Did anyone else catch that Michigan-Appalachian State game yesterday? I know that the Wolverines have a tradition of coming up small in big games, but yesterday, they came up tiny in a minor game. Yes, I know that the Mountaineers of Appalachian State are the two-time defening Division 1-AA (or whatever the NCAA is calling it now) champs, but if you are the preseason #5 team in the country with national title aspirations, you can NEVER lose at home to a team that was so dismissed that there wasn't even a line on the game! Still, this game was one of the reasons that I love college football.
The baseball pennant races are heading down to the wire. While the Phiadelphia Phillies did complete a four-game home sweep this week of the division-leading New York Mets this past week, I just don't see the Phillies' pitching staff, especially without Cole Hamles, doing enough to keep Philadelphia in the race for either the division or the playoffs. Witness J.D. Durbin's line from last night's game: 0 innings pitched, 5 hits against, 7 runs against (all earned). Par for the course for the Foldadelphia pitching staff. In the NL Central, it remains the division that no one wants. Right now, the Chicago Cubbies are only 69-65 and lead the division by a 1 1/2 games, but have only gone 5-5 in their last 10, though the faltering second-place Milwaukee Brewers have gone 4-6 during that same stretch. Even the St. Louis Cardinals, who were given up for dead in May, are now back in it at 66-66. Out west, the pitching-rich and hitting-poor San Diego Padres are tied with the callow but talented Arizona Diamondbacks, with the Los Angeles Dodgers lurking four games back and the surprising Colorado Rockies five out. My NL postseason picks: The Mets, Cardinals and Padres, with the Diamondbacks making it as the Wildcard team.
In the American League, my Boston Red Sox still lead the East by five games, but they have reverted to their pre-2004 form of losing every game that matters to the New York Yankees. Right now, the Bronx Bombers are five games out, having shaved 9 1/2 games off of what was once a 14 1/2 game lead. In the Central, the Cleveland Indians have opened a 5 1/2 game led over the very disappointing Detroit Tigers. We all knew that Detrpot could hit, but I really thought that their pitching staff would allow them to cruise to the division title. Instead, it has been the downfall of a team that has underachieved. Still, Detroit is still very much in the Wildcard race, 2 1/2 games back of New York. Out west, it WAS a race up until a week ago, when the Seattle Mariners turned back into a pumpkin. They have now lost eight in a row, allowing the Anaheim Angels to open a comfortable 6 1/2 game lead with less than 30 games to play. My post-season picks: The Yankees, Indians and Angels, with the Red Sox hanging on to capture the Wildcard.
The U.S. Open began last week, and I really have no buzz about it. It's going to come down to Roger Federer and someone else, most likely Rafael Nadal, and Federer will win because no one else is good enough to beat him, plain and simple. Ultimately, the sublime Swiss star will go down as the best men's tennis player ever, though I do think that he needs to win the French Open to really cement that title. On the women's side, again I have no particular interest this year. There are no captivating personalities or at least as of this point, great story lines.
The NFL season begins next Thursday, and it should be a great season. I like the Patriots and Cowboys to meet in the Super Bowl, with New England rolling to its fourth title in the last seven seasons. I am sure that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell wants nothing more than for the season to start, so that the focus on his league can return to the on-field product, as opposed to on the activities of Michael Vick, Chris Henry, Adam "Pacman" Jones, et al.
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