The Sports Scene: October 2009

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

2009 World Series Prediction

And the 2009 World Series Champion will be...

Here's why:
The Phillies once again proved me wrong in the NLCS, dispatching of the Dodgers in five games. They have been sitting around for a week just like last year, so we'll see if it'll be rust or rest for them tonight. The Yankees beat the Angels in six like I predicted with their great lineup and starting pitching. Both teams have great rotation, with a couple of ex-Indian Cy Young winners throwing in Game 1 tonight (Cliff Lee vs. CC Sabathia). The back end of the rotation slightly favors the Yankees with Andy Pettitte and AJ Burnett over Cole Hamels and Pedro Martinez. Both bullpens are good, but Mariano Rivera is the best closer in the game, and although Brad Lidge has been solid in the playoffs, he struggled during the regular season. Both lineups have the ability to put big innings together, with Ryan Howard and Alex Rodriguez as the catalysts. Overall, I would say offenses are even. The key in the series the pitching. If the Phillies can pitch well early in games and jump out to early leads, they can repeat. But in the end, I think the stronger pitching and a $200 million payroll buys the Yankees their 27th championship. Yankees in 7.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

2009-10 NBA Preview

Here is my quick five (maybe 10) minute outlook for the 2009-10 NBA season which begins tonight with four games.
Western Conference
1. San Antonio Spurs- They're loaded. Think back to last year. No Tony Parker for the first month of the season, no Ginobili for the majority of the season, and Duncan was hurt. And they still finished 4th in the West. This year, they've added Richard Jefferson and Antonio McDyess and if everyone is healthy, Spurs should win the West.
2. Los Angeles Lakers- Adding Ron Artest to the defending champions only makes the team more explosive.
3. Portland Trailblazers- Roy, Aldridge and the rest of the team is a year older and they added PG Andre Miller.
4. Denver Nuggets- Highflying offense is back with no major losses.
5. Dallas Mavericks- Adding Shawn Marion to the lineup improves team.
6. Utah Jazz- No major losses, road record needs to improve
7. New Orleans Hornets- CP3 has a new alley-oop partner- Emeka Okafor
8. Phoenix Suns- Cut costs by trading Shaq, Channing Frye replaces him. With Amare healthy, Suns will be back to running.
9. Oklahoma City Thunder- Rising, young team with Durant, Green, Westbrook all emerging stars.
10. Houston Rockets- No Yao for the season and lack of perimeter scoring
11. Los Angeles Clippers- Here we go again- Blake Griffin out for 6 weeks with broken kneecap. Talent is there, but injury problems and the fact that they're the Clippers holds them back.
12. Golden State Warriors- Curry fits in nicely but not enough depth inside.
13. Memphis Grizzlies- Iverson and Randolph only slow development of young players.
14. Minnesota Timberwolves- The Rubio/Flynn debacle in the draft was laughable, as should this season be for the T-Wolves.
15. Sacramento Kings- Growing pains for league's worst team in 2008-09 continue.
Eastern Conference
1. Boston Celtics- As long as they're healthy, they're loaded. Adding Rasheed Wallace to a healthy Big 3 puts back on top in East.
2. Cleveland Cavaliers- Shaq teams up LeBron to try to bring title to championship-starved Cleveland.
3. Orlando Magic- Wonder how Vince Carter fits in with team. Not the passer Turkoglu is.
4. Atlanta Hawks- Adding Jamal Crawford helps bench scoring
5. Chicago Bulls- Young team led by Rose gets a year older.
6. Miami Heat- Does Beasley finally emerge to help D-Wade?
7. Toronto Raptors- Adding Turkoglu to Bosh gives Toronto one of the top starting forward duos in the East.
8. Philadelphia 76ers- New coach, same players, we'll see if Brand stays healthy.
9. Detroit Pistons- Adding Gordon and Villanueva helps, but still issues up front.
10. Washington Wizards- Can their big 3 (Arenas, Butler, Jamison) finally stay healthy with a core of good role players around them? Apparantly not, Jamison is out 5 weeks already..
11. Indiana Pacers- Granger needs more help on wing. No depth on bench.
12. Charlotte Bobcats- Okafor for Chandler trade didn't make sense. No real offensive star and size issues.
13. New York Knicks- No major additions to a young, raw, not very good team
14. New Jersey Nets- Unless it's going to be Devin Harris pick and roll with Brook Lopez every play, not enough offensive fire power.
15. Milwaukee Bucks- Giving away Jefferson shows the state this team is in- Screw the season and look toward 2010 offseason.

Sunday, October 25, 2009

NFL Picks: Week Seven

Click to enlarge.
Week 6: 7-7
Season record: 61-29

Sunday, October 18, 2009

NFL Picks: Week Six

Click to enlarge.
Week 5: 8-6
Season record: 54-22

Thursday, October 15, 2009

2009 LCS Picks

NLCS
This is a rematch of last year's NLCS, won by the Phillies in 5 games. Both lineups are still good, but every playoff series comes down to pitching. The Phillies have the edge in the starters with Cliff Lee, J.A. Happ, and Cole Hamels at the front of the rotation. The Dodgers' starting pitching is still shaky after Clayton Kershaw, but their bullpen has shown an ability to shut down the opposition. I like George Sherrill and Jonathan Broxton at the end a close game over a Brad Lidge who has struggled this year. I think the L.A. bench could also make a difference this year.
Dodgers in 7

ALCS
Both teams swept their respective division series, with the Yankees over the Twins and the Angels over the Red Sox. The Bronx Bombers lineup is great, with Alex Rodriguez shaking off his postseason demons last round. Their pitching has been great as well with CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, and Andy Pettitte in the rotation along with the best closer in the game in Mariano Rivera. The Halos have come this far with great starting pitching from John Lackey, Joe Saunders, and Jared Weaver, as well as timely hitting led by a breakouseason from Kendry Morales. In the end, I like the team with the $200 million payroll because of their stronger bullpen.

Yankees in 6