Month: March 2024

2024 NCAA Basketball Tournament Sweet 16 Picks

S. Samek

Hopefully your brackets are going well. As they move onto the sweet 16 round here are my picks for the winners. Winners in bold.

UConn vs San Diego State

Iowa State vs Illinois

North Carolina vs Alabama

Clemson vs Arizona

Creighton vs Tennessee

Purdue vs Gonzaga

Marquette vs NC State

Houston vs Duke

Jansson Retakes lead Heading into USBC Masters Bracket

S. Samek

Markus Jansson finished the 15 games of qualifying in first place at plus 508 averaging over 233 to earn the top seed for the bracket. EJ Tackett, Sam Cooley, Justin Veitch and Carlos Granados are the rest of the top five.

Cooley was the leader after round two. Tackett is looking to finish the grand slam with a win, as well as get his first title of the 2024 season. He is in second place in the bracket.

Anthony Simonsen qualified in 26th place as defending champion of the event. Chris Barnes finished tied for 51st place as he looks to win the masters and finish the grand slam. Jason Belmonte looking to add another masters title finished in 18th.

Dom Barrett finished in 181st place and won’t get a chance to win the masters title he needs to complete the grand slam.

Match play starts today, and the bracket is double elimination. Who will emerge victorious?

Cooley Takes control After round Two At USBC Masters

S.Samek

Sam Cooley shot a strong second round to put himself in first place after 10 games at the USCB Masters. Cooley shot a 1,298 block to take the lead. Which that mark was a run at Parker Bohn’s Masters scoring record for a block at 1,319. While he came up short of that mark he is still ahead of the field.

Markus Jansson, Giorgio Clinaz, Cortez Schenck and Robin Persson make up the remainder of the top five. Jansson feel from first place after the first round to second place. Clinaz and Schenck have both remained in the top five for the entire tournament.

Anthony Simonsen was struggling and sat outside the cut line; however, he has moved into 34th place after 10 games.

The cut for the final spot 64th place is Fujimura Takashi of Japan at +178.

Round three is today before the cut to the top 64 bracket.

How Many Wins for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2024?

S. Samek

Let’s make our yearly prediction of how many wins the Pittsburgh Pirates will get in 2024. After a 2023 season where they went 76-86 and finished fourth in the National League Central division.

I think having a healthy Oneil Cruz should help the team a good bit. The bullpen also looks to be a strong point as well with David Bednar highlighting the staff. They are projected to be the third best bullpen in the MLB.

The rotation however is the biggest question mark. Can they find two, or three more reliable starters to build a quality rotation. With Paul Skenes on his way to minor league camp to start the season, who will step in until he is ready? Though when will he be ready May, June, September?

Mitch Keller is being called on to lead the staff this season after an all-star year in 2023. Though will we see the first half or second half of 2023 Keller? Regardless the Pirates have the confidence to give him the ball on opening day against the Miami Marlins.

I think we’re looking at a .500 team at 82-82 at best. At worst I’m thinking 65 wins, down from last year’s total by a good amount. I think it mostly depends on how good the starting pitching is.

Montgomery Chooses Diamondbacks

S.Samek

The Jordan Montgomery free agency story has finally reached a conclusion and not a moment too soon. On the eve of Opening day, he signed a deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The move should help the defending National League champions boost their rotation, which is already pretty good. While they aren’t the favorites to win the NL West, this move could keep them in the running for a playoff spot.