Going for the Big East Championship

It's been nearly a month since I posted. I did this on purpose mainly because I got lazy and things were going so well in most everything. I was afraid a post might tip the luck thing and ruin the karma. I'm taking a chance here, but since no one reads this anyway, I'll be free of the "I told you so's" in the morning.

Defying all odds, the West Virginia Mountaineer basketball squad plays Syracuse for the Big East Championship at Madison Square Garden tonight. It will take a monumental effort to accomplish this, but for some reason I think they are up to the task. Why? In the last three weeks, they have beaten Pittsburgh twice, Boston College and Villanova. All are ranked in the Top 25 and all have superior talent to the Mountaineers. Syracuse has the same superior talent, but you can't underestimate heart, and these kids have it in spades. Look for a narrow win with another kid being the hero. They pass it around at West Virginia.

Also, let me apologize to John Beilein. The coach of the Mountaineers has done what I thought he could not ever do. He's taken an antique system (imagine that--team ball) and won with it in the Big East. After a 1-5 start in the league, he finished with a 7-3 record for the rest of the time to finish up at 8-8. He's on the verge of sweeping the tourney and his kids stand at 21-9. They are headed to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1998. I'm in your corner, Coach.

Will the Reds Compete in 2005?

I haven't touched much on the Cincinnati Reds, but now that Spring training is in full force I'll make a prediction. The Reds will finish second in their division and challenge for the wild card playoff spot.

Before you start laughing, think about this. Here's a club that finished at nearly .500 without a pitching staff. This year they've added Eric Milton and Jose Ortiz to the starting rotation and several improvements in the bullpen. They lost a hot-hitting Ken Griffey, Jr. at mid-season and went downward after that. All indications are that Milton and Ortiz are big improvements and Griffey will be around for the full season.

They also added Joe Randa, a serviceable third baseman (last year, they used a platoon system depending on who wasn't playing) and Felipe Lopez seems to have shored up the shortstop job. Having so many question marks last year, it's a wonder they did as well as they did. This year, almost all of those have been answered, if not perfectly, at least adequately. I also can't imagine the Chicago Cubs or the St. Louis Cardinals being better this year. I see Houston as in decline. It's a very old club.

So, there you have it. Let's see what happens