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      Sweet mother of pearl, the Reds are actually going to the playoffs

      September 29, 2010 /
      Cincinnati Reds right fielder Jay Bruce celebrates hitting a home run against the Houston Astros in the ninth inning of their MLB National League baseball game in Cincinnati, Ohio September 28, 2010. REUTERS/Matt Sullivan (UNITED STATES - Tags: SPORT BASEBALL)

      For years, MLB writers have had it easy when it came to making season predictions for the Reds.

      4. Cincinnati Reds
      The Reds have loads of young talent and one day, it’ll all come together. But this is still the Reds – they’ll find a way to finish in the middle of the pack. It’s been 10 years since the last time they made the playoffs, so bank on them missing out again.

      Rinse and repeat.

      But that, “one day, it’ll all come together” part is happening right now.

      Jay Bruce hit a walk-off home run in the 9th inning off Astros’ reliever Tim Byrdak on Tuesday as the Reds beat Houston 3-2 to win the NL Central for the first time in over a decade. The win also guarantees that they’ll be heading to the postseason for the first time in 15 years.

      There’s no rest for the weary, however, as the Reds are in a battle with the Giants (and maybe the Padres if they can get their act together) for home field advantage in the NLDS. The Phillies have run away with the top seed in the NL, but home field advantage would obviously be huge for Cincinnati, as it would be for all clubs.

      If the playoffs were to start today, the Phillies would have the top seed, followed by the Giants, then the Reds, then the Wildcard-winning Braves. Since the Braves and Phillies can’t play each other in the first round, Cincinnati would play Philadelphia and San Francisco would host Atlanta.

      Teams aren’t going to back down from any opponent at this point in the year, but avoiding the Phillies would still be beneficial. Thus, the Reds need to finish strong and secure that second spot.

      External Sports, MLB

      Sixers really, really high on Jrue Holiday

      September 29, 2010 /
      March 30, 2010: Philadelphia 76ers guard Jrue Holiday (11) going up for the shot attempt during the NBA game between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Philadelphia 76ers at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Thunder beat the 76ers, 111-93.

      I can see being optimistic about a 20-year-old point guard who averaged 13-4-6 and shot 50% from the field and 46% from 3PT in 17 games in March, but new head coach Doug Collins might be going a little overboard here…

      “I honestly believe that next year, you’re going to be talking about him being one of the top five point guards in the NBA. I think you’re going to speak about him in the same breath as Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Russell Westbrook, Derrick Rose and Jrue.”

      Good grief, Doug. Whatever happened to keeping your players hungry for praise?

      For what it’s worth, Andre Iguodala supported Collins’ praise…

      At Monday’s media day, Andre Iguodala admitted that he raved about Holiday, not even four months past his 20th birthday, to Collins and Sixers owner Ed Snider back in June. And he’s still doing it today.

      “I said he’ll be one of the top point guards in the league,” Iguodala said. “In his prime, he’ll be a top five point guard and he might go down as one of the greatest point guards, defensively. He’s got kind of a Gary Payton presence, where he can pressure a guy full-court.”

      Keep in mind that Iggy said “in his prime” that Holiday would be a top five point guard. That’s more reasonable than Collins’ assertion that it’s going to happen this season.

      Either way, fantasy owners should take note — the Sixers are really high on this kid.

      External Sports, Fantasy Basketball, NBA

      2010 College Football Week 5 Odds

      September 28, 2010 /
      GAINESVILLE, FL - SEPTEMBER 25: Florida fans cheer late in the fourth quarter as the Florida Gators take on the Kentucky Wildcats at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on September 25, 2010 in Gainesville, Florida. Florida defeated Kentucky 48-14 for head coach Urban Meyer's 100th career victory. (Photo by Doug Benc/Getty Images)

      We’re still days away from another Saturday in college football, but here are some point spreads that jumped out at me in this weekend’s slate of action.

      No. 7 Florida vs. No. 1 Alabama, 8:00PM ET
      This is the second of three games the Crimson Tide will play against top 25 teams (assuming South Carolina stays in the top 25 after this week) and their second big SEC challenge. They escaped disaster last weekend in Fayetteville with a come-from-behind win over Arkansas and now take on a Florida team that crushed Kentucky last Saturday. Pundits have noted that the Gators’ offense hasn’t been as explosive as it has in years past and that may be the case. But they’ve scored at least 31 points in each of their first four games, including 48 last week against Kentucky and 31 against Tennessee two weekends ago. Nine points seems a tad high for a game of this magnitude.
      THE LEAN: FLORIDA +9

      No. 21 Texas vs. No. 8 Oklahoma, 3:30PM ET
      Whether they were caught looking ahead or just had an off day, the Longhorns’ loss to UCLA last Saturday was devastating. The good thing is that they can’t dwell on the defeat for too long with the “Red River Rivalry” set to renew this weekend. The Sooners’ have only won by a touchdown or less in three of their four games to start the season, but they could be catching the Longhorns at an opportune time. Texas actually matches up pretty well with OU, but 4.5 points isn’t much to lay with the favorite here and the spread could go down closer to game time.
      THE LEAN: OKLAHOMA –4.5

      No. 11 Wisconsin vs. No. 24 Michigan State, 3:30PM ET
      The Badgers are off to a perfect start on the new year, but have failed to cover against the three FBS teams they’ve faced thus far. The Spartans play tough at home and should get a huge lift with the return of head coach Mark Dantonio, who is expected to coach from the press box after he suffered a heart attack two weeks ago. Wisconsin looks awfully tempting at –1, but I fear this game could be a trap. I like MSU.
      THE LEAN: MICHIGAN STATE +1

      No. 22 Penn State vs. No. 17 Iowa, 8:05PM ET
      I think Penn State is playing exactly how everyone should have expected them to play. They’re a young team overall and while they’ve managed to win three of their first four games, they’ve suffered plenty of ups and downs. They needed a strong second half to knock off Temple last weekend and now they have to go into hostile environment to take on the Hawkeyes team that has looked great at home (albeit against Eastern Illinois, Iowa State and Ball State) thus far. The only time the Nittany Lions played on the road this year they looked completely helpless against Alabama. It shouldn’t be total domination like it was in Tuscaloosa that day, but Iowa should wear PSU down in the fourth quarter and pull away.
      THE LEAN: IOWA -7

      Below is a complete list of point spreads for Week 5 in college football.

      Continue reading »

      College Football, External Sports

      Would the Panthers be open to trading Steve Smith this season?

      September 28, 2010 /
      Carolina Panthers wide receiver Steve Smith stands on the field during a break in the action against the Washington Redskins at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina on October 11, 2009. The Panthers won 20-17. UPI/Nell Redmond . Photo via Newscom

      At 0-3 and committed to a rebuilding year in what could be John Fox’s final season as head coach, the Panthers might be wise to trade receiver Steve Smith in order to get something now for him while they still can.

      Actually, Smith doesn’t become a free agent until 2013, so the Panthers have plenty of time to trade him if they inevitably choose too. But at 31, it’s not like he’s getting any younger and his trade value may never be higher than it is right now.

      Carolina isn’t going anywhere this season with the amount of offensive line and quarterback issues they currently have. Thus, Smith is useless to this current team (he’s still a dynamic talent, but what good is he if nobody can get him the ball?), which is why Tom Sorensen of the Charlotte Observer thinks the solution might be to trade him now.

      Sorensen mentions Minnesota as a possible landing spot, which would be a perfect fit. But there are other teams that could definitely use Smith’s services, too.

      The Seahawks are in first place in the worst division in football, but they’re desperate for a receiver after not pulling the trigger on Brandon Marshall and Vincent Jackson over the past couple of months. The Titans are high on Kenny Britt, but they could use another weapon in the passing game, as could the Steelers unless they’re completely sold on Hines Ward and Mike Wallace as their top guns. (I’m certainly not suggesting Ward or Wallace can’t get the job done, but I’m just throwing the idea out there.)

      The wildcard is Atlanta, who has Roddy White but doesn’t have that complement at the No. 2 wideout position. Michael Jenkins is a terrific blocker but he isn’t a threat in the passing game and Harry Douglas is best left in the slot. Teams don’t usually trade within the division, but after the Eagles dealt Donovan McNabb to the Redskins this offseason, nothing would surprise me.

      As of now, this is all just speculation. The Panthers haven’t given any indication that they’re ready to put Smith on the trade block and for all we know, he’s going to finish out his career in Carolina. But given the current state of the franchise, it’s an interesting thought.

      External Sports, NFL

      Nets working on new deal for Carmelo

      September 28, 2010 /

      Per Adrian Wojnarowski…

      New Jersey and Denver were moving from including Utah’s Andrei Kirilenko and Charlotte’s Boris Diaw in the trade packages, front-office sources said, and trying to find trade partners in both the Eastern and Western conferences. Denver and New Jersey were trying to line up new scenarios that still would result with Anthony in New Jersey and Derrick Favors and Nets draft picks in Denver, sources said.

      The four-team trade fell apart when Denver kept trying to include more of its players in deals to spare themselves a bigger luxury-tax bill that would’ve come with the arrivals of Kirilenko and Favors, sources said. The proposed trade would have added $4.5 million in salary to their payroll plus another $4.5 million in luxury tax.

      I understand the reluctance of the Nuggets to take on an additional $9 million in expenses as a byproduct of trading their best player away. It would seem like including a medium-sized contract (Chris Anderson, J.R. Smith) in the deal would solve that problem, though the Nets need to be the team absorbing that extra salary since it’s doubtful that the Jazz or Bobcats are going to want to take it on.

      Four-team trades have a way of falling apart and the Nuggets aren’t doing anyone any favors by dragging their feet. I can’t really blame them, though. They’re just doing their due diligence and seeing if a) they can convince Carmelo to stay or b) they can get a better deal.

      I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again — if Carmelo starts the season with the Nuggets, it’s going to be awfully tough to trade him away when the team is sitting in the #3 or #4 spot on the West and Nugget fans are daydreaming about a deep run in the playoffs. With Amare Stoudemire and Carlos Boozer changing conferences, the Nuggets have a great chance to win 50+ games again, and that’s going to make it tough to trade away a superstar in the middle of the season.

      External Sports, Fantasy Basketball, NBA, News, Rumors & Gossip

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