THE "EXPERTS" PICK 'EM

March Madness is in full swing with only 16 teams left to fight for the crown. The ESPN all-knowing (so they think) analysts have been predicting the eventual champion since last November. Of course, they have the benefit of wiping the slate clean after every round, as though we won't remember that some of these sports gurus picked  Duke or Ohio State to win it all. They have new favorites now. Ultimately, at least half of them will predict the winner of the last game (on the day of the game), and boast how they 'knew it all along.' And they will remind us next November, when we go through all this again.

I mention this because it's time for ESPN's crack analysts to polish their crystal ball and predict the MLB winners. And what better way to do this than to look up last years winners and anoint them again. Oh, they make minor changes, such as moving a team up to 3rd from last year's 4th place finish, but basically it's the same. Last year, no one gave the Red Sox a chance because of their horrible season under the leadership of Bobby Valentine. Now that they won it all, the experts are all on the bandwagon. None of them ever qualify their predictions by saying, "Take this with a grain of salt. Look at the idiotic things I said last spring."

The Wall Street Cheat Sheet published a list of the 9 Best Running Backs of all time. I noticed a couple of interesting things.
OJ Simpson was not listed. In spite of all of his post-career problems, he was still one of the best running backs in the game and deserved some kind of mention.
Jimmy Brown was 9th and last on the list. I doubt that the people surveyed ever saw him play, because if they did, they wouldn't have bothered picking the other eight.

The Yankees got beat 10-6 by Toronto yesterday, thanks to an 8-run uprising in the fifth inning.The runs were all given up by two minor league relievers. Not only did Girardi remove them from the game, but he forced them to leave their uniforms on the mound, too.

***THEY SAID IT***
"The Redneck Games have been canceled for budgetary reasons. Great, I filled out my bracket for nothing."  --  Brad Dickson
"Warren Buffett offers consolation $30 to anyone who correctly picks two Final Four teams."  -- TheSportsPickle
"Major League Soccer played its first two weeks with its referees on strike. League officials knew it was time to settle when the replacement refs awarded the Seahawks another last-minute touchdown."  -- Dwight Perry
"The NLRB has ruled Northwestern University football players can unionize. This is what comes of letting nerds play football."  -- Janice Hough
"Jayson Werth of the Nationals said there's "nothing harder in the galaxy" than hitting a baseball. There's a guy who's never had to tell his wife he forgot their anniversary."  -- RJ Currie
"Previously undefeated Wichita State has been eliminated from the NCAA Tournament. I realized the Shockers had a tough bracket when they had to play the Miami Heat."  -- Brad Dickson

CP -