Start of Something Great

I am pretty excited because the NBA kicked off last night. I love the sport of basketball. I feel like basketball players are some of the best athletes in the world which makes the game that much more exciting to watch. I will admit that sometimes the games are boring and lack intensity. I cannot say that little kids should look up to NBA regular season games and try to emulate them. They are usually sloppy, and the play is usually more showy than effective. Of course, the drama isn't something that I like to hear about either, but it exists in every sport. Kobe is already getting booed, so hopefully he gets traded soon enough. Until the NBA playoffs are closer, most people won't be too excited about the games, but I love the game so I will be watching. There is still plenty of other sports to watch.
D3 football got some national attention this week, and deservingly so. Trinity college lateraled the ball 15 times on the final play of the game to get a touchdown and win the game. I watched the play on ESPN.com; it was impressive. I think their was great effort on Trinity's side, as well as some luck, but definitely a lack of passion by their competitors. Surely, the play must have been tiring because of the length, but even early on players seemed like they were giving up on the other team. Regardless, the play was a lot of fun to watch and provided a lot of excitement. There is a few more months of college football before bowl season starts, and I am sure that there will be more than a few more upsets before we get to January. Either way, there should be plenty of excitement, at least for me, with regards to sports in the next few months. Enjoy it!!

Battle of The Best

With victories from both the Colts and the Patriots on Sunday, both teams have ensured a match up of the undefeated teams next week. The Patriots are halfway to a perfect season at 8-0, and the Colts are at a respectable 7-0. Both of these teams were expected to be at the top of their conferences, but they have definitely exceeded expectations at this point. It should be a great game to watch next Sunday.
I can't wait to see the game, but I don't really think it will be as close as every one is making it out to be. Granted, I have been off on my predictions lately (ALCS and World Series). The Patriots are freakishly good, and I think they will easily handle the Colts. The Pats are winning games by an average of 30 something odd points. They have plowed over every opponent thus far, while the Colts have won, but not in the same impressive manner. The Colts usually have a rough time in the first half with regards to putting up points, but they usually pull away in the second half. However, I feel like the Jaguars and the Texans played the Colts tough, and that the games could very easily have gone the other way. You can't say that about any of the Pats' games. Regardless of predictions and who the better team is, I know I will be watching the game this upcoming weekend, because it will be a competitive match-up between teams and coaches who are striving to have an undefeated season.

Excitement

There hasn't been too much excitement with concerns to sport in the past couple days. I wrote about the Red Sox and the Rockies, and the football games from Sunday. I did leave out something I wanted to say about Rob Bironas' record breaking field goal performance. I don't think it was that big of a deal.
Bironas did a good job winning the game for his team, but 8 field goals just shows an inability to score by the Titans. To be honest, I would expect a kicker to hit 8 field goals in a game when given the opportunity. All they do is kick. They don't have to worry about anything else; they train to do one thing and one thing only, so when they miss it kind of pisses me off. They have one of the easiest jobs in sports, in terms of what they have to do. Now physically it isn't as easy, not anyone could be an NFL kicker, but if you make it to that level than you have the tools you need. Once you are there, it is simply a matter of mental ability which apparently very few NFL kickers have.
Anyways, that was all I wanted to write about there. I am getting excited because SAW IV comes out in about a day, and I love those movies. I know they are fairly gory and bloody, but the movies are usually well planned and thought out, and this is why I enjoy them. It looks like it is going to be a good weekend overall with Saw IV, football, and a World Series. Hope everyone else enjoys it as much as I do.

Unlikely

Even though I wrote about how Boston was done for. They still managed to come back, probably just to spite me. Even though, I hate the Red Sox, they did a good job coming back from a 3-1 deficit. I cannot really say I did not expect this to happen, but I was hoping against it. I feel like the Red Sox were no where near being the best team in the AL. They were built to beat the Yankees, more than anything else. This was exposed for a lot of the season, they had trouble beating other teams, but very little trouble beating the Yanks. I think their GM focused on putting together a team to defeat their rivals, instead of a team to win a World Series.
A lot of analysts feel like the Red Sox made an amazing come back. It was definitely a great effort, but I feel like it was definitely predictable. After the Sox beat Sabathia in Game 5, I felt like the Series was over. They were going to be home for the last 2 games, and they had a huge edge in the pitching match ups. I am not saying the Indians were completely out of it, they definitely had some chances, but they did not come through on those opportunities.
With the way the Rockies are playing and the momentum they have, I do not see how they can be beat. However, the AL is a far superior league, and the Sox seem to be a far superior team on paper, but I guess that is why they play the game. The Rockies were the only team to have a winning record against the AL in interleague play, so be prepared for a great, competitive series.

Rockies

I am extremely impressed with the Rockies in the last few weeks. They win out in the regular season, and get a one game playoff. They win the one game play off and get into the postseason. They get through both series, quite easily, and in doing so, they won the NL pennant. This is such an impressive feat, especially considering they almost missed out on the playoffs altogether. In fact, many analysts had said that the Rockies were all but eliminated from the playoffs with around 10 games left in the season. Little did they know, the Rockies have been on a hot streak, winning something like 20 of their last 21 games, including the playoffs.
This brings me to another occurrence in the playoffs this week. The Indians have made a strong push, and they are a game away from the World Series. This is another team that was underestimated by many baseball followers nation-wide. The Indians have had solid pitching, alongside timely hitting, to almost definitely secure a playoff spot.
Sadly, the Red Sox have been pretty much eliminated from the postseason, barring another one of their comeback miracles (and it really isn't that sad, I am quite happy!!!). I just thought I should address the home run Manny Ramirez hit in the Game 4. He had done nothing but bring his team within 4, with the score 7-3, yet he saw this as enough reason to showboat and celebrate. It is not that big of a deal, but Manny Ramirez should have known he was going to get trashed on. Perhaps, Manny forgot who he was, where he was, and what he had done. It wouldn't be the first time in his illustrious career.

Changes

Slowly but surely, we are seeing a change in the game of college football. I think this is a change for the better. Elite teams are starting to lose more often to schools of lesser stature. People think that these are complete and utter upsets each week. The fact of the matter is, these lower level schools are gradually improving their programs, and they will soon be able to compete with some of the better teams in the nation.
Standford upset USC, Appalachian state did just the same to Michigan, and LSU lost this weekend to Kentucky. These so-called upsets were cases in which the supposed worse team simply outplayed the favorites. For the most part, there were no fluke plays, or bad calls, these "mediocre" teams just outperformed the ranked favorites. This is why I think college football will be more exciting in the years to come.
I am not a huge fan of college football. The main reason for this is because, very rarely are there upsets. Also, the same teams are good every year. Analysts and fans will tell you their teams are at the top of the pack this year, but realistically, the same teams are ranked every year. There are usually a few exception toward the lower end of the rankings, but they are usually negligible who might slip into a no-name bowl game.
These new upsets are exciting for me because it reminds me of one of my favorite sports to watch. College football reminds me a lot of college basketball to a certain degree. In basketball, there always seems to be a chance for a huge upset, this happens quite a bit in the NCAA tournament in March, as many fans can tell you. Every year, the "best" teams are defeated in one of the early rounds, making early exits. If college football continues to be as competitive as it is right now, we may begin to see more scenarios like these. I welcome these so-called upsets with open arms. Excitement is what makes people watch, and I will be watching very closely in weeks to come, hoping for even more "upsets" of the "best" teams.

Yank the Yank

The New York Yankees exited the playoffs earlier this week (Much to my dismay). I am getting over it already. It is not that big of a deal to me. Don't get me wrong; I love the Yankees, and I want to see them win it all every year. I am just being realistic. This was a team that had to make an amazing surge to even see the light of day in the post season. Realistically, no one could have seen them making it much further than the first series. Getting to the ALCS would have been a major accomplishment, but like I said, the odds of this happening were slim to none.
The problem I have is not concerned with the situation itself, but the surrounding circumstances. Many people are talking about the termination of Joe Torre. If there are any fans or Yankees executives who think Torre should be fired, they must be absolutely crazy. Torre has done nothing but get the Yanks to the playoffs six times in the last 10 years. No other teams have accomplished this feat. This year, the Yankees were the only team who made the playoffs in back to back years. This shows the consistency that has been brought to the franchise with Torre at the helm.
The fact that the decision is wrong from a statistical stand point is not enough. According to players, Torre is the reason why the team is motivated and keeps on pushing day in and day out. Many veterans, like Posada, Rodriguez, Clemens, have said that they would not return to the Yankees unless Torre was the manager there. Clearly, he is not only effective, but he is also a player favorite. Young players are also praising Torre's as an excellent manger. Phillip Hughes has said that Torre is the driving force behind the Yankees triumphant playoff run this year. Apparently, without Torre there would have been no post season at all this year. Keep that in mind Mr. Steinbrenner, because you have a decision ahead of you. Fire the best manger in the game today, and one of the best in history, or keep him around for the many years to come, and keep your franchise success alive. Seems like an easy choice, doesn't it?

Trent Green

I have to say that I feel sorry for what has happened to Trent Green. This poor athlete has suffered his second serious head injury in as many seasons. He has proved to be an effective quarterback, but he has just had some bad luck with head shots.
Last year, I watched the hit that ended Green's season, and it was quite vicious. The hit could have been deemed excessive, but it ended up being a small story during the season. I cannot say the same for the injury Green suffered on Sunday. He put himself in the position to be hurt. He tried to chop block a 300 pound linemen. Certainly, Green was doing his job as a blocker and a team player, but I think this crossed the line. Never should any player, hit another player in the knee region, but Green crossed this line. He greatly suffered the consequence, as he left the field unconscious. The player Green hit got up from the block and was clearly upset. He taunted over Green's motionless body.
Many players and analysts have been in uproar about the lineman's reaction, as Green was seriously hurt. I can see why they are angry with how he reacted, but the tables would be turned if Green had ended this lineman's season and/or career. This didn't happen, but it was more likely to occur than what actually happened. Green is hurt now, and maybe the lineman should have controlled his raw emotions a little bit more. I doubt he knew how serious Green's injury was, so I do not see how you can fault him for his actions. Overall, I think many people have overreacted on a man who was, in a way, wrongfully attacked. I am sorry Green's season is probably over, but people would not be in this sort of rage if the lineman had been the one who got hurt. That is for sure.

Instant Replay?

The Rockies and the Padres faced off in an amazing game this week. They were in a one game tie-breaker to determine who would get into the post season. This is a very rare occurrence; a 163rd game in a Major League Baseball season. The atmosphere for the game alone foreshadowed the great performances that would occur that night.
Matt Holiday (I think that's how you spell it) basically secured his spot as the MVP of the National League. Basically, he single-handedly carried the Rockies on his back to get to the post season. I am not taking anything away from the rest of his teammates, but Holiday has been absolutely amazing. He scored the winning run in the 163rd game of his team's season, and hit a double to bring in the tying run. The amazing thing is that most people probably turned the game off, when the Padres scored 3 runs in the top of the 13th inning. They brought in Trevor Hoffman, the game's most prolific closer, but somehow the Rockies managed to put up 4 runs in the bottom of the 13th inning. It was absolutely amazing.
I am kind of upset with how the game has been analyzed. People say that Holiday did not touch home plate when he slid in, and that the umpire made the wrong call. I cannot say for sure, that he didn't touch home plate, but it doesn't matter. Umpires are a part of baseball; and this is why the game is exciting. Some ESPN analysts were saying this is why Instant Replay is necessary. I have to complete disagree. Umpires are one of the reasons baseball is fun to watch. Surely, there are times when umpires make the wrong calls. However, most of the time, they are on target with their decisions. Think about it: as an umpire, you have seconds to make a call that is often extremely difficult. After viewers watch the replay, they see that somehow he got it right. Umpires don't have the luxury of seeing a replay, but to be honest, they don't seem to need it. They are right, far more often than they are wrong. Put yourself in an umpires shoes, and you too will see how amazingly accurate they are for the majority of calls. I can't make an absolute statement about the Holiday play, but the game is over and the umpire made his call. That is part of the game, a big part, and if the umpire blew that call, then too bad. There were 100's and 1000's more he's made right in his career.

Hilarious

I can't believe how crazy of a weekend we had. The Yankees assured themselves a playoff spot, and the Mets threw away their chance to win a Championship. I am not gloating because I am a Yankees fan, I am boasting because of how much I hate nearly every Mets fan. Surely, there are exceptions for my hatred, but for the most part, Mets fans are just annoying.
First off, most of them are not actual fans of the Mets at all. They are anti-Yankees fans. All they do is bash the Yankees and tell people how much they suck, but if you ask them about their favorite team; they can't tell you a thing. Who play right field for the Mets?? Uhhh, Daryl Strawberry. This is an extreme example, but you get the idea.
Another reason I hate Mets fans is because they constantly talk trash about the Yankees. Yankees fans have something to base their arguments on. They play in the most competitive division in all of baseball, and they play in the more competitive league. The Mets play in a league, which until recently, was basically just the Mets and Braves in contention every year. They also play in the National League, which is much less competitive than the American League. If you are above .500 in the NL, you are going to probably contend for a playoff spot. The AL also had a far superior record in Interleague Play. These are just a few of the reasons why it is a fact that the Yankees are better.
Anyone who is a Mets fan cannot argue these facts. They could try to argue on the basis of opinions, but the facts point to the Yanks. Just to add to the fact based argument; now the Yanks are in the playoffs, while the Mets will be sitting home. Congratulations Mets fans, your team is definitely the better team in New York. Not really, but I'm sure you would like to believe that. GO YANKS!!!