The Minors and Draft Updates!

Hey, it's Jake here again talking some baseball.


Minor League Update!
1. Daniel Cortes. Cortes is sporting a 2-2 record in AA. His era is 3.27 which isn't bad for a 21 year old. He's holding his own. In 33 innings of work this season he has 31 k's which is good. 17 Walks are killing him. If Cortes can cut down on his walks you would see his ERA drop. I believe the Royals are still having him on a pitch count. Look to see that drop off here this month and for Cortes to be able to cut lose some more.

2. Matt Mitchell. Mitchell's record is 3-4. In 48 innings Mitchell has only walked 9 guys. That is very impressive for a 19 year old. His 36k's are impressive. I would like to see those go up and the 52 hits allowed go down. Mitchell is sports an ERA of 3.75 it's the result of 2 bad outing's. 1 when he had an era of 9.00 and another when he had an era of 11.57

3. Mike Moustakas. Mike is hitting .241 on the season but April he hit only .190, May .271 The swing is coming around and Moustakas had a lot to deal with. He was a top pick and probably put too much pressure on himself. He's 19 years old, really a kid. My only problem is he goes in stretches with no hits. He recently had a stretch of 1 for 18, he only had 2 walks. If your not swinging the bat well you have to try to draw some walks. But the power numbers are there with 8 hrs, 8 doubles and 2 triples.

Now onto the draft! The draft is tomorrow and it appears that I was wrong about who the Royals are going to pick. Keith Law today on ESPN said that the Royals are looking to Pedro Alveraz or Eris Hosmer. The Pirates picking at #2 are in love with Alveraz so look to see him gone, the Rays picking number 1 appear to be going after Georgia Prep SS Beckman. If the Royals get Hosmer it will be a good pick. According to BA the guy has the best power in the draft (something KC is lacking!) and could be an above average defender. I'll post an update this weekend about the guys the Royals drafted and some reports on those that are available.

ENJOY THE DRAFT

Road to Omaha 2008!!!

It starts on Friday! The most exciting Championship tournament in college sports, the NCAA Division 1 Baseball Championship. What this tournament has that the others lack is history, and pride in making it to one specific destination. In Februray, the one goal every team in baseball has is to make it to Omaha. Thankfully, it'll stay that way for another 30 years, but that's another topic for another day. All in all 64 teams are vying for the chance to make it to the College World Series. The top 8 seeds are as follows: Miami, North Carolina, Arizona St., Florida St., Cal St. Fullerton, Rice, LSU, and Georgia. Looking at that list I'm surprised by a couple of things. First off the SEC getting two top 8 national seeds, while the Big 12 got zero. I said last month that college baseball has deep ties to the south, and it shows right there. Also, the SEC got 9 teams into the tourney, despite having 9 of its 12 programs finishing with a conference record of 2 games above .500, or worse. Also, I think the selection committee didn't want to get too ACC happy, as Miami, UNC and FSU probably should have been 1,2,3.

As far as predictions, it's tough to really have a great idea on who'll move onto to the Super Regionals, since the Regionals are double elimination. One thing to keep in mind, is that the 3 and 4 seeds are most likely in the NCAA tourney because they have a dominating pitcher. If their ace is throwing well, it gets pretty tricky for a team to win, when they don't have anyone on base. With that said, you can almost pencil in the top 8 seeds to move on. Since the NCAA started ranking the top 8 seeds, 2007 had the most not make it to the Super Regionals, which was 5. The most before that was 2 teams not making it out of the regionals. The only top 8 seed that I see being in trouble is Georgia. First off, they have the worst record of any of those teams, and they have two very solid teams in their region, Louisville and Georgia Tech. Louisville went to Omaha last year, and GT last went to Omaha in 2006, and should have a nice following to Athens Georgia. Here are my regional winners, paired up into their Super Regional opponents:
Miami vs Arizona
South Carolina vs Louisville
Cal St. Fullerton vs Stanford
Wichita St. vs Florida St.
North Carolina vs East Carolina
Nebraska vs LSU
Rice vs Texas A&M
San Diego vs Arizona St.

Now it gets a bit tricky, but more often then not, it's safe to go with the top 8 seed if they are available. One thing to keep in mind, is there seems to be a member of the CWS every year, that isn't a traditional program (teams with fewer than 2 trips to the CWS). Last year it was Louisville and UC Irvine, 2006 it was Oregon St., 2005 it was Tulane, Nebraska, Baylor, and Oregon St., 2003 it was Southwest Missouri St., etc. In fact since 1990 only 2004 and 1998 have CWS's full of regular members. The best bet for a non-regular member would be Louisville, or San Diego.

Here's how I think the Supers will pan out:
Miami over Arizona
South Carolina over Louisville
Cal St. Fullerton over Stanford
Florida St. over Wichita St.
North Carolina over East Carolina
LSU over Nebraska
Rice over Texas A&M
San Diego over Arizona St.

That sets up the first games of the CWS as follows:
Miami vs South Carolina
Cal St. Fullerton vs Florida St.
North Carolina vs LSU
Rice vs San Diego

My predicted champion is North Carolina. I think their side of the bracket is a bit tougher than Miami's, but in the end UNC will beat Florida St. in the championship series, and the Tar Heels will no longer be the bridesmaid in Omaha.

MLB Draft!

The MLB Draft is right around the corner. June 5th and 6th are the draft dates. Again, ESPN will be televising the 1st round of the draft as they did last year for the first time ever. The MLB draft is 50 rounds long.

Here is the draft order
First Round 1. Tampa Bay 2. Pittsburgh 3. Kansas City 4. Baltimore 5. San Francisco 6. Florida7. Cincinnati 8. Chicago (A) 9. Washington 10. Houston 11. Texas 12. Oakland 13. St. Louis 14. Minnesota 15. Los Angeles (N) 16. Milwaukee 17. Toronto 18. New York (N)* 19. Chicago (N) 20. Seattle 21. Detroit 22. New York (N) 23. San Diego 24. Philadelphia 25. Colorado 26. Arizona 27. Minnesota* 28. New York (A) 29. Cleveland 30. Boston

The Royals have pick #3. Who I think he should take is Brian Matusz out of San Diego. The reason's being: 1. He's a lefty. 2. He has a good pitchers frame of 6-5 200 lbs. 3. A compact delivery that is easier to maintain. 4. Above average off spead stuff. His FB sits in the low 90's and probably will increase slightly with better conditioning that the pro's have over college. I'm sure a lot of Royals fans want Crow out of Missouri. My grips with him are his size (6-3 but really shorter and 195) and he's throw a lot of innings for MO plus his off spead stuff is just good, not great like Matusz. Some scouts think that Crow would be a top closer, not a front line starter.

Royals farm system seems to be pitching thin compared to position players. I wouldn't be suprised if Dayton Moore takes a lot of arms with this draft. With lower picks you could see them take talented OF's who have signed letters of intent to play with big time schools. Those are hard to get the players to take the money but you can get 1st round potential later in the draft that way.

More Soccer!!!

Last month I wrote on the exciting summer that awaits soccer fans, and we are practically on the brink of all the excitement. Tomorrow is perhaps the biggest club team championship in the world as Manchester United and Chelsea meet up in Moscow for the UEFA Champions League title. Winner gets the title as the best club team in Europe, while the loser will have to deal with upset fans who expected more for another off season.

More importantly for American soccer fans are the three upcoming friendly games. First one takes place in a little more than a week, and could possibly be the most anticipated friendly in US soccer history. US will travel to Wembley Stadium and take on England on May 28th. This game could prove to be a stepping stone for the American men, and really give them same real credibility in the world of soccer. England isn't quite the giant they used to be, but taking the English to the wire on their home turf will go a long ways in getting this team ready for WC qualifying. Although this will probably be their easiest of the three opponents, it's probably the most important to get a victory out of, because of the image it'll portray to the fringe soccer fans in this country, and to those in Europe who look down on American soccer.

About a week after that is another huge matchup with Spain on June 4th. This game will probably be the toughest to come away with anything more than a loss. In fact, not to sound defeatist, but my hopes are for the US men to keep it close, and get a goal. To me it doesn't matter if they lose this game, but how competitive they are with Spain. Spain has some of the best soccer players in the world, and could easily be a favorite heading into WC 2010. Plus should the US come away with a victory over England, this game may be forgotten about since it's sandwiched in the middle of the three matches coming up.

The final game takes place on June 8th, and brings Argentina to US soil. This will be the best team of the three US faces, but on the plus side, the US will get them on their turf. A win over England would be huge, but IMO, a win over Argentina would send shock waves through world soccer. Even though these are just friendly's, it'll give the US a chance to show their strength, but also allow their three opponents to show that US soccer isn't quite at the level of sitting at the grownups table. If Argentina was playing Mexico, or even Canada, they would look at the game as just a friendly, that at the end of the day didn't mean a whole lot. However, a loss to a US squad would be looked at as a terrible failure. A good analogy, would be the struggles of the US basketball teams at world events. As American's we believe that there's no way foreign countries could better than us in basketball, and it's embarrassing to see the American teams lose in those competitions. Same thing goes for Argentina in soccer. Losing to the US would be time for panic in their country.

When it's all said and done, my hope is for the US team to go 1-1-1 in their three games. Going 2-1-0, or even 1-0-2, should be seen as tremendous progress for this squad, considering their horrible performance in the 06 WC. However, it all starts with that England game next.

Who to look out for in these games. First and foremost the young guns making waves worldwide, but still haven't found much of an audience (outside of dedicated soccer fans) in the US. People know Freddie Adu's name, but people will be surprised at how far he's come along since he made headlines a few years ago signing with the MLS while barely being a teenager. He's turned into the next Landon Donavan, as the team leader who has great foot skills, tremendous vision, and a killer free kick. Like I said last month Jozy Altidore is on the brink of being the US's first great worldwide soccer star. He's got everything that is needed to cross over and become the face of US soccer. Size, speed, power, quickness, and the only thing he needs to work on is the mental game, but that'll come with age. Maurice Edu is poised to become the George Harrison of the US team. He just may be the best all around player on the US squad, but will always be in the shadows of Adu and Altidore.

Elsewhere the US may have the best crop of forwards in the world, if they all play to their potential. Besides Altidore and Donovan, is Clint Dempsey, Eddie Johnson (both of whom are making heads turn in England) Brian Ching, and Josh Wolff. Any one of these players are capable of finishing when in the box, and for the most part there isn't a big drop off in terms of talent between any of them. Also Altidore, Donovan and Johnson give the US exceptional speed that many European countries can't come even close to matching. (See Poland game from earlier this year).

At the midfield you've got an interesting mix of youth and experience. Youth wise there is Edu and Adu, Michael Bradley, Eddie Gaven and Sacha Kiljestan. While on the experience side you've got Pablo Mastroeni, Eddie Lewis, DeMarcus Beasley who's just back in action after a terrible knee injury. All in all the midfield might be the US's weakness as there isn't enough experience with the youth for them to really take games over, and the veteran's don't have the speed the youth possess to make up for the shortcomings. Plus Beasley would probably have been the best at the midfield position, but with his recent comeback from injury you'd have to assume he isn't where he once was at this point in time.

At the fullback spot, US is going mostly with experience. For as much attention as the attacking parts of their team are getting from the youth movement, the fullback position is staying relatively older through this transition. Carlos Bocanegrea, Steve Cherundolo, and Frankie Hejduk have all been there and done that. I for one am ecstatic about Hejduk being apart of this group. He bring so much excitement and unpredictability to the game that it really puts the clamps down on the opposition. I hope we really see a lot out of him over the next few weeks, because he just might be the missing link. Any coincidence that Hejduk missed the 06 WC, and the struggles the US team had? It's pretty obvious that his services were dearly missed. Also in the back for the US is the first true "Big-man" to play soccer in the United States. You see players the size of Oguchi Onyewu all over world soccer, but up until his arrival on the US scene, the American squad never had a guy that could play at his level. 6'4" tall and is a force in the back. If he stays healthy he'll anchor the back through at least the 2010 WC if not longer. Still the fullback position is way underdeveloped. When you've got lots of young guys, even teenagers running around at the other positions, the fullback spot has their fair show of 30+ year old guys, something needs to be done in the near future. It'll be fine for now, and the early stages of WC qualifying, but if the US is still leaning on them for the 2010 WC, the US is in trouble.

Protection the goal is a nice crop of keepers. Tim Howard is the next guy in line. He's a tremendous keeper, and could really be the guy in the net for the US for nearly a decade. Chris Seitz is young and trying to make a name for himself, while Brad Guzan is a solid keeper, but in the end Howard seems to be the guy for now. Still this is an area where the US can breathe easy, as it seems they've got things under control at goal.

So tune in on May 28th to the US/England match. Should be a very entertaining game, and a very interesting few weeks for the US squad.

Relegation for the NHL

This may be the most off the wall idea I've had on this blog, but if you think about it, it'll actually make sense.

First off for the non-soccer fans out there, the Premiership in England just wrapped up their 07-08 season this weekend. What makes the Premiership one of the most popular leagues in the world is how they make it a selective league. If you aren't good enough to play in the league, then you get sent back down to the second division. The bottom three team in the premiership get relegated to the second division, while the top three in the second division get promoted to the Premiership. It greats drama, where normally drama would not be. Take for instance this weekend. There were up to 4 games played Sunday that could have had relegation possiblities. That's 4 games that normally mean nothing, all of a sudden turn into meaning everything. The difference between the second division and Premiership is huge, and results in those bottom teams playing their hearts out to avoid being sent down.

What hockey has right now is an image problem. Too many teams, in too many non-traditional hockey cities who don't get great support. However what hockey does have is perhaps the most sought after championship trophy in North American sports. No matter how far hockey has fallen, people still know the Stanley Cup, and what it means. In fact it's the only sport in North America that names their playoff after their trophy. Right now hockey is back on the cusp of getting into the good graces of sports fans. Ignore what you hear on ESPN, because the Worldwide Leader doesn't make any money on hockey right now, so as far as they are concerned, the sport is dead to them. HD and larger TV's had really helped hockey, and with one drastic change to their sport, could take it to the next level.

My suggestion would be to expand hockey. Stay with me, because it'll all make sense in a few moments. Expand to cities like Kansas City, Salt Lake City, Seattle, Cleveland, New Orleans, Milwaukee (why a team isn't in Wisconsin is puzzling), Quebec, Winnipeg, Harford, and Indianapolis. That'll give you 40 teams overall in the NHL. Obviously that's way too many for a regular league. Once all those markets get their teams off the floor and running, you hold one season with all 40 teams competing against one another. The top 24 teams stay in the NHL and the bottom 16 drop to the second division. Now don't confuse the second division wth the minor leagues, because it isn't. After that initial season, the top 24 play their regular season, and the second divison play their regular season. After the season is completed, you look at the standings, and it's simple. The bottom three in the NHL drop down, while the top three in the second division rise up. Only I suggest a an added twist to this model. Both leagues will still hold a playoff, with the winner of the second division playoff getting a guarenteed spot in the NHL, regardless of where it finished in the season standings. So should the team in the second division that finished tenth in the regular season standings win the second division playoff, they get to move up, resulting in 4 teams moving to the NHL. That means the team finishing fourth from the bottom in the NHL won't be safe either. Also, I would give the NHL Stanley Cup champion a one year waiver on being relegated, mostly to keep recent champions from being sent down, and to give in a little bit to those who may be skeptical on the idea.

This would be a very radical change for American sports. We are not used to the idea of demoting a team that fails on the field, in fact it probably scares a lot of sports fans, because it this idea were to catch on, and take the NHL to new popularity, it could spread to the Big 3. However, imagine the drama and suspense that would be created by a relegation process. This year, Tampa Bay, Los Angeles and Atlanta would be sent down, with St. Louis praying one of the top 3 in the second division wins their playoff. The difference between St. Louis and the last playoff spot this year (Nashville) was just 12 points. That's just 4 victories, or St. Louis winning 2 of the 4 games they lost to Nashville during the regular season. That's all it would take for a team to go from being in the playoffs to being on the brink of being sent down.

This idea would work, if implimented properly, and backed fully by the leaders in the NHL. Not only would it expand the sport into more major markets in the country, and back into some traditional cities, but also make it unique in the sports landscape. It works in other parts of the world, and it would work in North America as well.

We don't need no stinkin' playoff!

Last week the powers that be in division 1 college football decided their sport should be the only one at any level of college football to not crown a legitimate national champion. The division 1 football conferences held a meeting to discuss the future of crowning their national champion, and decided the BCS is still the best way to go about things. So until 2014 division 1 college football fans will have to sit through more BCS "controversy" and the continued crowning of a mythical national champion. It's become a rather sad, petty, and greedy, notion by those in charge of D1 football to continue downplaying the significance of a playoff system. Had this latest meeting gone the way of a playoff, we would have gotten an introductory version of it. Those who can't bring themselves to say the word "playoff" call it a "plus-one" model. The BCS fooled a lot of people by adding a fifth BCS game, making people belive it was apart of the "plus-one" idea. Instead we got another big money cash grab for the major conferences, and put another nail in the D1 playoff coffin. What makes things even harder, is by 2014, playoff supporters have to convince every single D1 conference, and Notre Dame, that a playoff would be better, or else it's still the BCS way. That's right, if one member of this discussion says no, the BCS is still the only option. In essence every single D1 school, but Notre Dame, could be in favor of a playoff system, but since ND would say no, then a playoff system would be scrapped. Do you see how screwed up D1 football is?

Now playoff haters will point to record amounts of interest, and money coming into D1 football, as a sign that the BCS is working. My stance on that is, it's football. It's the new American pasttime. As long as teams are playing for a championship, there will be interest. Just because the BCS happens to be the championship method by force, doesn't mean it's the main purpose for the record breaking numbers. Fans have come to the reality, for the most part, that a playoff will likely never, ever happen in college football, and are moving on. It's a tough pill to swallow for a lot of people, because they look around at every other level of college, and every other sport, and see how a playoff system works just fine. It's amazing to me that those in control of D1 football continue to make their sport the only one that lacks a legitimate championship process. It doesn't matter what sponsor slaps their logo on the front of a trophy, the championship isn't legitmate by the standards of 99.9% of the athletic world.

So fans are left to wonder, how will D1 football continue with the BCS. My guess is by 2014, there will be a sixth BCS bowl added to the mix. More than likely the Cotton Bowl will be added to the BCS, because those in charge of it will not pass up the opportunity to hold a bowl game in a brand new 80,000+ seat stadium in one of the biggest media markets in the country. At the same time, the people in charge of the BCS will not kick out any of the 4 exsisting bowls. So we'll now have 5 regular BCS games, and a BCS title game. If this happens, it'll be the last nail in the playoff coffin. That will be 12 teams playing in bowl games that bring in tens of millions of dollars. What will happen, is it'll give the Big 6 conferences a realistic shot of getting 2 teams in a BCS game every single bowl season. There may be the random year where a non Big 6 team makes it to the BCS, but when it's all said and done, the adding to the sixth BCS game will result in millions more going to the Big 6 confernces. It's not something those in charge of the BCS will admit right now, but there is nothing stopping them from adding a sixth game. However they will stop at six. If they add a seventh, then they'll be forced to take a minimum of 2 non Big 6 conference teams, and let them eat from the big boys table on yearly basis. Won't happen.

My prediction for the future of D1 college football. The BCS will add the Cotton Bowl to their mix by 2010, thus giving all Big 6 Conferences an equal share every year (or close to every year) on the BCS money. Playoff supporters will continue to grow, only to be suppressed by those in charge of the sport, because they will not pass up the opportunity of getting guaranteed millions the BCS offers. And finally, D1 college football will continue to be the only sport to not have a legitimate way of crowning their naitonal championship.

Metal bats are better!

Now that we are into May, and the hangover from the NCAA tournament is behind us, it's time ot focus our attention on perhaps an even better college tournament, and that's the Baseball NCAA tournament, and the College World Series. For almost 60 years the slogan for college baseball has been "The Road to Omaha", and thankully it looks like for at least the next 25 years, it'll stay that way. For those who don't know, Omaha is in the process of getting a brand new 25,000 seat stadium built. They've already gotten the OK from various city organizations and governing bodies, and this week the NCAA gave its OK to the idea. Hopefully by the time the 2008 CWS gets underway, all I's should be dotted, and all T's crossed to keep the CWS in Omaha for at least another generation.



However, this article is to focus on what teams to look out for as the college baseball regular season winds to a close in the next couple of weeks. We'll begin with the Big 12. Right now the Big 12 stands having as few as one, or as many as three get a to 8 national seed. NU, OSU, and Texas A&M have all seperated themselves from the pack. My guess is, that the winner of the A&M and NU series will get a top 8 national seed, as they will be seen as the conference winner. I don't think there's a scenario that'll give the Big 12 three top 8 seeds, but should the loser of the NU/A&M series, or OSU win the Big 12 tourney, the conference may just get a second national seeded team. Right now, I would say NU gets the national seeded nod, because they get A&M at home. After those top three teams, the Big 12 has been struggling to get a constant middle of the pack squad. Missouri has been in the middle of a losing streak, Texas is under .500 in conference play, and Baylor and Oklahoma will have to pull off a stong finish to the season, and get a win or two in the conference tournament. At the end of the day, the Big 12 gets 6 teams in ( NU, A&M, OSU, Mizzou, Texas, Baylor/OU which ever teams finishes stronger). The conference will get three teams to host regionals, and I think just one national seeded team.



Moving onto the other big baseball conferences, next with the ACC. This conference is completely top heavy with three teams that could be the best in all of college baseball. Florida St, North Carolina, and perhaps the best team in the country, Miami all stand great chances at being a top 8 seed. After those three it gets kind of muddled a bit. North Carolina St. is the best of the rest, and in most other conferences would be considered the favorit, however, there is just one more team above .500 in conference play, and that's Viriginia, whileGeorgia Tech sits at an even conference record. So you're looking at possibly 3 national seeds from the ACC, but just six teams in overall. In my opinion, though, the bottom of the ACC will hurt too much in the committee's eyes, and leave the conference with just two national seeds, FSU and Miami, while North Carolina will host a regional, an NCSU still has a decent shot at hosting a regional as well. I wouldn't be surprised if two, or three teams from this conference get to Omaha.



The SEC. Right now, absolutely zero SEC teams deserve a national seed, but due to college baseball's deep ties to the SEC, the conference champion will get the nod. Right now that would be Georgia, who's got the best record in the conference, but have a horrible regular season mark. They are 15-5 in conference, which is very good this time of year, but they haven't topped the 30 win mark yet. Overall the SEC will probably get two teams to host regionals, Georgia, and perhaps Kentucky if they finish the season strong. Sweeping LSU will help a lot for the Wildcats. Speaking of LSU, the Tigers look to finally break their drought this decade, and are getting back to where the program was a decade ago. They won't host a regional this year, but it's good for college baseball to get it's premier program back in the tournament. Because of the historical ties to college baseball, the SEC will get over half their teams in the tourney. However if this was the Big 10, only 4 would deserve a bid. The teams making it from the SEC will be Georgia, Florida, Vandy, Kentucky, South Carolina, LSU, and Ole Miss. An 8th team could make the tourney, but the middle of the SEC is so average this season it's tough to pick that team out. Georgia should host a regional, as should Vandy, and perhaps Kentucky.



The Pac 10 is in the same position as the SEC. One great team (Arizona St.) and a bunch of average teams. ASU will get a national seed, however the Pac 10 may get just 3 other teams into the NCAA's. Stanford probably gets a bid, as they'll finish second in the conference, followed by two time defending champion OSU. After that the rest of the conference is at or below .500. Still one team will put themselves into the tourney with a strong finish to the season. The Pac 10 gets on national seed, and just one team to host a regional.



For the rest of the conferences, we'll just focus on the top teams. From the WCC, San Diego should get a national seed, and will definately host a regional, Michigan won't get a national seed, despite a solid record, but will get to host a regional, which is pretty big for a school that plays outside that far north. Usually it's Minnesota who takes over the Big 10, mostly because they play indoors, but it seems Michigan has been committed to taking their baseball program to the next step. In the Big South Coastal Carolina deserves a national seed, and I think they get it this year, since the Pac 10 and the SEC are down this year. The Big West this year is a mess, and probably doesn't have a team that deserves to host a regional, but Cal St. Fullerton will probably come out with one. The Colonial has three teams worthy of making noise in the NCAA's with William and Mary, James Madison, and NC Wilmington. My guess is none of the teams will host, because they don't have adequate facilities. In the C-USA, Rice will be a national seed, while Tulane, Southern Miss and East Carolina all will make the tourney. The MAC is all screwed up. Team with the best conference record is 11 games UNDER .500. The Missouri Valley has 4 teams worthy of an NCAA tourney big, but only two will make it. Most likely WSU, and MSU, with an outside chance WSU could host a regional. In the SWAC, Jacksonville St. would probably host a regional, but probably get passed over for a program with better facilities. Still, I wouldn't want to face them in the regional round.
So lets recap the top 8 national seeds the way I have it. NU, ASU, FSU, Miami, San Diego, Coastal Carolina, Rice, ???

That 8th team is still up for grabs, with the slight edge right now to North Carolina. A&M still has a great chacne, and Georgia could sneak in there, if they get on a hot streak and win the SEC tournament. Like I said, a lot baseball left to be played, but things are starting to take shape.

How good is the KC draft class?

That question will be asked a lot over the next 3 to 5 years. This draft class has the potential to be the foundation for rebuilding the Chiefs back to their winning days of the 90's. They got what many declare as the best defensive player in the draft, and the best offensive guard. It's always a good thing to get the best at a particular position, or side of the ball, and the Chiefs were lucky enough to get two of those. Looking at their other selections, I think the Chiefs are beginning to get ready for life after Tony. That's the only explination I can come up with for drafting two Tight Ends. They did get an underrated Cornerback in Brandon Flowers, and in my opionion, Jamaal Charles was an absolute steal in the 3rd round. As long as he doesn't suffer from the Texas RB jinx that has seemed to hit hard over the past decade, he could produce, and put a little pressure on LJ. Drafting Will Franklin as a Reciever was a good move for KC. Local guy from Mizzou, that will have the backing of the fans. Hopefully KC will go out on the free agency market, get another O-Lineman, and another Secondary player to kind of fill any holes the draft couldn't.

As far as my prediction, I was a bit off. However, I was not expecting Dorsey to drop that far. I figured McFadden would be the odd man out through the top 4 picks, and the Chiefs would wisely pass on him. Still, KC went out and used their first round picks to fill their most important needs. There was talk about the New Orleans Saints wanting to trade up with KC, and offering them an addition second round pick this year, and NO's first round pick next year. At first I thought KC should take that trade. A second year of two first round picks would be huge, especially if the Saints struggle again. I think KC would have taken the trade had Dorsey been selected in the top 4. There was no one left in the top 6 or 7 that KC really needed, and there wouldn't have been enough justification for drafting another O-Lineman in the top five. Instead drafting Dorsey was the right thing to do. The guy is an award winning college football player, and seems to have the charisma to get in the good graces of fans. Plus, I'm just guessing, but those Dorsey repica jersey's will be flying off the shelves later this summer, and that would not have happened had KC gone with an O-lineman that early.

All in all KC might have had the best draft class, when looking back over the weekend. Obviously that'll change once these guys get signed, go to camp, and have to produce on the field. Carl Peterson has seemed to have the knack of drafting busts on the defensive front, but Dorsey is a lot more polished of a prospect than Eric Downing, Ryan Sims, Eddie Freeman, and Junior Siavii. However Tamba Hali has turned into a solid D-Lineman so far, and hopeuflly playing next to a guy like Dorsey will allow Hali to improve even more.

Now comes the hard part of signing all these guys. Obviously the players drated in the 3rd through 7th rounds will be relatively easy to sign. Also, most O-Lineman are relatively easy on the negotiations, and I don't think a second round pick will have much clout when it comes to any potential holdouts. That leaves Dorsey as the only one to worry about. I'm sure Chiefs fans want this guy signed and in KC garb ASAP. However it doesn't work that way. Peterson will have to wait and see what happens with the guys drafted between 10-15, and then decide what type of signing bonus and contract Dorsey deserves. However, with Peterson's and Herm Edward's idea of a youth movement, I have a feeling Dorsey will be signed relatively quickly.

Also, I'd like to give a shout out to Xavier Omon from Northwest Missouri State. He became the fourth Bearcat to be drafted, and went to the Buffalo Bills in round 6. He's built like a 3rd down back or maybe even a fullback. He's got great strength and vision. Only thing he lacks is that initial burst of speed that could cause him trouble at the pro level. Still, he's got the right attitude, and should really impress the coaches at Buffalo.

Worldwide Stinker!

Here's a little two for one from both Jake and I. Both of us have come to dispise a number of things the self proclaimed Worldwide Leader has turned sports coverage into. First off, Jake's take on their (lack of) coverage when it comes to baseball.

Reasons why I hate ESPN
1. Joe Morgan: I know this guy is a HOFer, I recognize that. But he has to go because he isn’t a very good color man. He played the game but it seems that the game has passed him by. Morgan also is a very biased broadcaster and on a national broadcast that can’t fly. Really anymore with MLB extra innings broadcasters need to be less biased then they could have been in the past. Getting facts right isn’t one of Mr. Morgan’s strengths either.
2. Steve Phillips: This guy is a clown who ruined the Mets for years. Phillips is a pretty young guy here but he hasn’t been a GM in some time. I would ask ESPN if that doesn’t show them something. No one would hire this guy as a GM. That shows how much his opinion on player’s matters to his peers. Every time that Phillips does a game he brings up how he drafted David Wright and signed Jose Reyes as players. It won’t matter if it’s the Angels vs. Mariners, this guy has to tout his 2 good pick ups.
3. Peter Gammons: I recognize that Peter Gammons is a HOF sports writer. I can respect that and I realize that Gammons changed how baseball was covered when he was coming up. What I can’t respect is how biased this guy is towards the Red Sox. The guy did cover them for years and is from Boston area. But on national T.V. You need to be less biased. I can respect his loyalty to the Sox but to tout them as the greatest ever is very far from the truth. He also makes it seem that their minor league players are all going to be superstar players which are far from the truth.
4. Buck Martinez: I really just don’t like this guy. I don’t know it is his voice or the fact that he makes stupid comments all game long.
5. One of my biggest gripes is that ESPN doesn’t show teams who have good young talent that could be good. While the Yanks I don’t need to see them on ESPN all the time because I get the MLB package. I get to see them every night. Show teams that don’t get a lot of national coverage. The Diamondbacks have a ton of young talent, show them, Cleveland should have made it to the W.S. show them. The Royals are up and comers show them. I can’t remember the last game that was on ESPN.

Now here are some of mine. I'll begin with their flagship program, Sports Center. I think most will agree, there is no reason whatsoever in the world of instant acces to have hour long SC's. They are bloated broadcasts that tend to focus on a few minor occurences in the world of sports. Take for instance their pro basektball coverage. Is it really that impressive to see Shaq dunk? He's been in the league for how many years now? I've seen him dunk, and quite honestly, it's not that impressive when you factor in his height. For that matter, is it really that impressive to see anyone over 6' dunk? This would be like making a penatly kick in soccer, or a strikeout, or icing in hockey a featured highlight.

Another aspect I'm growing more tired of, is the need to bring in sports columnists to offer their opinion. Hello ESPN, those guys already have an outlet for their opinion, it's called their article. Why should I care what someone in LA, Denver, Chicago, Dallas, Miami, etc thinks about every single sports subject. For one thing, there's no way in the world all those guys are going to have all the facts correct, and secondly, there's no way in the world they will all have informed opinions on all those subjects. Another problem with this growing phenenon at the Worldwide Leader, is all the newspaper guys on TV act as if they have the final, and most important say on the subject at hand, when in all reality, with the ease of gaining information, the regular fan can form better opinions. Don't be fooled people, I put "experts" in quotations when talking about these people, because they are called "experts" soley because they are on TV.

Now before anyone questions why we have gripes with the Worldwide Leader, and tells us to go someplace else to get our sports fix, remember, the ESPN has the rights to just about every major sport in the country. They have essentially cornered the market when it comes to national sports exposure. If you call yourselves the Worldwide Leader, you should offer the best overall coverage of sports. Sadly, they don't as it seems ESPN has gone for quanity, rather than quality.

Boo Soccer! Ya Baseball!

It's Jake here giving you that baseball update you all have been craving!

Some interesting news came out of Detroit today. Miggy Cabrera a 3rd baseman his whole career( 6 yrs) is getting moved to 1st base. He just got a huge deal to play 3rd and now going to first. My guess is they want him worry about his O and not his D. Problem is there are a lot of 1st baseman who can put up similar numbers but not a lot of 3rd baseman. 1st base is where players go when they lose a step.. Not a 24 year old kid getting into the prime of his career. Says a lot about a guys defense ability when they are going to put a guy who hasn't played 3rd base since 2004 there.

Royals... What are you doing? I like that they brought up Luke H. He was ok in his first outing until he decided to nibble on the plate. Any young pitcher needs to understand that the first rule is throw strikes. An ump isn't going to give you the call until your established. Throw strikes = winning games. If you get ahead then you can expand.

Frank Thomas got released and while some in the media think that it was for money reason but mostly because he lost it they are wrong. It was all about money. Frank T always starts slow. Last year he hit worst and got better, hitting .270, 25 hrs and 95 ribi's. Those are pretty good numbers especially since he wasn't getting any protection because Vernon Wells was tanking it all season long. If the Royals were smart they would put a flier out on him, they have to pay him the minimum and that's all. Give it a try, move Butler to 1st and hope that the pitchers strike everyone out.


Minor league notes now. Here is an update on the two prospects I told you guys to look out for
Dan Cortes...
0 wins so far, 1 lost in 3 games started. Only pitched 13.1 innings so far. My guess is he is on a pitch count since his first 2 starts he didn't get to the 5th inning. Era.. 1.35 which is excellent. 9 ks. Now 8 BB's isn't helping. If he can lower his walk total he will go deeper into games. It's still very early for the minors and all prospects unless they are 25 are on innings limit or pitch count. You will see that rise here shortly.

Matt Mitchell
Looking very impressive so far. Same record as above. Thrown 12 innings with 2 of those coming in starts and 1 relief appearance for 1 inning. 8 ks to 1 bb. Great so far. ERA is 1.5. Looks very impressive so far and since he only has walked 1 he has thrown 6 innings in 1 game.

The Royals have lost some games here but there is hope. Butler and Gordon have been good so far this year. SP is what they need. Meche who was great last year as bombed in all but his 1st start. He needs to adjust and they will be back on the winning ways.

Soccer Time!

Yesterday marked the beginning of the UEFA Champions League semifinals, and perhaps the beginning of the most exciting summer for soccer fans in the US. Only the 1994 World Cup could rival this summer, but soccer coverage in this country was in it's infancy, and probably did not grasp the magnitude of that event. Back in 1994 soccer fans were given maybe a dozen or so games on TV leading up to the World Cup. Now fans can watch a dozen games a day if you have the right channels. What makes this summer so exciting, is the possibility for the United States' National Teams to really take charge on the world stage. It begins in Late May when the US mens take on England at Wembley Stadium, and continues with two other friendly's against Aregentina and Spain. Then the real fun begins. The men start the path to South Africa, with the 2010 World Cup qualifying in a set of matches against Barbados, the first of which is on June 15th.

Then in August the attention will shift to a group of youngsters half a world away, trying to prove their worth on a world stage as the U-23 team goes for a gold medal at the Olympics in China. These guys have perhaps some of the most skilled, and athletic soccer players this country has ever seen, and they are poised to make it big on a national stage. Most sports fans know one of their names, Freddie Adu, but there are a group of other players are about to explode on the world scene. Jozy Altidore, and Maurice Edu are the two names that'll pop up alot during the course of the Olympic games, and even leading up to the event. Their action begins on August 7th with a match against Japan, followed up by an Auguast 10th game against the Netherlands, and wrapping up group play is Nigeria on August 13th. This group is winnable for the US, as they should have the most athletic team overall.

So sit back and enjoy this summer. In the meantime check out an MLS game or two. The quality of play in the league has picked up over the past couple of years, and in some markets the MLS franchise is outdrawing competing NBA and NHL teams.

"With the 5th overall selection in the 2008 NFL Draft the Kansas City Chiefs select..."

Who knows who the Chiefs will draft, there's very little concensus out there right now. Quarterbacks, Offensive Lineman, Defensive Lineman, Cornerbacks all seem to be a common theme for KC this year. One thing is for certain, this is the most important draft in perhaps 20 years for the Chiefs. Since Derick Thomas was drafted as the 4th selection in 1989, the Chiefs fans have been fortunate enough to enjoy playoff berths, instead of single digit draft picks. The selection of DT 19 years ago proved to be a catalyst for quite a few succesful years int he 90's, and if done properly, this years draft could result in quite a good second decade to the 21st century. I think KC is setting up aquiring a whole boatload of picks. First they are dangling Jared Allen out on the market, and it's the perfect time for it. Sure he's a fan favorite, but those fans will enjoy 12 wins seasons more than Allen getting 12 sacks. Ship him out to a team in the middle section of the first round, get their pick, as well as one or two more, and set yourself up to draft role players. Allen is young enough, and good enough to make that happen.

I've been on the fence with this, but I also think the Chiefs should trade their #5 pick, and drop down at least 4 spots, as long as Jake Long is taken by someone in the top 4. If Long is gone, the remaining O-lineman do not warrant a top 5 selection, and would be a waste of that high of a pick. Dropping down that far will not only give KC another two or three draft picks, but will save them money when it comes to a signing bonus, and regular conract, thus freeing up more cap room to sign a FA to help fill the cornerback situation.

So now it comes down to who the Chiefs should draft. Any realistic intelligent Chiefs fan knows they need O-lineman. It won't be a quick fix, but if the line improves, it'll allow LJ to do what he does best, and that'll all make Brodie Croyle look a heckuva lot better. My suggestion since it seemed Long was off the table was to draft Ryan Clady from Boise St. He's coming out following his Junior season, so he's still got some growing in him, and he's a natural tackle. Drafting him at #5 is way too high. My suggestion would be to trade with either Baltimore (who's now in the market for a QB) with the 8th selection, or Cincinnati with the 9th selection. The key is staying ahead of Denver, as Clady would be a natural fit to play for the Broncos. Relatively close to his college, and Denver has a more impressive history of O-lineman than KC does.

I'm willing to give Carl Peterson one more Super Bowl run. I think he hamstringed himself with the Dick Vermiel experiment, and it paying the price for it now. I'm not going to fault a guy who took a gamble and just missed, as the Chiefs were within one defensive playmaker from making a SB a few years ago. That means results by the end of 2010. However, that will change quickly if the Chiefs draft a QB in the first round. That would be another tremendous waste of their first round pick, and should result in the immediate firing of Peterson. However, I think with Herm Edwards as coach, and his conservative philisophy, the choice will be an offensive lineman.

The diamonds colder than the rink!

Got to my first, of hopefully many, Royals games Sudnay afternoon. If it wasn't for the bitterly cold weather, we might have had a memorable time. Bannister pitched lights out, Gordon hit a bomb, and all in all, the boys in (powder) blue looked great. Oddly enough in mid April, it would have been warmer to be at a hockey game, rather than a baseball game. With that being said, let me transition to one of my things to watch during the lull in sports excitment this time of the year.

I mentioned in my previous blog post, to watch the NHL Playoffs, and man it hurts to be so right. For those who took my advice, you've been treated to some wonderful games, and series that should last six or seven games. Take last night for example. If you have VS. HD, you would have saw two outstanding games. First game, a battle between two bitter rivals, seperated by a river, as the Devils knocked off the home Rangers in OT, making their series 2-1 in favor of NYR. That was one of the two OT games last night, and three out of the four playoff matches Sunday evening had the winning side on top by just one goal. Then the nightcap saw San Jose score THREE GOALS in the first five minutes of play, only to lose on the road to Calgary 4-3. That's good stuff, no matter how much you like the sport. In fact through the first week of playoff hockey there have been five OT games. Folks, I can't stress this enough, WATCH PLAYOFF HOCKEY. If you are any type of sports fan, you'll get hooked. It's faced paced, hard hitting, quality action. Stop listening to the "experts" on the Worldwide Leader crap on the sport. Fact is most of those "experts" don't have a clue how to play hockey, and therefore act as if it's a lesser pro sport.

Another aspect of hockey that I've come to enjoy is how the fans are in focus the entire game. I watch a lot of European soccer, mostly from England, and in amazement at how their fans stay focused on the game, no matter what's going on. Constant chants, cheering, jeering, throughout an entire game. Same thing goes for hockey fans. Watch the games tonight and notice how their fans are much more into a game, compared to the NBA and in most cases the MLB. They know their sport, and are wrapped up in it. Always adds to a viewing experience.

Tonight on VS. HD it's the best team in the game, Detroit on the road at Nashville, followed by Minnesota and Colorado. Watch and enjoy.

What to do now?

March Madness is over, the start of the baseball season has begun, and two sports that have endless regular seasons, now have endless playoff races. What's a sports fan to do? That's a tough question for many people, especially for ones who either don't live in an MLB market, or have an MLB team that can't compete. Thankfully this season, the KC area is saved with the Royals putting a good product on the field, but if things tank over the next few weeks, it'll be boredom for most sports fans. Here are a few suggestions for those who are chomping at the bit to get out and enjoy sports.

First what to watch on TV, check out the Master's this weekend. Golf at it's finest, and a chance to watch the best in his sport play. Twenty years from now, we're going to look back at this time and realize the greatness of Tiger Woods. Don't miss out on it, and have to settle for watching him play on ESPN Classic. Even if you aren't a fan of golf, you have to appreciate the level of play Tiger Woods brings to his sport, and that alone should be enough to tune in at least on Sunday, perhaps the best single day in golf. Also for the sports starved on TV, playoff hockey. Before you start thinking I'm crazy for thinking hockey is worthwhile, take an evening or an afternoon and watch a game either on VS HD or NBC HD. IMO NHL hockey in HD is second in terms of sports to watch in TV, behind football in HD. The rink is shiner, the puck is more visible, the pace picks up in the playoffs, and the play-by-play guys and commentators are the absolute best in the biz. They know their hockey inside and out, and are more passionate about their sport than anyone else. I've turned into a playoff hockey fan, and I guarentee you'll enjoy it also if you give it a chance.

Now for those who want to experience action in person. Obviously if you live in an MLB market, get to your team's game, if you don't there are still plenty of opportunities. Get to a minor league game, no matter what class or affiliation they may have. If you're over 21 and they serve beer, you and your friends are sure to have a good time. Tailgate before, have some beers at the game, and enjoy the evening. Also, if you can, get to an indoor football game. Doesn't have to be the AFL, but any indoor football game will do. Same concept as the minor league games if your 21 or older, but there's plenty more action, your inside from the weather, and the fans are much more into the game. Another perk to these ideas, is the cheapness of tickets. KC Brigade tickets cost 10 bucks or less for some of their seats, and you can imagine a lower division arena team will have cheaper tickets than that. KC T-Bones have free parking and 10 dollar or less seats, not a bad deal at all. All of these are great opportunities, but to often they get overlooked.

Another good idea for those who bleed their favorite college's colors, is to check out college baseball. This is becoming one of the fastest growing sports, in terms of fan popularity, and usually allows people to see tomorrow's stars today. Over the past decade college baseball has grown by leaps and bounds, in terms of facilities, managing, player development, and fan interest. It wouldn't be that big of a stretch to say some of the mid-level D1 teams are just as talented as Double A baseball teams around the country, or even Triple A depending on the circumstances. For those in the KC area, KU and MU play at Kauffman Stadium later this month. I'm not a fan of either team, but MU stands to make the NCAA tourney, while KU always has a decent team. There are countless other opportunities for people out there as well, but you just have to make the effort to get out and see them.

So there you have it, and I was just scratching the surface. yeah going to a minor league game or a lower division arena game may not have the pizzazz of attending an NFL or major college game, but in the end, they can be just as entertaining.

Week one recap

What have we found out so far after 1 week? Not much. Detroit hasn't won and played Boston today. They are 2nd in payroll with 138 mil and can't win a game. Is it time to panic in the motor city? Not quite yet. As long as no one runs away in the central they can recover. I expect that they will get better when Granderson get's back. He was one of the best players in baseball last year.

Colorado also has been struggling. I would be a little more concerned with them then Detroit. I say that because the NL west is probably the best division in baseball. Other then the Giants each team is good. Their offense which was suppose to be dominate isn't and their pitching has been suspect so far. But it's 1 week. A good 2 week stretch can undo a lot of damage. Remember this is a 162 marathon not a 1 week sprint.

Players to look out for this year:
Pat Burrell. He's in a contract year. Right now batting over .400. He likes making his multi millions and doesn't want that to go away. I expect he will be a .300 hitter with 35+ hrs and 120 rbi's. Next year he will regress back to his normal .260 25 and 90 rbi's but by then he probably will have some J.D Drew contract.

One thing to remember right now. It's cold. When it's cold it is in the pitchers advantage. The ball doesn't fly far during this kind of weather. Once it heats up, you will see more offense from some of the big boys. That is why I wish K.C played Detroit before May. They could get them while they are down and they would get them again without having Granderson in the lineup.

The stadium, and the team are one in the same!

In 2006 it wasn't until May 26th, and in 2007 it wasn't until April 28th that the Royals picked up their 4th road victory of the season. KC heads back home with 4 road wins already under their belt, and we aren't even a week into the season. Obviously something is different about this team. There are probably only two disapointments from their season opening road trip, and that's David DeJesus coming up lame on opening day, and Gil Meche having a rough outing against the Twins. Other than that, I think the vast majority of Royals fans have to be happy with what they saw. They weren't intimidated by the mighty (paper) Tigers, and they were able to salvage a game in Minnesota and come back home above .500. GM Dayton Moore laid the foundation for this franchise once he was brought on board, and we are starting to see the puzzle pieces come together. Joakim Soria is going to be tough to beat, and Leo Nunez might have found his role as the set up guy. Billy Butler is turning into a tough out for teams, and it seems like Alex Gordon will not have another April to forget. In some ways, what's happening around Kaufman Stadium, and inside Kaufman Stadium are one in the same.

Fans have been driving past the Truman Sports Complex and have seen the old franchise landmark crown scoreboard being taken down, with a brand new state of the art HD Megatron in it's place. For some people that can resemble what's happening with the franchise. Gone is the 15+ years of losing, and hopelessness fans have felt since the Royals became a major league farm team. Now fans have what seems to be a relatively young group of guys who seem to be playing well with each other. Fans will head to The "K" Tuesday afternoon and will see a whole lot of work around their ballpark. They'll be a little confused as to what's going on, and will be interested in seeing what things will look like in the future. Their surroundings will still be somewhat the same, but they'll be able to tell there's something different in the air. Heck, they'll even get some throwbacks to the good ol' days, and may even think they've stepped back in time. That's just what it'll be like watching the team on the field, once everyone gets past all the stadium construction. It should be a fun ride this year with the Royals. A lot of hope and hard work has been invested into the franchise, not just on the field, but on the stadium as well.

Minor League

Hey it's Jake here to talk some baseball. On today's agenda it's all about Royal prospects. Yes the Royals are 3-0. Go Royals! But when you a mid market team with limited finances you have to draft and develop players.

Here is the Royals top 1o prospects according to BA(Baseball America)

1.Mike Moustakas, ss
2.Daniel Cortes, rhp
3.Luke Hochevar, rhp
4.Blake Wood, rhp
5.Danny Duffy, lhp
6.Carlos Rosa, rhp
7.Julio Pimentel, rhp
8.Matt Mitchell, rhp
9.Yasuhiko Yabuta, rhp
10.Derrick Robinson, of

Interesting mix there with lots of quality arms. Daniel Cortes is the guy in the top 10 that I really like. If you notice he rates higher then 1st pick Luke Hochevar. Both are big guys, Cortex 6-6, Luke 6-5. Cortes has the better pitchers body at 225 lbs compared to 205. The big difference in them really is stuff and age. Cortes is 21 now compared to Luke who is 25 in Sept. Cortes also have a live FB that scouts rate is a 70 on the 20-80 scale. Cortes fast ball sits 93-96 while Luke's is 92-93. Both have good curve ball. Cortes only pitched 123 innings this last year for High A Wilmington. Look to see him start the season at AA and with an innings limit. Probably no more then 150 innings. If Cortes also does well this season look for him to hit AAA to get more experience against better talent. If Cortes can have a 3.07 era this season pitching 150 innings he would be in line to land a 5th spot in the Royals rotation next season.

Another guy I would like to watch this season is Matt Mitchell. Pitched well in 55 innings last year with a 1.80 era. That was in the Rookie league. BA is calling him the steal of the 07 draft. Look to see him pitch for low A this season and hopefully get up to 90 innings. At 19 years of age the guy won't be sniffing the big leagues for some time.

What I find interesting about the Royals system is how many guys in the top 30 that Dayton Moore drafted. I'm going to exclude Yasuhiko Yabuta since he is the Japanese pitcher that they signed. 11 players out of 29 were drafted by Moore. 2 more were traded for by Moore. In a few months I will take a look at the baseball draft and give a preview of who I think the Royals will take with their pick.

What's their magic number?

2-0! I'm sure most "experts" thought there was going to be a team starting 2-0 when they saw the Tigers opened their season with the Royals, but I doubt many of them thought it would be the guys in the blue and gray uni's. For those who have watched parts of their two games this week, you can tell there's something different about this team. They look a year older, a year wiser, and ready to bust through and make people notice. I'm sure if the Royals keep winning early on, they'll be compared to 2003, but unless I'm mistaken, only two players are still in KC fromt hat 2003 season, Jimmy Gobble and David DeJesus. Other than that, everyone in a Royals uniform has been the butt of bad jokes for a few years. Also, unlike 2003, this team is built for a few years, while the 2003 squad was thrown together, and some how exceeded expectations. So the Royals will be over .500 heading into their second series of the season, and hopefully can come back to KC with a winning record for the home fans.

On to other things, and we'll stay inside of the Truman Sports Complex. I'm sure people have seen all sorts of mock drafts from the Worldwide leader, on down to the guy in your local paper. I could honestly care less who gets taken first, and actually think this is the year for Miami to trade down to around 6 or 7 with the lack of high quality players available. However, I have seen the "experts" put some interesting choices in the Chiefs spot. I've seen QB's, D-Lineman, and even a CB, however all of those would be a waste. I could maybe see the need for a CB, but those guys are just as much a dime a dozen as running backs. I can't figure out why, all of a sudden, people have forgotten just how bad their O-line was in 2007. They may not get Jake Long, but it's imparative for KC to draft Ryan Clady from Boise St. Dude's 6'6" weighs near 320, and he's coming out after his Junior season, so there may be some more growing out of the kid. Croyle may have slipped in some fans' minds, but even Payton Manning sucked when he had absolutely no offense or protection to help him out. Go with the steady O-lineman. They don't have egos, will play hurt, and can be a cornerstone for a franchise on offense.

Best Ever?

Three staight days of hosting banquets kept me from posting anything for over a week. By the time the weekend hit, I was ready to relax and get caught up on a few things. Congrats to the athletes selected to this years Basketball Dream Team, and it was a pleasure to meet all of them, and the coaches as well. I think things went pretty well this year. Had the banquets at a new venue that seemed to be a hit with everyone, and as always the food was excellent. Glad they are over though, and glad the HS sports season is winding down, because it's been a whirlwind year. Anyways, onto the tourney.

I'm sure by now most people have heard "experts" on the Worldwide Leader declare the 2008 edition of the NCAA Final 4 the best ever, despite one dribble taking place. Fact is, right now, we don't know if this will be the best ever. Sure, having all four #1 seeds would create such buzz, but lets hold judgement until the games are completed.

Anyways, as for my brackets, as you can probably guess, they are in the crapper right now. I still had a fighting chance after the Georgetown loss, but once Texas bit the dust, my hopes were dashed. Despite the upsets in the first weekend, and having 3 double digit seeds in the sweet 16, the tournament all of sudden took a turn down Boring Blvd. I'm sure CBS is excited about the Final 4, and it's storylines. Roy Williams takes on his former team, UCLA getting into a 3rd straight Final 4, and finally Memphis lived up to their overhyped expectations from the previous three seasons. Plus they got three of the biggest names in college basketball in UCLA, North Carolina, and Kansas. Still, it would have been really nice to see the Final 4 consist Xavier and Davidson, instead of UCLA and Kansas, just because it would have been karma smacking the selection committee in the face for all the suspect first round matchups. I'm still staying with UCLA as my champion, but if the Royals were playing in KC Saturday evening, I'd rather go watch their game, than have to sit through Nance and Packer slobber over the fact all #1 seeds are in the Final 4.

Speaking of those Royals; How 'bout them Royals? Yeah there's still 161 more games left in the season, and by September Detroit will probably have a better head to head record, but for one day, the Royals lived up to, and exceeded expectations. I thought it was all lost when Detroit tied the game up at 4 apiece, but that was probably the ghosts of Royals' past coming alive. Had the Royals won in 9 innings, it wouldn't have meant as much, but coming from behind, getting a HR from Gordon, and getting your #9 batter to bloop a single for the winning run, shows this team may have what it takes to compete. I think most Royals fans will admit that 2003 was more luck and good timing, than anything else. If the Royals have the same out put, most fans will admit it's the beginning of something special. Hopefully DeJesus isn't too badly injuried, and Grudz can stay healthy to play in at least 100 games, because I think his good glove and steady bat could really help this team through tough portions of the season. The Royals are over .500. hopefully it won't the only time of the season fans can say that.

BTW thanks to Jake for his extensive preview on the 2008 MLB season. He'll be adding his insight to the MLB season here on the blog when he wants to.

2008 Baseball preview

Hey everyone, this is Andy's friend Jake. I style myself a baseball expert so Andy asked me to post some baseball stuff. So for my first post I thought I would post my division winners. Along with that something positive for each team along with a concern. Bold shows who wins the division and italics is for the wild card winner.

-Al East

Boston Red Sox
Good: Returning every key starter on a championship team. Key rookies should be play all season long too
Concerns: Pitching. How bad is Beckett’s back? Will it flair up. Schilling is probably done for the season. He was a key contributor and innings eater. Innings limits for Bucholtz and Lester
New York Yankees
Good: New manager. Joe Girardi will be a fiery disposition to the team. Players under Joe Torre the last year came to camp out of shape. Using the bullpen could become a key
Concern: Who’s going to eat the innings up this year? All three of the Yankee’s young guns are going to have innings limits this year. Near the end of the season, who’s going to be pitching?
Toronto Blue Jays
Good: Starting pitching depth. Easily could have the best top 3 guys in the majors. All throw hard and have great braking pitches.
Concern: Injury concerns all over. Will B.J. Ryan be back to what he was? Is Vernon Wells shoulder fine? Is Scott Rolen’s shoulder going to hold up? Will A.J Burner go to the DL?
Tamp Bay Rays
Good: Added pitching depth with Matt Garza in the off season. Top prospect Evan Langoria should hit the majors by end of May.
Concern: Scott Kazmir’s elbow. When an elbow barks or is strained Tommy John is more likely. It is especially true with guys who throw sliders. Will that happen this year?
Baltimore Orioles
Good: Andy McPhail has taken over. That means Peter Angelos the worst owner in baseball isn’t making decision any longer.
Concern: Every position other then right field and second base there are concerns about. Will Daniel Cabrera ever live up to his hype?

-Al Central
Detroit Tigers
Good: Traded for a future HOF player in Miguel Cabrera. Tiger possess a dominate lineup that is easily the best in baseball.
Concern: Pitching, both in the bullpen and starting rotation. Who is going to get the ball to Todd Jones the closer? There are health issues all over the rotation. Bonderman’s elbow, Kenny Rogers shoulder and age. Can Dontrelle’s era go over 6?
Cleveland
Good: Just like Boston, returning a very good team without losing any major pieces.
Concern: Carmona’s innings. When a guy jumps more then 30 innings from his career high they have problems the next year. Carmona's jumped 58 innings.
Kansas City Royals
Good: Trey Hillman as new manager, he’s a proven winner. Buddy Bell was just going through the motions. Hillman will improve this team month to month and will get them closer to making a play run next season
Concerns: Butler and Gordon. The organization is banking on both of these players and there are questions about both. Gordon has a hitch in his swing that wasn’t exploited at college or in the minors but was exploited at the MLB level. They are tinkering with it at the end of last year and this spring. I’m hesitant of doing that but it needs to be done. Butler’s problem is his weight, needs to slim down and play a position. You don’t want your DH being 22 years old.
Chicago White Sox
Good: A good lineup got better with the addition of Orlando Cabrera. He also will improve their defense as he is a two time gold glove winner.
Concerns: Other then Mark Burhle who is going to win games? Javier Vasquez is good but he never seems to put it together. Contreras had a good season a couple years ago but is back to a back of the end guy. They traded away an innings eater in Garland.
Minnesota Twins
Good: Locked up Mauer, Morneau and Nathan to long term contracts this offseason.
Concern: Who’s going to pitch for this organization? Liriano won’t be back to 100% until mid summer. Boof Boonser is a good pitcher but he isn’t a front line starter. Kevin Slowry is good but he also isn’t a front line starter.

-AL West
Seattle Mariners
Good: They have the best 1-2 punch of any team.
Concern: Who’s going to score runs? They have a few good players highlighted by Ichiro but Sextson and Beltre have been busts.
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
Good: Depth at starting pitching. They also have one of the best defensive outfields in the game. Small ball is key and they have players that fit their style
Concern: While they have lots of starting pitching, Lackey is now hurt along with Escobar. Escobar has a tear in his shoulder, more then likely he will be done for the season. Is Lackey’s injury going to linger?
Oakland A’s
Good: Got more for Dan Haren then Twins got for Santana who is the better pitcher
Concern: experience and leadership. The A’s are lacking it other then Eric Chavez. Will Chavez ever be the player he was?
Texas Rangers
Good: Daniels the GM has made some good trades that have strengthen Texas future.
Concern: Pitching as it always is. It is this team’s weakness as it has been since Nolan Ryan has been there. They need to develop it instead of trying to buy it on the FA market.

-NL East
Atlanta
Good: They have pitching depth again in Atlanta. Bullpen should also be improved with the return of Mike Gonzalez from injury.
Concern: Mark Kotsay. They need him in CF to solidify the outfield. His back will be a concern all season long
Philadelphia Phillies
Good: One of the deepest lineups especially in the NL. Pat Burrell is in a contract year and could have a huge season.
Concern: Brad Lidge. They need this guy to be the closer so that Tom Gordon can be the setup man and Bret Myers stays in the rotation.
New York Met
Good: Have 2 of the top players in the game in Reyes and Wright. Both are young and should still improve.
Concern: Johan Santana. I believe that he is going to have arm problems this year. Last season he didn’t throw his slider for the last 2 months at the end of the season. The twins could have afforded them instead they spent the money on Nathan. That should raise red flags to met fans.
Washington Nationals
Good: Moving into a new ball park, it has to be better then JFK stadium.
Concern: Who’s going to pitch for them? They have to have the worst pitching at the MLB level.
Florida Marlins
Good: Cut payroll by trading their two star players. It’s the Marlin way. They also finally got financing for a new stadium.
Concern: Inexperience. Most of the players don’t have more then 2 year MLB experience. Starting pitchers have health concerns.

-NL Central
Chicago Cubs
Good: A good deep lineup with a decent starting staff should equal a divisional crown. Japanese player Fukedome could be an impact bat and ROTY candidate.
Concern: Curses, bartman 2 appearing? Also the lack of a dominate starter, Zambrano is good but he isn’t a dominate number 1.
Milwaukee Brewers
Good: A very good core of young players should make the Brewers good for some time. Braun could be an even better hitter now that he doesn’t have to worry about making 40 errors a season
Concern: Injuries to starting pitchers. Ben Sheets needs to be healthy for this team to beat the cubs. Someone in the bullpen has to step up or it’s a huge weakness.
Cincinnati Reds
Good: Dusty Baker should improve the team. Some young pitching seems to be coming along.
Concern: Is there enough pitching to last this whole season or is it another year away. They need to win now with Griffey getting older and Dunn in his walk year.
Houston Astros
Good: A good offense should score a lot of runs. Hunter Pence looks like the real deal.
Concern: Who’s going to pitch behind Roy Oswalt? No pitching at all in the starting role.
Pittsburgh Pirates
Good: New ownership is moving the team in the right direction. That is to draft and scout talent.
Concern: Almost all positions have question marks. Will Jason Bay rebound or is he now on the decline?

-NL West
Colorado Rockies
Good: They return everyone but Kaz Matsui. Tons of young talent here and most of it will be in its first full big league seasons.
Concern: Is this the team that dominated in September and October or the team that was just average for a majority of the season? Also can they hit away from Coors field?
Arizona Diamondbacks
Good: Good young team that should be getting better. A very good rotation lead by Brandon Webb and Dan Haren.
Concern: Will the bullpen which got them to the playoffs be as good as last year? Will all the talent they have live up to the hype? Is Eric Byrnes going to regress or stay at this high level?
Los Angeles Dodgers
Good: Joe Torre should be a calming influence to a divided clubhouse. Good starting pitching should keep them in games.
Concern: Who is going to hit for power in this lineup? 3rd base is a weakness until Nomar comes back or prospect Andy Laroche comes back from injury. Is Andruw Jones slide going to continue or does he have a bounce back year?
San Diego Padres
Good: Padres have great starting pitching lead by Jake Peavey. Chris Young keeps on improving and Greg Maddux is just a magician with the ball. Mark Prior could be a huge mid season call up.
Concern: Other then Adrian Gonzalez I don’t like any of their hitters. Who is going to score runs?
San Francisco Giants
Good: They finally let Barry Bonds walk away. That guy is a club house killer. Some of the best starting pitching in the game resides in here. It should keep them in games.
Concern: When Bengie Molina is your cleanup hitter there is a problem. Aaron Rowland is a good player but did he have a career year or is he going to perform that well with the bat again?

Well there you go. I will be posting a lot about the royals throughout the season. For those of you who don't know, the Royals got their own T.V. network. This year out of the 162, 88 are going to be in HD. Opening day is just 2 day away, everyone enjoy!

Watching two games at once (take 5)

The good news is the upset is back. The bad news is, I'm sure most peoples' brackets look like mince meat right now. I know my bracket does, and it's all because of a guy named Curry. Looking back, I should have stuck with my own advice, and took in all the info the bracket gives me. Had I, I might have chosen Davidson to make it to the sweet 16. Instead I went with my gut, and now have a pitiful bracket. The weekend started well, getting West Virginia and 'Nova into the sweet 16, but once Georgetown choked, I was finished. And again, the the aciton this weekend proved there isn't much of a difference between the Big conferences and everyone else.

So now what? Well for starters, if you are a non-BCS fan, be happy, because this is 2006 lite. Davidson, Western Kentucky and Xavier are all off to the Sweet 16. Almost the same as in 2006 when Gonzaga, Wichita St, George Mason and Bradley all moved on. Hopefully one of those three teams this year crash the Elite 8 party, and realistically Davidson and Xavier could get to the Final 4 with another two solid outings. My advice to people who have their brackets in the trash can this morning, is to sit back and enjoy the show. Following the 2007 tourney, I thought the upset was a thing of the past, but it's been given new life, and doesn't it make the NCAA tourney just that much more fun to watch?

A fun little game you can play over the course of this week. If you read on any websites or hear any of the "experts" on TV talking how good Western Kentucky, Davidson, and 'Nova are, see if you can find that person's bracket predictions, and how far they have those two teams going. If any of them have those teams going one and done, realize they are full of Hershey stains.

I won't be giving a revised prediction, because I don't have an ego to feed. "Experts" who give you revised predictions are just trying to stroke their ego, and make you think they still know more than you do. Face it, if these guys were as smart as they like to tell people, they would have seen at least Davidson coming. With a few days off before the sweet 16 round of games, I'll focus my attention to other things in sports, but will get back to the tourney once the action takes place.

Viewing two games at once (take 4)

Darn it Stanford. You're not supposed to win when your coach gets sent packing in the first half, and you aren't supposed to win when your assistants are left drawing up a last second play. Had Marquette held on, I would have been sitting very pretty in every pool I'm in. Instead of having 14 of my sweet 16 teams alive, I'll have to settle for 13 as of right now. Anyways the action I saw yesterday

First off, I am officially worried about Wisconsin beating Georgetown. The Badgers aren't exactly an exciting team, but they do have enough flash to score 6-8 points in a hurry, and then sit on their lead with outstanding defense. Like I said they would, KSU looked flat. Yeah Michael Beasley got his points, but Bill Walker was frustrated all game, and KSU had no answers for 'Scin's smothering D. Meanwhile, KU looked less than impressive against UNLV. If the Rebels would have hit any shots in the second half, KU could have been in trouble, because it seemed for the most part they were going through the motions. It was a 5 point game with 12 minutes remaining, but UNLV went ice cold after that, and KU cruised. Two rather blah games if you ask me, because both winning teams showed potential to be world-beaters at times, and during other stretches looked no better than the teams they beat.

The rest of the action. No surprise from West Virginia. Duke got up early, but couldn't stand up to a much more athletic and physical team. Thank you Duke for proving my previous post about your overratedness being correct. Xavier gave me a scare, but I think they will be the cardiac kids of this tourney. UCLA, how can you allow A&M to play that close to you? Please say you were overlooking the Aggies, and already had your bags packed for Phoenix. Otherwise you're in for a rude awakening next weekend. i already covered Stanford, those bums. I am officially impressed with Wazzu. I am sorry Cougars for doubting your abilities. Chalk it up to Midwest Coast bias, and due to the fact you play in the Pac-10, and being overshadowed by the big dogs in your conference. Finally, thank you Michigan St. That was the shakiest Sweet 16 pick of any when I was filling out my brackets, but they showed that Tom Izzo is one heck of a tourney coach. Despite winning a title, he's had his program always under the national radar so to speak, and always exceeds potential.

Now today's games. The #1 seeds should come away with comfortable victories, but if yesterday's action proved anything, it's that you can't overlook your opponents. Still UNC should get a comfortable double digit win over Arkansas, and Memphis has to sweat it out, but pulls away late. Meanwhile, Tennessee should take care of Butler. I like Butler, their program, and what they've done for the non-BCS teams, but I'm sorry you were screwed in the selection process. Georgetown better win, that's all I have to say. Still Stephen Curry needed 40 to barley beat overrated Gonzaga, it'll take more than that to beat GT. Also, if Louisville plays to their potential, OU shouldn't be in this game. IMO OU played outside of their skin Friday against St. Joe's, and I don't see that happening a second time. Based on everything, but Friday's games, 'Nova should roll over Siena. However there has to be something to Siena if they beat up an SEC team like they did. Or maybe it's that Vandy was overrated, and deserved the #7 seed given to Butler, and Butler deserved their #4 seed. Yeah selection committee you screwed up big time on that call. Texas has just too much talent for Miami, and should win by double digits. Finally it's the game I'm sure most of the country didn't see coming, Western Kentucky vs San Diego. My advice is to sit back and enjoy the game, and hope for a close one. Thankfully we'll have our 2008 cinderella right here.

So the only game I'm remotely concerned about today is OU and the 'Ville, and maybe the Siena 'Nova matchup, mostly because Siena is an unknown. Like I said yesterday, if I get more than one game wrong, I'd be upset. So once again I've got 13 of my sweet 16 still alive with all my elite 8. If I stay my selections still hold up with 13 or even 12 of my sweet 16 available, I'll let you know how I'm sitting in my pools. Enjoy the basketball today.

More on the 'Zags

All right America, can we stop with the love affair around Gonzaga. I hope people realize their magical Elite 8 run is going to celebrate it's decade anniversary next season. That's right, it's been a decade since they screwed up everyone's brackets with the NCAA tourney runs. From 2002-2008 Gonzaga has just one Sweet 16 run. Their time of getting special treatment from the Big conference is over. They are now on the same level as every other non BCS team, and should be treated as such. It was a nice story a decade ago to see this small team from out of nowhere shock college basketball, but now they've just been plain boring, and predicitable.

Watching two games at once (take 3)

What a day. Friday March 21th is going to go down as one of the most memorable days in NCAA tourney history. It started off rather ordinary, Tennessee taking care of American, Miami looking strong in their beating of St. Mary's, while Gonzaga was holding off Davidson, and Western Kentucky was pulling off the 12-5 upset. Most people probably wouldn't have been all that surprised with the WKU score, especially since Drake lives and dies on the three. Then something happened. Stephen Curry decided to go Glen Rice on us, and put up 30 second half points, and lead Davidson to a rousing upset of sorts over Gonzaga (more on the 'Zags later). I think most fans would have been happy with that finish, only it was just an appetizer for what happened between the 'Toppers and the Bulldogs.

Drake somehow was able to pull their offense out of neutral and start a comeback that brought three's raining from the sky. Tying up the game and sending it to OT. I thought Drake had this one wrapped up when they got up by 4 late in the OT period. But then Ty Rodgers launced what seemed to be a 30 foot 3-pointer with three guys in his face, only to see it hit nothing but net. Truely remarkable how that game finished. If WKU can somehow be this years George Mason, and assuming they don't make another buzzer-beater, that shot will go down as one of the biggest in NCAA first round history.

Like the Davidson ending, I think most fans were now satisfied with their day of hoops. They saw two seeded upsets, two great comebacks, and a buzzer beater 3. What else could college basketball fans ask for. I guess we found out. Over the course of the next 9 hours we saw not just one, but two #4 seeds go down, and a #12 seed making another incredible comeback to cause another upset. In fact the second day of the first round created six seeded upsets, compared to the just two seeded upsets Thursday. Like I said, Friday March 21st might go down as the best day in first round history, but it all depends on how Sunday's second round games play out. However, we are assured at least two double digit seeds will play in the sweet 16. The good news about all of this, it doesn't matter how hard the selection committee tries to diminish the likelyhood of upsets, people will find a way.

That being said, what the hell UConn and Vandy? The players, coaches, fans, and conferences should be embarrased by your performances. There is no way in the world those teams should be playing anywhere near your level, at least that's what were told. I think those two games, along with the Duke/Belmont games show there isn't that big of a drop off as the "experts" like to tell you between the Big conferences and everyone else. It shows up in early season non-conference games, and if shows up in the NCAA tourney. I think it's time we give credit to these smaller conference schools, and show them a little respect in upcoming NCAA tourneys. Did Baylor, Arizona, and Kentucky really belong in the NCAA tourney over VCU a Illinois St. I think the answer to that question is NO!

All right, looking at my picks. If you were smart and followed my lead, you would be sitting very nicely heading into the second round. I've always said it's more important to have as many sweet 16 and elite 8 teams alive as possible, and heading into the weekend, I have 15 sweet 16 teams left and all my elite 8. Yeah there is probably a guy who picked that Siena game correctly, along with a couple of other upsets, but it'll all come down to who makes it out of this weekend.

Let's take a look at today's games. First off is Duke and West Virginia. I've got WVU, and I'll be honest, I'm not nervous about this one, WVU should win easily. KSU and Wisconsin, I've got Wisconsin, and I do think they pull out the victory. KSU played in the biggest hyped first round game in a long while, they have a letdown today. Xavier and Purdue: I'm still very confident in that Xavier pick. ND and Wazzu I'm nervous about. I had Winthrop in the first round upset, so obviously I went with ND in this one. I was impressed with Wazzu's showing, and this one I'm not too sure about anymore. Marquette and Stanford: Marquette should roll, and I expect them to. UNLV and Kansas should be a cake walk for KU if they play to their potential, and I think they will since Jayhawkers will be in abundance. UCLA should roll over A&M. To round out this evening.

So looking at the matchups for today, I'd be very disapointed if more than one of my picks came out the wrong way. They only one right now that I can live with is ND losing, but any of the other picks lose and I'm in trouble. Anyways enjoy today's action. I'll be enjoying the UNLV/KU and KSU/Wisconsin games live and in person in Omaha.