by Eric Fulton Through four weeks of the 2015 National Football League (NFL) season, there are six teams that remain undefeated. Most of those teams are not surprising to many, although some like the Atlanta Falcons few saw coming. Also, one division has two teams undefeated (NFC South). For this power rankings list, I will rank the teams who I feel are the best undefeated teams in the NFL right now. 1. New England Patriots Had the judge not overturned the “Deflate-gate” ruling, New England would be without Tom Brady and would not be undefeated. But with Brady starting they are still clearly the team to beat in the NFL. 2. Carolina Panthers This seems to the best Panthers team in the Cam Newton era. What is most impressive is that they are still undefeated without their best defensive player Luke Kuechly, who has been out due to concussion symptoms. Whenever they get him back, this team could make a deep run in the NFC. 3. Green Bay Packers Aaron Rodgers is one of the best quarterbacks on the planet and the Packers defense seems like they are getting stronger by the week. No one would want to play them at Lambeau Field come January. 4. Denver Broncos Peyton Manning is still Peyton Manning. Whatever beef was going on between Manning and head coach Gary Kubiak is just a thing of the past as the Broncos are still major contenders to win the AFC and the Super Bowl. 5. Atlanta Falcons New head coach Dan Quinn has brought a defensive mindset to Atlanta in which the Falcons are succeeding early in the season. Quarterback Matt Ryan still remains as the focus for that team. Can he lead the Falcons to that next level still remains to be seen? 6. Cincinnati Bengals The Bengals have made the playoffs every season since Andy Dalton became the starting quarterback. They are a good team that can win the tough AFC North. However, the question remains is can they win a playoff game? Last time the franchise won a playoff was 1990. We will find out as they appear to be on their way to yet another postseason. Which team do you think is currently the best in the NFL?
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by Julian Spivey Sometimes you never truly know how badly you wanted something until it happens. As soon as I saw the words “Ichiro is coming in to pitch” on Sunday while scrolling through my Twitter feed I knew this was something I desperately wanted to see. I immediately fired up the MLB.tv app on my television and found the Miami Marlins/Philadelphia Phillies game, a game between two of the very worst teams in all of baseball that I’m sure few were watching until they read the very words I had that piqued my interest. The game was somewhat out of hand 6-2 with the Phillies leading in the bottom of the eighth, as you would expect with a position player coming to the mound. I guess pitching in a Major League Baseball game had long been on Ichiro Suzuki’s bucket list and he had talked Marlins manager Dan Jennings into letting him get an inning in before the season ended. When the MLB.tv app finally loaded Ichiro had already allowed a double to Phillies outfielder Odubel Herrera. When I tuned in Suzuki was pitching to Phillies infielder Darnell Sweeney, who promptly laced a double into the outfield to score Herrera on the first pitch I saw Ichiro throw. Alas, Ichiro wouldn’t have a perfect or even scoreless inning of work in his Major League pitching debut, but things were about to get crazy as hell. I noticed that Ichiro was throwing a fastball in the upper 80s, topping out at 88 MPH, which fascinated me coming from an outfielder who will turn 42 later this month. Ichiro has always had one of the best arms from the outfield, but that flat out flabbergasted me. If that wasn’t surprising enough what would happen in Phillies infielder Freddy Galvis’ at-bat against Ichiro would leave my jaw agape and I’m not sure it’ll ever find its way all the way back to its natural position. Ichiro, who had just been throwing his mid-to-upper 80s fastball, broke off a breaking ball so devastating that Galvis, a guy who drove in 50 runs this year, flailed away at it as if Clayton Kershaw himself was on the mound. Ichiro would induce a groundout and couple of fly balls to end the inning. I’m not being the least bit facetious when I say it may have been my favorite inning of baseball all season long. I’ve always loved watching Ichiro play the game of baseball and realize the importance he’s had on the game, which I think has always been underrated and underestimated. Ichiro really was the first great Asian position player to come to the Major Leagues and he’s really been the only great one since his arrival. Five years after his retirement he’ll no doubt be the first ever Asian born player to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. I always loved watching Ichiro play because he was such a great hitter, one of the greatest of all-time, but did so in a unique way by slapping the ball all over the field. Watching Ichiro hit a ball on the infield and beat the throw out at first base will always be one of the most fascinating things I’ll ever see in the game. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to watch Ichiro play as much as I would’ve liked with him spending the majority of his career, and all of his great years, with a mostly bad Seattle Mariners team. Oftentimes the only time I’d get to see him shine would be in the Midsummer Classic. But, in an era with inflated numbers due to rampant performance enhancing drug use Ichiro was a breath of fresh air. Watching him get to do something he’s apparently always wanted to do on Sunday was an absolute blast and at his age and due to the fact that he hasn’t been a regular position player for multiple seasons now it wouldn’t be too surprising if his performance on the mound was the last time we’ll ever see him play. I hope this isn’t the case as he’s only 65 hits away from 3,000 for his MLB career and has already gone over 4,000 (something only Pete Rose and Ty Cobb had ever done) for his career when you throw in his professional numbers from Japan, where he began his career. Ichiro is a lovable guy and has always been a pleasure to watch. That breaking pitch he threw that made Galvis look like a little leaguer on Sunday was one of the most pleasuring things I’ve seen in sports in a while. by Julian Spivey The MLB Postseason begins on Tuesday, Oct. 6 with the American League Wild Card game between the New York Yankees and the Houston Astros. This year’s MLB Postseason seems like it could be the most open in a long time with so many teams having an excellent shot at World Series glory. This makes it one of the most exciting playoffs in some time. Here are my rankings of most likely to least likely win the World Series … 1. Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are the scariest team in the playoffs and I think this makes them the favorite. I worried about their pitching even after acquiring ace David Price ahead of the MLB Trade Deadline, because I didn’t think they’d have the right 2-4 guys to do much come playoff time. However, Marco Estrada had a very solid season as the Blue Jays No. 2 guy going 13-8 with a 3.13 ERA and Marcus Stroman has been darn near perfect going 4-0 with a 1.67 ERA since coming back from an injury that kept him out almost all season. All Price, Estrada and Stroman have to do is keep the runs down and the best offense in baseball led by likely American League MVP Josh Donaldson, Jose Bautista, Troy Tulowitzki and Edwin Encarnacion should get the job done. 2. Chicago Cubs It might seem ridiculous to have the Chicago Cubs as the team with the second best chance of winning the World Series for many reasons – 1) they’re the Cubs and the Cubs can’t possibly win a World Series 2) they’re too young to win a World Series right now 3) They might be eliminated after just one playoff game if they lose the National League Wild Card game to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday night. But, if they can get past that one-game wild card playoff I think the Cubs are the best team in the N.L. right now. The young bats of Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant, Jorge Soler, Kyle Schwarber and more will have to step up big in the playoffs, but they’ve shown what they’re capable of all year. The biggest plus the Cubs have going for them is their top two starting pitchers: Jake Arrieta has been lights out with possibly the greatest second half of any pitcher in baseball history and Jon Lester has a ton of big time playoff experience in the past with the Boston Red Sox. 3. Kansas City Royals Before the Toronto Blue Jays acquired David Price and Troy Tulowitzki before the Trade Deadline I would have had the Kansas City Royals as the biggest threat to win the title from the American League, but I think they’ve been surpassed by the Jays. The Royals are a tight knit bunch who showed last year in their surprising playoff run that they can find more ways to win tight, important games than any other team in baseball. The key for the Royals will likely be what they get out of their rotation led by ace Johnny Cueto, who has been off lately, and Yordano Ventura. 4. Los Angeles Dodgers Clayton Kershaw and Zack Grienke. Those two guys are the entire reason that I have the Los Angeles Dodgers this high. They have been two of the three best pitchers in not just the National League, but the entirety of Major League Baseball all season long and could be devastating to opposing offenses throughout the playoffs. There’s simply no better 1-2 in baseball. The problem could be that for some unknown reason Kershaw has always choked in the playoffs, which he’ll have to get over immediately for the Dodgers to have any World Series hopes. 5. Pittsburgh Pirates I am predicting that the Pittsburgh Pirates playoff run is only going to last one game. I think they will get shutdown by Chicago Cubs ace Jake Arrieta in the National League Wild Card game on Thursday night (which could prove to be the best game of the entire playoffs). However, if Pirates ace Gerrit Cole, also one of the N.L.’s very best hurlers, and the Buccs’ offense can lead the Pirates past the Cubs I believe they’ll have the opportunity to go very far. Not only is Cole a great pitcher, but the Pirates have a top notch No. 2 guy in Francisco Liriano and a terrific offense led by Andrew McCutchen. They won almost 100 games this season, despite not even winning their division, which shows you just how strong they are. 6. New York Mets The New York Mets have arguably been the hottest team in baseball since the All Star break cruising by the Washington Nationals and going on to win the National League East Division. The one weakness they had was their offensive didn’t have a big bopper and then they acquired Yoenis Cespedes right before the MLB Trade Deadline and he’s been so terrific for them that some people believe he should receive N.L. MVP votes just for two months of work in the league. What makes the Mets truly scary is their young pitching led by Jacob deGrom and Matt Harvey, though everybody wonders exactly how much Harvey will be allowed to pitch in the playoffs due to an innings limit. 7. Texas Rangers The Texas Rangers truly came out of nowhere to win the American League West Division. In fact, many wondered whether or not the Rangers would be sellers come the MLB Trade Deadline at the end of July. Then they made a big splash acquiring ace Cole Hamels from the Philadelphia Phillies that was considered a deal for the future. Except, the Rangers believed they still had life this year and went on a torrid run that was aided by a struggling Houston Astros team to take the division. The Rangers have a good offense led by Adrian Beltre and Prince Fielder, but the pitching after Hamels is somewhat of a question mark. If Derek Holland and Colby Lewis are strong this team can accomplish something great. 8. Houston Astros The Houston Astros struggled mightily in the second half of the season losing a pretty decent lead in the American League West Division and falling almost completely out of the playoffs before clinching the second A.L. Wild Card on the last day of the season. The young bats and arms pretty much fell off completely in the second half of the season as a team filled with guys who’ve never had to play this far into a season grew tired. The only reason I have them at number eight on this list is because I believe their ace Dallas Keuchel will shut down the New York Yankees in the A.L. Wild Card game on Tuesday night to get them to the American League Division Series. Keuchel threw 17 shutout innings in his two games against the Yankees this season. 9. New York Yankees The New York Yankees overachieved this season, which is something you absolutely never expect from the Yankees. Many didn’t believe the Yankees could make the playoffs and here they are. Unfortunately, when it comes to the MLB Wild Card games a lot of times you have to take the team with the best pitcher on the mound. The Astros have probable A.L. Cy Young winner Dallas Keuchel on the mound Tuesday night who has owned the Yankees this season, while the Yankees have their ace Masahiro Tanaka who has battled injuries for much of the last two seasons and hasn’t been the shutdown pitcher he’s capable of being. I expect the Yankees playoff run to be one game and done. 10. St. Louis Cardinals I can hear people saying aloud, “are you freakin’ kidding?” right now. The St. Louis Cardinals were the best team in baseball record-wise all season long. But, as we’ve seen before the regular season and postseason are two different things and the Cardinals have stumbled into the postseason with major injury problems and poorer play than the other four National League playoff teams. The Cardinals heart and soul catcher Yadier Molina may not be able to play and the Cardinals best hitter Matt Holliday has not been 100 percent all season long. The Cardinals two best pitchers this season, Carlos Martinez and Michael Wacha, are either ailing or have been struggling as of late. The Cardinals overachieved in my opinion for the entire season. Now when it’s time to be at your best they are arguably struggling more than they have all season long. That’s not a good recipe for postseason success. Who do you think is the favorite in the MLB playoffs? by Julian Spivey Republican Presidential candidates have found a new way to pander to the racists of their party, which unfortunately is a much too large portion of the conservative base it seems these days: talking about controversial sports topics and ending up on the wrong side of them. In the last week both Ben Carson and Jeb Bush, two of the four GOP front-runners, have found themselves taking the pro-racism side on the topics of Confederate flags in NASCAR and the Washington Redskins’ nickname. You would think that the lone African-American candidate wouldn’t be supportive of anything pertaining to the Confederate flag, a flag many African-Americans view as racist, but Carson has proven to be something of an Uncle Tom when it comes to race topics like Black Lives Matter, ultimately turning his back on his own race to gain conservative attention and make white voters feel at ease. In a rally in North Carolina, essentially the home of NASCAR, earlier this week Carson told NASCAR fans that it was OK for them to fly their Confederate flags on private property – as if anybody had ever disputed what Americans could and couldn’t do on their own property. The Confederate flag at NASCAR tracks had been a hot debate since the Charleston shooting in June with the sport and certain tracks asking, not demanding, fans not to fly the offensive flag. The request from NASCAR at least partially backfired as some fans rebelling against the request seemingly showed up with more Confederate flags. At the event, in which NASCAR legend Richard Petty informally endorsed Carson, the Republican candidate said, “If it’s a majority of people in that area who want it to fly, I certainly wouldn’t take it down.” Telling people exactly what they want to hear has always been a popular tactic among politicians, even if it means lying or, in Carson’s case, turning his back on his own race. The biggest sports topic dealing with racism that has been brewing over the past year-plus has been the Washington Redskins’ team nickname. “Redskins” by its very definition is a racial slur and yet many football fans don’t seem to care that the name is offensive to an entire race of people and steadfastly defend it. You can count Jeb Bush among those. Speaking to the new The Arena radio show on SiriusXM, Bush told co-hosts Andy Katz and Rick Klein: “I don’t think [the team] should change it. But again, I don’t think politicians ought to have any say in that to be honest with you. I don’t find it offensive. Native American tribes generally don’t find it offensive.” Bush, apparently thinking he can speak for all Native American tribes, is completely wrong when he says “Native American tribes generally don’t find it offensive” as numerous tribes have come out and said they would like to see the team change its name. Still, it wouldn’t be the dumbest thing Bush would say all week – his “stuff happens” response to the horrific Oregon community college mass shooting takes that cake. Bush was correct about one thing, however, in saying that politicians ought to not have a say in such things, because all that does is lead to candidates like Bush and Carson pandering to the lowest individuals of their party who are just fine with racism seeping into professional sports. Carson and Bush really should be worrying about more important things than standing up for NASCAR fans wanting to fly a Confederate flag or defending a team name that can’t be argued is not a racist slur. Pandering to voters is something politicians have been doing since the dawn of time and it will always continue to stay this way, but let’s keep it out of sports, especially when it comes to the unnecessary defense of racists. by Julian Spivey It’s been a pretty fantastic season of baseball and as the Major League Baseball (MLB) season winds down this weekend I look forward to what could be the most entertaining postseason in many years. But, before we get down to playoff talk, we’ve got to decide which season was most worthy of being named Most Valuable Player. Here’s what my ballot’s top five would look like if I had a vote for the American League MVP … 1. Josh Donaldson Some people, mostly Sabermetrics nerds, believe that Los Angeles Angels center fielder Mike Trout should be MVP every single season, but I believe what Josh Donaldson has helped do to the Toronto Blue Jays makes him the obvious candidate. Besides, Trout’s Angels may not even make the playoffs and Donaldson, last offseason’s most important acquisition, has led the Jays to their first postseason berth since 1993, which was the longest active playoff drought for any team in the professional big four sports leagues (MLB, NFL, NBA & NHL). Donaldson is actually only percentage points behind Trout this year in the baseball nerd’s most loved statistic WAR (Wins Above Replacement) with an 8.23 WAR to Trout’s 8.35. Donaldson leads the American League with 123 RBI, is third in the league with 41 homers (tied with Trout) and is hitting .301 this season, which is higher than Trout. 2. Mike Trout It may sound like I can’t stand Mike Trout based on my reasoning for why Josh Donaldson is more worthy of the A.L. MVP than he is, but the truth is if you’re wanting to take one player in all of baseball to start a franchise with it’s going to be Trout – he’s simply the best player in the game, except for this season (that would be Donaldson or Bryce Harper in the National League). Trout still deserves a ton of MVP votes with his league leading WAR, 41 homers, and 89 RBI (though it should be noted he doesn’t even lead his own team in that category as Albert Pujols has 93 RBI). 3. David Price Dallas Kuechel has had such a great season for the upstart Houston Astros, leading them to a potential postseason berth out of nowhere, that people seem to have forgotten exactly how great David Price has been for both the Detroit Tigers and the Toronto Blue Jays. Price has a better win percentage (18-5 record) and ERA 2.45 (leads the A.L.) than Kuechel does and it was his trade to the Blue Jays right before the MLB Trade Deadline at the end of July that completely rejuvenated the Jays season and led them to clinching the A.L. East Division and making the playoffs for the first time in 22 years. 4. Dallas Kuechel Alright, so David Price and Dallas Kuechel could essentially be a toss-up here. Kuechel has led the not-too-long-ago-lowly Houston Astros to the brink of potentially making the postseason with Cy Young award-worthy stuff that includes a 2.48 ERA (just barely behind Price for best in the A.L.) and a league leading 20 wins to only 8 losses. He’ll probably take the A.L. Cy Young this year, though Price should be closer than he’ll likely end up being. 5. Edwin Encarnacion It might seem ridiculous to have three Toronto Blue Jays on my ballot (and I promise you I’m not a Blue Jays fan), but the team has come from seemingly out of nowhere to become possibly the best team in baseball. Encarnacion has put up big numbers alongside his teammates Josh Donaldson and Jose Bautista with a .276 batting average, 38 homers (seventh in the league) and 109 RBI (fourth in the league). You could make a case that Baltimore Orioles’ Chris Davis or Seattle Mariners’ Nelson Cruz are more worthy, but they both play on much worse teams and I’m not a fan of giving players who have used performance enhancing drugs (in Cruz’s case) such esteemed awards. Let us know who you think should win American League MVP in the comments … by Julian Spivey It’s been a pretty fantastic season of baseball and as the Major League Baseball (MLB) season winds down this weekend I look forward to what could be the most entertaining postseason in many years. But, before we get down to playoff talk, we’ve got to decide which season was most worthy of being named Most Valuable Player. Here’s what my ballot’s top five would look like if I had a vote for the National League MVP … 1. Bryce Harper The Washington Nationals have been a custerfluck this season as they’re missing the playoffs for yet another year when they were supposed to be the best team in the National League. None of that is Bryce Harper’s fault though, as he’s been the best offensive player by far in the N.L. with a WAR (Wins Above Replacement) of 10.21, almost two full points better than Sabermetric darling Mike Trout in the American League. Harper’s traditional numbers are .343 average (leads baseball), 41 homers (second in the NL) and 94 RBI (fourth in the NL). I don’t typically like to see the MVP go to a player on a non-playoff team, but I can’t see it going to anybody other than Harper after the season he’s had. 2. Jake Arrieta A lot of people hate to see pitchers winning MVP awards or even being eligible for MVP awards. I’ve never understood this. The idea behind it seems to be that hitters can’t win the Cy Young, but that’s because the Cy Young is solely a pitching award … MVP is not. I think the award should either go to the best all-around player or the player who’s helped his team the most. Chicago Cubs ace Jake Arrieta has had one of the most dominant seasons for a pitcher in a long time and he deserves MVP consideration. Arrieta leads the majors with 22 wins and sub-2.00 ERA to go along with it. The only other pitchers to accomplish that in the last 55 seasons were Sandy Koufax, Bob Gibson, Steve Carlton and Dwight Gooden. Are you telling me you don’t think that deserves MVP consideration? 3. Zack Grienke OK, now you’re really going to hate me if you think pitchers shouldn’t be eligible to win MVP awards. As great of a season as Jake Arrieta is having he may not even win the NL Cy Young. That’s because two Dodgers aces Zack Grienke and Clayton Kershaw are having seasons just as good as he is having. My guess is the two Dodgers pitchers steal enough votes away from each other that Arrieta will take the Cy Young award. Grienke is the guy leading all of baseball in the most important pitching statistic, though, Earned Run Average with a 1.68 ERA and has the best winning percentage in baseball with a record of 18-3. Now, I’m starting to second guess putting Arrieta slightly ahead of Grienke … 4. Nolan Arenado Colorado Rockies breakout third baseman Nolan Arenado has had himself one helluva season with a National League leading 42 home runs and majors leading 130 RBI. Arenado plays on the poor Rockies team and is no doubt aided offensively by baseball’s kindest field to hitters Coors Field, but it would be wrong to leave him off of this MVP ballot with those massive production numbers. Some could argue that he only has the 33rd best WAR in baseball as a reason for leaving him off, though. 5. Paul Goldschmidt Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt has been the best player on a bad team for a while now in Major League Baseball. He’s always solid at the plate and if his team was better would certainly be among the top two or three every year in the N.L. MVP debate. Goldschmidt is hitting .317 (fourth in the NL) with 31 homers (fifth in the NL) and 107 RBI (second in the league) this season. You could just as easily replace Goldschmidt with first baseman Anthony Rizzo of the playoff bound Chicago Cubs, who has similar numbers. Let us know who you think should be MVP & why in the comments ... by Julian Spivey I had a poster of you pointing toward the sky on my bedroom wall as a kid
So much confidence in your abilities and a kind of arrogance only real superstars emit You were probably full on the world's largest steak and a couple of pitchers of beer The only performance enhancing drugs you needed to be feared The Great Bambino, The Sultan of Swat, The Greatest of All-Time You'll live on forever on the walls of kids’ bedrooms for hundreds of years down the line |
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