Pens Win On The Road

Hey All,

The Pittsburgh Penguins win big on the road in New York, against the Rangers. The Pens played like they had everything to lose, and looked like the Penguins of old.

Pittsburgh won the game 3-0, and I think they were letting off a little bit of the frustration after a very tough loss against the Islanders just a game ago. The Penguins were hitting, shooting, and playing with a little bit of a chip on their shoulder.

One thing I noticed that the Pens did in this game, that they didn't do in the last game: THEY SHOT THE PUCK! They had more shots and chances in this game than in the previous game.

Speaking of shots, the Pens had more shots on the power-play. They had 6 power-play chances and capitalized on one of them. Now that might not sound like much to most, but their scoring on power-plays this season has not been the Penguins strong suit. They were able to get off 10 shots in those 6 power-plays, and the goal was on a deflection from Sydney Crosby to James Neal. The deflection wasn't the easiest either. Neal deflected the puck through his legs, behind him, and was still able to flip it over the goaltender's shoulder. This was not an easy shot.

One more thing, this was goaltender Vokoun's first shut out as a member of the Penguins. He's averaged about 4 shut outs per start, but he had yet to do it this season with the Pens.

This was a good solid win for the Pens, and hopefully will give them the momentum they need to move on through the season. The Pens will take on the New Jersey Devils at home Saturday, February 2. I'm very nervous for this game seeing how the Devils put up 4 goals against the Islanders tonight, who beat the Pens already this season.

Until next time,
You keep doing what you do, and I'll keep you up to date with everything sports.

Pens Lose Again

Hey All,

The Pittsburgh Penguins have lost again at home, and looked very slow and out of sync. They had no speed, weren't able to hold the puck in the offensive zone, and had no special teams play.

The special teams play is what bothers me the most. They had a total of 21 minutes of power-play time during the game against the New York Islanders, and still lost the game 4-1. The Pens had 3 power-play chances, and came up empty on all three chances. They only took a grand total of four shots on those chances.

If you get rid of the power-play chances, and didn't show anyone the score, most would say that the Pens won in a land slide. Yet that was not the case, it was the exact opposite. Pens had more shots, hits, power-plays, and less penalty minutes. All of which should add up to a win, but somehow they find a way to lose.

Pittsburgh has not won a game at home this season. All I'd their wins have come when on the road, which is unlike how the Pens usually play. They have been unstoppable when on home ice for the last three years. They just haven't found a way to repeat that success this year. Part of this, I think, has to do with all the youth on their team. Pittsburgh is a very young team, and it's starting to show in their play.

The Islanders are not that good of a team, they are mediocre at best. Since the 2006-2007 season, The Islanders have had a losing record, and been under .500. Now that's not to say that they aren't improving, but looking at the history of the records between these two teams, this loss should never have happened..

The Pens will now travel to New York to take on the other team from New York, The Rangers, who again are a very beatable team. It's sad to say that the Pens may be more of a favorite in this game, because they're on the road, the only place where they are able to win a game.

Until next time,
You keep doing what you do, and I'll keep you up to date with everything sports.

Battle Of Brothers

Hey All,

Today, Sunday January 20th, was an exciting day for football fans everywhere, as the AFC and NFC Championship games were played. 

These games not only made history, but are starting to write it as well. Both John and Jim Harbaugh are both playing in Super Bowl XLVII. 

This is the first time in Super Bowl history that two brothers will face each other, as coaches, in a Super Bowl. No one ever thought that this could happen, until now. I had a feeling that the 49ers would be one of the teams that would make it this far. The 9ers have one of the most talented teams in the NFL, and at this point in the season, I don't think that anyone can beat them. 

In the NFC Championship game, the 49ers were down early in this game 17-0, and a lot of people thought it was over. I would be lying if I said that I wasn't one of those people, but I was wrong. San Francisco fought back and never gave up. This team has fought all season long, and never quit on their coaches and staff. They battled through injuries, and a QB switch late in the season. That's one thing that I want to talk most about, Colin Kaepernick, a second year QB, who saw no playing time but in the per-season last year, comes in late in the season because of an injury to Alex Smith. Kaepernick has carried this team on his back, and legs, for the past 9 starts. Yes, that's right, this kid has only 9 starts under his belt, and he has shown up big in all of them. 

When Harbaugh decided to keep Colin Kaepernick as the starter instead of Alex Smith, I thought that it was going to be the end of their season. Smith is a proven veteran QB, who knows the offense, has ran the offense since he was drafted, and has been the best QB in San Francisco for a long time. Kaepernick has proven himself to the team as well, and showed that he was the right draft pick a year ago and looks like he's going to be around for a long time. 

On the AFC side of things, you had a rematch of last year's AFC Championship game as the Ravens took on the Patriots for the AFC title. The Ravens proved that it is was very hard to beat a team twice in big games. This is another one of those teams who had a very tough season, with injuries like the 9ers. Now when the season started and the Ravens were without Suggs, I thought that their season was going to be over. But it wasn't, they found a way to win games, and win big. Not only did they have to play without Suggs, but mid season Ray Lewis went down with a triceps injury. When this happened I said stick a fork in them, they are done. They have proven themselves time and time again. This is a team that can play through anything and find a way to win. 

I can't wait till it's Super Bowl time to see how the brothers act towards one another in the biggest game of the year. Like I said earlier, no brothers have ever played against one another, as coaches, in Super Bowl history. This makes this game, very, very interesting. I know the media is going to eat this up and that's all we are going to hear about for the next 2 weeks. To be honest, I don't care! These coaches deserve it, and it's a big deal. IT IS THE SUPER BOWL! That's all everyone would have been talking about anyways. This just gives it that extra twist that the world and the fans can get into. It's brother versus brother and John being the older brother, everyone would expect him to win, but not me. My prediction, 9ers win in a very close game. Younger brother Jim has too good of a team, and it's been since 1994 that San Fran has been to the dance, and that's enough motivation to win. 

Until next time,
You keep doing what you do, and I'll keep you up to date with everything sports.

Kelly to The Eagles

Hey All,

As I'm sure you all know, Chip Kelly has made his announcement to join the NFL, with the Eagles. This is stunning news that has been trending, but I know we all have seen his offense.

Non of this should come as a shock to anyone. Take a look at the six coaches that were hired in the NFL. What we have seen for the up and coming year is that one thing has become clear: Teams are looking for coaches who are the guy who can boost their offensive production. This can't come as a shock to anyone as the league has turned into a offense-is-most-important league for the past several years.

If you take a look at the group of coaches that were hired they all have a clear-cut offensive background, and that's part of the direction that the NFL is heading. The main coach in this group of coaches, in my opinion, is Chip Kelly.

Kelly was one of, if not the, most coveted coaches in college football. All the credit for this has to be given to his dynamic offensive principles, which dominated the college football world for the past couple of years now. Kelly took his Oregon Ducks to four consecutive BCS bowls during his tenure there.

I think that if Kelly gets the right team around him, he can turn things around in Philly. The problem is, trying to keep Mike Vick around to have a mobile quarterback that can run Kelly's style of offense. There was too much talk of Vick leaving Philly to move on to a new team, that it may be hard to convince him to stick around to see if Kelly can build the proper team around him.

We all know that Kelly is a winner, hell that's all the man did while at Oregon, but he's in good company. The team that hired these offensive "gurus" are: the Bears, Browns, Chargers, Chiefs, Bills and of course the Eagles. But these teams all have one major thing in common, they sucked last year. The numbers don't lie people: Chicago was 16th in points scored per game in 2012 and 24th in Football Outsiders weighted offensive rank, despite the talented core of Jay Cutler, Brandon Marshall, and Matt Forte. Cleveland (24th, 27th) had a lot of young talent on offense in 2012 and it showed. San Diego (20th, 23rd) was once a superpower on the offensive side of the ball, and looked like a broken engine for most of the 2012 season. Kansas City (32nd, 31st) were practically dead last, and looked like a total train wreck in 2012. The Bills (21st, 18th) couldn't capitalize on the skills of guys like C.J. Spiller and Stevie Johnson despite Chan Gailey's genius. and last but not least the Eagles (29th, 22nd) were arguably the biggest disappointment in the NFL.

There are still two teams that haven't hired a coach yet, and they were on the lower part of the rankings in the NFL. The two teams still looking to hire a coach are the Jaguars (30th in points per game, and 28th at FO) were a disaster, and the Cardinals (31st, 31st) were even worse.

Now that you have the facts of the teams that were looking for new coaches, and the teams who found a new coach, I challenge you to tell me otherwise that these offensive minded coaches wont turn them around. Facts are facts, these teams have no where to go but up from here. If they can keep their QB off their backs, and put together a solid offense, which we know they can do because of their track records. Then these teams should improve and bring new life to some great programs.

Until next time,
You keep doing what you do, and I'll keep you up to date with everything sports

Lewis To Retire

Hey All,

Today, Middle Linbacker for the Baltimore Ravens, Ray Lewis said this would be his last season in the NFL. Lewis told his teammates on Wednesday that "this would be my last ride."

This means that this Sunday's wild-card game could very well be his last home game in Baltimore. The Ravens would need some help in order to have another playoff game at home this season. They are the 4th seed in the AFC, and Lewis doesn't expect this game to be his last one. "Whenever it ends it ends," Lewis said. "But I didn't come back to be eliminated in the first round."

The Ravens drew the Colts in the wild-card game this Sunday. The Colts, who are riding an inspirational come back in their coach Chuck Pagano, are a team who is playing very inspired football since Pagano returned to the team. Pagano just so happens to be the former Defensive Coordinator of the Baltimore Ravens, and I know he knows how Uncle Ray Ray likes to play D. "He'll probably introduce the defense and probably be the last one out and he'll ignite and incite a riot so to speak," Pagano said. "And there will be a ton of energy on that football team and on that sideline and in that stadium. He's their leader and any time you get your leader back it's an added spark."

It's no surprise that Ray Lewis is hanging up the cleats. He's had a great career, and the only thing left for him to do, is make another run at a Super Bowl. Until next time, You keep doing what you do, and I'll keep you up to date with everything sports.

Wisconsin 3Peat

Hey All,

Wisconsin University has now appeared in it's 3rd straight Rose Bowl. But, 3rd time wasn't the charm for Wisconsin. It's not like they have been getting blown out in this game, they have lost by a touchdown or less in the games against Organ, USC, and Stanford. 

Stanford got on the board first with a 16 yard run by Young on an end around. There was still 11:24 left to go in the first quarter. They didn't lay off the gas as the Defense got them the ball back on a 3 and out. Stanford quickly scored again on a 3 yard rush up the gut by Taylor, with 6:35 left to go in the first quarter.

In the second quarter Wisconsin's talented running back Ball ran up the middle for an 11 yard touchdown, with 9:05 left to go in the half. The Cardinal's would answer back though with an 47 yard field goal by Williamson, leaving 6:24 to go in the half. Wisconsin would have the last say in the first half, as they drove down to score on a 4 yard pass from Phillips to Fredrick with 19 seconds left in the half, to make the score 14-17 in favor of Stanford. 

Now, from what I saw, both teams made the necessary adjustments at half because the 3rd quarter was completely scoreless. Neither offense could get the ball into scoring rang. The next score, would in fact be the last one of the game and the game winner off of the foot of Williamson again, this time from 22 yards away. The final score was 20-14 Stanford, and you can't credit it all to the Stanford offense. The Defense of Stanford stepped up big in this game, forcing a late interception to seal the deal on this game, and give Wisconsin it's third straight loss in the Rose Bowl for Wisconsin University. Usua Amanam was the player to basically give the win the Stanford. 

Stanford didn't score many, if any at all, style points, but the Big Ten Champion Badgers (8-6) couldn't score many points at all while losing the Granddaddy of Them All in heartbreaking fashion for the third consecutive season. I can't imagine how these young men of Wisconsin feel, especially the sophomores and freshman who've been there for all 3 losses in this game, after losing by less than a touchdown for the 3rd straight year.

For Stanford, this may just be the game that the school needs, in order to get the National recognition that they deserve. The only recognition that they've got in the past 2 years, is that they wouldn't be that good since they lost star quarterback Andrew Luck to the NFL. I think they have shut up everyone who said they couldn't do it without him. Now I'm sure the media will talk about them for a couple of weeks, but once that dies down and everyone gets away from College Football, and starts focusing on the NFL Playoffs, no one will be talking about them. 

Now I think that is crap! This team deserves to be talk about on the National level with the Organs  and the USC's, LSU's, and Alabama of the world. Stanford proved they could win the big game, when it's close, and it wasn't looking good for the Defense. They pulled through, dug deep, and won the game. 

Until next time,

You keep doing what you do, and I'll keep you up to date with everything sports.