Another Month, Some More Thoughts

Another month has passed between posts, as I battle through law school finals.  So once again, my apologies for the lack of posts.  As usual, here's my thoughts on the various teams and leagues I follow:

Tigers: Yeah, the Tigers are struggling and we could start freaking out, calling for massive changes.  I don't think that's necessary this early on.  The offense is struggling, but we can't expect Miggy and Prince to struggle this mightily the entire season. Once they get on track, which they will, the rest of the offense will follow.  The starters have been terrible (outside of Smyly and JV) and that is, was and will be an area of concern.  I believe that Porcello is pitching better than he ever has, and the results will catch up with that; that Scherzer is Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and we just gootta live through those terrible outings; and that once Fister returns, the rotation will solidify and the team will go on a major run. With the weak division the Tigers inhabit, they can hover at .500 and still be solidly in the hunt, so no fears in the early going.

Wings: Nothing more frustrating than a series like we just saw.  The Wings easily could have been up 3-0 after the first three games, but instead, a couple garbage goals and a hot Rinne, and the Wings were down 2-1.  After that, the momentum was in the Preds corner and the Wings just couldn't switch it back in their favor. What makes this most disheartening is to see the road left for a Cup run in the West. The Wings would have had the Yotes for the third year running (a team whose number they have) and then either the Kings or Blues, both teams the Wings have had success against.  A few bounces our way and the Wings would have been the most talented and experienced team left in the West. Ugh, what could have been...

Spurs: I'm more excited for these playoffs than I have been in years.  This Spurs team runs 12 (!!!) deep, scores at will, has an MVP candidate in Tony Parker, has the veteran wiles of Stephen Jackson, Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, and Matt Bonner, and the youthful legs and exuberance of Gary Neal, Kawhi Leonard, Danny Green, DeJuan Blair, and Tiago Splitter.  Oh, did I forget that they also have Boris Diaw, James Anderson, and Patty Mills (the 13th man, who just went off to end the season).  The first round series is against a tough Jazz team, but the Spurs dominated them all season (the one loss was a last second loss without TD, Manu, and Tony playing).  I see the Spurs winning in 5, with one game where the Jazz feed off a great SLC crowd and wins late.  The second round will be either the Grizzlies or Lob City.  I know this is crazy talk, but I want Memphis. I want revenge for last season, I want to play the team that "was obviously better".  Yeah right! With a healthy Manu and Z-Bo not hitting every shot he takes, this series will be much different. Finally, GO SPURS GO!

Cowboys: I absolutely loved the Cowboys offseason.  They needed to strengthen their biggest weakness, the secondary. They did so by replacing Alan Ball, Abram Elam, and Terrence Newman with Brandon Carr, Brodney Pool, and Mo Claiborne.  That is such an amazing job by Jerry Jones, especially when you consider that the offense and rest of the D really stayed intact.  Next, they upgraded other areas, replacing Keith Brookings with Dan Conner, Jon Kitna with Kyle Orton, and Tony Fiammetta with Lawrence Vickers. None major, but all making the Cowboys a much stronger team overall.  I was disgusted with the Cowboys last season and couldn't care less for this upcoming season, but Jerry Jones is one of the best for a reason.  He went out and made the team a legitimate contender for the Giants and Eagles in the NFC East.  I'm as excited as I could ever be for the NFL in April.

Miscellaneous: Bryce Harper is a freaking stud. I watched most of that Nats/Dodgers game last night and it was amazing to me that he is only 19 years old...all this talk about fights and dirty play in the NHL is overblown and here is why: the first round saw multiple rivalries and whenever you have hated rivals facing each other in do-or-die in the playoffs, you will have fights, no matter how clean the teams usually are (see Suns/Spurs).  Second, this is the first season of the focus on head injuries.  The NHL is being overcautious with head injuries and as a result, more suspensions came that way as well.  My guess: we will see nothing else like it the rest of the playoffs, unless we get Rangers/Flyers next round...Finally, I watch pretty much every sport and have a team/participant that I root for in every sport. Ask a sport, and I'll tell you about it and my favorite.  But up until recently, UFC was just not my thing.  Enter Jon "Bones" Jones.  The UFC Light Heavyweight champion and youngest champ ever is a blast to watch, my favorite fighter since seeing him at UFC 94.  His style is right up my alley and keeps me entertained.  After this last fight against Rashad Evans, I truly believe that Jones will go down as one of the best fighters UFC has ever seen, along with Anderson Silva.  We truly are watching greatness right now in the UFC.