New Power Rankings!

I have new Power Rankings set up at:

http://360sportsjam.wordpress.com/2009/10/28/nfl-week-7-power-rankings/

Once Again

I link you to my sports blog:

http://360sportsjam.wordpress.com/2009/10/26/nba-preview-post/

I’m going to keep doing this…

Here is another sports post of mine:

http://360sportsjam.wordpress.com/2009/10/26/schedule/

2009-10 NFL Preview

‘Twas the night before football and all through the house,

Not a creature was stirring, not even a fantasy football-exhausted computer mouse,

The father and sons slept with dreams of footballs in their heads,

The remotes were cleaned and the TV was shined,

Extra batteries by their chairs, chips and burgers smelled divine,

When all of a sudden… “Bwoooooooop”,

Power outage! Wait, it was just a dream. Well, here we are once again. The start of another amazing football season. A chance for the slate to be wiped clean. (I bet the Detroit Lions couldn’t wait.) And once again it’s time for my NFL Preview Post “Fake studio applause”. I’m your host, thisoldsoul.

AFC East: I will take the Patriots here. They would have won the division last year, had it not been for Tom Brady’s injury. The Jets, Dolphins, and Bills just can’t contest this year. Possible wild card for 1 of those 3.

AFC North: This will be contested between the Steelers and Ravens. The Bengals will fight valiantly but lose out, and the Browns will acknowledge another poor season. Steelers will most likely win, with Ravens being in the lead for a wild card.

AFC South: Titans vs. Colts here, with the Jaguars and Texans slipping in here and there.  Tough call but whatever team doesn’t win the division will win a wild card. Best guess: Titans. Texans may have a possible wild card.

AFC West: Plain and simple: Chargers. They may be slightly contested by the Broncos, but the Chiefs and Raiders will not even pose a threat.

AFC Wild Cards:  Colts and Ravens.

NFC East:  Quite possibly the strongest division in the NFL at this point. I will take the Giants here with Eagles and Cowboys, and quite possibly the Redskins in wild card contention.

NFC North: I’ll take the Packers, with the Vikings and Bears lurking in the wild card and possible division contention again. The Lions should pop champagne if they get one win, celebrate by going out to eat if there are two, and if they win three, they should sit around and just stare in amazement. Give them a clap. Or two if they deserve it.

NFC South: Falcons will most likely win, but Buccaneers, Panthers, and Saints should all contend also. Expect those four to fight to the finish.

NFC West: Flat out Cardinals here. Rams, Seahawks and 49ers will not even contend for anything. Except possibly first pick in next year’s draft.

NFC Wild Cards: Eagles and Vikings.

AFC Championship: Patriots over the Steelers. (Sorry, pal.)

NFC Championship: Eagles over the Giants.

Super Bowl: Patriots over the Eagles.

No Reaction

We’re just past the halfway point of the Washington Nationals’ baseball season and they are not doing that bad. Their record is 37-72. Not bad*. They are only 25.5 games out from the division leaders the Philadelphia Phillies and 23.5 games out from the wild card spot.

They have been playing better lately, after getting a new manager by the name of Jim Riggleman, who is being called the interim manager. He replaced Manny Acta on July 12 and the team has recently gone on a few hot winning streaks including one recent and still going as of this writing. This is a five game winning streak, which began with two wins over the Pirates, and then their first sweep of the year, over the Marlins. The Nationals have displayed a series of comebacks lately, contrary to their  bullpen’s “ability” to lose games in the late going.

Hopefully their success will continue into next year and we’ll have some good divisional competition from the Nationals.

Coming soon: A look at the 2009-10 Redskins season and a new chapter of my book!

*Sarcasm Invoked Here.

March Madness Elite Eight Recap!

The Elite Eight is over and the Final Four consists of these 4 teams. Michigan State, Villanova, North Carolina, and Connecticut. My picks went three of 4 with the lone wrong pick being Michigan State’s defeat of Louisville, 64-52. Villanova upset Pittsburgh (which I picked) 78-76. North Carolina rolled over Oklahoma 72-60, and Connecticut beat Missouri in a close one, 82-75.

On Saturday, the Final Four begins with Michigan State taking on Connecticut, and Villanova taking on North Carolina.

On Thursday I’ll reveal my Final Four picks!

March Madness Elite 8 Picks

Here are my picks for the Elite 8 games.

Saturday:

East:

Villanova upsets Pittsburgh by at least 5.

West:

Connecticut over Missouri in either close match or blowout, not in between.

Sunday:

Midwest:

Louisville beats Michigan State in non-thriller. Nothing spectacular.

South:

North Carolina defeats Oklahoma easily.

Monday; be here for a recap of the weekend’s games and Tuesday, picks for the Final Four.

March Madness Sweet 16 Recap

Well, the Sweet 16 is over, and my picks went five out of eight. My wrong picks were Xavier over Pittsburgh, Kansas and Michigan State, and Duke over Villanova. Pitt, MS, and Vill won those three.

The Elite 8 has:

Midwest:

Louisville vs. Michigan State.

East:

Pittsburgh vs. Villanova

West:

Connecticut vs. Missouri

South:

North Carolina vs. Oklahoma

That is your ‘09 Elite 8.

March Madness Sweet 16 Picks!

Alright, we are down to only 16 teams left in this tournament and here are my picks to make it to the Elite 8!

Midwest:

Louisville over Arizona in a tense battle. Kansas squeaks it out over Michigan State.

East:

Xavier upsets Pittsburgh in a low-scoring match but Xavier’s defense wins it. Duke  beats Villanova in a tense contest.

West:

Connecticut easily beats Purdue. Missouri beats Memphis in a thriller.

South:

North Carolina rolls over Gonzaga. Oklahoma over Syracuse.

On either Friday night or Saturday morning I’ll write again for my reactions and my Elite 8 picks!

2009 American League Preview

Welcome back to the baseball previews for this season. Remember, I’m your host, thisoldsoul, and —– what? No, I have not recently taken steroids, Your Honor. Dang, those guys are everywhere.

Without further ado, here are my picks for the American League:

AL East

1. New York Yankees

2. Tampa Bay Rays

3. Boston Red Sox

4. Toronto Blue Jays

5. Baltimore Orioles

AL Central

1. Chicago White Sox

2. Minnesota Twins

3. Cleveland Indians

4. Kansas City Royals

5. Detroit Tigers

AL West

1. LA Angels

2. Oakland Athletics

3. Texas Rangers

4. Seattle Mariners

 

My wild card pick is the Rays. Tomorrow or Saturday, I will post my predictions for the playoffs and who I think will win the World Series!