The New York Rangers lost their first two games of the season. They lost in Boston and then they came home and lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins. I should say that although the Rangers are one of the favorites those were two top teams they were facing also to start the season. Rick Nash did record an assist in his first game and a goal in his second game. The Rangers just didn’t look crisp though and then finally on Wednesday night at home against Boston they won a thrilling game in OT. They looked more like themselves winning 4-3 in OT, Marion Gaborik recorded a hat trick.
The Rangers were more physical, they were dropping down to block more shots and they get a hard fought win which they needed. They will head to Philadelphia to take on the Flyers on Thursday night. The Flyers have started the season 0-3 and the Rangers will try and make that 0-4 while putting a winning streak together. The Rangers will then be back home on Saturday night to take on the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Henrik Lundqvist has given up some goals although I don’t think most have been his fault. He will have to get a little bit better though and the defense has to start to tighten up, I think they were more on track in this game. They gave up a late goal which was disappointing but then erased that with a quick game winner in overtime. Rick Nash has been really impressive, he had some brilliant moves that the goalie made some good saves on, he is close to really exploding though. I like the pairing of Nash, Richards and Gaborik on the top line and I think you will continue to see that for the foreseeable future. It is a short season but there is still plenty of time and the Rangers have their first two points of the season. They would like to push that to four points tomorrow and then go from there. They do have a majority of games at home to start the season so they would like to take advantage of that.
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Sunday, January 20, 2013
NFL Championship Sunday
The San Francisco 49ers defeated the Atlanta Falcons by the score of 28-24 in Atlanta to be the first entrant into this years Super Bowl. The Patriots and Ravens faced off in the night game in Foxbourough, Massachusetts and the Ravens came out on top winning the game by the score of 28-13. The Ravens lost last year in the AFC Championship game in the same place so they got their revenge. This also sets up the Harbowl as the two head coaches are brothers who are 15 months apart in age.
The San Francisco/Atlanta game was a good back and forth game. The second half was especially good as the action picked up, it really went down to the wire but in the end the niners were a little bit too much for the Falcons. The niners overcame an early 17 point deficit. Their quarterback who is in his second year played well again and Frank Gore the running back really had a great game rushing for over 100 yards. The niners also avenged a loss in last years NFC championship game although it was to the New York Giants.
In the night cap it was a very close game throughout the first half. The game was 13-6 in favor of the Patriots at the half and the Ravens dominated the second half outscoring the Patriots 22-0 in the second half. The Ravens defense gave up some big plays but they wouldn’t break and kept New England off the scoreboard. The Ravens offense put the ball in Joe Flacco hands and he looked really good picking apart the Partriots defense.
This is going to be one interesting Super Bowl and I am sure we will hear every detail of the Harbaugh family over the next couple of weeks.
The San Francisco/Atlanta game was a good back and forth game. The second half was especially good as the action picked up, it really went down to the wire but in the end the niners were a little bit too much for the Falcons. The niners overcame an early 17 point deficit. Their quarterback who is in his second year played well again and Frank Gore the running back really had a great game rushing for over 100 yards. The niners also avenged a loss in last years NFC championship game although it was to the New York Giants.
In the night cap it was a very close game throughout the first half. The game was 13-6 in favor of the Patriots at the half and the Ravens dominated the second half outscoring the Patriots 22-0 in the second half. The Ravens defense gave up some big plays but they wouldn’t break and kept New England off the scoreboard. The Ravens offense put the ball in Joe Flacco hands and he looked really good picking apart the Partriots defense.
This is going to be one interesting Super Bowl and I am sure we will hear every detail of the Harbaugh family over the next couple of weeks.
Monday, January 14, 2013
The New York Rangers begin the quest for the Cup soon
The New York Rangers were eliminated by the New Jersey Devils in last seasons Eastern Conference Finals. They lost in six games and the sting has been there ever since. The Rangers had to wait extra long as the lockout dragged on and was finally just settled last week. Training camp began yesterday and the first game will be Saturday night in Boston. There won’t be any preseason games and 48 games will be played in a pretty short amount of time. The Rangers will open up with a pretty tough schedule. They have the Bruins on Saturday, then come home Sunday for the Penguins then play the Bruins again at home. They then have the Flyers and Pittsburgh, it won’t be easy but it is important especially this season to get off to a good start.
I think the Rangers have one advantage in that they have the same core of guys. They have a few new guys including superstar Rick Nash. Nash seems to be comfortable though and has been living in New York for a few months, he says he really likes the city and today he had a nice quote about pressure. It looks like he is embracing it and looking forward to it and shouldn’t have any problems. The Rangers really do have a stacked team starting with the best goalie around in Henrik Lundqvist. They now have scorers on multiple lines, it looks like Brad Richards and Nash will work on the same line which is a nice combination. Marion Gaborik will be on another line and he is one of the best scorers. They have nice depth and good defense. It isn’t easy to win games and get far but the Rangers have a legitimate shot to win the Stanley Cup. I know one thing for sure they won’t be outworked. They are determined and they have a good coach who is going to push them, they get along very well and are excited to be playing again. I really think they will at least make the finals this year and may be raising the cup come April. If the Rangers are able to win it, it will be the first time since 1994. It looks like they are favorites to a lot of people also though which makes it tough but I think they realize what is in front of them and they are prepared for it.
I think the Rangers have one advantage in that they have the same core of guys. They have a few new guys including superstar Rick Nash. Nash seems to be comfortable though and has been living in New York for a few months, he says he really likes the city and today he had a nice quote about pressure. It looks like he is embracing it and looking forward to it and shouldn’t have any problems. The Rangers really do have a stacked team starting with the best goalie around in Henrik Lundqvist. They now have scorers on multiple lines, it looks like Brad Richards and Nash will work on the same line which is a nice combination. Marion Gaborik will be on another line and he is one of the best scorers. They have nice depth and good defense. It isn’t easy to win games and get far but the Rangers have a legitimate shot to win the Stanley Cup. I know one thing for sure they won’t be outworked. They are determined and they have a good coach who is going to push them, they get along very well and are excited to be playing again. I really think they will at least make the finals this year and may be raising the cup come April. If the Rangers are able to win it, it will be the first time since 1994. It looks like they are favorites to a lot of people also though which makes it tough but I think they realize what is in front of them and they are prepared for it.
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
No one is elected to the Hall Of Fame by the BBWAA
The 2013 Hall Of Fame Class was an unbelievable one in name. It was star studded and included many locks for the Hall Of Fame. I should say they were locks if the suspicion and taint of steroids wasn’t hanging over them. Barry Bonds, Rogers Clemens, Mike Piazza, Craig Biggio. When you hear those names I am sure most would think Hall Of Famers except they aren’t at least not right now.
Mike Piazza had a near 60 percent showing as the first time on the ballot, I am sure he will get in one day. You have to remember that these guys as long as they receive five percent of the vote stay on the ballot for 15 years. That is a long time for minds to be changed and circumstances to be different. I think this ballot was just a perfect storm as many PED users or suspected users were on the ballot for the first time. This is the first time you had so many of those guys on the ballot and I think the writers were very conflicted.
I think next year you will still have a strong case and probably have many go in. The Veterans committee for instance will have Tony LaRussa, Bobby Cox and Joe Torre all on the ballot, I bet they all get in. Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine will be on for the first time and may both get in. I would say Maddux for sure, what about Mike Mussina, he is a borderline Hall Of Famer and it will be interesting to see how he does. Jack Morris is a guy that may have been caught with the other guys and overlooked a little. There are a lot that think he should be in and next year will be his final year on the ballot. I personally am not so sure he should be a Hall Of Famer. He had a near four ERA which I don’t consider very good.
I think that this is a good debate too have and baseball will be front and center now as this debate is not going away. I think the debate about the Hall Of Fame and steroids will lead us into Spring Training and then the season will start to take over. This is a very tough thing to go through with the steroid era, I really don’t know what to make of it. I have been leaning towards the if they deserve to be in by the numbers then they should be in. I have to be honest though I don’t know if I would of put supposed or known PED cheats in on the first ballot. I probably if I had a vote left Clemens and Bonds off and then voted for them later on. I don’t think McGwire and Sosa are worthy steroids or no steroids, they were too one dimensional for me.
Let the debate continue but I don’t think you can really blame the writers for this. Let’s remember the players, the owners they turned a blind eye to steroids and allowed this to happen so the game could take off again and the money gained out of it. They got tough after the fact but we can’t be naïve, we all know that they let this happen, it isn’t the writers fault that they chose to taint the sport. Lets have a healthy debate about who should be in and who should be out but lets not make it like it’s the end of the world. I think everyone is entitled to their opinion and to vote how they want to vote, let’s also remember these players have 15 years to get in, it isn’t a one and done proposition.
Mike Piazza had a near 60 percent showing as the first time on the ballot, I am sure he will get in one day. You have to remember that these guys as long as they receive five percent of the vote stay on the ballot for 15 years. That is a long time for minds to be changed and circumstances to be different. I think this ballot was just a perfect storm as many PED users or suspected users were on the ballot for the first time. This is the first time you had so many of those guys on the ballot and I think the writers were very conflicted.
I think next year you will still have a strong case and probably have many go in. The Veterans committee for instance will have Tony LaRussa, Bobby Cox and Joe Torre all on the ballot, I bet they all get in. Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine will be on for the first time and may both get in. I would say Maddux for sure, what about Mike Mussina, he is a borderline Hall Of Famer and it will be interesting to see how he does. Jack Morris is a guy that may have been caught with the other guys and overlooked a little. There are a lot that think he should be in and next year will be his final year on the ballot. I personally am not so sure he should be a Hall Of Famer. He had a near four ERA which I don’t consider very good.
I think that this is a good debate too have and baseball will be front and center now as this debate is not going away. I think the debate about the Hall Of Fame and steroids will lead us into Spring Training and then the season will start to take over. This is a very tough thing to go through with the steroid era, I really don’t know what to make of it. I have been leaning towards the if they deserve to be in by the numbers then they should be in. I have to be honest though I don’t know if I would of put supposed or known PED cheats in on the first ballot. I probably if I had a vote left Clemens and Bonds off and then voted for them later on. I don’t think McGwire and Sosa are worthy steroids or no steroids, they were too one dimensional for me.
Let the debate continue but I don’t think you can really blame the writers for this. Let’s remember the players, the owners they turned a blind eye to steroids and allowed this to happen so the game could take off again and the money gained out of it. They got tough after the fact but we can’t be naïve, we all know that they let this happen, it isn’t the writers fault that they chose to taint the sport. Lets have a healthy debate about who should be in and who should be out but lets not make it like it’s the end of the world. I think everyone is entitled to their opinion and to vote how they want to vote, let’s also remember these players have 15 years to get in, it isn’t a one and done proposition.
Alex Rodriguez injury worse then thought??
Alex Rodriguez doctor spoke on Tuesday and it seems that his injury may be worse then we thought. He still hasn’t had his surgery but will do so soon. The estimated time of recovery puts him back at no earlier then the All Star Break. He most likely won’t see any playing action until at least the end of July or maybe August.
The extent of the damage to the hip won’t be known until he is on the operating table. The doctor Dr. Kelly said “The big question is, how much cartilage damage is there, and how much unfixable damage is there?” The surgery according to Dr. Kelly is very technically challenging and it will be a two hour surgery. It is an arthroscopic procedure involved making three small incisions in the hip, penetrating three layers of muscle, inserting a camera to assess the damage, implanting an anchor in the top of the hip and reattaching the torn labrum to it, reshaping the femoral head of the hip to provide a greater range of motion and finally repairing as much of the cartilage as possible.
He said they can fix two of the three problems but the cartilage is a permanent injury and they won’t know how extensive the injury is until they are in there. The exam that was done by the doctor revealed some cartilage wear. This isn’t a very encouraging thing for the Yankees. If you are one of those that don’t believe Rodriguez will be viable going forward this certainly helps your case. I personally don’t know what to make of this, I know for sure we won’t be seeing 30 and 100 any longer but is 20 and 80 possible and a 270 average, I would say probably. If this is possible is it enough?? Not for the money they are paying him but as a DH?? It may be and it may have to be as there isn’t much choice, he has five years left and isn’t going anywhere.
The extent of the damage to the hip won’t be known until he is on the operating table. The doctor Dr. Kelly said “The big question is, how much cartilage damage is there, and how much unfixable damage is there?” The surgery according to Dr. Kelly is very technically challenging and it will be a two hour surgery. It is an arthroscopic procedure involved making three small incisions in the hip, penetrating three layers of muscle, inserting a camera to assess the damage, implanting an anchor in the top of the hip and reattaching the torn labrum to it, reshaping the femoral head of the hip to provide a greater range of motion and finally repairing as much of the cartilage as possible.
He said they can fix two of the three problems but the cartilage is a permanent injury and they won’t know how extensive the injury is until they are in there. The exam that was done by the doctor revealed some cartilage wear. This isn’t a very encouraging thing for the Yankees. If you are one of those that don’t believe Rodriguez will be viable going forward this certainly helps your case. I personally don’t know what to make of this, I know for sure we won’t be seeing 30 and 100 any longer but is 20 and 80 possible and a 270 average, I would say probably. If this is possible is it enough?? Not for the money they are paying him but as a DH?? It may be and it may have to be as there isn’t much choice, he has five years left and isn’t going anywhere.
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