#NerdsUnite: Play on playa! (Breaking down the world of sports so you don't have to!)
<editorsnote> Nerds, meet my buddy Derek - I met him when I was professor for a day at CSUF. Really rad dude, and he wants to come on board to help explain to us nerdy folk the wild world of sports. Smart dude, and knows his shizzy shiznat. I only have one more thing left to say ... HIT IT DEREK!!! </editorsnote>
#TalkNerdyToMeLover's @DerekJ_AllDay
Hello nerd nation! Hope everyone had a great Martin Luther King day! The sports world continues to stir as the NFL playoffs march on with a huge upset and some extremely entertaining match-ups coming up this weekend! Not only will I be updating all of you on the NFL, but with about 17 games left in the English Premier League soccer season I will be breaking down how the league and it's playoffs work. Buckle up sports nerds!
On paper, Saturday's NFL playoff match-ups appeared to have one great game and one complete stinker. The Saints and 49ers game was a complex battle between a phenomenal Saint's offense and the 49ers with the best defense in the NFL, but in the end neither of these were the deciding factor. The winning piece was the 49ers apparently underrated quarterback Alex Smith. Even though he plays the most important position on the team, Smith was not presumed to be the reason the 49ers won. Instead, he was probably predicted to be the reason they lost. With the odds stacked against him, and his previously dominant defense leaking points like a faulty faucet, Alex Smith led his team to 36 points in their 36-32 NFC Divisional victory! Then....there was New England against Denver. The Denver Tebows gave it their best effort, but this stinker stunk up to high altitude heaven. The Patriots completely dismantled the Tebow train 45-10 in the AFC Divisional game, and Tom Brady once again looks ready to lead his team to another chance at a Super Bowl.
There were no stinkers in the lineup for Sunday's NFL playoff games, that is a fact. Both of my Super Bowl picks played on Sunday, and only one came out alive. The Houston Texans faced off against my Super Bowl pick the Baltimore Ravens. With the Ravens coming off of a playoff bye week, and the Texans on a momentous roll, the Texans were able to put up a fight. In the end, the injury riddled Texans couldn't keep up with Baltimore and lost 20-13 in the other AFC Divisional Playoff. This means that Baltimore will be competing against the Patriots next weekend for the opportunity to represent the AFC (and my bowl pick) in the Super Bowl. My other Super Bowl pick and reigning Super Bowl Champions, the Green Bay Packers, also played on Sunday against the New York Giants. In an unbelievable upset the Giants prevailed by the not so close score of 37-20...how did this happen? Green Bay went 15-1 during the regular season, and they beat New York earlier this season even though the score was very close. Green Bay simply looked rusty, unprepared and quite frankly appeared to think they could take the Giants for granted. Sadly, my NFC Super Bowl pick died with the Pack, but congratulations to New York on a great game, and good luck to them against that vicious 49ers defense! With the table set...my picks for the upcoming weekend are...the Ravens (obviously), and with my previous Super Bowl pick out, I will choose the 49ers to win! Yes, I am bitter, but I also think that Harbaugh and his crazy defense can slow down Eli Manning.
Across the pond and in a galaxy far far away, lies the most elite soccer league in the World, the English Premier League (AKA the Barclays Premier League). There are too many leagues to count across the world, but between all of them the one that all soccer players dream to play in one day is the EPL. From a fans perspective the EPL's entertainment is unmatched, and the simplicity of it's structure makes it easily accessible even to the most casual of sports fans. The English Premier League consists of 20 teams full of the best of the best soccer players from around the world. 38 games are played in a season and each game is about 90 minutes long. All 20 teams are directly competing against each other in the standings to reach the playoffs. Unlike most major leagues, only 4 of the 20 teams make it into the postseason. How are the 4 teams decided? Well, it really couldn't be much simpler. At the end of the season, the top 4 teams with the most points move on to the playoffs. Teams collect points by the following...a win is worth 3 points, a draw (tie) is worth 1 point for both teams, and a loss is zero points.
The basic functions of the EPL are pretty straight forward, but the league gets more exciting. The playoffs are not simply decided between the 4 teams that advance at the end of the season. Instead those teams advance to a massive tournament of 32 teams called the UEFA Champions League. The competitors in this tournament are the postseason qualifiers from all of the other leagues across the world. This is where the EPL truly becomes one of a kind. They literally bring the best teams from across the world to compete for the Championship, and to truly be named the best soccer team on the planet.
This is not where the originality of the EPL ends. Of the 20 teams that are in the EPL, the top 17 in the standings are able to stay in the league and compete next season. The 3 teams that are at the bottom of the standings, are demoted to the league below the EPL, and must finish in the top 3 for that lesser league over the course of the next season in order to return to the promised land of the EPL. If you fail as a team, or have just one bad season and finish in the bottom 3, then you actually lose a full season and are at risk to lose many more. That is how much is on the line every day and every season in the EPL, and this is why it is debatable that the drama of this league is unmatched.
Hope you are all excited for the playoff games this weekend! Go Ravens! Go 49ers! Who do you guys think will end up in the Super Bowl? Tweet me @DerekJ_AllDay! Soccer fan? Go Arsenal! Let's hear what you have to say about us finishing top 4 this year! It's gonna happen! Peace out guys!