Kevin Weekes was far better than Devils fans had a right to expect last night against Buffalo,but Ryan Miller was better for the Sabres and Buffalo skulked off into the night with a 2-0 win at the Rock. Weekes faced 20 (Yes 20) shots in the first period and faced several power plays as well and I thought played very well. The Devils return to action on Wednesday against the Tampa Bay Lightning
Shawn's Thoughts
1) Kevin Weekes was excellent in goal and considering how little he has played in the last season he was even better. Still no word on how long Martin Brodeur will be out of the lineup.
2) The Devils looked listless in the first and increased the energy and effort in the following two periods,but looked a lot like last years Devils in lacking offense. That of course makes sense as the guys that were brought in to improve the offense are on the IR.
3) Paul Martin sat the game out as well adding yet another important Devil to the list of injuries. Anssi Salmela was recalled from Lowell and played in the game.
4) Ryan Miller always seems to have the New Jersey number as win or lose,Miller always plays well against the Devils. I would like to see Buffalo's backup netminder on occasion!!
5) Brent Sutter kept the lines down to three in the final period as I hardly remember seeing Mike Rupp,Nicklas Bergfors or Petr Vrana hardly at all.....
Bullpen Notes
Hasim Rahman will be stepping into the shoes of mandatory contender Alexander Povetkin and will attempt to lift the IBF Heavyweight belt from Wladimir Kiltschko on December 13th in Germany. Povetkin was the top contender but suffered an injury in training.
Ryan sends us this interesting note on the Air Car. The car could run on compressed air or some mineral oil and could go as far as 60 miles on a tank of air. Top speed is only about 35 MPH,so it would be suited for town use only,but certainly seems like it is worth continued development.
And no,I haven't forgotten opinions on Brady Quinn vs Derek Anderson. Watch for that later today or tomorrow when I get time for the Browns recap.
Photo Credit Weekes:Jim McIssac-Getty Images Air Car:MDI
Sorry about no posts on yesterdays games. I will catch up over the next two days. Just too tired from the paying gig and needed to rest....
This blog has decided to endorse two candidates in tomorrows elections.
Senator Barack Obama for President and Mike "Battlin Bob" McKain for the Washington County school board.....
While Obama's resume' is light and is a question mark on many levels,his selection of Joe Biden for his Vice President puts the Illinois Senator over the top for us. This country has done nothing but sled downhill for the last eight years and I fear that electing John McCain would offer little difference from the current path.
I am not completely sold on Obama,but the thought of Sarah Palin as our possible President scares the hell out of me and in the end-that truly was the biggest reason to vote against McCain...
Our other endorsement goes to Mike McKain for Washington County school board. If you live in Washington County,his name will not appear on the ballot-you MUST write in the name of Mike McKain. McKain would deliver a breath of fresh air to the stale world of BOE meetings with his rapier wit and through his ideas to change our counties educational system. McKain's background shows a candidate with the patience and concern for children that has marked his career. Frankly,Mike McKain cares about kids and that shows through every time that you meet and talk to Mike....
No matter your candidate,get out and vote tomorrow! Back tomorrow with Browns,Seahawks,Devils and Brady Quinn starting Thursday for the Browns!
The New Jersey Devils already have been chomped (bitten is too mild of a term) by the injury bug thus fat,but the biggest of all could have been snared last night as Martin Brodeur left the Devils 6-1 win over Atlanta with an injured elbow. The injury took much of the shine off the Devils win that snapped a three game losing streak. Devils goals to Zach Parise (8&9),Patrik Elias (3),Brian Gionta (2) and Nicklas Bergfors and Jay Pandolfo scored their first of the year in the blowout....
Shawn's Thoughts
1) The Devils are currently reporting the Brodeur injury is just a "Bruise" and will not comment on Marty's availability for Monday's game against the Buffalo Sabres......
2) I thought Kevin Weekes played pretty well in his period and a half of work when you consider the lack of prep time. Weekes does need to be ready to play tomorrow against Buffalo,I would play this very safe and definitely play Weekes against the Sabres and maybe even against Tampa on Wednesday as well..
3) Zach Parise continues his sizzling start with 2 more goals. Parise is currently second in the league in goals and even though it is early,I bet it has been a while since we could say that about a Devil!
4) Three assists for Johnny Oduya. Like I wrote recently,this will be enough of a flash to give hope to me for a while and watch his play revert to form!
5) The Nicklas Bergfors goal in the first was the initial NHL goal for the Swedish import. I hope it is the first of many.......
Bullpen Notes
What a game in Texas as the Texas Tech Red Raiders upset number one Texas 39-33 with one second to go! Graham Harrell's across field throw to Michael Crabtree ended what was easily the game of the year thus far..... I may write more on this later in the week on a slow day,but the second half of that game was as good as I have seen in a long time!
If there is any Atlanta Thrashers fans out there,I would have grave concerns. Ilya Kovalchuk was as uninspired as any star can be and the team in general looked like they came onto the ice in Mister Softee mode. A season of play like this and the Thrashers will lucky to draw four digits in fans by seasons end.
Today's picks The Cleveland Browns host the Baltimore Ravens in yet another must win game. A win evens the record at 4-4 and puts them in wild card contention. A loss sends them reeling and two games behind Baltimore among others in the wild card hunt. I think the Browns may not be totally on track,but have enough to take this one.
The Seattle Seahawks host the Philadelphia Eagles and look to be overmatched. The Eagles come in off a bye week and Seneca Wallace will get another start at quarterback.This one could get ugly.....
Predictions Browns over Ravens 20-7 Eagles over Seahawks 31-14
Not much news yesterday,so I figured I would wait a day and combine two slow days into one post...
Value City Department Stores are filing for bankruptcy and will be selling off the remainder of its 37 stores. Value City has never been in Hagerstown,but did have stores around the area in Frederick,Chambersburg and Cumberland. But its last ditch effort to downsize last year,it closed them along with roughly 60 others in an effort to save the chain. Around 4,000 workers will lose their jobs once the stores are liquidated. The Columbus based store specialized in closeout items,so one never knew what you would find there. You could go there 10 times and not spend a dime and then hit a inexpensive NHL jersey,where I bought an original Phoenix jersey and Ryan grabbed an Ottawa version. RIP Value City-you will be missed.
The Pittsburgh Pirates declined the 2.6 million dollar option for Jason Michaels and allowed Doug Mienkiewicz,Chris Gomez and Luis Rivas all to test the free agent market as well. Michaels would be paid far too much for being the 4th outfielder under that price. Mienkiewicz would be a better fit on a contender,while Gomez and Rivas just plain suck at any cost.....
More bad news from the hospital ward for the New Jersey Devils as Andy Greene suffered a broken right hand in the loss to Toronto. Greene assisted on three of the Devils five goals in the loss despite the injury that occurred in the first period on a shot by Pavel Kubina that struck the hand. Greene had surgery yesterday and will miss four to six weeks. Sheldon Brookbank will replace Greene in the defensive rotation......
The Devils signed highly regarded Russian left wing Alexander Vasyunov and assigned him to Lowell. Vasyunov signed a three deal with the Devils after playing sparingly in the KHL (Russian major league) this season. Vasyunov was the Devils second round selection in the 2006 draft...
The Devils host the Atlanta Thrashers tonight at 7:00
Ohio State is off this week,so no Buckeyes to watch,but I am looking forward to the Texas-Texas Tech in what could be the Red Raiders biggest game in the programs history. As a long time Raider fan dating back to their old days in the defunct Southwest Conference (although I am not a Mike Leach fan),here is hoping for a Tech win.
The 2009 Carolina League schedule was finally released. Frederick opens their home slate on April 17th against Salem,now a Boston affiliate. The Lynchburg Hillcats make their first visit to Harry Grove Stadium on May 18th.
The New Jersey Devils scored five goals.
It was not enough as the Toronto Maple Leafs saw the Devils five and raised them one in the shootout in a 6-5 win for Toronto and a third straight loss for the Devils.
Devils goals to Zach Parise (7), David Clarkson (2), Jamie Langenbrunner (2), Dainius Zubrus (2) and Colin White (1).......
Shawn's Thoughts
1) I liked what I saw from Andy Greene tonight. Three assists and plus three for the backliner in the game and Greene seems to be showing the form from the end of the 06-07 season that had me so excited going into last season and then so disappointed with his play.....
2) Mike Mottau had two assists also, but other than his possible exception-the defense was awful.
48 shots against the New Jersey Devils?!
Unacceptable!
Far too many Leafs around the net with impunity and that was the difference in this game....
3) Lou Lamoriello and Brent Sutter cannot be pleased with the lack of physical play from the defense.
Except for Bryce Salvador, it seems like no one is clearing the crease.
I know that is not really the style of play of Paul Martin, Mottau, Greene and especially Johnny Oduya, but Colin White seems somewhat gun shy since his eye injury and physical play was always his calling card.
I have wanted the Devils to add an offensive defenseman since the loss of Scott Niedermayer, but a bruiser to sweep the crease clean for Marty Brodeur could be a larger need.
4) Patrik Elias missed some of the game after being hit in the face with the puck.
Elias was x-rayed for a possible broken jaw, but the results were negative and he was allowed to return.
5) Jamie Langenbrunner returned after not being expected to play and scored a goal.
However, one could still see that he was not up to par and was not 100 %.
Kudos to the Captain for toughing it out....
Bonus Rounds
Matt Halischuk played in the game and assisted on the Colin White goal, while the other call up Nicklas Bergfors was a healthy scratch.
I am not sure why, but I get the feeling that Brent Sutter is not a Bergfors booster...
Petr Vrana was initially given the goal in the first period that was changed and credited to David Clarkson.
Speaking of Clarkson, he decisively beat up Jamal Mayers in the contest, but his bout was tame compared to the beating that Mike Rupp gave Ryan Hollweg.
Check the pic at the top of the post at the battered Hollweg...
I do like David Clarkson a lot, but no one on this team crashes the net like Zach Parise does.
Parise goes after the puck like no one else on the team and gets the results to show for it.
His teammates need to take a look at his game and learn some things!
The Devils are off until Saturday when they host the Atlanta Thrashers.....
Bullpen Notes
They are back and I know you missed them!
Battlin Bob has thrown his hat into the political ring!
A supporter of children at large (and no that does not mean he is paying a lot of child support)
Mike McKain is making himself a late entrant in the race of Board of Education.
If you live in Washington County, be sure to write in Mike McKain for Board of Education.
Think of the fun that the public access coverage would be!!!!!
The Washington Huskies canned Tyrone Willingham after an unsuccessful four year run in Seattle.
Willingham will land on his feet, he always does.
For some reason, people hire this guy.
Maybe it is his membership in the Bill Walsh Posse', but here is a guy that has failed at three major college programs and came within eyelashes of getting pro jobs without ever being a coordinator.
All of that and he will still be someone's head coach next year. Unreal.
Your Pittsburgh Pirates (because who else would want them) dropped four pitchers from the 40 man roster and assigned them to AAA Indianapolis. Battlin Bob's favorite John Van Benschoten joins Marino Salas, Ronald Belisario, and Yoslan (Yoslan? More like Slowslan) Herrera.
Belisario was a Neal Huntington favorite with his power arm but suffered from lower velocity than expected at Altoona and his control improved only marginally.
The other three?
You guys didn't read many of last years posts, did you?????
Eric Krebs has been shut down in Hawaii with a bad elbow.
Too bad for Eric, but the good news is that he is expected to be ready to go for Spring Training.
I do hope that the doctors that examined Eric aren't the same dum dum's that have said other Pirates were ready to go and were injured or miss broken ribs entirely like they did with former Pirate farmhand Clayton Hamilton.
If you ever question the money that is spent on sports arenas/stadium, take a look at the Pyramid in Memphis.
Besides being the 6th largest pyramid in the world and soon to possibly be the world largest Bass Pro Shop, it stands as a reminder that pro sports will always want more money from your town and that new and state of the art lasts about a month.
The Bowling Green entry in the South Atlantic League has a nickname finally.
The Bowling Green Hot Rods (no, really) enter the SAL for one season before bolting for the Midwest League and the colors are (No kidding). Tailpipe Silver, Racing Yellow, Fire Red, and Tire Black.
Who in the hell comes up with this stuff and a better question is this-Where can the Battler and I get jobs like theirs?????
My Lord!!!
Special Delivery Jones passed away a few days ago at the age of 64.
To fans 35 and up that remember the WWF as the local promotion instead of the bloated behemoth that it is today, Jones had a special spot.
Jones was one of the "Tough jobbers" for the WWF in the late '70s and early '80s.
For those of you that aren't huge wrestling fans, back then television wrestling was a different beast.
Most matches were basically one-sided to enhance the winner to the viewers so that then they might pay to see the top stars face each other at their local arena.
Jones was used as a grappler that lost to the top stars of TV, but always gave them a run for their money and therefore was looked at as a level higher than the usual guy that lost on television.
Jones was most noted for his offensive moves that Vince McMahon seemed to get great joy out of calling as Jones would land a few punches or whip a Don Muraco into the turnbuckle.
It doesn't seem right that Special Delivery Jones should have been 64 and gone.
Time gets us all in the end.
Photo Credits
Hockey:Bruce Bennett-Getty Images
Pyramid:Angel Franco-New York Times
After finally having time to review the tape of the Seahawks 34-13 trouncing of the 49ers in San Francisco,here are a few thoughts. Look for the Devils loss to Toronto to be covered in a later post today.........
Shawn's Thoughts
1) Leonard Weaver scored two touchdowns on short passes and took them a long way(43 and 62 yards) to the end zone. That should quiet some rumblings that had his job at fullback in question against rookie Owen Schmitt for a while....
2) Then why am I writing this? As much as I like the skills of Weaver in the passing game,I still like the blocking of Schmitt and would love to see the West Virginia rookie see the field more often in the running game as the lead blocker for whomever is at halfback.... There is room for both of these guys to play often....
3) The game that drove the stake into the heart of the Niners came late in the first half. Josh Wilson rolled off stepped in front of a J.T.O'Sullivan pass and scored a back breaking TD that made the score 20-3 Seattle instead of either 13-10 or 13-6. Wilson has been erratic this year in coverage,but it sure isn't for lack of effort.....
4) The stat sheets show a nice game from Julian Peterson,but what he does isn't always about numbers. Those of you out there that play in my fantasy league know about my fondness for JP. Battlin Bob sure knows. I am not sure that, if age was not a factor, I would not take Peterson as an all around linebacker over anyone in the league.....
5) Rocky Bernard owns the Niners line,2 sacks in the game and all three sacks on the year against San Francisco.
6) With the big plays from Weaver and Wilson,this wasn't a big issue,but only 39 yards rushing for the day? With Matt Hasselbeck out again for the Eagle game,Seneca Wallace will need the Julius Jones/Mo Morris combo to step up a bit.....
7) Seneca Wallace is not loaded with a huge arm,so I see why the short passes in his case,but it seemed like he struggled in putting the ball out front for his receivers to catch in stride. Too many times,his pass catchers had to stop to catch the ball and get tackled within no time at all.
8) I like to think that I break down tape,but with the teams that we cover here,my time is limited to how much I can do,but John Morgan at Field Gulls watches tape with the best of them. His work over there is outstanding and sometimes makes me wonder if I missed things. Last year,I was able to get John for a mid-season interview and I will be working on trying to get another one....
Back later with the Devils loss by shootout and finally some bullpen notes!!!
Photo Credits Weaver-AP Photo Wilson-Rod Mar-Seattle Times
First,I will be reviewing the tape of the Seahawks win over San Francisco sometime today and hope to have that up sometime later today or first thing Thursday.
The New Jersey Devils have been suffering through a bad time over the last few days. The Devils lost both ends of a home and home with Philadelphia,added Jamie Langenbrunner to the increasing total of injured Devils and brought even more youngsters up from Lowell.
Shawn's Thoughts
1) The game in Philly was both a better game and better effort from the Devils in the 3-2 loss. Devils goals to Zach Parise (7) and Brian Gionta (2).
2) Marty Brodeur was solid in net,but the game winner in overtime was likely due to a idiot in the stands delaying the game in overtime by tossing a stink bomb on the ice. Only in Philly..... I am not placing the loss on that,I believe that the delay caused both teams to cool down and whichever team was able to get the first few shots in were going to get the extra point.
3) If you like hockey fights,this was the game for you. Three fights involving four battles,including two at the same time as rookie bomber Pierre Letourneau-Leblond and Mike Rupp tangling with Riley Cote and former Devil Arron Asham. I half expected Jim Cornette to jump in and smack one of the combatants with his loaded tennis racket!
4) Since Rupp and LeBlond were removed from the ice after the battle,the Devils were under staffed and we actually saw journeyman Defenseman Sheldon Brookbank at forward for a few shifts. I like Sheldon for his effort and toughness,but I can honestly say that I can live without never seeing him at forward again!
5) The Devils have made some moves to address the injury situation that includes a cracked orbital bone for Pierre LeBlond that the Devils say was not from the Cote fight,so I must assume it was a practice injury. With Brian Rolston and Bobby Holik or the IR,Jamie Langenbrunner out for more time and LeBlond down for a spell,this gives us the chance to see some of our prospects for a bit....
Bonus Rounds
The call ups from Lowell are wingers Nicklas Bergfors and Matt Halischuk while defenseman Anssi Salmela was sent to the Junior Devils. Bergfors made the Devils last season for one game before an injury sent him to Lowell and he never returned. The 20 year old Hailschuk might be remembered for his overtime goal in the World Junior Championships that gave Canada the Gold Medal.
The Devils host Toronto tonight at 7;30 at the Rock.
Kevin Weekes was far better than Devils fans had a right to expect last night against Buffalo,but Ryan Miller was better for the Sabres and Buffalo skulked off into the night with a 2-0 win at the Rock.
