What are the Playoff Expections for the Indiana Pacers?

The Indiana Pacers come into the weekend winners of six of their last seven games. They have three games left to play in the regular season and can be no worse than the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

As the Pacers surge towards the postseason, the same could be said for the Cleveland Cavaliers and Philadelphia 76ers. The Cavs have won nine of their last ten games and the Sixers have won twelve-straight games. Even though the Pacers have been playing great, they have barely kept up with them. They still have a shot at the third or fourth seed if either team loses the next two or three of their remaining games.

Sportsbooks currently have the Pacers odds of winning the Eastern Conference at 50 to 1 and even longer odds of 175 to 1 of winning their first NBA Championship.

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What Should the UFC do with Conor McGregor?

Conor McGregor is on a rampage.

Every since his boxing match against Floyd Mayweather, the man has been out of his mind. He may have pissed off the Irish Mafia in the process. I guess when you have a couple hundred million in the bank, you let loose a little (or a lot)).

On Thursday, McGregor and his entourage gained access to the backstage area of the Barclays Center while the fighters on UFC 223 were in vans and buses. McGregor (and his entourage) allegedly threw a metal dolly through a van window and either successfully, or at least attempted, to throw other objects like large metal bike racks.

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Let’s Rank Every Wrestlemania Ever!

Wrestlemania is arguably the biggest wrestling event of the year. The WWE goes all-out and tries to give their fans the most exciting show of the year…although not every Wrestlemania is equal.

Let’s face it, the storylines can’t be there every single year. They try to make everything seem larger than life, but sometimes things don’t line up perfectly as they would hope.

Ranking every Wrestlemania ever can be a lofty task as some years the margin is razor-thin and comes down to personal preference. We do our best and feel free to comment where you would rank various Wrestlemanias…but please, please be gentle.

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Sweetbob’s Fantasy Baseball F/M/K – April 1st

We are just a few days into the 2018 baseball season. If you’re playing fantasy baseball, you’re still trying to figure out your roster. Should I cut bait with injured guys? Should I pick up someone who started out red hot?

We look at some players who started out hot, some who are struggling and maybe some guys who should be targeted in your free agent pool on April 1st, 2018.

I’ll be posting a weekly fantasy baseball F/M/K every Sunday this baseball season…so keep coming back!

Before I begin, let’s go over the F/M/K terminology. The guys that I list under “F*ck” are guys that are currently hot and you need to pick them up. “Marry”, are guys that you need to stick with the whole season, even if they are struggling a bit. “Kill”, are guys that need to be dropped for better players in the free agent pool.

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Sweetbob’s Hipster Music Playlist: April 2018

I pumped out so much darn content last month with the NCAA Tournament and all the MLB team previews all falling about the same time. My headphones were glued to my head for most of the month while I was writing.

On top of all the content last month, I tackled the absolute last thing I wanted to do, SEO. It just doesn’t make any sense to me. I just want to ‘do what I do’ on the site, but I guess search engine optimization is a necessary evil when you run a site.

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. Keep sending me tracks via email or Twitter.

If you want to listen to songs that appeared on past playlists, you can listen to our playlist on Spotify or go here to view our past hipster playlists.

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He’s got 99 Problems but Signing Superstars Ain’t One

Saquon Barkley recently signed with Roc Nation Sports agency, the company that was started by world famous rapper, Shawn ‘Jay Z’ Carter. It was a huge acquisition for the organization with Barkley widely considered to be the number one running back prospect ahead of this year’s NFL Draft. If Barkley is selected as top choice, it will be the third time in just four years that the agency has represented the first pick running back in the league. With Jay Z having already conquered the music world, it seems as though he now has his sights set firmly on professional sports, and rising stars from everywhere are lining up to be a part of the Roc Nation team. Let’s take a look at five of the company’s biggest signings to date.  

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2018 MLB Season Preview: Washington Nationals

The Washington Nationals won the NL East for the second-straight year, but fell to the Chicago Cubs in the NLDS. Their starters just didn’t have a very good series and they were rocked.

The Nationals didn’t make many moves this offseason as they are most likely saving their money to re-sign star outfielder Bryce Harper. Will that hurt them this season? I don’t see it being a huge issue, but if they do trade for a starter this season, they may look to only acquire a rental with no salary obligation next season.

Washington dealt with injuries to Adam Eaton early last season and both Trea Turner and Bryce Harper missed 50+ games each. They still won 97 games. As long as they stay healthy, they should be one of the best teams in the National League.

Here is the 2018 MLB season preview for the Washington Nationals.

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2018 MLB Season Preview: Toronto Blue Jays

The Toronto Blue Jays had down season in 2016. They keep adding to their lineup and some of their young pitchers are slowly developing into consistent hurlers.

Two seasons ago, the Blue Jays arguably had the best offenses in baseball. Their lineup was loaded with power hitters who contended for homer run titles. They lost Edwin Encarnacion and struggled last season. They also lost Jose Bautista this offseason, which could further put a strain on the offense.

Toronto added some new faces in the lineup, but can they hang with the other offensive juggernauts in the AL East?

Here is the 2018 MLB season preview for the Toronto Blue Jays.

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2018 MLB Season Preview: Texas Rangers

The Texas Rangers manager Jeff Banister won the AL West in his first two seasons at the helm. They fell behind a few teams in their division and now find themselves near the bottom of the preseason predictions.

They have some explosive bats on offense and has gotten by with their pitching. Their bullpen has actually been very good have bailed out the back-end of their rotation many times a year ago. They will need to be great this season as the back-end of the rotation is bowling shoe ugly.

Can Mike Minor and Tim Lincecum end up being two of the smartest signings last offseason?

Here is the 2018 MLB season preview for the Texas Rangers.

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2018 MLB Season Preview: Tampa Bay Rays

The Tampa Bay Rays have been busy shipping talent all over the country. The deals haven’t always made sense, but they just started a full rebuild, so not everything will make immediate sense. They are now playing the long game.

The Rays have a nice run with all the homegrown talent they matured. Even though it was a tough decision, it was time to trade franchise star Evan Longoria. The same could be said for ace Chris Archer. Tampa Bay should receive a nice haul of prospects for the flamethrower.

Here is the 2018 MLB season preview for the Tampa Bay Rays.

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2018 MLB Season Preview: St. Louis Cardinals

For the second time since 2010, the St. Louis Cardinals found themselves sitting at home watching the playoffs. They still won 83 games, but fell four games shy of the second Wild Card spot in the National League.

The Cardinals come into this season with a youthful rotation and starting lineup. They keep adding talent from their farm system…and they keep getting better as they gain experience. Which new faces will come up big for the Cardinals this season?

The St. Louis do enough this offseason to contend with the Chicago Cubs?

Here is the 2018 MLB season preview for the St Louis Cardinals.

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2018 MLB Season Preview: Seattle Mariners

The Seattle Mariners just keep adding speed and power to a fun offense to watch. Unfortunately, they are in a stacked AL West, so they need to keep adding arms and bats to keep up with the Joneses.

 

Seattle GM Jerry DiPoto has been one of the most active general managers since taking over control in late-2015. He keeps the Mariners in the conversation and has made large trades (Dee Gordon) and small trades that could pay dividends this season (Ryon Healy).

Can Seattle make the playoffs for the first time since 2001?

Here is the 2018 MLB season preview for the Seattle Mariners.

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