NBA Award Season + Playoff Picks

The NBA season came and went in the blink of an eye and that blink was way more interesting than the casual everyday blinking as the night-to-night box scores featured some eye-popping numbers by superstars on a nightly basis. The abundance of triple-doubles and 50-point games has led to the NBA dominating headlines even when the NFL off-season has been an unavoidable force during the Goodell-era. Unfortunately, this has led to some lazier headline stories like "Kyrie thinks the earth is flat" and "Are stars resting too much?" and my favorite debate of Harden vs. Westbrook for MVP. There is no wrong choice for MVP between the two, as long as we all have agreed to be anti-KD while his current team doesn't even need him for the best record in the NBA.

Complex

Even though the MVP race has been debated ad nauseam, there are other awards to be handed out in late June during TNT's first ever NBA Awards Show and the races are just as close and undecided in nearly every category. It's a seemingly impossible year for writers to fill out their ballots and even though nobody is asking me to, I might as well go through the exercise of filling out my ballot as well for the world (All 5 of you reading this) to see and criticize or lightly nod in agreement with. Here are my choices for every one of the major awards, a few minor awards and my picks for the first round of the NBA playoffs...

 MVP 

Jesse D. Garrabrant/Getty Images

1. James Harden (29.1 PTS, 8.1 REB, 11.2 AST, 1.5 STL, 0.5 BLK, 27.3 PER, 15 WS)

2. Russell Westbrook (31.6/10.7/10.4/1.6/0.4/30.6/13.1)

3. Lebron James (26.4/8.6/8.7/1.2/0.6/27.0/12.9)

4. Kawhi Leonard (25.5/5.8/3.5/1.8/0.7/27.5/13.6)

5. Giannis Antetokounmpo (22.9/8.7/5.4/1.6/1.9/26.0/12.4)

I had convinced myself that I would stick by James Harden all season once he started playing like Steve Nash way back in October. I went through much of the season loving every minute of Westbrook and Harden (two players I've been very high on, even when they played with KD and were slightly marginalized in the process) putting up triple-doubles until it was obvious that Russ was purposely aiming for the single-season triple-double record and then the novelty slightly wore off for me. Maybe I just enjoy angry Russ too much and watching him get along with Durant for even one second of the All Star Game just took a small bit of fun out of that rivalry for me, personally. I think I might just be the emotionally fragile cupcake that OKC has been referring to all season. I'm so sorry but, Harden made his teammates better and nobody outside of Westbrook looked improved on the Thunder. Blame Victor Oladipo for not turning into Dwyane Wade if Westbrook misses out on his most obvious chance at MVP. I was never as surprised by the triple-doubles as I was by Houston's compitence. In my defense, I've been claiming that Westbrook is a better basketball player than Kevin Durant for years now. 

Shout out to Giannis on winning a rock-paper-scissors match versus Isaiah Thomas, John Wall and Stephen Curry for the #5 slot on my ballot.

Rookie of the Year

Bill Streicher/USA TODAY Sports

1. Malcolm Brogdon (10.2 PTS, 2.8 REB, 4.2 AST, 1.1 STL, 0.2 BLK, 14.9 PER, 4.1 WS)

2. Dario Saric (12.8/6.3/2.2/0.7/0.4/12.8/1.0)

3. Joel Embiid (20.2/7.8/2.1/0.9/2.5/24.1/1.9, 31 Games)

"The President" Malcolm Brogdon was easily the most consistent rookie in the 2016-17 NBA season and he saved the Bucks from having to throw extra minutes to Matthew Dellavedova. Saric was better than Brogdon over the final three months and Embiid was much better than Brogdon over the first three months but, the Sixers are not going to make the playoffs and I needed at least 41 games from Embiid to consider ranking him higher than two other players deserving of recognition this June. 

Defensive Player of the Year

Brad Rempel - USA TODAY Sports

1. Rudy Gobert (12.8 REB, 0.6 STL, 2.6 BLK, 6.0 DWS, 23.3 PER)

2. Kawhi Leonard (5.8/1.8/0.7/4.7/27.5)

3. Draymond Green (7.9/2.0/1.4/5.4/16.5)

Draymond is still the most valuable Warrior in my eyes but, now it just seems like I've buried Kevin Durant so let me explain... I have yet to see enough of Durant on the court with the Bay Area's previous big 3 to determine whether or not this is HIS team or just a team of phenomenal complementary All-Stars where Draymond is the dam preventing a flood of points and lackluster defense. San Antonio and Utah were constantly holding teams below 100 points and the two most responsible for their lack of watch-ability this season are just as close to each other as the top two MVP candidates.

Sixth Man of the Year

AP Photo/LM Otero

1. Eric Gordon (16.2 PTS, 2.7 REB, 2.5 AST, 0.6 STL, 0.5 BLK, 13.2 PER, 3.8 WS)

2. Lou Williams (17.5/2.5/3.0/1.0/0.2/21.4/6.1)

3. Zach Randolph (14.1/8.2/1.7/0.5/0.1/18.5/3.2)

It was really to have two sixth man candidates play for the same for two months but, it's a blessing in disguise that it only lasted two months as both Gordon and Williams' canceled out each other's value with neither player seeming nearly as efficient as they were prior to the trade deadline. Enes Kanter still gets plenty of attention for this award as an offensive big man but, the man broke his arm punching a chair and I cannot support that shit. Z-Bo played more games and was less of a distraction while Kanter sparked pushing matches with Golden State and team furniture.

Most Improved Player

@Bucks on Twitter

1. Giannis Antetokounmpo (2016: 16.9/7.7/4.3, 18.8 PER, 7.1 WS & 2017: 22.9/8.7/5.4/26.0/12.4)

2. Nikola Jokic (2016: 10.0/7.0/2.4/21.5/6.7 & 2017: 16.7/9.8/4.9/26.2/9.6)

3. Isaiah Thomas (2016: 22.2/3.0/6.2/21.5/9.7 & 2017: 28.9/2.7/5.9/26.5/12.5)

A strange award that tends to rely on a player being mediocre one year, the players that made THE LEAP from solid ball players to superstars are all listed above. Isaiah was already very close to All-Star caliber last year and just lost out to Giannis in my MVP race while Jokic became an NBA God over the final three months with triple-doubles galore. Who knew all he needed was fellow dominant big Jusuf Nurkic to be shipped off? 

Coach of the Year

Pedro Portal/Miami Herald

1. Erik Spoelstra (41-41)

2. Brad Stevens (53-29, #1 in East)

3. Mike D'Antoni (55-27)

With honorable mentions like Quin Snyder, Scott Brooks, Jason Kidd and David Fizdale, there is no more stacked sea of nominees than in the Coach of the Year category. I ended up rewarding a coach that didn't even qualify for the postseason because I had the Miami Heat trying really hard to get to 30 wins WITH Justise Winslow. Winslow tore his ACL and the team let go of Derrick Williams (a real player now on a real contender) and they still finished at .500! Chris Bosh didn't even play a minute! I'm still not totally sure how Spoelstra achieved this feat but, I'm really satisfied to see him get full praise with the Heatles era long gone.

Brad Stevens managed to not rest his men and locked up a 1-seed while D'Antoni just gave James Harden the ball and outright banned the mid-range jumper in a glorious power move that would have made Sam Hinkie proud.

1st Team All-NBA
G - James Harden 
G - Russell Westbrook 
F - Lebron James 
F - Kawhi Leonard  
C - Rudy Gobert 

2nd Team All-NBA
G - Stephen Curry 
G - John Wall 
F - Giannis Antetokounmpo 
F - Karl-Anthony Towns 
C - Anthony Davis

3rd Team All-NBA
G - Isaiah Thomas 
G - DeMar DeRozan 
F - Jimmy Butler 
F - Paul George
C - Marc Gasol

First Round Playoff Picks
Warriors over Trail Blazers in 4
Spurs over Grizzlies in 6
Rockets over Thunder in 6
Clippers over Jazz in 7

Celtics over Bulls in 7
Cavaliers over Pacers in 4
Raptors over Bucks in 7
Wizards over Hawks in 5

And that's as much attention as I can pay to the NBA this weekend. Good luck to the team of your choosing and may the playoffs live up to the expectations set by that wild regular season!

Building an ideal schedule for Coachella 2017

I'm sure that there are better venues hosting music festivals in 2017 (there are a ridiculous amount of big music and arts festivals now) and I'm sure some of the crowds are a bit less hectic than the ones seen annually in Indio, California. It's certainly not the easiest venue to travel to for plenty as well but, the one thing Coachella still holds the title of being the "first festival" as it kicks off festival season and all of it's glory.

Lorde returns to the Main Stage three years after being the highlight of 2014's weekend.

The thing that really elevates how Coachella is discussed is YouTube's annual livestreaming of the first weekend (of 2) of said event on the official Coachella YouTube page. The many separate stages all have cameras and only three channels are broadcast (with some slight delays unless you are psyched for Little Dragon, whom perform on Friday and their set will air on Saturday), thus leaving a few great acts offline and disappointing fans at home. Ultimately, there are hundreds of performers, nearly 100 on the live feeds, some at the same time and a whole lot of tough decisions to make (unless you're like me and constantly flipping from channel to channel). Unfortunately, I could not make it to California this year (but who needs THOSE crowds?) and luckily for those that have the time or the intrigue, I'm here to sort through the mess and point out the acts you all should choose to check out this Friday, Saturday and Sunday.



Friday

Acts that will not be livestreamed but deserve some attention
Stormzy - Grime is finally crossing over to the US thanks to Drake's ridiculous popularity and recent co-signing of Skepta. Stormzy is the #2 name in grime behind Skepta and despite his lackluster album from earlier this year, the man still has bars and can get more than enough rowdy people on acid in a mosh pit.
Raury - The alternative hip-hop artist received plenty of promotion after his 2014 song "God's Whisper" attracted listeners of all genres and then released his debut album in 2015 that nobody besides me loved. The potential is certainly still there for the multi-talented 20-year old and there are more than enough "Whisper"-like songs yet to come from him.
The Avalanches - Considering it took them 16 years to release a second album, it is surprising that the hip-hop production duo won't be a part of the home-viewing experience.
Travis Scott - Rodeo may be one of the more critically underrated albums of the last four years and with a special guest or two, the Houstonian rapper should draw a wild crowd for the ragers out there that only use The xx and Radiohead for sleep.
Denzel Curry - One of XXL's 2016 freshman class, this 22-year old rapper seems to be headed for his prime and a rise in prominence starting with this weekend's set.

Livestreamed Acts that I will tune in for
The Lemon Twigs - A group of Queen wannabes that are operatic in tone and seem like they'd be a joy to see live if their set is as theatrical as the music,
Tennis - Adored their 2014 album Ritual In Repeat and they are finally getting critical attention with their newest album.
Preservation Hall Jazz Band - Every good day at Coachella begins with either jazz or reggae and I loved how they helped close out Arcade Fire's 2014 set.
SOHN - The English ambient music creator grabbed my interest with his early-year release while everyone else was recovering from the holiday season.
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - Psychedelic as fuck. Go ahead and laugh at the name because it is fantastic. The music will not leave you disappointed although, it may cause some confusion and a sudden desire for junk food.
Sampha - One of the better pure vocal acts showcased this weekend has a bopper of a song in last year's "Blood On Me" and can be quite eclectic on a song-to-song basis if he desires.
Bonobo - Friday is a bit lighter on EDM artists than I'm used to so, Bonobo should cover my desires for a light show and well-produced beats that escalate to no end.
Mac DeMarco - This weird dude became huge in the indie scene around 2014 and has such an odd stage presence to match some really great music with lo-fi production.
Broods - The pop duo from New Zealand blew me away with their debut album in 2014 and their 2016 follow-up was not bad either. Lorde fans will be pleased with this band.
Francis & The Lights - If Bon Iver started out as an electronic band instead of gradually integrating electronics into their folkiness, this is what Bon Iver would sound like.
Glass Animals - Coming off of having my #11 song of 2016, there's no way I'd completely ignore these guys.
Banks - Spacy chill vibes are welcome any night and with the sun already set, Banks will be a perfect transition into the twilight with songs like "Waiting Game", "Gemini Feed" and her excellent new single, "Crowded Places".
Mac Miller - Categorizing white rappers is a weird thing that we've been doing for a long time now (much like white wide receivers in the NFL) and it's never been something I'm a huge fan of but, this white rapper might be at the top of the white rapper game right now. (No seriously, Eminem's been washed for 10+ years)
Father John Misty - His album just came out last week and is a huge hit among critics with album of the year whispers surrounding it. He's gone from lyrically-gifted folk artist to an Elton John-inspired philosopher singing about virtual reality sex with Taylor Swift. He puts on a killer live set by the way.
Phantogram - One of those rare bands that went in a poppier direction with their latest record and it was actually fantastic as the influence of Big Boi paid off with their most consistent album to date. A personal favorite of mine.
The xx - Speaking of bands 3+ albums in with their strongest work coming in the past year... The xx are twice as chill as Banks and the production is better. Will Jamie xx break off and play some solo stuff mid-set? Tune in to find out.
DJ Shadow - Any chance at a Run The Jewels cameo is a good chance.
Little Dragon (STREAMING ON SATURDAY) - Another unique band with their electronic indie pop, the Swedish band will be worth the day-long wait as they may be performing a lot of new material.
Empire Of The Sun - Lady Gaga's only competition for costume design of the weekend. A very unique set will surround this easily digestible alt-pop band.
Radiohead (Headline Act) - If you're reading this and are unaware of the headliners, I weep for you. Please start with their 2000 album, Kid A.
Capital Cities - I was not high on this band until I saw them start a party among thousands with their awesomely fun 2014 show. They should also have some new songs.
D.R.A.M. - Capping off the first night of Coachella with "Broccoli" is too fucking perfect.

Radiohead is sure to have a long set with 25 years of material to work with.

Saturday

Acts that will not be livestreamed but deserve some attention
Bishop Briggs - An alternative artist that is mostly riding the hype of a year-old song ("River") recently featured on a Cold War Kids song and should be dropping her debut album any minute now. 
Mitski - The female rocker that I semi-regrettably omitted from any of my top music lists of 2016 is a star in the making.
Thundercat - Funky jazz musician with crazy style and crazier features (he was huge on Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp A Butterfly and has a song featuring your dad's favorites, Kenny Loggins and Michael McDonald), Thundercat's new album is one hell of an enjoyable experience if you just want to dip your toes into the genre.
Majid Jordan - Another duo with a famous friend (Drake), Majid Jordan should have been huge in America last year with how obsessed we are with the chillpop genre currently and "Hold On, We're Going Home" on their list of achievements.
Nav - An up-and-comer in the world of hip-hop. I am nòt the biggest fan of Nav but, this set might feature Future or The Weeknd and that would be pretty cool.

Livestreamed Acts that I will tune in for
Shura - For an artist born in the 90's, it is incredible how every song on her debut album sounds like a hit song from the 1980's.
Arkells - Despite their latest release, this Canadian rock band still have enough good past music to make a pleasant transition from one channel's stage to another.
Banks & Steelz - Paul Banks of Interpol fame and RZA of Wu-Tang Clan collaborated on album last year that was in heavy rotation among ESPN shows last year whenever they cut to commercials. For as strange as the duo looks on paper, just imagine how odd they'll look together on stage.
Local Natives - An indie rock band that I consistently confuse with another alternative band, Private Island. I can't wait until that moment on Sunday when I inevitably click over to their channel, thinking they do the song "Drugs" when that is 100% false.
Car Seat Headrest - Will Toledo dropped the #1 album of 2016, there's no way I would miss this set. I expect the live performance of Teens of Denial to not be a perfect product like the album but, that shouldn't matter.
The Head and The Heart - A nice little folk band that have had a song featured on every major network television show seemingly, TH&TH are a perfect band for that downtime when there are no other artists of interest playing. Being the elevator music of Coachella is not a bad role at all.
Bastille - Their second album was far superior to their boring debut and they have a nice collection of real hits now.
Two Door Cinema Club - A band that has aged poorly, TDCC still have a strong catalogue of music and strong singles and I still have faith in a rebound on their next project.
Roisin Murphy - I absolutely adore this eccentric electropop artist as there is no one quite like her. Her performances are known for including floating severed doll hands and her outfits are fucking intense. Murphy could win the weekend depending on just how weird she wants to make this.
Mura Masa - The young producer already has a banger featuring A$AP Rocky and songs featuring Shura and Charli XCX. I am extremely interested in his new material and upcoming album.
DREAMCAR - A supergroup featuring members of AFI and No Doubt. Gwen Stefani is not involved (obviously) but, Tony Kanaal is elite in his own right.
Future - mumblemumblemumblegarglegargle molly and Percocets. He's overrated but, imagine the guest stars.
Röyksopp - One of the more innovative production duos around, their live shows are supposed to be very cool. It's either them or 45 minutes of Future.
Schoolboy Q - The Blankface LP was a success and combining that album with his other work and some potential TDE guest cameos will draw a very large, raucous nighttime crowd.
Bon Iver - Rumor has it that their latest album is best experienced live and I do not know how that's possible since I gave 22, A Million an A+ grade last year. It was also my #6 album of 2016. I'm really beginning to question whether Justin Vernon can do no wrong or if I'm just slightly overrating the greatest musician in Wisconsin history.
Martin Garrix - Remember that song that sounded like a sped-up ping pong match? Yeah, I want to see thousands of people defecate themselves when that beat drops.
DJ Snake - Remember "Turn Down For What?" Yeah, I want to see thousands of people defecate themselves when that beat drops.
Gucci Maine - The Gucci Maine comeback from prison is something I never knew I needed but, the east Atlanta Santa is back and happier/slimmer than ever before. You bet he'll have the best guest list of the weekend.
Lady Gaga (Headliner) - If you're reading this and are unaware of the headliners, I weep for you. Please start with this year's Super Bowl halftime performance.

Replacing the pregnant Beyonce is the never dull Lady Gaga.

Sunday

Acts that will not be livestreamed but deserve some attention
Hinds - Fun new all-female garage rock band that's perfect for a mid-afternoon.
Lee Fields & The Expressions - My most disappointed response to a band being left off of the livestream was not seeing these guys on the YouTube schedule. Their latest album is fantastic and they seem like they'd be an awesome day 3 (when everyone's energy is drained and they just want to hear quality music) performer.
Lil Uzi Vert - He has the #16 song on Billboard's Hot 100 and a bunch of hype surrounding anything he releases in the hip-hop community.
HONNE - This electro-soul duo had one of the more overlooked good albums of 2016 and are very comparable to Majid Jordan.
Real Estate - Critically acclaimed indie band has a solid new album and have the experience to put on a high quality show.

Livestreamed Acts that I will tune in for
Preoccupations - Formerly known as Viet Cong, this Canadian punk band is one of the biggest bands in their genre right now
Ezra Furman - Another very fun performer with upbeat songs that would be a blast to see live.
Whitney - Day 3 is always the best day to fill up on some more relaxed performances as a way of saving energy for the closing headliner. Whitney had one of the best debut albums of the past year and will be absolute bliss as the weekend winds down.
Toots & The Maytals - Classic reggae gets it's annual representation in the form of the creators behind "Funky Kingston".
Goldlink - I much prefer all of the Goldlink features I've heard to the rapper's new album. The potential for greatness is here and a live performance might be his best setting.
NAO - This unique soulful vocalist will surprise with the many twists and turns her voice takes in the span of one song.
Grouplove - They have yet to release a bad album (there are 3) and they were a delightful watch the last time they visited Indio.
Kaytranada - Had the best debut album of 2016 and are certain to be an absolute blast compared to the other DJs playing this weekend.
Jack Garratt - This experimental pop artist has a wide variety of instruments and vocal tricks that he likes to pull out on stage. His name should be much bigger than it is in America.
Future Islands - Never a dull moment when Sam Herring gyrates about stage while growl-singing alt-pop as if he were summoning a demon to dance.
Kiiara - Another on-the-rise electropop singer that is known mostly for one song, "Gold".
Porter Robinson & Madeon - Separately, they would be fun shows to see and dance to. Together, I expect some minds to be blown.
DJ Khaled - Will he just Snapchat the whole show, yell "Miami!!!" despite being nowhere near Florida and bring out a boatload of his famous friends? Of course he will.
Hans Zimmer - A music conductor for many of the biggest films ever, I have zero clue what a Hans Zimmer Coachella set could possibly look like and am thrilled by the possibility of a Daft Punk cameo.
Tove Lo - One of the better pop stars we have right now, this woman sounds great live and has a tremendous confidence on stage that is topped by very few.
Lorde - Any new material would be awesome, considering we've only heard two songs off of her upcoming album. Either way, she absolutely won Coachella 2014.
Galantis - An EDM set that I'm very curious about as I have yet to dive into Galantis but, I have enjoyed the few tracks that I have listened to.
Kehlani - Kehlani is receiving a ton of praise for her debut album but, she secretly sounds better live and will be a pleasant energy saver prior to Justice/Kendrick. 
Justice - The closest thing Coachella will have to a full-on disco set. An absolute must-see.
New Order - Festival veterans, it's impossible for them to have a bad set at this point in their careers.
Kendrick Lamar (Headliner) - If you're reading this and are unaware of the headliners, I weep for you. Please start with his album, Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City.

With a new album dropping Friday, Kendrick is about to own Coachella weekend.

Do yourselves a favor and please, check out this weekend's live feeds on YouTube. Either way, enjoy this phenomenal weekend.

Who will win the World Series this year?

Alex Rodriguez's tweet got me thinking... Who WILL win the World Series this year?

With the additional games added by the World Baseball Classic, it seems like Spring Training has been six months long. I'm probably not the only fan that feels this way but, I admit that my perception of time at this time of year is always skewered by my continuous e-mail chains with my long-running fantasy baseball keeper league and the fact that "March Madness" technically has it's biggest game taking place in April. The build-up to the MLB regular season is still a much more insufferable grind for fans than the actual 162 game regular season itself.

For all of the criticism that this league gets and for all of the rumored changes that commissioner Rob Manfred likes to flirt with every February, not much has changed within the sport and -HOT TAKE ALERT- nothing really needs to change except for the No Fun League-esque mentality of some of the players. Never has it been more obvious which side people should take in the "right way to play baseball" debate than during the World Baseball Classic, when the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico played at such an entertaining level that nobody cared that the game was over four hours long. I don't mind the hatred that players harbor for one another when it comes to a fastball errantly splitting a batter's eyebrows but, just let bat flips be what they are... pure joy in the moment at succeeding in one's profession. I understand that it's impossible to determine the intent of every bat flip but if a pitcher does not like it, then get the hitter out next time and have fun with it. Baseball is fun.

Luckily, we aren't that far away from seeing the drama that a baseball season provides playing out before our eyes. The Cubs have finally won their first world series in 108 years and now, we await sad franchises like San Diego, Milwaukee, Colorado, Tampa Bay and a few others (hopefully Montreal in the coming years) as they all continue to search for their first titles with not even a 108-year old title to reflect on. Chicago and Cleveland seem well prepared for another late-October run but, I'm not so sure we get a sequel that lives up to the 7-game masterpiece of 2016. In fact, we might not get a sequel at all...

Here is how I see the 2017 season unfolding.

AL EAST
Boston Red Sox 93-69
Toronto Blue Jays 89-73
New York Yankees 82-80
Baltimore Orioles 78-84
Tampa Bay Rays 76-86

As a result of acquiring Chris Sale (a pitcher who's arm will fall off dramatically at some point as this is the baseball law in 2017) and rostering a determined comeback candidate in David Price, the greatness of Boston's rotation has been exaggerated ever since they dumped half of their farm system on the White Sox. Luckily, their depth is still fairly respectable with 2016 success stories like Steven Wright and Drew Pomeranz beginning the season in the rotation while team doctors attempt to determine when/if Price can return from his current elbow ailment. John Farrell's team should get by with their offense as all they lost this season was David Ortiz and the arrival of #1 prospect in all of baseball Andrew Benintendi should help in ways that Ortiz never could (speed and fielding ability) while Mitch Moreland tries to provide league-average offense as the 1B/DH in his inaugural season at Fenway. Toronto is still a top 3 fun team in baseball and now, pitching is their strength after replacing Edwin Encarnacion with Kendrys Morales and (more importantly) having a full off-season to work with Aaron Sanchez, Marcus Stroman and Francisco Liriano. Liriano is still a wildcard but, his best post-rookie seasons have all come with Russell Martin framing his pitches and that bodes well for a team with wildly unpredictable starters on a year-to-year basis like Marco Estrada and J.A. Happ. The Yankees, Orioles and Rays could all swap positions in the bottom three of this division and it would not shock me. I tend to trust the Yankees because they have the most talent coming up in the form of all those prospects they acquired for veterans last season and I prefer their manager (Joe Girardi) to the man who does not know Zach Britton exists (Buck Schowalter) and Kevin Cash (who after fourth research, I have determined is NOT Joe Maddon).

All-AL East Roster
C - Gary Sanchez (Yankees)
1B - Chris Davis (Orioles)
2B - Dustin Pedroia (Red Sox)
3B - Manny Machado (Orioles)
SS - Xander Bogaerts (Red Sox)
OF - Mookie Betts (Red Sox)
OF - Jose Bautista (Blue Jays)
OF - Adam Jones (Orioles) 
DH - Mark Trumbo (Orioles)

Bench/C - Russell Martin (Blue Jays)
Bench/IF - Josh Donaldson (Blue Jays)
Bench/OF - Kevin Kiermaier (Rays)
25th man - Evan Longoria (Rays)

SP1 - Chris Sale (Red Sox)
SP2 - Aaron Sanchez (Blue Jays)
SP3 - David Price (Red Sox) [Assuming Health]
SP4 - Masahiro Tanaka (Yankees)
SP5 - Chris Archer (Rays)
RP - Dellin Betances (Yankees)
RP - Brad Brach  (Orioles)
RP - Aroldis Chapman (Yankees)
RP - Alex Colome (Rays)
RP - Craig Kimbrel (Red Sox)
RP - Roberto Osuna (Blue Jays)
Closer - Zach Britton (Orioles)

Division MVP: Mookie Betts will have a tough time fending off the hot corner duo of Machado and Donaldson a second time but, I have to go conservative here and go with the best player on the team I see winning the division.
Division Rookie of the Year: There are only two logical choices here and while the defensive responsibilities may be more impactful from Gary Sanchez, Boston's long-haired OF Andrew Benintendi will end up play I more games and hit for a higher average.
Biggest Injury Risk: The health of David Price is unknown at the moment and could end up costing the Red Sox a trip to the postseason.
Trade Candidate: If things go south in the Bronx, they'll be more than happy to add to their league-best farm system by dealing any and all veterans including reliever Tyler Clippard for example.

The Boston Globe
Hopefully the Red Sox aren't planning on having any throwback jersey nights with Chris Sale.

AL CENTRAL
Cleveland Indians 96-66
Detroit Tigers 83-79
Kansas City Royals 81-81
Chicago White Sox 72-90
Minnesota Twins 70-92

The 2016 versions of the White Sox and Twins were both brutal and despite the projected improvement in many young players like Byron Buxton, Miguel Sano and Jose Berrios for Minnesota and the arrival via trades of super-prospects like Lucas Giolito, Yoan Moncada and Michael Kopech for Chicago, the full identity of these rosters are nowhere near as complete as the other three in the division. Cleveland replaced Mike Napoli with Edwin Encarnacion (a slight upgrade) and walks into the season with a healthy rotation for once and kids like Francisco Lindor and Tyler Naquin ready to repeat their 2016 numbers for a trip back to the World Series. Oh yeah, and annual threat to bat .300 Michael Brantley is back. The revenge hype is very real with this squad and Terry Francona is the perfect man to lead a rebound season after a painful loss on the sport's largest stage. Kansas City's voodoo magic ran out last year when they missed the championship for the first time since 2013 and many of their veterans have expiring contracts over the next two years. With the tragic loss of Yordano Ventura and the departure of Edinson Volquez, the Royals' rotation is looking bleaker than any other year over this run under Ned Yost. Not helping their pitching staff was the decision to directly swap All-Star closer Wade Davis for underachieving outfielder Jorge Soler. Detroit did not get any better or worse this off-season and with J.D. Martinez starting out on the DL, they are in risk of having an outfield starring Justin Upton, Tyler Collins and Mikie Mahtook. Redeeming the team is the resurgence of Justin Verlander, the sophomore season of Michael Fulmer and the presence of reliable bats at their advanced age like Victor Martinez and Miguel Cabrera.

All-AL Central Roster
C - Salvador Perez (Royals)
1B - Miguel Cabrera (Tigers)
2B - Brian Dozier (Twins)
3B - Miguel Sano (Twins)
SS - Francisco Lindor (Indians)
OF - J.D. Martinez (Tigers)
OF - Lorenzo Cain (Royals)
OF - Michael Brantley (Indians) 
DH - Carlos Santana (Indians)

Bench/C - James McCann (Tigers)
Bench/IF - Edwin Encarnacion (Indians)
Bench/OF - Justin Upton (Tigers)
25th man - Ian Kinsler (Tigers)

SP1 - Justin Verlander  (Tigers)
SP2 - Corey Kluber (Indians)
SP3 - Jose Quintana (White Sox)
SP4 - Danny Salazar (Indians)
SP5 - Carlos Carrasco (Indians)
RP - Kelvin Herrera (Royals)
RP - Nate Jones (White Sox)
RP - Andrew Miller (Indians)
RP - Dan Otero (Indians)
RP - Francisco Rodriguez (Tigers)
RP - Bryan Shaw (Indians)
Closer - Cody Allen (Indians)

Division MVP: If defense were not a thing, Miguel Cabrera would be an easy pick for this award every year. Instead, Francisco Lindor has entered the Cabrera tier with his elite glove and I see the exciting young shortstop maintaining great offensive numbers and being the victor this time around.
Division Rookie of the Year: Acquired for Chris Sale, infielder Yoan Moncada should be promoted sometime before mid-June and does not have much competition for the award outside of his own teammates.
Biggest Injury Risk: Based on the past two seasons, it's Michael Brantley and it's not even close although, if this season is anything like the last, Brantley's health may not be all that important for Cleveland.
Trade Candidate: The White Sox are still actively shopping Jose Quintana as the firesale for a brighter future continues in Chicago.

Ken Blaze - USA TODAY Sports
Francisco Lindor has quickly become one of the faces of the MLB.

AL WEST
Seattle Mariners 94-68
Houston Astros 88-74
Texas Rangers 86-76
Oakland Athletics 75-87
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 72-90

The most wide open playoff spot in the American League is in the AL West. Houston and Texas have each won the division the last two seasons when the opposite team was favored to win each time. That's why I avoided those two and took the Mariners again for the second time in three years. Seattle GM Jerry Dipoto spent the off-season rebuilding their bench and replacing many of their role players with younger or higher-upside players like outfielder Mitch Haniger taking the Adam Lind at-bats. The rotation is shaky now with Yovani Gallardo added to the back end along with the unpredictable southpaw Drew Smyly. The decline of Felix Hernandez and Hisashi Iwakuma won't be as dramatic as everyone seems to feel it should be and Jean Segura is much better than Ketel Marte. Texas may never get a 30-homer season out of Joey Gallo but, at least Jurickson Profar is finally healthy and will be starting in left while Shin-Soo Choo takes a backseat defensively. I'm not too high on Texas because I don't see Rougned Odor or Elvis Andrus producing much without walking. Also, Yu Darvish might be a Cy Young candidate but, that doesn't just erase whatever it is they're doing with the back of that rotation (Tyson Ross? Andrew Cashner? A.J. Griffin?). Oakland and Anaheim aren't real competitors whether Sonny Gray and Garrett Richards bounce back or not. Sadly, another terrific season from Mike Trout will not result in a playoff run for the aging Angels.

All-AL West Roster
C - Jonathan Lucroy (Rangers)
1B - Mike Napoli (Rangers)
2B - Jose Altuve (Astros)
3B - Kyle Seager (Mariners)
SS - Carlos Correa (Astros)
OF - Mike Trout (Angels)
OF - George Springer (Astros)
OF - Kole Calhoun (Angels) 
DH - Nelson Cruz (Mariners)

Bench/C - Brian McCann (Astros)
Bench/IF - Robinson Cano (Mariners)
Bench/OF - Khris Davis (Athletics)
25th man - Adrian Beltre (Rangers)

SP1 - Yu Darvish (Rangers)
SP2 - Cole Hamels (Rangers)
SP3 - Felix Hernandez (Mariners)
SP4 - Garrett Richards (Angels)
SP5 - James Paxton (Mariners)
RP - Matt Bush (Rangers)
RP - Sam Dyson (Rangers)
RP - Ken Giles (Astros)
RP - Will Harris (Astros)
RP - Jeremy Jeffress  (Rangers)
RP - Ryan Madson (Athletics)
Closer - Edwin Diaz (Mariners)

Division MVP: If it's not Mike Trout then he must have had a DL stint or Jose Altuve broke the single-season hits record.
Division Rookie of the Year: A's pitcher Jharel Cotton impressed with his 2.15 ERA over 5 September starts in 2016 and might just be the club's ace with Gray becoming a shell of himself.
Biggest Injury Risk: Garrett Richards dodged Tommy John surgery but, a torn UCL doesn't just go away and even if he narrowly avoids re-injury, his diminished performance might put him on Dr. James Andrews' list.
Trade Candidate: The Angels aren't competing this year and a team in need of a third baseman with a high floor wouldn't mind Yunel Escobar.

Rick Yeatts - Getty Images
In his first full season since 2014, I expect big things from Yu Darvish.

Before we continue to the National League, here's a look at my long-running keeper league fantasy baseball team that is the greatest roster of players I'm feeling good about this year that will probably finish in sixth out of eight teams.

THE SOLER SYSTEM
C - Russell Martin & Cameron Rupp
1B - Matt Carpenter, Evan Gattis (DH), Paul Goldschmidt, Mike Napoli
2B - Jason Kipnis, Joe Panik, Devon Travis
3B - Manny Machado, Mike Moustakas, Miguel Sano
SS - Brandon Crawford, Aledmys Diaz, Matt Duffy
OF - Andrew Benintendi, Ryan Braun, Lewis Brinson, Kole Calhoun, Adam Eaton, Starling Marte, Yasiel Puig, Jorge Soler, Mark Trumbo
SP - Yu Darvish, Rich Hill, Clayton Kershaw, Carlos Martinez, Aaron Sanchez, Marcus Stroman
RP - Aroldis Chapman

It's a fun team in a complicated league where defense counts and I'm coming off a sixth place finish sooooo yeah..... now onto the National League! 

AP Photo
Andrew Benintendi was my first round pick (#3 overall) in this year's draft.

NL EAST
Washington Nationals 100-62
New York Mets 85-77
Miami Marlins 80-82
Atlanta Braves 78-84
Philadelphia Phillies 68-94

While I was extremely hesitant to jump on board the Nationals' bandwagon last season because of Dusty Baker, I am all in on D.C. this season because Adam Eaton is a better baseball player than Daniel Murphy. Murphy was an MVP candidate for a majority of the 2016 season and Eaton is already a .280 hitter with 20-20 potential and an elite glove. I'd prefer Eaton in right field to center but, when a team has Bryce Harper staying healthy in right field, you really can't fault them for taking a slight hit defensively comparable to their potential. Washington still has a top five major league rotation as well and Dusty can't ruin that. Terry Collins has become public enemy #1 in New York only two years removed from a World Series appearance. The Mets manager has a tough road ahead with Matt Harvey and Steven Matz having recently suffered from scary arm injuries. Miami's starting rotation is depressing with Jose Fernandez gone and Wei-Yin Chen now set to start opening day. Atlanta is underrated because Bartolo Colon, Brandon Phillips and Jaime Garcia are all known, reliable pieces with mediocre-at-worst production. In addition to that, Dansby Swanson is a future star and should add on a few wins to their 2016 total of 68. Philly is slightly overrated due to their uprising of young talent that includes zero elite prospects so far. Sure, Aaron Nola, Jerad Eickhoff, Vincent Velasquez and Maikel Franco are all nice but, every one of them has gone through some growing pains that have me skeptical as to whether or not they can all pull it together for a full season.

All-NL East Roster
C - J.T. Realmuto (Marlins)
1B - Freddie Freeman (Braves)
2B - Daniel Murphy  (Nationals)
3B - Maikel Franco (Phillies)
SS - Trea Turner (Nationals)
OF - Bryce Harper (Nationals)
OF - Yoenis Cespedes (Mets)
OF - Giancarlo Stanton (Marlins) 
DH - Christian Yelich (Marlins)

Bench/C - Matt Wieters (Nationals)
Bench/IF - Anthony Rendon (Nationals)
Bench/OF - Adam Eaton  (Nationals)
25th man - Matt Kemp (Braves)

SP1 - Noah Syndergaard (Mets)
SP2 - Max Scherzer (Nationals)
SP3 - Stephen Strasburg (Nationals)
SP4 - Julio Teheran (Braves)
SP5 - Jacob deGrom (Mets)
RP - Kyle Barraclough (Marlins)
RP - Shawn Kelley (Nationals)
RP - David Phelps (Marlins)
RP - A.J. Ramos (Marlins)
RP - Addison Reed (Mets)
RP - Brad Ziegler (Marlins)
Closer - Jeurys Familia (Mets)

Division MVP: The deepest division of outfielders will seem even deeper once 2016 proves to be the fluke in Bryce Harper's career of greatness.
Division Rookie of the Year: He might not be Atlanta's own version of Turner but, Dansby Swanson is going to hit quite well and might even be the lone bright spot in Atlanta's lineup.
Biggest Injury Risk: I'm not convinced Jacob deGrom's minor arm issue last season will just magically disappear and God forbid it does reappear, then the Mets are in rough shape and Collins' job might actually be in jeopardy.
Trade Candidate: If things go south for the Braves and Jaime Garcia is still healthy, they should not keep him one minute after the deadline because his value will never be higher.

AP Photo/Alex Brandon
Trea Turner put up Trout-like numbers in his first half-season in the big leagues.

NL CENTRAL
Chicago Cubs 97-65
St. Louis Cardinals 84-78
Pittsburgh Pirates 79-83
Milwaukee Brewers 76-86
Cincinnati Reds 65-97

The most unanimously agreed upon division winners this year are the Chicago Cubs and with good reason, they're a fantastic baseball team with depth for days (slightly less than last year), the best manager in baseball and no holes until Jason Heyward bats .220 or worse. The Cardinals would be in far better shape had Alex Reyes not needed Tommy John surgery and now, Michael Wacha gets one last opportunity to stay in St. Louis's rotation long-term. Otherwise, their offense is around league average and their pitching staff does not have the depth or flash that they have owned every year for decades. Pittsburgh loses steam if/when Gerrit Cole struggles and Jung Ho Kang is more likely to spend time behind bars this season than in the Pirates' infield. Cincinnati and Milwaukee are not actively trying to win so, don't let a winning record in April distract you from these two teams not being any good.


All-NL Central Roster
C - Willson Contreras (Cubs)
1B - Anthony Rizzo (Cubs)
2B - Ben Zobrist (Cubs)
3B - Kris Bryant (Cubs)
SS - Addison Russell (Cubs)
OF - Ryan Braun (Brewers)
OF - Andrew McCutchen (Pirares)
OF - Starling Marte (Pirates) 
DH - Joey Votto (Reds)

Bench/C - Yadier Molina (Cardinals)
Bench/IF - Jonathan Villar (Brewers)
Bench/OF - Dexter Fowler (Cardinals)
25th man - Kyle Schwarber (Cubs)

SP1 - Jon Lester (Cubs)
SP2 - Kyle Hendricks (Cubs)
SP3 - Jake Arrieta (Cubs)
SP4 - Carlos Martinez (Cardinals)
SP5 - John Lackey (Cubs) 
RP - Neftali Feliz (Brewers)
RP - Raisel Iglesias (Reds)
RP - Seung-Hwan Oh (Cardinals)
RP - Felipe Rivero (Pirates)
RP - Pedro Strop (Cubs)
RP - Tony Watson (Pirates)
Closer - Wade Davis (Cubs)

Division MVP: Whichever Cub ends up being responsible for the most runs created will end up winning this award. In other words, it's down to the corner infielders and I'll take Kris Bryant over Rizzo.
Division Rookie of the Year: No other rookies are locks for playing time like Pirates' starting 1B Josh Bell so, he's the only safe choice for NLC ROTY.
Biggest Injury Risk: The Reds had the worst bullpen in MLB history last season and Raisel Iglesias is the only reliever worth trusting and that team. Iglesias hurt his hip in the shower last week. History might be doomed to repeat itself if Iglesias misses any amount of time.
Trade Candidate: Brewer fans are salivating at the idea of not having to carry Ryan Braun's contract into his late thirties. GM David Stearns will likely push for a deal earlier than July 31st.

Ron Chenoy - USA TODAY Sports
2017 will either be a comeback season or a "please go away" season for Andrew McCutchen.

NL WEST
Los Angeles Dodgers 89-73
Colorado Rockies 87-75
San Francisco Giants 86-76
Arizona Diamondbacks 75-87
San Diego Padres 55-107

Jhoulys Chacin is the Padres' opening day starting pitcher, which is a very minute detail contributing to the larger picture of these Padres having one of the worst opening day rosters I have ever seen. Good luck trying to decipher who is in and out of San Diego's rotation right now. The Giants are not all that different from a year ago, only upgrading at closer. The Dodgers are also in a similar state as they were last season, only bringing in Logan Forsythe from Tampa Bay. The big changes in this division were the Rockies getting many of their young arms up (finally) and signing now-injured Ian Desmond to play first base somehow plus the D-Backs cleaning the garbage out of their front office. Arizona will be trusting Brandon Drury to replace 2016 NL hits leader Jean Segura and while he may never reach 200+ hits in a season, I do see Drury being a consistent contributor in his current role or even at other positions as he was previously a utility man of sorts. The blue-striped D-Backs are missing 90% of a respectable pitching staff but, are off to a good start with Zack Greinke and Taijuan Walker.

All-NL West Roster
C - Buster Posey (Giants)
1B - Paul Goldschmidt (Diamondbacks)
2B - D.J. LeMahieu (Rockies)
3B - Nolan Arenado (Rockies)
SS - Corey Seager (Dodgers)
OF - A.J. Pollock (Diamondbacks)
OF - Charlie Blackmon (Rockies)
OF - Carlos Gonzalez (Rockies)
DH - Wil Myers (Padres)

Bench/C - Yasmani Grandal (Dodgers)
Bench/IF - Brandon Crawford (Giants)
Bench/OF - Yasmany Tomas (Diamondbacks)
25th man - Brandon Belt (Giants)

SP1 - Clayton Kershaw (Dodgers)
SP2 - Madison Bumgarner (Giants)
SP3 - Johnny Cueto (Giants)
SP4 - Kenta Maeda (Dodgers) 
SP5 - Zack Greinke (Diamondbacks) 
RP - Pedro Baez (Dodgers)
RP - Ryan Buchter (Padres)
RP - Brad Hand (Padres)
RP - Brandon Maurer (Padres)
RP - Mark Melancon (Giants)
RP - Sergio Romo (Dodgers)
Closer - Kenley Jansen (Dodgers)

Division MVP: No pitcher in baseball is more valuable than Clayton Kershaw. 
Division Rookie of the Year: The Padres have two huge outfield prospects in minor-leaguer Manuel Margot and starting right fielder Hunter Renfroe. Despite their general awfulness, Renfroe will show plenty of promise and win this fake award.
Biggest Injury Risk: I am surprisingly high on Arizona outfielder A.J. Pollock, a man who played twelve games last season.
Trade Candidate: Once they realize how unlikely a trip to the playoffs are, the Diamondbacks will shop Zack Greinke if he's performing up to his contract.

Isaiah J. Downing - USA TODAY Sports
Colorado is bound to surprise a few people with Nolan Arenado leading the way.

POSTSEASON PICKS
Wildcard Games
Houston over Toronto
San Francisco over Colorado
First Round
Washington over San Francisco
Cubs over Los Angeles
Cleveland over Houston
Seattle over Boston
Second Round
Washington over Cubs
Cleveland over Seattle
World Series
Cleveland over Washington in 5.

I don't understand why I enjoy being so wrong but, somebody had to break up the obvious Cubs-Indians rematch that everyone and their mothers have chosen. I love the Nationals on paper and I need to see Bryce Harper in a World Series before he leaves in 2018. Cleveland was missing 2/5ths of their starting rotation and still took the Cubs to a game 7 last year so, they seem like the safest World Series bet in a long time. With Michael Brantley healthy and a slight upgrade at a position they were already doing pretty well at (first base), they should coast through much of the season and with the Nationals always blowing it somehow, I see the series ending disappointingly quick.

Phil Long - Associated Press
Terry Francona's third championship is within reach.

I hope everyone is as ecstatic and eager for Opening Day(s) as I am this Sunday and Monday and may your team sustain their health and performance all season long.

Thought Scribbles on Billboard, Legion and more

It's been a long month and I haven't had much to post on here with college basketball and life taking over the past few weeks. This is why I am introducing a potentially worthless new exercise called "Thought scribbles". Thought scribbles are a bunch of half-baked ideas that are not good enough to do an entire blog entry on and too long for a tweet (in most cases). Baseball season is around the corner and I will have plenty for that but until then, here are things that triggered my interest or made me go "hmm" recently...

- My newest obsession is looking at the weekly Billboard Hot 100 songs and Top 200 albums of the week every week. I very seldomly looked at the charts as a child but, with streaming services now being accounted for in the algorithms for the music charts, I feel it has never more accurately represented what Americans are listening to. It has also shown to me how boring our tastes (Not everyone but you know what I mean) have become when a song like The Chainsmokers' "Closer" just tied LeAnn Rimes' "How Do I Live Without You?" for the most weeks spent consecutively in the top 10. Also, any time a big name artist drops an album, their entire album tends to chart the very next week (see: Drake next week and Ed Sheeran last week) and much like the steroid era in baseball, once respected records are falling (Nicki Minaj has passed Aretha Franklin with the most top 100 songs ever by a female artist thanks to features and the streaming era). This has been going on for a couple of years now but, I just caught on to how odd the past of the top 100 is. For instance, No Doubt's "Don't Speak" never charted despite being the most radio-friendly song of 1996. Why? because it was never released as an "official single". It's amazing how the music landscape has changed over the past 21 years and I cannot begin to imagine how we define or try to accurately rank popular music in 21 years. We argue that no music has any staying power anymore and the Billboard charts tend to state the exact opposite as the truth.

- I probably go on Instagram once a month and my reaction every time is "wow, people sure are doing things" and five minutes later, I exit. I wish I could be into whatever I'm supposed to be doing on there but, I'm just not.

- Aubrey Plaza should win an Emmy of some sort for her portrayal of whatever the hell she is on FXs marvelous new Marvel program, Legion. The show is stylistically incredible and takes bold and confusing risks like this dance number every week. They are about to air the first season finale this week and I look forward to it on a weekly basis. Make sure to start from episode 1 because, that episode is one of the series premieres ever to air on cable television.

- Rest in peace to Workaholics, a show that was dumb fun for a while but, wore out it's welcome over seven seasons. The only Comedy Central show worth watching is now Broad City.

- The NCAA men's basketball tournament still lacks any game-altering buzzer beaters but, has been it's usual fun and entertaining self. #1 Kansas appears to be the obvious frontrunner while (my original pick) #1 North Carolina and #1 Gonzaga still remain. In the other region, #1 overall seed Villanova was ousted by #8 Wisconsin and #3 Baylor has all of the pressure of taking down 'Nova and #2 Duke out of the way so, we might have to talk about the ongoing investigations going on in Texas again.

- Contrary to popular belief, the UCONN women are going to win the tournament again this year.

- For the first time in it's four runs, I actually tuned into a majority of the World Baseball Classic. The tournament never grabbed my interest previously because it aired at unwatchable hours and was on a channel I only recently obtained  (MLB Network). The whole thing was loads of fun and just what baseball needed to kick off a season after one of the best sports stories ever. Shout out to my favorite baseball player, Marcus Stroman on winning tournament MVP. Please lead my fantasy team to greatness this year.

Courtesy of MLB.com

- The new Drake project surprised me with how listenable it was. I'm calling it a project because Aubrey refers to it as a "playlist" and that's just goofy as hell. I know albums, mixtapes and EPs are all interchangeable today so, let's start calling anything over 6 tracks projects. More Life is more Views than it is If You're Reading This, It's Too Late but, it bounces around in tone much more from song to song than last year's soundtrack to the worst parts of 2016, Views.

- Whatever Happened To Baby Jane? still holds up 55 years later and has inspired another fun show to view on Sunday nights with just enough "fucks" to make one hopeful for the future of uncensored television. Feud: Bette and Joan is another FX show (I swear, they are not paying me) that comes from Ryan Murphy (creator of American Horror Story, Scream Queens and last year's phenomena, The People vs. O.J. Simpson) and focuses on the creation of the Baby Jane movie and the feuding actresses on the downsides of their career with information that many did not know about at the time (Davis's tough relationship with her daughter and Crawford's abusive upbringing) because it was the sixties and people just trusted tabloids featuring celebrity-drama for some reason. We still are guilty of this but in this area, people have gotten much better.

- The Shins' new album, Heartworms, is fine but did not get me to binge on their music the way I did with multiple other bands from a similar era over the past month.

- Spoon's new album, Hot Thoughts, made me think about Spoon a lot while listening to Spoon. The album is in early discussions for album of the year in a year that has no obvious standouts yet and I am really happy about the time I spent thinking about Spoon and listening to Spoon this year. They have subsequently gotten me hyped up for new LCD Soundsystem, Arcade Fire and Gorillaz projects.

Spoon's cover for their eighth album, Hot Thoughts.

- The year in NBA beefs continues with Lavar Ball entering the basketball gossip columns before any of his 3 sons enter the league by talking about Lebron James' kids in a not-totally negative manner by saying "they won't be as good as Lebron because he's Lebron" while Ball's kids should be awesome because Lavar sucked his way onto the bench in college. I approve of Lavar Ball being the male equivalent of Kris Jenner and look forward to the future stars of TMZ Sports.

- NFL free agency sorted itself out nicely with a few Quarterbacks (Colin Kaepernick, Jay Cutler, Ryan Fitzpatrick) and Running Backs (Adrian Peterson, Jamaal Charles, Rashad Jennings) now waiting for a team desperate enough to sign their aging, decrepit selves. Speaking of decrepit, where are the Tony Romo updates?! He looks like he might just stay on the bench in Dallas whether he likes it or not.

- As worthless as dreams are as an everyday topic of discussion, I can't help but bring up the bizarre dreams I have had recently. In one, I was attending my fantasy baseball league's draft and when I arrived, half the league had Lou Gehrig's Disease. That dream clearly means nothing but, it did unnecessarily freak me out. In another, I was back in Junior High and had to go to the locker room after recording a triple-double (noice) but, in order to get to the locker room, I had to crawl through a hole in the wall like it was Shawshank Redemption. Neither of those dreams tops the one where my grandmother and her eighty year old friend arrive in my front yard via helicopter and they demand me to go to church, only they had no space on the helicopter and I had to dangle off the side like I was Melissa McCarthy in Spy. Meanwhile, my front door was left wide open since we rushed out of there so quickly and the whole time I was "in church", I just kept panicking to myself about the wide-open front door. None of these meant anything but, it sure as hell took a lot of characters, meaning I couldn't explain those stories in one tweet.

- RIP Chuck Berry. I still can't believe that THIS was his only #1 song.

- Lastly, shout out to Colton Shearier on his new movie reviews blog. Everybody should check this out because not only does he keep better track of new movies than I do but, -leans in closely to whisper the shameful truth- he's also funnier than I am.

Until next time, here's a playlist I recently curated of my 20 favorite Santigold songs from 20-1.

March vs. October, Which is the superior sports month?

If those of you viewing this post are anything like me, college basketball season is about to begin and the entire first two rounds will be spent further wearing out the couch after the bonus tv is added for a complete March Madness viewing experience. College basketball is a one month sport (sometimes shorter if the refereeing is enough of a turn-off) that has the best playoff format (so much chaos! All of it constant for four days!) yet simultaneously, the worst playoff format because everybody gets a chance and the world shouldn't need to have cared about Northwestern basketball these last few weeks because they have a 0% chance of winning the championship ("Oh really now?" contemplated Chris Collins) and yet, they will technically be given a chance to win it all with an eventual invitation into the field of 68 tournament eligible teams. It's chaotic and fun and momentarily as satisfying as a piece of Fruit Stripes gum but, sometimes all of that (let's face it) sloppy basketball wears a viewer out and the post-weekend #1 games never live up to the games or hype that preceded them (he says the year after one of the best championship games ever). It's 1990's Knicks-Heat if all of the players had 20% of the fundamentals.

AP Photo/Gerry Broome
Another problem with college basketball is the lack of identifiable players and the most identifiable face being that of Coach K.

Weekend #1 of college basketball still ALWAYS lives up to the hype because everybody has a bracket (some have multiple) and we all just watch for the moment that we are disappointed in being proven wrong, which happens to literally everyone every year. There is nothing quite like March for a die-hard sports fanatic....

Unless we start to consider October.

October contains all 3 major sports, hockey (that fourth sport) and college football functioning simultaneously. The tenth month falls right around a time when people trade in their t-shirts for jackets, furthering the need for more televised entertainment. It contains the hopefulness of the beginning of the NBA and NHL seasons, the midseason NFL games that help paint a clearer portrait of who is in and out of playoff discussions and greatest of all, postseason baseball. It is a really wonderful time for a sports fan and would even be so without the best thing other than playoff baseball, college football. God, I miss college football right now.

USA TODAY
Only six more months until Sam Darnold becomes the apple of every NFL scout's eye.

The current month (March) used to be a month that I spent disconnected from my blog because

A. It would downright disrespectful for me to analyze the upcoming tournament with my having watched one lone regular season game (Brent Musberger's final call).

B. NFL Free Agency is an easy thing to just pass by without commenting on until previewing the football season.

and C. The hype surrounding the NFL Combine and MLB Spring Training is more focused on what follows instead of what the instant repercussions of both are. Sure, some players are injured in Spring Training and yes, the draft stock of players like Washington WR John Ross just went through the roof but, those are both topics that won't be fully realized for weeks.

and while it's lovely to have the future of the big leagues on MLB Network every day (along with the World Baseball Classic) and the path to the NBA Playoffs being paved before our eyes, there really aren't enough interesting topics to fill up sports talk shows on a day-to-day basis in March. This week has seen Draymond Green's thoughts on silent basketball and potential Mike Glennon contract numbers LEAD OFF sports programs. Quietly, this is sort of a dull month just filled with anxiousness and a few fun weekends of basketball. Considering how many feel this is the strongest of sports months, maybe that's the true madness of it all.

Bracket of Awesome Announcement + All-Star Weekend

In 2011, the world was a much different place. For one, I was extremely bored in school and needed something other than homework to pass the time so, I created the Brackets of Awesome and Awful as a way to pass time, provide heated yet respectful debates and ultimately, keep followers of said brackets entertained once I realized how seriously some people's rooting interests were.

Six years and 402 nominations later, it is 2017. I am no longer in school and I am not all that bored either. The Bracket of Awful ceased to exist after it's inaugural run, when I did not want to be the spreader of negativity anymore despite the obvious comedic value provided by ludicrous matchups like Hitler versus Nickelback. It was a tough decision that was made easier both by college and the willingness of a friend to take responsibility of any future Brackets of Awful.

The "home base" for both of these brackets has been, since 2012, Facebook and once the website decided to take away polling options for user-run fan pages, The annual set-up for voting became a bit more challenging and just a smidgen too time-consuming for my taste. In 2012, Facebook was a place where people shared too much info about themselves and I could crack jokes every once in a while and the whole place was just harmless fun when the wild variable that is the Bracket of Awesome was introduced into everybody's timeline because of the semi-annoying yet totally advantageous (for the bracket and I anyways) voting process and the spam it spawned.

In 2017, the Bracket of Awesome is too pure for this world. Facebook still has that aura of self-importance and over-sharing (we're all guilty of it at some point) but, the respectful debates no longer exist when every other post is an unwanted and unnecessary political opinion from either side, where nobody plays the middle or uses critical thinking anymore especially when it comes to that fun topic that people over 50 just became aware of in the problematic spreading of fake news, whether it be a bullshit story about Dr. Pepper no longer being manufactured or a more serious bullshit accusation like -insert political headline that terrifies you here-. Facebook is too serious and overly-dramatic (says the man writing a long rant leading to an announcement that very few actually care about) to host something as potentially divisive as the Bracket of Awesome. Nobody needs a bunch of white men telling the world how overrated Beyonce' is and your whiny post is not getting anybody impeached today so, get off my lawn.

Are there really 64 awesome things worthy of nomination that I have yet to cover in these brackets? Probably but, I'm too tired to figure that out anymore. That is why it is with great sadness that I announce the end of The Bracket of Awesome. There will be no bracket in 2017 but, much like any show or movie from your childhood, this in no way rules out a potential rebooting of the bracket some years down the road. All I'm saying is that six years, 402 nominations, six winners (Betty White, Cole Walters, Vacations, Swamprat Outdoors, Freedom, Allen Iverson) and a whole bunch of votes cast seems like the perfect time for something as purely beautiful and unifying as The Bracket of Awesome to ride a unicorn into the sunset alongside Chuck Norris and Prince.

Thank you for your votes and thank you for making something completely ridiculous blow up for the years that it has.

- A. Todd

Now onto something that is still taking place and is much closer in time than March Madness, it's time to preview this year's NBA All-Star Weekend and the upcoming basketball trade deadline!

"Celebrity" All-Star Game
I thought this would have been cancelled a few years ago when Jesse Williams suffered a major knee injury in-game but, the game has been revitalized in recent years by the presence of NBA owners and dominant bigs like Arne Duncan and Arcade Fire's Win Butler. Much like the entirety of NBA All-Star Weekend, this event does not require a whole lot of analysis but, it's basketball so it's fun even if poorly played.

WEST ROSTER
Miles Brown (actor)
Tom Cavanagh (actor)
Mark Cuban (Dallas Mavericks owner)
Baron Davis (NBA legend)
Andy Grammer (recording artist)
Jiang Jinfu (actor, model)
Anthony Mackie (actor)
Romeo Miller (actor, recording artist)
Hasan Minhaj (actor, comedian)
Master P (actor, recording artist)
Candace Parker (Los Angeles Sparks, WNBA)
Aarón Sánchez (celebrity chef)

Coaches:
Michael Smith (ESPN host)
Draymond Green (Golden State Warriors)
Rocsi Diaz (television personality)

EAST ROSTER
Brandon Armstrong (former NBA D-League player and social media star)
Win Butler (musician)
Nick Cannon (actor, recording artist)
Rachel DeMita (NBA2K TV personality)
Ansel Elgort (actor, recording artist)
Marc Lasry (Milwaukee Bucks owner)
Caleb McLaughlin (actor)
Peter Rosenberg (media personality)
Oscar Schmidt (Basketball legend)
Lindsay Whalen (WNBA player)
Jason Williams (NBA legend)
Kris Wu (recording artist)

Coaches:
Jemele Hill (ESPN host)
Kyle Lowry (Toronto Raptors)
Fat Joe (recording artist)

Predicted Winner: Give me the East's roster with a never-out-of-his-prime Jason Williams every time.

Rising Stars Challenge
The second and final event of Friday night is quietly the most must-watch event of the weekend for true basketball-heads. The poorest of NBA teams aren't typically scheduled for primetime national television and therefore, a majority of NBA fans don't get to see the raw young prospects until they turn into the superstars that players like Giannis Antetokounmpo, Damian Lillard and Anthony Davis became after two turns in this game. It's still absent of defense like the All Star Game itself but, there aren't many chances for these super young players to show off their raw athleticism in-game without embarrassing their franchises.

TEAM WORLD
Alex Abrines
Dante Exum
Willy Hernangomez
Buddy Hield
Nikola Jokic
Trey Lyles
Jamal Murray
Kristaps Porzingis
Domantas Sabonis
Dario Saric

TEAM USA
Devin Booker
Malcolm Brogdon
Marquese Chriss
Brandon Ingram
Frank Kaminsky
Jahlil Okafor
D'Angelo Russell
Jonathon Simmons
Karl-Anthony Towns
Myles Turner

Predicted Winner: The USA team has a mighty large advantage at the guard positions while Team World is just mighty large. The game might be close but, having KAT and underrated Myles Turner (his full name) goes a long way. USA by 15-20 points.

Talent Contest
Words cannot express how thrilling last year's talent competition was. The greatest event to ever grace TNT's airwaves saw Miles Plumlee juggling on a unicycle and Harrison Barnes on the saxophone lose a highly contested battle to baller/painter Jeremy Evans. This year will showcase the talents of 7 established veterans and Devin Booker playing ping pong. I have received no words on the Vegas odds for this event.

PARTICIPANTS
Devin Booker
Chris Bosh
Luc Mbah a Moute
C.J. Miles
Victor Oladipo
Iman Shumpert
Lou Williams
Metta World Peace

Predicted Winner: I have heard Metta World Peace rap back when he was still Ron Artest but, I have not listened to the forward rap since he was on the NBA 2K12 soundtrack so, it is possible that he's slipped over time and will be outdone by fellow rapper/Laker Lou Williams. I've also heard Victor Oladipo sing and been impressed so, without knowing half of the field's talents, I'm taking Oladipo.

Mountain Dew 3-on-3 Game
Kyrie Irving and Russell Westbrook are in charge of two teams of three amateur players drafted by Shaquille O'Neal and Dennis Scott. After the success of last year's Dunk King competition, the NBA decided to team up with Mountain Dew and showcase the talents of some random street players whose names we will immediately forget at the end of the program.

Predicted Winner: Shaq drafted all of the taller dudes so, give me Team Kyrie.

Skills Challenge
The format of bigs versus guards reinvigorated the competition last season when Karl-Anthony Towns sneaked in a win for the tall guys over Isaiah Thomas. KAT stepped down this year and let everyone else take a shot at out-running, out-shooting and out-passing each other.

SMALLS
Devin Booker
Gordon Hayward
Isaiah Thomas
John Wall

BIGS
DeMarcus Cousins
Anthony Davis
Nikola Jokic
Kristaps Porzingis

Predicted Winner: With KAT sitting this one out, I'll take last season's runner-up Isaiah Thomas. He is on a lengthy hot streak in all fairness.

Three-Point Contest
The most enjoyable weekend of the NBA regular season was made slightly less enjoyable when Stephen Curry decided to pass on settling the 1-1 tie with teammate Klay Thompson in three-point shootout wins. Instead, we get a fun cast of deep threats that includes two past winners (Thompson and Kyrie Irving) and the fascinating divergent personalities of a rising star with a future in TV (C.J. McCollum) and whatever "Swaggy P" is now.

SHOOTERS
Eric Gordon
Kyrie Irving
Kyle Lowry
Wesley Matthews
C.J. McCollum
Klay Thompson
Kemba Walker
Nick Young

Predicted Winner: The nation deserves a Nick Young win... meaning that he will score a 0 because his foot is on the line every time and he never thinks to look down. Give me Klay with the back-to-back victories.

Slam Dunk Contest
With Zach LaVine nursing a torn ACL, Aaron Gordon should have had an easy path to victory and did until he needed a medical boot for his foot last week. The mad man still seems dead set on giving everyone a show Saturday night and with Embiid out of the Skills contest due to injury and LaVine now down for a year or more, I think the NBA really lucked out as people will still tune in to see how the hoverboarding-mascot dunker could possibly outperform the standard both he and LaVine have set.

DUNKERS
Aaron Gordon
Derrick Jones Jr.
DeAndre Jordan
Glenn Robinson III

Predicted Winner: Derrick Jones Jr. has gotten way too much criticism for being invited and should have a few "F you" dunks prepared up his sleeve plus he's healthy.

The Actual NBA All Star Game Itself
As always, there will be minimal defense played and that makes the winner completely unpredictable. This has not stopped me before and certainly will not stop me now, when there is very little taking place across the sports landscape.

WEST ROSTER
DeMarcus Cousins
Stephen Curry
Anthony Davis
Kevin Durant
Marc Gasol
Draymond Green
James Harden
Gordon Hayward
DeAndre Jordan
Kawhi Leonard
Klay Thompson
Russell Westbrook

EAST ROSTER
Giannis Antetokounmpo
Carmelo Anthony
Jimmy Butler
DeMar DeRozan
Paul George
Kyrie Irving
LeBron James
Kyle Lowry
Paul Millsap
Isaiah Thomas
Kemba Walker
John Wall

Predicted Winner: The main event of the weekend is still the lone event of Sunday and there does not seem to be any push in trying to change this despite the day being one of the dullest Sundays of the year. With Carmelo Anthony replacing Kevin Love on the East's squad, every sports personality gets an excuse to bring up the excruciatingly overblown mess that is the New York Knick organization. It's gotten so bad at Madison Square Garden that I expect Anthony's selfish style of play to be the Achilles' heel of the East in this game, as dumb as that obviously sounds. Westbrook won't play with all four Warriors despite that being everybody's wet dream for a lone takeaway from this game.

That is every televised (on TNT or ESPN) event happening in the basketball world this weekend. Was it worth all of this time and discussion? I suppose we'll know for sure after Sunday night. ENJOY!