Sleepless in Seattle

Another terrific weekend of sports action especially locally. Once in a lifetime chance to see a Conference Championship in our backyard. Canucks host the Habs tomorrow. Let's roll...

It's All About the Fans


2 weekends remain before the biggest sporting event in North America and 2 of the teams playing this Sunday will be there. The Precursor to the Super Bowl, the Conference Championships have traditionally given us the greatest moments in the history of NFL football and this weekend should be no different. But what the Conference Championships is really about is the final home game for the fans. This is especially unique for Seattle as they have never hosted a Conference Championship and the city is going absolutely bananas for the Seahawks. Regardless of the result of the game, this will be a special weekend for Seattle Superfan Big Lo and the rest of Seattle.

Carolina at Seattle (-3.5)

This game can really go either way as both teams have a great offense to go with equally good defenses. The bottom line in this game will come down to whether the young and inexperienced Seahawk Secondary can shutdown WR Steve Smith of the Panthers. As good as Smith was last weekend vs the Bears, the Panthers won on 2 TD catches by Smith where Bears DB Charles Tillman fell on 2 deep plays. The Seahawks are too good on offense to be denied points, they will get at least 21. As I said, the game will come down to whether they can prevent Smith from burning the DBs deep. Remember as well that Smith is a short guy, he's only 5'9. It's really only his speed the Hawks have to worry about. In a speculative play, I'd go with the Hawks by 3.

Pittsburgh at Denver (-3)

Couple of big concerns on both teams. Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger is banged up going into this one, could affect his play. For the Broncos, can their QB Jake Plummer duplicate his flawless performance vs the Patriots, it's only a matter of time before he starts throwing picks again, could it be on Sunday?? Gamebreakers will be the DBs and Safeties in this game. The Broncos have Champ Bailey who broke open their win vs the Patriots with his big pick and run back. For the Steelers, Troy Polamalu has been coming up big time and time again, he will be recognized in this one. In the end, go with the Steelers and take the points.
*Photos from Yahoo!Sports

Habs in Friendly Territory


The Montreal Canadiens come to Vancouver to face the Canucks in GM Place tomorrow. As with the Leafs, there is usually a heavy contingent of Habs fans whenever the Canadiens are in town. The Canadiens are playing inspired of late since Bob Gainey fired Claude Julien and took over the coaching reins. Reports indicate that Julien was canned partly because of his strained relationship with Superstar Goalie Jose Theodore. The Canadiens are coming off a 3-1 loss to the Flames on the first of long 6 game road swing. The top scorers for the Canadiens are Saku Koivu, Michael Ryder, and Andrei Markov. The Canadiens are an average team, nothing too special all-around. The Canucks are clearly expected to win this game easily. They are much better on the PP, and have much more team speed. Markov is on the IR for the Canadiens, Matt Cooke and Ed Jovanovski are both still out. I like the Canucks in a 3-2 win.
*Photo from BobandAJ

What's on TV
NHL, Montreal vs Vancouver, 7:00pm PST on CBC
NHL, Toronto vs Ottawa, 4:00pm PST on CBC
NHL, San Jose vs LA Kings, 3:00pm PST on NBC
NCAAB, West Virginia vs UCLA, 1:00pm PST on CBS
NCAAB, California vs Arizona, 3:00pm PST on ABC
NCAAB, Conneticut vs Louisville, 6:00pm PST on the Score
PGA, Bob Hope Classic Round 4 (Live), 12:00pm PST on ABC
Tennis, Australian Open Early Rounds Day 7 (Live), 7:00pm PST on TSN

Picks of the Day
Milwaukee/Charlotte O198
NY Rangers/Boston O6 -130
Record YTD (26-25, -358)