Niners Dodge a Bullet

In the end, the best course of events happened for the San Francisco 49ers. They signed Alex Smith. That was what they were expected to do after last season, and that is the direction they'll be heading in 2012.

I have to admit, I really wanted Peyton Manning. When word came out that the 49ers were one of the three finalists for Peyton, everyone instantly labeled them the favorites because they had the best team out of the contenders. But when Peyton signed with Broncos yesterday, 49ers nation nearly suffocated. Alex Smith was visiting the Miami Dolphins. we had just been spurned by the Great One himself, Peyton Manning. We were going to have to start Colin Kaepernick. After losing out on Manning and considering our interesting but dangerous situation, I think any fan would've been happy with Alex Smith.

And the 49ers dodged a bullet today when they officially announced the signing of Alex. I am overjoyed that he came back. Which is not something you normally say when a just-about-average QB with one good season under his belt resigns with your team for $8 million a year.

Bracket=Busted

Today begins the round of 32, when everyone starts to shun their bracket and just root for the underdog in every game. By now, nobody has a perfect bracket (the best brackets on ESPN and Yahoo! Sports have 2 picks wrong at the least). Norfolk State and Lehigh took care of that for us. For me, my national champ lost in the first round. And I've gone 21 of 32. I'm definitely out of the running here.

But what I am happy about is the fact that my post about my bracketology prediction method for the most part worked. All the #1 and #3 seeds advanced just like I said. Yes, two #2 seeds were upset, but that's a once in a blue moon occurrence. 3 of the 4 #4 seeds advanced (Michigan lost to Ohio, start of a new rivalry?). There were two #5 vs #12 upsets, one of which I predicted correctly. And then the rest of the games are tossups, of which the wrong side of the coin came up for me. I am ashamed of the Gonzaga pick, but the rest bode no shame.

So where do we go from here?
The tournament just got a lot more interesting, with two #2 seeds losing. This gives the #1 seeds in those regions, Kentucky and Michigan State, easy paths to the final four. In the South region (Kentucky's region), #3 Baylor looked shaky against South Dakota St, and then #5, 6, 7, and 9 are out. The biggest tests for Kentucky will be #8 Iowa State and then presumably #4 Indiana. The Indiana game would be the biggest challenge, seeing as Indiana already beat Kentucky earlier this season. If Kentucky doesn't falter there and then gets past the winner of the bottom half of that region (which is expected), the Wildcats are Final Four bound.

Bracket's out!

Alright, so those pesky play-in games are over and I can finally create my bracket. I spent a good hour contemplating the matchups and this is what I came up with:

http://tournament.fantasysports.yahoo.com/t1/2706944 

http://games.espn.go.com/tournament-challenge-bracket/en/entry?entryID=6013493 

Note: The bracket will only be viewable starting tomorrow after the first game of the tourney begins.

I am a very methodical bracketologist, at least for the first round of predictions. I have a list of steps that I follow to fill out my bracket. The most important rule in these steps is to never have preconceived notions that a team is going to win. Instead of writing in the winner first, I consider each matchup individually. This ensures that each game is given the proper consideration and the most likely winner moves on in the prediction.

I have a protocol that I follow for the first round. First, I always pencil in all the #1 and #2 seeds as victors; there's almost never an upset there. Then, I pencil in all of the #3 seeds, unless I strongly believe that a #14 can beat one of the #3s. I was very tempted with Belmont this year but I decided against it in the end, even if I do think that Georgetown is a perennial choker. If Iona had won, I would've penciled them in against Marquette, but they didn't and I ended up without a #14 over #3 upset, which is ok. Then I move on to the #4 seed games. Unless I have a strong feeling that a #13 has what it takes to knock off a #4, I write in all the #4s in the second round. This year, I believe Davidson has the best chance to pull off the victory, but I have them losing to Louisville still.

Play-In Games

I hate play-in games. Or as the NCAA likes to call it: The First Four. I hate them. They're holding up my bracket. I can't complete it quite yet because I'm reduced to racking my brains over whether BYU or Iona is going to win to face Marquette.

These play-in games are a huge inconvenience. They used to not matter when there was only one play-in game between two 16-seeds. Back then, when the tourney field was just 65, the winner of the play-in game in Dayton did not matter, because they were going to lose to whichever #1 seed they ended up facing anyway. Now, these play-in games have a huge impact on the brackets and are making life very difficult for bracketologists  and fans (like me) everywhere.

The two play-in games that are keeping me awake at night are Cal vs. USF  for the right to play Temple and Iona vs. BYU for the right to play Marquette. These games have serious implications for the rest of the tournament. If Cal beats USF, then I believe they will lose to Temple. However, if USF wins, I think they'll beat Temple. A similar situation occurs in the BYU vs. Iona game. If BYU wins, they're gonna lose to Marquette hands down. On the flip side, if Iona wins, I have them beating Marquette and then Murray State (for now - subject to change)  much like VCU made their run last year.

The Peyton Saga

Where will Peyton Manning play next season? That's the question every football fan across the nation is asking themselves right now. That's the question every ESPN pundit has been trying to break down since the Colts locked up the #1 overall pick in January. Peyton is the most polarizing free agent since LeBron James. And we're all awaiting his Decision.

There are few frontrunners in this one. I have heard people telling me that Peyton's gonna play anywhere from Miami to Minnesota, but it's yet to be seen what Peyton himself wants to do. Early on, the favorite was Washington. Now, Miami's fans are making a big push through a PeytonToMiami campaign to try to lure the QB. Here's a breakdown of all 32 teams and their likelihood of landing Peyton Manning:

Arizona Cardinals - One of the likely destinations that has been thrown out there, the Cardinals would be a good fit. They have a clear #1 receiver and have made it to the Super Bowl before with an aging veteran quarterback.
Atlanta Falcons - Next to no chance Peyton lands here. The Falcons have a legit QB already in Matt Ryan.

March

It's alright, guys, we made it through February. The most uneventful month of the sports calendar is over. After the NFL season ends and before March Madness starts, we as sports fans have got nothing. 2012's edition of February brought us Jeremy Lin.... and that's about it as far as intrigue in the month of February. But here, in March, it all starts over again for a whole 'nother year of sports.

The headliner of course is the NCAA tournament. After the conference championships conclude this week, the NCAA selection committee will get together this Sunday (selection Sunday) and pick the teams for this year's bracket. We've already seen some great games so far this championship week, including Tennessee St vs. Murray St, Creighton vs. Illinois St, and the one I watched today: St. Mary's over Gonzaga.

Return of Buster Posey

With the Giants having reported to spring training, all eyes now fall on Buster Posey and his surgically-repaired left ankle. Reports have come out saying that, although he has spent less time behind the plate than would be expected of a catcher, he has shown that he can still bat and catch like the pre-injury Buster Posey. That in and of itself is more important to the success of the Giants than all of Brian Sabean's offseason moves put together.

Buster Posey is the single most important player on the Giants, without question. The pitching staff as a whole is very important, but if you take out any pitcher from the rotation or bullpen, there is another pitcher waiting to take his place straight out of the minors. Eric Surkamp showed last year that he can be a major league starter. Heath Hembree has been generating buzz this offseason and looks to be a key part of this year's bullpen. The pitching staff should still produce even if injuries pile up like last year.

The lineup is not so safe, however. Take Buster Posey out of the equation and our biggest bat becomes Brandon Belt, who only has one season of experience and struggled to hit during that season. This is our lineup without Buster Posey:

Linsanity

With the football season over, my focus turns to hockey. The Sharks are playing pretty average as of late, so you can just say that I've been bored at the lack of intriguing sports stories floating around right now. College basketball doesn't really get interesting for me until March. Soccer doesn't interest me unless the US is playing or it's the FIFA World Cup. The NBA doesn't interest me - well, ever. Until last week that is.

Last week is when I heard about Jeremy Lin. Unlike most people, I knew who Lin was. I remember reading a Sports Illustrated article about him when he was the star of the Harvard basketball team. I remember his run with the Warriors last year where he played sparingly under one-and-done head coach Keith Smart. I don't remember much else. And then, last week, Lin returned. He had a monstrous game against the New Jersey Nets, exploding for 25 points, going 10-19 with 7 assists as well. He followed that up with a 28-point performance against the Utah Jazz in his first start. Then, against the Wizard, he put up 23 points including a monstrous uncontested dunk that capped his breakout week.

The A's, Giants, and San Jose

The Oakland A's have made it clear they want out of Oakland. They have refused to renovate the Coliseum at all. I went to an A's game two years ago and the stadium was terrible (I was able to see Ken Griffey Jr. pinch hit though). Furthermore, the A's have traded all their talent, just like Billy Beane does when his stars start to shine. Gio Gonzalez, Trevor Cahill, and Andrew Bailey are all out of Oakland. This is Oakland's way of protesting to MLB to let them move. Their obstacle: the San Francisco Giants.

The Giants own the territorial rights to San Jose, and as a result, the A's would have to make an agreement with  the Giants in order to play there. The Giants have a lot to lose, including their most valuable asset, the fans. However, here in the Bay Area, we feel like the Giants won the World Series yesterday. the Giants are the best show in town, not the Oakland A's. Giants fans outnumber A's fans approximately 10:1 based on my observations. And that is enough consolation, in my opinion, for the Giants to give up their territorial rights (for a fee), and let the A's move to San Jose.

Moneyball

Having watched the film Moneyball when it came out last year, I have wanted to read the book by Michael Lewis, which I had heard was quite good. And after finally reading it this weekend, I must say I have to agree.

The book was amazing. It was like a dive into the world of the sports executive. The ideas presented in the book were mind-blowing: the fact that players were being valued by how they looked playing the game rather than how they produced on the field, that baseball clubs were taking risks on high school players when they were largely unproven, that the disparity in riches in baseball did not make a huge difference as long as the poor teams used their money wisely. The scene that captivated me the most, both from the movie and book, was the scene where Oakland A's manager Billy Beane orchestrates a trade for Ricardo Rincon of the Cleveland Indians. Beane discovers that there is one more suitor for Rincon other than the A's, the Giants. Beane offers his own reliever, Mike Venafro, to the Giants to lower their interest in Rincon. At the same time, after realizing that he probably can't pay for Rincon, he lures the Mets into a trade where he receives enough cash to pay for Rincon for the remainder of the season.

This scene blew my mind. Beane's character was so manipulative that he was able to implement his ideas and create a successful baseball team considering the amount of money that he had.