Thoughts while wondering who could possibly find Amy Winehouse appealing in any form or fashion

It's never too early to discuss baseball here at J&J, so here's a couple baseball-related questions and another one.

Who will be the biggest surprise in the AL?

Staubs: The Yankees and Red Sox will be great like they have been all decade. But I'm not convinced both will make the playoffs this season.
Toronto is going to be really, really good. I'd make them the favorite in any other AL division, but the East is soooo stacked.
Now that Schilling isn't in the Red Sox rotation, the Jays have the best rotation in the AL. Obviously it starts with Roy Halladay - the best pitcher in the AL now that Santana is gone - but watch out for Dustin Mcgowan. This guy will win multiple Cy Youngs, and it wouldn't surprise me to see him win 20 games as soon as this season.
Burnett's career numbers are almost identical to Beckett's before last season, and if he can develop consistency and stay healthy ... well, that's the best top three I've seen in years.
Getting Rolen shores up what was already a strong infield defense, which is key because Toronto's staff revolves around ground ball outs.
The bullpen is very strong with two guys who have proven to be dominant closers and the lineup is well above average. If this team stays healthy, it can displace the two perennial powers.

Gravette: My biggest surprise in the American League may not be a surprise at all, but it’s the Angels. Everyone knows they’re good, but I don’t think anyone is picking them to go all the way.
Their pitching staff is solid behind John Lackey and Kelvim Escobar. They added Jon Garland in the off-season to bolster their pitching staff as well.
The biggest move they made, however, was bringing in Torii Hunter. I think he is the piece that puts this team over the top.
The Angels have one of the best bullpens in the league, and they still have Vladimir Guerrero out in right field. Add Hunter and Guerrero to the list of budding youngsters on the roster, and the Angels should be pretty tough to beat.


Staubs: Oh, I thought the question was who will be the biggest surprise in the AL, not who is the favorite. My bad.

Who will be the biggest surprise in the NL?

Gravette: It’s always hard to predict which teams will go from mediocre to great in a span of one year. In the National League, I really like the makeup of the Brew Crew.
Their crop of young players like Ryan Braun, Rickie Weeks and Prince Fielder are only going to get better as time passes. When he is healthy, Ben Sheets is ridiculously good.
I really like some of the moves they made in the off-season as well. They picked up Jason Kendall, Mike Cameron, Jeff Suppan and Eric Gagne which bolsters both their offense and defense. Now that Cameron is out of PETCO, I expect him to have a monster year (after he serves his 25-game suspension of course).
I wouldn’t want to face this lineup. From top to bottom, the Brewers are solid.

Staubs: It's all about pitching for me, and the Giants have as much of it as anyone.
Matt Cain had such incredible bad luck last season - at one point he was 2-12 with an ERA under 3.5 and a WHIP under 1.2 - but that should even out this season.
And I simply cannot say enough about Tim Lincecum. He is the surest thing to come along in baseball in a long time. When you throw 99 and everyone says your fastball is your second best pitch .. well, you're pretty good. Pretty, pretty good.
The Giants also have two quality lefties.
Noah Lowry appeared to turn the corner last year, and the Giants also have Barry Zito, who, if he can regain his form, has proven he can pitch like a Cy Young winner.
Most importantly, the Giants are a perfect Tiki/Ewing Theory candidate (Bill Simmons' term for a term that loses a star player and then performs better the next season). Without the constant hoopla surrounding Bonds, the team will be able to concentrate on baseball more.
The NL West always has a surprise, and I think the Giants can come from nowhere and contend for this division.

Who is the best team in NCAA basketball right now?

Gravette: It’s certainly not Jacksonville State. In my opinion, it’s Duke.
I know that Memphis hasn’t lost a game, but look who they’re playing. When Duke beat North Carolina last week, they proved to me that they were the best team in the country.
They don’t have a superstar, but they do have five players averaging double-figures. It’s that balance that makes them so dangerous.
Their only loss came back in December to Pittsburgh, and they only lost by one point. I expect Duke to go deep into the tournament and possibly even win the national title.

Staubs: I've got to say Kansas, and I don't think it's that close. Tough game tonight, playing another top ten team on the road, but a win seals them as #1 in my mind.
Bill Self isn't a great coach, but he has assembled an impressive collection of talent. The team is experienced and polished, and can beat you from anywhere on the court.
The only other team I would say would be UCLA, who has the best point guard in the nation (with all respect to D.J. Augustine), best big man in the nation (with no respect to Tyler Hansbrough), and the best coach in the nation.