MLB Divisional Breakdown: NL Central

It’s the end of March, and spring training games are getting more competitive.

Pitchers are pitching more innings, and players are starting to get back into the swing of playing major league baseball everyday.

The transition from spring training to the regular season is beginning to take place.

With that in mind, there have been numerous predictions, division breakdowns, rankings, and lists about who will win, lose, win awards, and so on.

Anyone can pick division winners and losers, but it’s time to dig into each division beyond just the order in which teams will finish.

One For The Aged: Nolan Ryan's Seventh No-Hitter

May 1, 1991 didn’t seem like it would be an extraordinary day in the extraordinary pitching career of Nolan Ryan.

Actually, the day started off terribly. It was one of the days when the 44-year-old Rangers pitcher was feeling his age. His body ached everywhere. His back, his shoulder, his arm, even his head was hurting. He was popping pain killers all morning long.

It's Gotta Be the Shoes: The 10 Hottest B-Ball Kicks Ever

“It’s gotta be the shoes”.

That phrase was coined by everybody’s favorite diminutive Brooklynite shoe pitchman, Mars Blackmon (played by Spike Lee), in his famous Air Jordan commercials of the late-1980′s.

Any kid who loved and played basketball during the ’80s and ’90s, such as myself, knows this statement couldn’t be more on the money. Almost as important as how you played, was what you wore on the court.

Sure they were too expensive and didn’t help your game one bit, but there were very few pleasures as simple as hitting a J in your opponent’s face while rocking the signature kicks of your favorite NBA player.

So with that in mind, what are the hottest basketball kicks ever?

In the words of my man Mars, “Do you know, do you know, do you know?”

One Bloody Sock Does Not Make a Hall of Famer…or Does It?

Curt Schilling announced his retirement today after a 20 seasons in the Major Leagues spent with the Orioles, Astros, Phillies, Diamondbacks, and Red Sox.

Almost immediately, ESPN and sports-talk radio was flooded with analysis of Schilling’s career. It was a day-long debate about Schilling’s worthiness of future Hall of Fame enshrinement.

My first reaction upon hearing of Schilling’s retirement…Damn that bloody sock.

I remember laying in bed next to my wife watching Game Six of the 2004 ALCS. The pre-game talk was all about Schilling and his torn tendon sheath in his right ankle. It was questionable if Schilling would pitch, but it was win or go home for the Red Sox. Schilling would have the team doctor suture the tendon in place, give him a cortisone shot, and go out to do his best Willis Reed impression.

MLB Divisional Breakdown: AL Central

It’s the middle of March, and spring training games are getting more competitive. Pitchers are pitching more innings, and players are starting to get back into the swing of playing Major League Baseball everyday. The transition from spring training to the regular season is beginning to take place. With that in mind, there have been [...]

MLB Divisional Breakdowns: NL West

It’s the middle of March, and spring training games are getting more competitive. Pitchers are pitching more innings, and players are starting to get back into the swing of playing Major League Baseball everyday. The transition from spring training to the regular season is beginning to take place. With that in mind, there have been [...]

MLB Divisional Breakdowns: AL East

It’s the middle of March, and spring training games are getting more competitive, pitchers are pitching more innings, and players are starting to get back in the swing of playing Major League Baseball everyday. The transition from spring training to the regular season is beginning to take place. With that in mind, there have been [...]

Allen Iverson: What Stephon Marbury Could Have Been

I am a Stephon Marbury apologist. There aren’t many of us left, especially amongst my fellow Knicks fans, but for some reason, I have always, and continue to, root for Stephon Marbury. I don’t know if it’s his tremendous basketball talent, or the fact that he created his own sneaker line, one that sells for [...]

Chipper Jones: The Most Overrated Player in Baseball

One of the worst things a person can call a professional athlete is overrated. Either they aren’t worth the accolades they are receiving, the money they are earning, their spot on the team, or all of the above. It’s also a difficult argument to prove. It’s also difficult to call a player, who by most [...]

The 30 Biggest Questions for the 2009 MLB Season

I recently wrote an article titled “The 30 Best Players Baseball Fans Don’t Know.” It’s gotten great responses, and I had a great time writing it. So with spring training here, I decided to do a series of these about different aspects of the sport. Enjoy. Every team, no matter how good, goes into the [...]

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