Saturday, August 31, 2002
Monthly Sports Rundown
Well, this was really a no-brainer, and, from the looks of it, something akin to a strategic cave-in on the parts of the players. They were getting most of the bad press, which isn't terribly surprising given that several media outlets own franchises, and the public seemed ready to place the blame squarely on their shoulders this time if there were a strike. Opposing a luxury tax is somewhat reasonable on their part, seeing how it would have a more direct potential effect of keeping total payroll down. Opposing revenue sharing makes little sense for them as I see it, as it doesn't make the big market clubs poor by any stretch of the imagination and, in theory, increases the number of teams that could realistically bid on top free agents, driving top-echelon salaries higher. Net effect on total salaries of this deal? Probably minor, and localized to the minimum salary folk (increased from $200K to $300K).
The best news to come out of the settlement was the delay of any contraction until 2006. Mr. Angelos, prepare to have the D.C. / Northern Virginia area rights purchased from you. You'll come out OK in the end. Mr. Polhad, please sell the team to someone who gives a damn. Thank You. Oh, and Uncle Drayton? Please lock Roy, Wade, and Lance into long term deals ASAP.
AL West race is getting the major coverage, and deservedly so, as Seattle, Oakland, and Anaheim are each very good teams with a serious shot at winning the World Series if they stay healthy, though Oakland's 15-game winning streak has put them firmly in the drivers' seat. Equally interesting is the late-developing race between St. Louis and the 'Stros for the NL Central title, with only a 2.5-game difference between the two, and seven games between them still to play. No real chance for the runner-up to get the WC, so it's all for keeps here. I hate to sound like a homer, but the Astros have really turned into a power the past two months. If the bats reach a level of consistency like the pitchers have, my money is on them to win the Central by 2-3 games, largely due to a sweep of the upcoming 4-game series at MMPUS.
Preseason games are always hard to watch. The lone exception this year has been the American Bowl where we saw the NFL debut of Spurrier's Fun 'n' Gun. I think we can definitively say that Spurrier's a football genius and that his system may very well be a major force in the NFC East this year, even with the poor quality of skills position players the 'Skins have. The man made Danny Wuerffel look good enough for the Heisman.
Texans look as bad as their poor excuse for a team name. I'm sold on the colors and logo, though. Very sharp. Though I still question the selection of David Carr over Joey Harrington, Carr has impressed with a cannon for an arm. Accuracy's not too shabby, as his poise in the pocket, though he seems to hold onto the ball a little too long at times. Carr-Gaffney could become a big pair over the next few years.
| * | North | South | East | West | Wild Cards | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NFC | Green Bay | Tampa Bay | Philadelphia | St. Louis | San Francisco | Washington | |
| AFC | Pittsburgh | Indianapolis | New England | Kansas City | Miami | Tennessee | |
| NFC Championship | Philadelphia over St. Louis | ||||||
| AFC Championship | Pittsburgh over Tennessee | ||||||
| Super Bowl XXXVII | Pittsburgh over Philadelphia, 23-14 | ||||||
| DATE | OPPONENT | PREDICTION |
|---|---|---|
| Aug. 31 | Ohio (MAC) | Pitt 34 - Ohio 10 |
| Sept. 7 | Texas A&M (Big XII) | Pitt 17 - TAMU 14 |
| Sept.14 | at UAB (CUSA) | Pitt 27 - UAB 9 |
| Sept. 21 | Rutgers (Big East) | Pitt 44 - Rutgers 13 |
| Sept. 28 | Toledo (MAC) | Pitt 24 - Toledo 7 |
| Oct. 5 | at Syracuse (Big East) | Syracuse 20 - Pitt 17 |
| Oct. 12 | at Notre Dame (NBC) | Pitt 13 - Notre Dame 3 |
| Oct. 26 | Boston College (Big East) | Pitt 32 - BC 28 |
| Nov. 2 | at Virginia Tech (Big East) | VaTech 30 - Pitt 17 |
| Nov. 9 | Temple (Big East) | Pitt 24 - Temple 0 |
| Nov. 21 | at Miami (Big East) | Miami 26 - Pitt 10 |
| Nov. 30 | West Virginia (Big East) | Pitt 30 - WVU 7 |
| #3 Big East, Insight.com Bowl | ||
| Dec. 26 | UCLA (Pac-10) | Pitt 23 - UCLA 21 |
# posted by Eric @ 12:56 AM 
