Rays Should Not Despair

After losing Game 1 at home 3-2 to the Phillies Wednesday night, many Rays fans probably immediately started to worry. It was game 1, and they immediately surrendered the momentum they had. It was a home game, and they had the best home record in the majors. Kazmir gave them a good outing. 

It's not all bad, though. 

The winner of game 1 has won 63 of the 103 World Series that have been decided in the best-of-7 format. That's really not that significant, because there are numbers that go in the Rays' favor, too. Consider that the team with home-field advantage has won 18 of the past 22 meetings. 

Rays fans should also bear in mind that while the Phillies put their ace out on the mound for game 1 (Hamels, who was absolutely brilliant), Tampa's Garza won't come out until game 3. 

One more note: Upton, Pena, and Longoria combined for an 0-12 for Tampa Bay. No, this can't be counter-argued by saying "well Howard was terrible, too." Ryan Howard has been terrible this entire postseason, while those three at the top of the Tampa lineup have been dynamite. 

If Tampa loses game 2, then it's time to worry. But until then, know that most things will only get better. 

Looking Back

With so many sports going on at once, how can you keep track of them all? You don't have to, but I will. Every Monday I will look back and hit briefly upon the five story lines that stuck out from the previous weekend.

1. Maryland proved - again - that it has the talent to win the ACC. Yes, the entire ACC. As we know, though, we won't really have learned anything about the Terps until after this coming week, after another classic trap game. This time it's against NC State, 0-3 in the conference. Please don't lose.

2. The AFC Wild Card race is going to be a good one. The Patriots got a leg up on the competition just a minute ago with a 41-7 thrashing of Denver. The Jets, Ravens, Jags, and Colts all sit right behind them at 3-3, and the Chargers confuse at 3-4. 

3. Meanwhile, the NFC Divisional races look to be the hot thing. In the East, all four teams have shown definite strengths and weaknesses, and any of the four could be there at the end of the year. In the North, the Packers and the Bears stepped forward with huge wins this weekend. In the South, the Bucs and Panthers both look extremely strong, but don't count out the Falcons. In the West, the Rams - yes, the Rams - may be charging, and you can't say with certainty that the Cardinals won't choke. 

4. The Rays earned their trip to the World Series. The odds were stacked against them.

 After letting down from a 7-0 lead in game 5, the Rays lost in game 6, and had absolutely 0 momentum in game 7. But thanks to a pitching gem by Garza, they somehow did it. I've been riding the Phillies bandwagon the entire postseason, but they're going to have to overcome a Rays team with an absolutely unreal amount of spunk.

5. For lack of anything else, have you seen Colt McCoy's stats? This guy is so by far and away the Heisman trophy winner through the halfway point it's not even fair. The numbers: 81% passing, 1894 passing yards, 19:3 TD:INT, 371 yards rushing, 6 TDs

The only one close is Bradford, but he doesn't have the rushing yards, and he doesn't play for the number one team in the nation.