National League East

The Washington Nationals won the division last year by an astonishing 17 games. Every other team in the division was under .500 on the season posing no threat to Washington. Washington doesn’t lack offense, coming in the top 10 in runs scored the past two years, and are returning almost an identical lineup for 2015.

This offseason Washington bolstered their roster, making them stronger World Series contenders then they were a year ago. Adding former Cy Young winner Max Scherzer to an already stacked starting rotation that consists of two aces in Stephen Strasburg and Jordan Zimmerman puts them over the top.

Pitching behind those three all-star starters in the back end of the rotation is the likes of Doug Fister and Gio Gonzalez. Both guys are talented and more than proven starters in this league. This starting rotation is something special and it could put up historic numbers this coming season. Closing pitcher Drew Storen is coming off a great campaign in 2014 and will seal the deal regularly for Washington this year.

The Miami Marlins are the only team with an outside shot of hanging with the Nationals throughout the 2015 season. They crowned Giancarlo Stanton as the highest paid player in sports history in a deal worth $325 million for 13 years. They also traded for All-Star second baseman and stolen base leader Dee Gordon to add speed and on base percentage to the top of their batting order.

While the Nationals continue to improve, the Philadelphia Phillies and Atlanta Braves continue to slide down to the bottom of the league. Atlanta made it obvious this offseason that they are going in the direction to rebuild as they traded away talented players like Justin Upton and Jason Heyward for a lot of minor league prospects. The Phillies have already dropped a spring training game to the University of Tampa Bay and the New York Mets have been under .500 for the past six seasons. Washington should be looking in their rearview mirror for the whole season of 2015.

National League Central

The National League Central has historically been dominated by the St. Louis Cardinals. Though there will be some serious competition for them this season. The Chicago Cubs have stolen a lot of the headlines this past offseason by hiring a brilliant new manager Joe Maddon from Tampa Bay, and winning the Jon Lester sweepstakes. Lester was the top pitcher on the market this offseason and the Cubs did not hesitate to get after it, signing him to a six-year $155 million deal.

Good pitching can win Championships, but not without scoring runs and they did not add enough power offensively to do that. Chicago is one year away from being title contenders.

Pittsburgh continues to grow coming off two consecutive postseason appearances and are loaded with young talent. They hands down have the best batting order in the division. A as well as Andrew McCutchen, the second best player in all of baseball. Look for Pittsburgh to be a serious threat this year to St. Louis.

The Cardinals remain the team to beat in the division this coming season. The Cards’ pitching rotation looks better than it has in recent years. If there was a problem, it would be there that there is too many options, which is a good problem to have.

With the likes of Adam Wainwright leading the charge, followed by former ace John Lackey and Lance Lynn. Michael Wacha is also looking like a different player so far this year as he dominates teams in Spring Training. Also, the final spot of the rotation is a competition between three very formidable pitchers. St. Louis acquired right fielder Jason Heyward from Atlanta this offseason, exactly the guy they needed to help out this at times inconsistent offense. Jhonny Peralta is back at shortstop. Standout catcher Yadier Molina is returning to the diamond off a successful recovery offseason from his oblique injury. Molina should be calling the majority of the games this season behind the dish at full strength. If first baseman Matt Adams and second baseman Kolten Wong can continue to emerge in this system look for the Cardinals to have another deep postseason run.

National League West

Last year it was strictly a two-car race for the division title between the Los Angeles Dodger and the San Francisco Giants. But the team to look out for is the San Diego Padres, making all types of moves this past offseason. They added James Shield’s who led the destined driven Royals to the World Series last year to be their ace. Also two all-stars in their outfield, one of them Matt Kemp coming from the division rival Dodgers, with the other being Justin Upton who put up stellar numbers in Atlanta.

The Dodgers lost two of their best players in Matt Kemp and Hanley Ramirez. However, they filled those voids with the signings out Howie Kendricks and Jimmy Rollins.

Regular season phenom Clayton Kershaw remains as their lead guy in the pitching staff, fresh off winning the Cy Young award in 2014. Unfortunately, when playoff time emerges he never seems to be able to come through for Los Angeles. Unlike the San Francisco Giants ace Madison Bumgarner who single-handedly led the Giants to a World Series title last October. The Giants are quietly turning into a dynasty these days, winning three of the past five World Series titles. They may not win the division this year, but watch for them to sneak in as a Wild Card team and do what they do best, win it all.

The University of Maine’s women’s track and field team suffered a tough loss to rival University of New Hampshire (UNH) 99-56 on Saturday. UNH dominated 22 out of 24 events as the Black Bears were held to just two first-place finishes.

UMaine first-year Grace Macura had a solid meet and took home the 400-meter Dash with a time of 58.81 seconds. Another first-year, Synclaire Tasker, came up big for Maine, winning the triple jump event with a distance of 10.57 meters. Fourth-year leader Alexis Wessels did well in the shot put, placing second for the Black Bears with a distance of 10.49 meters.

The youth is really what produced over the weekend for the Black Bears, showing promise for the team.

The men’s track and field team earned a well deserved 76.5-73.5 win over UNH this past weekend. Maine had a number of first place finishes at home against the Wildcats that contributed to the first place team win.

The 60-meter dash was a huge difference maker in the final outcome as the Black Bears won all three medals for the event. UMaine was led in the event by second-year Ryan Jamison with a time of 7.42 seconds, followed by second-year Andrew Toothaker in a close second and third-year Joseph Slattery taking the bronze.

The pole vault was also where Maine made their money on Saturday, taking home all three medals.

Fourth-year James Rutter had himself a day, placing first in the 60-meter Hurdles as well. He came in with a time of 8.53 seconds. He came up huge on the day for Maine winning gold in two events.

With the All-Star break behind us and the teams preparing for the home stretch, it’s time to start thinking about which teams have what it takes to win it all, and which are only regular season superstars.

Contenders:

San Antonio Spurs: The defending champs. They won the NBA finals last year by a record margin in point differential over the Miami Heat, who were led by the league’s best player in LeBron James. San Antonio almost returned the exact same team this year which gives them the right to be considered the “favorites.” They are getting hot at the right time, playing their best ball of the season the past three weeks.

Health has been an issue for them this year, but now have everyone back in the lineup and the All-Star weekend coming up. Look for them to get back on track record-wise after the break, and gear up for a championship run.

Golden State Warriors: Golden State is heading into the All-Star break with the best record in the NBA. The Warriors are talented, deep and have serious star power in a league dominated by big names.

Besides the fact that they have the most dynamic backcourt in the NBA in Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, the Warriors defensive efficiency ranks first in the league. Harrison Barnes and Draymond Green have significantly exceeded expectations in their starting roles, while having former All-Star Andre Iguodala off the bench certainly doesn’t hurt. While playoff experience is not in their favor, the Warriors have the talent to succeed.

Cleveland Cavaliers: Cleveland had an unsteady start to the season to say the least. Starting center Anderson Varejao had a season ending injury, new Coach David Blatt was on the verge of being fired, the team wasn’t winning at the rate they expected and LeBron James was unhappy.  Since those struggles the Cavs have made some moves, acquiring J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert from the New York Knicks. They also traded for 7-footer Timofey Mozgov from Denver to give them interior toughness.  They now have won 14 of their last 16 games, and things are starting to click all around. Kyrie Irving is having a phenomenal season at point guard and Kevin Love is finally starting to play like the All-Star they expected him to be.  There is a deep bench with plenty of playoff experience in guys like Shawn Marion and Mike Miller as well, giving them a shot to come out of the East.

Pretenders:

Dallas Mavericks:

Trading for All-Star point guard Rajon Rondo was supposed to push the Mavericks over the top, but they haven’t improved at all. If anything, they have looked a bit worse since the acquisition. The trade required them to get rid of a lot of good pieces off of their bench, and now are left with practically no depth. The only good defender on Dallas is their aging center, Tyson Chandler. They also lack good defensive players on the wing where the league’s best scorers reside. An elite offense will only take a team so far into the playoffs, while an elite defense is what wins championships.

Washington Wizards:

The Washington Wizards are a year or two away from being serious title contenders. John Wall is a young and already established superstar, coming back to life after an admittedly slow start to the season. Bradley Beal’s growth has slowed down this season and he has had a hard time staying on the court for such a young player. Age is starting to get the best of Paul Pierce, and his days of being great are now history. Starting big men, Nene and Marcin Gortat have been inconsistent. Washington is one great player, or a couple years of development for Wall and Beal, away to be able to take over the East.

Houston Rockets:

Houston Rockets starting shooting guard James Harden is a front-runner for the MVP this season with the way he has been playing. Unfortunately, star center Dwight Howard is sidelined for two months with a knee injury, casting doubt on how he will be when he returns. Patrick Beverley, the feisty starting point guard is a great defender but definitely not a playmaker. Starting small forward Trevor Ariza is mostly just a spot up shooter, while new signing Josh Smith always finds a way to hurt his team somehow. Unfortunately for Harden, this is not the year to win it all.

The struggling University of Maine men’s basketball team travelled to the University of Vermont Tuesday to play a sharp shooting Catamounts squad that currently sits second in the American East conference. History surely wasn’t on the Black Bears side, as the last time they won a game in Burlington was during the 2010-11 season. The Black Bears fell by a score of 68-49.

It was a tale of two halves on Tuesday night Maine was outscored by double at the end of the first half losing 40-20. Vermont came out of the gates shooting well, taking a commanding 19-6 lead only eight minutes in.

The Catamounts also played tight defense, as the Black Bears had trouble getting open looks early on. This resulted in Maine ending the night making just one of 16 attempts from downtown, as no one could make the three ball with the perimeter defense Vermont exhibited.

Second-year guard Dre Willis and first-year guard Cam Ward went off for the Catamounts, showing their ability to drive and shoot the basketball early and often.

Willis was the top performer of the night as he finished with 14 points, four assists and three steals, while Ward finished with 14 points.

Maine played a considerably better second half of basketball in which they outplayed Vermont and outscored them 29 to 28. The Black Bears cut into the lead during the second half but never got closer than 11. Rebounding was an uphill battle all night long for the Black Bears, getting out rebounded on the glass 37 to 26.

Maine third-year guard Shaun Lawton was everywhere, finishing with seven rebounds and four steals. In addition to doing the dirty work, Lawton was getting to the basket, scoring six of his 12 points from the free throw line, including an and-one finish.

Aside from Lawton’s good night, first-year guard Kevin Little continued to play exciting basketball for Maine. He dropped 17 points on Tuesday and was perfect from the charity stripe. He controlled the ball most for Maine and played 39 minutes, only turning the ball over twice.

Next, Maine will play Binghamton University at home Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m.