American League Predictions

AL EAST

1. Tampa Bay Rays

2. Boston Red Sox (Wildcard)

3. New York Yankees

4. Baltimore Orioles

5. Toronto Blue Jays

AL Central

1. Minnesota Twins

2. Kansas City Royals

3. Cleveland Indians

4. Chicago White Sox

5. Detroit Tigers

AL West

1. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

2. Texas Rangers

3. Oakland A's

4. Seattle Mariners

PLAYOFFS

First Round- Tampa Bay defeats Cleveland, Boston defeats Los Angeles

Second Round- Boston defeats Tampa Bay

They're In It To Win It

Back on December 3rd, the North Carolina Tar Heels hammered the Michigan State Spartans 98-63. That game took place at Ford Field in Detroit, the same location of the National Championship game tomorrow, which just so happens to feature Michigan State against North Carolina.

If critics of the Spartans want to point to that 35 point loss as a reason why Michigan State will not win the National Championship, they better think again. These Spartans are an entirely different team. In their December battle with the Tar Heels, Michigan State center Goran Suton did not play. Point guard Kalin Lucas struggled, scoring only 6 points to go with 5 assists in the game. In fact, the Spartans only had two players score in double-figures, Raymar Morgan and Chris Allen.

Now, the Spartans are rolling on all cylinders. They have Suton back, who has averaged 9.9 points and 8.1 rebounds this season. They have the Big Ten Player of the Year in Kalin Lucas, who scored 21 points with 5 assists in Michigan State's Final Four victory over UConn yesterday. The Spartans have also gotten much more consistency from a slew of players, like Morgan (10.4 ppg, 5.4 rpg), Allen (8.5 ppg), guard Durrell Summers (8.5 ppg), forward Delvin Roe (5.4 ppg, 5.1 rpg), Travis Walton (5.2 ppg, 3.2 apg), and forward Marquise Gray (3.2 ppg). They are a much deeper, and more consistent team than they were in December, and a dangerous threat to a team that most people have already appointed the National Champions in North Carolina.

If that is not enough, Michigan State has the intangibles to pull off the upset. Tom Izzo, the coach of the Spartans, has led Michigan State to the most Final Four appearances this decade. Izzo is tournament-tested and is as tough and cool as any coach in the nation. He will have Michigan State ready for revenge Monday night.

Also, Ford Field is a mere 92 miles away from East Lansing, Michigan State's campus location. If the crowd noise in the Michigan State-UConn game is any indication of how loud it will be on Monday, North Carolina will be facing another very tough obstacle. While most people expect Michigan State to just roll over for North Carolina like they did in December, the Spartans should make this a very entertaining National Championship game at the very least, and they may have just enough momentum, consistency, and toughness to pull the upset.

Bluegrass Is Pretty Green

So for John Calipari, bluegrass is apparently greener than the fields of Memphis , Tennessee . On the outside looking in, the Kentucky Wildcats basketball program is a gem. Kentucky has won the most basketball games of any program in the entire country and their seven National Championships are second only to UCLA. The Wildcats record of 1988-631-1 also gives them the highest winning percentage in the history of college basketball. They have two stars currently on their roster in guard Jodie Meeks (23.7 ppg) and forward Patrick Patterson (17.9 ppg, 9.3 rpg). However, when looking past that, one can see a program that is currently in shambles.

Kentucky had no one else average in double figures besides Meeks and Patterson. The past four seasons, the Wildcats have gone a combined 84-52, reaching the NCAA Tournament in three of those years, but as no higher than a #8 seed. Not even fired coach Billy Gillespie could help Kentucky . Gillespie took just one season to turn the 6-24 UTEP Miners into a 24-8 NCAA Tournament team. Gillespie did the same thing in his three years at Texas A&M, reaching the NCAA Tournament in his final two years with the Aggies, giving the school its first trip to the NCAA Tournament in consecutive years. However, at Kentucky , players refused to buy into Gillespie’s style of play, and because of that, the Wildcats did not play up to their full potential.

Why is John Calipari leaving a great situation at Memphis for the dysfunctional Kentucky Wildcats? Calipari reached the National Championship game last year, and his Memphis Tigers have not lost a Conference USA game for the past three years. Calipari has also recruited three ESPN Top 100 recruits to play at Memphis next season. In comparison, Kentucky has just one lined up. Calipari is leaving stability and success, and taking the huge risk of coaching in the pressure cooker known as Kentucky basketball. Sure, he has the coaching ability to revitalize the Kentucky program and return it to its glory days. However, it will not be easy and Calipari may soon yearn for everything he had at Memphis .

Goodbye, Curt

Curt Schilling has stepped off a Major League mound for the last time. After 216 victories, Schilling decided to call it quits earlier today. Many people debate whether Schilling is Hall-Of-Fame-Worthy but that should not even be a question. In five years, Curt Schilling deserves a plaque in Cooperstown .

Schilling deserves a spot in the Hall of Fame for not only everything he accomplished in the regular season, but also in the postseason. His 216 victories, 3.46 ERA, and3116 strikeouts, put him on the border of Hall of Fame pitcher or just a plain old good pitcher. What pushes Schilling onto the Hall of Fame pitcher side of the border is the way he pitched when October rolled around.

Curt Schilling is arguably the most dominant postseason pitcher of all-time. Schilling finished 11-2 in the postseason, the best record of any pitcher in MLB history with at least 10 decisions. Schilling also had a 2.23 ERA, and 120 strikeouts in 133.1 innings. Not only does Schilling have great numbers, but he was an integral part of three World Series Championship teams (2001 with Arizona , 2004 and 2007 with Boston ).

Curt Schilling will always be remembered as a big game pitcher, a title he earned throughout his 20 Major League seasons. Schilling won four games in the 2001 postseason to give Arizona its first ever World Series title. In 2004, Schilling turned in two of the most heroic performances of all-time, pitching on a loose tendon in his right ankle to win Game 6 of the Red Sox epic 3-0 series comeback against the New York Yankees. Five days later, Schilling won Game 2 of the World Series to help give the Red Sox their first World Series title in 86 years.

The National Baseball Hall of Fame remembers the greatest players to ever play the game of baseball. Curt Schilling has earned the right to be on that list because he was simply a winner. There should be no debate about whether Schilling deserves to have a plaque in Cooperstown . He was not just a good pitcher, he was great. In five years, Schilling should be able to add a Hall of Fame induction onto the list of everything he has accomplished in his baseball career.

Found Their Groove?

With 18:15 remaining in their first round NCAA Tournament game against the American Eagles, the Villanova Wildcats trailed 45-31. From that point on, the Wildcats have gone into another gear, first outscoring American 49-22 to win 80-67, and then dismantling the UCLA Bruins, a Final Four team the past three seasons, 89-69.

The difference between the Villanova Wildcats of the first 21 minutes and 45 seconds of the NCAA Tournament and the Villanova Wildcats through the next 68 minutes and 15 seconds is immense. Villanova settled for jump shots and struggled throughout the first half against American. However, ever since that 45-31 deficit against American, Villanova has attacked the basket, resulting in more high-percentage shots, and turned up the pressure on defense, allowing the Wildcats to create more turnovers. Villanova needs to continue doing those two things in order to beat Duke and Pittsburgh to advance to the Final Four.

With an extremely talented roster and a very good coach in Jay Wright, Villanova has a legitimate shot at reaching the Final Four in Detroit. However, they need to continue working the ball inside to Dante Cunningham (25 points, 7 rebounds against AU, 18 points, 10 rebounds against UCLA), which in turn will create more oppurtunities for Scottie Reynolds (9.5 ppg in Tourney), Dwayne Anderson (17.5 ppg), and Corey Fisher (12 ppg) to contribute. The Wildcats also cannot afford to slack off on defense. With their pressure D, 'Nova has forced 32 turnovers in the first two games of the NCAA Tournament. Jay Wright's squad is a major threat to Duke and Pittsburgh if it continues to play the same way it has since that 45-31 deficit.

Don't Sleep On 'Em

One sleeper in this year’s NCAA Tournament has to be the Missouri Tigers. There is a lot to like about Coach Mike Anderson’s squad. The Tigers are the epitome of a team effort in winning games. Only two players, forwards Demare Carrol (16.8 ppg) and Leo Lyons (14.2 ppg) average double figures in points each night. However, Mizzou’s style of pressing throughout the entire game has worn down opponents. The Tigers give up just 66.5 points per game while scoring an average of 81.1 each night.

Missouri will pose a serious threat to Number 1 seed Connecticut and Number 2 seed Memphis in the West regional. For a team that hasn’t been to the NCAA Tournament since 2002, the Tigers have made serious strides to become an annual contender. Their dream season has featured wins over tournament-bound USC, California , Oklahoma State , Texas , Kansas , and Oklahoma . UConn, who will be without guard AJ Price for the entire tournament, and Memphis , which starts a freshman point guard in Tyreke Evans, need to be ready for the pressing Tigers. If they don’t, they will be watching Mike Anderson’s squad in the Final Four instead of playing in it.