I’m Back!

Hello sports fans, I’m back in business and ready, like always, to talk sports. Sorry for my hibernation, but I was working on my public relations internship with my beloved Dodgers arch-enemy, the San Francisco Giants. Yes, the Giants. I was able to conceal my true loyalties while at Scottsdale Stadium for Spring Training. (All though when I graduate, my loyalties will be with whomever shows me the money.)

There is a plethora of topics to talk about in the wide world of sports right now and I’m foaming at the mouth. Between March Madness, Opening Day and the NBA Western Conference playoffs, I don’t know what to do.

Let’s start with college basketball. This might very well be the best Final Four of all time. For the first time in the history of the tournament, four number one seeds made the final four. Chalk! If you were one of the lucky ones to have all four in your bracket, then you are sitting pretty right now. I did go all chalk this year for the first time ever and it has worked out thus far. I took Kansas to win it all, so if they beat North Carolina, I will win my bracket of 30 people. I think that Kansas is the most balanced team and don’t look to much into the Davidson game, because Davidson was one of the hottest teams in the country and if they would of played UCLA then they would of been in the Final Four. Speaking of Davidson, how about the school paying for their students to go to the game in Detroit? That is one of the coolest things I have heard in a long time. I wish Arizona State would do that for its students…oh wait, they have to make the tourney first. Stupid committee. If I could go back and re-pick, I might be temped to take Memphis. Rose is the best player in the Final Four and Memphis looks like a NBA team, kinda like Larry Johnson and the Running Rebels of UNLV of the early 90s. As long as the Tar Heals don’t win, it’s all good. My prediction is the Kansas will beat their old coach Roy Williams and Memphis is too much for UCLA. Since I took Kansas in my bracket, I will stick with them to take the trophy back to Lawrence, KS.

Next up is the NBA playoffs, particularly the Western Conference. Boston and Detroit should fight it out for the Eastern Conference and the Cleveland LeBron’s will be on the outside looking in. It’s the wild wild west that is interesting and no team is safe. Thank god that David Stern increased the first round to seven games. This is the year that if a one or two seeded team loses to a seven or eight seeded team, its not an upset. No more Nuggets over the Sonics or Warriors over the Mavs. A few weeks ago I was calling the Lakers the best team in the west, but when Pau Gasol got hurt and they lost to the Grizzlies, I changed my mind. The Spurs looked bad during their losing streak, but they have since turned the ship around and are in playoff form in the nick of time. Did anyone have any doubts? The Suns looked as if the Shaq trade would blow up in their face and that Steve Kerr would be looking for a new job before the season was over but, Stop the Press!!!! The Suns look as good as ever with the big fellow in the paint and will be able to challenge any team for the title. By the way, Shawn Marion is now out for the rest of the year with a foot injury. Teams that scare me the most being a Suns fan is the Jazz and the Hornets. The Suns just can’t beat those guys. They have in my opinion the two best point guards in the country with Williams and Paul. If the Hornets keep the one seed in the west, he should win the MVP. Just like Nash did three years ago. For me to say that those two are the best takes a lot being Nash is my boy. So my prediction for the NBA finals is a rematch of one of the best finals of all time. The Boston Celtics will play the Phoenix Suns, but the end result will be different. Larry Bird isn’t walking through that door so the Suns will win their first NBA title in the face of KG. I know I’m a homer.

Saving the best for last, Major League Baseball started this week and everything is good in the world. I say this week because I don’t count the Japan opening. Did anyone wake up at three o’clock in the morning to watch? I didn’t think so. This is my most anticipated season for me because the three teams I follow, Diamondbacks, Tigers and Dodgers, have a great chance at winning the World Series. They all have a solid lineup full of hitters and solid starting pitching. The one thing that sets the Dodgers aside from them is the bullpen. The pen could come to haunt the D-Backs and Tigers in their respected championship run. The season is young though so lets wait to see. Here are my predictions for the playoffs and series. In the American League, the Red Sox, Tigers and Mariners will win their divisions with the Indians taking the wild card. I got the Tigers in the World Series. Too much hitting and solid starting pitching will win you a ton of ballgames. In the National league, the Braves, Cubs and Dodgers will win their divisions and the D-Backs will take the wild card. I got the Dodgers in the World Series because they are the most balanced team in the league. The Dodgers do it all: they have speed at the top of the lineup with Furcal and Pierre, good power in the middle of the lineup Jones, Kemp and Kent, the best catcher in the game with Martin, with Jones patrolling out in center field and Furcal at shortstop, their defense is steller, with starting pitching that can go for days and a bullpen that won’t quit, the Dodgers will be tough to beat. Dodgers over the Tigers for the championship. I know I’m a homer. The MVPs will be Tigers’ third baseman Miguel Cabrera and the D-Backs center fielder Chris Young. Young is the real deal out in Phoenix and there will not be a sophomore slump for this guy. The Cy Young winners will be Brad Penny and Justin Verlander. Penny always starts off strong but dwindles off at the end of the year. This is the year for him, especially since Joe Torre is his manager. Championship!!

Sun Devil baseball is #1

It’s that time of year, when you can hear the “ping” of the aluminum bats. College baseball is starting this weekend for USA TODAY/ESPN No.1 ranked Arizona State Sun Devils as they take on Miami (Ohio), No.6 Vanderbilt and two-time defending College World Series champion No.11 Oregon State. Packard Stadium in Tempe will host the DeMarini Invitational Friday through Sunday. The Devils play No.18 Michigan Wolverines on Thursday night at Packard.

The Devils are going to have a tough season this year. Not that they are going to struggle, because they’re not. It’s just that they are in arguably the best conference in college baseball. The Pac-10 is loaded this year with teams that can go the distance. USA TODAY/ESPN has Sun Devil arch rivals the Arizona Wildcats at No.5 and Oregon State Beavers at No.11. UCLA is ranked No.17. UCLA is ranked much higher in other polls in the country.

The Devils have a solid team returning in 2008 led by the Pac-10 Player of the Year Brett Wallace (.404, 16 HR, 78 RBI). Wallace is making the move to 3B from 1B to free up the outfield. Playing 1B this year will be Ike Davis (.349, 61 RBI). Catcher Petey Paramore (.379, 52 RBI) is one of the clubhouse leaders and one of the best catchers in college baseball. Designated Hitter Kiel Roling (.356, 15 HR, 63 RBI) adds great pop in the middle of a devastating lineup.

The Devils are returning two of their best pitchers from last season. The ace of the rotation LHP Josh Satow (13-2, 2.76, 119 K in 133 innings) is returning for his senior year to help the Devils win another national championship. RHP Mike Leake (13-2, 3.69) is the No.2 starter this year.

Head Coach Pat Murphy is entering his 14th season with the Devils and has his team ready to travel to Omaha for the College World Series for the third time in four years. Coach Murphy told the Arizona Republic “We don’t care about other people’s expectations,” Murphy said Tuesday. “Our expectations are very high. The fact other people have flipped on such high expectations is really due to the excitement that these guys coming back have caused.”

Book your plain tickets and reserve your seats in Rosenblatt Stadium, because the Devils will return to the College World Series in 2008.

Pitchers and Catchers Report!

For most MLB teams, pitchers and catchers are going to report to spring training today. It is here, Spring Training is among us. Before we can say “blueberry pancakes” we will be watching our national pastime. The smell of the grass and the sun on your face. Is there nothing better?

The Phoenix metro area and Tucson are host to several teams. The biggest draw in town is the Chicago Cubs out at Hohokam Stadium in Mesa. It has been referenced as the Wrigley of the west. Scottsdale stadium, host of the San Fransisco Giants, is arguably the best venue in the Cactus League. Located in Downtown Scottsdale, there is plenty to do before, during and especially after the game. There are a few really nice sport complexes in the west side of the Valley and down in Tucson that are host to two teams. The Peoria Sports Complex host the Seattle Mariners and the San Diego Padres, Surprise Stadium host the Texas Rangers and the Kansas City Royals and Tucson Electric Park that host the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Chicago White Sox.

My favorite part of Spring Training is going to a game and sitting on the outfield lawn. This is the essence of Spring Training. There is an abundance of people watching, sun bathing, hot dog eating and beer drinking fun. Good Times.

Even though the games don’t mean anything in the standings, they are a lot of fun for the fans to go watch players trying to make the team. Go out there see a few games.

Sun Devils Two – Wildcats Zero

I don’t know if you caught the game on Sunday, but the Arizona State Sun Devil’s basketball team completed the regular season sweep of the mighty Wildcats down in Tucson. The cows have come home. The crowd was cheering “JC” in reference to Arizona’s head football coach Mike Stoops statements that ASU is a junior college. Well, I guess U of A just lost to a “JC” team, twice. Too bad Lute Olsen had to miss all this. Maybe Olsen would of shown Stoops some class. (I don’t see Stoops at U of A for too much longer.)

The game was really a two player game. The Wildcats star guard Jerryd Bayless scored 39 of the teams 54 points (72%). The Sun Devil’s star forward scored 29 of the teams 59 points (49%).

In an earlier blog I wrote that it was about time that the Sun Devils had a good basketball program. Ok, maybe I spoke too soon. The Devils lost their next five games in a row. Three of the five were to top-25 teams. (Stanford, Washington State and UCLA) If the Devils can split their next eight games before the Pac-10 tournament, then they should go the the big dance in March. The Pac-10 should send at least 6 teams to the tournament and right now the Devils are in fifth place. Let’s see how the Devils play Stanford on Thursday.

Sunday, Bloody Sunday

Now that football is over, I mean who cares about the Pro Bowl when there’s no blitzing, so now I have to focus my attention on working on my golf swing. And since I have been trying to perfect my game for the last 13 years and I’m still a 13 handicap, 13 years from now I will be a scratch golfer, maybe. So what should I focus on now that football is over. Have no fear sport fans, March Madness is right around the corner, the NBA is starting to get interesting and I can already smell the fresh cut grass of spring training. Pitchers and catchers please report!

Lets talk basketball for a second – the western conference is wide open this year with about six teams that could go to the Finals. San Antonio Spurs are the defending champs and still play the best defense in the west. The Phoenix Suns have the best record in the west and now have Shaq to help them win their first championship. The Dallas Mavericks have the MVP with Dirk and an owner willing to pay whatever it takes to win. The Los Angeles Lakers made a huge trade for Pau Gosal and when Bynum comes back from injury, they could very well be the favorites. The New Orleans Hornets have been the biggest surprise in the NBA this year and Chris Paul could be the MVP. The Utah Jazz have one of the best floor generals with Deron Williams who led them to the Western Conference Finals last year. My opinion is a biased one…I’ll take the Suns. Shaq might not be what he used to be, but he has that locker room presence that could lift any ball club. Also, they have the best point guard with Steve Nash and the best power forward with Amare Stoudemire. The western conference playoffs will be exciting to watch.

Keep your eyes open for more blogging about spring training and March Madness from me in the future.

USA vs. Mexico

Did anyone catch the “friendly” last night when Mexico’s national team traveled to Houston to take on their arch rivals, the US national team. What a game! There is nothing friendly about when the Americans and Mexicans get together on the pitch. Don’t get me wrong, both teams play with a lot of pride, honor and class. Sometimes I will some heated word exchanges and some pushing and shoving, but at the end of the game you can tell both sides respect each other.

Let me just say this though, the non-goal from Clint Dempsey WAS a goal. The refs called offsides yet Dempsey was behind at least two Mexican players when the ball went into the net. The game ended in a 2-2 tie and that non-goal should of been the difference. With that said, both teams played great and beyond my expectations.

There were a sell out last night at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas of 70,000 plus. Last year when the game was played in Glendale, Arizona, there were more than 62,000 at that game. (I was there and I lost my voice) The announcers for last nights broadcast on ESPN2 said that the game had a World Cup feel. The crowd was about 80% Mexican fans, just like it was in Glendale.

There is a lot to be excited about with the US national team. They have oodles of young talent and enough veterans to be a thorn in any teams side for years to come. Players like midfielder Landon Donovan and goalkeeper Tim Howard are great leaders who these youngsters can look up to.

The US national team’s young talent is for real. Keep your eyes on striker Josmer Altidore. This kid is 18 year-old and he is incredible. Altidore got his first international goal with the big boys last night and looked good against a strong Mexican team. Altidore played the whole game and got a lot of good experience. Freddy Adu played a little, but he wasn’t much of a factor in this game. The coaches son Michael Bradley and Benny Feilhaber control the ball really well in the midfield position and will be good for a long time. Defender and captain Carlos Bocanegra along with Oguchi Onyewu play great defense. This is a good team and I expect them to do much better in the World Cup in 2010 in South Africa.

Can You Dig It?

The Phoenix Suns are in the process of bringing one of the best centers in NBA history to their team. If Shaquille O’Neil can pass his physical, then he will be traded to the Suns for Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks.

I don’t know if this is a good idea or a bad idea. Can Shaq run with the Suns? Can Shaq at the age of 36 still compete at the highest level to win a championship? Is he healthy enough to be a factor in the playoffs?

All of these questions will need to be answered. I think that this could be the what the Suns need to get to the NBA Finals. Shaq has four rings and wants a fifth. He brings leadership and someone who can match-up with Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs and twin towers of Pau Gosal and Andrew Bynum of the Los Angeles Lakers. This could be a good move for the Suns or it will blow up in their face. Let’s hope that Shaq is healthy and that he is the missing link.

I think the Suns were fine, because if it wasn’t for Robert Horry and Tim Donaghy the Suns would of won the championship last year. If this trade happens then Amare would move to the power forward position were he is more effective. Grant Hill and Boris Diaw will play the small forward position and Bell and Barbosa will share the two guard spot. I’m will be glad to see Banks go so that the Suns can utilize D.J. Strawberry as the back-up point guard. Let’s see how this all goes down.

The Greatest Day EVER!!!

When I woke up this morning, I felt like I once did when I would wake up on Christmas morning and I would run down the stairs, nearly breaking my neck looking at all the presents. It’s here, it’s hear…Super Bowl Sunday with a sprinkle (no pun intended) of FBR OPEN! Today is the day I look forward to all year, more so than my birthday and Halloween combined. Today, if you live in the Phoenix area, is what a lot of guys call “their Valentines Day.” How do you beat a day at the most attended and craziest golf tournament on the PGA, and top it all off with the most watched American sporting event, the Super Bowl.

What makes today so special is not only is the golf tournament here, but so is the Super Bowl! No, I’m not going to the game and I don’t care. Super Bowl parties are the best anyways and I’m going to see the game with good friends on a TV the size of a wall. So here is my prediction to what I’m going to see during the day’s festivities:
I will see J.B. Holmes hold on to his lead and win his second FBR Open in three years.
I will see a lot drunken maniacs at the 16th hole for sure.
I will see so much neck-breaking hotness it won’t even be funny. Move over SoCal, the weather isn’t the only thing hotter in Phoenix.
I will see someone “accidentally” pick up a live ball and then drop it and act coy.
I will see about three people I know or have partied with. Good times. My friend will see 23 people she knows or has partied with.
I will absolutely see the lefty Phil Mickelson and I will hear for sure some “Phil” chants…and some “ASU”…and some other chants that I can’t repeat.
I will no doubt see the Buick towel give-a-way girl under the bridge on my way out.
I will see the garbage in the walkway this year. (Inside joke)
I will see a lot of golf claps at the 10th green and a lot more yells and cries over the hill at the dynamic 16th hole.
I will see someone slip and fall on their ass because of the slick grass, and it’s raining.
Later tonight watching the Super Bowl I will see Tom Brady head-butt his linemen.
I won’t see sleeves on Belichick’s sweatshirt.
I will see Phoenix’s own Jordin Sparks sing her heart out as she sings the National Anthem.
I will see a coin flip and I might bet on it too. Heads!
I will see Tom Petty’s halftime show…no, probably not, because I never watch the halftime show. Dammit Janet!
I will see the Patriots win and go down as the best football team ever and it pains me to say that.
I will see lots of touchdowns, because it’s raining in Phoenix and the roof of the stadium will be closed.
I will see lots and lots of new and very expensive commercials that can sometimes be better than the game.
I will see 20 Bud Light and Pepsi commercials.
I will go on the internet and see the Go Daddy commercial with Scottsdale’s very own Danica Patrick on a Scottsdale based company’s ad. All this because of a beaver?
I will see some beers handed to me throughout the day and after the game I will see the back of my eyelids.
I hope you enjoy your day as much as I will. Good night, and wish me luck.

Wow, that’s annoying!

Is it me, or is the music that is played while NBA games are being played annoying to anyone? I was at the Phoenix Suns game last night and found myself a little annoyed. It was like this: As Steve Nash moved the offense up the court the load speakers are blaring Joey Ramone’s voice saying “Hey, Ho, Let’s Go” over and over and over and over. I can understand playing old school themes from back in the day, but not on every possession. What happened to hearing the squeak of the sneakers or actually hearing the players communicate on the court? Does the NBA think that this is keeping peoples attention or selling tickets? I have no idea why the NBA does this but it’s annoying. The NBA should do what the Major League Baseball does and play the “organ” in between the action. Could you imagine hearing “We will, we will, rock you” while a pitcher is in mid-pitch? People go to the game to watch the game, not to hear hand-picked sound bites. I pledge to the NBA to stop this ridiculousness!

The Suns struggle against bad teams

The Phoenix Suns have the most wins in the Western C0nference with 32 and have beaten some of the best teams in the league like the San Antonio Spurs and the Los Angeles Lakers. The Suns have lost to some of the worst teams in the league as well. They have lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves twice and have loses to the Miami Heat and the Atlanta Hawks.

The Suns have also lost two games to the New Orleans Hornets who are one of the most surprising teams in the league, but don’t tell that to there young phenom point guard Chris Paul. The Hornets remind me of the Utah Jazz from last year. The Jazz owned the Suns in first few times they played last year, kind of like the way the Hornets have owned the Suns this year. The Suns blew-out the Jazz the last time they played last year, so lets hope history repeats its self and the Suns can beat the Hornets the next two times they play in February.

The Suns have some work to do before the playoffs start and one thing they have to improve on is rebounding, especially offensive rebounding. But lets not push the panic button yet because there is still a lot of season to play and for teams like the Suns and Spurs, two teams picked to win it all, the regular season is kind of meaningless. I feel the coach D’Antoni will have the Suns ready to play in the playoffs no matter what seed they get or who their opponent is.