against the Brewers.  In six games against Milwaukee, none of them got out of the fifth inning, and the bullpen got more outs than the starters did.  I repeat: How did the Cardinals win the pennant?

St. Louis isn't going to have that luxury against Texas.  Look at what happened to Max Scherzer in the third inning of Game 6 of the ALCS for proof of what the Rangers' lineup can do.  If the Cardinals are going to have any chance in this series, they need their starters to step up.  Carpenter has to pitch like an ace and Jaime Garcia needs to resemble the guy who should've made the All-Star team.  If the starters get knocked out early, that probably means the Rangers will have a lead.  The Rangers have a much better bullpen than the Brewers, which will make it harder for the Cardinals to come back if they fall behind.  That's one area where Texas has a definite advantage.  However, the Cardinals' rotation is better, which is why they need to come through in a big way.  Finding some way to shut down the Texas offense is the only way I see St. Louis winning this series.

Regardless, there's going to be some scoring in these games.  The Rangers offense did nothing against that ridiculous Giants pitching staff last year.  This Cardinals staff is NOT that Giants staff by any means.  And even with Cliff Lee, the Rangers' pitchers didn't get the job done in the 2010 World Series.  Likewise, this Cardinals lineup is NOT that Giants lineup.  Albert's got some friends.  The Cardinals boasted the top offense in the National League this season, and it got even better when some dude named David Freese went off in the NLCS.  And I don't need to tell you about the Rangers' lineup.  The Texas offense is better than it was last year.

What this all means, in my opinion, is that it's going to come down to pitching.  On paper, I think the Cardinals' rotation is slightly better.  And the Rangers have three left-handed starters.  They were able to get away with that against Detroit, but the Cardinals boast a significant amount of right-handed power.  But if it gets into the bullpens, it's advantage Texas.  The Rangers have the nasty Alexi Ogando in the bullpen, as well as Mike Adams setting up Neftali Feliz.  Tony La Russa showed us during the NLCS that he isn't afraid to give his pitchers the hook.  He also showed us that he trusts everybody out there.  I don't see the Cardinals' bullpen being able to do that two series in a row, though (actually, it's three if you count Game 2 against the Phillies).

I have a feeling that this could end up like 2002, when there were six shootouts until John Lackey was brilliant in Game 7.  Somebody's going to get a big start from one of their pitchers.  It's just a question of who.  Albert's another X-factor.  He didn't have a good series in either of his first two World Series appearances (2004 loss to the Red Sox, 2006 win vs. the Tigers).  He's the face of the franchise and an impending free agent (he's not going anywhere) who would love to deliver another title to the best baseball town in America.

So, who's the pick?  Nolan Ryan said Rangers in six.  I'm inclined to agree with him.  The Rangers are better and deeper, and they have the experience, as well as the memory of losing last year.  But seeing as I've correctly picked the winner in a whopping two of the first six playoff series, we might as well congratulate the Cardinals for winning the 2011 World Series.

How Do We Make Sense Of This?

I bet most of you were probably expecting a World Series preview, but that's going to have to wait until next time.  First we've got this IndyCar tragedy that we have to try to find some way to wrap our fingers around.  How are we supposed to make sense of this?  I can't.  I'm having trouble even trying.

By now, I'm sure all of you know the details.  On the 11th lap of the IndyCar season finale at Las Vegas, there was a massive, 15-car pile up.  It was so devastating that the fires it caused created holes in the asphalt that had to be repaired.  I've seen the video.  And the photos.  They're equally spectacular and horrifying.  Of course, things were made even worse two hours later when the devastating news broke.  Indy 500 champ Dan Wheldon lost his life in the crash.  The cause given was "unsurvivable injuries" that we've since found out was blunt force trauma to the head.

I was shocked when I heard and I have tears in my eyes right now as I write this.  All race car drivers understand the danger and the risk they're taking every time they get behind the wheel.  It's also one of the things that makes auto racing such an exciting sport to watch.  That doesn't make it any easier when these tragedies happen.  Fortunately (and remarkably) they don't happen that often.  It's the first IndyCar death since Paul Dana in 2006 and the highest-profile racing death since NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt on the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500.

This tragedy is unspeakable on so many levels.  Of course, there's the randomness of it all.  But it's also the circumstances surrounding why Wheldon was even in the race in the first place.  Despite having the fourth-most wins in IndyCar history, he didn't have a full-time ride this season.  That was going to change next year.  Yesterday morning Wheldon had signed a deal to replace Danica Patrick at Andretti Autosports when she moves to NASCAR next year.  He won the Indy 500, then spent most of the year testing the new car setup IndyCar will adopt in 2012.  This was just his third race of the season, and he was only entered because of a promotion open to all non-full-time drivers where they would start from the back of the field, but take home $5 million if they won the race.  Wheldon was the only driver to accept the challenge.

The fact that he had a wife and two small children doesn't make it any easier, either.  Nor does the fact that Wheldon was one of the most popular drivers in the garage.  Every driver that was interviewed afterwards tried to hold back tears.  Not many succeeded.  Dario Franchitti had just won a championship.  That was clinched when they appropriately decided to cancel the race.  He didn't care.  He'd just lost a friend.

There was a five-lap salute to Wheldon on the track shortly after his death was announced.  It was the drivers' decision.  Their way to pay tribute, and say goodbye, to their friend.  It was one of the most sadly beautiful things I've ever seen.

So how do we make sense of this tragedy?  I don't think there's a way for any of us to do that.  Instead, I'm going to think back to a happier time.  Five months ago.  When J.R. Hildebrand was on his way to an Indy 500 victory before he spun out on the final turn of the final lap.  Dan Wheldon went whizzing by to claim the checkered flag and drink the milk for the second time.  Forever a champion.  Rest in peace, Dan.  You will be missed.

Week 6 Picks

If for some reason you're waiting to see what my weekly NFL picks are before you make your own, then you really need some professional help.  Even still, I'm probably costing you money or points in your fantasy pick 'em league, for which I apologize.  Frankly, I'm embarrassed by my performance picking NFL games this season.  I blame the randomly good teams and the teams that are supposed to be good, but aren't.  Regardless, I'm committed to doing this all season, so here we go with this week's picks:

Panthers at Falcons: Atlanta-I still don't know what to make of the 2011 Atlanta Falcons.  They're 2-3, which means they already have as many losses as they had all of last season, but in one of the wins, they looked tremendous against the Eagles.  The Falcons lost in Weeks 1, 3 and 5 and won in Weeks 2 and 4.  Since this is an even-numbered week, I think Atlanta wins against a Carolina team that still isn't quite there yet.

Colts at Bengals: Cincinnati-We know this much, the Colts won't have their traditional 12-4 record this season.  Last week, I went against my new policy of not picking the Colts until they finally win a game without Peyton and got bit by it.  So, I'm going back to it and taking the Bengals.

49ers at Lions: Detroit-Who would've thought that San Francisco at Detroit would be one of the best games of the week at any point this season?  But here we are with both of them in first place in Week 6.  The Lions are for real.  They proved that last week against the Bears.  So is San Francisco, but this game's in Detroit, so I like the Lions to stay undefeated.

Rams at Packers: Green Bay-The Rams are supposed to be better than this, but here they are as the only winless team left in the NFC.  Taking on the undefeated Super Bowl champions on the road isn't a recipe for that first win to come on Sunday.  The Brewers will then make it a clean sweep of Wisconsin's Sunday home games against St. Louis by forcing a Game 7 against the Cardinals.

Bills at Giants: Buffalo-I was torn about this one, and not just because the Bills are my second favorite team behind the Giants.  I think pretty much everybody got burned by the Giants and their inexcusable home loss to Seattle last week.  Meanwhile, the Bills rebounded from their first loss by beating Philly.  This is another test for the Bills.  What Giants team will show up, though?  I'm taking Buffalo, but it's definitely a toss-up.

Jaguars at Steelers: Pittsburgh-The Steelers have two losses this season, and each time they rebounded by thumping somebody at home, including last week's 38-17 win over the Titans.  This is the end of Pittsburgh's four-week odyssey through the AFC South.  The Steelers will finish 3-1 against the division with a win over Jacksonville.

Eagles at Redskins: Washington-If you told me that these teams would meet in Washington in Week 6 with one in first place and the other in last, I wouldn't have been surprised.  Except, I would've had which team was in which place the other way around.  The Eagles are 0-4 since beating a Rams team that's still winless, so I'm not even sure it counts.  Philly's favored in this game.  I have no idea why.  Coming off their bye, at home, the Redskins take it.

Browns at Raiders: Oakland-I had that feeling the Raiders would win last week in the wake of Al Davis' death.  Now it's their first game in Oakland since his passing.  This game will probably be even more emotional.  I have the same feeling about the Raiders this week.

Texans at Ravens: Baltimore-Two first place teams face off in Baltimore.  They both have a very realistic chance of being in first place at the end of the season, as well.  We'll have to see how the Texans do without Mario Williams.  They're good enough to win some games without him, but not against a team as good as the Ravens.

Cowboys at Patriots: New England-FOX loves this matchup as a national game, and who could blame them?  It's two of America's favorite teams to hate!  We saw what happened when the Cowboys played the Jets in Week 1.  We also saw what happened when the Patriots played the Jets last week.  New England's at home, too.  Do the Patriots ever lose at home before the playoffs?

Saints at Buccaneers: New Orleans-Sorry Falcons, but these are the two best teams in the NFC South.  A Bucs win moves them into first place and shows that they're a serious threat to make noise all season.  But they got smacked around and then some last week in San Francisco.  And the Saints are red hot.  They haven't lost since Opening Night in Green Bay.  I just like the way the Saints are playing right now way too much to go against them.

Vikings at Bears: Chicago-The two teams in the NFC South that aren't 5-0 square off in the Sunday night game.  The Vikings finally got a win last week against the Cardinals, while the Bears blew an early lead in Detroit.  But Chicago's a better team and playing a home, so I'm going with the Bears.

Dolphins at Jets: Jets-After going 0-3 on a three-game road trip, the Jets desperately needed to come home.  A Monday night game against the current leaders in the Andrew Luck Sweepstakes is also a welcome change to games in the Black Hole, Baltimore and New England.  Plus, the Jets like being in prime time.  They'll win this one to get back to .500.

Last Week: a pathetic 7-6
Season: still a somewhat respectable 48-29

Some Musings & Observations

I've had a really hard time coming up with blog topics lately.  It's not that I don't have anything to say, it's just that it's too hard to narrow it down to something specific.  Then I realized it's been a while since I shared some of my random musings.  Since that's a nice catch-all that will give us a nice little hodgepodge of stuff, we're going with that instead of sticking purely baseball-related today.

• The Packers and Lions are both 5-0 while the Brewers and Tigers play in their respective LCSes.  I can't believe I'm saying this, but it's gotta be great to be a sports fan in either Milwaukee or Detroit right now.  (It's also crazy that both teams are 5-0, yet, since they're in the same division, neither team is in outright possession of first place.  Meanwhile, San Francisco already has a two-game lead in the NFC West.)
• TCU actually joined a conference that makes geographic sense for the school.  What a concept!  You're telling me TCU fans and alumni would rather play traditional rivals like Texas, Texas Tech and Baylor than random Big East schools like Louisville, Rutgers and South Florida?  This is shocking news!  But yeah, Texas A&M that had the right idea.  Obviously playing the likes of Florida, Vanderbilt and Kentucky will be exactly the same as taking on Texas and Oklahoma every year.  I'm sure Syracuse fans will feel the same way about those exciting conference matchups with Clemson and Wake Forest.  That's much better than rivalry games against UConn and Georgetown.  Sure.
• The Boston Red Sox (and more importantly, their fans) don't even realize that they've become that annoying, arrogant, "entitled" organization they claim to hate so much.  You don't win for 86 years, then do it twice in four years and suddenly anything less is unacceptable.  One bad month got Terry Francona a ticket out of town that he probably didn't deserve.
• Speaking of Terry Francona, I've got a career option for him if he doesn't get a managing job next year.  He was outstanding as a guest analyst for FOX during Games 1 and 2 of the ALCS.  Granted, it's not hard to be better than Tim McCarver, but he wasn't just good in comparison.  He was good good.
• One last note about those people from New England.  Theo Epstein has left to become GM of the Cubs.  I think this is actually a good move.  There was nothing left for him to do in Boston.  He ended the "Curse," then won another title.  (I'm not going to talk about his questionable and kind of weird obsession with starting pitchers and first basemen right now.)  Meanwhile, how could you NOT want the challenge of trying to finally make the Cubs a winner?  For him, it would be the ultimate achievement.  For the Cubs, who better to give it a try than the guy who finally won a World Series in Boston?
• The first two weeks of the NBA season have officially been cancelled because of the lockout.  Is anyone surprised by this news?  No.  So why did they build up all this false suspense for something that we all knew was inevitable?
• In other basketball news, the Minnesota Lynx beat the Atlanta Dream to win their first WNBA championship.  I know nobody cares, but did anyone even know that the WNBA Finals were going on?
• Hockey season has officially started.  The Rangers lost their first two games (against the Kings and Ducks) in Sweden and the Artists Formerly Known as the Atlanta Thrashers actually played a home game that fans attended and cared about.  (Or should I say aboot?)  Either way, welcome back Winnipeg!
• The NFL lost a great man with the passing of Raiders owner Al Davis.  Few, if any, franchises are more identified with just one person than the Oakland/Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders.  He was a pioneering maverick who helped make the NFL what it is today.  That ought to be his legacy.
• The 2011 Pan American Games get underway this weekend in Guadalajara, Mexico.  Not that any Americans will notice.  The only network showing them is ESPN Deportes.  I don't understand why the Pan Am Games are simply ignored in this country.  Americans can't get enough of the Olympics.  Team USA is even more dominant in the Pan Am Games, which are basically a mini-Olympics (and an important tune-up).  The Pan Am Games are an incredibly important competition to Latin American nations.  It would be nice if the United States even remotely cared.
• On the subject of the Pan Am Games, I find this year's event to be incredibly late, and unnecessarily so.  Why are you holding such a big Olympic prep event only nine months before the Olympics?  Most summer sports are in their offseason, so athletes will either be tired from such a long season or won't even show up in Guadalajara so that they won't mess with their Olympic prep.  I can't think of a legitimate reason to have them at the end of October instead of early August, which was the one-year mark and would more closely replicate the Olympic schedule.
• Random other things: the U.S. women won the team gold at the Gymnastics World Championships, archrivals Australia and New Zealand are playing each other in the semifinals of the Rugby World Cup, Sidney Crosby still hasn't returned from the concussion he suffered in January, and the White Sox evidently considered Paul Konerko for player-manager before realizing that was a bad idea and going with Robin Ventura instead.

Week 5 Picks

We're a quarter of the way into the NFL season, which means now we start getting to the bye weeks.  Six teams are off this week, including the Rams.  Why is that significant?  Because that means I can't use Sam Bradford as my fantasy quarterback.  Since my only other QB is some guy named Peyton, who I'm not going to be stupid enough to drop on the off chance he does come back this season, I had to pick one up...and the best guy available was Jason Campbell.  As a result, I was fully expecting a fantasy loss.  Then we got the sad news about Al Davis on Saturday.  I have a feeling his death will motivate the Raiders to "Just Win Baby" this week.  Anyway, on to the picks:

Eagles at Bills: Philadelphia-The Bills dropped from the ranks of the undefeated with a loss to Cincinnati.  Meanwhile, the Eagles are in real trouble, having lost three in a row.  Even still, I think Philadelphia is the better team.  The Bills have been a nice story all season, but Philly's going to wreak of desperation pretty soon if they lose this game.  I don't think they do.  I'm going with the Eagles.

Chiefs at Colts: Indianapolis-I know that I swore I wouldn't pick the Colts until they finally won a game, but I don't really think I have a choice other than to go against my little self-imposed rule this week.  They're playing the Chiefs at home.  Minnesota played Kansas City last week and got its first win.  Same thing happens for the quasi-Colts this week.

Cardinals at Vikings: Arizona-Speaking of the Vikings, they host Arizona this week.  Neither team is good, but Arizona is slightly less bad.  I'm taking the Cardinals on the road.

Seahawks at Giants: Giants-This is my Survival Football pick of the week.  The Giants have been on a roll since losing to the Redskins in Week 1, capped by last week's comeback in Arizona in a game they really should have lost.  It's always a safe bet to go against any NFC West team in a non-division game against a good team.

Titans at Steelers: Pittsburgh-The Steelers are a surprising 2-2 after losing to the Texans in Houston last week.  The Titans, meanwhile, are tied with Houston for first place in the AFC South.  After losing to Baltimore in Week 1, Pittsburgh rebounded by shutting out Seattle at home.  Well, they lost last week and they're home this week.  I like that combination for the Black & Gold.

Saints at Panthers: New Orleans-How many fantasy points will Cam Newton compile, how many touchdown passes will Drew Brees throw, and how many points will the Saints win by?

Bengals at Jaguars: Jacksonville-I feel bad for the poor fans who are subjected to having to watch this game.  Fortunately, it's probably only people in Cincinnati who'll be in that situation.

Raiders at Texans: Oakland-With this game, I did something I usually never do.  I changed my pick.  Houston at home was too tempting a choice until we got Saturday's sad news.  It's very possible Oakland is overcome by emotion and the Texans run all over them.  I think the opposite will happen, though.  They'll win a game for the man who WAS the franchise.  After all, his coined the phrase, "Just Win Baby!"

Buccaneers at 49ers: Tampa Bay-This is a very interesting matchup between two first place teams.  The Bucs are coming off nice wins over Atlanta and Indianapolis, but both of those games were at home.  This week, they'll be tested on the road against Jim Harbaugh's bunch.  I can easily see this one going either way.  But I'm going to say the Bucs win it.

Chargers at Broncos: San Diego-Playing a bunch of division games early in the season is a really good remedy to the Chargers' usual slow start.  Both teams are off next week, which means the Broncos can't lose in Week 6.

Jets at Patriots: New England-The showdown between AFC East superpowers is easily the game of the week.  The Jets are finishing up a three-game road trip that started with losses in Oakland and Baltimore.  The Patriots lost to the Bills, then did what good teams usually do against the Raiders...crush them.  These might be the two best teams in the AFC.  But the Jets are reeling right now.  Belichick knows that and will probably take advantage of it.  I think the Jets and Patriots will split this season, which means the Jets win the rematch at MetLife Stadium on a Sunday night in mid-November.

Packers at Falcons: Green Bay-The Falcons have a chance to redeem themselves for last year's embarrassing Divisional Playoff loss.  Atlanta hosted Sunday Night Football just three weeks ago and got a statement win against the Eagles.  Then they proceeded to lose in Tampa Bay before barely getting by Seattle.  Meanwhile, the Packers haven't lost since Week 15 of last season.  This could be their first blemish since then, but I think that comes in San Diego in Week 9.  The Packers stay undefeated.

Bears at Lions: Detroit-Ladies and gentlemen, Monday Night Football (without Hank Williams, Jr.) returns to Detroit!  And the Lions are actually playing this time!  This isn't just a "they were decent last year, so let's throw them a bone" type of game, either.  The Lions enter the game undefeated!  This is a good matchup between divisional rivals.  A Bears win will keep Chicago in contention in the NFC North, which houses both of the remaining undefeated teams.  But the Lions aren't going to let this non-Thanksgiving national showcase opportunity get away from them.  This is going to be a good sports week in downtown Detroit.  The Lions host Monday Night Football, then the Tigers play in the ALCS on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.  It starts with a win.

Last Week: 10-6
Season: 41-23

LCS Time

After a first round that saw three Game 5's and both teams that had home field advantage go out, we move on from the Division Series to the AL and NLCS.  It's interesting that the AL East put two teams in the playoffs, and they both lost the Division Series, while both NL Central teams that made the playoffs won theirs.  And so we're left with three teams that play in the Central division and the defending American League champions.

I'd normally wait until the end of a post to give you my pick, but I've been saying this for a month: "Watch it be a Detroit-Milwaukee World Series."  I'm eight wins away from being right.  I believed it could happen a month ago, and I believe it will happen a week and a half from now.

ALCS: For the most part, the Tigers outplayed the Yankees throughout the Division Series.  We all know they can hit, but it was Detroit's pitching that was most impressive.  That bullpen was lights out, especially in Game 5, and they managed to win the series despite having Justin Verlander for only one game.  Not using him in Game 5 was the right decision.  Jim Leyland certainly would've been criticized had Detroit lost the game, but, while you obviously have to do whatever you can to win an elimination game, Game 1 of the next series has to be in the back of your mind.  And now as a result of that decision, Leyland has Verlander available for a matchup of aces against C.J. Wilson in Game 1.

The Rangers were the only team that didn't need five games to win its Division Series, and Texas is obviously loaded.  On paper, Tampa Bay had the superior pitching in that series.  It didn't matter against the Rangers' lineup.  Adrian Beltre was an absolute stud against the Rays.  This offense is definitely better than the one that went to the World Series last year.  It certainly helps the Rangers that they'll throw a lefty in five out of the seven games in the series.  Jim Leyland is big on matchups and platooning, and his left-handed hitting lineup is better.  The Tigers lineup is futher weakened if Delmon Young's injury is serious enough to keep him out of the lineup.  Having that extra home game will definitely be an advantage for Texas, too.

I think there will be a lot of runs scored in this series.  Other than Verlander and Wilson, the best players on these two teams are their hitters.  They're incredibly evenly matched (Texas went 96-66 this season, Detroit went 95-67), which should make for a great ALCS.  But I think Detroit's starting pitching is slightly better, and it just might be able to keep the Rangers' lineup in check.  The Tigers' bullpen is slightly better, too.  Both teams have a shutdown closer in Jose Valverde (Detroit) and Nefatli Feliz (Texas), but I'd rather have the guys that get the Tigers from the starters to Valverde.  And that Verlander guy is the X-factor.  If this goes seven, you don't think he'll be waiting in that Tigers bullpen?  I've had this feeling about the Tigers for a while.  I think the Rangers will become the second straight team to go from AL pennant winner to ALCS loser.  Tigers in six.

NLCS: After four straight years of East vs. West, we not only have one NL Central team in the NLCS, we've got two!  The Brewers and Cardinals have met in the playoffs before.  In the 1982 World Series.  Now they meet with a berth in the World Series on the line.  Milwaukee is for real.  I think the Brewers have proven that.  Everyone knows about Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun, but how about Nyjer Morgan?  He's the catalyst for this team, and it seemed only fitting that he was the one with the walk-off hit in the bottom of the 10th to beat Arizona in Game 5.  You just get that sense the Brewers are going to win every night.  Kind of like the 2009 Yankees.  They're that team you get that feeling about without really knowing why.  It certainly feels like the Brewers are a team of destiny.

But the Cardinals have that 2007 Rockies thing going on.  They went 23-9 down the stretch to make up that 8.5 game deficit against the Braves, then beat a Phillies team that was anointed as World Champions before the season began.  I'm not really sure how that happened, but I'm not going to be stupid enough to count them out.  Plus, they've got the best player on the planet.  I don't think the Cardinals are as good as the Brewers.  I don't think they're as good as the Phillies either.  We saw how much that mattered.  Granted, Chris Carpenter threw a 1-0 shutout in Game 5, but still, St. Louis proved that anything can happen in the postseason.  And let's not forget to give Tony La Russa his proper credit.  He wasn't shy with his bullpen moves, which is why the Cardinals won Game 2.  And Skip Schumaker got the start in center field in Game 5, and responded by driving in the game's only run.

I thought the Brewers had a chance of winning the pennant even if they played the Phillies.  Against the Cardinals, I really like their chances.  Carpenter and Jaime Garcia will keep St. Louis in the series, but the Brewers' pitching staff--Greinke, Marcum, Gallardo--is the most underrated part of the team.  Both teams have a dynamic middle of the order, but Milwaukee's is deeper.  The only place where I give the edge to St. Louis is in the bullpen.  But that comes with an asterisk, because the back end of the Milwaukee bullpen (Francisco Rodrigez and John Axford) is outstanding.  Jump on the Beerwagon everybody!  Brewers in six.  Bud Selig's team is going to the Series!

NHL Preview

Lost in the Division Series Game 5 goodness is the start of the NHL season, which got underway tonight.  The Rangers open tomorrow against the Kings in Sweden.  After completely ignoring the NHL last year (which was one of the main reasons I started this blog), I was impressed that Sports Illustrated acknowledged the start of the season by putting Tim Thomas on the cover this week.  Even though it still seems early to be talking about hockey, since the season has begun, I guess now's as good a time as any to take a break from baseball and talk some hockey.  For the season preview, let's do this by division...

Atlantic-SI picked Pittsburgh to win the Cup, but Sidney Crosby is still out with that concussion he suffered in January.  Who knows when he's going to be able to come back?  Without the best player on the planet on the ice, I don't see the Penguins challenging for the Stanley Cup.  They're too good NOT to make the playoffs, but won't make a deep run without Crosby.  Besides, the best team in the division is the Flyers.  On paper, Philadelphia certainly looks like the team to beat in the Atlantic Division, if not the entire Eastern Conference.  Jaromir Jagr decided to come back to the NHL and bolsters an already deep Philadelphia offense, but the Flyers' biggest move was going out and getting a goalie who's actually good: Ilya Bryzgalov.  That could pay huge dividends in April, May and especially June.  The Rangers try their hardest not to make the playoffs every year, and I think they'll be in that same boat again this season.  Having an All-World goalie in Henrik Lundqvist is obviously a good thing and the addition of Brad Richards should help the offense.  But I wonder how long the Rangers will take off in the middle of the season.  The Devils greatly underachieved last year.  I don't expect that to happen again.  Marty Brodeur is old, but he's still good.  And Ilya Kovalchuk is out to prove that ridiculous contract isn't such a waste.  Otherwise, they don't have much else.  The Devils will contend for a playoff spot, though.  The New York Islanders are also members of the Atlantic Division.

Northeast-The Bruins enter the season as the defending Stanley Cup champs for the first time since 1972-73.  Boston is certainly locked and loaded for another deep run, but I'm not sure if they'll get all the breaks that they got last season.  I still think the Bruins are the best team in the Northeast Division, though.  The second-best team in this division is Montreal, which I think has the weapons to challenge its rivals from New England.  The Canadiens added Erik Cole to improve their offense, which should work.  They're going to need to score a lot of goals because relying on Carey Price to win games is a risky proposition.  The Sabres won't be as good as they were last year.  Tim Connolly and Rob Niedermayer are gone, and their big additions were Robyn Regehr and Christian Ehrhoff.  That strengthens the defense in front of Ryan Miller, who's one of the best goalies in the game.  If Miller stays healthy, the Sabres will be good enough to get back to the playoffs.  It's hard to believe that a team that plays in the largest city in a hockey-mad country has been this bad for this long, but I think the Maple Leafs are on their way back.  It won't be this year, but that long-awaited return to the playoffs might come in 2012-13.  Ottawa should be better than the team that finished 13th in the conference last season, but not enough to improve its chances in a division that has three good teams.

Southeast-This division has suddenly gotten a lot more competitive, as Washington won't be able to simply collect points by beating its lowly division rivals all the time anymore.  Even still, the Capitals are the best team in this division.  After getting their asses kicked by the Lightning in the playoffs, they realized they can't simply outscore everybody if they want to win the Cup.  So, they went out and got Tomas Vokoun to play goal.  But Tampa Bay and Washington are thisclose.  The Lightning have one of the most dynamic players in the game in Steven Stamkos.  Add franchise mainstays Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis and you've got a powerful offense that's going to score a lot of goals.  The Hurricanes just missed the playoffs last year, but lost their best player, Erik Cole, in free agency.  I'm not sure they'll be able to make the jump this season.  Who knows what kind of an impact playing in a city that actually knows it has a hockey team and in an arena where people are actually aware there's a game going on will have on the Artists Formerly Known as the Atlanta Thrashers?  On paper, Winnipeg isn't really that good.  But having owners and fans who actually care about the team could make a huge difference.  Unfortunately, the Panthers still play in Miami.  I don't see a way they avoid extending their NHL record to 11 straight years without making the playoffs.

Central-With the exception of Chicago's Stanley Cup victory two years ago, Detroit has been the class of this division for a decade.  That shouldn't change this year.  The Red Wings are the Patriots of the NHL.  They'll put together the same consistently good regular season they always do, then lose in the playoffs.  I don't think that'll be any different this year.  Pekka Rinne is a star in the making in Nashville.  I give the Predators credit for finding a way to be competitive in this tough division year after year.  Nashville won a playoff series for the first time last season.  They might win another this year.  The St. Louis Blues making the playoffs used to be as much of a constant as death and taxes.  After a few down years, I think this might be the season they work their way back to respectability.  But their big offseason acquisitions were veterans Jason Arnott and Jamie Langenbrunner, who won the Cup together a decade ago with the Devils.  That could be a risk.  After winning the Cup in 2009-10, the Blackhawks snuck into the playoffs as the No. 8 seed last season.  I'm not sure they'll get that lucky this year.  But they've still got Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Duncan Keith, so anything's possible.  Rick Nash is still stuck playing in Columbus, which is praying it gets moved to the Eastern Conference when Winnipeg shifts to the West next season.

Northwest-Things were all set up for the Vancouver Canucks last season, but a dirty hit turned the series and, after working all season to get the home ice, they dropped Game 7 of the Finals at home.  Regardless, the Canucks are still loaded and are still the class of a relatively weak division.  Another trip to the Finals wouldn't surprise me.  As I said, the rest of this division isn't that good.  Minnesota added Dany Heatley, which probably makes them the second-best team in the division, but the Wild will at best be fighting for a playoff spot.  The same goes for Colorado, the one-time class of this division.  The Avalanche are on their way back to contention, though, and I think they might surprise some teams.  Hockey in Alberta suffered through a down year in 2010-11.  The 2011-12 campaign could be another one.  The Flames are in better condition to contend, but outside of Jarome Iginla, they don't have anybody you'd want to build a team around.  They missed the playoffs last year and didn't really get any better in the offseason.  The Edmonton Oilers' glory days of Gretzky and Messier must seem like they were 100 years ago.  But the good thing about being bad for so long is the collection of high draft picks you get as a result.  Once those guys start arriving in Edmonton, the Oilers are in good shape.  Until then?  Not so much.

Pacific-Last season, Vancouver finally made the jump and won the conference title.  This year, it might be the Sharks' turn.  San Jose has been one of the best teams in the West for the past couple of seasons, and I don't see that changing this year.  The Sharks are loaded.  They lost Dany Heatley and Devin Setoguchi, but so what?  They replaced them with Michal Handzus and Martin Havlat.  The Ducks have too much talent to be left out of the discussion, too.  They aren't as good as their friends from the Bay Area, but a loaded offense and an All-Star goalie (Jonas Hiller) could keep the Ducks fighting tooth and nail with the Sharks all season.  Hockey is surprisingly good in Southern California these days, as the Kings got better, too, adding both Simon Gagne and Mike Richards.  I'm still not completely sold on LA as a contender, but it wouldn't entirely surprise me, either.  This division is so deep that Dallas finished last in the division, yet barely missed the playoffs last season.  The Stars might be in a similar situation again this year, but it's also entirely possible that the entire Pacific Division makes the playoffs.  Either way, the Stars will probably have to rely on goalie Kari Lehtonen to get better.  Now that the Thrashers moved to Winnipeg, going back to being the Jets suddenly was no longer an option for the Coyotes.  This still might be their last season in Phoenix, though, since I think reality sets in after a couple seasons of surprising success.

Playoff Teams: EAST-Flyers, Capitals, Bruins, Lightning, Canadiens, Penguins, Sabres, Rangers
WEST-Canucks, Red Wings, Sharks, Ducks, Kings, Predators, Blues, Blackhawks

Stanley Cup Finals: Sharks over Flyers

Some Suggestions for 2012

It's days like today when I'm reminded why I have a subscription to ESPN The Magazine.  Despite my obvious desire for either the Hope Solo or Gretchen Bleiler cover, I ended up with Jose Reyes, though.  I don't know why, maybe it's because I live in New York, but it sucked.  Other than that, though, this year's "Body Issue" was extremely solid.  In fact, I think it was the best one to date.  And that got me thinking, "Who's going to be in the 'Body Issue' next year?"  I have some suggestions, starting with our cover girl...

Danica Patrick (Auto Racing)

Next year is Danica's big move to NASCAR.  I don't know how that'll work out, but I'm pretty sure she'll still be Danica.

Candace Parker (Los Angeles Sparks)

The female CP3 would be another cover option.  Remember this, she just had a baby not too long ago.

Since 2012 is an Olympic year, I would imagine there will be several members of the U.S. Olympic team who jump into the national spotlight kind of the way Hope Solo did this summer.  I predict these four fill the role...

Allyson Felix (Track & Field)

There are a lot of hot women on the U.S. national track & field team (I could fill a list just with them), but Felix is picked for her potential London success, not to mention the fact that she's gorgeous.  Possibly another cover option, as well.

Rebecca Soni (Swimming)

Soni's one of the best breaststrokers in the world.  Unfortunately, very few people know that or even care.  But since I think she'll be one of the stars of London, her five minutes might end up getting extended beyond next summer.

Jen Kessy (Beach Volleyball)

Kerri and Misty get all the attention, but I'm hoping Kessy and April Ross are the other U.S. team in London if for no other reason than for the opportunity to look at Jen Kessy in a bikini.

Alex Morgan (Soccer)

The hottest non-goalie on the U.S. women's soccer team, Alex Morgan will probably be an Olympian in 2012, which gives us the opportunity to watch her play soccer for another summer.  (Sidebar, she's rumored to be dating Evan Longoria, an athlete-athlete pairing I'm completely on board with.)

As for the remaining four athletes that round out my 2012 Body Issue wish list....

Victoria Azarenka (Tennis)

The hot tennis player is a requirement.  This year it was Vera Zvonareva.  Other acceptable choices would include Caroline Wozniacki, Ana Ivanovic, Daniela Hantuchova and, of course, Maria Sharapova, who's already posed in the SI Swimsuit Issue, so that one's probably a stretch.

Natalie Gulbis (Golf)

I still contend golf isn't a sport.  That doesn't mean Natalie Gulbis isn't hot.  Other acceptable golf options include Paula Creamer and Michelle Wie.


Allison Baver (Short Track Speed Skating)

I didn't forget about winter sports.  ESPN has been kind enough to give us Julia Mancuso and Gretchen Bleiler in the last two years.  They also gave us Baver's ex-boyfriend, some guy named Ohno, this year.  She will remind us that once London ends, it's just 18 months until Sochi.


Kristi Leskinen (Freestyle Skiing)

Totally didn't know what sport Kristi Leskinen does.  Just knew she's an athlete.  Frankly, does it matter?  She obviosuly looks a lot better when not wearing winter clothes, a helmet and ski boots.

There'll obviously be male athletes in next year's "Body Issue," too, but let's face it, I don't care who any of the ones they select are.

Week 4 Picks

Before I get completely ensconsed in this wonderful day that features four playoff baseball games, I'm going to take a break and give you the picks for the football games I won't be watching tomorrow.  Giants late game+Jets Sunday night game+plus no FOX early game=being stuck with whatever game is on CBS at 1.  No thank you.  I'll wait until 3 for the Yankee game.  Anyway, on with the picks...

• Panthers at Bears: Chicago-The Panthers aren't going to go winless this season, which is good.  But playing Jacksonville at home isn't quite the same as taking on the Bears in Chicago.  As a result, Da Bears are Da Pick.
• Bills at Bengals: Buffalo-Ladies and gentlemen, the first-place Buffalo Bills are currently the best team in the AFC.  If the playoffs were to start today, the Bills would have homefield advantage.  I'm still not sure it's going to last, but I'm going to enjoy the ride while it does.  And playing Cincinnati is certainly a nice way to make sure they're 4-0 going into that showdown with the Eagles next week.
• Titans at Browns: Cleveland-As I said last week, Cleveland somehow lucked into not having to play a good team until December, when they see the Steelers and Ravens twice each.  This game's at the Dawg Pound, so I'm taking the Browns.
• Lions at Cowboys: Detroit-Dallas is favored in this game, and I was really tempted to pick the Cowboys, but I just couldn't.  They figured out a way to win that Monday night game against the Redskins despite not scoring a touchdown.  If they want to win this week, they'll have to.
• Vikings at Chiefs: Minnesota-Come Sunday night, one of these teams will no longer be winless.  I'll give the Chiefs credit for actually resembling a professional football team last week, but this is one of the few situations this year when Minnesota will be favored.  That's good enough for me.
• Redskins at Rams: Washington-St. Louis is also winless and really needs a win.  I certainly didn't anticipate Washington being 2-1 and tied for first place in Week 4.  At the beginning of the season, I would've expected the Rams to be favored in this one.  I still think they might pull it out, but I'm taking Washington.
• 49ers at Eagles: Philadelphia-The first half of Sunday's Eagles-Phillies split doubleheader.  This is the first real test to see how good the 49ers actually are.  Meanwhile, the Eagles have lost two straight since beating the Rams in Week 1.  Philly needs a win, and I think they'll get it.  But Vick's status makes it far from a guarantee.
• Saints at Jaguars: New Orleans-Do I need to give you a reason?  Really?
• Steelers at Texans: Pittsburgh-Are the Texans for real?  They started 2-0, then lost to New Orleans last week.  Now they get the defending AFC champions at home.  The Steelers seem to be back on track after dropping their opener to the Ravens.  Houston falls to 2-2.
• Giants at Cardinals: Giants-The former NFC East rivals meet in the Valley of the Sun, where the Giants won the Super Bowl four years ago.  It took a couple weeks, but the Giants have begun participating in the 2011 NFL season.  And that win in Philly last week was a huge monkey off their backs.  This week, they go across the country and pick up another road victory.
• Falcons at Seahawks: Atlanta-One of these groups of birds has to win this game.  The Falcons might be 1-2, but they're better than that, as evidence by the fact that the win came against the Eagles.  If this game was later in the year, I'd like the Seahawks' chances a little better, but in October, I'm going with Atlanta.
• Broncos at Packers: Green Bay-There's very little chance that Denver derails the Super Bowl champs, who should go into their playoff rematch in Atlanta with a 4-0 record.
• Patriots at Raiders: New England-Somehow, the Raiders beat the Jets last week.  Somehow, the Patriots lost to the Bills last week.  Reality sets in this week.  New England romps.
• Dolphins at Chargers: San Diego-I'm honestly not sure when I see Miami finally picking up a win.  It's not coming in San Diego.  I know that much.
• Jets at Ravens: Jets-The best game of the week was saved for Sunday night.  It's Rex Bowl II.  Last season, the Ravens spoiled the Jets' first game at MetLife Stadium by winning without the benefit of a touchdown on Monday night in Week 1.  I highly doubt Rex Ryan has forgotten that.  I also don't think Rex is going to let his team forget that the Raiders ran all over them last week.  Common sense tells me that I should take the Ravens, especially since that defense loves to play those home primetime games.  But for some reason, I think the Jets are going to win a close one.
• Colts at Buccaneers: Tampa Bay-The last time these two teams played in Tampa, it was also a Monday night game in 2003.  It was a week later than this year's game (it was Week 5), but the scenario was similar.  It was Bucs-Colts (in Tony Dungy's return to Tampa, by the way) up against Division Series Game 5 in Oakland (Red Sox-A's).  The defending Super Bowl Champion Bucs led 21-0 at halftime and 35-14 with five minutes left.  Then the Colts rallied to tie it with 35 seconds left before Mike Vanderjagt's overtime field goal won it.  It was the greatest comback in that short an amout of time in NFL history, as well as one of the most memorable Monday night games ever.  Anyway, on to this year's game.  Curtis Painter will make his first NFL start for the Colts.  I say finally.  They finally started to resemble the Colts again after he took over last week.  I'm still not picking the Colts until they show me they can win without Peyton, but I think that's coming soon.  Meanwhile, the Bucs are tied for first in the NFC South and aren't going to squander the opportunity in their only home primetime game of the season.

Last Week: 11-5
Season: 31-17