30 Copyright 2008, CBSSports.com http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/view/6365452 en-us Fair warning: this blog will be mostly about the teams that I like and the leagues those teams are in. So, if you're a fan of the Orioles, Pitt, Carolina Panthers, Penguins, Big East, AL East, or AL in general there will be something here for you. I'll spout off on other topics on occassion, but what I'm saying is that I'm a "homer" in that my knowledge comes from the teams I follow. Fri, 05 Dec 2008 08:19:10 EST http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6365452/11692553?source=rss_blogs_NCAAB#comments NCAAB http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6365452/11692553?source=rss_blogs_NCAAB Now that every team has been previewed, it's time for me to collect my thoughts. This league is probably one of the toughest in history to predict, but I'm going to take a shot at it. First I'll arrange the teams by tiers, then I'll p ... Mon, 17 Nov 2008 3:37:40 EST http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6365452/11692553?source=rss_blogs_NCAAB http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6365452/11677705?source=rss_blogs_NCAAB#comments NCAAB http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6365452/11677705?source=rss_blogs_NCAAB Like the state itself, the Mountaineers usually get no love until after the fact. Every year it seems the coaches pick them to finish several spots below where they finish. Every year they are better than the prognosticators say they are. They are we ... Fri, 14 Nov 2008 11:17:24 EST http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6365452/11677705?source=rss_blogs_NCAAB http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6365452/11663069?source=rss_blogs_NCAAB#comments NCAAB http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6365452/11663069?source=rss_blogs_NCAAB Villanova is one of many Big East teams garnering a lot of preseason attention. Returning the top seven (and nine of the top ten) scorers from a Sweet Sixteen team will do that. Of course, the critics say 'Nova benefited from a weak slate of oppo ... Wed, 19 Nov 2008 11:11:33 EST http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6365452/11663069?source=rss_blogs_NCAAB http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6365452/11641723?source=rss_blogs_NCAAB#comments NCAAB http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6365452/11641723?source=rss_blogs_NCAAB Here's one of the more interesting cases in the Big East. After two consecutive almost-but-not-quite years when many felt they were snubbed by the selection committee, the Orange return two players from injury but lose one star. Will it be enough ... Tue, 11 Nov 2008 22:28:42 EST http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6365452/11641723?source=rss_blogs_NCAAB http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6365452/11627439?source=rss_blogs_NCAAB#comments NCAAB http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6365452/11627439?source=rss_blogs_NCAAB Here is a program with a history of excellence that hasn't been performing of late. They have a good coach in a tough position, and it's a long shot that this season will be much more successful than last. Are there reasons for hope in Jamaic ... Tue, 11 Nov 2008 21:40:13 EST http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6365452/11627439?source=rss_blogs_NCAAB http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6365452/11575661?source=rss_blogs_NCAAB#comments NCAAB http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6365452/11575661?source=rss_blogs_NCAAB This may have been the most difficult of these previews to pull together (though Seton Hall was tough too). I started without a ton of knowledge about this team, and all sorts of changes happened to the roster. Some of the new freshmen were listed at ... Sun, 09 Nov 2008 0:34:02 EST http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6365452/11575661?source=rss_blogs_NCAAB http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6365452/11534928?source=rss_blogs_NCAAB#comments NCAAB http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6365452/11534928?source=rss_blogs_NCAAB I believe Seton Hall was a better team than they appeared last year. They have a bit of talent. It may be difficult for them to be anything more than "better than they appear" once again in 2008-2009. They are typically an afterthought in t ... Wed, 12 Nov 2008 18:19:08 EST http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6365452/11534928?source=rss_blogs_NCAAB http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6365452/11516923?source=rss_blogs_NCAAB#comments NCAAB http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6365452/11516923?source=rss_blogs_NCAAB Certainly it will be a stiff battle for Rutgers in conference, perhaps less so with (aside from UNC) a reasonably easy set of ooc games. There isn't anything to say to change the fact that they are in a difficult position. Still, with last year&# ... Sat, 08 Nov 2008 19:34:36 EST http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6365452/11516923?source=rss_blogs_NCAAB http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6365452/11456586?source=rss_blogs_NCAAB#comments NCAAB http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6365452/11456586?source=rss_blogs_NCAAB Providence is drawing a lot of attention as this year's dark horse team, with the return of Sharaud Curry. Now that Cincinnati has taken some hits to its roster, Provy is really the only candidate for that role, because nine other teams are being ... Wed, 05 Nov 2008 19:27:25 EST http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6365452/11456586?source=rss_blogs_NCAAB http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6365452/11406110?source=rss_blogs_NCAAB#comments NCAAB http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6365452/11406110?source=rss_blogs_NCAAB Well, this is the one I've been waiting to do, certainly. There are high expectations in Pittsburgh, with a great group of returning players. Some think this might be Pitt's best chance to crack the Sweet Sixteen finally, but that's somet ... Fri, 31 Oct 2008 17:18:43 EDT http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6365452/11406110?source=rss_blogs_NCAAB http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6365452/11379353?source=rss_blogs_NCAAB#comments NCAAB http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6365452/11379353?source=rss_blogs_NCAAB This is another team popping into a lot of people's preseason top ten lists. They probably deserve it, because they return 4 of 5 starters and 7 or the top 8 scorers from a team that won 14 Big East games and 25 overall. Everybody knows about the ... Wed, 29 Oct 2008 12:38:39 EDT http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6365452/11379353?source=rss_blogs_NCAAB http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6365452/11369246?source=rss_blogs_NCAAB#comments NCAAB http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6365452/11369246?source=rss_blogs_NCAAB I can't really talk about Marquette without talking about their coaching change. They replaced an excellent coach with an unproven one. But I am going to leave that largely out of the rest of my preview here, except where I need it to nudge me a ... Tue, 28 Oct 2008 19:16:41 EDT http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6365452/11369246?source=rss_blogs_NCAAB http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6365452/11351572?source=rss_blogs_NCAAB#comments NCAAB http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6365452/11351572?source=rss_blogs_NCAAB Another of the preseason favorites in the Big East. I think they're my pick to win the conference regular season (which doesn't necessarily imply that I think they are its best team). There's a lot going on with this team, what with depar ... Thu, 30 Oct 2008 18:12:31 EDT http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6365452/11351572?source=rss_blogs_NCAAB http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6365452/11327679?source=rss_blogs_NCAAB#comments NCAAB http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6365452/11327679?source=rss_blogs_NCAAB Sorry to those who have actually been reading these. I got a little behind. Hopefully I can pound out one late tonight and get a little more on track. This one is one of the more interesting teams, in the Hoyas. They lost a lot, but are bringing in a ... Mon, 10 Nov 2008 10:47:26 EST http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6365452/11327679?source=rss_blogs_NCAAB http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6365452/11257615?source=rss_blogs_NCAAB#comments NCAAB http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6365452/11257615?source=rss_blogs_NCAAB I will be as forgiving as I can, but his is a not very good team in a powerhouse conference. I have to feel a little bad for the Demons, because they had some succesful seasons, which got them an invite to the expanding Big East. I feel like they are ... Thu, 23 Oct 2008 15:52:03 EDT http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6365452/11257615?source=rss_blogs_NCAAB http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6365452/11222819?source=rss_blogs_NCAAB#comments NCAAB http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6365452/11222819?source=rss_blogs_NCAAB This one was a little easier, because I'd already done a lot of the research knowing that Connecticut was one of the preseason Big East favorites. This is the team that many think will be the best of that leviathan of a conference, and for good r ... Wed, 22 Oct 2008 19:26:43 EDT http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6365452/11222819?source=rss_blogs_NCAAB http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6365452/11193436?source=rss_blogs_NCAAB#comments NCAAB http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6365452/11193436?source=rss_blogs_NCAAB Now that college basketball is practicing for real, I'm analyzing the Big East team by team, alphabetically by school. I'll culminate the whole thing in a preseason ranking of all 16 teams, but I'm holding off on making exact predictions ... Fri, 24 Oct 2008 15:34:41 EDT http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6365452/11193436?source=rss_blogs_NCAAB http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6365452/10991652?source=rss_blogs_NFL#comments NFL http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6365452/10991652?source=rss_blogs_NFL The league has finally started to separate itself, and the last two weeks have had some very difficult to predict games. But there are still a ton of teams in the balance (I'm talking to you Dolphins, Saints, and Falcons, among others) and this w ... Fri, 10 Oct 2008 19:44:37 EDT http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6365452/10991652?source=rss_blogs_NFL http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6365452/10406099?source=rss_blogs_MLB#comments MLB http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6365452/10406099?source=rss_blogs_MLB I was watching that infamous sports highlight show on that other network this afternoon, and they said "Red Sox Nation. Hank steinbrenner calls it a myth, but the stats say otherwise." They went on to speak of how the Red Sox just set a rec ... Tue, 07 Oct 2008 15:21:47 EDT http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6365452/10406099?source=rss_blogs_MLB http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6365452/8390754?source=rss_blogs_MLB#comments MLB http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6365452/8390754?source=rss_blogs_MLB Nobody is running away with any of the divisions in the American league. The Rays hold the best record, and The Mariners hold the worst. The last place teams are the Yankees, Tigers, and MAriners - all teams that a lot of folks thought could win thei ... Sat, 09 Aug 2008 10:41:22 EDT http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6365452/8390754?source=rss_blogs_MLB http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6365452/7973755?source=rss_blogs_MLB#comments MLB http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6365452/7973755?source=rss_blogs_MLB Well, the Orioles have the ninth best record in baseball right now, and I'm thrilled. I mean, we O's fans feared as bad as a 100-loss season, and didn't expect to rush out of the gates so much as fall out of them on our face. When I look ... Wed, 28 May 2008 10:59:47 EDT http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6365452/7973755?source=rss_blogs_MLB http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6365452/7713653?source=rss_blogs_MLB#comments MLB http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6365452/7713653?source=rss_blogs_MLB OK guys, here is finally what I promised on Monday. The third in my series of minor league reports, this one focusing on the A Frederick Keys. In this team is our greatest expression of the youth movement and bright future of our ballclub. Frederick ... Fri, 11 Apr 2008 17:26:26 EDT http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6365452/7713653?source=rss_blogs_MLB http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6365452/7649142?source=rss_blogs_MLB#comments MLB http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6365452/7649142?source=rss_blogs_MLB OK, I've been sitting on this information for a while because I didn't have a good block of time to sit and type. I present to you the AA Bowie Baysox annotated roster. I know, I know, we all want to see the Keys because that's probably t ... Fri, 11 Apr 2008 7:22:20 EDT http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6365452/7649142?source=rss_blogs_MLB http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6365452/7561883?source=rss_blogs_MLB#comments MLB http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6365452/7561883?source=rss_blogs_MLB Hey folks! I'm going to start posting some minor league stuff to my blog, a place all the O's fans on these boards can come to get info on just how the farm is going. I figured since I was going to start following the minors more closely, and ... Sun, 06 Apr 2008 14:04:43 EDT http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6365452/7561883?source=rss_blogs_MLB http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6365452/6881234?source=rss_blogs_NCAAB#comments NCAAB http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6365452/6881234?source=rss_blogs_NCAAB I recently read the CBS version of the bubble watch, (here) and I thought it was pretty well done. Kudos to Brian De Los Sanntos for putting the whole thing together. Based on what I saw there, I put together a "bottom up" elimination schem ... Fri, 07 Mar 2008 20:14:51 EST http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6365452/6881234?source=rss_blogs_NCAAB http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6365452/6665473?source=rss_blogs_NCAAB#comments NCAAB http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6365452/6665473?source=rss_blogs_NCAAB As we've known all year, Big East wins don't come easy. In a game that was a must-win for the Panthers, they managed to get it done. It came down to the wire, though. This just in: Ronald Ramon needs to start shooting well again. When he clan ... Wed, 27 Feb 2008 21:52:09 EST http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6365452/6665473?source=rss_blogs_NCAAB http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6365452/6539575?source=rss_blogs_NHL#comments NHL http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6365452/6539575?source=rss_blogs_NHL OK, I can't stand the word "yinz," but I haven't been to Pittsburgh in too long. ... Wed, 27 Feb 2008 21:55:36 EST http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6365452/6539575?source=rss_blogs_NHL http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6365452/6431085?source=rss_blogs_MLB#comments MLB http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6365452/6431085?source=rss_blogs_MLB Part I: Overall results and standings ... Sun, 17 Feb 2008 10:13:53 EST http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6365452/6431085?source=rss_blogs_MLB http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6365452/6414454?source=rss_blogs_NCAAB#comments NCAAB http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6365452/6414454?source=rss_blogs_NCAAB I hate Marquette so much. Not really, because they are well coached and a great program etc. etc. Nothing seems to make us capable of beating them, though, no matter the circumstances. I am so TIRED of losing to this team. Ever since that sweet 16 wi ... Sat, 16 Feb 2008 9:20:51 EST http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6365452/6414454?source=rss_blogs_NCAAB http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6365452/6386475?source=rss_blogs_NCAAB#comments NCAAB http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6365452/6386475?source=rss_blogs_NCAAB Fields is back! Reportedly, anyway. This is huge for the Panthers, especially against a Marquette team that always seems to have our number. More importantly, they are one spot behind us in the Big East standings, and if we beat them it puts us in ve ... Fri, 15 Feb 2008 5:23:26 EST http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/entry/6365452/6386475?source=rss_blogs_NCAAB 100 http://images.sportsline.com/images/cbsdm/spec/cbssportscom.gif http://pittbaster.blogs.sportsline.com/mcc/blogs/view/6365452 100