October is approaching

The best month of the year is rapidly approaching and I just keep getting excited as that day inches near. Why wouldn't anyone love the month of Oktoberfest. I'll tell you why I love it:

First of all its a great sporting month. NFL and College Football in full swing, the long MLB season starts the postseason, which is always great, and NBA training camps begin and College Basketball practices begin. Boy oh Boy! Can't go wrong with that!

Second of all it has officially become fall season and towards the end of the month is my birfisday, whooop. Anyways, lets do some interesting talking.

I'm going to leave you guys with a name you should never forget... FAVRE!

That's right, FAV-RE. He is the man and on his way to breaking every record Dan Marino owns including the Touchdowns record. I have always been a Favre fan and never get tired of watching him play. He is so enthusiastic and enjoyable to watch. Yeah he had a few down seasons the past few years, but I think the Packers have come together to give Favre one final push into the playoffs.

The Packers are off to a strong start at 3-0 and Favre and company are looking very poised, especially on defense to make a run at a good season. I'm not saying the Packers are going to win the Super Bowl, but they have looked very good and are a hot team right now.

It is always key to start off a 16 game season very well so you don't get your team into a bad situation. And the Packers have started off by beating three playoff teams from last season, including Super Bowl favorite San Diego.

So far the two NFC teams that have looked the best have been the Cowboys and Packers, both off to 3-0 starts. While in the AFC it has been the Patriots and Colts, like always.

I hate to talk about it, but the Patriots have looked by far the best team scoring 38 points in all three of their games. And WR Randy Moss is looking like old in the Patriots pass happy offense.

With only a few games remaining on the MLB regular season schedule, the four American league teams have been determined, just waiting on Boston and New York to decide a division winner, which will be Boston of course. The other two teams are Anaheim and Cleveland.

While on the other side in the National League, there have been no playoff berths yet while every division is very very close. With the playoffs starting next week, I always enjoy watching the postseason.

And October also means basketball season is rapidly approaching and that is by far the best. Before my season predictions for the upcoming basketball seasons, I'm going to get bold and give you four teams that have a good chance at winning the championship in both the NBA and College.

First off in College Basketball, my Final Four Pre-Prediction. North Carolina (of course), Georgetown, UCLA and Memphis. Those may or may not seem like a surprise, but I can usually get the job down on recommendations.

As for the NBA, two teams from the West and East. This is always a challenge to just pick two teams from each conference, but here is what I think. Well in the West, should be no surprise San Antonio and Dallas, not because they are the two teams I like in the West, but because Dallas had a ridiculous record and a fluke fall out in the playoffs and you can never go wrong with picking the defending champ Spurs.

As for the East. This is probably the harder choice, but I am going with Chicago and Miami. Yeah Chicago blew Miami out of the playoffs last season, but if Miami stays healthy this season they will be back no doubt.

I think that is about it for the go around, enjoy the football weekend.

Got a Lot to Say

I don't know if I will get around to all of it, but last night before I fell asleep, my mind was just going crazy thinking about sports. So I'll try to get out as much as I can.

We are through the second week of the NFL season (with the exception of Redskins-Eagles tonight), and lets start with a few records...
Houston Texans 2-0, Detroit Lions 2-0, Green Bay Packers 2-0, San Francisco 49ers 2-0 and New Orleans Saints 0-2, St. Louis Rams 0-2.

Let's see, Texans first time in their team history that they are 2-0 and boy are they looking like a legit team playing great on defense and David Carr who, how about stud Matt Schaub off to a great start.

The Lions QB John Kitna predicted 10 wins for his team this season and they are already a fifth of the way there. They weren't convincing wins, but a win is a win.

Brett Favre becomes the winningest QB in NFL History and is only three TD passes away from becoming the all time leader in touchdown passes by passing none other than Dan Marino. And their defense has looked great too as Favre seeks one final playoff push.

And my 49ers got two ugly division wins, but for the most part their defense has done well so far and I'm telling yea not to sleep on the Niners.

And NFC favorites the Saints and Rams are off to rough starts at 0-2. Can they bounce back? I think the Saints can, but the Rams have serious offensive line problems being without tackle Orlando Pace.

The game of the weekend goes to the Browns (51) and Bengals (45). Charlie Frye who? How about Derek Anderson tosses 5 touchdown passes and throws for 300 yards and running back Jamal Lewis rushes for 215 yards, looking like he did a few years ago with the Ravens. Meanwhile the Bengals get 6 TD passes from Palmer and 200 receiving yards from Chad Johnson and they loose. That just isn't a good sign giving up that many points points and yards to the Browns.

Meanwhile my fantasy football team in the "All Offense Showdown" league is off to a good start with the match up of the season coming up next week against the commissioner. So I am pretty excited about my hot start, as I usually stink it up in my fantasy leagues, unfortunately.

Now moving on the the Best Golfer in the World and that is none other than FedEx Cup Champion Tiger Woods Y'all.

Tiger set an own personal best this past weekend shooting a 23 under par (-23) in a route to winning the Tour Championship and earning the very First FedEx Cup Championship, which is the PGA's new "Playoff System." Along with the pretty new trophy to add to his already stacked trophy room, he adds ten million dollars to his retirement funds after just recently passing the 70 million career total earnings last week. I know some people don't want to see that stat, but it is just amazing to me and I couldn't believe it.

After playing in the President's Cup in two weeks, Tiger has decided to take the rest of the year off to be with his family and have some relaxing time to get ready for a push at his ultimate goal of catching the 18 major mark as he only trails by 5 now. Tiger is the man.

Here's a flash back story I had the other day. I was thinking about how I used to cut out the NFL capsules out of the newspaper before the season started and would tape them up on my bedroom door in the order I thought they would finish. Now I am typing this stuff up on my on Blog Site. It just amazes me how time has flown by and to think about how my passion for sports has only increased over the years.

That's just my little flashback thought of the day.

Have a good week.

What a Weekend

Well Week 1 of the NFL season is behind us and boy was it dominated by sloppy play. Every game I watched had at least two turnovers and that might not seem like a lot, but it really does make a difference.

There were some good moments for some teams such as the Patriots, Steelers, Colts, Cowboys and even the Lions.

Outside those teams, many games were ugly defensive struggles decided by only a touchdown or field goal or so. Of course it could be some what acceptable since it is the first game that the first string teams play the whole game. But overall I think many defenses looked better than the offenses. There were a few stand out stars, such as the return of Randy Moss who piled up 183 receiving yards in his debut in New England. Of course there is the usual performance of Peyton Manning and company.

The surprise rookie of the week was Minnesota Running Back Adrian Peterson. He had a one hundred yard rushing game and also looked good receiving. Lions Receiver Calvin Johnson also had a good game that included his first receiving touchdown.

But besides NFL football, a couple usual names continued their dominance of their sport. Tennis Champ Roger Federer won his fourth straight US Open Championship giving him a total of 12 major wins overall, only trailing leader Pete Sampras (14) by two. If Federer stays healthy he will most likely tie or even break that record mark in next years season. I mean the guy just turned 26 and is on the verge of breaking a mark that Sampras reestablished just a few years ago. Federer is in his prime now and is clearly the most dominate tennis player in the world and will surely blow past Sampras' mark of 14.

Also getting another win was Tiger Woods. It was Tiger's 60th career victory and gave him the overall lead in the FedEx Cup standings with only this weekends Tour Championship remaining to decide the first FedEx Cup Champion as Tiger looks poised to bring home another title.

All in all I am just excited that it's football season and I am ready for my 49ers to have a big season.

Peace,

Out.

The most wonderful time of the year...

In the sporting world, what better kind of weekend could one think of? There are so many different types of sports playing this weekend. Everyone could get a fix of what they love the most.

From PGA Tour Playoffs, to College and NFL Football, to WNBA Finals, to the US Open Tennis Championships, to MLB and even Nascar. WOW! I don't think it could get much better than that.

NFL opening day is officially today as Week one schedule gets underway and boy am I excited! Along with College and NBA basketball, the NFL is my favorite sport to watch. It's always exciting to go week by week to see the newest stars shine to the upset teams and even flashy veterans still mowing everyone down.

As many should know, the NFL had an eventful off season, from player situations, to new faces in new places, to the new rookies having an impact already throughout the league. So when the season comes around, there will surely be new headlines filling the sporting world.

That being said enjoy your Sunday watching NFL football, PGA Golf and the Men's US Open tennis championship.

New name, makes it better

I just wanted to take some time and offer my thoughts on the points made by my loyal fan, John.

I understand some may think I am crazy for picking the 49ers to be the last seed to make the NFC playoffs, but here is why I made that decision.

This will be the fourth season that head coach Mike "Rollin with" Nolan has been with the 49ers. Every season since he has been coach their record has improved. Having been 1-15 the year before he came in. Then it went as follows: 2-14, 4-12 to 7-9 last season.

Now, having improved every season since and this past off season being the best under his helm, it is not a stretch to say the 49ers could be the last seed in the NFC playoffs. Yes, there will be many teams fighting for that last spot, probably having a record around 8-8 or 9-7, I have faith in the up and coming 49ers to get back to the glory days in the next few years. So that being said, I might be on a 49er high, but picking them to finish that high is not a stretch in my mind.

I know I didn't come up with a no name to win the MVP because the certain players I choose are just dominate players in the league right now. One name I did leave off is Rams QB Mark Bulger. I think the Rams will surprise people this season and have a good season and win the NFC West behind the lead of Bulger and Jackson.

Daniel Graham? He is to old and not explosive enough to have a note worthy great season. Yes, the Broncos use their Tight End a lot, but he isn't that break through stand out player. Shockey on the other hand is a good point. I do agree he could have a good season, if he stays healthy, which has been holding him back the past few seasons. I think he is due to have a good season and will have to do so in order to help the Giants win this season.

As for the Fins, yeah they have a good defense, but it is always tough for a new head coach to have a good season. Their QB is to old and I don't think they have enough talent outside Ronnie Brown on offense to help them to a good record. The Jets have a new look offense, having added RB Thomas Jones and with Chad Pennington finally healthy they will win the second spot in the division holding off the Buffalo Bills. The Bills have a decent defense and a under the radar offense. Their wide receivers are underrated and are very explosive. I'm not saying they are going to have a terrible record, in fact all three of the teams will probably finish either with the same records or one or two games separated between them.

The US Open is not on a level of the World Series, you just can't compare the two. Yet, the US Open is under way and today 1 seed Roger Federer takes on 5 seed Andy Roddick in the quarterfinals. To bad for Roddick as he only have one career win versus Federer, and with Federer being the best player in the game right now, Roddick will have to be mistake free and be hitting 140 to 150 on his serve the whole match.

On the Women's side, 1 seed Justine Henin defeated 8 seed Serena Williams in straight sets. Henin is just the best woman's player at the moment. Defending champ Maria Sharapova was upset in the third round.

It's hard to talk about tennis, but don't even say the Open is not on the World Series' level. It might be as good as a regular season game, but the baseball playoffs is the best baseball around. It's just hands down been around for more than a century and is called America's Past Time; simple as that.

Now for this new thought about the NBA taking on a season similar to the Tennis series. I'm not sure about that idea. Maybe if you had the tournaments towards the end of the season just before the Finals. You would have to have a regular season in order to pair teams against each other in the double elimination tournament. Actually, that would be a good idea for the playoffs. Maybe have the top twenty teams and put them in the tournament and have them battle down to the final four and then have the regular best of 7 or best of 5 and then best of 7 for the NBA Finals.

When I think of this thought, the College football BCS comes to mind. All we hear about is if College Football is going to have a playoff system, but it always gets pushed aside to the next season to talk about it. I would like to see a playoff system in college football because if there were teams with identical records and such, it shouldn't be all about your strength of schedule because every team plays every team different, hence App State beating Michigan. That doesn't say Michigan is a bad team, it says every team play every team different. And why they dropped out of the top 25 rankings was bogus to me. That's why I don't like the college football system, it's bogus and out of whack.

Say Ohio State and Michigan played the first week and they were ranked 2 and 3. Michigan(3) won the game, Ohio State would probably fallen to like number 10 or so in the polls. Why is that because it was two of the top teams in the nation? Technically that is what they would say yes. What about if number 1 USC lost to unranked Notre Dame? Would USC drop out of the polls, probably not. It's just a big scam to me. Make a playoff system in college football. Reduce regular season games to 8 for every team and have December as the month for the playoffs. At least give it a try one season. Come up with some type of playoff system and give it a try and if it ends up being similar results to the crappy BCS system, then so be it. BCS is whack.

Anyways, I forgot to mention the other day that Team USA won the FIBA America's Tournament dismantling Argentina to win the Gold Medal and they are now qualified for next year's Summer Olympics in China.

NFL season Kicks Off tomorrow night! Let's go my crappy fantasy team.

Footballin!

Well it is officially football season as the first week of college football has come to an end and there was already a major upset the first week.

The number five ranked team Michigan Wolverines took on a Division 1-AA team, Appalachian State this past weekend at "The Big House." Well needless to say, App State came away with one of the biggest upset in college football history. The first time a Division 1-AA team beat a Division 1 team in NCAA college football history. App State won 34-32 calling out all critics who were saying prior to the game how Division 1 teams shouldn't be wasting their time with the smaller schools. Well who is the dummy now... to bad for Michigan.

But now on to bigger and better things, the NFL, which kicks off its season on Thursday night when the Colts take on the Saints. This season there are many new faces in new places and a lot of young players who look to have key roles in their teams success. I am going to break down a few parts of the league and give you my predictions for the season.

This past off season the New England Patriots had one of the best of any team. They brought in many role players to improve their already stacked team. Their biggest acquisition was bringing in WR Randy Moss from Oakland. The story now is if Moss can change back to his younger days and be dominant once again. I don't think he will be dominant, but I think he will have a much improved season and lead the Patriots in receiving along side Donte Stallworth and several other talented WRs.

Another team that had a good off season were the up and coming San Francisco 49ers. They brought in several key defensive players that look to have an immediate impact, including first round draft pick, MLB Patrick Willis out of Mississippi. Look for the 49ers to improve off of last seasons improvement as they have one of the easiest rated schedules this season.

So far the story has been the Saints and Patriots to be in the Super Bowl XLII. I'm not going with the Saints, but I will have to go with the Patriots as they had a "down" season last year and still almost made it to the Super Bowl after a tough loss to the Colts in the AFC Championship.

Here are my Divisional Predictions:
AFC East: 1. Patriots 2. Jets 3. Bills 4. Dolphins
North: 1. Ravens 2. Steelers 3. Bengals 4. Browns
South: 1. Colts 2. Titans 3. Jaguars 4. Texans
West: 1. Chargers 2. Broncos 3. Chiefs 4. Raiders

NFC East: 1. Eagles 2. Cowboys 3. Redskins 4. Giants
North: 1. Bears 2. Packers 3. Lions 4. Vikings
South: 1. Saints 2. Panthers 3. Falcons 4. Buccaneers
West: 1. Rams 2. 49ers 3. Seahawks 4. Cardinals

AFC Playoffs: 1. Chargers 2. Patriots 3. Ravens 4. Colts 5. Steelers 6. Broncos
AFC Championship: Patriots over Chargers

NFC Playoffs: 1. Bears 2. Eagles 3. Saints 4. Rams 5. Cowboys 6. 49ers
NFC Championship: Eagles over Bears

I am looking for a rematch of Super Bowl 39 from a few years ago and I am going to say Donovan Mcnabb Brings home his first Super Bowl Title in a very close game.
Super Bowl XLII: Eagles over Patriots

Award Predictions: Look for Chargers and reigning League MVP Ladanian Tomlinsion to have another outstanding season and be in the mix for MVP once again. Look for Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, Donovan Mcnabb and Steven Jackson to be in the mix also.

For Offensive Rookie of the Year I'm going to pick Bears TE Greg Olsen. He had a great preseason and will have impact in the Bears offense. Also look for Lions WR Calvin Johnson and Colts WR Anthony Gonzalez to have an immediate impact as the Colts third WR in a potent Manning offence.

Defensive Player of the year will probably Broncos CB Champ Bailey, he never fails to have a down season and was in the running last season after having ten interceptions. Also in the mix will be Chargers LB Shawne Merriman and Dolphins DE Jason Taylor, last seasons winner.

Don't forget about Studs Reggie Bush, Vince Young and Frank Gore who will have great seasons as well.

There you have it, playoff predictions, Super Bowl winner and stand out players for this season. Tell your friends because you can't go wrong with these picks. Remember you heard it here first, MJ.

Go 49ers! Go Hokies!