Baseball Is Here and So Are The Braves

I still remember sitting in my TV room last September. A gut wrenching feeling in my gut as I watched my beloved Braves blow another game. And this time their playoff hopes with it. I don't know if I can remember a more painful sports month. The Braves had just completed one of the biggest collapses in MLB history. Blowing an almost certain wild card berth.

Even the bigger collapse the Red Sox had later that night wasn't enough to take the taste out of my mouth. I watched the rest of the playoffs with limited interest. My interest destroyed. We all know what happened. The cardinals benefited from the Braves fall to win the whole thing. Making the pill even harder to swallow for Braves Country. But that's over. A new season is here.

With a healthy lineup back for vengeance and a club determined to send guaranteed hall of famer Chipper Jones out a winner in his last year the Braves are poised for another run on October. With the aging Phillies team presenting a big question mark, the marlins bringing a team packed with talent but also questionable clubhouse cohesion and the Nats and Mets not really providing a menacing threat yet. The Braves have a good chance of achieving that. Only time will tell.

The Braves return one of the best pitching staffs in Baseball, the numbers skewed at the end of the season by injury and fatigue from frequent use out of the bullpen. They also return all but their starting shortstop in their lineup, with healthy revamped versions of all stars Jason Heyward and Martin Prado. A now comfortable Dan Uggla, NL ROY runner up Freddie Freeman, perennial all star Catcher Brian McCann and the speedy Michael Bourne.

With that potent lineup, the rock that is Chipper in the clubhouse and team that is out to prove something after last years ending. The Braves present a team to fear this year. Now we just have to watch it play out.

Look from more from me on the MLB soon. For now here is Jordan signing off

PS A-Rod Sucks!

Bracket Filling For Those Who Are Not Fans Of NCAA Basketball!

Look I love sports as much anyone I know. But I have never been able to get into College Basketball. Don't get me wrong, its very entertaining. Just not something I choose to follow even remotely close. But I am still going to fill out a bracket, it just makes watching the tourney more fun. But if you are like me you have very little knowledge of a majority of the teams in the tourney. In fact some of the schools are schools you probably didn't know were in existence. Let alone D1 Schools that qualified for the NCAA tourney.

So how do you fill out a bracket? If you are suddenly serious about your bracket you may go the route of reading dozens of articles on who the experts think will win. But that just means a lot of work on a sport you don't much care about. Instead I propose having fun with it. Don't put money on your bracket, that sucks the fun out. Plus there is more pressure to fill out a serious bracket when there is any amount of money on the line.

Figure out a method to filling out the bracket. There are endless ways to do so that can bring out some hilarious results. My personal favorites are filling them by your favorite of the two Mascots in each matchup or who would win between the two teams if it was there nicknames battling it out. Of course that could mean having #7: Notre Dame Fighting Irish (featuring a fighting Leprechaun!) beating #2 Duke Blue Devils, because how can you ever argue against an angry Leprechaun? Heck I would probably have #16 UNC Asheville beating #1 Syracuse, because how does the color orange EVER beat a Bulldog? It never does. So there goes a quarter of your bracket right there. But still its fun.

Other fun random ways is picking names out of hats, picking teams based off of which name you like best, or nickname/mascot you like best. Finding out which celebrities went to the schools in the tourney and picking winners based off your favorites from that list. Who has the best Logo between the schools playing. Or going purely based off of seeding in each bracket.

After filling out your bracket, (and with the methods I described I would fill out multiple. Since once again no money is riding on it.) Keep track of your points and use them as cheering points while watching. And when New Mexico St upsets Indiana and you picked it right because Indiana does not have a mascot and NMSU features a cowboy named "Pistol Pete" you can talk all day about how you called it to everyone complaining about their busted bracket.

If your crazy method somehow ends up winning you an office pool or making you look like a basketball genius it makes it all worth the while. In the end just remember to have fun with it.

Lindescribable

Everyone loves an underdog story. You know what I mean, the guy or team who defied all odds and came out on top. The 1980 US hockey team, a bunch of rag tag Midwestern kids who somehow banded together to defeat the Soviets and they still had to dig deep to beat Finland and claim the Gold Medal. And we all know the story of Rudy, the plucky kid who barely even made it into Notre Dame and somehow found his way into a game. It's one of your duties as an American, paying taxes, voting, and cheering for the underdog. That is one of the many reasons why so many of us (myself included) have fallen completely in to the "Linsanity" craze made by New York Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin.

The kid has fought ridiculous trials and tribulations to get here. He played his college ball at Harvard, and went completely unnoticed despite being a three year starter. He went undrafted, before being signed by the Golden State Warriors. Three teams, and four stints in the NBA D-League later he found himself on his brother's couch, playing for chance to be a backup on the Knicks with his contract not even guaranteed. And you should know the rest of the story by now. 25 against the Nets, 28 against the Jazz, 23 against the Wizards, 38 against the Lakers upstaging Kobe in the process, 20 against the T-Wolves in a comeback win, and the week ended with him being named "Eastern Conference Player of the Week". What a way to start your second season in the NBA. Going from down and out, even considering taking a short break from basketball, to becoming the starting point guard on the biggest team in the NBA as well as being the most productive player in NBA history through his first five starts, that's a true underdog right there.

His faith has been another reason for the attention, almost to Tim Tebow levels of attention (unlike Tebow, Lin is actually good as his sport, all I'm going to say on the subject). Lin has given it all up to God, and he's reaping the benefits. End of all his interviews, he puts himself second, to God, then to his team, completely unselfish. He's as humble as they come, not caring about the spotlight of New York like so many New York athletes care way to much about. He's doesn't care about the papers, how he looks in public, or giving interviews (he denied Letterman). He's just here to put his team first and help them win basketball games, and five straight for a team that looked dead in the water is pretty good, and he's not taking any credit, giving up to God and his teammates.

The way Jeremy Lin has exploded into the NBA is amazing, and to be honest, a little unbelievable, but it definitely shows what a little hard work and a lot of faith can do.

Duh, Linning!

What today means for Eli.......and my Super Bowl pick

Hey there, yes I know it's been a while since either of us has posted anything on here. Lives do get in the way sometimes. But enough about that. I am back just in time for the Mother of all sporting events to write probably one of millions of articles about it .... The Super Bowl.

My take on the game comes from this perspective. What does this game mean for Eli Manning and his career. It means a whole lot more than just winning the Super Bowl. He has already done that in a very memorable fashion. When it comes to memorable Super Bowls the last one that pit these two teams against each other takes the cake. The undefeated Patriots going up against the massive underdog NY Giants. The play that will forever be known as the helmet catch. When Eli Manning made Houdini look like an amateur escape artist and then heaved what was virtually a hail mary to David Tyree. Who proceeded to trap the ball against his helmet as he was being mugged by Rodney Harrison. No it wasn't a touchdown catch, but when that play took place there was little doubt what was coming next. Eli throws the TD pass and Brady was unable to answer. Eli got his ring.

But this one takes on a whole different meaning. This game very well may be more of a career defining game than that first Super Bowl for Manning. Why is this? Well there is a laundry list of reasons. Lets look at some of the bigger ones.

Eli Manning has spent pretty much his entire NFL career under the shadow of his big brother. The one exception being the Super Bowl win. Now Eli has a chance to really emerge from under that shadow and do it for good. As of right now Eli and Peyton each sit with 1 ring a piece. Peyton lost to New Orleans a couple years ago in his second Super Bowl. Now Eli has a chance to take the lead in that category, which some consider to be the biggest category of them all. Right now Peyton's future has a big question mark on it. Will he still be able to play at an elite level? Where will he be playing the rest of his career and how long will it last? Those are questions that don't have an answer. Along with those questions is the doubt that Peyton will ever get back to the big game. Eli could cement his place as the one with the most rings with a win tonight.

Eli also gets the chance to win it on his brothers home turf, against his brothers biggest QB rival. Which wraps up to more of the reasons why this is a big Super Bowl. The fact that he gets the chance to win the Super Bowl in his brothers stadium is the stuff made of movie scripts. And he also gets another crack at Brady. Brady is a guaranteed hall of fame QB. But can he get past Eli? He didn't do it the first time, he may not tonight either. If Eli wins this he will cement himself as Brady's nemesis.

Also a win tonight has to start the discussion for the Hall for Eli. Two Super Bowl trophies under the belt of a QB is always a nice thing going into hall voting. I don't think Eli could do it on numbers alone. Once again, he doesn't have the gaudy numbers that his brother has. Peyton could make it into the hall on numbers alone, the Super Bowl ring just adds to it. Eli can't make in on numbers alone. And one ring helps his case a little, but the addition of a second ring would put him on the path to Canton. You can say all you want about a QB but you can't argue rings.

My last reason is simple and goes back to this years preseason. Eli raised a stir with a statement he made, saying that he felt like he should be considered in the same class of QBs such as Brady, Brees, Rodgers and his brother. But that he got disrespected in that discussion. Most of the sports world laughed at this. Eli had a terrible year the year before, and once again had not been able to step out of that shadow of the lesser of the Mannings. Eli an elite QB? No way was this even conceivable. Well now 5 months later the mantra is you can't spell Elite without Eli. He has already backed his words up. Now he gets a chance to shove them down everyones throat. With one game he can beat the QB that he was considered less than. He can surpass his brother in the rings category and in doing so vault himself out of the shadow that is Peyton Manning. This is definitely the biggest game of Eli Manning's career.

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Now to my pick. Some people tend to forget that the Giants already beat New England in Foxboro this year. The final score of that game was 24 - 20. The odds have New England by 2.5 last I checked. I find that amazing. The Patriots have one win against a team with a WINNING record this year. That team? The Baltimore Ravens, a game that was handed to them by the Ravens at the end of the game. A dropped TD and a missed chip shot FG (laces out!!!!) sent New England to Indy. The Patriots have had one of the worse Pass defenses in the league this year. Something I expect Elite...I mean Eli to pick apart. Now don't think that is going to stop Brady. Brady is a man on a mission. Something that leaves me shaking in my boots and I have no emotional interest in the game whatsoever. Bottom line is you don't want a determined Brady going against you in this game. That being said, the Giants have faced the two tougher teams so far. I believe they have been the best NFL team the past several weeks, and I think they are a more complete team than the Patriots are this year.

The key to the Giants success is the fact that Eli has not turned the ball over. And in order to win he has to keep it that way. Eli has to take care of the ball tonight. The Giants cannot afford to give the Patriots offense easy scoring opportunities. If Eli takes care of the football and plays like he has this whole postseason, then New York will win.

I say that Eli WILL do just that. My pick is Giants 28 - New England 24

Winter Meetings Madness: Where did This Money Come From???

Jeffrey Loria what is your secret? How did you manage to save that much money? Like most people I'm shocked at the results of this year's MLB Winter Meetings, not really at what transpired (overpaying great players) but the who. The Florida, I mean Miami Marlins, terrible uniforms and all committed $191 million to 3 players...read that last sentence again. The MIAMI MARLINS, spent more than every other team not the Anaheim Angels (props to Jerry Dipoto on grabbing the two biggest free agents this year).

Getting back on track, I live in South Florida so I know first hand just how terrible the Marlins have been financially. They always have had one of the lowest payrolls in baseball, which is kind of weird because they are in Miami. Only once in the twenty years of existence have they had a payroll over $60 million. With the money they committed to their three signings, Heath Bell, Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle respectively, the money owed to those three yearly is $40.7 million...that would be the ninth highest payroll in the teams history. I'm not exagerating, look it up.

So where did this plethora of cash come from? I sure know they didn't get this money from attendence. They've been equally low in attendence as they have been in payroll, always being in the lower third of the MLB...even in the years they won the World Series. Did Loria save all this money, which he split with the Dolphins anyway for sharing that god awful stadium. Is he banking on the new stadium, which is practically in Cuba, to sellout on a daily basis to pay these salaries? Or did he have outside help, like from a Nevin Shapiro type? I'm not buying that they actually have this cash for the next six years, but I'll leave that up to the opinion of my readers.

Last point, you know why Pujols signed with the Angels? He got a "No Trade Clause". If you don't know what that means...look it up with the payroll nuget I fed you earlier. The Marlins offered him ten years, and $275 million...yea he would've gotten A-Rod status, but he chose the DH role in a winnable division (they are getting the Astros in 2013). But no one received a No Trade Clause. This means that at any time anyone of these players can be shipped off, no questions asked excpet will it be raining when I land. This shows me that, not only are the Marlins limited in the cash, but this is just a two or three year thing. This is just a big show to open this stadium, and then it will be back to the crappy payroll and low attendence...or so I think.

Well that's all I got for today, after the shock of the winter meetings is over I will be back to usual posting, but I enjoy this so much it might take a while!

Until next time...Jonny V

Winter Meetings Madness: Shiny New Halos

As if these meetings can't get any more exciting! They Angels flew in from nowhere and snatched up two of the most prized free agents in Albert Pujols and CJ Wilson. Pujols at an insane amount of money (254 Million over 10 years, and a no-trade clause) and a hefty amount for Wilson (77.5 Million over 5 years)

Like the Marlins just hours before, the Angels blindsided the meetings with their unexpected spending spree. How strange of a winter meetings can you get? The Yankees and Red Sox are virtually silent and the Marlins and Angels are the two teams making all the headlines. The Angels have quickly thrust themselves into serious post season contenders. Pujols is going to be solid in the middle of that lineup and CJ Wilson will not have to make much of an adjustment playing for them. Same Division, different Uni.

The Angels were smart, as the only known American League team to go after Pujols they dangled the DH in front of him, they gave him his no trade clause that Miami was unwilling to give him and they gave him the extra year and 54 Million that St Louis wouldn't offer. Great Job by the front office.

They then dangled the home town factor to CJ Wilson, gave him a reasonable offer to his standards and also dangled the fact that he would have Pujols for run support. Once again they got their man. Kudos to the Halo's front office. They got the job done when nobody saw them coming.

Winter Meetings Madness: Fish Frenzy

Where did the Miami Marlins come from? A team that was the brunt of many jokes during the season last year has suddenly thrust themselves in the national spotlight.

Some of it not so good (in example: that awful thing they call a Logo, and the debacle that is their centerfield HR celebration machine that looks like something out of vegas (if you haven't seen this yet take a look http://miamiherald.typepad.com/fish_bytes/2011/10/new-home-run-celebration-sculpture-at-marlins-stadium-a-work-of-art.html))

Some of it good (signing Guillen as Manager as well as several new signings, willing to spend cash etc)

For whatever reason it seems like Pat Riley and Jeff Loria switched bodies, because the Marlins have become a signing machine. They saw the writing on the wall, The Miami Heat went out and signed the 3 Kings, The Florida Panthers (Still in First!!!!) completely overhauled the team, making it clear to the fans they were serious about turning around the team. The Dolphins.....no update there. (Maybe some stiff competition from the surrounding pro teams will wake that front office up as well). The Marlins realized they were going into a brand-spanking new stadium with a team that ended the 2011 season in last place and 18 games under .500. With the Heat now literally in the same neighborhood, they had to find something to bring the fans in.

Enter the 2011 Winter Meetings. The Marlins made a big splash by signing Heath Bell as their closer and Jose Reyes to a very lucrative contract (6 years $106 Million). A move that has created a stir in its own right. Personally I'm not completely sold on the Reyes move for Miami. My partner in crime Jonny V can tell you first hand that while Reyes can be (emphasis on the word can) one of the most electric players in the game he also is very inconsistent. Especially for that amount of cash. Reyes has been one of the faces of the Mets franchise since he burst onto the scene in 2003. Yet the Mets seemed done with him, they certainly haven't put up near the fight that St Louis has for Pujols. Has to be some reasoning behind that.

The move has definitely caused a stir in the Marlins organization. Especially with the self-proclaimed new Mr Marlin. Hanley Ramirez, who is expected to vacate his position of SS for the new acquisition. So far the rumors and press releases relating to Hanley have resembled that of a Machine Gun firing. Before the signing of Reyes it was stated that Hanley was ok with the move to 3rd. Now there are several conflicting reports. The reports have all followed the same pattern. A source close to Hanley states something that gives Hanley a negative outlook (refusal to change positions. asking for a trade. asking for a raise) followed by some scurrying in the Marlin press and then a hush hush release by the team that none of the above is true. Hanley hasn't said much of anything. And with the Marlins history of how it handles its players in almost a mafia like setting. And the credible sources that WERE stating the rumors about Hanley. I have to believe this is far from over with him.

The Marlins have the potential to have a stellar left side of the infield. But they also have two head cases to deal with in those spots. And one is feeling like his status of Alpha Male is being challenged. Can Hanley Mature? or will the Marlins have to ship him somewhere to prevent an implosion. Only time will tell.

Meanwhile the Marlins continue to make headlines. They signed Buehrle to a 4 year deal, and are sure to make a play for a couple more Free Agents before this is all done. Miami figured out that in order to stay relevant in South Florida as well as fill the seats of their new stadium they would have to make some big moves. So far so good for them. Have they been the right moves? Once again only time will tell. But they should be fun to watch both on and off the field for the next year.