Sixth Best
With spring training just around the corner it's time to turn some attention to the upcoming baseball season.
The question heading into the year is where do the Red Sox stand in the American League? The answer is not so pleasant, as it is not where they want to be. By the time the year is all said and done we could be looking at the sixth best team in the American League at Fenway Park.
Here's what we know. The Yankees upgraded their pitching staff, the Rangers have the same nucleus in place that won them the last two American League pennants, the Tigers and Angels have added the biggest bats on the market in Prince Fielder and Albert Pujols respectively, and the Rays look to be the same scrappy bunch that have given the Sox fits over the years, and they still have top of the line talent.
So where does that leave Boston? A team that has not upgraded its pitching staff or batting lineup, downgraded its bullpen and has not made a single significant move this offseason whether it be through free agency or trades.
Sure the Red Sox will be good in 2012, but the rest of the American League has gotten better while the Red Sox have either stood pat or even taken a step back. We can't take the playoffs for granted this year, this team is far from a lock to get in. In fact the odds are against them.
Patriots mirror US
Patriots fans and the pundits, or as I like to call them the punditiots, have ganged up on Tom Brady bigtime. He obviously didn't play particularly well the last two games, but the heavy criticism was a good part jealousy of Brady's looks, money and supermodel wife Gisele. It closely mirrors the U.S. as a whole where it has become fashionable to try to tear down the most successful instead of, like for the previous 200-plus years, trying to emulate them.
Spikes' white lie
Brandon Spikes told The Eagle-Tribune at the Super Bowl he was offered a basketball scholarship to Wake Forest. That seemed like a huge stretch so we checked with his hometown paper. Shelby (N.C.) Star sports editor Alan Ford said he was a tough post player but was very skeptical the 6-2, 250-pounder received an offer from any ACC schools.
-Compiled by Nick Curcuru and Michael Muldoon
