NFL Playoff Predictions

The euphoria hasn't passed yet. With the 49ers clinching the No.2 seed and a first round bye in their defeat of the Rams yesterday, I believe they have a chance to win the Super Bowl. However, they're not my pick to win it all. Here are my predictions for the NFL playoffs.

AFC

Wild Card Round

Cincinnati Bengals over Houston Texans

Yes, I know, the Bengals haven't looked good as of late, but neither have the Texans. The Texans currently are starting their 3rd string QB, TJ Yates, and I don't have Matt Schaub-like confidence in Yates' abilities. The Bengals have Pro Bowl WR AJ Green, who will likely be at full strength for Saturday's game, and Rookie of the Year candidate Andy Dalton. The Bengals have the 10th best rush defense to counter the Texans' illustrious running game led by Arian Foster. If Cincinnati can stop Foster, the Bengals will win this game.

Pittsburgh Steelers over Denver Broncos

Let's face it, defenses have figured out Tim Tebow. And when you pit Tebow against a stellar defense like Pittsburgh's, they don't have a chance. Pittsburgh's D is tops in total yards and passing defense and 8th in rush defense. As we witnessed in Denver's game against Kansas City, Denver is dysfunctional on offense. Even though the Broncos have one of the best defenses in the league, you still have to score points to win a game. If Denver's defense can't generate turnovers, something they've struggled at throughout the year, it'll be hard to beat Ben Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Looking Back on 2011

As we wrap up the year, we truly understand what a monumental year 2011 was in sports. We saw Auburn, led by future #1 overall pick Cam Newton, win their second NCAA National Championship. Then we watched as one of the most historic teams in NFL history brought the Lombardi trophy right back to its hometown, Green Bay. The Bruins won the Stanley Cups finals, defeating the Vancouver Canucks and sparking riots in the streets of Vancouver. The Mavericks beat the "Dream Team" Miami Heat to claim their NBA championship, and the world was introduced to the backyard-style play of PG JJ Barea. Then, we endured a summer of NFL and NBA labor disputes, both of which were eventually resolved: the NFL's before the season and the NBA's just in time for Christmas. Among these labor messes, the St.Louis Cardinals won the 2011 World Series over the repeat AL-Champion Texas Rangers behind the heroics of breakout star David Freese, just before Tony La Russa retired and Albert Pujols took his talents to the City of Angels. The NFL season took an interesting turn, highlighted by the success of the most famous man in sports, Tim Tebow. The playoff picture is wrapping up in time for 2012. College football had its Game of the Century - #1 LSU vs #2 Alabama - and they will meet again for the national championship. Finally, the NBA season goes underway on Christmas and everyone's eyes are in LA, ....on the Clippers.

Now it's time for some annual awards - across all four major North American sports and college football:

Rookie of the Year: Craig Kimbrel, Atlanta Braves
This man was a phenomenal closer, breaking Neftali Feliz's save record and anchoring a strong Braves' bullpen.

NCAA Bowl Season

As you probably know if you read any of my previous blogs, I love college football. There are so many historic teams and intense rivals and unpredictable plays that happen throughout the entire regular seasons. Little unknown teams upset major programs each week. Conference rivals clash weekly for conference supremacy and the chance to play for the national championship at the end of the season. One game can ruin a season, one small mistake can blemish an entire resume.

The entire season culminates in a long, 3 week postseason, consisting of 35 bowl games across the country, some with lots of history and national prestige, others with relatively unknown sponsors pitting relatively unknown teams against one another.

I'm not one to rant against the BCS. For the most part, it is a system that places a heavy emphasis on the regular season, which I don't really mind. I like the bowl season. It is an enjoyable 3 weeks of college football that I get to immerse myself into for the holidays. I would never half watched a San Diego State-Louisiana Lafayette game had it not been for the R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl yesterday night. Bowls give the small mid-major teams national exposure and many times these games are actually fun to watch. I never knew ULL could air it out until they showed me yesterday that they had that in their offense.

The Heisman as I see it

Tomorrow is the Heisman trophy presentation and I have never been as excited. I actually do not know who will win, unlike previous years where the winner has been as obvious as the fact that the sky is blue. The award is totally up for grabs, with Robert Griffin III, QB of the Baylor Bears, and Stanford's Andrew Luck, the two favorites. However, to me at least, it is clear who the award should go to tomorrow.

As much as I want Andrew Luck to come away with the trophy, the award should undisputed belong to Robert Griffin III. The award is to be awarded to "the outstanding college football player whose performance best exhibits the pursuit of excellence with integrity," as defined by the Heisman Trust. Not necessarily the best player. Not necessarily the one with the gaudiest stats. Not the one with the big plays on his resume. Not the one who plays on the best team or in the strongest conference. The award goes to the most outstanding player. And to be outstanding, the player must stand out and mean something to his team.

Montee Ball, though a scoring machine, plays on a team that has great blockers and a run-oriented offense. It's awesome that he has come so close to Barry Sanders' record but in Wisconsin, where they value a huge offensive line, it is not nearly as impressive. Put in another back in that system, and I say they would be able to produce about as much as Ball, minus the touchdowns of course. He is an impressive talent, but unfortunately, to me at least, he doesn't stand out more than the other finalists.

This is getting ridiculous

Earlier this week, the Big East Conference, which had lost key members Pittsburgh and Syracuse to the ACC, announced that they were adding five new members in time for the 2013 season. The new members include football-only schools Boise St and San Diego St, as well as full time members SMU, UCF, and Houston. My first reaction was, Wait, isn't San Diego on the West Coast?? This move, though understandable, makes absolutely no sense from a geographic or practical standpoint.

I'm sure schools like Rutgers and UConn are not thrilled with the prospect of traveling across the country to Boise or San Diego to play a football game. No other college football conference is so spread out. The other recent conference expansions have been reasonable geographically: Missouri and Texas A&M to the SEC, Nebraska to the Big 10, Colorado and Utah to the Pac-12, TCU to the Big 12. Even Pitt and Syracuse lie in proximity to the Atlantic Coast. On the other hand, no matter how Big the East may be, San Diego and Boise are definitely not in it. Even Houston and SMU are not really in the East; geographically they fit better in the Big 12.

The Story of the Season: Tribes and Tebows

Once upon a time, there lived a league of legends, a collection of 32 tribes that constantly battled one another in the fall and winter and replenished their troops in the spring and summer. These tribes were of the warring kind, however, their wars were fought in an organized manner. In fact, they showed their superiority by playing an odd game known as "football."

This is the story of the 2011 tribal war season.

During the summer of 2011, the Eagle tribe looked like the favorite to win the tribal war contest, parting ways with young Corn-on-the-Kolb (who left and joined the Cardinal tribe in the desert) and going out and convincing many famous warriors from across the land to join their cause.  Other popular tribes during that summer included the Steeler clan and the Packer tribe, both of whom were able to retain many key warriors from the previous year, where both had met up in the tribal war finale. However, the field looked wide open for a new upstart tribe to take control.

NHL Realignment

There's a lot more to sports than simply the games being played. Sports encapsulates so much more than that. There are conflicting personalities, intriguing storylines, differing opinions, and lots of drama. There is also a business side of sports. Each sports league is a huge business, generating tons of revenue. As a person interested in business, this aspect of sports has always fascinated me.

Although we do not always realize it, the business side of sports shows up on the news a lot. Realignment is one big issue currently, in college football, baseball and hockey. You can see my ideas on MLB Realignment here and my NCAA opinions here. I had some fun with those realignments. Here, in this post, I will be discussing hockey realignment.

There are essentially two ways to align a league. Geographically, like the NHL and NBA currently do, or by using two leagues/conferences spread across the country, like the NFL and MLB. For the NHL, I think a geographic alignment is better for the NHL, partly because it is the system already in use and partly to maintain geographic rivalries that are so important to the game. However, unlike the common east-west conference system, I think a north-south split would be better for the NHL. There are simply too little teams in the west to make an appropriately named "Western Conference" without actually including teams from the Eastern Time Zone. Furthermore, the large amount of Canadian teams makes it easier to divide the league in this manner.

NBA's loss is the NHL's gain

The best thing that could have happened to the NHL this season? The NBA lockout. I swear, without basketball, I have seen so many more hockey highlights on ESPN and other networks. Last year, they barely covered hockey at all, even during the Stanley Cup. Compare that to the NBA Finals, when entire 30 minute segments were dedicated to basketball analysis. Hockey just doesn't seem to carry that same weight in the media. Except this year.

With no basketball to attract TV audiences and sports fans, hockey has received much more exposure. On Sundays and Mondays, the NFL reigns supreme, and on Saturdays, NCAA football is what everyone talks about, but Tuesday through Friday, the NHL gets tons of publicity. Never before has ESPN talked so much about a player who isn't even on the ice (Sidney Crosby) or a team that is in its first season in its new city (Winnipeg Jets). Hell, even the Florida Panthers are getting air time. If basketball was going on right now, we would be hearing all about Kobe, LeBron, Dwight, Chris Paul, Amare, and all the other polarizing NBA stars. But they're not here to steal the spotlight.

Finally, being a Bay Area sports fan is something to be proud of...

I would like to say I started following sports sometime around 2002. I still have vague memories of Barry Bonds and the San Francisco Giants losing to the LA Angels in a 7-game World Series that year. And since I remember as far back as 2002, that means I have been a sports fan for 9 years. In my 9 years of following sports in the Bay Area, it has largely been disappointing. Yes, the Giants made the World Series in 2002, but I only barely remember that. Yes, the Raiders made the Super Bowl in 2003, but they lost to the Buccaneers in the famous "Gruden Bowl." The A's used to be good with their Moneyball strategy, but now they struggle with their tiny budget. During the past decade, sports just hasn't been the Bay Area's thing.

The last few years have changed that.

Let's start with the 49ers. They have had quite the tumultuous decade, going through 6 head coaches (1 interim), 8 losing seasons, and a 1st overall pick that had underperformed until this year. Ever since I started following sports, the Niners have been less than mediocre; that is, until Jim Harbaugh took over this year. This season has been a treat. The 49ers are playing awesome football. And I am loving it.

Crazy NCAA Weekend

The Oklahoma St-Kansas St game just finished, and this basically wraps up the college football weekend. It was the most exciting weekend of college football that I've seen in a long while. First, in the afternoon, my Stanford Cardinal defeated the Beavers of Oregon St, ensuring that Stanford remains undefeated going into their high-profile matchup against Oregon next Saturday. The Oregon game will truly tell us if Stanford is a BCS contender or pretender this year and I can't wait for Saturday to come.

Second, that was a hell of a game between LSU and Alabama. Not a lot of offense, but it really gave me a feeling about what SEC football is like. Even my dad was glued to the game. The hits were vicious, the play was aggressive, the game was close. Everything about that game was amazing. The Alabama kicker is probably kicking himself right now (no pun intended) for missing the 4 field goals. That really sucks for him and Alabama, but if you can't make a field goal, you don';t deserve to go undefeated. That's the harsh reality.