49ers wide receiver Michael Crabtree was injured yesterday at the team’s early preseason OTAs (Organized Team Activities). He suffered a torn achilles, and is reported to be out for the duration of the 2013-2014 NFL season. This is a huge issue for San Francisco, as Crabtree is just becoming one of the better young receivers in the league.

With Kaepernick taking over as the starting quarterback last season, Crabtree really began to produce. He changed completely from a busted first round draft pick to the heart of the 49ers passing game. Now with him gone, it really hurts the Niners chances of going to another Super Bowl.

The main issue is that the Seattle Seahawks made some big off season moves that made them as good as San Fran. With Crab out, it opens the door for the Seahawks to take the NFC West. Of course, the Niners also made some off season pickups that make the loss of Crabtree a bit less painful, primarily getting Anquan Boldin from the Ravens. He is a great veteren receiver, who will have to fill Crabtree’s spot this season. Regardless, the Niners will miss the presence of one of their best offensive tools.

The San Francisco 49ers won the bid for the 2016 Super Bowl today, beating out Miami.  It will be held at the 49ers new stadium, Levi’s Stadium, in Santa Clara.  The choice is a fan favorite, as 87% of fans polled by the Bleacher Report thought San Fran would be a better venue than Miami. Houston also won a bidding war with Miami, and will host the 2017 Super Bowl.  Read more about the news from the Bleacher Report.

Seahawks’ start defensive end Bruce Irvin tested positive for performance enhancing drugs. He has also received a four game suspension to start the season. This really hurts the Seahawks team. Their secondary had been one of the best in the lately, and he was a pivotal part.  Now that Seattle has acquired Percy Harvin, they are a definite threat to win the 2013 Super Bowl. Its obviously too soon to tell just how much this will effect their long term success, but it definitely hurts their chances.  The good thing is that it is only a four game suspension. Any longer, and the Seahawks would be in trouble.  But regardless, without a great d-back like Irvin for the start of the season, Seattle will definitely be at a loss as the season begins this fall.

As the playoffs move through the conference semifinals, the Bleacher Report talks about where each team ranks relative to previous weeks. The Warriors, ranked third, are becoming a “Cinderella Story” this postseason. Click here to read more.

In what is being called one of the most controversial calls in MLB history, the umpire crew made a poor decision on a home run by the Oakland A’s. The MLB actually made a public apology saying that the call was wrong. Personally, I have always been frustrated by blown calls, especially when they lose the game for a team like this did. So this raises the question, why isn’t instant replay more predominant in the MLB. All other major sports have completely adopted and embraced instant replay on controversial calls, so why hasn’t the MLB? Of course, regulations have to be put in place by the league regarding when and when not a call can be challenges, just like the NFL. With the proper rules and regulations in place, instant replay could save controversies like this from happening. Hopefully, this is the wake up call that the MLB needs to reform their review process for the better. To see the call and read the MLB’s opinion, click here for more information courtesy of ESPN.

As the NBA goes through the playoffs, the highlights of the regular season are collected by ESPN, and compiled into the most exciting highlight reels in sports.

Five of the last six Giants wins have been come from behind victories in the eighth of ninth innings. Though everybody loves a good walk-off, I believe it cause for concern when a team has too many walk-offs.

Why I say this is because the Giants are one of the better teams in the MLB, and they should be closing the door on most teams in the beginning of the game. So many come from behind wins tells me that either the pitching staff is struggling to keep the Giants in the game, or they are not getting enough run support from the position players. Obviously, offense is not the issue. They are able to score as well as any other team, just not until the end of the game. So are the Giants pitchers the issue?

Over the last few years, the Giants’ pitching staff has been on of the best in the MLB, and have carried the team to two World Series victories in the last three years. But even this year, though they haven’t been as dominant as previously, they are still an above average staff. So if it isn’t the pitching, and it isn’t the offense, what is keeping them out of the game? Its as though the team does not have any sense of urgency until they can see the end of the game in sight. And this could pose major problems down the road. I would love nothing more than to see the Giants win another World Series, but constantly playing from behind is not how they get there. In the MLB, you simply cannot let any given team get a lead on you. You cannot rely on late game heroic like the Giants have recently. Some day, they aren’t going to be able to get the job done late in the game, and this could cause them to miss out on big opportunities down the road. They need to start pressuring teams early, and playing from the lead a bit more.

Colin Kaepernick was able to meet the first lady, Michelle Obama. In his visit to the White House, Kaepernick and Michelle took some time to do the NFL quarterback’s trademarked touchdown celebration the “Kaepernick”.  Read more about the interesting news from the Bleacher Report.

After  a disappointing game one, double overtime loss to the Spurs, it becomes more apparent how Andrew Bogut is the make or break part of the Warriors series. In order to beat the Spurs, he needs to be playing at his best, and doing a few keys things to stop the San Antonio offense.

First off, Boguts needs to dominate the boards. Without David Lee, he is the main rebounder for the Warriors, and he needs to keep the ball out of Spur hands. Both offensively and defensively, he will be battling against Tim Duncan for the majority of the game. Duncan is a great rebound, but not quite as big and strong as Bogut. Though Bogut is a bit shorter, he needs to use his strength as size to box Tim Duncan out in the paint. If he is able to pull down defensive rebounds and get the ball out to the guards, it opens the Warriors up to a fast break centered game. They simply cannot win playing San Antonio’s game, slowing it down to a half court setting. The W’s need to use their youth to get out on the break, and Bogut is where that all starts. Offensively, getting rebounds lets Bogut hit the shooters like Stephen Curry and Klay Thompon with a quick outlet pass for threes. If Bogut can set up the outside shooters for threes all night, the Warriors will be able to close the door on a Spur comeback like the one that happened in game one.

On top of rebounding, Bogut needs to be more of a defensive presence in the paint. Not saying that he hasn’t in the past, but he needs to step it up a bit against the Spurs. The San Antonio guards LOVE to penetrate into the basket. If Bogut can cut those lanes off and block a few more shots, it takes out a huge part of the Spur’s game. With Tim Duncan, Bogut needs to be smart with pump fakes and back door passes. Duncan loves to get the ball on the elbow, then dish it to a teammate cutting baseline. But there is a fine line between playing too tight and too loose. If Bogut plays too loose, he opens up the lane to a cutter that Duncan can hit with a pass as mentioned before. But if Bogut is a anticipating the pass too much, Duncan can kncok down 10-15 foot jumpers all night. That dynamic ability is what makes him one of the best centers in the league at 38 years old.

In short, Bogut needs to absolutely lock down the paint all game long. It is going to be hard to work against the Spurs’ big men all night, but it is what has to happen if the Warriors want to have a chance in this series. He simply needs to keep the Spurs off the glass, and let Steph handle the ball on the offensive end of the court. Bogut can help carry the W’s to the conference finals, and complete the “Cinderella Story” for Golden State this year.

In response to Roy Halladay’s early season struggles, the Bleacher Report offers an interesting opinion on how his career could play out. Despite the rocky start, I personally believe he will be able to pick himself up and return to his dominant role on the Phillies’ rotation.

In the conference semi-finals, the Miami Heat are taking on the Chicago Bulls. The Bulls have done relatively well against the Heat this season, most notably ending the Heat’s impressive winning streak. However, I doubt they will have that much luck in this series.

I think that the Heat will ultimately win the title, and thus the conference semis. I expect the Bulls to not go down easy, but the result is inevitable. I could see the Heat winning in five or even six if the Bulls put up enough of a fight.

Ultimately though, the Heat are simply too good, and too deep to lose to any team in the NBA. MVP LeBron James, former MVP Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh, Mario Chalmers, I mean, come on, they’re just too good. On top of that, the Heat are looking even better than last year’s title winning team.

But the real killer for the Bulls is the loss of Derrrick Rose. Without their number one playmaker, they certainly won’t be able to handle the Heat. With D-Rose healthy, I would definitely entertain the idea of the Bull winning, but without, not a chance. The Bulls probably have the advantage down low with Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah. But, unfortunately for Chicago, good rebounding is simply not enough to overcome the Heat offense.  With LeBron playing the best basketball of his career, there is just no chance of a Bull victory.

Though the Nuggets were certainly favored in the series against Golden State, the Warriors surprised the NBA and pulled out the victory, without All-Star forward David Lee. Coming back from down 2-0 to win the series 4-2, the Warriors showed that they have some heRt left in them, and could make a run this postseason.

Steph Curry has stepped up and become the best shooter in the NBA. However, the loss of David Lee in game two made most people doubt the ability of the Ws to win at all in the playoffs. But Steph carried the team to a series win.

However, Steph did not do it alone. Jared Jack stepped up HUGE off the bench and had one of the best series of his life. Andrew Bogut did what Andrew Bogut does, be big in the post, getting tons of blocks and rebounds. I was extremely impressed at how the Warriors were able to come from behind in every single game to pull off the win. On top of that, they did it on the road, against the best home team in the NBA in the Nuggets.  But does this give them the momentum to win another series, if not the whole thing?

To me, the hard decision tells me no. Though I love the Warriors, I don’t think they have to ability to knock off the other great teams in the west like the Thunder and Spurs. They would assuredly have to go through one of those teams to get to the finals. If they did get to the finals, I certainly don’t think they could best the Heat. Especially without Lee, I don’t see any of that happening.

The Warriors lost all-star forward David Lee to a torn hip flexor in game one of the series against the Denver Nuggets. Lee will be out for the postseason, assuming the Warriors win the series vs. Denver. Lee has been one of the Warriors focal points for the last couple of years, and his absence could very well take Golden State out of the hunt this season.

Not that the Warriors were a top seed in the playoffs, but I think they could have definitely done something. Although NBA title was a little bit out of the question, I wouldn’t have been surprised if the W’s upset the Nuggets in the opening round.  Of course, everything is different now that Lee is out, and not in a good way.

The Warriors are not a particularly strong team inside, and typically rely on their superb outside shooting to win games. However, the loss of Lee makes the weak Warrior interior even weaker. As hard as it is to say, you have to count on the Warriors loosing in the first round. Not that I don’t believe in Steph Curry and his ability to carry the team, but he just isn’t enough to overtake teh Nuggets. On top of that, Denver was the best home team in the NBA during the regular season, loosing only three games all year. Simply, their too strong too take out the weaken W’s/

In this brawl between Padre Carlos Quentin and Dodger Zack Greinke, Quentin charged the mound after getting hit by a pitch.  In the fight, Greinke suffered a broken left collar bone, that will take him off the active roster for the next eight weeks.  Quentin received an eight game suspension and a $3,000 fine for starting the fight. However, many feel that Quentin’s punishment is not severe enough compared to the injury Greinke suffered.

Though Greinke is tough loss for my fantasy team, the punishment Quentin received is completely fair and understandable. Since Greinke is a member of a six man rotation on the Dodgers, he pitches one a week.  Even without looking at the Dodgers’ schedule, I can confidently say that in eight weeks, Greinke will make eight starts, give or take one. Thus, as he will miss eight games with his injury, Quentin will miss eight games as well.  One thing that I think should be changed is that Quentin should get a bigger fine. The MLB has to make it clear that fighting is not tolerated on the field, as they do this by giving those who fight HUGE fines. The league does not want to see their best pitchers go down with injuries like this. Just as a fan of the game (NOT of the Dodgers), it is a disappointment that I will not see Greinke throw for the next two months.

Near the finish line of the 117th annual Boston Marathon, two explosions went off, resulting is multiple casualties many more injuries. Read more about the tragic news from the Bleacher Report.