Friday, September 30, 2011

SoS Pick'em Week 4

Well it's that time of the week again! Last week was a anticlimactic week of sorts for me in terms of picks. I got a whopping 2 points. Ray, on the other hand, had a slightly more respectable weekend getting 3 points, including his upset pick of the Raider over the J-E-T-S Jets, Jets, Jets. So let's just dive right in with the picks.

Student of Sports (7-5, 8pts)
NY Giants (-1.5) over ARIZONA (My first homer pick of the season. Don't let me down GMEN)
Miami (+8.5) over SAN DIEGO
CLEVELAND (-1.5) over Tennessee (Is Chris Johnson going to finally show up?)
And for my upset pick I like Pittsburgh to go into Houston and beat the Texans. The Texans are still looking for that marquee win and I don't think they one here.

Ray "Box" (4-8, 5pts)
Atlanta (-4.5) over SEATTLE
NY Giants (-1.5) over ARIZONA (It's about time Ray showed my boys some respect!)
New Orleans (-7.5) over JACKSONVILLE (Ray's taking the road trip special this week)
And for his upset big Ray is going to go with Oakland to take down the Golden Boy and the Patriots. Doesn't it seem like Ray picks against the Pats a lot?

As always feel free to submit picks of your own in the comment section. Enjoy this weekends games and playoff baseball!


Thursday, September 29, 2011

Not So Sweet Caroline

On my remote controller, a typical Comcast remote, there is a button located to the right of the directional pad and underneath the menu button, it is labeled 'last'. The purpose of this button is for me to be able to go back to the channel I was previously watching with one click. Safe to say last night, that button got A LOT of action.

Last night was probably one of the single greatest nights in baseball, if not sports, history. On the last day of the season both the American and Nation League had there respective wild card bids up for grabs and had 2 teams each in contention. And better yet, all 4 teams had games starting at the same time and 3 of which (Boston/Baltimore, Atlanta/Philadelphia, and Tampa Bay/Yankees) were all available to watch on national TV. When I sat down to watch these games I expected I was in for a great night of baseball, but what ensued was unfathomable.

If you are a fan who may not want to relive last nights occurrences, skip the next couple paragraphs.

Right off the bat, in the game not on national TV, the St. Louis Cardinals took a 5 run first inning lead off of the abysmal Houston Astros so that game seemed well in hand putting pressure on the Braves to force that one game playoff. The Tampa Bay Rays fell behind early to the Yankees 7-0 in what we thought was a death sentence for Tampa. And both the Red Sox and Braves, two teams needing victories, were leading in close games entering the 9th inning. (Note: The Red Sox had to deal with a rain delay of about an hour in the middle of there game)

Well, that's when the wild shenanigans and pandemonium began.

In what seemed like a split second the Cardinals win there game with ease. The Rays stormed back against the Yanks to take them to extras. Braves rookie closer Craig Kimbrel blew a save to the Phillies and sent that game to extras. And in a sort of poetic rhythm that only sports can illustrate, the Phillies beat the Braves, Jonathan Papelbon blew the save and the Red Sox lost, and Evan Longoria hit a walk of homer in the bottom of the 12th for the Rays.

Wow.

OK, forsaken Red Sox and Braves fans.. You can join in now.

Just like that, a matter of moments, we had 2 of the worst sports collapses in history come to a head in one night. Braves fans, I am sorry. That must have felt like putting your heart through a blender and then soaking it in radioactive waste. (Don't test this, you will die.) But, for the sake of time and creative integrity, I will spend the rest of this post discussing the team you eternally be tied to. The Red Sox.

Yes, I know, I am a Yankee fan so there is a deal of predisposed bias against Boston. But in the past decade I have grown to not only respect the Red Sox, but fear them as well. Since the start 2004 ALCS the Red Sox had completely changed their identity. They were no longer the lovable losers, victims of the curse, underdogs. Since that post season the Red Sox had become all that they hated about the Yankees, successful.

People will talk about last night's events and talk about all the history that it created, but I think the more important thing is the future it will create. The future, that in many ways, mirrors the past. The past that bandwagon fans know nothing about. And the one thing that all true (God bless their souls) Red Sox fans fear the most.  The return of the disheartened Boston Red Sox. The return of your older brother's, father's, grandfather's, great grandfathers, and even greater grandfather's Boston Red Sox.

Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe the Red Sox will rebound next season to win the World Series. Who knows? But I do know one thing, I've been a baseball fan long enough to know more than any bandwagoner. I know what the past of the Red Sox fans has been like. And more importantly, I think the past always has the potential to repeat itself..

I guess all I can say know is LET'S GO YANKEES! And if you don't mind, I'd like to end with a song..


Class Dimissed,
Student of Sports





 

Friday, September 23, 2011

SoS Pick'em Week 3

It's that time again. Time for Ray and I to submit our week 3 picks. I'll change they way I type it this week to help avoid confusion. I will put the home team in all caps. As you all know, I'm sure, Ray "Box" finally got off the schnide and got a resounding 2 picks, for 2 points, right last weekend and just missed on calling Carolina to upset Green Bay. I was slightly more impressive getting 3 picks correct for 4 points. Oh yeah, I called the Titans over the Ravens, don't act like you're not impressed! So now I'll put an end to the tomfoolery and lay out the picks..

Student of Sports (5-3, 6 pts):
Pittsburgh (-10.5) over INDIANAPOLIS (aka the new worst team in the NFL)
Washington (+6.5) over DALLAS (How about them Cowboys?)
OAKLAND (+3.5) over the NY Jets
And for my upset pick I like Miami to go into Cleveland and beat the Browns. Did you know that in the last 2 seasons the Dolphins are 1-9 at home? Awful I know.. but they also happen to be 6-2 on the road! So that's why I like them to get a road victory here. PUT IT ON THE BOARD!

Ray "Box" (2-6, 2pts):
PHILIDELPHIA (-7.5) over the NY Giants (This is Ray twisting the knife in my back..)
SAN DIEGO (-14.5) over Kansas City (Real bold, Ray.)
NEW ORLEANS (-3.5) over Houston
And for his upset Ray likes Oakland to take down those mighty, mighty Jets.

Enjoy the games and feel free to submit your own picks in the comment section. Also be sure to check out our podcast from this past week.

Class Dimissed
Student of Sports

PS: If you have any questions or comment, or just want to contact me the blog has a new email address. Contact me at studentofsports.cr@gmail.com

Thursday, September 22, 2011

5 Reasons Why the Yankees Can Win the World Series

On August 1st I wrote a post titled An Inconvenient Truth About the 2011 New York Yankees. Basically in this post I wrote about how, due to their lack of pitching depth, I didn't believe the Yankees would be able to win the world series. And at that time, I really believed that to be true! Well, in the 53 days since August 1st, A LOT has changed.
Goku has always been a favorite of mine.

So this is me, putting my tail between my legs, and admitting to you all that I may have jumped the gun a bit on that post. Do I think the Yankees WILL win the World Series? I hope they do, but I can't be sure of it. But do I think the Yankees CAN win the world series? If you do not mind I would like to answer this question with a question... Is Dragon Ball Z the greatest cartoon of my childhood? YES, YES, and oh by the way, YES. 

So there we have it, I do think the Yankees can win the World Series, and I have begun to display my unhealthy obsession with DBZ. (But we'll leave Dragon Ball Z to another post and just focus on the Yankees this time.)

Why have I changed my tone on the 2011 Yankees you ask? Well allow me to show to elaborate with a list..
  1. The Collapse of the Mighty Boston Red Sox. This one tastes so good I may just skip my lunch and feast on this! (Mwahahahahahah ahahahahaha!) I read a striking stat the other day that went a little bit like this.. the Red Sox are 16-30 in April and September and 72-37 in the months in between. Holy Schnikees Batman! I haven't experienced something that hot and cold since watching Gohan struggle to reach his true potential in the DBZ Cell saga! (I need to stop now before this gets out of hand..) But seriously, the Red Sox are falling a part and even if they do stumble in the playoffs, they aren't instilling confidence in anyone. I didn't think it was possible but they might actually have more pitching worries than the Yanks. Ach mein Gott!!
  2. Soribertra 789. What is Soribertra 789? Well that's the awesome name I have given to the 7-8-9 inning combo of Soriano, Robertson, and Rivera. No way of denying it, that bullpen is nasty and can severely shorten the game. The best part about them is that, like I had hoped before the season started, they compensate for a lot of the starting pitching woes. I know they're a little bit shaky when it comes to lefties in the pen, but with those three guys 7-8-9 their bullpen will be an advantage for them against any post season foe.
  3. Super Nova! Is it possible that Ivan Nova has turned into a legitimate number 2 starter for the Yankees? Well I won't go that far just yet, but he has certainly proved that he can go out there and win games. And I know he has gotten some of the best run support in baseball, but the guy still allows the Yankees to win games (Unlike a Mr. AJ BurNOT.) and with the Yankees offense all you need to do is keep them in games. Is he the rookie of the year? Maybe, I don't know; But more importantly, is he a major reason the Yankees will have a fighting chance in October? Hell Yes. 
  4. Jesus Montero. This guy has come up and just solidified that DH spot, something that hadn't been done all season. Maybe I'm jumping the gun a bit here but doesn't the way he can drive the ball the other way with such ease remind you a bit of A-Rod? Listen, I don't know how good this guy is, or if he'll even be on the team in the long term, but right now he looks like he can rake and they should ride that into the post season. Which leads us to our final point..
  5. The Bronx Bombers. The Yankees can straight up pound the baseball. I thought they had a good lineup going into the season, but with the break out season Curtis Granderson is having and just the continued dominance of Robi Cano, this offense is lethal. Not to mention a certain 37 year old short stop who has turned his season around.. I mean how incredible is Derek Jeter? Never, and I mean NEVER, count this guy out. Who would of guess that by seasons end his average would be closing in on .300? Not me. From top to bottom this lineup is potent and will wear pitches out in the post season.
Will they be good enough to beat a guy like Verlander? I don't know. Will they be able to control to Rangers bats? Who knows? Will the Red Sox get hot again and make a run? Hell if I know.. Can anybody beat the Phillies? We'll see.

I admit that I don't know any of the above questions, but I know feel like the Yankees have a chance to overtake any obstacles in their path. And I'll tell you one thing, I'm excited. Win or lose I'm confident this will be an exciting post season and I implore all of you to hop on the ride.

Class Dismissed,
Student of Sports

By the way be sure to check out the SOSPod. You can got to the iTunes page by clicking here. Also make sure to follow me on twitter at @StudentofSports. And like the Facebook by checking out Student of Sports on Facebook!

So enjoy your day guys and I'll be sure to get Ray Box and my week 3 picks up sometime tomorrow.

Friday, September 16, 2011

The S.O.S Pod


SoS Pick'em Week 2

It's that time again for Ray Box and I to get in our weekly picks. Real quick I'll go over how we're scoring this because I didn't get into it last week.

The scoring will be based on points where we will get a single point for each of the spreads we pick right and two points for our upset pick. Since the two are scored differently your upset can be one ofe your spread picks. We will also keep track of records for a tie breaker. Records will count our upset picks. Feel free to play at home and post your picks as comments on each post.

OK, so now that that's put of the way let's see how Ray Box and I fared in week 1. I went a very pedestrian 2-2, scoring 2 points, and missed on my upset pick of St. Louis over Philli. Ray Box posted a very impressive goose egg going 0-4 and netting 0 points. Safe to say he did NOT get his upset pick right of Miami over New England.

Alright so on to week 2. There are so many questions that need to be answered! Will the G-Men rebound? How good is Chicago? Can Cam Newton pick up from where he left off? Will Ray finally get a win?!?!?! Now for the picks..


Student of Sports (2-2, 2pts):
Seattle (+14.5) over Pittsburgh
Atlanta (+2.5) over Philadelphia
(Have you noticed has the serious anti-Pennsylvania feel to these first 2 picks? This is NOT intentional.. Although I do hate the Eagles..)
Dallas (-2.5) over San Francisco
And for my upset I'm going to pick the Titans in a stunner over the Ravens. I'm a little concerned that last Sundays romping of the Steelers may have been the Ravens Super Bowl and the might suffer a let down.

Ray Box (0-4, 0pts):
Detroit (-8.5) over Kansas City
Dallas (-2.5) over San Francisco
Philadelphia (-2.5) over Atlanta (This is big Ray's heart-breaker.)
And for his upset, Raymundo is going with Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers to take down the Green Bay Packers. Hey, you gotta admire the guys courage, right?

Once again, feel free to submit your picks in the comment section below. Enjoy the weekend everybody!

Class Dismissed,
Student of Sports

SoS

P.S. Look out for the SoS Podcast with Ray Box and I, hoping to get that up soon.

Friday, September 9, 2011

SoS Pick'em Week 1

I was thinking it would be cool to have some SoS picks for the NFL season this year and once my good buddy Ray Box said he was down, I knew we were golden. So basically what we'll do is every Friday Ray Box and I will pick 3 NFL games using the spread and one upset. We'll keep track of our records on the season so feel free to join in and keep track at home. I have no confidence that we will be successful but, what the hell? So without wasting any more time let's get to the picks..

Student of Sports:
Atlanta (-2.5) over Chicago
Tennessee (+3.5) over Jacksonville
New England (-5.5) over Miami
And for my upset I'm gonna take St. Louis to take down the "dream" team Philadelphia at home. (Can you see my big blue pride coming out?)

Ray Box:
Atlanta (-2.5) over Chicago
Cleveland (-4.4) over Cincinnati
Denver (-.5) over Oakland
And for his upset my man Ray Box is going to go with Miami in a shocker over New England.

So there are the picks, let's see how this goes. Good luck and enjoy this opening Sunday of football.

Class Dismissed
Student of Sports

SoS

P.S. Here's the new SoS football avatar. Made Special for Ray Box's birthday.



Thursday, September 8, 2011

SoS NFL Preview

Before we get this thing started I would like to make a point. And to make that point I'd like to call upon the help of the great Neil Young..



TONIGHT'S THE NIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT! DU BEE DOW DU BEE DU DU DU DOW TONIGHT'S THE NI-I-I-I-IGHTTTTTTTTTTT

Oh Yeah! Here it is! Football. And, unlike the last couple posts this is REAL, UNFILTERED enthusiasm. I am pumped, and pumped my friends, is an understatement. To explain my excitement I will call upon our second video of the day. (Yes, I did just learn how to incorporate videos in the blog) This is literally how I started my day today, just replace "buy suits" with "watch football"...


Is there honestly a better time of the year than football? I think not. The feeling I have every Sunday simply goes unmatched during any other part of my life. It's an escape, a vacation, a romance, football to me is heaven. When I die, if there is a heaven and IF I get in, I want St. Peter to walk me into a room where I can sit down next to God on a huge heavenly couch. I hope I can feast on unlimited heavenly Papa John's cheese bread and drink an unlimited amount of Mountain Dew Code Red. (Notice I didn't say 'heavenly Mountain Dew Code Red'. That's because there is no need since I am assuming God accidentally dropped all his Code Red onto Earth and ever since then we've been blessed with heaven's sweet sweet nectar.) And God looks over to me and says, "Who do you have in the Giants vs Eagles game? Vegas has the spread at Giants -3.5." And we sit there and watch football for eternity because in heaven, every day is Sunday. So tonight at 8:30 PM EST when the defending champion Green Bay Packers will be kicking off the season against the New Orleans Saints you can bet top dollar, not just bottom dollar but top, that I will be sitting on my coach soaking it all in.

So enough with the fairytale let's get to the nitty gritty, the guts, the core, the medulla oblongata! Let's get to the SoS NFL preview!

BING!
BANG!
BOOM!

Ok, right off the bat let's start with the local teams, the New York Jets and the New York Giants.By the way you should vote in the poll to the left in who you think will win more games.

New York Jets
I'll be honest with you Jet fans, I'm not a huge fan of your coach. He's obnoxious, cocky, annoying, and starving for attention. But, none of those qualities are important because simply put, the guy knows football. Say what you want about him but he's a good coach and a defensive guru. And as long as he's at the helm the Jets will have a fighting chance. Group that with a young up and coming QB, solid offensive weapons, and very good defense and you're going to have a good season.
Positives: Defense, Defense, Defense.
My Concerns: I'm not sure how their o-line will hold up this year due to a severe lack of depth, keep an eye on that. Also, I think their receiving core got worse over the off season. You can't undervalue how important Cotchery was to this team and to Mark Sanchez, plus say what you want about him but Braylon Edwards was a big play threat. I'm not sold on a 80 year old Derek Mason and a Plaxico Burress who just got out of jail.
Predicted Record: I see them finishing they year with a very impressive 11-5 record.

New York Giants
Ahh my beloved New York Giants. I'll be honest, this is extremely tough for me... This off season sucked for them on paper and guys like Steve Smith and Kevin Boss will not easily be replaced. Couple that with injuries to up and coming star Terrell Thomas and MLB Jonathan Goff (along with others) and it seems like a recipe for disaster. So what has me holding on to a glimmer of hope? The past. For the majority of my life time as unpredictable as the Giants have been on the field, their front office has been a strength. They seem to have an uncanny ability to know when to cut the chords on guys and how to promote from within. So let's hope to God that my G-Men have something up their sleeves and pull a winning season out of their asymptotes.
Positives: The Giants have 4 things things that are really the foundation of any successful team a good head coach, a solid QB, a good running game, and an elite pass rush. There is no denying that those are four strengths for my G-Men and you would think should lead them to playoff contention. Not to mention rising stars Hakeem Nicks and Mario Manningham at receiver. They have a chance to be explosive on both sides of the ball.
My Concerns: Anybody who has paid any sort of attention to the Giants last season and this past off season will understand why the following are my concerns so I feel no need to elaborate: Turnovers, Special Team, and Health.
Predicted Record: Through ups and downs the end the year with a respectable 10-6.

So now that those two are out of the way it's time to take a look at the rest of the NFL really quick..

In the NFC: I think both the Eagles and the Giants will have around 10 wins, but I'm giving the Giants the tie breaker simply because I'm incredibly biased and I love the Giants, not to mention a strong resentment for the Eagles. In the north the Packers have a huge season and take it despite big improvements to teams like the Vikings and Lions. The south is extremely tight but I think the Falcons will pull it out despite an extremely close race between them and the Saints and Bucs. I feel like I'm one of the only people in the world who think that Bucs will continue to be competitive but what can I say? I'm in on Josh Freeman. All there is for me to say in the west is that the Rams will be the only team that actually resembles a team and therefore they will win. As for the Wild Cards, I see them going to the Eagles and the Bucs.
In the AFC: As much as I think the Jets are probably one of the most well-rounded teams in football I think the Patriots edge them out in the division once again. In the north I see the Steelers separating themselves from the Ravens a bit and taking the division. In the south it's pretty Peyton returns to the Colts a couple weeks in and they edge out the Texans by a hair. If this is correct we finally see the end of the Gary Kubiak era and the Texans flourish in 2012-13. (This prediction is pending Peyton's return) In the west the Chargers finally get it together and dominate their division. For the Wild Cards I see it going to the Jets and the Ravens, I know.. Surprise, surprise..

Super Bowl: The Patriots over the Packers. (Let me make a disclaimer that I will never outwardly pick the Giants to go to the Super Bowl but I will always secretly pick them. I just can't afford to jinx them so I will never take the chance.)

So now, I implore you all to enjoy not only tonight but every NFL football game for the rest of the season to the fullest. And cherrish it! Because as sports fans this is it for us and to take it for granted would be foolish.

Class Dimissed,
Student of Sports

SoS

By the way guys make sure to like my facebook page at Student of Sports on Facebook.

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

AJ and the Goldfish

I wasn't anticipating writing this post today because I intend on doing an NFL preview tomorrow but something has been nagging at me that I just have to let out...

AJ BURNETT DOES NOT HAVE THE TOOLS TO BE A SUCCESSFUL MLB PITCHER!!!!!!!!

Ohhhhhhhhhhh yeah.. that felt good. The proverbial rock has been lifted off of my shoulders. I feel like I could run a marathon, climb a mountain, I'M AS FREE AS A BIRD!

Geez, these last couple posts have certainly brought ouy my sarcastically enthusiastic side..

But seriously, I am so sick and tired listening to and reading what people say about AJ Burnett. We all now that in terms of stuff, he is very talented. But since when in sports has physical ability alone been all you need? If somebody born with all the physical tools to be a great player was automatically supposed to be the best player, why isn't Vince Carter one of the best players in basketball? Why was Jamarcus Russell such a ginormous failure? Do you want to know why? They only have half the tools. Because they lack what makes guys like Tom Brady and Derek Jeter great. Mental toughness.

Do you know who knew this better than anyone? Earl Woods. He made sure that there would be nobody mentally tougher than his son, Eldrick. (aka Tiger for those of you who haven't figured this out yet.) Unfortunately for Tiger, he discovered that just like physical ability, you can injure your mental toughness. But, like him or not, in his prime Tiger Woods was the perfect example of mental toughness.

And that brings us to AJ.. Who, by my guess, has about as much mental toughness of a goldfish (I'd like to take this opportunity to apologize to the goldfish community), only has half of the tools. Not all the tools, half the tools. And with only half the tools you need to be a successful Major League Baseball pitcher, how good is his potential really? It seems to me like his potential is about a 13-11 season with an era around 4. (His average season according to Baseball-Reference) And if that's what his true potential is than there is no point in us, as fans, to expect anything more out of him.

Mental toughness doesn't seem to be something you just pick up like a new pitch one off-season, this is something you're born with or develop shortly after birth. You either got it or you don't, and for our poor AJ.. He don't.  When I look at AJ Burnett I don't see an insanely gifted pitcher who is just not putting all the pieces together, I see a pitcher with good physical ability but will just never be good enough mentally to be a front end starter. I see a run of the mill, 4th or 5th starter.

Do you know why I'm confident that I'm correct? Confident AJ has hit his peak as a starter? The guy has been a .500 starter his entire career with an era under 4 only 5 times in a 13 year career! He's only had one good season.. Only one year where you can say he was definitely better than that 13-11 4.00 stat line I threw at you before. Plain and simple, AJ Burnett is just not that good. He doesn't have all the tools and the worst part is that, due to age, he's beginning to lose the only tools he used to have.

It's sad actually that such enormous expectation have been put on somebody with no chance of fulfilling them. He was set up to fail.

So as a Yankee fan I have a bit of advice for my fellow members of Yankee Universe. Next time AJ Burnett makes a start put the aspirin, stress ball, bottle of scotch, and pistol away and just accept him for what it is. Stop setting yourself up for disappointment and stop setting him up to disappoint. Face the facts, he's just not that good and never will be.

Class Dismissed,
Student of Sports

SoS

Friday, September 2, 2011

Hurricanes, Assassins, and Obnoxious Clapping


Long time no read! or write.. I guess that all depends on what perspective you're coming at this from. So maybe it would be better to start off with..

Long time no write for me and no read for you! ..OK that admittedly doesn't have the same ring to it, no pop. But that's all irrelevant because there are far greater matters afoot! (Pardon my corny and overblown enthusiasm)

This is a pretty HUGE couple of weeks for me as a sports fan. It all started last weekend for me while the destructive and sinister Hurricane Irene terrorized much of my area. I managed to isolated myself in a protective four walled abode, also known as my room, and partake in my annual fantasy football draft. This year it was a 12 team snake where I had the 8th pick. I'll let you guys figure out if my draft was a success, here are my picks:

8. Jamaal Charles KC RB
17. Roddy White Atl WR
32. Miles Austin Dal WR
41. Ahmad Bradshaw NYG RB
56. BenJarvus Green-Ellis Ne RB
65. Josh Freeman TB QB
80. Jonathan Stewart Car RB
89. Steelers D/ST
104. Johnny Know Chi WR
113. Michael Bush Oak RB
128. Matt Cassel KC QB
137. Tony Gonzalez Atl TE
152. Danny Ammendola StL WR
161. Jerome Simpson Cin WR
176. Stephen Gostkowski NE K
185. Montario Hardesty Cle RB

So there it is, my team. You guys can probably tell that I used the strategy of loading up on as many WR/RBs as possible, because that is how you win. You go into every season knowing what you'll get from the QBs but it's the WR and RBs that are volatile positions. So my recommendation for those of you participating in upcoming drafts is if you can't get one of the top QBs wait as long as you can to the point where you can still get a QB you can trust, get a marquee RB and WR, then fill in the rest of your roster with as many RB and WRs as possible. Believe me, you don't need depth at TE, D/ST, or Kicker so there is no point in drafting depth there. Any by the way my team name is The Social As5a5sans. (Yes, it's from Curb Your Enthusiasm and yes, I realize how not cool the 5a5 sequence is in the middle. Unfortunately ESPN.com wouldn't allow the use of Assassins.)

Then as you all know the Yankees just wrapped up a series with the Boston Red Sox. The impact this series had on me as a fan can not be understated. Don't get me wrong, I love my Yankees but to be honest with you up to this point it's kinda been a lethargic season for me as a fan with only a couple moments of real excitement. ( i.e. DJ3K) This series however, was captivating. From an obnoxious clap from Fransisco Cervelli resulting in a bean ball and cleared benches to Jesus Montero getting called up to Adrian Gonzalez leaving the bat on his shoulder for the final out against the almighty Mariano. This series got me re-hooked and begging for a Yankee/Red Sox ALCS. The best part about it was that the Yanks actually grew a pair and took a series from Boston, it's about time! Listen, it doesn't matter who wins the Wild Card or who wins the division and I think both teams feel that way. But, if the Yankees and Red Sox are playing each other, it's all good.

And that leaves the thing I am the most excited for... We are a week away from real football. Oh yes, let hat sink in, real unfiltered NFL football. Watching the Giants along with the rest of the league is my favorite part of the year and to say I'm excited would be a colossal understatement. I don't know what this season will bring or how my Giants will do, but watching it all unfold will feel so damn good. Let's go G-Men!

Class Dismissed,
Student of Sports

SoS