One of the most difficult things to do in all of sports is to correctly predict which teams will re¬ceive at-large bids to the Men’s NCAA Tournament. By now everyone knows teams like North Carolina, Connecticut, Duke, Pittsburgh, UCLA, Oklahoma and Michigan State are locks to be danc¬ing in March. The true madness though comes from teams that were either not expected to make the tournament at some point during the season or snuck in at the last minute due to an impres¬sive run in the conference tournament or upset win over a nationally ranked opponent. If you are looking for teams capable of springing a first round upset you have come to the right place. Read the rest of this entry »

Camel wrestling, which is legal in Turkey, has a rich, celebrated cultural history in this region and can definitively trace its roots back several centuries. Despite how it may sound, this sport is much less cruel than other types of animal fights – rarely is a camel actually hurt in the skirmish.

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Like most of the weirder sports I’ve encountered, this one also comes from Merry Old England. Primarily practiced in Suffolk and Sus¬sex, England, Dwile Flonking has been clearly documented since the mid 1960s, although some scholarly commentary suggests the game could have its origins from as early as the 16th Century. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s sort of like that movie Fight Club… sort of.

Some sports require vast amounts of mental preparation and strat­egy. Some sports require signifi­cant physical endurance and strength. Chess boxing requires both. That’s right. Chess boxing.

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Temperatures are slowly dropping, leaves are beginning to turn and the end of September’s yellow jacket invasion is swiftly dissipating. Fall is here, and for baseball fans that only means one thing – the playoffs are here again. For Chicago Cubs fans, this is the second year in a row they have made it to the playoffs, the first time since 1907-08. Cubs fans carry a heavy burden, as their team has not won the World Series since 1908.

looking for their first. The Tampa Bay Rays have stormed through the regular season accomplishing many firsts for the young franchise that has been in the American League East’s cellar for most of their existence. The young talent of rookie third basemen Evan Longoria, combined with the veteran leadership of designated hitter Cliff Floyd, have vaulted the Rays to their first playoffs in franchise history.

missing the playoffs for the first time since 1993.

In the AL Central, the Chicago White Sox are looking for a repeat of their 2005 success. The White Sox will have the toughest road to travel in the AL, coming in with the worst record of the four. Young pitching and timely hitting, thanks to manager Ozzie Guillen’s July rant, has been the recipe for success on the South Side.

Out west, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim hold the best record in the majors. Angels closer Francisco Rodriguez broke the single-season mark for saves by accumulating 61, four more than the previous mark. The National League is packed with talented teams looking to march through October and on to the World Series.

record in the NL and were the first team to clinch. Manager Lou Piniella has his pitching staff headed in the right direction at the right time. Ace Carlos Zambrano and pitcher Ted Lilly are coming off a no-hitter and one-hitter respectively. General Manager Jim Hendry bolstered the lineup by picking up outfielders Jim Edmonds and Reed Johnson and pitcher Rich Harden. The Cubs have scored the most runs in the majors behind the offense of Alfonso Soriano and Aramis Ramirez. Their offense along with their pitching has transformed the Cubs from the “Lovable Losers” into the favorites in the NL. The Philadelphia Phillies have two former NL MVPs on their roster, shortstop Jimmy Rollins and first basemen Ryan Howard. Howard leads the majors with 46 homeruns and 141 runs batted in.

The other New York team, the Mets, come into the playoffs with a different manager than they started with, and a bullpen that has been beaten up, to say the least. Perennial All-Stars Jose Reyes, David Wright and Carlos Beltran, with the addition of pitcher Johan Santana make New York a team not to be overlooked. Reyes, always a threat to steal, had over 200 hits this season, only the second player to do so in a Mets uniform.

play of outfielder Manny Ramirez, who is already third on the team with 16 home runs. Veteran pitchers Derek Lowe, Brad Penney and Greg Maddux have each won a World Series and provide balance and leadership in the clubhouse. Not to mention manager Joe Torre’s experience is unparalleled to any other manager in the majors. This will also be Torre’s 14th consecutive post season as a manager, but his first with the Dodgers.

By Eric Gettemy, Executive Editor
There are times in the grand history of sport where events simply transcend everyday prose and enter into the world of poetry. For me, this year’s Super Bowl fits nicely into that category. On Feb. 3, 2008, NFL fans of all stripes came together with the common dream of watching the dastardly Patriots lose. It happened. It was beautiful.

Tom lives with a monkey
It is Red, White, and Blue
Shipped straight from New York
Eli made sure it got through

Tom is 18-0
and 0-1 when it matters
A Super imperfection
has left him in tatters

Perhaps evil genius Belichick
who stomped off the field early
should tend to the monkey…
Nah, he is much too surly.

Although, Belichick should have known
the monkey was his fate
Evidently, he didn’t catch a glimpse of it
during Operation Spygate

State to state, across the nation,
talking heads said Tom would get number four
“He’s the next Montana” was the chorus
It turned out to be an insurmountable chore

Now Tom sits on the beach, inconsolable…
He watches Gisele proceed with her fanning
Maybe he should think twice, the next time
He overlooks a Manning

Even late, he went for it
Fourth down and all
He threw it as far as he could
only to watch it fall

To the ground, the ball crashed
NYC erupted.
At least the Lombardi Trophy
went to a team uncorrupted

And so the greatest team that ever was
became the greatest team that never was
in sixty minutes on a Sunday.
No need to look for the cause.

By: Eric Gettemy, Executive Editor

We all know who the winners are because they are the ones wearing the rings, hoisting the trophies, or have DVDs for free with a paid subscription to Sports Illustrated (which of course you have no use for because you get The Forum for free!).  However, who is at the opposite end of the spectrum?  Who is the anti-champion?  It can’t simply be the team that came in last place or has the worst statistics.  That really doesn’t tell the whole story. 

It is like saying the champion is the team with the best record or the best statistics.  We know this not be the case.  In fact, in most instances, the “Champion” is the team that makes things happen at the right times.  Therefore, the Anti-Champions are the teams which (A) Don’t make things happen at the right times AND (B) Were in a objectively reasonable position to be a Champion to begin with.  Obviously, if this analysis would stop at A, you could include roughly every team in every sport at some point during the season. 

The real turning point is, what are the teams that actually shoulda woulda coulda, and did not.  So, being an Anti-Champion is a rather dubious distinction, but it isn’t the worst thing in the world.  A team could just be terrible, at which point they would become ineligible to be an Anti-Champion.  Which is worse, well, that is up to you.  

The Anti-Champions of Baseball:

This one has been a hot race as the Cubs, Mets, and Yankees are all great contenders.  However, I think when all is said and done (and it is) the Mets pull this one off. 

The Yankees bring a lot to the table, but I have to say its all a little redundant.  The Yankees again spent nearly $200 million on their squad this past year, and yet, fell short.  This is nothing new.  Some salaries that, at this point, become comical are Jason Giambi’s $23.5 million, Bobby Abreu’s $15.6 million, Mike Mussina’s $11 million, and Kyle Farnsworth (Who? A mediocre middle reliever/setup guy) at $5.6 million.  Yes, they are in the most profitable market in the game and have it to spend, but to spend it on these guys…really?  With this kind of contract negotiation you have to wonder if the AARP has a lobbyist inside the GM’s staff. 

Yea sure, the Yankees signed them when they were younger, but apparently they didn’t bring an abacus with them to determine that Giambi would eventually be 37 years old and making roughly a tenth of the payroll while platooning at first base with Shelley Duncan.  Even so, despite their best efforts at championship futility, mere boardroom miscalculation is not enough to earn the coveted Anti-Championship.  It must be coupled with a healthy mix of a strong collective negative self-fulling prophecy urge and several in-game managerial and/or team meltdowns. 

I would say the Cubs satisfy this fairly well being that next year we can all celebrate an entire century of the Cubs not winning a championship.  In fact, the Cubs tend to personify the self fulfilling prophecy prong of the Anti-Championship analysis.  But, all things considered, they did mount a comeback to swipe the division championship from the Brewers this year to even get into the playoffs.  Thus, you can’t really consider their loss in the playoffs to be a meltdown, when they barely made it in to begin with.  Also, the Cubs displayed competent coaching from Lou Pinella and had a solid showing from a young pitching staff.  Taken as a whole, I think these facts tend to preclude to Cubs from being anti-champions, and move them into, dare I say, the “contender” category.  Even so Cubs fans, don’t pound the Old Style just yet, because being a contender means that with a strong showing next year, they are also in the running for the Anti-Championship.  

Finally, the moment you’ve been waiting for: The Crowning of Baseball’s Anti-Champion of 2007.  Congratulations Mets.  You’ve managed to have the third highest payroll in baseball, a team full of stars, and still had one of the worst collapses in baseball history.  The Mets went 5-11 in their last 16 games of the season to relinquish the division to the Phillies by one game, and subsequently missed the playoffs.  All this after the 2006 performance of coming one game away from the World Series.  Simply devastating. 

The Anti-Champions of Basketball: 

The Dallas Mavericks are your 2007 Anti-Champions.  This team led the league in wins with 67 only to be thoroughly disposed of in the first round by a team that hasn’t made the playoffs since 1994, the Golden State Warriors.  The score of the final game in this series was 111-86.  It also should be noted that Mavs owner Mark Cuban is no slouch when it comes to the payroll either.  Thus, not only did the Mavericks become the 2007 Anti-Champions of Basketball, they set the precedent forevermore of what we look for in our Anti-Champions.  The Mavs could win the next three NBA championships, and people will still remember when they lost in 2007. 

The Anti-Champions of Hockey:

This has been really difficult.  The 2007 NHL playoffs proceeded was one of the most predictable in recent memory.  Nearly all the top seeded teams beat the lower seeded teams throughout the playoffs.  There were no collapses, there were no meltdowns.  Be that as it may, there is a championship to be awarded and an article to write.  Thus, the Detroit Red Wings are your 2007 Anti-Champions of Hockey.  But they fared well in the playoffs, and even lost in the western conference finals in game 6.  That they did.  However, you just can’t go around and call your city “HockeyTown USA” and expect not to set yourself up for an Anti-Championship.  The burden is on Detroit once they hold themselves out to be the be-all-end-all of hockey to win.  If they don’t, welcome to the Anti-Championship, the Forum Sports eqivalent of the 2nd showcase showdown in the Price is Right.  Enjoy your Foreman Grill and random camping equipment Detroit!

Anti-Champions of the NFL:

It saddens me to admit that the Steelers will have to be the 2007 Anti-Champions.  You simply cannot go 8-8 after winning the Super Bowl.  Also, you shouldn’t ride motorcycles into car windshields when you are the starting quarterback for an NFL team.  I believe this is covered at every mini-camp, or it should be from now on.  However, there is a silver lining to it all, and that is the Colts finally got to win the Super Bowl when they didn’t have to play the Steelers.  

In the September issue of The Forum I made the following predictions for this year’s NFL standings. * indicates a possibility (reasonable, not mathematical) of finishing as predicted. ** indicates a probability of finishing as predicted. 

 I guess my predictions weren’t terribly off the mark. However, there are some surprises this year. The NFC north is emerging as by the far the most unpredictable and the most interesting division in football. Obviously, in Green Bay, Brett Favre has shown he has something left (either that or defenses are showing they don’t care to cover the deep routes during the last plays of the game), and the Green Bay defense has come along nicely.

Even so, there is still no dominant running back and you have to wonder if you really want to depend on Brett Favre (legendary as he may be) to win every game in the final minute, especially in the playoffs. Are the people of Wisconsin with their high-fat diet and fried cheese milkshakes ready to sustain such a suspenseful playoff run? Keep the defibrillators ready!

Don’t give up on the Bears just yet. The Grossman era appears to be over, and Brian Griese seems to be earning the confidence of his receivers. The defense has been questionable at times, but I anticipate a renewed vigor after their bye week. Also, the implementation of Hester in the passing game has been key in some victories this year. The Bears will likely find some more creative ways to use Hester. Minnesota will live and die with Adrian Peterson, this year’s breakout player and rookie sensation. They also have Chester Taylor healthy which will allow them to keep Peterson fresh the whole game. The defense has also been effective at times and if this team can put it all together, they could be playing for a wildcard spot. Although, it is far more likely they will be playing the role of spoiler in the NFC north.

The Lions have been especially impressive this year, but they need to protect QB Kitna better to be a legitimate threat deep in the playoffs. They are my favorite in the NFC north though, as I see them edging out Green Bay by one game. However, Green Bay should make the playoffs with a wildcard.

Playoff Predictions AFC: The Byes are going to go to New England and Indianapolis. Granted, this may not be the boldest statement one could make at this point, but my reasoning has more to do with the schedule more than anything the teams have merited. Both Indy and New England have relatively easy schedules to finish the year, and there is simply not enough talent (in terms of the records) in the AFC to compete for a bye.

Short of Pittsburgh winning the rest of their schedule, including a December match up against the Patriots, there is no real threat to either of these teams in the regular season. However, don’t be too sure these two to meet in the AFC Championship, as the AFC is fairly strong, despite the records, and playoff football is surely a different game than during the season.

Thus, the non-bye division winners will be Pittsburgh and San Diego. The AFC Wildcards will be Tennessee and Denver.

NFC: The byes are going to Dallas and Detroit. At last, here lies the bold statement. I really like Detroit with a healthy Kevin Jones as he gives them a balanced approach to their offense which they desperately needed. I would venture to guess that their offensive line struggles which have been a heavy burden this year could be remedied by keeping defenses off-balance with a consistent and effective running attack.

This, coupled with an intuitive notion that Green Bay will falter late due to their youthful inexperience, will get Detroit into a bye position. The non-bye division winners will be New Orleans and Arizona. New Orleans will put things together and finish strong. I see Arizona struggling but being able to put a few key wins together to edge out a weak NFC west by a game or so. The Wildcards will go to Green Bay and New York.