MLB
For the first time since 2004, both League Championship series will go to a game 6 in the MLB playoffs. Roy Halladay was just good enough, not dominating, to send his Phillies back home to finish the series. And thanks to the Rays for beating the Yankees out in the AL East this year, the Rangers have the home field advantage and will finish up in Arlington for games 6 and 7 if necessary.
NLCS GAME 6 - LEWIS (TX) vs HUGHES (NYY) Friday 7p (all times CST)
Colby Lewis was and still is a relatively unknown pitcher from the national perspective. A journeyman already who's bounced around starting with Rangers, then the Tigers, A's, a stint with Hiroshima Carp of Japan's Central League, then back to Texas this year. He has a chance to become quite memorable though tonight if he can pitch the Rangers into their first ever world series.
Lewis went 0-2 with a 6.89 ERA this year against the Yankees, however, don't count against him now, Lewis has a 1.69 ERA this postseason in 10 plus innings. He won't overpower you, but he's a smart location pitcher. His opponent will overpower you. Phil Hughes, an 18 game winner has nasty stuff when he's on as evidence in his 7 inning shutout vs. the Twins in the ALDS, however he was quite off in Game 2 giving up 7 runs in 4 innings. Which Hughes will we see, probably less of the latter, but still I like Texas at home to end the series and send a fan base to a place they've never been before. I'm sticking with the Rangers if there's a game 7 and Cliff Lee, the most dominant playoff pitcher of the last half century, would start. Not a bad guy to have in your back pocket.
RANGERS take game 6. If not, they definitely take game 7.
NLCS GAME 6 - OSWALT (PHI) vs. SANCHEZ (SFG) Saturday 3:30p
The series heads back to Philadelphia with a swing of momentum for the Phillies. Facing elimination again, the Phillies turn to their mid-season all-star acquisition in Roy Oswalt to try and force a game 7.
Oswalt has the upper hand with the experience and playing at home, but Sanchez has been terrific this postseason, allowing only 4 runs in 13 plus innings. So there's not a huge disparity in the pitching matchup, unless you count Oswalt's 5 all star noms and 1 NLCS MVP award. Oh that might be a little of an edge. The Giants bats have been sparked by youngsters Ross and Posey, they'll need more of that against Oswalt. The Phillies need Howard to step up, and hope that Jayson Werth continues with momentum from his big homer last night.
PHILLIES take game 6. Game 7 would feature Hamels vs Cain. Hamels has been great, allowing only 3 runs in 15 innings this postseason, but Cain has been even better, with 0 runs in 13 plus innings.
If it goes 7, I'll take the GIANTS, propelling them only 4 games from winning their first world series since 1954.
COLLEGE FOOTBALLOregon kicked off week 7 in college football last night with a 60-13 ass-kicking of UCLA. A Bruins team that had beaten 2 ranked teams this year, so no pushover. But the Ducks are flying high right now, 7-0 with the 2nd leading rusher in the country. Oregon is primed for the BCS National Championship game if they win out, and their schedule is favorable for them to do just that.
TOP 25 FACE OFFS
1 OKLAHOMA (6-0) at 11 MISSOURI (6-0) 7p (all games Saturday)
The #1 ranking carousal lies in the hands of the Sooners this week, who are no strangers to this position. In fact, Oklahoma has held the #1 ranked spot in college football more times than any other school. Coming in just ahead of Notre Dame. They've steamrolled their opponents by an average of score of 36-19 this season, and their coming off a 52-0 dismantling of Iowa State. They'll battle Missouri for the Tiger/Sooner Peace pipe, The Tigers will be their highest ranked opponent this year. History says the odds are stacked against the Tigers. Missouri has lost seven straight and 19 of the last 20 in this series and hasn't beaten Oklahoma since 1998. Overall, the Sooners hold a 66-23-5 advantage in the series, including a 31-15 edge in games played in Columbia. Missouri will rely heavily on their 2nd ranked defense to stop the balances offense of Oklahoma. Too much Sooners in this one, but Missou will put up a fight.
OKLAHOMA 31-24
4 AUBURN (7-0) vs 6 LSU (7-0) 2:30p
I'm going to go out on a limb and say with 100% confidence the Tigers will win this game. Ok that was a joke, both teams have Tigers as their mascot, and the game is often referred to as the Tiger Bowl. For a team that's given up 77 points in their last 2 games, it's hard to figure that Auburn won both of those games to keep their season undefeated. Well one of these teams will notch a 1 in the loss column. But it won't be Auburn, they'll ride high-flying Heisman candidate Cam Newton into the end zone a few times again, not as much as last week, but enough to overcome LSU. The Tigers from the Bayou must establish their rushing game behind Stevan Ridley, if he's shut down, the passing game can't get the job done alone.
AUBURN 41-28
13 WISCONSIN (6-1) at 15 IOWA (5-1) 2:30p
Both teams are coming off statement wins. Iowa on the road against Michigan and Wisconsin at home over then #1 Ohio State.
So both teams are riding momentum into this one, which team will continue and which one will have another speed bump towards the Big Ten Title. Iowa is a defensive minded team, where Wisconsin relies on their backs John Clay and James White. Wisconsin's has 50 rushes of 10 or more yards in 2010, but Iowa is tied for second nationally in fewest rushes of 10 or more yards allowed with 11. There's a great QB matchup between Tolzien (WI) and Stanzi (IA), 2 of the most efficient quarterbacks in the nation. Benefit of the doubt will go with Iowa at home looking to retain the Heartland Trophy for the 3rd straight year.
IOWA 24-17
14 OKLAHOMA STATE (6-0) vs 16 NEBRASKA (5-1) 2:30p
There are 2 things that are guaranteed certainties in this game. 1) Nebraska will run, and 2) Oklahoma State will pass. Each team is in the top 4 in the nation in those respective categories. Nebraska's Quarterback Taylor Martinez is bringing comparisons of old husker QB Eric Crouch. A QB that thinks run first, run 2nd, then pass 3rd. If you want to shut down Martinez, make him throw, he has little value then and was even replaced in the 2nd half last week because of his inability to rush against Texas. Still Martinez rushed for 126 and is probably the best freshman in the country at this point. The Cowboys have their own Heisman capable player in WR Justin Blackmon, a guy that grabs comparisons to Michael Crabtree and one that QB Brandon Weeden finds early and often. Weeden and Blackmon will face a top 10 defense in Nebraska though and will need RB Kendall Hunter, a top 10 back, to provide a bulk of the offense too. OK State just has too much offense for Nebraska to keep up with, and Martinez will not be effective enough for this one.
OKLAHOMA STATE 42-34
OTHER BIGGIES
5 TCU (7-0) vs AIR FORCE (5-2) 7p
If the Horned Frogs wants to test their #1 defense in the country, then they can look to Air Force, ironically with the best rushing attack in the nation at 347 yards/game. As good as their rushing game is, the Falcons' passing attack is as brutal with the 5th worst yards/game through the air. TCU can't shut down the run, but they can slow it down and make Air Force throw the ball. This one will be close for about a quarter, TCU is bigger, faster, and more offensively balanced with Heisman worthy candidate Andy Dalton behind the center.
TCU 45-28
7 MICHIGAN STATE (7-0) at NORTHWESTERN (5-1) 11a
Ladies and Gentlemen, I present you with the Big Ten's only undefeated and best record, Michigan State Spartans. A team that is usually good but hardly ever great. They are basking in their best season in decades with eyes on their first Rose Bowl since 1988.
The Spartans are one of the most offensively balanced teams in the nation led by QB Kirk Cousins, RB Edwin Baker, and WR tandem Mark Dell and BJ Cunningham. The Wildcats offense flows through QB Dan Persa, who also leads the team in rushing, since they lack a viable RB. NW is coming off their first loss of the season to upstart Purdue. This is a huge game at home to determine if the Wildcats are for real this year or just a product of a soft schedule (biggest win at Vanderbilt who is currently 2-4).
MICHIGAN STATE continues its march to Pasadena, 31-17
10 OHIO STATE (6-1) vs PURDUE (4-2) 11a
The Buckeyes got a gut check into reality last weekend after they're upset loss at Wisconsin. I mentioned last weekend how Ohio State hadn't really faced tough competition, and Wisconsin poked holes in their defense all day. Now that Purdue knows Ohio State has weaknesses, tbey can try to push their 2 headed rushing attack of QB Rob Henry and RB Dan Dierking into pay dirt on Saturday. But Ohio State is not going to lay on its back after a demoralizing loss last week, they weren't ranked #1 just on reputation. Look for a lot of Terelle Pryor through the air and on the ground in this one.
OHIO STATE 35-27
20 WEST VIRGINIA (5-1) vs SYRACUSE (4-2) 11a
The battle for the Ben Schwartzwalder Trophy, named after former WVU football player and Syracuse head coach Ben Schwartzwalder, who had died in March 1993 and whom is highlighted in the movie, The Express, takes place in Morgantown tomorrow.
It hasn't been much of a rivalry lately as the Mountaineers have taken the last 8 games. Cuse will again be pushed against the wall this weekend on the road, and is coming off a 45-14 whooping by Pittsburgh at home nontheless. West Virginia knows it has a promising schedule ahead to run the table, and will look to put away Syracuse and pile on some numbers to make the victory more satisfying.
WEST VIRGINIA 42-21
GOPHER WATCH & UPSET SPECIAL
MINNESOTA (1-6) vs PENN STATE (3-3) 11a
The battle for the Governor's Victory Bell, awarded annually between these 2 teams since 1993 takes place Saturday. It was first presented to commemorate Penn State's entry into the Big Ten Conference, with their first league game coming against the Golden Gophers. The series has been streaky on both sides. The Nittany Lions took the first 4 from '93-'98, the Gophers then grabbed the Bell for 4 straight from '99-'04, and Penn State has owned it the last 3 games from '05 to '09. So if each team has it for 4 straight victories, then you should put your chips on Penn State. However, the Nittany Lions don't come into Minneapolis with as much swagger as their accustomed to. They have been ranked for 6 of these matchups, but are only 3-3 this year, and like Minnesota, still looking for their 1st Big Ten win.
Don't expect a whole lot of offense in this one, but if there is, it'll be ugly, these 2 teams do not have efficient offenses with neither in the top 50 in passing or rushing. Penn State wants this game, but Minnesota needs it in so many more ways. First and most obviously, it's the Gophers' first game without Tim Brewster, a mid-season firing that came with a lot of support from boosters and fans. The players desperately want to make a statement that they are better than their record. Lost in all the Brewster and head coaching search news this week has been Adam Weber, the Gophers quiet leader. If Weber throws for more than 100 yards, he'll become just the 5th quarterback in Big Ten history to pass for more than 10,000 career yards. The others: Iowa's Chuck Long (10,461), Northwestern's Brett Basanez (10,580), Purdue's Curtis Painter (11,163) and Purdue's Drew Brees (11,792). The Golden Gophers are my upset special this week, taking advantage of an uncharacteristicly weak Penn State team, and riding the emotions from the week that was.
GOPHERS 24-21
NFL
RIVALRY GAME
VIKINGS (2-3) at PACKERS (3-3) 7:20p
Arguably the biggest rivalry in the NFL, and definately the biggest border state rivalry in pro football will take place in primetime on Sunday evening in Green Bay as the Vikings travel east to face the hated Packers (you can switch around that sentence if your a Packers fan). If you happen to be a cheesehead, you've been looking forward to this matchup since the season ended last year, especially when you found out Brett Favre would be back and make another trip to Lambeau. Favre was victorious in both games vs the Packers last year, leaving a bad taste all around Green Bay last year. The team and their fans desperately want to see Favre and the Vikings lose at Lambeau and get a little revenge and redemption from last year and from Favre's move to the dark side (Minnesota).
Adding flavor to a rivalry that already has enough spice, is the fact that Randy Moss will make his first return to Lambeau field since the infamous Moss mooning in the NFC wildcard playoff game on January 9th, 2005. Rest assured, 5 years is not long enough to displace the memory from the fans there. The boo birds will be out in full force Sunday night. On the field, where the fans cant play, each team is desperate for a win even in the soft NFC, neither team wants a losing record at this point, which is just what the loser will find themselves with after the game. The Vikings are coming off a big must-win game against Dallas last week and are in must-win mode again to get back to .500. On the other side, the Packers are reeling from 2 straight OT losses. In fact the Packers have lost each of their 3 games by exactly 3 points. Their 1 win in the last 4 games came against Detroit by just 2 points. So this team has played in pressure packed tight games all season, and won't be afraid if they fall behind early. The Vikings are hoping for a nostalgic Favre and Moss performances to get past their bitter rival. It's a tough call, but I'll go VIKINGS 24-21.
There you have it folks, I try to keep it short, but find it important to write on instinct and without hesitation. Looking to improve on my season predictions after a let down last weekend.
Until next time, remember that to file your tax returns before April 15th.
bsv
the Courtesy Wave
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