2012 MLB Predictions!

I believe the Brewers can win the World Series this year.  Would it surprise a lot of people?!  Yes.  The NL has taken a huge step back losing Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder to the AL.  With the Phillies having so many injuries, the Brewers have a chance to be a contender in the NL and bring a championship to Milwaukee.  Pujols will be great for the Angels this year and bring great excitement to baseball in LA.  The Giants continue to struggle to score runs and the Royals make strides become a perennial contender.

NL WEST:

DBacks

Giants

Rockies

Dodgers

Padres

NL CENTRAL:

Reds

Brewers

Cards

Pirates

Cubs

Astros

NL EAST:

Nats

Phillies

Marlins

Braves

Mets

AL WEST:

Yankees

Rays

Red Sox

Blue Jays

Orioles

AL CENTRAL:

Tigers

Royals

Indians

White Sox

Twins

AL EAST:

Rangers

Angels

Mariners

A's

NLWC:  Brewers over Phillies

ALWC:  Angels over Rays

NLDS: Brewers over DBacks

NLDS: Reds over Nats

ALDS: Angels over Tigers

ALCS: Rangers over Yankees

NLCS: Brewers over Reds

ALCS: Angels over Rangers

WORLD SERIES: Brewers over Angels

AWARDS: 

NL MVP:  Matt Kemp

NL CY:  Matt Cain

NL ROY:  Trevor Bauer

NL MGR: Ron Roenicke

AL MVP:  Albert Pujols

AL CY:  Justin Verlander

AL ROY:  Matt Moore

AL MGR:  Ned Yost

Very excited to see how this season plays out!!

Another Disappointing Loss for a Wisconsin Sports Team. Ugh.

It was an exciting year for Wisconsin Sports fans.  The Brewers almost hit their way to the World Series, the Badgers sniffed a Rose Bowl Victory, and the Packers looked almost invincible on a campaign to defend their Super Bowl Title.  Unfortunately for Wisconsin Sports fans, all three promising seasons fell short.

The Brewers losing to the Cardinals was tough.  They had a great team, but the pitching just wasn't there at the end of the season.  I'm just glad that they beat the DBacks at Miller Park, cause I sat through two of the worst stinkers of baseball games in Phoenix and worried that I might be bad luck.

When the Badgers got served in the Rose Bowl, it wasn't too worrisome cause they weren't supposed to win anyway.  My friends and I still had a great day grilling out and drinking beers.  The worst part was before the game, watching the exhausting Rose Bowl Parade coverage with head scratching camera angles and a news anchor obsessed with getting a free In-N-Out Burger.

At least we could let it ride on our Green Bay Packers to keep our sports dreams alive and pick up the slack, right?!!  Um, no.  I guess not.  The Packers loss to the Giants was surprising to say the least.  The Packers looked sluggish and out of sync.  Absolute credit to the Giants, but if the Packers played anything like they did all year long, I would have liked their chances.

Too bad at least one of the teams couldn't seal the deal, cause it was an awesome year for Wisconsin Sports.  Go get em' in 2012!

The changes to Google Reader have me re-evaluating the best way to share and connect with people.

Google Reader's facelift has completely changed the program has left me wondering the best way to share on the internet. 

For those of you that didn't use Google Reader before the overhaul in November, it was once a wonderful RSS Reader that also allowed you to share articles with friends with one click.  For me it was where I read 95% of the internet, as all of my websites were loaded there and updated in real time.  The social aspect was minimal and non-intrusive.  If you wanted to share something you were reading, you could.  The best thing was being able to read what your friends have shared.  You could follow people and they could choose to follow you.  It wasn't a social network where you would weed through status updates and pictures, it was a place to share what you were reading on the web.  And that was it.

Those I followed ranged from good friends to people I have never met but share the same interests.  It was a place for me to share articles about baseball, local music, cooking, and cool things that my friends were up to.  Those I followed did the same.

Google's decision to take the minimal sharing aspect from Google Reader and force users to share everything in their new social network Google+ has taken away a small part of the internet that was special to me.  They also changed the layout of the page that I had grown fond of.  I guess it was more of a tweak to most users, but to me it affected my relationship with the internet and felt personal.  

I have not embraced Google+ yet.  I'm not sure I'm ready to join a new social network.  I wonder if anyone (especially in my age group who have been on Friendster, MySpace, and Facebook) have the energy to move social networks again.  I certainly don't want to be forced to.

This Google+ forced takeover has sounded an alarm in my head that I am getting to a point of over saturation.  I'm actually trying to share a bit less.  I am starting to find the over-sharing (myself included) a bit narcissistic.  When digital cameras became available, I jumped at the chance to chronicle every gathering like the world was going to end and we need proof that we were at a bar in Burbank last Tuesday night.  Not only am I sharing less pictures, I am taking less pictures, preferring to enjoy the moments instead of capturing the moments digitally for all time. 

As for Google Reader, I thank you for a good run.  I want to get better at sharing what is important to me.  That's exactly what Google Reader allowed me to do.

I got my copy of the Brewers on the cover of Sports Illustrated!!!

Happy July, everybody!!

I wanted to share that for Milwaukee Brewers fans like me, this was the most exciting MLB All-Star week, ever.  For the first time in franchise history, THREE Milwaukee Brewers were voted to START the All-Star Game!  Growing up, you would just watch the introductions to see one token Brewer introduced (He would most of the time never even play).  To have the Brewers well represented was pretty cool.  Prince Fielder made Brewer fans proud when he hit a three run home run to win the game for the National League.  This was the first Home Run for a Brewer in an All-Star game, and it earned him the All-Star Game MVP Award, also a Brewers first!

I was so happy for Prince I took a picture of him giving a post-game interview.