The WNBA best of five finals begins Sunday afternoon with the heavily favored Phoenix Mercury meeting the Chicago Sky.
The Mercury beat the defending champion Minnesota Lynx, winning easily in the decisive third game at home. Diana Taurasi led the way for Phoenix with 31 points, including a key 50 foot shot that gave the Mercury all the momentum heading into the final quarter.
The Sky led by Allie Quigley, won another decisive road game, this one at Indiana, vs the Fever, ending the career of Hall of Fame, Fever coach Lin Dunn.
I predict the Mercury will win the series in three straight games.
The Denver Broncos are prohibitive favorites to win a 4th straight AFC west crown.
They will, but with a decline in record from last year’s (13-3) to (10-6).
The San Diego Chargers will go (8-8) and finish second.
The Kansas City Chiefs in Andy Reid’s second year as coach will fall to (7-9). Last year they were (11-5).
The Oakland Raiders will finish last but will improve to a (6-10) mark. They were (4-12) last season.
The New England Patriots have won 11 of the last 13 AFC East titles and 10 straight in seasons in which star quarterback Tom Brady remained healthy. (He was injured in the first game of the 2008 season and the Pats, though close, did not win the divisional title that season.)
I predict the top heavy favorite Patriots will win the division again this season. They will struggle more than usual and finish with a (10-6) record.
The New York Jets with an (8-8) record will finish second.
Next will be the Miami Dolphins and Buffalo Bills each with a (7-9) mark.
Tom Brady
The AFC South division is considered pretty wide open. The Indianapolis Colts are both the defending champions and the favorites to win again in 2014.
I predict they will, led by quarterback Andrew Luck. They will finish with a mediocre (9-7) record.
Next will be the Tennessee Titans with an (8-8) record.
Last year, the Houston Texans were (2-14) and in no game did they win and cover the point spread. They will do better this season, at (7-9).
Though they will improve, the Jacksonville Jaguars will finish last, say with a (6-10) record. They finished (4-12) last season.
Andrew Luck
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.
