Two things of note on television tonight. The Cavaliers face the Spurs at 7 PM. Should be an entertaining rematch of the finals of 2007. Hopefully the result of this game is better than the result of any of those finals games. The Cavs will be without Shaq until the playoffs, but I'm pretty excited to see how JJ Hickson grows until then. I think this experience will be valuable for the Cavs, and for JJ. I'm extremely happy that he was not traded at the deadline for Amare Stoudemire. I think Stoudamire is a fantastic player, but I'm not sure he is the best fit for the Cavs. How is he on defense? Not sure. Antawn Jamison is more than capable and has proven to be effective so far. Here's to another deep playoff run, only one that ends in something positive not only for Cleveland, but all of Ohio's professional sports. We're struggling here..
Lebron is a game-time decision. Add that to the fact that Shaq is out, and we could be without two major parts of the offense. Even without Lebron, the talent that the Cavs have should be able to compete. Especially considering that Tony Parker is out, too.
So, maybe not the entertaining rematch we could have if Lebron, Shaq and Parker were healthy.
Blue Jackets @ Kings
You'll find that I'm a big hockey fan and I'm going to pimp it whenever possible. So here we go. The Blue Jackets face off against the Los Angeles Kings tonight. Don't like watching the Blue Jackets? Fine, and understandable, to be honest. They aren't stacked with talent and only have a couple guys really worth watching on a nightly basis (Canadian Olympian Rick Nash, Steve Mason when he's playing well, same with Jakub Voracek). The rest are either still growing or gritty players who don't do anything flashy. Not good for the average fan. The Kings, however, have plenty of offensive firepower and some fantastic defenders who could (and possibly already are) stars in this league.
I'll start with offense. Anze Kopitar is scoring at over a point-per-game pace. He started the season on fire. Since then, he's cooled somewhat, but he's still among the top 20 in scoring (30 goals, 37 assists). Captain (and USA Olympian) Dustin Brown has had somewhat of a disappointing season, considering he has only 15 goals. He had 24 last year and 33 the year before. The Kings are really loaded on offense. Along with Kopitar and Brown, they have veteran Ryan Smyth and Alexander Frolov. Those are the guys on whom the Kings rely for their offense. The Kings have an excellent third line as well - certainly one of the better third lines in the Western Conference, and possibly all of the NHL. Ex-Blue Jacket Fredrik Modin was traded to the Kings at the trade deadline, and he really solidifies the Kings' third line. He'll be playing left wing alongside Michal Handzus and Wayne Simmonds.
Drew Doughty was arguably the best player for Team Canada in the Olympics. He's a future Norris trophy winner. He's second on the Kings in points, which is impressive given his age, the talent that the Kings have and the fact that he is a defenceman. Jack Johnson is a name that Team USA fans might remember from the Olympics. He was solid in the Olympics and has been solid for the Kings this year, despite his poor +/- statistics.
Jonathan Quick has been above average in net this season, as well, resulting in a selection to Team USA.
My prediction: The Kings win this game. Fortunately for the Jackets, the coaching change has seemed to give them a little spark, and Mason has looked better. Kings 4, Jackets 3.
Browns After TE Ben Watson, Ben Hartsock Signs Deal with Jets, Bengals Pursuing Buchanon
According to ProFootballTalk.com, the Browns are interested in TE Benjamin Watson.
Would be a nice signing for the Browns. Still a productive TE and he plays a position of need. Which positions aren't of need? I don't want to talk about it.
Ex-Buckeye Ben Hartsock is also close to a deal with the Jets, according to PFT. Hope he gets the deal. He loves New York and is a good guy.
PFT is a good source today. Phillip Buchanon is being pursued by the Bengals. Apparently, he played some safety last year for the Bucs. He was drafted as a corner. Safety would make more sense than corner, considering that the Bengals are pretty good at corner already. He could be the third corner, I suppose.
Random Topic of the Day
It's getting warmer here in Columbus. The sun just seems brighter. Hopefully it melts this snow. Spring break is in two weeks and it can't get here fast enough. The only good things about winter are hockey and the possibility of classes getting canceled.
53°F | °C
Current: Partly Cloudy
Wind: N at 0 mph
Humidity: 47%
Beautiful.
Wind: N at 0 mph
Humidity: 47%
Beautiful.
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