JStephen - Sports
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The New York Yankees will win the 2009 World Series. Pains me to say it ... Yanks in 7.
Major League Baseball should not implement blood testing for Human Growth Hormone. Not until there is a test that will provide a definitive answer. Right now, that's not the case.
Joe Mauer should win the 2009 American League MVP. I really want to say Jeter. Much as I loathe the Yankees, he is a classy player whose value extends well beyond numbers. But on the subject of numbers, Mauer's are just too good to ignore. Jeter will finish a deserving second.
New Orleans Saints will win the 2009 NFC South. I know .. they don't play an ounce of defense. I see that changing just a little bit this year.
Indianapolis Colts will win the 2009 AFC South. Texans are a trendy pick, but I still like the established stars of this division -- Peyton and the Colts.
San Diego Chargers will win the 2009 AFC West. Undoubtedly the easiest division to handicap.
Baltimore Ravens will win the 2009 AFC North. Just a feeling that the Steelers won't be as defensively dominant as last year.
New York Giants will win the 2009 NFC East. Hard to choose between two closely matched teams, but, realistically, I think you have to favor the Giants defensively despite the fact that both teams lost their defensive coordinators in the offseason. I have the Giants at 11-5 and Philly at 10-6, both in the playoffs.
Green Bay Packers will win the 2009 NFC North. Just a feeling. There's always a sleeper team in the NFL, and this year I think it's the Pack.
New England Patriots will win the 2009 AFC East. How can you pick anyone else?
Arizona Cardinals will win the 2009 NFC West. Hard not to pick them, but will they suffer a post-Super Bowl letdown?
I like running as a form of exercise. But I'd still rather skate.
Bullfighting should be banned. Seems cruel to me, not knowing anything about the culture.
Plaxico Burress' jail sentence was appropriate. Those who believe otherwise might not remember what New York City was like two decades ago, and why it is now the safest big city in the world. It can be argued that Plax's celebrity brought it a higher profile, but the sentence was in line with what any offender would have received here.
Phil Jackson is not the greatest coach in NBA history. It's hard to evaluate this since both he and Auerbach had great players, but I'll opt for Red. Jackson picked his spots (Chicago,LA) beautifully, but Red made the Celtics what they were.
Larry Fitzgerald should not be the first wide receiver taken in 2009 fantasy football drafts. I still like Moss with Brady returning.
Adrian Peterson should be the first running back chosen in 2009 fantasy football drafts. Who else would you want?
Drew Brees should not be the first quarterback chosen in 2009 fantasy football drafts. Assuming he's healthy, it's gotta be Brady.
Golf should not be an Olympic sport. My favorite game has the Masters, US and British Opens, the PGA championship and the Ryder Cup. That ought to be enough to grow the game.
The entire list of 104 players who tested positive for steroids in 2003 should not be made public. So lemme get this straight ...The biggest name in a supposedly ANONYMOUS test is leaked by someone not representing the players association and now every name ought to be out there? What's more, the idea that releasing the names will somehow put an end to this sorry 6-year-old saga is beyond naive.
Major League Baseball should not have interleague play. The problem with interleague is that while it is great for the fans of NY, LA and Chicago, not every city has a natural rivalry that approximates Mets-Yankees. Do Tigers fans really want to see more of the Padres? It also creates a scheduling imbalance wherein the Mets play the Yankees 6 times and vice versa but their division rivals at best see them 3 times. Same for Dodgers and Angels and Cubs and Sox.
Home-field advantage in the World Series should not be awarded to the team whose league wins the All-Star Game. I can think no competitive justification for allowing an exhibition game to determine something so pivotal as home-field advantage in the WS. Give it to the team with the better record, the team whose league wins the most interleague games ... flip a coin if you must, but this 6-year-old gimmick is ridiculous.
Babe Ruth is the greatest baseball player of all time. 714 HRs, all on hot dogs and beer, after winning 100-plus as pitcher. Hard to argue with those numbers.
The stair climber provides the best aerobic workout from a stationary machine.
Tiger Woods will not win the 2009 U.S. Open. Golf is so counter-intuitive. Swing slow to hit it far. Swing down to hit it high, and most importantly ... just when you think it all sets up ideally for a player, even the best player, it doesn't work out that way. I like Ogilvy.
Sammy Sosa should not be voted into the Hall of Fame. I had defended Sosa as never having failed a drug test ... until yesterday. I would not vote for any recognized cheater.
Tiger Woods is more dominant at golf than Roger Federer is at tennis. Let's see 14 major championships and a career Grand Slam each, but framed this way, the answer has to be Tiger. One can argue that Federer, as much as I love him, is not even the best player in his sport right now, and Nadal's career record against Roger bears that out. Tiger is unquestionably the best golfer in the world, and should be for the foreseeable future.
LeBron James should not leave the Cleveland Cavaliers when his contract expires in 2010. If they acquire Shaq, as has been rumored, he'd be foolish to leave. Besides, where's he gonna go? Here, to NY, and lose for another decade?
Roger Federer is the greatest tennis player of all time. French Open and the career Grand Slam clinch it for me.
Roger Federer will win the 2009 Wimbledon Championship. With Rafa hurt and hinting it may be serious (knee), it's hard to pick anyone else.
Orlando Magic will win the 2009 NBA Finals. I still think the Magic present certain matchup problems for LA. I won't back off till I see them lose a home game; they can get back into it quickly with the 2-3-2 format.
Tom Glavine will not be the last pitcher to reach 300 career victories. Randy Johnson and then who knows ... Sabathia?
Michael Vick should not be banned from the NFL. As I stated his crimes were repugnant, and a 2009 ban is definitely in order. But at some point he will have paid his physical debt to society. His moral one ?? That's another matter.
The NFL should not allow Michael Vick to play in the 2009 season. His crimes were repugnant. He lied to the commissioner. He needs to show a little contrition.
The NFL should not consider playing the Super Bowl outside of the U.S. While it may have some cross-cultural effect, it is yet another significant imposition on the fans of the participating teams -- imagine you get Super Bowl tickets once in your life and now you need to ramp up a passport to attend the game -- how will the fans in Detroit (regular part of the Supe rotation) feel watching the game and the jobs and revenue head overseas? So now we're outsourcing our greatest sporting event? Wonderful.
The NFL should not have a rookie salary cap. I am opposed to salary caps of any kind.
The 2007 New England Patriots are not the best football team of all time. Umm, no.
The horse-racing industry should ban steroids. It's hard to argue against most insiders who say they're unnecessary.
Horse racing is humane. My wife and I own two horses, jumpers, not thoroughbreds. The events of the past several years, while tragic, should not obscure the great lengths horsepeople go to preserve the integrity of their animals.
The 2008 Detroit Lions are not the worst team in NFL history. Remember the '76 Bucs. They'd make these guys look like a playoff team.