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Following a Division Series round that saw all four series go the maximum five games for the first time in history, the remainder of this year's MLB playoffs were rarely any sort of must-see television. The Yankees never really showed up for the ALCS, the Cardinals appeared to stop showing up for the NLCS some time after Game 4 and then the World Series was over almost as soon as it started. Along the way, there were only two exceptions to my predicting just about every series (or Wild Card game) incorrectly.
In the end, it is Bruce Bochy and the damned San Francisco Giants walking away as World Champions for the second time in three years. The team's story this season is a relatively remarkable achievement, considering that it lost All-Star hero, Melky Cabrera, in the middle of the season. Still, when the Dodgers went out and took a handful of big contracts off the books of the Boston Red Sox, San Fran stayed the course, walked away with the division, and twice came back from the brinks of elimination in the playoffs before sweeping away Detroit in the World Series. To their fans, it might not be as joyous as finally ending their long suffering just two years ago, but coming back from a 2-0 deficit in the NLDS before coming back from 3-1 in the NLCS could make this year's achievement just as memorable.
For this Braves fan, however, it's another year that ends in bitter disappointment. And just as Bobby Cox's final year ended sooner than we'd hoped two years ago, this season saw Chipper Jones' career come to a close just when there was hope that the team might play for at least a few more weeks. Considering the concern I had about what I might miss during the evening of my wedding, that game and the entire World Series in general this year seemed to be a bit of a snore. I suppose not every year can involve a seventh and deciding game, and if a quick finish has to happen, it might as well be the year when other things were garnering my attention.
This year will be remembered as the one in which the playoffs expanded once again, and while next year the teams with the better records will go back to hosting the opening games, I now get to bitch about Wild Card teams having but a single play-in game after 162 regular season contests. It strikes me as patently ridiculous, but the new format's supporters seem content to argue that my concerns can be avoided simply be winning a division. That may be true, but it still misses the point that baseball is not supposed to be a one-and-done type deal.
That debate will likely continue as long as baseball retains this playoff format, and I fear that eventually I will grow to accept the one-game playoff—probably just as soon as Atlanta is the beneficiary.
NOTE: PHOTOS TAKEN FROM HERE AND HERE
Barring a scare from an unlikely Panthers squad, the Bears arrived at the midway point with the 7-1 record that it was supposed to have. The pic used for the graphic (taken from this Tribune gallery) is a pretty indicative reason why, as the team's defense has consistently manufactured turnovers and points. This past Sunday's "contest" with the Titans became a laugh-out-loud affair rather quickly.
So is this team really the Super Bowl contender that I had pegged them to be at the beginning of this season? Well, not so fast.
After a pretty weak list of relatively sub-.500 competition in the first eight games, the final eight will prove just how seriously Chicago deserves to be taken. The 7-1 Texans I picked to win that Super Bowl will come to town this weekend, and then the Bears head out west to play 6-2 San Francisco. Then Minnesota and Seattle both come to town with 5-4 records at the moment. That's just the next quarter. The final four games involve all three division rivals and a trip to Arizona with what is the only club below .500 right now.
With Atlanta still undefeated after its first eight games and playing in the far less intimidating NFC South, home field advantage throughout seems like a stretch, but a first round bye could still be a possibility. Still, for what it's worth, with my best man and my mother-in-law both being Packer fans, I could not help but openly speculate that the Bears could very well lose both games to Green Bay this season and still win the division—or better still if one loss in particular cost them the North.
The last time that the NBA was discussed here, I was basically accepting the possibility that we could be looking at a few years of seeing a Heat-Thunder Finals. In the off-season, the Lakers ended up making some of the splashiest of moves, boasting an intimidating starting five that thus made them immediate title contenders. For the hometown Bulls, Kirk Hinrich will be back this season, so ... the early predictions I've seen are predominantly have Miami, Los Angeles or Oklahoma City winning it all.
I'm late posting my own predictions for the season mostly because it tipped off the same week I was supposed to be honeymooning. (Seeing some of the devastation Sandy left, I'm not going to elaborate too much about the intended New England visit being canceled, as obviously we're fortunate—especially considering how well the actual wedding went.)
James Harden was traded to Houston the same night I got married, more or less making the Lakers even more likely to be favorites to emerge in the West this June. Miami, meanwhile, simply went out and got even stronger, swiping Ray Allen from Boston without losing any of its own stars or role players. All of that said, we've got some Thank You notes to be writing to many people for said wedding, so without much commentary, here's my picks for how this NBA season will unfold:
