Friday, April 29, 2016

Fire Jam Friday


Finals week in Clemson, and as is tradition...


...Free Fallin by Tom Petty is the lead track on this week's playlist. It's my last finals week ever so it's a little more meaningful this time. Love blasting Free Fallin after finals are over. Also, Drake dropped Views this week, BUT it's not on Spotify so I threw in a Drake classic while we wait for it. Shoutout to my boy Malik though because I'm pretty sure he's been waiting for and tweeting about Views since the day I met him. Haven't listened to Views yet but hopefully it's solid because I've started to get on the Drake train a little bit. (Click Here to Stream Views). Other than Drake, there is a ton of other great new music including a track from Calvin Harris and Rihanna. Not quite as good as We Found Love but no song is so this one is still pretty sick. Enjoy folks.


#FireJamFriday

Saturday, April 23, 2016

Penguins Run the Rangers Out of the Building for the First Round Series Win






What a series for the Pens. Just absolutely obliterated the Rangers. Pittsburgh torched New York with their speed all series and I'm shocked the Rags were able to even win a game. Depth is something the Penguins have been lacking the last few years and their third line played pretty much perfectly today. The Power Play and Penalty Kill were clutch all series as well. I think the Pens were 8 for 21 on the Power Play in the series, and the Rangers were 2 for 19. That will win you a lot of hockey games. But I think the biggest story of the series, despite the offense being explosive as fuck, was the goaltending of Matt Murray. Marc Andre Fleury is still out with a concussion and Matt Murray stepped up in games 3 through 5 after Jeff Zatkoff was mediocre in games 1 and 2. Sure, Murray gave up 3 goals today but he faced 41 shots. He had 85 saves on 89 shots in the series giving him a stellar .955 save percentage. I wouldn't be opposed to letting Murray continue to start even if Fleury says he's 100%. Not because I don't think Fleury is good enough, but he hasn't seen game action in a month and it's tough to just get back in it in the middle of a Stanley Cup Playoff chase. Either way, the Pens are playing unbelievable right now and I can't wait for them to ruin either the Caps or the Flyers. 

Friday, April 22, 2016

Fire Jam Friday


Some sad news this week with the passing of legendary musician Prince. Of course, for some reason there is no Prince music on Spotify so couldn't give him a tribute on the playlist, but I'll throw in some videos. Prince and David Bowie both gone in the span of a few months. Pretty shitty. Doesn't mean we can't put together another scorching FJF though. 


#FireJamFriday



#RIPPrince

Friday, April 15, 2016

Fire Jam Friday


Alright, another Friday closer to the end of the semester folks. Pretty weak selection of new music this week but we got some new Drake, some new Matoma and then some blazing hot throwbacks for ya. Enjoy.


#FireJamFriday


Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Alright, It's Time to Talk About this Trevor Story Kid




(Video made before he hit a 7th on Sunday)

This kid just put up the best first week of a career ever. Simply unreal. Trevor Story had never played in an MLB game before opening day last week, and in his first six games he hits 7 bombs and drives in 12 runs. It's flat out amazing, and I love every second of it. He's not even supposed to be their starting shortstop. Jose Reyes is out for God knows what reason. I don't know if it's because he beat his wife or if his hamstring got ripped in half for the 68th time in his career. Either way, he's not playing and this Story kid just comes in and absolutely rakes. Let's hope he keeps it going because this is fun to watch. I honestly don't think this is some kinda fluke though. Power to all fields and look at how quick his hands are on some of these bombs, especially the 6th one. He's definitely good. And if I'm the Rockies, I'm trading Jose Reyes right now for whatever the hell they might be able to get for him because Story is a god damn stud. 

Also, I'm not one to toot my own horn, but I'm gonna toot my own horn here for a sec. Drafted this kid in my fantasy league in the last round of the draft. I'm one of few men who predicted this kinda production. 



P.S. The best part about this is that his name is awesome for puns. A lot of "this Story never ends," "what an amazing Story," "true Story" talk. But this is my favorite. Kudos to the social media person for MLB for using this one. 






I did some research...


...and YUP it's in tune! 



P.P.S. The Rockies could be one of the worst teams in baseball again this year, but if this shit keeps up they might have 3 players finish in the top 5 in MVP voting. Story is unreal, CarGo has looked like an MVP since the second half of last year, and Nolan Arenado sneaky shoulda won the MVP last year (jk Bryce definitely shoulda won it, but Nolan shoulda been second, not fucking 8th).


Friday, April 8, 2016

Fire Jam Friday


Another pretty good week of new music with a hot new Pitbull and Enrique jam leading the charge. I'm in a bit of a hurry so that's all I got. Enjoy.


#FireJamFriday


Tuesday, April 5, 2016

Villanova National Champions

So incase you live under a rock, you probably know this but VILLANOVA WON THE GOD DAMN NATTY SHIP LAST NIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!! Absolutely huge moment. The school's first championship since their historical 1985 season. They had an incredible group of Seniors and the best coach in the NCAA manning the helm. If you ever read any of the few posts on this site, you know I'm a huge Nova basketball guy, they're really the only basketball team I watch other than URI (and URI is never going to win a natty ship) so this one was absolutely awesome for me. Going into the game I have to admit I was a little scared but after seeing them absolutely dismantle Buddy Hield and Oklahoma I was pretty confident the boys could pull it off. People were trying to say that Nova was just on a hot streak but you don't just accidentally beat Oklahoma by 44pts in the Final Four. Throughout the game I thought that Nova played strong besides a little bit in the end of the 1st half and the beginning of the 2nd. For the most part they played a solid game and were playing good loose ball defense. Of course Archie was his usual absolute stud. Jenkins and Hart also played sick games. All around good team effort from the Cats.  I don't think anyone thought that Nova had a legit shot of cutting the nets, all I heard was choke choke choke but I seem to remember saying this was the year that people would finally shut up about nova choking (even made a reference to clemsoning and how they ended that this season and just got laughed at- sup @Mark) but look where we are now. All my predictions were right . Hi h8rz. Real proud of my dudes on Nova and can't wait to see Jay Wright cut down the nets in Phoenix this time next year.

CHAMPIONS.-Humble & Hungry | #NovaMBB
Posted by Villanova Basketball on Tuesday, April 5, 2016

I don't think its humanly possible to watch this video and not get chills. All the feels.
GOD DAMN ICE IN JAY WRIGHT'S VEINS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HOW DO YOU STAY SO CALM WHEN YOUR TEAM JUST WON THE NATTY SHIP ON A BUZZER BEATER?!?!?!

Monday, April 4, 2016

MLB Season Preview and Predictions


The MLB season officially got underway yesterday, and most teams start their seasons today, so it's a good time to crank out this season preview blog. I did a Yankees season preview blog earlier in the week, but I'm gonna make some predictions about each division, break it down, and then make some playoff predictions as well. 

AL EAST

1. New York Yankees (94-68)
2. Toronto Blue Jays (88-74)
3. Tampa Bay Rays (86-76)
4. Boston Red Sox (79-83)
5. Baltimore Orioles (75-87)

I already made my case for the Yankees in my other blog, which is basically just based on the fact that their bullpen is nasty, their rotation will be solid if healthy, and their line-up is improved. I think the Blue Jays take a step back because they won't have a month where they basically don't lose. There's no way they repeat what they did last year, because they aren't that good. Plus their rotation sucks and the offense won't score 7 runs a game to back them up. Everyone says Marcus Stroman is the most underrated pitcher in the league, and yet I think he's actually the most overrated pitcher in the league. Dude blows. Tampa Bay will be a sneaky contender behind a Chris Archer led solid rotation, and an Evan Longoria resurgence. Boston isn't good. Their rotation blows after David Price, and their line-up isn't anything special. Kimbrel is a nice upgrade to their bullpen but they don't have solid guys that can get from the starter to Kimbrel. Mookie Betts and Xavier Bogaerts are scary, but other than that there isn't much in the Boston line-up. David Ortiz sucks. I'm being generous not putting them in fifth place. But Baltimore is gonna be god awful. They'll hit some home runs but it won't be enough because no one will be on base for their home run hitters, and because their starting pitching is probably the worst in the MLB.

AL CENTRAL

1. Kansas City Royals (89-73)
2. Detroit Tigers (82-80)
3. Chicago White Sox (81-81)
4. Cleveland Indians (80-82)
5. Minnesota Twins (76-86)

I didn't want to pick the Royals but they find ways to win. They have a solid line-up and a great bullpen kinda like the Yankees. Their starters are iffy, but their division sucks and I think they have enough to win the Central pretty easily. The Tigers made some moves to improve this season, adding Jordan Zimmermann and Justin Upton. But it won't be enough to compete with the Royals. Zimmermann has been awesome with the Nationals for a while, so I expect him to be solid per usual, but I'm speculative about Justin Verlander and Anibal Sanchez. The offense should be improved but I don't think it will be enough to win the division. Chicago could have a solid front end of the rotation with Chris Sale, Jose Quintana and Carlos Rodon, but that's about their only strength besides slugger Jose Abreu. They just won't be able to put up enough runs to be a serious contender. Guys like Buster Olney love the Indians because Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco and Danny Salazar strike guys out. But they did that last year, and the Indians still sucked. They have pretty much zero offensive production. Francisco Lindor is real good, and Michael Brantley is solid, but not much other than that Their pitching is solid for sure and it will keep them in games, but much like Chicago it won't be enough. The Twins are young and improving, but their rotation is straight up trash. They're still a few years away from competing for the division.

AL WEST

1. Houston Astros (95-67)
2. Texas Rangers (93-69)
3. Seattle Mariners (85-77)
4. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (80-82)
5. Oakland Athletics (73-89)

The Astros shocked a lot of people last year as they led the West for a good part of the season, only to have the Rangers go on a tear and take it from them. Houston still got a wild card spot and were able to beat the Yankees in the wild card game. This year, I expect them to hold on and win the division behind a solid rotation led by reigning Cy Young winner Dallas Keuchel, and a young, powerful offense. Carlos Correa and George Springer are absolute studs. I expect big seasons from both of them. Correa is in only his second season and has become a popular MVP pick among many baseball analysts. The Rangers have one of the more underrated rotations in the bigs led by Cole Hamels, and it could get even better if Yu Darvish returns midway through the season. They have a solid offense behind Prince Fielder who had a great season last year, and an aging, but still productive Adrian Beltre. Seattle could have a big bounce back year if Robinson Cano has a nice comeback season after sucking for most of 2015. Kyle Seager was very productive last season and I expect that to continue now that he finally had a breakout season. Their pitching staff has the potential to be really good, but it will depend on if some younger guys can have breakout seasons. Everyone knows what King Felix brings to the table, but a lot of the guys behind him in the rotation are question marks. The Angels suck besides Mike Trout. And the A's suck besides Sonny Gray. 

NL EAST

1. New York Mets (93-69)
2. Washington Nationals (90-72)
3. Miami Marlins (84-78)
4. Philadelphia Phillies (66-96)
5. Atlanta Braves (62-100)

The Mets have the best rotation in baseball. That's pretty much fact. Their offense is suspect, but Yoenis Cespedes returned and Curtis Granderson looked good last season. There's not much there, but it was enough to get them to the World Series last year, and it could happen again this year. You don't have to score a lot to win when you have Harvey, Syndergaard, deGrom and Matz. The Nationals lost Jordan Zimmermann, but they still have a rotation that boasts Scherzer, Strasburg and Gio Gonzalez. Tanner Roark and Joe Ross could be very solid 4th and 5th starters as well. And obviously the reigning MVP Bryce Harper leads an offense that could be much improved based on the health of Anthony Rendon, Jayson Werth, and Ryan Zimmerman. The Marlins have the potential to be one of the most improved teams in baseball. They have (hopefully) a full year of Jose Fernandez who is flat out one of the best pitchers in baseball, and if Giancarlo Stanton can stay healthy for a whole season, the offense could produce better than expected. Christian Yelich is a rising star who is a nice complement to Stanton in the line-up. The Phillies have some promising young guys in both the rotation and in the field, but they still suck. The Braves are even worse, and actually have no promising young guys that I've heard of. 

NL CENTRAL

1. Chicago Cubs (99-63)
2. Pittsburgh Pirates (94-68)
3. St. Louis Cardinals (89-73)
4. Milwaukee Brewers (74-88)
5. Cincinnati Reds (67-95)

The Cubs are a popular pick to reach the World Series, and be the best team in baseball because well they won 97 games last year and got better. Jake Arrieta and Jon Lester lead a good rotation which adds John Lackey coming off a great year with St. Louis. And then obviously you throw in the young studs they have in the line-up and you got yourself a World Series contender. Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant, Addison Russell and Kyle Schwarber are all expected to be even better than they were a year ago. They added Jason Heyward from the Cardinals as well, and the Cubs are looking deadly on paper to start 2016. The Pirates might not be as good as last year, but they still have guys like Andrew McCutchen, Gerrit Cole, Starling Marte, Josh Harrison, Francisco Liriano, and Mark Melancon that know how to win and can lead this team to big things. The Cardinals will drop off a bit as two of their better players from last year are now on the rival Cubs. They still have a solid rotation led by Michael Wacha and a healthy Adam Wainwright, and have pieces in the line-up that can still lead them to a lot of wins. But they won't win 100 games again. The Brewers aren't very good. The Reds have the potential to be the worst team in the league. Their pitching is horrendous. 

NL WEST

1. San Francisco Giants (91-71)
2. Los Angeles Dodgers (88-74)
3. Arizona Diamondbacks (85-77)
4. Colorado Rockies (78-84)
5. San Diego Padres (73-89)

I picked the Giants to win the division by default. They added Johnny Cueto, Jeff Samardzija and Denard Span. Cueto should be pretty good per usual which should create a great 1-2 duo at the top of the rotation with Bumgarner. For some reason, unbeknownst to me, a bunch of people think Samardakdkjakf is gonna have a bounce back year. Which is crazy to me because to "bounce back" it implies that you're usually pretty good, and you had one year that you're trying to bounce back from. In this case, Shark had one good year surrounded by a bunch of mediocre/horrid years. I expect more mediocre/horrid pitching from this asshole who thinks he's good enough to carry the "Shark" nickname. That being said, the Giants have a great offense led by Buster Posey, and they have a chance to uphold their "every other year" strategy. The Dodgers have Kershaw but other than that they have a ton of question marks with their pitching. Their offense should put up similar production as last year. But without two bona fide aces holding down the fort, similar production from the offense will lead to fewer games won. The Diamondbacks, having added Zach Greinke and Shelby Miller, were poised to seriously contend until AJ Pollock went down with an injury the other day. He's expected to miss at least half the season and without him, Paul Goldschmidt can't do everything. The Rockies could be a fun team to watch just based on the fact that Nolan Arenado and Carlos Gonzalez might combine for 95 home runs this year. Other than that, they're pretty much garbage. And I went all in on the Padres last year. Not doing it again. Fuck them, they suck. 

AWARD PREDICTIONS

AL MVP: Mike Trout, LAA (Runner Up: Carlos Correa, HOU)
AL Cy Young: Masahiro Tanaka, NYY (Runner Up: Chris Sale, CWS)
AL Rookie of the Year: Luis Severino, NYY (Runner Up: Byron Buxton, MIN)

NL MVP: Bryce Harper, WAS (Runner Up: Giancarlo Stanton, MIA)
NL Cy Young: Jose Fernandez, MIA (Runner Up: Jacob deGrom, NYM)
NL Rookie of the Year: Steven Matz, NYM (Runner Up: Trevor Story, COL)

PLAYOFF PREDICTIONS

AL Wild Card Game: Rangers over Blue Jays
AL Division Series: Yankees over Rangers, Astros over Royals
AL Championship Series: Yankees over Astros

NL Wild Card Game: Nationals over Pirates
NL Division Series: Cubs over Nationals, Giants over Mets
NL Championship Series: Cubs over Giants

World Series: Yankees over Cubs


Friday, April 1, 2016

Fire Jam Friday


 All new music this week folks. Impressive line up with three country stars releasing singles, and a lot of EDM type stuff as well. Enjoy people. Not every week you get this kinda new music all at once.


#FireJamFriday