A Look at Lamar Odom's Story

In the sports news lately, many people have been hearing the name Lamar Odom. For those who do not know who this individual is, he is one of the NBA's great players. Odom played with Kobe Bryant, another NBA super-star, when he was on the Lakers. He was found in a brothel  in Nevada (which is legal in this state under strict health codes) unconscious and in need of immediate medical attention.

Lamar Odom luckily was able to receive this medical attention and was brought to the nearest hospital to be treated. Originally the medical team that arrived to the scene wanted to bring him to the hospital in a helicopter. The ex-NBA player standing at 6' 10" and approximately 230 pounds was simply too big to be flown to the hospital. Reports show that Odom had to be brought to the ambulance by three people according to an article on ESPN.

Although this seems like a downfall, Odom has had what some describe as a rough life. With having to deal with deaths, tragedies, and other unfortunate life events Odom has had a pretty rough-go. Bleacher Report has an exclusive article that does an excellent job following up this recent indecent.

We hope to see Lamar Odom make a full-recovery after this unfortunate event. Below is a video that shows some of Odom's success during his career in the NBA:

Fantasy Football Week 7

We are kicking off week 7 with the Seattle Seahawks and the San Francisco 49ers.  This season so far has been out of sorts with all the injuries that have happened, as well as players not performing to their original standard.  Some of the noteworthy injuries that have swept across the NFL are Jamaal Charles, Tony Romo, Ben Roethlisberger, Dez Bryant, as well as plenty of others. 

There are notable players that are not playing this week due to their bye week including Aaron Rodgers, Eddie Lacy (though he has not produced this year), Tyler Eifert, Demaryius Thomas
, A.J. Green, as well as others. 

Here is a LIST of the top fantasy players for Week 7. 

Also, check out this video for possible waiver wire pick ups.

Below is a list of the games that are being played this week!

 

Go Cubs Go!

As I watch postseason baseball as a Cubs fan this year, I cannot help but feel anticipation and excitement for a potential Cubs World Series victory. It has been over 100 years (1908) since the Cubs last won, and I know that me and other Cubs fans would be both relieved and ecstatic at the same time. A long overdue championship would be exactly what Cubs fans and the city of Chicago needed.

However, with all the attention on the Cubs success this year, it is easy to forget that the Cubs have an inner-city rival in the White Sox. Even easier to forget is that the White Sox won the World Series themselves in 2005. Before this, the last baseball championship Chicago had seen was the 1917 White Sox. For 88 years Chicago sports fans had been without a baseball championship.

While I am hoping for a Cubs championship this year to end the team's personal drought, it is easy to overlook the strife baseball fans in Chicago faced for more than eight decades. Certainly, I am no White Sox fan, but I remember hoping they would pull it out back in 2005 as I am sure some White Sox fans are hoping of the Cubs this year. The cross town rivalry can be heated, but after so many years of mutual struggle, sometimes it is best to put differences aside and enjoy relevant Chicago baseball.

NLCS - Cubs vs. Mets

Tonight starts the showdown of the ALCS, Royals vs. Blue Jays match up, and tomorrow the NLCS match up between the Chicago Cubs and New York Mets.  What a showdown both of these games will be, yet the one I am interested in, is the Cubs vs. the Mets.  Who would have thought at this point we would be saying the Mets would be facing the Chicago Cubs. A crazy stat is that this is the first NLCS since 2007 without the St. Louis Cardinals, Los Angeles Dodgers or San Francisco Giants.

I want to first look at the match up between these two teams in the regular season.  The Cubs have recorded a perfect 7-0 record vs the Mets in the regular season.  The playoffs are a different breed though.  Both teams have been on a roll and it all starts Saturday the 17th at 7:07 p.m.

The first game between these two teams will consist of a pitching duo between Jon Lester of the Cubs and Matt Harvey of the Mets.

What a better of a match up could we have hoped for than these two teams. It'll be a showdown and we all can't wait to see what happens in this 7 game series to advance to the World Series.  Also, check out these stats from these two teams this season.  WOW.

Here are the dates and times of the series and also the projected lineups for Game 1

Series schedule
Saturday, Oct. 17: Chicago (Lester 11-12) at New York (Harvey 13-8), 8:07 p.m. ET, TBS

Sunday, Oct. 18: Chicago at New York, 8:07 p.m. ET, TBS

Tuesday, Oct. 20: New York at Chicago, TBD, TBS

Wednesday, Oct. 21: New York at Chicago, TBD, TBS

*Thursday, Oct. 22: New York at Chicago, TBD, TBS

*Saturday, Oct. 24, Chicago at New York, TBD, TBS

*Sunday, Oct. 25, Chicago at New York, TBD, TBS

*If necessary

Projected Game 1 lineups

Mets
RF Curtis Granderson (26 HR, 70 RBI, .259)
3B David Wright (5 HR, 17 RBI, .289)
2B Daniel Murphy (14 HR, 73 RBI, .281)
LF Yoenis Cespedes (35 HR, 105 RBI, .291)
C Travis d'Arnaud (12 HR, 41 RBI, .268)
1B Lucas Duda (27 HR, 73 RBI, .244)
SS Wilmer Flores (16 HR, 59 RBI, .263)
CF Juan Lagares (6 HR, 41 RBI, .259)
RHP Matt Harvey (1 HR, 7 RBI, .108)

Cubs
CF Dexter Fowler (17 HR, 46 RBI, .250)
RF Jorge Soler (10 HR, 47 RBI, .262)
3B Kris Bryant (26 HR, 99 RBI, .275)
1B Anthony Rizzo (31 HR, 101 RBI, .278)
2B Starlin Castro (11 HR, 69 RBI, .265)
LF Kyle Schwarber (16 HR, 43 RBI, .246)
C Miguel Montero (15 HR, 53 RBI, .248)
SS Javier Baez (1 HR, 4 RBI, .289)
LHP Jon Lester (0 HR, 0 RBI, .065)

Still Perfect

After another week of football there are still 5 teams that still remain perfect! These teams include the Packers, Bengals, Broncos, Patriots, and lastly the falcons. All of these teams have had a very solid start to their season. In my opinion. the most exciting team to see on the Green Bay Packers! The defense has been playing extremely well for this team and continues to keep the Packer's offensive in a good position.

The team that watches these perfect teams closer than anyone is the only team to ever go undefeated in the current NFL system, the Miami Dolphins. The Dolphins in 1972 went the entire season, including winning the Super Bowl, without losing a single game. The only other team to come this close was the Patriots when they went 16-0 in the season but then lost to the Giants in the Super Bowl.

This Dolphins team still gets together every time the last undefeated team loses to celebrate their perfection. Here is a link to a video talking about the team and some of their accomplishments.

NL Wild Card Game: Cubs vs Pirates

Who would have thought that the best 3 teams in baseball would all be in the same National League Central division?  The National League Wild Card Game will be played by the Chicago Cubs and the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park in Pittsburgh.  As for the playoffs, this is the Cubs first playoff appearance since 2008 and this is the third consecutive playoff appearance for the Pirates.

This year, the Cubs have drastically changed their season from last year.  Last years record was a dismal 73-89, while this season boasted a 97-65 record.  That is a 24 game turnaround that led them to the 3rd best record in the MLB.  With the newly gained talent and veterans such as, Kris Bryant, Kyle Schwarber, Jon Lester, Jorge Soler, Starlin Castro and more. 

Cubs Lineup                                                         Pirates Lineup
Dexter Fowler, CF                                               Gregory Polanco, RF
Schwarber, RF                                                     Josh Harrison, 3B
Bryant, LF                                                           Andrew McCutchen, CF
Rizzo, 1B                                                             Starling Marte, LF
La Stella, 3B                                                        Francisco Cervelli, C
Castro, 2B                                                            Neil Walker, 2B
Miguel Montero, C                                              Jordy Mercer, SS
Russell, SS                                                           Sean Rodriguez, 1B
Arrieta, P                                                             Gerrit Cole, P

The biggest story of this game will be the pitching, which could possibly be the best pitching matchup of the year.  This game will be exciting and exhilarating and who knows, Back to the Future could be right? Could the Cubs go all the way and shock the world? Let's hope so!

America's Game of the Week

America's Game of the Week was a game between the Green Bay Packer's and the San Francisco 49ers. Green Bay is a team that typically has trouble with the 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick. Although this is true, the Packers were able to hold Kaepernick to 13-of-25 passing with 160 yards. He was also held to 57 yards on 10 carries which is where the Packers usually have trouble with the elusive quarterback.

As a Packer's fan it is fun to see the team playing so well! After the fourth week of football the Packers are one of the few teams that remains a perfect 4-0. The other teams that are currently perfect are the Panthers, Falcons, Broncos, Bengals, and lastly the Patriots who are 3-0. This strong Packers team sits among a short list of teams that are striving to keep their records perfect week after week.

Below is a link to a video of some of the excitement that happened this week in America's Game of the Week. Clay Matthews, Green Bay's defensive star, was micced up for the game. This video captures some words exchanged during the game.

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/13811479/clay-matthews-green-bay-packers-shouts-aint-russell-wilson-colin-kaepernick-san-francisco-49ers

NFL #Pink

It's October so do you know what that means?  While watching NFL this month you'll be seeing players wear pink and everything else you see on the field, including the footballs will be covered in pink to help raise awareness for breast cancer.  Yet, why doesn't this useful awareness technique offer more to the American Cancer Society (ACS) in the end?  I have been seeing this going around and decided to dig a little deeper and found an article that gives us a little insight into what is actually going on.  I found this article that was interesting in what the NFL is doing with the money and what it is used for.  While searching around for some data I found another article that lists some of the tangible and intangible benefits that it offers, as well as how the awareness started in the NFL.

Although I do agree with this post, I do think that it does raise quite a bit of awareness and I'd like to see the NFL put that money someplace more useful rather than for screenings.


Here is a small video on the matter as well: