Wednesday, October 28, 2015

Updated Fantasy Football QB Ranks

Updated Fantasy Football Quarterback Ranks
1. T. Brady
2. C. Newton 
3. C. Palmer
4. B. Roethlisberger 
5. A. Dalton
6. D. Brees
7. A. Rodgers 
8. R. Wilson 
9. E. Manning 
10. P. Rivers 
11. B. Bortles 
11. D. Carr 
12. M. Stafford 
13. J. Winston 
14. T. Taylor 
15. M. Ryan 
16. J. Cutler
17. R. Fitzpatrick
18. R. Tannehill 
19. M. Mariota
20.  A. Luck 
21. K. Cousins 
22. B. Hoyer 
23. A. Smith 
24. S. Bradford 
25. J. Manziel 


By Peter Vitella

Monday, October 26, 2015

NBA Predictions

NBA Predictions

MVP - Lebron James
Defensive Player of the Year - Anthony Davis
Rookie of the Year - Jahlil Okafor

East
1. Cavaliers
2. Bulls
3. Hawks
4. Wizards
5. Raptors
6. Heat
7. Celtics
8. Pacers

West
1. Warriors
2. Thunder
3. Clippers
4. Rockets
5. Spurs
6. Pelicans
7. Grizzlies
8. Jazz



East Finals - Cavaliers over Hawks
West Finals - Clippers over Spurs
Finals - Cavaliers over Clippers

By Peter Vitella
@realpete13

Saturday, October 24, 2015

NFL Week 7

NFL Week 7

Week 6's best game was between the Panthers and the Seahawks. Cam Newton lead an epic comeback and the Panthers remained undefeated. The Broncos , Packers , Patriots , and Bengals also remained undefeated. Week 7 began with the Seahawks dominating the 49ers.

Jets vs Patriots
The Jets defense has been as dominating as any. The Pats offense has been the best in football and Tom Brady may be in for another MVP season. The Jets will play the Patriots tuff but I think the Pats ultimately get the win.
Patriots 23 , Jets 19

Cowboys vs Giants
The Giants looked terrible last Monday but they need this game against the Cowboys. Without Tony Romo and Dez Bryant I think the Giants do enough to get this done.
Giants 24 , Cowboys 17

Saints vs Colts
The Colts looked a lot better against the Patriots last week. Andrew Luck had a nice game and he didn't turn over the football. The Saints have looked shakey and I think the Colts are the better team.
Colts 28 , Saints 20

Eagles vs Panthers
Sam Bradford looked terrible against the Giants last week but Demarco Murray looked very good. The Panthers defense will come in tuff against the Eagles and I think they remain undefeated.
Panthers 24 , Eagles 16

Other picks
Seahawks , Bills , Vikings , Falcons , Chargers , Falcons , Rams , Dolphins , Steelers , Redskins , Panthers

World Series Preview

Mets vs Royals World Series Preview

C - Salvador Perez vs Travis d' Arnaud
Perez may be the best defensive catcher in all the AL. He has some pop in the bat. Clearly the Royals have the advantage here.
Edge - Royals

1B - Eric Hosmer vs Lucas Duda
Eric Hosmer is a leader for the team and does it both offensively and defensively.
Edge - Royals

2B - Ben Zobrist vs Daniel Murphy
Make no mistake about it Ben Zobrist is a better all round baseball player than Daniel Murphy. That being said over the last 10 days Murphy is the best player on the planet. His bat is just too important right now.
Edge - Mets

SS - Alcides Escobar vs Wilmer Flores
Escobar is the better hitter and fielder. He was the ALCS MVP.
Edge - Royals

3B - Mike Moustakas vs David Wright
David Wright is the leader of the Mets. His bat is more important to the Mets lineup.
Edge - Mets

OF - Defensively the Royals have the stronger outfield than the Mets. The Mets have the best player of all the outfielders in Yoenis Cespedes. Curtis Granderson is playing great. So is Lorenzo Cain.
Edge - Even

DH - Kendrys Morales had a 30 homer season at DH for the Royals. The Mets didn't have a DH obviously but their DH platoon will be okay.
Edge - Royals

SP - The Mets have the best rotation in baseball.
Edge - Mets

RP - The Royals have the best bullpen in baseball. Wade Davis pitched a great 9th inning to pick up the save stranding a man on third with no outs.
Edge - Royals

Manager - Terry Collins just seems to be doing everything right lately. I'll go with him right now.

Who has the edge ?
I think the Royals have the better defense and bullpen. The Mets clearly have the better pitching rotation. In the NL Park the Mets have the lineup advantage as Kendrys Morales won't be available for the Royals. In the AL park the Royals have the advantage.
Edge - even for both teams

By Peter Vitella
@realpete13

Saturday, October 10, 2015

NFL Week 5

NFL Week 5 Picks

Week 5 started off with a blast from the past as Andre Johnson and Matt Hasselbeck both went crazy to give the Colts a win. Now I picked the Texans after seeing the Colts play last week without Andrew Luck, and I wasn't impressed. None the less I'm 0-1 to start the week and the Texans are terrible.

Seahawks vs Bengals
This has the makings of being a great football game. The Seahawks have won 2 straight to move to 2-2. However they just haven't looked themselves. Last week they almost blew a lead against a bad Lions team. The Bengals on the other hand look great. Andy Dalton is off to the best start of his career. Aj Green has been a dominant receiver. However this is huge test for this Bengals offense. Their defense will not have to deal with Marshawn Lynch. I still want the Bengals to prove they beat everyone.

Seahawks 21 , Bengals 14

Patriots vs Cowboys
This game would be a lot more exciting if Tony Romo and Dez Bryant were playing. With that being said the Cowboys were not winning with them and their most certainly not winning with out them. It's a weak slate of games this week and I think everyone will get a good look at the Patriots dominance.

Patriots 38 , Cowboys 20



Saints vs Eagles
These are two teams that I thought would be in the mix this year and it hasn't started off that way. The Eagles still have a chance in the NFC east but the Saints have to get wins because both the Falcons and Panthers are 4-0. Despite a loss Sam Bradford looked good for the Eagles but I think this is the week that Demarco Murray produces.

Eagles 24 , Saints 20

Steelers vs Chargers
Philip Rivers is playing good football. Keenan Allen looks great. Antonio Gates returns and the Steelers are with backup Quarterback Mike Vick. I am actually really excited for this game. The Steelers looked okay with Vick last Thursday. However he needs to get Antonio Brown the ball more
on Monday. I think the Chargers offense is just too much for the Steelers on Monday. They pull away
late.

Chargers 27 , Steelers 17


The Rest - Falcons , Bills , Chiefs  , Ravens , Packers  , Jaguars ,  Cardinals , Broncos , Giants


By Peter Vitella 

Wednesday, October 7, 2015

2015-2016 NHL Predictions

2015-2016 NHL Predictions



With the season starting tonight here are the predictions for the postseason and awards:

Eastern Conference 
Metropolitan Division
1. New York Rangers
2. Washington Capitals
3. New York Islanders
4. Pittsburgh Penguins
5. Columbus Blue Jackets
6. New Jersey Devils
7. Carolina Hurricanes

Atlantic Division
1. Tampa Bay Lightning
2. Montreal Canadians
3. Ottawa Senators
4. Florida Panthers
5. Boston Bruins
6. Detroit Red Wings
7. Toronto Maple Leafs

Wild Cards: Pittsburgh Penguins and Columbus Blue Jackets

Western Conference
Central Division
1. Chicago Blackhawks
2. Nashville Predators
3. Dallas Stars
4. St. Louis Blues
5. Minnesota Wild
6. Colorado Avalanche
7. Winnipeg Jets

Pacific Division
1. Anaheim Ducks
2. Los Angeles Kings
3. San Jose Sharks
4. Vancouver Canucks
5. Calgary Flames
6. Edmonton Oilers
7. Arizona Coyotes

Wild Cards: Vancouver Canucks and Calgary Flames

President's Trophy: Anaheim Ducks

Eastern Conference Champion: Tampa Bay Lightning

Western Conference Champion: Nashville Predators

Stanley Cup Champions: Tampa Bay Lightning

Hart Trophy: John Tavares, New York Islanders

Art Ross Trophy: Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins

Norris Trophy: Ryan McDonagh, New York Rangers

Vezina Trophy: Henrik Lundqvist, New York Rangers

Calder Trophy: Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers

Jack Adams Trophy: John Cooper, Tampa Bay Lightning


What are your predictions? Send them to us @theleaguesport and @bblueshirts on Twitter


The First Quarter of Fantasy Football


The fantasy football and the NFL season are four games in the books. So far their have been some players who have played excellent and some have disappointed. I will give you some of the players who have impressed and have unimpressed. Wide receivers have been really good , Quarterbacks have been injured and running backs are just terrible. I may not always talk about the best players in this column so if you don't see Aaron Rodgers or Rob Gronkowski it's not because their not doing great because they are.

Impressed

QB

Carson Palmer was probably outside of most peoples top 15 coming off an ACL injury. If you drafted Palmer however you currently have a guy that should be ranked a top guy going forward. Palmer has thrown for at least 300 yards in every game since once. He has 10 touchdowns and just three picks.



Tom Brady was drafted late in all formats due to a four game suspension. However Brady won his suspension appeal and will not miss any time. He's playing like the number one Quarterback overall and he and Aaron Rodgers will be a toss up for the number one spot. 9 touchdowns and 0 interceptions through three games for Brady.

Other notables ( C. Newton , M. Ryan , E. Manning , T. Taylor , A. Dalton )

RB

Devonta Freeman has been an absolute beast this season. Six touchdowns in his last two games. Freeman is a duel threat and the Falcons have rode him to a 4-0 start. Tevin Coleman is the other running back for the Falcons and he is currently hurt.




Adrian Peterson missed basically the whole season last year and he has came back very strong this year. Peterson has just one game under 80 yards and is on a better pace then his record setting 2012 season.

Other notables ( J. Charles , L. Murray , L. Bell , T. Yeldon)p

WR

You expect Julio Jones to have a monster season but Julio Jones can have a record setting season if he stays on this pace. Jones has four touchdowns and already has three games over 130 yards.

Larry Fitzgerald is far from done. Fitzgerald was drafted by many this year just for the fact of his
name. Fitzgerald has benefited from a great start from Carson Palmer. Fitzgerald has 6 catches in every game at least and has 5 scores.

Other notables ( B. Marshall , J. Jones , K. Allen , A. Cooper , D. Hopkins )

TE

Jordan Reed has clearly benefited from playing with Kirk Cousins this season despite Cousins not really playing well. Cousins loves targeting Reed who has at least five catches in every game so far.

Charles Clay has two games over 80 yards this season. He also has two touchdowns. In a inconsistent position he has been consistent.

Other notables ( J. Witten , T. Kelce , K. Rudolph )

D/ST , K

Denver Broncos , New York Jets
Josh Brown ,  Justin Tucker


Un Impressed

QB

Andrew Luck may have been the first or second guy drafted at Quarterback in your draft. So far he hasn't been worth that investment. Luck has 5 touchdowns to 7 interceptions. He has no 300 yard games and missed one due to injury. Luck is still elite but his line is not.



Matthew Stafford has not impressed. It's not all his fault as the line has been terrible , the run game has been shaky and the receivers haven't played extremely well. Stafford has had trouble finding the end zone as he has 5 touchdowns and 5 picks.

Other notables ( C. Kaepernick , R. Tannehill , S. Bradford )

RB

Demarco Murray has led the crop of disappointing running backs. The position has been a mess. Murray had a good fantasy game the first game of the season but only because of one rushing touchdown and one receiving touchdown. Murray has missed one game due to injury and has 47 yards in three games.


CJ Anderson's best rushing game is 43 yards. His best receiving game was the same game with 27 yards last week. I don't know of this is a good sign but we will see. Ronnie Hillman is trying to take over the starting job from him. Anderson has no touchdowns rushing or receiving.

Other notables ( L. McCoy , M. Gordon , M. Lynch , L. Miller )

WR

Andre Johnson has been terrible. 7 catches In four games. He has zero in his last two games. Johnson has just looked old and he looks like he really isn't fitting in the system. Johnson was supposed to have a big year with Andrew Luck but it hasn't happened.


Nelson Agholor was supposed to have a big year replacing Jeremy Maclin and he has had an absolute horrible year. He has 7 catches and no touchdowns in four games.

Other notables (B. Cooks , A. Boldin , G. Tate )

TE

Jimmy Graham hasn't looked great with his new team. It's not because Graham isn't still great it's just that he doesn't really fit the Seattle system. He really hasn't been worth his draft value at all. Graham has two really good games and two really poor games. Graham however cam turn it around because he is the best receiving option on this team.



Jordan Cameron has not looked good his last two games for the Dolphins. Cameron had two decent games to start the season however the Dolphins have looked terrible and it has hurt him also. He has no touchdowns.

Other Notables ( O. Daniels , B. Watson , G. Olsen , Z. Ertz )

D/ST , K

Baltimore Ravens , Miami Dolphins
Josh Scobee , Blair Walsh

Saturday, October 3, 2015

NFL Week 4 Picks

Week 4 Picks

Last week was a great bounce back picking games as I went 13-3. Last week their were a slate of good games. This week we have some interesting games as well including the Jets and Dolphins in London England. I am off to a solid start this with as I had the Ravens by 3 points. So let's get into the picks.

Jets vs Dolphins
I am honestly not that excited about this game however it is in London and it is a huge divisional game. It also starts at 9:30 which means literally football from 9:30 am -12 midnight which is a plus. The Jets had a ruff lose at home to the Eagles and the Dolphins got destroyed by their division rival Buffalo Bills. If the Dolphins drop another game I think things can go south for that coaching staff. U think the Jets defense does enough to make that happen.

Jets 17 , Dolphins 14

Giants vs Bills
I think this game has the makings to be the game of the week and I expect it to be a close one. The Bills have a dominating defense and the strong home crowd behind them. The Giants have their offensive weapons in Eli Manning and Odell Beckham Jr. The Bills will try to pressure Eli Manning but he will try to get the ball out quick and fast. The Bills will be without Shady McCoy and Sammy Watkins , the Giants without Victor Cruz.

Giants 24 , Bills 21



Vikings vs Broncos
The Broncos offense looked much better last week when Peyton Manning went into the shot gun and ran the offense rather than Gary Kubiak. Both defenses will play well and the Broncos will be tasked with taking care of Adrian Peterson. I think the Broncos have the better offense and defense so I think they win the game.

Broncos 28 , Vikings 17

Cowboys vs Saints
The Saints are still looking for their first win and the Cowboys are looking for their first without Tony Romo. I think Drew Brees will play but I have not seen anything to make me believe in the Saints. I think the Cowboys do just enough to win the game.


Cowboys 28 , Saints 27

The rest - Ravens , Falcons , Raiders , Bengals , Colts , Bengals , Panthers , Chargers , Packers , Cardinals , Seahawks

By Peter Vitella
@realpete13