World Series Prediction: Rays Your Expectations

Last night the Tampa Bay Rays completed the rags-to-riches turn around that they'd been on the verge of for the past week - - going from worst to first in the American League in the span of a single season. Their game seven victory in the American League Championship Series finalized the World Series match-up: the Rays versus the Philadelphia Phillies, the National League champions.

A week ago, with both teams on the verge of winning their respective League's Championship Series, I would've picked the Philadelphia Phillies to win the World Series. They have a superb infield with Ryan Howard covering first, Jimmy Rollins in the gap between second and third, and Chase Utley, the best second baseman in Major League Baseball. They have the speedy Shane Victorino in the outfield and leading off their batting order, and consistent power hitter Pat Burrell also in the field. Coming off the bench they have known-Canadian Matt Stairs who can provide leadership and hitting when called upon. Their pitching is also impressive with Cole Hamels anchoring their rotation and the perfect Brad Lidge as their closer.

However, unlike the Phillies, the Rays lost their fifth and then their sixth league championship games to the Red Sox. Only in the seventh and deciding game were they able to bear down and gut out a 4-2 win over the reigning World Series Champions.

I think this is to Tampa Bay's advantage.

While the Phillies have been resting on their laurels, maybe getting a little stiff jointed from sitting at home and certainly losing any momentum they had, the Rays have still been battling. The Rays have the confidence boost of winning a hard fought series from the reigning champions, and haven't had enough time to breathe, let alone let any neuroses or doubt gnaw away at them.

Although the Phillies are definitely a strong team, they are in an odd place mentally. They can't claim to be underdogs, but they certainly aren't favourites. Although only a week has passed since their last game, it can seem like an eternity in the world of sports. Meanwhile, the Rays are riding a wave of good will and positive energy, one that goes far beyond any pun-based headlines. It's a positivity that comes from freshly won battles conquered by a team.

I am sure that it will be an entertaining World Series, but I also think it will be a short one with the surging Rays winning in five games.

Yet another reason why the NFL is the best league on Earth

There are many reasons why the National Football League is one of the strongest sports product in the world. Its television deal, its marketing, the drawing power of the Super Bowl, and the parity of the league season-to-season all contribute to its stability and power as an entertainment tour de force. I think one of the most under-appreciated aspects of the NFL's business is its television production department, NFL Films.

Although they're not apparent to the average television viewer, much of the content provided for NFL broadcasts, particularly the on-the-sidelines coverage and behind the scenes stuff is provided by NFL Films. All those DVDs covering ascending franchises on their climbs to the Super Bowl and the Vince Lombardi Trophy are done by the fine folks at NFL Films too.

They are also the minds behind much of the NFL Networks programming including: NFL Total Access, Hard Knocks, Playbook, NFL Films Presents, Statefarm - NFL Matchup, NFL Replay, Film Session and my personal favourite, Hey Rookie! Welcome to the NFL!.

I caught an episode of Hey Rookie! a couple of weeks ago, and it is an incredibly entertaining and informative show. The format is simple. Starting with the NFL draft in April, the cameras follow a group of four or five NFL rookies through the course of their first season in the NFL. This season, the focus has been on five players: Aqib Talib, Glenn Dorsey, Rashard Mendenhall, Caleb Campbell and Darren McFadden. It's interesting to see how the players prepare mentally and physically for the season, but it's amazing to see their different personalities and how they lead their lives.

For instance, cornerback Aqib Talib is fast talking but family oriented, illustrated by his decision to stay at home during the draft and watch it unfold on television with his family. However, when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers draft him, he breaks out into an over-the-top dance and assures his new coach Jon Gruden that he's going to single-handedly shut down star wide-receiver Steve Smith. This is a stark contrast to Caleb Campbell, a dour graduate from Army. Campbell doesn't even get to sign his first professional contract before the Army changes their official policy and re-calls him to continue his tour of duty.

It's a fascinating show, and helps to flesh out what the National Football League is all about. They're such a strong feature of the NFL's production that it makes you wish that other leagues had such competent television and film producers. For instance, an NHL equivalent to Hey Rookie! would make for compelling television that could help fans new to the sport of hockey appreciate and understand the preparation and athleticism that goes into professional hockey.

A bitter Blue and White pill

I take this blog and the Astonishing Dodgeblog pretty seriously. My goal is to hone my writing craft and develop the skills necessary to regularly write concise, informative articles that provide balanced viewpoints on the world of sports. Because of that, I try to avoid covering my local teams, or the teams I support as a fan.

That said, I cannot resist temptation any longer.... I need to talk about the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The past two years have been tremendously disappointing as a fan of the Leafs. It is the hope and expectation of every member of the Leafs nation that the Leafs will contend for the Cup every year, but since the NHL lockout, they have not even made the playoffs. Of course, both years they've been well over .500 and have been very close to making the playoffs. Two years ago they missed out by a half a game, and last year the Blue and White were eleven points out.

However, with expectations so consistently high, being average or even mediocre just is not good enough. So the Leafs fired former general manager John Ferguson Jr. (now with the San Jose Sharks as head scout) and hired former Leafs GM Cliff Fletcher and gave him the clear mandate of tearing apart the roster with a clear eye to re-building the Maple Leafs.

In that respect, Fletcher has delivered.

Darcy Tucker. Kyle Wellwood. Bryan McCabe. Andrew Raycroft. Possibly Mats Sundin. All gone.

To replace them a bunch of Whos? have been brought in, such as Jeff Finger and Nikolai Kulemin to be the foundations of the team. More significantly, Fletcher hired former San Jose Sharks coach Ron Wilson to give the team a new defense-first work ethic.

What Cliff Fletcher has not, will not, and can not deliver is a winning franchise.

The Leafs are going to stink this season. They will be in the bottom five of the league. Oddly, I expect them to be more competitive then the previous two seasons. They'll lose, and they'll lose often, but I wholly expect their goals against to be much lower. They'll get beaten a lot, but not badly. They'll lose by ones and twos, not by sixes and sevens as they have in previous years.

It's going to be a bitter pill to swallow, but this season will be the foundation of a much improved team.

Rugby and nationalism

My friend Matt recently recommended an article to me that he read at the Economist.com on how Nelson Mandela became a fan of rugby so that he could relate to the stern warden of his prisoner, and that it later became a cultural touchstone for all South Africans to rally around as they began a new, more tolerant era in the early 1990s.

The article is inspired by the writing of journalist John Carlin, who has written extensively on the relationship between South Africa, rugby, and Nelson Mandela. I'm not going to reiterate the entire article, but instead encourage you to read it yourself. It's an excellent read and touches on some crucial points.

Sport is intertwined with almost all aspects of society. Ask a Glasgow Rangers fan about the relationship between religion and sport or a Pittsburgh Steelers fan about the relationship between the economy and sport.

John Carlin's work is not groundbreaking or new, but it is interesting and worthwhile to provide sports fans, and students of cultural history, with another fine example of how sport reflects and effects the world around it.

The psyche of Vince Young

The National Football League's season is now in its second week, and there has been no shortage of storylines: Favre with the New York Jets, Pennington with the Miami Dolphins and then a host of injuries like Tom Brady's knee, Peyton Manning's knee, and, in the NCAA, Charlie Weiss' knee.

However, the story that interests me the most is the ongoing drama surrounding Vince Young. During their first week loss to their AFC South division rivals the Jacksonville Jaguars Young apparently repeatedly asked to be benched after being booed by the hometown crowd for throwing two interceptions.

After the game, Young was despondent to the point that his coach, Jeff Fisher, called the police to have Young tracked down and brought back to the Titans office for a long heart-to-heart about the game and Young's place on the team. According to recent reports, Young was talking about committing suicide. Young also had a sit-down with a team psychologist to discuss some of the problems he was facing. The media's coverage went in to overdrive as people asked themselves "What is the matter with Vince Young?!"

My friend Ruben forwarded me an excellent piece by FOX Sports columnist Jason Whitlock titled "Sad to say, but Young's problems were predictable". Whitlock's social commentary discusses how African Americans have to learn to look after each other. "Vince Young, like a lot of young African-American men, desperately needs to hear the truth from the people who love him." I'm not black, nor am I American, so I can't comment on the role race played in all this.

What I do know is that as spectacular an athlete Vince Young is, it's the mental game that really counts not just in football, but in every sport. Although pure skill and athleticism can triumph on most levels of sport, it is mental toughness, dedication and discipline that wins on every level of competition.

Right now, Vince Young does not have that mental toughness and it's eroding his dedication and discipline.

Vince Young needs his family and friends to rally around him and give him proper love and support, even if that means telling him to take time off from football, or even retire from the game altogether. NFL coaches are not a particularly touchy-feely group, so for Jeff Fisher to express such concern really is indicative of a problem with Young. He's clearly struggling on and off the field, so it's time for him to re-focus his energies, for the good of the Titans, and, more importantly, for his own good.

A blogging update

I have been a little, actually, very, lackadasical in updating this blog. For my loyal readers, I apologize. You guys and girls deserve better then that.

This fall I am taking a semester off of school to focus on working and my writing. This is in preparation for beginning at Centennial College this January in their newest post-grad diploma: sports journalism. As you can imagine, I'm very excited.

I will be getting back to blogging here regularly, as practice for my new school. Further, I've started a second blog called the Astonishing Dodgeblog which is about my exciting life as a semi-pro dodgeball player in Toronto. By all means, visit both blogs regularly, since they're going to be alot more active in the coming days, weeks, and months.

Brett Favre: Sportsman of the Year

Last December, Sports Illustrated named Brett Favre their 2007 Sportsman of the Year. He was awarded this honor for his dedication to the people of Green Bay and for his leadership. When interviewed about the award, Favre described leadership as "somehow getting 52 other guys to raise their level of play. To get them to believe in what we're trying to do. You do that by setting an example, by doing things the right way. I've always shown up, I've always been prepared, I practice every day. I practice hard. I study. No matter what happens on the field, I never point blame at anybody else. Everything I do comes back to leadership, the example I want to set."

"No matter what happens on the field, I never point blame at anybody else. Everything I do comes back to leadership, the example I want to set."

Is it too late to get an asterisk on this award?

As the Globe and Mail's Mark Healy outlined in his most recent article, the past six weeks has seen Brett Favre become the poster boy for classlessness.

Favre announced his retirement from the NFL at the conclusion of the 2007/2008 season to much fanfare and publicity. The Green Bay Packers, in preparation for the 2008 entry draft, made a point of repeatedly asking Favre if he might change his mind and come back. They made it clear that this was a point of no return. He confirmed that he was staying retired, and so they drafted a quarterback in the draft and announced that they were making Aaron Rodgers, Favre's back-up for the past three years, their guy.

Suddenly, Favre was asking to be the starter again, or for his unconditional release, likely to play for NFC North Division rivals the Minnesota Vikings or the Chicago Bears.

After a prolonged soap opera of he-said-they-said, Favre was traded to the AFC East New York Jets for conditional draft picks.

In my mind, this forever tarnishes Favre's legacy, starting with his Sportsman of the Year honors. His actions in the past six week totally negate what was said in the glowing ten page article about Favre's character and career.

Donald Driver, a wide receiver with the Packers for the past nine seasons said of Favre ""He means everything to these people. He's not only our leader -- he's the symbol of the franchise, of the whole town. There's a generation of fans in Green Bay who don't know this team ever existed without Brett."

Who'd have though that just nine months later the team would be without Favre, and would be glad for it.