Jan 31, 2008

4 8 15 16 23 42

Lost returns tonight! With all the promotions and teasers ABC has put out, Season 4 looks to be one of the most exciting seasons so far.

*Spoiler warning for those who aren't caught up on Lost*

When we last left our losties, they had contacted Naomi's ship and were anticipating rescue. Poor Charlie Pace had made the ultimate sacrifice, but not before alerting Desmond that it was not Penny's boat that was coming to save them. So were do they go now? From the looks of all the teasers, the rescuers aren't quit who the losties thought they'd be. We'll find out more about them soon enough.

That's not even to mention the biggest reveal of all. The show completely changed at the end of last season when Jack/Kate were shown off the island...sometime in the future. So who else gets off the island? There are billboards about the Oceanic 6, so most are assuming that there are six people who make it off.

Questions are abound as we head to season 4 (but aren't there always questions surrounding this show?). How is the show going to change now that there's flash forwards and backwards? What ever happened with Michael and Walt? How will Hurley and Claire react when hearing about Charlie? What is up with Jacob? What does Locke know? Why does Ben not want to let them leave? Will we ever find out what the smoke monster really is? Who are Adam and Eve? How can Locke predict the rain? Where do the whispers come from? Etc, etc, etc.

Tonight is going to be awesome!

Jan 30, 2008

NBA's Hottest Team

The NBA's hottest team right now is the New Orleans Hornets. Yes, you read that correctly. The winners of nine straight (seven by at least 14 points), including a 24-point victory at the defending champion San Antonio Spurs, have been red hot the past few weeks.

Finally, the national media are catching on and are realizing that the Hornets are legit. Many national sports Web sites like ESPN.com and SI.com have moved the Hornets to the #1 spot on their Power Rankings this week. All I can say is WOW. Who would have thought that a team that just missed the playoffs last year and had been playing home games in Oklahoma City would be the hottest team at the mid-season mark.

I thought this team would be good. I figured they'd make the playoffs as the fifth or sixth seed. But when playing in a division with the likes of San Antonio, Houston and Dallas, I didn't think that they'd have a shot at a division title. Chris Paul and the boys have been outstanding and are making a push for that division crown and much more.

All Star reserves will be announced tomorrow and the Hornets should be well represented. Paul is a lock and David West and Tyson Chandler have good shots to make the team as well.

New Orleans and the surrounding areas need to get behind this team. They have a young nucleus of talent who will be together for a while. With their success, we'll be seeing playoff games and national TV games at the Hive on a regular basis. But if fans don't start turning out, they could be moving to St. Louis, Louisville, Las Vegas or some other market starved for a franchise.

The playoff run continues tonight as the Hornets take on another western conference playoff team in Golden State at the New Orleans Arena.

Jan 25, 2008

WWE Royal Rumble

This weekend is my favorite WWE PPV, the Royal Rumble. Thirty superstars in a "randomly" drawn over the top rope battle royal. What's not to love? Here's my predications for the show:

Ric Flair vs. M.V.P.: Ric Flair is on his retirement run. All of his matches now have the stipulation that if he loses, he's gone. Well, it isn't happening at the #2 PPV of the year. Flair's last match will be at Wrestlemania, so he gets the win over the U.S. Champion M.V.P.

Chris Jericho vs. J.B.L.:
Y2J's return to WWE has been blah thus far. As soon as he came back, he had a WWE title match, then was put in a feud with a unretiring J.B.L. I don't see how this feud will help either of them. J.B.L. is making his comeback, so in theory, he should get the victory, but WWE put so much effort into marketing the return of Jericho. Why have him lose his first two PPV matches? I'm going with Jericho for the win at the Rumble.

World Championship Match: Edge vs. Rey Mysterio:
Edge is the hottest thing going on Smackdown. His new faction of the Edge-Heads are running both Smackdown and ECW. There's no way he drops the belt to Rey. Edge is the call here.

WWE Championship: Randy Orton vs. Jeff Hardy:
When this match was booked, I automatically thought that Orton would retain, without a second thought. But Hardy is way over and has been good, if not great, since being thrust in the main event spotlight. It wouldn't be a surprise or too big of an upset if Hardy gets the win, but the more likely case is a win by Hardy, but not a pinfall or submission. So that's what I'm going with, Hardy gets the victory by DQ or countout, so Orton retains.

Royal Rumble (winner gets title shot at Wrestlemania):
The obvious choice is Triple H. The booking leading up to the match leaves little other choices. The only way Triple H doesn't win is if a surprise entrant (like Big Show or John Cena) gets it. I just don't see them having a winner that hasn't been in the public for a while. Triple H had the toughest road to get in. He's feuding with management (again) and is the entrant that Vince and William Regal would least want to win...therefore, he will win.

Jan 15, 2008

Braves get their centerfielder

The Braves completed a trade yesterday for CF Mark Kotsay, formerly of the Oakland A's. While not necessarily an upgrade over Andruw Jones, Kotsay comes at a much smaller price tag, especially with the A's picking up more than $5 million of his $7.325 million contract. If he stays healthy, Kotsay will provide a solid option for the Braves in the outfield.

I don't know much about him, but after reading up on him a bit, he looks like a solid bat in the line-up and has played a gold-glove worthy centerfield. Last season, he suffered from a back injury that required surgery and limited him to 56 games. The Braves medical staff performed a physical on Kotsay and if he stays healthy, he will man centerfield for at least next season.

The Braves parted ways with relief pitcher Joey Devine, their first round pick in 2005, and minor league pitcher Jamie Richmond. I liked Devine, but he probably was put in the majors too quickly. He is infamous for giving up the 18th inning HR against Houston in the 2005 playoffs.

Jan 8, 2008

GEAUX TIGERS!

Congratulations to the LSU Tigers for winning the BCS and AP National Championships. LSU becomes the first team in the BCS era to win two crystal footballs. Les Miles not only has moved out of Nick Saban's shadow, but he has moved in front of him on the list of accomplishments at LSU. Fans can quit worrying about if Miles can do it...he brought home the crystal.

LSU's great senior class was sent off in style. Matt Flynn won the offensive MVP and threw for a career high 4 touchdowns. After Ohio State went up 10-0, LSU put their foot on the pedal and didn't let up until it was 31-10 and the game was pretty much out of reach.

ESPN was touting the greatness of USC and Georgia for the past week, but when the final AP poll came out, the Tigers received 60 of 65 first place votes. LSU won convincingly and despite being the first two loss team in the championship, they are the most deserving team and right now, they are the best team in the nation. Congrats to the NATIONAL CHAMPIONS!

Jan 7, 2008

BCS Championship

VS.

This is it. The last game of the college football schedule. LSU vs. Ohio State for the crystal football.

Much has been said nationally, mostly ESPN, about how these two aren't the best teams in the country. ESPN is touting USC for a split championship and Georgia is also getting some love after their Sugar Bowl victory. Well, tough cookies. LSU and Ohio State were ranked #1 and #2 at the end of the year and as many blemishes as they may have, other teams have more. USC lost to Stanford. The argument for them ends there. Georgia didn't even win their division, much less play for the conference title. If you want to include them in the argument, you'd have to throw in Kansas, who accomplished just as much as Georgia, but did it with one fewer loss.

No matter how you slice it, this is the craziest season of college football in a long time. There will be arguments for many teams, but the bottom line is that LSU and Ohio State are playing for the national championship tonight.

This game should be a good one. Each team is trying to make history by being the first two-time BCS champion. All the storylines have been exhausted -- LSU playing at "home" in the Superdome, Les Miles' hat, Ohio State's lack of speed, Ohio State's record against SEC teams -- it's time for the game.

Prediction:
LSU 34
Ohio State 23

Jan 4, 2008

Namaste

Remember a little show called Lost? Well, after an almost 8 month hiatus, the show is returning in a few weeks with its 4th season.

Fans are eagerly awaiting answers and want to see just what is going to happen now that Jack made the phone call to the freighter in the season finale. With the writers' strike, we're only going to get 6-8 episodes, but beggars can't be choosers. A little Lost is better than no Lost.

Here's a good recap of everything that's happened to the passengers of Oceanic Flight 815, and it should get you pumped up for Season 4:

Jan 3, 2008

Saints to Pick 10th

As disappointing as this season was for Saints fans, one brightside is a good draft pick. Despite being in the playoff hunt until the final game of the season, the Saints will select 10th in April's NFL Draft. By losing the last two games of the season, they moved up about 10 spots in the selection order. It's not a winning season or a playoff run, but for a team that needs good, young players on defense, the 10th pick should provide needed help.

Here's the draft order for this year:

First Round
1. Miami (1-15)
2. St. Louis (3-13)
3. Atlanta (4-12), Kansas City (4-12), Oakland (4-12)*
6. New York Jets (4-12)
7. New England (from San Francisco) (5-11)
8. Baltimore (5-11)
9. Cincinnati (7-9)
10. New Orleans (7-9)
11. Buffalo (7-9)
12. Denver (7-9)
13. Carolina (7-9)
14. Chicago (7-9)
15. Detroit (7-9)
16. Arizona (8-8)
17. Minnesota (8-8)
18. Houston (8-8)
19. Philadelphia (8-8)

Subject to the Playoffs:

20. Tampa Bay (9-7)
21. Washington (9-7)
22. Dallas (from Cleveland) (10-6)
23. Seattle (10-6)
24. Pittsburgh (10-6)
25. Tennessee (10-6)
26. New York Giants (10-6)
27. San Diego (11-5)
28. Jacksonville (11-5)
29. Green Bay (13-3)
30. San Francisco (from Indianapolis) (13-3)
31. Dallas (13-3)
32. New England (16-0) - pick forfeited

*coin flip to determine picks #3-5