The Calm Before the Storm

There is literally nothing to talk about from last night in sports. But we have the NLCS kicking off tomorrow with a good weekend of college football and NFL games as I noted. There are even some good college football games Thursday and Friday. Tonight could be a somewhat interesting game as Boise St. goes to Tulsa in hopefully a shoot-out.

I intend to preview the NLCS tomorrow morning and the ALCS Friday morning. I'm sure the Millman will come through with some picks and I'd like to at least blurb about the exciting Giants/Saints game this weekend. We will also have to try to get into what should be the first big college football game that ends up being interesting in a while - Texas/Oklahoma.

Long Weekend Roundup

With a ton of games this weekend I must admit to being a bit of a poor sports fan this weekend. My girlfriend was here and I spent more time looking at ancient artifacts at the Museum of Natural History Saturday than I did watching Florida/LSU or Alabama/Ole Miss...fortunately for me neither game really lived up to the hype. Huge weekend in college football this Saturday including Texas/Oklahoma and I plan on touching on that a bit later in the week.

As for the NFL yesterday: The Broncos beat New England and have officially entered way overrated territory. Look, they beat a struggling, overrated team, by three points at home in a game they probably should have lost. Champ Bailey did an excellent job on Randy Moss but they are going to have a hell of a time defending the multitude of weapons that San Diego will be giving them in Cali this week (I think that is the Monday night game).

The Giants are good, the Eagles are good. The Raiders are bad, the Bucs are really bad.

I thought Seattle would beat Jacksonville this weekend but is there a stranger team than the Jags in all of sports? One week they'll look like the '07 Pats and the next they'll look like the current Raiders.

Talk of Dallas being terrible I think is a little overrated at this point. Yes the Chiefs are terrible. No, they don't usually get blown out in back-to-back weeks at Arrowhead. Dallas has some problems, but how about Miles Austin. Credit at least one Pewch Revolution reader who picked up Miles Austin Sunday morning and inserted him into his lineup en route to mashing his opponent in my league (thumbs down on dropping Hester to do it though).

Indy, New Orleans, Giants, Philly. Those are the best 4 teams in football. Luckily two of them square off this weekend (New Orleans and NYG).

The Jets defense looked painfully average against a once again surging Dolphins team. But, on the bright side for the Jets, Braylon Edwards is away from Lebron James and once again ready to play football.

Other than that yet another pretty bland weekend in football.

What I really wanted to get to...the MLB playoffs..

Sweep, Sweep, Sweep, 4 games? With a bunch of intriguing Divisional Series matchups who could have guessed that they would already be complete, with only one losing team managing to muster a win and none of them going 5 games. Most people's favorite to win the NL - the Cardinals - were swept away by a familiar face in the form of Joe Torre. I don't think too many people are surprised by the Angels beating the Red Sox, but a sweep is quite surprising. And that is the series I want to focus on:

I guess I should first mention it will be Yanks/Angels and Phils/Dodgers...I believe it doesn't start until Friday or Saturday, either way expect a big preview for each.

Back to the Sox/Angels series...

Back to last Thursday...Lackey/Lester at LAA. Torii Hunter homers and as I already mentioned, in a terribly umped game that certainly made the score worse than it should have been, Angels win and probably would have anyway...I mentioned how bad the umpiring was and it really has continued to be miserable throughout the playoffs. My thoughts coming out of this game: if it's Lester/Lackey again I will be betting a lot on the Sox. Angels 1-0.

Game 2: This is the game I believed the series would come down to. If the Angels win, they ensure a worst-case-scenerio of game 5 at home, with a chance to win the series in Boston if they could take just one game. Weaver-Beckett certainly made this a good pitching matchup, but one that you would have to give the edge to Boston in. It is my contention that Terry Francona absolutely lost the Red Sox this game and in turn the series here...

First of all, we must say that the umps again missed a number of easy calls on the bases, again the Sox came out on the short side of the stick. That however, is not why they lost this game. A bit of decent managing probably would have resulted in a 1-1 extra inning game that could have gone either way.

It all began in the 4th inning as Beckett gave up a run but still looked strong. In the 5th he had a 1-2-3 inning against the 7-8-9 hitters, he was about to face the order the 3rd time through. Then he came out with a Beckett-esque 6th inning going 1-2-3 against Figgins (k), Abreu (ground out) and Hunter (fly out). The problem was that the balls the Angels were putting in play were hit squarely and even Figgins I believe smashed a line drive or two foul before striking out. We then enter the 7th inning and Beckett issues a 4-pitch walk to Vlad to lead off the inning. His pitches varied from 6 inches outside the zone to a foot-plus. Something didn't look right. Kendrick comes in to run for Vlad and Beckett quickly falls behind Kendry Morales with a couple more pitches that aren't even close to the zone. He battles and eventually gets Morales to fly out to deep left-center. Crafty and gutsy. Kendrick then steals second on a very poor Beckett-Martinez combo in terms of holding runners. As Beckett again falls quickly behind Juan Rivera Billy Wagner is now up, throwing and completely warm in the bullpen. Rivera absolutely clocks a Beckett fastball left right over the heart of the plate and the Red Sox are fortunate as it is right at third baseman Mike Lowell who makes the play. 2 outs, good baserunner on second and switch-hitting Macier Izturis stepping to the plate. To be fair, Izturis has been better hitting from the right side this year, but on his career he is actually a better left-handed hitter. He came into the game 3-3 with a double off Beckett on the season. In fact, he has hit Beckett well his entire career. Meanwhile, Beckett has lost command of the strike zone and his fastball has tallied off to low 90's..but he hadn't yet hit 100 pitches and I think that is what Francona hung his hat on. So instead of turning Izturis around and bringing in the left-handed Wagner to all but ensure getting out of the inning 1-1 (and with plenty of power arms available to get through the next few innings) Francona turned the Sox biggest strength (bullpen) into an unused commodity and Izturis singled in the winning run on a fat hanging curveball from Beckett.

I promise that this is not complete Monday Morning Quarterbacking on my part. Sure I didn't know all of those stats, but Francona certainly did. And I was sitting there urging for Francona to bring in Wagner (I had bet the Sox and also figure the Yanks would benefit from these two teams playing a tight series)...yet he didn't.

Perhaps worst of all instead of Francona then going out and making sure his team was just a run down, he left Beckett in to face Mike Napoli. Izturis took second base and then Beckett plunked Napoli. Then, he finally took him out, right? Oh no, he left him in to face Ayber who tripled in two more runs. Finally, Francona went to Wagner and with the Sox now down 4-1 headed to the 8th inning, Wagner averted further damage throwing 98 MPH fastballs and struck out Chone Figgins on 3 or 4 pitches.

Perhaps best of all (since I already used worst of all) is the fact that Wagner gives off a leadoff single the next inning and then Francona goes to Papelbon! So, he's willing to use his power arms to keep them in a 4-1 game with just 3 outs for his own team left, but not in a 1-1 (or even 2-1) game with 6 outs remaining for his hitters? What kind of sense does this make? He was willing to use Papelbon for two innings if necessary yet waited all that time to bring in Wagner?

I discussed the decision with a Pewch reader and respected Red Sox fan who didn't seem to agree with me. He thought it was debatable at best. Personally, I thought it was every bit as bad as Grady Little leaving Pedro out there....sure it won't be as scrutinized or met with the legendary blunder that Little's move was, but it may have cost the Sox the series...too often managers only look at the pitch-count and don't best utilize their pitchers...in the regular season, ok, but this is the playoffs, you have to do whatever it takes to win every game.

Game 3 is history itself as Papelbon and the bullpen blew a late lead..so maybe Francona just knew his pen wasn't as good as advertised all along? More likely, a lot of the wind was already out of the Red Sox sails at this point.

The good ole days

I miss the good old days when we had a squad and fans like this.

Football is fun

The millman went an impressive 9-4 against the spread this weekend. In other news, football has offiical ended for the season in Buffalo, NY. Hope for all you back yard quarterbacks out there atleast. With Derek Anderson going 2-17 for 23 yards and getting a W, we all should have aspirations to be an NFL QB.

Let me repeat that real quick. 2-17. 23 Yards...and won!!! Enjoy, the clip and song are better with pictures. Until next year.

Sunday Countdown

Rough last week for the millman picking games. Let's see if he can turn it around and check out some game previews while we are at it...

Minnesota Vikings -10.5 @ St. Louis Rams
I don't want to mention "He who shall not be named" in this preview, but I have to give a quick kudos to his performance last Monday. This week I turn to purple Jesus to go wild and run all over the Rams. Take the Vikings, lay the points.

Cincinnati Bengals +8.5 @ Baltimore Ravens
If the Bengals can continue this magical ride they have been on I will be impressed. Ocho Cinco has been tweeting all week that he is going to be doing his best Ricky Bobby Talledaga Nights impression when he hits pay dirt. I hate to keep pumping him up, but best guy in the NFL hands down. He has said the fine check is in the mail already. Ravens had a bad beat @ new England last week in a game they couldn't pull out thanks to Mark Clayton trying to catch a ball with his chest. Baltimore did their fair share of talking and complaining after the loss and no matter how valid it may be, you just always look like a whiner doing it. Regardless I love the Bengals here and think they stick around and play some ball...Gus Johnson is calling the game and CBS/NFL rig the games to make sure they are close when he calls the shots. I take the Bengals here.

Redskins +3.5 @ Carolina Panthers
Has to be one of the worst games of the week. I take Carolina coming off a bye to get it done.

Pittsburgh Steelers -11 @ Detroit Lions
Fast Willie Parker may have been relegated to the Injured not so fast backup Parker from here on out. Coach Tomlin has restored his faith in mendenhall and he had a hell of a game last week. Look for him to rip through a bad Detroit defense and Pitt wins big.

Dallas Cowboys -9 @ Kansas City Chiefs
Hmmm. Tough loss last week for the Cowgirls. Tony Romo could not squeeze the ball past champ Bailey and the boys are slowly losing ground to the Gmen and Eagles in the NFC West. They will get the win here this weekend, but I like the Chiefs to make a game of it. Take the points.

Oakland Raiders +16 @ NY Giants
Jamarcus Russel is laughable, Tom Cable is two days away from being whisked into police custody...McFadden has bust all over him and is now out 2-4 weeks with a knee issue. Derius Heyward Bay is being paid about 7 Million per catch at this point in his career. No upside and positives to mention here. On a tangent me and my buddies were at Marshall High School the other day throwing the football around. I nailed a legit 35 yarder and then attempted one from 40. A terrible shank and the first reaction out of the mouth was...That a boy Janikowski. Raiders can't even get a break on the George marshall high school field. I don't love it, but I can't back the Raiders no matter how many points they are getting. Giants win and win big. As impressed as I am with this Giants team...they have had a cake schedule with the only real tough game being @ Dallas Sunday night so far (who haven't impressed). Would like to see this team when the schedule turns harder...

Tampa Bay Buccs +15.5 @ Philly Eagles
McNabb back, Westrbook back, coming off a bye....ehh I take the Eagles and the Points...but it is a ton.

Cleveland Browns +6 @ Buffalo Bills
Please lose. Fire Jauron. In all seriousness, the Bills at this point should not be favored 6 points over anyone in the league. That being said, the Bills probably win because they need to keep pace to go their standard 7-9.

Atlanta Falcons +3 @ San Francisco 49ers
I really like both of these teams. 49ers last week did what good teams do against bad teams...absolutely stomped the Rams. I like the Falcons off the bye though. Matty Ice should be able to move the ball and they have a big bruising back. Should be a close hard fought game.

Houston Texans +5.5 @ Arizona Cardinals
Andre Johnson vs Larry Fitz. I don't see any team stopping the other. I love dogs. Love the Texans here in an evenly matched game between two mediocre teams.

New England patriots -3.5 @ Denver Broncos
Broncos a huge win last week move to 4-0. The defense has surrendered next to nothing and Orton has been the definition of the game manager. They take care of the ball and move the chains and play methodical football. At home, I am starting to believe in this Broncos team and will take them over the Patriots. Patriots are good, but they are a normal team that will finish 12-4, 11-5 this year so they will take some losses.

Indy Colts -4 @ Tennessee Titans
Titans stink. Colts are one of the best teams in the league. What manning is doing with his young guns is impressive. I think I could be the head coach of this team and it wouldn't matter because Peyton is that good and he calls everything anyways.

New York Jets -2 @ Miami Dolphins

Dolphins are not that impressive, don't let that big win over the Toronto Bills fool you. The jets were still in the game with the Saints even with Sanchez playing like a rookie. I take the Jets here.

In Need of a Holliday

I'm sure you all saw what happened in the St. Louis/LAD game, but in case you missed it the Cardinals got a gem of an outing from Adam Wainwright and led 2-1 in the Bottom of the 9th with 2 outs and no one on. Ryan Franklin induced what looked to be a routine line drive at Matt Holliday who was jogging in for the catch to tie the series at 1-1 when suddenly the unthinkable happened - he missed it. It never even hit his glove, it hit him right in his stomach. The Dodgers ended up rallying and won 3-2.
Wainwright threw incredible though I heard him complaining "I don't think they should be allowed to wave white towels when we're trying to catch a white ball" Shut it down, Wainwright. No one else had a problem catching the ball, Holliday just blew it, no excuses, period.

I would like to point out an excellent bit of managing by Joe Torre that not many will credit but in hindsight may have won them the game. In the top of the 8th, with the Dodgers trailing 2-1, the Cardinals had Pujols leading off (with Holliday and Ludwick also due up)...so who does Torre wheel out of his bullpen? His closer, Johnathan Broxton. This is such an easy decision but it's not one most managers would make. Broxton got them to go 1-2-3 and the rest is history. If he went with anyone else there is a very good chance The Cards would have scratched some more runs and they would be headed back to St. Louis 1-1.

Hamels got beat and didn't look too sharp. Aaron Cook was dominating. I don't want to give the game too much credit as the umpire was miserable. He was giving Cook pitches about 6 inches off the plate. To his credit, Cook noticed this and utilized it more effectively than Hamels...but the umpiring in almost every game this playoffs has been brutal...and speaking of which...

The umpiring in the Red Sox/Angels game last night was absolutely the worst I have ever seen. The 1st base ump was criminally bad missing routine calls that were obvious to the naked eye on a non-high def 13" tv to me. There was also a terrible call at 3rd..and the balls/strikes calls behind the plate were laughable. Again, credit Lackey for noticing this and taking advantage of it...I also would like to say that it appeared to me (and I did bet Boston so I'll acknowledge a possible bias) that especially early on Lackey got every strike call on close pitches and Lester got nothing..they even showed Lester pitches clearly in the K zone that were called balls and Lackey with pitches inches outside it that were strikes. Hopefully the umps get it together because that is not what should be the focus in these games...

Kudos to Torii Hunter for breaking the game open with a 3-run moonshot.


Yanks should roll through the Twins again today.

Interesting game will be Beckett vs. Weaver. I think the winner of this game will probably take the series.

Phils and Colo head back to Denver and it will be interesting to see...Phils used Blanton and Happ out of the bullpen so it appears they'll go with Pedro. Happ only faced one batter though and got hit in the leg - Manuel immediately pulled him..so maybe he would be available. More than likely it's Pedro with Happ being the first up if he gets in early trouble. Phils should not be in this situation - they over-worked Pedro in meaningless regular season games and now need him to come up big. The lineup better come up big or I think the Rocks take the lead.

Heeeees Baaaaackkk

Las Vegas Locomotives opened up the first ever game in UFL history with a convincing 30-17 victory over the California RedWoods.

Total fans in attendance at Sam Boyd Stadium (home of the UNLV Running Rebels) was just over 14,000. Not entirely shabby I must say.

As for the real story, and the significance to the Pewch Revolution, J.P Losman has started his comeback bid to the NFL in great fashion. 21-31, 226 passing yards, 2 tds...LEGIT.

Not much else to say really except Losman and Fassel have to be the favorites to take the UFL Championship this year. Fassel was quoted as saying, “Our defense stepped up to the plate big time...“The things that we didn’t do well at the end of the day we can coach. It was a good football game. It wasn’t sloppy. It was hard hitting. It was what people want to see.”

It must be hard for Fassel to give press quotes and not think in his head "what has my life come to."

Dennis Green, Coach of the Redwoods, continues his losing ways and drops to 0-1, though most could see this loss coming, after all...

The Locomotives are who we thought they were...if you want to crown em, crown em!