Time for the League Championship Series.
The Detroit Tigers eliminated the Oakland A’s yesterday, behind another sterling pitching performance by the Tigers’ “forgotten ace”, Justin Verlander. Verlander threw eight shutout innings last night and Miguel Cabrera blasted a two-run homer to beat the A’s 3-0. The Tigers move on to Boston, where they will take on the Red Sox in the ALCS, starting tomorrow. First game pitchers will be Jon Lester for the Red Sox and he will face Anibal Sanchez for the Tigers. First pitch on Saturday will be at 8:07 pm, and the game will be televised by FOX.
The NLCS kicks off tonight in St. Louis, as the Cardinals host the LA Dodgers. In game one tonight, the Cardinals will send rookie Joe Kelly to the mound, and he will be opposed by the Dodgers’ Zack Greinke. First pitch will be at 8:07 pm, and you can watch it on TBS on your cable or satellite system.
TONIGHT
Dodgers @ Cardinals GAME 1 NLCS
Zack Greinke vs Joe Kelly 8:00 pm TBS
SATURDAY
Dodgers @ Cardinals GAME 2 NLCS
Clayton Kershaw vs Michael Wacha 4:00 pm TBS
Tigers @ Red Sox GAME 1 ALCS
Anibal Sanchez vs Jon Lester 8:00 pm FOX
SUNDAY
Tigers @ Red Sox GAME 2 ALCS
Max Scherzer vs Clay Buchholz 8:00 pm FOX
My picks:
Detroit Tigers / Boston Red Sox
Detroit’s pitching is scary good, but I am concerned with their bullpen. Miguel Cabrera has been hobbling, and the rest of the team hasn’t really picked up the slack. Boston has done everything right, their starters have been very good and their bullpen has been nothing short of spectacular all year. My heart says Detroit, but my head says Boston will take the series.
LA Dodgers / St. Louis Cardinals
When your top two starters are Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke, you have a true advantage. Don Mattingly’s ball club is clicking on all cylinders right now, and they have the look of a team that knows it will win. The Cardinals’ starters are young and nobody has told them they can’t compete at this level. The Dodgers are looking more and more like the National League Champions.
Here is the complete MLB post season schedule and results so far:
In other baseball news,
Manny Machado will undergo reconstructive knee surgery, and he fully expects to be ready to go by spring training:
Remember “The Secret Weapon” from the Marlins opening season? Rich Renteria, now the San Diego Padres’ bench coach, will be meeting with the Cubs to interview for their managerial opening:
Also on the Cubs’ minds: Manny Acta
David Price of the Rays expects to be traded this offseason:
Francisco Cervelli admits to using PED’s, takes responsibility:
TODAY’S TRIVIA QUESTION: Justin Verlander was awesome again last night for the Tigers. He became only the second pitcher in MLB history with at least ten strikeouts and no runs allowed in consecutive postseason games. Who is the other one? The answers comes later, alligator.
Let’s go to the gridiron:
Here is this week’s schedule in the NFL, along with the early point spreads. The Dolphins and the Atlanta Falcons are off this week.
THURSDAY
Chicago 27 NY Giants 21
Jay Cutler threw two touchdown passes to Brandon Marshall. The Giants lost their sixth game in a row, Eli Manning threw three more interceptions in the loss.
Here is the rest of this week’s schedule. My season numbers so far are: 20-14-2 against the spread, and 25-11 straight up. Good, but not good enough.
SUNDAY
Cincinnati @ Buffalo +5 1/2 1:00 pm CBS
Oakland @ Kansas City -9 1/2 1:00 pm CBS
Pittsburgh @ NY Jets -2 1:00 pm CBS
The Steelers are in trouble. They come in winless at 0-4. Their usually stout defense doesn’t have a takeaway so far this season, and have the fewest number of sacks with only four. The Jets, on the other hand, are undefeated at home, and last week, surprised the struggling Atlanta Falcons. The Jets’ defense is second in the league. Are the Jets this good? Are the Steelers this bad? Is this Bizarro world? I just don’t see the Steelers falling to 0-5, especially after the bye week. I’ll go with the Steelers plus the points.
Detroit @ Cleveland +2 1:00 pm FOX
I’m officially on the Browns’ bandwagon. All kidding aside, their defense has been unreal so far this season, and the Lions’ superstar receiver, Calvin Johnson, has been hobbled by an injury. They are a different team without Megatron in the lineup. I’ll take the Browns and the points at home.
Carolina @ Minnesota -1 1:00 pm FOX
Philadelphia @ Tampa Bay +1 1:00 pm FOX
St. Louis @ Houston -9 1:00 pm FOX
Jacksonville @ Denver -27 4:05 pm CBS
The 28-point opening line was the biggest in NFL history. Let’s face reality - the Broncos scored 51 points in last week’s win against the Dallas Cowboys, while the Jaguars have scored a total of 51 points in their first five games combined. I don’t think 27 points is going to be a huge problem for the Broncos, but you’d think that this would be a good week for backup QB Brock Osweiler to get a good amount of playing time. If I was in Las Vegas, I wouldn’t touch this game with the proverbial 10-foot pole, but since I’m not there, and I’m playing with Monopoly money, I’ll take the Jaguars plus the 27 points. Hey . . . I can justify it by saying that the Jaguars have beaten the Broncos three straight times. HA, HA. I’m pretty sure I’ll regret this pick.
Tennessee @ Seattle -13 4:05 pm CBS
New Orleans @ New England -2 4:25 pm FOX
If if wasn’t for what the Broncos are doing this season, we’d all be talking about the incredible turnaround for the New Orleans Saints and Drew Brees. What a difference Sean Payton being on the sidelines makes. Patriots’ QB Tom Brady is 0-3 in his NFL career against Drew Brees. The only time Brady beat Brees was when he was at Michigan and Brees was at Purdue. I look for that streak to continue on Sunday. I’ll take the Saints plus the points.
Arizona @ San Francisco -13 4:25 pm FOX
Washington @ Dallas -6 8:30 pm NBC
Tony Romo had probably the best game of his career last week, with 506 yards and five TD passes, but threw a costly interception late in the game that cost the Cowboys the win. Jason Witten, Dez Bryant, and Terrance Williams combined for 413 receiving yards last week. The Cowboys’ defense struggled last season against the Redskins, giving up 66 points while going 0-2 against them. The Dallas defense this year is ranked 28th in the league, allowing just over 409 yards per contest. The Cowboys are 17-4 at home against the Skins since 1992. I’ll take the Cowboys minus the points at home in this one.
MONDAY
Indianapolis @ San Diego -3 8:30 pm ESPN
The Colts are looking for their fourth consecutive win this week against a Chargers team that has been consistently inconsistent so far in 2014. The Colts are not just Andrew Luck, as they are fourth in the NFL in rushing offense, with 142 yards per contest. San Diego held Oakland to 299 yards last week, but the Chargers committed five turnovers and lost 27-17. Phillip Rivers is going to have to put the team on his back if they are to beat the Colts this week. This one is not easy to pick, but I’ll go with the Colts plus the points on the road.
The Fins and the Atlanta Falcons have their bye week this week.
In other Dolphin news:
The Dolphins passing game is struggling because of their inability to protect QB Ryan Tannehill, and they also can’t run the ball. Let’s hope that they find the solution during the bye week:
Here’s ESPN’s NFL Nation Blog, with more news from all around the league:
Of course, we can all continue to sleep at night, knowing full well that Aaron Hernandez remains in jail, where he belongs.
In college football, both the Canes and the Florida State Seminoles are off this week. Manny Navarro and Susan Miller Degnan have all the latest from Coral Gables:
FIU takes on the University of Alabama - Birmingham here at home tomorrow, in FIU's Homecoming game. Kickoff is set for 7:30 pm. The Blazers are favored by 7 1/2 points over FIU. No TV or radio.
Here’s the latest from FIU, courtesy of David J. Neal:
Here’s the latest from Tallahassee and FSU:
From Gainesville and the University of Florida:
Here are the NCAA Football rankings for this week. Florida State is #6, Miami is #13, and the Gators are #17.
Here is the complete schedule in College Football for week 7, including TV listings:
Let’s talk hoops. In preseason basketball, he Heat beat the Pistons last night, 112-107.
Yesterday’s scores from the NBA:
Here is the Heat’s complete preseason schedule:
George Richards has all the latest on the Florida Panthers:
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THE ANSWER TO TODAY’S TRIVIA QUESTION: Justin Verlander was awesome again last night for the Tigers. He became only the second pitcher in MLB history with at least ten strikeouts and no runs allowed in consecutive postseason games. Who is the other one?
Sandy Koufax of the Dodgers did it in the 1965 World Series against the Minnesota Twins.
Behave yourselves, and always remember that tomorrow will bring us a brand new day. HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!
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