March 31st Daily News and Transactions

Hey there guys,
Just a quick little preview. I am going to start going into some news and transactions from the day. I will do this every night before I go to bed so this fairly late and mainly for the people that don't sleep but I'm hoping that people that wake up early will take a look at it too. Alright guys hope you enjoy

MLB

-Rockies closer Huston Street (shoulder) will open season on DL; Franklin Morales to be team's closer

Street last season was one of the top closers in the Majors so having him on the DL to open the season is going to be pretty rough especially considering that Morales has had problems the past 3 seasons keeping opponents off the bases with batters hitting .256 against him. The Rockies hope that Huston can come back ASAP

-Phils RP Brad Lidge took cortisone shot for elbow soreness; team targets him for mid-April return

When he is pitching well, like 2008 where he converted on all 41 save opportunities with an era of 1.95 and hitters only hitting .198 against him, then he can be dominant, but if he pitches anything like last year, converting only 31/42 saves with an era of 7.21 and batters hitting .301 against him, then the Phillies may want to take their time with him and make sure he is 100% mind and body

-Blue Jays SP Marc Rzepczynski expected to miss up to 6 weeks with broken finger

Rzepczynski, Rezy from here on out, actually did pretty well as a rookie in 2009 going 2-4 in 11 starts allowing hitters only a .225 batting average and a 1.8 whip. Not amazing but not bad. After a year of learning and getting used to the majors he could have been a solid starter this season. I guess we'll see how he bounces back from this injury.

-Astros 1B Lance Berkman will start season on DL (left knee), eligible to be activated April 10

The season officially starts on April 4. This isn't going to hurt the Astro's that much as long as he does come back around that time period. Geoff Blum will start in his place till he gets back.

NFL

-District Attorney's office will not file charges against Joey Porter after March 27 arrest

The Cardinals did not get much pressure from their rush linebacker this past season, and as the youngest of their availabe candidates was 34 they had to go out and get someone. I think it would've better suited them to have found a hybrid in the draft to give them someone to scare QBs for years to come but Joey Porter is still an upgrade at the Position.

March 31st Power Rankings and Playoff Projections

Hey there guys,
This was quite the interesting week this past week, one that saw New Jersey Nets win 2 in a row and then upset the San Antonio Spurs to make sure that they would not be considered the worst team in NBA history. Maybe it's just me but I think that their talent level is better then their record, Devin Harris and Brook Lopez are both NBA Talent, Cortney Lee is a solid defensive guard, and was apart of the Orlando Magic's Eastern Conference Champion team last season and was faced with guarding Kobe Bryant in the NBA Finals. ANYWAY. Back to this week's power rankings. In SEC Baseball I have actually stumbled upon better resources that have provided me with new information so I have actually changed up how I devise my Power Rankings so there are going to be some bigger changes to it this week, but it should be more accurate than before. I know I had Alabama, Florida, and Ole Miss in the top 3 last week, and this week, under the new Power Rankings Florida grabs the top spot despite losing this weekends series at Ole Miss, LSU jumps up to #2 and Alabama drops to #3. Things have been shook up a bit in my playoff projections as I now expect LSU to grab the regular season conference title. Should be interesting to see it all play out. In the NBA Cleveland stayed atop for yet another weekend and I still consider them the favorite to be crowned NBA Champs, as they are still winning every single week, and Shaquille O'Neal isn't even playing as he is still out with a thumb injury. LeBron James and company are going to have an interesting match up in the Conference Finals as they will most likely be facing off with Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic. Remember last year when the Magic, whom most wrote off as going to be done in 6 games Max, finished Cleveland in 6. I am also interested to see if Atlanta or Milwaukee can make surprise some people as well. In the NHL the Washington Capitals again sit atop My Power Rankings despite their recent struggles, which coincide with Alexander Ovechkin's recent struggles, but has also seen the rise of Niklaus Backstrom and Jeff Schultz, with Ryan Miller playing at his dominant level again the Buffalo Sabres jumped from #10 to #7, and the Red Wings are beginning to play like the Red Wings that we all know and Goalie Jimmy Howard is a big reason why. This should be a fun week as we near the end of the regular season for both the NBA and NHL.

Wednesday March 31st Daily Picks.....

Hey there guys,
Well yesterday was a bit of good and bad for me as far as my picks are concerned. I went 1-1 in my NIT Picks as Dayton defeated Ole Miss 68-63 in a game where I never got the feeling that Dayton was going to lose, and then North Carolina won in overtime over Rhode Island by 1 even though an official, who was not in the position he was supposed to be in, missed an obvious foul that would've sent Rhode Island to the free throw line for a chance to win. Instead the official was not paying attention and it cost the Rams. I don't mind a lot of missed calls but it is very frustrating to me, an indifferent sports fan, to see an official act like he should be calling SEC games in the final minute of an important game. I don't mean to single anyone out but that no call was awful. ANYWAY in the NBA I had a fantastic day as I went 5-0 (Woo) (4-1 ats) as DeMarcus Granger's 33 points helped push the Pacers to a 7 point victory over the Kings, Ronald Murray (23 points) had a fantastic game for the Bulls but it wasn't enough as the Suns prevail 111-105, and Andray Blatche continues his out of nowhere amazing play with 31 points and 10 rebounds but, like Murray, it wasn't enough as the Wizards losing streak falls to 16, Houst 98-94, and in the NHL was where I was not as fantastic going 4-5 as the Ottawa Senators upset the Washington Capitals behind the fantastic play of Jason Spezza (2 goals 2 assists), the St. Louis Blues pulled off the upset of the Chicago Blackhawks, like I called, as Alexander Steen had a great game (2 goals 1 assist) and the Blues still hold onto a small amount of hope for the postseason, and Jonathan Bernier had a 34 save shutout night as the Kings defeated the Predators in Nashville 2-0. Today there are 13 games in the NBA. Woof. That means that there are some great games though as Kobe Bryant and the Lakers head to Atlanta to take on Joe Johnson and the Hawks, Kevin Durant goes up against Paul Pierce as Oklahoma City travels to Boston to take on the Celtics, and Dirk Nowitzki leads the Mavericks into Memphis, which has become a very tough place to play this season. And in the NHL they have some good ones as well as Chicago tries to get back on track at Minnesota, the Ducks take on the Avalanche in Colorado as the Avs try to right the ship and hold onto their playoff spot in the West, and Calgary, currently 4 points behind Colorado in the West will try to take one from the recently hot Coyotes and make a move to the postseason. Should be interesting. Hope you guys enjoy.

Tuesday March 30th Daily Picks......

Hey there guys,
Well yesterday wasn't exactly what I would call my best day. I went 2-3 (0-5 ats) in the NBA as the Raptors kept a very very tiny grip on that 8th seed in the East with a 2 point upset of the Bobcats in Charlotte, the Nets secured their 10th win of the season against the Spurs, making sure that the Nets will not go down as the worst team in NBA history, Pau Gasol had a monster night (26 points 22 rebounds) as the Lakers lost in New Orleans to CP3 and the Hornets, the Mavericks won a big game at home against the Nuggets as Dirk Nowitzki dropped a triple double (34 points 10 rebounds 10 assists) on the head coach-less Nugs, and Carlos Boozer's double double (26 points 14 rebounds) helped the Jazz hold off the Knicks 103-98. In the NHL I went 4-1, eh not bad, as the Sabres rode Ryan Miller's 40 saves to a 3-2 upset win in Boston, the Predators continued their hot streak with a 3-2 win over the Panthers, and the Anaheim Ducks saw some great play from Goalie Curtis McElhinney (30 saves) and RW Corey Perry (1 goal 1 assist) as the Ducks took out the Stars 3-1. Well today I am going to have a Picks Special as I am going to give my picks for tonights NIT Final Four meetings between Dayton vs. Ole Miss and Rhode Island vs. North Carolina. I will also be going back to my regular format for the NBA and NHL. Today in the there are some ok games but not much I would get overly excited about, though I am going to be paying very close attention to the Game tonight that features Amare Stoudemire and the Phoenix Suns vs. Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls. The Bulls are 1 game back from the ever changing 8th seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs and they are going to have to take on one of the league's hottest teams in the Phoenix Suns. This should be a very interesting match up. In the NHL there are some solid games as the Battle for New York rages on as the Rangers "travel" to face the Islanders, the Senators head to Washington to take on Alexander Ovechkin, the struggling Blackhawks head to St. Louis to take on the Hot Blues, Los Angeles and Nashville face off in a potential playoff match up, and Vancouver and Phoenix go head to head in Canada. Should be interesting. Hope you guys enjoy.

Monday March 29th Daily Picks.....

Hey there guys,
I want to apologize for not having any picks up yesterday but in between my time spent in the emergency room (not me) and the flights back to Huntsville I just didn't have time to even look at the games. Anyway I've got class in a little bit so this is going to be short. Tomorrow I will have up a full post again. Today I will just have my picks up. Quick games you should watch: NBA - Denver @ Dallas. NHL -

Saturday March 27th Daily Picks.....

Hey there guys this is going to be short and sweet. This is my last day in St. Louis so I am going to be spending it with my girlfriend. SOO that means that today's post will be just the picks with very little writing to it. Just to let you know how I did yesterday, I went 1-3 in yesterday's Sweet Sixteen action which means I can officially give up on my bracket (finally). Sigh. I went 5-1 in Baseball as either I overrated Auburn or underrated South Carolina. I am giving the Tigers another chance today to make it up to me. And the rest of my picks I really don't want to talk about.... I went 5-6 in the NBA (4-7 ats) and 1-2 in the NHL. I don't know what happened yesterday. Anyway guys tomorrow's post will be probably be just as short as I am getting on a plane and leaving for Huntsville around 11. Hope you enjoy.

Auburn Hires Tony Barbee as next Men's Basketball Head Coach

Friday March 26th Daily Picks.....

Hey there guys,
Well yesterday was a borderline terrible day for me. Mostly because of Hockey. But I'll get to that in a minute. HOW ABOUT THAT TOURNAMENT ACTION LAST NIGHT??? That had to have been some of the best basketball I have ever seen, namely Butler vs. Syracuse and Xavier vs. Pittsburgh. I went 3-1 yesterday as I had tossed and turned with Butler vs. Syracuse for the longest time, at one point thinking that Butler was going to be my surprise team, but eventually I went the Orange. Dumb decision on my part. Syracuse made a game of it but I felt like I just never saw the same Syracuse team that I was used to seeing. They looked uncomfortable for the majority of the game and Butler took advantage of that winning 63-59. Washington gave West Virginia a run, starting off hot with the lead but late in the 2nd half you could tell that Washington's fire was starting to fizzle out and West Virginia ended up with a 69-56 win. The next game I will talk about is the one that started last, but finished before the other game, as Kentucky won handily, but not at the same time. Kentucky won by 17 in a game that really made wonder if the real Kentucky basketball team was even there. Maybe there is something about playing a bunch of non scholarship white guys that just draws these big teams to sleep, and finally, in the best basketball game I have seen all tournament, Xavier and Pittsburgh went at it for an extra 10 minutes in a game that saw clutch shot after clutch shot after clutch shot. From 3's that were WELL beyond the NBA 3 Point Line to fouls that would lead to 3 free throws in a 3 point game, to slam put backs, etc. This game had it all. Congratulations to both teams. Kansas State eventually won 101-96. Now they have 1 day to rest before they have to take on the nation's longest winning streak in Butler. Either way I lost an Elite Eight team in Syracuse meaning I can have 6 at the most, but with Kansas State winning I still have 3 of my Final Four intact. In the NBA I went 2-1 (2-1 ats) as the Heat upset the Bulls 103-74 in a game that I find hard to classify as, well a game. In another upset the Clippers took out the Rockets in Houston as Craig Smith showed up ready to play and left with 25 points and 10 rebounds, then Portland took out Dallas for the 3rd time this season behind Andre Miller's 19 point 10 assist night. One positive for the Mavericks is that I finally saw some good play out of Caron Butler (25 points 9 rebounds). In the NHL I went a horrific 2-9 as there were 7, yes SEVEN, Vegas upsets last night. Good god. Anyway the Hurricanes upset Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals 4-3 behind Manny Legace's 41 saves, Montreal evened the season series with the Panthers 2-2 after their 3 goal win last night, Paul Kariya added on to his career goals last night as the Blues did the unthinkable and won a game at home, Keith Yandle's 3 points (1 goal 2 assists) were not enough for the Coyotes as the Predators won in Nashville, and Evegeni Nobokov's 27 saves were more than enough as the Sharks shut out the Stars 3-0. Today SEC Baseball has some fantastic games as #7 LSU heads to Tennessee, Georgia takes on Mississippi State in the Battle of the Bulldogs, #2 Florida heads to #18 Ole Miss for what should be a great series, #14 South Carolina tries to prove they are worth their ranking as they take on Auburn's potent offense, #20 Alabama and #16 Arkansas go at it in Fayetteville, and Kentucky and #24 Vanderbilt play in Nashville, the NBA has some great games as well as Denver heads to Toronto as both teams, looking to be playoff bound, try to heat back up, Kobe Bryant and the Lakers head to Oklahoma City to take on Kevin Durant and the Thunder, the Heat head up North to take on the surging Bucks, and LeBron James and the Cavaliers take on the Spurs in San Antonio. In the NHL there are only 3 games but I am a little gun shy writing about them after my horrific day yesterday ha ha. Anyway today should still be fun. Hope you guys enjoy.

Thursday March 25th Daily Thoughs and Picks.....

Hey there guys,
Yesterday was actually a pretty eh, again, as I went 7-4 (4-7 ats) in the NBA as King James, and his 38 points, lead the Cavaliers past the Hornets in New Orleans, the Warriors upset the Grizzlies 128-110 behind Stephen Curry's double double (30 points 11 assists), and Stephen Jackson (37 points) helped boost the Bobcats by the Timberwolves 108-95, and it was a great night in the NHL, which saw 3 shoot outs, and I went 5-1 as Goalie Henrik Lundqvist and the Rangers shut out their rival, the Islanders, 5-0 in the Battle of New York, Washington defeated Pittsburgh for the 3rd time this season, 4-3, the Red Wings defeated the Blues 4-2 behind Valterrie Filppula's 3 points (2 goals 1 assist), the Avalanche won 4-3 in a shoot out to avoid being upset at home, and Andrew Raycroft stopped 30 shots as the Canucks took out the Ducks 4-1. Well I today I am going to talk about my thoughts on this new overtime rule that the NFL approved recently as well as go over some NBA Free agent rumors. As far as games go the NCAA Tournament picks back up today with coverage of the East and West regions in the Sweet Sixteen. My bracket, which is still in good shape, could use some wins, though I have a hard time rooting for my bracket. Maybe it is just habit and I am so used to giving up on my bracket by now but I am already rooting for underdogs. Go Cornell, Washington, Butler and Xavier? Even though I have Kentucky, West Virginia, Syracuse, and Kansas State all advancing on my bracket? I am so confused. Anyway in the NBA there are only 3 games today but they are good ones as Dwayne Wade and the Heat take on the Bulls in Chicago, Miami could use some cushion as they are only 3 1/2 games ahead of the Bulls who are currently out of the playoffs, hmmm, the Rockets host the Clippers as Houston tries to save what little playoff hopes they have, and the Mavericks head to Portland in what might be a possible playoff preview. In the NHL Alex Ovechkin and the Hurricanes try to erase the Hangover from clinching the season series over Pittsburgh when they play at Carolina tonight, the fading NY Rangers hope to steal one from the Devils in New Jersey, Calgary tries to keep the fire going (ha ha) under their playoff hopes with a win in NY against the Islanders, and Phoenix heads to Nashville to take on the (my) Predators in a battle of good Western conference teams. Should be fun. Hope you enjoy.

Wednesday March 23rd Daily Picks.....

Hey there guys,
Yesterday was another wonderful day for my picks. When I say wonderful I mean something closer to average. Like Logan Young's Staircase's face. Your perception of how awesome you look does not make you hot. It grosses the rest of us out. But I digress, in the NBA I went I went 3-1 (3-1 ats) as the Pacers completed the season sweep of their division rival, the Pistons, with a 98-83 in Detroit, Carmelo Anthony had another fantastic outing (36 points) but the rest of the Nuggets did not have quite the outing that Melo had as the Knicks won 109-104, and finally the Mavericks won again 106-96 as Jason Kidd had a rare scoring burst with 26 points and 12 assists despite the Clippers Drew Gooden having an outstanding night with 26 points and 20 rebounds on a night where Dirk Nowitzki was ejected early in the 3rd quarter. And in the NHL I went 5-5 as Ilya Kovalchuk, had a fantastic game with 4 points (1 goal 3 assists) as the Devils defeated the Blue Jackets 6-3, the Panthers took out the Maple Leafs 4-1 as goalie Scott Clemmensen stopped 42 shots, the Bruins played a hell of a game blanking the Thrashers 4-0 in Atlanta boosting their lead over them to 3 points in the playoff race, San Jose looks to get back on track as they won last night in Minnesota 4-1, and Goalie Antti Niemi stopped 28 shots as the Blackhawks shut out the Coyotes in a battle for first place in the Western Conference. Woof. What a day. And we have another good one today. In the NBA we've got a lot of GREAT games today as Orlando goes for the season sweep of the Atlanta Hawks in Atlanta, Denver and Boston square off in Boston, Utah takes their show on the road to face Chris Bosh and the Raptors, the Rockets head to Oklahoma City to take on Kevin Durant, and finally Kobe Bryant and the Lakers take on Tim Duncan and the Spurs in San Antonio in what should be a fantastic game, and then in the NHL the Islanders and the Rangers square off in a battle for New York, Sid the Kid vs. Alexander the Great 2010 round goes off in Washington tonight, the Capitals have a 2-0 lead so far this season, Montreal and Buffalo square off in a Battle of Eastern Conference playoff teams, and the Kings take on the Avalanche in a battle for playoff positioning out in Colorado. Should be fun. Hope you guys enjoy.

Tuesday March 23rd Daily Thoughts and Picks.....

Hey there guys,
Well yesterday was another Eh kind of day for me and my picks as I went 7-3 (6-4 ats) in the NBA as the Spurs up ended the Thunder in the OC despite Durantula's monster 45 point performance, Dwayne Wade (27 points 12 assists) helped lead the Miami Heat to a 2nd half comeback over the dismal New Jersey Nets, Jason Richardson's 34 points helped the high scoring Suns barely get by Monta Ellis (30 points) and the Warriors, and in what may very well be a playoff preview the Bucks BARELY got by the Hawks 98-95 as John Salmons dropped 32 points. Man what a grade trade that brought John Salmons to Milwaukee. Dark Horse contender anyone? Anyway in the NHL I went 2-1 as the Kings took out the Avalanche in overtime 4-3, the Senators shut out the Canadians in Montreal 2-0 as Goalie Brian Elliott racked up 29 saves, and the Red Wings took out Sid the Kid and the Penguins behind Henrik Zetterberg's 3 points (2 goals 1 assist) and Goalie Jimmy Howard's 26 saves. Well I have some thoughts on the NCAA Tournament today so I am going to talk about those, hey for once my I haven't given up on my bracket 2 days into the tournament ha ha, but there are also some solid games going on today, only 4 games total in the NBA but there is one, no playoff implications, but one that looks like a great game to watch, as Indiana heads over to Detroit for a battle in the City that Build RoboCop. There are some solid games in the NHL as well as Boston heads to Atlanta a point ahead of the Thrashers for the 8th spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs, that should be a great game, the struggling Flyers and Senators battle for seeding in Ottawa, Nashville tries to keep up their 6 game win streak as they take on the Stars at home, likewise San Jose tries to end their 6 game skid on the road at Minnesota, and then in what should be an amazing game to see the two teams tied for first in the Western Conference, the Coyotes and the Blackhawks, go head to head in Chicago. Man Hockey has some great games today. Should be fun. Hope you guys enjoy.

March 22nd Power Rankings & Playoff Projections.....

Hey there guys,
Today I am going to introduce my first SEC Baseball Power Ranking and SEC Tournament Predictions, as well as my usual NBA and NHL Power Rankings and Playoff Predictions. The opening top team in my SEC Power Poll is the #20 ranked (Baseball America) University of Alabama Crimson Tide as they opened up the season by taking the series from #24 Vanderbilt, with #2 Florida coming in at the second spot after a sweep of the Mississippi State bulldogs, and finally #18 Ole Miss rounds out the top 3 after a nice series win taking Friday and Saturday from Kentucky. This weekend series should tell us more about each team but for the time being I really think the Tide have something good going in Tuscaloosa. In the NBA I still have LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers at the top, and to win an NBA Title, but in the Western Conference it seems I am flip flopping every week as to who I think will win it. Dallas? Denver? This week it's the Los Angeles Lakers. The team everyone expects to win it. Call me crazy but I haven't seen any dominating performance from the Lakers here recently. That being said they have a ridiculously good roster and should do just fine. And in the NHL the Washington Capitals regain the top spot as they went 3-1 this past week, 2 of those wins without star F Alex Ovechkin. These guys are scary. The top 5 was shuffled up a little bit as Phoenix jumped up to #2 and San Jose and Chicago slid to #5 and #3 respectively. A team that is quickly climbing the charts is the Atlanta Thrashers, who I honestly considered done last week, but now they are a point out of the playoffs and host the #8 team Boston tomorrow. That should be a TREMENDOUS game that I cannot wait to watch. On the other hand the Ottawa Senators are falling fast, losers of their last 5, including going 0-3 this past week with losses to Toronto 1-3, Atlanta 3-6, and Dallas 3-4. They still have a solid hold on their playoff spot but this is the wrong time to get cold. Should be fun to watch as the final 9-12 (depending on the team) play out. Hope you enjoy.

Monday March 22nd Daily Picks.....

Hey there guys,
Yesterday was just another one of those not so hot not so cold days for me. In the NCAA Tournament I went 5-3 again, to get my record to a nice 34-14 for the entire tournament, tied even with Mr. President himself (plus I'm 3 ahead of my mom and 6 ahead of my dad ha ha), anyway, but I only lost 6 of my sweet sixteen teams, have 7 of of my Elite Eight, and 3 of my Final Four still playing basketball. Here's to hoping that I don't lose another (cheers). Anyway as far as SEC Baseball is related I went 4-2 yesterday (15-3 for the weekend) as South Carolina, Auburn, and Florida completed their sweeps while Ole Miss, LSU, and Alabama won their series this weekend. SEC Baseball Power Rankings to come out later today with my other Power Rankings. In the NBA I went 5-2 (3-4 ats) as David Lee lead his team in Points (26) Rebounds (20) and Assists (6) and had an outstanding game BUT the Knicks still couldn't pull out the W as the Rockets won 116-112, and the same went for Tim Duncan (26 points 13 rebounds) and Manu Ginobli (38 points) as the Spurs fell 5 short in Atlanta. In the NHL I went 6-3 as Teemu Selanne had yet another good day (1 goal 1 assist), scoring his 600th career goal as the Ducks pulled out a 5-2 win over the Avalanche, and then the Thrashers upset the Flyers in Philadelphia 3-1 behind the great goalie play of Ondrej Pavelec (44 saves) and D Ron Hainsey's 3 points (1 goal 2 assists). Well today I will be working on my power rankings, but as far as games go there are no Tournament games for the next 3 days, as they pick up with the Sweet Sixteen on Thursday, but in the NBA there are some great games, I mean really good as two teams trying to fight their way back into the playoff picture, Rockets & Bulls, play in Chicago, the two teams fighting for that 4th seed in the Eastern Conference, Bucks & Hawks, play in Milwaukee, the Spurs and the Thunder try to get back on track after each suffered rough road losses yesterday, Boston tries to keep up its great play by traveling to Salt Lake City to take on the Jazz, and the Grizzlies try to keep their minuscule playoff hopes alive by playing at deceptively tough Sacramento. In the NHL there are only 3 games but I will be watching how Detroit plays tonight as they are now 8th seed in the Western Conference but the Flames are only 2 points behind, and the Red Wings host a very good Pittsburgh Penguins team tonight, the winner of tonight's game between Ottawa and Montreal will hold a solid 2 point lead of the #5 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs, and if Colorado can pull the upset tonight in LA they could leap frog the Kings in terms of playoff seeding. Should be fun. Hope you guys enjoy.

Sunday March 21st Daily Picks.....

Hey there guys,
Yesterday was an awful day as far as my picks are concerned as I went 5-3 in the NCAA Tournament, with an automatic loss because I had Georgetown and San Diego State playing but instead it was Tennessee beating Ohio, but I took a HUGE HUGE HUGE loss when Northern Iowa shocked the world and upset Kansas. That was my national champion. Tears followed shortly after. Anyway on the (very very very minuscule) bright side I did call for St. Mary's to take out Villanova, AND THEY DID (kudos to Robert Hanson), so heading into today I still have 11 of my sweet sixteen, 7 of my elite eight, 3 of my final four, and the other half of my national championship game, sigh, oh well, and in SEC Baseball I went 5-1, and in the NBA I went 4-3 (6-1 ats) as Chris Bosh (36 points) lead the Raptors to a much needed win over the Nets in New Jersey, the Jazz took it to the Hornets 106-86 behind Paul Millsap's 22 points and 15 rebounds and Paul Pierce's 29 points helped the Celtics upset the Mavericks in Dallas, and finally in the NHL I went 7-4 as two goalies that will face off today, Pekka Rinne (33 saves) of the Nashville Predators and Ty Conklin (29 saves) of the St. Louis Blues both shut out their opponents 1-0 (Nash over Columbus/ St. Louis over New Jersey), as they head into today's game, and Jason Spezza's spectacular performance (Hat Trick + assist) wasn't enough as the Senators lost 5-4 to the Stars in Dallas. Well hopefully today will go better for me in the Tournament. Maybe I won't lose anymore Final Four Picks. In SEC Baseball today will be the last day for the Weekend Series and while 5 of the series feature teams going for the sweep, Arkansas and LSU will be battling for the series win today. In the NBA there are some very good games as Houston tries to fight its way back into the playoff picture as they head to New York to take on the Knicks, Sacramento and the "other" LA team play, what I think, will be a very good game, a couple of DarkHorse title contenders face off in Atlanta as the Spurs play the Hawks, and finally the Trail Blazers take on the Suns in what could be a playoff match up, and in the NHL there are some good games but the one I will be paying the most attention to is the NY Rangers taking on the Bruins in Boston. New York teams vs. Boston teams are always fun to watch. Should be interesting. Hope you guys enjoy.

Saturday March 20th Daily Picks.....

Hey there guys,

Yesterday was a solid day for me as far as my picks went. In the Tournament I went 12-4 for the 2nd consecutive day to bring my current total to 24-8, one game behind President Obama, though I did lose a few Sweet Sixteen teams as I had Temple and Siena advancing to the following round, but I only lost 3 sweet sixteens through round 1. So I am fairly proud of myself so far ha ha. Anyway in SEC Baseball I went 6-0 (Woo), and in the NBA I went 11-0 (Woo) (4-7 ats) as Amare Stoudemire dropped 44 points as the Suns beat the Jazz by 10, the Spurs dropped 142 on Monta Ellis (39 points) and the Warriors, and Brandon Jennings 35 points as the Bucks won in overtime over the Kings, and in the NHL I finished yesterday with a 3-1 record as Rick Nash's 2 goals help lead the Blue Jackets past the Wild, Teemu Salanne's 2 assists, and all around great defensive play helped the Ducks pull one out in overtime, and Devan Dubnyk's 31 saves helped the Oilers upset the Red Wings in Edmonton. Well today there are some good games in Baseball, of course in the Tournament, but the NBA has some SOLID games as well as Chicago tries to fight its way back into the playoff picture against Philadelphia, the Bobcats take on the Heat in Miami in what should be a great battle, and Boston heads down to Dallas in a game that I CAN'T wait to see, and in the NHL there are 3 games I'll be paying attention to as Ottawa heads to Dallas trying to hold onto to its playoff spot, Montreal tries to keep up their hot streak on ice in Toronto, and Detroit and Vancouver play in what should be a great matchup. Should be fun. Hope you guys enjoy.

Saturday March 20th Daily Picks.....

Hey there guys,
I am writing this last night really as I will be in the process of flying to St. Louis for my Spring Break. Anyway I will probably be busy for the majority of the day but I will be picking back up with my Daily thoughts on tomorrow. As far as my day went picks wise I went 12-4 in the tournament, calling Old Dominion over Notre Dame, Saint Mary's over Richmond, and Washington over Marquette. I did lose sweet sixteen pick San Diego State but for the most part I did a pretty good job on what I would say was the best day of college basketball I have ever seen. In the NBA I went 2-0 (2-0 ats) (W00) as Dwayne Wade's 36 points and 10 rebounds were not enough for the Heat as they fell short to the Magic by 6 in overtime, despite an off day from Superman (If a double double, 10pts 11rbs, qualifies as an off day for Howard I think the Magic are in good shape) and Denver was just too much for the Hornets as they won 93-80 behind the stellar play of Nene Hilario (20pts) and Carmelo Anthony (26pts 18rbs). In the NHL I went 6-5 as Jason Pomivelle's hat trick helped the Sabres get bay the Lightning 6-2, Colby Armstrong's 3 points (2 goals 1 assist) were the catalyst behind the Thrashers upset of the Senators, and the Penguins rode Marc-Andre Fleury's 17 saves to a 3-0 win over the Bruins. Today there are some good games in the NBA as the Thunder head to Toronto as Chris Bosh and the Raptors try to get back on track and hold onto their playoff spot, the bobcats try to keep up their hotstreak as they head to Atlanta to take on the Hawks, in what I think should be a very good game the 76ers head to New York in a battle of ridiculous fans, the Celtics head to Houston as the Rockets try to fight their way back into the playoffs against the aging Boston team, and finally the Bucks try to get into the home court advantage conversation as they head to Sacramento, and in the NHL there are only 4 games but I am looking forward to seeing how the Flames do as they are on the outside looking in, 1 point behind the Red Wings, as they host the Western Conference Points leader San Jose. Today is also the Opening Weekend for Conference play in SEC Baseball. I will give you my picks there as well. I love this time of year. Second only to football season. Granted their are only two seasons in the year. Football season and the Offseason. Still. Should be fun. Hope you enjoy.

Thursday March 18th Daily Picks

Hey there guys,
Sorry this is up so late but I literally just woke up. Long day of work + plus heating pad on sore back = out like a light. Anyway this is going to be very short as I am going to write less and just post my picks. I went 1-2 in the NHL and 7-4 (5-6 ats) in the NBA. Anyway here are my picks.

My NCAA Bracket!

Alright guys this is my bracket for the NCAA Tournament.
Also don't forget to Join my group in ESPN's 2010 NCAA Tournament Challenge. The group name is Where the Land Sharks Are. Join and test out your luck (because that is what picking the NCAA tournament is all about). As always guys let me know what you think.

March 17th Power Rankings and Playoff Predictions

Hey there guys,
This is the second week of my new Power Rankings, and of my playoff predictions. A new week sees new teams atop both my NBA and NHL Power Rankings, with Orlando losing a big one at home this week to the Bobcats, giving the LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers a chance to gobble up the top spot, and despite losing in Chicago to the Capitals I think the overall play recently by the Blackhawks is enough to move them ahead of Ovechkin and Washington. Hope you enjoy.

Wednesday March 17th Daily Picks.....

Hey there guys,
Yesterday was an alright day for me as I went 7-1 (6-2 ats) as the Cavaliers got by the Pistons 113-101 behind LeBron James' Triple Double (29 points 12 rebounds 12 assists), Pau Gasol's 28 points and 12 rebounds were enough for the Lakers to take out the Kings in Sacramento despite the outstanding play of Tyreke Evans, who was an assist short of a triple double (25 points 11 rebounds 9 assists), and in the NHL I went 6-5 as John Tavares's 5 points (2 goals 3 assists) fueled all 5 goals as the Islanders upset the Canucks in Vancouver, and Dallas destroyed the San Jose Sharks behind the solid Goalie play of Kari Lehtonen (45 saves) and Mike Ribeiro's 4 points (2 goals 2 assists). Well today there are some more NIT Games, and you can see my picks in my NCAA Basketball Picks Post, and there are also some great games in the NBA as Oklahoma City heads to Charlotte as the Thunder try to keep up their hot streak at Charlotte, one of the toughest places to play in the NBA, Duncan vs. Howard happens on ESPN as the Spurs head to Orlando, Memphis plays at Houston as these two teams are both on the outside looking in with the Playoffs and both are fighting for the 8th seed, and New Orleans heads to dangerous Golden State in what should be a great game. In the NHL there are only 3 games but I am very interested in the battle of the top two in the Atlantic division as the Pittsburgh Penguins head over to Jersey to take on the Devils. Should be fun. Hope you enjoy.

NCAA Tournament Picks

Hey there guys,
This is going to be different than my bracket as these games will be previewed the day before, while my bracket is for fun and was completely filled out the day before the Tournament began. The first round picks will be the same as my bracket but the rest will more than likely be different as my bracket crumbles and falls apart (ha ha). I will also include my NIT picks at the bottom as well. This will just be updated and re posted so my entire 2010 March Madness picks will be here. Alright guys hope you enjoy.

MY BRACKET WILL BE POSTED TOMORROW (3/17)

Tuesday March 16th Daily Picks.....

Hey there guys,
Well yesterday was another pretty good day as far as my picks went as I went 5-1 (4-2 ats) in the NBA as Carmelo's stellar performance (45 points 10 rebounds) was not enough as the Nuggets lost to the Rockets by 2, the Lakers came back in the second half against the Warriors despite Golden State PG Stephen Curry's 29 points, and the Hornets kept their playoff hopes alive (barely) by taking out Baron Davis (18 points 17 assists) and the Clippers in Los Angeles 108-100. In the NHL I went 3-0 (WOO) as Martin Brodeur stopped 34 shots as the Devils defeated the Bruins 3-2, and the Blue Jackets defeated the Oilers 5-3 behind the great play of Kristian Huselias 4 points (1 goal 3 assists) and Antoine Vermette's 3 points (1 goal 2 assists). I am the busiest I have ever been but I will be posting my Power Rankings, MY NCAA BRACKET, and, for pure shiggles, my NIT Bracket Picks. When they will be posted? Hell if I know. I have to write 10 short essays, and start on answering 300 terms and questions for class. Woo. But I will be putting some of this stuff up today. As far as games today there are some good ones in the NBA but the one I am going to watch is San Antonio at Miami as the Heat try to prove that they might actually be able to make some noise in the Playoffs. In the NHL 11 games will be played today but the one that interests me the most is the game between Montreal and the NY Rangers, as both of them are fighting for playoff spots, Montreal in looking out, and NY out looking in, so this should be a great game. Should be fun. Hope you enjoy.

Monday March 15th Daily Picks.....

Hey there guys,
Sorry this is up so late I had work until 1pm again today. Anyway yesterday wasn't a half bad day for me as I went 7-1 (4-4 ats) in the NBA as Tyreke Evans as 1 rebound short of a triple double (29 points 11 assists 9 rebounds) as the Kings took out the Timberwolves 114-100, Dwayne Wade dropped 38 points as the Heat defeated the 76ers by 13, and Amare Stoudemire, probably the best player since the All-Star break, had yet another double double (36pts 12rbs) as the Suns defeated the Hornets in Phoenix, in the NHL I went 4-6 (ok maybe not so good) as Goalie Craig Anderson's 48 saves helped the Avalanche top the Stars 5-3 in Dallas, Roberto Luongo had 32 saves as Goalie for the Canucks as they defeated the Flames 3-1, and Minnesota C Mikko Koivu's 3 points (1 goal 2 assists) helped the Wild take out the Blues 4-2. Once again no thoughts today, but I will have my new NBA and NHL Power Rankings out, and I am working on Posting my NCAA Tournament Picks as well. I will do my pre tournament bracket, and I will do a game by game prediction starting in the Sweet Sixteen. Don't expect much else other than that and my Daily Picks this week as I will be getting ready to head to St. Louis for next week, and I have two midterms this week. As far as games go there are some pretty good ones in the NBA today as New York takes on Philadelphia in a match up of most obnoxious fans, Denver heads to Houston as the Rockets continue to fight for a playoff spot, and the Hornets, also trying to hold on to a slim playoff hope, heads to the cold as ice LA Clippers. In the NHL there are only 3 games and the one that I will be paying attention to is Boston at New Jersey. The Bruins are trying to get as many points as possible and grab that 8th playoff spot as the Cold Devils try to get back on track. Should be fun. Hope you guys enjoy.

SEC Post Season Awards

Hey there guys,
This was a great season in the SEC this past season and as sad as I am to see it go it means that there football is ever closer to starting back up (ha ha.) Anyway, I have in here my SEC Player of the Year, SEC Defensive Player of the Year, SEC Freshman of the Year, and SEC coach of the Year to go along with my All SEC 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and Frosh teams. Should be fun. Hope you guys enjoy.

Sunday March 14th Daily Picks.....

Hey there guys,
Sorry this is up so late but I had work from 7-1. Which is really like work from 6 - noon because of Daylight Savings. Dumbest thing I have ever heard of. Anyway yesterday was another pretty good day for me as I went 5-2 (4-3 ats) in the NBA as the Rockets took out the Nets by 8 behind Luis Scola's monster performance (44 points 12 rebounds), Stephen Curry's 35 points, 10 assists helped the Warriors nip the Raptors by the 12, and the (my) Magic took out the Wizards 109-94 behind yet another Dwight Howard double double (28 points 15 rebounds). In the NHL I went 5-4 as Ilya Bryzlagov got, yet another, shutout as his 29 saves blanked the Hurricanes in the Coyotes 4-0 win, the Flyers upset the Blackhawks behind Goalie Michael Leighton's 29 saves, and the Canucks pounded the Senators 5-1 as Mikael Samuelsson put up 3 points (2 goal 1 assist). Today there are some good games as well as Utah heads to Oklahoma City and Boston plays on the road at Cleveland in some interesting match ups and possible playoff previews. In the NHL there are also some good games but Washington and Chicago top that list in what might be a Stanley cup Preview. Should be fun. Hope you guys enjoy.

Saturday March 13th Daily Picks.....

Hey there guys,
Yesterday was a pretty good day for me as I went 10-2 (4-8 ats) in the NBA as the Thunder barely got by the Nets by 2 behind Durantula's 32 points and 12 rebounds, 'Melo put up the same as the Nuggets defeated the Hornets in New Orleans despite David West's 30 points, and in the NHL I went 3-3 as Pekka Rinne was welcomed back to the starting lineup and his 31 save shutout of the Ducks was the reason the Predators won, Minnesota Goalie Josh Harding and his 32 saves helped the Wild upset the Sabres on the road, and Rangers C Vaclav Prospal's 3 points (2 goals 1 assist) propelled the Rangers to a 5-2 win on the road in Atlanta. Today there are some pretty good games in the NBA but the ones I will be paying the most attention to are Denver heading to Memphis as the Grizzlies try to keep themselves in the playoff race, Toronto tries to get back on track as they head to Golden State to take on the dangerous, albeit cold, Warriors, and of course I'll be paying attention to the Magic and play the Wizards in Washington today. It will also be interesting to see if Dallas can keep up that win streak, 13, as they take on the Knicks in Dallas. In the NHL there are also some good games including the Sabres at the Red Wings, and some battles up North as Edmonton takes on Toronto and Ottawa heads to Vancouver. Should be fun. Hope you guys enjoy

Friday March 12th Daily Picks.....

Hey there guys,
Yesterday was another pretty good day for me as I went 3-0 (WOO) in the NBA as Brandon Roy (41 points) lead the Trail Blazers to a 5 point win at Golden State despite the efforts of the Warriors' Corey Maggette (25 points), and Andray Blatche, who has been just unbelievable since everyone was traded away from the Wizards, dropped 30 points and 10 rebounds as the Wizards lost at home to the Hawks. Oh and my Orlando Magic won. AGAIN. They are still my NBA Title Favorites right now until I see that the Lakers are going to get back on track. In the NHL I went 8-2 (13-2 in the last two days) as the Flames blanked the Senators 2-0 behind Goalie Miikka Kiprusoff's 33 saves, San Jose won an 8-5 shootout with Nashville behind Joe Pavelski's 4 points (2 goals 2 assists) and Goalie Craig Anderson posted a shutout, and 27 saves, as the Avalanche beat the Panthers 3-0. No thoughts today, as once again I am quite busy, working on finishing my Recruiting Rankings, SEC Postseason awards for Basketball, MLB Previews, and NFL Draft Rankings. Woof. Anyway my daily picks will still be out every day, and if I feel strongly enough about something I will rant away. For those of you that read my Big East, ACC, and SEC Conference tournament picks the other day I am doing fairly well on those (Not really) but I did call the Georgetown over Syracuse upset, and went 3-1 in the SEC on opening day. As for today's games in the NBA there are a few good ones as the Jazz head to playoff hungry Milwaukee who is just on an absolute tear, and then the Lakers head to Arizona to take on divisional rival Phoenix in what should be another great game, and in the NHL there are a few good games but I can't wait to see the battle of division rivals as Sidney Crosby faces off against Canadian teammate Martin Brodeur as Pittsburgh heads to New Jersey to take on the Devils. Should be fun. Hope you guys enjoy.

Thursday March 11th Daily Picks.....

Hey there guys,
Yesterday was actually a pretty solid day for me as I went 7-2 in the NBA as the Thunder topped the Hornets by 15 despite David West's 33 points, Dwayne Wade had 27 points as the Heat took out the Clippers despite the solid play off the bench by Rasual Butler (31 points), and in the NHL I went 5-0 (WOO) as Tyler Myers put up 4 points (1 goal 3 assists) in the Sabres 5-3 win over the Stars, the Blackhawks took out the Kings 3-2 in OT behind Patrick Sharp's 2 goals, and Ilya Bryzgalov (Cover) had 36 saves as the Coyotes won 4-3 in OT over the Canucks. No thoughts today as I am really busy, but today there only 3 games in the NBA as Atlanta heads to Washington, Chicago to Orlando, and finally Portland heading over to play Golden State, and in the NHL there are a few good ones but the one I will be focused on is the battle up North between Edmonton and Montreal. Should be fun. Hope you guys enjoy.

Wednesday March 10th Daily Thoughts and Picks.....

Hey there guys,

Yesterday was another alright day for me as I went 7-1 (3-5 ats) in the NBA as Derron Williams was ridiculous with 28 points and 17 assists and a monster dunk as the Jazz took out the Bulls in Chicago, Andrew Bogut (25 points 17 assists) and the Milwaukee Bucks put an end to the Celtics 4 game losing streak with their 2 point win, and Kobe Bryant (32 points) hit his 6th game winning shot this season! What another great day in the NBA. In the NHL I had another rough day as I went 4-5 as Mikael Samuelsson's Hat Trick and Daniel Sedin's 3 points (1 goal 2 assists) helped propel the Vancouver Canucks to a 6-4 victory of the Avalanche, and backup goalie Dan Ellis stopped 30 shots, allowed only 1 goal, and picked up his 14th win of the season as the Predators upset the Thrashers 2-1. Today I want to touch on the fact that there really are other contenders in the Western Division of the NBA than the Lakers, and I'll go over some thoughts regarding AI. I'll also give my unofficial picks for three major Conference tournaments going on over the next few days, pose a question about the NCAA Tournament. As far as the games go there are a few good ones in the NBA today the Bobcats fight for a playoff spot on the road against the 76ers, the Grizzlies do the same at the Boston Celtics and Toronto and Sacramento face off in what should be a great game. In the NHL there are some good games as well but I want to see how the hot Hurricanes do against the best team in the League right now as they travel up North to take on Ovechkin and the Capitals, and I also can't wait to watch the Canucks head to Arizona to take on the Coyotes in what should be a close battle. Should be fun. Hope you guys enjoy.

March 9th Power Rankings and Playoff Previews

Hey there guys,
Well it's been a couple of weeks since I have done my Power Rankings, because I have tried to work on a better, more accurate power ranking. Well here is the first of my new Power Rankings. I am also going to be giving my, often updated, NBA and NHL (and MLB when the time comes) Playoff Previews, where I show where I think each team is going to end up in their respective playoff picture and also my predicted Conference and Title winners. Anyway guys hope you enjoy.

Tuesday March 9th Daily Picks.....

Hey there guys,
Yesterday was another alright day for me as I went 4-1 in the NBA as Dallas continued their ridiculous hot streak with a 13 point win over the Timberwolves despite the Sober efforts of Al Jefferson (36pts 13rbs), Manu Ginobli's 38 points were not enough to take out the Cavs in Cleveland, and David West's 28 points and 13 rebounds helped the Hornets keep their playoff hopes alive with a 4 point win over the Warriors, and in the NHL I went 1-1 as the Kings destroyed the Blue Jackets 6-0 behind Alexander Frolov's 4 points (1 goal 3 assists) and Alexander Ovechkin scored 2 more goals (44 total) but it wasn't enough as the Stars road the 49 saves by Goalie Marty Turco to a 4-3 in Washington. I am not going to have any thoughts today as I am coming out with my new Power Rankings, and my Bubble Watch today. As far as the games there are some great ones in the NBA as the 76ers take on the Pacers as the 76ers try to barely hold on to their playoff hopes, the Rockets try to get back on track playing on the road at Washington, the Heat take on the Bobcats as both teams fight for playoff spots, the Jazz take on the Bulls in what should be an interesting game, and two of the hotter teams in the NBA take each other on today as the Celtics (7 of last 10) head to Milwaukee to take on the Bucks (9 of last 10), and in the NHL there are some good games with Tamba Bay heading north across the border to take on Montreal and the "other" New York team (Islanders) take on the Flyers. Should be fun. Hope you enjoy.

Monday March 8th Daily Picks

Hey there guys,
Yesterday was an alright day as I went 1-0 in SEC Basketball as Kentucky clinched the SEC regular season outright by defeating Florida on Senior night in Lexington, in the NBA I went 4-2 as Thaddeus Young's 32 points help propel the 76ers to an upset of the Toronto Raptors, Kobe Bryant had 34 points but on only 12-30 shooting, and I have to wonder how long the NBA is going to allow Kobe to get away with cup checking opposing players when they go up for shots against him? anyway the Magic held on to win by 2 in Orlando, and the Pistons pulled off the upset of Houston behind Tayshaun Prince's 29 points and 10 boards, in the NHL I did not do as well as I went 3-6, as Ryan Miller stopped 32 shots as the Sabres won 2-1 in overtime, and the Flames were lead by Jarome Iginla and Rene Bourque's 4 points in their 5-2 win over Minnesota. Today there are some good games in the NBA but the one that I will be paying attention to is the San Antonio Spurs @ the Cleveland Cavaliers. In the NHL there are only two games as Dallas plays at Washington and Columbus plays at Los Angeles. Hope you guys enjoy.

Sunday March 7th Daily Picks.....

Hey there guys,
Well yesterday wasn't my best day, actually it was pretty bad, as I went 2-3 as Alabama took out rival Auburn by 12 behind Mikhail Torrance's double double (13pts 12rb, also lead team in asst with 6), South Carolina upset Vanderbilt on Senior Day in Nashville behind Devan Downey's ridiculous 2nd half where he scored most of his 26 points, Ole Miss had yet another 2nd half come from behind victory as they grab the #2 spot in the Western Divison and a bye in the Conference tournament, LSU won their 2nd conference game over Georgia despite Trey Thompkins 19 points, 16 rebounds, and 6 assists, all of which lead his team, and finally Tennessee destroyed Mississippi State in a game that the Bulldogs desperately needed to win, and in the NBA I went 6-3 as Dwayne Wade knocked down 38 points and 10 assists as the Heat took out the Hawks by 6, Derrick Rose' 34 points were not enough as the Bulls lost to the Dalls Mavericks 122-116, and Milwaukee upset Cleveland 92-85 despite Cav Newcomer F Antwan Jamison's 30 points and 11 rebounds, and in the NHL I went 6-4 as Phoenix shut out Anaheim 4- behind Goalie Ilya Bryzgalov's 32 saves, the Washington Capitals did the same against the NY Rangers winning 2-0 as their Goalie Jose Theodore had 29 saves, and finally the Avalanche destroyed the Blues 7-3 behind the hat trick of Chris Stewart. Today I don't have much thoughts today but I am going to give a preview into today's NBA Finals rematch between the Orlando Magic and the Los Angeles Lakers in today's Picks. There is also another good game today in the NBA as Portland heads over to Denver in a nice battle between playoff contenders, as Portland tries to keep up their 3 game winning streak, in the SEC Florida heads over to Kentucky as Senior day plays out for the freshman heavy Wildcats, in the regular season finale of the SEC, and in the NHL there are some good games including NBCs NHL Game of the Week as Detroit heads to Chicago, as the Red Wings try to hold on to their 1 point lead on that final playoff spot in the Western division, and the Canadians and the Ducks battle out in Anaheim. Should be fun. Hope you enjoy.

Saturday March 6th Daily Thoughts and Picks.....

Hey there guys,
Yesterday was a good/bad day for me as I went 10-1 NBA as Cleveland pulled out a close victory over the Detroit Pistons behind Lebron's 40 points and 13 rebounds, My Orland Magic pulled out a win over the Nets (yawn) as Dwight Howard pulled down 16 rebounds, and in what may have been the best game of the night, the Warriors, lead by Stephen Curry's 31 points and 11 assists, gave the Hawks a scare as Atlanta Won by 5 behind Josh Smith's 29 points and 9 boards. PS My heart goes out to TWO NBA players that were taken to the Hospital yesterday, Detroit Piston Rodney Stuckey, and Toronto Raptor Chris Bosh. In the NHL I went 1-4 as Edmonton upset Minnesota 2-1 in overtime riding the solid play of Goalie Jeff Deslauriers and his 28 saves, the Red Wings took out the Predators 5-2 behind C Darren Helm's 2 goals (10 for the season), and Tim Connoly's 2 points (1 goal 1 assist) helped the Sabres take out the Flyers in overtime. Well today I want to talk about some interesting drama, some great basketball this weekend, and of course, I'm going to touch on the NFL Free Agency moves from Day One. We can only hope Day Two is as interesting. As far as the games go SEC Basketball has some interesting games as Auburn and Alabama face off in a last game rivalry, Devan Downey tries to keep up his ridiculous numbers at Vanderbilt, Ole Miss and Arkansas battle for the final bye in the SEC Tournament, Georgia and LSU in Baton Rouge, and Tennessee and Mississippi State face off in an important game for each team's postseason, in the NBA we have some pretty good games as Atlanta travels to Miami for a battle of division rivals, Dallas heads north to Chicago to take on the Bulls in what should be a fun game to watch, San Antonio heads to Memphis as the Grizzlies continue to fight for their playoff lives, and Cleveland tries to avoid getting upset in Milwaukee, and in the NHL there are also some pretty good games as Toronto heads over to Ottawa in a Canadian battle, the Rangers head to DC to take on Ovechkin and the Capitals, and Montreal heads to LA in what should be a pretty interesting game. Hope you guys enjoy.

Friday March 5th Daily Picks

Hey there guys,
Yesterday was an "eh" kind of day as far as my picks are concerned, as I went 1-0 in SEC Basketball as Ole Miss defeated LSU yesterday behind Chris Warren's 22 points. In the NBA I did not fare as well going 0-3 (tears) as Memphis upset the Bulls in Chicago behind Zach Randolph's 31 points and 18 rebounds, and Dwayne Wade (27 points 14 assists) and Kobe Bryant (39 points) had another classic shootout in Miami as the Heat won in Overtime. In the NHL I did much better than I normally do as I went 7-2 as the Pittsburgh Penguins came from behind to take out the Rangers in New York behind Chris Kunitz' 3 points (1 goal 2 assists), and the St. Louis Blues destroyed the Dallas Stars in Texas as Paul Kariya had 3 points (2 goals 1 assists) and Chris Mason's 29 saves. Today I am going to be spending time with my girlfriend so I really don't feel like I have any daily thoughts, but as far as games go there really aren't any good NBA games but I know I will personally be paying attention to my Orlando Magic playing at the New Jersey Nets, and the Lakers playing in Charlotte where they seem to struggle a good bit. In the NHL there a few good games but the one I am most interested in is tonight when the Blackhawks host the Vancouver Canucks. Should be fun. Anyway hope you guys enjoy.

Thursday March 4th Daily Thoughts and Picks.....

Hey there guys,
Yesterday was not so hot of a day for me as I went 2-2 in the SEC, as Alabama had a great 2ND HALF, for the first time this season, as they took out South Carolina in Columbia, Tennessee had a bit of a hangover but they held on to beat Arkansas 80-73, Auburn took a big bite out of Mississippi State's NCAA Tournament hopes as they upset the Dogs 89-80, and Kentucky played a great second half as they covered against Georgia 80-68. I did go 10-2 in the NBA as Amare Stoudemire continued his hot streak as he had yet another double double (30pts 14rbs) as the Suns took out the Clippers by 26, LeBron's 26 points and 14 assists helped the Cavaliers take out the terrible Nets, and the Knicks took out the Pistons behind underrated Center David Lee's 21 points and 18 rebounds. In the NHL I went 3-3 as Niklas Backstrom shut out Calgary as Minnesota won 4-0, the Panthers beat the Flyers in a 7-4 shootout behind David Booth's and Bryan McCabe's 4 points (each had 1 goal and 3 assists). I don't have much on my mind today as I have been working on finishing up the SEC Recruiting Recap (I have finally have a working computer) and I have also been preparing my NFL Draft Position Rankings and my first ever NFL Mock Draft. Today there is another game that will be significant towards a Mississippi teams chances of getting in the NCAA Tourney as they face the Tigers. LSU travels to Ole Miss. Should be interesting as LSU and Ole Miss always play great games in all sports. There are a couple of good games in a short NBA day as well as the Lakers head to Miami to take on Dwayne Wade and the Heat, and two hot West teams face off as Utah heads to Phoenix in what should be a great game to watch. In the NHL there are some good games as well as the Maple Leafs, and their relatively new roster, head to Boston to take on the Bruins and Sidney Crosby heads to New York as the Penguins take on the Rangers. Hope you guys enjoy.

Wednesday March 3rd Daily Thoughts and Picks.....

Hey there guys,
Yesterday was an iffy kind of day for me. Picks wise I mean. Other than that it was pretty god. Slept for a Giant majority of it. But I digress. In the SEC I went 0-1 as Florida fell just short of taking down Vanderbilt 60-64, in the NBA I went 4-0 as the Heat took hold of the 8th spot of the playoffs with a 4 point win over the Warriors behind Miami's 35 points and 12 assists, and Oklahoma City defeated Sacramento behind the double-doubles of the Thunders two young stars, Kevin Durant (39pts 10rbs) and Russell Westbrook (30pts 13ast). In the NHL I went 7-5 as Blake Comeau's hat trick propelled the Islanders to upset the Blackhawks, Justin Peters stopped 32 shots as the Hurricanes took down the Maple Leafs up in Toronto, and Jonathan Quick knocked down 31 shots as the Kings upset the Stars in Dallas. I really only have one thing I feel like talking about today, and that is Football, so I'll discuss the who the Rams should take as the first pick in the draft, and which young QB I would want to lead my team. Today has some pretty solid SEC games as Alabama tries to stop their offensive woes at South Carolina, Arkansas heads to Tennessee, Miss State keeps fighting for their NCAA life as they head to Auburn, and Kentucky looks to rebound from their second loss of the season (both on the road) at Georgia (upset Georgia Tech, Tennessee, and Vanderbilt.) In the NBA there are some pretty good games as well as Detroit heads to New York for a low marquee game but what should be a fun game to watch, Memphis heads to New Orleans as both battle for playoff spots, and Oklahoma City, a better road team than home team, heads to Denver to take on the struggling Nuggets. Should be fun to watch. In the NHL we get to see the return of Alexander Ovechkin and Ryan Miller as both play in their first game back from the Olympics as the Capitals take on the Sabres in Buffalo and the Flyers take on the Panthers in Florida in what should be a pretty good game. Hope you guys enjoy.

Tuesday March 2nd Daily Thoughts and Picks.....

Hey there guys,
Yesterday was a pretty good day for me as I went 8-1 in the NBA as Aaron Brooks dropped 28 points in the Rockets 24 point beatdown of the Chris Boshles Raptors, Dirk Nowitzki had 27 points and 13 rebounds as the Mavericks upset the Bobcats in Charlotte, and Marcus Thornton continued his rampage off the bench as he had 30 more points as the Hornets fell short at home against the Spurs. Well Today I had some basketball thoughts on my mind, and even some OLYMPIC thoughts but I put them in a separate post, to go along with the games happening today. In SEC Basketball there is a great game between Vanderbilt and Florida as the Gators try to solidify a spot in the NCAA Tournament. In the NBA there are a couple of good games headlined by Boston @ Detroit, and in the NHL the Flyers head down south to Florida to take on the Tampa Bay Lightning, and New Jersey and San Jose face off in what could be a future Stanley Cup preview. Hope you guys enjoy.

2010 Winter Olympic Thoughts.....

Hey there guys,
Well I loved the Olympics. LOVED the olympics. And I couldn't fit these thoughts in the Daily Thoughts post mainly because I thought they deserved their own post, because the Olympics were just that great. Anyway Hope you enjoy.

Monday March 1st Picks.....

Hey there guys,
Again I just got off work but luckily for me there are no games actually going on right now. Anyway yesterday was a pretty good day for me as I went 7-1 in the NBA as Andray Blatche continues his post on All-Star break dominance as he dropped 36 points and 15 boards in the Wizards win at New Jersey, the Mavericks won over New Orleans behind Dirk Nowitzki's 36 points, as he begins to throw his name in the MVP discussion, and San Antonio took out Phoenix despite Amare Stoudemire's 41 points and 12 boards. Today NHL picks back up with a pretty good game between Detroit and Colorado, and in the NBA there are some great games as the red hot Dallas Mavericks head over to Charlotte to take on the Bobcats, who have been dangerous at home, San Antonio, fresh off a win over Phoenix, heads to Bourbon to take on the Hornets in New Orleans, Atlanta heads North to face the Bulls in Chicago, Portland travels to Memphis as the Grizzlies try to fight for their post season life, Toronto, sans Chris Bosh, will try to upset Houston in Texas, and Denver in Phoenix face off in what could be a great game. As always hope you guys enjoy.