Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Thoughts on the NHL, NFL, and More

NHL: The Red Wings are on an absolute tear. They are far and away the best team in the league at 22-6-2 and have yet to lose in December (5 games played). The entire Central Division has been surprisingly good this year, with the Blackhawks, Blues, and Blue Jackets all overachieving and in the midst of the playoff race. I think that Anaheim will slowly crawl back up towards the top and will face the Wings in the Conference Finals again this year...only this time, they won't get a lucky goal in game five and go on to win the Cup. The 2007-2008 Wings look like they will not be stopped come playoff time. There will be a bit of a goalie controversy though...my vote's for Osgood right now...how can you argue with a 14-1-1 record?

NFL: The Lions looked again like the Picasso of all choke-artists in their loss to the Cowboys this weekend. A missed field goal (35 yards) by a consistent kicker in Hanson ultimately did the Lions in but a nice fumble recovery on the Cowboys final drive would have easily won them the game as well. In sum, you know you're a Lions fan when your team pulls the stunner of the season and leads an 11-1 team for 99.5% of the game, only to lose in the final 18 seconds.

Meanwhile, the Patriots continued their unstoppable run at history and Tom Brady, a Michigan man, threw four touchdown passes. I swear, if Brady went anywhere else, the Pats would be in complete disarray. Only a man of such great college background could do what he's doing this season. The point spread this week against the Jets is 27...and if they don't cover it Belichick will probably eat his hoodie.

College Hockey: Michigan swept its weekend series against a good Bowling Green team and moved into the #1 spot in the College Hockey polls. They're 16-2-0 on the year and I'm very excited to see some solid goaltending out of Billy Sauer since he has underachieved the past two years (Of course, when you're a 19-year-old junior playing for a nationally famous program, you do deserve a little slack, just don't to me for it). UNH has struggled recently, but they will turn it around this weekend against Maine and probably come out on top of the Hockey East. If Northeastern is really as good as they have been so far this year, they deserve to win the conference but seriously...you can't blame me if I'm not completely convinced.

Oh, and one more thing...Tim Tebow. Tim, you may have deserved the Heisman because you were responsible for a ridiculous 51 touchdowns in 12 games this year, but be ready for the upset of the bowl season when Michigan knocks you on your ass on New Year's Day. This season has been a complete failure but if the Wolverines can somehow manage to send Urban Meyer home crying...there will be some vindication for Hart, Henne, Long, and company.

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