NFL Divisional Round Recap

Yes that's right, we are one step closer to Metlife Stadium and the Super Bowl. The NFL's Divisional round is in the books, with wild and crazy action, that wasn't as nail biting as Wild Card Weekend. This weekend saw New Orleans try to keep up a road winning streak in Seattle, New England and Indy renew an old rivalry, Cam Newton's playoff debut against the 49ers and Peyton Manning trying to shake off the events of last season.

In the first game of the weekend, the New Orleans Saints had the unevniable task of heading to Seattle to take on Russel Wilson and the Seahawks. The Seahawks defeated the Saints to advance to their first NFC Championship Game since 2005. The win was the Seahawks' fifth consecutive home playoff win, as they have not lost at home in the playoffs since being defeated by the St. Louis Rams in 2004. The Saints were unable to win a second consecutive playoff game away from home after winning a franchise-first the previous week.

Seattle scored the first sixteen points of the game, all in the first half. Kicker Steven Hauschka hit field goals of 38, 49, and 26 yards and Marshawn Lynch added a 15-yard run. New Orleans did not get on the board until the fourth quarter when running back Khiry Robinson scored on a one-yard run. Fellow back Mark Ingram added a two-point conversion to make it 16–8. Late in the fourth quarter, Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson hit wide receiver Doug Baldwin on third down and 3 for a first down at the New Orleans 31-yard line. Saints head coach Sean Payton lost the subsequent challenge and it cost the Saints their final timeout. On the very next play Lynch scored again on the ground, and the extra point gave the Seahawks a 23–8 lead with 2:40 remaining.

On the Saints' drive that followed, quarterback Drew Brees led his team down the field eighty yards in nine plays, the last coming on fourth down and 6 from the Seahawks' nine-yard line when Brees found Marques Colston in the endzone for a touchdown. Kicker Shayne Graham, who had missed two field goals earlier in the game, kicked the extra point to put New Orleans within eight with twenty-six seconds remaining. On the subsequent kickoff, Graham's onside kick traveled to Seattle receiver Golden Tate at the Saints' 42 yard line. Tate bobbled the ball, and Colston fell on the ball at the 41-yard line. On the first play of the drive, Brees found tight end Jimmy Graham for eight yards, then spiked the ball to stop the clock.

On the next play, Brees found Colston along the sideline at the Seattle 38 yard line. Instead of running out of bounds to stop the clock and give the Saints one more chance, Colston turned back toward the field of play and attempted to keep the play going by relaying the ball across the field to teammate Darren Sproles. However, the throw by Colston to Sproles was forward – therefore not qualifying as a lateral – resulting in an illegal-forward-pass penalty which included a game-ending runoff; thus, the Seahawks won, 23–15.

Next up, we renewed an old rivalry as Andrew Luck lead the Colts into Foxbrough to take on Tom Brady and the Patriots. New England intercepted four passes, rushed for 234 yards, and scored 6 rushing touchdowns – the second highest total in postseason history – as they advanced to their eighth conference championship game in the last 13 years.

The Patriots took a 7–0 lead just 1:15 into the game after Alfonzo Dennard intercepted a pass from Colts quarterback Andrew Luck on the third play of the game and returned it 27 yards to the Indianapolis 2-yard line. On the next play, LeGarrette Blount ran the ball into the end zone for a score. Then after an Indianapolis punt, Tom Brady completed a 25-yard pass to Julian Edelman and a 16-yarder to Danny Amendola as the Patriots drove 74 yards to increase their lead to 14–0 on Blount's second 2-yard touchdown run of the first quarter. This time, the Colts managed to respond. Faced with 3rd and 6 on their ensuing drive, Luck converted the down with a 22-yard pass to Griff Whalen, and then threw a 38-yard touchdown pass to receiver LaVon Brazill on the next play, cutting the score to 14–7.

Early in the second quarter, Edelman caught passes for gains of 27 and 13 yards as the team drove 75 yards to up the score to 21–7 with Blount's third 2-yard touchdown run of the half. Luck countered with a 29-yard completion to tight end Coby Fleener that set up Adam Vinatieri's 36-yard field goal. Then the Colts caught a break when a high snap sailed over the head of Patriots punter Ryan Allen. Allen recovered the ball on his own 1-yard line, but fumbled it while being tackled by Kelvin Sheppard. The ball went through the end zone for a safety, making the score 21–12. To make matters worse for New England, Allen was knocked out of the game on the play; placekicker Stephen Gostkowski replaced Allen for the rest of the game. After the free kick, Indianapolis drove to the Patriots' 39-yard line, but linebacker Dont'a Hightower ended the drive by intercepting Luck with 1:14 left in the half.

After the Patriots punted on the opening drive of the second half, Luck's completions to T. Y. Hilton and Fleener for gains of 40 and 16 yards set up Vinatieri's 21-yard field goal, cutting their deficit to 6 points at 21–15. But this was as close as they would get for the rest of the game. On the Patriots' ensuing drive, Brady's 53-yard completion to Amendola moved the ball to the Colts' 32-yard line, and they eventually scored on a 1-yard touchdown run by Stevan Ridley; he added a two-point conversion, increasing New England's lead to 29–15. Indianapolis struck back quickly with Luck completing a 46-yard pass to Hilton and a 37-yard touchdown pass to Brazill.

However, the Patriots quickly dashed the Colts' comeback hopes early in the fourth quarter. With 13:08 left in the game, Blount broke through the line and took off for a 73-yard touchdown run, putting New England back up by 14 points at 36–22. Then New England linebacker Jamie Collins intercepted a pass from Luck and returned it 20 yards to the Colts' 18-yard line, and they scored another touchdown on a 1-yard rush by Ridley. Indianapolis was forced into a three-and-out on their next drive, enabling New England to get the ball back and run almost 8 minutes off the clock, aided by Blount's 30-yard run. By the time the Colts got the ball back, only 2:34 remained. Then Dennard sealed the win by recording his second interception from Luck on Indianapolis' final play.

Blount tied a franchise playoff record with 166 rushing yards, and set a franchise record with 4 rushing touchdowns. He also returned two kickoffs for 37 yards. Ridley rushed for 52 yards and two touchdowns, while Brady threw for 198 yards. His top target was Edelman, who caught 6 passes for 84 yards. Luck threw for 331 yards and two touchdowns, but completed only 20 of 41 passes and was intercepted 4 times. Hilton caught 4 passes for 103 yards.

There we have all the action from Saturday, First up Sunday we saw the playoff debut of Cam Newton, as he and the Carolina Panthers played host to Colin Kaepernick and the San Francisco 49ers. San Francisco recovered from a 10–6 first half deficit by intercepting Panthers quarterback Cam Newton twice, sacking him four times, while scoring 17 unanswered points to earn their third consecutive trip to the NFC championship game.

A 23-yard completion from 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick to rookie receiver Quinton Patton helped the team advance to the Panthers' 24-yard line on their opening drive. But on third down, Kaepernick was sacked for a 7-yard loss by linebacker Luke Kuechly, forcing the team to settle for Phil Dawson's 49-yard field goal. Then on Carolina's next drive, Newton was intercepted by linebacker Patrick Willis on the Panthers' 46-yard line, and the 49ers converted the turnover into another Dawson field goal to take a 6–0 lead. Carolina took the ball back and drove 65 yards to the 49ers' 1-yard line, only to turn the ball over on downs when Newton was stopped short on the first play of the second quarter. But the Panthers' defense forced the 49ers to punt after three plays, and Ted Ginn, Jr. returned the ball 24 yards to the San Francisco 31-yard line. On the next play, Newton completed a deep pass down the left side of the field for a 31-yard touchdown completion to receiver Steve Smith, giving the Panthers their first lead, 7–6.

San Francisco was forced to punt again on their ensuing possession, and Newton led the Panthers back for more points. After rushing twice for 17 yards, Newton's 35-yard completion to tight end Greg Olsen gave them a first down on the 49ers' 20-yard line. The drive stalled at the 7-yard line, where Graham Gano kicked a 24-yard field goal to give the team a 10–6 lead with 3:41 left in the half. But Kaepernick rallied the 49ers back, completing three passes to Anquan Boldin for 42 yards and a 20-yarder to Michael Crabtree. With just 14 seconds left, he finished the drive with a 1-yard touchdown pass to tight end Vernon Davis in the right corner of the end zone. Davis was ruled out of bounds when he made the catch, but a replay review showed he had both feet in bounds before stepping out and the call was overturned. With his touchdown, the teams went into their locker rooms at halftime with San Francisco leading 13–10.

In the second half, San Francisco completely took over; after Carolina punted on the opening drive, Kaepernick completed passes to Boldin for gains of 16 and 45 yards as the 49ers drove 77 yards and got into the end zone on Kaepernick's 4-yard run. Then after a long Panthers drive ended on the 49ers' 37-yard line with a punt, San Francisco running back Frank Gore's 39-yard burst set up a 34-yard field goal by Dawson, giving the 49ers a 23–10 lead with 7:35 left in the fourth quarter. Carolina responded with a drive to the San Francisco 28-yard line, but safety Donte Whitner intercepted a pass from Newton to prevent any scoring. After the turnover, the 49ers put the game away with a possession that ran the clock down to 12 seconds.

Kaepernick completed 15 of 28 passes for 196 yards and a touchdown, while also rushing for 15 yards and a score. Nearly all of his passing production came from Boldin, who caught 8 passes for 136 yards. Gore added 84 rushing yards, while linebacker Ahmad Brooks had six tackles and 2.5 sacks. Willis had 11 tackles – 5 of which were solo tackles – and an interception. Newton finished his first playoff game 16-for-25 for 267 yards and a touchdown, with 2 interceptions. He also had 10 carries for 54 yards. Ginn caught 4 passes for 104 yards, returned two punts for 26 yards, and had 80 yards returning kickoffs.

Finally we had the Denver Broncos playing host to the San Diego Chargers. Heading into the weekend, there were a lot of question marks about Peyton Manning and this Broncos team? Where they for real? Was last year a fluke or not? All those questions were answered and then some on Sunday, as the Broncos beat the Chargers 24-17. This was the first time Denver has won in this round since 2006. Manning welcomed Wes Welker, one of his favorite targets who had been out with a concussion, back into the lineup with a touchdown toss Sunday and the Denver Broncos narrowly avoided a repeat of their playoff slip from last year.

Last year it was the bomb pass from Flacco to Jacoby Jones that spelled the end for Denver. This year, Manning rescued the Broncos from the brink of another crushing collapse and sent them into the title game for the first time in eight seasons. Manning completed 25 of 36 passes for 230 yards and two TDs, numbers not quite close to what he put up during the regular season, but still ve5ry good for considering what Manning has done in past playoff performances.

But it was windy and the Broncos were intent on establishing the run and controlling the clock, and they converted 9 of 13 third downs while holding the ball for 35½ minutes. After gaining just 18 yards on the ground against San Diego last month, the Broncos ran for 133 yards, including 82 by Moreno, whose 3-yard TD run put them ahead 24-7 with 8:12 left. After that, things got interesting. Keenan Allen hauled in a 49-yard catch with Quentin Jammer in coverage on fourth-and-5 from the San Diego 25 with seven minutes left. That led to his second TD -- both from 16 yards -- that pulled the Chargers to 24-14 with 5:43 left.

Decker then made his third big blunder of the day, flubbing the onside kick, which San Diego recovered, leading to Nick Novak's 30-yard field goal with 3:53 remaining that pulled the Chargers (10-8) to within a touchdown. Novak followed with a pooch kick, and Trindon Holliday secured the ball at the Denver 27 with 3:51 left. Manning's third-down brilliance kept the Chargers' offense on the sideline.

In this ball game controlling the ball and the clock was going to be key for the Broncos if they wanted to have success, and that's exactly what they did.

So Championship Sunday is all set for next week as the San Francisco 49ers head north to take on the Seattle Seahawks, while the New England Patriots have to travel to take on the Denver Broncos. We will have full predictions and previews of the game later on this week!

Alex Rodriguez Ruling Handed Out

Just when you thought the story would go away and not get any stranger, it has. The ruling was handed down by arbitrator Fredric Horowitz, that Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez ban has been cut to 162 for his involvement in Major League Baseball's Biogenesis scandal. This does include all possible playoff games for the Yankees, should they make it there in October Originally the ban was for 211 games. As expected, Rodriguez said he will contest Saturday's ruling in federal court. The decision will relieve the Yankees of about $24 million in luxury-tax savings based on A-Rod's 2014 salary; the team still owes him about $61 million for 2015-17. We will touch a little more on this in a moment.

Now here's where things get really weird. In a "60 Minutes" interview that aired Sunday night, Anthony Bosch, the founder of the now-shuttered South Florida anti-aging clinic Biogenesis, said that after he rejected Alex Rodriguez's request for him to sign an affidavit, it was suggested he "leave town" until the case was over and that he was then offered money and a trip to Colombia. "60 Minutes" reported it had over 500 BlackBerry messages between Bosch and Rodriguez. Baseball connected the pin number of the messages to a phone owned by Rodriguez.

From what I gathered here, there were threats maid by Alex Rodriguez in this investigation, so there is probable cause for a suspension this long. But for some reason I get this feeling that during the 60 Minutes interview, Bosch was still hiding something from the public. I can't quite put my finger on what exactly it is, but there was just this vibe coming that he was still hiding something. I still think there is more to this whole A-Rod story then the public is being told, and it would make some in the public feel better knowing everything that was held against Alex Rodriguez. I would really like to know everything if at all possible, so I can fully determine if this is all justified. I originally didn't think 211 was, I thought it was a bit harsh based on what we knew of the whole situation. Now that all this has gone down over the weekend, i would still like to know more, but the ruling I feel now fits the crime, based on pure evidence that's become public knowledge. Sure I understand that we haven't seen the full picture of what has gone on here, and I don't think we ever will, but based on what we have available to us, I feel this is the right call.

As far as A-Rod's playing career goes, you can kiss that goodbye. He will turn 39 in July and, coming off two hip surgeries and a 2013 season in which he played just 44 games, may not be able to return after sitting out an entire season. Most guys who hit that age are in the decline during there careers and don't have much left in the tank to offer big league clubs. So I think this has spelled the end of his playing career.

Plus Alex is still trying to play this off as being the victim here. A-Rod is still trying to push his belief on everybody that MLB is still trying to keep from paying him the approximate $86 million that the Yankees still owe on his contract. He wants his fellow big-leaguers to think, “This could happen to you.” Don't give us that crap man! You are not the victim here, you are the one who was dumb enough to take the drugs in the first place then try to play it off like it never happened. So no you get no sympathy from me!

NFL Divisional Round Picks and Preview

The stage is set. Eight teams remain in the chase for the Super Bowl. After the excitement from Wild Card Weekend has finally settled down, everybody gets ready for the Divisional Round to kick off, which promises to be just as exciting as last weekends action was. So lets not waste any time and jump right into looking at this weeks action. we start with the action on Saturday.

First up is the New Orleans Saints heading to CenturyLink Field to take on the Seattle Seahawks at 4PM. Seattle had the bye, being the #1 seed in the NFC, while the Saints come in after the dramatic win over the Eagles last weekend. Now then, if the past is any indication, then what happened during the regular season doesn't really matter too much during the playoffs. Here's what I mean. These two teams played in Week 13 of this year, with Seattle blowing out the Saints 34-7 at home. Look at what happened with Denver and Baltimore last year. Denver crushed the Ravens during the regular season and got upset by them come playoff time. It happened to the Giants in 2011 and the Packers in 2010. Look at what happened just last week with the Colts and Chiefs. KC wanted revenge for their loss earlier this year to Indy but couldn't hold the lead and lost. My point is is that nothing is a given come playoff time. Sure the Saints are going to want payback for the loss earlier this season, but there is no promise that it's going to happen

These two teams have met once before in the playoffs, back in 2010 a game which was won by the Seahawks 41-36. So we know anything can happen. As we saw last week, we know Drew Brees and the rest of the Saints can handle playing on the road and in cold weather. Both of those things are going to factor in on Saturday afternoon. There is one other thing that's going to play a factor, that of course being the crowd. Seattle has already set the world record for the loudest crowd, so you know they are going to be a bigtime factor. New Orleans is going to get out to a fast start, but the Seahawks will wake up eventually and pull it out. Seattle takes it by a field goal and moves on to the NFC Championship game.

Next up we have the Saturday Night Game, as Andrew Luck leads the Indianapolis Colts head into Gillette Stadium to battle Tom Brady and the New England Patriots at 8PM. This is still a rivalry lets not forget that fact. It just doesn't seem to have as much steam on it without Peyton Manning playing in Indy. But I digress. New England is 2-1 all time against the Colts in the playoffs, looking again to increase that record. Think about this folks. Since Brady and Belichick have been the coach-QB tandom with the Patriots, they have been deadly in the playoffs. When they get a first round bye, the Patriots are almost a lock to win in the divisional round, going 6-1 in this situation. The only team to beat them was the Jets in 2010. Indy hasn't been quite so lucky. The Colts have only missed the playoffs once since 2002, and have only gotten out of the divisional round three times in that span. So history isn't exactly on the Colts side.

These two teams didn't play eachother during the 2013 regular season. The last time they met in the playoffs was 2006 when the Colts beat the Patriots by 4. New England is coming in rested and ready to go, while the Colts are coming in off that dramatic comeback win last week against Kansas City. Indy is going to be coming in riding high off the win last week, and trust me they are going to be putting up a good fight. But I highly doubt the Patriots are going to be blowing a 28 point lead, especially at home. If the Colts want to have a chance in this game, they have to try and keep it close and possibly see if Andrew Luck has better luck, no pun intended, than Brady in the 4th quarter. I really don't see that happening, as Brady and Belichick will flex their playoff muscle and down the Colts, moving on to the AFC Title game.

Now we move on to the action on Sunday as the San Francisco 49ers head to Bank Of America Stadium in Carolina to take on the Panthers. This will be the 5th trip to the playoffs in Panthers history, the 4th time they are doing so as Division champions and the first time they will ever play the 49ers in the post season. Carolina beat the 49ers in San Francisco 10-9 back in Week 10. Carolina still has something to prove to me and to everybody else. This is the 1st playoff game for the Panthers since 2008, they haven't won a playoff game since beating the Bears in 2005, and they haven't won a home playoff game since 2003, when they went to the Super Bowl. So there is a lot of pressure on Cam Newton and Carolina.

Nobody is really sure how Newton is going to handle the pressure of his first career playoff game, and that uncertainty is going to be an advantage for the 49ers. And San Francisco has proven that they have no problem winning playoff games on the road, as they did it in Atlanta last season as well as in Green Bay last week. This is going to be a good battle of two running QB's but I don't think Colin Kapernick is going to have as easy a time rushing the ball against Carolina's defense as he did against the Packers. What its going to really come down to is playoff experience and the edge goes to the 49ers. San Francisco take the game and will meet the Seahawks in Seattle with the NFC title on the line next week.

Here we have the final game of the weekend,a s Philip Rivers leads the San Diego Chargers into Sports Authority Field at Mile High, to do battle with Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos.  This will be the first meeting between the two teams in the playoffs ever, and the 2nd meeting this season between the teams, as San Diego handed Denver their only loss at home this season, 27-20 back in Week 15.  Now the interesting fact about the playoffs is that the three teams that are left in the AFC playoffs, San Diego New Ingland and Indy are the only three teams to beat the Broncos during the regular season.

San Diego is coming into this ballgame a red hot team, having won five in a row, and they are the only team that won last week by more than a field goal. So you know Denver is going to have a fight on their hands on Sunday. A key for this game is going to be ball control, especially from a Denver perspective. If the Broncos don't turn the ball over and give the Chargers easy field position, I can't see San Diego being able to scrap up enough points to win. That's why the beat the Bengals last week, they were able to force the turnovers and give the offense great field position. And lets not forget that Denver had the rough outing a season ago in the loss to the Ravens, so that's going to be a factor if Denver turns out to be a tad bit gun shy at home. Now we will see if either this Chargers team is for real and if Denver really has the mettle it lacked last year in the playoffs. either way its going to be a good ball game, but I think that Denver has too much firepower for the Chargers to overcome. Manning and Brady are on a collision course for the AFC championship game next week in Denver!

So there you have it, we are all set to go for some great football action in the divisional round this weekend!

2014 Baseball Hall of Fame Class Announced

The votes are in. Unlike last season we WILL have a hall of fame class in 2014 for baseball. Three men got the number of votes necessary for election. The three men getting the call are Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, and Frank Thomas. Craig Biggio missed out on induction by just 2 votes. In fact, of the 22 men who's names appeared on the ballot, only seven received more than 50% of the votes for the hall. Before we get into the guys who missed out on the hall, lets take a look at the three men who are getting induction.

First there is quite possibly the greatest right handed pitcher of this generation in Greg Maddux. Maddux finished with 97.2% of the votes, the 8th highest votes total in history. During his brilliant 23 year career, Maddux went 355-227, good for 8th all time on the wins list, and a career 3.16 ERA. During his career Maddux struck out 3,371 hitters, while allowing just 999 walks. He was an eight time all star, won four Cy Young Awards, won a record 18 gold gloves and was a member of the 1995 world champions with the Atlanta Braves. He did this all pitching for the Braves (11 seasons), Chicago Cubs (10 years 2 stints), Los Angeles Dodgers (2 years) and San Diego Padres (2 years). What mad Maddux so good over his career was he relied on his command, composure, and guile to outwit hitters, something you don't really see too much of in today's game. He had a great command of his pitches, being able to paint the corners better than almost everybody. He also had a durability to him, leading the National League in innings pitched in five consecutive years. He also had outstanding control, finishing with the lowest BB/9 ratio in the NL nine times. He also was the most celebrated fielding pitcher of his day, with a record 18 Gold Gloves to his credit and the third-highest range factor per 9 innings among all Major League pitchers. Very few right handed pitchers in history had the kind of control and command Maddux did, making him a slam dunk to get elected into the hall.

Next there is Tom Glavine, who was a running buddy for Maddux for years with the Braves. Glavine was no slouch, having a great career of his own, pitching 22 years in the big leagues, 17 years with the Braves and 5 with the New York Mets. Glavine finished his career with a  record of 305–203, a 3.54 ERA and 2,607 strikeouts. Glavine was a ten time all star, two time Cy Young Award winner, four time Silver Slugger award winner and was MVP of the 1995 World Series which he won with Atlanta. Glavine is known for a calm, unemotional personality, even during rough outings. This is a marked contrast to longtime teammates Greg Maddux and John Smoltz, both emotional competitors. And, much like Maddux, Glavine has been very consistent during his career, which is also highlighted by his durability. Since his first full year in 1988, he started at least 25 games every year and never being placed on the disabled list until his final season---at age 42. In addition to his excellent changeup and well-controlled fastball, Glavine has a plus-curve ball, a slider, and a tailing two-seam fastball. Despite being a left-handed pitcher, Glavine was often more effective against right-handed batters. Glavine and Maddux, when together in the rotation, made up one of the best one two punches of the 1990's in all of baseball.

And think about this. Both of those guys may be the last two guys to ever hit the 300 win mark for pitchers. The closest active pitcher to getting to 300 was Andy Pettite but he retired with 256 career wins. In fact the only active big league picture with 200 or more wins is CC Sabathia, who has 205.

Finally we have the only hitter to make the hall this year, Frank Thomas. Thomas spent 19 years in the big leagues, with the Chicago White Sox (16 years), Oakland Athletics (2 Years) and Toronto Blue Jays (2 years). During his career, Thomas was a lifetime .301 hitter, with 521 home runs and 1,704 RBI's. Thomas was a five time all star, a four time silver slugger winner, won the 1997 AL Batting Title and oh yeah won the American League MVP in 1993 and 1994. Unlike the other two gentleman he is going into the hall with, Thomas never won a World Series.  He was a big guy and a tremendous power hitter, plus he was one of the few great power hitters who did it clean. He even admitted in his press conference yesterday that he was clean. During his career, for a long time in fact, he was the face of the White Sox franchise. The Big Hurt was the first player in major league history to win two Silver Slugger awards each at two different positions (1993–94 at first base; 1991 & 2000 as designated hitter).

So those are the three who got the call for induction. Lets take a look now at the guys who missed out. First there is Craig Biggio, as he finished two votes shy with a voting percentage of 74.8%. This ties him with Nellie Fox (1985) and Pie Traynor (1947) for smallest margin not to get into the Hall. Biggio was one of the most patient hitters at the plate ever, drawing a fair amount of walks every season.

Also missing out, for the final time, is Jack Morris, who was 78 votes short at 61.5 percent in his 15th and final appearance on the writers' ballot. His next chance at Cooperstown could come at the expansion era committee meeting in December 2016. A solid pitcher in his own right, but wasn't quite at the level of Glavine or Maddux.

Then there's Mike Piazza, who is considered to be one of if not the greatest hitting catchers of all time. Piazza's came in with 62.2%. Of course you have some other names on the list who didn't get voted in like Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Sammy Sosa, Mark McGuire and Rafael Palmeiro. Palmeiro landed just 4.4% of the votes. The fact that he has failed to earn 5% of the votes in back to back ballots means that he will be left off the ballot from now on, making him inelegable for hall induction.

To me that's a bit of poetic justice that Palmeiro can't get into the hall. That's a big statement to me made by the sports writers in that they are saying that anybody who has used steroids won't get into the hall. I know it hasn't been proven outright yet but this means to me that the likes of Sosa, McGuire, bonds and Clemens don't have much of a chance to get into the hall going forward.

So there you have it, the hall of fame class of 2014!

Crazy Endings For Wild Card Weekend

Wild Card Weekend in the NFL lived up to all the hype and then some. Crazy endings to crazy, shootout style games defined the weekend for sure. It was also a big, record setting weekend as well. We had a battle of former #1 overall draft picks in Alex Smith and Andrew Luck, Green Bay has had trouble winning at home in the playoffs as of late, and the trend continued, which were just some of the big highlights of the weekend. So if you missed any of the action, fear not, because we got you covered. Here's what you missed from Wild Card Weekend.

A 28-point second half lead was not enough for Kansas City to break their 20-year playoff win drought. Trailing 38–10 a few minutes into the third quarter, Indianapolis scored 35 second half points for the second biggest comeback victory in NFL postseason history, behind only the Buffalo Bills' 32–points comeback in the 41–38 Wild Card game win against the Houston Oilers in 1992.

The game got off to a rough start for the Chiefs, as starting running back Jamaal Charles was knocked out of the game on the opening drive. But before this, he rushed three times for 18 yards as the team drove 84 yards in 14 plays. Quarterback Alex Smith added a 16-yard run, and converted the drive's only third down with a 7-yard touchdown pass to Dwayne Bowe. Indianapolis quarterback Andrew Luck quickly led his team back, completing 7 consecutive passes for 74 yards. Four of them went to T. Y. Hilton, including a 24-yarder and a 10-yard touchdown catch to tie the game at 7. On the next possession, Smith completed a 68-yard pass to Bowe at the Colts 2-yard line. But the team could not get into the end zone with their next three plays and had to settle for Ryan Succop's 19-yard field goal to take a 10–7 lead. Then after a Colts three-and-out, Smith launched a 79-yard touchdown bomb to Donnie Avery, increased the Chiefs lead to 17–7 21 seconds into the second quarter.

The situation continued to deteriorate for Indianapolis. On the first play of their next possession, Trent Richardson lost a fumble that linebacker Justin Houston recovered and returned 7 yards to the Colts 17-yard line. Two plays later, Smith's 5-yard touchdown throw to fullback Anthony Sherman on a shovel pass made the score 24–7. This time the Colts managed to respond with a 61-yard scoring drive in which Luck completed a 16-yard pass to Griff Whalen and rushed for a 21-yard gain after faking a handoff up the middle on a 4th and 1 conversion. Adam Vinatieri finished the drive with a 37-yard field goal, cutting the score to 24–10. However, Smith also got to show off his skill at passing and rushing, as he carried the ball 4 times for 24 yards and completed 5 passes for 33 on an 81-yard drive that ended with Knile Davis' 4-yard touchdown run, putting the Chiefs up 31–10. The Colts managed to reach midfield on their next possession, but defensive back Brandon Flowers intercepted a pass from Luck to keep them from scoring before halftime. On the first play of the second half, defensive back Husain Abdullah intercepted Luck and returned the ball 4 yards to the Colts' 18-yard line, setting up Smith's 10-yard scoring toss to Davis that put them up by 28, 38–10. It seemed that Kansas City was in complete control of the game, but Indianapolis suddenly stormed back with 14 unanswered points. First, Luck's 46-yard completion to reserve receiver Da'Rick Rogers moved the ball to the Chiefs' 10-yard line, and Donald Brown ran the ball into the end zone on the next play. Then linebacker Robert Mathis forced a fumble while sacking Smith, and fellow linebacker Kelvin Sheppard recovered for the Colts on the Chiefs' 41-yard line just before it rolled out of bounds. The offense then capitalized with Luck completing 4 passes from 5 attempts, the last a 3-yard scoring pass to Brown that cut the score to 38–24.

Following a Chiefs punt, Abdullah intercepted another pass from Luck. Kansas City took over on the Indianapolis 28-yard line, and scored on a 42-yard Succop field goal to give them a 17-point lead, 41–24, with just over 5 minutes left in the third quarter. But Luck quickly led the Colts back, completing a 25-yard pass to Brown on the first play of the next possession, and later hooking up with LaVon Brazill for a 35-yard gain before finishing it off with a 12-yard touchdown pass to tight end Coby Fleener. Then after a three-and-out, Kansas City punter Dustin Colquitt's 31-yard boot pinned Indianapolis back at their own 10-yard line. But it did not stop the Colts, as Luck completed 5 out of 6 passes for 61 yards and rushed for 12 on a 90-yard scoring drive. On the last play, Brown fumbled the ball while trying to run it into the end zone, but it bounced right back into the hands of Luck, who took it across the goal line himself for a touchdown. With this score, the lead was cut to 41–38 with 10:38 left in the game.

Aided by A. J. Jenkins' 27-yard reception, the Chiefs managed to run the clock down to 5:36 with their ensuing drive. Succop finished it off with a 43-yard field goal to put the team up by 6 points. But three plays after the kickoff, Luck fired a deep pass to Hilton over the middle, who caught it without breaking stride and took off for a 64-yard touchdown catch, giving Indy their first lead of the game at 45–44. With 4:21 left, Kansas City desperately tried to get in range for a leading field goal. Smith started the drive with a pair of completions to Bowe for 38 yards. But after a 3-yard running play moved the ball to the Colts 39-yard line, Smith was flagged for a 10-yard intentional grounding penalty. The next play netted the team 6 yards, bringing up 4th down and 11. On the next play, Smith threw a deep pass to Bowe along the right sideline. Bowe made a leaping catch, but landed with only one foot in bounds, causing a turnover on downs and allowing Indianapolis to run out the rest of the clock.

For Kansas City, Smith finished the game 30-for-46 for 378 yards and four touchdowns, while also rushing for 57 yards. His top receiver was Bowe, who caught 8 passes for 150 yards and a touchdown. Davis rushed for 67 yards, caught 7 passes for 33 yards, and scored two touchdowns. Abdullah had six tackles and two interceptions. For Indianapolis, Luck finished 29-for-45 for 443 yards and 4 touchdowns, with 3 interceptions. He also rushed for 45 yards and scored a fumble recovery touchdown. Hilton caught 13 passes for 224 yards – the third highest total in postseason history – and two touchdowns. Both teams combined for 1,049 total yards (513 for Kansas City, 536 for Indianapolis), an NFL postseason record. This was the eighth consecutive playoff loss for Kansas City, an NFL record.

That was just a nuts finish to the opening game of the weekend. Moving on to the night cap, we saw the New Orleans Saints overcome their road woes against the Philadelphia Eagles in Philly, the first road playoff win in Saints history. The first quarter of the game was scoreless. The farthest the Saints made it was to the Eagles 49-yard line, and that drive ended when Drew Brees was intercepted by defensive back Bradley Fletcher, who returned the ball 24 yards to the New Orleans 27-yard line. After the turnover, Philadelphia drove to the Saints 15-yard line, but New Orleans' defense made two key plays to prevent a score. First, Curtis Lofton tackled tight end Brent Celek on a screen pass for an 8-yard loss. Then defensive end Cameron Jordan sacked Nick Foles for an 11-yard loss, pushing the Eagles all the way back to the 34-yard line. Following a 4-yard gain on third down, Alex Henery missed a 48-yard field goal 34 seconds into the second quarter.

After the miss, New Orleans drove 43 yards to score on Shayne Graham's 36-yard field goal and take the lead, aided by a replay review that caused officials to overturn a lost fumble by tight end Jimmy Graham. New Orleans subsequently forced the Eagles to punt on their next drive, but then linebacker DeMeco Ryans intercepted Brees and returned the ball 23 yards to the Saints' 44-yard line. Philadelphia receiver Riley Cooper started off their possession with a 22-yard reception, and finished it with a 10-yard touchdown catch to give the Eagles a 7–3 lead. New Orleans responded with a 47-yard scoring drive, with Brees completing a 17-yard pass to Jimmy Graham and a 13-yarder to Kenny Stills on the way to a 46-yard field goal by Shayne Graham with less then two minutes left in the half, cutting the score to 7–6 going into halftime.

Philadelphia was forced to punt on their opening drive of the second half, and Darren Sproles returned the ball 12 yards to the Saints 47-yard line. Aided by Mark Ingram's 3 carries for 24 yards, New Orleans drove 53 yards to score their first touchdown on Brees' 24-yard pass to receiver Lance Moore, giving them a 13–7 lead. The next time New Orleans had the ball, they matched that feat with a 66-yard scoring drive. Tight end Benjamin Watson caught a 24-yard pass, while Ingram had 5 carries for 26 yards, the last a 4-yard touchdown run that put his team up 20–7. The Eagles managed to respond, with Foles' 40-yard completion to DeSean Jackson setting up a 1-yard touchdown run by LeSean McCoy, trimming their deficit to 20–14 with just over 30 seconds left in the third quarter.

New Orleans went three-and-out on their next drive, and Jackson's 29-yard punt return to the Saints' 40-yard line set up Henery's 30-yard field goal. But Brees' 40-yard completion to Robert Meachem helped move the Saints in range for another Shayne Graham field goal to put them back up by six points at 23–17. Taking the ball back with just over 8 minutes left in regulation, the Eagles managed to drive 77 yards to take the lead, aided by a 40-yard pass interference penalty on defensive back Corey White. Foles finished the drive with a 3-yard touchdown toss to tight end Zach Ertz, giving the Eagles a 24–23 lead at 4:54. However, the Saints would need to cover little ground for their game winning drive, as Sproles returned the ensuing kickoff 39 yards, with a horse-collar tackle penalty on Cary Williams adding on another 15. As a result, New Orleans got the ball on the Eagles' 48-yard line and needed just 34 yards to set up Shayne Graham's game-winning 32-yard field goal – as time expired – which they managed to space out over 10 plays to run the clock down to 3 seconds on the play.

Foles finished his first playoff game completing 23 of 33 passes for 195 yards and two touchdowns. Cooper was the top receiver of the game with 6 catches for 68 yards. Ryans had 10 tackles – 8 of which were solo tackles – and an interception. Brees threw for 250 yards and a touchdown, with two interceptions. Ingram was the game's top rusher with 18 carries for 97 yards and a touchdown, while also catching 3 passes for 17 yards.

That was just the hot and heavy action from Saturday. but wait there's still more from Sunday. First up saw the Bengals blow and lead and get shut out in the 2nd half, getting upset by the Chargers. And although the Bengals outgained San Diego in total yards, 439–319, and first downs, 27–16, the Chargers defense forced four turnovers, two failed fourth down conversion attempts, and shut out Cincinnati in the second half to send them home with their first home loss of the season and their 6th consecutive playoff loss since 1990.

After a pair of punts started the game, San Diego drove 86 yards in 12 plays, including a 22-yard reception by tight end Ladarius Green, and scored on Danny Woodhead's 5-yard touchdown run. Following two more punts, Cincinnati tied the score with a 60-yard scoring drive. The key player on it was rookie running back Giovani Bernard, who rushed 5 times for 28 yards and caught a pass for 11. Quarterback Andy Dalton finished the possession with a 4-yard scoring pass to tight end Jermaine Gresham, his first postseason touchdown pass in three playoff games. After a San Diego three-and-out, the Bengals appeared to gain momentum with Dalton's 49-yard completion to receiver Marvin Jones. But on the next play, linebacker Donald Butler forced a fumble from Bernard that Richard Marshall recovered for the Chargers in the end zone and returned 13 yards to the 11-yard line. San Diego was forced into a three-and-out again, and Cincinnati got the ball back on their own 32-yard line with 1:14 left in the half. Dalton subsequently completed three passes for 41 yards to set up Mike Nugent's 46-yard field goal, giving the Bengals a 10–7 first half lead.

However, that was all Cincinnati accomplished as the Chargers took over in the second half. After forcing the Bengals to punt on their opening second half drive, Philip Rivers completed a 33-yard pass to Eddie Royal that set up his 4-yard touchdown toss to Ladarius Green, giving the Chargers the lead at 14–10. Then Dalton lost a fumble at the end of a 12-yard run without being touched, and defensive back Jahleel Addae recovered for San Diego on the Bengals' 46-yard line. The Chargers then drove 40 yards in 9 plays to go up 17–10 with Nick Novak's 25-yard field goal. Then after two plays on the Bengals next drive, cornerback Shareece Wright intercepted a pass from Dalton and returned it 30 yards to the Cincinnati 3-yard line, setting up another Novak field goal that made the score 20–10. Dalton threw another interception on the ensuing possession, this one to linebacker Melvin Ingram. Although the Chargers would not convert this one into points, the Chargers' defense would go on to pin down the Bengals for the rest of the game. For their final three drives, they turned the ball over on downs twice in Chargers territory, while their final drive ended as time expired on the Chargers' 6-yard line. Meanwhile, a 58-yard touchdown run by San Diego running back Ronnie Brown made the final score 27–10.

Rivers finished the day 12-for-18 for 128 yards and a touchdown, with no interceptions. Dalton finished 29-for-51 for 334 yards and a touchdown – and rushed for 26 yards – but was intercepted twice and lost a fumble. Bernard rushed for 45 yards and caught 7 passes for 73. Jones caught 8 passes for 130 yards, setting a postseason franchise record and making him the first Bengals player to have over 100 receiving yards in a playoff game since Cris Collinsworth in the 1983 season. Bengals receiver A. J. Green, who had 1,426 receiving yards during the season, finished the game with just 3 catches for 34 yards.

Finally we had the night cap Sunday which saw the Packers host the 49ers in a rematch from last years NFC Wild Card Game. Colin Kapernick had a field day a season ago, and to the Packers credit, they did a better job containing him than a season ago. Sadly for Packers fans, the result was exactly the same: a 49ers victory.

After the Packers punted on their opening drive, San Francisco started off the scoring with a 69-yard drive, featuring a 31-yard completion from Kaepernick to Michael Crabtree, that ended with Dawson's 22-yard field goal. Green was subsequently forced to punt again, and Tim Masthay's kick went just 29 yards to the Packers 49-yard line. Frank Gore rushed 4 times for 21 yards for the 49ers as they drove 42 yards to go up 6-0 on Dawson's second field goal of the day.

The Packers were forced to a three-and-out on their next drive, but this time their defense managed to step up and make a big play. Early in the second quarter, defensive back Tramon Williams intercepted the ball from Kaepernick and returned it 17 yards to the Green Bay 30-yard line. After the turnover, Green Bay QB Aaron Rodgers completed 6/7 passes for 45 yards as the team went 70 yards and 14 plays on a drive in which they never gained more than 9 yards on a single play. Rodgers capped it off with a 5-yard touchdown pass to Jordy Nelson that gave the Pack a 7-6 lead. In a notable contrast, the 49ers quickly struck back, scoring with just five plays as Kaepernick took off for a 42-yard gallop to set up Gore's touchdown on a 10-yard run. Green Bay responded with Rodgers completing a 19-yard pass to Nelson and a 13-yarder to running back James Starks on a 59-yard drive that ended with Mason Crosby's 34-yard field goal as time expired in the half, making the score 13-10 at halftime.

San Francisco drove to the Green Bay 25-yard line on the first drive of the second half, but on third down, linebacker Nick Perry sacked Kaepernick for an 8-yard loss and the 49ers decided to punt rather then attempt a long field goal. Following one more punt from each team, Rodgers led the Packers on a 80-yard drive to take a 17-13 lead on fullback John Kuhn's 1-yard touchdown run. The highlight of the drive was a 4th down 2 conversion in which Rodgers managed to power out of a tackle attempt and throw a pass to Randall Cobb for a 26-yard gain. However, like Green Bay's earlier touchdown, the 49ers quickly struck back, starting with LaMichael James' 37-yard kickoff return to the 37-yard line. Kaepernick then broke off a 24-yard run and soon finished the drive with a 28-yard touchdown pass to tight end Vernon Davis, retaking the lead for the 49ers at 20-17.

Taking the ball back with just over 10 minutes left in regulation, Rodgers led the Packers back with 4 completions for 46 yards, including a 25-yard pass to Cobb. Crosby finished the drive with a 24-yard field goal, re-tying the game at 20 with 5:16 to go. But this was matched by the 49ers, who drove 65 yards for the game-winning score. Kaepernick completed three passes for 39 yards along the way, two for 28 to Crabtree, and also rushed for 11. Gore also played a key role, rushing 5 times for 15 yards, including 4 consecutive carries that forced Green Bay to use up all their timeouts. Then with just 3 seconds left, Dawson managed to narrowly get his 33-yard field goal inside the right upright to give the 49ers a 23-20 win.

Rodgers finished the day 17/26 for 177 yards and a touchdown, along with 11 rushing yards. Kaepernick completed 16/30 passes for 227 yards and a touchdown, with one interception. He also rushed 7 times for 98 yards. Crabtree was the leading receiver of the game with 8 receptions for 125 yards. 49ers linebacker Ahmad Brooks had 6 tackles, two sacks, and a forced fumble.

So there you have it. You are now caught up with the action from a crazy Wild Card Weekend. By the end of the week we will have full previews for you of the Divisional Round of the playoffs!

NFL Wild Card Weekend Set To Kick Off

Well the weekend has finally arrived. After a long 17 game season the playoffs for the National Football League has arrived and is ready to go. We had nail bitters at the end of the regular season to get us to where we are, and now the playoffs are set to kick off. For being the top seeds in the conferences, the Denver Broncos, New England Patriots, Seattle Seahawks and Carolina Panthers all have the opening round bye for the post season. With that being said, here are the matchups for the opening round of the 2014 NFL Playoffs

Saturday 1/4/13
Kansas City Chiefs (11-5) vs. Indianapolis Colts (11-5) 4:35PM NBC
Both teams come into this matchup at Lucas Oil Stadium with the exact same 11-5 record. Indianapolis is the only AFC South team to make the playoffs, winning the division, while the Chiefs come in as the Wild Card Winner. These two teams met earlier this season, out at Arrowhead Stadium in Week 16, a game which the Colts won 23-7, something that isn't very easy to do. These two teams have met three times before in the playoffs, with the Colts winning all three of the previous meetings.

Kansas City dominated during the first half of the year, going 9-0 but fell off in the 2nd half, closing out the year 2-5 after the bye. The Colts are coming in on a 3 game winning streak. Both teams seem to be going in opposite directions. Indy is heating up and the Chiefs are slipping just a little bit.  Kansas City has been slipping a little but will want revenge for their loss at home in week 16. KC Will make a game of it but Indy is going to take it by a field goal. Colts move on to the divisional round.

New Orleans Saints (11-5) vs. Philadelphia Eagles (10-6) 8:10PM NBC
This will be the 3rd all time meeting in the playoffs between these two clubs, with each team winning one game apiece. Both teams have turned in interesting seasons. Philly started off to a 1-3 start, but pulled it together under Chip Kelly and came away with a 10-6 season and a division title. Meanwhile the Saints finished the year 11-5, finishing 2nd in the NFC South. What makes the Saints season so interesting is that all 5 of their losses this season have come on the road, finishing 3-5 on the road.

Heading into this game at Lincoln Financial Field, its going to be interesting from a Saints perspective, as to which Saints team will show up, the one that dominates at home, or the team that can't seem to get it together on the road. The Saints prowless on offense at home has been well documented, as is their lack of said offense on the road. The way I look at it if the Saints want any chance to win this ball game they have to shut down the NFL's best rusher, LeSahwn McCoy and the top ranked Eagles running game. Sure Nick Foles has had good days at Quarterback, I'm not taking that away from him by any means. Foles I think will have a decent game. But if the Saints shut down the Eagles run game and can protect the football it is their game to win. They also have to shake of the stigma of not being able to play in cold weather, which they should be able to do. It's going to be a good ball game, very low scoring, but the Saints take it and move on to the divisional round next week.

Sunday 1/5/14
San Diego Chargers (9-7) vs. Cincinnati Bengals (11-5) 1:05PM CBS
This is the 2nd time ever that these two teams have met in the playoffs, with the Bengals beating the Chargers 27-7 in the 1981 playoffs. This year they have already faced off, during week 13, a week in which saw Cincinnati come away with the win, on the road, 17-10. Now San Diego is going to want revenge for the loss. San Diego is coming into this contest riding a four game winning streak, while Cincy has won four out of their last five games. So both teams are coming in hot.

This will be a highly contested game, featuring two clubs who finished top ten in the NFL in passing this season. The difference though is that the Bengals have the 3rd best defense in all of the league, while the Chargers have the 23rd ranked defense in the NFL. Sure Philip Rivers is going to make a game out of it, but Andy Dalton and the Bengals are going to be too much for him, as Cincinnati rolls right on to the next round.

San Francisco 49ers (12-4) vs. Green Bay Packers (8-7-1) 4:25PM FOX
This will be probably the most entertaining game of the entire weekend. This will be the 4th ever meeting between the 49ers and Packers in the playoffs, with each team winning two games, including the 49ers win last year by a 45-31 score. The two teams met at the start of this season, a game in which the 49ers won 34-28. The 49ers are coming in on a 6 game winning streak, while the Packers are coming off the division win against the Bears the last week of the season.

Green Bay has struggled the last few weeks but with Aaron Rogers back in the mix the Packers look like their old selves again. Only problem is the Packers defense isn't that great, espically without Clay Matthews, who might miss the game with a broken thumb. 49ers have been good this year, and will continue that play rolling right past the Packers in the opening round.

So there you have with the preview of wild card weekend!

USA Announces Hockey Roster For Sochi Olympics

The announcement was made yesterday in Detroit after the Winter Classic. Team USA has there rosters set for men's and women's hockey for the Winter Olympics that will take place in Sochi Russia next month. There were some surprise snubs for this Olympic roster for the Men, being passed up for a variety of reasons. So before we get into some of the noted snubs, lets take a look at the roster for the United States at the Olympics.

Forwards:
#42 David Backes (Blues)
#23 Dustin Brown (Kings)
#24 Ryan Callahan (Rangers)
#88 Patrick Kane (Blackhawks)
#17 Ryan Kesler (Canucks)
#81 Phil Kessel (Maple Leafs)
#74 T.J. Oshie (Blues)
#61 Max Pacioretty (Canadiens)
#9 Zach Parise (Wild)
#8 Joe Pavelski (Sharks)
#26 Paul Stastny (Avalanche)
#21 Derek Stepan (Rangers)
#21 James Van Riemsdyk (Maple Leafs)
#26 Blake Wheeler (Jets)

Defenseman:
#74 John Carlson (Capitals)
#27 Justin Faulk (Hurricanes)
#4 Cam Fowler (Ducks)
#7 Paul Martin (Penguins)
#27 Ryan McDonagh (Rangers)
#44 Brooks Orpik (Penguins)
#22 Kevin Shattenkirk (Blues)
#20 Ryan Suter (Wild)

Goalies:
#35 Jimmy Howard (Red Wings)
#30 Ryan Miller (Sabres)
#32 Jonathan Quick (Kings)

There you have your Team USA Men's Hockey Roster for the Sochi Olympics. Of course there are going to be a few players who got the short end of the stick if you will. Goaltending was a good call on all three netminders. Miller has the experience from playing 4 years ago in Vancouver. So does Quick, although he didn't get to play sitting behind Miller and Tim Thomas on the depth chart. Howard is the new guy and should do quite well at the international level.

Defense saw a few good players get the shaft. Dustin Byfuglien, Keith Yandle, Erik Johnson and Jack Johnson were left out. Both Johnsons were on the team in 2010 but where left off the roster. Despite being 3rd amongst American born defenseman in scoring with 27 points, Yandle was left out in the cold. As for Byfuglien, he's a unique kind of player, able to play both forward and defense. He’s also a versatile weapon on the power play. No American defenseman has more points this season (29), but Byfuglien also has a minus-11 rating and there are questions about his defensive game skating ability on international ice. Same thing can be said for Yandle too.

Finally we look at the forwards. The top forwards not on the 25-man roster are Bobby Ryan, Brandon Dubinsky, Kyle Okposo and Jason Pominville. Ryan and Pominville are third and fourth in goals among American players this season with 18 and 17, while Okposo is second in points with 40. Dubinsky and Nick Bonino are the top centers not to make the team. Ryan, Okposo and Pominville are not considered to have elite skating ability, which clearly looks like a component the management team valued when picking the wings and could be a factor on the larger international ice surface. Those three are also do not kill penalties for their NHL clubs. Plus Pominville wasn't even invited to the camp, over the summer, in the first place so you knew right there he wasn't going to make the team. I know both Okposo and Ryan are putting up great numbers this year in the NHL, but because they both play wing, the US club is so deep at that position already that somebody had to take the fall and right now it's Ryan and Okposo. Granted this could all change between now and the Olympics, say if somebody gets hurts, so we could have somebody else step in. BUt this is the roster that America is taking to Russia to play hockey!