Stephen Strasburg and the Washington Nationals look in good position to challenge for the division title this season.

The Eastern division of the National League will provide an entertaining race this season.  With the NL East featuring the wheeling-and-dealing Washington Nationals, the new look Miami Marlins, and the sideshow organization that is the New York Mets, you’d be hard pressed to find a dull moment in this division this season.  The Philadelphia Phillies ran away with the division last year with the best record in baseball, and the Atlanta Braves had their shot to get into the playoffs as a Wild Card, but let an 8.5 game lead slip as the St. Louis Cardinals stole the playoff berth.  All said, the Braves finished 13 games behind the Phillies, and the Nationals finished 8.5 games behind Atlanta.  This year could produce a different story as a result of the numerous offseason moves in the division.

Atlanta Braves (89-73, 2nd in NL East) – The Braves were bolstered last year by Rookie Of The Year Craig Kimbrel who lead the National League with saves (46) along with John Axford. Unfortunately for Atlanta, he blew a save in the last game of the season, which led to them missing the playoffs.  This year, the Braves will be looking to bounce back and claim that playoff spot.  At last year’s trade deadline, they were able to bring in center fielder Michael Bourn from the Houston Astros, who was able to help out hitting .278 in the latter part of the season.  Atlanta will feature a couple prospects in the field: speedy outfielder Jose Constanza, a late season call up last year, and Tyler Pastornicky, a contact hitting shortstop that finished his season at AAA Gwinnett last year.  Another player looking to complete his first full MLB season is Julio Teheran, another late season call up from Gwinnett.  Teheran anchored his club’s rotation in AAA with a 15-3 record, 2.55 ERA, and 122 strikeouts before going 1-1 in 3 starts (5 appearances) with a 5.03 ERA in Atlanta.  Youth is definitely on Atlanta’s side, especially with third year man Jason Heyward hoping to improve his numbers after his sophomore slump.  They’ve also got players on their way out: Chipper Jones has hinted at retirement following this season, and Tim Hudson, at 36 years old, can’t have many years left on that right arm.  With Jones, Heyward, Freeman, and catcher Brian McCann, the Braves definitely have the power to muscle their way into October.

Miami Marlins (72-90, 5th in NL East) – The fish formerly known as Florida will be moving into a new stadium for this season; Marlins Park is built specifically for baseball and features a retractable roof that will prevent rain delays.  Miami made numerous additions to their strong base of Hanley Ramirez, Logan Morrison, Gaby Sanchez and (Giancarlo) Mike Stanton, and have signed Jose Reyes, Mark Buerhle, and closer extraordinaire Heath Bell to go from the bottom of the barrel to genuine contenders in the NL East.  Following managerial issues last season, the Marlins were able to bring in Ozzie Guillen, who left his post with the Chicago White Sox. Guillen in turn was able to convince volatile pitcher Carlos Zambrano to come to Miami from the Chicago Cubs.  Zambrano, Ramirez, and even Morrison have shown themselves to be difficult to manage during their time in southern Florida, but Ozzie is a no-nonsense manager, and with his strong and strict managing style, he’ll be able to keep a tight grip on this team. The Marlins’ chances of winning the NL East aren’t big, but their season can’t be much worse than the reception to their new logo, or this thing.

New York Mets (77-85, 4th in NL East) – Where do you begin with the Mets?  You have an owner in Fred Wilpon who had some less than flattering things to say about his own players last year, and the team is also crunched for money.  As a result of those factors, the Mets lost speedy shortstop Jose Reyes to the Marlins, who carried most of their offensive threat.  New York will look to Lucas Duda, Jason Bay, and David Wright to shoulder the offensive load, and will need Ike Davis and Josh Thole to chip in as well.  Johan Santana is in the late stages of his recovery from the shoulder injury that kept him off the mound for all of 2011, and he looks poised to make a return to the starting rotation for the 2012 season.  Behind him in rotation are Mike Pelfrey, Jon Niese and R.A. Dickey, all of whom had subpar seasons, so you can expect Mets fans to be excited for Santana’s return.  The Mets have had their share of struggles, and seeing them not make the moves to keep up with the rest of the division, they will most likely finish toward the bottom.

Philadelphia Phillies (102-60, NL East Champion) – Philadelphia notched the best record in the league last year, and complemented that with the league’s best record on the road (50-31).  One of the major factors that contributed to the Phillies’ success was their pitching staff anchored by the “R2C2” combo of Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt, Cole Hamels and Cliff Lee.  This year, they’ll be without Oswalt, who’s currently looking for a new club, and they’ll be missing Ryan Howard at the front part of this season as a result of a ruptured Achilles tendon he suffered during the final out of the Division Series against the St. Louis Cardinals.  Filling in at first base in his absence will be either John Mayberry, Jr. or offseason pick up Jim Thome, who’s making a return trip in the late stages of his career.  Outside of the question mark at first base, Philadelphia still holds on to Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, Shane Victorino, and trade deadline acquisition Hunter Pence to boast a formidable batting order that can strike fear in any pitcher.   One of the most valuable additions to the team that the Philly front office made was the signing of closer Jonathan Papelbon from the Boston Red Sox. With strong starting pitching, solid hitting, and a lights out closer, the Fightin’ Phils should have no problem posting another 90+ win season.

Washington Nationals (80-81,  3rd in NL East) – The Nationals finished last season with their best record since their inauguration in 2005 (81-81), so you can see how much things have changed in the past six years.  Washington is a scrappy hitting team, batting.242 last season, and finished towards the bottom of the pack in terms of scoring. They signed Edwin Jackson, Brad Lidge, and made a trade to acquire ace pitcher Gio Gonzalez from the Oakland Athletics.  Looking at the Washington pitching stable, they have Stephen Strasburg, Gio Gonzalez, and Edwin Jackson leading the rotation, and they’ll be followed by Lidge, Tyler Clippard, and closer Drew Storen from the bullpen, a stiff test for any batting order. The Nats may not have a shot at catching the Wild Card spot, but this might be their first season they finish above .500.

Baseball fans, get ready for a brand new day: spring training has begun in Arizona and Florida for all thirty MLB teams.  As a baseball fan, I’ve been counting down the days until pitchers and catchers report to their respective camps; it is here where questions and speculations get answered.  Who’s going to lead the rotation?  Who’s going to play first base on opening day, and who’s going to start the season in AAA?  Who’s going to bat leadoff?  Will Yoenis Cespedes measure up to the hype?  All of these questions will be answered by the end of March when the spring training games have been played, but for now, the players are gathered only for team workouts.

For these first few weeks, it’s just players taking their cuts in the cage for batting practice, and pitchers limbering up throwing off the mound, but for fans, this is enough.  The baseball season ended in October (September if you’re a Braves or Red Sox fan, May if you’re an Astros fan), and through the winter all that was available to talk about was what happened in the season, what your team needed to do over the offseason, and then count down the days until spring training started.  And now, the days made for nine inning escapes from the daily grind are back.

Baseball is a special sport because it never stops.  If games aren’t being played, then teams are trading players, and when teams are trading, fans have something to talk about. With the start of spring training, we now sit at the start of the cycle, which holds all of the hopes and none of the crushed dreams that the end of the regular season holds.  At this point, the division is still winnable, the League Championship Series can still be reached, and the World Series can still be captured- in theory, of course.

So sit back and enjoy the promise of the season ahead. Your team is still in first place, and your seat in the stadium is waiting to join with the masses in singing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame.”

With the sudden resignation of Fabio Capello, the English Football Association has been left scrambling for a replacement. According to press reports and rumors, the F.A. prefers a manager who is English, but is England ready to give another Englishman a chance after the failures of Steve McClaren?

Fabio Capello’s resignation came as a surprise, but the circumstances were not, given his strong beliefs against the F.A.’s decision to strip defender John Terry of the English captaincy. Terry is currently awaiting trial after being charged for racially abusing Queens Park Rangers defender Anton Ferdinand. Capello, while not approving of Terry’s actions, still believes that the defender’s experience and leadership is second-to-none. Capello also said the decision to strip Terry of his captaincy was premature, as nothing has been proven.

So with just under four months until the 2012 Euros, the F.A. is quickly searching for the next manager. There are quality candidates ready to take over, but one wonders, what is the F.A. looking for in the next manager?

Harry Redknapp: The frontrunner, but will he take the job?

Stuart Pearce, acting as caretaker manager until a permanent replacement is found, knows the players very well. He is the U-21 national team manager, and has coached many of the current players, including Jack Wilshere and Daniel Sturridge. Pearce would be a safe choice, but not one that would take England to international glory.

Another option could be hiring a short-term manager to oversee the Euro 2012 Championships. Both Sven-Göran Eriksson and Guus Hiddink are seen as potentials for the position. Eriksson was England manager from 2001 to 2006, but the media circus during his tenure made it felt like he over welcomed his stay. In recent years, Eriksson has had little success in managing various clubs and national teams, which counts as a strike against him. Hiddink has been magical with every team he’s managed, and the quick positive results he provides make him an attractive candidate for the job. Inconsistency would be a negative aspect of a short-term solution, affecting both the team and future player selection.

Two favored long-term options are José Mourinho and Harry Redknapp. Based on the F.A.’s criteria,Redknapp looks to have the edge on the Mourinho, due the fact that he is English and has been overwhelmingly successful at Tottenham this season. Spurs fans would be very unhappy to see Redknapp leave, and the club’s squad could be picked apart during the next transfer window. With Tottenham looking likely to be playing in the Champions League next season, Redknapp would have a very strong incentive to stay at the club.

A proven winner, but is that enough to convince the FA to hire him?

Then there is the case for bringing in Mourinho. “The Special One” has certainly been special during his time in England and abroad, and it would take a brave soul to count him out of the running for England manager. Mourinho has made it no secret that he would like to return to England someday; now may be the time. His player management skills are top-notch, his tactics often unmatched, and with a Spanish media unhappy with his work at Real Madrid, the incentives to come back to England are immense

*No punches were pulled in the recording of this podcast*

This week, we covered Arsenal’s 7-1 victory of Blackburn, Chelsea’s 3-3 draw with Manchester United, and we also discussed the various pitch invaders from over the past few weeks of matches around the world.  This week’s podcast is one that you won’t want to miss!  If you have questions that you’d like for us to answer on the podcast in the future, leave them in the comments below.  Enjoy!

The Kick Off #3 (Right click to download)

It was another terrific weekend of soccer in the EPL, and while our team of the week was a simple choice, there were so many great individual performances we couldn’t limit the award to just one player. So have a look at DB20’s first ever player(s) of the week as well as a team who “gunned” down their opponents this weekend.

Team of the week: Arsenal

It may have taken the Gunners a while to get their first Premier League victory of 2012, but they did it in style, thrashing Blackburn Rovers 7-1 at the Emirates, and pulling within three points of fourth-placed Chelsea. Captain and team-talisman Robin Van Persie led the way with a terrific hat-trick, while blossoming winger Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain contributed two of his own. Mikel Arteta and Arsenal legend Thierry Henry also helped contribute to the rout. It’s been a struggle for large parts of the season for Arsene Wenger’s team, but with a terrific win, and Chelsea still stumbling, the race for fourth will surely go down to the wire. Congratulations to Arsenal, DB20’s team of the week!

Player(s) of the week: Petr Cech and David De Gea

This week’s players of the week are Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea and Chelsea’s Petr Cech. Though the keepers played against each other on Sunday, they both pulled off several stunning saves to keep the score from going higher than it already was. Cech was continuously tested as shots peppered his goal, and for the most part he met the challenge.

His counterpart David De Gea looked like a veteran despite his youth. De Gea has been a talking point for critics because of his size and lack of experience, but once again proved that heart and belief will go a long way towards being successful. A shaky performance in the first half and early in the second half changed when United came back from being three goals down to tie it at 3-3. De Gea proved to be vital for the final fifteen minutes, denying Juan Mata’s curling free kick headed for the upper 90, and a blistering shot by Chelsea center-back Gary Cahill.

All in all, two great performances by the keepers in what proved to be a very exciting match. Congratulations to David De Gea and Petr Cech, Down By 20’s players of the week.

On February 3rd, 2008, the New England Patriots met the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII in Glendale, Arizona.  The two teams played at University of Phoenix Stadium in what I’ve ranked as one of the top three best football games ever played in that dome, the other two being the Chicago Bears’ rally to beat the Arizona Cardinals in 2006, and the 2007 Fiesta Bowl between the Oklahoma University Sooners and Boise State Broncos.

In that season, the Patriots entered the Super Bowl as the first team to go 16-0 in the regular season, and were looking to become the first team to go 19-0 over the entire season with a win in the Superbowl.  The Giants were able to ruin New England’s plans with help from an exhilarating third and long play late in the fourth quarter that had Eli Manning spinning out of the grasp of multiple Patriot defenders and heaving a pass downfield that was caught by (now former Giant) David Tyree.  That play in turn set up the game winning touchdown pass from Manning to Plaxico Burress with 39 seconds left, leaving the Patriots’ hopes of a perfect season dashed.

Four years later, the same teams will meet again in Indianapolis in America’s biggest game, and while a lot of changes have been made to the squads, the core players from 2008 remain, and most importantly, the quarterbacks are the same.

Tom Brady, quarterback for the New England Patriots, has already cemented his legacy as a potential Hall of Fame quarterback after leading his Patriots to three Super Bowl victories in four years.  Eli Manning has the distinction of being named Super Bowl MVP in the 2008 Super Bowl victory, and is also a two-time Pro Bowler. In his career, Manning has thrown over 4,000 yards in a season three consecutive years, a feat that Brady can’t claim, even after removing Brady’s injury shortened 2008 season.

New England attacked this season with the same intensity we’ve seen from them over the years, and, as expected, won the AFC North.  What came as a surprise to Patriots fans was their team finishing at the bottom of the league in defensive rankings; they finished 31st in total defense (411.1 yards per game allowed) and pass defense (293.9 YPG allowed) in the regular season, and the only team that finished worse than them in those categories were the defending Super Bowl champions, the Green Bay Packers.

You could say the bright side for New England’s defense is that they finished 17th in rushing defense (117.1 YPG allowed) and allowed a total of 342 points by rushing touchdowns.  We all know the Patriots can score almost at will with their aerial attack led by Brady, but the question remaining is whether New England’s defense will be able to make the big plays necessary to win the championship against New York.

The Giants opened the season with a bit of a dud, losing a game against the Washington Redskins by a score of 28-14.  New York was able to bounce back from this setback and rally to a 6-2 start of the season before losing four in a row, dropping their record to 6-6 and putting their playoff chances in jeopardy.  There were bright spots for the Giants during that four game skid; Manning still put up some pretty good numbers including a 406 yard passing performance against New Orleans, his second highest passing total of the season.

New York was able to mount a late season rally and claimed the NFC East title to make the playoffs this season, beating out the 8-8 Philadelphia Eagles and the Dallas Cowboys.  Eli Manning finished 4th in total passing with 4,933 yards (Brady finished second with 5,235), and the Giants finished fourth in total offense with 404.7 yards per game (Patriots finished second with 419.5 YPG).  An interesting note about the Giants this season: for a team with a renowned rushing attack, they finished last in the league in rushing yards per game with only 89.2 yards per game

The teams have already met once this season on the field in at Gillette Field, a game where the Giants emerged victorious following yet another late game touchdown drive.  Manning’s performance in the game gave way to the saying, “You can’t spell ‘elite’ without E-L-I,” a product of an interview during the preseason where Manning said that he thought he was in the class of elite quarterbacks.  For the Super Bowl, Eli will be suiting up in the building that his older brother Peyton- a well-established member of that elite class- built in Indianapolis, against another quarterback of that class in Tom Brady.  With a win, Eli will double his Super Bowl ring count to two, one more than what Peyton has, despite being in the league a few years less than his brother.

Going into the big game, the old adage “Defense wins championships” will prove itself true at Lucas Oil Stadium.  I think the Giants’ fast and tough defensive line will be able to do enough to disrupt Tom Brady’s rhythm.  On the other side of the ball, New York’s success on offense relies on whether Eli will be able to put up another stellar passing performance. But when it’s all said and done, I expect to see the confetti raining on the smiling faces of the New York Giants after winning yet another exciting Super Bowl.

David De Gea, the £18 million man, is the one expected to fill the void left by Van der Sar. However, his start to life in Manchester has been anything but convincing, with the barrage of mistakes beginning back in the Community Shield against Man City. Since then he has found himself in and out of the side, with game-changing errors costing United points against Blackburn, Liverpool, and Basel in the Champions League. While De Gea has been a bag of nerves, backup keeper Anders Lindegaard has brought a sense of calm to the side and has seemingly become the number one for the rest of the season.  But with such a large price tag attached, there is no doubt that Sir Alex intends to make De Gea the main man in goal for the coming years. So let’s examine why the De Gea experiment has struggled thus far and what can be done to rectify the situation.

His Age: It’s daunting enough for any goalkeeper to come into a club like United to try and settle immediately, but it’s important to remember that De Gea is only 21 – a boy. No player is fully developed at 21; young players naturally make mistakes, but goalkeepers are thrust into the spotlight more quickly than midfielders or strikers. And because we’re dealing with Manchester United, every error is blown up to absurd proportions. Perspective please, evil media. Time is a virtue.

His Stature: Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez had the same issue when he joined United last season. He was supremely talented but needed to bulk up in order to handle the rough-and-tumble of Premier League defenders such as Chris Samba and John Terry. Just a few months later, he noticeably bulked up and showed he can cut it with the best players in the country, even consolidating top scorer Dimitar Berbatov to the bench. So why on earth has Fergie not done the same thing with De Gea?

Mistakes highlight issues pretty quickly, and De Gea’s slight frame (hell, he’s a stick) has made him vulnerable against big aggressive center-forwards. Liverpool’s Andy Carroll was a constant thorn in his side last weekend, while Blackburn’s Grant Hanley overpowered De Gea in the air to secure Rovers a shock win at Old Trafford. Until the muscles grow, De Gea will continue to struggle with corners and free kicks.

Culture Shock: This is the main reason I disagree with Sir Alex throwing De Gea in the firing line so soon. Having spent all of his fledgling career in Spain with Atletico Madrid, he was bound to struggle with the differences between Spanish and English football. In La Liga, players aren’t nearly as aggressive with goalkeepers as they are in England. De Gea was particularly rattled at Anfield when Carroll knocked him over; he proceeded to walk right up to Carroll and yell in his face; Carroll just smiled. Best get used to it, David. A goalkeeper must be a commanding and calming presence, and with De Gea appearing to be a reserved, “aw shucks” type of character, his personality development on the field will be essential if he is to become United’s true #1.

Ferguson was right to give De Gea a break and install Lindegaard as the starter for the time being. However with the news that the Dane will be out for a month with an ankle injury, it seems De Gea will get an unexpected run in the team again, starting at Stamford Bridge on Sunday. He could still become a hero this season, so stick with him United fans. But regardless of what happens, these experiences will make him mentally stronger for next season, and with some weightlifting and the return of Nemanja Vidic, hopefully we will soon see this young keeper get back to doing what he does best.

Punxsutawney Phil called, he predicts more soccer in the next few weeks.  This week on The Kick Off, we review some of the deals made on Transfer Deadline Day, Robin Van Persie’s heroic two penalty effort against Aston Villa in the FA Cup, the US Women’s National Team’s dominance in Vancouver (in which Kiran professes his love for Alex Morgan), and we also preview upcoming matches including Chelsea v Manchester United on Sunday.  If you have questions you’d like for us to answer in future podcasts, leave them in the comments below!  Enjoy!

The Kick Off #2 (Right click to download)

Hernan Crespo hoping to win more silverware

By: Kiran Balan

Soccer is the world’s sport. It has the ability to unite and create opportunities for anyone and everyone who has the determination and desire to succeed. It is with this thinking that India has developed a soccer league called the Premier Soccer League. The main goal of this large project is to raise awareness of the soccer in the region and to build on the recent soccer frenzy that hit the country in recent months. The new league will be a welcomed breath of fresh air to a country that is cricket crazy.  With the Indian national soccer team ranked at a dismal 158^th in the world according to FIFA’s current rankings.  The league will begin in the Indian state of West Bengal and based on the popularity of the league, could spread to other states in India.  It is believed to have a similar structure as Major League Soccer in North America and of the competitive I-League in India.

So far only 5 teams have signed contracts with India based companies and a 6^th team is still trying to work a deal to be able to play before the league commences with their season, although they were not a part of the bidding process.  This is the first time that India will have a league that appeals to some of the world’s greatest players back in the day. The league owners and club managers hope this is a start to making India a strong soccer market, comparable to the success of soccer in Korea and Japan. The hope is to make the Premier Soccer League a lasting league for years to come, and to attract more foreign players.

The “league” will officially kick off on February 25^th 2012, and only last for 7 weeks, which is very short for league that boast a strong contingent of former European soccer superstars. Similar to the Designated Player system MLS has adopted the PSL has one “icon” player, a marquee player if you will.  The five teams involved in the league started the bidding process to sign their one icon player. This system of signing a player vaguely, if at all resembles how the European and North American transfer market does their respective business.

The two players that had the highest bids for their services were World Cup winner and Italian legend Fabio Cannavaro and Argentine legend Hernan Crespo; although Crespo is yet to formally agree to a move to the Premier Soccer League. The bids were $830,000 and $840,000 respectively (see link below). The lure of money and new market is what is helping stimulate an overall player interest. For a seven weeks, overseas players will make a lot of money in a very short amount of time.  Overseas players such as American Santino Quaranta will make $180,000 in seven weeks, which is a step up from making the same amount of money with MLS, which is a six month league in itself, and a format similar to MLS, I would not be surprised if players from North American came and participated in a league such as this.

A Trip Too Good to Pass Up For Santino

One worrying aspect of the league is that there has been a lack of media coverage to help promote the league and skill set of the players involved. Without active media coverage, the league could go into total anonymity. It should be the responsibility of club and league owners to find a reputable and respectable source of media, because  with that not only are they able to spread the excitement of this project, but businesses in India will grow at a faster rate and generate even more revenue which can only help the league as a whole in the long run.

Overall the idea of having a league of former stars taking part in a mini league in India can only be a positive step forward with Indian soccer.  With the likes of Leo Messi and Bayern Munich playing friendly matches in India; shows the intent and willingness to compete with the world in the world’s match. With a nation of over one billion people, the growth for soccer is undeniable and with that the support for the national team will also increase, and hopefully in the next 15 years India could earn a trip to the World Cup, which would be one exciting prospect to watch for any and every soccer player.

http://www.indiablooms.com/SportsDetailsPage/2012/sportsDetails310112a.php