Calgary Flames red hot

Nice to see my Calgary Flames are on a tear with their sixth straight win. They started the season slow, but seem to be picking it up now. Here's hoping it doesn't slow anytime soon!

Kiprusoff locked up with Flames

Great news for all Flames fans out there! - CP

FLAMES SIGN KIPRUSOFF TO A MULTI-YEAR CONTRACT EXTENSION

Calgary, AB - Calgary Flames General Manager Darryl Sutter announced today the signing of Miikka Kiprusoff to a multi-year contract extension. As per club policy, financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

"The Calgary Flames ownership group has made a huge commitment to Miikka and we expect him to be a major contributor to the success of our organization for years to come," said Flames General Manager Darryl Sutter. "With today's announcement, we have some key players under long term contracts and we look forward to that group leading us to the next level."

Playing in his 4th season with Calgary, Miikka is the franchise leader in shutouts (21) and is approaching his 200th regular season game which ranks him 5th highest in franchise history.

"I would like to thank the Calgary Flames owners for making this long term commitment to me and my family so we can remain in this city and be part of this organization," said Kiprusoff. "I look forward to the responsibility and challenge that comes with this contract. Calgary is a loyal hockey community that expects and deserves the very best from its home team."

If they're all like this...

What a great start to the NHL season. While my Calgary Flames went down to defeat in overtime tonight, it sure was a heck of a game against the Vancouver Canucks. If the season is all like this, it should be fun to watch!

Here's hoping the odds even out and they win the next one!

Bonds does it, hopefully not for long

The moment almost every baseball fan has dreaded for the past few seasons has come to pass. Barry Bonds has tied the illustrious all-time homerun record held by Hammering Hank Arron.

For those of you who have followed my blog for a while, you will know I am by no means a fan of Barry Bonds. I said it when he hit his 715th homerun to pass Babe Ruth, and now I am going to say it again. The man is more than likely a cheater who will always have a dark cloud over his record and his career.

Bonds has been accused of having an attitude problem, and rightfully so given some of the comments he's made over the years. The media loathe him, and with good reason, he does in kind as well.

I can live with that - it doesn't effect the way he swings a bat or the records he sets.

What I can't accept are his blatant attempts to get around the rules. Although Bonds has been widely accused of taking steroids, he refuses to talk about it. His long-time trainer won't talk about it either.

Talk or not, the change is pretty stark. Look at the picture accompanying this post showing Barry Bonds when he broke in to the league, and Bonds today. It speaks for itself.

Bonds is not the only one who has been accused of taking steroids, but he is currently the most visible in that role. He's the poster boy for steroid use, the same way Hank Aaron was for hard work, dedication and sportsmanship.

In my books, and in the books of many other baseball fans, his record won't be worth the paper it's printed on. But it will stand nonetheless.

I can only hope one of the homerun machines like Ken Griffey Jr or Alex Rodriguez catches Bonds one day.

Someone with a little bit of integrity deserves to have that record, and Bonds isn't that player by a long shot.

So close for Sergio, but he'll get his one day

He's got it in the bag. That's was my feeling for Sergio Garcia going in to the final round of the British Open Championship. He had a three shot lead, his putting woes had not surfaced, but most of all, I felt his time had come.

I was wrong.

I didn't take in to account the phenomenal final round performance by Open winner Padraig Harrington. Harrington went in to the day six shots off the lead, with nobody giving him a chance to be the eventual winner. What a difference a 5-under par 67 can make.

Harrington actually went on to the 18th hole at Carnoustie with a one stroke lead, only to hit two balls in to the infamous Barry Burn. That left Sergio back in the driver's seat.

Garcia, who led for almost the entire week, needed a par on the finishing hole to win his first major championship. After a few tricky shots, Garcia had a ten foot putt to win it all. As has been the pattern in his young career, his putter let him down.

In the playoff Harrington made amends for his double-bogey on the 72-hole, erasing any mention of his name with Jean Van de Velde who could not recover from his disaster eight years earlier.

Golf rarely gives anyone second chances. As a golfer myself, I can certainly attest to that fact. Harrington got his, and he made good on it. As much as my heart was cheering for Sergio, I still felt pride for Harrington's feat.

Sergio will learn from this experience. I feel he's the kind of player who will win a major tournament one day, and then he won't stop there. I figure once he gets the first win under his belt, he'll get a few more. It's just a matter of getting that first one out of the way. At 27-years of age, he's got a lot more chances ahead to do it.

The British Open - Back at Carnoustie

Sergio Garcia leads the British Open after the first round at Carnoustie in Scotland.

The old course houses a lot of memories, none less memorable than the complete and utter collapse of French golfer Jean Van de Velde eight years ago (wow - has it really been that long!?). If you're unfamiliar with Van de Velde's story, check out my previous posting.

While the course is still playing difficult, it's not what it was during the 1999 tournament. That's good news for the world's best players.

Who will rise to, and remain on top, come Sunday? I would love to see Garcia do it, he's certainly paid his dues, but I have a feeling, and I'm going out on a limb here, that Retief Goosen will capture the historic Claret Jug. He can keep the ball in the fairway and he has the consistency to make it happen.

In any case, it will be fun to watch.

Big shake up in Flames town

Wow, you take a few weeks out of the blogosphere and your favorite hockey team completely shakes things up. And I mean COMPLETELY.

Here's my take on the recent deals of my Calgary Flames.

MIKE KEENAN

I will be the first to admit, I was not a big fan of former coach Jim Playfair behind the Flames bench. When the team was near the top of the league on home ice, and then near the bottom on the road, it's not hard to see that the coaching was not what it needed to be. In saying that, I had no idea that the man replacing Playfair would be none other than Iron Mike Keenan.

Years ago, I was a backer of Mike Keenan. I thought he did a phenomenal job in Philadelphia, Chicago, and New York. As time went by, he seemed to lose a bit of his balance for toughness and touch. His time in St. Louis, Boston, Vancouver and Florida were not anything to write home about, and were in fact, down right awful.

Which Mike Keenan we'll see in Calgary is unknown. I will not judge him just yet, I'll wait to see results. In saying that, the Flames lacked discipline last year and Keenan will bring that in spades. I only hope that's enough to make this a smooth transition.
I'm just glad Keenan's only the coach and not the General Manager. His strength has always been coaching, that's where he should be.

NEW SIGNINGS, ACQUISITIONS

I've been very impressed at how active Calgary's been in the free agent market. While some teams, like my home town Canucks, have been sitting on the sidelines, the Flames have stepped up with big commitments and big dollars. Here's my take on the major names.

• D Cory Sarich (5-year, $18 million) - This is a great pick-up from Tampa Bay. Sarich has been a solid all around player, exactly what the Flames need on the blue line. He has lots of playoff experience and is set to make an immediate difference.


• LW Owen Nolan (Coyotes, 1-year) - I've always been a big fan of Owen Nolan, ever since he was selected first overall by the Quebec Nordiques in the 1990 Entry Draft. Although he's aged over the years, he's still a goal scorer who can hold his own on the ice. Great pick-up.


• D Adrian Aucoin (Via trade from Blackhawks) - This is the one deal I'm a little unsure about. There is no doubt about Aucoin's talent, it's his health that's the question mark. Aucoin has had a string of injuries the past couple years and that certainly hurts, especially given his big salary. If he ends up playing 70+ games, great pick-up. If he's injured early, it could be tough slugging.
  

SIGNIFICANT RE SIGNINGS

It looks like both Jerome Iginla and Robyn Regehr will be locked up, and for long term. These are perhaps the biggest deals of them all. Iginla and Regehr are the backbones of this team and I'm ecstatic the Flames have stepped up to keep them.

OVERALL OUTLOOK

In the end, I'm excited about what this new Flames team has to offer. If anything, it's nice to see them step up to try and get back to the next level. Status-quo was not an option.

Who would have thought - Ducks rock

As much as people have liked to make fun of their name over the years, you can laugh no more because the Anaheim Ducks are Stanley Cup Champions.

NHL Playoffs - The Stanley Cup

After going 10 for 12 in Round 1 and 2, I missed the mark in the Conference Finals going 0 for 2. Here's my chance for redemption, the Stanley Cup.

Anaheim Ducks vs. Ottawa Senators

Thoughts: The Ducks and the Senators have rolled all the way through the playoffs. This pick is going to be more of a gut feeling than of statistical breakdowns. The Cup's coming back to Canada.
Pick: Senators in 6-games.

NHL Playoffs - Conference Finals

I went 3 for 4 with my Round 2 predictions for the NHL Playoffs. After going 7 for 8 in Round 1, my overall record has risen to 10 for 12. Not too bad at all.

Here are my predictions for the Conference Finals...

The Western Conference:

(1) Detroit Red Wings vs (2) Anaheim Ducks
Thoughts: Some people wonder if age will be an issue in this epic battle. After all, the Red Wings roster has the oldest average age in the NHL. Yes, age will be an issue - but not in the way that you think. The Red Wings to take advantage of the Duck's youth and inexperience.
Pick: Red Wings in 6-games.

The Eastern Conference:

(1) Buffalo Sabres vs (4) Ottawa Senators
Thoughts: The Sabres have had the most wins in the NHL the last two years. That has to count for something.
Pick: Sabres in 7-games.

Killer squirrel?

I played my first round of the golf season this weekend at Vancouver's Fraserview Golf Club. It was an up and down day, but I was fairly pleased with my play.

I recently purchased a new R5 Taylor Made driver and it really agreed with my swing. There's a little rust still to wipe off in my game, but it was a great start to the year.

As for the killer squirrel...

As I prepared to tee off on the 8th hole a squirrel came down from a tree and ran towards me. Within moments, it was only a few feet away from me on the other side of my golf bag. I looked at him, he looked at me. After a few seconds had passed I jokingly asked him "what's up?". At that moment he went up on his hind legs and gave me the look you see in this posting. He even held it long enough for me to grab my camera and take this shot. Either he was challenging me to a fight or he was trying to intimidate me. Either way, it makes for a good photo.

Thanks to my friend Woosang for joining me on the course. Lots of fun, we'll do it again.

NHL Playoffs - Round Two Predictions

I went 7 for 8 with my Round 1 predictions in the NHL playoffs. So, let's see if my luck will continue in Round 2.

The Western Conference:

(1) Detroit Red Wings vs (5) San Jose Sharks
Thoughts: Year after year people pick the Sharks to go to the Cup and they disappoint. This will be no exception.
Pick: Red Wings in 6-games.

(2) Anaheim Ducks vs (3) Vancouver Canucks
Thoughts: The Ducks looked very good against the Wild. They are fast, strong, and have some scoring punch. The Canucks have Luongo - that will only go so far without some goals to accompany his play.
Pick: Ducks in 6-games.

The Eastern Conference:

(1) Buffalo Sabres vs (6) NY Rangers
Thoughts: The Rangers looked good against the Thrashers. The Sabres are no Thrashers.
Pick: Sabres in 5-games.

(2) New Jersey Devils vs (4) Ottawa Senators
Thoughts: This is the series to watch. Both teams are going strong, but the Devils usually find a way to come out on top and the Senators always find a way to fall short. It will be close...
Pick: Devils in 7-games.

Linden is money

Congratulations to the Vancouver Canucks on their hard fought 4-1 win in Game 7 tonight against the Dallas Stars. The Canucks were full value for their win, and Trevor Linden, Mr. Clutch himself, stepped up with the game winner.

On to round 2 - my picks will follow soon. Go Canucks Go!

It's over - "there's always next year"

My Calgary Flames went down in defeat tonight in double overtime to the Detroit Red Wings. It was an up and down year and to exit this early in the playoffs, with so much potential, is sad to say the least. I guess we're down to that old saying, "there's always next year".

Now it's "Go Canucks Go". As part of my bet with Proud BCer, here's my tribute to the Canucks. Let's hope they take it to the Stars tomorrow night!

Jekyll and Hyde

My Calgary Flames continued their Jekyll and Hyde routine today by losing 5-1 to the Detroit Red Wings.

The Flames, who looked so good on home ice the last two games, looked awful on the road today. They started off the first period well, but it was all down hill from there. The only good news, the game tomorrow is at home.

It's a new series!

My Calgary Flames made their playoff series a best of 3 tonight with a 3-2 win over the Detriot Red Wings. I only hope the Flames team that appeared at home these last two games can actually reappear on the road the same way in Motown...

That's more like it!

After two lackluster performances by my Calgary Flames in Game 1 and 2 of their series with the Detroit Red Wings, they finally looked like they should tonight winning 3-2 at home. Let's hope this is a sign of things to come...fingers crossed!

As for you Canucks fans out there, nice win against Dallas tonight. Looks like you're in good shape to take that series in five or six games.

NHL Playoffs - Round One Predictions

We've entered that exciting annual time in every Canadian's life, playoff hockey! Here are my predictions for the first round...

The Western Conference:

(1) Detroit Red Wings vs (8) Calgary Flames
Thoughts: The Flames always play well against the Wings and should prove more than a match for the Western Conference #1. My Flames will grind those Wings down in a hard fought series.
Pick: Flames in 6-games.

(2) Anaheim Ducks vs (7) Minnesota Wild
Thoughts: Minnesota does well in 4-on-4 overtime and in shootouts. Neither apply in the playoffs.
Pick: Ducks in 5-games.

(3) Vancouver Canucks vs (6) Dallas Stars
Thoughts: Marty Turco's playoff ghosts come back, Luongo is up to the challenge.
Pick: Canucks in 6-games.

(4) Nashville Predators vs (5) San Jose Sharks
Thoughts: Evenly matched teams, but Nashville might have peaked too early.
Pick: Sharks in 7-games.

The Eastern Conference:

(1) Buffalo Sabres vs (8) NY Islanders
Thoughts: The Islanders have been up and down all year. This series will be more down than up.
Pick: Sabres in 5-games.

(2) New Jersey Devils vs (7)Tampa Bay Lightning
Thoughts: Brodeur has another good run in him, Tampa can't keep the puck out of their own net. Bad combination.
Pick: Devils in 5-games.

(3) Atlanta Thrashers vs (6) NY Rangers
Thoughts: Two teams that would probably not be in the playoffs had they been in the Western Conference. The Rangers might just win a playoff series.
Pick: Rangers in 6-games.

(4) Ottawa Senators vs (5) Pittsburgh Penguins
Thoughts: After a long playoff absence, Pittsburgh and Crosby are "just happy to be here".
Pick: Senators in 5-games.

On to the playoffs!

With a loss by the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday night, my Calgary Flames clinched the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. (Although they didn't fair too well against the Avalanche in their game Sunday night, many of Calgary's stars were resting up for the Stanley Cup run.)

I had the luxury of watching my Calgary Flames down the Vancouver Canucks 3-2 last weekend at GM Place. Taking in the game with a number of friends was certainly a treat, and it was made all the more so by the Flames win. Had they lost I'm sure the razzing I would have received would have been horrible!

I'll have more to say on the playoffs soon, so stay tuned!

Is it golf season yet?

All of this wet weather in Vancouver is getting more than a little depressing. My golf clubs are shiny, not used since last year, just waiting for a sunny day. Here's our upcoming forecast...

Perhaps I should just take up swimming.

Flames need to pick up their socks

Okay, before you other NHL fans jump all over the title of this email, let me first get a few things out in the open.

I have never been what would constitute a "fair weather fan". I have stuck with my Calgary Flames through out the glory days of the 1980s, the inability to get out of the first round of the playoffs in the 1990s, and then a decade with out making the playoffs. I was rewarded in 2004 with the Flames miracle playoff run that fell one game short of the Stanley Cup. Still, it has not been an easy haul.

Last season people kept asking me if I thought the Flames were a Cup contender, to which my reply was "I just want them to make the playoffs". Given the decade of no playoff appearances, that was still the goal. If they went further, that was the icing on the cake.

This year, I saw the improvements the team had made and thought there was going to be something more. At this point though, given their recent slide in the standings, I'm back to "hoping for that playoff spot".

I have made reference to it before, but I am still at a loss as to why Calgary can't win on the road. It certainly reflects poorly on the leadership in the organization.

In saying all of that, the big achilles heal for this team has been overtime and shootouts. Calgary has just 3 wins and 10 losses in OT, including a dismal 0-8 record on the road. The Vancouver Canucks by comparison have 16 wins and 6 loses over the same stretch. If both teams were .500 in OT, Calgary would actually be ahead of the Canucks.

The only thing I can hope for at this point is that the playoffs, should we make it, will be a different tale. There is no 4-on-4 and no shootout. It's hard nosed 5-on-5 hockey - just the way it was meant to be.

Down to the wire!

The NHL's Northwest Division looks like it will come down to the wire with a little over a month left in the season.

Vancouver, Calgary and Minnesota all have a crack at winning the division, but who will prevail? The Calgary Flames of course.

Okay, granted I'm biased being a Flames fan, but here's my logic, as flawed as it might be.

Calgary has the worst road record in the Western Conference, even lower than the last place Los Angeles Kings. With a home record of 27-6-1, Calgary is just "too good" not to do better on the road. I mean, it doesn't really make any sense!

There are the same number of players on the ice, the nets are identical, the puck is no different, and the rinks are all virtually the same size. What would account for the Flames having a dismal 8-15-8 road record? Having eight shootout loses on the road doesn't help much, but seriously, how can the difference be so stark?

So, there in lies my flawed logic. They're too good not to win on the road. I'm a Flames fan, I have to believe it.

Either way, it's going to be a heck of a ride to the end of the year!

Trade deadline maddness!

Today was the NHL trade deadline, and as usual, there was drama that gives sports watchers some great water cooler fodder. Here's my take on some of today's big deals...

Todd Bertuzzi: (FLA to DET): This one was a bit of a shocker to me today. While I didn't find it surprising that Bertuzzi was on the move, I was floored to see him end up in Detroit. Bertuzzi is a cancer in the dressing room, so while he would have fit in well with the NY Rangers, I have to question if the same holds true for Detroit. I just don't see it. Good luck to the Wings. You're going to need it with this head case on your hands.

Ryan Smyth (EDM to NYI): Even though I'm a Calgary Flames fan, it's still sad to see Smyth headed out of Oil town. The Oilers have lost Pronger, Peca and Smyth over the last year, a great core for any team in the NHL. It just goes to show how quickly you can go from on top of the world to the bottom of the barrel.

Bill Guerin (STL to SJ): Bill Guerin is a big-time clutch player that will only make the San Jose Sharks that much stronger. He adds grit, playoff experience and even more scoring touch. An asset to be coveted this time of year to be sure, and perhaps the best pick-up of all at the deadline.

And lastly, for Canucks fans, here are my comments on their recent acquisitions.

Bryan Smolinski (CHI to VAN): A proven veteran that's a solid pick-up. He should certainly be of help at both ends of the rink.

Brent Sopel (LA to VAN): Is this the same Brent Sopel that fans would boo when he got the puck during his last stint in Vancouver? Enough said.

And just to comment on the Canucks strong play of late, yes, they have looked good. There is no doubt there. In saying that, they lost their second in a row tonight which at least makes me feel a bit better.

My Calgary Flames are only two points back so I could see this being a real fight down to the wire. If only the Flames could win on the road. Heck, I'd take 500. While they are 26-6-1 at home, the Flames are 7-15-8 on the road. Among the worst road records in the NHL. Sigh.

Making a strong team stronger

The Calgary Flames recent trade to pick up defenceman Brad Stuart, and power forward Wayne Primeau improves an already strong team. These Flames are going to be hard to beat!

Congratulations to the Indianapolis Colts!

Congratulations to the Indianapolis Colts on their Super Bowl XLI win over the Chicago Bears!

The result:
Colts 29-17

My prediction:

Colts 30-21

Pretty close, and I picked the right end of the seven point spread!

Looking back over the playoffs, I got a total of six out of seven correct. Not to shabby!

Rebuttal for my Calgary Flames

To those Vancouver Canucks fans who like to poke fun at my Calgary Flames, here's a picture you might never have seen...





Calgary Flames Stanley Cups won - 1
Vancouver Canucks Stanley Cups won - 0

Go Flames Go!

My Flames knocked off the Canucks tonight 4-3. Feels good!

The Super Bowl

It all comes down to this - the Super Bowl. The culmination of the NFL season in a historic game of sporting excellence. Well, it's usually interesting for at least a quarter or two.

Memorable Super Bowls have an odd way of either being close or blowouts.

On the blowout side, I remember watching the San Francisco 49ers beating the Denver Broncos 55-10 in Super Bowl XXIV. I remember the Cowboys beating the Buffalo Bills 52-17 in Super Bowl XXXVII.

Then there were the good games. The NY Giants winning thanks to a last second field goal miss by Buffalo in XXV. St. Louis beating Tennessee by stopping a touchdown on the one yard line with no time left on the clock. The great Joe Montana driving down the field at the end of the fourth quarter to beat the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl XXIII.

This year it's the Chicago Bears and the Indianapolis Colts. That pits the Bears vaunted defence against the Colts high powered offense.

Who comes out on top? Payton Manning is just too good not to step up to the plate to win his first Super Bowl. That said, Rex Grossman is just too bad not to blow it. Both indicators point Colts.

My Prediction: Indianapolis (Score: Colts 30 - Bears 21)

My Heart Wants: Indianapolis Colts

Two for two!

I was two for two in my picks for today's NFL Conference Championship games. I have to believe even my scenarios worked out.


New Orleans at Chicago
My Pick: Chicago
Winner: Chicago

My earlier comments: "I think the battle ground of Soldier Field will be too much for the Saints - despite Bears QB Rex Grossman's likely attempts to throw the game away."

The game: The cold and snow at Soldier Field threw off the Saints much vaunted offense. They committed three fumbles and never looked comfortable. As for Rex Grossman, he went an anemic 11 for 26 for only 144 yards in the game. He missed a lot of opportunities, including three deep drives that resulted in only field goals in the first half. The defense won this game for them, not Grossman!

New England at Indianapolis

My Pick: Indianapolis

Winner: Indianapolis

My earlier comments: "Colts QB Payton Manning is too good not to finally step up to the plate in a playoff game."

The game: After a slow start Payton Manning caught fire in the second half throwing for a total of 349 yards and a touchdown.

In saying all of this, my preseason pick to win the Super Bowl, the New England Patriots, bowed out on Sunday with their loss to the Colts. They gave it a good run. I tip my cap to them. Not too many people thought they'd even make it this far!

Stay tuned for my Super Bowl pick!

Top of the standings at the All-Star Break

With their 4-0 win in the battle of Alberta last night, my Calgary Flames are tied for the top of the NHL's Northwest Division heading in to the All-Star Break.



They're 7-3-o in their last ten games, and keep in mind, they've been without superstar forward Jerome Iginla for most of January.

Go Flames Go!

The Conference Championships

After a fairly successful predictive week in last week's NFL Playoffs, I'm going to try again this week. The same as last week, I'm making both my pick and stating who my heart wants to win.

New Orleans at Chicago
My Pick: Chicago (24-20)
My Heart Wants: New Orleans

I've always had a soft spot for the New Orleans Saints. Given that, and all that city has gone through over the past few years, it would be great to see them pull it off. Unfortunately, I think the battle ground of Soldier Field will be too much for the Saints - despite Bears QB Rex Grossman's likely attempts to throw the game away.

New England at Indianapolis
My Pick: Indianapolis
My Heart Wants: Indianapolis

Colts QB Payton Manning is too good not to finally step up to the plate in a playoff game. He'll win this one for them, along with a continued solid performance from the Colts defense. I like Tom Brady, I like the Patriots, but I hope for Manning that he can finally live up to his promise and take the Colts all the way.

3.5 out of 4 in this week's NFL playoffs (well 3 for sure!)

I was 3.5 out of 4 with my picks in this weekend's NFL playoffs. Lets look at the rundown.

Indianapolis at Baltimore
My Pick: Indianapolis
Winner: Indianapolis

Philadelphia at New Orleans
My Pick: New Orleans
Winner: New Orleans

Seattle at Chicago
My Pick: Chicago
Winner: Chicago

New England at San Diego
My Pick: San Diego
Winner: New England

So that would make it seem I'm only 3 out of 4. Where does 3.5 come from you might ask?

At the start of the year, I picked the New England Patriots to win the Super Bowl. Although I didn't pick them to win this week, they're still in the running to win it all. That's got to be worth 0.5, right? Maybe I'm giving myself too much credit here, but it's my blog so I'll take that extra 0.5!

As a side note, I wanted to commend the work done this year by my Seattle Seahawks. It's been a tough season, riddled with injuries, but they fought all the way. They could have, and some will argue should have, won the game today in Chicago. It's impressive enough they were able to compete given all they've been through. They'll be back next year, and they'll be healthy. Watch out!

My weekend NFL Playoff predictions

Four games going this weekend in the NFL Playoffs, here are my predictions (and who my heart wants to win!)

Indianapolis at Baltimore

My Pick: Indianapolis (Score: 24-13)
My Heart Wants: Indianapolis

Philadelphia at New Orleans

My Pick: New Orleans (Score: 33-24)
My Heart Wants: New Orleans

Seattle at Chicago

My Pick: Chicago (Score: 17-6)
My Heart Wants: Seattle

New England at San Diego

My Pick: San Diego (Score: 27-17)
My Heart Wants: New England

The season is half over - let's talk hockey...

As many readers of my blog know, I have been fairly focused on the NFL as playoff scenarios come in to place and the lead up to the Super Bowl begins. But I know many of you, like me, also have a passion for hockey, so here's my musing on the two teams you're thinking most about right now...the Vancouver Canucks and my Calgary Flames.

The Vancouver Canucks are playing well right now, there's certainly no doubt about that. Heck, they've won six-straight games. They've beaten my beloved Calgary Flames three times in the last month and have pulled in to a one point lead in the division.

Will it hold? Only as long as superstar goalie Roberto Luongo keeps on rolling. In their six game winning streak, he's only given up more than two goals on one occasion. To show you Luongo's importance to his team, the Canucks have failed to win a game so far this season without Luongo between the pipes.

As for my Calgary Flames, they are only one point behind the 1st place Canucks and have two games in hand. Add that to the horrible start the Flames had where they lost 9 of their first 12, and it shows that they've really come a long way in the last 30-games.

Where will we end up at season end? My Flames will be challenging for 1st place in the tight Northwest Division where all five teams are currently within five points of each other. Will the Canucks be there too? I have to think they're going to start falling off once Luongo cools off. The lack of depth on their blue line and their lack of skilled scorers will show through.

I look forward to the upcoming onslaught of comments from Canucks fans...

How 'bout them Cowboys?

Seattle Seahawks 21 - Dallas Cowboys 20

A 19-yard field goal was all that stood in the way of the Dallas Cowboys taking a 2-point lead with only 1:19 left in Saturday's Wild Card playoff game against my Seattle Seahawks. After the automatic chipshot, the Seahawks would get the ball back needing to drive for a game winning field goal with no timeouts left to stop the clock. Unfortunately for Cowboys fans, overrated quarterback Tony Romo couldn't hold on to the ball off the snap and kicker Martin Gramatica never even made an attempt. The Seahawks took over on downs and ran out the clock to win the game.

It was a fast paced back and forth contest with action at both ends that included four-lead changes from start to finish. Most of the action took place on 4th-down, with both teams making gutsy calls to try and get some extra points on the board. But Tony, all you needed to do was hold on to the ball. That's the kind of play that will haunt a man.

Romo stated off the year as the back-up to veteren quarterback Drew Bledsoe. After Bledsoe was used as a scapegoat by fans in Dallas for a disappointing start to the season, Romo got the starters job. Although he played well early, he's struggled in later games. And tonight...well...the image speaks for itself.

As you can probably tell, I'm not a Cowboys fan, never have been. In fact, I'd rather see almost any other team win but the boys in blue. But to have my Seattle Seahawks as being the ones to knock them off makes it all the sweeter.

Go Hawks!

I was right - the Jets "massively improved"

Far be it from me to pat myself on the back...but I'm actually about to do so.

At the start of the NFL year, I made the following prediction about the NY Jets.

I like the look of the NY Jets this year - at least to massively improve on their 4-12 season in 2005. I strongly feel the key for the Jets is the health of their Quarterback Chad Pennington. Pennington has been much maligned by fans in recent years given his injury troubles and his apparent "lack of arm strength". I look at him another way. He's a proven winner that rarely makes mistakes. If she stays healthy, we're looking at an 8-8 Jets team, maybe even better.

The Jets finished the year at 10-6, capturing a post-season berth. Reading all the articles about the "surprise Jets" made me feel like all the experts missed something all year.

My key to the Jets season was the health of QB Chad Pennington. Today, he was named the NFL's Comeback Player of the Year.

As for the remainder of my predictions, I haven't been too far off.

I predicted the Kansas City Chiefs would suffer from injuries, and the Dallas Cowboys were not as good as many predicted. With records of 8-8 and 9-7 respectively, I have to say I think I wasn't far off the mark - despite both teams limping in to the playoffs.

I liked the Jacksonville Jaguars and predicted them to be a team on the rise. I think they showed strong signs, but injuries held them back from their full potential.

I predicted the Washington Redskins would have quarterback problems and suffer, and they did. Neither Mark Brunell nor Jason Campbell looked good this year.

I predicted the Seattle Seahawks would have a solid year, and despite injuries, they won their division.

We'll see if my early season Super Bowl winner prediction of the New England Patriots comes to pass. They look good, I just don't know if they can beat some of the other top teams at this point.

Thanks for putting up with my gloating.

P.S. - I also won my football pool this year.