Which KBO League team should Chiefs fans root for?

Sports return early Tuesday morning with the Korean Baseball Organization coming to ESPN.

The sporting world has been bleak with the COVID-19 pandemic suspending league play across the globe. That will change now that ESPN has come to an agreement to televise six Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) games per week starting late Tuesday evening.

“The KBO League is one of the greatest baseball leagues with world-class players and many exciting initiatives,” said KBO commissioner Un-Chan Chung in an ESPN press release. “During this unprecedented and difficult time, I hope the KBO League can bring consolation to the communities and provide guidelines to the world of sports. I am pleased that the KBO League can be introduced globally and hope this can be an opportunity for the development of our league and the sport.”

The KBO is one of the first professional sports leagues to reopen amid the pandemic. Not only will they seek to provide entertainment, but perhaps a pathway for other sports leagues to return during the pandemic. That fact alone should interest all sports fans.

The KBO is known for being a bit more dramatic than the MLB. Bat flips are encouraged, announcer calls are very animated, there is a lot more offensive play involved in the game too.

So what team should Chiefs fans consider rooting for? There are 10 teams in the league, each named after the companies that own them.

Doosan Bears
Hanwha Eagles
Kia Tigers
Kiwoom Heroes
KT Wiz
LG Twins
Lotte Giants
NC Dinos
Samsung Lions
SK Wyverns

If you want it to feel like you’re rooting for the Chiefs, you should pay attention to the Doosan Bears, who are the defending Korean Series champions. They’ve been to the championship game in six of the past seven seasons, winning three Korean Series titles. Their Mascot is a Steel Robot Bear. The team also features former MLB players Raul Alcantara, Jose Miguel Fernandez, Chris Flexen.

If you’re looking for Baseball-related ties, former Royals pitcher Aaron Brooks is a pitcher for the Kia Tigers. They’re like the New England Patriots of the KBO with 11 Korean Series titles, but lately, they have been on the decline.

Ultimately there are a ton of good options to choose from and plenty of reasons to choose. So be sure to let us know on Facebook and Twitter, which KBO League team you end up choosing.

The KBO League coverage kicks off on ESPN on Tuesday, May 5th at Midnight CT with the NC Dinos taking on the Samsung Lions.

Week 16 rooting guide: A backup plan for the Ravens’ playoff hopes

The Baltimore Ravens don’t need to win in Week 16 in order to clinch the No. 1 or No. 2 seed. All they need is a little help.

The Baltimore Ravens have a game of their own this week but with the 2019 season winding down, it’s the time of the year where we pay attention to the rest of the league.

While the Ravens can clinch the top spot in the AFC playoff picture by beating the Cleveland Browns, they have a pretty solid backup plan. With a little help, it won’t matter how Baltimore performs in Week 16, they can still lock up the No. 1 seed. But to get there, Ravens fans will have to start rooting for a few other teams.

Let’s take a look at which teams Baltimore should be cheering on in Week 16.

Buffalo Bills (10-4) at New England Patriots (11-3)

Rooting for: Bills

This is a huge game for both Buffalo and New England. It would open the door for the Bills to take the lead in the AFC East in Week 17 and could be the end of a Patriots stranglehold on the division. More importantly, it’s a piece of the puzzle for the Ravens this week.

If Baltimore were to fall to Cleveland, Buffalo beating New England would lock the Ravens into at least the No. 2 seed this week. Baltimore would get a first-round bye in the postseason if the Bills handle their business in Week 16.

Pages: 1234

Week 15 rooting guide: Ravens need a little help to lock up top playoff seeding

The Baltimore Ravens need a little bit of help from other teams to lock in the top seed in the AFC playoff picture. Here’s who to root for.

The Baltimore Ravens have already played their Week 15 game, defeating the New York Jets 42-21 on Thursday night. That gives them and all Ravens fans a chance to sit down on Sunday and watch the rest of the league.

With the playoffs getting sorted out, Baltimore has quite a few teams to root for this week. From who they could see in the postseason to potentially locking up the No. 1 seed this week, it’s a great week to watch football.

Here are the three teams you should be rooting for in Week 15

New England Patriots (10-3) at Cincinnati Bengals (1-12)

Rooting for: Bengals

This is a tall order to ask a team that has won just one game this season to dethrone one of the best teams in the league. But we’ve seen odder things happen before and Baltimore could really use this game, so we’re stuck rooting for Cincinnati.

A New England loss would guarantee the Ravens a top-2 seed. But it’s also just one part of what Baltimore needs to lock up the No. 1 seed. Not to mention, seeing the Patriots drop yet another game right before the playoffs is never a bad thing. It could help give the Ravens more positive game film to base any potential rematch on.

New England’s offense has been pretty cold this season, failing to get much momentum going on the ground or through the air. The Patriots have yet to see one of their running backs top 100 rushing yards in a game. Meanwhile, quarterback Tom Brady has seen 29 drops from his targets this season, topping last year’s total already.

The Bengals might not have a lot going for them, but they seem to have a better hold on what talent they do have. Finally switching back to Andy Dalton at quarterback, Cincinnati topped 450 total offensive yards last week and could be a good test against the Patriots’ defense.

Pages: 123

Colts in the playoff hunt: Week 12 rooting guide

Which teams should you root for in Week 12?

The Indianapolis Colts (6-5) played Thursday night in a matchup against the Houston Texans (7-4), resulting in a 20-17 road loss at NRG Stadium.

That loss will likely have some implications down the stretch when the playoff seeding is being finalized, and the Colts should have their eye on a few games this week that will impact the playoff race.

Here is the rooting guide for the Week 12 games:

Broncos (3-7) vs. Bills (7-3) — root: Broncos
Steelers (5-5) vs. Bengals (0-10)— root: Bengals
Raiders (6-4) vs. Jets (3-7) — root: Jets
Jaguars (4-6) vs. Titans (5-5) — root: Jaguars

The Bills currently hold the top wild-card spot in the AFC playoff race. Any help to get them closer to the pack would be nice for the Colts, who are in the middle of the hunt.

The Steelers currently hold the tiebreaker over the Colts in the playoff seeding so a loss will be necessary. However, they are playing the Bengals. Don’t get your hopes up.

The Raiders also hold the tiebreaker over the Colts because of their Week 4 win. The Colts have to have a better record than both the Raiders and the Steelers by season’s end to get in.

The Jaguars and Titans game is tough because if both teams could lose, that would be the option. The Colts hold the tiebreaker over the Titans so a loss would give a one-game cushion on top of the tiebreaker. The Colts also face the Titans in Week 13 so they could additionally creat some space in the race.

Know who to root for: Saints fan interests in every Week 12 game

The New Orleans Saints will host the Carolina Panthers in Week 12 of the NFL regular season, but fans have rooting interests in every game.

[jwplayer WU2Y8Ngc]

New Orleans Saints fans are getting ready to see their team kick off against the Carolina Panthers, but the NFL’s schedule features plenty of other games to watch afterwards. With the NFC playoff picture starting to take shape, now is as good a time as any to get up to get up to speed with the standings and know who to root for in every game this weekend. Here’s your Saints fan rooting guide. All odds are sourced from BetMGM.

Around the NFC South

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-7) at Atlanta Falcons (3-7). Falcons by 4.5. The Saints have swept the Buccaneers already, and the Falcons are their next opponent after the Panthers — on Thanksgiving night, no less. Root for the Buccaneers to give Atlanta all they can handle.

Painting the NFC Playoff Picture

Green Bay Packers (8-2) at San Francisco 49ers (9-1). 49ers by 3.5. This one is complicated. A Packers victory puts Green Bay in the top NFC playoff seed by way of tiebreaker, which means the Saints would have to hop the Packers lose a game later in the season. If the 49ers win, the Saints can control their own destiny by beating San Francisco later (if they win out until then, anyway). Root for the 49ers on Sunday Night Football.

Seattle Seahawks (8-2) at Philadelphia Eagles (5-5). Eagles by 1.5. Russell Wilson is an MVP favorite, and there are few quarterbacks more dangerous thanks to his accuracy and ability to keep plays alive with his legs. The Saints were fortunate to escape Seattle with a win earlier this season, and avoiding another matchup with him is in their interests. The Eagles haven’t been much of a threat to New Orleans lately, so root for Philadelphia.

Dallas Cowboys (6-4) at New England Patriots (9-1). Patriots by 6.5. The Cowboys are the least-terrible team in what may be the NFL’s weakest division. The Saints have beaten them once already, but who’s to say they’ll do it again after last year’s disaster and this year’s too-close-for-comfort finale? Root for the Patriots to keep the Cowboys weak.

Baltimore Ravens (8-2) at Los Angeles Rams (6-4). Ravens by 3.5. A loss on Monday Night Football would be a dagger into the heart of the Rams’ season, likely putting L.A. too far back in their division to reach the playoffs, so root for Lamar Jackson and former Saints running back Mark Ingram to do just that.

New York Giants (2-8) at Chicago Bears (4-6). Bears by 6.5. This is a winnable game for Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky, which says a lot about the state of the Giants. Chicago has proven to be no threat to New Orleans so long as Trubisky is under center, so root for the Bears to win and build enough optimism to keep him around for at least another year.

Leftovers and Lagniappe

Jacksonville Jaguars (4-6) at Tennessee Titans (5-5). Titans by 3.5. The Saints will play the Titans in a few weeks; Tennessee has rallied around Ryan Tannehill, but a loss here could push them closer to playing for draft positioning by the time that game comes around. Root for the Jaguars.

Miami Dolphins (2-8) at Cleveland Browns (4-6). Browns by 10.5. The Dolphins have a handful of former Saints players in prominent roles, including Vince Biegel and Ken Crawley. Root for Miami.

Detroit Lions (3-6-1) at Washington Redskins (1-9). Lions by 3.5. Root for Washington to win and improve their draft position, keeping a top prospect like Ohio State pass rusher Chase Young from joining them and playing against the Saints some day.

Denver Broncos (3-7) at Buffalo Bills (7-3). Bills by 3.5. The Broncos finding a way to win here would be entertaining, do root for that.

Oakland Raiders (6-4) at New York Jets (3-7). Raiders by 2.5. Raiders fans finally have a team worth cheering for, so root for their momentum to continue rolling.

Pittsburgh Steelers (5-5) at Cincinnati Bengals (0-10). Steelers by 6.5. This game is more winnable for the Bengals than JT appears, given the Steelers’ injuries and suspensions. Root for the Bengals to get their first win.

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services. Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

[vertical-gallery id=22891]

All the teams Cowboys need to lose in Week 11

There isn’t a team in the National Football Conference with as much on the line Sunday as the Dallas Cowboys. While the 5-4 club will square off against a foe not expected to compete for a playoff spot themselves, the Detroit Lions still have a lot …

With Dallas in a tie atop the NFC East with the Philadelphia Eagles, they cannot afford a slip up to an inferior opponent. Thusly, ESPN’s Brian Burke has crunched the numbers and according to their propietary formula, Dallas’ swing in playoff odds between a win and a loss is 23%, most in the conference.

According to stats website Five Thirty-Eight, Dallas currently has a 49% chance of making the playoffs, a 44% chance of winning the NFC East, a one percent chance of earning a bye and a two percent chance of winning the Super Bowl.

Football Outsiders has a much rosier picture painted, giving Dallas a 67% chance of making the playoffs, 63% chance of winning the NFC East and a 2.2% chance of earning one of the byes. They give the Cowboys a 8.8% chance of winning the conference, and a 4.2% chance of winning the whole thing.

Of course, Dallas’ chances of doing more than defend their NFC East crown is contingent on the rest of the schedule. They’ll be on the field, but their interests will be well represented in the rest of the schedule.

Here’s a look at who can help Dallas the most.

AFC over NFC

That pretty much goes without saying at this point, so rooting for:

Denver Broncos over Minnesota Vikings
New England Patriots over Philadelphia Eagles

Atlanta Falcons (2-7) @ Carolina Panthers (5-4)

The Panthers will be without Cam Newton for the rest of the year and have been performing like a fringe playoff team despite rolling with Kyle Allen at center. The Falcons tried to help Dallas out last week when they upset the Saints, but the Cowboys didn’t take advantage of it. Now, the Cowboys will be looking for more help, but for wild-card space and not a playoff bye.

Go Falcons.

New Orleans Saints (7-2) @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-6)

Technically Dallas isn’t out of the hunt for a playoff bye, so they’ll still be better served by the Saints losing than the Bucs, who are still a few games back in the wild-card race.

Go Bucs.

Arizona Cardinals (3-6-1) @ San Francisco 49ers (8-1)

Same drill here, as long as Dallas is mathematically in the race for a bye week, root for the team with the better record to lose.

Go Cards.

Chicago Bears (4-5) @ Los Angeles Rams (5-4)

Both of these teams remain on the Cowboys schedule, so Dallas controls their own destiny over both squads as long as they win. Which will be a bigger threat to the Cowboys? Well, the Bears easy schedule led to their success last season, and their offense has not looked productive at all. Surprisingly, neither has Sean McVay’s attack with the Rams.

The question is, which will likely emerge before the season is out? The money is on that team being the Rams, so they need to pile up losses while they are still dysfunctional.

Go Bears.

[vertical-gallery id=634000][vertical-gallery id=633628][lawrence-newsletter]

New Orleans Saints fan rooting guide for every game in Week 11

The New Orleans Saints are playing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 11, but there’s other games on tap. Here’s the Saints fan rooting guide.

[jwplayer FXiwQx5O]

The NFL’s calendar is turning towards Week 11, with plenty of action ahead outside of the New Orleans Saints’ road game with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Here’s who Saints fans should pull for in every game this weekend. All odds are sourced from BetMGM.

Around the NFC South

Atlanta Falcons at Carolina Panthers. Tough as it may be to accept, Saints fans should pull for a Falcons win on Sunday. It’s fine if that’s unacceptable; it’s never fun to root for the enemy. Especially when the Panthers are favored by 5.5 points. Ideally, both rival NFC South teams would lose. But Carolina is a closer threat to New Orleans’ lead on the division title, and a Falcons victory here hurts their draft positioning — possibly keeping them from landing some real help like Ohio State Buckeyes prospect Chase Young. Hold your nose and root for Atlanta.

Painting the NFC Playoff Picture

Arizona Cardinals at San Francisco 49ers. The 49ers favored by 11.5 points, even if the Cardinals played them very close a few weeks ago. San Francisco finally suffered its first loss in prime time (to the NFC West-rival Seattle Seahawks) and another upset would do a lot to help the Saints’ chances of securing a top-two seed in the NFC playoffs. Give Arizona your support.

Denver Broncos at Minnesota Vikings. This one should be easy enough given Denver’s issues at quarterback, and the Vikings are favored by 10.5 points. Still, root for the underdog if you’re watching this one. The Vikings are right in the thick of the NFC North title race with the Green Bay Packers, and there’s something to be said for encouraging chaos in that division. Still, the fewer rival teams with momentum behind them is better for the Saints. It’s long odds for the Broncos, but pull for them anyway.

Chicago Bears at Los Angeles Rams. Why is this game on Sunday Night Football? The Bears aren’t a competitive football team with Mitchell Trubisky at quarterback, and Chicago is in too deep now to pull him out of the lineup. So we’re stuck watching him try to avoid Aaron Donald and Jalen Ramsey at the end of a long day of solid games, which isn’t very appealing considering how much trouble the Rams (who are favored by 6.5) have given New Orleans recently. Keeping the Rams mediocre and the Bears stuck with Trubisky is very much in the Saints’ interest, however, so idly root for Chicago.

Dallas Cowboys at Detroit Lions. This game won’t feature Matthew Stafford, who is missing his second consecutive start while dealing with a back injury. The Lions are a long-shot to make the playoffs, and their odds of beating Dallas are presumably even more destitute. But it’s always easy to pull against the Cowboys, which is what Saints fans should do here. The current NFC East front-runners have the worst record among their peers in the conference, and it’s in New Orleans’ interest for the Cowboys to remain unstable moving down the stretch.

New England Patriots at Philadelphia Eagles. The less said about this game between two insufferable teams and their associated fanbases, the better. The Patriots are favored by 3.5; Saints fans should check that box and keep it moving.

Leftovers and Lagniappe

Jacksonville Jaguars at Indianapolis Colts. The Colts are one of the Saints’ few remaining AFC opponents, and they’re favored by 3.5 points despite having laid an egg against the Miami Dolphins last week. Root for the Jaguars to keep them off-kilter and unbalanced moving forwards.

Los Angeles Chargers at Kansas City Chiefs. This should be a decent Monday Night Football from Mexico, and the Chiefs are favored by 4.5. Saints fans don’t have a rooting interest so pull for the underdog Chargers to add some chaos to the AFC playoff picture.

Houston Texans at Baltimore Ravens. This is the game that should be on Sunday Night Football, with two of the NFL’s most exciting young quarterbacks in Deshaun Watson and Lamar Jackson. But it isn’t, so you’ll be forgiven for switching over to it when the Saints are on commercial break. The Ravens are favored by 4.5, putting Watson into underdog mode, which may be when he plays his best football.

New York Jets at Washington Redskins. This is going to be an ugly game, with both teams lacking inspiring quarterback play and firepower. The Redskins are slightly favored by 2.5 points, and a win would keep team owner Dan Snyder on the same course in which he’s made countless bad decisions. Keeping a one-contending franchise in the gutter is great for New Orleans, so root for Washington in this instance.

Buffalo Bills at Miami Dolphins. The Bills are favored by 6.5, but the Dolphins have so many former Saints players (linebacker Vince Biegel, cornerback Ken Crawley, punt returner Marcus Sherels) that they’re an easy choice for Saints fans to root for. Pull for the underdog Dolphins on Sunday.

Cincinnati Bengals at Oakland Raiders. The Saints won’t play either of these teams any time soon (they are scheduled to face the Raiders in Las Vegas next year, however) and it would be great to see an Oakland fanbase that’s lacked good memories lately get another one this week. The Raiders are favored by 10.5, and any Saints fans watching should call for them to they cover.

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services. Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

[vertical-gallery id=22291]