It's glad to be back in the blogosphere, here's something for ya'll to chew on

Well, the baseball season is only three weeks old but we do have a few surprises.  Here's the list of surprises, both negative and positive:

The Detrot Tigers are playing like an A-Ball team.  I know that they got some wins over the weekend against Cleveland, but this team needs to put together some big weeks to get back into the race.  They will be getting Curtis Granderson back soon, but they still have glaring holes in the bullpen with the absence of Fernando Rodney and Closer-In-Training Joel Zumaya.  I think they'll turn it around before Memorial day, which is the first true measuring stick for the season.

Also in the AL Central, the Kansas City Royals have been a pleasant surprise this season so far.  The team is at 9-10 right now after being swept by the A's(more on them later), but I like their starting rotation with Zack Grienke, Brian Bannister, and Gil Meche.  I know the Mets could use Bannister now.  The questions that I have all have to do with their lineup.  This team will only go as far as Alex Gordon and Billy Butler will take it, which I think will be an improved team, but still about a year or 2 away from the playoffs.

The Oakland A's are leading the AL West and I can honestly say that I didn't see this one coming.  I was expecting Joe Blanton and/or Rich Harden to be traded as the team rebuilded again.  Once Harden and Eric Chavez get back from the DL, look for the A's to continue their run at least until Memorial Day.  By then, John Lackey for the Angels and Erik Bedard for the Mariners will be healthy.

Who would have thought that the Florida Marlins would be leading the NL East?  A team of no-names that gets paid less than A-Rod and Manny are leading the division.  This definitely won't last, I'm still going with the Mets over the Phillies and Braves to win the division.

Speaking of headline grabbers, how about the NL Central.  The Cardinals, who many picked to finish in 5th place, were in 1st place until yesterday and now sit a 1/2 game behind the Cubs.  I hear that the "What the Fuk?" shirts are popping at Wrigley, we'll see how the lovable losers fair when they play someone other than the Pirates.  Miguel Tejada got 2 years older overnight, what a shock.  Eric Gagne is pitching horribly for the Brewers and Rickie Weeks and Ryan Braun can't hit right now, but that should change soon.  And look at the job that Dusty Baker is doing in Cincinnati.  Sure, I'm not a Reds fan but it's always good to see the Reds play well.  Ken Griffey will always have a place in the hearts of many people my age and Johnny Cueto?  What a stud!

The NL West hasn't really been too crazy, except for the fact that the Baby 'Backs are doing what they couldn't do last season.  They are crushing the ball behind Justin Upton and Mark Reynolds.  With the staff that they possess, they have to be the favorites to win the division.

Remember though, it's only been 3 weeks so we'll see how it works out.

in February, I made these predictions.  As of June 3rd, here are the standings and how my picks stand up

AL EAST
1.  Boston-picked 1st
2.  Toronto-picked 2nd
3.  Baltimore-picked 4th
4.  New York-picked 3rd
5.  Tampa Bay-picked 5th

AL CENTRAL
1.  Cleveland-picked 4th
2.  Detroit-picked 2nd
3.  Minnesota-picked 1st
4.  Chicago-picked 3rd
5.  Kansas City-picked 5th

AL WEST
1.  Los Angeles-picked 2nd
2.  Seattle-picked 3rd
3.  Oakland-picked 1st
4.  Texas-picked 4th

NL EAST
1.  New York-picked 2nd
2.  Atlanta-picked 4th
3.  Philadelphia-picked 1st
4.  Florida-picked 3rd
5.  Washington-picked 5th

NL CENTRAL
1.  Milwaukee-picked 3rd
2.  St. Louis-picked 2nd
3.  Pittsburgh-picked 6th
4.  Chicago-picked 1st
5.  Houston-picked 4th
6.  Cincinnati-picked 5th

NL WEST
1.  San Diego-picked 2nd
2.  Los Angeles-picked 1st
3.  Arizona-picked 4th
4.  Colorado-picked 3rd
5.  San Francisco-picked 5th

what this has taught me so far is....don't pick the cubs to win ANYTHING!

A.L. East
I'm going to explain why the Yankees are in last place.  They're a very good team who is playing really bad right now.  Underachievers include Robinson Cano, Hideki Matsui, Johnny Damon, Bobby Abreu, Jason Giambi, every starting pitcher, and Mariano Rivera.  These players need to fix it quick before "The Boss" is forced to do something drastic, like fire half the team and its front-office personnel. 

A.L. Central
Ya know how good this division is, the teams that were tied for third going into today(5.5 games back) weren't hitting(Chicago) or wasn't pitching well(Minnesota).  Both of those teams will be running the gauntlet and this will be a 4 team race this season.  Cleveland is being led by Casey Blake and Travis Hafner, with C.C. Sabathia rocking.  My only problem right now with the Indians is their closer.  Detroit's Magglio Ordonez is crushing the ball and Justin Verlander could be the Cy Young award winner. 

A.L. West
The Angels are playing good, but I would really enjoy seeing Seattle make a run at it.  They are 4.5 games out coming into today and as long as Felix Hernandez and Ichiro keep it up, they will be in it.  Look for them to get another bat at the deadline and possibly another starter.

N.L. East
I watched probably the best game of the year yesterday when I watched the Giants-Mets game on ESPN.  Oliver Perez and Tim Lincecum pitched 7 Innings each, but the day belonged to Carlos Delgado.  Delgado broke up Lincecum's no-hitter and shutout bid with one swing, a 2 out-2 run home run into the Mets bullpen.  He then broke a 4-4 tie with a solo shot to the bullpen in the 12th inning off of Armando Benitez.  Earlier in the inning, the Mets scored a run like this...Jose Reyes walks, get balked to second, and then is sacrificed to third.  He then was balked home.  Lets just say that this was not a good game for Benitez.  What a game!

N.L. Central
The three teams that were supposed to compete with the Brewers for the N.L. Central title have been struggling to stay afloat.  First, the Cubs have hit a wall and now can not hit the ball anywhere.  Derrick Lee, who was hitting .380, is now slumping horribly and no one can pick him up.  The pitching staff for the Cubs has been a somewhat bright spot with Jason Marquis and Ted Lilly pitching great.  The biggest problem for the Cubs is the bullpen and I don't know if Lou will be able to restrain himself all the time!  Some people have said that the Astros would be improved without Andy Pettitte or Roger Clemens, with Woody Williams and Jason Jennings replacing them.  So far, Woody is 1-7 and Jennings just got off the DL.  Furthermore, the Astros can't hit.  They are batting .249 as a team, good enough for 27th in the majors.  Now for the Cardinals; Since the beginning fo the season, the Cardinals have lost Chris Carpenter, Josh Kinney, Juan Encarnacion, and many others.  They have sent down Anthony Reyes after he went 0-8 and Kip Wells is 2-9...WOW!  Without much offense from the big 3, the Cardinals can't keep up.  Add to this the death of Josh Hancock and this team is out of it.  Yesterday, they lost Yadier Molina for up to 6 weeks with a fractured left wrist.  This is an injury that I had growing up and its impossible to play baseball with a broken wrist because the left wrist is your catching hand.  Molina and Chris Duncan were the only players keeping this team afloat....now cards fans are wondering if they should just mail in the season.

N.L. West
This division is going to be a 5 team race now with Colorado winning 7 straight.  Micah Owings is pitching great for Arizona, as is Derek Lowe for L.A., Jeff Francis for Colorado, Tim Lincecum and Matt Morris for San Francisco and the N.L. Cy Young winner in Jake Peavy in San Diego.  The question is who will be left standing at the end...

I think that this week could be known as "Resume Builder Week" for many college basketball teams.  Sure you have a lot of rivalry games and here are a few of those

Monday:  Texas at Texas A&M:  100-82 A&M.  This game, added to the victory at Kansas last Saturday, has given the Aggies a great resume for a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.  This loss by Texas could knock them out of the top 25.  Acie Law looked great and should really get some votes for national player of the year.  There isn't one player out there that is more valuable to their team as Law is to the Aggies.

Tuesday:  Michigan at Ohio State:  These two universities hate each other.  If they were competing in a lawn mower race, it would look like Tim Taylor and Bob Vila racing on Home Improvement.  The Wolverines really need this win because they are falling off the bubble quickly.  Greg Oden and Mike Conley Jr. should be able to blow right by them at Value City Arena

Wednesday:  North Carolina at Duke:  This is college basketball's greatest rivalry.  I know people will argue that Syracuse-Georgetown, Pitt-West Virginia, Indiana-Illinois, Kentucky-Louisville, and others are better, but this game couldn't come at a better time for both teams.  Carolina is coming off of a disappointing loss in Raleigh to N.C. State, while Duke fell to Al Thornton and Florida State at home on Sunday.  Greg Paulis finally played a great game in ACC play and he'll need to do it again matching up against Ty Lawson.  Josh McRoberts will not be able to compete with Hansborough and/or Brandon Wright down low.  But this game is in Cameron and we've all seen the things that happen there(i.e. the Clemson game or the Jeff Capel shot game in 95).

Thursday:  Drexel at Hofstra:  This game is the most important in the Colonial this week as both teams try to keep up with VCU.  Hofstra is coming off of a win vs. VCU last week and Drexel fell to Old Dominion.  The winner stays in line for an at-large berth, but the loser falls off the bubble.

I'll preview this weekend's games on Friday.

Rivera to interview for Cowboys
Chicago Bears defensive coordinator Ron Rivera will interview for the Dallas Cowboys head coaching position either Tuesday or Wednesday.  I'm still thinking that Norv Turner is the favorite, but I wouldn't be surprised Rivera becomes the defensive coordinator for the Cowboys.  Even though he does not coach the 3-4, which the Cowboys have ran the last 2 years, I think he would be a good fit.

Baseball is in the air
We've got a little over a week until pitchers and catchers report, who do you think is going to win this year?  Here are my early......EARLY predictions for the division winners

AL East:  Boston Red Sox
AL Central:  Minnesota Twins
AL West:  Oakland Athletics
AL Wild Card:  Toronto Blue Jays

NL East:  Philadelphia Phillies
NL Central:  Chicago Cubs
NL West:  San Diego Padres
NL Wild Card:  St. Louis Cardinals

I'll go further in-depth on all 30 teams one at a time starting Monday