well how about a review of what i predicted at the begginning of the season
it seems things change week to week in football, but here is a look as we head into another week of CFL action, each team having played 11 games to this point
1. Calgary (13-5)- defending champs didn't lose much, now know what it takes. they need to play as a team and continue to get consistent performance from guys like Lewis in the tough west division.
well releasing LB Armour early in the season hurt more then i thought it would. they picked up Johnson and have been better against the run in the past few weeks. Stamps had a tough start, and losing Rambo hurt. after losing Thelwell, the Stamps were hurting for recievers and made a good trade with Winnipeg to get a few recievers (Franklin and Bryant).
to finish 13-5, the Stamps would have to win out the rest of the way, which actually isn't asking much. do i expect it? no, they need more consistency but Copeland and Lewis have been very good. 12-6
2. Edmonton (12-6)- Ricky Ray is always dangerous, now he has a good mix of run game and recievers, we'll see how the defence does. and how long it takes for Lumsden to get hurt... Edmonton is always in it, and BC will be right there with them all season long.
it sure didn't take long for Lumsden to get hurt, less then a game. Edmonton took a step back with back-back labour day losses, but now can take 2 from Saskatchewan.
will they get 12-6? no, i would take one win off that total. 11-7
3. BC (9-9)- this is tough, they lost Cam Wake, so shouldn't be as good, but still have solid depth at quarterback and Wally seems to find guys to step in.
loss of Cam Wake along with a few other players did hurt them, the qb situation certainly has changed. Jackson is out for a few weeks, and Pierce is one hit away from the end of his career from concussions. they signed former Lion Casey Printers to the practice roster, this may be important later in the season.
i can still see 9-9 for BC, but i think 8-10 is more likely
4. Saskatchewan (8-10) - this is a quarterbacks league, and Saskatchewan's QB needs some proving. Durant will need to find some chemistry with Fantusz, who is a great reciever. Im not sold on this team, but they do some some parts, tough battle with BC and Edmonton, but they will crossover and visit Hamilton
well Durant has shown that he is the Riders starter, and has the skillset to play many years, along with some good recievers (Dressler, Fantusz) and Cates great running. if they can find a way to beat Edmonton, then they have a good chance at winning the division, it will come down to a few meetings with Calgary. hot and cold
will they hit 8-10? they will get a better record then that, im thinking 10-8
East Division -Montreal has been no suprise, starting hot and actually winning in the west this year. will be interesting to see if they get upset in the playoffs
1. Montreal (12-6)- many players back and the coach will still have the memory of losing the cup at home fresh in their minds. The question mark here is does Calvillo keep going? he showed last year he is back, in a remarkable comeback. They get to beat up Toronto and Winnipeg again too
Montreal definitly remembers last seasons dissapointing finish. they have rolled along, but are beatable. they will finish better then 12-6, at 13-5
2. Hamilton (8-10)- of the bottom three in the East, Hamilton has the best chance of getting that home playoff game. Quinton Porter is the answer, ok well he looks like he could be. they need to keep developing him, Glenn is there to take some pressure off as well, but this team has some good continuity from last year and last season appeared to be getting better. they will keep up the trend and win some games by a few instead of losing them. Its been too long since Hamilton had a good season or hosted a playoff game.
well, i am happy to be right about hamilton right now, they have been doing enough to win close games. Porter and Glenn have shared the load, and Porter needs to continue and get better, he has the pieces with his running ability and good arm. picking up Bruce from Toronto and Stala in the offseason has helped, along with RB Cobb taking over a few games
8-10? they will do better, at 6-5 right now, i can see a 11-7 finish
3. Toronto (5-13)- close with Winnipeg, they still have a solid defence, it will be interesting to see how the new coach adapts to the Canadian game. Kerry Joseph needs to get back to his old form
well Bart Andrus has somewhat adapted to the Canadian game, but this team is inconsistent. hard to tell if this is a team on the way up. Pickett at QB may be a good qb in the future, but we will need some time. if they had beaten BC last week, i would've said they would make the playoffs, but they will will have a tough time catching up with either hamilton or bc
5-13? they will finish with a better record, 6-12 (not much better!)
4. Winnipeg (5-13)- with so many new players and a new coach, who is playing for this team now? it will take some time to fit the parts together and get some wins. head to head matchups with Toronto may decide who gets the first draft pick in 2010....
nothing to see here, kind of a trainwreck. Kelly has not done well coaching this team and may be fired soon, at least that seems to be what bomber fans want. good trade with Calgary and a qb trade with Montreal, this team is rebuilding. at least Fred Reid is a brightspot for the offence
5-13? sounds about right to me, well at least they get the first draft pick i guess, key game for the bombers this weekend, playing the Argos.
I picked the stamps and allouettes, i think hamilton might win the east in the upset.
there will be a crossover, and i think it will be bc, not saskatchewan
in hockey, theo Fleury has been released by the flames, my nhl predictions coming soon
Friday, September 25, 2009
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
mid August update
A little mid-August update
First off, CFL
The Stamps have moved into a 3 way first place tie for first with Saskatchewan and Edmonton at 3-3, after beating Winnipeg. The Stamps certainly aren’t on fire and are having some troubles. Edmonton is coming off a loss to Hamilton (who are 4-2, yes!) and is the Stamps next opponent, this Thursday night. The Stamps play the Eskimoes 3 times in their next 4 games, so it is a huge part of the schedule.
Let week 7 begin.
Hamilton has been playing great lately, and it is great to see, they are the second best team in the league right now! The Tiger-Cats play the Roughriders play on Sunday.
Not much new for Flames news, the Oilers might be trying to trade a top D-man (ie. Souray). Oh Edmonton.
Oh and Theo Fleury wants to make a comeback after being out of the NHL for 6 years. Sounds like his concrete company isn’t doing great. He is 41 and still has to serve a 60-game suspension, it would be tough for any team to sign this distraction. I still can’t believe he is serious about coming back. Really?
The NFL begins soon, Team Canada is having their training camp for the Olympics and the Blue Jays still suck. That’s about it.
Until next time
First off, CFL
The Stamps have moved into a 3 way first place tie for first with Saskatchewan and Edmonton at 3-3, after beating Winnipeg. The Stamps certainly aren’t on fire and are having some troubles. Edmonton is coming off a loss to Hamilton (who are 4-2, yes!) and is the Stamps next opponent, this Thursday night. The Stamps play the Eskimoes 3 times in their next 4 games, so it is a huge part of the schedule.
Let week 7 begin.
Hamilton has been playing great lately, and it is great to see, they are the second best team in the league right now! The Tiger-Cats play the Roughriders play on Sunday.
Not much new for Flames news, the Oilers might be trying to trade a top D-man (ie. Souray). Oh Edmonton.
Oh and Theo Fleury wants to make a comeback after being out of the NHL for 6 years. Sounds like his concrete company isn’t doing great. He is 41 and still has to serve a 60-game suspension, it would be tough for any team to sign this distraction. I still can’t believe he is serious about coming back. Really?
The NFL begins soon, Team Canada is having their training camp for the Olympics and the Blue Jays still suck. That’s about it.
Until next time
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Aug long update
woohoo. what a month for the Flames. ok, it was July, but still, a good month for the Flames. they signed Bouwmeester to a deal worth 6.7mil a year. good signing. this makes the Flames defence ultra deep, also they traded away Vandermeer, which clears up room for more contracts, and traded Primeau to Toronto, for Stralman, who is a defensive prospect. the Flames also picked up Dawes (potential top 6 winger) and Seabrook (bubble player) and resigned key guys like Boyd.
so the Flames dumped some expensive players and picked up several guys in the key 23-27 age range, guys that may or may not hit their peak with the Flames. Sutter you are awesome. with Brent Sutter behind the bench and a stellar Dcore (Regher, Phaneuf, Sarich, Bouwmeester, Pardy, Giordano, with guys like Pelech challenging) and an actual system that requires players like Iginla to get back defensively, and hopefully more use of backup McElhinney, and more young guys challenging for spots on the forward ranks, this training camp and following season will be fun to watch!
Go Flames
as for the Stamps, they have had an off and on start. the first two games were rough, a loss to Montreal was hard to take but not as hard as a loss to bottom feeder Winnipeg. i guess there is alot more parity this season. the Stamps got back on track and beat Toronto and BC by sound margins, but couldn't complete a win over sasky last night, losing by one point on a touchdown with a minute left for the Riders. I should add that Burris was given the ball twice in the last minute with chances to drive the field, and he blew it, bad decision making. it really came down to a missed 49 yard field goal by DeAngelis just before Saskatchewan scored the go ahead touchdown. a field goal would have made it a 9 point lead instead of 6.
so the Stamps fall to 2-3, one win back of Sask and Edmonton (who upset Montreal this week), and one win ahead of the struggling Lions, who have lost twice to the resurgent Ticats (as per my preseason predictions, Tabbies are doing well!).
its a long season, but the Stamps need to turn it around by labour day, as the head to head matchup with the Eskimoes may be the difference between hosting the west final or west semifinal.
Go Stamps Go
(injury note, the Stampeders have lost star reciever, KenYon Rambo, for the season)
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
CFL picks for 2009 season
ok first off,
Congratulations to the Pittsburg Penguins, who won the Stanley Cup in game 7 over the Detroit Red Wings. I am happy Detroit lost!
hopefully my Flames will be the champions in 12 months
so the CFL season kicks off tomorrow, Canada day, with Hamilton playing Toronto, followed by Calgary playing Montreal, at McMahon
so here are my preseason picks for the standings
West Division - the west division again appears to be the stronger division. any of these teams could come out of the west, but Calgary is still the favourite. injuries may change things, but it seems every year lately that all these teams are in it. Saskatchewan should finish better than Winnipeg and Toronto and get a crossover spot.
1. Calgary (13-5)- defending champs didn't lose much, now know what it takes. they need to play as a team and continue to get consistent performance from guys like Lewis in the tough west division.
2. Edmonton (12-6)- Ricky Ray is always dangerous, now he has a good mix of run game and recievers, we'll see how the defence does. and how long it takes for Lumsden to get hurt... Edmonton is always in it, and BC will be right there with them all season long.
3. BC (9-9)- this is tough, they lost Cam Wake, so shouldn't be as good, but still have solid depth at quarterback and Wally seems to find guys to step in.
4. Saskatchewan (8-10) - this is a quarterbacks league, and Saskatchewan's QB needs some proving. Durant will need to find some chemistry with Fantusz, who is a great reciever. Im not sold on this team, but they do some some parts, tough battle with BC and Edmonton, but they will crossover and visit Hamilton
East Division - Montreal will be fired up to play hard and the other 3 continue to rebuild with new coaches and players. this division isn't quite as strong as the west, but Hamilton is starting to close the gap on the 4 west teams and Montreal. East will still be seperated and Winnipeg and Toronto are the toughest to figure out, I don't see alot of promise from either team
1. Montreal (12-6)- many players back and the coach will still have the memory of losing the cup at home fresh in their minds. The question mark here is does Calvillo keep going? he showed last year he is back, in a remarkable comeback. They get to beat up Toronto and Winnipeg again too
2. Hamilton (8-10)- of the bottom three in the East, Hamilton has the best chance of getting that home playoff game. Quinton Porter is the answer, ok well he looks like he could be. they need to keep developing him, Glenn is there to take some pressure off as well, but this team has some good continuity from last year and last season appeared to be getting better. they will keep up the trend and win some games by a few instead of losing them. Its been too long since Hamilton had a good season or hosted a playoff game.
3. Toronto (5-13)- close with Winnipeg, they still have a solid defence, it will be interesting to see how the new coach adapts to the Canadian game. Kerry Joseph needs to get back to his old form
4. Winnipeg (5-13)- with so many new players and a new coach, who is playing for this team now? it will take some time to fit the parts together and get some wins. head to head matchups with Toronto may decide who gets the first draft pick in 2010....
im going to pick my Stampeders to play the Allouettes in the Grey Cup, with the Stampeders winning again. back to back.
Congratulations to the Pittsburg Penguins, who won the Stanley Cup in game 7 over the Detroit Red Wings. I am happy Detroit lost!
hopefully my Flames will be the champions in 12 months
so the CFL season kicks off tomorrow, Canada day, with Hamilton playing Toronto, followed by Calgary playing Montreal, at McMahon
so here are my preseason picks for the standings
West Division - the west division again appears to be the stronger division. any of these teams could come out of the west, but Calgary is still the favourite. injuries may change things, but it seems every year lately that all these teams are in it. Saskatchewan should finish better than Winnipeg and Toronto and get a crossover spot.
1. Calgary (13-5)- defending champs didn't lose much, now know what it takes. they need to play as a team and continue to get consistent performance from guys like Lewis in the tough west division.
2. Edmonton (12-6)- Ricky Ray is always dangerous, now he has a good mix of run game and recievers, we'll see how the defence does. and how long it takes for Lumsden to get hurt... Edmonton is always in it, and BC will be right there with them all season long.
3. BC (9-9)- this is tough, they lost Cam Wake, so shouldn't be as good, but still have solid depth at quarterback and Wally seems to find guys to step in.
4. Saskatchewan (8-10) - this is a quarterbacks league, and Saskatchewan's QB needs some proving. Durant will need to find some chemistry with Fantusz, who is a great reciever. Im not sold on this team, but they do some some parts, tough battle with BC and Edmonton, but they will crossover and visit Hamilton
East Division - Montreal will be fired up to play hard and the other 3 continue to rebuild with new coaches and players. this division isn't quite as strong as the west, but Hamilton is starting to close the gap on the 4 west teams and Montreal. East will still be seperated and Winnipeg and Toronto are the toughest to figure out, I don't see alot of promise from either team
1. Montreal (12-6)- many players back and the coach will still have the memory of losing the cup at home fresh in their minds. The question mark here is does Calvillo keep going? he showed last year he is back, in a remarkable comeback. They get to beat up Toronto and Winnipeg again too
2. Hamilton (8-10)- of the bottom three in the East, Hamilton has the best chance of getting that home playoff game. Quinton Porter is the answer, ok well he looks like he could be. they need to keep developing him, Glenn is there to take some pressure off as well, but this team has some good continuity from last year and last season appeared to be getting better. they will keep up the trend and win some games by a few instead of losing them. Its been too long since Hamilton had a good season or hosted a playoff game.
3. Toronto (5-13)- close with Winnipeg, they still have a solid defence, it will be interesting to see how the new coach adapts to the Canadian game. Kerry Joseph needs to get back to his old form
4. Winnipeg (5-13)- with so many new players and a new coach, who is playing for this team now? it will take some time to fit the parts together and get some wins. head to head matchups with Toronto may decide who gets the first draft pick in 2010....
im going to pick my Stampeders to play the Allouettes in the Grey Cup, with the Stampeders winning again. back to back.
Friday, May 29, 2009
cup final prediction
west champs Detroit vs
east champs Pittsburg
the rematch, for first time in 25 years, a repeat of the previous cup final. Pittsburg has talent, Detroit has talent, Detroit has cup experience, Pittsburg has players who haven't won the cup. Detroit has Hossa. Hossa will be a non factor in the early games, that is when Pittsburg needs to win some games. Detroit is banged up and has to play the first 2 games in two nights, against a remarkably healthy Pittsburg team.
really, i want both teams to lose, but someone has to win. and Detroit won last year. so....
Pittsburg in 6
Its almost Stamps season, fanday is tomorrow. Grey cup tickets go on sale tomorrow.
Go Stamps go, its too warm out to watch two teams i don't want to win, go for the cup.
east champs Pittsburg
the rematch, for first time in 25 years, a repeat of the previous cup final. Pittsburg has talent, Detroit has talent, Detroit has cup experience, Pittsburg has players who haven't won the cup. Detroit has Hossa. Hossa will be a non factor in the early games, that is when Pittsburg needs to win some games. Detroit is banged up and has to play the first 2 games in two nights, against a remarkably healthy Pittsburg team.
really, i want both teams to lose, but someone has to win. and Detroit won last year. so....
Pittsburg in 6
Its almost Stamps season, fanday is tomorrow. Grey cup tickets go on sale tomorrow.
Go Stamps go, its too warm out to watch two teams i don't want to win, go for the cup.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
NHL 3rd round pics, and Roughnecks are NLL champions
NHL playoffs
2- Detroit vs
4. Chicago
this is really tough to pick. Im going to go with Detroit, as I feel like they will win, but i really want them to lose (ala i win my bet and because they won last year). Detroit plays a solid team game. Chicago can beat them though, they play well together and seem to be the young guys. youth vs experience. it will be interesting, I hope chicago can continue to score goals and Khabibulin plays well. Osgood seems to be a playoff goaltender, so they will have to get through detroit and beat him. this isn' the canucks.
Detroit in 7.
east final:
4. Pittsburg - vs
6. Carolina
should be a close series, Carolina seems to find a way to win this year and Pittsburg may let them hang around too long in this series. Cam Ward will have to continue to be solid in the net, I could see him playing for Team Canada very soon. Carolina seems to get it done with grit and effort. and thier crowd is electric. the atmosphere in Carolina vs the atmosphere in Pittsburg hasn't been close (on tv at least). they really make it an event down in Carolina, also Carolina has a place in my heart after they beat the Oilers in the final in '06.
Carolina in 7
I went to the NLL final last night with two of my friends (Nick and Justin) and watched the Calgary Roughnecks defeat the New York Titans to win the Champions cup. It was an awesome game, the Roughnecks won 12-10, getting two empty netters in the last minute before New York got a late goal. the crowd was great (not sold out though) and it was more fun then the final in 04. the Roughnecks won thier 2nd Champions cup, after posting a 14-4 record this season, the best in the league.
The Stampeders also signed Nik Lewis to contract extension, Lewis broke several records last year with the Stamps, in his 5th season, and wants to retire a Stampeder someday.
2- Detroit vs
4. Chicago
this is really tough to pick. Im going to go with Detroit, as I feel like they will win, but i really want them to lose (ala i win my bet and because they won last year). Detroit plays a solid team game. Chicago can beat them though, they play well together and seem to be the young guys. youth vs experience. it will be interesting, I hope chicago can continue to score goals and Khabibulin plays well. Osgood seems to be a playoff goaltender, so they will have to get through detroit and beat him. this isn' the canucks.
Detroit in 7.
east final:
4. Pittsburg - vs
6. Carolina
should be a close series, Carolina seems to find a way to win this year and Pittsburg may let them hang around too long in this series. Cam Ward will have to continue to be solid in the net, I could see him playing for Team Canada very soon. Carolina seems to get it done with grit and effort. and thier crowd is electric. the atmosphere in Carolina vs the atmosphere in Pittsburg hasn't been close (on tv at least). they really make it an event down in Carolina, also Carolina has a place in my heart after they beat the Oilers in the final in '06.
Carolina in 7
I went to the NLL final last night with two of my friends (Nick and Justin) and watched the Calgary Roughnecks defeat the New York Titans to win the Champions cup. It was an awesome game, the Roughnecks won 12-10, getting two empty netters in the last minute before New York got a late goal. the crowd was great (not sold out though) and it was more fun then the final in 04. the Roughnecks won thier 2nd Champions cup, after posting a 14-4 record this season, the best in the league.
The Stampeders also signed Nik Lewis to contract extension, Lewis broke several records last year with the Stamps, in his 5th season, and wants to retire a Stampeder someday.
Friday, May 8, 2009
early May update
Well the second round of the NHL playoffs is well underway, and things are getting close to the end in junior hockey and in the NLL.
nhl:
I picked Carolina, Chicago, Anaheim and Washington to win thier series. Carolina is up 2-1 on Boston, Chicago and Vancouver are tied at 2, anahiem and Detroit are also tied at 2, and Washington is up 2-1.
in the WHL final, the Hitmen are playing the Rockets. the Rockets (Kelowna) won the first 3 games, but the Hitmen have stormed back and dominated games 4 and 5. I feel like they can win still and go to the memorial cup, history is against them though. only one time in WHL history has a team come back from down 3-0 in a series. but if any team is built to do it, the Hitmen are. game 6 goes tomorrow in Kelowna.
in the NLL, the Roughnecks dominated the Colorado Mammoth in the West Semifinal last week, 15-8, and play the San Jose stealth at the saddledome on saturday in the West division final. if the Roughnecks win, they will host the NLL final.
Team Canada is having success as usual in the world championships. today they beat Sweden 3-1 in the semifinal, they will play Russia (who beat the US) in the Gold medal game on sunday. I have trouble getting into this tournament.
nhl:
I picked Carolina, Chicago, Anaheim and Washington to win thier series. Carolina is up 2-1 on Boston, Chicago and Vancouver are tied at 2, anahiem and Detroit are also tied at 2, and Washington is up 2-1.
in the WHL final, the Hitmen are playing the Rockets. the Rockets (Kelowna) won the first 3 games, but the Hitmen have stormed back and dominated games 4 and 5. I feel like they can win still and go to the memorial cup, history is against them though. only one time in WHL history has a team come back from down 3-0 in a series. but if any team is built to do it, the Hitmen are. game 6 goes tomorrow in Kelowna.
in the NLL, the Roughnecks dominated the Colorado Mammoth in the West Semifinal last week, 15-8, and play the San Jose stealth at the saddledome on saturday in the West division final. if the Roughnecks win, they will host the NLL final.
Team Canada is having success as usual in the world championships. today they beat Sweden 3-1 in the semifinal, they will play Russia (who beat the US) in the Gold medal game on sunday. I have trouble getting into this tournament.
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