NBA Star Moved

Fear the beard, because its on the move again. James Harden, the disgruntled 76ers star, has wanted to be moved since June. He finally got his wish. Harden is now heading to LA to play with the Clippers and old running buddy Russell Westbrook.

According to ESPN, the full trade is as follows: The 76ers sent Harden, P.J. Tucker and Filip Petrusev to the Clippers for Marcus Morris, Robert Covington, Nic Batum, KJ Martin, a 2028 unprotected first-round pick, two second-round picks, a 2029 pick swap and an additional first-round pick from the Oklahoma City Thunder, sources told ESPN. The Clippers are sending a 2027 first-round pick swap to Oklahoma City, clearing the way for the Thunder to move a protected 2026 first-round pick to the 76ers, sources said. The Clippers are sending a 2024 and a 2029 second-round pick to the Sixers in the deal too, sources said. Also, the Sixers will waive veteran guard Danny Green to create the roster space for the trade.

You want to talk about trying to get a super team to win a title, the Clippers are looking that way. Adding Harden in with Westbrook, Paul George and Kawhi Leonard. SO it works out for both sides. Harden gets to play on a team this talented for a shot at a title. Meanwhile the Sixers get draft capital and gives them space to go after a high talent guard to play with Tyrese Maxey and stud Joel Embiid.

Harden wanted out of Philly because he wasn't happy with the Sixers GM and upper management. That seems to become a recurring theme. Harden seemed to get moved around quite a bit because of either low ball contract offers (according to him) or he's unhappy with management. I get that players become unhappy with upper management, that happens in any aspect of life.

Harden it seems, if he isn't happy he complains and whines till he gets out of whatever bad situation, in his mind, he's in. He wasn't happy with Philly he wanted out and he got it. Feels like the same thing happened when he was with the Nets too. So Harden now out in Philly and is headed to a good team in LA to try and win a title.

Best & Worst NFL Week Seven

Week seven brought on some pretty big performances, one of which was the Sunday night game. teams dominated through the air, as only one guy in the league ran for over a hundred yards during the week's action. We had one QB have a massive week, while another one looks like its starting to fall apart around him. So lets not hold on any longer. Here's some of the best, and worst, from week seven in the NFL.

Best: Patrick Mahomes Quarterback Kansas City Chiefs
Everybody knows that this guy is the best at what he does. He showed it again Sunday in a Kansas City 31-17 win over the Chargers. You know you were having yourself a day when you had over 300 yards passing by the time you hit the half. Mahomes finished 32 of 42 for 424 yards and four touchdowns. He went to his favorite target in Travice Kelce a lot, who had 12 catches for  179 yards by himself. Those two guys had themselves a day and picked apart that Chargers defense like it was nothing. If there had been some doubts about the Kansas City game, they were put to rest on this day.

Worst: Jordan Love, Quarterback Green Bay Packers
When you take over under center in Green Bay, there's always going to be very high expectations put on your shoulders. Jordan Love has had a little trouble adjusting to those expectations and its starting to show. For the first month of the season, Jordan was keeping packers in games. Now the Packers are losing games because of his bad play. Throwing seven picks in the last four games, including one in a 19-17 loss to the Broncos in Denver. That pick he threw killed whatever rally Green Bay was trying to kickstart against Denver. It also showed lack of awareness on Love's part for when he made the heave.

Best: Myles Garrett, Defensive End Cleveland Browns
It's a rarity in today's game that you really see a defensive player be the sole reason why his team won a game. That's exactly what happened with Myles Garrett, as he lead the Browns to a 39-38 win over the Colts. Garrett collected nine tackles, two sacks, trip sacks at that. One of those sacks was recovered in the end zone for a score. He also had one tackle for loss, one pass defended, four quarterback pressures and a blocked field goal. That block in turn led to Cleveland points, via a field goal. He was all over the field, creating havoc for the Colts, who had no real way to be able to defend him. That was one of the more dominating performances seen in a long time.

Worst: Brett Maher, Kicker Los Angeles Rams
Think this is the first time in quite a long time I've put a kicker on the list. But with the way Maher was king on Sunday against the Steelers, it worth putting on the list. Pittsburgh walked away with a 24-17 win over the Rams, and that could be a very different outcome had Maher been more on point. He missed not only an extra point, but two critical field goals as well. Sure he made 16 field goals coming into the week, which was tied for 2nd in the league. But when the day was done, the misses dropped his kicking percentage to 74% the worst in the NFL this year.

Best: Tyson Bagent Quarterback Chicago Bears
Without a doubt one of the more surprising names I've ever written out in the time I been doing these lists. Bagent comes in an undrafted rookie out of a D2 school at Sheppard. He steps in for Justin Fields and leads the Bears to a 30-12 win over the Raiders at home. A lot of pressure going onto this kid making his first NFL start. All in all, it was a solid first start, going 212 of 29 for 162 yards and a touchdown. He also contributed 24 more yards on the ground and helped the Bears throw in a bit of a running attack as well. it was a good day of ball control that the Bears haven't seen in a while this season.

Worst: Daniel Jones Quarterback New York Giants
Kind of feel bad putting Jones on this list, given that he's out with a neck injury. But the Giants are coming off a 14-7 win over the Commanders, and well let's be honest here, they have looked better in the two starts with Tyrod Taylor under center then they have with Jones as the starter this season. Taylor hit Darren Waller for a touchdown pass for the first of his two TD's on the day. That TD pass was the first home touchdown New York has had all season, as well as the team's first offensive one since Week 3 and the first first-half touchdown all year. If this keeps up with Tyrod under center, Jones may not see the end of that contract he signed with the Giants.

Best & Worst NFL Week Six

We are now through six weeks of the NFL season and we already got a lot going on. We got one winless team left in the Carolina Panthers. Meanwhile the two teams that went unbeaten to this point, San Francisco and Philadelphia, are unbeaten no more. Running games and defense was the stories to take away from week six, so lets not waste more time and dive right into it. Here's some of the best, and worst, from week six in the NFL.

Best: New York Jets Defense
You want to talk about bigtime performances, look no further then what the Jets defense did against the unbeaten, at the time, Eagles. Philly isn't unbeaten anymore, as the Jets walked away with a 20-14 victory. New York's offense had done just enough to get the job done, but it was the defense that was the star of the day. They forced four eagles turnovers, including a huge pick late in the game that led to the Jets go ahead touchdown at the end of the day. Now, after the way the Jets started the season with Rogers getting hurt, there wasn't much hope. After this win, they go into the bye week as a .500 football team, which I didn't think I would be saying with the way things got started.

Worst: Carolina Panthers Offense
Things just seem to keep getting worse for Carolina, who are the only winless team left in the NFL this season. This comes after getting spanked to the tune of a 42-21 drubbing at the hands of the Dolphins. For one thing, Morstert on Miami had more rush yards by himself then the Panthers did as a team. Stroud was sacked 4 times and the Panther pass attack had 188 total yards through the air. This leads to head coach Frank Reich saying that he's going to actually had offensive play calling off to his offensive coordinator Thomas Brown. Maybe, just maybe, this will give the Panthers offense the kick right square in the ass it needs to get going. Because it was horrible against Miami,

Best: Kyren Williams Running Back Los Angeles Rams
Los Angeles seemed to find part of its game again on Sunday, in a 26-9 win over the Cardinals. Williams was a huge part of that with a big game on the ground on Sunday, He was one of two backs with over a hundred yards on the ground (Mostert of Miami was the other one). Williams finished with 20 carries for 158 yards and a touchdown. It's performances like this that prove that there can still be good runners on any given week and there is a pretty big place in the game for the running game and teams need to start getting back to it more

Worst: Gardner Minshew Quarterback Indianapolis Colts
With Anthony Richardson out with injury, Gardner had a chance to step up and take hold of this job. And it was against his old team in Jacksonville no less. But it didn't go the way anybody expected. Jacksonville walked away with a 37-20 win. Yes Minshew threw for 329 yards on the day, but only completed 33 of the 55 passes he threw. Oh and he had three ugly picks on the day too. Not a good way for Gardner to get back under center in this league. But with Richardson down for what looks like the year, its Gardners team and he's going to have to get this thing figured out.

Best: Jim Schwartz Defensive Coordinator Cleveland Browns
Another case of a great defense knocking off a previously unbeaten team. Cleveland pulled off a huge upset, beating the 49ers 19-17 thanks in large part to what Jim Schwartz dialed up against the Niners. It didn't help San Francisco that they lost McCaffery to injury early on. But the Browns defense put all kinds of pressure on Brock Purdy on the day, and you could see it was driving him nuts. Cleveland was throwing its collective weight around late and the Niners had no answer. Now Cleveland isn't going to be a contending team in the same vain as say a Buffalo or Kansas City in the AFC, but with how well there defense can play, it will keep them in a lot of games.

Worst: New York Giants Pass Game
Its tough enough going up a very good Buffalo Bills team. Its even tougher when its not Daniel Jones, but rather Tyrod Taylor under center for the night. Buffalo walked away with a 14-9 win in a game that really shouldn't have been that close. Buffalo looked bad all night too, but the Giants offense was even worse. Against a depleted Bills defense, this should have been a runaway, with Saquan Barkley back in there for the Giants too. But the pass game didn't do much of anything. Sure Taylor threw for 200 yards but it wasn't anything meaningful. They went 0 for 5 in trips to the redzone on the night. How much more embarrassing can you get if your the Giants?

Injury Bug Bites Bolts

We're a little over a week into the hockey season, and already it seems like injuries are starting to pile up. Tampa has been off to a rough start, going 1-2-1 through the first four games, and have played the last couple of games without team captain Steven Stamkos, which has lead to a sense of urgency from the team.

Last night, the got a point, coming back late to tie the game in the 3rd (Thank you Brandon Hagel) before falling to the Buffalo Sabres in overtime. It closed out a road trip which saw the Bolts lose all three games, getting only one point on the trip. Coach Cooper had expressed it in the media before last night's game that this is a little bit of an urgent time for the Bolts.

The trip was a bit of a bust and not having Stamkos for the last two games shows that there's a few holes in Tampa lineup without their Captain. Couple that with having Tyler Motte and Andrei Vasilevskiy being out as well, its getting a little tougher out of the block for the Lightning.

Yes, its early in the season I'm aware. It's only four games in. But should we really be hitting the panic button now? Not as fast as people are thinking. The lightning have been in this boat before. They've had it happen where they've had to deal with injuries to big time players and they've been able to get it together in time to make it not only to the playoffs but to go on deep playoff runs. SO it is possible to overcome these things.

Sure that three game road trip it didn't look good. The last two looked bad without Stamkos in the lineup. With him out, there are guys starting to step up. Hagel had the big goal last night to get it to overtime in the first place. Things do look rough right now, but that is a silver lining to all of this. There are guys here in Tampa who can step up when called upon. They still have their big guns in Hedman Point and Kucherov.

Just hang on, this team will make it through the storm and come out on the positive side of things.

Best & Worst NFL Week Five

We are almost a third of the way through the NFL season and what a roller coaster it has been. Jacksonville seems to play better on the other side of the pond then they do over here. One team in the New York Metro area found its game again, at least for one week. That being said, here's some of the best and worst from week five in the NFL

Best: Breece Hall, Running Back New York Jets
Yes, I know its against a bad Broncos team, but a win is a win. And Breece had himself a redemption day of sorts. See it was week seven last year against the Broncos where Hall hurt his knee and missed the remainder of the season. Now he shown that the knee seems just fine. Hall helped power the Jets to a 31-21 win in Denver, as he had 22 carries for a league best 177 yards. Seventy Two of those yards came on a long run late in the first half. He has shown that the knee feels and runs just fine. If the Jets can keep using more of him and Dalvin Cook as the season goes along, maybe it will take the pressure off of Zach Wilson and he can perform to the level the Jets need him to if they hope to make the playoffs.

Worst: Mike McCarthy Head Coach Dallas Cowboys
You want to talk about some poor decision making, look no further then what McCarthy did against the 49ers. Dallas got un out of the building by the 49ers, to the tune of a 42-10 loss. That 42 points Dallas gave up Sunday was more then they had in the first month of the season combined, which is scary to think about. A lot of it came down to play calling against the 49ers and that falls on coach McCarthy. Dak threw three picks, not McCarthy fault, Dak threw the ball, but maybe better play designs wouldn't have seen Dak make those bad plays. McCarthy said he wanted to run the ball against the 49ers, but Dallas as a team had only 19 carries. That theory went right out the window. This play calling goes right to the coach, who rightfully should take the blame for this loss with his own bad decision making.

Best: Pittsburgh Steelers Defense
When we talk about the Steelers winning football games as of late, it seems like it's been their defense that has been getting them through it rather than the offense. Nothing against the Steelers offense, but it was there defense that stood tall against the Ravens this weekend in a 17-10 victory. Pittsburgh had been driving the Ravens wide outs nuts all day, forcing dropped passes along the way. But what really stuck out for the Steelers was the fact that they forced two Ravens turnovers in the final six minutes of regulation, which lead to ten Steelers points and a win.

Worst: Mac Jones Quarterback England Patriots
Feel like I'm starting to sound like a bit of a broken record here with Mac Jones. Yes I know taking over for Tom Brady in New England was going to be a very tall task, and Mac Jones hasn't lived up to the task Not only did the Patriots get routed by the Saints 34-0, but Jones was making bad decisions with the football. He threw a pick six to Tyrann Mathieu, his 3rd pick six this season and second in as many games. To be fair here, this isn't totally on Mac Jones. Yes he the one throwing the ball, that's true. But some of this has to fall on his head coach, who hasn't exactly been able to surround his quarterback with what he needs to take this Patriots club to another level again. Its really the fault of both player and coach here.

Best: Desmond Ridder Quarterback Atlanta Falcons
Atlanta managed to walk away with a 21-19 win over the Texans, and a lot of that was the play of Desmond Ridder. He played a pretty good game going 28 of 37 for 329 yards and a touchdown. he played a clean game too, meaning he wasn't picked off and he wasn't sacked, shout out to the Falcons line for keeping him upright. He also started showing hook ups to Kyle Pitts and Drake Landon, both of whom have took a little while to find a groove with Ridder, which it looks like they finally have.

Worst: Bryce Young Quarterback Carolina Panthers
Sure there's a lot of pressure surrounding a player taken first overall in the draft, there's a lot of hype surrounding him. So far, Young has done a serviceable job handling it. That was until Sunday. In a bad 42-24 loss to the Lions (who are still one of the best teams in football, not to take anything away from Detroit), Young looked like he took a step back in his development at the NFL level. yes he threw for 247 yards and three touchdowns, but threw two very costly picks that led to Detroit scoring drives. He still hasn't seemed like he's gotten comfortable at this level yet and it's a big reason why the Panthers are still winless on the season.

2023-24 NHL Season Preview

The time has arrived. Four months of waiting has come to an end. Thirty Two teams. An eighty two game regular season for each of them. It is here and now the 2023-24 National Hockey League season is upon us. Vegas is the defending champs, hoping to be able to keep the Cup out west. Boston is looking to bounce back after having egg on their face from what happened in the opening round last year. Can Toronto build off last years first round win? Can Florida continue its success with a repeat trip to the finals? All those questions and more will be answered in the coming months.

Right now lets dive right into it. Here's how we see the 202324 NHL Season playing out.

Western Conference:
Central Division:
1. Dallas Stars 112 Points*
2. Colorado Avalance 109 Points*
3. Nashville Predators 100 Points*
4. Minnesota Wild 95 Points*
5. St Louis Blues 90 Points
6. Winnipeg Jets 84 Points
7. Chicago Blackhawks 80 Points
8. Arizona Coyotes 78 Points

Coming off a 2nd place finish in the division last year, the Stars take their game to the next level this year and reach even higher than the year before. Yes Jamie Benn is slowing down, but that's coming with age. Matt Duchene and Craig Smith have been brought in to add more depth. This is going to be in support of the guy who had his breakout year last year In Jason Robertson, who is expected to have another big year again this year. Expect another good year out of Ottinger in net two. Now we have the Avalanche, who are going to have no problem keeping pace with Dallas most of the year. it will be a little tough without their captain Gabe Landeskog in the lineup due to injury. But there's still plenty of talent on this team to keep them in pace. Druin was brought in to get top line minutes with their two best players in MacKinnion and Rantanen. With Makar and Towes healthy this blue line can be good. And there's hope with Georgiev playing as well as he did last year, the Avs will be just fine. Now we go to the Predators, with a new coach and GM in place things could be good for the Preds this year. The netminders are good with Saros leading the charge, and Josi and McDonagh at the front of the blue line the defense can look good. Ryan O'Reilly was brought in to solidify the center position, which he is more than able to do. There are still a few things brewing with the Wild in terms of heading in the right direction. They got a solid goaltending tandom in Fleury and Gustavsson. The blue line is well built up and down with Spurgon leading that group. Krill Kaprizocv is going to have another mosnter year this year, leading a fairly well balanced attack. Depth here might keep them a little bit back from reaching a playoff spot but its going to be close in Minnesota

Shifting more west, we have the Blues who pose an interesting bunch. They have a balanced scoring attack, leadu by Jordan Kyru and Brayden Schenn. What is holding this offense back is they don't really have a true game breaker yet in their lineup that's going to stick with the top teams ahead of them in the standings. The defensive core is all north of 30 years old. Still good yes but not getting any younger. And Jordan Binnington is solid in net, but there is question marks behind him. Moving further North, we have the Jets, who are still looking to build on last year but it doesn't seem like it could be there this year. They are still solid in net with one of the best in the game in Connor Hellebyuck manning the pipes. Socring has punch with Connor and Scheifele, but again it comes down to lack of depth and well rounded scoring from this club. The blue line could be decent, but its not up to snuff compared to the rest of the division. We now have a new era coming in with the Blackhawks. The Connor Bedard era has begun. He is without a doubt the brightest star on a team that's going to be in rebuild for quite some time. On paper there's no depth around him yet to make them even close to becoming a contending club. Finally, rounding out this division nis the Coyotes. You have offensive hope with Clayton Keller and Nick Schmaltz. Goaltending and defense are huge question marks out in Arizona, which is going to result in another last place finish.

Pacific Division
1. Edmonton Oilers 110 Points*
2. Vegas Golden Knights 108 Points*
3. Los Angeles Kings 105 Points*
4. Seattle Kraken 100 Points*
5. Calgary Flames 93 Points
6. Vancouver Canucks 89 Points
7. San Jose Sharks 79 Points
8. Anaheim Ducks 75 Points

Things are looking pretty good for the Oilers right about now. You have two of the top offensive players on earth with McDavid and Draisitil. There's plenty of depth scoring to complement those two guys. Defense is solid and look for Stewart Skinner to have a bigger year between the pipes this season.  Seems like the Oilers are right there to take the next step in the West. Behind them are the defending Cup champions the Golden Knights. Logan Thompson and Aidin Hill are going to be splitting the load in net, but Hill is going to try and build off his successful run in the playoffs. Helping keep the puck out of the net is Alec Martinez and Alex Pietrangelo. And then there's the scoring punch lead by Jack Eichel and Jonathan Marchessault. Now this might not be as powerful at the top as what you got in Edmaonton, but its good enough for them to be a major force in the West again this season. Now you have a team coming on their tails in the form of the Kings. Cam Talbot now really has a chance to put his stamp on the LA crease. A place of question is depth on the blueline behind Drew Doughty, who isn't getting any younger. Neither is their top forward in Anze Kopitar. They have a nice complement behind him in Fiala, Dubis, and Kempe. It may not be enough to really challenge the top two dogs in this division, but it will be more than enough to get them where they want to go. Right on their heels are going to be the Kraken. They are going to build off last season success in getting into the playoffs. Grubauer is going to be counted on again to take the lion share in net, and he will do just fine with that work load. Then you have Schultz and Dunn leading things on the blueline which looks like it could be solid again. Scoring still shows a little lack of depth. Benniers and McCann will carry things again for this team but there isn't enough, while it is good, to really be able to hang with the top three.

The Flames are going to hang around a bit in this race, but fade near the end cause of lack of depth. There is hope in net that Jacob Markstrom can keep them in a lot of games. Noah Hanafin was brought in to bolster that blueline which has potential to be solid. Its scoring that could hold Calgary back a little this year. Huberdeau didn't have as good a year his first year in Calgary coming over in trade, so look for him to have a bounce back season this year. Still there isn't much depth here with this team to really have them near the top of the heap in this division. There's a little more high hopes for the Canucks this year to take steps upward in this division. There's an interesting one-two punch in net with Demko and bringing in DeSmith. Love Hughes leading the charge from the back end, but there's a little lack of depth behind him to build around. Up front, you got two stars there in Pettersson and JT Miller. You also got a budding star in Kuzmenko who can take his game to an even higher level this year too. Still not enough to draw the Canucks back up to contender just yet. Now as for the Sharks, that is going to be in a rebuild mode if I ever saw one. Goaltending is below par in the Bay. Defense same thing. There's a glimpse of hope with offense, if they can stay healthy, With Couture and Hertl, that's a good start. Nothing behind it. Things get worse for the Ducks when it comes to finding a foothold here in this division. Killorn was brought in during the offseason, but he got hurt in camp and will miss time. John Gibson didn't look the same last year in net. Fowler still the leader on the blue line but there's not much help for him there. There's talent with Zegras and Terry up front and a bit of a slow build for a supporting cast, but Anaheim appears to be heading in the right direction.

Eastern Conference
Atlantic Division
1. Toronto Maple Leafs 110 Points*
2. Florida Panthers 107 Points*
3. Boston Bruins 102 Points*
4. Tampa Bay Lightning 99 Points*
5. Buffalo Sabres 97 Points
6. Ottawa Senators 87 Points
7. Detroit Red Wings 80 Points
8. Montreal Canadiens 70 Points

Things starting to head in the right direction for the Maple Leafs last season, winning a playoff round for the first time in twenty years. What really worries me, and has for a long time with this team, is the problem in net. Samsonov and Wall have been good and will be this year, but they need to get it done come spring time. Same thing with the blue line. Morgan is going to be relied upon a lot to play big minutes. There's no denying that with Tavares, Mattehws, Marner and Nylander leading the charge up front, that this team can score. Question is can they really put it all together when it matters most come spring? We know one team that did, the defending conference champs the Panthers. Matthew Tkachuk had himself a massive year for Florida leading that charge and will be counted on to do it again this season. Barkov, Reinhart and Verhaeghe are going to be counted on to support their offensive star it Tkachuk. Ekblad is hurt to begin the year, but Ekman-Larosn and Kulikov should be fine holding the fort down till he comes back healthy. And of course Bobrovsky will again be carrying the load between the pipes. Following them up will be the Bruins, who are taking a step back after their Presidents Trophy, record setting season last year. Bergeron is gone, and Marchand is taking over as captain of this good club. They won't be able to replicate last season's success, but they still have a talented group with Pastrnak leading the offensive charge. They brought back in some veteran leadership with Lucic and JVR into the mix. On the blueline, MacAvoy and Grizlik bring plenty to the table. Between the pipes is Ullmark, who's coming off his Vezina season and a young and hungry Swayman. There still a good group here, just not quite as good as last year. Now we move on to the Lightning, who are very much still in the mix. It going to hurt not having Andrei Vasilevskiy between the pipes from the start, as he gonna miss two months following back surgery. Jonas Johansson going to have to carry the load till Vasey gets healthy and can take the job back. Victor Hedman looks like his old self in camp, after having what was a down year by his standards a season ago. He going to be counted on to take a bulk of the work on a solid blueline. Losing Alex Killorn over the summer hurt, but the core up front with Stamkos Point and Kucherov has this team looking like they going to be in the mix. Bottom six are going to have to step up if the Bolts hope for a long run in the playoffs.

First team on the outside looking in is going to be the Sabres. They just missed out on the post season a year ago. With a good offensive core led by Tage Thompson, Buffalo has something to really pull for. With him, Tuch, Cozens, Dahlin on the back line, there's hope in Western New York. Only thing that is going to hold Buffalo back is in goal. It looks like Comrie and Levi are the go to tandom in net. If Buffalo wants any shot at the playoff hockey, one of these two is going to have to take hold of the starting job and really run with it. Right behind them are going to be the Senators, who have the exact same problem. Korpisalo isn't a true number one goalie and Forsberg can't take the job straight away from him. Top defense pair of Chabot and Chychrun are pretty good but the bottom four doesn't leave much room. Same goes for the forwards. Top line of Giroux, Stutzle and Tkachuk are going to be good this year. Tarasenko was brought in on a one year deal and should proved some spark, but they aren't quite at the level they need to be at just yet. Now we got the Red Wings, who are still in the process of rebuilding, but its getting made in the right direction. Husso is going to be healthy and should take the bulk of the load between the pipes. There something to build around with Seider on the back line, along with Gostisbehere and Petry. Adding more depth up front by bringing in DeBrincat was huge for this team. They got talent with Larkin and Raymond. Its going to be a little ways away still but its going in the right direction. Finally there's the Canadiens. Sure Nick Suzuki is their best forward, but there's not much to really be able to build around him. The blue line still needs work and so does goaltending.

Metropolitan Division
1. Carolina Hurricanes 111 Points*
2. New Jersey Devils 110 Points*
3. New York Rangers 108 Points*
4. Pittsburgh Penguins 105 Points*
5. New York Islanders 98 Points
6. Washington Capitals 92 Points
7. Columbus Blue Jackets 86 Points
8. Philadelphia Flyers 80 Points

Another year, another division crown for the Hurricanes, who seem to just keep getting better. It stings at the start of the season for the Canes having Andrei Svenchnikov being out with injury, but this team is still deep enough to go on a deep run. Last year it was injuries catching up to them late that cost them in the conference finals. A healthy Freddy Andersen could be huge again in the Carolina net. There a good mix of youth and vets on the blue line. Scoring punch is going to be solid again this season, with Aho and Necas leading the way with Andrei missing time. This team is deep and gonna be good for a long time. Right behind them are the Devils, who are looking to build off a very strong season a year ago. Vanacek is the number one man in the Jersey nets, but with the way Schmid played in the playoffs that could lead to a good problem for the Devils to have. Hamilton and Segenthaler lead the defense corp, who have high expectation for Luke Hughes on the back end. Him along with his brother Jack are expected to carry this team for a long time. Jack Hughes is going to look to build off his outstanding performance a season ago and lead this team to the promise land, and adding in a talent like Tyler Toffoli to a loaded team makes the Devils that much better. The Rangers are a team that took a step backwards a season ago, but this year they will be right back in the thick of it in the Metro. Igor Shesterkin is expected to once again carry the load in the nets on Broadway, a task he has no problem handling. Truba, Fox and Miller are going to take the lead for this young and hungry defense group. Scoring should hold up fairly well with Panarin and Zibanejad doing what they do best and Kappo Kako building on his numbers from a year ago. The wild card here in this division is going to be a rebuilt Penguins team. Last season was the first one in which Pittsburgh had missed the playoffs since 2006. This year they get back. They added Erik Karlsson to the blue line, who's coming in off of a monster season last year. He joins a good but slightly older defensive group. They still have a good offensive group with Crosby, Malkin, Rust and Guentzel but they aren't getting much younger. The one thing that could keep the Pens on the fence for a playoff spot this season is in net. Can Jarry be the guy to take them there?

As for the Islanders, they were a playoff team a season ago but can they get back there again? No problem to worry about in net with Sorokin and Varlamov manning the cage. The blue line is lead by Pullock and Pelech and looks to be solid. What leaves me a little worried is scoring. Horvat and Barzal had some magic together, but they went a little out of wack when Barzal got hurt near the end of last season> Nelson should also have another solid year producing. But what has one worried about this team is whether or not there's the scoring depth to be able to get this team not only into the playoffs but on a deep run again. If you look for a team that's had a fall from grace of sorts, its going to be the Capitals. At this point in his career, there's so few milestones for Alex Ovechkin to really reach, but he got his sights set on a few this year and could get close to Gretzky records. There still Oshie, Backstrom and Kuznetsov to help Ovie with the scoring which will keep them out of the playoffs. That and lack of goaltending. Kumper is good but not good enough to help them reach the playoffs. Then we have the Blue Jackets, who are still a ways away but are taking steps in the right direction. Johnny Hockey is starting to live up to his contract and with Laine on the line with him, its something to build around. They added more depth pieces to be excited about with Adam Fantilli drafted and Cole Sillinger developing for another season. If either Merslinkins or Spencer Martin can take over the number one job the Jackets could surprise people. Finally, there the Flyers who don't have much hope. You have Owen Tippet and Morgan Frost to be able to build around but there a ways away from getting to the promise land.

Best & Worst NFL Week Four

We're four weeks into the NFL season, and there's plenty to talk about with drama showing up around the league. Chicago is still really bad. Gang Green showed signs of life till a couple late mistakes cost them the game. New England can't find its footing while Buffalo is seeming to really start hitting there's. Lets not waste time and get right into it. Here's some of the best and worst of week four in the NFL

Best: Puka Nacua Wide Receiver Los Angeles Rams
It's seems like this is becoming more and more of a regular thing. Los Angeles pulled out a 29-23 win over the Colts on Sunday and Puka was a big reason why. Nine grabs for 163 yards and a touchdown. The rookie wide out has had over 100 receiving yards in three of his first four games, this week being the best one of the bunch. There had been some questions as to how the Rams passing attack was going to hold up with Cooper Kupp missing time, but they've looked fine with Puka picking up the slack.

Worst: Mac Jones Quarterback New England Patriots
New England's loss to Dallas last week was the largest one of Bill Belichick career. Dallas rolled to a 38-3 win over the Pats and it lead to Mac Jones getting pulled. Mac threw for just 150 yards. He also fumbled once and was picked off twice, the last pick leading to six points for Dallas. There was some hope in New England that he could be the guy, but with his performance against Dallas its starting to show that, no matter how hard the Patriots try, he just isn't the guy under center long term. And the aren't a force in the AFC anymore.

Best: Khalil Mack Linebacker Los Angeles Chargers
The Mack attack is back and in a big way for the Chargers. Los Angeles walked away with a 24-17 win over the visiting Raiders, and Mack was a huge reason for that, leading the way with SIX sacks. He also had another four QB hits and ten total tackles on the day, eight of which were solo. He was a terror on the field for the Chargers, showing flashes of his old self and reminding the entire league why he was one of the more dominating linebackers that this game ever had.

Worst: Matt Eberflus Head Coach Chicago Bears
As if getting blown out by Kansas City in week three didn't turn up the heat for the Bears enough, it was made worse this week. They got worse going against a winless Broncos team this week. Chicago should have been better prepared, but Eberflus didn't lead the charge, as the Bears fell 31-28 to Denver. And the Bears had a 21 point lead at one point in this game too. Oh and it looks even worse with the play call. Tied at 28 with a chip shot field goal to take the lead, Chicago went for it on 4th and 1, and came up short. Denver marched down the field and hit the winning field goal. Things better change and soon, as the Bears haven't won a game in over a year.

Best: Christian McCaffery Running Back San Francisco 49ers
You want to talk about putting a team on their back, McCaffery is doing that for the 49ers. San Francisco leads the NFC West with a perfect record following a 35-16 win over Arizona. Whats amazing for McCaffery is that he's scored in 13 straight games for the 49ers, including another three touchdown performance against the Cards. he also finished with 106 yards on the ground and another 71 receiving yards. Its really amazing what he's managed to do over the first moth of the season. Is he playing at a top tier level? Hell yes he is.

Worst: Matt Canada Offensive Coordinator Pittsburgh Steelers
If the Bears had troubles, the Steelers are heading that way, at least from an offensive standpoint. Canada is having trouble getting the Steeler offensive game going. They got blown out 30-6 by the Texans, and had no real offensive punch in that game whatsoever. Pittsburgh offense, after a month of play, is ranked 29th in the league in points per game, yards per game and rush yards per game. There's nothing there and if things don't improve this week against the Ravens, he could be out in the Steelers press box.

Best: Devon Witherspoon Cornerback Seattle Seahawks
Seattle put in a dominating performance on defense on Monday night in a 24-3 manhandling of the Giants in prime time. This was also seen as a coming out party of sorts for Witherspoon, who was taken 5th overall by Seattle in this years draft. He missed the opener due to injury and looked average in the last two games. Monday night, he showed everybody he had found his footing at the NFL level and had arrived. Monday night, Witherspoon had seven tackles, and two sacks. Impressive numbers. To add to that, he also had the game sealing 97-Yard pick six to put the Giants away for the night.

Worst: Desmond Ridder Quarterback Atlanta Falcons
When he took over under center in Atlanta late last season, there was hope that Ridder could be able to carry Atlanta at times this year. Well it hasn't looked that way. It looked even worse in London on Sunday, which was a 23-7 Falcons loss to the Jaguars. Ridder threw for just 191 yards, was sacked four times and threw two horrible picks. He's now started eight games over the last two season in Atlanta, and he hasn't taken that Falcons offense to any better heights than what Mariota had last season.