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Midwest Regional: 9 Thoughts On Wichita, Louisville & The “Blood Bracket”

The Midwest Regional was the talk of ESPN last night as the “blood regional”, with Wichita, Michigan, Duke and Louisville as the top four seeds. It’s also the biggest regional, with three seed lines being in play at Dayton during the First Four over Tuesday and Wednesday night. TheSportsNotebook has summarized the basic resumes of all 19 teams in a separate post. My own picks are below. Here are nine general thoughts on this region…

Midwest Regional: Tale Of The Tape

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The Midwest Regional is the biggest of the four brackets in the NCAA Tournament, as three of the “First Four” games in Dayton will be in this region. Thus, the Midwest has two teams at the 11, 12 & 16 seed lines respectively, for a 19-team bracket overall. Wichita is the 1-seed and this regional will ultimately be settled in Indianapolis. Here’s a concise summation of all 19 teams, touching on their resume and personnel…

Washington Nationals Preview

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The Washington Nationals lived through a disappointing 2013 season, one in which they had high expectations and weren’t afraid to share them publicly. In spite of a late-season spurt that made things moderately interesting, the Nationals still finished out of the playoffs and got themselves a new manager in Matt Williams. What’s the outlook in the nation’s capital for 2014? Here’s the Notebook Nine, our focal points on this year’s Nationals team…

College Basketball Conference Tournaments: Sparty Makes A Statement

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The NCAA Tournament bracket is up and the Madness has begun. But before we dig into the field of 68, how about we first take a look back at the events of the past several days in the college basketball conference tournaments? The first nets were cut down as teams won conference tournaments and in no case was a bigger statement than in Indianapolis, where Michigan State thundered to a tournament crown.

Baltimore Orioles Preview

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The Baltimore Orioles didn’t make it back to the playoffs last year after their surprise run to the Division Series in 2012. But the Orioles did win 85 games in baseball’s toughest division and established that the turnaround under manager Buck Showalter is on a firm foundation. How far can that foundation go in the new season? That’s the question our Notebook Nine, the nine key talking points about the Orioles will seek to shed light on…

New York Yankees Preview

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In a major league baseball era where one-third of the teams qualify for postseason play, the organization with the most distinct financial advantage of any in sports was not one of them in 2013. The New York Yankees lived through a season filled with injuries, drama and underachievement, en route to an 85-win season that left them home for October. After a busy offseason, are the Yanks ready to come back strong? The Notebook Nine, our key talking points about the Pinstripes, are what follows…

Texas Rangers Preview

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The Texas Rangers saw a three-year string of postseason appearances of come to an end in the 2013 MLB season, although the Rangers still made a one-game tie-breaker playoff for the final American League wild-card spot. The organization has been busy this offseason to make certain this year’s October appearance gets them more than one quasi-playoff game. TheSportsNotebook puts forth its Notebook Nine, our focal points on the Rangers for 2014…

College Basketball Conference Tournaments: Who Needs To Win?

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If March Madness is the great feast of college basketball, then the conference tournaments are the appetizer. All across America, from Brooklyn to Atlanta to Kansas City to a double down in Las Vegas and a lot of other places in between, the major leagues gather for several days of non-stop hoops.

Saluting The 2014 College Basketball Regular Season Conference Champions

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All of which is not to demean the excitement of March Madness, which I’m as ready for as anyone. Rather, it’s an imploring not to demean the achievements of the regular season that end with a championship

Cincinnati Reds Preview

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The Cincinnati Reds made the postseason for the third time in four years last season, but a late-season fade that cost them the NL Central followed by a poor showing in a wild-card game loss at Pittsburgh, cast a negative cloud on 2013. So negative that the Reds’ front office decided it was time for a managerial change. Dusty Baker is out, Bryan Price is in. Does that make a difference in the Cincinnati fortunes? Here’s the Notebook Nine, our relevant talking points as we stand three weeks from Opening Day…

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