NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs Round 2

Joe Pavelski

Hey there guys,

The First Round is over and now it is time for the Second round to begin. I picked 4 of the 6 series right, losing only the Canadiens upset over the Capitals and the Flyers over the Devils. I did pick two series perfect as I called the Canucks over the Kings in 6 and I also called the Red Wings over the Coyotes in 7. Let see if i can continue my fairly decent streak in the 2nd round.

NBA Playoffs First Round

Hey there guys,
I have never been this excited about NBA before and this looks to be like a great series. Because of how busy I am this is going to be set up like my Stanley Cup Playoffs predictions with a small preview and my pick. Hope you guys enjoy.

Thursday April 15th Daily Picks

Hey there guys,
Well yesterday was a solid day for me as far as MLB goes in that I went 10-5 (8-7 ATS) missing on a few as the Braves offense finally woke up, Jose Guillen homered in his 4th consecutive game and the Royals upset the Tigers, the Angels actually looked like the team I thought they would as they took out the Yankees in New York, the Red Sox put up 3 in the 8th as they took out the Twins at Target Field, and Milton Bradley is starting to wake up as he has played a major part in Seattle's back to back wins over the A's the past couple of days. In the NHL the 4 teams I picked to win the series all lost (go figure) as the Flyers continued to have their way with the Devils, defeating them for the 6th time this season 2-1, the inconsistent Penguins continued to be just that as they lost the opener at home 5-4 to Ottawa, San Jose, the Western Conference's #1 Overall seed continues to struggle in the playoffs as they lose to Colorado at home 2-1, and the Coyotes road 3 power play goals to a 3-2 over Detroit. I am not going to be writing much else, just the picks, as I have a lot to do today and I am hurrying to finish the NFL Draft Position Rankings. Hope you guys enjoy.

NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs Round 1

Hey there guys,
Well its time for the 2010 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs. Round 1 features some great match ups as and it will be interesting to see how they play out. The Capitals and the Penguins have the league's most recognizable players with Alexander Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby, and the Sabres and Devils have the league's best goalies in Ryan Miller and Martin Broduer. Personally I like the players that you don't hear much about in the media like Vancouver's twin brother attack of Henrik and Daniel Sedin, Chicago's Patrick Kane, San Jose's Joe Thornton and Colorado's Paul Stastny. Detroit's Jimmy Howard and Phoenix's Ilya Bryzgalov are two goalies you may have never heard of that could be huge in their teams advancement. When it comes to defensemen I really like the Flyer's Chris Pronger, the King's Matt Greene, the Bruin's Zdeno Chara, and the Senator's Anton Volchenkov. Monreal Head Coach Jacques Martin has taken teams to the playoffs in 11 of his 15 seasons and the Predators Barry Trotz is one of the best in the Business at getting the most out of his players. Should be interesting to see how it plays out.

NASCAR NEWS:

Wednesday April 14th Picks

Hey there guys,
Well yesterday was an eh day as I went 5-4 (3-6 ATS) in MLB. I am currently working out the Kinks in a brand new calculation for baseball (so many numbers!) so we'll see how it plays out when the statistics even out (like Carlos Zambrano's era). Hopefully today will be better. Before the end of the day I will post my NHL Stanley Cup Playoff Picks for Round 1. Exciting? Damn skippy. Hope you guys enjoy.

Tuesday April 13th Daily Picks.....

Hey there guys,
Well I apologize for not being able to post my picks yesterday but I had to work until early afternoon and had an early lab so I just didn't have time to go through all the games and so on and so forth. I am also not going to be posting picks for basketball for the last two days because I have found it rather hard to see how hard a team is going to play once they've wrapped up a playoff spot/been eliminated/so on and so forth. I will pick back up with series predictions for playoff games. As I will for NHL tomorrow with my Round 1 previews and predictions. Anyway guys hope you enjoy.

Big Ben Has Rapist Hair

Way to go Ben. What's the best way to shake your "rapist" image? Try your best to look the part of course.

Sunday April 11th Daily Picks

Saturday April 10th Daily Picks

Hey there guys,
Well Yesterday was actually a pretty good day as far as my picks went. Only in 2 sports though. Which here recently is good for me (ha ha). Anyway I went 10-5 (10-5 ATS) in MLB, which is really good considering that I went 2-9 the day before, I also went 3-3 in SEC Baseball as Auburn fell just short of the comeback against LSU and South Carolina just continues to show me how wrong I am as they just keep winning when I think they shouldn't. Maybe they'll change my mind? Na. I'm stubborn. Anyway where I went awfully wrong was in the NBA. 5-8 (7-6 ATS). I don't really mind if I do awful I can at least get the job done against the spread. So while it looks bad I'll live. And in my worst sport, Hockey, I went 5-0 (2-3 ATS). Hey 5-0 is FANTASTIC for me. Maybe I'll do better today.

Friday April 9th Daily Picks

Hey there guys,
I really don't even want to talk about how I did yesterday. I mean it was just awful. 2-9 (7-4 ats) in MLB? Ouch. Maybe I need rethink what I am doing here. Lucky for me this is just one series into the year so I should get a lot better before the season is over. The NBA and NHL are actually in what I think are the toughest parts of the schedule for people like me who pick the games, because now teams have already clinched or have been eliminated from the playoffs so it is hard to tell who is going to rest their star players more, and who is going to really play hard now that there is nothing really left to fight for in the regular season. That might explain why I went 2-1 (1-2 ats) in the NBA and 4-5 (5-4 ats) in the NHL. Oh well. At least for the day yesterday I would've made some money if I was a betting man as I went 13-10 for the day ATS. 1-6 in my upset picks though. Woof. Yeah maybe today will be better. Let's go with that for now.

Thursday April 8th Daily Picks.....

Hey there guys,
Well I have been informed my opening text, which consists of a recap of the scores of the day before, followed by a preview of the upcoming games can be a bit "daunting" so what I am going to try and do is to split it up into different paragraphs. There will be less writing out here but more inside. Out here I will really just talk about how I did with my picks the day before. In MLB I went 8-7 but 9-6 ats, meaning I at least had the right idea with where I was going on my picks, in the NBA I went 10-3 (5-8 ats) as I have been having either really good days or really awful days recently when it comes to picking the NBA. I am hoping to get on a consistent basis when the Playoffs role around, and finally in the NHL I went 4-1 (3-2 ats) as that is definitely the best day I have had in a really long time in the NHL and I am hoping I can keep that up during the Stanly Cup playoffs. We'll see. Hope you guys enjoy.

Wednesday April 7th Picks.....

Hey there guys,
Well yesterday was a rough day for me as far as my picks go. In MLB I went 2-5 (1-6 ats), woof, as the Yankees took one late from the Red Sox 6-4, the Giants continue their great pitching (2 runs in 2 games) as they take game 2 from the Astros 3-0, the Rays open up the season with a win as they used a 2 run 9th to come back and take one from the Orioles, the Brewers got their first win of the season as they defeated the Rockies 7-5 despite Ian Stewart's (3-4 1hr) performance at the plate for the Rocks, Torii Hunter hit a 3 run homer against his former team but it wasn't enough as the Twins took out the Angels 5-3, Chris Young went 6 innings, struck out 5, and gave up only 1 hit, and Everth Cabrera went 3-4 with 4 rbi as the Padres took game 2 from the Diamondbacks 6-3, and finally the Athletics took the Mariners to extra innings before winning 2-1, and A's starter Dallas Braden looked fantastic, 7 innings of 4 hit baseball and 10 strikeouts but came out with a no decision. In the NBA I went 4-5 (8-1 ats) as the Cavaliers cruise past the Raptors 113-101, the Pistons dropped 63 2nd half points on the 76ers and win 124-103, JaVale McGee helped out his resume for the Wizards as his 25 points and 15 rebounds, along with his stellar defensive play, helped the defeat the Warriors 112-94, the Bobcats took a giant step closer to securing a playoff spot as they took out the Atlanta Hawks 109-100, the Celtics continued their inconsistent play as they drop a big one in New York to the Knicks 104-101, despite not having Andrew Bogut the Bucks are still playing solid basketball as they drop the Bulls 79-74, and this was a big loss for Chicago as they had an opportunity to tie for that 8th spot in the East with the Raptors but couldn't get it done, the Rockets upset their division rival Grizzlies 113-103, Deron Williams (42pts 10asst) and Carlos Boozer (28pts 15rebs) and the Jazz took out Kevin Durant (45pts) and Russell Westbrook (27pts) 140-139 in overtime in what looked like a playoff game, and finally the Spurs make it 4 in a row as they take out the Kings 95-86. In the NHL I went 7-4 (4-7 ats) as the Sabres and Tyler Ennis (1 goal 2 assists) took out the Rangers 5-2, the Canadiens failed to clinch the playoffs as they lost to the Islanders 4-3 in a shootout, Brian Boucher's 23 save shutout performance helped the Flyers take out the Maple Leafs 2-0, Martin Brodeur's 600th win as a goalie came in the form of a 3-0 New Jersey shutout of the Thrashers, Alex the Great and the Capitals completed the season sweep of Sid the Kid and the Penguins winning 6-3 in Pittsburgh, Eric Staal's 4 points (2 goals 2 assists) played a big part in the Hurricanes offensive explosion in an 8-5 win over the Lightning, Chris Neil's 3 points (1 goal 2 assists) played a big part in the Senators 5-2 win over the Panthers, the Blackhawks wrapped up at least a #2 seed as they topped the Stars 5-2, the Sharks, lead by goalie Evgeni Nabakov's 38 saves, helped clinch their division crown with a 2-1 win over the Flames, the Avalanche wrapped up the final playoff spot in the West with a 4-3 shootout win over the Canucks in Vancouver, and finally the Kings took out the Ducks in overtime 5-4. Well today is the first FULL day of Baseball as all 30 teams will be playing today, as most of them will be throughout the season, but today there are some great games and the ones I am interested in watching start early today as the Brewers host the Rockies to see who takes this first series, the Dodgers try to bounce back after being upset by the Pirates on opening day, Andy Pettite and John Lackey face off on the mound as the Yankees and Red Sox decide who wins the opening series between the two rivals, the Braves will see if that new and improved offense wasn't just a fluke after pounding the Cubs 16-5 in the first game of the series, the Marlins and the Mets meet after New York thrashed the Marlins 7-1 in their opening meeting, Jake Peavy starts his farst game of the season as the White Sox look to clinch the series from the Indians, Arizona and San Diego battle it out in the dessert, the Angels and Twins face off in game 3 of their series, and Oakland tries to take the series from the Mariners. Those last two games are going to be big for the AL West, even though it is early in the season, this looks to be a VERY tight race for the 4 game division and every win is going to matter at the end of the year. In the NBA there are some good games as well as as Golden State heads to Minnesota in a meaningless game that I think will still be some good basketball, keep an eye on Stephen Curry and Johnny Flynn, two rookie point guards that are very good, Boston looks to get back on track in Toronto as the Raptors try to take a big step towards securing a playoff spot in the East, Charlotte looks to do the same on the road in New Orleans taking on Chris Paul and the Hornets, Carmelo Anthony and Kevin Durant go head to head as division rivals face off as the Nuggets take on the Thunder in the OC, and two hot playoff teams face off as San Antonio heads to Phoenix. Finally in the NHL there are only 5 games today but there is one in particular that I am really going to be paying attention to and that is tonight when the Nashville Predators head out west to take on the Phoenix Coyotes in what very well may be a preview of the first round match up between the two. Should be interesting. Hope you guys enjoy.

Tuesday April 6th Daily Picks.....

Hey there guys,
As I have told you I am working a lot more recently and today I had to stay till 1:30 and then once I got home I just passed out. But anyway yesterday was a pretty decent day as far as my picks go as I went 1-0 in the final game of the 2009-2010 NCAA Basketball season as Butler gave Duke a much better game than I thought they would, losing by 2 51-49. One of the best games I have ever watched. In MLB I went 11-2 (4-9 ats) in MLB as Albert Pujols opened up the year right going 3-4 with 2 hr and 3rbi as the Cardinals beat the Reds 11-6, the Giants beat the Astros as Tim Lincecum threw 7 shutout innings with 7 strike outs in a 5-2 win, Placido Polanco made a splash in his return to the Phillies lineup going 3-5 with a homer and 6 rbi as the Phils beat the Nationals 11-1, the Pirates opened up the season with a surprise win over the Dodgers behind Garrett Jones' outsanding day at the plate (2-4 2hr 3rbi) and the Angels opened up the season with a 6-3 victory over Minnesota despite the play of the Twins Carlos Gomez (4-5 1hr 1rbi). In the NHL I went 2-1 (1-2 ats) as the Capitals topped the Bruins 3-2 in Overtime to clinch the Presidents Trophy (team with the best record at the end of the regular season), Chris Mason had an outstanding game in the net (27 saves) as St. Louis defeated the Blue Jackets 2-1, to inch closer to that 8th spot in the West and Keep their slim playoff hopes alive. A loss by Colorado and Calgary tonight would do wonders for the Blues hopes. And finally, in a game that means nothing, the Oilers finally played some good hockey defeating the Wild 4-1, as Ethan Moreau's 2 goals and Devan Dubnyk's 25 saves were too much for Minnesota to handle. Today there are some great games as the MLB's season is starting up as the Yankees and the Red Sox match up in Game 2 of their 3 game series, the Orioles and the Rays get the season started tonight with Kevin Millwood taking the mound for Baltimore and James Shields for Tampa Bay, and San Fransisco tries to keep up it's solid pitching as Barry Zito takes the mound against the Astros. The NBA picks back up play today and there are some solid games there and in the NHL. Sorry I had to cut this short but I have to go to class soon so I am just going to post my picks and head that way. Hope you guys enjoy.

Monday April 5th Daily Picks.....

Hey there guys,
Well yesterday wasn't the greatest day for me as far as my picks are concerned as I went 3-3 on the final day for this weekend series as both Vanderbilt and Auburn avoided a sweep this weekend as they beat Florida (7-0) and Alabama (7-1) respectively, LSU and South Carolina both won their series in impressive fashion on Sunday crushing Georgia (15-5) and Mississippi State (14-2) respectively, Arkansas took the series from Kentucky in a score that more closely resembled a football game, 17-16, and the surprise of the weekend came when Tennessee, who had not won an SEC game heading into the weekend, took the series from Ole Miss in Oxford. On Opening Night I went 1-0 as Boston, at one point down down 5-1, and then 7-5 later, would come back to win 9-7 as Dustin Pedroia (2-4 1hr 3rbi) and Kevin Youkilis (3-4 2rbi) fueled the comeback that really roughed up the Yankees bullpen. Jorge Posada had a good game for the Yankees (3-4 1hr 2rbi), whose offense looked just fine, sending Josh Beckett away early and fighting back, its not often that 7 runs is not enough for a win in the bigs. In the NBA I went 4-4 (4-4 ats) as LeBron James dropped 42 points and the Cavaliers came back from being down 23 in the 3rd quarter but it wasn't enough as the Celtics held on to win is this Technical crazy game (6 in this one game), the Spurs wrapped up their 13th consecutive playoff bid as they beat the reeling Lakers by 19 in Los Angeles, Chris Bosh put up 42 points and 12 rebounds but missed what would have been the game winning LAYUP and instead the Warriors upset the Raptors in Toronto, and Kevin Durant's 40 points gives him the most single season points in franchise history as the Thunder struggled but held on to beat the Timberwolves by 8. Finally in the NHL I went 2-2 as the Flyers took a 2 point lead for the final spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs beating the Red Wings 4-3, the Blackhawks did some major damage to the Flames playoff hopes as Antti Niemi's 25 saves and Patrick Kane's 2 points (1 goal 1 assist) doused the Flames (ha ha) 4-1, and Calgary was not helped at all by San Jose as they lost in overtime to the Avalanche and Peter Mueller (2 goals 1 assist) and now Colorado holds a 2 point lead for that final spot in the West. Well today is a fairly big day for two sports while two others get somewhat of a break as today is the day that we find out whether or not Butler is worth the hype as they take on Duke in the NCAA Tournament National Championship game. though is the real opening day for baseball as 26 teams will play in 13 games that include some great pitching match ups as Justin Verlander and Zach Greinke go head to head as the Tigers head to Kansas City for Opening day, Ben Sheets tries to make a comeback as he starts for the A's as Felix Hernandez and the Mariners come to town, Roy Halladay makes his debut for the Phillies today in the Nations capitol against the Nationals, Chris Carpenter and Adam Harang square off as the Cardinals head to Cincinnati to take on the Reds, Carlos Zambrano and the Cubs head to Atlanta to take on the Braves and Derek Lowe in the first day of Bobby Cox's last season, and 25 year old, 2 time Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum and the Giants head to Houston to take on Roy Oswalt and the Astros. In a rare day off the NBA does not have any games today but they will pick back up tomorrow as the season nears its end, in the NHL there are only 3 games today Boston heads to Washington to take on Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals, the Bruins need a win to give them more breathing room as they are just 2 points ahead of the 9th place Rangers in the Eastern Conference Playoffs race, the Blues try to hold on to whatever playoff hopes they have left as they host Columbus today, and finally Minnesota and Edmonton are really just playing for shiggles. Should be interesting. Not much writing today as I am going to be watching opening day and then the National Championship tonight. Hope you guys enjoy.

NASCAR UP TO DATE

Sunday April 4th Daily Picks and MLB Picks....

Hey there guys,
Sorry this is up so late but I was at work from 7-1:30 so I am just getting home and rushing this up. Won't be much writing today but I am going to provide who I expect to win each division, the World Series, and the Major Awards. Yesterday was a little rough for me as far as picks go as I went 3-3 in SEC Baseball as Georgia, in a surprising outcome, upset LSU 12-6, Tennessee did the same at Ole Miss 5-2, Mississippi State evened the series at South Carolina 8-7, Arkansas dominated Kentucky to even the series 10-1, and both Alabama and Florida clinched series wins as they beat took care of Auburn and Vanderbilt respectively. In NBA I went 5-4 (3-6ats) as Philadelphia took Toronto and Chris Bosh (28 pts 12rebs) to overtime but couldn't pull off the upset despite the great play of Andre Iguodala (33 points 11 assists) and Dwayne Wade dropped 39 points as the Heat took out the Timberwolves 97-84. How about the New Jersey Nets? Erasing all doubt of being the worst in NBA history they DESTROYED the Hornets 116-85. Woof. In the NHL I went 6-5 (actually not bad considering how I have been doing, I am trying a semi new way of predicting games today so we'll see how it works) as it was MONTREAL's goalie that was dominant as Jaroslav Halak shut out the Sabres in a 3-0 win that was huge as the Canadien's inch closer to securing a playoff birth, speaking of great goalie play Martin Broduer blanked the Hurricanes with 26 saves as the Devils pull even with the Penguins in the division race, Marian Gaborik was huge for the Rangers as he got 2 points (1 goal 1 assist) and helped the Rangers win 4-1 and bring them even with the Philadelphia Flyers for that ever changing 8th spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs. Today is Opening Night in the MLB as the New York Yankees head to Boston to take on the Red Sox in what is one of the last true rivalries in all of professional sports. In SEC Baseball Alabama and Florida look to go for the Sweep while Ole Miss and Tennessee, Georgia and LSU, Mississippi State and South Carolina, and Arkansas and Kentucky will decide a series winner today. In the NBA there are some really good games as LeBron James and the Cavaliers head to Boston to take on the Aging Celtics, big sports day in Boston today huh? San Antonio heads to LA to take on Kobe Bryant and the Lakers in what should be a very good playoff preview. That is if the Spurs play like they can. I also want to see how the Lakers do in the post with Andrew Bynum still out. Houston heads to Indiana and this should be a very interesting game and I want to see how Trevor Ariza does against DeMarcus Granger and David Lee goes up against Chris Kaman in a battle of underrated Centers as New York heads to LA to face the Clippers. In the NHL there are only 4 games today but they are all important as Philadelphia tries to take a 2 point lead on that 8th spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs as they host Detroit, Calgary heads to Chicago and Colorado hosts San Jose and the Flames and Avalanche are tied for the 8th Spot in the WESTERN Conference playoffs, and Vancouver tries to move closer to that #2 seed in the West as they host Vancouver. Should be interesting. Hope you guys enjoy.

Saturday April 3rd Daily Picks.....

Hey there guys,
Today's post is going to be short and sweet as I have a lot of work to do today and did not get off work till late. And when I did get off I came back and passed out. Oh well, what can you do. Anyway yesterday was actually a pretty good day for my picks as I went 5-1 as Alabama took out Auburn 10-5, Kentucky took one from Arkansas on the road 12-8, Ole Miss defeated Tennessee in game 1 7-3, Florida won a tight one 3-2 over Vanderbilt, South Carolina coasted to a 10-2 over Mississippi State, and LSU barely got by Georgia 4-3 as Anthony Ranaudo only lasted 3 innings in his 2010 debut, and in the NBA I went 8-2 (4-6 ats) as the Heat upset the Pacers in overtime 105-96 as Dwayne Wade dropped 43 points, Manu Ginobli also had 43 points as he lead the Spurs past the Magic, the Warriors took out the Knicks by 11 despite C David Lee's outstanding game, where he would post a TRIPLE DOUBLE (37 points 20 rebounds 10 assists). Monster Game no? And in the finale the Lakers took out the Jazz 107-96 despite Utah's stars both having double double's, Carlos Boozer 20 points 18 rebounds and Deron Williams 20 points 10 assists. Big wins for the Spurs and Lakers as they were both reeling as of late but got big wins over good teams. The Bulls and the Grizzlies also helped themselves by keeping their playoff hopes alive with wins over the Wizards and Hornets, respectively. In the NHL I went 3-4, not as good as the other 2 but as bad as I have been doing this wasn't AS bad, anyway, Chicago got a huge win over New Jersey with a 2-1 Shoot Out win, the Canadiens got a HUGE win towards the playoffs as they rode goalie Jaroslav Halak's 35 save shutout of the Flyers and left with a 1-0 win, the Rangers did the same behind their goalie, Henrik Lundqvist, and his 30 save shutout of the Lightning, as the Rangers won 5-0, tying with the Thrashers for 9th place in the Eastern Conference standings and now both of them are 2 points away from that 8th spot, and then Michael Grabner's hat trick helped the Canucks take out the Ducks 5-4 on the road ans secured them a playoff spot. Today there are some great games as NCAA Tournament picks back up as the Final Four is today with Michigan State playing Butler in a battle of #5 seeds, and West Virginia plays Duke as two of the best Head Coaches in today's game, WVU's Bob Huggins and Duke's Mike Kzyzewski match wits. That's not all as Baseball heads into day 2 of the weekend series, and then in the NBA as Chris Bosh and Toronto try to hold onto their current 8th spot in the Eastern Conference as they head to the 76ers, Charlotte heads to Chicago in a big game for both, Kevin Durant takes on Dirk Nowitzki as the Thunder head to Dallas to take on the Mavericks, and Amare Stoudemire takes on Andrew Bogut in a big game as the Suns take on the Bucks in Milwaukee, and in the NHL there are also some great games as Atlanta tries to tie for that aforementioned 8th playoff spot in the Eastern conference as they hit the road to take on Sidney Crosby and the Penguins, Division Rivals battle for playoff positioning as the Predators head up North to take on the Red Wings, Montreal tries to take another huge step towards securing a playoff spot as they host Ryan Miller and the Buffalo Sabres, and then the Rangers, like the Thrashers, will be going for a tie for that 8th spot in the Eastern Conference as they travel South to play Florida. Should be a huge day in the NHL. Hope you guys enjoy.

April 2nd Daily Picks.....

Hey there guys,
Sorry all of these have been going up so late but Blogger is having some major issues and I haven't even been able to access my blog today. Sigh. Anyway yesterday was a pretty good day for me as far as my picks went. In the NIT Championship I went 1-0 as Dayton coasted to halftime lead of 45-32 before having to hold off the Tar Heels all throughout the 2nd half, eventually winning 79-68. In the NBA I went 2-0 (1-1 ats) as Dwight Howard dominated the paint, with 17 points 20 rebounds and 5 blocks, as the Magic won 97-82 on the road at Dallas, and the Nuggets pulled away in the 2nd half over the Trail Blazers, behind the play of Nene Hilario (22 points) and Chauncey Billups (21 points). In the NHL I went 5-3 as Florida upset Boston on the road behind Scott Clemmensen's 36 save shutout, the Islanders pulled of the upset of the Flyers, avoiding a season sweep, as Blake Comeau scored 2 goals and Jon Sim had 3 points (1 goal 2 assists) as the Flyers continue to struggle, the Senators wrapped up a playoff birth as they pulled off the win over Carolina in shootout, Erik Karlsson scored 2 for the Sens, and finally Dustin Brown had a hat trick and an assist as the Kings routed the Canucks 8-3. Moving the Kings 2 points closer to clinching a playoff spot. Today there are some good games as SEC Baseball has some solid match ups as Georgia heads to #5 LSU as the Bulldogs get to face the return of Pre Season All American SP Anthony Ranaudo, the Volunteers of Tennessee take on the #11 ranked Rebels of Ole Miss, Mississippi State @ #12 South Carolina, Auburn @ #25 Alabama, Kentucky @ #10 Arkansas, and #20 Vanderbilt @ #8 Florida. The NBA has some good games as well as as Miami heads to Indiana to take on DeMarcus Granger and the Pacers in what should be a great game, Milwaukee heads to Charlotte in a match up of probably playoff teams, LeBron James and the Cavaliers play host to Josh Smith and the Hawks, the Magic try to win twice in as many days in Texas as they take on the Spurs, and the Jazz head to LA to face Kobe Bryant and the Lakers. The Lakers have struggling as of late so it will be interesting to see how they play at home against the Jazz who have been playing really well as of late, and in the NHL the Blackhawks head to New Jersey to take on Martin Brodeur and Co., San Jose tries to get back on track as they play at Minnesota, Calgary, 2 points behind the Avalanche for the 8th spot in the Western Conference, head to Colorado as the winner will hold that 8th spot, and Vancouver tries to slow down this losing streak in Anaheim against the red hot Ducks. Should be fun. Hope you guys enjoy.

April 1st Daily News and Transactions

MLB
-Rangers claimed 1B Ryan Garko off waivers from Mariners; he had 13 HR, 51 RBI in 2009

Not a major move but Garko should be a solid backup for Rangers starting 1b Chris Johnson and could also be a decent DH if Vladamir Guerrero doesn't work out.

-Mets P Francisco Rodriguez leaves team for personal reasons, expected to be back for Monday opener

K-Rod had a family member, assumed to be his brother, back in Venezuela involved in a serious car wreck. His absence won't hurt the Mets too much as he plans to be back for Opening day though the Mets aren't expecting him back until a couple of days after that.

-Phils place closer Brad Lidge, RP J.C. Romero on DL; both could be activated April 10

I reported yesterday that Lidge was taking treatments for his elbow and the team targeted a Mid April Return. Romero is also targeting a mid April return, the 12th is what he is hoping for, and he is coming off a year with his least amount of appearances since 2001, and the Phils are hoping when he gets healthy he can return to his 2007 and 2008 form where he was one of the better relief pithcers in the game.

-Orioles officially acquire INF Julio Lugo, cash from Cardinals for player to be named or cash

As of right now that player has not been names but this is a solid move for the Orioles, as they currently only had 3 middle infielders in starters Cezar Izturis and Brian Roberts, with backup Robert Andino trying to provide depth for both positions. Now Andino can back up Izturis and the Veteran Lugo, entering his 11th season, can back up Roberts, and just about any position in the infield.

-Mets SS Jose Reyes will start season on DL; missed 3 weeks of spring training due to thyroid issues

The Mets are really hoping that Reyes recovers to 100% as he is one of the best young SS in today's game. He will be replaced by Veteran Alex Cora who is a solid defender at SS but is nowhere near the hitter or runner that Reyes is. The sooner Reyes recovers the better. The Mets are going to be playing in a tough position and they don't need any setbacks if they want to have a chance. Luis Castillo should take over the leadoff spot until Reyes return.

-Phillies SP Joe Blanton headed to 15-day DL with oblique strain that will need 3-6 weeks to heal

Yet another Philies pitcher to be out with an injury. Blanton for his career has been a very solid middle of the rotation, 3rd or 4th guy with a great career WHIP of 1.33. Kyle Kendrick, who went 21-13 as a Phillies starter in 2007 and 2008 but was relegated to the bullpen with just 2 starts last season, has been named Blanton's replacement in the rotation.

NFL
-Giants sign S Deon Grant (started 144 straight games, 3 seasons each with Panthers, Jags, Seahawks)

Should provide depth for the Giants in the secondary. Didn't exactly have a dream season this past season but still has some value as a backup or in dime and quarter packages.

-Browns DT Shaun Rogers arrested at Cleveland Hopkins Intl Airport, police say he had a loaded gun

You would think after Pacman Jones, Plaxico Burress, and then in the NBA this season Gilbert Arenas that players would just not carry loaded/unlicensed weapons with them. Nothing says rebuilding in Cleveland like having your players arrested. He will most likely be suspended for the season meaning the Browns traded Corey Williams and have just lost Shaun Rogers. Woof.

-Bears released DE Alex Brown, who started 107 of 127 career games in 8 years with the team

Depth at DE is going to be a big need for the Bears now as they have lost 2 of the 3 DEs that were on the roster at the end of this past season, with Gaines Adams passing away, and now they are releasing Alex Brown. They did sign Julius Peppers this offseason but that leaves him and Mark Anderson. I'm guessing they are going to draft some depth in the later rounds and/or try to find someone to fill in as backup.

-Seahawks LB Leroy Hill received 12 months probation after pleading guilty to marijuana possession

This will be interesting to see how new head coach Pete Carroll responds to the charges brought about Hill, a starter for the Seahawks since 2005. Honestly? I don't blame the guy. Yeah it's illegal but maybe he needed it to get through last year. What Seahawk wouldn't?

-Giants re-signed 44-year-old P Jeff Feagles, who will enter his 23rd season in 2010

If he and the Giants still feel that he can be a reliable punter week in and week out then this was a solid move.

Thursday April 1st Daily Picks.....

Hey there guys,
Yesterday was another one of those up and down days as I went 10-3 (8-5 ats) in the NBA as Atlanta took out the Lakers by 17, which is making things interesting as the Lakers begin to stumble down the stretch, the Raptors actually looked like a decent team as Chris Bosh dropped 34 points and 11 rebounds, Kevin Durant knocked down 15 free throws on his way to 37 points and an upset of the Boston Celtics 109-104, Dallas continued their hot streak as Memphis continues to struggle as Dallas won 106-102 in overtime in Memphis, and George Hill dropped 30 points on the Rockets as the Spurs actually looked like a semi decent team last night. In the NHL, however... things were no so pretty. I went 1-6. Hopefully today will go much better than last night as Tampa Bay upset Sid the Kid and the Penguins behind goalie Mike Smith's 27 save shutout, Chicago looks to be back on track following a 4-0 rout of Minnesota, the Ducks upset the Avalanche in Colorado behind the absolutely outstanding play of Jason Blake (1 goal 4 assists) and Sako Koivu (1 goal 3 assists) and both were also defensive monsters as well, and Calgary made a huge move defeating Phoenix on the same night that Colorado lost moving them within 2 points with 5 games left in the season. Well today there is going to be another Picks Special as the Finals of the NIT are tonight between the Dayton Flyers and the North Carolina Tar Heels. I guess a good question concerning this game would be if the NIT championship would be enough consolidation for as week of a season as it was for the Tar Heels? If most of these guys stay than I think so. Especially for the safety of Head Coach Roy Williams. God knows what the Heel fans will do if they lose tonight I guess we'll see what happens. In the NBA there are only 2 games tonight but they are great games as Orlando heads to Dallas to take on the Mavericks in a game that features match ups between two great shot blocking Centers in Dwight Howard and Brendan Haywood, and two great shooting Power Forwards in Rashad Lewis and Dirk Nowitzki. That should be a great game but maybe not as good as the red hot Portland Trail Blazers, lead by Marcus Camby and Brandon Roy, head to Denver to take on Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups. Should be some great action tonight. In the NHL there are also some good games as the Maple Leafs take on the league's best goalie, Ryan Miller, when they host the Sabres tonight, the Capitals, and Alex Ovechkin, look to get back on track as they host the Atlanta Thrashers, who are 2 points, a win, out of tying for that 8th spot in the Eastern conference playoffs, Red Wing G Jimmy Howard looks to keep up his hot streak as Detroit plays host to Columbus tonight, St. Louis tries to fight for their dying playoff lives in Nashville, and Henrik Sedin leads the Canucks into Los Angeles to take on solid goalie Jonathan Quick. Should be interesting. Hope you guys enjoy .