MLB Championship Series Breakdown

Déjà vu all over again. The biggest change this year, LA has home field advantage through out. I think the key to the series will be how the Dodgers starting pitchers do against the Phillies bats. The Dodgers have a fantastic bullpen, so if the starters can get to the 6th or 7th with the lead or tied, the Dodgers bullpen can carry them to victory.

But getting to the 6th or 7th against the Phillies might be difficult task for the Dodgers starting against the Phillies line up that includes Howard, Ibanez, Utley and more. Also the Phillies have the best pitcher in the series in Lee which is a big advantage. I see this series going the distance, and home field in game 7 is huge.

Who I think will win: Dodgers in 7

Who I want to win: Dodgers





40 degrees wins 15-20 MPH. And today is supposed to be the nice game. Weather will be the talk of the first two games of the series until the game shift to LA. The series itself should be very entertaining and I think each team is built for their home stadium. The Yankees have power hitting and power pitching which is what they need to win in the New Yankee Stadium. The Angels are built to play a closer version to small ball which works well for them in Anaheim. So who wins, Power or small ball? I kind of like small ball, being able to manufacture runs when your offense goes cold could be key.

My biggest concern for the Angels is how will the back end of their bullpen do? That’s what did the Twins in in the previous series. We know what they Yankees have. Rivera is almost always money (Except against the Diamondbacks in 2001). So can the Angels close out the game when the most pressure is on? I am not sure.

Speaking of Yankee pitching, the Yankees are plan on throwing CC games 1, 4, and 7. He proved last year on the Brewers that he can pitch well on short rest.

I do think playing 3 in a row in LA/Anaheim will benefit the Angels. If they can get 1 in New York, I could see them taking all 3 in LA. However, if they have to get that 1 win in New York in Game 7, that could be hard to do.

Who I think will win: Yankees in 7

Who I want win: Angels

New Power Rankings: Week 6

1. Giants 5-0

Until they lose, their number one.

2. Colts 5-0

How dominant have they been? Right now, 100% of the MVP votes should be going to Peyton Manning

3. Saints 4-0

They had a bye week last week. So, their players got rest for their HUGE game against the Giants this week.

4. Viqueens 5-0

How overrated are they? Well they've beaten the Rams, Browns, Lions (a combined 2-13) and the Packers (2-2; 6-10 last year and look like the same team) and the 49ers (overrated?). Well, to me, that says they are completely overrated. I expect a two score win by the Ravens this week, with about 3 picks.

5. Denver 5-0

Has there ever been a worse 5-0 team in the HISTORY of the NFL? ESPN's power rankings say, "The Broncos have silenced more doubters each week to the point where far fewer are around." That's just dumb. They beat the beloved New England Patriots and teams start saying this team is good. New England isn't good. And the Broncos are worse.

6. Chicago Bears 3-1

If I could, they'd be number 1 right now. This team is the best team in the NFC in my opinion, which is a fact. Btw, ESPN has the Bears ranked 12; that puts us behind 3 two loss teams -- Patriots, Jets, and Ravens. Anyone notice what coast all those teams are from?

7. Atlanta 3-1

They're gonna get their asses kicked this weekend. Enough said. 31-13. Btw, they deserve to be here b/c of their beat down on San Francisco.

8. Bengals 4-1

Okay, okay, they are starting to impress me. Beating the Steelers, Ravens, Packers, and Browns. That's 2 really quality wins, one eh win, and one you should have won. Considering they were one lucky ass play from being 5-0, I'd say they deserve to be here. If they can continue this trend, they'll convince me further.

9. Eagles 3-1

Another team that is totally overrated because of ESPN. How does an elite team get blown out at home? Answer: THEY DON'T! Minus the Bears in 2006, who, by the way, should have won that Superbowl. But, I'm not going to talk about it. Who have they beat? Kansas City, Carolina, and Tampa Bay. Wow, impressive, especially considering they got blown out by the one team that they played that was actually good.

10. Ravens 3-2

I still think this is the best team in the AFC. They're defense is dominant, Joe Flacco looks great, and they have some solid backs. I think we'll see them lose 20-12 to the Bears in the Superbowl.

11. Steelers 3-2

They move up a spot only because they are the Superbowl Champions. However, they have been far from impressive this year and if they play a close game against the Browns than they are going to drop like a rock in these rankings.

12. Chargers 2-2

The Chargers are gonna make the Broncos look ridiculous this year, count on it.

13. Arizona 2-2

I'm convinced they're going to win the division this year. However, that is by far the worst division in the NFL.

14. Jets 3-2

Although they lost to the Dolphins and the Saints, those might both be quality teams. We'll find out.

15. Packers 2-2

The Packers could be good, they could be bad. I don't see what all the fuse is about. They should be 1-3. One stupid special teams play away from the Bears being #3 on these rankings.

16. 49ers 3-2

They looked bad against the Falcons. That just goes to show you how overrated the Vikings are. Save one miracle play at the end of the game, and they go into Minnesota and beat the Vikings.

17. Patriots 3-2

The Patriots are the AFC's version of the Cowboys. A mediocre team that gets a lot of credit for nothing. They suck and they'll miss the playoffs for a second straight year.

18. Cowboys 3-2

They are the Cowboys of the... wait, they are the Cowboys. Its hard to call them even a mediocre team with the quality wins they have (Carolina, Tampa Bay, and KC) compared to the losses (Broncos and Giants). They have looked bad in all of their wins too. They suck.

19. Dolphins 3-2

Was anyone else impressed with this last victory? I certainly was.

20. Seattle 2-3

I can't justify the Jaguars being above Seattle after Seattle embarrassed them. Seattle could be the best team in that division, the rest of the season will decide that.

21. Jaguars 2-3

While they looked bad in one of the hardest stadiums to play, I still think they're gonna get the other wildcard spot this year.

22. Houston 2-3

They have a great offense (Schuab, Slaton, Daniels, Johnson, and Walter). They could use a little help on their defense. Oh well, maybe 1 or 2 years out from being a real contender for their division.

23. Carolina 1-3

I can't justify putting the Redskins above them, since (a) Carolina beat them; and (b) the Redskins nearly lost to the Rams and Tampa Bay. Thus, Carolina deserves to be here.

24. Detroit 1-4

They're here because they nearly beat the defending Superbowl Champions. But they drop because the lost. Plus, they beat the skins.

25. Redskins 2-3

The only reason they are this high is because they've got two wins. However, they have three losses (Lions, Panthers, and Giants). Two of those teams are awful, and they came close to losing to two horrible teams in the Rams and Bucs. By the way, why the HELL is the NFC East Schedule so damn easy?

26. Cleveland 1-4

They beat the Bills in perhaps the worst game ever. Congratulations.

27. Bills 1-4

Similarly, Congratulations in playing (and losing) in one of the worst games of all times. You're on your way to a top 5 pick!

28. Raiders 1-4

When do you decide to bench JaMarcus Russell? This team is full of crappy players.

29. Tennessee 0-5

Congratulations, after this week you'll probably be 1-5 after you beat the Cowtriots.

30. Kansas City 0-5

They're this high only because they nearly got a win last week.

31. Bucs 0-5

They are not the worst team only because I actually expect them to get at least 1 win this year.

32. Rams 0-5

However, I do not expect them to get a victory. You can tell you're historically bad when you turn the ball over multiple times in a game without being touched. Wow...

There you have it!

Top Chef Power Rankings 10/15/09

Solid episode all around. They Cheftestants had to show off their pig cooking skills. Fodor must have enjoyed the hating on Robin. I think she just likes talking and gets under people’s skin, I don’t think she’s intentionally evil like some other contestants in past seasons. Toby Kieth had the line of the night comparing American Pinot to French Pinot calling French Pinot a hairy armpit. Listening to the Chef’s talk about their dish before they made it, you could tell Laurine and Ash were in trouble as they were cooking out of their comfort zone. No surprise they were on the bottom. Lastly, the Top 4 Chef’s last night were the same 4 Chef’s who have been the Top 4 in the Power Rankings for most of the year which leads to no change at the top.


Top Shelf


Kevin “Red Beard” Gillespie



“Red Beard” continued his strong run with another elimination challenge win. He claims to have a pig tattoo saying pig is his favorite dish to serve. He said he would be disappointed if he didn’t win. The dish came out solid and he continues his run on top.


Bryan Voltaggio



Bryan went out and performed again. He made a top dish again, he is the model of consistency for top chefs. I think this is the first time he didn’t win when his brother was in the final with him. I did find it interesting how it seems like Michael is trying to get in Bryan’s head and not take any crap from him and dishing it out. If fellow chef’s are noticing then it might be something. I don’t think it will be enough to break Bryan


Jennifer Carroll



A solid night for her again. I am starting to worry about her perfectionist attitude. So far it has worked for her, but I could see a time sensitive challenge where it could come back to bite her in the butt. Also, we have a new conspiracy theory out there, Jamie thinks the reason Jen never wins is all the guests judges are male and choose a male to win. I think it’s a group decision who wins, but Jamie disagrees. What do you think.


Michael Voltaggio



He had a good comeback week after finishing in the bottom two the week before. He didn’t do enough to move higher in the rankings. Like I mentioned with Bryan, I’m interested to see if he is going to try to psyche out his brother.


Middle of the Pack


Eli



Eli had a good night, winning the quick fire and making a good dish. His biggest draw back was his food’s pairing with the wine. I found that amusing because in the quick fire and the elimination challenge he was talking about how he knew how to pair items and nobody else really did. Well, apparently not.


Michael Isabella



He’s is the happiest person on the planet that there are still two bad chef’s behind him. He hasn’t done anything special or bad all season, and as long as bad chefs are on, he’ll continue to rid in the middle of the pack.


Chopping Block


I honestly don’t see how either of these two Chef’s are still here. Not saying they should have left and Ash should have stayed, but holy cow, we are at restaurant wars and these two are still here, that’s crazy. I hope they don’t end up on the same team and have the other two chefs pull them to victory.


Robin Levnenthal



As much as there is a dislike for her, and her cooking skills, she still isn’t the worst chef on the show. She did have a bottom 3 finish in the quick fire and had a bottom 3 elimination challenge. After seeing the discussion she was clearly not going to get kicked off yesterday. Also, as I have said before, sadly the producers do have a say in who gets kicked off, and Robin creates controversy, so she might hang around a few more episodes to let the controversy continue.


Laurine Wicket.



As I said earlier, as soon as she started talking about her dish, you knew she was in trouble. She said she had never cooked pork they way she was going to try. As soon as I heard that I yelled “DONE!” Sure enough, chopping block again. On the chopping block, she tried to explain how she cooked her food, and the guest judge told her that was incorrect. That for me, would have sent her packing, but she survived another week.

MLB Division Series Review

Well that went fast didn’t it? A min of 12 games for the first round and we got 13 lucky us. The best part, thanks to TV deals, every team is idle until Friday. I guess that gives me plenty of time to write my ALCS and NCLS preview articles, but before we get there, let’s review the past series.




Cardinals vs Dodgers

What I said: Cards in 4

What happened: Dodgers in 3.

Not a good start for me. The first two games in LA were very competitive and could have gone either way. LA was able to pull both of them out and walked into St. Louis with no problem. Lots of people are saying Holiday lost the game 2 for the Cardinals with his error in left. Yes this was an untimely error, but the reason the Cardinals were up at this point was thanks to Holiday.

Rockies vs Phillies

What I said: Phillies in 5

What happned: Phillis in 4

The weather got interesting in Colorado once again calling into question whether the baseball season should be shorter in games, or in days. Phillies made a late night rally last night scoring 3 runs to take the lead in the 9th. That does not feel good for Rocktober





Twins vs Yanks

What I said: Twins in 5

What happened: Yanks in 3

Well I was drinking the “Twins have the momentum” Gatorade and well, the Yankees were just too good for them. The most surprising thing for me was Nathan’s blowing the save in the Bronx

Red Sox vs Angels

What I said: Red Sox in 4

What happened: Angels in 3

Angels exorcised their Red Sox demons and took the series easily. I thought the Red Sox had a better team, but I’m glad the Angels won.

So I went 1-4 in the division round, I feel like A-Rod in October. What? He’s doing good? O well then. So what have we learned from this? Don’t listen to me cause I am dumb.

Monday Night Lights; I Miss Thomas Jones

This has been a great game between the Jets and Dolphins! Four (correction: FIVE) go-ahead touchdowns in the fourth quarter? Are you kidding me?


With Chad Henne and the Wildcat Boys going at full strength, the Fins are suddenly looking like a factor in the AFC East. At 2-3, they are just one game behind division leaders New England and New York. Final score tonight: 31-27 Miami.

::cue T-Pain::

There was some great rushing in this game, most notably by Ronnie Brown (19 carries, 70 yd, TD) and Ricky Williams (11 carries, 68 yd). On the other side, Leon Washington did just enough to beat me in fantasy, posting 57 yards from scrimmage on eleven carries and a reception.

But Thomas Jones, the former Bear and, as you all know, my biggest regret of the Angelo tenure, continues to give it to the doubters who have been on the Leon Washington bandwagon all year. TJ toted it thirteen times for 42 yards and two TD's tonight, grinding to get tough yardage between the tackles.

Fun Fact (thanks to the MNF crew): Over the last four years, the NFL's rushing leader has been LaDanian Tomlinson with around 5,500 yards. Second behind LT?

Yep, you guessed it. Thomas Jones has racked up over 5,200 yards since 2005. He scored fifteen TD's last year. He got two more tonight. The Bears dumped him after the Super Bowl in exchange for, basically, nothing. I just can't get over it.

Chicago will have two running backs active next week. Matt Forte, who has looked like a shadow of his rookie self (sound familiar? Rashaan Salaam? Curtis Enis? Anthony Thomas?), and Mighty Mite Garrett Wolfe. Can anyone really tell me that Jones wouldn't help this team?

Anyway, back to the game.

According to Tirico and Co., Braylon Edwards (5rec, 64 yards, TD, one huge PI call) is just the third skill position player since 1970 to change teams in midseason and then start the very next week. Edwards, all of a sudden, has lost his case of the dropsies!

He's going to be big for the Jets the rest of the season, and is a significant upgrade over Chansi Stuckey. I guess leaving Cleveland for the big city would rejuvenate just about anyone.

I think the key factor in this game, great rushing attacks notwithstanding, was quarterback play. Heralded rookie Mark Sanchez went 12-24 for 172 with a TD and an INT. His QB rating? A decent 87.5.

That's only 42.9 points lower than Chad Henne, the supersub who went a superefficient 20-26 for 241 yard and two TD's. Nine different Dolphins caught passes. Fantasy owners in need of a quarterback, start your engines.

Anyway, it was just an awesome game all around. Back and forth the whole way, with big plays and no sloppiness. We even had a Steve Weatherford (from?) sighting, as the Jets punter took a fake kick 26 yards to keep a crucial drive alive.

Props to Miami for pulling it off and keeping themselves very much alive in the competitive AFC East.

Random Trivia of the Week, RB College

Ready for this weeks Trivia? We did this earlier in the year with QBs but we are doing it again with RBs. Can you name every starting RB in the NFL based soley on the schools of where they went. The starter was determined by checking each team's depth chart on 10/12/09 (Bonus point for naming the player in the picture). I will post the answer in the comments on Monday.

Arkansas
Auburn
Auburn
Cal
Central Florida
East Carolina
Georgia
Illinois
LSU
Memphis
Miami
Miami
Minnesota
Northern Illinois
Notre Dame
Notre Dame
Oklahoma
Oregon State
Penn State
Richmond
Rutgers
Southern Illinois
TCU
Tennessee
Texas
Texas Tech
Tulane
UCLA
USC
Vilanova
Virginia
West Virginia

The Ultimate *cough* Rivalry

Separated by a short stretch of highway and three state lines, the Queen Cities of Cleveland and Buffalo glower at each other on the shining shores of Lake Erie. Wait a minute. Should that lake really be shining?

Probably better not to think about it.

Similarly, it would be better not to think about the Bills vs. Browns matchup currently being played out in Buffalo. Jamal Lewis! Trent Edwards! Dick Jauron! Eric Mangini!

Unfortunately for me, I decided to ride the hot hand and start waiver wire wonder Jerome Harrison (seen here making fun of my terrible management skills) in the Mother Bears Fantasy League this week. So far, he's gone for sixteen yards on six carries. The score is 3-3 in the fourth quarter. As far as I can tell, nothing has happened in this game. Derek Anderson has 23 passing yards. Both he and Edwards have a pick, and neither has thrown a TD.

So the running games must be good, right? Uh, wrong. Jerome "I will never start you again" Harrison and Lewis have combined for 88 yards on 26 carries. The two-headed Bills monster of Fred Jackson and Marshawn "Predator" Lynch have 81 yards on 25 carries. Needless to say, nobody has a touchdown.

Do I sound bitter? It's because Ahmad Bradshaw is SITTING ON MY BENCH as he racks up (so far) 32.50 points against the Oakland Raiders. I started Harrison over him? I could be ignoring this awful game? Twelve punts so far, by the way.

It could be worse. I could be in Orchard Park, watching this game right now. Now that would be bad.

Come back, Bears! We miss you.

EDIT: Fifteen punts now. I don't even wanna know how many penalty yards. By the way, Detroit has the ball with three minutes left and down by eight. I got a shot at my Upset Pick Of The Week!