MLB 2009

The 2009 Major League Baseball season is finally upon us after an extra long spring training due to the World Baseball Classic- (baseball's version of the World Cup).  The 1st game of the season is this Sunday night- Phillies vs. Braves.

Last season you will recall the national league's Philadelphia Phillies beat the cinderella Tampa Bay Rays 4-1.  Where the Rays a fluke, and who will be this year's cinderella?  If you're not a big MLB fan you should know that unlike the other major sports, just making it to the playoffs is a significant accomplishment in only the division winners and 1 wild card advances.  So a cinderella in this sport to make it to the postseason is more than just exceeding expectations.

Here are my predictions by League:

                                   American                              National

West                          Athletics                                Dodgers

Central                      Indians                                  Brewers

East                           Red Sox                                 Mets

Wildcard                   White Sox                              Cubs

This year the Mets finally get to play in September, but the Cubs will have to wait at least another year for a title pushing it to 102 years (and counting).

World Series- Indians over Dodgers

NBA- The Half Way Point

The NBA Season is about half way through its 82 game calender- a great time to assess things before the All-Star break.

Pre-season favorites the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics were picked to return to the NBA finals by many analysts; a match up most people would be again intrigued by.  And at this mid-way point these to teams represent the best from each conference, while the Cleveland Cavaliers have built a strong supporting cast around LeBron James, the San Antonio Spurs have gotten healthy and continue to play well, and the Orlando Magic have matured into an upper tier squad.

Some up-and-comers include the Portland Trail Blazers, another team where health has been a major factor and the Clippers are hot- kidding.  Many basketball fans consider the New Orleans Hornets a top tier team, but their play this year has been very polarized.  Chris Paul is for sure the league's elite point guard.

Here's how I view the 'Power Rankings" for the true contenders:

1. Lakers (yes I'm a homer, but this is a solid pick)

2. Celtics

3. Cavaliers

4. Hornets

5. Magic

6. Spurs

Handicapping- I actually don't see a Celtics vs. Lakers rematch.  I think Lebron's Cavaliers will take the Celtics down to meet the Lakers in what would be a interesting bill- Kobe vs LeBron.  Can Kobe get his 1st without Shaq before LeBron can get any?

NFL Playoff Update

At the beginning of the NFL season, I made some personal picks of who would make the playoffs. These were the teams I thought would be strong and win their divisions. Well, my Superbowl pick was one ESPN analysts most disappointing team- the Jacksonville Jaguars. This was for good reason as the Jag's offensive line was injured the majority out the season. Therefore their ground game, which is the team's strength was never at full strength. I'll keep my day job.

The playoffs matches up like this:
NFC
Falcons @ Cardinals
Eagles @ Vikings
Byes- Giants and Panthers

AFC
Colts @ Chargers
Ravens @ Dolphins
Byes- Titans and Steelers

To my credit, 5 of my 8 picks from the beginning of the season did make it to the post-season. The short story in my opinion for each conference is this-- the AFC is defense heavy and should be decided with low scoring games, whereas the NFC will be more fun to watch with more explosive offenses.

Superbowl Prediction- Panthers over Steelers