The SEC Will Finally Be Knocked Off Its Championship Pedestal This Year

The SEC has reigned supreme over college football for the past 6 years. As shown by Florida in 2006 and 2008, LSU in 2007, Alabama in 2009 and 2011, and Auburn in 2010, college football has been controlled by the Southeastern Conference, and quite frankly, no other league has been anywhere close.

In the 2006-2007 season for example, Ohio St. came into the National Championship Game with Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith at quarterback and a team that strolled through the Big Ten with an average margin of victory of more than 26 points in conference games. But the title game was never close, as Florida took the victory 41-14 and illustrated the disparity between the SEC and everybody else.

In fact, the SEC was so dominate last year that two teams from the league, LSU and Alabama, met in the National Championship Game, marking the first time since college football went to a national championship setup 20 years ago in 1992 that two teams from the same conference were playing for all the marbles.

With 5 SEC teams (Alabama at #2, LSU at #3, Georgia at #6, South Carolina at #9, and Arkansas at #10) ranked in the top 10 of the preseason AP poll, many people expect the SEC to make it 7 straight National Champions out of the conference. However, this is finally going to be the year that a team outside the Southeastern Conference walks away BCS National Champion.

A major reason that it will be tough for an SEC team to win the national title is because of the unprecedented depth of the conference. With the additions of Missouri to the SEC East and Texas A&M to the SEC West, the league is going to be ruthless week in and week out. Aside from Kentucky in the east and Ole Miss in the west, every team in the conference has a legitimate top 25 caliber squad. With at least 5 national championship contenders in the league, it is going to be very difficult for a team to run the gauntlet in the conference because of the demanding nature of every team's schedule. 

#9 South Carolina for example, has a brutal 5 game stretch during the season where they play #6 Georgia, followed by #3 LSU in the Bayou, then #23 Florida in the Swamp, and finally games against Tennessee and #10 Arkansas back home in Columbia. Yes that's right, the Gamecocks could conceivably play 3 top 10 teams in a 5-week span. Talk about tough sliding. 

Meanwhile, LSU, who lost in the National Championship Game to Alabama last year after beating the Crimson Tide during the regular season, have a daunting conference slate as well. The Tigers have a stretch in October and November where they take on #23 Florida in the Swamp, return home for a game against #9 South Carolina, then travel to College Station to take on Texas A&M and the 12th man, and finally return home to play a title game rematch against #2 Alabama. And oh yeah, they have to finish off the season in Fayetteville against #10 Arkansas. Even an LSU fan, who is used to having a difficult schedule, will realize that it will be very tough to finish the year undefeated.

While the SEC clubs will be knocking each other out of the title race, teams from other leagues will have much easier paths to Miami. For instance, #7 Florida St. has just one top 15 team on their entire schedule (Clemson) and 5 of their 8 conference games are against teams who didn't finish with a winning record last year (Wake Forest, Boston College, Miami, Duke, and Maryland).

Aside from just scheduling, most importantly, there are a lot of quality teams outside of the SEC, specifically Oklahoma and West Virginia from the Big 12, and USC and Oregon from the Pac-12.

There is no way around it, Oklahoma had a lackluster 2011 season. Despite being the preseason number 1, the Sooners finished the year ranked outside the top 15, as they lost to Texas Tech at home for the first time since 1996 and lost to Oklahoma St. by 34 points, the Cowboys biggest beat down of the Sooners in the Bedlam rivalry since 1945.

However, the #4 Sooners are going to have a chip on their shoulders after their massively disappointing season last year, and with a potent offense, they are a very dangerous team. Landry Jones, who will likely end up in the top 5 in college football history in both career yards and touchdowns, is as good as any quarterback in the country and he will lead a Sooners offense as dynamic as any in the nation.

The other Big 12 team that could cause some trouble and is a sleeper pick for the National Championship is #11 West Virginia, as the Mountaineers have an electrifying offensive attack. We all know that Dana Holgorsen loves to put points up on the board and there is little doubt in anybody's mind that the Big 12 newcomers will be able to do just that.

Geno Smith, who set the West Virginia passing yards record last year, has two of the best threats in the country on the outside of the field with Stedman Bailey and Tavon Austin. Austin, who was one of just 8 receivers to catch 100 balls last season, is as quick as any receiver in the country and he and Smith form arguably the most lethal duo in all of college football.

Luckily for the Mountaineers, they get #22 Kansas St., #20 TCU, and #4 Oklahoma all at home in Morgantown.

Once Matt Barkley announced his decision to return to Southern Cal for his senior year, the Trojans were going to be one of the most popular picks, if not the most popular pick, to win the National Title. Although #1 USC do not have a lot of depth, as they are still feeling the ill effects of the NCAA sanctions placed on them in 2010, they have a majority of their starters returning on both sides of the ball.

Led by safety T.J. McDonald, the Trojans defense will be better than people expect it to be, but with all the star power on the offense end of the ball, the defense doesn't have to be Alabama-like.

With the addition of Penn St. transfer Silas Redd, USC will have a strong running game to go along with the best receiving core in college football, as Robert Woods and Marquise Lee are big-time playmakers on the outside of the field.

Few schools can lose their starting quarterback (Darron Thomas) as well as their all-time leading rusher (LaMichael James) and return the next season as a top 5 club, but that is exactly the position the #5 Oregon Ducks are in, and they could very well be better than they were last season.

Marcus Mariota, who dazzled for the Ducks at their spring game, won the starting QB job over Bryan Bennett this summer, and the dual threat redshirt freshman is the perfect fit for the Ducks offense, as he can make plays with both his arm and his feet.

Although LaMichael James will no longer be in the backfield for the Ducks, Kenjon Barner is as good as a replacement as you will find in college football. Only three running backs in the FBS, who had as many carries as Barner, had more yards than the Oregon back, showing that with more rushing opportunities, Barner can run for a lot of yards.

Finally, the Ducks have the best home run hitter in all of college football with De'Anthony Thomas. The speedster can make a huge play any time he touches the ball with his electrifying quickness, as he showed in the Rose Bowl with his 91-yard touchdown run as well as his 64-yard touchdown run in his only two carries of the game.

Finally, the two SEC teams who are most likely to win the National Title, #2 Alabama and #3 LSU, have a lot of question marks.

Although Alabama will once again have a very solid defense, there is no way the Crimson Tide will be able to replace 6 defensive players, 3 of which were selected with the first 25 picks in the NFL draft, that easily. Not only are they going to miss key components of their secondary with cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick and safety Mark Barron gone, but the Tide are going to struggle without linebackers Dont'a Hightower and Courtney Upshaw, as the Crimson depended on the ball-hawkers to make so many tackles and plays around the field.

LSU was hit with a serious blow to their championship dreams when Heisman Trophy candidate Tyrann Mathieu was kicked off the team due to his violation of the team's substance abuse policy. Anybody who watched LSU's season last year will tell you that you can't underestimate the impact that Mathieu had on the Tigers run to the BCS title game. Although the Honey Badger was not even the best cover corner on the team last year, no player in the country made more game changing plays then Mathieu. With an offense that is not anywhere near as potent as others in college football, the Honey Badger made play after play either by forcing a turnover or returning a punt on special teams to keep LSU in games, and his absence will definitely be felt.

A lot of questions remain about this upcoming college football year, and I am as pumped as anybody for the season to begin. Although we will have to wait until January to see who is holding the Crystal Ball as the BCS National Champion, I think its fairly safe to assume one thing about the title winner; It will not be a team out of the Big East.

Why We Love The Olympics

While I was watching the United States battle Croatia in the quarterfinals of the men's water polo tournament, a thought came into my mind, "Why are people around the world so fond of the Olympics?"

Of course we enjoy watching the best in the world compete in sports that we see everyday on television, like tennis and basketball; but why do we drool and wait in anticipation over the results of the judo event or the archery competition? Why over a two and a half week period am I going on my phone every hour to see who won the most recent handball match? I began to think, "Would I ever dare skip out on going outside and enjoying the summer just to watch water polo if this were not the Olympics?" Nothing against water polo, and how much respect I have for the men and women who play that grueling sport, but the answer to that question is a definitive no!

Although it may seem that crazy fans like myself are the only ones that have this over the top obsession with the Olympics, the athletes who compete also feel an unparalleled passion for the games. In tennis, Andy Murray and Victoria Azarenka competed in singles, doubles, and mixed doubles, which is something that the top players never do, even at majors. Rafael Nadal said missing out on the Olympics was one of the saddest moments of his career. LeBron James, who finished his NBA season in late June, refused to take a summer break after his long playoff run because he wanted to play for Team USA. Tons of athletes have shown their love of the games by getting the Olympic rings tattooed on their body such as swimmers Michael Phelps, Ryan Lochte, and Matthew Grevers. What is it that makes the Olympics so different, so irresistible?

People love the Olympics because they do not occur every year. With anything in life, the less frequently something happens, the more interested people are going to be when something does happen. People are enamored by perfect games and no-hitters because they do not occur everyday; instead, they are truly rare feats. While an MLB player may have over 20 shots at a title, Olympians usually only have two or three chances at a gold medal. People are captivated by the aspect that Usain Bolt has one shot at the 100 meters, and if he comes up short, he will have to wait 4 years to get back on the globe's biggest stage. Unlike a player in the NFL or NBA, Bolt can't make a mistake and come back the next game, or the next season in hopes of a title. Olympians work tirelessly to get on top of the Olympic podium, but if they don't, it's a long four year journey to get another chance. Spectators and athletes love that intensity and that pressure.

Secondly, much like baseball stats, people love the sanctity of Olympic records. Not only are athletes competing against one another, but they are challenging sacred records that have stood for decades. David Rudisha of Kenya is trying to outlast his opponents in the 800 meters to claim gold, but he is also trying to make history and knock off Vebjorn Rodal's 16-year-old Olympic record in the event.

We also love the unique stories that the different competitors bring to the Olympics. Who will ever forget Oscar Pistorius's incredible journey just to get to the Olympics and his inspirational runs in the 400 meter qualification. Pistorius, who had to get both of his legs amputated when he was just 11 months old, had to endure a long struggle just to be able to compete in the 2012 Olympics, as many people felt that his prosthetic legs gave him an unfair advantage. However, Pistorius made it to London, and earned the respect and admiration of millions across the world. When Kirani James of Grenada, who would take gold in the 400 meters the next day, asked to exchanged name tags with Pistorius following their race in the semifinals, it was a scene that epitomized the uniqueness of the Olympics and was a special moment that only the Olympic spectacle could provide.

As fans, we always fall in love with the inspirational Olympic stories, but we also marvel over the Olympians who enter the games in relative obscurity and become a big name before the final flame is put out. Tiki Gelana, who was making her first ever major championship appearance in London, not only became the first women from Ethiopia to win Olympic gold since 1996, but she also broke the women's Olympic marathon record, which was set in 2000 by Naoko Takahashi of Japan. Although it was not quite the breakout on the level of Jeremy Lin, it was a classic example of an unknown Olympian coming into the global spotlight with a surprising victory.

The Olympics also provide so much drama because of all of the different nations that participate. There is nothing more intriguing than watching Iran and Israel, two nations that have so much hostility towards each other, enter the Olympic Parade of Nations almost one after another. All of the different nationalities and all of the different cultures together at the Olympics for a two and a half week period is a sight to see.

Finally, the most obvious reason we love the Olympics is because of the national pride. The Olympics means more about the country you represent than your individual achievements. Unlike Duke-North Carolina or Michigan-Ohio St., during the Olympics everybody comes together and shows their patriotism by cheering on the athletes from their country. People love to have a common rallying point and the Olympics provide that platform. There is no other sporting event where your entire nation is truly behind you quite like the Olympic Games.

A great example to show how captivated some people can get by the Olympics is to look at Samuel L. Jackson. Jackson, who rarely used twitter before the Olympics began, has taken over social media with his love and passion of the summer games. Jackson has twitted almost 250 times in the last 13 days and his commentary on the games has shown how enthusiastic people can get about the Olympics. I think I should investigate a new question: Who doesn't love the Olympics?

Mike Trout And Andrew McCutchen Are Running Away With The MVP Awards

Baseball is witnessing a shift in star power to a new generation of younger players. With guys like Chipper Jones, Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Ichiro Suzuki, Todd Helton, and Paul Konerko in their late 30's and early 40's, younger players are beginning to take over the game. Obviously, we aren't going to the extreme of saying "out with the old and in with the new", but we are definitely watching a transition of power to players like Mike Trout, Bryce Harper, Andrew McCutchen, Adam Jones, Mark Trumbo, and Giancarlo Stanton. 

The change of baseball's star power to its youth is cementing itself this season, as two of baseball's youngest guns, Mike Trout and Andrew McCutchen, are clear cut favorites for the major league MVP awards.

Mike Trout has turned the Angels around from a 6-14 start to a team that is sitting with the 3rd best record in the American League at 53-44. Andrew McCutchen is leading a Pirates team that is in position to make the postseason for the first time in franchise history since 1992. Not bad for a bunch of 20 year old kids.

Before we even look at Trout's incredible numbers and his unique 5-tool ability to be able to hit for average, hit for power, steal bases, field, and throw, it is important to look at Trout's impact on the Angels as a whole. The MVP goes to the player that is Most Valuable to his team, and since Trout was called up from triple-A, the Angels have done a complete 360.

The Halos, who were one of the favorites to win the World Series after they signed both Albert Pujols and C.J. Wilson in the off-season, looked out of sorts in their first 20 games. Pujols, a 3-time MVP and 2-time World Series Champion, had a dismal start to the season and looked uncomfortable in Los Angeles with his new team. Before Mike Trout began to play every day on May 8th, Pujols was batting a woeful .197 with a .236 on-base percentage and he had just 1 home run through 29 games.

Since Trout came up to the big leagues, the Angels have looked like a different ball club, and Pujols has finally looked like the guy who signed a 254 million dollar contract with the team this off-season. Although it is rare to see, the 20-year old Trout has taken the pressure off of the 32-year old Pujols. With his .412 on-base percentage, which is the 3rd best in the AL, Trout has allowed Albert to hit with runners in scoring position, and he has relieved a ton of stress off of the 9-time All-Star's back, as Pujols no longer has to be the guy night after night for the Halos. In 67 games since May 8th, Pujols is batting .318 and has 17 home runs and 52 RBI's, to go along with a .391 on-base percentage.

Trout, who is so smooth that it is difficult to find a weakness when he is at the plate, has taken the American League by storm. The center fielder, whose .357 batting average leads the American League by 25 points over Joe Mauer, can hit any pitch against any pitcher during any count. Despite nearly missing the entire first month of baseball, Trout leads the MLB with 71 runs scored and is in the top 5 in both slugging and on-base plus slugging percentage.

People are so impressed with Trout's play because he can truly do it all. His 31 stolen bases lead the major leagues and his glove work has been so impressive, as evidenced by his incredible leaping catch against the Orioles to rob a J.J. Hardy home run earlier this season.

Mike Trout showing off his jumping ability by making one of the best plays of the year.

Prince Fish, as he is also called, is fortunate that no one else in the AL is having a monster season. Josh Hamilton, who began the first two months of the year with 21 home runs, 57 RBI's, and a .368 batting average, has cooled off dramatically since his first 47 games and is batting just .204 since the start of June. Miguel Cabrera, who is having another solid year with a .330 batting average and 23 home runs to go along with 79 RBI's, is the biggest contender to Trout's MVP chances.

Trout is likely going to be a landslide winner for the AL Rookie of the Year Award, so if he is able to walk away with the AL MVP, he would join Fred Lynn (1975) and Ichiro (2001) as just the third player to ever win the two awards in the same season. He would also be the youngest player to ever win the MVP, and the 3rd ever Angel to win the award joining Vladimir Guerreo (2004) and Don Baylor (1979).

Unlike Trout, who has taken a talented team and revitalized them with his spectacular play, Andrew McCutchen has put the Pirates on his back and brought them into playoff contention.

Although the Pirates are a solid team with a quality pitching staff led by James McDonald, A.J. Burnett, and Joel Hanrahan at the back end of the bullpen, they are no where near a 54-41 team without McCutchen. He was the main reason that the Bucs entered the All-Star break in first place of the NL Central for the first time in 15 years since 1997.

Aside from McCutchen, Neil Walker is the only every day Pirate player that is batting above .265, and the fact that the Pirates don't have a lot of good hitters around McCutchen makes it even more impressive to see what the young outfielder is doing this season. To put in perspective how heavily the Bucs relay on the 2-time All-Star, Andrew leads the team in runs, hits, batting average, triples, home runs, runs batted in, total bases, extra base hits, stolen bases, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and on-base plus slugging percentage.

McCutchen leads the league with a .373 batting average, which is on pace to become the best average in a single season since Tony Gwynn hit .394 in 1994 with the San Diego Padres. Clutch, as he is often called, also leads the MLB with a .642 slugging percentage and a 1.071 OPS.

McCutchen has solidified his hold on the MVP award with his ability to keep the Pirates in playoff position. In the Buccos last 31 games since June 16 the team is 22-9, and in this span McCutchen is batting .464 with a 1.330 OPS and he had a 6 games stretch where he hit 6 home runs in the middle of July.

Like Trout, McCutchen doesn't have too much competition for the MVP award. The player that looked like he would pose the biggest threat to McCutchen's chances of becoming the first Pirate to win MVP since Barry Bonds in 1992 was Joey Votto. However, the Reds slugger had to be sidelined earlier this month due to knee surgery and he will be out for at least a month.

It would be very historic if McCutchen won the MVP award. He would be the 2nd youngest player to win the NL MVP award in the last 27 years since 1985. Clutch would join Pirate greats Paul Waner, Dick Groat, Roberto Clemente, Dave Parker, Willie Stargell, and Barry Bonds as an NL MVP award winner.

McCutchen has shown he can do anything on a baseball field. Can he give an MVP speech though? At this rate, we will get a chance to see.

Olympic Soccer Means A Lot To Brazil

Although fans from Italy, Spain, Germany, and Argentina may disagree, Brazil is the most storied and successful international football team of all-time. With their quick and deceptive foot-skills, the Brazilians have been a powerhouse in international football for decades, as their 5 World Cups are more than any other nation.

Despite the fact that Brazil has historically been the most feared and dominate international football team, their results have not been great in recent years.

The Brazilians lost to France in the quarterfinals of the 2006 World Cup and fell once again in the same round in South Africa to the Dutch with former captain Dunga at the helm. Under current boss Mano Menezes, the green and yellow have not feared much better, as the side lost in the quarterfinals of the 2011 Copa America to Paraguay (their earliest exit from the tournament since 2001).

Brazil's poor results have led to mounting pressure on the team to perform well in the Olympics, especially with the upcoming 2014 World Cup taking place in their home country. Although the Brazilians are dying to take home gold in the Olympics, as it is the only international football tournament that they have never won, the Olympics are even more crucial for the green and yellow because of the huge competition that will be taking place in their country in two years time.

Due to the fact that players under the age of 23 except for three over age exceptions are the only ones that are allowed to participate in Olympic soccer, the competition is not often seen as all too significant. Since most national teams don't rely on too many younger players for their senior squad, the Olympics may not look like a huge barometer for the progress of a national team.

For example, aside from left back Jordi Alba, Spain's entire Euro 2012 championship team will be over the age of 23 by the end of this calendar year. Also, just two players on Uruguay's 2011 Copa America championship team were under the age of 23 at the time of the competition.

But things are much different when you look at Brazil, as the national team is undergoing a youth movement. Brazil has made a transition from the days of Ronaldinho to what the future holds for younger stars like Neymar.

Brazil's 2010 World Cup roster was highly criticized for not including enough youth and quickness. Dunga's squad of players such as Juan, Gilberto Melo, Felipe Melo, Gilberto Silva, and Luis Fabiano has been completely changed in favor of younger talent such as Rafael, Marcelo, Sandro, Lucas Moura, Oscar, Ganso, Hulk, Neymar, Alexandre Pato, and Leandro Damiao.

It is almost unfathomable to think that Brazil can have so much talent that is so young in age. European clubs are dying for all of these young Brazilian stars, which shows how much talent these youngsters possess.

Manchester United is strongly interested in 19-year old midfielder Lucas Moura, as the Red Devils are willing to pay his club Sao Paulo 30 million euros for his services. Attacking midfielder and classic number 10 Oscar, who is just 20 years old, is being linked to Chelsea in a 25 million euro transfer from Internacional. Brazilian winger Hulk has been linked to a move to Chelsea for over a year for a transfer fee around 40 to 50 million euros. Leandro Damiao, a talented striker for Brazil, has been a target of Tottenham, who are willing to give Internacional about 15 million euros for the 22 year old. Finally, if a team were to try and swoop Neymar, who Pele has said is better than Lionel Messi, they would have to offer around 70 to 80 million euros for the gifted striker.

Since most of Brazil's Olympic squad is going to be competing in the 2014 World Cup, it is vital that they take home gold in the competition. Considering that their talent level is head and heals ahead of the other teams in the competition, anything less then a gold medal will be a complete failure.

Not that Brazil need any help, but their group looks pretty promising, as they should have no trouble with Egypt, Belarus, and New Zealand.

But the competition will not be a cakewalk for the green and yellow. If there are no major upsets, the Brazilians will likely meet Great Britain or Uruguay in the semifinals and then square off against Spain, which won the 2011 U-21 European Championship, in the finals.

Although Britain's senior squad has been disappointing for decades, their Olympic roster actually looks quite strong and they will also have the added boost of playing in their home country. With a strong midfield with Aaron Ramsey and Tom Cleverley and speed on the wings and up front with Scott Sinclair and Daniel Sturridge, the question for the British will be how their back line holds up.

Uruguay's squad, which qualified for the Olympics by edging out Argentina in the 2011 South American Youth Championship, is dangerous as well. Their outstanding striker duo of Edinson Cavani and Luis Suarez will be a threat for every team they take on.

Finally, Spain are a difficult opponent in any football competition that they are in. Their three over age players, Javi Martinez, Juan Mata, and Adrian Lopez, will likely provide support for their talented squad including midfielders Isco and Oriol Romeu as well as talented winger from Athletic Bilbao Iker Muniain.

After silver medals in 1984 and 1988 and bronze medals in 1996 and 2008, Brazil look poised to finally capture the elusive Olympic soccer gold. Anything less than a victory will likely cause Mano Menezes his job, especially considering how good this Brazilian Olympic team should be.

My American League All-Star Ballot

With the MLB All-Star Game just over 2 weeks away, it's time that we start to look at what the All-Star starting line-up should look like for the American League. The AL should have some nice fan support at the Midsummer Classic, as the game is being held in Kansas City at Kauffman Stadium, which recently had a large scale renovation and was thereby promised the All-Star game by MLB Commissioner Bud Selig.

In the 82 MLB All-Star games played since 1933, the AL has a losing record of 38-42-2. However, the American League has been dominate in the game in the past 24 years. Since 1988, the AL has had a record of 18-5-1 in the game and they were unbeaten in the Midsummer Classic from 1997 to 2009. Here are my selections from the American League All-Star team:

AL Catching Front-Runner: A.J. Pierzynski of the Chicago White Sox

AL Catching Contenders: Joe Mauer of the Minnesota Twins, Mike Napoli of the Texas Rangers

With none of the American League catchers having great seasons, A.J. Pierzynski is a solid choice to represent the AL behind the plate on July 10th. The 14-year veteran catcher has shown how effective he can be at the dish when he remains healthy and off the DL. Pierzynski, who leads all MLB catchers with 41 RBI's, has been one of the main cogs in the middle of the White Sox line-up and is a big reason that the team is 7th in the MLB in run scoring.

In all offensive categories, Pierzynski is having a career year. He already has 12 home runs, which is tied for the 2nd most amongst MLB catchers, and he is on pace to smash his previous season home run high, which he set in 2005 when he hit 18 long balls with the White Sox. A.J. is also 2nd in the MLB amongst catchers in slugging percentage at .493, which is 29 points higher than his previous season best mark in the category, which he set in 2003 with the Minnesota Twins when he had a slugging percentage of .464.

As always, A.J. has been very good defensively for the South Chicago team as well. He has started in 59 of the White Sox 73 games and has made just 2 errors all season, which is tied for the fewest amongst AL catchers. 

Joe Mauer is also having a pretty good season behind the plate with the Minnesota Twins but his power numbers are way down this year. Although Mauer is batting an impressive .323, he has hit just 3 home runs all season, which is tied for the 2nd least amongst the 21 MLB catchers that have had at least 150 at-bats on the year.

It has been the opposite story for Texas Rangers catcher Mike Napoli. Although Napoli has hit 12 home runs, he leads all MLB catchers with 74 strikeouts and his average, which was a career high .320 last year, has dipped way down to .245.

Pierzynski is obviously not a run away chose to start the All-Star game, but his production has been good enough to get a nod for the AL. If Pierzynski is selected for the All-Star game, it would be his 3rd appearance (2002, 2006). It would be Mauer's 5th All-Star Game appearance (2006, 2008-2010) if he were picked for the AL. If Napoli is selected to the prestigious game, it would be his first Midsummer Classic.

AL First Base Front-Runner: Paul Konerko of the Chicago White Sox
AL First Base Contender: Prince Fielder of the Detroit Tigers

After finishing 4 games under .500 last season, the Chicago White Sox should be well represented in this year's All-Star game. Like the aging A.J. Pierzynski, Paul Konerko is on pace to have the best year of his career in his 16th year in the league.

Konerko, whose .337 batting average is the 2nd best in the American League, has shown that he is not yet out of his prime. In an age with a ton of quality AL first basemen like Albert Pujols, Mark Teixeira, Justin Morneau, Adrian Gonzelez, and Prince Fielder, the 36-year old Konerko is showing no signs of slowing down. The White Sox slugger is 2nd in the AL with a .415 on base percentage and his .979 OPS is the 4th best in the AL. Despite the fact that Konerko has had fewer at-bats than most other first basemen due to the fact that he needs some more rests than younger guys like Pujols and Gonzalez, who both have had more than 280 at-bats compared to Konerko's 243, the White Sox captain leads all AL first basemen in home runs with 13.

Although Mark Teixeira has his batting average up 6 points from when it was .248 last season, the only other real threat for the AL first base spot is Prince Fielder. Fielder, who signed a 9-year, 214 million dollar contract with the Tigers during the off-season, is having another very impressive year. He leads all AL first basemen in RBI's with 46 and is the only first basemen other than Konerko in the AL that is batting above .300. It is really splitting hairs between selecting Konerko and Fielder for the first base spot in the All-Star Game.

Konerko, who is having another great season, has been an underrated star ever since he came to the White Sox 13 years ago in 1999, but his really impressive season this year should not go without an All-Star Game nod. If Konerko is selected as an All-Star, it would be his 6th appearance in the Midsummer Classic (2002, 2005-2006, 2010-2011) and his 3rd straight year appearing in the game. Prince Fielder is aiming to make his 4th All-Star Game appearance (2007, 2009, 2011) and his 1st representing the American League.

AL Second Base Front-Runner: Robinson Cano of the New York Yankees
AL Second Base Contenders: Jason Kipnis of the Cleveland Indians

As a Red Sox fan, the guy that I have feared the most in the Yankee line-up for years has been the smooth left handed swinging Robinson Cano. Although Cano has really struggled this year in terms of driving guys in with runners in scoring position, he is still hitting for a lot of power. Cano, who has hit at least 25 home runs for the past three seasons, has been using the long ball to pace the Yankee offense. Cano leads all second basemen with 17 home runs and his 40 extra base hits are the 2nd most in the MLB. Although Cano has had so much success with the long ball, which has always impressed me about him is that he still gets on base a lot and he is not a big hit or miss guy. Cano leads all AL second basemen with a .302 batting average and his .369 on base percentage is also the best among AL second basemen.

Jason Kipnis, the Indians 2010 Minor League Player of the Year, is not yet a household commodity, but the everyday Indians second baseman has been very good this year. Although Cano is having another solid year, the Indians youngster should not be overlooked. Kipnis leads all AL second basemen with 42 RBI's and he has also cased havoc on the base paths, as he has stolen 17 bases and only been caught stealing one.

If Cano is selected to the All-Star Game, it would be his 4th All-Star appearance (2006, 2010-2011) and the 3rd straight year that he would be starting at 2nd base for the AL. Kipnis is aiming to become the first Indians second basemen to appear in the All-Star game since Ronnie Belliard participated in the 2004 Midsummer Classic.

AL Shortstop Front-Runner: Elvis Andrus of the Texas Rangers
AL Shortstop Contender: Derek Jeter of the New York Yankees, Asdrubal Cabrera of the Cleveland Indians

Don't get me wrong, Derek Jeter has been unbelievable this season for the Bronx Bombers. The 38-year old shortstop, who batted .270 in 2010 and hit just 6 home runs last season, both of which were the lowest of his career (not including 1995 when he played just 15 games), has turned it around in his 18th year in the league. The Yankee captain leads all MLB shortstops with a .304 average and leads the entire American League with 93 hits.

Although the beloved Jeter is probably going to get the most votes of any AL shortstop, Elvis Andrus  deserves to start the game at short for the American League. The Texas Rangers offense has been the most dominate attack in baseball, as the team leads the league in run scoring (388), hits (732), average (.282), on base percentage (.343), slugging percentage (.456), and on base plus slugging percentage (.800). Much of the attention surrounding the Rangers line-up goes to the middle of their order, where Josh Hamilton, Adrian Beltre, Nelson Cruz, and Mike Napoli are all big time power hitters.

However, Elvis Andrus should get a ton of credit for the Rangers offensive explosion this year because game after game he is the table setter for the teams big bats. Andrus is 1 of only 4 shortstops that is batting at least .300 and he has the 2nd highest on base percentage among middle infielders. Andrus has constantly been getting on base for the Rangers and he is a big reason for their offensive success.

We can't go through the American League shortstops without mentioning Asdrubal Cabrera. The Cleveland Indians young star, who emerged last year after 4 straight mediocre seasons, is showing once again this year why he is the next up and coming shortstop. Cabrera leads all AL shortstops with a .486 slugging percentage and a .869 on base plus slugging percentage. Despite being a shortstop, Cabrera can hit for power and he has shown that once again this year.

Andrus is looking to make his second All-Star appearance (2010) and Cabrera is attempting to appear in his 2nd straight Midsummer Classic (2011). If Derek Jeter, an All-Star regular, is selected to the game, he would be making his 13th All-Star appearance (1998-2002, 2004, 2006-2011) and his 6th straight.

AL Third Base Front-Runner: Adrian Beltre of the Texas Rangers
AL Third Base Contender: Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers, Mark Trumbo of the Los Angeles Angels

Of all the choices for the American League All-Star starters, the decision between Adrian Beltre, Miguel Cabrera, and Mark Trumbo at third base is by fair the toughest. To look at the pure numbers that these three guys have put up so far this year is incredible. Beltre is 3rd in the AL with a .328 batting average, while Trumbo ranks 6th in the AL with a .316 average. Miguel Cabrera is no slouch either, as he is the only other AL 3rd basemen batting over .300. Cabrera is 2nd in the league with 59 RBI's, while Trumbo and Beltre are the only other MLB 3rd basemen with at least 46 RBI's.

Cabrera, who has batted at least. 290 with at least 25 home runs and 100 RBI's in his last 8 seasons, is once again on pace for another fabulous season with those type of numbers. The Tigers slugger, who has finished in the top 5 of MVP voting 5 times since 2005, has made the transition over to third base much better than people expected as well. His .963 fielding percentage is the best among all AL third basemen. Despite the fact that Trumbo has been getting most of his starts for the Angels in the outfield at right or left field, he is qualified on the All-Star ballot as a third basemen.

Although Cabrera and Trumbo are having phenomenal years, Beltre should have the slightest of edges to start at third base for the American League. Along with Josh Hamilton, Beltre has been the biggest threat on the best line-up in the majors. The three-time Gold Glover and three-time Silver Slugger is killing right handed pitching, as he is batting .361 with 11 home runs and 40 RBI's against righties.

If Beltre is selected to the All-Star Game, he would be playing in the Midsummer Classic for a third straight time (2010-2011). Miguel Cabrera is hoping to make his 7th All-Star Game (2004-2007, 2010-2011) and his 3rd straight. Trumbo is looking to make his first ever All-Star appearance.

AL Outfield Front-Runners: Josh Hamilton of the Texas Rangers, Adam Jones of the Baltimore Orioles, Jose Bautista of the Toronto Blue Jays
AL Outfield Contenders: Josh Reddick of the Oakland Athletics, Curtis Granderson of the New York Yankees, Josh Willingham of the Minnesota Twins

The easiest choice in the entire All-Star Game is selecting Josh Hamilton as one of the three outfielders for the American League. Hamilton, who has received over 7.3 million votes, which is already just shy of the record for the most votes for a player in a single year that was set by Jose Bautista last year, has been on a torrid pace this year.

Hamilton is tied for 2nd in the league with 23 home runs and leads the MLB with 66 RBI's and that includes an 8 game stretch in May where he hit 9 home runs and had 19 RBI's. With his unbelievably light hands, Josh has been able to maintain the 5th best average in the AL at .318. Although Hamilton has cooled off a little bit in the month of June, his slugging percentage is still tremendously high as he leads the league in the category. If Hamilton keeps up his pace, he would become just the 10th player in the last 10 years since 2003 to have a single-season slugging percentage of at least. 650.

The other two choices for the outfield spots were obviously much harder to pick, but the slight nods should go to Adam Jones and Jose Bautista.

In an offense that doesn't really have a lot of weapons, Adam Jones has been one of the most consistent contributors in the entire American League, as he is batting .300, has hit 19 home runs, and has driven in 40 runs. Jones, whose 6-year, 85.5 million dollar contract extension was the largest in Orioles history, is on pace to become the 2nd Orioles player and first since Frank Robinson in 1966 to hit at least 40 home runs and bat at least .300 in a season.

After two straight years of 40 plus home runs and 100 plus RBI's, Jose Bautista began the 2012 season very slowly. His numbers at the end of April were a .181 batting average to go along with just 3 home run and 10 RBI's.

However, since his early season slump, Joey Bats has returned to his normal power hitting self. Bautista has hit 12 home runs in his last 21 games in June and he now leads the league with 24 long balls and is in top three with 57 RBI's. Although Bautista is obviously a big time power guy, he  has stuck out just 49 times, while other power hitters like Curtis Granderson, Nelson Cruz, and Josh Willingham have all stuck out at least 69 times. In fact, Bautista has batted above .255 in the last two months and has gotten his average up to a little under .240.

The other three guys that I think are in the mix for the outfield spots, Reddick, Granderson, and Willingham, have all had solid years, but none of them have been up to the standard of Hamilton, Jones, and Bautista.

After being a part-time outfielder last year with the Boston Red Sox, Josh Reddick has been a really nice pleasant surprise for the Oakland A's. Reddick, who has already had more at-bats this season than he did all of last year, is showing big time power, as he has hit 17 home runs including a 21 game stretch in May when he hit 10 long balls. However, Reddick's 70 strikeouts are the 3rd most in the AL and his .344 on base percentage doesn't even rank inside the top 60 in the league.

Although Curtis Granderson is just 6-1 and 185 pounds, his numbers look like that of a typical power hitter. The Grandy Man is in the top 4 in the league in home runs with 21 and his isolated power ranks 10th in the AL, but his batting average is just .243 including .230 against right-handed pitchers.

Finally, Josh Willingham, who has hit at least 20 home runs 4 times in the last 6 years, has shown his power once again this season, and he is also getting on base much more often this year. Willingham, like Adam Jones, has been really consistent across the board, as he is batting .275 to go along with 15 home runs and 49 RBI's.

Josh Hamilton is vying to make his 5th straight All-Star Game (2008-2011), while Jose Bautista is trying to appear in his 3rd straight Midsummer Classic (2010-2011). Adam Jones hopes to make his 2nd All-Star Game (2009) and become the first Orioles outfielder since Brady Anderson (1992, 1996-1997) to appear multiple times in the prestigious game.

If Curtis Granderson is selected to the game, he would be making his 3rd All-Star appearance (2009, 2011). Josh Reddick and Josh Willingham are both vying to appear in their first ever Midsummer Classic. If Reddick is selected to the game, he would be the first A's All-Star outfielder in 14 years since Ben Grieve in 1998.

AL Designated Hitter Front-Runner: David Ortiz of the Boston Red Sox
AL Designated Hitter Contender: Edwin Encarnacion of the Toronto Blue Jays

Remember back in 2008 and 2009 when David Ortiz began both years awfully slowly and people left and right were wondering if the Red Sox slugger's career was coming to an end? Well, that seems like a distant memory now because Big Papi is on pace to have one of the best years of his career in his 16th year in the league at the age of 36.

The Sox designated hitter ranks in the top 3 in the league in runs scored, 6th in the AL with 20 home runs, 8th in the AL with 52 RBI's, 5th in the AL in OBS, 3rd in the league in slugging, and 4th in the MLB in OPS. Ortiz doesn't look like he is slowing down anytime soon and he has been the only consistent bat in a line-up without Jacoby Ellisbury and Carl Crawford due to injury and where perennial All-Stars Dustin Pedroia and Adrian Gonzalez have mightily struggled. Papi is seeing the ball so well right now and he is hitting anything in the strike zone. Ortiz is now just 2 long balls away from 400 home runs, and if he continues his current pace, he will become the first Red Sox to ever hit 40 home runs after the age of 36.

Although Ortiz should definitely get the nod at the DH spot for the AL, Edwin Encarnacion's impressive season should not go without notice. Encarnacion, who could not play another game for the rest of the year and still have the best numbers of his entire 8-year career, has been on a tare up in Toronto. The Blue Jays DH is in the top 4 in the league with 21 home runs and he has accounted for 51 RBI's. His .575 slugging percentage is the 4th best in the AL as well.

Ortiz is looking to make his 8th All-Star game at the DH position for the AL (2004-2008, 2010-2011). If Encarnacion is selected to the Midsummer Classic, he would become the 4th ever Blue Jay to appear in the prestigious game as a DH joining Paul Molitor (1993-1994) and Shea Hillenbrand (2005).

The Host Nations Of Poland And Ukraine Haved Fared Well So Far In Euro 2012

The 14th European Championship is off and running, and the storylines surrounding the host nations through the first week of the tournament have been very intriguing. We have seen some lovely goals from Poland like Jakub Blasczykowski left footed rocket shot against Russia and the Ukrainian wingers, Yevhen Konoplyanka and Andriy Yarmolenko, have taken the world by storm with their fantastic pace on the wing.

Coming into the European Championships, there was no real sense of how the host nations of Poland and Ukraine would fare in the tournament. Neither nation is a football powerhouse, and since they both qualified automatically, their only tune-ups for the competition were some friendlies, and it is always difficult to gage a team's performance based on those matches. With every team in the tournament ranked in the top 16 in Europe, the road looked like a very trickery one for the host nations.

Although it is nice to have the support from your home fans when hosting a competition, it is sometimes difficult to deal with the pressure from trying to perform in your home country. In the 2000 European Championships, Belgium was unable to make it to the knockout round. In Euro 2008, both Austria and Switzerland failed to make it out of the group stage.

However, both Poland and Ukraine have started off the tournament in fine fashion. Both nations have put themselves in a position where they could possibly advance onto the knockout stage, which is more than their fans could ask for.

In Poland's opening match against Greece, the Poles backup goalkeeper, Przemyslaw Tyton, made a diving save to his left on a penalty kick from to prevent the host nation from walking away with a terrible defeat. A loss would have been very disappointing for the Poles, as they played a very quality game and Greece were playing down a man after Sokratis Papastathopoulos picked up a red card right before halftime. However, the Poles almost blew the game when their goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny was sent off after fouling Dimitris Salpingidis in the box on a goal scoring opportunity. However, the crisis was averted with Tyton's save and Poland managed to pick up the draw.

Przemyslaw Tyton's penalty save proved to be vital in Poland's draw against 2004 European Champion Greece

Poland knew that they would have to play an even better game against a really good and hot Russian team, and they did just that. Although Russia went into halftime a goal up, the Poles didn't fret and they got the goal that they so thoroughly deserved with a crack of a shot from Jakub Blasczykowski. Although Russia had a good share of the ball during the game, Poland were actually the side that had the majority of the chances. Russian keeper Vyacheslav Malafeev needed to make several saves in order to keep the game at a level draw.

Poland played Russia to a wildly entertaining 1-1 tie in Warsaw

With two points through two games, the Poles are in contention to make it out of the group stage for the first time ever. In a muddled Group A, Poland is playing the Czech Republic in a must win game. If Poland can get a victory against the Czechs, they will be secured of at least a 2nd place finish in the group. If the Poles win and Russia losses to Greece, Poland would be atop the group at 5 points, while Russia, Greece, and the Czech Republic would all be sitting on 4 points. If the Poles win and Russia and Greece draw, Poland and Russia would both be sitting on 5 points each and group goal difference would ultimately determine which team would win the group and play the second place team from Group B in the quarterfinals.

Ukraine has also come out of the tournament gates very impressively. In their first ever European Championship as an independent nation (Ukraine was previously apart of the Soviet Union), Andriy Shevchenko led the side in front of their home fans in Kiev to an improbable 2-1 victory over Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Sweden. After Andriy Yarmolenko's failure to get a header out of the box led to a Swedish goal, the 35-year-old Shevchenko gave the home fans a blast from the past with his two headed goals in the following 9 minutes. The victory was well deserved for the Ukrainians, as their speedy wingers, Konoplyanka and Yarmolenko, created chances all game long.

Andriy Shevchenko's double gave Ukraine an inspiring 2-1 victory over Sweden.

In their second game of the competition, Ukraine was due up against France, who had been one of the hottest teams in all of international football entering the tournament. The Ukrainians stuck right with Les Blues through the first 45 minutes, but the French, who had been playing very well since they fired Raymond Domenech after the 2010 World Cup debacle and hired Laurent Blanc, were too much for the host nation to handle. Although Ukraine walked away from the Donbass Arena with a defeat, they did have some very nice moments during the match.

Although Ukraine fell to France 2-0, they still have a chance to make it out of the group stage.

Despite their loss to the French, Ukraine still has a chance to advance onto the knockout stage, as they have a crucial game against 1996 semifinalist England in their third match of the group stage. A tie against England would not be enough for the Ukrainians to advance, even if France still losses to Sweden. In that scenario, England would be on 5 points, while France and Ukraine would both be sitting on 4 points, but France would own the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Ukrainians and would secure second. However, if Ukraine is able to knock off England in Donetsk, they would guarantee a spot in the quarterfinals. In fact, Ukraine could top the group with a win and a France draw or loss to the already eliminated Swedish team.

No-Hitters Are Becoming Much Less Special in Today's Game

Pitching a no-hitter has always been one of the most ionic achievements in baseball, and the no-hit club is a group that every pitcher wants to be apart of. More than any other sport, baseball is a numbers game and it cherishes its past history and stats. There is no other club in sports, like the no-hit club, where a player from 1876 will always have a connection to a player in today's modern game. Another component that makes a no-hitter so special is the fact that it can happen on any given day that a pitcher steps to the mound, and history has shown that no-hitters can come from the most unlikely of places. In 1999 for example, Jose Jimenez threw a no-hitter for the St. Louis Cardinals against the Arizona Diamondbacks, despite the fact that entering the game Jimenez had just 5 career wins and was 3-7 during the year with a 6.69 ERA. Finally, the atmosphere around a park with a no-hitter in progress is a unique electric nervousness, and an amazing sight to see.

Although no-hitters have always been treasured, they are becoming less and less valued today because of their increase in frequency. With more and more no-hitters being thrown, no-hit outings are becoming less special by the month.

We all remember the power surge that took place in the MLB during the 1990's and much of the 2000's. Who can forget Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa's home run battles during the 1998 and 1999 seasons when McGwire knocked out 65 and 70 homers in the two years respectively, while Sosa was not far behind with 63 home runs of his own in 1998 and 66 the following year in 1999. How bout 2001 when Barry Bonds hit an MLB record 73 home runs, and Sosa hit 64 in the same year, while Rafael Palmeiro's 47 home runs were only the 8th most in the league. To put that in perspective, last year Jose Bautista led the league with 43 home runs, and in 2009 the most home runs by any AL player was 39 by Carlos Pena and Mark Teixeira.

But that era was tainted by steroid usage, and now that MLB Commissioner Bud Selig has made it his personal mission to have the toughest drug testing in all of sports in order to attempt to ensure that steroids will no longer be present in baseball, run scoring has gone way down.

In 1999, the Cleveland Indians led the MLB with 1,009 runs scored, while in 2010 the Yankees led the league but their run total was all the way down to 859 over the course of the year. Also, in 1999, the Twins were dead last in the MLB in runs scored as they produced just 686 runs over the 162 game season, while two years ago 12 teams scored less than 686 runs and last year 14 teams scored less than 686 runs including 9 of the 16 teams from the National League. In fact, in 1999, every team in the playoffs scored at least 820 runs, while the Giants made the playoffs in 2010 after scoring just 697 runs over the course of the year.

Times have obviously changed since the early 2000's and the league has totally shifted from being dominated by big time power hitters like Alex Rodriguez and Manny Ramirez to pitchers such as Justin Verlander and CC Sabathia. With the increasing effectiveness of pitchers, there has be a rapid rise in no-hitters, which are making no-no's much more common and therefore they are losing a little bit of their luster.

Just this year alone, we have already seen 5 no-hitters and there is still almost a month until the All-Star Game. The 5 no-hitters before the All-Star break are the most no-no's before the Midsummer's Classic since 22 years ago in 1990. And the scary part is, we could be in store for a few more no-hitters even before we get to the All-Star Game, as in the last 13 days alone we have witnessed a no-hitter by Johan Santana, a combined no-hitter by 6 Seattle Mariners pitchers, and a perfect game by Matt Cain.

Pitchers throwing no-hitters right after each other has been a trend for the past couple of years. In 2009, Jonathan Sanchez threw a no-hitter for the Giants on July 10th and thirteen days later Mark Buehrle threw a perfect game for the White Sox. Last year, Francisco Liriano threw a no-hitter for the Twins on May 3rd and four days later Justin Verlander threw a no-no for the Tigers.

A perfect game, were a pitcher doesn't allow a base runner all outing, is obviously admired by all baseball fans. But often times after a pitcher has allowed a base runner in some form other than a hit and the perfect game is shattered, the no-hitter doesn't always look as pretty. Many detractors think that numerous walks and base runners take away from a no-hitter.

For example, the beauty of a no-hitter is lost when A.J. Burnett doesn't allow a hit for the Marlins, but still walks 9 Padres batters. The elegance is no longer present when Erving Santana no-hits the Cleveland Indians but the Indians still manage to score a run.

However, the bigger problem has to do with the pure rise in no-hitters in today's game. In the last three years dating back to 2010, there have been a total of 14 no-hitters thrown. The 14 no-no's are the most over a three year span since there were 15 no-hitters thrown from 1990 to 1992. In fact, in the last 6 years since 2007, pitchers have thrown 21 no-hitters. To put in perspective the extreme increase in no-no's, in a 6 year span from 1984 to 1989, there was a total of just 5 no-hitters.

Obviously in a literal sense, there is no difference between Eddie Cicotte's no-hitter for the White Sox in 1917 and Jered Weaver's no-no last year for the Angels, as both pitchers didn't surround a hit all game. However, with the barrage of no-hitters in today's game, the significance of Weaver's no-hitter was much different than what it would have be if no-hitters were still a very rare feat.

Throwing a no-hitter will always be a great accomplishment, but no-no's lack the meaning and specialness that they one had in the past.

The Los Angeles Kings Championship Proves That A Hot Team Is The Most Dangerous Team In The Postseason

Let me say one thing before I begin, I unequivocally hate the BCS and I am hoping that the proposed four team college football playoff will go into affect by the 2014 season.

I hate how the champion of each of the power six conferences (ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12, SEC) receives an automatic bid to one of the BCS bowl games. Just look at 2011 when the Big East Champion Connecticut, who had a 8-5 overall record, got to play in the Fiesta Bowl, while Boise St., who had a 12-1 record during the season and a win over ACC Champion Virginia Tech, had to play in the Maaco Bowl Las Vegas because the WAC didn't have an automatic bid. I don't think anybody would argue that Connecticut was anywhere near as good of a team as Boise St. was that season.

I dislike that the different bowl committees determine which team will play in their bowl as the at-large selection because they often chose the team that will guarantee the most revenue and fan support, rather than the team that had the best season. Just look at last year when Virginia Tech, who didn't beat one team ranked in the top 25 at the end of the season and lost in the ACC title game by 28 points to Clemson, was selected over Kansas St., whose only two losses were to the highly ranked Oklahoma schools (Oklahoma and Oklahoma St.), as well as Boise St., who had a 11-1 record and beat the SEC East Champion Georgia Bulldogs, for the Sugar Bowl. Sugar Bowl CEO Paul Hoolahan referenced the fact that Virginia Tech's fan support was "extremely important" in their inclusion in the game, showing the extreme flaws in the BCS, as the Hokies were picked largely because their fan base travels well and the game would sell more tickets than if Kansas St. or Boise St. were playing.

With all that being said, unlike most other sport, almost every season the best team in college football walks away National Champion because the BCS National Championship game slates the number 1 ranked team vs the number 2 ranked team. Of course, some years there is debate over the teams in the title game, but often times the top two teams meet for all the marbles.

However, when you look at some of the other sports, the team that gets hot during the playoffs often wounds up champion rather than the best team during the length of the season.

We all love the upsets that come with March Madness, but the tournament winner is not always the best team, as it is often the team that gets hot coming into the big dance.

For instance, just two years ago, the Connecticut Huskies finished the regular season outside the top 20 and had a 9-9 mark in the Big East, which was only good enough for 9th place in the conference. In fact, the Huskies had a record of 0-7 against the top 5 teams from the Big East that year during the regular season (0-1 vs Pittsburgh, 0-2 vs Notre Dame, 0-1 vs Syracuse, 0-2 vs Louisville, and 0-1 vs St. John's).

However, the Huskies went on an incredible run en route to their Big East tournament title, as they became the first ever team in Big East history to win 5 games in 5 nights. On the back of their conference tournament championship, where they beat four straight highly ranked teams, the Huskies came into the NCAA tournament flying high with a ton of momentum. They used that momentum to mount a run through the tourney, where Kemba Walker led the Huskies to the program's 3rd ever National Championship. It is pretty obvious to see that the Huskies were the hottest team in college basketball coming into the big dance, and they rode their wining streak all the way to a National Championship.

A similar phenomenon has happened the past two years in the NFL with the Green Bay Packers and the New York Giants Super Bowl runs. Both the Packers and the Giants were forced to fight for a playoff spot through the last week of the season, as they each had to win their final two games just to make the postseason.

Two years ago, the Packers were entering week 16 with a 8-6 record and had been thoroughly struggling, as they had dropped 3 of their previous 4 games. Coming into their final two games, only 1 of the Packers 8 wins had come against a team with a winning record at the time of the game.

Despite their struggles against quality opponents through the first 14 weeks, the Packers found a new gear in their final two outings of the regular season. In week 16, the Packers destroyed the playoff hopeful New York Giants, who had been a game ahead of the Packers in the NFC Wild Card standings entering the game, 45-17. The following week, in a must win game to hold off the Giants and Buccaneers against the NFC North division winning Chicago Bears, the Packers won in an ugly battle, 10-3.

The Pack used their late season momentum with wins over two very good teams to make a run through the postseason en route to their 4th Super Bowl in franchise history. The Packers had been in playoff mode since week 16 and were ready to go for the postseason, while the Eagles, for example had been resting their starters the previous week and looked rusty in their Wild Card loss to the Packers. The Pack also used the confidence from their win over the Bears to once again knock off their arch rivals in the NFC Championship game.

Last year's New York Giants are another example of a team that got hot right before the postseason and used their strong play entering the playoffs to propel themselves to a title.

Following a week 15 loss at home to the Washington Redskins, who had just 4 wins at the time, the Giants were sitting at 7-7 having dropped 5 of their previous 6 games. The Giants were really struggling defensively, especially in the secondary, as Drew Bress, Aaron Rodgers, and Tony Romo each threw for more than 320 yards against them in three consecutive losses.

However, the Giants turned their season around with two do or die wins at the end of the year. They topped their crosstown rival New York Jets in a huge game for both teams playoff chances and then won a winner take all NFC East divisional game against the Dallas Cowboys.

The wins sparked the Giants playoff run to the Super Bowl, as they came alive following their successful end to the regular season. Not only was the Giants confidence soaring, but they also were much sharper than other teams, like the Green Bay Packers, who had been resting their starters for the last week of the season.

This same pattern of not necessarily the best team winning the title, but rather the team that gets on a winning streak and is the hot team in the postseason, also showed itself during the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs, as the Kings got on a roll and never looked back.

Everybody knows that in postseason hockey a hot goaltender can lead his team to a Stanley Cup title and that is exactly what happened with the Los Angeles Kings. Jonathan Quick had the most unbelievable stretch of 20 games of his life and his incredible play between the pipes were the main reason that the Kings became the first ever 8 seed in either conference to ever win the Stanley Cup. In fact, the Kings were just the second ever 8 seed to even reach the Stanley Cup finals, as the 2005-2006 Edmonton Oilers reached the Cup finals as an 8 seed, but ultimately fell in 7 games to the Carolina Hurricanes.

Quick had one of the greatest postseason stretches for a netminder in NHL history and his hot play gave the entire Kings team confidence that they could pull off a run through the postseason.

When the Kings joined the 1991 Minnesota Wild, the 2000 San Jose Sharks, the 2006 Edmonton Oilers, the 2009 Anaheim Ducks, and the 2010 Montreal Canadiens as just the 6th team to knock off the Presidents' Trophy winner in the first round, Jonathan Quick was the difference maker in the series. He held the Vancouver Canucks to just 5 goals in the Kings 4 victories and had a shutout in game 3 to put the Kings up 3-0 in the series.

In the Western Conference semifinals, the 2nd seeded St. Louis Blues scored just 6 goals in the entire 4 game series, as the Kings swept the Blues 4-0. The Kings used the strong play of Quick to become the first ever team to knock off both of the top two seeds in their conference during the playoffs. En route to their 2nd Conference Finals appearance in franchise history, the Kings had won 8 of their 9 playoff games and were riding high with confidence and momentum behind the out of this world play of Jonathan Quick.

In the Western Conference Finals against the Phoenix Coyotes, Quick had .939 save percentage and led the Kings to their 2nd Stanley Cup Finals appearance in franchise history and their 1st since 1993 when Wayne Gretzky and crew lost to the Montreal Canadiens in 5 games. Entering the Stanley Cup Finals the Kings had an overall postseason record of 12-2.

Finally, in the Stanley Cup Finals, the Kings jumped out to a 3-0 lead and Quick allowed a total of just 2 goals in the team's first three victories. Although the Devils won the next two games, as the Kings scored just 1 goal in both Game 4 and Game 5, Quick finished out the series with a dominant performance and his hot play led the Kings to their first Stanley Cup in their 44-year franchise history.

Deservedly so, Quick won the Conn Smyte Trophy and added on to the long line of goaltenders who were awarded the playoff MVP award after they led their team to an appearance in the Stanley Cup. Quick became the 5th netminder in the past 11 postseason since 2001 (no postseason in 2005 due to the NHL lockout) to take his team to the Cup Finals and win the Conn Smyte award, showing that a hot goaltender often leads to success in the playoffs.

Kings center Colin Fraser said, "I've said to my buddies, we've got the right team, but we just have to get hot at the right time. The last six weeks of the regular season, we were in a dogfight just to get into the playoffs and we got hot at the right time. We just started rolling."

Mario Gomez Finally Comes Through For Germany

In clinical fashion, Mario Gomez scored his first ever goal in the European Championship to give Germany a vital 1-0 victory over Portugal in the brutally difficult group of death. After Netherlands, the 3rd highest ranked team in Europe, fell in shocking fashion to the Danes in Kharkiv in the other group B contest earlier in the day, Gomez put Germany in a great position to advance onto the knockout stage with an opening match victory. Gomez's goal will relieve much of the pressure from Germany's shoulders, as many have called them the pre-tournament favorite, despite the fact that the Spaniards are the current European and World Champions.

Ever since Mario Gomez joined Bayern Munich in 2009 from Stuttgart in a German record transfer fee, he has been a big time goal scorer for the German side. Gomez led the Bundesliga with 28 goals during the 2010-2011 season and was second in the German league with 26 goals this past year. His 54 combined goals in two consecutive seasons were the most in the league since Karl-Heinz Rummenigge scored a combined 55 goals over the 1979-1980 and 1980-1981 seasons.

Despite all of Gomez's success with his club in the Bundesliga, he had struggled with the German National Team to find the back of the net in major competitions. His failures to score in big time games, including in the Champions League Final last month against Chelsea, had left many wondering if Gomez was unable to come through in major tournaments.

In Euro 2008, Gomez was put in the starting XI for all three of Germany's games during the group stage and he was unable to ever find the back of the net. In fact, Gomez almost cost Germany a trip to the knockout stage after he failed to score a wide open goal against Austria with their goalie way out of position. After that miss, Gomez failed to see the field for the rest of the tournament except for a brief spell in the team's 1-0 finals loss to Spain.

Granted that Gomez didn't get any extended minutes on the field with Germany during the biggest tournament in international football, he still failed to score in 4 substitute appearances during the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Once again another major tournament went by without Gomez showing his goal scoring ability and presence up front.

With Gomez's poor international goal scoring past, many German fans hoped that manager Joachim Löw would start Miroslav Klose as the lone forward in Germany's 4-2-3-1 formation against Portugal. Despite the fact that Gomez scored 41 goals in all competitions for Bayern during the season, Klose, who is second in Germany's all-time international scoring with 63 goals only behind Gerd Müller's 68 national team goals, seemed to be the favorite for the striker role with Thomas Müller along the right side and Lukas Podolski along the left side.

However, Low went with Gomez in his starting XI, but as the minutes rolled along and the game remained tied without a goal, the calls for Klose to replace Gomez grew louder and louder. The more possession that Germany had in the attacking third without truly testing Portuguese keeper Rui Patricio, put more and more pressure on Low to bring on Klose.

After being frustrated by Portugal's stingy defending for well over an hour, Gomez was finally able to break out of his international goal scoring slump in the 72nd minute. His goal scoring header, which came off of a deflected cross from midfield teammate Sami Khedira, not only silenced all of the Portuguese fans in the stadium in Lviv, but also quieted all of the doubters who began to lose faith in Gomez's ability to score with the national team.

Gomez's first goal in a major international tournament couldn't have come at a better time, as Germany looked like they lacked the creative genius needed to break down a back line with the likes of Pepe and Fábio Coentrão. His finish was world class, and a quintessential Mario Gomez goal, as he used his large body frame and 6'2'' height to lift up over Portuguese defender Joao Pereira for the headed finish.

Gomez's brilliant headed goal sealed the 1-0 win for Germany over Portugal.

Gomez's goal puts Germany in the driver's seat to win the group of death, but things are far from being set in stone. The Germans will take on a Netherlands side in four days that will be desperate to get a victory to crawl their way back into the top of the group. Following that match, Germany will have a fixture against a tough and impressive Denmark side that proved it deserves its number 9 FIFA World Rankings after it notched a 1-0 win over Holland in its opening match.

UNLV Is Going To Be A Very Dangerous Team Next Year

After leading Oklahoma to a poor 15-16 record and an 8th place finish in the 10 team, Big 12 with a 5-13 conference mark, Lon Kruger has to be looking back at his former job and envying that he isn't in Dave Rice's position. Kruger, who left UNLV to take the Oklahoma job last year, left the door open for Rice, who was a former Jerry Tarkanian player with the Rebels when they won the National Championship in 1990, to take over the job.

Rice's first year at UNLV began with a bang after his Rebels knocked off the top ranked North Carolina Tar Heels in the Las Vegas Classic. It was the first time that the Rebels had beaten a number 1 ranked team since 1989 when they toppled number 1 overall seeded Arizona in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament. UNLV finished the season 26-9 and earned themselves a trip to the big dance, as Rice became the first coach in UNLV history to lead the Rebels to the tournament as a first year head coach.

After a successful first year at UNLV, bigger and better things are going to be expected next year from the Rebels. Not only does the team return their monster rebounder and double-double machine Mike Moser as well as their all-around playmaking guard Anthony Marshall, but Rice has also been able to load up this off-season by luring in top recruits and transfers from other schools.

Unlike other post-Tarkanian UNLV coaches, Rice has been able to compete with other top flight college basketball programs in terms of recruiting. Under Lon Kruger, the Rebels were unable to keep players from high school powerhouse Findlay Prep in-state. From 2009 to 2011, 5 Findlay Prep players were top 25 recruits according to ESPN 100, and the Rebels were unable to land any of them.

However, Dave Rice was able to secure one of UNLV's best recruiting classes of all-time when the number 7th ranked recruit according to ESPN, Anthony Bennett, announced that he would stay in Vegas and commit to UNLV instead of going to play for Florida, Washington, Oregon, or Kentucky. Bennett, a 6'8'' McDonald's All-American power forward, can step out and shoot the three-ball as well as use his size and strength down low in the paint. Bennett will also be joined by shooting guard Katin Reinhardt from Mater Dei in California, who is the number 47th ranked recruit according to ESPN. The signings of Bennett and Reinhardt will likely make an impact right away as both players will see a lot of playing time. UNLV's recruiting class was ranked number 13 by ESPN, above powerhouse programs like Pittsburgh, Syracuse, and Florida.

But the fun doesn't end there for the Rebels, as Rice has been able to lure high quality tranfers to the UNLV program.

Former USC guard Bryce Jones and former Pittsburgh center Khem Birch will both be apart of the Rebels plans for a major season next year.

Bryce Jones, who was ranked 69th in the 2010 recruiting class according to ESPN, was unhappy with his lack of playing time at USC after Jio Fontan became eligible to play for the Trojans, while he also had off the court issues with teammate Garrett Jackson. Jones is going to be a very important piece to UNLV's success next year, as the 6'5'' guard is extremely long and athletic and can shot the ball from three. In the Trojans first 8 games, Jones averaged nearly 13 points per outing.

Khem Birch will be one of the most interesting stories to watch around college basketball next year. The 6'9'' big man will be eligible to play for Dave Rice's squad around Christmas time and the Rebels will be hoping that they will be able to get the most out of the former McDonald's All-American and 12th ranked recruit (in ESPN's 2011 recruiting rankings). Birch, who left Pittsburgh mid-season last year after being disgruntled with his teammates and the team's playing style, has a tremendous amount of ability and talent. Birch is a very good rebounder and shot blocker, as shown by his 6 block game in just 29 minutes against Robert Morris last year, and will only continue to improve on the offensive end of the floor.

Finally, former Connecticut power forward Roscoe Smith has decided to transfer to UNLV from the Huskies as a result of UConn's 2013 postseason tournament ban. Connecticut is unable to play in next year's NCAA tournament because the basketball program didn't reach the NCAA's academic standards from 2009 to 2011, as they had a low Academic Progress Rate. Usually the NCAA only grants waivers to players whose postseason bans span over their entire eligibility, but Smith is going to ask the NCAA for a wavier to not have to sit out a season although he has two years of eligibility remaining and UConn's ban only spans one year.

Nonetheless, Smith is a very nice transfer to land, as the big man is a solid rebounder and also a very good defender. Smith is able to impact the game without taking a lot of shots and his productivity will increase with the added minutes that he will get in the Rebels frontcourt.

UNLV is not going to be just a dangerous mid-major team, but they are going to be in the picture as one of the best teams in the country. They are loaded in both the backcourt with Anthony Marshall, Justin Hawkins, Katin Reinhardt, and Bryce Jones, as well as in the frontcourt with Mike Moser, Anthony Bennett, Khem Birch, and possibly Roscoe Smith if he is eligible to play.