Sports Nerd

Series of the Week

Last modified on 2010-05-04 00:26:30 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

My first game of the week for the Major League Baseball (MLB) season is the Phillies at the Giants. Both teams are red-hot to start the season, with pitching and surprising offense from the Giants, and good-enough pitching and lots of offense from the under-the-radar Phillies (that’s pretty wierd, knowing they have won the National League pennant the last couple years, and are in a huge city on the east coast). Shut-down pitching vs. Outstanding hitting, a very intriguing match-up.

Phillies are great on the road so far (5-1 on the road) and the Giants have done well at home as well. You can count on Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain each getting a crack at the formidable lineup of the Phillies that include Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Shane Victorino, and Jimmy Rollins, among others and scoring 6.5 runs/game, most in the National League. It will be fun to watch Tim Lincecum’s 95 mph fastball against Ryan Howard’s powerful bat. I get excited just thinking about it!

Don’t forget about the Phillies’ powerful 2 pitchers. They have Cole Hamels, and now Roy Halladay, whose 3-0 with a 1.13 ERA (Earned Run Average, the lower it is, the better) Cole Hamels is 2-1 with a 3.86 ERA, so he’s pulling his weight too. As a team, they are allowing 4.1 runs/game, but only because their fifth starter Kyle Kendrick hasn’t well.

The Giants have actually been able to score some runs for their team (5.8 runs/game, the larger the number, the better), when no one thought that they’d score that many runs coming into the season. They have, as expected, pitched very well (allowing 3.4 runs/game).

These two teams play a three game series, and I predict that the Phillies will continue their hot hitting, as the Phillies will win 2 of 3 at the Giants.

**Note: I can’t say which of the games they will win, because I don’t know who is starting (the starting pitchers) for each team on what day. The series starts on Monday, April 26.

MLB Season Preview

Last modified on 2010-05-04 00:25:22 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

Championship Series:

Tourney Time!

Last modified on 2010-05-04 00:24:14 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

The Big Ten Conference has four teams that are top three or four seeds in the NCAA tourney. But before then, they’ve got their tournament. Now I know the Illini haven’t done as well as expected (and are very frustrating), but they get a few chances to enhance their resume (saying they BADLY need it would be a big understatement) as they play Wisconsin after a bye (a team with a good enough record gets to skip the first round and start the tournament in the second round) on Friday, 25 min. after the first game of the day. Besides that game, there are plenty of games the day before, including # 8 Michigan vs. #9 Iowa starting it off, then #7 Northwestern vs. #10 Indiana, and finishing off the day, # 6 Minnesota vs. #11 Penn State. Here Are my predictions I have for the tournament:

For these games, I expect Michigan to top Iowa by a slim margin mainly because of Manny Harris taking over. Next, I think Indiana’s scrappy and fun attitude will top Northwestern in an upset. I think Minnesota will beat Penn State by a pretty wide margin in the next one.

In the next round, Michigan would play #1 Ohio State. I predict Ohio State’s Evan Turner will basically dominate and they will win, but the Manny Harris-Evan Turner match-up will be interesting. Next, the #4 Wisconsin and #5 Illinois pair I was talking about earlier. I hate to break it to Bo Ryan and everyone, but it was probably because Jon Leuer was out that Illinois won (it was still a HUGE win though). So I’m sorry Illini fans, but I predict Wisconsin will beat Illinois. In the Next match-up, #2 Purdue faces Indiana who I said would upset Northwestern. I’m pretty confident that Purdue is going to win. The last pair of the day is #3 Michigan State vs. Minnesota who beat Penn State. I think the Golden Gophers (Minnesota) will be very competitive, but in the end, Michigan State’s depth and quickness overcome them. The Spartans win.

Okay, this is when it gets real tricky, The Semi-Finals. Ohio State vs. Wisconsin, and Purdue vs. Michigan State. Ohio State has a lot of weapons and so does Wisconsin. Although Wisconsin has a couple extra, Ohio State has Evan Turner, who has been talked about as maybe the player of the year. Anyways, I’ll go with a safe pick and go with Ohio State. With Robbie Hummel, I probably would’ve given the edge to Purdue because he shoots the ball very well and can get a lot of rebounds and defends decently. But now, I think I’m going to go with Kalin Lucas in this one. Both games will be nail-biters and very interesting to watch.
In the Final, between Ohio State and Michigan State, Evan Turner faces another big opponent, Kalin Lucas and the Spartans. I’m going go out on a limb and pick Michigan State simply because I trust Tom Izzo a little more than Thad Matta. Well there you go: Michigan state, the Champions of The Big Ten Tournament.
Look for a preview of the NCAA tournament within the next few weeks. Get excited!

Here’s Your Present, New Orleans!

Last modified on 2010-05-04 00:23:13 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

Okay, let me explain really quickly why the Super Bowl is so big to those of you who don’t know why it’s so big. The Super Bowl is the National Football League (NFL) championship of the League, and since football is basically the consensus favorite sport in America, that’s why people love it so much. Some people also  watch the Super Bowl just for the commercials.

Now, to the actual game. The Saints have won their first ever Super Bowl in their first appearance there, with the final score 31-10. The Saints were losing 10-0 early, but they came back in the third quarter, and ended up going on a 31-7 run to end the game, capped off by an interception return for a touchdown by Tracy Porter. Drew Brees was the MVP, but there were a lot of heroes in the game as well. Garrett Hartley could be a hero for kicking those two field goals in the second quarter (getting the Saints some momentum, and getting them much needed points in general), and also kicking a field goal to get the Saints to the Super Bowl in the NFC championship game versus the Vikings.

Drew Brees, now that I think about it, did deserve it. Let’s see… he had a fantastic 114.5 quarterback rating (the higher it is, the better the quarterback rating is, like if it is 100 or above it is considered fantastic, but an 80-90 rating isn’t so bad either), 288 yards, 2 touchdowns, no picks (interceptions), and was 32 of 39 (32 completions, and 7 in-completions) passing the ball.

Let’s talk about the Colts now. To tell you the truth, Peyton Manning, their quarterback, didn’t do too badly either. He had 333 yards, a touchdown pass, and was 31 of 45 with a 68.9 completion percentage and an 88.5 quarterback rating, but that one pick in the last few minutes of the game cost him the game (it might have been over anyway). It’s funny how the game works.

Honestly, I started kind of neutral in what team I wanted to root for. I realized in the middle of the game that New Orleans really did need this Super Bowl, because of course, they are still recovering from Hurricane Katrina, and it would be nice to see a team who has never won the Super Bowl win it. (Don’t accuse me of being “on their bandwagon” or judging, please) so I started rooting for the Saints. Congratulations Saints. You deserve it .

NBA Game of the Week

Last modified on 2010-05-04 00:22:02 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

My game of the week for March 1 through March 7 is a Northwest division tussle between the Oklahoma Thunder at the Denver Nuggets, on Wednesday, March 3 at 9:00 pm.

I’ll admit, I haven’t followed the NBA (National Basketball Association) season as much as other people, but I do know that the Oklahoma City Thunder have surprised a lot of people and are in the thick of the playoff hunt. In fact, if the season started today, they would be the sixth seed (in a field of eight teams for both the Eastern conference and Western conference) in the playoffs.

Meanwhile, Small Forward Carmelo Anthony and his Denver Nuggets are doing their thing, leading the Northwest Division, and so far, taking the second seed in the Western Conference.

If you can believe it, the Thunder aren’t that far behind the Nuggets as far as statistics go. Their defenses look basically the same, and they both have big play-makers in point guard Chauncey Billups for the Nuggets and small forward Kevin Durant in the Thunder.

That being said, the Nuggets have a lot of weapons (such as Billups, Anthony, on the offensive end, and Center Chris Anderson and Power Forward Kenyan Martin on the defensive end) Whereas Durant basically does everything for the Thunder. The only other two people who do a lot are ForwardJeff Green and Point Guard Russell Westbrook, both doing less than Denver’s leaders. You never know though. Oklahoma City could be more energized than Denver, and therefore out-run the Nuggets up and down the floor, and everybody knows that the team that can out-run the other team has a pretty good chance of winning, if they execute as well.

With all this analysis, I think the Nuggets will defeat the Thunder 112-101, because of their experience, and their weapons offensively AND defensively. Have a nice week!

Super Sunday

Last modified on 2010-02-12 20:51:21 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

When it gets to be January or February, you know it’s Super Bowl time! This time, the Saints, coming off of a game winning field goal kick in overtime by Garrett Hartley to beat the Vikings , are in their first EVER Super Bowl. Meanwhile the Colts, fueled by a powerful running game and a precise quarterback (Peyton Manning, if you didn’t know) came back after losing by 11 to beat the Jets 30-17.

The Saints have a powerful offense and defense as we saw last week, when the Saints forced 5 turnovers, which was basically the difference in the game, and the Saints were also able to move the ball offensively with Drew Brees and their running game with Reggie Bush reemerging. They showed me that their three game skid at the end of the regular season meant nothing, and they are truly a great football team.

The Colts have been a powerhouse in the NFL for a LONG time. In fact, they’ve won at least 10 games 10 of the past 11 years! And to top it off, they’ve won at least 12 games 7 straight years! That is better consistency than even the Patriots (in the regular season). They have a Super Bowl win also (although I wish they didn’t, because they were playing my Bears). Even with a new coach they’re doing great! They’ve got some great receivers like Reggie Wayne, Dallas Clark and newbie Austin Collie, and obviously a great quarterback in Manning. Their defense isn’t so bad also. Dwight Freeney, and Kelvin Hayden both wreak havoc on offenses.

What will this come down to? Whichever defense is strong enough, and can the Saints focus on winning the Super Bowl, instead of celebrating like this is what they were aiming for? I predict that indeed the Saints are able to focus enough to win, but this one will be another fantastic football game. Saints win, 26-24.

Almost There!

Last modified on 2010-02-06 19:52:52 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

The NFL playoffs have been filled with disappointing blowouts, not much drama (except for the Cardinals-Packers game) and playoffs that seem to come and go quickly, at least for me.

This weekend will hopefully be different.

Starting the Conference Championship Sunday off will be the New York Jets going to Indy to play the Colts, and next, the Minnesota Vikings at the New Orleans Saints. Let’s review these match-ups, shall we?

The New York Jets (11-7) at the Indianapolis Colts (15-2) 2:00 p.m. CBS. The surging and surprising New York Jets have upset the Bengals at Cincinnati, and even more surprising, going to San Diego and beating the Chargers! They have done it with defense (the #1 defense in the league with Darrelle Revis, shockingly) and a conservative, yet effective offense with rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez and up-and-coming running back Shonn Greene (a former Iowa standout).

Meanwhile, Indy charged off to a 14-0 start, but lost their last two, similarly to the ‘05 Colts that did the same. First-year coach Jim Caldwell has sure convinced me that he is capable of coaching. He’s quieted (for the most part) Peyton Manning’s complaints since they went on that run, and now are in the championship game after being criticized by many Colt fans for benching key players. He’s quieted them too! Peyton Manning, from what I hear, is one of the few who has great success against some of Rex Ryan’s defense’s. Although, he did limit the powerful Chargers offense to 14 points, even though the Jets had A LOT less yardage then the Chargers, they found a way to win. I expect Peyton Manning to do his usual thing against Rex Ryan defenses, and find holes hand rips in the Jets D (defense). So, I am going with my instinct, and taking the Colts, 20-16.

Now on to the Minnesota Vikings (13-4) at the New Orleans Saints (14-3) 4:00 p.m. Fox. Yes, unfortunately, I have to talk about Brett Favre again. The Vikings have ridden on his arm all the way to the NFC championship game, and look like a team of destiny, with their quarterback trying to retire a winner. There are other people contributing other than Brett Favre you know. Like some people on their defense. Jared Allen, Pat and Kevin Williams, and E.J. Henderson. Adrian Peterson, surprisingly, hasn’t been much of a factor this season, or at least, that I’ve heard. Chester Taylor has made the biggest impact on the Vikings.

In New Orleans, the Saints lost their last three games, but somehow, were able to blow out the hot Arizona Cardinals and gain much-needed momentum. Like the Vikings, the Saints have a pretty good quarterback as well. His name is Drew Brees. He throws for five-hundred yards like Brett Favre (how come Brett Favre doesn’t do that, and he’s a soon to be hall-of-famer?) comes out of retirement (dut-dut duh)! They also have Reggie Bush who is starting to come back alive since the last time they went to the NFC championship game, his rookie season. Pierre Thomas, a former Illini running back, is also doing very well, which is nice to see. The Saints are questionable (that doesn’t necessarily mean bad) on defense, but they could surely make up for a bad game for their defense with Drew Brees and Marques Colston!

I think that the Vikings defense is the key, and I predict it will be just enough to hold the Saints offense down for their offense to spread the field and score just a little more. The Vikings win 34-24.

Have a great playoff-football Sunday!

NFL Game of the Week

Last modified on 2009-12-11 00:15:27 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

My NFL game of the week is the Minnesota Vikings (10-1) at the NFC Champion Arizona Cardinals (7-4). The Vikings are still riding high on the arm of Brett Favre, as the Vikings killed the Bears last week (much to my dismay, I’ll quickly admit) 36-10. The Cardinals, meanwhile, lost a close one to the Titans 20-17.

Brett Favre has done wonders with the Vikings this year, truly being a missing link to their offense. They already had the great defense with Jared Allen, Pat and Kevin Williams. He has been a clutch for them, including that late touchdown pass against the 49ers in week 3. Minnesota is second in the league for third down conversions too and 4-of-8 on fourth down also. That’s pretty clutch for Brett Favre.

If you’ve heard, the Cardinals don’t have such a bad offense either. They’ve got maybe the best receiver in the league with Larry Fitzgerald, and a very experienced and great clutch quarterback in Kurt Warner. Though the Cardinals have had a below average defense overall, it has been enough to win, which Arizona fans will take.

Both teams have great offenses, but Minnesota is more balanced with a better defense than Arizona has. That will probably be the key to who wins. Therefore, I think the Minnesota Vikings pull it off and win 34-24.

Are You Ready to Rumble?

Last modified on 2009-12-11 00:11:24 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

Bruce Weber and the Fighting Illini are about to start their season on Friday, and I’m going to provide a preview of this season, which hopefully will get us to the NCAA tournament and even farther than last year.

The Illini will have some nice freshmen coming in. Brandon Paul, D.J. Richardson, Joseph Bertrand, Stan Simpson, and Tyler Griffey have all had great high school careers. Brandon Paul and D.J. Richardson are both guards and also Top 50 recruits, and both are looking to get a lot of playing time.

Brandon Paul averaged 19.3 points per game, 7.3 rebounds, and 3.0 steals a game as a senior at Warren High School, while D.J. Richardson averaged 12 points a game, 4.1 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.6 steals as a senior at Findlay Prep College.

Returning from last year that are going to lead the team are Juniors Demetri McCamey, Mike Tisdale, and Mike Davis starting. Senior Dominique Keller and Alex Legion also look to get some action action and improve.

The Illini are ranked No. 23 in the AP poll, and ranked No. 25 in the coaches poll. The Big Ten, in my opinion, is gonna be very tough this year. Tougher than last year. One expert I read about said that the Big Ten could be THE best in the country. I think he’s right on!

Some key games in the Big Ten that I look forward to are when Michigan State and ESPN college gameday come to town, and the Big Ten will be in full focus. A couple other games I can’t wait to see are when Illinois goes to Clemson in the ACC/Big Ten challenge. The Big Ten will have a chance to finally beat the ACC this year. Another game I want to see is going back to Penn State following those weird games last year in which we lost 38-33, at home against them, and blowing a late lead last year at Penn State. Another good one I’ll watch closely is playing Purdue, who is ranked No. 7 this year, and look to be very good for the second year in a row.

I predict that the Illini will go 13-4 in conference, 24-6 on the season, excluding the Big Ten tournament, and go to the NCAA tournament, but I can’t go any further than that (that’s not meaning I don’t think they will not go any further).

I can’t wait until it all starts!

*stats provided by Fighting Illini sports

27 is the New Lucky Number

Last modified on 2009-12-11 00:07:56 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

The Yankees clinched their North American record 27th championship on Wednesday. The Yankees have, of course, the most titles in the Majors, with the Cardinals in second place, with 10 championships. They won it against the World Series champs a year ago trying to repeat, but failed. Before this year, the team that won the first game of the World Series won it 12 out of 13 times (that lone team that lost the first game of the Series, but still won the World Series were the Anaheim Angels in 2002). So it seems that, of course, the Yankees get to break that streak.

The Phillies won the first game 6-1 behind Cliff Lee, then the Yankees came back and won the next 3 games, the scores being (in order) 3-1, 8-5, and 7-4. The Phillies won game 5 behind yet again, Cliff Lee, who pitched the first game and won also. In game 6, the Yankees put out the Phillies 7-3, with Hedeki Matsui going 3/4 (the first number are hits, and the second number are at-bats) with a 2-run home-run, a 2- run single, a 2-run double, six RBI, and a runs scored. That performance in game 6 basically cemented his MVP honor, he did go 8-13, three home-runs, 8 RBIs, a double, and three runs scored in the series.

Now, on to some complaints I have about the World Series. Sometimes I want some of the postseason games in the afternoon so we don’t have to waste sleep watching the World Series. It’s annoying when you want to watch a postseason game, especially a World Series game, and you also have to go to school or work in the morning too, and you need your sleep, and the game is still on at 11:00 at night. Luckily, Bud Selig, the commissioner of baseball, is looking into trying to make afternoon games. I know that people are at work in the afternoon, but if they (the commissioner and staff) could make it in the late afternoon, like at 2:30 P.M. central time, or 3:00 P.M. central time, that would be a good time.

Well, I hope this sums up what I think is actually a disappointing World Series. It had a few dramatic moments, but It didn’t have as much drama as I hoped, but I liked it pretty well none-the-less. See ya next week!

Two Powerhouses Square Off

Last modified on 2009-12-11 00:02:25 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

My NFL game of the week is the New England Patriots (7-3) at the New Orleans Saints (10-0) on Monday Night Football. The Saints have been just rolling and smashing their opponents one-by-one, and looking like a team that could go all the way to a Super Bowl and undefeated season. While the Patriots have gone about their business, and are sitting on top of the division once again.

What surprises me is that Tom Brady has actually completed more passes and more yardage than Drew Brees, and overall, it seems that the Patriots have had a better offense than the Saints. The difference is that the Saints have a better defense than the Patriots do. Along with that great offense, the Saints are more balanced than the Patriots are, making it hard for match-ups on the field for the Patriots.

The Saints have gone 10-0 of course, while the Patriots have won 4 of their last 5 games. So both teams are on a roll right now, although Coach Belichick’s coaching was called into question a couple Sundays ago, because people thought he should have punted instead of going for the first down on fourth down and 2, and they ended up losing. That didn’t seem to bother him as he and his squad won last week.

Meanwhile, the Saints still probably have that pressure of trying to go 16-0 now, or at least it’s in their brain now, so that might raddle them a bit. 2 of their last 3 games have been close.

I expect the Patriots to come out determined and weave themselves through the Saints defense and Tom Brady and Drew Brees throw for a few touchdowns each, as the Patriots win, 24-21.

See ya next week!

Dud Bears!

Last modified on 2009-12-11 00:00:45 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

Gosh, I’m so mad at the Bears right now. They’ve lost four of their last five, while Jay Cutler continues to falter! Of course, the Bears end up getting the worse part of the Kyle Orton-Jay Cutler deal. Kyle Orton is playing out-of-his-mind, while Cutler is playing very badly, with 17 picks (interceptions). I just can’t believe how this is happening!

Okay, I’ll admit, we do have some pretty young receivers. They probably have messed most of those plays up. But seriously! 17 picks??? Ridiculous. They should be working hard to understand each other. All those interceptions just can’t happen. Period.

The defense. Ugghhh…where do I start? They definitely miss Brian Urlacher, for one thing. Hunter Hillenmeyer hasn’t done much filling in for him, and the defense does not have a leader that they desperately need. They have had a lot of injuries, and not just Brian Urlacher, but to much of the defense, which is probably another reason why they aren’t doing so well. Offenses just run and throw right through us, like Arizona and Cincinatti did, and it did not look pretty at ALL. I think one reason might be that they just aren’t covering the field enough, or just lack the instinct they had a few years ago in 2005 and 2006. Man, those were good years, when we went to the playoffs, and Super Bowl in ‘06. Good times.

Devin Hester still has not returned a kick back for a TD (I think) even though players still say he’s the most dangerous return man in the league. That’s pretty hard to believe for me. I don’t believe it at all. It seems that defenses have finally found a way to quiet him down, all the way to a whisper. He doesn’t hurt anybody anymore.

The Bears haven’t had an easy schedule either. They had to play the Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers the first couple weeks of the year. They had to face Arizona, the defending NFC champions, and the much improved Cincinatti Bengals. They haven’t done well against those good teams too. Their schedule doesn’t get any easier either. They have to play the Eagles, the Vikings twice, the Ravens, and the Packers again. It won’t be easy, but they have to win at least a couple of these games to have a chance at the playoffs. And yes, they also have to beat the easy teams too. They’re not out of it, but a couple more losses in the wrong places and it’s probably over.

Let’s hope the Bears can rebound and get some wins!

Fireworks Show!

Last modified on 2009-11-14 21:35:11 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

After beating Dodgers and Angels 4 out of 5 and 4 out of 6, the Phillies and Yankees are going to meet in the World Series on Thursday.
This series is expected to be very exciting, considering how good the Phillies have been in the playoffs, and now that A-Rod (Alex Rodriguez) has finally broken his playoff slump. He had only one run batted in (RBI) in three playoff series, from 2005-2007.

In fact, he went 14-32, 12 RBI, 4 home runs, 10 runs scored, and even 9 walks. He has made a huge difference for the team. About the only problem has been A.J. Burnett, who hasn’t been looking that good lately. His pitches seem a little flat with no movement on them. It makes them a lot easier to hit.

On the other side, the Phillies have been riding on the backs of Ryan Howard, and Cliff Lee. Ryan Howard has been very clutch, much like Alex Rodriguez. Cliff Lee wasn’t a slouch either. In his first playoff start, he completed the game, and almost shut the Rockies out.

Basically, this series comes down to pitching. Whoever pitches the best has the biggest chance to win. Both of the teams have powerful offenses, so pitching won’t be that easy. Also, pitching in cold November weather is not a walk in the park. If you stop using your hand for a little while, your fingers start to freeze and become less flexible. This means you cannot put good spin on the ball for curveballs, sliders, etc.

I predict that it will be a great series, the best since 2001, and I feel the Yankees will pull it off in 7 games, with Derek Jeter going wild, and winning the MVP. Stay tuned next week for my next blog!

Jared’s NFL Game of the Week

Last modified on 2009-11-14 21:34:34 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

Last time the Ravens and the Patriots met, it was back in 2007 when the Pats were vying for a perfect season. We all know (or the majority of us do) that the Patriots completed a perfect regular season and lost to the Giants in the Super Bowl, and the Ravens ended up with a dismal 5-11 record.

In that game, the Ravens were leading until Tom Brady (quarterback of the Patriots) lead a drive down field, and with 44 seconds to go in the game, threw a clutch pass to Jabar Gaffney for a go-ahead TD and win it, all this after two calls went against Baltimore.

Clearly, times have changed. Baltimore has a young gun quarterback, and their defense is still strong, while the Patriots had to regroup after just barely beating Buffalo in the opener and then losing to the Jets. They did regroup against another young-gun quarterback Matt Ryan and the Falcons. The Ravens rolled over the Chiefs, beat the Chargers, and smashed the Browns, to go 3-0. This should be a fantastic matchup, of a clutch quarterback, a great defense (although they haven’t showed it much yet), and just a mad clash of AFC powers. Look for Tom Brady to use another one of his late drives to get a field goal from Stephen Gostkowski, and the Pats will squak one out, 17-16.

NFL Week 5

Last modified on 2009-11-14 21:34:09 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

This week’s game of the week is Cincinnati Bengals (3-1) at Baltimore Ravens (3-1), in a clash of division leaders. The Bengals have had a surprising season in which they have beaten the Packers and the Steelers, and a dramatic win against the Browns last week. The Bengal’s resurgence has been centered around Carson Palmer and his late game heroics after missing 12 games last season.

Meanwhile, the Ravens started the season 3-0, before committing 9 penalties in a loss to the Patriots 27-21. Joe Flacco was 27-47 and threw for 264 yards and two touchdowns, but he also threw a key interception (a catch from the other team) at the Patriots’ nine yard line (on their side of the field, where the Bengals were trying to score). He will need to rebound, as does the whole team.

In my opinion, for the Bengals to get some respect from the other teams, a win against the Ravens would probably be the eye-opener, but the Ravens will definitely not be a pushover, considering an ‘embarrassing’ loss to the Patriots–or at least how they played the game.

I predict that The Ravens’ defense will be too much to handle for Carson Palmer and the Bengals’ offense, and Joe Flacco takes advantage of a few glitches in the Bengals defense, as Baltimore wins, 23-10.

It’s Magic!

Last modified on 2009-11-14 21:33:41 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

This weekend in Major League baseball will be a huge one. The Yankees have clinched a playoff berth (which is a guranteed spot in the playoffs whether it be the wild card team, which is a team that is not a division winner, but makes the playoffs anyway) and are getting close to winning the division. I think they will win the division, regardless of what the Red Sox do down the stretch. The Phillies really need to figure out their closer problem. As of Wednesday, Brad Lidge has blown 11 saves (a save is pitching in the ninth with your team up by three runs or less, and getting the last three outs, OR pitching 4 innings or more as a relief pitcher)! That just will not get it done (usually, a blown save high is around only 5). How about Brett Myers? He has closer experience, and he really liked it. He was pretty good too. Other than that, the Phillies have a well-balanced team of starting pitching, offense, and defense.

A magic number is the # of wins the first place team need to win a division/wildcard. Also, if the second place team loses, the number decreases too. When it gets to 0, every team in the division/teams trailing that team are mathematically eliminated from the race (which means the first place team earns a spot in the playoffs). If the first place team wins and the second place team loses, it goes down by 2. If both teams (first and second place) win or lose, it goes down by 1. If the the first place team loses, and the second place team wins, it stays the same. If the second place team catches up with the first place team, and replaces them in first place, the magic number switches to the original second place team (who becomes the division leader). Yes it’s confusing, but the more you hear about it, the more you’ll understand. As of Friday, The Dodgers, the Angels, and the Phillies all had magic numbers of 4. The Yankees have a magic number of 3 to clinch the American League East, and the Red Sox have a magic number of 3 to clinch the American League Wild Card. The Cardinals have a magic number of 1.

Clearly, there are still 2 great races left in the baseball season. The Tigers and Twins are separated by just 2.5 games, and the Rockies and Braves are separated by just 3.5 games. Earlier, most of us thought Atlanta was just about out of it. But to there credit, they have not given up. San Francisco, in fact is starting to fade. They have now fell behind the Braves, when it looked like they might catch up to the Rockies. I predict that the Tigers will win the division, with the help up of a 4 game series at Comerica Park (home of the Detroit Tigers) and win three-out-of-4. which might, or might not clinch the division for them. If not, they’ll just clinch it against the Royals. I also predict the Rockies will hold on to the wild card, but just barely.

Last week, the Bears beat the Steelers 17-14. When I heard this, I was so shocked, I had to ask the guy that released this score if he was lying, to get a reaction. But he wasn’t. It sounded like Jay Cutler had a pretty good game, with 236 yards, and two TDs (touchdowns). And of course, it happens to be against the Steelers, with, even without Troy Polamalu, is still one of the best defenses in the NFL. Don’t forget about the defense, and Alex Brown, wgo put in a great effort. Let’s hope they continue. Now, for my week 3 in the NFL picks. I think the Vikings will beat the 49ers, 27-14; Patriots over Falcons, 20-17; Bears over Seahawks, 28-18; Miami over SanDiego 23-21; and Colts over Cardinals 24-15. Tune in next blog!

This Weekend in Sports

Last modified on 2009-11-14 21:33:03 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

This weekend is buzzing in sports, ranging from important baseball games that effect the upcoming postseason, to college and pro football.

A few big series games are the Cubs-Cardinals, Giants-Dodgers, Angels-Rangers, Tigers-Twins, and Phillies-Braves. Even though I’m a die-hard Cubs fan, I’m also a realist (SOME of the time), so I will have to go against the Cubs. I say the Cardinals will win two-out-of-three. I also think The Dodgers will edge out the Giants two-out-of-three, Angels two of three over the Rangers, Twins over Tigers two-out-of-three, and Braves over Phillies two of three. It certainly will be a great weekend for baseball!
In college football, there is one game that is the only interesting game around the Big Ten. That is Michigan State-Notre Dame. Even though Michigan beat Notre Dame last week, I expect Charlie Weis to rally his guys, and beat the Spartans. The Fighting Irish are probably mad right now, and as any coach would tell you, you do not want to play a team after they were embarassed the week before.

In pro football on Sunday/Monday, there are five football games I will predict. The first one is the Steelers-Bears.I pick the Steelers, 27-17. Next, Saints-Eagles. I pick Eagles 20-18. In the Giants-Cowboys matchup, I pick Cowboys, 24-14. I pick The Chargers over the Ravens 13-10. And last but not least, I pick the Patriots to beat the Jets, 35-23. What a wonderful weekend!

Bears-Packers

Last modified on 2009-11-14 21:32:33 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

The first week in The NFL was pretty exciting. One game I will focus on is the Bears at Packers. These two have been battling each other since the Bears first came into the league in 1921. The rivalry recently got bigger when the Bears got Jay Cutler, one of the best quarterbacks in the league. Well, he didn’t exactly make a good first impression to the Packers, from the Bears perspective. The Bears lost 21-15 on a clutch pass from Aaron Rodgers on a gutsy 3rd and 1 yard to go call. Usually, you would see them try to run it for a first down. Mike McCarthy decided to take a chance and throw it deep. Man, as any Bears fan was, I was so mad. And then Jay Cutler throws his FOURTH interception of the game! That gave us no chance to at least tie it.

It’s Me!

Last modified on 2009-11-14 21:32:10 GMT. 0 comments. Top.

Hello, my name is Jared Broom. I am a Freshman at Urbana High School, and I will be blogging about sports, my opinions of teams, and big game/series/playoff predictions etc. Sports are my passion, Baseball especially. I’ll admit, I don’t know positions in some sports, but I will do the best I can. I will also be posting scores from only pro sports and Big Ten college scores. The pro sports will include, baseball, football, basketball, and sometimes soccer. And to all the people who don’t watch sports, or don’t give a care about sports, they really help you to just get away from the hustle and depression that can be everyday life. Yes, sometimes we lose. But still, during the game, you can still get away from the real hardships in your life, like I said before. And when you win, it’s exhilarating feeling and gives you something to cheer for. But that’s just my opinion . I think you should check my blog every week to get my take on the sports.