2012-13 NBA Season Preview

* – indicates playoffs

(R) – indicates rookie

# – indicates new to team

MVP – LeBron James – Heat

Rookie – Damian Lillard – Trail Blazers

Coach – Vinny Del Negro – LA Clippers

Defensive Player – Dwight Howard – LA Lakers

Most Improved – DeMarcus Cousins – Kings

Sixth Man – Jamal Crawford – LA Clippers

Executive – Mitch Kupchak – LA Lakers

Playoffs

Eastern Conference Finals

Miami vs. Indiana

Heat in 6

Western Conference Finals

LA Lakers vs. Oklahoma City

Lakers in 7

NBA Finals

Miami vs. LA Lakers

Lakers in 7

Finals MVP: Kobe Bryant

Eastern Conference

1. Miami Heat*

2. Indiana Pacers*

3. Boston Celtics*

4. Chicago Bulls*

5. Philadelphia 76ers*

6. Brooklyn Nets*

7. New York Knicks*

8. Atlanta Hawks*

9. Milwaukee Bucks

10. Detroit Pistons

11. Toronto Raptors

12. Cleveland Cavaliers

13. Washington Wizards

14. Orlando Magic

15. Charlotte Bobcats

Heat – 1st in Southeast

Starters

C Chris Bosh

F Shane Battier
F LeBron James
G Dwayne Wade
G Mario Chalmers
Three Man Rotation

G Ray Allen#, F Rashard Lewis#, F Udonis Haslem

Pacers – 1st in Central

Starters

C Roy Hibbert

F David West
F Gerald Green#
G Paul George
G George Hill
Three Man Rotation

F Tyler Hansbrough, G D.J. Augustin#, G Lance Stephenson

Injuries: F Danny Granger

Celtics – 1st in Atlantic

Starters

C Kevin Garnett

F Brandon Bass
F Paul Pierce
G Courtney Lee#
G Rajon Rondo
Three Man Rotation

G Jason Terry#, F Jeff Green, F Jared Sullinger (R)

Injuries: G Avery Bradley

Bulls – 2nd in Central

Starters

C Joakim Noah

F Carlos Boozer
F Luol Deng
G Richard Hamilton
G Kirk Hinrich#
Three Man Rotation

F Taj Gibson, G Marco Belinelli#, G Nate Robinson#

Injuries: G Derrick Rose

76ers – 2nd in Atlantic

Starters

C Lavoy Allen

F Thaddeus Young
F Evan Turner
G Jason Richardson#
G Jrue Holliday
Three Man Rotation

C Spencer Hawes, G Dorell Wright#, G Nick Young#

Injuries: C Andrew Bynum

Nets – 3rd in Atlantic

Starters

C Brook Lopez

F Kris Humphries
F Gerald Wallace
G Joe Johnson#
G Deron Williams
Three Man Rotation

G C.J. Watson#, G MarShon Brooks, F Andray Blatche#

Knicks – 4th in Atlantic

Starters

C Tyson Chandler

F Carmelo Anthony
F Ronnie Brewer#
G Jason Kidd#
G Raymond Felton#
Three Man Rotation

G J.R. Smith, F Steve Novak, F Kurt Thomas#

Injuries: F Amare Stoudemire

Hawks – 2nd in Southeast

Starters

C Al Horford

F Josh Smith
F Kyle Korver#
G Devin Harris#
G Jeff Teague
Three Man Rotation

G Lou Williams#, G DeShawn Stevenson#, C Zaza Pachulia

Bucks – 3rd in Central

Starters

C Samuel Dalembert#

F Ersan Ilyasova
F Tobias Harris
G Monta Ellis
G Brandon Jennings
Three Man Rotation

F Ekpe Udoh, F Mike Dunleavy, G Beno Udrih

Pistons – 4th in Central

Starters

C Greg Monroe

F Jason Maxiell
F Tayshaun Prince
G Rodney Stuckey
G Brandon Knight
Three Man Rotation

F Jonas Jerebko, G Will Bynum, F Kyle Singler (R)

Raptors – 5th in Atlantic

Starters

C Jonas Valanciunas (R)

F Andrea Bargnani
F Landry Fields#
G DeMar DeRozan
G Kyle Lowry#
Three Man Rotation

G Jose Calderon, F Amir Johnson, F Ed Davis

Cavaliers – 5th in Central

Starters

C Anderson Varejao

F Tristan Thompson
F Alonzo Gee
G Dion Waiters (R)
G Kyrie Irving
Three Man Rotation

F C.J. Miles#, G Daniel Gibson, C Tyler Zeller (R)

Wizards – 3rd in Southeast

Starters

C Emeka Okafor#

F Trevor Booker
F Trevor Ariza#
G Bradley Beal (R)
G A.J. Price#
Three Man Rotation

G Jordan Crawford, F Martell Webster#, F Jan Vesely

Injuries: G John Wall, F Nene Hilario

Magic – 4th in Southeast

Starters

C Nikola Vucevic#

F Glen Davis
F Hedo Turkoglu
G Arron Afflalo#
G Jameer Nelson
Three Man Rotation

G J.J. Redick, F Josh McRoberts#, G E’Twaun Moore#

Injuries: F Al Harrington

Bobcats – 5th in Southeast

Starters

C Brendan Haywood#

F Byron Mullens
F Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (R)
G Gerald Henderson
G Kemba Walker
Three Man Rotation

G Ben Gordon#, G Ramon Sessions#, F Tyrus Thomas

Western Conference

1. Oklahoma City Thunder*

2. Los Angeles Lakers*

3. Los Angeles Clippers*

4. San Antonio Spurs*

5. Memphis Grizzlies*

6. Denver Nuggets*

7. Dallas Mavericks*

8. Portland Trail Blazers*

9. Minnesota Timberwolves

10. Utah Jazz

11. Houston Rockets

12. Phoenix Suns

13. Golden State Warriors

14. New Orleans Hornets

15. Sacramento Kings

Thunder – 1st in Northwest

Starters

C Kendrick Perkins

F Serge Ibaka
F Kevin Durant
G Thabo Sefolosha
G Russell Westbrook
Three Man Rotation

G Kevin Martin#, F Nick Collison, G Eric Maynor

Lakers – 1st in Pacific

Starters

C Dwight Howard#

F Pau Gasol
F Metta World Peace
G Kobe Bryant
G Steve Nash#
Three Man Rotation

F Antawn Jamison#, F Jordan Hill, G Steve Blake

Clippers – 2nd in Pacific

Starters

C DeAndre Jordan

F Blake Griffin
F Caron Butler
G Willie Green#
G Chris Paul
Three Man Rotation

G Jamal Crawford#, G Eric Bledsoe, F Lamar Odom#

Injuries: G Chauncey Billups, F Grant Hill#

Spurs – 1st in Southwest

Starters

C Boris Diaw

F Tim Duncan
F Kawhi Leonard
G Danny Green
G Tony Parker
Three Man Rotation

G Manu Ginobili, F Stephen Jackson, G Gary Neal

Grizzlies – 2nd in Southwest

Starters

C Marc Gasol

F Zach Randolph
F Rudy Gay
G Tony Allen
G Mike Conley
Three Man Rotation

F Marrese Speights, G Jerryd Bayless#, G Wayne Ellington#

Nuggets – 2nd in Northwest

Starters

C Kosta Koufos

F Kenneth Faried
F Jordan Hamilton
G Andre Iguodala#
G Ty Lawson
Three Man Rotation

G Andre Miller, F Wilson Chandler, C JaVale McGee

Mavericks – 3rd in Southwest

Starters

C Chris Kaman#

F Elton Brand#
F Shawn Marion
G O.J. Mayo#
G Darren Collison#
Three Man Rotation

G Vince Carter, G Rodrigue Beaubois, F Brandan Wright

Injuries: F Dirk Nowitzki

Trail Blazers – 3rd in Northwest

Starters

C J.J. Hickson

F LaMarcus Aldridge
F Nicolas Batum
G Wesley Matthews
G Damian Lillard (R)
Three Man Rotation

C Meyers Leonard (R), G Sasha Pavlovic#, G Nolan Smith

Timberwolves – 4th in Northwest

Starters

C Nikola Pekovic

F Derrick Williams
F Andrei Kirilenko#
G Brandon Roy#
G Luke Ridnour
Three Man Rotation

G J.J. Barea, F Dante Cunningham#, F Chase Budinger#

Jazz – 5th in Northwest

Starters

C Al Jefferson

F Paul Millsap
F Marvin Williams#
G Gordon Hayward
G Mo Williams#
Three Man Rotation

G Randy Foye#, F Derrick Favors, C Enes Kanter

Rockets – 4th in Southwest

Starters

C Omer Asik#

F Patrick Patterson
F Chandler Parsons
G James Harden#
G Jeremy Lin#
Three Man Rotation

G Carlos Delfino#, F Marcus Morris, G Toney Douglas#

Suns – 3rd in Pacific

Starters

C Marcin Gortat

F Luis Scola#
F Michael Beasley#
G Jared Dudley
G Goran Dragic#
Three Man Rotation

G Shannon Brown, F Markieff Morris, F Jermaine O’Neal

Injuries: F Channing Frye

Warriors – 4th in Pacific

Starters

C Andrew Bogut

F David Lee
F Harrison Barnes (R)
G Klay Thompson
G Stephen Curry
Three Man Rotation

G Jarrett Jack#, G Brandon Rush, F Carl Landry#

Hornets – 5th in Southwest

Starters

C Robin Lopez#

F Anthony Davis (R)
F Al-Farouq Aminu
G Austin Rivers (R)
G Greivis Vasquez
Three Man Rotation

F Ryan Anderson#, G Roger Mason#, C Jason Smith

Injuries: G Eric Gordon

Kings – 5th in Pacific

Starters

C DeMarcus Cousins

F Jason Thompson
F James Johnson#
G Tyreke Evans
G Isaiah Thomas
Three Man Rotation
G Marcus Thornton, F Thomas Robinson (R), G Aaron Brooks#

Week 8 Review of the NFL

It’s time to see how all 32 NFL teams are doing at the half way point of the season. It’s part of a segment I do on twitter after the Sunday Night game is over called, ‘The Good, the Bad and the Ugly’ in the NFL. Some teams are good, some are bad and there are those that shouldn’t be mentioned. Lets see where your team(s) ended up this year.

The Good

Houston Texans 6-1

The three headed monster of Matt Schaub, Arian Foster and Andre Johnson have been playing great this year. Their defense is doing just fine without Mario Williams, who left for Buffalo in the offseason. They have one big loss to the Green Bay Packers, but they responded with a beat down of the Baltimore Ravens the next week. Houston had a good run last year, but they won’t be satisfied with just making the playoffs this year.

New York Giants 6-2

They’ve been involved with some exciting games this year. And they’ve beaten up their division opponents early in the season. There isn’t any doubt about the Giants making the playoffs, but will they have the same success being the favorites as opposed to just barely getting in? As long as Eli Manning can still get the ball to Victor Cruz and Hakeem Nicks the Giants will be just fine.

Chicago Bears 6-1

Jay Cutler has already had some rough outings this year, but the Bears are standing atop the NFC North. Their defense is playing with renewed ferocity. If that trend continues and the Bears can protect Jay Cutler more often, Chicago could be looking at a bye going into the playoffs.

Atlanta Falcons 7-0

There’s no doubt that Matt Ryan has turned the corner and is becoming a top 10 quarterback in the NFL. With Julio Jones, Roddy White and Tony Gonzalez to throw the ball to, RB Michael Turner has become an after thought on the offense. It’s amazing that defenses are having trouble adjusting to the Falcons gameplan, but it’s hard to double team any one of their weapons.

San Francisco 49ers 6-2

Easily they have the best defense in the NFL. Their offense has had moments of inconsistency and downright puzzlement. However, they are on the right track to win the now tough NFC West. As long as the offense can keep their defense fresh, the 49ers are still a favorite to make another deep playoff run in January.

Green Bay Packers 5-3

It was a rough start, but the Packers are now at the heels of the Chicago Bears. Green Bay’s defense is very sporadic though and that will have to be fixed if they want to win a playoff spot. Aaron Rodgers hasn’t had his entire receiving corps healthy at one time. And there isn’t a running game to take the pressure of off him. But he’s used to that and the Packers will be contenders.

Denver Broncos 4-3

Peyton Manning is back to his old self. They have a balanced approach on offense and their defense is looking like a force to be reckoned with in the AFC. Their schedule is very favorable with the AFC West opponents. It will be hard to imagine that a Peyton Manning led Broncos team doesn’t make the playoffs with him at the helm.

Baltimore Ravens 5-2

Their defense isn’t what it used to be, but now is the perfect time for Joe Flacco to prove that he is a top 10 quarterback. His draft counterpart, Matt Ryan is proving that and now it’s time for Flacco to do the same. He just needs to realize that he does have enough talent around him to do that, mainly Ray Rice who can give Flacco a balanced attack.

New England Patriots 5-3

They have perhaps the worst defense out of all the ‘Good’ teams. Yet when you have Tom Brady, that can be overlooked. The AFC is pretty weak this year, but the Patriots have shown that they’re vulnerable. Especially late in close games. But there is a sense that this will all be blown over when the playoffs are near.

Minnesota Vikings 5-3

They snuck up on a few teams this year, but lately they’ve fallen flat. Part of it is because of the defense and part of it is because of the offense. What it boils down to is that Adrian Peterson can’t do it all. Christian Ponder has to make big strides in the second half of the season if the Viking are to claim a playoff spot this year.

The Bad

Miami Dolphins 4-3

Surprisingly the Dolphins have been competitive in almost every game they’ve played this year. Rookie QB Ryan Tannehill has made some big strides this year, but has been sidelined to injury. Reggie Bush is becoming an everydown back this year, which surprises everyone. Their defense has been phenomenal and a big reason why they have a winning record.

Pittsburgh Steelers 4-3

They have almost no running game this year. Ben Roethlisberger is doing all he can to put points on the board. The defense has been wildly inconsistent and injured for most of the year. Their schedule won’t get any easier, but they have enough experience to know they’re in a good position at this stage of the season.

Cincinnati Bengals 3-4

They got off to such a hot start, but have now fallen flat. For some reason no one realized that A.J. Green is a pretty good receiver, but now defenses are double teaming him at will. The running game is almost invisible at times and the Bengals defense is beginning to look gased at crucial moments of a game.

Indianapolis Colts 4-3

Definitely the surprise of the season so far. They’ve looked great on offense. Far exceeding expectations. Andrew Luck is making tremendous strides and is being helped along by Reggie Wayne as a reliable target. The Colts defense is turning into a force at the half way point. All of this is happening without their head coach, Chuck Pagano who is out for the year while recovering from leukemia.

Tennessee Titans 3-5

With the turmoil on the quarterback front (Jake Locker out with an injury), Matt Hasselbeck has stepped in and done an admirable job leading the Titans. However, their defense has been all over the place. They’ve looked great one week, but down right terrible the next. To make matters worse has been the disappearance of RB Chris Johnson, yet again.

San Diego Chargers 4-4

Two straight losses to the Denver Broncos and Cleveland Browns have left the Chargers in a state of flux. Yes, they play in a weak division, but blowing a three touchdown lead to the Broncos in the second half and not scoring a touchdown the next week against the Browns have left many to wonder. Is this the year that the San Diego front office lets go of Norv Turner and begins to think about replacing Philip Rivers?

Oakland Raiders 3-4

Not much to say other than the Raiders really don’t have a lot for Carson Palmer to work with on offense other than Darren McFadden. The defense has been okay thus far, but in today’s NFL you have to score a lot of points if you want to win. Some players like Denarius Moore and Darrius Heyward-Bey have made progress, but it won’t be enough to get into the playoffs.

Philadelphia Eagles 3-4

Like San Diego, the Philadelphia Eagles might need a new voice in the locker room after this year. It’s been down hill from the start when it was said by team chairman and CEO Jeffrey Lurie that another 8-8 season would be ‘unacceptable’. The Eagles could be heading down that road with an overrated defense and Michael Vick turning over the football. They will all have to do a 180º shift and that includes Andy Reid if they are to clinch a playoff spot.

Dallas Cowboys 3-4

Time could be running out for Jason Garrett. This season he has looked lost in crucial play calling situations. The basic stuff, he’s looked amateurish out there. There’s no urgency when this team is in a close game and some players are not rallying around Tony Romo. It’s never easy to coach this team with Jerry Jones having almost every say.

Washington Redskins 3-5

There have been moments of awe when Robert Griffin has been on the football field this year. And there have been far too many moments where you scratch your head at the play calling. Why would you throw a football to Robert Griffin the receiver I’ll never know. Either way, injuries have ravaged the defense, but they need to be smarter about the way they run the offense with Griffin at the helm.

Detroit Lions 3-4

Surprisingly the defense isn’t the reason they’ve been near the bottom this year. The offense has been all over the map. Matthew Stafford isn’t the same quarterback from a year ago. They don’t run the ball when it’s necessary to. And Calvin Johnson is actually being defended and sometimes overlooked in critical moments. Their record keeps them in, but they’re running out of time.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 3-4

I can never tell if the Bucs are going to turn the corner this year, but they have a new fire in Josh Freeman. He’s taking a big step forward from last year and the defense is getting better as the season progresses. Doug Martin should continue to get the ball more now that he seems more comfortable in the offense. That will only help Freeman more this year.

Arizona Cardinals 4-4

They had a great start, but have lost four straight. No one is sure whether Kevin Kolb or John Skelton is the quarterback going forward and that probably means that neither is the answer. Injuries have all but wiped out their running game and the defense can’t be on the field for more than 30 minutes on opposing teams possessions.

Seattle Seahawks 4-4

If they played more in Seattle they would probably have a better record. The Seahawks look terrible on the road and you can’t be considered a contender if you don’t win on the road. There are a few bright spots as Seattle’s defense is among the best at rushing the passer this year. Russell Wilson has made tremendous strides in his rookie year. Although some are wondering when there will be a change if he continues to struggle during road games.

St. Louis Rams 3-5

Their one weak spot is on the offensive and defensive lines. They can’t protect Sam Bradford and they can’t rush the passer. Patience will be needed to improve in those areas, but the Rams are playing better football. Jeff Fisher is known for quick turnarounds, but it will probably be another year and another good draft to get things going for them.

The Ugly

Carolina Panthers 1-6

It was probably too much to expect Cam Newton to take such a big leap forward, when teams have had a full offseason to gameplan for him. Plus, the Panthers defense has been the biggest disappointment in my opinion this season. Carolina doesn’t run the ball enough with their running backs and that is putting more pressure on Cam to do it all himself, which he doesn’t have to.

New Orleans Saints 2-5

Last I checked, the Saints were supposed to be a pretty good team before this season started. Bounty scandal aside, the offense has looked dreadful at times and the defense has no direction. Now that Joe Vitt is taking over the head coaching duties after his suspension. Things should get better, but no one on that staff can replace what Sean Payton brings during gameday. Just ask Drew Brees.

Kansas City Chiefs 1-7

It’s pretty bad when your head coach can’t answer for why the best player on the team wasn’t used more often during the game. Jamaal Charles is their best player and his workload has been surprisingly low for someone who has no injury problems this year. It doesn’t help that you don’t have a reliable quarterback and you’re constantly down by a lot of points early in the game. Time to prepare for 2013.

Jacksonville Jaguars 1-6

It wasn’t good when Maurice Jones-Drew was sitting out in a contract dispute during Training Camp. Now that he’s out with a foot injury, his season is pretty much lost and has no leverage for getting a new contract next year. The Jaguars are going backwards and that doesn’t bode well for Blaine Gabbert, last years first round pick. His play at quarterback when he’s healthy has been inconsistent at best, but his receiving corps has been terrible too.

Cleveland Browns 2-6

A lot of things will be changing for the Browns in the offseason, but for now they are playing better football. Their defense is doing a great job of rushing the passer and if rookie RB Trent Richardson can stay healthy for the rest of the season, the Browns might stay the course for one more year with a new owner at the helm. But history shows that a new owner wants to bring in his own people. New executive Joe Banner will surely do that when the season is over.

New York Jets 3-5

Just end the circus. Do us all a favor please. Put Tim Tebow at quarterback and the end the suspense. Why put him at the receiver spot or as a running back? That’s not going to fool anyone. Mark Sanchez has had his good and bad moments, but let Tebow throw the ball once in a while. This season is going no where in a hurry so why not make things interesting?

Buffalo Bills 3-4

The Bills are just not good. Plain and simple. Injuries did slow down Fred Jackson and C.J. Spiller, but Ryan Fitzpatrick is quite possibly the most overpriced quarterback in the league. And that’s saying something. He does have some good receivers to throw to, but his decision making has been terrible. The Bills defense hasn’t done any better and they’ve lost more games this year than Fitzpatrick has.

2012 World Series Champions

World Series MVP: 3B Pablo Sandoval – San Francisco Giants

.500 AVG, 3 HR, 4 RBI

If there was ever a team that truly personifies the slogan, ‘you win as a team’, the 2012 San Francisco Giants showed how it’s done. These guys had a lot of hurdles and question marks going into the postseason. And yet they played to their strengths and kept moving forward.

Forget the matchup in the World Series for a moment. They lost arguably their best player at the time, Melky Cabrera to a 50 game suspension for having an abnormal amount of testosterone in his system. With that and his agent creating a fake website to help clear him, the Giants said goodbye to Melky. The irony here is that he was the MVP of the 2012 All-Star game in Kansas City in July.

Their division rivals, the Los Angeles Dodgers make a splashy trade getting Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Beckett and Carl Crawford from the Boston Red Sox in late August. Everyone figured that would get the Dodgers into the postseason and the Giants would be in trouble. Not so as the Giants stayed ahead of the Dodgers winning the NL West. Los Angeles fell flat and out of the NL Wild Card race as well.

Those were just two examples. I could mention the fact that their closer Brian Wilson was lost in April to Tommy John surgery. Alas that didn’t affect them as much as it would for almost every other team in baseball.

The Giants were down 2-0 to the Cincinnati Reds in the Division Series. They had to win three straight in Cincinnati to advance. Not a problem.

The Giants were down 3-1 to the defending champion St. Louis Cardinals. Game 5 was in St. Louis and the Giants had to win to take the series back to San Francisco. Not a problem.

When they returned to San Francisco, the Giants gained new life in their offense. And their pitching was even better than in previous games.

Surprisingly a lot of folks assumed that the Detroit Tigers were going to easily beat the Giants in the World Series. Not saying they were going to sweep the Giants, but that the Tigers lineup would provide some tough matchup problems for the Giants pitchers.

On the contrary. The Giants pitchers were just fine and their lineup was giving the Tigers pitchers matchup problems. NLCS MVP Marco Scutaro batted a measly .250 in the World Series (that’s compared to his NLCS average of .500). But he provided the game winning hit in the 10th inning of Game 4. Pablo Sandoval crushed 3 home runs in Game 1, two of them off Tigers ace Justin Verlander. That performance propelled him into legend status and to the World Series MVP honor.

The rotation of Matt Cain, Barry Zito, Ryan Vogelsong and Madison Bumgarner were phenomenal. Closer Sergio Romo had his nasty slider working. And Jeremy Affeldt struck out four straight Tigers (Cabrera, Fielder, Young and Dirks) during his 1 2/3 innings of relief during Game 4.

Only two Tigers had a batting average of over .300 (min 4 games played). They were Delmon Young (.357) and Omar Infante (.333). The rest batted .231 or less.

The Giants depth in their rotation also provided an additional weapon for their bullpen in Tim Lincecum. He’s still a starter in my mind. Winning two NL Cy Young awards is no fluke. Not to mention they were back-to-back. Regardless that was a tremendous boost to their bullpen knowing they had another pitcher that could go for a long stretch if need be.

Timely hitting and excellent pitching were the keys to the San Francisco Giants winning their second World Series in the last three years. Whether it was Buster Posey’s grand slam in the Division Series. To Marco Scutaro opening the flood gates in Game 6 of the NLCS. Or even Gregor Blanco getting a triple in Game 3 of the World Series.

The Giants weren’t a team of destiny. They just played the game of baseball as a team. Plain and simple.

Congratulations to the San Francisco Giants for winning their 7th World Series title. They were a fun team to watch.

Week 7 Review of the NFL

Showdown in the NFC East

As usual with most matchups between teams in the NFC East, it’s a toss up as to who will win the game. This one was no different as it appeared the New York Giants would find a way to lose to the Washington Redskins. Both teams have terrible secondaries. It’s no secret. And both quarterbacks took advantage of that. Robert Griffin and Eli Manning provided a good back and forth affair in the second half of their contest. Griffin connected on a desperation 4th down play and later threw a perfect pass to Santana Moss for the go ahead touchdown. But too much time was left on the clock for Eli and he connected with Victor Cruz for the game winning touchdown. Usually I can’t stand watching two NFC East teams go at it, but this time was different. Please guys, I would like to see some more.

Bruised and battered

I don’t think there is any other team that is as banged up as the Baltimore Ravens are. Their best cornerback LaDarius Webb is out with a torn ACL. Linebacker Ray Lewis tore his triceps muscle. And they just got Terrell Suggs back from an achilles injury. The defense is in flux right now and their offense has all the pressure on them now. This is supposed to be Joe Flacco’s time to shine, but he hasn’t shown it yet. There’s still time, but it will fly by in a hurry. He has to realize that he has one of the best every down backs in the league in Ray Rice behind him. Get it to him more to open up the big plays to Torrey Smith and Anquan Boldin. The sooner Flacco figures that out the sooner the Ravens might get back to, if not near the top of the AFC.

Nothing has changed

Nothing surprises me anymore. Not the New York Jets or the New England Patriots. Both had to go to overtime this past Sunday and the Patriots won thanks to the terrible offensive line of the Jets. I don’t I’ve seen Mark Sanchez get hit more in his entire career at USC than against the Patriots. New York did play pretty well considering their flaws. The defense kept the Patriots at bay for the most part, but the Patriots defense was letting the Jets have too many opportunities to close the gap. There are some good players on defense for the Pats, but they’ve let teams back in the game late too many times this year. It doesn’t bode well for them, but they can at least say they stopped a team from beating them late for once this season.

2012 World Series Preview

Detroit Tigers vs. San Francisco Giants

With the long layoff the Detroit Tigers have had, it’s hard to imagine that they will have any problems considering how well they played in the Championship Series. After sweeping the New York Yankees, it has become apparent that they have some great starting pitchers. It starts with Justin Verlander, but it doesn’t end there. Doug Fister, Max Scherzer and Anibal Sanchez have all been fantastic this postseason. They’ll have to be to avoid their bullpen woes. Delmon Young was named the ALCS MVP for his timely hits in crucial moments of the game. But frankly, the Yankees had no answer for any of the Tigers hitters. Miguel Cabrera was batting .313 with 4 RBI. Jhonny Peralta had a .389 batting average. And even rookie Avisail Garcia led the team with a .455 average. But if the Tigers want to win the World Series, they’ll need their leadoff hitter Austin Jackson to continue to get on base. His speed is affecting opponents and his defense is among the best in the game.

They were down 3 games to 1 in the Championship Series with one more game to play in St. Louis. Yet, the Giants knew the situation and had already persevered in the Division Series against the Cincinnati Reds. They did so again in the Championship Series. The Cardinals had no answer for Series MVP Marco Scutaro. He tied a NLCS record with 14 hits and I don’t think I’ve ever seen a player bat .500 in a 7 game series. Pretty sure that’s a record too. Pablo Sandoval and Brandon Belt were major contributors as well. They’ll have to be again to defeat Detroit. However, if the Giants are to outscore the Tigers they will need Hunter Pence and Buster Posey to be on their game. San Francisco’s pitchers were just marvelous. Barry Zito, Ryan Vogelsong and Matt Cain will need to repeat their Championship Series performances. The bullpen was nothing short of amazing as well. If Tim Lincecum can continue his resurgence in the pen, the Giants will be tough to score on after the starting pitcher has left the game.

Giants in 6 games