Green Bay Packers Playoff Bound?

I just wanted to write this article for all those so called “experts” out there who said the Green Bay Packers were going to be 4-12 this season. Not only did I predict they would not be 4-12 but I said, “Favre will take them to at least 7-9 or 8-8.” Now I did not predict they might make the playoffs but with the NFC weaker than the AFC this year they could. Think about it, Favre’s final year in green and yellow takes his team to the playoffs what a better story line. And we all know that if you can make the playoffs you never know what will happen. For example: Last years Pittsburgh Steelers. I am not saying they will win the Superbowl or even make it for that matter if they make the playoffs they just might.

IF they win next week versus the Chicago Bears (in Chicago mind you) they got a shot. Hey you never know the Bears might sit a few starters for the playoffs.

So I am hoping Atlanta, Philly, NYG lose 2 and Carolina, San Fran, St. Louis only need to lose one of 2. Then GB will get in.

Green Bay can clinch playoff berth with:
1) GB win + NYG win + GB clinches strength of victory tiebreaker over NYG, OR2) GB win + NYG loss or tie + STL loss or tie, OR3) GB win + NYG loss or tie + CAR win, OR4) GB win + NYG loss or tie + ATL win, OR5) GB tie + NYG loss + STL loss + ATL loss or tie + CAR loss or tie

Here’s the question for you who do you think will be in the Superbowl?

I said at the beginning of the year it’s going to be Indy over Dallas. I could be right, now I am thinking the San Diego Chargers over the New Orleans Saints. (By the way I have tickets to the San Diego playoffs games).

…what do you think?

Can you change sports alliances???

A friend of mine (Rob) is moving to Edmonton. Only one problem, he is a PASSIONATE Calgary Flames fan. Living in the middle of enemy territory, the City of Champions. What shall he do, join his fellow Oiler fans or stand proud to be a Flames fan? The 80's rivalry between Edmonton and Calgary were fierce and as of late they have had similar success going to the Cup Finals and losing in Game 7 the last 2 yrs.

So here's the question: "Is it acceptable to change loyalities or alliances to other teams?"

Like is it okay for a Flames fan to change be come a Oiler fan?
What about a Dallas Cowboy fan becoming a Redskin fan?
A Habs fan into a Leaf fan?
Mancester United soccer fanantic converted into an Aresnel lover?
How about a Yankee fan changing alliances and cheering for the Boston Red Sox?
Bulls/Celtics fan enjoying their new team the Los Angeles Lakers?
OR VICE VERSA.

Is it okay...WHY or WHY NOT...need some reasons my friends. Let the debate begin...

Oh Canada Poll Question

Here we are 9-13 games into the season. We have got a good look at our favourite teams. Being in Canada I figured the pole question would be "Which Canadian Team Will Win Lord Stanley?"

I know Buffalo looks the best and Philadelphia looks the worst. Actually their goals for is the complete opposite (53-28, 28-53). But we are Canadian so give me your take on what the good ol' Canadian teams will do.

Here's my take on all the Canadian NHL teams in alphabetical order:

Calgary Flames:
Current Record - 9 games played = 3 W 5 L 1 otl 7 Pts
Analysis > Let's be honest their best player has to be Kiprusoff. But Calgary hasn't looked good yet but it's early. What's with Calgary any way? Amonte goes there and sucks. Tanguay goes there and can't score either. Is Ignila that hard to play with? Is Sutter than defensive he sucks the offensive life out of the Flames? It looks like they have 1 good line and the rest are grinders who score everyone once in a while (exception maybe Kobasew). They only have 23 goals for and are at the bottom of the league just in front of Philly, Columbo, and Boston. Defensively with Phaneuf and Regehr they should be solid. That into consideration Calgary has only played 9 games where everyone else has played over 10.

Edmonton Oilers:
Current Record - 11 games played 7 W 4 L 0 otl 14 Pts
Analysis > We all know that if Roloson played the whole final Edmonton would have won or if Conklin didn't give the puck up either...but that was last year.
These guys have impressed me this yr. They have scoring on every line. Stoll, Hemsky, Smyth, Sykora, Lupul, Horcoff, etc. Maybe their weakness is their defense but they have played well so far only allowing 28 goals. Roloson has played great with a GAA of 2.41.

Montreal Canadiens:
Current Record - 10 games played 5 W 2 L 3 otl 13 Pts
Analysis > Montreal is an interesting team. Some games they look good and others not so good. You look at their lineup and ask, "Where are they going to get their offense from?" We see the defensemen S.Souray is leading the team in scoring. In net who is the #1 Huet or Aebischer? Looks like a committee in goal. The goalies hate that. Kovalev leads the team in PIM.

Ottawa Senators:
Current Record - 10 games played 5 W 5 L 1 otl 10 Pts
Analysis > The Sens are not the team they used to be. They could have the best line in hockey in Spezza, Alfredsson and Heatley. But after that who do they got? Corvo was a great pick up for some offense on D. I know hind sight is 20/20 but they shouldn't have gone and got Gerber but let Emery be the guy. Then they could have used that $ to buy another offensive FA. Emery needs the opportunity to become a great goalie. Great move letting Chara go...$7.5 a yr...no wonder Boston sucks. Most there $ is going to a defensive defenseman who has scored a career high 30 pts.

Toronto Maple Leafs:
Current Record - 12 games played 5 W 4 L 3 otl 13 Pts
Analysis > Leaf fans seem to be coming back to reality. They don't seem to think they are going to win every season any more. No kiddin' because the last time was in 1967. Before we were all born!
They took a huge gamble this off season getting Raycroft. He hasn’t looked bad actually. This former rookie of the year will get a legit shot at proving himself. I really like Wellwood with Sundin & Tucker. The Leafs are tied for 3rd in goals for (40) but they are 2nd to last in the goals against in front of Phoenix (53). Defense wins championships but in the new NHL it might be who can score more goals.

Vancouver Canucks:
Current Record - 12 games played 7 W 4 L 1 otl 15 Pts
Analysis > I can't believe Vancouver is playing this well. Luongo has made a ton of massive saves but he still lets in the easy ones every once in a while. The Canucks as a team are playing hard. That's why we are winning games we shouldn't be...HARD WORK. Bertuzzi we are not missing you at all. 4 pts in the 1st game, 2 pts since and missed 3 games with an injury. And oh by the way, he still hasn't signed with the Panthers yet. If he bolts from Florida Nonis is a genius. The twins are incredible and Naslund looks like he’s ready for another good season. You know all the guys who have been crying we don’t have A.Carter…he’s got one goalie this season in Columbus. Pyatt has turned into a great acquisition (6 goals). The Canucks just have to stay out of the sin bin.

Leave a comment if you are Canadian and man enough!

How much does the crowd make a difference?

This post all stems from a conversation I had with my friend Phil Hamar this week. We were talking hockey and we were being serious about who's good and who's not. Then Phil says something to the affect of this, "You know why the Canucks were terrible last yr and why Bertuzzi didn't play well?...It's because the fans of Vancouver weren't behind them." After the awkward pause I realized he's serious and busted a gut laughing. "Are you serious I asked?" I asked...he was serious.

Now I understand that home ice/field/court advantage is valuable but how valuable is it?

Pacers guard Reggie Miller loved to play on the road. He felt he played better. No one knows that better than the Knicks.
Pittsburgh beat the Colts on the road in the dome to go to the Superbowl.
Sure the Carolina Hurriances won game 7 at home but if Roloson was healthy they would have won game 7 actually Edmonton would have won the series quicker than that.
Great players got to be great no matter if they are at home or away?

Going to the Seattle Seahawks game on Sept 24th showed what it's like when 68,000 fans go crazy. I saw first hand what the noise can do to disrupt a team as the Giants Eli Manning was having a hard time calling plays. That's why Seahawk fans are called the 12th man. Seattle went up 42-3 by the end of the 3rd q. But in the fourth qtr it was still loud and Eli threw 4 TD passes and the crowd was still tough.

What do you think?

Canucks playoff bound?

I was driving in my sweet pimped out mini van the other day and listening to Vancouver sports talk radio. The pole ? was "do you think the Canucks are better than last yr"? I know we live in BC and it will be a biased pole but 80+ % believes we are better than last yr!

Let me tell you...we are not better than last yr. From our top 2 lines last yr we have replaced Bertuzzi and Carter with Cooke and Bulis. Where is our scoring going to come from? Sure we improved in net but defensively I would rather have Jovo instead of Willie Mitchell any day.

Honestly, we look like Florida with Naslund on the wing. Luongo is going to face 40 + shots a night and where is our scoring going to come from??? Burrows, King, Bulis, Cooke, Linden?

For all you fans out there that already want Nonis' head on a silver platter remember this he needs at least 3 yrs to turn things around here. This team is rebuilding NOT retooling. I loved Burke as GM but think of the results the "core" was together for 5 yrs and we won only 1 playoff rd and it was against the Blues.

There are many sports experts out there that are not picking the Canucks to make the playoffs. And unless we make some significant trades I am agreeing with them. I know it's easy to be negative and critical but this time we got to be realistic. I even heard a guy on the radio call in and say we are going to win the Stanley Cup?! By the way I am cheering for Vancouver and I hope I am terribly wrong.

NY Islanders: Dumbest Franchise

Okay the NY Islanders are officially the dumbest franchise in NHL history if not sports history. They just signed Rick “Mr.Average” Dipietro to a FIFTEEN YEAR contract. It’s a guaranteed deal worth $4.5 mil a year. He’s 25 right now so that makes him 40 when the contract is finished. What other goalies have made it to 40 yrs old in the NHL? Hasek, Belfour, and Cujo. The only reason they have signed with other teams is they are proven great goalies.

Actually the NY Islanders had a great tradition with winning 4 Stanley Cups with Bossy, Trottier, Billy Smith, etc. But they are also known for there incredibly stupid trades and now signing. Not only did they over pay but they give too long of contracts. They signed A.Yashin to a 10 year 87.5 million dollar deal.

Here are some more facts why this franchise is the dumbest with terrible trades:
1999: New York Islanders traded Tommy Salo to the Edmonton Oilers for Mats Lindgren and 8th round selection (Radek Martinek) in 1999.

2000: New York Islanders traded Olli Jokien and Roberto Luongo to the Florida Panthers for Mark Parrish and Oleg Kvasha.

2001: Ottawa Senators traded Alexei Yashin to the New York Islanders for Zdeno Chara, Bill Muckalt and 1st round selection (Jason Spezza) in 2001.

The dumbest deal 1998: The New York Islanders traded Todd Bertuzzi, Brian McCabe, and a 3rd rounder (Ruutu) to the Canucks for Trevor Linden.

I am surprised Mike Milbury had his GM job for SO long.

NFL Educated Guesses - 2006

- Shaun Alexander will break the Madden curse and not face a major injury this season.
- Seattle will make the playoffs unlike the loser of the Superbowl the past how many years.
- LJ is overrated and hasn’t proven himself but might be the real deal or get knocked out by “Lights out!” just like Priest.
- The Houston Texans will wish they selected Reggie Bush.
- P.Rivers will be better than E.Manning was in his 1st yr. Yeppie!
- Green Bay will shock the world by beating Chicago in week 1 and will not be 4-12 like every “expert” is predicting. Favre will take them to at least 7-9 or 8-8.
- McNair and J.Lewis won’t start all season or much of the season.
- C.Dillon will play most the yr getting 10+ TD’s.
- Offensive rookie of the year will go to DeAngelo Williams.
- T.Owens will behave a bit better and make Dallas a whole lot better making the playoffs.
- Peyton Manning will win MVP and lead Indy to be the Superbowl champs without James.
- Cincinnati will be the only team in the AFC playoffs to give Indy a run for their money.
- Arizona will struggle not because of Warner or Leinart or injuries but because of the terrible O line they have. - The 3 top D’s will be Chicago, Carolina and Dallas.
- Chad Johnson will pay big $ in fines for his end zone antics.
- The Giants won’t make the playoffs because their WR’s and defensive won’t be that good. And Philly might win a wild card spot. New England won’t make the playoffs as they watch the Dolphin swim by and take that division.
- The Jets will get 1st pick overall in next yr’s draft selecting Brady Quinn who will win the Heisman.
- NFC Championship game: Cowboys over Falcons
- AFC Championship game: Colts over Bengals.
- Superbowl Champs: Indy and Marvin Harrison gets MVP. Peyton gets league MVP.

As you can see most of these educated guesses are biased.

Bought Madden TODAY

EA Sports released this year's copy of Madden 2007. I have been looking forward to it. Even pre ordered a copy so I could get it the 1st day.
Initial thoughts:
* I like it. It's my kind of game.
* Love the graphics.
* Some of the mini games are swEEt. Love the passing, receiving and running.
* Glad I bought it.
* Played online with Hutch it was super fun. Sorry about wrecking your franchise by beating you.
* All Madden level is crazy hard. I throw like 4 INT's a half.
* Portis, C.Johnson, and of course Shaun Alexander rock. *Still has QB precision passing...boo! maybe that's why I get so many INT's.
* LOVE how you can get people to go offside, false starts and there is defensive pass interference calls.
* Thinking about being the Redskins as my franchise. Especially with Portis and Duckett now there. Better WR core but no backup if Brunell goes down. Defensively they are solid.
Things I don't like about Madden:
* Getting used to the Y button that used to be call audible now I go offside with a quick jump.
* Superstar isn't cool. I got drafted to the Vikings. Agrrrr!
* Portis fumbles WAY too much.
* No radio show or newspaper articles in franchise mode.
* Franchise mode is basic.
* Mini games it's too hard to run the 40, do the bench press and cover WR's.
* Got to make the recent trades like Barlow w/the Jets, Duckett w/the Redskins and Lelie w/the Falcons.
* No online franchise mode for me and my friends.

Conclusion: I am so glad I bought this game. No more Halo 2 just fighting on the grid iron. Go Packers!

Drafting Results

My two important drafts are D O N E. I got one of the WR's I targeted.
Plus I drafted in both leagues Chicago, M.Anderson, and J.Porter.

In Total Domination Year 7 I got a pretty stellar team. My team name is always the Packers in this league.
My starters look like this:
QB - McNabb, T.Green
WR - Harrison, S.Moss, I.Bruce, J.Porter
RB - Alexander, T.Barber, F.Taylor, T.Jones, TJ Duckett, M.Anderson
TE - Cooley
K - Vanderjagt
Def - Chicago Bears

In Minor League Year 2 we had 14 teams and I was pleased with the team I have. My team name is T.K.O. My team looks like this:
QB - P.Manning, C.Simms
WR - Holt, T.Glenn, Evans, M.Jenkins, J.Porter
RB - J.Jones, W.Dunn, C.Taylor, M.Anderson, S.Gado
TE - K.Winslow
K - O.Mare
Def - Chicago Bears

Jersey's are HERE!

The jersey's have arrived! These AUTHENTIC babies are awesome. Thanks so much Peter I love this Alexander one. I am definitely wearing it to the game against the Giants in Seattle on Sept 24th. And of course tonight for the Minor League Draft.

Ebay rocks!

I am pumped! I am a new owner of an AUTHENTIC green Green Bay Packers Brett Favre Jersey (just like the one in the picture). I got it on Ebay. They retail for about $190-$250 US. How much did I get it for? Man you are going to love this. $34.99 US. I have no idea why they are on Ebay for that low. They are real and have the tags to prove it. So yeah I am just paying the seller and waiting.

And by the way my AUTHENTIC white Seattle Seahawks Shaun Alexander jersey should be here too any day now. So it's pretty exciting for me these days. Sports wise.

Two jersey's coming 2 drafts this week and a BIG smile.

Are YOU ready for some football???

Here is a picture of yours truly working on my draft board for my free fantasy football pools. Yes it's plural. I am in 3 this year and most likely I will do a salary cap one too, so 4 I guess.

This stuff is SO fun and serious business. Bragging rights are on the line. My super competitive one is Total Domination Year 7. It's a keeper league. My 4 keepers are incredible: Shaun "MVP" Alexander, Donovan McNabb, Marvin Harrison, and Tiki Barber. But the draft is Aug 12, who to pick? I am 8th overall in the 5th rd (1st after the keepers are selected). Some are looking at Reggie Bush, others at Tom Brady, some at other rookie RB's like D.Williams, or others want fast Willie Parker but I am looking to pick up a decent WR. Got my eye on 4 so I am sure I will get 1 at least. The problem is not the first few rds it's picking up the diamonds in the rough like J.Galloway, Rackers, Brees and the Chicago Def all taken last year in the final 2 rds. My goal this year is to win my 1st championship. So to the drawing board I go...praying, studying, and hoping to make the right picks. Leave a comment on who might be some great sleeper picks this season.

Also I am the comissioner of Minor League 2. We have 14 guys in it so it's going to be awesome. I missed the playoffs just barely because D.Culpepper, D.McAlister, B.Leftwich and J.Walker all went down with season ending injuries. The thing that is tricky about this one is because we have so many guys in the league the waiver wire is depelted and you got to know your stuff about depth charts. Other than that it's simple pick a stud and you should be fine. In this league I want either Alexander, Tomlinson, LJ, or P.Manning.

Top Story - HUGE NFL NEWS

Huge News: Today I got on to ticketmaster 2 minutes after it opened and I got tickets for the Sept 24th Seahawks game vs the NY Giants. I am so pumped. Road Trip in the minivan to see Alexander vs Tiki Barber.

Then my friend Peter told me that he had bought me a white Shaun Alexander Jersey for doing their wedding. This is not a replica but an authentic (like the same one the pros wear!). I am so pumped about it. He bought it off Ebay and I will get it early August. He bought himself a sweet Chad Johnson Jersey too. It's the orange one, which is pretty nice.

Luongo deal bad for the present great for the future.

As I have had some time to analyze, comment, and change my mind I have come to some conclusions about the Canucks getting Luongo.

Luongo: Granted he is amazing. He had the most shots faced in the league 400 more than the 2nd place Brodeur and he still was 1st in GAA. He was on Team Canada’s top 3 for goaltenders. He is young a stellar.

BUT was he worth what Vancouver gave up? As the dust has settled it looks like not only did we lose Bertuzzi, Allen and Auld to Florida but we lost Jovo to Phoenix and Cloutier to the Kings.

Bertuzzi might have peaked and there isn’t a ton of value for a guy who was accused of breaking another player’s neck. I enjoy Todd when he was here but I am glad he’s getting another start. The one thing about Bertuzzi was he took too many penalties while the Canucks were on the PP.
Allen was solid but has not lived up to his 5th overall selection. Though I did love his grit and size.

Auld, I thought, would be the Canuck goalie of the future but as I always say you got to give up something to get something. He will do well in Florida and if not he’s got great weather there…Alex watch out for hurricane warnings. Like I used to sing in Sunday School, “Don’t build your house on the sandy land, don’t build it too near the shore. I might look kind of nice but you’ll have to build it twice. You’ll have to build your house once more.”
Jovanovski: He was loved here and honestly I loved having him but we couldn’t afford him and Luongo. The one thing I have learned is Jovo is injury prone. 79 missed games in 3 years…wow! I think the Coyotes overpaid for him at $6.5 mil a year. Ed you will be missed.
Cloutier: As many of you know I am a huge Cloutier fan. Yes he let in the one goal against Lidstrom in the playoffs and he can’t stay healthy. But he did set Canuck records with three 30+ win seasons. And if you ever seen that fight between him and Salo back in the day you know he’s got grit. Mark Crawford and Dave Nonis both say he works as hard as anyone. I think when healthy he was as good as any young goalie out there. I think it was a great move that LA picked him up.

Retooling? I heard this statement lately about the Canucks. But I don’t think we are retooling with ALL these changes. I really think we are rebuilding. Yes that is right. Now rebuilding doesn’t have to look stupid like Boston trading away Samsonov and MVP Joe Thornton and overpaying Chara for $7.5 mil a season.

Why are we rebuilding? Because we kept the core together for 5 years and we won only 1 playoff series. That’s the facts. But what Brian Burke did was bring excitement and the fans back to the area. Thanks Brian that at least it’s been entertaining. I love Canuck fever I just hate all the bandwagon jumpers.

Conclusion: We had to do something and we did more than something we got one of the best young goalies in hockey. For those out there that believe with all the changes we are going to win the Stanley Cup this year…give your head a shake. I don’t think this year we will win with the likes of superstars like Bulis, Krajicek, Chouinard, Pyatt, and Noronen. But at least we are moving in the right direction from the goal mouth out.

Of course I could be wrong but I doubt it.

Italy WINS the WORLD Cup

Can't believe my team just won the world cup! I am pumped. No I am not a bandwagon jumper. I have been cheering for them since college. When you have a roomate with the last name Spiridigliozzi and eating their amazing pasta you get converted.

Yes, yes people hate my team. Everyone hates the winner but this time they have good reason. Italy and Portugal are the two cheapest and dirtiest teams out there. I admit it. But the refs have to do a better job.

Speaking of cheap what about Zidane...he cost his team the WC. Why did he head butt him in the chest? A fist doesn't do anymore? Not that I am condoning what he did. But you got to admit even though it was cheap Materazzi helped Italy win. Zidane is their best player and best Penalty striker and he was taking a shower...sucks to be him. The goal was to win and Italy did...not England, not Germany, not France, not even the mighty Brazilians.

2nd place is the 1st loser? Aren't they 2nd best?

What does the Oilers, Canucks and Flames all have in common? "They are all from Canada?" Thanks for stating the obvious. No the answer is they have ALL lost Game 7 in the Stanley Cup Finals.

Edmonton lost to Carolina in 2006
Calgary lost to Tampa Bay in 2004
Vancouver lost to the NY Rangers in 1994

Miami Heat the champs

So Miami finally won the NBA championship. I remember last year that people were claiming they would win the 1st yr Shaq moved to town. Not me. There is something that takes time and it's called "chemistry". So I figured after a full season they could do it. Which they obviously did.

But one team I thought might do because they were together longer was Detroit. Those 5 guys destroyed the Lakers 3 years ago. No real star but they had chemistry.

But I think if A.Stoudamire was healthy for Phoenix Mr. Two Time MVP Steve Nash would have won his 1st championship. Phoenix is hands down the best team to watch. Run and gun style, mega points and shotting the lights out philosophy is so awesome to right. I thought Kobe had them in the playoffs this year but Nash showed he is the undisputable MVP. Kobe has to be the best offensive player in the game. He or Vince Carter are the best players above the rim with LeBron as a 1c.

My favourite players are Tim Duncan and LeBron James. Those guys are great. LeBron has the potential to be better than Jordan. Will he? I doubt it but he's got the best shot. If you are saying Kobe you just put his #'s beside Michael and MJ is better than in every category. Da' Bulls could have won 8 straight championships if Jordan didn't try baseball.

I know my brother hates watching guys like Tim Duncan but he doesn't understand the beauty of fundamentals. Defensively he is a force in the paint. His footwork is amazing. He banks shots in off the glass as good or better than Scottie Pippen. He averages like 25 pts and 10+ rebounds every night. But most of all he is a winner.