NHL Stanley Cup Playoff Predictions

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NHL Stanley Cup Playoff Predictions:

(Click to enlarge.)

Most people are going chalk with Penguins and Blackhawks, but I think the Penguins lack the defense and I think the Blackhawks lack the goaltending. I think the Blues have added depth to their blue line and Brian Elliott is ready to make a name for himself. Then again they might get bounced in their first round matchup, the Los Angeles Kings.

The Kings swept the Blues in the playoffs last year and are a bad matchup for the Blues. Maybe this time the tables are turned.

Erik Karlsson returning for the Ottawa Senators makes the Canadiens first round matchup that much harder. Carey Price will be the difference maker in Montreal. He struggled the second half of the season, but maybe the playoffs bring out the best in Price.

Some of the best match ups and series might be in the first round, so don’t come late to the party. You can follow me during the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs on Twitter @dhbrownTFP. You can join the Pick Process until 8 ET on Tuesday: http://playoffschallenge.nhl.com/playoff_challenge?locale=en.

History will be made.

Looking back at a Wild regular season

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Top 10 moments of a ‘Wild’ regular season:

1. Wild clinch playoff berth for first time in five years

The Minnesota Wild defeated the Colorado Avalanche in their final game of the regular season to clinch the last spot in the NHL playoffs. It’s the first time in five years the Wild has made the playoffs. Zach Parise and Devin Setoguchi scored the two goals.

2. Wild comeback to defeat Coyotes

The Wild were trailing by a goal at home against the Phoenix Coyotes with less than a minute to play in regulation and had their six-game winning streak hanging in the balance when Ryan Suter scored the equalizer with 55 seconds left in the third period.

Then midway through the overtime session, captain Mikko Koivu scored the game-winning goal to extend the Wild’s win streak to seven in a row.

3. Coyle and Clutterbuck 16 seconds apart, Backstrom stops Voynov

Charlie Coyle is just 21 years old, but playing with Parise and Koivu is growing Coyle into a player wise beyond his years. Parise gave Coyle a perfect saucer pass and Coyle left no doubt beating Jonathan Bernier.

16 seconds after Coyle’s goal the struggling Cal Clutterbuck came down the left wing, with Bernier cheating for a pass to Cullen, Clutterbuck whistled one past Bernier short side.

“I wish I could remember what was going through my head… I just kind of closed my eyes,” Clutterbuck said. “Huge, huge, game for our team. Probably biggest game I’ve ever played in for this franchise.”

With under 20 seconds left in the game, Wild desperately holding on with their 2-1 lead, Mike Richards sets up Slava Voynov backdoor, but it was Niklas Backstrom that came up with the biggest save of his career.

4. SO victory over Kings

The Kings took a 3-1 lead 11:24 into the second period, but just 2:29 later Coyle cut the Kings lead to one. Then in the third period Parise found the equalizer.

Nobody scored in overtime, but Parise, Koivu and Cullen were magicians in the shootout.

5. Seven-game winning streak ends droughts in Vancouver, Detroit, and Dallas

The Wild had struggled in Vancouver for more than three years. Coyle and Jonas Brodin were not apart of those three years. The two rookies each scored a goal and led the Wild to a 3-1 win; the victory was the Wild’s first in Vancouver since Jan. 31, 2009, ending an 11-game winless skid.

The Wild was looking for its first regulation win in seven years in Joe Louis Arena against the Detroit Red Wings. Devin Setoguchi and Niklas Backstrom led the Wild to a 4-2 victory on national television. The last time the Wild took a game in regulation in Detroit was Jan. 3, 2006.

Ending the streaks in Vancouver and Detroit are nothing comparable to the streak in Dallas. Minnesota hadn’t won a game on the Stars’ home ice since March 23, 2003, a 3-2 overtime win.

The Wild fell behind 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2, before finally getting their first lead of the night at 4-3. The Stars tied it up and then were on a power play halfway through the third period. Kyle Brodziak, Cal Clutterbuck and Clayton Stoner faced a lot of scrutiny this season, but it was the three of them shorthanded on a four-minute penalty that gave the Wild a 5-4 lead.

The Wild never looked back, ending the streak in Dallas with a 7-4 victory.

6. Parise-Suter-Koivu goal v. Avalanche

196 million dollars were handed out to Zach Parise and Ryan Suter on July 4, 2012. The Parise-Suter-Parise-Koivu tic-tac-toe goal was a glimpse of what Wild fans envisioned with their old and new faces.

Wild defeated the Avalanche 5-3.

7. Harding Shutout; Parise’s first Wild goal vs. Dallas 

Parise is the hometown kid and the new poster child of the Wild. His first goal in a Wild uniform was the only goal of the game in a 1-0 win against the Stars.

Josh Harding was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in the offseason and he responded in a big way in his first start of the season…with a shutout.

“It was a long time coming here, it’s been a tough couple months,” Harding said. “This made it all worth it. I can’t thank the team enough.”

8. Suter wins in Nashville return

Suter left the Predators after seven strong years in Nashville. In his first game back, he was booed every time he touched the puck the entire game. The Wild defeated the Predators 2-1 in a shootout; Suter’s shot led to the lone Wild goal.

9. Devin Setoguchi scores game-winner ends three-game skid

The Wild were struggling to score goals and had lost three in a row and were struggling to score goals. Speaking of struggling to score goals, Setoguchi had 0 goals in their first 10 games, Setoguchi scored the overtime winner against the Nashville Predators.

10. Handing Chicago its first loss

The Wild will face the Blackhawks in the first round of the playoffs. In a season where it felt like the President Trophy winning Blackhawks never lost, it was the Wild that handed the Blackhawks its first loss of the season.

Honorable Mention:

Wild shootout loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets

The Wild clinched the playoffs thanks to winning the tiebreaker for the eight seed over the surging Columbus Blue Jackets. Perhaps, it was thanks to Jason Pominville. First he scored two goals in Columbus to the lead the Wild to a 3-0 victory and then a week later, he scored the equalizer late in the third period of a 3-2 shootout loss.

Jason Zucker’s first career goal

Charlie Coyle’s first career goal

Jonas Brodin’s first career goal

Niklas Backstrom shuts out San Jose

Just another Love Story

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Can somebody please explain to me why Kevin Love doesn’t get criticized as much as Joe Mauer, if not more criticized? Do the Wolves just have lower expecations than the Twins by the Minnesota public and media? Did we just get mad at Mauer because he had one of the greatest seasons by a catcher in MLB history and then didn’t do it again? Joe Mauer’s resume is 10 times more impressive than Love’s and it isn’t even a contest.

Was Love the best PF in the game last year and in this summer olympics? Yes, no doubt. However, teams are starting to make adjustments on Love. I’ve noticed nobody leaves their feet anymore when guarding Love, aka not fouling him, and not allowing his crafty under move. He made a living from offensive rebound put backs and layups. Now teams are making him dribble the basketball causing him to be out of control therefore creating turnovers or horrible shot attempts. Then Love finds himself hanging outside of the paint for jump shots. It’s not an inside-out game if the inside isn’t working and he completely abandons that aspect of his game. They are testing his injured shooting hand, begging him to shoot.

Are the Wolves better off without Love? No, that’s ridiculous. The Wolves were successful in the beginning of the season without Rubio and Love because they had competent 2’s and 3’s for the first time since Latrell Sprewell and Trenton Hassell with Chase Budinger, Brandon Roy, and Malcolm Lee; injured, injured, and injured.

If Love never had done the Yahoo article, nobody would be critical of Love today; however, did we give him too many free passes the past few seasons? He’s never cared about playing defense.

Love was called out by team USA this summer for settling for too many jumpers and not playing his type of game. He was barely seeing the court, and that was even after Blake Griffin had left the team due to injury. The article came out and Love went to work, back to being the beast on the glass offensively/defensively for team USA. Somehow the bell was answered.

Please read the article. It’s déjà vu. Love tried saying he’s a different player now and that he’s far better, using phrases like “finding a rhythm.” Love completely turned his game around after this article and found himself taking over minutes back from Anthony Davis AND taking minutes away from Tyson Chandler.

“Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.”

No Kevin, you’re not a different player today. You just need to be Kevin Love. We loved you last year; we can love you again. 30-30 games take sweat, blood, and tears; not jumpers, arguing with the refs, and blaming J.J. Barea for turnovers. It’s time to “knock somebody on their ass,” when you’re healthy.

 

Links:

Yahoo Article: http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nba–kevin-love-remains-unsure-about-timberwolves–future-200009299.html

Team USA Article: http://www.sheridanhoops.com/2012/07/23/diary-of-the-uncredentialed-edition-ii/

Trust Terry: Terry Ryan’s letter to Twins fans

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Dear Twins fans,

As your Twins General Manager, who goes to games and watches every game start to finish, and then watches the replays at noon the following afternoon, here’s what I am trying to do…rebuild a depleted organization.

I saw it happen over his four years, Bill Smith set this team back 5-15 years. If you think I, 59 years old, not getting any younger, and wanted to step down as GM; wanted to rebuild a team again like I did in the late 90’s early 2000’s, was my dream situation, you’re kidding yourself.

If you think I wanted to trade two good center fielders that I drafted and signed to good contracts was my dream, you’re kidding yourself.

If you think the Twins were supposed to trade Delmon Young, Danny Valencia, or anybody I have right now for anything of quality, you’re kidding yourself. We’re hurtin’.

My notable trades consist of the following:

Dave Hollins for David Ortiz.
Roberto Kelly for Joe Mays.
Chuck Knoblauch for Christian Guzman, Eric Milton, and more.
Aging Rick Aguilera for Kyle Lohse.
Jared Camp for Johan Santana.
Bobby Kielty for Shannon Stewart.
AJ Pierzynski for Francisco Liriano, Joe Nathan, and Boof Bonser.
Aging Eric Milton for Carlos Silva and Nick Punto.
Travis Bowyer and Scott Tyler for Luis Castillo.

I’d say that’s a pretty good success rate. Meanwhile, Bill Smith tanked.

This picture cracks me up…

Bill Smith got rid of:
Johan Santana
Matt Garza
Jason Bartlett
Wilson Ramos
JJ Hardy (Whom he acquired for Carlos Gomez, whom he acquired for Johan Santana.)
Delmon Young (Whom he acquired for Garza/Bartlett.)

And let’s not forget the signing of Tsuyoshi Nishioka. I just cried a little inside, and I’m deeply sorry for making you watch him last season.

Smithy rented a few guys via trade like Carl Pavano, Jon Rauch, Brian Fuentes, Orlando Cabrera, and Matt Capps. We basically had to pay the Tigers $2 million to take Delmon Young.

Smith managed to do all that in just four years, leaving the Twins and myself with just Jim Hoey and one year of injured pitchers Pavano and Capps.

Smith was never able to resign or trade Torii Hunter, Michael Cuddyer, Jason Kubel, RA Dickey, Matt Guerrier, Joe Nathan, Scott Baker, etc. He got absolutely nothing in return for that beautiful stash of players I built from within.

Took me one year to sign Ryan Doumit and Josh Willingham to friendly contracts, and now I’m on my way to rebuilding a powerhouse minor league system…again. Meanwhile I swung and missed on one guy, Jason Marquis, for nickels and dimes. Sorry about that. Matt Capps, Carl Pavano, and Scott Baker are all off the books now, thank heavens Cappzies is gone. Sorry you had to watch him last year too.

I just traded two centerfielders, Denard Span and Ben Revere. Span has had concussion problems, defensive lapses, erratic arm, and only hit well at home. Great Twitter guy, though. At one time, I couldn’t trade Hunter because Span was so unproductive in the minor leagues. Spanzie got called up after Cuddy hurt his hand, played right field against Seattle, and never looked back. Span got hurt, Revere played centerfield for us, made the catch of the year, got sent up and down, finally got on a hot streak and never looked back.

Span is 28 and Revere is 24 years old. Those are risky numbers to be trading, but when you draft an outfielder No. 2 overall, I’m expecting 1-3 years in the minors, tops, before my superstar arrives. You can’t swing and miss on the No. 2 overall pick these days, I’m not David Kahn across the street. Sorry, David.

Vance Worley is 25 years old, Trevor May is 23 years old, and Alex Meyer is 22 years old; the three guys I acquired for Span and Revere. (I apologize, but I’ve never seen Meyer pitch. Hear he’s great though!) Meanwhile we have a good amount of young outfielders. Aaron Hicks 23 years old, Joe Benson 24 years old, Byron Buxton 18 years old, Chris Parmelee 24 years old (Can also play 1st base), Oswaldo Arcia 20 years old, Eddie Rosario 20 years old (Also plays 2nd base), and Miguel Sano 19 years old (Although he will likely be a 3rd baseman.)

I don’t think starting Darin Mastroianni in CF for a few months will kill my organization, but not starting fresh would continue to put the Twins in a hole.

Let’s put it this way: The Twins No. 3 leader in strikeouts last season was Glen Perkins. Not okay, and I love Perky.

We are looking at an opening day lineup that can win baseball games; we just need something that remotely resembles a pitching staff.

2013 Opening Day Projections (Ages)

  1. CF       Mastroianni/Hicks     (27)/(23)          Future: Buxton
  2. C         Mauer                        (29)                 Future: Mauer
  3. LF        Willingham                 (33)                Future: Sano
  4. 1B       Morneau                     (31)                Future: Parmelee
  5. DH      Doumit                        (31)                Future: Arcia/Sano
  6. RF       Parmelee                    (24)                Future: Hicks
  7. 3B       Plouffe                        (26)                Future: Sano/Plouffe
  8. 2B       Carroll                         (65)                Future: Eddie Rosario
  9. SS       Dozier/Florimon         (25)/(25)          Future: Dozier/Levi Michael

When you see Willingham and Morneau’s ages, it would make sense why I might trade them too, and I’m being 100% serious as sad as that is to say. You’ll forgive me.

2013 Rotation:

  1. Scott Diamond                                               Future: Diamond
  2. Vance Worley                                                Future: Worley
  3. Kyle Gibson                                                   Future: Gibson
  4. Free Agent TBD                                             Future: May
  5. Liam Hendriks/                                              Future: Meyer
    1. Sam Deduno/
    2. Cole De Vries/
    3. PJ Walters

Now knowing Ronnie, potentially that veteran I sign, currently penciled in that the No. 4 spot, typically starts opening day for his club. I wouldn’t be opposed to that man being named Francisco Liriano, don’t yell at me, I wan’t that Pierzynski trade to still be talked about.

The bullpen gets Brian Duensing back and he can start throwing 95-97 MPH again and only pitch against LHH’s. Perkins gets to be the closer. Tyler Robertson looked alright last season. Anthony Swarzak can continue to be the blowout long reliever. Jared Burton hopefully solidifies the setup role. Casey Fien’s numbers turned out very promising at season’s end. Kyle Waldrop continues to show his upside. Luis Perdomo finished the season strong. And finally, somehow Alex Burnett kept getting the job done.  I have always been able to build quality bullpens and I did it again last season. Boom.

Look, trading Ben Revere and Denard Span isn’t fun or exciting, for me losing Revere is especially hard because he is so exciting to watch, but his ceiling is .300 hitter and 40 stolen bases. Revere will never get power, never have plate patience, his arm has improved, but he’s basically a Juan Pierre. I had to do it.

If you think I can’t get this job done, you’re kidding yourself.

Sincerely,

Terry Farmin Ryan

Week 7 NFL Power Rankings

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Week 7 Rankings:
Covering week 6 and week 7′s games. 

1    2    3    4    5    6    7    8    9    10    11    12    13    14    15    16    17

1. Atlanta Falcons (Last: 2): Undefeated team deserves the No. 1 slot.
2. Chicago Bears (Last: 6): Their defense is unbelievably good.
3. Houston Texans (Last: 1): I’d say that was a decent bounce back victory.
4. New York Giants (Last: 9): Giants are on a roll and now a big game against the Cowboys.
5. San Francisco 49ers (Last: 4): Should be a similar score on Monday Night Football next week between Frisco and Zona.
6. New England Patriots (Last: 5): A lot more inconsistent than expected.
7. Green Bay Packers (Last: 13): They absolutely have to win their next two games.
8. Minnesota Vikings (Last: 8): It’s a must win, period, because of their schedule in front of them. They better go all out.
9. Baltimore Ravens (Last: 3): Lots of problems surrounding that defense.
10. Philadelphia Eagles (Last: 8): I don’t understand the Eagles.
11. Denver Broncos (Last: 15): The brutal part of the schedule is history.
12. Miami Dolphins (Last: 19): Could get a big time road emotional victory this week.
13. Seattle Seahawks (Last 17): Can they win on the road, somewhere other than Carolina?
14. Indianapolis Colts  (Last: 18): Still waiting for Andrew Luck to have a good road game. Is this the week?
15. Dallas Cowboys (Last: 16): What did you fix during the bye week? Offensive line play? Quarterback and receiver chemistry?
16. Arizona Cardinals (Last: 10): Back to reality. Offensive line has to figure it out.
17. Pittsburgh Steelers (Last 11): What’s in the water in Pennsylvania?
18. St. Louis Rams  (Last: 12): I’m thinking home dog upset this week!
19. Cincinnati Bengals (Last: 14): Not a good streak right now.
20. San Diego Chargers (Last: 20): Norv Turner and Phillip Rivers are the worse version of Jason Garret and Tony Romo.
21. Washington Redskins (Last: 21): This isn’t a dumb comparison: RGIII is having a lot of late game losses just like…wait for it…Cam Newton last year.
22. New Orleans Saints (Last: 22): Beat a real team.
23. Oakland Raiders (Last: 23) Might have an easy enough schedule down the road to sneak into the playoffs. 
24. Buffalo Bills (Last: 25) Tough loss going into the bye week.
 25. New York Jets (Last: 28) Tebow.
26. Tennessee Titans (Last: 29) Two-game win streak, eh?
27. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Last: 26) Staring down 2-5.
28. Jacksonville Jaguars (Last: 27) MJD definitely isn’t getting paid now.
29. Detroit Lions (Last: 30) 2-4 with a lot of division games left isn’t pretty.
30. Carolina Panthers (Last 24): Panthers lose again, and in other news Cam Newton’s not happy.
31. Kansas City Chiefs (Last: 31) Who’s worse?
32. Cleveland Browns (Last: 32) With the first pick in the 2013 NFL draft, the Cleveland Browns select… ______________________.

Week 6 picks: Short and Sweet

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Week 6 Questions: 
-Who comes off their bye with a victory? (Tampa Bay, Dallas, Oakland, or Detroit?)
-Can RGIII win in front of his home crowd?
-Can Andrew Luck win on the road?
-Only 3 home underdogs…
-Who responds well after a victory? Dolphins/Rams and Seahawks/Patriots.
-Why are the Jets favored?

Season Record Picks: 49-28
Week 5 Record Picks: 9-5
Season Record Spreads: 39-36-2
Week 5 Record Spreads: 7-6-1
Season Record Upsets:  9-4
Week 5 Record Upsets: 1-1

Bye Weeks: Chicago, New Orleans, Carolina, Jacksonville

My pick: Rams +5.5 cover DOLPHINS
Why? It’ll be a defensive contest and a close game. These are my two sleeper teams, so hopefully it’s a good game, not an ugly one.

My pick: Cowboys +3 cover RAVENS
Why? Dallas is desperate, meanwhile Baltimore has had two shaky victories over the Chiefs and Browns last two weeks; didn’t cover the spread both weeks. Upset pick is probably stupid…take the points.

My pick: EAGLES -3.5 over Lions
Why? Detroit just isn’t very good.

My pick: Bengals -1.5 over BROWNS
Why? Bengals had their wake up call last week; they should respond well.

My pick: Colts +3.5 upset JETS
Why? Luck > Sanchez. Why not? Luck on the road.

My pick: Chiefs +5 cover BUCCANEERS
Why? Bucs are 1-14 in their last 15.

My pick: Raiders +9.5 cover FALCONS
Why? Raiders should put up some points coming off their bye week.

My pick: SEAHAWKS +3.5 cover Patriots
Why? It’s the Hawks at home, I’m not stupid.

My pick: Bills +5.5 cover CARDINALS
Why? Bills need to play for their pride.

My pick: Giants +7 cover 49ERS
Why? Giants deserve more respect than +7, no matter who it’s against.

My pick: Vikings -1 over REDSKINS
Why? Too many questions surrounding Redskins and RGIII’s health this week.

My pick: TEXANS -3.5 over Packers
Why? Why not…

Week 6 NFL Power Rankings

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Week 6 Rankings:
Last week’s questions:
-Can P. Manning beat Brady? Broncos have some work to do, but luckily for them, so does their whole division.
-Can the Rams knock the Cards off their high horse with the short week? What a great performance by the Rams defense.
-Are the Saints destined for an 0-5 start? Roughing the quarterback on the defense, 15-yard penalty; automatic first down. 
-Can one of the six (Rams, Colts, Redskins, Chiefs, Jaguars, and Jets) home under dogs pull out a win? Rams, check. Colts, check. 

1    2    3    4    5    6    7    8    9    10    11    12    13    14    15    16    17

Power Rankings:
1. Houston Texans (Last: 1): Time will tell if Brian Cushing injury effects the ultimate goal. They have Green Bay and Baltimore on the horizon.
2. Atlanta Falcons (Last: 2): They just keep winning, road or home, it don’t matter.
3. Baltimore Ravens (Last: 3): Couple of lack luster performances against the Chiefs and Browns. Should we be worried?
4. San Francisco 49ers (Last: 5): Business as usual for the 49ers. Winning the games they should win. Playing the Giants this week should tell us a lot.
5. New England Patriots (Last: 9): Can they beat Seattle on the road? Running the football as well as they are should help.
6. Chicago Bears (Last: 10): After this week’s bye, the Bears are staring down an 8-1 start before they play Houston.
7. Minnesota Vikings (Last: 11): Run the football, check. Force turnovers, check. Don’t turn the ball over, check. Good special teams. Not the video game way, but it’s the quietly successful way.
8. Philadelphia Eagles (Last: 6): Tough loss on the road against the Steelers, a team coming off a bye week.
9. New York Giants (Last: 7): Nice win, now show up against the a big time opponent.
10. Arizona Cardinals (Last: 4): Back to reality; now how do they respond?
11. Pittsburgh Steelers (Last 19): Big win coming off the bye week.
12. St. Louis Rams  (Last: 14): Here come the dhbrownsports sleepers.
13. Green Bay Packers (Last: 8): They have lost 100% of their focus. Scary 2-4 record staring them down.
14. Cincinnati Bengals (Last: 12): The Dolphins were due for a win, Bengals will be fine; they just can’t lose to the Browns.
15. Denver Broncos (Last: 13): The brutal part of the schedule is history.
16. Dallas Cowboys (Last: 16): What did you fix during the bye week? Offensive line play? Quarterback and receiver chemistry?
17. Seattle Seahawks (Last 18): They won a road game.
18. Indianapolis Colts  (Last: 25): Had them in the playoffs before the season started…
19. Miami Dolphins (Last: 22): So disappointed my two sleeper teams, Dolphins and Rams play each other this week. 
20. San Diego Chargers (Last: 15): Oh the Chargers, never quite know what to expect. Again.
21. Washington Redskins (Last: 17): 0-2 at home is not a recipe for success.
22. New Orleans Saints (Last: 31): Stole one at home.
23. Oakland Raiders (Last: 23) Much needed bye week.
24. Carolina Panthers (Last 20): Panthers lose again, and in other news Cam Newton launches a clothing line.
25. Buffalo Bills (Last: 21) Defense is optional.
 26. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Last: 24) Much needed bye week.
27. Jacksonville Jaguars (Last: 26) They’ll continue to have some high points and some very low points.
28. New York Jets (Last: 27) Tebow.
29. Tennessee Titans (Last: 28) Turrible.
30. Detroit Lions (Last: 29) Much needed bye week.
31. Kansas City Chiefs (Last: 30) Embarrassing display by SOME fans.
32. Cleveland Browns (Last: 32) With the first pick in the 2013 NFL draft, the Cleveland Browns select… ______________________.

Power Rankings Spread Calculator: Last week 8-6

MLB Postseason: Brand New Tradition

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Arguments for or against the new wild card playoff setup typically have to do with the absurd amount of games play in the MLB season. I tend to side on the new setup with the argument for a team like the Braves, win your division, you had 162 games to do it. Chipper Jones may not like the new setup right now, but when he gets to field today he’ll sense that Game 7 feeling, which as a fan, it doesn’t get much better than today. It’s do or die for four different teams that have four completely different stories.

The American League

The Texas Rangers were supposed to be the favorites in the AL West, unless the Angels could put their new pieces together. Well the Oakland Athletics took home the division on the final day of the season, leaving the Rangers an old rule away from being last year’s Red Sox and Braves. Could it be late in the evening tonight that the Rangers wish their collapse ended on Wednesday afternoon instead of losing the Baltimore Orioles on national TV on a Friday night. Also adding the drama will be the Rangers big offseason move, Yu Darvish, getting the start in the do or die game. All of Japan will be watching.

That brings us to the Baltimore Orioles. A team that in my opinion is still just as good of a story as the A’s. The Orioles somehow, someway, won the most miraculous, late inning games imaginable. The O’s finished with a run differential of +7; compare that to the Tampa Bay Rays sitting at home with a run differential of +120. The Baltimore Orioles are sending Joe Saunders to the bump, who comes into the postseason with a regular season record of 9-13 and an ERA of 4.07. Just think if it were James Shields or David Price taking the hill, but that’s just the nature of this Orioles team. The Orioles will make you work for all 27 outs. They’re going to try and score every way imaginable and get their outs every way imaginable. All the talk about MVP’s has been Mike Trout and Miguel Cabrera, with a little Adrian Beltre mixed in, but quietly Adam Jones has carried the O’s all year. He’s been huge in clutch situations and there’s little to believe he won’t leave his mark on tonight’s game.

If Joe Saunders can go 3+ innings and give up less than 3 runs, the O’s will keep it interesting. I’m not sure the Orioles can comeback from 4, 5, or 6+ runs, even this Orioles team.

Prediction:
Saunders pitches into the 4th inning and leaves trailing 3-0. Orioles bullpen gets out of the jam. They claw back with one in the 5th, one in the 7th, and one in the 9th. We all know the history behind this Orioles team and extra inning victories, why not one more. Jim Thome walk off bomb against Joe Nathan in the 10th. Book it: 4-3 Orioles.

National League:

Is it Chippers last game? Not with the way Kris Medlen wheels and deals; he hasn’t lost since May 26…out of the bullpen. As exciting as the Cardinals were last season and as magical as David Freese can be, not this year, not against Chippers Braves. Plus, I still remember Kyle Lohse throwing a wild pitch in the playoffs at the Metrodome against the Yankees that allowed Alex Rodriguez to score the winning run. Not a happy 13-year-old.

I just love the Braves lineup top to bottom. Medlen can work around the Cardinals order and that he will do. The Cardinals stole the Braves postseason berth on the last day of the season last year. Braves will want their revenge.

Prediction:
Chipper goes 2 for 4, Medlen goes 7 IP, Bourn scores a pair of runs, Heyward hits a bomb, and Freeman has a clutch 2-out hit. Cardinals keep pace just long enough until a big Braves 7th inning. Braves 5 Cardinals 3.

 

Week 5 WR Rankings

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Week 5 WR Rankings:
Email your fantasy questions to dhbrownfantasy@gmail.com or tweet them to @dhbrownsports on Twitter.

QB          RB          WR          TE

1. Calvin Johnson: Detroit
Breakdown: Bye week

2. Roddy White: Atlanta at WAS
Breakdown: Roddy White owners are loving the struggles that Julio Jones is having.

3. AJ Green: Cincinnati vs. MIA
Breakdown: #1 ranked right now in points.

4. Victor Cruz: New York Giants vs. CLE
Breakdown: Big week kinda guy.

5. Brandon Marshall: Chicago at JAX
Breakdown: Brandon Marshall is back.

6. Miles Austin: Dallas
Breakdown: Touchdown machine.

7. Percy Harvin: Minnesota vs. TEN
Breakdown: Hopefully he will get an offensive touchdown sooner or later.

8. Julio Jones: Atlanta at WAS
Breakdown: Still putting up numbers, but has to start making more catches.

9. Reggie Wayne: Indianapolis vs. GB
Breakdown: Could have big week after bye week.

10. Torrey Smith: Baltimore at KC
Breakdown: Guy is on a different planet right now. Good for him.

11. Demaryius Thomas: Denver at NE
Breakdown: Hit or miss.

12. Hakeem Nicks: New York Giants
Breakdown: Injured

13. Danny Amendola: St. Louis vs. ARI
Breakdown: He’s not coming out of my starting lineup, but could struggle Thursday night.

14. Dwayne Bowe: Kansas City vs. BAL
Breakdown: He and Charles are monsters in garbage time.

15. Larry Fitzgerald: Arizona at STL
Breakdown: Andre Roberts doing everything to open the field for Fitz.

16. Andre Johnson: Houston at NYJ
Breakdown: This better be his big week.

17. Steve Smith: Carolina vs. SEA
Breakdown: Seattle has a good pass rush, but if Cam can escape, lookout.

18. Brian Hartline: Miami at CIN
Breakdown: You had your chance at picking him up and I told you before week 3.

19. Dez Bryant: Dallas
Breakdown: Can’t catch.

20. Brandon Lloyd: New England vs. DEN
Breakdown: They’ll be throwing the rock again.

21. Pierre Garcon: Washington vs. ATL
Breakdown: They’ll have to keep up with Atlanta.

22. Antonio Brown: Pittsburgh vs. PHI
Breakdown: Keep starting him.

23. Jordy Nelson: Green Bay at IND
Breakdown: ESPN expecting big week.

24. Marques Colston: New Orleans vs. SD
Breakdown: He’s hot right now; I’ll take credit for the spark. :)

25. Mike Wallace: Pittsburgh vs. PHI
Breakdown: TD every week.

26. Desean Jackson: Philadelphia at PIT
Breakdown: Keep it rolling.

27. Vincent Jackson: Tampa Bay
Breakdown: Bye week

28. Steve Johnson: Buffalo at SF
Breakdown: We will give him a pass on last week.

29. Nate Washington: Tennessee at MIN
Breakdown: He’s gonna be asked to be busy.

30. Eric Decker:  Denver at NE
Breakdown: Back to back great weeks. Becoming Peyton’s target of choice.

31. Kenny Britt: Tennessee at MIN
Breakdown: Start him

32. Wes Welker: New England vs. DEN
Breakdown: When will he get that first TD?

33. James Jones: Green Bay at IND
Breakdown: Getting hot.

34. Andrew Hawkins: Cincinnati vs. MIA
Breakdown: You can thank @RyanMcDermott7 on Twitter if you have him.

35. Anquan Boldin: Baltimore at KC
Breakdown: Hit or miss. He hit last week.

36. Michael Crabtree: San Francisco vs. BUF
Breakdown: Worth starting these days.

37. Donnie Avery: Indianapolis vs. GB
Breakdown: Expecting a sleeper week from Donnnie.

38. Lance Moore: New Orleans vs. SD
Breakdown: 6-10 points kinda guy.

39. Justin Blackmon: Jacksonville at IND
Breakdown: 6 catches last week.

40. Greg Jennings: Green Bay at SEA
Breakdown: Very risky.

41. Davone Bess: Miami vs. NYJ
Breakdown: He’s starting to turn it on.

42. Mario Manningham: San Francisco at MIN
Breakdown: He’s starting to get a hang of the 49ers offense…

43. Denarius Moore: Oakland
Breakdown: Bye week

44. Brandon Gibson: St. Louis vs. ARI
Breakdown: Not this week.

45. Jeremy Maclin: Philadelphia at ARI
Breakdown: Is he healthy? Even at Pittsburgh it’s risky.

46. Leonard Hankerson: Washington vs. ATL
Breakdown: Got a chance with Garcon hurt, now the two of them taking over for Santana MOss.

47. Chaz Schilens: New York Jets vs. HOU
Breakdown: He’s a new guy with Santonio Holmes done for the year.

48. Andre Roberts: Arizona at STL
Breakdown: People buying into Roberts. Not me, yet.

49. Jerome Simpson: Minnesota vs. TEN
Breakdown: I expect 10-15 from him this week.

50. Eddie Royal: San Diego at NO
Breakdown: Might be a good sleeper guy this week.

51. Domenik Hixon: New York Giants vs. CLE
Breakdown: With Hicks out, he might step up. I like Barden more because Eli does.

52. Jeremy Kerley: New York Jets vs. HOU
Breakdown: Supposed to get 8-12 points. I don’t see it.

53. Ramses Barden: New York Giants vs. HOU
Breakdown: I want to start him but I’m not going to.

54. Cecil Shorts: Jacksonville vs. CHI
Breakdown: The unnoticed guy.

55. Travis Benjamin: Cleveland at NYG
Breakdown: Spot starter against the Giants? Possibly, but Giants have improved on their back end.

56. Sidney Rice: Seattle at CAR
Breakdown: Jury still out on. Quarterback controversy. Just not good situation. Yet to go over 40 yards, does not deserve a start.

57. Santonio Holmes: New York Jets
Breakdown: Out for the year.

58. Brandon LaFell: Carolina vs. NYG
Breakdown: #1 most disappointed player for dhbrownsports.

59. Malcom Floyd: San Diego at NO
Breakdown: Yuck, but maybe a bounce back week.

60. Laurent Robinson: Jacksonville vs. CHI
Breakdown: Nope.

61. Alshon Jeffery: Chicago at JAX
Breakdown: Had him, dropped him.

62. Braylon Edwards: Seattle at CAR
Breakdown: See Sidney Rice.

63. Julian Edelman: New England vs. DEN
Breakdown: Not anymore.

64. Mohamed Massaquoi: Cleveland at NYG
Breakdown: No.

65. Greg Little: Cleveland at NYG
Breakdown: Nope.

66. Dexter McCluster: Kansas City vs. BAL
Breakdown: Nope.

67. Nate Burleson: Detroit
Breakdown: Bye week

68. Kevin Ogletree: Dallas
Breakdown: Bye week

69. Robert Meachem: San Diego at NO
Breakdown: No.

70. Santana Moss: Washington vs. ATL
Breakdown: It’s over.

71. Darrius Heyward-Bey: Oakland
Breakdown: Bye week

72. Brandon Stokley: Denver at NE
Breakdown: Had one good week.

73. Titus Young: Detroit
Breakdown: Bye week.

74. Donald Jones: Buffalo at CLE
Breakdown: No.

75. Donald Driver: Green Bay at SEA
Breakdown: No.

76. Randy Moss: San Francisco vs. BUF
Breakdown: No.

77. Stephen Hill: New York Jets vs. HOU
Breakdown: Nothing since week 1.

78. Randall Cobb: Green Bay at IND
Breakdown: Stop it with Randall Cobb.

79. Louis Murphy: Carolina vs. SEA
Breakdown: Not with the way things have gone.

80. Steve Breaston: Kansas City vs. BAL
Breakdown: No.

81. Steve Smith: St. Louis vs. ARI
Breakdown: Nope.

82. Michael Jenkins: Minnesota vs. MIN
Breakdown: Not anymore.

QB          RB          WR          TE

Week 5 RB Rankings

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Week 5 RB Rankings:
Email your fantasy questions to dhbrownfantasy@gmail.com or tweet them to @dhbrownsports on Twitter.

QB          RB          WR          TE

1. Arian Foster: Houston at NYJ
Breakdown: M-V-P

1 b. Ben Tate: Houston at DEN
Breakdown: Backups are too risky, but if you have Foster, you better go get Tate; even if you have to give up a lot.

2. Ray Rice: Baltimore at KC
Breakdown: Just doing work.

3. Maurice Jones-Drew: Jacksonville vs. CHI
Breakdown: They need to run the football this week.

4. Adrian Peterson: Minnesota vs. TEN
Breakdown: Garbage time in blowout victory. He’s on the verge.

5. Marshawn Lynch: Seattle at CAR
Breakdown: Andre Brown ran all over Carolina. Michael Turner ran all over Carolina. You do the math.

6. Jamaal Charles: Kansas City vs. BAL
Breakdown: Killed me last week.

6 b. Shaun Draughn: Kansas City vs. BAL
Breakdown: No

6 c. Peyton Hillis: Kansas City vs. BAL
Breakdown: No

7. Reggie Bush: Miami at CIN
Breakdown: Hopefully he’s 85% healthy or better.

8. Alfred Morris: Washington vs. ATL
Breakdown: 8-12 points consistency.

9. Stevan Ridley: New England vs. DEN
Breakdown: Denver holds the run pretty well.

9 b. Brandon Bolden: New England vs. DEN
Breakdown: I picked him up, but I need to see more before I start him.

9 c. Danny Woodhead: New England vs. DEN
Breakdown: I’m all for starting him if needed. TD machine.

10. Trent Richardson: Cleveland at NYG
Breakdown: Might as well, he’s all they got.

11. LeSean McCoy: Philadelphia at PIT
Breakdown: Might struggle in Pittsburgh.

12. Frank Gore: San Francisco vs. BUF
Breakdown: Start him.

12 b. Kendall Hunter: San Francisco vs. BUF
Breakdown: I wouldn’t oppose starting him as a sleeper.

13. Michael Turner: Atlanta at WAS
Breakdown: He’s starting to turn it on.

14. Matt Forte: Chicago at JAX
Breakdown: Could have big week.

14 b. Michael Bush: Chicago at JAX
Breakdown: What a disappointment.

15. BenJarvus Green-Ellis: Cincinnati vs. MIA
Breakdown: Don’t expect anything more than 14 points.

16. Darren Sproles: New Orleans vs. SD
Breakdown: I have no idea, there’s three of these guys.

16 b. Pierre Thomas: New Orleans vs. SD
Breakdown: I have no idea, there’s three of these guys.

16 c. Mark Ingram: New Orleans vs. SD
Breakdown: I have no idea, there’s three of these guys.

17. Chris Johnson: Tennessee at MIN
Breakdown: Improvement, but tough matchup this week.

18. Ahmad Bradshaw: New York Giants at CAR
Breakdown: ESPN/Yahoo expecting big things.

18 b. Andre Brown: New York Giants at CAR
Breakdown: Backup role.

19. Cedric Benson: Green Bay at IND
Breakdown: I think big week if he gets his touches.

20. Ryan Matthews: San Diego at NO
Breakdown: I still prefer he over Battle.

20 b. Jackie Battle: San Diego at NO
Breakdown: Listed as the starter.

20 c. Ronnie Brown: San Diego at NO
Breakdown: No.

21. Fred Jackson: Buffalo at SF
Breakdown: Bad matchup.

21 b. CJ Spiller: Buffalo at SF
Breakdown: Bad matchup.

22. Steven Jackson: St. Louis vs. ARI
Breakdown: Early week, says he’s playing.

23. Donald Brown: Indianapolis vs. GB
Breakdown: touchdown and/or 50 yards is the ceiling, IMO.

24. Willis McGahee: Denver at NE
Breakdown: 60 yards and a touchdown.

25. Rashard Medenhall: Pittsburgh vs. PHI
Breakdown: I might be starting him. 100 yards and touchdown and you’ll be happy.

25 b. Isaac Redman: Pittsburgh at OAK
Breakdown: Not anymore.

26 1a. DeAnglo Williams: Carolina vs. SEA
Breakdown: Disappointing, but worth a look.

26 1b. Jonathan Stewart: Carolina vs. SEA
Breakdown: Disappointing.

27. Ryan Williams: Arizona at STL
Breakdown: Big opportunity now.

28. Shonn Greene: New York Jets vs. HOU
Breakdown: He is struggling.

28 b. Bilal Powell: New York Jets vs. HOU
Breakdown: He’s worth stashing.

29. DeMarco Murray: Dallas
Breakdown: Bye week

30. Darren McFadden: Oakland
Breakdown: Bye week

 

31. Doug Martin: Tampa Bay
Breakdown: Bye week

31 b. LaGarrette Blount: Tampa Bay
Breakdown: Bye week

32 z. Kevin Smith: Detroit at TEN
Breakdown: It’s over.

32 a. Joique Bell: Detroit at TEN
Breakdown: Sneaky good.

32 ?. Mikel LeShoure: Detroit at TEN
Breakdown: Bad bad fumble.

 

Drop them:

33. Beanie Wells: Arizona
Breakdown: Injured.

34. Mike Goodson: Oakland
Breakdown: Bye week.

35. Dexter McCluster: Kansas City
Breakdown: 4th string.

36. Jonathan Dwyer: Pittsburgh
Breakdown: Opportunity gone.

37. Daniel Thomas: Miami
Breakdown: Opportunity gone.

QB          RB          WR          TE