PLAYOFF PICKS
Yankees headed to World Series, Vegas Knights certain to duplicate Stanley Cup Run says sports pundit
Fiddler’s Facts predicts potential matches for the World Series and the Stanley Cup
Preliminary rounds to decide baseball’s World Series is now underway as the pairing for the National and American League semifinals have been decided.
Match-makers had been hoping for a Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees’ series, and the boys from Gotham made it happen with an impressive 7-2 victory over Oakland A’s on Wednesday in a game where the Yankees flexed their offensive muscles.
Right now the Yankees are sharp and healthy for the first time this season and although the Red Sox finished first by a wide margin, the Yankees will get past the Red Sox in this series.
Ex-Blue Jays pitcher J A Happ is 7-0 since joining New York and he could be the difference, especially against a Boston staff where the status of ace Chris Sale is questionable. David Price has nightmares about the boys in pinstripes, which tips the scales heavily in favour of the Yankees. Don’t be fooled by the regular-season stats, the Red Sox will be on the sidelines at the end of this best-offive series. Have I ever let Guardian readers down?
In the other American League matchup, Cleveland versus Houston is a coin toss as the clubs have deep and talented pitching, solid defence and a strong offence that will give the Yankees-vs.-Red Sox winner all they can handle.
As for the National League, despite Colorado manager Bud Black’s “bone-head” decision to pitch to Cubs slugger Javier Baez in the bottom of the eighth with two out, first base open and an out on deck, the Rockies sidelined heavily-favoured Chicago.
Now it’s the Rockies and Brewers in one best-of-five series and the Dodgers against Atlanta, whose general manager is Alex Anthopoulos, the ex-Toronto Blue Jays GM. The Jays wouldn’t offer the GM job to the Canadian Anthopoulos, so I’ll be pulling for the Braves in this series.
As an avid Yankees fan for 50 years, I’d much prefer facing the L.A. Dodgers, the ex Bums from Brooklyn, even though it’s my late mother’s city of birth.
NHL
On the National Hockey League front, the Toronto Maple Leafs are certain to be among the regularseason Eastern Conference leaders along with Pittsburgh and Tampa Bay. The Leafs’ blue-line is still the team’s Achilles heel, so don’t schedule that Stanley Cup parade just yet.
As for the Western Conference, the Vegas Golden Knights will challenge Winnipeg and Nashville for the regular-season crown. The Knights got stronger in the offseason with the addition of Paul Stastny and Max Pacioretty, so a repeat of last season is well within their grasp.
Hockey fans that think teams like San Jose, Los Angeles and Anaheim will challenge better think again.
In my opinion, the Stanley Cup ship for those three teams sailed two or three years ago and this trio is on the down side of the mountain. Edmonton and Calgary could surprise as well. In closing, there’s a reason I get mail addressed to The Sports Prophet. If you’re not a believer yet, you may change your mind by May.
Baseball/rugby
There were a couple of major local stories last weekend in the baseball and rugby front that are worth talking about.
The Northside Brewers’ pitching of Jordan Stevenson and Jason MacLean powered the Northside club to their first ever Kings County Baseball crown.
As I predicted at the outset, the Brew Crew’s pitching would dominate the Stratford-based The Alley Athletics and as is the case so often in baseball playoffs at any level, great pitching usually silences good hitting.
On the rugby front, The Hunter’s Corner Mudmen RFC can make history next Saturday when they tangle with Fredericton for the Caledonian Cup, the Atlantic Canada division one rugby championship.
The Mudmen may be the greatest rugby club ever to come out of P.E.I. and that is an enormous feat. Also last week, the Mudmen division two club captured its Nova Scotia title last Sunday in Halifax and they, too, host the Maritime championship here next weekend.
These are accomplishments thought near impossible a decade ago when the club had problems fielding a division two club that couldn’t seem to ever get past perennial champions the Halifax Tars.
The coaching staff of Eddy MacDonald and Mike Lloyd have put together a great mix of veterans like Brodie MacDonald, Phil Lamphier, Mike Deighan, Sean Doyle and New Zealander Jonty Garret, plus high school graduates like Alex Forrest, Ryan Lloyd and many others. Let’s show our appreciation and pack the UPEI field next week as the Mudmen try for the Maritime titles.
Harness racing
It’s Maritime harness racing’s biggest show after Old Home Week as the Atlantic Breeders Crown weekend is now underway in Charlottetown with a 12-dash race card today beginning at 12:30 p.m., followed by the banquet, then the Breeders Crown championships Sunday with a 13-dash card starting 12:30 p.m.
Reg MacPherson’s sensational three-year-old colt Sock It Away puts his unbeaten streak on the line in the $20,000 Race 12 on Sunday while a high-powered Magical Mistress hopes to do the same in her $20,000 Race 6 final.
At Woodbine Mohawk Park on Saturday, there are two $96,000 gold finals for two-year-old colts. James MacDonald handles Sunshine’s Finest for Harry Poulton in one and in the other has Fast N First for Blake MacIntosh. Wayne McGean of Sydney, N.S., sends out favourite Bronx Seelster, the top two-year-old colt this season.
There are also two Gold filly finals, one at Yonkers where Mark MacDonald will try to extend his top-class win streak to four with Jimmy Takter’s Great Vintage, who upset this class last week; the other at The Red Mile in Kentucky, where McWicked and Lazarus N meet once again in the $179,000 Open for Aged Pacers which should be a huge mile.
NFL
The NFL heads into Week 5 and there are a multitude of games that could go either way at least on paper.
One of the key games has Jacksonville visiting Arrowhead to meet the unbeaten Chiefs and razor-sharp quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
The Chiefs cannot play defence but they can score, but we’re not sure Jacksonville can. I like the Chiefs 21-14.
Denver at New York Jets: The Broncos should have won last time out and I expect a big rebound game from QB Case Keenum. Denver is a slight dog, but they’ll cover easily.
New York Giants at Carolina: The Panthers are a serious Super Bowl contender and the Giants are not. Cam Newton is too much for a suspect Giants’ defence.
Miami at Cincinnati: How could anybody bet the Dolphins on the road based on that pathetic, poor effort versus the Patriots last week. The Bengals will easily cover the six-point spread; Minnesota at Philly and Baltimore at Cleveland are games where I give the home team a slight edge, but my money stays in my pocket in those games.
As always, pay the mortgage first, the picks are for fun.