Andrew Luck

Yes, this one is pretty obvious.  Andrew Luck has the chance to get the entire city on his back if he can help this team show up.  It will take more than just three or four wins though, as Luck will have to be consistent this year because he's going to have quite a bit of competition for this award this year.  He also doesn't have an incredibly talented offense around him to work with, so I'm not betting big on him here.

Robert Griffin III

This is my personal pick here to win the Rookie of the Year Award.  Griffin has some solid talent around him, and he has the potential to make the Redskins improve quite a bit this season.  While I still don't think that they are a playoff team, Griffin is talented enough to do a lot both through the air and with his feet as well.

Trent Richardson

If there is one player who put a serious push on Griffin then it is Richardson.  Everyone says that Richardson is one of the best running back talents to come out of college and that he'll have an immediate impact.  If he has even 3/4 as good as the hype surrounding him is then he should take down this award.  The problem is that the Browns aren't a very strong team, and starting a rookie quarterback and a rookie running back at the same time is going to make both of their lives tough.

Brian Quick

This one is my longshot pick.  If you take a look at the other wide receivers who were drafted, most of them are missing one thing, a quarterback.  Quick is an incredible athlete and will be on the field from the word go for the St. Louis Rams.  On top of that though he also has Sam Bradford throwing him the ball, and Bradford will be looking to get over that sophomore slump.  Quick will have some great odds as well if you bet on him, so keep an eye on this guy.

David Freese finished 3-for-4 with a solo home run, Skip Schumaker had a
pinch-hit, two-run double and Allen Craig contributed an RBI groundout for
the Cards, who have won two straight since dropping four in a row.

Madison Bumgarner (5-3) allowed four runs on seven hits while striking out
three without walking a batter in 7 1/3 innings to absorb the loss.

Buster Posey had an RBI base hit among his three hits for the Giants, who have
dropped their past two games.

Jerome Williams (4-1) went eight innings and gave up two runs on 10 hits with
five strikeouts to win his fourth straight decision.

Dayan Viciedo hit a solo home run and Gordon Beckham drove in the other run
for the White Sox, who have lost four of their last five. Gavin Floyd (3-4)
was tagged for seven runs on 10 hits with a walk and four strikeouts over six
innings in the loss.

Indeed, the Thunder may had stolen a win. Despite trailing 75-68 with just two
minutes left, they will go to Los Angeles for Game 3 on Friday with a 2-0 lead
in the series.

Kevin Gregg (1-1) tossed a scoreless 14th frame for the win, and Jim Johnson
locked it down in the bottom of the 15th for his 13th save.

Humberto Quintero hit a two-run single for the Royals, whose four-game win
streak came to an end.

Nathan Adcock (0-1) took the loss after serving up the deciding blast. It
wiped out a stellar performance over five relief frames.

Moyer (2-3) allowed a run on six hits with five strikeouts over 6 1/3 innings,
while his counterpart Patrick Corbin (2-2) was charged with all six runs over
six frames in the setback.

John McDonald went 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored for Arizona.

“We have to take care of our business at home,” said New Jersey head coach
Peter DeBoer. “This is a tough building and we’re glad to get a split, but now
we have to take care of business at home.”

Marc Staal and Chris Kreider had the goals for the Rangers, who got 24 saves
from Henrik Lundqvist in the loss.

“You need to improve every game as a hockey team,” said New York head coach
John Tortorella.

The series switches to Newark as the next two contests will be played at
Prudential Center. Game 3 is set for Saturday afternoon.

New Jersey took a 3-2 lead at the 2:31 mark of the third period when Adam
Henrique’s shot from the right point was deflected into the net by Clarkson.

From there, Brodeur shut the door on the hosts, turning aside all eight
Rangers shots in the final 20 minutes.

The Rangers got Lundqvist out of the net with over a minute to play, but the
Devils kept any shots from getting through.

The first and only goal of the opening period went to New Jersey. Skating on
the power play, Marek Zidlicky got the puck at the right point and slid over
to the high slot. He fed the disc to the left circle where Kovalchuk snapped a
heavy wrister into the right corner at the 13:39 mark.

New York recorded just one shot in the final half of the opening period and
notched just five in the frame.

The Rangers, though, took the lead in the second with a pair of goals.

The first came just 2:23 into the frame. A shot by Marc Staal at the right
circle deflected off a Devil in front and went wide. However, the puck caromed
off the back boards and slid off Brodeur before going into the net.

Then, on a power play at 12:19, Anton Stralman fired a shot on net from near
the right boards that hit off Kreider in front and sailed into the net for his
fourth playoff goal.

The Devils tied the game with 1:51 to play in the second as a slap
shot from Bryce Salvador up high was redirected by Carter in front for his
second of the playoffs.

Game Notes

Salvador had two assists in the game…New Jersey was 1-for-3 on the power
play while New York was 1-for-4…The game was delayed for several minutes in
the second period when the door to the Devils’ penalty box got stuck…New
York has won four of the five playoff series against the Devils.

Jose Contreras (1-0) pitched a perfect seventh — part of a string of 17
consecutive batters retired by Philadelphia pitching — to earn his first
victory since August 1, 2010.

Kyle Kendrick, making a spot start in place of the injured Vance Worley — who
was placed on the 15-day disabled list with right elbow inflammation earlier
Wednesday — allowed two runs (one earned) on just three hits and no walks
over six innings.

Alfonso Soriano, who hit his first homer of the year in Tuesday’s loss to the
Cardinals, accounted for both Chicago runs with a two-run blast, while Shawn
Camp (2-2) took the loss in relief.

Carlos Lee went 3-for-4 with a solo home run and three RBI, while Jed Lowrie,
Justin Maxwell, Jordan Schafer and J.D. Martinez all had an RBI in the
victory.

Randy Wolf (2-4) allowed seven runs — six earned — on seven hits and three
walks in four innings to take the loss.

Corey Hart cracked a solo home run and Jonathan Lucroy ripped a pinch-hit two-
run triple for the Brewers, who have dropped three of their last four.

Beltre’s homer came during a four-run fourth inning for the Rangers, who broke
a two-game losing streak.

Josh Hamilton extended his hitting streak to 16 games with an infield single
in the fourth inning and scored on Beltre’s two-run homer for a 2-1 lead. He
finished 2-for-4.

A’s starter Tommy Milone (5-3) gave up four runs on nine hits and a walk in
seven innings. He struck out four but had his three-start unbeaten streak
snapped.

Jemile Weeks led off the game with a double, went to third on a ground out and
scored Oakland’s only run on Josh Reddick’s sacrifice fly.

After Hamilton legged out a slow bouncer to second base leading off the fourth
inning, Beltre went down on his right knee to smack Milone’s first-pitch
changeup over the right field wall for an opposite field homer and 2-1 lead.

The Rangers rallied for two more runs and a 4-1 edge on RBI singles from Craig
Gentry and Elvis Andrus. Gentry’s hit was fielded by third baseman Josh
Donaldson, who double-clutched and threw late to first.

Darvish faced the minimum between the fourth and seventh innings but came out
after giving up a two-out single to Weeks in the eighth, which put runners at
first and second. Mike Adams struck out Jonny Gomes to end the inning and Joe
Nathan fanned the side in the ninth for his eighth save.

Game Notes

Texas went 13-6 against the A’s last season…Hamilton has 25 hits, 10 homers
and 26 RBI during his hitting streak…The Rangers are 3-3 on a seven-game
homestand that ends Thursday….Rangers second baseman Ian Kinsler was out
with a stomach virus…The A’s are 1-2 on a seven-game road trip.