Kyle’s View

With the end of spring training in sight and the baseball regular season quickly approaching I wanted to take some time to make predictions for the upcoming season. That said making predictions in March about who will be playing in October is a difficult task. The chance that one or two players get hurt can drastically change the outlook for a team. Take the Boston Red Sox for instance; if Josh Beckett misses significant time, they are not the same team, especially if it happens in the September or October. Also the possibility of a rookie or two stepping up and making a difference can mean the difference between the playoffs and mediocrity. Just ask the Red Sox how much of a difference rookie of the year Dustin Pedroia, Jacoby Ellsbury and Clay Buchholz.
That said, I will make predictions based on current line ups and who I think might make a big difference this season. I’ll start in the National League West for today and do the rest of the divisions over the next week or so. This division will be as tough as it has been the past few years. The defending national league champs, the Colorado Rockies look just as good as last year if not better with some key additions and all the post season experience all the young players got last season. The Rockies will be able to hit, especially at home in hitter friendly Coors Field, with MVP contender Matt Holliday, Garret Atkins, Brad Hawpe, Todd Helton, and Troy Tulowitzki. This team is young and talented and will give the rest of the division a run for its money. That said, I think the rest of the NL West has too much good pitching and clutch hitting for the Rockies to make a return trip. I think the division will come down to the Diamondbacks and Padres. The division race will come down to the last week. The pitching on both of these teams is deep and talented. With the addition of Dan Haren, the Diamondbacks added talent and depth to an already great rotation. Also they are getting Randy Johnson back this season and if he can pitch anything like he used to it will be one of if not the best staff in baseball along with 2006 CY Young Brandon Webb and Dan Haren. The opening day lineup will also be a formidable one. It will feature Eric Byrnes, who can hit, steal bases and play some amazing defense in center field. This will also be the coming out party for my prediction for the 2008 NL rookie of the year Justin Upton. Assuming they get production from Chad Tracy, Conor Jackson, Stephen Drew, and Chris Young they will compete and make some noise in the playoffs. The team that will be competing the Diamondbacks, San Diego Padres, also possesses a great pitching staff and a solid line up that can hit. With Jake Peavy, 2007 NL CY Young, Greg Maddux, Chris Young and the 4th and 5th starters that will include a combination of Mark Prior, Randy Wolf and Shawn Estes the padres rotation will be very good. The lineup will include studs with Adrian Gonzalez, Kevin Kouzmanoff, and Kahlil green’s awesome defense the NL West race will be a close and exciting one till the end.

Division winner: Arizona Diamondbacks

Its tourney time and I’m going to take my opportunity to throw in my two cents. This year is one of the deepest tournaments with a lot of really good teams. I filled out my bracket and have found my winners.

The west regional is has the easiest road for the number one seed UCLA. Duke is the second best team in the region and I can see them not even making it to the sweet sixteen if West Virginia and Joe Alexander play to their potential and play the way they did down the stretch. Plus their Coach Bob Huggins has the experience to lead his team far.

The Midwest regional looks to have multiple teams that can make a serious run. USC and OJ Mayo have the potential to make some noise. OJ is an outstanding freshman and could lead his team just like Carmelo Anthony. With that said I believe Georgetown is the class of this region. They went to the Final Four last year and lost to a team just a little stronger with current NBA players Greg Oden (#1 pick), Mike Conley (#4 pick) and Daequan Cook (#21 pick). They have the experience, defense anchored by Roy Hibbert and great coaching in John Thompson 111. I think Kansas and Clemson will make a push to win the region but Georgetown will outlast them.

The South Region has three really good teams in Stanford, Texas, Memphis. Memphis has the talent to make it all the way, with that said I don’t think they will. They have issues making free throws at the end of games. This hasn’t been an issue because of the way they have won, however they will be forced to make free throws when they meet up with Texas and even Michigan St. Also Memphis have freshman Derrick Rose leading them. He is an outstanding talent who could be the first player taken in the NBA draft however I don’t think he has the leadership to carry Memphis all the way to the final. That said I see Texas and DJ Augustin coming out of this Region. I think they have the most talent, great coaching and will play defense down the stretch to make it to the Final Four.

The East region has some of the best team and will be the toughest to make it out of. North Carolina is the number one seed for the whole tournament and Tennessee could have easily been a number one seed in another region. Also Louisville is the three seed and is an incredibly good. When they play to their potential they can beat anyone on any night. That said, Tennessee will advance from this bracket and make it the Final Four. Like all of my Final Four Picks I go with point guard play and coaching. Chris Lofton can lead his team along with the wings and bigs on his team. I had a really hard time with this bracket. I really debated between UNC and Tennessee. North Carolina is playing close to home, has great coaching and on the floor leadership with Tyler Hansbrough (national player of the year) and Ty Lawson. I just feel Chris Lofton and Bruce Pearl will get this team to Final Four.

My Final four is set up with Georgetown and Tennessee playing to go the final. I have Tennessee winning this match up and making it to the championship. I have to take Bruce Pearl, orange sport coat and all to the championship. On the other side I have UCLA and Texas playing to face Tennessee. As much as I love me some Love and Ben Howland’s coaching and their experience in the final four last year, I’m taking DJ Augustin and the Texas Longhorns. They are playing in San Antonio, which is an easy drive from Austin. I just feel Texas will do a little more and win the game. With Tennessee and Texas meeting in the final, I faced the my biggest headache trying to pick a winner. I really like the Chris Lofton vs. DJ Augustin matchup. I think the mass amount of orange in the crowd could be blinding and the game will come down to a final shot or free throws. With that said I have the Volunteers of Tennessee cutting down the nets and hoisting the trophy. I would not be shocked if Texas is hoisting the trophy along with the horns that are synonymous with University of Texas. Get ready for an awesome tournament.

The Falcons and Raiders agreed to terms on Tuesday to send Deangelo Hall to the Raiders for the 2nd round pick in this years draft and possibly more compensation. With this deal, the Raiders drastically improve their secondary and start possibly the best corner back combination in the league with Hall and Nnamdi Asomugha. They will be a great fit with the defense the Raiders will run with 99% man coverage. Both corners excel in man coverage and have the potential to shut down any receiver in the NFL. As for being the best combination in the NFL i think the Broncos with Champ Bailey and Dre Bly might have something to say about that. Although with the addition on Gibril Wilson the Raiders have the best secondary in the league. With this secondary the front seven should record more sacks and get to the quarterback. The raiders front seven were one of the best last season and the raiders could be the sleeper pick in the AFC. Assuming they can get Darren McFadden in the Draft and JaMarcus Russell can play up to the potential he had coming out of college the Raiders could be for real.

After 17 seasons in the NFL Brett Favre has retired. After a career of compiling stats and acalaids including being a 3x NFL MVP’s and 9x Pro Bowler. But more than just the awards and the stats Brett was the face of the Packers for the last 17 seasons. But more than Brett Favre, his retirement the end of an era is coming to a close. The 90′s were the era of the Quarterback with Favre, Troy Aikman, Steve Young, Dan Marino, John Elway, and Jim Kelly. Growing up and watching the epic battles between the Packers and 49ers as well as the Packers and Cowboys; these games shaped the NFL landscape and go down as some of the best games in NFL history. Brett Favre was the last player from my childhood and from the football i grew up watching. 

As for the packers for the future, it has some pieces in place to still be a good team. As great as Brett Favre was, his last couple seasons he had to rely on the players around him. His team is full of talent. Ryan Grant will be able to carry the load and help Aaron Rodgers. Aaron Rodgers will also have a lot of weapons in the passing game including Greg Jennings and Donald Driver.