And they’re off – MLB has entered its final month of a long season, but there is still much to be decided in the final stretch. The division, wildcard, and pennant races are yet to be determined. With less than 20 games to play, teams are focused in on magic numbers to clinch a playoff spot. The stats of all the following teams/players come prior to Monday’s action:

AL East: The New York Yankees lead a tough division and are only 3 ½ up on the Boston Red Sox. The Bronx Bombers and Boston are one and two in runs scored, homeruns and RBI’s in the league respectively. The Yankees pitching staff is led by ace CC Sabathia and surprising rookie Ivan Nova.

The Red Sox are led by Jon Lester and Josh Beckett. Beckett is having a great bounce back season and holds an ERA of 2.49. These two will battle to the end of the regular season to see who gets home field advantage in the playoffs.

AL Central: Cy Young and even possible MVP candidate, Justin Verlander has been nothing but spectacular for the Detroit Tigers. He has been the reason the Tigers have built a 10 ½ game lead in the central. He leads the AL in ERA with a 2.44, in inning pitched with 229 and strikeouts with 232.

Verlander also has a no-hitter to his credit this season and a record of 22-9. If the Detroit pitching staff can somehow catch up with Verlander then they could make some noise in the playoffs.

AL West: The tightest division in all of baseball is between the Texas Rangers and the Los Angeles Angles of Anaheim. The Rangers lead the Angels by only 2 ½ games. Texas is all offense and improved their bullpen at the trade deadline by acquiring Mike Adams and Koji Uehara.

Los Angeles offense is anemic but their starting pitchers are keeping them in it. Led by Jered Weaver, Dan Haren and Ervin Santana they are trying to carry their teams hitting into the postseason.

AL Wildcard:  The race is really on with the Tampa Bay Rays climbing back in it after sweeping the weekend series against the Boston Red Sox. They sit only 3 ½ games back and the Sox are worried. Red Sox David Ortiz said, “Hell yeah, you’ve got to worry.” Boston was chosen by many to represent the American League in the World Series.

Let’s see if they can even hold off the Rays for a playoff spot. The two kick off a four game series starting Thursday  at Fenway.

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Despite LeBron James’s noted playoff collapses during his eight seasons in the NBA, this season seemed to be different. Most of the conversation in the past was about James’s collapses in crunch-time of playoff games.  The NBA Finals between the Heat and the Mavericks, which recently ended, was a step back in a lot of ways for James.  Thus far, James has been “UNLIKE MIKE” when it comes to his playoff résumé, especially this year.

Against the Mavericks, James put up points that would be considered spectacular for any average player. Still, James has displayed that he has the ability to play at a caliber way above most players in the League; therefore, we must hold him accountable for his performance against the Mavericks.

James, who has dominated his fair share of playoff games and countless regular season games, has the ability to take over the game single handedly. This is why there have been so many comparisons to him and Jordan throughout his eight-years in the league. People compare him to Jordan because they have seen bits and pieces of how dominant James can be.

The difference between James and Jordan is James is dominant sometimes and Jordan was dominant all the time, especially in crunch-time of the playoffs. It is said that great players produce in big moments, such as crunch-time of playoff games. This has not been James to date, but it was Jordan throughout his illustrious career.

Against the Mavericks, James’ highest point total was 24 points in game one; James didn’t match this point performance for the rest of the series. In fact, James points per game decreased from his high of 24 points to his low of 8 points for the series in game four.

Respectfully, in games two, three, five and six, James scored 20 points, 17 points, 17 points and 21 points. To say James under produced is truthful with the caliber of play he is capable of.  James is capable of scoring 30-40 plus points a night. In fact, James has done this many times throughout his career, even in the playoffs, but James has not done this when it has mattered most.

Unlike King James, HIS AIRNESS always took over playoff games. Jordan’s playoff stats are nearly impossible to argue against being that he is arguably the greatest of all time. For his career, Jordan had two playoff games in which he finished with a triple double. James has not had any triple doubles during the Playoffs

Jordan’s career average for field goal percentage during the playoffs is .487. In comparison, James career average for field goal percentage is .460. Jordan’s career average for 3-point percentage during the playoffs is .332. In comparison, for the playoffs, James has an average of 323 from behind the arc. Jordan’s career average for free throw percentage during the playoffs is .828, while James has a free throw percentage of .746 for his playoff career.

With his career average of 33.4 points per playoff games, Jordan is the all time leader. In comparison, James has a career average of 28 points per game during the playoffs.

Throughout his career, Jordan averaged at least 30 points in the playoffs for all but one year! The year that Jordan averaged less than 30 points was during his rookie season with the Bulls in 1984-85. Even then, Jordan scored a smidge under 30 points a game (29,3 PPG). Jordan’s highest career average for playoff points per game was a whopping 43.7 points in his sophomore season (1985-86)!

In the playoffs, Jordan scored 60-plus points only once, however his record (63 Points), stand as the NBA record for points during a playoff game. If the regular season is included, Jordan had a total of five 60-plus point games during his career! This puts him in rarefied company, joining only 3 other players who have had multiple 60 point games.

Jordan accomplished the feat of 50-plus points a game seven times during his playoff career. If the regular season is included, Jordan had 34 games during his career in which he scored 50 plus point!

At 40-plus points a game, 30-plus points a game and 20-plus points a game, Jordan’s attainment of these feats dramatically increases.

Jordan scored 40-plus points a game 30 times during his playoffs career. If the regular season is included, Jordan did this a total of 172 times during career!

During the playoffs, Jordan scored 30-plus points a whopping 71 times! Include the regular season and Jordan scored 30-plus points during a game a whopping 460 times!

Interestingly, Jordan accomplished the marginally easier feat of scoring 20-plus points, fewer times than he accomplished the feat of scoring 30-plus points. Jordan scored 20-plus points, 64 times during the playoffs. Include the regular season and Jordan scored 20-plus points a total of 428 times during his entire career. This is still impressive, despite the dip in comparison to the feat of scoring 30-plus points a game.

There is no doubt that LeBron’s career and playoff résumé is impressive, especially in its own right. But it is not at the stage where it can be compared to the résumé of Jordan. The numbers don’t lie. Jordan’s résumé is far and away better than LeBron’s. Despite the unquestionable distinction between both players’ career accomplishments, another distinction that is important to take into account is the era in which they played..

Truth be told, the era Jordan played in was just a lot more physical. The 1990’s were a time when players would get pummeled if they drove to the basket or were in the paint area. Jordan competed against guys like Charles Oakley and Anthony Mason, who, for all intensive purposes, would try to knock opposing players to the hardwood floor. It is quite different in today’s era of basketball there are many whistles and foul calls. The best players are usually protected by these whistles and foul call, especially in the circumstance of driving to the basket or being in the paint area.

Ultimately, until LeBron James Wins Six Championships, he cannot be compared to Michael Jordan. Even then it’s still a questionable call. The conversation of whether LeBron James or Michael Jordan is better is like comparing apples and oranges. One has six rings and the other has zero!  When KING JAMES has six rings it will be time to start the debate. But until then, LeBron James should be considered HIS HEIRNESS and HIS AIRNESS—Michael Jordan, should be considered KING JORDAN.

Note: stats are courtesy of ESPN.com and the website: www.michaeljordansworld.com

Domenic Gareri / Shutterstock.com

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Even though the chance of an upcoming NFL lockout is a possibility, any teams that have a serious chance of contention for the Super Bowl should sign ex Pittsburg Steeler and New York Giant Palxico Burress the minute he becomes available. It is anyone’s guess how long such a lockout would last. Currently, an eight game season is being discussed; a shortened season would no doubt give Burress enough time to get in playing shape.

Although many people are questioning whether Burress is worth signing after his recent stint in prison, his past team’s (the Giants) stats potentially give reason to believe that he was a giant contributor to the Giants’ success. The Giants’ stats during Burress’s three and a half seasons with the team prove that he had a positive impact on the team’s performance, both during the regular season and the playoffs. ESPN’s Matt Ehalt, displays these stats in detailed manner, in a recent blog of his. According to the stats on Ehalt’s blog, the Giants’ record without Burress was a bleak 19-17 with a record of 0-1 in the playoffs. The Giants’ record with Burress was a major improvement at 40-20 and a record of 4-2 in the playoffs. The Giants record was undoubtedly better with Burress in the lineup. The Giants were twenty games above the 500 mark with Burress compared with just two games above the 500 mark without him. Additionally, against both the NFC and the AFC the Giants had a grim mark of 500 without Burress.

Clearly, there are those people out there who might not take these team stats as direct proof of Burress’s individual talent as a player or of his ability to be a valuable contribution to an NFL team. However, Burress’s personal stats also speak volumes about his worth and his presence as a deep threat receiver.

Burress has been quite durable during his nine seasons in the NFL; between the Steelers’ and the Giants’, Burress has played in at least fifteen games or more, six out of the nine seasons. The three seasons in which Burress played fewer than fifteen games were in 2000-01, 2004-05 and 2008-09. Burress played in at least 10 games during all three of these seasons.

In terms of his presence as a deep threat receiver it is important to stack Burress up against the best deep threat receivers in the game today. Despite both entering the decline of their career, arguably the two best wide receivers to ever play the game are Terrell Owens and Randy Moss. Owens and Moss are undoubtedly two of the best deep threats to ever play Football. Although Owens’s and Moss’s speed may be on the decline as they continue to age, their physique in regards to length, strength and athletic ability are still difference makers for any team.  Burress definitely has the length, strength and athletic ability to be a deep threat receiver even if he is in a similar stage of his career to Moss and Owens. In regards to Burress’s skill set, former NFL scout Russ Lande of SportingNews.com says in a recent article,

“Burress has always relied on his 6-5 size and very good all-around athleticism—and that will not change in his re-entry. In the past, he had the body control, balance, coordination, jumping ability and hands to make acrobatic catches look routine. He did an excellent job of using his size, strength, athleticism and ball skills to catch Giants quarterback Eli Manning’s passes even when a cornerback was draped all over him. ”

In the article, Lande also adds that Burress’s skills were never based on his speed, saying, “the thing that affects aging receivers most—loss of speed—won’t be a big issue for Burress because speed has never been a key component in his game.”

There is no doubt Burress has had better years than others for the Giants. However, if you look at his individual contributions during his last full seasons in 07’- 08’, before he was suspended mid way through the 08’-09’ season, his capability to produce is undeniable. 07’-08’ was Burress’s best year since he entered the NFL.  The website advancednflstats.com, which is run by noted football researcher and analyst Brian Burke, demonstrates that Burress has the talent and capability of being one of the top five receivers in the NFL if he performs like he did in 07’-08’. The website clearly displays Burress’s tremendous impact on the Giants’ 2007 season, in which they won the Super Bowl. As shown on advancednflstats.com, for the 2007 season, Burress ranked fourth best among receivers’. Burress had a Success Rate (SR) of 48.9 percent during the 2007 season. As defined on Burkes website SR is “the proportion of plays in which a player was directly involved that would typically be considered successful”. Burress’s Catch Rate (CR) for the 2007 season was 48.4 percent. As defined on the website CR is, “the proportion of plays in which a player was directly involved that would typically be considered successful”. In 2007 Burress’s SR and CR were almost 50 percent! Though Moss, the best player in 2007, blew Burress away with a SR of 59.3 percent—about 10 percent higher than Burress’s, Moss’s CR was 53.0 percent, only 5 percent higher than Burress’s.

Another interesting category on Burke’s website that shows Burress’s huge impact in 2007 is Win Probability Added per Play (WPA/P). As defined on Burkes website WPA/P is, “The average Win Probability Added per play in which an offensive player is directly involved. WPA/P is a measure of an individual player’s impact on the outcome of his games, on a per play basis”. It is important to mention that the scale for WPA/P includes negative and positive numbers. More specifically if the number zero represents an average player, any player below would be below average and any player above would be above average. Burress’s WPA/P for 2007 was one of the four best in the league at 0.09, a huge leap from his WPA/P in 2000 his first year in the NFL, which was a terrible -0.07! Randy Moss, the best player in 2007 had a WPA/P only four points higher than Burress!

If Plaxico Burress can recapture his 2007 performance he will be an invaluable piece to any team that is just on the cusp of being a championship contender. There is little doubt that Burress will have something to prove to all his doubters and naysayers. If Burress’s talents that were on display in 2007 are combined with go-getter attitude this could result in a perfect storm for his opponents. If Burress ends up going to a team as formidable as the Patriots or the Packers, look for him to be wearing his second Super Bowl ring at the end of the season.

Alexey Stiop / Shutterstock.com

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