Author: John Paulsen (Page 445 of 937)

      2009 NHL Preview: Buffalo Sabres

      September 25, 2009 /

      We’ve partnered with On Goal Analysis to bring you a team-by-team preview of the upcoming NHL season. (Just scroll down on the OGA website and hit the calendar.) Here is the preview for the Buffalo Sabres…

      Team Play: ISSUE – What’s old is new again, right? As the picture of the day on the OGA home page indicates, there will be a lot of clock watching this season in Buffalo. There will be games left with thoughts of ‘…If I only had a little more time…’ when the thought should really be ‘…If we’d ‘a only scored more goals….’ That’s because a sampling of off-season transactions indicates barely any change to this team. Mike Grier is in for knuckles; Steve Montador arrives to replace Jaroslav Spacek(!?); and Joe DiPenta and Cody McCormick are present for duty. That’s not a lot of additions, which implies (with the loss of Max Afinogenov and possibly an as-yet un-signed Drew Stafford) some room for Nathan Gerbe and Tim Kennedy to step up. But it equally says there may be trouble putting the biscuit in the basket.

      We had a look at the CBS Sports page for the Sabres which has a projected line pairing of Vanek-Roy-Pominville from left to right on No. 1 and Hecht-Connolly-Stafford on No. 2. Line 1 is the team’s formidable pairing. On Line 2, however, Connolly has not been healthy for an entire season since 2001-02 and Stafford remains an unsigned RFA at the time of this posting. So that leaves you with a potential mix of depth players to match up/call up throughout the season. That will equal some turmoil in the forward ranks from Line 2 on down.

      On the blueline, ‘Houston, we have a problem…’ is an accurate characterization of the situation. None of the projected top six defenders scored even five goals last year (the average is 2.5), they were a combined +11 (bolstered mostly by Steve Montador’s +17 with Boston last year), and none broke an average of 22 minutes per game TOI.

      Click here to read the rest of the preview (which includes the site’s unique Playoff Qualifying Curve and fantasy information) at the On Goal Analysis site.

      NHL

      2009 NHL Preview: Boston Bruins

      September 25, 2009 /

      We’ve partnered with On Goal Analysis to bring you a team-by-team preview of the upcoming NHL season. (Just scroll down on the OGA website and hit the calendar.) Here is the preview for the Boston Bruins…

      Team Play: ISSUE-Phil, we hardly knew ye. As the Bruins begin drifting back into The Hub to prepare for training camp, their leading goal scorer in 08-09, Phil Kessel, is missing. It seems that what young master Kessel thinks he’s worth and what Bruins management can afford to pay him and maintain some salary cap sanity are quite far apart. Until Kessel is either signed or traded, Boston’s forward lines will be in a state of flux. Even if the B’s are able to sign Kessel, he could miss the first two months of the season as he continues to recover from shoulder surgery. Don’t be surprised to see a top line of Lucic-Savard-Ryder come October, followed by Sturm-Bergeron-Kobasew, Wheeler-Krejci-Bitz, and Recchi-Begin-Thornton…and even without Kessel, don’t be surprised if the B’s have eight or nine 20+ goal scorers at the end of the season.

      On the blueline, Norris Trophy winner Zdeno Chara returns to a unit unchanged but for the departure of Aaron Ward and arrival of Derek Morris. For the B’s purposes, this is an improvement: Expect a little more offense out of the defense in 09-10.

      In goal, Vezina Trophy winner Tim Thomas rules the roost, but backup Manny Fernandez will be replaced by Tuukka Rask. With a compressed schedule (due to the Olympics), expect Rask to see around 30 starts this season.

      Click here to read the rest of the preview (which includes the site’s unique Playoff Qualifying Curve and fantasy information) at the On Goal Analysis site.

      NHL

      Knicks re-sign Lee, Robinson

      September 25, 2009 /

      The New York Knicks have re-signed David Lee. Nate Robinson is close to a deal as well.

      Lee’s agent, Mark Bartelstein, told ESPN.com on Thursday that the sides have an agreement in principle on a one-year contract.

      “We’re on the verge of getting this done,” Bartelstein said. “I believe David will sign the contract tomorrow.”

      The contract is believed to be worth $7 million for the 2009-10 season with incentives that could take it to $8 million if the Knicks reach the playoffs.

      Fellow restricted free agent Nate Robinson has also reached terms with the Knicks on a one-year deal, according to a source with knowledge of the talks, that will pay him a higher salary than Robinson’s $2.9 million qualifying offer.

      The Knicks’ stance has been clear all along. They are very reluctant to sign players to contracts that run longer than one year because they want to have as much cap flexibility as possible next season when they hope to woo a big-name free agent to New York.

      If Lee’s contract demands were more reasonable, he would have signed a multi-year deal with another team a long time ago. But his camp has demanded $8-$10 million per season this entire time, and the market just won’t bear it. He’s a great rebounder, but he’s just an average defender and his numbers are a bit inflated because the Knicks play at a frenetic pace. By signing a one-year deal, he is risking the financial security of a mid-level deal that he no doubt could have signed had he been willing to reduce his asking price.

      Would you rather have a guaranteed $7 million with a shot at a long-term deal averaging $8 million next summer or a mid-level deal that runs five years and a guaranteed $34 million starting this summer? If he suffers a career-ending injury this season, his decision to sign a one-year deal will cost him $27 million.

      That’s a lot of risk. After all, 27 million birds in the hand are better than 47 million in the bush, right?

      NBA, News, Rumors & Gossip

      Pearl apologizes for “off-the-cuff” joke

      September 25, 2009 /

      Tennessee men’s basketball coach Bruce Pearl is in some hot water after making an inappropriate joke at a recent speaking engagement.

      Tennessee men’s basketball coach Bruce Pearl is apologizing for an off-the-cuff joke he made about a rural area of the state at a charity fundraiser Thursday, calling it “inappropriate.”

      Pearl, speaking without notes, was addressing Tennessee Valley Authority employees about the challenges he and his staff face in getting players from diverse backgrounds to play as a team.

      “I’ve got a tough job. I’ve got to put these guys from different worlds together, right?’ Pearl said. “I’ve got guys from Chicago, Detroit … I’m talking about the ‘hood! And I’ve got guys from Grainger County, where they wear the hood.”

      Ouch. Making light of the KKK is not only offensive to the (non-racist) folks of Grainger County, but it’s also offensive to the black community.

      He’s a successful coach, but I’ve never been a big fan of Pearl’s style and it dates back to 1995, when I was in college at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville. My team won the D3 National Championship that year and the following season we traveled up to Fairbanks, Alaska, to play in the Tournament of Champions, which included the D2, NAIA and D3 champions from the previous season.

      We were non-scholarship, so after we “upset” the host team, Alaska-Fairbanks, in the first round, we played Pearl’s D2 Southern Indiana team in the tourney championship. They jumped out to a 20-plus point lead, but after we went on a run in the second half to cut into the lead, he yelled on the sideline — “Do I have to call a timeout? Do I really have to call a timeout?”

      I remember thinking: Is this guy for real? His all-scholarship team was playing our non-scholarship D3 school and he’s over there mocking us on the sideline to make a point to his team?

      Since then, I’ve always thought that Pearl was a loudmouth who didn’t often think before he spoke, and he’s done nothing to disprove that notion in his tenure at Tennessee.

      College Basketball, News

      Fantasy Quick-Hitters: Westy, DeSean, Bowe, Bell, MBIII and more

      September 25, 2009 /

      DeSean Jackson, Brian Westbrook miss practice. Westy has a long history of not practicing during the week and then killing defenses on Sunday, so plan to use him in Week 3. The Eagles play in the early game, so you’ll have an opportunity to make an adjustment if he’s inactive. While tweaked ankles can clear up fast, I’m a little worried about Jackson’s groin injury. Muscle injuries don’t typically just go away, but he may be able to fight through it. One wonders if the Eagles will risk it against a Kansas City defense that hasn’t shown much in 2009.

      Dwayne Bowe fighting a hamstring injury. He was a limited participant in Thursday’s practice, but the fact that he was out there is a good sign for Sunday. Again, the PHI/KC game is at 1 PM ET, so you should have time to make a move if he is a surprise scratch. He was practicing again on Friday, so that’s a good sign.

      Giants lose SS Phillips for the season. This is a serious blow to a Giants DT that has looked strong thus far this season. The loss of Phillips will hurt both in the passing game and in run support, and given the team’s other injury problems on defense, don’t be afraid to start players facing the Giants this week (mainly Cadillac Williams, if healthy, and Derrick Ward).

      Continue reading »

      Fantasy Football, News

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