CFB Offseason News

It has been a tough 8 months for college football fans everywhere. The last time we saw a college football game was when Alabama absolutely dismantled Notre Dame to claim the BCS Championship. The offseason can be summed up with one name: Johnny Manziel. Manziel has had the media spotlight all on him this offseason. The Heisman Trophy winner has had an eventful few months, whether it is sitting court side at NBA games or getting kicked out of frat parties. The latest news is that the NCAA is investigating Manziel for supposedly receiving benefits for autographs. His college career could be over if the NCAA discovers enough evidence to suspend him. Texas A&M's first game is against Rice on August 31. Whether he plays in that game is up in the air. 

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I will be unveiling the MM8 Preseason CFB Rankings on Wednesday. Remember to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @MM8sports.

Braun's Gone, Puigsanity, and Hot in Cleveland!

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In the dog days of summer, baseball has been keeping me going. There is so much to talk about around the league. The most interesting team could quite frankly be the Dodgers. Since the emergence of Cuban rookie sensation Yasiel Puig the Dodgers have been rolling. Puig has had 11 HR and 25 RBI since the start of June. More importantly, he has given this team life and hope. Hanley Ramirez has also given the Dodgers a huge boost. Ramirez has 11 HR and 37 RBI for LA. Both Puig and Ramirez have been super aggressive. Ramirez is a candidate for NL MVP. The Dodgers are 3.5 games up on the Diamondbacks in the NL West. 

The Pittsburgh Pirates have been playing great baseball as of late. The Pirates are 1.5 games up on the Cardinals in the NL Central, the toughest division in the MLB. The Pirates fell one games short of pulling off an insane 5-game sweep against the Cards. The Cardinals did embarrass Pittsburgh last night at PNC Park with a 13-0 win over Pittsburgh. Charlie Morton got the loss for the Pirates. Andrew McCutchen and Pedro Alvarez have been leading the team. McCutchen is a frontrunner for the MVP. 

The AL Central is host to two of the hottest teams in baseball in the Indians and Royals. Cleveland has  won their last 8 while Kansas City has been on a tear and have won their last 9 appearances. Cleveland is sitting in the second Wild Card spot and is up on the Orioles and Rangers by 0.5 games. The Rangers have won four straight games and are making up ground in the AL West and the Wild Card. Three of the four wins have come from walk-offs against the Angels. Texas fans are not too happy, though. The MLB has seriously been considering suspending players linked to the Biogenesis scandal. Ryan Braun is currently serving a rest-of-the-season suspension. The 2011 NL MVP lied about not using steroids and blamed it on other people. It has been a rough few weeks for Milwaukee fans. Nelson Cruz of the  Rangers is one of the players linked to the scandal.  

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The AL East battle has been heating up lately. The Red Sox are currently one game up on the Rays for 1st place. Baltimore is sitting 5.5 games out of it and the Yanks are 8.5 games back. The BoSox and Rays have been neck and neck. The Rays are facing a load of NL West opponents to start August off. They finish off August with the AL West. The Red Sox were part of a three-team trade where they sent  Jose Iglesias to the Tigers and got back Jake Peavy from the White Sox. 

NBA Free Agency

The NBA season ended less than a month ago and already there have been some huge moves and signings this free agency period. The biggest, however, was Dwight Howard going to the Rockets. He chose to play in Houston over LA, Atlanta, Dallas, and Golden State. The Rockets are now a legit candidate to come out of the Western Conference with a starting five that will showcase a backcourt with Jeremy Lin and James Harden. The front court will consist of Howard, Chandler Parsons, and possibly Terrence Jones. Omer Asik will be backing Howard up. Asik asked for a trade once the Rockets signed Howard, but the front office denied his request. 

The Warriors might have lost out on Howard, but they picked up a great defender in Andre Iguodala. Iguodala also made a splash on the same day Howard decided on the Rockets. Iggy chose to leave cold Denver for the Warriors. The Warriors will be very tough out in the West. 

Brooklyn made another huge move this offseason. They traded for Kevin Garnett, Jason Terry, and Paul Pierce. They will have one of the best, if not the best starting five in the league. Everybody talks about how weak the bench is, but they do have some solid reserves. Andray Blatche can back up Brook Lopez and give good minutes. Reggie Evans can pretty much only rebound, but he sure is good at it. He will be a solid backup to KG. Mason Plumlee also has some great talent and has been playing very well in the Summer League with Tyshawn Taylor. Jason Terry is a spot up shooter with experience. This Nets team can be lethal from beyond the arc with Joe Johnson and Deron Williams. The addition of Pierce and Terry can only help.

This year's draft class was relatively weak, but that made it exciting to watch. The Cavs shocked the world by drafting Anthony Bennett #1. Victor Oladipo was taken #2 by the Magic and Otto Porter will stay in DC after the Wizards drafted him with the 3rd pick. The Cavs have a talented young roster and are looking to land Andrew Bynum, who missed all of last season because of injury. Cleveland is prepping for next offseason which is loaded with draft talent and some great free agents. There has been talk that the Cavs are trying to lure LeBron back to his home state. The 2014 draft class has potential to be one of the best ever. Teams are already prepping for next year's draft. It showcases Andrew Wiggins, Marcus Smart, Julius Randle, Aaron Gordon, and Jabari Parker. That is assuming they all decide to come out early. The last draft class like this was the 2003 class that featured LeBron, Carmelo, Wade, Bosh, and Josh Howard. 

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Because It's The Cup

The Stanley Cup has been more than just exciting. In the first five games, three of them have been decided in OT. The Blackhawks are up on the Bruins 3-2. The series shifts to Boston now. Patrick Kane has come alive in the last few games for Chicago. The Bruins are beat up and desperate for a win. Jonathan Toews has been participating with the Blackhawks in their morning skates. He was injured after a collision with Johnny Boychuk. Patrice Bergeron had to leave Saturday night's game early after what seemed to be a regular hit. He has not been ruled out yet for tonight's matchup. This should be a tight game, but I think that Boston might pul it out in front of their home fans. Game 7 [if necessary] is on Wednesday night in Chicago. The TD Garden will be packed tonight when these two teams hit the ice. 

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Battle at the Alamo

The Heat and the Spurs are tied up at one apiece in the NBA Finals. It has been the two PGs that have shined so far in the first two games. Tony Parker carried the Spurs to an exciting Game 1 win, while Mario Chalmers got the Heat going in their Game 2 demolition of San Antonio. Each game has had a defining play. In Game 1, it was Tony Parker's bank to seal the deal with 5 seconds left and less than a second left on the shot clock. It was a defensive play that caught everyone's eyes in Game 2. LeBron had a huge block on Tiago Splitter. The block created a lot of buzz on social media.  Now the series is in San Antonio. There is no doubt in my mind that Gregg Popovich will have his team ready for tonight.  Chris Bosh needs to play well if the Heat want to win. He had great self-control on monday finishing with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Bosh shot 60% from the field and did not attempt one 3-pointer. Unlike Game 1, Tim Duncan did not shoot the ball well in the last game. He ended with 9 points and  11 rebounds and shot 3-13. Kawhi Leonard has been putting up solid numbers in the series, especially in the rebounding category. Both teams hit some huge shots from beyond the arc on Monday. Danny Green and Gary Neal shot a combined 7-for-8 from 3-point range in Game 2. This matchup will be much closer than Game 2, but I think that LeBron and the Heat will pull out the victory. 

Game 7 Grinder

After another long hiatus I am back and will be blogging all this week. Everyone is talking about the Heat/Pacers series. It has gone to the 7th game and has been pound for pound the best series in this entire Playoffs. Paul George and Roy Hibbert have been absolute monsters. The whole Pacers squad have just punted the Heat down low in the post. LeBron has had a terrific series, but he desperately needs help. The rest of the Big Three have been invisible for the series. Good news for Miami is that Chris Andersen is returning after a Game 6 suspension. He will give the Heat a boost. Frank Vogel has done a great job with this Indiana team since his Game 1 blunder. Erik Spoelstra needs to find something to motivate his ball club.

The winner of this will go onto face the Spurs. San Antonio has been playing insanely good basketball. The Pacers would matchup with the Spurs better. It would be very interesting to see Hibbert go up against Duncan. They have to go through Miami first, though. Everyone knows that LeBron will do anything humanly possible to keep this season alive. Wade and Bosh are both listed as Day-to-Day. 

The matchup to watch is Lance Stephenson against Dwyane Wade. Wade has been struggling mightily in this series. His knee is still sore. Stephenson has been on and off. He has the ability to make electrifying plays. This game will be very close and the rambunctious Miami crowd will help the Heat, but as I look up and down every battle, the Pacers match up with this Heat team. I think that Indiana will clinch a berth in the NBA Finals. To see my live updates on the game, follow me on Twitter @MM8sports and like us on Facebook. 

Rough Riders

These NBA Playoffs have been very exciting and physical. You have to expect more of that tonight. The Heat and Grizzlies are both trying to close out their series. Miami is at home and up 3-1 over the Bulls. Chicago's physical play has stirred some controversy. These two teams do not like each other. They have both gotten under the other team's skin. I have Miami closing it out at home.  The Grizzlies are on the road and face off with the Russell  Westbrook-less Thunder at the Chesapeake Energy Arena. Kevin Durant has put up huge numbers, but has not had much help. Durant really has not performed well in the 4th quarter in the last few games. Durant has been playing a lot and has been tired come crunch time. However I think he will get the job done tonight for the OKC fans. Follow me on Twitter @MM8sports.