Updated bare-bones no explanation given predictions

Everything I had to say about last night’s check-swing ending was on Twitter last night, so instead I’m updating my bare-bones postseason predictions to reflect who has made the LCS round.

ALCS: Astros over Red Sox in 7

NLCS: Dodgers over Braves in 5

World Series: Dodgers over Astros in 6

World Series MVP: Mookie Betts

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Bare-bones no-explanations-given postseason predictions

No explanations, only predictions. Do I have reasons? Am I just going by my gut. Too bad, I’m not telling you!

AL Wild Card: Red Sox over Yankees

NL Wild Card: Dodgers over Cardinals

ALDS: Rays over Red Sox in 5, Astros over White Sox in 4.

NLDS: Dodgers over Giants in 4. Braves over Brewers in 5.

ALCS: Rays over Astros in 6.

NLCS: Dodgers over Braves in 5.

World Series: Dodgers over Rays in 6.

World Series MVP: Justin Turner.

Short Predictions for the NFL Wild Card Round (2016)

Some short predictions for this week’s NFL playoff games:

 

The Chiefs are hot, and have been hot ever since they got out of a very poor start to the season. So much of the NFL playoffs is who is hot at the right time, so I think the Chiefs will beat the Texans.

The Bengals would have been my pick to win against the Steelers… but then Andy Dalton got hurt a few weeks ago. So, I’m picking the Steelers.

Seattle beat up on the Vikings earlier in the year, and even with Marshawn Lynch not available (again) I think they will win again in the freezing cold of Minnesota.

The Packers have been stumbling a ton the later part of the season, but I feel like Aaron Rodgers is ultimately going to wake up (and hopefully be protected long enough) to beat Washington.

 

So… I picked…. all road teams.

Weird.

 

Headlines From Around The Continuum (November 2, 2015)

A sampling of baseball-related headlines from the Newseum, elsewhere, and occasionally some websites, with the occasional note from me on what they are talking about:

Headline: Royals win first World Series title since 1985, outlasting Harvey and Mets in Game 5

(Note: So that I don’t have a thousand papers from around the country that just say something along the lines of “Royals win World Series”, I focused on the hometown papers and papers that went a different route in their headlines.)

Kansas City Star: ROYALTY

Daily News (front): THE DARKEST KNIGHT (“Mets Amazin’ season comes crashing down in 9th, Royals take crown in 12”)

Daily News (back): CRUEL HAND LUC (on Lucas Duda’s bad throw)

NY Post (front): AMAZIN’ DISGRACE

NY Post (back): NIGHTY KNIGHT!

Newsday (front): YA GOTTA BEREAVE

Newsday (back): A ROYAL SHAME

El Diario- La Prensa (Brooklyn): Los pecados de Collins (“The sins of Collins”)

News-Leader (Springfield, MO): TOOK THE CROWN

St. Joseph (MO) News-Press: WORLD RENOWNED ROYALTY

Joplin (MO) Globe: WORLD CHAMPIONS

Hutchinson (KS) News: THEY DIDN’T QUIT

Lawrence (KS) Journal-World: NEVER-SAY-DIE ROYALS WIN WORLD SERIES

Salina (KS) Journal: CHAMPIONS!

Wichita Eagle: ROYALS RALLY FOR WORLD SERIES TITLE

The Record (Bergen County, NJ): Mets’ magic runs out

Star-Ledger (Newark, NJ): It’s all over

The Hawk Eye (Burlington, Iowa): Royals are champs

Alaska Dispatch News (Anchorage): Royals crowned champions after another late meltdown by Mets

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (Little Rock): Kings of 2015

Appeal-Democrat (Marysville, CA): BASEBALL CROWNS ITS ROYALTY

Ventura County Star (CA): ROYAL THRONE

Denver Post: ROYALS REIGN

Idaho Press-Tribune (Nampa): CROWNED ROYALS

Decatur (Ill.) Herald & Review: Royals flush

Evansville (Ind.) Courier & Press: ROYALS GET THEIR CROWN

The Sun (Lowell, Mass.): ROYALS!

St. Paul Pioneer Press: K.C. MASTERPIECE

Lincoln (Nebraska) Journal Star: CROWN ‘EM

Omaha World-Herald: K.C. BRINGS BACK THE CROWN

Morning Call (Allentown, PA): BASEBALL ROYALTY (This headline was also used at the Edmonton Journal in Canada)

Times-Tribune (Scranton, PA): MIGHTY K.C.

Daily Herald (Provo, Utah): ROYAL CORONATION

USA Today: ROYALS RALLY, WIN WORLD SERIES

Winnipeg Free Press: ROYALS ARE WORLD SERIES KINGS

El Heraldo (Baranquilla, Colombia): Reales de Kansas City, campeones de la Serie Mundial (“Kansas City Royals, World Series Champions”)

Novedades de Quintana Roo (Mexico): Reales se corona 30 años después (“Royal crown 30 years later”)

Milenio (Guadalajara, Mexico): REALES, CAMPEÓN (“ROYALS, CHAMPION”)

Reforma (Mexico City): Se coronan Reales (“They are crowned Royals”)

Vanguardia (Saltillo, Mexico): VUELVAN A LA GLORIA LUEGO DE 30 ANOS (“TO GLORY AGAIN AFTER 30 YEARS”)

El Nuevo Diario (Managua, Nicaragua): !REALES CAMPEONES, EN CASA DE LOS METS! (“Royals champions, in the home of the Mets!”)

El Universal (Caracas, Venezuela): Kansas City campeón (“Kansas City champion”)

Virgin Islands Daily News (Charlotte Amalie): WORLD CHAMPIONS- Baseball royalty

My Completely-Without-Explanation 2015 World Series Pick

Mets over Royals (in six).

 

 

(The explanation I didn’t include: The Mets have better starting pitching, more power hitters, and Terry Collins is way less likely than Ned Yost to do something crazy like leaving a pitcher in too long.)

Headlines From Around The Continuum (October 24, 2015)

A sampling of baseball-related headlines from the Newseum, elsewhere, and occasionally some websites, with the occasional note from me on what they are talking about:

Headline: Royals beat Blue Jays in Game 6, head to World Series vs. Mets

Kansas City Star: Ready for the world

Globe and Mail: IT’S OVER FOR THE JAYS

Toronto Star: HELL OF A GAME, HELL OF A SEASON

St. Joseph (MO) News-Press: BACK TO THE SERIES

Calgary Sun: DREAM RUN OVER

Joplin (MO) Globe: AL CHAMPIONS: K.C. back in Series

Guelph Mercury: It’s over

Lawrence (KS) Journal-World: AND WE’RE BACK!

Prince George Citizen: Heartbreak for Jays

Columbia (MO) Daily Tribune: WORLD SERIES BOUND

Salina (KS) Journal: BBQ or bagels? A tasty World Series set- Royals meet Mets

Wichita Eagle: AMERICAN LEAGUE CHAMPS

Bradenton (FL) Herald: ROYALS RUN INTO WORLD SERIES

NY Daily News (back): K.C. BEATS JAYS TO PUNCH SERIES TICKET

New York Post (back): K.C. YA TUESDAY

Newsday (back): GOING TO KANSAS CITY

New York Times: A Mets-Royals World Series

El Vigia (Ensenada, Mexico): Van por la revancha (“They go for revenge/rematch/another chance.”)

Vanguardia (Saltillo, Mexico): La hacen cardiaca pero vuelven a Serie Mundial (I think this means basically “The heart makes it to the World Series”, perhaps saying that the Royals have a lot of heart, or something like that.)

El Nuevo Diario (Managua, Nicaragua): KANSAS CITY A LA SERIES MUNDIAL (“Kansas City to the World Series”)

El Nacional (Caracas, Venezuela): Kansas campeón de la Liga Americana (“Kansas champion of the American League.”)

 

 

Headlines From Around The Continuum (October 22, 2015)

A sampling of baseball-related headlines from the Newseum, elsewhere, and occasionally some websites, with the occasional note from me on what they are talking about:

 

Headline: Mets head to first World Series since 2000, sweep Cubbies

New York Times: Suddenly Invincible, Mets Are in World Series

Daily News (Back): ALL WORLD

NY Post (Front): WORLD CLASS!

NY Post (Back): DANIEL BROOM

Newsday (Front): YA GOTTA BELIEVE!

Newsday (Back): HOW SWEEP IT IS!

AM NEW YORK: BELIEVE IT!

Metro- New York: SWEEP

Staten Island Advance: The new Mr. October? (Murphy)

Chicago Tribune: MAGIC RUNS OUT

Chicago Sun-Times (Cubs Extra e-paper): BACK TO THE FUTURE (here meant to mean “Back to the drawing board”)

Daily Herald (Suburban Chicago): TIP YOUR HAT TO THEM

Hartford (Conn.) Courant: NEXT STOP, WORLD SERIES

The Record (Bergen County, NJ): UNSTOPPABLE

News-Gazette (Champaign, Ill.): They’re gone

Jersey Journal (Jersey City): METS HEAD TO WORLD SERIES!

Star-Ledger (Newark, NJ): HOW SWEEP IT IS! (This was used by other papers as well)

Panama City (FL) News Herald: MVP Murphy leads Mets to World Series

Times Union (Albany, NY): Mets move on

Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, Ill.): CLEAN SWEEP

Post-Standard (Syracuse, NY): METS MANIA

Augusta (GA) Chronicle: MOVING ON

Times-Tribune (Scranton, PA): SWEEPING SUCCESS

USA TODAY: CUBS SWEPT BY METS IN 4 (A ironic echo of how the Back To The Future 2 USA TODAY said “CUBS SWEEP SERIES IN 5”)

Journal-Star (Peoria, Ill.): CHICAGO HOPE VANISHES

Naples (FL) Daily News: FOR CUBS, IT’S DO OR…. NEVER MIND

Daily Southern (Tinley Park, Ill.): Met their match

Quad-City Times (Davenport, Iowa): Wait until next year

Omaha World-Herald: Cubs’ dream swept away

El Vigia (Ensenada, Mexico): No se cumplió la profecía (“The prophecy is not fulfilled.”- not doubt referring to the Back To The Future Cubs joke)

El Nuevo Diario (Managua, Nicaragua): Los Mets en la Serie Mundial (“The Mets in the World Series”)

Primera Hora (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico): Los Mets en la Serie Mundial (“The Mets advance to the World Series”)

Headline: Blue Jays send ALCS back to Kansas City for Game 6

Globe and Mail: ESTRADA GEM KEEPS BLUE JAY HOPES ALIVE

National Post: JAYS NOT DONE YET

Toronto Star: EXTRAORDINARY ESTRADA

Kansas City Star: Coming home

St. Joseph (MO) News-Press: BLUE JAYS FORCE GAME 6 AT KAUFFMAN

Calgary Herald: JAYS WIN TO FORCE GAME 6

Junction City (KS) Daily Union: Volquez struggles as Blue Jays force Game 6 in ALCS

Calgary Sun: Going back to K.C.

Lawrence (KS) Journal World: 3-2

Canada’s Metro Papers: 1 DOWN, 2 TO GO

Wichita (KS) Eagle: Royals’ bats silent as Blue Jays win Game 5

Edmonton Journal: JAYS FORCE GAME 6

Guelph Mercury: Jays still alive after 7-1 win over Royals

Chronicle-Herald (Halifax): Kansas City, Here We Come

Hamilton Spectator: Blue Jays win keeps World Series hopes alive

Waterloo Region Record: Still in the game

La Presse (Montreal): Les Blue Jays S’accrochent (“The Blue Jays hang on” or “The Blue Jays cling”)

Ottawa Citizen: JAYS FANS A LITTLE LESS BLUE

Prince George Citizen: Estrada gets it done for Blue Jays

El Nacional (Caracas, Venezuela): Los Azulejos no se entregan (“The Blue Jays do not surrender”)

 

Headlines From Around The Continuum (October 16, 2015)

A sampling of baseball-related headlines from the Newseum, elsewhere, and occasionally some websites, with the occasional note from me on what they are talking about:

Headline: Mets beat Dodgers, will face Cubs in NLCS

New York Times: Joy in Metsville

Daily News (Front): UT YOURS!

Daily News (Back): DAN-TASTIC

NY Post (Front): YOU METCHA!

NY Post (Back): DANTASTIC!

Newsday (Front): BRING ON THE CUBS!

Newsday (Back): YES!

METRO- NEW YORK: MIGHTY METS

LA Daily News: METS GIVE DODGERS THE BLUES… AGAIN (This was also used with affiliated papers.)

La Opinion (Los Angeles): Corazón roto (“Broken heart”)

Orange County Register: DODGERS’ BLUNDERS ADD UP

Bakersfield Californian: LIGHTS OUT ON DODGERS’ POSTSEASON

The Record (Bergen County, NJ): Mets’ faith pays off

Press-Enterprise (Riverside, Ca.): FIZZLING AT FINISH

Times Herald-Record (Middletown, NY): JUST AMAZIN’

Monterey (Ca.) Herald): Mets reach NLCS, send Dodgers packing

Post-Standard (Syracuse, NY): HOW ‘BOUT THE BIG APPLE?

Santa Maria (Ca.) Times: Dodgers done

Ventura County (Ca.) Star:  Season at an end

Chicago Sun-Times: NLCS SET: CUBS VS. METS

Daytona Beach (FL) News-Journal: Volusia County’s Jacob deGrom pitches Mets to NLCS

Gainesville (FL) Sun: METS EDGE DODGERS, ADVANCE TO NLCS