V egas MLB Odds

http://www.vegasinsider.com/mlb/odds/futures/

Vegas says the Baltimore Orioles will be the worst team in baseball this year, with only 66 predicted wins. I certainly can not disagree with that, as it will probably get ugly for O's fans this year. Oh wait...what's new? Nevertheless, many O's fans will agree with me that this is a necessary and long-overdo step this franchise needed to make. For the past decade, the O's have been the biggest underachievers in baseball. So many expectations and false hopes shattered by a team with just enough talent to make us think: "if A, B, C, & D happen for us, then the O's could go above .500 this year!" In the end, "A, B, and C' were an utter calamity of epic proportions and D was mediocre at best. The combination of which eventually sent us spiraling down in the standings once again.

FINALLY! We have no expectations for this team in the near-term. No false hopes, no if this, if that, no more wasted money on superstars that don't make a significant difference in the end. We need a TEAM, not a few good men. And when you have a poor foundation you can't expect to build on that like we thought we could. You have to do exactly what new GM Andy MacPhail is doing, build from the ground up. We have a lot of good prospects down on the farm now, and a few that will contribute in the big leagues as early as this year. The centerpiece of our resurgent minor league scouting is RF Nick Markakis, our likely All-Star selection (and a deserving one at that). If we are going to be a great team in a few years, we need to develop our OWN talent like we used to, not overpay for everyone else's washed up players.

A part of me laughs when I say this, but the hope in me is still the driving force when I say "O's in 2010." Kinda funny to know we have no chance this year AND next year. But I really do believe that if MacPhail continues to steer this ship in the direction it seems he is going, we should become perennial playoff contenders beginning in 2010.

Unfortunately it is still 2008, and let's hope the O's can at least do better than the '62 Mets (40-120). Then again, the 2003 Tigers were 43-119 and look at them now, arguably the best team in baseball. Nice turnaround in 5 years time....hmm, O's in the World Series in 2013???

To my loyal reader(s), I will post my pre-season baseball predictions around March 10. For now, I will leave you with my 2008 playoff predictions:

ALDS: Tigers over Red Sox (3-2), Angels over Indians (3-2)
NLDS: Braves over Cubs (3-1), Mets over Dodgers (3-1)
ALCS: Tigers over Angels (4-2)
NLCS: Braves over Mets (4-3)
WS: Tigers over Braves (4-2)

New NCAA Top 50

These rankings are an update from my rankings last month and include all games through Monday, 2/25. From this point on through March Madness, I will do my best to post weekly rankings. We'll see how that goes though.

Rank	LW	Team	Record
1	9	Tennessee	(25-2, 11-1)
2	1	Memphis	(26-1, 12-0)
3	3	Texas	(23-4, 10-2)
4	4	UCLA	(24-3, 12-2)
5	7	North Carolina	(26-2, 11-2)
6	5	Georgetown	(22-4, 12-3)
7	11	Wisconsin	(23-4, 13-2)
8	8	Duke	(23-3, 10-2)
9	15	Xavier	(24-4, 12-1)
10	2	Kansas	(24-3, 9-3)
11	14	Butler	(25-3, 14-2)
12	18	Stanford	(22-4, 11-3)
13	12	Indiana	(23-4, 12-2)
14	13	Vanderbilt	(23-4, 8-4)
15	21	Drake	(24-3, 14-2)
16	27	Notre Dame	(21-5, 11-3)
17	30	Louisville	(22-6, 12-3)
18	23	Purdue	(21-6, 12-2)
19	29	Connecticut	(21-6, 10-4)
20	31	Marquette	(20-6, 10-5)
21	6	Washington State	(21-6, 9-6)
22	35	Gonzaga	(21-6, 10-1)
23	10	Michigan State	(22-5, 10-4)
24	24	Kansas State	(18-8, 8-4)
25	16	St. Mary's	(23-4, 10-1)
26	17	Texas A&M	(20-7, 6-6)
27	47	South Alabama	(22-5, 14-2)
28	NR	Kent State	(23-5, 11-2)
29	58	Davidson	(21-6, 18-0)
30	36	Villanova	(17-9, 7-7)
31	57	New Mexico	(22-6, 9-4)
32	63	BYU	(21-6, 10-2)
33	20	Pitt	(19-8, 7-7)
34	25	Oklahoma	(18-9, 6-6)
35	33	Clemson	(19-7, 7-5)
36	39	USC	(17-9, 8-6)
37	52	Miami (FL)	(19-7, 6-6)
38	34	Massachusettes	(18-9, 7-6)
39	43	Maryland	(17-11, 7-6)
40	41	Arkansas	(18-8, 7-5)
41	42	West Virginia	(19-8, 8-6)
42	45	Syracuse	(17-11, 7-8)
43	50	Creighton	(19-8, 10-7)
44	64	Kentucky	(15-10, 9-3)
45	61	VCU	(21-6, 13-3)
46	62	UNLV	(20-6, 9-3)
47	65	Houston	(20-6, 9-3)
48	NR	Illinois State	(20-8, 11-5)
49	19	Dayton	(17-9, 5-8)
50	22	Arizona	(17-10, 7-7)

Chicken, Alaska: -72°F!

Yesterday morning, the booming metropolis of Chicken, AK reached a low temperature of -72°F. Can you imagine feeling that? FYI...the all-time Alaskan, and U.S., record for coldest recorded temperature is -75°F. That's brisk baby!