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NHL Playoff Preview: Montreal Canadiens vs. Ottawa Senators

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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...

NHL Playoff Preview: Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Boston Bruins

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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...

NFL: Championship Weekend Picks

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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 ...

NFL: Divisional Picks

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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...

NFL: Wildcard Weekend Picks

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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 ...

NFL: Week 17 Picks

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We have come to the last week of the season. The final couple playoff spots will be decided this week and the Wild Card Round will begin next Saturday (Jan. 5th). Due to some teams having their playoff positions already locked up, we may see some coaches resting some starters. This potentially will make it more difficult to predict outcomes. However, there are still some very crucial match-ups this week with huge implications. Last week was a so-so 11/16 for That's Sports . The Rams surprisingly upset the Buccaneers in Tampa Bay. The Ravens took care of the Giants on Sunday night, while the Seahawks held serve on their home field against the favoured 49ers on Monday night. Without further ado, here are That's Sports' NFL Week 17 Picks... Atlanta Falcons over Tampa Bay Buccaneers Buffalo Bills over New York Jets Baltimore Ravens* over Cincinnati Bengals Pittsburgh Steelers over Cleveland Browns Chicago Bears* over Detroit Lions Tennessee Titans over Jacksonvi...

NFL: Week 16 Picks

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We are in the second last week of the season. Man, this NFL season has flown by! In the next two weeks the final playoff spots will be decided, so there are some crucial games coming up. Here are some of the headlines from week 15: - The Atlanta Falcons exercised some demons in trouncing the New York Giants at the Georgia Dome by a score of 34-0. - The Washington Redskins continued their winning ways and now have created a log jam atop the NFC East with the Cowboys and the Giants, all with a record of 8-6. - The New England Patriots fell just short of an unbelievable comeback to the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday night, as it was the Niners who got out of Foxboro with a big win. - Adrian Peterson ran all over the Rams with 212 yards rushing, leaving him only 294 yards behind Eric Dickerson's 2,105 mark. Peterson has the staunch Texans' defense (#5 in stopping the run) this week followed by the Packers in week 17. Last week was a mediocre 10/16 but this week will be a reb...