Welcome to Mike’s Hard Takes – the blog where sports meet sarcasm, and no opinion is left on the bench. Whether you’re here for the hot takes, wild predictions, or just to confirm we were right all along (we usually are), you’ve found your new go-to zone for unfiltered sports talk. We break down the plays, call out the nonsense, and keep it real. Can’t wait to disagree!
Mike's Hard Takes
Hotter Takes Than Your Group Chat
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My at-a-glimpse MLB predictions for who is going to win each division heading into the baseball season.
NL West:
Easily the best division in baseball. I could easily see teams 1-3 winning it all this season. It would be hard for me to see a team other than the Dodgers coming away with the West title, but *in my opinion* the Padres and Diamondbacks could be top 5 teams in all of baseball this season.
- Dodgers
- Padres
- Diamondbacks
- Giants
- Rockies
NL East:
Teams get off to slow starts all the time, it happens. I fully expect an organization that is ran as well as the Braves to fully recover and make up the ground they have lost so far with Acuña Jr and Strider set to return soon. Let me be clear, I’m picking the Mets to come in second solely because I expect them to make moves to get more pitching, and the Phillies cannot be counted out either.
- Braves
- Mets
- Phillies
- Marlins
- Nationals
NL Central:
Not many divisions have as many young superstars as the NL Central (Paul Skenes, Elly De La Cruz, Jackson Chourio), but not a ton of great teams. The Cubs have gotten off to a hot start and are poised for a strong season.
- Cubs
- Brewers
- Pirates
- Reds
- Cardinals
AL West:
I think as long as the Rangers don’t have another season from hell they should come away with this division and challenge for the top seed in the league. The Astros are always dangerous and if the Mariners can click on all cylinders they can’t be counted out either.
- Rangers
- Astros
- Mariners
- A’s
- Angels
AL East:
A division full of promising clubs. All 5 of these teams could make the playoffs and make the ALCS, and any of these teams could miss the playoffs so I’m just going to be honest, I’m throwing darts at a board here.
- Red Sox
- Yankees
- Orioles
- Rays
- Blue Jays
AL Central:
*Yawn*, not a whole lot to see here. Bobby Witt, Jr and Tarik Skubal are awesome, but this division is full of “meh”. I see the Royals winning the division and getting whooped in the ALDS shortly after.
- Royals
- Tigers
- Guardians
- Twins
- White Sox
Final Playoff Seeding and Predictions
NL
- Dodgers
- Cubs
- Braves
WC1. Padres
WC2. Diamondbacks
WC3. Mets
NLCS: Dodgers over Padres in 7
AL
- Rangers
- Red Sox
- Royals
WC1. Yankees
WC2. Astros
WC3. Orioles
ALCS: Rangers over Red Sox in 6
World Series: Dodgers over Rangers in 6
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What some people call the best two months in sports has finally arrived!! While I am unabashedly a football first, second and third fan, I will admit the best “playoffs” in sports is undoubtedly the NBA playoffs.
The Play-In
#7 Magic vs. #8 Hawks
- Two perennial play-in behemoths face off for the right to delay their vacation and get beaten up by the Celtics for a week. Give me the Hawks, Trae Young has had a good year and the Hawks have the ability that 28 other NBA teams have: play offense. The Magic, sadly, are the only team to miss out on this ability. I might be in the minority saying that I would take Franz Wagner AND Paolo Banchero on my team before I would want Trae – but give me the Hawks in this game.
#9 Bulls vs. #10 Heat
- In a weird way, I would rather play the Hawks or Magic right now over either of these two teams. The Bulls have won 6 of 7 going into this game and beat the Heat a week ago, so I like them to keep that going. Bulls win.
#9 Bulls vs. #7 Magic
- Bulls can play offense and have been on a roll, the Magic squander their hot start to the season and miss the playoffs. Bulls win the 8 seed.
The East
The Celtics are poised to run through the East like an ill advised midnight-run Taco Bell burrito. But that doesn’t mean that the process leading up to the Celtics coronation won’t be enjoyable. I’m not going to dive into the Cavs or Celtics first round series because they should be nice, short 4 game series.
First Round
#4 Pacers vs #5 Bucks
Giannis Antetokounmpo has been playing some of the best ball of his career, however I have a core principle I live by: I don’t pick Doc Rivers teams to win playoff series. Giannis is the best player in the series by a country mile, yet the next 4 best players and better coach are all on the Pacers. With that being said I’ll take the Pacers in 7 over the Bucks.
#3 Knicks vs. #6 Pistons
Before we dive in, just know I’m predicting a 7 game physical series. Cade Cunningham is the best player in the series, and Malik Beasley is having one of the best non-Curry 3 point shooting seasons ever. Ron Holland and Isaiah Stewart on the same team in a playoff series that is going to be full of emotion has the potential to wreck everything from the inside for the Pistons, and couple that with inexperience and I’ll take the Knicks to win that game 7 in The Garden.
Second Round
#1 Cavaliers vs. #3 Knicks
- Knicks don’t beat great teams, Cavs get revenge in 5.
#2 Celtics vs. #4 Pacers
- Maybe the Pacers are hot for a few games and make it look more competitive than it was. But give me the Celtics in 5.
Conference Championship
#1 Cavaliers vs. #2 Celtics
- The Cavs should be commended for their season, they were fantastic and they have so much potential going forward. That being said, the Celtics are a borderline all-star team. Celtics in 6.
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Check out the first episode of the Mike’s Hard Takes podcast on YouTube with the link below:
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Welcome everybody to Mike’s Hard Takes!! I have a bunch of great content coming down the pipeline this week! Here’s an outline of what to expect this week:
- Western Conference NBA Playoff Preview/Predictions
- College Football Conference Look Ahead: SEC
- NFL Offseason Review
- NFL Mock Draft
- MLB Week In Review
- Jerry Jones Piece
- Podcast Episode #2
In the meantime make sure to check out episode #1 of the Mike’s Hard Takes Podcast at the link below:
Mike's Hard Takes 