NFL: Almost here ..Yay !!

Wow .. seems like a few weeks ago that the Superbowl ended .. but preseason is about to commence.  But so is most things in life these days that time flies so fast.
As you know, I mostly care about one team - the Colts .. here's hoping they make another run at the championship. Without injuries, I feel comfortable with their chances of making the playoffs (and possibly winning the division). Even though they've been very consistent, probably the hardest thins in american pro-sports is to consistently make the NFL playoffs.

Here are somethings I wish they had done, but did not (in order) ..

1. get better at special teams 

2. strengthened their O-Line

3. strengthened their defense

With what they've got, here is hoping now, they
1. move Donald Brown to starting RB
2. play Sanders every other game to keep him healthy
3. get more aggressive and finish games early - no more 6-7 comebacks to win games
4. beat the Pats again in what's become an annual affair

we'll see .. I think the Ravens must be a good pick to go all the way with a mix of good veteran leadership and great upgrades to offense,

here are my picks for division winners:

NFC
North - Packers (yup, they will beat the Favre-led Vikings)
East - Giants - tight div again
West - 49ers - very weak div
South - Falcons (SB winners' curse)

AFC

North - Ravens 

East - Jets - close div; major upgrades but 2nd year QBs may have been figured out 

West - Chargers 

South - Colts 

NBA: Too much heat this summer ?

No doubt you've been following all the free-agent hoopla ever since the Cavs lost to the Celtics. Here is my take on the FA moves.

Did LeBron James make a good move ? by moving to the Heat ..of course, but by announcing this on TV,not so sure. It did not seem to go off well, but it was a popular TV show with millions tuned in. This may be the way famous FAs will choose teams in the future.

I would rather he moved to the Bulls who had more cap-space, flexibility and players to compete for years, but in hindsight, the Heat have done ok in filling up their roster as well.

The Cavs honestly have themselves and the city to blame .. No all-star FA was willing to move to Cleveland .. and over the past 5 years and this summer, the Cavs did not complement LeBron with a "Pippen/Pau/Manu". They paid the price .. Maybe Joakim Noah was right when he said nobody goes to Cleveland on vacation. Maybe a sign of the economic times and the decline of some of these "big" cities.

I don't care much about the jersey burning and breaking down the murals, so I'll leave that to the stupid "fans" and fanatics.  But by teaming with Wade (& Bosh), LeBron has indeed formed a very formidable team with complementary strengths .. looks like, the rest of the roster has shaped up well albeit with aged veterans (Big Z) and role players who can fit in and play unselfish. It's to be seen if the new Big Three can survive each other's stardom and fit in like the Celts of 2008.

So far, they are the saying the right things .. First, they have downplayed expectations  .. calling the Lakers the favorite (which I hate to say, is still true with a weak western conf) .. and asking for time to gel in before they march towards a championship.

The big dilemma has to be between stats and wins. I say its not easy for LeBron and Wade to forego stats. Here is why - Will either  let go of their personal quest for regular season MVP, which is primarily defined by stats.

So, in more ways than one, the Heat will be fun to watch .. I'll try and catch them when they are in Oakland to beat down on the Warriors.