Opening Day HAS to mean Spring!

It is definitely Spring. Positively, for surely Spring. It has to be! It is opening day. Not sure why it is still 38 degrees outside or why it snowed this last weekend, but by golly, I know it’s officially Spring now! Bring on the baseball!

With the Giants being the reigning World Champions, it is safe to guess that they could be repeat champs. Just ask them! They have star power, torturous talent and the beards to prove it! So…will they repeat? Can they?

As I can hear the bay area answering a proud, “Yes!” I must break down this season and give my own analytical observation. First of all, let’s see how I am doing on predictions thus far. Auburn, check. Green Bay Packers, check. Kentucky, made it to Final Four, half check. Kevin Harvick,  is still winning, check. Sure would be nice if I could get a job, eh?

Ok, ok, enough of that. Let’s get busy and talk baseball, shall we?

Right off the top I am going to say Astros are out. Poor guys. It is not that they aren’t getting any love from me, it is just that they are rebuilding to regain a strong status (just won’t happen in the near future). Keep practicing.

National League

I think the Reds will be the strongest in the Central division. Ramon Hernandez is just that good.

In the West,  Giants and Dodgers are going to bring a divisional rivalry showdown again. It’ll be down to the wire between these two teams this season. Come on, it’s Don Mattingly’s time to shine (and keep his players cool)!

In the East, I’ve been impressed with the Phillies. They show up year after year and just cut themselves short during playoffs. If they can keep composure together for the entire season, I would put them in the running again. Besides, I’m a  Halladay fan.  Along with the Braves (who are generally strong contenders) look for these two teams to dominate the 2011 season. Moreover, the Mets are in trouble financially and with manager struggles. Not sure their talent (minus leadership) will be enough to give them what they need this season.

American League

The Angel’s are packed! Almost double stacked! They are looking good and when being led by Jered Weaver, I would expect nothing less than excitement! Follow that with Torii Hunter and you have solid contention to lead the West division.

For some reason it is hard to pick a dominate team from the Central division. I am not seeing a whole lot that has impressed me other than spring training. KC  and Minnesota looked good. However, if I see something that overwhelms me come along, I’ll be sure to report on it on my Facebook page.

Ah, yes, the East. The dynasty of the East. The lingering soap opera of the dramatic disdain between the Sox and the Yanks. Sure makes for good baseball and TV contract money. I admit, that it certainly gives life to the MLB, but lets not kid ourselves. There is a LOT more to the game than just these two legacies. I’ll remain neutral on these teams for no other reason than the Rays are going to be fierce this season. They are not going down without being noticed!

For the 2011 World Series I am taking the Angels and the Reds.

Save your tomatoes for post season, folks. You can bring them along with the lettuce to the World Series BBQ I will be having. I’ll provide the hamburgers, hot dogs and apple pie!

Let’s play ball!!

Los Angeles Angels

Auto Club 400 Video

The video of the Auto Club 400 is now uploaded. Just click on the Video Tab above! Or the link below! (March 29, 2011).

The Final Four and the 400 in Fontana

What an amazing sports weekend! Went by the Honda Center here in Los Angeles. Friday’s NCAA Basketball games were in full swing. The LA Clippers were playing Saturday night as well and I found the time to make it down to the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

If there is one thing for sure about SoCal, they have sports! Early this morning, I went on over to Fontana to the Auto Club 400. Little drizzly this morning, but the rain lifted and we were able to have a great race. While the race was going, Kentucky and VCU were making their way into the Final Four.

While I realize you can’t watch all the action at once (it’s hard enough to do just in a Nascar race) I see the men’s basketball brought some action on the court as well. Good deal! Because at Fontana (or Fontucky as SoCal calls it) there were tons of racing and next to no cautions and not one single wreck (not even Robby Gordon). Bobby Labonte hitting the wall really doesn’t count. There were literally no wrecks.

That is a blessing on one hand and on the other hand, one would like to see some of your opponents taken out (without injury of course). It didn’t happen today, but what did happen was all the #18 Haters got to see a slip in his driving as the #29 and #48 dominated in the last two laps.  That was enough to make me happy. Fierce racing makes me happy! Period.

Met a lot of great folks today. Lot of Dale Jr. fans out there with free decals! My Dale Jr. promotion is now over and I’m just looking forward to handing out more packages for you to win (be sure to follow along and “Like” the Sporty Broad-Cast on Facebook!).

I’ll definitely visit Fontana again. The tailgaiters were enough to make anyone return! How fun are they!? Great traffic control in and out of the race ( I guess it helps if you go stand in line with the kids, after the race, to Walk on Water in the Bubble Roller rides).

As Nascar moves on to Martinsville, the NCAA BK moves on to the Final Four and I’m moving on back to Idaho. It’s been a long (but blessed) 3 days here in SoCal and I’ve got to get ready for MLB to start! Lot of scrambling on some starting rosters in the MLB!

I hope you all had a great weekend! For those of you that I met in Fontana, thanks for checking out my page. I hope you’ll stick with me (and tell your friends). Thanks for your SoCal hospitality…it was remarkable to finally make it down here!

On a sidenote (and for bragging purposes) in Troy Polamalu’s Tourney contest, out of 5632, I am now sitting 24th!! That autographed jersey is mine! haha!! April 2…I’ll be that much closer!  Stay tuned…..

Sweet 16 (with only 10).

Now that these athletes have had time to rest up, the Sweet 16 will be in full swing this evening. I, on the other hand, am going to be thankful if I have 2 teams left in the Final Four. Eish!

I am sure for everyone that Butler and VCU as well as Vanderbilt are responsible for our cruddy picks. I mean, who knew about VCU? I sure love an underdog story though and with all this intense action going on , no body cares about the Barry Bond’s saga and that is just fine with me.

It really is such a  non issue. How many times do you have to try a guy, give him how many days in court and his trainers are STILL going to jail. Good gravy. Quite honestly, folks, at this point in the game I really would have to settle with a big fat “who cares’. This is about as big as Mike Tyson and his pigeons. <Cue–Pac Man dying after getting eaten>.

The NFL is becoming so dramatic that we are going to be needing commercials. Now Roger Goodell is fining teams for corresponding with players during a lockout. Enough already. This is all over $9 billion dollars and unfortunately no one can see through the money cloud to get to the principle of the matter. Which was….uh….? Was there any principle in this NFL situation?

I’m pretty sure it was about dividing money. In the meantime, you’re dividing America’s most watched sport. We have too many views, too many thoughts and too much greed in order to come to a cordial and meaningful resolution. It truly is sad. And quite frankly, to be honest, I am tired of  hearing about it. It just makes me that ill.

Thank goodness for the Sweet 16 to divert our attention and provide us with some on the-edge-of-your-seat thrills! This tournament has had some pretty exciting endings. Starting tonight, the teams get tougher, the fans get louder and the brackets get redder…or greener if you still have Butler and VCU (which is about 1.7% of you).

Be safe out there this weekend. I will be in Fontana, Calif., attending the Auto Club 400! After the past couple of weeks in sports news, I think the rolling thunder might be  just what the doctor ordered.

Tough job, I know.

The First 32 was not too Kind

I believe I stated before that this was not my specialty. I believe I may need another shot (Red Stag this time)! Oh yeah, the pain is slowly fading!

I know most of you had to be scratching your heads about the whole Michigan State prediction, however, they just are not the post season team they were last year. Izzo rallied back with them, made for an exciting last 8 minutes, just fell short. Unfortunately, I had them picked in my brackets, too. Still stinging.

Morehead State damaged most people’s brackets, mine included. Even if I had Morehead State, it wouldn’t have helped much. HA! Yes, I am sitting 23-9 after the first 32 and I’m a little humbled about it. After 16, I was ranked 716th (out of 5,632) in Troy Polamalu’s Tourney Contest, now…not so much. I’m 2,853rd. What a blow!

My gloating privileges are diminishing slightly. Never fear, I’ll be back in this 16 as I still have 14 teams to rely on and cheer for! Washington and Kentucky the most! Please! Please hear my cheer!

I hope everyone is having as much fun as I am (no, not with the Red Stag, but with the NCAA tourney) and that you’re all looking smarter than me after 32! Enjoy your selves this weekend and I’ll catch you at the 8! Oh! Expect some smack talking if I did well, my liver is too old to endure much more of these “sympathy” shots!

Good day to all!

Bracketology and Blue Grass

Remember I have never claimed to be the expert in NCAA Basketball, but I am going to go ahead and give it a shot…(Jim Beam, anyone?)

Ahh, better! Ok, here goes for the madness.

In the East,

Kentucky beats out Ohio State in the Sweet 16 and will take on Washington for the Final Four. Kentucky prevails.

In the Southeast,

Purdue and Kansas will go into race for the Final Four and Kansas will take that match.

In the South West,

Mich. St. beats BYU in an upset during the Sweet 16, Mich. St. goes on to play Kansas St.going into the Final Four. Mich. St. pulls off a win.

In the West,

Memphis is going to upset Duke in the Sweet 16 and will later meet UConn going into the Final Four. UConn will take Memphis in this one.

Final Four:

Kentucky, Kansas, Mich. St. and  UConn

NCAA Champions:

 

KENTUCKY!!!

My 2011 NFL Draft picks (Top 3)

As promised, I have comprised my 2011 draft picks. I am just as saddened as you, that there is an NFL lock-out. I remember the work stoppage in 1987 and feeling the strife. I think, for the best, that we’re just going to have to stick together and get through this time. I’ll do my best to distract you all so that these times are but a mere flash (HA! Who am I kidding, I’m going to be needing the most therapy).

Without further ado, here are my 2011 Top 3 Draft Picks:

#1.

Impressive. Quick. Powerful. This one definitely got my attention at the NFL Scouting combine. His determination and elusive demeanor add to the all around player and person he has portrayed. I see a lot of growth and passion for the game in this kid.

Having made school records for sacks and tackles for a loss, (having 6.5 sacks in 13 games in 2009) including WAC Defensive Player of the Year and in 2010 excelled passed previous school records, he is a dominant member on the field.  Most notable game was against #4 ranked Boise State University.

Dontay Moch

My Top 2011 Draft Pick-

“Moch Speed”

Nevada’s DE/LB

Dontay Moch

#2.

Known mostly for his lightheartedness and humor, nothing is funny when this guy steps on the field. Since his sophomore year he has continued to develop into an enormous threat in the secondary. In 2008, with only 3 starts he recorded 32 tackles and a sack. In 2009, he advanced in skills, dominance and play reading. He ended the 2009 season with impressive numbers, which include 5 interceptions and 64 tackles also, the First team All Big 12 selection.

In 2010, he continued to strive on his abilities (all the while …still pulling pranks against fellow teammates) and was awarded the Coaches Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year. At only 6’0″ and 205 lbs, we all know how dynamite comes in these kinds of packages! He is definitely the FULL package.

Prince Amukamara

My 2nd pick is:

“The Nigerian Nightmare”

Nebraska’s CB

Prince Amukamara

#3.

This pick is especially the toughest. It’s the last one. After much wavering and studying, I have had to literally go with my heart on this one. This player really impressed me at the scouting combine. His stance, the way he carried himself, the way he performed…his drive could be seen in everything he does. The kid just wants to play!

After being nominated for the Outland Trophy and receiving third in that award, this is only the beginning to his accomplishments. Elected the Coaches Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year. At 6’9″ and 315 lbs, his broad jump and positional drills were most impressive. He is agile, quick off the line, has great hands and studies hard to advance in the game. There is no doubt that he will be seen in many accolades in the future.

Nate Solder

My final draft pick:

“The Noble Giant”

Colorado’s OL

Nate Solder

Due to the NFL Lockout and there not being a 2011 NFL Season, it will be interesting to see what the 2011 Draft class will bring in the coming seasons.

I really had a hard time narrowing it down to just 3, I have notable players such as Julio Jones, Casey Matthews, Ryan Mallet and Jake Locker. I have been a  big Jake Locker fan since his sophomore year at Washington. I was really teetering on choosing Jake as #3, however “Noble” Nate was impressive in his showing  in the 2010 season and at the scouting combine.

Click on the following link for Nate Solder highlights vs. Oklahoma

Nate Solder vs Oklahoma

 

Is LeBron really #winning?

I have followed some stories and tweets this week and I must say, some were pretty entertaining.

MISSING PERSON REPORT: Name: Lebron James, Last seen bein takin to school by Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls. Any Info call 800-fake-MVP.

Have to love it when comedy and sports collide! Why wouldn’t we laugh at such a post (unless you were LeBron fans)? You know this leaves me in a position to offer my very humble opinion (yes, that was sarcasm) about the matter. *sigh* LeBron…LeBron….LeBron.

I took up for LeBron when Cleveland had their 27, 28 or 29 game losing streak (I lost count after 25). Dan had nobody to blame for their losses. You can’t blame it on one man alone! Ol’ King James may have been a factor for the Cavaliers organization, but he , by no means, was the mold that held the team together. Come on…7 years and no title? Most would think that LeBron is the NBA God, he should be pulling off titles left and right. Wait…maybe that’s LeBron that thinks that way.

This is what happens folks, when you set yourself up for this kind of disaster. You set yourself up to fall (I believe the kids nowadays call it an “epic fail”). If we as sports fans need to be learning lessons by what our “leaders” are conveying, then I have certainly grown much wiser just by LeBron’s example(s):

1). From high school to millions! Ok, anybody in their right mind (no pun intended) KNOWS that our frontal lobes are not truly formed until we are 25 years of age. Thus giving us the opportunity at 4 years of critical thinking at a high cost. Unless, of course, you received a scholarship. Handing an 18 year old millions should teach us ALL some valuable lessons.

2). Accolades to humility! James received NBA’s Rookie of the year, made the 2004 Olympic team, at 19. Although the USA team brought home the Bronze, many critics were upset over the “lack of concept” from these “spoiled superstars”. Even so,  James finished in the top for scoring and steals. He rivaled with his Coach over game decisions. He was the center of the court. Silas got fired. Cavaliers fail to make playoffs. Still humble?

3).There is no “I” in Team! LeBron generally received center stage for the 2005-2006 season. He did, after all, put up impressive numbers in the NBA All-Star Game as well as receive MVP. Electrifying playoffs against Wizards and Pistons (in back to back seasons), still put LeBron in the center. As if he was the only one that got them to the playoffs, the Cavaliers continued to rely on LeBron. All eyes on him for the glory. Praise the King!

4). 2008 Olympics! The platform for which they stand to receive the Gold is a tall one. We should humble ourselves in these moments. But with the media, the fans and back home in Cleveland…the height of the pedestal, in which LeBron stands, just got taller.

5). Holding the NBA Hostage! Did we really need ESPN to make a world wide display of a “team” decision? For hours people were held hostage by what the decision was going to be. Once announced, mixed feelings and riots started. Again, putting someone up to this magnitude of media hype, is certain to set one up for failure and criticism. And so it did.

These are lessons we can learn from James and his path that he has chosen. I am not taking away from his athletic ability, nor would I deny recognition for his achievements, however…when you put yourself in the limelight at this chapter in sports and you hold fans hostage in the manner in which was done, how could you not take on such criticism or not think it is warranted?

I think for most people, they are tired of hearing about it.  It’s a craze like Beiber and Gaga. I call it the Straight Jacket Syndrome. Why? Because either you are going to go crazy listening about it or they are going to go crazy in self destruction. In these kinds of circumstances…nobody is a winner (and I don’t care what Charlie says…ironic that he’d fit into the equation).

Self gratification can get us at one point or another. We reel in the power and greed. As we have asked ourselves hundreds of times, “what would we do with that kind of money”, I guess we should also include in the question of “what we would do with that kind of power?” It’s true. We can’t have one without the other. Nonetheless, King James has put himself out there for criticism. This has nothing to do with his ability, it has everything to do with the lack of humility. Do I feel that everyone in these positions should act and behave a certain way? Certainly not, it is what makes us each unique, respectively.

What I am saying is that we can all fall. At anytime on any day. Failure eventually happens. When you are known as “the King” and you are in the spotlight, your every move is published. Your life does exist in a microscope, yet you put yourself out there. Do I feel it’s a lack of integrity? I do. Not so much of LeBron not having his own side to the story, and not even so much of everybody else having a story. My opinion is based on progression of events. Following one’s journey silently and then finally speaking up at a time that often validates my way of thinking. Media Hype! To know me is to know that I would much rather give credit to the little man, than to do 427 articles on the big man! There are 427 athletes out there that have stellar attributes and that have much more humility than those of one man that reaps in the millions no matter if he wins or not. Is this really winning?

A Note from Sporty Broad:

Are you curious as to where ALL my material is located? I thought I would post this in case you had questions. I have been receiving e-mail about my podcasts. Thank you for your questions!

PODCASTS: If you click on my “Podcast” tab, then you are taken to my “Podcast” page. In the search engine, on that page, if you type in “Sporty Broad”, you will see all the programs I have recorded. To date, there are 5, while I am working on a different audio programming editor. I apologize for the inconvenience. I am working hard at recording more for you. I am also in  the works with having my Podcasts listed on iTunes.

VIDEOS: These are listed on YouTube. You are welcome to “Friend” me or “Subscribe” to my channel. The current work that is on YouTube are rough drafts leading up to future major sporting events. Stay tuned for that! (Hint: I have Nascar, MLB and Motorcross events booked thus far!).

I appreciate your patience during these transitions. Just getting off the ground teaches you about quirks and social media as a whole. I’m certainly wanting to make it easier for you to feel that we’re on the same page in this enormous world of sports. Thank you again for your interest.