Last year, the Seattle Seahawks outlasted the San Francisco 49ers first to win the NFC West, and then beat them in the NFC title game.
After the title game in Seattle, the Seahawks made it look easy as they routed the AFC champion Denver Broncos to win their first Super Bowl crown.
It is easy to see why the Seahawks and 49ers were considered the two best teams in the NFL.
I do not feel that is the case this season. The Seahawks are favored to win the division and I think they will with a (10-6) record.
The Niners will finish second, maybe with the same (10-6) record but a loss on the tiebreaker.
The Arizona Cardinals, such a pleasant surprise last season, will drop to an (8-8) record. The St. Louis Rams without starting quarterback Sam Bradford will finish (7-9).
Since 2008, either the New Orleans Saints or Atlanta Falcons were NFC South Division champions. Last year that changed, and the honor went to the Carolina Panthers.
One never knows, but my most fervent prediction is that Carolina, not only will not repeat as divisional winners, but will struggle this season.
I am very tempted to pick the three and a half to one, underdog Falcons to win the division but I will go with the Saints to win a tight race.
New Orleans to go (11-5) and the Falcons to bounce back and go (10-6).
Carolina to be (8-8) and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to finish at (6-10).
The first week features a Saints/Falcons battle in Atlanta. The Saints are three point favorites, the Falcons will be very competitive in the game and let’s say will win by one point.
Last year it looked as if the Green Bay Packers would be dethroned as NFC North champions. However, they rallied while both the Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions faltered, allowing the Packers to claim their third straight divisional title.
Interestingly, the Packers won but one playoff game after those three divisional title seasons from (2011-2013) but won four, including their fourth Super Bowl title after qualifying for the 2010 playoffs as one of two NFC wild card teams.
This year once again Green Bay is the favorite and a rather prohibitive one, at one to three and a half odds.
I believe they will win another crown but not before a fierce battle for the top spot with the Detroit Lions.
The Chicago Bears will go (8-8) while the Minnesota Vikings will improve to a (7-9) record.
The NFL preseason is officially over and we will continue our divisional previews.
In the NFC East, the Philadelphia Eagles, whose quarterback Nick Foles had a great 2013 season, are big favorites to win the division.
I think the Eagles deserve to be the top choice but I give the New York Giants an excellent chance to win the division.
41 years ago, the Giants went (6-0) in preseason games and expectations were high for the team . They finished a woeful (2-11-1). This year despite a (5-0) preseason, expectations are not as high.
Neither the Washington Redskins nor the Dallas Cowboys will improve this season.
The Eagles will win a close race with the Giants for the divisional title.
Going into the Labor Day weekend, it is fairly safe to say that half of this year’s baseball tournament (playoff) teams are known. (I refer to it as a “tournament” rather than “playoff” as a protest to the wild card system–more on that in the days to come).
In the American League, in all likelihood, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Oakland A’s and Baltimore Orioles will qualify for the playoffs.
Two National League teams, The Washington Nationals and Los Angeles Dodgers are very probable participants.
Among the five managers of those teams, only Mike Scioscia of the Angels has ever guided a team to a World Series victory or for that matter a World Series appearance.
While Washington’s Matt Williams is in his first season, the other three very likely post season managers at this point, Buck Showalter (Orioles), Bob Melvin (A’s) and Don Mattingly (Dodgers) have a combined post season series record of (1-6).
Mike Scioscia
David Janssen was fabulous in the role of “Doctor Richard Kimble,” a man wrongly convicted of the murder of his wife. Barry Morse was also sensational as “Lieutenant Gerard,” who relentlessly pursued “Kimble.”
Forty seven years ago (also on a Tuesday) “The Fugitive” ended with narrator William Conrad’s words “Tuesday September 5th, the day the running stopped.”
A staggering 72 percent of those who watched television that night, were “glued,” to their sets watching the show. It was the biggest TV event of its time.
Oh what great memories of the days with few channels and yet I strongly believe better programming.
It seems as though the AFC North is the most wide open of the 8 NFL divisions.
The defending AFC North champion Cincinnati Bengals and their 45 year division rivals, the Pittsburgh Steelers, are considered co-favorites to win the division.
Baltimore’s Ravens are considered close to favorite status while the Cleveland Browns, 50 years removed from the city’s last title, are considered a long shot to win the division.
My prediction is Cincinnati will win a tight race with a mediocre (9-7) record.
None of the teams are that good, but on paper, going into the season, other than the Denver Broncos and New England Patriots, who is in the far weaker AFC?
Elena Delle Donne scored 34 points including the decisive and final basket with 8 seconds left to lift the underdog Chicago Sky to a victory over the Atlanta Dream in the decisive third game of their WNBA first round series.
Next, the Sky will take on the Indiana Fever in the Eastern Conference finals, which also will be a best of three series. Incorrect on three of four first round predictions, I will take the Fever to prevail in three games.
The 2014 WNBA champion likely will be the winner of the Western Conference final series between the Phoenix Mercury and Minnesota Lynx. I predict the Mercury to advance to the WNBA finals with a three game series win over the Lynx.
The show “Modern Family” was chosen as the best comedy series at the Emmy Awards last night. This was a slight surprise. A bigger surprise is that “thoroughly not liking modern shows, me,”(not Millie), truly likes this one.
“Modern Family” is not only funny but provides some good messages about sticking together as a family and certainly regarding differences among people.
The writing and the cast are both excellent. Really, they all should be mentioned but I will cite three standouts.
One is Ed O’Neill, who plays dad, grandfather, and husband of a much younger woman. “Jay” is a more mellow, less base character than that of “Al Bundy” whom O’Neill played on “Married… with Children.”
Next is the adorable Julie Bowen as “Claire,” a wife and mother of three. She is so good that I do not mind the ad that runs during each rerun with the real Julie Bowen as a mom getting her son “somewhere” on time. I say somewhere (probably to school) because I do not pay much attention to the ad.
Finally, one of the show’s creators is the incomparable Christopher Lloyd, best known as “Jim” on “Taxi,” and for his role in “The Back to the Future” movies.
The performance of Mr. Lloyd that resonates most with me was as one of the patients in “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.” With Modern Family, Lloyd continues his fine work.
The unfortunate injury suffered by St. Louis Rams’ quarterback, Sam Bradford leaves the Rams with inexperienced Shaun Hill as their starter at the position.
In other days, the Rams had “quarterback controversies” because there was more than one good candidate for the position.
In the 1950’s, there were two great choices to play “QB” for the then Los Angeles Rams. One was Bob Waterfield, so great, so dashing, and married to the beautiful star, Jane Russell. The other choice was the equally great and in other ways just as colorful, Norm Van Brocklin.
The two alternated at the position on the Rams championship team of 1951 and their runner up team of 1950.
Some excellent Rams’ teams in the mid 1970’s had different good choices at quarterback including Pat Haden and James Harris.
For the Rams’ sake in 2014, hopefully Hill or another quarterback will fill in ably for Sam Bradford, to whom we wish a full recovery.
Bob Waterfield with Jane Russell
Andy B Sports 