CHAMPIONSHIP WEEKEND PREDICTIONS

Championship weekend is here and we are in for two great games.  This year's playoffs have been as exciting as one can remember.  If the teams remaining play the way they have been playing we will be talking this day for years to come. Here are my predictions.

In the NFC the Los Angeles Rams go to New Orleans to play the Saints.  Both teams are averaging more than 30 points a game but I feel it's the defenses that will make the difference in this game.  The Saints will win this one 19-13 and head to Atlanta for the Superbowl.

The AFC Championship has the New England Patriots hosting the Kansas City Chiefs.  The Chiefs are having a memorable season but face a tough team that seems to get better as they get closer to the Superbowl.  Patriots win a shootout 45-38.

BAD HIRE FOR THE ARIZONA CARDINALS

The Arizona Cardinals hired Kliff Kingsbury to be their next head coach.  While I admirer the timeliness of the hire I do not like the hire itself.  Everything about it screams Steve Wilks all over again.

When Wilks was fired everyone in the media said the next head coach needs to have head coaching experience.  Not only did they not do that, they went out and found a guy with less experience than Wilks.  Kingsbury was a head coach in college but has zero experience in the NFL.  He didn't even have a winning record while at Texas A&M.  He went 35-40 with a 1-2 record in bowls games in his 6 years as a head coach.

The Cardinals wanted an offensive minded head coach and figured he can hire a veteran defective coordinator.  Why couldn't they just hire a veteran defective coordinator as their next head coach? 

The hire if Wilks last season should show the front office the risk you take in hiring a head coach with no experience.  The lack of a good leader can damage the whole team.

The Cardinals should have hired someone with experience last season and they should have again this season.  Even if it was a defensive guy.  The Cardinals, before last season have had consistently good defenses so let an defensive coordinator with head coaching experience run the team.  Then you can bring in Kingsbury to just worry about offense and you can groom him to be the next head coach.

PREVIEWING ROUND 2 OF NFL PLAYOFFS

We are in week two of the NFL playoffs.  There are four games scheduled this weekend.  Two today and two tomorrow.  Here is my preview and predictions.

In the first game the Indianapolis Colts travel to Kansas City to face the Chiefs.  Andrew Luck is on a roll and I don't see it stopping.  I have the Colts by a touchdown, 24-17.

The Saturday night game has Dallas going to LA where the Cowboys will play the Rams.  As much as it pains me to pick them, I have Cowboy's winning 30-20.  I just don't thing the Rams are for real yet.  Hopefully I am wrong on this one.

On Sunday the first game is New England hosting San Diego.  I know it is rare to see the Patriots one and done but I think we see it this year.  Chargers 19-16.

The final game if the weekend is the Philadelphia Eagles going to visit the Saints.  Like I said last week the Week Eagles will again be in the Superbowl.  Philadelphia wins this one 35-32.

Last week a went 4-0 so let's see how I do this weekend.

ARIZONA CARDINALS HIRE KLIFF KINGSBURY

The Arizona Cardinals have hired former Texas Tech and USC coach Kliff Kingsbury as there next head coach.  The offensive guru interviewed with the New York Jets yesterday.  He left New York and came to Arizona, where he agreed on a four year contract with a team option for year five.

Now the question becomes who he brings to join his coaching staff.  He will most likely hire a veteran defective coordinator with head coaching experience.

Kingsbury is a risky hire because he comes with NFL coaching experience.

WILDCARD WEEKEND PREDICTIONS

The NFL Playoffs start today with the wild card round.  Seven teams are new to the playoffs, so this should be an exciting time.  Here are my predictions.

The first game is the Indianapolis Colts against the Houston Texans.  This is a battle of two great Qb's.  I give the edge to Andrew Luck.  Colts win a close one 28-24.

The night game today is the Seattle Seahawks at the Dallas Cowboys.  This is a tough game to pick as both teams are hot lately.  This is a pick em game to me.  But if I must pick Dallas wins 10-9.

Sunday's first game is the Chargers and the Ravens.  This will be another fantastic game.  I think Lamar Jackson's Cinderella story ends as quick as it began.  Chargers win big 35-14.

The last of the wild card games may end up being the best.  Chicago will host Philadelphia.  I have the Eagles winning 45-42.  Let me go on record now.  The Philadelphia Eagles will win their second Superbowl in a row.

PREDICTING 2019

Earlier this week I gave out the first ever Guru Awards.  These are my end of year awards for the sports teams in Arizona.  The teams are the Cardinals, Suns, Diamondbacks, Coyotes, Arizona State basketball and football and Arizona basketball and football.  While those are the main teams you may see Grand Canyon basketball, The Mercury and the Rattlers.

SO I have decided to predict who I think will win each award for 2019.  It will be fun to look back in a year to see if i was right on any or if I was way off.  So without further ado here are my predictions for The 2019 Guru Awards.

BEST NEWCOMER: The best newcomer will be Nick Bosa of the Arizona Cardinals.  Regardless of who becomes coach need to draft Bosa number 1 overall.

BEST PLAYER: Devin Booker of the Phoenix Suns.  This year with prove the Suns are starting to turn the corner towards a playoff spot and that doesn't happen with their best player being the superstar he is.

BEST COACH: This will be a hard choice as it will come down between ASU's Herm Edwards and Bobby Hurley.  I give the slight edge to Hurley, who already has his team thinking PAC12 Champs.

BEST TEAM: The award goes to ASU basketball.  I predict a top two finish in the PAC12 and an appearance in the Elite 8.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT: The Cardinals will run away with this award.  Like there has been for the past 3 seasons, regardless of who is coaching this team next year there will be unachievable high expectations that the team will not be able to live up too.

BIGGEST SURPRISE: The biggest surprise will be University of Arizona QB Kalil Tate.  He will have the breakout season he had last year and surprise the country.

So those are my picks.  Let's see how I do when the year ends.

ARIZONA CARDINALS FIRE STEVE WILKS, BUT WHY?

Monday the Arizona Cardinals fired Steve Wilks after just one season as head coach.  The Cardinals finished the season 3-13.  Wilks firing was not a surprise, but I ask the question, why?

I didn't agree with the hire from the beginning.  I thought they should have went after and offensive minded coach.  Instead they went complete of former and winningest coach Bruce Arians.

So why hire a guy that you said was the right man for the job yet you only give him one season to show what he can do?  Like I said all along Wilks was a bad hire, but give the man at two seasons to see what he can do.

2018 GURU AWARDS: A YEAR TO FORGET IN AZ SPORTS

2019 is finally here and on behalf of Arizona sports fans, we could not be happier.  It was a terrible year to be an athlete on one of Arizona's sports teams.

2018 was a year we, as an Arizona sports fan, would like to forget.  But before we do, let's look and and give out send awards.

I have chose six categories of awards.  So without further ado here are the first annual Guru Awards.

BEST NEWCOMER: This award goes to the best athlete in their first year with an Arizona team.  The winner is DeAdre Ayton of the Phoenix Suns.  He was the first overall draft pick and even though the team is off to a slow start he has played well.  He quietly performs well night in and night out.  He has a bright future in the NBA.

BEST PLAYER:. This is the MVP OF Arizona.  It was hard to decide this winner because no team did well or even made the playoffs this year.  My choice is Larry Fitzgerald, wide receiver of the Arizona Cardinals.  He is 35 years old and may have played his final game in the NFL but is still one of the best receivers in the league.

BEST COACH: This was an easy pick for me, in part because all the other teams in Arizona we're so bad this year.  The award goes to Herm Edwards of Arizona State football.  His hire was publicly criticized by many in the media.  Edwards made them "eat crow" when he led the Sun Devils to a bowl game, including myself.

BEST TEAM: This award goes to the Arizona Wildcats men's basketball team.  They we're stuck in the middle of a huge scandal and still managed to win the PAC 12 and make the NCAA Tournament.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT: While this award could have gone to the Arizona Cardinals I am giving it to Sam Bradford.  The QB came to Arizona to prove himself a valuable starter but was quickly replaced after a terrible start to the season.

BIGGEST SURPRISE: The football coaches.  The Cardinals, The ASU Sun Devils and the Arizona Wildcats all hired new coaches and expectations were very high.  No one saw what was coming, losing seasons from the Wildcats and the Cardinals and a winning season from the least expected team, ASU.  The major surprise was the Cardinals firing Steve Wilks after just one season.

Those are the first ever Guru Awards.  Let's all hope 2019 is a better year for the Arizona sports world.