If this past football season taught us anything, it's that none of us in the sports office are any good at predicting the future.

However, none us know how to quit when we're ahead either, so we decided to give it another go with Baseball.

So, out came the crystal balls and tea leaves... again.

Here are our division and wild card picks for the 2008 MLB season.

Continue reading "Fearless MLB Predictions" »

Posted by Craig Edwards at 11:36 PM | Permalink

By Joe Becker

It's a great time to be a basketball fan. First, there is the NCAA Tournament. Second, the NBA season is winding down...and getting better every week. Let's face facts, this is the best time of the season to follow the NBA. The really good teams are trying to position themselves for the Playoffs and the post season is where they step it up a notch.

A week ago I went to the Blazers-Suns game as a fan. It was great fun. The Suns won the game and Shaq looked about as good as I've seen him in a long time. Phoenix is starting to put it together. Also, I'm headed to Seattle with my son to see the Blazers game with the Sonics. I bought some 25 dollar tickets...300 level...center court. It's going to be a blast.

The NCAA tournament has been great so far. Terrific finish to the Stanford game...with a last second shot in overtime. How about Kevin Love? He was fantastic down the stretch against Marquette for UCLA. Kevin did it on both ends of the floor with 7 blocks and the two picture perfect fadeaway jumpers. Wow! I've got UCLA, Stanford, Washington St. and Kansas as the final four in my Tournament bracket. UCLA over Kansas in the final.

Let the Madness continue. By the way, I've got to get up in a few hours to watch the end of the PGA tournament on the Golf Channel.

I love sports. Have a great week.

Posted by Joe Becker at 12:42 AM | Permalink

By Craig Edwards

What's up? Welcome to the second round. You may notice there aren't as many teams here with you. Expect that trend to continue as you get deeper into the tournament.

--Got to start with Duke. I won't shed any tears for the Blue Devils. They really should have lost in the first round. However, all the credit does go to West Virginia, who played like gangbusters to pull off the upset.

--You should have heard Joe Becker during the Stanford game. He almost blew the roof off of the newsroom when the Cardinal nailed that buzzer beater. Joe has Stanford reaching the final four in our newsroom brackets, which of course are played only for entertainment and educational purposes.

--Everyone in our newsroom asks me how my brackets are doing. My answer is simple. I didn't fill out any. I'm not putting myself in any position where I might have to think about rooting against Washington State.

--Speaking of which, if you coach young basketball players, and want to inspire them to play defense, show them The Cougs against Notre Dame. The Irish averaged 80+ points a game this season, but only managed 41 against WSU. The Cougs imposed their will, making Notre Dame throw up ugly shot after ugly shot. The Irish shot 24.5% from the field. Defense does indeed win championships.

--So do awesome players. Kevin Love took over the game, giving UCLA the win over a very game Texas A&M squad, which actually lead for most of the contest. In a weekend that saw OJ Mayo and Michael Beasley get knocked out early, the big man from Lake Oswego is now the freshman of note in this tournament.

--Take that Bobby Knight. First, his champion pick Pittsburgh gets bounced by Michigan State. Then, after bagging on the Pac-10 Friday, he watches 3 of its teams punch their tickets to the sweet 16.

Posted by Craig Edwards at 11:30 PM | Permalink

By Craig Edwards

I didn't get to watch as many games on Friday as I did Thursday. Stupid job getting in the way of watching sports!!!

--I'll get to the Ducks first. Sorry Oregon fans, but you live by the 3, you crash and burn with it too. The Ducks went 9 for 32 from behind the arch, and missed 16 straight in the second half. Ernie Kent must either diversify his personnel, or his style. Relying on perimeter shooting can only get you so far, because your shooters can go ice cold at the wrong time.

--Like upsets? We saw plenty of them Friday, enough to make up for the real lack of them on Thursday.

--Speaking of upsets... What was in the water down in Tampa? Two 12 and two 13 seeds won their games. All four games at the St. Pete Times Forum were of the surprise finish variety. It sets up two 12-13 matchups on Sunday.

--How are your brackets doing? If you told me you made it through the first round at 100%, I would call you a liar, or a very lucky fool.

--After all the talk of who should get into the tournament between Arizona, Oregon, and Arizona St, are the Sun Devils actually getting the better end of the deal? They're in the NIT's 3rd round, while the Ducks and Wildcats are watching at home now.

--The tournament is an evil beast. The field of 65 is now down to 32.

Posted by Craig Edwards at 12:52 AM | Permalink

By Craig Edwards

The Big Dance is in full swing, with the first day of action in the books. Not a whole lot of upsets Thursday, but much of the action made me look forward to Saturday. Here are just some random thoughts from day #1.

--The PSU Vikings showed they do indeed belong in the NCAA Tournament. But even with all that heart, there's a huge difference between the Big Sky and the Big 12, and it showed. Kansas looked very much like a number 1 seed.

--What a game played by Belmont. They really looked like a top team against Duke. I really think they lost the game in the possession BEFORE Gerald Richardson made the go ahead basket. Instead of making sure they extended their lead, and forcing Duke to take a three, they went with the milk the clock strategy. Instead of getting a good shot, they got a horrible one, which let Duke go for a layup that won it.

--Mississippi Valley State's most famous alumni, Jerry Rice, probably wouldn't have been much help against UCLA. Kevin Love and company dropped 10 touchdowns on the 16 seed.

--Need proof basketball is a team sport? Look at the hype surrounding OJ Mayo and Michael Beasley heading into their game. But Beasley got into foul trouble, leading teammate Bill Walker to steal the show. Beasley may have lead his team in scoring, but the game belonged to Walker and Kansas St, as Beasley watched a lot of the action from the bench.

--Did anyone else feel smarter while watching Cornell vs. Stanford, or was it just me?

--A good basketball tip for you youngsters out there. Holding your opponent to 11 points in the second half is a very good formula for winning ball games. My Cougs definitely put the clamps down on Winthrop. If they can keep that defensive level up, they'll make a very deep run. One Winthrop player said he and his teammates were getting good looks at the basket. He apparantly was watching a different game than I was.

--Winthrop's 11 points in one half looks horrible, but Kent St. managed to beat them by one, shooting for a measly 10 in the first half against UNLV. Insert your own Las Vegas crime joke here.

--It looks like Georgia finally ran out of gas against Xavier. But they deserve props for winning the SEC tournament despite all those obstacles. Double headers work in baseball... not so much in basketball.

What did you think of all the action?

I'll see you tomorrow.

Posted by Craig Edwards at 1:58 PM | Permalink

By Craig Edwards

So the countdown is on to the NCAA Tournament. I write this on Wednesday, now less than 24 hours away from the big dance. To be honest, it took a lot of self control to not max out my credit card and make the trip to Denver to watch the Cougs in the first couple of rounds.

However, the basketball tournaments have already started. The NIT, a good second tournament for those bubble teams who didn't make the big dance, tipped off last night. So did something called the College Basketball Invitational.

I did a double take at that name, but eventually remembered reading something about it at the start of the season. The CBI is a brand new 16 team tournament that invites schools that don't make the NCAA or the NIT.

Math time: There are 65 teams in the NCAA Tournament. The NIT adds another 32. That's a total of 97. So as Tony Kornheiser said it, these CBI teams are playing to be the 98th best team in the country.

This is just plain silly. Do we really need another tournament? The NIT is a great second tier tournament, allowing bubble teams to mix up with schools who had good seasons, but play in what are normally 1 NCAA bid conferences. It's can be a great launching pad for the winners and has been around since 1938.

However, the folks behind this CBI tournament should really have focused their efforts elsewhere, like a Division 1 football playoff.

Posted by Craig Edwards at 7:08 PM | Permalink

By Joe Becker

I was in the office this afternoon...excited about the NCAA selection show...and watching the final round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Tiger Woods was on 18 with a birdie to win just inside 25 feet. Before he putted...I thought back to some of the magical moments that Tiger has etched in our minds. A few moments later...there was another.

Tiger made the putt...that curled into the hole for another victory. Woods is now 3-0 on tour this season...and has won five straight Tour events since September. It was also his 64th tour win tying the great Ben Hogan. Tiger Woods now has more career wins than Palmer himself. Arnie had 62.

Hogan won 9 majors...and his first was the 1946 PGA Championship, which was held at Portland Golf Club. Hogan had just turned 34. Tiger has 13 professional Majors and is only 32.

Jack Nicklaus is next on the list with wins at 73 and Sam Snead has 82. At this rate, Tiger will pass jack this season...and who knows, could have 16 or 17 majors by the end of this season.

Tiger is special...and enjoy watching now...because there may NEVER be another player as good.

Posted by Joe Becker at 12:58 AM | Permalink

By Craig Edwards

Okay Oregon Duck fans, I promise not to gloat after my Washington State Cougars knocked you out of the Pac-10 Tournament last night (okay, maybe just this once - to quote Nelson from "The Simpsons": HA HA!!!!).

That being said, the loss probably has a lot of you worried. It should. There is no further chance to pad the proverbial resume with wins. Worse, the Ducks no longer control their own destiny, which means they're at the mercy of the basketball powers that be.

However, when the dust clears on Selection Sunday, I do think Oregon will hear its name called, and get an invite to the Big Dance. You can look all the tough losses, the strength of schedule, and all the other numbers that you want. Some look good for the Ducks... others not so much.

But when it boils down to it, Oregon will be one of the 34 best at-large teams who did not win their conference's automatic bids. That is how the selection committee will decide... the numbers are just a small part of it.

As a neutral observer, I don't believe you can look at Villanova, Dayton, Florida State, Temple, New Mexico, Va Tech, or any of the other so called "Bubble" teams and say they're better than Oregon. That is not a knock on those teams. I just don't think they're as good as the Ducks.

However, even if they do make it, the Ducks are probably getting a lower seed like a 10 or 11. So their trip to the dance could easily end with the metaphorical slap from their date early in the night. We'll see.

Until Selection Sunday.... GO COUGS!!!!!!!!! (Sorry, I just couldn't resist)

Posted by Craig Edwards at 6:27 PM | Permalink

By Joe Becker

I never ever thought I would see it happen...especially to Oregon State. 0-18 in Conference play. For years, the Beavers had a storied basketball program. I can still remember the great Ralph Miller during practices at Gill. Ralph could get a little crusty at times...but he was one of my favorites. Ralph Miller was a great coach and a good guy.

Miller grew up in Kansas and played for the Jayhawks. In fact, he went to the final four with Kansas in 1940.

Ralph Coached 19 years at OSU and averaged 19 wins a year. He was one of the all-time great coaches and a Hall of Famer. I'm sure it would be hard for him to see the OSU basketball program the way it is right now.

One interesting story about Ralph. During his final season in 1988 and 89 I did a half hour special on Miller. He wore a wireless microphone for us during a pre-season exhibition game. I think it was against a team from Australia. During the course of the special I interviewed Ralph several times. We were at Gill one day and we were discussing some of the video tape from the game. During one clip Ralph was complaining to one of the officials. He said "He's a stinkin official. He's stunk for ten years." I mentioned to Ralph that I wanted to use the clip...but I wouldn't if he didn't want me to. He said, "Did I mention him by name?" I said no.
So he said..."What the heck...It's my last year...go ahead."

There have been times this season that I have thought back to Miller and many of those great teams at OSU. There was a time when Gill Coliseum was packed and rockin. I covered the teams with A.C. Green...and later with Gary Payton. Miller's teams finished no worse than 3rd in the Conference 15 of his 19 seasons at OSU.

It's kind of interesting...the football program is back and winning...and the basketball program has gone the other way. I'm sure things will get better for the Beavers...but right now it's O so tough.

Posted by Joe Becker at 12:43 AM | Permalink

By Joe Becker

The Ducks had all the pre season hype...but the PSU Vikings are now just two games away from the big dance...the NCAA BasketballTournament.

Congrats to the Vikings and PSU's Guard Jeremiah Dominguez, named the Big Sky Player of the Year. Portland State's basketball team won the Big Sky Conference and will host the League tournament next week at the Rose Garden. The tournament winner gets an automatic bid to the the NCAA Tournament. At only 5-6 Dominguez is the BMOC at PSU...Big Man On Campus. "It means a lot. Our team came far. It's an individual goal I had. I mean hard work pays off," Dominguez told me this afternoon.

I interviewed Jeremiah at PSU and he talked about the exciting season they've had. Senior Scott Morrison was Big Sky Defensive player of the year and second team all-conference. Senior Deonte Huff was also named first team All-Big Sky conference as well.

It's great that the Vikings will host the Big Sky tournament...but, it's too bad they couldn't play at the Stott Center, where they would have a real home court advantage. However, the Vikings are good...and Head Coach Ken Bone has done a great job. The next few weeks will offer some March Madness in College Basketball and the Vikings are hopring to go BIG Sky and Beyond.

Posted by Joe Becker at 6:19 PM | Permalink