WBC Classic Preview

The 2017 World Baseball Classic will be taking place in the month of March so here is a preview for this years event.

The World Baseball Classic was created in 2006, as sort of a World Cup event for baseball and it has happened every 3 or 4 years since. The 2006 and 2009 World Baseball Classic were won by Japan and the 2013 World Baseball Classic was won by the Dominican Republic. Historically the United States has not fared so well at the Classic due to the fact that its best players don't often participate as its best finish was a 4th place finish in 2009. Through looking at the preliminary rosters which are subject to change, its looking like the US will have a pretty solid team although it could definitely be better. Their pitching staff is lead by Chris Archer and Marcus Stroman, and they have players such as Buster Posey, Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Arenado, and Andrew McCutchen on the offense. What is unfortunate is the US has actually lost some players who choose to play for other countries. While they were both born in the United States Dellin Betances and Manny Machado have chosen to play for the Dominican Republic team. The World Baseball Classic has always been an event in which future MLB players, current MLB players, and former MLB players all play against each other and this year is no different. Reds prospect Dilson Herrera is playing for the Colombian team who is actually making their debut in the event. Team Venezuela is stacked with MLB players such as Felix Hernandez, Jose Altuve, and Miguel Cabrera. Former Red Sox pitchers Ryan Dempster and Eric Gagne have decided to come out of retirement and play for Canada. One of the more interesting teams in this event is Team Israel who is making their debut in the World Baseball Classic. After losing in the final qualifying game in 2013, they were able to finally make it this year. What is interesting about Israel is that they have a law as a country that any Jewish person if they wanted to could get Israeli citizenship. Now, baseball is not a huge sport is Israel and they aren't filled with talent however there are a lot of American Jewish athletes who while they are solid players would not come close to making the American team, so they are playing for team Israel. Players such as former Mets first baseman Ike Davis,  former Red Sox catcher Ryan Lavarnway, and Marlins all star third baseman Danny Valencia are on the team. Every World Baseball Classic has a breakout star, someone who bursts out on the scene and later has an impact in the Major Leagues. In 2006 it was Daisuke Matsuzaka of Japan, in 2009 it was Yoenis Cespedes of Cuba, in 2013 it was Kenta Maeda of Japan, my prediction is that this year it will be Shohei Otani of Japan. Shohei Otani is a 22 year old pitcher in the Nippon Baseball League of Japan and this isn't a comparison to just throw around so I don't make it often, but he legitimately has a chance to be the next Babe Ruth. This season he went 10-4 with a 1.86 ERA and 174 strikeouts in 140 innings, and he had nearly 400 at bats and hit 22 homeruns and hit .322. That is absolutely insane, even in Japan which is supposedly not as good as the Major Leagues, so if anyone chooses to watch the event, watch out for Shohei Otani.

The Little Known Plight of the PGA Tour Caddie

PGA Tour caddies are one of the most exploited groups of people in all of sports. It may seem like a glamorous life of making six figures for just carrying pro golfers clubs and giving them suggestions on which club to use, however things often aren't as they seem and when you take a closer look you notice that caddies are often very much taken advantage of. The way they are taken advantage of the most is through advertising, every week depending on who sponsors the tournament, caddies are forced to wear a bib with the company who is sponsoring the tournaments logo on it. They walk around with a big logo for the sponsoring company on it and they are not compensated at all. In 2015 a group of caddies sued the PGA tour for total damages in the hundreds of millions of dollars (about 750$ per tournament per caddie), in their lawsuit they said that the PGA Tour made 50 million on the caddies wearing these bills, and that the PGA Tour had reckless conduct and rigged the system so the caddies had an actual loss on these advertisements. Another problem that these caddies are suing for is that the PGA Tour has denied these caddies access to health care or pension plans. Being a caddy is very strenuous on the back and knees, and as caddies get older they often suffer from back and knee problems so its important that they are able to get health insurance and be protected in their retirement.

2017 World Open Course Update

The 2017 World Open will be played at Laguna National Golf Club in Singapore at the World Classic Course.

Championship 76.4/162   Tournament 74.5/152   Members 70.8/139   Forward   72.9/143

Designed By Andy Dye. Built in 2010    Signature hole is #17

Colts-Texans Preview

Colts Preview

With a win over the Jets last week the Colts are now tied for first in the AFC South, with a win this week over the Texans they will be in first no matter what the Titans do because of their 2 wins over them this season. The Colts offense is firing on all cylinders right now with their dominant win over the Jets where Andrew Luck only had 6 incomplete passes and had 4 TD’s. Their defense took a hit this past week with D’Qwell Jackson getting suspended for 4 games so 5th round draft pick Antonio Morrison is going to have to step up. 

Fantasy

I’d start Andrew Luck this week as he’s had one of his most efficient seasons, yet as he’s cut down on a lot of turnovers. Frank Gore had 100 yards rushing vs the Texans the last time out, so it wouldn’t be entirely unreasonable to expect that again. TY and Dwayne Allen had unbelievable games last week, and TY has played the Texans well in the past so I could see them going off again. 

Colts-Jets Preview

Colts Preview

Well with 5 games left in the season and in 3rd place the Colts are surprisingly in control of their own destiny. This Monday they take on the Jets in what should be a tight battle. Luckily the Jets secondary isn’t doing all that great this season so Luck should be able to throw all over them. Colts have some players who may or may not be playing that are very important to their team. TY Hilton, Vontae Davis, and Robert Mathis are all suffering from minor injuries that can impact their availability for the game. Luckily Andrew Luck will be able to play after missing last week with a concussion. 

Fantasy

Jets have a pretty good run defense so I don’t know how well Frank Gore will do but their secondary is awful so Luck will throw all over them. I expect TY (if he plays), Moncrief, and either Dwayne Allen or Jack Doyle to have a big game. Phillip Dorsett could also have a big game as he’s come up with some big receptions the past few weeks. 

Colts-Steelers Recap

Colts Recap

Well that was a tough Thanksgiving. In a 28–7 loss to the Steelers the Colts did not look good at all. There were some good moments, backup QB Scott Tolzien did decent enough to probably be brought back next season but he couldn’t convert on two costly 4th and 1’s from the goal line. The defense especially suffered as Vontae Davis got beat multiple times by Antonio Brown and had to leave the game. Colts were injured a lot as TY Hilton, and Ryan Kelly also had to leave the game. It’s looking like everyone will be back for the Jets game on Monday though. 

Fantasy

Nobody really showed up in a significant way for fantasy purposes, the usually consistent Frank Gore and TY Hilton did awful, and Adam Vinatieri missed a field goal again. With Luck back next week it should all be back to normal. 

Division One Conference Realignment

Division One conferences are always argued about. Should UConn be in a Power Five conference? Should the Big 12 expand? These are questions that come up almost every year. However, I believe it would be better if we just started over. Conferences can finally be set in stone.

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Northeast Conference:

Boston College

Boston University

Northeastern University

Providence College

Rutgers University

Seton Hall University

St. John's University

Syracuse University

UConn

UMass Amherst

United States Military Academy

University at Buffalo

North Atlantic Conference: Central Connecticut State University College of the Holy Cross Delaware State University Fairfield University Quinnipiac University Sacred Heart University University of Albany, SUNY University of Hartford University of Maine University of New Hampshire University of Vermont Wagner College Ivy League: Brown University Columbia University Cornell University Dartmouth College Harvard University Princeton University University of Pennsylvania Yale University

Mid-Atlantic Conference:

Georgetown University

Pennsylvania State University

St. Joseph's University

Temple University

United States Naval Academy

University of Delaware

University of Maryland, College Park

University of Pittsburgh

University of Virginia

Villanova University

Virginia Commonwealth University

Virginia Tech

West Virginia University

Middle Eastern Conference:

Bucknell University

Coppin State University

Drexel University

Duquesne University

La Salle University

Lafayette College

Lehigh University

Loyola University Maryland

Morgan State University

Mount St. Mary's University

Robert Morris University

Saint Francis University

Towson University

University of Maryland, Baltimore County

University of Maryland, Eastern Shore

Chesapeake Conference:

American University

College of William & Mary

George Mason University

George Washington University

Hampton University

Howard University

James Madison University

Liberty University

Longwood University

Marshall University

New Jersey Institute of Technology

Norfolk State University

Old Dominion University

Radford University

University of Richmond

Virginia Military Institute

Carolina Conference:

Clemson University

Coastal Carolina University

Duke University

East Carolina University

North Carolina State University

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

University of South Carolina

Wake Forest University

Catawba River Conference

Appalachian State University

Campbell University

Charleston Southern University

College of Charleston

Davidson College

Elon University

Furman University

Gardner-Webb University

High Point University

North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University

North Carolina Central University

Presbyterian College Santee River Conference South Carolina State University The Citadel University of North Carolina at Asheville University of North Carolina at Charlotte University of North Carolina at Greensboro University of North Carolina at Wilmington University of South Carolina Upstate Western Carolina University Winthrop University Wofford College Southeastern Conference: Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University Alabama State University Georgia Southern University Georgia State University Jacksonville State University Kennesaw State University Mercer University Samford University Savannah State University Troy University University of Alabama at Birmingham University of South Alabama

Sunshine State Conference:

Bethune-Cookman University

Florida Atlantic University

Florida Gulf Coast University

Florida International University

Jacksonville University

Stetson University

University of Central Florida

University of North Florida

Great Lakes Conference:

Butler University

Indiana University

Michigan State University

Ohio State University

Purdue University

University of Cincinnati

University of Dayton

University of Michigan

University of Notre Dame

Xavier University

Lake Erie Conference:

Bowling Green State University Central Michigan University Cleveland State University Eastern Michigan University Kent State University Miami University (Ohio) Oakland University Ohio University University of Akron University of Detroit Mercy

Hoosier Conference:

Ball State University

Indiana State University

Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis

University of Evansville

University of Toledo

Valparaiso University

Western Michigan University

Wright State University

Youngstown State University

Mississippi River Conference:

Auburn University

Florida State University

Georgia Institute of Technology

Mississippi State University

University of Alabama

University of Florida

University of Georgia

University of Kentucky

University of Louisville

University of Memphis

University of Miami (Florida)

University of Mississippi

University of South Florida

University of Tennessee

Vanderbilt University

Mid-East Conference:

Alcorn State University

Austin Peay State University

Belmont University

East Tennessee State University

Eastern Kentucky University

Jackson State University

Lipscomb University

Middle Tennessee State University

Mississippi Valley State University

Morehead State University

Murray State University

Tennessee State University

Tennessee Technological University

University of Southern Mississippi

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

University of Tennessee at Martin

Western Kentucky University

Lake Superior Conference:

Depaul University
Iowa State University

Marquette University

Northwestern University

Northern Illinois University
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
University of Iowa

University of Northern Iowa
University of Wisconsin-Madison

Dubuque Conference: 

Bradley University

Chicago State University

Drake University

Eastern Illinois University

Illinois State University

Loyola University Chicago

Southern Illinois University Carbondale

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

University of Illinois at Chicago

University of Wisconsin-Green Bay

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Western Illinois University

Marquis de Lafayette Conference:

Louisiana State University

Louisiana Tech University

Saint Louis University

Tulane University

University of Arkansas

University of Arkansas-Little Rock

University of Louisiana at Lafayette

University of Missouri

Gulf of Mexico Conference:

Arkansas State University

Grambling State University

Mcneese State University

Missouri State University

Nicholls State University

Northwestern State University

Southeast Missouri State University

Southeastern Louisiana University

Southern University

University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff

University of Central Arkansas

University of Louisiana at Monroe

University of Missouri-Kansas City

University of New Orleans

Midwest Conference:

University of Minnesota

University of North Dakota

North Dakota State University

South Dakota State University

University of South Dakota

Creighton University

University of Nebraska-Lincoln

University of Nebraska-Omaha

Interstate 35 Conference:

Kansas State University

Oklahoma State University-Stillwater

Oral Roberts University

University of Kansas

University of Oklahoma

University of Tulsa

Wichita State University

Texas Conference:

Baylor University

Southern Methodist University

Stephen F. Austin State University

Texas A&M University

Texas Christian University

Texas Tech University

University of Houston

University of Texas at Austin

Rio Grande Conference:

Houston Baptist University

Lamar University

Prairie View A&M University

Rice University

Sam Houston State University

Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi

Texas Southern University

Texas State University

University of North Texas

University of Texas at Arlington

University of Texas at El Paso

University of Texas at San Antonio

University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

Lewis and Clark Conference:

Boise State University

Idaho State University

Montana State University

University of Idaho

University of Montana

University of Wyoming

Rocky Mountain Conference:

Brigham Young University

Colorado State University

Southern Utah University

United States Air Force Academy

University of Colorado Boulder

University of Denver

University of Northern Colorado

University of Utah

Utah State University

Utah Valley University

Weber State University

Mojave Desert Conference: 

Arizona State University

New Mexico State University

Northern Arizona University

University of Arizona

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

University of Nevada, Reno

University of New Mexico

Pacific Conference:

Eastern Washington University

Gonzaga University

Oregon State University

Portland State University

Seattle University

University of Hawaii at Manoa

University of Oregon

University of Portland

University of Washington

Washington State University

California Conference:

California State University, Fresno

Loyola Marymount University

Pepperdine University

Saint Mary's College of California

San Diego State University

San Jose State University

Stanford University

University of California, Berkeley

University of California, Los Angeles

University of Southern California

Redwood Conference:

California Polytechnic State University

California State University, Bakersfield

California State University, Fullerton

California State University, Long Beach

California State University, Northridge

California State University, Sacramento

Santa Clara University

University of California, Davis

University of California, Irvine

University of California, Riverside

University of California, Santa Barbara

University of San Diego

University of San Francisco

University of the Pacific