kenwo42

In my opinion late March and early April is quite possibly the best time of year in the sporting world. You have the NBA and NHL seasons coming down to the wire, you have the NFL draft and offseason in full swing, you have the NCAA tournament in full force, you have spring hopes for 30 franchises as the baseball season gets underway, and last but not least, you have the Grandaddy of them all Wrestlemania! This is one of the only times of the year that fans of every sport have something going on. Last year I attended Wrestlemania in Detroit and took a plane back the next morning to go see the White Sox open their season against the Indians. I was on cloud 9...well at least until Jose Contreras got hit hard and that opening day set the tone for the entire season. Nonetheless, that was one of the greatest 24 hour periods in sports I have ever had. The greatest being when I attended the Bulls championship rally followed by the first ever White Sox vs. Cubs regular season game (that didn't go well either....damn Jaime Navarro!), and then after the game I made the journey complete with a trip to the United Center to see World Championship Wrestling's Monday Nitro. The nWo was in full force back then and Dennis Rodman was on hand with Hulk Hogan for a great night of wrestling.

In this edition of the Extravaganza I will make my Wrestlemania predictions. The show takes place on Sunday March 30th in Orlando Florida. The show is shaping up to be a pretty good card with the highlights being the Undertaker vs. Edge, John Cena vs. Randy Orton vs. Triple H in a three way dance for the WWE title, the possible retirement match of Ric Flair and the mainstream media match between Floyd Mayweather and The Big Show.

Money in the Bank Ladder Match- The MITB match has become a staple of Wrestlemania and allows younger guys the opportunity to jump from the mid card to the main event level. Edge and Rob Van Damn have both accomplished this. This year you have MVP, Ken Kennedy, CM Punk, Chris Jericho, John Morrison, Shelton Benjamin and Carlito vying for the chance to win the contract for a match versus any champion. There are a couple of ways the WWE could go in this one. Kennedy won the event last year before losing the contract to Edge and he seems primed to win it again. Kennedy has been on the cusp of main event status and a good showing here might just get him there. Chris Jericho might be the one to win it because he made a come back that wasn't so great of a come back and this may be what he needs to get him to where he should have been a couple of months ago. Jericho is one of the most talented wrestlers on the roster and is also one of the most charismatic superstars the industry has to offer. He has recently won the Intercontinental Championship and seems to be getting on a role. My pick to win is MVP. I think he has the opportunity to jump up to main event status and become the next major star the company has. MVP has been a great worker, a U.S. champion and very entertaining for over a year now. To me MVP just seems poised to make the jump. While Jericho is the safe pick I think the WWE needs to go with MVP.

Umaga Vs. Batista in battle for brand superiority- The background of this match is Smackdown's general manager Vicki Guerrero and Raw's general manager William Regal picked a wrestler off of their roster to see who has the best brand. I think Batista will win this match and it will be a very good match with a lot of hard hitting. Umaga has become a real nice wrestler who plays his roll as a monster perfectly. Umaga got the best of Batista on a recent Smackdown but I find it hard to believe that he will be victorious over Batista at Wrestlemania. Smackdown wins this battle.

JBL vs. Finlay in a Belfast Brawl- This match kind of got thrown together to end the story line of Hornswaggle as Vince McMahons midget bastard son. JBL came out and said he discovered that Hornswaggle is really Finlay's son and he is going to make him pay for deceiving McMahon. It will probably be a bloody match with the use of a lot of weapons and the winner, in my opinion, will be Finlay.

24 man battle royal- The winner of the 24 man over the top rope battle royal will go on to challenge ECW champion Chavo Guerrero for his title in the same night. This will probably be a very fast paced match with a lot of eliminations early. I can't see too much time being devoted to this match up. Barring any surprise entrants into the match I think your winner will be the Big Red Machine Kane. Kane has the most recognition, the coolest entrance and is the most logical choice to end up being the last man in the ring come Mania night.

Kane vs. Chavo Guerrero ECW championship- I think Chavo will win this match since Kane has gone through a battle royal. Chavo will probably cheat to win which will then set up a nice feud between the two for a couple of months.

Bunnymania match between Beth Phoenix and Melina vs. playboy cover girls Ashley and Maria- Snoop Dogg will be on hand during this match as this match will be a filler between a couple of big matches on the card. If this was any other time of the year the much more talented team of Melina and Beth Phoenix would dominate, but since Maria's playboy is currently on the shelf I think there is no doubt that somehow Maria and Ashley will wind up victorious. Hopefully they are wearing revealing outfits at least.

Shawn Michaels vs. Ric Flair- If Flair loses he is forced to retire. Vince Mcmahon told Flair a few months ago that the next match you lose will be your last. Since then Flair has defeated all challengers including MVP, Kennedy and McMahon himself. Everyone is expecting Flair to lose this match and retire on the biggest stage of them all. I am not so sure, however. I think that Flair will wind up victorious in his final Wrestlemania which would come as a huge surprise to everyone. Flair will then go on to lose at the next pay per view but it will give him one last giant moment in the sun at Mania.

Floyd Mayweather vs. Big Show- This match has the chance to be a disaster. Usually celebrities win when they make guest appearances and I don't think this will be any different. Somehow Mayweather will come out on top. Considering the size difference between the two-300 lbs and 1 1/2 ft- it could be awful for the career of Big Show when he loses. How can he compete against the likes of Undertaker, Batista, HHH, Cena and Orton if he can't even beat a 155 lb boxer. This match really needs to be creatively booked in order to not make him look absolutely pathetic. It has served its purpose at getting main stream attention put on Wrestlemania however. I just feel bad for the Show if he loses.

Edge vs. Undertaker for the World Championship- I think this has the ability to be the match of the night. Undertaker has never lost at Wrestlemania and usually puts on a wonderful match. I predict that both of those trends will continue. Undertaker will extend his winning streak to 16-0 and will take the championship for the second straight year. Edge has also become just an outstanding wrestler over the past few years and will undoubtedly put on a quality match. I absolutely see Edge winning the championship back before SummerSlam but at mania that title will be taken back to the darkside.

Randy Orton vs. John Cena vs. HHH for the WWE title- I am kind of disappointed in this being a three way match but there really wasn't any other option. Orton has earned his main event status and has been, in my opinion, an excellent champion. Cena's return from his injury at the Royal Rumble meant that he was to be included in the main event at Mania and HHH coming off of his missing Wrestlemania last year was also going to be in the match. Orton has done a wonderful job as champ as I stated earlier but I think his run ends here. Cena was champion for a long time before Orton was. I think it is time for another run of HHH as champion, like it or not. HHH is victorious here and will enjoy a long run as WWE champion. I am sure this match will be well put together and will be very entertaining.

I think this Wrestlemania on paper looks pretty good but once the event starts I think it will be outstanding. The whole company seems to get up for Wrestlemania more than any other event and in that venue with 70,000 in attendance I think it will be an outstanding show.

Then on Monday the White Sox will repay the Indians for last years beat down and everything in the world of Coach Ken will be outstanding!

Just remember, when you are nWo- it's 4 LIFE!

AL West-

Angels 100-62- The Angels are well coached, have good balance on offense and have lights out pitching.

Mariners 90-72- The Mariners are on the rise and with the addition of Bedard to an already solid rotation should continue their upswing.

A's 72-90- Got rid of their top pitcher (Haran) and their heart and soul (Swisher) but still will finish better than the Rangers

Rangers- 65-97- This is one of the worst franchises in sports right up there with the Clippers. They need pitching. They don't have any. No starter in their rotation will get 12 wins.

AL Central-

White Sox- 94-68- Yes this is my favorite team. But I am usually hard on them. I think they have made great improvements offensively and defensively. The one question mark is the starting pitching, but I think Jose Contreras will have a good season and Gavin Floyd will be suprisingly solid. The addition of Bartolo Colon gives them a veteran to plug in just in case. Jenks, Linebrink and Dotel make for a strong back end to the pen. The offense will be solid with Cabrerra, Swisher, Thome, Dye, Konerko and Pierzynski. Their young players ,Fields and Owens, will continue to build off of their 2nd half of 2007. Suprise team.

Tigers- 89-73- The Tigers made a big splash early with Edgar Renteria and Miguel Cabrerra which will give them a great offense. However, I think they will not overcome a lackluster starting rotation that has question marks with Rogers, Willis, Bonderman and Robertson. The bullpen also has its fair share of worries. Will Zumaya come back? If he does will he be his old self? Todd Jones? Fernando Rodney? I am not sold on the Tigers.

Indians 86-76- Sabathia's contract situation is going to hurt this team. I don't think the Indians will be able to match what they did last year. The bullpen with Borowski as the closer will not survive like it did somehow last year. After Sizemore and Martinez the hitting is a question mark. Indians will be good but not good enough. They needed to make a stronger offseason push and fell way short.

Twins- 76-86- The departure of Hunter and the trade of Santana will hurt the Twins this season. They did aquire Delmon Young, however, but their staff is in shambles with the loss of Garza, Silva and Santana. This will be a short lived bad run for the Twins, however, as they will vastly improve by 2010.

Royals- 72-90- The Royals remain a below average club. They spend money on the wrong people, they develop talent that doesn't materialize, and they belong with the Rangers as one of the worst franchises in sports.

AL East-

Red Sox 105-57-The Red Sox are the top dogs in baseball again. The rotation is strong, the offense is strong and the bullpen is strong. There are no holes on this team from top to bottom. They get huge hits when they need them. They are the Yankees of the 90s. And they make me sick, but it is what it is. Another east title for the BoSox.

Toronto Blue Jays- 91- 71- The Blue Jays are your A.L. wild card winners in 2008. Vernon Wells will come back to form. A good Wells teamed with Alex Rios, Frank Thomas, Aaron Hill and a healthy Scott Rolen give the Blue Jays a very formidable offense. The pitching is there as well with Roy Halladay, AJ Burnett and youngsters Shaun Marcum and Dustin McGowan. The bullpen is solid with BJ Ryan eyeing an early return, Jeremy Accardo and Casey Jansen.

NY Yankees- 85-77- The Yankees tough year is still a good year for most teams in the league with 85 wins. Joe Girardi will find it a tough go in his first season in the Bronx. The rotation is filled with question marks after Wang. The steroid scandal teamed with aging stars and big contracts will leave the Yankees out of the playoffs for the first time in a long time.

Tampa Bay Rays- 77-85- The Rays are improving. They have pretty decent, young starting pitching. They found themselves a closer in Percival, they have good young players at most positions. Their long relief and the lack of a solid veteran or two will leave the Rays under .500 again, but this isn't the same Rays team that had no shot against your local high school team like a few seasons ago.

Baltimore Orioles- 64-98- It is a shame how far the Orioles have fallen. By trading away Bedard they have lost their only consistant starter they have had in the last 10 years. The bullpen is a mess without Ray and Baez. They have noone to replace Tejada in the lineup. It is a miracle that they will not lose 100 games and the only reason they won't is because Nick Markakis is that good of a ballplayer. They will probably trade him too. Look for the Orioles to compete in the year 2015.

NL East-

N.Y. Mets 96-66- Despite that God awful collapse at the end of the year, the addition of Johan Santana will make people forget about that. Santana along with John Maine and El Duque give the Mets a solid rotation. Reyes, David Wright and Carlos Beltran will put up great numbers. They may win more games if Carlos Delgado proves he can hit on a more consistent basis in 08.

Philidelphia Phillies- 90-72- Not enough in the rotation to match the Mets. Still have a great offensive club, but the loss of Rowand will hurt. Brad Lidge will help the bullpen and 90 wins is nothing to be disappointed with, but the Phillies will be home in October.

Atlanta Braves- 80-82- Tom Glavine was a nice signing for the Braves, but the loss of Renteria and Andruw Jones will leave the Braves hurting for the first half of 2008. They will improve after the break but not enough to make it to .500.

Washington Nationals- 72- 90- Their solid bullpen will keep them out of last place in the NL East in 08. They also have some pretty solid outfielders in Elijah Dukes, Lastings Millege. They have a decent bench with Nick Johnson, Willie Harris, Aaron Boone and Rob Mackowiak (even though I can't stand him). Their starting pitching is awful though so 4th place is as high as the Nationals will rise. They will ,however, have a better record than their Beltway rival Orioles. Rough year for DC/Maryland baseball.

Florida Marlins- 69- 93- They will struggle finding their way without their leaders- Cabrerra and Willis, however the Marlins are at the beginning of another upswing they will result in at least a playoff run in the near future. Unlike the rest of the last place teams the Marlins have a bright future ahead of them with Maybin, Ramirez, Andrew Miller, Uggla and Willingham. Look for the Marlins to be contenders as early as 2010. In 08 however, it's a bottom of the barrel year for the young fighting fish.

NL Central-

Chicago Cubs- 93- 69- Unfortunately the Cubs are going to win the Central this year. This will be the first time in 700 years that both sides of Chicago will celebrate a playoff team. The pitching is good enough to pull through in the weak central with Zambrano, Hill, and Lilly. They have the best offense by far of any other team in the division with Ramirez, Soriano, Lee and Fukudome. The bullpen is decent enough too with Howry, Marmol and Kerry Wood. Good year for Chicago baseball in 08.

Milwaukee Brewers- 87-75- The Brew Crew have talent in Fielder, Braun, Hardy, Hall, Weeks and Hart. They have a veteran in the line up after the first month with Cameron. However, their pitching is going to leave the Brewers out of the playoffs again in 08. If they could get a decent starter for Hall or Weeks I would certainly do it. The loss of Cordero leaves them hoping Gagne or Turnbow can regain their past success and I don't see either one of them being able to do it which will leave David Riske as their only viable bullpen option. Good talent-Not enough to compete with the Cubbies this year though unfortunately.

Houston Astros- 80-82- The Astros will win 80 games with most of the wins coming off the bats of Berkman, Lee and Tejada. Michael Bourn and Kaz Matsui are solid pick ups- as is Darrin Erstad if he can be a force off the bench. Valverde gives them a good closer, however the rotation and middle relief is not what it was when they made the World Series in 2005. Wandy Rodriguez should have a good year, but two pitchers is not enough to compete, even in the weak NL Central.

Cincinatti Reds- 75-87- The Reds have some decent pop in their lineup with Griffey, Dunn, Phillips and Encarnacion, but it is the same old story for the Reds. They were not able to land a starter (if they get Blanton things may be a little different but not enough to put them at 85 wins). Cordero will greatly help out in the bullpen. Lack of pitching depth remains the Reds downfall though. Not even with Dusty we Trusty running the show will things be all that different.

Pittsburgh Pirates-73- 89- The Pirates will stay out of the cellar this season. They have a couple of solid pitchers in Snell and Gorzelanny. They have a veteran in Matt Morris. They have some good young hitters in Sanchez, Bay, LaRoache, Nady and Bautista. The bullpen is unspectacular with Marte and Capps being the headliners, but it is enough to beat out the struggling Cardinals in 08.

St. Louis Cardinals- 70- 92- Another tough season is on the horizon in St. Louis. With Pujols arm in question, Duncan and Ankiel being counted on in the outfield and hoping that Matt Clement and Juan Gonzalez can come back to the majors and be productive, I think the Cardinals are in need of a franchise turnover. The starting staff is in shambles, the bullpen has gotten worse than last year and they traded one hurt third baseman for another. Personally I think Rolen is better than Glaus so they even got taken there. Tough year for Tony and the Redbirds.

NL West-

Colorado Rockies- 94- 68- The Rockies will prove last year was no fluke in 2008. Holliday, Atkins, Hawpe, Helton are back agian in 08. The only key loss was Matsui and they are hopeful Nix can replace him. Troy Tulowitzki is an MVP candidate in 2008. The starting staff is solid with Francis, Cook and Jiminez. The bullpen is solid with Vizcaino, Fuentes and Manny Corpas who was outstanding in 07. Some may predict a fall from grace with the Rockies- not me. AL West title in Denver.

Arizona Diamondbacks- 91- 71- The DBacks will also remain strong in 2008. The rotation of Webb, Johnson, Haran, Davis and Owings leaves the DBacks with one of the strongest in the Majors if they all remain healthy. Young exciting players in Drew, Young, and Upton provide some quality hitting. The loss of Valverde will leave them out of first in the NL, but they still have a very formidable bullpen. Orlando Hudson and Eric Byrnes will be back to provide solid leadership. One problem the DBacks have is lack of a power hitter. Another fine season in the desert though.

San Diego Padres 88- 74- Good top of the rotation with Peavy, Young and Maddux. If Wolf and Prior are healthy they could be dangerous. Unfortunately they play in the toughest division of the NL. They have a good bullpen with Bell and Hoffman. Adrian Gonzalez gives them solid pop in the middle of the line up. The addition of Tadahito Iguchi will be a solid one for the Padres. However, relying on Edmonds, Giles, Prior and Hairston will all prove to be fatal for the 08 Padres playoff chances.

Los Angeles Dodgers- 82-80- Joe Torre worked magic when he had Rivera, Jeter and Georges deep pockets. He will not be able to turn around the Dodgers just year though. The Dodgers spend their money terribly. Loaiza, Penny, Schmidt all have had good years in the past but can you count on any of them for a full season? Russell Martin is a star behind the plate but the Dodgers are an odd mix. Pierre, Kemp, Jones, Kent, Loney, Nomar...its all just wierd. It's kind of like a flea market of former stars and failing prospects. My guess is the pitching will be good enough to get them to about .500 but to expect a playoff miracle out of Torre is asking way too much.

San Francisco Giants- 67-95- This team is in the downside of a transition period. The offense will suffer without even last years version of Bonds. They overpaid for Zito last year and Rowand this year. Their middle infield would be great if this was 1996 with Vizquel and Durham. The top power threat is Bengie Molina. Their starters are too young to make a serious impact. The rotation could be outstanding in a year or two with Linecum, Cain and Lowry if they hold on to them. The bullpen is inexperienced. They will be in a dogfight with the Orioles for the title as worst team in the league for 2008. I expect them to win that battle, but that will be all that is won. They will be wishing Bonds was there to take the heat come May.

Playoffs

Red Sox vs. White Sox- Strong comeback season for White Sox unfortunately ends here in 5 games.

Blue Jays vs. Angels- Angels pitching too tough for Blue Jays- Angels in 4.

Mets vs. Diamondbacks- Mets win in 5- Santana is too strong in a 5 game series.

Cubs Vs. Rockies- Rockies cruise to a 3 game sweep.

LCS

Red Sox vs. Angels- There will be a new champion as Angels rotation proves to be too good for even Boston. Angels in 7.

Mets Vs. Rockies- The Rockies are headed back to another World Series. Rockies in 6.

World Series

Angels vs. Rockies- A.L. proves dominant again as the Angels knock off Colorado in 5.

MVP- AL- Alex Rios Toronto

MVP-NL- Troy Tulowitzki Colorado

CY -AL- Josh Beckett- Boston

Cy- NL- Brandon Webb - Arizona

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