College Hoops Power Rankings

Here's our first in-season power poll...

1. Ohio State
Clear cut number one right now.

2. Duke
Even without Kyrie Irving they are still very good.

3. Kansas
Despite the loss to Texas, Kansas is very dangerous.

4. Pittsburgh
No super stars but they're experienced.

5. Texas
A lot of talent.  Rick Barnes finally has them playing some D.

6. Syracuse
The Orange are deep and can beat anybody.

7. San Diego St.
Very athletic.  But not many impressive wins.

8. Washington
The Huskies are one of the most athletic and dangerous teams in the nation.

9. Villanova
This team has more options this season and is much tougher on D.

10.Kentucky
Young, but extremly athletic and talented team.

Never too early... for College Football Rankings

Here's my EARLY College Football 2011 Top 5.  More to come later...

1. Oklahoma
OU could return the overwhelming majority of starters on both sides of the ball, plus plenty of backups with starting experience.  Landry Jones should be one of the best QB in the nation and a Heisman candidate.  It also doesn't hurt that WR Ryan Broyles has decided to come back.  RB DeMarco Murray is one of the few defections.

2. Alabama
Bama should return the majority of their starters as well.  They do lose QB Greg McElroy, DE Marcel Dareus, WR Julio Jones and RB Mark Ingram, but Trent Richardson is just as good.  4 OL starters, LB Dont'a Hightower and Mark Barron are good places to start.  QB seems to be one of the few question marks.

3. LSU
Les Miles decided to stay.  That should bode well for the Tigers, who have been the most consistent SEC team in the past decade.  18 starters are back.  There will plenty of QB competition to push Jordan Jefferson who played better down the stretch.

4. Oregon
The Ducks lose key starters on both sides of the ball.  Questions abound all over.  The defense will take a big it loses Casey Matthews, Brandon Bair and Talmadge Jackson III.  The offense is good enough to keep them in the top 5. QB Darron Thomas and RB LaMichael James return to lead another potent offense.

5. Oklahoma State
As of right now there won't be many great teams next season which should help the Cowboy.  The offense brings back 9 starters, including QB Brandon Weeden.  WR Justin Blackmon still could forgo the draft.  The defense loses the majority of it's players, but when has OSU ever had a defense?

College Hoops Extravaganza

Well, the College Hoops 24 hour marathon was a success. I stayed up for much of the night and early morning and watched the games.  Here's a few early and maybe obvious thoughts I have for the season.

Jared Sullinger is the real deal and Ohio State is easily one of the favorites to win it all.

San Diego State could possibly be the next Butler.

Florida is an improved team and will be dangerous in March.

Gonzaga looks like the same old team that will dominate the WCC, pull off some big wins but falter to more physical and talented teams.

Kansas State will be very good, but do they have the depth to be a premier team?

Duke needs more depth in the frontcourt.

Tennessee is overrated.

Delvon Roe will finally live up to his potential and help carry Michigan State to another Final Four run.

If you can't beat em, buy em

As we all know by now Yankees GM Brian Cashman flew to Arkansas to talk with Cliff Lee.  This is obviously not surprising at all as any MLB fan knew the Yankees would go after Lee during the offseason.

It seems apparent that the Yankees will go after Lee hard.  Their pitching hasn't really worked out for them recently.  Javier Vasquez didn't pan out.  A.J. Burnett is a question mark after a terrible season.  Plus, Andy Pettite is getting old.

Lee is the obvious choice.  The Yankees pitching staff is basically the sole reason they didn't get by the Rangers in the ALCS.  There's really no one else they can go after.  Zach Greinke simply won't go to New York and the next two best choices are Jorge de la Rosa and Carl Pavano.  Who we know the Yanks won't touch.

Some think the Yankees wouldn't go after him because having two aces wouldn't make much sense.  I remind those people that it's the Yankees.  They will do whatever they can to win another World Series, and I don't blame them.

Lee throttled the Yankees.  As we've seen before, the Yankees absolutely hate being embarrassed.  They've brought in Yankee killers before (Tony Womack and Carl Pavano). It may not always work out, but Lee is arguably the best pitcher in the game right now.  It just makes too much sense.  As it seems like it always is for the Yankees, if you can't beat em, buy em.

Attack on Success

Cam Newton has been in the news lately.  Not only has he lead his Auburn Tigers to an undefeated record thus far this season, but he's also passed for 1980 yards, 19 TD and rushed for 1146 yards.  But that's not the only reason.  Newton has been accused of cheating while he was enrolled at Florida two seasons ago.  He's also been accused of discussing a pay-for-play plan with Mississippi State recruiters.

But why is this news just coming out now?  If Auburn was currently 5-5 or 6-4 would this be out right now?  I doubt it.  It just goes to show that when you succeed and doing well, stuff in your past can come out to haunt you.  And people will do just about anything to bring you down.  It's sad really.

I'm not saying Newton is innocent and this stuff didn't happen.  But everybody is just assuming that he's guilty.  What happened to innocent until proven guilty?

Even if he did cheat at Florida, who cares?  What does that have to do with Auburn right now?  Would cheating at Florida affect his eligibility at Auburn?  No.  And it shouldn't either.

The more important thing should be whether or not the pay-for-play plan is true.  I'm not saying it didn't happen.  But if it's true, it will eventually come out.  It may be true, I'm just willing to give Newton the benefit of the doubt for now.  It just goes to show, if you succeed at something, there will always be people out there to get you and bring you down.

2010-2011 College Basketball Predictions

Final Four Predictions:

Stefan Ming's Picks:
Michigan State
Duke
Ohio State
Florida

2011 National Champion:

Michigan State Spartans

Grittysquirrels Picks:

Duke
Kansas
Ohio State
Michigan State

2011 National Champion: 

Duke Blue Devils

All-American Team:

Stefan Ming:
Jacob Pullen (Kansas St.)
Kalin Lucas (Michigan St.)
Jimmer Fredette (BYU)
Malcolm Delaney (Virginia Tech)
Harrison Barnes (UNC)

Player of the Year: Jacob Pullen (Kansas State)
Coach of the Year: Billy Donovan (Florida)

Grittysquirrels:
Kalin Lucas (Michigan St.)
Jacob Pullen (Kansas St.)
Kyle Singler (Duke)
Marcus Morris (Kansas)
JaJuan Johnson (Purdue)

Player of the Year: Jacob Pullen (Kansas St.)
Coach of the Year: Thad Matta (Ohio St.)

Hilarious meltdown by Florida Atlantic Color Commentator

This dude was so upset he was screaming out the pressbox and offered to fight anyone in the box who disagreed with him. It really doesn't get any better than that. Looks like this pretty much ruin Dave Lamont's chances of getting promoted to play-by-play at Florida International....oh well. Enjoy.

2010 World Series Prediction

Ok I'm gonna make this a quick one.  Here's my World Series Preview:

We all know by now why the Giants and Rangers are facing off in this years World Series.  The Rangers Offense and the Giants pitching are those reasons.  The Giants face a tall task with Cliff Lee pitching two and maybe even three games if need be.  Good thing they have Tim Lincecum to counter.

The Rangers have been great on the road in the playoffs but several factors will come into play.  AT&T Park is not a hitter friendly park.  Will
the huge McCovey Cove winds blowing in from left hurt Josh Hamilton?  You betcha.   Can Vladimir Guerrero cover the huge RF?  No he cannot.  The decisions of Ron Washington and Bruce Bochy and the way they play a back and forth chess match will be very intriguing.  Look for Bochy to utilize Javier Lopez when Hamilton/Cruz are up.  Both managers have made great decisions all the way, but only one will prevail in the end.

Another factor you cannot overlook is the Giants ability to win close games.  They have such great experience in these close, 1-2 run ball games.   The Rangers seem to struggle playing in close games and they only seem to do well when they're hitting and already up big.  That could be tough going against the best rotation they will face in the Giants.  The Giants have the advantage in the bullpen and with Brian Wilson yet to give up an earned run in the playoffs, this should make for a very compelling World Series.

Giants in 7

We should have seen this coming

Why didn't anybody see this coming?  The reasons are clear why the San Francsico Giants and Texas Rangers are facing off in the World Series.  Sure, the Rangers have never been here before and the Giants haven't been in the playoffs since 2003, but it's pretty obvious.

The Rangers have the best offense in all of baseball right now.  They're deep, they get base runners and they have huge bats in the heart of their order.  The addition of Vladimir Guerrero and his stellar play (.300 avg, 29 HR, and 115 RBI) put a lot of pressure off of Josh Hamilton, Nelson Cruz and Michael Young.  Elvis Andrus and Ian Kinsler have been productive at the top, letting the big boppers drive them in.  This Ranger order is arguably the best in baseball.

I won't forget the pitching either.  Cliff Lee gave them an ace this team desperately lacked.  I always felt they were a couple of solid pitchers away from being a very dangerous team.  C.J. Wilson and Colby Lewis are young guys who have also stepped up.

As for the Giants, it's clear their pitching is the reason they're still alive. They boast a phenomenal rotation and a very underrated bullpen.  Perhaps the best in all of baseball.  From September until the end of the season Brian Wilson converted 11/12 save opportunities.  Sergio Romo allowed 0 runs and 3 hits in 14 appearances.  Javier Lopez had a 1.59 ERA in 12 games.  Santiago Casilla and Ramon Ramirez combined for .36 ERA in 25 innings.

I also have to mention Cody Ross.  The Philly killer is another reason San Francisco is playing in the W.S.  The Giants also have the potential to hit one out of the park at any point in the game.  We saw Juan Uribe knock out the winning HR in Game 6 and he's their 8 hitter.  The offense may not be potent, but it can do it's fair share of damage.

As we know now, it's clear why these two ball clubs are playing in the World Series.  Texas's Offense and San Fran's pitching.  The only question that remains, is which aspect will prevail in the end.

Helmet hits a part of the game

The NFL decided to go tough on NFL players who commit "dangerous" or "flagrant" hits by suspending them.  Before this players were either fined or ejected for committing these hits.  More specifically it's about the recent helmet-to-helmet hits.

While I agree that players must be protected.  Helmet-to-helmet hits to defenseless players need to continue to be flagged and players fined as long as there was malicious intent.  But with that being said, it's just a huge gray area.  It's hard to tell if a player is maliciously hitting a player to hurt or injure them or if they're just doing their job.

These hits are a part of the game.  Just because you fine or suspend somebody doesn't mean they're going to suddenly stop.  Sure, you can protect players, which is important and a must, but these hits will continue to happen whether we want them to or not.

The NFL is a difficult and dangerous job.  In other words, it's a privilege to play in this league.  Players know the risks with strapping on that helmet.  A lot of people risk their lives with their jobs every single day.  Firefighters know they could die running into a house fire, power line operators know they could be electrocuted at any point.  Same goes with the NFL and taking a bone crushing hit.

What about baseball?  You could say pitchers should be suspended for hitting a batter in the head.  We don't know if they did it with intent or not.  The same goes with the NFL.

I do agree they should be illegal and something needs to be done.  But will suspending players make it stop?  It won't.  Helmet-to-helmet hits are a part of the game.  Players know the risks of playing in this league and taking excruciating hits.  Most players understand that.  The NFL needs to understand that too.

My Head Examination for the NFL

It seems like concussions have been occurring more than ever through the first 6 weeks of this NFL season. In fact, some sources count 46 known and diagnosed concussions thus far this season. The topic has been nearly unavoidable in the sports media the last few weeks and the NFL just announced that they are going to start suspending players for excessively violent hits to the head. Here is my free head examination for the NFL, its owners, and its players.

I love football. In many cases what happens on Sunday sets the tone for my entire week. I agree that something must be done to protect the game's biggest assets (the players), however I don't believe that suspending players for helmet-to-helmet hits is the correct decision right now.

The NFL is a violent game. It earned its popularity in America by being a violent game and has for many years treated it as a selling point with highlight reels and countdowns of huge hits backed by rock music. To have the first reaction of the league be to attempt to de-violence play on the field seems hypocritical to me, especially when it comes out that the league is selling photos of these violent hits. To try to de-violence the way the game is played is unnecessary at this point. The NFL profits from the violent nature of the league (literally). To me this looks like a panicking, knee-jerk decision by the NFL.

This is a problem that could be taken care of differently by the commissioner, or even by the owners independently. If I were an NFL owner, I would make it mandatory that all my players wear the newer, lighter helmets that have scored the highest in the most recent league safety testing (the Schutt DNA Pro+ scored highest in the NFL's test). These helmets are stronger, have more padding, and are lighter, aka less of a weapon than other helmets. For this to be most effective it should be mandated league-wide so that everybody wears the same helmet.

I would also require all players to wear mouth guards. Wearing a simple mouth guard is one of the best and easiest ways to protect yourself from concussions, yet many players do not wear them today.

Along with the mandatory helmet changes, and mouth guards, I would also mandate all players buckle their chinstraps like the rules are written (the last time I remember the league even addressing the chinstrap rule/issue was 2007!).

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for player safety and I think the NFL's intentions are good; they just aren't the right actions at this point. The league suspending players is unnecessary right now. It just creates more opportunities for judgement calls to be made by league officials that could significantly alter a team's season. The league needs to enforce the current rules it has in place, as well as proactively force owners to protect their players by issuing leaguewide safety regulations like the ones mentioned above. This would be a proactive way to react to the vicious spike in concussions the league has seen this season. Realistically the league shouldn't even have to mandate it. Any smart owner should be more than willing to protect their most valuable assets.

The league should encourage owners to make these safety regulations and monitor the effects on the field. If the problem does not improve or worsens, then something additional may need to be done like suspending players for certain hits. For now, it is in the best interest of the league, its owners, and its players to address this issue at square 1. I believe this starts with somethings as simple as equipment and safety regulations.

Players and owners are constantly referring to the NFL as a business. They are always expecting fans and players to understand that the game is a business. If the game truly is a business then common sense would tell you to protect your revenue generating assets. Enforce safety regulations on the players that you pay to play for you so that you can keep them out on the field! Even if it weren't league mandated like I suggested, any owner taking these steps would be doing themselves, their fanbase, and their players a favor. We all know they can afford it and it is the right thing to do.

NLCS Game 4 Live Blog

Join us on Wednesday as we'll be live blogging NLCS Game 4 at 6:30 CT between the Giants and Phillies. 

2010-2011 College Basketball Preseason Rankings 2.0

Here's our latest and up to date rankings.

1. Michigan St.
Key returnees:  Kalin Lucas, Korie Lucious, Draymond Green, Delvon Roe
The Spartans are loaded and experienced.  They're also coming off of back-to-back Final Fours.

2. Duke
Key returnees: Nolan Smith, Kyle Singler, Mason Plumlee, Miles Plumlee
Duke should have one of the best backcourts in the nation.  With three starters back and the additions of recruit Kyrie Erving and transfer Seth Curry, the Devils have a good shot to repeat.

3. Purdue
Key returnees: Robbie Hummsel, Etwaun Moore, Jajuan Johnson, Lewis Jackson
Purdue was in this same spot in last years preseason rankings. If Robbie Hummel stays healthy who knows how far they go. They may not have much depth, but there's plenty of talent around to make a Final Four run.

4. Pittsburgh
Key returnees: Gilbert Brown, Ashton Gibbs, Brad Wanamaker, Trayvonn Woodall
6 of their top 7 scorers return.

5. Ohio St.
Key returnees: David Lighty, Jon Diebler, Willie Buford, Dallas Lauderdale
Add in recruits Jared Sullinger and Deshaun Thomas with David Lighty, Jon Diebler, Willie Buford, and Dallas Lauderdale, and the Bucks could be just as good as last year.

6. Kansas St.
Key returnees: Jacob Pullen, Curtis Kelly, Jamar Samuels, Wally Judge
The loss of Denis Clemente will hurt, but Jacob Pullen is good enough to have the Cats as the early Big XII favorite.

7. Villanova
Key returnees: Corey Fisher, Corey Stokes, Antonio Pena, Maalik Wayns
Nova will once again have a solid backcourt lead by Corey Fisher and Corey Stokes.

8. Kansas
Key returnees: Marcus Morris, Markieff Morris, Tyshawn Taylor, Brady Morningstar
Sherron Collins, Cole Aldrich, and Xavier Henry are impossible to replace. But the Jayhawks will still be a very deep team. They just need to find a consistent go-to scorer.

9. Florida
Key returnees: Alex Tyus, Kenny Boynton, Vernon Macklin, Erving Walker
Watch out for Billy Donovan and his Gators. They return the whole squad. Look for Alex Tyus and Kenny Boynton to impress.

10. North Carolina
Key returnees: John Henson, Tyler Zeller, Larry Drew, Dexter Strickland
Regardless of what people might think UNC should be back again next season. Harrison Barnes is already regarded as the number one pick for 2011.  Depth could be an issue though.

11. Baylor
Key returnees: LaceDarius Dunn, Quincy Ace, Anthony Jones, A.J. Walton
Ekpe Udoh and Tweety Carter will be big losses but recruit Perry Jones should help keep them as one of the best in the Big XII.

12. Missouri
Key returnees: Kim English, Marcus Denmon, Michael Dixon, Justin Safford
Mike Anderson has people talking again in Columbia. They do lose 3 starters but return their top 3 scorers. Kim English is ready to break out; Tony Mitchell and Phil Pressey lead Zou's best class in several years.

13. Washington
Key returnees: Isiah Thomas, Venoy Overton, Justin Holiday, Matt Bryan-Amaning
The Huskies finally lived up to their potential in the postseason. They do lose Quincy Pondexter, but there's still plenty left in the stable.

14. Illinois
Key returnees: Demetri McCamey, Mike Tisdale, Mike Davis, D.J. Richardson
This will be a senior-laden team that has been scratching the surface waiting to break open. Next year will be that year.

15. Syracuse
Key returnees: Kris Joseph, Brandon Triche, Scoop Jardine, Rick Jackson
The loss of Wes Johnson, Arinze Onuaku, and Andy Rautins hurts, but frosh Fab Melo is ready to step up.  The starting five should be one of the best in the land. 

16. Gonzaga
Key returnees: Steven Gray, Robert Sacre, Demetri Goodson, Elias Harris
With a dominant front line and talented backcourt,  this could potentially be the Zags' best team yet.

17. Kentucky
Key returnees: Darius Miller, Darnell Dodson, DeAndre Liggins
They'll be one of the youngest teams in the nation again. But they'll be very good despite losing 5 draft picks.

18. Temple
Key returnees: Juan Fernandez, Lavoy Allen, Ramone Moore, Michael Eric
The Owls lose their stud in Ryan Brooks, but a strong nucleus returns to keep this team a huge threat.

19. Georgetown
Key returnees: Austin Freeman, Chris Wright, Jason Clark, Julian Vaughn
This team would have been top 3 had Greg Monroe stayed, but everyone else is back.

20. Virginia Tech
Key returnees: Malcolm Delaney, Dorenzo Hudson, Jeff Allen, J.T. Thompson
This is a senior-laden team ready to make some in the ACC.

2010 MLB Playoff Predictions: World Series

So here it is,  our World Series prediction.  Enjoy!

Phillies vs. Yankees

Here we go again.  Ever since last season ended I predicted the Yankees and Phillies would face off again.  And why not?  Both teams looked so dominant compared to everyone else.  The Phillies have arguably the best lineup in the bigs and now this season they have Roy Halladay and Roy Oswalt complementing Cole Hamels.  Last season they had Cliff Lee.  But now they have two aces.  As for the Yankees,  I really couldn't see anybody overtaking them once again.  It really isn't that hard to predict.

As for the game,  I see this as another classic matchup.  The Phillies easily have the pitching edge with Halladay, Oswalt, and Hamels.  The Yankees only have CC Sabathia.  If this series were to happen you better not miss game one with Halladay facing off vs. Sabathia.  My oh my.  Both offensive lineups are just stacked and I see them basically evening out.  As for the bullpen,  the Yankees have the advantage there with Mariano and Wood.  Look for another hell of a series if this happens.

Phillies in 7