Deflategate Pnuishments For Patriots

We all knew this was going to be coming, just didn't expect it to be this large. After the Patriots were accused of Deflating footballs in their 45-7 blowout victory over the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC Championship Game. The official rules of the National Football League require footballs to be inflated to a gauge pressure between 12.5 and 13.5 pounds, but upon further testing, some footballs used in the game were found to be under inflated. This lead to an investigation by the NFL. When all was said and done, the punishment handed down to New England was a little on the stiff side.

The NFL has suspended Super Bowl MVP Tom Brady without pay for the first four games of the season, fined the New England Patriots $1 million and taken away two draft picks, a first round pick in 2016 and a 4th round pick in 2017. Some think that the punishment was too harsh, while others think that this was a fair deal. This was a statement. Brady has repeatedly stated that he did not know about the efforts to deflate the game balls, but Wells' report found those claims "not plausible and contradicted by other evidence." (ESPN). In this case there is reasoning to do something to Brady. Had Brady just come out and said straight out that he either knew or didn't know, then I think the result would have changed. Brady, from what I could tell, danced around the issue, seemed like he never gave a straight up answer. That's something I would have liked to see.

I still think the punishment was a little stiff on all accounts. Four games for Brady for deflating footballs is a bit much. It's not like he's taking steroids to stay the best in the game. I think it was an offense worth a suspension, because he was involved in the altering of a football for possible gain. It does bend/break the rules playing with footballs that aren't up to standards. What the Patriots did were wrong, there's no dispute of that. But I do feel that a four game suspension for this is a bit much. I say going two to three would have been more acceptable. Two games seems like a fair number for their transgressions. At least as far as Brady goes. The fine was a bit stiff, $1 million for deflating footballs? It seems like its pocket change for NFL owners and teams. Quarter million would have been more acceptable for a punishment than what was given out. As for the draft picks, that was over the top. New England should have been able to keep their picks.

Having said that, this was a statement made by the National Football League. After the year that the NFL went through last year in terms of discipline, see Ray Rice, Greg Hardy and Adrian Petterson, the League needed to make a statement. This was it. It was a statement from the Commissioners office that the NFL, saying to the rest of the league that they aren't a pushover anymore. If somebody does something wrong in the league, they will be punished. The NFL wanted to show that even the defending world champions aren't immune from this kind of punishment. Roger Goodell's office made it clear that they will put the hammer down, so to speak, when it comes to punishment this year. If you bend or break the rules in the NFL, you will be punished in due process and to the fullest extent.

Was it the right punishment? To a degree yes. Was this  a statement by the NFL? Of course.

NFL Draft Report Cards

\After four days and a total of 256 picks, the NFL Draft is in the books. Through the NFL draft really is the best way to be able to build a championship team.  Sure you can add pieces through free agency, but by the draft is the best way to build the future of your team. Over the years, some players have really panned out as they were expected to, guys like Aaron Rodgers, Calvin Johnson ect. Then you also have guys who have gone in as high draft choices and turned out to be total flops. Just look at a guy like Ryan Leaf or JaMarcus Russell. So sometimes a draft pick works out and sometimes it doesn't. This years class was headed up by Jamies Winston (#1 pick to Tampa) and Marcus Mariota (#2 pick to Tennessee), both guys who are expected to have good careers. But what about the local teams? Did the Giants address their needs with the six picks they had? What about the Jets and their six picks? Well here's how the two teams did this year in the draft.

Lets start off with Big Blue. Here are the Giants picks in this years Draft:

Round 1, Pick 9 (9): Ereck Flowers, Miami OG
Round 2, Pick 1 (33) (from Titans): Landon Collins, Alabama SS
Round 3, Pick 10 (74): Owamagbe Odighizuwa, UCLA DE
Round 5, Pick 8 (144): Mykkele Thompson, Texas S
Round 6, Pick 10 (186): Geremy Davis, Connecticut WR
Round 7, Pick 9 (226): Bobby Hart, Florida State OG

Some of the big needs the Giants had going into this season, which were defense and offensive line help, were addressed. With their first pick, which was 9th overall, they grabbed Ereck Flowers, the offensive guard from Miami. Flowers is a powerful run blocker whose pass protection leaves a lot to be desired. That's something that has been a bit of an issue for the Giants the last few seasons. The Run games needs holes to open up and Flowers could help with that. But the fact that they haven't been able to keep Eli on his feet the last two seasons isn't good, and one of the biggest knocks on Flowers game is he isn't great at being able to protect the Quarterback. Then the Giants gave up a little bit much, three future draft picks to the Titans to take the 33rd pick in the 2nd round and they grab Alabama safety Landon Collins. This wasn't a bad pick, as Collins is a work in progress in coverage, but he'll be an enforcer against the run early. Besides adding him into the mix will help out with a depleted secondary, which was a defensive issue that the Giants had a season ago. Plus with the fact that Antrel Rolle took off for Chicago, this was a pretty decent pick, given what the Giants have. And getting UCLA pass-rusher Owamagbe Odighizuwa in the third round was a bit of a steal. "Double O" rushes the passer with bad intentions and a lot of power. This does address a need that the Giants have because over the past few seasons, Big Blue hasn't had anywhere near the feared pass rush they once did. So getting Double O will be a big help.

Overall the Giants draft was average at best. The first two picks seem to be possible works in progress, something that could hurt the Giants over the long term. Yes they did address the holes that they have right now, but with some of the knocks against Flowers and Collins, it makes you wonder a little bit about what the Giants are doing.

Grade: C

As far as Gang Green is concerned, they had a better draft than the Giants did. Here's who the Jets selected in this years Draft:

Round 1, Pick 6 (6): Leonard Williams, USC DE 
Round 2, Pick 5 (37): Devin Smith, Ohio State WR
Round 3, Pick 18 (82) (from Texans): Lorenzo Mauldin, Louisville OLB
Round 4, Pick 4 (103) (from Jaguars): Bryce Petty, Baylor QB
Round 5, Pick 16 (152) (from Texans): Jarvis Harrison, Texas A&M OG
Round 7, Pick 6 (223): Deon Brown, Northwestern State (LA) NT

Were there holes on offense that the Jets needed to address? Hell yeah. Did they address them during the draft? Not right away. With the first pick the Jets took Leonard Williams, the defensive end from USC. This now marks the 7th year win a row that the Jets took a defensive player with their first overall pick in the draft. The last time the Jets took an offensive player with their first pick, they took Mark Sanchez with the 5th pick in 2009. The Jets did make a very smart move by picking Williams at six. He's the best defensive player, and possibly the best overall player, that was sitting there at the draft when the Jets had their pick. So why not take a chance and grab him up. It gives the Jets plenty of options on the defensive line, which makes the Jets even more lethal on defense then they were before. From an offensive perspective, the Jets made a few nice pickups. Picking up Wide receiver Devin Smith was a nice little selection. Smith is going to, in all likelyhood see limited action this year, but his game-breaking potential deep will help draw attention away from Brandon Marshall, Eric Decker and Jeremy Kerley. It will help open up options in the pass game. Then you add in the Jets selecting Jarvis Harrison, the Texas A&M guard in the 5th round. It helps add depth to what is an aging offensive line for the Jets. Facts are the Jets line is getting older and outside of Nick Mangold and D'Brickashaw Ferguson still leaves something to be desired. So adding Harrison gives the Jets more options on the line.

What is going to be a true interesting option for the Jets is selecting Baylor QB Bryce Petty. Gang Green grabbed Petty in the 4th round. He's probably the best QB that was left in the draft after Winston and Mariota. Petty won't be a viable NFL starter for some time, if ever, but he still could swipe the QB-of-the-future status from Geno Smith. Ryan Fitzpatrick's presence also buys New York time to bring Petty along. On the whole, this was a good draft for the Jets. It gives them depth and options for what they want to do with the defense. In case they make a trade or lose a starter on the line to free agency, they have options. They also added an offensive weapon by pickup up Running Back Zac Stacy from the Rams in a trade. All in all, the Draft was a good one for the Jets

Grade: A-

So that's how both teams did in the Draft over the weekend.

NBA Playoffs 2nd Round Preview

Well kids the 1st round is over. We are down to eight teams left standing in the NBA Playoffs. The opening round saw three sweeps, Golden State taking out New Orleans, Cleveland sweeping Boston (even though they Cavs lost Kevin Love for the rest of the playoffs with a shoulder injury) and Washington knocking off Toronto. Two series ended in five games, Houston over Dallas and Memphis beating Portland. Two more series ended in six games, Atlanta over Brooklyn and Chicago over Milwaukee. The final series, Los Angeles taking out the defending Champions the Spurs went the full seven games. Seems to me that the four seeds in the opening round, Toronto and Portland really couldn't seem to find their groove in the opening round. Everybody else seemed to play to the script as it were. That's part of what makes the playoffs so interesting. With that being said, here's what the 2nd round looks like for the NBA Playoffs.

 

First up is the top seed in the East the Atlanta Hawks taking on the 5th seed the Washington Wizards. Washington's sweep of Toronto in the opening round marks the first time the Wizards have swept a series in the playoffs since 1982. This also marks the 2nd year in a row Washington has made it pass the 1st Round, but the team has yet to win a series in round two since 1979. Atlanta comes in after beating the Nets in six games in the opening round. This now marks the first time since 2011 that the Hawks have survived to play in the 2nd round. Atlanta has yet two win more than two rounds in the playoffs in franchise history, despite winning an NBA title in 1958. This is the fifth playoffs meeting between these two teams, with the Wizards (Bullets) winning three out of the first four meetings. The last time these two teams met in the playoffs was in 1979, a series in which Washington (the Bullets at the time) won the series in six games). During the regular season Atlanta took three of the four games.

Here are the dates and times for the games in this series:
May 3:00 p.m.Washington Wizards vs. Atlanta Hawks Philips Arena, Atlanta, Georgia
May 5 8:00 p.m. Washington Wizards vs. Atlanta Hawks Philips Arena, Atlanta, Georgia
May 9 5:00 p.m. Atlanta Hawks vs. Washington Wizards Verizon Center, Washington, D.C
May 11 7:00 p.m. Atlanta Hawks vs. Washington Wizards Verizon Center, Washington, D.C
May 13 TBA Washington Wizards vs. Atlanta Hawks* Philips Arena, Atlanta, Georgia
May 15 TBA Atlanta Hawks vs. Washington Wizards* Verizon Center, Washington, D.C.
May 18 TBA Washington Wizards vs. Atlanta Hawks* Philips Arena, Atlanta, Georgia

One factor that could come into play here is the rest factor. Washington had swept in the first round, so they are a little more rested than Atlanta, who was pushed to six games by the Nets. Paul Pierce had a big series for Washington, proving that he still has something left in the tank and still be a big factor in an NBA playoff series. It wasn't just Pierce who had a big series. They got scoring from Marcin Gortat, Nene, Bradley Beal and others. It was a balanced attack from Washington in that series. But the extra time off could hurt the Wizards a little. Sure the Hawks had to go six games with the Nets, but that could just mean it was a little more fine tuning that had to be do. DeMarre Carroll and Paul Millsap had big series from a scoring point of view, while Jeff Teague also had a good series in his own right. Its going to make for a good matchup. The battle between John Wall and Jeff Teague should be very entertaining, this series going at least six games. Atlanta has the more balanced team, as they were still the top seed in the East. Washington is going to push the Hawks to the limit, but at the end of the day Atlanta is just going to be too deep a team.

Pick: Hawks in 6!

Next up its the two seed Cleveland Cavaliers taking on the three seed Chicago Bulls. Cleveland is coming off their sweep of the Celtics in the opening round, something that the Cavs haven't done since the swept the Hawks in the 2nd round in 2009. Cleveland hasn't won a playoff series since beating this same Bulls team in the opening round of the 2010 playoffs, which was the last time the Cavs made the playoffs and won the division. Cleveland is looking to get past the 2nd round for the first time since 2009. Chicago comes in after a six game series win over the Bucks. Chicago has made it to the 2nd round for the first time since 2013. The Bulls are looking to get out of round two for the first time since 2011. This is the seventh playoffs meeting between these two teams, with the Bulls winning five out of the first six meetings. The last time these two teams faced off in the post season was 2010, a series which the Cavs won in five games. During the regular season this year, Cleveland took three of the four games.

Here are the dates and times for every game in this series:
May 4 7:00 pm Chicago Bulls vs. Cleveland Cavaliers Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio
May 6 7:00 pm Chicago Bulls vs. Cleveland Cavaliers Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio
May 8 TBA Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Chicago Bulls United Center, Chicago, Illinois
May 10 3:30 pm Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Chicago Bulls United Center, Chicago, Illinois
May 12 TBA Chicago Bulls vs. Cleveland Cavaliers* Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio
May 14 TBA Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Chicago Bulls* United Center, Chicago, Illinois
May 17 TBA Chicago Bulls vs. Cleveland Cavaliers* Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio

Cleveland got the sweep in the opening round but it came at a price. Kevin Love injured his shoulder in game four of the Boston series and is lost for the rest of the playoffs. With Love being hurt, it makes this series a little more even between the two teams. With Cleveland, since Love is hurt more pressure is on Timofey Mozgov and Tristan Thompson. Those two guys really need to step up big in this series. Chicago has more of an advantage in regards to health, even though Joakim Noah and Nikola Mirotic seemingly aren't quite at 100 percent. The Cavaliers don't have a lot of depth, at least not by comparison to the Bulls. What the Cavs do have are guys who are versatile and can do different things. They have to avoid foul trouble and they need LeBron and Kyrie to be extraordinary. As good as Jokim Noah is, I really am not convinced yet that he is capable of 32 great minutes for four games and Taj Gibson's relief off the bench might not be enough. The interior help of the Bulls scares the hell out of me. If all else fails, LeBron won't beta-male enough to let this slide. He will exploit it enough. At the end of the day, when all is said and done, I think the Cavs stars will outshine that of Chicago.

Pick: Cavaliers in 7!

To the Western Conference we go and its the top seeded Golden State Warriors taking on the fifth seed the Memphis Grizzles. Memphis comes in after downing Portland in five games. In the five straight years now that the Grizzlies have made the playoffs, this is only the 2nd time that they have won a series in less than six games. Memphis is looking to get out of the 2nd round for the 2nd time in three years.  Golden State comes off a sweep of the Pelicans in the opening round, the first time they have swept anybody in the playoffs since 1989. Golden State bounced back and made it to the 2nd round of the playoffs for the 2nd time in three years. The Warriors haven't made it out of the 2nd round since winning the NBA crown in 1975. This is the first meeting in the playoffs between the Warriors and Grizzlies. Golden State took two of the three regular season meetings between the teams.

Here are the dates and times for games in this series:
May 3 3:30 pm Memphis Grizzlies vs. Golden State Warriors Oracle Arena, Oakland, California
May 5 10:30 pm Memphis Grizzlies vs. Golden State Warriors Oracle Arena, Oakland, California
May 9 8:00 pm Golden State Warriors vs. Memphis Grizzlies FedExForum, Memphis, Tennessee
May11 9:30 pm Golden State Warriors vs. Memphis Grizzlies FedExForum, Memphis, Tennessee
May 13 TBA Memphis Grizzlies vs. Golden State Warriors* Oracle Arena, Oakland, California
May 15 TBA Golden State Warriors vs. Memphis Grizzlies* FedExForum, Memphis, Tennessee
May 17 TBA Memphis Grizzlies vs. Golden State Warriors* Oracle Arena, Oakland, California

Golden State was a team that dominated during the regular season, and it looks like they started that way again in the playoffs with the sweep of New Orleans. If the idea was to put teams away early instead of winning by a blowout, then the Warriors did a fantastic job in the opening round of the playoffs.  With the sweep, it gave the Warriors a week off between the end of the 1st round and the start of the 2nd round. Sometimes having an extended time off can be a good thing, while at other times it turns around to bite a team in the rear end. I don't think that's going to happen with the Warriors. With the splash brothers playing at full tilt, Andrew Bogut and Draymond Green having an outstanding series, the Warriors are firing on all cylinders at the right time. Memphis is a good basketball team, with a solid starting lineup with Courtney Lee, Jeff Green, Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol. One guy who really makes this basketball team go is Mike Conley. The big question with this team is Conley's health. It's the biggest thing between knowing whether or not the Grizzlies will have a quick exit or an epic battle on their hands. On the surface, this Grizzlies team looks ready to challenge the Warriors. The Warriors were historically good at home, but the Grizzlies also had the fifth best road record in the NBA and are not afraid of a hostile environment.  Regardless of Conley's health, its not going to really matter.

Pick: Warriors in 5!

Last but not least its the two seed Houston Rockets taking on the three seed Los Angeles Clippers. Houston is coming off a five game series win over the Mavericks in the opening round, the first tiem they've won an opening round series since 2009. Houston hasn't won a series in this short a time since a three game series sweep of the Timberwolves in 1997 (three game sweep) Houston is looking to get out of the 2nd round for the first time since 1997. As for the Clippers, they knocked off the defending champion Spurs in a tough seven game series, making it the 2nd year in a row and 3rd time in last four years they have won their opening round matchup. One down side is that the Clippers have never been able to get out of the 2nd round in franchise history. This is the second playoffs meeting between these two teams. The only other time they have played each other was the 1993 Western Conference First Round a series in which Houston won in five. During the regular season, the teams split the four meetings.

Here are the dates and times for games in this series:
May 4 9:30 pm Los Angeles Clippers vs. Houston Rockets Toyota Center, Houston, Texas
May 6 9:30 pm Los Angeles Clippers vs. Houston Rockets Toyota Center, Houston, Texas
May 8 10:30 pm Houston Rockets vs. Los Angeles Clippers Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
May 10 8:30 pm Houston Rockets vs. Los Angeles Clippers Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
May 12 TBA Los Angeles Clippers vs. Houston Rockets* Toyota Center, Houston, Texas
May 14 TBA Houston Rockets vs. Los Angeles Clippers* Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
May 17 TBA Los Angeles Clippers vs. Houston Rockets* Toyota Center, Houston, Texas

Houston has plenty of depth to go around. Outside of Harden and Howard putting on a clinic, Smith, Corey Brewer, Jason Terry, Trevor Ariza, Terrence Jones and Pablo Prigioni stepped up to offer additional scoring, passing, rebounding and perimeter defending.  LA is no slouch. With a rotation that generally goes eight men deep, the Clippers need to lean on Paul, Griffin, Jordan, Redick and Barnes to do nearly all of the heavy lifting. LA can hold its own, hell they just knocked off the champs in the opening round in a seven game series, so they won't be a pushover here. But what could hurt LA here is their bench. They have a short one, something which Houston is going to try and take advantage of said bench. Houston has had a tendancy at times to have an inefficient offense, something that the Clippers are going to try and take full advantage of. This series is going to go the distance and I think Houston has what it takes to get the job done.

Pick: Rockets in 7!

So there you have it, the predictions for the 2nd round of the NBA Playoffs!

Stanley Cup Playoffs 2nd Round Preview

No wonder I love this time of year so much. It always seems that playoff time, no matter what the sport, always finds a way to bring out high drama and high emotion. This years opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs has been no exception. We had two series in the opening round go the full seven games, with the Capitals beating the Islanders in one, and the Lightning knocking off the Red Wings in the other. Pittsburgh proved top be really no match for the Rangers, while Ottawa put up somewhat of a fight before falling to Montreal. That's just the Eastern Conference. Out West, the Winnipeg Jets franchise still haven't won a playoff game, getting swept by the Ducks (Winnipeg was swept by the Rangers in their only other playoff appearance while they were still in Atlanta). St Louis can never seem to find any steady playoff success, getting knocked off by the Wild in six. Calgary, a very good hockey club with a good mix to it, knocked off the talent laiden Canucks in six. Chicago had to overcome some goalies issues to get itself settled down and hold off the Predators in six games. There were dramatic overtimes, heroic goaltending performances and high scoring affairs. If that was just the opening round I can't wait to see what the rest of the playoffs holds. Here's what the 2nd round looks like.

First up we have the Chicago Blackhawks taking on the Minnesota Wild. Chicago finished the year with 102 points during the regular season, and come into this round following a opening round win over the Nashville Predators, winning that series in six games. This marks the 3rd straight year the Hawks have made the 2nd round and the 5th time in seven years Chicago has won their opening round matchup. As for the Wild, the finished the regular season with 100 points, good enough for a wild card spot. They opened the playoffs up with a six game series win over the St. Louis Blues. With this 2nd round appearance, it marks the 2nd year in a row that the Wild have won their first round matchup. In fact its the 3rd time ever that the Wild have made it out of the first round in team history. This will be the third year in a row in which the Blackhawks and Wild have met in the postseason, and their third meeting overall. The Blackhawks have won both previous matchups. In the previous year's playoff series, Chicago eliminated Minnesota from the second round in six games. Chicago won three of the five games in this year's regular season series.

Here's the dates and times for games in this series:
May 1 Minnesota Wild 9:30 p.m. Chicago Blackhawks United Center
May 3 Minnesota Wild 8:30 p.m. Chicago Blackhawks United Center
May 5 Chicago Blackhawks 8:00 p.m. Minnesota Wild Xcel Energy Center
May 7 Chicago Blackhawks 9:30 p.m. Minnesota Wild Xcel Energy Center
May 9 Minnesota Wild TBD Chicago Blackhawks United Center
May 11 Chicago Blackhawks TBD Minnesota Wild Xcel Energy Center
May 13 Minnesota Wild TBD Chicago Blackhawks United Center

On paper this matchup seems almost to be a little unfair. Chicago has a loaded lineup, with stars like Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook. Guys who have plenty of playoff experience and depth. Toews had 8 points in the opening round, Kane had 7 points and a pair of goals, Hossa chipped in 5 assists. Hell every regular in the Hawks lineup had at least one point in their opening round win except two, Kimmo Timonen and Marcus Kruger. Chicago should have no problem trying to fill up the nets. There's only one problem. Goaltending. Chicago looked very shaky in net during their opening round matchup with the Predators. It was a tossup between going with Scott Darling or Corey Crawford, which comes as a surprise considering that Crawford has helped lead the Hawks to two cup titles in the past. Crawford is getting to start game one but after what he did in the opening round, don't be surprised if he is on a short leash. As for the Wild, they are no pushover. They came in and beat up on the Blues in six games, thanks in large part to the outstanding goaltending of Devan Dubnyk, who has been outstanding since coming over from the Coyotes. His 2.32 GAA in the opening round is better than that of the Hawks netminders and he has been one of the biggest reasons the Wild have been playing with confidence for the latter half of the season. Minnesota has scoring depth to their club, which could match that of the Hawks. Zach Parise, Jason Pominville and Miakel Granlund each had big series against St. Louis. Minnesota's defense corp can hang a little with the Hawks. Sure Chicago is deep, so to are the Wild. The difference between now and earlier this year, when the Hawks dominated the Wild during the regular season is goaltending. Minnesota has had better netminding as of late, which will be the edge in this series

Pick: Wild in 7!

 Next up we have the Calgary Flames going head to head against the Anaheim Ducks. Anaheim has won the division for the 3rd year in a row, earning over 100 points in each year. For the 2nd year in a row the Ducks have advanced out of the 1st round, looking to make it to the Western Conference Finals for the first time since they won the Stanley Cup in 2007. Anaheim had a relatively easy time dispatching the Winnipeg Jets in a four game sweep. Calgary on the other had has been making a lot of noise this season. They haven't won this many games in a season since 2008-09, ironically enough the last year that they made the playoffs. Calgary has already taken a huge step, by winning their first round matchup with the Canucks in six games. This marks the farthest the Flames have gone in the playoffs since reaching the Cup Finals in 2004. This is the second playoff meeting for these teams; their only previous meeting was in the 2006 Western Conference Quarterfinals, which Anaheim won in seven games. Anaheim won three of the five games in this year's regular season series.

Here are the dates and times for games in this series:
April 30 Calgary Flames 10:00 p.m. Anaheim Ducks Honda Center
May 3 Calgary Flames 10:00 p.m. Anaheim Ducks Honda Center
May 5 Anaheim Ducks 9:30 p.m. Calgary Flames Scotiabank Saddledome
May 8 Anaheim Ducks 9:30 p.m. Calgary Flames Scotiabank Saddledome
May 10 Calgary Flames TBD Anaheim Ducks Honda Center
May 12 Anaheim Ducks TBD Calgary Flames Scotiabank Saddledome
May 14 Calgary Flames TBD Anaheim Ducks Honda Center SN

What can you say about this young Flames team. The Flames have done some incredible things thanks largely to the play of young forwards such as Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan and Sam Bennett. Hudler has three goals and six points in the opening round and Gaudreau matched him with the six points,. leading the team with four helpers. There's going to be a small problem for the Flames in this series, that being trying to beat the Ducks in Calgary. Calgary hasn’t beaten the Ducks on their home pond since 2004, a span of 20 games (0-15-5). Just two of those losses were accrued this season, but you get the point. Calgary really needs those top guys from the first round to step up again this round if they want to have a chance. Anaheim had a relatively easy time disposing of the Jets in the opening round.  Corey Perry had seven points in the opening round. Anaheim had their big three of Ryan Getzlaf, Perry and Ryan Kesler asserted themselves at various points of that first round series. What really helped the Ducks out in that first round series win was the secondary scoring. Guys like Rickard Rakell, Emerson Etem and Jakub Silfverberg each contributed a game-changing goal. Calgary is a quick hockey team, but Anaheim has the physical presence, something which I don't think the Flames can match

Pick: Ducks in 5!

Moving over to the eastern Conference, we have the Montreal Canadiens taking on the Tampa Bay Lightning. Montreal comes in after knocking off the Ottawa Senators in a low scoring six game series. This Canadiens team is having a great year, cracking the 100+ point mark for the 2nd year in a row. Montreal looking to repeat it's performance from last year, getting past the 2nd round to head to the eastern Conference Finals. Tampa Bay also cracked the 100 point mark for the 2nd year in a row. Tampa is look to get out of the 2nd round for the first time since 2010. The Bolts come in after dispatching the Detroit Red Wings in a tough seven game series. This is the third playoff meeting for these teams; the teams have split their two previous playoff series. Their most recent meeting was in the previous year's Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, in which Montreal swept Tampa Bay out of the playoffs. Tampa Bay won all five games in this year's regular season series.

Here are the dates and times for every game in this series:
May 1 Tampa Bay Lightning 7:00 p.m. Montreal Canadiens Bell Centre
May 3 Tampa Bay Lightning 6:00 p.m. Montreal Canadiens Bell Centre
May 6 Montreal Canadiens 7:00 p.m. Tampa Bay Lightning Amalie Arena
May 7 Montreal Canadiens 7:00 p.m. Tampa Bay Lightning Amalie Arena
May 9 Tampa Bay Lightning TBD Montreal Canadiens Bell Centre
May 12 Montreal Canadiens TBD Tampa Bay Lightning Amalie Arena
May 14 Tampa Bay Lightning TBD Montreal Canadiens Bell Centre

Tampa Bay seemed to have a bit of a struggle with the Red Wings in the opening round. Detroit did a great job of managing to keep Lightning Captain Steven Stamkos off the board, as Stamkos went without a goal in the series.Stammer did have three assists in the series, but managed to go without a goal.; Enter Tyler Johnson. He had an outstanding series, scoring six goals in the seven games. He carried the Bolts in three of their four wins in the series. Tampa has depth and plenty of playoff experience, but one thing to look at is Ben Bishop. As good of a goalie as Bishop is, and has been during the regular season, he gave up some weak goals in the Detroit series. Tampa flat out dominated the Habs during the regular season. Montreal comes in off a low scoring series against Ottawa, winning in six. Montreal has the NHL’s best goalie in Carey Price, Norris Trophy nominee (and 2013 winner) P.K. Subban, one of the top two-way forwards in Max Pacioretty and good young forwards in Alex Galchenyuk and pesky Brendan Gallagher. However, they had no answer for the Lightning’s speed during the regular season. There stuff they have to work on, like step their scoring up in this series, because I'm not sure, as good as Price is, they can't get too far behind Tampa. Price is going to have to have a big series for Montreal to walk out of this series. Tampa struggled against Detroit, they won't get this lucky in this round.

Pick: Canadiens in 7!

Finally we have the New York Rangers going up against the Washington Capitals. The Rangers come in after smacking the Penguins around in five games. During the regular season, New York had its best year, from a points perspective since 2007. The Presidents Trophy win was the first one they've had since 1994. This marks the fourth straight year that the Rangers win their opening round playoff matchup. Washington enters this series after knocking off the Islanders in a tough seven game series. This marks the most points the Caps have collected in the regular season since 2011. Washington has made it to the 2nd round for the 4th time in the last six years. The Caps haven't made it out of the 2nd round since 1998, the year they went to the Stanley Cup Finals. This is the ninth playoff meeting for these teams and their fifth in the last seven years. The teams have split their eight previous playoff series. Their most recent meeting was in the 2013 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, which New York won in seven games. New York won three of the four games in this year's regular season series.

Here's the dates and times for every game in this series:
April 30 Washington Capitals 7:30 p.m. New York Rangers Madison Square Garden
May 2 Washington Capitals 12:30 p.m. New York Rangers Madison Square Garden
May 4 New York Rangers 7:30 p.m. Washington Capitals Verizon Center
May 6 New York Rangers 7:30 p.m. Washington Capitals Verizon Center
May 8 Washington Capitals 7:00 p.m. New York Rangers Madison Square Garden
May 10 New York Rangers TBD Washington Capitals Verizon Center
May 13 Washington Capitals TBD New York Rangers Madison Square Garden

New York had somewhat of an easy time taking care of the Penguins in the opening round, managing to keep Crosby (3 points) and Malkin (0 points) in check in the entire series. The thing that sticks out to me for the Rangers is that every game they won in the series ended the same way, a 2-1 final in favor of the Blueshirts. The reason that worked in the first round was because the Penguins were a weak, beaten down team and Henrik was that good in the Rangers net. New York does get Kevin Klein back for the series, but will be without Mats Zuccarello, who is out indefinitely after taking a puck to the head in Game 5 vs. the Penguins. That could be a big blow to the Rangers, because Zuccarello has had a big impact on the Rangers this season. With Washington, their top two lines shined in the series against the Islanders. Nicklas Backstrom and Alex Ovechkin, led the team with six and five points, respectively. The difference is that the Rangers, lead by Ryan McDonagh, Dan Girardi and the rest of the defense corps will be a much greater challenge than the injury-ravaged, patchwork Islanders blue line corps presented. the Rangers blueline his healthy, unlike that of the Islanders, which will make a difference in the series. This series fits two pretty balanced squads against each other and will go the distance. What sets the tide in this series will be goaltending and the edge goes to King Henrik and the Rangers.
Pick: Rangers in 7!

So there you have it, the predictions for the 2nd round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs!

DH Debate Should It Be Universal?

Ever since it became a league rule in 1973, this debate has raged on. The Designated Hitter. Should it be universal or abolished? After what happened this past weekend, the debate has gone back on. Adam Wainwright, the St. Louis Cardinals’ ace and long considered the best pitcher in the National League behind Clayton Kershaw, is finished for the season. Wainwright injured his ankle and Achilles’ tendon in an at-bat on Saturday night in Milwaukee. The injury has forced the Cardinals to place him on the disabled list, with the injury keeping him out for the season. Some feel that because Wainwright was hitting on Sunday he got hurt. That is true. But who's to say that Stanton could have gotten hurt getting hit by a line drive all the same. This is where the debate picks up. Should there be a DH across the board? Should the rule be taken out? Should it just be dropped and kept as is?

There are a couple reasons why the DH rule should be kept around and used in both leagues. For those who believe in the DH, it does have advantages. Many careers have been prolonged, and, in a few cases, created long, productive careers for players who are weak fielders or have a history of injuries. Perfect examples are guys like Edgar Martínez and David Ortiz, who had plenty of pop in their bat, but weren't as good in terms of fielding. Hall of Famers George Brett, Carl Yastrzemski, and Paul Molitor continued their careers longer than they ordinarily would have without the rule. Barry Bonds, who spent his entire career in the National League and actually won eight Gold Gloves earlier in his career, was used strictly as a DH later in his career when the San Francisco Giants played away interleague games due to his poor fielding. Another advantage that the DH rule has is that it takes the pitchers out of the equation. meaning that pitchers don't have to take the bat and get up to the plate and swing.  Besides the injury to Wainwright, look at what happened to pitcher Chien-Ming Wang. His career came into decline, according to some, due to an interleague game injury has been cited in support of the designated hitter. On June 15, 2008, Wang was taken out of an interleague game versus the Houston Astros due to a right foot injury he sustained while running the bases, something he was not used to doing, since pitchers do not bat in the American League. Wang was diagnosed with a torn Lisfranc ligament and a partial tear of the peroneus longus of the right foot. The cast was removed on July 29, but the extensive rehabilitation process prevented Wang from being an effective pitcher at the major league level since.

Of course, you have people looking at this from the other way. Some feel that injuries like this were caused because pitchers have to hit. Look at Wainwright. Look at Wang. Max Scherzer had to have a start pushed back because he jammed his thumb while batting. The argument could be made that people come to the park to watch a guy like Clayton Kershaw throw the ball not try and hit it. Kershaw and Scherzer, just to name a few, are guys who people come to see stand on a hill and pitch the ball. By having a DH, it would take that factor out of the system. Then again some feel that by not having the pitchers hit, its un-baseball like and it takes away a skill that all baseball players should be somewhat able to do. I for one, don't want to see Mets Ace Matt Harvey have to be taken out of a game and miss a month because he got hit on his pitching hand while in the batters box.

In hindsight though, you have no way to project players getting hurt. A pitcher could just as easily blow out his knee chasing down a ground ball back to the mound or going over to cover 1st base than he can running out of the batters box. I have never had a problem with the way things are done around Major League Baseball. It took a while for the DH rule to be accepted but it has become part of the game. It forces managers to think differently depending on what park they're in. Yes it sucks Wainwright's season had to end the way it did, but that's part of baseball, hell its a part of sports. Long story short is, no matter how hard you argue or fight the DH rule will stay pat in the American League and pitchers will still hit in the NL. Would I like to see it change? Yeah it wouldn't be so bad an idea. But the quality level of the players isn't the same to be able to sustain the position in both leagues. Injuries happen and putting in the DH in the NL I don't think is going to change that. It may prolong what is inevitable in players getting hurt, but injuries happen. The DH won't be joining the NL

What Happened To The New York Islanders?

What went wrong here? When the season started, there was a lot of hope and optimism about the New York Islanders, a team that was on the up and up. Going into their opening round series against the Capitals, the Islanders were looking to break a 21 year drought between playoff series wins, the longest such drought in NHL history. The team was coming off one of its best seasons in recent memory, going above and beyond expectations anybody had for the team. This club was looking for a great way to close this era of Islanders hockey, and send off Nassau Coliseum with a cup. Well that didn't exactly happen, as the Islanders fell in a hard-fought, seven-game series with the Washington Capitals. This was a series the Islanders had plenty of chances to win this series, but they had shot themselves in the foot, not only in the series but even leading up to the series.

I've talked about this before, it would benefit a team, more often than not, to go into postseason play hot. That wasn't the case with the Islanders. They stumbled in. What we saw from the club early in the year, scoring depth and punch, just wasn't there at the end of the year. Sure John Tavares finished in the top ten in the league in scoring, sure Brock Nelson was in the top ten in rookie goal scoring. But otherwise, there wasn't much hope, or balance, in the forward lines. The team couldn't find the same magic late in the year than they had in the start of the year, which was kind of sad. There's no denying that there's a lot of talent on the hockey team, that was evident through most of the regular season and at times in the playoffs. Games one three and six of the series, the games in which the Islanders actually won, gave you hope and a reason to believe that this team was really on the verge of making that push to the next level and finally getting over the hump, so to speak. But, alas, reality came crashing down on the Isles, allowing the holes once again to be shown.

One thing that really stuck out to me was the powerplay, or should I say lack there of. There's no way possible that a team can really do damage when it goes 0 for 14 on the powerplay in a series. 0 for 14 on the man advantage. Let that sink in. Most teams that are even remotely successful will find a way to bury the puck at least one time on the man advantage. An issue that I'm sure the Islanders will look to address in the offseason.

Then there's the fact that the team had trouble in the series of playing a full 60 minute hockey game. Not sure what it is, but the Islanders had a tendancy to show up in spurts or net even at all, not just during this series, but during the regular season as well. there were times during game seven where it seemed like the Capitals could do whatever they wanted with the puck and the Isles skated around like a bunch of chickens with their heads cut off. It was really a tough thing to watch. I know it does happens to a team where once in a while, teams will have a bad game and be on their heels. But it happened more than once to the Isles in this series, none more evident than I'd say most of game seven. It was almost too painful to watch. I'm sorry but in game seven the Islanders had no heart what so ever. To make it even worse, not only did they not show heart but they couldn't even generate offense. Eleven total shots on goal in the entire game by a hockey team. To make matters worse, of those eleven shots, three of them came off the sticks of forwards. For a hockey team to be a success, they need to have the forwards fire the puck on net. Caps goalie Braden Holtby wasn't tested at all in game seven.

To go along with the lack of heart and secondary scoring was inexperience. While players like Johnny Boychuk, Nick Leddy and Lubomir Visnovsky have extensive playoff experience, the Isles roster was filled with players who had appeared in just a handful of games in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Guys like Tavares, Okposo, Bailey, Clutterbuck, Martin and a few others have a little bit of experience but not enough. Some of those key leaders had played no more than half a dozen playoff games in the NHL. Throw in the fact that three key young guns in Brock Nelson, Andres Lee and Ryan Strome had never played in a Stanley Cup Playoff game before, and it makes it easy to see why the Isles faultered in certain situations. A more experienced team would have made a stronger showing in Game 7 and probably would have put the Caps away in Game 2 as well.

There was one bright spot in the series and that was goalie Jaroslav Halak. He played out of his mind for the Isles, hands down he was their best player. As good as Halak was, he can only do so much. The fact that the Islanders were missing their top two defenseman was a big blow. Travis Hamonic wasn't available in the series due to a knee injury suffered near the end of the regular season, whicih turned out to be a HUGE loss for the team as Hamonic had been the Isles best defender, and all around defender to boot, all season long. Then to make matters worse, Lubomir Visnovsky was taken out during Game 4 on Tom Wilson’s questionable hit. Visnovsky was the team’s most experienced defenseman, a big plus on a squad full of younger players. He also was a good passer and a key component of the second power-play unit. Without Visnovsky, the Isles lost a lot of intangibles and an already thin defense was compromised further. Not having those two guys there, and then to lose Calvin De Hann near the end of game five made it even tougher on the team.

Don't get me wrong the Islanders had an outstanding season. Nothing can ever be taken away from them for the year they had. Still it was a bitter pill to swallow to see the team go down the way they did. A tough way to close the doors on Nassau Coliseum.

2015 Subway Series Preview

It's Time. Once a year the Mets and Yankees face off in the battle of New York. Its been a summer tradition ever since Interleague play began back in 1997. This series is a little bit different than any other in the rivalry between the two teams. Normally all six games are played somewhere around late May early June and are played in the same month. This year the series is split, with the first three played at Yankee Stadium this weekend, and the final three played at Citi Field September 18th-20th. This is the first time I can remember in quite a while the two teams coming into the series both feeling good. Before we get into whats going on this weekend, lets take a quick walk down memory lane.

June 16th, 1997. That was the date of the first ever meeting between the teams, a game which the Mets won 6–0 behind Dave Mlicki throwing a complete game shutout. The Yankees would take the next two games and take the opening series. With what we are about to see this season, it marks the 19th series between the two teams. Seven times (1999, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2010 and 2014) these two teams have split the series, the Mets have won the series three times (2004 and 2008, winning four of six, then 2013 a four game sweep) while the Yankees have won the other eight series. The only time the Yankees swept the series was in 2003 when they won all six games. The Yankees have a 56–42 regular-season advantage over the Mets, who have won four straight at Yankee Stadium, but lost both games at home last year.

That was then and this is now. Both teams are coming in hot to the start of this series. The Mets head into this series with the best record in baseball (13-3) and an 11-game winning streak. During this hot streak run of the Mets, they have outscored their opponents 57-31. Starting pitching for the Blue and Orange has been good during this stretch, throwing up a stellar 2.79 ERA, to go along with 60 strikeouts and only 10 walks. To go along with this clutch starting pitching as of late, this Mets team has displayed clutch hitting and reliable relief pitching. Jeurys Familia has done a fantastic job of taking a stranglehold on the closer's job after the suspension of Jenrry Mejia. The Mets bats have been a bit of an intrigue lately. Wilmer Flores has been hitting .421 over the last week, with eight hits and four RBI, going along with two homers. Juan Lagares too has been coming around a little with the bat over the last week, hitting .333 over the last week. Lagares has eight hits four RBI over that span as well. Daniel Murphy still hasn't quite come out of his slump yet, but he has driven in six runs over the last week, which could be a sign of things to come for the Mets second baseman.

When it comes to going into an American League ballpark, most National League teams are at a slight disadvantage when it comes to using a DH. The Mets have a couple of capable bats to use to DH. One is John Mayberry Jr., who is off to a hot start, sort of. he has an on base percentage of .3780 and he is hitting .250, but its coming from a small sample size. Besides if the Mets want to change things up with the DH, besides using Mayberry, they can also keep Duda and Cuddyer, giving those two guys a day off from playing in the field. So the Mets do have a little going for them heading to this series. But as good as it has been, there is a down side to this. The Mets are coming into this Subway Series a little bit banged up. No David Wright (hamstring), no Travis d'Arnaud (broken finger), Jerry Blevins (broken forearm) are all out of the picture due to injuries. In fact, the Mets are also without their three best non-Familia righty relievers in Bobby Parnell (Tommy John surgery), Jenrry Mejia (elbow, suspension) and Vic Black (shoulder). Lefty Josh Edgin (Tommy John surgery) is also out. And finally, Zack Wheeler (Tommy John surgery) is also done for the year. So the Mets have had success but it has come at a bit of a price.

Lets not forget, the Yankees (9-7) have a three-game winning streak after a 7-3 road trip. The Yankees just won three of four from the Tigers in Detroit and have won six of their last seven games overall. They've outscored their opponents 41-20 in the seven games. Oh and the Tigers had the 2nd best record in baseball behind the Mets, so it marks another tough series from the Bronx Bombers. What has made this even more intriguing for the Yankees, is that they started the season off miserable. They went 2-4 to open the year, playing really sloppy baseball. The Yankees committed nine errors in the first six games, but since then have only three. The Bronx Bombers have righted the ship over the last week and a half and are playing much cleaner baseball. Like the Mets, the Yankees are a run prevention team, and at the moment they are performing as capable. Sure the Yankees are dealing with injuries, same as the Mets, but its nowhere near as bad as the boys in Queens. Ivan Nova (Tommy John surgery) and Chris Capuano (quad) are a few weeks from returning to the rotation and utility infielders Jose Pirela (concussion) and Brendan Ryan (calf) are expected back in May. That's it. The Yankees are definitely the healthier team heading into the Subway Series.

For a while it looked like Alex Rodriguez was going to carry the Yankees. He has four homers and eleven RIB, oh and he is hitting .265 for the year. He has been hitting pretty well this year, despite missing all that time last year with the whole suspension thing he had to take on. A-Rod has responded and somewhat carried the club through the early stages this season. A-rod has some company in the power department. Mark Teixeira does have five home runs and thirteen RBI, both of which lead the club, which is great despite the fact that he's hitting .196 on the season. There have been a few bright spots for the Yanks coming into the series. Chris Young has been hitting over .400 for the last week and is tearing the cover off the ball this year, so expect him to be in the lineup for the series this weekend. Ellsbury and Gardner have both been hitting well, each hitting over 300 for the year.

So here's the dates, times, TV channels and pitching matchups for this first Subway Series:
Friday: Jacob deGrom (2-1, 0.93 ERA) vs. Michael Pineda (2-0, 5.00 ERA), 7pm (WPIX)
Saturday: Matt Harvey (3-0, 3.50 ERA) vs. CC Sabathia (0-3, 4.35 ERA), 4pm (SNY)
Sunday: Jonathon Niese (2-0, 1.50 ERA) vs. Nathan Eovaldi (1-0, 3.12 ERA), 8pm (ESPN)

So there you have it. Subway Series round one is ready to rock. So sit back, relax and get ready for three days of fantastic baseball!