And Then There Were Four

October is the easily the best month in sports, and the MLB post-season is one of the best things in October. 30 teams started in April, now only 4 remain. Three sweeps and one 4-game series prove that the Yankees, Angels, Dodgers, and Phillies are truly in the right spot.

With incredible comebacks, this has been one of the most exciting first rounds in recent memory. Dodgers 9th inning comeback in game 2 against the Cardinals was the most exciting baseball game I’ve ever seen. Well, maybe the most exciting 9th inning I’ve ever seen. The Dodgers have been railed for having weak pitching, but Wolf, Billingsley, and Padilla held the Cardinals to only 6 runs, easily taking care of Pujols. What’s most impressive is that LA survived arguably the best one-two punch in Major League Baseball in Chris Carpenter & Adam Wainright. Not many thought they’d be able to take one, let alone two games from those two. Even the LA Times picked St. Louis to sweep the Dodgers. But one must remember that the Dodgers had a playoff spot virtually locked up for the last two months. They ended with a terrible road trip which almost knocked them out of a Division Championship, but when you’re on the road, with a 7 or 8 game lead, playing terrible teams, it’s pretty difficult to rise to the challenge and have fun playing baseball. No one really thought that the Dodgers could flip the switch, but it sure seems like they have. Watch out Philly. Dodgers in 6.

The Yankees have been getting a lot of love recently, but it might be the love Kate Hudson is giving ARod that’s changed him for the better. On his show, David Letterman mentioned that there are rumors that Kate Hudson may be pregnant. His response was that it “might be the first time Alex Rodriguez has ever produced in October!” Hey-O! But Dave’s not too far off. However, this year’s a little different. Through controversy and injury, the spotlight isn’t directly on him, and he’s been absolutely on fire with 5 hits, 2 home runs, and 6 RBI. The LA Angels of Anaheim also impressively knocked off their Achilles heel, the Boston Red Sox. The Angels are the only ones who can boast a winning record against the Yankees in the last five years, and they certainly not going to be afraid of them this time around.

Do I dare predict a freeway series between Angels and Dodgers? It’s difficult not to. If it doesn’t happen this year, it probably never will. For me the Yankees just seem too good this year. There’s a different mentality in the locker room that shows on the field, both in the faces of the players and in the box scores. Angels are also riding a very personal wave with the loss of their upstart young starting pitcher Nick Adenhart to a drunk driving accident. Both of these teams have something worth fighting for. It’s very difficult to pick a winner, but I really have to say Yankees win it in the end. As far as the Phillies and Dodgers are concerned, apart from Cliff Lee, Philadelphia’s pitching is atrocious. While they’ve got fantastic bats with Victorino, Utley, and Howard, the Dodger Bullpen has proved itself to be nearly unhittable. But the Dodgers have been as about as inconsistent of a team you’ll find this far into the playoffs, so you never really know. But as far as I can see, I’m looking at a Dodgers v Yankees World Series.

Week 4 Pick-em Results. Even more shame.

Another crazy week in college football is in the history books. I’m not necessarily sure what history books those might be, but they might be titled “Why College Football is the Most Exciting Time of Year.” So far, a major top 5 upset has happened each week. Oklahoma in Week 1, Oklahoma State in Week 2, USC in Week 3, and now Penn State in Week 4. Who’s the next loss on the list? Well, it’ll either be LSU or Florida because they play each other in week 6 in what will be one of the biggest college games of the year. Assuming LSU can make it past current No. 18 Georgia (not a given), it will be the first top 5 matchup of the year, it will also be Florida’s first REAL test, considering they’ve only been playing High School teams up to this point. Florida has a bye this week, giving a recovering Tebow a chance to shake off a concussion, so I’m guessing that LSU will probably not have much of a chance. But as my 14-8 record shows this week, you never really know.

It looks like we’re going to have another playoff controversy this year as it seems that Boise State has a pretty good chance to run the table. Considering they’ve only faced and will only face one ranked team this year, there’s a pretty good shot that they’ll make it through. All of the little guys will have more fodder to feel like they should be a part of the big game and that a playoff system is the only real solution. I personally don’t like the idea of a playoff, which I can expand upon later, (quickly though, I feel it would devalue the regular season that we all love so much), but what a playoff would do would obviously put teams like 2008 Utah and Boise State against the big boys. On those regards I’m all for the playoff. It would get the “this isn’t fair” whining monkey off of our back and I don’t think it’d really affect who would wind up in the BCS National Championship game anyway (unless Ohio State is slotted to go to the big dance, even the little guys could beat up on them). If Utah and Boise State have to go through the likes of USC, Texas, Florida, and Alabama just to get to the Championship game, there’s no way we see blue and orange broncos dancing around in the End Zone anyway.

My season-to-date total is now 66-20, putting my winning percentage at a solid C (.77). Although for the record 3 of my 8 losses were losses that every analyst was surprised by. Who knew we’d have three top ten teams fall in one week? It still doesn’t excuse my 5 other bad picks. Shame, terrible shame falls on me like a dark cloud of self doubt.

The Honorable Mountain West Gets Bought

Wednesday, July 8, 2009. The Mountain West Conference gives in to the cash. The MWC’s back was up against the wall after a 6 month battle against the BCS which is generally accepted as being fundamentally flawed. On Wednesday, a statement was released from the MWC. Their efforts to change the current system had not been accepted and they felt they had “no choice at this time but to sign the agreements.” When faced with either compromising morality or being able to survive, most will find themselves swaying towards survival. The contract runs through the 2013 season.

The main problem with this new agreement is that the Mountain West champion would still not automatically qualify for a spot in one of the top-tier bowls. They would have to be voted in like Utah was this year. It would still qualify them as a "BCS Spoiler." Recently, the other major conferences that make up the BCS, along with Notre Dame, rejected a Mountain West proposal for an eight-team playoff to determine a national champion. The release also states that “if a conference wishes to compete at the highest levels of college football, and the only postseason system in place for that is the BCS, no one conference can afford to drop out and penalize its football programs and student-athletes.” Essentially, if they held their ground for a playoff system, the BCS would muscle them out of money, exposure, and recruiting. Option A: stand firm in what you know to be right and hope someone else decides to drop millions of dollars to feel better about themselves or Option B: take the money and run... wise decision Mountain West.

While all College Football can get behind a conference that’s pushing for the much needed playoff, it’s hard to get behind a conference that continues to get the benefit of the doubt. Last year, the Utah Utes finished the season ranked 2nd in the Nation. The Utes have twice gone unbeaten in the BCS era. Each time the Utes were left out of the national championship game, but soundly defeated an opponent from one the leagues with a guaranteed spot in another BCS game. The last of which was against Alabama in the Sugar Bowl where the Utes finished the season with a trouncing Nick Saban’s Crimson Tide 31-17. While that may look spectacular on paper, one must remember that their most difficult game on the road last year was their first game of the season in which they barely beat Michigan by a measly score of 25-23. Michigan, although a historical powerhouse, only won 3 games last year in a weak Big 10 conference.

Apart from the Alabama game, their biggest win of the season was against then-ranked 14 BYU, which was at home and they won by 24 points. However, BYU also shared the same Mountain West cupcake schedule. I commend the Utes for scheduling teams like Michigan and Oregon State, but the MWC will not get any respect scheduling out of conference games against St. Mary’s Little Sisters of the Poor College in Vancouver. Winning 13 games is great, amazing in fact, but if you tell me that Utah would have that same record playing top NFL prospects every week in a conference like the SEC, Big 12, or Pac-10, I will vomit all over my keyboard because it’s just outrageous. If Texas, who played 4 top 11 teams in consecutive weeks and only lost one by a last second touchdown miracle doesn’t get in to the National Championship game, Utah doesn’t deserve to. If USC who had, arguably, one of the best defenses in College Football history who had one bad quarter in their 3rd game of the season doesn’t get into the National Championship game, Utah doesn’t deserve to.

Utah’s win over Alabama was impressive yes, and Alabama did deserve to play in the Sugar Bowl, but Alabama was even more over-rated than the Utes. Bama played only 3 ranked teams in the regular season. Georgia, then ranked 3rd by default, showed us why they were there by default and continued to erode throughout the rest of the season ending it with 3 ugly losses. Clemson ranked 9th was their opener. Wait, who? Oh yeah, I forgot, they ended with 6 losses barely making it into a bowl game. That’s why I forgot. And then, there’s then-ranked 16 LSU. If LSU had a quarterback, they would’ve beat Alabama by 30 points. They were then manhandled by Florida in the SEC title game. The final score (31-20) was not indicative of the second half. Throughout the second half of the season, Alabama looked sloppy and unorganized which was incredibly apparent in the Sugar Bowl against a team they could care less about playing. The Sugar Bowl was Utah’s Super Bowl. It was Alabama’s consolation prize.

The BCS ranked the University of Utah 2nd when all was said and done. Above 12-1 Texas and above 12-1 USC. Instead of Utah fans getting all up in arms about not being given a shot at the National Championship, they should be thanking their lucky stars that they’re even talked about with that sort of gravitas, because the comparison of schedules between them is laughable. The Mountain West better be careful what they wish for. According to their statement issued Wednesday, their “goal is to ensure the eventual outcome of these endeavors is what our universities and student-athletes need, what the vast majority of American sports fans want, and what is long overdue: an equitable system.” In an “equitable system,” you would be demolished the first time you met USC, Texas, Florida, or Oklahoma in your playoff system. Be happy you’ve got a seat at the grown up table, now have good manners or we’ll send you back the kid’s table in the family room. Quiet, grown-ups are talking.