Tag: Playoffs

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Baseball Playoffs Predictions + Prize!

[EDIT] If I get at least 10 people I know to submit their predictions before each round of the playoffs, I’m willing to award a $25 giftcard to Amazon.com to the person with the most correct teams picked and games. If no such person exists or there is a tie, the winner shall be the person who is the closest in their prediction of the number of games in each round.

Points System Breakdown: You will get 3 points for picking the correct winner of each series. However, you will lose one point for every game that you are off in. For example if you pick Phillies to beat the Rockies in 5 games — and Phillies win the series in 7. You will be awarded 3 points for a correct winner but will lose 2 points since it was game 7 instead of 5.

However, if you had chosen the Rockies in that example you will end up losing 3 points for an incorrect pick.

Obviously, the overall leader will have to be in the positive to be eligible for the prize so don’t make a fool out of yourselves with your predictions.[/EDIT]

Well Major League Baseball’s Tie-Breaker Tuesday between the Twins and Tigers was absolutely everything MLB could have wanted from that game and more. So heading into the start of post-season play, I figured I would quickly try to breakdown the series and post my predictions. Feel free to quickly post your winners and in how many games in the comments section and maybe if there are enough players, I’ll do a giveaway at the end of the post-season for whoever has the most correct. Interested to play now?

Colorado Rockies vs. Philadelphia Phillies

I got a chance to see the Phillies play in person the day after they clinched the NL East and even with spotty pitching that day, they quite never says die. Power pitching and hitting will prevail in this series and unfortunately the Rockies do not seem to have much of either. Hamels and Lee will probably be way too much for the Rockies to overcome in a short series.

Phillies in 4.

St. Louis Cardinals vs. Los Angeles Dodgers

I love everything that Tony La Russa does with his squad year in and year out to get them into playoff contention pretty much every single year. He’s got the comeback player of the year (and ex-Blue Jay) in Chris Carpenter and having Albert Pujols in the middle of the order but all that said, I think Joe Torre and his Dodgers with Manny (even though he struggled down the stretch) will be able to prevail in the deciding game.

Dodgers in 5.

Boston Red Sox vs. Los Angeles Angles of Anaheim

This is a series that you can pretty carve into stone every year. The two teams play each other just about as many times as the previous President took days off while in office so they pretty much know each other inside and out. It all comes out to strengths and weaknesses and I have to think that the Angels still struggle to hit the power pitchers. If Lester, Beckett and company are on their game with power pitching and an on-fire David Ortiz from the second half of the season can really prove to be a difference maker. I think that is probably going to be the deciding factor but the Angels’ small ball could definitely turn things the other way as the Red Sox catchers probably couldn’t throw out Benji Molina if he tried to steal a base… still I am going to favor the power arms.

Red Sox in 4.

Minnesota Twins vs. New York Yankees

This series just happened to come up last in the order I was writing them up but this seems to be the hardest one for me to decide. I would love nothing more than to see Carl Pavano pitch gems in game 2 (and 5 if necessary) against his former team to knock them out of the playoffs but I don’t think that could happen. This is a Yankee team that is looking comparable to the ones from the previous decade with their ability to win close games and having the power to blow things open. Every single fiber of me says you will regret not picking against the Yankees here but I will say they end up pulling this one out cause of a natural letdown after Twins’ playoff mentality just to get into post season play.

Yankees in 4.

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Guest Post: NHL Playoffs Preview

If I need hockey news from someone I know personally, it is usually down to three people and two of which I went to high school with. One of those two has written a guest post on the upcoming NHL playoffs that get underway on Wednesday with 3 Eastern Conference series and 1 from the Western Conference.

I have bolded his series predictions below and added mine [in blue]. I think it just might be a nice contest throughout the playoffs to see who predicts the series more accurately.

Here is an analysis from Rusty Moke who is an avid hockey fan since as long as I can remember and has been in attendance for more hockey games this year alone than I even I got to watch:

The NHL playoffs are finally upon us; if 82 games weren’t enough get ready for a couple more.  Now, I’m no NHL scout or hockey analyst, (just an old high school buddy of a specific angry brown guy, who I’d like to thank for making room for me in his intelligent blog) but as an avid hockey fan/player you might be able to find a morsel or two of decent predictions among all of my ranting.

There are 8 different matchups, so I’ll make it short and sweet for each one.

(8) Montreal vs (1) Boston – The Bruins have surged forward this season, from 8th playoff seed last year to 1st this year.  The Canadiens have limped down the stretch, Markov is injured, and Price needs another year or two to become an outstanding goaltender.  Although I believe Boston is overrated and Tim Thomas is garbage, I’ll say Boston wins the series 4-1. [Boston – 4-2]

(7) New York (R) vs (2) Washington – My hatred of the Rangers aside, they are going to have a tough time with the Caps.  Washington has too much firepower for Lundqvist to handle between Ovie, Semin, Green, and Backstrom.  Theodore is Washington’s weak point, but the Rangers season long scoring problems shouldn’t give him much of a problem.  Having the #1 penalty kill in the league doesn’t win games.  Washington sweeps 4-0. [Washington – 4-2]

(6) Carolina vs (3) New Jersey – I’m obviously going to be biased towards the Devils.  Yes, we’ve had problems with the Canes all season long.  Yes, since Marty broke the record he hasn’t been at the top of his game.  But, Marty finally has rest and we have too much history with Carolina to drop this game.  Keep an eye on Babchuk, he’ll make things interesting.  NJ wins in 7. [Carolina – 4-3]

(5) Philadelphia vs (4) Pittsburgh – Not much to say here.  Since the coaching change Pittsburgh has been nearly unstoppable.  Everyone recognizes the names Crosby and Malkin.  Philadelphia has always been an unpredictable team, I don’t think they can hold onto this series, Biron isn’t very reliable.  Pittsburgh wins 4-1. [Pittsburgh – 4-2]

(8) Anaheim vs (1) San Jose– Not much to say here, get out your brooms.  Keep an eye on Cheechoo.  San Jose in 4. [San Jose – 4-1]

(7) Columbus vs (2) Detroit – Look no further for an upset.  Columbus has fought too hard to lose to the Wings in their first post season appearance.  Osgood isn’t as good as he is made out to be, Nash’s leadership is better than Datsyuk’s.  Mason isn’t done with shutouts this season.  Columbus in 7. [Detroit – 4-1]

(6) St. Louis vs (3) Vancouver – The Canucks faltered during the middle of the season, they won’t during the playoffs.  Congrats to the Blues for making it to the playoffs, they better enjoy it while it lasts.  Luongo has this one.  Vancouver wins 4-2. [St. Louis 4-2]

(5) Calgary vs (4) Chicago – Another close series.  Chicago has youth; they can make a run at the cup next year.  Calgary’s trades this year were invaluable.  Calgary wins 4-3. [Calgary 4-1]

Don’t go placing bets on my predictions, but then again who knows.  The playoffs always find some way to keep things interesting.  My cup prediction:  New Jersey vs Calgary.  That’s probably biased, but I’ve seen it all season.

I will probably add my own analysis tomorrow but once again big time appreciation and thanks to Rusty for some fantastic analysis. Once again, if any of you wanna jump in and add your predicitions, feel free to comment below and just let either me or Rusty know wha you think of the guest post.

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Sports and Politics: Do They Mix?

We have seen Congress intervene on Major League Baseball’s steroid policy and now Barack Obama is talking about using his influence to finally get rid of the hogwash that is the BCS system. The two ideas could not have been met with receptions from different ends on the spectrum.

The intervention by Congress was met by questions of skepticism and outrage that shouldn’t Congress be doing other things like improve the economy and figure out a way to bring our troops back home. Yet when Barack Obama suggested on Monday Night Football right before the election and on 60 Minutes last night that there should be a playoff in College Football, all hell broke loose and everybody thought it was a great idea.

So why the double standard? Don’t get me wrong, I have been a fan of Obama for President since 2004 when he first gave the speech at John Kerry’s convention but just notice the different that a likability factor or personality factor carries with a person or a body of people. Congress generally has low approval ratings and them trying to mess with America’s pasttime was not going to improve any matters. On the other hand, a well liked President-elect recently getting support of nearly 55% of the American electorate weights on a topic (sports) that politicans usually tend to stay away and he has rattled some sticks.

I certainly hope that college puts BS bowl system away and institutes some sort of playoff format to truly decide a national champion. Maybe this is the President who can cause change all across the board from health care to a vast majority of Americans to improved tax situations for the middle class and even a playoff system for the college football fan.

Conventional wisdmon is out the door with Obama in the White House, and your priorities don’t have to be listed in 1-2-3… they can be 1-1-1. Why not be able to tackle more than one issue at a time and be more efficient?

You’re witnessing history folks, and I have a feeling the next 4 to 8 years are going to be stuff that gets highlighted in history books for all to read when we’re gone.

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Reviewing Baseball Predictions… And Making New Ones

Back on March 29th, I made baseball predictions about where the teams would finish and here is what I had said back then.

AL: Boston (East), Detroit (Central), Los Angeles (West) and Toronto (Wild Card)
NL: New York (East), Chicago (Central), Los Angeles (West) and Philadelphia (Wild Card)

As of right now, 2 of those picks are dead on (Los Angeles Angels and Chicago Cubs). 2 of those picks are flat out wrong (Detroit Tigers and Toronto Blue Jays). What is going to be interesting is the race down the stretch to see if Boston can make up 3.5 games to win the division, whether the Mets hold on to win the division (up by 3 right now) as well as if the Phillies can gain 4 games on the Brewers with a little over 20 to go. I didn’t know it then, but what a story it would be if Joe Torre makes it to the playoffs with Manny Ramirez and the Yankees don’t make the fall classic.

I can go from having as little as only two correct picks or I can have as much as six out of the eight possible teams in their correct location.

Down the stretch analysis after the break… Continue reading “Reviewing Baseball Predictions… And Making New Ones”

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Weekend Forecast

I’m gonna head down to Washington DC for the weekend with a couple of roommates and a friend, hopefully the weather cooperates (like the 70 degrees today for the entire weekend would be nice). We’ll see how that goes. Anyways, so much going on in the world of sports. NHL Playoffs started yesterday, Masters Tournament started today and Yankees/Red Sox weekend series starts tomorrow night. Another hurdle towards the consecutive games streak comes into play tomorrow as I may be on the road during the game but I can always resort that radio although I would like the use that a little as possible.

NHL Playoffs started yesterday and from what I remember correctly my friend Rusty from High School was at the Devils/Rangers game handing out towels and whatnot to the fans in attendance. I haven’t talked to him since the game but I probably will tonight to ask him how it went. I’m sure he would have preferred a Devils victory but it’s only game 1. The Pens on the other hand looked pretty good, albeit it was against the shorthanded Senators who have really been short handed with a string of injuries and especially after their 15-2 start to the season this year. There have been rumors about the Penguins tanking their last game of the season so they secured a series with Ottawa instead of the Flyers and who knows to the truth about that statement but the Senators are really over-matched in this series.

I know some games have already been played but here are my predictions anyways. Continue reading “Weekend Forecast”