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.

The Heat Really Missed Chris Bosh In Their Game 2 and 3 Losses To The Indiana Pacers

Since Chris Bosh signed as a free agent with the Miami Heat during the summer of 2010, his role on the team and his place among the big three along with LeBron James and Dwayne Wade has constantly been questioned. Fitting in alongside an 8-time All-Star and a 3-time MVP in LeBron James and an 8-time All-Star and 2006 NBA Finals MVP in Dwayne Wade has not always been an easy task for Bosh.

Despite the fact that Bosh has been an All-Star for 7 straight seasons dating back to 2006, he has been highly criticized for his play with the Heat. Bosh is often labeled as soft and as a power forward who is reluctant to bang with the big boys inside. Often times, fans even jest that there isn't a big three in Miami but rather the Heat have a dynamic duo with LeBron James and Dwayne Wade.

For a guy that was the second highest scoring power forward in the Eastern Conference during the regular season at 18 points per game, Bosh has been the subject of a tremendous amount of criticism. His detractors point to the fact that he averaged just under 8 rebounds per game during the regular season, which was not a very high number considering the Heat's opponents shot the fifth lowest percentage from the field during the season at 43.4 percent.

In the Heat's game 1 victory over the Pacers, Bosh suffered a lower abdominal strain after finishing off a dunk during the ladder stages of the second quarter. The injury forced Bosh to miss games two and three of the series, and without Bosh, the Heat have fallen in a 2-1 series hole with game 4 left in Indiana. Without even being on the court, Chris Bosh has shown his true value to the Miami Heat and how much the Heat struggle without him on the offensive end of the floor.

Without Bosh on the court, Joel Anthony and Ronny Tuiaf have received extended minutes at the power forward and center positions. Although Anthony and Tuiaf are good rebounders and give great effort, especially with their intensity on the defensive end of the floor, they are both non-scorers. Therefore, Pacers center Roy Hibbert is able to clog up the paint and prevent driving lanes for LeBron and D-Wade because he doesn't have to worry about Anthony or Tuiaf scoring the basketball. In game two, Hibbert had 3 blocks, while he followed that up with 5 blocks in game three. With Hibbert hanging around the lane, Dwayne Wade has struggled to score around the basket, as he was 2 for 13 in the Heat's game three loss.

Although Bosh is 6'11'', he is a very comfortable and confident shooter, as has a very good elbow jump shot. Bosh is able to set up for open jumpers off LeBron and D-Wade's penetration, especially on the pick and pop. He is vital to Miami because he is able to extend the floor due to his ability to shot the basketball, which causes match-up problems because teams rarely have power forwards who are agile enough to stay with Bosh outside. Without Bosh on the floor, Roy Hibbert's lack of mobility has yet to be exposed by the Heat.

Any time that a team loses one of its best players and an 18 point per game scorer, it is going to struggle, but the Heat are a team that have even bigger problems replacing a guy like Bosh because of their lack of quality bench players. During the regular season the Heat's bench averaged less than 24 points per game, as none of their bench guys scored more than 7 points per game during the season. The Heat were 28th in the NBA in bench points per game. In game 2 for example, Miami's bench scored just 11 points.

The Pacers have been able to key on LeBron and D-Wade during the last two games of the series because they no longer have to worry about the threat of Bosh. The Heat have severely struggled to get in a rhythm offensively since Bosh went down with his injury and they have scored just 75 points in two consecutive games. In game 2, the Heat scored just 14 points in the third quarter and they followed that up in game 3 by scoring just 12 points in the third frame.

Not only have the Heat missed Bosh on the offensive end, but they have also missed him on the defensive end of the floor. Since Anthony and Turiaf are not going to score offensively, Erik Spoelstra has used LeBron at the power forward position to ensure that the Heat have enough on the offensive on the floor. Although LeBron is a specimen and is extremely strong, he has very little position playing the power forward position. In game 2 of the series, with LeBron on him for large parts of the game, David West had 16 points including 7 points in the final 7:05. LeBron said about defending in the post, "It's a lot more taxing being in there with bigger guys. [Defensively] is the biggest difference. When you're on the perimeter, there is more space. The interior is more cramped and physical."

Shootouts Are Perfect For The Regular Season But Overtimes Have Made This Postseason

In a season where Sidney Crosby played just 22 games due to his post-concussion symptoms and Alex Ovechkin had career lows with 65 points and just 27 assists (his lowest totals since he had 85 points last year and 46 assists during the 2006-2007 season), the NHL wasn't dazzling with star power. 

It is easy to take a quick glance at the team's remaining in the NHL playoffs and not get overly enthused. 

The defending Stanley Cup Champion Boston Bruins, who finished 2nd in the East, were eliminated in the first round in 7 games by the Washington Capitals. The Bruins joined the 1989-1990 Calgary Flames, the 2002-2003 Detroit Red Wings, and the 2007-2008 Anaheim Ducks as just the 4th Stanley Cup Champion since 1990 to lose their first round match-up after winning the Cup, despite having home ice advantage.

The star studded Pittsburgh Penguins were extremely disappointing in their first round defeat at the hands of the Philadelphia Flyers. The Pens, who were 14-4-1 during March and April largely fueled by Crosby's return, were sliced apart by the Flyers offense. In Philly's 4 victories, they averaged more than 6 goals per game.

In the Western Conference, the top seeded and Presidents' Trophy winning Vancouver Canucks could only muster one game during their opening round series against the Los Angeles Kings. Without Daniel Sedin for the first three games of the series, the Canucks fell in a 3-0 hole. The Canucks became just the 6th Presidents' Trophy winner to lose in the first round of the playoffs joining the 1990-1991 Chicago Blackhawks, the 1990-2000 St. Louis Blues, the 2005-2006 Detroit Red Wings, the 2008-2009 San Jose Sharks, and the 2009-2010 Washington Capitals.

Finally, instead of powerhouses like the Red Wings and the Blackhawks in the Western Conference semifinals, they have been replaced by much less attractive teams like the Phoenix Coyotes, who knocked off the Blackhawks in 6 games, and the Nashville Predators, who defeated the Red Wings in 5 games.

Despite both conference semifinals lacking the star power of a normal year, the NHL playoffs have been nothing less than magnificent due to all of the close games and the wild finishes in overtime.

During the 2003-2004 NHL season, 170 NHL games ended in a tie with neither team walking home the winner. In fact, the Minnesota Wild only had 20 ties that year, which means they had nearly 3 ties every 10 games.

Following the NHL lockout in 2004, Gary Bettman decided to implement a shootout during the regular season if both teams remained tied after three periods and a five minute overtime. Although the rule has received some criticism especially from hockey purists, it has made the end of games extremely exciting as no fan wants to see a game end without a winner.

However, there is nothing better than sudden-death hockey overtime in an intense and highly contested playoff game and that is what this year's playoffs have provided.

During the conference quarterfinals, of the 48 games, 16 of them were won in overtime, which set a record for the most overtime games during the first round of the playoffs. This mean that a third of the opening round games took at least one extra period of thrilling hockey to declare a winner. In fact, every series had at least one overtime game aside from the Predators-Red Wings 5 game battle.

Both the Bruins-Capitals series and the Panthers-Devils series went into overtime in game 6 as well as in the decisive game 7.

The Capitals were unable to close out the Bruins at home in the Verizon Center in game 6 after Tyler Seguin scored just 3 minutes and 17 seconds into overtime. However, the Capitals regrouped and returned the favor in an exhilarating game 7 overtime victory after Joel Ward slammed home a rebound for the series win.

After falling behind the Panthers 3-2 in the series, the Devils were able to keep their championship hopes alive by winning both game 6 and game 7 in exciting overtime periods. Travis Zajac became the hero in game 6 with his goal in OT, but the intensity of game 6 was nothing compared to the pressure of game 7, which lasted two overtimes before rookie center Adam Henrique won the series for the Devils with en electrifying goal.

Finally, the Coyotes-Blackhawks series was overtime galore, as the first 5 games of the series all went into overtime, which tied an NHL record with five consecutive extra periods. Even though the Coyotes are still flying under the radar despite the fact that they are one win away from reaching the Western Conference finals and the Blackhawks were without Marian Hossa for the final 3 games of the series, the Coyotes-Blackhawks were a can't miss matchup because every game was nip and tuck.

Best Trades During The First Round Of The NFL Draft

Although the first two picks of the NFL draft lacked the drama of a normal year, there wasn't a dearth of quality selections and as always a lack of head scratchers.

On Wednesday, Colts officials confirmed the overwhelming thought that they were going to take Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck with the first pick in the NFL draft. General Manager Ryan Grigson said, "We didn't see the point in prolonging what the world already knows. It's about Andrew and we wanted to do the right thing by him... We've exhausted the process. We've pretty much made up our mind and we're going to go from there. We feel good about it and we'll go from there."

The next day, Redskins G.M. Bruce Allen announced what most people assumed when the Skins gave up three first round picks to acquire the second overall selection from the Rams, which was that the Skins would take Baylor quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III with their selection. Allen said, "We think that Robert fits our offense to a tee. We're excited about being able to complement him with what we've already been able to do with some of his special talents. Obviously his charisma is going to be embraced by the Redskins Nation."

Although this year had no where near the amount of anticipation at the top of the draft like in 2006 when questions swirled all draft week on the Texans difficult decision between taking Mario Williams, Reggie Bush, and Vince Young with the first pick, a lot of another intriguing stroylines emerged.

With offense numbers at a record high last year and team's slinging the ball all over the field with the passing game taking over the league, defense was a priority in the draft. From picks 6 to 21, there were 13 defenses players taken, compared to just 3 offense players selected.

Coming into the draft, most people thought that there wouldn't be as many trades as last year because of a lack of really can't miss guys and not a great disparity between players projected to go in the first round and the second round. For example, instead of a team trading up to try and get a guy like Quinton Coples, the assumption was that they could wait until the second round and select a guy like Andre Branch, while not losing any more picks.

However, the first round was littered with teams trading up to get a player they desperately wanted as well as teams trading down to stockpile on picks. There were eight draft day trades during the first round, as the Colts were the only team in the top 7 to hold on to their draft pick from the start of the draft process. The Patriots, Broncos, and Rams all made two trades to change their position in the draft (including the Rams pre-draft trade with the Redskins).

Best Trades During The First Round:

#5 Pick: Jacksonville Jaguars - WR Justin Blackmon from Oklahoma State:

When the Jacksonville Jaguars traded up from the 16th pick in last year's draft to acquire Blaine Gabbert out of Missouri with the 10th overall selection, the Jags expected Gabbert to become their quarterback of the future. Due to the ineffectiveness of Luke McCown (McCown was picked off 4 times in three quarters against the Jets in week 2) Gabbert was forced to play much earlier than expected, and the rookie severely struggled in his 14 starts.

In 8 of Gabbert's starts he threw for less than 150 yards and he had a woeful completion percentage of 50.8 to go along with a league low 65.4 passer rating. Gabbert was hit a ton in the packet, as he was sacked 40 times (tied for the most in the AFC along with Big Ben), and his confidence looked down and he looked deeply flustered when he would drop back to pass. Gabbert almost looked fearful of staying in the pocket and making a throw down the field because he was always getting hit.

Jacksonville's inept offense, which ranked dead last in yards per game and passing yards per game last year, will be getting a huge lift with the addition of 2-time Biletnikoff Award winner (given to the best receiver in college football) Justin Blackmon. Blackmon will provide the outside threat that Jacksonville so desperately needs, and a go-to-guy for Blaine Gabbert, who didn't have a receiver last year with more than 44 catches or 460 yards.

The Jags made a terrific move by giving the Buccaneers their 7th overall selection and a fourth round pick, in order to move up two spots and ensure that they would land Blackmon. Blackmon, who is 6'1'', is often compared to Anquan Boldin because of their similar stature and their great hands. Blackmon, who was third in the FBS last year with 121 catches, is very comfortable in catching the ball over the middle and he is also a huge red zone threat, as he ranked 2nd in the FBS last year with 18 touchdowns.

Whether Gabbert can be a successful quarterback in the NFL remains to be seen, but Jacksonville has found themselves a pro-bowl caliber receiver in Blackmon.

#6 Pick: Dallas Cowboys - CB Morris Claiborne from LSU:

The Cowboys time to win with their current core group of players is starting to run down and Cowboys fans are growing inpatient of their team's lack of success, despite all of the talent that they have assembled. By the start of next year, Tony Romo will be 32, Jay Ratliff will 31, DeMarcus Ware and Jason Witten will be 30, and Marcus Spears will be 29. For a team that has a 1-6 playoff record since 1998 and hasn't made it past the Divisional Round since they won the Super Bowl 17 years ago in 1995, the Cowboys had to move up in the draft.

Last year the Cowboys downfall was their atrocious secondary play. They ranked 23rd in the NFL in opponents passing yards per game, as the opposing quarterback threw for an average of 244 yards against them. After the worst season of his 9 year career, the Cowboys released their long time top cornerback Terence Newman. Newman looked like he lost a step, as he struggled to stay with speedy receivers and had a career low of just 8 pass deflections all season long. As Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said," We've had our shortcomings in our secondary for the last three seasons."

It was a great draft day trade by the Cowboys to make a leap up 8 spots to the 6th pick and give the Rams their 14th overall pick and a second rounder because the Cowboys desperately needed a cover corner with the ability of Morris Claiborne. Claiborne, who has been overshadowed in LSU's daunting secondary the past two years because of the play of Patrick Peterson (who was taken 5th in last year's draft by the Arizona Cardinals) and the "Honey Badger" Tyrann Mathieu (who finished 5th in the 2012 Heisman Trophy voting), is the best pure cornerback of all three guys.

Claiborne is everything that a team is looking for in a cornerback that is going to try and shut down the opposing team's best receiving threat. The 2012 SEC Defensive Player of the Year and Jim Thorpe Award Winner (given to the best cornerback in college football) is extremely athletic and has unbelievable ball skills for a cornerback, as Claiborne had 6 interceptions last year. Although the move was a bold one, it was necessary because the Cowboys need a shutdown corner, which Claiborne has the ability to be. The Boys will have to stop top receivers like Brandon Marshall, Anquan Boldin, Steve Smith, Roddy White, A.J. Green, Mike Wallace, Marques Colston, as well as Victor Cruz and DeSean Jackson twice a year if they want to return to the playoffs for the first time since 2009.

#12 Pick: Philadelphia Eagles - DT Fletcher Cox from Mississippi State:

Last year, the so called "Dream Team" began the season 1-4 and after a week 13 loss to the Seattle Seahawks, the Eagles were sitting at 4-8. A season that started so promising with the signings and acquisitions of quarterback Vince Young, running back Ronnie Brown, defensive end Jason Babin, defensive tackle Cullen Jenkins, and cornerbacks Nnamdi Asomugha and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, ended without a playoff birth. It was the first time the Eagles didn't make the playoffs in back-to-back years since 1998-1999.

The Eagles downfall last year was their inability to stop the run. Through the Eagles first 5 games, they were allowing over 165 rushing yards per game and they allowed 6 rushing touchdowns in that span where they dug themselves into a huge 1-4 hole. The Birds allowed at least 100 yards to all of the top tier running back that they faced including Michael Turner, who ran for 114 yards, Frank Gore, who ran for 127 yards, Fred Jackson, who ran for 111 yards, Matt Forte, who ran for 133 yards, Marshawn Lynch, who ran for 148 yards, and finally Reggie Bush, who ran for 103 yards, and the Eagles had a 1-5 record in these games.

The Eagles made a smart move by trading their 15th overall pick, as well as a 4th and 6th rounder to the Seattle Seahawks, so that they could move up three spots and ensue that they would improve their run defense. With defensive tackle Dontari Poe from Memphis already off the boards after he was selected by the Kansas City Chiefs with the 11th pick and no insurance that the only other two top defensive tackles, Fletcher Cox and Michael Brockers, would still be around by pick 15, the Eagles had to pull the trigger and move up. The Birds will be more than pleased with their selection of Cox out of Mississippi St.

Cox, who was a Pro Football Weekly All-American and a First-Team All-SEC selection, will be a large presence in the middle of the Eagles defense. The pick of the 6'4'' and nearly 300 pound interior linemen, along with the trade to aquire linebacker DeMeco Ryans from the Texans will greatly improve the Eagles defensive interior.

Early Season American League Storylines To Keep An Eye On As The Year Progresses

I understand that we are still in the opening month of baseball and that it was just over three weeks ago when the Athletics and Mariners were playing overseas in Japan to kick off the MLB season. I also recognize the fact that the season is tremendously young, as the Cleveland Indians for example have played just 11 games thus far.

However, my excitement for the MLB season is shared by millions of other fans and it is never too early to start to look at some of the biggest storylines of the young season and predict how they may affect the outcome of divisional races and playoff seedings in October.

Mark Teixeira's Struggles On The Left Side Of The Plate: 

Before Mark Teixeira signed his lucrative 8-year, 180 million dollar contract with the Yankees in 2009, he was just as effective batting lefty as he was batting righty. In his 6 previous years in the league with the Texas Rangers (2003-2007), Atlanta Braves (2007-2008), and Los Angeles Angels (2008), Teixeira was such a lethal hitter because of his switch hitting ability on both sides of the plate.

In 2005 with the Rangers, Tex had 37 home runs and batted .304 when he hit lefty and he added 6 homers and a .293 batting average when he swung the bat righty. In 2008 with the Braves and Angels, Teixeira hit 26 home runs and batted .311 from the left side of the plate, while also adding 7 homers and a .303 average from the right side.

However, since Teixeira has come to New York, things have changed. Although his power numbers on the left side have remained impressive over the past three years, his batting average is way down. Two years ago, although he hit 23 home runs lefty, he batted .244 from that side of the plate. Last year, he hit 24 home runs from the left side, but batted an awful .224 when he swung the bat lefty. To put that in comparison, aside from his rookie year, his previous career low batting average from the left side was .266, which was his average in 2004 with Texas. The short porch in right field has become a home run heaven for hitters at Yankee Stadium (just ask Curtis Granderson). However, Teixeira's average from the left side has dropped so dramatically because he is constantly swinging for the fences by trying to pull the ball to right field. Through the Yankees first 14 games, Teixeira is batting .273 from the left side and he has already struck out 5 times batting lefty, compared to just once batting righty.

Injuries Are Severely Hurting The Red Sox: 

Daisuke Matsuzaka, who had Tommy John Surgery last year due to a right elbow injury, is still recovering from the surgery and he will be unable to enter the starting rotation until June. Without Daisuke, the Sox four and five starters, Felix Doubront and Daniel Bard, haven't look great as of yet. Doubront has only lasted five innings in both of his starts, while Bard, who pitched very poorly this spring, was rocked in his first start for five runs in five innings against the Rays.

Also, Carl Crawford, who received off-season surgery on his left wrist, will be unable to return to the Sox lineup until late May. The Sox outfield injury concerns multiplied exponentially after last year's AL MVP runner-up, Jacoby Ellsbury, was put on the 15-day DL due to a right shoulder injury, which he sustained while sliding into second base against the Rays. Without Crawford and Ellsbury, two of the best outfielders in the entire league, the Sox have struggled to find a productive outfield combination. They have been forced to play Jason Repko in center-field due to the injuries, and Repko has just 1 hit in 9 at-bats.

As if matters weren't worse enough for the Sox, Andrew Bailey, who was expected to become the Sox new closer to replace Jonathan Papelbon, injured his thumb during the spring and will be out until after the All-Star game. With Daniel Bard, last year's setup man in the rotation, and Alfredo Aceves having to move to the closer role, the Sox bullpen has let up a ton of runs. Mark Meancon, who had 20 saves last year with the Houston Astros, has let up five home runs and 10 earned runs, while recording just 6 outs in 4 appearances this season. In his last appearance, he let up 6 runs, 3 home runs, and didn't record an out in the 8th inning vs the Rangers, and his 49.50 ERA got him sent down to Triple A-Pawtucket.

The bullpen struggles of the Red Sox were evident in their implosion against the Yankees on April 21st. After Felix Doubront pitched 6 innings of 1 run ball, the bullpen blew a lead that apperared to be insurmountable. Vicente Padilla got just one out in the 7th inning and let up a grand slam to Nick Swisher, which cut the Sox lead from 9-1 to 9-5. When Matt Albers came in to relieve Padilla, he let up a three run home run to Mark Teixeira and the Yanks got to within one run of the Sox after a 7 run 8th inning. The Bo Sox didn't fare much better in the 8th inning. Alfredo Aceves, the Sox closer, was lit up by the Yanks. He was unable to record an out and let up 5 earned runs before being pulled for Justin Thomas, who came in and allowed a two run double off the center-field wall to Russell Martin. Once everything was said and done, the Sox had allowed 7 runs in the 8th inning. After leading by 8 runs entering the top of the 7th, the Red Sox bullpen had allowed 14 runs in two innings and they trailed by 6 runs by the bottom of the 8th.

The Tigers and Rangers Look As Good As Expected:

With the difficulties of the American League East, the Detroit Tigers are by far the most popular pick to win their division of any team in the AL, especially after they signed Prince Fielder to a 9-year, 214 million dollar contract this off-season. Despite the huge signing the Angels were able to pull off by getting Albert Pujols to come to LA, the reigning two-time AL Champion Texas Rangers are still considered the favorites to take home the AL West crown. Neither the Tigers or Rangers have disappointed in the early season.

The power of Cabrera and Fielder right in the middle of the Tigers lineup is any pitchers nightmare to have to face (just ask Josh Beckett). They have combined for 6 home runs and 20 RBI's in the team's first 13 games. If Cabrera and Fielder can get some timely hitting from Brennan Boesch, Delmon Young, or Alex Avila, their lineup will be nearly impossible to hold down. Cabrera has also played fairly well in his transition to third base and he will only improve as the season goes along.

Obviously, Justin Verlander, the reigning AL Cy Young and AL MVP, is going to be a workhorse for the Tigers and a dominate ace. Aside from his ninth inning against the Rays in his second start when he let up 4 runs to blow the win, Verlander has looked nearly unhittable. The even more promising sign for the Tigers is that Rick Porcello, who has somewhat struggled since his impressive rookie season in 2009, has looked very good in his first few starts.

The 12-2 Texas Rangers are once again being led by their powerful offense, as their isn't an easy out in the entire Texas lineup. The Rangers lead the AL in nearly every hitting category including average, hits, runs batted in, runs, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage.

2010 AL MVP Josh Hamilton and Mike Napoli have started the year off incredibly hot, as they both have hit 6 home runs and Hamilton has 15 RBI's and Napoli has added 12 RBI's. Adrian Beltre and Nelson Cruz have started with 2 home runs each and both power hitters are likely going to be around 30 home runs if they can stay healthy. As if that wasn't enough offense firepower, Michael Young and Ian Kinsler are two of the most underrated hitters in the entire league, and their starts to the 2012 season have been business as usual. Michael Young, is hitting .400 and has 12 RBI's, while Kinsler, who is arguably the best power hitting second basemen along with Robinson Cano, has hit 4 early season home runs.

Albert Pujols' Power Drought:

No matter how good Albert Pujols was in his first 11 years in the MLB with the St. Louis Cardinals, questions were obviously going to be risen about his lengthy 10-year, 254 million dollar contract with the Angels. Although I questioned the move to give a 31 year old a contract that will be paying him 30 million dollars 10 years from now when he is the age of 41, I thought it was a sacrifice that had to be taken in the long run because Albert is such a dominant player and is the best hitter in the game.

Although I suspected Albert's struggles to begin during the ladder stages of his contract, his 2012 season has not started as most people in L.A. would have hoped.

Albert hasn't hit a home run through the Angels first 14 games and they have started the season 5-9 after all the hype that was surrounding them this off-season. The Halos are already 7 games behind the Rangers in the AL West. Pujols, who has hit at least 34 home runs in every year of his career, has not hit a home run in 58 at-bats this season.

Although fans in Los Angeles are rightfully concerned, they should not freak out over Albert's slow start. Last year, Albert began the season with just 1 home run over the Cardinals first 12 games. He also went without a home run in a 27 game span last season from April 24th to May 22nd, which was apart of a larger 36 game stretch where he had just two home runs from April 24th to June 2nd. Looking at a month drought like that, you might have expected Albert's power numbers to have been down last year. However, he still had 37 home runs with the Cards, and he could easily hit 35 plus home runs this year once he starts to get it going, which he is destined to do.

Finally, Albert isn't showing any worries over his lack of power early on in the season. He said, "Listen, it's not being cocky, but I know I can hit. I showed that in the spring. I've shown that for 11 years and I don't think it's going to go away.... I think if you watch over my 25 at-bats or 30 at-bats, they've been really quality at-bats. So, if you're watching the game, I think I'm putting good at-bats, and that's all I can ask for myself... I'm not going to change the way I prepare myself just because I want to do a little bit more. I'm still going to get prepared and get my swing. I'm not going to overswing, because I feel good. I'm seeing the ball good. Last year I went through this, and I think if I would've been striking out or rolling over a lot of ball, I would've said something's wrong, I have to stay back. But I'm putting in good swings."

Even Without Tiger Woods In Contention, The Masters Was A Great Success

Every time Tiger Woods goes out with an injury or is struggling with his game, the usual question that enters people's mind is: Can golf survive without Tiger?

Of course, whenever Tiger Woods is playing at a major, he is a tremendous story. Woods brings an incredible amount of buzz to the golf game, as some people love to root for Tiger, while others love to root against him and see him fail.

In 1997, Tiger won the Masters after he set a record at Augusta for the largest margin of victory in a major, at the time, as he beat Tom Kite by 12 strokes and his -18 score was the lowest to par score in Masters history. Since he came onto the scene with that incredible wipe-out victory at the age of 21, Tiger has been the biggest story in golf. Too add to the lure of wanting to watch Tiger on a Sunday at a major, a record that once seemed inevitable that he would break, still stands to this day. With his 4-year major drought, Tiger still remains at 14 major victories, which trails Jack Nickalus's record of 18 wins at the four majors.

Obviously, at the age of 36, Tiger's best years are behind him and with his current game in a tremendous amount of flux, it looks very doubtful if Woods can win four more majors to tie Nickalus's record and 5 more to pass him.

Coming off his win at Bay Hill in the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Woods was seen as one of the favorites to win this year's first major. It was his first win in an official PGA Tour event since he won the BMW Championship at Cog Hill in September of 2009 and he looked destined to finally make a run at winning his first Masters since 2005.

When Tiger came to Augusta, he never looked comfortable on the tee or on the greens, as he said, "It was an off week at the wrong time."Woods tied his career worst Masters four hole score with a 5-over par, 293, and he didn't finish under-par in any of his rounds.

Contrary to popular belief that golf will be unable to survive without Tiger Woods, the 2012 Masters proved that a major can still be wildly entertaining even without Woods in serious contention.

2010 Open Champion Louis Oosthuizen's second hole set the stage for an incredible round of golf. Oosthuizen was looking to become the 6th player to win the British Open at St. Andrews as well as the Masters joining only Sam Snead (1946 Open Champion at the Old Course and 1949, 1952, and 1954 Masters Champion), Jack Nicklaus (1970 and 1978 Open Champion at St. Andrews and 1963, 1965, 1966, 1972, 1975, and 1986 Masters Champion), Seve Ballesteros (1984 Open Champion at St. Andrews and 1980 and 1983 Masters Champion), Nick Faldo (1990 Open Champion at St. Andrews and 1989, 1990, and 1996 Masters Champion) and Tiger Woods (2000 and 2005 Open Champion at the Old Course and 1997, 2001, 2002, and 2005 Masters Champion).

After hitting a drive in the middle of the fairway on the par-5 second hole, Oosthuzien hit a 4-iron on his second shot from 254 yards away. The ball hit the front of the green and rolled all the way down to the back of the green and then dropped into the hole. The unbelievable shot sent shock waves throughout Augusta, as Oosthuzien double-eagle put him at the top of the leaderboard, which he didn't fall from until the playoff.

As much as the South African would have loved to have won his second major, his albatross will forever be remembered. It was just the fourth double-eagle in Masters history along with Gene Sarazen's albatross on the 15th hole at Augusta in the 1935 Masters that put the tournament on the map, as well as Bruce Devlin's double-eagle on the 8th hole in the 1967 Masters, and finally Jeff Maggert's double-eagle on the 13th hole in the 1994 Masters.

Oosthuzien's iron will be recalled as one of the greatest shots in recent Masters history to go along with Tiger's incredible chip shot (who can forget it) on the 16th hole in the 2005 Masters, which he would later go on and win, and Phil's second shot on the 13th hole from behind a tree that rolled right near the hole and helped him win his 3rd Masters. Oosthuizen said about the shot, "My first double-eagle ever."

Despite Oosthuzien magical shot, Bubba Watson was the story of the tournament, as his unique golf style, which he calls "Bubba golf" was full of great shot making and drama to keep any fan of the edge of their seat.

Watson, who lost in a playoff to Martin Kaymer in the 2010 PGA Championship at Whistling Staits, was a much watch all week long. With his pink PING driver, Bubba finished second during the final round of the Masters in driving distance and his long and consistent drives helped him birdie 6 of the par 5's during the final two days.

Bubba's unique style of aggressiveness, which he claims to have because of never receiving a golf lesson, is every fans dream to watch. Every time you think that a shot can't be done, Bubba will attempt to prove you wrong, which he often does. His creativity is unlike any other golfer on the tour and this showed itself in the playoff.

After blowing a chance to win his first ever major during the first hole of the sudden-death playoff after he missed a birdie putt for the championship, Watson hit a tee shot on the second playoff hole, which was the par 4-10th, way right into the woods. It appeared as if Waton had missed out on his opportunity for the title, as he was in a horrible position for his second shot.

However, doing what he does best, Bubba was able to get out of the jam with his unbelievably creative play. Watson hit a wedge from 151 yards away from the hole and was able to curve the ball from the pine needles all the way from the woods onto the green. He two-putted to take home his first ever major victory.

Watson said about the shot, "I hit a crazy shot that I saw in my head and somehow I'm here talking to you with a green jacket on. The first time I started working with my caddie I told him, 'If I have a swing, I have a shot.' I got down there and saw it was a perfect draw. I'm pretty good at hooking it."

The playoff, which was the 15th in the 76 year history of the Masters and the 4th since 2003, brought an end to a thoroughly exciting round of golf and showed fans that the game can still do well even without Woods in the mix.

The Red Sox Are Going To Win The AL East

The American League East has been the toughest division in baseball for years. Along with the always solid Yankees and Red Sox, the emergence of the Tampa Bay Rays has made the AL East unbelievably difficult.

Since the AL East was established in 1969, the winner of the division has had at least 100 wins 14 times. In comparison, since 1969, the winner of the AL West has had triple digit victories just 6 times.

Since the MLB added a Wild Card spot to each league during the 1995 playoffs, the Wild Card team has come out of the American League East 13 times. The American League Central has only had two teams in the postseason once, which was in 2006 when the Tigers won the Wild Card and joined the Minnesota Twins in the playoffs. The American League West has had a Wild Card team in the postseason just 3 times. In fact, in the last 9 years since 2003, the winner of the AL Wild Card has been a team from the AL East every year but once.

In the last 41 postseasons since 1969, the representative of the American League in the World Series has been from the AL East 24 times compared to just 12 times from the AL West. In fact, there was a 12 year stretch from 1975 to 1986 that the AL East had a team in the World Series every year but twice (1980, 1985).

The dominance of the Yankees and Red Sox has left the Baltimore Orioles, Toronto Blue Jays, and Tampa Bay Rays searching for solutions.

The Orioles haven't won the division since 1997, which was also the last time they were in the postseason.

The Blue Jays haven't been atop the AL East at the end of the year since 1993. The Jays are still looking for their first playoff appearance since they repeated as World Series champs in 1993 on Joe Carter's walk-off home run in game 6 over the Philadelphia Phillies.

Although the Rays have won the AL East two out of the last four years, they didn't make the playoffs in their first 10 years in existence from 1998 to 2007.

With the MLB adding an extra Wild Card team this year to both leagues, it isn't inconceivable that the Red Sox, Yankees, and Rays could all get into the postseason.

The Boston Red Sox are not going to have to rely on that one game Wild Card playoff though because they are going to win their first division title since 2007.

The Red Sox 2011 season could not have ended any worse. On September 3rd, they were leading the Wild Card race by 9 games over the Tampa Bay Rays, but then the unthinkable happened to the Sox. The same franchise that had an 86 year World Series drought from 1918 to 2004 had the greatest collapse in MLB history.

Due to numerous pitching injuries to Red Sox starters including Clay Buchholz with his lower back problems and Daisuke Matsuzaka with his elbow issue, the Sox were forced to pitch Kyle Weiland and Tim Wakefield down the stretch as well as John Lakey, who was already severely struggling. Without a solid staff, the Red Sox struggled in the final month, as they had a horrific 7-20 September record and lost the AL Wild Card spot to the surging Tampa Bay Rays.

Not only did the Red Sox have to deal with an off-season full of scrutiny for their play on the field, but they also had to handle controversy that began to surround the clubhouse.

Reports began to surface that people in the Red Sox organization believed that Sox's manager Terry Francona seemed distracted throughout the season due to marital problems he was having and also due to his use of pain medication.

Not only did Tito come under attack from the media, but the Red Sox pitching staff also took a tremendous amount of criticism for their behavior in the clubhouse. On days that they weren't pitching, Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, and John Lackey would eat fried chicken, drink beer, and play video games, while the rest of the Sox's players were fighting to try and keep the team from a monumental collapse.

With that all being said, the Red Sox are going into a new season and they will finally be able to put their 2011 debacle behind them. New Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine is trying to establish a different culture in Beantown and it is important to remember that aside from their slow start in April and their poor finish in September, the Red Sox where the best team in baseball for 4 months from May to August. Although they had an incredible 72-37 record in that four month span, that was all forgotten because of their September collapse.

Although most people have jumped off the Red Sox bandwagon and like the Yankees or the Rays, with their young pitching staff led by David Price and Matt Moore, to win the division, the Sox are going to have a fantastic year.

Adrian Gonzalez struggled last year with ongoing pain in his neck, especially in the month of July when he was forced to miss two games with stiffness. Although he tried to play through the pain, he hit just two home runs in July and lacked some power due to the injury. He also suffered from fatigue in his shoulder towards the end of the year and this caused his power numbers to go down, as he had 11 home runs in the team's final 95 games from June 26th to the end of the year, while he had 16 home runs in the team's first 67 games.

With all that being said, Gonzalez was still terrific for the Sox and he was better than any fan could have expected. He was 2nd in the MLB with a .338 batting average, while he held the MLB lead in hits with Michael Young with 213. A-Gon was also third in the AL with 117 runs batted in and 2nd in the AL with a .410 on-base percentage. Gonzalez is a hitting machine and he can hit the ball to all the different parts of the field. When his power numbers return this season because he is finally healthy, Gonzalez is going to be an impossible guy to pitch to in the middle of the Sox's lineup.

Many people forget that last year Kevin Youkilis, who is a top five MLB third basemen, played just 120 games with the Sox's, as he missed 34 games in August and September. Youk, who is a nightmare for every pitcher in the league because of his ability to work the count and force the pitcher to throw a lot of pitches, was severely missed by the Sox.

However, Youkilis is healthy again and you can expect him to return to All-Star form with his ability to constantly be on base. He is also going to drive in a lot of runs, as he is likely going to bat in the five hole behind the dangerous A-Gon and Ortiz.

Finally, we all know about the struggles of Carl Crawford last year after he signed that lucrative 7 year, 142 million dollar contract last off-season.

Sox fans should be confident though that Crawford is going to improve on his 2011 season (how can he not because it was pretty bad). Crawford seemed frazzled last year and not confident on the field. Tito may have had something to do with that because he never showed any faith in Carl and was constantly changing his spot in the lineup. Crawford should benefit from a fresh start to the season and a new manager.

In terms of pitching, Jon Lester is in the prime of his career in his 7th year in the league (all with the Red Sox). Lester has had at least 15 wins every year since 2008 and many people feel he could make a run at the AL Cy Young this year.

Although Josh Beckett is getting up there in years as he is entering his 12th year in the league at the age of 31, he is coming off his best season as a Red Sox. Although Beckett had a record of just 13-7 last year, his ERA of 2.89 was the 5th best in the AL, while his 1.03 WHIP was the 4th best among AL pitchers. His ERA and WHIP were the lowest of his career.

Finally, Clay Buchholz is destined to have the best year of his career. The young star, who has a scary amount of talent with his fastball that is typically in the mid 90's and his great changeup and curveball, needs to stay healthy and off the DL. If Buchholz can remain on the mound and not in the training room, he is will likely repeat his 2010 season when he was 17-7 and had a 2.33 ERA, which was top 3 in the league that year.

The biggest concern for the Red Sox is their early season injury problems. Obviously, in such a long 162 game season, you are going to have to go through a lot of stretches without a key guy. It is almost impossible to go through an entire season without one of your main contributors going down to an injury. However, the Sox are without multiple important pieces to begin the season.

The Red Sox knew about two of their major injury concerns before the spring even began.

Daisuke Matsuzaka, who had a 5.30 ERA in 7 starts last year before being shelved for the rest of the season because of a right elbow injury, is finally getting back to playing form from his Tommy John Surgery that he received last year. Although Daisuke has severely struggled in his last three seasons since he finished 4th in the AL Cy Young voting in 2008 with a 18-3 record, he is recovering very nicely from the surgery. Matsuzaka should return by late May or early June.

However, the lose of Daisuke for a short period at the beginning of the season may be a blessing in disguise because it will give Bobby V time to see if Felix Doubront or Daniel Bard have what it takes to be a full time starter.

Doubront, who is just 24 years old and only in his third season in the league, was very impressive this spring for the Red Sox and won the fourth starting spot. Although the Venezuelan has very little experience in the big leagues as he spent significant time last year in the minors with Portland and Pawtucket and made just 11 appearances in relief for the Red Sox, he has looked very impressive so far. Doubront will be very important for the Sox if he pitches well because he is the only potential lefty starter for Boston aside from Jon Lester until Andrew Miller can return from his hamstring injury.

If Doubront was the surprise of the Red Sox's spring training, Daniel Bard may have been the disappointment. Bard, who was the Red Sox very effective setup man last year as he set a Red Sox record with 21 scoreless appearance, tried to make the switch to the starting rotation this spring. However, he struggled in his spring starts as he walked a lot of batters and it still remains a question if Bard can go deep into a ball game. That being said, Bard still has a fastball that comes in at the high 90's and a devastating slider if he is throwing it with some good bite.

Carl Crawford, who had a tumultuous first year with the Sox, received off-season surgery on his left wrist. Although the Red Sox were hopeful that Carl could return by Opening Day, his rehab is taking a little longer than first expected. Crawford is expected to miss the first few weeks of the season and then return as the normal everyday left fielder for the Sox.

Ryan Sweeney, who Boston alsoacquired in the Andrew Bailey trade from the A's, will likely now play in the outfield along with off-season free agent acquisition Cody Ross and Jacoby Ellsbury until Crawford can come back.

In the off-season, the Bo Sox career leader in saves, Jonathan Papelbon, left Boston to join the Philadelphia Phillies on a four-year, 50 million dollar contract.

To replace the void of Pap, the Sox traded, among other players, their young and rising outfielder Josh Reddick to obtain the Oakland Athletics closer Andrew Bailey. Bailey, the 2009 AL Rookie of the Year, has had at least 24 saves in all three of his seasons in the big leagues and has never had more than 4 blown saves in a season, as he had just 2 all of last year.

Bailey, who was expected to fill Papelbon's role very nicely, while doing so under a contract where the Sox aren't paying him a ridiculous amount of money like they would have had to do if they wanted to keep J.P., experienced a setback before the season even began. Bailey injured his right thumb during the spring and the injury required surgery. The Sox closer is now out until at least after the All-Star game.

The loss of Bailey could be a devastating one for the Sox. With Bailey down, Bobby V has named Alfredo Aceves the Sox closer in the interim with Mark Melancon also finishing out games when the Sox need him to do so. Although Aceves was the Sox workhorse from the bullpen last year, as he pitched 114 innings including his 4 spot starts, he has very little experience in the closer role. Aceves has 4 saves in his entire 4 year MLB career and will be under a tremendous amount of pressure to get those critical final three outs.

Despite the injury concerns, the Red Sox have arguably the best lineup in the major leagues as well as three high quality pitchers. Expect the Red Sox to take home the AL East crown.