Its time for TNT's 40 games in 40 nights (BTW, screw you for getting rid of my favorite part of your coverage, the boxes with the teams logos). ESPN and ABC's obsession with the Lakers and Spurs. Its the NBA playoffs. At least those annoying split screen face commercials are over with. Anyway here is what I think will happen.
Eastern Conference - 1st Round
#8 Detroit at #1 Cleveland 4-0
#7 Chicago at #2 Boston 4-3
#6 Philadelphia at #3 Orlando 4-2
#5 Miami at #4 Atlanta 4-3
Western Conference - 1st Round
#8 Utah at #1 Los Angeles 4-1
#7 New Orleans at #2 Denver 4-3
#6 Dallas at #3 San Antonio 4-2
#5 Houston at #4 Portland 4-2
Eastern Conference - 2nd Round
#4 Atlanta at #1 Cleveland 4-2
#3 Orlando at #2 Boston 4-2
Western Conference - 2nd Round
#4 Portland at #1 Los Angeles 4-3
#6 Dallas at #2 Denver 4-1
Eastern Conference Finals
#3 Orlando at #1 Cleveland 4-2
Western Conference Finals
#2 Denver at #1 Los Angeles 4-3
NBA Finals
#1 Los Angeles at #1 Cleveland 4-2
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Monday, April 13, 2009
NHL Playoff Predictions
Well its that time of year again. Time for playoff beards, two games every night for two months. The NHL Playoffs. The matchups are set. It's time for me to pick whose going to the finals and who will hoist Lord Stanley's Cup this June. Without further delay, let's do it! Teams in bold are my picks. Later in the week i'll give my NBA picks.
Western Conference - 1st Round
#8 Anaheim at #1 San Jose 4-2
#7 Columbus at #2 Detroit 4-1
#6 St Louis at #3 Vancouver 4-3
#5 Calgary at #4 Chicago 4-2
Eastern Conference - 1st Round
#8 Montreal at #1 Boston 4-3
#7 NY Rangers at #2 Washington 4-2
#6 Carolina at #3 New Jersey 4-2
#5 Philadelphia at #4 Pittsburgh 4-3
Western Conference - 2nd Round
#6 St Louis at #1 San Jose 4-2
#4 Chicago at #2 Detroit 4-3
Eastern Conference - 2nd Round
#5 Philadelphia at #1 Boston 4-2
#3 New Jersey at #2 Washington 4-1
West Finals
#4 Chicago at #1 San Jose 4-2
East Finals
#3 New Jersey at #1 Boston 4-2
Stanley Cup Finals
#3 New Jersey at #1 San Jose 4-2
Western Conference - 1st Round
#8 Anaheim at #1 San Jose 4-2
#7 Columbus at #2 Detroit 4-1
#6 St Louis at #3 Vancouver 4-3
#5 Calgary at #4 Chicago 4-2
Eastern Conference - 1st Round
#8 Montreal at #1 Boston 4-3
#7 NY Rangers at #2 Washington 4-2
#6 Carolina at #3 New Jersey 4-2
#5 Philadelphia at #4 Pittsburgh 4-3
Western Conference - 2nd Round
#6 St Louis at #1 San Jose 4-2
#4 Chicago at #2 Detroit 4-3
Eastern Conference - 2nd Round
#5 Philadelphia at #1 Boston 4-2
#3 New Jersey at #2 Washington 4-1
West Finals
#4 Chicago at #1 San Jose 4-2
East Finals
#3 New Jersey at #1 Boston 4-2
Stanley Cup Finals
#3 New Jersey at #1 San Jose 4-2
Sunday, April 5, 2009
2009 MLB Predictions
AL Predicitons:
Rays vs Angels
Red Sox vs Twins
Twins vs Angels
AL East: Rays, Red Sox, Yankees, Blue Jays, Orioles
The Rays bring most of their team from the World Series back for another go round. The still have underrated pitching and added Pat Burrell to help out Longoria and Pena in the order. The Red Sox have excellent pitching depth and a very potent lineup. I think they will win the Wild Card, but that depends on the health of David Ortiz, Mike Lowell and even J.D. Drew. The Yankees made a big off-season splash, but the loss of A-Rod will hurt their lineup, even if only for a month or two. Toronto is a 70-75 win team at best and Baltimore is getting better but are about two years away from being contenders.
AL Central: Twins, Royals, Indians, White Sox, Tigers
The Twins are my pick to win the AL Central, but I gotta tell you, this division is so wide open any of the 5 teams could win it. Minnesota will be helped by a healthy Liriano, but how will the injury of Joe Mauer effect them. Kansas City will be the suprise of the season. They added Jacobs and Crisp to try to contend now and have a very good core of young players. Look for them to be in contention until mid-September. Cleveland made some nice off-season additions, but the health of Hafner and Martinez will play a big role. Grady Sizemore can't do it all himself. The White Sox tried to get younger and bring back very good pitching and a healthy Calos Quintan can vault them right back into it. Detroit was a very big disappointment last year. I picked them to win the AL. They could easily turn the tables this year.
AL West: Angels, Rangers, A's, Mariners
The Angels are the clear favorites to win their 5th division title in 6 years. They lost K-Rod and Teixiera, but they still have Vlad and manager Mike Sciosia. Their bullpen is still one of the best in baseball. Texas has a very good offense but as always the pitching will be a question mark. The A's made a big off-season trade getting Matt Holiday from Colorado. But can Oakland's young pitching mature to make a run at LA. Seattle is in rebuilding mode. They will probably win 65 games and finish ahead of Pittsburgh and Washington for worst record.
NL Predictions:
Dodgers vs Phillies
Giants vs Cubs
Phillies vs Cubs
NL East: Phillies, Mets, Braves, Marlins, Nationals
Its so nice to say the defending champion Phillies are going to win this division a third straight year. Ibanez will be a welcome addition to the lineup and expect Blanton and Moyer to hold their own. The Mets claim they are "the team to beat". Based on what? They added K-Rod and Putz to improve their bullpen, but they failed to improve their lineup. Expect another september crash that sees the Giants snag the Wild Card. Atlanta will be the most improved team in the division. I like them adding Lowe and Vazquez but their lineup leaves much to be desired. Florida is always pesky and they have the best player in the division in Hanley Ramirez. Washington will battle Pittsburgh as worst team in baseball.
NL Central: Cubs, Cardinals, Brewers, Astros, Reds, Pirates
The Cubs improved by finally adding a lefty bat (Milton Bradley) to go with their mostly right lineup. Their pitching is very good with Zambrano, Harden, Dempster and Lilly leading the way. The bullpen features Marmol and new closer Kevin Gregg. They should win this division easily. St Louis is second best. They get back Carpenter and have a healthy Pujols which should put them in the Wild Card race. Milwaukee will drop off after losing Sabathia and Sheets. Houston might be a team to watch, especially with a healthy Carlos Lee. Cincinnati is improving and Pittsburgh can expect an 18th straight losing season.
NL West: Dodgers, Giants, D'Backs, Rockies, Padres
The Dodgers getting Manny back vaults them ahead of the Giants as best team in the division. Expect them to repeat. The Giants are my pick to win the wild card. They have a very good rotation (Lincecum, Cain, Randy Johnson, Zito, Sanchez). Zito should have a comeback player of the year season as the number 4 starter. No pressure being the #1 guy anymore. Arizona is always dangerous, Colorado traded their best player but are still gritty. San Diego is rebuilding as should be among the bottom 5 teams in baseball. Interesting to see if they trade Peavy (maybe to the Cubs?)
World Series: Angels vs Cubs
World Champs: Cubs
Rays vs Angels
Red Sox vs Twins
Twins vs Angels
AL East: Rays, Red Sox, Yankees, Blue Jays, Orioles
The Rays bring most of their team from the World Series back for another go round. The still have underrated pitching and added Pat Burrell to help out Longoria and Pena in the order. The Red Sox have excellent pitching depth and a very potent lineup. I think they will win the Wild Card, but that depends on the health of David Ortiz, Mike Lowell and even J.D. Drew. The Yankees made a big off-season splash, but the loss of A-Rod will hurt their lineup, even if only for a month or two. Toronto is a 70-75 win team at best and Baltimore is getting better but are about two years away from being contenders.
AL Central: Twins, Royals, Indians, White Sox, Tigers
The Twins are my pick to win the AL Central, but I gotta tell you, this division is so wide open any of the 5 teams could win it. Minnesota will be helped by a healthy Liriano, but how will the injury of Joe Mauer effect them. Kansas City will be the suprise of the season. They added Jacobs and Crisp to try to contend now and have a very good core of young players. Look for them to be in contention until mid-September. Cleveland made some nice off-season additions, but the health of Hafner and Martinez will play a big role. Grady Sizemore can't do it all himself. The White Sox tried to get younger and bring back very good pitching and a healthy Calos Quintan can vault them right back into it. Detroit was a very big disappointment last year. I picked them to win the AL. They could easily turn the tables this year.
AL West: Angels, Rangers, A's, Mariners
The Angels are the clear favorites to win their 5th division title in 6 years. They lost K-Rod and Teixiera, but they still have Vlad and manager Mike Sciosia. Their bullpen is still one of the best in baseball. Texas has a very good offense but as always the pitching will be a question mark. The A's made a big off-season trade getting Matt Holiday from Colorado. But can Oakland's young pitching mature to make a run at LA. Seattle is in rebuilding mode. They will probably win 65 games and finish ahead of Pittsburgh and Washington for worst record.
NL Predictions:
Dodgers vs Phillies
Giants vs Cubs
Phillies vs Cubs
NL East: Phillies, Mets, Braves, Marlins, Nationals
Its so nice to say the defending champion Phillies are going to win this division a third straight year. Ibanez will be a welcome addition to the lineup and expect Blanton and Moyer to hold their own. The Mets claim they are "the team to beat". Based on what? They added K-Rod and Putz to improve their bullpen, but they failed to improve their lineup. Expect another september crash that sees the Giants snag the Wild Card. Atlanta will be the most improved team in the division. I like them adding Lowe and Vazquez but their lineup leaves much to be desired. Florida is always pesky and they have the best player in the division in Hanley Ramirez. Washington will battle Pittsburgh as worst team in baseball.
NL Central: Cubs, Cardinals, Brewers, Astros, Reds, Pirates
The Cubs improved by finally adding a lefty bat (Milton Bradley) to go with their mostly right lineup. Their pitching is very good with Zambrano, Harden, Dempster and Lilly leading the way. The bullpen features Marmol and new closer Kevin Gregg. They should win this division easily. St Louis is second best. They get back Carpenter and have a healthy Pujols which should put them in the Wild Card race. Milwaukee will drop off after losing Sabathia and Sheets. Houston might be a team to watch, especially with a healthy Carlos Lee. Cincinnati is improving and Pittsburgh can expect an 18th straight losing season.
NL West: Dodgers, Giants, D'Backs, Rockies, Padres
The Dodgers getting Manny back vaults them ahead of the Giants as best team in the division. Expect them to repeat. The Giants are my pick to win the wild card. They have a very good rotation (Lincecum, Cain, Randy Johnson, Zito, Sanchez). Zito should have a comeback player of the year season as the number 4 starter. No pressure being the #1 guy anymore. Arizona is always dangerous, Colorado traded their best player but are still gritty. San Diego is rebuilding as should be among the bottom 5 teams in baseball. Interesting to see if they trade Peavy (maybe to the Cubs?)
World Series: Angels vs Cubs
World Champs: Cubs
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Playoff races heating up
Have you seen the western conference in the NHL? There are 11 teams going for 8 spots. Now San Jose and Detroit are in. But the other spots are wide open. As of this moment the current matchups are #8 Anaheim at #1 San Jose, #7 St Louis at #2 Detroit, #6 Columbus at #3 Vancouver and #5 Calgary at #4 Chicago. Nashville is tied for 8th with Anaheim, Minnesota and Edmonton are 3 points out. The NHL playoffs start a week from Wednesday night. In the East, #8 NY Rangers at #1 Boston, #7 Montreal at #2 Washington, #6 Pittsburgh at #3 New Jersey and #5 Philadelphia at #4 Carolina. Florida is a point back of New York and Buffalo still is alive but 6 points back with only 6 games left. How great would it be if the Rangers didn't make the playoffs? The Flyers have two more games left than Carolina, and hold a 3-1 season series lead, so we would get home ice if they ended up tied with them.
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