WASHINGTON — The NFL season has turned the corner at the midway point and
for the most part, the usual suspects are playoff contenders. The Broncos,
Patriots and Colts are locks in the AFC while I like the Lions’, Packers’ and
Eagles’ chances in the NFC. Of those six, only Detroit failed to make the
playoffs last year.
Picking the final six teams is a little trickier of a proposition.
The Chiefs and Ravens have the defense to get it done. The Browns would be a
good story to continue the Cleveland sports revival.
At 8-1, the Cardinals should be a lock. They have the best record in the NFL,
but they’ve also lost starting quarterback Carson Palmer.
Arizona may eventually be overtaken by the Seahawks in the NFC West, but I
still like their chances of reaching the playoffs. Seattle seems to be getting
its groove back, while the Saints are the best of a bad lot in the NFC South.
At the other end of the spectrum, there are some really bad teams in the
league, starting with the Raiders, then the Jaguars, Buccaneers, Titans,
Bears, Rams, Falcons, Jets, Giants and Redskins. Nearly one-third the NFL’s
teams have lost at least twice as much as they have won, which has led to a
lot of blowouts this year.
As for football of another name, Major League Soccer needs to ditch aggregate
scoring in the playoffs. A two-out-of-three series is a much better test. The
importance of the regular season is greatly diminished when ALL teams get one
home game.
What’s the advantage of finishing first?
DC United won the Eastern Conference, played a poor game on the road in the
first leg of the conference semi-finals, and were put in a big hole they
couldn’t quite climb out of.
Boom. Their great turnaround season is over.
We also saw the crapshoot of the postseason play out in baseball with a Wild
Card World Series between the San Francisco Giants and Kansas City Royals.
I love the unpredictability of the postseason — it’s what makes the NCAA
basketball tournament so great — but overall, there needs to more of a reward
for battling all season to finish first, in all sports.
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