That's Sports

This past summer I made projections for team Canada. With the Olympics fast approaching, here are my updated projections!   Forwards: Chris Kuntiz        Sidney Crosby        Patrick Sharp Matt Duchene       Ryan Getzlaf           Corey Perry John Tavares       Jonathan Toews      Claude Giroux   Jamie Benn           Tyler Seguin        Martin St. Louis   Extra:    Patrice Bergeron *Notables left out: Thornton, Marleau, Hall, Eberle, Lupul, Kane Assessment:  Team Canada brass and TSN commentators need to stop with the nonsense about experience and attitude. Seguin and Duschene are probably playing the best hockey of their careers; they deserve to be on the team. And don't worry, Seguin's entourage probably won't follow him all the way to Russia. Stevie Y is crazy if picks older and slower players over them just to make a statement about off-ice conduct or attitude. They're both speedsters and we need them on the big ice. The debates over Kunitz and St. Louis a

The date was June 11th, 2012. The Los Angeles Kings absolutely trounced the New Jersey Devils in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals. Forward Jeff Carter potted two goals in the game including the game and series winner. However, it was the play of goaltender Jonathan Quick that was deserving of the Conn Smythe Trophy for Playoff Most Valuable Player. Flash forward only one year and sixth months later… Kings starting goalie Martin Jones has become only the second goalie in NHL history to begin his career with 8 wins and 0 losses. The other goalie you ask? Philadelphia Flyers goalie Bob Froese (1982-83 season). Furthermore, Jones has won in style - posting an astounding .966 save percentage over the eight game stretch. Martin Jones has more than filled in for Jonathan Quick, who is still recovering from a grade 2 groin strain which he sustained in a game on November 12th against the Buffalo Sabres. The Kings have witnessed no shortage of stellar play in their net. Ben Scrivens won

Contenders: Indiana Pacers L.A. Clippers Miami Heat Oklahoma City Thunder San Antonio Spurs Placing the two-time defending champion Miami Heat in this category is a sure no-brainer.  The saying, "If you want to be the best then you have to beat the best," haunts the leading Eastern Conference challengers, the Indiana Pacers.  Pacers forward and budding superstar Paul George has made it clear that he is not scared of King James and company, recently remarking that Kevin Durant was a tougher cover than LeBron.  Furthermore, George and the Pacers backed up this strong talk by knocking off Miami 90-84 one week ago.  The often brash demeanour of coach Frank Vogel has appeared to have rubbed off on his players.  They obviously play with a chip on their shoulder, believing that it just as easily could have been them in the Finals last year.  However, they don't need to be reminded of how the Heat trounced them by a score of 99-76 in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference

It's great to be back blogging again.  We're excited to once again be engaged in the world of sports.  Let's get to it!   The 2013-14 NBA Season is already at the 25 game mark, which means there has been more than enough time to develop some interesting story lines. Eastern Conference Surprises: Boston Celtics I have to be completely honest.  If someone were to tell me that this year's Boston Celtics would be 11-14 at the 25 game mark I would have laughed at them.  I expected that the loss of Garnett and Pierce paired with a rookie head coach would be too large of an obstacle to overcome.  Instead the Celtics have not only been respectable but they've taken advantage of a weak Atlantic Division and cling to top spot.  Coach Brad Stevens has impressed many C's fan and once again has made General Manager Danny Ainge look like a mastermind.  Boston's best player hands down has been Jeff Green, who boasts 16.9 points per game.  Guard Jordan Craw

Hopefully I'm not speaking too soon in a long 162 game season where anything can happen, but the Boston Red Sox are currently leading the Majors in wins and are playing like legitimate contenders. The Sox have certainly turned a new leaf from their dismal and embarrassing 2012 season, one in which they finished with a record of 69 wins and 93 losses. The 2012 campaign marked the first season since 1997 that the boys from Boston had finished the season with a losing record. The Sox are three seasons removed from making the playoffs, something they are not accustomed to in recent years. However, one doesn't have to look back too far to remember years (and decades) of futility and heartbreak for Sox fans. They've had their share of setbacks, one coming in recent years... BoSox fans are only two years removed from witnessing one of the more memorable collapses whereby the Sox lost 18 of their final 24 games and lost their postseason birth on the final day of the season to th

In this post I’m going to give my roster prediction for the upcoming Canadian Olympic hockey team. There are way too many players, particularly at forward, that could be effective in this tournament. I’ll provide an explanation after each group. Fowards: Left Wing           Centre           Right Wing Claude Giroux       Sidney Crosby        James Neal Taylor Hall          Jonathan Toews        Jordan Eberle Steven Stamkos      John Tavares          Martin St. Louis Milan Lucic         Patrice Bergeron       Brad Marchand Extra : Eric Staal Overall Assessment: I have 7 natural centres listed here. Canada will dominate in the faceoff circles. But the centres who are forced to play wing are going to have to play without the puck more and be willing to get in on the forecheck. If they can’t do this, then it’s better to take lesser players who are used to playing the wing. Line 1: I’m taking a chance on this combination. Neal is a pure sniper who could play well w

The San Antonio Spurs are back in the NBA Finals for the first time since 2007, when they swept the Cleveland Cavaliers en route to their fourth championship in nine years. LeBron James was only in his fourth year in the Association when he led a young Cavs team up against a seasoned and superior Spurs squad. It has been a widespread sentiment over the last few seasons that the San Antonio Spurs are getting too old and are slowing down. The pillar of the franchise, Tim Duncan, is now 37 years old, while versatile swingman, Manu Ginobili is 35. Despite having two of their most productive players heading into the twilight of their careers, the Spurs' front office have down a masterful job of surrounding the vets with young talent. Second year man, Kawhi Leonard, has enjoyed a fabulous sophomore season, averaging 11.9 ppg and 6.0 rpg. Center Tiago Splitter has also been a productive presence for the Spurs, averaging 10.3 ppg to go along with 6.4 rpg. Although Ginobili has not pro

The Canadiens were oh so close to a dream matchup against the Leafs but the Boston Bruins fell to the Ottawa Senators in the final game of the regular season on Sunday night. Instead, it will be the Bruins facing off against the Leafs beginning on Wednesday night and the Canadiens meeting the Senators in Game 1 of their series on Thursday night. With the Bruins' loss on Sunday, the Canadiens locked up top spot in the Northeast Division and have enjoyed a huge turnaround from their 15th (last) place finish in the Eastern Conference last season. Much of the Habs' turnaround this season has been attributed to first time General Manager, Marc Bergevin. His steady and calming presence has gone a long way to settle down a team and a city that has been described as the most scrutinized and pressure filled environment in the NHL. The only other comparable hockey market would be that of Toronto. Bergevin's hire of former Canadiens coach, Michel Therrien has had a similar calming i

It has been nine long and disappointing seasons for diehard Leaf fans in Toronto but finally the wait is over! The Toronto Maple Leafs are in the NHL Playoffs. To put this in perspective, let's look at what was going on in the world in 2004... - Paul Martin was one year into office as Prime Minister - George 'Dubya' was still in his first term in office as President - Facebook was just beginning to take off and was only used by college students -  Confessions  by Usher and  The Diary of Alicia Keys  were two of the biggest albums of the year -  Shrek 2  was the top grossing film of the year - The last season of  Friends  was on the air - the Boston Red Sox won the World Series after an 86 year drought attributed to "the Curse of the Bambino" So that's the good news, the Leafs have snapped their playoff drought. The bad news is that they draw the Boston Bruins in the first round. The Bruins won three of four meetings between the Leafs in the regular

I stand beside my remark from last week, "these are some of the toughest games to predict all season!" I only went 2/4 on the Divisional picks, as the Falcons beat the Seahawks in the dying seconds and the Ravens upset the #1 seeded Broncos. It was unbelievable that Seattle couldn't stop "Matty Ice" and the Falcons after a Marshawn Lynch TD with only 31 seconds left on the clock. Furthermore, I was shocked at how the Ravens kept pace with the Broncos score for score. Needless to say, the unpredictability of the NFL is staying true to form throughout these playoffs. Don't get me wrong, Atlanta and Baltimore are great teams, I just did not envision them making it to their respective Conference title games. I have slumped on some picks in the last couple weeks but this week will be a different story. Here are That's Sports' Championship Weekend Picks... San Francisco 49ers* over Atlanta Falcons (Sunday, 3:00pmEST on FOX) New England Patriots

These are some of the toughest games to predict all season! I guess this is how it should be at this point in the year. All four of these games will be well worth tuning in for.  Last week's picks were all correct except the Colts losing to the Ravens. Good on Ray Lewis to announce his retirement before the season was over. That definitely gave and gives Baltimore some extra motivation. Here are That's Sports' NFL Divisional Picks... Saturday's Games Denver Broncos over Baltimore Ravens San Francisco 49ers over Green Bay Packers Sunday's Games Seattle Seahawks* over Atlanta Falcons New England Patriots over Houston Texans The Seahawks are as hot as any team remaining and will beat the Falcons at the Georgia Dome. Russell Wilson is the only rookie QB left but has played like a wise veteran. The Patriots are facing the Texans for the first time since their blowout victory last month. They have to avoid a letdown and make sure that A

The playoffs are here! The playoffs are here! This is very exciting and there are some really interesting games this weekend. There were some big headlines from the last week of the season. The biggest one was definitely Adrian Peterson's valiant effort to break the rushing record and coming up only 9 yards shy. I was on the edge of my seat watching the final minutes of that game, hoping that he would become the new rushing leader. Alas, we will have to wait until next year to see if he can accomplish the feat. The Redskins also came up with a huge win against the Cowboys. Washington have now won 7 consecutive games and are riding that wave of momentum into this week's matchup with Seattle. The Seahawks too have been making winning a habit of late and so this should be a great game! Tony Romo has continued to lose elimination games and it makes one wonder how much longer Jerry Jones and the Cowboys organization will continue on with him as their QB. Here are That's