May 14, 2013

May 14, 2013

Last day of finals for the semester!!  I still have one more to go today but I can squeeze in some time for a quick blog entry.  The Minnesota Vikings unveiled their new stadium designs today and I have mixed feelings about.  I love their idea of a "clear" roof.  This is pretty innovative as far as stadiums come and it will yield some really amazing views of the outside, even in snow or rainstorms.  I also hope that the Vikings follow through with their plan to revitalize the area around the stadium.  Part of what made the Metrodome such a failure is the lack of ANYTHING around it.  It is most definitely a blighted side of the city and one of the main reasons the Twins took their new stadium to the East side of Minneapolis, which has since been revitalized and restored, making for an incredible gameday experience.  The Vikings owe it to their fans and also the people of Minneapolis to try harder with their own new stadium.  While the design is futuristic and modern, it's fairly unimaginative as well.  The second image below makes the stadium look like a big, lopsided warehouse.  Much more could've been done to prove the aesthetics of the building.  Overall, I give the design a 7, if only for the innovation and beauty of the new roof.     

April 23, 2013

April 23, 2013

Back again!  Today the Jacksonville Jaguars unveiled their new jerseys and helmets for the upcoming season.  Needless to say, I'm impressed.  It's definitely a different direction for a franchise that desperately needed a change. 

Where I'm most impressed is in the helmet design.  This will be really the first time in the NFL that a team features a gradient on their helmet, in the Jaguars case going from gold to black at the bottom.  It creates a really unique helmet and is definitely a step in the right direction. 

So naturally this got me thinking about the best uniform sets in the NFL, here's my team by team rankings.

1.  Green Bay Packers: I may be a little biased here, but the classic green-and-gold is topped by no scheme in the NFL.  The jerseys have changed little over the years, and that's only because they're frickin awesome to begin with. 

2.  Seattle Seahawks: The Seahawks were the first team to take advantage of the new Nike system of uniforms and man did they score.  The crazy color combinations actually are positive here and they just vibe exciting and colorful.  Big ups for going with something new. 

3.  Jacksonville Jaguars: I love innovation, and this allowed the Jaguars to catapult themselves to #3 on my list.  Their previous jerseys were nothing special, but Nike has taken this design to the next level and they look fantastic.  While the jerseys may not help them win games, they definitely earn points for looking sweet doing it.

4.  San Francisco 49ers: The Nike redesign made these uniforms more crisp and really brings out the character in these classic threads.  As with the Packers they haven't changed much over time, but they really don't need to. 

5.  San Diego Chargers: Royal or powder blue - it doesn't matter!  These jerseys look clean and energetic no matter what colors are being worn.  The white helmet really brings it all together to make the Chargers one of the best-dressed teams in the NFL.

6.  Baltimore Ravens: When you think of the Ravens, you think of badassery.  While their uniforms could fit that description as well.  The team can use either its purple or black uniforms to great effect and they just look and feel sleek to the observer. 

7.  Detroit Lions: I may not like them, but those silver and blue duds get the job done.  The silver helmets really complement well and even though they haven't been historically good, the new Nike uniforms really put the Lions in the upper tier of jerseys.

8.  Washington Redskins
9.  Denver Broncos: orange crush is back and better than ever!
10. Chicago Bears
11. St. Louis Rams
12. Buffalo Bills: the redesign did wonders for these threads!
13. Houston Texans
14. Pittsburgh Steelers
15. Cincinnati Bengals
16. New York Giants
17. Minnesota Vikings
18. Indianapolis Colts
19. New Orleans Saints
20. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: bring back the orange, full time!
21. Atlanta Falcons: outstayed their welcome, time for a redesign.
22. Dallas Cowboys
23. Tennessee Titans
24. New England Patriots: if only they played every game in the AFL retros!
25. Cleveland Browns
26. Kansas City Chiefs
27. Miami Dolphins
28. Philadelphia Eagles: desperately need a redesign!
29. New York Jets
30. Carolina Panthers: never have black uniforms looked so dumb, except for maybe Oakland.
31. Arizona Cardinals: too gimmicky, get a redesign!
32. Oakland Raiders: ahh the classic prison uniforms.

April 17, 2013

April 17, 2013

First post in April!!  Lots has happened since I was away, most importantly the beginning of the new baseball season.  The season is already 2.5 weeks old and already the contenders are becoming clear.  Here's my Top 10 teams, as of now!

1.  Atlanta Braves (12-2)
2.  Oakland Athletics (11-4)
3.  Washington Nationals (8-6)
4.  St. Louis Cardinals (8-5)
5.  Detroit Tigers (8-5)
6.  Texas Rangers (9-5)
7.  San Francisco Giants (9-5)
8.  Boston Red Sox (9-4)
9.  Colorado Rockies (10-4)
10. Arizona Diamondbacks (8-5)

So far the NL West is looking very strong, with 3 teams in the Top 10 according to me.  Overall, the Braves are the team to beat and are my early favorite to win the World Series.  Their rotation is deep and strong and a revamped lineup has given them the power to put big numbers as well.  One of the other big surprises this year has been the Oakland A's.  A surprising and young lineup is putting up tons of runs and a up and coming rotation has been dynamite so far.  My only question is: can they keep it up over an entire season? 

Who's Hot:

Justin Upton, OF, ATL: .340, 8 HR, 12 RBI, 2 SB
Carlos Gonzalez, OF, COL: .380, 4 HR, 8 RBI, 3 SB
Matt Harvey, SP, NYM: 3-0, 0.82 ERA, 25 K, 22.0 IP
Paul Maholm, SP, ATL: 3-0, 0.00 ERA, 20 K, 20.1 IP

Who's Not:

Pedro Alvarez, 3B, PIT: .073, 0 HR, 1 RBI
Giancarlo Stanton, OF, MIA: .167, 0 HR, 0 RBI
John Axford, RP, MIL: 0-2, 15.19 ERA, 5 K, 5.1 IP, 1 BS
Jarrod Parker, SP, OAK: 0-2, 10.80 ERA, 4 K, 11.2 IP, 8 BB

March 12, 2013

March 12, 2013

March Madness is nearly here!!  Championship week in the NCAA has begun and already a few teams have punched their tickets to the dance. 

Atlantic Sun: Florida Gulf Coast (24-10)
Big South: Liberty (15-20) wtf?
Colonial: James Madison (20-14)
Horizon: Valparaiso (26-7)
Ivy: Harvard (19-9)
Metro Atlantic: Iona (20-13)
Missouri Valley: Creighton (27-7) no doubts here
Northeast: LIU Brooklyn (20-13)
Ohio Valley: Belmont (26-6)
Southern: Davidson (26-7)
Summit: South Dakota St. (25-9)
Sun Belt: Western Kentucky (20-15)
West Coast: Gonzaga (31-2) another no doubter

13 teams are in, and another 55 are yet to go, it should be exciting.

The other big story in sports is the beginning of NFL free agency.  Day 1 had some big moves made by several teams.  Here's the moves I find important.

Mike Wallace, WR: signed by Dolphins
Nnamdi Asomugha, CB: cut by Eagles
Cullen Jenkins, DT: signed by Giants
Patrick Chung, S: signed by Eagles
Jared Cook, TE: signed by Rams
Dannell Ellerbe, LB: signed by Dolphins
Paul Kruger, LB: signed by Browns
Martellus Bennett, TE: signed by Bears
DJ Williams, LB: cut by Broncos
DeAngelo Hall, CB: cut by Redskins
Sione Pouha, DT: cut by Jets
Antoine Winfield, CB: cut by Vikings
Charles Woodson, CB: cut by Packers
James Harrison, LB: cut by Steelers
Darrius Heyward-Bey, WR: cut by Raiders
James Anderson, LB: cut by Panthers
Ryan Fitzpatrick, QB: cut by Bills
Michael Turner, RB: cut by Falcons

February 9, 2013

February 9, 2013

I'm a little late but I'll finally be discussing the aftermath of Super Bowl XLVII, which was won by the Ravens 34-31.  A few things popped out at me during the game that I consider one of the best in recent memory, other than the Pack obviously winning the Super Bowl two years ago. 

1.  Joe Flacco has arrived, sort of.  You can doubt him all you want, the man can win playoff games.  I would still only consider him the 9th or 10th best QB in the NFL.  Here goes: Rodgers, Brady, P. Manning, Brees, E. Manning, Ryan, Stafford, Romo, Flacco.  I guess he's 9th haha.   
2.  Jacoby Jones was a major X-factor.  Had he showed this sort of game-breaking ability in Houston he may have lasted there longer.  Arguably the Ravens MVP. 
3.  The power outage definitely made for some good entertainment, even though the game wasn't happening it was one of those stories that defines a Super Bowl, and apparently gave the 49ers the momentum they needed to make it a game. 
4.  Colin Kaepernick will be a beast, no doubt.  The more games he plays the better he's gonna get.  The 49ers may have found their franchise guy.
5.  Of these two teams, the 49ers have a far better chance of getting back to the Super Bowl.  The Ravens, while still a decent team, are NOT champion worthy in my opinion.  You can call them a team of destiny or whatever you will, but they should not have been in that game, so kudos to them for defying the odds. 
6.  Vernon Davis had a solid game for the 49ers, something that for some reason became rare during the course of the season.  For their offense to be running successful, Davis must be a part of the gameplan.

Thus begins the long offseason in the NFL.  Already teams are making cuts and moves for next season and they're should be some very interesting storylines for the offseason.  The draft and the combine are next on the agenda and I'll be talking more about that as they near.