Breesing Into the Record Books

On Monday night, the Atlanta Falcons traveled to the Superdome for a game against their division rival, the New Orleans Saints and star quarterback Drew Brees. This night was one to remember for Brees, coach Payton, the rest of the Saints squad, and of course all of the Who Dat Nation.

In 1984, Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino of the Miami Dolphins set a new single season record for passing yards with 5,084 yards. This record has stood for over 25 years and in past seasons has looked unbreakable. In 2010, the year the Saints won the superbowl, Brees came as close as anyone had before him by throwing for 5,063 yards that season, the second most by a quarterback in NFL history. After that season many thought that Marino's record would not be touched anytime soon. But this year, with one game still remaining on the calendar Brees finally bested Marino's mark. Brees now stands at 5,087 passing yards with one game remaining.

Above is Drew Brees, Quarterback of the New Orleans Saints

This season in the NFL is what I like to call 'The Year of the Quarterback.' Not only has his record been broken with 1 game remaining, but there is also the possibility of 2 more quarterbacks accomplishing the feat. Tom Brady of the New England Patriots and Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers are the two other quarterbacks who have a shot at beating Marino's mark.

After 15 games, Brady has 4,897 yards, meaning he needs only 187 yards to pass Marino. Over the season, Brady has averaged nearly 300 yards per game making the possibility of him surpassing Marino very likely.

On the other hand, there is Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers is having an MVP caliber season with his 45 touchdowns to only 6 interceptions. After 15 games, Rodgers has 4,643 yards, meaning he needs 441 yards to surpass Marino's mark. Rodgers has averaged well over 300 yards per game, however not only does 441 yards seem like a push, with a first round bye and home-field advantage already locked up for his Packers, the possibility of him completing the game is very unlikely. Brady looks like he will surpass Marino's mark while Rodgers is an extreme long-shot.

Drew Brees (left), Tom Brady (Center) and Aaron Rodgers (right) are three premier quarterbacks in the game today

It is quite amazing to think about how the record was broken this year. After lasting 27 years the record will most likely be broken by not one, but two quarterbacks. Brees broke the record after 15 games. Brady is under 200 yards away. With one game remaining, this record will not only be broken, but it will be shattered by hundreds of yards.

So everyone give a round of applause to Drew Brees for breaking a record that seemed untouchable. He is a great quarterback and if you watched ESPN after the game, he made a speech that only depicted his confidence, but also assured fans how amazing of a human being he really is. So on behalf of the Mile High Jungle Blog, and the rest of NFL fans around the world, congratulations Drew Brees.

The Unsung Heroes: The New Orleans Saints

The New Orleans Saints, Who Dat, or whatever else you wanna call them; they are one of the best and UNDERRATED teams in the NFL.

The Saints are one of the 4 teams in the NFC South, the currently are the 2nd seed in the NFC, only to be behind the Packers. Every week on every sports show the same people and teams are the topic of discussion: Tom Brady, Tim Tebow (which I have no problem with), Aaron Rodgers and the Packers, and finally how the San Francisco 49ers went from rags to riches. Ya, those are hot topics, but seriously, the only thing you hear about the Saints these days is that Drew Brees is on pace to and will probably shatter Dan Marino's single season passing yards record. Thats amazing, but why does no one talk about the Saints as a team? Apparently people seem to forget that the Saints won the Super Bowl two years ago.

Drew Brees and the Saints currently are ranked #1 in total yards AND passing yards per game. With the departure of bust Reggie Bush and acquisition of the speedy Darren Sproles , the Saints running game has been revived in a big way, 28th to 9th in the league in total rushing yards to be exact. Not only are the Saints one of the most underrated teams, but so is their receiving core. If I were to ask someone who just started watching football last year, to name me three wide receivers on the Saints, I bet 9/10 times that they'd say "Jimmy Graham, Marcus Colston and 'Whats his name again?'". Really? Jimmy Graham? Really!? He's a Tight End, there's a huge difference between TEs and WRs, But Seriously? you can't name Lance Moore, Robert Meachem or Devery Henderson? Where do you think all these yards Brees is raking up are going to?

As I said before, the Saints running game has been revived from last years horrendous 28th ranked rushing offence to this years very respectable 9th ranked rushing offence. Darren Sproles leads the way with Pierre Thomas, Mark Ingram and Chris Ivory pitching in as well, I'm surprised they aren't ranked even higher.

The Saints defence is nothing special since they decided not to resign veteran Saftey DAAAREEEN SHARRPERR, they rank somewhere in the bottom 10.

You can catch the Saints tomorrow when they play the Falcons on Monday Night Football on ESPN or TSN. 

Anyways, until next week; May the force be with you, stay classy, Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas and a happy new year to everyone!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDd5DPAGoCk&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL

MLB Week In Review

A bunch of pre-holiday acquisitions to recap this past week...

• In perhaps the biggest news of the week, the Washington Nationals traded for LHP Gio Gonzalez and RHP Robert Gilliam from the Oakland Athletics in exchange for righties Brad Peacock and AJ Cole, lefty Tom Milone, and catcher Derek Norris.
• The Cincinnati Reds acquired reliever Sean Marshall from the Chicago Cubs. Travis Wood, Dave Sappelt, and Ronald Torreyes were sent to the Cubs to complete the deal.
• The Texas Rangers won the rights to negotiate with Japanese superstar Yu Darvish. If the Rangers sign Darvish, they will need to send a cheque of 51.7 Million to the Nippon Ham Fighters of the NPB.
• The Chicago White Sox agreed to a 5 year/65 Million dollar extension with lefty John Danks. A very hefty price tag for a very average pitcher.
• The St. Louis Cardinals signed outfielder Carlos Beltran to a 2 year/26 Million dollar contract. He will man the Cards OF with fellow slugger Matt Holliday and projected leadoff hitter Jon Jay.
• The Washington Nationals agreed to sign utility player Mark DeRosa to 1 year deal to bolster their bench. It is a Major League deal.

There are still many skilled players left on the market. Players like Roy Oswalt, Hiroki Kuroda, Yoenis Cespedes, Ryan Madson, and of course, The Prince remain. Fielder that is.


Merry Christmas & happy holidays to everyone.

The NHL's Concussion Dilemma

Concussions have been an ongoing problem in the present day NHL, and it has to be put to an end. This year, already, only 3 months into the season, the NHL has lost some of its finest players due to concussions, concussion like symptoms and post-concussion syndrome. Some of these players include Claude Giroux and Chris Pronger of the Philadelphia Flyers, Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins, and Jeff Skinner and Joni Pitkanen of the Carolina Hurricanes. Shoulder pads are used as weapons, and cannot only end a player’s season but an entire career. More and more hits are now targeted to the head even though new rules have been set out to try and end these vicious blows. Getting hit with today’s shoulder pads is just as bad as getting hit with a brick. The NHL sees that its star players are dropping with concussions like dead flies and something needs to be done - immediately. New rules should be put into place banning the shoulder pads containing the hard plastic cover. A player who is delivering a check should feel the hit just as much as the player who is receiving the hit, which would minimize the amount of dangerous hits. I mean, what player wants to be skating into another player at over 25 mph when he will end up feeling the hit just as much, if not more, than his opponent. Shoulder pads should be changed to a softer, less dangerous padding, instead of the rock-hard ones used today. Secondly, even though most players are sponsored and endorsed by companies (including Bauer, Reebok and Warrior), players should be using the Messier Project helmets; better known as M11. This helmet includes the most up to date helmet technology which has been proven to reduce the risk of head injury. If every player were to wear this lightweight, safe and trendy helmet, the risk of injuries from hits above the shoulders would be reduced dramatically! Some of the most exciting and appealing parts of hockey are the fast paced game, and hitting. Another solution could be that of adjusting all NHL rinks to Olympic size ice surfaces. The larger rink would expose speed, increase passing, which would lead to less body checks.Changing the padding, rink size and helmets would only make the amazing game of hockey safer. Many fans might ask: Would we lose the physical part of hockey? My answer to them: Absolutely Not!

Comment, and tell us what you think!

Special thanks to my good buddy Benchy for contributing to this article.

Habs Week In Review- December 18th to 24th

Another week of the NHL regular season has gone by and another eventful one for you Montreal Canadiens fans. Tons of news to recap:

On Tuesday, the Habs went to Beantown to play the Bruins. The game was a weird one and it did not really look like a classic Habs-Bruins game. In the end, off of a terrible defensive zone turnover by Travis Moen, Brad Marchand potted the eventual game-winner in a 3-2 victory for the Bruins.

However, there was some good news on Tuesday night. Team Canada played Team Sweden in some pre-tournament World Junior action. Habs prospect Brendan Gallagher scored a goal assisted by Michael Bournival, another prospect of the team. So while the present isn’t looking too great for the Canadiens, the future sure looks bright!

The schedule didn’t get any easier for the Canadiens as they went on to play the league's top team in the Chicago Blackhawks. A powerplay goal by Andrei Kostitsyn gave the Habs the early lead but 2 goals in 21 seconds from captain Jonathan Toews and Patrick Sharp eventually led to a 5-1 victory for the Hawks.

On Thursday the Habs visited Winnipeg for a date with the Jets. In a game dominated by the Jets, it looked as if the Habs did not even get off the plane. The outcome: a 4-0 shutout victory for the NHL's newest club. This was the Canadiens’ fifth loss in a row and pushed interim head coach Randy Cunneyworth’s record to an abysmal 0-4, the worst start for a Canadiens coach in the history of the team. It also doesn’t help Cunneyworth’s case that the team was without PK Subban, Lars Eller, and Carey Price. Carey was given the night off, while PK and Lars were told to grab a seat in the press box for the game.

As the season moves on and the trade deadline approaches, Habs fans have much to think about. If there were one player that you would like to see moved, who would it be? It is pretty safe to say that there will be a new general manager and a new head coach next year. It would be great to see Patrick Roy behind the bench and, this may be a bit of a push, but it would be very interesting to see Pierre McGuire get his first GM job with the storied Montreal Canadiens. And finally, assuming that the Canadiens get a top 7 draft pick, which is looking very possible right now, who would you select? Would you go with a skilled forward like Mikhail Grigorenko or a powerful and punsishing defenceman like Mathew Dumba? This is assuming that the Habs do NOT have the top pick in the draft which is likely to be Nail Yakupov of the Sarnia Sting of the OHL. Leave us your opinions in the comment section!

Next week the Canadiens continue their long road trip with a quick flight to Ottawa to play the Senators and then they join the rest of Montreal down south in Florida to play the Lightning in Tampa Bay and the Panthers in Sunrise.

To all of our readers I would like to wish you all either a happy CHanukka or a Merry CHristmas on behalf of JT, Matty-O and myself. And to all of you, a Habby New Year.

CHeers

Washington Nationals Acquire Gio Gonzalez

Today, the Washington Nationals and the Oakland Athletics agreed on a massive blockbuster trade. The Nationals acquired LHP Gio Gonzalez, and minor league RHP Robert Gilliam in exchange for 4 top-flight prospects. The Nats surrendered righties AJ Cole and Brad Peacock, lefthander Tom Milone, and catching prospect Derek Norris.


Gonzalez, 26 years old, gives Washington a very affordable and electric left-handed starter to insert into their rotation in between power arms Stephen Strasburg and Jordan Zimmermann. Over the course of the past two seasons, Gio has tossed over 400 innings, with 368 punchouts, while maintaining an ERA of 3.17.


This move may put the Nationals into playoff contention for the first time since their move to DC. The Nats surrendered multiple prospects suggesting that they are ready to win right now. Could this mean they will be a player in the Prince Fielder sweepstakes? GM Mike Rizzo has an excellent relationship with mega-agent Scott Boras and the Nats could use a nice power bat from the left side in their batting order.


The Nats will likely open the 2012 season with a rotation that looks like this:
1) Stephen Strasburg - RHP
2) Gio Gonzalez - LHP
3) Jordan Zimmermann - RHP
4) John Lannan - LHP
5) Chien-Ming Wang - RHP


The Opening Day lineup should look similar to this without any extra acquisitions:
1) Ian Desmond - SS
2) Jayson Werth - CF
3) Ryan Zimmerman - 3B
4) Michael Morse - LF
5) Bryce Harper - RF
6) Wilson Ramos - CA
7) Adam Laroche - 1B
8) Danny Espinosa - 2B


All in all, great deal for both sides. Nats win right now, A's could win in future. AJ Cole and Brad Peacock could become no.2 and no.3 starters respectively. Derek Norris could become an everyday catcher. Tom Milone will likely peak as a 'Quad-A' starter meaning that he will be a no.6 or no.7 starter at best. The Nats could have found themselves an ace in Gio.


Only time will tell...

All I Want For Christmas Is Yu

The MLB Commissioner's Office announced that the Texas Rangers have won the right to negotiate with Japanese phenom Yu Darvish. The Rangers won the bidding with an insane bid of 51.7 Million. That is not the contract! That is the price just to negotiate with the star. The Rangers now have 30 days to work out a deal with the right hander. If they come to an agreement, the Rangers will need to send over a cheque of 51.7 Million dollars to the Nippon Ham Fighters of the NPB in a one time payment.


Darvish, 6"5 220lbs, is a stud in Japan. The 51.7 Million posting fee exceeds the 51.1 Million the Red Sox paid to negotiate with Daisuke Matsuzaka back in 2006 making it the largest ever bid in the history of the Posting System. Darvish, 25, went 18-6 with a 1.44 ERA this past year in Japan. It will be very interesting to see how Mr. Darvish fares in the Major Leagues. Only time will tell...

MLB Week In Review

It has been a pretty eventful week for the MLB off season. There is plenty of news to recap:

• Jimmy Rollins agreed to a 3 year/33 Million dollar contract with an easily vesting option for a 4th year at 11 Million with the Philadelphia Phillies. Rollins hit .268 with 16 HR and 63 RBI with the Phils this past year. 
• The Cincinnati Reds acquired RHP Mat Latos from the San Diego Padres in exchange for top prospects Yonder Alonso, Yasmani Grandal, Brad Boxberger. The Pads also acquired righty Edinson Volquez in the swap.
• This week we learned that Cuban CF Yoenis Cespedes will have to wait until January to be granted free agency. However, this week, a new video called the 'Yoenis Cespedes Encore' came out. The power this guy displays in incredible. Skip to the 15:00 minute mark to watch this monster take batting practice. You can find the video at the bottom of the article. Do yourself a favor and watch it for 3 minutes.
• The Washington Nationals signed OF Mike Cameron to a 1 Million dollar deal for 1 year plus 750k in incentives. Cameron hit .238 with 6 HR and 18 RBI this past season with the Marlins & Red Sox. 
• The Milwaukee Brewers signed 3B Aramis Ramirez to a 3 year/36 Million dollar contract. Ramirez hit .306 with 26 HR and 93 RBI this past season with the Cubs. 
• The Minnesota Twins signed OF/DH Josh Willingham to a 3 year deal worth 21 Million. The Hammer hit .246 with 29 HR and 98 RBI with the A's last season. 
• The D'Backs announced that they have agreed to terms with OF/1B Jason Kubel on a 2 year deal worth 15 Million. Kubel's numbers dropped a bit this past year as he only hit .273 with 12 HR and 58 RBI with the Twins. 

Packers Punched Out Of Perfection

This week, the Green Bay Packers' perfect season and 19 game winning streak which dated back to last year, came to a halt. Who you might ask could have possibly beaten the defending champs while holding the leagues top scoring offense to a measly 14 points? If you guessed the Kansas City Chiefs then you should go change your name to Nostradamus immediately. All jokes aside,  none of us saw this one coming. I for one, saw the Packers scoring 40 maybe 45 points while continuing their streak to 20 straight wins. Now, I don't want to take anything away from the Chiefs because they really did play a very good game for new head coach Romeo Crennel, but when Aaron Rodgers, the potential MVP of the league, completes 17 passes for 235 yards and for the first time in who knows how long, 1 touchdown pass, you'd have to think that maybe Rodgers just had a poor performance.

There are three reasons, as to why the Packers lost:

1) This play completely changed the game. Kyle Orton completed a pass to tight end Leonard Pope and as he dove for the end zone, he tried to switch the ball from his right hand to left hand. He eventually lost the ball and it rolled out the back of the endzone. However, the referee immediately blew the play dead and stated that the player had stepped out of bounds before losing possession of the ball. If however, the play had been called a fumble, which it clearly was after watching the instant replay, instead of 1st and goal for the Chiefs inside the Packers 5 yard line, it would have been 1st and 10 for the Packers on their own 20 yard line. This is because when the ball is fumbled into the endzone and it rolls out of bounds, the play results in a touchback. The Chiefs eventually managed to get a field goal which was essential in the win.

2) Every football fan knows that the Packers defense has been pretty suspect this year. They are known as  a "bend but don't break" kind of defense. That was pretty much the story line of this week's game and it played a huge role in the loss. Now don't get me wrong, the defense is not to blame for the loss, but there are some plays that should have been prevented. At the end of the game, with the Packers down 19-14, with three timeouts left, the defense could not get off the field when they needed it most. Also, the league leading defense in forcing interceptions with 23 did not force one single turnover. With under two minutes left, the defense allowed a few short runs and then a 14 yard run by Chiefs running back Jackie Battle which sealed the deal. While watching the game, all I could think of was the Bart Scott interview when he said that the defense "couldn't stop a nosebleed". That's what it looked like today, and boy was it tough to watch.

3) It was obvious that Greg Jennings was deeply missed today. Most people thought that the deep Packers receiving core, which includes Jordy Nelson, James Jones, Randall Cobb, Donald Driver and Jermichael Finley could fill in for the injured Jennings. But today showed just how much Jennings does for the Pack Attack . He's a speedy deep threat that can also work in the slot and aside from veteran Donald Driver, he is the most experienced receiver on the team. Jennings also seems to have a connection with Rodgers that not many wide receivers have with their quarterbacks. With Jennings out of the lineup, the Packers well-oiled machine didn't look like that well-oil machine we're used to seeing.

All in all it was a tough day to be a Packer fan as we haven't witnessed a loss in what seems like forever. I think that this loss only makes the team stronger and I think they will bounce back with a very solid effort against their bitter rival, the Chicago Bears next week.

* In other NFL News:
Eagles running back Lesean McCoy broke the eagles touchdown record with his 3 touchdown performance in their win over the Jets. Packers' rookie Derek Sherrod broke his leg in the game against the Chiefs and OT Brian Bulaga sprained his knee. The Indianapolis Colts won for the first time this year by a score of 27-13 over the Titans. Tebow lost, but played quite well and seems to be more comfortable throwing the ball. In the loss, Rodgers set the Packers franchise record for touchdown passes with 40.

Moment of the week: The Broncos half-time show was the greatest thing I've ever seen on TV. Check it out here.

CHeers

The Steroid Era

Performance enhancing drugs, also known as PED, and steroid use are poisoning sports worldwide. This is NOT only an issue in baseball. There have been reports of illegal substance abuse in the NHL, NFL, and NBA as well. The National Football League has just recently implemented regular testing for banned substances. The NFL hands out hefty 4-game suspensions to anyone who fails these drug tests. 4 games is quite significant when there are only 16 games in a season. The NHL does not test for steroids or PED, however many former players have come out and have stated that there is a severe problem in hockey with regards to human growth hormones, commonly known as HGH. The NBA was actually the first league to adapt an anti-drug policy (in 1983), however it is more related to preventing abusive and addictive drugs like marijuana, cocaine, and methamphetamine. It is not as focused on performance enhancers.

Major League Baseball:
I think it is safe to say that the MLB has struggled immensely with steroids, HGH, and PED over the last two decades. Stars and shoe-in Hall of Famers like Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, Eric Gagne, Mark McGwire have all been connected to the steroid saga. In a way, it can be seen as cheating. Sure, Barry Bonds has the most homeruns ever hit by anyone in Big League history, but if he cheated to arrive at that total, why does he deserve the record more than Hank Aaron?

In 2007, a formal federal prosecutor turned Senator, George Mitchell, conducted an independent investigation into the use of steroids, HGH, PED, anabolic steroids, and other banned substances in baseball. Senator Mitchell dug so deep that he was actually able to recover cheques from players to steroid distributor (and MLB player) Adam Piatt. Comissioner of the MLB, Allan (Bud) Selig appointed Senator Mitchell to conduct this investigation. After over a year of work, Mr. Mitchell concluded that 89 former and current MLB players were in some way tied to this humongous steroid network. That is an obscene amount of 'cheaters' in one game. All records and achievements will always be tainted due to the 'Steroid Era.' This investigation became known as the Mitchell Report which can be found here.

Above is a cheque from Miguel Tejada to Adam Piatt for $3100

He was purchasing synthetic testosterone and human growth hormones

Above is a package full of human growth hormones delivered to Eric Gagne at Dodger Stadium

It truly is quite disgusting that so many professional ballplayers felt the need to cheat. Some of these players had such natural skill and the steroids they used only destroyed reputations, encouraged other players to use, and most importantly - murdered and tainted the beautiful game of baseball. 

One could argue that the so called 'Steroid Era' has ended after the MLB implemented regular, random drug testing, however, Ryan Braun may have put those beliefs right into the ground. 

*Keep following the blog for a post coming up on Brewers LF Ryan Braun, or as I like to call him, the Cheating Hebrew Hammer. 

Seahawks: Are they the real deal?

The Seattle Seahawks are one of the many teams that are in the hunt for a playoff division, but can they make it to the 'yoffs for the 2nd year in a row?

Last year the Seattle Seahawks finished their season with a record of 7-9 making them the only team in NFL history to make the playoffs with a losing record. In my eyes, it also means that they were the worst team to ever make the playoffs, and the record spoke for itself, they lost against every team with a record over .500 except for The San Diego Chargers (9-7) and The Chicago Bears (11-5). Come playoffs, the Seahawks had to face the #5 seed team, the New Orleans Saints who they lost to in Week 11. The Hawks were 10.5 point under dogs. Clearly the Saints would win, I mean, how could they not? Brees, Colston, Meachem, Tracey Porter, Jonathan Vilma, the list goes on and on of the great players on the Saints, the Seahawks had who? Matt Hasselbeck, Mike Williams, and Marshawn Lynch. I ask again, WHO?! in a shootout highlighted by the 67 yard run by Marshawn Lynch (as shown in the picture above) the Seahawks pulled off the impossible and beat the high powered Saints. The magic quickly ended the next week against the Chicago Bears when they lost 35-24.

            (Marshawn Lynch of the Seahawks and his outstanding run in their win against the Saints)

This year, as they stand, the Seahawks are 7-7 BUT this year the record definitely does not speak for itself. Five of their 7 losses came against  the Steelers, 49ers, Cowboys, Falcons and Bengals all teams that are fighting for their playoff lives (except the 49ers). Amazingly 2 of their 6 wins come against the RAVENS and Giants. Two teams that are fighting for a division title. With Marshawn Lynch in beast mode right now, and Tarvaris Jackson not turning the ball over, they playoffs are a long shot but still possible. I am a strong believer that they will win out the rest of their schedule and make the playoffs with a WINNING record. Once again, they'll need a lot of help from the Lions but hey, crazier things have happened, after all, they did make it to the playoffs last year being 7-9.

Even if the Seahawks don't make it and end off the season 7-9 or 8-8. Look who TJax had to work with, first of all, Tarvaris Jackson isn't exactly a Pro Bowl QB. Doug Baldwin (who?) Golden Tate (who?) Mike Williams, he HAD Sidney Rice but he is now on IR with a concussion.

So I ask you, do you think the Seahawks are the real deal? If not, why?

Comment, Share, Like us on Facebook and Follow us on Twitter @MileHighJungle

Stay classy readers, and may the force be with you.

Matty-O

Habs Weekly Review

A very busy week for Habs fans began with some good news. 3 of the club's top 5 prospects, Brendan Gallagher of the Vancouver Giants, Nathan Beaulieu of the St. John Sea Dogs, and Michael Bournival of the Shawinigan Cataractes all made the Team Canada squad that will compete for gold in the 2011/2012 World Junior U20 Championship tournament. This is very promising news for the Habs future young guns.

Tuesday brought the weak New York Islanders to Montreal. Thanks to Petteri Nokelainen's goal and assist, the Habs took the game 5-3 and stayed undefeated in regulation time during the month of December. On Thursday, the Philadelphia "HBO" Flyers visited the Canadiens. Thanks to a late goal by Flyers defenceman Andrej Meszaros, the Flyers took the game by a score of 4-3. Even with the loss, there something to cheer about for Canadiens fans as Louis Leblanc, Montreal native, scored his first NHL goal on home ice. Louis received a nice 'Standing O' from the Habs faithful. Leblanc was rewarded by coach Jacques Martin with a nice ol' third period benching. As Saturday rolled around, big news came out of Montreal, to every Habs fan's delight, coach Jacques Martin was relieved of his duties. In interim coach Randy Cunneyworth's debut, the Habs faced-off against Zach Parise and the New Jersey Devils. Thanks to a two goal performance from Patrick Elias, the Devils took the game 5-3. All in all, a very busy week in Montreal which concluded with a 1-2-0 record, the firing of their head coach, and 3 prospects making Team Canada.

Prospects Michael Bournival (left), Nathan Beaulieu (middle) and Brendan Gallagher (right) will all play for team Canada at the WJHC

Coming up for the Canadiens next week as they begin a long road trip: A visit to Boston on Monday to play the Bruins, in Chicago on Wednesday to play the Blackhawks, and then off to Winnipeg on Thursday to face-off against the Jets.

CHeers

Jacques Martin Fired

Breaking news out of Montreal that Canadiens head coach Jacques Martin has been fired. Assistant coach Randy Cunneyworth has been named the interim head coach. After a tough start to the season, Habs fans have wanted Martin fired. That day has finally come and to tell you the truth, my bet is that most of habsland is happy to hear the news. There have been many reports from inside sources saying that the players were not happy with Jacques' system and felt as if there was a lack of communication between Martin and his young stars. Habs fans rejoice, Martin is finally gone. Assistant GM Larry Carriere will step behind the bench for a few games and act as an assistant coach. When GM Pierre Gauthier finds Jacques permanent replacement, Cunneyworth will move back to assistant coach while Carriere will shift back to the pressbox.
CHeers

Jacques Martin has been the coach of the Canadiens since the 2009-2010 season, he was fired this morning after a slow start to the season for the Canadiens (13-12-7). His career record with the Canadiens was 96-75-25

Notes On The Offseason

The baseball offseason has been quite a busy one so far. Players became free agents and were deemed eligible to sign with other teams after the Cardinals won the World Series on October 28th. However, the offseason really kicks off at the MLB Winter Meetings which were held in Dallas, TX December 5th-8th. A few of the big signings that took place at the winter meetings:

• Albert Pujols (1B/DH) - 10 years/254 Million with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim


• Mark Buehrle (LHSP) - 4 years/58 Million with the Miami Marlins


• CJ Wilson (LHSP) - 5 years/77.5 Million with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim


• Jose Reyes (SS) - 6 years/106 Million with the Miami Marlins


• Heath Bell (CL) - 3 years/27 Million with the Miami Marlins

Mr. Pujols and Mr. Wilson seen at press conference at Angels Stadium

As you can see, the Marlins and the Angels had no problem dishing out the cash at the Winter Meetings. The Marlins added an elite Major League shortstop in Jose Reyes, an experienced all-star closer in Heath Bell, and a very reliable & durable left-handed starter in Mark Buehrle.

The Angels were able to reel in Albert Pujols (arguably the best hitter in the game), but it came with a very hefty price tag. 254 Million is a lot to commit to one player, but who says Albert doesn't deserve it? LA General Manager Jerry DiPoto was also able to convince CJ to come play for his hometown Angels. Wilson grew up 15 miles away from Angel Stadium. He turned down a 6 year/99 Million dollar offer from Miami to sign with the team he watched growing up. Albert will play first base for the first 5 or 6 years of his contract, then he will eventually shift to being the everyday designated hitter to prolong his unquestionable and eventual breakdown. CJ gives the Angels a very skilled starter with decent command. The only things preventing CJ from being in the discussion of the top 10 pitchers in baseball are his poor postseason performances. Once he does it when it counts, he'll be a hero in Anaheim.

At the winter meetings, many teams failed to acquire their so called 'offseason targets.' The Nationals missed out on snatching a veteran starter, while Theo Epstein and the Chicago Cubs failed to make a lot of noise.

In other baseball news, the bidding period for Japanese phenom Yu Darvish has ended and the Nippon Ham Fighters of the Nippon Professional Baseball League have until Tuesday to accept the high bid. Other big names still alive in the FA market: Prince Fielder, Edwin Jackson, Jimmy Rollins, and Carlos Beltran. Predictions:

Yu Darvish: Posting: 46 Million. Contract: 5 years/65 Million (BlueJays)

Prince Fielder: 7 years/165 Million (Cubs)

Edwin Jackson: 2 or 3 years with an average value of 11 Million (Orioles)

Jimmy Rollins: 4 years/50 Million (Phillies)

Carlos Beltran: 1 year/13 Million (Cardinals)

Keep going hard my friends,

JT

Ladies & Gentlemen

After hearing about this blog, I knew I had to get in on the action. Matty-O and Big Mike are two of the biggest beauties I know and this is the perfect idea. They both have already introduced you so I will not do it for a third time.

My input will mostly be focused on the MLB, with the occasional Montreal Canadiens and NHL opinion. The baseball wing of the blog can be followed on twitter @MileHighMLB. Live, up-to date baseball transactions and news will be posted there.

This is meant to be a fun read where one can keep up with on-going sport topics and issues. After all, this is the sports jungle...

Ciao,

JT

Salutations

Considering Matty-O has basically already welcomed you guys to the blog I don't really have much to add to what he said. My part in this blog is more based on the hockey world and my favorite team the Montreal Canadiens. My focus will be on previewing the weeks games at the beginning of the week, and then reviewing them at the end of the week. I will also be doing a lot of live tweets during Habs games (follow us @MileHighJungle). I am also a huge Green Bay Packers fan and once in a while I may have little piece on them too. I may also write some fantasy sports advice (Hockey or Football only!). That's basically it for now, hope to see you all soon.

CHeers

Tebow Time Is Just Getting Started

Jesus Christ, or as I like to call him, Tim Tebow, is the Quarterback for the Denver Broncos. Jesus, sorry I mean Tebow, can strike up a debate in any sports newsroom any day of the week.

Tebow was drafted by the Denver Broncos 25th overall in the first round of the 2010 draft. Ever since then, the Broncos management has been blasted by some media, and praised by others. It came from every where "Put it this way, its like drafting a longsnapper for the next year and a half" said one of my favourite sports casters Colin Cowherd, he also said "Its an outrageously horrible pick".  I'm gonna skip last year and go straight into this year. Week 1, the Broncos were playing against the Raiders. Kyle Orton fumbled the ball and right then and there, the "TEBOW! TEBOW! TEBOW!" chants started rolling in from Mile High Stadium. John Fox and Elway didnt bite, and by the way, the Broncos lost that game. Week 2 comes around against my Bengals, different story, Broncos win 24-22, fans still wanted Tebow {By the way for all you Bengals fans out there Andy Dalton had a great game =) }. Week 3 against the Titans, the Broncos lose 17-14, Kyle Orton threw 2TDs and 2INTs. The Broncos, in particular Orton, head coach John Fox and president John Elway, came home to a nice surprise, a number of Tim Tebow billboards demanding he plays. Once again, Broncos management didn't even nibble, but Broncos fans wouldn't go away.

Week 4 comes around, the Broncos got popped by the Packers, by then Broncos fans were furious with Orton and his atrocious stats and performance, 8TDs with 6INTs and a 1-3 record wasn't the story Broncos fans had in mind.

Week 5, a turning point in Jesus Christ's, SH*T I mean Tim Tebow's career, sorry I keep mixing the two up. Orton was 6/13 with 34 yards and an INT when John Fox decided to grow a set of and put in the man, the legend, Tim Tebow. He wasn't stellar in the game being 4/10 with 79 yards and TD, but its what the fans wanted. He's still 0-0 as a STARTER

I'm just gonna go to the pivotal games now. Miami, with a 47% completion rating, he pulls off a comeback win in OT, down by 15 with 3 minutes left in the game.
Detroit, 1 week after that amazing comeback, the Broncos get absolutely destroyed by the Lions, 45-10, highlighted by Tebow being sacked by Steven Tulloch and his sack dance, thats right, he went there, he TEBOWED. (Which is what Tebow is doing in the above picture)
Kansas City, Tebow completed 2 passes! thats right 2 passes!!! And still won the game. Oh boy were sports shows ever ripping him. All you heard was "2 passes out of 8 attempts is un-acceptable, this is a passing league"
And last but certainly not least, the Minnesota game, the speculation about Tebow that he can't win a high scoring game quickly ended when the Broncos won 35-32.

Now, my thoughts on Tebow: when Tebow got ripped by the media for completing only 2 passes against Chiefs, his response was "Last time I checked I signed up to win games". I completely agreed with him. Its not about having the best QB rating, its about winning games, and Tebow is a winner, he's now 7-1 as a starter, thats what it comes down to. You might say "its a passing league and he won't survive" but you know what? Every game he's making more and more attempts and completions. Now you might say "well its their defence thats making the plays", ok, you're right, they are making plays but before Tebow was a starter, they were nothing impressive, you know why? Because they didn't believe in Orton. Now they have a quarterback that they believe in which is making them want to win.

If your a Tebow hater, tell me why. I'll have a nice little talk with you.

But for now, I'll let you all get back to what you are doing. Remeber readers, stay classy.

Matty-O

PS. Did you know they made a movie about Tebow? Its called Passion Of The Christ.

Welcome my friends

Hello, I’m Matty-O, welcome to a blog where intense sports discussion is essential, this is a blog about Football, Hockey, occasionally Baseball, but you will probably never see any Basketball (maybe NCAA for march madness and such). I might get off topic once in a while, but hey, it’ll still be an interesting article.

I will be bloging about the most talked about subjects in the NFL, NHL and MLB, NOT THE NBA (maybe once in a blue moon). You’ll also see some NCAA football. So, think you like sports? C'mon down and join the discussion.

My favourite teams are The Montreal Canadiens, The Cincinnati Bengals, The Tampa Bay Rays and for NCAA football the Alabama Crimson Tide, NCAA basketball the North Carolina Tar Heels.

This is just an intro for whats to come, I hope you will all stay loyal, start up an intellectual sports discussion with me, and hopefully keep reading and commenting. May I ask one favour? Spread the word.

Welcome to the jungle, and remember, stay classy my readers.

PS. I am not a Denver Broncos fan, the name of the blog just flows.