I Looked Into My Crystal Ball And Here Are My NFL Picks!

I am sure that as people look over the following prognostications, there will be a few snickers and chuckles, but when the curtain comes down at the end of the "Super Bowl" get ready to apologize for your short comings. I am not going to bore everyone with the sharp analytical reasoning behind each pick. My mind raced with computer like speed and precision as, my selections, just pored out onto paper. Without any further delay, because I know everyone is waiting for the revelation, here they are:

                                                                                           AFC North     Pittsburgh Steelers            Division Winners
AFC North     Baltimore Ravens             Wild Card

AFC South     Houston Texans                Division Winner

AFC East       New England Patriots       Division Winner
AFC East       New York Jets                   Wild Card


AFC West     Kansas City Chiefs            Division Winner


Winner AFC Championship     Pittsburgh Steelers (who else)


NFC North    Green Bay Packers              Division Winner
NFC North    Detroit Lions                       Wild card

NFC South     Atlanta Falcons                   Division Winner

NFC East        Philadelphia Eagles            Division Winner
NFC East        Dallas Cowboys                 Wild card

NFC West      San Francisco 49ers            Division Winner
 

NFC Championship     Philadelphia Eagles


Super Bowl Winner      Pittsburgh Steelers will win their seventh Super Bowl. We will have the first all Pennsylvania Super Bowl.

There you have the final results. I am not sure if we even need to play the games now, but what the heck, just for fun let them play. I will see you in January as I gloat and you all cry. Tomorrow I will give you my predictions for the college football season. My only hint about the pick for National Champions is, make sure you load up on plenty of Garnet and Gold colors.

                  

Pirates take down the Red Sox

Sorry to my friends who happen to be Boston fans, but the idea that the Pittsburgh Pirates are over .500 in late June is as big for us, as breaking the, "Curse of the Bambino" was to Sox fans. To add more joy to the long suffering Pirate family is they took two out of three from the big, bad, Red Sox this past weekend. You see the Pirates entire roster makes about as much as the Boston bat boys do, so when we come away with victories, we are celebrating. I know the reality is that maybe, just maybe the Pirates could finish above five hundred for the first time since Jesus walked the earth and if they do they will display one of the great miracles, since Christ's time. I also know that the Red Sox will fight the Yankees and maybe the Rays for the opportunity to play in the fall classic. So forgive me my joyous moment, because I do fear that as the dog days of Summer returns the glass slipper will fall from the Pirates and shatter so many broken dreams we fans have. But for right now. GO BUCS!!!!

Good Luck to the Florida Gators In the CWS.

Yeah that's right, you did read what I wrote correctly. I do wish the Gators, " Good Luck" in their College World Series finals with South Carolina. I have a couple of reasons for rooting for the hated Gators. First it is a Florida team. I do want the teams in our state to do well. Second it is not football. Remember 31-7. FSU reigns supreme this year over Florida in the sport that really matters, football. Last and maybe the biggest reason to support UF is the fact they are playing Spurrier's school. I have never and will never support the Prince of Darkness, even if it is only the school he coaches at and does not directly benefit him.  There you have it. Go Gators!!!

Mavericks win as James disappears again!

Congratulations to the Dallas Mavericks, Dirk, Jason Kidd and the rest of the team. Once again Lebron James, disappeared in the forth quarter. His name should not be mentioned with Jordan or Magic or Kolbe again until he learns how to take over a game and win it in the forth quarter. This shows that just because you sign two superstars, I don't consider Chris Bosch a superstar, you need a whole team to win it all. Yes, the Heat did not win.

Yankees and Red Sox, What a Great Rivalry!

For disclosure, I am a long suffering Pittsburgh Pirate fan and really have no allegiance to either the Yankees or Red Sox, but when ever these two teams get together, I am interested in the results. The hatred between the two organizations go back to the Babe Ruth era and maybe further. This is one of those rivalries that makes the blood pressure of fans, on both sides, rise several points. The tension as the innings fade into the night, continues to expand as the final turn at bat approaches. No lead is ever safe. Clear the women and children from the streets, the hated Yankees are in town. Forget all of the activities going on in the "Big Apple" those bums from Boston are here. For decades the Sox died a thousand deaths because of the "curse". They had to sit back and watch the championships, continue to be collected by the Yankees. Today it is the Sox, that is spending as much or more then the Yankees to go for the, "ring". The season is still early and yet the intensity is very high. Either team would prefer, Baltimore, to win then to let the other villainous team lead. I don't know about you, but when we get into the dog days of August and into September, I will be watching as the best rivalry in baseball, plays out between the lines at Fenway Park or Yankee Stadium. 

The Heat are Tittering on the Edge.

I am breaking away from old sports to make a comment about new sports. I have to admit, like most Non-Heat fans, I am enjoying way too much, the Dallas Maverick's lead on the Miami Heat. I also have taken much joy in Lebron James' disappearances in the forth quarter. All greats in any sport lives for the end of a game to take over and drag their team over the finish line. They want the ball in their hands. This is what makes them great. James has become the pedestrian in a NASCAR race. Maybe he should play the first three quarters, then sit down and hope that somebody else will rise up and deliver. In a few days I may be eating my words, but I need some further proof before I start to compare James with some of the greatest athletes that have ever played sports. All I can say right now, is "Go Mavericks."

Roberto Clemente the Best I Ever Saw!

I know that I will be accused of be a homer when I say, Clemente was the best I ever saw, but he was. I had the opportunity to see him play in person many times and he never failed to show his greatness. Clemente had a rifle for an arm. It got to the point that when a batter got a base hit to right, he would not make a wide turn toward second base, because if he did Clemente would throw behind him and nail him. Runners did not try to stretch hits into an extra base, because Roberto could make a throw from any place on the field and gun them down. He had tremendous speed and could advance on the base paths or run down fly balls in right center field to anything hit down the line. Clemente was not considered a home run hitter, but when the Pirates asked him to hit for more power he delivered. He was a contact hitter and I can still see in my mind, when he would reach way out over the plate to slap a pitch into right field. When he approached the batters box, Clemente would go through a series of gyrations with his back, arms and shoulders. He would dig around the batters box, with his spikes as if a new highway was be planned. He would hold up his right hand to the umpire as he took several minutes to be prepared just right. Clemente would rarely take a swing at the first pitch, just look as it went past him. The pitcher could not completely relax and think he would just throw down the middle to start off with a strike, because just when you figured he would just watch the pitch he would hammer it somewhere for a hit. Clemente was an outstanding all-around ballplayer, and was unique. We will never have a chance to see someone like him again. I am just glad that I was able to watch one of the greatest of all time.