Cael Sanderson Leaving ISU

Sanderson left ISU for Penn State. Why? The reasons he cited don't make sense. His salary is quadrupled and money is not the issue? Yeah, right. I can only think of only two other reasons as to why Sanderson left ISU.

1. Facilities -- if Penn State completed a major upgrade to their wrestling training facilities, I can see why Cael would state that winning a national championship would be easier. Having cutting edge facilities would make recruiting much easier. So, Penn State may have better facilities than ISU.

2. Jamie Pollard (the AD) and Cael had a falling out -- maybe, over what, facilities, or something else?

Well, this is another coaching re-hire Pollard must make; his record on coach retention is not good so far. It's giving ISU a bad rep on the recruiting trail. The replacement candidates I've heard about so far are eminently qualified and would be good hires. Hopefully, the next wrestling head coach will "dovetail" with Pollard better. ISU fans can only hope.

My Major League Baseball Forecast

Opening day is here (Hoo-Rah)! . Since almost everyone else is doing it, I'll make my baseball forecast as to which teams make the post-season:

AL East:

1. Tampa Bay Rays
2. New York Yankees
3. Boston Red Sox
4. Baltimore Orioles
5. Toronto Blue Jays

AL Central:

1. Minnesota Twins
2. Cleveland Indians
3. Chicago White Sox
4. Kansas City Royals
5. Detroit Tigers

AL West

1. LA Angels
2. Texas Rangers
3. Oakland Athletics
4. Seattle Mariners

NL East

1. Philadelphia Phillies
2. New York Mets
3. Atlanta Braves
4. Florida Marlins
5. Washington Nationals

NL Central

1. Chicago Cubs
2. St. Louis Cardinals
3. Milwaukee Brewers
4. Houston Astros
5. Cincinnati Reds
   
6. Pittsburgh Pirates

NL West

1. LA Dodgers
2. Arizona Diamondbacks
3. SF Giants
4. SD Padres
5. Colorado Rockies

Playoff Teams

AL

• Rays
• Twins
• Angels
• Yankees (Wild Card)

NL

• Phillies
• Cubs
• Dodgers
• Mets (Wild Card)

AL Champion -- Twins
NL Champion -- Cubs

World Series Champion -- Cubs (after 101 years)

Yeah, I know I'm letting sentiment come over me, but my predictions are as good as the any other average Joe's.

How I see the races shaking out:

AL East -- A dog fight between the Rays and Yankees with the Rays edging the Bronx Bombers by three games, or less.

AL Central -- A three team race between the Twins, Indians and White Sox. The Twins squeak by, by a game or two.

AL West -- The Angels have no real competition here. They will run away with the division crown by ten plus games.

NL East -- Another tight race between the Phillies and Mets with the Phillies winning the crown by three games, or less.

NL Central -- The rivalry between the Cubs and Cards will glow to white hot as these teams slug it out for the division title. The Cubs win out by one, or two games over the Cards. This contest is the NL's answer to the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry this year.

NL West -- The Dodgers will win this division comfortably by seven plus games. The only races here are for second place between the Giants and Diamondbacks (neither team will make the playoffs this year), and the Padres and Rockies for fourth place (who cares).

AL Wild Card -- This race will be a battle between the Yankees and the Indians. The Yanks win by one or two games.

NL Wild Card -- A race between the Mets and Cards, and the Mets win by one, or two games as well.

Well there you have it, my MLB predictions for this year. Will I be Sammy Swami, Blind Bertie, or Half-blind Hattie this year? Only time will tell, but it will be a fun baseball season watching six close races in 2009.

TTFN.