WHO CAN COMPETE WITH CATS?

  In the world of college basketball this year, there is really only one major storyline you need to know: the Kentucky Wildcats.  A team loaded with a with returning stars from last years Final Four run such as the Harrison twins and Willie Cauley Stein. Throw in a few highly touted freshman and this team has been virtually invincible all year. But they aren't immortal.  They have had close calls against Ole Miss, Texas A&M, and LSU just in conference play.  Not exactly top tier teams. But that shows to their resilience and just shows how far this team can go when it comes to March. We know Kentucky will be the #1 overall seed. But who will grab the other 3? Who will be Kentucky’s most challenging roadblocks when it comes to tournament time?

VIRGINIA (24-1)

 A team that relies on its defense. That may be a drastic understatment. This team has shut down nearly every team that it has played this year. 20 of their 25 games they have held their opponents to 60 points and under. That is an amazing pace to keep up. The stats prove it. They’re #1 in scoring defense. They’re only loss was to a Duke team that can attack you from many different ways but they make it a very long day for any team they’re going up against. Including a potential matchup with the powerful Wildcats.

DUKE 23-4

 Now you look at the opposite end of the spectrum. Virginia will smother you with their defense.  Duke will attack you from countless ways on offense and score at will and that shows with their #7 ranked scoring offense in the nation.  Any team, including the Wildcats would have trouble guarding this team between National Player of the Year candidate Jahlil Okafor and a group of very talented scoring guards including Tyus Jones who is really the cog that makes the offense run so smoothly.  This team is young, but its youth provides a huge contribution to the team as they are the only team in the nation to have three freshmen average over 10 PPG. Duke matches up with Kentucky in the terms of talent. If Duke would put together a complete game it would give the Cats a huge test.

WISCONSIN 25-2

 Bo Ryan has made a consistent winner out of this Wisconsin team. Another Final Four team from last year is on pace to win the Big Ten with ease. They are clearly a tier ahead of everyone in the conference they space the ball very well and are a very efficient squad. They’re only mishaps came against Duke and Nebraska and in the latter they were without their Player of the Year candidate in Frank Kaminsky. They played in an amazing Final Four game last year against Kentucky, I’m sure college basketball fans everywhere would love to see any of the matchups with Kentucky to give them the best run for their money.

A Statistical Look at the New 2015 Padres

A.J. Peller at a Padres
Press Conference

A Statistical Look at the New 2015 Padres

By Dylan Oyer


The 2006 NLDS may have been the last time you've seen the Padres in the playoffs, but don't be surprised to see them in this year's postseason come October. 

After finishing 77-85 in 2014, the Padres fired John Byrnes (acting GM at the time) and replaced him with A.J. Preller, a former scout for both the Dodgers and more recently the Rangers. Preller has wasted no time in attempting to bring the Padres their first World Series win in franchise history. 

In 2014, the Padres outfielder's hit for a .244 average*, while their new outfielders -- Matt Kemp, Wil Myers, and Justin Upton hit for a .265 average. To non-baseball fans this number may seem small, but that extra .021 can be the difference between a strikeout with the bases loaded and a bases-clearing double down the line. These offensive changes didn't come without compromise however--the Padres outfielders combined for 3 errors and 10 assists, while their new crew committed 19 errors and made 17 assists. This offensive boost is a fair tradeoff however, considering that the Padres ranked dead last in the majors with a measly .226 BA.

The left bar represents the 2014 Padres Outfielders Batting Average

The right bar represents the Padres new Outfielders Batting Average in 2014

In addition to the upgrades in the outfield, Preller brought in a few big name pitchers to add to the Padres rotation, which had an ERA of 3.29** last season. Both Brandon Morrow and James Shields will improve the pitching staff, and lower the teams ERA from 3.29 -- which was among the leagues best last year, to 3.03***. 

Although Shields wasn't enough to bring the Commissioner's Trophy to Kansas City last year, he did lead the Royals to their first playoff appearance since '85. This could be just the guy to bring a struggling franchise back to relevance, especially given the talent that has been brought    in  alongside him. 

The final piece to the puzzle is Derek Norris, the former Athletic's catcher who was traded to the Padres in December for Jesse Hahn and R.J. Alvarez. Norris posted a .270/.361/.403 batting line last year, compared to Rene Rivera's .252/.319/.432. Norris was also able to play in 24 more games that Alvarez while still committing 3 less errors. 

With all this being said, the Padres are still in a tough division in the West behind the Dodgers and the defending champion San Francisco Giants so it is likely that they will be playing for one of the two Wild Card spots come the end of the season. Only time will tell if the money that Preller has invested into some big name free agents will pay off or not, but it is clear that he is not a GM that is in the rebuilding state of mind -- he's in it to win it. 

--Dylan Oyer

*-Average was based on the Padres 3 most-used outfielders in 2014 - Seth Smith, Cameron Maybin, and Will venable.

**- ERA was based on Padres 5 most-used Starting Pitchers in 2014 - Ian Kennedy, Tyson Ross, Eric Stults, Andrew Cashner, and Odrisamer Despaigne

***- ERA was based on the Padres 2015 projected starting rotation of James Shields, Ian Kennedy, Andrew Cashner, Tyson Ross, and Brandon Morrow. Their 2014 ERA was used, with the exception of Brandon Morrow-- his last full season was used (2012) because he started just 6 games in 2014 and 10 in 2013 due to injury. 

I Believe in Terry Pegula

Today is a great day to be a buffalo sports fan.  Terry Pegula will be seen as a preserver of a huge part of our culture as Buffalo sports fan.  Lately, there hasn't been a lot to cheer about around here.  Pegula came in a blaze of glory promising championships for the Buffalo Sabres and instead we saw the worst product of hockey in the NHL.  But does that mean his tenure as an owner has been a failure? No. he necessary moves to try and get a middling franchise out of neutral by cleaning house and bringing in a whole new front office.  These moves were necessary for a team finally looking out for its future.
How will this change the Bills? That's yet to be seen obviously. How this season will go will go a long way to determine how their future.  The Bills mortgaged a lot of their future to get Sammy Watkins and if that blows up in their face the Bills could see a similar front office shakeup.  However the future is bright. For both teams. There is still a lot of work to be done in Buffalo. The Bills need a stadium which could still be in plans for Terry Pegula as far as we know. But no matter, Pegula has become a hero of sorts in Western New York in a short period of time.
Terry Pegula first appeared as just a fan of the Buffalo Sabres in his introductory press conference. No mention of the Buffalo Bills. He probably never thought in his wildest dreams that he would own an NFL team at that time.  But he became apart of our culture. And when the bills went back up for sale, we should've known better than to doubt Buffalo's adopted hero would come to the rescue to keep the Bills around. There should've never been a doubt. Whatever Pegula has in store, whether its a new stadium or just a blessing to a community that cherishes its sports as much as anything in our world. The Ralph will be crazy on Sunday. Hopefully the Pegula's will be in attendance. Buffalo fans will let them know their appreciation for them. We are truly blessed to have the Pegula's in our community. The Bills are staying and that's just how it should be.

 

Super Bowl 48

  This is always such a sad day as a football fan.  It's the one you've waited for all year, the commercials, the awful halftime show, and everything in between culminated into one 4 hour even called the Super Bowl.  The two best teams in the NFL will be playing today: the Seattle Seahawks and the Denver Broncos. 
  There has been talk essentially all year about 'How will the NFL handle the cold weather Super Bowl?'  Media members have been mentioning how the weather should be ideal for a game of this magnitude.  So you're telling me when Peyton won his first ring in Jacksonville that the pouring rain was ideal?  You can't judge the weather, and today's gameday temperature is around 43 degrees. The fact of the matter is I don't think either teams will really be affected by the weather and it was a topic for reasons I won't really get. Now, the actual game.
  As talked about all week, the matchup to watch is believed to be the great Seattle secondary against the multiple weapons that Denver has.  I think it goes to the trenches.  If Seattle can get pressure and hit Peyton manning and keep him on the ground as much as they can it'll allow that secondary to get leverage and that's something you can't afford.  Watch for Demaryius Thomas to have a big day he's a big physical receiver who has had success against shutdown corners.  But on the other side of the ball, Seattle is so potent and Russell Wilson rarely makes mistakes.  This Denver defense is good but nowhere near great and if Percy Harvin can play and be effective for Seattle I think this game takes a huge turn.  But I think Seattle has an advantage and is going to balance out there offense and overwhelm Denver. 
 I have a feeling this game could get ugly.  The Seahawks have been the consensus best team all year in the league. I think this defense could come out and have a great plan to harass Peyton the entire day.  The Broncos will get theirs, but in the end I think this game will be all Seattle.

Seattle 30 Denver 17  

BCS NATIONAL TITLE PREVIEW

  This is actually the end.  I'm very sad actually. Some great games have come from the BCS era in college football. The greatest arguably being Texas v. USC in the national title at the Rose Bowl.  It was just, well let the video speak for itself.
http://youtu.be/s8zZRBTOcnY
or the Boise State- Oklahoma classic
http://youtu.be/zwzjLQx2Ad0

  But this is the end.  It was a flawed system that didn't always give us the matchups deserved or the ones that we wanted for that matter.  But this year, it couldn't really make a mistake.  Auburn and Florida State ended the season the two best teams in the nation.  The only team who might have something to say about that is Michigan State, but that's for another article.  Florida State is the powerhouse who has blown out any team that has come in it's path and is one of the most overall talented teams in the country.  Oh, and they have the Heisman Trophy Winner Jameis Winston, he's pretty good too.  But Auburn has been a team of destiny.
http://youtu.be/XkpDz8YyVD8
http://youtu.be/HqIBNX0CXDc
 They also feature one of the best rushing attacks in all the nation.  But can they run against the most talented defense they've played all year? That is this Florida St. team because Bama obviously was not the team everyone thought they were after that Oklahoma game.

  Auburn and Florida St. are both in the top 15 in college football in YPG and total offense albeit by very different styles.  Auburn will run the ball on you in multiple ways and will make you stop them.  Florida St. is about as balanced as they get as they have so much talent and depth on their offense.  Auburn has run the ball and scored on everyone they've played this year.  But the SEC has lacked the defensive prowess of previous years and it showed with the high scoring affairs.  And Florida State has allowed the least amount of points in the nation, but the only worthy competition they have played all year is Clemson and they manhandled them.   Florida St. has three receivers up around 900 yards in receiving they will come at you in multiple ways.  Whichever team executes offensively, will be hard to stop. 

  This decision is a hard one.  Auburn has been a team of destiny all year.  Something special seems to be going on with that program.  But Florida St. is so talented in every facet of the game it's hard to picture any team in college football beating them unless its on a fluke.  That's the thing.  If someone can win on a fluke its Auburn.  However I'm going with my gut.  Auburn won't win on a fluke.  But I think they will continue the trend of underdogs winning in these BCS bowls and finish with a national title.  Goodbye BCS, I'll miss you. Until next year college football.
Auburn 27 Florida State 23

 

DO WE REALLY NEED MORE OUTDOORS?

     As I'm sitting here writing this it is a beautiful 78 degrees in Dunkirk NY, very warm nice weather for a mid-April day.  It's very similar to the weather in Los Angeles on a day like January 25th.  Could you imagine a hockey game in this environment  Well start imagining it because the NHL is planning on adding 5 more outdoor games in a addition to the Winter Classic on New Years Day.  Kings-Ducks at Dodger Stadium on January 25th, the New York Rangers on January 26th and 29th play both the New Jersey Devils then the New York Islanders at Yankee Stadium, on March 1st the Chicago Blackhawks play the Pittsburgh Penguins at Soldier field and finally a battle of two Canadian teams as the Canucks and Senators play March 3rd at BC Place.  I understand the whole point that the outdoor games will provide huge amounts of money for everyone involved and that they are locally driven.  But, why does there need to be FIVE more of them?  I think over time this will dilute a market already being beaten to death by the amount of College and Minor hockey games are being played outside.  I hope that is not the case, because the Winter Classic has been put together so well by the league and I don't know why they would try to mess with that system.  Also, I think these games should be put in markets struggling more to gain hockey interest to try and attract more fans to the games.  Put one in Columbus against the Flyers so their fans have something to be excited about, or Carolina, or Florida.  I'm not saying it's out of the question that they would put these teams in that position.  But, if the more outdoor games idea turns into a National Media ratings, it will turn into much more of an "NHL on NBC" type slate of games then one that could truly help hockey in the places that help is needed. 

A DUKE FAN'S TAKE ON KEVIN WARE + FINAL FOUR PREDICTION

Duke is hated by almost anyone and everyone in the college basketball world.  It does not take any motivation for anyone who isn't a fan of the Blue Devils to want them not to just lose, but get dismantled every time they step on the floor.  As a Duke fan, you embrace that hate.  You love that everyone hates Duke because the main reason that everyone hates Duke?  Because Duke is better than everyone.  But on Sunday in their Elite Eight matchup with Louisville, being a Duke fan felt like a crime to the world and made you feel like you were rooting for the bad guys more then I had ever felt in watching a game before.

The moment that Kevin Ware landed, you knew it was a serious injury.  The shot of Tyler Thornton grimacing, Chase Behanen on the ground in tears, Russ Smith in tears, it was a horrific scene.  And that's the moment where cheering against Louisville then made you feel like, you were just wrong.  For the first time I knew cheering for Duke was wrong. And you knew it was meant to be for Louisville.  Duke was having a hard enough time in the first have creating good opportunities.  The pressure was too much for Duke's guards, and Gorgui Dieng caused enough attention in the paint for Duke to give up a ton of penetration to Peyton Siva and Russ Smith.  Duke has had trouble with guards that could penetrate see: the blowout loss and even the win over the Miami Hurricanes.  Shane Larkin had his way with the Blue Devils.  in the second half, Dukes guards couldn't find open looks and you just knew Louisville was winning for Kevin Ware.

That young man, who averaged less than 5 points a game and less then 17 minutes, has handled everything right since his injury.  He has handled it with humor and taken it in a light way.  The whole world is rooting for him.  And for a Louisville team, who many experts picked to win the National Title without this extra motivation because of their smothering pressure defense and great guard play, now have an even better reason to win the title. To win it for their fallen brother.  Now, Final Four Predictions.

Louisville (1) vs. Wichita State (9)

There will be no shock in this game. (Sorry, couldn't help myself) I know Wichita State is a 9 seed, but I don't see them as a Cinderella.  They are a team who was in the top 15 in the country at one time this season.  But their road to the final four has been the easiest of any team by far.  Beating an always underacheiving Pitt team, a Gonzaga team who although had a very impressive season in the WCC were not deserving of their 1 seed, a La Salle team who was good, but in my opinion was just enjoying being at teh Sweet 16, but I was impressed with their win over Ohio State.  But Malcolm Armstead can't shoot 6-21 against Louisville.  How will the Shockers' star guard handle pressure the whole game from Siva and Smith? My vote is not well. Siva and Smith will take over this game and the Cardinals will roll to the National Title Game.

Louisville 68 Wichita State 50

Syracuse (4) vs Michigan (4) 

This matchup is very intriguing to me.  The length of Michael Carter-Williams and Brandon Trische and the guard positions are what have caused teams in the tournament to really struggle with the zone.  Before the tournament, you knew teams would struggle with the zone, but how would Syracuse's offense perform.  Well James Southerland has gotten hot shooting again and Syracuse with their suffocating defense has become a tough draw for anyone.  They dismantled an Indiana team who people thought were on a collision course with Louisville in the title game.  Both of these teams were Top 5 teams during the season at some point and fell off later in the year.  But Trey Burke has played lights out during the tournament finding the perfect balance between facilitating and scoring for a team with great athletes on the wings like Glenn Robinson 3 and Tim Hardaway Jr. Nick Stauskas can hit a 3 from anywhere and the emergence of Mitch McGary down in the post as a big man who runs the floor very well has brought Michigan back to its top form.  The key to beating Syracuse's zone is finding a way to penetrate it and then either kicking out and finding good shots or overloading the zone either forcing Syracuse to move with the players or distorting the zone.  I think Michigan presents Syracuse's biggest challenge in the tournament because they can run the ball up the court and have the athletes to play the game at a high pace and get easy buckets in transition.  Michigan will look to push the ball to not allow the zone to get set up, Syracuse will look to establish the zone every chance they get.  I believe Michigan's athletes and the great play of Trey Burke at the point guard position will allow the Wolverines to win a close game and go to it's first National Championship since the Fab 5.

Michigan 77 Syracuse 71

Jacob Majka