1. NHL Realignment. The NHLPA did not give their blessing to realignment, so the proposed 4 conferences and playoffs within each conference is now put on hold. Watch for this "issue" which the CBA says that the NHLPA has no imput on to become a bargaining chip in the upcoming CBA negotiations. Donald Fehr caused problems with MLB, I fear that he is starting with the NHL.
2. The Division I-AA Championship Game between Sam Houston State and North Dakota State in Frisco, TX. The stadium holds 20,500 people. Both schools were asking for thousands of more tickets. The #1 and #2 seeds in the playoffs made it to the championship. It should be good.
3. The NFL Playoffs. The game that I want to see is Detroit-New Orleans. I have picked the Saints to win, but the more I look at the game, the more I am thinking that the Lions could pull off the upset. Also, I want to see the Steelers and all of their injuries go play the Broncos who are physical and just might be able to out muscle the walking injured.
4. The Canucks-Bruins hockey game Saturday. I am real interested in how the game is called more than anything. You know that there is still real bad blood there, mostly from the Canucks side about the perceived lack of calls on Boston during the finals. It will also be interesting to see how far the Bruins try to get under the Canuck's skin.
5. The Penn State reported hiring of Bill O'Brien. According to sources, he will be formally introduced on Saturday. I want to see if there are more former players that go off the reservation like Lavar Arrington and others. The administration is correct in what they are doing by hiring a head coach that has no ties what so ever to Penn State. That way, the clouds over the university, while not gone, do become less because there is no hint of having somebody that might have known the dark secrets that have come out lately being the head coach and keeping any of the other deep dark secrets out of the spotlight.
7 comments:
I would love more than anything to watch Lucic or Thornton pound on Alex Burrows. I can't stand him or his antics.
Go NDSU!
I'm expecting the Bruins to play their usual physical game but to not be the instigators initially of any rough stuff (unless they get way behind). The Canucks should know that they shouldn't start it because it's not their game and the Bruins will bury them if they do. I will not be surprised, despite how great the Bs are playing, to see the Canucks come out and win with a pure offensive style.
I think the PSU alumni would've been less hostile if the outsider being hired had much more gravitas than O'Brien, who has no head coaching experience at all.
I'm looking forward to the Houston/Cincy game because it has the most bearing on the Pats and also is likely the best matchup. ATL/NYG should be good as well.
The NHL is starting to thrive again and so I hope nothing creates a problem with a new CBA.
The Bruins came out and decided that they would be the instigators of rough stuff. Shawn Thornton started the brawl where Lucic came off the bench. I think I might be seeing a 10-game suspension for that one. And the body check that Marchand threw at the knees of the Canuck was priceless. I can see a multiple game suspension for that one and more and more you can't distinguish Marchand and Torres. They both play dirty.
As for NDSU, we are partying like it's 1999.
Congrats NDSU!
Marchand's play was stupid and wrong. Hopefully he'll learn from the punishment. He hurt his team today with that stunt.
There'll be no penalty for Lucic. He was the 6th man in for Boston for a fight that was at a minimum 6 on 1. But apparently there's no game misconducts for cross checking a goalie in the chin.
The NHL has rescinded the match penalty to Lucic, saying that he was on the ice before the melee. No 10-game suspension.
But if you expect me to feel sorry for the Bruins being ganged up on, there will be a long wait. There isn't any problem on my part for Vancouver players on the ice sticking up for one of their own when a Bruins player leaps for him and wants to party. After all, the Bruins being a close knit team have done the outmanning an opponent thing more than once this year.
No one's asking you to feel sorry for the Bruins. I have absolutely no problem with the Nucks ganging up on Thornton, nor does he, nor do the Bruins. But apparently everybody has a problem with the fact that there's a price to pay for doing it or ignoring the fact that it's Burrows who starts that melee by attempting to spear Thornton. Despite all that, the Bruins still damn near won that game today because they were clearly the better team.
I happen to disagree on the start of the melee. Thornton slashed Burrows before the spearing attempt.
Even handed, yes the Bruins were the better team today. But on special teams the Canucks proved that they can offset anybody's even strength play.
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