Super Bowl LX Preview

The time has finally arrived. Two teams are left standing. One will come away with the Vince Lombardi Trophy as king of the pro football world. Super Bowl 60 is finally here! And its a rematch of Super Bowl 49, as the New England Patriots will take on the Seattle Seahawks,

Seattle is appearing in their 4th Super Bowl. They played in XL (Lost to Steelers), XLVIII (Beat the Broncos), and XLIX (Lost to New England). Seattle finished with a 14-3 record, winning the NFC West. They beat 49ers in the divisional round and then the Rams in the NFC title game.

New England is appearing in their 12th Super Bowl. They played in XX (lost to Bears), XXXI (lost to Packers), XXXVI (beat Rams), XXXVIII (beat Panthers), XXXIX (beat Eagles), XLII (lost to Giants), XLVI (lost to Giants), XLIX (beat Seahawks), LI (beat falcons), LII (lost to Eagles), and LIII (beat Rams). This season, New England went 14-3, which was good enough to win the AFC East. It took them a little longer to get here, beating the Chargers in the wild card round, then the Texans in the divisional round, and finally the Broncos in the AFC title game.

New England has had one of the greatest turn arounds in sports history. A year ago they were 4-13 and one of the worst teams in the NFL. This year, they had a high powered offense and the 2nd best team in the AFC behind only the team they beat in the title game in Denver. A major reason for this turnaround was the outstanding play of quarterback Drake Maye, who played so well during the season he finished second in MVP voting. And it's not just that high powered offense in New England that's been running the show. The defense has been just as equal to the task. They were 8th in yards and 4th in points this season, an impressive turnaround from being 22nd in the league a season ago.

Seattle had come close to making the playoffs in back to back season prior to this year, but were able to make it this year on the strength of a good balance on both sides of the ball. Sam Darnold came in and had another outstanding year, following up on what he did in Minnesota last year. He had good weapons to work with coming in from outcasts from other teams in Lockett, Metcaf and Kupp. The biggest one was Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who was the NFL leading receiver in the league this year. On the other side of the ball, Seattle has the highest scoring defense in the entire league. Seattle hasn't seen this much a dominating a defense since the Legion of Boom.

This is going to be a hard fought battle for the biggest prize in the game. For as good as the New England offense has been, and as well balanced as they are, good defense will always beat good offense. Seattle has a good defense. Oh and Seattle offense is pretty good too. They might be one of the few teams in the sport who could match up with this New England team punch for punch as the game goes along.

Pick: Seattle 30, New England 20

Kane Stands Alone

There's a new king on the thrown. It takes a lot to say that in the sport of hockey. The players that make up the National Hockey League come from all corners of the world. The two countries that dominate the sport come from Canada and the United States. Among those American scorers, for the longest time, one name had stood on top of the list, that being Mike Modano. That changed over the weekend, as Modano was passed by Patrick Kane. With an assist on a goal over the weekend, Kane picked up career point 1,375, which passed Modano for most amongst US born players.

For a kid from Buffalo, that’s a long way and long time coming. For a kid taken by the Blackhawks with the first overall pick in 2007, that’s a heady accomplishment. Kane career spanned 19 years and counting, the first 16 in Chicago, followed by a cup of coffee stop in New York. The last three years and counting have been in Detroit, where he’s still producing. While not as prolific as it was in Chicago, Kane is still finding a way to put his name on the scoresheet. And now he stands alone atop the USA scoring list.

That in and of itself is a huge achievement, when you consider some of the great players this league has seen coming from America. Modano, Doug Weight, Jeremy Roenick, Joe Mullen, Pat LaFontaine, Phil Housley, Keith Tkachuk, Joe Pavelski, the list goes on and on. Now Kane stands on top of all of it. He’s one of the best pure playmakers of his generation, and he’s got the numbers to back it up. Three Cups, a playoff MVP award, a league MVP, more than 500 goals and 1,000 points. The list goes on and on. There’s no doubt in anybody’s mind he’s a lock for enshrinement in the hall of fame when all is said and done, and his number to hang in the rafters at the United Center.

Congratulations Patrick Kane on becoming the greatest American born scorer in NHL history!

Baseball Hall Makes Call

It's the sound that any professional athlete wants to hear. You are a Hall of Famer. Getting enshrined in Cooperstown is the biggest complement a player can get. On Tuesday, the Baseball Writers Association of America made there selections for who should get in. This year, it was just two players: Andruw Jones and Carlos Beltran!

To get into the Hall, you need 75% votes on the ballot to get in. Jones got 78.4% votes (his 9th year on the ballot) and Beltran got 84.2% (his 4th year on the ballot). There are also two others who are joining Jones and Beltran in the Hall this year. Jeff Kent was selected by the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee, and Joe Buck was selected as the winner of the Ford C Frick award (Hall of Fame selection for Broadcasters).

Everybody that was elected to the hall deserves their induction. Let’s start with Jeff Kent. Sure, there have been those moments he’s had off the field. He’s had his problems in the locker room and with the media, that have been well documented. But his inclusion in the Hall is for what he did on the field. His career totaled 16 years, playing for the Blue Jays (1992), Mets (1992-1996), Indians (1996), Giants (1997-2002), Astros (2003-2004) and Dodgers (2005-2008). He’s a career .2909 hitter, 2ith 2,461 hits, 377 home ruins and 1,518 RBI’s. Kent won NL MVP in 2000, was a five time all star and a four time silver slugger winner. He is baseball’s all time home run leader for second baseman and is the only second baseman to have 100 or more RBI’s in six straight seasons, which he did from 1997 to 2002. Kent had a decent glove, but it was his bat that got him into Cooperstown.

As for the two center fielders that got selected, both are well deserving of their induction. First there’s Andruw Jones. Jones spent 17 season in the Majors, playing for the Braves (1996-2007), Dodgers (2008), Rangers (2009), White Sox (2010) and Yankees (2011-2012). Jones was a lifetime .254 lifetime hitter, picking up 1,933 hits, 434 home runs and 1,289 RBI’s. He won ten gold gloves, and was a five time all star. His 10 gold gloves were won in ten straight years from 1998 to 2007. That ranks tied for third for most gold gloves won by an outfielder. He could do a little bit of everything. He had good power and great speed, both running bases and in the outfield. The only knock on him during his career was he was a weak hitter for average. The rest of his career more than made up for it.

Carlos Beltran made a name for himself during one great playoff run and kept that going the rest of his career. His career spanned 20 season playing for the Royals (1998-2004), Astros (2004), Mets (2005-2011), Giants (2011), Cardinals (2012-2013), Yankees (2014-2016), Rangers (2016) and Astros (2017). Beltran was a lifetime .279 hitter, collecting 2,725 hits, 435 home runs and 1,587 RBI’s. He won AL Rookie of the year in 1999, was a nine time all star, a three time gold glove winner, two time silver slugger and won a world series in 2017. Carlos could do it all. He could hit for average, had plenty of power, was a great runner and an outstanding fielder. There really wasn’t anything in this game that Beltran couldn’t do.

Congratulations to everybody on their enshrinement in the Baseball Hall of Fame class of 2026!

Divisional Round Weekend Preview

Divisional weekend in the NFL has arrived. We are now down to eight teams left, all chasing the biggest prize in pro football. We got a couple of teams seeking their first world title, while a couple of others are seeking their first tiles in a long time. So let's not waste anymore time. Here's how we see the Divisional Round going down.

Buffalo Bills vs Denver Broncos 4:35PM CBS
Its a battle of two teams with a storied past in this league. Buffalo has an edge of sorts going into the playoffs, because they have a chance now to take advantage of not having their arch nemesis in the way in Kansas City. But this has a different feel to it for Buffalo as they aren't hosting a playoff game this year, which seems to be a different look for them. They got a little lucky in getting by Jacksonville last week, but they are facing the best team in the AFC this year. The only question mark for me with this is can the Broncos handle the pressure?

Pick: Broncos 30, Bills 24

San Francisco 49ers vs Seattle Seahawks 8:15PM Fox
A tough battle of division foes from the NFC West. Seattle is the best team in the NFC for a reason this year. What's making this pick easy for me is how banged up the Niners are. If San Francisco was a healthier team, this would be a much harder game to pick and a much different story.

Pick: Seahawks 27, 49ers 14

Houston Texans vs New England Patriots 3:05 PM ABC/ESPN
The New England Patriots seemed to have found their footing again as one of the best teams in the AFC. This is not to take anything away from what the Houston Texans have done during the course of the season, but lets be real here. Houston got very lucky they beat Pittsburgh last week. They keep making those same kind of mistakes again this week, the season ends.

Pick: Patriots 34, Texans 21

Los Angeles Rams vs Chicago Bears 6:40 PM NBC
This could be another close battle for the Bears this weekend with the Rams coming into town. And it's going to be a cold one in Chicago, which is going to play a factor into this one. But Matthew Stafford can handle it, having played in it for years in that division when he was in Detroit. Chicago had better find their run game again this week or this could be a long weekend.

Pick: Rams 27, Bears 10

Major Milestone In Tampa Bay

Coaching in sports. You have to be good at what you do to be able to coach in the National Hockey League. In fact, there have been 401 people that have coached at least one game at that level. Thirty two of those people have done that more than 1,000 times. Tampa Bay Lightning head coach Jon Cooper is one of those guys. He hit that mark before the end of 2025. Now he has reached another milestone.

Monday night, in a win over the Philadelphia Flyers, Cooper won his 600th game as an NHL head coach. Cooper got 600 wins in his 1,005th game, 2nd fastest in NHL history. Only one man, the great Scotty Bowman, got to that milestone faster. Bowman did it in 1,002 games. With that 600th win, Cooper becomes the 25 coach in history to reach that mark and is the 5th active coach to hit that number. Todd McLellan, Lindy Ruff, Paul Maurice and Joel Quenneville are the others.

Cooper’s record and numbers speak for themselves. 1.005 games coached, 600 wins (and counting for both), career .640 win percentage during the regular season. Two Stanley Cups, four total finals appearances 88 wins in 155 playoff games behind the bench. Since Cooper took over behind the bench late in the 2021-13 season, Tampa has never had fewer than 40 wins in a season (they had 36 wins in 2021 but that was the COVID shortened season). Also in that time, the Lightning have only missed the playoffs once. Those are all eye popping numbers. It speaks to how great of a coach Jon Cooper is. He knows how to get the best out of the players that he has. He knows when to push the right buttons and he can get the best out of what he is given.

Cooper had the best response when asked about hitting that milestone. “You get 600 wins ... it probably means you've had a lot of really good players. Ultimately, I've had a bunch of really good players, and they've made me look good."

Congratulations to Jon Cooper on hitting the major milestone!

Wild Card Weekend Predictions.

The opening weekend has arrived. We started this journey back in September with 32 teams all making the chase for a Lombardi Trophy. Now we are down to fourteen teams. Those teams start a month long chance for the biggest prize in all of professional football. So lets not waste any more time. Here's how we see wild card weekend going down in the NFL.

Los Angeles Rams vs Carolina Panthers (Saturday 4:30PM)
The road team, on paper, might be the better team in this matchup. Sure Carolina gets home field here because of winning the division. But they played in a bad division this year, which is evident by their under .500 record. I'm not saying that there isn't any talent on this Carolina team, because there is. The difference is, the talent level is much higher on the Rams. They are a more balanced and deadly team, at least on paper. We all know that might not always translate to the field. It also isn't helping that the Panthers limped into their division title and playoff spot.

Pick: Rams 35, Panthers 21

Green Bay Packers vs Chicago Bears (Saturday 8:30PM)
This is going to be a more intriguing matchup coming in. IT's the first time in five years the Bears have even made the post season, and they haven't won a playoff game since 2010. So there's added pressure enough in this one. It's even tougher that they hosting divisional rival in Green Bay. Both teams are stumbling into the playoffs, with each team coming in on small losing streaks. It just has that feeling coming into this one like playoff experience wins out here. Chicago doesn't have that, where Green Bay does. There's no doubt it going to be a tight game, but experience wins out here.

Pick: Packers 27, Bears 24

Buffalo Bills vs Jacksonville Jaguars (Sunday 1PM)
Jacksonville is coming into this as one of the hottest teams in football. And Buffalo had finally started to find their game at the end of the season. Sure, they aren't as hot as Jacksonville, but they started to get rolling at the right time. After hitting a bit of a bump in the road in the middle of the year, Buffalo won five of its final six to close the year out. This may end up being a battle of the ground game by the time all is said and done come Sunday afternoon. That being said, as good as the Jags are, experience get an edge here.

Pick: Buffalo 30, Jacksonville 20

San Francisco 49ers vs Philadelphia Eagles (Sunday 4:30PM)
Philadelphia has to come into this one as a more of a favorite, just given their past playoff record. After all, they are the defending world champions and have been in the big game twice in the last three seasons. But this year feels a little different going into it. The last couple of times the Eagles made the playoffs with under twelve wins, they got beaten in the opening round. It maybe a different result this year, but given the trend I'm not so sure. And the team they playing in the 49ers finished 12-5. IN most divisions that'd be a great finish. But given how tight the NFC West was this year, it only got them 3rd place. Doesn't really matter this time of the year. Given the things that have happen to the Niners this year, they just feel like a more resilient team going in.

Pick: 49ers 24, Eagles 17

Los Angeles Chargers vs New England Patriots (Sunday 8PM)
For the first time since 2019, the New England Patriots rule atop the AFC East. New England finished with 14 wins and a three game winning streak to close out the year. Nothing against the Chargers, who had a fine season, but this one feels like it going to be a romp. And probably the only romp of the weekend.

Pick: Patriots 27, Chargers 10

Houston Texans vs Pittsburgh Steelers (Monday 8:15PM)
This is going to be the tightest, most evenly contested game of the entire weekend. Yes a post season experience edge has to go to the Steelers. There's no doubt in anybody's mind that the Houston Texans come into the weekend as the hottest team in all of football. This comes down to who can get the ball last, and who makes the fewest mistakes.

Pick: Texans 17, Steelers 14

New Shutout King On Long Island

Now that's the way to come back from an injury. Ilya Sorokin has been out of action since December 19th with a lower body injury. His first game back was last night against the New Jersey Devils and it was a historic one. It was a 45 save shutout in a 9-0 win over the Devils. The shutout was Sorokin’s 26th in his career, all with the Islanders. Not that big a deal for most goalies. But in this instance, it is. All 26 of those shutouts have come with the Islanders, breaking the franchise record of 25. Chico Resch had the record, but that is no more.

There’s quite a bit to unpack here with all of this. First off, there’s the record itself. In the 53 year history of the Islanders franchise, thirty one goalies have recorded at least one shutout. The franchise as a whole has shut out their opponents 1398 times. Out of those 31 goalies, only three have recorded 20 or more shutouts, Billy Smith (22), Chico Resch (25) and Ilya Sorkin (26). When you think about some of the guys that have played in an Islanders sweater, that’s an eye popping number. And when you think about some of the guys that have defended the goal for the Islanders, that’s even more amazing a number.

As for the man who now has the record in Sorokin, he will go down as easily a top three goalie in the history of this franchise. He’s already 3rd in wins with 138 (and counting) as of this writing. He trails only Resch and Billy Smith for the record. Smith’s going to be hard to catch at 307 wins. Resch, who had 157, he should be able to pass if he could stay healthy. His goals against is 2.57 good for 9th in team history, the save percentage is at .916 which is good for 5th.

There’s some in the fanbase who love Sorokin, me included, while there are others who think he’s overpriced and not as good. Sure, he’s had moments when he hasn’t looked like that great a netminder. Every goalie during their career is going to have those stretches. There’s also times where he looks like he’s worth every single penny this team is paying him and then some. Sorokin has had stretches where he has carried this hockey club.

I don’t think he’s ever going to pass, or be mistaken for, Billy Smith. He can come close if he can help lead the Islanders to the promise land and win a Cup. Yes, there’s more to it than just one guy in the nets. But anybody who’s followed the game knows that great goaltending can carry a franchise. And Sorokin does have that ability, should he be able to stay healthy. And we saw that in his first game back against the Devils to break the record.

The sky is the limit for Sorokin. And I can’t wait to see where it takes him. Congratulations to Ilya Sorokin, the new Islanders shutout king!