Six months of hard work, dedication, battling through injuries, distractions, and the rest all boils down to one game.  Sixty minutes is all that separates us from the crowning of this season's Super Bowl Champion.  One team will walk off with the Lombardi Trophy, while the other will have come to the biggest game of the year only to fall short.

It's a marked contrast in franchise history, much like last year.  The Colts have been in the Super Bowl before, three times.  They lost Super Bowl III on the "guarantee" by one Joe Willie Namath, giving credibility to the Jets and the upstart AFL.  They rallied two years later to win Super Bowl V on a field goal in the closing seconds by Jim O'Brien to beat the Dallas Cowboys in what was termed the "Blooper Bowl."  Then of course, there was three years ago, when Peyton Manning and company defeated the Chicago Bears to get the "choke" tag off Manning.

On the flip side, the New Orleans Saints have never been to the Super Bowl.  This is a team that didn't finish at .500 until 1979 after coming into the league in 1967.  They've had only nine winning seasons in franchise history, the first of which wasn't until 1987.  Their cumulative record as a franchise is a whopping 103 games below .500, even after winning 13 games this season.  The team was so bad at one point that fans wore paper bags at home games and called the team the "Aints".  Still, what's done is done and what's now is now. 

Now that we're through all that, let's get into the heart of the matter, Super Bowl XLIV:

  vs.     

INDIANAPOLIS COLTS (16-2) vs. NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (15-3):

Vegas oddsmakers have slotted this game as being an offensive shootout, setting the over/under at 56.5 with the Colts holding as five point favorites.  There hasn't been much of a shift in the line even with the uncertain status of Dwight Freeney.  Speaking of Freeney, NFL.com's Adam Schefter reports that Freeney missed practice today, but that the Colts expect him to play on Sunday.  This is a game of powerful offenses, and mediocre to suspect defenses.

The Colts have lived and died by the passing game all season long, and I don't expect a major change in offensive theory going into the Super Bowl.  Peyton Manning is All-World at quarterback, throwing for 4515 yards and 34 touchdowns.  Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark both caught 100 balls for over 1000 yards and are key targets for Manning.  Even without a bona fide number two wideout, Manning works the ball around.  Pierre Garcon caught an AFC Championship Game record 11 balls, and Austin Collie sparked the Colts rally from a 17-6 deficit with a TD catch just before halftime to sink the Jets. 

Gregg Williams, the defensive coordinator for the Saints, promises that his defense will hit Manning, much like they did to Brett Favre in the NFC Championship.  If Williams thinks that blitzing Manning and trying to take questionable shots at him is going to be productive, he's in for a long afternoon.  Manning is not easily rattled, and is the consummate professional at deciphering what a defense is trying to do in order to slow him down.  He then adjusts, and makes life extremely difficult for the other team.  Williams will relearn this lesson the hard way. 

If the Colts can work the run game in and be even semi effective, the Saints are in a world of trouble as that opens up the play action game, and Manning is the best in the league at play action fakes.  The Saints defense relies on mistakes and takeaways to keep teams off the board as evidenced by their ranking in yards allowed and points allowed per game (25th and 20th respectively.)  Manning simply doesn't make a lot of mental errors, and that means New Orleans is going to have to score on basically every possession to stay competitive.

Defensively, the Colts are a bend but don't break defense (18th in yards allowed, but 8th in points.)  The big key will be getting pressure on Drew Brees, and that comes from the defensive line.  Raheem Brock, Robert Mathis and Freeney will need to take advantage of the ineffective tackles on the Saints offensive line, Matt Stinchcomb and Jermon Bushrod are susceptible to being beaten.  The Colts will be starting a rookie corner opposite Kelvin Hayden, and a pass rush will be important to keep Brees from having all day to throw.  If they can shut down the run early and make New Orleans one dimensional, expect things to get out of hand.

On the flip side, the Saints want to establish the run.  They have three extremely talented running backs in Mike Bell, Pierre Thomas and Reggie Bush.  They've had success moving the ball on the ground, as evidenced by the fact that they were sixth in the league during the regular season.  They were fourth throwing the ball and first in points.  Brees did throw for 34 scores and hit on 70.6 of his throws, but he can be prone to turning it over, especially if he's pressured or hit.  He put the ball on the ground ten times in 2009, not a stat you want to see from your quarterback. 

The Saints have plenty of weapons should Brees have time to throw:  seven different players caught at least 35 balls in the regular season.  Marques Colston, Robert Meachem and Devery Henderson are the big cogs in the pass game, and Jeremy Shockey is good in the middle of the field if he's healthy.  That's a big question mark, as he has been seriously banged up the past few weeks.  The Colts will try to neutralize those options with a variety of schemes in an effort to confuse Brees and take away the quick, short routes that the Saints make a living on.

Defensively, as I said, the Saints are opportunistic and thrive on takeaways.  They forced 37 turnovers in winning their first thirteen games, but only 2 in their final three games, all losses.  They forced seven takeaways in their two playoff wins, but let's be frank:  they're lucky to even BE here.  It took five Vikings turnovers, two of those in the red zone and an ill fated interception in the closing two minutes of regulation, PLUS two questionable replay calls in overtime to get them here.  Manning will NOT turn the ball over five times.  The Saints will NOT have lightning strike twice.  If Williams insists on blitzing and trying to hit Manning, Manning will beat the blitz and hit for big gains all day long.  They tried it against Favre, and he threw for over 300 yards in the NFC Championship. 

OUTLOOK: 

This game has shootout written all over it, but the key factors is what carries the day for one team over the other.  Manning doesn't get rattled, the Colts don't turn the ball over a ton, and they have the ability to beat the blitz.  The Saints defense is questionable at best, and have proved to be unsuccessful at stopping teams if they don't force turnovers.  The Colts defense isn't great, but they do know how to keep teams off the board. 

Brees and company will keep it close, but in the end, the "been there, done that" factor and too much Manning will be the difference in this one.  The Colts take their second Super Bowl in four years and leave the Saints with nothing to hold a parade for but a second place finish.

INDIANAPOLIS 38, NEW ORLEANS 24

I said it last year and I'll say it again this year...bring back the Bud Bowl.  Those were entertaining and way better than the crappy commercials we have now.  One last thing...for the record, I predicted last year's Super Bowl winner, and the score dead on.  I don't expect to hit the score two years in a row, but I can brag about it anyway.  Tune in and enjoy the final game of the 2009/10 season.


 

        

In what has to be one of the most headscratching stories in recent history to me, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced that he would be reinstating troubled Cleveland Browns wide receiver Donte' Stallworth following the Super Bowl Sunday evening.

To me, this is a complete crock and an outrage.  Stallworth KILLED a man, 59 year old Mario Reyes when he hit him with his vehicle while driving under the influence.  He was charged with DUI and second degree manslaughter.  Stallworth reportedly had a blood alcohol level of 0.12 when he struck Reyes and was driving at least 50 mph in a 40 mph zone.

He took a plea bargain instead of going to trial.  He ended up being sentenced to 30 days in jail, 1000 hours of community service, 2 years of house arrest and 8 years probation.  He also suffered a permanent revocation of his drivers license.

Stallworth served all of 24 days in jail for the incident.  That's it.

To put that in perspective, I looked up the state of Florida's penal code regarding DUI manslaughter.  For those of you who don't wish to click the link, allow me to inform you.  According to section 316.193 of the Florida penal code entitled "Manslaughter and Vehicular Homicides", DUI manslaughter is considered a second degree felony, punishable by up to 15 YEARS in prison, and up to a $10,000 fine in addition to permanent revocation of one's license. 

If you move up to DUI Manslaughter/Leaving the Scene of an Accident, you've graduated to a first degree felony, punishable by the same $10,000 fine and revocation of the license, but a prison term that can run up to 30 YEARS behind bars.  Stallworth served 24 DAYS.  Since when is killing a man only punishable by three and a half weeks in jail?  It hasn't even been a year since the incident, and Stallworth is going to get reinstated with a chance to play professional football again? 

If this scenario was any more ludicrous, we'd have Kate Moss as the spokeswoman for a new program or pill that guarantees quick and easy weight loss.

Let me say that I am not a proponent of what Mike Vick did.  I love all animals, not to PETA's ridiculous levels where they think everything should be left alone, but I do feel that they should be treated fairly.  That said, Vick's sentence for dogfighting and killing dogs was far harsher than what Stallworth got for killing another human being.  Granted, life is life regardless of the hosting body, but are we really putting out that there is a higher price for dogs than there is for other human beings? 

Vick did his time and had to wait for Goodell to decide if he was "rehabilitated" enough to be reinstated to the league.  Stallworth is being welcomed back as if nothing had happened.  Sure, he was suspended without pay for the 2009 season, but that's all.  He missed ONE season.  Vick missed two full campaigns and was a fringe player in 2009 with Philadelphia.  He spent 23 months in prison for his transgressions.  He filed for bankruptcy while in jail as well, and is still working on a financial reorganization plan. 

So this boils down a story of three men:  Mike Vick, Mario Reyes, and Donte' Stallworth.    A story of one man that lost time in the prime of his life for a mistake he made, one man that lost his life just trying to catch a bus to go home after a hard day's work, and one man who lost little while taking so much.  I cannot in good conscience endorse the decision that Goodell is making.  He enforced a tougher Personal Conduct Policy, one that we saw take players like Pacman Jones, Tank Johnson, Marshawn Lynch and the late Chris Henry off the field for multiple games. 

Maybe I'm biased about this incident because I've had friends that have been killed by drunk drivers.  Maybe I'm biased because I don't drink, because too many people close to me either have been, are, or will be functioning alcoholics.  People may read this and think I'm slapping around the righteous paintbrush a little too broadly, and that's fine.  Everyone is entitled to their opinion.  I have no problem hearing what anyone has to say.  That's why they have the option to comment or email.  I'm not afraid to put my two cents out there, regardless of what popular opinion may be.

Yes, Stallworth missed a full season.  Mario Reyes is missing the rest of his life as a result of Stallworth's actions.  The punishment needs to fit the crime, and in both the legal system and in the eyes of the NFL, that punishment has found to be lacking.

        

National Signing Day came and went this week, and while fans of various universities touted their signing classes as the best in the nation, a bizarre happenstance took place yesterday afternoon.  The University of Southern California, or USC for all of you that don't want to deal with the full name but merely the abbreviation, went out and got themselves a quarterback of the future.

Not the near future mind you.  We're not talking the 2010 or even the 2011 freshman class to wear the scarlet and gold of the Trojans.  No, we're talking the DISTANT future.

Coach Lane Kiffin extracted a verbal commitment from 13 year old David Sills.  That's right, the kid's 13.  He's barely hit puberty, but hey, he's sound enough to make a decision on where to play college ball.  Of course, given Kiffin's track record, he probably won't BE at USC by the time 2015 rolls around.  You half expect Kiffin to become a carny or try to become the next infomercial king, hocking the latest and greatest best weight loss supplement on the market for only $19.95. If you call in the next ten minutes though, he'll TRIPLE the order! That's a $60 value for just $19.95!

That's enough sarcasm for the moment I'm sure.  In all seriousness, there has to be some sort of realistic age cap implemented for student athletes to make even verbal commitments to a university.  College sports are a maelstrom of turmoil and turnover when it comes to coaches, systems, and the rest.  You constantly have alumni clamoring for results.  College is a lot different than high school.  No one cares if you go to class, or when you get up or go to bed.  Mom and Dad aren't watching over you in the dorm.  The school won't call if you're absent.

Who's to say that by the time 2015 rolls around, and Sills is supposed to come to USC, that the Trojans haven't gone through three coaches, two offensive coordinators, and are on NCAA probation?  Is Sills still supposed to follow through on the commitment he made five plus years earlier?  The NCAA needs to get some things in order and realize that 13 is far too young for any athlete to be considering college athletic choices.  Even if Sills was a gifted student and was to go to college at say, 14 or 15, do you think he'd be physically able to compete against 18 to 22 year old college students?  Of course not, unless you've been eating paint chips.

Wake up NCAA...it's time to quit worrying about pointless issues and start focusing on making some rules that actually affect the well being and integrity of collegiate sports.

        

Just as quickly as the Ilya Kovalchuk sweepstakes sprung wide open when GM Don Waddell told reporters that he was exploring all options, it ended with a bang.

Kovalchuk was dealt within a matter of hours to the New Jersey Devils, a team with plenty of star caliber talent, but who have been struggling to put the puck in the net with regularity.  Martin Brodeur may have a slew of the records for goaltenders in the NHL record books, but you aren't going to win a ton of games when you aren't scoring yourself.

Going to the swamplands of New Jersey are Kovalchuk, who has tallied at least 41 goals each of the last five seasons and has 31 in 49 games this year, along with Anssi Salmela, who was a former Devils blueliner that was dealt to Atlanta in the Niclas Havelid deal last year at the deadline.  In exchange, the Thrashers get Johnny Oduya, rookie Niclas Bergfors, prospect Patrice Cormier and the Devils first round selection.  The teams also exchanged second round picks in the deal. 

Devils GM Lou Lamiorello has stated that he has yet to talk with Kovalchuk about an extension.  He will be an unrestricted free agent on July 1 should a deal not be struck.   If Lamiorello fails to secure Kovalchuk for some period of time, and merely has him as a rental for the rest of the season, whether they win the Cup or not, the price he paid will have been too steep.   Trading away a promising rookie (Bergfors) and a top prospect (Cormier) plus a first rounder for what is a short term investment doesn't seem like the soundest of strategies to me.  It's a lot like trying to find the best under eye cream when you're sporting a pair of shiners: kind of useless.

You have to give Waddell credit for the way he dealt with the situation.  He tried his damndest to get Kovalchuk to resign with the team.  He pitched several different offers only to be rebuffed.  Therefore, he did what he needed to do.  In this case, it was to cut his losses and try to do what was best for the franchise going forward.   That it meant dealing the team's centerpiece and prized asset was an unfortunate circumstance.  Still, he got past that and made the move, knowing that while it might hurt the team in the short term, he gained assets that can build the team going forward. 

Bergfors is fifth among NHL rookies in scoring with 13 goals and 27 points.  Oduya is a defensive zone specialist who is going to play for Sweden in the Olympics.  Cormier has some rough edges, as evidenced by his suspension from the QMJHL for the rest of the year after an elbowing incident, his third such incident in the span of a month.  Waddell did the best he can in a tough situation.   This is the problem when multimillionaire prima donnas manipulate teams to force their hands.

While I can understand Kovalchuk's desire to go somewhere that he can play in the postseason, he shouldn't have stated that he was interested in finishing his career in Atlanta if he had no intention of ever doing so.  I hope the deal works out for both sides, but one has to hope that Don Waddell doesn't have to take the fall because of having to make deals like this.

        

As the Buffalo Bills continue to retool a coaching staff that started from scratch, it seems that Chan Gailey has a firm grasp on what he's looking for:  guys that know what they're doing.

The Bills announced the hiring of George Edwards as their defensive coordinator Thursday afternoon.  Edwards replaces Perry Fewell, who was the interim coach after the firing of Dick Jauron midway through the 2009 season.  Fewell has since gone on to take the defensive coordinator role with Tom Coughlin's staff on the New York Giants. 

Edwards was slated to take over the defensive coordinator role at the University of Florida after Charlie Strong accepted the Louisville head coaching job.  To be honest, I pay as much attention to coaching movements in college as I do to weight loss success stories in Taco Bell commercials: I yawn, snicker and change the channel.  Seriously, there is so much overhaul in most staffs you would need a constantly updating transaction log to know who was coming or going.

Edwards has coached in the NFL.  He was the defensive line coach for the Dallas Cowboys in 1997 under Gailey, then went on to do the same with the Washington Redskins from 1998-2002.  Following a one season stint as the defensive coordinator for Cleveland in 2003, he coached linebackers for the Dolphins since 2004 before he was tabbed as the replacement for Strong as the defensive coordinator in Florida.

Edwards' departure has quite a few people up in arms, especially since it happened right after National Signing Day, the big day for high school athletes to declare where they are going to play college sports.  There is a lot of animosity and speculation that Urban Meyer had Edwards hold off accepting the job until National Signing Day was completed, and all letters of intent were in.  I wouldn't expect the fervor over that to die down anytime soon, especially with there being so much hatred toward Gator Nation.

Edwards has announced that the team will switch from a 4-3 to a 3-4 defense in 2010.  Last year, the Bills were the only team in the division to play a 4-3.  That could bode well for Aaron Maybin, who was a bust as a reserve defensive end last season, and also could free up Aaron Schobel, should he decide not to retire and return for another season in Buffalo.  With solid inside linebackers like Paul Posluszny and the recovering Kawika Mitchell, the Bills linebackers and defensive backs look to be solid.  The big key will be finding a capable nose tackle.  Marcus Stroud can play it, but isn't keen on the idea.  He has said that he doesn't care about the scheme as long as he is "on the field."

The Super Bowl is Sunday and then it's the quiet solitude of the offseason.  Free agency and the NFL draft loom for everyone.  What the Bills do in the offseason may very well be a good barometer for how the 2010 product will look.  There's been an overhaul in the coaching and front office ranks.  What shakeups will the roster have?  We'll find out.

        

The Cubs look to 2010 as a rebirth, a chance to put the sour notes of 2009 behind them. 

2009 was a season of disappointment and turmoil.  Kevin Gregg bombed as the closer.  Milton Bradley was Milton Bradley and ended up being suspended by the team in September.  The team struggled offensively, finishing 10th in the National League in runs scored, dead last in steals, 12th in average, 10th in on base percentage and 10th in OPS.  Those mediocre numbers more than offset a terrific pitching staff, which finished 5th in ERA, 3rd in batting average against, 5th in WHIP and 2nd in quality starts. 

Aramis Ramirez missed 80 games, Alfonso Soriano 45.  Geovany Soto went from .285/23/86 in his Rookie of the Year winning season to .218/11/47 last year.  When Koyie Hill, a career .215 hitter starts getting serious time, you know you're slumping.  The team missed character, versatile players like Mark DeRosa who they could have used when Ramirez went down.  Aaron Miles was a huge disappointment after so many good years as a utility player with St. Louis.  He would hit just .185 with 5 RBI and was dealt to Oakland in a deal this offseason.

That left Jim Hendry with some spots to retool this offseason and he hasn't wasted any time.  Gregg has signed a one year deal with the Toronto Blue Jays, which according to reports may lead to Toronto looking to deal talented reliever Jason Frasor to the North Siders.  Needing an outfielder, Hendry went and got former Texas outfielder Marlon Byrd.  He signed a three year, $15 million deal, which is far less than what Bradley was costing last season.  Byrd is the antithesis to Bradley in attitude and character.  He hit .283 with 20 homers and 89 RBI last season. 

Speaking of Bradley, he's gone, the problem child of the Seattle Mariners now.  In exchange, the Cubs had to take on Carlos Silva and his bloated contract, but it's another arm in the bullpen.  Silva was hurt most of last season, but pitchers that have struggled in the American League sometimes find new life in the National League.  I'm not holding out much hope for a guy that has been lit up more than Rockefeller Center at Christmas, but it's better than Bradley.  Shedding that contract and ego was the equivalent of diet aids on an average person: the change is noticeable.

The Cubs will look to contend again in 2010, and they have plenty of arms to do it with.  While Ted Lilly will miss the start of the season after shoulder surgery, the rotation still boasts Carlos Zambrano, Randy Wells, and Ryan Dempster for certain.  The lineup will have some thunder if Ramirez and Soriano can stay healthy.  Derrek Lee and Byrd will have plenty of RBI chances as well.  Soto needs to find his stroke again or he'll find himself riding the pine.  Kosuke Fukudome will need to avoid a decline in production like he had most of last season. 

The Cubs did agree to a one year deal with Carlos Marmol earlier today, avoiding arbitration on that particular issue.  Marmol will be the closer for the Cubs in 2010 after finishing the 2009 campaign as the closer following the demotion of Gregg.  He led the team with 27 holds and went 11 for 11 in save chances after getting the closer role in mid August.   One player that seemingly will go to arbitration is Ryan Theriot.  If that does happen, it will be the first arbitration case for the team since Mark Grace took the club in 1993.  For the record, the Cubs won that particular case, and Grace made $3.1 million instead of the 4.1 million he sought.

Either way, it's only a couple weeks until pitchers and catchers report and the popping of mitts gets going.  Stay tuned for more action involving the Cubs and other franchises. 

        

Mention the word "strike" or "lockout" to a sports fan and you'll see them recoil as if they were near someone that had the plague.

Sadly though, it is an event that has become all too common in recent years.  The NHL lost the entire 2004-05 season when the league and the players union were unable to reach an agreement.  They had another in 1994-95 that shortened that season to 48 games.  The NBA suffered through a lockout that cut the 1998-99 season to 50 games instead of the normal 82.

Baseball isn't exempt either.  They had a strike that started in August of 1994, the season ending prematurely with no World Series, and ending in 1995.  It was the first season with no World Series since 1904.  That was on the heels of the strike in 1981, which led to split season division winners and a fiasco that seemed more suited for the CBA than major league baseball.

The only one of the four major sports leagues NOT affected by a strike or lockout in the last two decades has been the NFL.  The last work stoppage for them was in 1987, when the players union went on strike for a month, but only canceled a week's worth of games.  Strike football, which was glamorized on the big screen in the Keanu Reeves movie "The Replacements", was as disturbing as trying to give acne products to a bunch of pimply teenagers. It wasn't something you really wanted to see.

Here we are nearly a quarter of a century later, and the NFL is faced with the same potential issue.  With the possibility of an uncapped year in 2010, owners are crying foul about losing money, sparking grumblings about a potential lockout in 2011.  There has been a war of words between owners and players about how much money is being lost, with owners saying that many teams are struggling to finish in the black.  Players meantime, continue to demand that owners open their books and show the bottom line to show who is losing money and how much is involved.

DeMaurice Smith, the head of the NFLPA, has stated that on a scale of 1 to 10 regarding the likelihood of a lockout in 2011 that his answer is "14."  He has pointed to the fact that the league would receive $5 billion in television money even if games were not played in 2011 as a key indicator that the owners are leaning in that direction.  Here is more about what Smith had to say, courtesy of NFL.com:

"Has any one of the prior deals included $5 billion to not play football?" Smith said, referring to previous collective bargaining agreements that were extended or redone. "The answer's no."

Smith has also said that in the latest offer from the owners, that the percent of applied revenues that would go to the player pool was 41 percent, a far cry from the current 59 percent. 

Either way, it looks like trouble brewing on the horizon and something, someone is going to have to give to save us all from another season of discontent.

        

You really have to have some sympathy for Atlanta Thrashers GM Don Waddell.

Two years ago at the trade deadline, Waddell was stuck between a rock and a hard place with star winger Marian Hossa.  Hossa, who had come to Atlanta in the deal that dispatched Dany Heatley to Ottawa, had decided that he had his fill of Atlanta and demanded to be moved.  Unable to throw enough money at him to change his mind, Waddell shopped the sniper around until the Penguins swooped in at the 11th hour and acquired him from the Thrashers.  Hossa would lead the Pens to the Stanley Cup Finals while the Thrashers floundered.

History has an unfortunate way of repeating itself at times, usually when you least expect or want it to.  In this case for Waddell and the Thrashers brass, lightning has struck twice in the same place as star winger Ilya Kovalchuk is ready to leave the team.  Waddell broke his silence earlier today telling the media that negotiations had reached an "impasse" and that the team would now aggressively "pursue all options" regarding the talented Kovalchuk. 

You really have to feel for Waddell.  His chances of keeping Kovalchuk are about as good as an insurance salesman selling a Blue Advantage policy to a guy in the morgue: none.  Waddell also stated some of the terms of the offer on the table that was refused, which apparently was in the neighborhood of over $101 million for 12 years, which would have been the highest contract offer ever to a pending free agent.  Additionally, he noted that Kovalchuk was presented with a 7 year, $70 million dollar offer which would have satisfied his desire to be the league's highest paid player.

Rebuffed on both, Waddell released the following statement to the media, which I will have here courtesy of ESPN.com:

"Ultimately, we offered Kovy more than $101 million over 12 years,which would have been the highest contract signed by an impending unrestricted free agent in the history of the league.  If accepted, this contract would have been the second-highest offer ever to any NHL player. We also met his desire to be the highest-paid player based on average annual salary with a separate offer of seven years at $10 million per year ($70 M). This offer is $0.5 million higher per year than any other player."

"If we went beyond these offers, we would not be able to retain the young players on our roster when it came time to sign them or invest in other top-tier players needed to assemble a truly competitive team.Therefore, we are aggressively exploring all of our options as we move forward."

The really disheartening thing here isn't so much Kovalchuk's seeming greed, but the fact that Atlanta, while they are in eleventh place in the Eastern Conference, reside just a single point out of the final playoff spot.  Dealing Kovalchuk away would probably send them into rebuilding mode again.  They've made the postseason just once in the history of the franchise and in that instance they were swept out by the New York Rangers. 

Reports swirling around the league from various sources say a move involving Kovalchuk is imminent and could take place by the weekend.  We'll keep you posted as more information becomes available.

        

With Super Bowl XLIV looming just a few days away, the media circus surrounding the Indianapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints has begun. 

Nearly lost in the hoopla of Peyton Manning facing the franchise his father Archie played for, and in the midst of the Saints playing in the first Super Bowl in franchise history, is the burning $64,000 question that very well have more of an impact on the end result of the Super Bowl than most of the things garnering attention.  That question of course, is whether Dwight Freeney, All Pro defensive end, will play for the Colts when they line up on defense Sunday against the high powered New Orleans offense. 

Freeney tore a ligament in his ankle in the closing minutes of the AFC Championship Game against the New York Jets and hasn't practiced yet leading up to the game.  He has tried several different forms of rehab, including the oxygen chamber, ice and chiropractors in an effort to get on the field and into the game.  So far at least, there's been minimal improvement, though Freeney holds out hope he can play Sunday.

At least so far, there have been no reports of issues with the joint itself, so that rules out any prescriptions or techniques capable of providing joint pain relief in an effort to alleviate the situation.  One thing that is for certain, should Freeney not be able to go, the Colts defense would sustain a major blow as he is a disruptive force as far as pass rush goes.  Teamed with fellow All Pro Robert Mathis, the Colts make it difficult on opposing quarterbacks to sit back in the pocket and find open receivers. 

Freeney racked up 13.5 sacks in the regular season in 2009, his sixth double digit sack campaign of his eight year career.  He's a five time Pro Bowler and a three time All Pro selection.  He can play the run and the pass equally well, as evidenced by his 84 career sacks and staggering 35 forced fumbles to date.  The Colts will take Freeney at 50 percent over a lot of defensive ends playing at full speed.  If he can stay in the game and make an impact along with Mathis (9.5 sacks despite missing five games), it could make things tough for New Orleans.

The Saints do have a solid offensive line that protects Drew Brees.  They held their own against the brutal front four of the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC Championship Game, holding them to just one sack a week after they terrorized Tony Romo and the Cowboys.  The line will have to hold again for the Saints to come through, because Peyton Manning will work the ball around offensively and put pressure on Brees and New Orleans to score points. 

It seems that it may very well come down to how much pain Freeney can take Sunday.  How much does playing in the Super Bowl with a chance at a second ring mean to the star defensive end?  Will he gut it out to try and wash away the blank stat sheet he posted when the Colts won Super Bowl XLI against the Chicago Bears?  Can he be healthy enough to influence the outcome of the game in a positive light for his team?  Will his injury negatively effect Indy, whether he takes the field in a diminished capacity or not at all?

One thing is for certain...regardless of what happens between now and Sunday, you have to figure if Freeney can even hint at getting on the field Sunday, he'll be out there.  The heart of a warrior beats within him.  In the biggest game of the season, it would take something catastrophic to keep him from being in his usual spot.

        

The Toronto Maple Leafs continued their less than stellar play Saturday night in front of a capacity crowd at the Air Canada Centre, blowing a 3-0 first period lead in a 5-3 loss to the Vancouver Canucks.  It seemed to be business as usual for the Leafs this season:  the same guys out there playing partial games, not finishing, and when it was all said and done, a flummoxed Ron Wilson was left to try and explain to the media just what happened that put his team on the wrong end of the scoreboard for yet another evening of the NHL slate.  If you were to use a ls2208 scanner on the team, it would have rung up a clearance price.

With the changing of the calendar from Saturday to Sunday, and the imminent change of January to February, so went the sudden alterations to the Toronto roster.  Brian Burke, who was brought in to try and fix the club following the debacle that was the John Ferguson era as general manager, swung his first major deals since acquiring Phil Kessel from Boston before the season began Sunday morning, and it left an immediate imprint on the Leafs locker room.

The wheeling and dealing Burke made a pair of trades, one with the Calgary Flames, the other with his former team the Ducks of Anaheim, in an effort to try and reverse the fortunes of the floundering franchise.  First, Burke shipped Matt Stajan, Niklas Hagman, Ian White and disgruntled Jamal Mayers to Calgary in exchange for franchise blueliner Dion Phaneuf, Fredrik Sjostrom and Keith Aulie.  The Flames were in the midst of a nine game winless streak, which may have helped Burke's chances to get Phaneuf, who reportedly was not on the block just three short weeks ago.

Burke wasn't done however, as he shipped goaltender Vesa Toskala and winger Jason Blake to Anaheim in exchange for goaltender Jean-Sebastian Giguere.  Giguere was the Ducks backstop when they went to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2003 and again when they won the Cup in 2007 while Burke was the GM.  Giguere also becomes a good mentor for rookie goaltender Jonas Gustavsson and is reunited with his former goaltending coach Francois Allaire.  With Giguere's age (32), contract ($7 million) and the resigning of Jonas Hiller to a new four year deal, he became expendable for the Ducks.

These were deals that Burke really had to make.  Mayers had been complaining for weeks that he wanted to be dealt from Toronto since the team was struggling.  Stajan never fully played up to potential as a projected second line pivot.  He has tied his career high for goals this season with 16, so he will probably break that, but he's never scored more than 55 points in a season.  Hagman is a streaky scorer:  he'll get hot for three or four games and then go invisible for a dozen.  He scored 22 goals for the Leafs last year while missing 17 games and has 20 so far this season.  

White is a versatile player, who can play on the wing or the blueline.  He has 9 goals and 26 points while actually sporting a +1 for a Toronto team that has been terrible defensively.  It's hoped that those three can help with a struggling Calgary power play, something that is important if the Flames hope to stay in the postseason race.  They currently stand in a tie for eighth with Detroit, with Dallas looming not far behind.  

The Ducks have surged back into relevance behind Hiller in net.  Toskala will most likely serve in a backup capacity, and is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.  He was subpar in net this season, not to mention injury prone.  His numbers don't support the fact that he has the ability to be a number one goaltender anymore.  Since coming to Toronto in 2007-08, his save percentage has gone from 90.4% to 89.1% to 87.4% this season, while his goals against average has soared from 2.74 to 3.26 to now 3.66 in 2009-10.  

Blake signed a big contract after scoring 40 goals for the Islanders in 2006-07, and has failed to post anywhere close to those numbers despite high shot totals.  In two plus seasons in Toronto, Blake scored 50 goals in 216 games, a far cry from the 40 in 82 that he had in his final year on Long Island.  On top of that, he's 36 and definitely on the down side of his career.  He also carries a $4 million cap figure for the remaining two years on his contract after this season.  

The biggest key for Toronto here is Phaneuf.  He's a hard hitting, physical, throwback type of defenseman who makes things happen on the ice.  He's got a booming shot that can get through on the power play and can help add grit and toughness to the Leafs.  With a top four on the blueline of Phaneuf, Tomas Kaberle, Mike Komisarek and Francois Beauchemin, plus Luke Schenn, Jeff Finger, and company the Leafs have plenty of depth.  The goaltending is stabilized for the next season plus, and with Burke saying the team isn't finished, perhaps he'll add some forward depth that can light the lamp.   

According to Burke, he's not done making moves, stating "We're still open for business."  That may not bode well for several other players who have underachieved in the Toronto locker room.  We'll have to stay tuned to see what might evolve from that