NFL Power Rankings Week 10

Been a while since did an NFL power ranking, but since then Michael Vick is apparently unstoppable, the Colts can’t keep anyone healthy, and we have some ridiculous new rules. Let’s get to it shall we?

1. Atlanta Falcons – Record (8–2)

Falcons? No. 1? No way, you say? Well look at their two loses, the Steelers and the Eagles. Either team is being argued as the best team in the league, that’s good enough reason for me.

They still can’t cover anyone (244.1 pass yards allowed a game), but thankfully their rush defense and their offense are among the league best.

Quarterback Matt Ryan is in the top 10 in passing yards and that’s because all of his weapons are finally healthy. And maybe now running back Michael Turner is finally back to his 2008 form. Turner is sixth in the league in rushing, which further helps the third year QB.

2. New York Jets – Record (8–2)

Talk about cardiac team. In the past three weeks they have come back from deficit and ended winning the game. In fact, they had to win two of those games in overtime.

The worst thing about those near heartbreaking games? The three teams weren’t good; all three have records under .500. Yes they are 8–2, but I don’t know if I trust them to win a big game. They will be put to the test in two weeks when they go to New England

3. New England Patriots – Record (8–2)

The rivalry games between the Patriots and the Indianapolis Colts are always must see games. Every time they play, you know it is going to be special.

Well Tom Brady and Co. didn’t disappoint this Sunday. Brady didn’t have a monster numbers day, but he did throw two touchdowns. The defense did one better, when Peyton Manning and the Colts look like they might win for the fifth time out of the last six, the defense picks Manning off to stop the rally.

I don’t know if I trust this young defense, but with Brady and head coach Bill Belichick at the helm, I feel a little better.

4. Pittsburgh Steelers – Record (7–3)

Their three loses have been to three Super Bowl contenders, so even though they have three loses, I was really tempted to have them on top.

Since his return, Ben Roethlisberger is averaging over 300 yards a game. If he keeps this up, he has to be mentioned in the most valuable player talk right, Mike Vick is?

Two big reasons why Roethlisberger is succeeding has been the emergence of wide receiver Mike Wallace and RB Rashard Mendenhall. Wallace is in the top 10 in receiving yards while Mendenhall is in the top 10 in rushing. The offensive future is bright in Pittsburgh, now only if their line could get healthy.

On a side note, do the refs and NFL front offices have it out for the Steelers? They are constantly fined for supposedly illegal hits when in fact they are not illegal. The helmet to helmet hits on a “defenseless” receiver penalties I don’t have a problem with, but when they are not “defenseless,” then don’t call a penalty. Also QBs can’t be hit anywhere apparently. Might as well give the QBs the practice red jerseys and not let them be hit at all. Poor James Harrison is constantly flagged on plays that are ridiculous. NFL now stands for the No Fun League.

5. Philadelphia Eagles – Record (7–3)

QB Michael Vick is the talk of the league. Two years after being incarcerated he is back to being the most dangerous weapon in the league. And now that he has learned how to be a better QB than RB, he is even more dangerous than he was before he went to jail.

My one problem with the Mike Vick MVP talk, he has only started six games, and one of those he was knocked out for three weeks. If Roethlisberger isn’t being mentioned for MVP in a couple weeks, then why is Vick?

Their offense obviously is one of the most potent in the league, but their defense is still sketchy. Their numbers are okay, but their secondary isn’t as good as they are playing. That could be fall of the Eagles.

6. Baltimore Ravens – Record (7–3)

Their offense has not been what everyone was expecting at the beginning of the year. Luckily for the Ravens, their defense appears to be healthy and back to dominating the league. In 11 seconds, the defense scored two “pick sixes.” That is good even though that was against the Panthers and Brian St. Pierre.

Their biggest piece was the return of safety Ed Reed. He hasn’t been a tackling machine at safety like LaRon Landry of the Redskins, but he does have four picks in four games. They are 3–1 in those four games, and could have been four wins and they not lost to No. 1 Atlanta.

7. Green Bay Packers – Record (7–3)

They have three loses by a combined nine points, and two of them were in overtime. So how are they 7–3? They might be the most decimated team in the NFL. They have S Morgan Burnett, MLB Nick Barnett, and TE JerMichael Finley on the Injured Reserve to go with a seemingly endless list of injuries to other players that are constantly out.

You can also count on them if you want your head coach fired. After their past two games, more like maulings, their opponents fired their head coach. Yes that would be you Wade Phillips (former Dallas Cowboys head coach) and Brad Childress (former Minnesota Vikings HC). They Packers outscored the Cowboys and Vikings by a combined 66 points. Vikings and Cowboys fans rejoice despite losing.

8. New Orleans Saints – Record (7–3)

They have two ugly loses to Arizona and to Cleveland, but their other was to Atlanta. They could easily be 9–1.

Their offense was much improved this weekend but they still don’t look as good as they did last year. Maybe now they are finally getting over their Super Bowl hangover. Their remaining schedule isn’t too bad, so maybe they might have another deep playoff run left in them.

9. Indianapolis Colts – Record (6–4)

If the Packers aren’t the most injury plagued team in the league, then it has to be the Colts. They have several of their own players on IR to go along with an injury report every week that looks like half of their starters.

And yet despite their injury bug, QB Peyton Manning continues to play at a high level. Is there any other QB that is better at winning with what he has? Any given week, Manning could be without two or three running backs, a tight end or two, a couple offensive lineman, and three or four wide receivers. Manning is truly incredible.

10. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Record (7–3)

We all laughed at head coach Raheem Morris when he said the Bucs were one of the League best. I even chuckled a bit. But with another win, it looks like he was right.

I always talk about the young talent roster and how they should be a team to contend with in a year or two, but what if they have arrived now? They have a decent offensive line, a star in the making in QB Josh Freeman, a bruising yet back in LeGarrette Blount, three young receivers that could be very good in Mike Williams, Arrelious Benn and Sammie Stroughter, and now a reliable tight end in Kellen Winslow.

Now their defense just needs to get better.

11. Chicago Bears – Record (7–3)

They are 7–3, yet I have absolutely no faith in the Bears. No it isn’t QB Jay Cutler. I don’t trust anyone around him, except maybe RB Matt Forte. His offensive coordinator is insane, the line is Swiss cheese, and the receivers are nowhere near where they should be.

The defense is excellent, especially the run defense, but I don’t trust their secondary. We will see if my concerns are right rest of the way, they still face the Eagles, Patriots, Jets, and Packers again in their season finale. I think they will lose all four of those.

12. New York Giants – Record (6–4)

Remember when everyone was asking if the Giants were the best team in the NFL? Two ugly loses later, not so much.

They are healthy everywhere except the receiver position. The one position they were absolutely loaded at. They have lost Ramses Barden for the year, Steve Smith until at least mid–December, and Hakeem Nicks is out for at least three weeks. They have to throw out a bust in Derek Hagan and an undrafted rookie in Duke Calhoun. Hopefully Smith and Nicks get healthy sooner rather than later.

13. Kansas City Chiefs – Record (6–4)

They too lost two games in a row in ugly fashion. But then they had a nice bounce back victory over the Arizona Cardinals. They always seem to be the cure.

They have the league’s most potent running attack with 164.7 yards a game. It might be even better if head coach Todd Haley would give the ball to Jamal Charles some more. Ironically, Charles has fewer carries than fellow back Thomas Jones, yet Charles is seventh in the league in rushing yards. Jones is still having a really good season himself, he is 17th in the league in rushing.

WR Dwayne Bowe is 12th in the league in receiving yards and leads the league in TDs. So to say he is having a really good year, is kind of an understatement.

Despite some of the numbers QB Matt Cassel has put up in recent weeks, I would still try to draft a legit QB in April. He is a good game manager, but he has a noodle arm and isn’t much of a threat. That means KC will give Cassel a year or two more when they could get a QB in the draft like Washington’s Jake Locker or even a project like Cam Newton.

14. San Diego Chargers – Record (5–5)

They seem to be back on their typical end of the year role. I don’t know how they do it every year, but it seems natural and like clockwork.

QB Philip Rivers is on an MVP pace without most of his weapons all year. We can easily mention Rivers among the candidates for the award. He has been like Peyton Manning, who also just goes out there and puts up big numbers without his normal weapons.

15. Jacksonville Jaguars – Record (6–4)

They are technically in the lead in the AFC South, but do you think they finish better than 9–7, and beat the Colts? If you said yes, you need to come back down to earth Jaguars fans.

They almost lost to the Browns, needing to score with less than two minutes to win the game. This after they won last week on that crazy game ending Hail Mary, that the defense batted into the trailers arm for the game winning TD.

Maurice Jones–Drew had a big yardage day, but he continues to lack in the TD department. If they want to win the division, MJD needs to score a lot more.

16. Tennessee Titans – Record (5–5)

They might have the most interesting situation in football right now. Vince Young was said to be benched after the game after his poor play and storming out of the stadium. Young went out with an injury but he says wanted to come back in. Head coach Jeff Fisher said Young said no such thing to him or his staff. Young also reportedly threw his helmet and shoulder pads into the stands and didn’t even stick around to hear Fisher’s comments on the game.

This is an unbelievable development.

17. Washington Redskins – Record (5–5)

They pulled out the win over Tennessee in overtime, yet Donovan McNabb’s job still doesn’t seem solid. I don’t know what else this guy has to do to convince his overrated coach into believing he is the right guy for the job. If I was Daniel Snyder, I would stick with the QB and get rid of the coach.

18. Miami Dolphins – Record (5–5)

They have become incredibly disappointing. The offense isn’t anywhere near what rest of the league was expecting. Chad Henne might not even be the QB of the future. The upcoming draft is going to be very interesting for Henne and a couple other Dolphins, not to mention the coach who might be on the hot seat.

19. Oakland Raiders – Record (5–5)

The talk about them was the old rivalry between the Raiders and the Steelers. Didn’t look much like the 70’s. The Steelers whooped up on the Raiders. So much for they might be able to win the division ESPN. They are still a couple of years away. Leave the division to the Chiefs and Chargers.

20. Seattle Seahawks – Record (5–5)

The highest rated team in the NFC West. That says it all. The best team in the division is the highest rated team is 20th in the league, that is embarrassing. And the worse thing about it? One of these teams has to host a game in the playoffs!

21. Dallas Cowboys – Record (3–7)

I am sick and tired of writing how this team has an incredible amount of talent and just can’t win. Well apparently they did have the talent all along. Looks like Jason Garrett was keeping the real plays away from Wade Phillips. With Garrett, Dallas is 2–0. It may not be a conspiracy, but it sure is interesting how much better big D looks now.

22. St. Louis Rams – Record (4–6)

Thankfully the Falcons didn’t play down to the lowly Rams. My nightmare would be for these Rams to end up in the playoffs hosting a playoff game.

23. Houston Texans – Record (4–6)

What did I say? I said they were fakes. We have been proclaiming them ready for the playoffs for at least the past three years. At this pace, they will be ready for the playoffs sometime around 2020.

24. Arizona Cardinals – Record (3–7)

They slightly out gained the Chiefs but held onto the ball for five more minutes. Yet they still lost by 18, and it would have been more had it not been for the last second TD for no reason. What is that saying about this team? They miss Kurt Warner, and they need to draft a QB in April.

25. Denver Broncos – Record (3–7)

They are embarrassing. Josh McDaniels seems over his head.

Is there a possibility that it might be time for Tim Tebow to start at QB and try and get some value out of Kyle Orton? This team has a long way to go.

26. San Francisco 49ers – Record (3–7)

They were shutout for the first time at home since 1977. And the sad thing about them? There is still a chance they could win the division! That is how incredibly pathetic the NFC West is.

They were some people’s Super Bowl pick to go to the Super Bowl. That is most likely out of the question now, but they are technically only two games out of first place.

27. Cleveland Browns – Record (3–7)

Could of, should of, would of. That explains the Browns against the Jags. They had the game wrapped up with a little over 2 minutes to go, yet they couldn’t pull it out.

Most surprising about this game? The Jaguars held the Brown’s Peyton Hillis to less than 50 yards rushing. Thankfully for Hillis’ fantasy owners, he had six receptions for 95 yards. Hillis and QB Colt McCoy and a few others are the keys to the Browns future.

28. Minnesota Vikings – Record (3–7)

Good news Vikings fans. Head coach Brad Childress was finally fired. I'm not a fan of firing coaches’ mid-season, but he had to go. He had completely lost the locker room, and apparently didn’t ask for the owner’s permission when he released WR Randy Moss. Owner Zygi Wilf even contemplated firing Childress and keeping Moss.

Now defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier is the head coach. Hopefully he can pull a Jason Garrett and start winning some football games. Frazier also confirmed that Brett Favre will remain his starting QB.

I have been a Favre cynic in the past, but Tavaris Jackson is not longer the QB of the future. Best move now is to stick with Favre despite his injuries and draft a QB in April.

29. Cincinnati Bengals – Record (2–8)

Is there any team that is more of a joke than the Bengals?

People are rejoicing Terrell Owens over his good season, but QB Carson Palmer really should be throwing to Chad Ochocinco. The Bengals won the AFC North last year and swept the division.

I know they are dealing with some injuries but their main offseason addition was TO. Bag on me all you want, but how good are teams with TO? His teams always stink or don’t play up to their abilities when he is there. Also he holds back other receivers.

Look at Dallas last year, their first without TO, they won their first playoff game in forever and WR Miles Austin developed into one of the league’s best. And this year, sure the Bills stink but they always do, Steve Johnson is No. 10 in the league in receiving yards. Johnson wasn’t this good last year. And even the Bills “Ole’ Reliable,” Lee Evans was terrible last year. Think what you want about TO, but the facts don’t lie.

30. Detroit Lions – Record (2–8)

I generally don’t feel bad for teams, but I do for the Lions. QB Matt Stafford is out with another shoulder injury. He already saw revered orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Andrews, who says he will not need surgery but just needs rehab.

My personal advice to the young Mr. Stafford? Get the freaking surgery. There have been tons of athletes in recent memory that elected to go with the rehab and ended up needing the surgery anyways. And with an injury like a shoulder, surgery is probably the best option.

31. Buffalo Bills – Record (2–8)

They were down 28–7 at one point to the Bengals, and ended up winning by 18. That’s saying as much about the Bills as the Bengals. They seem to be an inspired bunch despite their lack of personnel.

Also, could Ryan Fitzpatrick be the solution at QB? I know he is already 27, but and the Bills are only 2–6 with him at the helm, but they just as easily could be 4–4; they have lost two nail biters in overtime.

I know you don’t pass on a QB like Andrew Luck but you never know with young QBs, especially on the Bills. That’s a good question for debate.

32. Carolina Panthers – Record (1–9)

I said during the draft that QB Jimmy Clausen was put in a much better situation than top pick Sam Bradford. I won’t admit defeat… yet.

The Panthers are the NFL’s youngest team and is playing in the tough NFC South. They have to play against the reigning Super Bowl Champions Saints, the best team in the league the Atlanta Falcons, and the upstart Tampa Bay Buccaneers. All three have a record of 7–3 or better.

Then they have John Fox as their head coach. Yes he has gone to a Super Bowl but that was way back in 2003. In the seven seasons since, they have two winning seasons. It might be the coach.

Just Got Published!!!

At just around 6P.M. I got mny first story published!

Go check it out at http://www.avnewstodayonline.com/!

It is in the sports section. The story is about Cam Newton possibly going pro.

Go check it out!!!!!

Major League Baseball Offseason

The offseason is here for baseball. The San Francisco Giants winning the World Series is already old news. So what comes up next?

The offseason is now, “Hot Stove season.” In other words, what are teams cooking up and planning to do now that they can reassess their ball clubs. Now we can expect releases, signings, and the always intriguing trades.

Top 20 MLB Free Agents

This is another extremely weak free agent class. The top six can be considered perennial All-Star contenders, but after them, the class falls off. There are players that never reached their full potential, aging stars, and players influx.

1. Cliff Lee – LHP – 28 Games Started – 12 Wins – 9 Loses – 185 Strikeouts – 18 Walks – 3.18 Earned Runs Allowed

Did you expect anyone else in the top spot besides Cliff Lee? He is arguably the best pitcher in baseball and the best pitcher on the Free Agent market since the Yankees LHP CC Sabathia. Lee started the year on the DL with the Mariners, but upon his arrival, he started dominating.

But even with Lee and fellow Mariners starter Felix Hernandez dominating, the team crumbled. Thus, Lee was the subject of much trade speculation. It appeared to be the Yankees that snagged the lefty with their prospect catching stud Jesus Montero plus a few other prospects.

At the last second, the Mariners pulled the rug out from under the Yankees and traded Lee to the Texas Rangers for 1B prospect Justin Smoak and an assortment of other prospects.

The afterthought prospects for both teams weren’t all too impressive, but Smoak and Montero were. Apparently though, the Mariners wanted Smoak more. This was Lee’s fourth team in two years.

Lee started off rough with Texas. His worse stats actually were at the Rangers home ballpark. After getting into his groove, Lee again started making opposing batters look absolutely foolish at the plate.

Proving his worth, Lee led the Rangers all the way to the World Series, the first in Rangers franchise history. He again couldn’t prevail. In his second straight World Series appearance, the Rangers lost the series, 4–1.

Now to where Lee has wanted to be for the past three years, free agency.

Everyone in baseball wants to add Cliff Lee to their pitching staff, but there are only two true contenders, the New York Yankees and the Texas Rangers. There will be rumors of teams such as the Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and even possibly a return to the Philadelphia Phillies. Don’t take any of these other rumors seriously.

Why?

The money and other team needs. The three other teams have major needs at other positions, and their payrolls are already at their breaking points.

So why the Rangers and the Yankees?

The Rangers traded their prized 1B prospect and possible future franchise player in Smoak away. They have a loaded system, but he is still a huge hit. If the Rangers don’t re-up the Lee, they will have to trade more prospects, make more radical moves and spend more money to get a viable replacement. Signing Lee alone will cost the team an arm and a leg.

They Yankees have been waiting for three years to get their hands on Lee. Their hope was almost lost when Lee was traded to the Phillies last year, but with the trade to the Mariners, hope was regained. The Yankees need Lee, have the money, and now won’t have to give up any of their top prospects. If they lose out on Lee, they will have to make an insane trade to get another player of Lee’s caliber. With that thought, money will not be an issue in getting him.

Lee could be a slight risk, considering he is 32 years old. But with the way he pitches, more finesse and movement than speed and power, there shouldn’t be much a huge risk in signing him.

Prediction – Yankees, six years for $140 million.

2. Carl Crawford – LF – 154 Games Played – .307 Batting Average – 19 Homeruns – 90 Runs Batted In – 110 Runs – .356 On–Base Percentage

Crawford is by far the longest tenured Tampa Bay Ray in their short history. He is a homegrown talent from the Tampa Bay Rays and they really want to keep him. Problem is the team doesn’t have the money he could be asking for.

It will all come down to dollars with Crawford; he had taken a team friendly deal in the past, now he will be looking for the big pay day.

Crawford is an extraordinary fielder, a great hitter, and one of the fastest players in baseball. All of these abilities will lead to a bidding war for Crawford’s services.

He isn’t the typical power hitter that gets this much money, but all the other things he does make him a great player. But the 19 homeruns he had this year, were a nice surprise.

Before the season there were four teams that would want Crawford, the Rays, Red Sox, Angels, and even the Yankees. Now you can switch out the Yankees and add the Detroit Tigers. With the Yankees out, the price for Crawford might fall slightly, but with an almost auction type setting for him, that might not even happen.

The money will most likely be out of the range for the Rays, leaving the Tigers, Red Sox and Angels left.

At just 29, Crawford is a worthwhile investment for any team. And his speed should stay with him if he goes to a team with real grass instead of turf.

Prediction – Angels, seven years for $115 million.

3. Jayson Werth – RF – 156 GP – .296 AVG – 27 HR – 85 RBI – 106 Runs – .388 OBP

Some could consider Werth a consolation prize for the team(s) that doesn’t get Crawford. But truthfully, Werth was almost my No. 2 free agent. He is a true “five – tool player.” He can hit, field, run, take a walk, or whatever you ask him to do.

He is 31, but he has been healthy for the past few years. It is true that he had health issues in the past (the reason why the Phillies got him in the first place), but since recovering, he hasn’t played less than 134 games since 2008.

The players for Werth are the same for Crawford; Rays, Tigers, Red Sox, but you can add the Phillies in their attempts to re-sign Werth.

It might be difficult for the Phillies to get Werth, with OF prospect Dominic Brown ready now, but they really need him back. He was the right handed power in their lineup. But to get Werth back in Philly, they will need to find a way to get rid of LF Raul Ibanez. If I was in the Phillies front office, I would do anything to get rid of Ibanez to get Werth back.

If the Phillies can’t find a way to get their starting right fielder back, expect him to bolt for the big bucks.

Prediction – Red Sox, six years for $105 million.

4. Adrian Beltre – 3B – 154 GP – .321 AVG – 28 HR – 102 RBI – 84 Runs – .365 OBP

Could he possibly be the smartest player in sports? After years of great defense but a rough time at the plate in Seattle, his market was down last year.

The Oakland A’s made a multiyear offer to Beltre, but the money wasn’t enough for him. Beltre ended agreeing with the Boston Red Sox on a one year $10 million dollar deal.

Beltre had a rough start to his normally excellent defense, but by the end of the year, he considered to be in race for the AL MVP. He showed that his offensive numbers are great. All he needed was to be in a “hitter’s park,” instead of the expansive outfield at Safeco Field.

The Red Sox obviously want the 31 year old back, but he will have other suitors. The Angels and possibly the Athletics could be the Red Sox biggest competition. Problem with re–signing Beltre, the Red Sox are after 1B Adrian Gonzalez. Kevin Youkilis plays 1B now, but with Gonzalez, Youkilis would shift to 3B. It’s seems like a “Catch–22” situation.

Whoever ends up signing Beltre, they will be getting a great hitter who can more than handle the “hot corner.”

Prediction – Angels, five years for $70 million.

5. Adam Dunn – 1B/DH – 158 GP – .260 AVG – 38 HR – 103 RBI – 85 Runs – .356 OBP

He is possibly the most consistent hitter in baseball. He isn’t the best hitter for average, but that’s not what I'm talking about. Since 2004 his homerun numbers are: 46, 40, 40, 40, 40, 38 and 38. He also has had 100+ RBI’s since 2007. Those sound great (even though RBI’s are an overrated stat), but he also has 164+ strikeouts in eight of the nine last seasons.

He is the epitome of all or nothing. He is one of a handful of players in baseball that could hit four homeruns in a game or strikeout four times.

His defense has improved at first base, but his best position is designated hitter. He says he won’t DH, pretty much eliminating any American League in my mind. That takes away half the teams in baseball.

So who in the National League needs a 1B? The Chicago Cubs, San Francisco Giants, and Washington Nationals are the teams in the running for Dunn.

The Giants want to continue their relationship with Aubrey Huff, so take away them.

Dunn obviously doesn’t want to stay in Washington, or else he would have signed an extension already.

That leaves the Cubs. They traded away Derek Lee to the Braves and have no 1B prospect in the farm system ready to step up. That means they have a huge hole there. The Cubs will overpay, they always do, meaning they will have another enormous contract on their hands.

Prediction – Cubs, five years for $70 million.

6. Victor Martinez – C/1B – 127 GP – .302 AVG – 20 HR – 79 RBI – 64 Runs – .351 OBP

Martinez and Dunn are interchangeable spots, meaning you could flip–flop them if you wanted. Personally, Dunn was better despite is below–average defense. Martinez is a terrible catcher so he should be playing 1B.

Some teams view him as an adequate catcher, despite the fact that he couldn’t throw out Betty White trying to steal second. That’s fine, especially since his bat makes him valuable at the position.

There are two teams primarily chasing after Martinez, Detroit and Boston.

Detroit needs more fire power from the catcher position after throwing Gerald Laird and Alex Avila out there every day. Their defense would suffer, but he would make it up in runs.

The Red Sox have a great farm system, but they are lacking a legit catching prospect, unless they believe C Jarrod Saltalamacchia is finally healthy and ready to contribute. That is why they need Martinez back.

Unfortunately for them, he will need to switch to 1B or DH in a few years. This could come back to bite them, especially if they end up trading for San Diego 1B Adrian Gonzalez or even signing him in a year.

Prediction – Tigers, five years for $55 million

7. Jorge De La Rosa – LHP – 20 GS – 8 W – 7 L – 113 K – 66 BB – 4.22 ERA

He is being considered the second best pitcher in free agency after Lee. So you can only imagine how weak this free agent pitching class is.

He is 29 and there is still room to grow. Not to say that he is great and still improving, just that he is okay and hasn’t reached his full potential.

He never can stay healthy and walks a lot of batters, which are two things that are never good for a pitcher. Thankfully for whoever signs De La Rosa, most of his injuries are non–arm related, other than his finger injury this year.

He is considered a power arm, but his best pitch is his changeup according to ESPN’s Keith Law.

The Colorado Rockies really wants him back, but because of the market and other factors, he might be out of their price range. He could easily agree to a four year – $40 million or five year – $50 million deal.

Other than Colorado, the Rangers, Yankees, and possibly a team like the Brewers could sign De La Rosa. Most likely the loser of the Lee sweepstakes picks up De La Rosa.

Prediction – Rangers, four years for $44 million.

8. Carl Pavano – RHP – 32 GS – 17 W – 11 L – 117 K – 37 BB – 3.75 ERA

His problems in New York seem now to be all health related and not mental. In his four years in the spotlight, he went in hurt and left hurt. He finally seemed to be healthy after he was in Cleveland the following year.

Pavano was traded by the Indians last year to Minnesota. He signed a one year extension after last season, meaning he is again a free agent.

He picked a good time to become one. He could be in line for another substantial deal again at the age of 34, but there is definitely one place he isn’t going to, the Yankees.

He did seem to be in a giveaway mood with the long ball, 24 HR’s, but he did throw 221 innings this year. He isn’t going to blow by you with gas, but he gets people out, and that’s what the mold is in the Twins organization.

If you’re the Twins and Pavano, why ruin a good thing?

Prediction – Twins, three years for $27 million.

9. Paul Konerko – 1B – 149 GP – .312 AVG – 39 HR – 111 RBI – 89 Runs – .393 OBP

He is getting a little older, 34, but he arguably had his best season ever. Sadly, if you look at the film, he is starting to “cheat” by starting early on fastballs and other things of the like.

He might have a good year or two left in him, but you will see a rapid decline in production from him.

It seems to be happening to all the “old–time sluggers.”

But because of his great year this season, the market will most likely overpay for Konerko.

There are rumors that Arizona would like to bring Konerko where his home is, but they have little money, so don’t expect that.

Returning to the White Sox is his likely destination, unless crazy deal making General Manager Kenny Williams acquires a guy like Prince Fielder or even signs Adam Dunn.

Prediction – White Sox, three years for $30 million.

10. Andy Pettitte – LHP – 21 GS – 11 W – 3 L – 101 K – 41 BB – 3.28 ERA

Before his midseason injury, there was talk amongst baseball writers that he could possibly win the AL Cy Young. Then he hurt his groin and was eventually placed on the 60 day Disabled List.

He is still a very good pitcher, but there seems to be another Brett Favre in New York. No not with the sexual harassment allegations, but the “I'm retiring, no I’ll come back” talk.

If he was going to retire, the perfect time would have been after winning a fifth World Series. He is 38, but I expect him to stick around at least another year for an attempt at yet another ring.

If there are any other reports of Pettitte going anywhere else but New York, disregard it and laugh at the report.

Prediction – Yankees, one year for $10 million.

11. Aubrey Huff – 1B – 157 GP – .290 AVG – 26 HR – 86 RBI – 100 Runs – .385 OBP

I was an extreme skeptic of the San Francisco Giants signing Huff, but he proved me wrong throughout the year. He had regressed severely and always is a streaky hitter. At the age of 33, he didn’t impress me.

He gave them four months of All–Star type production, but he did regress after the trade deadline. Despite that, he played adequate defense at 1B for most of the year, and was a great guy for San Francisco.

The Giants might want to continue their relationship, but if they can get a guy like Fielder, Dunn or even one of the stellar outfielders, I would let him walk. Then again, I don’t think GM Brian Sabean is that smart.

Prediction – Giants, two years for $15 million

12. Derek Jeter – SS – 157 GP – .270 AVG – 10 HR – 67 RBI – 111 Runs – .340 OBP

The Captain had the worst year of his career, plain and simple. He was 44 points off his career batting average. And most other statistics dropped from last year.

His 2009 numbers were: .334 batting average, 18 homeruns, .406 OBP, .465 SLUG, and 212 hits. This year: .270 batting average, 10 homeruns, .340 OBP, .270 Slug and only 179 hits.

There are a couple rumors saying other teams might lure Jeter away from New York. Read the line in Pettitte’s comments. He is not leaving the Yankees.

That is a drastic decline. Then again, before last season, everyone was saying he was on the decline and then look at his 2009 numbers above.

Had he had a year like 2009, Jeter could be looking at a $100 million deal. He will still get a big deal, but mainly due to respect and because he is a “true Yankee.”

You can say he is on the decline, especially after such a poor year, but do you really want to bet against Jeter, even if he is 36? Yea, me neither.

Prediction – Yankees, five years for $85 million.

13. Jake Westbrook – RHP – 33 GS – 10 W – 11 L – 128 K – 68 BB – 4.22 ERA

He is at best a good No. 3 pitcher. He is a year removed from Tommy John surgery, and he already started opening day for the Cleveland Indians. Not that that’s saying much about the Indians.

He was traded at the deadline to the St. Louis Cardinals when it looked like they would be headed to the postseason. Well that didn’t happen.

He will get a ton of groundballs, but won’t strike many out.

Look for a return to either the Cardinals or the Indians for the 33 year old. A dark horse could be the pitching starved Brewers or even Mets.

Prediction – Cardinals, two years for $16 million.

Update – Westbrook signed a two year $16.5 million deal with the Cardinals.

14. Orlando Hudson – 2B – 126 GP – .268 AVG – 6 HR – 37 RBI – 80 runs – .338 OBP

I really don’t like Hudson here, but this free agent class is so weak that I really didn’t have much of an option.

Hudson has been one of the most overrated players in baseball the past four or five years. He always seems to have a wrist injury and his defense (his best asset besides his speed) has slipped. And even though he has speed, he is a below–average runner on the bases. Yet people still don’t recognize it.

These facts have been obvious for a long time, yet many analysts, writers and especially commentators refuse to acknowledge the facts.

I mean, come on, last year the Dodgers manager Joe Torre benched Hudson late in the season for Ronnie Belliard. Yet everyone still raves about Hudson. It’s sickening.

Despite all the reasoning, I see the Mets being the main team interested in Hudson. The Mets will have to get rid of 2B Luis Castillo somehow, but the Mets have been yearning over Hudson for years. This is their chance.

Prediction – Mets, three years for $20 million.

15. Rafael Soriano – CL – 64 G – 45 Saves – 3 W – 2 L – 57 K – 14 BB – 1.73 ERA

The Tampa Bay Rays solved their closer problem! Well actually just for a year. Soriano made $7.25 million this past year and will be looking for a raise after leading the AL in saves.

Of course Tampa would love to re–sign Soriano, but as mentioned before, they do not have deep pockets.

Soriano and Crawford will only be a couple of the mass exodus from Tampa. They could lose up to five or six player in free agency and then they could trade two or three more players.

Could we have just seen the Rays window close?

Soriano likely is closing somewhere else next year. A big deal is expected, he is electric and still young for a closer, only 30. Angels have a need here. They could be the Yankees of two offseasons ago.

Prediction – Angels, four years for $48 million.

16. Mariano Rivera – CL – 61 G – 33 SV – 3 W – 3 L – 45 K – 11 BB – 1.80 ERA

He would be above Soriano normally but you have to take two factors in consideration. 1. Mariano is not leaving the Yankees. 2. The “Sandman” is 40 years old.

He still dominates baseball with that destructive and bat–shattering cutter.

He is the best postseason closer of all time, and could pitch another four years.

Rivera will be overpaid because of his Yankee status in history.

Prediction – Yankees, three years for $42 million.

17. Juan Uribe – SS/2B/3B – 148 GP – .248 AVG – 24 HR – 85 RBI – 64 Runs – .310 OBP

If you want a guy to compare to Vladimir Guerrero this is the guy. I’m not saying Uribe is going to be a Hall of Famer like Guerrero will be, but in the fact that he crushes fastballs, mistake pitches and has absolutely zero plate discipline.

He doesn’t like taking walks, as evidence by his only 45 walks this year. That’s not likely to change since he isn’t young exactly young, 31.

He is versatile in the field, though doesn’t have great range at any position, and his arm makes up for that.

No one wanted him two years ago and the Giants gave him a chance. Well I don’t think he will get a much better offer than he will from the Giants.

Prediction – Giants, three years for $18 million.

18. Hiroki Kuroda – 31 GS – 11 W – 13 L – 159 K – 48 BB – 3.39 ERA

He could easily be at 11, were Keith Law has him on his list. But his age and the likelihood of him re–signing with the Dodgers drop him a little here for me.

Kuroda strikes out enough guys to not be considered a true groundball pitcher, but not enough to be called a strikeout pitcher. The happy medium and ability to avoid walking a lot of guys, will lead to a few teams looking into him.

He has had some injury scares in the past, but nothing that has been too serious.

He made $15+ million this year, but expect a steep pay cut.

Prediction – Dodgers, two years for $20 million.

Update – Kuroda signed a one year extension with the Dodgers for $12 million,

19. Brad Penny – RHP – 9 GS – 3 W – 4 L – 35 K – 9 BB – 3.23 ERA

Penny was injured shortly into the season. It was a big blow to the Cardinals staff in my opinion. Had he not been injured, there would have been no need to trade for Jake Westbrook.

In the past, Penny had been a guy that tried to intimidate batters. Even though he has good velocity and so–so movement, he wasn’t the most successful pitcher.

Then he joined the Cardinals and pitching guru Dave Duncan. Before he was injured, he had the best groundball ratio of his career and was likely to have a very good season in St. Louis.

I think Penny will want to prove himself in St. Louis, and I'm sure working with Duncan helped. I could see Penny rejoining the Cardinals. A long–term deal isn’t likely, as Penny is 32 and hasn’t always been the healthiest throughout his career.

Prediction – Cardinals, two years for $14 million.

20. Jim Thome – DH – 108 GP – .283 AVG – 25 HR – 59 RBI – 48 Runs – .412 OBP

The 40 year old can still hit. Sure Thome is a DH and has major platoon splits so he has to sit vs. lefthanders, but he can still get on base, and hit the ball out the park.

He says he is willing to continue DHing, take a pay cut and not play every day. Well if you told me that in 108 games Thome would hit 25 homeruns and get on base at a .412 clip, I’d say I would take him.

He is one of baseball’s best endorsers of the game, and a great teammate.

Manny Ramirez and a number of other players could have been here, but Thome was more productive than the others in my opinion.

Look for him having another good season with the Twins.

Prediction – Twins, one year for $2.25 million.

Possible Trades

Last year there was a huge three team trade involving the Tigers, Diamondbacks and Yankees and seven players. There are always talks of “blockbuster” trades like this, but usually nothing materializes besides speculation.

This year, there are a few blockbusters that could actually happen. These eight players are the most speculated movers.

1. Zack Greinke – RHP –Kansas City Royals

The main teams seeking Greinke are the Texas Rangers (if they can’t retain Cliff Lee), New York Yankees (same reason as Texas), and surprisingly the Toronto Blue Jays.

A deal involving Greinke could happen but isn’t necessarily likely. He has a team friendly deal for the next two years, and he says he has no desire in going to a big market.

If there is a deal involving the 2009 AL Cy Young, it will be a heavily prospect laden package.

The Royals are asking for two “can’t–miss” prospects with one or two more really good prospects.

A few years ago that wouldn’t have been a problem, but today with teams hoarding prospects like they are gold bars, it’s difficult to see.

A package from Texas would most certainly involve RHP Neftali Feliz and probably LHP Martin Perez. Other than that, the Rangers are loaded with pitching prospects, but a little lighter on positional prospects. If Kansas City wants pitching exclusively, Texas is a prime choice for a trade.

With Greinke not wanting to go to a big market team, the Yankees might be a long shot to get the talented 27 year old.

If they can work something out with Greinke, a deal would most certainly require prospects like C Jesus Montero, LHP Manny Banuelos and others. That is a lot of talent and certainly tempting, but will Greinke say yes to a deal?

Toronto has been thrown out there as a possible destination. Their package for Greinke would most likely be centered around LF Travis Snider, RHP Kyle Drabek and probably two others.

Snider and Drabek have been hyped to astronomical heights, but are they those “can’t– miss” prospects the Royals yearn for?

2. Prince Fielder – 1B – Milwaukee Brewers

The Brewers are in the same position as the Royals. They don’t have to trade Fielder unless they feel like they can benefit more from doing so. Even if the Brewers lose Fielder to free agency next year, they will get two compensation picks in the draft.

The Brewers might want to make a deal in my opinion. Fielder’s agent is Scott Boras, and will seek the most money. The Brewers bring a ton of people to the stadium, over the million annually, but can they pay the Mark Teixeira money that Fielder will be chasing?

And it benefits Fielder that he is only 26 and will only be 27 when he reaches free agency.

Recently Mark Kotsay of the White Sox says the GM Kenny Williams is lusting after a player like Fielder. But the best piece the Chi Sox have is 3B Gordon Beckham. Fielder is good, but I wouldn’t trade Beckham for him.

Say Williams is crazy enough to try and make a deal. Who would he trade for Fielder? They said they are willing to deal LF Carlos Quentin, but he wouldn’t even be asked for.

The package would need Beckham, CF prospect Jared Mitchell and more. The Brewers need pitching so a deal from Chicago would be hard to accomplish since they have no “legit” pitching prospects.

San Francisco Giants have been rumored to be in on Fielder. Problem is, two of the major guys the Brewers would want, C Buster Posey and LHP Madison Bumgarner, have to be untouchable.

That leaves RHP Zack Wheeler and a handful of positional prospects. Wheeler is a potential No. 1 pitcher (an ace), but it would be difficult for a team to built around pitching to trade their best pitching prospect.

There have been a couple people saying Fielder might be a fit in Boston. That is the farthest thing from the truth in my opinion. Besides, they are focused on Adrian Gonzalez.

In the end, a surprise team might end up dealing for Fielder, unless the Brewers are willing to accept positional prospects.

3. Adrian Gonzalez – 1B – San Diego Padres

There has been major speculation around the Padres first baseman for the past two years. He is a hometown hero, and brings in a big Hispanic audience. He is a big time player, by far San Diego’s best player and most importantly, still relatively young at 28.

That is all fine and dandy, but they will not be able to pay him. He will probably be chasing $180 million, and that would be just too much for the Padres.

There are a couple teams after him, but the two main players for him are the two Sox’s. The Red and White ones.

The Chi Sox are in the same predicament that they would be in if they pursued Fielder. The package from above would most likely be required and then some.

It would be less difficult for Boston to make a trade. San Diego GM Jed Hoyer was a disciple under Boston GM Theo Epstein and knows there system in and out.

The Red Sox are notorious under Epstein in not wanting to part with prospects. But to beat the Yankees, they might have to do it now and not wait till after the season when Gonzalez is a free agent.

Gonzalez would net the Padres prospects RHP Casey Kelly and SS Jose Iglesias. Others such as 1B Lars Anderson, RHP Junichi Tazawa (if recovered from Tommy John surgery), and OF Josh Reddick might also be included.

OF Ryan Westmoreland might be involved too if he has fully recovered from brain surgery in March. That might be a stretch, since there was questions about if he would ever play again.

4. Colby Rasmus – CF – St. Louis Cardinals

It was insane how asinine Cardinals manager Tony La Russa handled Rasmus. Rasmus is considered a “can’t miss” player already at the age of 24. He is a true “five–tool” player.

La Russa didn’t play him all the time, took him out against lefthanders and treated the kid like a dog.

Rasmus responded with numbers of .276 batting average, 23 homeruns, 66 RBI, .361 OBP, a .498 slugging percentage and great defense. Rasmus even admitted to wanting to be traded due to La Russa’s idiocy.

If the Cardinals really did trade Rasmus they should have the franchise forcibly taken away from them.

There are countless teams hoping Rasmus is on the block.

The packages can only be imagined for a second year player, who is already putting up those numbers.

5. Dan Uggla – 2B – Florida Marlins

There was hope the two sides could agree on a contract extension, but when Uggla didn’t like the numbers, the contract was leaked (four years for $48 million).

The Marlins blamed Uggla for releasing the negotiations. Uggla then proceeded by going on record that he did not leak the negotiations and that Florida had to be the culprits.

Ever since, Uggla is reportedly on the block. It shouldn’t be unexpected, as Uggla has been on the block for at least the past two years.

Popular destinations include the Giants and Tigers.

Update – Dan Uggla was surprisingly traded to a division rival, Atlanta Braves for infielder/outfielder Omar Infante and relief pitcher Michael Dunn.

6. Carlos Beltran – OF – New York Mets

Beltran stirred this pot himself when he said that he would be willing to accept a trade or a shirt to RF. Beltran was once considered the best CF in the game. But due to injuries the past two years, he has lost favor with the Mets.

If Beltran was healthy, he could bring a couple nice prospects, but due to his salary and injuries, he might not bring all that much.

Some people might prefer to have Beltran stay on the Mets play somewhere in the OF. Then again, others might want to dump his salary and move on, with whatever they get in a trade as an added bonus.

7. Matt Kemp – CF – Los Angeles Dodgers

Two years ago he was a rising star with a ridiculously bright future. Now he is a character concern who is coming off a poor year at the plate and on the field.

He is also going to start costing the Dodgers a ton of money very soon. Everyone should know already about the Dodgers ownership divorce situation. Anyway that Frank McCourt can cut costs, he will.

There might be a replacement for Kemp in OF prospect Trayvon Robinson, so a deal might not be out of the question.

I wouldn’t let Kemp go easily though. The Dodgers should ask for the sky on this one. Kemp is still young, talented, and full of potential.

8. Jonathon Papelbon – CL – Boston Red Sox

Daniel Bard looks like he is ready to take over for Papelbon. That is the reason for the speculation. Bard is a flamethrower who is filthy, while Papelbon is turning into a one pitch closer.

A one pitch closer might have been ok in the past, but that one pitch isn’t as good as it was a few years ago. He has lost some velocity, movement on his pitches and at times, the inability to throw strikes.

It also doesn’t help that Papelbon feels entitled to enormous sums of money.

Closers are always in need and Papelbon should be able to fool some dummy into trading a nice prospect for a year of Papelbon. That is unless the trading team extends him.

A couple possibilities are the Philadelphia Phillies and the division rival Rays. The Phillies have little left in their farm system after three monster trades in the past year and a half. The Rays are division rivals of the Red Sox. Both cases are roadblocks, but get rid of him while he still has some trade value.

Trade in Review

On Dec. 5, 2007, the Detroit Tigers made a “blockbuster” trade for Miguel Cabrera and LHP Dontrelle Willis. The deal has turned out well for the Tigers in the exception that Dontelle Willis is no longer with them.

Cabrera is a perennial AL MVP candidate and possibly the best 1B in the AL.

At the time of the trade Cabrera was a 24 year old that was already putting up huge numbers for Marlins, but they couldn’t afford to keep him. Typical of the Marlins.

In return for Cabrera and Willis, the Marlins got OF Cameron Maybin, LHP Andrew Miller, catcher Mike Rabelo, relief pitcher Burke Badenhop and two “throw–in” minor league pitchers.

Currently there are is only one player from that trade still on the Marlins. Yep, you guessed it, Badenhop. The reliever that was considered a “throw–in.”

Rabelo was considered a catching prospect that might not be an All-Star, but be a solid player. He is now released and a free agent.

The two gems of the deal for the Marlins were Maybin and Miller. Miller was considered to be a potential No. 1 pitching prospect and was the sixth overall pick in 2006. While Maybin was thought to be the next Ken Griffey Jr. or any other top CF and was the 10th overall pick in the 2005 pick.

In his on the mound, Miller was wild, leading to a massive amount of walks, hits. In 54 games started and 25 relief appearances, Miller’s statistics were: 294.1 innings pitched, 337 hits, 191 earned runs, 28 homeruns, 174 walks, 238 strikeouts, a WHIP (walks and hits per inning) of 1.74 and an ERA of 5.84.

Miller was far from the ace that the Marlins envisioned a little less than three years ago.

On Thursday, Nov. 13 2010, Miller, 25, was traded to the Boston Red Sox for Dustin Richardson, their 27th best prospect according to Baseball America. Florida officially gave up on Miller in less than three years.

Maybin, 23, continually teased everyone with flashes of breaking through and becoming a star. He even had a ridiculous run at the end of the 2009 season when he batted over .400 in the last few weeks of the season. He had arrived.

He followed that by striking out 92 times in 82 games. Okay, maybe we jumped on the band wagon too soon.

In Maybin’s 168 career games his stats are: .246 AVG, 13 HR, 45 RBI, 19 stolen bases, 93 runs, .313 OBP, only 135 hits and 172 K’s. So much for the second coming of Griffey Jr.

Two days after Miller was traded, CF Cameron Maybin was traded to the San Diego Padres for relievers Ryan Webb and Edward Mujica. Again, the Marlins gave up on a player in less than three years.

The pair of former top prospects still have a lot of talent and potential, but due to their lack of development, both were had for pennies on the dollar. Hopefully for their current clubs, they can produce any amount of what their potential could have brought the Marlins.

So while the Tigers boast one of the best players in baseball, the Marlins are left with a bunch of relievers. It looks like the Marlins were just trying to forget the trade ever happened.

NFL division-by-division breakdown

This is a story I am pretty sure I forgot to post. Looks like i was off, but might as weel post it. This story was done before the season began.

Is this the year that the Texans and Titans take out the Colts in the AFC South? Will San Diego fall back to the pack in the AFC West? Will last year’s worst NFC South team be the best like the past few years? Lets go over the NFL divisions.

AFC West

1. San Diego Chargers

The Chargers have won the Division five out of the last six years. Will their two big holdouts, Vincent Jackson and Marcus McNeil, prevent them from winning the division? Maybe not, but it will be closer than most think.

2. Kansas City Chiefs

After the Chargers it’s a crapshoot. The Chiefs are young and inexperienced but they have talent throughout the roster. They are probably a year or two away from actually pushing the Chargers for division dominance, but they will be intriguing.

3. Denver Broncos

The Broncos made some confusing moves, from trading All-Pro wide receiver Brandon Marshall to drafting developmental quarterback Tim Tebow in the first round. They drafted well, but I doubt they even play .500 this year.

4. Oakland Raiders

The funny thing is, I loved most of their moves this offseason. The Raiders didn’t sign and ridiculous free agents or draft poorly, like usual. It seems that someone hid owner Al Davis in the basement. They may not be great, but have a surprisingly brighter future now.

AFC South

1. Indianapolis Colts

Indy has won 12 games every year since 2003, and that shouldn’t change for at least this season. The Colts have some stiff competition this year, but then again, they have Peyton Mannning.

2. Tennessee Titans

The offense will run over everyone with Chris Johnson and Vince Young, but will their passing game be better than average? There are talks that the Redskins are trying to trade Albert Haynesworth back to the Titans, which will help their questionable defense.

3. Houston Texans

I wanted to put the Texans a spot higher, but just couldn’t do it. Their offense will be an aerial display, but do they have a good running back? Houston’s defense should be ok with studs on the line and their linebacking core being one of the best, but can they stop Peyton and the Colts passing game?

4. Jacksonville Jaguars

The poor Jags. No one watches them, and they could even be moved in a year or two out of Florida. Their offense has weapons but David Garrard isn’t a starting quarterback anymore. The defense looks pathetic compared to the Jags defense of three years ago.

AFC North

1. Baltimore Ravens

Their secondary is banged up, but the front seven and offense should make up for that until Ed Reed comes off the PUP list. It is funny how the Ravens are considered and offensive team now though. And to top it off, they just signed T.J. Houshmanzadeh.

2. Cincinnati Bengals

They have a better defense than offense surprisingly, but don’t expect the Bengals to not score points. Carson Palmer has weapons around him again, and not just TO and Ochocino.

3. Pittsburgh Steelers

It hurts me to put them down here, but I think they have been passed up now. The Steelers always could win the Super Bowl but this probably is just not their year.

4. Cleveland Browns

Pathetic all around. Don’t expect them to even be a five game winner.

AFC East

1. New England Patriots

Their defense looks weak now, but Bill Belichick will work his usual magic and have a great defense. The Pats offense won’t have much of a running game, but Tom Brady has a seemingly unlimited amount of talent and weapons to throw too.

2. New York Jets

I had Miami higher than the Jets until cornerback Darrell Revis signed his extension. They won’t be as good as the media and fans are making them out to be, but they will sure win a lot of games.

3. Miami Dolphins

They could get a wildcard berth or they could win the division. They disappointed last year after their magnificent rise to the top two years ago, but expect Bill Parcells to have this team dominating oppopnents.

4. Buffalo Bills

See Cleveland, Seattle and St. Louis.

NFC West

1. San Francisco 49ers

The Cardinals lost Kurt Warner and could fall apart as a franchise. Now it’s the Niners turn to dominate the division. Last year they swept the division but got off to such a slow start that they couldn’t recover. This year they will look great.

2. Arizona Cardinals

As I said before, they Lost Warner. Expect a big slide. The Cards still have a lot of talented pieces but now this team just looks like any other average team.

3. Seattle Seahawks

I would probably have them as the worst team in their division but they just aren’t as bad as the Rams, yet. I’ll give Pete Carroll some lee way for now, but they need more talent… everywhere.

4. St. Louis Rams

Ladies and gentlemen, here is your worst team in the NFL. They are absolutely pathetic. They are littered full of busts and even drafts Sam “Bustford.” Prepare for a very very long season.

NFC South

1. New Orleans Saints

They just won the Super Bowl, so no way am I not giving them the top spot in their own division. Expect another deep playoff run.

2. Atlanta Falcons

They didn’t perform up to their abilities as they did two years ago. But this year, expect them to be a top ten team in the NFL. Matt Ryan Roddy White, Tony Gonzalez and Michael Turner all could have monstrous seasons.

3. Carolina Panthers

When does the Jimmy Clausen era begin? They could be good this season, but I will take the under on 8 wins this year.

4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

I loved Tampa’s draft this year and will be good faster after that draft. They are talented at a lot of positions, but extremely young and inexperienced. Give them three or four years.

NFC North

1. Green Bay Packers

Aaron Rodgers is great. Plain and simple. He has weapons, an improved line and all the talent in the world. He is now the best QB in the division and is in the conversation for the best in the league.

2. Minnesota Vikings

They have injuries everywhere on offense, but could go 10-6 still. They will be talked about as Super Bowl contenders but Bret Favre doesn’t have that much left in the overrated tank.

3. Chicago Bears

They might be good, but they look like the Jags. Have talent, but won’t play up to their abilities. Plus they are in a tough division so they have no chance.

4. Detroit Lions

If it weren’t for the defense and O-Line I would rank them higher than the Bears. They have nice skill players, a nice young QB and a great D-Line, but their O-Line and back seven on their defense are putrid.

NFC East

1. Dallas Cowboys

Football’s best division. All four teams could go 8-8 but the Cowboys are by far the top team in terms of talent and performance. With a dangerous offense and a stopping defense, we could be looking at the NFL’s first hosting team in the Super Bowl.

2. New York Giants

It comes down to health for them. They always are a threat to be the best team in the league but injuries killed the Giants last year. With everyone apparently healthy, anticipate a great year from the New York football Giants.

3. Philadelphia Eagles

They are like most average teams. Good in a lot of areas but I just cant seem to give them a chance at playoff contention. They have a lot of youth, inexperience and question marks but they will still be better than the Redskins.

4. Washington Redskins

The Redskins traded for Donovan McNabb, but I still don’t see them having a big year. Their defense is good, but they have no offensive weapons and a sorry O-Line. They have a chance but I’m betting a 7-9 record is their ceiling.

College Football Power Rankings Week 11

A lot has happened since my last power rankings. Alabama continues to fall, Utah is barely on the list, and a huge story on Cam Newton is being reported on

1. Oregon (10–0) Up Next – BYE WEEK

Oregon hadn’t scored less than 42 points in a game all year and had scored as much as 72 in another. Then they went to Cal. They continued winning, but they only scored 15.

Seriously? They had played teams like Stanford and USC, yet Cal was the team to stop the Ducks offense. The Bears even held the nations rushing leader to only 91 yards rushing.

Despite the 15 point game, the Ducks still lead the nation in scoring at 50.7 points per game.

They don’t play again until Nov. 26, when they play Arizona at home. There is no chance they get jumped in the rankings since Auburn also doesn’t play this week.

2. Auburn (11–0) Up Next – BYE WEEK

I have said it before, but I will say it again, Cam Newton is a monster on the field. He has over 2,000 yards passing and 1,000 yards rushing.

He is also thought to be the Heisman trophy favorite. He is numbers are: 183.58 quarterback rating, 2038 passing yards, 21 touchdowns to go along with 1297 rushing yards and 17 rushing TDs.

Sad thing, it might all come to an end. In fact, it might actually be wiped from the record books if the speculation is true about Newton. It is being reported that Cam’s father, Cecil Newton, asked for money Cam to go play at Mississippi State. There is no proof of the allegations, but there are former players saying Cam backed out of going to Mississippi State because, “the money was too good.”

There is now a NCAA investigation looking into the reports, and even an FBI inquiry into the case due to reports of extortion.

There are more reports, but due to the speculation and questionable sources, it I'm uncomfortable talking about them.

Hopefully for the Newton family and Auburn, these are false allegations. If not, the season could be wiped from the books and might have some serious penalties handed down by the NCAA.

3. Boise State (9–0) Up Next – Fresno State (6–3)

I have a hard time putting TCU ahead of Boise State. Many people might not have that big of a problem with it, but Boise has won 23 straight games and 34 straight regular season games. Both are longest in the nation.

You can talk about their schedule compared to teams in the Southeastern Conference or TCU, but all the Broncos do is win.

Can we get some trophy talk for QB Kellen Moore? He is far and away college football’s most efficient QB with a touchdown to interception ratio of 24 to 3. He also completes 71.9 percent of his passes. He deserves some hype.

They continue to beat teams by an average of 35 points a game and have three games left against Fresno State, Nevada and their season finale against Utah State. If they can beat those three by a margin of 35 or more, they might have a chance at the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) title game.

That is if Auburn or Oregon loses.

4. TCU (11–0) Up Next – BYE WEEK

The Horned Frogs actually got a scare this week against San Diego State University. In fact with the 40-35 score, it was the closest game TCU played all year.

SDSU started the game with a quick two TD lead against TCU. Then the Horned Frogs offense took over, scoring 37 unanswered points.

Their Nov. 27 game against New Mexico is their next and last regular season game for TCU.

They will most assuredly get selected to play in a BCS game, probably a rematch against Boise state. Their third straight bowl game against each other. Hopefully this year will be more exciting than the last two games.

5. Stanford (9–1) Up Next – Cal (5–5)

Wonder kid, QB Andrew Luck, threw for almost 300 yards yet didn’t have a TD against the Arizona State Sun Devils. He did have a pick though.

The probable No. 1 overall pick in the 2011 National Football League draft, Luck lead the Cardinal on a 10 play, 85 yards drive to score with a little over five minutes left. That was all they needed.

Stanford’s 9–1 record is their best 10 game record since 1951. It is also their highest ranking since 1970.

Even with their remarkable play, they still need a lot of help getting to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.

6. Wisconsin (9–1) Up Next – Michigan (7–3)

83 points. The Badgers scored 83 points on the Indiana Hoosiers. That’s almost three touchdowns a quarter. It is the most point scored this season in a single game and the most for the Badgers since the early 1900’s.

They did that without their starting running back, John Clay.

Say what?

Now against a lower tier team such as a Division III college it wouldn’t be anything too incredible. But Wisconsin did this to a Division I school. Granted, the Hoosiers aren’t exactly a power house, but they are still a D–I school.

Incredible.

I can’t wait to see how many points the Badgers put up on the Wolverines.

7. Nebraska (9–1) Up Next – (17) Texas A&M (7–3)

Ok say they gave up more than 25 points twice in a game, but they are still 9–1. And one of those games, star freshman QB Taylor Martinez didn’t play in due to injury.

Had he been in the game against Iowa State, the Cornhuskers would have been able to hold onto the ball longer. Thus leading to fewer scoring opportunities for the Cyclones.

Martinez has cooled off in the running game, but the freshman is still averaging 7.8 yards per carry.

It would be nice if he could pass the ball a little better, but he is a freshman and you don’t want to put even more pressure on him.

8. LSU (9–1) Up Next – Ole Miss (4–6)

I can’t have them higher than eighth; no way, no how. They have a stout defense and a decent running game but when your quarterbacks are this pathetic, I can’t do it.

Jordan Jefferson combined, let me make this clear, COMBINED, to go 8–22 for only 95 passing yards. In college you cannot expect to win the big game with that poor of a passing game. And this wasn’t even a big game! It was against Louisiana–Monroe!

Let me put this into perspective for you, three QBs (T.J. Yates – UNC, Dayne Crist – Notre Dame, and Brian Anderson – Marshall) have a passing single passing play of 95+ yards. Single, as in one play. Not in a game, just one play.

Now you tell me that you have faith in those pair of QBs in Baton Rouge.

9. Ohio State (9–1) Up Next – Iowa (7–3)

You would have thought by now that the Buckeyes would have jumped a few spots since their loss to Wisconsin. Well when everyone else is playing better competition than you, it’s hard to go up.

Terrelle Pryor continues to grow as a QB, but he hasn’t put up the insane numbers and plays that fellow QB, Cam Newton has.

Looks like the Buckeyes can kiss a BCS game goodbye, unless someone loses. And for Pryor, maybe next year you can get the Heisman. That is if Cam Newton isn’t back.

10. Michigan State (9–1) Up Next – Purdue (4–6)

I thought they were on their way to a BCS game. After they beat Wisconsin over a month ago, their schedule looked like a breeze.

Then they played Iowa. More like they showed up to the game. They were routed 37–6. Embarrassing.

They still have had a very good season and might get into a high paying bowl game, but the Hawkeye game really hurts.

11. Alabama (8–2) Up Next – Georgia State (6–4)

They were that team lurking in the shadows. Everyone was looking behind them, just to make sure the Crimson Tide weren’t hot on their heels.

Then the Tide pulls a dud against LSU and their crappy pair of QBs.

For Alabama, the rest of the season doesn’t matter. They aren’t going to the national championship game so they might as well go home.

There will be talks about how, “they are playing for pride” and “we will be back next year,” but it doesn’t matter. They failed in their attempt to repeat as champs.

All season, the offense hasn’t looked as explosive as last year. The defense definitely hasn’t been as dominating as 2009’s squad.

Next year, head coach Nick Saban will probably have the best recruiting class ever. Hopefully they don’t lose half their team to the NFL.

12. Arkansas (8–2) Up Next – (24) Mississippi State (7–3)

Their defense has faltered as of late, but their offense hasn’t scored less than 38 points since their lose to Auburn.

Ryan Mallett continues to torch defenses left and right, but the nice surprise has been running back Knile Davis.

Davis has rushed for 550 yards and nine touchdowns in the last four games. In the Razorbacks last game, against UTEP, Davis rushed for 182 yards and a TD on 11 carries.

Funny, Davis more than doubled the production of LSU’s quarterbacks on half as many attempts.

Mississippi State shouldn’t be much of a problem this week, but next week they play the aforementioned LSU.

13. Oklahoma State (9–1) Up Next – Kansas (3–7)

Oklahoma State finally ended their 12 year slide to the Texas Longhorns this past weekend with a final score of 33–16.

They are good, but they lost to the one true contender they played against, Nebraska.

I won’t be able to take this shootout team seriously until they play Oklahoma and win.

On a side note, wide receiver Justin Blackmon has made the Cowboys’ fans forget all about Dez Bryant. Good thing for Oklahoma State, Blackmon is only a sophomore.

14. Virginia Tech (8–2) Up Next – (22) Miami (Fl.) (7–3)

What did I tell you? They lost their first two games of the year, including a laugher against James Madison.

Now?

They have won eight games in a row and could be considered one of the hottest teams in the nation, if not the hottest.

Head coach Frank Beamer has the Hokies has them back to their normal post, the top of the Atlantic Coastal Conference.

They haven’t played the steepest competition, sure, but no they play the rival Hurricanes. The Hokies have already wrapped up the division already, but now they get to prove themselves against another ranked team.

15. Oklahoma (8–2) Up Next – Baylor (7–4)

They are a constantly overrated team. Think I'm crazy? Remember when the Sooners were the NO. 1 team according to the BCS standings? They lost two games and now aren’t even in the top 10, and barely in the top 15.

QB Landry Jones stepped in for Sam Bradford and the Sooners haven’t missed a beat this year; yet another system QB. Bradford might have been a special case, but I was right regardless.

And didn’t Kirk Herbstreit have RB DeMarco Murray winning the Heisman? So much for that prediction Kirk.

16. Missouri (8–2) Up Next – Iowa State (5–6)

They too were ranked very high but have fallen. You know why? They are a fake team.

Don’t get me wrong, they have a good defense, 10th best in the nation in points against (17.5), but I don’t think their defense could handle a team like Auburn, Oregon or Boise State.

They have beaten one good team, the overrated Oklahoma. They lost to Nebraska 31–17 the following week. People said it was because they were emotionally exhausted from beating Oklahoma.

Right… That’s why they lost to Texas Tech the next week right? Pretenders, not contenders.

17. Texas A&M (7–3) Up Next – (8) Nebraska (9–1)

I thought this was too high for the Aggies, but then I looked at the three teams they lost too, Oklahoma State, Arkansas and Missouri. All three in a row and all three ahead of the Aggies.

Ryan Tannenhill took over for senior Jerrod Johnson at QB when Johnson didn’t meet expectations. Since taking over mid way through the Kansas game four weeks ago, Tannenhill has been one of the best quarterbacks in the nation and hasn’t lost.

For the Aggies sake, Tannenhill better have a huge game this week.

18. South Carolina(7–3) Up Next – Troy (5–4)

They steamrolled Florida, but was it really that impressive? Florida has been in and out of the top 25 all season, while being a mediocre team in every aspect.

Now you can throw South Carolina in that mix. They have a better record, but the Gamecocks only advantage is RB Marcus Lattimore.

Speaking of Lattimore, he has only had three really good games. Those three were against SEC rivals, Georgia, Tennessee and Florida. All of three games Lattimore had over 180 yards rushing and multiple touchdowns.

Lattimore is a touchdown machine, be he hasn’t been the most efficient. In the other six games he has played in, he hasn’t eclipsed the 100 yard mark.

19. Iowa (7–3) Up Next – (9) Ohio State (9–1)

Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz only has a losing record to two teams in the Big Ten. One is Ohio State, which isn’t much of a surprise considering their conference dominance the past decade or so.

The second? Northwestern. They are 1–5 in their last six meetings against the Wildcats.

What is their deal? They could have been a top 10 team had they not lost to Northwestern again.

There defense has slipped ever so slightly, but their offense isn’t anywhere near what I expected this year.

They have the talent to have been a top five team, but apparently they just weren’t up to it.

20. USC (7–3) Up Next – Oregon State (4–5)

Whoa there. How are the Trojans here? They weren’t supposed to be here after recruits and players left after NCAA sanctions were handed down.

But they still have QB Matt Barkley. He might not be there for much longer, but he has saved their season in my opinion.

There has also been the emergence of RB Marc Tyler. The Antelope Valley product is the Trojans leading rusher, and has taken some of the weight off of Barkley’s shoulders.

Their defense needs to either step it up, or get some big time recruits. Defense used to be the staple of the Trojans, now they give up 27.7 points a game (72nd in the nation).

Even though they are having a nice season, it doesn’t matter. With a two year postseason ban, they can’t go to a bowl game. After this season, hopefully head coach Lane Kiffin can persuade some recruits to come to USC with just one more year left on the ban.

21. Nevada (9–1) Up Next – New Mexico State (2–8)

They have the best record but are the lowest seeded team. Why? They have an incredibly weak schedule.

Their one lose was to Hawaii, who has lost to USC, Colorado and Boise State. That Colorado kills Nevada. Yea they didn’t lose to them, but in power rankings, it hurts their strength of schedule.

They do have two really good players in QB Colin Kaepernick and RB and RB Vai Taua. Vaua has over 1,100 yards rushing and 14 TDs even with missing a game this year. Karpernick has thrown for over 2,100 yards and rushed for 900 with a TD total of 32.

They probably will end the season with an 11–2 record, with the second loss to Boise State.

22. Miami (Fl.) (7–3) Up Next – (14) Virginia Tech (8–2)

Could there now be a QB controversy for the Hurricanes? Junior Jacory Harris is a Brett Favre type “gunslinger.” He has such a good arm that it gets him into trouble.

Well Harris went down in the loss to Virginia. In his place stepped in true freshman Stephen Morris. While starting, Morris has put up some nice numbers and has won two in a row.

Luckily for Morris and the Hurricanes, WR Leonard Hankerson decided to step his game up this year. He had three catches for 132 yards and a TD in the win against Georgia Tech. Hankerson has had a touchdown catch in five straight games.

Head coach Randy Shannon does need to step up his player development though. A couple years ago he had one of the best recruiting classes in the nation, yet the players haven’t developed as they should have.

23. Arizona (7–3) Up Next – BYE WEEK

They nearly rallied back to beat USC this weekend, but fell just short.

QB Nick Foles continues to put up huge numbers, 353 yards passing and three TDs against USC, but they have a none existent running game.

The Wildcats defense did contain QB Matt Barkley, but they couldn’t stop the running game. Marc Tyler ran for 160 yards and a TD on 31 carries.

Next up is the (1) Oregon Ducks in two weeks. I don’t have much hope for the defense to hold the Ducks rushing game. But maybe due to their bye week, they can keep it close enough for Foles to do some damage late.

24. Mississippi State (7–3) Up Next – (12) Arkansas (8–2)

Ahhh, the center of the Cam Newton controversy. Well I can see why they are upset Newton didn’t come to the Bulldogs. Their QBs are terrible.

The rushing game is quite good at 211.7 yards a game (18th in the nation), but their passing game is incredibly inept.

Their gameplan is to have their defense hide their offensive inefficiencies. Their defense is good, but it isn’t that good.

Mississippi State is having by far a better year than I expected, but I think they are a couple good recruiting classes away from challenging the SEC powerhouses.

25. Utah (8–2) Up Next – San Diego State University (7–3)

Another team I was right about. Their weak schedule fooled everyone into believing they were a contender.

Then they played TCU. Actually, unlike when Michigan State lost to Iowa, I don’t know if the Utes even showed up against the Horned Frogs.

Final score, 47–7. So much for a BCS contender. Funny to think back when friends said Utah was for real and I was crazy for not having them higher than 10.

Then this weekend they played Notre Dame. One of the most overrated teams in the nation despite their .500 record.

Utah should have manhandled the fighting Irish. Think again. Notre Dame beat the Utes 28–3.

It feels good being right so much, especially when teams are overrated due to a bogus record.

The Giants win the Pennant!

Finally, San Francisco baseball has won. The Giants moved from New York City to San Francisco in 1958 and have not been able to win it all since 1954.

Then this year’s Giants won it all. But how? After years of problems and controversy, how did this team full of castoffs win the pennant?

As little as two years ago, this team was in total disarray. The Barry Bonds era was officially over. Years of winning, playoffs, and a World Series berth was finally over. But then the Giants had all his accomplishments, and any signs of Bonds were swept under the rug. The team wanted to forget all about the controversial star. But can you blame them? Sure he brought people to the park, but his linkage to steroids had cast a cloud over the place.

While they had Bonds, the Giants would always try to find that “quick fix.” They would sign over–age and over–priced veterans, thus forfeiting valuable draft picks and depriving their farm system of much needed talented youth. They would use seemingly all their top prospects to get veterans such as in the AJ Pierzynski trade. And when they would have a high draft pick, they would waste it on low ceiling players that could get to the majors fast. So again, it didn’t help.

Until just the past couple years, the years of complete ignorance didn’t produce any young prospects that the team could be built around.

Then their farm system erupted full of high ceiling prospects that they had finally used their high draft picks on instead of veterans. It started back in 2002, when they drafted a young high school right handed pitcher by the name of Matt Cain. The 18 year old was the beginning foundation of their future. It took a couple years for the Giants to realize they needed to draft well again.

In 2006, the Giants picked a tiny pitcher from the University of Washington. It was a controversial pick because the kid had a violent pitching motion and that scared scouts. That player was RHP Tim Lincecum, the two time defending National League Cy Young award winner. That’s two ace pitchers in their farm system, Lincecum and Cain.

Continuing in their good drafting, in 2007 they drafted high ceiling players that have either already reached the major leagues, or got them a solid veteran in return. In the 1st round of 2007, the Giants selected LHP Madison Bumgarner and RHP Tim Alderson. Bumgarner (21 years old) just became the 4th youngest pitcher to ever start and win a game in the World Series. While, Alderson netted the Giants their starting second baseman, Freddy Sanchez, a former batting champ and solid defender.

The 2008 draft might have been even better than 2007. This was the year they got their offensive centerpiece of the future in catcher Buster Posey with the 5th overall pick. The 23 year old Posey was the reason why the Giants could get rid of veteran catcher Bengie Molina. In his debut season, Posey played in 108 games, producing a .305 batting average, 18 homeruns, and 67 RBI. He did all of this while playing the most demanding position on the field, catcher. The young Posey is already a star, but will soon challenge other catchers such as Minnestoa’s Joe Mauer and Atlanta’s Brian McCann.

Three seasons ago, the Giants had a record of 72–90; in 2009 they improved surprisingly with an 88–74 record. Even after a 16 game improvement, there was much work to be done.

In the offseason, the Giants came in needing another starting pitcher, more bull pen help and pretty much an all new lineup.

The starting pitcher the Giants added, Todd Wellenmeyer, was replaced later in the year by the previously mentioned Bumgarner.

Their bullpen was beautifully upgraded in the middle of the season with the additions of castoffs: Ramon Ramirez, Javier Lopez and Santiago Casilla. Add those three to closer RHP Brian Wilson and LHP Jeremy Affeldt, you have a pretty nice bullpen, well at least this year you do.

And finally they added some help in the lineup. As a late signing, the Giants signed 1B/RF Aubrey Huff. Huff had a great year, with a BA of /290, 26 homeruns and 86 RBI. They re-signed SS Juan Uribe after a surprising 2009 year. This year Uribe had numbers of 24 homeruns and 85 RBI. And centerfield was taken away from Aaron Rowand. His replacement, Andres Torres, produced a batting line of .268 BA, 16 homeruns, 63 RBI and 26 stolen bases before struggling after September. Torres speed gave the Giants great defensive range and a disruptive force on the base paths.

In mid–season, the Tampa Bay Rays released disappointing designated hitter Pat Burrell. The Giants quickly snatched up the power hitter and he gave them good numbers in left field.

Last but not least, they Giants traded for Mike Fontenot from the Cubs, and mistakenly claimed outfielder Cody Ross from the Florida Marlins. That claim on Ross ended up being a great thing, as Ross ended up being the Giants best hitter in the playoffs.

They also signed Mark DeRosa but he was lost for the majority of the year with a wrist injury.

Another lineup mistake was last year’s surprise 3B Pablo “Kung Fu Panda” Sandoval. Sandoval had come to camp so out of weight that he played catch up all year. He would have to do cardio before the games, but by the time the game came around, he was too tired. His performance suffered dearly with numbers of .268 BA, 13 homeruns and 63 RBI, after he produced a batting line of .330 BA, 25 homeruns and 90 RBI in 2009. “Panda” ended up getting benched down the stretch and partly throughout the playoffs. Hopefully for the Giants, Sandoval will come to Spring Training in better condition and will have a great season next year.

This year, they came in as a sleeper. Most analysts and “experts,” said they had a chance to make the playoffs due to their great pitching staff, but their pedestrian lineup didn’t scare anyone. They ended up going 92–70 and winning the NL West division title on the last day of the season.

Still with all the additions, not many people even had the Giants winning a playoff series.

In the National League Division Series, they faced the Atlanta Braves. The Giants won the series 3 games to one. The Braves pitching staff couldn’t hold up as their lineup was injured and cold at the time.

After their series with Atlanta, they ran into the team that had reached the World Series two years in a row and won it all in 2008. The Philadelphia Phillies. The NLCS was when the Giants were supposed to bow down to the superior team. Nope. Not going to happen. RHP Tim Lincecum outpitched the presumed Cy Young winner for this year, Phillies RHP Roy Halladay, not once, but twice. RHP Matt Cain continued his dominance in the playoffs, posting an ERA of 0.00.

The Giants dominant pitching staff led this surprise team past the team that was picked at the beginning of the season to return to the World Series.

Finally, this was it. They were back in the World Series. The first time since 2002, and only the fourth time since they moved out west to San Francisco in 1958.

It was the team that hasn’t won since 1954 against the team that had never reached the World Series in franchise history, the Texas Rangers. Whoever was to win this series, it was going to be a long time coming.

In Game 1 of the World Series, it was a matchup of Lincecum and Rangers LHP Cliff Lee in San Francisco. Home field advantage went to the NL due to the NL finally winning the All–Star game. It was expected to be a low scoring game and a total pitching duel. Well, it didn’t go as planned. The Giants won at home, 11–7, after both pitchers were knocked out of the game much earlier than expected.

Game 2, Cain continued his playoff dominance by going 7 2/3 innings and not allowing a single run. Final score, 9–0 after a 7 run 8th inning by the Giants.

Games 3 was back in Texas. Giants LHP Jonathon Sanchez went against Texas RHP Colby Lewis, a great story in his own right. Sanchez’s outing didn’t last long, as he gave up 3 quick runs in the 2nd inning. Texas added another run in the 5th inning. The Giants just couldn’t recover, falling to the Rangers 4–2.

Game 4 was a must win for Rangers. Win and your tied in the series 2–2, lose and your down 3–1. The Giants threw out the young LHP Madison Bumgarner vs. the underwhelming Rangers RHP Tommy Hunter. Hunter went only 4 innings, while Bumgarner went on to be the 4th youngest pitcher to start and win a game. His final line was eight IP, three hits and six strikeouts. Oh and by the way, he didn’t allow a run. That is a great regular season start, much less a World Series start.

Do or die, Game 5, Texas down 3–1 to San Francisco. A pitching rematch of Game 1. Except this time, we got what we all desired. “Blogger–in–Chief at Hardball Talk at NBCSports.com,” Craig Calcaterra had a great analogy for this game on Twitter, “Pitching Porn.” Sounds crazy right? Well they were both that amazing, there is really no other way to explain it. Neither pitcher allowed a run until the 7th inning. The 7th inning! That is crazy. The last time a game went this deep scoreless was the 2005 World Series Game 4 clincher for the Chicago White Sox. That game ended 1–0, after the lone run was scored in the 8th inning.

Unfortunately for the Rangers, the first runs scored were a three run homerun by Edgar Renteria. Wait what? Renteria? He was on the disabled list three times this year and was even benched. But just like he did 13 years ago for the Florida Marlins, Renteria delivered the big hit to win the game and the Series.

Renteria’s blast won him the World Series MVP. But that looks like it will be his last hit. Renteria looks like he is going to retire. It’s not all lost though, Renteria gets to pull a John Elway and end his career on a ridiculous high note.

This team is built around pitching. Plain and simple. They have some good players they would like to re-sign, but they need to be smart because some of their prospects could be ready to the join “the Show.”

They have young reinforcements in RHP Zack Wheeler, 1B Brandon Belt, 2B Charlie Culberson, C/ 1B Tommy Joseph, SS Brandon Crawford, OF Thomas Neal, and CF Gary Brown. With all these prospects and many more, currently a top five farm system, they can afford to let aging veterans go and not overspend on other free agents.

Bottom line, it was a great victory for the Giants and for the City of San Francisco. Don’t count out this team in a future, we could see this team winning a couple more pennants if they continue to draft and develop well, make smart free agent moves, keep their own stars, and most importantly, don’t take this victory for granted.

2010 - 2011 NBA Preview

So we are about a week into the 2010–2011 NBA season, but it’s never too late for a season preview. Who will be good, who will be bad, and what else can we expect? Award winners, playoff contenders and finally, who wins it all?

Eastern Conference

Atlantic Division

1. Boston Celtics – 2009–2010 record (50–32)

Of course the Celtics are No. 1 in their division, they got back to the NBA Finals for the second time in three years. Unfortunately for them, they lost in Game 7 to the Lakers. They said it would have been a different outcome, had starting center Kendrick Perkins hadn’t blown out his knee. That may have been the case but that was last year, and this is now.

During the offseason, the Celtics needed to re-sign their all important shooting guard, Ray Allen, and make sure their head coach didn’t retire. After they go his deal out of the way, they added to the bench. They got scoring in SG Von Wafer and point guard Delonte West; much needed youth in PG Avery Bradley (injured but should return soon); and more importantly, they added size with the two O’Neals, C Shaquille and power forward/ C Jermaine.

This year, they come in with a chip on their shoulder and ready to contend for a title. Their team is one of the two most complete in the league, the Lakers being the other, but must wait until Bradley and Perkins are back from their injuries. This team could get close to 60 wins and challenge for a Finals berth, if, and this is a big if, if they can stay healthy.

2. New Jersey Nets – 2009–2010 record (12–70)

A bit of a surprise at No. 2 you say? Well that record last year was just terrible I know, but they were injured a lot last year, young and not the best coached. But they have some serious talent. They return C Brook Lopez, PG Devin Harris (hopefully pain free), SG Terrence Williams and they added stud PF prospect, Derrick Favors. This team is extremely young, but will be better disciplined now by hard–nose coach Avery Johnson. Also, with their billionaire Russian owner, Mikhail Prokhorov, they could spend a lot of money in the upcoming offseasons.

There was a lot of hope this offseason for the Nets. They were in a position to get PG John Wall in the draft, but the NBA lottery screwed them out of it, ending up with Favors; they had a TON of cap room, hoping to get a big time free agent like Dwayne Wade, LeBron James or even Chris Bosh, all three went… well we will discuss that later, but the Nets only ended up with Travis Outlaw as their free agent prize (yawn).

Though they are young, Avery Johnson is a very good coach and could get them playing up to their abilities. Also there is more good news, there has been talk of a possible trade of a big time player to the Nets. You guessed it, Carmelo Anthony. If they can pull of a trade for Anthony, they could be a great team. 40–45 games isn’t out of the question, especially if they add ‘Melo.

3. New York Knicks – 2009–2010 record (29–53)

Many people have them as a playoff contender, I draw the line at the eight seed. They got a huge piece in PF Amare Stoudemire, but he left the perfect spot for him in Phoenix. Yes it’s the Big Apple, but when you are starting two rookies, SG Landry Fields and C Timofey Mozgov, you are not even close to contending.

There is a lot of promise around them, but it all is IF they can draw future free agents, trade for superstars or an extremely sought after European, Ricky Rubio. That sounds like a weak plan. I was proven right when they missed out on Dwayne Wade and LeBron James. In fact, they coveted James and had been planning on signing him for the past two or three years. Well this offseason netted them a PF who is good, but not great and cant grab a rebound. Don’t expect more than 40 wins by the Knicks.

4. Philadelphia 76ers – 2009–2010 record (27–55)

They drafted the highly touted the do it all player from Ohio State, Evan Turner. That was the extent of their player personnel acquisitions. Turner is the most “NBA ready” player from this year’s draft, but he didn’t come to camp in shape. Thus pissing off the coaching staff. They did add C Spencer Hawes through a trade, but he has been a bust so far in his young career, not to mention injury–prone.

Then a well thought of acquisition, making Doug Collins their coach. That was from a lot of insider, but why was Doug Collins a highly sought after coach? Collins, in his eight previous seasons as head coach for Chicago, Detroit and Washington, amassed a mark of 332-287 (.536) with a playoff record of 15-23 (.395). The regular season record is okay, but his playoff record is pathetic. And my least favorite thing about Collins? He couldn’t win with Michael Jordan. Let me repeat that for you, he couldn’t win with the greatest player ever. Ever since he was fired and replaced by Phil Jackson by the Bulls, he has been riding on Jackson’s coattails. He says he built the Bulls. Umm… no. Not even close.

I can’t see the Sixers getting much better this year. They didn’t make any drastic changes and added a mediocre coach at best. 30 wins will be lucky, especially if they trade SG Ander Iguodala like it has been rumored.

5. Toronto Raptors – 2009–2010 record (40–42)

They will slide this year, no doubt about that. They lost Chris Bosh in free agency, traded away their prized offseason acquisition from last year, Hedo Turkoglu, and are still in Canada. Sorry Canada, but that stadium looks pathetic empty.

They have a couple guys with potential to step it up, DeMar DeRozan, Ed Davis (injured), and former No. 1 overall pick Andrea Bargnani. But DeRozan and Davis are extremely young, and Bargnani isn’t a tough player. With that said, don’t expect much from Toronto.

25-30 games might be a reach for the Raptors.

Central Divison

1. Chicago Bulls – 2009–2010 record (41–41)

It is time for Pg Derrick Rose to become a monster. He probably is the fastest guy in the league, tough, plays good defense, a good leader and can take it to the rim at will. He has to improve all of those now. He needs to become meaner, more cut throat and most importantly, develop a deep shot. He worked on his range in the offseason, but will he put practice to use?

They were one of the teams hoping to land Bosh, Wade or James but struck out on all three. So they threw $60 million at PF Carlos Boozer, saying he was the low post threat they have been looking for. Well, that was a waste. He will be out for the next few weeks as his hand heals from a sketchy injury. Boozer is listed at 6’ 9” but in reality, he is probably 6’7.” Not much of a difference you say? Well did you see the playoff series between the Jazz and the Lakers? Boozer was manhandled by the pair of seven footers of the Lakers. In the east it might not be as much of a difference, expect against the Magic, Celtics and Nets.

Better news for the Bulls? They signed C Joakim Noah to an extension and there is serious talk that they could also attempt to get Carmelo Anthony. If they get Anthony without dealing Noah, a team consisting of Rose, ‘Melo, Boozer and Noah could win 60 games and contend for the title.

2. Milwaukee Bucks – 2009–2010 record (46–36)

This standing here is all determined by the health of C Andrew Bogut and development of PG Brandon Jennings. Bogut, if you don’t remember, had that nasty fall off the rim and broke his arm and did other damage. While Jennings had an excellent rookie year, he is hoping there is no “sophomore slump” in his future.

They have a good mix of young talent, veterans and nice depth, but their man weak link in my opinion is their PF. You can’t have Drew Gooden starting and expect to make a deep title run. They’d be better off starting Luc Richard Mbah a Moute or rookie Larry Sanders. Then again their bench looks like it has nice scoring capabilities, so maybe they can find away around Gooden.

If all goes well, Bogut staying healthy, Jennings avoiding a slump and their bench playing well, they could up their win total from last year and reach 50 wins.

3. Cleveland Cavaliers – 2009–2010 record (61–21)

You can’t expect them to win as many games as they did last year. They lost one of the top players in the league, LeBron James. That was a tough loss, and now LeBron is the most hated man in Cleveland. Yes even more than Art Modell, former owner of the Browns who moved the team to Baltimore. I definitely don’t agree with the way that LeBron left, but it’s his life and I will leave it at that.

But there was a major miss conception about his supporting cast. Everyone thought that the rest of the team was chopped liver. They have a reigning first team defense player in C Anderson Varejao, former all-stars in Mo Williams and Antawn Jamison and some ridiculous young talent in PF JJ Hickson and newly acquired SG Christian Eyenga.

This team won’t be great, but it shouldn’t crumple either. The seven or eight seed in the playoffs isn’t a stretch. In the past few years it has only taken between 36–41 games to reach the eastern conference playoffs, this year’s Cavs team should be able to do that.

4. Indiana Pacers – 2009–2010 record (32–50)

I was really down on this team until I looked at their roster. It really isn’t as bad as I had thought. They got their much needed PG in Darren Collison; have a good scorer and fringe star in Danny Granger; a good, young, moldable big man in Roy Hibbert; and good young talent off the bench in PF Tyler Hansbrough, SG Brandon Rush and SF George Paul. If they can get Hansbrough to take the starters spot over Josh McRoberts, and get Paul and Rush to develop, they could sneak into the playoffs.

Again their main problem is coaching. I have never been a fan of Jim O’Brien and he looks asinine for not playing Hansbrough. They could have a good team that might develop into something, but will the coach let it happen? Doubt that, look for a 30 win team.

5. Detroit Pistons – 2009–2010 record (27–55)

Rapper Nelly said on ESPN’s show First Take, that the Pistons could make the playoffs. I can see his points. I really can, but it’s not going to happen. And you want to know why? Pistons GM joe Dumars is an idiot. Plain and simple.

Let’s examine my reasoning. First off, Dumars spent a lot of his salary cap money on backups SG Ben Gordon and PF Charlie Villanueva to ridiculous deals. Gordon’s deal was a five year - $50 million contract. Villanueva’s deal was also five years but for $35 million. That is a combined $85 million for two bench players. That’s a massive waste of the new owner’s money, Mike Ilitch. Then he signed former star Tracy McGrady to a deal this offseason, not a big deal, but still makes absolutely no sense.

All three players were part of Nelly’s highlights for the Pistons. Three bench players. Stick to rapping Nelly. If the Pistons knew what was good for them, they would try to get rid of their big contracts and go with a lineup of PG Rodney Stuckey, SG Richard Hamilton, SF Tayshaun Prince, PF Austin Daye and C Greg Monroe. Hamilton and Prince are aging, but their contracts are close to ending, so they could either deal them for more cap relief of inject your over paid backups.

It would be better if Daye could play SF but their other potential PF starter, Jonas Jerebko, is out till at least April with an Achilles injury. The old veterans could surprise me, but a matching record from last year or even 30 wins will be their limit.

Southeast Division

1. Miami Heat – 2009–2010 record (47–35)
If you didn’t hear, they had a monster offseason, signing SF LeBron James, PF Chris Bosh and re-signing Dwayne Wade. Then after LeBron’s one hour “Decision” on ESPN, the Heat threw a party for the threesome. It was the oddest thing I’ve seen in a long time. Then LeBron ran his big mouth and said they could win more than seven titles.

Before the Heat signed the new big three, they only had two players on their team, PG Mario Chalmers and PF Michael Beasley, and traded Beasley away after the big signings. That left a little amount of money to fill out the rest of their roster. The three other big names that signed with the Heat, for cheap since the Heat had little cap room, were Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Mike Miller and Udonis Haslem. The rest of the team was filled with has beens and never were’s.

Now the Heat are facing big issues. No, I'm not going to say they will never mesh, because eventually they will build a big chemistry. But their problems are the PG and C positions. Carlos Arroyo and Chalmers are not the answer at PG, so they will need to find a new starter. And they have no size at center. Big Z is old and should not be considered a starter, Chris Bosh is a PF and tall but not tough, and current starter Joel Anthony is only 6’9.” LeBron is that tall. They have former all-star Jamal Magloire but he is only hunting for a ring and a new buffett line. Rookie Dexter Pittman is a good size and has weight, but he’s only a rookie. Pittman would be an upgrade over Anthony in my opinion, but he is a ways off from starting.

They will win a lot of game, possibly reaching 60, but with lacking size in the front court and a good backcourt mate with Wade, I don’t see them slipping past the Celtics in the Conference Finals.

2. Orlando Magic – 2009–2010 record (59–23)

The Magic are one of the most talented teams in the league, and feature possibly the best big man in the league in Dwight Howard. One problem, they might be the softest team I’ve ever seen, excluding Howard for the most part. They can run and gun with the best but when it comes to the half court offense and bodying up people, it looks like they want curl up into the fetal position.

The three or four guys you can exclude are Dwight Howard Marcin Gortat, Brandon Bass and JJ Redick. But even they all have their faults. Dwight Howard is big, strong and powerful, but he seems like all he wants to do is play around. Gortat can become whiny at times. Bass bodies up on offense, but is weak on defense. And finally, Redick. Redick? Since when did he become “hard?” Well that happened when he took a big elbow to the face by LeBron James to the face. Redick was bleeding profusely, got fixed up, and returned to the game.

Another problem for the Magic, they have Vince Carter and Rashard Lewis on their team. Both are extremely overpaid, overrated and praised too much for nothing. Yes Carter was a superstar like five or six years ago, but age has caught up to him and is no longer worth starting. He hurts the team. Lewis is 6’11” but cant grab a rebound or defend a big man in the post.

The final strike, their coach is crazy. But not in that Les Miles crazy, good way. He still has a chip on his shoulder from when he was fired by Pat Riley fired him and rode the Heat to a championship. Is he entertaining? Yes. Do I trust him with a team? No way. But they still win 55+ games

3. Atlanta Hawks – 2009–2010 record (53–29)

Their priority this offseason? Sign SG Joe Johnson to an extension. It looked like Johnson was leaving for Chicago or New York but Atlanta threw the bank at Johnson. Literally. They signed Johnson to a six year $119 million deal.

In a time when NBA commissioner David Stern claims that the association is losing money left and right and possibly up and down, the Hawks signed a good but not great player to a ridiculous max deal. But you say Johnson is worth it. Ok he is 29 and will be 35 at the end of the deal. 35 isn’t old in general ages, but roughly $20 million a year to a player that by then will probably dealing with significant injuries and losing a step or two? You have got to be kidding me. It also doesn’t help that Johnson wilts under the pressure of the playoffs.

The Hawks, like most teams have good talent, especially C Al Horford, but they are another soft team. They will win a lot of games again, around 50, but another early exit from the playoffs could happen.

4. Charlotte Bobcats – 2009–2010 record (44–38)

I like their one through four spots, but when it comes to the five (C), they are in deep trouble. They traded their former top pick Alexis Ajinca away. So their starting C? Nazr Mohammed. Backups? DeSagana Diop and Kwame Brown. Yikes. Their other starting four are talented and can score and even have decent bench, but C is a huge problem.

The best personnel move the Bobcats made? Letting PG Raymond Felton leave via free agency and giving DJ Augustine the starting spot. With a lineup featuring Augustine, Stephen Jackson, Gerald Wallace and Tyrus Thomas and Gerald Henderson on the bench, scoring should be no problem.

But the biggest news for the Bobcats? Larry Brown is still their coach and Michael Jordan is the majority owner of the Bobcats.

I don’t know if they win more than 45 but 40 is going to happen, and the playoffs are in sight.

5. Washington Wizards – 2009–2010 record (26–56)

They have disbanded the big three of PF Antawn Jamison, SF Caron Butler and PG Gilbert Arenas, only keeping Arenas. And I'm sure if they could get rid of Arenas, they would in a heartbeat. Former “Agent 0” has now switched numbers, still recovering from knee issues and doing more stupid things. I mean come on. He faked knee pain to get teammate Nick Young a start. Young looked good, but Arenas admitted he faked the injury then gloated about it, earning him another suspension and fine.

Best news for the franchise? They won the NBA draft lottery and picked PG John Wall. He has ridiculous talent and is amazingly fast, but can he cut his turnovers? For my entire take on Wall, look at my NBA mock draft.

They have some nice talent, again, but with Arenas’ enormous baggage and ridiculous contract bearing down on the team, will they be able to return to the playoffs? Or is 25 games the goal?

Western Conference

Northwest Division

1. Oklahoma City Thunder – 2009–2010 record (50–32)

From what I’ve been hearing, the Thunder could win 55+ games and possibly be the second seed in the western conference. That is definitely possible and could be probable. This team is just oozing talent and it’s all centered around the NBA’s reigning scoring champion, Kevin Durant.

Let’s clarify that, Kevin Durant, 6’9” and probably taller, averaged 30.1 points a game. At just 21. The now 22 year old is just going to get better. There is nothing he can’t do on the offensive end. But can he be a cutthroat leader and play better defense? Let’s just saying he’s been working on that while he led the USA to the FIBA world championship this summer.

There was only one drawback of the Thunder this past year, they lacked a legit big man. Now they have two good starters at the C position and two more good projects. This team is loaded and might be just a year away from winning it all.

2. Portland Trail Blazers – 2009–2010 record (50–32)

The original Thunder. And what I mean by that is, they are loaded. Only issue, they can’t seem to get over the hump. They seem to be three deep at every position. Full of starters or potential starters, yet they can’t get over that imaginary hump.

But SG Brandon Roy seems determined. He is one of the best players and leaders in the game. But other than him, possibly the most volatile issue for the Blazers is C Greg Oden. He is ridiculously injury prone, but when he is in, he looks like a double–double machine and a legit shot blocker. Hopefully the former top overall pick can remain healthy and play up to his enormous potential.

They have the talent and skill to be a top three seed in the West but do they have the backbone? 50 games is a good number but what about 55 or more? That’s on Brandon Roy.

3. Utah Jazz – 2009–2010 record (53–29)

They lost Boozer and replaced him with C Al Jefferson. I’ll take that tradeoff even though Jefferson isn’t a center. But it is best for the team while C Mehmet Okur returns from injury. It allows the Jazz to play Jefferson, Paul Millsap and Andrei Kirilenko all at the same time.

Kirilenko is soon to become a free agent, so in a year we will see how NCAA magician SF Gordon Hayward will pan out. I thought he should have stayed in college another year or two, but he is already averaging 7.5 points and 5.5 rebounds a game off the bench. It is early in the season, but he seems to be holding his own for now.

But let’s get to the real reason why the Jazz matter, PG Deron Williams. If he isn’t the best PG in the game, he is close. He is a great mix of speed, power, size, passing and shooting ability. At 6’3” he is a good size PG, but still has the ability to blow by opponents on his way to the lane or to get an open jumper. He is a free agent in 2012. That’s coming up faster than you think. If the Jazz want to be relevant, they need to extend him soon, or risk losing him to a team like the Lakers, Knicks or even Heat.

Can head coach Jerry Slaon get another 50+ wins from this team? Well he is a the longest tenured coach, so I will go with yes.

4. Denver Nuggets – 2009–2010 record (53–29)

They could be higher on the list but I think the Nuggets will trade Carmelo Anthony by the trade deadline. They need to get something in return for ‘Melo. If they wait, they could risk losing him for relatively nothing like the Cavs with LeBron and the Raptors with Bosh. By now, the Nuggets should know that ‘Melo isn’t signing their extension, so just get as much for him as possible.

Right now they are dealing with injuries to Kenyon Martin and Chris “Birdman” Anderson. But they seem to be benefitting from an improved Arron Afflalo so far. If Anthony end up getting traded, expect the Nuggets to depend on Afflalo more. But what will PG Chauncey Billups think of it all? Doubtful that he will re-sign if ‘Melo is gone. Good luck Denver, 30 games if they have the fire sale they should but 45 if they keep their pieces.

5. Minnesota Timberwolves – 2009–2010 record (15–67)

Is there any doubt that GM David Kahn is the worst in the league? Even worse than Dumars? Nope, he is by far the worst. He gave $20 million to C Darko Milicic. That’s right. $20 million to an absolute bust. Kahn is insane. You can’t win more than 20 games with ridiculous moves like this. With their young talent though, they should be able to overcome and win 25 or 30+.

I mean, there is obvious talent on the team that are high draft picks. They have PF Kevin Love (No. 5 overall, 2008); SF’s Michael Beasley (No. 2 overall, 2008 via Miami) and Martell Webster (No. 6 overall, 2005); SG’s Wayne Ellington (No. 28 overall, 2009), Corey Brewer (No. 7 overall, 2007) and Wesley Johnson (No. 4 overall, 2010); PG Johnny Flynn (No. 6 overall, 2009) and in Europe they have Ricky Rubio (No. 5 overall, 2009). The oldest is Webster at only 23, the rest at least 2 years younger. That is a lot of high draft picks, some actually drafted and some via trade, so we should be seeing some improvement soon.

But the worst thing about this short season so far? Kevin Love is only playing 25.3 minutes a game. Arguably your best player, is barely averaging half a game? What sick joke is Kahn and head coach Kurt Rambis playing on Love? He should be around 40 minutes a game. It’s not due to lack of production, in the short time Love plays, he averages 14 and 13 a game. Incredible. As ESPN’s Bill Simmons says, “KAHNNNNNNNNNN!!!!!”

Pacific Division

1. Los Angeles Lakers – 2009–2010 record (57–25)

Who else would be tops in this division? They are 2 time defending world champs. And they just got better. Look out. We can expect a close to 60 wins this year, and possibly the most wins in the league to go along with a likely title defense.

They added possibly the best backup PG in the league in Steve Blake (though they overpaid for him), scrappy defender and three point extraordinaire SF Matt Barnes. They also added more size and length in the draft with Derrick Caracter and Devin Ebanks.

But let’s get this straight, this is SG Kobe Bryant’s team. PF/C Pau Gasol is one of the best big men in the league and if he was meaner, might just be the best. They have more talent with SF Ron Artest, SF/PF/C Lamar Odom and the clutch Derek Fisher. But with all this talent, the team only goes as far as Kobe takes them.

On a side note, talented big man Andrew Bynum is out until approximately Christmas time. He should have been back from knee surgery, but he was extremely immature. Instead of having the surgery on his time and rehabbing, he went to see the World Cup. He had the surgery extremely late, and now won’t be in the lineup until Christmas or New Years. Another frustrating chapter in the career of Bynum.

2. Phoenix Suns – 2009–2010 record (54–28)

They lost Amare Stoudemire but replaced him with Hedo Turkoglu. Obviously they aren’t the same type of player but Turkoglu might actually fit their system better. Crazy? Well Amare couldn’t shoot farther than two feet from the rim. Turkoglu is dangerous from deep. Turkoglu can handle the ball and is clutch. Amare couldn’t dribble more than once on his way to dunk, much less handle the ball. One thing in common though? Neither can grab a rebound to save their life. Turkoglu grabs 3.3 rebounds a game. Amare is averaging 7.7 a game, but was held to 0 in a playoff loss to the Lakers. Someone with Amare’s abilities should be grabbing 10+ rebounds a game. Watch Amare’s rebound numbers to slide.

The entire team seems to be the same player just different heights. All can run up and down the court shooting threes and making fast break layups. Only three players I consider unique to their team, PG Steve Nash, C Robin Lopez and PG Goran Dragic. The aging Nash has helped develop Dragic, who looks like the successor to the former league MVP. Lopez seems like a more energetic but less offensively skilled version of his brother.

They have skill all through their roster, but can they keep up the run and gun game? Can Nash keep father time at bay? Will Turkoglu fit in? They still should win 45+ games but a five seed might be their best seating for the playoffs.

3. Los Angeles Clippers – 2009–2010 record (29–53)

The long awaited debut of PF Blake Griffin after he injured his knee. I have been a basher of Griffin in the past because I had never seen him make anything more than a dunk. They were impressive, but that doesn’t make you a star. The kid has ridiculous jump abilities. In replays it looks like he could rest his head on the rim. His post game defense is improved, along with his offense in the post along with a much improved jumper. He still isn’t a three point threat, but he doesn’t have to be. It would be nice for him to knock down his free throws though. He is my favorite for rookie of the year.

Along with Griffin, the Clippers have a lot of skill, at least the starters are. The starting lineup of PG Baron Davis, SG Eric Gordon, SF Ryan Gomes, PF Griffin and C Chris Kaman is a good one. Not a title contender, but a fringe playoff team if they can put it together.

Their bench is weak with only a couple nice pieces and they are all rookies too. PG Eric Bledsoe should be a good backup from Davis, but hopefully Davis is mature enough to teach Bledsoe the right way. SG Willie Warren could have been high draft pick had he not been injured in his final year at Oklahoma. School would have helped a lot for Warren. And high draft pick, Al-Farouq Aminu should be able to help soon. Add in C DeAndre Jordan, and you have a talented bench. But all except Jordan are rookies so prepare for a long season with this young but talented bench.

4. Golden State Warriors – 2009–2010 record (26–56)

The Warriors and the Kings are a push here in the last two spots. Both teams have a couple extremely talented players, but the team as a whole disappoints all the time.

For the Warriors, they traded for PF David Lee, bringing in a nice post player that can be a 20–10 player. They had to give up a lot for him, but the players they traded for Lee had disappointed in their time on the team. The Warriors also have the very skilled Pg Stephen Curry and SG Monte Ellis.

The triplet of Lee, Curry and Ellis is a very good one, but the rest of the team is mediocre at best. It hurts even more that this year’s top draft pick , Ekpe Udoh, got injured before the season and will be out for an extended period of time.

They could win 20, 30 or even 40 games, but matching their 26–56 of last year seems like a reasonable expectation.

5. Sacramento Kings – 2009–2010 record (25–57)

They have a nice frontcourt, especially No. 4 overall pick in the draft, DeMarcus Cousins. They do have a few high potential guys in the frontcourt in Jason Thompson, Hassan Whiteside and have veteran Carl Landry starting at PF.

A frontcourt of Cousins and Landry seems like a very good one, but Landry could depart via free agency soon, so can a player like Thompson or Whiteside put it together? Thompson has been a starter in the past, but has disappointed, making Whiteside very intriguing. Whiteside is extremely raw and big, measuring at 7’ and 235 pounds. He needs to add some weight, but as he grows up and fills out (he’s still only 21) he could make a formidable pair with Cousins.

Don’t forget that the reigning rookie of the year, SG Tyreke Evans, is on the Kings. He finally made the switch to SG after he didn’t fit the mold of PG. Evans and Cousins are extremely talented and could be the duo that bring the Kings back to relativity.

Southwest Division

1. San Antonio Spurs – 2009–2010 record (50–32)

Last year just didn’t seem like the typical spurs year. C Tim Duncan looked tired and drained. PG Tony Parker was out a long time, and SF Richard Jefferson was a complete joke.

This year, they will be revitalized. PG George Hill had a great year filling in for Parker and being his backup. The Spurs finally get C Tiago Splitter from Brazil, he might be the most important addition for the Spurs. Splitter will be able to give Duncan much needed rest and will be able to come in and produce, not just be a fill in. And they drafted James Anderson with the 20th pick in the draft. He will be able to give Manu and Richardson time off. Anderson was a top 5 talent but never played up to his abilities, leading to his slide in the draft.

Strangely, the Spurs signed Parker to an extension. It was thought by many that Parker would be traded or let go via free agency, and the starting PG spot would be handed to Hill. The more the merrier though. If Parker, Manu and Duncan can all stay healthy, expect a long playoff run. 55 games should be no problem this year.

2. Dallas Mavericks – 2009–2010 record (55–27)

They could easily flip–flop with San Antonio, but it’s the Spurs and I can never count them out. On the other hand, I can count out the Mavs.

Of course owner Mark Cuban has this team full of talent, but this offseason was one full of much improvement. Cuban spent most of the offseason trying to buy the MLB’s Texas Rangers. There wasn’t not a whole lot of room for improvement, but they haven’t been to the Finals since 2006 and then they didn’t win.

The most important moves Cuban did do for the Mavs were re-signing players. PF Dirk Nowitzki opted out of his contract to sign an extension, but was a little more “team friendly” than his last. They also re-uped with C Brendan Haywood, traded for C Tyson Chandler. A key concern for the Mavs though, is the health of PG’s Jason Kidd and Rodrigue Beaubois. Kidd is 37 and has a lot of miles on those legs, while Beaubois broke his foot and will be out for an undetermined time.

60 games is their max amount of wins, while they should at least win 52 games. The Mavs will be a mid range seed in the playoffs.

3. Memphis Grizzlies – 2009–2010 record (40–42)

Again this team could flip–flop with the team below them but it like their players just a little bit more.

First off, what were the Grizzlies doing signing SF Rudy Gay to a 5 year deal worth $80 million? Does he have skills? Yes. Is he young and athletic? Yes and yes. Can he lead the team to a championship? No. he fills the stat sheet but he doesn’t lead a team. He is kind of like Philadelphia’s Andre Iguodala. “Uber-talented,” but just isn’t mentally tough enough to take a team or game over when he needs too.

But I digress. Their most important player is the brother of Pau Gasol, Marc. They were actually traded for each other a couple years ago when Marc was still in Europe. But there is difference between the two brothers; Pau is a little more finesse, while Marc is stronger and more powerful. And his backup is the former No. 2 overall pick, Hasheem Thabeet. Not a bad pairing of centers if Thabeet can develop.

They also have SG OJ Mayo and PG Conley. Both talented, but a lot like Gay. Both can fill up the stat sheet, while not possessing that “leader gene.” Conley is still raw, so he needs to develop faster or he could be out.

On the bench look out for veteran PF Zach Randolph and rookies SF Xavier Henry and PG Greivis Vasquez. Randolph has been a headache, but seems to finally be getting it in Memphis. Vasquez was a scorer, playmaker and leader at the University of Maryland. Henry was a top high school recruit who is still extremely raw, but has the NBA body, NBA range, and most importantly, immense talent.

They could finish anywhere from winning 40 games to nearly 50. I’ll go around 44.

4. New Orleans Hornets – 2009–2010 record (37–45)

There was an extreme scare in the offseason when franchise player, PG Chris Paul, demanded a trade from the team. Now, they didn’t actually have to trade him, but he could have become a cancer and ruined the team and season. It was extremely puzzling after his season where he suffered a serious knee injury.

The front office calmed any worries that Paul had about the team in a long meeting. They promised to acquire player to make the team relevant again. Shortly after the meeting, the Hornets acquired SF Trevor Ariza and SG Marco Belinelli.

This seemed to please Paul, but to acquire Ariza, they had to trade super sub for Paul Darren Collison. It hurt because while Paul was out with his knee injury, Collison played extremely well, and the team didn’t seem to miss a beat. But recently, the Hornets acquired a ridiculously talented but malcontent player from the Blazers, PG Jerryd Bayless. Bayless should step right into Collsion’s shoes, thus pleasing Paul even more.

Their front court is worrisome with Emeka Okafor as their center. He can grab rebounds and block some shots, but he hasn’t developed into the scoring threat teams thought he would when he was drafted No. 2 overall by the Charlotte Bobcats in 2004. Not to mention he has a max contract that he isn’t worth.

They are a lot like the Okafor’s former team, the Bobcats, if you think about it. They have good/great players in their one through four spots, but the center position is worrisome. If Paul is healthy and the team chemistry is right, they might be able to sneak into the playoffs. Then again, they could only win 35 or 37 games again.

5. Houston Rockets – 2009–2010 record (42–40)

C Yao Ming was out all year after a much publicized foot injury that required a tricky surgery. He is ready to play but will be limited to only 24 minutes a game. That’s right, half a game. To a guy earning over $17 million a year. He is a huge investment but is it a strict 24 minutes? It’s hard to believe. I do understand thought. With the pressure on his foot from his height and weight, 7’6” and 310 pounds, it could be a long process till he is ready for 30 or more minutes a game.

They have the talent to win 45 games this year and steal a spot from a team above, but Yao is their critical piece. Can he hold up to the long grind of the 82 game season?