Saturday, January 25, 2020

Bracketology - January 25th

West                                                                                    Midwest 
1 Gonzaga 
 1 Baylor 
16  Prairie View  / Monmouth 
16 Northfolk State / LIU 
Sacramento 
Omaha    
8 Marquette 
 8 Stanford 
9  Kentucky 
 9  BYU 
4 Dayton 
 4 Indiana 
13 Colgate 
 13 Murray State 
Cleveland 
St. Louis 
5 West Virginia 
 5 Colorado  
12 Loyola IL  
 12 Akron  
3   Butler 
 3 Louisville 
14 Winthrop 
 14 Wright State 
Greensboro  
Tampa Bay 
6 Michigan State 
 6  Illinois 
11 Rhode Island / Texas Tech 
 11 TCU 
7 Oklahoma 
7 Seton Hall  
10 Tulsa 
 10 Arizona 
Tampa Bay 
Greensboro 
2  Villanova 
 2 Duke 
15 Montana 
 15 Willam & Mary 
  South 
  East 
1 San Diego State 
 1 Kansas 
16 Arkansas LR 
 16 UC Riverside 
Spokane 
Cleveland
8 Arkansas 
 8 St. Mary's 
9 Memphis 
 9 NC State 
4 Penn State 
 4 Iowa 
13 Stephan F Austin 
 13 Duquesne 
St. Louis   
Spokane 
5 Creighton 
  5 Wichita State  
12 North Florida 
 12 New Mexico State 
3  Oregon 
  3 Maryland 
14 Western Kentucky 
 14 Yale 
Sacramento 
Albany 
6  LSU 
6 USC 
11 Ohio State / Virginia 
11 South Dakota State 
7  Virginia Tech 
 7 Houston 
10  Xavier 
 10  St. Louis 
Albany 
Omaha 
2  Auburn 
 2 Florida State 
15 Vermont 
 15 East Tennessee State 
On The Bubble 
Rhode Island
Virginia
Ohio State
Texas Tech

Last Four Out
Tennessee
Texas
Depaul
Purdue

Next for In
Pitt
VCU
Syracuse
St. John's

Sunday, January 19, 2020

I'm Hoping San Fran and Kansas City Enjoy the Night Tonight

Sports are made for moments like we saw today when two franchises that have dealt with heartbreak for various reasons were able to punch their ticket to the Super Bowl today.

Firstly, the Kansas City Chiefs who endured plenty of competitive teams over the last decade but just as many home playoff heartbreaks that had left a fanbase thirsty for a Super Bowl appearance until today when they beat Tennessee 35-24 in the early game. This ended a 50 year Super Bowl appearance drought.

In the late game, the San Francisco 49ers last NFC Championship was in 2013 when they defeated the Atlanta Falcons. Since their Super Bowl loss to the Ravens, they have been on a slow decline which bottomed out with a 4-12 season last year. This is a huge turnaround and this storied franchise should enjoy the night.

Here are my most anticipated days as a sports fan:

Big games in my Sports life as a sports fan
2003 Game 7, Canucks vs Blues
2003 Game 7, Canucks vs Wild
2004 Game 7, Canucks vs Flames
2006 NFC Championship game Seahawks vs Panthers
SB XL Seahawks vs Steelers
2006 WCQF Suns vs Lakers 

2006 WCSF Suns vs Clippers 
2006 NLCS Cardinals vs Mets
2007 Game 7, Canucks vs Stars
2011 Game 7, Canucks vs Blackhawks
2011 Game 5, Canucks vs Sharks
2011 Game 7 Canucks vs Bruins
2014 NFC Title Game, Seahawks vs 49ers

2015 Game 5 NLDS Dodgers vs Mets 
2015 Game 4 NLCS Cubs vs Mets 
2016 NL Wildcard Game Mets vs Giants 
I'm 10-6 in these 14 games. I haven't had a Game 7 or Conference Title clinching game in a long time. 

Monday, January 13, 2020

Same Story, Different Year for Seahawks on the Road in Playoffs

Ok, here is why I am so disappointed in the Seahawks right now. Despite the obvious of their season being over, the first half of the NFC Divisional game against Green Bay seemed awfully too familiar.

The 2012 Atlanta playoff game seemed like a carbon copy of what yesterday's painful heart breaker to the Packers. Slow start followed by a spark of hope only to fall one drive short. In both games, the home team had doubt that they could win in the playoffs also.

I get it though, in the last decade the Seahawks have become a model franchise in the NFL. The only problem is be continue to have slow starts week after week? We barely beat the Bengals in Week 1 and the tight games are way to damaging to my blood pressure especially if we have a Top 5 QB in the NFL.

We need to change our offensive playbook completely. Penny and Carson are not explosive enough for us to establish the run every game. It is not needed unless we are the underdog in. We are not usually underdogs and therefore, we need to use the run after the pass.

Secondly, we need Russell Wilson to turn into the Lamar Jackson type. He can't be afraid to scramble. I understand he is putting himself at risk for injury but designed 10 yard runs by Wilson should really open up the wide receivers. The offense makes it look so easy some drives and painfully hard to watch on other drives.

Our defense was hit and miss all year and that is concerning considering where we have came from. It's a long wait until the draft which sucks because I really want to see what changes this team makes.

Just super hard watching a team that can't win on the road in the playoffs unless the opposing teams QB gets hurt or kicker misses a chip shot field goal.

I honestly think our culture is stale but that is a pretty unpopular opinion. Let's be honest though. I think Wilson has a 30% chance at winning a Super Bowl again in Seattle. Not odds I enjoy.

Sunday, January 12, 2020

Bracketology - Jan 13th

East                                                                                    Midwest 
1 Gonzaga 
 1 Baylor 
16  Gambling  / Quinnipiac 
16 Northfolk State / Robert Morris 
Sacramento 
Cleveland   
8 Creighton 
 8 Iowa 
9  TCU
 9  Arkansas 
4 Kentucky 
 4 Dayton 
13 Colgate 
 13 Murray State 
Cleveland 
St. Louis 
5 West Virginia 
 5 Virginia 
12 Northern Iowa 
 12 Akron  
3   Villanova 
 3 Florida State 
14 South Dakota State 
 14 Wright State 
Greensboro  
Tampa Bay 
6  Wichita State  
 6  Arizona 
11 DePaul / Tennessee 
 11 Houston   
7 Seton Hall 
7 St. Mary's 
10 Stanford 
 10 Creighton 
Tampa Bay 
Spokane 
2  San Diego State 
 2 Oregon 
15 Montana 
 15 Willam & Marry 
  South 
  West 
1 Auburn 
 1 Duke 
16 Arkansas LR 
 16 UC Riverside 
St. Louis 
Greensboro  
8 Indiana 
 8 USC   
9 New Mexico 
 9 LSU 
4 Michigan 
 4 Michigan State 
13 Nicholls State 
 13 Duquesne 
Spokane 
Cleveland 
5 Texas Tech 
  5 Memphis 
12 Liberty 
 12 New Mexico State 
3  Maryland 
  3 Louisville 
14 Charlotte 
 14 Princeton 
Albany 
Albany 
6  Ohio State 
6 Tennessee  
11 Virginia Tech  / Oklahoma 
11 Xavier 
7  Colorado 
 7 Penn State 
10  St. Louis 
 10  Washington 
Omaha 
Omaha 
2  Butler 
 2 Kansas 
15 Stony Brook 
 15 Western Carolina 
On The Bubble 
Virginia Tech
DePaul
Tennessee
Oklahoma

Last Four Out
Wisconsin
Utah
G"Town
Texas

Next for In
Pitt
Rhode Island
VCU
St. John's