Because I'm An Insomniac, It's My Birthday And I'm Bored...
1) It's my birthday today. The lone day out of the year I DEMAND to be left alone. Why is this important? Reread the first sentence fragment, it'll guide you well young grasshopper.
2) I don't like American Idol. I like it even less when I can't watch an episode of Sportscenter without seeing one of these putz's on my damn television.
3) Just in case Jade's curious, I'm not about to start calling for Manuel's head just cause the Mets are in a tailspin. Too many injuries at virtually the exact same time, can cripple ANY team. Am I still pining for Bobby Valentine to come on home? Yeah, but I'm realistic to realize there are a great deal of spinally challenged folks within the organization who don't want him back there. But I digress.
4) For the first time in many a year, my Fantasy Baseball team (The Lencredibles) has lost more games than it has won. Too many injuries early that escaped my eye, cost me and it has been a royal pain trying to rebound. Man cannot win on Pujols and Mauer alone. Go fig.
5) I'm jacked for this upcoming NBA season...and that's just off the moves that have been made this year. Fact is, every NBA playoff contender GOT BETTER. (I'm gonna touch on exactly how over the next few paragraphs, so know your roles and shut the hell up. :P) Oh, since I don't even begin to talk about this as much...
6) Wrestling. I guess much like everything I grew up loving, it was inevitable there'd be a downward spiral in quality, right? WWE's going all PG with its product, TNA's going the other way with Jenna Morasca grinding on Booker T's wife at the Victory Road PPV (horrible ending to a horrible match and yeah, I'm saying that about a woman grinding on top of another woman). Raw's virtually unwatchable not because Orton's not a great heel to watch (he really is), but due to the fact that Batista's untimely injury caught the WWE with their pants down. For those of you who know what I'm talking about, name for me another face you'd plunk down money to see on Raw oppose Orton other than Cena and Triple H. (HBK should be back within the next week or two, I'm predicting either tonight or next week most likely.)
Smackdown is honestly, the best "brand" of wrestling you'll watch right now. CM Punk is hands down, the best heel in the game by default (who'd have thunk it?) by way of his stuff with Hardy. Most will observe that he's almost similar to Jericho in that 'I will stand on my soapbox and remind you why I'm better than you are' only he's "Straight Edge" in the way he lives his life. Go fig, right? Smackdown's all "new". New stars to pay attention to, new stuff to say the least. Jeff Hardy's fun to watch and John Morrison is everything that Jim Ross has either said in print or on air about him. Seriously people, the man formerly known as Johnny Nitro will be headlining Wrestlemanias and blowing your mind well into the next decade. Over/under on Mania Main Event paydays...anything under THREE will be seriously disappointing. Title reigns? I'll take at least TWO within the next calendar year or so.
TNA for the most part, is what WCW was in its last days. Too many old fogeys at the top, too many young stars being pushed to the bottom of the deck. Too many new acqusitions from other organizations being overvalued (really TNA, you're giving us Matt Morgan pushes toward a possible title match?! Seriously though?). Oh and don't even get me started on the Lashley signing. As good as he was in the E, got a serious look by Vince before he vanished into thin air, he's not exactly the greatest talker in the world. I won't completely shit on TNA, because much like WCW in its latter days, there are some rather good qualities here. Problem is, it's too easy to look at what's wrong and ignore what's actually right. Unlike Raw, they're actually building up some new talent for ME spotlight such as Hernandez (big Mexican known as Super Mex). TNA is recognizant of the fact that their elder statesmen won't be around forever and yeah, the future if not "now", is going to be very very "soon".
7) I share a birthday with Tom Brady. Oh and here's your NFL snippet from me. If he's healthy, you need not bother in the AFC. The Patriots will NOT be beaten by anyone. The Steelers do not have enough horsepower, the Colts are losing it without Marvin Harrison and the Chargers are a rather huge question mark in a rather craptastic division.
8) I read a Sporting News preview mag which has the Giants winning it all this year. I'm not going with it (entirely) for the following reasons...
A) What will Eli do for a full year without Plax? We saw how well it worked out last season, but in the playoffs, Coughlin didn't gameplan effectively and the Eagles exploited them. If the Giants are to emerge from the pack, Eli has to show that he can make this cast of fairly average receivers (oh for the record, I'm not entirely sold on Hakeem Nicks. I wanted Kenny Britt of Rutgers, who ended up going to Ten-a-kee or Tennessee) into a formidable group, while the ground assault doesn't lose a beat without Derrick Ward backing up Brandon Jacobs.
B) Defense wins championships. This was proven two seasons ago, when the Giants D made life for the Patriots and Brady especially, most unbearable. If this D returns to that form, they're the best in the Conference. However, a cause for concern is this whole Antonio Pierce crap and how this could affect the defense. If he's lost for any serious amount of time, due to stupidity of the Plax-imus variety, what happens? He's the emotional leader of the defense.
C) Can Coughlin comeback? It's impossible to think that in a year, a man who outcoached the best coach in the game can all of a sudden...lose it. I was adamantly leading the charge to have him removed, before the Super Bowl two seasons ago happened. Then, the Divisional Playoff game went down and ugh. Spags went to the Lambs for some unknown reason, so how will the defense hold up? Moreso, how will Coughlin manage now that the pressure's off so to speak?
Other than that, I'm fairly set that the Giants are the best team in that division. The Eagles just remind me too much of the 'same ole, same ole' and that defense will miss Brian Dawkins. The Redskins are still being run like a Fantasy Football team, which has now pissed off its starting QB by trying to acquire Sanchez in April. The Cowboys remain America's Soap Opera, which is without T.O. for all to blame. Who's left? Wade Phillips, since Tony Homo (my new name for him, because really...who in their right mind dumps Jessica Simpson, let alone on her or around the weekend of her birthday?) is Jerry's Guy for the future. Nobody aside from the Cards really worry me in the NFC, with Favre apparently kosh on not exacting revenge on the Pack for his exile two seasons ago.
9) Yeah, I'm going baseball for a bit. If you're an Indians fan, smile. Okay, maybe not. I mean, it's not every year a franchise manages to deal away the reigning Cy Young winner (second time in two years) and an All-Star in the same season. I should be furious about the Lee deal, but I've all but resigned myself to the fact that the Mets won't comeback this year. So really, why be mad? Lee was a keeper on my Fantasy team and perhaps the change in scenery will help me into the playoffs. But yeah, right now, the Dodgers look like the team to beat in the National League. The Giants have the pitching which makes them FRIGHTENING in a short series, even moreso if the Big Unit returns before October and maintains that form he has shown to this point. Nobody in the National League has a trio as formidable in a short series as Lincecum, Cain and Johnson within that Senior Circuit. NOBODY.
San Fran in fact, might be the (pardon the pun) Sleeping Giant in that league nobody's seriously set on. But I think that they very well could win the pennant. However, due to the BS that is the All-Star Game, the Dodgers could finish with the best record in the majors and still travel for the first two games of the Fall Classic. So let's look at the American League, shall we? In a "Six Degrees of Seperation" way...
- The Angels can't beat the Red Sox in the playoffs (or haven't recently), but they own the Yanks.
- The Yanks haven't beaten the Angels and this year, haven't beaten the hated Sox. THIS, is huge as we are days away from the series that will decide the A.L. East. The Yanks cannot split this series and expect to win the division. Do not let the folks on the four letter network fool you. If the Yanks hope to reclaim the East, they MUST win no fewer than three games. Boston can ice this division, as well as the tiebreaker by taking this series. Short of an absolute implosion by the Sox, they'd own this division.
- Boston has put down all in front of them since 2004, except for Tampa last year. I'm convinced that they're going to miss Manny's clutch bat, especially since Ortiz is undergoing PED Withdrawal and their staff isn't as great as it has been in previous years. Still, they're going to be a tough out in October.
- The AL Central, is a three team race...for now. By the middle of this month, we're probably going to be looking at Detroit and Chicago dueling for the division. I really like Ozzie Guillen as a manager, sports needs more coaches/managers like him in my humble opinion. I'm just not entirely sold that his team's better than Detroit pound for pound, because they're not. Even with a struggling Mags (thanks for fucking up my team with your non-production), the Tigers are the best team in that division.
Okay, that be my grand rant on everything SANS the NBA. That's to come shortly. (No, really. I need to stay awake and typing is working. :P)
Posted 08/03/09 by Len | Filed under: General Sports
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