Great ending to a great game

That was the way it should be. Canada versus the United States for all the marbles. This was the game that North America, hockey fans, the NHL and everyone else wanted. Folks, this matchup certainly did not disappoint.
Sidney Crosby scored the Gold Medal clinching goal at the 67:40 of the game. Canada struck first on a rebound goal from Jonathan Toews. Corey Perry made it 2-0 in favor of the host Canadians.
The United States was able to cut the deficit to 2-1 when Ryan Kesler was able to deflect Patrick Kane's shot, past Roberto Luongo. Things got very interesting in the 3rd period, when Canada struck the post twice early in the period. Ryan Miller made a couple of stellar saves that kept the United States in the game. Zach Parise scored with 25 seconds remaining to send the game to overtime.
The overtime period was back and forth until Sidney Crosby became a Canadian hero again, when he put a shot through the five hole of Ryan Miller, clinching the Gold Medal for Canada. United States defenseman Brian Rafalski lost the puck deep in the USA end, and Crosby scored to dash the dreams of the States.
Ryan Miller played extremely well again in goal for the United States. This was a great result for the Americans, who were not supposed to even medal. The Americans brought a young team to Vancouver and surpassed all expectations by taking the Silver medal. The United States should keep their head held high and build off of this great result. Thank you Canada and the USA for a great finish to a great Olympic hockey tournament.

College Basketball tidbits

Xavier continued to roll in the A-10 as they are headed for the NCAA tournament. Xavier is in the middle of a logjam at the top of the A-10 standings. Xavier went on the road last night and defeated the surprising St. Louis Billikins 73-71 last night.
Xavier was led by Jordan Crawford who scored 26 while Jason Love had 21. The win moves Xavier (20-7, 11-2 conference) into a first place tie with Richmond and Temple.
It has been a tale to two teams in regards to Cincinnati and Xavier. Cincinnati was able to defeat a brutal Depaul team last night, 74-69 at Fifth Third Arena. Cincinnati (16-11, 7-8) was able to rebound from 2 straight heartbreaking Big East losses. The Bearcats were helped by the two players that must step up. Yancy Gates and freshman phenom Lance Stephenson. Gates finally showed up as he put up a career-high 23 points, while Stephenson put up his first career double double, 18 points and 10 rebounds.
The Bearcats were once again horrific from the free throw line, going 14-32. Cincinnati entered the game as one of the nations worst free throw shooting teams, ranked 315th out of 347. With shooting like that, this team will continue to head nowhere fast.

Well im 2 for 2 in bombing predictions

Well once again, I failed to predict the correct outcome in an Olympic hockey game. As you may know, I picked Russia to defeat Canada 3-2 yesterday. Well folks, I wasn't even in the ballpark.
Canada lit up Russia 7-3 last night, in front of a raucous crowd at Canada Hockey Place in Vancouver. The victory puts Canada in the Medal round to face Slovakia on Friday night. Canada scored early and often, with SIX different players scoring (Getzlaf, Boyle, Nash, Morrow, Perry (2) and Weber). It is safe to say, the Gold Medal favorites have truly arrived.
The 7-3 demolition of the Russians sent a message to the remaining teams, we're back. Canada is playing a heck of a lot better than they were in their first three games. They can thank the United States for their wake up call.
It appears we are headed for a North American Gold Medal game. The United States absolutely dominated Switzerland, even though the 2-0 scoreline doesn't show that. If not for Switzerland goalie Jonas Hiller, playing out of his mind, the scoreline would have been much worse. Zach Parise scored both goals for the United States setting up a semifinal showdown against Finland on Friday (3:00 pm NBC).
It appears the United States and Canada are destined to face off again for the Gold Medal. North America will be buzzing on Sunday if that is the case.

Born Ready...for sophomore year?

Yesterday, Cincinnati freshman Lance Stephenson aka Born Ready, stated he feels that he is not ready for the NBA and it leaning towards coming back for his sophomore season at UC.
My response to that is: good call big guy. There is no way that Stephenson is ready for the NBA after some of his performances this season. Born Ready should return next season and attempt to live up to the expectations that have been put on him.
If he has a solid season next year for UC, then by all means he should head to the NBA, but as of now, Lance Stephenson is Born Ready, for his sophomore season.

The Showdown

With Canada's 8-2 beatdown they delivered to Germany last night, the game everyone thought was going to be for the gold medal, will instead, be for a place in the medal round.
Canada versus Russia. Crosby versus Ovechkin. This was many peoples pick, including me, as their Gold medal game. Canada's defeat to the United States on Sunday put this matchup a lot earlier than many had hoped.
This will be a very good game, with two high-powered teams giving it their all. The winner will move into the Semifinal round. Canada will have more hope as they have benched Martin Brodeur in favor of Roberto Luongo. Canada seemed to have picked it up again last night, granted it was against Germany.
This will be one of the best games in the Olympics and the match up the NHL and the world wanted to see. Two of the games hottest young stars, going head to head in a winner move on, loser go home, game.
I think this will be a very good, but close game. I think Russia has more firepower but the home ice & talent will definitely keep Canada in the game.

Prediction: Russia 3 Canada 2

Cyclones attendance surpasses 100K

Article from the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Luongo in, Brodeur out

Canada coach Mike Babcock finally made the decision that should have been made from the get go, have Roberto Luongo be the starting goalie for Canada.
After Brodeur's elegant display against the United States, the change was finally made. This will not change Brodeur's legacy as the best goalie ever, but as for what is best for Team Canada, Brodeur must sit.
Luongo will have his chance today, as Canada faces Germany for a birth in the Quarterfinals against Russia.

Reaction to US/Canada game

I think it is safe to say the reports of depression in Canada have spiked since last night.

Team USA does it again!

The day before the 30th anniversary of the Miracle on Ice, Team USA pulled off another upset. This time, the host Canadians were the victims. This was the type of game that makes International hockey, as great as it is.
The United States defeated Canada 5-3, in one of the best Olympic hockey games I've seen. Defenseman, Brian Rafalski put the United States ahead 41 seconds into the game, stunning the crowd. Canada was able to tie the game at the 8:53 mark, on a goal from Eric Staal, before Rafalski restored the lead again for the United States. The States led 2-1 heading into the 2nd period.
Dany Heatley was able to tie the game, early in the second period, for Canada, before Chris Drury and Jamie Langenbrunner gave the United States a 4-2 lead. Sidney Crosby made things really interesting with about 3:09 remaining in the game, when he was able to get his stick on a pass from Rick Nash, putting the puck past American goalie Ryan Miller.
Canada picked up the pace as they were fighting for the game-tying goal. With Canadian goalie Martin Brodeur on the bench, for the extra skater, Ryan Kessler scored one of the greatest "hustle" goals. Zach Parise chipped and cleared the puck up the boards and Kessler was able to get on the end of the pass and slap it into the net, sending the Canadian fans home early. The buzzer sounded and the United States gained an automatic bye into the quarterfinals. The United States plays a fun and exciting style of hockey. They play very physical and they are fast. Goalie Ryan Miller is used to facing a lot of shots, since he does play for Buffalo, so the workload is nothing new to him.
Canada will take on Germany, Tuesday, with a place in the Quarterfinals on the line. The next game for the United States will be in the Quarterfinal round on Wednesday. All teams take note, Team USA brought their "A" game to Vancouver and plans to return south, with an Olympic medal around their necks.

United States continues to dominate Olympic Medal Count

The United States continues to dominate the Vancouver Winter Games. The States currently leads the Medal count with 23. Germany is currently in second with 14, and Norway sits in third at 11.
US Speedskater, Apollo Anton Ohno became the most decorated Winter Olympian in United States history. I could not have happened to a better person. Ohno recovered from a stumble to win the Bronze medal in the Men's 1,000 meters. The Bronze medal gives Ohno 7 career Winter Olympic medals, passing fellow speedskater, Bonnie Blair for most all-time in United States history.
In other Olympic news, skier, Lindsey Vonn won the Bronze Medal in the Super G. Vonn had the lead until Austria’s Andrea Fischbacher and Slovenia’s Tina Maze were able to surpass Vonn on the leaderboard. After five previous riders crashed, Vonn's husband and coach, advised Vonn to take it easy down the hill.
US Men's skier Bode Miller has a chance to become the first US Alpine skier to medal three times in an Olympic Games. Miller will attempt that feat the Men's Super Combined.

The Showdown

Tonight is the night. USA versus Canada. The Border War. The battle of two teams comprised of all NHL players. The underdog United States faces off tonight against the heavily favored, and host Canadians.
What's at stake? A birth in the quarterfinals. When the Olympic hockey schedule was released, this game was circled immediately. The United States currently leads group A with 6 points, while Canada is in 2nd, with 5 points.
Canada is coming into this game on the heels of a hard fought, shoot-out victory against Switzerland on Thursday night. They could come into this game in a foul mood after being taken to extra time against the Swiss.
On paper, Canada should dominate, as they have the deepest team in this years Olympics. As we all know, games aren't played on paper. United States GM Brian Burke, decided to bring a very young and inexperienced team to Vancouver. Burke went a different way this year, because the veteran team that was in Torino in 2006, finished a dismal eighth. As I stated in my Olympic hockey preview a couple of days ago, things could go very bad or very good.
So far in this tournament, very good. Granted the team has made some errors, but they have had great goaltending and solid scoring. The United States knows that their margin of error shrinks dramatically in this game.
The United States hasn't defeated Canada in the Olympics since 1960. This Border Battle was intensified when the United States defeated Canada in the Gold Medal game at the World Junior Championships in Saskatoon, earlier this year.
This should be a very good game and it will definitely be a great game to watch. I think Canada has a little more depth and experience and will use that to their advantage. Don't count the "kids" from the States out though, as their spirited play could cause the upset.
Prediction: Canada 4 United States 3

Miami's conference unbeaten streak stretches to 23 games.

The University of Nebraska-Omaha strolled into Oxford, Oh for the final time as members of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association and faced the top team in the country in a pivotal conference series. Miami fresh off a weekend sweep of Bowling Green clinched the #1 seed in the conference tournament and the Regular season title last weekend with 3-2 and 10-2 wins. UNO coming off an impressive home sweep of the University of Michigan came in holding onto the 4Th spot in the standings and the final first round bye seed for the conference playoffs.
Miami came out flying and got on the board first at when Jarrod Palmer (Fridley, Minn) scored at 1:41 of the first period. The goal was Palmer's team leading 15Th goal of the year, and later added two more assists to snag the team lead in points with 38. UNO was able to tie it up at the 9:17 mark when Alex Hudson (Corona, Cal) scored his first of two on the night. Miami didn't waste much time taking the lead back when Brandon Smith (Pepper Pike, Oh) scored his 6Th of the year with the assist going to Devin Mantha (Ann Arbor, MI) and Steve Mason (Stratford, Ont). Alex Hudson (Corona, Cal) added his second of the night on the power play at 15:26 to even things up after the first period at 2-2.
Justin Vaive (Toronto, Ont) got things started in the second period at 4:43 of the period when he had a nice re-direct of a shot from Will Weber (Gaylord, MI). Miami started to turn up the heat and had UNO back on their heals when UNO head coach Dean Blais decided to use his one and only time out half way through the second period. That however didn't make any difference as Miami extended their lead to 4-2 at the 13:11 mark when Pat Cannone (Bayport, Ny) lite the lamp for the 10th time of the year to make it 4-2. That score held up through the rest of the second period.
In the third little changed as Miami kept the pressure up peppering a total of 15 shots on goal in the period. Miami got goals from Reily Smith ( Mimico, Ont)and Trent Vogelhuber (Dublin, Oh) to give Miami a 6-2 victory. Cody Reichard (Celina, Oh) got his 16th win of the year stopping 19 of 21 shots faced.
Miami and UNO will face off again tonight at Goggin ice center at Steve Cady arena at 7:05 PM, game can be seen live on the Ohio News Network.

US cruises, Canada pushed to brink

In Olympic Men's Hockey, preliminary round games, the United States cruised to a 6-1 victory over Norway. Later on in the evening, Switzerland played a great game, even though they lost to host Canada, 3-2 in the shootout.
It was a hostile atmosphere for the States, as the Canadian fans in attendance, were hollering for Norway. Everytime the USA got a little rattled, the intensity of the Norway cheering picked up. The States were able to overcome the hostility, as they jumped up early on the Norwegians, through a goal by Phil Kessel at the 2:39 mark of the first period.
The United States was holding on to a 3-1 lead throughout much of the 2nd & 3rd periods before they were finally able to open the floodgates. Ryan "Bugsy" Malone scored the fourth goal for the United States, and defenseman Brian Rafalski was able to score twice in the final three minutes to make it 6-1.
The States outshot poor Norway 39-11, holding the Norwegians to only 2 shots in the first period. Goaltender Ryan Miller made the saves when he was called into action.
With the victory, the United States has already surpassed their win total from the 2006 Olympics in Torino, when they finished 1-4-1. The victory set up a chance for the States to capture Group A if they defeat heavily favored Canada on Sunday (7:30 pm EST, MSNBC).
In the evening game, Canada, fresh off their 8-0 beatdown they delivered to Norway on Tuesday, was pushed to the brink by Switzerland. The Swiss definitely play Canada tough, as they knocked them out of the 2006 Olympics. Canada jumped out to a 2-0 lead, on goals from Dany Heatley and Patrick Marleau. Switzerland goalie, Jonas Hiller stood on his head, making 44 saves. The Swiss were able to chip away and get two goals past Canada's Martin Brodeur in the second period.
When the horn sounded at the end of the third period, everyone in the building was shocked, as Canada and Switzerland were headed to overtime. Brodeur and Hiller kept the game scoreless throughout the 5-minute overtime period. It took a total of four shooters in the shootout to decide the game.
Canadian darling, Sidney Crosby was stoned by Hiller on his first shootout attempt, but was able to redeem himself the second time. After Brodeur & Hiller stopped the first three shooters in the shootout, up stepped Crosby again. Crosby skated in and ripped a twisted wrister past the blocker of Jonas Hiller to put Canada up 1-0 the shootout. The pressure then shifted to Brodeur. Martin Pluss stepped up for the Swiss. He skated in and tried to get a wrist shot past the glove of Brodeur. Bad idea, as Brodeur has one of the best glove hands in the world. Brodeur was able to stop the shot, thus giving the entire country of Canada, a huge sigh of relief.
This sets up the biggest game in the biggest event, so far, in the Olympics, a USA/Canada showdown on Sunday. Everyone must tune into this massive game. This is what hockey fans want to see, two of the best in the world, going toe to toe in the best international hockey tournament. Here's to what is going to be a great game!

John Shuster, the new goat of American sports

While watching the Olympics you can appreciate the talent that goes into each individual sport. One sport that is precise is curling. Yes it is difficult to master, but if you are an Olympian you should perform. The American men have now stumbled to an abismal 0-4 start after winning bronze in Torino in 2006. The heart wrenching fact is the Americans have lost the last 3 matches in extra frames. While that is disappointing, the worst part is the fact that in all 3 of those losses captain John Shuster has had the last throw all three times and has chocked in all three occasions.
I do understand the pressure of the Olympic games, but when in an interview a day before the games began you say that you strive on pressure and live to have to throw the last rock and you choke 3 straight games? C'mon dude, get it done. I know curing is tough to master and takes delicate touch, but your an Olympian get it done. To fail once is one thing, but three games in a row and all but kill your chances at a medal is flat our disappointing.
I know its only curling, but if you haven't watched it it really is a great sport and fun to watch. Not to mention every medal counts and you shouldn't be 0-4 after you won bronze at the last games.

The meaning of Gold

Watching Lindsey Vonn win her Olympic Gold Medal yesterday/last night, really struck me. What I saw was something that meant so much to an athlete. The pride, the glory, the country. You are the best in the world.
Winning an Olympic Gold Medal is something I would rather have over a professional sports championship (Stanley Cup, Super Bowl, World Series, etc). The sense of accomplishment, all the hard work and training over 4+ years has finally paid off. I felt so happy for Vonn because of all the hard work she has put in and the injuries that she has had to overcome. Earlier this week, she was unsure if she would be able to race. You could see the sense of relief when she made it down the hill.
Vonn is still slated to race (and is the favorite to win) in four more events.
Once again, Shaun White showed why he is the greatest snowboarder in the world. White continued his dominance of the sport, winning the Gold Medal in the Men's Halfpipe. American Scotty Lago took home the Bronze in the halfpipe. Americans had a great chance to sweep the podium but Louie Vito fell short of the podium.
American Shoni Davis won Gold in the Men's 1000m speedskating event. Davis was the defending Gold Medalist and World Record holder in that event. Americans dominated the Olympics yesterday taking home a US record 6 medals yesterday (including the 3 gold).
I am so proud of all of our Olympic athletes who give it their all in these games. Keep up the hard work as you bring Olympic glory home to America! Thank you!

Vonn strikes again

American Lindsey Vonn lived up to the expectations that she and others have put on her. Vonn, racing in her first 2010 Olympic race, shook of a recent shin injury to bring home the Gold medal in the Olympic downhill.
Vonn was able to shake off her bruised right shin, to win the medal in 1 minute, 44.19 seconds.
Americans took Gold and Silver as Vonn's teammate, Julia Mancuso, finished 0.56 seconds behind Vonn. This is the first time that Americans have finished with Gold & Silver in an Alpine race in the Olympics in 26 years.
Vonn is still favored to win her other four events. The big question is how her shin will hold up for the remainder of the games. If the shin holds up, we have the Winter Olympics version of Michael Phelps. Keep it up Lindsey.

Some of the best words in sports: "Pitchers and Catchers report"

That's right ladies and gentlemen. Cincinnati Reds pitchers and catchers report to spring training, tomorrow, in Goodyear, Arizona. This looks like a year where the Reds can surprise some people.
The Reds begin their spring training exhibition schedule, March 6, against the Cleveland Indians. Stay tuned as we will be previewing the 2010 Cincinnati Reds.

U.S. Men's Hockey team skates to victory.

It wasn't pretty by any notion but it was successful. The U.S. Men's Hockey team beat Switzerland 3-1, in an opening round game yesterday. Yes it wasn't as flashy as the 8-0 victory Canada put up against Norway, but for a team that boasts a lot of new faces to the Olympic games, it was a success. Bobby Ryan got the scoring started, with under a minute left in the first period, after firing a wrister from the slot past his teammate in Anaheim, Jonas Hiller. Ryan Mallone scored one power play goal and David Backes got team USA's third goal, with a beautiful end to end move to round out the scoring. Team USA showed spurts of dominating offensive capabilities. Goaltender Ryan Miller performed well, when he had to, with the lone Swiss goal coming on the power play.
Team USA will play Norway next on Thursday, in another tune up game, before they have their showdown with Canada on Sunday night. The States still have a lot of wrinkles to work out, but for a group of guys who had only skated together once since getting to Vancouver, there wasn't a lot to complain about.
The NBC T.V. coverage was also spot on, with Mike Emerick doing the commentating and Ed Olzyuck as the color guy they did a wonderful job. Add Pierre Mcquire between the glass and they covered every angle of the game you could want.

UC flushes NCAA tournament hopes down toilet

The Cincinnati Bearcats dropped a crucial game, to South Florida 65-57, in regards to their NCAA tournament hopes. Out of their final six games, this was one that they had to win. The loss drops UC to 15-10 overall and 6-7 in the Big East.
The Bearcats couldn't have picked a worse time to come out and play like a steaming pile of cow dung. Cincinnati had 16 turnovers and only a whopping five assists. With around six minutes remaining, the Bearcats trailed 50-33. How do you manage to only have 33 points, with six minutes to go, to the University of South Florida? If you were stupid or drunk enough to watch the entire game, you knew this game was never close.
It is going to take a miracle for this basketball team to make the big dance now. Once again after a strong start, Mick Cronin's Bearcats falter down the stretch and will miss out on the NCAA tournament.
Cincinnati shot 39% from the field and 27% beyond the arc. Oh and not to mention they shot an awesome 61% on free throws. Well with stats like that, this basketball team couldn't beat the Mason Third Grade Basketball team.
Of course, the schedule doesn't get any easier. Here is a look at the Bearcats remaining schedule:

Feb 21 Marquette (16-8 59 RPI)
Feb 24 DePaul (8-17 183 RPI)
Feb 27 @ West Virginia (19-5 5 RPI)
Mar 2 Villanova (22-3 6 RPI)
Mar 6 @ Georgetown (18-6 8 RPI)

To have a chance in hell to make the tournament, UC would have to go 4-1 during the remainder of the schedule, and win a game or two in the Big East tournament. Since I'm a realist, that my friends, isn't happening. From the Hall of Famer, Marty Brennaman, "How we lookin?.....not good"

Mock Draft 2.0

Bengals take TE with 21st pick.

Olympic hockey preview

These 2010 Olympic games have the opportunity to produce the best Olympic hockey games we have ever seen. In honor of the Men's hockey starting today, I am posting my prediction for the Olympic hockey results. With my prediction, I feel we will be seeing what every hockey fan wants to see: Sidney Crosby v Alexander Ovechkin for the Gold.

Gold Medal: Canada

Brief: There are a couple of factors in me choosing the Canadians to win the gold. First, they are the deepest team in this years tournament. Second, home ice advantage. With Sidney Crosby being passed up for the 2006 team, he is hungry to add to his young, but already amazing legacy. Also, the Canadians were flat embarrassed in Torino in 2006, finishing 7th. Look for the Canadians to bring home Olympic Gold in Vancouver.

Silver Medal: Russia

Brief: Russia was picked by many to win the Gold this year. They will definitely be competing for the Gold, but they will fall just short. Anytime you have a lineup that contains Ovechkin, Kovalchuk & Datsyuk, you have a very solid team. The issues with this team are goaltending and defense. That is why they will fall just short of Canada.

Bronze Medal: United States

Brief: I am stepping out on a limb on this pick. The United States is bringing a very young and inexperienced team to Vancouver. Thats why this could go one of two ways for the United States. They could either medal, or fall flat on their face. I think the United States will show better than the experts think this year. I think the youth on this team will carry them in the Bronze Medal Game versus the Swedes.

4th: Sweden

Brief: The defending Gold Medalists will have what it takes to repeat, but they will fall short of a medal this year. The top four teams all have what it takes to win the Gold.

5th: Finland

6th: Czech Republic

7th: Slovakia

8th: Switzerland

9th: Germany

10th: Belarus

11th: Latvia

12th: Norway

Miami Redhawks clinch CCHA regular season title!

With a 3-2 win Friday night and a 10-2 win Saturday night Miami University Redhawks have clinched their 3rd CCHA regular season title.

In game one Jarrod Palmer (Fridley, Minn) tailed 3 points in the 3-2 victory including the game winning goal with 3:23 left to play. While Cody Reichard (Celina, Oh) made 24 saves to earn the victory. In a close back and forth contest Miami showed their resilience to battle through a long tough week after burying their beloved student assistant Tuesday to clinch the regular season title.

In game two Miami wanted to make sure people understood they meant business this year. With the 10-2 route and having 10 players record multiple points in the game, I think they made their point clear. The game wasn't all peachy, however, with 163 total penalty minutes and 3 game ejections along with Miami head coach Enrico Blasi shown the gate early emotions were high. Down side is Miami's Alden Hirschfeld(Sylvania, Oh ) got ejected and will have to miss Friday's contest against University of Nebraska-Omaha. Andy Miele (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mi) lead all scorers with 4 assists on the night. Freshman Reiley Smith (Mimico, Ont ) had two goals and Jarrod Palmer (Fridley, Minn) added 3 more points for a total of 6 on the weekend. Connor Knapp (York, Ny) got the win making 19 stops on 21 shots. Miami improved their conference record to 19-1-4-2 and their overall reord to 22-4-6.

Miami will head back to the friendly confines of the Goggin Ice center at Steve Cady Arena Friday and Saturday against the University of Nebraska-Omaha in a big conference tilt.

Bracketology Feb. 15th: How things can change in a week!

Well folks I am back again for another trip around the bracketology tree. I have been on a hiatus for a few days because of work but wanted to put this together.

Ok so to recap a few things: The tournament is ranked 1 through 16 with their being 4 regionals. Each of the 6 conferences get an automatic bid. The top seed faces the number 16 seed and so on. We must avoid inter-conference matchups in the first round and if a host institution is in the tournament they must be placed in that regional. The committee also will try to avoid flights for the four #1 seeds in the tournament and take attendance issues into consideration as well. So with that said lets take a look at our rankings this week.

1 Miami
2 Denver
3 Wisconsin
4t St. Cloud State
4t Bemidji State
4t Boston College
7 Colorado College
8 Yale
9t Minnesota-Duluth
9t New Hampshire
9t Michigan State
9t Vermont
13t North Dakota
13t Cornell
15 Massachusetts
16 Ferris State
17 Maine
18t Alaska
18t Boston University
20t Northeastern
20t Union
22 Northern Michigan
23 Lake Superior
24 Nebraska-Omaha
25 Umass-Lowell

So we have ties to break at #4, #9, #13. St. Cloud wins the comparison over the other two to get the last #1 seed. Bemidji gets slotted at #5 and Boston College at #6. New Hampshire wins the comparison to get the #9 seed, Vermont will be place at #10, Minnesota-Duluth at #11, and Michigan st. at #12. And North Dakota wins the comparison against Cornell to get the 13th seed and Cornell gets the 14th seed.

So our new standings look like this:

1 Miami
2 Denver
3 Wisconsin
4 St. Cloud State
5 Bemidji State
6 Boston College
7 Colorado College
8 Yale
9 New Hampshire
10 Vermont
11 Minnesota-Duluth
12 Michigan State
13 North Dakota
14 Cornell
15 Massachusetts
16 Ferris State
17 Maine
18t Alaska
18t Boston University
20t Northeastern
20t Union
22 Northern Michigan
23 Lake Superior
24 Nebraska-Omaha
25 Umass-Lowell

Ok, so lets put our teams in bands.

#1 seeds are Miami, Denver, Wisconsin, and St. Cloud State
#2 seeds are Bemidji st., Boston College, Colorado College, and Yale
#3 seeds are New Hampshire, Vermont, Minnesota-Duluth, and Michigan st.
#4 seeds are North Dakota, Cornell, Massachusetts, and RIT ( Atlantic Hockey champ)

Now lets place each team in our regionals based on the selection criteria.

Midwest Regional: Ft. Wayne, In

#1 Miami vs #4 RIT
#2 Yale vs #3 New Hampshire

West Regional: St. Paul, Mn

#1 Denver vs #4 Massachusetts
#2 Colorado College vs #3 Vermont

East Regional: Albany, NY

#1 Wisconsin vs #4 Cornell
#2 Boston College vs #3 Minnesota-Duluth

Northeast Regional: Worcester, Mass

#1 St. Cloud State vs #4 North Dakota
#2 Bemidji St. vs #3 Michigan St.

First things first do we have any inter-conference matchups? answer is yes St. Cloud vs North Dakota. But with the clause in the NCAA where if a Conference has 5 or more teams in the tournament they don't have to avoid inter-conference matchups so we are ok here. Now we need to avoid flights for the #1 seed, so with Denver having to fly no matter what we will move their pairing from St. Paul to Worcester and vice versa. Next step is to look at attendance. The northeast regional has some concerns so for that we will move both pods from the Northeast and West to even things out and get our attendance issues fixed.

So our new bracket looks like this:

Midwest Regional: Ft. Wayne, In

#1 Miami vs #4 RIT
#2 Yale vs #3 New Hampshire

Northeast Regional: Worcester, Mass

#1 Denver vs #4 Massachusetts
#2 Colorado College vs #3 Vermont

East Regional: Albany, NY

#1 Wisconsin vs #4 Cornell
#2 Boston College vs #3 Minnesota-Duluth

West Regional: St. Paul, Mn

#1 St. Cloud State vs #4 North Dakota
#2 Bemidji St. vs #3 Michigan St.


After considering everything, I like the way this turned out so I will hang my hat here this week.

See you again next Monday for another rendition!

Bode wins Bronze

After a long and hectic weekend off, we are back and ready to roll on the blog. US Skier, Bode Miller rebounded from a disappointing 2006 Torino Olympics, by winning the Bronze Medal in the Alpine Skiing, Men's Downhill event in Whistler.
In the 2006 Torino Olympics, Miller was a favorite to win gold in five events. Instead, Miller returned to the United States with as many Olympic Gold Medals as I do, zero. Didier Defago (Switzerland), won the event, while Aksel Lund Svindal (Norway) captured the Silver.
The men will be racing again Tuesday, in the super-combined event. Bode Miller will again be one of medal favorites.

The execs at NBC have lost it

It is a good thing the execs at NBC aren't brain surgeons, because there would be a lot of people who have passed on. NBC has decided to show ice dancing, women's speedskating & men's skiing (freestyle & GS), over the U.S. vs Canada men's preliminary-round hockey game. The game, set to be played, Sunday, Feb. 21, was one of the most anticipated events at this years games.
Instead, the game has been shifted to the NBC cable affiliate, MSNBC at 7 pm. Imagine how the NHL must feel. They cancel the annual all star game, so players could participate in the Olympics, and they don't even get national network coverage, of one of the marquee hockey matchups. The NHL currently has a contract with NBC to broadcast their regular season games, but the ass clowns at NBC won't show the game on its network, instead we get to watch ice dancing and speed skating. Brilliant move NBC.
The best thing for the Olympics and the NHL, is to get rid of the clowns at NBC. All I have to say is, I had better get MSNBC in HD, or I may hang myself. Thank you NBC!

The Bengals "Rehab Center" opens its doors again

The Cincinnati Bengals have signed former Jacksonville Wide Receiver Matt Jones to a one year deal. Jones, a former college quarterback, chose the Bengals over the Titans, according to ESPN's Chris Mortensen.
This is a signing that I like. Jones is a solid receiver, who will definitely help the Bengals horrific passing game. Jones was arrested in 2008, with two college friends, while cutting some cocaine in his car. Jones spent a week in the slammer for violating the terms of his plea deal.
Hey who knows, maybe Jones will play well enough that the Bengals can get rid of Laverneous Coles, since he is stealing a paycheck every Sunday. Jones will definitely be an upgrade in the red zone, since the Bengals Tight Ends can't catch anything, including a cold.
The Bengals "Rehab Center" could continue to accept new people, as the Bengals have reportedly worked out former Titans & Cowboys cornerback, Adam "Pacman" Jones. They have also shown some interest in former Browns receiver, Dante Stallworth, who decided to get hammered, get behind the wheel and kill a pedestrian. Hmmmm, that sounds familiar in my life! Love you and miss you Scott! Ah, but hey, what the hell, he only spent 30 days in jail. Lets give him a shot too. Stay tuned to see if the Rehab Center at Paul Brown Stadium continues to open its doors this off season.

Great read on Brendan Burkes death

John Buccigross from ESPN hits a home run with this article.

Letting your emotions out in a game

I'm going to have to vent for a minute. People get ripped on for being too competitive and wearing their emotions on their sleeve. As a goalie, I naturally hate to give up goals, but when I get frustrated for giving up a goal, suddenly, I'm the bad guy. Personally, that is not fair. For a person, who is very emotional and competitive, as a player/goalie, that is all part of the package. I will be competitive and emotional or suck completely and be calm. People cannot have their cake and eat it too. That is part of the package so deal with it. Wow, I feel much better. I can sleep tight tonight!

New way to travel, it doesn't get much better than this!

Well on this windy, snowy wednesday evening I am currently flying the friendly skies enroute to Atlanta on a business trip. Thats right I am currently flying 32,000 feet, listening to the columbus bluejackets on XM radio and posting on the blog mid flight! I tell you airtran has really knocked the ball out of the park with this one. For those who don't know, airtran launched WiFi availability on all flights. Now you don't have to get lost in a good book or read the sky mall magazine, again. You can log on and for a measly $5 you can surf the web, listen to XM radio, and read our blog!
Air tran is an inexpensive way to travel and the fact that you can now get wifi on the flight puts them ahead of the game. I know I will be relaxed catching up on all the college basketball and NHL games tonight will flying to Atlanta and not miss a thing!
Check back later this week for a weekend preview of Miami and Bowling Green this weekend. This is Scott signing off from a cool 35,000 feet now!

My olympic interest could take a hit

Well my rear-end just got chapped. Reports are, Alpine Skiing Gold Medal favorite, Lindsey Vonn, is not sure if she will be able to ski in the Olympics. According to Vonn, she suffered a shin contusion while practicing last week. For more information on this story, check out The Fourth Place Medal blog on Yahoo.
At least if Vonn is unable to ski, I will have US Snowboarder Gretchen Bleiler to keep my interest peaked! Thank god for hockey, skiing & snowboarding!

UC Football schedule released

Here is the Cincinnati Bearcats 2010 football schedule:

Sat., Sept. 4 at Fresno State
Sat., Sept. 11 Indiana State
Thu., Sept. 16 at North Carolina State (7:30 p.m., ESPN)
Sat., Sept. 25 Oklahoma (@ Paul Brown Stadium)
Sat., Oct. 9 Miami U
Fri., Oct. 15 at LOUISVILLE (8 p.m., ESPN)
Fri., Oct. 22 USF (8 p.m., ESPN2)
Sat., Oct. 30 SYRACUSE
Sat., Nov. 13 at WEST VIRGINIA
Sat., Nov. 20 RUTGERS
Sat., Nov. 27 at CONNECTICUT
Sat., Dec. 4 PITTSBURGH (ABC/ESPN/ESPN2)

FYI - Marcus Lewis, son of Bengals coach Marvin Lewis, plays LB for Indiana State.

So whose it gonna be?

With the Orlando Cabrera signing shoring up who will be our Shortstop going into Spring Training, the focus now turns to Left Field. So whose it going to be? That is the question. The best thing for the Reds is the amount of young depth they have going into the season. The jury is still out if they will be able to play in the big leagues this year though. That is where Jonny Gomes enters the picture.
Jonny Gomes is still sitting at his home in Arizona without a team. Rumors have stated the talks between the Reds and Gomes have broken down. According to John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer, if Gomes does not re-sign with the Reds, the list of possible candidates is around seven. Here is the list:

Dickerson: He had a solid year at the plate, hitting .275 in 255 at-bats. The lack of power was a bit surprising - only two home runs. Durability remains a question after he had two stints on the disabled list. The other drawback is that left field is his weakest position defensively. But he gets on base, something this club needs at the top of the order.

Chris Heisey: Scouts all say the same thing: "You'll love the way he plays." He's solid across the board but doesn't have a standout skill. His batting average dropped significantly after going from Double-A to Triple-A - .347 to .278. He's probably the best bet to get right-handed at-bats.

Wladimir Balentien: He was once a big-time prospect with Seattle, but has had trouble adjusting to the big leagues. He hit .264 in 110 at-bats with the Reds last year. But the odd thing is the right-handed hitter batted .263 vs. right-handers, but only .165 against lefties. He's out of options.

Todd Frazier: He played a lot in left before an experiment at second base. He hit a combined .292 last year at Double-A and Triple-A and his 45 doubles were the third most in the minor leagues. Left field is where he would get the most at-bats if he makes the team.

Juan Francisco: He strikes out a lot and almost never walks (468 Ks, 86 walks in 1,955 minor-league at-bats). But he hit 28 home runs and drove in 100 runs last year while moving from Double-A to Triple-A to the majors. He's the least experienced of the candidates.

Laynce Nix: He's solid defensively. The power's there - 15 homers, 26 doubles in 309 at-bats. But he doesn't get on base much - a .239 average and .291 on-base percentage.

Aaron Miles: He's played outfield in the past. If he returns to his 2008 form when he hit .317, the Reds will look to get him at-bats somewhere.

I don't think Miles will be in the mix though. If Gomes does re-sign, he will be the starting Left Fielder on Opening Day.

Turco's days in Dallas are numbered

The Dallas Stars made a trade yesterday, that would show that former franchise goalie, Marty Turco's days are numbered in the big D. The Stars aquired G Kari Lehtonen from the Atlanta Thrashers for D Ivan Vishnevskiy. This is a solid trade for both teams. The Stars will be able to get rid of Turco before the trade deadline, and the Thrashers were able to unload their former #1 prospect, in Lehtonen.
The Stars can move forward with Lehtonen and other goalie Alex Auld. Many teams have been linked to Turco. As it seems now, the Philadelphia Flyers appear to be the team that will be Turco's most likely destination. Stay tuned as this story will continue to develop.

NCAA Men's Basketball tourny moving to 96 team field rumored to be a done deal; why stop there?

Here is the deal, at 64 teams the tournament is exciting, fun, and competitive; for the most part. In the history of the tournament a #16 seed has never beaten a #1 seed. With that little tid bit in place why add 32 more teams to the field? What so maybe 10-12 more mid-major teams get in or are they trying to get the whole big east conference in the tournament? This move certaintly won't get a second team in from the sunbelt conference in the tournament. The 1 vs 24 matchup will be just as uneventful as the 1 vs 16 currently is. Yes maybe the 6 vs 19 or 7 vs 18 matchup could be a little more entertaining but is it necessary. The tournament has been extremely successful and the first two days of the tournament have become somewhat of a holiday across the country. But stretching the tournament from 3 to 5 weeks makes zero sense to me. Teams already have a tough time winning 6 games in a row but make that 10 it seems a lot to ask. More to the fact that the NCAA has used the excuse that a playoff for Division I football wouldn't work because you would have to take the kids out of school for an extended period of time. How would a 5 week NCAA basketball tournament be any better than an 8 team football playoff for the kids? Their logic they use is hipocritical at the least, not to mention the NCAA basketball regular season is somewhat irrelevant as it is. Add 32 more teams to the NCAA tournament and there would be no need to watch any regular season games again, even with 5 on TV every night.
This is a classic case of the greedy NCAA trying to stretch out a good thing for additional TV revenue. The arguement is that the 65th team won't be able to complain and make a case for getting in. They will be right they won't, but now the 97th team will. Not to mention expanding this much will all but kill the NIT tournament.
If the rumors are true, this is a bad move by the NCAA and eventually will bite them in the behind. I hope they look past all the greed and do the right thing by the game and their fans. Basketball will never be on the same level as football but it is fine where it is, so just leave it alone and let us all enjoy those three weeks in March/April.

NHL to open season, once again, in Europe

The NHL announced that a record six teams will open up the NHL season in three European cities. Those cities are Helsinki, Finland, Stockholm, Sweden, and finally Prague, Czech Republic.
The Boston Bruins, Carolina Hurricanes, Columbus Blue Jackets, Minnesota Wild, Phoenix Coyotes and San Jose Sharks are the teams that were chosen to headline the NHL Premiere and NHL Face-Off events. The games will take place between October 7-10.
The schedule is as follows (games times will be announced later):

Hurricanes v Wild October 7-8 (Hartwall Arena, Helsinki)
Jackets v Sharks October 8-9 (Ericsson Globe Arena, Stockholm)
Bruins v Coyotes October 9-10 (02 Arena, Prague)

Remember when?

On this date: 2000
The Reds send four players: pitcher Brett Tomko, outfielder Mike Cameron and two minor leaguers to the Mariners and agree to a contract extension to obtain Seattle superstar Ken Griffey Jr. Junior's nine-year $116.5 million contract is the richest package in history.
- Baseball-Reference.com

For the love, leave Peyton alone

Ok, now that I came of my emotional high of the ROTR lineup announcement. I shift my focus to Peyton Manning. Now the big fuss is that Peyton Manning did not shake hands with Saints players after their defeat in the Super Bowl. Really people? There is more important crap to worry about than if Manning shook hands after a game. People are complaining that it shows bad sportsmanship. I'm willing to bet, that not a single kid in America, noticed that Manning did not shake hands after the game. Here is an idea, let the other team celebrate winning a Super Bowl. Just head to the locker room with your head held high and let them celebrate. Who gives a damn if Manning didn't shake hands after the game. It is not that big of a deal. Manning is still a great guy and this will not change peoples perception of him. It's not like millions of little kids are going to stop shaking hands after games. People need to quit worrying about if a player shakes hands after a game or not. There are more important issues to stroke out over, rather than if a pro athlete shakes hands after a game. For the love people, give it a rest!

TIME TO ROCK ON ROCK HEADS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Once again, this has nothing to do with sports but since im so pumped for this festival, I feel the need to let everyone know the lineup for the 2010 Rock on the Range Festival in Columbus has been released. Here is the star-studded lineup:

Godsmack
Rob Zombie
Three Days Grace
Limp Bizkit
Rise Against
Seether
Slash
Deftones
Papa Roach
Five Finger Death Punch
Coheed and Cambria
Bullet For My Valentine
Mastodon
Killswitch Engage
Theory of a Deadman
Puddle of Mudd
Sevendust
Drowning Pool
Skillet
Apocalyptica
Halestorm
Airbourne
Mushroomhead
Adelitas Way
Helmet
Escape the Fate
Cold
Anberlin
Nonpoint
2Cents
Violent Soho
Janus
Shamans Harvest
Year Long Disaster
Taddy Porter
Like a Storm
Noise Auction

Im not going to lie, I'm so pumped now I could start a mosh pit in my office! ROCK ON BABY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! For more information on the music festival, May 22 & 23, check out the Rock on the Range website.

Global warming strikes again

The phenomenon known as "global warming" has struck again. Officials for the Winter Olympics had to drop 2 days of snowboarding/freestyle skiing practice because the weather has been a little warm at Cypress Mountain. It has been so warm that officials have had to ship snow in to the mountain to help preserve the halfpipe and other areas of competition.
Cypress Mountain is the location for the snowboarding & freestyle skiing competitions. Athletes have lost those two days of practice as dump trucks and helicopters have dumped the snow on the mountain. The alpine skiing location in Whistler is ok.
Athletes were able to practice earlier today and said the conditions were great. Olympic officials remain positive as the weather looks to be getting colder. One of the last resorts, if the weather doesn't cooperate, was to use metal and plywood to help shape the halfpipe. The company that was overseeing the halfpipe in Aspen, for the X Games, could help with the construction and shaping of the pipe.

Bracketology: for Feb. 8th, Pairwise explained.

OK folks, this is my first installment of bracketology NCAA hockey style. First things first, the college hockey selection criteria is vastly different than any other sport. There are only 16 teams that gain entry into the tournament. There are 6 conferences in college hockey and all 6 have an automatic qualifier into the tournament which leaves 10 at large bids. College hockey uses a system called the Pairwise rankings, which ranks the teams across the country on certain criteria. They take into account a teams overall record, their RPI ranking, and their strength of schedule. Along with those each team is compared against one another in the top 25 of the rankings. Those teams are called TUC's, other wise known as teams under consideration. Each team is compared against the 24 other teams that are listed as TUC's in these categories: RPI, head to head record, record against TUC's, and record against common opponents. You get a point for each comparison you win and can be crucial in determining a teams seeding in the tournament. Here is the current PWR:

Rk Team PCWs W-L-T Win % Rk RPI Rk
1 Miami 24 20-4-6 .7667 1 .5899 1
2 Denver 23 18-6-4 .7143 3 .5826* 2
3 Wisconsin 22 16-7-4 .6667 5t .5709 3
4 St. Cloud st. 20 18-8-4 .6667 5t .5666 4
5t Bemidji St. 19 18-6-2 .7308 2 .5548 6
5t Boston College 19 15-8-2 .6400 9 .5499 7
7t Maine 16 14-9-3 .5962 14 .5454 9
7t Colorado College 16 17-10-3 .6167 11t .5555 5
9t Minnesota-Duluth 15 18-11-1 .6167 11t .5483 8
9t Vermont 15 13-9-4 .5769 17 .5388 12
11t North Dakota 14 13-10-5 .5536 21 .5390 11
11t Massachusetts 14 16-11-0 .5926 15 .5374 15
13 Ferris State 12 17-9-4 .6333 10 .5402 10
14 New Hampshire 11 13-10-4 .5556 20 .5385 13
15t Michigan State 10 17-10-5 .6094 13 .5375 14
15t Cornell 10 13-6-3 .6591 7 .5368 16
17t Yale 8 14-6-3 .6739 4 .5366 17
17t Union 8 15-7-6 .6429 8 .5325*18
19 Alaska 6 11-9-8 .5357 25t .5172 24
20 Michigan 5 16-13-1 .5500 22t .5240 19
21 Lake Superior 4 14-11-5 .5500 22t .5185 20
22t Minnesota 3 13-13-2 .5000 32t .5180 21
22t Northern Michigan 3 12-10-8 .5333 29 .5175 22
22t Boston University 3 11-11-3 .5000 32t .5175 23
25 Northeastern 0 13-12-1 .5192 31 .5171 25

Full details and comparisons can be seen at this www.collegehockeynews.com which is a great place to follow how much the PWR fluctuates from night to night.

With all of that said lets talk brackets. The four regionals are in Albany, NY; Worcester, Mass; Ft. Wayne, IN; and St. Paul, Minn. The selection committee worries about three things attendance, cutting down flights, and avoiding inter-conference match ups in the first round. Now with the last part said if a conference gets more than 5 teams into the tournament the no longer have to avoid the inter-conference match ups.

OK so based on the PWR and going off the 1 v 16 system our brackets look like this.

Ft. Wayne, IN
1. Miami vs 4. RIT ( Atlantic Hockey Associations champ )
2. Colorado College vs 3. Massachusetts

St. Paul, Minn
1. Denver vs 4. Cornell ( East Coast Athletic Conference champ )
2. Maine vs 3. North Dakota

Albany, NY
1. Wisconsin vs 4. New Hampshire
2. Boston College vs 3. Vermont

Worcester, Mass
1. St. Cloud State vs 4. Ferris State
2. Bemidji st. vs 3. Minnesota-Duluth

So first things first do we have any inter-conference match ups? answer is Yes Boston college vs Vermont. Our solution would be to switch Vermont and Minnesota-Duluth. Our next question is travel, can we cut down flights. Answer is yes by switching Denver and Wisconsin we cut down one flight and keep the integrity of the bracket. Our next question is attendance, Albany bracket looks fine with UNH and BC there. Ft. Wayne looks good with Miami there, St. Paul looks good with Wisconsin and North Dakota there, and Worcester mass looks good with Vermont there.

Therefor our new bracket looks like this.

Ft. Wayne, Ind
1. Miami vs 4. RIT
2. Colorado College vs 3. Massachusetts

St. Paul, Minn
1. Wisconsin vs 4. Cornell
2. Maine vs 3. North Dakota

Albany, Ny
1. Denver vs 4. New Hampshire
2. Boston College vs 3. Minnesota-Duluth

Worcester, Mass
1. St. Cloud State vs 4. Ferris st.
2. Bemidji st. vs 3. Vermont


Everything looks good with our new bracket, thanks for reading and see you back here next week for another rendition of bracketology!

Pre-Olympic hockey ratings released

There is a new leader in the Pre-Olympic ratings, released by the International Ice Hockey Federation. Russia has climbed over Canada to lead the rankings. That can't sit well for the host Canadians, as they have now been thrusted into "underdog" status on home ice.

Here are the rankings relased by the IIHF:
Personally, these rankings are a bunch of shenanigans, because to me, Canada is still the favorite to win gold in Vancouver. I will elaborate more, later on this week, as I preview some of my favorite events in the 2010 Winter Olympics. Stay tuned!

Danica to debut on Saturday

Danica Patrick is set to make her much anticipated NASCAR debut on Saturday, at the Daytona International Speedway.
Danica will be driving the No. 7 Chevrolet, owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr, and JR Motorsports. The decision was made earlier today after Patrick reflected on her stock-car debut, this past weekend. Patrick finished 6th in the ARCA race on Saturday, also held at Daytona. Patrick spun early in the race, but managed to work her way through the field to land a top 10 finish. That result led Patrick to want to race in the Nationwide race on Saturday.
Patrick will have a lot work to do this week as she prepares for one of the biggest races on the Nationwide circuit. Any race at Daytona is prestigious, and Patrick knows it. She is just out to prove that she can once again race with the boys.

Rock on the Range Lineup to be announced

This has absolutely nothing to do with sports, but for all of those Rock heads like me, the lineup for Rock on the Range will be announced tomorrow! I will post the lineup on the blog tomorrow!

Miami still consensus top team in America

Well it's Monday and the beginning of the work week. I have had time to digest what took place in Oxford, OH over the weekend and the performance Saturday night still leaves me flabbergasted. Miami extended their conference unbeaten streak to 19 games and currently sport an 8 game unbeaten streak while having a record of 7-2-1 in their last 10.

On Saturday night Miami played an emotional game with it being less than 24 hrs after the learned of the traggic passing of Student assistan Brendan Burke. All of that emotion boiled over with a combine 108 penalty minutes and Miami scoring a season high 10 goals in the 10-4 rout of Lake Superior State. Miami got everyone involved Saturday with 9 different goal scorers and 15 of 20 players dressed getting atleast one point. Andy Miele (Grosse Pointe Woods, MI.) lead the way with 2 goal and 2 assists, while Connor Knapp (York, N.Y.) made 29 saves and recorded his first assist of the year. Vincent Loverde (Chicago, Ill.) notched his first goal of the year, while 8 other players got atleast 2 points. Tommy Wingles (Wilmette, Ill.) scored his team leading 14th goal of the year and is now tied with Carter Camper (Rockey River, OH) for the team lead in points with 32.

These two wins keep Miami's lock as the #1 team in the nation and leaves them one win away from clinching the regular season conference title and #1 seed in the conference tournament. Miami's next series is at Bowling Green State University next Friday night at 7:05 PM and Saturday night at 5:05 PM.

Check back later for my first installment of brecketoloy hockey style!

Is it time for Mick to go?

Folks, Cincinnati Bearcats basketball coach Mike Cronin has to go. I was all for giving him a chance, but this is the most talented team that he has had in his tenure, and they lack focus, heart, toughness, desire and effort. Cronin has managed to take a talented team, and made them mediocre. Once again, the Bearcats get blown out in Big East play, losing to Syracuse 71-54. Cronin has failed to have his teams finish the year on a high note.
This team was on the highway to the NCAA tournament until they blew a tire. Now they are headed to either the NIT or the CBI postseason tournaments. Anything less than the NCAA tournament is unacceptable for this Bearcats basketball team. There is no reason this team should not be in the NCAA tournament, and that my friends, falls on Mick's shoulders.
That is why if this team does not finish the year strong, and make the NCAA tournament, the future of Mick Cronin needs to be evaluated. Mick is a great guy, but he is not the kind of coach that will help Cincinnati reach the green pastures, they last saw when Huggins was here. I was happy when Cincinnati hired Mick to coach the team after the departure of coach Andy Kennedy. Unfortunately, he was not able to bring them back to Big East relevance.

Great ending to a great season

That was the kind of Super Bowl that should end a season. This game showcased two of the best quarterbacks in the league. This game certainly did not disappoint. The big question going into this game was, can the Saints defense stop Peyton Manning and the Colts offense? The answer to that was a resounding, yes.
I have to give the Saints defense props because nobody, including me, gave them a chance in hell to stop the Colts. Neither team could stop the opposing quarterback, but both defenses were able to keep the ground attacks to a minimum. Colts running back Joseph Addai was held to 77 yards rushing on 13 carries.
I must say that out of everyone, I feel so happy for Drew Brees. Brees was left for dead after he tore his rotator cuff in San Diego. Saints coach Sean Payton told Brees to come to New Orleans to help him build a winner. Brees showed up on the worlds biggest stage going 32-39 for 288 yards and 2 touchdowns.
The game really turned after the Saints recovered the onside kick to begin the 2nd half. There was a period of around 45 minutes (including halftime) where Peyton Manning and the offense were not on the field. That was one of the best/gutsiest coaching calls in Super Bowl history. The Colts just never seemed to get in their groove after that. It all went down hill after Matt Stover missed the field goal with about 10 minutes to go in the 4th quarter. You started to feel the game was over when Brees led the Saints down the field, finishing the drive with a touchdown pass to tight end Jeremy Shockey.
The final nail was put in the Colts coffin when Tracy Porter jumped the route and intercepted a Manning pass and returned it for a 71 yard touchdown. Porter read the route better than wide receiver Reggie Wayne. The question was could Manning lead a comeback? The question was no. My biggest question was the play-calling with a little over a minute to go. Third and goal at around the 4 yard line and the Colts decide to run the ball. I questioned that immediately. When you have one of the best quarterbacks in the history of the NFL, you don't run the ball on 3rd and goal when the Saints had begun to stop the Colts running game.
All in all, it was a great Super Bowl. It was great that the best two teams in the NFL, all season long, played in the final game to determine the best. It was a fitting in to a great season. Congrats to the Saints franchise as they won their first Super Bowl. Thank you for a great NFL season.

College hockey tidbits

Maine defeats New Hampshire 6-3 to sweep weekend series. The Maine Black Bears completed a huge weekend series with the New Hampshire Wildcats, by defeating UNH 6-3 in Orono on Saturday night. The sweep helps Maine improve to 14-9-3 on the season, as the Black Bears are fighting for an NCAA Tournament birth.

Wisconsin defeats Michigan 3-2 in the Camp Randall Hockey Classic. Wisconsin rallied to defeat Michigan in front of 55,031 at Wisconsin's Camp Randall Stadium.

Other scores on Saturday:

Denver 2
Air Force 1 OT

Colorado College 5
Mercyhust 3

Western Mich 4
Notre Dame 1

Nebraska-Omaha 4
Ohio State 3

Miami blugeons Lake State

Miami continued to dumptruck the CCHA competition, with a 10-4 blugeoning of Lake Superior State tonight. Miami played inspired hockey in the memory, of a member of the coaching staff, Brendan Burke, who died from injuries that he suffered in a car accident on Friday. Miami stormed out to a 7-0 lead before Domenic Monardo ruined the shutout for Connor Knapp. Knapp made 38 saves on 42 shots as Miami was once again outshot by the Lakers.

However, at one point in the 2nd period, Miami had scored 7 goals on 17 shots. Forwad Andy Miele played one of his best games all season tallying 4 points (2 G, 2 A). For more information on tonights game, check out Scott's post on the game.

Super Bowl matchup

Im going to add a little more to what Scott stated in his post regarding the Super Bowl. The big question is going to be can the Saints D stop Peyton Manning and Colts offense. I think the Saints can stop Peyton, but not enough to defeat the Colts. Scott's prediction of the Colts winning 34-21 is a great pick, but im going to pick the Colts 34-28. I think this game will be closer than most people are thinking. As great as the Saints are, they just won't be able to score enough to keep up with the Colts. All in all, it should be great Super Bowl.

Superbowl, Super matchup?

Well, hello everyone! Im excited to be apart of this blog and think it will be a lot of fun.

As everyone knows the superbowl is tomorrow evening and it may be a matchup of the two #1 seeds but is it a good matchup? When you take a look at things you have the league MVP in Peyton Manning against the peoples MVP in Drew Brees. There is no doubt the New Orleans Saints are a great story and there is some sympathy for what that city had to go through with Hurricane Katrina. But to me this is a lopsided matchup and I really don't see this being anything less than a 10 pt win for the Colts. The Saints have the 26th rated pass defense in the league, the Colts have Peyton Manning who against the top rated defense in the league put up 24 unanswered points to get his team to the superbowl. Don't get me wrong the saints have a dynamic offense as well, but the colts are highly underrated as a defense. They make the stops when they need to and have a bend not break mentality. Peyton looks to be on a mission during these playoffs and I wouldn't be surprised to see his mission continue with a 34-21 victory sunday night.

TO in Cincy?

Chad Ocho Cinco has been up to his old tricks this week. Since this is Super Bowl week, he partied with Terrell Owens. After the party, Ocho Cinco announced to the world that Owens will be a Cincinnati Bengal for this upcoming season.
After taking some time to think about the massive circus that will be pulling into the Tri-State if he were to sign, I realized that may not be too bad of an idea. Granted, Owens is towards the end of his NFL career, but he could be the guy who could help our brutal pass offense. He couldn't be any worse than Laverneous Coles, who was stealing a paycheck from the Bengals. Coles was absolutely brutal this past season. Owens could give us that added dimension that we were missing when Chris Henry went down.
The downside is the fact that Owens has napalmed every team he has been on. He Hiroshima'd his relationships with Donovan McNabb, Jeff Garcia & Tony Romo. Could he do the same with Palmer? That remains to be seen. The idea of Owens being a Bengal is not that far-fetched since Mike Brown seems to be willing to sign any player with a "troubled" past. The big question is, could the circus really be pulling into Paul Brown Stadium on Sundays starting in September? One only knows.

Taking life for granted

First things first, I want to send my condolences to the families of Ohio State Troopers Andrew Baldridge and Mark McLaughlin. Trooper Baldridge was killed and Trooper McLaughlin was critically injured in a one-car auto accident responding to a backup call on Thursday night. Their cruiser slipped off the road and rolled. Trooper Baldridge, 25, gradutated from the Ohio State Patrol Academy in December, while Trooper McLaughlin, 33, is a veteran of the OSP. Police officers take a lot of heat way too many times, and they are the ones who are keeping our roads and cities safe. It seems we take them forgranted. Please take the time to thank a police officer as they put themselves in harms way on a daily basis. It is a shame that a young man, in fact, younger than me, loses his life on his way to help a fellow police officer. My heart goes out to his family and to the family of the Ohio State Patrol.

As always, thank a police officer, firefighter and the great American Soldier. God Bless America!

As im sitting here just after midnight, I noticed another tragedy had occured. This time, the son of Toronto Maple Leafs GM Brian Burke, was killed in an auto accident in Indiana on Friday. Brendan Burke was a student at Miami University and was on the Miami hockey team staff. Burke was in charge of video and statistics. We here at The 2 Sports Freaks would like to send our condolences to the Burke Family and to the Miami Hockey Team.

Miami defeats Lake State

Number 1 Miami continued its dominance of the CCHA with a 2-0 defeat of Lake Superior State, tonight, at the Steve Cady Arena. Carter Camper put Miami ahead at the 19:51 mark of the first period with a wrist shot that beat Laker goalie Brian Mahoney-Wilson. The goal was Camper's 11th on the season. The 1-0 lead stood all the way until the 19:59 mark of the third period when Andy Miele tallied an empty net goal.
Miami sophomore goalie Cody Reichard set a Miami hockey record with his 5th shutout on the season. The record was previously held by David Burleigh. Reichard made 33 saves on his way to the shutout.
The victory moves Miami to 19-4-6 (16-1-4-2 CCHA). Miami looks to complete the weekend sweep of Lake State, Saturday night at 7:05 at the Steve Cady Arena.

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