MLB Predictions: National League

East
1. NY Mets
2. Philadelphia Phillies
3. Atlanta Braves
4. Florida Marlins
5. Washington Nationals

The Mets were the best team in the National League for 5 ½ months last season before the collapse. This off-season they brought in the best pitcher of this generation without losing any contributing pieces from last season’s team. If Pedro Martinez is healthy you can expect to see the Mets' rotation be a strength whereas it was a major weakness heading into last season. Their lineup is headed by three potential MVP candidates in David Wright, Jose Reyes, and Carlos Beltran and should score enough runs to finish in the Top 10 in baseball again. Ultimately I think they’re the class of the NL and a solid tier above the contending Phillies and Braves. I think the Mets win the division handily on their way to a low 90’s win season and home-field advantage throughout the NL Playoffs.

Central

1. Chicago Cubs
2. Milwaukee Brewers

3. Cincinatti Reds
4. Houston Astros

5. St. Louis Cardinals

Last year I went the route of the “homer” and picked my Brewers to win the division. It almost happened. This year I'm going to go against my heart and stick to my head. I feel like the Cubs are true co-favorites with the Milwaukee Brewers. I give a slight edge to the Cubs because they haven’t lost anyone significant from the division championship team last season and added one more free agent signing in the off-season with Japanese import Kosuke Fukudome. The Cubs are one of the more balanced teams in the National League and could post the best bullpen in the league. I see the Brewers' bullpen as a questionmark and a weakness and so I'm giving the edge to the Cubs in an extremely tight race. This will be down to the wire and I think that whoever doesn't win the division here gets in as the wildcard. That being said GO BREWERS!

West

1. LA Dodgers

2. Arizona Diamondbacks

3. Colorado Rockies

4. San Diego Padres

5. San Fransisco Giants

The NL West is looking like the strongest division in the NL to me. Truly I think it will be a great entertaining 3-way race. It seems every year the question with the Dodgers isn’t one regarding talent but one dealing with whether they’re going to do everything in their power to get the most talent on the field. The Dodgers have long held one of the more impressive farm systems in baseball but now that talent is going to be on the field for the most part. Don't get me wrong I think the Diamondbacks are poised for another great run. The Dbacks have a stellar rotation with Webb and Haren being an incredible 1-2 punch. My lack in confidence in the Dbacks is much like the Brewers, the amount of young talent is overwhelming. However, unlike the Brewers, the pitching is not the question mark it is their hitting. They have good young hitters with tons of potential that just haven't been able to produce at the Major League Level. I think Torre will be able to handle the Dodgers' youngsters and polish them enough to win the msot competitive division in the NL.

Playoffs:

NLDS

NY Mets defeat Milwaukee Brewers in 4

LA Dodgers defeat Chicago Cubs in 4

NLCS

NY Mets defeat LA Dodgers in 6

WS

NY Mets defeat DET Tigers in 7

March Madness Rolls On

Even with the MLB season starting I simply can't bring myself to stray away from March Madness right now. The Sweet 16 starts tonight so be sure to watch. Now Stefan already gave you his Sweet 16 picks here.

I'm going to give you my predictions as well as some things that I've seen around the blogosphere before. I'm going to predict games with a coinflip (top seed is heads) and then by fantasy mascot battle. Then when the sweet 16 round is over we can look and see how our predictions stacked up against that of honest Abe and the mascots' blood. Let's get it on!

EAST
UNC vs. WSU
Stefan's Pick: UNC
Joe's Pick: WSU *Need it to happen to win my bracket challenge!
Penny: WSU
Mascots: WSU - While a ram is hard nosed and tough I see the Cougar's ferocity and agility paying off in this battle. It goes down to the wire but the Cougar prevails.

Tennesse vs. Louisville
Stefan's Pick: Louisville
Joe's Pick: Tennesse
Penny: Louisville
Mascots: Tennesse - All a cardinal can do is fly away from and peck at the Volunteer. But when the volunteer fires, down goes the cardinals.

MIDWEST
Kansas vs. Villanova
Stefan's Pick: Kansas
Joe's Pick: Kansas
Penny: Kansas
Mascots: Wildcat vs. a Jayhawk? Gotta go with the Wildcat on that one.

Wisconsin vs. Davidson
Stefan's Pick: Wisconsin
Joe's Pick: Wisconsin - Too big & too good of D.
Penny: Wisconsin
Mascots: Badgers are vicious and takes down the wildcat

SOUTH
Memphis vs. Michigan State
Stefan's Pick: Memphis
Joe's Pick: Memphis
Penny: Memphis
Mascots: A spartan's sword is efficient but not enough to protect against the vicious tiger. Tiger gets the nod and a free meal.

Texas vs. Stanford
Stefan's Pick: Texas
Joe's Pick: Stanford
Penny: Stanford
Mascots: A longhorn vs. a tree? I think you know what happens here...Texas wins.

WEST
UCLA vs. WKU
Stefan's Pick: UCLA
Joe's Pick: UCLA
Penny: UCLA
Mascots: My instincts tell me that a Bruin would tear a hilltopper to pieces. however you all know I love the Big Red blob. I'll give WKU a chance here.

Xavier vs. WVU
Stefan's Pick: WVU
Joe's Pick: Xavier
Penny: WVU
Mascots: The Muskateers gun down the mountaineers from a distance.

Bracketology gone College Hockey! (WCHA Conference Tourney)

I'm going to leave the college basketball pleasure to Stefan, however in keeping with the bracketology this week I'm going to give you my bracket for the NCAA D1 WCHA Conf. Tourney. I will be in attendance to all games help up in Grand Forks this weekend with UND taking on Mich Tech So I'm a little excited to say the least.

First Round
I see Colorado College having no problem with the Seawolves
I think the Gophers are going to find a way to keep their miserable season alive with a upset win in 3 games
St. Cloud beats the Badgers in 3
Denver wins in 3 against a feisty Duluth team
UND beat Tech in possibly 3 games depending on how the injury situation works out

Play-In
Huskies end the Gophers "dream season"

SEMIS
CC Stays red hot against the Huskies.
UND has DUs number as of late and I don't see that changing.

Championship
UND upsets CC on the back of J.P. Lamoureaux and TJ Oshie.

It's not like I've never been called a homer before so let me know what you honestly think of my picks. I know I'm a UND student so I'm biased but I really see UND continuing their unbeaten ways. It's been 16 games since we lost ya know....