I Think We Could Lose

Good afternoon everyone.  Before I get into my little group of not necessarily predictions, but a mix of predictions and things that wouldn't surprise me, I want to say hello to my visitors from Yahoo! Answers.  I wanted to let you know that I still plan on doing my football predictions and sports-related posts here on Fridays, even after I move to Las Vegas.  However, when I'm in the desert, I already know that I won't spend as much time going to Yahoo! Answers to let you know that I've posted something.  If you do enjoy reading my blog, I just wanted to encourage you to become a follower, or to bookmark this page in your favorites, or to just remember to stop by on Fridays (or on Mondays for my rambles and Wednesdays for my poker/Las Vegas posts).

I am going to preface this first prediction by flat-out stating that I am a lifelong Boston Red Sox fan...

1)  The Boston Red Sox WILL make the playoffs this season.   ---  The Red Sox have had a HORRIBLE season if you listen to their detractors in the media.  Remember that Boston lost closer Andrew Bailey right out of the gate, they have played without Carl Crawford, that have played a lot of games without Jacoby Ellsbury, they are now missing Dustin Pedroia, and Kevin Youkilis has been traded.  The lion's share of that group I just mentioned is a group of American League All-Stars, and most of them should be back (except for Youkilis of course).  Despite leading Major League Baseball in players who have spent time on the disabled list, the Red Sox are only 2 1/2 games out of a wildcard spot (and there are 2 this season).  DO NOT sleep on the Red Sox...

2)  The Baltimore Orioles WILL NOT make the playoffs this season.  The Orioles currently hold 1 of the 2 wildcard spots in the American League, and they have played great in the first half of the season.  I do not believe that Baltimore has the depth or the experience to get to the playoff finish line this season, period.

3)  The Philadelphia Phillies MIGHT make the playoffs this season.  Like the Red Sox, I predicted that the Phillies would win their division this season, and like Boston, Philadelphia has had to deal with injuries.  The Phillies just recently got Chase Utley and Ryan Howard back in the lineup, and Roy Halladay is supposed to be back with the team shortly.  Cliff Lee has underperformed this year, winning only one game to date.  If I did my math correctly, Philly is about 10 games back in the wildcard race right now, but this team is experienced and talented, and if they can get healthy, they MIGHT get back into it...

Switching gears to football now, and #4 and #5 are restatements of predictions made here previously...

4) I still think that the Peyton Manning signing by the Denver Broncos, coupled with the release of Tim Tebow, was a HUGE gamble that won't pay off. The Broncos had an inexpensive quarterback who was EXTREMELY POPULAR with the Denver fanbase in Tebow. No one knows how Manning's neck is going to hold up with contact, he hasn't played football for a year, he is getting older, he will have to play in a rapidly improving AFC West, and he will have to play home games in bad weather late in the season now. Under Tebow, the Broncos won the AFC West and won a playoff game last season. I think that they will be hard-pressed to improve on that under Manning, who was signed to a lucrative contract.

5) I still think that Tim Tebow will start for the New York Jets at quarterback before the upcoming season ends. I have seen Mark Sanchez play before, and if Tebow is successful with his package of plays, or when Sanchez is unsuccessful, I think that the pressure from the Jets fans will be too much to not start Tebow. I will add to this that having to choose between the two, I would start Tebow over Sanchez without hesitation.

6) I think that the Philadelphia Eagles will win the NFC East this season, by at least two games... Having LeSean McCoy on my fantasy team last season, I would testify in court that he was underutilized, and he can be a beast, especially when teams have to respect Michael Vick at quarterback. As badly as the Eagles started last season, they still managed to get back into the division race. The Giants were only 9-7 last season, forced to beat the Cowboys in the final game of the season for a playoff spot, and now they don't have Brandon Jacobs or Mario Manningham. I still don't think that the Cowboys have a decent enough offensive line to run the ball consistently or to protect Tony Romo, who I think is highly underrated and overly criticized. The Redskins got richer by picking up Robert Griffin III, but I don't believe he can with the division by himself.

7) The Buffalo Bills MIGHT make the playoffs this season. I think that the Patriots, Ravens, Steelers, Texans, and the winner of the AFC West will get 5 of the 6 playoff spots this season. With incredibly tough schedules, and/or injuries, the Ravens or Steelers could miss out. This leaves either 1 or 2 playoff slots left in the conference, and if the Bills can survive their first 9 games and stay healthy, they finish with: Miami; @ Indy; Jacksonville; St. Louis; Seattle; @ Miami; N.Y. Jets. The Bills will be a playoff darkhorse I believe...

And a USA Basketball prediction, possibility, scenario for you to ponder...

8) The USA Men's Olympic Basketball team MIGHT NOT win the gold medal - I think we could lose... This thought is a product of the crazy, condensed NBA season that just recently ended, and I was going to write this into my blog even before Blake Griffin left the team with a torn meniscus. As I shouted from the rooftops after the NBA released their crazy, condensed schedule this past season, our Olympians have not rested much after a brutal NBA season, and many of our players were on teams that went deep into the playoffs. The 2008 squad only beat Spain by 11 points for the gold medal, and we just have to hope that this squad plays healthy (in addition to learning to play together, obviously). If we do lose in London, I would not be surprised...

Okay, enough of that. In tonight's monopoly money baseball betting, I will take the Rangers and Mariners to go over 7 1/2 runs scored. I am currently 3-4 in the mock baseball betting. I hope that you have a great weekend and I will see you again on Monday!