Monday Morning #Hockey Thought – Toronto Maple Leafs #TMLTalk #MapleLeafs #NHL #AustonMatthews

Photo Credit: Yahoo Sports

Random thought over NHL weekend…

 

I have watched more Leafs games this year than I have since Gilmour took them to the final four last century.  I have enjoyed watching Auston Matthews play.  Often he seems like he is playing a level above all those around him.

 

The Leafs currently sit in a playoff spot but don’t seem to be able to make a move to go up further in their division.  Their goaltender has publicly stated he thinks several people think just making the playoffs is enough.

 

That is too bad as that mirrors what the organization felt for the last couple of decades.  The team can make good $$$ simply having two playoff home games.  To go further takes more effort.

 

I still think they need a plus Goaltender to add to the already potent offense to make the move.  Can Toronto draft/acquire a Goalie who can bring back the days of Felix The Cat? Even Mike Palmateer?  We will see.

Any Leafs fans out there? What are your thoughts?

 

Mr. N The Hockey Fan

How Bout Dem Houston Cougars? #collegehoops #NCAA #GoCoogs

 

How bout dem Houston Cougars?

 

We have had the pleasure to catch a couple of the Cougars games lately. We watched one where they put up a scorching 50+ in the first half. The Cougars are a scoring machine.

 

They may lack a bit on D now and again but they are a fun watch. I think if a team sleeps on them in the tournament they can at least get to to the 2nd round.

 

I loved the Cougars Football team with Andre Ware and it’s fun to watch them unload 3’s on the court!

 

Mr. N The College Hoops Fan

Baseball Hall of Fame 2018 Election Thoughts #HOF #MLB

Well,  the Hall is bringing in 6 (7 if you add Costas).

On the face of it, the Hall got this right because Clemens and Bonds are still on the outside.

Chipper Jones was a no-brainer and deserves his status.  I hadn’t really looked at Vlad Guerrero’s career numbers until he was elected and he doesn’t show any odd number correlations and ended a .318 hitter so good for Vlad.

Jim Thome was a legit big old country boy when I had a beer with him way back in the early 90’s when he was a minor leaguer playing AA.  Although he seems to have hit more homers after age 30 than he did before, he must be considered in the Bagwell/Piazza category and be congratulated with only a slightly raised eyebrow.

Trevor Hoffman in the Hall…I think this was inevitable as they already put Sutter in.  They are greasing the rails for Mariano’s coming.

The ‘Veterans’ committee added Jack Morris and Alan Trammell.  There is a reason they were never elected.  Good players are good players and great player are elected to the Hall.  I enjoyed watching Jack pitch for Toronto (not so much for Detroit) and I remember Trammell kneeing Ernie Whitt and helping cost the Jays a pennant.  Be that as it may, both are only good and their entry lowers the standards of the Hall.

Those are my thoughts!

Oh and Edgar Martinez deserved entry.

Mr. N The Baseball Fan

A Hockey Thought for a Tuesday #NHL #hockey #sports #blog

What is the deal with Michael Grabner? 

 

I will fill in the world with some facts about my hockey interest.  Was a huge fan thru about 1994 and then gave up the game.  Have watched a bit this year with the arrival of Austin Matthews in Toronto but NCAA basketball has taken over my viewing the last month.

 

As to Grabner, he is a forward with the Rangers and currently sits with 20 goals and only 4 assists.  That kind of stat line is unheard of.  When Grabner was 18g and 3a, he was tied with someone from 1927-1928 for most points least assists. *that evidently comes first from the NY Post*

My thoughts are … is Grabner afraid to pass?  Does his stick only shoot but not pass?  Is he just the NHL version of Carmelo Martinez?

I have seen the greatest goal scorers in the history of hockey and the most selfish would be able to score 40 and get 20 assists.  To be on pace for 40 goals with 8 assists is ludicrous and makes my head hurt.

Mr. N, Hockey Fan

Major League Baseball Hall of Fame Debate Time #MLB #baseball #sports

 

We are heading towards the next baseball Hall of Fame election and off the top of my head I would vote in Chipper Jones and Edgar Martinez.

 

The drug addled elephants in the room are Clemens and Bonds. Both are cheaters and do not belong in the Hall. It is sad because both of them were hall of famers before they cheated *both around 1997*.

 

If that travesty ever occurs, the Hall better quickly put Pete Rose and Joe Jackson in the Hall. If there are no standards then get those two deserved people into the Hall.

 

Mr. N The Baseball Fan

MR N’s FINAL #NFL POWER POLL #nflthoughts #blog #blogging

 

Enjoy my last power poll and I will be right here sharing my sports thoughts. I love talking sports so join me!

	Last Week	Conference Championship Weekend
	2	1	New England	The Pats played about exactly as I thought they would.  They were overwhelmed and unable to deal with Jacksonville for the first half and into 4th.  They took advantage of being able to hold all game and have no flags thrown and in the end they beat the Jags.  It is nearly a foregone conclusion they will ‘win’ the Super Bowl because the NFL is letting them win.
	4	2	Philadelphia	Played a great game and win the chance to go and have their ass handed to them by the Super Bowl champion Patriots.  It is already over and done, New England will win.  The end.
	3	3	Jacksonville	The Jags had the best game they could have and they led for over 55 minutes of the game but when it came down to it Bortles couldn’t make the plays and they lost.  The Jags can be very positive about their season. They had a super year and with their youth and talent I think they could be on the cusp of long term greatness.
	1	4	Minnesota	Gave their emotional all beating New Orleans and had nothing left and it showed.
				not much going on with teams eliminated this week.
	5		New Orleans	Payton is a putz for making fun of the Skol.  This is at least twice he has been classless and it is tarnishing his legacy as a bounty hunting scumbag and making it worse.
	6		Pittsburgh	Pittsburgh has gotten rid of the O/C.  That is the best thing they could do.
	7		Atlanta
	8		Tennessee	Named a new Head Coach after canning Mularkey and doing it too late to get McDaniels.
	9		Carolina
	10		LA Rams
	11		Kansas City
	12		Buffalo
	13		San Francisco
	14		Seattle
	15		Baltimore
	16		LA Chargers
	17		Arizona
	18		Cincinnati
	19		Tampa Bay
	20		Chicago
	21		Miami
	22		Oakland
	23		Washington
	24		Detroit
	25		Dallas
	26		Indianapolis
	27		NY Giants
	28		Denver
	29		Houston
	30		NY Jets
	31		Green Bay
	32		Cleveland
				Thoughts, Comments, Questions, Arguments, Agreements?  All welcome! As always I will be happy to take money, preferably tens and twenties!
				Mr. N The BEARS Fan

An Announcement and a Website Change #sports #NFL #blog

 

Hey faithful followers, my interest in the NFL has waned big time. Have no plans to watch the Super Bowl this year. I’m not watching the show Path to the Draft. Will watch the Senior Bowl, will watch the draft and will watch some pre season here and there. Come next year will not watch any night game but will look at games Sunday between 1pm and 8pm.

 

The quality of the NFL is no longer good enough to warrant giving up quality time. If there is something more interesting on Sunday afternoons in the Fall I may just watch that instead.

 

To that end, I am no longer going to do power polls. The effort needed is not worth having to pay attention to a badly officiated league that cares nothing about player health.

 

My blog will now be a sports talk blog.The website has changed and is now:

 

https://mrnssportstalk.wordpress.com/

 

Please update your bookmarks.

 

I love sports and will be talking about everything under the sun including some NFL when appropriate.

 

Mr. N, Sports Fan

Mr. N’s #NFL Divisional Weekend Power Poll #NFLPlayoffs #Rankings

 

	Last Week	Division Weekend
	1	1	Minnesota	That was a heck of a battle and it came down to the most exciting play in Minnesota football history but the Vikes won and now they go to Philly and a couple of cheesesteaks later and they can host the Super Bowl!  What a great win!
	2	2	New England	Took down the Titans in non unexpected fashion.  Outplayed them on O and D and got help from the officials on at least 2 bad calls that were given to New England.  SNAFU time for the Pats.
	6	3	Jacksonville	Way to go Jacksonville!  Universally overlooked and with nothing to lose they brought their O, their D and their swagger and took down the Steelers.  It was said early that NE didn’t wanna face these guys.  Well –  get ready New England, a different sort of opponent is coming to town.
	8	4	Philadelphia	The Eagles tried their best to lose this game but they just couldn’t make Atlanta call the right play or execute them either.  Foles got the win but didn’t put Wentz on notice his job is in jeopardy and I don’t see how this Eagle team can beat the Vikings.
	5	5	New Orleans	The Saints were beaten down, got back into it with play reminescent of bounty gate and then they took a lead and then they lost and they can go home and chew on that for the rest of the year.  Good riddance to the cheap shot artists.
	3	6	Pittsburgh	The Steelers looked bad on D, bad on O calls and bad on mailing it in.  To be fair the Steelers often played like this all year and either barely eked out wins or lost.  They lost and it was a fitting way to end a badly inconsistent season.  If any changes are to come, the OC must be fired.
	4	7	Atlanta	The Falcons looked like a lost dog and once more over thought and under performed.  They had myriad shots to win the game and blew every single chance.  Matty Ice is in the end and in the red zone and with the pressure on….Matty Melt.  Julio Jones can’t be considered elite if he can’t make the tough catch that wins a playoff game.
	7	8	Tennessee	Scored one TD to start and then never were in the game again.  No answer for Pat O and Brady and no answer for the refs calling the game against them.  They didn’t belong in this game and they lost.  Add to this a gutless firing of their coach after giving him talk of an extension.
				only noteworthy occurrences commented on for teams finished…
	9		Carolina	One or two days after Rivera said no changes to his staff – his OC and DC were canned.
	10		LA Rams
	11		Kansas City
	12		Buffalo
	13		San Francisco
	14		Seattle	Got a new OC.  Unless Schottenheimer can block this may not help them.
	15		Baltimore
	16		LA Chargers
	17		Arizona
	18		Cincinnati
	19		Tampa Bay
	20		Chicago	Have hired a great young OC and got their great DC to stay…something nice is building in Chi town.
	21		Miami
	22		Oakland	Word is that the NFL is investigating a possible violation of the Rooney Rule in the hiring of Gruden.  The Rooney Rule meant well and had great intentions but all it has become is the frequent flyer programs for one or two African American Co-ordinators.  They get flown around the country for ‘interviews’ and then the team hires who they intended to.  Oakland followed the letter of the rule just made it look as stupid as it is.
	23		Washington
	24		Detroit	Hiring NE DC Patricia.  If he bring discipline and a fire hose then the Lions can improve.
	25		Dallas
	26		Indianapolis
	27		NY Giants	Will it be Shurmer and Keenum to NYG with a Rosen draft pick?  Will be something to watch.
	28		Denver
	29		Houston
	30		NY Jets
	31		Green Bay
	32		Cleveland	Hired a former Packer exec to help build this mess from the ground up AGAIN or STILL.
				Thoughts, Comments, Questions, Arguments, Agreements?  All welcome! As always I will be happy to take money, preferably tens and twenties!
				Mr. N The BEARS Fan

Mr. N’s #NFL Wild Card Weekend Power Poll #nflthoughts #wildcard

 

	Last Week	Week Wild Card
	1	1	Minnesota	On the bye and being universally ignored.  Me thinks a lot are going to be surprised by how tough it is to play against this team in the playoffs.
	2	2	New England	On the bye and practiced in the Cyclone Bomb showing that mental prep is as important as physical prep and they are primed to roll through the AFC by any means necessary.
	4	3	Pittsburgh	On the bye and Antonio Brown is practicing in South Florida with ochocinco and not with his team is symptomatic of the flaws in the Steeler organization and tells me why they can’t beat New England.
	6	4	Atlanta	Won a good game over a young Rams team.  NO this is NOT the team that played in the Super Bowl and NO they CAN’T beat the Vikings.
	7	5	New Orleans	Saints pulled out a close win after battling in a not unexpected fashion.  They will face the beast of Minny D and I expect them to not muster much against them.
	9	6	Jacksonville	The Jags brought their D but the O was hamstrung by poor decisions by Bortles.  The Refs called terrible calls and that impacted the game on many levels.  In the end they won and they can take this show on the road to Pittsburgh and they have a puncher’s chance against the flawed Steelers.
	10	7	Tennessee	Won a game with the aid of the refs and luck and by the skin of their teeth.  Now cannon fodder for the Pats.  Could be 60-0 next week, literally.
	11	8	Philadelphia	On the bye and unless Foles developed a lot more capability they are one and done next week.
	8	9	Carolina	The Panthers might have won had they got a FG early but they lost and Caaaaaam got hurt and there were bad calls and mistakes and now Carolina needs to regroup.
	5	10	LA Rams	Got schooled by the Falcons and proved once more turnovers are gold.  Hindsight says resting in week 17 didn’t help and now the Rams have to get ready to take the next step next year.
	3	11	Kansas City	Eliminated because the NFL really blew a couple of calls and then Andy Reid blew how to call the game in the last half.  That a sack, fumble, touchdown didn’t count because forward progress was halted? Sacking a QB generally stops forward progress.  Unbelievable.  The targetting hit on Kelce, that probably ended any shot KC had of beating NE anyway.  Big changes coming to KC me thinks.
	12	12	Buffalo	The Bills had no offense although they were forced to play in yet another terribly called game.  The Bills played great D but in the end the utter lack of O wiped out their chances and they went down in a close, BADLY officiated  game.
	13	13	San Francisco
	14	14	Seattle
	15	15	Baltimore
	16	16	LA Chargers
	17	17	Arizona	Arians retired, who will coach for them; Palmer retired, who will QB for them?
	18	18	Cincinnati	They kept Lewis, that must make the rest of the AFC North happy – no challenge here with Lewis and a red headed nightmare to compete with.
	19	19	Tampa Bay
	20	20	Chicago	Fired Fox and if they can get a coach who can lead TruBEARSky to glory this could be a good future for my BEARS.  Hiring Nagy from KC may be exactly what they need and on the surface this is the right step for building the BEARS Back to the top!
	21	21	Miami
	22	22	Oakland	Getting Gruden back for a 100 mill is a steal with the Vegas move on the horizon.  Maybe the Silver and Black are about to be back.
	23	23	Washington
	24	24	Detroit	Fired the emotionless Caldwell and need the new coach to bring a fire hose and wash out that whole mess of bad character and attitude.
	25	25	Dallas	Sticking with Dead man coaching despite univeral dislike of him by players.  Jerry now disagreeing with his son…hmmm
	26	26	Indianapolis	Fired Pagano and Luck healed with no surgery with some Euro magic treatment…they need to key on the lesser named character guys who play hard, if they ignore them then they will be in peril.
	27	27	NY Giants	Talk is they will land a QB with the 2 pick and now they may want Shumur and Case Keenum for short term while the young QB learns.  I hope they release Davis Webb who deserves a shot.
	28	28	Denver	Kept their coach after the players spoke up for him.  Can’t think the coach has much confidence in his long term future if Elway was ready to gas him but was only talked out of it.
	29	29	Houston	Keeping their coach and the conflict with the GM is abated short term as the GM has to leave for a year to deal with a serious family issue.  What will 2019 bring will be to watch.
	30	30	NY Jets
	31	31	Green Bay	Need a GM and aren’t rushing to find one.  Interesting that the early mindset is the team is fine and just needs Rodgers back to be great.  There are bigger issues here, maybe a new GM will see them?
	32	32	Cleveland	Had a parade for the 0-16 and one player got pissed.  Here is my note to the Browns players….Why not be pissed you are 1-31 and promise to win a few instead of whining that people are making fun of you….you are a joke so it’s obvious that people laugh at you.
				Thoughts, Comments, Questions, Arguments, Agreements?  All welcome! As always I will be happy to take money, preferably tens and twenties!
				Mr. N The BEARS Fan

Mr. N’s #NFL Week 17 Power Poll #PowerRankings

 

	Last Week	Week 17
	1	1	Minnesota	With yesterday’s results the Vikings should have shown everyone, this is the best team in the NFC and I think the NFL.  Two games then home for the Super Bowl. Going to be fun to watch!
	4	2	New England	The Pats probably will be two games and off to Super Bowl but they will have a revenge game hosting KC in Division round if all things are equal.
	7	3	Kansas City	The Chiefs finished strong and get a cupcake Wild card game then go to the Death Star for Pat/KC 2.
	8	4	Pittsburgh	Ended on an ugly win but this entire season is all about facing NE again in the Death Star for the right to go to Minny in Feb.  The year will be measured on that result and not much else.
	3	5	LA Rams	A loss to end but a win in that LA rested their players and will be healthy and ready for a tough Wild Card game against Atlanta.
	11	6	Atlanta	The Falcons won and made it and have a heck of a challenge.  Beat the upstart Rams to get on the road to Minnesota.
	6	7	New Orleans	Lost to a bad Tampa team and looked bad doing it.  I recommend better effort in the Wild Card match with rival Carolina.
	5	8	Carolina	Lost and looked bad. Caaaam looked terrible and his play cost me one fantasy championship.  They need to get their head out of their collective asses as they play at the Saints Sunday.
	10	9	Jacksonville	Losing the last two badly isn’t the best way to get ready for the playoffs.  Will remain to be seen if they can right the ship when they face the Bills.
	20	10	Tennessee	The worst team with a playoff slot and they should last just long enough for KC to turn on the lights and shut them off after they beat the Titans.
	2	11	Philadelphia	The team who had a shot at the Super Bowl with Wentz is a waiting one and done once Division round starts.
	15	12	Buffalo	The Bills won and got in.  Congrats.  They have a punchers chance at Jacksonville.
	14	13	San Francisco	The team on the rise.  With a superb Franchise QB in Garoppolo and a tremendous young team and another high pick…this team will be heard from in 2018.
	13	14	Seattle	Blew their shot by losing in week 17 but it didn’t matter as Atlanta won anywho.  The Seahawks did all they could after suffering season long horrible injuries but the magic may be gone now.
	9	15	Baltimore	Lost to the Bengals and looked bad doing it.  A playoff caliber D can thank a Pop Warner quality O for the season ending now.
	12	16	LA Chargers	Did everything to make the playoffs but that loss to KC killed them.  A team that surpassed expectations and could be on the way up with careful handling.
	21	17	Arizona	Waiting to officially hear they are getting a new coach.  They ended with a win and have a middling draft pick.  They do need to seriously think about who is going to QB going forward. Palmer is old, Stanton played 2 with a torn ACL which shows guts but he ain’t it.  We won’t even talk about Gabbert.
	23	18	Cincinnati	They got to knock a rival out of the playoffs so that was the Super Bowl.  Lewis isn’t officially done but 99% sure he is.  The red haired nightmare keeps being thought of as a QB.  I think McCarron and pray for Dalton’s release.
	24	19	Tampa Bay	The Bucs won a game.  Winston wasn’t very good but truly is he ever?  Evidently keeping Koetter and that is interesting as he isn’t a huge Winston guy.  The Bucs are at a crossroads.  Were a team on the rise but have plateaued and need to figure out if they are able to move forward with thug as QB.
	17	20	Chicago	My BEARS canned Fox and want to bring in a HC to help mold the Franchise QB TruBEARSky.  There were some positives in the 5-11 season.  The Bears have some good players and are not that far from being respectable now that they have a QB.
	18	21	Miami	Got beat by Bills and now face the off-season with questions.  Do they offer Cutler more money? Is Tannehill going to be healthy?  Can they build on the pieces on hand to create a decent team? I don’t know.
	19	22	Oakland	The Raiders got whipped and canned JDR for Gruden.  It makes me laugh how much the talk about Gruden’s connection to the Oakland area is being touted…don’t people remember the Raiders are off to Vegas, conceivably as soon as 2018?  They could be in UNLV stadium til the new park is built.  Gruden will have his hands full turning some quality parts into a winner again.
	16	23	Washington	Ugly loss to the bad Giants ends them under .500 and now they need to find a QB since they want to get rid of Cousins who will have myriad suitors.  The injuries had to play a role in the tough season this team had.
	25	24	Detroit	Beat GB to end year and still got their coach canned.  The Lions seem to be still the same self defeating crew they have been for years and years.  Maybe a new coach can change the culture.
	26	25	Dallas	The Cowboys shutout a mirage version of the Eagles and now face an off-season where Jerry likes Dead man coaching but the players are starting to chirp about him.  This will be interesting to watch.
	30	26	Indianapolis	The Colts won another and canned their coach in a dastardly fashion.  Played with a lot of heart.  Not sure if Luck can ever come back but Brissett could be a franchise QB himself.  They are not so bad that they can’t make a quick turnaround in their division.
	31	27	NY Giants	The Giants played hard (for once) and won the last game.  They have a new GM who seems to have a plan to wash out the riff raff and start over.  Long day ahead for Giants fans I think.
	27	28	Denver	The Broncos seem to be battling over whether or not to keep their HC.  Joseph deserves more than one year. He inherited a roster of has beens and never weres and got about all they had out of them.  They need a lot of help on O AND D.
	28	29	Houston	The Texans ended the year to forget with a loss and now can work on the simple process of getting as many of these guys healthy and taking on 2018 with a team that, if all healthy, will be an AFC fave.
	22	30	NY Jets	The Jets suck.  They went down badly with Petty and screwed Hackenburg.  They keep Bowles who coaches like someone who doesn’t want to win often.  I am not sure where they go.  They have some talent, they need a QB.
	29	31	Green Bay	Because this is such a rare chance I can put the pack in 31 as they lost out and looked bad.  They will probably challenge for the Super Bowl next year but I have loved this year.
	32	32	Cleveland	Finish winless, keep their coach, have 2 of the top 4 picks.  Does anyone wanna play here? Do they have a plan? How many QBs can they feed into this wood chipper? Or the better question for Cleveland fans…when do pitchers and catchers report?
				Thoughts, Comments, Questions, Arguments, Agreements?  All welcome! As always I will be happy to take money, preferably tens and twenties!
				Mr. N The BEARS Fan