Bo vs Deion

     I have always been a big fan of ESPN's series 30 for 30 and about a month ago came "You Don't Know Bo".  It discussed the career of Bo Jackson from college at Auburn, to the NFL, MLB, and his "Bo Knows" marketing campaign with Nike.  My excitement for it mostly stemmed from being too young to actually remember watching him play but remembering how unstoppable he was in Tecmo Bowl.  While watching I'm thinking Bo Jackson has to be the greatest athlete ever.  To be able to play two sports professionally at a high level is something unheard of, not even the Michael Jordan could do it.  However, Deion Sanders could.  Over the holiday I found myself in a debate, who is the better two sport athlete, Bo or Deion?
     Most professional athletes play multiple sports growing up but by the time they hit college they chose one and go with it.  These guys were able to play in the NFL and MLB.  But while Deion was able to have full careers in both sports, Bo suffered a serious hip injury when he was 28.  He was able to come back to play two more years of baseball but it pretty much ended his career.  So it is difficult to fully compare the two athletes but the question needs to be answered.
     Let's take a look at football first.  Deion Sanders is arguably the best cover corner the NFL has ever seen and because of that he was selected to 8 Pro-Bowls and inducted into the Hall of Fame.  He had 53 career interceptions with nine touchdowns and was named Defensive Player of the Year in 1994.  Sanders was also a threat in the return game totaling nine touchdowns on kick/punt returns.  There wasn't much Deion couldn't do with his speed, quickness and ball hawking ability in 13 years in the NFL.  Bo Jackson on the other hand could only manage four abbreviated seasons in the NFL before his injury.  But in those four years he made a name for himself and left us wanting more.  Bo elected to commit fully to baseball before switching to football so he never played more than 11 games in a season.  However, he averaged 5.4 yards a carry for his career (Barry Sanders averaged 5.0) and in his first season he had 6.8 ypc.  Once Bo arrived to the Los Angeles Raiders after baseball the team moved him ahead of Hall of Famer Marcus Allen as the lead running back and in his best year he averaged 86.4 yards a game in a split backfield.  In three of his four seasons, Jackson had runs of 88, 91, and 92 yards.  Bo Jackson was a ridiculous combination of strength and speed that was unrivaled at the time.
     In baseball, Bo was able to play eight years but only four as a full-time starter before his injury.  He was selected to the All-Star game in 1989 and was also named the MVP of that game.  Jackson displayed he power and speed in baseball hitting over 20 homeruns and stealing 20 bases in two seasons including 32 HR's and 26 SB's in 1989.  For his career he only hit .250 and was always among the league leaders in strikeouts.  Bo could play defense too as he lead the AL in two years in assists by a left-fielder.  On the diamond, Deion was not as dominant as he was on the gridiron.  He was only a full-time starter for one season with the Cincinnati Reds in 1997 but during that year he was 2nd in the NL in steals with 56.  He also lead the NL in triples in 1992.  Sanders hit .263 for his career but that is skewed by three very poor seasons (.234, .158, .191) to start his career.  However, he did hit .533 in the 1992 World Series while the next best on the team was .296.
     It's really hard to argue against either athlete but I have to give my vote to Bo Jackson.  Even though we never saw his full potential in either sport you can't deny the impact that he made in such a short span.  Bo didn't have the career in the NFL that Deion did, but Sanders was just an average baseball player whereas Jackson was an elite player in both sports.  The thing I admire most about Bo Jackson though is not not his athletic ability, it's his character.  He was drafted #1 overall by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1986 but because he felt they ruined his Senior year in college because of shady dealings he turned them down and decided to play baseball.  If it wasn't for that we might not have ever seen Bo Jackson as a two sport athlete.

Lions and Tigers and Lines Oh My!

     We are now 2 games into the World Series and the Detroit Tigers are down 0-2.  With the long layoff I honestly was not too confident in us taking game 1, even with Justin Verlander on the mound, as the stats show teams that sweep a championship series are at a disadvantage against a team that wins a game 7.  But honestly, can any more bad breaks go against the Tigers right now?  In game 1 Pablo Sandoval had the game of his life hitting 3 homeruns so, like Tigers Manager Jim Leyland said you just have to tip your hat to him.  However, the Giants scored their first 5 runs with 2 outs which included an RBI single by Marco Scutaro that bounced off third base, passed Miguel Cabrera and into left field.  That play continued the 3rd inning and lead to Kung Fu Panda (Sandoval) belting a 2-run homer that busted the game open.  In game 2 Doug Fister pitched great for Detroit, even after getting a line drive off the back of his head in the 2nd inning, but in the top of that inning Prince Fielder was gunned down at home trying to score from first on a Delmon Young double.  This is where the questioning of began.  All year Gene Lamont, Detroit's third base coach, has been scrutinized by Tigers fans on how he has managed base runners.  There are plenty of time he's told runners to stop at third when he should have sent them and vice versa, this was another one of those times.  Then the 7th inning came and with runners on first and second for the Giants, Gregor Blanco laid down a bunt that trickled down the foul line but stayed in play.  Question 2 then arose.  With no outs some feel that Leyland needed to bring the infield in to make a play at home, instead he kept them at double play depth (which they got) and gave up the first run of the game.  After the game Leyland said he did that in order to not give up more than one run in the inning.  Listen, this guy has been doing this a lot longer than most managers in the MLB so I will trust his reasoning and the bottom line is he got what he wanted out of a bases loaded, no out situation.  I think baseball coaches can be questioned more than any other sport because it's the only sport that fans know what the coach is calling.  Fans know and question everything.  Why did you put that pitcher in, why did you leave that one in so long, why did you play the infield back, why did you put that pinch runner in?  You don't hear that questioning in say football where the coach calls every play the offense runs.  I've never heard someone say "I can't believe he called a Play Action Hitch 'n Go when he should've called a Spider 3 Y Banana".  But where the Tigers are at a HUGE disadvantage are relief pitchers.  Both teams have strong starting rotations, but once you get to the 7th inning or later the Giants have the edge.  The guy that is supposed to be the Tigers closer, Jose Valverde, has an ERA of 30.38 this postseason and that pretty much speaks for itself.  So far this has been reminiscent of the 2006 World Series, which the Tigers ended up on the losing side.  In order for that to be different this year their offense is going to have to get to the starting pitching of San Fran early so that our relief pitching has the cushion to give up a few runs.  Game 3 is tonight with Anibal Sanchez facing Ryan Vogelsong, I look for the Tigers offense to come alive being back home at Comerica Park to make the series 1-2.

     Now onto my NFL picks for this weekend.  First let me say that I'm not someone that likes to take too much time analyzing trends when it comes to sports betting.  Don't get me wrong they are helpful and I do use them for guidance, but I'm not a professional and don't have enough time to make this kind of analysis that I found on covers.com...

Team A falls into a solid situation where we play against road teams where the line is +3 to -3 that are coming off two or more consecutive overs that are averaging between 23 and 27 ppg going up against an opponent that is allowing between 23 and 27 ppg. This situation is 24-5 ATS (82.8 percent) since 1983.

The first game is the San Diego Chargers (-3) at the Cleveland Browns.  That was the line opener and has gone back and forth from -1 all week.  One thing I like to look for are teams coming off of bye weeks, as the Chargers are doing.  Combine that with an ailing Trent Richardson for Cleveland that spells trouble for the Brownies, even with Phillip Rivers having 6 turnovers his last start.  Take San Diego.  The next game is Washington at Pittsburgh (-4.5).  The Redskins are 3-4 on the season and are giving up a ridiculous 328 passing yards per game, however they have RG3 and he alone will keep this game close until the end.  Take the Skins and the points.  Now let's look at Atlanta at Philadelphia (-3).  With both of these teams coming off of byes they each have had 2 weeks to prepare for each other.  The Falcons are the only undefeated team left in the NFL but had a close call their last game at home against the Raiders which they won 23-20.  As for the Eagles, Michael Vick has not been able to hold onto the ball this year as he's turned it over 11 times in 6 games.  Aside from an OT loss to the Lions, the Eagles have beaten 2 really good teams at home in the Giants and pre-injury Ravens.  I look for that trend to continue as the Eagles come out on top and rid the league of unbeaten teams.

     Finally, I want to touch on my teams, Michigan and the Lions.  The Wolverines face a tough test tonight traveling to Nebraska.  This game is big for both teams as the winner will have the edge to play for the Big Ten title at the end of the year.  I want to say that Michigan has turned the corner after their slow start and coming off an important home win against Sparty but this matchup makes me nervous.  A night game in Lincoln is never an easy situation and this is the first time the Wolverines have made this trip.  I want to say that I have faith in my team but being realistic I think Nebraska takes it, unfortunately.  As for the Lions, I'm happy to say I have tickets to the game (I knew working where I do was good for something!).  The Seattle Seahawks and Russell Wilson have struggled on the road (1-3) but they boast one of the leagues best defenses equipped with the biggest corners Calvin Johnson will see all year.  But, with Seattle's strength in the running game and our strength in rush defense I find it hard to see them moving the ball.  The question will be if the Lions can limit their turnovers and not give Seattle a short field to work with.  If they are able to do that i believe Detroit will come out on top in a game they desperately need if they want to keep any playoff hopes alive.