NFL Power Rankings

Alright, I'm falling behind a bit, I'll get out these Power Rankings quick before another week is played. Here's how they look:

5. New York Giants
4. Minnesota Vikings
3. Denver Broncos
2. Indianapolis Colts
1. New Orleans Saints


Also, I need to note that I had to stop predicting MLB's postseason. It is at a point where I have become too biased. Sorry.

NFL Power Rankings

It's hard to change power rankings when everybody at the top keeps winning. So, I am keeping my top five the same:

5. Denver Broncos
4. Minnesota Vikings
3. Indianapolis Colts
2. New Orleans Saints
1. New York Giants

This week things should be changed up a bit. It helps that the 1 and 2 play each other.

MLB LDS Predictions

Alright, I need to make my baseball predictions quick.

Rockies vs. Phillies
The Rockies are the hotest team in the NL right now. The Phillies are the Defending Champs. In a series with two hitters parks I think pitching will lead to a Philadelphia Phillies win. The lefty trio of Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels and JA Happ will be too much for the Rockies to handle and the Phillies will sweep them away.

Phillies 3
Rockies 0

Twins vs. Yankees
The Twins have added a true cinderella into the mix of what could be one of the most competitive postseasons baseball has know. I think the momentum of last nights win leads to a shocker in New York later this evening giving the Twins a 1-0 lead. After the Yankees bounce back to even the series, the Twins have a good chance to grab another win when they head back to their dome-field advantage. However, when backed into the corner, I believe the Yankees wake upand take the last two in a five game series.

Yankees 3
Twins 2

Cardinals vs. Dodgers
St. Louis has the pitching, and the MVP on their side. L.A. has home field and a team that finished three wins short of the world series last season. In this series Carpenter and Wainright get to show off their stuff to the Dodgers faithful, as they take the first two. In desperation the Dodgers will take game three (that's right, road teams win the first three), but the Cards finish them off in game four.

Cardinals 3
Dodgers 1

Red Sox vs. Angels
Boston has had the Angels number in postseasons past, but I think the Angels have the most talented team in all of baseball. A split in L.A., a split in Boston, and a dramatic finish as the Angels win at home and move on.

Angels 3
Red Sox 2

Tiebreaker Review

Last night the Minnesota Twins defeated the Detroit Tigers 6-5 in 12 innings to win the AL Central. And I was there. My first thought following the game was that it is going to be quite difficult for me to ever attend a better sporting event. Pitchers getting out of jams, defensive awareness and ability, punches and counter-punches, walk off victory. In a combined 33 at-bats by 2-3-4 hitters, we saw 4 singles, 2 doubles, 4 home runs, and 6 runs. Rick Porcello struck out 8 in 5 and 2/3 innings for the Tigers. Both closers pitched for more than an inning. Minnesota used 12 players and 8 pitchers. Detroit used 14 players and 5 pitchers. A crowd of over 54,000 watched as Alexi Casilla (.198 average, 16 RBI) hit in the winning run (Carlos Gomez-.227 average) 4 hours and 37 minutes after Scott Baker threw the games first pitch. In a game that had everything, those who watched saw baseball at its finest.

Prediction Record: NFL: 9-2; MLB: 1-0; Overall: 10-2

NFL Power Rankings & Tiebreaker Prediction

Week 4 is in the books, so here are my new NFL power rankings:

5. Denver Broncos
4. Minnesota Vikings
3. Indianapolis Colts
2. New Orleans Saints
1. New York Giants


And now some baseball . . .

This afternoon the Twins host the Tigers in the eighth tiebreaker game in Major League history. The Twins overcame a three-game deficit with four to play to get themselves into this situation, and now they have the home-field advantage. I believe that the Twins will not lose in the dome, after all they have been through to make this game a reality. Justin Morneau's injury appears to be the spark the Twins needed. Everybody seems like they are stepping up at the right time. My only concern would be over-confidence.

Prediction:
Twins 3
Tigers 2

Greatest Baseball Teams of All Time (Through 1880)

I am now through 1880, so here is the list so far. I decided to give the point values of each team also, so even though you don't know how they are calculated you can compare numbers.

10. 1880 Chicago White Stockings .770
9. 1879 Chicago White Stockings .771
8. 1876 Boston Red Caps .799
7. 1879 Providence Grays .803
6. 1880 Providence Grays .807
5. 1880 Boston Red Caps .821
4. 1879 Boston Red Caps .928
3. 1876 Chicago White Stockings .953
2. 1877 Boston Red Caps 1.196
1. 1878 Boston Red Caps 1.368

I should maybe also mention the league varied between 6 and 8 teams during this timespan.

It's been a long time. . . . .

I haven't had an entry in quite a while. But the wait is over, and this time there will be more to talk about. Just as an introduction to this new "blogging," I will tell you a little bit about what you can expect. First of all, the longer project I am working on involves figuring out mathematically which baseball team is the best of all-time. I won't explain the equation, because there are a lot of numbers, and most of them were made up by me making this whole thing irrational. However, so far the numbers seem to be coming out pretty well, so I will go ahead and say it is a success, and from this point forward I will lead you to believe it works, also. One of the catches with doing this is that the most efficient way to calculate the scores is to start at the begin and do each year in succession until I reach present day. So, each time I get through a year, I will put an updated top 10 here in the blog. At the end of each decade I will give reasoning for the ten best teams. Under this evaluation it helps to win your division, win the world series, have a high winning percentage, solid batting average and fielding percentage, and a low WHIP. Also, it is beneficial to keep a large amount of your roster intact and winning year after year. I will keep crunching through the stats using baseball-reference.com. I am currently in the midst of the 1880 season.

This blog will also include frequent top tens, predictions when neccessary, and power rankings of whatever I feel like. To give you something with some substance, I will start off with my power ranking of the top 5 NFL teams:
5. Minnesota Vikings
4. Baltimore Ravens
3. Indianapolis Colts
2. New Orleans Saints
1. New York Giants

And Power Rankings for MLB:
5. Philadelphia Phillies
4. St. Louis Cardinals
3. Boston Red Sox
2. Los Angelas Angels
1. New York Yankees

Thanks for reading!