Best & Worst Of NFL Week Eight

Week eight has come and gone in the National Football League. It was kind of an indication that things were going to get weird this week when four Jaguars players were involved in a bar fight before their matchup with the Eagles. There were a lot of other things going on this week as well. Bell still a no show with the Steelers. Major changes came for both Tampa Bay and Cleveland. Playoff races are starting to take shape, as are the teams gunning for the first overall pick in next years draft. Patrick Mahomes is staking a claim for MVP while Adrian Peterson still finds a way to defy time. All that and more went down in week eight. With that being said, here's some of the best and worst from the week that was.

Best:
James Conner, Running Back Pittsburgh Steelers
Some felt that not having Le'Von Bell in the Steelers lineup would end up hurting them. It hasn't. As a matter of fact, with the way James Conner has been playing to this point, the Steelers don't miss bell at all it seems. In Pittsburgh's 33-18 win over the Browns, Conner went off again. He finished with 24 carries for 146 yards and two touchdowns. Oh yeah, he also added 66 more yards on five receptions through the receiving game. Its a total of 212 yards of offense from one guy. The numbers through the first eight games are really eye popping. Conner now has 922 yards and nine touchdowns on the season and is on pace to finish with 2,107 yards and 20 touchdowns. To say he's feeling it would be an understatement

Worst:
Ty Montgomery, Running Back Green Bay Packers
This proved to be Ty's last game in a Packers uniform. The Rams pulled out a 29-27 win over the Packers and Green Bay was looking good in this game too. Their defense held this high powered Rams offense to under 30 points and just 5.5 yards per play.  the rams scored t a touchdown to take the lead with just about two minutes left. Los Angeles kicked off to Ty Montgomery who could have let the ball go out the endzone for a touchback. He was even told by the coaches if he caught the ball to take a knee in the endzone and not waste the clock. He didn't listen. Ty caught the ball, ran it out and then fumbled the ball on the return, and the game was over. I know its easier said than done but come on man. Know the situation my boy!

Best:
Josh Rosen, Quarterback Arizona Cardinals
It's a year of firsts for rookie quarterbacks. Josh Rosen just got his first fourth quarter comeback victory. Down by 12 points after Robbie Gould kicked a field goal early in the fourth quarter, Rosen led the Cardinals on two touchdown-scoring drives, including one that put them ahead for good with just 34 seconds left on the clock. The rookie showed guts and heart, and got the Cardinals out of the NFC West basement in the process. It wasn’t always pretty, but it was a huge first step that shows he’s capable of much, much more. Sure it was against another bad team in the 349ers but hey a win is a win, no matter how you get it.

Worst:
Jameis Winston, Quarterback Tampa Bay Buccaneers
I'm sure this isn't the way Winston wanted to end his day on Sunday. The Bucs fell to the Bengals 37-34 and despite the efforts of Winston, almost pulled off the comeback. Winston was horrible, going 18 of 35 for 276 yards, throwing for one touchdown. He was picked off four times and sacked another five times. One of those picks was an embarrassing pick six that looked to hand the Bengals the game. To make matters worse, Winston's future as starter of the team this year just went up in the air. Once Fitzpatrick took over, this Tampa offense showed a lot more life. After the pick-six, Cincinnati was up 34-16. Fitzpatrick tied the game up with three scoring drives in the final 17 minutes of the game before the Bengals won it on a field goal as time expired. How the Bucs can go back to him is a myster, if they want to have any chance at all of salvaging this year.

Best:
Jared Geoff, Quarterback Los Angeles Rams
Hats off to Geoff for hanging in there against Green Bay. We talked about Ty's mishap that cost the Packers the game, but lets not forget about the performance that Geoff put in for this two point Rams win. He finished the day going 19 of 35 for 295 yards and three touchdowns. What really stood out about Geoff in this performance is that he was sacked five times in this game, FIVE TIMES, by that Green Bay defense. He still hung in there, took his lumps, got back up and scored touchdowns. That comeback win kept the Rams undefeated on the season and Geoff had himself a day. Yes Todd Gurley was a factor in this game, but this performance by Geoff really tested his mental and physical toughness and he passed with flying colors.

Worst
Joe Flacco, Quarterback Baltimore Ravens
Baltimore has fallen back to .500 at 4-4 following the tough 36-21 loss to the Panthers on Sunday and Joe Flacco had a bad day. Flacco threw two really bad interceptions, and his lone touchdown went to a running back. He finished the day going just 22 of 39 passes for 192 yards against a defense that allowed an average of 275 passing yards per game before Sunday. Making matters worse, depending on how you look at it, rookie Lamar Jackson looked fantastic after he replaced Flacco. Jackson threw for 46 yards and a touchdown on just five attempts. Not only is Baltimore back to .500 but they are just barley above the Cleveland Browns in the division, which is sad to think about really. Flacco needs to get this thing figured out if they want to stand any chance at all of coming back in this division.

Best:
Saints Revenge
This game, in every sense of the word, was payback for the Minnesota Miracle game. New Orleans pulled out a 30-20 win over Minnesota, in Minnesota no less. Drew Brees has been playing great, but it's so much more then him on a roll right now as to why the Saints can be viewed as one of the top teams in the league at the moment. Alvin Kamara and Mark Ingram are back at providing a one two punch in the backfield, combining for 26 carries, 108 rush yards and a touchdown from Kamara. With those two guys going, once they get their legs under them as a tandam again, makes the Saints even more dangerous. Defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins and defensive end Marcus Davenport each had two sacks, and the secondary is limiting explosive plays. What happens with the Saints and Rams coming up could go a long way in determining home field in the playoffs.

Worst:
49ers Decision Making
It was a battle of the bad between the 49ers and Cards on Sunday, with Arizona walking away with an 18-15 win. San Francisco did whatever it could do to shoot itself in the foot and give this game away. Matt Breida had a bad ankle going into the game and should never have been playing and it showed. He rushed for just 42 yards against the 2nd worst rush defense in the league. The other two backs combined for 46 yards on eight carries, which wasn't a whole lot better. It goes from bad to worse for the 49ers as they got too conservative on both sides of the ball. It allowed the Cardinals to get back into, and ultimately, win the game. Can't take your foot off the gas pedal in this sport.

Best:
Adam Vinatieri, Kicker Indianapolis Colts
It's a lock that Adam Vinatieri is headed for Canton Ohio when he finally decides to call it a career. He's been setting records already this year for the most career field goals made in NFL history. Going into Sunday's game against the Raiders, which the Colts won 42-28, Vinatieri needed just five points to become the league's all time leading scorer. He finished with two field goals and four extra points for a total of ten points. It gave Vinatieri a total of 2,550 points, breaking Morten Andersen's old record of 2,544 points. It adds another milestone to his legendary career which not too many will come close to being able to touch. Congrats Adam!

Worst:
Hue Jackson, Head Coach Cleveland Browns
It's bad enough that the Browns got spanked by the Steelers, we talked about it earlier. It's now made worse when it cost Hue Jackson his job. After starting the year 2-5-1 this season, it put Jackson's coaching record at 336-1 during his time running the Browns, the worst mark by far of any team in the league. I don't know if its his coaching, or the lack of talent he has around him or what it was but the fact that Browns suck as bad as they do. Cleveland needed a fall guy for how bad things have gone with this team and it just happened to fall on the shoulders of the coach. Sorry HUe but you now got to look for work.

Red Sox Rule Baseball

Winning 108 regular season games was just the tip of the iceberg for the 2018 Boston Red Sox. By the time the dust settled, Boston had completed a five game series victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers, giving the Red Sox their 9th World Series title in franchise history. In this five game series, Boston proved why it had been one of baseball's most dominating teams all season long. It took pitching help from the starters having to come out of the pen for Boston, but they got the job done in the series.

When the series kicked off in Boston, Andrew Benintendi and J. D. Martinez drove in the first two runs in the series and they never looked back, coming away with an 8-4 win. They followed it up with a 4-2 in game two. Once the series switched to Los Angeles for game three, it was turned into an instant classic. Los Angeles pulled out their only win in an instant classic. Max Muncy was the hero, hitting a walk off home run in the 18th inning of a 7 hour 20 minute marathon. It was not only a 3-2 win for the Dodgers, but it appeared to give them life in the series. This game made history, as it actually lasted longer than an entire Series. The 1939 World Series between the New York Yankees and Cincinnati Reds took 7 hours and 5 minutes, while game three took 7 hours and 20 minutes.

You'd like to think that this series would go back in the Dodgers favor. Boston shook it off and came away with a 9-6 win in game four. They closed out the series with a dominating 5-1 win in game five to seal the series. Steve Pearce had himself a series, claiming MVP honors hitting .333 in the series with three home runs (including two in game five) and drove in eight runs, with a 1.167 slugging percentage. Pearce joins Mike Lowell, Manny Ramariez and David Ortiz as the only Red Sox players to win Series MVP. Pearce belting those two home runs in game five, putting him in the books with Babe Ruth and Ted Kluszewski as the only players 35 or older to have a multi-homer World Series game.

Another interesting side note is that Chris Sale becomes the 9th pitcher in history to record the first and last out in a World Series. The others are Babe Adams (1909), Ernie Shore (1916), Art Nehf (1922), Waite Hoyt (1928), Lefty Gomez (1937), Paul Derringer (1940), Spud Chandler (1943), and Hal Newhouser (1945).

And look at what the Red Sox had to do to claim this title. They defeated a 100 win team in the Yankees in the ALDS, then beat a 103 win club in the defending world champion Astros in the ALCS. Then to cap it off, they beat the back to back National League champion Dodgers. In the 14 games that Boston played in the playoffs, they lost only three times all playoffs long, which is saying something. After all the totaling was done, Boston finished this season with a 119-57 record.

Now you can't take anything away from what the Dodgers did. They've won the NL West for the 6th year in a row and made the World Series in back to back years. They just ran into a really good team in Boston. They had the pitching going all series long. Price was great all series, posting a 1/98 ERA in three games, while Joe Kelly was perfect in the series. The hitting was just as good for the Red Sox, who came up with big hits when they needed them.

Congratulations to the Red Sox, their ninth title in team history!

2018-19 NBA Season Preview

And here we go. The time has arrived. An 82 game march for 30 teams is set to begin. At the end of the line is holding the Larry O'Brien trophy overhead. The 73rd season for the National Basketball Association. Going into this year, there's some optimism for changes at the top in the league. There will be a new top team in the East. The West has a new King in the mix which will make things a lot tougher in a very tight Western Conference. We will ave games played on an international level. The Washington Wizards would play the New York Knicks at the O2 Arena in London, United Kingdom on January 17th. It was also announced that the Orlando Magic would play two games at Mexico City Arena in Mexico City. They will play the Chicago Bulls on December 13th, and then play the Utah Jazz on December 15th. This year's All Star weekend will take place on February 17th, at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte.

Lots to get to in this breakdown. So lets get right into it with some of the new rule changes. These changes include shortening the game clock from the typical 24 seconds to 14 seconds during offensive rebounds, simplifying the clear path foul rule, and expanding the definition of a "hostile act" to invoke instant replays on certain events more easily. We also have some new sponsorships for both arenas and now jerseys. This will the Golden State Warriors' final season at Oracle Arena in Oakland, before moving to the new Chase Center in San Francisco. The Warriors will play their final regular season game there on April 7, 2019, against the Los Angeles Clippers. The Atlanta Hawks are playing in the newly renamed State Farm Arena. This year, the Milwaukee Bucks are playing first season at the new Fiserv Forum.

We got some new faces in new places around the Association. Starting with the coaches, New York (David Fizdale), Atlanta (Lloyd Pierce), Charlotte (James Borrego), Detroit (Dwane Casey), Milwaukee (Mike Budenholzer), Orlando (Steve Clifford), Phoenix (Igor Kokoškov) and Toronto (Nick Nurse) all have new head coaches. While we have new bench bosses, we also got some familiar faces in new places. Jeremy Lin (traded to HAtlanta), Jahlil Okafor (signed with New Orleans), Vince Carter (Atlanta), Tony Parker (Charlotte), Jabari Parker (Bulls), LeBroin James (Lakers), DeAndre Jordan (Dallas), Isaiah Thomas (Denver), DeMarcus Cousins (Golden State), Carmelo Anthony (Houston), Rajon Rondo (Lakers), Lance Stephenson (Lakers), and Brook Lopez (Milwaukee) all have new homes this season.

So now that you're caught up on some of the offseason happenings, let's get right into it. Here's how the 2018-19 NBA Season goes down!

Western Conference:
Northwest Division:
1. Oklahoma City Thunder (52-30)*
They're coming off a 2nd place finish in the division last year and got bounced by the Jazz in the first round. It's safe to say that there's unfinished business for the Thunder this year. Paul George came back this season, despite the huge rumors he was going to head to the Lakers over the summer. He wants another shot with this Thunder team. They've got a little mroe room to work with on the floor this year. Oklahoma City is going to be a tougher team to play against on defense after jettisoning Carmelo Anthony, bringing back Jerami Grant and adding Nerlens Noel. Paul George will get more help on the offensive side of things when Russell Westbrook comes back from his injury. Also with Melo gone, the Thunder are going to need somebody to step in and fill Melo's role with George and Westbrook. Jerami Grant is a viable option, as is Andre Roberson, who's also going to need to step up and pitch in on the offense for the Thunder. Dennis Schroder can perk up and pick up some of the slack on both ends of the floor. There might not be enough shooting for the Thunder to be a great, elite team, but they can be really good. This team is good enough to win a division title.

2. Utah Jazz (51-31)*
Utah could be one of those teams that could be a slow developing power in the Western Conference. They did finish 3rd in the division a season ago, and the core of the Jazz are still in tact. Rudy Gobert and his health are going to have a big spotlight on them this year. He's coming off a year in which he missed 26 games due to injury, so he's going to have to prove that he can stay healthy and produce. Another guy to keep an eye on in this Jazz lineup is Donovan Mitchell. it took him a little while to get comfortable as the top scorer last year. It's worth noting the record that the Jazz had when he was scoring. Utah went 31-15 when Mitchell dropped 20 or more points, while they went 17-18 when he didn’t. See the trend here. Quin Snyder has high expectations for this team from deep as well, as he's looking for Mitchell to have the year he had from deep last year, plus get guys like Ricky Rubio and Jae Crowder hitting from deep once in a while too. With the system that Snyder has in place and with a fully healthy and reiable Gobert and Mitchell stepping up, Utah could make quite a lot of noise in the West this season.

3. Denver Nuggets (50-32)*
Denver is one of those teams that seems to be poised for a breakout season for a while now but haven't hit that stride just yet. They seem right there and are very, very close. They missed out on the playoffs by a game last year. This could be the year for Denver to get into the playoffs. With Nikola Jokic starting to play up to the level you'd expect of a star and Paul Millsap enjoying a clean bill of health, Denver already has a solid one-two punch right there. They've got a good mix of veteran and young stud players in this lineup, they are on the cusp of being great. Isaiah Thomas still has plenty left to prove that he can be a stud player in this league, and with Will Barton looking to step up and take on a larger role in Denver, the Nuggets have plenty to try and build off of. One thing that Denver is going to have to focus on is its team defense, which was fifth from the bottom in the NBA a season ago. If that can shape up, and with the offensive talent in this lineup, who's to say that 50 wins and a playoff spot aren't out of the question.

4. Minnesota Timberwolves (47-35)
Minnesota snuck in by the skin of their teeth last season. This year, they take a step backwards. They have two young talents that they can really build around in Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins, two guys who have a very bright future ahead of them in this sport. But there's plenty of question marks with the Wolves, Jimmy Butler being one of them. Butler missed 23 games last year dealing with injuries, an issue he still battling. He missed camp and all the Wolves preseason games, so who knows in what kind of shape he's going to be in. Minnesota didn't do much to improve this summer to try and improve their defense (22nd) or their bench (20th). That said, this talented offense will have the benefits of adding young talent like Anthony Tolliver and could get lifts from rookies Josh Okogie and Keita Bates-Diop. It won't be enough though to get them into the playoffs.

5. Portland Trail Blazers (42-40)
This could be a long season for basketball fans in Portland. They had a disappointing year last year and they didn't do much of anything to build on this team over the summer. Sure, they have something to work with in the backcourt in Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum, and they get more three point shooting depth from free agent addition Seth Curry. Only problem with this Portland team is that, while they are a decent team, they didn't really go out and make any splash moves to improve. The rest of the division, and hell the rest of the Western Conference for that matter, has matured and/or gotten better. Portland could be a solid team, but they are going to fall short of the playoffs

Pacific Division:
1. Golden State Warriors (60-22)*
For the 2nd year in a row and 3rd time in four years, the Warriors are champions of the basketball world. As if they weren't a good team as is, they seemed to get better in the offseason. JaVale McGee, Zaza Pachulia and David West are all gone. Kevin Durant came back on a two year deal and Boogie Cousins was brought in via the free agent market. Seems like just another day at the office for the Warriors. Of course, Boggie is out with an injury and is hoping to be back in time for around the holidays, but when he actually returns is anybody's guess. Same thing with dealing with Steph Curry. He missed time int he regular season and playoffs with various injuries last year, so the Champs are going to have to keep an eye on him this year. But on the whole, the core of this team is deep. Once healthy, who knows how much this team can achieve. Nobody has done it since the Kobe and Shaq lead Lakers, but if everything goes according to the master plan of Steve Kerr, the Warriors have a pretty good shot at becoming three peat NBA Champions.

2. Los Angeles Lakers (48-35)*
No surprise that the Lakers were the biggest winners in the offseason, snagging the biggest fish in the pond in LeBron James. And the Lakers didn't stop there. They went out and added Lance Stephenson, Rajon Rondo and JaVale McGee. It might be more of a feeling out process then anything with the Lakers this year. LeBron is here for four years. This team doesn't really have the strongest shooters in the game, which is going to make it tough on the King to really work with. This season should be a feeling-out process for James and another chance for the Lakers' youth to mature, and the growing pains from both will keep the wins column from climbing too high. Having LeBRon in the lineup will advance those win totals, he isn't the best player in the game for nothing. It will be advantages for the Lakers and might just be good enough to get them into a low flying playoff spot.

3. Los Angeles Clippers (36-46)
The other team that plays in Los Angeles are going to have a lot tougher time of it this year. Doc Rivers got a new toy to play with when the Clippers got Miles Bridges at the draft. Los Angeles did make moves this offseason, making significant commitments to Danilo Gallinari, Lou Williams and Avery Bradley, plus traded for Tobias Harris and Marcin Gortat. Still there isn't much of a ceiling for the Clippers, who are in the process of trying to become a reloading basketball team. They get a bit of a break in that they get to fly under the radar because of the spotlight that the Lakers are going to take. If the  Clippers can recapture form from a few years ago and bust the records goals, then Doc Rivers will get his praise that he deserves. But that might not happen this year, not with what little talent Rivers has to work with.

4. Sacramento Kings (30-52)
Giving the Kings 30 wins this season maybe a kind move. This Kings team is still in a rebuild mode, but the missing piece here is that they don't really have to build around. Some are speculating that it might be the guy they snagged with the 2nd overall pick in Marvin Bagley III. Bogdan Bogdanović has the possibility of providing some help and support for the young kid, but he's really the only decent star in this Kings lineup. Buddy Heild can be something too if given a bigger role with this Kings club. Sacramento needs some kind of star. And a No. 1 scorer. And better defenders. They might be one of the few teams in the Western Conference without much of a chance at punching a playoff ticket.

5. Phoenix Suns (27-55)
Deandre Ayton and Mikal Bridges were both taken in the top ten by the Suns this year in the draft, two guys that they're hoping to really build their basketball team around. Trevor Ariza was brought in during the offseason to help bring those guys up to speed on how to play at this level. New coach Igor Kokoskov's high marks in creativity and player development make him strong fits with this roster. Look the Suns won just 21 games last season, by far the worst record in all of the league. They aren't going to hit that level of a low this year, and they are going to be a slightly improved team. Still its going to be a tough season in the desert.

Southwest Division:
1. Houston Rockets (55-27)*
Houston is once again expected to be near the top of the Western Conferece this season. This is a club that's known for being a high scoring team, but they got better on the defensive side of the rock last year. It's going to take a slight step backward this year with the departure of both Trevor Ariza and Luc Mbah a Moute. Still, this Rockets team is a very loaded basketball team. Chris Paul and James Harden are still leading the charge, with nice support from guys like Nene, Clint Capela and newest member of the Rockets Carmelo Anthony. Houston may not have the exactness of depth that they had a season ago, but they are still a good basketball team, one that is capable of being in the NBA Finals. Paul is going to have to step up the Harden's level and beyond if the Rockets really want to get over the hump. They're good enough to win this division without much challenge this year.

2. New Orleans Pelicans (48-34)*
Looks like the Pelicans are going to stay in the exact same spot they did a season ago. Rajon Rondo and Boogie Cousins both moved on to other teams in the conference. So New Orleans is going to have to try and find guys to replace them in the lineup. Anthony Davis is going to have to get used to a new supporting cast around him in the form of Julius Randle and Elfrid Payton to replace the two guys they lost. Jrue Holiday is also going to be another guy that's expected to step up and take a big role on this basketball club. What has to leave one wondering is who is going to be the guy to step up and play the Robin to Davis's Batman? if they can find somebody to really play a solid running buddy with Davis, then the sky could be the limit for New Orleans this season. Won't be a deep run with how loaded the rest of the conference is but hey you never know.

3. San Antonio Spurs (47-35)*
This is a Spurs team that managed to win 47 games a year ago, a performance good enough for 7th place in the West. Oh and they did it without the services of Kawhi Leonard, who's now in Toronto. He's not the only one in this lineup who's departed. Tony Parker's now with the Hornets and Manu Ginóbili has retired. So now the question lies, who's going to take over and lead this team to a promise land come spring time? DeMar DeRozan was brought in from Toronto in the Leonard deal. There is an off chance that the Spurs could fall out of the top five defensively in the league, but knowing Gregg Popovich, he will find a way to make this team competitive on that end of the floor. At the other end, its going to be interesting to see the dynamic between DeRozan and LaMarcus Aldridge and how well those two guys are going to play together. This team is getting older and might not be as good, but they will be good enough to keep their playoff streak alive and reach the postseason by the skin of their teeth in this tough conference.

4. Dallas Mavericks (36-46)
Dallas made a jump from last season and in a big way this summer. Drafting Luka Doncic was a nice move on draft day. Then they brought back DeAndre Jordan in a nice reunion move. Here's the thing with Doncic, he's got the potential to be a big star in the making. They need somebody to eventually replace Dirk down the line and this kid looks like he could be the guy to eventually do it in Dallas. They also have high expectations for Dennis Smith Jr, who they took 9th overall last year. If he can come along at the pace that's expected of hum,. then Dallas can possibly turn a few more heads. They can get a nice mix of offense from Jordan Dirk and Doncic. Again playing in a tough and loaded Western Conference makes it tough to really compete. Dallas is in the right place though and can only really go up from here.

5. Memphis Grizzlies (32-50)
J. B. Bickerstaff had the interim title removed over the summer, giving him full command of this club this year. He will hopefully have a fully healthy Mike Conley, which is something that this club has been lacking for a while now. He should get some help in the form of Dillion Brooks, a guy who fell to them in the second round and is somebody that's been projected to be really good this year. Then there's still a question mark with Marc Gasol as to how consistent they can get from play from him this year. It going to be a long season in Memphis, they don't have a lot of expectations to build around.

Eastern Conference
Atlantic Division:
1. Boston Celtics (61-21)*
Biggest difference between last year's Celtics team and this one is the health of Gordon Heyward. He missed all but a few minutes of last season, getting injured early in the first Celtics game. Now he's back and healthy. This is a team that has a chance, with guys like Heyward, Kyrie Irving, Al Horford, Marcus Smart and Terry Rozier just to name a few, to dominate the East. So much so that they could be to the East what the Warriors and Rockets are out West. One of the things that was highlighted in Boston was how much better defensively this team got, something which will again be a strength this year. Brad Stevens has had a good finger on the pulse of this team, leading it to an increase in wins each year he's been head coach. Boston is a very deep and very talented team, one which is most likely to come out of the East and challenge the Warriors for the NBA crown this year.

2. Toronto Raptors (58-24)*
A year ago, the Raptors set a franchise record with 59 wins, which was the most in the Eastern Conference. This year, they may have taken another step in the right direction. It started early with trading away DeMar DeRozan to the Spurs in a package deal to get some guy named Kawhi Leonard, who's kinda good. The biggest question mark with Leonard is his health, having missed a ton of time last year with an injured leg. If he can stay healthy, and return to his form from a couple of years ago, the sky is the limit for him and the Raptors. Throw him into a lineup that already has talent like Jonas Valančiūnas, Kyle Lowry, Serge Ibaka, and Danny Green, it's going to be a very tough draw getting the Raptors every single night. Oh and let's not forget about the bench the Raptors have, which was the best in the regular season a year ago. It's a five-man unit that outscored its opponents by 17 points per 100 possessions. It's going to be a tough battle all season long between them and Boston for the Atlantic Division title.

3. Philadelphia 76ers (56-26)*
Sky is the limit for this Sixers team, who finished 3rd in the East last year with 52 wins and is only going to get better. And why not, when you've got two young superstars in the form of Joel Embiid and Ben Simmonds. They added more talent around them getting a good three point shooter in JJ Reddick and a guy the skills of Markelle Fultz coming off the bench, there's a lot to get excited about in the City of Brotherly Love. Sure, they missed out on trying to grab a big free agent over the summer and take that leap to the elite level in this league. Still this team has enough talent ot hang around with some of the heavy hitters in the East. Philadelphia has a good team and can keep it going in the right direction.

4. Brooklyn Nets (29-53)
It's getting close for the Nets, just one more season before Brooklyn can have both cap space and their own first round picks. Gotta give credit where it's due to General Manager Sean Marks, for he has done an impressive job of improving his club with what they've had to work with. This summer, Ed Davis, Treveon Graham and Shabazz Napier all came on board to Brooklyn on moderately priced deals. Kenneth Faried came in a salary dump. European scorers Dzanan Musa and Rodions Kurucs both landed on draft night. Oh and they still have Joe Harris, DeMarre Carroll, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and D'Angelo Russell. So there is something to leave a little bit of hope with in the city of Brooklyn. Still could be a long season, but the Nets could be starting to move in the right direction.

5. New York Knicks (28-54)
There's a lot of pressure on the shoulders of head coach David Fizdale and General manager Scott Perry. There's a lot of pressure to try and win in New York, which should come as no surprise to anybody who follows basketball, or sports for that matter. Kevin Knox was drafted in the first round by New York and they're hoping that he and Frank Ntilikina can hold it down at the top of this lineup until franchise player Kristaps Porzingis can come back from his ACL injury. Bottom line is, there isn;t enough real depth on this team. Sure they got some good players with Enes Kanter, Tim Hardaway Jr and Emmanuel Mudiay, but that's really about it for the Blue and Orange. It's going to be a rough year at MSG and depending on what happens with Porzingis will tell how far this team can truly go.

Central Division:
1. Indiana Pacers (50-32)*
This could be a very good year for the Pacers. Sure, its stings a little losing Lance Stevenson. They want to try and go out this year and prove to the rest of the basketball world that last year's playoff run was no fluke. They get that chance now. Victor Oladipo is coming off a year in which he took his game to another level. Same thing with Domantas Sabonis, who's another guy in this lineup that's got big expectations in the development of his game. With those two guys leading the charge and new additions such as Doug McDermott and Tyreke Evans, this team will be even deeper than some expect. On paper, with the talent that's in Indiana, they have a dangerous bench unit with McDermott and Evans and still remain as an underrated team. They may not have the look and overall talent of the top teams in the Atlantic, but they are still a good enough basketball team to win a lot of games and make a lot of noise in the playoffs.

2. Milwaukee Bucks (49-33)*
Last year was a bit of an interesting year for the Bucks. Considering the fact that Milwaukee was one of the favorites, they underachieved and snuck in as a seven seed with 44 wins last year, it was a bit of a disappointment. This year, there was a little bit of a change to the lineup. Jabari Parker, who had been one of the faces of this team was free to leave, and that's what he did, heading for Chicago. Mike Budenholzer now takes over as head coach and has to work to build his team around his best player Giannis Antetokounmpo. Brook Lopez was signed in the offseason to help take a little pressure off Giannis and give him a running buddy to work with. They also have a supporting staff with Khris Middleton and Eric Bledsoe. It's something to build off of with Antetokoummpo, who is an MVP type player. With the talent that the Bucks have, they can be a middle of the pack in the conference team that is on the verge of great things. Its a starting point and they are going to be a tough team to play against. Not quite an elite level club just yet, but they are good.

3. Detroit Pistons (41-41)*
Dwayne Casey, a former coach of the year in this league, comes into a situation in Detroit where he has to try and get a team back on track and into playoff contention. He's got some good talent to work with in the Motor City. Blake Griffin was brought in last year at the trade deadline, and he's teaming up for a full year with Andre Drummond. The two of them are going to make an impressive one two punch, while guys like Zaza Pachulia and Jose Calderon will do a decent job coming off the bench. They most likely won’t be a contender in the Eastern Conference, but they can definitely give some trouble to the top teams in East due to their amount of size and physicality in the paint. Clarly they won't be contending with the big clubs in the conference, but with the fact that the best player in the game has gone off to the other conference, it allows for some new blood to come and rise up in the East and Detroit might be that very team to do it.

4. Cleveland Cavaliers (30-52)
It's going to be a tough adjusting period for the City of Cleveland. They've made it to four straight NBA finals and now are going to be taking a step backwards to where they were before the King came home. LeBron is no longer here, leaving for the bright lights of Los Angeles. Kyrie Irving isn't here either, he's now in Boston. So Tyronn Lue is going to have to try and get the most out of what he's got. Cleveland wants to remain competitive, but its roster may demand something different. Kevin Love, Rodney Hood and Channing Frye are going to be counted on to try and lead this basketball team, with support from guys like JR Smith and Tristian Thompson. Most of this Cavs roster was mainly support pieces for LeBron whule he was here. Now, they have to try and figure it out and win on their own. If they start to struggle badly enough, don't be surprised if there's an influx of a lot of young talent that will be coming into this team.

5. Chicago Bulls (28-54)
Chicago took a pretty big risk this summer, signing Zach LeVine to a huge contract extension. The only problem is, he's had injury problems in the past and some question signing him long term, which could cost them in the long run if he can't play up to the new deal. Chicago did manage to get some young talent to play around him, in the form of guys like Kris Dunn, Wendell Carter Jr., and Jabari Parker. It's a nice mix and it's something to build off of in Chicago. There's no way possible that they're going to be a contending team this year, but this is a starting point. It's about getting the right pieces in here to help build around the club that's now in place. Chicago could be a team to watch in a few years, but you just have to deal with the growing pains with this team.

Southeast Division:
1. Washington Wizards (46-36)*
Washington was a team that was expected to go deep into the playoffs, but underachieved, winning 44 games. A lot of that had to do with the fact that star John Wall missed a good chunk of playing time was indeed a factor. Bradley Beal did all that he could and now he's got a healthy Wall back to play along side of him. What has some scratching their heads was the decision by Washington management to go out and get Dwight Howard, there’s a lot of speculation whether or not that will be a good move for the team. If Howard can remain healthy and not become a locker-room issue, it’s possible that the Wizards can be a big time noise maker. Oh yeah, and they also got in depth players with the likes of Austin Rivers and Jeff Green. This Eastern Conference is top heavy like the West, but the Wizards can make a lot of noise as a contending team if all the chips fall into place.

2. Miami Heat (45-37)*
A lot of work had to be done in house this summer to keep the team in tact. Dwyane Wade came back for his final season in the NBA, so he's looking to try and go out on a high note. To help out Wade in his final season, Miami did bring back Wayne Ellington, who proved to be a key piece in last year’s run to the playoffs. Miami is really going to have to have other guys like Udonis Haslem, Hassan Whiteside, and Goran Dragic. It should also get a healthy Dion Waiters back, plus benefit from having Bam Adebayo and Kelly Olynyk get more acclimated in head coach Erik Spoelstra's system. The fact that this team has stayed almost entirely in tact from last season is a huge benefit for the Heat. It means that they won't have to get new players caught up to speed with this system. The players all know each other and they know there game and its going to be of great help to the Panthers team.

3. Charlotte Hornets (32-50)
Kemba Walker is going to be a free agent at the end of the season and it seems like the Hornets may waste him and possibly be even worse when/if he leaves via free agency at the end of the year. Should he decide to leave at the end of the year, the Hornets are going to be in a worst situation then they are now. It didn't help the situation in trading Dwight Howard, who put up 16.6 points and 12.5 rebounds per game. He could’ve been a locker-room issue once again but it doesn’t change the fact that he had his best season since his Orlando days. Tony Parker was brought on board to try and balance things out with this team. They also have Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Nicolas Batum to try and help out with Walker on this club. Biggest problem that is noted with this team is depth, or lack their of. That's what's going to hurt the Hornets chances and they won't go very far this season. Don't be surprised if things go south, the start trying to shop Walker and see if they can get something for him before he leaves.

4. Orlando Magic (29-53)
New coach Steve Clifford has been handed the task of trying to change the losing culture in Orlando the last few years. it's been a very rough going with all the losing in Florida. He's going to have to rely on three of his young guns, new addition Aaron Gordon, Jonathan Isaac and recently drafted Mohamed Bamba are going to be counted on a lot in Orlando to try and help pull the team back to promise. Gordon got a big contract extension, so now there's more pressure on him to produce. There's a new system with Clifford now coming in and its going to take a little time for the front office to figure out what players are going to try and fit this system. Its going to take time in Orlando for the pieces to fall into plays but they could be headed in the right direction. Going to be a long season in Orlando/

5. Atlanta Hawks (21-61)
If you're looking for the team that's going to be the bottom of the barrel this year in the NBA, its going to be Atlanta. New head coach Lloyd Pierce is coming into a situation with young pieces and try and take those pieces and turn them into wins. The Hawks drafted a wild-card player in Trae Young, who has the potential to be a superstar or a bust. Along with Young is Kevin Huerter and Omari Spellman, who were also first rounders this year The Hawks are playing the long and rebuilding game which means that they won’t have too many wins. They’ll most likely be playing for the future as they can stack up on multiple first-round picks.

NBA Finals: Golden State Warriors vs Boston Celtics!

Best & Worst Of NFL Week Seven

Week seven in the NFL was an interesting one to say the least. Lots of bad football around the league this week. Denver responded this week, by blowing out Arizona, as was the blowout between Kansas City and Cincinnati. The Giants still suck, floundering on Monday Night against Atlanta. Jacksonville is underachieving, as are the defending champion Eagles. Yes there, were rough games to watch, but there were also some pretty good performances this week as well. With that being said, here's some of the best and worst performances from week seven.

Best:
Aaron Darnold, Defensive Lineman Los Angeles Rams
When you hear the name Aaron Daronld, you expect to see impressive defensive stats next to his name. That should be a given with the paycheck he signed over the offseason. But his numbers were a little low going into the Rams 39-10 win over the 49ers. Darnold did a lot to change that perception and then some in Sunday's win. Donald racked up eight solo tackles, six tackles for a loss and four sacks, along with a forced fumble and recovery. In one good day, Darnold doubled up his season totals. When Darnold is on his game, he can be a real terror for opposing players. Just like what we saw with him a year ago, it really feels like he’s only going to get better the more he plays. He seems like he's starting to hit his stride and become the dominating player that the Rams expected when they gave him the big contract.

Worst:
San Francisco 49ers Turnovers
Going into this week's game against the Rams, San Francisco already lead the NFL in turnover differential at a -11. By the time the day was done, we talked about it above what the Rams did in the win, but it also falls on the poor offensive play of the 49ers. San Fran had four more turnovers, while not taking the ball away from Los Angeles. San Francisco now sits at -15 in the turnover department. C.J. Beathard, while a very tough guy, is also human and has become prone to turning the football over. He threw two interceptions and coughed up two fumbles, one of which was recovered by the Rams. Lets not forget that the Rams took advantage of those mistakes, scoring a total of 24 points off those four turnovers

Best:
Kerryon Johnson, Running Back Detroit Lions
Detroit tried to get back to a .500 record against Miami on Sunday. They got it in a big way, beating the Dolphins 32-21. Matthew Stafford miss only four throws the entire game and, just as important, was hit only twice. That's not the whole story. Kerryon Johnson was a huge reason for the win as well. He had the best day of any running back in the NFL this week, racking up 179 total yards on 21 touches. Of that insane total, 158 yards came on the ground. Yes he never managed to cross the goal line, but he still had a huge impact on the game, allowing Stafford and the receiving crew to open up the pass game as well as they did. And yes, lots of credit goes to the much-improved offensive line there's no doubt there. A big reason that Detroit’s offense is clicking now is that it finally have a bigtime running back in Johnson, who figures to be leaned on heavily from here on out.

Worst:
Justin Tucker, Kicker Baltimore Ravens
It a general thought around the NFL that Justin Tucker is the best kicker in the game today. Going into Sunday's game against the Saints, Tucker had converted on 222 extra points in his career. So it was a pretty safe bet that, after Baltimore had scored at the end of the game, they were an extra point away from overtime. It was a lock with how good a kicker Tucker is on extra points. Until Sunday. He missed his first career extra point, helping the Saints walk away with a 24-23 win over the Ravens. This loss has to sting worse then the others have this season. Mr Automatic shows he is human afterall. Kind of tough to take for a guy this good.

Best:
New York Giants Wide Receivers
Look I know it hasn't been good for the Giants the last few weeks and it didn't get any better Monday night. It was a 23-20 loss to the Falcons that dropped the Giants to 1-6 on this miserable season. There was one good thing to kind of take away from this performance on Monday, and that was the play of the wide receiving core of Odell Beckham Jr and Sterling Sheppard. Both of whom had over 100 receiving yards. Sterling Sheppard had 5 catches for 167 yards, while Odell had 8 catches for 143 yards and a touchdown. This is why I feel bad for them. Atlanta had the 32nd ranked defense in the entire league and the Giants still couldn't get the victory. And when you have two guys in Sheppard and Beckham that put up offensive performances like that it makes one wonder.

Worst:
Cleveland Browns Defense
At the beginning of the year, Cleveland had a defense that looked like it might be able to hang around a while and keep the Browns in a lot of games. Last two weeks however, haven't been that good. In the Bucs 26-23 overtime win over the Browns, Cleveland couldn't stop a beach ball. Tampa Bay gained 456 yards, converted half of their third- and fourth-down attempts and racked up 34 total first downs in the game. If there was any good for the Browns defense, they did force Jameis Winston into three turnovers, and four total in this game. Because Cleveland’s defense couldn’t stop this attack, the Bucs ended up running 26 more offensive plays than the Browns, that defense ended up wasting a pretty good game from rookie Baker Mayfield. But the fact that Cleveland got roasted for 456 total yards and allowed Tampa to run that many plays has got to drive Cleveland fans, and the Browns offense for that matter, crazy.

Best:
Adam Thielen, Wide Receiver Minnesota Vikings
Sunday was a big day for both the Vikings and Adam Thielen. Not only did the Vikings blow out the Jets in a 37-17 win, Thielen also set himself into the history books. He had nine catches for 110 yards and a touchdown. Those 110 yards pushed him to seven straight games with 100 or more receiving yards to start the season. That performance tied former Houston Oilers receiver Charlie Hennigan for the record. Through the first seven games, Thielen already has 67 catches for 822 yards and five touchdowns, which are eye popping numbers. Those receiving yards are tops in the league by ten over Julio Jones of Atlanta. Thielen can break the record next weekend against the Saints.

Worst:
Sam Darnold, Quarterback New York Jets
We talked above what the Minnesota offense can do, which is why they are considered a Super Bowl Favorite coming out of the NFC. Lets not take anything away from their defense, who now seemed to have hit their stride after getting off to a slow start. They put pressure on rookie Sam Darnold, who really looked off in this game. The Jets rushing game was non existent, which caused Darnold to have to throw more then he wanted to on this day. He had pressure in his face all day long and his numbers reflected that. He finished with 206 yards passing, going 17 of 42 passing. Darnold finished with one touchdown and three interceptions. It was a rough game, but it’s one he’ll learn from. Now he's got to go back to the video room, learn from his mistakes and get ready to face the Bears defense on Sunday.

Best:
Kareem Hunt, Running Back Kansas City Chiefs
Sunday night was supposed to be a showcase game for two good teams, the Bengals and Chiefs. Cincinnati didn't show up, Kansas City did, walking away with a 45-10 win. Kareem Hunt had himself a night, showing everybody, on a prime time stage now less, why he's one of the best backs in the game today. Hunt had a stretch in the opening quarter where it looked like he was a man possessed. His first big run saw Hunt gain 21 yards after breaking multiple tackles and hurdling over a defender. One play later, he scored the game’s first touchdown. By the time the night was over, Hunt had three total touchdowns and finished with 145 total yards on 20 touches. Patrick Mahomes has been playing great this year, he threw for another four TD's in this game. If it wasn't for the play of Patrick Mahomes this season, it would be a safe bet that Kareem Hunt would be the MVP in the NFL this year, he's been that good and then some.

Worst:
Buffalo Bills Defense
There weren't high expectations for the Bills going into Sunday's game against the Colts. It was a blowout win for Indy, who walked away with a 37-5 win. Yes the Bills managed to score only 5 points in this football game. LeSean McCoy was hurt after just two carries, and Derek Anderson wasn't very good in replacing Josh Allen under center. It wasn't all on that pathetic excuse of an offense, because the Buffalo defense was worse. Buffalo's D had kept them in games most of the time this year, but it no showed against the Colts, allowing the Indy run game burst to life with a 220-yard, one touchdown performance. In turn, it allowed Andrew Luck to throw for 156 yards and four tocuhdowns

2018 World Series Preview

The time has finally arrived. We started this journey back in April, with 30 teams starting the chase. Now, here we sit with seven more games in the Major League Baseball season. Whoever is left standing by the end of this series will be able to carry the Comissioners Trophy high over their heads as the best team in the game of baseball this season. It is the 114th World Series to be played, with the leagues trading off championships each of the last five seasons. It's a battle of two storied franchises in the game who haven't faced off for a title since 1916.  Let's get into it right now and break this series down as best we can.

This year's fall classic pits the American League Champion Boston Red Sox going against the National League Champion Los Angeles Dodgers. Boston won 108 regular season games, winning the AL East. Once the playoffs started, Boston got here by beating the Yankees in four games in the divisional round and then followed that up by beating the Astros in five games in the league championship series. Boston now has a 91-83 lifetime record in the playoffs. This is the fourth World Series appearance by the Red Sox in 14 years and their 13th appearance all-time.

As for the Los Angeles Dodgers, they won 92 regular season games, getting them a National League West title for the sixth straight year. During the playoffs, the Dodgers knocked off the Braves in four in the divisional round, and followed that up by beating the Brewers in seven tough games. Los Angeles is 72-89 lifetime in the playoffs. This is the Dodgers' second appearance in 30 years, and the fifth overall occasion where the Dodgers appeared in back-to-back World Series. Two came in Brooklyn in 1952–1953 and 1955–1956, while the other two came in Los Angeles in 1965–1966 and 1977–1978. Overall, this is the Dodgers' 20th World Series appearance.

Here are the dates and times for every game in this series:
Game 1 (Tuesday, Oct. 23 at 8:09 p.m. ET): Dodgers at Red Sox
Game 2 (Wednesday, Oct. 24 at 8:09 p.m. ET): Dodgers at Red Sox
Game 3 (Friday, Oct. 26 at 8:09 p.m. ET): Red Sox at Dodgers
Game 4 (Saturday, Oct. 27 at 8:09 p.m. ET): Red Sox at Dodgers
Game 5* (Sunday, Oct. 28 at 8:15 p.m. ET): Red Sox at Dodgers
Game 6* (Tuesday, Oct. 30 at 8:09 p.m. ET): Dodgers at Red Sox
Game 7* (Wednesday, Oct. 31 at 8:09 p.m. ET): Dodgers at Red Sox

It sounds weird to say this but, even though the Red Sox won 108 games during the regular season, they had question marks going into the playoffs. The biggest one had been the relief pitching. It started to show during the ALDS that both Ryan Brasier and Matt Barnes came up huge in that series. It showed that the playoffs are a different animal and that guys step up bigger during the fall. Both Braiser and Barnes did that. They helped the starting pitching that had Chris Sale playing great and he's showing that he's healthy for the first time in quite some time. A healthy Chris Sale is going to be causing a lot of problems for the Dodgers bats, just look at what he's done so far in this year's playoffs, its pretty impressive. Giving up just 4 runs in 10.1 innings in this year's playoffs shows that he's back on his game. Rick Porcello and David Price have both been decent, but could be better. What helps the Red Sox staff out is their offense.

Just in this year's playoffs, Boston has scored 56 runs, which is 14 more then they've given up. Jackie Bradley Jr and JD Martinez have both been huge for Boston, driving in nine runs each during the course of the playoffs to this point, which is hitting at a higher level. They aren't the only one who's produced. Rafael Devers, Brock Holt and Xander Bogaerts are also producing. That's a statement to what Alex Cora has been able to do with his baseball team. He knew how to push the right buttons at the right time to get his players going. Boston has been able to score in bunches in this years playoffs, which has taken pressure off their pitching staff. Because both the pitching and hitting are reaching their strides at the right time, Boston is favored going into this series.

Lets not count out the Dodgers here. Los Angeles has had a lower producing offense here in the post season. Their OPS is down 100 points from what they managed to do during the regular season. One plus for the Dodgers is that they only have one left handed reliever to go against in the Boston bullpen, so if they can get to the starters early, then Los Angeles can have a feast. Manny Machado has been quite the hitter in the playoffs for the Dodgers, driving in nine runs this post season. David Freese has driven in five, but what has to be a little concerning is that there's only two LA hitters, Freese and Cory Taylor, who are hitting .300 or better in October.

Pitching has done what its needed to do for the Dodgers this fall, with Clayton Kershaw living up to his talent level in the playoffs. Two wins and an ERA under three have to be plenty pleasing to Dodgers fans. It's not all a one man show. Rich Hill, Walker Buehler, and Hyun-Jin Ryun are all going to be counted on to try and deliver for Dave Roberts. LA's bullpen has been solid all playoffs long, giving up a grand total of six runs. To put it like this, Boston had better get a jump on the starters, because if the Dodgers get to the bullpen with a lead, it could be lights out for Red Sox hitting.

This will be a very evenly played series, which will go the distance. What I have more faith with in this final showdown is hitting, and right now Boston's hitting appears to be coming in with hotter bats then that of Los Angeles. Plus the Red Sox have had a few more days rest then the Dodgers have, which could give them a slight edge. All in all, this will be a fun series to watch. At the end of the day the Dodgers will once again become bridesmaid.

Prediction: Red Sox in 7!

Thanks For Everything Charles

There's few people in the New York sports landscape who had as much of an impact as Charles Wang did with the New York Islanders. He took a team that was down on its luck and turn them back in the right direction, making them relevant again. It was announced on Sunday afternoon that Charles Wang, at 74 years old, passed away from apparent lung cancer. When Wang bought the Islanders, they were a down on their luck organization, but now they are a different team, and Charles had a say in that.

When Wang came in as owner prior to the 2000-01 season, the Islanders were a bad team. His first year as owner, the Islanders won just 21 games. The next year, they turned the corner, collecting 97 points to make the playoffs for the first time since 1994. They made the playoffs the next two years after that, but never really went very far. After the lockout the Isles have made four playoff appearances. What this does and shows is, that in the first few years of the franchise under Wang's leadership, they took a huge leap in the right direction to becoming a destination for a hockey player to come play. He made the improvements needed to get this team going in the right direction, which they went.

Sure, since then there have been some moves and decisions that left fans frustrated. Of course the biggest one was the move to Barclays Center after a remodel deal on the Nassau Coliseum fell through. That was one of the big things that helped Wang become successful in business, he had an eye for the future. He had been successful in the business world for almost forty years, which is what lead to him becoming owner of the Isles. What he did to get the Isles back to the level they achieved early in his tenure as owner speaks volumes for the franchise.

Because of his business ventures, some felt he would be a success running a professional hockey team. Wang took the money he had and used it to reinvest in the team, showing the team and fan base that he cared very deeply about the team. He made upgrades to the locker room and practice facility. Made upgrades to the players, or at least gave his GM the freedom to do so. When things started to change, he made the changes needed to get the team back on track. Wasn't always pretty but it got the job done. The biggest thing that Wang tried to do was redo Nassau Coliseum and the surrounding area. He was snubbed by Nassau County and I really wish they wouldn't have been so stubborn and just listened to his ideas. It could have been a great thing for the county, but now the Coliseum just looks nice at best. Let's not get into that argument now.

Charles Wang really did a lot for the Islanders franchise and many Islanders fans thank him for everything he helped do to get this team back into relevance. Thanks for everything that you did for the Islanders, and for the media world, Charles. You will be deeply missed.

Best & Worst Of NFL Week Six

We're six weeks into the NFL Season and a lot has changed around the league this week. Kansas City got a taste of its first defeat on the year, while Jacksonville's defense, and offense for that matter, looked like they forgot there was a game this week. Miami got a big win over Chicago, while Oswiler was the guy under center doing it. Some teams broke out of big slumps this week, while others continued a downward spiral they didn't want. Here's some of the best and worst from week six in the National Football League.

Best:
Brock Osweiler, Quarterback Miami Dolphins
Miami pulled off a huge win on Sunday, beating a tough Bears team 31-28. Oswiler had himself a good day, going 28 of 44 for 380 yards, three touchdowns and two picks. Those are pretty impressive numbers going up against a defense that would scare the hell out of most starters. It got so bad that Ryan Tannehill didn't play. Oswiler did have a few hiccups with those two picks early on. He still managed to throw those three touchdowns and for 380 yards. It was a pretty good day for a guy who's labeled the backup in Miami. He helped get the Dolphins a win against a very tough defense. Good on you Brock!

Worst:
Eli Manning, Quarterback New York Giants
Anybody who watched Thursday Night's 34-13 win by the Eagles over the Giants can tell you that it was a tough thing to watch. Eli Manning had another rough go of it against the defending champs. He was standing flat footed against the Eagles rush, because the line gave him no protection. it was so bad that Eli got sacked four times and hit a grand total of 13 times. Eli also finished the day going  24 of 43 in this contest, for a total of 281 yards, which is just putrid. Think about this, when you take Saquon Barkley out of the equation it gets even worse. Eli went 15 of 31 for a total of 182 yards. He also threw a pick and wasn't able to throw a single touchdown pass. Eli looked horrible, and to make matters worse, the Giants are now 1-5 with little to non hope in sight.

Best:
Todd Gurley Running Back Los Angeles Rams
This just seemed like another day at the office for the best running back in the game. He was there when Jared Goff wasn't at his best in the Rams 23-20 win over Denver. Just to refresh everybody's memory, the Broncos were supposed to be a solid run defense. Gurley picked Denver’s defense apart on Sunday, rushing for 208 yards and two touchdowns. Oh and to add to that, he also had two receptions for 17 yards. Whenever the Rams needed to move the ball, Gurley came through. Through six games, the regining offensive player of the year has 870 yards and 11 touchdowns from scrimmage. He's playing at a level some people can only really dream of.

Worst:
Nathan Peterman, Quarterback Buffalo Bills
A small part of me does have to feel for the Bills. Nathan Peterman was the starter at the beginning of the year, but he quickly reminded everybody why he shouldn't be starting. Then on Sunday, not only did Houston beat the Bills 20-13, they lost Josh Allen to an elbow injury and had to go back to Peterman. He then proceeded to remind us all why he was on the bench. Sure, he gave Buffalo a little hope by throwing a touchdown in the fourth that, at the time, gave Buffalo a lead. A few drives later, after Houston tied things up with a field goal, Peterman went full Peterman on us and threw a ghastly pick-six. On the next drive, still with a chance to tie or win the game late, he threw another one, which was equally as horrible. Buffalo now doesn't have a choice to start this guy, as Allen is now out with an injury for the next two to three weeks. Its going to be rough for Buffalo over the next couple of weeks.

Best:
Adam Thielen, Wide Receiver Minnesota Vikings
In a pass happy league, numbers are growing for receivers more and more by the week. Adam Thielen of the Vikings is a perfect example of this. Sunday, the Vikings beat up on the Cardinals 27-17 and Thielen was a huge part of that. He caught 11 passes for 123 yards and a touchdown, which is a solid day all by itself. To make this even more impressive, it now marks the sixth straight game in which Thielen has gained at least 100 yards receiving, which just so happens to be a Super Bowl-era record to start a season. At the rate he's going right now, Theilen's on pace to catch 154 passes for 1,898 yards and 10 touchdowns. He's been feeling it this year, yikes!

Worst:
D.J Moore, Wide Receiver Carolina Panthers
With the way things ended for the Panthers on Sunday, they were left with a bit of a bad taste in their mouths. Washington beat the Panthers 23-17 and it could have gone Carolina's way, but two huge mistakes were made that cost the Panthers the game. Both of them came from promising rookie D.J. Moore. First, Moore went back to receive a punt, fumbled it, setting up an Alex Smith touchdown pass the very next play. Then, Moore caught a pass from Cam Newton and managed to gain 17 yards before fumbling it again. That turnover led to three points as the Washington Redskins finished off a 10-play drive with a field goal. Both of those mistakes lead to the Redskins jumping out to a 17-0 lead, a deficit that the Panthers weren't able to overcome. Two glaring mistakes from the rookie really hurt the Panthers. Moore will try and bounce back next week.

Best:
Pittsburgh Steelers
When you need a big win in this league, you need the big players to make the big plays. That's what the Steelers got in their 28-21 win over the Bengals. James Conner was stellar once again, racking up 129 yards and two touchdowns from scrimmage. Big Ben Roethlisberger piled up 369 yards and didn’t turn the ball over. JuJu Smith-Schuster had himself a day, snagging seven passes for 111 yards, including an incredible one-handed touchdown grab. And in the end, when the Steelers needed a big play the most, Antonio Brown came through with the game-winning touchdown, the only touchdown throw of the contest for Pittsburgh.

Worst:
Jacksonville Jaguars
There was a lot of hope going into this season for the Jags, they were supposed to be a threat to the Pats in the AFC.They go to play Dallas and well, it didn't end very good for Jacksonville. In Sunday’s 40-7 blowout loss against the Cowboys, Jacksonville’s defense got shredded by a  team that had looked lifeless on offense for most of the season. The Jaguars looked lost, unprepared, had breakdowns in coverage, and took poor tackling angles. Dallas exploited the Jags in the running game, earning 206 rushing yards (with 86 from quarterback Dak Prescott) and gained several chain-moving third-down conversions thanks to slot receiver Cole Beasley finding gaps in the defense. At one point in the first half, Dallas had one drive that equalled the number of total offensive plays the Jags had in the entire half. That was a pathetic showing from the Jags on Sunday.

Best:
Saquon Barkley, Running Back New York Giants
We talked earlier how bad a performance it was by the Giants on Thursday night in their loss to the Eagles. There is a silver lining for this football team, and its name is Sequon Barkley. He had himself another fantastic game against Philly, carrying the ball 13 times for 130 yards and a touchdown. One particular nine-yard run in the first half was one of the sweetest things you’ll ever witness on a football field. Barkley also caught nine passes for 99 yards, which gave him an eye popping total of 229 yards from scrimmage. Despite all the negative stuff going on for Big Blue, Barkley makes the Giants must-see TV every week. This guy is worth the price of admisssion and then some for the G-Men!

Worst:
Jameis Winston, Quarterback Tampa Bay Buccaneers
It was a tough day for the Bucs on Sunday, falling to Atlanta 34-29. Jameis had a on and off day on Sunday, he threw for four touchdowns, almost bringing the Bucs back into the game. At the same time, Winston was also pretty terrible at holding onto the ball. He threw two interceptions in the red zone, which killed two scoring drives for Tampa. This coming in a game that was decided by a single score. He also fumbled twice but got lucky as his team recovered them both. Look, there's no doubt that Winston has all the talent in the world and can be a very good signal caller. Problem is, he's horrible and being able to really hang onto the ball, which kills the chances the Bucs have to really win games.

2018 League Championship Series Perview

We're now down to four teams left standing. Winners of the two remaining League Championship series will battle for the biggest prize in professional baseball, a World Series title. Two teams left have over 100 wins, one is the defending World Champions, another is the defending NL Pennant winners, while three of the four clubs left have at least one World Title to their credit. One team is considered a small market club going up against one of the big boys. There's a lot riding on the games that will be taking place over the next two weeks. Lets not waste any more time and dive right into it. here's how both the National and American League Championship Series stack up.

First up, its the National League Championship Series we have the NL West Champion Los Angeles Dodgers and the NL Central Champion Milwaukee Brewers. This marks the 3rd time ever that the Brewers have reached the League Championship Series. They did it in 182 in the ALCS and then again in the NLCS in 2011. Milwaukee won a one game playoff to be crowned Central Division Champions and then swept the Rockies in the Divisional Round. Milwaukee is coming in riding an 11 game winning streak at the start of the series. Los Angeles won the National League West in a tie-breaker game, defeating Colorado for their sixth straight division title. The Dodgers then beat the Atlanta Braves in four games in the NLDS. This is the Dodgers’ third straight appearance in the NLCS, and their fourth appearance in the past six seasons. Overall, this is their 13th NLCS trip, tying the Cardinals for most appearances by a team. This marks the first ever playoff matchup between the Brewers and Dodgers. The two cities did meet with the pennant on the line in 1959 when the Dodgers beat the Milwaukee Braves (now the Atlanta Braves) in a best-of-three playoff. However, MLB counts the tie-breaker series as regular season games. This is also the first ever League Championship Series between two teams that won tiebreakers, and only the third postseason meeting of any sort between two MLB teams involved in tiebreakers. Los Angeles won four of the seven games against Milwaukee during the regular season.

Here's the dates and times for every game in this series:
Fri., Oct. 12 8:09 p.m. ET L.A. Dodgers at Milwaukee
Sat., Oct. 13 4:09 p.m. ET L.A. Dodgers at Milwaukee
Mon., Oct. 15 7:39 p.m. ET Milwaukee at L.A. Dodgers
Tue., Oct. 16 9:09 p.m. ET Milwaukee at L.A. Dodgers
Wed., Oct. 17* 5:05 p.m. ET Milwaukee at L.A. Dodgers
Fri., Oct. 19* 8:39 p.m. ET L.A. Dodgers at Milwaukee
Sat., Oct. 20* 9:09 p.m. ET L.A. Dodgers at Milwaukee

Oh this is going to be a good series to watch, as nobody's hotter then the Brewers right now. They closed out the regular season on an eight game winning streak and have won all four playoff games they've played in these playoffs. At this time of year, you need contributions from everybody and that's what the Brewers have been getting. Sure, Christian Yelich and Mike Moustakas have driven in two runs each in the playoffs but so too has Erik Kratz, who's the backup catcher. Milwaukee hasn't quite had the power surge in the first round of the playoffs that they got during the regular season, but the post season is a totally different animal. Lorenzo Cain has been a fine table setter all year for this Brewers team, allowing their big hitters like Yelich, Moustakas, Braun, Travis Saw and Jesus Aguliar. Over the length of a series, the big boppers could play a factor, but again, playoffs is a totally different animal then regular season.

Pitching is going to be big for this series for the Brewers. Starting has been maybe average at best. Gio Gonzales, Wade Miley and Jhoulys Chacin have been OK at best. The strength for this Brewers club as been the Pen, they've been dominating all season long, including the playoffs. If the Starters for the Brewers can get five good innings out on the hill, and the offense can get a lead, then these games could be over quick with how good the pen is. Don't be surprised though if Craig Counsell might get creative with how he uses the pen in this series.

They're going up against a potent and dangerous Dodgers offense, a team that had nine guys belt over 20 home runs during the regular season. Justin Turner and Joc Peterson were the most consistent Dodgers hitters in the Divisional Round, while Max Muncy and Manny Machado each had big hits when they were needed the most in the win over the Braves. Hell, in the win over the Braves, as a team, the Dodgers didn't hit for average, but they drew 27 walks, hit eight homers and averaged five runs scored per game. They don't rely on big boppers as much but they get the job done.

What's really going to get the edge for the Dodgers is the starting pitching, which is better both on paper and on the mound then what the Brewers have to offer. The Dodgers depth in rotation make up for the fact that they don't have as effective a bridge between starter and closer then what the Brewers have to offer. Kenta Maeda, Scott Alexander, Caleb Ferguson and Ryan Madson will probably get the most use in this series.

It's going to go the distance and could be a possible slugfest between two good offenses. At the end of the day, the pitching could win out. i know the Brewers swept, but the Dodgers pitching staff did a better job shutting down the Atlanta offense in their series. Both teams have that special feeling going into this series, but the advantage here is that the Dodgers know how to handle themselves in this kind of scenario. Milwaukee is hot, but experience wins out here.

Prediction: Dodgers in 7!

Next, in the American League Championship Series, we have the AL West Champion Houston Astros taking on the AL East Champion Boston Red Sox. Houston won the American League West winning 103 games. They started the playoffs with a swept the Cleveland Indians in the American League Division Series. This is the Astros' sixth League Championship Series and second in the American League, their prior AL appearance being a 2017 ALCS win over the New York Yankees in seven games. Houston also appeared in four NLCS, winning once and losing thrice, before joining the American League in 2013. Boston won the East division with 108 wins, the most in baseball. then Boston opened the playoffs by beating the New York Yankees in the American League Division Series in four games. This is Boston's 11th ALCS, with a record of 5–5. Most recent pennant for the Sox was 2013. Boston and Houston have met once before in the postseason, with the Astros winning the 2017 ALDS, 3–1. Houston won four in their seven games against Boston during this year's regular season.

Here's the dates and times for every game in this series:

Sat., Oct. 13 8:09 p.m. ET Houston at Boston
Sun., Oct. 14 7:09 p.m. ET Houston at Boston
Tue., Oct. 16 5:09 p.m. ET Boston at Houston
Wed., Oct. 17 8:39 p.m. ET Boston at Houston
Thurs., Oct. 18* 8:09 p.m. ET Boston at Houston
Sat., Oct. 20* 5:09 p.m. ET Houston at Boston
Sun., Oct. 21* 7:39 p.m. ET Houston at Boston

This series is going to be a battle of wills. Houston had the lowest runs against total in baseball, allowing 534 runs during the regular season. Stopping the opposition isn't just the defense, its also the outstanding pitching. When you have Justin Verlander, Garrett Cole, Dallas Keuchel and Charlie Morton slated to start the first four games of this series. Its a tough task for any team to try and go up against. And if the starters get in trouble, AJ Hinch has a solid pen he can rely on. He's leaned on Ryan Pressly, McCullers and Osuna as his lead relievers, with Collin McHugh, Josh James and Tony Sipp also at his disposal. Oh and Houston's offense is no slouch. The Astros had Marwin Gonzalez drive in five runs in the divisional round against the Tribe. Alex Bregman and George Springer were both major contributors in that series as well. Houston can swing the bats with the best of them. they may not be the best power hitting team in the game, but they know how to get runs across the plate.

Boston can score just as well as the Astros, if not better. JD Martinez and Sxander Bogarts went off in the divisional round against New York. The entire Boston offense did too, which made for a dominating win in the series..Boston feasted off right handed pitching this year, with an .819 OPS against right handers, which was the best mark in the American League this year. During the year, Boston led the majors in runs scored scored, batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage and they even ranked an uncharacteristic third in MLB in stolen base. So the Red Sox could do a little bit of everything. They kept that up in the last round against the Yanks. It's clear that Boston can hit. Pitching is a slightly different story, as the starting staff seems to be a step behind the Houston staff. Sale, Price, Porcello and Evaldi are slated to be the four starters in this series and, on paper, this seems like a disadvantage compared to what Houston is going with. You know that Boston is having a little trouble with their pen if Chris Sale had to come into a game and hold the 8th inning down in the deciding game against New York.

This series is going to be a close, hard fought series. At the end of the day its the pitching that's going to win out and Houston has the edge in that. No doubt Boston can put runs on the board, they did win 108 regular season games and did score 16 runs on the Yankees in game three of that series. But Houston went on a romp over the Indians and that series wasn't even remotely close. Boston has good starting pitchers but I just don't have that feeling in this series for the Red Sox like I did at the start of the playoffs. Looks like we gonna have ourselves a World Series rematch.

Prediction: Houston in 6!

Best & Worst Of NFL Week Five

Week Five is in the books in the NFL. A few surprises came up from the fifth week of the season. While we still have two teams left that are unbeaten on this young season, there are no more winless teams in the league. Teams are starting to hit their stride and we now begin to see which teams will separate from the pack and become playoff contending clubs. Buffalo managed to shock another team that was a playoff club from last year, while the Jets had a record setting day against a defense that was supposed to be good. You had the Giants finally break through, only to lose in as heartbreaking a way as possible. Oakland and Atlanta both came away, after blowout losses, trying to figure things out and get back on track, before it's too late. All that and more went down in week five, and here's some of the best and worst performances from the week that was around the league.

Best:
New York Jets Run Game
Going up against one of the more feared defenses in all of football, you'd think that the Jets would have been frightened going into this contest. That wasn't the case. As a matter of fact, New York took the ball and rammed it right down the throats of the Broncos. In a resounding 3416 win on Sunday, New York racked up 323 total rush yards on the afternoon. Bilal Powell had 20 carries for 99 yards. But he was easily overshadowed by Isaiah Crowell. Crowell finished with 15 carries for a Jets franchise single game record of 219 rushing yards and a touchdown. It's not the kind of thing New York will be able to keep pace with all year, but it allowed to open up the pass game more and Sam Darnold was able to air the ball out and really let fly. If New York can show a little more consistency in their game the next couple of weeks, there's hpoe still for a playoff shot.

Worst:
San Francisco 49ers Game Managenemt
It wasn't so much game management as it was self inflicted wounds, which is what doomed the Niners a lot last year. Arizona beat San Francisco 28-18, which really makes one have to wonder. San Francisco held the ball for over 40 minutes and racked up 33 first downs. That’s pretty impressive. Now comes the bad part of the story, they also turned the ball over five times. First, it was C.J. Beathard throwing two interceptions and losing two fumbles, while Raheem Mostert lost the third fumble. San Francisco was also hit with nine accepted penalties, bringing their seasonal total up to 39 penalties accepted against them. They can't seem to get out of their own way. They make all those first downs and somehow manage to shoot themselves in the foot with those stupid penalties.

Best:
Graham Gano, Kicker Carolina Panthers
Graham Gano had a day, and a moment for that matter, that few NFL players can only really dream about. Hitting the game winning field goal is something that Kickers think about from the day they start kicking the ball. Tying an NFL record is a goal for any player. Gano did both with one swift kick on Sunday in a 33-31 win over the Giants. He drilled a record tying 63 yarder to win the game for the Panthers, something only few players every even attempt to hit. He had himself a day as Carolina pulled out a nail biting victory.

Worst:
Mason Crosby, Kicker Green Bay Packers
I thought after the disaster days a few weeks ago for Kickers that this was a thing of the past, but I guess not. Not only did Green Bay come up short, falling 31-23 to Detroit, but it was an all over problem. The Packers had three turnovers, zero points, and trailed by 24 points at the half. Things were made worse by kicker Mason Crosby. Crosby failed to connect on field goals of 41, 42, 38, and 56 yards. He also missed an extra point later in the game. In total, Crosby had 13 points left on the board. Had he been able to hit anything close to that over the day, it would’ve given the Packers a victory. This is one day that Crosby wants to have back.

Best:
Tom Brady, Quarterback New England Patriots
Is there anything else that Brady needs to do to prove his greatness? In the 38-24 win over the Colts, Brady had himself a solid game. He went 34 of 44 for 341 yards, threw two picks but more importantly threw three touchdowns. His third touchdown pass, was a big one, as it moved him up to 500 for his career. That makes him just the third quarterback in NFL history to hit that hallowed mark. The only two other guys to hit the mark are Brett Farve (508) and Peyton Manning (539). There isn't much else that is on the career mark for Brady to be able to do to lock his place in Canton when all is said and done.

Worst:
Blake Bortles, Quarterback Jacksonville Jaguars
Bortlesmania may have had a bad week this week in Jacksonville. Kansas City beat the Jags 40-13 and Bortles had a few moments. Sure Bortles threw for 430 yards and a touchdown. That's the good. Now the bad. He threw the ball 61 times and oh yeah also had four picks. He was picked off twice in the end zone, once on the one yard line and the last one returned for a pick six. This week's loss to one of the best teams in football doesn't ALL fall on Bortles. Jacksonville’s defense did yield some big plays, but Bortles’ carelessness with the ball in scoring situations doomed the Jaguars.

Best:
DeAndre Hopkins, Wide Receiver Houston Texans
Hopkins had himself a good day in the Texans 19-16 win over the Cowboys. He finised the day with nine catches for a week five best 151 yards. Hopkins came through with the play of the night. His 49-yard catch and run, which involved multiple spin moves and many jaws dropped, put the Texans in field goal range. A few plays later, Ka’imi Fairbairn knocked through a 36-yard field goal to win the game for Houston. Hopkins’ play set it up, and it capped off a monster game for the Texans. Your best players come up with the biggest plays at the biggest moments and Hopkins did just that against the Boys on Sunday and it got Houston a big win.

Worst:
Marcus Mariota, Quarterback Tennessee Titans
This hurts a little to write, because I'm digging Mariota, I want him to do well. He didn't look good on Sunday as the Titans fell to the Bills 13-12. Mariota was just plain bad on Sunday, going 14 of 26 passes for 129 yards with no touchdowns and an interception. Mariota also coughed up a fumble that thankfully was recovered by the Titans. For the season, Mariota has thrown for just 676 yards with two touchdowns and four interceptions. He's looked uncomfortable at times this year and its leaving one to wonder if he's really worthy of being a franchiser QB and worth the 2nd overall pick the Titans used for him a few years ago.

Best:
Cleveland Browns
Took a little while in a very low scoring game, but the Cleveland Browns have their 2nd win of the season. It came in the form of a 12-9 win over the Ravens and Baker Mayfield looked alright in this contest. Mayfield went 25 of 43 for 342 yards, one touchdown and one pcik. What was more important was how Mayfield made moves. Meaning Mayfield had outstanding pocket awareness and mobility helped extend plays. None was bigger than his 39-yard completion deep in overtime to receiver Derrick Willies that put the Browns near field goal range. Cleveland had a solid balance but it was the play of Mayfield that got them the win. Sure, the Browns are going to have to live some mistakes as the season goes along, but that's expected of a rookie quarterback. If this week was an indication of things to come, Cleveland is going to be heading in the right direction,

Worst:
Oakland Raiders
Another week down and it seems like the Raiders are back to where they started. They got their first win of the season last week, but they fell down to earth this week. Oakland fell to the Chargers 26-10 and they looked as bad as the score would indicate. Derek Carr threw another awful red-zone interception. Marshawn Lynch never got going on the ground. The defense was about as effective as air on passing downs. Oakland is in for a long year. John Gruden came back to deal with this team? He was better off staying in the broadcast booth where he was.

2018 ALDS Preview

We now have four teams left standing in the chase for the American League Pennant. Three of the four clubs left here have won over 100 games and by the time the smoke clears in less then two weeks. The fourth team in this league's divisional round won 91 games in a pathetically weak central division. This will be a battle of epic proportions in both series. Now the question remains who will be the ones left standing to fight for an American League Pennant? We will find out in a little over a week. Lets not waste anymore time, here's how the American League Divisional Series goes down.

First up is the AL East Champion Boston Red Sox taking on the AL Wild Card Winning New York Yankees. For the Yankees, they get to the playoffs winning the Wild Card game over the A's to reach the divisional round. It's the 3rd time in 4th years that the Bombers have made the playoffs, winning 100 games during the regular season, the first time they've won 100 or more games since 2009. New York is looking to get back to the ALCS for the 2nd year in a row. New York has a record of 230 and 161 lifetime in the playoffs. Boston won the AL East for the 10th time and 3rd year in a row with 108 wins, the most in franchise history. Boston is looking to win a series for the first time since 2013. The Red Sox are 91-83 lifetime in the playoffs. This is the fourth postseason meeting between the storied rivals and their first meeting in the ALDS. The Yankees previously won the 1999 ALCS and 2003 ALCS, while the Red Sox won the 2004 ALCS. Boston won 10 of 19 games between these games this season

Here's the dates of every game in this series:
October 5 New York Yankees @ Boston Red Sox Fenway Park
October 6 New York Yankees @ Boston Red Sox Fenway Park
October 8 Boston Red Sox @ New York Yankees Yankee Stadium
October 9† Boston Red Sox @ New York Yankees Yankee Stadium
October 11† New York Yankees @ Boston Red Sox Fenway Park

This will be a slugfest of a series. New York knows it can hit the long ball, wacking 265 home runs during the regular season most in baseball history. They have balance up and down the lineup with young guns like Miguel Andújar and Gleyber Torres. Still have the big boppers like Judge and Stanton blasting away in the middle of the lineup. Then you also have Andrew McCutchen and Luke Voit, both of whom have been paying major dividends since being acquired near the trade deadline. They got Gardner and Hicks as table setters for this team. New York comes in with the second most runs scored in baseball at 851. Pitching is going to have to be on point for the Yankees in this round, as Happ, Tanaka and Severino have the unenviable task of trying to shut down this Boston offense. If the starters can hold up and do their thing, then they can hand it over to a stellar bullpen. The only question I have about the pen is Chapman and how solid he's going to be. He did OK last year coming on in relief and was great two years ago for the Cubs in their World Series run, but can he again reach that form for the Yanks this year?

As for Boston, they might be able to match punch for punch with the Yanks offense. J. D. Martinez and Xander Bogaerts can match Judge and Stanton when it comes to power and being able to drive in runs Boston lead all of baseball in runs scored with 876 runs.What also helped the Red Sox, while they might not have as deep a lineup as the Yanks, they can not only get on base, but they can swipe bags too. They stole 125 during the regular season, with Mookie Betts (30 steals), Andrew Benintendi (21), and Bradley (17) leading the charge in that department. It might be interesting to see how well they fair against Gary Sanchez, who's known for his ability to throw out runners, despite the fact he has trouble blocking the ball Pitching for Boston also seems a little shaky. Chris Sale hasn't really gone deep into a game since July, dealing with the shoulder injury. If he's able to find his mojo and his arm is up to par, then Sale should look fine against the Bombers. David Price is a bit of a different story, as his struggles against the Yanks have been well documented. Boston's pen, while not as solid as the Yanks, it can still hold its own never the less.

What has me concerned for Boston is their recent lack of success in recent playoffs by Boston. They always seem to be able to have solid regular season but manage to choke when its all on the line in October. From a Yankees point of view, with coming within a game of the World Series last year, anything short of that, with what they did in the offseason, would be a major disappointment. This series is going to go the distance, and depth will win out here.

Prediction: Yankees in Five

Next up, we have the AL West Champion Houston Astros taking on the AL Central Champion Cleveland Indians. The tribe won the AL Central for the 3rd year in a row, picking up 91 wins during the regular season. That win total was the lowest for a playoff appearance for Cleveland since winning 92 games in 2013. Cleveland went to the World Series two years ago, but were bounced in the divisional round last season. Cleveland is 5767-50 lifetime in the playoffs. As for Houston, they come in as the defending World Series Champions. This marks the 3rd playoff appearance in four years and 2nd straight AL West crown for the Astros. Houston's 103 wins is the most in franchise history and the 2nd straight year they've won more than 100 games. Houston is 35-45 lifetime in the playoffs. This is the first postseason meeting between the Astros and Indians and Houston won four of the seven meetings between the teams during the regular season.

Here's the dates of every game in this series:
October 5 Cleveland Indians @ Houston Astros Minute Maid Park
October 6 Cleveland Indians @ Houston Astros Minute Maid Park
October 8 Houston Astros @ Cleveland Indians Progressive Field
October 9† Houston Astros @ Cleveland Indians Progressive Field
October 11† Cleveland Indians @ Houston Astros Minute Maid Park

Houston managed to win 103 games in one of the toughest divisions in Baseball that had two other teams, Oakland and Seattle, win more than 87 games Houston also scored 263 more runs then it gave up. Alex Bregman drove in 103 runs and cranked 31 homers. He had help in the middle of that lineup from Yuli Gurriel, George Springer and Jose Altuve. While not the most prolific offense to make the playoffs in the American League, it sure is a balanced offense and they can generate getting runs to cross the plate. Pitching for Houston is their real strength. Every one of their starters won at least 10 games, with Justin Verlander and Garrett Cole pacing the club right at the top. oh and Dallas Keuchel is no slouch, he can throw it too, despite the fact he finished a game over .500 during the regular season. The biggest strength of this Astros club is its bullpen, being carried by Collin McHugh, Roberto Osuna, and Hector Rondon, Houston is going to be a real pain to deal with once they get a lead.

Cleveland shouldn't in theory, have problems pushing runs across the plate, not with the way Jose Rameriez has been hitting the ball this year. One X factor in this series for the tribe could be Josh Donaldson, who's been known in the past as being a bigtime playoff performer, so he could be a bbig factor and help to this Indians lineup. Pitching is going to be a strong suit to start the series for the Indians, as Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco and Mike Clevinger are slated to take the ball in this series, which could possibly cause problems for Houston's pitching. Bullpen could be an issue for the Tribe.

Not much to really break down here. Cleveland won a week division and is the weakest team in the entire AL playoffs. Houston shouldn't have much of a problem handling them this year.

Prediction: Astros in 4!