It is finally that time of the year as playoff baseball is finally back, but what will be interesting is we will have a first as both squads in the National League Wild Card game will face off after having to play tiebreaker games to determine their respective division’s crown. With that being said, let’s take a look at both teams in this Wild Card Game.

Chicago Cubs

Because of being in the same division as the Milwaukee Brewers, the Cubs got a worse seed than they deserved as they finished with the second best record in the National League. However, they have a chance to play against the Brewers to prove they are better if they beat the Rockies in this Wild Card Game. The Cubs will trot out Jon Lester to the mound as Lester is known for pitching phenomenally in key games. If he doesn’t perform well, that could put more pressure on their bullpen and that might be what hurts them. Chicago has a lot of talent on their roster with the likes of Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, and Javier Baez as they can hit for a lot of power and are incredibly versatile. On paper they undoubtedly have more talent plus they have more experience. And their pitching is very good, but because this is a Wild Card Game, they will have a lot more bullpen arms than usual and at points the bullpen struggled in 2018 and didn’t fare well towards the end of the season. They must hope the bullpen doesn’t falter especially against Colorado’s powerful offense, but their hope will be Lester goes for seven innings. Plus their offense has been very inconsistent and will need to be clicking on all cylinders.

Cubs Lineup

1. Ben Zobrist RF
2. Kris Bryant LF
3. Anthony Rizzo 1B
4. Javier Baez SS
5. Albert Almora CF
6. Daniel Murphy 2B
7. Willson Contreras C
8. David Bote 3B
9. Jon Lester P

 

Colorado Rockies

After losing their tiebreaker game against the Dodgers, the Rockies will be making their second consecutive appearance to the Wild Card Game. Last year they lost to the Diamondbacks, but they hope they won’t lose this contest for the second year in a row. One of the things Colorado can do is slug the ball as they possess some of the best hitters in the game like Nolan Arenado, Trevor Story, and Charlie Blackmon. They will send out Kyle Freeland to the mound as Freeland probably had the best pitching season in Rockies’ franchise history going 17-7 with a 2.85 ERA. However, Freeland is pitching on short rest and pitches better at home (which is ironic as Coors Field is a haven for batters), though his numbers on the road are still good. At one point the Rockies bullpen, which they tried to revamp and improve greatly over the offseason, was downright awful, but as the season went along it got a better and actually is probably the best of the two bullpens in this game. If it does come down to a bullpen showdown, the Colorado is in much better shape.

Rockies lineup

1. Charlie Blackmon CF
2. DJ LeMahieu 2B
3. Nolan Arenado 3B
4. Trevor Story SS
5. Matt Holliday LF
6. Ian Desmond 1B
7. David Dahl RF
8. Chris Iannetta C
9. Kyle Freeland P

 

Notes: The season series was split at 3-3 and they scored the same amount of runs at 33-33. Rockies hit worse on the road than at home with a collective batting average of ..226, but Wrigley Field is a small ballpark and it easily could become a slugfest.

Predictions

James Rowe: Cubs. While there is a lot to like about the Rockies, the Cubs have the advantage of playing at home for a good two weeks now and haven’t had to travel as much Colorado who are flying all the way from Los Angeles and now have to play three straight games in three different cities (they played in Denver on the final day of the regular season). Plus the Cubs just simply have a better team on paper. The only question will be what type of contest it will be.

South Africa vs Australia

The Springboks are coming off a much needed win, but they also showed that they still have a chance at winning this tournament. However, what is incredible is they came off a victory against the very tough All-Blacks who are the best rugby team in the world as they edged them out 36-34. Aphiwe Dyantyi was a force to be reckoned with on the wing as he scored two tries against New Zealand, but they also got tries from Willie le Roux, Malcolm Marx, and Cheslin Kolbe. Australia came off a much needed victory against South Africa in Week Three, but then fell to a rising Argentina squad 23-19 in Week Four. The Wallabies will need to get back on track, but they will be facing the Springboks who will be coming in with a lot of momentum. If the Wallabies don’t want to finish in last, then they will have to play a near flawless game against one of the best forward packs in rugby. This could be a very interesting match.

Predictions

James Rowe: South Africa. Things just don’t look promising for the Wallabies and I was very impressed by the Springboks against New Zealand. I don’t even think this will be close.

 

New Zealand vs Argentina

The All-Blacks are coming off a tough loss to South Africa and now have to face off against an Argentina side that has a very tough pack. New Zealand though are resilient and are after all the best rugby team in the world, you can expect them to come back and come back hard. They will be tough to face off against. That being said, the Pumas have been very impressive and will look to keep the momentum going off their victory against Australia. Nicolas Sanchez had a great game in Week Four as he scored a try, converted on all two point after attempts, and even scored a penalty kick. You can expect Argentina to fight hard and won’t make anything easy for the All-Blacks.

Predictions

James: New Zealand. Argentina has been very impressive, but these are the All-Blacks after all and they will likely come back and click on all cylinders. Never count them out. But I do expect this to be a close match as both scrum units are solid and it could come down to the scrums.

As I’m sure as to when you read the headline, you probably were asking as to what I meant. There will be a lot to digest here so bear with me, but I talk about what my hopes are for the future of the sport in this country. It’s only growing and there is a long time before some of what I suggest could be fulfilled, but hopefully in 20 years from now, this is what could happen for rugby in America. Let’s take a look at what I want to happen for American rugby.

Implementation of Promotion/Relegation

I probably need to pump the brakes on this one as it’s “too soon” to talk about. Yes that would be correct, but with considering how successful Major League Rugby was in it’s inaugural season, I have high hopes that it will succeed and become a staple in American sports. I have already discussed in one of my articles about expansion in MLR, but in my article I talk about having 16 teams in the league. More than that in my opinion would be too much. There was talks about reviving PRO Rugby, an American rugby league that failed after one season, but I think PRO Rugby should consider coming back as a league just under MLR, a second division is probably the best way of putting it. PRO Rugby could also do the same thing with having 16 teams, but with having either two or three of the best teams that season promoted to play in MLR with two or three of the worst sides in MLR relegated to playing in PRO Rugby. It honestly could be beneficial for both sides.

Pursuing the best players in the world to come play here

This might be a bit controversial as you want to have American rugby players on display, but if you want to make more money, get more interest from fans outside of the U.S. and even expose people from within your own country to your product, you need to have some big names in your league. So imagine a player like Beauden Barrett or David Pocock playing in Major League Rugby. Heck, even go after a talented youngster from New Zealand or Ireland to be a part of your club. Make your product the best you can possibly make it.

Fully fledged rugby facilities

My hope is to see rugby-only facilities being built for this league in the near future. The ownership of a possible MLR club in Washington D.C. have already discussed plans of building one, Houston is about to break ground on their future stadium, and Glendale already has one. I can’t wait to see what the facilities will look like across the country.

Longer MLR season

While it was a great inaugural season for MLR, it needs to be longer. I have proposed that each team should play at least 22 matches before, but even 15 is fine. It’s just too short. Also, the more matches played, the more money your club will make. It’s simple economics. I would be fine with the season beginning in April, but when it would end is a good question. Heck, even having it played from August till December is fine.

Better media coverage

Obviously getting as much radio exposure is key, but that will only happen when radio stations actually decide to cover them. Television will be vital though. Having CBS Sports Network is key, but ESPN made it difficult to watch as they put their coverage through ESPN+. They need to change that to regular coverage as it could be put on ESPN 2 and ESPN on occasion. NBC Sports Network should pick up some coverage of MLR as they already have Aviva Premiership matches as well as the Six Nations tournament. Heck, even include Fox Sports as that could boost their profile. The league simply needs more coverage.

Seriously recruit players

There are 325 million people in the United States, how the country is not competitive is beyond my comprehension. Yes, I do realize the best athletes play basketball, football, hockey, baseball, and ever so increasingly more of soccer, but there’s 325 million Americans, there has to be some great athletes who can play rugby. Pursue the players who couldn’t quite make it to play college sports and instill them in your academies or even the college players, let’s say football players, that couldn’t quite cut it for a professional gig. Heck, even scout players while they are in middle and high school. The earlier the better. So my hope is that there is some serious recruiting in the future.

The “Big Six”

For the longest time when talking about American sports was saying the “Big Four” (Football, Baseball, Basketball, Hockey) and with the sudden rise of soccer in the country, it is safe to say that it is now the “Big Five.” However, my hope is that rugby becomes so popular that people say the “Big Six.”

College Rugby is taken serious

Right now, for the most part, college rugby is seen as just a club sport at schools. While yes it is good exposure for the sport as it is covered by some television, it’s still a club and no funding to say. If schools made rugby into a varsity sport, more funding could help build the profile of the sport across the country and it would allow players to become better which then make the sport better.

USA Rugby becomes competitive at the international level

This is the ultimate goal. I want to see my home country become a force in international rugby as they are looked at as serious contenders for the Rugby World Cup. I want people in New Zealand to be scared to play the United States. I want people talking about some players from the United States as one of the best players in the world. I want a World Cup championship. And that could happen especially with the amount of people in the country.

It was supposed to be a match, where in a country in which the sport is on the rise, to help expose more people, except it was an absolute disaster. If you don’t know to what I’m referring to then I am talking about the Wales-South Africa friendly at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. that just happened recently. It was an absolute blunder.

RFK Stadium, where the Washington Redskins and Nationals used to play, holds a capacity about 45,500 seats. So that is big enough to be a good opportunity for Americans to watch rugby. And after considering over 60,000 were in attendance for matches that were played at Soldier Field in Chicago, there was only 21,357 people at the game in D.C. which is absolutely awful.

So what went wrong? First of all the marketing was horrific. D.C. is a good market to market such a match for a sport that is the fastest growing in this nation. The ticket sales were poor as they should have been able to get more people to come out to this match. If matches that were played in Chicago were so successful, then so should have this one. One of the biggest reasons why it worked in Chicago was that so many former compatriots of countries where rugby is played were turning out for them. In D.C., the city where many across the globe live because of politics, there are so many of those types of people there. It’s amazing how such a golden opportunity was squandered there as I heard from many people that I know in the city (if you haven’t kept up with my columns I am actually a native of Washington, D.C.), both some who like rugby and others who don’t even follow the sport, said they didn’t even realize there was a rugby match happening. If that was the case, my parents, who still live there, probably would have asked me if I wanted to come back to watch the match. Whoever was in charge of marketing the match should be fired.

Another thing that hurt was the lack of star power on the field. Both sides decided to not bring most of their key players for this match and that might have hurt the product on the field. Even some have said that it seemed pointless to even set up the match and that it was all about the money and exposure of the sport. Yes it was a friendly, but that misses the point. It also was bad timing as D.C. was in the thick of watching their beloved hockey team, the Capitals, in the Stanley Cup playoffs as more people in the city were tuned into what was happening with that instead of this match. As a native, Washingtonians will only have playoffs, where their teams are in their respective postseasons, on their minds and won’t think of anything else.

There was also talk about how the match didn’t seem special as there was nothing entertaining about the product surrounding the match. One of those was that there was no music during halftime and there wasn’t even any tailgating. Yes, America might not understand the rugby culture quite yet, but they should have had some people who knew all about that running the show and made the experience better. Maybe that would have had more Americans come out to watch it.

I was sorely disappointed about what happened as I desperately want my home country to embrace such a great sport. This was a great opportunity and it seemed all for naught. I’m sure there will be more opportunities in the future, but you know what they say about first impressions: “You got to make a good first one.”

 

*An ESPN Article was used to help write this column. It’s also a good read as it delves even deeper into the issues surrounding the match.

The World Series Rugby league is trying to bring a new type of rule to the sport of rugby. Yes, sometimes there are rules that need to be changed to make the sport better. I might be new to the sport, but there are a lot of things I love and want to be kept as there are others I don’t like and I hope would change. However, when it comes to scoring, what WSR is trying to introduce is not only stupid, but it could hurt rugby.

If you are unaware what that might be, it is the introduction of the power try to the sport. In an ESPN article, this is what a power try would be:

“A team will have the opportunity to score nine points, providing the conversion is also successful, when a try is scored as result of play being initiated within a team’s own 22. If a penalty is awarded or possession swaps, the power try is no more.”

The idea is to supposedly make rugby “more entertaining that could generate more interest than the players themselves, particularly a nine-point ‘power try’. Nine points?! That’s ridiculous! Scoring five off a try and then two more on extra point opportunities is already enough, but a nine-point “power-try” is absolutely ridiculous. I’m all for making the sport more fun, but this isn’t exactly the best idea. There is also the idea that a side can make 12 substitutions instead of the regular eight that occurs, which is another bad idea as that takes away the splendors of the sport. There was one idea that I had to agree with is that scrums have to be completed within one minute once the mark is set as sometimes it’s very boring to watch the scrum try to be completed over and over again.

Rugby is truly a special sport to watch as an American it combines both American football and soccer together and it honestly looks like the most rigorous sport to play as players are consistently running and tackling one another as you must have a lot of stamina to play the sport. It truly is remarkable, but admittedly it is not perfect. That being said, don’t change the sport so much that it’s unrecognizable. In my book a try is a try and trying to change how scoring points works is just ridiculous. Yes I am all for making the sport more entertaining, but that suggestion is not a good idea. Plus it makes things more complicated in a sport that is pretty simple to understand. Rugby is trying to gain more popularity world wide, especially here in my home country of the United States, so when you add new concepts like that to your sport when you are trying to become more popular, you’re only going to confuse people more and complicate it more for people trying to understand the sport.

If they want to implement this in a lesser known competition, then go ahead. That being said, I don’t want this to be implemented in rugby as a whole. I get this is a trial, but I don’t like the idea of this. Not only is it a complicated concept, I find it to be stupid. Let’s hope World Rugby realizes that this is not a good idea.

New Zealand vs South Africa

The Springboks lost a tough one to the Wallabies last week 23-18 and things don’t get any easy as they face a formidable foe and one of their bitter rivals, the All-Blacks. New Zealand was clicking on all cylinders last week against Argentina as they won 46-24. The All-Blacks also started Richie Mo’unga in place of Beauden Barrett at flyhalf as Mo’unga played admirably, converting five of six extra point conversions and nailed two penalty kicks. But Barrett will return to take the 10 jersey for this week against South Africa. Unfortunately, New Zealand back Sonny Bill Williams has been withdrawn and replaced by Jack Goodhue due to injury, but you could expect him to come back for Week Five. As for the Springboks, returning to the starting lineup will be flyhalf Handre Pollard and hooker Malcolm Marx which should make the matchup more formidable and balanced. Expect this to be a great game.

Predictions

James Rowe: New Zealand. While I think this will be a fun match to watch as it will be awesome to see South Africa sending out their best, tactically I feel like the All-Blacks still have the upper hand. It will really come down to the scrum as South Africa, in my opinion, has the better pack, but the All-Blacks always know how to grind it out.

 

Australia vs Argentina

The Wallabies got a much needed victory against the Springboks last week, but as they are trying to trend up, they will try to continue the momentum against the Pumas in Week Four. Argentina played against a very tough All-Blacks squad and were dominated last week, but there is some hope that they can steal this one from Australia as they beat South Africa earlier this tournament. Argentina is showing that they could possibly become a force within the World Rugby scene and thus far have been impressive this tournament despite a 1-2 record. This could be a very interesting match to watch.

Predictions

James: Australia. While I think Argentina has been fun to watch, I feel like the victory the Wallabies obtained last week was just what they needed and should build on that momentum. I do think it will be hard fought, but the Wallabies have more quality players.

The NFL is finally back and it is great that football has fully returned. The most popular sport in the United States is back and America will tuned in to watch every game. This also could be a very competitive season as well as it seems very balanced in both conferences. With that being said, let’s take a look at the teams.

American Football Conference

AFC East

Buffalo Bills

After 17 seasons, the Bills finally made the playoffs in 2017. What helped was that they have a very good defense and some key weapons on offense like LeSean McCoy and Charles Clay, but they did add wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin in the middle of the season which made them better. However, it seems like they don’t quite have the team this season to compete, but stranger things have happened.

Miami Dolphins

This is a very weak division, but if the Patriots some how and magically falter this year, the Dolphins would be the next best team to represent the division in the playoffs. Head Coach Adam Gase has asked for a culture change with the club, but whether they can succeed because of that will be seen soon. There is some promise in the defense and they have a great running back in Kenyan Drake, but the Dolphins should struggle this season.

New England Patriots

The Patriots are clearly the best team in the division and are arguably the best team in the NFL, but considering how weak the division is, wouldn’t that mean the Patriots breeze through their season? Yes they have the legendary Tom Brady leading their offense with players like Rex Burkhead and Rob Gronkowski, but they have a very stout defense too. Plus they have a system designed by head coach Bill Belichick that absolutely works. They should have no problem winning the division, but more importantly they will be looking to avenge their Super Bowl loss to the Eagles.

New York Jets

What to do with the Jets. They have absolutely struggled the last few years as there has been seemingly no hope for them. Then comes in Sam Darnold, their best hope for a knight with shining armor, and change their fortunes around. He doesn’t have much on offense to work with, so expect him to struggle, but this is the future and the hope is that the Jets will finally have that superstar that will lead them to the promise land.

Predictions

James Rowe: New England. They will always win that division it seems

Chris Beauvil: New England

Tali Raphael: New England

 

AFC North

Baltimore Ravens

Ravens just barely missed out on the playoffs last year before having their hopes dashed on a late touchdown by the Bengals which allowed Buffalo to clinch a spot. However, this year there is a lot of hope that they will make it to the playoffs and not only that, clinch a higher seed. The biggest storyline for them will be quarterback Lamar Jackson as he will be the heir to Joe Flacco, but Flacco’s time is coming to a close soon.

Cincinnati Bengals

The Bengals had every opportunity to do big things in 2017, but things didn’t go quite the way they wanted. Now they have an even more talented side and better constructed roster. However, they just need some of their key players like A.J. Green, Andy Dalton, and Carlos Dunlap to stay healthy if they want to be taken seriously. That being said, the division will be harder for them to succeed like they should.

Cleveland Browns

Everyone knows that the Browns will do Browns things. However, since head coach Hue Jackson took over, the team started to net more competent talent like Myles Garrett and David Njoku. The storyline will be the quarterbacks as Tyrod Taylor will likely be the starter, but number one overall pick Baker Mayfield might be the future. With the amount of talent and after having such a dismal 2017 season going 0-16, the only way to go for them is to go up.

Pittsburgh Steelers

The Steelers always seem to stay constant and for good measure as they have an incredible array of talent, but will they continue their dominance in the division? They have a boat load of superstar players like Antonio Brown, Darrius Heyward-Bey, and Jesse James plus they have some weapons on defense that could help them dominate. Right now the story line is about whether Le’Veon Bell will come to terms with a contract to keep him with Pittsburgh. However, they would probably win a lot with or without him.

Predictions

James: Pittsburgh. Le’Veon Bell will eventually re sign with them and they will take the division with no problem.

Chris: Pittsburgh

Tali: Baltimore

AFC South

Houston Texans

This is an intriguing one. The offense may be predicated on whether Deshaun Watson stays healthy as he is the driving for for the offense. Their defense will be shaky at times, but with J.J. Watt leading it, it’s still pretty freaking good and hard to play against. That will be one of the driving forces for the team as well. While it may not seem optimistic, the Texans might be the most talented team in the division

Indianapolis Colts

Last year was a rough season for the Colts as they lost their quarterback Andrew Luck for the season. They used Jacoby Brissett, but they could not muster anything and they struggled mightily. There was some bright spots like the emergence of rookie safety Malik Hooker, but 2018 should be a season where there should be some improvement especially with Luck coming back healthy.

Jacksonville Jaguars

The shock of the NFL as they won the division and advanced all the way to the AFC Championship game against the New England Patriots. Their defense nicknamed “Sacksonville” was absolutely brutal to play against as their speed and tenacity made it difficult for opposing offenses. Their offense is very talented too with the likes of Leonard Fournette leading charge. They could be a staple in the playoffs for the next few seasons.

Tennessee Titans

The Titans were supposed to take a giant step forward last season and win the division, but they limped their way into the playoffs (though they did defeat Kansas City in the Wild Card round). There is still questions as to whether their quarterback Marcus Mariota is the real deal or not, but there is a ton of talent on this squad including running back Derrick Henry. Watch out for the Titans this season to see if they live up to their potential or not.

Predictions

James: Jacksonville. They will still dominate with that defense.

Chris: Houston

Tali: Houston

AFC West

Denver Broncos

Last season was a difficult year for the Broncos as they used a lot of different quarterbacks and had a losing campaign, but they still do boast a lot of talent. Von Miller leads them on defense, but their offense is a big question as they hope quarterback Case Keenum will help lead them to a better year especially after having such a big season with the Vikings in 2017.

Kansas City Chiefs

Start the Patrick Mahomes era. Last year it looked like the Chiefs were going to be the class of the conference especially after trouncing the Patriots in the first game of the season, but then they struggled and barely made it into the playoffs. They still have a lot of dynamism in their offense like Kareem Hunt and Tyreek Hill plus they boast a good defensive corp. They should still be scary good in 2018 despite a new starting quarterback in Mahomes.

Los Angeles Chargers

The Chargers surprised some in 2017 as they barely missed the playoffs, but they have a lot of talent around them that could suggest they will do big things in 2018. They are led by veteran quarterback Philip Rivers and solid defensive corp, it could be fun to see what the Chargers do in 2018.

Oakland Raiders

Raiders really fell flat last season as the year before they surprised many by going to the playoffs, but in 2017 they struggled. They are led by Derek Carr at quarterback and have a very talented offense, but the defense will be a question mark as their best pass rusher Khalil Mack was traded to Chicago. Keep an eye out on what they will do in 2018.

Predictions

James: Kansas City. I think they will do big things in 2018.

Chris: Los Angeles Chargers

Tali: Kansas City

 

National Football Conference

NFC East

Dallas Cowboys

It kind of hurt them that they lost their talented running back Ezekiel Elliott for a good portion of 2017, but their flaws were also exposed as some saw them continuing their success from 2016. 2016 might not have been a fluke, but the struggles from last season were because of the flaws they never fixed in 2016. Dak Prescott is a talented quarterback, but after last season, there are some that question whether he should be the starter.

New York Giants

Well, let’s forget about last season. That was absolutely brutal to watch as Eli Manning struggled mightily and there seemed to be no hope for them despite having such a successful 2016. They drafted Saquon Barkley in this year’s draft from Penn State as they hope he can ignite their offense and give them some more hope. The defense isn’t too shabby, but they will have to continue that if they want to be successful in 2018.

Philadelphia Eagles

For the first time in franchise history they can finally call themselves Super Bowl champions. But for good reasons as they were a strong side with an explosive offense and solid defensive corp. Their prized quarterback Carson Wentz won’t be back for a while, but backup Nick Foles should serve competently in that capacity. Even with a Super Bowl championship in their back pockets, some won’t be taking them seriously.

Washington Redskins

Oh what could have been a great season had it not been for all the injuries to all their key players. There was one unnamed NFC executive in an ESPN article that said that the Redskins were super talented and were good enough to make a deep playoff run. But injuries hampered that. They may have lost Kirk Cousins, but with Alex Smith coming to from the Chiefs, they still expect big things in DC especially with such a talented roster. They could do big things in 2018.

Predictions

James: Philadelphia. They are a fun team to watch.

Chris: Philadelphia

Tali: Philadelphia

 

NFC North

Chicago Bears

The Bears might be the most improved team in the league as they beefed up their promising defense by grabbing the possibly best pass rusher in the league, Khalil Mack. They do have some talented players like Kevin White, Tarik Cohen, Jordan Howard and Mitchell Trubisky. They might even surprise some people this year and make a playoff push.

Detroit Lions

The Lions have a potent offense, especially with such a great talent like Matthew Stafford at quarterback, but they are also trending down as the rest of the division has gotten better. They will be competitive, but the division will be really hard for them to earn a playoff spot. The hope is that head coach Matt Patricia will help the defense balance things out and make them a playoff caliber squad.

Green Bay Packers

The Packers will be getting back Aaron Rodgers from injury. When Rodgers is healthy, he basically is the only reason why the Packers succeed as he can take any team and place them on his shoulders and lead them to success. He’s that good of a quarterback. But this time around, the Packers might not have to rely on Rodgers to get the job done as they signed talented players like Muhammad Wilkerson, they might actually be a very well balance squad. Heck, they might even be a Super Bowl contender.

Minnesota Vikings

The Vikings were so close to being the NFC representative for the Super Bowl last season, but they fell flat in the NFC Championship game against the eventual champions Philadelphia Eagles. However, they are a really talented team and probably got even more talented this offseason as they found a quarterback, Kirk Cousins, who fits their offense perfectly with the skill set he has. They should be really fun to watch in 2018.

Predictions

James: Minnesota. That team is scary good

Chris: Minnesota

Tali: Green Bay

 

NFC South

Atlanta Falcons

The Falcons sorely disappointed in 2017, but what was disappointing for them is seen as a positive for most teams in the league as they were a talented squad that made the playoffs and came close to making a deep run in the playoffs. They boast names like Matt Ryan and Julio Jones, but they also play in a very good division in which might send three representatives to the playoffs two years in a row.

Carolina Panthers

The Panthers came back from a disappointing 2016 campaign to have a very good 2017, but Carolina has enough talent that could help them make a deep run as they have a great defense lead by Luke Kuechly and some amazing offensive players such as Cam Newton and Christian McCaffrey, plus their offensive line is excellent. They might surprise everyone this year.

New Orleans Saints

The Saints had a terrible defense for a while, but last season it turned out to be pretty decent which led them to a playoff appearance along with their potent offense. Drew Brees has seemingly been an ageless wonder, but he is a future Hall of Famer. They were very close to making the NFC Championship game, but with their talent, they could make some more noise in 2017.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Buccaneers were seemingly a favorite to breakout and make it to the playoffs because of the talent they have like Jameis Winston (who is suspended to begin the season) and Mike Evans plus they added a veteran to the team like DeSean Jackson, but they fell flat in 2017 and disappointed sorely. But that being said, they do play in a tough division. They did add more talent during the offseason like Vita Vea via draft and others, they might make some noise and live up to their potential.

Predictions

James: Atlanta. To me they are a better roster than that 2016 squad

Chris: Atlanta

Tali: Carolina

 

NFC West

Arizona Cardinals

The Cardinals are seemingly transitioning from the Carson Palmer Era. They have a promising quarterback in Josh Rosen, but it’s a rebuild. They will hope to make some gains, but they are expected to struggle especially as they play in a division that is very hard to play in. Do not expect the Cardinals to do too much in 2018.

Los Angeles Rams

The Rams really shook the football world with their explosive season opener in 2017, but they were truly the real deal last year. In 2018, they might be the best team in the NFC with the likes of Marcus Peters, Aqib Talib, and Brandin Cooks to add to a roster with the likes of Jared Goff, Aaron Donald, and Todd Gurley. This might be team that actually is the “Greatest Show on Turf.”

San Francisco 49ers

The 49ers struggled for most of 2017 until Jimmy Garoppolo showed up and went 5-1 in the games he played in. There is a lot of young talent here, but one thing for sure is that they are going compete. Some are actually thinking that they might actually make the playoffs, but this will be a tough division and only time will tell if they are good enough.

Seattle Seahawks

The Seahawks seem to regress every year since their Super Bowl victory in the 2013 season, but they should make a run at the playoffs. The defense has continually regressed with the loss of Richard Sherman and Kam Chancellor, but they still do have Russell Wilson who alone can change the whole dynamic of a game. While there isn’t much optimism, you never know with this team.

Predictions

James: Los Angeles Rams. Holy moly are they gonna be fun to watch.

Chris: Los Angeles Rams

Tali: Los Angeles Rams

 

Wild Card Teams

AFC

James: Cincinnati and Houston. Bengals should be better and it’s hard to not pick the Texans

Chris: Jacksonville and Cleveland

Tali: Jacksonville and Pittsburgh

 

NFC

James: Washington and Carolina. The Redskins are more talented than people give credit for. They will be really good plus Carolina should continue their success.

Chris: Green Bay and New Orleans

Tali: Minnesota and New York Giants

I came to Cincinnati in 2016 not knowing what to expect from the sports scene here. After two years, I finally understand it and pain is all too familiar to faithful fans here in the Queen City. I come from Washington, D.C. where we have endured excruciating heartbreak from our sports teams, but I totally relate and understand. And after two years, I feel the same pain. If you’re not quite sure what I am talking about, then maybe you should read up about the Cincinnati Sports Curse. It sure feels like the city is cursed.

Cincinnati is a great town that truly loves everything about their identity. Yes, even that chili which is absolutely phenomenal. However, they are deeply passionate about sports here. Even in the two and a half years since I moved here, I have seen the heartbreak first hand and considering I have fallen in love with the city too, I have even felt that same heartbreak.

I wrote an article about the D.C. Sports Curse a while back and I think I encapsulated everything that city went through. While I won’t go into too much detail about Cincinnati, it almost feels like the same thing is happening here. This is truly the most depressed sports town in America. Let’s take a look at why.

FC Cincinnati

This soccer team has taken the city by storm as they are setting attendance records left and right in the United Soccer League. The experience has been great at games, but what has also helped is the product on the field as they have been competitive every season. Having a winning side on the field helps, but seeing how seriously the sport is taken here is just incredible. Yes, getting an expansion to Major League Soccer is great, as that’s probably the best thing that has ever happened in the short history of the club.

In 2016, they arguably had the hottest side going into the playoffs as they nabbed the three seed. They would lose 2-1 and would be eliminated. In 2017, they only nabbed the six seed in the playoffs as they barely snuck in, but once again they would lose, by a score of 3-0, and were subsequently eliminated once again. But what the curse really hurt this club the most was in the U.S. Open Cup in 2017 where they advanced all the way to the semi-finals. They got out to a 2-0 lead against MLS side New York Red Bulls with roughly 15 minutes left in the match and it looked like they were going to compete in the final. However, that quickly changed as New York scored two goals to tie it and then scored another goal in extra time and the cinderella run was over. It was agonizing to watch and they just became another casualty in the curse.

Xavier and University of Cincinnati Basketball

Both of these basketball programs have fallen on hard times the past 20 years. In 1997, in a game that saw UC on the brink of defeating Iowa State in the NCAA Tournament, guard Darnell Burton was called for traveling with 35 seconds left after he had rebounded the ball and one of Iowa State’s players fell on Burton’s legs. Iowa State went on to win that game. UC was seeded number two in their region in 1998, but lost by one point to West Virginia in the second round. In 2000, UC was ranked number one in the nation going into the tournament, but they lost their best player Kenyon Martin due to a broken leg and lost in the second round. Xavier had a great season in 2016 as they earned the number two seed in their region for the NCAA Tournament. It had looked as if they were going to make a big run after having such a great season, but once again for Cincinnati basketball, they fell in the second round. 2018 though was the hardest to swallow for both basketball programs as they each held leads of 20 points or more late in the second half of the second round and they both seemed to crumble out of nowhere and lost, on the same day, especially with Xavier earning the number one seed in their region for the first time in the program’s history. That was probably the harshest thing to ever happen to the city on the same day. It just has to be a curse right? I didn’t even highlight all of it, but this gives a good sense as to how rough it has been as a basketball fan here in the city.

Reds

The team that last won a championship for the city back in 1990 has seemingly found a penchant to collapse at the worst moment. In 1999, in what many fans saw as a great season, watched as their team squander a chance of going to the playoffs as they lost 5-1 in a tiebreaker game against the New York Mets who would eventually go on to play all the way to the National League Championship Series. That could have been them. Then after that it took until 2010 to finally have a squad make the playoffs. While they were not the strongest team in the postseason, they showed they were on the brink of breaking out. They would be swept in the first round against the Philadelphia Phillies including getting no-hit by Phillies’ ace Roy Halladay, but in 2012, that’s what hurt them the most.

The 2012 version was a really good team as they were one game short of getting home field advantage in the entire National League and were arguably the best team in the NL. They got out to a 2-0 lead in the Division Series as they were on the brink of advancing to the NLCS, but in game one they lost their ace Johnny Cueto due to an injury, and would lose that lead as the San Francisco Giants won three straight games including Game Five which saw Giants’ catcher Buster Posey hit a grand slam that ultimately decided the game and the series. That Game Five would have been started by Cueto had he not gotten hurt. And in 2013, they would lose in the Wild Card Game against Pittsburgh which saw Cueto get roughed up.

The team is currently in rebuild mode, but the hope is that they can be contenders very soon. Despite a rough start to this 2018 season, they have played well of late and the hope is that they can continue that in the coming years.

Bengals

If the Reds have had the penchant to collapse at the worst moments, then the Bengals have the penchant to just flat out collapse. During the 1990’s this was a very bad team. It took a while before they became a relevant side, but once they hired Marvin Lewis to be their head coach, a sense of a winning culture was instilled in the squad and progress was immediate as they went from 2-14 in 2002 to 8-8 in both 2003 and 2004. Finally, in 2005, the Bengals had a strong enough team that reached the playoffs. They faced their hated rivals Pittsburgh Steelers in the first round and it looked like they had a chance of even going to the Super Bowl. However, that was very short lived as their quarterback Carson Palmer tore his ACL after being tackled by Steelers defensive end Kimo von Oelhoffen. They would go on to lose that game 31-17.

They would not make the playoffs until 2009 where they would lose in the first round once again. However, in 2011, the Bengals established themselves again as a winning club that would sustain that success as they made the playoffs every season from 2011 to 2015. In 2011-14, they would lose in the first round, but there were arguments that they weren’t necessarily the stronger team in their first round matchups. But in 2015, they most certainly did.

In what is probably the most agonizing loss was the one that was most dramatic in the 2015 Playoffs. It was against, of course, the hated Steelers. Earlier in the season, the Bengals lost their quarterback Andy Dalton, but backup AJ McCarron filled in admirably. In this game, they saw themselves down 15-0. However they managed to come back and took a 16-15 lead late in the fourth quarter. They intercepted the ball and it seemed like they were finally going to advance. Then running back Jeremy Hill fumbled the ball and Pittsburgh finally had a chance. Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger had injured his shoulder earlier in the game and he came back into the game in hopes of making a come back. It was clear that he was not healthy as he could barely throw. Then in an attempt to throw to his best receiver Antonio Brown, Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict hit Brown at his helmet, knocking Brown out, and the Bengals were penalized. Another penalty came in later when cornerback Adam Jones was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct. The result of the penalties made it easy for a field goal which the Steelers made and went on to win the game.

I think my article I wrote earlier this year talking about how awesome it was to watch Xavier and UC basketball was this season, would lead to seeing the curse truly upfront. Maybe my praise was the last thing all you Cincinnati sports fans needed. For that, I am sorry. However, as I have seen with my hometown, curses are meant to be broken. I don’t know who will break it, but one day Cincinnati, you will finally have time to rejoice.

*Sources

https://www.theodysseyonline.com/cincinnati-sports-curse-real

http://www.sportingnews.com/ncaa-basketball/news/cincinnati-sports-curse-march-madness-ncaa-tournament-mick-cronin-nevada-comeback-bearcats-bengals-reds-xavier-musketeers/1u24so7kwk49b1jjlplg4nls5y

https://local12.com/sports/content/cincinnati-sports-curse-re-emerges-following-tough-losses-by-uc-xavier-in-ncaa-tournament

 

 

If you’re a rugby fan and you feel like Russia doesn’t deserve to be in the World Cup in 2019, you may or may not have a point as they were essentially handed a spot in the European qualifying. In a strange turn of events, Russia was practically given a spot to qualify as Spain, Romania, and Belgium all lost points due to ineligible players being used. Spain lost 40 points, while Romania and Belgium each lost 30. But the story is even crazier than that as it didn’t start out as an investigation over player-eligibility.

In a World Cup Qualifying match between Spain and Belgium, the referee was a Romanian named Vlad Iordachescu, which is a bad idea in itself as he comes from another country that was also trying to qualify (it probably should have been someone from Ireland or even France for that matter). Iordachescu made some suspicious calls in the game that seemed to favor Belgium in which would then help Romania qualify for the World Cup. The Spanish players became furious and even confronted him, but alas to no avail. Iordachescu was even escorted out by security as the Spanish players got extra contentious with him.

After much discussion it would to be that the match was to be replayed, but then something came up that made the whole ordeal go from crazy to absolute bonkers. There were claims that some players on those sides were actually ineligible which led to an investigation. It was revealed that Spain had used ineligible players in eight qualifying matches and both Romania and Belgium did so in six contests during the entire qualification process which lasts two years. Because of that, all sides were subsequently punished as they had five points deducted per offense. If you do the math, even though I already mentioned how much before, Spain lost 40 points, while Romania and Belgium each lost 30 and, according to an ESPN article, they were also handed fines of £25,000, £125,000 and £100,000 respectively and suspended for five years. Russia was in third place at the time as they were nine points out of the top spot and it had looked like they were not going to qualify, but once that whole ordeal happened Russia saw themselves on top of the table and were the winners of the automatic European spot in the World Cup. Russia wasn’t the only nation that benefitted from it too as Germany, who only won two of the eight qualification games, saw themselves move on to play a playoff game against Portugal (which they subsequently won) and whomever won that match would get a chance to take on Samoa for the final spot in Pool A in the World Cup. There were some appeals made, but they were denied as they made Russia the winner.

I have never seen such a crazy turn of events especially when it involved a side that was getting a benefit of the doubt be outed for breaking the rules and another side getting screwed who also was breaking the rules. Plus it even involved a side that had no chance of advancing and were hoping to break the hearts of another who was also breaking the rules. You just can’t make this up. It was very stupid on all three of those nation’s part as they should have been more careful who they fielded out there, but also at the same time it was very comical how everything transpired. Had none of them not broken the rules nor had the Romanian referee been refereeing the match, who knows what would have happened, but here we are as they all got what was deserved. Maybe they will learn from this.

 

*Sources

http://www.espn.com/rugby/story/_/id/23511452/rugby-world-cup-russia-benefit-romania-spain-belgium-deducted-points

http://www.espn.com/rugby/story/_/id/22819405/romanian-referee-confronted-irate-spain-players-belgium-victory-hands-romania-world-cup-place