Jose Bautista: On the Trade Block?

There are rumours surrounding Toronto Blue Jays slugger Jose Bautista that he's going to be traded. This isn't as ludicrous a statement as it sounds. There are multiple reasons to possibly trade Bautista, but there are also a lot of reasons to keep him. I'm going to try and make some sense of all this and see what the best thing to do would be.

First let's look at what Bautista means to this team. Since 2010 to this date Bautista has hit 177 homeruns for the Blue Jays (and depending on when you're reading this there's a chance that that number is even bigger). His batting average is .269, and his OPS is a really solid .938. He also has a total of 443 RBIs in the same span. This doesn't even include his solid play and cannon of an arm in right field. These numbers beg the question, why would the Blue Jays even consider trading him? Well there's a few reasons.

They aren't winning. The Blue Jays have had relatively the same core for a couple seasons now and both seasons we've seen a failure of a season in both. Don't give me the "there's still a chance this year" talk. Yes there is, about the same chance that the Montreal Expos have this year.  On trade deadline day they had a firm grasp on the wild card position and were just a few back from the division lead. I realize this collapse isn't totally Bautista's fault and I'm not blaming him. That is not why I'm saying he should be dealt. I'm saying that a trade would mean at least two if not three good players coming back and one of them likely being a top pitcher. The Jays could now have a new nucleus to build the rest of the team around. The trade for this nucleus should also include guys with playoff experience and preferably guys with a World Series ring coming back to Tornonto. The Blue Jays have one player with serious playoff experience and he likely isn't around much longer. Mark Buerhle won in Chicago and the Jays need more guys that have won. If you trade Bautista you could trade for these guys, guys who could eventually bring a team to the playoffs and not fold when all the expectations and eyes are on them. As it appears to be that's what this team currently is. The Jays have a lot of players who can put up the numbers and put together some wins, but not win when it counts. Because of this team folding like it has, there might be a chance that Bautista wants out.


In a way it's almost surprising Bautista has not asked for a trade yet. He has been in Toronto since 2010 and hasn't even come close to the playoffs. It would only make sense that he would want to go somewhere where he could be a playoff and potentially even a World Series contender, a team where a GM makes moves at the trade deadline to strengthen the team, and there are probably quite a few teams like this that would be happy to have him. Off the top of my head I can come up with a host of potential destinations. Oakland, either LA team, Detroit, and Kansas City among others would all be happy to have him. This also brings me back to what pieces the Jays would get. All of the listed teams have very good pieces that could help out the Jays a lot. You might be thinking those those pieces would never get traded. In that case I will direct you to start reading this article again and go through Bautista's numbers. If Bautista were to be traded at least one of the really big names off of those teams would have to be traded a long with some other legitimate talent. I don't know if Bautista wants out or not, but if he did maybe there would be a bit less talent coming back than I think because Anthopoulos would have to trade him and the other GM would know that and wouldn't give up as much. However, the pieces coming back would still be quality. However, if Bautista doesn't want out and doesn't ask for a trade, then it would definitely be a star quality player and more coming back, because Antopoulos won't have to get him out of Toronto and will be able to hold on to Bautista until he gets an offer he likes, or if he doesn't like the offers, no trade.

So to answer the question, is it worth it to trade Jose Bautista? I say yes but with an asterisk beside that yes. If Bautista wants out then he would almost for sure be getting traded, and even in that scenario it would be at least one really good piece coming back. However, if he doesn't want out Anthopoulos could ask for almost any star player on any good team, plus some other nice every day players, and get at least some variation of the deal he asked for. This deal would include at least three good to really good players. What might be even more important though is if the Blue Jays GM works with the right team he could get players with playoff experience and potentially even a World Series ring or two, which might be just as important as talent on an MLB team.


-Darren

What do you think about Bautista potentially being traded? Leave a comment below this post or you can find me on twitter @thewildman111

Photo taken from thestar.com

The Starting QB for Cleveland Should Be...

Who will be next to be added to the infamous shirt with all the Cleveland Brown starting quarterbacks since 1999? This is a franchise that has had a huge question mark at quarterback for a long time without finding an answer. This off season and preseason the debate has circled between first round draft pick Johnny Manziel and last year's starter Brian Hoyer. Neither one has looked great. However, in this situation Johnny Manziel should be the starter for a variety of reasons. He has better preseason numbers, if he's bad the quicker you can remove the distraction he creates and move on to the next guy, and if he's back up he'll be a major distraction.

All of the Browns starting QBs since 1999

There is no doubt Manziel's numbers have been better than Brian Hoyer's in the preseason, in fact it isn't even close. Manziel is 24 out of 42 for 213 yards. He has one touchdown with no picks. Where as Brian Hoyer is 18 of 36, with only 192 yards. This includes a touchdown and an interception. Johnny Manziel's numbers are quite a bit better than Hoyer's. However, Manziel's numbers aren't great either, and if this translates into regular season play it might prove that he is not and will not be an NFL quarterback. This is just another reason to start him week one instead of Hoyer.

The sooner they put Manziel in the better. Here's why. If Johnny Manziel starts right away and turns out to be a complete flop then you could get him out of Cleveland quicker and move on to the next guy (and add yet another name to the shirt). Whereas with Brian Hoyer starting you're waiting on this guys for multiple weeks and possibly a full season and he might do nothing. That's a few weeks to a whole year wasted where the Browns could have continued their quarterback search instead of waiting on Manziel. People say it's better if he waits so he can learn more. Well then that brings up this question. What in the world is anyone going to learn from watching Brian Hoyer??? This isn't Aaron Rodgers waiting on a legendary Hall of Fame quarterback in Brett Favre. This is a draft pick with potential waiting on a nobody. Get him in there and see how he does. If he doesn't start he will be a distraction.

We all know about Manziel's partying and off the field activities. If he doesn't start both his extra curricular activities, and just his presence on the side line will be a distraction. Do people honestly believe that the attention and media will be focused on Brian Hoyer's starts? Well unless Hoyer magically starts playing like he's elite they won't be, and if they are it will be because they'll be debating how soon Manziel gets in because of Hoyer's poor starts. Otherwise, the attention will be on the guy on the sideline waiting to get his chance to play quarterback. They'll also be focused on whatever non-football related activities he's been involved in recently that may have stirred the pot. Get him in there so that at least if he gets lots of attention it will be because he's starting quarterback. And if I was the Browns I would hope that this would also help with his off the field antics. However, is Manziel their best option to start?

All this being said if I'm the Cleveland Browns my starting quarterback would be...neither of these guys. I would instead turn to Connor Shaw, current third string quarterback. He's only played in one preseason game, but he should have been in more. In his lone game he completed 8 of 9 passes for 123 yards, with one touchdown and no picks. In that short time he looked like more of a legitimate starting quarterback than either Hoyer or Manziel. Yes, it's a very small sample size to form an opinion on. However, it's also a shame that Shaw didn't get more preseason games and hasn't even been considered for the starting job because if Manziel wasn't there he might be in consideration. I hope that at some time this season he gets a chance to play in a game, and maybe even win the starting job. I wouldn't be totally surprised if at this time next year Connor Shaw is Cleveland's starter and  Johnny Manziel is long forgotten.

-Darren

Photo taken from prnewswire.com

Will Nail Yakupov Finish This Season as an Oiler?

One thing that keeps coming up around the Oilers is the status of winger Nail Yakupov. He has had a roller coaster of a career in his first seasons and has been the subject of trade rumours off and on. Last year when rumours started head coach Dallas Eakins said that he and Yakupov are "attached at the hip." However, comments like this still have not dissuaded the trade talk, there is still murmurings of a trade involving Yakupov almost all the time in Oil Country. A lot of this is due to his on ice play.

No Yakupov has not put up the best of numbers thus far in his career, I get that. However, let's remember two things, number one Yakupov is only twenty years old. The number of NHL players who are a point per game scorer or better at twenty are few and far between, so let's try and curb our expectations for him. I think for this upcoming season a nice number to see Yakupov hit would be fifty points, maybe sixty. Somewhere in there would be a huge step in the right direction for him and he could continue to grow from that point eventually becoming the point per game guy people are expecting him to be. The other thing to remember is this will be Yakupov's first season where he has the same head coach as he did at the end of the previous season. It's hard for a player to adjust and get comfortable in an environment when said environment is constantly changing. It should be a boost for both Yakupov and the rest of the team to have the same head coach. If Yakupov were to be traded just for poor performance that would be a mistake, esepecially because that would likely mean a low return on a player who could be a point per game player. That being said, I do see an instance where maybe Yakupov finds himself wearing another team's jersey.



That instance is maybe if another team sees the same potential in Yakupov as a lot of Oilers fans. The Oilers have two key holes to fill, they could still use a top two defender, and more importantly right now a second line centre. If and when the Oilers try to make a trade for a player who fills one of those holes they will likely be asked to give up one of Eberle, Hall, or Nugent-Hopkins. Obviously there is almost no way the Oilers give up one of those players, so the next logical step is to try and substitute Yakupov into that trade for whoever was previously asked for. There is a chance that the team likes Yakupov's potential enough to do it. If a team is willing to gamble on the potential of Yakupov and give up a legitimate NHL player at one of the key positions the Oilers need (especially second line centre) I think it would give Craig MacTavish a lot to think about. I don't doubt that there's teams out there that like Yakupov's potential. However, I'm not sure if they like his potential to the tune of a second line centre or a top two defender, his trade stock just isn't that high. I would like to see MacTavish explore the teams who see and like his potential and see what they'd be willing to give up. However, because of his low trade stock I don't expect a trade to be made.


So to answer the question, yes, I believe Yakupov will be an Edmonton Oiler by the end of the season. His dismal play at times isn't enough to get him traded out of Edmonton yet due to the fact he's only twenty years old. Also, until now has not entered a season with the same head coach. It's unlikely that a team is willing to give up key pieces that would plug the holes in the Oilers lineup in exchange for Yakupov; that is the only way the Oilers would do a trade right now. Yakupov is likely staying put for the time being.



If you think he will be traded feel free to tell me why. You can comment below this post or leave me a tweet @thewildman111. Until next time



-Darren

Photo taken from larry-fisher.com

The NHL Needs More Players Like Josh Ho-Sang and PK Subban

Islanders' first round draft pick Josh Ho-Sang has said he won't conform to the NHL. Some people will hate that and say he's going to cause trouble but I am really pleased to see that. Now can we have more players like that? If you don't know what I'm talking about the NHL has set a certain standard for how players are to act and talk to the media. Gone are the days where Teemu Selanne can throw his glove in the air and shoot it down with his stick as the "gun" or where Tiger Williams can "ride" his hockey stick around the ice like a stick horse. Now according to experts like Don Cherry players should celebrate like they've done it before. Remember the fiasco when Oilers forward Nail Yakupov slid down the ice on his knees? The NHL likes it's players to be in one way. That way is a quiet uneventful cookie cutter way all the stars seem to follow so as not to stir the pot and keep everyone happy.

Don't believe me? Think about this. What do we actually know about Sidney Crosby? We know he has phenomenal hockey talent and where he was born. We know his birth year and his previous minor league hockey teams. Beyond that and maybe a couple other details what do we know? Not much. You see NHL players are so cookie-cutter that other than their NHL talent we don't know much about what they're like. When they talk to the media their response is so full of cliches and their voice so level you don't get anything from their words. On the ice they just do their business, come off and give the same cliched responses to the media. We never really get to know an NHL player. Sure there might be some odd locker room antics which might tell us a certain player is a prankster or a funny guy but this is the exception rather than the rule. This is why players like PK Subban and Josh Ho-Sang are a breath of fresh air.

Sure we might say someone like Subban is a mouth piece or annoying, but saying things like that is what keeps the other players quiet. If you think about it, Subban isn't even that bad. It's just he has so much more of a personality than other NHL players it stands out that much more. Give this a thought. If Subban was in the NBA or NFL would he stand out? Absolutely not. He would be average in those leagues, which shows just how far off from those leagues the NHL is from having personalities. His antics, celebrations, and off the ice attitude aren't enough to get in trouble, but they are enough to push the envelope of NHL personalities and maybe can allow NHL players start to show a little more personality. This is what the NHL needs, personalities, but not trouble.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying the NHL needs players in jail the same way it's a problem in the NFL and NBA. Those leagues are too far the other way in terms of having them. However, why does every NHL player have to act and talk to the media the exact same way? Why can't they have some variation in their answers? Why should this create negative attention? These are human beings, not robots, it would be nice if we could get to know some of them more and learn about them. Maybe a smile, a joke, or a non-cliched, honest response to an asked question. Something just to show what they're like. Is that too much to ask?

Apparently it is, because as long as the experts like Don Cherry tell players to put a cork in it and limit celebrations and as long as the NHL threatens to fine for edgy comments,  players are going to stay cookie cutter so as not to cause trouble. To show personality could bring trouble and negative attention to both the player and the team. Why this is such a big deal? Why people like their players cookie cutter? I don't know. However, it's at the point where for the most part an NHL player is allowed to show as much personality necessary just to show he's not a robot and any more than that is unacceptable.


-Darren

Edmonton Oilers Roster Overview: Who's in, Who's out, and Who's available

The Edmonton Oilers are probably about done their off season. Now the question becomes how did they do? And who might still be available if there's more moves to be made? Let's go through the roster position by position and find the strengths and weaknesses of this team. The position listing will also have below it who's most likely to be next up as a replacement if needed due to injury or play. Note: the Who's in list will only include free agent signings and trades. Draft picks who could play will either show up on the roster or below the roster as the next up to play if needed.


Goaltending
Ben Scrivens
Victor Fasth
-----------------------------
Richard Bachman



Goaltending is definitely one of the strengths of this team. Scrivens has had some very good games and Fasth has a lot of potential. However, I still have a problem with this goal-tending duo. I need to see more before either one is heralded a legitimate NHL starter. I know a lot of people aren't going to like me saying that, but it's the truth. Ben Scrivens hasn't even played a full NHL season in his career and Victor Fasth doesn't even have a half season. That is way too small of a sample size to tell how good a goalie will be. That being said, I do think they are both good goalies (Scrivens especially, I'm still not totally sold on Fasth), however, the final judgement on that needs to wait until more games are played.


Defense

Who's In
Keith Aulie
Mark Fayne
Nikita Nikitin

Who's Out
Taylor Fedun
Denis Grebeshkov
Anton Belov
Philip Larsen

The Roster
Mark Fayne
Nikita Nikitin
Andrew Ference
Martin Marincin
Jeff Petry
Justin Schultz
Keith Aulie
-------------------------
Oscar Klefbom
Darnell Nurse

Who's still Available (UFA)
Jamie McBain
Derek Morris
Raphael Diaz
Joe Corvo





The defense is much improved from last year, however, it still has problems. Fayne and Nikitin will help out in both experience and taking on some major minutes that other players couldn't handle as well. Aulie adds some depth so that Klefbom and/or Nurse now have to earn a roster spot through competition instead of having it handed to them. I do think Nurse and/or Klefbom see quite a bit of action, but for now Aulie has the roster spot. Another good thing is they didn't lose any major pieces. Some of those players did play significant minutes last year, but at the same time I don't believe they will be missed too much. The problem I have with the defense is there still isn't anyone who jumps out off this roster as a certain top two impact and that could still hurt them, but overall they should be better.

In terms of who's still available I don't believe there's anyone there the Oilers should be interested in. They're all either older or non-impact players. The only names that I wouldn't mind would be those of Morris and McBain. I wouldn't mind either of those signings if they were cheap enough, but I also think that money could be better spent elsewhere. Rumours still do turn up once in awhile of a trade. This mostly involves the Flyers and one of either Coburn or Schenn. I think Coburn would cost them too much and I'm not big on Schenn. I do believe the defense is going to stand pat for now.


Wingers

Who's In
Benoit Pouliot
Teddy Purcell

Who's Out
Ben Eager
Ryan Smyth

The Roster
Jordan Eberle
Taylor Hall
Nail Yakupov
Luke Gazdik
Jesse Joensuu
David Perron
Benoit Pouliot
Teddy Purcell
--------------------------
Steven Pinzotto
Curtis Hamilton


I'm not showing who's still available because the Oilers don't really need any Wingers. This starting cast of wingers is very strong. Benoit Pouliot is a very nice pick up as he has both experience and skill; he should be able to help them out a lot. Teddy Purcell is also a solid pick up however, Oilers fans shouldn't expect too much of him because of his size. A bit like Dustin Penner, Purcell is big, but plays more of a skill game than a big power forward game. As long as fans can curb their expectations he should be a good addition. I think the Wingers are the best part of this team.


Centres

Who's In
Nobody

Who's Out
Sam Gagner

The Roster
Matt Hendricks/Boyd Gordon
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins
Marc Arcobello
Leon Draisaitl
----------------------------
Anton Lander
Will Acton
Anton Lander

Who's Available
Andrei Lochtionov


I know you're wondering why I have one spot as two players. Well, I couldn't decide who to put there but that spot is likely going to one or the other. Nugent-Hopkins is certain number one and Arcobello and Draisaitl likely have to duke it out for number two. Draisaitl shouldn't even be making this team automatically his first year. However, a lack of depth almost certainly puts him in. I just hope that due to Draisaitl having no NHL experience Arcobello gets the #2 job to start. Make Draisaitl earn a trip up the depth chart. The number two centre is what could really prevent the Oilers from making drastic improvements. I'm not convinced the problem is solved in either Arcobello or Draisaitl, it could be one or the other who emerges as a legitimate centre, but I'd rather not bank on solving a problem on what could be. Arcobello should be a number three centre and ideally Draisaitl should go back to junior. If the Oilers are bottom five in the league again this year second line centre will likely be the culprit.

In terms of the available player to them I say why not sign Lochtionov? If nothing else it will add some depth as another option, and there's a chance that he solves things at the top two centre. He would likely be cheap and as abysmal as it looks for the Oilers at second line centre I don't think they could lose at signing Lochtinov to a cheap deal and seeing what he could do for them.


This Oilers team should be improved from last year. However, don't expect the playoffs. I expect that they could be in the hunt a lot longer than they have been in a long time, but ultimately there hasn't been enough improvement at centre or defense for them to have a real chance at contending for the playoffs.

Leave the Redskins Alone

Let me get this out of the way right now. The Washington Redskins team name is not offensive. Not only is it not offensive to me, it's not offensive to most natives and it's not offensive to most other people. You see for the most part it's not natives or native groups protesting the name. It's the politicians in Washington who don't seem to have anything better to do. You would think they'd be worried about some of the major issues both abroad and in the States as well. But no they see the need to go change some NFL team's name that a vast majority of people don't even find offensive. The team is also very historical. It was founded in 1932 and has been that way since. Why now to be changing their name?

You'd think a team with an eighty plus year old name would be safe right? After all it's historical and there were good and honourable reasons for giving it that name at the time and those reasons are still there. However, certain politicians who somehow won over the people to vote them in are trying to change it. Aren't elected representatives supposed to represent the people who voted them in? In yet another display of not fulfilling that duty the politicians in Washington have failed again; a vast majority of people don't find the name offensive. Natives included.


Multiple polls have shown that a very large majority think it should stay the Washington Redskins should keep their name. Some of these polls also include natives who said they are okay with the name. Yet, politicians still seem to find a need to change it. Why? I don't know. The fact that the people they represent don't find it offensive should tell them something. Yet it still doesn't. Why do these select few need to be offended by it? If every time we banned something that offended someone eventually there would be nothing left to do. And doing nothing would offend those who like to do lots so even doing nothing wouldn't be an option. How about the politicians leave things like team names and minor things that offend people alone and go figure out the big issues the world is having right now? Sounds good to me. 

-Darren


Photo taken from nfl.com 

NFL Season Preview

As we approach on the start of the NFL season it's time for me to do a season preview. We will take a look division by division, and I will also give you my Superbowl prediction. Ready? Here we go.



AFC East
New England Patriots (10-6)
New York Jets (8-8)
Buffalo Bills  (7-9)
Miami Dolphins (5-11)



This is once again the Patriots division to lose. However, with each passing season the gap is becoming narrower and narrower. The Jets have a defense that we know can play well, so it`s up to the offense to improve this team, if the QB situation can sort itself out I believe they can and will be better. Rex Ryan deserves some sort of award for getting that team to 8-8 last year. This year I expect them to be possibly better, but about the same. Same with the Bills. Call me crazy for having them close to .500, but I believe those pieces are there. They have a solid young QB with a stud of a target in Sammy Watkins and are slowly building and improving. Watch out for the Bills in a couple of years. Everyone has improved and gotten decent but the Dolphins haven`t really. They have too many QB questions and not enough talent to answer them. There`s pieces there in certain areas, but too many gaps. I believe they will struggle to hit .500 and in the end will fall short.


AFC North
Cincinnati Bengals (12-4)
Baltimore Ravens (10-6)
Pittsburgh Steelers (7-9)
Cleveland Browns (6-10)


The Bengals team has proven to be dynamite. In the regular season that is. I once again expect them to lead this division, but it won`t be has easy as last year. Look for the Ravens to rebound, they once again have a legitimate offense. They also will have restocked the defense after struggling last year when they lost Ray Lewis. I think they will be a good team next year. The Steelers are just the Steelers. They aren`t the Superbowl winning teams anymore. Big Ben is aging and they don`t have a defense like the Steelers have been famous for in previous years. I don`t think there`s much to save them from being better than .500. I do expect the Browns to be better than last year, but I don`t expect them to be a lot better. Yes they drafted Manziel, and yes they are adding pieces. However, bad teams take time to recover and Manziel isn't going to be an instant answer. This will be a gradual change, and it may be yet something else the Browns find a way to mess up. I think they will be slightly better, and their football won`t be nearly as painful to watch, but I still expect them to be well below .500.



AFC South
Indianapolis Colts (13-3)
Tennessee Titans (5-11)
Houston Texans (4-12)
Jacksonville Jaguars (3-13)


Can we just slot the Colts in for the playoffs now? They should easily be able to manhandle this division. Andrew Luck keeps getting better, and I think even in a strong division this team would be in the playoffs. They just keep getting better, and should be making deep playoff pushes in years to come. All the rest of these teams have so many holes. None of them have what you would call a solid quarterback, Houston's defense is good, but they have no offense. Tennessee is going to be Tennessee which is average at best. Jacksonville is young and has some talent, but none of that talent is ready yet. Other than the Colts this is a fairly talent-less division.



AFC West
Denver Broncos (11-5)
Kansas City Chiefs (10-6)
San Diego Chargers (8-8)
Oakland Raiders (4-12)


Last year Peyton Manning shattered multiple records. I don't expect him to be quite so good this season, but I do still expect them to be on top of the division (barely). I think the Chiefs are clearly the other really good team in this division. I don't think they've done enough to make a large improvement on last year. I think Kansas City will be about the same as last year. San Diego is going to do what San Diego does. Rivers is a solid QB and will help them out enough. They're just going to hang around and make life tough for other teams. They might find a way to squeak into the playoffs again, but I don't think so. However, don't count them out. There are positive signs on the Raiders, and like a lot of struggling teams have some pieces. However, those pieces haven't developed enough and/or there aren't enough pieces. I expect another abysmal season in Oakland.


AFC playoffs

Wild Card Games

6 vs. 3: Ravens vs. Broncos
This would be a really good game. However, the Ravens having missed the playoffs last year and having some younger less experienced guys I think could hurt them. Where as the Broncos were in the Superbowl last year. I think the Broncos will be anxious to go deep again and will come out better than the Ravens and advance to the next round.



4 vs. 5: Patriots vs. Chiefs
The Patriots are slowly but surely starting to slow down. I definitely believe they're good enough to make the playoffs again, but I think this is where it stops for them. The Chiefs were in a Wild Card game last year and lost by one point in a shoot out, they won't let a playoff loss happen again. I like the Chiefs to win and push past where they were last year.


Divisional Round

1 vs. 5: Colts vs. Chiefs
Wow a rematch of last years Wild Card round. The Colts won that round 45-44 in a wild one. Don't let the Chiefs being a five seed fool you. They would be a very strong five seed, and I believe this game will be just as close as last years match up. I just really like this Colts team and I do believe they are capable of going to the AFC Championship and that is where I will put them.



2 vs. 3: Bengals vs. Broncos
This one is a very tough one. The Bengals keep getting to the playoffs and yet never win. Yet I also think the Broncos are slowing down and that they could be beatable for the Bengals. However, the Broncos have also improved a fair bit and helped out some of their weaknesses from last year. Peyton Manning is still elite and the Bengals have not given me a reason to pick them. I think Bengals lose out yet again in the playoffs and the Broncos go into the AFC Championship yet again.


AFC Championship

1 vs. 3: Colts vs. Broncos
Peyton Manning vs. his replacement, what a match up. Luck did actually beat the Broncos in the regular season last year. Now, I think he's ready to do it in the playoffs. I believe this season Manning will start to fade and be running out of steam by this point. The Colts won a playoff game last year and I believe Luck learned some valuable lessons as well about playing in the playoffs. I will take the Colts all the way to the Superbowl. Will they win? Well, keep reading to find out.



Next up obviously is the NFC which shakes up to look like a much stronger conference than the AFC.



NFC East
Philadelphia Eagles (9-7)
New York Giants (7-9)
Washington Redskins (5-11)
Dallas Cowboys (3-13)


This is another division that is won by default. The Eagles are a solid team, but not amazing. However, the fact that they get to play three at best mediocre teams twice each helps out their record a lot. The Giants haven't improved a lot and Eli Manning even though he can win in the playoffs he can't take a bad team on his shoulders and bring them there.The Redskins are going to be better than last year, but they won't be amazing. I just hope they get to keep their name. The Cowboys have looks like an okay offense, however, Tony Romo is known for choking. This year though Romo likely won't need to choke late in the season. They have absolutely no defense. I have them at 3-13 there's a chance that they could be better, but the defense is that bad.


NFC North
Green Bay Packers (13-3)
Detroit Lions (10-6)
Chicago Bears (9-7)
Minnesota Vikings (6-10)


Green Bay will be an improved team on last year. Rodgers is healthy and his receivers are healthy. The defense should be improved, but by how much remains to be seen. I believe this is a very strong Packer team. Next up is the Lions. Last year they only had Calvin Johnson catching balls for Matthew Stafford. They added Golden Tate as a wide receiver and have a couple of other okay options. Reggie Bush in the backfield helps as well. Combine this with an okay defense and this is definitely an improved team. I think they are very capable of making a push for that elusive playoff spot. Last year the Bears were abysmal on defense, they have made some improvements there and will also likely have a very good offense. However, I'm not sure if they're good enough to push into the playoffs. I'm also not sure if Jay Cutler is the right QB to lead them into the playoffs, let alone deep into them. I know he went before, but I'm not sure how often or how well he can do it. The Vikings will be improved from next year, but still won't be too good. I believe Bridgewater will be a very good QB (I think best of this draft), but this team still has some holes. They'll be more competitive this year, but still nowhere near a playoff spot.


NFC South
New Orleans Saints (12-4)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (9-7)
Atlanta Falcons (7-9)
Carolina Panthers (5-11)


New Orleans is significantly better than the other teams in this division. They are poised to take back the division title. The real battle hear is for second place, and what a battle it will be. I expect Tampa Bay to be good this year, they have made some very solid upgrades all around. Mike Evans will be a very solid number two target, a solid defense, and this team has two potential starting QBs which is always a good problem to have. Expect this team to make a push and potentially make the playoffs. Atlanta will be healthy, but they are old and lacking pieces at key positions. A questionable offensive line, Matt Ryan's targets are both aging (Jones and White), and this defense is questionable. Matt Ryan is a good QB and I expect them to still be around .500 this year. Cam Newton is a good QB, but he has no targets other than Benjamin, he has Cotchery and Avant, but those aren't guys you want to be prime targets. I have them at 5-11 because other than Newton there isn't a whole lot on this team.


NFC West
San Francisco 49ers (12-4)
Seattle Seahawks (12-4)
Arizona Cardinals (9-7)
St. Louis Rams (5-11)


Arizona and St. Louis are seriously in the wrong division. I expect the race for first to come down to a tie breaker between San Fran and Seattle. I gave the 49ers the tie breaker, because I don't believe they will stand for finishing second in the division again. Last year was a very special season for Seattle. Like most Superbowl teams do I believe that they will come down a little bit from last year. However, they will still be very hard to beat. Arizona is going to do what they do. Play good football and be competitive. However, in this division it will be very hard for them to get into the playoffs. I believe that Sam Bradford will one day be a solid starting NFL QB. The Rams also have a very solid defense. However, this team still has some holes, and in this division it will be hard for them to go anywhere.




NFC Playoffs

Wildcard games



6 vs. 3: Lions vs. 49ers.
I gave the Lions the tiebreaker, so I believe they finally make the playoffs. However, I believe the playoffs will be short lived for them. The 49ers have been here before, and I'm not even sure if this is a close game. 49ers advance.


4 vs. 5: Eagles vs. Seahawks
This is such a strange league. Seahawks would have the better record, but Eagles automatically get the higher seed. Anyways, I believe this would be another mismatch. I don't think the Seahawks are as good as last year, but they're good enough to take this game. Seahawks move on.


Divsional round


1 vs. 5: Packers vs. Seahawks
This is the match up I've been dreading predicting. I am a Packers fan, but the Seahawks are a tough match up. This will come down to what the Packers defense looks like at this point in the season. If the Packers defense is as strong as it's potential they could win. However, at this point the Packers have an unproven defense and a defense that doesn't look as good as the Seahawks. I'll painfully move on the Seahawks and hope I'm wrong if this happens.


2 vs. 3: Saints vs. 49ers
These are two very capable offenses, so I believe this comes down to defense. Both defenses are also very solid. I believe though that the 49ers are better. I think San Francisco wins a close one and gets to play the Seahawks.


NFC Championship


3 vs. 5: 49ers vs. Seahawks
Once again these two bitter rivals will meet in the playoffs. Last year Seattle advanced. However, this year it will be in San Francisco with the 49ers looking for revenge. As I've said before I don't think the Seahawks will be quite as strong as last year, and they don't have their loud crowd to back them up. I'll take the 49ers.


Superbowl


Colts vs. 49ers
San Francisco was here once before recently and lost to the Ravens. This time they will be playing a less experienced but still very good Colts team. As good as the Colts are, the 49ers have a better defense and playoff experience. I am picking the San Francisco 49ers to win the Superbowl. However, I don't doubt at all that the Colts will be back and win their own Superbowl in years to come.

Host of FIFA World Cup? Most Countries Will Pass

A lot of people think it is a privilege to host the FIFA World Cup and they're right. Or at least they should be. Most countries are starting to back off of wanting to host. The big question is Why? Well there are multiple reasons. FIFA's corruption and greed have a large part of it (see Qatar being awarded the 2022 World Cup) and countries have better places to spend their resources and money. There was a huge amount of money spent by Brazil and a lot of countries aren't willing to spend that much.

Most people know the FIFA World Cup for being the world's biggest sporting event on an international stage. They know it as the massive soccer tournament that hundreds of millions of people take in world wide. However, what they don't know is the organization that hosts this tournament. They just know FIFA as the international governing body for soccer, however, a lot of people are unaware of it's corruption. Before you continue reading do me a favour. Go to Google and in the search bar type in "FIFA scandals." I get 1,270,000 results. Granted, a lot of them will be repeats and/or irrelevant, but just scan the headlines on the first page or two. A lot of them are different headlines and a lot of them are lists of scams and problems FIFA has had. The fact that there can be multiple lists with different scandals on each list says something about what has gone wrong in FIFA. Over the last few years FIFA has had many top officials in various capacities step down for various reasons. Almost none of those reasons good. You might ask why FIFA has had so many corruption problems. The answer is simple, in fact it's one word. Money.



Take a guess at how much of the money Brazil got out of the World Cup? Nothing. Sure they got money from hotel revenue, and having all those tourists in general, but from the actual tournament? FIFA took it all. This is just one of the many reasons more and more countries are backing out of hosting this tournament. FIFA makes lots of money for that country while they're in it. However, once the tournament is over and FIFA leaves they take all the tournament money with them. As if taking all the money the tournament made isn't enough for them the top officials frequently accept bribes and other forms of shady business to make even more money.



As many of us know, Money leads to corruption. That is exactly what has happened in FIFA. They are so greedy  that the top officials hardly even care about getting caught. By the time they step down and/or get relieved from their duties it doesn't matter because they made their money.. The person leaving has already been paid off by someone. Another sign of FIFA's greed leading to corruption? Prior to the World Cup, the African nation Ghana had been playing rigged matches. The ref was paid to swing the game into one team's favour and to help them win it.  This is just one example among many as to what too much money has done to FIFA.



The other very glaring example of FIFA's corruption is the location of the 2022 World Cup. Qatar. How on earth in a fair system would Qatar be awarded a World Cup? The day Qatar should be able to host a World Cup is the day the Oakland Raiders win their division (sorry Raiders fans). If you don't know much about Qatar or why this is a problem allow me to enlighten you. Historically the World Cup is given to a country with a soccer rich history, teams that have won before, or at the very least are competitive on the international stage. When was the last time you heard about Qatar's team that went all the way? That's right, you haven't. Qatar has never before even qualified for the World Cup, let alone had success there. This is just one of the issues of Qatar hosting the world. Qatar also has brutal weather in the summer. If the World Cup does stay there, it will likely be moved to January. This is due to the fact that it gets to +50 in the summer. However, probably the biggest reason people have a problem is due to their slave labour.



Basically in Qatar how I understand it is your employer is allowed to keep your passport so you can't leave. Since you can't leave your employer has no reason to pay you. Reports out of Qatar has found people who haven't been payed in weeks or months. Not only is this a social injustice that people frown upon, people are also scared that the World Cup facilities will be built with slave labour. Oh yeah, did I mention that one of these facilities will include an entire city? The city that is set to host opening matches and the finals doesn't even exist yet! Whatever will be built there is again, likely to be built via slave labour.



How much all that building will cost Qatar? Who knows. However, we do have numbers from what Brazil spent on the World Cup. Estimates on what Brazil spent on the World Cup range from anywhere between $11-14 billion. This includes not quite a billion dollars spent on security, and a stadium that cost a couple hundred million that was only used for four games and has since been abandoned. How would you feel if you were the average Brazilian and saw how many different needs your country had? Then how would you feel if you saw how much your country spent on this tournament? Even for the Brazilians that did still go to the games and cheer on their country, this would have to be in the back of their minds. They get no profits from FIFA and yet the government is still willing to spend crazy amounts of money on a tournament. This, and all the other stated reasons are why countries are starting to back away from bidding to host the tournament.



I really wouldn't be surprised at all if one year FIFA ran out of participants willing to host their tournament. Sure, it's a good, competitive, fun to watch tournament. However, those people who protest it have legitimate reasons in plenty of areas, just look at FIFA's greed and corruption, what the government has to spend to host it, etc. FIFA either has to clean up its act and start splitting the profits with countries, and maybe even chip in on the expenses to set up the tournament. They can't expect countries to spend like they have forever. They can't expect to be as greedy and corrupt as they are forever either. If they don't get their act together they might one day find they have no one to host a tournament. No World Cup would have the world up in arms, but would anyone really be surprised? It's becoming more and more common knowledge what FIFA is doing and this is just the tip of the iceberg. To me, the question isn't if FIFA eventually struggles to find a host it's when. The storm is coming, and when it does FIFA will be blind sided. They are ignorant and are blinded by their own ignorance, corruption, and greed.

Is Ryan Smyth A Hall of Famer?

April 12, 2014. That's where it happened. Ryan Smyth played his final game of his career. He was drafted in 1994 by the Edmonton Oilers and played a large portion of his career with them. Unfortunately he never had the privilege of winning the Stanley Cup. The closest he got was 2006 when the Oilers lost in the Stanley Cup Finals in seven games. Smyth not winning the Stanely Cup is the biggest reason people are saying he is not Hall of Fame material. However, before people throw him out of the Hall for not having a Cup they should look at the stats and see if he really should or shouldn't be in the Hall of Fame.


There are players in the Hall of Fame with no Stanley Cup. These players have to have tremendous stats to make up for that. If we take a look at their stats versus those of Ryan Smyth, that will be a good measuring bar as to if Smyth should be there or not. It helps too if those players are that as the same position of Ryan Smyth.


Just to be absolutely clear we are going to be looking at former NHL left-wingers who have not won a Stanley Cup that are in the Hall of Fame to see where Ryan Smyth stacks up against them. The following list is those who meet the criteria and how many points they had and in how many games, and in which seasons he played.


Doug Bentley- 543 points in 566 GP, '39/40-'43/44, '45/46-'51/52, '53/54.
Michel Goulet- 1,152 points in 1089 GP, '79/80- '93/94.
George Hay- 134 points in 239 GP, '26/27-'30/31, '32/33-'33/34.
Mark Howe- 742 points in 929 GP, '79/80-'94/95.


Ryan Smyth- 842 points in 1,270 GP, '94/95-'13/14.



I'm going to assume that right away you see a problem. Two of the guys who I found to compare Smyth to played well before Smyth's time, and it's not fair and not logical to compare eras like that. So looking at Michel Goulet and Marke Howe we see some similarities for Smyth. Smyth wasn't quite a point per game player, neither was Howe. Smyth averaged 0.66 points per game and Howe had 0.79. So even there Smyth is  a bit worse. However, Smyth also outlasted both Howe and Goulet in playing time, playing 18 seasons (would've been 19 if not for a lockout). Another case for Ryan Smyth is for quite awhile he was arguably the face of the franchise, not too many players get to say that.


Ryan Smyth hasn't won a Stanley Cup, but he has something else. An Olympic gold medal. I'm not sure if the Hall of Fame voters would look at that as an equivalent, but it does mean he won on a big stage, and I think there's a chance they do. I hope they do.


-Darren.