Things I Realized While Watching the 2009 NHL All-Star Game

1. Alex Ovechkin has taken Mike Ricci's place as the ugliest guy in the league:

That picture doesn't really do his hideousness justice. I saw one shot of him and he looked just like Sloth. That's my first real photoshop experience. Yay.

One more thing about AO, does anyone else think he puts off a serial-killer type of vibe? I think he may very well be certifiably insane. That might be his advantage over all the other players in the league.

I'm just sayin' he's kind of creepy, that's all.

2. The Canadiens are to Montreal and hockey what the Yankees are to New York and baseball.

They are the pulse of the sports scene in their respective cities, consistently showing up on the front page.



Their fans are so spoiled they expect a championship contender every season.

Habs fans, however, are among the most loyal and knowledgeable fans in all of pro sports.

3. Evgeni Malkin has got a bag full of trick moves. He scored this goal during the second period of the ASG in Montreal:





It seemed like every time Malkin got the puck in the offensive zone he would try some crazy practice-only move.

Overall, I would say the ASG was fairly entertaining.

Crosby Out of NHL All-Star Game

After Tuesday night's 2-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes, Pittsburgh Penguins superstar center Sidney Crosby told the media he would play in this year's All-Star game in Montreal.

His status for the mid-season showcase was in the air after Crosby was injured during a loss to the Washington Capitals last week.

That was the extent of the story until today.

Team doctors advised Crosby today that playing in the All-Star game this weekend could cause further injury to his knee, and that five days of rest without skating could go a long way towards becoming 100%.

So, Sidney Crosby will miss his second straight All-Star game.

Martin St. Louis of the Tampa Bay Lightning will take his roster spot.

At least Evgeni Malkin is still playing.

The skills competition should be fun.

Go East.

Fleury = Steelers Fan

In case you missed it, the Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the New York Rangers 3-0 yesterday at Mellon Arena.

Penguins starting goalie Marc-Andre Fleury took his curtain call as one of the game's three stars and added a little Pittsburgh flair (a Steelers helmet and a Terrible Towel):

Apparently, Fleury is a Steelers fan.

FYI - Last night the Steelers defeated the Baltimore Ravens to advance to the Super Bowl. Bang!

Rangers suck.

Back to the Grind at the SHSB

Sorry, everyone.

Not only was I distracted by the whirlwind holiday season, but my wife and I recently found out that we are expecting!

So anyway, sorry about the lack of posting.

Here are some pictures from the trip Brent and I made to Pittsburgh on Wednesday, January 14, 2009:

The view from our seats:

Me:


Brent in his Rob Brown jersey:


If you're from the midwest, you know that the weather on Wednesday was dicey. What is normally a 4 hour drive took about 7 hours. We arrived with 6 minutes left in the first period. It sucked. We probably saw 20 cars flipped over on I-70 and another dozen accidents that were much less dramatic. It was such a white-knuckle experience that I didn't break out the camera until we got to the game. Brent and I were both just happy to arrive in one piece.

The game was ok, the crowd was relatively quiet, and Ovechkin was lucky. We'll be posting more the rest of the way. Thank you and goodnight.

Caps suck.

Goin' To the 'Burgh

My buddy Brent and I are going to brave the weather and head out to Pittsburgh for tonight's Penguins-Capitals game.

I hope the Pens can keep the momentum going after last night's 4-2 victory in Philly.

Let's Go Pens.

I will return with pictures like last time.

Caps suck.

NFL Playoff Picks Re-Cap

I went 3-1 with my picks for the wild-card round.

That's good, but it's not good enough.

AFC

+I nailed the Ravens beating the Titans. Never bet on a team with Kerry Collins at the helm in a big game.

+The Steelers also came through for me. Santonio Holmes got Pittsburgh going with a 67-yard punt return TD.



NFC

-The Cardinals are impressive. Did you realize that the NFC Championship Game is in freaking Arizona? They've come a long way. They destroyed the Panthers. Good for them.

-Donovan McNabb is headed back to the NFC title game, and this time it was rather unexpected. I know I didn't expect it. They dominated the Giants. I hate Philly.

So I went 2-2 this week. Not too hateful. My overall record sits at 5-3. Big weekend ahead. More picks to come!

NFL Playoff Picks 1/10-1/11

I went 3-1 last week. Damn Colts.

This week, things are going to be different.

AFC

Baltimore over Tennessee

I have no reason to believe this will happen. I just don't like the Titans. Go Flacco!

Pittsburgh over San Diego

Byron Leftwich could be starting this game and I'm still taking the Steelers at home.

NFC

Carolina over Arizona

Home field = big win for Panthers. Sorry Kurt Warner.

NY Giants over Philadelphia

This one has become more difficult to pick as the week has gone on. The Eagles are tough, but I'll take the Giants at home.

NFL Wild Card Weekend In Review

I must admit I didn't spend a whole lot of time watching football this weekend. The Penguins have me slipping deeper into a winter depression so I just avoided sports altogether. On the flip side, my dad and I made our reservations to go to Vegas in March. So I've got that going for me, which is nice.

First, a review of my picks and the games:

I went 3-1 this weekend, with my only loss coming because of a bogus defensive holding call during the overtime of the Chargers-Colts game. I hate it when refs decide a game. I was 'spot-on' with the Ravens, Eagles, and Cardinals. I have a feeling that next week will be a little more difficult to predict.

NFL Playoff games for next weekend:

Saturday:

Baltimore at Tennessee 4:30 p.m.
Arizona at Carolina 8:15 p.m.

Sunday:

Philadelphia at NY Giants 1:00 p.m.
San Diego at Pittsburgh 4:45 p.m.

Picks to come later this week!

Sidney Crosby Fights Brett McLean 1/3/09

Here is the YouTube from today's Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Florida Panthers game during which Sidney Crosby dropped the gloves and subsequently dropped Brett McLean:



As for the Pens, well, they're not good. The Panthers won the game 6-1.

This Week's NFL Playoff Predictions

First of all, Happy New Year everyone. I hope you had a great holiday season.

Time for my NFL Playoff picks:

AFC

Colts over Chargers

Peyton Manning is on fire. Look out. You have been warned.

Ravens over Dolphins

I like Joe Flacco and the Ravens defense. Although Chad Pennington made one of those Kurt Warner deals with the devil, so he might continue to dominate. But I'll stick with the Ravens.

NFC

Arizona over Atlanta

I'll take Kurt Warner and Larry Fitzgerald at home against a rookie QB any day of the week. Cardinals for me and I'd like to personally thank Kurt Warner for helping keep my fantasy football season interesting. That is all.

Philadelphia over Minnesota

This game would be worth watching if it were Randall Cunningham's Eagles against Herschel Walker's Vikings. Oh well. I guess I'll just have to settle for Tecmo Super Bowl on that one. Adrian Peterson will have to overcome his quarterback's mistakes for the Vikings to have a chance in this one.