Pardon My Bias

The San Diego Chargers’ season has unofficially come to an end after an embarrassing loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. All playoff hopes were lost with that game and for the first time in many years, they will not be winning the AFC West. This honor will belong to the Kansas City Chiefs this year…yes the Kansas City Chiefs that were 4-12 just last season. At this point, with all my anger and frustration, I would go as far as saying that this season’s Charger team was one of the most underachieving teams in NFL history.

All we need to do is look at the stats to see where I can get this assumption from. The Chargers are currently ranked 2nd in offense and 1st in defense, and have been around those marks all season long. How in the world does your team not make the playoffs, let alone with the Super Bowl, with rankings like that. Statistically they are pretty much the best of the best on both sides of the ball, yet they were unable to even win their division. I understand that the team had plenty of injuries this season, especially on the offensive end, but that cannot be used as an excuse when your team ranks in the top 5 of both categories.

Norv Turner is Lucky to Have a Job. Photo courtesy of www.espn.go.com

What happened was very simple, Norv Turner did not have his team ready to go at the start of the season. There is no doubt in anyone’s mind that the Chargers are stacked with talent and they obviously have one of the best quarterbacks in the league, yet for some reason they do not always play like that. Their special teams was atrocious this season and after the fumbles and poor punting at the start of the game against the Bengals, I knew that game was already over before it had even started.

When it comes down to it, you can have all the talent in the world but unless the players are coached well and motivated enough, there is no chance of being excellent. Norv is great when it comes to making changes, whether it be the second half of a game or the second half of the season, but I believe it takes a very good coach to be able to make changes for the second half but it takes a great coach to consistently win. Unfortunately for Norv Turner, the Chargers have proven over the past few years that they cannot consistently win and unfortunately for the fans, Dean Spanos has made it a point to announce that both Norv Turner and A.J. Smith will be returning for the 2011 season.

Dean Spanos, the Charger owner, stated that he will be bringing back both Smith and Turner for 2011 because he believes they have great teamwork and chemistry together. I think this is a way of saying, okay look we have one more season in San Diego, let us just stick with what we have and if we end up moving somewhere else, well then we can start fresh from there. Personally, I do not care if we have winning seasons and great players, we need to make the Super Bowl! I do not get how Spanos can be happy with the underachieving that has been going on over the past few years or does he not know much about the game of football?

Although many fans are going to argue and fight to get Norv Turner fired, Spanos has made up his mind and all we, as Charger fans, can do is cross our fingers and hope our team comes prepared next year. Norv, you are a very lucky man so you better get your act together and get nothing but a Super Bowl appearance next season.

As many of us know, the Minnesota Vikings and Philadelphia Eagles game had been shifted from Sunday to Tuesday night due to the severe snowstorm that hit the East Coast. The NFL decided that the danger was too grave, and it would be in the best interest of the players and fans to postpone the game. While this may seem as a rather odd move considering the weather in Philadelphia wasn’t that terrible at game time, the league had safety concerns and decided to avoid the risk. While that should be the end of the story, it wasn’t. Today Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell went on a radio station in Philadelphia and shared his viewpoint:

“It goes against everything that football is all about.  My biggest beef is that this is part of what’s happened in this country. I think we’ve become wussies. We’ve become a nation of wusses. The Chinese are kicking our butt in everything. If this was in China do you think the Chinese would have called off the game? People would have been marching down to the stadium, they would have walked and they would have been doing calculus on the way down. What do you think [Hall of Fame coach Vince] Lombardi would say? He would say that we’ve become a nation of wusses.”

Don’t get me wrong — I believe that everyone is entitled to their own opinion. But sometimes it’s better to just keep your mouth shut instead showing everyone how incredibly ignorant and dumb you really are. To use a stereotype of Chinese people doing calculus as they walk down the street is ignorant enough, but to call our country a ‘nation of wusses’ is incredibly demeaning to our country. America is filled with hard-working citizens that put their lives on the line everyday. The NFL may have had the right idea in this situation; if the weather conditions are dangerous for fans to travel to and from the stadium, then maybe we should wait until the weather is more cooperative.

Lincoln Financial Field was in no shape to be played upon. Picture courtesy of CBS Minnesota.

The weather was feared to be so bad that the Philadelphia mayor issued a state of emergency Sunday morning. Football wasn’t even the only thing cancelled on Sunday night; Cirque de Soleil cancelled their Dralion performance Sunday night due to the harsh weather conditions. I don’t think the fear was for the players themselves playing the game, but more for the dangerous travel conditions. In the NFL’s eyes the risk was not worth the reward. It was a precautionary move made by the NFL, and feel free to criticize it, but don’t demean our country and its citizens. Please shut up Governor Rendell, you’re making America look bad.

PMB Week 16 NFL Picks

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Was anyone else as excited as I was when watching the Spurs vs. Magics game last night? I have never really liked the Orlando Magics and have always respected the San Antonio Spurs but for some odd reason, I was rooting for the Magic last night. I was just so excited to watch them play and that may be the first time ever.

The trades that Orlando pulled off this past week are going to play huge for their team and their season. I understand that they lost a lot of defense and really need to find a legit backup center but wow are they fun to watch. When Gilbert Arenas, Hedo Turkoglu and Jason Richardson get going and a consistent rate, this may just become one of the most exciting teams to watch. JRich and Arenas are two of the NBA’s top three-point shooters and Hedo is an all around good player and adding that to a force such as Dwight Howard, well that is somewhat scary. Out of all three new players, I believe Richardson will transition the smoothest. He had been having a solid year in Phoenix and his game should not change too much. The biggest challenge will be whether Hedo and Arenas can become to players of old. Hedo needs to transition back into being the player he was when he helped Orlando get to the NBA Finals and Arenas needs to become the 30 points per game player that he used to be in Washington.  Although I am not sure if this will happen, I do think both players can become a good percentage of what they used to be and this may be enough to make this Magic team a huge threat.

Are the Magic Now Contenders? Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images

Now I am not declaring this team the favorites in the East, because they are far from it. Boston still owns that title, and Orlando is now in the same phase as the Heat. How well can they all gel together and how long will it take? Although they do not have two superstars such as LeBron and Wade, they have something that Miami can fear and that is Dwight Howard. It is going to be a fun year in the Eastern Conference and the Magic pulled off some brilliant trades to help position themselves better, but have left us with one question, Jameer who? I’m not sure if anyone else noticed but I barely saw Jameer Nelson play last night. I understand that he was in foul trouble but I think Arenas’ success may hinder Nelson but we shall see how Stan Van Gundy will deal with that situation.

Overall though, I am really excited for this team and that never happens with the Magic…so good job Orlando, good job!

First off, Merry Christmas and happy holidays to all of our readers.

One of the most anticipated days of basketball is upon us. Christmas Day basketball is a tradition that many great players like Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, Patrick Ewing, and now Kobe Bryant have found themselves playing on over the years. The tradition continues this year with Kobe Bryant (in his 13th career Christmas day game in his 15-year career) and his Los Angeles Lakers as they play host to the Super Friends lead Miami Heat. The Lakers are the 2-time defending NBA Champions, but the Heat have garnered the most attention this season since the infamous signings of LeBron James and Chris Bosh. So let’s take a look at the keys to victory between these two heavyweights.

Will it be a Merry Christmas for Lakers fans? Picture courtesy of ESPN.

Miami Heat:

The Heat had a slow start to this season and when they fell to 9-8, the skies began to fall. Rumors about coach Erik Spoelstra’s job security, Pat Riley’s impatience, LeBron’s rift with Spoelstra, and many more, started to flood the media. People questioned if this Super Friends experiment could really work out and if Spoelstra was holding this team back. Then the Heat started to gel, and they’ve now won 13 of their last 14 games including a 12-game win streak.  They now look more balanced and with the return of Mike Miller the Heat will be able to spread the floor even better. The key to the Heat’s success is their ability to get to the rim; they play fast and LeBron and Wade are able to get to the basket at any time they want. This forces the defense to collapse, and this frees up the jump-shooters of the Heat. If the defense does not collapse then LeBron and Wade are usually able to finish at the rim (often times drawing a foul in the process). The Heat need to play an uptempo game that tires out their opposition, and this is something they can excel at with their given lineup. It is no secret that the Heat have very little depth, and they will only go as far as the Super Friends can carry them. The Wade, LeBron, and Bosh trio will need to start fast and set the pace for their team.

Los Angeles Lakers:

This is the deepest and most talented team in the NBA. Yes, even more so than Boston, Dallas, Miami, Orlando, and San Antonio. The Lakers starting lineup of Derek Fisher, Kobe Bryant, Ron Artest, Lamar Odom, and Pau Gasol has to be the most feared lineup in the NBA. While they may be slowing down, they still have the upperhand on any other starting five in the NBA –and it all starts and stops with Kobe Bryant. Kobe no longer needs to score 30+ a game for the Lakers, but he needs to set the tone early. Whether it be setting up teammates for easy scores, attacking the opposition right from the tip, or playing lock-down defense to take out the other team’s best player, Kobe is what makes the Lakers click. And with one of the best power forwards in the NBA (Pau Gasol), one of the best perimeter defenders (Ron Artest), and one of the best do-it-all players (Lamar Odom), Kobe has all the help he could possibly need. But a big strength for the Lakers is their length and depth. the Lakers have a three-headed monster of bigs with Gasol, Odom, and Bynum. Not many teams can match up with even two – let alone three, of these players. Gasol, Odom, and Bynum pose match up problems for any team they face.  The Lakers also have the Killer B’s off the bench and that is what sets them apart from all other teams.  Blake, Brown, Barnes, and Bynum (for now) provide great play of the bench. The Lakers bench has actually been one of the weaker points over the past few seasons, but with the addition of Steve Blake and Matt Barnes, that has changed. The Lakers are probably the only team in the NBA that match up extremely well with Miami’s Big Three. Kobe is still a great defender, and he will also make Dwyane Wade work on the other end. The Artest-Barnes combo will be able to slow down and irritate LeBron, and let’s face it — Bosh can’t keep up with Gasol. The Lakers have some kinks to work out but if they play good team defense they have nothing to worry about. They can put up points in bunches with their wide array of scorers and points will never be an issue.

The Lakers are too long, too deep, and too talented for this top-heavy Heat team. While this game really makes no difference as to what happens in June, it is still entertaining to speculate. My Christmas day pick is the Lakers to win by seven.

It’s that time of the year and NHL teams aren’t excluded from asking for gifts during the holiday season. Though obviously many of them will not get them because of the fact Gary Bettman isn’t much of a Santa and some of the teams have been especially bad this year (I’m looking at you New Jersey). Here however is a wish list for each team of what they truly most want for Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanza/Clingon day of QI ‘LOP:

Craig Anderson's present is on hold. Photo courtesy of getsportsinfo.com

Anaheim Ducks: An actual bottom six to their forward lines, Teemu Selanne and Saku Koivu to keep playing for another three or so seasons, and some actual defense to start showing up regularly and give Cam Fowler who can barely by a beer in Canada a break. Ryan Getzlaf also would appreciate some Rogaine.

Atlanta Thrashers: More former Blackhawk players, namely Bryan Bickell or Jack Skille. And for Nigel Dawes to never step foot on the ice any more. Ondrej Pavelec would also appreciate a back support or cushioning in the crease so he can avoid any more unpleasant fainting spells.

Boston Bruins: Someone to take Marc Savard off their hands somehow, which would literally take a Christmas miracle to happen. In the meantime having a forward step up and produce would be a lot more beneficial than sitting around and blaming your coach.

Buffalo Sabres: For Ryan Miller to never miss anymore time ever again to start a season and to actually have some of those contracts the Sabres have handed out actually pay off as Jason Pominville, Tim Connolly , Jochen Hecht, and Paul Gaustad have all performed about as well as Cody McCormick.

Nobody wants to see that. This isn't a Christmas of looking like a sex offender. Photo courtesy of calgarysun.com

Calgary Flames: Less Sutters. The Flames were headed in the right direction trading Brett Sutter, but for this holiday season making Brent and Darryl disappear is what Calgary really wants. Also a center since the top performer is Brendan Morrison and for Olli Joiken to shave. Gift to return: Jay Bouwmeester and his insanely large contract.

Carolina Hurricanes: A time machine for Jeff Skinner, Zach Boychuk, Jared Staal, and Jamie McBain to use where Eric Staal has a big time supporting cast. Additionally, having Tuomo Ruttu give tips to Eric Cole (who he is outscoring) and to stop giving tips to Chad LaRose (-8, 22 penalty minutes).

Chicago Blackhawks: To toughen up Patrick Kane and Marian Hossa to where they can actually play at the same time, an oxygen tank for Duncan Keith, and for Marty Turco to just retire and let Corey Crawford take over.  I want more creepy commercials.

Colorado Avalanche: They have a fever and the only prescription is more Tomas Fleischmann. More draft picks would also be nice since the Avs’ picks seemingly always are gold (Duschene, Shattenkirk, O’Reilly). Craig Anderson would like more ice girls but he won’t get any until he gets that save percentage back up.

Wave goodbye to your success Steve unless Santa brings you some more talent. Photo courtesy of bluejacketsxtra.com

Columbus Blue Jackets: To get Steve Mason out of Raycroftitis and having any semblance of offense from anyone. Apparently they have enough jerseys because Columbus seems adamantly against adding any more. Weird pedophile looking wheelchair bongs are apparently acceptable.

Dallas Stars: To keep the injuries away so that the utter lack of depth in Dallas remains unexposed. Also a fortune teller to find out when Andrew Raycroft will actually be playing good and to find out when Kari Lehtonen will be getting hurt.

Detroit Red Wings: A way to restructure Mike Modano’s contract to where he is signed on only to be the Red Wings’ mascot (something similar to Derek Jeter) and for Nick Lidstrom to never retire and play for Detroit until he dies, which given how long he has been playing could be five years from now.

Edmonton Oilers: To stop taking penalties for the rest of the season as Edmonton has far and away the worst penalty kill in the league. Another suggestion was to talk some sense into the Oilers’ management to actually give Martin Gerber another look.

Los Angeles Kings: For Marco Sturm to be the answer for the Kings’ opening on the first line left wing. If that doesn’t work out it’s back to the Brad Richardson, Scott Parse, Andrei Loktionov, Oscar Moller, Dwight King, and Trevor Lewis rotation. They are really hoping Sturm works out.

Minnesota Wild: Remove the tag of “shutdown center” from John Madden seeing as his -12 seems to indicate the only thing he has shutdown is his career. More ‘stache action from Cal Clutterbuck would also be appreciated by everyone I think.

Darren Pang may be best served by only covering snowmen until he says something insensitive about ice

Montreal Canadians: To give Alex Auld some recognition (all he wants his fair share, all he wants is what is coming to him) for his 94.1 save percentage and 2.01 GAA which dwarfs Carey Price’s 92.5 percentage and 2.23 GAA. I’m just sayin’ is all. P.K. Subban does not want to hear anything about a white Christmas Darren Pang, thank you.

Nashville Predators: Offense. And more offense. On top of that, some additional offense. Yet the only way Nashville is getting that is if they trade one of their goalies. Better wish for some more goalies also since whichever goalie isn’t traded this year will get traded next year.

New Jersey Devils: I’m not even going to start getting into what the Devils want. It doesn’t matter anyways seeing how I am pretty sure Lou Lamoriello is on Santa’s naughty list. Ilya Kovalchuk will receive 100 million pieces of coal over 15 years. Martin Brodeur will get a large Reuben sandwich, complete with dipping sauce.

New York Islanders: A new stadium, a new team, a new season, and likely a new location to play at. Rick DiPietro will receive a large isolation bubble to prevent situations seen similar to M. Night Shyamalan’s Unbreakable. John Tavares will get some extra strength valium to get through the remainder of this season.

New York Rangers: Crazy pills for the rest of the general managers in the league so there is level playing field for Glen Sather. Darryl Sutter got the message. Also, avoiding any shootouts where the team’s season rests in the outcome would be nice. Having Marian Gaborik stay healthy helps. Must be a Marian thing.

Ottawa would like a goalie solution but that may require a combination of Christmas and Arbor Day. Photo courtesy of dailymail.co.uk

Ottawa Senators: To put an end to the two headed goalie travesty known as Leclelliot. Or was it Elliclaire? Anyways, trade one Ottawa. This is your own fault, plus having only one goalie worked wonders for Montreal. Daniel Alfredsson would like any help, namely from disappearing phenom Jason Spezza.

Philadelphia Flyers: They got their present early with the Simon Gagne trade seeing how they are winning plenty and Gagne has been pretty awful for Tampa Bay. Now if only Phily got something worthwhile out of that trade. Ah well, having Sergei Bobrovsky be the savior in net this early on is plenty enough.

Phoenix Coyotes: Get Dave Tippet to work magic on the team again. Or to at least have someone on the team produce something offensively besides defenseman Keith Yandle. Also to have Keith Yandle to stay in Phoenix (it won’t happen).

Pittsburgh Penguins: The same thing the Penguins ask for every year, a winger for Sidney Crosby seeing how the Mike Comrie thing didn’t work out (what a surprise). And of course there is the yearly begging for Marc Andre Fleury actually maintaining playing like a Cup winning, Olympic goalie and not like a scared six year old like how he was to start the season.

San Jose Sharks: For Evgeni Nabokov to come back. Actual plea: “Come on baby, I didn’t mean those things I said. You know how important you are for us. I mean, look at us now. Two Finnish goalies? They don’t equate to one Russian. Come on back.” Yeah, San Jose would like a goalie or at least some reliable defense.

St. Louis Blues: To have Jaroslav Halak actually play like the star they traded for again seeing how they don’t have a Carey Price ego to toy with. And (hey, this sounds familiar) to have the offense start putting up points again and for the team to actually be healthy to get back on the right track.

Sorry Leaf fans

Tampa Bay Lightning: A license to kill anyone that may cause any sort of injury to Steven Stamkos (physically, emotionally, mentally, and even spiritually) and someone willing to take on Vincent Lecavalier. Tampa learned not to steal after they poached Simon Gagne. They also want Nabokov, though Dan Ellis tweeted this will hurt his value and ability to buy a Porsche.

Toronto Maple Leafs: For Brian Burke to regain his sanity and his huevos by stop making bonehead moves like not having any draft picks and actually clearing house because his franchise currently resembles the New York Mets’ overspending and under producing ways. Phil Kessel is not worth two first round picks. Period. And fire Ron Wilson already. Sheesh.

A lot less scary with a tan

Vancouver Canucks: To stop using Andrew Alberts already and for the NHL to “punish” them and Luongo and void that contract of his, then give a ridiculous contract to Cory Schneider instead. As well as the mothership not returning to claim the Sedin twins just yet.

Washington Capitals: More face time for Alexander Ovechkin as if you couldn’t get enough already. Some bronzer for Bruce Boudreau because the red face syndrome he has is scaring the hell out of most everyone.

Way back when in October there were a handful of teams most people thought were going to be mathematically eliminated by Christmas. A few of them started off very hot initially. Now seeing how it is almost Christmas it’s time to see how some of those teams have fared since that magical first week. Those teams that started out hot: the New York Islanders, the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Atlanta Thrashers, and the Dallas Stars. Now if you have even once read the power rankings, or follow the NHL remotely, you probably are well aware of the Islanders and Maple Leafs doing complete belly flops following up their starts where they actually won games. But here’s how they look, and my occasional (ok, frequent) missed predictions.

NY Islanders

How things started: The Islanders were essentially playing .500 hockey but were getting points for at least losing in overtime. They were tied for the Atlantic division lead and the rest of the division was having slow starts. That slow start is still lingering in New Jersey. My prediction was that the Isles stood a legitimate shot as long as the rest of the Atlantic struggled mostly.

What actually happened: The rest of the division stopped struggling (outside of New Jersey). The Islanders have also since gone on to play terrible, and I mean terrible, hockey. They only have won three games since that first stretch, and have only gotten ten more points. The Islanders have been far and away the worst team in the NHL. My guess of the playoffs seems to be out of the question unless the Islanders maybe win their next 20 games.

Atlanta has stayed hot. The Toronto Maple Leafs have not been as fortunate. Photo courtesy of NHL.com

Toronto Maple Leafs

How things started: That four game winning streak to start the season seems like eons ago now. But those were the days…Phil Kessel and Clarke MacArthur averaging a goal a game, only losing in overtime to the powerhouse Islanders (sarcasm people), and the team looking like they may be a playoff bubble team with the rest of the division looking sloppy. This was the division last year where four of the five teams made the playoffs, so the Leafs had a shot. My prediction was that the Leafs would only be enjoying a temporary hot streak unless they addressed some of their offensive needs, specifically at the center position.

What actually happened: The Leafs didn’t get a center. The Leafs have been shutout quite a bit. The Leafs have plummeted into near obscurity for the rest of the hockey world that isn’t blind with their love of all things Maple. Interestingly enough the rest of the Northeast division hasn’t changed much with the Sabres and Senators both not playing too well, and the Canadians and Bruins punching it out for the top spot akin to the original six showdowns. However this still leaves the Leafs in the bottom currently. Maybe if the Leafs trade Tomas Kaberle and get a center that is actually productive they can start winning some more games. Until then, the whole position of center lies on the shoulders of Mikhail Grabovski, which isn’t saying a whole lot but he has been the most offensively reliable. Tyler Bozak and Nazem Kadri aren’t the answers yet. So this looks like another rebuilding year unless Boston feels like dumping Marc Savard, Daymond Langkow ever gets healthy, or the Sharks feel like their defensive needs outweigh the production of Logan Couture. Yeah, the Leafs won’t have a center for a while.

Tampa Bay has had their ups and downs this season and the Islanders have been just down and awful. Photo courtesy of NHL.com

Tampa Bay Lightning

How things started: Offense and bad goaltending. However the Lighting went 4-1 beating the likes of Atlanta, Dallas, Montreal, and Philadelphia which is impressive then and now. Steven Stamkos was scoring at a godlike rate, and the goaltending of Mike Smith and Dan Ellis was pretty bad. Still, everyone was getting ready to say the Lightning were the “sexy” pick (I still have no idea what exactly that means BARRY MELROSE) to win the Southeast and make a good long run in the playoffs. My prediction was that the Lightning could be the representative of the Eastern conference in the finals if they got their goaltending situation resolved and kept the offense pounding other teams.

What actually happened: The Lightning went into a skid after a rough California road trip, but for the most part have been a pretty solid team. Yet the offense, more specifically Steven Stamkos, has been the primary workhorse for the Bolts and when he struggles so does the rest of the team. Vincent Lecavalier has been struggling through injury, and Simon Gagne has been underwhelming at best (15 games, three goals and three assists with a -12), but the continued focus is on net where Mike Smith and Dan Ellis are both sub .900 in save percentage. Evgeni Nabokov returns to be the best option and it is a wonder the Lightning didn’t try and make a play on him earlier, though if he actually winds up in Tampa remains to be seen. IF he does end up in Florida though, the Lightning can be one of the deadliest teams out of the east because they already seem to be a playoff contender. Lastly, when Tampa was 4-1 to start the loss only came against the Panthers. Record against the Panthers: 0-2.

Atlanta Thrashers

How things started: A winning record to start in their first full season with Ilya Kovalchuk seemed like start better than Atlanta had hoped for. They played close games, including beating Washington and San Jose, and the former Chicago players stepped up big time. The Southeast has always been particularly soft so there was a reasonable opportunity for the Thrashers to do well. My prediction for Atlanta was to at least stay around the cusp of a playoff berth and possibly make it in if some of the other surprise teams faded and Atlanta persisted.

What actually happened: Atlanta is one point behind the Washington Capitals for the lead of the Southeast and persistent has been their M.O. Former Hawks Andrew Ladd and Dustin Byfuglien have emerged as team leaders with some talk around Buff to be a possible candidate for the Norris. Ladd was named captain and is second on the team in points behind Byfuglien, and both lead the team in goals. The Thrashers on paper still are not a team that strikes fear into opponents but hang around and keep games close, and for the most part are winning those games. Two of the three other surprise teams in the east have stumbled which only helps Atlanta

The team that has been the hottest has been Dallas, even with the lack of Mike Modano and Marty Turco. Photo courtesy of NHL.com

Dallas Stars

How things started: Kari Lehtonen and Brad Richards became the new Mike Modano and Marty Turco. The Stars simply did not lose, even though they were entirely top heavy offensively and Kari Lehtonen could go cold or get injured at any moment. Especially with the defense allowing as many shots as they did early on under Marc Crawford’s offense first style of coaching. My prediction was that the Stars were going to come back down to earth due to either injuries and Lehtonen slowing down or going down with an injury.

What actually happened: Lehtonen has been rock solid and the injuries haven’t popped up yet and been a real detriment. Plus Dallas’s defense has really upped their game as well so if anything Dallas has only gotten stronger. Their record certainly proves it and they are sitting pretty in the Pacific division in first. I am going to stand by my assessment though and still think if injuries come around to Dallas the Stars are in big trouble, especially if it happens to anyone in the top six. Lehtonen has slowed down at times, but he has still been a strong enough performer to get Dallas by in the close ones.

So there you have it, my predictions have been wrong but slightly close at others…right?

Anyways Pardon my Predictions. I try.

With the NFL season winding down, it’s time to look towards the playoffs. Here are my predictions for what teams will make the playoffs and which teams will be sitting at home in January.

AFC:

IN: New England Patriots, Pittsburgh Steelers, Indianapolis Colts, Kansas City Chiefs, Baltimore Ravens, New York Jets

OUT: Jacksonville Jaguars, San Diego Chargers, Oakland Raiders, rest of  AFC teams

Brady has the Patriots looking mighty dangerous. Picture courtesy of cleveland.com

The first four teams are pretty much locks to make the playoffs barring a complete meltdown. In fact, the Patriots and Steelers have already locked up their respected divisions, and the magic number is just 1 for the Jets and Ravens. On the other hand, the Colts and Chiefs will both need strong performances in the next two weeks in order to make the playoffs. Any hope for the Colts to make the playoffs rests in their own hands. If the Colts win-out, then nothing can keep them out of the post-season. Even if the Jaguars win their last two games, the Colts will get the playoff spot since they will have a better record against common teams. I also feel the surprising Kansas City Chiefs will clinch the AFC West by week 17 end. The Chiefs currently have a one game lead over the Chargers and a favorable schedule to end the season. So far, the Chiefs are 6-0 at Arrowhead this season and they will host the Titans and the Raiders over the final two weeks. While the Titans and Raiders are both capable of knocking out the Chiefs, it’s hard to bet against the Chiefs when they have home-field advantage. In addition to this, the Chargers will travel to take on the Bengals and Broncos to end the season. While the Chargers have won 6 of their last 7, they are 2-4 on the road, and I’m not sure if they can win both road games.

NFC:

IN: Atlanta Falcons, Chicago Bears, Philadelphia Eagles, San Francisco 49ers, New Orleans Saints, Green Bay Packers

OUT: New York Giants, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, St. Louis Rams, Seattle Seahawks, rest of NFC teams

Matt Ryan has led the Falcons to the top of the NFC in 2010. Picture courtesy of onlineathens.com

Most of the teams on this list are a no-brainer: Falcons, Saints, Bears, Eagles. All four of these teams have either locked up or are just one game away from locking up a playoff spot. The Packers have struggled lately and the loss of Aaron Rodgers couldn’t have come at a worse time. Rodgers’ concussion essentially cost them at least one win (a loss against the Lions) and a possible chance at the playoffs. The Packers need Rodgers to play this week as they host the the New York Giants. If the Packers lose to the Giants, the Giants will lock up the Wild Card and leave the Packers in the dust. If the Packers can win their last two games of the season (both at home) they guarantee themselves a spot in the playoffs. If the Packers win-out, they clinch because they have the head-to-head advantage over the Giants. I don’t think the Bucs can beat both the Seahawks or the Saints to end the season, and I don’t think a 9-7 is good enough record to win the Wild Card.

Now onto the pathetic NFC West. To be honest, any of the top 3 teams (Rams, Seahawks, 49ers) have a legitimate shot to win this division. That being said, he 49ers have the best overall team in the NFC West. They have the best defense, one of the better running games, better wide receivers, and also a better quarterback. It may be a stretch to say that Alex Smith is better, but at this point in their careers Smith is better than Bradford and Hasselback. If the 49ers win their final two games, they own the tiebreaker over both the Rams and Seahawks due to their division record. The 49ers will have to beat the Rams in St. Louis and the Cardinals in San Francisco in order to do this. They also need the Seahawks to lose at least one of their finals two games — not sure the Seahawks can beat a playoff hopeful Bucs team in week 16.  While the 49ers won’t go very far in the playoffs, I guess making the playoffs will be a step in the right direction. But with a playoff berth,the 49ers will probably not be able to get a franchise quarterback in the draft. I’m sure many 49er fans have mixed feelings about what they want to see happen by season’s end.

Well with two hundred pages finally typed, and my holiday traveling done, it is time to focus on hockey again…just in time for power rankings as always. But rejoice Pennsylvania! Your teams go one-two! And mourn Long Island bros and Jersey Situations for your teams go last and more last. Here’s how the rest of the field shapes out.

The Flyers win three games all against formidable opponents and cement top spot for the week. Photo courtesy of nhl.com

1. Philadelphia Flyers (22-7-5) Week 9 Rank – 3: Justification? Try three wins for the week, coming against the likes of Pittsburgh (who was on a tear), Montreal, and the Rangers. And Mr. Consistency for the week? Nikolay Zherdev. No, really. Four goals and an assist in three games.

2. Pittsburgh Penguins (21-10-2) Week 9 Rank – 1: While the battle for Pennsylvania was lost despite Pittsburgh getting contributions from Malkin and Crosby, it’s not excusable when the rest of the team contributed nothing else. Malkin gets every goal for the Pens this week and Crosby assists on each of them. Not bad for a two man team but some support is necessary.

3. Dallas Stars (20-10-3) Week 9 Rank – 7: A bunch of close games for Dallas, all four games within one goal, but Dallas comes out with three wins and seven out of eight points. The top six are clicking, the defense is playing solid, and even Andrew Raycroft is winning.

4. Detroit Red Wings (20-8-4) Week 9 Rank – 2: Pretty easy to say Detroit was frustrated this week. 51 shots and no goals, a 4-1 loss to rival Chicago, and Osgood still can’t win number 400 as the Wings lose to Dallas in overtime. I think Chris Osgood may be the luckiest goalie in existence, seeing how he may be the least talented goalie to win 400 games.

5. Montreal Canadians (19-12-2) Week 9 Rank – 4: Montreal ran into the freight train known as Philadelphia, but the Habs win the big game against Boston to retain the lead of the Northeast. P.K. Subban also had a goal and assist and went -3 this week. Seemed to play better when it wasn’t the “white” way. More distressing is Carey Price looking strangely human.

6. Vancouver Canucks (18-8-4) Week 9 Rank – 6: An easier schedule, but two wins are two wins, even if they are against Columbus (who is currently playing pretty bad) and Toronto (who are usually bad). It did take Ryan Kesler to singlehandedly get them over Columbus however.

7. Colorado Avalanche (19-10-4) Week 9 Rank – 16: Colorado is looking like an offensive juggernaut, ranking first in the league in goals per game with a pretty substantial gap. The issue is on the other end as the Avs are 27^th in goals against. Least the games are entertaining. It worked for their advantage this week though, 4-0, and puts them atop the Northwest.

8. Los Angeles Kings (18-12-1) Week 9 Rank – 8: Jon Quick suffered a case of Halak-itis this week, shutting out the Red Wings with 51 saves while before that essentially blowing a game, and afterwards allowing five goals to St. Louis. It also puts a slight damper on the Kings offensive really finding their grove lately, as they score 17 in four games.

9. New York Rangers (20-14-1) Week 9 Rank – 10: Not a bad week for the Blue Shirts, though a shellacking against the Flyers did hurt. The problem is the Rangers still can’t get into second even despite playing strong. Plus side is they are miles ahead of New Jersey and the Islanders.

10. Boston Bruins (17-10-4) Week 9 Rank – 5: Not much luck in their own division this week for the Bruins, though a win over Washington is always appreciated. Even if it comes with the Caps in the midst of a massive slide. The bag of pucks from L.A. for Sturm didn’t contribute.

11. Tampa Bay Lightning (18-10-4) Week 9 Rank – 12: The best match no one watched: Tampa against Atlanta. Tampa timely wins now puts them in striking distance to claim the Southeast. Now if they could get some consistency in net (Nabokov!) the Bolts are in really good shape.

12. Washington Capitals (19-12-4) Week 9 Rank – 11: Well it took a while but Washington finally won a game, and they really had to fight to get it…against the Senators. Still, an eight game losing streak can mess with a team’s confidence pretty badly. 11 goals for, 28 against in eight games with Ovechkin only totaling two goals and two assists. Here’s to better times.

13. Atlanta Thrashers (18-11-5) Week 9 Rank – 14: Third southeastern team in a row here, which hopefully is an indicator for how tight the division is currently. Atlanta however didn’t fare too well against their own division, losing to Tampa and Carolina in shootouts. They did thoroughly beat up New Jersey, which is like smacking around a toddler nowadays.

14. Nashville Predators (17-9-6) Week 9 Rank – 17: Nashville seems to be sneaking up on people again. Winners of eight of nine until Los Angeles abused them in a 6-1 loss. Anders Lindback has been the biggest reason for the success. Time to trade Pekka Rinne.

15. San Jose Sharks (17-11-5) Week 9 Rank – 15: The up and down ride continues. A very slow week for the big three in San Jose, as Heatley is the only one to record a goal, and Thornton and Marleau manage only two assists apiece. Good thing Logan Couture does all the scoring these days. Finnish goalie watch: Niemi has two losses but played better, and Niittymaki wins twice.

16. Chicago Blackhawks (18-14-3) Week 9 Rank – 13: Chicago has no success against Colorado for the week, but beat L.A. and Detroit. Looks like the defense has just enough to get the Hawks by for now.  Also helps when they keep their penalty kill from playing since it is atrocious.

17. Columbus Blue Jackets (16-13-3) Week 9 Rank – 9: The slide continues since I jinxed them, AND the third jersey curse strikes again. Quite the amount of bad luck hitting the Jackets outside of Kris Huselius returning and getting a hat trick. Too bad the rest of their offense is terrible, and when they do score Steve Mason blows the game by looking like garbage. Vive Mathieu Garon.

18. Phoenix Coyotes (15-9-7) Week 9 Rank – 18: The trip to the eastern seaboard displayed a much more flawed Coyotes team to the masses. Shutout by New Jersey than they fall in a shootout to the Rangers. It also took them shootout to defeat the Islanders.

19. St. Louis Blues (15-11-5) Week 9 Rank – 19: The Blues are giving up a lot of goals, which of course makes winning a lot more difficult. Their record is indicative of this, as St. Louis goes 1-2. It also gets more difficult when six of your key players are out with injuries.

20. Carolina Hurricanes (15-12-4) Week 9 Rank – 23: Showing some steely resolve the Canes come back two games in a row to steal wins, and then let Eric Staal take over to get their fourth win in a row, and cap off a perfect 3-0 week for Carolina. Now if they weren’t so far behind in the Southeast that division would be a real madhouse right now.

21. Florida Panthers (14-16-0) Week 9 Rank – 21: Florida blew a game because all of a sudden Tomas Vokoun thought Tuomo Ruutu was a scoring threat. Luckily for Florida their offense showed up big in Buffalo. Unluckily for Florida, Flo Rida was skating with the Stars’ Ice Girls.

22. Anaheim Ducks (17-15-4) Week 9 Rank – 20: At least the Ducks were consistent. Two goals each game this week scored by the Ducks, though they only won one of three games, with that win coming against the ailing Capitals. Meanwhile, the two losses came courtesy of the Islanders and Canes.

23. Minnesota Wild (14-13-4) Week 9 Rank – 22: A week featuring a pair of games against some pretty light competition resulted in a split for the week for Minnesota, which of course means they are a pretty light competitor in general.

24. Calgary Flames (14-16-3) Week 9 Rank – 26: Another team with a fairly easy schedule, but that is only a subpar team in their own right. A bit more success for the Flames though, winning against Columbus and Toronto (see: #6 Vancouver), even though Columbus gift wrapped the game to them after Calgary let their lead get away.

25. Buffalo Sabres (13-16-4) Week 9 Rank – 24: Buffalo’s offense has seemingly decided to take the rest of the year off. Well everyone but Drew Stafford of all people. Now maybe someone can explain to me how in the hell Patrick Kaleta earned any all-star votes.

26. Edmonton Oilers (12-14-5) Week 9 Rank – 27: The Oilers may have added a cheering squad, and I will be first to discuss the dangers involved with that. The rookies were clearly distracted in one game though apparently they were motivated by said cheering squad to get their act together to steamroll Columbus in their next game. Craig Anderson will judge next time the Avs visit.

27. Ottawa Senators (14-17-4) Week 9 Rank – 25: Quickly on their way to establishing themselves as cellar dwellers, the Senators have another losing week, and are on the wrong end of the Capitals ending their losing streak. Goalie competition: Leclaire 1-0, Elliot 0-3.

28. Toronto Maple Leafs (12-16-4) Week 9 Rank – 28: A 1-2 swing through western Canada, though a second straight week without being shutout. The issue is now trying to score some more goals outside of Mikhail Grabovski.

29. New Jersey Devils (9-21-2) Week 9 Rank – 29: A familiar view for the Devils, though for a second Kovalchuk and Brodeur both looked like they could reverse New Jersey’s fortunes. Then Brodeur looked like a senior citizen again. Kovalchuk may be doing better, but New Jersey is still a long way from actually improving out of 29^th.

30. New York Islanders (6-18-6) Week 9 Rank – 30: The Islanders picked up their first win in the month of December. They then picked up another point for a shootout loss. Three points in a week. A few more weeks like this and they may pass New Jersey if Martin Brodeur is still lacing them up while collecting social security.

photo courtesy of sportslogos.net

The Eastern Conference without a doubt has been shaken up since last year, and many powerhouses have reloaded. All the big powers, the Heat, Celtics, Magic, and Bulls all have made big moves to make their teams more competitive. So the question now remains, where will these teams fall in the rankings? Here is where I rank them.

1. Boston Celtics – The Celtics are still the powerhouse of the Eastern Conference in my opinion. They may not win the most games in the season, but they don’t really care to do that anyhow. The Celts realize their biggest weakness is their age, and they will cruise through the season to make sure everyone gets some rest. The O’neals (Shaq and Jermaine) have been getting plenty of rest throughout the season. Rondo went down with an ankle injury the other night, but the Celtics will play it smart and give him some extra rest. The Celtics are too strong down low, especially when Perkins comes back. The main reason they are also number 1 is the fact they play defense, and defense wins championships.
2. Miami Heat – The Heat have finally started meshing together and it has resulted in an 11-game win streak. With that said, 7 out of those 11 were against sub .500 teams and three others came against a struggling Utah, Atlanta, and New Orleans teams. These are games that the Heat should be winning, but that is a positive sign nonetheless. The Heat have to start somewhere in order to build chemistry, and the schedule for the last 12 games has been favoring for the Heat. The Heat certainly become much stronger when the Big 3 are able to score 75+.
3. Chicago Bulls – The Bulls have the front court that can match up to the Celtics. Boozer and Noah (although injured) are a great 1-2 punch. The Bulls had a major setback with Joakim Noah having to go under the knife for thumb surgery, which will cost him 8-10 weeks. The Bulls will find a way to tread water and make it to the playoffs. Noah will be back by then when they will truly need him. Boozer is meshing well and has proven that he can be the other big offensive contributor the Bulls need next to Derrick Rose. Rose is clearly a rising superstar in the league and is proving he can be a prolific scorer. The biggest weakness for the Bulls is at shooting guard/small forward. The Bulls don’t have the wing player that can create for himself, and that is the one thing they will need to make it to the next level. The Bulls are on the brink of a powerhouse, they’re just one piece away.
4. Orlando Magic – The Magic made a huge step in shaking up their roster after losing 5 out of their last 6 on a west coast road trip. The Magic shipped away Pietrus, Carter, Gortat, and Lewis to get Richardson, Turkoglu, and Arenas in return. The Magic had to ship away a lot to get some offensive fire power in return. Unfortunately though, trading away Pietrus and Gortat will end up being huge mistakes for the Magic. Pietrus was the Magic’s perimeter defender who they used to stop the likes of Dwayne Wade, Paul Pierce, and Kobe Bryant. I can assure that Turkoglu and Arenas have no interest in buying into any kind of defensive strategy. Also, by giving up Gortat, the Magic become very thing at the forward/center position. There is no doubt that Dwight Howard is the best center in the league, but he is also notorious for his foul trouble. Not having Dwight for the majority of a second half for the Magic will prove to be extremely costly. We have seen in the past that strong offenses don’t matchup to strong defenses, and that will be the Magic’s kryptonite.

 This is just an opinion, so please…Pardon My Bias.