Devils dealing at deadline

The New Jersey Devils were beginning to take a skate back in the playoff race,so general manager Ray Shero did the smart thing-continue the resuscitation of the franchise by building for the future on a day that saw the Devils made three trades and claim someone off waivers.

In the end,when the Devils take the ice tomorrow in Newark vs Carolina,there will be two new Devils,three players gone and three extra draft picks for future use after the Shero spree was concluded.

The biggest deal was the Devils saw veteran winger Lee Stempniak shipped to Boston in return for a 2017 second round pick and a fourth rounder in the 2016 draft.
Stempniak had been signed in the off-season and had surprised with the amount of offense that the vagabond wing had provided (16 goals and 25 assists) in leading the team in scoring.
Stempniak had discussed a possible extension with the Devils before the deadline,but the two failed to come to an agreement.
Stempniak could still be signed in free agency during the next off-season and I have a funny feeling that Devils fans haven't seen last of him in red and black (or green).
The Bruins will be the TENTH team for the 33 year forward.

The Devils also traded the oft-scratched Eric Gelinas to Colorado in return for a 2017 third rounder.
Gelinas had not played in nine games and clearly had become persona' non grata in New Jersey.
Gelinas has a booming shot,but had issues on the defensive end.
Gelinas might be best suited as a power play specialist,but clearly the Devils had prepared to move with a stockpile of younger defensemen.

New Jersey claimed a defenseman off waivers as the first move of the day saw yet another Penguin arrive in New Jersey as the team added David Warsofsky.
Claiming a defenseman was a pretty clear hint that the Devils had a move in mind and unless a taker was found for future free agent David Schemko (there wasn't) that the likely person to go was Gelinas.
Warsofsky spent some of the season with the AHL Pens in Scranton-Wilkes Barre,but had some concussion related issues after scoring a goal in twelve games with the parent Penguins in Pittsburgh.
Warsofsky is reported to be a strong skater and even though he spent five years in the Boston organization before signing with Pittsburgh before this season,I don't know if I've ever seen him play and if so it was nothing memorable....

The only trade that saw the Devils trade player for player saw another young player that the Shero/Hynes crew soured on traded to Montreal as former first rounder Stefan Matteau was sent to the Canadiens for winger Devonte Smith-Pelly.
Matteau scored just one goal this season for the Devils and hadn't been in a game for over a month.
Smith-Pelly had six goals and six assists and at 23,might be in a situation with something to prove as the stocky six foot right wing will be joining his third team in the last two seasons.
Smith-Pelly is a physical player not afraid of pounding the body and crashing the net,but is a restricted free agent at the end of the season....

My take
I love the return for Lee Stempniak.A two and four for a veteran player that's a free agent?
I'm fine there.

I'm also OK with the adding a third rounder for Eric Gelinas.
I like Gelinas as a power play specialist,but he clearly had played his way out of the teams plans,so getting a decent pick is a solid move and Gelinas could use a change of scenery as well....

I also think Devonte Smith-Pelly might help in third or fourth line play and he brings an aggressive attitude to Newark as well.
That said,Stefan Matteau has the larger upside,if he can ever put it together in Montreal.
The Devils got the better player now,but the Canadiens have the player with more potential.
I'll reserve thoughts on David Warsofsky until I can see him play......

Crawford,Santa Cruz score KO's-Boxing Challenge

The boxing challenge rolled on with four fights from HBO and Showtime.

The HBO version saw WBO Junior Welterweight champ Terence Crawford finish off Hank Lundy in the 5th round in an impressive performance.
I'd like to see Crawford against better competition because he has nothing further to prove against top 15 level competition like Lundy.
Felix Verdejo won every round in winning a tedious unanimous decision over William Silva.
Verdejo has talent to burn and like Crawford,I'd like to see him take a boost in opponents.
R.L.Malpica and I each earned three points on this card-2 for Crawford's win and 1 for Verdejo's 1.

Leo Santa Cruz stopped a game and determined Kiko Martinez in the fifth on Showtime to keep his WBA Featherweight title in Anaheim.
Martinez made it an exciting fight with a gutsy attitude and consistent aggression,but the bigger Santa Cruz was simply too much for the smaller fighter.
Santa Cruz called out Carl Frampton,who is more likely to face Guillermo Rigondeaux and Santa Cruz,who has been light on strong competition doesn't have as many bright lights on the PBC side.other than WBC champ Gary Russell.
The hard part about that is that Russell and PBC have been even more reluctant to face good fighters than Santa Cruz has,which says a TON!.
On the undercard Hugo Ruiz knocked out Julio Ceja in one round to win the WBC Jr.Featherweight belt.
I missed that fight,so not sure of how Ruiz looked.
R.L and I each added a point for the Santa Cruz win and the Boxing Challenge stands at 17-11 in my favor.....

Frampton shades Quigg by split decision

Editor's Note:I'm writing this ahead of time,but not posting in case any of you decides to watch the replay on Showtime and match up Ramon Malpica and I's live time podcast.
And if you did watch-you should have listened!

Northern Ireland's Carl Frampton kept his IBF Junior Featherweight title and added Scott Quigg's WBA belt with a split decision win in Quigg's hometown of Manchester England.
Frampton controlled the first part of the fight by dominating a reluctant Quigg with his jab and won most of the first half of the fight on my card.
Quigg rallied with a thumping body attack in the second half of the bout and had a one point lead entering the final round,but I thought Frampton won the final round with more punches thrown.
Frampton winning the final round gave him a 114-114 draw on my card and a 115-113 win on Ramon's.
The official cards saw two judges score for Frampton 116-112 with the dissenting judge going 115-113 for Quigg.
Frampton is now mandated to fight former champion/slickster/insomnia reliever Guillermo Rigondeaux by July by the WBA in what could be an interesting fight as Frampton's style of throwing lots of punches and forcing Rigondeaux to run might be the best strategy that one could try against the talented Cuban.

The internet seems more disappointed than Ramon and I with the bout.
I thought the bout was filled with action in rounds 7-12,but many seemed to be displeased.
Considering that a stadium was sold out for this bout,I'd think a rematch is likely down the road....

Live Podcast on Frampton-Quigg with Ramon Malpica!

We do a live podcast of the Carl Frampton-Scott Quigg 122 pound title unification with Ramon Malpica!

Give it a listen,if you watch tonight's Showtime replay!

It's Frampton-Quigg Time!!!

It's time for the bout that I've been waiting for two years and I am super excited for it!
The WBA and IBF Jr.Featherweight titles will be unified as Northern Ireland's Carl Frampton (IBF) takes on England's Scott Quigg (WBA) in Manchester England.
I think this is going to be a super action fight and with it being a 5;30 start on Showtime Extreme,I'm going to do something special.
Ramon Malpica and I are going to watch the fight "together",offer our opinions on the fight as it happens,discuss it all in real time and then immediately after the broadcast,I'll (and Ramon too) will immediately upload it to the podcast.
Hopefully,this trial balloon will work out and lead to other experiments!
Frampton-Quigg is about as even of a bout as you can find and if you have a way-watch it!!

Showtime has two live bouts at ten with Leo Santa Cruz defending his WBA Featherweight title against Kiko Martinez (a victim of both Frampton and Quigg) and Julio Ceja facing Hugo Ruiz in a rematch of a good fight for Ceja's WBC Jr.Featherweight belt.
HBO counters with dominant WBO Jr.Welterweight champ Terence Crawford defending against tough Hank Lundy and super prospect Felix Verdejo against William Silva...

The boxing challenge rolls on with my lead standing at 13-7

WBA-IBF Jr.Featherweight title unification.12 rds
Scott Quigg vs Carl Frampton
R.L;Quigg KO 7
TRS:Quigg KO 10

WBA Featherweight title.12 rds
Leo Santa Cruz vs Kiko Martinez
Both:Santa Cruz unanimous decision

WBC Jr.Featherweight title 12 rds
Julio Ceja vs Hugo Ruiz
R.L.Ceja KO 5
TRS: Ceja KO 9

WBO Jr,Welterweight title.12 rds
Terence Crawford vs Hank Lundy
R.L:Crawford KO 4
TRS;Crawford KO 8

Jr,Lightweights.10 rds
Felix Verdejo vs William Silva
R.L;Verdejo KO 4
TRS:Verdejo KO 6

Thoughts from the Lake

Time for a thought or two on each of the teams in Cleveland....

The Cavaliers were thought to be the easy favorite to sign shooting guard Joe Johnson when he was bought out of his contract by the Brooklyn Nets.
This had been rumored for well over a year that if this came to pass,Johnson would likely be a Cavalier target and most considered Cleveland to be the likely destination.
Instead,the 34 year old Johnson will be heading to Miami and the Heat,where he has been promised the chance to start.
Johnson will likely be a major part of any Miami playoff run,while in Cleveland,he would have likely been a scorer off the bench.
One can make the argument that Johnson may receive more minutes in Miami,but his minutes in Cleveland might be more important.
Johnson would have been helpful,but his loss won't ruin my day.

I questioned several times why the Indians were counting so much on Abraham Almonte based on a 51 game stint by a career AAA player that was around league average as their starting centerfielder.
I'm not a believer in Almonte and it'll be even harder to think that he'll be a contributor after a PED suspension that will see him miss 80 games.
I'm not a fan of the team's off season moves and with the less than motley crew that the Indians have for outfielders in the absence of the injured Michael Brantley,I have real doubts on the Indians being able put together an offense capable of backing up what looks to be a strong starting rotation.
The Indians did sign former Padre Will Venable to a contract to join a less than intriguing group and Venable does bring some experience,if not a key bat after splitting last year between San Diego and Texas.
The best bat available as a free agent right now that might help is Austin Jackson,but between the noted Cleveland reluctance to spend and Jackson's decline in productivity over the 2014 and 2015 seasons,I'd be surprised to see Jackson hit Cleveland....

The Browns continue to go through the NFL combine process and prep for the upcoming free agency period.
I don't really watch the combine much,but I will try to watch the quarterbacks with the Browns likely to pick one in the draft.
Talks can begin with free agents on March 7,although new players cannot be signed until March 9.
The key Browns that are free agents are Alex Mack (expected to activate a clause),Mitchell Schwartz,Travis Benjamin and Tashaun Gipson.
It'll be interesting to see with all the hype around the "analytics" driven front office to see how many of these players are valued enough to return-especially Mack and Schwartz,who would likely take a massive pay increase to retain them...

Rumors are flying that Hue Jackson wants to heavily raid his former team in Cincinnati in free agency with wideouts Marvin Jones and Mohamad Sanu each mentioned often.
My question is that if the Browns bring both of those two in,will they go above and beyond to retain Travis Benjamin?
My guess would be that that they would try,but would not go all in for Benjamin...

Back later with the boxing challenge...

Podcast-Jason Christensen talks Battle of the Network Stars

Jason Christensen returns to the podcast with talk of Binghamton baseball,autographs and Battle of the Network Stars.
Apologies for the fuzzy phone connection...