Who's your team?

Fun with maps. Been raining. Stuck indoors. Who's your favorite on here?

Cactus League Spring Training Preview: Los Angeles Dodgers

Strange things are going on in Los Angeles. The Lakers are no longer the team. Somehow the Clippers have stolen much of the spotlight. And the Dodgers have been surpassed by the Angels. Not good. Bankrupt with a new owner soon. Hopefully this one doesn’t run the team like his own personal piggy bank.

Still the Dodgers have the talent to get it done in the NL West. 

The Los Angeles Dodgers feature a starting rotation of Cy Young Award Winner, Clayton Kershaw, Chad Billingsley, Aaron Harang, Chris Capuano and Ted Lilly. It is not going to match the other LA team in terms of pure dominance, but really how many teams can match the Angels pitching staff. I expect Harang and Kershaw to lead the team, with the rest falling in line nicely behind them.

The line-up does have a few holes, but with Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier, Tony Gwynn Jr., James Loney and Dee Gordon, they will score some runs. They could use an upgrade at catcher and third base. If they are in the hunt come July, look for them to fill one of those needs.

I would love to see Scott Van Slyke make the big league club, perhaps take over the everyday job in left field. I always enjoyed watching his pops, Andy Van Slyke, play even though he always beat my Cubs. That dude gave it all, every single day and his son might be even more talented. At 6'5" and 220lbs he is definitely bigger.

My guess is the Dodgers will hang with the D'Backs and Giants until the dog days of August before one of those teams pulls away from the rest of the NL West. Kemp will compete for the MVP, which he should have won last season and Kershaw will be in the hunt for a 2nd straight Cy Young Award. 

As a side note the one person I would love to see own the Dodgers is Mark Cuban, but it won't happen since baseball hates him. Haters.

XLVI: Brady, Gronk, Gisele and Kyle Williams

I woke up this morning to learn that death threats were issued at Kyle Williams, the San Francisco 49ers WR who fumbled away his teams chances at Super Bowl XLVI. Perhaps I take it closer to heart as someone who went to the same college (ASU) and grew up in the same city (Scottsdale) as Kyle did. Still, I too, was rooting for the 49ers and would never wish harm upon anyone from their team or anyone else's team.

I was warned early on when starting this website that the internet is full of haters. A few other writers and bloggers told me that people will leave abusive comments, send cruel emails and even try to annoy other readers of the site. There is something about the anonymity of the internet that let's people think they can say or do whatever they want. Sadly, this is now common, especially in sports, as more and more athletes create twitter accounts. 

For the record, I can think of two huge, positive plays Kyle Williams had in the NFC Championship game and several he made during the course of the season. Dude has mad skills and was a big time contributer to the 49ers success this year.

San Francisco simply did not deserve to win that game. They played like crap.

Gronk (clearly) is the man.Then again, the Patriots played like crap and they advanced to the Super Bowl. Tom Brady was average and Rob Gronkowski proved he might not be a robot afterall. Gronkowski, who is from U of A, was injured in the game, but did return. He was seen in a walking boot after the game.

He is seen here with Bibi Jones, who happens to be rockin' it Gronkowski style. #87.

So where does that leave us? It means we wait two weeks until the rematch of Superbowl XLII. Tom Brady versus Eli. Pats v Giants. Fortunately, the time off will allow us to discuss things other than football, like Spring Training Baseball, the NBA and Brady and Gisele's new $20M Brentwood, CA mansion.

8 bedrooms, 6 car garage, 22,000 square feet. Ho hum. You know how sometimes you see a house and you're like, "Who in the world can afford that?". It's people like Tom Brady and Gisele, who each with their super-human DNA combined to make $75M last year. 

Breaking down possible Superbowl XLVI match-ups

Throw it to Vernon Davis! Photo courtesy NFL.com

The best part about Superbowl XLVI in Indy is every possible match-up will feature incredible story lines, not to mention hard-hitting football. (Enough with the defenseless player calls, please). So let's get to it. Breaking down the games, with a little West Coast flavor, in order of each match-up I'd prefer to watch.

Never in my life did I think I'd put a picture of Alex Smith on my site.San Francisco 49ers v New England Patriots. Alex Smith, Jim Harbaugh, Frank Gore, Vernon Davis and that nasty 49er defense versus Tom Brady, the Hooded One and two of the meanest tight ends on the planet. In fact, this game would feature 3 of the best tight ends in the NFL (sans Jimmy Graham). One of them has no problem lining up at full back and running it down your throat. Although I don't recommend Aaron Hernandez doing that against the 49ers if he wants to keep the football. Doubtful Brady would throw 6 TDs in this one, still you never know with #12 and Gisele in the house.

West Coasters would feature: Harbaugh, the San Francisco 49ers, Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski, Chad Ochocinco, Patrick Chung and Logan Mankins. 

San Francisco 49ers v Baltimore Ravens. Instead of Super Bowl XLVI, we could just call this Harbaugh Bowl II: This Time It Counts. I must admit it would be pretty fun to watch two brothers, both head coaches of their respective teams, battle each other for the Lombardi. Thanksgiving would never be the same.

West Coast, the Best Coast: The San Francisco 49ers (bay area, what what), Chris Carr, Ed Dickson, Terrell Suggs, Haloti Ngata, Jimmy Smith.

NY Giants v New England Patriots. Eli Manning, Tom Brady and Peyton Manning would all be in Indy. Peyton Manning would be there to watch his little brother battle his biggest rival, Brady. Archie Manning would be there... oh who cares about Achie. This would be a rematch of one of the best Super Bowls of all time, XLII. The two teams are nearly identical from where they were 4 years ago. Brady, Manning, Coughlin, Belichick, Welker, Jacobs, etc. Yes, that's the one where the undefeated Patriots (18-0) lost to the Wild-Card Giants.

Left Coast: Brady, Gronkowski, Ocho, Prince Amukamara, David Carr (what a joke), Ramses Barden.

NY Giants v Baltimore Ravens. Rematch of Superbowl XXXV, where the Ravens clawed the eyes out of the Giants. Despite it being last on my list of best match-ups, this game would be entertaining. Two incredible defenses with tons of playmakers all over the field. Expect defensive touchdowns and sacks.

WestSide Connection: Prince, Carr, the other Carr, T-Sizzle, Jimmy Smith, Ngata and Ed Dickson.

As a side note, has anyone else noticed how Terrell Suggs, aka T-Sizzle, refuses to ever admit in the player announcements he went to Arizona State? He'll just say something like, "Swagger" or "School of Hard Knocks." If Al Michaels (ASU alumni) is doing the game, he'll correct him. It's pretty funny.

Luck-y Ducks: Stanford and Oregon Take Center Stage

Courtesy of Nike

Thus far in the 2011/2012 Bowl Season, the Pac-12 has not fared well. They are 1-4, with the only win being a come from behind variety for the conference newcomer, Utah. UCLA, ASU, Cal and U-Dub have lost each of their bowl games. 

Now it is Oregon's turn to showcase the talent out West. The Ducks take on Wisconsin in Pasadena's Rose Bowl, a game that figures to test the limits of the scoreboard. Read more about it here and get a taste of Nike's fresh new gear. So fresh and so clean, clean.

Andrew's Luck: Scared Money Don't Make Money.Later on Monday, the 4th ranked Stanford Cardinal take on 3rd ranked Oklahoma State in Glendale, AZ at the Tostito's Fiesta Bowl. Each year, the Fiesta Bowl winds up being one of the most exciting bowl games and this round looks to be no different.

Andrew Luck must play well as all the scouts will be watching... especially those who are employed by the Colts and Rams. After Heisman Winner Robert Griffin III put on a show versus Washington, it is Luck's turn to answer the bell. (RG3 declared for the NFL draft following the 123 point Alamo Bowl shootout).

Luck figures to be the 1st player selected in the 2012 NFL draft, although the two teams with the worst records (Indy and STL) already have franchise QBs in Sam Bradford and Peyton Manning.

One thing is for sure, January 2nd in Prime-Time is going to be an incredible night of college football.