No Credentials Quick Takes, Volume I

            For those of you that missed the update in the season’s final weekend review, real-life has gotten in the way of No Credentials. Two weeks of training for a new job away from home will result in two things.

1. I’ll probably weigh 600 pounds on Father’s Day after all the take out I’ve been eating.
2. When I’m stationed at a hotel, I don’t have Internet access (a laptop hasn’t been fit into the No Credentials budget), so in the two or three days I’m spending away from home at a time, there will be no updates.

          Have no fear though. During each day off I have for the remainder of my training time, I will quickly hit the biggest sports stories of that timeframe. For marketing purposes, we’ll name them “No Credentials Quick Takes”.

On the Oklahoma City Thunder…

            Before the series, everyone thought San Antonio would overwhelm the Thunder with their depth. In game 6, San Antonio only played seven people. Sometimes, depth can be overrated. The Thunder clearly had the best two players in the series (Durant and Westbrook), and the fourth or fifth best player in James Harden. Oklahoma City will be the heavy favorite to win the NBA Finals, regardless of their opponent.

On the Celtics-Heat…

            I wish I could say I saw this coming, but I predicted Miami to win in 5 (oops!). Rajon Rondo has been the second best player in this series (behind Lebron James), which has tilted the balance in Boston’s favor. Even when his shot failed him in Game 5, he still was providing quality looks for his teammates. With Chris Bosh either out or playing minimal minutes, there has been little help for Lebron and Dwyane Wade. Those two combined for 57 points last night, but the lack of a quality supporting cast continues to bite them. Chris Bosh will have to play at a high level for Miami to have any chance of pushing this series to seven games.

On the Stanley Cup Finals…

            New Jersey’s game 4 victory is only delaying the inevitable. I said Kings in 6 (followers of this blog’s Facebook page can confirm that), and that prediction will be accurate.

On Kent Hrbek Going Off For 2 Dingers and 6 RBIs…

            All right this one happened in TECMO Super Baseball on my Super Nintendo, not real life, but regardless it was noteworthy. Hrbek had been struggling during the first 25 games of the season with his average below the Mendoza Line, but all it took was a date with Bill Wegman (who got rocked for 14 earned in 3 innings, ouch) to bust out of his slump. I’m going to end this paragraph before I officially lose touch with reality.

On Tiger Woods…

            The last time Tiger won a golf tournament it was shortly before The Masters. Everyone assumed that Tiger would be the favorite to win. He finished behind 39 other golfers in the final standings. His win at The Memorial comes two weeks before the U.S. Open, and now everyone wants to make him the favorite in that tournament. Everyone needs to take a cold shower before they assume Woods is going to win the U.S. Open by ten strokes.

On Kurt Busch Going Bonkers…

            I’ll say this for Kurt Busch…the dude doesn’t give a f*** for nothing. His line to a reporter after the Nationwide race in response to a question about his probation should go down as one of the greatest NASCAR interview moments of all time. I have a hard time believing this suspension will hurt his chances of landing a top ride next season (he’s too talented, and secondly, his status as a past champion would give a car owner the opportunity to expand to four teams and have the security of a past champion’s provisional), but landing sponsorship for him just became that much harder. I’d be willing to bet that he ends up at Joe Gibbs Racing with Monster Energy paying the bills.

On Dudes Getting High on Bath Salts and Then Eating Other Dudes Faces…

            A second case of this occurred in Louisiana, just a week or two after some guy ate 75% of a homeless mans face in Florida. Has this been happening for years, but the media is only covering it after the success of “The Walking Dead”? I’d like to formally request a nationwide ban on Bath Salts before my wife decides to fully zombie proof our apartment.

           

           

10 Awesome Things That Happened This Past Weekend (5/25-5/27)

10. Dwight Howard Claims He Had No Say On Stan Van Gundy Getting Fired
            In related news, Bill Clinton is claiming he had nothing to do with the stain on Monica Lewinsky’s dress.

9. Jon Beason Defends Cam Newton, Blasts Alex Smith

            It’s a great sign to see someone from the opposite side of the ball defend their quarterback. Buy stock in the 2012 Carolina Panthers.

8. Landon Donovan Nets a Hat Trick

            Apparently, this still means something even though it happened against Scotland.

7. Junior Dos Santos Destroys Frank Mir

            Mir had no chance against Dos Santos Saturday night. Equally impressive was Cain Velasquez, who demolished Antonio Silva in a first round bloodbath.

6. Spurs Take Control Late, Snag Game 1 Win Over Thunder

            A 39-point fourth quarter for the Spurs spelled doom for Oklahoma City.

5. Kasey Kahne Wins Third Career Coca-Cola 600

            The start of Kahne’s 2012 season (his first driving for Rick Hendrick) was a complete disaster, but that is all forgotten now. Kahne put on a show with 70 laps to go, rocketing from seventh to first in less than ten laps.

4. Josh Hamilton, in Need of IV and Oxygen, Hits Walk-Off Homer

            With as dominant as Hamilton has been this season, I could read “Hamilton hits three home runs despite left arm falling off” and not be surprised.

3. New Jersey Devils Advance to Stanley Cup Finals With Game 6 Overtime Win

            I had to do a little digging, but I was able to find a paragraph some idiot blogger posted in response to an e-mail back in January.

Please make the case for Martin Brodeur to hang up his goalie pads. – Claude R., Berlin, NH

Sadly, it’s not a hard one to make. If Brodeur were to finish the season with his current .893 save percentage, that would be a career low (other than when Brodeur had a four game cup of tea back in 1991-92). Getting pelted with shots behind a shoddy Devils defense hasn’t helped (he doesn’t have the luxury of having guys like Scott Stevens taking care of business for him), but the fact remains that the team looks better when Johan Hedberg is in net. Remember this paragraph in June when a red-hot Brodeur is carrying the eighth seeded Devils to the Stanley Cup Finals.

            Man that guy was a dumbass…oh wait that was me! Further proof that this blog is called No Credentials for a reason.

2. Stubborn Celtics Outlast 76ers, Earn a Date With Miami

            Will Boston get slaughtered by Miami in the Easern Conference Finals? Probably, but the 2011-12 Celtics will be remembered as one of the more resiliant Celtics clubs of the post-Bird era.

1. Dario Franchitti Wins Third Indianapolis 500

            Dario recovered from getting spun out on pit road, and then survived a last-lap dive bomb attempt by Takuma Sato to claim his third 500 trophy. A great finish to a great day filled with multiple tributes to the late Dan Wheldon (who remember, was the defending champion of the 500).

            This post will be the final review of the weekend until the week after Labor Day (aka Week 1 of the NFL season). I typically will run these through the end of the NBA Finals, but I have a wedding to go to this weekend followed by two weeks of new job training out of town (believe it or not, I'm still not paying the bills writing these uninformed columns). We’ll still be posting throughout the summer (although it could be a little quiet the next few weeks) about a variety of different topics, so continue to stay tuned to “No Credentials At All” all summer long. Drive on.

Stanley Cup Playoffs Second Round Picks

            NBC must’ve vomited when they saw the western conference match-ups take shape.

#1 New York Rangers vs. #7 Washington Capitals

           New York struggled in surviving their first round series with Ottawa. Washington played way over their heads against the Bruins. No Credentials is predicting a market correction in this match-up.

Rangers over Capitals 4-2

#5 Philadelphia Flyers vs. #6 New Jersey Devils

            The Devils do not have the defensive fortitude to slow down the Flyers juggernaut of an offense. Of all the series, this one should be the most lopsided (you know what that means folks. Get your money on the Devils right now).

Flyers over Devils 4-0

#3 Phoenix Coyotes vs. #4 Nashville Predators

            Now that the Bruins are out, I plan on spending the rest of the playoffs picking against Mike Smith and the Coyotes until they hoist the Stanley Cup.

Predators over Coyotes 4-2

#2 St. Louis Blues vs. #8 Los Angeles Kings

            This will be the lowest scoring series of the second round. St. Louis has more depth, but I like Jonathon Quick a smidge more than the Elliott/Halak tandem. I won’t be betting on this series.

Kings over Blues 4-3

Barely Informed 1st Round Stanley Cup Playoff Picks

Eastern Conference

#1 New York Rangers vs. #8 Ottawa Senators

            I’ll set the tone for this post with the following sentence…Craig Anderson stinks.

Rangers over Senators 4-1

#2 Boston Bruins vs. #7 Washington Capitals

            Washington has choked so many times as a top seed that it is tempting to pick them when no one believes in them. Unfortunately for them, their goaltending situation is the worst of any team in the playoffs. Facing an unrelenting Bruins offense that is three lines deep is not the opponent Washington wanted to draw in the first round. It will take a super human effort from Alex Ovechkin for the Capitals to pull off an upset. I don’t see Claude “The Door-to-Door Vacuum Salesman” Julien letting that happen.

Bruins over Capitals 4-2

#3 Florida Panthers vs. #6 New Jersey Devils

            Has there ever been a better fourth place team in a division than the 2011-12 New Jersey Devils? Martin Brodeur and company probably could care less, especially with their favorable first round match up. Florida did everything it could to give the Southeast Division away to Washington down the stretch.

Devils over Panthers 4-0

#4 Pittsburgh Penguins vs. #5 Philadelphia Flyers

            Here is by far the best first round match-up (on paper anyway). If Sidney Crosby were still on the shelf, these teams would be mirror images of each other talent wise. A healthy Sid the Kid will be the difference in a classic first round series.

Penguins over Flyers 4-3

Western Conference

#1 Vancouver Canucks vs. #8 Los Angeles Kings

            Kings goalie Jonathan Quick is good enough to steal this series, but the lack of offensive depth will cripple them in the end. Daniel Sedin’s return from a concussion should be the boost Vancouver needs to win a close series.

Canucks over Kings 4-3

#2 St. Louis Blues vs. #7 San Jose Sharks

            Folks will be tempted to pick the Sharks based on reputation alone (after years of choking in the playoffs, they have made it to the Western Conference Finals the past two seasons), but this Blues team is for real. They are a Western Conference version of the Bruins (minus a scary looking 6-10 dude from Slovakia on the blue line) that has three legitimate scoring lines. San Jose is a stud winger short in this series.

Blues over Sharks 4-2

#3 Phoenix Coyotes vs. #6 Chicago Blackhawks

            Mike Smith was the MVP of both championship teams in the fantasy hockey leagues I played in this season (and also the reason the team I guaranteed would win a fantasy hockey championship was relegated to a fourth place finish), and quietly was the most surprising player in the NHL. The fact that a guy who was best known as being a complete head-case when he was with Tampa Bay (his Yahoo player picture from three or four years ago supported that sentence) somehow rebounded to become one of the ten best goalies in the league is remarkable. With all that said, Smith and the Coyotes ended up with a tough draw against Chicago. There will be more Blackhawks fans at the games in Arizona than Coyotes fans. Phoenix is resilient, but expect Chicago to win in 6.

Blackhawks over Coyotes 4-2

#4 Nashville Predators vs. #5 Detroit Red Wings

            If it weren’t for Jimmy Howard’s troublesome groin, Detroit would at least have earned a 3-seed. Betting on Howard’s health isn’t a very safe proposition, but that’s what we will do here.

Red Wings over Predators 4-2 

Steelers-Browns, Plus Bonus NHL Picks

Browns (+14) over STEELERS
Pittsburgh has played down to the level of a couple of teams this season (Jacksonville at home in Week 6, both Indianapolis and Kansas City on the road), and I forsee a similar situation tonight. Pittsburgh is going to win, but it won't be pretty (or convincing).

Pittsburgh 20, Cleveland 10
Confidence Score = 6

Now on to my newest gambling endeavor...NHL parlays!

After two miserable parlays on Monday (three of the four teams I picked lost. Ouch), I scored my first career NHL parlay victory with of all combos, the Winnipeg Jets and Calgary Flames Tuesday night. Amazingly, I wasn't struck by lightning today because of this. Here is a couple of combinations I may have put together (and wagered on) for tonights action (because you know, I'm 1-2 doing these, so clearly I'm an expert).

Panthers (+170) over BRUINS
DEVILS (-140) over Senators

I'm not sure how Boston will respond after Tyler Seguin makes his return from his one game benching, and Ottawa was the only team on tonight's slate that played last night. Bet $5.00 to potentially turn it into $23.14.

Coyotes (+140) over RED WINGS
RANGERS (-165) over Lightning

Phoenix always gives Detroit problems, and they actually play better on the road (9-4-1) then at home (I guess that isn't too shocking, because roughly 36 people give a shit about hockey in the state of Arizona). As for the Rangers, they are playing a crappy Lightning team. $5.00 could morph into $19.27 if both these teams win.

As always, I highly advise all of you to find your local bookie and wager on the exact opposite. We'll briefly discuss how bad these two hockey bets were before the Week 14 NFL picks. 

10 Awesome Things That Happened This Past Weekend (4/8-4/10)

10. Manny Ramirez Retires to Avoid 100-Game Steroids Suspension

            I plan on writing an obituary for Manny’s career sometime by the end of the week, so I won’t write too much here (for some analysis from an actual expert, read this post by ESPN’s Buster Olney). I will say that it is a sad end for one of my favorite Red Sox players of the ‘00s.

9. Derrick Rose Drops 39 Against Magic

            MVP! MVP! MVP! MVP!

8. New Jersey Devils Coach Jacques Lemaire Retires

            Lemaire and the Devils are sort of like Ronnie and Sammy from “Jersey Shore”. Lemaire first coached the Devils 1993 to 1998. After coaching the Minnesota Wild for the first nine years of their existence, he returned to New Jersey to coach for the 2009-10 season. He tearfully announced his retirement after last season, but was brought back this past December after New Jersey woefully underachieved for the first three months of the season. I don’t know if there is a place where you can wager on this sort of thing, but I’d like to bet that Lemaire is back on the bench for New Jersey at some point (possibly next season, if Ilya Kovalchuk is to be believed).

7. Matt Kenseth Dominates Under the Lights at Texas

            Kenseth had the fastest car all-night, and pretty much stunk up the show. It was good to see the former champion snap his 76-race winless streak.

6. Minnesota Duluth Wins NCAA Men’s Hockey Championship

            You can always count on the Frozen Four for producing at least one school that no one had ever heard of before.

5. Nuggets PG Ty Lawson Hits 10 3-Pointers

            Normally this event wouldn’t stick out to me, but the fact he is on my fiancée’s fantasy team (the team that I happen to be playing in our fantasy basketball championship) made this occurrence a bit of a bummer. Lawson had never hit more than three shots from three-point range in a single game before his performance Saturday night. 

4. New York Rangers and Chicago Blackhawks Sneak Into Stanley Cup Playoffs

            No offense to the fans of the Stars and Hurricanes, but the Stanley Cup Playoffs are much more interesting if the Rangers and Blackhawks are involved.

            By the way, I’ll be posting my uninformed first round NHL picks Tuesday evening. I’m super excited about it.

3. Heat Blast Celtics

            This isn’t actually awesome for Celtics fans such as myself, but it was a noteworthy event. Either Boston doesn’t care about potentially playing a second round Game 7 in Miami, or this team is truly fractured after the Kendrick Perkins trade.

2. Red Sox Win Two Out of Three Against Yankees

            I’m not sure where Boston found the 2007 edition of Josh Beckett, but it sure was a pleasure to watch him pitch last night. Hopefully ignorant Red Sox fans don’t think the sky is falling anymore.

(EDITORS NOTE: Within the next month, I’ll be writing a Magna Carta-esque document for a new group of Red Sox members. It will be primarily targeted at the pre-2004 Red Sox fan. I’m still trying to work all the kinks out, but there’s a possibility that it will be a separate web page. Stay tuned…)

1. Charl Schwartzel Wins Masters

            The only two rounds of golf I ever make a point to watch are the final rounds of The Masters and the US Open, and Sunday’s final round at Augusta didn’t disappoint. For a very casual fan of golf, this event had everything you wanted. There was Rory McIlroy (who started the day in the lead by four shots), who bombed almost as bad as The Situation did on the Donald Trump Roast (I say almost, because no one will ever bomb as bad as the Sitch did). His final round 80 was the score for the 54-hole leader since 1956. There was a point on the back nine where six golfers were tied for first. Among them was Tiger Woods, who went –5 on the front nine but couldn’t get over the hump after that. There was Jason Day’s significant other, who is somewhere between an 8.5 and a 8.75 on a ten point scale (that’s right, my scale has decimals. Deal with it). Finally, there was South Africa native Charl Schwartzel (wouldn’t of that been a great name for a bad guy in one of the “Die Hard” movies?), who birdied the last four holes to bring home the tacky Green Jacket. Sure we were missing Phil Mickelson, gratuitous violence, and full-frontal female nudity, but what more could you ask for from a golf tournament?  

Responses to "Reader" Mail

These may or may not be actual messages I've receieved from readers. They also could've been made up by the author of this column to create a backbone for this piece. You never know. Enjoy!

“If you had a gun put to your head, which of the four remaining quarterbacks would you trust to win one game?” – Eric, Woodbury, NY

            Depends on the circumstances. If all four quarterbacks were on evenly matched teams, I would take Roethlisberger slightly ahead of Rodgers. As good as Aaron Rodgers has been, I’ve never seen him drive his team down the field 80+ yards to win the Super Bowl. Roethlisberger isn’t the most graceful QB, but the guy just finds a way to make plays (see the 3^rd and 19 throw he completed to win the game against Baltimore last week).

            The other two guys aren’t as far behind as you might think. Cutler, for all of his recklessness, has the strongest arm of any quarterback in the NFL. Sanchez is totally erratic, but when the game is on the line, he always seems to make a play. We’re lucky to have very intriguing quarterback pairings for the championship games this weekend (even more lucky when you consider that Brady, Manning, and Drew Brees are not involved).

“Which are you more excited for, real baseball or fantasy baseball?” – Ken, Miami, FL

            Fantasy baseball, and it’s not even close. I might not be in the majority on this, but I do feel like fair amounts of people are with me. Baseball was built for statistical nerds. Fantasy football is more mainstream, but baseball is for the hardcore stat geek that is willing to invest time in learning who the hot AAA prospects are. Perhaps I’ll get sucked in to baseball a little more if the Red Sox are a juggernaut, but committing 3+ hours six nights a week to a baseball game is too much for me. I’ll take any NBA game over any MLB game any day of the week. And then I will check my fantasy team for five minutes the next morning.

“Hockey seemed to be gaining some steam in the States last year, but in my opinion, has fallen off a bit. What does the NHL need to do to get more into the American sports scene?” Pierre, Quebec City

            This one is pretty simple. The NHL needs to come up with an arrangement to get their games back on ESPN. Sadly, we live in a world where “Sportscenter” dictates to a large percentage of the population what they should be watching. Without a contract with ESPN, hockey is lucky to get five minutes of coverage per hour of “Sportscenter”. ESPN used to have outstanding coverage of hockey back in the late ‘90s. There are rumors that ESPN and the NHL have had preliminary talks, so we’ll see what happens.

“I’m not sure how excited I can let myself get over Blake Griffin. The Clipper stink will get him eventually.” – Travis, Long Beach, CA

            I don’t think the Clipper stink will get to him. It’s much more likely that a freak leg injury will. Griffin plays basketball the way Ronnie Lott used to play football. Keep in mind that Lott had a finger cut off so he could continue playing in a game. The only thing that will stop Griffin is him jumping 12 feet in the air to snag a Baron Davis alley-oop, and then landing awkwardly and shattering his knee into 6,000 pieces. If I was a Clippers fan, I’d be terrified every time he went in the air.

“Why did you let yourself become infatuated with “Jersey Shore”? What’s wrong with you?” – C. Muir, New Hampshire

            Great question Cameron. Somehow (probably do to great editing by the folks at MTV), I became invested in the well being of these people. Escapism is also a factor, as while I certainly didn’t party like the cast of the show on a regular basis, I do remember being a little younger and not having all that much to worry about. Am I a little embarrassed to say I’ve watched every episode of the 3^rd season so far? Yes. Am I looking forward to the next episode? Yes, yes, and yes.

“Any interest in golf?” – Bob, Tempe, AR

            The only two tournaments I usually try to catch are The Masters and the US Open (catch = watch the last three or four holes). Unless Tiger Woods finds his mojo again, I’m on the outs with the PGA Tour.

“I’m not sure who was older, the cast of the “Golden Girls” during their 5^th season or the big 3 (Duncan, Manu, and Eva’s ex) for the Spurs. Can they keep it up all year?”  - Troy G., El Paso, TX

            Do I think San Antonio will end up with 70 wins? No, but as long as they can maintain their health they should have an excellent chance at nabbing the #1 seed in the west. Coach Gregg Popovich has done a great job of resting Tim Duncan (he’s only averaging 29.4 minutes per game so far this season), which is the right thing to do with a 34-year old 7-footer with a lot of mileage on his knees. Ginobili has been playing as well as he ever has, and Tony Parker (who is only 28, it just feels like he’s older because he was at one time an 18-year old rookie) has not let his much-publicized divorce distract him. I don’t think they could last against the Lakers, Oklahoma City, or Dallas in a seven game series as presently constructed, but the fact that they are a threat in the west with an aging Duncan is very impressive.

“Lebron…humble he not.” – Yoda, a Galaxy far, far away

            Wise words from the great Jedi master.

“I’m currently in the 16^th year of my Madden franchise. My entire roster is full of players that were generated by the computer. At what point do I just need to start over?” – a 14-year old from Topeka, KS

            It all depends on what your objective is. If you’re using your favorite team, than going the full 30 years is acceptable. Perhaps you want to win Super Bowl with each team, which means as soon as you win it, you start a new one. Or lastly, you are trying to play the entire career of a rookie player and develop him to greatness (Sam Bradford, Dez Bryant, ect.). At that point you end the franchise when that player retires.

“I don’t know about anyone else, but I can’t wait for your NASCAR preview.” – Leroy, Raleigh, NC

            Unless I want to attempt to set a new record for least viewed page on the Internet, I don’t think there will be a NASCAR preview coming from No Credentials, but you never know. I am a closet NASCAR fan.

“It’s going to be a weird NFL Draft this year…who do you think will get the most value?” – Edward, Arlington, VA

            It’s always hard to predict how college prospects will end up in the pros, but I think there will be two groups of winners. One will be the Carolina Panthers, who will more than likely draft Auburn DT Nick Fairley. Fairley is probably not going to be quite as dominant as Detroit Lions DT Ndamukong Suh, but he won’t be too far off. Carolina should still be terrible next year, so I have a feeling they’ll still have a crack at Andrew Luck.

            The second group is whoever is able to make moves to stock pile future picks, or bring in a player. This is not a very deep draft (with the exception of the defensive line). If I’m a team like the Cleveland Browns at #6, I would love nothing more than have a team knock on my door to try to move up to my slot (don’t be surprised to see the Patriots make a move to jump up and grab Georgia wide receiver A.J. Green). Expect a flurry of trades on draft day.

“There’s been a lot of “Free Kevin Love” talk. In your opinion, who is an athlete in any sport that really needs to be let loose so he has a chance to win?” – Edwin, Fargo, ND

            I’ll list them by league.

NFL – Steve Smith, WR, Carolina Panthers – Carolina needs to trade him for a 3^rd round pick before a felony happens on their team bus. Smith would be a perfect fit in St. Louis.

NBA – Richard Hamilton, SG, Detroit Pistons – I put Hamilton here only because I think he still has something left in the tank, and he could definitely put a team over the top. If he could some how end up in Chicago (which he probably won’t because the Pistons and Bulls are in the same division), Chicago would become even more dangerous than they already are.

MLB – Any member of the Pittsburgh Pirates – I shouldn’t have to explain this one to anybody.

NHL – Jarome Iginla, RW, Calgary Flames – Iginla has been dragging a mediocre Flames team on his back for the last decade. If we could somehow deliver him to the Pittsburgh Penguins, he would score at least 45 goals being paired with Crosby or Malkin.

“If you had to hang out with anyone on the “Jersey Shore” for a day, who would it be?” – C. Muir, New Hampshire

            I guess we’ll take one more “Jersey Shore” question. Vinny appears to be the most normal dude on the show (admittedly, that’s not saying much, but it’s a valid point in this case). I’ll nominate Pauly as a close second. 

“Give me your honest opinion about Jason Garrett as the Head Coach next year. Not that I’ll care. I just want to read about it. “ – Jerry Jones, Dallas, TX

            It makes sense going into a potential lockout to have some continuity going into 2011. I’m excited to see what Rob Ryan will do with the defense (Rob is Rex’s twin brother who the Cowboys just hired). If you recall, Ryan’s last team (Cleveland) put up some inspired efforts against the likes of New England and New Orleans this season. I’ll be anxious to see what he’s able to get out of DeMarcus Ware.

“Is Bill Belichick senile?” – message from several angry Patriots fans after loss to Jets

            I won’t say he’s senile, but he does seem like a guy who’s not quite as invested as he used to be. I could never imagine Belichick in 2001 running a fake punt in a playoff game. Maybe it’s just a case of having already accomplished so much.

“What’s wrong with the New Jersey Devils?” – David, New York City

            Brodeur getting older doesn’t help, but I think a lot of it has to do with a lack of talent at the blue line. If you think back to the great Devils teams that won Stanley Cups, they had guys like Scott Stevens knocking dudes out. Ever since he left, along with guys like Ken Daneyko and Brian Rafalski, they have not been as solid defensively. That would be the main reason they haven’t won a playoff series since the lockout. 

“My buddy and I got into an argument about what the perfect basketball team would have. Can you settle it for us?” – Sean, Saco, ME

            This is a hard one because there are so many ways to play basketball. Depending on whether you want to have a run-and-gun team (2004-2007 Phoenix Suns) or a lock down defensive team (late-80s Detroit Pistons), each style would call for players with different skill sets. For the sake of coming up with an answer, here’s a sort of realistic 8-man rotation I would put together of current players if I needed to win one game.

PG: Rajon Rondo (superb passer and defender, don’t need a scorer like Rose or Westbrook)

SG: Kevin Durant (can stretch the floor, would be alpha dog 1A on this team)

SF: Lebron James (alpha dog 1B, can obviously do it all)

PF: Kevin Love (best rebounder in basketball who can also bury 3s and hit free throws)

C: Dwight Howard (most dominant center in the game, doesn’t need the ball all the time to be effective)

BG: Jason Terry (can be a microwave off the bench, instant offense)

BF: Glen Davis (not afraid to step in and hit a big shot if needed)

BF: Thabo Sefolosha (lockdown defender)

BC: Serge Ibaka (averages over 2 blocks per game, a force inside on the defensive end)

“Based off of the preview for next week’s episode, it looks like Sammi Sweetheart could leave “Jersey Shore”. Big loss?” – C. Muir, New Hampshire

            All right, I guess we’ll answer one more Jersey question. Even though Sammi is an uber-bitch, I’d be bummed out if she left. It’s good to have a little tension between roommates, and her volatile relationship with Ronnie is always solid entertainment. I hope she sticks around.

“Give me your instant reaction when you heard that Catwoman and Bane would be the villains in the next Batman movie.” – Stuart, Rochester, NH

            Bane’s inclusion in this movie was pretty surprising. Director Christopher Nolan has shied away from non-realistic characters and story lines so far. I’ll be curious to see how Bane looks in the film. As for Catwoman, I’m disappointed that Anne Hathaway will play the part. Just seems a little too obvious, and it almost reminds me of the crappy Batman movies in the mid-90s (“Batman Forever” and “Batman & Robin”) where they were heavy on names, but the story was not as sharp. 

“Where do the Nets go now that they have shelved the idea of trading for Carmelo?” George, Newark, NJ

            I always thought it was pretty moronic that a 10-31 team was trying to make a blockbuster trade in the middle of the season. It didn’t do any of their young players any favors (particularly Derrick Favors, who has shown flashes, but was definitely distracted by his rumored move to Denver). A team like this just needs to go through the motions this season and add assets for the next year or two. Maybe in two years when they move to Brooklyn they will have the flexibility to add an elite player, and develop him along with someone they took high in the draft.

“If Dale Earnhardt Jr. sucks again this year, I vote that we kick him out of NASCAR.” – Mark, Augusta, GA

            I’ll co-sign that. He needs to crack the top 15 and contend for a win or two to restore some semblance of relevance (semblance of relevance…that was a power phrase).

“Which non-playoff team is the biggest threat to win the Super Bowl next year?” – Ted, Gorham, NH

            Without knowing what the off-season will hold, here’s my list of non-playoff threats.

1. Detroit Lions (they were 13-3 against the spread this year. If Stafford is healthy, and they have another solid draft, this team can make noise)
2. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (finished 10-6 with one of the youngest rosters in the league. They should only get better)
3. Dallas Cowboys (5-3 under Jason Garrett with Jon Kitna and Stephen McGee playing quarterback. I’m expecting big things with Romo back under center)
4. Oakland Raiders (I like they’re young offense. If they can improve their defense a little, they could be the favorites in the AFC West)
5. Houston Texans (oddly enough, the addition of Wade Phillips as defensive coordinator will make them a better team. Wade has always been a quality defensive coach. Unless Indianapolis makes some new additions to their o-line and defense, Houston can make the leap in the AFC South)

So there you have it. I’m also posting my Championship Game picks at the bottom of this. Have a good weekend folks.

STEELERS (-3.5) over Jets

BEARS (+3.5) over Packers (I’ve gotten every game wrong in the NFC, so order your Super Bowl tickets now Packers’ fans)