Surprise AL Contenders

By Marcus Perry

At the beginning of this MLB season most analyst had their AL playoff contenders lined up as The Yankees winning the East, the Tigers winning the central, the Rangers winning the west and the Angels and Red Sox/Rays as the two wild cards. Boy has that been shaken up.

With the regular season about to come to a close in two weeks the Baltimore Orioles, Chicago White Sox and  Oakland Athletics  all look to be in strong positions to get a birth in the playoffs.

Baltimore is only a game and half behind the Yankees for the lead in the AL east and the leader atop the wildcard board.

Chicago now leads the Tigers by only one game. It will be an interesting one to watch as they have no more games against each other and Detroit seems to have an easy road with all their games left against the Royals and Twins.

Oakland sits 5 games behind the Rangers and has a slim but surprising lead on the Angles by two games.

The Wildcard standings are pretty tight. Baltimore and Oakland are tied for that top spot which makes them the two wildcard teams, but The Angels are two back, the Rays three, and the Tigers five and half. If there is anything we learned from last year it is that no leads are safe.

So how is it that these low payroll teams (beside Chicago) have been able to contend this whole season and potential make a serious push to a world series?

The Orioles have done it in maybe the unsexiest way possible. They have little star power and no stud pitching.  They rank 18^th in the league with a team 3.99 era and their stud hitters, Matt Wieters and Adam Jones both are hitting below .300 and neither has more than 80 RBI However the Orioles have found a way to outscore their opponents by 23 runs, have scored a 27-7 record in one run games and a 13-2 record in extra inning games.

Baltimore has done this with some really key relief pitching, timely hitting, good management, and lets face it a little bit of luck. The relievers have posted a 30-10, have 49 saves and record a 3.09 era which is below the league average of 3.66.

Manager Buck Showalter has utilized over 150 different variations of lineups with this Orioles team and every time he fills a hole in the lineup it seems to work. I don’t know how long this run for the Orioles can last but it sure does seem like it will carry over into October.

The key to Oakland’s success has been their pitching. They are fifth in the bigs with a team ERA of 3.50 and have the third most shutouts with 13 while only having one complete game thrown. That being thrown by one of their young stud Tommy Milone.

Going into the season it was thought that they were going to have rely heavily on Dallas Braden and Brett Anderson to anchor their pitching staff but the two have been hurt. The real catalysts for this staff have been Tommy Milone and Jarred Parker. They have a combined 24 and 18 record and a 3.63. Now with Anderson back in the rotation the young top 3 of this rotation can look to compete with anyone. The San Francisco Giants just a few years ago showed us once you get into the playoffs it’s about timely hitting and solid pitching and that is what I’m sure Oakland is banking on.

What could be the potential biggest surprise is if the Chicago White Sox hold their lead and keep the Detroit Tigers out of the postseason. The signing of rookie manager Robin Ventura has assured to a be a success at least in year one and the decision to move Chris Sale from the bullpen to the rotation has developed a potential cy young candidate for years to come.

Sale has been absolutely outstanding going 17-7, a 2.82 ERA and 181 strikeouts which has put him in the cy young conversation. Veteran Jake Peavy has had some back injuries this year but still has given Chicago 203.2 innings, 3.40 era and 180 strikeouts. The top of Chicago’s rotation is something that can carry them in the postseason.

The middle of the lineup has been key for Chicago as well.  Adam Dunn and Alex Rios seemed to be on the decline of their careers just a season ago, but both have bounced back tremendously. Dunn turned 11 homers in 20111 into 41 this season, while Rios has a career high .299 average and 24 dingers. He is also creeping close to his career high in RBI, 88, as he is at 87.

Younger players like Dayan Viciedo have shown production promising production. Viciedo at only age 23 has shown to be the power bat the white sox may be looking for to replace Dunn one day. Viciedo has 21 homers and 66 RBI in 141 games.

As September comes to a close and October approaches it should be fun to see how the AL playoff picture 

shapes out.

Cowboys and Giants: The consistent of inconsistent

Last night the New York Giants went into Carolina and were hitting on every aspect of their gameplan. One week prior, the Giants struggled to defend a weary offense and needed a second half comeback to defeat a last place team from last year. The Cowboys in Week 1 seemed to silence all critics, as Tony Romo looked like a top Quarterback and the team as a whole took out the Super Bowl champs. Through three Giants games and two Cowboys games, a pattern is starting to form that these two teams are consistently inconsistent.

After beating the Super Bowl Giants in Week 1 at Metlife Stadium on banner night, the Cowboys were set to have an impressive season. Romo threw for 307 yards with three touchdowns and outplayed the two time Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning. Dallas' run game, headed by Demarco Murray was strong, breaking through the defensive line of Osi Umenyora, Jason Pierre Paul, and Justin Tuck. The shock of them all was that Romo seemed to find a new target in Kevin Ogletree, who had 114 yards and two touchdowns. Everything on opening night was working for the Cowboys.

The next week seemed like a cupcake game for Dallas, as they were going up against Seattle, who took a loss the week before to Arizona. Defensively, Dallas gave up 27 points and let rookie Quarterback Russell Wilson pass efficiently (15-20, 151 yards, one touchdown). The offensive side of the ball was putrid, only scoring once and Romo was a ghost of the week before. He threw 17 incomplete passes and only averaged 6.3 yards per completion. Ogletree was only targeted once after the stellar opening game.  Dallas missed on a huge opportunity to be 2-0, and now will play host to the Buccaneers Sunday.

The Giants fell flat on their face opening night to the Cowboys as they were outplayed and coached in every aspect of the game. Last week, the Giants hosted Tampa Bay, who was riding high after defeating division rival Carolina in Week 1. After a struggled first half, behind three Eli Manning interceptions, the Giants trailed 24-13. After halftime though, Eli started playing ELIte. Throwing for two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, Manning finished his day with an outstanding 510 yards. Both Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz had over 175 yard receiving and over 10 catches. The Giants woke up and over came a second half 14 point deficit.

Last night, despite not having starters Ahmad Bradshaw, David Diehl, and Hakeem Nicks, the Giants stepped up once again. Bradshaw was not missed, as fill in Andre Brown carried the ball 20 times for 113 yards with two touchdowns. The same could be said for Nicks, as no name Ramsey Barden caught 9 passes for 138 yards in the winning effort. The defense was all over Cam Newton, as the former number one pick was held to 40.6 Quarterback rating. Newton, who seemed frustrated all night, looked like a shell of himself. The Giants improved to 2-1, and will now wait over a week to play the currently undefeated Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday Night Football.

Two and a half weeks in we have seen the best and worst of both the Giants and Cowboys. Attempting to gauge where these two teams will be at season end is impossible. The little we can gauge though, is that both teams have shown their flashes of greatness. In a division loaded with talent, the question is: can these two inconsistent teams survive their grueling 16 game schedule?

Clemson/Florida State: For a national title spot?

This Saturday night's ACC contest between Clemson and Florida State has become nothing short of the conference's biggest game of the year. What some may not realize is that not only is it the biggest game for the ACC, but may be the most important for the national title picture so far.

Last Saturday the ACC saw one of it's major players in the title picture fall, as Virginia Tech's sloppy play cost them a game against a putrid Pittsburgh team, who already lost to an unknown Youngstown State and been blown out to Cincinnati. With Tech out of the race, #10 Clemson will visit #4 Florida State in a game that may ultimately catapult the winner into the National Title game. With plenty of teams undefeated, it may be hard to tell who will be there at the end still standing, but for both Clemson and Florida State the road may be easier.

After Saturday's contest against Clemson, Florida State will have only ONE game remaining against a top 25 team (November 24th vs #14 Florida). Although the rankings of a team may not matter much earlier, this is significantly easier then an LSU or Oregon. LSU still has four games against top 25 opponents, including a November 3rd match up vs #1 Alabama. Oregon has two left against the nation's finest, as they are still set to play #9 Stanford and Matt Barkley's #13 USC Trojans. The road to being undefeated is at the winner of Saturday's contest fingertips.

Clemson will be coming off three straight wins, with Quarterback Tajh Boyd playing some of the best football in his young career. Boyd has over 700 yards in the air to go with six touchdowns and one interception. On the other end, Florida State is going about business per usual, sporting a 3-0 record and owning the nation's top defense. The Seminoles defense has only given up three points total in three games played (Field Goal to Murray State). The offense has also been something on the positive end, as they are the nation's second best offense (58.7 ppg). Florida State is hitting on every cylinder coming into this match up.

With Florida State's national championship hopes being tarnished last year by Clemson, the Seminoles will likely be all business Saturday. Even though college football is only in it's fourth week, the stakes could not be higher when these two ACC power houses collide.

QB competitions play out in week 1

By Marcus Perry

Refer back to http://highheatnet.blogspot.com/2012/08/quarterback-competitions.html

The most compelling story was how Russell Wilson did as the Seahawks starting quarterback this week. It is fair to say that he was not terrible this weekend but he definitely struggled. He completed only 18 of 34 passes with 185 yards and a touchdown. Pretty average day, but it was his two turnovers that truly hurt Seattle. His interception at the end of the second quarter, when it seemed Seattle was going to be in position to score before the half, may have been one of the most crucial moments in the game. However, Wilson did show promising poise in the fourth quarter when he drove Seattle down the field for a last second drive that came up short due to a Braylon Edwards drop on a quick slant in the endzone.  Wilson would have never had the chance to make that throw if Seattle wasn’t mistakenly granted a fourth timeout.

It is not believed that Wilson’s play in that game should warrant a loss of his job, but it is a safe assumption to say that Matt Flynn is a few steps closer to that spot. Seattle did come out and say that Wilson is still their starting quarter back.

In that very same game we saw both the quarterbacks from the Arizona Cardinals. As Skelton did win the job during the preseason, he did not play well in this game and would leave in the 4^th quarter with a high ankle sprain. Before his departure Skelton completed only 50% of his passes and threw a pick. Accuracy has been something that Skelton is said to struggle with and it showed.

Skelton’s injury gave Kevin Kolb a chance to be the hero as he led the Cards down the field in a no huddle offense completing 6 of 8 passes for 66 yards and what was essentially the game winning touchdown. It is said Skelton will be out 2 to 6 weeks and this could open the door for Kolb to prove to the organizations that he should be their quarterback moving forward.

Jake  Locker was relatively impressive as he completed 72% of his passes, threw for over 225 yards and had a touchdown pass.  The one interception Locker threw was a jump ball to Nate Washington that was actually pretty well thrown but even better played by Patriots safety Tyvon Wilson. However Locker’s poor ball handling near his own endzone led to a Donta Hightower fumble recovery for a touchdown.

Locker did leave the game after tackling Pat Chung and injuring his left arm. Matt Hasselbeck did get to play a drive and was not overly impressive. Locker is said to be fine and will be the starter week 2 as he is the future of this Titan’s franchise and this game was a solid start even though it ended in loss.

The least impressive of those who won a starting job was Ryan Tannenhill, the rookie quarterback in Miami. Tannenhill faced by far the toughest defense out of any of the other quarterbacks I’ve mentioned. Houston was top 5 in all three major team defensive stats last season. The most outstanding of which is the fact they were second only to the Steelers in Yard Per Game averaging only 285.7.

Tannenhill had his hands full as he was constantly under pressure and forced a lot of his throw down field. He completed 56% of his passes but could not find the end zone and threw three interceptions. This is Tannenhill’s first game and he was playing one of the NFL’s top defenses so, just like Wilson he gets a pass and this shouldn’t change his status as the starter. Miami is not expected to compete much this year so this could potentially be a tough learning year for Tannenhill.

Blaine Gabbert was in my mind the most impressive of the few Quaterbacks fighting for a position. During camp Jags always stated that this was Gabbert’s job but with a veteran guy like Chad Henne around one had to wonder. Gabbert completed 59% of his passes for 260 yards and two big touchdowns for the Jags. Unfortunately he did lose a fumble and the Jags ended up falling to the Vikings in overtime. With that being said any Jags fan has to be encouraged by the fact that Gabbert did not throw any picks and completed a fairly high percent of his passes. Also the fact that all of their offensive scoring came through the passing game is a breath of fresh air considering that a majority of the Jags scoring is based around Maurice Jones Drew.

 This weekend games gave us some insight to how the season will play out for these quarterbacks but does not tell the whole story. We will have to continue to watch and see how the season plays out for each team and each quarterback.

If Derek Jeter was indeed using HGH...

By: Joseph Landini

Yankees longtime captain Derek Jeter has been having one of the best years of his career in 2012. Sporting a .324 average with 13 HR and 43 RBIs in his 17th season, Jeter is leading the Yankees to another postseason. At the age of 38 though, a question has arisen whether or not Jeter is clean.

On August 22nd on ESPN2's program First Take, analyst Skip Bayless questioned Jeter's cleanliness by saying, "I would have to be sight and hearing impaired not to at least wonder, because there is no HGH (human growth hormone) test in the sport of baseball. How could I not wonder is he using something." Since these comments it has come into question whether or not baseball's golden boy is indeed all pure. It also makes you wonder what if Bayless' comments were true.

First and foremost, what would it mean to the New York Yankees as an organization if Jeter was doping? Jeter already is a Yankee great, and basically has a spot ready for him in the pinstripes legendary Monument Park. He has never played a game in any other Major League uniform, and is at the top of most Yankee offensive categories all time. In the most decorated franchise in baseball, with 27 World Series championships, the Yankees biggest tragedy ever would boil down to Jeter cheating. New York has had players test positive before, such as Alex Rodriguez, but no Yankee has been loved as much as Jeter.

For the game of baseball, a positive test for Jeter does two major things. Ruin the image of the game for certain and question it's future as a whole. Without a shadow of a doubt Derek Jeter is an ultimate icon in baseball because of his image. Jeter is a solid star on the field, and the ultimate citizen off. He is never in the news for anything bad off the field, which makes him so valuable to the sport. The image of baseball, which has been tarnished already by players such as Rodriguez, Sosa, McGwire, and Clemens, could be thrown over the edge if the acqusation is true.

The future of the game could also be thrown into flux, if it is proven that Jeter was using HGH. With no tests in place for HGH, only one could assume something could be done regarding this. A new war could be started between the owners and players could be started over this , which could eventutally throw the league into a lockout phase, just like the NBA, NFL, and soon to be NHL. The image and future of America's game would be in heavy jeapordy.

For all the sports world knows, Skip Bayless may be just throwing another wrench for no reason at all but to bring attention to himself. Bayless has been known to go after sports stars like Chad Johnson (Ochocinco), Terrell Suggs, and Lebron James. Despite success of players, Bayless has always been the analyst who will never give credit where it is due, unless of course it is to one of his "favorites." This could easily be a media ploy for more ratings and more attention to go Bayless' way.

In the past twenty years the game has not seen a player play with more intensity, quality, and hustle. Derek Jeter is an icon on and off the field and a player that children have been taught to grow up to be like. My personal feeling is that Derek Jeter is as clean as they come, but if not the game of baseball will be in its biggest trouble yet.

A Closer Look At The NFL Referee's Lockout

An official or referee for any one of the major sports may be one of the most difficult positions in the working world. The amount of chaos and detail they need to analyze in a split second often calls for second guessing, or anger from the given stadium or park that they are working in. Ask Jim Joyce about how difficult it is to make even the simplest out call in a game when the pressure on the field is so high you can cut it with a proverbial knife. For those of you who do not know Jim Joyce blew a very easy out call at first base for the final out of what would have been a perfect game. So how do these men and women not get the same respect as the players when it comes to lock out negotiations?

Officiate: To perform the duties and functions of an office or a position of authority. Certainly reads like a full time job when looked up on Webster’s Dictionary.com, so why is it that these officials in the NFL are treated as a part time employee? Would you consider Tom Brady, Mark Sanchez and Michael Vick part time employees? They participate in their field the same amount of time as officials yet the players are held to higher standard and regard than the officials. Now before we jump off the deep end and start making those comparisons with pay and benefits lets just keep in mind they perform in the same amount of games.

Like in every lock out both sides, the officials and the league, want to feel like their coming out the “winners” what they fight for in the long term they seem to forget in the short term, the impact this is having on the football being played right now in August. I was in attendance Monday night for the Patriots-Eagles game and witnessed 10 first half penalties against just the Eagles alone, and this was a team playing their entire first-string talent. This is mostly alarming because the Eagles as a team averaged just over six penalties a game last year and had three roughing the passer penalties alone on Monday. That is not the only situation that has raised eyebrows with these “replacement refs” several of them have been quick to call the wrong penalty or mark off the wrong amount of yardage for the penalty this pre season.

So lets get down to it, what do the officials want and what would the league like to see? Officials are on record as saying that they would like to collect a full pension at the end of their career and would like to be treated as a full time employee of the National Football League. The league on the other hand would like to add more full time referees to dilute the commitment of their current referees and minimize them to remaining part time employees.

So what exactly is the difference and how much would it cost to close the gap between the two and get Ed Hocculi and his fellow professionals back on the field for Week One? It has been speculated by Sports Illustrated writer Peter King that it could cost as little as $60,000 more per team to make sure that these referees are taken care of and the demands can at least be met to some degree. This would allow the current referees to maintain full time status and give them a bump in their current pension plans. Other things that could bring the two closer to an agreement is to make the current professionals full time, while also adding some additional part time referees. This would allow the current refs to collect a full pension, feel like they have one while also keeping their workload down, which is what the league ultimately wants given the fact that referees are paid on a union mandated per game pay schedule (which makes playoff games and super bowls a true compliment to their individual craft).

At the end of the day there is no reason these two sides cant come to an agreement that will allow both sides to come away winners, if the owners are really not willing to concede that money to make sure the level of play is up to par then they can not be considered someone who has the interest of the league at heart. Things like having just one professional referee on the field and making calls from a TV booth high above the stadium is not something that will make their fan base happy. These replacement referees are drawing attention to themselves in each and every game, going above and beyond the level of human error that is to be expected in today’s game. While we have become accustom to some level of human error in the sports world, lets make sure it’s the human error on the field were concerned about come week one, and not the human error in the Owners Box.

Vick hurt again, can Eagles survive?

By: Joseph Landini

After two preseason games the Philadelphia Eagles already have to worry about their $100 million dollar injury prone Quarterback Michael Vick.

In week one of the preseason, Vick had to leave after hitting his hand on his own center's helmet following through on a pass. X-Rays were negative, he was able to practice and be ready for a Monday night preseason showdown with the Patriots. On Monday night, Vick was back in action for the Eagles continuing to prep for what seems to be a promising season. The Eagles organization and fans had to gasp for air again though, when Patriot Jermaine Cunningham made a hard hit on Vick, and left him laying on the ground. Vick once again left the game, leaving the Eagles with uncertainty.

Ever since last off-season, the Eagles have been the main hype of the NFL, with their speedy talent and flashy play. Unfortunately, that was all it was last year in an 8-8 no playoff year, hype. Many analyst and experts have the Eagles slated to once again go deep into the playoffs, but that will only happen if their main attraction under center is healthy. Plain and simple, the Eagles will live and die on the legs and left arm of Michael Vick.

Last season the Eagles started off slow and struggled with consistency the entire year. Vick dealt with injuries, which seemed to come almost every week. In Week 2 against the Falcons last season, Vick suffered a helmet to helmet blow and had to sit the rest of the game with a concussion. He followed up in Week 3 against the Giants by getting hit to the ground again, this time suffering a hand injury. He did not finish that game either. A few weeks later against the Redskins, Vick suffered another helmet to helmet. Despite coming up wobbly and missing a few plays, Vick finished the game this time. Week 10 against the Cardinals was not necessarily ideal, as Vick broke two ribs on the second play of the game. Despite the injury, Vick fought through to finish this contest as well.

With Vick coming on and off the field so constantly last season, inconsistency from the Eagles was bound to occur. The other trouble on the team, Desean Jackson, was directly affected by Vick's constant injury play. Jackson was vocally upset about the team, the organization, and his contract. With Vick, a vertical passer, out of the lineup, Jackson's role was diminished for most the season. Days ago, Jackson came out and said that did not give it his all last season, which of course is a major red flag. After finally getting his contract (5 years, $51 million), the Eagles need Jackson to be explosive on the field, which will also lie on the left arm of Vick. If Vick is on the field, Jackson gets the ball and can use his speed. If Vick is hurt, Jackson will again be minimized, and may once again become vocally upset.

It has become apparent that the two issues with Vick's health is that he does not protect himself, and that his offensive line has not been able to keep the $100 million dollar investment safe. If Vick can be knowledgeable enough to save himself pain on plays, it may do wonders for the Eagles season. The offensive line will also have to block a lot better despite the speed Vick can bring in the scramble game. If Vick does get injured seriously, the lack of a back up battle tested Quarterback could easily end the Eagles chances at the playoffs. With Vince Young now backing up Ryan Fitzpatrick in Buffalo, Mike Kafka (4 career games) better be ready at any moment.

The Philadelphia Eagles have a lot of talent in their prime, with a lot of money invested in those players. A Super Bowl is absolutely in the cards for this team if they can stay on the field and put the talent together. The main trigger to this wheel though is Vick. If healthy and effective Vick is the most dangerous QB in the game and the Eagles will be bound for at least the post season. If not healthy though, the Eagles can expect another let down non playoff season.

Vick's scheduled to have an MRI and CT scan on his ribs today came back negative. The Eagles next preseason contest will be Friday (8/24) against the Cleveland Browns. Michael Vick may sit out the rest of the <strike><strike></strike></strike>preseason so he is ready for Week 1.