26 Years of Peace

Major League Baseball and the Players Association gathered together in Irving, Texas to get a deal done for a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), which would have expired last night. Fortunately, Commissioner Rob Manfred (left) and Players Association President Tony Clark (right) along with the owners and players representatives convened for hours to get the deal done. Had the old CBA expired, a lockout would have immediately commenced and all baseball operations would have ceased. No winter meetings would occur, no trades, no signings, nothing. All facilities would have been closed to players and no communication could take place. With momentum and popularity in baseball at an all-time high - thanks to an incredible world series - even the smallest amount of time in a lockout would crush that momentum. Good thing the leaders of the league recognized this and worked as long and as hard as possible to get the agreement done. I remember the NFL lockout about five or six years ago and how everybody wanted football to come back, but it could not. Same thing with the NBA a couple of years ago when opening night was Christmas day. Lockouts can be terrible things, but it could have been devastating to Major League Baseball, a $10 billion industry.

Meanwhile, not many transactions have been enacted by the Padres, but one loss has occurred. Jon Jay has signed a one year deal with the Chicago Cubs for $8 million. This is not a bad thing. The Padres were interested in bringing back Jay because he was a good mentor to the younger players plus was a plus defender and hitter. But the Padres do have plenty of talent up their sleeve in the outfield, and center field in particular. Travis Jankowski and Manuel Margot will compete for the job, or platoon it and Michael Gettys is climbing the rungs in the minors and will be major-league ready within a year or two. In right field, we have Hunter Renfroe and in left we have Alex Dickerson. We will see what happens once spring comes around.

College football conference championship games are also coming to life this weekend. These games are the best of the best facing off with the highest stakes. I am excited to see what happens because Sunday is when the playoff committee decides who is in and who is out. The bowl schedule is also released. However, Navy has a game six days after the bowl schedule is released against Army. So if they win their conference championship game this week against Temple and then win next week against Army, the odds are likely that Navy will be handed a new year's six bowl game. Here are your games:
-(Friday) #8 Colorado vs #4 Washington (from Santa Clara), 9 ET, FOX
-Temple at #19 Navy, Noon ET, ABC
-#10 Oklahoma State at #9 Oklahoma, 12:30 ET, FOX
-#1 Alabama vs #15 Florida (from Atlanta), 4 ET, CBS
-#3 Clemson vs #23 Virginia Tech (from Orlando), 8 ET, ABC
-#6 Wisconsin vs #7 Penn State (from Indianapolis), 8 ET, FOX

Thank you for checking in this week. I apologize for last week. I was stuffing myself full of food. Comment below as to which championship game you are looking forward to the most.

2-4 Go Down

College football always seems to be more exciting this time of year when playoff spots are on the line and teams are worn down after a long season. This past week resembled a chink in the armor for many teams. Alabama crushed Mississippi State, but after that, Clemson fell to Pittsburgh on a last-second field goal at home, Michigan lost to Iowa, also on a last-second field goal and Washington lost to USC at home. The rankings that followed have resembled the results. With Alabama at number one, Ohio State has jumped to number two, Michigan remains at number three since they only have one loss now and Clemson fell only to number four after their first loss of the season. With rivalry week soon approaching, there should be some more teams to go down, especially when Ohio State and Michigan square off. The loser of that game will likely fall out of playoff consideration. Here are your games for the week:

- (Thursday) #5 Louisville at Houston, 8 ET, ESPN
- #11 Oklahoma State at TCU, Noon ET, FS1
- #2 Ohio State at Michigan State, Noon ET, ESPN
- #23 Florida at #16 LSU, 1 ET, SEC Network
- #22 Washington State at #10 Colorado, 3:30 ET, FOX
- #9 Oklahoma at #14 West Virginia, 8 ET, ABC

College hoops have also begun! Duke and Kentucky are the favorites to challenge for the title at the beginning of April, but there are many other teams that wish to have a say about that, such as North Carolina, defending champion Villanova, Kansas, Michigan State and others. My favorite team (BYU) won their opening game against Princeton, but making the tournament is what we are aiming for at this point. Who do you think will be cutting the nets in April?

The NBA is also a hot topic to discuss. Surprises so far to review come from all areas of the league. It all starts with the Hornets in Charlotte. They are number three in the east behind the Hawks and Cavaliers. Meanwhile, in the west, the Clippers have the best record in the entire league with two losses, tied with the Warriors, Cavaliers and Hawks. The season is always full of its ups and downs, so keep an eye on this blog right here for big news and alerts.Well that should do it for this week! Thanks for your viewership!