The Voice On Sports 10/9/15

by Robert Vincent
1.21 Gigawatts
And the playoffs have begun!!!!

This week, the Major League post season kicked off in a big way when The Yankees lost and the Cubs won. This weekend, the Divisional Round of the playoffs hit and it looks like the best matchups are in the National League. The Mets will be taking on the Dodgers and the Cubs head off against their archrivals, The Cardinals. The AL has Houston versus Kansas City and Texas versus Toronto.

There are many ways to try to figure out who is going to win these series, but I will tell you MY way…Back to the Future Part 2. That’s right, a movie. When Marty McFly goes into the far future of the year 2015, he sees that the Cubs have just won the World Series. Therefore, Faithful Sports Reader, my predictions are as follows: Mets in 6, KC in 5, Blue Jays in 4 and Cubs in 6.

Number 20
Last week, I let you know that beginning this week, I will be counting down my top 20 sports dynasties of all time, so, let’s begin with number 20.

THE SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS
They began in 1883 as the New York Gothams, changed their name to The Giants in 1886 and moved to San Francisco in 1958. During that span, they have won 8 World Series, but the dynasty status really hit The Giants in the 1920’s and 30’s and reemerged over the course of the past decade.
Beginning in 1921 and ending in 1937, The Giants made it to seven World Series, winning three, under the management of John McGraw and Bill Terry. They had names like Casey Stengel, Edd Roush, Mel Ott and “Iron Man” Joe McGinnity. They had a southpaw star in Carl Hubbell or “The Meal Ticket” who, in the 1934 All-Star Game, struck out five future AL Hall of Famers in a row. Those being Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, Al Simmons and Joe Cronin.

In the 1950’s they had Willie Mays and they swept the Indians in the 1954 World Series. Then there was the come-from-behind ninth-inning walk-off home run by Bobby Thompson that won the NL pennant. That was “The Shot Heard Round The World”.

They moved to San Francisco. Success followed. They went to more World Series, but the most exciting time began in the 1990’s, with Barry Bonds, and then in the 2010’s, where in a span of five years, they won three World Series, with names like Lincecum, Renteria and Posey.

Eight Championships and 23 NL Pennants and dominance in the NL during the 20’s-30’s and 2010’s make the Giants of San Francisco (or New York) the twentieth greatest dynasty.
​
Bits and Pieces
I told you my baseball picks, so for NFL:
Broncos over Raiders, Patriots over Cowboys, Bengals over Seahawks and Giants over Niners.
And so, until next week, I leave you with this:
“Ninety feet between home plate and first base may be the closest man has ever come to perfection.”-Red Smith.