What's Good! 9/30-10/6

MLB Playoff Race

This is the last appearance for MLB in the What's Good blog this season. Starting Monday the Playoffs will get their own post.

Four of the six divisions are locked up already as we head into the final weekend of the season. In the American League the Twins won the Central and the Rangers took the West. Texas will be the #3 seed in the playoffs, while Minnesota is still fighting for the top spot. The National League East champs are the Phillies, who have also secured the best record and will have home field advantage throughout the playoffs. The Reds won the Central and are battling for the #2 seed.

AL East

The Tampa Bay Rays hold a 1/2 game lead over the Yankees and will end the season with a 4 game series with the Royals in Kansas City, starting today. The Yankees have the day off and will travel to Boston to take on the Red Sox. Both the Yankees and the Rays have already clinched playoff spots, so it's now official that the 2nd place finisher in the division will be the AL Wild Card.

NL West
San Francisco holds a 2 game lead over San Diego with each team having 4 games left. Today the Giants finish their 3 game series with Arizona and the Padres play the 4th and final game of their series with Cubs. Tomorrow, the Padres head to San Francisco for a 3 game set to finish the season and decide the division. San Francisco's magic number is currently 3. They could wrap up the NL West title Friday at the earliest.

NL Wild Card
The Braves are leading the Wild Card race by 1.5 games over San Diego. Atlanta is off today, but hosts Philadelphia this weekend to finish the regular season.

NFL Week 4

San Francisco (0-3) @ Atlanta (2-1)- The Niners have a new offensive coordinator, but some people think Singletary and Smith are bigger problems than Raye was. The Falcons look to win their 3rd straight game.

Baltimore (2-1) @ Pittsburgh (3-0)- The surprisingly 3-0 Steelers play their last game without Ben Roethlisberger. Not that they've missed him.

Washington (1-2) @ Philadelphia (2-1)- Donovan McNabb returns to Philly for the first time since his trade. Mike Vick looks to keep the Eagles rolling.

Chicago (3-0) @ New York Giants (1-2)- The Bears are hot and proving they are for real, while the Giants have stumbled out of the blocks.

New England (2-1) @ Miami (2-1)- Big game as both teams are tied with the Jets atop the AFC East.

College Football Week 5

Texas A & M (3-0) @ Oklahoma St. (3-0)- Big 12 opener for these two teams looking to crack the Top 25.

#21 Texas (3-1) @ #8 Oklahoma (4-0)- Texas tries to rebound from a 34-12 loss to UCLA in the 105th meeting of these two powerhouses.

#11 Wisconsin (4-0) @ #24 Michigan St. (4-0)- Both teams look to stay undefeated in their Big 10 opener.

#19 Michigan (4-0) @ Indiana (3-0)- Denard Robinson is back after injuring his knee last week. Can Indiana stop him?

Washington St. (1-3) @ UCLA (2-2)- The Bruins look to continue rolling after beating ranked teams in consecutive weeks.

#7 Florida (4-0) @ #1 Alabama (4-0)- This should be the game of the week. A possible SEC Championship preview.

#9 Stanford (4-0) @ #4 Oregon (4-0)- A huge game for both teams. Pac 10 and Top 10 rankings up for grabs.

#22 Penn St. (3-1) @ #17 Iowa (4-0)- Loser may leave the Top 25.

What's Good! 9/23-9/29

MLB Playoff Race

First, I want to say Congratulations to the Minnesota Twins for becoming the first team to clinch their division this season. I think it's great that no division was decided until the Twins won the AL Central with 2 weeks left in the season. The next week and a half will be full of exciting baseball. Other divisions that are pretty much wrapped up are the AL West, where the Rangers' Magic Number is 4 and the NL Central where Cincinnati's Magic Number is 3. The Phillies also have a great shot at wrapping up the NL East soon with a Magic Number of 4 and a 10-game winning streak. Now, on to the close races.

AL East
The Yankees have a 1.5 game lead on the Tampa Bay Rays going into today's final game of their 4 game series. Tomorrow, New York starts a weekend series against the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium and the Rays host the Seattle Mariners. Monday, the Yanks go north of the border to face the Blue Jays and the Rays stay home to take on Baltimore. The only team facing NY and TB in the next week that hasn't been mathematically eliminated from the playoffs is the Red Sox. Their elimination numbers are 3 in the division and 5 in the Wild Card so they could be out before they leave the Bronx.

AL Wild Card
The Rays lead the Red Sox by 6.5 games and the White Sox by 10.5 games. Chicago is all but gone with an elimination number of 1 and, as I stated earlier, Boston's elimination number is 5. There are going to be several homes that find some extra Sox laying around on October 4th. The Yankees and Rays will likely both make the playoffs but we are just waiting to see who wins the division. Loser gets the Wild Card spot.

NL West
The Padres and Giants are playing leap frog atop the West as they have both held half game leads in the last week. The Rockies are trying to hang around but have lost 3 straight games and are 3 games back. All 3 teams are in action today, as the Giants are at Wrigley for the rubber match of their series with the Cubs; the Rockies try to avoid the sweep in Arizona; and the Padres try to finish a sweep of the Dodgers in Los Angeles. There are two huge series' this weekend. The Giants go to Colorado with hopes of tapping the Rockies and the Padres go home to host the NL Central leading Cincinnati Reds. Monday, the Cubs head to San Diego to take on the Padres in a 4 game series and the Dodgers head to the Rocky Mountains to play 3 with Colorado. Tuesday, the Giants return to AT & T Park for a 3 game set with the Diamondbacks. This race is going to be great!

NL Wild Card
The NL West runner-up will have a great shot at taking the Wild Card. Right now, the Braves are up by half a game on the Giants and the Rockies are 3 back. The Braves have the day off after being swept by the red-hot Phillies and will head to the nation's capital this weekend to play the Nationals. They will then head home to play 3 against the Marlins starting Monday. The Cardinals and Marlins are still technically in this race but their elimination numbers are 3 and 2, respectively.

NFL Week 3

Dallas (0-2) @ Houston (2-0)- I don't see the Cowboys going o-3...or the Texans going 3-0 for that matter.

Detroit (0-2) @ Minnesota (0-2)- Going out on a limb here and saying the old and unimproved Brett Favre will be 0-3.

Atlanta (1-1) @ New Orleans (2-0)- The 49ers took it to the Saints on Monday night and the Falcons are a better team than the 49ers. Plus, the Saints are without Reggie Bush, who broke his leg against San Francisco. Look for the Dirtybirds to leave the Who Dat? Nation saying "Huh, what?"

Pittsburgh (2-0) @ Tampa Bay (2-0)- The Bucs are 2-0? The Roethlisberger-less Steelers are 2-0? Tampa Bay's run ends this week.

Philadelphia (1-1) @ Jacksonville (1-1)- Andy Reid named Mike Vick his starter for the rest of the year. Some people don't think an injury should cost someone their starting job, as it seems has happened to Kevin Kolb, but I'm a firm believer in starting the players who give you the best chance to win. I think Vick does this for the Eagles and will give the Jaguars defense fits on Sunday.

San Francisco (0-2) @ Kansas City (2-0)- Another game where both teams will lose the zeroes in their records.

New York Jets (1-1) @ Miami (2-0)- Jets fans are still waiting for Mark Sanchez to do something as their QB. I think the '72 Dolphins will be able to celebrate the first loss of the '10 Dolphins this week.

Green Bay (2-0) @ Chicago (2-0)- Should be a great Monday Night match-up as these two undefeated teams look to take over sole possession of first place in the NFC North. I still think the Packers are the better team.

College Football Week 4

North Carolina St. (3-0) @ Georgia Tech (2-1)- The winner of this game should move into the Top 25.

#1 Alabama (3-0) @ #10 Arkansas (3-0)- Excellent early SEC match-up with possible National Championship implications. Ingram is healthy for Alabama, which is good because their next 3 games are against ranked opponents.

Temple (3-0) @ #23 Penn St. (2-1)- I smell an upset in the making!!!

Kentucky (3-0) @ #9 Florida (3-0)- Florida has won 23 straight games against Kentucky and should make it 24.

#12 South Carolina (3-0) @ #17 Auburn (3-0)- Auburn should squeak by South Carolina and move up in the polls.

#24 Oregon St. (1-1) @ #3 Boise St. (2-0)- The Broncos should buck the Beavers right out of the Top 25.

#22 West Virginia (3-0) @ #15 LSU (3-0)- LSU's 28-game non-conference home winning streak is in jeopardy this week.

California (2-1) @ #14 Arizona (3-0)- Cal will try to bounce back from the beat down they took from Nevada while Arizona is riding high after beating Iowa.

#5 Oregon (3-0) @ Arizona St. (2-1)- Oregon gets its first real test after destroying their first 3 opponents by a total score of 189-13. Still, look for them to be 4-0 at the end of this one.

What's Good! 9/16-9/22

MLB Playoff Race

I've decided to cover the close races in baseball instead of just covering the games between two teams in contention. For the teams still in the race, every series is important.

AL East
Tampa Bay leads the Yankees by 1/2 game after taking 2 of 3 in their series. This weekend, the Rays stay at the Trop to play 3 with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim while the Yankees travel to Baltimore to take on the Orioles. On Monday, both the Yanks and Rays will be at Yankee Stadium to begin a huge 4 game series.

AL Wild Card
It looks like the team that finishes 2nd in the East will take the Wild Card. Boston is 6.5 games back and Chicago is 8.

NL East
Philadelphia has a 3 game lead on Atlanta and they will play each other in a 3 game series starting on Monday. First, though, the Phillies will host the Nationals and the Braves will take on the Mets at Citi Field.

NL West
The West is the only division with a serious 3 team race. The Padres have a half game lead on the Giants with the Rockies right behind them, 2.5 out. The Dodgers, although nowhere near playoff contention, can have a huge role in the way the division and wild card races go. Thursday, they finish a 3 game series with the Giants and then host the Rockies over the weekend. Then the Padres head to L.A. on Tuesday for 3. San Diego will spend the weekend in the mid-west taking on the Cardinals. San Francisco will stay in the Bay to play the Brewers before traveling to Chicago for a 3 game set beginning Tuesday. Colorado will be at Arizona for their mid-week series. It's going to be a wild ride in the West and I can't wait to see what happens.

NL Wild Card
As of right now, the Braves lead the Giants by half a game and the Rockies by 2.5. St. Louis is still in the mix but would need a lot of help. They are down by 8 games.

NFL Week 2

Arizona (1-0) @ Atlanta (0-1)- Can the Falcons bounce back after their shocking overtime loss to the Steelers in Week 1?

Baltimore (1-0) @ Cincinnati (0-1)- AFC North battle between the two best teams in the division. I know it's only Week 2 but Cincinnati needs to win this game.

New England (1-0) @ New York Jets (0-1)- The J-E-T-S Jets Jets Jets need to pull this one off. I don't think they can though.

New York Giants (1-0) @ Indianapolis (0-1)- Manning vs. Manning. Big Bro is hungry for his first win of the year and he should get it.

College Football Week 3

Cal (2-0) @ Nevada (2-0)- This should be a great game. I think Nevada is going to take it.

#12 Arkansas (2-0) @ Georgia (1-1)- Georgia has won 6 straight games against Arkansas, who will be without RB/KR Dennis Johnson.

Air Force (2-0) @ #7 Oklahoma (2-0)- Oklahoma stepped it up last week against Florida St. and now their D has to step it up another notch to stop the top ranked offense in the country.

Clemson (2-0) @ #16 Auburn (2-0)- This is the first installment of the Tigers vs. Tigers battle since 1971. Clemson has lost the last 13 with their last win against Clemson coming in 1951. I think both teams have some new players now. It will be cool to see these teams go at it again after so long.

#6 Texas (2-0) @ Texas Tech (2-0)- These two Big 12 teams have split the last 6 meetings.

#9 Iowa (2-0) @ #24 Arizona (2-0)- This is the only game between two ranked teams this week.

Wake Forest (2-0) @ #19 Stanford (2-0)- Andrew Luck will try to lead the Cardinal to their first 3-0 start in 10 years.

What's Good!

This is a new weekly blog I will be writing about what's good to watch in the world of sports. Each blog will preview events from Thursday through Wednesday.

WEEK OF 9/9-9/15

Major League Baseball

San Francisco @ San Diego (9/9-9/12)- The Giants and Padres get together for a 4-game series at Petco Park. The Padres lead the NL West by 2 games over the Giants, so this series will have a huge impact on the playoff race.

St. Louis @ Atlanta (9/9-9/12)- Atlanta is in the lead in the Wild Card race but St. Louis is only 6.5 games behind them. However, San Francisco (2 GB) and Colorado (4 GB) are in between the Braves and Cards.

San Diego @ Colorado (9/13-9/15)- San Diego currently has a 2 game lead on the Giants and a 4 game lead on the Rockies in the West. Major playoff implications in this series, depending on how these teams do in their respective weekend series.

New York Yankees @ Tampa Bay (9/13-9/15)- New York leads Tampa Bay in the AL East by 2.5 right now. No matter what these teams do over the weekend, this will be a big series.

Minnesota @ Chicago White Sox (9/14-9/16)- We are still five days away from this series and Minnesota has a 6 game lead. We will have to see if the Sox are still close by then.

National Football League Week 1

Minnesota @ New Orleans (Thu)- It's a rematch of last year's NFC Championship game. Favre is back (Surprise!) for the Vikings, but will his ankle hold up? Also, he is without Sidney Rice for a while. There is no reason for me to think the outcome won't be same as it was last time.

Cincinnati @ New England- T.O. and Ochocinco take the field as teammates for the first time in the regular season. Should be fun. Who can yell "Give me the damn ball!" louder? Oh yeah, New England has a man named Brady with receivers of his own. He's pretty good.

San Francisco @ Seattle- The NFC West is weak this year and I expect the 49ers to win it easily. Looking forward to seeing if Alex Smith is any better this year. Wouldn't take much for him to have a career year.

Green Bay @ Philadelphia- Green Bay the best team in the NFC, IMO. I don't think Kolb will be as good as everyone thinks. It will be interesting to find out.

Dallas @ Washington- Donovan McNabb faces his long time division rival...in a new uniform. The 'Skins are better with him but still not as good as the Cowboys.

Baltimore @ New York Jets (Mon)- Big test for Mark Sanchez. A lot of people don't think he's very good. He hasn't done a lot to disprove that theory.

San Diego @ Kansas City (Mon)- I know, I know. Why is there a Chiefs game on the list? Two words: Ryan Matthews. He will be the Offensive Rookie of the Year. Remember who said it!

College Football Week 2

#18 Penn St. @ #1 Alabama- Alabama's D is a little better than that of Youngstown St. They will give true freshman QB Robert Bolden significantly more trouble. Mark Ingram is unlikely to play for the second straight week, but the Tide should still roll.

#12 Miami (FL) @ #2 Ohio St.- The first game between these two powerhouses since the 2003 Fiesta Bowl. Ohio State won that game amid some controversy. They should win this one without it.

#7 Oregon @ Tennessee- The Vols are better than New Mexico so I don't think Oregon will have another 72-0 win, but I also don't think it will be close.

#17 Florida St. @ #10 Oklahoma- The Sooners will need to step up their game to beat the Seminoles. Should be a great game.

Michigan @ Notre Dame- Neither team is ranked, but this is always an exciting match-up.