Wide Right

Ahh, the life of a kicker. The Colts watched their season go down the tubes as they saw the universal signal of "Wide Right" waved by the endzone officials. Canucks face the lowly Pens tomorrow and the Raptors are rising from the dead. I went 2-2 straight up, and 1-3 ATS this weekend, not as good as last weekend but not too bad overall. Let's roll...

Steelers Bring Down the House, Bears Bounced

The Pittsburgh Steelers outlasted the Indianapolis Colts 21-18 in a wild and bizzare ending to the first Playoff game today. The Steelers dominated the Colts for the better part of the day until 2 minutes left in the 4th quarter. First the usually sure-handed Bettis fumbled the ball on the Colts goaline which was then picked up and ran back for 40 yards by Nick Harper. Then the usually dependable Mike Vanderjagt who had never missed a FG at Indianapolis missed the game-tying FG try with seconds remaining. The Colts offense was simply off for the first 3 quarters. The timing was off and the play calling was not consistent. It was too late when things finally started to get going. The Colts have to be extremely disappointed with how they finished the season and you have to wonder if some major changes will be made in the off-season. As for the Steelers, they have a date with the Broncos next weekend for the AFC Championship. I like the Steelers so far early on here.

In the day's second playoff matchup, the Carolina Panthers put the boot to the Chicago Bears 29-21. The much heralded Monsters of Midway were unable to stop, contain, slow down Panther WR Steve Smith. Add to that the amount of time given for QB Jake Delhomme to find his favorite receiver, and it was game, set, match for the Panthers. What surprised me most was how well the Bears offense was able to respond almost coming all the way back. But in the end, QB Rex Grossman simply did not have the big game experience to pull off the comeback. For the Bears, the future looks very bright. All they need is to add a few pieces to the puzzle and they should be Super Bowl contenders next year. The Panthers are headed to Seattle and the NFC Championship next week. The Panthers are an extremely dangerous team, especially on the road. I think the Seahawks have their hands full in this one.
*Photo from Yahoo!Sports

Can the Penguins be Saved?

The Canucks roll into Pittsburgh to face the Penguins at the Mellon Arena tomorrow. The Penguins have more problems than they can handle right now both on and off the ice. Coaches getting fired, owners in the locker room, a building that is falling apart, relocation, the list goes on and on. Lost in all of this is the most exciting thing in the NHL since Wayne Gretzky in Sidney Crosby. Unfortunately, the problems at Pittsburgh are far beyond what Sid the Kid can do for this sorry excuse for a franchise. As for the game itself, I look for the Canucks to build off of their beat down of the Isles and continue the beating with the Penguins. Interesting thing will be who starts in net, Alex Auld has gone at least 5 straight games including back-to-back on Friday and Saturday. Marc Crawford obviously has zero confidence in Maxime Ouellet. Bottom line, Canucks win 5-1.
*Photo from Sports Illustrated

Raptors Rise from Near Extinction

After starting the season 1-16, theToronto Raptors have started their slow but steady climb back up the standings to respectability and playoff contention. Today, the Raptors dumped the red hot New York Knicks 129-103 to push their record to 13-24. There are several reasons for the resurgence. The suprising play of Mark James, the hot shooting of Jalen Rose and Morris Peterson, and the consistent low post presence of Chris Bosh. All have been factors but the reason for the latest rise of the Raptors are because they are attacking the hoop and being much more aggressive. They are getting more free-throw attempts and fast break layups. Can they keep this streak up?? In the East, anything can happen. With the exception of Detroit, Indiana and Miami, the rest of the 5 playoff spots are all up for grabs and the race to 5 will be as tight as ever. If the Raptors continue to be aggressive, a playoff berth would not be out of the question.
*Photo from Yahoo!Sports

What's on TV
NHL, Vancouver vs Pittsburgh, 4:30pm PST on Sportsnet Pacific
NHL, Buffalo vs Edmonton, 6:00pm PST on Sportsnet West

Picks of the Day
Denver Nuggets +2.5 over Chicago Bulls
NY/Columbus O6.5+110
Record YTD (18-22, -703)