It's Major League Baseball Playoff Time!

It's October, and my hometown major league baseball squad is coming off a franchise second best 101-61 win season, their first ever AL West title and first division crown for the team since 2001 thanks to the ginormous 38-16 start out of the gate in April and May.

They clinched the 2017 AL West on September 17 with a 7-1 beatdown of the Seattle Mariners at Minute Maid and won the division by 22 games over the Los Angeles Angels.

Even more satisfying to Astros fans, in addition to our first AL West division title, and the first 100 win season since the 1998 team won 102 games. we won the season series with the Texas Rangers 12-7/

Now that they're playing baseball in October for the first time since 2015, the number two seeded Astros await the start of the Division Series round of the playoffs on Thursday. 

They'll kick things off in the ALDS at Minute Maid Park against the AL East champion Boston Red Sox determined to make it to the ALCS and hopefully the team's second ever World Series berth.

The AL Central champion Cleveland Indians, thanks to a monster 22 game win streak from August 24-September 14  edged the Astros out for the AL's best record by one game.  They will be trying to forget their heartbreaking loss in last year's World Series Game 7 to the Cubs as they chill out at Progressive Field and await the winner of today's AL Wild Card Game at Yankee Stadium between the Minnesota Twins and the New York Yankees. 

Winners of their respective five game ALDS series move on to the seven game AL Championship series scheduled to start on October 13 in the home ballpark of the team with the best record.

In the National League the Los Angeles Dodgers are the top seed with a MLB league best 103 wins, but are not a consensus pick in some pundits minds to make it to the World Series. 

The Dodgers were playing at a torrid 56-11 pace from June 7 to August 25, but then dropped off the cliff and went 1-16 the rest of the season.

Even with that late season swoon, they still won the NL West  by 11 games over the Diamondbacks and will host at Dodger Stadium on Friday the winner of the National League Wild Card Game at Chase Field between their NL West Division rivals the Colorado Rockies and the Arizona Diamondbacks,

The second seeded NL East champion Washington Nationals rolled to an 97-65 record, but were the only team that posted a winning record in the NL East.  The second place team in their division, the Miami Marlins, finished 77-86, 20 games behind the Nats. 

The folks in DC don't care, because they will be at Nationals Park watching their local baseballers battle the defending NL champion Chicago Cubs in their NLDS series that kicks off on October 6 at

It's a miracle the Cubs are even playing in October since they were 43-45 at the All Star break.  After some major roster changes, they rebounded to a 49-25 record in the second half of the season to capture the NL Central Division

But then again, it's not how you start, it about getting hot at the right time, and now is the time.

Winners of their respective NLDS series will battle each other starting on October 14 in the National League Championship Series at the ball park of the remaining teams with the best record.

The World Series is scheduled to start on October 24 at the home of the AL or NL team with the best record.

And yes, I'm hoping at the end of the month that's the Astros.   

How You Like The 2015 Houston Astros Now?

How you like the Astros now, Yankee fans?

Been taking crap from a certain Mr. Watts for his Rangers (ugh) winning the AL West over my fave baseball team after they led for most of the 2015 season and into the AL Wild Card Playoff Game last night against the New York Skankees  Yankees.

There was much trash talking over the last few days on my FB page by certain Yankee fans (Mia Macy) about how my boys were going down, et cetera. 

This was the first Astros playoff game not only since they were forced to move by Bud Selig to the American League, but since they won the National League championship in 2005

Guess Mia and those loud and wrong Yankee fans forgot that the Astros won the season series against their club, their offense has gone south since late September, and they were facing our 20 game winning Cy Young Award candidate ace pitcher n Dallas Keuchel. 

And oh yeah,  the Astros hit 230 home runs, second in the majors this season.

I gleefully watched along with much of Houston Keuchel shut out the Yankees again for six innings as Colby Rasmus and Carlos Gomez slugged solo shots off MasahiroTanaka that propelled the precocious Astros to a 3-0 shutout win over the vaunted Yankees and into the ALDS against the defending AL champion Kansas City Royals

Beware KC fans thinking this will be an easy series.  We won the regular season series against the Royals too

TransGriot 2014 NFL Picks-Wildcard Weekend

The regular NFL season is over, and I fell short of my goal of walking away with another prognostication title.   That's headed to Denver.

To make it worse, I have to hear it from the Harris County Cowboy Bandwagon Riders about their team finally making the playoffs after three consecutive 8-8 seasons.

Well, if JJ Watt wins the NFL MVP, I'll feel somewhat better about this 2014 season and finishing second in the prognostication contest.

But while I'm killing time waiting for the 2015 NFL season to start, time to use the Wild Card round of the NFL playoffs to hone my prognostication skills.

Saturday NFL Wildcard Weekend Games

Arizona Cardinals 11-5 vs Carolina Panthers 7-8-1

This is the Saturday early game.  The Cardinals were the hot team early in the season until the injury bug started decimating their roster and especially at quarterback.   The Panthers had all kinds of drama and adversity early and slumped to a 3-8-1 record at one point, but won their last four games to become the first team to repeat as NFC South champions despite the below .500  record.

But don't let that record fool you.   Carolina has momentum and is peaking at the right time of the year, while Arizona peaked too soon.   Doesn't help the Cards either they are on their fourth quarterback and playing this game in Charlotte after having the best record in the league at one point.

Arizona also has problems defending mobile quarterbacks, and Carolina has Cam Newton on their side and in uniform for this wild card game.

Picking the Panthers in this one.
 
Baltimore Ravens 10-6 vs Pittsburgh Steelers 11-5

The nightcap is the rubber match for these longtime AFC North rivals, and true to the nature of this series, they split the 2014 regular season series.   The Ravens beat the Steelers in Baltimore 26-6 during Week 2 while the Steelers returned the favor in Week 9 and thumped the Ravens 43-23 at Heinz Field.

The playoff game is at Heinz Field, and the AFC North champion Steelers come into it winning their last four games.   The Ravens won three of four down the stretch, but those games were to Miami, Jacksonville and Cleveland , and the loss was to the Texans. 

The Ravens chances to advance depend on which Joe Flacco shows up to play.  I'm betting it's bad Joe Flacco.    Steelers to win

Sunday NFL Wildcard Weekend Games

Cincinnati Bengals 10-5-1 vs Indianapolis Colts 11-5

This is a battle of Houston area high school quarterbacks in Katy's Andy Dalton and Stratford's Andrew Luck.  It's a rematch of a Week 7 game in which the Colts over the Bengals 27-0 at Lucas Oil Stadium.   They rolled up 506 yards of offense in that shutout and held the Bengals to 135 yards of total offense and 32 yards rushing..

This trip to Lucas Oil Stadium will be different.  Dalton and his teammates will have to hear ad nauseum on that bus ride up I-74 the factoid that the Bengals last playoff win was against the Oilers in 1991, while the Colts may have a slight chip on their shoulder about pundits saying they play in the 'soft'.AFC South.

Indianapolis went 5-2 down the stretch, but both losses were to the Patriots and Cowboys.  So did the Bengals, with both losses being to their AFC North nemesis the Steelers.

Over the last few weeks the Bengals have been using a devastating rushing attack anchored by rookie RB Jeremy Hill.    That will be their key to the Bengals finally getting that playoff monkey off their backs   The health of AJ Green will also be a factor because he still hasn't been cleared to play after suffering a concussion in the Steelers loss and he also missed the Week 7 game.  

The Colts will lean on Andrew Luck to carry them to another playoff win, but he has no running game to help him out and has been turnover prone this year.

If the Bengals can control the clock, force some turnovers and AJ Green can play, they have a shot.   But this game is at Lucas Oil, and the Colts don't lose many there. 

Colts to win this one.

Detroit Lions 11-5 vs Dallas Cowboys 12-4

In the nightcap the Detroit Lions head to Jerryworld for their NFC wild card game against the (yuck) NFC East champions.  Matthew Stafford played his high school ball in the Dallas area at Highland Park HS, where he led the Scots to the 2005 Texas Class 4A Division I title.

But it's NFL titles he's chasing now, and the Lions will have a tall task in stopping the Cowboy trio of Dez Bryant, NFL rushing champ Demarco Murray and Tony Romo.   Having Ndamukong Suh on the field will help the NFL's Number one rushing offense, since he won his appeal and got the one game suspension reduced to a $70K fine instead.

The Lions have a playoff history monkey to get off their backs as well.  They have only won two playoff games in the Super Bowl era, and their last win came in 1992

The opponent they defeated?   The Dallas Cowboys.

This playoff game will be Dallas' offense vs. Detroit's defense.   Only one will prevail, and if the Cowboys get to play ball control like they have all season, they will win.   If Detroit shuts down that rushing attack and forces that weak Dallas defense to play extended minutes, could be a very happy day for Matthew Stafford.

Naah..Dallas to win this one.

2013 TransGriot NFL Predictions-NFL Divisional Round

Usually it's an advantage for a team to host a playoff game, but you couldn't tell that by the results during the Wild Card weekend round of the 2013-14 NFL playoffs.  

Three of the four road teams won, and it would have been a clean sweep for them if Indianapolis hadn't executed the second largest playoff comeback in NFL history to eke out a 45-43 win.

I split the wildcard weekend games at 2-2, so now it's time to predict which way the NFL Divisional Round games for the 2013-14 playoffs will transpire.
Eli and Mike's picks are here
.  

Saturday Divisional Round Games 

New Orleans (12-5) at Seattle (13-3)

The early game has the Saints taking on the top seeded Seattle Seahawks in a playoff rematch of a December 2 regular season game at CenturyLink Field in which the Seahawks stomped the Saints 34-7. 

The Seahawks jumped out to a 17-0 first quarter lead in that game and never looked back as Russell Wilson lit up the Saints defense for 310 passing yards and 3 touchdowns.  


That 7 points the Saints scored in that blowout was the lowest point total they have scored since Sean Payton became their head coach in 2006.  It'll be safe to assume now that the Saints have gotten that road playoff woes gorilla off their back with that 26-24 win in Philly last week, they will score more than 7 points in this game.  

New Orleans will march into Seattle in a better mood to ezorcise another playoff demon in terms of their loss to a 7-9 Seahawk team when they were trying to repeat as NFL champs. 

The Saints are the number two ranked team in the NFL in total offense and number four in total defense and Drew Brees will probably have a better games as well.   

But Seattle was the number four team in the league in rushing offense thanks to Marshawn Lynch, and has six Pro Bowlers.  One of them is Texan season killer Richard Sherman, who had a league leading 8 interceptions.  They are rested, made a run to the divisional round last year, are champs of the toughest division in the NFL and have a formidable home field advantage with the ear-splitting loud 12th Man.

But that Seahawks home field invincibility aura took a hit after they lost to the Arizona Cardinals in Week 16 to snap their 14 game home winning streak 

Something else for you Saints fans to keep hope alive with.  Since 2005, Number 6 seeds are 5-2 against Number 1 seeds in the divisional round of the NFL postseason.

Yeah yeah, it's hard to beat a team twice in the same season, but Seattle to win and make it to the NFC title game..

Indianapolis (12-5) at New England (12-4)

I don't like either one of these teams, so in my case as I'm watching this late game it comes down to which team do I despise more?  

So what do the Indianapolis Colts do for an encore after executing the second largest playoff comeback in NFL history to escape with a 45-44 win?  Try to beat the number two seeded New England Patriots in a Divisional Round playoff game at Gillette Stadium and their future Hall of Fame QB.

Good luck with that task   New England has had a week to watch the tape of that game and you can bet that Bill Belichick has already planned on taking TY Hilton away from Andrew Luck and making him beat them without his best weapon.  

Luck is capable of flinging the football around as he proved last week against Kansas City, but he isn't playing in the cozy confines of Lucas Oil Stadium this week, he's in Foxborough where the Patriots have won 14 of their last 15 home playoff games.   

But the question remains does Tom Brady have the weapons on his side to beat the Colts?   Yep.

Even though Rob Gronkowski is out, they still have their trio of RB's in Stevan Ridley, Shane Vereen, and LeGarrette Blount to throw at the Colts and set up their lethal play action passing offense. 

New England will be focused because they remember how their season ended last year, with a home loss in the AFC Championship game to the Ravens.

New England (boo hiss) to win the nightcap playoff game and punch their ticket to the AFC Championship game.    


Sunday Divisional Round Games 

San Francisco (13-4) at Carolina (12-4)

This early game is another one of the three regular season rematch games on the divisional playoff schedule.  Back on November 10 the teams clashed at Candlestick Park with the 49ers on a five game winning streak and coming off a bye week.  

But the Panthers escaped with a 10-9 statement win that propelled them to an NFC South title and the number two seed in the NFC playoff bracket.  

A large part of the story in that Carolina win was Colin Kaepernick being sacked six times and only generating 91 yards passing.  WR Michael Crabtree and TE Vernon Davis were sidelined with injuries and in Davis' case a concussion.  RB Frank Gore didn't have a very productive day either.

Well, they're all back, and the 49ers come into Charlotte for this rematch at Bank of America Stadium on a roll after subduing the Green Bay 23-20 in a frosty wildcard round game that Kaepernick rushed for nearly 100 yards to end the Packers season. 

The Niners are determined to do the same to the Panthers and avenge the loss at Candlestick  Their defense is ranked fourth against the rush and seventh against the pass and gave Cam Newton fits, too.

But as the Panthers have proven in this stellar season for them, they are no slouches on defense either, ranking sixth against the pass and second against the run.   Luke Kuechly has been their anchor in his Pro Bowl season  
 
Cam Newton also had a less than stellar day in that first game at Candlestick, but in his first ever playoff game he is wanting to prove he is an elite quarterback that can carry his team to a Super Bowl, and he gets his opportunity to prove it.

And yes, as I mentioned earlier, it's hard to beat a team twice in the same season.  This is going to be a tough, hard fought defensive struggle like the first one was in Candlestick, but I think Carolina will pull it out late to make it to the NFC championship game.    
   

San Diego (10-7) at Denver (13-3)

This Sunday late game is round three of the season series between the Chargers and their AFC West foes  the Denver Broncos.   The Bolts shocked the Cincinnati Bengals and the NFL world in The Jungle with a 27-10 upset win to set up the rubber match with their top seeded nemesis. 

Peyton Manning wants to be playing football on February 2.  So does Philip Rivers.  Which quarterback will make it happen for his team? 


The Broncos and Chargers split the 2013 season series with Denver taking a 28-20 win over the Bolts in San Diego on November 10. 

The Chargers returned the favor in a nationally televised 27-20 win in Denver on December 12 that snapped the Broncos 13 game home winning steak and 10 game winning streak against AFC West Division opponents.

San Diego has basically been on a playoff pressure run for the last month, having won five straight games since December 8.  So the Bolts are riding a lot of momentum coming into this game. 

The Chargers have figured out the best way to defend Peyton Manning is keep him and his offense on the bench.  In that December 12 win they ate up 38 minutes on the clock and frustrated the Broncos.  They are going to attempt to do the same thing again.   

And something else to make you worry Denver fans besides Peyton Manning's 9-11 playoff record.  It was the same scenario that the Ravens came into Sports Authority Stadium with last year and ended the Broncos season with.

And yep, may I remind you Broncos fans of the stat that Seattle fans are nervously contemplating.  Since 2005, Number 6 seeds are 5-2 against Number 1 seeds in the divisional round of the NFL postseason.

Denver wants to shake off the bitter memories of last season's stunning playoff loss to the Ravens and advance to the Super Bowl.   But they have to get past the Chargers first, and losing Von Miller for the season and Derek Wolfe for this game isn't going to help.

Neither will the Bronco offense getting off to a slow start in this game against a hot team. 

It'll also help tremendously their chances of hosting the AFC title game at Sports Authority Field if the Broncos offense gets to play with the ball for more than 22 minutes and play some defense when it counts.

I think the Broncos can do it.   Denver to win and host the AFC Championship game

 

2013 TransGriot NFL Predictions- Wildcard Weekend

2013 was my worst ever  NFL prognostication season.   Like my hometown team I had high hopes of defending my title, but multiple .sub 500 weeks killed that for me. 

Like the Texans, i"m looking forward to the start of the 2014 NFL season and May's NFL Draft in which we have the first pick after a 2-14 meltdown.  We'll have a new coach in Bill O'Brien and a new quarterback in Teddy Bridgewater. .

The winter of my NFL discontent could be worse.  I could be hearing it from the Harris County Arlington Cowchip Fifth Column about this revolting development.   But they won't go there.  All I have to do is ask them is what time does their playoff game start at Jerryworld, point out the fact they've now missed the playoffs for three straight seasons and that should be enough to shut them up about the Texans going 2-14.   Even better, our interconference division opponent next season is the NFC East.

Ahem, focus Moni.

Enough jibber-jabber about my Texans, the 2013-14 NFL playoffs have arrived. While it won't be as much fun for me because my hometown team isn't in the running to play in Super Bowl XLVIII in Met Life Stadium (why) on February 2, I need to get my NFL prediction skills recalibrated.   Mike and Eli's picks are here.

So it's time to dive into NFL Wildcard Weekend

Saturday NFL Wildcard Weekend Games

Kansas City (11-5) at Indianapolis (11-5)

This AFC wildcard game is a rematch of a December 22 NFL Week 16 matchup in which the AFC South champion (yuck) Colts forced four turnovers and scored 23 unanswered points after exiting the first quarter trailing 7-0 enroute to beat the Chefs 23-7 at Arrowhead Stadium.

This time the rematch game is at Lucas Oil Stadium, and the trendlines aren't looking good for the Chiefs.

They enter this game having lost five of their last six games against Indianapolis. After starting the season 9-0, KC was 2-5 down the stretch including the 27-24 overtime loss against San Diego in which they rested 20 of their 22 starters, blew a 10 point fourth quarter lead and Ryan Succup missed a 41 yard field goal with :04 seconds left in regulation that would have secured the win. 

Meanwhile Indianapolis comes into the playoff game at Lucas Oil Stadium on somewhat of a roll, having won their last three games.  So what if they were against the Texans, the Chiefs and Jacksonville, they still handled their NFL business. 

The Colts are determined to not only go deeper into this season's playoffs than they did last year, but win their first ever home playoff game for their sophomore quarterback (and Houston homeboy) Andrew Luck and the out for the season Reggie Wayne.

We'll also get to see tomorrow how well Andy Reid making the call to rest his starters in that final regular season game against San Diego game worked out.  

Be afraid KC, be very afraid.  

Indianapolis wins this one.

New Orleans (11-5) at Philadelphia (10-6)

This intriguing NFC wildcard nightcap game features a pair of offenses and (ahem) a pair of former Texas HS quarterbacks that can light up the scoreboard when they get rolling in the Saints' Drew Brees and Philly's Nick Foles.

Brees and Foles played for Texas 5A HS football power school Austin Westlake, but a decade apart.  Brees led Westlake to their only state title in 1996 while Foles is responsible for breaking Brees' high school passing records.   This will be only the second playoff game in NFL history in which QB's from the same high school confronted each other and the first time ever two from the Texas high school ranks have done so.

The Saints march into this matchup at Lincoln Financial Field as the number four ranked team in the NFL in total offense, the number two ranked passing offense in the league and five Pro Bowlers.

The defense in their first year under defensive coordinator Rob Ryan wasn't too shabby either.  They were number four in the NFL in total defense and number two in passing defense.     

But the reason the Saints are playing this game in chilly Philly instead of the climate controlled raucous confines of the Mercedes Benz Superdome (where they were a spotless 8-0) is because they were 3-5 on the road.   As the Saints have been reminded all week, they have lost their last five road playoff games and Drew Brees is 0-3 in road playoff games.

The NFC East champion Eagles after starting 1-3 under new head coach Chip Kelly, caught fire and went 9-3 to capture the division crown.  

They were the number two team in the league in total offense and number one in rushing offense thanks to 2013 NFL rushing champion LeSean McCoy who finished the season with 1,607 yards.  Foles after taking over as the starter for Michael Vick threw for 27 TD's with only 2 picks.

The Eagles are the flipside of the Saints in terms of they did their best NFL work away from home.  They were 6-2 on the road, but only 4-4 at Lincoln Financial Field.   However, Philadelphia did win their last four consecutive home games as part of their 5-1 finishing kick in the second half of the season, including that 54-11 prime time Sunday Night Football blowout of the Chicago Bears.   
 
They also clinched the NFC East title by beating the hated in Philly (and everywhere else) Dallas Cowboys 24-22 at the Jerrydome
 
My pick for this game comes down to location, location, location.  It's also going to be cold with the predicted 8:10 PM EST kickoff time weather expecting a low temp of 21 degrees, 5-10 mph winds, and a 20 chance of precipitation. 

Not what Who Dat Nation wants to hear when they are already nervous about the Saints chances of winning this playoff game and overcoming their playoff road woes.

Since this game is not in Orleans Parish and the Eagles have already proven their offense works in bad weather conditions, going with Philadelphia.

Sunday NFL Wildcard Weekend Games

San Diego (9-7) at Cincinnati (11-5)

The AFC North champion Bengals for the first time in two seasons are playing somebody in January besides the Texans in a wild card playoff game. 

They are also doing so at home against a San Diego Chargers team that had to come back from a 10 point fourth quarter deficit to tie the game, then go deep into overtime in Week 17 to eke out a controversial 27-24 win against a Kansas City Chiefs squad that was resting their starters.

Another Texas HS quarterback from a perennial Class 5A championship powerhouse in Katy's Andy Dalton leads Cincinnati into this rematch of a Week 13 game in San Diego in which the Bengals came storming out of their bye week to beat the Chargers 17-10.courtesy of a late third quarter 21 yard TD pass to a wide open A.J. Green that turned out to be the winning score 

The Bengals come into this playoff tilt at Paul Brown Stadium on somewhat of a roll.  Including that December 1 win against the Chargers, they were 4-1 down the stretch.   Three of those wins were by blowout margins over the Colts (42-28), the Vikings (42-14) and the not so Angry Birds (34-17) with the only stumble being a 30-20 loss at Heinz Field against the Steelers.  The Bengals for the first time since 1988 were unbeaten at home, and the last time that happened they went all the way to Super Bowl XXIII   

The Cincinnati defense is ranked number three in the NFL in total defense, and number five in both rushing and passing defense.   But as the Bengals have been reminded all week, they haven't won a playoff game since 1991.   Despite this being the third straight season they have played January football, it has been one and done the last two years.

Despite San Diego barely getting into the AFC playoff party, after that loss to the Bengals, the Chargers come into this playoff game having won four straight pressure packed games, including a 27-20 upset win on December 12 over the number one AFC seeded Broncos in Denver. 

The Bolts are the number five ranked offense in the NFL and the number four ranked passing offense in the league. Philip Rivers is also no slouch in the quarterback slot.

They just hope it won't be as cold in Cincy as the last time they played January football there, the 1981 AFC Championship game that the Bengals won 27-7.  The wind chilled temp was minus 59 degrees and replaced the 1967 Ice Bowl as the coldest playoff game in NFL history. 

San Diego is also hoping that bad Andy Dalton shows up.  Not a likely occurrence. Andy Dalton's stats in The Jungle: 63.5 percent of his passes completed with 20 TD's, nine interceptions and a 98.4 passer rating with the weapons to exploit your number 12 ranked defense.

More bad news for you Charger fans to digest.  High temp for Sunday's game at The Jungle is forecast to be 36 degrees with rain and then snow.  You are catching a break becaus it is a noon CST kickoff, such as it is.

Looks like Polar down in Da Ville and the Bengals fans will be were happy and chanting "Who Dey" after this game is over.

Cincinnati to win this one.


San Francisco (12-4) at Green Bay (8-7-1)

The Sunday NFL wildcard afternoon playoff matchup is a rematch of their Week 1 opening game shootout at Candlestick Park. 

Colin Kaepernick flipped the script and lit them up for a career high 412 passing yards and three TD's enroute to a 34-28 victory eight months after the Niners and Kaepernick knocked the Packers out of the NFC Divisional round of the 2012-13 playoffs with his legs in a 45-31 win.

But this one is being hosted at Lambeau Field because Green Bay fans got both of the presents they wanted from Santa on Christmas Day  

They got the return of Aaron Rodgers to the Packer lineup after spending seven weeks on the sidelines with a broken left collarbone.

The other was the third straight NFC North title won in dramatic fashion in that Week 17 winner take all December 29 showdown at Soldier Field against the Bears.   Rodgers hit Randall Cobb on a 48 yard TD pass on fourth and eight with :38 seconds left in the game to erase a one point deficit.   An interception of a desperation Cutler pass in the waning seconds of the game preserved the 33-28 win.

The Packers are third in the NFL in total offense and because of Rodgers' injury were forced to lean on rookie Eddie Lacy more heavily than they probably would have their franchise QB been healthy.  

But major red flags going into this game is that despite winning three of their last four games down the stretch, none of their wins were against playoff teams this season, their defense has been getting worse as the season progressed, Clay Matthews is out with a thumb injury and the secondary has been getting toasted like Quizno's subs.

The Niners played in the best division in the NFL this year in the NFC West, closed the season winning six straight games including a 19-17 win at Candlestick Park over the eventual NFC number one seeded Seattle Seahawks and have the number three ranked rushing attack in the league.

They also bring into this game eight Pro Bowlers, the number five ranked defense in the NFL, and the number four ranked rushing defense in the league..

We might be looking on Sunday at a replay of the 1967 Ice Bowl. Aaron Rodgers on the field gives the Packers a chance to pull an upset along with a forecast kickoff high temp of minus 5 degrees with a low approaching minus 20.  If the 49ers can overcome the Arctic cold bearing down on Green Bay, Colin Kaepernick will prove once again he is no slouch either at QB and has a better supporting cast and team.

And since he was the losing quarterback in last year's Super Bowl, Kaepernick has a major incentive along with many of the Niners players who had to watch the Ravens hoist the Vince Lombardi Trophy to handle their playoff business despite the temps.

San Francisco to win this one.   

Dynamo Shock Red Bulls, Move To MLS Eastern Conference Finals

When this series started, many pundits didn't give the Houston Dynamo a chance to advance past the Supporters Shield winning and top seeded New York Red Bulls to their third straight MLS Eastern Conference final.  

In many cases you had people openly rooting against the two time defending Eastern Conference champions and that list probably includes MLS Commissioner Dave Garber.

The Red Bulls were rested and finished the season 6-0-2.  The Dynamo had never won at Red Bulls Arena and had been outscored during the regular season in their three losses to the Red Bulls 9-1 with two of those losses happening at BBVA Compass Stadium.   


But this is Dynamo Time, the MLS playoffs, and the Men In Orange just do what they do this time of year.   They kick up their level of play another level and don't stop until they reach the MLS Cup Finals 

After coming back from a 2-0 deficit at BBVA Compass Stadium Sunday to forge a 2-2 tie, they arrived in Harrison, NJ having never beaten the Red Bulls in a playoff game or in this stadium. 

But the top seeded Red Bulls had also never won a playoff game in their home stadium either, so one of these streaks was going to end.  

The Red Bulls initial score happened courtesy of a rare error by Houston goalkeeper Tally Hall in the 23rd minute.  Lloyd Sam hit a cross into the 6 yard box that Hall tried to grab with both hands and pin to the ground.  It squirted out of his grasp and onto the waiting foot of Bradley Wright-Phillips who knocked it into the open net for a 1-0 lead.

In the 36th minute the Red Bulls returned the favor with a giveaway of their own as Ibrahim Sekagya played an ill-advised pass across the top of the Red Bulls’ 18-yard box that an opportunistic Brad Davis picked off before dribbling forward and slotting it home with ease to tie the game at 1-1.

After that it was a series of brilliant Tally Hall saves and a little luck that kept the score knotted up.  A Thierry Henry shot just before halftime redirected by Tim Cahill was parried away by a Hall reaction save. 
A Henry header in the 65th minute hit the crossbar.  He missed a bicycle kick just wide in regulation time. 

But the Dynamo hero once again was Omar Cummings.  In the 104th minute Cummings was the man in the right place at the right time when Cam Weaver's header was blocked by Robles but ended up on Cummings foot that he pushed just past the goal line inside the right hand post past a prone Robles for the 2-1 win.

The 2-1 Dynamo win was not only their first win at Red Bulls Arena and first playoff win against this team, with the 4-3 aggregate score the Dynamo moved on to the Eastern Conference finals for the third consecutive year. 

Take that Dynamo haters.    And sorry Don, no LA-NY MLS Cup final this year either. 

They will face a familiar foe in Sporting Kansas City in the Eastern Conference Finals who closed out their series against the New England Revolution with a 3-1 win (4-3 aggregate), which will start on Saturday at BBVA Compass Stadium.

Dynamo Come Back For 2-2 Playoff Game Draw Vs Red Bulls

After sending the Montreal Impact packing on Halloween night, the Houston Dynamo had a bigger challenge to overcome in their quest to threepeat as Eastern Conference Champions and make it to their third consecutive MLS Cup title game. 

They were playing the first leg of their 2013 MLS Eastern Conference semifinal series at BBVA Compass Stadium against a New York Red Bulls Supporter's Shield winning squad that had beaten them three times in the regular season by an combined 9-1 score.   Two of those three wins this season came at BBVA Compass Stadium

And while the Men in Orange and their supporters could take comfort in the fact that the Dynamo are 9-1 all time in H-town during the MLS playoffs, their lone playoff loss was handed to them by guess who, the New York Red Bulls.  
  

Dynamo coach Dominic Kinnear left the technical area during that late game melee in the knockout round playoff win against Montreal to keep his players from getting any yellow or red cards that could impact (pun intended) their Eastern Conference semifinal series.  He was assessed a bull feces one game suspension by the MLS Disciplinary Committee which didn't sit well with Dynamo fans.

Anything to get that dream NY-LA MLS Cup final huh, MLS?  

That meant Kinnear was watching from the press box instead of the sidelines when the first leg of this Eastern Conference semifinal series against top seeded New York kicked off.  While they didn't score their first goal seven seconds into the game like they did last month, the Red Bulls did strike first with Tim Cahill taking a Thierry Henry cross from the left side and burying the header past Dynamo goalkeeper Tally Hall in the 22nd minute.

The Red Bulls expanded their lead 10 minutes later on a counterattack sparked by Henry and Cahill which ended with Eric Alexander faking to his right, turning left past Boswell and then blasting his shot from 14 yards out just inside the near post for a 2-0 lead they took into half time.

The Dynamo dominated possession in the first half and limited the Red Bulls to only two shots on goal, but the only stat that counts is that 2-0 one on the scoreboard.

But as I said earlier, the MLS playoffs are Dynamo Time and they seem to step up their level of play at this time of year.   The Dynamo began their comeback in the 51st minute when Markus Holgersson failed to clear a ball out of the Red Bulls box and it went straight to a waiting Ricardo Clark at the top of the penalty area.  Clark chested down the early Christmas present and blasted a shot through traffic and past New York goalkeeper Luis Robles inside the near post to cut the deficit to 2-1.

Then came the game changing and probably series changing moment as Omar Cummings, who has been saddled with painful injuries for much of this 2013 MLS regular season coming into the game off the bench in the 62nd minute for striker Giles Barnes. 

Cummings has endured three knee injuries, a groin injury, a hamstring injury and an extensive rehab program that kept him in a reserve role, but it was he who would make the Red Bulls feel the pain of his presence in this first leg playoff match. 

Three minutes later Cummings was taken down with a reckless scissor tackle from behind by Red Bulls center back Jamison Olave within referee Ricardo Salazar's line of sight that earned him a no doubt about it red card and an early trip to the locker room.  

In addition to Olave missing Wednesday's return leg, the red card forced the Red Bulls to play the rest of the match with 10 men, and the Dynamo have a season long habit of scoring a lot of late second half goals.

La Naranja are at just the right time regaining their reputation of being dangerous on set piece plays as the agonizing Eric Brunner near miss in the 78 minute was testament to.

Andrew Driver also narrowly missed an equalizing goal in the 81st minute as the Dynamo continued to put pressure on the Red Bulls.

The equalizing goal finally came in the 91st minute.  Brad Davis delivered another one of his brilliant corner kicks that Bobby Boswell got his head on that a diving Robles couldn't control.  Cummings tapped it inside the right post from point blank range past the helpless New York keeper to tie the game.

Two minutes later in stoppage time the Dynamo should have had a penalty shot awarded to win it when Omar Cummings was clearly clipped in the penalty box as he spun away from his defender in preparation to take a shot but Ricardo Salazar didn't see it that way.  But the 2-2 comeback draw with the Red Bulls sent the BBVA Compass crowd home deliriously happy that the Men In Orange defended their home turf and are very much in this series. 

The Dynamo now head to Red Bulls Arena Wednesday to play the second leg of this aggregate goal series.  If the second game is tied after 90 minutes, two 15 minute halves will be played followed by penalty kicks to determine who goes on to face the winner of the Sporting KC- New England Revolution series in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Dynamo Knock Montreal Out Of MLS Playoffs

As has become the tradition for the two time MLS Eastern Conference champion Houston Dynamo the last few years, they tend to do just enough in the regular season to qualify for the MLS playoffs, then kick up their play another level and roll all the way to the MLS cup title game.

In this 2013 MLS season the Men In Orange were 4-1-2 down the stretch enroute to compiling their 14-11-9 record.  One of those down the stretch wins was a 1-0 one at BBVA Compass Stadium against their Eastern Conference knockout round opponent the Montreal Impact.

But there were still questions from pundits and fans alike about whether this 2013 edition if the Houston Dynamo had it in them or the talent to make it to their third consecutive MLS Cup title game. 

They were also playing in the Impact a team that had beaten the Dynamo twice by the aggregate score of 7-0, but was 1-6-1 down the stretch and were fortunate to have gotten the number five seed over the Chicago Fire due to a tiebreaker.   

But this is Dynamo Time, AKA the MLS playoffs and they were playing this game at BBVA Compass Stadium where they rarely lose on Halloween night.  

The Dynamo stayed true to form and quickly seized control of this Eastern Conference knockout round playoff match with a goal in the 16th minute. Will Bruin received a beautiful back heel pass from Ricardo Clark that he buried into the right hand corner of the net past Impact keeper Troy Perkins for a 1-0 lead. 

The next Dynamo goal in the 27th minute was courtesy of Oscar Boniek Garcia's hard work.  After stealing a pass from Impact defender Hassoun Camara he sprinted toward the 18 yard box with it and was hip checked to the ground by Hernan Bernardello to earn a penalty call.  Garcia then calmly kicked the penalty shot into the lower left hand corner of the net for a 2-0 lead. 

Dynamo goalkeeper Tally Hall made two impressive saves of Marco Di Vaio in the 42nd and 61st minutes to keep his clean sheet with Bruin notching his second goal of the game in the 72nd minute to make it 3-0 and punch the Dynamo's ticket to the MLS Eastern Conference semifinals.

Then we had a Halloween night appearance of soccer hooligans in the 89th minute dressed in Montreal Impact uniforms. 

Already down a man because Nelson Rivas earned an early trip to the locker room with his second yellow card in the 70th minute, the Impact's Andres Romero kicked a fallen Kofi Sarkodie while he was on the ground trying to keep control of the ball.

Neither one of these teams like each other, and Romero's actions triggered an on the field melee in which Marco Di Vaio scratched and slapped the Dynamo's Corey Ashe.  While Ashe was given a yellow card, Romero and Di Vaio were given red cards and sent off for their nekulturny actions with referee Mark Geiger wisely blowing the whistle to end the game a minute later.

"There's really no place in soccer for what the player did to Kofi," Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear said. 

Sure isn't.  But that's okay, Di Vaio and Romero will have the rest of the MLS offseason and the one game suspension to start the 2014 MLS season to contemplate that point now that the Impact's season is over. 

The Dynamo survive and move on to play their Eastern Conference aggregate goal semifinal series with the Supporters Shield winning New York Red Bulls, starting Sunday at BBVA Compass Stadium.  

Once again it's an MLS playoff matchup for the Dynamo against a team that dominated them during the regular season.  The Red Bulls beat them three times by an aggregate score of 9-1, but this is Dynamo Time now.

We'll see on Sunday. 

NFL Referee Jerome Boger Making Black History

When NFL referee Jerome Boger steps onto the playing field at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome for Super Bowl XLVII, tomorrow, he will be making a little Black history when he does so.

Boger, who has been an NFL official since 2004 and was promoted to referee in 2006, will become only the second African-American to have the honor of being a Super Bowl referee.

Boger is the third African-American to become an NFL referee.  Johnny Grier broke the referee color line in 1988.  Mike Carey became the second Black NFL referee when he was promoted in 1995 in the wake of the additions of the Carolina Panthers and Jacksonville Jaguars to the league creating the need for another officiating crew. 

The officials at the Super Bowl are chosen on merit, with the highest ranked at each position on the officiating crew getting the assignment.  The other criteria for their selection is they must have five years of NFL officiating experience and previous playoff assignments.

Boger has officiated four playoff games this postseason and finished the 2012 season as the league's number one ranked referee, but the vanilla ice flavored Hateraid started flowing once the NFL announced the Conyers, GA resident and former Morehouse College starting quarterback got this coveted assignment. 


This will be Boger's first time he has done so as the referee in a Super Bowl, but it is only the only the second time an African-American will have become a Super Bowl referee. 

Mike Carey was the first to accomplish that feat exactly five years ago at Super Bowl XLII back on February 3, 2008.

Yep, that was the one in which the New England Patriots dream of an undefeated season died in a monumental 17-14 upset loss to the New York Giants.

Congratulations to Jerome Boger for making that history.  To all the vanillacentric privileged haters whose white sheets are showing over his selection, frack y'all.  I didn't hear any of you complaining about the fact there were a total of 15 NFL head coaching and GM openings in this offseason and ALL of them went to white males.

That was especially galling to African-Americans n the wake of former Chicago Bears head coach Lovie Smith being fired despite the team compiling a 10-6 record.

For the fans of the Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49ers, they hope that this is the only time the referee gets more press coverage than the teams involved in the NFL title game.

2012 TransGriot NFL Picks-Divisional Round

The 2012-13 NFL playoffs have moved on to the divisional round with both division champions winning in the AFC playoff bracket but Seattle taking out the Washington Redskins on the road in the NFC.wild card playoff bracket.

I'm happy my Texans won their deja vu playoff game over the Bengals, but it earned them a return matchup with the New England Patriots.  There are also return matchups between the San Francisco 49ers and the Green Bay Packers and the Denver Broncos and Baltimore Ravens. 

So how will the Divisional Round shake out?    Here's how I think it will happen, and here's Mike Watts' opinion about the Divisional Round of the playoffs will go.   He got all four games right and I was 3-1 during Wild Card weekend.

Saturday's Divisional Round Games

Baltimore at Denver

This is a rematch of a December 16 game at M&T Bank Stadium in which the Broncos came into it with a 10-3 record and winners of 8 straight at that Week 15 point in the season.   The AFC North champion Ravens were in a funk at the time, missing Ray Lewis, Dannell Ellerbe, Marshall Yanda and Bernard Pollard from their defense and had just lost games with their AFC North arch rivals the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Washington Redskins in OT.  It continued with a 34-17 loss to Denver that dropped them to 9-5 at the time. 

But this is the playoffs.  It's hard to beat a team twice in the same season, and the 13-3 AFC West Division champion Broncos come into it holding the number one seed, which hasn't always been a ticket to playoff success either.   They also have to deal with an emotional 11-6 Ravens team who is now healthy,  motivated to play hard for their inspirational leader Ray Lewis, and kick it up another notch in the playoffs.   

But this game is in Denver, when they only lost once at home during the 2012 regular season.  Peyton Manning will be motivated in his first playoff game for the Broncos and so will their defense.

Once again, it comes down to which Joe Flacco shows up and how many times the Angry Birds give the ball to Ray Rice. 

If the All-World Joe Flacoo shows up like he did last week along with the old Ravens defense, this could be a very interesting game.  If the football flaccid Flacco shows up and the Ravens defense can't keep Peyton in check, it will be a long sad last game for Ray Lewis.and the Ravens fans in Charm City.

I'm betting bad Flacco shows up.   Denver to win this one.

Green Bay at San Francisco

This is also a rematch of their season opening September 9 game at Lambeau Field in which the NFC North champion Packers stumbled and trailed 23-7 before putting on a furious 4th quarter rally that fell short and resulted in a 30-22 loss.   They were 2-3 out of the gate with one of the losses being the infamous 14-12 'Fail Mary' game in Seattle before they eventually sorted out their issues and finished 11-5.  

Alex Smith was the starting quarterback for the 11-4-1 NFC West Division champion Niners for their season opener, but after suffering a midseason concussion in that Week 10 tie against St Louis that forced him to sit out the next game, he found himself being replaced by Colin Kaepernick.  The second year quarterback made the most of his opportunity and compiled a 5-2 record as a starter.  One of Kaepernick's signature wins was a 41-31 triumph on national TV against the New England Patriots in Foxborough. .

This playoff rematch will be at Candlestick Park, and you'll have a playoff hardened Aaron Rodgers who just sent the Minnesota Vikings packing last week against a second year quarterback getting his first taste of NFL playoff action.   Both teams had solid defenses but different offensive styles and it will come down to which one imposes their style of play on the other. 

I repeat, it's hard to beat a team twice in the same season.  If 12-5 Green Bay turns this into a track meet, they win.   If the Niners get the lead and can play that ball control chew up the clock style game while pounding on Rodgers with that defense, they'll move on to the NFC Championship game.

It's going to be a close game, but picking the Packers to win

Sunday's Divisional Round Games 

Seattle at Atlanta

It's the 'Battle of the Birds' at the Georgia Dome in the early game between the 12-5 Seattle Seahawks and the NFC South champion Atlanta Falcons.   Seattle has a defense featuring their 'Legion of Boom' defensive secondary that is big (all 6'3"), fast and revel in lighting you up.  They have a Rookie of the Year candidate quarterback in Russell Wilson that has proven to be impervious to pressure and rolled to a 24-14 wild card round win in Washington last week. 

Atlanta's no slouch either defensively, but will be motivated to prove it in front of the home fans.  

The Falcons and their quarterback Matt Ryan are tired of being dissed by the NFL punditry and eager to atone for their past playoff flameouts.  Two years ago they had the number one seed and got waxed at home 48-21 by the Green Bay Packers who moved on to claim the Lombardi trophy two weeks later at the Jerrydome.  Last season it was the New York Giants ushering them out of the playoffs in a 26-2 blowout win at MetLife Stadium enroute to claiming the NFL title in Indianapolis 

Seattle is making their second consecutive road trip east from the Pacific Northwest.   Didn't affect them last week.  The fun matchup to watch will be the 'Legion of Boom' versus Atlanta's receiving duo of Roddy White and Julio Jones.  Ageless tight end Tony Gonzalez is still seeking that elusive Super Bowl ring to cap off a stellar sure bet NFL Hall of Fame career. 

Seattle will give them a battle, but picking Atlanta to win this one.

Houston at New England

In the Sunday afternoon game, it will be the rematch that should have been at Reliant but isn't between my 13-4 Texans and the defending 12-4 AFC champion New England Patriots.  

No one outside of Loop 610 gives the Texans a chance in this game.  Vegas has my hometown NFL ballers as 9.5 point underdogs.  Radio DJ Tom Joyner and his 'Joyner Jinx' is still rooting for the Texans.  The NFL punditry thinks it will be just like the 42-14 blowout game back in December that started the Texans late season swoon that cost them the AFC number one seed.  Ron Gronkowski will be back for this game, but so will Owen Daniels for the Texans. 

I'm sick of the Dallas Cowboy Harris County Fifth Column snarkily predicting another loss.   And what time does your playoff game kick off at Cowboys Stadium again?
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But as Herm Edwards says, that's why you play the game.   The NFL South Division champion Texans aren't chopped liver and have 8 Pro Bowl selections for a reason.  The Bulls on Parade looked good in the 19-13 playoff win over the Bengals.  Arian Foster had 140 yards rushing and when he does that, the Texans win..

As a Texans fan, they can't play any worse against the Patriots than they did that night, and what a lot of people fail to realize is that all the breaks went the Patriots way.   Kareem Jackson fails to recover a Stephen Ridley fumble on the Pats opening drive, the next play they score.   JJ Watt forces a fumble that ends up getting recovered for a Pats TD. 

The Texans are putting together a nice drive trailing 7-0 that ends up with Schaub getting picked when he tried to force a pass to Andre Johnson.  Arian Foster gets held to 46 yards on 16 carries. The Bulls on Parade get almost no pressure on Brady and that will kill you, especially if you're trying to play man coverage against this team.

And I'm going to repeat this one more time,  it's hard to beat a team twice in the same season.

Yes, the Patriots made it to the Super Bowl last year but they lost.  They had a similar situation in 2011 in which they were 14-2, had the number one seed and faced a Jets team they'd blown out 45-3 in Week 13 in the divisional round of the playoffs.  But it was the Jets who walked out of Gillette Stadium with a 28-21 win to face the Steelers in the AFC championship game. .

They are also facing a Texans team who has no pressure on them because everyone expects them to lose and want to atone for getting embarrassed on national TV.  . 

They won't if the following things happen.   They get their ball control offense cranked up and make Tom Brady sit on the sidelines picking splinters out of his uniform.  I don't know of any NFL offense that can score points while sitting on the sidelines.   The Buls on Parade show up and show out by putting Brady on his GQ behind a few times, force turnovers, and Shaub and the offense turn Patriot turnovers into touchdowns while minimizing their mistakes.   

And you know what, I think they'll shock the NFL world and do precisely that.  Texans in an upset.  .

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