Sackville Sports

The Football Source - Michael Lombardi

2009-03-24T20:06:00.000-07:00

I'm sure every Sports Guy (Simmons) fan is now a Michael Lombardi fan. Simmons has him on probably once a week to talk football. I like Lombardi thanks to the Simmons podcast. Here's a snapshot of the common sense approach Lombardi takes:

I heard all the talk last season about how the Lions were going to go back and be a run team, that getting rid of Martz would allow them to protect the ball, run more and manage the game in a more efficient way. Well, how did that work? The Lions lost all 16 games, but I promise you, had Martz been the offensive coordinator last year, they would have won a game or two. In Detroit, the offensive theory after firing Martz is the same theory now in San Francisco. The team wants to return to a running game, but all they return to is a bad offense. The 49ers don’t want to throw the ball more than 30 times and they want to establish the run. This is the same organization that invented the west coast offense built on the theory that you have to throw the ball to run. Establishing the run only means you are kicking field goals.

You can read the rest of the story at The National Football Post.

Wheaties

2009-03-24T19:40:00.000-07:00

The Brandon Wheat Kings are making short work of the Kootney Ice in the first round of the WHL playoffs. Up 2-0 over the Ice the Wheaties are on the road in the Rockies looking to take a 3-0 lead. After 2 periods in game 3 it's 3-2 for the Wheaties.

Shaw TV is showing Saskatoon vs Lethbridge. Thanks!

I think it's important for the Wheaties to win a round or two this year. They need the playoff experience and pressure hockey experience for next year's Memorial Cup hosting duties. I really hope Coach/GM/Owner Crimmer is watching closely to see which players are rising to the occasion and are the guys he wants around next year for the big push.

Under Pressure

2009-03-24T19:02:00.001-07:00

Dave Dameshek brought up an interesting sports topic that requires many hours of thought and lists of sports stars. That's pretty much his gig. The current thought is which sports figure (player, coach, GM) is under the most pressure right now. He tossed out names like Kobe, Crosby, Peyton Manning, Brian Cashman, etc. but then he said a name that I just loved to here...Joe Thornton. Now, I think Joe Thornton is great and I cheered for him in Boston and cheer for him when he suits up for Team Canada. As a Shark though, I think the dude is overrated. OK, it bugs me that the Bruins got a bag of steaming crap in return for Joe in one of the worst NHL trades of all time but hear me out. The Sharks have the same number of Cup wins as the Bruins since the trade. That's right, ZERO. So Joe can rack up the points in the regular season and win a round or two on the West Coast but he still has yet to crack the Cup Finals let alone win it. As for the Bruins, they canned the guy that pulled the trigger on the trade and went out and got Savard and Chara. Two big pieces of the current team that is just as much a Cup contender as the Sharks this year.

Back to the main topic though....which sports star is under the most pressure. I think if you ask me this question next year at this time the answer will be Ron Wilson. Leaf Nation is putting up with another poor season but the Honeymoon with Wilson will be over next year. For right now though I have to give the question more thought...the kind of thought Dameshek gives these types of silly things.

Brier Recap

2009-03-15T10:43:00.000-07:00

My 4th Brier is in the books. Calgary '09 was a good Brier considering the talented field and excellent venue. It didn't hurt that Stoughton and team Toba was always in the playoff hunt. As we wait for the final between Alberta vs Manitoba on TV back in the Wheat City I thought I would put down some thoughts and revisit my predictions.

First my predictions..

I had the top 4 teams predicted right but that wasn't very difficult to do. Stoughton may upset Martin today but I will be surprised if he does so I think I've got the top 4 in the proper order. I was way off on Quebec, Nova Scotia, Saskatchewan, and New Brunswick. Russ Howard surprised me and maybe he is on to something with the rotating front end. Jordison is a much better team/player than what he showed at the Brier. This guy qualified at a Slam this year but this week he was finished quicker than a pint of Pilsner at a Rider game. Quebec is always a coin toss so I don't feel too bad about that one. Nova Scotia had a really difficult schedule for a rebound and unfortunately they got off on the wrong foot so it was next to impossible to recovery. The team I was really off on was Northern Ontario...Thanks a lot JD for that pick!!. Jackabo was out of his league.

Reflections on the trip...

Don't Jay walk in Calgary - my buddy and I were stopped by police about it!!
Skiing in the Rockies is incredible! It's well worth the ridiculous line-ups and price tags.
Canmore is still my favorite town.
If you need directions to a strip club just ask a NWT/Yukon skip.
Podcasts are the best way to kill time on the road (thanks Simmons, Dameshek, Carolla).
Pilsner is my favorite beer.
Winnipeg has the best chicken wings.
A version of the C-Train would be nice in Winnipeg but I'm not sold we have the right people for it. I still think we are a car town.
The continental breakfast standard needs to be raised across hotels.
Don't play pool in the back of a sleazy bar...you might get drop kicked by an androgynous native woman.
It's great to have close friends you can travel with. Friends in other cities to visit. Friends back home to take care of business. Family to take care of you.
Don't go to Halifax in the winter. Save your money and go to Saskatoon the following year.

I should really save this as a draft and edit it and add pictures (maybe I will later) but I will post as is and cut me some slack....It's been a long week and I'm very very tired.

Brier Predictions

2009-03-06T22:01:00.001-08:00

The Brier begins tomorrow and a close friend reminded me I was running out of time to post my predictions. Two thoughts keep resonating in my mind. First, it's something Jon Mead said about the Safeway Championship - when you get perfect ice the best two teams should end up in the final. The other thought is that the two best teams have their Olympic Trials spot ticket punched already and the consensus third best team, Stoughton, needs to take advantage of playing in a bonspiel and competing for Trials points without Burtnyk and Ferbey in the same event. So here goes nothing....

12th - PEI - simply not good enough.
11th - Yukon/NWT - some early buzz about this team being an upset team but let's get real.
10th - NB -yes, it's Russ Howard but even the cagey veteran is no match for the big boys
9th - Quebec - with games against MB, Sask, and AB before Noon on Monday I say avoid 'em.
8th - British Columbia - another tough early schedule...I anticipate same results as Quebec.
7th - Northern Ontario - my curling insider says this team has prepared well for a Brier run.
6th - Nova Scotia - Dacey can play the big shot as good as any...will keep his head above water.
5th - Saskatchewan - should be good enough to be in the mix.
4th - Newfoundland - Gushue will finish with the most 4th place Brier finishes in history when his career as a Newfie skip is over
3rd - Ontario - I'm interested to see how much tank is in the gas for these guys.
2nd - Manitoba - on a roll and playing with determination..will make the final.
1st - Alberta - home crowd advantage, best shotmaker in the world, best ice = WINNER.

Stoughton Wins Manitoba for the 7th time

2009-02-22T19:06:00.001-08:00

Jeff Stoughton won his record 7th MB Men's Provincials and will represent MB at the Brier in Calgary this year.

The Safeway Championship was a great event. The finals featured the #1 Burtnyk defending champ vs the #2 2007 champ in Stoughton. In the end Stoughton took advantage of the hammer early scoring 2 in the first end then stealing 1 in the second. Stoughton was the sharper curler and Kevin Park out curled Don Walchuk. In my opinion Team Stoughton was the best team. I'm happy to see him return to the Brier and will be at the Saddledome to cheer him on.

As for predictions:

I predicted Stoughton would win. I had 7 out of 8 qualifiers right (had Allan Lyburn rather than Bob Sigurdson). My biggest mistake was not having Carruthers in the final 4. Reid played really well and actually won the All-Star Skip award. I also had Mike McEwen making it to the finals but he feel short again this year despite a solid effort.

I hope to have similar success with my Brier predictions in a few weeks.

Safeway Championship - Day 2

2009-02-19T13:18:00.000-08:00

The first 4 qualifying match-ups are set for the Safeway Championships. Of the 8 teams playing for the first 4 spots only 2 are seeds outside of the top 8 (D.Peters, Taylor). Top 8 seeds that were bounced to the B side were Terry McNamee and Allan Lyburn. But you gotta love Lyburn's attitude....

[link]

"We're here," Brandon's Allan Lyburn proclaimed Tuesday, "to drink a lot of beer and have a good time. Because, let's face it, I don't generally play very well at this thing."

Safeway Championship Preview

2009-02-17T19:46:00.000-08:00

I don't anticipate any big surprises at the Safeway Championship in Selkirk on the week-end. I'm saying that going on the feedback from curlers that there are several good teams that can win on any given draw. So a team not seeded in the top 10 could win the Provincials and I don't think that can be declared a surprise. However, with critical CRTS points on the line I feel either Burtnyk or Stoughton will prevail. Of the two teams I think Burtnyk is in an easier bracket to advance without a scare. Others that I feel will qualify are all top 10 teams.

Q1 = Stoughton
Q2 = McEwen
Q3 = Nicholls
Q4 = Burtnyk
Q5 = A. Lyburn - but I also think Boehmer or Sigurdson could just as easily qualify.
Q6 = Taylor - I think it's a toss up between Taylor and Skinner.
Q7 = Carruthers - but don't be surprised by an upset in this bracket..maybe Galbraith or Neufeld.
Q8 = Peters - I'm betting this guy has fun and Gunner plays lights out and the Westman teams (McNamee, Robertson, W. Lyburn) fade out.

I guess I can be guilty of riding the favorites a bit. My playoff and championship predictions has both Burtnyk and Peters facing Carruthers. Would that be great drama. I think McEwen and Stoughton will face each other twice with the veteran staying in front of the rising star on both occasions. I don think Mike can avenge his semi final loss to Burtnyk a year ago and bounce the reigning champ on championship Sunday morning.

It all starts tomorrow.

Seeds and Draw for Safeway Championship

2009-02-12T17:57:00.001-08:00

The top 16 teams were announced today along with the Safeway Championship draw. As usual, Resby has the complete coverage of the seeds, draw, and team personnel.

Below is a summary of how I did predicting the seeds. Only the top 16 teams were announced and I'm not positive how they come up with the bottom 16 but I'm going to make the assumption that the #1 seed plays the #32 seed and work backwards.

8 teams picked right
#1 Burtnyk, #2 Stoughton, #3 McEwen, #9 Peters, #12 Neufeld, #13 Gailbrath, #17 W. Lyburn, #32 Hyrich.

13 teams off by 1 spot
#4 Nicholls, #5 Carruthers, #6 Bohn, #7 A. Lyburn, #11 Taylor, #20 Scales, #23 Hyde, #24 Warren, #25 Muntain, #26 Friesen, #29 Cosens, #30 Asham, #31 Magnusson.

4 teams off by 2 spots
#10 Boehmer, #16 Robertson, 18 Woodward, #27 Pauls

7 teams off by more than 2 spots
#8 McNamee, #14 Skinner, #15 Sigurdson, #19 Riach, #21 Zawada, #22 Madams, #28 Smith

21 out of 32 picks were no more than 1 spot off. I think that's pretty good!

2 quick thoughts on the draw - the Q2 group looks like a killer with McEwen, Bohn, Taylor, Madams, Skinner, and Riach. 4 really good young skips and 2 solid veterans. How about the Murray Warren vs Daley Peters matchup. That's great!!

I can't wait for the action to start. I'm going to make my predictions following a Select pool with my curling team...can't give out any spoilers.

Safeway Championship Seeds Predictions

2009-02-12T07:07:00.000-08:00

Press conference for 2009 Safeway Provincial Championship is supposed to be today to announce the seeds and the draw. Here is my prediction of what the seeds will be:

1Provincial Champion- Kerry Burtnyk- Assiniboine Memorial CC.
2CTRS Berth- Jeff Stoughton- Charleswood CC.
3MCT Berth- Mike McEwen- Assiniboine Memorial CC.
4Zone 17- Reid Carruthers- West Kildonan CC.
5Zone 16- Peter Nicholls- Dear Lodge CC.
6Zone 8-Alan Lyburn- Brandon CC.
7Zone 19- David Bohn- Assiniboine Memorial CC.
8Zone 3- Dave Boehmer- Petersfield CC.
9Zone 2- Daley Peters- Beausejour CC.
10Zone 21- Brendan Taylor- West Kildonan CC.
11Southern Berth- Terry McNamee-Brandon CC.
12Zone 1- Randy Neufeld- La Salle CC.
13Zone 4- Chris Gailbraith- Rosser CC.
14Zone 6- Kelly Robertson- Neepawa CC.
15Zone 15- Scott Madams- Pembina CC.
16Zone 18- Doug Raich- West Kildonan CC.
17Brandon Berth- William Lyburn- BrandonCC.
18Zone 10- Kelly Skinner- Hamiota CC.
19Zone 12- Brent Scales- Swan River CC.
20Zone 11- Murray Woodward- Rorketon CC.
21Zone 20- Bob Sigurdson- Granite CC.
22MCA # 1-Dave Smith- St. Vital CC.
23Zone 9- Murray Warren- Deloraine CC.
24Zone 5- Ryan Hyde- Portage CC.
25Zone 7- Steve Pauls- Manitou CC.
26Northern Berth- Richard Muntain- Carberry CC.
27MCA # 4-Darryl Friesen- St. Vital CC.
28MCA # 3-Rob Cosens- West St. Paul CC.
29Zone 14- Farrol Asham- Burntwood CC.
30MCA # 5-Shawn Magnusson- Riverton CC.
31MCA # 2-Braden Zawada- Springfield CC.
32Zone 13- Brad Hyrich- Flin Flon CC.

Time to Recap

2009-02-10T07:01:00.000-08:00

I just can't seem to blog regularly. I've come to terms with that fact and realize I may only post once a month.

A quick recap since the last post.....

CURLING

Team Coutts participated in the 21st MCA. It was another good year. We finished 4-4 and one game away from the prizes. We played 2 games past our minimum guarantee as well. Most importantly, we rebounded after taking some big losses in the middle of the event. Resby has all the game summary on his site. A fun way of keeping track of our team but also a showcase of what he can do for other curling teams if they were inclined to want similar coverage.

Curlingzone has plenty of MCA thoughts and suggestions in a few running threads. I'm going to keep reading and digest it first before I put some stuff on here. I have my opinions but I'm learning some different perspectives from curlers of a different (better) calibre than mine.

Next week is the Safeway Championship in Selkirk. I'll be heading up there to take in my 5th MB Men's Championship. It's a great event. Check out the list of teams. Thursday is the press conference to announce the seedings. I hope to have my predictions online later today.

FOOTBALL

I'm okay with Pittsburgh winning the Superbowl. I've bought the Simmons and Dameshek idea that it's good for pro sports to have perennial champs and dynasty teams rather than Cinderella champs and that you have to feel some playoff pain before you can savor victory. Having said that......

HOCKEY

The Boston Bruins are leading the NHL and the playoffs are getting closer and closer.....

Dance Card is Close to Full

2009-01-15T12:15:00.000-08:00

MB Men's Curling Zones are complete. Here is a complete list. Randy Dutiame, Vic Peters, and Brad Haight are still on the outside looking in and will have to qualify for the Safeway Championships through the MCA. This could be the second year in a row that Dutiame is shut out of the "select". A pretty big fall for a guy that made the playoffs of the 2005 Brier.

Conference Championship Round

2009-01-15T12:00:00.000-08:00

Okay, so the NFL is totally unpredictable now. Both Giants and Titans, the #1 conference seeds, lost at home in the second round of the playoffs after a bye. Eli played horrible and the Titans just got unlucky against the Ravens. Then there is Kurt Warner and the Cards upsetting an 8-0 home team on the road. At least the Steelers won as favorites at home against an inferior team.

Round 2 brings us:

Ravens at Steelers
Eagles at Cardinals

I think the Steelers will win at home. As a bit of Bengal fan ( one of few..come on I have Palmer in a fantasy football keeper league), I'd like to see neither team win but that's not possible. The Ravens gave up 300+ yards on the road last week and got a lucky play clock violation non call and a deep ball TD that was thrown into double coverage. I can't see that happening again.

In the NFC match up I think the Cards can actually pull it off. I'm not fully convinced this team is for real but I just like the fact they lost so badly the last time they played the Eagles. Does that sound strange? I just think the Eagles played a perfect game that Thanksgiving night and the Cards saw everything from the Eagles that night. No way McNabb repeats that against a fairly well coached team on the road. The game sold out in 4 minutes. The fans in the desert will be a factor.

Enjoy the games!

NFL Playoffs - Division Round

2009-01-06T09:57:00.000-08:00

Round 2 of the NFL playoffs are here. I have some thoughts for each game plus some tidbits from the BS Report Playoff Mega Podcast. I figure the best thing to do with that podcast is to filter an hours worth of details, views, hunches, etc. and pick out the ones that make the most sense to me. I'd like to pull off a ProLine victory this week. The ProLine odds aren't out yet but here is what I'm thinking about match-up:

Eagles at Giants

1. The Eagles just barely beat the Vikings and the Giants are a much better team than the Vikes.
2. The Giants are rested. Very rested in some cases - Brandon Jacobs.
3. The Eagles nailed 4 field goals...in the dome. I don't see that happening at Giant Stadium in what could be poor weather conditions.

Final thought - I think Coughlin is the better coach and the Giants will come out rushing the ball and get a lead then pass rush and force McNabb into bad decisions. A formula Brad Childress should have used.

Chargers at Steelers

1. Sproles will face a tougher and faster linebacking core in Pittsburgh this week. 4 linebackers vs 3 too. (hat tip to podcast for that one).
2. Pittsburgh doesn't have a good enough offense to blow the game open so this could be anyone's ball game with 2 minutes to go in the 4th quarter.

Final thought - I'm all for the little man playing a big role. I stand only 5'7 myself and I think if I was to play football I'd like to be the 3rd down back or change of pace back. Mainly because I wouldn't be able to sustain the pounding (or have the speed) of an everyday back. I also don't have the speed or vision for a cornerback so where else does a 5'7 guy play. Don't say kicker! This is silly talk...I wouldn't be able to take a NFL hit...Back to my thought...I just don't see the shifty Sproles running well on the Pittsburgh field in the cold against a top ranked defense and mean linebackers. I see Pittsburgh doing enough on offense to compliment the defense and win the game.

Titans vs Ravens

1. Flacco wasn't great against a Miami rush and what he faces vs the Titans will be much better (hat tip to podcast). Jeff Fisher will prepare his defense to put Flacco in bad spots. I'll take the Veteran Coach/QB vs the Rookie Coach/QB

....that's basically my one and only thought. I think the game will be close on the scoreboard but the Titans will control the game. This is a team that dominated the NFL for pretty much the entire season (forget the Jets loss and some mediocre performances post Conference clinch) and shouldn't be taken lightly. (hat tip - cousin sal).

Panthers vs Cardinals

1. The Cardinals just did not play well enough on the road.
2. Boldin is laboring and that's going to hurt them.
3. I doubt Edge can repeat his performance on the road even if the Panthers are a low ranked run D.
4. The Panthers are a big play offensive team and the Cardinals will put themselves in bad spots to be beat by the big play (round about way of saying "expose themselves" but that just sounds wrong). (hat tip podcast for the "big play" game factor).

Final thought - it scares me that people are talking up the Panthers. They always seem to be a Superbowl favorite at some point in every NFL season for the past few years. Despite that, I just don't think the Cards are a good enough playoff road team.

Summary - Winners will be Giants, Steelers, Titans, Panthers...all home teams and no underdogs so that can't be right.

Now I need the rest of the week to figure out if they will cover the spread.

Maybe it should be McEWIN

2009-01-05T20:19:00.000-08:00

Mike McEwen repeated as the MCT Champ this past week-end in Morris. McEwen went 10-0 and beat veteran Terry McNamee in the final. Watch for McEwen to climb Resby's Rankings at thecurler.com. McEwen was the 4th on Resby's mid December rankings but I figure McEwen has a legit shot at being the top ranked team. Props to Brendan Taylor for another fine performance. It was also nice to see the Bohn team make some nice. What happened to Stoughton?

We Win! We Win! We Win!

2009-01-05T20:13:00.000-08:00

Team Canada wins again! 5 straight Gold medals at the World Junior Championships.

Awesome!

I must say this team was exciting to watch even if they constantly turned the puck over, took way too many chances, and got very lucky a few times.

Congrats to Team Canada. Way to go Keith Aulie! The Brandon Wheat King defenseman played way more than I thought he would and he was an important player for Canada.

Blake Wheeler Update

2008-12-30T17:20:00.000-08:00

“One of the biggest things about the Bruins organization was having someone like Mr. Cam Neely in the front office,” Wheeler explained

Blake Wheeler leads all rookies in goal scoring and plus/minus. The former 1st round, 5th overall pick is just one of many Bruins having a great season and joins Milan Lucic as a rising Bruin star that Cam Neely has impacted.

Team Canada over Borat's Home Country & the Germans

2008-12-30T15:26:00.000-08:00

Okay, so there wasn't much excitement in the Canada win over Kazakhstan. 15-0 was brutal. It sparked the debate over whether or not the tournament should go to 8 teams instead of the traditional 10. The IIHF is leaning to keeping the 10 teams despite the pressure to reduce to 8. They feel the current format allows for developing hockey programs in other countries. I'm in favor of that but would prefer to see the relegation happen every 2 years instead of every year. For example, Switzerland has qualified for next year's WJC. Let them in for 2 years then on the second year if they don't finish 8th or higher than relegate them back to pool B status. This lets pool B teams plan for 2 years in pool A. If a team wins pool B with mainly 19 year olds they don't stand much of a chance the following year in pool A. Give them two cracks at it.

As for the Germany game, nothing new - Germany played with Canada far too long, Canada looked frustrated and took far too many penalties. In the end we got our points and will move on. It's the classic Canada vs Germany game. Oh, right, and most of the German players play for CHL teams or have dual citizenship or something. It's just at game where we are happy to have over and can focus on the Americans and the medal round.

Fantasy Football Review - Part II

2008-12-30T14:55:00.000-08:00

Pretty much every mock draft I did leading up to the FF season of 2008 had a WR taken very high. Randy Moss and Braylon Edwards in particular were WRs that went in 1st rounds on a consistent basis. The expert advice was you had to have a top WR to win and the draft advice of RB-RB no longer applied to FF. I disagreed and boy was I wrong. WRs did put put up big numbers again in and a lot of cases probably won some championships for guys (hello Steve Smith).

WR
Hits
Anquan Boldin - preseason rift with Coach did not impact this guy. Tailed off at the end of the season but still a stud WR.
Wes Welker - despite losing Tom Brady, Welker was a solid play each week.
Calvin Johnson - despite having QBs like Kitna, Culpepper, Hanson, Orlovsky, and being on a 0-16 team this guy put up big numbers.
Santonio Holmes - I made sure to stay clear and I was rewarded. Nothing special here with such a bad O-line. There was just not enough time to work the deep routes.
Tory Holt - Put a fork in him. Avery is the guy you want on the Rams. Holt at WR1 is a thing of the past.
Roddy White - great WR and my bet was he was going to put up numbers with whoever played QB. It was a bonus that Ryan played so well and kept the QB job.
Eddie Royal - I drafted this guy in PBL. Very late in a deep league so I can't brag too much but he was a decent WR.

Misses
Braylon Edwards - he will rebound I'm sure and will become a steal for someone next year.
Larry Fitzgerald - I always convince myself there is no room for two WR1 on one team and I like Boldin better but Fitzgerald keeps on putting up good numbers.
Steve Smith - I was a little shy about Delhomme's arm and really bought into the "power running game with Johnaton Stewart".
TJ Houshmanzadeh - the Palmer injury hurt but he's a good WR and should have did much better.
Ocho Cinco - see TJ Housh. Plus, I really thought 85's off the field antics were playful and kinda fun but now I see it's more than that.
Burress - man, what a huge bust. First, I thought the Giants were going to have to rely on him down the stretch (and in FF playoff time). But the Giants ran the ball so well they didn't need Plax. Then Plax shot himself in the ass!
Jennings - I read an article in the offseason were Jennings basically said he was in the right place at the right time for his yards and TDs last year. That made me avoid him and it solidified my thoughts on the WR position. Damn you Jennings!

TE
My thoughts going into the season on the TE spot was that if you got Gates or Witten you would be happy even if they underperformed. Both guys would either be a solid TE or produce WR1/2 type numbers at TE and you would be really happy. Here's what I thought of the rest...

Hits
Gonzalez - lots of guys were down on him but I thought he would be decent. Thigpen's emergence helped otherwise maybe I would have been wrong.
Clark - you can't go wrong with a TE that runs solid routes for Petyon Manning.
Winslow - a bit crazy but talent is worth it.
Daniels - I love this guy and will target him in 2009. He proved his 2007 numbers were no fluke. His upside is even greater if Schuab can stay healthy.
Olsen - another guy I think will continue to get better.

Misses
Shockey - my man crush on Shockey is over.
Scheffler - there were some nagging injuries but I thought this guy would play through that stuff and grind out way better numbers.
Crumpler - it would have been interesting to see a full season with Vince Young at QB tossing to Crumpler. That never happen and the Titans just ran the ball down everyone's throat.

Kickers - I go into the season every year looking to grab Rob Bironas. 21 points one week. I just love the guy.

Defense - I was mainly dead wrong on defense when drafting and doing the auction. I have to improve on this area.

Hits
Giants - waiver claim...
Jets - not a great defense but good spot defense and I called on the Jets a few times.

Misses
Chargers - what happened?
Colts - too many injuries, offense wasn't as dominate as I thought
Steelers - never gave them a thought...ooops
Ravens - never gave them much of a thought...oops
Bucs - never gave them much of a thought...oops

There you have it. Fantasy Football is over. Hello NFL playoffs.

Fantasy Football Recap - Part I

2008-12-30T12:17:00.000-08:00

I don't think I ever did a Fantasy Football review post. Maybe it was because neither of my FF teams made the money rounds. I'm still searching for the right formula and luck to win a FF title. I did, however, win an Eliminator pool that saw me pocket $265. That's nothing compared to the priceless bragging rights of a FF title.

I'm not going to over analyze where I went wrong. I know the mistakes I made and I won't let it happen again. Instead I want to do a list of hits and misses by position of my pre-season rankings. I have no print of my rankings to prove I was high or low on a guy in pre-season. It's just my word and since I'm the only one reading this I think that's all I need.

QB

Hits
BREES - threw for over 4000 yards...spent too much on AP and couldn't afford DB. Bad choice.
CUTLER - my keeper in PBL and the foundation of my franchise. Pro-Bowl season and numbers will improve next year if Bronco RBs can stay healthy and the D improves.
SCHUAB - I couldn't predict a Houston hurricane and a terrible start or a knee injury but the throws and numbers he put in late season games was what I thought he was going to do.

Misses
FLACCO - rookie RB playing way over his head (and he is 6'7!)
RYAN - Matty Ice they called him..who knew the Falcons would win 11 games.
HILL - shouldn't be on any FF list but in a 2 QB league he is relevant and I dissed him.

** I don't feel bad on missing on 2 QBs and the 3rd stringer of a non playoff team.

RB
Hits
SLATON - missed drafting him in PBL but grabbed him on waivers in TCAF. A gem and a top 10 RB for next season.
FORTE - great all around RB. I had him and traded him for Plax....Whoops!
PETERSON- he didn't have mega numbers but he was the NFL leading rusher and he was healthy.

Misses
WILLIMAS, DEANGELO - I bought the "Carolina is going to go power running with first rounder Johnathon Stewart".
STEWART - read above.
GORE - he was decent but then played poorly at the end and that's when it matters most.
TURNER - "who knew the Falcons would win 11 games".
LYNCH - I had high hopes for my keeper and #1 RB but he didn't hit paydirt enough.
JOHNSON, LARRY - I thought this guy still had potential but I didn't think his off the field stuff would impact him as much. Obviously I was wrong. Suspensions and moody dispositions is not what you want in your RB2.

Since the WR list is really long and my 15 minute coffee break is over I will "to be continued" this post.

....To Be Continued.

Vikings Clinch NFC North

2008-12-28T14:09:00.000-08:00

Critics will peg the Vikings (or maybe the Cardinals) as the worst playoff bound team but I don't care. The Vikings reached the playoffs with a 10-6 record and win over the defending Superbowl Giants (yes, Eli sat the second half but the Giants were still good). Anything can happen in the playoffs....Skol Vikings!

Team Canda opens with Big Win

2008-12-28T13:52:00.000-08:00

Team Canada blasted Team Czech Republic on Boxing Day to the tune of 8-1. It was my first experience watching a game on PVR. I was at my in-laws for Christmas and with Turkey dinner scheduled for about the time of puck drop I PVR'd the game and we watched later that night while playing a rousing game of Taboo. The play/pause/fast forward/rewind features were great and made it possible to juggle family time with WJC time. I'm totally in love with PVR now.

Back to the game. TSN did a great job as usual in covering the game and summarizing it. I couldn't agree more with the three outcomes that came out of the first round game:

1. Veteran players stepped up and lead the way. ANY junior hockey team is only as good as their veteran players.

2. Big guns were firing. John Taveres was simply awesome and that's good to see. So many times a highly touted player starts out in a slump and with the tournament of this magnitude it's difficult to break a slump (remember Rico Fata in Brandon/Wpg). Taveres will be the tournament MVP and Top Forward.

3. Balanced scoring. Another flaw in some teams has been the reliance of 1 scoring line. I prefer to see a balanced approach and it looks like Pat Quinn has that going for this team.

So 1-0 as anticipated. Next up - Team Kazak. This is a game to work on the PP and just hope you get over without any injuries.

Another Moose Game

2008-12-23T17:42:00.000-08:00

Another trip to the MTS Centre to watch the Moose vs Quad City. I have no idea where the Quad Cities are but it doesn't matter. The tickets were courtesy of Maple Leaf Consumer Foods and they were a set of primo seats in the John Labatt Lounge section. Row 4! I went with my 2 year old boy on the eve of his 3rd birthday.

My son had an excellent time. The first play of the game was a dump-in just in front of our seats and the Moose defenseman was wallpapered into the glass. Awesome! A sweet goal and a fight just in front of us too. Again, awesome!

As for the game itself, there's no mistaking the Quad Cities team as the AHL affiliate of the Calgary Flames. They were all grit with one dude that was slick and could find the back of the net. The team even had a Sutter on it. The more veteran Moose team had more skill but after winning the first game of a two game week-end series the night before, I think the Moose were already on Xmas break. Final score - 2 to 1 for the QC Flames.

I'll be back for another Moose game for sure. A great pre-game show, good hockey, and a great venue. It's no Brandon Wheat King game but I'll take it...especially comp. tickets.

Quick Hits form the Sack

2008-11-20T13:43:00.000-08:00

I'm in a win and your in match this week (starting tonight with the Steelers and Bengals). After contemplating starting Kyle Orton I have decided to go with Big Ben. Seriously, could I really put my Fantasy Football destiny in the hands of Kyle Freakin' Orton?

CBC had Masters of Curling on last week-end. I gotta say, watching curling is so relaxing but I just can't watch Glen Howard anymore. Same goes for Gushue, and Kevin Koe. I find myself thinking, "bring back Ferby"! I thought it would never come to that.

Does Kevin Lowe have the last laugh? Burke ditches the Ducks and leaves them in a mess. Vancouver is still a mess with the Sedins at the helm. How good really is Burke? I guess the Maple Leafs will find out soon.

I'm lazy with no links and I will continue to be here but go to you tube and check out Milan Lucic destroy Mike Komisarek. For fun after that, punch in college football referee. There are lots of funny sports bloopers involving college football refs.

Finally, I'm pretty sure Adrian Peterson will run for 200 yards this week-end. The Jags are prime for it. Basically out of the playoff picture. The big guys will find it tough to tackle a mean AP.

Moose Hockey...I just might go back!

2008-11-06T13:32:00.000-08:00

My parents treated my family and I to a Moose game a few weeks back. It was a great time. I have always been skeptical of AHL hockey. I truly believe that Winnipeg should have a WHL team and that following junior hockey players is more interesting than most of the talent in the AHL. In fact, I have only walked out of one hockey game (at any level) and it was a Moose game about 8 years ago at the Winnipeg Arena. This time around the game was very good. Fast, hard hitting, good plays, etc. I knew I would have a good time with my family regardless of the product on the ice but in the end it was win win. Good time in the seats and great hockey to watch.