Two Improbable Runs, One Common Goal

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The Butler Bulldogs and Connecticut Huskies will battle for the National Championship tonight.  Butler will be returning to the big game for the second consecutive season, as UConn tries to remain undefeated in tournament play this season.

The Butler Bulldogs were a half-court heave away from being National Champs last season.  Tonight, they have a second chance to prove themselves.  The Bulldogs escaped the first game of this years' big dance as Matt Howard put back a missed shot as time expired to push Butler to the next round.  They then took down number one seed Pittsburgh as a Pitt player fouled Howard with seconds on the clock in a tie game.  Howard knocked the free-throw down, and Butler was headed to the Sweet 16.  From then on, the Butler defense, and the superb play by guard Shelvin Mack were not going to be stopped.  They are a veteran team who has been here before.  They play tremendous defense and just know how to win big games.

UConn, led by first-team All-American Kemba Walker, is undefeated in tournament play this year.  They started off this season unranked, and jumped into the polls with a splash as they defeated Kentucky and then number two ranked Michigan State on their way to the Maui Invitational Championship.  UConn, then went on to win every non-conference game on their schedule, but struggled down the stretch and finished 9th in the very tough Big East.  They went into the Big East tournament trying to do something no team has ever done, win five games in five days to win the Big East Championship.  Kemba Walker took the Huskies, put them on his back, and accomplished the daunting task.  Next step was the big dance.  UConn grabbed a number three seed and pushed their way all the way to the National Championship.  On the back of Kemba Walker, the Huskies will look to win their 11th straight game, and hoist that National Championship Trophy.

Starting Lineups For Today's Opener

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Boston Red Sox

1) Jacoby Ellsbury CF

2) Dustin Pedroia 2B

3) Carl Crawford LF

4) Kevin Youkilis 3B

5) Adrian Gonzalez 1B

6) David Ortiz DH

7) Mike Cameron RF

8) Jarrod Saltalamacchi C

9) Marco Scutaro SS

Jon Lester SP

Texas Rangers

1) Ian Kinsler 2B

2) Elvis Andrus SS

3) Josh Hamilton LF

4) Adrian Beltre 3B

5) Michael Young DH

6) Nelson Cruz RF

7) Mike Napoli 1B

8) Yorvit Torrealba

9) Julio Borbon CF

C.J Wilson SP

Play Ball

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It is opening day for all of Red Sox nation.  The first pitch is about an hour away.  Expectations are through the roof.  Fans expect championships in Boston, and that is exactly what the front office is trying to deliver.  With a star-studded line-up, the Red Sox are front-runners to spray champagne and hoist that World Series trophy above their heads.

What are we going to see today?  A potential Cy Young taking the hill in Jon Lester?  An MVP candidate in Adrian Gonzalez?  Five plus steals by Ellsbury and Crawford combined? 

I want to see Adrian Gonzalez.  I want to see how he approaches each at-bat.  How he reacts to each pitch.  If he gets that 3-0 green light.  If he drives in those runs he's supposed to.  Being out in San Diego, most Sox fans don't know much about A-Gon, myself included.  All I know is that he is a run-producer.  I expect nothing less than 30 homeruns, 100 RBI's, and a .300 average from the lefty slugger.

I want to see the speed from the top of our line-up.  I want to see how it effects the pitcher.  Will it give Youk and A-Gon pitches to hit.  Will they capitalize on these pitches?

I want to see how Tito manages the bullpen.  Who is going to pitch the 7th and 8th innings.  Will it be Bard then Jenks, or Jenks then Bard?  How is Papelbon going to pitch this season?  Will he bounce back?  Is Danny Reyes that lefty specialist we need?  How will he do in that role?

I want to see how Jarrod Saltalamacchia handles the pitching staff.  He had a solid Spring at the plate, and seemed to handle the staff well.  Can he, with the help of Tek, handle our staff for a full season?  I don't need to see Salty hit .300, but then again I don't want to see him hitting .220.  I expect Salty to fall in the .250 range this season, at the worst.

How is our DH, David Ortiz, going to hit lefties?  CJ Wilson shuts down left-handed hitters.  With our lefty-heavy line-up, will Wilson have his way today?

These are the things I'm looking at today.  Here we go, baseball season is here.  Play ball.

Red Sox predictions coming soon.

Today is the REAL Opening Day

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Here we go.  The Boston Red Sox open up the season today against the reigning American League Champion Texas Rangers.  Both teams have a new look to them.  We all know how the Sox reloaded.  The Rangers lost their ace in the hole, Cliff Lee, to the Phillies.  Also, with the Sox signing of Adrian Gonzalez, the Rangers tied up former Sock, third baseman Adrian Beltre. 

Today's match up features two tough lefties.  My AL Cy Young prediction, Jon Lester, gets the ball for the hometown BoSox, as CJ Wilson will take the hill for his first career opening day start.  CJ Wilson was 3-0 against the Sox last season with an ERA below one.  Wilson is a young pitcher with great stuff.  Pitching behind Cliff Lee, Wilson picked up a ton of good habits.  I expect Wilson to have a solid season, hopefully no so well today.  He is on my fantasy team so he can rack up a ton of K's just don't get the W.

The hot topic this spring was how Terry Francona would handle this star-studded line-up.  Would Jacoby lead off?  Who would hit three?  Who would hit clean-up?  Would Varitek get his 11th opening day start for the Red Sox?  With Wilson going for the Rangers, a tough lefty, J.D Drew gets opening day off.  Here's what todays line-up looks like

1. Jacoby Ellsbury CF

2. Dustin Pedroia 2B

3. Carl Crawford LF

4. Kevin Youkilis 3B

5. Adrian Gonzalez 1B

6. David Ortiz DH

7. Mike Cameron RF

8. Jarrod Saltalamacchia C

9. Marco Scutaro SS

Jon Lester SP

Youk gets the four hole with a lefty on the mound, and Cameron gets the start in right.  I would really like to see A-Gon hitting three or four.  He is the best hitter on our team and he needs to get as many at-bats as possible.  Kevin Youkilis is no slouch though, and this line-up is deadly.  I am excited to get this season started.  T-minus 2 hours and 45 minutes til first pitch.

Red Sox predictions to follow.

Its Opening Day! MLB Predictions

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"Well, I believe in the soul, the cock, the pussy, the small of a woman's back, the hanging curve ball, high fiber, good scotch, that the novels of Susan Sontag are self-indulgent, overrated crap. I believe Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. I believe there ought to be a constitutional amendment outlawing Astroturf and the designated hitter. I believe in the sweet spot, soft-core pornography, opening your presents Christmas morning rather than Christmas Eve and I believe in long, slow, deep, soft, wet kisses that last three days."  - Bull Durham

Baseball is finally here.  There is no better day than that of Opening Day.  Our home-town BoSox have revamped their line-up and are poised for a World Series run.  Here are some predictions for the 2011 season.

AL East

1) Boston Red Sox

2) New York Yankees

3) Toronto Blue Jays

4) Tampa Bay Rays

5) Baltimore Orioles

AL Central

1) Chicago White Sox

2) Minnesota Twins

3) Detroit Tigers

4) Cleveland Indians

5) Kansas City Royals

AL West

1) Texas Rangers

2) Oakland Athletics

3) Los Angeles Angels

4) Seattle Mariners

NL East

1) Philadelphia Phillies

2) Atlanta Braves

3) Florida Marlins

4) New York Mets

5) Washington Nationals

NL Central

1) Milwaukee Brewers

2) Cincinnati Reds

3) St. Louis Cardinals

4) Chicago Cubs

5) Houston Astros

6) Pittsburgh Pirates

NL West

1) Colorado Rockies

2) San Francisco Giants

3) Arizona Diamondbacks

4) Los Angeles Dodgers

5) San Diego Padres

AL Wild Card

New York Yankees

NL Wild Card

Atlanta Braves

World Series

Boston Red Sox over Philadelphia Phillies

AL MVP

Adrian Gonzalez

NL MVP

Carlos Gonzalez

AL Cy Young

Jon Lester

NL Cy Young

Josh Johnson

AL Rookie of the Year

Jeremy Hellickson

NL Rookie of the Year

Freddie Freeman

That's all folks.  Looking forward to a great season and an intense October.  

Lock of the Day

Miami Heat -12 @ Washington Wizards

The Heat lost last night in Cleveland....yeah Cleveland.  The thing is, these are all professional athletes and can win or lose any game.  The Cavs got up for this game.  Their first double digit win of the season.  Give it to them.  That's their highlight of the season.  The Heat will bounce back tonight and dominate the Wiz by 20-30 points.

Lock of the Day - Miami Heat -12

Playoff Bound B's Shut Out Hawks

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The Boston Bruins clinched a playoff birth Sunday with a win over the first-place Philadelphia Flyers.  The playoff bound B's hosted the Chicago Blackhawks, who are holding onto the eighth and final spot in the Western Conference.  The last reigning Stanley Cup Champion to fail to make the playoffs the next season was the Carolina Hurricanes in 05-06.

After a scoreless first period, defensemen Zdeno Chara and Johnny Boychuck scored only 2 minutes and 20 seconds apart in the second period to put the B's ahead 2-0.  Nathan Horton added his 24th of the season in the third to make it 3-0, and that's how it would end.  The ageless Mark Recchi assisted on the Bruins second goal, moving him into 12th place in the NHL's all-time scoring list.

Shawn Thornton took a skate to the head last night and went to the locker room for stitches.  Claude Julien said that he took a lot of stitches and the trainers didn't want to take a chance.  

Tim Thomas remains consistently great for the black and gold as he recorded is 9th shutout of the season, stopping all 32 shots.  Thomas is clearly having a Vezena worthy season, and the B's will go as far is Timmy takes them in the playoffs. 

The B's are now seven points ahead of the Montreal Canadiens, and are virtually a lock for at least the number three seed in the Eastern Conference.  They still have a chance to move higher up the ladder, as they lay only three points behind the Washington Capitals for second place.

There are now only six games remaining in the regular season, with the next one coming Thursday night as they welcome the Leafs into the Garden.