The NFL season ended on Sunday and we are onto the playoffs. NFL Week 17 wasn't the greatest football Sunday we have seen, but there was still good football. I'll review the games of importance from Sunday and set-up the Wildcard weekend. Also, there was a NHL Winter Classic and college bowl games over the holiday week that we'll look back on. Enjoy.
The SportsFan Buzz: January 4, 2011 (right click to "save as target)
You can find and subscribe to the podcast on iTunes.
Voice over talent provided by Morgan Thomas.
Showing posts with label Washington Capitals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Washington Capitals. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Dropping the Puck - The SFB Podcast (10/7/2010).....
The NHL season kicks off this afternoon with the Hurricanes facing the Wild in Helsinki and then four more games tonight. Will the Blackhawks, after moving multiple players to get under the cap, be able to make a run at repeating? Will the Capitals make up for last year's playoff disaster and make the finals? Or maybe it is Sidney Crosby and the Penguins again, or how about the Sedin brothers in Vancouver?
Plus Randy Moss gets traded, the baseball playoffs have started, college football is cranking along and the NBA preseason has started, which means the hype surrounding the Heat just starts getting louder. Enjoy.
As for my NHL predictions, for me it is very much "chalk" with my picks. I think hockey fans get Sidney Crosby and the Penguins against Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals in the Eastern finals, while in the west, we get those Sedin brothers taking on Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and the Blackhawks. In the end, I think the Penguins once again lift the Cup in a great series against the Vancouver Canucks.
The SportsFan Buzz: October 7, 2010 (right click to "save as target)
You can find and subscribe to the podcast on iTunes.
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Voice over talent provided by Morgan Thomas.
Plus Randy Moss gets traded, the baseball playoffs have started, college football is cranking along and the NBA preseason has started, which means the hype surrounding the Heat just starts getting louder. Enjoy.
As for my NHL predictions, for me it is very much "chalk" with my picks. I think hockey fans get Sidney Crosby and the Penguins against Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals in the Eastern finals, while in the west, we get those Sedin brothers taking on Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and the Blackhawks. In the end, I think the Penguins once again lift the Cup in a great series against the Vancouver Canucks.
The SportsFan Buzz: October 7, 2010 (right click to "save as target)
You can find and subscribe to the podcast on iTunes.
You can subscribe to have The SportsFan Buzz delivered to your inbox.
The SportsFan Buzz is on Facebook.
Follow The SportsFan Buzz on Twitter.
Voice over talent provided by Morgan Thomas.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Capital Offense.....
Kudos to me for going 4 for 4 in picking the NHL Western Conference Quarterfinals after the Red Wings defeated the Coyotes in Game 7 of their series Tuesday night. I see no reason to change my picks concerning the Western Semifinals, even though some others are joining the Detroit bandwagon, and think we are headed for a Chicago / San Jose conference final.
As for the Eastern Quarterfinals, let's just say my picks will not win any awards, but I'm not sure anyone saw these results coming as the top 3 seeds were knocked out in the first round. The three regular division winners are gone and the defending Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins are now in the position of home ice advantage for the next two rounds.
I picked Pittsburgh to come out of the east and I see no reason to change that pick and they will handle the upset minded Montreal Canadiens. As for the Boston / Philadelphia series, the most surprising stat to me coming into this matchup is that they have not faced each other in the playoffs since 1978. Both teams are playing like they were predicted to prior to the season starting, but I think the Bruins are a little better and have home ice, so I see Boston moving on to the conference finals.
But the real story so far of these playoffs is the collapse of the Washington Capitals against the eighth seeded Canadiens. Not only did the Presidents Trophy winner lose in the first round, but they became the first #1 seed to ever lose a first round matchup by squandering a three games to one lead in the series.
The hero for Montreal was goaltender Jaroslav Halak, but for as good as he was, the Capitals were just as bad. Some will point to their 1 for 33 performance on the power play in the series, but for me the change came after the first period in game 5 when the Capitals seemed to go from a team getting ready to advance, to one not looking to get upset.
Washington came into the fifth game after battering the Canadien goaltenders for 11 goals in the two games in Montreal, but after a first period where the Canadiens scored twice while the Capitals were stopped on all 15 shot attempts by Halak, they seemed to start getting nervous. Then after only one goal on their next 23 shots, the teams were going back to Canada and the Canadiens seemed to be given life.
Games six and seven were exhibitions of great goaltending by Halak and the squeezing of sticks by the Capitals. After each save, the Capitals seemed to grip their sticks tighter and tighter. When the dust had settled, Halak and Montreal were advancing and Washington was left to ask, "What went wrong?"
Most thought Washington had that burning to advance further in this year's playoffs after being ousted by the Penguins last year in a great series. Now, Sidney Crosby and the Penguins get the chance to not only defend The Cup, but in the process beat the team that upset the Capitals. Score another one for "Sid the Kid" over "Alexander the Great".
As for the Eastern Quarterfinals, let's just say my picks will not win any awards, but I'm not sure anyone saw these results coming as the top 3 seeds were knocked out in the first round. The three regular division winners are gone and the defending Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins are now in the position of home ice advantage for the next two rounds.
I picked Pittsburgh to come out of the east and I see no reason to change that pick and they will handle the upset minded Montreal Canadiens. As for the Boston / Philadelphia series, the most surprising stat to me coming into this matchup is that they have not faced each other in the playoffs since 1978. Both teams are playing like they were predicted to prior to the season starting, but I think the Bruins are a little better and have home ice, so I see Boston moving on to the conference finals.
But the real story so far of these playoffs is the collapse of the Washington Capitals against the eighth seeded Canadiens. Not only did the Presidents Trophy winner lose in the first round, but they became the first #1 seed to ever lose a first round matchup by squandering a three games to one lead in the series.
The hero for Montreal was goaltender Jaroslav Halak, but for as good as he was, the Capitals were just as bad. Some will point to their 1 for 33 performance on the power play in the series, but for me the change came after the first period in game 5 when the Capitals seemed to go from a team getting ready to advance, to one not looking to get upset.
Washington came into the fifth game after battering the Canadien goaltenders for 11 goals in the two games in Montreal, but after a first period where the Canadiens scored twice while the Capitals were stopped on all 15 shot attempts by Halak, they seemed to start getting nervous. Then after only one goal on their next 23 shots, the teams were going back to Canada and the Canadiens seemed to be given life.
Games six and seven were exhibitions of great goaltending by Halak and the squeezing of sticks by the Capitals. After each save, the Capitals seemed to grip their sticks tighter and tighter. When the dust had settled, Halak and Montreal were advancing and Washington was left to ask, "What went wrong?"
Most thought Washington had that burning to advance further in this year's playoffs after being ousted by the Penguins last year in a great series. Now, Sidney Crosby and the Penguins get the chance to not only defend The Cup, but in the process beat the team that upset the Capitals. Score another one for "Sid the Kid" over "Alexander the Great".
Thursday, April 15, 2010
NHL Playoff Preview - The SportsFan Buzz Podcast (4/15/2010).....
The best of all the playoffs in sports is about to start as sixteen NHL teams start their quest for the Stanley Cup. Neither of our favorite NHL teams have made the playoffs this year, but that will not keep Mike and I from previewing the Quest for the Cup.
Will Washington cap its President's Trophy season by also hoisting the Cup? Will Chicago wins its first Stanley Cup since 1961? Is it possible we will see Detroit and Pittsburgh go at it again for the third time in a row? It's time for "playoff beards" and the best two months in sports. Enjoy.
Mike on Twitter.
The SportsFan Buzz: April 15, 2010 (right click to "save as target)
You can find and subscribe to the podcast on iTunes.
You can subscribe to have The SportsFan Buzz delivered to your inbox.
The SportsFan Buzz is on Facebook.
Follow The SportsFan Buzz on Twitter.
Voice over talent provided by Morgan Thomas
Will Washington cap its President's Trophy season by also hoisting the Cup? Will Chicago wins its first Stanley Cup since 1961? Is it possible we will see Detroit and Pittsburgh go at it again for the third time in a row? It's time for "playoff beards" and the best two months in sports. Enjoy.
Mike on Twitter.
The SportsFan Buzz: April 15, 2010 (right click to "save as target)
You can find and subscribe to the podcast on iTunes.
You can subscribe to have The SportsFan Buzz delivered to your inbox.
The SportsFan Buzz is on Facebook.
Follow The SportsFan Buzz on Twitter.
Voice over talent provided by Morgan Thomas
Thursday, October 29, 2009
This & That (Thursday 10/29/09).....
--- Cliff Lee! Wow! Complete game, 6 hits, 0 earned runs, 0 walks and 10 strikeouts, against this Yankee lineup and in Yankee Stadium. The only run coming on the throwing error by Jimmy Rollins, or he might have had the shutout. In 2007 he was kept off the Indians' playoff roster, in 2008 he wins the AL Cy Young, and now this great performance. This deadline trade may be considered one of the best ever made if Lee can keep this up.
This takes nothing away from CC Sabathia who pitched a good game. Sabathia's performance would have been good enough to win on most nights, but not last night. He struggled early, but got out of the first inning after loading the bases. The Chase Utley homer in the 3rd is a warning track flyout in most other parks, and then he retires the next 8 before Utley gets him again, with a well hit ball off a location mistake.
I really thought that if both guys made it through 6 or 7 innings with three runs against them, we would be talking about how well they pitched. Instead, two runs and 8 hits total for the first 7 innings? Great pitching by the two aces.
Phil Hughes made my preview of this series look good with his terrible performance in the 8th, when he walked the only 2 batters he faced, allowing the Phillies to open up the game. The Phillies bats only got one hit in the inning, and that was the Raul Ibanez single that scored the two runs to make it 4-0. Then Brian Bruney was a disaster in the ninth when the Phillies made it 6-0. Besides not keeping the game close, this happened at home, when they should be relaxed. How will this bullpen react when they get in front of the hostile Philadelphia fans? Joe Girardi is going to have tough decisions to make when he leaves the dugout to pull his starting pitcher the rest of this series. I don't think he has confidence in anybody besides Mariano Rivera and maybe David Robertson.
As for the Yankees' bats, this was a bad performance. Derek Jeter with three of the six hits, while Alex Rodriguez strikes out three times. It will be interesting to see how A-Rod bounces back, if he does bounce back, after looking like the "old post season" Alex Rodriguez.
For tonight, the ball is in AJ Burnett's hand for the Yankees, with the pressure on. The Yankees paid him like a #2 pitcher, and he has shown those flashes this year, but that money was really given for this type of situation. Let's see if Burnett is able to step forward.
For the Phillies, a relaxed Pedro Martinez takes the mound. No pressure on Pedro after last night's win, but the demons of Yankee games past will be in his mind. I think we might hear quite a bit of the "who's your daddy" chant tonight at the stadium.
--- The NCAA has decided the Oklahoma State's wide receiver, Dez Bryant, will remain suspended for the remainder of the year. The decision basically ends his college career, as Bryant will most likely enter next year's NFL draft. His crime? Lying to the NCAA about being with former NFL star, Deion Sanders. Although he didn't think he did anything wrong when he met with Sanders, when questioned by the NCAA, Bryant, in speaking with ESPN, claims the questioning made him feel that he did do something wrong, so he lied about being with Sanders.
In the end, Bryant did nothing against NCAA rules in his meeting with Sanders, and this has been confirmed by the NCAA. What he did was lie about the meeting, and while I don't condone his lying, there are legitimate concerns brought up by Bryant concerning the questioning of him, and how they made him feel during that questioning. In the end, a one or even two game suspension would have served it purpose, but instead the NCAA has decided to be heavy handed and end a kid's college career. In my opinion, this is a real shame, and a terrible ruling by the NCAA.
--- Mark Sanchez didn't feel well on Sunday (not sure why with his opponent being the Raiders) with a slight upset stomach. Late in the game, with the Jets well ahead cameras caught Sanchez on the bench eating a hot dog. He was trying to keep it secret, but it is just something football players do not do. Most of the "controversy" has to do with it being a hot dog as compared to a "sport snack" that is usually on the sidelines, like a Power Bar.
At least he put mustard on it (though with an upset stomach was that the smartest thing). Can you imagine the uproar in New York if he went the ketchup route? Mike Francesa over at WFAN in New York, would have ranted for two days about it.
--- Larry Johnson was suspended one game by the Kansas City Chiefs following two gay slur remarks he made on Twitter. While it is one game for now, I would not be surprised if further action is taken by the Chiefs, or the NFL, after this one game passes and that Johnson does not see the field again this year.
Johnson, who had two monster years in 2005 & 2006, has not been the anywhere close to the same player since. Add in the fact that he had prior off the field problems, and will be 30 this November, and it does not make a great combination for the former Penn State running back.
--- Vince Young will be starting this Sunday for the Tennessee Titans in place of Kerry Collins. While the dreadful start has not been Collins' fault, at 0-6 the Titans season is lost, and they have a large investment in Young. This will be a ten game audition to see if he is the possible quarterback of the future, or if they need to find someone else to put under center in the coming seasons.
--- The NBA season has started, but not particularly well for the Cleveland Cavaliers. So far the LeBron James & Shaquille O'Neal pairing is 0-2, and looks a little out of sorts, though James is putting up monster numbers. This should be interesting to keep an eye on.
--- Over in the NHL, the Rangers, Sabres, Kings and Avalanche have been the surprise success stories in this early part of the season, but it is Sidney Crosby's Pittsburgh Penguins and Alex Ovechkin's Washington Capitals that are leading the show. Add in that some of their teammates are having outstanding starts (Marc-Andre Fluery in goal for Pittsburgh and Nicklas Backstom centering Ovechkin) and this is going to be another good year for the NHL.
This takes nothing away from CC Sabathia who pitched a good game. Sabathia's performance would have been good enough to win on most nights, but not last night. He struggled early, but got out of the first inning after loading the bases. The Chase Utley homer in the 3rd is a warning track flyout in most other parks, and then he retires the next 8 before Utley gets him again, with a well hit ball off a location mistake.
I really thought that if both guys made it through 6 or 7 innings with three runs against them, we would be talking about how well they pitched. Instead, two runs and 8 hits total for the first 7 innings? Great pitching by the two aces.
Phil Hughes made my preview of this series look good with his terrible performance in the 8th, when he walked the only 2 batters he faced, allowing the Phillies to open up the game. The Phillies bats only got one hit in the inning, and that was the Raul Ibanez single that scored the two runs to make it 4-0. Then Brian Bruney was a disaster in the ninth when the Phillies made it 6-0. Besides not keeping the game close, this happened at home, when they should be relaxed. How will this bullpen react when they get in front of the hostile Philadelphia fans? Joe Girardi is going to have tough decisions to make when he leaves the dugout to pull his starting pitcher the rest of this series. I don't think he has confidence in anybody besides Mariano Rivera and maybe David Robertson.
As for the Yankees' bats, this was a bad performance. Derek Jeter with three of the six hits, while Alex Rodriguez strikes out three times. It will be interesting to see how A-Rod bounces back, if he does bounce back, after looking like the "old post season" Alex Rodriguez.
For tonight, the ball is in AJ Burnett's hand for the Yankees, with the pressure on. The Yankees paid him like a #2 pitcher, and he has shown those flashes this year, but that money was really given for this type of situation. Let's see if Burnett is able to step forward.
For the Phillies, a relaxed Pedro Martinez takes the mound. No pressure on Pedro after last night's win, but the demons of Yankee games past will be in his mind. I think we might hear quite a bit of the "who's your daddy" chant tonight at the stadium.
--- The NCAA has decided the Oklahoma State's wide receiver, Dez Bryant, will remain suspended for the remainder of the year. The decision basically ends his college career, as Bryant will most likely enter next year's NFL draft. His crime? Lying to the NCAA about being with former NFL star, Deion Sanders. Although he didn't think he did anything wrong when he met with Sanders, when questioned by the NCAA, Bryant, in speaking with ESPN, claims the questioning made him feel that he did do something wrong, so he lied about being with Sanders.
In the end, Bryant did nothing against NCAA rules in his meeting with Sanders, and this has been confirmed by the NCAA. What he did was lie about the meeting, and while I don't condone his lying, there are legitimate concerns brought up by Bryant concerning the questioning of him, and how they made him feel during that questioning. In the end, a one or even two game suspension would have served it purpose, but instead the NCAA has decided to be heavy handed and end a kid's college career. In my opinion, this is a real shame, and a terrible ruling by the NCAA.
--- Mark Sanchez didn't feel well on Sunday (not sure why with his opponent being the Raiders) with a slight upset stomach. Late in the game, with the Jets well ahead cameras caught Sanchez on the bench eating a hot dog. He was trying to keep it secret, but it is just something football players do not do. Most of the "controversy" has to do with it being a hot dog as compared to a "sport snack" that is usually on the sidelines, like a Power Bar.
At least he put mustard on it (though with an upset stomach was that the smartest thing). Can you imagine the uproar in New York if he went the ketchup route? Mike Francesa over at WFAN in New York, would have ranted for two days about it.
--- Larry Johnson was suspended one game by the Kansas City Chiefs following two gay slur remarks he made on Twitter. While it is one game for now, I would not be surprised if further action is taken by the Chiefs, or the NFL, after this one game passes and that Johnson does not see the field again this year.
Johnson, who had two monster years in 2005 & 2006, has not been the anywhere close to the same player since. Add in the fact that he had prior off the field problems, and will be 30 this November, and it does not make a great combination for the former Penn State running back.
--- Vince Young will be starting this Sunday for the Tennessee Titans in place of Kerry Collins. While the dreadful start has not been Collins' fault, at 0-6 the Titans season is lost, and they have a large investment in Young. This will be a ten game audition to see if he is the possible quarterback of the future, or if they need to find someone else to put under center in the coming seasons.
--- The NBA season has started, but not particularly well for the Cleveland Cavaliers. So far the LeBron James & Shaquille O'Neal pairing is 0-2, and looks a little out of sorts, though James is putting up monster numbers. This should be interesting to keep an eye on.
--- Over in the NHL, the Rangers, Sabres, Kings and Avalanche have been the surprise success stories in this early part of the season, but it is Sidney Crosby's Pittsburgh Penguins and Alex Ovechkin's Washington Capitals that are leading the show. Add in that some of their teammates are having outstanding starts (Marc-Andre Fluery in goal for Pittsburgh and Nicklas Backstom centering Ovechkin) and this is going to be another good year for the NHL.
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