2014-2015 NBA Wrap-Up

What a tremendous season of basketball. Seemingly each night there was a different competitive game of interest on television, whether it involved the ever-changing seeding in the Western Conference or the tankapalooza epidemic that took over the Lakers, Knicks, 76ers and Timberwolves' seasons along with Miami playing four of their players all 48 minutes in the final game of the season in order for them to get the tenth pick in the draft (even though they still won!). My mind was changed weekly on who should win each of the NBA's awards and I was not alone. Really, how could I be when James Harden and Stephen Curry alternated 40-point games constantly?

Speaking of my mind, here is what my stupid mind thought at the beginning of this season and here are how things really shaped out...

2014-15 Predictions
Western Conference
1. San Antonio Spurs
2. Oklahoma City Thunder
3. Los Angeles Clippers
4. Golden State Warriors
5. Portland Trail Blazers
6. Houston Rockets
7. Dallas Mavericks
8. Memphis Grizzlies
9. Phoenix Suns
10. New Orleans Pelicans
11. Los Angeles Lakers
12. Sacramento Kings
13. Denver Nuggets
14. Minnesota Timberwolves
15. Utah Jazz

Eastern Conference
1. Cleveland Cavaliers
2. Chicago Bulls
3. Washington Wizards
4. Miami Heat
5. Toronto Raptors
6. Atlanta Hawks
7. Charlotte Hornets
8. Brooklyn Nets
9. New York Knicks
10. Indiana Pacers
11. Detroit Pistons
12. Orlando Magic
13. Milwaukee Bucks
14. Boston Celtics
15. Philadelphia 76ers

Reality
Western Conference
1. Golden State Warriors
2. Houston Rockets
3. Los Angeles Clippers
4. Portland Trailblazers (although they should really have been 6th based on record)
5. Memphis Grizzlies
6. San Antonio Spurs
7. Dallas Mavericks
8. New Orleans Pelicans
9. Oklahoma City Thunder
10. Phoenix Suns
11. Utah Jazz
12. Denver Nuggets
13. Sacramento Kings
14. Los Angeles Lakers
15. Minnesota Timberwolves

Eastern Conference
1. Atlanta Hawks
2. Cleveland Cavaliers
3. Chicago Bulls
4. Toronto Raptors
5. Washington Wizards
6. Milwaukee Bucks
7. Boston Celtics
8. Brooklyn Nets
9. Indiana Pacers
10. Miami Heat
11. Charlotte Hornets
12. Detroit Pistons
13. Orlando Magic
14. Philadelphia 76ers
15. New York Knicks

I got 3/15 standing positions correct. That's like a score I would get if you asked me to do a test on a college science course right now without prior warning or (based on my track record with science) with warning. 

Meanwhile, some funky stuff always goes down at the end of the year with my roster rankings. For instance, Lance Stephenson was SUPPOSED to be the second best player on the Charlotte Hornets AHEAD of Kemba Walker. Stephenson went on to become the Most Devalued Player in the NBA and led the Hornets down a disappointing 33-49 road. I also had Derrick Rose as the second most valuable player on the Bulls but, he ended up re-injuring his leg and even though it didn't cost him much time, he still wasn't the former MVP we have seen in the past. Kevin Love ended up being a much quieter Kevin Love that was used like Channing Frye instead of the superstar that average 25 and 10 in Minnesota. Dirk Nowitzki is officially washed up so his #1 ranking on the Mavs roster was a mistake. Did I really put Dwight Howard above James Harden on the Rockets rakings? Moving on...

I also made some award predictions, let's see how those opinions have changed.

Original MVP: Lebron James
Nobody could blame me for choosing the three-time MVP and two-time champion ANNND the undisputed best player in the world to win MVP again but, he got "tired" and took a two week vacation while Cleveland improved the team around him and that will end up costing him the MVP award this year.
MVP Ballot: 1. James Harden 2. Stephen Curry 3. Russell Westbrook

Associated Press

 Stephen Curry is going to get this award because he was the best basketball player this season. I'm giving it to Houston's James Harden because his All-Star big man, Dwight Howard, missed 41 games and Houston was not very deep in talent otherwise. With all of that plus Patrick Beverley and Donatas Motiejunas's late-season injuries, the Rockets still locked up the 2-seed thanks to James Harden's MVP-caliber season.

Original ROTY: Jabari Parker
Jabari was lost for the season due to a torn ACL in the Milwaukee Bucks' 25th game of the season. He does not have a chance at this award as a result.

ROTY Ballot: 1. Andrew Wiggins 2. Nerlens Noel 3. Nikola Mirotic'

(Jesse Johnson, USA TODAY)

There were two healthy rookies that were unquestionably ahead of the rest of the class, Jabari Parker and Andrew Wiggins. "Maple Jordan", as they refer to him in Canada, ended up averaging a flashy 16.9 PPG along with 4.6 RPG and 2.1 APG. The dude is nowhere near his peak yet and looks like he's a year or two away from an All-Star team.

Original DPOTY: Dwight Howard
Dwight also missed a large portion of the season (50%) and has no chance at the Defensive Player of the Year.

DPOTY Ballot: 1. DeAndre Jordan 2. Draymond Green 3. Anthony Davis

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports 

This award could go to either Jordan or Green and I gave it to Green based on the eye test plus statistics all telling me that he was the most dominant defensive force in the Association this season. DeAndre Jordan led the league in Defensive Win Shares (5.4) and dominated in Blake Griffin's absence for about a third of the season with an impressive 15 rebounds per game.

Original 6th Man: Isaiah Thomas
Being traded from Phoenix to Boston actually boosted Thomas's odds halfway through the season and he has a very strong case for the best backup award.

6th Man Ballot: 1. Lou Williams 2. Isaiah Thomas 3. Jamal Crawford
The Jamal Crawford Award is a strange award for a few reasons, A. It is not named after Jamal Crawford yet. B. It's an award for a backup that will likely play more minutes than many starters (Manu Ginobili) C. It can only be given to players who have started forty games or less when really, it should be more around 20 since the stats everyone pays attention to in the NBA would be very different between a 20-game starter and a 40-game starter. The award just shouldn't exist outside of team locker rooms. Lou Williams gets my vote since he averaged over 15 points per game and there aren't many candidates.

Original Coach of the Year: David Blatt
Blatt is a puppet controlled by Lebron until further notice.

COTY Ballot: 1. Mike Budenholzer 2. Steve Kerr 3. Brad Stevens
67 wins as a rookie coach will likely get Kerr this award but, Budenholzer had so much less to work with in terms of depth and superduperstar power. There are no NBA superstars (All-Stars don't count) in Atlanta. Golden State has two players (Klay Thompson & Steph Curry) that are better than any player on the Hawks, who also reached 60 wins. Pretty much every award has a Warrior nominated and I'm not sure I want to give them any awards because everything was TOO perfect this season. I fully expected these guys to put up a season like this eventually just not so soon. Mark Jackson was a garbage NBA head coach and Steve Kerr is great but not the best. Budenholzer's team has no holes headed into the postseason thanks to great coaching and complete health (outside of Thabo Sefolosha). They are tremendous on both sides of the ball and player's that have been around for years (Millsap, Korver, Teague, Carroll) all had the best years of their careers. Curry, Thompson, Barnes and Green might not have even peaked yet. The Warriors will get their chance.

Sorry, Steve.

Original Most Improved: Victor Oladipo
Oladipo was only much better in defense and scoring but his rebounds, steals and blocks were pretty much identical to last year. I was booking on Oladipo being a lesser Dwyane Wade when really, I'm seeing a much better Ben Gordon (don't sleep on his mid-00's stretch). One other problem is that his singing actually got worse than it used to be as made evident at this year's Slam Dunk Contest. He has no chance.

Most Improved Ballot: 1. Jimmy Butler 2. Draymond Green 3. Klay Thompson
No idea where to go with this one. Previously, Butler was only a defensive stopper and now, he's an All-Star. That was seen coming by nobody. Draymond Green went from being an average dude to an above-average offensive player and a stellar defensive player. Klay Thompson went from being a good shooter to a terrific shooter and an MVP candidate over the first two months of the season.

Fun stuff. NBA Round 1 preview coming soon...

My 2015 MLB Preview

Sorry for the wait but, with March Madness being so mad and hectic and all technology in my house failing me over the past month, I've been slightly preoccupied. Since we're still in the first week of a 162-game season, I figured it's fair for me to reveal my baseball picks after a handful of games and the weird Craig Kimbrel and trash for prospects and more trash trade.

AL East
Toronto Blue Jays 89-73
Baltimore Orioles 86-76
Boston Red Sox 85-77
New York Yankees 79-83
Tampa Bay Rays 71-91

I feel weird going from placing Toronto in last during last year's prediction/preview piece to placing them in first this year. That said, the team has experienced some major turnover this off-season. Decent hitting Catcher Dioner Navarro is now the most valuable backup backstop in all of Major League Baseball with the acquisition of stellar defensive Catcher Russell Martin. Marcus Stroman may have been lost for the season but, thanks to Brett Cecil's closing ability, Aaron Sanchez is taking Stroman's place in the rotation and should fit right in. The biggest move of all was swapping perennial injury-risk 3B Brett Lawrie for Oakland's powerful All-Star 3B Josh Donaldson. Remember how bleak and uneventful Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion's careers were before coming to Toronto? Yeah, Donaldson is going to be HUGE this year. Baltimore has a weird obsession with starting Ubaldo Jimenez simply because they are paying him substantially more than Kevin Gausman and they will pay (in more ways than one) for that decision if they don't change their minds quickly. Boston has a fun and exciting, playoff-ready lineup with Mookie Betts starting in Center and Pablo Sandoval and Hanley Ramirez being signed during the Winter. The one thing keeping me from catapulting Boston to that next level is their shaky rotation (Clay Buchholz, Wade Miley, wildly overpaid Rick Porcello, Justin Masterson and Joe Kelly). There is no clear ace in that staff and while one might emerge, I find it a lot more likely that at least two will turn out to be disastrous. Plus, I really do not think they will trade for Cole Hamels at the Deadline. That can wait until the next off-season. The Yankees will get an early surge from A-Rod's return but he will taper off just like all the other 30-year old batters in their lineup (AKA: everyone not named Didi Gregorius). Tampa seems like they are a year away from something big. They have most of a pitching staff (Matt Moore is still recovering from Tommy John Surgery) and they are at least trying younger players in their lineup (Nick Franklin, Kevin Kiermaier, Steven Souza Jr.) but, as long as John Jaso is a key part of your offense, you should be a bad team. It's proven by science.

Fake Andy Todd Awards!!!
Division MVP: New Blue Jay Third Baseman Josh Donaldson
Division Rookie of the Year: Reliever-turned-Starter Aaron Sanchez, also of Toronto.
Division Cy Young Winner: I don't think Yankee Michael Pineda's 2014 was a fluke. In the worst pitching division by far, I'll take my chances with picking him.
The Sudden Collapse Award: Yankee Masahiro Tanaka will not live up to his pre-surgery performance and New York will regret rushing him back.

Josh Donaldson is my pick for the AL's MVP this year.

AL Central
Cleveland Indians 92-70
Detroit Tigers 85-77
Kansas City Royals 82-80
Chicago White Sox 75-87
Minnesota Twins 72-90

Sports Illustrated picked the Cleveland Indians to win the World Series in their official preview of the 2015 MLB season. I, like many, scoffed at the idea that this team with no real playoff experience (outside of manager Terry Francona) could even make the ALCS. Shortly after, I looked at their roster and thought "Oh. This isn't a totally ridiculous assumption to make". Brandon Moss hit 30 homers in Oakland so he should easily challenge 35 in Cleveland. Corey Kluber is the defending AL Cy Young Award winner and Carlos Carrasco pitched like a Cy Young candidate in the second half of the 2014 season. T.J. House is a sleeper fantasy pick. Michael Brantley was an MVP candidate last season and Yan Gomes is the American League's best Catcher. What's not to like? Well, Michael Bourn (batted .257 in 2014) is batting lead-off but, that shouldn't hurt too much. Detroit is already regretting the Justin Verlander contract that should pretty much eliminate them from all future contention UNLESS, Yoenis Cespedes turns into the MVP candidate we've all been hearing about for the last three seasons. FDI (For Detroit's Information): Alfredo Simon and Shane Greene are not Doug Fister and Max Scherzer. Kansas City's World Series run last year was one of the flukier postseason runs in Major League history and the Royals are obvious regression candidates. The White Sox added another ace (Jeff Samardzija), bringing that total up to two for them (Chris Sale being the other). Don't sleep on Jose Quintana either! The White Sox offense is still a piece or two away from being playoff-ready. Meanwhile, across my border (Wisconsin is next to Minnesota for those of you readers that are geographically challenged), the Minnesota Twins are still just a one-pitcher franchise (Phil Hughes) with no clear star bats although, they do have intriguing youngsters in Kennys Vargas and Danny Santana. Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano should tear the non-existent roof off of their stadium this September and with Alex Meyer, Jose Berrios and Kohl Stewart coming up through the Twins' system, Phil Hughes won't be lonely forever.

Fake Andy Todd Awards!!!
Division MVP: White Sox 1B Jose Abreu won't get the wins but, his stats will overshadow pretty much everyone else's in the Central.
Division Rookie of the Year: Micah Johnson could be a nice fantasy sleeper at second for Chicago but, Southpaw Carlos Rodon could be playing at an all-star level during the second half of the season.
Division Cy Young Winner: I'm surprising my 2014 self by saying that Corey Kluber winning the Cy Young for Cleveland last year was no fluke.
The Sudden Collapse Award: I've never trusted Royals Shortstop Alcides Escobar's batting eye but he already has over 700 hits in his career so he might be fine.

Carlos Carrasco pumps his fist in the air after finalizing a four-year contract extension with the AL Central winners.

AL West
Seattle Mariners 101-61
Oakland Athletics 89-73
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 86-76
Houston Astros 81-81
Texas Rangers 65-97

Felix Hernandez, Robinson Cano, Hisashi Iwakuma, Nelson Cruz and Kyle Seager are already proven talents but, they have one World Series ring combined (Cano with the Yankees in '09). This year, the team channels that frustrating fact and comes out on top with the best record in all of baseball. They will get 101 wins thanks to the first full professional seasons from Starting Pitchers Taijuan Walker and James Paxton, the quality defense of Dustin Ackley and Austin Jackson and maybe, just mayyyyyybeeee, Mike Zunino can hit 25 homers and bat over .225 (I own him in my dynasty fantasy keeper league so, my fingers are crossed). Oakland made a whole lot of seemingly stupid moves this off-season but, as is the trend these last few years, they will find a way to stay relevant, good and in the Wildcard chase. The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, California of the United States of America of North America of Earth are still under the weight of the Albert Pujols and Josh Hamilton contracts. They were unable to add to an average collection of Pitchers as a result. The team also lost Howie Kendrick in one of the more questionable off-season trades as well and will replace him with a platoon of Josh Rutledge (meh) and Johnny Giavotella (why now?). Houston is finally past their "Why is everyone mocking us!?" phase with George Springer in the majors and Shortstop Carols Correa only a few months away. The Astros' pitching staff has changed dramatically in terms of perception since the beginning of last season with the breakouts of Dallas Keuchel and Collin McHugh and the additions of Luke Gregerson and Pat Neshek. Meanwhile, Mark Appel is climbing his way up through the minors as I type as well. The Astros are no laughing matter anymore, no matter how adorable Jose Altuve's height is. The Texas Rangers are looking like the 2007 Milwaukee Brewers (Yovani Gallardo & Prince Fielder reunited and it feels so... not that enthusiastic) minus Ryan Braun. That isn't good. I have an idea! Maybe they should pick up a second Pitcher at some point, they can't just blame their entire season on Yu Darvish's injury. They needed to be better prepared for the season and just plain weren't.

Fake Andy Todd Awards!!!
Division MVP: Kind of impossible to argue against three-time returning champ of this award, Mike Trout.
Division Rookie of the Year: The new Doug Fister! Oakland SP Kendall Graveman who does not have a great K-rate but will consistently force ground-balls.
Division Cy Young Winner: If I pick against Seattle's "King" Felix Hernandez, that would be a mighty bold prediction. Too bad I'm not.
The Sudden Collapse Award: There was a reason Angels SP Matt Shoemaker went undrafted and I think we are about to find out.

"King" Felix Hernandez will finally be on the kings of the division after a ten-year career-long playoff drought.

NL East
Miami Marlins 96-66
Washington Nationals 92-70
New York Mets 85-77
Atlanta Braves 63-99
Philadelphia Phillies 61-101

Miami Outfielder Giancarlo Stanton is returning from a pitch that required him to get a bunch of stitches in his face and some say (mainly just me) that that will only add to the intimidation Pitchers feel when they have to face GianSCARlo: Desotroyer of baseballs this year. In my opinion, Miami has the best outfield in baseball (Honorable mention: Pittsburgh) with Christian Yelich, Marcell Ozuna and Stanton. Their infield is not too shabby either with the additions of Dee Gordon, Mike Morse and Martin Prado. Jose Fernandez is really the reason I am putting them ahead of the Nationals because, once he comes back, that team is in full playoff mode. The rest of the rotation is solid yet not deep enough to not collapse upon any injury. The Washington Nationals are pretty much locked into every baseball experts playoffs, rightfully so. The Mets have strong sleeper potential since they play in the same division as the Phillies and Braves and that alone is worth 20-25 wins. New York is one year away from seriously contending for the playoffs unless Matt Harvey really is Bizarro Clayton Kershaw. The Braves traded Jason Heyward, Craig Kimbrel, Evan Gattis and pretty much anyone not named Teheran, Freeman or Simmons. At least they got some prospects back and have a plan unlike the hopeless Philadelphia Phillies, who will trot out some names you would never have previously guessed to still be starting in 2015 like Grady Sizemore, Ryan Howard, Sean O'Sullivan, Aaron Harang and Chad Billingsley. 

Fake Andy Todd Awards!!!
Division MVP: If Miami wins 96 games, it would be pretty hard not to give Giancarlo Stanton the divisional or even league MVP award presumably.
Division Rookie of the Year: Nationals Outfielder Michael Taylor will be playing a lot if injuries to Denard Span and Jayson Werth linger.
Division Cy Young Winner: Everyone loves picking Stephen Strasburg to win a Cy Young for Washington at some point. He's the third best Pitcher in the rotation (the deepest rotation for any team in years) and I'm giving this to his teammate, Jordan Zimmermann.
The Sudden Collapse Award: Mets Second Baseman Daniel Murphy. Another guy whose name I'm just sort of pulling out of the air. Plus, he seems genuinely unlikable but that has nothing to do with baseball (although, it could if he angers the wrong Pitcher).

The face of your 2015 Philadelphia Phillies.

NL Central
Pittsburgh Pirates? 89-73
St. Louis Cardinals? 88-74
Chicago Cubs? 86-76
Cincinnati Reds 76-86
Milwaukee Brewers? 74-88

I put question marks next to four of the five teams because I have no idea what the hell is going to happen in this division other than I think that the Reds are one injury away from being bad. Also, one team will likely be surprisingly awful (Brewers?) and one surprisingly not-awful (Cubs?). The names are interchangeable but, everything I've said will definitely happen. I think the Pirates win because they have the highest floor and the Brewers finish in last because that team's pitching just isn't right. Will the Cubs really finish with 86 wins? doubtful but, I like many pieces they have and their probably one arm and one bat (that aren't already in the organization) away from being worth the hype. The Reds could get a bit of a bounce back from both Joey Votto and Jay Bruce but, what are the realistic chances that those two plus Devin Mesoraco and Johnny Cueto all stay healthy? slim. St. Louis picked up Jayson Heyward (zzzz) and Trevor Rosenthal has a full year of Closing experience (zzzzzz) behind himzzzzzzzzz..... Oh. I'm sorry, this is the most boring team in the league and I can't honestly find anything really positive to say about them or the state of things in the surrounding areas around St. Louis so, hopefully they don't win the division this year because zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.  

Fake Andy Todd Awards!!!
Division MVP: Pirates' Outfielder Andrew McCutchen SHOULD be the face of baseball right now.
Division Rookie of the Year: I'm going on record in saying that Jorge Soler of the Cubs Outfield will be better than OMG Kris Bryant!!!
Division Cy Young Winner: Originally, I wrote down Jon Lester but I'm backing away from that now and thinking Michael Wacha might become an All-Star.
The Sudden Collapse Award: Watch out for the decline of Cardinals Starter Adam Wainwright. The guy is approaching his mid-thirties and the strikeout totals were low in the second half of last season. Just something to keep an eye on.

Don't be shocked if McCutchen's strongest competition for NL MVP comes from teammate Starling Marte'

NL West
Los Angeles Dodgers 93-69
San Diego Padres 89-73
Colorado Rockies 75-87
San Francisco Giants 73-89
Arizona Diamondbacks 64-98

Didn't the Giants just win the World Series? They sure did. You know who else recently won a World Series? The 2013 Boston Red Sox. They certainly collapsed last year, why can't the Giants? The starting rotation is another year older and already dinged up (Peavy & Cain both rumored to be headed for the 15-day DL). Outfielder Hunter Pence will miss the first 4-6 weeks and Pablo Sandoval was replaced with a powerless Casey McGehee. Overall, the lineup is underwhelming and the only "stars" on this team are Buster Posey and Madison Bumgarner. San Diego, meanwhile, has become the most fascinating team in baseball with the additions of Craig Kimbrel, Justin Upton, Wil Myers, Matt Kemp, James Shields and to a much less inspirational extent, Will Middlebrooks and Melvin Upton Jr. (formerly B.J. Upton). The rotation has four strong ace-like veterans in Tyson Ross, Andrew Cashner, James Shields and Ian Kennedy. The fifth spot in that rotation is filled by an injury-ridden formerly-good Brandon Morrow who might have something left in the tank but, really needs to prove himself quickly if he doesn't want to get moved when Josh Johnson returns from the Disabled List. The Dodgers are once again the clear favorites with the replacements for Matt Kemp and Dee Gordon being pretty equal value in Howie Kendrick and Joc Pederson. The Rockies have one of the three worst pitching staffs in the league again but, I expect some of their younger arms (Eddie Butler, Chad Bettis, Tyler Matzek) to at least make Rockie fans forget about their 2014 season. As always, IF Shortstop Troy Tulowitzki can stay healthy, this team will win at least 75 games. Arizona should have the worst pitching staff in baseball but, MVP candidate Paul Goldschmidt will erase some deficits and prevent the D-Backs from losing into the triple digits.

Fake Andy Todd Awards!!!
Division MVP: Dodgers SP Clayton Kershaw.
Division Rookie of the Year: Rockies Starting Pitcher Tyler Matzek.
Division Cy Young Winner: Clayton Kershaw
The Sudden Collapse Award: The Giants. If I have to go with one individual? Justin Morneau seems like a safe bet with the injury history and the potential past-his-prime-ness.

This is Tyler Matzek. He kind of reminds me of a young Mark Buehrle.

PLAYOFFS?!
Tiebreaker Game
Orioles over Angels
Wildcard Games
Orioles over Athletics
Marlins over Padres
1st Rd.
Mariners over Orioles
Blue Jays over Indians
Marlins over Nationals
Dodgers over Pirates
2nd Rd.
Mariners over Blue Jays
Marlins over Dodgers
World Series
Marlins over Mariners in 7

That's one of the strangest playoff scenarios I could possibly imagine but, the last two years of postseason baseball have been really strange so just like Ellie Goulding and Kevin Garnett say "Anything Could Happen/Anything is Possible".

I'd imagine the celebration over the Marlins' third World Series win in less than 25 years of being a franchise would look something like this.

Recommendation #4: The Hip-Hop Music Video Bracket

Everyone's favorite NBA podcast hosted by a former NBA player and David Jacoby, Jalen & Jacoby, has followed up on last year's Hip Hop Group Bracket with an even more fun topic to debate about! Here's the link  to vote for the greatest music video in the history (or at least, this field of 32) of hip hop. Check it out.

Photo via: Grantland

Andy Todd's Bla Blog is on Hiatus

The Bracket of Awesome has returned for it's fifth year! As a result of this AWESOME annual event, I will likely be blog-less this month until I'm ready to preview the upcoming MLB season or the untitled Kendrick Lamar album forces me to hustle out a review post.

My personal favorite nominee for the Bracket of Awesome this year? Decorative Lawn Flamingos. Why? I fell apart under pressure and put something funny and unexpected in the field of 64. It has no chance.

Here is where you vote for the first round if you have not already.

Here is a post from 2014 explaining the Bracket of Awesome's origin story.

Here is a song by Action Bronson that will get stuck in your head for a solid 24-hour span.

Here is Jimmy Hoffa's Wikipedia page.

And lastly, a photo that I thought deserved Bracket of Awesome nomination...

Enjoy the last 25 days of March and may they be filled with awesomeness!

Recommendation #3: Wednesday Night Television

Thursday night was crowned as THE night to watch and/or record television by NBC 22 years ago when they first began using the catchphrase of "Must See TV" after years of dominating the prime-time hours of Thursday night in ratings. Thursday was the stay-at-home night for Hill Street Blues, The Cosby Show, Cheers, L.A. Law, Seinfeld, Friends, ER, The Office, 30 Rock and My Name Is Earl from 1981-2012 (The Office finale) which is why it's so surprising to see that a night NBC prided itself on being their best has become such a train-wreck. Outsourced, Perfect Couples, The Paul Reiser Show, Prime Suspect, Up All Night, Awake, 1600 Penn, Go On, Welcome to the Family, Sean Saves The World, The Michael J. Fox Show, Bad Judge and A to Z have all been aired on Thursday nights on NBC and died quick yet painful deaths after or during one season since 2010.

After the death of the Community-30 Rock-The Office-Parks & Recreation era of 2012, there was a period of about two and a half years where every night was free for me because, there isn't much of a payoff in not going anywhere for say, Parks & Rec's single 22-minute episode airing by itself with nothing enticing outside of that show airing that night. With the expansion of television into new territories like Crackle and Netflix, the idea of one night being "Must See TV" is extinct as technology like the DVR has become as common a household appliance as the television itself.

The closest thing to "Must See TV" that has packed up my DVR recently are the comedies airing Wednesday night that, according to viewer totals, are being massively slept on.

Workaholics (9 PM CT on Comedy Central)

Already in it's fifth season, Workaholics is consistently amusing and has yet to lose a step even as the lead actors careers' blossom outside of TelAmeriCorp. The show has strayed outside of the actual office that employs Adam, Blake and Ders, settling for more episodes of the adult Ed, Edd N' Eddy coming up with plans that quickly fall apart and have no real consequence in a half hour. It's simple, sometimes dumb fun that doesn't at least gross the viewer out to the point of laughter in every episode. Trust me, if you aren't a fan of the show, it moves so quickly that it won't feel like time wasted (even though the characters might be).

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (9 PM CT on FXX)

Another show that has become a semi-staple of their network, Sunny is already in their tenth under-the-radar season. Don't worry about catching up on the series as none of the story-lines connect from episode-to-episode except for the characters progressively becoming more two-dimensional over time. The FXX comedy showcases that it is possible for a program to remain humorous after a decade (unlike How I Met Your Mother) and the acting on the show is really some of the best comedic acting I've seen. If you want to witness this show in it's peak form, watch this season's "Charlie Work" episode where a visit from the health inspector goes just about as you would expect in a comedy and the payoff at the end of the episode leaves everyone pleased.

Broad City (9:30 PM CT on Comedy Central)

Originally a web series, Parks & Recreation's Amy Poehler originally brought this show to the attention of Comedy Central. Now in it's second season, Broad City is the funniest show on a channel that refers to itself as the center of comedy. Basically a female version of the Workaholics crew, Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer are two stoner girls living in New York City with Hannibal Burress alongside them as they just try to get by in the busiest city in America. The show has really won me over the past few weeks with episodes like this past week's where Abbi gets stuck in a construction hole in the middle of a park as her and Ilana roller-blade their way to their friends' dog wedding (officiated by Janeane Garofalo of course). The show is another consistently feel-good comedy that Comedy Central should really get invested in with the loss of Jon Stewart.

Man Seeking Woman (9:30 PM CT on FXX)

The newest of the four shows taking up my DVR space on Wednesday night is Man Seeking Woman starring Jay Baruchel and Eric Andre'. The show was created by former-SNL writer Simon Rich and is absolutely nothing like Saturday Night Live. The show seems to be much more influenced by Baruchel and Andre' (who have lengthy histories as writers) as it is one of the more bizarre shows on television. To a first-time viewer, this is the weirdest show in America right now but, after watching the first six episodes, the themes are all fairly common with an absurd twist in each episode. For example, the "Boyfriend gets jealous of girlfriend's new male friend" story-line was made a hundred times more extreme when girlfriend(Minka Kelly)'s new friend turned out to be Tanaka, an ancient Japanese penis monster (voiced by Fred Armisen). The show even reads hilarious without watching it so, I recommend you all watch Man Seeking Woman, Broad City, Workaholics and It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia as they struggle in ratings when they are some of the most original content on television.

Even the Weak Years for Music Receive Grammy Awards

The Los Angeles Clippers might be on the road (the Lakers are so irrelevant that I do not even feel the need to mention them as an L.A. team anymore) but, that doesn't mean the Staples Center won't be packed full of over-confident rich people who will lose more than they win. That's right folks, it's time for the 57th Annual Grammy Awards! LL Cool J is back to babysit and lick his lips for the fourth consecutive year as CBS could not be more lamely safe with their hosting choice. From an entertainment stance, this show is going to be all about the performances for once and the actual awards will only be a footnote on what should be a good night for live music. Don't believe me? Here's a list of those who will be performing Sunday night according to the official Grammy website...

• AC/DC
• Beck and Chris Martin
• Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga
• Eric Church
• Brandy Clark and Dwight Yoakam
• Common and John Legend
• Ariana Grande
• Herbie Hancock, John Mayer, Questlove with Ed Sheeran
• Hozier and Annie Lennox
• Jessie J and Tom Jones
• Juanes
• Miranda Lambert
• Lang Lang
• Adam Levine and Gwen Stefani
• Jeff Lynne's ELO
• Madonna
• Katy Perry
• Rihanna, Paul McCartney and Kanye West
• Sia
• Sam Smith and Mary J. Blige
• Usher
• Pharrell Williams

Old names mixed with new names mixed with country names mixed with pop names mixed with hip-hop names etc. etc. etc....

It's going to be a cool night with good songs despite a potential lack of drama. Last year, everyone seemed to walk away happily with an award. This year, some surprising artists with multiple nominations will strike out and I am here to try and figure out who should win the Grammy's and who will win the Grammy's.

Let's begin...

Record of the Year

And the nominees are...

- "All About That Bass" by Meghan Trainor

- "Chandelier" by Sia

- "Fancy" by Iggy Azalea ft. Charli XCX

- "Shake It Off" by Taylor Swift

- "Stay With Me (Darkchild Version)" by Sam Smith

Who should win? "Chandelier"

Who will win? "Chandelier"

A quote from my piece on the 2014 Grammy's... "The Grammy's would like to think that they're hip and current with the times". That quote could be the death of this prediction. If the Grammy's want to pretend they are hip, they will give all of the awards to Taylor Swift BUT, I think they are better than that and one of the two correct options ("Chandelier" and "Stay With Me") will end up winning the award because on a scale from Gilbert Gottfried to Adele in believable Grammy winners, Sia and Sam Smith are much closer to Adele than the generic styles of Swift and Trainor. If anything, this will be a sort of lifetime achievement award for Sia Furler after a career of writing Grammy-winning songs without achieving that goal as a solo artist.

Album of the Year

And the nominees are...

- Beyonce' by Beyonce'

- G I R L by Pharrell Williams

- In The Lonely Hour by Sam Smith

- Morning Phase by Beck

- x by Ed Sheeran

Who should win? Beck

Who will win? Ed Sheeran

I cannot wrap my mind around who will win this award since there is not a bad choice nominated. Personally, I think x is the weakest album of the five and I would be a tad disappointed if Sheeran won this award when the other four are in a whole other tier of being the memorably great albums of 2014. In my Top Albums of 2014 entry, I placed Yonce', Beck, and Sam Smith in my top 10 and I would not be upset if my personal favorite, Beck, ended up losing. Sheeran is a great artist and has grown a following larger than half of the Grammy nominees in less than five years. He has the momentum wave (a mythical thing) in his favor and I think he might just steal Album of the Year.

Song of the Year

And the nominees are...

- "All About That Bass" by Meghan Trainor

- "Chandelier" by Sia

- "Shake It Off" by Taylor Swift

- "Stay With Me (Darkchild Version)" by Sam Smith
- "Take Me To Church" by Hozier

Who should win? "Chandelier"
Who will win? "Chandelier"

"Chandelier" is the best mainstream song of 2014 lyrically, visually and sonically (not even a real word). Song of the Year is more about songwriting than the production and all the other bits and pieces that it takes to make a Record of the Year candidate (see "Fancy"). "Chandelier" is more of a lock in this category than in the former and I believe the Grammy's will give Sia another award. I'm not a fashion person but I am interested to see whether or not Sia conceals her face while accepting awards since, she's been doing that for a full year now.

Best New Artist

And the nominees are...

- Bastille
- Brandy Clark
- Haim
- Iggy Azalea
- Sam Smith

Who should win? Sam Smith
Who will win? Sam Smith

Sam Smith might not like being called the "Male Adele" but if he wins a bunch of awards, it's an unavoidable consequence.

Sam Smith might not have the songwriting talent of last year's nominees but, his voice was a major revelation in the mass public during 2014. Lock it up, he will win this award with Iggy Azalea as the only real competition. (Shout-out to Haim!)

Best Pop Solo Performance

And the nominees are...

- "All Of Me (Live)" by John Legend
- "Chandelier" by Sia
- "Happy (Live)" by Pharrell Williams
- "Shake It Off" by Taylor Swift
- "Stay With Me (Darkchild Version)" by Sam Smith

Who should win? "Chandelier"
Who will win? "Happy (Live)"

I have a hunch that the Grammy voters will give some gold to Pharrell as a carry-over from his 2014 Daft Punk co-winnings. Sia and Legend both have a legitimate shot.

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance

And the nominees are...

- "A Sky Full of Stars" by Coldplay
- "Bang Bang" by Ariana Grande, Jessie J and Nicki Minaj
- "Dark Horse" by Katy Perry ft. Juicy J
- "Fancy" by Iggy Azalea ft. Charli XCX
- "Say Something" by A Great Big World ft. Christina Aguilera

Who should win? "Say Something"
Who will win? "Fancy"

Only one song from this list is nominated for the big three awards (Record, Song, Album) and that is "Fancy". The song dominated the world's ears for three solid Summer months while no other song made the leap into Song of the Summer status. The rest of the nominees in Pop Duo/Group are generic songs that received nomination due to star-studded face value. "Say Something" is probably the best song of the five but, none are really great and that's a shame.

Best Pop Vocal Album

And the nominees are...

- Bangerz by Miley Cyrus
- Ghost Stories by Coldplay
- In The Lonely Hour by Sam Smith
- My Everything by Ariana Grande
- Prism by Katy Perry
- x by Ed Sheeran

Who should win? Sam Smith
Who will win? Sam Smith

Miley achieved super-duper-star status in 2013 but, as good of pop singles as "We Can't Stop" and "Wrecking Ball" are, the rest of Bangerz is a complete steaming pile of dog turd of an album. It should not even be nominated for anything except for the musical equivalent of a Razzie. Ghost Stories is the only album that I think is close to Smith's In The Lonely Hour but, it doesn't have the fanfare of the other nominees and is least likely to win the award. Katy Perry tore up the field during Super Bowl XLIX's halftime show but, was ultimately overshadowed by the real MVP of the game... Missy Elliott. Grande has a chance at this award, even though I do not think she has the voters respect as a really talented singer yet and x is the most likely to prove me wrong. x does feature Sheeran's greatest talent in songwriting and making catchy hooks via 2014 MVP (Most Valuable Producer) Pharrell and it could be him versus Smith in a few toss-ups Sunday night.

Best Rock Performance

And the nominees are...

- "Blue Moon" by Beck
- "Do I Wanna Know?" by Arctic Monkeys
- "Fever" by The Black Keys
- "Gimme Something Good" by Ryan Adams
- "Lazaretto" by Jack White

Who should win? "Blue Moon"
Who will win? "Lazaretto"

The award for Best Rock Performance is completely up in the air for grabs. The only person I would consider "out" in this category is mayyyyyyybe Ryan Adams. Jack White is the most "in" right now among those nominated and "Lazaretto" is the most unique song of the bunch. "Blue Moon" is my personal favorite and considering Beck's nomination for Album of the Year, "Blue Moon" has a real chance of winning. The only problem with Beck's song is that it doesn't scream rock and roll as it mostly a soft folk track which, I believe will be it's undoing against powerhouses like White and The Black Keys. Arctic Monkeys had their first smash hit that I actually heard used in commercials in America with "Do I Wanna Know?" but, it's just plain outnumbered this year.

Best Rock Album

And the nominees are...

- Hypnotic Eye by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
- Morning Phase by Beck
- Ryan Adams by Ryan Adams
- Songs by Innocence by U2
- Turn Blue by The Black Keys

Who should win? Beck
Who will win? The Black Keys

Once again, Beck does not fit in the Rock category with Morning Phase as, if anything, it should be listed under the Best Alternative Album category. I think this award will be a coin-flip between U2 and The Black Keys IF (and only if) the voters voted on which album they thought epitomized the rock genre most efficiently.

Best Alternative Music Album

And the nominees are...

- Lazaretto by Jack White
- Melophobia by Cage the Elephant
- Reflektor by Arcade Fire
- St. Vincent by St. Vincent
- This Is All Yours by alt-J

Who should win? Arcade Fire or St. Vincent
Who will win? Probably Jack White

The most anti-climatic/predictable thing for the Grammy's to do (other than hand everything to Taylor Swift) is give this award to Jack White despite having two ELITE albums (Reflektor & St. Vincent) nominated for the same award. Jack White has enough Grammy's and Lazaretto is a Felix Hernandez in a field of Corey Kluber's for a baseball comparison. Hernandez is always fantastic and reliable just like White's music BUT St. Vincent and Arcade Fire are so dominant in how great they are on those albums that, just like with Corey Kluber's 2014 season, you have to give them the award. I don't care which one, just do it.

Best Urban Contemporary Album

And the nominees are...

- Beyonce' by Beyonce'
- G I R L by Pharrell Williams
- Mali is... by Mali Music
- Sail Out by Jhene' Aiko
- X by Chris Brown

Who should win? Beyonce'
Who will win? Beyonce'

Best Rap Performance

And the nominees are...

- "0 to 100/The Catch Up" by Drake
- "3005" by Childish Gambino
- "All I Need Is You" by Lecrae
- "i" by Kendrick Lamar
- "Rap God" by Eminem

Who should win? "3005"
Who will win? "All I Need Is You"

The Grammy's have to throw a curveball in our faces at some point Sunday evening. Compared to last year's field, the nominees for the entire genre of Rap are quite a bit weaker and with Lamar's mixed reviews to "i" and with Gambino's cult following there is not a clear favorite. Best Rap Performance will end up going to the deepest song in terms of meaning behind the song and with Lecrae having already won the Best Gospel Album in 2013, I like his chances of pulling off the biggest upset of the night.

Best Rap Song

And the nominees are...

- "0 to 100/The Catch Up" by Drake
- "Anaconda" by Nicki Minaj
- "Bound 2" by Kanye West ft. Charlie Wilson
- "i" by Kendrick Lamar
- "We Dem Boyz" by Wiz Khalifa

Who should win? "Bound 2"
Who will win? "0 to 100/The Catch Up"

Hol' up, hol' up, hol' up... How does Yeezy not get a Grammy when he's performing at their show?! You don't have the answers, Andy! You don't have the answers!

Best Rap Album

And the nominees are...

- Because the Internet by Childish Gambino
- Blacc Hollywood by Wiz Khalifa
- Nobody's Smiling by Common
- Oxymoron by Schoolboy Q
- The Marshall Mathers LP 2 by Eminem
- The New Classic by Iggy Azalea

Who should win? Childish Gambino
Who will win? Common

Common has become an actor and entrepreneur of sorts so, his chances of winning are decent and this is mostly a random choice because the genre was so absent this past year. Azalea probably has the best odds at winning and there's nothing wrong with that. The New Classic isn't a classic but it's not a bad album, it's just sort of out there in the wide world of music. Don't even get me started on Eminem's nomination.

Some final predictions: Frozen sweeps the Visual Media category because people refuse to let it go. Pharrell wins Best Music Video for "Happy" over Sia's "Chandelier". Taylor Swift and Meghan Trainor get shut out because come on, America... we're better than that. It's called the Grammy's, not the Tacky's.

The Grammy Awards show will broadcast on CBS at 8 p.m. ET/P

Super Bowl XLIX to be... Super

Tom Brady, Darrelle Revis, LeGarrette Blount, Rob Gronkowski, Chandler Jones, Vince Wilfork. That's nice and all but (due to time restraints, I literally had two weeks to write this but was too focused on basketball and the Grammy Awards) I'm taking Seattle with little thought put into my pick. The moment I knew Seattle would repeat was when I watched their America's Game special on their Super Bowl run last season and Russell Wilson said something during their Super Bowl parade, to his teammates, that I had not heard from any previous Super Bowl winner. It was something to the extent of "This is fun. How fun would it be to do this again?". Wilson was dead-set convinced they were going to win next year and in his mind, convinced himself that they were going to repeat. I have a feeling we're in for a bigger surprise than last year's 43-8 win over Denver & Peyton Manning. Granted, the game should be closer but considering last year's was a 35-point deficit, that should not be a difficult task. Besides, the worst NFL season ever needs to have some sort of not-completely-unsatisfying result.

My pick: Seattle wins 34-0. That's right! BOLD CALL!

If I'm right on 34-0, I'm buying the whole neighborhood skittles.