1949 Cardinals vs Phillies and Athletics vs Senators

 My next two APBA baseball series I would like to recap come from the year 1949. This is the year that NATO was formed and we saw the rise of communist China and Mao Zedong rise to power. In baseball the Brooklyn Dodgers played against the New York Yankees in the world series.

I'm focusing on a national league matchup of the St. Louis Cardinals versus the Philadelphia Phillies using the Master Game.

GAME 1: Location Shibe Park, Philadelphia PA.

This game turned out to be a pitchers duel between Howie Pollet for the visiting Cardinals and Russ Meyer from the Fightin Phillies. St Louis scored 3 in the first and 1 in the seventh which accounted for all the scoring. The Phillies were only able to get two base runners on singles from Richie Ashburn and Eddie Miller. Pollet hurled a 2 hit shutout while fanning 5. Stan Musial drove in the first run with a double which plated Red Schoendienst who had walked to leadoff the game.Final 4 - 0 Cardinals.

GAME 2: Location Sportsman's Park, St. Louis MO.

This game turns out to be another shutout. This time it is the Phillies pitching combination of Ken Heintzelman seven innings and Jim Konstanty finishing the final two innings. For the visiting Phillies Andy Seminick homered and walked three times. The Phillies racked up 12 hits on their way to a 5 to 0 win. They held Stan the Man hitless in four at bats. A rare play occurred when Buddy Blattner for the Phillies misses third when trying to score and he was out on the appeal. Final 5 - 0 Phillies

GAME 3: Location Shibe Park, Philadelphia PA.

Another pitchers duel between Al Brazle of St Louis and Robin Roberts of Philadelphia. Roberts only gave up two hits but ended up losing the game. The Cardinals' first run came on a Nippy Jones solo homerun in the 5th. Two innings later Enos Slaughter came home on a Sac Fly by Eddie Kazak. the Philllies scored their only run on back to back doubles in the 9th. Final 2 - 1 Cardinals

In the series Musial was 1 for 10. I just can't roll for that guy.

My next 1949 series was an American League tilt between the Philadelphia Athletics and the Washington Senators using the basic game.

GAME 1: Location Griffith Stadium, Washington DC

This was all the visting team from Philadelphia with Alex Kellner hurling a 2 hit shutout. It was a close game for 8 innings with the Athletics scoring single runs in the 3rd and the 6th. But in the ninth off reliever Dick Welteroth the Atheletics scored four times to make it 6 - 0. The Athletics banged out 12 hits and Wally Moses drove in 3 for the game. Final 6 - 0 Athletics

GAME 2: Location Shibe Park, Philadelphia PA

Another spectacular pitching performance but this time by Sid Hudson of the Senators who only gave up two hits to the Athletics. Washington scored single runs in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd to take a 3 -0 lead. The first run coming on a Bud Stewart leadoff homer. In the 8th the Atheletics score two on a double by Ferris Fain. The only other hit the Athletics got was a single by Nellie Fox. Hudson did walk 6 however. Washington scored one more in the 9th off reliever Bobby Shantz. Final 4 - 2 Senators.

GAME 3: Location Griffith Stadium, Washington DC

This game was close until the fifth inning when the Athletics had a five run outburst. The Athletics scored 1 iun the first, five in the 5th, two in the 7th and one in the 8th. The Senators scored single runs in the 5th and the 9th, they were only able to muster 5 hits off Joe Coleman.The Athletics had 10 hits but also aided by 4 walks and 3 errors. Hitting stars for the Athletics were Eddie Joost who had a homerun and drove in 3, Elmer Valo had two doubles and scored twice, and Pete Suder had a solo shot. Final 9 - 2 Athletics.

Next up will be 1944.

1954 Baltimore vs New York and St. Louis vs Pittsburgh

 Today I'm going to give you a two-for-one. I'll summarize two 1954 APBA series I played. The first was a three game series using the Master game between the Baltimore Orioles and the New York Yankees.

This series was all Yankees. Winning game 1 5 - 0 on a complete-game three-hit shutout by Bob Grim. Interesting highlight of game 1. Bottom of the first Gil McDougald, Andy Carey, and Mickey Mantle all walk. Berra grounds into a double play; McDougald scores. Joe Collins walks, men on 1st and 3rd. Enos Slaughter gets on on an error, Carey scores. Gene Woodling gets out. They score two runs without a hit or an RBI. The Yankees walked 10 times in Game 1.

Game 2: Sees the visiting Yankees winning 4 to 2 on a complete game by Harry Byrd. Yankees score all their runs in the 2nd; the Orioles tally single runs in the 1st and 9th. Still no homeruns by either team through the first two games.

Game 3: Sees the visiting Yankees winning 7 to 4. Yankees score all 7 runs in the 2nd, culminating with a three-run shot off the bat of Yogi Berra. The Orioles had a solo homer from Jim Fridley. The Orioles scored single runs in the 5th and 7th and put up a two-spot in the 8th.

The second series was played between the St Louis Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Pirates using the APBA basic game.

Game 1: Sees the visiting Cardinals winning 9 to 7. St Louis had 17 hits, scoring 2 runs in the 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 8th and a single run in the 7th. Homeruns for St Louis came off the bats of Joe Cunningham who was 4 for 5 with 3 runs 3 RBIs and a triple and a homerun, he was double shy of the cycle and Rip Repulski who was 3 for 5 with 2 runs, 2 RBIs and the homerun. Amazingly in the 17 hits Stan Musial never got one. The Pirates racked up 14 hits of their own with a homerun off the bat of Sid Gordon. In the 9th inning of this game two pirates got injured, Jake Thies injured 10 games and Curtis Roberts injured 5 games.

Game 2: Sees the hometown Cardinals winning 8 to 1. The cardinals rack up another 14 hits off Pirate pitching. No long balls by the Cardinals but Red Schoendienst was 3 for 5 with a double, 3 RBIs and 2 runs scored. Harvey Haddix pitched a complete game for the Cardinals. The lone Pirate run was a homerun from Jerry Lynch.

Game 3: The visiting Cardinals win 6 to 2. They score 5 of their runs in the 1st and drop Dick Littlefield's grade from a C to a D. He still made it through 5 innings before being relieved. No homeruns in this game but Stan the Man finally got his first hit of the series in that 1st inning 5 run outburst. Gordon Jones pitched a complete game for the Cardinals.

Next Up will be the 1949 season.

Detroit vs Baltimore 1957

I've finished two APBA series since the last time I posted, so this summary and the next one will be shorter than usual.

This series pits the 1957 Detroit Tigers against the 1957 Baltimore Orioles.

 Game 1 - Location, Memorial Stadium, Baltimore

Both teams' aces were facing each other, Jim Bunning vs Connie Johnson. If you like pitching duels, this game did not disappoint. The Tigers beat the home team Orioles 2 to 1 on the pitching of Bunning, and a 2nd inning 2 run homer off the bat of first baseman Ray Boone. Both pitchers went the distance.

Game 2 - Location, Briggs Stadium, Detroit

This game turned out to be another low-scoring affair with the Tigers scoring single runs in the 1st, 2nd, and 6th to win 3 to 2. The Orioles scored their two runs in the 3rd and 5th. Paul Foytack got the win with Harry Byrd getting the save. Billy Loes took the loss for the Orioles. After Al Kaline singled in the first run in the 1st he got injured sliding into second and had to leave the game. He's out for 2 games.

Game 3 - Location, Memorial Stadium, Baltimore

Game 3 finally saw the Baltimore bats come to life. Baltimore scored seven runs off of Duke Maas and Luke Sleater. They tallied nine hits and 6 of them were extra base hits. The homerun came off the bat of the youngster Brooks Robinson. On top of the hitting they got a pitching gem from Ray Moore who only gave up one run in the ninth notching a four hit complete game. The Tigers lose Charlie Maxwell for 1 game.

My next one will see the 54 Orioles against the 54 Yankees. I'll write that one in a few days.

World Cup Disappointment

The World Cup is over for the US team. It was a terrible loss, 4 - 1 to the boys from Belgium. I'm not going to summarize the game, but I'm just going to offer a few insights into the world of the World Cup.

I was never a huge fan of futbol (Soccer), but after coaching it for the past 2 years, I've grown to like it. I'm going to share a few observations after watching the World Cup over the past few weeks.

1. The Argentina vs Cape Verde game was by far the most entertaining and fun game to watch. I've always loved cheering for the underdogs, and watching Cape Verde hang in there the whole time was pretty exciting.

2. There isn't any other sport where the referees can and do have a major impact on the outcome and results of the game. Yes, you still have to score goals but calling a penalty on one end but not the same penalty at the other end can give teams an unfair advantage.

3. There is way more flopping in the World Cup than in the NBA.  I've never seen a sport where so many players are constantly lying on the ground in mortal pain and then getting up and playing the rest of the game. 

4. The USA team played well except for the last game. I think they captured the love of America with how well they actually did. Most of those countries, that is their only game worth anything, this is not so in America. But they captured the hearts of America and hope they can advance further in 4 years.

5. In no other sport do you see the impact the stars have on a game. In the World Cup if your star doesn't perform you are probably losing. Messi, Mbappe, Haaland, Kane all have been making an impact and their teams are still winning.

There are my five observations from the world of the World Cup.

New York vs Chicago 1957

 Today I'm back to give a summary of a recent APBA series I played. The 1957 New York Giants versus the 1957 Chicago Cubs. A match up of two future hall of famers, Willie Mays (The Say Hey Kid) and Ernie Banks (Mr. Cub). This three game series was played using the master game addition. 1957 was the last year that the Giants played in New York. After the season they left the Polo Grounds behind and moved to San Francisco.

GAME 1: Location: New York, Polo Grounds.

Visiting team Chicago got the scoring started with a first inning homerun from Chuck Tanner. In the bottom of the 2nd New York answered with a home run of their own off the bat of Whitey Lockman. The Giants scored again in the 4th and then put up a two spot in the 6th on a two-run double by Don Mueller. The Cubs scored in the 8th on a triple by Mr Cub, driving in Tanner, who had singled. The Giants win 4 to 2 on the pitching from Curt Barclay and Marv Grissom, who got the save. The biggest Highlight of the game came in the 6th, with the Cubs threatening to score, the game referred to the RP boards and the Giants pulled off a triple play with Danny O'Connell spearing the line drive, stepping on 2nd and throwing to first. Giants 4 Cubs 2

GAME 2: Location: Chicago, Wrigley Field

This game sees a pitching match-up between Ruben Gomez of the Giants and Moe Drabowsky of the Cubs. The Cubs strike first in the bottom of the first with a run scoring double by Banks driving in Tanner. Gomez is able to shut down the Cubs until the 8th when they score three more runs. The Giants were held at bay until the 6th and 7th innings when they put up two in the 6th and four in the 7th. Willlie Mays drove in two and Hank Sauer drove in three. The Giants score 2 more in the 9th to win 8 to 4.

GAME 3: Location: Chicago, Wrigley Field

This game shaped up to be a pitchers duel between Johnny Antonelli of the Giants and Dave Hillman, Dick Littlefield, and Don Elston of the Cubs. Both teams plate two in the first inning with the Giants coming from a two run blast off the bat of Mays. The Cubs scored two when the first four guys reached and Banks and Dale Long drove in the two runs. The only scoring after the first was Gail Harris coming home on a double play. Giants 3 Cubs 2

Timberwolves Trades

 Today I'm going to deviate from my APBA summaries and write about the Timberwolves recent trades. I'd like to hear what everyone thinks and if these moves put them over the top.

Let's recap: 

On June 22nd, the Wolves shipped Julius Randle and the 28th pick in the draft to Brooklyn, in exchange got the 33rd pick from Brooklyn and Mo Gueye from Chicago. This deal was actually more about dumping Randle's salary than picking up quality players. The 33rd pick ended up to be Isaiah Evans. 

This move allowed the Wolves to lock up Ayo Dosunmu to a long-term contract. 

On June 25th the Wolves shipped fan favorite Naz Reid and a boatload of picks to the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for LaMelo Ball and Josh Green.

I don't think the Wolves are done dealing but they don't have a lot of capital left to use. They may have to roll with what they have and hope it is enough to win them a championship.

What does the roster look like now and what would the starting lineup be?

With Randle and Reid gone, they will have to find a way to make up 34 points and 13 rebounds. Ball should be able to cover 20 points and about 5 rebounds (What he averaged last year). He also averaged 7 assists which gives the Wolves a nice point guard. They will also have Dosunmu for a full season and he averaged 14 points last year. He will most likely come off the bench and spell Ball or Edwards.

They still need someone to back-up Gobert and be able to play power forward and pull down rebounds. They have too many guards. Will they package a couple to get the power forward they need? Do they sign a PF in free agency? 

Some free agents that are available are: LeBron James, Kristaps Porzingis, Tobias Harris, Draymond Green, Harrison Barnes. Do they sign one of these guys with some of the cap space money they freed up?

I'd like to hear what you think. Leave a comment.

Washington vs Cleveland 1962

 My next APBA series consisted of two American League teams squaring off using the basic game. After the old Washington Senators moved to Minnesota in 1961 This 1962 Washington Senators team was an expansion team that later became the Texas Rangers. They finished last with a record of 60 - 101. The Cleveland Indians finished with a record of 80 - 82.

  

Logos are Courtesy of https://www.sportslogos.net/

GAME 1: Location, Cleveland, Ohio, Cleveland Municipal Stadium

On the mound for the visiting Senators is Don Rudolph a C pitcher. Toeing the rubber for the home team Indians is Jim "Mudcat" Grant a D pitcher. Needless to say this is not a pitchers duel.

Cleveland puts up a single run in the second on a solo shot by Gene Green. Each team scores one in the third. In the fourth the Indians put up three on another solo shot by Green and a two run blast by Gerald Kindall. This dropped Rudolph to a D pitcher. 

With the score 5 to 1 Cleveland, the Senators put up a 5 spot in the top of the 5th culminating with a three run shot off the bat of Jim King. Unfortunately for the Senators that would be the last of their scoring as Bill Dailey (D), Jim Perry (D), and Frank Funk (B) would shut them down for the final 4 innings. 

Cleveland went on to score single runs in the 5th, 6th, and 7th to come away with a 8 to 6 victory. Dailey got the win and Funk got the save. For the Senators their relievers of Marty Kutyna (D) and Steve Hamilton (C) were unable to keep the Indians from scoring. Kutyna took the loss.

GAME 2: Location, Washington DC, DC Stadium

This game saw Sudden Sam McDowell (D) on the hump for the visiting Indians and Claude Osteen (C) hurling for the hometown Senators.

The hometown team struck first with a 2 run single in the 3rd off the bat of Chuck Hinton. In the top of the 5th Cleveland tied the game with a two run homerun from Woody Held. 

After Osteen was lifted for a pinch hitter in the 6th the Indians got to reliever Pete Burnside (D) with one unearned run and a steal of home from Al Luplow. They surprised the Senators when John Romano took off for second on the double steal and Luplow made it home safely.

The Senators came back with two of their own in the bottom of the 7th on a two run homer from Harry Bright. But in the top of the 8th Cleveland tallied one run and the Frank Funk (B) closed it out for a two inning save and his second of the series.

GAME 3: Location, Washington DC, DC Stadium

The final game was all Cleveland with a 10 to 2 bashing of the hometown Senators. Starter Dick Donovan (B) for Cleveland pitched a complete game for his first win of the season. Starter Tom Cheney (C) only made it through 3 innings and gave up 6 runs. Relievers Ed Hobaugh (D), Steve Hamilton (C), and Jim Hannan (B) pitched the remaining 6 innings with Hobaugh not giving up any runs.

The offense for Cleveland was lead by homeruns from Jim Mahoney a solo homerun in the first, Willie Tasby a 3 run shot in the second and Chuck Essegian a two run blast in the 3rd.

That's it for this summary Cleveland took all three from Washington. My next series and recap will be the 1957 Giants versus the 1957 Cubs. Mays vs Banks. Look for my writeup on that series.

Milwaukee vs Pittsburgh 1962

 Today, I'm going to share APBA recap of my three-game series between the 1962 Milwaukee Braves and the 1962 Pittsburgh Pirates. In this particular series I played the Master Game of APBA baseball.

 

Game 1 took place at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. It was a matchup between #4 starters for each team with Bob Hendley taking the mound for the visiting Braves and Harvey Haddix hurling for the home Pirates. This game was not a pitcher's duel.

In the top of the first the Braves scored 4 runs but the Pirates came back with 2 of their own in the bottom of the frame. In the top of the fifth with the score Milwaukee 4 Pittsburgh 3 the Braves scored 3 more to take a 7 to 3 lead. In the bottom of the 6th with Hendley still on the mound the Pirates broke out the bats and scored 4 off of Hendley and 3 off of reliever Claude Raymond to take a 10 to 7 lead heading into the 7th. In the 8th inning with both starters out of the game a costly error by Dick Groat allows the Braves to score 4 runs to take an 11 - 10 lead. With Nottebart pitching for the Braves in the bottom of the 8th the Pirates looked to pitch hit for pitcher Olivo. They call on Jim Marshall who only had 2 homers in 116 plate appearances, with a man on Marshall hits a two run shot to put the Hometown Pirates in the lead 12 - 11. The Pirates call on Roy Face to close it out in the top of the 9th, and he shuts down the Braves' bats for the save.

For the Braves Hank Aaron, Joe Adcock and Eddie Mathews all homered. For the hometown Pirates both Virdon and Marshall homered and Clemente was 3 for 5 and drove in 4 runs.

Game 2 switches to County Stadium in Milwaukee with each team having their aces take the mound. For the visiting Pirates Bob Friend takes the mound and for the home team Braves Warren Spahn toes the rubber.

No scoring in this until the bottom of the third when Frank Bolling hits a two run homer. In the top of the fifth the Pirates score three unearned runs thanks to an error by leftfielder Gus Bell. In the bottom of the 7th Bell redeems himself by driving in Del Crandall with a triple. The score remained 3 to 3 until the top of the 11th when the Pirates score three runs off of reliever Nottebart. The Pirates called on Roy Face to close out the bottom of the 11th and earn his 2nd consecutive save.

For the Pirates Clemente was 2 for 5 with 2 RBIs and a triple, and Skinner was 2 for 6 with two RBIs and 2 doubles. For the Braves besides Bolling's homer and Bell's triple Hank Aaron was 2 for 5 with 2 singles. This game was more about the pitching than the hitting with friend striking out 8 in 8 innings and Spahn not giving up an earned run in 9 innings of work.

Game 3 stays in Milwaukee for the final match-up between these two teams. The Pirates are going for a sweep and the Braves hope to salvage one win in the series. This match-up saw each team throw their number-two starters: Earl Francis for the Pirates and Bob Shaw for the Braves.

This was a true pitcher's duel. Only 10 hits between the two teams and only two were extra base hits (doubles). In the top of the 5th the pirates broke a zero zero deadlock when Mazeroski doubled, after Schofield walked Francis advanced Mazeroski to third with one out Skinner hits a sacrifice fly for the only run of the game. The pitching trio of Francis 6 innings no runs 2 hits, Olivo 2 innings 1 hit and for his third consecutive save Face 1 inning no hits the shutout the likes of Aaron, Adcock and Mathews and the rest of the Braves who only mustered 3 singles. For the Braves Shaw pitched a complete game, only gave up the 1 run on 7 hits. This game was quite the contrast to game one which saw 23 runs total. 

When I finish my next match-up the 1962 Washington Senators versus the 1962 Cleveland Indians I'll post another recap. In the meantime go and roll some games of your own.

Winter Sports Champions

 Well, the two major winter sports, NBA and NHL completed their championships over the weekend. The New York Knicks defeated the San Antonio Spurs 4 games to 1 in the NBA championship and the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Vegas Golden Knights for Lord Stanley's Cup.

The Knicks last won the NBA Championship in 1973. This was around the time I got interested in basketball and the Knicks were the team I liked. They had an all-star lineup in Willis Reed, Dave DeBusschere, Bill Bradley, Clyde Frazier, and Earl Monroe. Today's teams can't afford to carry that many stars. They usually have two or three and then some quality pieces that specialize in defense, scoring or rebounding. 

In the NHL the Carolina Hurricanes last won the Stanley Cup 20 years ago in 2006. I got interested in hockey as a kid when I got a rod hockey game for Christmas. Usually those came with only Montreal and Toronto but I also got a set of players for all the NHL teams. Carolina wasn't a team back then they first came into the NHL when the WHA merged with the NHL in 1979 and at that time they were the Hartford Whalers. In 1997 they moved to the Carolinas and got renamed the Carolina Hurricanes.

 

Congratulations to both the New York Knicks and The Carolina Hurricanes on winning their respective championships. Also, congratulations to Jalen Brunson and Jordan Staal for being named MVPs of the finals.

I'd like to hear from you on who you have winning the NBA next year and what team will hoist the Cup in the NHL next year. Leave a comment.

That's Frustrating

 About 11 months ago I wrote on this blog with the intent of blogging more about my APBA games and sports in general. That didn't go so well, but I promise to those who read this, I will post more APBA game recaps and other sports musings.

Currently the Stanley Cup is going on between Carolina and Vegas, I'm not a big fan of either, so for me I not to invested in it.

The NBA finals are going on between the Knicks and the Spurs. I'm pulling for the Knicks. How about those ticket prices. You cannot take your family to a playoff game without mortgaging the house.

Of course, my favorite sport, baseball, is in full swing, and we have seen a few surprises as Tampa has been exceeding expectations and others like Boston and Detroit aren't living up to expectations.

Let me hear who you are pulling for?

APBA

 I have started to resurrect my blogs and I use this one for exclusive sports talk. More often than not I plan to write about my favorite table top game, APBA (pronounced App-Baa) Baseball. I've been playing this game since 1973. The current year I am playing is 2017. Many people talk about the projects they are working on and many people play a full actual season of their favorite team. I prefer to play all my seasons and what I do is alternate between American and National League and I also alternate between the Master game and the basic game. I always do three game series. I just got done playing a three game series between the 2017 Indians and the 2017 Astros. 

Game 1: Kluber vs Peacock

Cleveland jumped all over Peacock by scoring three in the 2nd, two in the 3rd, and two in the 4th. They had homeruns by Michael Brantley and Francisco Lindor. They also scored three in the 6th off of Hoyt. Ramirez was 3 for 5 with two doubles in the Cleveland win 10 to 4. On the Houston side, the had homeruns by Beltran, Reddick and McCann but they also ended up losing Reddick for 9 games.

Game MVP: Ramirez 

 

Game 2: Keuchel vs Clevinger

This game was all Houston. They scored 8 runs off Clevinger over 4 1/3 innings. Keuchel held Cleveland to only 5 hits four of them doubles and they didn't score until the bottom of the ninth. For Houston, Altuve lead off the 1st with a homerun, Bregman was 2 for 3 with a double, homerun, 4 RBIs and two walks, and Marisnick filling in for the injured Reddick went 3 for 3 had a double, 3 RBIs and stole a base.

Game MVP: Bregman 

Game 3: Carrasco vs Verlander

This game was a bit more competitive than the first two. Houston jumped on Carrasco in the bottom of the first with three runs and another leadoff  homerun by Altuve, I think he heard the trash can. Cleveland came back with one in 2nd on a Santana solo shot and then added two in the third on back to back doubles by Ramirez and Encarnacion. In the 5th Marisnick broke the tie with a solo shot of his own. Astros scored an insurance run in the 8th and Giles closed it out in the top of the 9th with his first save.

Game MVP: Gurriel

Next series match up 2017 Phillies vs 2017 Giants playing the Basic game. I'll give a recap next time. 

 

 

D*** Yankees

The Minnesota Twins officially have a psychological problem with the Yankees. On this celebration of our Nations birth the Twins took a four game beating at the hands of the Yankees. The Yankees aren't even that good this year, Jeter, Rodriguez, Granderson, Texeira all are missing from the Bronx Bombers. Instead they field a team of rag tag players. Yet they still slug the heck out of the ball and seem to always beat the Twins.

 It wouldn't be so bad but no one but people in New York like the Yankees. Losing to them just leaves a bad taste in your mouth. In Boston they always talked about the curse of the Bambino and Boston over came that. I think it should just be the curse of the Yankees. Let's hope it doesn't take the Twins 100 years to overcome that curse.

I'm glad we only play them 6-7 times a year others the Twins might lose 162 games.

Let's hope July 5th is better than July 4th.

Dance Eve

It is the eve of the NCAA tournament. Actually it already started with the "first four" a media scam to get more teams into the tournament only to lose in the first round.

Anyway, I've picked my brackets. I am in five my track record is not very good but I have hope this year. Who are you picking to make it to the final four?

I would like to hear some of your choices.

Since I am doing five brackets it changes somewhat but here is a list of the teams I think have the best chance to make the final four.

Louisville
Indiana
New Mexico
Georgetown
Miami

Good Luck on your brackets.

And Then There Were Two

The NFL playoffs have moved to the final stages. The Superbowl will happen on February 3rd. It will be between the AFC champions Baltimore Ravens and the NFC champions San Francisco 49ers.

It will be an interesting match-up between the two teams who finished runners up in their conferences a year ago and now they find themselves motivated to win the Superbowl.

The Ravens are motivated by trying to win one more Championship for Ray Lewis who has announced his retirement. Once he made that announcement it lit a fire under the rest of the team to go on a mission to win the Superbowl.

The 49ers are motivated by a Quarterback change halfway through the season. A quarterback story that has captured the nation. A quarterback who ran for twice as much yardage against the Packers as Adrian Peterson did the week before.

Don't forget the match-up of brother head coaches. That is also a great story.

What is my prediction. San Francisco 35 Ravens 27

And Then There Were Four

Four teams left in the NFL.

I was sorely disappointed in the losses by Denver, how could they let that player get behind them like that. I was also disappointed in the loss by Seattle. They came back from 20 points down only to lose in the last 30 seconds. How could they not stop them, they have a good defense.

Some good games this weekend, and now there is only four teams remaining. In the AFC we have the Baltimore Ravens heading to Gillette stadium to play the New England Patriots. In the NFC it will be the San Francisco 49ers heading to Atlanta to play the Falcons.

Do the Ravens have the desire to win for Ray Lewis' last season?

Are the Brady led Patriots a force to be reckoned with?

Can Kaepernick have another huge came and the 9ers overcome the west to east travel jinx?

Is it finally time for Matty Ice to win one for the Falcons?

Who will it be between these four? Here is who I think will be playing in the Super Bowl.

The New England Patriots versus the San Francisco 49ers. With the Patriots winning the Super Bowl!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Continue following this blog in 2013 and see a different side and perspective on sports. Who would have thought we would be heading into 2013 with some interesting teams playing in the NFL playoffs.

The Vikings in a 6 day rematch with the Packers this time on the frozen tundra of Lambeau.
The Redskins led by two rookies and Seahawks led by Wilson and Lynch should be quite a match-up

The amazing Colts versus the sliding Texans. Will the rookie continue to shine in the playoffs?
Can the Bengals beat the Ravens? Can Flacco be trusted or will Dalton be the QB to shine.

This years NFL season was a spectacular ride with AP coming 9 yards short of mortality. Still his feat is more remarkable considering he was coming off of knee surgery. Never underestimate the power of hard work and dedication in a sport.

Payton Manning showed he still has what it takes and there was a rise in young guns in the league with Wilson, Luck and RGIII leading the way.

The playoffs will prove to be just as exciting. Buckle up for a football ride to the Superbowl.

What Is Wrong?

What is wrong with the Minnesota Vikings? I contend it is not Percy Harvin being out for a couple weeks. It is not Christian Ponders difficult times although that doesn't help. It isn't their defense or special teams. It definitely isn't Adrian Peterson. It is my contention that it is the coaches and especially the play calling.

A prime example came in the game yesterday against the Bears. The Vikings had a 3rd and two from the 6 and instead of running AP for a mere 2 yards they call ponder to throw into the end zone. Of course it didn't work so now they have 4th and 2 and they do the exact play instead of call AP's number. Wouldn't it have been easier to call AP's number on that 3rd and 2 and if he doesn't make it then throw.

The Vikings have the best running back in the game and they don't use him on third down and rarely in the red zone. What kind of play calling is that. If something isn't done soon AP will not want to play here anymore he will want to play where he is used and where he will win.

I know, teams put 8 in the box to stop AP. If that is the case obviously he still beats the odds because he leads the league in rushing. Why not keep giving him the ball and make the other team actually try to stop the runaway train.

This week they play the Packers, one of the worst run defenses in the league. I bet the Vikings try to air it out and not even use AP. But if they make the right calls and play good defense they can beat the Packers. We'll just have to see what happens.

Bronx Cheer

How about dem Yankees!  The best hitting team money can buy and they fall flat on their face against the Detroit Tigers. The Tigers sweep the Yankees in 4 straight after an exciting game one in which the Yankees had an Ibanez comeback only to fall in Extras.

The biggest blow for the Yankees came in game one when Derek Jeter broke his ankle. Huge disappointment because he is the inspiration and the straw that stirs the Yankee drink. It might actually had been a different series with Jeter at full strength.

I am not a Yankee fan at all so I am glad they lost but I like to watch good baseball and the Tigers totally dominated the Yankees after that game one. I hope the World Series will be more exciting and if it is the Cardinals I'll have to root for the Tigers. The Cardinals won last year so it is up to the Tigers to win.

Maybe just maybe the Giants can come back from a 3 to 1 deficit in games.

The Lockout

Hockey preseason should have started by now. Minnesotans like myself would have anxiously been watching the play of the newest Wild players, Zach Parise and Ryan Suter. It was going to be an exciting season. That is right I said WAS. September 15th came and their was no Collective Bargaining agreement between the players and the owners so the owners locked the players out. No practice and so far no preseason.

It is very disappointing to hear two groups of people making millions of dollars complain that they don't have enough. If they can't figure it out maybe than can give me some of the money. Maybe they can get President Obama involved since President Obama wants to tax the rich maybe he can just tell both sides to share their wealth with the less fortunate. Oh wait! President Obama won't do that because he doesn't even share his wealth. He is too busy taxing every one to coffer his own agenda to really care about any one else.

The way I see the lockout is that the owners have every right to make as much money as they can. It is America and Canada where capitalism is king (or should be). Plus it isn't like the players are hurting for money. In fact here is a quote from Minnesota's recent millionaire Zach Parise.

"They are boasting how well the league is doing and how they've grown millions of dollars," says Wild Forward Zach Parise. "Then last time they come and say we need 24 percent off your salary and now they are going to do it again. After a while how much do you want us to cover for their mistakes?"

He just signed a 98 million dollar contract. That doesn't sound like a pay cut to me. I love sports and enjoy watching them but I am tired of the cry baby players whining that they don't have enough money and even the minimum amount in most sports are well over the amount I make, and I have my MBA. Most of the players can barely give a competent interview.

Then there are the owners making millions of dollars in other ventures and then whine and complain to the state or community that they need a new facility built or they may have to leave.

Why don't the player and the owners just SHUT UP play the game and let the fans enjoy watching without all of this politics.

Pennant Races

September is a time for crisp cool air, back to school, football and of course baseball pennant races. With the introduction of one more wildcard team it has opened the door for more and more races. The usual suspects are still in the races but we have some newcomers this year.

If you live in Baltimore baseball is relevant in September again. If you live in the DC area (I know, Baltimore and DC are only a tobacco spit away from each other) you probably weren't alive the last time Washington was in a pennant race. Then there are the no name kids from Oakland playing moneyball again knocking on the door of a wildcard birth.

What are some intriguing World Series match-ups?

Baltimore vs Washington - Wouldn't that be interesting in a year when Obama and Romney are battling for the nations capital.

How about another bay battle San Francisco vs Oakland, minus the earthquake this time.

Could Texas do it for the third straight year. Are the Reds ready to create a new "Big Red Machine" and are the Chicago southsiders ready to unleash more homeruns in the post season. Never forget the Bronx Bombers. Of course I can't forget the defending champs St Louis and there is always Atlanta and the pitching of Tampa.

Who is your favorite? What match-up would you like to see?