Pick of the Day - May 26th

BY: NEIL BRASLOW

Overall: 32-21-1
Week: 4-1
Month: 15-10

Boston Celtics (HOME) (-5.5) OVER Philadelphia 76ers (AWAY)

Simply put, if the 76ers win this game, I am going to be stunned. The spread is 5.5 which I think is fair. Games 1 and 2 were both decided by a single point in Boston. However, in Game 5 Boston blew out Philadelphia by 16. I expect the score will be closer to the 16 point margin tonight than to a single digit. The 76ers are young and inexperienced in Game 7 situations. On the other hand, Boston is a team full of veterans who have been there before. Factor in the home court advantage as well and this has the makings of a possible blowout. Take the Celtics.

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Pick of the Day - May 25th

BY: NEIL BRASLOW

Overall: 31-21-1
Week: 3-1
Month: 14-10

New Jersey Devils (HOME) (-125) OVER New York Rangers (AWAY)

18 years ago to the day, with the Rangers trailing 3-2 in the Eastern Conference Finals to the Devils, Mark Messier guaranteed New York would win. He scored a hat trick that night in Jersey forcing a Game 7 back at Madison Square Garden. I don't see anything similar other than the fact that Brodeur is still in goal for the Devils. This Rangers group has appeared gutless at times, especially certain individuals such as the biggest bust of the playoffs, Marian Gaborik. Shame on me for picking the Rangers last game. About the only thing I was right about in my playoff predictions a few weeks ago was that the Devils would avenge the 1994 playoffs by knocking out the Rangers. While the Rangers don't lose 3 games in a row very often, I expect the Devils to come out and finish them off in front of their home crowd. Take the Devils to win.

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5 NHL Teams in Decline

By: Lauren Burg
 

BleacherReport.com

In the NHL teams go through changes and, at times, lose players that were majorly important to the success of those teams. It happens to every team; no team is spared; and it can result in teams going through more than one down, or declining, year. In a previous article I gave the five teams that have a bright future, using the number of key prospects under contract, minor league affiliates' success and top players with more than a year left remaining on their contracts. In this article, however, I plan to give the five teams I believe might be headed for a decline, using the number of key players that could be lost to free agency, retirement, etc. Without further ado, here are the five teams I think might be headed for at least a few declining years.

New Jersey Devils

The Devils are currently in the Eastern Conference finals so you might not think they could be in trouble after this season. The truth is that they could be though. Captain Zach Parise is a free agent this summer and his name has been floated around by a few teams, one being his hometown Minnesota Wild, already. Parise is half of what makes the Devils so good and he proved that this season into these 2012 playoffs. During the regular season he scored 31 goals and accumulated 69 points, helping the Devils to the number six seed in the Eastern Conference and a playoff berth. During this postseason he's been doing everything possible to make sure the Devils win another Stanley Cup before his contract expires, with six goals for 12 points in 16 playoff games thus far. To underscore his importance, with Parise playing in only 13 games prior to season-ending knee surgery in 2010-2011, the Devils missed the playoffs for the first time in years and finished near the bottom of the Eastern Conference.

The Devils also could possibly lose defenseman Bryce Salvador to free agency this summer. Salvador has been a huge factor in the Devils' success this season, with nine points (all assists) and a plus-18 rating during the regular season. Salvador has continued to play well during this postseason, getting 10 points, three of them goals, and a plus-9 rating thus far. The last of the key free agents the Devils could lose this summer is a sure to be Hall-of-Fame goaltender in Martin Brodeur. At the age of 40 it's quite likely that Brodeur will retire after these playoffs end. His numbers, both regular season and playoffs, are phenomenal. To illustrate my point here, Brodeur, in 59 starts during the regular season, was 31-21-4 with three shutouts, a 2.41 goals against average (GAA) and a .908 save percentage. He continued to put up great numbers in the postseason as he, in 17 starts to this point, is 11-5-1 with one shutout, a 2.04 GAA and a .921 save percentage. Losing these three players, or even two, could be devastating enough to send the Devils into a decline.

Washington Capitals

The Capitals, after making it to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, thought things were looking up. Then came the announcement that interim Head Coach Dale Hunter would not be returning. As if that weren't enough to deal with goaltender Tomas Vokoun announced he would not be returning, instead opting to possibly play overseas, and left wing Alexander Semin stated that he planned to "test the waters", as he put it, during free agency.  Put all those announcements together, couple them with the potential loss of free agents Jeff Halpern and Dennis Wideman, and the Caps could be in major trouble.

Losing Semin, if he isn't re-signed, will likely be a big blow to the Caps. As much as he was often hot and cold he, along with Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom, helped to make the Caps' top line one of the toughest for opponents to play against. His production in the 2011-2012 regular season was amazing, as he put up 21 goals, 54 points and a plus-9 rating in 77 games played. In 14 postseason games he struggled a bit, notching only four points, but much of the team, including Ovechkin, also struggled.

Vokoun, brought in to be the starter last summer, really didn't live up to expectations. Then again he's always been a streaky goaltender, as can be evidenced by his years with the Florida Panthers. He also won more games than he lost, something that could play a role in the Caps making the playoffs, or even winning the division, in future years. To illustrate this, in 46 regular season starts, Vokoun was 25-17-2 with four shutouts, a 2.51 GAA and .917 save percentage. His backup, Michal Neuvirth, had a 13-13-5 record with three shutouts, a 2.82 GAA and .903 save percentage. Unfortunately for the Caps, both Neuvirth and Vokoun are injury prone and missed the entire 2012 postseason. Granted, rookie Braden Holtby was phenomenal, posting a 7-7-4 record, 1.95 GAA and .935 save percentage in all 14 games. However, without a high draft pick and few, if any, promising young goaltenders under contract the Caps could be in major trouble if Holtby were to get injured or go through a really bad stretch.

Phoenix Coyotes

The Coyotes, though set at the goaltender position with Mike Smith as the starter, have a lot of other areas where they might end up losing key players. To start, forwards Ray Whitney, a key piece to the Carolina Hurricanes 2006 Stanley Cup win, and captain Shane Doan are both free agents. Losing them could potentially be devastating, especially to a team that struggles offensively as it is. Whitney, in all 82 regular season games, led the Coyotes with 24 goals, 77 points and a unheard of plus-28 rating. He cooled a bit though in his 16 postseason games, tallying only two goals, seven points and a minus-1 rating. Doan, on the other hand, struggled a tad during the regular season but came ready to play in the postseason. His numbers in 79 regular season games (22 goals, 50 points, minus-8 rating) as opposed to 16 playoff games (5 goals, 9 points, plus-2 rating) just prove that point.

 Defensively, the possibility of losing either Adrian Aucoin, Michal Rozsival or both will be tough for the Coyotes to swallow. Both are great defenseman that can also help out offensively if needed. Rozsival, like Doan, had a very different regular season and postseason. Aucoin, in 64 regular season games, had two goals, nine points and a plus-14 rating. Rozsival, on the other hand, had one goal, 13 points and a plus-8 rating in 54 regular season games. Aucoin, in 11 postseason games, tallied two points (both assists) and a plus-4 rating while Rozsival, in 15 playoff games, was held without a point and finished with a minus-3 rating.

 In goal, the Coyotes must hope Smith can stay healthy as his backup, Jason LaBarbera, in only 14 regular season starts, had a awful record of 3-9-3 with a 2.54 GAA and .912 save percentage. With these potential losses, and their lack of someone who can step up and consistently win should something happen to Smith, it's obvious that the Coyotes could be headed for a decline.

Calgary Flames

Calgary has been in decline for a few years actually and having to possibly replace Olli Jokinen on offense and Cory Sarich on defense, combined with the lack of backup experience to Miikka Kiprusoff, makes it hard to see the Flames decline ending in the next two years. To begin with, the potential loss of Jokinen, especially on the power play, will hurt big time, as Jokinen last season led the Flames with nine power play goals. He also, in all 82 games, put up 23 goals and 61 points, second only to Flames captain Jarome Iginla.

 

On defense, the possible loss of Cory Sarich could make an already weak defensive team even weaker, something that's evidenced by the number of Flames with a minus rating. Sarich's offensive production leaves much to be desired but he did, in 62 games this past regular season, manage one goal, seven points and, more important, a plus-1 rating. He also has loads of playoff experience, as he was a key part of the Tampa Bay Lightning's 2004 Stanley Cup winning team, the same one that defeated the Flames in seven games.

 

Goaltending wise, the Flames really only have Kiprusoff who they can rely on. His backups, Henrik Karlsson and Leland Irving, only have a combined 25 starts over the past two seasons. This past season, Karlsson was 1-4-2 with a 3.17 GAA and .900 save percentage while Irving was 1-3-3 with a 3.20 GAA and a .912 save percentage. With Kiprusoff getting up there in age and getting little defensive support the Flames could be in trouble for another year or two at least.

 

Detroit Red Wings

I know, I know. Red Wings fans will tell me that the Wings have made the playoffs for years, have all kinds of talent waiting in the minor leagues and so on and so forth. All of that is great but answer me this: Do you honestly believe your team won't go through, at the least, a slight decline if, or when, Nicklas Lidstrom decides to retire? His contract is up this summer and, unless he feels he can play another year or two at the same top level without injury, it's likely that he retires. At age 42, Lidstrom is still putting up good numbers, as evidenced by his 11 goals, 34 points and plus-21 rating in only 70 regular season games. However, Lidstrom was held pointless in only five postseason games. Makes you wonder if he was injured, something that could factor in his decision about retirement.

 

The Wings could also possibly lose Brad Stuart on defense as he's also a free agent this summer. Losing him would not be easy as his regular season numbers, six goals, 21 points, plus-16 rating in 81 games played, were all very good. His postseason numbers, on the other hand, were not that good, as Stuart only managed one point (an assist) and had a minus-5 rating in five postseason games. To get more of a perspective on his postseason play, however, I checked last season's playoff stats. Last season, in 11 playoff games, had two points (both assists) and a plus-6 rating. That leads me to believe that Stuart just faced a really good team this postseason, a team that was able to knock him off his game, and not that he isn't a good defenseman.

On offense, the Wings face the possibility of losing Jiri Hudler to free agency this summer. Hudler, in 81 regular season games, tallied 25 goals and 50 points, good for fifth on a team with lots of goal-scorers. He also had a plus-10 rating, proof that he was great both on offense and defense. Hudler, in the 2012 playoffs, also had two goals for two points. Regardless, losing Lidstrom, Stuart or Hudler, and those are just a few of the Red Wings' free agents this summer, could make it inevitable that the team will, at the least, go through a slight decline over the next few years.

****Note: This is the opinion of one writer. These teams could end up proving me wrong and improving, even with the potential losses of some key components. Also, it should be noted that since free agency doesn't begin until July 1st so a lot of this depends on whether players re-sign with their current team, sign somewhere else or retire, none of which is known for sure at this point. ****

*All free agents, their age and some regular season statistics were found at http://www.capgeek.com/ufa_finder.php

 *All New Jersey Devils statistics were found here: http://devils.nhl.com/club/stats.htm?season=20112012

*All Washington Capitals statistics were found here: http://capitals.nhl.com/club/stats.htm?gameType=3&season=20112012

*All Phoenix Coyotes statistics were found here: http://coyotes.nhl.com/club/stats.htm?gameType=2&season=20112012

*All Calgary Flames statistics were found here: http://flames.nhl.com/club/stats.htm?season=20112012

 *All Detroit Red Wings statistics were found here: http://redwings.nhl.com/club/stats.htm?gameType=3&season=20112012

***Feel free to contact me, Lauren Burg, on Twitter @TBLightning491 or Daily Shootout on Twitter @DailyShootout. ***

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Fantasy Baseball-Week 8 Waiver Wire Pickups

Fantasy Furnace is a contributing writer to Daily Shootout. Follow them on Twitter @FantasyFurnace If you like this, please stop by and let them know! 

 
We have come to the first of four milestones in the long fantasy baseball season. Most leagues have around 22 weeks of competing in the regular season and at least 3 weeks of playoffs, making the season about 25% over at this point. Some managers have been a bit frustrated by the under-achieving Red Sox and Yankees while others are reaping the rewards of some over-achieving teams like Cleveland and Baltimore. Meantime for those interested in who’s hot enough to make our Waiver Wire Pickup list this week, here are another five to consider..

Jonathan Lucroy-C-Brewers-When we started putting this list together on Sunday night, Lucroy was owned in 39% of leagues. What a difference a day and seven RBI’s in Sunday’s game makes. He is now owned in 46% of leagues and since he’s not playing on Monday,(manager Ron Roenicke will stick to his plan of using George Kottaras as the catcher when Randy Wolf is on the mound), the adds will slow until Tuesday when he is scheduled to be behind the plate again. How any catcher batting .342 on the season and on pace to knock in 108 runs is still so widely available is astonishing. In addition to his 4 HR’s he has 3 triples and 7 doubles, proving how well he’s been mashing the ball. There isn’t a more productive catcher widely available on waivers so we place Lucroy in our ‘Must Adds’ for the week!

Jonathan Lucroy, after knocking in seven runs on Sunday, has become one of the most added players in leagues. Photo: the associated press

Dayan Viciedo-OF-White Sox- Viciedo, who just turned 23 this past March, has been playing out of his mind in his last seven games. Batting a torrid .444 (12 for 27), he also has belted 4 home runs and has 10 RBI’s and 5 runs scored. Since May 13th he had added almost 50 points to his batting average which admittedly is still low at .245, but if you can afford to grab him, we recommend riding the LF/RF until he shows signs of slowing down. There isn’t enough on his major league resume to go on as he has only had about 200 career AB’s before this season when he’s finally be given the start in LF. He is currently only owned in around 20% of leagues and worth a flier in deeper leagues.

Alfonso Soriano-OF-Cubs- Remember him? Soriano is now entering his 14th year in the bigs and still possesses some punch in his bat. In the last four seasons, Sori has averaged 25 homers. His biggest enemy is the injury bug and that’s why we say that there is some risk involved with Sori on your team. He’s been hot of late hitting safely in seven of his last eight games with three HR’s, 7 RBI’s and 10 runs scored. He has a .360 batting average over the last six games and has raised his average 20 points to .270, very close to his career .274 BA. He has had some knee soreness and said he will play through it while making adjustments. Soriano is available in about 2/3 of leagues.

Wade Miley-SP/RP-Diamondbacks- This 25 year old southpaw just picked up his fifth win on Sunday on a six hit shutout vs the Kansas City Royals. Miley has taken full advantage of the opportunity to join the starting rotation ever since Josh Collmenter was sent to the bullpen. He’s sporting a 2.41 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP. His control has been impeccable as indicated by his 30K’s against 14 BB’s. The reliever turned starter this year will face the Brewers on Friday followed by the Giants in S.F., the team that he earned his first victory from back on April 8th. We like Miley and think he qualifies as one of our sleeper candidates. Among all pitchers in Yahoo! leagues, Miley is ranked 82nd. He’s owned in just 25% of leagues and makes for a nice pickup in 12+ leagues.

#67 Diamondback’s Wade Miley takes his 5-1 record and faces Milwaukee on Friday. He has become one of our sleeper candidates. Photo: Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

Matt Adams-1B-Cardinals- This highly touted prospect made his season debut against the Dodgers on Sunday and went 2-4. This is not why we think he’s worth a speculative add of course. What we do find intriguing is that in his last 152 games in Double-A and Triple-A in the Cardinals organization, he has 41 homers and a .300+ batting average. With 1B Lance Berkman (torn meniscus) out for up to eight weeks, De Aza has an opportunity to show his talents and make a case for staying in the lineup should Berkman return. (There has been chatter about Berkman not returning this season). He’s barely owned (just 15%) so if you have the room or want a sub for Berkman, or you are in deeper leagues, give Adams a shot.

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Pick of the Day - May 24th

BY: NEIL BRASLOW

Overall: 30-21-1
Week: 2-1
Month: 13-10

San Francisco Giants (AWAY) (VOGELSONG) (+135) OVER Miami Marlins (HOME) (SANCHEZ)

Ryan Vogelsong is one of the most underrated pitchers in baseball. In the month of May he has started four times completing 28.1 IP, 3 ER, 14 SO, and 0.95 ERA. Hard to figure out why a pitcher who has put up numbers like that comes into a game at +135. Fantastic value play. It could be that he will have to deal with the rowdy Marlins crowd that will no doubt make noise every time they check their phones to see the Heat score. As for the Marlins, in addition to still having absolutely no home field advantage playing in front of their brand new empty stadium, I only know two guys named Sanchez. One is a terrible quarterback for the New York Jets and the other cuts my lawn. Take the Giants to win.

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When Is It Time To Say Goodbye Mr. Youkilis?

By: Chad Smith

It’s May 15^th 2004, The Boston Red Sox are playing the Toronto Blue Jays at the Skydome (Now Rogers Centre). Bill Mueller is put on the disable list and the sox call up a third baseman not many people have heard of. I was at that game in Toronto on a vacation to watch the Red Sox take on the Blue Jays. It was a three game series and I was going to two of the games. I was 16 at the time and just excited to see the Red Sox play an away series. I do not remember too much if anything about that trip but I do remember is sitting on the first base side and seeing Kevin Youkilis first career homerun. It was a shot down the left field line. After seeing him run around the bases he became one of my favorite Red Sox. I thought he was going to be good, but at that time I though every young Red Sox was going to be the next big thing. In 2004 he helped the Red Sox win their first World Series even though he did not play a whole during the playoffs.



Lesters Legends

Since seeing that homerun Youkilis has been one of my favorite Red Sox. He plays with passion, heart, determination, and sometimes he takes his disappointments over the top. Some fans and media have got on him about his temper, but to me all it shows is that he cares. I’m not sure about the people reading this article but I would much rather watch someone who cares too much then someone who does not care at all. Watching Youkilis these past seasons as a Red Sox fan has been awesome. Now however there is a real possibility he could be on his way out of town. Youkilis was put on the disabled list earlier this month which allowed for a hot hitting prospect by the name of WillMiddlebrooks to make his debut in the show. Middlebrooks is replacing Youkilis in the same fashion Youkilis replace Mueller some 8 years ago. Since getting to the show Middlebrooks has done extremely well.

I’m now 24 and much more opinionated now then I was at 16. After watching the greatest collapse in baseball history, the Red Sox organization not doing much to fix it, and continuing their less then inspired play into this season I question the direction of Red Sox organization. If the Red Sox decide to trade Youkilis there is no doubt that they will be questioned, and if the Red Sox decide to keep Youkilis they will be question. It makes perfect sense as to why the Red Sox would want to trade Youkilis. He is clearly on the down side of his career, and the last few seasons he has been dealing with nagging injuries. The market for Youkilis will be decent and the Sox could probably get a young pitching prospect who could become a third or fourth starter at the major league level. So what if the Red Sox do trade Kevin Youkilis? Will they get better or worse?  I think they will miss the playoffs if they keep or trade Youkilis, so I say go the trade route. Don’t get me wrong I would love to see Youk retire a Red Sox, but I just don’t see how it’s going to happen.

Will Middlebrooks is clearly ready to contribute at the major league level and will be in the Red Sox line up full time next season. So far we have seen a small sampling of Middlebrooks but the future looks promising. The Red Sox will not make the playoffs this season as they did not do enough to correct the problems that plagued them last year. The Red Sox might as well use this season as a bridge year and load up for the future. In the end this is the way sports work. The aging veteran who is loved by the fans is eventually replaced by the young prospect. You can debate all day if it’s right or not for a veteran to lose his position to a rising prospect because of an injury. Right now Middlebrooks can contribute more to winning ball games for the Red Sox and that is what sports is all about, winning. Whether or not he is traded his time in Boston is coming to end and the writing is appearing on the wall. So what if the Red Sox trade Youk?, well I will always think of Youk as a Red Sox.

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Pick of the Day - May 23rd

BY: NEIL BRASLOW

Overall: 30-20-1
Week: 2-0
Month: 13-9

New York Rangers (HOME) (-130) OVER New Jersey Devils (AWAY)

Look out Rangers fans. Finally going to pick New York to win a game in this series. For the most part, the Rangers have been outplayed throughout much of the series. The reason the series is tied at 2-2 is because of Lundqvist. I think both of the Rangers 3-0 victories in Games 1 and 3 are deceiving due to the fact that they were completely outworked through the first 2 periods and then came out in the 3rd period and dominated along with a few lucky breaks. With all of that said, I have bought in to the win one, lose one, win one, lose one flow of this series. The Rangers are due for a win tonight and are also due to play a much better game. Take the Rangers to win.

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Where's The Hate?

By:Jeremy Wiebe

There is a lot of history between the NewYork Rangers and the New Jersey Devils. Bitter playoff battles in 1992, 1994, and 2008 have made this one of the most intense rivalries in the NHL.

Who can forget Sean Avery and Martin Brodeur waging battle in front of the net, with Avery turning his back and waving his stick to distract the future Hall of Fame goalie. It got so ugly that, Brodeur refused to shake Avery's hand at the end of the series.

Or 1992, after a Game 6 win by the Devils, the benches cleared, sparking a brawl, which made hostilities rise.

BlueShirtsUnited.com

Of course there is 1994. These two teams separated only by 17 miles played in what many call the best playoff series ever. (At worst it is in the argument. Discuss amongst yourselves.) A bitter, highly intense Eastern Conference Final that went the full seven games. It took Stephane Matteau's goal in double overtime for the Rangers to vanquish the Devils.

Fast forward to 2012. The Rangers and Devils meet again in the Eastern Conference Final. And after three games, the Rangers have a 2-1 lead in the series. But what I'm wondering is: Where's the hate?

So far these games have lacked the hatred and intensity this rivalry usually brings out. Sure John Tortorella and Peter De Boer are waging a war of words, but I'm just not feeling the animosity on the ice. Granted the Rangers don't have Mark Messier and the Devils no longer have Scott Stevens to rage war with each other. Neither team have players like those two. And Sean Avery was released by the Rangers earlier in the season, which lessens the hatred somewhat.

Still, I'm waiting for that moment where these teams finally let out all their emotions, and go at it tooth and nail. Maybe they got that out of the way back in March, where these two sides engaged in a line brawl right after the opening face-off. And yes, it only takes one incident for all hell to break loose,

But until then, I wait for the hate to begin. It would make this series even better. If you don't think hatred is important in a playoff series, look at the Flyers-Penguins first round series from this year. Or those Blackhawks-Canucks series the last three season. Or just look at Devils-Rangers in 1994. Hatred makes the playoffs great. And this series needs the hate.

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Are these MLB teams Contenders or Pretenders?

By: Zac Cordova and Justin Millar

Zac Cordova:

LA Dodgers: Pretender. Matt Kemp should change his nickname to “Mr. April” because he gets everyone thinking he is the best player in baseball the first month of every season. He is great no doubt, but has little help outside of Clayton Kershaw and Andre Ethier. AJ Ellis will cool off a bit, but they are too top heavy to be considered consistent enough to be a contender.

NY Yankees: Contender. Simply too much talent to continue playing this poorly. When you consider all the players they have hitting poorly or injured(Tex, Cano, A-Rod, Gardner) there has to be a bounce back. Paired with the inevitable trade deadline splash for a starter, the Yanks should be just fine.

Detriot Tigers: Pretender. They are almost the Dodgers of the AL, in that they have very little depth behind their sluggers. With their offensive stars hitting at of near their norms, and Fielder’s lack of power cancelled by overachieving starts by Austin Jackson and Andy Dirks, there really is not too much room for improvement. Rookie Drew Smyley and Doug Fister wont keep their sub 2.5 ERA’s all year, and Dirks and Jackson due to regress, the Tigers may be in serious trouble, with the only saving grace being their weak division.

Baltimore Orioles: Contender. The Orioles have quietly put together a tremendous pitching staff, anchored by 5 relievers posting sub 1.8 ERA’s (6 if you include Chris Davis). The potential regression of starters Wei-Yin Chen and Jason Hammel are greatly anchored because of how terrific their bullpen is. Outside of Adam Jones, they do not have an offensive player who is greatly overachieving. If they can sustain the great bullpen work, and hitting, I can absolutely see the Orioles challenging for the division come September.

By: Justin Millar

Yankees:

You have to go with contender here. Their offense is arguably among the top 5 in baseball right now, and although some players, such as Derek Jeter, are due to regression, the offense should remain among the league's best. I would worry about injuries though, being that the youngest starting position player is 29, and everyone else is over 30. Depth is also a question mark offensively. The rotation should be fine as long as Nova and Hughes step up their game, and I believe they will. Even without Rivera, the bullpen is very strong with Robertson being perhaps one of the 5 best relievers in the game. They may not be in playoff position right now, but I think they end up playing under the lights of October.

Dodgers:

I'm really on the fence about this one, but I will go with contender. This is largely due to the fact that the two teams that we thought would contend for the division title, Arizona and San Francisco, are playing well under expectations. This will probably end up being a close race, but the early season lead and momentum could push them into a playoff spot. The pitching is really good, and it almost makes up for the lack of offensive depth. Kemp and Ethier will carry the offense, but if the Dodgers lose one of them, especially Kemp, then there may not be a happy ending for this team. Other than AJ Ellis, and to a degree Mark Ellis, nobody has stepped up on offense, and I really worry that they wont score enough runs to win enough games down the stretch.

Tigers:

Contender, but only because of the division they play in. They will end up winning the AL Central, but that will be more due to the strength of the division rather than the play of the Tigers, which has been lackluster at best so far this season. The offense is basically league average right now, but it should get better. I worry a little about the pitching as the staff is ranked just 23rd in the league in ERA. Drew Smyly has been a pleasant surprise, but I think he will regress a little. That means Porcello and Sherzer, both owners of 5+ ERAs, will need to step up. I don't believe this team is as strong as it was last year, but a weak division will allow them to play in the postseason once again.

Orioles:

Pretender. This is just the 2011 Cleveland Indians all over again, a bad team that gets off to a fluky hot start but cools as the season wears on. Their offensive output isn't really surprising me as they have quite a few young offensive weapons. Matt Wieters and Adam Jones are off to very hot starts and they could be the cornerstones of the Orioles future offense. The pitching is rather intriguing. Brian Matusz, Tommy Hunter, and Jake Arrieta each have ERAs above 5, but they are also showing signs of taking steps forward. Jason Hammel and Wei-Yin Chen have been nice surprises as each are performing well beyond expectations. I don't think this is a playoff team, but I also don't think this is the same Orioles team that hasn't won more than 70 games since 2005. Who would've thought that half way through May, the Baltimore Orioles would be leading the AL East?

Agree or Disagree? Our Writers would love to hear your feedback as this is a Baseball Round Table! Thanks for reading!

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Superstars Running the Teams are Ruining Teams

By: Michael Collins


Stan Van Gundy: Five seasons as Orlando Magic head coach.  A .653 winning percentage.  Five playoff appearances.  Three division championships.  One trip to the NBA Finals.  Normally after a tenure like that - even with two straight first round playoff exits - teams are talking about contract extensions with a coach.  Stan Van Gundy was fired.  


Stan Van Gundy wasn't fired because he was a bad coach, or because he never won an NBA championship.  He was fired because he had a rocky relationship with one of the biggest superstars in the NBA, Dwight Howard.  And when you're a coach, and you get yourself into a tenuous back-and-forth with one of the NBA's elite players...don't renew the lease on that condo.  

It doesn't matter that this was a lockout shortened season, with no real training camp or practices.  It doesn't matter that Dwight Howard was injured near the end of the season and wasn't available for the playoffs.   It doesn't matter that outside of Howard, most people couldn't name two other players on Orlando's roster.  It doesn't matter that Howard had one of the best seasons of his career.  What matters is that Dwight Howard lost faith in Van Gundy, and therefore the Orlando Magic organization lost faith in Van Gundy. 


The he-said/she-said of whether or not Dwight Howard ever went to Magic management and asked for Van Gundy to be removed is still out there.  Howard says no.  Someone told Van Gundy differently.  And Magic GM Otis Smith is "not returning" to the team.  In my estimation, that adds up to Howard said it to Smith, who in turn was not supposed to repeat it to Van Gundy (but did), and then Howard had to backtrack and deny having said it.  The team had to save face. 


Magic CEO Alex Martins made a statement regarding the Dwight Howard - Stan Van Gundy Situation:


 "I don’t think there’s any surprise that there were challenges in the relationship between Dwight and Stan. But let me say in no uncertain terms that Dwight did not want to be part of this decision, he did not want to make this decision, he never asked me to make this decision.  Yes, their relationship was a challenge, but Dwight Howard never asked me to fire Stan Van Gundy."


Excuse me, but I'd like to spread a little of that fertilizer on my lawn please.


Whether or not Howard actually came forth and asked for Van Gundy to be fired (which I think he did) isn't the issue.  The issue is that it was obvious the two were not going to be able to co-exist any longer.  Howard made it clear in his public statements, and in his behavior, that if Van Gundy was coming back, he would want to play elsewhere.  So if you are the Magic, who are you going to sacrifice?   


Stan Van Gundy fell victim to one of the cruelest truths in modern professional sports.  The coaches, with few exceptions, only hold the reigns on the team of horses for purposes of show.  When one of the prize stallions wants to go a different direction, there is little the coach can do to change that.  It's a dangerous and destructive precedent that has been set in nearly every professional league.   


Is it about the amount of money these superstars are being paid?  Is it about their egos? Or is the coach simply being used as a scapegoat for the failings of players to get the job done? 


In seven-plus seasons as a head coach with the Miami Heat and the Orlando Magic, Van Gundy has never had a losing season.  He's never missed the playoffs, and the Miami Heat team that he resigned from in 2005-2006 season after 21 games (after clashing with yet another huge ego) went on to win an NBA Championship.  


By all accounts, Stan Van Gundy is one of the best coaches in the NBA, unfortunately he keeps running into egos that overshadow his excellence as a coach.   This madness of letting the so-called elite players dictate terms to the team has ruined more than one franchise, and fans are growing weary of these egocentric millionaires and their childish games.  If you are a player, and you are being paid to play, then go out there and do it.  Execute to the best of your ability the schemes and plays that your coach asks you to.  If it fails, then it can land squarely on the coaches shoulders and the team's management will recognize on their own that a change needs to be made.  They don't need the help of tantrums from players.


Truthfully, when all is said and done, and you count the chips at the end of respective careers...my money is on Van Gundy to have more championship rings than Dwight Howard.  


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Pick of the Day - May 22nd

BY: NEIL BRASLOW

Overall: 29-20-1
Week: 1-0
Month: 12-9

Los Angeles Kings (AWAY) (-130) OVER Phoenix Coyotes (HOME)

Game 4 was a good wake up call for the Kings. I think they expected the Coyotes to give up and let them take Game 4 without any effort. I laid off quite a bit on Game 4 because the odds were getting so heavy in the Kings favor. Good opportunity for us tonight to capitalize on the Kings losing Game 4 now that the odds have dropped back to reality. Remember, they still haven't lost a game on the road this postseason. Kings are going to dominate tonight and won't let this series go back to LA. Take the Kings to win.

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Can We Blame Athlete's For Using Performance Enhancing Drugs?

By: Dale Leavitt

Let's start out by saying I am a huge fan of the UFC, Dana White and all of the hard work fighters have endured just to try and compete at the level they are on. I am not a writer, nor a member of the media. I am just simply put, a fan, voicing his thoughts and opinions. All contributing info and stats were generated from the website links below this article.

I happened to be reading about the recent failed drug test of UFC heavyweight contender Alistair Overeem and Champion Junior Dos Santos's reaction. Basically, Junior said if you are cheating, you are disrespecting the sport you are in and the other fighters you are competing against. With all that I have read, Sadly, I do believe there are a lot of competitors out there that think that they have to cheat nowadays just to be equal to their opposition.

I then visited a site in which a man stated 99% of all fighters are using steroids. I considered that to be rubbish. There is no way, or is there? On the same site Dana White was quoted as saying that the UFC athletes are already held to the highest testing standards in all of sports and athletic commissions and will not upgrade nor hire outside testing agencies. Well I see that it does already enforce more than what the law requires, so how can I expect them to change if other sports are not changing?

I wound up on another site stating they have a long list of fighter's that have been caught doping. My first reaction was that I can't believe this to be true. Could there be this many people out there cheating and using performance enhancing drugs or PED's?

These same site's and writers seem to think that there are alternate methods other than just randomly testing athlete's. Like VADA Voluntary Anti-Doping Agency and Carbon Isotope Ratio Testing, CIR has the ability to test Testosterone levels in urine.

I have also read (Not UFC Opinion) that the UFC would never do this because it is still in a fragile state and would most likely lose a lot of fighters due to the tests and it would be crippled. I think that is ludicrous, It would only open the gates to more honest and hard working fighters.

Has playing sports, fighting or just plain ole competition turned into a who can use more drugs battle? Deep down I think all of this really shouldn't be blamed on the individuals trying to make themselves better. I know when I was playing sports many years ago. I would do or try anything to win or make myself better than the other players or teams. The only reason I did not try steroids is because I believed all the people back then that said it would make your ____ smaller. I truly think that it's not the athletes but the sports, promoters, fans, commissions and government that have all failed at making sure that all men (or women) are created equal.

I believe the only way this problem can or will be fixed is to not just randomly but constantly check each and every athlete out there, no matter the sport. To add to more tests if you are caught taking these illegal PED's you must be banned from competing. From college into the professional atmosphere.

What do you think sports should do to ensure an equal playing field for all athletes?
Information generated from these links
Link to Junior's reaction on failed drug test by Alistair Overeem
Link to list of fighters caught using steroids
Link to 99% of all fighters use steroids

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Pick of the Day - May 21st

BY: NEIL BRASLOW

Overall: 28-20-1
Last Week: 2-5
Month: 11-9

New Jersey Devils (HOME) (-120) OVER New York Rangers (AWAY)

When you're hot, you're hot. When you're cold, you're cold. I have a good feeling about this one tonight. Devils have been shutout twice so far this series. Only time they have scored is Game 2 when I played the Under. Devils get a few past King Henrik tonight and tie the series 2-2. Take the Devils to win.

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Fantasy Baseball- Week 7 Waiver Wire Pickups: Hitters

Fantasy Furnace is a contributing writer to Daily Shootout. Follow them on Twitter @FantasyFurnace If you like this, please stop by and let them know!  

The ever-increasing number of players on the DL means that managers need to be on the waiver wire as often as possible. Staying active is instrumental in keeping an edge in your league and with names of hitters like Matt Kemp, Evan Longoria, Pablo Sandoval, Kevin Youkilis, Juan Uribe, and Mark Reynolds, all residing on the disabled list, here are some options to consider…

Andy Dirks-OF-Tigers- What a month of May it’s been so far for the 26 year old. In just his sophomore year with Detroit, Dirks has enjoyed a .425 batting average to go along with his 2 home runs and 6 RBI. Currently batting .361, he is among the leaders in BA in the major leagues. Dirks has been batting in the 2 hole over the past seven games and has a modest eight game hitting streak going. With sluggers like Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder following him in the order, he is sure to help out in the runs category as well. Dirks is owned in only 27% of leagues so he is widely available.

#12 Andy Dirks singles at the Colosseum vs Oakland on Sunday. He’s been lighting it up of late. Photo: Jason O. Watson/Getty Images North America

Chris Johnson-3B-Astros- If you’re in need of some power numbers as well as a fairly high batting average, Johnson has them both. He has belted four homers in his last 26 at bats and has been batting at or near .300 since May 1st. Can’t guarantee that he will sustain these numbers as he has only hit 18 HR’s in his 719 total at bats in his major league career. That would equate to 1 every 40 AB which should put him at around 15 for a season. Johnson is 2 years removed from batting .308 in 345 AB so the BA is legit. He is available in over 60% of leagues.

Will Middlebrooks-3B-RedSox- This is a very good player who could possibly be sent down to Triple-A when Kevin Youkilis returns from the DL (in about a week), or he could end up replacing Youkilis if the Sox decide to trade him. In either case, he’s worth an add in deeper leagues until his fate is decided upon. In the 11 games he’s played in this year, he has been one of the hottest 3B in the league, batting .304 with 4 HR, 13 RBI, and 9 runs scored. The 23 year old rookie, at least based on this small sampling, has a bright future on a team that really is going nowhere; at least up till this point of the season anyway. If you have room on your bench for a speculative pickup, or can grab and deploy him for the next week until Youkilis returns, Middlebrooks is available in about 50% of leagues.

Elliot Johnson-2B/SS-Rays- With Evan Longoria scheduled to be out for another 5-7 weeks suffering with a torn left hamstring, Johnson has seen extensive time at 3B. This should make him eligibile at his third position which, in addition to his hot streak he’s been on, has made him a decent add in leagues of 12+ for the moment. The late season call-up last season has gone 11-for-22 over his last seven games and has seen his average rise 100 points in the process. He’s got some pop; 2 HR in his last nine games, and speed; 6 SB in limited playing time this season. Johnson is only owned in 7% of leagues.

#9 speedster Elliot Johnson of the Tampa Rays scores a second inning run ahead of the tag of Chris Stewart vs the Yankees on May 10th. Photo: Jim McIsaac

Gregor Blanco-OF-Giants-Manager Bruce Bochy named Blanco the team’s starting right fielder on Tuesday. Blanco is hitting leadoff and can offer some stolen bases for managers desperate for some speed as well as help in the run scoring category. Over his last five games, Blanco has batted .368, has stolen 3 bases, and scored 7 runs. Definitely serviceable. Pro-rated over the course of a full season, he should finish with 110 runs scored and around 30 SB. He’s barely owned in leagues so take a flier on him. Deeper leagues can feel free to grab him off waivers.



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