Why the Patriots will win Superbowl XLVI.

Hello friends, its been a while, and by a while I mean a month or so, but fear not! I'm back!

You guys may not be to pleased about this but I'll take my chances and do it, thats right, I'm writing about the reality of the Superbowl featuring Tom Brady and the Patriots. (I'm deeply sorry if you're a Giants fan, I promise I'll make it up to you sometime in the future).

So, this year, Superbowl XLVI is featuring the Patriots and Giants, the epic rematch that everyone wants to see because everyone except for Patriot fans wants to see Tom Brady crash and burn. I've heard (and made) almost every Tom Brady insult or joke there is. Sorry to tell you, if you think Tom Brady sucks/is shit/is spoiled, it may be a case of either three things, you've met him somewhere and he didn't sign something for you/take a picture with you when you went up to him to ask (which would never happen), 2. you are a Jets fan. or 3, you really know nothing about sports but talk about them whenever a huge sporting event is near and you're on a bandwagon.


Now, I bet none of you knew this, but I'm about to share something with you that may shock you. I, before I was able to understand the sport of football because of a combination of young age (age 9, in the year 2006), my love for hockey and not being American, I, Matty-O was a Patriots fan *GASP*, thats right. I loved them for one reason, and one reason only: it was the only team I could watch on standard cable. Why is this relevant? Well from the age of 10 until 13, I've ripped on Tom non stop whenever they were playing, I was one of those annoying people who smack talked when they are losing, but since then I've come to terms with Tom, and RESPECT him. Why should there be a reason not to respect him? I don't care if you're a Jets fan, Colts fan, Dolphins fan or any other team in the league, if you don't respect the man, you probably are one of those stubborn imbeciles that just started to follow the sport and pretend you know everything about it, but in reality if you did know everything about it you'd know that Tom Brady is one of, if not, the best Quarter Back in the league today and possibly of all time. I don't understand, whats so shit about him? He won 3 Superbowls and can possibly win his 4th come next sunday. Him and his coach, Bill Belichick are the winningest duo of Coach and QB of all time. Tom holds the record for most TD passes in a season (2007) with an astonishing 50 TDs thrown. He hold the highest completion percentage in a playoff game (92.9%). Not to mention 2 Superbowl MVPs and most TD passes in a playoff game half (6 against Denver, January 14th 2012)

Patriots Vs Ravens

Let's talk about last week's conference championship games. Some may say that the Pats only won because of Billy Cundiff's missed field goal, but Ray Lewis of the Baltimore Ravens said it best "Not one play didn't lose the game, not one man loses it for a team, its not Billy's fault, you win as a team and you lose as a team". I honestly couldn't agree more with Mr Lewis. Go deeper into the game, into the numbers, Points off of turnovers during the game: 6. Were those 6 points Billy's fault? Was he the one marching the team down the field? NO! Now granted, the Patriots offence and Brady specifically, didn't exactly play their best game of the season but their Defence played great making stops and forcing Flacco to throw an INT. Yes the Ravens played great, but did they deserve to win? No, 6 points off of 3 turnovers is unacceptable, they had golden opportunities and didn't cash in. Brady, as always did what it took to win, does he care about throwing 3 TD passes? No, he cared to get the win anyway possible, and thats how playoff football is supposed to be played.

Giants Vs 49ers

The Giants were coming into Candlestick Park off of a win against the #1 seed Green Bay. Other than the score board and rushing yards, the Giants completely obliterated the 49ers. Now, I'm all for Tebow, but Alex Smith was probably watching to much of him before game day. You can win a game in REGULAR season when you complete 12 passes, but that doesn't fly in a Conference Championship game. As its been said before, and it shows, even in Tebows case, this is a passing league: 64% of the New York Giants offensive plays were passing plays. Granted the 49ers were in it the whole game, one has to wonder how when they had a mere 56 offensive plays to the Giants 90 plays, atrocious 1-13 on  3rd downs and 0-1 in the Red Zone, which ultimately led to the ending of cinderella story for the 49ers due to poor offensive play. Pats D was ranked 31st regular season, and the Giants weren't much better; ranked 27th. Now what was that old saying? Oh ya "Offence sells tickets, defence wins championships" maaaaaybe not.

Why the Patriots will win Superbowl XLVI.

Unless you're a Giants fan who's rooting for their team, people need to realize that on only 3 different occasions did the Patriots score 20 points or less this season INCLUDING the playoffs. Yes the Giants beat the Patriots during the regular season, but lately Tom Brady has been getting much better pass protection in the pocket, and lets face it. You can double cover 1 person at most when you're on Defence, if you double cover 2 people, theres one guy running free and with a QB like Brady, you can't let that happen. Aaron Hernandez, Rob Gronkowski, Wes Welker, Deion Branch and who knows, maybe Chad Ochocinco will make a play or two. I'd rather that as my weapons than: Hakeem Nicks, Victor Cruz and Mario Manningham. Another point we must face, other than the Patriots and Giants pass rush, defence will be a non factor, that is really a stupid argument when there are 2 dismal defences and 2 ELITE QBs facing off. The game will end 38-31 for the Patriots. The Giants obviously have a great chance to win, this is the NFL, crazier things have happened EX: Superbowl 42

Final thoughts: I'm cheering for the Patriots in this game because of Tom Brady, he's quite good looking, he has the hottest wife and I want people to stop calling him a "Pretty Boy" because guess what, he has 3 and maybe 4 more Superbowl Rings than you will ever have. I still wouldn't mind seeing the Giants beat them again because I want everyone to shut up and call Eli Manning an lite QB already. Face it people, Eli is an Eli-te QB.

Until after the Superbowl, may the force be with you, and have a happy Superbowl weekend.

Matty-O

2012 NHL All-Star Game Mock Draft

Ladies and Gentleman, the 2012 NHL all-star game draft is right around the corner (Tonight on TSN at 7:30pm EST) Here are what I believe the rosters could look like.

Round 1:

Chara: Tim Thomas

Alfredsson: Erik Karlsson

Round 2:

Chara: Evgeni Malkin

Alfredsson: Claude Giroux

Round 3:

Chara: Steven Stamkos

Alfredsson: Henrik Sedin

Round 4:

Chara: Phil Kessel

Alfredsson: Daniel Sedin

Round 5:

Chara: Marian Hossa

Alfredsson: Jason Spezza

Round 6:

Chara: Jimmy Howard

Alfredsson: Jonathan Quick

Round 7:

Chara: Tyler Seguin

Alfredsson: John Tavares

Round 8:

Chara: Brian Elliot

Alfredsson: Shea Weber

Round 9:

Chara: Carey Price

Alfredsson: Kris Letang

Round 10:

Chara: Dion Phaneuf

Alfredsson: Keith Yandle

Round 11: 

Chara: Kimmo Timmonen

Alfredsson: Ryan Suter

Round 12

Chara: Alexander Edler

Alfredsson: Brian Campbell

Round 13:

Chara: Dan Girardi

Alfredsson: Dennis Wideman

Round 14:

Chara: Pavel Datsyuk

Alfredsson: James Neal

Round 15:

Chara: Jarome Iginla

Alfredsson: Milan Michalek

Round 16:

Chara: Marian Gaborik

Alfredsson: Patrick Kane

Round 17:

Chara: Corey Perry

Alfredsson: Jordan Eberle

Round 18:

Chara: Jamie Benn

Alfredsson: Scott Hartnell

Round 19:

Chara: Logan Couture

Alfredsson: Jason Pominville

Round 20: (Rookies)

Chara: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins

Alfredsson: Matt Read

There you have it folks, the 2012 NHL all-star rosters. Alfredsson/ Lundqvist vs. Chara/ Lupul

The 2011-2012 Season: Montreal Canadiens

For the Montreal Canadiens, the 2011-2012 season has been a rough one. From the firings of coaches Jacques Martin and Perry Pearn, to the mid-game trade that included Mike Cammalleri being shipped to Calgary, it has definitely been a season to forget in Montreal. With all that is going poorly for the Bleu Blanc Rouge, Habs fans have placed all of the blame on General Manager Pierre Gauthier, and rightfully so. With the Canadiens having a very slim chance of reaching the playoffs, there are still a few ways that the Canadiens can salvage their season.

Firstly and most importantly, at the end of the season, the entire management must be replaced. Gauthier along with Bob Gainey and the entire coaching staff must go and be replaced with new blood to lead this team in a new direction.  Everyone out, no exceptions. Completely new regime. A new GM candidate is Pierre McGuire and a new coaching staff could include Guy Carbonneau returning as the head coach along with assistant coaches Patrick Roy and Larry Robinson. Now that would be terrific.

Secondly, I know that many Habs fans, including myself, think that this team needs a rebuild. But that is not the case. With a franchise goaltender in Carey Price, a potential top tier NHL defenseman in PK Subban and a very promising prospect pool including Nathan Beaulieu, Brendan Gallagher, Michael Bournival, Louis Leblanc and Jarred Tinordi, all the Canadiens need is a dynamic no.1 center. The Habs have a ton of mediocrity up front aside from Erik Cole, Max Pacioretty and occasionally Tomas Plekanec. But still, none of these players have game-breaking skill. Gauthier needs to make an offer that would send Andrei Kostitsyn, Yannick Weber, and Tomas Plekanec to the Anaheim Ducks for Ryan Getzlaf and a pick/prospect. This would give the Habs a much needed superstar player in Getzlaf. The Ducks on the other hand would receive Andrei Kostitsyn and Yannick Weber, two players who have tons of potential, along with Plekanec who is a 60+ point scorer. If the Habs cannot obtain the services of a player like Ryan Getzlaf through a trade, they should look to Zach Parise in free agency come July 1st.

Then, the Canadiens have to trade defenseman Hal Gill and forward Travis Moen. Those two players could seriously help cup contending teams in need of solid defensive play and leadership (see Chicago Blackhawks, Washington Capitals). Also teams will overpay for their services. Think between a 2nd or 3rd round pick coming back in return. However, if the Canadiens were to package Gill, Moen and a pick/prospect, they may be able to snag Washington's 1st round pick which they received from the Colorado Avalanche for goaltender Semyon Varlamov. With the possibility of having not one, but two, top fifteen picks in this year’s draft, the future would sure look bright for the Canadiens. A few more players who have surely played their last season as a Canadien include Petteri Nokelainen, Mathieu Darche, Chris Campoli and hopefully Tomas Kaberle. Look for them to be placed on the trading block as well.

Last of all, with the new CBA agreement being negotiated there is a possibility of the NHL having a free buyout period. If this is the case, the Canadiens would have to buyout Scott Gomez's contract. While Gomez has played well lately, his cap hit of roughly $7,000,000 is much too pricey for a zero goal scorer. If there is no free buyout period, look for Gomez to be traded to a cap hungry team like the Phoenix Coyotes. The last option for Gomez would be for him to be sent to the minors. This would take his cap hit off the team's payroll, however, I don't believe owner Geoff Molson would be willing to pay Gomez his $7,000,000 salary to play for the Hamilton Bulldogs. In other words, Gomez must go.

If all goes according to my plan, the 2012-2013 Montreal Canadiens could look something like this. (Remember that this still leaves room for the Canadiens sign a couple free agents to round out the roster)

General Manager: Pierre McGuire

Head Coach: Guy Carbonneau

Assistant coach: Patrick Roy

Assistant coach: Larry Robinson

Lineup:

Forwards:
T. Ruutu - Getzlaf -  Bourque

Cole - Desharnais - Pacioretty

Gallagher - Eller - Gionta

Blunden - White - Leblanc

Defensemen

Gorges- Subban

Markov- Emelin

Diaz- Tinordi

Beaulieu

Goalies:

Price

Budaj

CHeers

MLB Top-10 Series: Rotations

This is the first post that falls under the series: MLB Top-10. Over the course of the next few weeks we will preview Major League Baseball's best rotations, outfields, infields, lineups, bullpens, and minor league systems. We will present you with the top-10 teams for each of the categories mentioned above. Let's jump right on it and get started. Here we go with the MLB's top-10 rotations...

• 10. Atlanta Braves - The Braves have a lot of potential in their staff this year. Always durable Tim Hudson will lead a staff which contains righties Jair Jurrjens, Tommy Hanson, and Brandon Beachy. Young lefty Mike Minor slots in as the fifth starter for the Braves. Look for one of the game's top pitching prospects Julio Teheran to take Beachy's rotation spot after a short dominant stint in the minors to open the year.
• 9. St. Louis Cardinals - The World Series winners lost Edwin Jackson this offseason, but they got back a man with a career 2.97 ERA named Adam Wainwright. Wainwright, along with former Cy Young award winner Chris Carpenter form a great one-two punch. If Jaime Garcia, Kyle Lohse, and Jake Westbrook can be decent, the Cards will finish in the top 10 in ERA in the MLB this upcoming year.
• 8. Arizona Diamondbacks -Cy Young finalist Ian Kennedy, along with Daniel Hudson and Trevor Cahill form a quite decent top 3. Joe Saunders and Barry Enright finish off the rotation with the potential of a mid-year call-up of a young man named Trevor Bauer. Bauer was perhaps the most skilled player to come out of last year's draft, going 3rd overall. He could help the DBacks in Arizona after a few months in Triple-A to start off 2012.
• 7. Washington Nationals - Young righties Stephen Strasburg and Jordan Zimmermann are joined by phenomenal lefty Gio Gonzalez to form a very talented and very young (all 26 or younger) top 3. Veteran Chien-Ming Wang and quietly solid LHP John Lannan close out a starting staff which possesses extreme potential in 2012. If the team chooses to swap Lannan for a bat in a deal, look for lefty Ross Detwiler to become the no. 5 starter.
• 6. Detroit Tigers - AL MVP Justin Verlander, durable starters Doug Fister and Max Scherzer, along with young-guns Rick Porcello and Justin Turner form the top rotation in the AL Central. GM Dave Dombrowski and Manager Jim Leyland have some special talent here.
• 5. New York Yankees - In a span of 2 hours, the Yankees went from an average team to AL East favorites. They acquired Michael Pineda and signed Hiroki Kuroda to join CC Sabathia, Phil Hughes, and Ivan Nova in an already very skilled staff. The Yanks desperately need to find a taker for AJ Burnett as EVEN the deep-pocketed Yankees cannot afford to pay him 16.5 Million to ride the pine.
• 4. Tampa Bay Rays - The Rays have one of the best up-and-coming rotations in the American League. Young power arms like Matt Moore, David Price, and Jeremy Hellickson are outstanding. James Shields, the veteran on the staff, helps mentor and guide these young phenoms. The rotation finishes off with either Jeff Niemann or Wade Davis.
• 3. San Francisco Giants - Two-time Cy Young award winner Timmy Lincecum, ace Matt Cain, young lefty Madison Bumgarner, slowly emerging Ryan Vogelsong, and extremely over-paid Barry Zito form the 3rd best starting staff in the Major Leagues. Not much else needs to be said.
• 2. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim - With the acquisition of hometown boy CJ Wilson, the Angels rotation improved immensely. The Ranger's ace becomes the Angels third best starter behind Jered Weaver and Dan Haren. Their rotation closes out with a superb starter in Ervin Santana and an OK Garret Richards or Jerome Williams.
• 1. Philadelphia Phillies - How can you go wrong with the Phils? A rotation that consists of Cliff Lee, Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels, Joe Blanton, and Vance Worley is just flat-out dangerous. Their top 3 guys fit in nicely with the top 15 arms in the entire Majors. Managemant and fans expect victories game in and game out from these guys, and, rightfully so.

Honorable Mentions: Florida Marlins, Texas Rangers, and Milwaukee Brewers

*** Follow us on twitter @MileHighJungle. Another outstanding follow is @BallHock

2012 NHL Mock Draft

Halfway through the season, your beloved Montreal Canadiens are an embarrassing 24th place in the NHL standings. No need to worry Habs fans, as a top 10 pick is exactly what this franchise needs in order to bring them back into competition in the NHL. Here is what I think the draft could look like come June.

1. Columbus Blue Jackets- Nail Yakupov

2. Edmonton Oilers- Mathew Dumba

3. Anaheim Ducks- Filip Forsberg

4. Carolina Hurricanes- Mikhail Grigorenko

5. Tampa Bay Lightning- Ryan Murray

6. New York Islanders- Morgan Reilly

7. Montreal Canadiens- Alex Galchenyuk

8. Buffalo Sabres- Griffin Reinhart

9. Winnipeg Jets- Matt Finn

10- Phoenix Coyotes- Jacob Trouba

11- Calgary Flames- Sebastien Collberg

12- Dallas Stars- Derrick Pouliot

13- Minnesota Wild- Zemgus Girgensons

14- Toronto Maple Leafs- Cody Ceci

15- Washington Capitals (from Colorado Avalanche)- Hampus Lindholm

16- Florida Panthers- Brendan Gaunce

17- Washington Capitals- Pontus Aberg

18- New Jersey Devils- Malcolm Subban

19- Los Angeles Kings- Martin Frk

20- Pittsburgh Penguins- Radek Faska 

21- San Jose Sharks- Olli Maatta 

22- Nashville Predators- Tanner Pearson

23- Philadelphia Flyers- Slater Koekkoek

24- Ottawa Senators- Phillip Di Giuseppe

25- Vancouver Canucks- Jarrod Maidens 

26- Boston Bruins- Michael Matheson

27- Saint Louis Blues- Nick Ebert

28- New York Rangers- Jordan Schmaltz 

29- Detroit Red Wings- Gemel Smith

30- Chicago Blackhawks- Devin Shore

CHeers

Cammalleri/Bourque Trade Analysis

Last night general manager Pierre Gauthier pulled the trigger on a trade many Habs fan were understandably not happy about. Gauthier shipped off playoff hero Mike Cammalleri along with goalie Karri Ramo, now playing in the KHL, and a 5th round pick to the Calgary Flames for forward Rene Bourque, prospect Patrick Holland, now playing for Tri-City in the WHL and a 2nd round pick.

Some recent comments made by Cammalleri about the team's "losing mentality" seemed to help the trade process along that ended up with Cammy being sent back to his old home, where he scored 39 goals and 82 points only a few years back.

Let's break down the trade. There are five different criteria in which the trade should be looked at. Number one: skill. Number two: statistics. Number three: age/size. Number four: salary. Number 5: the draft picks and young guns exchanged.

When looking at the trade it is obvious that Cammalleri  is the most skilled played involved in the deal, hands down. Result: Advantage Calgary, Calgary 1, Montreal 0.

When you add up the numbers, over the past 3 season, Bourque has more goals than Cammalleri. Bourque has had 2 straight 27 goal seasons while Cammelleri has been on a decline since his point-per-game season in 08-09. Result: Tie, score remains Calgary 1, Montreal 0.

At 29 years old Cammalleri is only a couple months younger than Bourque who is 30. Therefore the ages in this trade do not really matter. However, Bourque is 6'2 and roughly 210lbs while Cammalleri is 5'9 185lbs. The Habs have added much needed size up front. Result: Advantage Montreal, Calgary 1, Montreal 1.

Next up is the salaries. Cammalleri has an average cap hit of 6 million dollars per year, that's a hefty price for a 9 goal scorer. On the other hand Bourque is making an affordable 3.33 million per year. If the Habs could find a way to get rid of Gomez, they would have some serious coin to go out and look for a superstar free agent that they covet (Zach Parise, Ryan Suter) or make a trade for a superstar (Rick Nash, Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, Bobby Ryan). Results: Advantage Montreal, Montreal 2, Calgary 1.

Last but not least the picks and prospects that were added to this trade. Ramo, a goalie originally drafted by the Tampa Bay Lightning is now playing in the KHL and seems to be enjoying it as he is one of the better goaltenders in Europe. With Price between the pipes for the Habs, Ramo would not have been needed anytime soon. And while Calgary has Kipper, he is getting old and they could be looking to replace him soon. In Patrick Holland, the Habs got a 7th rounder who is now playing for the Tri-City Americans of the WHL. He has 57 points in 40 games and is 3rd on his team, and 9th in the league in scoring. Not too bad for a 7th round pick. Finally, the draft picks. Calgary received a 5th rounder from Montreal. While that seems pretty useless, remember that Brendan Gallagher was a 5th round pick, plus Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg both fell past that round. Don't get me wrong, I don't believe the Flames will get a player who compares to any of those three guys but there is always a possibility that they do. The Canadiens received a 2nd rounder which could prove pretty useful. PK Subban was a 2nd round pick.

Results: Advantage Montreal, Montreal 3, Calgary 1 (1 tie)

One could make the argument that this was a pretty even trade, if not better for the Calgary Flames. However, the above reasons are why I love this deal for the Canadiens. Bourque brings in some size and toughness to a small group of forwards. And if you add in the fact that Cammalleri hasn't been the best teammate as of late, I think that a change of scenery would benefit both of these players.. Let me know what YOU guys have to say about the deal. Leave us some comments in the below section.

CHeers

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Bengals Vs Texans: Bigger game than most may think + Playoff predictions

First of all, I'd like to apologize for not posting anything last week, but whatever, you know what they say; Shit happens when you party naked.


Alright boys and girls, back to buisness. So this saturday's early playoff game at 4:30 Eastern time is the Cincinnati Bengals vs. the Houston Texans at Reliant Stadium in Houston. Lately I've been hearing a bunch of things about this matchup and here are some examples;
"this game is just a standard game none of these teams are going any where" - Dan Le Batard (Miami Herald)
"this is a standard game, its just how the seeding worked out, this game will have no relevance to the teams they play for whoever moves on" - Colin Cowherd


Well, I may agree that even as a Bengals fan, it may not be the most exciting matchup ever, I'm 100% sure that most people would rather watch the Saints and Lions or Giants and Falcons, BUT this game is bigger than people may think it is. Here's why:


IF the Bengals win: they would play one of the worst ranked pass defences of all time against the Patriots. While Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski and Wes Welker may appear to be unstoppable as an offence, their defence is quite beatable; Only 4 times this season, they have given up less than 20 points.
I don't necessarily think the Bengals would win that game, but this is the NFL and crazier things have happened. Also this would set up a Ravens vs Steelers (should the Steelers beat the Broncos) and lets face it, these are the best games ever in the playoffs, both teams bring intensity and a lot heart. In some cases, Ravens vs. Steelers in the playoffs is better and more entertaining than the Super Bowl.


IF the Texans win: they would play the Ravens, this would be probably the most defensive game throughout the playoffs unless the Superbowl would be SanFran vs. Steelers/Ravens/Texans. I don't know about all of you who are reading this, but me, I love a good defensive football game. It means every point is crucial and could end up costing one of the teams the game. I'm all for cheering against the AFC north division rivals of the Bengals, but I'd cheer for the Ravens in that one. Assuming the Steelers beat the Broncos and Pats, that would mean a Ravens vs. Steelers for a shot at the Super Bowl.


Now, does everyone understand that this game has a lot of significance?


Predictions:


Wild Card:
Bengals at Texans -- 24 - 21 Bengals win
Steelers at Broncos -- 31 - 17 Steelers win
Lions at Saints -- 45 - 21 Saints win
Falcons at Giants -- 27 - 17 Giants win


Divisional:
Bengals at Patriots -- 35 - 31 Patriots win
Steelers at Ravens -- 17 - 14 Ravens win
Saints at 49ers -- 28 - 27 Saints win
Giants at Packers -- 41 - 35 Packers win


Confrence:
Ravens at Patriots -- 28 - 24 Ravens win
Saints at Packers -- 45 - 42 Saints win


Super Bowl:
Ravens Vs Saints -- 24 - 23 Ravens win


So there you have it, my 2012 NFL playoff predictions, agree/disagree? share, comment and keep reading!


Until next time, Stay classy, and may the force be with you.


Matty-O