Can Cam keep the Panthers hungry?

 

The Carolina Panthers won their sixth straight game last night, defeating Tom Brady and the Patriots. Although all eyes are going to be on the last crucial play of the game, in which a flag initially thrown for pass intereference on the Panthers was picked up and waved off. However, I do not think this is the biggest topic at hand. The Panthers have quietly crept to a 7-3 mark, and have beaten perential powerhouses New England and San Francisco in each of the last two weeks. The Panthers now control their own destiny, leading the Wild Card race in the NFC, and trailing the 8-2 New Orleans Saints by only one game for the division lead. The Panthers also still have to play the Saints twice in the last 6 weeks of the season, which will make for some primetime football. Newton has been constantly criticzed since last season about his ability to lead a team to winning, and leading a team overall. The Carolina Panthers will be an exciting story to follow at the end of the 2013-2014 NFL season.



'Hail Mary' the Tigers Survive



Nick Marshall's 73-yard heave at the end of the Auburn versus Georgia this past weekend saved Auburn's bid for an undefeated season , and may go down as one of the greatest College Football plays of all-time. The desperation pass came with 25 seconds left in the, and with Auburn down 38-36. Louis pulled in the tipped ball which bounced off the hands of one Georgia defender. Some analysts have been calling this the greatest ever college football play and I would have to agree it's the best I have seen in my lifetime. Although I was not yet born for the Stanford versus Cal football game with the band storming the field. I think that with all the implications on the line, like Auburn was facing, this play single-handedly keeps Auburn in the SEC Championship hunt, as well as the National Championship hunt

The final 'Hail Mary' play on 4th and 18: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OeZA3EQs4s0

Slim Pickin's

Even though baseball just ended last week, teams are going to be looking to build-up or maintain their team for the 2014 season. With that in mind lets look at the top 50 free agents this winter that could be making a stop on your favorite team:

• 1-10
• Clearly Robinson Cano, the number one ranked free agent, will be the talk of the town this offseason, but who is willing to pay the tremendous contract that he feels he is due. With his newly signed agent, Jay-Z, Cano has seemed to of lost all concept of the value of a dollar. Cano was noted asking the Yankees for a 300 million dollar contract, which would top the 275 million that the Yankees are paying to A-Rod for only playing about 2 months worth of games. I understand being the best second baseman in the MLB, but is an athlete truly worth 300 million dollars?
• At number 2 on the list is another big-name bat from the AL East, Jacoby Ellsbury. In 134 games this year Ellsbury collected only 9 home runs, but was able to come up with 52 stolen bases and 92 runs scored. Also, Ellsbury had a higher batting average than his career average. Ellsbury is an instant centerfield upgrade for almost any team in the MLB, and he can even play either position in the corner outfield. However, red flags are raised about Ellsbury's health issues every year.
• Other notable players in the 3-10 rankings were Shin-Soo Choo, Brian McCann, and Matt Garza. The most interesting free agent out of those for me would be McCann. As a Mets fan I have seen McCann play very well against the NL East his entire career, so I wouldn't mind having him on my team or out of the NL East.

• 10-20
• The first time looking through this range of players, I noticed one name in particular that stood out, Carlos Beltran. The former Met, who I personally still root for, will look to test the free agent waters after not renewing with the Cardinals. Beltran may only be able to play a maximum of 120 games, but his bat can help any lineup from the 2 to the 6 spot. Also, with only being able to play 120 games, Beltran's defense may suffer a little because he cannot move as he used to. However, with the way Beltran has played in the past 2 postseason, he may have earned himself a contract on a contending-potential team this season.

• 20-50
• Although the rest of the names on the list consist of washed-up players, back-end rotation guys, and platoon hitters, there still are a couple names that could make an impact.
• Marlon Byrd, who seemed to defy his 30 year old age this postseason, has not been signed yet. Byrd, who was acquired by the Pirates from the Mets, became the second best hitter in a pretty potent lineup for Pittsburgh. Byrd, like Beltran, may be limited to the number of games he can play, but he can play all outfield positions as well as hit anywhere from 2-6 in the lineup.
• Two other big names on the list were relief pitcher and former Giants player, Brian Wilson, and outfielder/first baseman Corey Hart. Wilson is a power-arm out of the bullpen that throws high 90's, while distracting you with his beard. Hart, a former consistent all-star, also would be able to help most any team out with his defensive presence at a lot of positions. The only down fall for Hart has been his bat over the past two season, which could hurt how many looks he gets this Free Agency Period.

Johnson Wins HSBC Champions

Dustin Johnson outlasted Ian Poulter at Sheshan International golf course in China for perhaps the biggest win of his career thus far. Johnson has now won on each of his first seven season on the PGA Tour, but the most glaring statistic is his inability to win a Major. However, with this World Golf Championship win, will Johnson's play and confidence finally be strong enough to win a major. I guess you could say this is the question for every golfer. We all know Tiger Woods is constantly questioned about his confidence whenever he has a bad tournament, its part of the game of golf. This will make the 2014 PGA season interesting with Johnson's big win. A lot of young players made a splash on tour last year, so that will only strengthen the fields in all the tournaments during the season. Can Tiger get back to Major winning form, after winning six PGA events this past year? Or will and up and comer like Dustin Johnson or Brandt Snedeker finally break through for their first Major? And will young PGA tour talent like Jordan Spieth continue to win?

Minnesota's QB Fiasco

The Minnesota Vikings have started off the season at a miserable 1-7. This record is is only better than the 0-8 Buccaneers and Jaguars, who both have major issues as well. Questions have been raised basically all season after Christian Ponder failed to help the Vikings win a game in the first three weeks, with the team only losing by a combined fifteen points in those games. After Matt Cassel showed a glimpse of hope in the win of the Steelers in London, he goes out and throws two interceptions in sub-par performance leading to another loss. The Viking's next moved to acquire Josh Freeman, who played week seven against the Giants, which seemed to be a logical decision. However, during the game in which he attempted 53 passes Freeman suffered a concussion after taking several hits. This now leaves the Vikings back to playing Ponder, who has not contributed in the past two losses to the Packers and Cowboys. The inconsistent play from the quarterbacks has not helped a relatively young defense, or reigning MVP Adrian Peterson. Peterson can only carry the offensive load so much for the Vikings, even though he seemed to defy that in the second half of the 2012 season. With the continuous inconsistent play from the Vikings' quarterbacks, questions have begun to come up regarding the 2014 draft, which expects to be quarterback-rich. Will the vikings decide to draft a quarterback? Even after taking Christian Ponder in the 2011 draft, he has shown that even with a superior running back he can not make enough plays to help the Vikings win. Will the Vikings draft a quarterback in the 2014 Draft? And if they do, who should they choose? Since the will most likely have a top 5 pick, barring a major turnaround.

World Series Preview

With the 2013 Wolrd Series beginning tomorrow between the Boston Red Sox and the St. Louis Cardinals, lets take a preview of the series to come. Game 1 starters will be Wainwright for the Cards, who was dominant until his last outing versus the Dodgers, and Lester for the Red Sox. Both pitchers have been there and done that, so choosing which one will out-duel the other is really a toss up. I feel that the National League playoffs for the Cardinals were a lot more about pitching, both from their starters and bullpen. But, now in the World Series against the Red Sox good starting rotation the Cardinals will need to find a way to generate more offense. The Red Sox have faced great pitching throughout the American League playoffs so I feel that for them it will be about getting good outings from starting pitchers and bullpen. Just to throw out my personal opinion I believe the Red Sox will capture their 3rd World Series title in 9 years. I think the series will last 6 games with Boston ultimately winning in Fenway. I am going to take David Ortiz as my 2013 World Series MVP, who is in the top 10 all-time for career postseason homeruns.

Mid-Season NFL Review

Next week in the NFL marks Week 8 of the season. This means that already the NFL season is half-way over. With that in mind lets take a look at some of the bigger topics from the first half of 2013:

• Strong/Weak Divisions Flip-Flop
• This season has shown that usual tough divisions (AFC North, NFC North, NFC East, NFC South) are just not living up too standards this year. A lot of hype was thrown into the NFC South with the Falcons coming off of a strong playoff push, the Saints regaining their head coach, and Cam Newton and the Panthers having one more year of experience under their belt. However, this division has a miserable combined record of 8 wins and 13 losses. Along the lines of unexpected divisional results there have been several overachieving divisions as well this year. The AFC and NFC West this year have both out played their previous expectations. Both divisons did have heavyweights coming in (Broncos, 49ers, Seahawks) but it has been teams such as the undefeated Chiefs, the Chargers, and the Rams have all been playing pretty well thus far.

• Most/Least Impressive Teams
• The 2013 NFL season has not seen too many heavy favorites pull ahead of the pack, but I have noticed two teams, within the same division, that have impressed me so far. Clearly you know I am going to say the Denver Broncos. With Manning setting passing records early, the receivers and running backs playing well, and a defense improving every week the Broncos have looked as close to the most well-balanced as possible in the league. This is all being said even with the Broncos defense missing Champ Bailey and Von Miller, two defensive captains and all-NFL players. My least impressive team would have to be the Atlanta Falcons. Blame it on the injury bug for setting them back, but this team, fresh off an NFC Championship appearence, has just not played well. And I understand the need for a solid running back, but why take the risk on Jackson when he has a history of missing the majority of season with St. Louis. The Falcons are 1-4, buried third in the division behind the Panthers and Saints, and are showing no real substance on defense.

• Mid-season MVP
• Obviously I would not be considered a reliable football source unless I chose Peyton Manning as the mid-season MVP. However, I am gonna pick the MVP off who I think will win the award at the end of the season. My vote is going to go to Adrian Peterson, who had a crazy second half of the season last year.

~NLCS/ALCS~

Almost half way through the month of October and that means MLB playoffs are in full swing. So far my playoff predictions have been correct so far with the Dodgers, Cardinals, and Red Sox all wining thus far. Game 5 of the NLDS between the A's and Tigers is being played tonight, in which I have the A's winning the series. My prediction for the NLCS, between the Dodgers and Cardinals, is for St. Louis to win the series in 6 games. Coming off a dramatic series over the Pirates the Cardinals will be full of confidence, especially since they had struggled slightly against the Pirates all year. St. Lous pitching will continue to dominate with Wainwright and the other young pitching talent. Also, St. Louis' killer lineup, which is solid 1 through 8, will continue to hit the ball, even though they will face the likes of Kershaw and Greinke. One thing I look to be a decding factor in the series will be St. Louis' bullpen, which had its shakey moments against Pittsburgh. For the ALCS I have been having a little more trouble deciding a winner. Clearly Boston has been pretty dominant all year, including a severe hot streak toward the end of the season to take the AL East. However, it seems that this is yeat another year where Oakland gets into the playoffs flying under the radar, even thought they won the AL West. I really like Oakland's pitching rotation, mixed with some yound and old talent, as well as the deep lineup and bench that they use effectively each game. But, the Red Sox have been hitting the ball all over the field, and was even able to touch up David Price last series. The Red Sox throw out a veteran rotation with a lot of great stat lines. I am going to take Boston in this series in 5 games. I like Oakland and they are an up-and-coming team, but the Red Sox are the team to beat in the AL. I just cannot see the Athletics stringing enough hits together to beat Boston 4 times this series.