AND IT'S 1,2,3 STRIKES YOU'RE OUT AT THE OLD BALL GAME!!!

   Three world series championships in five seasons WOW!!! One of five teams to have done it and they will accompany other great organizations including the New York Yankees who captured four between 1996-2000 and the Oakland Athletics who won two in the 1970s.. Don't get it twisted the Giants didn't win this world series easy but they proved why Bumgarner deserves to be seen as an elite pitcher. The Kansas City Royals just as the Giants did came in as a wild card team and had their foot on the gas pedal through out the entire postseason. The Royals steamed rolled the Angels and the Orioles to meet up with the Giants who before last night had two championships in five years and wasn't look at to be in the position that they were in. After their opening lost in Game 1 to the Giants the way they did people even myself wrote them off to lose the world series, but the royals had other plans. The Royals came out in game two exactly how the Giants came out in Game 1 with intentions or silencing the talkers and proving the doubters wrong and they did it. Through out this series the Royals played great baseball and pitched well to force a game seven. Their game six outing was a brutal assault on the Giants dismantling their defense and offense beating them 10-0. There's nothing better than having a dramatic game 7 in your own backyard and the Royals definitely created a great script for all of the baseball lovers and sports enthusiasts. The bottom line when it comes down to a game 7 someone will be celebrating and someone will not and unfortunately for the Royals they didn't get the opportunity to celebrate on their home field. 

     Giants come in many forms, whether helping others in their time of need, in fairy tales, grocery stores lol but their are many types of Giants. In October a Giant came in the form of a MLB baseball team from the west coast and that's San Francisco to be exact. Pushing their way up the ranks in the postseason as a wild card team to find themselves in the 2014 World Series against the AL Champs the Kansas Royals. The Giants charged out in game 1 with a full head of steam in KC and took game 1 convincingly. Just as any championship series goes you will experience some rough times as the Giants experienced in the world series against the Royals, but the key is how do you recover. The Giants had no choice but to recover and put their best foot forward after allowing the Royals to tie the series 3-3 with a devastating lost in KC forcing a game 7. I will give you two names that sealed the deal for the Giants in my mind, and that's Madison Bumgarner and Pablo Sandoval. Madison Bumgarner a BEASTTTTT came in as a relief in the fifth inning and pitched an amazing game. Even though Bumgarner on paper was given the save for the the Giants game 7 victory, everyone who watched last nights game knows he won that game. Bumgarner finished the last five innings with 4 Ks, 2 Hs and no runs scored. Bumgarners world series stats are as follows and that's all three world series I might add, 4 wins, 0 losses, 1 save, 31Ks, 0.25 ERA, 0.53 WHIP percentage and a .121 BAA. Ok the chant can continue now M V P, M V P, M V P! Mr. Pablo Sandoval, along side Bumgarner played an amazing game also. Sandoval went 3-3 with 2 runs what a way to hit the free agent market soon. Sandoval added to his game 7 heroics by catching the final pop fly out to seal the deal for the Giants and Bumgarner.  

ANOTHER SEASON TO ACCOMPANY THE NFL. THE NBA IS BACK!!!!!!

  Hear Ye!!! Hear Ye!!! the NBA season will begin tonight! for all of my basketball fans. October can go down in sports history as the best month of the year for the all sports fan. Why you ask? Take a second and think about it, you have the world series for baseball going on which the Giants are leading the series 3-2, you also have the NFL season in full swing with games basically going all week except for four days out the week and now comes the NBA season. How will the 2014/2015 season play out? We have the Black Mamba back and kicking off his debut tonight! against the Rockets at home in L.A. The one thing I bet everyone has on their minds is with Kobe being 36 years old how much gas does he have left in the tank. According to his former teammate and new coach Byron Scott, "he's playing like the Kobe of old." On september 22nd the Black Mamba played three games of five-on-five and he looked great. Myself and this is my opinion, I believe Kobe will be back on top in the talks for the league MVP because of his work ethic and his I will not lose!!! attitude. So look out NBA he's back

     After consecutive seasons of tearing up his knees Derrick Rose just like Kobe will be back on the hardwood this week. He will get to test that repaired knee against Carmelo and the Knicks on wednesday at the Garden. Rose definitely is a major component to the bulls, however they have had success with him not in the line-up. I believe in the past with Rose in the line-up the flow of the team followed the Sixers when Iverson was there. Rose would get the ball and everyone else would spread and let him create baskets which would take them out of their own game and minimize their importance on the floor. I think this time around Derrick Rose should spread it around which would take some of the pressure off of him and will save his body when they really need it just as Kobe did once the Lakers roster was depleted because of free agency and he was partnered with new and young players. Just as the MLB season the NBA season is a very long season and he will be needed down the line to help them in the playoffs. I do believe if the Bulls had Rose in the playoff last season they would of gotten further because of his creativity.  

    Last and certainly not least the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Miami Heat. Miami has lost some prime real estate during the off season but added some quality talented along with the talent they already have. Even though many believe that Dwayne Wade should call it quits because of injury plagued years he's still hanging on as the leader of the Heat. They had the bank to keep Bosh onboard and hopefully he steps up his play especially with the absence of Lebron James. Ray Allen has left but they add Luol Deng to the roster to jump start his career back up and they still have the Birdman on the roster which will help them with rebounding and defense. The Heat have a decent bench but Erik Spoelstra needs to use them. The Cleveland "Lebron James" Cavaliers will tip off Thursday at the Garden against Carmelo and that will be a great game to watch. Everyone except James and his family didn't see him going back to the Cavaliers after the Heat lost to the Spurs in the finals. James is back home which gives the city of Cleveland a spark. Lebron a very smart man didn't come back to Cleveland alone, he brought some high talent with him in Mike Miller who played big role in the Heat second championship, and adding free-agent Kevin Love to the mix to help all-star Kyrie Irving out. This could be a huge season for the Cavaliers not a championship season I think because as we all know when adding different pieces to a puzzle you have to make sure they fit. So lets hear it for the start of the 2014/2015 season and it should be a interesting season. 

KC MUST HAVE CONSULTED IVERSON FOR THE ANSWER, SERIES 1-1

  Let the pitching duels begin. In game 1 Bumgarner took over and the Giants smashed the Royals on their on turf. In Game 2 the Royals had different plans, it was Yordano Venturas turn. Ventura had a decent game in the five innings that he pitched. Even though he surrender eight hits and two runs to the Giants he didn't give up any walks. The Giants made it a game with the Royals in the fourth with doubles from Pablo Sandoval and Brandon Belt but not enough to hold off the Royals sluggers. In the sixth inning the Royals bats came alive and especially Omar Infantes bat. Billy Butler singled off of Jean Machi scoring Lorenzo Cain. The Royals received some extra help in the scoring department from the Giants pitcher with an errant pitch putting two runners in scoring position for Salvador Perez to do some magic. Perez doubled both of the on base runners home and Infante followed up with a home run. Infante went two for three with a home run and double to help lift the Royals over the Giants. 

  We have ourselves a series ladies and gentleman. Peavy and the rest of the Giants bullpen couldn't keep the Royals down like they did in game 1. The Giants bats took the night off as well. That's why you have to love sports and the MLB playoff system, because there's always a chance to make up for any mistakes from the last game. The Royals knew they needed to play better in order to take game two and they played very well to even the series up before heading to San Fran. I will be tuned in for game 3 to see how the Royals come out against the Giants on their home turf. The Royals have played great post season baseball on their field and on the opposing teams field game 3 should be exciting and rowdy. 

#KCROYALS #SFGIANTS #WORLDSERIES #TIED #BASEBALL

GIANTS TO STRONG FOR THE ROYALS OR WILL KC BLAST OFF?

 What a way to start the World series off for the San Francisco Giants. The Kansas City Royals came into the first game of the World Series on an emotional high and with swag after sweeping the Angels and the Orioles. The Giants had other plans for the Royals this time around and took the wind out of their sails to make this World Series a true contest. The Royals fans were decked out in their KC blues ready to cheer their home team to a opening world series victory but Bumgarner had other plans for the Royals Faithful. Bumgarner pitched strong seven innings and finished with strong stats. Bumgarner finished with an ERA of 1.29, a low WHIP percentage of 0.57, 5 STRIKE OUTS, 1 BATTED BALL, 1 EARNED RUN, 1 RUN and only 1 hit in seven innings how can you have a better opening game? October has proven to be the Giants month, they have won seven consecutive World Series games second in the National League. 

  The Giants bats aided Bumgarner in the first game, in the first inning the Giants had two runners on base when Hunter Pence stepped up to bat. Just as any team would do the Royals started game one with their big arm pitcher James "Big Game" Shields and the Giants hitters were able to change Shields name to small game. Shields sent a pitch right over the plate and before you know it CRACK!!! Pence sent his pitch out the park and the Giants had a 3-0 lead in the first inning. Before Tuesday nights homer pence hadn't hit a home run since September 20th against the Padres. While watching some of the game I could only imagine being a pitcher with a first inning 3-0 lead in the World Series could definitely relax me and make my night easier than a tied game or down a run or two. As a former athlete you want to make a statement and the Giants definitely did with playing a complete game with their pitching and hitting. When you're hitting on all cylinders the sky's the limit and the Giants showed with destroying the Royals in game one 7-1 that October is Orange for one reason and that's for the San Francisco Giants. The Royals probably didn't expect to sweep the Giants but knew it would be a battle and that's why baseball just as basketball in the post season give you more opportunities to win. So game two is coming up and we will see how the Royals will respond.     

THE HOOS HIT THE ROAD AGAINST DUKE AND TRY TO REMAIN ATOP OF THE COASTAL DIVISION

  The Cavaliers will be coming off of a bye week and a huge win over Pitt two weeks ago to hit the road to play the Duke Blue Devils. This isn't your old Duke team, the Blue devils were able to overcome a 22-0 deficit last season to beat the Cavaliers 35-22 and getting them the ACC championship game against national champion Florida St. and to a bowl game and barely losing to the Texas A&M Aggies 52-48. The Blue Devils finished the regular season 10-2 before losing in the conference championship and the Chic-Fila Peach bowl. The Blue Devils of old are a memory to some. Duke began their 2014 campaign with a few lackluster teams that they bull dozed through, hit a small speed bump with a lost to the Hurricanes but before their bye beat the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at Bobby Dodd stadium. The Blue Devils finished at the break 5-1 overall and 1-1 in the ACC. The Blue Devils are looking to chalk up another W in the win column against the Cavaliers in their continued battle between one another since 1890. 

  The Cavaliers are coming into this Saturdays game 4-2 overall and 2-0 in the conference sitting atop the Coastal Division of the ACC. The Cavaliers have had some up and down battles with the Blue Devils and definitely will be looking to win big Saturday. The Cavaliers in the past four years have inked some major opponents on their schedules, and have challenged them but couldn't come away with the victory.  The Cavaliers again stepped up to the plate to open their 2014 season against a top ten ranked UCLA team and took it to the wire but didn't get the victory. Virginia always show resilience, and in the six games played so far they have proved that they can run with almost any team when both the defense and offense are in sync. The Hoos have a strong running game which we saw against Pitt on national television and a defense that swarms to the ball and can create turnovers. The Cavaliers schedule will remain a test from this point out and I do believe the Cavaliers can make a run. However, they definitely have to play lights out football on both sides of the ball and finish all four quarters not a half to continue to be a threat in the ACC and to claim the top spot in their division. 

Prediction: Virginia 30 Duke 17

#theACCDN

ALDS CHECK! NEXT UP THE ALCS AND THE ROYALS FOR THE BIRDS

   In the words of former NFL coach Jim E. Mora "PLAYOFFS!" I could bet money that before the 2014 MLB season started that no one had the Baltimore Orioles on their radar to make it to the ALCS playing to make it to the World Series. Some say the front office finally got it right and open their wallets alittle to bring some star players in and some say it's luck. Professional sports isn't a game of luck as if you're playing the slots or rolling dice at the crap table it's bringing in the talent, the right leader for your team and cohesion between the players. Buck Showalter obviously was the right man for the job. Buck has the Orioles playing like World Series champions and that play has been seen against teams that normally give the O's problems. Buck has been able to keep the Orioles playing strong even through a late season low blow with Chris Davis's 25 game suspension. 

  The Orioles will be facing a strong  opponent in the Kansas City Royals to make a run for the world series. Just as the Royals did the Orioles swept their last opponent in three games to make it to the ALCS. In the regular season the Royals took four out of the seven games played in the regular season. In three games from April 25th to the 27th the Royals  won two out of the three games and the two teams split a four game series in May. This ALCS will be a must see, both teams are hitting strong and pitching strong. As a hometown boy I will and always have rooted for the O's and Charm City will be lit in orange and black and ready for the birds to take it to the world series.  It has been a little  more than three decades since the O's have been to the world series it's about time for the O's to bring the ship back to Baltimore.

PITTSBURGH CAME INTO SCOTTS STADIUM AND WAS SENT PACKING

  Prime time on ESPN 2 and everything except for the third quarter for the Hoos went right. Virginia now 4-2 overall and 2-0 in the ACC won a important game Saturday night against a coastal division opponent. Virginia went into halftime with a comfortable 24-3 lead and It was assumed that the Cavaliers would continue their domination in the second half. In the first quarter of play both teams started off lethargic, only putting up a total of 6 points by field goals. A spark was created by the defense and offense in the second quarter. Kevin Parks the Wahoos leading rusher ripped off a 48 yard run to the end zone with 10:51 on clock. Just under 7 minutes later the Cavaliers offense struck again with a 3 yard touch pass from Matt Johns to Khalek Sheppard putting the cavaliers up 17-3. Much of the offense success came with help from their defense forcing numerous three and outs for the Panthers offense. The crowd was wild and the Cavaliers were amped up. Pittsburgh just as any team would like to wanted to get more points on the board before the first ended but the stingy Cavaliers defense had other plans. At the 2:40 mark Max Valles with four of his finger wrapped up picked off Chad Voytik taking it to the house for a touchdown! This game look like it would get out of hand the rest of the way.

   The third quarter painted a completely different picture than what we saw in the first and second quarters. The Pittsburgh Panthers were able to come out hot scoring ten points in the third to bring the Cavaliers lead to 24-13 making things very uncomfortable for the Hoos going into the fourth quarter. The Pittsburgh Panthers were able to squeeze one more score in during the fourth quarter with 1:27 left on the clock but couldn't punch the two point conversion in to decrease the Cavaliers lead to just three points. The Cavaliers were able to hold on and win the game even with having a bad second half with not putting any points on the board after their first half onslaught. The defense held the Panthers leading rusher James Conner who before saturdays game was ranked third in the country averaging 158 yards per game and second with nine touchdowns to just 21 carries for 83 yards. Kevin Parks finished the game with 169 yards on 29 carries. A great win for the Hoos against a coastal division opponent but they definitely have to fix their second half play down the stretch.  #wahoowa #theACCDN 

A LEGEND RETIRES AND GOES OUT WITH STYLE

  One team, 20 seasons later and a giant in the game of baseball hangs up his pin strips.  On a Thursday night in September Derek Jeter was in his final game at Yankee Stadium ever against the hot Baltimore Orioles. Standing at the plate in the bottom of the ninth inning fans in the stadium were probably wondering if Jeter would go out striking out, a hit or as he could do with a home run such as his Mr. November home run during his career. Just as Jeter has done time after time he gave the fans, the state of New York and the world just what they wanted a inside swing hit driving the ball into right field giving the Yankees the win that night. Jeters teammates sprinted out of the dugout to greet Jeter as he ran the bases for a final time with the fans cheering as loud as possible for their hero. It's very rare to finish your career with the same team you have started your career. Derek Jeter was able to have success with one team and impact a city with not just his play but with his character as well. Derek Jeter has lasted twenty season with five world series rings, fourteen all star appearances, five golden glove awards, five slugger awards, two Hank Aaron awards and a Roberto Clemente award as a player whether you're a Yankee fan or not or a baseball fan you have to respect his career. 
  
   One more game to go and probably the best short stop in the game will close out his career and it would come against one of the Yankees nemesis the Boston Redsox. How would the Fenway Park fans treat Mr. November on his final game of his career? They treated him with class and re2pect. The chant of his name throughout Fenway park showed that despite the hatred between the Yankees and Redsox that a guy of his caliber deserves to be recognized despite the team he played for. The 40 year old baseball titan got up to bat for the final time in the third inning at Fenway and sent a chopped single to third base sending his career hit total to 3,465 placing him sixth overall in baseball history. What made his final at bat strange and great at the same time was the game was postponed for two minutes while the Boston Redsox faithful cheered Jeters name and allowed him to bid his farewells to the Redsox players and to thank the fans for the much appreciated cheers before sitting down so that the game could commence. Derek Jeter finishes his career with a .310 batting average, 260 home runs, 1,311 RBI's and a .377 on base percentage. In roman times they screamed HAIL CAESAR!!! as a Derek Jeter fan and one that wore his jersey in college I will yell HAIL JETER HAIL JETER.  If you get the opportunity to read my blog I hope it's to your liking God Bless you.