FanNation - The Republic of Sport

well, 4 months ago, i stopped my posting on an angry note(my common application was due that day...to stanford, where i got rejected anyways) but i'm finally back to rant some more.

First, to talk about Jonathon Roy.  What a classless act.  Even his father didn't do what he did to that other kid goalie.  If nobody knows about this incident, it occured in a canadian junior hockey league, where Roy went over to the opposing goalie and beat the crap out of him.  Now, that's not the bad part.  It's actually entertaining to see someone get destroyed.  But two things were painstakingly obvious.  One, Jonathon Roy kept whamming the kid even after seeing he was on the ground, helpless, covering his head.  Even Cloutier would reject to that ****.  Second, the opposing goalie had absolutely NO interest in fighting, to the point where he didn't even defend himself.  That's in violation to an unwritten rule about respect those who don't want to fight.  Instead, Jonathan Roy ignored this and hit him anyways.
As a bonus, he made an obscene gesture to the crowd.  I mean, what did the crowd do exactly to deserve that?
Guess what his father was doing?  Nothing!  Just watching.

I figure that I have to have some kind of closure on the 2007 NFL season, since I ended my posting early.  Chargers did fairly well by reaching the championship game, although they did lose to the Patriots.  But more importantly, I commend the New York Giants for pulling off the upset, even though I hate Eli Manning(for obvious reasons).  I wanted to see Brady lose SOMETHING in an otherwise flawless season, other than the game against the Chargers where he was picked off three times ( :D ).  And it's sad to see Brett Favre retire, and even though some sports analysts think he'll come back like Junior Seau, I really believe that this is it.  Favre is not the type to go back on his decision.  If I'm right, this is definitely the end of an era of great quarterbacks that included Marino, Favre, Elway, etc.

Baseball started with the Boston Red Sox and Oakland Athletics splitting a pair of games.  Manny Ramirez has started the season off strong, with a homer and 5 RBIs in the first 2 games.  Rich Harden looked good in his first start.  I feel as if I should have some kind of prediction thing, so here it is:

AL EAST
Boston Red Sox
New York Yankees
Toronto Blue Jays
Tampa Bay Devil Rays
Baltimore Orioles

AL CENTRAL
Detroit Tigers
Minnesota Twins
Cleveland Indians
Chicago White Sox
Kansas City Royals

AL WEST
Seattle Mariners
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
Oakland Athletics
Texas Rangers

AL WILD CARD
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
New York Yankees
Minnesota Twins
Cleveland Indians
Chicago White Sox
Oakland Athletics
Toronto Blue Jays
Texas Rangers
Tampa Bay Devil Rays
Baltimore Orioles
Kansas City Royals

NL EAST
New York Mets
Philadelphia Phillies
Atlanta Braves
Florida Marlins
Washington Nationals

AL CENTRAL
Cincinnati Reds
Chicago Cubs
Milwaukee Brewers
St. Louis Cardinals
Houston Astros
Pittsburgh Pirates

NL WEST
San Diego Padres
Colorado Rockies
Los Angeles Dodgers
Arizona Diamondbacks
San Francisco Giants

NL WILD CARD
Philadelphia Phillies
Colorado Rockies
Los Angeles Dodgers
Chicago Cubs
Arizona Diamondbacks
Atlanta Braves
Florida Marlins
Milwaukee Brewers
St. Louis Cardinals
Washington Nationals
Houston Astros
Pittsburgh Pirates
San Francisco Giants

AL DIVISIONAL SERIES
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 3 def. Boston Red Sox 2

Detroit Tigers 3 def. Seattle Mariners 2

NL DIVISIONAL SERIES
San Diego Padres 3 def. Philadelphia Phillies 1

Cincinnati Reds 3 def. New York Mets 0

AL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
Detroit Tigers 4 def. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 1

NL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
Cincinnati Reds 4 def. San Diego Padres 3

WORLD SERIES

DETROIT TIGERS 4

def.

CINCINNATI REDS 2

AL MVP: ALEX RODRIGUEZ
NL MVP: RYAN BRAUN

AL CY YOUNG: CHIEN-MING WANG
NL CY YOUNG: JAKE PEAVY

Anyways...there are my picks...

Now finally, basketball.  My Lakers are still rolling without Bynum and Gasol, along with Trevor Ariza, but I'm more surprised at the Hornets.  When New Orleans was chuggin along well in the beginning of the season, I said to myself: "No way they continue this."  But Chris Paul, along with David West, has been consistent throughout the entire season, and they have made me a believer for sure.  Plus, props to the Rockets for their crazy 22-game winning streak, and the Boston Celtics for ending that monster streak.  The C's have really good defense, and they'll be hard to beat in the playoffs.  By the way, Dirk is hurt, so I think that removes any little chance that the Mavs had to win the championship.

I'll devote two lines to March Madness...my predictions were that UCLA, Stanford, Kansas, and Butler(already eliminated) would be in the Final Four, and that Kansas would win the championship, beating Stanford.

I'll end with this note:  Is ANYONE interested in the World Cup Qualifiers that are going on right now!?