Andy B Sports

For the next few days, I will look at some of baseball’s six divisions, and mention a key team and player.

I do not like to go with what others perceive as favorites but in the National League East my choices as keys, if not winners, are the Washington Nationals and the pitcher they annexed, Max Scherzer.

The Nats won the division last year and surely are favorites to do so again.

Adding a quality, but in my book over rated and not worth the money Max Scherzer, should help.

I will project 90 wins for Washington and a not so hot season for Scherzer, but he will help the team somewhat.

Down the road a look at the entire division with predictions on each team.

Max Scherzer, former TIger, now a National

I was very disappointed in the portion of the Academy Awards known as “In Memoriam,” the tribute to some of the film community who died since the last Academy Awards a year ago.

Having many behind the scenes people is understandable but some really great people and performers were omitted, among them Joan Rivers, best known for television and stage comedy but a pioneer in so called “Red Carpet” Academy Award shows and someone who was in film.

Also disappointing to me is the fact the presentation used only still pictures of those cited. This is about the MOVING PICTURE industry.

No Mickey Rooney in “Boys Town.” The presentation was too short. Why the song after? Put it with the film and get more people in the tribute. What a disappointment!

There is almost nothing to look forward to regarding this show which once provided such precious memories.

I will not take much credit for predicting the Academy Award winners in six major categories as some were overwhelming favorites and the rest certainly big favorites.

It was no big deal for me to miss the Academy Awards telecast on ABC and am proud to have done so.

Add the fact I missed on purpose the first half of the most recent Super Bowl and I feel like a “poster child” for the “you can turn it off” movement.

One problem, there really is no such movement.

However, I feel if all or some of us would trim our time watching what is mass entertainment with decreasing substance as time proceeds, it would be an overall positive, certainly for the individual, if not our society as a whole.

Last night the defending champion Los Angeles Kings won (2-1) vs the San Jose Sharks in an outdoor hockey game played before over 70,000 fans at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, which is the home of the NFL San Francisco 49ers.

In addition to the enhanced circumstances involving an outdoor NHL game with a huge throng in attendance, it was another big win for the Kings as they battle to make the playoffs.

The Kings have been an exceptional playoffs team, winning the Stanley Cup in 2012 and 2014. In 2013, they lost to the eventual champion Chicago Blackhawks in the semi-final round of the playoffs.

Clearly, they are a team that NHL West opponents don’t want to face in the playoffs. It looks as though as predicted here, someone will face that task, as L.A. probably will make the playoffs.

The 87th Academy Awards are this Sunday. Here’s my take on some of the possible winners.

The Best Actor award will likely go to Eddie Redmayne for his performance in “The Theory of Everything.”

I give a reasonable, outside chance for Michael Keaton to win the award for “Birdman.”

Almost definitely, the Best Supporting Actor award will go to J.K. Simmons for his role in “Whiplash.”

The more competitive awards for Best Director and Best Picture figure to go to director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu for his film, “Birdman.”

Though Director Richard Linklater and his film “Boyhood” both have a real chance.

As noted here the past few years, my interest in the Academy Awards has waned considerably, since I feel that many of the categories have an “apples vs oranges” quality.

This year it would seem as though there is very little mystery as to whom will win the “acting awards.”

Before I tell you the overwhelming favorites, the likes of which I have not seen in these categories, I do respect the nomination process and kudos to all the actors nominated.

Also spoiler alert as it would be a shock if any of these top heavy favorites do not win, so read no further until Monday and maybe there will be one upset winner. More than one would be a tremendous shock.

The Best Actress will go to Julianne Moore for her performance in “Still Alice.”

Patricia Arquette will win the Best Supporting Actress award for her role in “Boyhood.”

Tomorrow I will talk about best actor, best supporting actor and the far more competitive, it would seem, best picture and best director categories.

One playoff match up that would be very enticing would be the New York Rangers vs the New York Islanders.

Both teams figure to make the playoffs and are in the same division, making it possible they will meet at some point in the playoffs.

The top three teams in each of the four NHL divisions qualify for the playoffs. The other four teams, two from each conference, are wild card teams with the most points among teams that did not finish in the top three in each division.

My prediction at this point is that the Rangers and Islanders will face each other in this year’s NHL playoffs. Should it happen, it will make for fascinating hockey and publicity.

In 2012 and 2014 the Los Angeles Kings won the Stanley Cup crown, appropriate word for Kings.

In their non-Cup winning year of 2013, L.A. made it as far as the semi-finals, losing to the eventual champion, Chicago Blackhawks.

Last year, the Kings “returned the favor,” dethroning the Blackhawks, also in the semi-finals.

Thus the last two NHL seasons produced semi-finals where the eventual champion dethroned the defending champion.

This year, the Kings are in a battle to make the playoffs, making all their games meaningful.

My early prediction is that the Kings will make the playoffs, likely be hard to beat, but someone will. No matter, this is part of a great period of success for them. Do not count them out.

Seeing Jack Nicholson appear on the 40th anniversary special for the television show, “Saturday Night Live,” made me think back to Jack and the wonderful movie “One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest,” which also made its debut in 1975.

Nicholson won the Best Actor Academy Award for his performance in the film. “Cuckoo’s” Nest was a great book by Ken Kesey. The film was produced by Saul Zaentz and Michael Douglas, before the latter reached actor stardom.

Milos Foreman directed and Louise Fletcher was brilliant as the controlling nurse (Mildred) Ratched.

The movie has several sports tie-ins.

Nicholson in real life is a big basketball fan, and he played basketball in the movie with Will Sampson, who played “The Chief.”

Later, basketball great Robert Parish, who played on 3 title teams with the Boston Celtics, was given the nickname, “The Chief.”

Another sports reference is a telling scene in the movie, involving the 1963 World Series.

The patients at the mental facility want to watch the game. Sadly, they are denied the chance by “Nurse Ratched.”

Helping deal with that denial in a very tough scene, is the fact the real NBC Radio broadcast is heard with the great broadcaster Ernie Harwell setting the scene as part of the pre game show.

Nicholson’s “McMurphy” evokes the names of baseball greats Mickey Mantle and Sandy Koufax, of  the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers (the 1963 World Series opponents) as part of pre game anticipation.

In the 1969 World Series, both Mickey and Sandy worked on the NBC pre game show, with the under rated and fine broadcaster Jim Simpson.