Way Too Early Super Bowl Predictions

Welp, it's that time of the year. Football is over, basketball just ended, and no sports are on. Let me rephrase: no sports that I care about. 

Now until September are grueling months for me every year. Withdrawal symptoms galore.

As I'm sure you know (probably not), I am a huge football fan. I like college the best but know way more about NFL thanks to fantasy football and the 24/7 NFL network on Direct TV, channel 212.

So with all the headlines and news, I will now go into my playoff and subsequent super bowl predictions.

We'll go ahead and follow the same format as last year's predictions. Which, not to toot my own horn here or anything, came 100% true! The score was wrong, but I predicted the Ravens over the 49er's in the big dance.

Let's see if this year yields the same results. Look for more predictions once the season starts. 

Legooo


* = Conference Winner** = Clinched Wild Card


AFC North
My home town division. Bengals are on the up-and-up. They've got a receiving core that can compete with the best of them, a ruthless defense, and are solid on just about every position. Their success will grow as Andy Dalton's does. Ravens have lost a lot, and I'm just not faithful they will see same successes as last year. They'll grab that wildcard however. Steelers have lots of issues; not quite playoff bound yet. Browns suck.

1) Bengals
2) Ravens**
3) Steelers
4) Browns


AFC West
This is a division on the up-and-up. Broncos are going to do great things, while Chargers and Cheifs will be competitive. Still, besides the Broncos, not a division with much going on and much to say. Broncos win with ease. I mean c'mon, Peyton getting Wes is just not fair. This team is going to be nasty.

1) Broncos*
2) Chargers
3) Cheifs
4) Raiders

AFC South
I want to put the Colts in first place soo bad. I've never really fully jumped on that Houston band wagon. Something about them is just missing to really get it done consistently. On the offensive side mostly. They need elite play from Shaub and more skilled receivers. I would say I'm going to play it safe, but this whole blog is a risk! I'm just worried about sophomore years of players who have breakout rookie years, i.e. Andrew Luck (should've won rookie of the year by the way). Titans are going to be very competitive I predict; I believe in Jake Locker. Jaguars have too many issues.

1) Colts
2) Texans**
3) Titans
4) Jaguars

AFC East
E.J. Manuel will be a great quarterback this coming season, says the all mighty predictor. Not saying the Bills will do amazing things, but I was very close to putting them in second place here. Pats will get it. It's their division to lose and that's not going to happen any time soon. Miami is gonna make a lot of noise here. They'll just miss the last Wildcard. Be patient young Dolphins, your time will come. Jets suck and need to leave Metlife. 

1) Patriots
2) Dolphins
3) Bills
4) Jets


NFC North
The play of Aaron Rodgers is going to keep me from putting the Vikings in first here. That and the inconsistent play of Christian Ponder. I'm just not sure about Chicago. Again, seem to be a team with just something missing. An offensive line mostly. The Lions will win a few good games, but they really need to get back to the play of a couple years ago when they reached the playoffs. Looks like this division will end the same as last year.

1) Packers*
2) Vikings
3) Bears
4) Lions

NFC West
Talk about a tough division. Talk about a tough conference. San Fran will be a power house again, as long as Kaepernick continues his success from last year. Seattle will be a sick, as long as Russel continues (I believe in Russell). Actually, I have more faith in Russell than Kaepernick, so I'm gonna do something a little tricky here. Seattle wins! The Rams are going to be tough as well. Not really sure about the Cardinals and their new helm. All I know is that the best receiver in the league, Mr. Larry, needs a QB to prove his crown.

1) Seahawks
2) 49er's**
3) Rams
4) Cardinals

NFC South
Man, so many questions about so many teams. Guess that's the down side of doing this in June...But, the return of Sean Peyton should bring good tides back to New Orleans. It'll be interesting to see the battle for the division between them and the Falcons. Still not totally on board with Atlanta. They'll be good, but the only reason I'm putting them first is because I think NOLA still has some defensive rebuilding to do. Panthers and Bucs will battle for 3rd and 4th. Interchangeable really. Panthers have a better QB so they win.

1) Falcons
2) Saints**
3) Panthers
4) Buccaners

NFC East
Giants, Giants, Giants! ...will do God knows what. I love my Gmen, but I really just cannot predict these guys. The contact issues with Cruz and Nicks worry me, as well as the inconsistent play of Eli and the entire defense. Plus the loss of Osi. Just don't know...It will take a year or two for the Eagles to really adjust to Chip Kelly, while RG3 will make a comeback for the ages. However, as I am always an optimist, I'm sticking with my boys. I have faith, right?

1) Giants
2) Redskins
3) Cowboys
4) Eagles



PLAYOFFS

AFC SEEDS
Some great divisional games here at the wildcard level. Bengals will finally get a sweet sweet playoff win over the defending champs at home, while the Colts falter in Andrew Luck's first playoff game. Bengals lose handily in New England while Broncos take care of the Texans. Then the big one: good ol' return of Manning VS Brady. This will be a good one with the former ultimately coming out on top.

1) Broncos
2) Patriots
3) Bengals
4) Colts
5) Texans
6) Ravens

Bracket
(6) Ravens @ (3) Bengals --> (3) Bengals @ (2) Patriots --> (2) Patriots @ (1) Broncos
(5) Texans @ (4) Colts --> (5) Texans @ (1) Broncos 

2013 AFC Champion: Denver Broncos


NFC SEEDS
Maybe it's my new obsession with Seattle in Madden 13', but I'm on a Seahawks kick. They were so close last year, and they'll repeat and then some this year. 49er's make a tough run though with trips and subsequent wins in Metlife and Lambeau. Seahawks make up for a tough loss in Atlanta, then send the 49er's packing with a great inter-divisional NFC Championship game. It's really tough to win playoff games in Seattle, but that's not the only reason Seattle wins. What a tough conference.

1) Packers
2) Falcons
3) Seahawks
4) Giants
5) 49er's
6) Saints

Bracket
(6) Saints @ (3) Seahawks --> (3) Seahawks @ (2) Falcons --> (5) 49er's @ (3) Seahawks
(5) 49er's @ (4) Giants --> (5) 49er's @ (1) Packers 

2013 NFC Champion: Seattle Seahawks


SUPER BOWL PREDICTION
So we've got the Broncos verses the Seahawks in Metlife stadium. It'll be a cold one. Unfortunately, this is actually a pretty easy decision. As much as I don't want it to be, this team is too strong. His brother won in his house last time, so it's time for him to grab his second championship in his younger sibling's work place.





Super Bowl Prediction: Denver Broncos over Seattle Seahawks

Football season cannot come quick enough....

Reds Report: Cards in Town, Broken Cueto, and a Shaky Bullpen

Its been a minute since the last Reds Report and the season has had its ups and downs. From back to back sweeps to a bullpen disaster in Pittsburgh that prevented a Reds sweep. But things are still looking up for the Reds even as they deal with injuries and are ford to ask their young players to step up and fill major roles on the ball club. As young stars in the making wait in the wings (Hamilton and Corcino) it has been the Reds mid level talent who has stepped up especially in left field as Xavier Paul, Donald Lutz, and D-Rob have all filled in nicely for Ryan Ludwick since opening day.

As the season rolls on, a major series is upon us at GABP this weekend against the St. Louis Cardinals. The remainder of the series became even more important to the Redlegs last night after a 9-2 spanking in the opening game of the three game tilt. Tonight the Reds ace Mat Latos takes the mound against Tyler Lyons in the second game of the clash. If the Reds want to win this series they must forget all about last night and score a few runs tonight for the young ace on the mound who will undoubtedly put the entire team on his shoulders when he takes the ball tonight. Mat will carry them and keep them in the game but it will fall on the Reds offense to give him some breathing room to work with and to assure that he exits tonight with a lead, and hopefully to a standing ovation from a sellout crowd at GABP.

As I mentioned before the Reds have had to deal with more than their fair share of injuries in 2013 and the biggest loss is arguably the loss of their ace, Johnny Cueto. After returning from the DL in late May and destroying all Pirates batters in his path in his last start, Cueto again felt pain in his lat and was scratched from his last start. The same night Cueto was placed on the 15-day DL and once again Mat Latos has become the ace in Cincinnati. Along with Latos, Cincinnati fans will have to place more of their playoff hopes of the young left arm of Tony Cingrani. It's likely that Cingrani will be recalled from Louisville to take Cueto's spot in the rotation against the Cubs and if he can repeat the success of his last MLB stint, then the Reds don't have anything to worry about. With Cingrani available to fill a rotation spot I see no reason to rush Johnny back. Let him fully recover so that this problem doesn't linger throughout the summer, and in the meantime Mat Latos will be the general of this pitching staff.

The biggest problem on the minds of Reds fans recently has been the struggles of the bullpen. Aside from a few pitchers in Lecure and Chapman who have been lights out and almost untouchable all year, the bullpen in the Queen City has been less than advertised. Logan Ondrusek has completely fallen off the table as he looks like a shell of his former self from two years ago, not to mention the struggles of the man with the big contract, Jonathan Broxton. He was signed to be the closer and has now been placed in the eighth inning role where he has struggled in key moments and with Sean Marshall on and off the DL has left Dusty Baker with very few options. Broxton needs to be moved out of the setup role in favor of Sam Lecure who has more than earned it, and I wouldn't mind seeing Alfredo Simon take over the sixth or seventh inning duties as he has been able to hold his own all year even when called upon in tough spots.

Two Aces Placed on the DL

Add two more stars to the list of injured MLB stars in 2013. While MLB faces a major steroid scandal that the baseball world debates as we speak, two of the games best young pitchers have been placed on the 15-day disabled list. Reds ace Johnny Cueto and Nationals prospect Stephen Strasburg were both placed on the DL with lat strains. In Cueto's case the Cincinnati training staff has told the media that they do not believe that the injury is serious, and placed Cueto on the DL to give him enough time to fully heal. Strasburg is dealing with a similar injury, however the severity of his strain has yet to be determined and is suspected to be worse than that of Cueto.

For the Nationals, this may be another anchor to an already sinking ship of disappointment. With a sputtering offense, a disappointing bullpen, an injured young superstar in Bryce Harper, and a looming steroid suspension for Gio Gonzalez, this could be the last straw for the Nationals in the 2013 season. I cant see them putting up any kind of fight in the NL East and they should thank the L.A. Angels for being the only mire disappointing team in the big leagues.

As for the Cincinnati Reds they have had to deal with the absence of their ace earlier this year and good pitching is not hard to come by for the Reds. During Cueto's last DL stint young lefty Tony Cingrani filled in his rotation spot and was nothing short of spectacular during his time with the big club. I would expect another call up from Louisville for Cingrani and with him working on his secondary pitches in the minors I expect him to be just as good as the last time we saw him. Don't get it twisted, the Reds still have an ace in the rotation in Mat Latos who has put up Cy Young award  numbers this year in the Queen City. The Reds will have to lean on Latos, which will not be a problem for the young righty who has always risen to the challenges thrown at him in his career.

Russell Westbrook to Have Surgery, Out Indefinitely

This should shake up the playoff picture, especially in the Western Conference. Oklahoma City point guard Russell Westbrook will undergo surgery later today to repair a torn meniscus in in his right knee. The Thunder guard injured his knee in the win over the Rockets on Thursday night in Oklahoma City. As of now there is no timetable for his return to the team, and he is listed as being out indefinitely for the  Thunder's playoff run. For the Thunder, this is a huge blow for their playoff hope as they lose their second best player to a torn meniscus. They could be in serious trouble without a legit scoring option alongside Kevin Durant, and are now vulnerable to being upset in the Western Conference playoffs when before this news it seemed like a consensus that the West was the Thunder's for the taking. Now who will step up to get the points that Westbrook brought to the table, and more importantly who will create enough problems for defenses to take some of the pressure off of Durant?

With a 2-0 lead over the Rockets in the first round, the Thunder should have no problem finishing off that series and advancing to the second round, but from there it starts to get dicey for the defending Western Conference champs as they lose a superstar point guard. The Thunder now become a lot less athletic and explosive with Westbrook in a hospital bed and could easily falter when they face the Spurs, or the Clippers. Can Kevin Durant carry them to the Finals again this year without a legit scoring partner to help him? I highly doubt it. And if he somehow carries this team to the NBA Finals, his reward will be getting swept by the Miami Heat in an unbelievably lop-sided series. All talk of the Thunder beating the Heat this year was just absurd to begin with, and now with Russell Westbrook out you can forget even the small chance that they had to pull off the upset against Lebron and crew.

Bring the Honey Badger to Cincinnati

Since as long as I can remember rooting for the Bengals, the have been searching for a play maker on defense. A dynamic difference maker who can change the momentum of a gave around in half a second, and can get the crowd going wild with a huge hit or interception return for a touchdown. Basically they have needed an Ed Reed, a Charles Woodson, or a Troy Polamalu. Well there have been many names to wear the stripes that gave us hope they could be just what we are looking for. Players like Jonathan Joseph, Odell Thurman, Keith Rivers and Rey Maualuga. While some of those guys had success in the orange and black, none of them lived up to the billing of the X-factor that the team and fans wanted. Well now, that player is out there in the draft, and the Bengals should pounce on him while they can. He is a player known for being a ball-hawk and a dynamic return man as well as laying big hits on quarterbacks and receivers alike. He is the definition of a play maker.

His name is, The Honey Badger.

You may know him better as Tyrann Mathieu, the LSU corner back who terrorized the SEC for three years and wreaked havoc on the most talented offenses in the nation. Not to mention his ridiculous ability as a punt and kickoff returner and you have the recipe for one hell of a player in the NFL. While he has been looked down upon for being kicked off the LSU squad after failed drug tests, lets not act like he murdered someone. He is a kid who made a mistake, and if Cincinnati can keep Pacman Jones in check then taming the Honey Badger will be a walk in the park for this coaching staff. He is likely to slip in the draft because of his off field issues and the Bengals would be crazy not to jump at the chance to draft Mathieu. The guy is an absolute monster and a terror in the open field once he gets the ball. Take a look at his highlight reel form LSU which is TEN minutes long:

You're telling me you wouldn't love to see that guy in orange and black on Sundays? Yeah right. If the Bengals pass on this guy, it will come back to haunt them for years to come. He is fast as anyone on the gridiron and can make a spectacular play out of thin air. He will grow up and the staff will keep him under control like they have done with so many others who have come to Cincinnati with checkered pasts and when he gets on the field he will immediately be a difference maker. He would fit right in with a stacked defense with the likes of Geno Atkins, Leon Hall, Pacman Jones and Carlos Dunlap.Mark my words, this kid will be on a mission to shut up every single one of his critics and I have no doubts that he will. If this beast ends up playing in Paul Brown stadium, may god have mercy on the rest of the AFC north. 

Make it happen Marvin. 

 Bring the Honey Badger to Cincinnati. 

Reds Report: Bullpen Struggles, Cueto to the DL, and Brandon in the Clutch

Since my last Reds Report, the Reds season has been a bit frustrating, along with a lot of exciting and encouraging moments. After winning the first two series against the Angels and Nationals, the Reds were swept by the Pirates before coming home to win the first of three in comeback fashion against the Phillies. During the abysmal Pirates series, the bullpen blew leads and gave up big home runs late in the game, and our ace Johnny Cueto went down with a strained muscle in his back. The bright spot recently has been the Reds' all-star second baseman Brandon Phillips who has been on fire in recent games.

The biggest complaint this year has been the bullpen, and in particular Dusty Baker's questionable decision making when it comes to relievers. We saw J.J. Hoover pitch in what seemed to be every single game to the point where you thought his arm was due to fall off. He started the year solid but has been overworked and has since struggled. This is all on Dusty. You cant run a guy into the ground less than a month into the season, especially when he is a young am and you have the most loaded bullpen in all of baseball. We also saw Jonathan Broxton brought in to face the middle of the Pirates lineup after not pitching for over two weeks. That simply cant happen if you expect your relievers to be productive at all. How can Dusty run guy into the ground at the same time as he keeps another guy on the bench to get ice cold? It seems like a simple problem to solve for a major league manager.

At the beginning of the year the Reds could have had arguably the best rotation in the National League led by Johnny Cueto and Mat Latos. Now that rotation could be in some trouble as the Reds placed Cueto on the 15-day DL with a strained muscle in his back that he suffered in his last start. This is a nightmare flashback for Reds fans after seeing Cueto go down in the first game of the playoffs last year. With that fresh in the memories of fans this hurts, but wont de-rail the Reds season entirely as he is expected to make a recovery this year and the Reds have other viable pitching options for their rotations. Lefty Tony Cingrani is expected to be called up to make Cueto's next start and has been lights out in triple-A Louisville in his first two starts. Cingrani will fill the void while Cueto is gone if he can hold it down and if he impresses could even steal away the fifth starting spot in the rotation away from Mike Leake.

With a lot of disappointing things and injury news, there is also a bright spot for our Redlegs, and his name is Brandon Phillips. BP has been up to his usual gold glove tricks at second base, turning amazing plays that seem to be routine now in GABP. But Brandon has also been golden at the plate, especially when the club has needed his bat most. In Pittsburgh he hit not one, but two game tying home runs when the Reds were down which is about as clutch as it gets even though the Reds eventually lost that game. Two nights ago, after Bronson Arroyo gave up a game tying home run to Chase Utley, Phillips was visibly upset in the dugout and was told by Dusty Baker that h would have his chance to win this game. Dusty predicted correctly and Brandon came up with two men on and promptly hit a two run single to give the Reds a lead they would keep for the rest of the game. He celebrated with as much raw emotion and heart as you will ever see from a guy who cares more about this game than just about anyone. Keep knockin em in BP.

Lance Berkman Knows What's Up

I haven't been shy in the past about not being the biggest fan of Lance Berkman when he was with the Astros, and then the St. Louis Cardinals. Now with the Texas Rangers, his career seems to be winding down to the home stretch but that didn't stop Lance from unleashing his feelings recently when asked about playing at Wrigley Field in Chicago during the Rangers' upcoming road trip as well as his opinion of playing there during his time in the NL Central. . Lance said something today that is so right on point that I have to give him his due for it. Here's the quote from the Big Puma about playing in Wrigley Field in Chicago:

"If they’re looking for a guy to push the button when they blow the place up, I’ll do it ... Chicago’s one of the worst places in baseball … really for anything."

Bingo, Jack.

Its no secret to anyone in baseball that Chicago Cub fans are no doubt the scum of the earth when it comes to our national past time. From thinking this is their year every year, to being scared of a goat, to making poor Steve Bartman's life a living hell for no reason, to pouring beer on players and opposing fans, and basically being the worst kind of sports fans that were ever created by the baseball gods. They are the worst and for some reason they seem to be everywhere. They are the cockroaches of the baseball world.

These fans inhabit a ballpark that matches their wretched ways and has been outdated for about 25 years now. No video boards, no replays, a lack of light that makes it difficult to schedule night games which make for awful annoying mid week and Friday 2:30 starts that are out of place in the modern baseball era. The place has screamed for a renovation or to be torn down for years now and finally something is being done. But Lance is spot on with this quote and there is nothing good that could ever come from the un-friendly confines of old broken down Wrigley Field. And don't forget about the seagulls. The seagulls are the worst.

Keep preaching that truth for us Lance.