Monday, April 30, 2012
Quick takes
I feel terrible for Derrick Rose....He had an awfully unlucky year......Those that say the compressed schedule is to blame for his ACL tear have a point, but there are other factors as well......The guy is great, but he he eats candy and junk food for breakfast, lunch and dinner....that might have something to do with why he was injured for most of the season as well.....Even the guy that designs Lebron's shoe, is a dick.....http://espn.go.com/chicago/nba/story/_/id/7869819/2012-nba-playoffs-nike-designer-mocks-derrick-rose-chicago-bulls-torn-acl........My NHL predictions are off to a rocky start....Is Phoenix really going to the Western Conference Finals??? If possible, I hate the Vikings Draft more today than yesterday.....Garbage...It was a only a foul tip Joe....No need to act like you got shot by a cannon in the eighth inning....Vaginitis will be the cause of his next DL stint...Glad to see the Starting Pitchers for the Twins get their 3rd win of the season....What a joke.....At this pace, Target field in August, will be as empty as the Metrodome in the mid/late 1990's....Congrats to top Wild and top NHLprospects Charlie Coyle and Zach Phillips for making the QMJHL Finals with the ST. Johns Sea Dogs.....Coyle is first in playoff points..... Phillips is third.....both are over 1.5 points a game....Coyle will be on the Wild next year.....Hey Danny Granger you sucked again in crunch time.....Give the ball to David West next time.....Lionel Hollins WTF??? How do blow a 21 point lead with 8 minutes left???? Just a thought; maybe put your best defender, Tony Allen back into the game when the other team starts torching you....You cost me money Lionel, you too Granger and Darren Collison.......Thank You Andrew Bynum...You did exactly what I said you would do in my series preview and you won me money.....I still think the Jazz can give the Spurs a series......Alexander Ovechkin, I'm calling you out.....You're my boy, but you haven't played nearly as well as you can....I hate Chris Krieder, and for that matter all NY sports teams....One good game in NY and your automatically a Superstar...Can't wait til Tebow completes 30% of his passes in a Jets win, just to see ESPN call out the Broncos, for choosing Peyton over him....NFL Network should be ashamed that Tebow is included in it's top 100 players in football list...That same network should be taken off Cable; for rating Tebow as the seventh best Hesiman Trophy winner to play in the NFL of all time..this list was based on performance in the NFL....Apparently being a devout Christian, is worth more than I thought when it comes to football ability...what a joke.....He was rated higher than; Earl Campbell (NFL Hall of Fame RB), Marcus Allen(another NFL Hall of Fame RB),Tim Brown, Doak Walker and Ricky Williams just to name a few....I could go on.....When will this stop???? The guy sucks.....he completed 44% of his passes last year...On a positive note, Josh Willingham can hit the baseball, and Denard Span is fun to watch....
Sunday, April 29, 2012
NBA Playoff Preview part 6-stream of Consciousness
I've written over 2,000 words on the NBA, in the past 24 hours, in five parts. I'm going nuts, so lets knock the rest of this massive preview out stream of consciousness style.
Spurs vs Jazz....The Jazz are a really tough matchup for the Spurs, because of their dominant post players....The Spurs biggest weakness is defending the paint....Utah's biggest strength is scoring in the paint....Utah is also playing really good basketball right now, as is San Antonio...The Spurs have a ton of playoff experience...The Jazz have very little playoff experience...Can the Spurs lose to the 8th seed two years in a row??? I say no...Spurs win this series in 7 hard fought games thanks to Tony Parker and Manu......Lakers vs Nuggets.....The Lakers should dominate this series.....The Nuggets have no one to guard Andrew Bynum....Bynum has turned into a dominant Center this year.....Kobe desperately wants another Title.....Will he share the ball enough with Bynum and Gasol to achieve that???? The Nuggets are fun to watch, as they can really get up and down the court....Ty Lawson is playing lights out for them this season....They do not have enough size to compete with the Lakers in a 7 game series....Expect some close games in this series, but do not expect a long series....Lakers win this series in 5 games....Kobe will not let his team lose in the first round to this Nuggets squad....Atlanta vs Boston.....The winner of this series gets; the Bulls without Derrick Rose, or the 76ers in the next round......That should be all the motivation the big four of Boston need.....They can see the path to the Eastern Conference Finals just got a lot easier with Rose's injury.....Since the All Star Break, the Celtics have the best record in the NBA.....Atlanta will be without Al Horford, who has missed the majority of the season.....Joe Johnson and Josh Smith will have to play extraordinary to defeat this Celtics team.....Boston has too much motivation to lose this series now....Celtics defeat the Hawks in 6 games.....Rondo will lead this team to the next round, as the Hawks have no one to defend him.....Memphis vs LA Clippers.....The Clippers are highly touted, because of the overrated one trick pony Blake Griffin, but in reality they can't hang with this Grizzlies team....Chris Paul is amazing, but even he can't overcome this mis-match of a series....The Grizzlies are the most complete team in the NBA....the have; size, depth, speed, rebounding and great defense on the perimeter and interior.....The Grizz will dominate this series because of there ability to wear CP3 down with Mike Conley and Tony Allen....Blake Griffin will have to learn how to; shoot free throws, develop a post game, make 18-20 foot jumpshots consistently, and play defense if the Clips want to make this a series......Since he has yet to do this in his three years in the NBA, I am reasonably confident that he won't in this series either....Grizzlies in 5...Playoff predictions...Eastern Conference...Bulls over Sixers in 5 games,... Heat over Knicks in 7 games,.... Pacers over Magic in 4 games...Celtics over Hawks in 6 games...Second Round....Celtics over Bulls in 6 games.....Heat over Pacers in 5 games...Eastern Conference Finals...Heat over Celtics in 7 games...Western Conference...Spurs over Jazz in 7 games....Thunder over Mavs in 5 games.....Lakers over Nuggets in 5 games.....Grizzlies over Clippers in 5 games....Second Round....Grizzlies over Spurs in 6 games....Thunder over Lakers in 7 games.....Western Conference Finals....Thunder over Grizzlies in 7 games....NBA Finals....Thunder over Heat in 6 games.....Finals MVP Kevin Durant.....
Spurs vs Jazz....The Jazz are a really tough matchup for the Spurs, because of their dominant post players....The Spurs biggest weakness is defending the paint....Utah's biggest strength is scoring in the paint....Utah is also playing really good basketball right now, as is San Antonio...The Spurs have a ton of playoff experience...The Jazz have very little playoff experience...Can the Spurs lose to the 8th seed two years in a row??? I say no...Spurs win this series in 7 hard fought games thanks to Tony Parker and Manu......Lakers vs Nuggets.....The Lakers should dominate this series.....The Nuggets have no one to guard Andrew Bynum....Bynum has turned into a dominant Center this year.....Kobe desperately wants another Title.....Will he share the ball enough with Bynum and Gasol to achieve that???? The Nuggets are fun to watch, as they can really get up and down the court....Ty Lawson is playing lights out for them this season....They do not have enough size to compete with the Lakers in a 7 game series....Expect some close games in this series, but do not expect a long series....Lakers win this series in 5 games....Kobe will not let his team lose in the first round to this Nuggets squad....Atlanta vs Boston.....The winner of this series gets; the Bulls without Derrick Rose, or the 76ers in the next round......That should be all the motivation the big four of Boston need.....They can see the path to the Eastern Conference Finals just got a lot easier with Rose's injury.....Since the All Star Break, the Celtics have the best record in the NBA.....Atlanta will be without Al Horford, who has missed the majority of the season.....Joe Johnson and Josh Smith will have to play extraordinary to defeat this Celtics team.....Boston has too much motivation to lose this series now....Celtics defeat the Hawks in 6 games.....Rondo will lead this team to the next round, as the Hawks have no one to defend him.....Memphis vs LA Clippers.....The Clippers are highly touted, because of the overrated one trick pony Blake Griffin, but in reality they can't hang with this Grizzlies team....Chris Paul is amazing, but even he can't overcome this mis-match of a series....The Grizzlies are the most complete team in the NBA....the have; size, depth, speed, rebounding and great defense on the perimeter and interior.....The Grizz will dominate this series because of there ability to wear CP3 down with Mike Conley and Tony Allen....Blake Griffin will have to learn how to; shoot free throws, develop a post game, make 18-20 foot jumpshots consistently, and play defense if the Clips want to make this a series......Since he has yet to do this in his three years in the NBA, I am reasonably confident that he won't in this series either....Grizzlies in 5...Playoff predictions...Eastern Conference...Bulls over Sixers in 5 games,... Heat over Knicks in 7 games,.... Pacers over Magic in 4 games...Celtics over Hawks in 6 games...Second Round....Celtics over Bulls in 6 games.....Heat over Pacers in 5 games...Eastern Conference Finals...Heat over Celtics in 7 games...Western Conference...Spurs over Jazz in 7 games....Thunder over Mavs in 5 games.....Lakers over Nuggets in 5 games.....Grizzlies over Clippers in 5 games....Second Round....Grizzlies over Spurs in 6 games....Thunder over Lakers in 7 games.....Western Conference Finals....Thunder over Grizzlies in 7 games....NBA Finals....Thunder over Heat in 6 games.....Finals MVP Kevin Durant.....
Throwing Darts at a Draft Board/The Vikings Draft Recap
Two Words to describe the Vikings Draft: Fucking Terrible. Needless to say, the Vikes get a big fat F from me. How can you spin this draft any other way? A FB/TE who was not even supposed to be drafted. We take him in the fourth round. The best part is he broke down and cried when he got the call from the Vikes. He was already making plans to move on from football, because he knew he was not going to be drafted. Slick Rick Spielman had other ideas for the kid, drafting him in the fourth round. Why??? Why??? I swear to Tebow the promotion of Spielman to GM was part of a master plan, by Zygi, to make sure the team was so bad that no one would care if they left. Just garbage.
Taking a Kicker in the fifth round??? Seriously, a Kicker in the fifth round??? The guy missed 14 field goals last year in College. I repeat he missed 14 field goals in College last year. The best part is we still have our Kicker Ryan Longwell, under contract for one more year. Is this guy really going to take up a roster spot next year? How does drafting a Kicker improve this team? Don't tell me he is going to be our Kickoff specialist and learn from Longwell. You can find any number of soccer/rugby players that can do that, without wasting a draft pick.
Drafting two Wide Receivers from Arkansas and another Defensive Back from Notre Dame is just the icing on the cake. It is truly like the Vikes, only had the money to go to three pro days. We drafted two guys from Notre Dame, two guys from Arkansas, and two guys from USC, Ridiculous.
Someone tell Spielman that it is not 1923, because he seems to think so. Why else would he continue to scoop up players from Notre Dame. FYI Slick Rick, Knute Rockne is dead, and so is the Notre Dame football program. In the seventh round, I was half expecting us to draft the "Four Horseman" from Notre Dame.
I am beginning to think I was Jack the Ripper in a past life or something. How else can you explain the cruel punishment of being a die hard Minnesota sports fan?
Taking a Kicker in the fifth round??? Seriously, a Kicker in the fifth round??? The guy missed 14 field goals last year in College. I repeat he missed 14 field goals in College last year. The best part is we still have our Kicker Ryan Longwell, under contract for one more year. Is this guy really going to take up a roster spot next year? How does drafting a Kicker improve this team? Don't tell me he is going to be our Kickoff specialist and learn from Longwell. You can find any number of soccer/rugby players that can do that, without wasting a draft pick.
Drafting two Wide Receivers from Arkansas and another Defensive Back from Notre Dame is just the icing on the cake. It is truly like the Vikes, only had the money to go to three pro days. We drafted two guys from Notre Dame, two guys from Arkansas, and two guys from USC, Ridiculous.
Someone tell Spielman that it is not 1923, because he seems to think so. Why else would he continue to scoop up players from Notre Dame. FYI Slick Rick, Knute Rockne is dead, and so is the Notre Dame football program. In the seventh round, I was half expecting us to draft the "Four Horseman" from Notre Dame.
I am beginning to think I was Jack the Ripper in a past life or something. How else can you explain the cruel punishment of being a die hard Minnesota sports fan?
Saturday, April 28, 2012
NBA Playoff Preview Part 5 Thunder/Mavericks
Western Conference
#2 Oklahoma City Thunder VS #7 Dallas Mavericks
This should be a short but closely contested series. The Oklahoma CityThunder are one of the prohibitive favorites to win the NBA Title this season. First they have to knock off the defending Champion Dallas Mavericks. The same Mavs, who ended the Thunders season in the Western Conference Finals last year.
The Mavericks did not play as well this season, as they did during their run to the NBA Title last year. The loss of Tyson Chandler, has really hurt them defensively. Dallas has played well against the Thunder this season winning one game and competitive in all four. Dallas likes to use the Zone defense, (second most Zone usage in the NBA this year) and the Thunder struggle against the Zone. Dirk Nowitzki is going to have provide the majority of Dallas' offense, especially in the fourth quarter. Jason Terry and Jason Kidd need to find their games for Dallas, if the Mavs are to pull the upset in this series.
The Thunder will really miss James Harden in this series if he is unable to come back 100% from the vicious elbow he received from Metta World Peace. Harden is the Thunder's best player against the Zone, as he is unafraid to slash into the lane from either wing. Thankfully, for the Thunder they have Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook still. The key for the Thunder in this series and for the rest of the Playoffs is to have Westbrook share the ball. The Thunder can not win if he is shooting the ball every time down the floor. He has too much talent around him to hog the ball the whole game. Kevin Durant won his third straight NBA scoring title this season.
The Pick: Thunder in 5 games. The Thunder have too much scoring for the Mavericks to handle. Dallas is not scoring enough to make up for it's declining defense. I expect these game to be close, but ultimately the younger legs of OKC will prevail.
#2 Oklahoma City Thunder VS #7 Dallas Mavericks
This should be a short but closely contested series. The Oklahoma CityThunder are one of the prohibitive favorites to win the NBA Title this season. First they have to knock off the defending Champion Dallas Mavericks. The same Mavs, who ended the Thunders season in the Western Conference Finals last year.
The Mavericks did not play as well this season, as they did during their run to the NBA Title last year. The loss of Tyson Chandler, has really hurt them defensively. Dallas has played well against the Thunder this season winning one game and competitive in all four. Dallas likes to use the Zone defense, (second most Zone usage in the NBA this year) and the Thunder struggle against the Zone. Dirk Nowitzki is going to have provide the majority of Dallas' offense, especially in the fourth quarter. Jason Terry and Jason Kidd need to find their games for Dallas, if the Mavs are to pull the upset in this series.
The Thunder will really miss James Harden in this series if he is unable to come back 100% from the vicious elbow he received from Metta World Peace. Harden is the Thunder's best player against the Zone, as he is unafraid to slash into the lane from either wing. Thankfully, for the Thunder they have Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook still. The key for the Thunder in this series and for the rest of the Playoffs is to have Westbrook share the ball. The Thunder can not win if he is shooting the ball every time down the floor. He has too much talent around him to hog the ball the whole game. Kevin Durant won his third straight NBA scoring title this season.
The Pick: Thunder in 5 games. The Thunder have too much scoring for the Mavericks to handle. Dallas is not scoring enough to make up for it's declining defense. I expect these game to be close, but ultimately the younger legs of OKC will prevail.
NBA Playoff Preview Part 4 Pacers/Magic
Eastern Conference
#3 Indiana Pacers VS #6 Orlando Magic
The Pacers have a bunch of really good players, but no Superstar. The Magic have a Superstar player in Dwight Howard, but he is out for the Playoffs, and is a Bitch. The Magic are left with a bunch of role players and three point shooters. The only way the Magic can win this series is to shoot lights out from three point range.
Indiana is led by; David West, Danny Granger and Roy Hibbert. The Pacers also have a solid bench. The Magic without Dwight Howard, are led by; Stan Van Gundy, and that's about it. This might be the biggest mismatch of the first round.
The Pick: Pacers in 4. Unless the Magic can shoot 50% from three, this will be a short series.
#3 Indiana Pacers VS #6 Orlando Magic
The Pacers have a bunch of really good players, but no Superstar. The Magic have a Superstar player in Dwight Howard, but he is out for the Playoffs, and is a Bitch. The Magic are left with a bunch of role players and three point shooters. The only way the Magic can win this series is to shoot lights out from three point range.
Indiana is led by; David West, Danny Granger and Roy Hibbert. The Pacers also have a solid bench. The Magic without Dwight Howard, are led by; Stan Van Gundy, and that's about it. This might be the biggest mismatch of the first round.
The Pick: Pacers in 4. Unless the Magic can shoot 50% from three, this will be a short series.
NBA Playoff Preview Part 3 Heat/Knicks
Eastern Conference
#2 Miami Heat vs #7 New York Knicks
The Heat are led by their big two and a half; Lebron James, D'wyane Wade, and Chris Bosh. The Knicks are led by Carmelo Anthony and Tyson Chandler. The Heat are the favorite to represent the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals. The Knicks are the weirdest team in the league.
These two teams are very similar; Both like to score the ball( each team averaged over 97 points per game) create Turnovers(The Knicks were 2nd in the NBA , Miami 3rd, in turnovers forced per game ) and turn the ball over to their opponents(Miami was 23rd in the league with 15.2 per game, NY was 29th averaging 16 a game.)
If Miami fails to win the Title this year, it's season will be considered a failure. The Heat were led in scoring, rebounding, and assists by Lebron. That is an amazing feat even if you dislike the man. The Heat are at their best when Wade and Lebron are running in the open court and creating havoc in opponents passing lanes. Their half court offense can get very stagnant at times, with Lebron and Wade seemingly alternating possessions, while the other four guys watch. The key to beating Miami is to deny the rim and force them to hit jumpshots.
The Knicks will be a stern test for Miami in this series, because they have the best rim protector in the NBA, Tyson Chandler. He was a huge reason the Mavericks beat the Heat in the Finals last year. The Knicks excel when they share the ball, but too often Carmelo decides that he does not want to do this. Carmelo is the key to this series for the Knicks. If he catches fire, he could lift NY to a couple of wins all by himself. If he goes cold, the Knicks will get swept. Amar'e Stoudemire is back from injury and playing for the Knicks, He's a guy that if he finds his game could dominate the Heat in the paint, which is Miami's biggest weakness. Jeremy Lin, the most overrated NBA player of all time, is not expected to play in this series for NY.
The Pick: Miami in 7 games. This will be a much closer series than most think. Miami wins because; Wade will not let them lose, and the Knicks do not have enough defenders to slow down the Heat in a seven game series.
#2 Miami Heat vs #7 New York Knicks
The Heat are led by their big two and a half; Lebron James, D'wyane Wade, and Chris Bosh. The Knicks are led by Carmelo Anthony and Tyson Chandler. The Heat are the favorite to represent the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals. The Knicks are the weirdest team in the league.
These two teams are very similar; Both like to score the ball( each team averaged over 97 points per game) create Turnovers(The Knicks were 2nd in the NBA , Miami 3rd, in turnovers forced per game ) and turn the ball over to their opponents(Miami was 23rd in the league with 15.2 per game, NY was 29th averaging 16 a game.)
If Miami fails to win the Title this year, it's season will be considered a failure. The Heat were led in scoring, rebounding, and assists by Lebron. That is an amazing feat even if you dislike the man. The Heat are at their best when Wade and Lebron are running in the open court and creating havoc in opponents passing lanes. Their half court offense can get very stagnant at times, with Lebron and Wade seemingly alternating possessions, while the other four guys watch. The key to beating Miami is to deny the rim and force them to hit jumpshots.
The Knicks will be a stern test for Miami in this series, because they have the best rim protector in the NBA, Tyson Chandler. He was a huge reason the Mavericks beat the Heat in the Finals last year. The Knicks excel when they share the ball, but too often Carmelo decides that he does not want to do this. Carmelo is the key to this series for the Knicks. If he catches fire, he could lift NY to a couple of wins all by himself. If he goes cold, the Knicks will get swept. Amar'e Stoudemire is back from injury and playing for the Knicks, He's a guy that if he finds his game could dominate the Heat in the paint, which is Miami's biggest weakness. Jeremy Lin, the most overrated NBA player of all time, is not expected to play in this series for NY.
The Pick: Miami in 7 games. This will be a much closer series than most think. Miami wins because; Wade will not let them lose, and the Knicks do not have enough defenders to slow down the Heat in a seven game series.
NBA Playoff Preview part 2- Bulls/Sixers
Lets take a look at and preview the NBA Playoffs, beginning with the series that start on Saturday.
EASTERN CONFERENCE
#1 Chicago Bulls VS #8 Philadelphia 76ers
The Bulls are definitely the favorites in this series. The 76ers started out the regular season on fire, but have cooled off considerably since the All Star Break. The Sixers are lucky to have even made the Playoffs, while the Bulls played much of the season without Derrick Rose, their best player and still earned the top seed in the Eastern Conference.
Chicago led the NBA in point differential, scoring 508 more points than they allowed in the regular season. The Bulls win because of their defense, as they led the NBA in fewest points allowed giving up just 88.2 PPG. (points per game.)The key for the Bulls in this series is to get Derrick Rose integrated back into the flow of things, as he missed a large portion of the second half of the season. The Bulls will need a healthy Rose to win this series, but they will really need him in the ensuing rounds of the Playoffs..
Philadelphia is also good defensive team, led by all world defender Andre Iguodola. The Sixers were third in fewest points allowed, as they allowed just 89.4 PPG during the regular season. Philadelphia had by far the fewest turnovers in the league, averaging just 11.2 a game. The team with the second fewest turnovers, The LA Clippers had 13.3 per game. The Sixers will not beat themselves in this series. Philly does have trouble scoring the ball ranking 22 during the regular season with an average of just 93.6 PPG.
The biggest difference between these two similar teams is rebounding. The Bulls are the best offensive rebounding team in the NBA as they average 13.9 offensive rebounds per game. The Sixers were 22 in offensive rebounds per game averaging just 10.7 a game. The Bulls also grab a league best 6.7 more boards than their opponents per game. This is not good for Philly, as they grab a half board less than their opponents per game.
The Pick-Chicago in five games-The Bulls have more depth and more talent than the Sixers. They will also crush Philly on the glass and smother them defensively. The Sixers also do not have Derrick Rose, and struggle to score. This does not bode well against the best defensive team in the league.
EASTERN CONFERENCE
#1 Chicago Bulls VS #8 Philadelphia 76ers
The Bulls are definitely the favorites in this series. The 76ers started out the regular season on fire, but have cooled off considerably since the All Star Break. The Sixers are lucky to have even made the Playoffs, while the Bulls played much of the season without Derrick Rose, their best player and still earned the top seed in the Eastern Conference.
Chicago led the NBA in point differential, scoring 508 more points than they allowed in the regular season. The Bulls win because of their defense, as they led the NBA in fewest points allowed giving up just 88.2 PPG. (points per game.)The key for the Bulls in this series is to get Derrick Rose integrated back into the flow of things, as he missed a large portion of the second half of the season. The Bulls will need a healthy Rose to win this series, but they will really need him in the ensuing rounds of the Playoffs..
Philadelphia is also good defensive team, led by all world defender Andre Iguodola. The Sixers were third in fewest points allowed, as they allowed just 89.4 PPG during the regular season. Philadelphia had by far the fewest turnovers in the league, averaging just 11.2 a game. The team with the second fewest turnovers, The LA Clippers had 13.3 per game. The Sixers will not beat themselves in this series. Philly does have trouble scoring the ball ranking 22 during the regular season with an average of just 93.6 PPG.
The biggest difference between these two similar teams is rebounding. The Bulls are the best offensive rebounding team in the NBA as they average 13.9 offensive rebounds per game. The Sixers were 22 in offensive rebounds per game averaging just 10.7 a game. The Bulls also grab a league best 6.7 more boards than their opponents per game. This is not good for Philly, as they grab a half board less than their opponents per game.
The Pick-Chicago in five games-The Bulls have more depth and more talent than the Sixers. They will also crush Philly on the glass and smother them defensively. The Sixers also do not have Derrick Rose, and struggle to score. This does not bode well against the best defensive team in the league.
NHL Playoffs Second Round Picks
Western Conference
#2 St Louis Blues VS #8 LA Kings
Should be a defensive struggle throughout this series. Get ready to watch a lot of 2-1 games and a lot of OT games in this series.
Prediction: Blues in 5 games- The Blues are one of the best defensive teams of all-time. The Kings have trouble scoring goals. Enough said.
#3 Phoenix Coyotes VS #4 Nashville Predators-This is a tough series to predict as Nashville has the superior team and a great goalie in Pekka Rinne, but The Coyotes have a supremely hot goalie in Mike Smith and seem to be a team of destiny.
Prediction: Nashville in 7 games-The Predators have a little too much overall talent for the Coyotes to handle. Should be an extremely competitive series.
Eastern Conference
#1 New York Rangers VS #7 Washington Capitals
These two teams have met in the Playoffs twice recently. The Capitals winning both series, including last year in the first round.
Prediction: Washington in 6 games- The Capitals are playing their best hockey of the season right now, while the Rangers were lucky to escape the Ottawa series. Look for Ovechkin to light the lamp a few times thisin this round
#4 Philadelphia Flyers VS #6 New Jersey Devils
The Flyers dominated their arch-rivals the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round. Will the Flyers have an emotional let down after that great series? The Devils were lucky to escape the Florida Panthers in round one. Martin Brodeur saved his team in the game 7 OT many times. He was looking like vintage Brodeur throughout the OT.
Prediction: Flyers in 6 games. Philadelphia has enough scoring power to overcome their defensive and goaltending deficiencies in this series.
#2 St Louis Blues VS #8 LA Kings
Should be a defensive struggle throughout this series. Get ready to watch a lot of 2-1 games and a lot of OT games in this series.
Prediction: Blues in 5 games- The Blues are one of the best defensive teams of all-time. The Kings have trouble scoring goals. Enough said.
#3 Phoenix Coyotes VS #4 Nashville Predators-This is a tough series to predict as Nashville has the superior team and a great goalie in Pekka Rinne, but The Coyotes have a supremely hot goalie in Mike Smith and seem to be a team of destiny.
Prediction: Nashville in 7 games-The Predators have a little too much overall talent for the Coyotes to handle. Should be an extremely competitive series.
Eastern Conference
#1 New York Rangers VS #7 Washington Capitals
These two teams have met in the Playoffs twice recently. The Capitals winning both series, including last year in the first round.
Prediction: Washington in 6 games- The Capitals are playing their best hockey of the season right now, while the Rangers were lucky to escape the Ottawa series. Look for Ovechkin to light the lamp a few times thisin this round
#4 Philadelphia Flyers VS #6 New Jersey Devils
The Flyers dominated their arch-rivals the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round. Will the Flyers have an emotional let down after that great series? The Devils were lucky to escape the Florida Panthers in round one. Martin Brodeur saved his team in the game 7 OT many times. He was looking like vintage Brodeur throughout the OT.
Prediction: Flyers in 6 games. Philadelphia has enough scoring power to overcome their defensive and goaltending deficiencies in this series.
NBA Playoff Preview/Season Review Part 1
The NBA playoffs being this weekend. With no clear-cut favorite, this promises to be an exciting and intense couple of months for the NBA. Because of the lockout, there is a condensed time frame to conclude this seasons playoffs. This is great for us fans, because we no longer have to wait the usual three or four days between games, of marquee series. This could also be a factor in the outcome of a series or two. Younger teams have a decided advantage, because they should theoretically heal up faster and be fresher as the Playoffs advance to the latter stages. With that said, lets get on to the preview.
Playoff Power Rankings-
(This is how I rank the teams going into the Playoffs. This does not necessarily reflect who I think will win the Title, or even a particular series. Some teams match-up better against other teams, and match-ups are always a key factor in determining who makes the Finals. (See last years Spurs-Grizzlies round 1 series.)
1.Oklahoma City Thunder-Revenge is on their minds, as they draw the defending Champs who ousted them from the Playoffs last year. Is this the year their dynasty begins?
2.San Antonio Spurs-Best record in the league. Tough match-up for them with the Jazz in round. Will the big three of Duncan, Parker, and Ginobili get another ring and add to their legacies?
3.Memphis Grizzlies-Possibly the deepest team in the league. Look for them to go far. Can they integrate Zach Randolph back into the line-up without any hiccups?
4.Miami Heat-Anything less than a Title means this season is a failure, according to Wade. Lebron, of course does not agree. Can Lebron finally get his team a Championship this year?
5 Chicago Bulls-Can Rose make it the entire playoffs without re-injuring himself?
6.La Lakers-Kobe wants another Title. Will he allow Bynum and Gasol to help him achieve that goal?
7.Boston Celtics-Best record in the NBA since the All Star Break. Can the Big Three go on another deep Playoff run?
8.Dallas Mavericks-Defending NBA champions. Can they turn it on in the Playoffs, after a sluggish regular season?
9.Indiana Pacers-This is the definition of a true TEAM. Do they have someone who can step up and lead them during crunch time?
10.La Clippers-One great player, one overrated player, and a bunch of role players. Can Chris Paul overcome his coach Vinny Del Negro, and lead his team to an upset or two?
11.Atlanta Hawk-Tough luck in drawing the Celtics in round 1. Can Josh Smith and Joe Johnson lead this team over Boston finally?
12.Denver Nuggets-Overachieved during the Regular Season. Can this team run n gun the Lakers out of the gym?
13.Utah Jazz-Another team that overachieved this year. Can their big men dominate the Spurs front line enough to make it a series?
14.New York Knicks- Such a weird team. Can Carmelo and Stoudemire play enough defense to give the heat a scare?
15.Philadelphia 76ers-Stumbled hard after a fast start to the season. How glad are they to not be playing the Heat again?
16.Orlando Magic-No Dwight Howard, but they have one of the best coaches in the league still. Can Stan Van Gundy pull off the ultimate eff u to Dwight Howard and upset the Pacers without his bitch-ass?
MY ALL NBA TEAMS
1st Team
F-Lebron James
F-Kevin Durant
C-Andrew Bynum
G-Chris Paul
G-Tony Parker
2nd Team
F-Dirk Nowitzki
F-Kevin Love
C-Marc Gasol
G-Derrick Rose
G-Kobe Bryant
3rd Team
F-Kevin Garnett
F-Carmelo Anthony
C-Dwight Howard
G-Russell Westbrook
G-D'wayne Wade
Rookie of the Year- Kyrie Irving
Sixth Man of the Year-James Harden
Most Improved Player-Ersan Ilyasova
Defensive Player of the Year-Tyson Chandler
Most Valuable Player-Lebron James
part 2 Saturday's Series Previews
Playoff Power Rankings-
(This is how I rank the teams going into the Playoffs. This does not necessarily reflect who I think will win the Title, or even a particular series. Some teams match-up better against other teams, and match-ups are always a key factor in determining who makes the Finals. (See last years Spurs-Grizzlies round 1 series.)
1.Oklahoma City Thunder-Revenge is on their minds, as they draw the defending Champs who ousted them from the Playoffs last year. Is this the year their dynasty begins?
2.San Antonio Spurs-Best record in the league. Tough match-up for them with the Jazz in round. Will the big three of Duncan, Parker, and Ginobili get another ring and add to their legacies?
3.Memphis Grizzlies-Possibly the deepest team in the league. Look for them to go far. Can they integrate Zach Randolph back into the line-up without any hiccups?
4.Miami Heat-Anything less than a Title means this season is a failure, according to Wade. Lebron, of course does not agree. Can Lebron finally get his team a Championship this year?
5 Chicago Bulls-Can Rose make it the entire playoffs without re-injuring himself?
6.La Lakers-Kobe wants another Title. Will he allow Bynum and Gasol to help him achieve that goal?
7.Boston Celtics-Best record in the NBA since the All Star Break. Can the Big Three go on another deep Playoff run?
8.Dallas Mavericks-Defending NBA champions. Can they turn it on in the Playoffs, after a sluggish regular season?
9.Indiana Pacers-This is the definition of a true TEAM. Do they have someone who can step up and lead them during crunch time?
10.La Clippers-One great player, one overrated player, and a bunch of role players. Can Chris Paul overcome his coach Vinny Del Negro, and lead his team to an upset or two?
11.Atlanta Hawk-Tough luck in drawing the Celtics in round 1. Can Josh Smith and Joe Johnson lead this team over Boston finally?
12.Denver Nuggets-Overachieved during the Regular Season. Can this team run n gun the Lakers out of the gym?
13.Utah Jazz-Another team that overachieved this year. Can their big men dominate the Spurs front line enough to make it a series?
14.New York Knicks- Such a weird team. Can Carmelo and Stoudemire play enough defense to give the heat a scare?
15.Philadelphia 76ers-Stumbled hard after a fast start to the season. How glad are they to not be playing the Heat again?
16.Orlando Magic-No Dwight Howard, but they have one of the best coaches in the league still. Can Stan Van Gundy pull off the ultimate eff u to Dwight Howard and upset the Pacers without his bitch-ass?
MY ALL NBA TEAMS
1st Team
F-Lebron James
F-Kevin Durant
C-Andrew Bynum
G-Chris Paul
G-Tony Parker
2nd Team
F-Dirk Nowitzki
F-Kevin Love
C-Marc Gasol
G-Derrick Rose
G-Kobe Bryant
3rd Team
F-Kevin Garnett
F-Carmelo Anthony
C-Dwight Howard
G-Russell Westbrook
G-D'wayne Wade
Rookie of the Year- Kyrie Irving
Sixth Man of the Year-James Harden
Most Improved Player-Ersan Ilyasova
Defensive Player of the Year-Tyson Chandler
Most Valuable Player-Lebron James
part 2 Saturday's Series Previews
Friday, April 27, 2012
Quick take on the Vikings NFL Draft
I give the Vikings a D for the first round. I like the trade with Cleveland, because we were able to pick up three draft picks, and this team needs all the help it can get. I do not like the drafting of Matt Kalil. He is an average run blocker at best, for a team whose offense is based on running the ball. As stated before, Kalil, even if he turns into an a Hall of Famer will have little impact on the Vikings record in the future see: Jake Long, Dolphins LT, and Joe Thomas, Cleveland Browns LT.
The Vikings, may have locked up the LT position for years to come, but they still need three more offensive lineman to protect QB Christian Ponder. Quite frankly the rest of the offensive line is trash.Phil Loadholt is slow and can't pass block at RT. We have no guards, and our center Jon Sullivan, is small and injury prone.
I think the trading of our second round pick and one of our fourth round picks to the Ravens for the 29th pick was horrible. Yes we need a safety, but reaching for Harrison Smith, who has average speed, and struggles in man to man coverage reeks of desperation. How does a guy who struggles in man to man coverage help fix the second worst pass defense in NFL history? (See Vikings draft preview blog for details.) Why would you not keep your second round pick, to see if he fell to you? Instead we gave up a pick which we need, to move up six spots in the draft. Awful.
PS. SI.com you owe me a residual. In your review of Harrison Smith, you used the same stats I did in my draft preview blog to point out how bad the Vikes pass D was last year. Even using my Lions 0-16 example.
The Vikings, may have locked up the LT position for years to come, but they still need three more offensive lineman to protect QB Christian Ponder. Quite frankly the rest of the offensive line is trash.Phil Loadholt is slow and can't pass block at RT. We have no guards, and our center Jon Sullivan, is small and injury prone.
I think the trading of our second round pick and one of our fourth round picks to the Ravens for the 29th pick was horrible. Yes we need a safety, but reaching for Harrison Smith, who has average speed, and struggles in man to man coverage reeks of desperation. How does a guy who struggles in man to man coverage help fix the second worst pass defense in NFL history? (See Vikings draft preview blog for details.) Why would you not keep your second round pick, to see if he fell to you? Instead we gave up a pick which we need, to move up six spots in the draft. Awful.
PS. SI.com you owe me a residual. In your review of Harrison Smith, you used the same stats I did in my draft preview blog to point out how bad the Vikes pass D was last year. Even using my Lions 0-16 example.
Thursday, April 26, 2012
NHL GAME 7 PREVIEWS
#8 Ottawa Senators at #1 New York Rangers- The Senators came into this series as huge underdogs against the Rangers, but find themselves one win away from upsetting New York.
Why Ottawa Will win- Craig Anderson the Senators goalie is notoriously streaky. He had a 41 save shutout in game 5 at Madison Square Garden, and could pull a Mike Smith and carry the Sens to the win by himself. This may be longtime Senators Captain Daniel Alfredsson's last game, if Ottawa loses, as he is rumored to be retiring after this season. Look for him to be flying around the ice tonight. Ottawa is 2-1 in New York in this series, so they know they can win this game on the road.
Why New York Will Win-Rangers goalie Hendrik Lundqvist is one of the best goalies in the NHL. Brad Richards was signed to a mega free agent this offseason, for games just like this. Richards has scored points in nine straight games, in which his team was facing elimination from the playoffs. The Rangers have more talent, and scoring power. New York is 3-0 at home all time in game 7's. Ottawa has lost all four game 7's they have been in.
The Pick: 2-1 in OT New York- The Rangers have history on there side. They also have the better team. Look for Marian Gaborik to produce in this game. He is due.
#6 New Jersey Devils at #3 Florida Panthers- Despite being the higher seed, the Devils were the favorites to advance to the second round. NJ finished the season with 102 points. Florida finished with 94 points, but has the home ice advantage for winning the Southeast Division.
Why New Jersey Will Win-With a loss, Devils Goalie Martin Brodeur's legendary career will likely end. The 40 year old is a free agent at the end of year, and is speculated to retire, so you know New Jersey will play it's best game of the series in front of him. The Devil's have the two best players in this series; Ilya Kovalchuk and Zach Parise, and the more talented team overall. Florida's goalie for tonight is unknown as of this posting. Jose Theodore missed game 6 with an undisclosed injury, so the advantage in goal definitely goes to the Devils.
Why Florida Will Win-The Panthers have the home ice advantage.Florida is a much better home team than road team. Despite the fact Florida is looking to win it's first playoff series in 16 years, they have a lot of veteran players who have played in game 7's before.
The Pick: Devils 3-1. This has been a very even series so far, with each team scoring 15 goals through the first six games, but I believe the Devils will play their best game of the series so far in game 7, led by their captain, Zach Parise, and legendary goalie Martin Brodeur.
Why Ottawa Will win- Craig Anderson the Senators goalie is notoriously streaky. He had a 41 save shutout in game 5 at Madison Square Garden, and could pull a Mike Smith and carry the Sens to the win by himself. This may be longtime Senators Captain Daniel Alfredsson's last game, if Ottawa loses, as he is rumored to be retiring after this season. Look for him to be flying around the ice tonight. Ottawa is 2-1 in New York in this series, so they know they can win this game on the road.
Why New York Will Win-Rangers goalie Hendrik Lundqvist is one of the best goalies in the NHL. Brad Richards was signed to a mega free agent this offseason, for games just like this. Richards has scored points in nine straight games, in which his team was facing elimination from the playoffs. The Rangers have more talent, and scoring power. New York is 3-0 at home all time in game 7's. Ottawa has lost all four game 7's they have been in.
The Pick: 2-1 in OT New York- The Rangers have history on there side. They also have the better team. Look for Marian Gaborik to produce in this game. He is due.
#6 New Jersey Devils at #3 Florida Panthers- Despite being the higher seed, the Devils were the favorites to advance to the second round. NJ finished the season with 102 points. Florida finished with 94 points, but has the home ice advantage for winning the Southeast Division.
Why New Jersey Will Win-With a loss, Devils Goalie Martin Brodeur's legendary career will likely end. The 40 year old is a free agent at the end of year, and is speculated to retire, so you know New Jersey will play it's best game of the series in front of him. The Devil's have the two best players in this series; Ilya Kovalchuk and Zach Parise, and the more talented team overall. Florida's goalie for tonight is unknown as of this posting. Jose Theodore missed game 6 with an undisclosed injury, so the advantage in goal definitely goes to the Devils.
Why Florida Will Win-The Panthers have the home ice advantage.Florida is a much better home team than road team. Despite the fact Florida is looking to win it's first playoff series in 16 years, they have a lot of veteran players who have played in game 7's before.
The Pick: Devils 3-1. This has been a very even series so far, with each team scoring 15 goals through the first six games, but I believe the Devils will play their best game of the series so far in game 7, led by their captain, Zach Parise, and legendary goalie Martin Brodeur.
Vikes Draft Preview
The Minnesota Vikings own the third pick in this years draft. The consensus pick for the Vikings is Matt Kalil, the left tackle out of USC. This would be a safe pick, but is it the right pick? I, say no. I am a firm believer in trading down, as far as the tenth pick this year to acquire another second round pick and maybe more. Why? This Vikings team has so many needs, and the recent evidence suggests taking a tackle in the top 5 of the draft does not guarantee team success, even if the player performs at a high level. Taking Matt Kalil at #3 would be the worst thing the Vikings could do. The three players the Vikings should target, after trading down, are in order; CB Stephon Gilmore, WR Michael Floyd, and CB Janoris Jenkins.
The Patriots and Giants, this past years Super Bowl teams did not have a tackle taken high in the NFL Draft. The Miami Dolphins took LT Jake Long with the first pick in the draft in 2008, while he is a great player the Dolphins have floundered since then and are no closer to a Super Bowl. The Cleveland Browns took LT Joe Thomas third overall in the 2007 draft. He has been a perennial All Pro, but the Browns still are no closer to competing for a Super Bowl then they were in 2007. The St. Louis Rams took LT Jason Smith second overall in 2009. He was considered a sure thing coming out of college, but he has been a huge bust for them. The Rams, are no closer now to competing for a Super Bowl, then they were in 2009. If the Vikings take Kalil at three, and he happens to turn into an all pro, which is not guaranteed, there is no evidence to suggest the Vikes will be a playoff team because of it.
The 2011 Vikings, had a historically bad pass defense. The Vikes d finished finished the season allowing a 107.9 passer rating to opposing Quarterbacks. This was the second highest DQBR(defensive quarteback rating) ever given up by a defense in NFL HISTORY! The NFL average rating for the 2011 season was around 85.0. The 2008 Detroit Lions own the highest DQBR of all time with a brutal number of 110.9. That Lions team was also the only team in NFL history to go 0-16. The Vikings have done nothing this off season to correct their pass D. Unless you count signing cornerback Zach Bowman, from the Chicago Bears as the solution. This team is in desperate need of secondary help as we enter the draft. The Vikes have the two worst starting safeties in the league, not to mention an aging Antoine Winfield and crazy Chris Cook penciled in at CB.Taking Matt Kalil is not going to fix this.
With the addition of wide receiver Brandon Marshall to the Chicago Bears this off-season, the Vikings will have to face him, Calvin Johnson of the Detroit Lions and the plethora of Packer wideouts a combined six times in 2012. This is just in our division. The QB's in our division(Rodgers,Stafford and Cutler) are three of the best in the NFL. Again, taking Matt Kalil will not help us stop these guys.
The consensus top CB in this years draft is Morris Claiborne from LSU, who the Vikes are considering at pick #3. This would be a poor use of the third pick, because I believe he is highly overrated. He scored a 4 out of 50 on his Wonderlic test at the Draft Combine. The Wonderlic is basically an IQ test. Claiborne's score of 4, is the lowest known score ever recorded on the test. How can a team seriously consider drafting him this high? I'm sorry, but you need to know strategy and your playbook to succeed in the NFL nowadays. If I'm the Vikings, I can't risk the third overall pick on someone like this.
The Vikings should be able to pull off a trade, as a lot of teams want RB Trent Richardson. There is also a report that the Bills want to trade up to take Kalil. After taking the best trade offer, probably the Bills( the 10th pick, and the 41st pick for number 3)the Vikings will have 3 picks in the top 41. With the 10th pick I believe the Vikes should take Stephon Gilmore a CB from South Carolina. He looks like the real deal, and played on a defense that did not have nearly as much talent as LSU's. I would take him at #3 if a trade down can not be made. If he is off the board, I would take a hard look at Michael Floyd or Janoris Jenkins. Floyd reminds me of Larry Fitzgerald, and it's not like the Vikes are loaded at WR. He would be the deep threat and redzone threat the Vikings need to help Christian Ponder's development. Plus he is a hometown guy, which could help the stadium push. Jenkins has failed a couple of drug tests for pot(this has never stopped the Vikings before) and has 4 kids with 3 different women(talented swimmers, bad luck,Christian?) but he might be the most talented CB in the draft. He also is saying and doing all the right things leading up to the draft. The Vikings owe it to themselves to at least think about taking him if Gilmore and Floyd are gone.
Assuming the Vikes do make a trade, and have two second round picks they must take a safety for sure in this round. With the other pick they need to go CB or WR depending on how the first round shakes out for them. In the third round they need an OL, DT, or WR.
Because it's Minnesota sports, and the Vikings, they most likely will take Kalil at #3. Three non-playoff years later, LA Vikings fans, will be resigned to wonder why they passed on a chance to trade down for more help in the 2012 NFL Draft.
The Patriots and Giants, this past years Super Bowl teams did not have a tackle taken high in the NFL Draft. The Miami Dolphins took LT Jake Long with the first pick in the draft in 2008, while he is a great player the Dolphins have floundered since then and are no closer to a Super Bowl. The Cleveland Browns took LT Joe Thomas third overall in the 2007 draft. He has been a perennial All Pro, but the Browns still are no closer to competing for a Super Bowl then they were in 2007. The St. Louis Rams took LT Jason Smith second overall in 2009. He was considered a sure thing coming out of college, but he has been a huge bust for them. The Rams, are no closer now to competing for a Super Bowl, then they were in 2009. If the Vikings take Kalil at three, and he happens to turn into an all pro, which is not guaranteed, there is no evidence to suggest the Vikes will be a playoff team because of it.
The 2011 Vikings, had a historically bad pass defense. The Vikes d finished finished the season allowing a 107.9 passer rating to opposing Quarterbacks. This was the second highest DQBR(defensive quarteback rating) ever given up by a defense in NFL HISTORY! The NFL average rating for the 2011 season was around 85.0. The 2008 Detroit Lions own the highest DQBR of all time with a brutal number of 110.9. That Lions team was also the only team in NFL history to go 0-16. The Vikings have done nothing this off season to correct their pass D. Unless you count signing cornerback Zach Bowman, from the Chicago Bears as the solution. This team is in desperate need of secondary help as we enter the draft. The Vikes have the two worst starting safeties in the league, not to mention an aging Antoine Winfield and crazy Chris Cook penciled in at CB.Taking Matt Kalil is not going to fix this.
With the addition of wide receiver Brandon Marshall to the Chicago Bears this off-season, the Vikings will have to face him, Calvin Johnson of the Detroit Lions and the plethora of Packer wideouts a combined six times in 2012. This is just in our division. The QB's in our division(Rodgers,Stafford and Cutler) are three of the best in the NFL. Again, taking Matt Kalil will not help us stop these guys.
The consensus top CB in this years draft is Morris Claiborne from LSU, who the Vikes are considering at pick #3. This would be a poor use of the third pick, because I believe he is highly overrated. He scored a 4 out of 50 on his Wonderlic test at the Draft Combine. The Wonderlic is basically an IQ test. Claiborne's score of 4, is the lowest known score ever recorded on the test. How can a team seriously consider drafting him this high? I'm sorry, but you need to know strategy and your playbook to succeed in the NFL nowadays. If I'm the Vikings, I can't risk the third overall pick on someone like this.
The Vikings should be able to pull off a trade, as a lot of teams want RB Trent Richardson. There is also a report that the Bills want to trade up to take Kalil. After taking the best trade offer, probably the Bills( the 10th pick, and the 41st pick for number 3)the Vikings will have 3 picks in the top 41. With the 10th pick I believe the Vikes should take Stephon Gilmore a CB from South Carolina. He looks like the real deal, and played on a defense that did not have nearly as much talent as LSU's. I would take him at #3 if a trade down can not be made. If he is off the board, I would take a hard look at Michael Floyd or Janoris Jenkins. Floyd reminds me of Larry Fitzgerald, and it's not like the Vikes are loaded at WR. He would be the deep threat and redzone threat the Vikings need to help Christian Ponder's development. Plus he is a hometown guy, which could help the stadium push. Jenkins has failed a couple of drug tests for pot(this has never stopped the Vikings before) and has 4 kids with 3 different women(talented swimmers, bad luck,Christian?) but he might be the most talented CB in the draft. He also is saying and doing all the right things leading up to the draft. The Vikings owe it to themselves to at least think about taking him if Gilmore and Floyd are gone.
Assuming the Vikes do make a trade, and have two second round picks they must take a safety for sure in this round. With the other pick they need to go CB or WR depending on how the first round shakes out for them. In the third round they need an OL, DT, or WR.
Because it's Minnesota sports, and the Vikings, they most likely will take Kalil at #3. Three non-playoff years later, LA Vikings fans, will be resigned to wonder why they passed on a chance to trade down for more help in the 2012 NFL Draft.
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Capitals/Bruins game 7 breakdown
The Boston Bruins host the Washington Capitals tonight in game 7 of their first round series. These two teams have put on a thrilling and historic first round series. This is the first NHL playoff series of all-time to have each of the first six games decided by a single goal. I expect tonight's game to be another close struggle. There has only been one two goal lead for either team through the first six games. This two goal lead by Washington lasted under three minutes, as the Bruins scored two goals in 38 seconds to tie game 5 back up.
In recent game 7's the Bruins have dominated; winning three of their four series last year in game 7, including the Stanley Cup finals. Meanwhile the Capitals have had real struggles recently in game 7's; losing three of their last four game game 7 opportunities.
For the Capitals to win: Braden Holtby will have to continue his amazing play. Alexander Ovechkin will have to be the best player on the ice, for either team. Ovi leads the team with 5 points in this series and will probably have to score for his team to win tonight. As a team, they have to continue to play smart defensively, and limit the Bruins second chances and rebound opportunities. The Caps also have to limit turnovers, as that is how the Bruins like to generate their offense. Turnovers led to their loss in game 6, despite the fact they outplayed the Bruins, for much of the game.
For the Bruins to Win: Tim Thomas has to play better than he has so far this series. The Bruins can not afford to have him let in a soft goal or two, like he has been prone to do the last couple of games. The Bruins top stars; Lucic, Bergeron, Krejci and Seguin need to carry them to victory. These players had been nonexistent until game 6. This Bruins team does not have the depth to overcome another disappearance by these stars. The Bruins like to play physical, but they have to be smart about it, and not take dumb penalties in this game if they want to win tonight.
Prediction: Capitals 3-2 in overtime-The Capitals have played great in this series and I think that continues tonight. Ovechkin will be a factor scoring at least one goal. Look for Jay Beagle and Brooks Laich to come up huge tonight, as well as Braden Holtby. The Bruins have won four game 7's in a row so they are due to lose, plus they have been outplayed so far in this series by the Capitals. The Capitals appear to want this more, so that's my pick.
In recent game 7's the Bruins have dominated; winning three of their four series last year in game 7, including the Stanley Cup finals. Meanwhile the Capitals have had real struggles recently in game 7's; losing three of their last four game game 7 opportunities.
For the Capitals to win: Braden Holtby will have to continue his amazing play. Alexander Ovechkin will have to be the best player on the ice, for either team. Ovi leads the team with 5 points in this series and will probably have to score for his team to win tonight. As a team, they have to continue to play smart defensively, and limit the Bruins second chances and rebound opportunities. The Caps also have to limit turnovers, as that is how the Bruins like to generate their offense. Turnovers led to their loss in game 6, despite the fact they outplayed the Bruins, for much of the game.
For the Bruins to Win: Tim Thomas has to play better than he has so far this series. The Bruins can not afford to have him let in a soft goal or two, like he has been prone to do the last couple of games. The Bruins top stars; Lucic, Bergeron, Krejci and Seguin need to carry them to victory. These players had been nonexistent until game 6. This Bruins team does not have the depth to overcome another disappearance by these stars. The Bruins like to play physical, but they have to be smart about it, and not take dumb penalties in this game if they want to win tonight.
Prediction: Capitals 3-2 in overtime-The Capitals have played great in this series and I think that continues tonight. Ovechkin will be a factor scoring at least one goal. Look for Jay Beagle and Brooks Laich to come up huge tonight, as well as Braden Holtby. The Bruins have won four game 7's in a row so they are due to lose, plus they have been outplayed so far in this series by the Capitals. The Capitals appear to want this more, so that's my pick.
Late Night Stream Of Consciousness
I hope the Wolves take Austin Rivers with the draft pick acquired from the Jazz...This team desperately needs a shooting guard to space the floor, and finish off Ricky Rubio's sweet passes....This seasons Wolves squad, had to lead the NBA in missed wide open jump shots...Rivers can shoot, and he would be an immediate upgrade over the horrible tandem of Wes Johnson and Wayne Ellington....That's not saying much, as Johnson played with the confidence of a 40 year old virgin for most of the season....I believe the Wolves are one quality SG and one quality veteran away from making the playoffs next year, and possibly making noise in the playoffs....Remember how good, and fun to watch this team was before the Rubio injury?....They Should be better next year, if they can stay healthy....A big if I know.... They do play in Minnesota, so I'd say I, have a better chance at dating Kate Upton, but it's fun to think of the possibilities.....We have the black hole Big Al Jefferson to thank for the pick, as he was on fire in the 4th quarter against the Suns in a must win game for the Jazz....With the win, the Jazz eliminated the Suns, and earned the 8th seed in the Western Conference..... This gives the Wolves the last draft pick(lottery protected) owed from the Big Al trade....The Twins pitching staff is terrible.....It's making me long for the glory days of Scott Klingenbeck and Frankie Rodriguez.....Glad to see Joe Mauer still can't come up with the clutch hit when the team needs it....Down five runs or up five runs he is great....In close games it's guaranteed to be a pop up, or double play with men on base....Looks like the Twins are the elixir to cure all that ails any struggling MLB team....The Red Sox, came into this series having blown a 9-0 lead to the Yankees in their last game...... giving up 15 straight runs in the process..... Yet they are about to sweep the Twins....The fans/writers clamoring for Frank Liriano to be turned into a closer should be checked into Hazelden......Makes no sense to turn a mental midget like Liriano into a closer......He has no confidence starting....How is he going to protect a one run lead in the ninth inning?....He can't even throw his fastball over the plate....These are definitely qualities you want in a potential closer....I'm no Matt Capps fan, but he is Mariano Rivera compared to Liriano....It's going to be a long summer for the blue hairs who still follow the Twins and baseball in general....I used to love baseball, but three and a half hour nine inning games are a joke, and it is going to be the death of the sport......No one from the twitter generation has the kind of patience to sit through an MLB game at this rate.....not enough action for a generation that can barely socialize face to face anymore, let alone watch a guy adjust himself or his batting armor ten times after every pitch.....Institute a pitch clock, a salary cap, and get rid of the DH or add the DH to the NL....Do this and I will care as much as I used to...50/50 for the Vikes stadium to pass....Better odds than last week....Signing Jerome Simpson can only help......When you can sign a guy who was dumb enough to have 2lbs of pot delivered to his home address via Fed EX, you have to do it....Smart move when pushing for a publicly financed stadium......I like the signing, but the timing is strange to say the least....Hoping the Vikes can trade down in the draft to acquire more draft picks, because this team has more holes than Lindsay Lohan to fill...If I were Rick Spielman(eternally grateful I'm not) I would take Stephen Gilmore or Janoris Jenkins both cornerbacks...Jenkins, would give Jerome Simpson someone to get baked with, and sell pot to...Morris Claiborne, the top ranked CB in the draft, scored worse than Vince Young on his IQ test at the combine....one of the lowest of all-time.... This is a huge red flag for anyone who has watched Vince Young try to play QB in the NFL...Please don't draft him Rick....I can already picture Megatron running free down the field for an 80 yard TD, because the dumb ass blew the coverage...
Monday, April 23, 2012
5 observations from a hockey-filled weekend
With the NHL playoffs in full bloom, here are five observations from a weekend full of watching hockey:
#1. Claude Giroux is the Best Player in the NHL
Giroux, of the Philadelphia Flyers, outplayed and outperformed the Pittsburgh Penguins highly touted and more recognizable Sidney Crosby, in their 1st round playoff series. Giroux finished the series with 6 goals and 8 assists for 14 points in six games. He leads this years NHL playoffs in points and assists. He is tied for first in goals scored. Giroux's Flyers defeated the Penguins four games to two. In the sixth and final game of this series Giroux leveled Crosby six seconds into the game, then proceeded to score later in the same shift. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYx73ZZg4ag This set the tone for the Flyers who would go on to win 5-1, and finish the Penguins off for good this year.
#2. Braden Holtby Is a Future Star in this League:
Holtby, the Capital's third string rookie goalie, was pressed into duty for the last week of the regular season, because of injuries to the two goalies ahead of him on the depth chart. All he has done since then, is lead the Capitals to a seventh and deciding game against the heavily favored defending Stanley Cup Champion Boston Bruins. He is the sole reason the Cap's won games 2, 4, and 5 of this series outplaying Bruins goalie Tim Thomas.The defending Vezina(best goalie) and Conn Smyth(playoff MVP) winner. His stats for the playoffs so far: 3 wins 3 losses a save percentage of 94%, and he is allowing just 2.17 goals per game.
#3. Terrific Goaltending This Weekend
This weekend was filled with terrific net-minding. St. Louis Blues goalie Brian Elliot continued his career year leading the Blues to a 4-1 series win over the more talented San Jose Sharks. Elliot won four games in a row and allowed just 1.37 goals per game after coming in for an injured Jaroslav Halak in game two against the Sharks. Not to be outdone, Craig Anderson the Ottawa Senators goalie, pitched a 41 save shutout in game five against the number 1 seed NY Rangers on the road at Madison Square Garden. This win puts the Rangers on the brink of elimination. Speaking of elimination, the superb goal-tending of LA Kings net-minder Jonathon Quick allowed his Kings to eliminate the top seeded Vancouver Canucks in just five games. Quick allowed just eight goals to the Canucks, in those five games. Jose Theodore of the Florida Panthers also pitched a shutout this weekend against the NJ Devils. His squad is now within one victory, of advancing to the second round of the playoffs.
#4. Stay Classy Vancouver Canucks Fans
Immediately after losing in overtime to the LA Kings at home to end their season, Canucks fans began to toss shit at the Kings players and bench. This, after last years riots, upon being eliminated from the Stanley Cup Finals proves the Canucks fans are the worst sports in sports.
#5 Parity May Not Be Good For The NHL
With the Canucks, Red Wings, Penguins, and Sharks already eliminated the NHL desperately needs the Blackhawks, Rangers, and Devils to win their series. All three teams are currently down three games to two. The NHL has had great ratings so far in these playoffs, but the casual fan is going to have a hard time investing in games with no "name" players or teams. The elimination of the four aforementioned teams at the start of this paragraph should make for a great World Championships in May, but will not help the NHL at all. Gary Bettman needs to pull his best David Stern impression, and make sure he does all he can to help the 'Hawks, Rangers, and Devils advance to the second round.
#1. Claude Giroux is the Best Player in the NHL
Giroux, of the Philadelphia Flyers, outplayed and outperformed the Pittsburgh Penguins highly touted and more recognizable Sidney Crosby, in their 1st round playoff series. Giroux finished the series with 6 goals and 8 assists for 14 points in six games. He leads this years NHL playoffs in points and assists. He is tied for first in goals scored. Giroux's Flyers defeated the Penguins four games to two. In the sixth and final game of this series Giroux leveled Crosby six seconds into the game, then proceeded to score later in the same shift. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYx73ZZg4ag This set the tone for the Flyers who would go on to win 5-1, and finish the Penguins off for good this year.
#2. Braden Holtby Is a Future Star in this League:
Holtby, the Capital's third string rookie goalie, was pressed into duty for the last week of the regular season, because of injuries to the two goalies ahead of him on the depth chart. All he has done since then, is lead the Capitals to a seventh and deciding game against the heavily favored defending Stanley Cup Champion Boston Bruins. He is the sole reason the Cap's won games 2, 4, and 5 of this series outplaying Bruins goalie Tim Thomas.The defending Vezina(best goalie) and Conn Smyth(playoff MVP) winner. His stats for the playoffs so far: 3 wins 3 losses a save percentage of 94%, and he is allowing just 2.17 goals per game.
#3. Terrific Goaltending This Weekend
This weekend was filled with terrific net-minding. St. Louis Blues goalie Brian Elliot continued his career year leading the Blues to a 4-1 series win over the more talented San Jose Sharks. Elliot won four games in a row and allowed just 1.37 goals per game after coming in for an injured Jaroslav Halak in game two against the Sharks. Not to be outdone, Craig Anderson the Ottawa Senators goalie, pitched a 41 save shutout in game five against the number 1 seed NY Rangers on the road at Madison Square Garden. This win puts the Rangers on the brink of elimination. Speaking of elimination, the superb goal-tending of LA Kings net-minder Jonathon Quick allowed his Kings to eliminate the top seeded Vancouver Canucks in just five games. Quick allowed just eight goals to the Canucks, in those five games. Jose Theodore of the Florida Panthers also pitched a shutout this weekend against the NJ Devils. His squad is now within one victory, of advancing to the second round of the playoffs.
#4. Stay Classy Vancouver Canucks Fans
Immediately after losing in overtime to the LA Kings at home to end their season, Canucks fans began to toss shit at the Kings players and bench. This, after last years riots, upon being eliminated from the Stanley Cup Finals proves the Canucks fans are the worst sports in sports.
#5 Parity May Not Be Good For The NHL
With the Canucks, Red Wings, Penguins, and Sharks already eliminated the NHL desperately needs the Blackhawks, Rangers, and Devils to win their series. All three teams are currently down three games to two. The NHL has had great ratings so far in these playoffs, but the casual fan is going to have a hard time investing in games with no "name" players or teams. The elimination of the four aforementioned teams at the start of this paragraph should make for a great World Championships in May, but will not help the NHL at all. Gary Bettman needs to pull his best David Stern impression, and make sure he does all he can to help the 'Hawks, Rangers, and Devils advance to the second round.
More Souhan is a hack stories
Apparently I'm not the only one who thinks Jim Souhan is a hack, read on: http://www.startribune.com/opinion/commentaries/148180475.html
How can this guy be a featured columnist, for a major metropolitan newspaper? Unbelievable!
How can this guy be a featured columnist, for a major metropolitan newspaper? Unbelievable!
Friday, April 20, 2012
Mainstream media bias
If you get the chance, read Jim Souhan's column in today's Star Tribune. He compares the "violence" of the NHL playoffs to a television show called Game of Thrones. I am a Souhan fan usually, but after reading this garbage, it occurred to me that he obviously has watched that program more than the playoffs he was "writing" about. Sidney Crosby has been the one to instigate, in his series against the Flyers not vice versa, as Souhan claims, in his column. Not once in his column, does he talk about how exciting, and well played this years playoffs have been. This has been the best Stanley Cup Playoffs that I can remember. This has nothing to do with the "violence" he describes. It has everything to do with how intense, competitive, and well played the games have been. The Pens/Flyers series has set an NHL record with 45 goals scored in the first four games of the series. The Blackhawks/Coyotes series is the first playoff series since the 1950's to have the first four games all go into overtime. Despite these indisputable facts, most in the mainstream media only want to talk about the "violence", and not the great games going on.
His article is typical of a non hockey fan trying to write about hockey. I do not understand why non hockey fans continually try to degrade the game in the media. His claim that maybe 12 more people will be watching now is just false, and bad journalism. The Flyers-Penguins game on NBC Sunday afternoon drew a 2.3 rating. That means roughly 2.7 million television sets where tuned into that game on a Sunday afternoon at 3pm eastern time 12pm west coast. Not exactly a prime time to watch television, for most American's. This was the highest rated NHL game on NBC since 2006. Not once, is this mentioned in his piece.I bet he
NHL ratings are up across the board on all of the networks broadcasting the games, yet ESPN will only devote time to the few unfortunate hits/melees. PTI devoted three minutes to the Penguins/Flyers game 3 on Monday. How many goals did they show? Zero. They spent the entire segment talking about the Penguins meltdown in the third period. This, coming from a network, that broadcasts the other three major sports, but does not broadcast the NHL. How dare ESPN condemn the NHL for violence, when they just one year ago ran a segment called Jacked Up on their Monday Night Countdown show. This segment involved five guys reviewing the biggest hits of the NFL from the previous Sunday. Hits that left the player concussed, or injured were joked about ,with some idiots saying "he done got JACKED UP!" How can a network excuse this, yet bash the NHL is beyond me. The NFL has violent collisions on every play! The average NFL career is 2.5 years. To say they have cracked down on concussions like Souhan says is absurd. The NFL has been trying to add two regular season games to it's schedule for the past couple of years, and it recently expanded it's Thursday night game schedule, which means more players will only get three days off between games. I don't see how adding more games and having fewer days off between games is cracking down on injuries. No one on ESPN has come out and condemned this game, I wonder why? Maybe its the billions of dollars the network pays to the NFL to broadcast it's games. Hmm.
With all this talk about "violence" and blood in the NHL how many guys are out injured because of these so called vicious hits? Two players that's how many. I repeat two. Daniel Alfredsson the Ottawa Senators Captain and Marian Hossa of the Chicago Blackhawks. Both of these players unfortunately have concussions. Alfredsson was hurt on a elbow to the head. This incident has flown under the radar. The player who hurt him was a fellow Swede, by the name of Carl Hagelin. Hagelin has been suspended for three games and rightfully so. He has also profusely apologized to his fellow countryman. The Hossa incident is another story, as he was hurt on a dirty hit, by Raffi Torres. Torres is a repeat offender, and should get the book thrown at him for his cheap shot, as he has a history of dirty play. You could say he is the James Harrison of the NHL. The only blood I've seen in the NHL playoffs has come from the L.A. Kings Dustin Brown. He was hit by a puck in the face accidentally, so I do not see how blood is a storyline in Souhan's column, but it is.
The only injury that occurred, in the "Roman orgy of violence" which was the aforementioned Pens/Flyers game was Paul Martin, who was leveled on a clean check by Brayden Schenn, and hurt his leg. He has a lower body injury so I'm assuming it is his leg. This is unfortunate, but it is part of the game. Where was this outrage when Adrian Peterson tore his A.C.L. playing in a meaningless late season NFL game?
I'm not saying the NHL is perfect. The league does need to eliminate shots to the head, and players should stop going for the head. The fact is, this is the fastest played game in the world ,and those types of hits are unfortunately hard to eliminate with the speed of today's players. But of all the hits in a typical hockey game, what percentage are to the head, or dirty? Not very many.
I, just wish the mainstream media would give the NHL a chance because it is the best game in the world, and many Americans are finding that out this year, as the huge increase in T.V. ratings suggest. Instead of coming up with false reasons to not watch the sport, I wish the Jim Souhans of the world would actually watch the game, and not just the 30 seconds of low-lights ESPN chooses to show. If people like him, would actually watch a full game they would understand this, and not write articles that prove they have no clue what they are talking about. You will not see me writing about quantum physics, after watching 30 seconds of Bill Nye the science guy, so I don't think the mainstream media has any right to bash the NHL off a 30 second clip.
His article is typical of a non hockey fan trying to write about hockey. I do not understand why non hockey fans continually try to degrade the game in the media. His claim that maybe 12 more people will be watching now is just false, and bad journalism. The Flyers-Penguins game on NBC Sunday afternoon drew a 2.3 rating. That means roughly 2.7 million television sets where tuned into that game on a Sunday afternoon at 3pm eastern time 12pm west coast. Not exactly a prime time to watch television, for most American's. This was the highest rated NHL game on NBC since 2006. Not once, is this mentioned in his piece.I bet he
NHL ratings are up across the board on all of the networks broadcasting the games, yet ESPN will only devote time to the few unfortunate hits/melees. PTI devoted three minutes to the Penguins/Flyers game 3 on Monday. How many goals did they show? Zero. They spent the entire segment talking about the Penguins meltdown in the third period. This, coming from a network, that broadcasts the other three major sports, but does not broadcast the NHL. How dare ESPN condemn the NHL for violence, when they just one year ago ran a segment called Jacked Up on their Monday Night Countdown show. This segment involved five guys reviewing the biggest hits of the NFL from the previous Sunday. Hits that left the player concussed, or injured were joked about ,with some idiots saying "he done got JACKED UP!" How can a network excuse this, yet bash the NHL is beyond me. The NFL has violent collisions on every play! The average NFL career is 2.5 years. To say they have cracked down on concussions like Souhan says is absurd. The NFL has been trying to add two regular season games to it's schedule for the past couple of years, and it recently expanded it's Thursday night game schedule, which means more players will only get three days off between games. I don't see how adding more games and having fewer days off between games is cracking down on injuries. No one on ESPN has come out and condemned this game, I wonder why? Maybe its the billions of dollars the network pays to the NFL to broadcast it's games. Hmm.
With all this talk about "violence" and blood in the NHL how many guys are out injured because of these so called vicious hits? Two players that's how many. I repeat two. Daniel Alfredsson the Ottawa Senators Captain and Marian Hossa of the Chicago Blackhawks. Both of these players unfortunately have concussions. Alfredsson was hurt on a elbow to the head. This incident has flown under the radar. The player who hurt him was a fellow Swede, by the name of Carl Hagelin. Hagelin has been suspended for three games and rightfully so. He has also profusely apologized to his fellow countryman. The Hossa incident is another story, as he was hurt on a dirty hit, by Raffi Torres. Torres is a repeat offender, and should get the book thrown at him for his cheap shot, as he has a history of dirty play. You could say he is the James Harrison of the NHL. The only blood I've seen in the NHL playoffs has come from the L.A. Kings Dustin Brown. He was hit by a puck in the face accidentally, so I do not see how blood is a storyline in Souhan's column, but it is.
The only injury that occurred, in the "Roman orgy of violence" which was the aforementioned Pens/Flyers game was Paul Martin, who was leveled on a clean check by Brayden Schenn, and hurt his leg. He has a lower body injury so I'm assuming it is his leg. This is unfortunate, but it is part of the game. Where was this outrage when Adrian Peterson tore his A.C.L. playing in a meaningless late season NFL game?
I'm not saying the NHL is perfect. The league does need to eliminate shots to the head, and players should stop going for the head. The fact is, this is the fastest played game in the world ,and those types of hits are unfortunately hard to eliminate with the speed of today's players. But of all the hits in a typical hockey game, what percentage are to the head, or dirty? Not very many.
I, just wish the mainstream media would give the NHL a chance because it is the best game in the world, and many Americans are finding that out this year, as the huge increase in T.V. ratings suggest. Instead of coming up with false reasons to not watch the sport, I wish the Jim Souhans of the world would actually watch the game, and not just the 30 seconds of low-lights ESPN chooses to show. If people like him, would actually watch a full game they would understand this, and not write articles that prove they have no clue what they are talking about. You will not see me writing about quantum physics, after watching 30 seconds of Bill Nye the science guy, so I don't think the mainstream media has any right to bash the NHL off a 30 second clip.
late night stream of consciousness
Congrats to Steve Nash, who hit a jumper, had two assists, hit a scoop layup, and had the eventual winning points on two free throws to close out the L.A, Clippers and Chris Paul. This game was a must win for the Sun's, as they trailed the Utah Jazz by a half game for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference entering the contest against the Clippers. The Sun's are now tied with the Jazz, and each team has three games remaining, including a pivotal head to head match-up next Tuesday in Utah.....Chris Paul took over the fourth quarter for the Clippers, and was the whole offense down the stretch...This is nothing new as Paul is; tied for the most game winning shots in the league this year, tied for second in 4th quarter field goals made, and fourth in total points per game in the fourth quarter...Blake Griffin is highly overrated....Yes he can dunk, but he disappears way too much in crunch time for a supposed superstar, and he has yet to develop any semblance of a post game....plus he whines more than any player since Tim Duncan...after nearly every play tonight, he was bitching at the refs, or the Sun's....Corey Crawford, the Chicago Blackhawks goalie, must be sick after letting in two of the softest overtime goals of all time in back to back games....His overtime goal-tending, makes the play of Iyla Bryzgalov this postseason look positively Patrick Roy-esque.....Braden Holtby has outplayed last years Conn Smyth winner Tim Thomas so far in the Capitals Bruins series..44 saves for him tonight...What a snipe by Alexander Semin on the power play to put the Capitals ahead 2-1...that was enough for Holtby, who stood on his head in the third period to keep the score 2-1, and even that series at two games apiece...Congrats to Martin Brodeur, who set another record for future goalies to hopelessly chase, as he recorded his 25th NHL playoff shutout in the Devil's 4-0 win over the Florida Panthers, breaking a tie with Patrick Roy...The Lumineers are a great band....Check out the hologram of Tupac on Youtube...even as a digital image, Tupac has more charisma than 95% of the musicians/computers/performers who make music these days...Roger "I think I'm God" Goodell is making a pilgrimage to town tomorrow to try and save the Vikes....good luck...I don't think even the proposed stadium could hold all of the egos that will be in that meeting...it's time for these holier than thou Minnesota politicians to put this proposal to a vote....trying to hold off the vote until after the upcoming elections is gutless...vote on it now, so the people who vote in the upcoming election can hold these gutless bastards responsible one way or another..whether you want the stadium or not this is why we have a democracy...almost forgot congrats to the T-Wolves for getting there first April victory...in almost 3 years..this win snapped a 27 game losing streak in April....poor Kevin Love, his team's record in April is now 4 wins against 28 losses in his 4 year NBA career..this is not his fault, as he is averaging 26 points and 13 rebounds a night this season while shooting 37% from beyond the arc and 45% overall from the floor....filthy...
Thursday, April 19, 2012
5 Things The Wild Need To Do To Make The Playoffs in 2012-13
5 Things The Wild Need To Do To Make The Playoffs In 2012-13
Anyone who had the unfortunate pleasure to watch the Minnesota Wild this year realizes that this squad needs a major upgrade in talent. After a season, in which, this team scored the fewest goals in a season by any NHL team since the infamous lockout year of 2004-2005, what, if anything, can the Wild do to make the playoffs next year? Not to mention, please the season ticket holders and fill the stands once again?1. Sign 2010 first round draft pick Mikael Granlund!!!
Watch these examples of what he has to offer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3g1x8CC4GE&feature=fvst , http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTv5SjjDJKo, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghqeqQffoVU. Still not convinced? Seriously one of the Kardashian's could write this paragraph, which is why it is so obvious the number one thing the Wild can do this offseason is sign Mikael Granlund. He is already the most exciting Wild player since Marian Gaborik. (True this is like being the thinnest 40 year old in Wisconsin, not impressive, but still) The only thing of note he has done in a Wild uniform (offseason developmental camp http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gO2nHCX-fsY ) is sadly better than any of the previous five first round draft picks before him. (A.J.Thelen, Benoit Pouliout, James Sheppard, Colton Gillies, Tyler Cuma, and Nick Leddy) This six year run of futility in drafting has led to the Wild setting the NHL record for fewest goals scored since the lockout of 2004-2005. (by the way, that lockout happened in part to "open up scoring." )2. Attempt more shots on goal
The only way to score in the game of hockey is by shooting the puck, and preferably hitting the net with said shots. The more times you shoot the puck, the more chances you have to score. Elementary thinking, but it works! The Wild, as a team have not shot the puck enough, as they finished dead last in shots on goal this season with an average of 26.5 per game. http://www.nhl.com/ice/teamstats.htm?fetchKey=20122ALLSAAALL&sort=avgShotsPerGame&viewName=summary. That is 7.4 shots fewer per game than the league leading Pittsburgh Penguins, who averaged 33.9. Now 7.4 multiplied by an 82 game season is 606.8. That means the Penguins had roughly 600 more chances to score this season than the Minnesota Wild. Unacceptable!. As 10, of the top 11 teams in shots on goal, made the playoffs this year, getting more shots on goal is crucial for the Wild next year. The Colorado Avalanche, at 8th the only outlier. .3. Acquire skilled players.
In order to get more shots on goal, you need to have skilled players who can retrieve and possess the puck. How many times this year did the Wild dump the puck and either no one chased, or could do anything with their chase? Too many times to count! Injuries were definitely a factor, as Pierre Marc Bouchard and Gui Latendresse were sorely missed. (Mikko Koivu, the heart and soul of the team, gets his own paragraph later) How much longer can the Wild rely on these two though? It's been two years in a row that both have missed the majority of a season. I feel bad for both of these guys, but it's time to consider anything that we get from these two next season, a bonus! The Skill level in our developmental system looks great as Fletcher has drafted well in his short tenure as GM, but we cannot field six rookies next year and expect to be a playoff team. Some of this young talent includes; Granlund, Johan Larsson, Brett Bulmer, Charlie Coyle, Jonas Brodin, and Zach Phillips. Unrestricted free agents next year, include dynamic forward Zach Parise (a Minnesota native), and a smooth skating, hardnosed, puck moving d-man in Ryan Sutter (from Wisconsin). The Wild have a lot of room under the Salary cap to make a move. General Manager Chuck Fletcher's job is to get one of these two players to sign with the Wild. Adding a Parise or Sutter will reinvigorate a fan base that has not shown up in the same numbers, or with the same passion, these last two years. Fans "BOO" the Wild now. Just three years ago this would have been considered blasphemy.4. Trade Nik Backstrom and re-sign Josh Harding
Backstrom is due six million next year, in the final year of his deal; while Harding is a U.F.A (unrestricted free agent). Backstrom, quite frankly with his shootout struggles, is not worth six million a year. In his career, he has saved just 57.1 % of his shootout attempts. For a team, that tied an NHL record this year with 20 of their games going to a shootout, the Wild are in obvious need of a starting goalie that excels in shootouts. Another factor is Backstrom is 34 and will be 35 in February. The last two years he has been constantly dealing with nagging injuries. By trading Backstrom away, you open up a spot for Harding to prove he can be a fulltime goalie. I, for one believe he can be, and has proven himself that he is ready for the opportunity. This move would also allow prospect Matt Hackett (who has shown great talent in the few games he played for the Wild this year) to play part time as the Wild backup goalie, and continue to get his feet wet at the NHL level. This would prepare him for becoming the fulltime starter in two years when the rest of the prospects are ready to contribute full time.5. Keep Mikko Koivu healthy for a full season.
I believe this is the ultimate key for the Minnesota Wild next year. This guy is the most underrated player in the NHL today. He gives 110 % every game, and literally wills his team to be at the very least, competitive most nights he is in the lineup. The Wild's record with him this year was 27-20-8. That record extrapolated over an 82 game season would be good enough for 96 points and the 7th seed in the Western Conference Playoffs this year. When Koivu is healthy, it gives the Wild so much more depth, as it allows players like Kyle Brodziak and Matt Cullen to play in spots where they are most effective. His presence in the lineup makes this squad just so much better. Look at the late season stretch were the Wild sadly went from tied for the second fewest points in the league all the way up to seventh worst in the league. (Wrecking our chances at acquiring a top 5 pick in the process)Introduction
Welcome to my blog, Yes just what the Internet needs another blog. The goal of this blog is to inform, and entertain the reader about sports, from a super fans point of view. I am a 29 year old male born and raised in the state of Minnesota. I will be writing mostly about Minnesota sports from a Minnesotan perspective. I am a sports history buff as well, so some of my posts will have a definite historical bent and context. This site will also have national sports topics, and hopefully a podcast as well. The goal of this blog is to entertain my friends and myself.
I have been reading and watching sports from the age of three years old. The majority of my first memories are sports related. Some of the memories include; Hulk Hogan slamming Andre the Giant at WrestleMania 3, the Twins winning the World Series in 1987 win I was four, and watching my beloved Minnesota North Stars on pay-per-view.
This blog will undoubtedly be hockey centric, since this is my favorite of all sports, but I also follow the NFL, NBA, and the MLB religiously. If you are looking for college football posts you have come to the wrong place. There will definitely be a few snide posts about Coach Kill's squad, but I find any sport that does not have a true champion a waste of time. NASCAR and the WNBA will never be talked about, unless they are needed for a joke. In fact, this is the last time I plan to seriously mention either of these two "sports" on this blog.
Some of my favorite current sports personalities include; Adrian Peterson, Randy Moss, Marian Gaborik, Mikko Koivu, Mikael Granlund, Alexander Ovechkin, Claude Giroux ,Justin Morneau, Denard Span, Kevin Love, Ricky Rubio, Steve Nash, Kevin Durant, and whoever is currently excelling on one of my fantasy teams. Some of my favorite old school sports personalities include; Ty Cobb, (I once made my parents drive me 3 hours to his museum in Royston, Georgia,while on a family vacation in South Carolina), Dino Ciccarelli( I remember being devastated, at the age of five when he was traded to the Capitals for Mike Gartner), Larry Bird, Wayne Gretzky, Kirby Puckett(game six), Pavel Bure, Neal Broten, Reggie Miller, Jacques Lemaire, Herb Brooks, the 1980 Olympic ice hockey team and Rich Gannon.
My least favorite current sports figures/entities include; ESPN, Joe Mauer, The Minnesota Wild announce team(Dan Terhaar and Mike Greenlay), Brett Farve, Brad Childress, the Miami Heat, any NHL team in a warm weather city, Derek Jeter, A-Rod, Mark Teixeira, Sidney Crosby, Raffi Torres, Kenny Mayne, Stuart Scott, Joe Buck, Tim McCarver, Mark Schlereth, Bill Plaschke, Zygi Wilf and every Green Bay Packer.
People I loved to hate back in the day include; Red McCombs, Denny Green, Denis Savard, Stu Grimson, Dirk Graham, Chris Chelios, Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Jose Canseco, John Rocker, Jack Buck, Tim McCarver, and every Green Bay Packer.
In conclusion, I hope to entertain, inform, and impress whoever happens to stumble upon this blog.
I have been reading and watching sports from the age of three years old. The majority of my first memories are sports related. Some of the memories include; Hulk Hogan slamming Andre the Giant at WrestleMania 3, the Twins winning the World Series in 1987 win I was four, and watching my beloved Minnesota North Stars on pay-per-view.
This blog will undoubtedly be hockey centric, since this is my favorite of all sports, but I also follow the NFL, NBA, and the MLB religiously. If you are looking for college football posts you have come to the wrong place. There will definitely be a few snide posts about Coach Kill's squad, but I find any sport that does not have a true champion a waste of time. NASCAR and the WNBA will never be talked about, unless they are needed for a joke. In fact, this is the last time I plan to seriously mention either of these two "sports" on this blog.
Some of my favorite current sports personalities include; Adrian Peterson, Randy Moss, Marian Gaborik, Mikko Koivu, Mikael Granlund, Alexander Ovechkin, Claude Giroux ,Justin Morneau, Denard Span, Kevin Love, Ricky Rubio, Steve Nash, Kevin Durant, and whoever is currently excelling on one of my fantasy teams. Some of my favorite old school sports personalities include; Ty Cobb, (I once made my parents drive me 3 hours to his museum in Royston, Georgia,while on a family vacation in South Carolina), Dino Ciccarelli( I remember being devastated, at the age of five when he was traded to the Capitals for Mike Gartner), Larry Bird, Wayne Gretzky, Kirby Puckett(game six), Pavel Bure, Neal Broten, Reggie Miller, Jacques Lemaire, Herb Brooks, the 1980 Olympic ice hockey team and Rich Gannon.
My least favorite current sports figures/entities include; ESPN, Joe Mauer, The Minnesota Wild announce team(Dan Terhaar and Mike Greenlay), Brett Farve, Brad Childress, the Miami Heat, any NHL team in a warm weather city, Derek Jeter, A-Rod, Mark Teixeira, Sidney Crosby, Raffi Torres, Kenny Mayne, Stuart Scott, Joe Buck, Tim McCarver, Mark Schlereth, Bill Plaschke, Zygi Wilf and every Green Bay Packer.
People I loved to hate back in the day include; Red McCombs, Denny Green, Denis Savard, Stu Grimson, Dirk Graham, Chris Chelios, Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Jose Canseco, John Rocker, Jack Buck, Tim McCarver, and every Green Bay Packer.
In conclusion, I hope to entertain, inform, and impress whoever happens to stumble upon this blog.
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