The Problem With Premature Super Bowl Predictions

So the lockout has been lifted in the NFL and we already have the match-up for the Super Bowl. Patriots vs. Eagles. Sorry everyone else, but the season is over.Well, at least that is what ESPN and others are boldly predicting.

The problem with their prediction is that they seem to have forgotten something.

With many assuming that these teams will be representing their conferences in the Super Bowl, one would think that both of the teams have shown promise in the playoffs in recent years. Actually, the Patriots haven’t won a playoff game since the ‘07-’08 campaign and the Eagles haven’t won one since ‘08-09.

Yeah, these teams are clear-cut favorites.

Oh and here is another thing the media is conveniently forgetting: the two teams that were in the Super Bowl last year.

Anyone who says that the Packers are not the early season favorite to win the Super Bowl must have missed the 2010 season, or they are just foolish. So the Packers have all of their core returning, have one of the best QB’s in the game, and showed with their remarkable playoff run last year that they are the best in the NFL, but somehow they are not the favorite.

And then you have Pittsburgh. The Steelers have quarterback Ben Roethlisberger back for a full season this year and still have All Pro defensive talents in James Harrison and Troy Polamalu. They have won 2 Super Bowls in the time period since the Patriots won their last Super Bowl, and came close last season. How you can count out a team with a winning pedigree like Pittsburgh is borderline insanity.

Then of course you have teams that have actually won playoff games in the past years. The Colts and Saints are only 2 years removed from the Super Bowl and are definitely a threat come postseason, despite early exits last year. The Falcons and their dynamic offense will be ready to go again, and the NY Jets have played in the AFC Championship two years in a row, not to mention their playoff beatdown of the Patriots last season.

So why are the Eagles and the Patriots favorites?? Clearly they must have made bold off-season moves.

The Philadelphia Eagles have much more reason to claim that they are the team to beat. Signing Nnamdi Asomugha and trading for Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie createsthe best 3 cornerback tandem possibly ever, in addition to Asante Samuel.
Having Michael Vick coming into the season as the starting QB and likely retaining star wide receiver DeSean Jackson will lead to another year of great offense. If the argument was for whom is the favorite in the NFC East, I’d definitely agree with the Eagles as the choice. The only problem is that the team needs to prove it can win a postseason game in the post-Mcnabb era before I am willing to say they are a “dream team”.

The Patriots defense last season was the team’s glaring weakness, and as Jets’ linebacker Bart Scott put it, “They couldn’t even stop a nosebleed”. Surely the Patriots must’ve made tons of upgrades on defense.

Well, uhm, yeah. They signed a big fat dude!


Yep Fat Albert Haynesworth is coming to New England to save the day.¤.¤. or maybe to eat a hotdog. Washington fans are happy to never see this guy put on a Redskin jersey again, and although talented, he truly does not care about football. I don’t care who Belichick is; he can’t save this guy.

And then you have the incredibly overrated Chad Ochocinco. Chad is a brilliant man, managing to manipulate the media into thinking he is still a relevant receiver by having a reality show, driving NASCAR, trying out for the MLS, and riding a bull. Unfortunately his skills have deteriorated and he is not even the Pats best receiver (Wes Welker). There has never been so much hype around a non #1 receiver and Chad figures to be average at best. Plus, you know he will only be able to live the “Patriot Way” for a few weeks, and then he will want all the spotlight on himself.

The Patriots and the Eagles are both very good teams, and have the potential to win their conferences and maybe even the Super Bowl. But it is way too premature and very foolish to crown champs long before the season started, especially when neither of these teams is the defending champion. The Packers are the team to beat and will be until they are eliminated from the playoffs.

Sorry Pats and Eagles, you will have to prove yourselves in January.

MLS All Star Game Shows US Soccer Still Far Away

The United States has been trying to convince the World that they are an up-and-coming soccer nation destined to contend with the big boys on the international scene. If last Wednesday’s MLS All Star game was any indication of how far the United States still has to go, the US still has a ways to go.

The MLS All Star game is a twist on the usual conference vs. conference type of game. Rather the league took its top stars and faced them against the legendary Manchester United club.

This seemed like a good idea for many reasons.

First, the MLS is certainly lacking in star-power. Outside of Thierry Henry and David Beckham, the casual soccer fan would have had a hard time recognizing many of the players in the game. Adding another squad of MLS “stars” to have a face-off would have just been a match of anonymity.
And then of course you grab much interest by having Manchester United, the second best club in the world, coming to play in the US. Fans love the opportunity to see World-Class players such as Wayne Rooney, Rio Ferdinand, and Dimitir Berbatov.

All of this sounds great right? Well not exactly.

MLS players simply cannot compete with a team like Manchester United. It is a little unfair to say this, because the All Stars had not previously played together, and the core of Manchester United has been together for years. Still, the difference in the game was more than just chemistry issues.

Former Arsenal legend and current Red Bull striker Thierry Henry created quite the buzz when he came over from Europe to play for New York in 2010. However, after watching him match-up against defensemen like Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic, it is clear why Henry left Europe for NY, and it has nothing to do with the bright lights. He is old and his skills have faded. Sadly, Henry was the worst player on the field for either squad and only played one half.

David Beckham was the biggest celebrity in the game, and proved he still had something left in the tank, but too many times players deferred to him. In the 7th minute, Mexican striker Omar Bravo had a great opportunity as he appeared in on goal, but instead chose to pass the ball backwards to Beckham, who shot wide.


The most alarming issue revolving around the game was the attitudes of those involved in American soccer. This includes MLS officials, event coordinators, and most of all fans.

Now this event was at Red Bull Arena and some crazy pre-game antics were expected.

Having two guys parachute out of an airplane into the stadium: cool.
Fireworks going off during the national anthem: somewhat cool.
Fireworks going off during the entire national anthem: borderline disrespectful.
Having two separate announcers give the starting lineups for each squad: starting to get annoying.
A juggling player to give the game ball: Now I'm bored

This wasn’t the Super Bowl, there were about 25,000 at the stadium, all of which wanted to watch soccer, “the beautiful game”, not all of these shenanigans.

Then we have fans chanting “USA, USA”. Meanwhile around half of the MLS All Stars were not even American. Fail. Fans seemed even more confused when a ball was booted into the crowd, and a fan threw the ball back onto the field after a new ball had already been put in play. And then to further distinguish the class of the American fan, fans chanted “You suck asshole” following goal kicks taken by Manchester United.

American fans constantly ask for the respect of the international community, yet we have certain fans mocking the world’s most popular game. Not a good way to garner respect.


US soccer is in a state of limbo, as it is not ready to take the step to an elite program, but is far from an afterthought. Despite the firing of Bob Bradley for a German, Jurgen Klinsmann, the country still has a ways to go.

As seen in the MLS All Star Game, most of the US’s top talent are not playing in our own league, and the few that are playing domestically looked drastically overmatched against top-tier talent.

The United States has the athletes and resources available to create an outstanding men’s soccer team, but it would require a change in culture. Our domestic league, although improving, is not up to par with that of Europe. Soccer is still far behind of football and basketball and baseball in popularity. In the end, the money isn’t there to attract top players and youths to pursue a career in American soccer.

Unfortunately that is what it comes down to. Klinsmann will improve the squad, players like Henry and Beckham will generate interest in the MLS, but until our soccer players are making big money, the US will not be able to compete for international competitions.

The Overrated Antonio Cromartie

In the NFL, it is hard to live off of one great season, as contracts are not guaranteed. Somehow though, cornerback Antonio Cromartie is receiving recognition as a game-changing cornerback, when in reality he hasn’t had a great season since 2007.

2007 was an incredible year for Antonio Cromartie. He started only 8 games, but managed to rack up an amazing 10 interceptions that year. Cromartie would be named to the Pro Bowl and was 1st Team All Pro. Since that season, his on-field production hasn’t exactly remained steady.


A stat like 10 interceptions is hard to replicate, but in 3 seasons since 2007 (2 with San Diego, 1 with NY Jets), Cromartie has combined for a total of 8 interceptions. That is less than three interceptions per season and just plain mediocre.

Also add to the equation that Cromartie played across from the best cornerback in the NFL in 2010, in Darelle Revis. With seemingly no quarterback wanting to even test Revis, Cromartie was often targeted, and never consistently held coverage.

And then we bring in the off-the-field issues.

Antonio has never been seen as a role model since his playing days at Florida State. In 2009, Cromartie was arrested for an altercation at a bar that had him allegedly throwing a bottle of champagne at someone’s head. In 2010, the NY Jets appeared on HBO’s “Hard Knocks” and Cromartie baffled viewers as he struggled to remember the names of his children. Then before facing Tom Brady and the Patriots in the playoffs, Cromartie went on to call Brady an asshole before saying, “"F#$k him”.

So with poor production during the last 3 seasons and off-field concerns, why is Cromartie’s name frequently thrown in with the top defensive players available.

Cromartie is a free agent and has already specified that he will not be giving the Jets a “hometown discount”.

The Jets should reply, “Thank you”.

The Jets owe Cromartie nothing and can search for more affordable options at cornerback. The Jets have more urgent priorities to address this off-season including the resigning of wide receiver Santonio Holmes and linebacker David Harris. The Jets drafter cornerback Kyle Wilson with their first round pick in 2010 and although his rookie season was far from promising, it would make sense if they wanted to save money at the position, especially with the highly-paid Revis on the opposing side.

If Cromartie doesn’t want to take a discount to play with an elite team in the NFL, then let him walk.

Fortunately for Cromartie, he will get paid, and paid nicely by some team. This team will likely be another one of those teams whom seems to spend money in all the wrong places every season. You know, the Redskins, Cowboys, Dolphins, and other teams who seem to get stuck with bad contracts.

Cromartie is a good corner, but he is very far from elite. At the right price, he is a valuable asset to a team. But he is not worth the big bucks.

2 Terrible Central Divisions

We often hear how the media on the East and West Coast is creating a bias that forgets about sports in the middle of America. Well if baseball teams had a problem with this, they certainly aren’t showing it, as the NL and AL Central divisions are exhibiting some of the worst play in the league and are truly wide-open.

The NL Central has been a division controlled by the Cardinals over the past decade. With the Cincinnati Reds surprising most by winning the division in 2010, and with the Brewers adding key pieces to the roster, much was expected from the Top 3 teams in this division. However, the NL Central has been filled with a plethora of injuries, miscues, and under-performing.

First, we will quickly cast-off the Houston Astros, as most fans cannot name 5 players (Hunter Pence, Carlos Lee.¤.¤.???). To put it simply, the Astros are a joke. Then you take the Cubs, and we all know about the Cubs. It’s been a long time since they won a World Series, and they continue to be hampered by bad contracts like Alfonso Soriano and Kosuke Fukudome. Without a plan as to where they are going, the Cubs will continue to be the lovable losers for a time to come.

Now, onto the supposed top 3.

The Milwaukee Brewers made a few splashes in the off-season, acquiring pitchers Shaun Marcum and former Cy Young award winner Zack Greinke, via trades. The two combined are 15-6, but Greinke’s ERA of 5.06 isn’t fooling anybody. Recently the team traded for Mets closer Francisco Rodriguez and will help close games for Milwaukee with John Axford. Despite all this, an MVP-caliber season from Prince Fielder, and another All-Star season from Ryan Braun, the Brewers are only 5 games over .500 and are battling a top the division.

Who are they battling with? Not last year’s division-champion Cincinnati Reds, who sit at 47-50 and have even resorted to using Dontrelle Willis (who knew he was still around?) as a starter this year. Joey Votto and Jay Bruce have provided the club with solid offensive production, but the pitching staff has been more then iffy. Volquez, Wood and Arroyo all have ERA’s over 5 and veteran closer Francisco Cordero has shown signs of age. The Reds have the talent to contend, but are cruising well below expectations in 2011.

The Cardinals have the best player in baseball, Albert Pujols, and despite star pitcher Adam Wainwright not pitching this season, and many other injuries occurring during the season, including Pujols, the Cardinals are still fighting for the division lead. Pitching Coach Dave Duncan and manager Tony LaRussa are two of the best coaches in the game and will always have this team contending.

Still, the most telling reason for why this division stinks is that the Pittsburgh Pirates are in first place. Yes, the same Pirates who haven’t had a winning season since 1992. Now you can sit there and try to tell me that Andrew McCutchen is a great player, and that the Pirates have built this team over the years, but the truth is the Pirates still really aren’t that good. Their pitching staff is incredibly mediocre, with names like Kevin Correia spotlighting the staff. Despite some talent, the Pirates have no business being in a division race this late in the season, and the NL Central is just awful. Sure the Pirates are a feel-good story, but they should not be leading a division in the second half of the season. Especially a division of 6 teams!
Now on to the AL Central, which has is seemingly going to be won by default by the Detroit Tigers.

The Tigers have one of the best pitchers in the AL in Justin Verlander, and the offense is filled with many talented veteran bats including Miguel Cabrera, Victor Martinez, and Magglio Ordonez. Yet despite all this, the team finds themselves at 51-45. This team is certainly the favorite to win the division, but some more consistency is going to be needed.

The Royals, well they suck.

The Twins have somehow managed to battle in the division every year, despite a less-than-decent pitching rotation and 2 all-star bats. This year, the injuries have just caught up to them, with key injuries to Mauer and Morneau, not even the great Ron Gardenhire can pull this one out.

The White Sox are filled with veterans, and certainly should be at least a .500 team, if not contending for the division. But the team is playing sloppy and careless ball and manager Ozzie Guillen might be in his last season as skipper of the White Sox. I wouldn’t count this team out, but they need to get going, especially Adam Dunn.


And now to the Indians, a team similar to the Pittsburgh Pirates because no one saw this one coming. They are currently tied atop the division with the Tigers and it’s hard to figure out how. Grady Sizemore has been injured and bad, their closer is journeyman Chris Perez, and their top starter is Fausto Carmona. The only answer to how this is possible is that the division is terrible. The Indians jumped out to an incredibly fast start, having the best record in baseball for quite sometime. Since then reality has set in, and the team has come back to Earth. Still, they find themselves in contention, and with a few deadline deals, they could steal this division. Heck, why not?

Sure the MLB will promote these division races as exciting and great baseball, but the truth is, both of these divisions stink. Two of these teams will make the playoffs, but I don’t expect them to last much longer then that. They are all far from the level of the Yankees, Red Sox, Rangers, Phillies, Giants, and Braves and I expect to see the winner of the two Central divisions eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. Sorry to Middle America, but your baseball is terrible.

The ESPY Awards, Ugh

Oh the Espy Awards.

How everyone hates them but yet all sports fans end up watching them. Damn ESPN for placing upon us this dreadful show and placing it on the day of the year where there are no sports!! How can a sports fan resist this garbage.
I admit, the idea for the show isn’t that bad. They bring athletes from all sports together, mix in some celebrities, and its supposed to be a celebration of the year in sports. It is usually somewhat funny, with memorable hosting appearances by Justin Timberlake, Seth Meyers, and Jamie Foxx, but the awards themselves are truly what is horrendous.

There is almost no award on the show that is incredibly dumb and makes no sense.
Best NFL Player? Didn’t Tom Brady win the NFL MVP? Do you think Aaron Rodgers really cares that he was the ESPY award winner? Congrats on winning the award that should be better named "Best White Quarterback on a Successful NFL Team"

How about Best Team? Now ESPN asks us to compare all teams that have won championships, and say who the best team was. That makes no sense. How are the Dallas Mavericks better then the San Francisco Giants? The only way this determination could be made would be to rate each team’s success in its own sport, and as both were champions, they are therefore both the best. So instead the award goes to Dallas, who satisfied the nation the most by defeating LeBron James and the Heat. This award should be named "Best Team to defeat a hated team or "team that Least pissed off the nation"

There are some entertaining awards such as best game, best play, best upset, and the best breakthrough athlete.

It is just that the awards are often won based upon proximity to the ESPYs. A prime example is the US Women’s Soccer Team winning the ESPY for best play for their goal in the Women’s World Cup. The play was so recent that it didn’t even make the original ballot and was only added after a rush of fans pushed for its nomination. An event that recent is almost impossible to stop from winning.

As are the NFL and NBA. The NFL is the most popular league in the country, and the NBA season ends relatively close to the ESPY awards. This leads to most of the awards going to players/plays/teams in these two major sports.

The award show could be made more entertaining if it was made less.¤.¤.bland. How about awards for Best Uniforms, best pre-game ritual, funniest moment, and most quotable coach. Stuff like this is far more interesting and is far more humorous than the typical *best athletes awards.

So step it up ESPN. We know you are aware that the sports fan will still watch your show, but is there really anyone out there who cares which male college athlete is better. Because after all, if winning the Heisman and College Football Championship clearly doesn’t warrant the award (Cam Newton), then the award is truly stupid as is your show, and this outfit as well...

The Joke that is the MLB All Star Game

In the past 10 years, the MLB All Star game has gone from an exciting exhibition showcasing the game’s brightest stars to an over-hyped bore-fest featuring players that the average fan have probably never heard of.

Many will blame the tie in 2002 for the change in the attitude towards the All Star Game,others will blame Commissioner Bud Selig’s overreaction to that tie by making the following All Star Game determine home-field advantage in the World Series. However, what most don’t realize is that the winner of the All-Star Game (the AL in every year but 2010), would’ve had home field advantage anyway based upon a better record in every year except 2004. Although I agree both ideas were stupid and should have been avoided, there is a multitude of reasons why the MLB All Star Game is now garbage.
It is often noted that every team has to have a representative. This means even the lowly Astros, Orioles, Royals, and Padres will be sending a player to this year’s game. This also means that the AL roster has 14 guaranteed spots, while the NL has 16 guaranteed spots, giving the AL a clear advantage, offering less spots to players from terrible teams, and allowing more Yankees, Red Sox, etc. to be selected by the players and the managers. Normally a competitive advantage in an exhibition would be irrelevant, but “This one matters” now, so it the game has something riding on it, it should be fair.

This season there were 84 All Stars named, the most ever. This is due to the addition of more spots on the roster, player injuries, and many players not even caring about the game.

For just a 9-inning game, each squad has 35 players. 35 PLAYERS?!?! Why are there so many players, when you can only carry 25 in a regular season game? Fans want to see Adrian Gonzalez, Jose Bautista, Josh Hamilton and Prince Fielder play more than half of the game. Fans want to see closer Brian Wilson facing David Ortiz in the 9th inning of a tight ballgame. What they don’t want to see is Tyler Clippard facing Michael Cuddyer, or Alexi Ogando facing Starlin Castro. These matchups are a bore, and will turn fans off the TV.

And then there is the over-managing. So many pitchers mean many pitching changes, which means many calls to the bullpen, which means many commercials. BORING. This also means many crazy double-switches, and star players being substituted after only one at-bat.

Now we add in that players are simply deciding not to come. Reasons such as “soreness”, “exhaustion”, and “fatigue” really mean, “I don’t care”.
It’s sad to see Derek Jeter miss the All Star Game this season, after coming back from injury to get his 3000th hit in dramatic fashion at Yankee Stadium last weekend. His popularity would be at an all-time high and the All Star Weekend would have been a continuation of the celebration of Jeter’s career. Instead, Jeter chose to skip out on the festivities and not even reward the fans who somehow voted him ahead of more deserving candidates such as Asdrubal Cabrera, Jhonny Peralta, and seemingly every other AL shortstop. Why have a fan vote if the most popular players are allowed to just opt not to play.

Now there are always injuries, and that is not the fault of the MLB. Stars like Jose Reyes and Alex Rodriguez have recently went on the DL, but still these players should make an appearance and acknowledge the fans. This season, many star pitchers also pitched on the Sunday prior to the All-Star break, making them ineligible to pitch in the game and thus requiring a replacement. Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia is one of these pitchers, and despite being named to the team, he had already booked a trip to the Caribbean and will not be appearing in Arizona. Simply being unable to pitch is not an excuse to not come.

Fans want to see the best players, even if they just show their faces. Sure the game is not the same as when there was no inter-league play, or even before the times where every team could be seen on TV or internet and the ASG was the only time fans could see some of these players. However, the game is still for the fans, is still fun, and many people want to watch.

Therefore, we need to stop continually expanding the roster. It’s very annoying to hear about players being snubbed from the team when 10 percent of players in the league are being dubbed “all stars”. It’s very similar to NCAA Basketball analysts complaining about a team not receiving an invite into March Madness. There are 68 openings, if you can’t prove you belong, then you probably don’t. But that debate is for another time.

The All-Star game will still continue to generate fan interest, and Bud Selig is not killing the game of baseball. But we just need to make things simpler. The best players need to play, and play the whole game. Lesser players can be invited, but they do not have to be given playing time. Players will play for pride and put on a show for the fans, because that is all the ASG is, a show.

Let’s go back to the way it used to be and stop diluting it.

The Year of LeBron's Mistakes

July 8, 2010: a day that changed the landscape of the NBA for years to come.

It was the day that LeBron James announced his decision to leave Cleveland and to join forces with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, the day that created the BIG 3 and the day that would start the beginning of ESPN’s over-coverage of Miami and all things involving the Heat.

It still amazes me how people cannot hate LeBron James and often run to his defense. They say things like, “LeBron just wanted to win” and “At least he donated the money to charity for his TV show”.

All of these comments are garbage.

LeBron is a self-centered boy in a man’s body who seeks attention wherever he can get it.

Don’t get me confused, I do not care that he left Cleveland and went to Miami. It’s exactly how he carried himself that makes him completely worthy of all the criticism and “hate” he has received since.

In Cleveland, LeBron was a hero that quickly became arguably the most popular player in the NBA. He was able to take a cast of sub-par characters including the crazy-haired Anderson Varejao, the incredibly average Mo Williams, and the alleged mother lover Delonte West to 60 win seasons and deep playoff runs.

Of course, I never liked him. Whether it was the title “King James” or the throwing of powder before his games, or just his foolish looking smile, I never rooted for LeBron. Sitting and watching “The Decision”, I was very split on what I wanted James to choose. My team, the Knicks, could really use a star player like LeBron (who couldn’t) but something about him has always rubbed me the wrong way. I would have had no problem with him choosing to stay in Cleveland.

But that’s not what happened.

And this made me furious. What arrogant jerk thinks its OK to hold numerous teams (Chicago, NY, NJ, Clippers, Cavs, etc.) hostage until the second week of July, making it impossible for those teams to make any moves until then? The answer is LeBron James. Who thinks it’s a great idea to have a television show on ESPN to announce his decision, as if he is that important? Once again, Lebron James. Don’t give me the crap about how it was for charity; he could have easily written a check.

It’s amazing how another superstar, Kevin Durant, would tweet days later that he would be signing a contract extension to remain in Oklahoma City. Class act Kevin.

So jerseys were burned, every city that had planned for LeBron now hated him, and LeBron was quickly becoming less popular. There was clearly only one to solve this scenario:

Hold a celebration for the formation of the BIG 3 and then say it would be easy to win more then 7 championships. Congratulations LeBron, now everyone who didn’t hate you, now hates you. Well, except for those loyal Miami Heat fans. The fans so loyal that they let Dallas fans take up over 5,000 seats in a must-win Game 6 in the NBA Finals. Yep, those Miami fans, which will be quick to forget about the Heat if they don’t win in the next two years.
As the season began, the Heat struggled and fans and media were quickly to call this Big 3 project a bust. But the talent on the team is undeniable and LeBron and co. would turn the ship and lead the team to the NBA Finals.

And then came “The Cough”

As everyone in America rooted against the Heat, they made themselves even less likeable when LeBron and D-Wade produced fake coughs, mocking the Mavericks’ superstar Dirk Nowitzki. Immaturity showed once again, and James couldn’t even back up the mockery, as the Mavericks would win the NBA title in 6 games.

It has been very frustrating watching such a talented man bring all this attention to himself, only to fail.
There are many athletes who thrive on people disliking them, and enjoy playing the bad guy. LeBron has repeatedly choked under the spotlight, and this makes me wonder why he continues his antics to bring the spotlight on him. Sure the media would have covered Miami, but it was his childish antics that created a hate towards the Heat and James, and unfortunately for James, the nation got their way.

Don’t play the villain if you can’t deal with the hype surrounding yourself. Don’t say you are going to win 7 championships until you have won 6. All of these are common sense and until LeBron takes a look at himself and realizes he just needs to let his game do the talking and keep quiet, he will never be adored and cant win.

When the NBA does resume, he needs to make a decision to keep his mouth shut and just play basketball.