Halloween Edition: Scariest Players in Sports 2012

Every fan has a certain player they never want to face with the ball in their hands at the end of a game, in the net in Game 7, or wide open beyond the three point arch. As I did last year, it is time to rank the ten scariest players in sports. The list features four NFL, two MLB, two NHL, and two NBA players, with only two returners from last years list.

10. Mike Trout, Around the Fence

Trout burst onto the scene in 2012 immediately throwing his name in the MVP race. He was second in the league in batting average, first in runs scored, first in bases stolen, and first in WAR. But what he makes this list for is his glove. With an incredible leaping and athlete ability, hitters have to hold their breath every time they hit the ball anywhere near his direction.

9. Patrick Willis and Navarro Bowman, Against the Run

Willis and Bowman have together formed the leagues most feared linebacking core. The two use their size and speed to track down any opposing running back and teams often avoid running at all against them. At just 27 and 24 years of age respective, they should be terrorizing offenses for years to come.

8. Claude Giroux, In Open Space

Leading the Flyers for the past two seasons now, Giroux proved to the Penguins in the playoffs last year exactly how scary he was. In one of the most competitive, violent playoff series of recent memory, Giroux was at his finest. Claude came through in the regular season for the Flyers as well finishing second in assists and third in overall points. Whether he is squeezing a pass between two defenders or finishing a one timer, Giroux is a scary man in open space.

7. JJ Watt, Rushing the Passer

Watt is following up a solid rookie season with an outstanding first half in 2012. The second year defensive end out of Wisconsin uses a combination of size and quickness to terrorize quarterbacks. This season his he leads the league with 9.5 sacks through 8 weeks and seems to be always making plays for the 6-1 Texans.

6. Henrick Lundquist, Between the Pipes

Lundquist has proven himself to be the rock that holds the Rangers defense together. Over and over  we see the Rangers goaltender standing on his head to preserve a victory. His huge 2012 season where he posted a unbelievable 1.97 goals against average earned him the Venzina Trophy as the leagues top goaltender.

5. Rob Gronkowski, In the Red-zone

Coming off the best statistical season ever by a tight end last season, "Gronk" has been dominating the 2012 season as well. Tom Brady's favorite red-zone target is a terrifying matchup problem for linebackers and safeties across the league. His off the field antics along with his dominating talent have made him one of the leagues most intriguing players. He also likes to spike the ball...

4. Kevin Durant, As a Scorer

Kevin Durant has been a defenders worst nightmare in the NBA. He has now lead the league in scoring the past three seasons and developed into a star that can take over any game. When Durant is feeling it, he is nearly impossible to guard. His ability was on full display during the Western Conference Finals last year versus the Spurs when he and teammate Russell Westbrook led the Thunder from an 0-2 deficit.

3. Justin Verlander, Throwing Heat

During the past two seasons, Verlander has established himself as the best pitcher in baseball. Last season he became the first pitcher in nearly 25 years to win both the Cy Young award and American League MVP award. This season a favorite to win his second Cy Young. He has been known to throw heat deep into games often nearly 100mph in the 7th and 8th innings of games. Without a doubt Verlander is the scariest pitcher in baseball today, mainly due to his devastating fastball.

2. Eli Manning, 2 Minute Drill

Last year Tom Brady was the one listed as "Scariest" for his 2 minute drills however Eli Manning is proving time and time again that he deserves the title. It doesn't matter if Manning has played brutally for the entire game, he has an uncanny ability to forget a bad play as soon as it happens. Opposing defenses can never feel safe when Manning has the ball down late. And after leading two game winning drives in Super Bowls, Manning's "clutchness" can no longer be categorized as luck.

1. Lebron James, After Winning a Championship

The pressure surrounding James during the first eight years of his career may have been greater than that any other athlete has ever faced. Criticized for every shortcoming throughout his career, mentally Lebron was unable to handle the pressure at times and it affected his play. Now that James has finally gotten his ring the league needs to watch out. Being able to play carefree for the first time in his career, Lebron could lead the Heat to many more championships. The NBA and all of his rivals should be worried, because Lebron James is the Scariest Player in Sports.

HALLOWEEN BONUS:

Scariest Looking Players in Sports

5. Terrell Suggs, Ravens

4. Marquis Daniels, Bucks

3. Chris "Birdman" Anderson, Free Agent

2. Marshawn Lynch, Seahawks

1. This Guy, Texas Tech

The Biggest Game of the Year That Means Nothing

Usually when Penn State and Ohio State meet, the game has big postseason implications. This year Ohio State is undefeated and ranked in the top 10 by the Associated Press. Penn State enters the game winners of five straight games and undefeated in league play. Any other year this game would be making national headlines. However due to the sanctions against both institutions, this game has no bearing on who will win the Big 10's Leaders division or who will go on to a BCS bowl.

Both schools must credit their success to their new coaches. Urban Meyer has been known for having tremendous achievement in his first year on campus and this season in Columbus is no different, leading the team to an 8-0 record. In any other season, Ohio State would be one of the favorites to make the National Championship game. Everyone knows what Penn State has gone through off the field and combined with losing several key players due to transfers in the offseason, they were faced with an almost no win situation. However first year head coach Bill O'Brien has inspired the team to prove the nation wrong. Almost no one believed Penn State could have any success after everything that the community and team had been through in the past year and after losing their first two games to lesser opponents, it seemed they were right. However after dismantling their past five opponents, O'Brien's squad has proved the critics wrong. The Nittany Lions are playing with a chip on their shoulder and out to prove each week that they will not become irrelevant. The winner of this game will mostly win the Big 10 Coach of the Year, baring a late season collapse. 

Ohio State is led by the electric sophomore quarterback Braxton Miller, who is dominating opponents with his arm and legs. Last week versus Purdue however, Miller was victim of a vicious hit and is now listed as questionable for this weeks game. Penn State is lead by senior linebacker Michael Mauti, who has lead by example and been a great leader through the entire ordeal, on and off the field. On paper, Ohio State is the more talented team, but Penn State is out to prove the world wrong, so there is no telling what could happen. 

This game has been written off by the national media as a game with little impact on the 2012 season, however this game has huge impact for both schools, especially Penn State. After losing some of their scholarships and postseason play for the next four years, recruiting has become extremely difficult for the Nittany Lions. O'Brien and his staff are still managing to compete with the rest of the nation and have five star quarterback Christian Hackenberg committed. This game, along with the entire season, is big to show recruits that Penn State can still compete at the highest level and though they have no postseason, the atmosphere surrounding big time college football is still very present in Happy Valley. 

Without a postseason to look forward to, this game has quickly become one of the biggest games of the season for both. The atmosphere at Beaver Stadium will be electric and should be the most packed game of the year. Bill O'Brien has his team believing in themselves and are playing for respect. Though a win for Ohio State would be big, they don't have same motivation to win that Penn State has. That combined with the home field advantage is why I predict a 34-31 Penn State victory. 

Reid Out of Answers

Andy Reid has lost control of his team. As Head of Football Operations for the Philadelphia Eagles, Reid is in total control of the players he brings in to the team as well as what happens throughout the season on the field. For the first 10 years(1999-08) of his head coaching career, he was one of the best at both getting the most out of his players and managing his team throughout the week. He won 5 NFC East titles, went to 5 NFC Championship games and one Super Bowl. He had a formula for winning and with Donavan McNabb and Brian Dawkins leading his offense and defense respectively, the team was one of the best in the league over the 10 year stretch. Since then, Reid hasn't won a playoff game.

Andy Reid is doing the same thing he has been doing since he was hired in 1999 but now, its no longer working. He has always been criticized for passing too often, has been inefficent with timeouts, and been mum to the media about what goes on behind closed doors, but before he was winning. Over the past four years(and especially the last year in a half) Andy Reid has become worried for his NFL life because he hasn't changed what he has done for so many years, but he is no longer producing dominating teams. He has brought in marquee free agents, tried to build through the draft, and made changes in almost every positional coach, but many have resulted in disasters. He is questioning everything he does because he has no explanation why things aren't turning out successful for him and his team.

All of the mistakes Reid has made over the past four years has led him into the hole finds himself in and unfortunately for Reid, the hole is becoming too deep to climb out of. Reid has become incredibly indecisive with his decision making, going back and forth on issues, mainly that of quarterback play and issues surrounding the defensive coaching staff. Yesterday Andy Reid fired defensive coordinator Juan Castillo, replacing him with secondary coach Todd Bowles. During his press conference, Reid left the door open for more changes to be made, including that of turnover machine, Michael Vick. Replacing Vick would come at cost to Reid's reputation as he would again be admitting that he made a mistake, like the one he made with hiring Castillo for the defensive coordinator position.

Standing at 3-3 going into the Bye Week, things are not all bad for the team. There are still ten games to be played and the team could rally around the changes Reid is making. Team owner Jeffrey Lurie has made it clear however, that Reid is skating on thin ice. Andy Reid is running out of excuses, running out of people to fire, and running out of time. Without drastic improvement from the mediocre first third of the season, Reid could be the one that gets axed.

No Clear Favorite, But A lot of Contenders.

The college football season is well underway and as we enter the second half of the regular season one thing is clear: There are a lot of dominant teams this year. Out of the top seven, only Alabama and Oregon have been in this position recently. It is an exciting group of newcomers featuring some teams we haven't seen in the top 10 for a few years. Let's breakdown the seven undefeated teams in the AP top 10. Alabama is clearly the favorite and have dominated everyone they have seen this year. Expect to see them again in the national title. Next is Oregon. After losing LaMichael James and Darron Thomas last season, many expected Oregon to be down this season. But Chip Kelly has once again proven that speed kills, with his do everything sophomore De'Anthony Thomas leading the way as one of the nations most exciting players. Next we see a pair of SEC East teams in Florida and South Carolina. South Carolina proven they are deserving of this ranking last week against Georgia, tearing them apart at home. Florida has returned to the top 5 after two down years and has a huge matchup versus the Gamecocks in two weeks. The Big 12 is well represented next with West Virginia and Kansas State. Outside of Alabama, these two teams may have been the most dominating so far, led by Heisman favorites Geno Smith for West Virginia and  Kansas State's Collin Klein. The two high scoring offenses are on a collision course, set to meet in West Virginia next Saturday. Finally we welcome back Notre Dame and Ohio State. Though OSU is ineligible for the postseason, it is clear that Urban Meyer's squad led by QB Braxton Miller are the real deal. Look for OSU to be National Championship contenders next season. Notre Dame may be the most exciting story this year in college football. Led by Senior Linebacker Manti Te'o, the Irish have stormed to a 5-0 start. They face their biggest test in Stanford this Saturday in South Bend.

So far, all of these teams look to be extremely talented and each could make a case for the national title game. The next three weeks will help decide which one of these dominating teams are the real deal, as all face huge tests. It will be interesting to see how these teams react to playing every game in the national spotlight. Out of the SEC I think that Alabama is too strong for anyone to beat again, though Florida will put up the biggest fight. In the Big 12 I am going to take the under-appreciated Kansas State Wildcats to win the division and would not be surprised to see Collin Klein take home the Heisman. In the Big 10 I think that Ohio State or Penn State will end up being the best team in the division but since neither can advance past the regular season I am looking at Nebraska to play in the Rose Bowl. Out west in the PAC-12 it will come down to whether Matt Barkley shows up to play versus Oregon or not in their matchup on November 3rd. He has been inconsistent thus far but if he does play well, I think USC wins the conference, but watch out for Oregon State too. I like Clemson in the ACC and Cincinnati in the Big East, though neither conference will have any impact on the National title race.

This year could turn out to be one of the most exciting in recent years with so much talent and explosive offenses in the Top 10. For my National Championship prediciton I see Alabama and Kansas State, with Alabama's defense leading them to a repeat.

Games to watch in the next three weeks

10/13

-Oklahoma vs Texas, 12pm

-Stanford at Notre Dame, 7pm

-South Carolina at LSU, 8pm

10/20

-South Carolina at Florida, TBA

-Kansas State at West Virginia, 7pm

10/27

-Ohio State at Penn State, TBA

-Notre Dame at Oklahoma, TBA

-Mississippi St. at Alabama, TBA

6 Questions to Ask as the NBA Season Approaches.

With NBA training camps opening around the league this week it's time to take a look at a few questions for the upcoming season:

Can the Lakers take down the Heat?

The Lakers obviously went all in this offseason. Adding Dwight Howard brought the Lakers the league's most dominate big man. Howard brings an intense defensive passion to the game and will create matchup problems on the offense end for most opposing teams. With Steve Nash at point guard he will be able to spread the floor and score when called upon, but he is no longer performing at the level of his two MVP seasons a few years ago. He is definitely an upgrade over what the team had last season however. Even with these two big additions, Kobe has been adamant that this is still his team, and he is correct. This team will go as far as Kobe takes them. The window is closing for the Lakers as they have become one of the oldest teams in the league (average age of starter is over 32). They will have to find quick chemistry and get the most out of their bench to be on the Heat's level. A better question may be will they be able to take down the young, explosive Thunder in the West?

Does the addition of Andrew Bynum make the 76ers a legitimate threat in the East?

Last season the Sixers surprised many people by making it to the second round of the playoffs and taking the Celtics to a 7th game. They did so by playing tough defense and winning at home. Doug Collins is one of the league's best coaches at getting the most out of a player. Losing Lou Williams won't be that big a loss as they filled his role with a better shooting Nick Young. The loss of Andre Iguodola may prove to be costly however. Iguodola often went unappreciated but the 2011 All-Star is one of the leagues best perimeter defenders and his loss will be noticed. Moving Iguodola was a move the team had to do in order to bring the NBA's second best center to the City of Brotherly Love. The Sixers have not had a dominating center like Bynum since Moses Malone. Bynum is a matchup problem for most of the Eastern Conference and his skill, along with Jrue Holliday, Evan Turner, and a deep bench should take the Sixers on a deep playoff run. Though their future is bright, this team, as it is put together now, will not win an NBA Championship. They must add one more star to the roster before they will be able to compete with the Miami Heat.

What rookie not named Anthony Davis has the best chance to win the Rookie of the Year award?

First overall pick Anthony Davis is the clearcut favorite to win the Rookie of the Year award but there a few other names that should definitely be considered. Out of Webber State, Damian Lillard is a name that is becoming known around the league, and he hasn't even played a game yet. Portland's score first point guard has a large athletic frame that helped him to dominate the Las Vegas Summer League, averaging 26 points per game. In some eyes, Lillard should be favored to win the ROY award even with Anthony Davis being considered. Some other names to watch for are the Bobcats Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Detriot's new seven-footer Andre Drummond.

Will Brandon Roy and Andrei Kirilenko return the All-Star form for Portland?

With Brandon Roy coming back from injury and Andrei Kirkilenko returning to the NBA from Russia,  Minnasota added two veterans to a young talented team. However, Roy is no lock to return to star status he had in Portland. His knee's health is a major question mark and the Timberwolves took a big risk by signing him. Kirilenko is by no means what he was three or four years ago in Utah but if he can learn to play a role coming off the bench, he does have the talent to help this team. The question marks surrounding both players are large, but IF Brandon Roy's knee is healthy and IF Kirilenko can learn to play a role, the Timberwolves have the talent to make a playoff run.

What team is poised for a breakout season?

Three teams come to mind when thinking of breakout teams in 2012. First, the New Orleans Hornets. Ask anyone around the NBA and they will tell you that Anthony Davis is the real deal. Fellow rookie Austin Rivers has star potential, but it is to be seen whether he can produce in the NBA. Teamed with one of the leagues most underrated guards, Eric Gordon, it will be interesting to see what this team of extreme potential produces. Another team that is bubbling with young talent is the Minnesota Timberwolves. Kevin Love is one of the league's best big men and if Ricky Rubio can return from ACL surgery producing at the same or greater level than his rookie year, the T-Wolves could play a big role in the Western Conference playoff picture. Finally, we have to mention the Brooklyn Nets. They created a lot of buzz with their big name signings this offseason. With Joe Johnson, Gerald Wallace, Brooks Lopez, and Deron Williams, they have the makings of a playoff team. However, Russian owner Mikhail Prokhorov seems to be throwing money around with no real plan other than bring in big name players. The Nets will definitely be much improved from last season, but still are no contender, and are not even the best team in their city.

Can anyone beat the Heat?

Simple answer? No. The Thunder and Lakers have the best opportunity but we saw how Lebron and Dwayne Wade dominated Durant and company in the finals last year and the Lakers are old and lack depth. It will be interesting to see how the Heat use Ray Allen. Playing with two players that demand double teams in Wade and James, Allen will see plenty of open three point attempts. However, Allen struggled last season and questions about his ability to defend have arisen. The Heat have a fairly easy run through the East setting up for a rematch with the Thunder or a matchup with star-studded Lakers. Whoever they face, Lebron James and Dwayne Wade seem to be unstoppable.