2014 MLB Team Preview: Cleveland Indians

Did anyone see the Cleveland Indians making the playoffs last season? If you did, you were either on drugs or had too many Great Lakes Christmas Ales. We all knew the Detroit Tigers would win the division and Minnesota would be in the basement. The Indians, Royals and White Sox were all interchangeable. No team was expected to beat out any AL West or AL East team for a Wild-Card spot.

New manager Terry Francona had a chip on his shoulder for the way things ended in Boston. He turned things around in a hurry, but did things happen too fast?

Front offices get playoff drunk and make poor decisions. Once a team makes the playoffs after a drought, they assume they’ll be playing in October every year. If they fail to make the playoffs this season, would Francona be on the hot seat?

Can a starting rotation with Justin Masterson as their #1 starter, be taken seriously? Will John Axford last the entire season as their closer?

Here is the 2014 MLB season preview for the Cleveland Indians.

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2014 MLB Team Preview: Cincinnati Reds

The Cincinnati Reds have been NL Central contenders for the last few years, but Pittsburgh emerged and St. Louis doesn’t seem to have an off-year. They lost Shin-Soo Choo and Bronson Arroyo to free agency and didn’t do much in free agency.

Their biggest offseason move was firing Dusty Baker. They hired pitching coach Bryan Price as their new skipper. He’s an experienced and heralded pitching coach, but this will be his first season as a manager.

The Reds will rely heavily on Jay Bruce and Joey Votto to drive in runs this season. They also need Todd Frazier to bounce back from a forgettable 2013 season. It’s not much to ask since he looked like a future All-Star his rookie season.

Super prospect Billy Hamilton is expected to be on the Opening Day roster. He is one of the best base runners in all of baseball, but is expected to have issues getting on base. Will he succeed or end up in the minors at some point?

Here is the 2014 MLB season preview for the Cincinnati Reds.

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2014 MLB Team Preview: Chicago White Sox

It’s going to be a long season for Chicago baseball teams. We all know the Cubs were in a performance lull, but the White Sox fell from AL Central contenders to the division basement in 2013.

Chicago made a big splash this offseason by trading Addison Reed to Arizona for young hitters Adam Eaton and Matt Davidson. They also signed Jose Abreu, possibly the best hitter to come out of Cuba in a long time (sorry Yoenis Cespedes).

Adam Dunn and Paul Konerko both look near the end of their careers. Do they have one final elite season in them or are they running on fumes?

Will Robin Ventura last the entire season as manager?

Here is the 2014 MLB season preview for the Chicago White Sox.

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2014 MLB Team Preview: Chicago Cubs

The Chicago Cubs are in the middle of a long-term rebuilding plan. They are building the team through the draft and their farm system is now one of the best in baseball. Many of those prospects are still a year away, so many Cubs fans are already looking ahead to the 2015 season.

Expect the Cubs roster to looks drastically different by the end of the season. Jeff Samardzija may even be traded before the season begins.

New manager Rick Renteria takes over a team of mostly cheap role players keeping seats warm until Javier Baez, Jorge Soler and Kris Bryant are ready to appear in the Majors.

Can Starlin Castro regain his All-Star form? Will Anthony Rizzo make a leap forward and become a better all-around hitter?

Here is the 2014 MLB season preview for the Chicago Cubs.

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2014 MLB Team Preview: Boston Red Sox

Boston went from worst to first to win the World Series. It’s hard to believe that this time last year, we were still talking about ‘chicken and beer’. Manager John Farrell turned around the team at a wicked fast rate.

The Red Sox now have a target on their backs. They will get the best effort from their opponents in every game. The Yankees and Rays are extra hungry to knock off the defending champs.

Xander Bogaerts, Jackie Bradley Jr. and Will Middlebrooks, players who have yet to live up to their hype, will be asked to play everyday. Is Boston asking too much?

Here is the 2014 MLB season preview for the Boston Red Sox.

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Sweetbob’s Hipster Music Playlist: March 2014

I decided to super-size this month’s playlist with 15 songs. March is when a lot of bands start releasing new music. Many of the songs this month also have great videos. Make sure you check out Big Data’s music video for “Dangerous”, it has one of the oddest storylines in a music video ever.

I always keep an ear out for new music. I love discovering new bands/songs, it’s a habit from my days as a music journalist. Even though this is mostly a sports blog, I still add quite a bit of music and pop culture content.

I have been called a hipster on more than one occasion. I like indie music more than any other genre of music. Don’t get me wrong, I can rock out to Richard Marx or Ace of Base (depending on the amount of alcohol in my system).

Here are 15 new indie songs I’m currently listening to. All of the songs are fresh and most have only been released within the last two months.

Your ears will thank you for listening!

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2014 MLB Team Preview: Baltimore Orioles

It must be difficult being an AL East team not in Boston or New York. Baltimore have tried to build through the draft and sign cheap veterans to add depth, but they can barely hang with the pack. They were hoping to build off their 2012 Wild Card berth and compete for the division, but the Red Sox and Rays were the cream of the division.

2013 wasn’t completely forgettable. Chris Davis became one of the best power hitters in the game and Manny Machado showed why he was one of the top prospects in the game.

Boston and New York rearranged some of their pieces this offseason. If they get off to a slow start, can Baltimore build an early lead in the AL East?

Here is the 2014 MLB season preview for the Baltimore Orioles.

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2014 MLB Team Preview: Atlanta Braves

The Atlanta Braves are coming off a successful regular season, but disappointed in the playoffs. Their big acquisition of Justin Upton last offseason didn’t pay off immediately. They struggled offensively in stretches, but was bailed out by their pitching.

The Braves lost starting pitchers Tim Hudson and Paul Malholm to free agency then lost Kris Medlan and Brandon Beachy with elbow injuries. Newly-signed Ervin Santana & Gavin Floyd will help fill the need, but it will be an uphill battle.

The Braves spent the offseason signing all their young talent to contract extensions. They lost Brian McCann to the Yankees and didn’t sign any impact bats to fill their on-base needs.

Will the Braves repeat as NL East champs?

Here is the 2014 MLB season preview for the Atlanta Braves.

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2014 MLB Team Preview: Arizona Diamondbacks

All the moves Arizona made last offseason didn’t do much for their record. They finished the season 81-81 in back-to-back seasons. They even traded their ace Ian Kennedy at the trade deadline.

This offseason, they once again completed one of the biggest offseason trades. They landed outfielder Mark Trumbo and closer Addison Reed, but had to give up one of the top outfield prospects Adam Eaton.

The NL West is improved with the Dodgers becoming a powerhouse and the Giants have all their guys back from injury. It will be difficult for Arizona to hang with those clubs.

Can manager Kirk Gibson push his team and overachieve?

Can Martin Prado bounce back from a ho-hum 2013 campaign?

Here is the 2014 MLB season preview for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

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Best 15 Pay-Per-Views Available on WWE Network Right Now

The WWE Network has finally launched. The launch wasn’t exactly smooth. Xbox 360 doesn’t quite work yet, but all other platforms seem to be functioning now. It took a few hours for me to get through to buy it. MLB Advanced Media is in charge of the streaming and everything on the back end. They released a statement and said they never planned for the amount of first day subscribers. This caused the issues they are still sorting out.

Well, for those who put down $9.99, you have nearly the entire WWE, WCW & ECW pay-per-view library at your fingertips. It’s a bit overwhelming at first, so we try to make it easier on you and pick out the best 15 PPVs currently available to stream on the WWE Network.

We had to narrow down the list from 30-40 to give you the best of the best. This list is in no particular order, but Macho Man vs. Ricky Steamboat on Wrestlemania III is a must-see.

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Betting on Who Will Win The NHL This Season

NHL ice hockey is noted for being a somewhat physically brutal spectacle at times, but trying to pick a side to win it this season may be almost as mentally brutal for sports betting fans. After all, at this point in the 2013/14 season, at least four or five teams are almost impossible to choose between, as the Penguins, Blackhawks, Bruins and Ducks are all displaying Stanley Cup-winning form in their various divisions. The bookmakers can find little to divide these sides in terms of quality either, so exactly who should you lay your wagers on?

If you were going purely on divisional performances, then perhaps the Penguins should be your pick – as their sixteen point advantage in the Metropolitan one shows just how much they are outclassing the other sides. None of the three other teams have a lead of this magnitude, but the Blackhawks are arguably the strongest overall side, having won Conference and Cup last year, and kept most of the players who did so. Continue reading →

The 20 Best Punk Rock Songs of All-Time

I’ve been a fan of punk music since my teenage years. I would buy all of Epitaph’s “Punk-O-Rama” mixtapes and would listen to just about anything considered punk. I was more interested in the bands at the time (Rancid, NOFX, Millencolin, etc), but I ventured deeper into the history of punk music.

Punk music has went from counterculture to a genre the recording industry machine uses to sell the ‘punk culture’ to teenagers. Joey Ramone would not have approved of this.

We list the best 20 punk rock songs of all-time by 20 different bands…we also post YouTube videos of every song on the list. This list is just as good as slots online win real money, guys…so enjoy!

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