SimonOnSports

Here is your 2010 Conference USA Schedule in helmet form. I prefer the retro helmet so you get them again this year. For a Glossary of all the Helmet Schedules click on the link. Please click on the image to get the full sized version.

This post is brought to you by SPORTSBETTING.com. Get best online sports betting bonuses at this sportsbook . My father, the bright man that he is, said something in Spring Training that I kind of laughed off but is looking like a distinct possibility just 1 month into the season. The phrase was quite simple and quite brief, "You watch, Cano just might win the MVP this year". His reasoning was quite simple, if Cano ever could bottle up all of his potential and put it together in a season while hitting in the 5 hole behind Teixeira and A-Rod he just might wind up hitting .340 with 130 RBIs and 30+ HRs at second base. Again, its just one month into the season, but I certainly wish I went to Vegas and put some money on Cano for MVP for what would have been relatively long odds. Here's what Robinson Cano's rankings look like through the month of April. Cano sits first in the AL in Hits, Average, Runs, OPS and Slugging Percentage. He sits 2nd in the AL in Home Run...

Here is your 2010 Big East Schedule in helmet form. I prefer the retro helmet so you get them again this year. For a Glossary of all the Helmet Schedules click on the link. Please click on the image to get the full sized version.

Every time I look at a Washington Nationals box score in 2010 I feel as if I see the statline telling me that Livan Hernandez pitched a gem. This quite obviously is because every time I see the name Livan Hernandez I expect the stat line to read 13 runs on 20 hits and when it's quite the opposite I sit completely befuddled. Somehow someway, Livan Hernandez does not suck. In 2010 through 4 starts Livan Hernandez has given up just 3 runs. His WHIP is under 1.00. He has 3 wins. All of these things do not make any sense. This is Livan Hernandez. This is the Livan Hernandez who had the worst WHIP in baseball last year (3rd worst in 2008 and 5th worst in 2007). This is the same pitcher that had the worst ERA in baseball last year (2nd worst in 2008). The fact that Livan Hernandez even has a job is baffling nevermind him actually being tremendously succesful through the month of April. Can someone please explain this to me? Did I get into a hot tub time machine and wake up in 19...

As you've probably figured out by now I am a Yankee fan but since Citi Field was brand spanking new in 2009 I went with my a buddy who is a Met fan to a game in April and then proceeded to decide to purchase 4 tickets to a single game in September. Unfortunately because the Mets sucked so bad last year I was forced to eat two of the tickets (Seriously I don't think a homeless man would have accepted them). Alright moving on. This year I figured I'd head back to Citi field one time so I purchased another 4 tickets. Unfortunately, this isn't enough for the New York Mets. The Mets thanks in part to their team starting off the season in the tank are noticing that Citi Field is quite empty so they are on the ticket sales attack and an annoying attack at that. Apparently when I purchased tickets last year I left my cell phone number on Ticketmaster and because I was interested enough in 2009 to go to a Mets game I absolutely must be interested in going to many games in ...

Today we do a quick recap of the 1st round of the NFL draft if only to create this image of a crying Mel Kiper. Tales of Jimmy Clausen Anguish and Mel Kiper Tears Over the past few months nobody in this universe has pumped up and defended Jimmy Clausen more than Mel Kiper (probably even more than Jimmy's mother), so when Clausen slipped out of the first round I think Mel Kiper might have had a post 1st round cry. The unfortunate thing about this whole scenario is certainly not Clausen dropping into the second round, because who cares he'll still be a multi millionaire, but the fact that we likely will have to listen to Kiper and McShay yell at each other a few more segments before and during the 2nd round. The Jets Drafted Kyle Wilson After picking up Holmes and old man Jason Taylor (at topic for another day) the Jets really didn't have a blatant need. Picking a cornerback means no more Dwight Lowery getting toasted every play, so I'm cool with that. Really at ...

This post is brought to you by SPORTSBETTING.com. Get best online sports betting bonuses at this sportsbook . The NFL draft allows gamblers to gamble on sports news rather than actual sports. In addition it truly provides people with inside information a free ticket to money. For instance today's line of the day is Jimmy Clausen Over/Under Position 9.5 or the "Are the Bills going to draft Jimmy Clausen" bet. If you are a Bills executive you should pretty much know at this point in the game whether or not your team is going to draft Jimmy Clausen with its first pick in the draft. If it is then you being the great friend that you are can whisper to your buddies that it might be a wise decision to throw a G on this line. And then just tell them to mix in a few more picks so as not to look conspicuous. As for me, I have no insider information and I can't really stand Jimmy Clausen so I hope the Bills do draft him. Unless they trade for Big Ben, the Bills QBs...

Last week I mentioned the fact that I stupidly forgot that defense is a part of baseball during my fantasy draft and decided to draft Mike Napoli's power potential. The problem of course was that his manager does consider defense important to the game and was giving Jeff Mathis the King's share of at bats. Well God, Kevin Jepsen, and Jeff Mathis' calcium deficient diet gave me a quick solution to this playing time conundrum. Mathis decided to block a wild Jepsen pitch with his wrist, fractured it and now will miss the next 6 to 8 weeks. And this is where Fantasy Sports / just being a sports fan makes you a bad person.I am happy that someone broke their wrist. I am very pleased that Jeff Mathis will be unable to play baseball and earn* a living for the next two months. I'm not particularly pleased with the fact that he will have to rehab and that he might be in some pain, but I am pleased that Mike Napoli will be getting the bulk of the playing time while he...

I can't say I get overly excited for the NFL draft unless the Jets have a top 5 pick, but alas here's the annual mock draft which is sure to epically wrong. Here's hoping that Clausen enjoys Aaron Rodgers / Brady Quinn levels of draft happiness.

During the offseason we were bombarded with articles talking about defensive metrics and how the 2010 Red Sox were going to be drastically improved as a result of these measures. The Sox decided to not give Jason Bay and his 35 HRs the money this offseason and instead went for Marco Scutaro, Adrian Beltre and Mike Cameron (in addition to John Lackey). The collective defensive trio had UZR's through the roof and were supposed to save their pitchers over a run per game. there's just been a flaw or two to this philosophy early on this season. Their pitching has been crap and their hitting has been worse so honestly defense means shit when you're not doing anything else. Coming into today the Red Sox ranked 25th in the Majors in runs scored at 48 runs through 12 games. Throw in todays two run output and the rest of todays slate of MLB games and the Sox will likely slip even further down the chain. Meanwhile their team ERA came in in the bottom half of major league baseb...

This post is brought to you by SPORTSBETTING.com. Get best online sports betting bonuses at this sportsbook . With the NHL picks out of the way, we bring a quick bracket of NBA brilliance. Or not... In a shocking maneuver I'm going King James for the win. The Cavs have been the best team in the NBA this season. They should be able to get revenge on the Magic. The Celtics and Lakers are getting old and worse throughout the year and the Mavericks have no one that can stop the King. I desire not to pick the Lakers so the Mavs make it to the finals to watch the crown be put on King James skull making him free to rule any city in the US, including Manhattan or Brooklyn.

Before we get off to the actual post lets get off to a light hearted start courtesy of Ryan Parker ... Hoop Ok with that out of the way let's start with Michigan's initial WVU pilfer, John Beilein. While at West Virginia Beilein ran a clean program which had some exciting spurts and almost made the Final Four in 2005. Two years later after winning the NIT, Beilein left for greener pastures i.e. more money at Michigan. At Michigan in three seasons Beilein has accomplished something no coach in a decade accomplished, he got the team to the NCAA tournament losing to Oklahoma in the 2nd round, but he also had a massively disappointing 3rd season with the Wolverines as they were ranked preseason top 15 and failed to reach even the NIT. Meanwhile at WVU, Bob Huggins returned to coach his alma mater. In his first year at WVU he guided the Mountaineers to the Sweet 16 after an upset of 2 seed Duke. In his second year he got WVU back into the tournament only to lose in the ...

Here is my poor attempt to predict the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs... I'm taking the Capitals (big leap) to beat the Blackhawks in the finals. I picked the Blackhawks to win in the preseason but changed my mind, likely foolishly. I have the Bruins upsetting the Sabres just cause and then NHL still does the whole realignment/reseeding thing right? If not this bracket is completely f*cked.

Don't particularly have anything worthy of dedicating a large coherent post to so we bring the quick notes. NFL ~Santonio Holmes and his gigantic dong are now a New York Jet (starting week 5). Weeee! Giving up a 5th round pick for a receiver that over 1200+ yards seems like stealing but I guess the Steelers are attempting to de-Douchify their roster. The combination of Keller/Edwards/Holmes/Cotchery will probably make Dirty Sanchez a very very happy quarterback next season. Now he just needs to not suck. ~Speaking of the Jets bringing in a Class A Douche, the New York Jets have pulled a complete 180 as a franchise since the Mangini days. They are now bringing in highly flawed character guys instead of focusing on high character guys. They went from a locked down nobody gets information from anyone society to on Hard Knocks. ~Chad Henne is probably todays happiest person. ~M(r)s. Johnette Howard went a little overboard yesterday proclaiming the Patriots dead and the J...

I expect big things from Mr. Bruce this season and as a result I drafted him in several leagues, including my keeper league. Well Mr. Bruce got off to a slow start (a painfully slow start, Mark Teixeira bad) and well after getting off the schnide last night he wanted to make sure he let the world know he could count to two. Courtesy of Deadspin

So that didn't quite work as planned. For some reason I feel like even if she did manage to jump off her teammates back that she still would have been 2 feet short on the dunk attempt so perhaps this was the best result for all. She learned a valuable lesson about her athleticism and coordination and we all got a good laugh. Courtesy of EmailsFromTheCube

~First and foremost I think we can say that Shingo definitely brought it with his Japanese flag hat and the plaid green and white pants. Unfortunately he did not even come close to making the cut so we only got two days of Shingo mania. ~Holy shit I was right for once. I picked the Titties to win and by golly he did. Mickelson's win can pretty much be summed up by his three hole explosion on Saturday when he went Eagle, Eagle, Birdie and by his shot lying in the woods between two trees which he landed within five feet of the hole. I just wish Westwood or Kim were a shot back on the final hole to see how the added pressure would have effected him.

I'm one of the many people that drafted Mike Napoli this year looked at his stats of the past season and started drooling over what just may have happened if he was given 500 at bats. Currently each and every one of those players is in early season panic mode because it appears as if Mike Scioscia believes that it isn't Mike Napoli and his 40 HRs the past two years that give him the best chance to win, it is in fact Jeff Mathis a player who has hit under .215 in each of the past two seasons. Through the Angels first 7 games Mathis has started 5 games while Napoli has started just 2 and I along with other Napoli owners wonder what the hell we were thinking on draft day. Sometimes you look at a players numbers and just get lost in aww with the prospective of endless power and you completely forget that baseball actually includes defense and a catcher is first in foremost in charge of calling a good game. Defense statistics will likely never work their way into fantasy baseb...

The first round of the Masters is concluded so lets take a look back at the important stuff, like whom wore the most ridiculous outfit... Mr. Nicklaus is Obviosuly Concerned About Mr. Palmer's Fashion

By far my favorite golf tourny of the year. The course is cool, the tradition is phenomenal, I love the quirky way they decide the field and the best players in the World always contend and more often than not you will get a Tiger, VJ, or Phil taking it home instead of a Justin Leonard, Rich Beem, Todd Hamilton, type. Which is much more entertaining. 4 People to Watch to Contend Obvious is Obvious- Tigger Woo - I may have said he isn't going to win, or really be in the running on sunday but for the first three days he'll certainly be interesting. Secondary - Sergio Garcia - I'm just going to leave Sergio in this spot every tournament until he finally wins a major. This means he will be featured here every tournament for the next 8 decades. The CRAZY PANTS - Ian Poulter - Come on Crazy pants, can you finally get it done on the big stage? Darkhorse - Ryo Ishikawa - Why wouldn't an 18 year old Japanese phenom win the Masters?

This post is brought to you by SPORTSBETTING.com. Get best online sports betting bonuses at this sportsbook . As the Masters begins today we return to the age old question, would you take Tiger Woods or the field win the tournament? Only in 2010 this question diverts from the typical odds and typical story lines. How will Tiger play in his first tournament back? Will he have rust? Will the constant questioning wear him down? This year Tiger Woods is still the odds on favorite and will return +450 on a bet. This is obviously not the nearly 2:1 odds he typically sits at. People clearly think that not having played in a tournament in nearly 6 months will make it so he will be unable to win his first tournament back. So if you believe in Tiger Woods this is the best payout you will likely ever get. Personally I think picking the field is the clear way to go. Maybe if Woods had played at Bay Hill or any other tournament over the last month and shown that he was back to full ...

As I mentioned on monday ( via Twitter ) my fantasy draft this year is this Friday due to Jesus and his resurrection. Surprisingly I'm finding that this just might throw a whirlwind of surprises come draft night. Here's a few reasons why: 1) Some of Those Sleepers You Love Just Might Get Exposed Week 1 : Hi Carlos Gonzalez, I'm talking to you. I own Carlos Gonzalez in each of my other leagues and got him at a very affordable discount price for someone I think will hit over .300 with 20-20. This price is going up up and away thanks to the fact that he has gotten multiple hits in each game during the Brewers series. So... do I pay the increased price or do I hope he falls somewhere in between the true price of .300 20-20 and old sleeper price? 2) Do I Over-react About Things Week 1?: Hello Cory Hart, I wasn't planning on picking you early, but maybe as a fifth outfielder. But what do I do with the fact that Jim Edmonds is starting? Do I throw you in a trash ca...

The UConn women just completed two perfect seasons. They did something that no team has even come close to achieving since the UCLA days of dominance. They eviscerated all of their competition and even managed to win the National Championship game despite playing like complete crap. They are the best of the best. And yet, personally I think the Huskies are the prime example why Women's Basketball frankly doesn't catch the attention span of men around the country. Let us count the reasons why... 1) The Games Aren't Competitive In two years last night was the first game that the Huskies won by less than a double digit margin. Essentially no games UConn has played in two years has had any kind of drama in the closing minutes. You could comfortably turn off every game at the 2 minute mark knowing that UConn had won. 2) The Tournament Lacks Any Drama Maybe Tennessee losing had some drama but in reality the Womens Tournament typical flows as you would expect. The best...

Time to run down the playoff predictions which are almost certainly going to be terribly wrong. Play-In Games Yep I predicted ties. The first comes in the AL West with the Mariners tied with the Angels. The Angels shall win the division yet again. The next tie is in the NL where I have a three way tie for the Wildcard between the Braves, Mets and Cubs (must have been drunk when I made this prediction). The Braves will play the Mets in the first game and knock them off. Then the Braves will knock off the Cubbies to extend the streak. Wild Card Matchups NL East Philadelphia Phillies vs. NL Central St. Louis Cardinals This is the series I thought we were going to get in the NLCS last year. This season it will happen in the Wild Card round and the Cards will matchup Carpenter & Wainwright against Halladay & Hamels. It should be a duel but the Phillies lineup is deeper than the Cards and will outmatch them in 5. NL Wildcard Atlanta Braves vs. NL West Los Angeles Dod...

Tonight, while the majority of us pull for Butler and think of how our preferred college team was a disappointment this season we will have nothing on Georgetown fans. For a Hoya fan this tournament couldn't have possibly gone any worse. Point #1, The Hoyas as a 3 Seed Lost in the 1st Round A horrible tournament can't be complete without flopping yourself. The Hoyas didn't bother showing up for the first round of the tournament and ruined many brackets in the process by losing to Ohio in pathetic blowout fashion. Point #2, The Hoyas Defeated Butler With Ease in the Jimmy V Classic In early December the Hoyas ranked #13 faced off against the 20th ranked Butler Bulldogs at MSG in the Jimmy V classic. The Hoyas opened up an 8 point half time lead and pretty much cruised towards the victory. Butler never could get the game closer than 5 points the entire half and the Hoyas picked up a solid win in December, little did anyone know it was against an NCAA Tournament fi...

I know baseball and the National Championship game is on your mind, but how about a little Masters Best Ball on ESPN? Join the Public Group I started: Get In Many Many Holes

Maybe pure at heart fans like every single player on their roster but considering I was dubbed the "Most Bitter" kid on campus when I was in college, I'm not that type. With that being said sometimes it's fun to have a little bit of scapegoat hate on someone on your roster, it's like bringing a little bit of the Philadelphia out of you. So through the past decade it's seemingly been some random guy in the bullpen that's sucked tremendously that you could lay the blame on. There was Felix Heredia whom my father and I nicknamed "The Exit Sign" because when he entered the game it was time to leave. There was Kyle the crier Farnsworth and then Latroy Hawkins aka "Black Farnsworth". Last season there was Dumbassho Marte, but considering he was a god in the postseason he's forever no longer the hated one. And thus we need a new Bullpen man to disdain, this new man is Chan Ho Park. One night in and he already sucks. Furthermore last...

Last year I picked Grady Sizemore to win the MVP. He had the worst season of his career. Whoops. So whom would I like to jynx this season? MVP - Evan Longoria, Evan hit 33 HRs last year as a 23 year old. The Rays will wind up with the 3rd best record in the AL and Evan Longoria will be the biggest reason why. He will approach 40 HRs and .290 from the hot corner while knocking in well over 100. Cy Young - Justin Verlander, I picked CC last year and he struggled the opening months. Greinke was dominant and I don't feel like picking a repeat so Justin Verlander it is. Verlander is 27. He had 270 Ks last year. 270! He won 19 games. He pitched to a 3.45 ERA. If any of those numbers improve he would easily be a top candidate for Cy Young. Manager of the Year - Don Wakamatsu, The Mariners will be right in it in the AL West and well the other guys all have stacked teams and have been there for awhile. The layman probably doesn't remember Seattle went 85-77 so if they...

This post is brought to you by SPORTSBETTING.com. Get best online sports betting bonuses at this sportsbook . It's Final Four Weekend so let's take a quick look at the odds for this weeks Championship game. Picking Butler Butler Beats Duke: 5-1, Butler Beats West Virginia: 7-1 The Butler Bulldogs are #3 of 4 this weekend as they are barely favored over Michigan St. and then would be an underdog in the championship game. Personally, I don't think the Hoosiers win the title. I think they get there, but I'm not buying they beat Duke or WVU, even though they already knocked off Cuse who is probably better than both WVU or Duke. Picking Duke Duke Beats Butler: 3-2, Duke Beats Michigan State: 2-1 The Blue Devils are the favorites but come on I can't pick them to win without wanting to punch myself in the face. Down with Duke and Jon Scheyer. Picking Michigan St. Michigan St Beats Duke: 6-1, Michigan St Beats West Virginia: 8-1 Michigan St. had the ea...

And finally on to the big boys. 1. New York Yankees All's right in the world now that the Yankees have won their 27th World Series. This year they've made a surprising amount of offseason changes but they still are the odds on favorite to repeat. Key Player: Mariano Rivera, They may have moved Joba into the bullpen but Mariano Rivera is still the key. If he gets injured the Yankees will blow a bunch of games in the bullpen. Player to Eye: Robinson Cano, Robinson Cano had a easily his best year of his career last year hitting .320 while also belting 25 HRs. With that success comes added responsibility. Robinson Cano is essentially getting a promotion this season from the bottom of the lineup to the #5 spot. Last year he got the opportunity to hit 5th 50 times and in those at bats he performed much worse than when hitting lower in the lineup. The Yanks need him to step up, start hitting with runners in scoring position, and develop just a little bit more if that ...

With my draft just around the corner and my keeper choices were due today and with a heavy heart I had to put Mr. Berkman down. In 2006, my first year in this keeper league, he was my first pick.  In those 4 years he has been a rock.  Unfortunately his time has come.  His knees are aching, he's coming off an injury plagued season, and he's already on the DL.  I simply had no choice but the veer younger and go with Adam Lind. You shall be missed Lance, but you will always be a huge part of my favorite blogpost ever written on this site and perhaps we shall see each other in the draft.

Just a reminder that I did absolutely miserable with these predictions the past two years, but alas we shall predict err make a n educated guess at these things. MVP - Prince Fielder, Picking Pujols is boring so I'm going to throw out something mildly different. We're going with Captain 400 lb Vegetarian. Fielder only hit 46 home runs last year and just topped 140 rbi a crappy season for anyone. This season came garnered him 4th place in the MVP race. I'm not sure he improves on this number, but maybe the others (Howard, Hanley, Pujols) decline a bit. Cy Young - Yovani Gallardo, I'm jumping off the ledge and going with my Mexican man crush. He'll need to significantly drop the ERA but he's going to strike out 225 batters this season and well this post is all Brewer related because I'm 8 hours away from a 3 day weekend which will be filled with Brewskis.