NHL Trade Deadline: With Charlie Sheen, LeBron James, and Jerry Seinfeld

As I tweeted yesterday, the NHL trade deadline was only slightly more exciting than your typical WNBA trade deadline. As seems to be the case not only in the NHL, but in the other major leagues as well, the biggest prize at the deadline failed to move. This year's winner for "guy who should cancel the U-Haul trailer"? Slick Rick Nash of Columbus, the hockey hotbed in central Ohio.

So as I said, yesterday was pretty lackluster. The entire trade season was. And you're probably wondering, "what on Earth do Charlie Sheen, LeBron James, and Jerry Seinfeld have to do with the NHL trade deadline?" Welp it's quite simple, actually. Despite the lack of major moves, some teams wound up winning, some teams wound up choking/losing/etc., and some teams just wound up "Even Steven". Unfortunately I couldn't find a clip of Jerry proclaiming how things even out for him, but just watch "The Opposite" and you'll understand where I'm coming from. After the instructional videos, read below to see who falls in to each division. We'll be discussing the deadline even more on tomorrow's radio program at high noon, so don't forget to tune in for that.

Charlie Sheen Division 

Los Angeles Kings

Make no mistake about it, the Kings have underachieved all season long. Many, myself included, expected them to be a Cup contender, perhaps even come out of the West. But they couldn't score on a soccer net with Andrew Raycroft in front of it if they tried. So they called up Columbus, and while they didn't get Rick Nash, attained Mike Richards' homeboy Jeff Carter. The cost? A 1st-round pick and Jack Johnson, the no. 3 overall pick in 2005 by Carolina who's moving on to his third organization. Johnson is a -91 for his career, despite playing on some pretty good Kings teams these last several years. 

Carter's had a down year, sure, but he's been injured and stuck in Columbus. The change of scenery (again) should reinvigorate his game. Carter once scored 46 goals in a season, back in 2009. Considering what they gave up, it's a no-brainer.

Chicago Blackhawks

Johnny Oduya has got a great name, but perhaps even better game. A cornerstone of the package that the Atlanta Thrashers received for Ilya Kovalchuk once upon a time, Oduya brings depth to a Blackhawks corps that has been porous all season long. Ducan Keith and Brent Seabrook are nice, but adding Oduya to the mix enables them to lengthen their unit by pushing either Keith or Seabrook back to second line D to pair with another less experienced type. The 'Hawks can score with the best of them, but their Cup quest will live and die by what they get defensively and in the pipes. Oduya can definitely be a part of the solution.

Boston Bruins

They barely rocked the boat and they certainly didn't tip the boat over, making a splash that would almost certainly win a medal at an Olympic diving contest. Which is to say, hardly a splash at all. But with injuries to Nathan Horton and Rich Peverley, the B's couldn't afford to stand pat, and made a series of minor moves to bring back Brian Rolston, bring in local boy Mike Mottau, and swap Steven Kampfer for Greg Zanon. None of these names were brought in to put the team over the top, by any means, but if you look at what the rest of the Eastern contenders did (or didn't do, in reality), GM Peter Chiarelli can rest easy.

These moves are even more low key than last years fine-tuning, when he brought in Peverley, Chris Kelly, and the corpse of Tomas Kaberle, but the team didn't need quite that big a splash this time around. And by not trading Tuukka Rask, that is a win in of itself.

Buffalo Sabres

Tough guy Paul Gaustad, who had his face re-arranged by Milan Lucic not too long ago, for a 1st round pick? 7-10-17, -1 totals on the season is suddenly worth a 1st rounder? Jeez. Good work by GM Darcy Regier, collecting a valuable asset to build towards next season, which it clearly looks like Buffalo is doing.  Not to mention bringing in Cody Hodgson, who just turned 22 last week, to potentially play on a line with Thomas Vanek. It's been a frustrating year in Buffalo, but the future doesn't look so bad anymore.

LeBron James Division

Columbus Blue Jackets

On the one hand, they ridded themselves of Jeff Carter's contract, which currently runs through 2021. On the other hand, they've now given away Jeff Carter, Jakub Voracek, a 1st round pick, and a 3rd round pick for Jack Johnson and a 1st round pick. Say the first round picks cancel out (which you can't really, because look how valuable a Columbus 1st round pick is these days. The Flyers certainly made out in that one). That's not good for business. Plus they're stuck with an unhappy Rick Nash for the remainder of the season, which will clearly be a lame-duck campaign for him as it's pretty much set in stone he's gone this summer. 

Did I mention Columbus is hosting the All-Star Game next season? Said GM Scott Howson on hosting the game without Nash, "We'll just have to have other all-stars". Good luck.

Nashville Predators

I seem to be in the minority here, but....since when is Hal Gill an elite defenceman again? Was he ever even one? And to the tune of a 2nd round pick, no less? You already have Shea Weber and Ryan Suter, on a team that can't score goals....shouldn't that pick go towards, gee I don't know, a goal scorer? So then, the Preds add Andrei Kostitsyn, reuniting him with his brother Sergei. When the two were together in Montreal, that worked out about as well as Pro Sports hiring both Levin's. Volatility much? And to top it all off, they give up a first round pick to acquire Paul Gaustad, who we've already touched on. I like how Nashville is going for it. I don't like how they're going about going for it.

Washington Capitals

If any contender, or pseudo-contender, as these guys have become, needed to make a move, it was Washington. Injuries to Nicky Backstrom and Mike Green have been devastating, no question. And the disappearances of Alex Ovechkin and Alexander Semin would make a great storyline in a throwback Soviet Communism flick. They're in 9th in the East, but only 3 points behind Southeast Division-leading Florida. If any team should have been in on Rick Nash, it's these guys. I fail to see why they were never really linked to him. Maybe the GM disappeared with Ovie and Co. too.

Rick Nash

If you ever want to be taken seriously as a hockey player, get out of Columbus and win a damn playoff game. Supposedly he asked for a trade in January, but it's a he-said she-said deal right now. And he's said in the past he enjoys playing in Columbus rather than his hometown Toronto, where the spotlight is too bright. And you wonder why I named this the LeBron James Division.

Jerry Seinfeld Division

New York Rangers, San Jose Sharks

It's hard to call them losers, because they barely did anything. But it's hard to call them winners either, when they barely did anything. Even Steven! Unlike Washington, neither team is in dire straits, per se. But these teams needed to do something that would rock the Richter Scale, and I don't mean Mike Richter for the Rangers. Henrik Lundqvist winning the Vezina is about as much of a formality this year as silent films and Iranians were at winning Oscars on Sunday, but that team is struggling to score goals almost as much as the Kings have been.  Brad Richards has cooled down since his hot start, and there's really no fearsome scorer on that team other than Marion Gaborik.

As for the Sharks, they've definitely missed the offense provided by Dany Heatley. And granted he hasn't been having the best of seasons in Minnesota, while Brent Burns has been a revelation for San Jose. Aside from Jumbo Joe, Patrick Marleau, Logan Coture, and Joe Pavelski, this team is a shell of it's former offensive self. Which didn't win them any Cups, to be fair. But you can't do a 180 and preach defense when your roster clearly possesses offensive firepower. They addressed the defensive concerns in the off-season, and should have turned their efforts back to adding another scorer. With LA making moves, and the soon-to-be Quebec Nordiques on a hot streak of epic proportions, San Jose may have missed yet another chance.

And there you have it. The teams that jumped out at me got their ink, for better or for worse. I don't think any team magically morphed into the Cup favorite yesterday, but there's definitely some teams that blew it big time by a lack of moves. And that goes for contenders and teams in rebuilding mode. As always, we'll see how it goes.

Super Bowl XLVI Preview

Jim Irsay stole the show this week, alright. I'm sure his plan when he bid to land the Super Bowl in Indianapolis some years ago was that it would be his very own Colts playing in the game. In an ironic twist of fate the Colts were the worst team in the NFL this year, but that hasn't stopped Irsay from grabbing headlines these past two weeks. You'd actually think the Colts were the team playing in this game, with all the coverage on Peyton Manning and his neck. It's been on par with Brett Favre, LeBron James, and Tim Tebow media uproar.

I'll say this much: instead of seeing the David Tyree catch 1,000 times, we probably only had to see it about 997 thanks to Irsay and his massive ego. So thanks for that, I guess.

On to the actual game. Where Peyton Manning actually does have a lot at stake, to be fair. His arch-rival and his younger brother can take their statuses to new levels with wins tonight. Tom Brady can further bolster his case that when all is said and done, he will indeed be the Greatest Quarterback of All-Time. Four rings, two Super Bowl MVP's, two regular-season MVP's, 16-0 season? Not many other people with that kind of resume. Eli, on the other hand? Remember, there's a list of quarterbacks with two rings not in the Hall of Fame, and it starts and ends with Jim Plunkett. Eli's career TD-INT ratio? 185-129 currently. Plunkett's final tally? 164-198. Eli is bound for Canton with a second ring, and it doesn't necessarily have to be tonight's game either.

And of course there's the whole "Revenge Bowl" factor, which I'm not buying into at all, because if the Patriots do indeed win tonight, they'll be 16-3 on the season. I'm not exactly Ben Whitney with math here, but I can tell you that's not 19-0. The only thing that matters tonight is, well, tonight. One team will win, one team will lose. That much we know. But who's more likely to be that winner or loser? Time to break it down in the way only Jake Levin can.

Quarterbacks


Eli Manning did indeed prove this season that you can't spell "Elite" without "Eli", much like you can't spell "Flaccid" without "Flacco". He's not the liability he was in Super Bowl XLII anymore, when he jobbed Justin Tuck from winning game MVP honors. 4,933 passing yards this season may have only been the fourth-highest total in the league, but they were the sixth-most all time. People are actually talking openly that he may be having a better career than Peyton. Which is foolish, but hey. Let it go to his head.

Because having said all that, he's still Eli Manning. Not Tom Brady.

Advantage: Patriots


Running Backs


Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs return from the XLII squad, each coming off tremendously disappointing seasons, however. For the Patriots, gone is Laurence Maroney, in is BJGE, Danny Woodhead, and Stevan Ridley. Relative no-names in the New England backfield, for sure. Ridley may have fallen out of favor with Belichick thanks to some fumbles, and BJGE wasn't nearly as effective this season as he was in 2010, when he rushed for 1,008 yards. The awe-factor with Danny Woodhead has come and gone as well. In 2010 he totaled over 900 yards from scrimmage (receiving and rushing yards). This season the number was barely over 500.

Of course, the Giants tandem played a hand in the Giants being dead-last in the NFL at rushing this season. I don't think either side has an advantage here, but I don't think it will matter either. Running games will be a non-factor.

Advantage: Even


Pass Catchers


If you've been listening to my show's at all this week (12-1:30 on Wednesday and Friday on http://wriu.org/studiob/), you know I've been lumping the WR's and TE's together into one category, because the Giants clearly have a deeper stable of wide receivers, while the Patriots boast the best tight end tandem in the league. Add them all together? You've got four of the NFL's top twelve receivers from this season (Wes Welker, Victor Cruz, Rob Gronkowski, Hakeem Nicks). You've got a guy who led the NFL in receptions (Welker, 122). You've got a guy who set the NFL record for TD catches be a TE (Gronkowski, 17. Plus 1 rushing). You've got a guy, who while not technically a rookie, had the most impressive first season as a wide receiver since Randy Moss--and actually gained more yards and caught more passes than Moss in his legendary 1998 rookie campaign (Cruz). You've got a guy with size 4XL hands (Nicks). Beyond the four headliners, there's Aaron Hernandez and Mario Manningham, another tight battle. So what's the X-Factor? The Giants don't have a former Super Bowl MVP as their no. 4 target. Deion Branch will matter tonight. You mark my words.

And maybe, just MAYBE, there will be a Chad Ochocinco sighting tonight. Maybe.

Advantage: Patriots


Defensive Line


Vince Wilfork can dominate a game like no other nose tackle in the league. Of course, Justin Tuck, Osi Umenyiora, and Jason Pierre-Paul can dominate a game like few other defensive ends can. I'm pretty sure we've seen this exact story from the Giants before, simply substituting Michael Strahan for JPP. The Pats defensive line is good; the Giants D-Line is great, and no doubt the best in the NFL.

Advantage: Giants


Linebackers/Secondary


I lumped these two together to save us time and cover up some mediocrity. For as much maligned as the Patriots secondary was this season (and rightfully so, being the 31st ranked pass defense), you realize the Giants were only a few slots ahead, at 29th, right? Since there's no other place I could throw this in, scoring defense is something that surprised me. The Patriots were middle of the pack, 15th, allowing 21.4 per. The Giants were 25th, at an even 25.0 per. More than any other playoff team, mind you. Even Denver. Bottom line is that neither of these units will be able to do much to slow down either passing attack.

Advantage: Even


Special Teams


Give me Stephen Gostkowski over Lawrence Tynes any day of the week and twice on Sundays. And today's Sunday. No feared kick/punt returners on either side, although I suppose either Edleman or Will Blackmon are capable of making a play. Zoltan Mesko can kick the ball a mile, and I honestly don't know who the Giants punter is, just that it's not Matt Dodge. And that's enough for me to know he's probably alright. So since everything is relatively even other than the placekickers it's a small

Advantage: Patriots


Coaching


Bill Belichick....Tom Coughlin. Bill Belichick....Tom Coughlin. Bill Belichick...? Tom Coughlin...?

Frankie Jawidzik says "to admire what Coughlin did with the Jaguars". Sure he did fine work with the expansion team. Including not taking them to any Super Bowls. This is a guy who's used up 8 of his 9 coaching lives yet for some reason, is still held in high regard. It's not quite Norv Turner-esque that he still has a job, but it's damn puzzling at times. I'm well aware Coughlin out-coached Belichick in XLII. Lightning doesn't strike twice people.

Advantage: Patriots


By my count, that's 4 advantages for the Patriots, 1 for the Giants, and 2 washes. I'll throw this number your way: there have been 45 Super Bowls. In said 45 Super Bowls, all 45 winners finished the season with a positive point differential. Seems pretty obvious, right? These Giants finished the season at -6. No team has ever won the Super Bowl with a negative point differential. Ever.

At 9-7, the Giants would be the first team in the history of the 16-game schedule to win the Super Bowl with fewer than 10 wins.

The Giants are an extremely trendy pick heading into this game. I love it. There's no question the Patriots play better when they're disrespected. No question at all. So give me Patriots 21, Giants 14, with Rob Gronkowski as Super Bowl MVP. Two TD's for Gronk and a rushing TD from BJGE will be enough for the Pats.

Enough with the hype. Let's play the damn game already.

Super Bowl Week: Apprentice II's Take

I've already dedicated two talk shows to the Super Bowl, and will be doing another one on Friday. I'll be writing by official game pick/predictions on Saturday or Sunday, but for now, I'm going to let another talented young writer, in this case Ryan Peloquin, showcase his talents on an established brand name, a la the Experience. Peloquin's credentials include a brief career writing for the extremely creatively-named Villanova school newspaper, the Villanovan, as well as a successful tenure at ProSports. That has absolutely nothing to do with writing but hey. Without further ado, here's "Why the Pats will win Super Bowl XLVI" by Ryan Peloquin.

Does this look like the face of the next Experience apprentice to make it big?

There was nothing more painful than Super Bowl XLII.  For those that do not remember, my undefeated New England Patriots went into Phoenix as a 12 point favorite versus the New York Giants planning to cap off their perfect season with a title.  Things did not go as planned. 

From the Patriots offensive line getting burned by the impressive Giants defensive front, to the Patriot secondary getting exposed, the game was a disaster, ending in a 17-14 Giants victory.  An undefeated season was not meant to be; the Giants were a team of destiny in 2007. 

That was four years ago.

Fast forward to the present day and the stage is set for a rematch of Super Bowl XLII.  The Pats will not disappoint this time. 

This year, the Patriots had a 13-3 regular season leading to a first round bye in the playoffs.  They find themselves in the big game after stomping the Denver Broncos 45-10 in the AFC Divisional Round, and edging out the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Championship 23-20. The Giants barely squeaked into the playoffs and most fans were calling for the firing of head coach Tom Coughlin after a sluggish start.  They finished strong and ended the regular season 9-7, defeating the Atlanta Falcons 24-2, the Green Bay Packers, 37-20, and the San Francisco 49ers 20-17 on their playoff run to the big dance.

In all honesty, everything is telling me the Giants are going to win this game; Eli Manning has improved, the Patriots defense is a cast of unknowns, and Patriot star Tight End Rob Gronkowski will not be 100% after suffering a high ankle sprain in the AFC Championship game.  Not to mention the Giants came into New England and beat the Pats 24-20 during Week 9.  This Patriots team is not as talented as the team in 2007 but, for whatever reason, Vegas favorites the Pats by 2.5 points.  Nevertheless, the Pats feel like the underdogs. 

And this is why they will win. 

In Brady’s first Super Bowl Championship, Super Bowl XXXVI in 2001, the Pats were 14 point underdogs.  That team made gutsy play after gutsy play in big time moments during that Super Bowl run because everyone counted them out.  This Pats team has the same feel.  The offense is talented and will put up points no question about it.  But the big question mark, the Patriots defense, rallies and makes plays when it needs to.  Ranked 31^st in defense during the regular season, the Patriots defense has been essential to the team’s postseason run.  Head coach Bill Belichick motivates his team with this underdog mentality and the defense makes big plays when people count them out.  They will make big plays on Super Bowl Sunday.

There are several other reasons as well.

Eli Manning, a mediocre quarterback for much of his career will not be 2-0 against Tom Brady and Bill Belichick, the winningest quarterback-head coach tandem of all time, in the Super Bowl.  Brady and Belichick will not allow it, and will be fired up come Sunday.  Eli has improved, but I would be shocked if he outplays Brady.   

Defensively, Belichick will exploit the poor Giants rushing game.  He will drop extra defensive backs and linebackers into coverage and dare the Giants to win the game on the ground.  The Pats will look to jam the talented Giants receivers at the line of scrimmage to throw off Manning’s timing.  The Pats will try to take away Eli’s security blanket, wide receiver Victor Cruz.  Look for defensive tackle Vince Wilfork to blow up plays in the backfield.

Offensively, the Pats are going to need to run the ball between the tackles.  Talented Giants linemen, such as Jason Pierre-Paul, love to apply pressure off the edge but look for the running game to keep those rushers honest.  Patriot’s running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis will have a big game, and, in my opinion, could even have a shot at game MVP.  The run will open up the Pats to exploit a weak Giants secondary with the pass.  While Gronkowski will draw much attention, passing lanes will open up for tight end Aaron Hernandez and receiver Wes Welker to rack up yards down the middle of the field. 

Bottom line:  This Giants team has two strengths; their passing game and their defensive line.  The Pats have a better pass game, and I think this Patriot offensive line can contain their pass rush.  Other than that, the Giants are an average team.  The Pats need to protect Brady and come up with a timely turnover or two on the defensive side.  I think they will, and the Patriots will redeem themselves for the devastating Super Bowl loss in 2007.  Final score: Patriots 27, Giants 24.