Boomer's Diamond Notes: AL Preview

As the calendar turns to the month of April, so does the theme for Boomer's weekly Tuesday post. Ladies and Gentlemen I introduce you to, "Boomer's Diamond Notes". Topics to be discussed and covered will be the seasons of the Cincinnati Reds and Cleveland Indians (of course) along with divisional races, league stats and such, and possibly some updates on Boomer's fantasy baseball team(s) "I got two this summer". So, if you are ready, let Boomer be your guide for the 2012 MLB season. First off, this week Boomer lets you all in on his divisional predictions, his picks for this seasons awards (MVP, Cy Young and Manager of the Year) and dishes out some general information about the American League. Go Indians!

AL East Division

1) Tampa Bay Rays 2011 season: 91-71 2012 projected wins: 94

• The Rays are the "last men standing", in the three-team dog fight, that is the AL East.

2) Boston Red Sox 2011 season: 90-72 2012 projected wins: 92 **Wild Card**

• Too much talent on this roster, not to make the playoffs, no September collapse this season under new manager Bobby V.

3) New York Yankees 2011 season: 97-65 2012 projected wins: 89

• The Yankees are getting old and don't have the pitching staff to hang with the top two teams in the AL East.

4) Toronto Blue Jays 2011 season: 81-81 2012 projected wins: 85

• The Jay's have a nice season, but our buried below the top 3 teams in the East.

5) Baltimore Orioles 2011 season: 69-93 2012 projected wins: 70

• Is Buck Showalter the guy to turn this club around, the O's suffer another losing season, a streak that dates back to the 1998 season.

AL Central Division 

1) Detroit Tigers 2011 season: 95-67 2012 projected wins: 95

• Can the Tigers ride Justin Verlander and bash-brothers Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder, to another AL Central crown?

2) Cleveland Indians 2011 season: 80-82 2012 projected wins: 88

• The Indians continue to get better and improve in the 2012 season, and hang with the Tigers to the end this time around.

3) Kansas City Royals 2011 season: 71-91 2012 projected wins: 80

• The Royals ride the hype of hosting the 2012 All-Star Game in mid-July and finish close to the .500 mark.

4) Minnesota Twins 2011 season: 63-99 2012 projected wins: 75

• Will price tags Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau be able to stay healthy for the Twins this season.

5) Chicago White Sox 2011 season: 79-83 2012 projected wins: 74

• Now, whats the Chicago media going to be like without Ozzie?

AL West

1) Los Angeles Angels 2011 season: 86-76 2012 projected wins: 94

• In Albert We Trust or else we want that 254 million dollar check back.

2) Texas Rangers 2011 season: 96-66 2012  projected wins: 93 **Wild Card**

• Third times a charm? The Rangers will try and get back to the World Series for the third straight year and get that last out.

3) Oakland A's 2011 season: 74-88 2012 projected wins: 78

• What kind of impact (if any) will Manny have for the A's, will we have any "Manny being Manny" moments in the Bay Area.

4) Seattle Mariners 2011 season: 67-95 2012 projected wins: 72

• Well, at least Ichrio is still on team.

American League Awards
MVP: Albert Pujos
Cy Young: Justin Verlander
Manager of the Year: Bobby Valentine

Wild Card: Rangers over Red Sox
ALDS: Tigers over Rangers, Rays over Angels
ALCS: Tigers over Rays

Boomer's Diamond Notes: NL Preview

As the calendar turns to the month of April, so does the theme for Boomer's weekly Tuesday post. Ladies and Gentlemen I introduce you to, "Boomer's Diamond Notes". Topics to be discussed and covered will be the seasons of the Cincinnati Reds and Cleveland Indians (of course) along with divisional races, league stats and such, and possibly some updates on Boomer's fantasy baseball team(s) "I got two this summer". So, if you are ready, let Boomer be your guide for the 2012 MLB season. First off, this week Boomer lets you all in on his divisional predictions, his picks for this seasons awards (MVP, Cy Young and Manager of the Year) and dishes out some general information about the National League. Go Reds!

NL East Division 

1) Philadelphia Phillies 2011 record: 102-60 2012 projected wins: 95

• Halladay, Lee, Hamels, Papelbon...yeah, that should win you a divisional crown.

2) Atlanta Braves 2011 record: 89-73 2012 projected wins: 90 **Wild Card**

• Chippers final season, yeah even another September collapse, won't keep the Braves from making the playoffs this season, due to the new MLB Playoff format.

3) Miami Marlins 2011 record: 72-90 2012 projected wins: 87

• New look, New stadium, New players, New manager....same results, baseball's not played on paper, however the Marlins have the potential to be a sleeper/dark horse in the NL East this season.

4) Washington Nationals 2011 season: 80-81 2012 projected wins: 84

• This roster needs one more year, to be considered a contender, but the days in the Nations Capital are getting a little brighter for the Nationals.

5) New York Mets 2011 season: 77-85 2012 projected wins: 75

• Questions in the front office, result in negative outcomes for the guys on the diamond, a last place finish is likely for the Mets this season.

NL Central Division

1) Cincinnati Reds 2011 season: 79-83 2012 projected wins: 90

• It's the Reds to lose, how the off-season deals work out will determine if the Reds win their 2nd NL Central Championship in three seasons. Regardless, Votto's a Red 4-Life!

2) St. Louis Cardinals 2011 season: 90-72 2012 projected wins: 87

• With their big man gone to LA and a new manager, the Cardinals struggle, and theres no late 2011 push to the World Series Championship this time around, Albert will be missed in so many ways.

3) Milwaukee Brewers 2011 season: 96-66 2012 projected wins: 86

• Brewers to are left without their big guy in the middle of the lineup, with Prince Fielder bolting to Detroit Rock City. Brew Crew hang around, but in the end miss Fielder's bat in the heart of the lineup. 

4) Pittsburgh Pirates 2011 season: 72-90 2012 projected wins: 75

• The Pirates move closer to win number 82, but make it an even 20 straight years of losing seasons in the 'Burgh. 

5) Chicago Cubs 2011 season: 71-91 2012 projected wins: 74

• The Cubs finally have the right guy in the front office (Theo!), now if they can just get the right pieces on the diamond, they will be ok. Man, its been a long time since 1908 for the Northsiders of Chi Town.

6) Houston Astros 2011 season: 56-106 2012 projected wins: 60

• Well its a 162-game season, you got to believe the Astros win a handful of them, right?

NL West Division

1) Arizona Diamondbacks 2011 season: 94-68 2012 projected wins: 92

• The D'Backs continue to have success under Manger Kirk Gibson, and win back-to-back divisional crowns, but can they take that next step in the playoffs?

2) San Francisco Giants 2011 season: 86-76 2012 projected wins: 88 **Wild Card**

• This team does not allow many runs, the problem is can they score any runs, I believe they score just enough to grab a Wild Card spot.

3) Los Angeles Dodgers 2011 season: 82-79 2012 projected wins: 82

• Now that Magic Johnson shares ownership to this club, the buzz is back for the Dodgers, however, it might take a year or two to get them back on top in the West.

4) Colorado Rockies 2011 season: 73-89 2012 projected wins: 78

• Hey, what do you think the chances are Peyton Manning takes in a Rockies game this summer?

5) San Diego Padres 2011 season: 71-91 2012 projected wins: 72

• Bright side for Padres fans, limited number of rainouts in San Diego, thats about it.

National League Awards

MVP: Joey Votto

Cy Young: Roy Halladay

Manager: Ozzie Guillen

Wild Card: Braves over Giants

NLDS: Phillies over Braves , Reds over Diamondbacks

NLCS: Phillies over Reds

2012 Masters Tournament Preview Part 1: History

The Augusta National Golf Club was founded by Bobby Jones and Clifford Roberts in Augusta, GA in 1933 with the inaugural Masters (this name was not adopted until 1939) being held in 1934.  Horton Smith won that very first tournament and was awarded $1,000 out of a $5,000 total purse.  In contrast Charl Schwartzel won $1,440,000 for first place alone.  It wasn't until 1949 was there a Green Jacket presentation awarded to the winner and the previous winner would place the jacket on the new winner (unless you won back-to-back in which the chairman helps!).

The course is a par 72 and plays 7,435 yards. It is known for such landmarks as Amen Corner and the Eisenhower tree.  To learn more about the Masters and its history.  Check out masters.com, it's a great new website they have developed that is very interactive with their history and course breakdown.

Awards:

Here are some awards you may not have known existed:

The Masters Trophy

There's a permanent one in which their name will be engraved at the club house but the winners also receive a replica for their collection.  As well as the green jacket and this trophy, the winner receives a gold medal:

Runner up will get you this swag:

As the first loser, you'll still get your name engraved on that permanent Masters Trophy too.

The top amateur and runner up amateur also are awarded trophies as well as to players who have the day's lowest score, a hole-in-one, an eagle, or a double eagle.

Records:

• Jack Nicklaus has won the Masters a record 6 times and is the oldest to have won it at age 46.
• Jack also finished 2nd on four different occasions. 
• Tiger Woods has 4 and Phil Mickelson currently has 3 titles.
• Tiger Woods was the youngest champion in 1997 at age 21 where he also had the largest margin of victory (12 strokes) and best overall score 270 (-18 for the tournament). 
• Nick Price and Greg Norman hold the low round record of 63 which is also a record any major.
• The highest winning tournament score last came in 2007 by champion Zach Johnson at 289 or +1 overall.
• Anthony Kim in 2009 shot a record 11 birdies in his second round at the Masters.
• In 1956, Jack Burke completed the best all around comeback in history when he was down 8 strokes after the 2nd and 3rd rounds, and 9 a midst the final round before coming back to win
• Fuzzy Zoeller and Nick Faldo have been down 3 strokes entering the final 3 holes and came up victorious.
• Fred Couples has the lowest career scoring average for players with over 100 appearances at 71.90
• For reference, Tiger is at 70.73 and Phil at 71.03 (#1 and #2 for 50-74 total rounds)
• Gary Player was the first non-American to win in 1961 from South Africa.
• Since 1977, only one time period included a span of at least 3 American winners in a row (2004-2007).  All other times were 2 or less including a stretch of 4 non-American winners from 1988-1991.

These are the 19 qualifications to make the Master's field.  In fact, the Masters has the smallest field of any major of normally around 90 golfers:

1. Masters Tournament Champions (Lifetime)
2. US Open Champions (Honorary, non-competing after 5 years)
3. British Open Champions (Honorary, non-competing after 5 years)
4. PGA Champions (Honorary, non-competing after 5 years)
5. Winners of The Players Championship (Three years)
6. Current US Amateur Champion (6-A) (Honorary, non-competing after 1 year) and the runner-up (6-B) to the current US Amateur Champion
7. Current British Amateur Champion (Honorary, non-competing after 1 year)
8. Current Asian Amateur Champion
9. Current US Amateur Public Links Champion
10. Current US Mid-Amateur Champion
11. The first 16 players, including ties, in the previous year's Masters Tournament
12. The first 8 players, including ties, in the previous year's US Open Championship
13. The first 4 players, including ties, in the previous year's British Open Championship
14. The first 4 players, including ties, in the previous year's PGA Championship
15. The 30 leaders on the Final Official PGA Tour Money List for the previous calendar year
16. Winners of PGA Tour events that award a full-point allocation for the season-ending Tour Championship, from previous Masters to current Masters
17. Those qualifying for the previous year's season-ending Tour Championship
18. The 50 leaders on the Final Official World Golf Ranking for the previous calendar year
19. The 50 leaders on the Official World Golf Ranking published during the week prior to the current Masters Tournament

Here is a list of past champions not participating in this year's Masters as they discourage playing at an advanced age:

• Tommy Aaron
• Jack Burke Jr.
• Billy Casper
• Charles Coody
• Nick Faldo
• Raymond Floyd
• Doug Ford
• Bob Goalby
• Jack Nicklaus
• Arnold Palmer
• Gary Player
• Fuzzy Zoeller

Check back tomorrow when the pairings are announced and I'll give you the breakdown of the ones to keep your eye on the first 2 rounds!

National Championship Game Preview: Kentucky vs. Kansas

Well, it's been a couple of days, since Ohio State's 2nd-half letdown vs. the Kansas Jayhawks, and I still got that feeling of, "what the heck happened?". But, it is what it is...which leads me to tonight's matchup between Kentucky and Kansas for the 2012 National Championship in Men's Division 1 Basketball. Let's take a minute and breakdown this matchup, which is another rematch (all three games this year in the Final Four, were rematches from the regular season) from an earlier regular season meeting back in December (UK won 75 to 65, @ MSG in New York) the second game of the season for both teams. This also marks the second time Coach Calipari and Coach Self will face each other in the National Championship Game (2008 NC, when Coach Self's Jayhawks beat Coach Cal's Memphis Tigers).

Let's see how each team got to the National Championship:

UK                                                               KU
2nd Round: Defeated WKU, 81 to 66         2nd Round: Defeated Detroit, 65 to 50
3rd Round: Defeated ISU, 87 to 71             3rd Round:  Defeated Purdue, 63 to 60
Sweet 16: Defeated Indiana, 102-90            Sweet 16: Defeated NC State, 60 to 57
Elite 8: Defeated Baylor, 82-70                   Elite 8: Defeated UNC, 80 to 67
Final Four: Defeated Louisville, 69 to 61    Final Four: Defeated Ohio State, 64 to 62

Starters
Kentucky's starting five is one of the best in recent years, it includes the two-potential top picks in June's NBA Draft (Anthony Davis and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist) some veteran players (Terrance Jones and Doron Lamb) and a talented freshmen Point Guard in Marquis Teague. They are a very unselfish unit and like to push the ball up and down the court and score frequently. In each of their previous 5 tournament games the Wildcats have score at least 69 points or more, so they will look for a high scoring game and try to outrun the Jayhawks. The Jayhawks will counter with a grind-it out unit that features one of the best all-around players in CBB this season, Thomas Robinson (17 ppg and 11 rpg). Robinson has some solid pieces around him in PG Tyshawn Taylor (16 ppg) and SG Elijah Johnson (10 ppg) to help provide the scoring for the Jayhawks's offensive attack. KU will also have a 7 footer to counter UK's big-man Davis, in Jeff Withey. It will be interesting to see the matchup between Withey and Davis down-low. UK has plenty of firepower in their starters, and it will be a challenge for the Jayhawks to limit their 2nd-chance points and limiting the Wildcats scoring run's (i.e 7-0, 9-0 runs).

Benches
Kentucky will have the advantage in this matchup off the bench with Senior guard Darius Miller (9.6 ppg) coming in to provide the Wildcats offense with a "6th starter".  The Jayhawks bench will need to have someone have a career game tonight, to provide some scoring and relief for the Jayhawk starters, as the Jayhawks do not rely much on their bench for scoring.

Coaches
You got to think in the back of his mind, Coach Calipari still thinks about that 2008 NC Game, in which his Memphis Tiger's just chocked away the game and title to Self's Jayhawks, he will be out for payback in tonights game. Since coming to UK, Coach Calipari has done a fantastic job in recruiting the best players in the country to come play for him (tho its been just for one year, for the most part), however, his squads have failed to win the ultimate prize. Coach Self has done a great job in doing a lot with less this season. If Self wants to win his 2nd National Title and 2nd against Coach Calipari he will have to outsmart him and come up with a quality gameplan (easier said then done).

Predictions
Well, ever since the brackets came out WAY back on March 11th, the Kentucky Wildcats have been the favorite to cut down the nets in New Orleans and bring back the 8th National Championship to Lexington and the University of Kentucky. Tonights game will come down to two things: 1) KU knocking down outside shoots against UK's athletic/big defense 2) the Jayhawks limiting the Wildcats 2nd chance points. I've come to the conclusion that if UK and Coach Calipari win tonight (giving Coach Cal his 1st National Championship), that it will be like seeing the Patriots, Steelers, and/or Yankees winning a Championship, you just have to come to terms with it and accept it. With all that said, I'll be pulling for Kansas and Coach Self to pull off the upset once more tonight, for the soul reasoning and I'll be honest, my hatred/disliking of that Italian-cheater and get away with it, COACH JOHN CALIPARI. I guess the bright side in this all is, if Kentucky wins, this will mark the end of an era, as Gainer will officially retire as a UK Wildcats fan, and I will like him just a little more.

I think we can all agreed that regardless the outcome in this one, each teams starting five will look A LOT different come fall practice in October. Which is fine, its just the way it is now in the game of CBB, and as a Head Coach, the objective you should have is to try and build the best team you can for one year and "shoot" for a National Championship.

(Side note: With the potential of Kentucky Men and Baylor Women winning the a National Championship in the next two nights, could we not have two of the best looking starting centers, EVER...take a look you let me know...haha)

The NHL Regular Season Finale...This is it

The madness has just begun...

The last 6 days are upon us and while many teams have been eliminated, it will be a dogfight for not only a top 8 seed but also which of the 8 seeds a team can grab.  It's a big difference between 4 and 5 when you can get home ice in the first round!  Teams are down to their final 2-3 games and it should be a wild finish.

Here is a look at the updated standings as of this morning:

Eastern Conference
 Team                GP Pts
 1. x-NY Rangers 79 107
 2. y-Boston         79 98
 3. * Florida         79 91
 4. x-Pittsburgh 79 102
 5. x-Philadelphia 79 101
 6. x-New Jersey 79 96
 7. x-Ottawa         79 92
 8. Washington 79 88
 9. Buffalo         79 86
 * = Division Leader

The top 6 of 7 teams have all clinched a playoff spot.  Florida, right now at 3, is the division leader but hasn't clinched just yet because Washington can still win that seed and Buffalo take the 8th spot, leaving Florida out.  It looks like the NY Rangers and Boston will be the top 2 seeds.  Everything else is rather up for grabs!  In my predictions, I liked Buffalo to grab that 8th seed and leaving the Caps out, so fingers crossed.


Western Conference
 Team                GP Pts
 1. y-Vancouver 79 107
 2. y-St. Louis 79 106
 3. * Los Angeles 79 91
 4. x-Detroit         79 99
 5. x-Nashville 79 98
 6. x-Chicago    80 98
 7. Phoenix         79 91
 8. San Jose         79 90
 9. Dallas         79 89
 10. Colorado         80 88
 * = Division Leader

Five out of the top 6 teams in the West have clinched a playoff spot in the crazy tight West.  Los Angeles is the current Pacific division leader in the 3 spot but Phoenix, San Jose, and Dallas are all within 2 points!  Basically what you are seeing is 5 teams battling for 3 spots here.  In my predictions I liked LA, San Jose and Phoenix to grab all 3 remaining spots so I'm looking decent still.

The battle for the President's Trophy (top team in the league) is down to 3 teams:  NY Rangers, Vancouver, and St. Louis.  I actually like one of the 2 Western Conference teams to take it particularly the Canucks.

Here are the games to watch this week (and it should be an epic finale):
Tonight:
Washington @ Tampa Bay 7:30pm on NBC Sports Network
I think it's safe to say that the Caps cannot afford to not get at least 1 point in their remaining 3 games.  Side story here is that Tampa's Steven Stamkos has 56 goals, can he get to 60?

Tuesday:
Pittsburgh @ Boston 7:30pm on NBC Sports Network
My once mighty Pens have lost 4 of 6 and have let in over 40 goals in the past 10+ games.  No better way to turn it around then against the defending champs in the final week.

Wednesday:
Detroit @ St. Louis 7:30pm on NBC Sports Network
Central Division is getting 4 teams in the playoff (minus Columbus of course!) and although St. Louis has clinched the division, the Red Wings desperately want to hold that 4 seed over their rivals Nashville and Chicago who only trail by a point.

Thursday:
New York Rangers @ Pittsburgh 7pm on NBC Sports Network
Last week I would have said this could have the 1 seed spot on the line.  This week I just hope the Pens can turn it around.  The NYR still haven't clinched the top spot so there's a glimmer of hope.

Florida @ Washington 7pm
Basically this game will be for the division title in my opinion.  Whomever wins this match up will be sitting a little more comfortably come Saturday night.  The other? Hoping they don't miss the playoffs entirely...

Friday:
Phoenix @ St. Louis 7:30pm on NBC Sports Network
Phoenix is probably thinking why are they ever so lucky to draw a top team in their final week as they need every single point imaginable?  The nice thing is both teams have something to play for seeding wise.

Saturday (REGULAR SEASON LAST DAY):
Chicago @ Detroit 1pm on NBC
Like I mentioned earlier, Detroit, Nashville and Chicago are all within a point and the difference among seeds 4, 5, and 6 is huge.  Should be fun!

Buffalo @ Boston 4pm
Most likely this game will have everything riding on it for Buffalo.  Boston is stuck in no man's land at the 2 seed so it will be interesting to see what effort is put forth from them.

Philadelphia @ Pittsburgh 4pm on NBC Sports Network
If yesterday is any indication of this probable 4-5 seed match up in the playoffs, then hockey and sports in general are in for a treat.  Me on the other hand?  Heart attack waiting to happen...

Washington @ NY Rangers 6:30pm on NBC Sports Network
Similar to the Buffalo game, everything is riding on this game for the Caps.  We'll have a better idea of what the NYR will be playing for but I doubt they cake walk it in under their coach.

Los Angeles @ San Jose 10:30pm on NHL Network
This game maybe will have not only the division title and a 3 spot on the line but also a playoff spot in general.  I think they both make it but it's possible only 1 gets in, could be the game of the year if that's the scenario.

The new television deal the NHL has set up with NBC Sports is really paying dividends this time of year with all the coverage of the games.  In fact, this year's playoffs will mark the first time in the league's history all playoff games will be shown on television.  Thanks to NBC, NBC Sports Network, CNBC, and the NHL Network, fans won't miss out on a single game unless you're me and you don't have NHL Network.  Stupid Cleveland...