Winter Meetings end with a bang and Braun tests positive for PEDS?

The Final day of the winter meetings was Thursday and it ended with a bang.  Albert Pujols formerly of the St. Louis Cardinals decided on going to the Anaheim Angels.  The Angels in recent years have always been involved with free agents but never went the extra mile and always seem to fall short.  This time they gave the best player in baseball a ten year deal worth 254 million dollars.  This deal is crazy, he is the best player but he will be 41 years old at the end of the deal, if you believe he is really 31 now.  There are some who believe he is older then he has said.  I would say they will be good with him for the first five years and then he will start to decline and the contract will become a big problem.  The good thing for Pujols is that he could become a DH, we have seen what has happened to Arod after he signed his ten year deal with the Yankees. 

The Angels didn't stop with Pujols though, they signed C.J. Wilson to a five year 77.5 million dollar deal.  Anaheim got a lot more interesting with the additions of these two players.  The Angels who have been a very good team for the last decade or so have missed the playoffs the last two years but instantly they are a contender once again. 

Ryan Braun tested positive for PEDS it was being reported tonight by ESPN.  The test was done in October and Braun and his camp have stated that they are appealing it because he didn't knowingly take anything and he is innocent.  I would say don't hold your breath on that one, you just can't believe these ballplayers with the history of them but you never know.  It is being reported now later tonight that Braun requested a second test and it came back negative and they are using that in their appeal process, or trying to use it.  We will stay tuned with this story as it continues to develop.  He will be a marked man no matter what now though and suffer because of it and after such a great year and October for baseball and offseason so far this is another black mark on the sport. 

NJ Outlaws vs Akwesasne Warriors

The New Jersey Outlaws return home on Saturday night to take on the Akwesasne Warriors. The Outlaws come into the game with a record of 13-1-0-2 and the Warriors come in with a record of 8-1-1-4. The Warriors are the defending Federal Hockey League Champions. This is the tenth home game for the Outlaws and they are 7-1-0-1 at home. They have won their only overtime game of the season.  They played last night in Brooklyn and won 3-2.

The Outlaws have scored 83 goals on the season and given up 40. They will take on the Danbury Whalers in their next game which is Friday December 16th at Danbury. The game is at 7:35PM. The Outlaws have a high percentage on the power play which is 30.3% and ranks first in the league. The penalty kill is at 83.3% and ranks fifth in the league.

The leading goal scorer for the Outlaws is Travis Kauffeldt who has 19 goals. Kauffeldt also leads the team in points with 35. Kevin Cooper has 13 goals and 31 points. The Outlaws have a well-balanced attack. Matthew Puntureri has eight goals and 29 points on the season, John Goffredo has 18 points and Luke Flicek has 17 points. Tyler Barr leads the team in penalty minutes with 108 and William McCreary has 58.

The Outlaws have two very good goalies. Adam Dekker is 7-0 with a 2.14 goals against average and a 930 save percentage. Dan McWhinney is 7-2 with a 2.77 goals against average and a 911 save percentage.

The Warriors 4-1-0-1 road record and are 4-0-1-3 at home. They have scored 79 goals and given up 67 on the season. They played to a 0-0 tie in their last game at Cape Cod and they will take on the Brooklyn Aviators in Brooklyn on Sunday December 11th at 5:00PM. The Warriors power play is at 13.9% which is sixth in the league and their penalty kill is at 83.9% which is fourth in the league.
The leading goal scorer on the Warriors is Pierre Dagenais who has 24 goals. He is a former NHL player. Nicolas Corbeil has 11 goals and 23 points. Dagenais leads the team in points with 42. Mathieu Raby leads the team in penalty minutes with 80, Ahmed Mahfouz has 79 penalty minutes and Patrick Deraspe has 60 penalty minutes. They have three guys with double-digit + ratings.

They have had three goalies who have started this season. Adam Thompson is 3-0-1 with a 5.05 goals against average and a 818 save percentage. David Plouffe is 5-4 with a 4.05 goals against average and Jacob Lazore is 1-0 with a 6.99 goals against average and a 857 save percentage.

Outlaws win 3-2 in Brooklyn

The New Jersey Outlaws won their 11th straight game tonight in Brooklyn. They defeated the Brooklyn Aviators 3-2 in Brooklyn. They remain at the top of the Federal Hockey League and now have 44 points points on the season. The Outlaws record is now 14-1-0-2. They have eight more points then the second place team 1000 Islands. They have seven wins at home and seven on the road, they also have one loss each at home and away and their only overtime game was a win at home.

This game started out slow as neither team scored in the first period. New Jersey had a 13-12 shot advantage in the first period. There was one penalty against Brooklyn which was a hooking call at the 3:35 mark of the first period. Colin Ronayne received the penalty which was a two minute minor.

The second period had a lot more action as each team scored two goals, there was only one penalty again to the Aviators. Matthew Puntureri got the Outlaws on the board at the 6:04 mark of the second period. He was assisted by Kevin Cooper and Travis Kauffeldt. Kauffeldt scored a goal to give the Outlaws a 2-0 lead at 8:14 of the period. His goal was assisted by Puntureri and Cooper. The Aviators cut the lead in half at 13:25 of the period with a goal from Jesse Felten who was assisted by Matt Atsoff and Nick Grove. The Aviators tied the game at the end of the second period. They scored with 33 second lefts in the second period. The goal was scored by Andrew Owsiak and it was a shorthanded goal, he was assisted by Casey Mignone.

The only goal of the third period which was the game winner was scored by Cooper of the Outlaws. The assists came from Kauffeldt and Puntureri at the 3:01 mark of the third period. Cooper, Kauffeldt and William McCreary all received penalties in the third period, there was none against the Aviators. Cooper got a two minute holding penalty at 3:30 of the period, Kauffeldt had a two minute tripping penalty at 9:07 and McCreary had a five minute high sticking major at 10:35 of the period.

New Jersey was 0-2 on the power play and Brooklyn was 0-3. Brooklyn outshot New Jersey 35-29 for the game. Dan McWhinney got the win and Josselin St. Pierre took the loss. Cooper, Kauffeldt and Puntureri were all +2 for the game. The game lasted two hours and 13 minutes and there were 502 in attendance. The three stars of the game were St. Pierre as the third star, McWhinney as the second star and Cooper got the first star. The Outlaws will return home to take on the defending champs Akwesasne tomorrow night at the Ice Vault. The Outlaws will be looking for their 12th straight win and to extend their first place lead in the league.

Winter Meetings Heating up

The Winter Meetings began on Monday in Dallas and nothing really happened.  The Jose Reyes signing by the Miami Marlins actually happened on Sunday.  There were lots of rumors and suprisingly but not unexpected the Yankees have been quiet.  Tuesday was a different story.  The Mets in a span of an hour this evening became very busy signing two relievers and making a trade.  The Albert Pujols derby has really heated up.  We first heard that the Marlins wanted a resolution by tonight and are believer to have offered 10 years and as much as 220 million.  The Cardinals also upped their offer apparently and then we heard there was a third mystery team involved.  In the last half hour or so it looks like the mystery team has been revealed as the Anaheim Angels who may also have a 10 year offer out there.  Stay tuned on this, I don't think we will know tonight but maybe on Wednesday. 

I want to look at the Mets action more closely since I do cover the Mets as well as the Yankees.  The Yankees right now are very quiet so we will look at them later.  The Mets signed Frank Francisco and Jon Rauch.  This should solidify the back end of their bullpen.  I wouldn't say that Rauch is great but Francisco is good.  The deal the Mets made was Angel Pagan to the Giants for Ramon Ramirez and Andres Torres.  Torres will most likely be the leadoff hitter.  There had to be someone replacing Reyes at the top of the lineup and Pagan didn't like doing that, the Mets also didn't like Pagans non baseball instincts for lack of a better word.  Ramirez is a very solid reliever, one of the better ones in all of baseball so it will be interesting to see what they do for the closer. 

The Yankees are interested in bringing Eric Chavez, Andruw Jones and even Bartolo Colon back.  These will be one year deals and maybe even only minor league deals so they are on the back burner.  The Yankees are interested in starting pitching but find the prices to be too high and that hasn't changed yet.  They like Hiroki Kuroda and we heard today he would come east but doesn't look like the Yankees will get him.  Gio Gonzalez was another rumor, even heard a three team between Oakland, the Yankees and Royals but I don't think that was a legitimate rumor.  Heard the A's were asking for Jesus Montero and Manny Banuelos or Dellin Betances which isn't going to happen.  The Yankees like John Danks but for right now they want too much for him also.  I think the Yankees will come away with a pitcher this offseason but not yet, the prices will drop eventually and then they will strike.  The Yankees aren't desperate remember with a full rotation right now and young guys who are looking to get into the major leagues. 

Tomorrow could be a big day with news of the big guys like Albert Pujols and C.J. Wilson signing.  Wilson looks like it could be the Angels, the Marlins and Rangers are also involved.  Prince Fielder is the other big name out there and it looks like the Mariners may be the front runner for him. 

The Giants play a great game but come up just short as Green Bay wins on a last second field goal

The New York Giants lost to the Green Bay Packers by the score of 38-35. They came into this game losing three in a row and losing in New Orleans on Monday night in brutal fashion. They also were embarrassed at home by the Eagles the week before. The Giants now were facing an undefeated team and even though they lost they looked really good in doing so. The Giants answered every punch Green Bay had and in the end it came down to who touched the ball last. 
Eli Manning was 23-40 for 347 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. Brandon Jacobs led the rushing attack with 59 yards on eight carries. Ahmad Bradshaw was back in the lineup and rushed for 38 yards on 11 carries. D.J. Ware rushed once for three yards. Victor Cruz led the receivers with seven catches for 119 yards. Hakeem Nicks had seven catches for 88 yards and two touchdowns. Travis Beckum had one catch for 67 yards and a touchdown, Jake Ballard had three catches for 47 yards and Bradshaw had two for nine yards. Lawrence Tynes was 2-2 on field goals with his long being 50 yards. He also made three extra points.

Aaron Rodgers was 28-46 for 369 yards, four touchdowns and an interception. Rodgers rushed it four times for 32 yards, Ryan Grant rushed 13 times for 29 yards and Brandon Saine rushed six times for 16 yards. Greg Jennings led the receivers with seven catches for 94 yards and a touchdown. Jermichael Finley caught six passes for 87 yards and a touchdown. Jordy Nelson had four catches for 94 yards, Donald Driver had four for 34 and two touchdowns and Saine had four for 29. Mason Crosby was 1-2 on field goals. He made five extra points.

Chase Blackburn had an interception for the Giants. They had two sacks, one by Justin Tuck and the other by Dave Tollefson. Linval Joseph led the defense with nine tackles. Clay Matthews had an interception for a touchdown for Green Bay. Charlie Peprah led the Packers defense with six tackles and three assists. Matthews also had the only sack.

The Giants will now go to Dallas to take on the Cowboys in basically a must win game for the Giants. The Giants are one game back in the division and have four games left. They will take on Dallas twice, the Jets and Redskins in the other games. The Giants are now 6-6 on the season and in another second half collapse. If the Giants fail to make the postseason most likely that will be the end of Tom Coughlin.

The Jets pull away late to defeat the Redskins

-The New York Jets defeated the Washington Redskins by the score of 34-19. The Jets were trailing 13-10 at the half and after three quarters it was tied at 13. The Jets were able to pull away in the fourth quarter as they outscored the Redskins 21-6. Shonne Greene had a big game with three touchdowns for the Jets. 
Mark Sanchez was 19-32 for the Jets. He had 165 yards throwing and a touchdown with no interceptions. Greene had 22 rushes for 88 yards and the three touchdowns. Jeremy Kerley rushed once for six yards and LaDainian Tomlinson rushed once for five yards. Santonio Holmes led the Jets with four catches for 58 yards and a touchdown. Plaxico Burress had three catches for 33 yards, Greene had three for 26 and Tomlinson had one catch for 16 yards. Dustin Keller had three catches for 12 yards. Nick Folk made two out of three field goals. He made all four extra points and the long field goal was from 51 yards.

Rex Grossman for the Redskins was 19-46 for 221 yards and an interception. Roy Helu rushed 23 times for 100 yards and a touchdown. Fred Davis was their leading receiver with six catches for 99 yards. Santana Moss had five catches for 42 yards, Helu had four catches for 42 yards and David Anderson had two catches for 21 yards. Donte’ Stallworth had one catch for 14 yards. Graham Gano was 4-4 on field goals with his long being 46 yards. He also made an extra point.

Kyle Wilson had an interception for the Jets. The Jets defense had two sacks. The sacks came from Jamaal Westerman and Aaron Maybin. David Harris led the team with five tackles. The Redskins defense had no sacks or interceptions. London Fletcher led the team with nine tackles and eight assists.

The Jets are now 7-5 and still in the hunt for a wildcard spot. The Jets will take on the Kansas City Chiefs at home on Sunday December 11^th.

The Outlaws win their 10th straight as they win in Danville once again

The New Jersey Outlaws won their 10th straight game tonight as they defeated the Danville Dashers 3-0. It was the second night in a row that they won in Danville. The Outlaws remain in first place in the Federal Hockey League. The game had no scoring until the third period. The Outlaws scored all their goals in the third and towards the end of the game. Travis Kauffeldt the captain had two goals.

The first goal came at the 14:43 mark of the third from Kevin Cooper. He was assisted by Kauffeldt and Matthew Puntureri. Kauffeldt scored on the power play assisted by Puntureri and Cooper at the 16:07 mark of the third. The final goal came at the 18:35 mark of the third as Kauffeldt scored again. Anthony Battaglia and Nathan Oke had the assists.

In the first period there were four penalties, three on New Jersey. In the second period there were 10 penalties with seven of them against New Jersey. In the third period there were only three penalties and only one against New Jersey. There were no fights in the game. New Jersey was 1-4 on the power play and Danville was 0-9.

New Jersey had 47 shots on goal and Danville had 21. Adam Dekker got the win for New Jersey. Nick Wydock took the loss for Danville. The length of the game was two hours and 20 minutes. 373 was the attendance as Danville continues to hurt. Danville has one overtime win on the season and that is it. Cooper, Oke and Kauffeldt were all +2 for the Outlaws.

Nolan Ryan, Michal Jordan and Kaleb Chillman were all -2 for Danville. The Outlaws will play at Brooklyn on Friday night December 9th. The three stars of the game were Wydock as number three, Dekker as number two and Kauffeldt as the first star. New Jersey is now 14-2 on the season with an overtime win. They have 41 points. 1000 Islands is in second and with their loss tonight New Jersey now has a five point advantage in the standings which is their largest lead of the season. 1000 Islands has 12 wins and four losses. They have one win and one loss in overtime. The Outlaws will return home next Saturday December 10th as they take on the defending FHL Champs the Akwesasne Warriors.

If you have any questions or comments please email me at gmarchesej@aol.com, find me on twitter @gmarchesej or facebook Gary Marchese Jr. Also for all your NJ Outlaws needs check out Newjerseyoutlaws.com and follow them on twitter @NJOutlawsHockey and facebook NJOutlaws.