If there was any hope for some extra drama in the National League playoff race, this week pretty much eliminated it. There are still six teams vying for five spots, and when the Washington Nationals were swept by the Atlanta Braves, it not only furthered the Braves’ chokehold in the NL East, it realistically took the Nats off the list of wild-card possibilities.
Friday night was set to be a good night for baseball, with the Detroit Tigers going to the Bronx to play the New York Yankees. Then the Tigers went and swept the Cleveland Indians four straight to blow open the AL Central. The Yanks lost consecutive series to the Padres and White Sox and made […]
Bill Belichick, Tom Brady and the Patriot Machine come into the 2013 NFL season as a heavy favorite to secure yet another AFC East crown. The oddsmakers in Las Vegas have posted them as a 5-13 favorite. The math is such that you if you want to bet against the Patriots in this division, you need not pick a challenger. You could bet the three rivals at equal levels and turn a profit so long as one of them came through.
I’ve begun to realize that a sign of dating yourself with the younger crowd is that you remember, in vivid detail, the last time the Buffalo Bills were really good. Those of us 40-and-up can remember pretty clearly this organization’s halcyon days of 1990-93 and the unprecedented four straight AFC titles…and yes, the four straight Super Bowl losses.
The circus that is the New York Jets has been a little quieter this year. Not only is Tim Tebow gone from the quarterback picture, but any sort of expectations are gone from the team picture. It would seem that the season is just about letting Rex Ryan have one more year to finish hanging himself before moving on.
The Miami Dolphins have been an organization in a funk for a long time. They haven’t gone deep into the postseason since making the AFC Championship Game since 1992. They haven’t gone to the Super Bowl since 1984 and they haven’t won it since 1973. In recent years, an AFC East title in 2008 and quick first-round playoff exit is the only interlude in an extended run of mediocrity.
The machine is that the New England Patriots gears it up for another year, in what oddsmakers presume will be at least another AFC East title and being a part of the Super Bowl conversation. The question, as Tom Brady hits 36-years-old, is whether all those wins can be rolled over into the first Super Bowl win since 2004.
The big AL Central series between the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Indians has rapidly fizzled, as the Tigers have gone on the road and taken the first three games and opened up a little cushion in the division race. But the Tribe is still right in the mix of the wild-card race and looks to salvage a game in tonight’s finale.
It’s been a couple weeks since Kansas football coach Charlie Weis made some waves at Big 12 media day, but as TheSportsNotebook was doing its Big 12 football preview for today’s college football coverage, I harkened back to Weis’ remarks, and they’re still rubbing me the wrong way.
Texas & Oklahoma are the powers-that-be in Big 12 football. Their programs have brand-name power and from 2002 to 2010 it was either the Longhorns or Sooners winning the conference championship in every year but one—and in the “out” year of 2003, Oklahoma was still ranked high enough to make the BCS National Championship Game.
But the last two years have been different, with Oklahoma State and Kansas State coming in and winning outright league championships. Is there more rebellion lurking in 2013, or is the Establishment ready to reassert themselves? That’s the focus of today’s college football coverage
The venues of the NL Central are the focal point of Wednesday’s TV daily sports schedule, with matinee action in the afternoon and then prime-time on ESPN. Baseball fans can tune into the MLB Network at 12:30 PM ET for a getaway game between the Oakland A’s and Cincinnati Reds.
Then ESPN takes over at 8 PM ET—note that it’s one hour later than the normal start time—for the Dodgers-Cardinals from Busch Stadium. All four teams are on a pace to make the playoffs, all four are in hot races, so it adds up to a good baseball TV day.
The SEC’s dominance of college football goes well beyond the fact they’ve owned the BCS National Championship since 2006, including Alabama’s thrashing of Notre Dame in the 2012 national title game down in Miami. When it comes to measuring conference strength, it’s far more important to look further down the ladder, and it’s here that SEC dominance has really stood out.