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!

Super Bowl(Review)

Well, the Super Bowl was pretty good this year. Down to the wire, with an explosive fourth quarter. But the problem which arises is found within the media(as it usually is). Everybody is talking about how this was one of the best Super Bowls ever. More notably, everybody that I have heard from ranks this one above last year's. Is the reasoning for this that Pittsburgh's defense completely fell apart in the fourth quarter? Or because Arizona's mediocre defense allowed Pittsburgh to ease their way down the field to win the game in the end? Obviously the offenses deserve some credit. Rothlisberger has come up with huge drives to win games time and time again, and the Arizona passing game is bound to break a few big plays, but this doesn't compare to last year. Eli Manning put together the most improbable drive football has ever seen, to beat an 18-0 team. Third or fourth down conversions were needed for every first down. Not to mention, a couple unforgettable plays thrown in here and there.
In conclusion, the game was great. One of the best. But it can not rank near the top. In the end, everything that happened was believable, and as the game unfolded everything that happened was almost expected. The things that make games great are the things that make you wonder if what your seeing is actually happening.

Prediction record: NFL: 9-2; Overall: 9-2

Super Bowl

I have been going back and forth on who to pick for the Super Bowl. Honestly, I think the Cardinals would win in Arizona. I also think the Steelers would win in Pittsburgh. In Tampa Bay, I don't give either team the edge. So, I will make my decision based on who will benefit more from the extra week off. My decision is that with an extra week, the team to get themselves into a better position to win will be the Steelers.

Prediction
Pittsburgh 31
Arizona 27

NFL Playoffs: Conference Championships

Today we get our Super Bowl teams. One will have never won a Super Bowl. The other will have won one in this decade. So, which two will be there? My thought we will be having a Pennsylvania Super Bowl in Tampa.

In the NFC Championship, the Eagles will be in Arizona. There has been a lot of talk about how great the Cardinals run defense has been lately, and on the other side of the ball, how good their run has become. Well, the Eagles have gone to Minnesota and New York and not given up a one hundred-yard rusher (They also have given up only one passing touchdown in their last seven games). Then on the flip side, the Eagles have been criticized so much for not running the ball enough. So, pass away then. Eagles win a tough fought game.

Prediction:
Philadelphia 34
Arizona 24

Over in the AFC, the Steelers and Ravens meeting for the third time, is most easily defined as a toss-up. I think this game will be unbearably close. Not to sound to proud of myself, but before the playoffs began, I picked every game in the AFC the way it has played out, and I had the Ravens getting their revenge in Pittsburgh. But this week my pick has slowly changed to the more experienced quarterback, and the better offense, since both defenses are so equally good. So, Rothlisberger gets my win over a very strong Ravens D.

Prediction:
Pittsburgh 17
Baltimore 16

NFL Playoffs:Divisional Round(Review)

So, we are through another round in the NFL playoffs, and the big thing standing out to me is that the Arizona Cardinals are still playing football this season. I can not believe how poorly Jake Delhomme played on Saturday. Still, congratulations to the Cards, in order for a quarterback to play that poorly, you must be doing something right. In the other NFC matchup, the Champions were dethroned by the Eagles, in another game where Philadelphia completely dominated the Giants. So, the NFC representative this year will have never won a Super Bowl in their existence. Over in the AFC games, one snap offensively for the Chargers in the third quarter? And in Tennessee, the complaints have been flying around on a no-call delay of game. Don't complain if you turn the ball over every time you are about to score and yet somehow you are still in the game with three minutes to go? Instead be thankful that you get to complain about a call rather than be sad that your team got killed.

A final note on this round-- Defense wins championships. It's an obvious observation. The Cardinals have been amazing creating turnovers in the last two playoff games, but compare the team's defenses from the regular season. Pittsburgh ranked first in total defense. Baltimore ranked second in total defense. Philadelphia ranked third in total defense. Arizona ranked nineteenth. Which of these teams does not belong?

Prediction record: NFL: 7-1; Overall: 7-1

NFL Playoffs: Divisional Round(Game 4)

The final game of the weekend is the Steelers/Chargers game. The last time they met, Pittsburgh won 11-10, so first of all, I predict that there will be more scoring--but maybe not that much more. This season definitely proved that defense wins championships. So, today I see both teams trying to get something going on the ground in the early quarters, but by the end, we should get to see two of the best clutch quarterbacks in the league go at it. In the end I think Roethlisberger outpreforms Rivers and gets the win.

Prediction:
Pittsburgh 23
San Deigo 20

NFL Playoffs: Divisional Round(Game 3)

This Sunday the Eagles will be in New York to face the familiar Giants. This seems like it will be the game of the weekend. Each team has beaten the other this season while on the road. The main thing that stands out to me is that these teams are very evenly matched in just about every aspect of the game. McNabb is hot, Manning is confident. The Giants' three-headed monster at runningback is healthy, Westbrook is as healthy as he can be at this point in the season. Both defenses are stellar. And with Burress out of the picture, the receiving corps are pretty much evened out. So, who comes out on top? In recent seasons the Giants have had success against the Eagles defense, and that success has been Plaxico Burress. Every big Eagle-killing play has been to that man. But due to a dipute between his appendages, which resulted in his arm shooting a bullet through his leg, he is now longer there to "kill" the Eagles. Without "Plax" in the lineup, the Eagles dominated the G-men in New York about a month ago, and I see them doing it again. Once the New York running game is stopped and the Eagles get a second-half lead, the game will be over.

Prediction:
Philadelphia 27
New York 24

NFL Overtime

A lot of people have been complaining about the NFL's overtime structure lately. Most recently following the Chargers/Colts game in which the Chargers tied the game, won the overtime coin toss and went right down the field to win the game without allowing MVP Peyton Manning to do anything about it. Today, I give you my resolution to the problem.

Before we begin, let's make sure we understand the problem. Most of the time when an NFL game goes into overtime, the team that wins the coin toss and gets the ball first wins. And usually on the first drive. One of the big arguments is that in winning the toss, a team just needs an average kick return and two or three first downs to get into field goal range. Game over. The other offense does not even get a chance. The popular alternative posed is to use the college football method. This allows each team to start at the other team's twenty five, and try to score. They go back and forth until one team outscores the other. The main argument against this is that at the NFL level a sixty minute football game is physically and emotionally exhausting. To have them continue for a potentially infinite amount of time is beyond reason. Another suggestion is to have them play one additional 15-minute period. Same problem. Supporters of the current system can argue that there are still two teams out on the field and the defense has just as much of a chance to make a stop as the offense has of making it into field goal range.

So my solution then. You can't be letting the outcome of a game depend on a coin toss. I also don't think that college rules will work in the NFL, if for no other reason, that player statistics will be blown out of proportion(When Manning throws six touchdowns in overtime). So, we'll keep the coin toss. But how can we make the decision more important, rather than have it be a no-brainer(take the ball)? Take out the kick-off. A touchback puts you at the twenty yard-line, which is the established spot on the field where the offense can be comfortable that they are not in a hole but still have a long way to go. I say start them out at the 15 yard-line. If the defense comes up with a stop right away, they are practically in field goal range. If not, there is a good chance they will get the ball back anyway, but pinned in their own end. Therefore each team gets the same opportunity. You may think then that this idea favors the defense. But electing to put your defence on the field involves you giving the other team the ball right away, and your offense may never see the field. On the other hand, if you think the team getting the ball still has the advantage--a defense that can not stop an offense from driving fifty yards does not deserve to win.

So there you have it. Have the coin toss and start a team out on their own fifteen yard-line. Solved.

NFL Playoffs: Divisional Round(Game 2)

The second game of the divisional playoff round is the Arizona/Carolina game. I have been trying to convince myself for the last couple of days that the Cardinals have a chance, but I have come to the conclusion that they don't. Carolina kind of reminds me of the Falcons, whom the Cardinals just defeated, but with a few (important) differences. First, the Falcons do not have a Steve Smith. Steve Smith beats teams by himself. He is a big-play maker, and will find his chance to have that game altering play. Second, Jake Delhomme is not a rookie quarterback. The Cardinals can not count on mistakes from the QB this week, Delhomme has already been to the big show, and knows how playoff football works. Finally, the Panthers are at home. Arizona does not travel well, and when they take the field with the well-rested Panthers, their season will end.

Prediction:
Carolina 34
Arizona 17

NFL Playoffs: Divisional Round(Game 1)

This week we get ready for the Divisional round of the NFL playoffs. I'll start with the Baltimore at Tennessee game. This should be a really good game. Both defenses have been leading the way for their teams this season, and offensively, both rely heavily on the run. So, I would think this will be a pretty quick game as we get a good look at four or five pretty good running backs. The winner will be determined by which defense weakens first, and I have to think that the Ravens can outlast anybody in a smash-mouth game like this. Therefore, my pick is Baltimore to break through the line first and make the big run or two to beat the Titans in Nashville.

Prediction:
Baltimore 17
Tennessee 9

NFL Playoffs: Wild Card Round (Review)

Alright, so the fist round of the playoffs is over, and no real surprises. To begin, Arizona knocked off the Falcons. What I enjoyed most about this game was that with time winding down in the fourth quarter, the Cardinals needed to run out the clock, but rather than run the ball, they went with their strength and put the ball in the hands of their MVP, Kurt Warner. He made the plays they needed and got out of town with a victory. The second game reminded us that there is a really good post-season rivalry going between the Colts and Bolts. While it appeared that the Chargers should have won the game, they continually shot themselves in the foot, with a fumble into the endzone and then an interception in the endzone. But they managed to send the game to overtime and a touchdown on the first drive of overtime, sparking once again complaints about the NFL overtime system. I'll save my opinions on NFL overtimes for another date, but I will say that it is a shame that MVP Peyton Manning had to play conservative, run out the clock-football for almost the entire second half, until the Chargers finally tied the game. Then Peyton had to try to move the team 80 yards in about 20 seconds, which would not happen. Then, losing the coin toss kept him on the bench for the entire overtime period. Bummer.
Sunday's first game was the Ravens exposing the Dolphins as a team that maybe shouldn't have been in the playoffs. Five turnovers for the fish who turned the ball over 13 times in 16 games this season. The Wildcat formation had to be thrown out in the first half, while on the other side of the field the Ravens were having a successful day on the ground. The last game of the weekend took place inside a dome in Minneapolis. If it had been outside, it would have been single digit temperatures, but inside, Deshaun Jackson was able to show off his speed, and David Akers was able to make four field goals. As the Eagles expanded a lead in the fourth quarter and the Vikings needed to turn to the pass, Tarvaris Jackson showed the world that the Vikings will have a new quarterback in town next season, assuming they can find one.
All in all, it was a good first round, and now we move forward to the divisional matchups, of which at least three should be pretty darn good.

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Prediction record: NFL: 4-0 ; Overall:4-0

NFL Playoffs: Wild Card Round(Games 3 and 4)

I will give my reaction to yesterday's games when the round is complete. For now, I will give my predictions for today's games. The first game today features the Ravens traveling to Miami. In this game, I think the Baltimore defense will take control and the Ravens will dominate. Miami's Wildcat formation is made for college football. They can get away with it against some NFL teams, but the Ravens defense is just too fast. As for Chad Pennington stepping up and taking the Dolphins to Pittsburgh, he is a better-than-average quarterback, but I see him struggling big time against the Ravens. On the other side, I'm sure Flacco is wondering how he quarterbacked a playoff team and didn't win rookie of the year. Now that Matt Ryan has lost, it's time for him to show who is the real rookie of the year.

Prediction:
Baltimore 24
Miami 10


The other game today sees the Philadelphia Eagles playing the Minnesota Vikings in Minneapolis. Both teams have strong defenses, and both teams have had their rough patches this season. However, the rough patches that the Eagles have had, appear to be directly Donovan McNabb related. Mainly because he struggled through the wind in Seattle and Cincinnati. Today he will be playing in a dome. I see him having a big day, in his first post-season game since the Super Bowl of the 2004 season. For the Vikings, Peterson has been the entire offense for the past two seasons. Jimmy Johnson's defense for the Eagles usually crushes one dimensional teams. Jackson will struggle big time against the Philly blitz, and the Eagles will get the win.

Prediction:
Philadelphia 31
Minnesota 13

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Prediction record: NFL:2-0, Overall:2-0

NFL Playoff: Wild Card Round (Game 2)

Now that I have rushed through the first game, I can move on to tonight's matchup: Colts vs. Chargers. I understand that the Colts are quietly very good this year, and that they now have the second ever 3-time MVP running their team. I also realize that the Colts have won four more games than the Chargers this season. However, after watching the Chargers for the last three weeks, I have to pick them for this game. Phillip Rivers has been playing MVP football for about a month now, and I see no reason for that to stop now. Earlier this season when these teams met, the Colts won on a game-ending field goal. The Chargers now have a lot more confidence, and home-field.

The NFL never works the way you think it will, and here is my big upset of the first round.

Prediction:
Chargers 24
Colts 23

NFL Playoff:Wild Card Round

It took a little while to get this blog going, and now I need to give my predictions for the first games of the NFL playoffs. So, there are going to be two blog posts today since I need to do this one quickly, seeing as the game is already under way. Briefly then, Cardinals vs. Falcons: I like the Cardinals at home. They have been getting ripped into a lot lately about how bad they are, so they definitely have something to prove. Also, if we look at the quarterbacks alone, a rookie versus a two-time MVP/Super Bowl champion.

The fans have been waiting a long time (forever) for the Arizona Cardinals to have a home playoff game, and they will get the win.

Prediction:
Arizona 34
Atlanta 24