AL West

Last Year, the AL Champion came out of the West, in the Texas Rangers. This division is the smallest in the league, only with 4 teams. The Rangers, the L.A. Angels, the Seattle Mariners and the Oakland Athletics. The Angels were hit with the injury bug when their 1B Kendry Morales was injured...by celebrating a walk off home run, and was out for the remainder of the year. The Athletics are an inexperienced team, hungry for a title, and were rebuilding last year. The Mariners' held steady at the basement of the division. Let's see how this division will pan out this year, in Spedmunds' Eyes.

Seattle Mariners:

Pros: The Mariners Don't have much to look at, but they're led by a future Hall of Famer, and a Young Arm hungry for another Cy Young award. Ichiro Suzuki  is the best hitter without a doubt, he will get his 200 hits and 30+ Stolen bases, you can bank on that. King Felix Hernandez is the Reigning Defending Cy Young award winner, even with a 13-12 record last year, he was the best pitcher in the league.

Cons: Excluding Ichiro and Hernandez, you ask any casual baseball fan to name another player on the Mariners, and i will be damn impressed if they can name over 3. Hell, if they can name 1, I'd be impressed. The team is a group of unknowns and under-performers. Without a few more solid hitters, and solid starters, this team is going nowhere fast.

Prediction: 62-100, 4th in division

Oakland Athletics:

Pros: The Athletics surprised many people by making a 2nd half surge, including myself. This year they could play one of two roles, they could battle the Mariners for the basement of the division, or they could play spoiler for the rest of the league, going around .500, with their good blend of experienced players and newcomers. I think they will hold their own.

Cons: As previously stated, they are an unknown team, they could fall on their face out of the starting gate and never get back up. They don't have a big name in their offense, no big power bat.

Prediction: 75-87, 3rd in division

Texas Rangers:

Pros: The defending AL Champion Texas Rangers come off of a Cinderella story of a year coming just short of the World Series title. Josh Hamilton led the team while battling his own demons of drug and alcohol abuse, clinching the AL MVP. The Rangers have a potent lineup, and now the experience of being in a pennant race.

Cons: The Rangers lost Cliff Lee this off season, and with him gone, it will be an uphill battle for the division. I don't see C.J. Wilson, a former closer, being able to take over the #1 starter position, even though he did so well last year.

Prediction: 83-79, 2nd place

L.A. Angels:

Pros: Where do i start? Their offense is solid top to bottom, when they traded for Vernon Wells, it solidified their spot atop the division. Also, when your #5 starter, Scott Kazmir, is a former #1 starter for another team, even if he has been struggling, is impressive.

Cons: Honestly, the only two that i could think of, and one is a con of many favored teams. They need to stay healthy, and don't get injured while celebrating. The other Con is not really a big one, but i don't have faith in their new closer Fernando Rodney. He needs to be a solid closer for the Angels to have a good run in the playoffs, and i don't see it.

Prediction: 90-72,

Division Winner.

There is my AL West prediction. Next week, is the biggest division of em all, the NL Central. with 6 teams, you never know who will make a run, well...excluding the Pirates anyways. Look for an in depth analysis next week. Until then...

Stay Fresh BUHstudio.

Ya Jerks

NL West

Its the time of the year i love, spring training starts this week. MLB season is only about a month away. And because of this, it is time to start my Season Predictions. Starting With the National League West, i will break down a division each week, ending with the American League East. The National League West last year was surprisingly close, with the division being won in the final series between the Soon-to-be World Series Champion San Fransisco Giants and the San Diego Padres. The Arizona Diamondbacks finished in last place for the 2nd straight year, as they try to rebuild. The Los Angeles Dodgers came up short, filled with an under preforming roster and failing to reach expectations. And the Colorado Rockies went 1-9 in their final 10 games to fall out of Wild Card and Division contention.

Now here are my predictions for the NL West, starting with Last Place, working my way to the Winner of the Division:

Arizona Diamondbacks:

Pros: The D'Backs have a very young lineup, with Stephen Drew and Justin Upton leading the way with the most experience, however that is not saying all that much. The D'Backs are very hungry to move up in the West, and who knows, maybe they can become the new Tampa Bay Rays, but not anytime soon.

Cons: Excluding Drew and Upton, they have no star power. Their Pitching Staff is lead by Joe Saunders (9-17 record, 4.47 ERA) and young prospect Dan Hudson (8-2, 2.45 ERA in 14 Starts).The D'Backs are not prepared for a divisional crown run. They need experience, more than anything, in all aspects.

Prediction: The D'backs will not be a factor in any race, except to play spoiler in September.

Record : 55-107

San Diego Padres:

Pros: This team shocked me last year as to how well they did. They have big bats in Ryan Ludwick and Orlando Hudson. Their Strength will rely on those two players having great years. Their biggest strength is that they have one of the top 5 closers in the MLB in Heath Bell, who went 47 for 50 in Save opportunities last season.

Cons: Their biggest loss this year was when they traded away their star player Adrian Gonzalez to the Red Soxs. Losing him take away a 30 + HR and 100 + RBI hitter, in a pitchers ballpark like PETCO park is. Besides Mat Latos, they have no solid proven pitchers.

Prediction: the Padres won't re-create their magical year from last year, and fall back to the back of the pack, not making any noise.

Record: 69-93

L.A. Dodgers:

Pros: One of the most stacked lineups in the NL West, top to bottom. Good Mix of Youth and Veterans. Solid Pitching Staff, all 5 starters have potential to be all stars.

Cons: Bullpen. excluding Johnathon Broxton, no proven relievers, so getting to the closer will be interesting. Health and living up to hype will also be a factor. Also, rookie head coach in Don Mattingly, should prove to be an interesting year.

Prediction: The Dodgers will hang around, but fall out of contention in the end.

Record: 82-80

Colorado Rockies:

Pros: Best shortstop in the game Troy Tulowitzki. One of the best Pitchers Ubaldo Jimenez. and not to mention Coors Field is a solid hitters ballpark, and they have the lineup for it.

Cons: Health. Tulo missed a lot of time last year, and it hurt their lineup. Also, they need someone to step up into their #2 starting spot, as besides Ubaldo, they have no pitching.

Prediction: The Rockies won't be able to contend with the Giants, but will be in the Running for Wild Card throughout the year, but end up missing the playoffs in the end.

Record: 91-71

San Fransisco Giants:

Pros: Defending Champions, Solid Pitching Staff, Solid Lineup. Nothing more to be said except their armed for another title run

Cons: While they are loaded, injuries can always play a part. Tim Lincecum was very hittable last year, and they need him to be back to his old ways.

Prediction: My Prediction....Pain (Thank you for the few that got the Rocky III reference) The Giants are poised to make a run in the playoffs, and easily lock up the Division.

Record: 110-52

Division Winner

There is the NL West for ya. In my eyes. Next week is the AL West. I can't wait for Opening Day!

Stay Phat (yeah, Phat, got a problem with that? too bad) BUHstudio.

Ya Jerks

NBA

NBA Season is halfway over. While I have not paid attention to it as close as other sports (Football and Baseball), I know enough about it to voice an opinion on mid-season awards and potential championship winners and wieners.

Lets Start with the obvious....Most disappointing team:

Hmm....i can't imagine who has been the most disappointing team (sarcasm). In my mind, there is only one. Cleveland Cavilers. Holy Crap! this team hasn't seen a win since before Christmas (Dec. 18th was last in vs. New York Knicks 109-102). This team has no leader since LeBron James ditched The unluckiest sports town in the world to South Beach, and man that looks like a great decision now, despite him becoming a "villain," but that is another story. Cleveland has set the record for most consecutive losses by ANY major sports franchise. Hopefully they will hit the Lottery and get the number one pick to replenish this dreadful roster, but knowing its Cleveland, they'll get stuck somehow with the 10th pick or something like that. Good Luck to them.

Most Surprising Team

There are a few big surprises to me, The Knicks actually being a contender this year is a big surprise to me, but its not the..biggest surprise. The San Antonio Spurs' Amazing record through 51 games (time this is posted is through 51 games FYI). Someone pinch me because this has to be a dream. How does this team keep alive, despite their age? fountain of youth? Tim Duncan's Spurs shocked me having one of the best records throughout 51 games of all time. Spurs are going to be a big player in the playoffs.

Dark Horse Team:

My Dark Horse Team to win the championship is the Chicago Bulls. The Bulls have a very good amount of talent, and many don't think of them as being this good. Sure the Celtics, Heat, and Magic are the ones who get the fame, but Derrick Rose and the Bulls could sneak into the playoffs unnoticed, and shock the east, mark my words.

Now the Individual Awards.

Rookie of the Half-Year:

What a Rookie Class, Blake "Lemme Dunk on Your Face" Griffin and John Wall, these two guys are destined to be great players, superstars possibly. Blake Griffin is a no brain Rookie of the half-year and probably going to be the Rookie of the Year. With 22.6 pts per game and 12.6 Rebounds a game, averaging a double-double is impressive for a rookie to do. Clearly he is a step above his rookie class, and even some NBA Power Forwards.

MVP:

Now the big one, MVP, Most Valuable Player. The NBA is LOADED with Stars. Kobe, LeBron, KG, Duncan, Nash, I could go on forever. Halfway through the year, the player who has meant the most to his team, is not someone i have mentioned above in this topic. Amar'e Stoudemire, averaging 26.3 Points per game, has turned around a team last year that went 29-53, missing the playoffs by a wide margin, to right now 51 games into the season, 26-24. Now me being a casual basketball fan, can only name a few Knicks off the top of my head excluding Amar'e. They have no stars except Amar'e. Without him, the Knicks would be back to where they have been since Patrick Ewing Left. Amar'e Stoudemire, MVP halfway through the season to me.

That about Wraps this one up my friends. Gotta Give a shout out to Kevin Love, I hope he breaks the record of consecutive Double Doubles this year. Good Luck.

Sunday is the start of my Baseball Preview, and I'm going to be going division by division, team by team, pros and cons and predictions. All that juicy goodness. Look for my National League West Preview this Sunday night. Until then....Stay Extreme BUHstudio.com fans


Ya Jerks.

Apology

Hey Guys, i apologize I'm running a little behind schedule. Just wanted to give a quick update as to whats going on. Wednesday night i will post my NBA midway season recap, very in depth, to make up for my missing my deadline. After this, Look for a very very in depth division by division look at the upcoming MLB season. So once again, i apologize for missing my deadline, but, I'll make it up to you guys

Ya Jerks

All Star Game Formats

Welcome, what is up? Spedmunds' sports corner has a hot new issue that your about to find out about. Now i know in my last post i said I'd post tonight about the NBA and whats going on there. Unfortunately there will be a change of plans. Something this week sparked me to go into a rant when i was talking to my brother, and i figure why not make it my next post?

So, i was on ESPN.com this week, and saw the NBA all star team starters were announced. Cool i thought, i checked it out. Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, ya know, the usual guys who should start. Then, the last name on the list. the starting Center for the Western Conference. Yao Ming. Now, if Yao Ming was ACTUALLY PLAYING i wouldn't have cared. But he has not at all this year, and played little last year. These All Star games, the ones that the fans vote for i mean, are getting out of hand. Not just the NBA, but the MLB as well.

I'm not going to BullS**t here, i don't know all that much about the NBA, sure the basic rules, the star players, and the players on my NBA 2K11 game. I don't follow the NBA as closely as Baseball or Football. But i am 100% sure there are many other players who should get the all star start on their resume, over Yao. Just like the MLB, when Derek Jeter gets a start at Shortstop for the American League, when he is not the best SS at the time that year. Nothing irks me more than All Star games becoming a popularity contest.

In my own personal opinion, All Star games should not be in the hands of the fans watching. Instead, i believe every player and coach should be able to vote for who they think the starters/backups should be. I feel that they would know best as to who is the best at the time. I know that doing so would take some power and interest out of the fan's hands, but it would be best to make All Star Games fair and balanced.

That will do it for this week's Sports Corner. I know it was short, compared to my previous ones, it was just something i had to get off my chest. Thanks for putting up with my rant. Whats in store for next week? Tune in next Sunday night to find out!

You Stay Uber Sweet BuhStudios Fans

YA JERKS

Spedmunds' Sports Corner - Super Bowl Prediction

Well Well Well, that magical day that somehow mixes Funny commercials and concussions, mixes Janet Jackson's Boobage slip with what could have been Rex Ryan's favorite feet (too soon?). Super Bowl Sunday is 2 weeks away, and we finally have the last two teams standing. The Pittsburgh Steelers took care of the New York Jets tonight 24-19, and earlier today, the Green Bay Packers Bruised and Battered the Chicago Bears Quarterbacks, and won 21-14. A battle of Cheese-heads and the Steal Curtain.

This year's Superbowl is a battle of great offense (Packers) vs great defense (Steelers). In the past Superbowl's that i can remember, we've had this type of match up (I.E. Cardinals vs Steelers (XLIII) and Colts vs Bears (XLI)). Time to rank:

Better QB: Oh this is a tough one. you have the 2 time super bowl champion Ben "Can i get a Rothles-Burger" and Aaron "Jolly" Rodgers (forgive me for the jokes please). I saved this one to write last, as this is the most intriguing comparison. On one hand you have Aaron Rodgers, the man who learned from one of the best QBs in the history of the NFL, Brett Farve, and Ben Roethlisberger (yeah, i looked up how to spell it), a two time Super Bowl winning QB, already proven to be clutch in the playoffs. This has to come down to stats. On average, Rodgers throws for 261.5 yards a game with a 28-11 Touchdown to INT ratio which rounds to about 39%, with Roethlisberger throwing for 266.7 Yards, with a 17-5 Touchdown to INT ratio which rounds to about 29%.

Edge has to go to experience with numbers this close: Steelers

Better RB core: This would be an easy choice is the Packers still had Ryan Grant, however being on the IR doesn't help his team much. The Packers' top two RBs are James Starks, and John Kuhn. Starks is a rookie RB, who broke out during their Wild Card match up against the Eagles, John Kuhn started as a 3rd string RB at the beginning of the year, but due to Injury to Grant and an ineffective Brandon Jackson, became a major player for the Packers' RBs. The Steelers are formed with a 1-2 punch with Rashard Mendenhall and Mewelde Moore, a cornerstone this year for Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh's 1-2 punch has more experience, and i believe more power/speed than Green Bay's.

Edge: Steelers.

Better WR core: Can't go wrong with either. The experience with the Steelers' Heinz Ward and Antawn Randle El and the explosive Mike Wallace. Then again, Donald Driver, Greg Jennings and James Jones is not all that bad either. However, none of these players will make the biggest impact in the Super Bowl. The Edge tips in the Steelers' favor, due to Heath Miller, The Steelers' safety valve. A good Tight End is overlooked far too much in the NFL.

Edge: Steelers.

Better Offensive Line:

This one, i looked strictly at the stats for. The Packers allowed 38 sacks, and 67 QB hits, while the Steelers have allowed 43 sacks with 78 QB hits. The numbers speak for themselves.

Edge: Packers.

Better D Line: Looking at the stats, i was a bit stunned. Obviously, the Steelers lead the league in sacks with 48.0. However, tied for 2nd with the Raiders and Chargers were, yeah, the Green Bay Packers with 47.0.  No obvious choice so far. Both teams use a 3-4 defense (3 linemen and 4 linebackers, most teams use a 4-3, 4 linemen, 3 linebackers). No clean favorite here with the stats, so, no edge.

Edge: Push

Better LBs: Both teams have solid LBs. Steelers have James Harrison and James Farrior, Packers have A.J. Hawk and more than likely NFL defensive player of the year, Clay Matthews. Stats show between the 4 players I've mentioned, the Packers duo had combined 126 tackles, and 14 sacks (Matthews had 13.5 sacks) and the Steelers had 150 tackles with 16 sacks.

Edge: Steelers

Better Defensive Backs:

This battle will come down to 2 special future Hall of Famers: CB Charles Woodson for the Packers, and Safety Troy Polamalu. Sticking with stats, Polamalu this year has 7 Interceptions (1 for a Touchdown) and 18 pass deflections with 49 tackles, and Woodson has 2 INTs (1 for a Touchdown) with 15 pass deflections and 76 tackles. Edge is a close one, but....

Edge: Steelers

Better Special Teams (Kickers, Punters, Returners)

Packers Kicking: 78.5% of Field Goals made

Steelers Kicking: 78.3% of Field Goals Made

uh....definitely no edge there.

Packers Punting Net Average: 37.6 Yards

Steelers Punting Net Average: 37.3 Yards

(Net Average is the Yards the Punter Punts the ball averaged, minus the amount of yards the Returner averages)

No defiant edge yet again.

Packers Kick Return Average + Touchdowns: 20.1 and 0 TDs.

Packers Punt Return Average + TDs: 7.9 and 0 TDs.

Steelers Kick Return Average + TDs: 23.5 and 1 TD.

Steelers Punt Return Average + TDs: 6.1 and 0 TDs.

Well....No Edge, these numbers are too close.

Edge: Push

Well, the numbers will say that the Pittsburgh Steelers will win this game. However, if we went straight from stats, the Patriots and Falcons would more than likely be in the Superbowl. Stats are not everything.

Steve's Professional (yeah...professional...sure) Prediction

Green Bay Packers - 27

Pittsburgh Steelers - 21

Yeah I'm going against my stats, just a gut feeling. Of Course, feel free to post up your prediction, like always, keep it clean, keep it civil. Look for my next post next Sunday night, going into the world of the NBA, with a "Little past mid-season prediction" of the next few months of the NBA season.

You stay Rockin' BUHStudio fans...ya Jerks.

5 Hardest Mainstream Sports to play.

For my first post, why not start out with a controversial topic? I've played many sports in my lifetime, know people who have played the rest. I ranked these 1-5 with 5 being the most difficult and 1 being easy-peasy. The Physical aspect, how fit you have to be to play it, the Mechanical aspect, meaning how easy it is to pick the sport up, and the Mental part, which in my opinion is, after wrestling with this topic for an hour or so, is the amount of effort you need to put in to be above average at this sport, in my experience. After comparing the 3 categories, i found my results were surprising even to me. Without further Freddy Adu (thank you for those of you who got that soccer reference), my top 5 Most difficult Sports to play.

#5
 With 11 points, my 5th toughest sport to play is Basketball. I ranked this one a 4 on the physical. It does take you to be in shape, however, looking at someone like Shaq, I'm pretty sure i could beat him in a 40 yard dash, and possibly a longer run. On the Mechanical part, i gave it another 4. It isn't easy to dribble the ball like Chris Paul or Kobe, or shoot like Wade or Durant. The Mental i gave it a 3, because in my experience, once you have your form, you don't need to do much more than spot up and shoot the jay SHOOT IT!

#4
 Also with 11 points, due to the tie, i picked the sport with the highest single rating, and this sport had a 5. The sport of course is Football. What some people are calling the new "America's Pastime." This sport got a 5 in the physical department. Mainly to summarize, when you need to fine people for giving people concussions too often, its a pretty Gnarly sport (yeah i said Gnarly). Mechanically i gave it a 3, if you boil the sport down, its running, and tackling isn't difficult to figure out (even though some NFL teams refuse to form tackle *cough*cough*GIANTS*cough*cough*. Mentally i gave it a 3 as well. Like i said in Mechanically, if you boil it down, its basically running. Its a 3 because i considered the QB position, how you need to read the field, make good passes, etc.

#3
Another tie between the 3 and 2 positions, and because i gave them equal grades in each, personal opinion reigns. Tennis. This is a sport i have had the most success with in high school, so I'd be one who knows this sport very well. I gave Physical a 4, and the only reason i gave it a 4 and not a 5, was because my former doubles partner, not going to use his name, was I'd say about 5'3, around 250-275, an oompa-loompa basically (no offence meant Mr. Truffle Shuffle), and we did well. Mechanically and Mentally were both 4's. I believe these sports are tough to play, and master, but just about anyone can do it.

#2
As much as This sport tortured me while i was a wee lad, traveling up and down the eastern sea board (my sister played this). Soccer. Yeah i know what your saying "Steve this is a fairies sport its not harder than football or basketball!!!" Well get off your high horse, and use your brain. It received 4's across the board. It takes a lot of coordination to play this. It combines the consistent running of basketball with a lot more coordination. not to mention the field is bigger than any of the sports fields that i graded. In general, Soccer may look like a fairy sport, but how bout you try to play midfield for a game, and see what you say.

#1
The #1 sport surprised me, as coming into this, first thought, would be football or baseball. But after using my expert science techniques....sort of thing...the hardest sport according to my rankings is.......BOWLING! no, kidding, that was actually my lowest ranking with a 6. The toughest sport is Hockey! Hockey got a 5 in physical department. It is constant action, with the powerful hits that football has. I gave Mechanical a 4, The skill Sid the Kid and others have using their sticks (giggity), how Athletic and agile they need to be on skates is amazing. Mental is a 5. If you have no ice skating experience, your basically screwed trying to play this, believe me, i know from experience, the boards and i became close friends, as did me and the ice.


I ranked 10 sports, and I'll post the totals and results right now of each
#10 Bowling with 6 total points
#9 Golf with 8 total points
#8 Track & Field with 9 total points
#7 Baseball with 10 total points
#6 Lacrosse also with 10 total points
#5 Basketball with 11 total points
#4 Football also with 11 total points
#3 Tennis with 12 total points
#2 Soccer also with 12 total points
#1 Hockey with 14 total points

Well there ya have it. In this guy's professional opinion. More than likely you disagree. Feel free to post your top 5 out of these 10. Just be respectful...Ya Jerks

I'll try to keep this site updated, as well as i can. Next week, look for my post to be Sunday night, with my Superbowl predictions.
You stay Gnarly BUHstudio Fans..Ya Jerks.

Intro

 So, before we begin, i'd just like to introuce myself, who i am, how i roll. Name is Steve, Grew up in the greater Binghamton Area and work retail. I love sports. Doesn't matter what sport, it brings the best out of many people. It shows how people react under pressure, how much trust they have in others, and above all else, how much they love the game they play. Football, Baseball, Basketball, Tennis, Bowling, Hockey, Golf are all sports i've attempted. And no, poker is not a sport, and while Pro Wrestling takes major athletisism, it is not considered a sport. I've always been a sports guy, following most closely, falling asleep to Sportscenter. If i would say anything, i'd say it's in my blood.

I do have one quote i live by, and it applies to this new BUHstudio.com Blog. and that is a quote by John Kruk (Baseball Tonight analysit). "I have an opinion on everyhing, sometimes you won't like it." I'm sure at least one of you reading this will disagree with me. Just please respect my opinion, and there won't be no fighting. However if there is fighting, No touching of the Hair or Face, AND THATS IT! Love Ron Burgendy and the movie Anchorman.

 I'll more than likely post up an e-mail address sometime when i get this site figured out. Feel free to leave questions to me, and if you have an idea about a future subject, i'd be happy to look into it. Also, i want to make no promises, but i will shoot for a new blog to be posted sunday night, each week. However i am awful when it comes to deadlines for just about anything, so, don't freak out when/if i don't have it up.

You stay classy, Planet Earth....Ya Jerks