Tourney thoughts and MLB Picks...

The Elite 8 games today and tomorrow certainly set up to be pretty dang good. The 4 matchups in the regional finals feature all 4 #1 seeds against 2 #2's and 2 #3's. Should be fun to watch. The matchup of Griffin-Hansbrough will be very fun to watch as will Nova-Pitt. A year after all #1 seeds made it to the Final 4 for the 1st time, we may have repeat the very next year. Villanova and Oklahoma have the best chance to spoil the party.

Next week opens up the MLB season and I have a few predictions to make. There doesn't seem to be a clear-cut favorite, and I think there are 12-15 teams that believe they have a legitimate shot of winning it all. I really like what the D-Backs have done this off-season mixing with their young players. They signed Garland to solidify their rotation after aces Haren and Webb. Hard-throwing Max Scherzer will also provide depth. Their young outfielders Chris Young and Justin Upton are on the verge of becoming stars and Conor Jackson, Mark Reynolds, and Chad Tracy are solid hitters in the middle of their lineup. Throw in Stephen Drew, who I think will make the All-Star game this year, and you have a pretty good team. The bullpen just needs to hold up.

NL East - Philly
NL Central - Cubs
NL West - D-Backs
Wild Card - Braves

AL East - Boston
AL Central - Tigers
AL West - Angels
WIld Card - Rays

NL MVP - H. Ramirez
AL MVP - M. Cabrera

NL CY Young - Lincecum
AL CY Young - Halladay

NL ROY - C. Maybin
AL ROY - E. Andrus

NLCS - D-Backs over Cubs
ALCS - Angels over Red Sox

WS - Angels over D-Backs

Anyone else want to go on record???