Blitzball's Nastiest Slider?

As one of our only two-time video contest winners (ThatsNasty19 is the other), "Steee013" really needs no introduction in Blitzball community.  Already one of the greatest Blitzball pitchers on this planet, Steee013 continues to amaze by putting out better and better stuff each year!  You may have seen his stuff before in our recent demo/compilation videos but his slider is absolutely crazy! So good in fact, that a video clip of it (this slider HAS to be some kind of curving record) was even featured on CBSsports.com in this recent article that compared it to a Clayton Kershaw curveball. Presumably preparing for a record-breaking run at a 3rd Blitzball video contest prize in 2014, Steee013 recently posted this 2-minute directors cut (we've used portions of it in our main demo video) to give the Blitzball community something to look forward to!

Rain, bloopers, and some NASTY Blitzball pitching!

Rain won't stop these guys from practicing and making a big run at our 2014 Blitzball video contest! Some indoor awesomeness brought to you by YouTube's "Brian Beard"

We Will Never Forget

R.I.P. to all victims of 9/11 and remembering the friends and family members they left behind. (image from starzlife.com)    

Nathan Beard: Blitzball's R.A. Dickey?

2011 video contest finalist Nathan Beard might very well be Blitzball's knuckleball king and has even been featured in this Bleacher Report article few years back. I have no idea how he gets his knuckleball to flutter the way it does, but its a thing of beauty to watch.  Check out this nasty knuckleball sequence starting at 2:54 of his most recent Blitzball video:

We'll have to get him to produce a "how-to" video for us in the future, but if you want to throw a great Blitzball knuckleball now, visit our how to throw a knuckleball tutorial page for video instruction by ThatsNasty19 for his power/sinking version!

Top 5 reasons why the NY Jets CAN make the playoffs in 2013

I know, I know... the words "playoffs" and "NY Jets" seemingly do not belong together in the same sentence, page, or book as they've been the laughing stock of the NFL (and deservedly so) for the past two seasons. But for the first time in three years, I see some real hope for this franchise and believe that they will be one of the surprise teams of the NFL and possibly even compete for a playoff spot depending on the progress of ANY young QB that isn't named Mark Sanchez. I admit that there are a lot of "ifs" in this equation and I'm not saying that they WILL make the playoffs, I'm only saying that they CAN make to the post season, and that the most recent Bleacher Report, CBS Sports, and ESPN power rankings of #30, #30, and #32 respectively (out of 32 teams) for the Jets are WAY off, and here are my reasons why:

1. John Idzik as GM: I don't know much about John Idzik's previous experience, but so far I like what I'm seeing of his work with the Jets. He appears relatively objective and calculating with his decisions (an anti-Ryan) and seems unafraid of making unpopular moves if he feels they would benefit the team. I think that a system of checks and balances is sorely needed when it comes to Jets personnel decisions, and I'm of the belief that the less input that Rex Ryan has on this front, the better. If tattoo's are any indication, Rex Ryan seems to have his sentimental favorites within the locker room and is too much of a player's coach to make hard personnel decisions that might ultimately be what's best for the team. 
2. Offensive Improvement: I expect the Jets offense will be more dynamic this year under Mornhinweg's West Coast system, and I also feel that less Ryan involvement on the offensive side will benefit the team as well. The offensive line already looks much more cohesive than last year and (contrary to popular belief) I expect that the Jets receiving corps will actually be pretty solid with a dependable Kerley, a not-so-disgruntled Holmes, and a much-improved Stephen Hill (with the right QB, could be a game changer for this offense). 
3. Defensive Improvement: As Jet fans, the one thing that we can always depend on is a Rex Ryan defense. I do believe Ryan when he says that this squad has it in them to become a top 5 defense by year's end and I think that the loss of Revis will turn out to be a blessing in disguise. I expect some growing pains with Milliner as he adjusts to the league, but I also expect the pass rush to be much better this year with Wilkerson and an emerging Coples providing a scary 1-2 punch. Revis was an all-time great, but I don't think that a cornerback-centric defense really works in this league and I'm curious to see what Ryan can do with a legitimate pass-rush and a truly balanced defense. I also think the fact that Ryan will have less personnel and offensive responsibilities will free him up to focus on helping the defense, which is where he truly shines. 
4. Upgrade at QB: I really think that the whole Sanchez vs. Smith debate is quite laughable. For those critics who argue that Sanchez give us the best chance to win games now (even though he probably doesn't), does it really matter? After 4 full years, we kind of know what Sanchez is about... and that's an average QB AT BEST. At normal, Sanchez was quite possibly the worst starting QB in the league over the past two years -- are people really that scared of Geno Smith doing worse? Smith is an unknown, and this is why he needs to start. We need to know if he's got some awesome in him, or if he completely sucks so that we can quickly decide if we need some 1st round talent at the position. I think that chances are good that the unknown Smith will be an improvement over the worst starting QB in the league, so I'm calling this an upgrade (I'd call Matt Simms an upgrade as well). Also, if reports are true that Smith really is Mornhinweg's guy, then we have to see what this guy can do. But who knows what the Jets brain trust will ultimately decide when Sanchez is healthy again. How Jets-like it would be to hire a brand new OC and his system, and then stick him with the QB that he DIDN'T want. 
5. The Insult Factor: For all of Rex Ryan's short-comings as a head coach, there are three things that he is GREAT at: 1) coaching defense, 2) eating snacks, 3) playing the underdog card. Ryan is a guy with tremendous pride, and there is no way that he's taking this latest ESPN #32 power ranking as anything but a complete bitch-slap to the face. Ryan seems to have a knack for firing up his troops in order to win tough games that they aren't supposed to and then inexplicably losing the easy games that they are supposed to win. Since the Jets aren't "supposed" to win many games at all this year, perhaps this bodes well for the entire 2013 season. 

MY PREDICTION: Jets go 8-8, (up to 10-6 if Geno Smith goes Russell Wilson on the league)
BIGGEST WILDCARD: Geno Smith's development

Agree? Disagree? Feel free to comment!