2020 MLB Playoffs – Off the Schneid

 

Off the schneid means to snap a losing streak. Let’s take a look at this phrase as it relates to the 2020 Major League Baseball Playoffs.

Cincinnati Reds vs Atlanta Braves

Something has got to give in the ultimate “get off the schneid series” when the Reds face the Braves in the NL Wild Card round.

Reds last playoff series win came in 1995 (swept Dodgers) and their current streak of 4 straight series losses began with a sweep in the ‘95 NLCS to the Braves. 

This is the Reds 4th playoff appearance since 1995.

• 2010 – returned after a 14 year absence. In Game 1 vs the Phillies, Roy Halladay threw a no hitter and the Phillies would go on to sweep the Reds.
• 2012 – Reds went to San Francisco, and won games 1 and 2 vs the Giants. Needing 1 win in 3 home games, the Reds failed to capitalize and lost the series 3-2.
• 2013 – Reds lost the one game Wild Card round to the Pirates.

From 1991-2005, the Braves won the NL East 14 times in 15 years, and won it 11 straight times from 1995-2005. During that incredible run, they won just 1 World Series in 5 appearances – that came in 1995, after beating the Reds in the NLCS.

However, recently the Braves have lost 10 straight playoff series, with their last win coming all the way back in 2001.

Other teams looking to get off the schneid

Minnesota Twins – Since 1991, Twins have won just 1 playoff series and have lost 16 playoff games in a row (dating back to 2004). Their last series win was 2002.

Oakland Athletics – 6 straight series losses (dating back to 2006)

Chicago White Sox – last playoff series win was 2005 World Series (one appearance since)

Cleveland Indians – 71 year World Series drought (1948)

Milwaukee Brewers and San Diego Padres – 51 year World Series drought (never won)

Los Angeles Dodgers – 31 year World Series win drought (1988)

Teams who got off the schneid by ending long playoff droughts

• Miami Marlins – 16 years (2003)
• San Diego Padres – 13 years (2006)
• Chicago White Sox – 11 years (2008)
• Cincinnati Reds – 6 years (2013)

Teams still on the schneid (active playoff droughts)

• Seattle Mariners – 19 years (2001)
• Philadelphia Phillies – 9 years (2011)

2020 NBA Finals: History of Lakers vs Heat

 

 2020 NBA Finals will feature a first time matchup between the Los Angeles Lakers vs Miami Heat.

Despite never facing each other in the Finals, there is a ton of history between these two franchises. Lakers are 37-27 all-time vs Heat

Lebron James

For the 9th time in the last 10 years, Lebron James is in the NBA Finals. It’s his 10th overall (3-6 record) appearance in 17 seasons.

Lebron appeared in the Finals for 4 straight years from 2011-2014 with the Miami Heat, winning his first championship in 2012 and a second one in 2013.

After missing the playoffs in 2019 (for just the third time in his career), he returns to the Finals with his third different team.

Pat Riley

Lakers – Riley won an NBA title in 1972 as a player for the Lakers and was an assistant coach for the 1980 championship team. He was the head coach for 4 championships in the ’80s – 1982 1985, 1987, 1988.

Heat – Coached Miami to the franchise’s first NBA title in 2006, with Dwyane Wade and Shaq. As an executive, he was the architect of the “Big Three” featuring Lebron pairing up with Wade and Chris Bosh and winning 2 more titles. In total, Riley had been part of all 6 Heat Finals teams.

Kobe’s Presence

Kobe and Lebron overlapped in the NBA for 13 seasons and never faced each other in the Finals even though they were in opposite conferences. At least one them reached the Finals in 11 of 13 seasons.

Other Storylines

Both Lakers and Heat missed the playoffs in 2019.

As many hoped, 2020 Finals features Antetokounmpo vs Leonard (Kostas vs Meyers, not Giannis vs Kawhi).

The most recent #1 overall pick to win an NBA Finals is Andrew Bogut, who was drafted in 2005 and won in 2015. Anthony Davis (#1 in 2012) has a chance to change that.

Lebron vs Iggy part 5. 2015-2018 saw Cavs vs Warriors four straight times, which included Lebron vs Andre Iguodala 4 straight times. Now, this will be the 5th time they are opposing each other.

Iguodala or the Heat have made each of the last 10 Finals.

Danny Green is facing the Heat in the Finals for the third time in his career. With the Spurs, he lost in 2013 and won in 2014 (against Lebron).

Dion Waiters played 123 games (starting 101) in 3+ seasons with the Heat, before being released earlier this season. He was signed by the Lakers before the shutdown of the regular season and has played 38 minutes in the playoffs.

Heat forward Jae Crowder was traded from the Mavs to the Celtics in 2014 for current Lakers guard Rajon Rondo.

Lakers coach Frank Vogel, who previously coached the Indiana Pacers, is 0-3 all-time vs Heat in playoff series.

Big Blue Nation – Anthony Davis and Rajon Rondo battle Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro in the matchup of Kentucky Wildcats alums.

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Shaq trade

Heat won their first NBA title in 2006, after acquiring Shaquille O’Neal from the Lakers in the summer of 2004. Heat traded young rising stars Caron Butler and Lamar Odom, plus Brian Grant and a future first round pick (Jordan Farmar in 2006) for Shaq.

For the Heat, the Shaq and Wade duo was a huge success because they won the NBA title. Lakers would go on to win two more without him in 2009 and 2010.

As a 37 year old, Shaq join Lebron in Cleveland in 2009-10, but they were unable to reach the Final together. His final NBA season was 2010-11 as a member of the Celtics, where his final game was against Lebron and the Heat (en route to them making the NBA Finals).

NFL Week 2 – Party Like It’s 2016

 

2020 has been a weird year. So let’s throw it back to 2016, where most of the NFL week 2 games have some type of connection.

Seahawks vs Patriots
2/7/2016 – New Patriots QB Cam Newton and Seahawks TE Greg Olsen played together with the Panthers in Super Bowl 50. Olsen and Newton were teammates in Carolina from 2011-2019.

Broncos vs Steelers
1/17/2016 – Speaking of the Panthers, that duo above lost to the Broncos, who beat the Steelers 23-16 in the Divisional Round. Denver had a 13 play drive in almost 7 minutes towards the end of the game, that was capped off by a CJ Anderson touchdown run.

Eagles vs Rams
4/28/2016 – Rams drafted Jared Goff #1 overall in the Draft. Eagles draft Carson Wentz #2 overall.

Cowboys vs Falcons
Dallas finished the 2016 season with the best record in the NFC and Atlanta finished #2 in the NFC. Dak Prescott won 2016 Rookie of the Year and Matt Ryan won 2016 regular season MVP.

Jets vs 49ers
12/11/2016 – Jets won 23-17 in overtime (1 of 3 wins all-time vs SF – 3-10). RB Bilal Powell ran for 145 yards, including a 19 yard touchdown in overtime to win the game. QB Bryce Petty started for the Jets and won his only career start (1-6). Colin Kaepernick started at QB for the 49ers (one of the final starts of his career) and RB Carlos Hyde ran for 193 yards. 49ers were coached by Chip Kelly, who would be fired after one 2-14 season.

Colts vs Vikings
12/18/2016 – Vikings lost 34-6 in Adrian Peterson’s Vikings finale. Peterson tore his meniscus during week 2, and played just 3 games in 2016, including this one. He returned just so he could get his final carries in purple and final ovation in Minneapolis. AP ran the ball 6 times for 22 yards. 

Raiders vs Saints
9/11/2016 – Raiders shocked the Saints 35-34 in a week 1 upset, when Derek Carr completed a pass to Michael Crabtree to convert game-winning two point conversation. 2016 season was the end of the Raiders’ 13 year playoff drought.

Dolphins vs Bills
12/26/2016 – Bills fired Rex Ryan, who went 15-16 in two seasons. Two days earlier, Bills lost to the Dolphins 34-31 in overtime on Christmas Eve in Ryan’s final game as a head coach.

Football Team vs Cardinals
12/4/2016 – RB David Johnson ran for 84 yards and a TD and had 91 yards receiving and a TD. 2016 was Johnson’s last great NFL season. Carson Palmer threw for 300 yards, 3 TD and Cardinals won 31-23.

Browns vs Bengals
9/17/2016 – Ohio State beat Oklahoma 45-24. OU QB Baker Mayfield struggled, completing 17-32 passes for 226 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT. Bengals rookie QB Joe Burrow was a red-shirt freshman on Ohio State, backing up JT Barrett.

Bears vs Giants
11/10/2016 – Daniel Jones and Duke beat Mitchell Trubisky and UNC. Coming into this game, Duke was 3-6 and 0-5 in the ACC, while Carolina was ranked #17 so this was a big upset for Jones and Duke. Jones completed 22-34 passes for 240 yards and a TD, plus 2 TDs rushing and 94 yards on the ground. Trubisky completed 24-33 passes for 297 yards, 3 TD and 2 INT

Texans vs Ravens
10/1/2016 – #5 Clemson beat #3 Louisville 42-36 in a primetime classic. Watson threw for 5 TDs (plus 3 INTs), threw for 300 yards and ran for 91 yards. Jackson ran for 162 yards and 2 TD and threw for 296 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT.

12/10/2016 – Lamar Jackson won the Heisman Trophy over Watson. Jackson received 526 first place votes and 2,144 points total. Watson received 269 first place votes and 1,524 points total.

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More on NFL Week 2 (non-2016 notes)

Patriots vs Seahawks – Rematch of Super Bowl XLIX. After Bill Parcells led the Patriots to the Super Bowl in 1996 and before Bill Belichick took over as head coach in 2000, Pete Carroll coached the Pats from 1997-1999, compiling a 27-21 record, going 1-2 in the playoffs.

Texans vs Ravens – Deshaun Watson faced Lamar Jackson for the first time in an instant classic on Saturday Night primetime during week 5. Both teams were 4-0, with Louisville ranked #3 and Clemson ranked #5.Watson threw 2 TDs in the final few minutes of the game. He completed 20-31 passes, 306 yards, threw 5 TDs and 3 INT and ran for 91 yards.Jackson completed 27-44 passes, 295 yards, TD, INT and ran for 162 yards and 2 TDs. But at the end, Jackson came up just inches short on the final play of the game. 

The significance of this game is that Clemson ultimately played for the National Championship and beat Alabama. If they would have lost this game, it’s questionable how the season would have played out and if they would have made it.

 Eagles vs Rams – Before the 2016 Draft, Rams made a trade with the Titans and Eagles made a trade with the Browns. And those trades became so much bigger as they ultimately turned into 17 trades, involving 16 teams and 49 players across four different drafts (2016-2020). 

Vikings vs Colts – Colts have won 5 in a row vs Vikings. Last Minny win was 1997 in week 17 to clinch a playoff spot. Colts QB was current Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh and RB Marshall Faulk ran for over 100 yards and 2 touchdowns. Vikings Hall of Fame WR Cris Carter caught 5 passes, 3 of which were touchdowns from QB Randall Cunningham.

49ers vs Jets – SF is 10-3 all-time vs Jets and 7-1 on the road. The one road loss came in 2004, when Chad Pennington and Curtis Martin led the Jets past the Tim Rattay-led Niners. 49ers finished that season 2-14 and would draft QB Alex Smith #1 overall in the 2005 Draft.

Raiders vs Saints – Saints defensive coordinator Dennis Allen was 8-28 as Raiders head coach between 2012-2014. That includes an 0-4 record in 2014 during Derek Carr’s rookie season, in which he started those first 4 games.

Chargers vs Chiefs – KC has won 11 of 12. The one loss was in 2018, a Thursday night win for Chargers on the road to clinch a playoff spot. A late two-point conversion sealed the win for Chargers.

Why Notre Dame Football Should Never Join a Conference

 he 2020 college football season is going to be weird, but than again so is everything in 2020.

No Big Ten or PAC-12 this fall is one thing, but Notre Dame playing in a conference is another.

In 2020 only, Notre Dame is playing exclusively an ACC schedule and they will be considered an honorary member, who has a chance to play in the ACC Championship Game in 2020.

But don’t get used to this. Irish won’t be in ACC beyond this season nor should they be.

I’m sick of the “Notre Dame should join a conference” conversation. Why should they? College football is a business and Notre Dame is a very successful business. They have their own TV deal (NBC), they certainly bring in plenty of revenue, and they can build the schedule as they see fit.

From an entertainment standpoint, Notre Dame annually plays one of the toughest schedules in the country. If you want, they can play an ACC schedule exclusively, but guess what? They’ll dominate the ACC because lately, it’s been bad.

Notre Dame would play 8 (mostly inferior) ACC teams. When the Irish went 12-0 in 2012 and 2018, they beat 10 power 5 schools, en route to the Championship Game/Playoffs.

Who wants to see Notre Dame vs Duke, Georgia Tech, Wake Forest, when you can instead get Notre Dame vs USC, Stanford, Texas, Michigan, Michigan State, Wisconsin.

The other argument for them to join a conference is that they only play 12 games without a conference championship game, which gives them an unfair advantage for the playoffs. Well, Alabama in 2018 and Ohio State in 2017 both made the playoffs with 1-loss and no conference championship victory. Notre Dame had 0 losses and no conference championship victory. What’s the issue, other than jealousy and hatred?

Notre Dame should never join a conference. They should never apologize for their independence, because they are winning in the game of college football. They play the most must-see games and rake in the money. Why change that?

QB Rivalry – Tom Brady vs Drew Brees

 

Tom Brady and Drew Brees are both quarterback legends. Their history against each other is not that lengthy, which is what makes it special. Everytime these two face each other, it feels fresh and unique.

In 8 all-time matchups, Brees is 5-3 against Brady.

Sunday’s NFC Divisional Round playoff game represents the 9th head-to-head matchup and perhaps the final chapter of this rivalry.

Chapter 1 – Michigan vs Purdue

Before Brady was a 6th round pick in the 2000 Draft and Brees was a second round pick in 2001, they overlapped in college in 1998 and 1999. Michigan only played Purdue during the 1999 season.

10/2/1999 – Michigan won 38-12

#4 ranked Michigan snapped Purdue’s 10 game winning streak.

• Brady – 15-25, 250 yards, 2 TD
• Brees – 20-49, 293 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT

Chapter 2 – Patriots vs Chargers

9/29/2002 – Chargers won 21-14

2002 season was the only time the Patriots did not make the playoffs with Brady as the full-time starter (he was injured in 2008). 2002 season was also Brees’ first year as the full-time starter for Chargers. Chargers got off to a 4-0 season thanks to 217 yards rushing from LaDanian Tomlinson.

• Brady – 36-53, 353 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT
• Brees – 10-18, 104 yards, 1 TD

10/2/2005 – Chargers won 41-17

This was an absolutely stunning loss for the Patriots, who had won 21 consecutive games at home. Chargers outscored Patriots 24-0 in the second half.

• Brady 19-32, 224 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
• Brees 19-24, 248 yards, 2 TD

Chapter 3 – Patriots vs Saints

11/30/2009 – Saints won 38-17

Brees’ first start against Brady as a Saint came the year the Saints won the Super Bowl. This was a rare blowout loss for a Brady-led team. 2009 is also the last time Brady played in New Orleans.

• Brady – 21-36, 237 yards, 0 TD, 2 INT
• Brees – 18-23, 371 yards, 5 TD

10/13/2013 – Patriots win 30-27

Brady led a 70 yard drive in the final minute of the game that ended with a game-winning 17 yard touchdown pass to WR Kenbrell Thompkins with :5 seconds remaining.

• Brady – 25-43, 269 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
• Brees – 17-36, 236 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT

9/17/2017 – Patriots won 36-20

After the Patriots lost week 1 to the Chiefs, they came out firing and avoided an 0-2 start….which is exactly what the Saints did. Despite the 0-2 start, New Orleans would win 11 of their next 14 to win the NFC South.

• Brady – 30-39, 447 yards, 3 TD
• Brees – 27-45, 356 yards, 2 TD

Chapter 4 – Bucs vs Saints

After 20 years in New England, Brady is now a Buccaneer and will make his debut against Brees and the Saints in a game featuring the two guys listed #1 and #2 on the all-time passing list.

9/13/2020 – Brady loses Bucs debut

This was the first game in NFL history with two QBs over 41 years old.

Saints beat the Bucs 34-23 in week 1 of the 2020. In his Tampa debut, Brady threw 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions, one of which the Saints defense returned for a touchdown.

11/8/2020 – Brees and Saints embarrass Brady and Bucs

This would be the second game in NFL history with two QBs over 41 years old.

Brees completed 26-32 passes and threw 4 touchdowns, while Tom Brady threw 3 interceptions in a rough 38-3 loss on Sunday Night Football.

Chapter 5 – 2021 Playoffs

1/17/2021 – The Final Chapter?

After going 0-2 during the 2020 regular season, Brady, who leads the NFL all-time in pretty much every category in the playoffs, looks for revenge against Brees. There are rumors that Brees will retire, so could this be his final game?

Brees and Brady represent 2 of 3 QBs all-time to win a playoff game over the age of 40 (Brett Favre is the other). This game will be the first ever between QBs over 40 in the playoffs.

Brady previously won Super Bowl XXXVI in 2002 in New Orleans. He is 2-0 in his playoff career against the NFC South, with Super Bowl wins over the Panthers (XXXVIII) and Falcons (LI).