2018 MLB Preview: AL West

And so we've come all the way across the country. Five divisions down, one to go.

I broke one tradition with my 2018 MLB previews in condensing this down from six days of posts to three. But one tradition I didn't break was the alternating of leagues and working across the country.

And now, we conclude with the division that contains our defending champion: the AL West.

2018 MLB Preview: NL West

Opening Day is tomorrow! Excitement is in the air, everyone is a contender (...well, except for the Marlins) and hopefully the weather will warm up so taking a trip to the ballpark will be a little more pleasant.

I've condensed my process down to three days' worth of posting instead of six, so we're down to just two divisions to preview. We're back to the National League one more time with one Wild Card berth still up for grabs.

2018 MLB Preview: AL Central

We're onto the second preview of the day as we pass the halfway point of a look at the 2018 Major League Baseball season. I've condensed the process down this year to three days instead of six, going through two divisions a day. Tomorrow I'll look at the west coast.

I got a look this morning at my most familiar division. Today, I go to my second most familiar division as we stay in the Midwest and take a look at the AL Central.

2018 MLB Preview: NL Central

We're onto the second day of MLB previews as I've condensed this year's batch down to three days instead of six. We're still working our way across the country, alternating leagues, before ending with the division containing the defending World Series champion.

This brings us to the country's center, and after ending yesterday in the American League, we go to my division of greatest familiarity in the NL Central.

2018 MLB Preview: AL East

I'm changing up the rate at which I'm cranking out previews this year. If you're reading this and are surprised that I put out a pair of previews in one day, that's the plan.

I'm doing two divisions a day for the next couple of days as well, rounding things out with the division of our defending World Series champion. This year we're starting out east again and after covering the National League side of this geography, we're moving on to the AL East.

2018 MLB Preview: NL East

It's kind of crazy to think that we're already in late March, and that the 2018 Major League Baseball season is upon us.

This year I'm not plugging a Tournament of Champions with the MLB one concluded last year. Instead I'm focused solely on the upcoming season.

As is my custom, I go through one division per post, but this year I'm condensing stuff down to three days, with two posts coming per day leading up to the start of the season. As usual, I'm alternating leagues and working my way around the country, ending with the division of the defending champion. With that thought in mind, let's kick things off with the NL East.

2018 NFL Conference Championship Preview

After a decent picking weekend in the Wild Card round, I whiffed pretty badly in the Divisional Round. I went 1-2-1 against the spread and 1-3 straight up. Clearly, I needed to listen to Gregg Easterbrook's continued wisdom about the higher seeds being more successful in the divisional rounds.

And thus Championship Weekend is upon us, as we have our final four teams left. Three of the four quarterbacks still standing are quarterbacks who, before the season, I would have laughed at you for saying made it to this point; the fourth is Tom Brady.

But what happens from here? Let's take a look at each of the conference championship games.

2018 NFL Divisional Preview

Twelve teams entered, and now only eight remain in the hunt for the Lombardi Trophy. I've missed out on a quest to hit 11-0 against the spread and straight up. Clearly this is my punishment for correctly guessing the score of Super Bowl XLIII.

I did a decent job picking in the Wild Card round, getting three of the four winners, though underdogs ruled the day in terms of the point spread, leaving me 2-2 in that regard. We'll see what ends up happening this time, as historically the bye favors the home teams to the tune of a nearly 3 in 4 chance of advancing to the conference championship round.

So without further ado, let's look at the matchups for this weekend.

2018 NFL Wild Card Preview

I had a mediocre performance in the finale of the 2017 Pigskin Pick 'Em, which was enough to get me to .500, but not enough to overcome Adam catching fire to win the contest. Kudos to him. And now, my attention turns to the NFL playoffs.

It's weird following a playoff that doesn't have my Packers in them, something that hasn't happened since I was a sophomore in college. I'm old.

But even with them not in, we've still got 11 exciting games on tap, and I want to make sure I get a look at them all. I'll go a little more in depth than we did for the Pigskin Pick 'Em contest, but come the Super Bowl I'm hoping Adam and I will have our usual prop bets thing again.

In the meantime, here's a look at the four games coming up this weekend.

2017 AFC East Preview

It's taken eight days, but we're finally here. The final division, and the home of our defending champions, gets the final look in my series of division preview posts.

One final time as a shameless plug, I will be picking NFL games against the spread this season, featured in a weekly post with my friend Adam Quinn. It's an open group if you would like to prove yourself as smarter than either of us, which may not be that hard. You can join here.

And so one final time, here's the division preview.

2017 NFC East Preview

We've finally circled around geographically. We're in the east today, with just two divisions left to preview.

One NFC wild card remains up for grabs, which means an NFC East team will be going into January with one, at least the way I see the season going. Of course, the season rarely goes fully the way I see it going.

That doesn't stop me from prognosticating, which is something I'll be doing again every week with Adam Quinn as we pick games against the spread. You can join us in our quest here.

And with that, let's look at our penultimate division.

2017 AFC South Preview

Happy Labor Day! Come celebrate with another NFL division preview!

I took a break over the weekend, and in the interim I'll be back with a look at college football in the morning, but for now, we're continuing our trip around the country going division by division to preview the entire league. So far, one wild card in each conference has been claimed. We'll see if the second AFC one goes today or not.

With three days until the season starts, you're almost out of time to join in the fun of picking games against the spread. Adam Quinn and I will be doing this weekly, and you can compete against us here.

Without further ado, here are today's predictions.

2017 NFC South Preview

Happy Friday and Happy September! We're celebrating by moving on to the second half of our NFL prediction series for 2017.

I've worked my way down to the south now as I go division by division picking how I think the season will go. So far, only one wild card has been claimed, and that was yesterday in the AFC, so there are still plenty of spots up for grabs.

Speaking of spots up for grabs, there are plenty of those still in my annual Pigskin Pick 'Em contest. Adam Quinn will join me once again starting next week as we pick every game against the spread. You can join us here.

Let's take a look at the NFC South.

2017 AFC West Preview

We've made it to the end of August, which means football season is almost here! As such, I'm well underway in my set of previews for the upcoming season.

I've spent the last few days going division by division, rounding my way around the country before ultimately ending in the division of the defending champion. After today, we'll be halfway home.

With a week until the start of the NFL season, there is still time to get in on picking NFL games against the spread. Adam Quinn will join me once again in a weekly feature where we'll pick the games, and you can join our fun here.

Let's get on to the preview.

2017 NFC West Preview

It's Wednesday, and we're shifting things over to the West Coast as we continue our preview series for the upcoming NFL season.

Today is day three of eight straight weekdays of going division by division, alternating conferences, until I've hit all 32 NFL teams. So far, we've done both the NFC and AFC North, and no wild card spots are accounted for quite yet. We'll see if that changes today.

Before I get into the previews, I'm making yet another shameless plug for the upcoming season and my continuing Pigskin Pick 'Em series that Adam Quinn will join me for once again. You can come pick against us here.

And now, onto the NFC West.

2017 AFC North Preview

The NFL preview circuit rolls on as we swap conferences, but stay in the north!

I'm hitting up every division over the next several weekdays, with Saturday and Sunday off, even though Monday is Labor Day and a holiday because that's just how the timing works out.

This is also shameless plug time, as Adam Quinn and I will be picking games against the spread once again this season. If you would like to join us and try to beat us, you can do so here.

On to the previews.

2017 NFC North Preview

We're only a week and a half away from the start of another NFL season, and I'm starting to get excited again. As such, I need to get the previewing into high gear.

I'm continuing my annual tradition, working my way around the country, only this year I'm going counterclockwise, and alternating conferences until we end with the division of the defending champion.

I also take this opportunity to invite you, dear readers, to join me in picking NFL games against the spread. We're in Year Six of this contest now, with Adam Quinn joining me for a fourth season of a weekly post with our picks. You can join our ESPN group here.

I'm beginning at home again this season with the NFC North.

2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs Conference Finals Predictions

Wednesday night saw a pair of Game Sevens to determine the final matchups in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and both were thrillers from what I saw. The defending champs are still alive and making a late push, while some of the lower seeds have, on the whole, had a pretty successful postseason. So with one more round to go before we hit the Cup Final, let's take a look at our upcoming matchups.

2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs Second Round Predictions

Two weeks ago, I was super excited. Playoff hockey was upon us and I was looking forward to a run at a fourth Cup for the Blackhawks. Instead, they became an absolute dumpster fire. I almost didn't want to write this post. But I pressed on last year after a Game 7 heartbreaker in St. Louis, and I will press on this year even after a sweep at the hands of the freaking Predators.

2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs Predictions

Today begins one of the most fun and most stressful (if your team is in it) times of year: playoff hockey is upon us.

16 teams begin their quest in the next two days for the greatest trophy in all of sports. The next two weeks will be crazy though, with eight series playing out.

Today's post will focus on the first round, but at the end I will make my pre-postseason Cup prediction.