Happy Memorial Day

By Rick Morris

NOTE: This is our annual Memorial Day tribute from The FDH Lounge.

Veterans have always been heroes to me, people who put a cause greater than themselves ahead of their own well-being. This very visceral account of D-Day from the late hero Charles Durning tells the story in all of its honor and horror.  For anyone dense enough not to understand why flag desecration incites anyone with a shred of decency, sit through this.

 

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2016 NBA Playoffs Conference Final Predictions

By Rick Morris

NOTE: 10-2 record so far.

CONFERENCE FINALS

Cleveland over Toronto in 5

Golden State over Oklahoma City in 6

NBA FINALS

Golden State over Cleveland in 7

MLB power rankings for mid-May

By Rick Morris

NOTE: Preseason rankings in parentheses.

TOP TIER

1 Chicago Cubs (1)

SECOND TIER
2 Boston (4)

3 Washington (5)

4 Chicago White Sox (19)

5 Seattle (12)

6 Baltimore (22)

7 New York Mets (13)

8 Philadelphia (30)

THIRD TIER
9 St. Louis (7)

10 Los Angeles Dodgers (3)

11 San Francisco (8)

12 Texas (10)

13 Colorado (26)

14 Toronto (11)

15 Miami (23)

16 Cleveland (15)

17 Kansas City (16)

18 Pittsburgh (9)

FOURTH TIER

19 Arizona (18)

20 Tampa Bay (20)

21 New York Yankees (17)

22 Houston (2)

23 Detroit (14)

24 Cincinnati (27)

25 San Diego (24)

26 Oakland (25)

27 Los Angeles Angels (6)

28 Milwaukee (29)

SIXTH TIER

29 Atlanta (28)

30 Minnesota (21)

BIGGEST GAINERS: Philadelphia (22 spots), Baltimore (16 spots), Chicago White Sox (15 spots), Colorado (13 spots), Miami (8 spots), Seattle (7 spots), New York Mets (6 spots), Cincinnati (3 spots)

BIGGEST FALLERS: Los Angeles Angels (21 spots), Houston (20 spots), Detroit, Minnesota and Pittsburgh (9 spots), Los Angeles Dodgers (7 spots), New York Yankees (4 spots), San Francisco and Toronto (3 spots)

1 NL EAST 62

2 AL EAST 63

3 NL WEST 78

4 NL CENTRAL 80

5 AL CENTRAL 90

6 AL WEST 92

NL 220

AL 245

2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs Conference Finals Predictions

By Rick Morris

NOTE: 8-4 record through the first two rounds.

CONFERENCE FINALS

Tampa Bay over Pittsburgh in 7

St. Louis over San Jose in 6

STANLEY CUP FINALS

St. Louis over Tampa Bay in 6

2016 NFL Draft Team Rankings: Filling Needs

By Rick Morris

These rankings are based on a points system devised from the Top 75 Overall, devised by FDH Senior Editor Jason Jones, in PRO FOOTBALL DRAFTOLOGY 2016.  Unlike the Best Player rankings, which simply assign a point total based on perceived value of the players, this system balances value of the top players on a sliding scale throughout the Top 75 Overall against the Team Needs that I identified in the draft guide to record the teams that filled their most urgent needs with the best players.

1 Cleveland 375

2 Cincinnati 330

3T Buffalo 315

3T Dallas 315

3T Jacksonville 315

6 Tennessee 300

7 Chicago 285

8 Houston 270

9 Baltimore 240

10 Seattle 225

11T Detroit 210

11T Washington 210

13T Minnesota 195

13T New Orleans 195

13T Tampa Bay 195

16T Green Bay 165

16T San Diego 165

18T Los Angeles 150

18T Miami 150

18T San Francisco 150

21 Denver 135

22T Indianapolis 120

22T Philadelphia 120

24T New York Giants 105

24T Oakland 105

26T New York Jets 90

26T Pittsburgh 90

28T Arizona 75

28T Atlanta 75

30 Carolina 30

31 Kansas City 15

32 New England 0

2016 NFL Draft Team Rankings: Best Players

By Rick Morris

These rankings are based on a points system devised from the Top 75 Overall, devised by FDH Senior Editor Jason Jones, in PRO FOOTBALL DRAFTOLOGY 2016.

1 Jacksonville 398

2 Cleveland 360

3 Dallas 328

4 Miami 296

5 Tampa Bay 270

6 Buffalo 264

7 Cincinnati 250

8 Houston 246

9 New Orleans 238

10T Chicago 232

10T Minnesota 232

12 San Diego 224

13 Tennessee 216

14 Detroit 206

15 Washington 186

16 Baltimore 174

17 Philadelphia 160

18T San Francisco 158

18T Seattle 158

20 Oakland 156

21 Green Bay 154

22 Arizona 126

23 Los Angeles 122

24 New York Giants 102

25 Denver 98

26 New York Jets 94

27 Atlanta 82

28 Indianapolis 78

29 Carolina 52

30 Pittsburgh 36

31 Kansas City 4

32 New England 0