MLB Preview

The 2012 MLB season kicked off this week with the Mariners and A's splitting a pair of games in Japan.  With the rest of the league set to launch their seasons next week, it's time to make our predictions for this upcoming season.

The off-season treated us to plenty of headlines, including big stars like Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder finding new homes, managerial changes for several high profile teams and the Dodgers finding a group of competent new owners.  Perhaps the biggest impact news of the off-season is the change to add an additional Wild Card to each league.  The two Wild Cards will face off in a one game playoff for the right to play the league's top team in the divisional round, which places much greater emphasis on winning the division instead of settling for a Wild Card.

With those changes in mind, here are my predictions for how this season will unfold.

AL East: Tampa Bay Rays

The division will once again be a three team dog fight, but the Rays have the best pitching and defense in the division, which will carry them through.  Their offense isn't as strong as their competition, but they can expect a healthier and more productive season from Evan Longoria.  If rising star Desmond Jennings can make another jump, they should be able to provide enough with their bats to pile up wins behind their deep rotation, which includes aces David Price and James Shields, reigning Rookie of the Year Jeremy Hellickson, and future stud Matt Moore.

NFL off-season update

March madness doesn't have to apply only to a college basketball tournament.  This month has shown that the NFL off-season can be just as wild, as we've been flooded with news from around the league.  It's a welcome change from this time last year, when the only news we heard about was tiresome updates about the lockout.

There's a lot to talk about and too many stories to devote a full article to all of them.  So instead, I'm compiling a list of the major events of the past few weeks with my reaction to each of them.  The off-season is far from over, with more news sure to come, but with enough stories to make our heads spin happening just in the past couple of weeks, now seems like a good time to review what's been going on.

• Colts cut Peyton Manning.  It seemed inevitable that the Colts would be forced to part with their long time franchise cornerstone after a lost season resulted in being rewarded the top pick in this year's draft.  Andrew Luck is the likely selection and he has the talent to contribute right away.  Manning would have been owed a large bonus had he stayed on the roster any longer and it made little since to pay big money to two QBs, no matter how much the rookie may have been able to learn from the future Hall of Famer.  Last season showed us the Colts have a lot of holes on their roster.  It's time to rebuild and move forward.

• Manning signs with the Denver Broncos.  After being courted by a handful of teams, Manning surprised them all by choosing one of the dark horse candidates.  John Elway leading the recruitment pitch likely played a big part in the decision, as Manning was certainly enticed by joining a team run by a Hall of Fame QB that happened to win a couple of Super Bowls late in his career.  Manning hopes to follow that same path, so what better person to guide him than Elway?
• As excited as the city of Denver must be to have signed one of the all time greats to be their new QB, the 5 year, $96 million deal is not without risks.  Manning missed all of the 2011 season while recovering from multiple neck surgeries.  It wasn't long ago that there was doubt that Manning would ever play again.  Even now, that doubt hasn't been completely erased, while one big hit could be career threatening.  The Broncos are going all in to win with Manning in the next few years.  If he recovers and gets back to being anywhere near as effective as he was pre-injury then it may pay off, but if his neck saps him of his abilities and renders him a shadow of his former self, or if he gets injured again, this could all blow up in their face.  Especially when you consider what they sacrificed to bring in Manning.  Which leads us to...

NBA Trade Deadline Winners & Losers

As of 3:00 PM EST on Thursday, the NBA trading deadline has come to a close.  Despite weeks of rumors flying about big names like Dwight Howard, Derron Williams, Pau Gasol, Rajon Rondo and Steve Nash, this year's deadline didn't end up involving any of those stars being moved.  That doesn't mean that all was quiet on the trade front though, as several teams did jump into the mix at the last minute to make a flurry of deals just before the deadline.

Of course not every trade is a good deal.  Ideally a trade should benefit both sides, but that doesn't always happen.  Let's break down which teams came out ahead and which ones appear worse off after the deadline.

Winners
Milwaukee Bucks
Traded for: Monta Ellis, Ekpe Udoh, Kwame Brown
Traded away: Andrew Bogut and Stephen Jackson

The Bucks kicked off the trade festivities a few days early by acquiring Ellis, Udoh and Kwame Brown's expiring contract.  In exchange, they sent an injured Andrew Bogut and the disgruntled Stephen Jackson to Golden State.  The Bucks are pushing for a playoff spot and Ellis will help with his scoring ability.  He's known as an inefficient gunner, but perhaps a change in scenery and a new team culture can help reel him in and use him effectively.  Perhaps Scott Skiles can even get him to play a little defense.  Ok, that may be asking too much, but considering Brandon Jennings is a better defensive pairing with Ellis than Curry was, plus they have several solid wing defenders, the Bucks should be better able to mask his defensive shortcomings.  Udoh is a useful big man that can give them minutes at the center position, where Drew Gooden has been playing out of place.  This deal also frees up at least $7 million over the next two years (even more if Ellis opts out after next season).  It's a great short term deal, considering the two players they gave up weren't likely to contribute this season anyway.

Manning moving on

For the past 14 years, Peyton Manning has been the face of the franchise for the Indianapolis Colts.  After he was drafted in 1998, Manning took the reigns of the Colts offense from day one and held on through 13 seasons without ever missing a game.  Then came a devastating neck injury, which required four surgeries to repair and cost him the 2011 season.  Now everything has changed.

Now Peyton Manning is being cut by the only franchise he's ever known.

From the Colts perspective, this is a defensible business decision.  Manning will soon be 36 years old and is coming off a major neck injury that he's yet to prove he's fully recovered from.  Had they kept him on the roster any longer they would have owed him a $28 million bonus, which is a steep price to pay for any player, let alone one that may only be a shadow of his former self.  Another factor backing the team's decision is that last season's Manning-less disaster resulted in earning them the top pick in this year's draft, which they are almost certain to use on Andrew Luck.  Most scouts consider Luck to be a can't miss prospect, a future super star and perhaps the best QB prospect to enter the league since Manning himself.  The Colts are making the right choice by moving forward with a new face of the franchise.  One who is younger, cheaper and sets them up as a contender for at least another decade.

Of course, that doesn't make this news any easier to swallow for Colts fans.  For over a decade these fans have witnessed one of the all time greats rack up a boatload of accomplishments.  208 straight regular season starts, 141 career wins, 54,828 passing yards, 399 TDs, 4 MVP awards, two Super Bowl appearances and one championship ring.  If Manning is to add to those totals it will have to come in another team's uniform.

Red Sox Spring Training Questions

You may not be able to tell by looking outside here in Boston, but spring is quickly approaching and with that will soon come the beginning of baseball season.  Players have already migrated South for Spring Training, with exhibition games beginning this weekend.  Before the Red Sox season is ready to begin there are many questions surrounding the team that must be answered.

Here's a look at some of the most pressing questions surrounding this team as we head toward the start of a new season.

1. How will the team bounce back after last year's historic collapse?
Red Sox Nation painfully remembers the devastating ending to the 2011 season.  A miserable 7-20 record in September concluded when a weak fly ball to left fell inches in front of the glove of Carl Crawford for a hit that would drive in the winning run for Baltimore in the season finale.  Moments later, Evan Longoria's 12th inning Home Run gave the Rays an improbable comeback victory over the Yankees.  The result - Tampa was headed to the postseason in place of a Red Sox team that seemed to have locked up that spot a month earlier.  Worst... late season collapse... ever!

At least through the early part of this season, the Sox will have plenty to answer for regarding last year's failure.  All the talk about team chemistry, pitching woes and even the chicken and beer won't go away until the team starts winning.  The added pressure could either cause the team to unravel or provide some added motivation to fuel them.  How they respond to the criticism they brought on themselves last year will go a long way toward their success this season.

2. How will the leadership void be filled?

The roster lost veteran Tim Wakefield and team captain Jason Varitek to retirement.  The team is looking to get younger, but at the expense of valuable leadership.  Varitek in particular was a guy that led by example, having an enormous impact on the development of the team's stable of young catchers.  There are few catchers in the game that are as good as Tek was at handling a pitching staff, so the rotation will surely miss him as well.  What the team lacked last year was a guy capable of standing up to the team in the face of despair and demand better results.  It's unclear if the team this year has that type of player.  Adrian Gonzalez is on record saying that after a year in Boston he's ready to step up and assume more of a leadership role, and new manager Bobby Valentine won't be shy about talking to his players.  Kevin Youkilis has shown an ability to get in a guy's face if they get out of line or aren't doing what they should be (just ask Manny), but sometimes his methods can be to the detriment of the team, such as when he publicly called out Jacoby Ellsbury a couple years ago while the young outfielder was recovering from a rib injury.  Having a leader that is respected by his teammates and can set a good example is essential to ensure that history doesn't repeat itself with another disappointing season.