Surprise Win

Canucks win!! Canucks win!!

Take The Win And Run


Finally, it was the Canucks turn this time "stealing" a win from the Division leading Calgary Flames 2-1 in Calgary. Alex Auld was simply fantastic. Markus Naslund netted another goal. The mostly rookie defense made up of mostly Moose players held up. And bottom line, the Canucks played smart and worked hard. Well, that's all I have to say for now. Let's hope we can continue the great play vs Nashville on Thu.
*Photo from Yahoo!Sports

What's on TV
NBA, Milwaukee vs Phoenix, 6:30pm PST on Sportsnet Pacific
NHL, Ottawa vs Pittsburgh, 4:30pm PST on TSN

Picks of the Day
Toronto Raptors -6 over Atlanta Hawks
Record YTD (44-47, -1193)

Heading For The Stretch Run

NHL is back finally, Colangelo coming to TO. Let's roll...

Canucks Back After Break

Well it's been 2 weeks and after a complete letdown last week for Team Canada, it's back to business tomorrow night for the Canucks in Calgary where they face the 1st place Flames. Of course the biggest story for Canucks fans this past 2 weeks were the injuries to top blueliners Mattias Ohlund and Sami Salo. Both are out for this one, although Ohlund is reportedly going to fly with the team to Calgary. The Canucks brought up Tomas Mojzis and Sven Butenschon from the Moose in relief of the injured pair to play on the 3rd line. I expect Marcus Naslund to come out hungry for this game. Alex Auld should be sharp as well. Overall, I think the game will be relatively fast-paced with good chances on both ends. Miikka Kiprusoff, an Hart Trophy candidate this year, will be a factor tomorrow. All that rest will pay big dividends come playoff time. I'm going with Calgary in a 3-1 win over the Canucks.

Colangelo to Manage Raptors

Reports indicate that Bryan Colangelo, current GM of the Phoenix Suns is leaving the sunny desert to become the GM of the Toronto Raptors. Bryan is the son of minority Suns owner Jerry Colangelo and has been the GM since taking over from his father a few years ago. The Suns of course have been one of the top teams in the NBA these past 2 years under Colangelo. You have to be extremely optimistic if you're a Raptor fan. Colangelo stole MVP Steve Nash away from Dallas, drafted Rookie of the Year Amare Stoudamire and helped hire Coach of the Yea Mike D'Antoni. So it's safe to say his track record is pretty damn good. All I can say is Phoenix's loss is Toronto's gain, we'll take it.

What's on TV
NHL, Vancouver vs Calgary, 6:00pm PST on the Sportsnet Pacific
NBA, Orlando vs LA Lakers, 7:30pm PST on the Score

Picks of the Day
Orlando/LA Lakers O195.5
Record YTD (44-46, -1083)

Olympics Close

Slow news day overall. Sweden wins the Gold, Isaih to IU?? Let's roll...

How Sweet it is


You have to wonder what Markus Naslund was thinking watching his country-mates bring home the Gold for Team Sweden. Naslund has been a part of Team Sweden for basically his whole career so to watch them win and to know that he will most likely never get his shot to win Gold for Sweden must be a little disheartening. Hopefully, he can use that as motivation down the stretch for the Canucks heading into the playoffs. Back to Team Sweden, it was a hard fought game vs the Finns. If you don't think the players wanted to win, you just have to see how elated the Swedes were to win and how disappointed the Finns were when they lost. Watching Sami Salo writhe in pain from his shoulder injury shows you how bad they wanted it.

Say it Ain't So

The source of the story is definitely questionable coming from Peter Vecsey of the NY Post, Vecsey is reporting that Indiana University is exploring the possibility of bringing Isaih Thomas in at the end of the season to replace Mike Davis as Head Coach. IU would be making a HUGE mistake by bringing in Thomas. Everything that Thomas has done in management and coaching has been a complete disaster. Count them, power struggles in Toronto, bankrupted the CBA, never won a playoff round as coach of Indiana and currently running the Knicks into the ground. Hopefully IU will come to their wits and bring him alumni and current Iowa coach, Steve Alford. All signs point to Alford as the front runner.

What's on TV
NBA, Toronto vs Miami, 4:30pm PST on the Score
NBA, Utah vs Golden State, 7:30pm PST on the Sportsnet Pacific

Picks of the Day
Detroit Pistons -2.5 over Cleveland Cavaliers
Record YTD (43-46, -1183)

Back to Normal

Back after a couple of days without posting, I've been consumed with the local hoops playoffs going on. Team Canada bounced in Hockey at the Olympics, big day in NCAAB hoops, Canucks in dire straits with big injuries. Let's roll...

Big Letdown

The most talked about story for the past couple of days is the early loss by Team Canada's hockey team at the olympics on Thu against Russia. It was bitterly disappointing, yet I don't think we really need to panic. There were a lot of things that "could" have made a difference, like different players, or Gretzky not going to Italy, or more time to prepare, etc.. Bottom line is that the players didn't perform and they alone need to take responsibility for their failures. The team assembled had more than enough talent, skill, speed, goaltending to win it all, they just didn't perform. So, where do we go from here?? Well, in a way, the loss is good as it'll be a chance to completely re-evaluate the roster. Nobody is given a free-ride or assumed on the team. With the abundance of young talent that Canada has waiting in line, I think Vancouver 2010 will be Gold for Team Canada again.

College Gamenight

Watching BC and NC State go toe-to-toe for 2OTs. Great game from start to finish. Watching these games gives you an appreciation of how great a game that Basketball is. You see the heart and hustle. Team basketball, offensive execution, hustle defense. Everything that you DON'T see in the NBA. Other big stories to follow, George Washington has won a crazy 17 games in a row, a team record. They could be a deadly team in the NCAA Tournament. The Pitt Panthers have struggled lately going 5-4 in their last 9, their stock is dropping fast and will need a good showing at the Big East Tourney to get a #3 seed or higher at the NCAAs. Gonzaga like George Washington is simply rolling. Adam Morrison is all the talk along with JJ Redick for Player of the Year. Although I don't think you can go against Redick and his record breaking career.

Your Move Nonis

Dave Nonis has some big decisions to make in the next couple of weeks leading up to the NHL trade deadline. With both Mattias Ohlund and Sami Salo out indefinitely with mid-level injuries, he has make a decision on whether he will go all out for the Cup this year, or start dumping salaries to reload for next year. I say go for next year. If you look at what we have right now, clearly we're not anywhere ready to go to the Cup. Hell, the Canucks might not even make the playoffs as we're only 6 points ahead of Anaheim and the 9th spot. Collectively with Ed Jovanovski, Todd Bertuzzi, and Dan Cloutier, the Canucks should be able to get some decent talent and draft picks in return. With the young talent that we have on the farm, we will be a good team next year. As hard as it is for Canucks fans to hear about rebuilding, it is time to start thinking long term.
*Photo from NHL.com

What's on TV
NCAAB, Kansas vs Texas, 6:30pm PST on the Score
NBA, Charlotte vs Phoenix, 6:00pm PST on the Sportsnet Pacific
Olympics, Canadian Highlights (Taped), 6:00pm PST on CBC

Picks of the Day
Golden State Warriors +12 over San Antonio Spurs
Record YTD (43-44, -1073)

I'm Back...

I'm back after a short hiatus. Slow news day overall. I'll throw in my 2 cents on Team Canada's troubles, what's wrong with the NBA, and Ricky is at it again. Let's roll...

Solving the Trap

Team Canada was a victim of the trap twice in the last 2 games costing them points in the tournament round-robin standings. Alot of people are panicking right now, but my feeling is that there isn't much to be too concerned about. Remember in 2002 when Team Canada lost to Sweden and everyone was saying it's the end of the world?? Well, we ended up coming back to win that one. We will do the same here. You look at the 8 teams that will be going to the next round, all 8 have a legitimate shot at the Gold. It's really a crapshoot where the team that gets hot and wins 3 games wins the Gold. I still think that Canada has assembled the best team in the tournament and trap or no trap, should still go all the way. Even if we lose to the Czechs tomorrow, we're still going to the next round. Relax everbody, no need to panic, we'll get there.
*Photo from Yahoo!Sports

NBA All-Star Weekend, yawn...


The NBA is slowly becoming irrelevant in the world of sports in North America. There are several factors leading to the downward spiral of interest, here are five reasons to tune out the NBA:

1. No marquee rivalries. No Bulls vs Knicks, no Celtics vs Lakers.
2. The best players play for crappy teams (Kobe in LA, Lebron in Cleveland, Iverson in Philly). 3. The best teams have the players with no personality (Duncan in SA, Rip and Billups in Detroit, Dirk in Dallas)
4. There are only 2 good teams, everyone else nobody could care a lick about.
5. All the teams play the same game.
*Photo from Yahoo!Sports

Hits From The Bong

Ricky tokes it up again, this time the NFL has suspended him for a full season. We've likely seen the last of Ricky in the NFL. The guy just wants to smoke his weed, and be left alone. Just leave Ricky be. Just look at how Ryan Leaf has been able to move on with his life. Ricky needs to move on, find a nice stoner town to live in and just get baked all day. In fact, Vancouver would be the perfect place for Ricky to settle down. Everyone knows that BC bud is the best in the world.
*Photo from BrettandShannon's Blog

What's on TV
NBA, Golden State vs Sacramento, 7:00pm PST on the Score
Olympics, Canadian Highlights (Taped), 6:00pm PST on TSN

Picks of the Day
Charlotte Bobcats +11 over Denver Nuggets
Record YTD (43-43, -963)

Bertuzzi Cleans Up in Italy

Canada opens big at Turin, new start for Darko, and finally College Basketball proves too much pressure. Let's roll...

Well It Was Italy After All

Team Canada routs Italy earlier today 7-2 at the Olympics. Nothing to be really excited about I guess. Talk of the day locally was how well Todd Bertuzzi played. Let's hope that Pierre Maguire is right and that Bertuzzi will continue to rip it up once he gets back to Vancouver. We need him to be big or we have no shot at the Cup. Back to Team Canada, not much to add here. Was a little surprised that the score was tied in the 2nd period before Canada blew the game open. Up next is Germany, and we get a break as Olaf Kolzig will sit this one out. Shocker of the day is Latvia playing to a 3-3 tie vs Team USA. Although shocking, I'm not entirely surprised. I think Team USA is overrated this time. They're too old, they should've picked up players like Ryan Kessler and AJ Umberger instead of some the old vets that are way beyond their prime.
*Photo from Yahoo!Sports

Darko Shipped to Orlando

The Darko saga starts a new chapter today as he was traded to the Orlando Magic for Kelvin Cato. I think this is a good think for Darko. I really think that the kid can play, he just needs to build some confidence and for someone to give him a chance. Remember when Jermaine O'Neal was in Portland and everyone said he sucked. Well, once he got traded to Indiana, he got the playing time and confidence required and really blossomed. I freely admit that what we've seen from Darko has been anything but, I just have a hunch there's more than meets they eye with Darko. One thing is for sure, if Darko can't prove himself in Orlando, he'll be back in Europe before you know it.
*Photo from Yahoo!Sports

Wanted: Basketball Coaches

They're dropping like flies, and stress and pressure to win are the overwhelming reasons. The pressure cooker that is NCAA Div1 basketball seems to have taken out some of the best basketball coaches around in Mike Davis at Indiana and Eddie Sutton at Oklahoma State. Some suggest that it's the media that's created this negative atmosphere. But I say it's all the booster clubs, and alumni organizations that are putting an incredible amount of pressure on the adminstration to bring in winning coaches and to fire coaches who they feel are not the right fit. These booster clubs and alumni committees are simply out of control. Schools need to limit the amount of power and influence they have over personel decisions.
*Photo from Yahoo!Sports

What's on TV
Olympics, Canadian Highlights (Taped), 6:00pm PST on TSN

Picks of the Day
Houston/Phoenix O201.5
Record YTD (43-42, -863)

No Love For The Great One

What else but talk about Gretzky's landing in Italy, and the Arizona Cardinals ensure their inferiority. Lets roll...

Downfall

It's all downhill for Gretz from here. As he touched down in Turin Italy to join Team Canada at the Olympics, he was bombarded as expected by hundreds of journalists. Why he chose to go in the first place is a complete mystery to me. The scandal aside (latest rumors say Gretzky is a high roller betting as high as 2 million at Casinos), you would think for Gretzky the most important thing at this moment is to get his family back in order. Can you even imagine what his family is going through at this moment. If it happened to you, wouldn't you think the most important thing would be to gather your family together and go somewhere where you wouldn't be bothered and you could fix your family issues first?? And what better time to do that then the Olympic break. It's not like Team Canada needs him in Italy to win, Gretzky's work is done, the team has been selected. In fact, Gretzky has put further attention on himself by self-proclaiming that if Team Canada doesn't win Gold, we should blame him. I don't want to blame Gretzky if they lose, but since he's there, I will.
*Photo from Yahoo!Sports

Why Warner? Oh, It's the Cardinals

Are the Cardinals trying to play their way out of Arizona?? Must be. That is the only explanation why the Cardinals would go out and sign Kurt Warner. And the kicker is they signed him for 3 years and $18 million. Wow, now that is pure incompetance. Yes Warner has put up some huge numbers in his career, but as witness in the past few years he is extremely soft. He is afraid of contact and is injury prone. He relies heavily on a big O-line for pass pro and his favorite move these days with the Cardinals is to crawl up into the fetal position. I have nothing else to say other than the Cardinals suck, have sucked, and will continue to suck. See you in LA in a few years.
*Photo from Yahoo!Sports

What's on TV
NBA, Toronto vs NY Knicks, 4:30pm PST on the Score
NBA, Atlanta vs LA Lakers, 7:30pm PST on Sportsnet Pacific
Olympics, Canadian Highlights (Taped), 6:00pm PST on TSN

Picks of the Day
Atlanta Hawks +10 over LA Lakers
Record YTD (42-42, -963)

Big Monday for Villanova

Olympic break so no NHL action. Next best thing I love to talk about is College Hoops and there's certainly plenty to talk about. Let's roll..

No 1 My Ass

With the 69-64 upset loss by #4 Villanova over #1 UConn, the Huskies will see their ranking drop from #1 down to #3 or lower where they belong. I'm not a Husky hater, I just think they're widely overrated and certainly not in the same company as Duke or even West Virginia for that matter. I mean, when was the last time UConn even beat somebody of importance? Anyhow, we should see the true #1 Duke cruise from here on out through the rest of the season, ACC Championships, and finally to the Big Show. In other action today, #5 Gonzaga took care of Portland with relative ease. Looking forward to tomorrow, some huge matchups as #11 West Virginia faces Seton Hall and #16 Michigan State goes up against #20 Iowa. Go with both favorites, West Virginia and Michigan State.
*Photo from Yahoo!Sports

Bye Bye Sutton

Unfortunately for Eddie Sutton, a 35 year coaching career with the Oklahoma State Cowboys basketball team has come to a sudden end as Sutton was cited for DUI in yesterday's car accident that involved Sutton. And the timing really couldn't be worse, Sutton was just 6 wins shy of 800 and had planned to retire after this season and his 800 wins handing over the coaching reins to his son. But now, he will most likely be fired from his job and certainly his coaching legacy tarnished forever. Goes to show you kids, don't drink and drive.
*Photo from Yahoo!Sports

What's on TV
NBA, New Jersey vs Detroit, 4:30pm PST on the Score
Olympics, Canadian Highlights (Taped), 6:00pm PST on TSN

Picks of the Day
Sacramento Kings +2 over Chicago Bulls
Record YTD (41-42, -1063)

Must Win

It's good to be back. Recap of Canucks big win tonight, College Gameday review, and Kwan drops out. Lets roll...

Canucks Gut it Out

Fitting that it was the Sedin line that came up with the big goal in OT to lift the Canucks past the Wild in OT 3-2 tonight at GM Place. The Canucks came flying out the gate in the first period looking like a team playing in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup. That paid off as they got the games' first goal. But then the Wild slowed the pace down to their familiar Lemaire fashion. Canucks took a lot of dumb penalties, but they were lucky that the Wild are not a good PP team. One can only hope that after the Olympic break, the Canucks can turn it up a notch and stay that way through the playoffs. They can't afford to take nights off like they've been doing in the past against teams like St. Louis and Anaheim. If the Canucks play to their potential, this is a team that can go all the way.
*Photo from Yahoo!Sports

College Gameday

Can you sense that March Madness is approaching? This is Rivalry Week in NCAAB and there was plenty to watch and analyze throughout the week. Pittsburgh continued to roll this week with big wins over West Virginia and Cincinnati. West Virginia beat a surging Georgetown team tonight. All top 4 teams won yesterday, Connecticut, Duke, Memphis and Villanova. A huge matchup on Monday as #1 Connecticut faces #4 Villanova. Finally, 2 other big stories emerged this week, Quin Snyder was fired, and Mike Davis is about to quit.

Mizzou Head Coach Quin Snyder was finally given the boot the other day. If you don't remember, Missouri was cited for several recruiting violations by the NCAA under Snyder, that was almost 2 years ago. Snyder was never able to turn the program around and may never get another chance in Div 1. Snyder has also been rumored to have had several encounters with female students, I guess now that he's fired he can pursue those coeds to his hearts content. Bottom line is that the numbers didn't add up for Snyder and so a change was needed.
*Photo from CJOnline

Mike Davis era Ending?? Rumors are running rampant that Davis who did not coach the team today in Indiana's loss to Iowa, is leaning towards resigning as Head Coach of IU. It was always a tough gig to follow in the heels of the highly successful yet controversial Bobby Knight. Yes, IU has not put up the numbers the past few seasons since Davis took them to the National Championship game 3 years ago, but Davis is not being given a fair shake here. In much the same way that Tyrone Willingham was run out of Notre Dame, Mike Davis is being run out of IU. If he resigns as many are speculating, Davis will find another program to run, one that doesn't come with the unreal expectations that IU has.
*Photo from ESPN

Doing The Right Thing

Michelle Kwan did the right thing today dropping out of the Ladies Figure Skating competition in Turin for the Olympics today. This was suppose to be the feel good story for the Olympics and Team USA for Michelle to get that Gold Medal that had eluded her in 3 prior Olympics. But lets face it, she was too old and too injured to really be a factor and instead of finishing last in the competition, she took the high road and dropped out instead giving alternate Emily Hughes her shot at the podium.

Canada picks up 2 medals so far, 1 Gold, 1 Bronze. I'm not much for watching or keeping up with the Olympics besides Hockey, but I was impressed with Jennifer Heil's Gold medal performance at the Ladies Moguls. Even I had butterflies watching her live as she was set to go on the final run. She was clutch, coming through when it counted...

What's on TV
NBA, Utah vs LA Lakers, 6:00pm PST on Sportsnet Pacific
Olympics, Canadian Highlights (Taped), 6:00pm PST on TSN

Picks of the Day
San Antonio Spurs -2.5 over Cleveland Cavaliers
Record YTD (41-41, -953)

Yes, We Sucked...

Losing again to the damn Blues, review of NCAAB. Let's roll...

Tkachuked!!!

The Canucks were blasted tonight losing 4-2 against the lowly St. Louis Blues. Keith Tkachuck had a goal and 2 assists in the win. Just our luck, Patrick Lalime has had a season to forget for the Blues including a demotion to the farm team, but he picked tonight to turn it on and was hot all game. It's not like the Canucks didn't have chances, they just couldn't put the puck behind Lalime. Anson Carter was a late scratch for this one, and the Sedins obviously missed his stick. We mentioned Tkachuck and he was the best player on the ice tonight. He's been injured for a significant period of time this season but still appears to have some pop. Could he be playing himself to be traded?? Possibly. It's unfortunate that the Canucks have now lost 3 games (6 points) to the worst team in the league, but it's not catastrophic. We will recover. Next up, Brian Burke's Ducks.
*Photo from Yahoo!Sports

College Gamenight

Yesterday, the Duke Blue Devils held off a young hungry energized North Carolina team in Chapel Hill for the win to stay perfect in the ACC. JJ Redick was clutch once again. My money is still on Redick to win the College Player of the Year, Adam Morrison is a great player but he's got nothing on Redick. Watch out for North Carolina though, they should get into the NCAA tournament as a 8 or 9 seed and it wouldn't surprise me if they made the Sweet 16. Pat Forde has a great article on ESPN about the West Virginia Mountaineers. If you read some of my previous posts, you know that I love the way the Mountaineers play. Coach John Beilein is a basketball genius, his modified Princeton Offense and 1-3-1 trap are starting to become legendary. He's winning with players you've never heard of and on any other top 25 team would sit at the end of the bench. Beilein has made stars out of guys like Kevin Pittsnogle, Mike Gansey, and Johannes Herber. In action tonight, #1 Conneticut thumped Syracuse, and South Carolina upset #6 Florida.
*Photo from Yahoo!Sports

What's on TV
NHL, Detroit vs Nashville, 5:00pm PST on TSN

Picks of the Day
Miami/Dallas U198.5
Dallas Stars -1.5 (+170) over Phoenix Coyotes
Record YTD (39-41, -1153)

Operation Slap Shot Busted

Preview of Blues vs Canucks, Gretzky faces some tough times ahead. Let's roll...

Weight-less Blues in Town

The St. Louis Blues are in town to face the Canucks tomorrow night at GM Place. But the Blues are a different team than the one that beat Vancouver just a few short weeks ago. Since that game, the Blues have been on a fire sale dumping the salaries of Doug Weight and Mike Sillinger in return for more youth and draft picks. Clearly the Blues have dropped out of the playoff race and are in the rebuilding phase, something that is completely foreign for the Blues who have never missed a post-season in decades. Still, with youth comes energy and the Blues are a team now that plays with plenty of it. The Canucks are looking to put together a string of wins before the Olympic break before making that big push for the playoffs. Should be a no-brainer here, Canucks at home have been lights out, I like the Canucks in a 5-2 win.

Rough Seas Ahead

Mr. Gretzky has a lot on his mind lately. As Team Canada heads into the 2006 Olympics, suddenly their chances are starting to look shaky to repeat for the Gold. A couple of big injuries on defense has Gretzky scrambling to find replacements. But the biggest bombshell was dropped today as Phoenix Coyotes Assistant Coach Rick Tocchet has been officially charged by Authorities in Pennsylvannia for his involvment an illegal sports gambling operation. To make matter worse, Gretzky's wife Janet Jones has been named as one of the alleged sports bettors. With the "Gretzky" name linked with all this mess it takes this story from the footnote to the headliner of every major network and news media outlet. The investigators are still gathering more evidence, but if they find that NHL players bet on NHL games, there will be some serious consequences. The one cardinal sin in all of sports is gambling on your own sport, on your own games. The integrity of the game could be on the line here, should it come out that games were fixed and thrown, it could send the NHL into a tailspin. Makes you wonder about all those nights Todd Bertuzzi and the rest of his teammates took off.

What's on TV
NCAAB, Syracuse vs Conneticut, 6:30pm PST on the Score
NBA, San Antonio vs Toronto, 4:00pm PST on the Score
NBA, Chicago vs Denver, 6:30pm PST on Sportsnet Pacific
NHL, Ottawa vs NY Rangers, 4:00pm PST on TSN

Picks of the Day
San Antonio Spurs -6.5 over Toronto Raptors
Chicago/San Jose U6.5 (-115)
Record YTD (37-41, -1353)

Good To Be Home

Still steaming in the aftermath of what will be known as Zebragate. Canucks pick up the win tonight. Rockets turning the corning. Lets roll...

Canucks in a Rout

They scored 2 early goals in the first period and never looked back winning 7-4 over the Columbus Blue Jackets. The speed and hustle of the Canucks showed tonight. The Blue Jackets were simply caught flat-footed. This is the style of play that the pundits had picking to be Stanley Cup contenders. Everyone was flying for the Canucks tonight, including the vaunted top line which had been struggling recently. Alex Auld was solid most of the way but did let in a soft one in the 3rd. The Sedin line with Anson Carter continues to dominate, this after Henrik Sedin was named NHL Player of the week today. Next up, the lowly St. Louis Blues on Wednesday.
*Photo from Yahoo!Sports

Rockets on a Roll

After a dismal start to the NBA season, the Houston Rockets are starting to look like the Western Conference contenders that many had pegged them in the summer as they dispatched the Philadelphia 76ers tonight for their 4th in a row. If you look at their roster, it's unbelievable that their record stands at 19-29. But when a big toe injury took out big man Yao Ming, and superstar Tracy McGrady got back spasms, their fortunes turned for the worse in a bad way. But both Yao and McGrady are healthy and the Rockets have their swagger back. You look at the players they brought in during the summer, Stromile Swift, Luther Head and Rafer Alston. This is a Championship contending team, and they're finally starting to play like one. Too bad, it may be too late to make the playoffs.
*Photo from Yahoo!Sports

What's on TV
NCAAB, Tennessee vs Kentucky, 4:00pm PST on the Score
NCAAB, Duke vs North Carolina, 6:00pm PST on the Score
NHL, Atlanta vs Toronto, 4:30pm PST on TSN

Picks of the Day
LA Clippers -6.5 over NY Knicks
Buffalo/Montreal U6 (-115)
Record YTD (36-40, -1343)

The Fix Is In

Seahawks get shafted by the refs, Canucks back home. Let's roll...

We Wuz Robbed!!!

The only logical explanation for what happened tonight was that the Officials had fixed this game helping the Steelers to a 21-10 win. When there is 1 bad call, you can say that it was probably just a bad call. But when they pile on the bad calls and no calls against the Seahawks play after play, you have to wonder. When Matt Hasselbeck was flagged for a low block on his "tackle" after the interception, I stopped watching, I KNEW that the fix was in. As for the football, there wasn't any flow. The Seahawks had dominated play for most of the game but the Officials stopped any momentum the Seahawks had whenever they got in the redzone. Still you can't take anything away from the Steelers who made 3 big plays that was good enough for the win. It's a good thing that this is the last game of the season, I need a break to shake this feeling of total disgust.
*Photo from Yahoo!Sports

Home Sweet Home

Canucks end their marathon 7 game road trip by hosting the Columbus Blue Jackets tomorrow. After a disastrous 0-3 start to the road trip, the Canucks finished strong beating Colorado, Phoenix and Calgary before dropping a 3-1 decision to the Oilers last night. Home has been sweet for the Canucks indeed going 18-3-3. The Blue Jackets are on a 5 game winning streak started by their win over the Canucks a couple of weeks ago. I like the Canucks to take this one, they are solid at home and have had Marc Denis number. Alex Auld has been the best Canuck in the past 5 games, he has proven to be the #1 goalie in this town and has allowed Dave Nonis to be patient in finding a suitable backup for Auld. Canucks win 4-1.
*Photo from Yahoo!Sports

What's on TV
NHL, Columbus vs Vancouver, 7:00pm PST on Sportsnet Pacific

Picks of the Day
Houston Rockets +3 over Philadelphia 76ers
TB/NY U6 (+110)
Record YTD (34-40, -1553)

Boozing with Ben

Pictures of Big Ben getting wasted with some groupies have been making the rounds on the Net. Preview of Canucks in Alberta. Let's roll...

Big Ben Gettin' Down


You won't here it in the mainstream media as there has been an apparent Media blackout concerning photos posted on Deadspin.com which show an inebriated Ben Roethlisberger partying it up with what appear to be some loose female groupies in a dungeonesque lounge. In what has been an otherwise dead media week with little to no interesting storylines, this could be potentially a huge story, too bad the NFL and the Steelers have put the clamp down on getting it getting out. Hopefully we can spread the word.
*Photo from Deadspin

Canucks Battle in Alberta

Huge 2 game back-to-back road games first in Calgary tomorrow, then in Edmonton for HNIC. Both teams are relatively hot at the moment and the Canucks are battling to stay near the top of the division. With 4 points up for grabs, this is a critical point in the Canucks season. Marcus Naslund appears ready to contribute despite nagging injuries that have caused him to cancel his Olympic journey. No question this will be a tough 2 game stretch. If the Canucks are able to pull off the 2 wins here, I can see no reason why they won't go deep into the playoffs. With the Flames making a deal today to obtain Leclerc and Boucher from Phoenix, you have to wonder whether a deal is imminent for the Canucks as they prepare for the playoffs. Something has to give.
*Photo from Yahoo!Sports

What's on TV
NHL, Vancouver vs Calgary, 6:00pm PST on Sportsnet Pacific

Picks of the Day
Minnesota Timberwolves -2 over Portland Trailblazers
NJ/Carolina U6.5 (-130)
Record YTD (34-40, -1623)

Super-matchup in DeeTroit

Previewing the big game on Sunday. So far for NFL playoffs, I've gone 7-3 ATS, and 8-2 straight up overall, looking to finish strong. Let's roll...

Defense

D-Line: Pittsburgh. The Seahawks are almost as good but the Steelers front four are better. The Steelers are quicker and are the heart of the awesome blitz that took out Indy and Denver.

Linebackers: Pittsburgh. The Seahawks are arguably more athletic and hit harder but much more inexperienced. Troy Porter and James Harrison over Lofa Tatupu and Jamie Sharper.

Secondary: Pittsburgh. The Seahawks are once again talented yet inexperienced. All it takes is one mistake to get burned. Steelers use a lot of Safety blitz with Troy Polamalu.

Offense

O-Line: Seattle. The Seahawks have the best 5 in all of the NFL. Walter Jones is a hall-of-famer, enough said.

Quarterback: Seattle. Ben Roethlisberger plays to not lose the game. Matt Hasselbeck plays to win.

Running Backs: Seattle. Can't go against the MVP of the league in Shaun Alexander. A lot is made of Jerome Bettis, but Willie Parker is the dangerous one.

Receivers: Seattle. Too much skill, speed, and experience with Darrell Jackson, and Joe Jurevicius. Jeremy Stevens is the X-factor at TE for the Seahawks.

Special Teams

Kick/Punt: Seattle. We all know how important it is to have the big game kicker and the Seahawks have it in Josh Brown who has hit some big ones so far this season. Tom Rouen is one of the most experienced punters in the league.

Returners: Pittsburgh. Antwaan Randle El is a gamebreaker, watch out if he breaks free. Seahawks have issues here as witnessed in the Redskins game.

Coaching: Seattle. Mike Holmgrem has won the big one with Green Bay and as an assistant with San Francisco. Bill Cowher may have a trick play or two up his sleeve but he better not try it here.

As you can see, it's almost a dead heat between both teams when you break it down. The bottom line will come down to whether the Seahawks can handle the Pittsburgh blitz. If they can, the Seahawks will be able to score enough points early and hold on for the win. If they can't, the Steelers will force the turnovers required to come away with it. Given that the Seahawks have had 2 weeks to prepare for this one, I think the Seahawks have a good chance at defeating the blitz. Take the Seahawks and the points.
*Photo from Yahoo!Sports

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