SEC Football: Let’s Get Some Love For Georgia
Georgia is a 13-2 betting choice to win the SEC title, and there are five conference teams with better odds. It’s no surprise that Alabama is the prohibitive favorite, even if the Tide are rebuilding.
J.P. Flynn
About J.P. Flynn
Posts by J.P. Flynn:
Who Are The Real Los Angeles Dodgers?
There’s a curious dichotomy over how the Los Angeles Dodgers are perceived and how they’ve performed on the field. Public perception—as measured by betting odds—says they’re the best team in baseball, a 5-1 favorite to win the World Series. The results on the field say they’re narrowly trailing the San Francisco Giants in the NL West, and are one of four teams tied in the loss column for two wild-card spots. Which is reality?
A Season That’s Been A Long Time Coming For The Los Angeles Angels
This season has been a long time coming for the Los Angeles Angels and manager Mike Scioscia. It seems hard to believe that it’s been five years since the Angels last made the playoffs, when they reached the American League Championship Series in 2009.
Since then, there has been the rise and fall of the Texas Rangers and the Angels’ flurry of free agent spending. There has been massive underachievement and the perception of the franchise changed from that of smart, fundamentally-sound overachievers, to a poorly constructed team of fat cats.
Tony Dungy On Michael Sam: Is It Possible To Agree & Disagree All At Once?
I just returned to the sports media world about an hour ago and found that Tony Dungy had set the cat down amidst the pigeons when it came to Michael Sam. If it’s possible to strongly agree and strongly disagree with a statement all in one fell swoop, Dungy’s quote was it.
Pac-12 Football: Should Oregon Be The Top-Heavy Favorite?
There’s been a clear contrast in Pac-12 hype and Pac-12 results over the last two college football season. The run-up to the seasons in 2012 and 2013, and much of the hype for a couple months always surrounded the Oregon Ducks and their national title hopes. Then the Stanford Cardinal, quietly, with sound fundamentals and physical play, smacked the Ducks in the mouth in November and walked off with the conference championship.
Why The Kansas City Royals Aren’t Getting Over The Hump
This should be “the year” for the Kansas City Royals, to at least make it into the playoffs. Last year almost was. And maybe 2014 still will be—the Royals are only 2 ½ games out of the second wild-card spot going into their Saturday night game in Boston. But Kansas City is also only 48-47, they’ve been passed in the AL Central by the Cleveland Indians and both teams are still looking up at the Detroit Tigers. So what’s the deal, why can’t Kansas City get it done?
Why Have The Milwaukee Brewers Fallen Apart?
The Milwaukee Brewers had a good night on Tuesday at the All-Star Game in Minneapolis. The three Brewer starters all made good early contributions—Jonathan Lucroy doubled twice, while Aramis Ramirez and Carlos Gomez each made nice plays in the field. But that’s about all that’s gone well for the Brewers in the month of July.
NFC North Preview: Can Anyone Catch Green Bay?
The Green Bay Packers have owned the NFC North, for the most part, since this division was created in its present form in the realignment of 2002. The Packers won the North from 2002-04, and again in 2007. The torch passed from Brett Favre to Aaron Rodgers and the Packers have won this division each year since 2011. The last time they didn’t win the NFC North was 2010…when they merely won the Super Bowl as a wild-card.
Big Ten Football: A Conference Looking For A Revival
The Big Ten has had a rough go of it nationally in recent years. Even as the league’s brand name and marketing cache seem to increase exponentially—the expansion to 14 teams takes effect this year—the results on the football field haven’t followed. At least until last January 1 they didn’t. That’s when Michigan State upset Stanford in the Rose Bowl and finally salvaged some pride for this league in a big non-conference game.
An Exciting Time Is At Hand For The NBA
I’m looking forward to the coming NBA season—and hopefully the next several—with more anticipation than I ever have before. This has the real potential to be a Golden Age for the league.
The St. Louis Cardinals Power Outage
The reason St. Louis is not in first place right now, and the reason they’re stuck in the middle of a logjam of teams, is that there’s been a serious power outage in the lineup. The Cardinals rank 13th in the National League in runs scored. It’s not because they can’t fill the basepaths—the team is 5th in on-base percentage. But cashing in has been another story. St. Louis is 12th among NL teams in slugging percentage, mainly because they are the worst National League team at hitting home runs.
Why The Boston Red Sox Shouldn’t Hold A Fire Sale
Should the Boston Red Sox throw in the towel, tank the rest of the 2014 season and try and get prospects for their veteran players? That was a question this Red Sox fan received via text message this week from a friend.