My Texans Article for the School Newspaper

     So in school I'm taking journalism and I recently wrote a story on the Houston Texans (my local NFL team) which made the school newspaper.  It's interesting because it's a very different style of writing to what I normally post on this blog.  This is a feature story while I typically write columns.  While there are many differences, the biggest ones are that feature stories are written in 3rd person and contain interviews.

     Without further ado, here's my story.

  Coming off a highly disappointing 2-14 season, the Houston Texans began this year with low expectations.  However, after starting a strong 3-1, the team proved to its fans and the league that they can be a winning team.  Now, with three recent close losses and a 4-4 record, the team looks to continue its successes while fixing its problems in order to push for a playoff spot in the second half of the season.

  The Texans' 4-4 record may look unimpressive to the casual observer.  However, their four losses occurred by an average of seven points, meaning they had a chance to win each game.  Many fans find this comforting, knowing that the Texans are not getting blown out.

  “This season has gone better than last season,” Junior Luis Berardi said.  “Overall, the team has played consistently.”

  While several players performed well, one stands out by a long margin.

  “J.J. Watt is having a tremendous season,” Berardi said.  

  Watt, a fourth-year defensive end, is the leader of the Texans defense, and so far this season has recorded seven sacks, seven passes defensed, three fumble recoveries (one for a touchdown), and one interception which he returned 80 yards for a touchdown.  Watt even used his experience playing tight end in his early college days to catch a touchdown pass.  Watt's dominance puts him into MVP consideration.

  “I think he should be considered for the MVP because he has changed the way teams have planned to play the Texans,” Junior Kaustubh Gopal said.  “He's basically a game changer.”

  The Texans' defense as a whole currently sits second in the league with 17 takeaways, a stat that represents the amount of interceptions and recovered fumbles a team has.  They also have good red zone defense, as shown by their eighth place rank in points allowed per game despite ranking only 23^rd in yards allowed per game.

  In addition, the second leading rusher in the NFL is the Texans' Arian Foster.  Even more impressively, Foster accomplished this without playing in the loss against the Giants and playing limited snaps against the Bills.

  The Texans do have their fair share of problems, though.  Most notably, the passing game and Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, who continues to be problematic for the Texans.

  “The quarterback position has always been a problem for the Texans,” Gopal said.  “I think until they get a decent quarterback, they aren’t going to be going anywhere.”

  “When you have bounced around to five different teams, that seems to be a pretty telling story right there,” Texans fan Peter Backenson said. 

  The recently signed 10-year veteran Fitzpatrick has received a lot of criticism recently for his mediocre performance, which includes 1,757 yards, nine touchdowns, and seven interceptions through eight games. 

  Another point of emphasis for Coach Bill O'Brien's team should be the secondary and preventing long yardage plays, since the Texans have allowed 10 passes for 40 yards or more, tied for worst in the league.

  However, now that #1 overall pick Jadeveon Clowney has come back from injury, the Texans' defense will have the ability to improve.

  As for the team's playoff chances, they do not look great, but anything can happen.

  “They still have a shot,” Backenson said.  “Seattle was in the playoffs a few years ago with a losing record, so anything is possible.  I think they can turn it around.”

  The schedule certainly will give the Texans the opportunity to do so, as the Texans' division contains the Titans and Jaguars, two of the weakest teams in the NFL.

  Overall, it looks like a year of improvement for the Texans, and one that will hopefully be key in building a team that can seriously compete in the next few seasons.

“It's a transitional season for the Texans with the change of head coach, staff and key players,” Berardi said.

  Hopefully the transition ends up a successful one, and the Texans can fix their problems and strongly compete for the remainder of the season.

     

Week 9 NFL Power Rankings

     Just when you thought this year couldn't get more confusing, the Cowboys fell at home to the Redskins and the Colts defense allowed 51 to the Steelers.  Luckily, I was able to win this fantasy week despite the Indy D's poor play.  The Saints continued to show that they only win at home, and England got to see what might be the best NFL game ever in Wembley Stadium.  Much has changed since the release of the week 6 power rankings, so it's time to see where we are at the season's midway point.

     Just to clarify, this list will probably be a LOT different from your personal list or any other lists you read, just because how difficult it is to rank teams this year.  Honestly, any team can beat any team as we've clearly seen this year.  I'm just trying to sort through the outliers and figure out are consistently. the best teams.
     32) Raiders (0-7) (Week 6 Rank: 31): I feel really bad for Derek Carr.  So far, he's been the NFL's best rookie QB, but he gets no help at all.  With games against the Seahawks and Broncos next, the Raiders should be begging for mercy.  Don't expect them to move up anytime soon.
     31) Jaguars (1-7) (32): Congrats on getting your first win, Jags!  Unfortunately, in won't be enough to move you up more than one spot, or get you a good quarterback, or stop the NFL from begging London to take you as its NFL franchise.  But keep trying.
     30) Jets (1-7) (30): The Jets haven't gone anywhere in the rankings, and that's because they've been awful.  They now have not one, but two horrible QBs.  Michael Vick will become the temporary starter after fumbling four times last week and still outperforming Geno Smith.  Man, Geno's bad.  Percy Harvin hasn't done much to help yet either.
     29) Buccaneers (1-6) (28): Losing to the Vikings at home really doesn't help your cause when you're trying to get out of the division cellar.  However, somehow the Bucs are still legitimately in their division race, since the NFC South is quite possibly the worst division ever.  That's right.  EVER.  The Panthers lead currently at 3-4-1, and trust me, they've looked worse than the record suggests.
     28) Titans (2-6) (29): Man, these bottom five teams really suck.  I mean, no offense, but this is really atrocious.  Let's think about this for a second.  The Titans are moving up due to a two point home win over the Jaguars, which was followed up by losses against the Redskins and Texans.  If that's not sad, I don't know what is.  But on a positive note, Zach Mettenberger had a decent first career start besides the whole selfie thing.
     27) Falcons (2-6) (20): A huge drop for the Falcons this week is well warranted.  They blew a 21 point lead in London and had HORRIBLE clock management down the stretch in that game, which they really should've won.  They just generally don't look like the same team they had a few years back, which is a shame.
     26) Bears (3-5) (21): Can someone please inform me as to what they heck has happened to the Bears?  The last two weeks have simply been ugly, and while this team looked inconsistent at the beginning of the year, now they look plain bad.  Matt Forte is a huge bright spot, but one lamp isn't enough to light up a house, if you can bear with the horribly analogy and even worse pun that followed.
     25) Rams (2-5) (26): They beat the Seahawks!  And then they got destroyed by the Chiefs...but overall, I am really impressed with the job Austin Davis has done taking over this team this year.  However, they can't go any higher until they start picking up Ws.
     24) Vikings (3-5) (25): Teddy Bridgewater has not played like a winning quarterback.  However, the defense has stepped it up, and they managed to win on the road against the Bucs.  No matter who you play, winning on the road isn't easy.  In addition, they were only a few seconds away from beating the Bills.  So good for them.
     23) Panthers (3-4-1) (18): That's right, here we have a division leading team ranked in the bottom ten of the power rankings.  Laughable as it might be, this is a fair reflection of just how horrible the NFC South has been.  What ever happened to Superman Cam?  That's a question the Panthers need to find an answer to.  Luke Kuechly has kept the defense solid, but there is no O.
     22) Redskins (3-5) (27): Props to the Redskins for actually playing some good football.  They won against the Titans, and then pulled off the upset of the week and took down the previously 6-1 Cowboys.  And who gets the credit for these victories?  It has to be Colt McCoy, who has stepped in and really played well.  Well enough, in my opinion, to have earned the starting role.  It may be finally time to trade Kirk Cousins.
     21) Saints (3-4) (24): What is there to say about the Saints?  They win at home, and lose on the road.  That's it.  I expect them to go 8-8 with an 8-0 home record.  Additionally, it should be enough to win the division.  Somehow.
      20) Browns (4-3) (23): The Browns were due for their big jump in the rankings, potentially into the top fifteen.  They had an incredible statement win against the Steelers, winning 31-10.  This is somehow the same Steelers team that dropped 51 points on what seemed like a good Colts defense.  However, they followed it up by giving the Jaguars their first win.  Ugh.  Even worse, it wasn't close. They lost 24-6.  Luckily and thankfully, they managed to beat the Raiders to avoid giving them their first win as well.  However, a negative points differential against the Jags and Raiders can't move you up too much, even with their strong performance against Pittsburgh.
     19) Giants (3-4) (20): The loss of Victor Cruz really killed the Giants emotionally.  However, they had a decent bounce back game against the Cowboys even though they lost that game.  The issue with the Giants is that they play their four hardest games next and end with five winnable games.  This means they could be looking at 3-8 and be out of the playoffs and still finish around .500.  It'll be interesting to see how they come together these next few difficult weeks.
     18) Texans (4-4) (16): How is it that through eight weeks the NFL has only one 4-4 team?  As unlikely as it may be, that's the situation the Texans find themselves in.  The Texans are better than their record suggests, but making a playoff run will be difficult because of how many 4-3 and 5-3 teams there are in the east.  It seems the wins the Raiders, Jets, and Jags don't have ended up evenly distributed across a conference with a mind-numbing number of 4-3 and 5-3 teams (eight).

     Time for a quick break.  We're roughly halfway through the rankings.  It's time to draw a line.
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     You see that line?  Good.  It represents a big change.  The teams ranked 32-17 were for the most part not incredibly difficult to rank.  I would say the Raiders and Jaguars are in their own group.  Teams 30-27 are also very bad but in a tier of their own slightly better than the Raiders and Jaguars.  Next comes 26-22, composed of teams who have beat a good team or two, but overall still on the weak side of the spectrum.  There was a little difficulty sorting within this group, but not too much.  Then came 21-17, full of by most standards average teams who have a chance to make a playoff push.
     As you can see, overall these teams fit into a few distinct groups, and are probably in basically the same place in most rankings.  Here's where that line I made comes into play.  Besides the clear #1 in my mind (the Broncos) teams 2-16 are largely up to personal interpretation, as each have had their fair share of good wins and all deserve to be ranked highly.  Obviously some are stronger than others, but as a whole there aren't clearly defined tiers like there are with the bottom half of the list, which can make for interesting rankings.
     I just wanted to clear that up before I go throwing teams all over the place.  Got it?  Good.
   
     17) Dolphins (4-3) (22): I'm not sure how much credit I should give the Dolphins for wins over the Bears and Jaguars, but I did see a lot of good from them in their close loss to a very good Packers team.  Overall, it's a well deserved boost from the Dolphins, and enough to keep them in the mess of a conference we call the AFC.  Let's not forget they have beaten the Patriots.
     16) 49ers (4-3) (10): Here come the first of many controversial rankings.  Everyone is just too close to call!  Strictly based off their last few weeks, they won a game against the Rams that they should have, but then got killed in Denver, like they should have.  If they made that game a little closer than 25 points, they might be higher.  Yes, they have beat the Eagles, but that Bears loss just looks worse and worse as the weeks go by.
     15) Bills (5-3) (19): I'm giving the Bills a lot more credit than they've been getting from most people.  I don't know why they're good.  They don't seem great on paper.  However, there's been a noticeable change (at least for me) since Kyle Orton took over as starter.  The team looks much better offensively, and defensively they've been smooth all year long.  They're currently sitting in the huge wild card mess, and I like them to remain in it for the remainder of the year.  They deserve it.
     14) Bengals (4-2-1) (4): It's a huge drop for Cincinnati, and it's not hard to see why.  Since starting 3-0, they have seriously taken a step down in their game.  They tied the Panthers (man saying tie just doesn't seem right), and were shut out by the Colts.  They did manage to capture a much needed win against the Ravens at home, even if it was by the skin of their teeth.  Their defining stat for me is that they've actually allowed more points than they've scored this year.  At 4-2-1, that's alarming.
     13) Chiefs (4-3) (15): Again, I feel they should be higher.  Beating the Chargers is no easy task, and after some early season struggles, the Chiefs look right back in the playoff hunt.  They have a mean rushing game, which is always a good sign, and an easy game against the Jets next.  After that it will be interesting though, as they face the Bills on the road and the Seahawks in two huge potential statement games.
     12) Ravens (5-3) (9): Two losses against the Bengals is a tiebreak killer.  To be perfectly fair, their win agains the Steelers is really the only quality win they have on the season, which makes it tough to place them much higher than 12.  I know Joe Flacco is playing great recently and everything, but ultimately a lot of QBs look really good when playing the Bucs and Falcons.
     11) Colts (5-3) (6): They had an incredible shutout against the Bengals, so I won't knock them for that.  However, Ben Roethlisberger nearly set the NFL record for passing yards in a game while putting up 51 points on the Colts, and it never even looked difficult.  It might be just one bad performance, but that's a really scary sign for a team who is supposed to challenge for the AFC championship this late in the season.
     10) Steelers (5-3) (17): Speaking of the Steelers, they get a strong boost into the top ten this week.  Yes the loss to the Browns was unfortunate, and shouldn't've happened, but it was on the road, making it a little better.  Then the Steelers won a must-win against the Texans and followed it up with a massive 51-34 victory over the Colts which left us all scratching our heads.  I know I hate judging by one week, but that alone gave them mostly of their jump.  All of a sudden their division looks more winnable (despite every team being over .500), and their offense is firing like it hasn't fired in a while.
     9) Packers (5-3) (8): It isn't all that surprising that they lost to the Saints on the road.  Basically everyone does.  However, if Aaron Rodgers has to miss any time for his hamstring injury, Green Bay won't be able to R-E-L-A-X any longer.  They have a great offense, and Eddie Lacy played superbly in New Orleans, but the defense isn't cutting it for a Super Bowl contender for me, especially if Aaron Rodgers isn't fully 100%.  What a lucky time for a bye week.
     8) Seahawks (4-3) (1): I've finally decided to give in.  What a difference three weeks makes.  In the week 6 rankings, the Seahawks took the top spot.  However, I considered putting them as low as 12 this time around, and as high as six.  They got dominated on special teams in their game against the Rams.  They lost at home to the Cowboys, which is especially worrying considering they have issues on the road and bank on going undefeated at home.  Speaking of playing on the road, Russell Wilson was lucky to escape with a 13-9 win against the Panthers.  That game was a must-win, and if they fell, they wouldn't be near the top ten right now.
     7) Chargers (5-3) (3): Man, it's tough being the Chargers.  They are a very good team with an incredible defense and a rebooted offense.  Philip Rivers has been great, and Branden Oliver has proven himself worthy of a starting running back role.  However, they are in a TOUGH division, and losing against both the Chiefs and Broncos could come back to hurt them in the future, even though neither is a bad loss.
     6) Lions (6-2) (14): They've been down 21-0 at halftime two weeks in a row and have pulled out both games.  If that isn't resilience, I don't know what is.  Their second half display in England against the Falcons was truly impressive.  Stafford has been shaky, but that's more because all his weapons are hurt than him being a poor QB, which he definitely isn't.  The defense is still playing fantastic, which has the Lions on top of the NFC North.
     5) Cowboys (6-2) (11): It's official.  I don't know what universe we're living in, but apparently it's one that warrants a six spot increase into the top five for a team that lost at home to the Redskins.  However, simply because of how jumbled everyone is and the lack of "great" teams, this spot is warranted.  DeMarco Murray is the best back in the league this year, and it isn't that close (for me Matt Forte is second, but there's definitely debate over that).  This ranking is more based on their huge win IN SEATTLE, becoming only the second team to do that in the last three years.  The defense is millions of times better than it was expected to be, and ultimately the Cowboys are a really good team.
     4) Eagles (5-2) (5): Despite how good the Cowboys have been, it just isn't enough to claim the spot of top NFC East team.  No more NFC least.  The Eagles fell in a very close game against the Cardinals last week, and had a shot at the end that they just couldn't pull out.  Despite that, they still have an incredible special teams, and you have to love them if LeSean McCoy can return to form.
     3) Patriots (6-2) (12): Officially, this is the jump of the week, since the Patriots went up nine spots.  I remember clearly the beginning of the year, when the Patriots looked like a defeated team and a done dynasty.  Perhaps we said this too soon, however.  Rob Gronkowski has played very well, and Brandon Lafell has given Tom Brady a much needed target, but by far the biggest adjustment has been with Tom Brady himself.  Say what you want about him, but the numbers don't lie, and Tom had 14 touchdowns without throwing a pick this October.
     2) Cardinals (6-1) (7): John Brown's game winning touchdown gave the Cardinals a crucial win, but really only solidified what we've known this whole year: the Cardinals are a force to be reckoned with.  The aggressive defensive play calling worked perfectly against the ultra fast and aggressive Eagles, leaving us to wonder just how far the Cardinals can go.
     1) Broncos (6-1) (2): By far, the Broncos are the best team in this league.  We all know how good the offense is.  It's scary good.  Like, we didn't know it was possible to be this good.  No matter who they play, they put up points and seem to blow by them.  They beat the Cardinals by 21, and they're #2 on this list.  Chargers?  No problem.  49ers?  Easy.  Chiefs?  Sure thing.  The Broncos' only loss was in overtime in Seattle, which is easily excused.  Peyton Manning's team is easily the Super Bowl favorite at this stage in the year.

Thanks for reading,
Connor
   
   

NFL Week 8 Picks

     It feels like the season just started, but it seems we've already reached week 8.  This year has already given us plenty of surprises (who would've thought the Cowboys would be 6-1?) and disappointments (my preseason NFC Champ Saints aren't looking too good).  Generally, by this point, we should have a good idea of which teams are the Super Bowl contenders, who will be losing, and in some instances tanking, all the way to the #1 pick in the draft.  

     This year has been a bit different.  While the bottom feeders are pretty clear, the top is a jumbled mess of teams with Super Bowl potential.  In just a few weeks, the Bengals went from 3-0 and #1 in my power rankings to 3-2-1 (wait, a tie?) and will be lucky to remain in the top 10 in my rankings next week.  There's a large grouping of good teams (Broncos, Eagles, Cowboys, Chargers, Patriots, Cardinals, Packers, etc.) that are near impossible to rank.

     And then there's the middle of the road teams, struggling to find their identities, and changing from a great team to a horrible one and back again week in and week out.  The Bears and Panthers are strong examples of teams that can beat any team and lose to any team.

     So basically, this year has been pretty weird.  Hopefully I've gleaned enough information to make some decent picks this week.  Here goes nothing.

     Lions at Falcons: This game is played at Wembley Stadium and I don't remember the last time the Falcons won a game on the road.  The Lions haven't looked incredibly strong, but their defense has been coming up huge and I expect that dominance to continue as Detroit tries to keep up with the Packers in the NFC North.  Lions 20-13.

     Ravens at Bengals: While the Bengals started this season very strong, the last few weeks have been not much short of terrible, and the Ravens have continued to be a force, with Joe Flacco having a redemption year in 2014.  This is an important division game, and one I don't expect the home team to win.  Ravens 27-20.

     Texans at Titans: Zach Mettenberger gets his first start for the Titans, and I don't want to state the obvious, but rookie QB + J.J. Watt = disaster.  The Texans offense is really lacking, but the defense should more than make up for it.  Texans 24-14.

     Rams at Chiefs: I really don't know.  Part of me really wants to pick the Rams here just because of how good Austin Davis and the Rams have been, beating the Seahawks and losing close games to the Eagles and Cowboys.  Then again, the Chiefs are playing very well also.  Home field advantage was a big key in this one for me.  Chiefs 31-27.

     Bears at Patriots: Tough luck for the Bears.  This was a big week for them, needing to try to catch a break and keep up with the thriving Lions and Packers, but to do so they'll have to win in Foxboro.  Tom Brady has really taken control of his offense the last couple weeks and I don't see this game playing out well for Chicago.  Patriots 30-17.

     Bills at Jets: It's the first game for Percy Harvin in a Jets uniform.  While he provides a great option for Geno Smith and can be used in many different ways, I don't think he has had enough time to really make too much of a difference.  And the Bills are good.  Maybe not great, but good enough to take down a 1-6 team.  Bills 20-16.

     Vikings at Buccaneers: Does one of these teams really have to win?  It's just hard for me imagining either of these teams winning a football game.  However, Teddy Bridgewater has been just about the worst starting quarterback in the NFL, so the edge goes to Bucs for looking bad, but not as bad on paper.  Bucs 24-20, but really who knows?

     Seahawks at Panthers: This is the must win game of the week.  Honestly, it could be for both teams, but I'm really looking at the Seahawks here.  They are coming off two straight losses, and the Rams special teams made them look really foolish last week.  They're in an impossibly strong division, and anything less than 11 wins is unlikely to have a shot at the division crown.  The Panthers also need to right the ship, but they're division is the weakest in football, and honestly I think they could win seven or eight games and take the division.  When in doubt, pick the Super Bowl Champs.  Seahawks 27-20.

     Dolphins at Jaguars: The Jaguars won a game!  Well that was fun while it lasted, because they won't do it again.  Why?  Because they're Jacksonville, and they'll find a way to screw it up.  By the way, Blake Bortles might have had the worst performance by a winning quarterback in the league this year, and this just might have been the worst quarterback draft ever.  Dolphins 31-14.

     Eagles at Cardinals: Since the Broncos-Chargers game is over, this is the best remaining game of the week.  The Eagles are coming off a bye, and will look to keep pace with the Cowboys in this week's battle of the birds.  The Cardinals are at home, and that three point home advantage is what I'll give them, because I see it as a toss up.  Cardinals 31-28.

     Raiders at Browns: See, this would typically be a Raiders lose by default game, but the Browns managed to LOSE TO THE JAGUARS.  So really, I wouldn't be surprise to see the Raiders get their first win.  After all, I feel Derek Carr deserves one at some point in time.  He has roughly zero weapons to work with.  However, my usual rule of thumb is once a team starts 0-3, pick against them every week until they win, so yeah, Raiders lose by default.  Browns 23-20.

     Colts at Steelers: So the Steelers were the worse team for 55 minutes in their game against the Texans, but the other five managed to give them a 24 point cushion, so they were all right.  Props to them for winning a big game.  Andrew Luck, however, is playing some really good football, and by that, I mean REALLY GOOD.  Plus, I have T.Y. Hilton on my fantasy team.  Colts 31-20 and 3 TDs for T.Y.  Hey, I can dream.

     Packers at Saints: Oh, how the mighty have fallen.  It seems like this season it just wasn't meant to be for the Saints.  BUT WAIT.  They're playing at home, where they're nearly unbeatable.  But are they so good at home that I can seriously pick a struggling 2-4 team to take down the current (at least in my eyes) NFC favorite Packers?  Yes, yes they are.  Bold pick of the week.  Saints 34-28.

     Redskins at Cowboys: Let's think about this for a minute.  Cowboys are 6-1.  Redskins are 2-5.  Redskins are starting Colt McCoy.  Cowboys have DeMarco Murray.  I don't think any more information is needed.  Cowboys 34-13.  

     So there you have it.  The 100% correct (hopefully) week 8 predictions.  It's 1 A.M., and I'm going to catch some sleep.  I need all the sleep I can get now, because starting 9:30 a.m. Eastern time is the Falcons-Lions game.  Right now I'm really happy I don't live on the west coast.

     Connor

     

Why SEC Dominance Ruins College Football for Me

     I have a confession.  No matter how hard I try, I just can't get into college football the way I do most other sports.  As far as football goes, I would much rather watch the two worst NFL teams play each other than what some big college football fans would call a marquee matchup between two ranked teams.  In fact, in some instances I find high school games more entertaining, especially my school's games.
     Now before we make assumptions, I'm not saying I hate college football.  If it's on TV and I've got nothing better to do, I'll be more than happy to watch a game, just as I am to watch any sport.  However, if there are multiple sports on TV, chances are I'm tuning in to something else.  Basically, I feel I could like college football much more than I currently do.
     I find this surprising because after the NFL, my next favorite sport is college basketball, and there are even times where I feel college basketball might overtake the NFL on my list.  Once college basketball season begins in a few weeks, it will be clear how much I love the sport.  Come March, it's all I want to talk about.  So why is there such a drastic difference in my feelings towards these two sports?  While it isn't the only reason, I feel a large part of it is due to the dominance of the Power 5 conferences (ACC, Big 10, Big 12, Pac 12, SEC), and especially the SEC comparatively to the rest of college teams.
     We've all heard the stat of how from 2006-2013 there was an eight year streak with every BCS National Champion coming from the SEC.  While this by itself is indicative of a large gap in talent between the SEC and other conferences, that only begins to tell the whole story.
     Have you seen the current college football rankings?  Out of the top five alone, #1, #3, #4, and #5 are all teams in the SEC.  In all, six SEC teams are ranked, and eight received votes to be ranked.  And this is after five weeks of conference play, where the teams are supposed to be beating each other up.  Before conference play began, eight SEC teams were ranked and 11 of 14 teams received votes.  I can't think of another sport where one division/conference is so dominant.  In college basketball, the Big East had a run of a few years where it was clearly the best conference, but that was more because of overall depth.  As a conference it never had more than two legitimate national championship contenders in a season.  The SEC legitimately enters each year with half a dozen (at least) potential title contenders, and currently four are still in the top five nationally.
     Conversely, let's take a look at the teams from non-power conference that have made the top 25.  Currently, there are only two: #18 East Carolina, and #23 Marshall.  Put that up against the many non-power conference college basketball teams that are consistently ranked and in many cases just as good as power conference teams.  Off the top of my head Wichita State, San Diego State, BYU, Gonzaga, St. Mary's, VCU, SMU, Xavier, Creighton, and Butler (the last two before their hop to the new Big East).  The point I'm trying to make is clear.  College football simply isn't as competitive.
     Over the last ten years, only two non-power conference teams have finished the year ranked in the top ten.  Those have been Boise State and UCF.  Neither of these teams have played for a national title.  Boise State, in its best year, went undefeated and finished ranked #4, behind three beaten teams.
     In fact, once a ranked non-power conference team loses, they almost always fall out of the rankings, and are forgotten about for the remainder of the season.  In a sport where the only teams worth talking about by the end of the year are the ones competing in BCS bowls and for national championships, these teams simply aren't important.  In college basketball for example, one of these teams (sometimes called mid-majors) can lose several times and still be fairly ranked (in most cases) and have a chance to prove themselves in March Madness.
     But at the end of the day, that would be futile in college football.  Any time a power conference team plays an average or even above average team from an average conference, it's almost always a blowout.  For instance, when #19 USC (9-4) played unranked Fresno State (11-1) in the Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl last season, USC won 45-20, coasting to a 35-6 lead by halftime.
     The SEC takes it another step further, often times treating teams from other power conferences like they were a bunch of high-schoolers.  In the 2007 BCS National Championship game, Florida beat Ohio State 41-14.  In the 2013 BCS National Championship game, Alabama beat Notre Dame 42-14.  The playing field just simply isn't fair.
     In the 2014 recruiting class, there were 33 five star high school recruits.  19 of them went to the SEC.  That's over half.  I would relate it to throwing Syracuse, Kentucky, Duke, and Kansas (the four teams with arguably the most top basketball recruits) and throwing them all into one conference when in reality they're from four different conferences.  Then add Florida, North Carolina, Michigan, and Arizona in that conference as well.  That's what the SEC is like.  Occasionally, a team from another conference does well, but overall no conference comes even close.
     It's easy to see why.  The SEC is comprised of schools from the southeastern US, states notable for their high focus on high school and college football.  These schools put much more time and money into these programs, growing them to be successful, and then in getting players to live up to the legacies the schools require them to live up to.
     Top football schools Texas A&M and Missouri have recently switched conferences and joined the SEC.  While there are undoubtedly many reasons behind this, money a leading factor, another very important reason was just the notoriety and credit teams get for being in the SEC, the gold standard of college football.
     A huge part of what makes sports so entertaining for me, and why I love them as much as I do is an underrated reason.  It's not the specific players, teams, rivalries, or legacies (while they all definitely help), but the unexpected.  In most sports, the best team doesn't win all the time.  For proof, just ask baseball fans.  The best MLB teams win 60% of their games.  If the Seattle Seahawks decide they don't have to take the Rams seriously, they lose.  If Michael Phelps assumes his naturally talent alone will lead him to victory, he won't end up with the gold medal.  If the Miami Heat believe they can't possibly go down to a team without a star player (maybe Dirk) when they have three, the Dallas Mavericks pull off a stunning upset in the NBA Finals.  In the world of sports, anything can happen.
     However, when I see Alabama taking on Florida Atlantic, I don't get that feeling.  That feeling that every game has the potential to be one talked about for ages isn't a feeling I get when I watch college football.  For that reason, in my mind college football will always be a little inferior.

Thanks for reading,
Connor
   

Top Level Podcast - NFL Week 7 (w/ Kaustubh)

http://kiwi6.com/artists/TopLevelPodcast/top-level-podcast-nfl-week-7-10-18-14

Here is the podcast for week 7!
Hope you enjoy listening.
Connor

Building an NBA Champion Part 1: The Big Three

     The 2014-15 NBA season is around the corner, and with the growing interest in the upcoming season, I've decided to take some time to address one of the biggest questions surrounding the NBA.  That question is this: what is the best way to build an NBA championship contending team?
     Now for the most part there are only two main sides to this story.  The first belief is that the road to a championship team is by way of forming a so-called "Big 3", a highly controversial idea that essentially means three of the best players in the league are put on the same team with the hopes that the star power of three guys can take any team into an immediate contender.  Alternatively, there is the traditional belief that winning basketball begins with team chemistry and roster stability.  Proponents of this system believe that a good coach, solid players, and a combination of hard work, chemistry, and heart can pull a team to the ultimate goal of winning an NBA title.
     What I'm doing is very simple.  I'm going to split this debate into two parts.  The first part, which is what you're reading right now, is going to deal with the Big 3.  The second part, which should come out in a few days, will concentrate on winning the old fashioned way with teams that work hard and have good chemistry.  Each separate post will deal with the pros and cons of each method, how they have worked historically, and the risks and rewards associated with attempting each method.  Now that all of the introductions are out of the way, let's talk about Big 3s.
     As I've already stated, the idea of a Big 3 is a very controversial thing, and many people are angered by the very mention of one.  However, much of this is purely due to the antics of LeBron James over the 2010 offseason.  Many people, including myself, grew to strongly oppose the concept of putting together three top players just because of the "Decision" TV special and all the hype surrounding the new super team bound to sweep the NBA.  While most agree that this situation was handled poorly, many don't realize that this is just one example of a Big 3.
     What I mean by this is that while the common idea of a Big 3 is the intentional joining together of three top players with the intention of creating a super team, this might not always be the case.  It is entirely possible that through drafting the right players and properly developing talent acquired through trades and free agency, a Big 3 could be constructed naturally without all the antics that go into building a Big 3 from scratch.  I wanted to mention this as a possibly because I believe that it is entirely possible for this to occur.  However, since this isn't how people typically view the concept of a Big 3, for the remainder of this post assume that the concept of a Big 3 does describe the more mainstream idea typically associated with Big 3s.
     This concept has become very popular recently due to the growing opinion that a team with a single star can't be an NBA title team.  Perhaps the most powerful example of this is when Carmelo Anthony was on the Denver Nuggets.  Anthony, one of the best players in the game, had seven straight playoff appearances from 2004-10, but only made it out of the first round one time.  Melo never reached the NBA Finals during his time in Denver, despite all his personal successes.  This led to the idea of gathering three players of similar "star" caliber.  After all, with so many great players, a team couldn't lose.  Right?
     Surprisingly, this is a very new idea.  Up until very recently, players did not constantly switch teams during free agency, and especially didn't discuss joining up with other players.  This is for a few reasons.  First off, rivalries were much stronger back then, and players on teams that didn't like each other simply hated each other too much to even consider playing with each other.  Secondly, individual players back then were considered to be pieces of a puzzle, while now they are highly marketable personalities that go wherever they can be paid the most millions.
     In fact, I'd say that there have been only three real Big 3s the way we like to define them.  And even defining them is difficult because there isn't a real definitive way of defining a "superstar" player.  Regardless of this, they are the Big 3 of Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, and Kevin Garnett (Celtics) that formed in 2007, The LeBron, Wade, and Bosh Big 3 formed in 2010 in Miami, and the new LeBron, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love Big 3 just formed this offseason in Cleveland.  Even the forming of the Celtics threesome doesn't fit the definition perfectly, but it's close enough.  So far, both the 2007 and 2010 Big 3s have been successful.  The Celtics reached the finals twice in their first three years, winning the NBA Championship in 2008, while the Heat reached four consecutive NBA Finals, winning two rings.
     Obviously in terms of pros of Big 3s, the main point is that with a Big 3 you're getting a lot of talent.  Naturally, when you have a trio of superstars, there won't be many teams, if any teams, with more overall talent than you.  Especially considering another strong argument for the creation of a Big 3 is that it draws in talented veteran players whose NBA days are numbered that want to be a part of a winning team.  For example, the Heat were able to bring in players such as Ray Allen, Zydrunas Illgauskas, Shane Battier, and Chris Andersen over the years to help contribute and play important roles in the successes of these teams.
     Additionally, Big 3s draw crowds like no other.  Home fans will pack stadiums, millions of bandwagoners will also support the team, and the media and paparazzi will become infatuated with the team.  Let's be honest: if you're constructing a Big 3, you do it to make some noise around the league, and noise you will make.
     Finally, like I've already mentioned, both Big 3s so far have been very successful, and have ended with NBA titles.  In the end, nothing beats success, and odds of winning with a Big 3 are significantly greater than odds of an average team making a miracle run to the NBA Finals.  Even if it might not work 100% of the time, it seems like the times good comes out of a Big 3 will strongly outweigh the times where no great success is achieved.
     Now for the negatives of this controversial method of constructing a team.  First off, a big con that I believe not many people realize is that a Big 3 can't just sprout up anywhere.  To be able to bring over big name players, prospective Big 3 teams need to either be in a large market, a historically successful market, or already have a superstar.  The majority of teams don't fit any of these criterion, and therefore it would be near impossible for a Big 3 to be formed in, say, Milwaukee next season.  If Jabari Parker becomes one of the premier players in the league, the situation might change, but as of now, it just couldn't happen.
     Additionally, along with all the new fans you'll gain, just as many and probably more people will suddenly hate your team, and root specifically against the Big 3's success.  It's just like I said during last season: I'm rooting for 29 teams in the league to win the title, and the Heat aren't one of them.
     Also, it may be very difficult to find players to fill the remaining roster spots, since any team with a Big 3 will be spending the majority salary cap money on max contracts for the three stars.  Luckily the Heat were able to find a few solid contributors, but they had below average depth as a whole.  It's not easy to lure in strong players if you can't promise them money they could get with any number of different teams.
     Lastly, there are extremely high standards to fulfill and at times an unbearable amount of pressure that comes naturally with everyone knowing you have the best team in the league, and the team every wants to beat.  Anything less than a championship at the end of the season is considered a failure, and the fans won't won't be pleased if this goal isn't achieved.  This can lead to rushing the development of the team, and when you take a whole bunch of stars and force them to work together, team chemistry can be harmed because everyone wants to do everything and be the center of attention.  It was originally very hard for Chris Bosh to transition from the man in Toronto to the less talked about number three man in Miami, and the team may have struggled a bit originally from that.
     So what's the verdict overall?  Well it's ultimately up to the teams themselves to decide what they want to do, but it's very risky business.  Getting everyone on the same page to create a Big 3 in the first place isn't easy business as the Rockets have just found out in their failed attempt to create the next powerhouse team.  However, if it can be accomplished, you can definitely expect to see the benefits in the form of wins, and as controversial as it may be, winning is practically everything in professional sports these days.  In the end, it is what it is - a group of extremely talented players that have the capability of winning an NBA championship, and much better odds to do so than the average team.  And if that's what we're after, than despite how difficult it may be, ultimately a Big 3 is a very strong way of a building a title team.
     However, it isn't the only way of doing it.  But we'll save that for next time.
     Thanks for reading,
     Connor
 

NFL Week 6 Picks

     So there wasn't a podcast this week, but there will be one again next week.  Since I can't vocalize my predictions for week 6, I might as well write them instead.  Here are my picks for week 6.

     Week 5: 11-4
     Season overall (including Thursday's game): 47-30

     Patriots at Bills: This is a huge game as the winner takes sole possession of the AFC East lead.  Tom Brady silenced the haters with a huge game against the Bengals, but the Bills pulled off an upset of their own, defeating the Lions in Detroit.  The Bills are home, but I think the Patriots know how important this game is and win.  Patriots 23-20.
     Panthers at Bengals: The Bengals will need to rebound quickly after dropping their first game of the season to the Patriots in week 5.  On the other hand, the Panthers are 3-2 but lack a real quality win and a dominating performance.  Both teams will want this one, but the Bengals defense is just too strong.  Bengals 24-10.
     Steelers at Browns: Hey, it's the toss up of the week.  The Browns pulled off nothing short of a miracle by overcoming a 25 point halftime deficit to defeat the Titans, while the Steelers put up a less than spectacular performance in a game against the Jaguars.  The Steelers have looked really poor these last two weeks, and I don't like their chances on the road.  Browns 31-24.
     Jaguars at Titans: Wow, what a matchup.  With a combined record of 1-9, this could very well be the least relevant game of the season.  The Jaguars actually showed a defense against the Steelers last week, and the Titans blew a 28-3 lead, but let's be honest.  The Jaguars are horrible.  Titans 27-13.
     Packers at Dolphins: It seems like the Packers finally have their act together, and it came at a good time.  Now with a share of the division lead, they get to play a Dolphins team coming off a bye, and before that a win against Oakland.  That means it's now three weeks since they've played a real football team (see what I did there) and the Pack should look to take advantage of that.  Packers 34-17.
     Lions at Vikings: The Lions lost last week, but as I mentioned in my power rankings, the blame for that one goes on the kicker.  Now with a new kicker, Matt Prater, the Lions look to take down a Vikings team without AP that got destroyed by the Packers in week 5.  The Purple People Eaters are at home, but I don't think they'll please the home fans.  Lions 24-16.
     Broncos at Jets: The Broncos have one of the top five greatest quarterbacks of all time.  The Jets have one of the top five worst starters in the league.  If that isn't enough to decide this, the Jets are on a four game losing streak and the Broncos are better in basically every other position as well.  This won't be close at all.  Broncos 38-13.
     Ravens at Buccaneers: Now at first glance this might seem like an obvious call.  However, upon closer inspection, the Bucs have actually played two decent games of football in weeks 4 and 5, and the Ravens offense was helpless against the Colts last week.  And the Bucs are at home.  Oh, who am I kidding.  I'm going to need a little more before I start picking the Bucs.  Ravens 24-20.
     Chargers at Raiders: Here's a few stats to think about regarding this matchup.  The Chargers are #3 in my power rankings, while the Raiders are 31st.  The Chargers are 4-1, while the Raiders sit at 0-4, and have just fired their head coach.  The Chargers beat the Jets 31-0 last week, and the Raiders have already lost to the Jets this season.  The biggest question surrounding this game is how big the deficit will be.  Chargers 31-14.
     Bears at Falcons: This is an interesting matchup, and close to a must win for both parties.  Both of these teams are 2-3, and on two game losing streaks.  Both had huge drops in my power rankings (I believe the two biggest falls but I'm not positive).  However, the Falcons are 2-0 at home, averaging 46.5 points per game in Atlanta.  Interestingly though, the Bears are 2-1 on the road.  Still, Matt Ryan is a different quarterback at home and Jay Cutler has been shaky of late.  Falcons 34-20.
     Redskins at Cardinals: Maybe before the season this would be an interesting matchup.  Unfortunately, now that the Redskins are looking hopeless and the Cardinals are winning even without Carson Palmer, it doesn't seem like a great matchup.  The biggest thing working in the Redskins favor is that both Carson Palmer and Drew Stanton are injured.  Stanton looks like he should get the start, but if he doesn't, Logan Thomas might not be able to get it done.  If Stanton: Cardinals 27-14.  If Thomas, Cardinals 17-14.
     Cowboys at Seahawks: Forget good, it's been a great year for the Cowboys so far, coming out of the gates strong at 4-1.  However, they're playing the Seahawks.  IN SEATTLE.  If this game was in Dallas, I'd pick the Cowboys, as I'm sure many people would.  But in Seattle, I can't do it.  A good rule of thumb is to never pick the Seahawks to lose at home.  Roughly 90% of the time you're right.  Seahawks 31-20.
     Giants at Eagles: Oh man, here it is.  The big rivalry that is basically for lead of the division if the Cowboys lose.  As a Giants fan, I'm going to be supporting my team to take down Philthadelphia.  In reality, it should be a really close game, as indicated by the spread which favors the Eagles by 3 (a coin toss at a neutral location).  There's been a lot of trash talk leading into this one, and it shouldn't disappoint.  Eli's been playing well, so I'll give the G-men the edge.  Giants 27-24.
     49ers at Rams: Austin Davis has seriously been playing well.  Much better than anyone expected from him at the beginning of the season.  And he'll get home field advantage.  I'll be honest, I thought about taking the massive upset here, since the Rams nearly took down the Eagles last week, but the 49ers are looking better now than they did earlier in the year.  49ers 26-20.
     So those are my picks for this week.  I guess we'll have to wait and see how they pan out.
     Thanks for reading,
      Connor

NFL Week 6 Power Rankings

     Weeks 4 and 5 of the NFL season produced quite the show.  The remaining undefeated teams all fell, the Patriots were on both sides of blowouts, and the Buccaneers actually looked like an NFL football team instead of the youth squad that showed up for the first three games.  There has been overall a large shakeup in the rankings, proving just how much of a difference two games can make.  Here are the week 6 power rankings.
     32) Jaguars (0-5) (Week 4 Rank: 32): The Jaguars have looked a little better since playing Blake Bortles, but overall they still have one of the NFL's worst offenses and worst defenses.
     31) Raiders (0-4) (30): The Raiders have fired their head coach Dennis Allen, and I'm not sure how much good it does them in the end.  The Raiders have a long string of problems, and the coach is only one of them.  Losing by 24 to the Lions doesn't bode well.
     30) Jets (1-4) (21): Geno Smith has played very poorly, but Michael Vick didn't perform much better.  They got shutout by the Chargers, and life shouldn't get any easier in a matchup against the Broncos next week.
     29) Titans (1-4) (28): The Titans lost Jake Locker last week against the Browns and followed it up by blowing a 25 point lead, for the third largest meltdown in NFL history.  And if that happens against the Browns, I don't want to see them play better teams.
     28) Buccaneers (1-4) (31): It was surprisingly a strong two weeks down in Tampa.  They pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the season by beating the Steelers in week 4, and nearly beat the Saints in week 5.  The NFC South is so weak that somehow I'm willing to put them back into contention if they keep Mike Glennon at QB.
     27) Redskins (1-4) (25): Their loss against the Giants was no better than pathetic, but they were able to make up for it by playing a decent game against the Seahawks.  However, they pick up two losses and in the tough NFC East (hey the NFC East is good again!) they're all but done.
     26) St. Louis Rams (1-3) (29): Somehow the Rams manage to move up in the rankings by losing.  They're a better team than they get credit for, and Austin Davis is actually not that bad at QB.  They're main problem is that the Rams are losing close games that could be Ws, most recently against the Eagles 34-28 last week.
     25) Vikings (2-3) (27): The Vikings have managed to find ways to survive without Adrian Peterson, picking up a huge win against the Falcons in week 4.  Matt Asiata has been better than expected, especially in the passing game.  The Vikes aren't going to be the cellar dwellers that they were supposed to be.  However, they aren't good either.
     24) Saints (2-3) (19): Oh how the mighty have fallen.  The Saints are 0-3 on the road, and got destroyed by the Cowboys.  Somehow they managed to beat the Bucs in OT, and could really be 1-4. They are a bad team this season, but then again, they are in the NFC South and they do have Drew Brees.  They could turn it around, but it doesn't look good.
     23) Browns (2-2) (22): No Johnny Football in Cleveland so far.  Brian Hoyer has done an adequate job leading the Browns and they've been playing alright.  Props to them for being decent, but decent doesn't cut it in the NFL.  And nice 25 point comeback, although they really shouldn't have been down 25 to the abysmal Titans in the first place.
     22) Dolphins (2-2) (26): The only game for the Dolphins in the last two weeks was a 38-14 domination of the Raiders.  Congrats, you beat Oakland in London.  I'll give you a bit of a boost, but now I want to see you beat a real team.
     21) Bears (2-3) (10): The Bears are the first huge slide in the rankings.  On paper, losing to the Packers and Panthers isn't that bad, but they just haven't looked the same in those games, and Jay Cutler has gone Mr. Hyde over the last two weeks.  Da Bears are going to need a win soon, but they'll have to go in Atlanta to do it.
     20) Falcons (2-3) (7): Speaking of huge slides, none is bigger than the horrendous -13 drop the Falcons have suffered is well deserved.  They allowed 42 in a loss to the Vikings, and then were mostly ineffective in their loss against the Giants.  Similar to the Saints, they can't win on the road.
     19) Bills (3-2) (15): The Bills are sitting on top of the AFC East, playing off of a poor start by the Patriots.  They were able to get a nice win against the Lions, however that was mostly due to the 0-3 field goals of Alex Henery, who was recently cut.  Their drop is more about other teams performing well than them playing poorly.
     18) Panthers (3-2) (14): The Panthers win the award for most confusing team so far in my books.  Every week a different team seems to show up.  The last two weeks have seen a 28 point blowout loss to the Ravens and a close win over the Bears.  Their next two games on the road against the Bengals and Packers should be huge tests and will say a lot about who the Panthers are.
     17) Steelers (3-2) (11): It's been a very disappointing pair of games for the Steelers.  They played two teams that came into the matchup winless and came out only 1-1 with a +5 point differential.  Any team that loses to the Bucs is not a strong team in my book, and they were the first team to score less than 34 against the Jaguars, only scoring 17.  Who knows how far they would drop if they lost that game.
     16) Houston Texans (3-2) (24): The Texans defense is for real, and J.J. Watt should be considered in the MVP race this season.  However, their offense is most definitely not for real.  Ryan Fitzpatrick isn't getting it done.  The Texans defense is keeping them in games, and got them a big win against the Bills.  They followed up by losing a close OT game in Dallas.  Now only if the offense would show up.
     15) Chiefs (2-3) (20): I'm a lot higher on the Chiefs than a lot of people are.  They showed a lot of toughness in their 41-14 thrashing of the Patriots and I don't think they should be punished for a five point loss in San Francisco.  Knile Davis has performed very well in the absence of Jamaal Charles, and lets not forget they do have a strong defense.
     14) Lions (3-2) (13): I have no idea what happened to the Lions over the offseason, but it's weird.  Defensive Coordinator Teryl Austin has done a tremendous job turning the Lions D into *gasp* one of the better defenses in football.  However, the big problem has been putting points up on the board. Much of that can be attributed to kicker Alex Henery, who went 0-3 losing them a game against the Bills.  Now the Lions need to focus on the health of Megatron.
     13) Giants (3-2) (23): My Giants are on a 3 game win streak!  It's been a great three games for Eli Manning, with nine touchdowns versus only one interception.  Rashad Jennings has been an effective runner, and Andre Williams is an adequate backup.  Odell Beckham Jr. is finally playing and looks good, and the defense is strong.  Things are looking up for Big Blue.  And by the way, how come when the Giants crush the Redskins it's because the Redskins suck and when the Seahawks beat the Redskins by seven it's all Russell Wilson?  Bias much?
     12) Patriots (3-2) (8): I don't know what to make of the Patriots, but I think it's at least a good sign that they have managed to pick up three wins so far, and that they managed to crush the last undefeated team in the NFL.  The offense is still relatively weak, but at least things are looking better now.
     Just a quick note: the next five or six teams are really interchangeable as not much separates them, so don't take the specific numbers too seriously.
     11) Cowboys (4-1) (18): The Cowboys have managed to be a strong team, holding a strong 4-1 record.  However, despite the strong offense and the incredible performance by DeMarco Murray this season, I'm not ready to stick them in the top six or seven like I've seen from some other people.  They're barely escaping with wins, so until they really start destroying people they won't go much higher.
     10) 49ers (3-2) (16): Two strong wins have the Niners up into the top ten this week.  They're only third in their division, but Kaepernick is starting to get his turnovers under control and the team is gaining ground and confidence.
     9) Ravens (3-2) (9): The Ravens haven't moved anywhere in the rankings this week.  They played the Colts to a close 20-13 loss which is solid considering how the Colts are a very strong team with an elite quarterback.  However, they definitely make up for it with a 38-10 win over the Panthers.  The running back situation still confuses me, but as a whole they look like a solid playoff contender.
     8) Packers (3-2) (17): The Packers have finally returned!  But seriously, the last two weeks have really shown an adjusted Packers team who have found themselves.  Eddie Lacy has had a strong two weeks, and all of a sudden the Packers are in a tie for the division lead.
     7) Cardinals (3-1) (4): It looks like Drew Stanton can't win every game.  Peyton Manning was the man to tear apart the Cardinals defense, but then again Peyton does that to everyone, so that's really not that bad a thing for the Cards.  They are still tied with the Seahawks, but they need Carson Palmer back.
     6) Colts (3-2) (12): If I said it once, I'll say it again: Andrew Luck is really good.  So are the receivers, and Bradshaw has really flourished in the Indianapolis offense.  They had an impressive win against a strong Ravens team and have recovered from an 0-2 start.  The Colts should be a strong playoff contender come December.
     5) Eagles (4-1) (5): The Eagles are in a similar boat as the Cowboys in the sense that they're winning close games against less than great opponents and they don't have a strong defense.  LeSean Mccoy has had a disappointing start to his season and the Eagles have offensive line struggles, but they're still a good team.  Sunday night's Eagles vs. Giants matchup will be a big one.
     4) Bengals (3-1) (1): The last remaining undefeated team in the NFL ran into a storm when they played a fired up Patriots team that came angry and came to play.  However, I still believe the Bengals are a very strong team.  The Bengals will have a very hard stretch coming up against the Panthers, Colts, and Ravens, and two wins over that stretch will cement the Bengals' status as a strong contender.
     3) Chargers (4-1) (6): The Chargers believe they are the best team in the NFL, and they very well may be.  They're coming off a 31-0 shutout of the Jets, and have only allowed 12.4 points per game thus far.  Philip Rivers is having an incredible season and Branden Oliver is the fantasy pickup of the week.  It's smooth sailing for the bolts week 6 against the Raiders.  I'm just waiting for them to go into Denver in week 8.
     2) Broncos (3-1) (3): Peyton Manning is closing in on the all-time passing touchdowns record, and should pass Brett Favre in the next two or three games.  This is such a talented team that it's really hard to imagine them not going back to the Super Bowl, despite teams such as the Chargers and Colts hot to stop them.  They have an easy matchup against the Jets next week, but then they take on the 49ers and Chargers in tough games.
     1) Seahawks (3-1) (2): It could've been prettier, but the Seahawks ended up victorious in D.C., defeating the Redskins last week.  Russell Wilson is playing incredibly smart football, and leading the Seahawks to another successful season.  The Bengals loss was all it took to bump Seattle into the top spot this week.
   
Thanks for reading,
Connor

Top Level Podcast : NFL Week 5 (Quarter Season Predictions w/ Matthew)

http://kiwi6.com/artists/TopLevelPodcast/nfl-week-5-podcast-10-3-14

Ranking Playoff Formats of Big 5 Sports

     The MLB playoffs have started, which means for many people that it's time to start watching baseball.  For baseball fans, this is the culmination of six months of regular season games, and a time to see the very best create their legacies.  I've picked the Los Angeles Dodgers to win the World Series this year for a number of reasons, one of them being that they have basically a given win in every series they play thanks to a guy named Clayton Kershaw.  However, that's not what I want to talk about today.

     I'm going to rank the playoffs of all the big 5 team sports in the U.S. (NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, MLS) and give my case for what sport I believe has the best playoffs.  This will be a combination of the number of teams that make the playoffs, the different match-up lengths such as best-of-7 series and single elimination, and of course, how exciting to follow and fun to watch they are.

     Here are my rankings for the best playoff formats.

     #5: MLS - Major League Soccer takes the bottom spot in my rankings for a few obvious reasons, the biggest one being that I don't think the MLS should even have playoffs, which is something I mentioned in my problems with the MLS post, found here: http://toplevelsports.blogspot.com/2014/07/the-6-biggest-problems-with-mls.html.  Basically, as I mention in the post, every team plays each other home and away, meaning there is no schedule favoritism, basically negating the need for a playoff system.  Additionally, over half of the teams in the league (10 of 19) make the playoffs, which I believe is far too many.  I think they should do a championship game between the best place in each conference if the MLS really wants a playoff, or instead have a domestic cup.  I still have another major gripe with the MLS' playoff system.  The wild card round, conference semifinals, and conference finals are two-leg series, where each team plays home and away.  However, the final is only one game.  I understand that it creates a big atmosphere surrounding the game, but I just don't like the concept of having a shorter finals.  And as for marketing, most people don't even know its happening when it is, so the MLS playoffs can't really be any higher on the list.

     #4: MLB - The MLB takes fourth place, and while it could have moved up to third place potentially, it suffers from many flaws.  First off is the inconsistency of length in each playoff round.  I personally think it's ridiculous that a sport with a 162 game regular season has only a one game wild card, meaning the second wild card team potentially doesn't play a single playoff game at home prior to elimination.  This isn't as big a problem in the NFL where the season is 10x shorter, but in baseball I think it's crazy.  Then there is a five game divisional round, and seven game league championship and World Series championship series'.  I would be in favor of making all series leading up to the World Series five games, and the World Series seven, although I still think it's too short in comparison to the season length.  As for the general feel of each game, it doesn't feel too much different than the average game to the casual fan, which is a really bad thing for baseball.  These games still suffer from the slow paced, "boring" atmosphere that has destroyed baseball for much of the young market of today.  However it is a reasonable system overall that does enough to get the people who like baseball interested.

     #3: NFL - In comparison to the regular season, the NFL playoffs usually turn out to be a disappointment for me, with two key exceptions in 2007-08 and 2011-12 (the Giants recent Super Bowls).  I didn't think this was possible, but I feel like the NFL's playoffs are over-marketed.  Every commercial is focused on the upcoming games, and by kickoff every little detail that may decide the game has been gone over with a fine-toothed comb.  Simply put, every game in the season is exciting as it leads up to seeing who makes the playoffs, but when there is only one game at a time instead of ten, the playoffs can't live up to the hype.  The Super Bowl is this multiplied by one hundred.  It feels like there is more focus on the halftime show and commercials than the game itself, and many times the game isn't that great (case in point last season).  Don't get me wrong: the NFL playoffs are still very enjoyable for football fans, but I just think everything is so overhyped that if a game is anything under terrific it doesn't meet expectations.  (I know that was a poor explanation so come playoff time it may warrant it's own post).

     #2: NHL - I'll be very honest about this one.  I'm not a huge hockey person, and it's tough to really be one when you spend most of your life in California and Texas, so far away from snow.  However, every year the NHL playoffs turn me into a hockey fan and make me question why I don't watch the sport more often.  It's very fast-paced and exciting, and the emotion on the ice and in the stands is really a sight to see.  I think the NHL does a very good job marketing the events, and while the playoffs in both the NHL and NBA are extremely lengthy (16 teams, all best-of-seven series), they do make for some incredibly tense game sevens.  Hockey is unpredictable, and perhaps more so than any other sport, capable of producing wild finishes, such as the unforgettable Boston Bruins comeback against the Canadiens this past year.  Watching these games gives me a real appreciation for the sport, and for that reason it rightfully takes the number two spot on my list.

     #1: NBA - There is simply nothing like basketball playoffs.  The rivalries, the storylines, the presentation on TV, I could really go on and on.  Every year there are polarizing teams such as the Heat, fan favorites like the Spurs, and combinations of historically great teams continuing their legacies as well as young groups, recently the Pacers, Blazers, and Rockets trying to make names for themselves.  Every game counts, and every moment is important in determining who ends up with the title in June.  It's long, but it's a thrill ride, and I enjoy every moment of it.  In my opinion, the NBA playoffs are unmatched.

     Thanks for reading,

     Connor