Isles Return Home

Three years has been a long enough of a wait for hockey fans on Long Island. April 25th, 2015 was the last time a professional hockey game was played in the building, the Islanders game six win in the opening round of the playoffs against the Capitals. Now, after over three years of waiting, Islanders fans will get to see their team play home games at the Nassau Coliseum once again, beginning with the 2018-19 season.

When the Islanders were in their hayday in the 1980's, Nassau Coliseum could really rock with the noise of the crowd. It was dubbed Fort Neverlose. It really was a tough place to play in because the crowds would get really into it and make it hard for the opposition to deal with. Since the Islanders couldn't get a new deal done on the arena after the 2015 season, the Islanders had to move. Next stop after that was the current place they play, the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Nowhere an ideal place to be playing a hockey game, but it was a home for the team, allowing them to stay in the New York City area. Though a state-of-the-art facility, Barclays was not constructed with hockey in mind. It happens to be one of the worst buildings to watch a hockey game in. Its a pain for most Islanders fans to get to for a game, the ice surface is horrible, from what I've heard an seen and some of the sight lines suck for hockey.

On top of all that, fans have often said Barclays’ operators have never understood hockey, specifically the traditions that are associated with the gameday experience. Hearing stuff like that has been another reason why fans have wanted to kind of stay away from going to Barclays Center. Now the Islanders will be back in the Coliseum, to a degree, over the next three seasons. The completion of the Islanders new home at Belmont Park won't be completed until 2020, they have a deal worked out to split time between Barclays Center and Nassau Coliseum. According to a report from Newsday the Islanders will play 12 games at the Coliseum in 2018-19 and a combined 48 regular and preseason games the following two seasons. This does make sense. Barclays Sports Entertainment runs both the Barclays Center and Nassau Coliseum. They haven't profited from the Islanders at Barclays as they originally hoped, and their management agreement of the Coliseum requires pro hockey to be played at the building. The Isles could be out of the lease with Barclays after next season, which would give them without a home rink before the new one gets built.

A move like this is something that could only happen to the Islanders. They have been a bit of a laughing stock in the league,m in some way or another. Between ugly jerseys, messed up ownership, a building that was falling apart and at times just plain horrible play on the ice, an announcement like this seems only fitting for the Islanders. Yes its annoying to see the Islanders have to bounce back and forth between Barclays and the Coliseum, but it can also be good for the team as well. If the preseason game against the Flyers back in September was any indication, the people of Long Island are starving to have the Islanders back on home ice. The building can support it and the fans are ready for it. This is something that this team and this area is ready for and needs to happen. It can be a little bit messy, but it could work out well for everybody involved, at least from the Long Island point of view.

It's Coming Back!

This Is The XFL! That was the proclamation made by Vince McMahon in 2001 when he launched the brand spanking new football league. Well, that was a business venture that failed miserably for Vince. He's giving it another go, well over fifteen years later. It has been announced that in early 2020, the XFL is making a comeback! Play is set to begin in late January, maybe early February. Here's some of the things that McMahon made a point of saying during the press conference in regards to his new league (according to For The Win).

-McMahon didn’t have many firm details about the league at this point, but explained that he believes the XFL will have plenty of time to “listen to players [and] coaches. We’re going to listen to medical experts, technology executives, members of the media, and anyone else who understands and loves the game of football.”

-The XFL will feature a “shorter, faster-paced, family-friendly and easier to understand game.” McMahon did not give any specifics about how the rules of the game would be altered.

-The XFL will start as an eight-team league with a 10-game regular season and four playoff teams.

-The league will not operate on a franchise model, will be a single entity.

-McMahon said that the XFL is “way away” from announcing potential cities, but that the XFL will target cities that have NFL infrastructure

-McMahon promised that “in the XFL the quality of the human being is going to be as important as the quality of the player.”Players with a criminal record will not be eligible to play in the XFL. “Even if you have a DUI, you will not play in the XFL.”

-McMahon did not say if the XFL will be aired on broadcast television or streamed on his own platform, but said the XFL will have “a combination of forms of presentation.”

-McMahon said that there will “be no crossover whatsoever” of talent from WWE to XFL broadcasts.

-When asked if President Trump would support the league, McMahon took the opportunity to announce that “as far as our league is concerned, it will have nothing to do with politics. Absolutely nothing. And nothing to do with social issues, either. We’re there to play football.” McMahon did not explain how the XFL will police players who speak out on social issues, but explained that the rules of the league will be clear.

-McMahon said that the national anthem is a “time-honored tradition,” but did not specify if players will be required to stand. McMahon later said that it would be appropriate to require players to stand.

So here's what I got out of the results of the XFL. It will be different, and for the sake of Vince I really hope a very much improved product then it was the last time he tried. I love the fact that he's going to take all this time to make sure he tries to get it right, because I feel he rushed it the last time he tried doing this league. The idea of taking politics out of the game is great, because Vince wants to keep the action just on the field, which is where it should be all along. He wants to get players with some name value into the league, maybe somebody like a Tim Tebow, which again isn't a bad idea.

At the same time I do have some reservations about it. The biggest one being we all saw how bad a flop the last league was. I just really hope that Vince has learned from his mistake in 2001 and will be able to take this league off the ground. Having his parent company run the entire thing could be a good thing. At the same time, outside of the wrestling business that he got from his father, Vince McMahon has failed at outside business ventures before, so what makes you think that this is going to be any different? He's having a little trouble putting a quality product that fans are enjoying now from his wrestling show. If Vince is having trouble doing that, what is to make somebody like me believe that he can pull that and a football league off? I'm going to give it time and hope it works out but I have my reservations as to whether or not this will actually be something that can be pulled off.

Baseball Hall Makes Call

Its the words that every baseball player, or athlete for that matter, wants to hear. Hall of Famer. By definition, a hall of famer is a person recognized as one of the top performers in a particular activity, especially a sport. There are 322 total members of the hall of fame for Baseball, and you can now extend that number by six. Jack Morris and Alan Trammell have been selected by the veterans committee and just selected by the Baseball Writers' Association of America have elected Trevor Hoffman, Chipper Jones, Jim Thome and Vladimir Guerrero have all been selected to the Hall. They will be inducted at a ceremony in Cooperstown on July 29th.

Chipper received 97.2% of the votes for hall induction, and rightfully so.His career accomplishments are pretty impressive. He was an eight time all star for the National League, winning two Silver Slugger awards (1999 and 2000) and was voted National League MVP in 1999. He's got a World Series ring to his credit too, winning in 1995 with the Atlanta Braves, with his number 10 being retired by the Braves in 2013. In 19 years in the Majors, Chipper played in 2,499 games, collecting 2,726 hits, smacking 468 home runs, driving in 1,623 runs and finished his career as a .303 hitter. He has driven in more runs then any other third baseman in the game and had the second most RBI ever for a switch hitter (only Eddie Murphy drove in more runs as a switch hitter). Chipper is the only switch-hitter with at least 1,000 at-bats and a .300 batting average, .400 on-base percentage and .500 slugging percentage. He never won a gold glove award at third, but he still was no slouch playing at the hot corner. Whenever people mention the name Chipper Jones, it brings up memories. If you mention the name in New York, it causes a different reaction as he killed the Mets during the course of his career and he was a big reason why the Braces won the NL East for 14 years in a row.

The other infielder you have in this years class is Jim Thome, who received 89.8% of the votes for induction. Thome played 22 years in the Majors. played for a few different teams, like the White Sox, Twins, Dodgers, Orioles and Phillies, but everybody is going to remember him for his time as a member of the Cleveland Indians. Thome played in 2,543 games, collecting 2,328 hits, while blasting 612 home runs and driving in 1,699 runs and finished his career with a .276 batting average. Thome was an all star five times, won a Silver Slugger in 1996, as well as AL Comeback PLayer of the year in 2006 and was inducted into both the Indians and Phillies Halls of Fame. When Jim Thome gets talked about, its because the guy was one of the great offensive threats in the game during his hayday. He was known for getting a lot of power behind his swings and because he was such a pull hitter, teams used the left shift against him, which usually had three infielders on the right side of the diamond against him. He was just a good hitter and had that aura around him that he could crank one out of the park at will almost. He was that good of a hitter.

The outfielder in this group is Vladimir Guerrero, who got into the hall after earning 929% of the votes. Vlad spent 16 years in the Majors, playing for Texas and Baltimore at the end of his career, but it is mostly known for his playing time with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and Montreal Expos. Vlad played in 2,147 games, collecting 2,590 hits, while smacking 449 home runs and drove in 1,496 runs, and finished his career with a .318 batting average. Vlad was a nine time all star and an eight time winner of the Silver Slugger award. He also won MVP of the American League in 2004. He was known in the field for having good range, playing stellar defense, and a strong throwing arm, which he showed off regularly. As good as that is, and it was very good, Vlad will always be known for what he did at the plate. He will go in the books as the best bad ball hitter ever. He had a skill that nobody else really had, being able to hit a ball that was anywhere near the plate, whether it was a strike or not. This point was made evident on August 14, 2009, when Guerrero hit a pitch which bounced in front of home plate. Vlad was able to hit 30 or more home runs eight times and drove in over 100 runs ten times. He wasn't as good a  power hitter as Thome but that's OK, he still had solid power to his game.

Last, but not least is Trevor Hoffman, who got in on 79.9% of the ballots. He played 18 years in the Majors, two with the Brewers after his first 16 were spent with the Padres. Hoffman appeared in 1,035 games, finishing with a 61-75 record, a 2.87 ERA, 1,133 strikeouts and 601 career saves. Hoffman was named an all star seven times, twice lead the National League in saves and was twice named the Rolaids Relief Man of the year (1998 and 2006 for both of those accomplishments). Hoffman joins Goose Gossage, Hoyt Wilhelm, Rollie Fingers, and Bruce Sutter as the now fifth reliever to ever be inducted into the Hall. He had a great variety of stuff out there on the mound and worked harder then almost anybody in the game in order to stay at the top of his game. The only pitcher in baseball history that has more saves then Hoffman is Mariano Rivera

Now there is some debate about the guys who have yet to get induction into the hall. Of course, there's still going to be debate about three really big names, like Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Curt Schilling. The argument can be made for all three guys for what they did early on in their careers, before the steroid allegations came down. They had the tools and the numbers to back it up. They were never caught, which is why they are still placed so highly on the ballots every year. I know they all have stated that they didn't do anything but a picture is worth a thousand words and look at those guys from early on in their careers and what they looked like near the end of their playing days and tell us that they aren't on something.

One guy who got left out this year but should already be in is Edgar Martinez.Edgar has over 2,200 hits and smacked over 300 home runs in his career and yet still isn't in the Hall. I think the biggest knock against him was that he was a career designated hitter, which could be the biggest thing against him, which isn't exactly fair. I've always said it depends on who Edgar is on the ballot with to determine if he gets in or not. The fact that he still isn't in yet is a bit of a shame really.

So there you have it. The Baseball Hall of Fame class of 2018!

NBA All Star Rosters Announced

Its a gathering of the best talent in the game of basketball. February 18th, the best players in the NBA this season will gather at the Staples Center in Los Angeles to try and see which conference is truly the best one. This year, its going to be a little bit different. What the NBA is going to do this year is something that both the NHL and NFL have tried in past years. Team captains LeBron James and Steph Curry will be able to pick their teams from the list of players that have been selected to play in the game. Now conference designation does not matter, it's just the players will be picked and they will play. Here's the participants for this years game, based on the conferences they currently play for.

Eastern Conference
Starters
G Kyrie Irving Boston Celtics (5th ASG)
G DeMar DeRozan Toronto Raptors (4th ASG)
F LeBron James Cleveland Cavaliers (14th ASG)
C Joel Embiid Philadelphia 76ers (1st ASG)
F/G Giannis Antetokounmpo Milwaukee Bucks (2nd ASG)

Reserves 
G Bradley Beal Washington Wizards (1st ASG)
C/F Al Horford Boston Celtics (5th ASG)
F/C Kevin Love Cleveland Cavaliers (5th ASG)
G Kyle Lowry Toronto Raptors (4th ASG)
G Victor Oladipo Indiana Pacers (1st ASG)
F/C Kristaps Porzingis New York Knicks (1st ASG)
G John Wall Washington Wizards (5th ASG)

Western Conference
Starters
G Stephen Curry Golden State Warriors (5th ASG)
G James Harden Houston Rockets (6th ASG)
F Kevin Durant Golden State Warriors (9th ASG)
C DeMarcus Cousins New Orleans Pelicans (4th ASG)
F/C Anthony Davis New Orleans Pelicans (5th ASG)

Reserves
G Russell Westbrook Oklahoma City Thunder (7th ASG)
G Damian Lillard Portland Trail Blazers (3rd ASG)
F Draymond Green Golden State Warriors (3rd ASG)
C Karl-Anthony Towns Minnesota Timberwolves (1st ASG)
F/C LaMarcus Aldridge San Antonio Spurs (6th ASG)
G Klay Thompson Golden State Warriors (4th ASG)
G/F Jimmy Butler Minnesota Timberwolves (4th ASG)

Of course this is now going to bring up some of the debate as to who got snubbed and who didn't. Andre Drummond has a bit of a reason to be upset. He'saveraging 14.3 points and leading the league with 15 rebounds a night. He's also turned into a facilitator as a key cog of the Pistons' offense with those numbers. And yes Porzingis and Embiid maybe putting up slightly better scoring numbers from their position, Drummond has his team playing well past expectations, keeping Detroit in a tight race with the 76ers and Knicks for the 8th and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Lou Williams can make the exact same argument in the Western Conference as Drummond can in the East. Williams is averaging 23.3 PPG and is shooting at about 45% this year. He been a big reason why the Clippers are only half a game back in the West for that final playoff spot. Also worth noting that Paul George is missing the game for the 3rd straight year, but its not for a lack of effort. His numbers are down a little playing with Westbrook and Anthony out in OKC, but still they are very respectable. Considering the position he plays in a loaded Western Conference, he was going to miss. If he had stayed in the East, he would be playing in the game instead of Oladipo.

Otherwise the rosters look good for the All Star Game, one that should be fun to watch next month!

NFL Championship Weekend Preview

The time has arrived. We started this crazy journey with 32 teams, now were down to four. Sixty more minutes of football to decide who's gonna play for the biggest prize in American Football. The biggest game of the NFL year is just over the horizon and the four teams that are looking to play for the big prize have got a lot to look forward to. New England has been here for the 7th year in a row, so this is nothing new for them. Jacksonville is doing something they've done only twice before in the history of the franchise. Philadelphia is trying to break a slump of having never won the big game. Finally, there's Minnesota, who has the pressure of trying to be the first team ever to play in the big game on their home field. So lets get right into then shall we. Here's how the games break down this week.

First up we have the AFC South Champion Jacksonville Jaguars taking on the AFC East Champion New England Patriots. Jacksonville got here by winning the South with a 10-6 record. They started off with a 10-3 win over the Buffalo Bills and followed that up with a 45-42 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers to reach the AFC Championship game. This marks the 3rd time ever that the Jags have gone this far in the playoffs, losing in both 1996 and 1999.Jacksonville is now 9-6 lifetime in the Playoffs. As for New England, they went 13-3 to win the AFC East for the 9th straight year. After dispatching of the Tennessee Titans, 35-14 in the divisional round, New England has reached the AFC Title game for the 7th straight year and 15th time overall. New England is now 33-19 lifetime in the playoffs. This game will mark the 5th time that the jaguars and Patriots have met in the postseason, with the Patriots winning three of the previous four meetings.

Jacksonville played a sound football game last week against the Steelers. Yes they gave up 42 points, but it was enough to get the win. Sure they gave up 545 yards of total offense to Pittsburgh, the Jags did just enough to get a win. They are going to need to be able to get that kind of pressure against Brady and Co again this week. They have a good secondary and pass rush, as Pittsburgh found out last week. It doesn't just all fall on the defense, the Jags offense has to come alive against the Patriots as well, with the bulk of the load falling on the shoulders of  Lenoard Fornette and Blake Bortles. Both guys, and the rest of the Jacksonville offense for that matter, is pretty much going to have to play mistake free football. After what happened against Buffalo in the opening round, Bortles made up for it against the Steelers and is going to have to almost do the same thing again against New England in order to give his team a chance at victory. Jacksonville is going to have to be mentally prepared to go up against a team that is better prepared for any situation then the one they just faced last week.

New England is going to have a tough test in its own right, going against one of the best front sevens in all of football. Tom Brady and Bill Belichick will have a gameplan for how to handle the Jaguars. As far as Brady is concerned, he's going to have to find a way to get his receivers open against Jalen Ramsey and A.J. Bouye in coverage. The matchup between tight end Rob Gronkowski and the Jaguars defensive backs will become a deciding factor down the stretch. Gronk can cause matchup problems for anybody he goes up against because he's as big and talented as he is. New England is very versatile in how they approach the pass game. They do have a run game that can be put to great effect at times, but if recent weeks, and playoff years, have been any indication, they have no problem letting their soon to be Hall of Fame quarterback do what he does best.

New England has the type of defense that can keep the Jags receivers under control, which is going to put more pressure on the backfield. Bortles and Fornette are going to have to play out of their minds if they want to give Jacksonville a chance. It won't matter anyway, because New England is just too good of a football team. The Pats may get off to a slow start at the outset of the game, but by the time all said is done, New England will find its groove and will be back in the Super Bowl once again.

Prediction: Patriots 31, Jaguars 17

Now we have the NFC North Champion Minnesota Vikings taking on the NFC East Champion Philadelphia Eagles. Minnesota got here on the strength of winning their division with a 13-3 mark. They got into the playoffs and beat the New Orleans Saints 29-24 in a thriller to reach the NFC Championship game. This marks the 10th appearance for the Vikings in the NFC title game and their first since 2009. Minnesota is now 21--28 lifetime in the playoffs. As for the Philadelphia Eagles, they also finished the year 13-3 which was good enough to run away with the NFC East. Philadelphia beat the Atlanta Falcons 15-10 in the Divisional round to reach the NFC title game. This marks the 7th time that the Eagles have played in the NFC title game and the first time since 2008 that they've got there. Philadelphia is now 20-21 lifetime in the post season. This marks the 4th time that the Vikings and eagles will have met in the playoffs, with Philadelphia having won every meeting prior to this one.

This one is going to be a battle of defenses. Minnesota and Philadelphia finished the year one and two in defense in the NFC during the year, so its going to be a tight defensive battle. Philadelphia squeaked by Atlanta last week to reach this point, and it was a huge statement game made by the Eagles. It was a wonder as to how well the Eagles would play without Wentz in the lineup. Filed goal kicking was the name of the game and it worked for Philly on Sunday. For as good a quarterback as Nick Foles is, he hasn't thrown a touchdown pass since Christmas day against the Raiders. Alshon Jeffery and Zach Ertz are going to have to step it up and have big games if the Eagles want to advance. Same thing with Jay Ajayi, who needs to do a better job of hanging onto the football, because he had trouble with it against the Falcons last week. They have the defense to be able to get to the big dance, but can the offense hold up and keep pace?

Minnesota is coming off one of the biggest miracle weekends in the history of football. Case Keenum has thrown at least one touchdown pass in every game since Week 7, which is huge for the Vikings. He threw one last week as well and it was the biggest pass of his entire career. He was able to out duel Drew Brees last week, so there's a good chance he can be able to out duel Nick Foles this week (at least on paper).  They have the defense that should be able to shut down the Eagles run game and put plenty of pressure on Nick Foles. Its going to be a fun one to watch.

Minnesota has the defensive horses to be able to hold the Eagles run game in check and keep Foles on his toes all day long. On the offensive side of the ball, Minnesota has enough talent to be able to make the big plays when needed. Its going to be a close one but at the end of the day Case Keenum will have more of an answer then Nick Foles will.

Prediction: Vikings 21 Eagles 17

Is Brandon Nimmo Really That Good?

If there's one thing I can say about the New York Mets, they know how to make things interesting. It was announced on Monday that the Pittsburgh Pirates had traded Andrew McCutchen to the San Francisco Giants. Before that the Mets had made the move to ink Jay Bruce to a three year contract. What does this have to do with the man pictured above, Brandon Nimmo? Well the signing of Bruce, it is being reported, is an option that the Mets decided to go with instead of trading Nimmo to the Pirates for Andrew McCutchen.

You did read that correctly. According to MLB insider Ken Rosenthal, the Mets had a chance to land Andrew McCutchen in a trade, all they had to do was put Brandon Nimmo in the deal. They didn't do it and McCutchen is now a member of the Giants. Also, Rosenthal notes that while the Mets could still use Nimmo as the centerpiece for a Josh Harrison trade, their reluctance to trade him for one year of McCutchen could speak to a grander philosophy, in which they'd rather spend money on free agents than deal young talent.

To a degree this kind of makes sense. I'll give credit where its due, the Mets Outfielder knows how to be able to get on base and work counts, at least from every indication I've read. The numbers back that up, as is evident of his .379 on-base percentage and 15.3 walk percentage, the latter ranked 10th in baseball among all players with 200 or more plate appearances. But here also lies the downside, he sits 4th on the Mets depth chart in the outfield behind Jay Bruce, Yoenis Cespedes and Michael Conforto (although Conforto will miss the first month of the season recovering from shoulder surgery). You still do have Matt Reynolds and Juan Lagares on the team, but the Mets do see a bright future for Nimmo here in New York.

The way it sits right now, New York does need more infield help then it does in the outfield. Now don't get me wrong, I like what I've seen from Nimmo, but not enough yet to warrant hanging on to him. There;'s not much really sitting there on the free agent market, as most of the moves being made to aquire players are through trades. It has also been noted by several insider and reporters that the Mets have shown interest in Pittsburgh Pirates infielder Josh Harrison. Harrison has said that he does want to be possibly traded too. So you have something right there you could work off of. Harrison can play both at second and third, both spots on the field the Mets have been looking to fill. Not only that, but Josh Harrison would be here for a long time, unlike McCutchen who's slated to be a free agent at the end of this upcoming season.

So as much as I like Nimmo, I think if the Mets can actually stick a crowbar in their wallet and actually make a move, this would be the one to make. If you really want to show this fan base that you want to be a winning team and keep the fans happy and coming back, then pull the trigger and make a move.

Matthew Barzal Is Kinda Good

There have been few moves in the tenure of Islanders General Manager Garth Snow that have looked really, really good for the Islanders. One of them was trading Griffin Reinhart to the Edmonton Oilers for a 2015 first-round draft pick, 16th overall. Now Reinhart is no longer with the Oilers, he's playing in the minors for the Vegas Golden Knights, and he has just two points in 39 games in the NHL. Meanwhile, the 16th overall pick the Islanders had in the 2015 draft, they used it to select center Matthew Barzal. Barzal, to this point, has 44 points on the year, which leads all rookies in scoring, coming off his five point performance on Saturday against the Rangers.

His stat line against the Rangers was two goals in three assists in a 7-2 win over the Rangers at MSG Saturday. it makes the 2nd time this year he's posted a five point game, his other one coming November 5th in a 6-4 win over the Colorado Avalanche (he had five assists in that game). It's kind of a big deal that Barzal has done that twice already this season. Think about some of these interesting facts (provided by NBC Sports). Barzal is the only player in the NHL this season that has at least two five point games. The rest of the NHL has combined for seven. Since 2005-06, there have been thirteen players that have had multiple five point games in a season. Barzal has a chance to join Evgeni Malkin (four in 2011-12), Sidney Crosby (three in 2009-10) and Alex Ovechkin (three in 2007-08) as the only guys to have more then two of those games in a season. Oh yeah, and Barzal is one of only two Islanders rookies to record two five point games in their rookie season, the other one being Brian Trottier back in 1975-76.

So what does this all mean? Well it means that this Barzal kid is pretty good. To date, he has 15 goals and 29 assists, which is good for 44 points. The point totals are most among rookies in the NHL and he's 3rd on the Islanders in scoring, behind Josh Bailey and John Tavares. Both Bailey and Tavares are slated, again as of now, to hit the free agent market at the end of this season. Both of those guys are extremely valuable to the success of the Islanders. So too is Barzal with the way he's played this year. He's got the talent to really be a big star in this league. Some of the moves that this kid can make with the puck on his stick, and when he's going at full flight, are really something to watch.

The Islanders have had a few rookies since the turn of the century. Trent Hunter finished 3rd in Calder voting in 2004 and Michael Grabner finished 3rd in 2011 voting. No Islander has won the award since Bryan Berard in 1997. Barzal has a legitimate chance to walk away with the Calder this year, at the pace he's been playing this season. He's also a reason why the Islanders are, despite having that slide earlier in the year, that they are hanging around the playoff race right now. They sit a point back from the Wild Card spot as of this writing.

There's no other way around it, Barzal is kinda good.

NFL Divisional Round Preview

Wild Card weekend has come and gone and we are now down to eight teams left in the chase for the Lombardi Trophy. There's quite a few storylines going into divisional weekend in the NFL. Can both the Patriots and Falcons take another step towards a possible rematch in the big game? Can Jacksonville pull off the upset and play better then they did last week? Can Minnesota take another step to becoming the first team ever to play in its home stadium in the big game? All these questions and so much more will be answered this weekend. Here's how the games break down.

First up on Saturday at 4:35 is the Wild Card winning Atlanta Falcons taking on the NFC East Champion Philadelphia Eagles. Atlanta is coming off winning the Wild Card win over the Rams, which now puts the Falcons at 10-13 all time in the playoffs. Atlanta is in the divisional round for the 2nd straight year and tenth time in team history. Atlanta is trying to make it to the NFC Championship for the 2nd straight year and 5th time overall. They are going up against an Eagles team who won the Eastern division at a 13-3 record. Philly is in the playoffs for the first time since they won the division back in 2013 and they're looking for their first win in the playoffs since 2008. The Eagles are 19-21 all time in the playoffs. This marks the 4th ever meeting between the two teams in the playoffs, with Philadelphia having won two of the previous three meetings.

This marks the first time since 1975 that the top seed in the conference is actually considered the underdog, but that's the case here and with good reason. Philly did finish the year with a 13-3 record which was tops in the NFC, but since the injury to Carson Wentz. With Wentz out, the Eagles have had to rely on Nick Foles. Now Foles is a good quarterback, but with the year that Wentz had, Foles is viewd as a step back. I could see Jay Ajayi and LeGarrette Blount getting a lot of touches in this game. For Philadelphia to even have a chance in this game, they must stay out of third-and-long situations, those in which Nick Foles’ lack of decisiveness could be problematic against a Falcons secondary that lately has been outstanding in on-ball coverage. Foles hasn't converted a 3rd down pass for a 1st down since week fifteen against the Giants. Oh yeah and the Eagles have lost four straight playoff games.

They have to deal with a Falcons team that was able to shut down the running game in Los Angeles and outplay a tough Rams team. Atlanta's favorite weapon in the pass game, Julio Jones can move around to either side of the field, which will make matchups for the Eagles defense tough. Sure, Philly has one of the better front sevens in all of football, but they are going to be really tested by this Falcons offense. They have Julio over the top and as an added threat in Tevin Coleman and Devonta Freeman. But don't be surprised if the Eagles defense really puts pressure on Matt Ryan, something that the Eagles specialize in, especially in third and long situations.

This is going to be a solid game to watch. Atlanta is coming in hot, having won seven of their last nine games, including last week. Philly has a good defense, but they will start to get gassed as the day goes along. Atlanta will control the ball, control the clock and take the game.

Prediction: Atlanta by 10!

Next up on Saturday at 8:35 is the Wild Card winning Tennessee Titans taking on the AFC East Champion New England Patriots. Tennessee is coming of a thrilling comeback win over Kansas City a week ago, the first win for the Titans in the playoffs since 2003. Tennessee is looking to get to the AFC title game for the first time since 2002, something that the Titans have done only four times in the history of the franchise. Tennessee is now 15-19 all time in the playoffs. As for New England, they've now won the AFC East for the 9th straight year and fifteen times in the last seventeen years, finishing the regular season at 13-3. New England is looking to make the AFC Championship game for the 7th straight year and 14th time in the history of the franchise. New England is 32-19 all time in the playoffs. This marks the 3rd all time meeting between the two teams in the playoffs, with the team splitting the first two playoff meetings.

Tennessee has an uphill battle ahead of them this weekend. As good as Mariota was last weekend, he has had a touch of inconsistency during the course of the year. He's a good quarterback, as was evidence by being able to help lead his team in the comeback. Also, to be fair, Derrick Henry was a big reason for the Titans win last weekend, which was the best of his early two year career in the league. Expect a big game, or at least a big effort, out of Henry against the Patriots again this week. If the Titans really want to have a shot, Mariota and the passing attack have to get it going.

New England is very tough to beat as of late come the playoffs, they are 20-4 at home in the post season. Some might be critical of New England, as this could be viewed as a trap game. Reason being is that the Patriots could be potentially focused on playing the Steelers next weekend. But both teams have to get there first. Tom Brady still has plenty of firepower to work with, having the best tight end in the game in Rob Gronkowski and a couple of other good pass catchers in Brandin Cooks and Julian Edelman. Defensive Coordinator Matt Patricia is going to find a way to try and put pressure on Mariota and find a way to shut down Henry.

This game is going to be easy to pick. I'll give Tennessee credit for being able to come back against KC last week, but New England is better then Kansas City. And they better all around then the Titans. The game is in New England, a place the Patriots rarely lose during playoff time. Tom Brady is going to play like Tom Brady. Interesting state, Brady has more Super Bowl rings than Mariota, Nick Foles, Blake Bortles, and Case Keenum have playoff starts combined. This one isn't going to be fun if your a Titans fan

Prediction: Patriots by 14!

Moving on to Sunday at 1:05 its the AFC South Champion Jacksonville Jaguars taking on the AFC North Champion Pittsburgh Steelers. Jacksonville is coming off a win over the Bills in the Wild Card Game last week, moving their record to 6-6 all time in the playoffs. The win last week was the first one for the Jaguars since a 2007 win over the Steelers. If the Jags win this week, it will be the 3rd ever trip to the AFC Championship game. As for Pittsburgh, they finished the year 13-3, winning the AFC North for the 2nd year in a row and third time in the last four years. Pittsburgh has won four of their last six opening round playoff games and they are looking to move on to the AFC title game for the 17th time in team history. The Steelers are 36-4 lifetime in the playoffs. This marks the 2nd ever meeting between the teams in the playoffs, with Jacksonville beating Pittsburgh in their only other meeting in 2007.

Jacksonville is coming off an ugly win over the Bills last week, a game in which Blake Bortles had more rushing yards (88) then he did throwing yards (87). If the Jags want to have any chance in this football game, they are going to try and replicate the success they had in week five of this year when they pulled out a 30-9 win in the same building they're playing in on Sunday. Keep handing the ball off and let the run game do its thing. When the run game might not be working, Bortles has to be on top of his game through the air if the Jags offense is going to have any hope of putting up points. On defense, the Jags are going to put a LOT of pressure on the Steelers. Sacksonville likes to blitz and they have the athletic players to be able to pull it off. The Jags defense, which is lead by Calais Campbell, Jalen Ramsey and A.J. Bouye, will make life miserable for the Steelers.

As for Pittsburgh, I don't see Ben Rothlisberger having the five pick meltdown that he had in the week five loss to Jacksonville. He is a different quarterback once the playoffs get rolling. Oh yeah, Big Ben now has a healthy Antionio Brown, something he hasn't really had available to him since Christmas. The final part of the Killer B's, Le'Von Bell has been held to under 100 yards rushing in all but one game since week seven, so he's going to have to get it going. Having watched Bell in the past will be an indication of how good he is. On defense or the Steelers defense to make any noise, which fans know they can do, Javon Hargrave, Stephon Tuitt and Cameron Heyward are going to have to make plays in the backfield. They are going to have to make Bortles throw the football, which he has had some inconsistency as of late doing.

This is going to be a totally different animal that the Jaguars are having to deal with this week, as compared to playing Buffalo last week. Pittsburgh is an experienced bunch who know how to get it done when its all on the line. Jacksonville got a little lucky last week, that won't happen again this week. There's no denying that the defense is great, and having a great defense can take you far. But if you don't have a player under center who can somewhat match up with that defense, then its not going to matter. No denying Bortles is good, but its not enough this week

Prediction: Steelers by 10!

Finally, Sunday at 4:40 we have the NFC South Champion New Orleans Saints taking on the NFC North Champion Minnesota Vikings. New Orleans is coming off a huge win over Carolina last week, which improved the Saints playoff record to 8-9 all time. New Orleans has now made the divisional round for the 6th time in team history and is looking to get back to the NFC title game for the first time since 2009. Minnesota, meanwhile, finished the year 13-3, winning the division for the 2nd time in three years and 21st total division title. Minnesota is looking to get to the NFC title game for the first time since 2009. Minnesota is 19-28 lifetime in the playoffs. This is the 4th meeting between the two teams in the playoffs, with the Vikings having won two of the last three games.

This is going to be a lot different then what you saw when these two teams met in week one. Sam Bradford started that game for Minnesota, but this is now Case Keenum's team. He's been a big factor this year, avoiding turnovers this year by tossing just seven interceptions to 21 touchdowns. He's got a solid run game to work with in talented backs like Jerick McKinnon and Latavius Murray, and a receiving core filled with Stefon Diggs, Michael Floyd and Kyle Rudolph. Minnesota has a solid defense that takes a few fans back to the days of the Purple People Eaters in the 1970s. That defense is going to be good, very good.

They're going against a solid one-two rushing attack that New Orleans has. Mark Ingram and Alvan Kamara have combined to lead the NFL in rushing yards (1,852), rushing TDs (20), scrimmage yards (3,094) and scrimmage TDs (25). Yeah, they're kinda good. But if somehow, the Vikings find a way to shut them down, Drew Brees is no slouch. In seven games versus top-10 total defenses, Brees has thrown 10 TDs to three INTs for a 110.1 passer rating and 8.8 yards per attempt, which shows that he knows how to step his game up when the game is on the line.

This game is indoors, which is about an even benefit for both teams. New Orleans has been playing great all year, there's no debate about that. The only thing is, the Saints have just one road playoff win in franchise history. I have a feeling that could end up hurting them. Minnesota is looking to become the first team ever to play in the Super Bowl in their own home building. No host city has ever had their team play in the big game. Minnesota has what it takes to take one step closer to that this week.

Prediction: Vikings by 3!

All Star Rosters Announced

Ah the annual All Star game. The one weekend of the hockey season where the best of the best come together for a three on three divisional tournament for bragging rights amongst the divisions. Its a showcase of the best players in the league, all converging on Amalie Arena in Tampa the last weekend in January. There will be some injury replacements sure, but the teams are now set. It will be, just like last year, the four divisions facing off to see who's the best of the bunch. Now, with that being said, here's what the rosters look like for the 63rd NHL All Star Game.

Atlantic Division
Head Coach: Jon Cooper, Tampa Bay Lightning
F Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning (Captain, 5th)
F Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay Lightning (2nd)
F Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs (2nd)
F Aleksander Barkov, Florida Panthers (1st)
F Brad Marchand, Boston Bruins (2nd)
F Jack Eichel, Buffalo Sabres (1st)
D Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay Lightning (2nd)
D Erik Karlsson, Ottawa Senators (5th)
D Mike Green, Detroit Red Wings (2nd)
G Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay Lightning (1st)
G Carey Price, Montreal Canadiens (6th)

Metropolitan Division
Head Coach: Barry Trotz, Washington Capitals
F Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals (Captain 7th)
F Taylor Hall, New Jersey Devils (3rd)
F Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins (3rd)
F Josh Bailey, New York Islanders (1st)
F John Tavares, New York Islanders (5th)
F Claude Giroux, Philadelphia Flyers (5th)
D Seth Jones, Columbus Blue Jackets (2nd)
D Noah Hanifin, Carolina Hurricanes (1st)
D Kris Letang, Pittsburgh Penguins (4th)
G Henrik Lundqvist, New York Rangers (4th)
G Braden Holtby, Washington Capitals (3rd)

Central Division
Head coach: Peter Laviolette, Nashville Predators
F Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks (7th)
F Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche (2nd)
F Blake Wheeler, Winnipeg Jets (1st)
F Brayden Schenn, St. Louis Blues (1st)
F Eric Staal, Minnesota Wild (5th)
F Tyler Seguin, Dallas Stars (5th)
D P.K. Subban, Nashville Predators (Captain, 3rd)
D Alex Pietrangelo, St. Louis Blues (1st)
D John Klingberg, Dallas Stars (1st)
G Pekka Rinne, Nashville Predators (2nd)
G Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jets (1st)

Pacific Division
Head coach: Gerard Gallant, Vegas Golden Knights
F Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers (Captain, 2nd)
F Johnny Gaudreau, Calgary Flames (4th)
F Brock Boeser, Vancouver Canucks (1st)
F James Neal, Vegas Golden Knights (3rd)
F Rickard Rakell, Anaheim Ducks (1st)
F Anze Kopitar, Los Angeles Kings (4th)
D Drew Doughty, Los Angeles Kings (4th)
D Brent Burns, San Jose Sharks (5th)
D Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Arizona Coyotes (2nd)
G Jonathan Quick, Los Angeles Kings (3rd)
G Marc-Andre Fleury, Vegas Golden Knights (3rd)

So now it begs the question, did they get the picks right? A little surprised that guys like Vladimir Tarasenko of the Blues, Phil Kessel of the Penguins, John Carlson of the Capitals and Jonathan Marchessault of the Golden Knights didn't make the cut. Phil Kessel is in the top 15 in scoring and has always been a consistent player an d he actually has more points then Crosby does this year, to this point. James Neal has had a solid year in Vegas, but Marchessault is the Golden Knights leading scorer and yet gets left out. Also quite surprised Fleury got in. He's having a good year, but I feel because he missed so much time due to injury that should have kept him out of the running.Otherwise, it looks pretty good as to who got picked for the midseason All Star Game!

Crimson Tide Win Thriller

It's becoming a modern day dynasty. For the twenty first time in the history of the school and the fifth time in the last nine years, the Crimson Tide of Alabama have won the National Championship in College Football. This is the first title since 2015 for Alabama, a quick drought that most teams would kill to have. It took a little more time then Alabama wanted, and they needed a little bit of luck on their side, but they eventually got the job done and walked away with a championship.

True freshman Tua Tagovailoa came up huge when it was needed the most, hitting freshman wide receiver DeVonta Smith with a 41-yard touchdown pass to give Alabama the 26-23 overtime win. And Tagovailoa wasn't even the starter in the game, Jalen Hurts got the start for Alabama. Tagovailoa got mostly mop up duty this year, but when he was needed most, he came up big in the biggest moment. Hurts got off to a rough start, going only 3 of 8 for 21 yards and was pulled by the time the 3rd quarter got underway. Georgia's defense had done a fantastic job dominating Alabama over the first half, leading to a 13-0 lead for the Bulldogs by the time we went into the break.

Then Tagovailoa came into the game and had himself a pretty good day, going 14 of 24 for 166 yards, three touchdowns and a pick. Sure there were times he made freshman mistakes. Case in point, the interception he threw was on a run play when most of his receivers were set in making their blocks. At other times, he showed the poise of a guy whose been playing the position at a high level for a long time. Case in point, he was able to dart away from pass rushers and made some impeccable throws. Tagovailoa made his second biggest play of the game facing fourth-and-goal from the 7, with Alabama down seven. He rolled to his left and zipped a pass through traffic that hit Calvin Ridley in the numbers for the tying score with 3:49 left in the fourth quarter.

All of this, though, looked like it would have not have even happened at one point. Once Georgia took the 20-7 lead after Georgia's own freshman quarterback, Jake Fromm, hit Mecole Hardman for an 80-yard touchdown pass. Once Georgia took that lead, I think most of the feeling was that Georgia might actually end a national title drought that dates back to 1980. And lets not take anything away from what Jake Fromm did, he finished the day going 16 of 32 for 232 yards, that one touchdown and he was picked off twice. For most of this game, Fromm looked like he was going to be the one freshman to lead his team to the title. Georgia was in control of the game. But then Alabama started to chip away at the Georgia lead.

The Crimson Tide fought all the way back to tie the game, with the comeback being capped off by the Ridley touchdown with 3:49 left. Bama had a chance to win it at the end of regulation, but kicker Andy Pappanastos missed a 36-yard field goal in the final seconds to force overtime. Georgia took the lead in the extra session, thanks to a 51-yard field goal by Rodrigo Blankenship. Bama got the ball back and the rest is history. This game actually marked the 2nd straight week that Georgia had to go to extra time, beating Oklahoma in double overtime last week just to be able to get here. They had to play extra time again this week, but their run of luck just ran out against the Crimson Tide. Georgia had the better day on the ground, but at the end of the end of the day, it was the scoreboard that mattered.

Congratulations to Alabama on winning the 2018 National Championship!

Memo To The New York Islanders

As much fun as this season has been for the New York Islanders, and trust me its been a fun year to watch so far, there's been a bit of a hicup as of late. They started the year off like a house of fire, going 15-7-2 to begin the season. Since then, they've managed to win just six games, including a come from behind shootout win today over the Devils. But there's more to it then that. Its the fact that the offense has began to sputter a little and the defense is starting to show some leaks going into the bye week this week. They don't play again until they face the Rangers next Saturday, but between now and then, the Islanders have some things they need to work on.

Ever since the overtime win on December 27th against Buffalo (thank you Matthew Barzal), the Islanders had lost five straight games since then, with the last four coming in blowout fashion. It included a 4-2 loss to Winnipeg, a 6-1 loss to Colorado, a 5-1 loss to Boston, a 6-4 loss to Philadelphia and a 4-0 loss to Pittsburgh. When the Devils took a 4-2 lead today, I thought the life had gone out of the Islanders and it was going to be a 6th straight loss, but they fought back to get the extra point. It's becoming a problem when Jaroslav Halak and Thomas Greiss are having to face 35 or more shots a game, something they've had to do the last six games.

There are times where the goalies can't do anything to make a save because their defense has let them down by not picking up a guy in front of the net. Not having Johnny Boychuk on the ice because of an injury may have something to do with it, its always a possibility. At the same time, the rest of the guys who are on the club now, like Nick Leddy and Denis Seidenberg (when he plays) need to keep up the leadership. The younger guys need to step their game up too, guys like Adam Pelech, Ryan Pulock, and Thomas Hickey. Everybody on that blueline has got to chip in and make a difference and help cut down on those horrible shot numbers.

The offense is still near the top of the league in scoring, but they've looked a little off as well. Josh Bailey was dealing with an injury, so he is out for now. The rest of the team needs to try and rally and find that MoJo again. It was a month ago that the Islanders sat in 3rd place in the Metropolitan division. Now here we sit a week into the new year and the Islanders are a point ahead of the Penguins who are in last place in the Metro Division. Its a team that's really in need of trying to right the ship and get back to what was working for them in the early part of the season. With as well as some of the teams ahead of them, like Philadelphia, Carolina, the Rangers, New Jersey and Washington have been playing, the Islanders may yet again find themselves out of the playoffs.

Islanders fans I know are tired of seeing the team miss the post season, and with the way this season started it really looked like the Islanders may have turned the corner and hit their stride to make a run at a championship. Now it looks like they've gone into a slight spinout. So lets hope that today's comeback shootout win will be just what the Islanders needed to get things back on track for a playoff push. If they miss out again this year, some major changes need to be made for this team. Now's the time for the Islanders to get their act together!

Wild Card Weekend Preview

Here we sit on the first weekend of January and the chase for the Vince Lombardi trophy is now underway. We have played seventeen weeks and a total of 256 games during the National Football League season. Twelve teams are left standing, four of which have bye weeks. New England, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Minnesota all have this week off. Four of the five teams in the AFC playoffs missed the post season last year, including two teams who have waited quite some time to get back into the playoffs. Meanwhile in the NFC, five of the six teams in this years playoffs missed the dance last year, with Atlanta being the only returning team from a season ago. Lots of games to get to, so lets get right into it. Here's a breakdown of Wild Card Weekend.

First up its the AFC West Champions the Kansas City Chiefs playing host to the Wild Card Winning Tennessee Titans. This now marks the 26th playoff appearance for the Chiefs, who have won the West with a 10-6 record. Its the 2nd straight division title for KC, and the 4th time in the last six years that they've made the playoffs. Kansas City has been bounced in their first game in three of their last four playoff trips and the team is 9-17 all time in the playoffs. As for the Titans, this marks their 23 playoff appearance, coming in with a 9-7 record to take the first wild card spot. This marks the first playoff appearance for the Titans since 2008 and they are looking for their first playoff win since 2003. The Titans are 14-19 all time in the post season. This marks the 2nd ever meeting between the two teams, the last one coming in 1993 a game which the Chiefs won.  These two teams didn't meet during the regular season. Kickoff is slated for 4:35 Saturday on ABC.

Tennessee has gotten a balanced attack from their run game this year, between Derek Henry and Marcus Marriota. But since week nine, Tennessee has scored more then 24 points only once, which means the offense will need to find its groove again on Saturday. Tennessee had gotten off to a bit of a slow start, going 4-3 by the time they hit the bye week and kind of backed into the playoffs, dropping three of their final four games. And to make matters worse for the Titans, they were a lowly 3-5 on the road this season.

Kansas City, meanwhile, has fared pretty well at home, finishing the regular season going 6-2 at Arrowhead Stadium. They also closed out the year on a four game winning streak, after losing six of their prior seven.The Chiefs are getting hot at the right time and a lot of that has to do with the return to form of possible offensive rookie of the year Kareem Hunt. Hunt has played out of his mind this year, with over a thousand all purpose yards. Having Hunt, Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce have given Alex Smith plenty of firepower to work with this year.

There's no denying what the Titans have been able to do this year. But Kansas City has been that much better. The Chiefs are the stronger of the two teams and yes this has been a great year for the Titans, but this is where that great year comes to an end.

Pick: Kansas City Chiefs

Next up, we have the Wild Card Winning Atlanta Falcons taking on the NFC West Winning Los Angeles Rams. Coming in at 10-6, Atlanta finished the year 3rd in the NFC South, getting in as the last wild card spot, a year after winning the division and going all the way to the Super Bowl. Atlanta has now made the playoffs six times in the last nine years, including the last two in a row. This now marks the 23rd playoff game in Falcons playoff history, which has seen the team go 9-13. As for the Rams, this marks their first trip to the playoffs since 2004, and this winning of the West is the first division title for the Rams since 2003. Los Angeles is looking for its first playoff win in LA since 1989. The Rams are 19-24 all time in the post season. This marks the 2nd ever meeting between the teams in the playoffs, the only other won coming in 2004, which was won in a blowout by the Falcons. The teams didn't meet during the regular season. Kickoff is set for 8:15 on Saturday night.

This is going to feature a matchup of two of the brightest stars in the game, Julio Jones of Atlanta and Todd Gurley of Los Angeles. Both guys are capable of having monster games at any time. Jones racked up 253 receiving yards and two touchdowns in a 34-20 win against Tampa Bay, and Gurley amassed 276 yards from scrimmage and two scores in a 27-23 victory against Tennessee. Sure the Rams lost their final game of the season and they lost their last two games at home, but with the way that Gurley has been playing this year, Los Angeles is going to be a tough team to beat. First year head coach Sean McVay has really been able to get the best out of his players this year and has the rams playing really good football this season. He has been able to get a lot out of Jared Goff and got the offense clicking. Oh yeah, and the Rams defense has been playing like a top five defense this year as well.

Atlanta is no slouch, having won three of its last four games to get back into the playoffs, when it looked for a time like they might miss out on the post season. Julio Jones and Matt Ryan have done a pretty good job of carrying the offense this season. But the problem is the Falcons have the 23rd ranked defense in all of football. It almost kind of felt like they backed into the playoffs this season a little bit. But sometimes that's just the kind of breaks you need to get into the post season. If Atlanta can see running back Devonta Freeman get up to the level of Julio Jones and the Falcons defense can kind of start to step their game up, Atlanta might have a chance in this one.

At the end of the day, I feel the Atlanta offense has the possible horses to keep up in this game, but the defense may end up letting them down. And with the way that Todd Gurley has played this season, the Rams are the flat out better football team. The NFC will have a new champion this year.

Pick: Los Angeles Rams

Now to Sunday's action we go. First up we have the Wild Card Winning Buffalo Bills taking on the AFC South Champions the Jacksonville Jaguars. This marks the 18th playoff appearance for the Bills and their first one since 1999. Buffalo got in on the last day of the regular season, finishing with a 9-7 record. Buffalo will be in search of its first win in the post season since 1995. The Bills are 14-15 lifetime in the post season. As for Jacksonville, the Jaguars won the South at 10-6, earning their first division title since 1999. This marks the first playoff appearance for the Jags since 2007, which was also the last time the Jags won a playoff game. Jacksonville is 5-6 lifetime in the playoffs. This marks the 2nd ever meeting between the teams, the last one coming in 1997, a game which was won by Jacksonville. These two teams didn't meet during the regular season, Kickoff is slated for 1PM.

Going into the final day of the season, it looked like a lock that the Ravens were going to make the playoffs. All they had to do was win. That didn't happen and the Bills got into the playoffs. A big reason for that is LeSean McCoy. McCoy is a fantastic running back who just gained 1,000 yards from scrimmage or more for his eighth straight season, however, so it'd be no surprise if he could get it going against a Jaguars defense that allowed 4.3 yards per carry, which is in the lower half amongst NFL defenses. The one thing that could be working against the Bills is can McCoy play? He's dealing with a sprained ankle, which he hurt on the final day of the season. I don't know how good the Bills chances are if McCoy can't go.

Lets not take anything away from Jacksonville, who did manage to win their division. Leonard Fournette has been a huge asset for this Bengals club and could be making a claim for offensive rookie of the year this year. Blake Bortles has had himself a pretty good year this year too, but at times has shown a little bit of inconsistency. And Jacksonville did manage to finish the year going 6-2 at EverBank Field this year, while the Bills managed to go just 3-5 on the road. Jacksonville may not have the best team in the AFC, but they've got a balanced team that, when its clicking, can be one of the tougher teams to beat.

The biggest thing that can be taken away from this game is Shady McCoy. If he can't go for Buffalo I don't give the Bills much of a chance in this game. I would have given Buffalo more of a chance also if they had let Tyrod Taylor start every game instead of making that one stupid decision to start Nathan Petermen a few weeks back.

Pick: Jacksonville Jaguars

Final game of the weekend pits the Wild Card Winning Carolina Panthers taking on the NFC South Champion New Orleans Saints. For the Panthers, they finished the year 11-5 to finish 2nd in the division and make the playoffs for the 4th time in the last five years and the 8th time overall. Carolina is looking to get a win in the playoffs for the first time since losing the Super Bowl to Denver. Carolina is 9-7 all time in the playoffs, New Orleans has won the division for the 6th time in franchise history, also finishing with an 11-5 record. It marks the first time since 2014 that the Saints are a playoff team. New Orleans has now made the playoffs for the 10th time in team history and they are 7-9 all time in the playoffs. This marks the first ever meeting between the two teams in the playoffs, this after New Orleans swept both meetings during the regular season. Kickoff is slated for 4:40PM

If you're a Panthers fans I've got some bad news, they allowed 30 points a game in both games to the Saints this season. But they have managed to salvage being a top ten defense this season. Carolina hasn't been able to score much this season, its been a struggle for Cam Newton and company. Yes the team has managed to win eleven games, but Newton has had some games where he hasn't looked like himself. Carolina has one of those teams that has the chance to be able to break off big games as an offense, but as we've seen this year, can't exactly find a way to get it going.

New Orleans has been one of the best offenses in the league and a big reason for that is Alvin Kamara. Since he took over as the full time running back in New Orleans, he has had only one week in which he has failed to rush for over a hundred yards in a game only once. That was in week five. I know it seems like he's the biggest weapon in the offense, which he has been this year. But he's not the only weapon, as Drew Brees is still a very effective quarterback.

This game is going to come down to the running game and if that's the case the Saints have the advantage hands down. If the running game doesn't work, and it comes down to quarterback play, this year Brees has been the better of the two and this is going to help lead the Saints on to the next round.

Pick: New Orleans Saints

Best And Worst Of Week Seventeen

That was a bonkers way to close out the regular season. Somehow the National Football League managed to cram a full slate of sixteen games into a seven hour window on New Years eve, and it lead to some fantastic action on the gridiron. It took till the final day of the season to wrap up all the playoff positions, but it was finally taken care of Sunday. The Buffalo Bills clinched their first playoff spot since 1999. Meanwhile, Seattle Los Angeles Chargers and Baltimore were all left out in the cold. Then we had the Cleveland Browns becoming the 2nd team ever to finish a season 0-16. Cleveland's record over the last two years sits at 1-31. That's what happened with some of the teams. Lets get into the rest of what happened on the final day of the year. Here's the best and worst of week seventeen.

Best:
Buffalo Bills
Eighteen years is a long time to be waiting. The Buffalo Bills haven't seen the playoffs since 1999, but this year that drought has come to an end. Thanks to their win, and the loss by Baltimore on Sunday, Buffalo has made the post season for the first time since 1999. Buffalo did what they had to do on Sunday, walking away with a 22-16 win over the Dolphins. Buffalo's defense stepped up huge and stopped the Dolphins cold. It may have come at a cost, because LeSean McCoy suffered a sprained ankle and may not be available for the playoff game next week, so his status is currently up in the air. But just for the fact that the Bills finished the year at 9-7 and got into the playoffs its amazing. Its the 3rd time since 1999 that Buffalo finished a year 9-7, and this year it was good enough to be a playoff team

Worst:
Cleveland Browns
Move over Detroit Lions, you've got company. For only the 2nd time in the history of the NFL, a team has finished the season without winning a game. Cleveland fell to the Steelers 28-24 to finish the year at 0-16, joining the 2008 Detroit Lions as the only teams to do so. Pittsburgh had played most of their backups and the Browns still couldn't even get a victory. DeShone Kizer finished with 314 yards and two touchdowns. He also threw a interception and losing a fumble. Duke Johnson lost a fumble as well on a promising drive. Then at the end of the game when the Browns still had a chance to win Corey Coleman let a perfectly thrown ball go right through his hands, hit him in the facemask and go out of bounds. On fourth-and-2. Seems like this could only happen to the Browns. This is a year that the team would like to forget and hopefully the new guys in charge can get this figured out and actually turn the product on the field around.

Best:
JuJu Smith-Schuster, Wide Receiver Pittsburgh Steelers
Since most of the starters for the Steelers weren't playing on Sunday, you thought it might be a sloppy game for Pittsburgh. Somebody forgot to tell that to JuJu Smith Schuster, who had himself a fantastic day. The rookie had nine catches for 143 yards and a touchdown. He also returned two kickoffs, one of which he took 96 yards to the house. Thanks to his monster game, Smith-Schuster ended up tallying north of 1,000 all-purpose yards this season, becoming the youngest player in league history to hit that mark. This was huge because of not only the significance for the kid on the year, but the Steelers going into the playoffs. It shows that the Steelers can win without their big guns and it got their big guns rested and ready to rock and roll in two weeks when Pittsburgh will step on a field next. Good day on ya JuJu

Worst:
Nick Foles, Quarterback Philadelphia Eagles
Well Eagles fans, this doesn't look good going into the playoffs. Things looked grim when Carson Wentz went down with the knee injury which finished his season. Nick Foles came back in under center and hasn't looked very good. Sunday, in a season end 6-0 loss to the Cowboys, Foles looked flat out horrible. Nick went final line was 4 of 11 for 39 yards when he was pulled in the 2nd quarter. Foles looked pretty good in his first start of the year in week fifteen. His last two starts over the final two games of the season haven't gone very well. If Foles plays the way he did in his first game, then Philly may still have a chance to get back to the big game. Philly fans better hope and prey the good Foles shows up in their first playoff game.

Best:
Frank Gore, Running Back Indianapolis Colts
In what has been a bad year for the Colts this year, Frank Gore didn't need to play in the final game of the season against a bad Texans team. Frank Gore is a professional and decided to suit up and play in the 22-13 win by the Colts. He played pretty well too. He had 24 carries for 100 yards even, a day which pushed him over 14,000 total yards for his career, becoming just the 5th running back in league history to ever rack up that many yards. On the season, Gore finished with 1,206 total yards and four touchdowns and came up 39 yards shy of 1,000 rushing yards on the year, He was doing this all at age 34 and on a bad Colts team nevertheless. Frank Gore will be getting his ticket punched to Canton once his career is over.

Worst:
Bryce Petty, Quarterback New York Jets
At this point, I'm really starting to wonder if Bryce Petty is really going to be the answer for the Jets at Quarterback, either short or long term. New York closed out their regular season with a 26-6 loss to the New England Patriots and Petty really didn't look very good in this game. Petty was frighteningly inaccurate on some of his misses, completing 19-of-32 passes for just 232 yards, much of which was tallied in garbage time. The only reason Petty was getting playing time was because of the injury to Josh McCown. Petty hasn't looked comfortable under center at all this year. Hell, you know it was a rough day for Petty when he forgot he was still wearing his Beanie as he was trying to put his helmet on at one point. There is one thing I have to wonder. If Bryce Petty is this rough, then how bad must Christian Hackenberg be if he can't even get into an NFL game?

Best:
Orleans Darkwa, Running Back New York Giants
Big Blue closed out the worst season in franchise history with a win. New York finished the year with a 3-13 record, capping it off with an 18-10 win over the Redskins. Orleans Darkwa was a huge reason why the Giants came away with the win. Darkwa got the Giants on the board early with a 75 yard dash to the end zone. He ended up with 154 yards rushing on just 20 carries, marking the biggest single game he’s had in his four-year NFL career. It also helped the Giants rack up 260 yards on the ground, which helped them grind out the clock in a game that saw Eli Manning complete just over a third of his passes. There are times this year that Darkwa has seemed almost MIA, and there's times, like in week seventeen, where Darkwa showed up and proved he could be a huge asset to this football team.

Worst:
Kirk Cousins, Quarterback Washington Redskins
Kirk Cousins is going to be going into free agency this offseason, and what happened this week really didn't help his case when it comes to trying to get a contract. Cousins went 20 of 37 for 158 yards no touchdowns and three horrible interceptions. He couldn't hit the broad side of a barn against a Giants defense that is easily one of the more beatable in the league. And this coming in a game in which Eli Manning wasn't as good, completing just ten passes total in the game. The door was wide open for the Redskins, but Cousins wasn't able to lead them through it. Now, as Cousins is looking for a new contract coming into next year, he just made it a little bit harder on himself because of that final performance.

Best:
Atlanta Falcons Defense
Atlanta had a big game on Sunday, beating the Panthers 22-10. It was a statement game for the Falcons defense. Cam Newton was held to 14 of 34 passing for 180 yards a touchdown and was picked off three times. As a whole, the Carolina offense was held to ten points in the game, 15 first downs and went 5-of-15 on third downs. Atlanta is looking to return to the big game from a season ago, and with the way the year started it didn't look like Atlanta had a chance. Now, with the way the Falcons defense has been playing over the last couple of weeks, the Falcons look like they are heating up at the right time. Atlanta is going to need more performances like this if they are going to be playing football in the first weekend in February.

Worst:
Chicago Bears Offense
This might not have really been a good time for the Bears offense to totally go missing. Granted, there aren't too many people who could have really seen the Bears actually beating the Vikings. Minnesota rolled to a 23-10 victory over the Bears, as Chicago couldn't find their legs at all in the running game. As a team, Chicago had 15 carries for 30 yards total. You read that right 30 total rushing yards for the Bears on Sunday. Take away a 10-yard dash by Tarik Cohen and it looks even worse. Chicago's passing game wasn't great either, Trubisky finished with just 178 yards passing, was wildly inaccurate in the red zone, too, and the Bears offense just managed just three total points. That's so sad.