First, we would like to introduce a new faster, easier way to access the Sweep Tracker – simply head to MLBSweeps.com.

Now onto the updates, there were 14 sweeps in the MLB over the past two weeks (series ending on or before May 6th). The Miami Marlins lead the way having been involved in three sweeps: they were swept once, while sweeping twice. Amazingly, nine different teams were involved in multiple series sweeps (Orioles, Red Sox, Rays, Blue Jays, Twins, Angels, Mariners, Marlins and Mets).

The Orioles were able to remain in first place in the AL East by completing two 3-game sweeps in a two week period.

After a little more than a month into the season, only four teams have not been involved in any type of sweep – the Athletics, Phillies, Reds and Cardinals.

While 10 teams have not been swept at all (Rays, White Sox, Indians, Athletics, Phillies, Reds, Astros, Cards, Diamondbacks and Dodgers).

The most sweeps in the MLB by anyone team is three (Orioles, Rays, Marlins and Dodgers). And the most times being swept goes to the Twins with four.

Be sure to check back in two weeks for the next update to the MLB Sweep Tracker (series ending on or before 5/20/12)!

Miami was spared a sweep in the April 20th-22nd series against the Nationals, when the April 22nd game was postponed. Surprisingly, the Nationals, who are 12-4, have zero sweeps on the season. The Phillies, Astros, Reds, Cardinals and Rockies join the Nationals as the only NL teams to neither sweep a team or be swept at this point in the season.

Be sure to check out the full sweep results at the MikesPickz MLB Sweep Tracker. The Sweep Tracker will be updated approximately every two weeks. The next update, is scheduled for series ending on or before May 6th.

[Photo Credit: BurntOrangeNation.com]

Cleveland was spared a sweep in the April 9th-11th series against the White Sox, with April 10th’s game being postponed. Similarly, the Red Sox were spared a sweep at the hands of their arch-rival (New York Yankees), when the April 22nd game was postponed.

Only three teams in the American League have yet to be swept or complete a sweep – Toronto, Los Angeles, and Oakland.

Be sure to check out the full sweep results at the MikesPickz MLB Sweep Tracker. The Sweep Tracker will be updated approximately every two weeks. Also, be sure to check back tomorrow for the NL update.

[Photo Credit: BurntOrangeNation.com]

For many, this is the greatest time of the year for basketball at any level. There is one thing that will not be a surprise this March – there will be plenty of excitement. Which team will make that Cinderella run to the Sweet Sixteen? The Elite Eight? Or perhaps, pull a Butler and make it to the Finals?

These are the questions that no expert can tell you with any certainty – the NCAA is starting to become even more competitve with the rapid increase of one-and-done Freshman. Is this the year that a 16 seed finally beats a 1 seed? I don’t think so, but it could happen.

Without further ado, here is my complete NCAA Bracket:

Check out my full NCAA March Madness bracket.

Be sure to check back for my round-to-round results.

[Photo Credit: Bostinno.com]

This game is an interesting one to attempt and predict. Las Vegas opened the line at Patriots -3.5 and the line has not moved much despite an overwhelming majority of analysts predicting the Giants to win. I don’t blame the analysts – on paper the Giants are a much better football team basically across the board (except QB and coaching).

Do the Patriots simply have a larger fan base across America to keep the line steady? Maybe. But I like the Patriots for a few reasons.

First, the line you have heard countless times over the past two weeks is that the Patriots have no defense. Well statistically that may be true, but if you isolate the last 3-4 weeks, the defense hasn’t been bad. Did you see what they did to Ray Rice last week? Also, the Patriots were top 3 in the NFL in turnover differential (+17). This statistic is huge. When the defense is able to give Tom Brady an extra possession per game – good things happen.

Eli Manning had the season of his life this year, but let’s not discount Tom Brady. Tom Brady “only” had a 105 QB rating with 5200+ yards on a team with “no” defense and no run game. When it comes down to it – I’d rather have Tom Brady than Eli Manning.

Then you have to think about Bill Belichick. There is no way that he wants to lose to the Giants in the Super Bowl again. Not only that, but the Giants beat the Patriots earlier this season. Belichick is one of the greatest coaches of all time, and you know he will be prepared. Heck, he even has his team practicing an extended halftime. This is the type of thing that sets him apart. The focus heading into this game will be unheard of.

Lastly, the Giants have consistency issues. They start the season 6-2, then lose four in a row, before winning three of four to make the playoffs. They are playing their best football now, but will they at game time? The Patriots on the other hand have been taking care of business all season long.

The major concern of the Patriots is the health of Rob Gronkowski. He has been Brady’s goto man all season long, and with his high ankle sprain – he will not be near 100% in this game. He will play, and I can see him scoring a TD in the redzone, but the middle of the field I feel he will be limited. But one thing about Brady is that he will make plays regardless of who is on the field – he makes everyone better. Watch out, Chad Ochocinco (the forgotten wide receiver), may step-up big in this game.

Overall, I expect the Patriots to neutralize the Giants defense by picking up the pace with no huddles and unique formations. I like the Patriots defense to force a key turnover and this game will come down to the end of the 4th quarter – but this time the Patriots will come out on top.

[Photo Credit: statesboroherald.com]

The results of these games lead to a renewal of one of the great NFL postseason rivalries. The 49ers and Giants have met seven times in the postseason, with the 49ers leading the series 4-3 (4-1 at home).

The first two times (1981, 1984) the 49ers and Giants met in the playoffs – the 49ers won rather comfortably on their way to Super Bowl victories. Then, 1985 and 1986 came which saw the Giants simply dominated the 49ers, as they went on to win the 1986 Super Bowl.

The next match-up was one of the most notable games in NFL postseason history. In 1990, the 49ers were coming off back-to-back Super Bowl victories when they faced the Giants. The 49ers were leading in the 4th quarter when Leonard Marshall ended Joe Montana’s career as 49er. Despite this, the 49ers still led the game with less than 3 minutes remaining and a chance to seal the win with one more first down. Roger Craig fumbled, which set-up a Giants’ last second field goal on their way to a Super Bowl victory.

In 1994, the 49ers avenged the 1990 loss by destroying the Giants 44-3 en route to another Super Bowl victory.

The most recent match-up, during the 2002 season, saw a crazy ending. The Giants were up 38-14 in the third quarter, when Jeff Garcia led the 49ers to 25 unanswered points. The Giants were able to get into field goal range, but a botched snap on the kick and an attempted saving pass cost the Giants the game. There was also a controversial no-call on pass interference because of an ineligible man down-field for the Giants.

Back to this season, the 49ers and Giants are both entering Sunday on top of their game. It’s been ten lonely years for the 49ers who haven’t made the playoffs since 2002, while the Giants have seen some success in recent years, notably winning the 2007 Super Bowl against the then undefeated New England Patriots.

This game will be a hard fought, hard hitting game that will surely be entertaining to watch. But who will win?

I’m going with the 49ers for several reasons:

• The 49ers own the league’s best turnover differential (+28), which was key in their win over the Saints (forcing 5 turnovers).
• The 49ers’ NFL best rushing defense, which held the Saints (6th best rushing offense) to only 37 yards, will be playing the NFL’s worst ranked rushing offense. Brandon Jacobs is not at his best when forced to run hard without lanes, and the Niners will not leave many lanes open.
• The 49ers’ are a run first team, and as well as the Giants’ front four have been playing over the past four weeks – they still struggle against the run at times. The Packers rushed for over 6 yards per carry (147 total yards) last week. If the Giants’ don’t play better than that, it will be tough to beat the Niners, who have a much better defense than the Packers.
• The 49ers are the home team and the game will have sloppy conditions which favors the more conservative play of the 49ers.

A 49ers win will put them in the Super Bowl for the 6th time in franchise history, and they are currently the only team in NFL history to appear in more than one Super Bowl without ever losing one. But that is for another day…

Be sure to catch the game: Sunday, January 22nd @ 6:30PM EST on FOX.

[Photo Credit: Ezra Shaw/Scott Boehm/Getty Images via ABCNewsRadioOnline.com]

If I was the Falcons, this is the perfect situation. At the time, the score was 38-16 – not a likely comeback scenario, but plausible with over 5 minutes to go. Passing stops the clock and gives you a chance to get the ball back. All the Falcons needed to do was step up and play defense against a team that telegraphed it was going to pass the ball.

Brees basically was challenging the Falcons to stop him from getting the record, and the Falcons did not step-up to the plate. No disrespect was meant by the Saints, and it shouldn’t have even been talked about.

Passing the ball to attempt to break Marino’s record does not equate to automatically beating the record. If anything, Brees had a somewhat off game by forcing some throws into deep double coverage (the two INTs stand out). He was well below his season completion percentage as well.

Falcons fans don’t feel disrespected that your defense couldn’t stop Brees, no-one has been able to all season long.

The true reason behind the disrespect talk is to try and motivate the team for the possible first round playoff match-up between against the Saints.

Congratulations Drew Brees, and way to go Saints for going after the record on Monday Night Football in New Orleans.

[Photo Credit: WorldBestSports.com]

Let’s go back to the start of this post… Chris Paul will not be a New Orleans Hornet next season. Every single potential owner knows this, and therefore Paul is not a compelling reason to buy the team. Getting something worthwhile is a compelling reason to buy the team.

In a three team deal the Hornets would have sent Paul to the Lakers, Pau Gasol to the Rockets and Lamar Odom, Luis Scola, Kevin Martin, Goran Dragic and a first-round pick to the Hornets. To me this isn’t a bad deal for the Hornets, who were a playoff team last season. The Hornets get three starters including a veteran leader, as well as a first round draft pick. I don’t see any better offers on the table, do you?

The true reason for the rejection of this trade is the fact that many NBA owners disapprove of it – stating that a major point of the lockout was to improve the competitive balance (which is a joke since it was really about money – otherwise a franchise tag would have been fought for). Owners are tired of the stars bolting small markets for large markets, and demanding trades. LeBron James left his hometown to play in Miami. Carmelo Anthony strong-armed the Nuggets to trade him to the Knicks. The major difference between the two scenarios: The Cavaliers got nothing in return, and the Nuggets got a nice package. Result: Cavs dropped to be the worst team in the NBA, while the Nuggets actually played better without Anthony.

Now this situation is different from the LeBron situation. The Cavs had a realistic shot of landing James and therefore it would be unheard of for them to trade James. The Hornets losing Paul for nothing would be similar to Orlando losing Shaq for nothing.

Getting something is always going to be better than getting nothing, and now it looks like the Hornets might get nothing. It has been reported that the Lakers have dropped out of the running for Paul.

The facts are simple – the NBA is never going to be competitively balanced unless: A) The league is contracted or B) Today’s college players all think like Kevin Durant.

Paul should be a Laker right now, although I did lose a ton of respect for a great player for the way he handled the situation.

[Photo Credit: thesportsbank.net via channel6newsonline.com]

The Ravens are coming off of a bad loss to a bad team and they need this win to get back on track. They seemingly play to the level of their opponent, whether good or bad. One thing is for certain, the Ravens should be embarrassed that Ray Rice only rushed the ball 5 times last week. He is the offense, and should be getting at least 15 rushes per game. Flacco is not going to be the man to carry this team to the Super Bowl by himself.

The Bengals are an interesting team – they are sitting at 6-3, but they have basically beaten bad teams (Browns, Jaguars, Colts, Seahawks) while losing to the top teams (49ers, Steelers). If the Bengals want to make the playoffs – they need to win some divisional games against teams other than the Browns. The mounting injuries aren’t helping the Bengals – having lost their best corner (Leon Hall) for the season and Rookie sensation A.J. Green is most likely not going to play this week.

Overall, this should be a hard fought game that will come down to the wire. I definitely like the Bengals plus the 7 points, and I am actually going to say they come out with the upset. Their great defense will be able to shut down Ray Rice, forcing Flacco to beat them (and I don’t think that happens).

[Photo Credit: Ned Dishman/Getty Images North America via Zimbio.com]

Recently, Mayweather has said he is going to put together the biggest fight possible on May 5th. Basically, that means Mayweather-Pacquiao.

Tonight, Pacquiao fought Marquez for the third time. They fought to a draw in the first match-up and Pacquiao won the second. Pacquiao won tonight with a majority decision 2-0-1.

Marquez should have won this fight. He was in control early, and had Pacquiao off balance for most of the night. Pacquiao started to get back into it late, but it was too little too late, in my opinion and that of many, many analysts. Basically, the official scorers scored the name (Pacquiao) and not the actual fight. This is sad for Marquez, who truly got robbed in this one.

Conspiracy theory at it finest – the fight was fixed to hype up Mayweather – Pacquiao. But winning this fight actually might not improve the chances of Mayweather – Pacquiao. If Pacquiao did lose the fight, it would have almost guaranteed that he agreed to fight Mayweather to prove that he is still the greatest boxer. But now, he still doesn’t have overwhelming motivation to fight Mayweather. He has to know that if he fights Mayweather the same way he fought Marquez tonight, he will get crushed.

Mayweather is about as perfect of a fighter as you will find, and if he gets his chance against Pacquiao, I don’t see him losing.

If you saw the fight and can honestly say that Pacquiao won, please comment below with reasoning.

[Photo Credit: pacquiaovs-marquez3.blogspot.com]