Monthly Archives: October 2011

October 29, 2011

Week 8 NFL Picks: Halloween Edition

By nalstradamus

Last Week: 7-6

Season: 50-47-5

Halloween is my 2nd favourite day of the year, next to Christmas of course. Halloween is on Monday this year, but the majority of the parties will be occurring today. This means most of you will likely miss the early games due to unbearable hangovers. The wife is sick and is trying hard to pass on her illness to me so I don’t think we’ll be able to last very long at all. Anyway, enjoy your shenanigans wherever they are and feel free to blast my picks below.

Jacksonville at Houston -10

Pick: Texans -10, this line is going up and up and up. Jacksonville is coming off a huge upset win against the Ravens last week and the Texans are coming off a huge win against the Titans. Andre Johnson is also back in this game and I see another monster game from the Texans at home in this one.

Arizona at Baltimore -13

Pick: Ravens -13, give me some more chalk baby! The Ravens have to be angry after Monday night’s stinker. Arizona’s defence can’t seem to stop anybody and I think Ray Rice tears them apart. I hope you don’t have Kevin Kolb as your fantasy starter because he is going to get pressured hard all game long.

New Orleans -14 at St. Louis

Pick: Saints -14, I really don’t like this pick, but it doesn’t look like the Rams can cover any number this year. This pick is scary because the Saints are coming off a video game score beat down against the Colts and there has to be some kind of let down after that. However, the Rams just cannot stop anyone and they can’t score even with teams taking their feet off the gas pedal. I wish I had someone on the Saints for fantasy this week.

Miami at NYG -10.5

Pick: Dolphins +10.5, huge spreads this week. Miami hasn’t been playing all that bad the last few weeks and it’s tough to trust the on and off Giants. Ill take the desperate winless team in this one.

Indianapolis at Tennessee -10

Pick: Colts +10, losing 62-7 is ridiculous. Can the Colts bounce back from that loss? I say yes, but they will have to stop the run if they are going to keep this close. Chris Johnson might finally have a huge breakout game this week. There must be some pride in that Colts locker room…right?

Minnesota at Carolina -3

Pick: Panthers -3, battle of rookie QB’s in this one. Ponder looked pretty solid last week for the Vikes and we already know how good Cam Newton has been this season. A tough one to call, but I’ll give it to the home team. Only thing that scares me is AP vs the league’s 29th ranked rushing defence. Yikes…can I change my pick? Forget it, lets just roll with it.

Washington at Buffalo -4.5

Pick: Bills -4.5, this line was 6.5 so the public is on the Redskins in this one. Kind of strange in my opinion, the Bills have been solid all year and the ‘Skins have been struggling. The ‘Skins are a good pass rushing team so I see the Bills feeding Fred Jackson early and often. The Bills will have to stop the ‘Skins power running game, but I don’t have much faith in John Beck and the ‘Skins passing attack sans Santana Moss.

Detroit -3 at Denver

Pick: Broncos +3, I’m all over this Tebow bandwagon. I think I can throw the football better than him, but he seems to be able to pull wins out of nowhere. Looks like Matthew Stafford will be giving it a go, but I think Tebow pulls out another ridiculous 4th quarter comeback for the upset win.

New England -2 at Pittsburgh

Pick: Patriots -2, the game of the week by far. This is shaping up to be an aerial bombathon. The Pats secondary is swiss cheese and the Steelers D is still stout against the run. I’ll take Brady and Belichick coming off a bye almost every time.

Cleveland at San Francisco -8.5

Pick: 49′ers -8.5, the Browns’ passing game is non-existent and running room will be hard to come by against the 49′ers. The Browns barely squeaked by an awful Seahawks team last week and now are facing a much superior team this week. This could get ugly.

Cincinnati -1 at Seattle

Pick: Bengals -1, worst game of the week by far. I have no reason for this pick other than a pure guess.

Dallas at Philadelphia -3

Pick: Eagles -3, Andy Reid and the Eagles are 12-0 all-time after a bye week. The Eagles are slowly coming together and looking like the team everyone expected. Same can be said of the Cowboys. A huge rivalry game, will be fun to watch DeMarcus Ware chase Mike Vick all game long.

San Diego -3 at Kansas City

Pick: Chiefs +3, amazingly this game actually means something. It wasn’t looking pretty for the chiefs just a few weeks ago, but they have somehow turned it all around and have reeled off 3 straight wins. The Chargers are a frustrating team, world beaters one week and miserable another. Arrowhead is still a tough place to play for road teams and I think we may see the Chiefs shock the world and move into a first place tie with the Chargers after a Monday night upset.

Ok, it’s time for me to start getting my costume ready. So have fun tonight and get that Advil and Gatorade ready.

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October 28, 2011

The Improbable Champs

By nalstradamus

Photo by REUTERS

Looks like I’m owing one of my buddies money after all :) The Cardinals have just completed likely the most incredible three months of baseball ever seen. Their story is well known by now: overcoming a double digit deficit in the regular season to eek into the playoffs, defeating the odds on World Series favourite Phillies on the road against the best pitcher in baseball and then most recently the magical game 6 performance where they were down to their last strike of their season twice and battled back to win. If there was ever a team of destiny, the Cardinals would be it.

Their triumph was truly a team triumph. There were good performances such as MVP David Freese’s, but there were important contributions all over the line-up, bullpen and rotation. Chris Carpenter showed unreal heart with his gutsy game 7 performance when it was clear he was running on fumes. Allen Craig, a little known player to the casual fan, came up with key hits throughout the series and also had a home run saving catch in game 7. Blue Jay castoffs Dotel and Rzep (I’m getting lazy and will not type the full name) were solid when called upon from the ‘Pen. The Rasmus trade with the Blue Jays was likely the turning point of their season. I doubt any of this happens if that trade did not occur. I wonder how Colby Rasmus feels tonight…for Blue Jays fans you’d hope this puts a charge in him to be better next year and beyond.

The Cardinals win is a tough pill to swallow for the Rangers. Losing a World Series is tough enough, losing 2 years in a row is agonizing, but losing after you had the trophy within reach with one more strike…twice…must be devastating. The Rangers pitching let them down in the end, setting a World Series record for base on balls in a series. As all baseball fans know, walks always come back to bite you in the ass. The offence will continue to be the Rangers’ strong point heading to next season, but the starting pitching will be a point of focus in the offseason. It is likely CJ Wilson pitched his last game as a Ranger tonight and he likely cut into his free agent pay day with an awful postseason performance. I do think the Rangers will continue to be a force in the seasons to come as their foundation is too strong to crumble away into obscurity.

Photo By REUTERS/Ray Stubblebine/REUTERS

The final thing to address is the future of now free agent Albert Pujols. The best hitter in baseball already turned down a massive contract extension prior to the season and it was looking more and more like his days as a Cardinal were fading. However, most feel this World Series win likely has locked up not only Pujols, but also manger Tony LaRussa. I just can’t either of these 2 men leaving the Cardinals now.

Maybe that’s what the baseball gods wanted in the end…because Pujols in any other uniform just doesn’t seem right.

Image via Wikipedia

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October 26, 2011

Blame it on the Rain

By nalstradamus

Today was supposed to be reserved for my celebratory post on how I expertly (or more likely flukily) predicted the Rangers as World Series champs. However, mother nature seems to have ruined my party, but it just gives me another day to prepare my victory speech and collect $ from one of my buddies. Unfortunately what the rain out also causes me to do is post about my beloved Vancouver Canucks. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not panicking at all. It’s just better for my long term health if I ignore the Canuck haters and their constant cries for the public stoning of Luongo (yes, I am well aware that in order for stoning to work the stonee must actually stop the stones…ha ha…). However, I’d like to focus on positives and in this case the first impressions of David Booth.

David Booth shows off his quick release (Photo by Dale MacMillan/Getty Images)

I’ve heard others say he may become the next James Neal. Considering the start Neal has had to this season, I’m sure the Canucks would take that in a heartbeat. In my opinion he had a pretty solid game last night wearing the old #7 of Cliff Ronning. He had good speed, played physical and went to the dirty areas.  By all accounts he should give a big boost to the 2nd line with fellow Americans Kesler and Higgins. A nickname has already been given to the line, the American Express line. Kind of weak in my opinion, but I’ve got nothing better other than stealing from Brett Michaels and calling them HBK, the heartbreak kids. Yeah, that’s not so good either.

Outside of the goaltending, which I will not be addressing today, the Canucks need to play a full 60 minutes. Last night they played one period and absolutely dominated the Oilers, hemming them in their zone for extended shifts. It will come around, it’s the Canuck way: starting the year painfully slow and then reeling off spectacular December’s and January’s. So sit back and enjoy tonight’s game against the Blues. Yes Schneider is starting, but don’t read too much into that, it was probably a planned start. Regardless of who’s in net, just cheer.

 

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October 22, 2011

Sal’s Week 7 NFL Picks

By nalstradamus

Last Week: 4-7-2

Season: 43-41-5

Freefalling back to .500

Last week was another stinker as I now fall closer and closer to .500. This week’s slate of games seems to lack any truly exciting match-ups. San Diego at NYJ may be the most interesting of the bunch while Seattle at Cleveland may make you vomit. Anyway, enough babble, onto the picks.

Houston at Tennessee – 3

Pick: Titans -3, Battle for 1st place in the AFC South. The Texans are struggling with key injuries to Andre Johnson, Mario Williams and DeMeco Ryans. LP is one of the tougher stadiums to play in for road teams and I see the Titans pulling this one out against a very banged up Texans team.

Chicago -1 at Tampa Bay

Pick: Bears -1, as we saw last week, if the Bears can give Cutler some time he has top tier talent. Here’s thinking that Mike Martz and co. have figured out the protection schemes from last week’s success and will employ them against the Bucs who are coming off a huge win against their rivals the Saints.

Atlanta at Detroit -3

Pick: Lions -3, hungry after the “hard handshake” loss, the Lions will air it out all day against one of the worst secondary’s in the league.

Denver at Miami (pick)

Pick: Broncos (pick), the Tebow show is now in full effect and this will be a homecoming of sorts for Tebow as he heads back to the state where he was a worshipped god during his college years. The Dolphins are pushing hard (or maybe not pushing at all) to win the Andrew Luck sweepstakes.

Washington at Carolina -1

Pick: Panthers -1, John Beck makes his first start in the NFL since 2007, replacing the struggling Rex Grossman. The Panthers on the other hand have no QB issues as Cam Newton has turned the Panthers offence into one of the more dangerous offences in the league. The Panthers have had troubles holding onto leads this season, but they turn this around tomorrow and win comfortably.

Seattle at Cleveland -2.5

Pick: Browns -2.5, the Hawks are historically not a good eastern travelling squad. Yes, they did win earlier this year against the G-men, but asking for 2 wins in the east is asking a lot.

San Diego at NYJ (pick)

Pick: Chargers (pick), Rex Ryan gave some bulletin board material to the Chargers on Wednesday when he stated if he was the coach of the Chargers in the past few seasons he would have had a couple Super Bowl rings by now. This will be a tough road game for the Chargers, but they are the superior team and should be motivated to back up their coach in this one and show up Rex Ryan and his boys.

KC at Oakland – 4

Pick: Chiefs +4 , the Raiders made a splash at the trade deadline trading a bunch of draft picks for Carson Palmer. It looks like Palmer may not start tomorrow, but it doesn’t really matter because whoever is in at QB will just be feeding the rock to Mr. Darren McFadden. The Chiefs have won 2 games in a row and are coming off a bye week. The public is all over the Raiders at a whopping 72% clip according to covers.com. I think the Chiefs make this exciting and break the hearts of Raidernation.

Pittsburgh -4 at Arizona

Pick: Cardinals +4, the Steelers are a tough team to figure out this year. After their demolishment of the Titans I thought maybe the Steelers of old were back and they were going to start rolling teams. However, they follow up the Titans win with a blah effort against the Jags. I think we see another blah effort against a non-conference team on the road.

St. Louis at Dallas – 14

Pick: Rams +14, the Rams had plenty of opportunities last week to get garbage points against the Pack to cover the number, but they just could not get anything going. So I’m going to take a flier with them again getting a backdoor cover this week. My least favourite pick this week by far.

Green Bay -10.5 at Minnesota

Pick: Vikings +10.5, the Vikings were embarrassed last week against a division rival and this has forced a QB change to occur. What a first start for Ponder to have, just going against the defending champs…no worries. 10.5 is a lot of points for a road team let alone a division rival. I still think the Pack win, but the Vikes give a spirited effort keeping things decent.

Indianapolis at New Orleans -13.5

Pick: Saints -13.5, would the Colts trade Manning if they won the Andrew Luck sweepstakes? I would have provided the link to the article that debated this subject, but I can’t find the page anymore. The Saints offence will obliterate the Colts porous defence. For greedy fantasy purposes I’m hoping Mark Ingram gets his first 100 yard, multi-TD game.

Baltimore -8 at Jacksonville

Pick: Ravens -8, poor Blaine Gabbert. Last week he had to face the brutal Steeler defence and this week he gets Ray Lewis and co. Punishment is on it’s way for a second week in a row for the Jag rook. Ravens in a cake walk.

Favourite Pick: Titans -3

Least Favourite Pick: Rams +14

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October 20, 2011

I’ve Got The Moves Like Jagr

By nalstradamus

Jagr and the Flyers are off to a hot start

That hairdo is just so amazing. I think I might have my Halloween costume picked now. Anyway, we’re about 5-6 games into the NHL season and already the crazy predictions and ranting has begun. In Toronto they are planning the Cup parade while on the opposite coast the Vancouverites are planning Luongo’s public execution. As most hockey fans know, the NHL season is a grind. These early results of course do matter, but things can change in a hurry. For example do you think Dallas and Colorado will be on top of the West by the end of the year?

One thing that has been fun to watch so far is the play of the youngsters in the league. Here are a few 18 year olds that have caught my eye:

1) Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Edmonton Oilers

The #1 overall pick in this past year’s draft has 4 goals already including a hat-trick against the Canucks. The offensive skills are obviously there, but what has surprised me is his defensive awareness which is above and beyond what you typically see with an 18 year old. The Oilers are getting close to something special and RNH will be a big part of this along with his talented line-mates Hall and Eberle.

2) Sean Couturier – Philadelphia Flyers

4 points in 6 games to go along with a +4. What stands out for me is how much confidence the Flyers have in this kid. The 18 year old is playing important minutes on the PK and going head to head against top lines and not looking out of place.

3) Gabriel Landeskog – Colorado Avalanche

The 2nd overall pick in this past offseason already has hockey pundits drooling at his skill set. 2 goals so far with one being a game winner. His good start has likely solidified his status with the Avs for this season.

The youngn’s aren’t the only one’s looking good so far. Here’s a couple NHL castaways that have jumped out to a good start:

1) Jaromir Jagr

Now 39 year old, he’s not expected to be a top 5 scorer anymore, but it’s obvious he’s still got skills. 4 points in 6 games thus far, he is still a load to handle down low and it’s almost impossible to take the puck from him when he sticks his arse out. I really wanted him in my hockey pool, I’ll probably overpay for him in a trade later in the year. I think he’ll put up 70+ points this year if he stays healthy.

2) Sheldon Souray

Banished to the minors after publicly asking for a trade, Souray has persevered and is back in the league with the Dallas Stars. 5 points and a shocking +6 in 6 games thus far. He’s likely hungry to prove himself this year, but I’m not completely sold yet. Unlike Jagr, Souray is not surrounded by talent up and down the roster so he won’t keep up this pace for long.

Two teams that have caught my eye for completely opposite reasons:

1) Washington Capitals

6-0 to start the year aint to shabby. A popular pre-season pick for the Stanley Cup has done nothing to tarnish these expectations thus far. Could this finally be their year?

2) Columbus Blue Jackets

Off to a woeful 0-5-1 start the Blue Jackets do not look good at all. Their prized off-season acquisition Jeff Carter is already injured and it might be a lingering type injury as he might have damaged an already surgically repaired bone in his foot. Goaltending has been awful and Steve Mason’s time as the #1 is nearing an inevitable end.

As I type this the Canucks are already up 4-1 on the Preds in the 1st. I’m going to stop typing and watch the boys avenge their maligned goalie.

 

 

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October 18, 2011

World Series Predictions

By nalstradamus

The World Series is set to go on Wednesday and it’s shaping up to be a stellar series. On one hand you have the hottest team in baseball in the St. Louis Cardinals that have been virtually unbeatable for 2 months. On the other hand you have an offensive juggernaut in the Rangers that seemingly cannot be stopped by any pitching staff. So who are you picking to win it all? I have to stick with my original prediction and go with the Rangers, but to help with your choice lets break this match-up down a bit more.

Starting Pitching

Texas: CJ Wilson, Colby Lewis, Matt Harrison, Derek Holland

St. Louis: Chris Carpenter, Edwin Jackson, Kyle Lohse, Jaime Garcia

Edge: Slight lean to Rangers

Jim McIsaac/Getty Images

Both of these rotations don’t blow you away or make hitters shiver in their boots; however, the Rangers rotation is slightly more trustworthy than the Cardinals back-end of Jackson, Lohse and Garcia. Lohse and Garcia are a combined 0-4 so far in the playoffs with 5.74 and 7.45 ERA’s respectively.

Bullpen

Texas: Feliz, Adams, Uehara, Gonzalez, Oliver, Feldman, Ogando

St. Louis: Motte, Salas, McClellan, Rhodes, Boggs, Dotel, Rzepczynski

Edge: Rangers

Feliz is lights out as closer and the big edge here is with Ogando who can come in and pitch 4+ innings and be dominant if a starter struggles. The Cards are solid, but the Rangers pen is deeper and more talented. Although Uehara has been giving up bombs each outing he’s appeared in.

Infield

Texas: Beltre, Andrus, Kinsler, Young/Moreland

St. Louis: Freese, Furcal, Schumaker, Pujols

Edge: Rangers

Pujols alone almost made this a push because he is the best player in this series without a doubt, but the Rangers have boppers and all-star talent all over their infield.

Outfield

Texas: Cruz, Hamilton, Murphy, Gentry, Chavez

St. Louis: Holliday, Jay, Berkman, Craig, Patterson

Edge: Push

Nelson Cruz is the hottest hitter in the playoffs, Hamilton is a former MVP. The Cards are just as solid with Holliday and Berkman. Gentry and Jay are both solid defenders. If there was a slight edge it would be on defence as Cruz has an absolute cannon in right.

Catcher

Texas: Napoli, Torrealba

St. Louis: Molina

Edge: Cards

Napoli may be a better power hitter, but Molina is light years ahead of either Ranger catcher in defence and cutting down base runners. Molina’s arm may be one of the most important weapons in this series as the Rangers love to steal bases and push the envelope.

Coaching

Edge: Cards

LaRussa is a legend and you have to give the edge to him here. Washington’s no pushover or anything, I mean anytime you can bring your team to back to back World Series is an amazing accomplishment.

Intangibles

Edge: Cards

This is simple, the Cards have home field advantage.

My final prediction: Rangers in 6

Series MVP: Michael Young

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October 13, 2011

Sal’s Week 6 NFL Picks

By nalstradamus

Last week: 6-7

Season: 39-34-3

I thought I was going to have another winning week when I started out 6-2 after the early games. However 5 straight losses with the remaining games dropped me below .500 for the week. I also got bounced from my survivor pool when I stubbornly sided with the Giants instead of listening to my gut and choosing the Pack.

Ok, so I may be on a little tilt right now…so fade these picks if you’re smart :)

San Fran at Detroit -4

Pick: Lions -4, The Lions seem to win every time I pick against them so lets see how they fare when I’m on their side for the first time this year. The Lions offence looks unstoppable and their defence is even looking stellar (although any d looks stellar against that Bears O-line). San Fran also looks for real after they demolished Tampa last week. Fine, I’m on the wagon of both of these teams now…I’ll give the edge to the home team in this exciting match-up (weird saying that with a Lions and 49′ers game…wow how things change quick in this league). The public is on the Niners by the way…the line was -5.

Indy at Cincy -7

Pick: Colts +7, I just can’t lay 7 points with Cincy. I know the Colts are bad, but are they this bad? I think the Colts win this one outright.

Buffalo at NYG -3

Pick: Giants -3, You’d think I’d be on the Bills after my heartbreak from last week, but I think the G-men bounce back this week after last week’s embarrassment. It’ll be some kind of sick joke by the universe…telling me I should have waited a week to pick the G-men in survivor…no, I swear I’m over it…Ok maybe not.

Philly -1 at Washington

Pick: Eagles -1, So much for my lock of the week last week when I picked the Eagles to beat Buffalo. I’m not going to label this as a lock, but seriously can the Eagles lose another? If last week was desperation mode, I’m not even sure what you can call this week. Heads will roll this week with another loss.

Jacksonville at Pittsburgh -12

Pick: Steelers -12, I think after last weeks big win over the Titans the Steelers will go on a bit of a roll. Big Ben has his mojo back and the defence is tightening. Good night Blaine Gabbert.

St Louis at Green Bay -14.5

Pick: Rams +14.5, I’m hoping for a back door cover here by the lowly Rams. I see the Pack getting up by 28+ early and then take the foot off the gas big time letting the Rams score some garbage points enough to cover the number

Carolina at Atlanta -4

Pick: Falcons -4, I love Cam Newton right now (he’s my fantasy starter), but the Falcons are always tough at home. The Falcons are also coming off a home loss and will be extra motivated this week to make amends.

Houston at Baltimore -9

Pick: Texans +9, The Texans are in tough in this one facing a rested Ravens team coming off a bye week. They will also be without their top WR in Andre Johnson and also their best defender in Mario Williams. However, good teams step up in the face of adversity and I think the Texans are for real and give a big effort this week after their upset home loss to the Raiders last week.

Cleveland at Oakland -7

Pick: Browns +7, Huge emotional win for the Raiders last week. I see a letdown spot here coming back home facing a not so intimidating Browns team. This could be an outright upset.

Dallas at New England -7

Pick: Pats -7, this should be an exciting display of aerial supremacy. Tony Romo has had a week to rest his ailing ribs and it looks like he’ll have his full complement of weapons back for this one. Dallas is stout agains the run so look for Mr. Brady to launch an all out aerial assault. I see Romo throwing a game ending pick 6 to seal it for the Pats in this one.

New Orleans -4.5 at Tampa Bay

Pick: Bucs +4.5, What happened to the Bucs last week? Absolutely destroyed by the Niners, I see the Bucs coming out hard against their division rival. Measuring stick game for the young Bucs, they’ll want this one bad.

Minny at Chicago -3

Pick: Vikings +3, I’m surprised Jay Cutler is still standing at this point. His receivers cannot get open and his line can’t block…not a good combination. The Vikings have a solid pass rush and I see lots of headaches for Mr. Cutler in this one. The Bears d will be furious after being embarrassed by Detroit, but AP is doesn’t care about that…he’ll go beast mode again in this one.

Miami at NYJ -7

Pick: Jets -7, It’s time for the Jets to air the ball out. The ground and pound just isn’t working out. Matt Moore starts for the Dolphins…yikes. Big bounce back game for the Jets after losing to their arch rivals last week. Public is all over the Dolphins as the line was -9 to start.

 

I really like the looks of my picks this week. Good luck to the gamblers out there. For those of you still alive in my survivor pool…I hate you.

 

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October 11, 2011

Is Hockey Getting Soft?

By nalstradamus

Have we seen the beginning of the end of the physical play displayed in the above videos? It’s looking more and more like the NHL is moving towards a less physical game. The recent tougher suspensions handed down by Brendan Shanahan has got players, coaches, GM’s scared. Some players have stated it’s probably better laying off a potential game changing hit due to fear of punishment. This has caused a seemingly daily debate on hitting and fighting. Both sides make valid points, but I tend to side with the old school hockey brethren in that the NHL would just not be the NHL without hitting and fighting. I’m not saying I’m a fan of cheap shots, head shots or any other dangerous, illegal play. Those types of plays do need to continue to be punished. I’m talking about legal hockey hits that can change momentum, create energy and excite the crowd. A game without hitting would look like what we see during All-Star weekend…boring ticky tack pond hockey.

The reason fighting needs to stay is because it keeps players in line. The Matt Cooke’s, Brad Marchand’s, Sean Avery’s (now jobless) would run around un-checked in a no-fighting league and would get away with bloody murder knowing they will never have to face up to their hockey sins. I heard a statement during a HockeyCentral broadcast that one hockey father thinks there may be more concussions and serious injuries in his son’s canadian university hockey league because there is no fighting. The father stated players have no fear in this league of any retribution and thus are skating around like madmen killing each other.One argument I hear a lot is…there’s no fighting in the Olympics or the World Championships so why does it need to exist in the NHL? There are 30 teams in the NHL and there are far less in these superstar tournaments. Why are the number of teams important? With a small number of teams you have teams full of superstars or highly skilled players. These types of players typically aren’t of the fighter variety and even if they were occasional fighters like say an Iginla, he’s not being pestered by annoying Marchand type players in these tourneys. Also, teams in these superstar tourneys are scared as f@#K to go on the penalty kill because of the deadly power plays so you’re not often going to see a bum take a run at a top player and risk facing a 30+% PP unit. However, there is fighting in the game that I even think is pure BS and that is the pre-meditated goon fight. You know the one where they talk before the face-off and say, hey man we should fight to earn our pay today. That type of fighting is garbage, there’s no reason for it and if you were to take any fighting out it would be that type. It’s just two guys chucking knuckles because they feel they have to, not because they are protecting someone or sending a message to someone that you aint gunna hurt our stars.

Hockey is a rough sport, just like football is a rough sport. Taking the physicality out of the game would tarnish the appeal of the game. I would bet, if you surveyed current NHL players, an enormous majority would say fighting and hitting needs to stay in the game. Even Sidney Crosby who has been out since early 2011 with a concussion has stated fighting and hitting need to be part of the game because without it it wouldn’t be hockey. The players know what they are getting into, parents know what they are putting their kids into and fans should know what they are getting into when they watch. If you don’t like watching physical play then hockey probably isn’t the game for you.

 

 

 

 

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October 8, 2011

NFL Week 5 Predictions + MLB Playoff predictions

By nalstradamus

Last week: 5-11

Season: 33-27-3

I see upsets...I see revenge....I see $$$

Last week was awful, but we all knew this was inevitable after a ridiculous 13-3 week the week prior. I like this week’s slate a lot more than last week’s fishy lines. So without further-a-do lets go.

Philadelphia -1.5 at Buffalo

Pick: Eagles -1.5, the former ‘dream team’ is desperate and cannot afford to drop to 1-4 in the tough NFC East. The Bills came down to earth last week after an embarrassing loss to the Bengals. One arguement would be that the Bills are angry and looking to overcome the loss last week, but I’m taking the opposite approach in that I think that loss has them 2nd guessing themselves in the locker room and they come out flat against a more desperate team. I see the Eagles abandoning all gadget type plays and stick to hammer time with McCoy and play action bombs with their burners. I hate doing this because it usually backfires, but this is my lock of the week.

Tennesee at Pittsburgh -3

Pick: Steelers -3, this line opened at -5 so obviously the public is all over the Titans. The Steelers have been awful, especally their offensive line. Big Ben and Mendenhall are banged up and the defence has not looked like the intimidating force they’ve been in the past. However, this team is still loaded with proud veterans and I see a huge effort coming from their maligned defence.

KC at Indianapolis -3

Pick: Chiefs +3, a battle of two teams both in lost seasons. Flip a coin on this one folks. KC was tails on my coin so…but seriously, Indy’s D is awful and KC’s has been fairly decent the last 2 weeks. That should be enough.

Arizona at Minnesota -3

Pick: Vikings -3, if McNabb can’t throw for at least 250 against the Cards’ d then he should be immediately fired. The Cards can’t stop anyone through the air and I doubt they can stop AP without putting 8 in the box. Good night

Oakland at Houston -5.5

Pick: Raiders +5.5, Raider Nation is in mourning after the passing of their long time owner Al Davis. The Raiders this week will have a ton of emotion going into this game and the Texans may be due for a let down after a huge win against the Steelers last week. The Texans are also missing their best player Andre Johnson. Flat out upset in the making.

New Orleans -7 at Carolina

Pick: Panthers +7, pure shootout developing in this one. Carolina can’t stop anyone and it seems no one can stop Cam Newton. The Saints covered a similar line on the road against a similar defence in Jacksonville last week, but Cam Newton is not Blaine Gabbert and I see this one closer than expected.

Cincinnati at Jacksonville (pick)

Pick: Jaguars, please don’t watch this game it may be some of the ugliest football seen this year. I can see at 12-6 type score in this one. The Jags in a slight lean solely based on home field. Shudder.

Seattle at NYG -10

Pick: Seattle +10, at least 65% of people still alive in survivor pools will be on the G-men this week (including me…I might change my mind though). All signs point to a blowout in this one: cross country travel, a weak Hawk defence and offence against a high powered offence and tough defence in the G-men. However, as we’ve seen time and time again in sports when something looks too good to be true, it usually is.

Tampa Bay at San Francisco -3

Pick: Bucs +3, The niners are a trendy team right now especially after their comeback win against the Eagles last week. I’m just not convinced…yet. A possible huge letdown game for the Niners after beating the former ‘dream team.’ The Bucs had a mini scare against the woeful Colts last week, but I think the advantage of Josh Freeman over Alex Smith is the difference in this one.

NYJ at New England – 8

Pick: Jets +8, the line was 9.5 so the public is on the Jets. I don’t like siding with the public that often (Vegas always wins baby), but this seems too good to pass up. Rex Ryan supposedly went buck wild on his team after last game and I see the Jets coming out like gangbusters in this one. This game will either be a straight up upset by the Jets or an absolute disrobing by the Pats, nothing in between.

San Diego -4 at Denver

Pick: Broncos +4, is it Tebow time? I hope not, but it might be with another blowout loss. The Chargers are looking like world beaters right now, but that’s usually when they start stinking up the joint. No real reason here to back-up the Broncs other than a pure gut feeling.

Green Bay -6 at Atlanta

Pick: Atlanta +6, rematch of last year’s NFC championship game where the Packers embarassed the Falcons in Atlanta. Nothing much has changed since last year, the Pack are still the team to beat and the Falcons still have an awful secondary. A revenge game to end all revenge games I see the Falcons giving in all this week, but still come up short by 3-4 points.

Chicago at Detroit – 6

Pick: Bears +6, the Lions dodged losses in the last 2 weeks with 2 improbable comebacks. They should have lost both of those games and only won due to poor coaching in Minny and Tony Romo in Dallas. If there’s a coach that might find a way to stop Megatron it’s Lovie Smith. The Lions lose their first game this week.

Onto the diamond….

Drew Hallowell/Getty Images

 

I predicted the Yanks would lose, but I did not see the Cards upsetting the Phillies. The Red Sox, Phillies and Yanks all not making the World Series? Wow…whoever says they predicted that are lying or a time traveller.

Lets move on to the series predictions:

National League Championship

St. Louis vs. Milwaukee

2011 head to head: 9-9 (however in last 7 meetings St. Louis is 6-1)

Prediction: St. Louis in 6

The Cards have to be the most confident team remaining in the playoffs. Not only did they go on an insane run to make the playoffs, but they just defeated the World Series favourite Phillies. Both of these teams are in similar situations where their slugging 1st basemans could be playing their final games in their respective uniforms. Both teams championship windows seem to be now or never. I lean towards the Cards because it doesn’t look like anything can stop them right now and LaRussa is a post-season wizard (evil wizard, maybe, but still a wizard).

American League Championship

Detroit vs Texas

2011 head to head: Detoit 6-3

Prediction: Texas in 7

I give Detroit the edge in starting pitching, but I give Texas almost everything else. I think the big edge for Texas in this series is in the bullpen. Detroit’s bullpen struggled for the most part in the Yanks series and the Rangers bullpen is deeper. The Rangers line-up is also more dangerous and they are never out of any game. Too much firepower in the end and the Rangers take the series at home in game 7.

Star-Telegram/Ron Jenkins

 

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October 7, 2011

Lu Haters Unite

By nalstradamus

Photo by Jeff Vinnick/NHLI via Getty Images

It didn’t take long for the Lu haters to resurface. After the Canucks 4-3 shootout loss last night to the Penguins, the airwaves, Facebook, Twitter, message boards were littered with expert opinions on why the Canucks should bench/trade/execute/publicly stone good ol Lu. One game…that must be a record in the bandwagon of hate category. The reasoning used in these Schneider over Luongo opinions were utterly ridiculous, here is one from my Facebook newsfeed:

Luongo – 38 wins, 15 losses, %63 Win Average, 2.11 GAA, .928 SV%
Shneids – 16 wins, 4 losses, %64 Win Average, 2.23 GAA, .929 SV%
10 million dollars vs. 900,000 is the only difference in numbers i see ;)

Well lets break down the above a little further. Yes, Schneider’s numbers look very similar, but in those games he started he faced non playoff teams in the Oilers (4 times), Colorado (2 times), Columbus (2 times), Dallas (2 times), Minnesota (4 times), Dallas (2 times), Carolina, Calgary and St. Louis (once each). He faced playoff teams 8 times, going 3-5. In summary, Luongo played in many more games against tougher competition and still posted solid numbers. Would the numbers still be near identical if the games played were reversed? Would the Canucks have been 1 win away from the Stanley Cup with Schneider in net the entire year?

It’s shocking how little credit Luongo gets in Vancouver for his team’s success. The Canucks didn’t make it to game 7 of the cup final solely on the cycle of the Sedin’s, the adonis DNA body of Ryan Kesler or the steady defence of Kevin Bieksa. Luongo was a big part in the success of last year’s team. Those who don’t think he was are not hockey fans, but rather are the true definition of bandwagonner.

I’m not saying Luongo is perfect, as we’ve seen he has bad games, just like last night’s game, but what goalie in the league doesn’t have bad games?

It’s the first game people, the Canucks got a point they didn’t even deserve against one of the best teams in the league. Take that as a small victory and just let it happen. The Canucks are one of the best teams in the league and they’ll be fine. If you can’t handle a loss or a bad game by some of your stars, then take your $300 jersey out of your closet and donate it to a real fan who will cheer and stand by their team no matter what and who will not play NHL coach or GM during/after each game.

Go Canucks Go!

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