RASKED

Now before everyone starts with the whole Thomas vs. Rask debate, let me remind you that although Rask's numbers have been outstanding (10-3-2 record, 1.85 GAA, .935 SV%), and he certainly deserves a hefty chunk of playing time (maybe as high as 1/3 of the workload), Tim Thomas has been far from awful. Thomas is the Vezina winner, not Rask.

It's still December, and it isn't time to be messing with about the only aspect of the team that's been satisfactory. Thomas has been a bit off. Perhaps partly due to injury, partly due to inconsistent playing time (doubtful, considering his personal history as an off-and-on goalie), and partly due to the NHL having a book on him.

Next time Thomas plays, just watch where the rebounds go. Goalies in the NHL are so amazingly good, that they are not only able to stop shots, but also to position themselves to direct rebounds to relatively safe areas (the corners). Thomas' rebounds have been big, and right up into the slot. That's dangerous.

When the weather's warmer and it's almost the playoffs, then it'll be time for the decision on Rask vs. Thomas. It's ridiculous to rotate goalies in the post-season. So for now, I'm sure Julien will rotate them. And that's exactly what he should do.

Flyers vs. Bruins in Fenway tomorrow, in case you hadn't heard. NBC, 1 pm.

Source:
ESPN

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Elise Amendola

COLLEGE BOWL PICKS/PREVIEWS PART VII*

Here are my picks for all 5 bowl games on Saturday.

12:00PM - ESPN2
International Bowl - Toronto, ONT
South Florida Bulls vs. Northern Illinois Huskies
No-brainer here. Despite NIU's awesomely devious and creepy mascot, I have to go with the USF Bulls. Both teams are 7-5, but 7-5 in the Big East is slightly more impressive than 7-5 in the MAC.



2:00PM - ESPN
Papajohns.com Bowl - Birmingham, AL
South Carolina Gamecocks vs. UConn Huskies
UConn's 7-5 record doesn't really tell you the whole story. Their 5 losses were by a combined total of 15 points. They never lost a game by more than 4 points. South Carolina is tough, thrashing Clemson at the end of the season. But they did lose 4 of their last 6, and really disappointed. I think UConn wins one for the Big East.



2:00PM - Fox
Cotton Bowl - Arlington, TX
#19 Oklahoma State Cowboys vs. Ole Miss Rebels
OSU was knocked out of the BCS by their rival OU. Ole Miss is making their 2nd straight Cotton Bowl appearance, which is a pretty good result for a program now officially on the rise. The Cowboys lost to Houston, Texas, and Oklahoma. They're not great, but they'll represent the Big XII well and win the Cotton Bowl.



5:30PM - ESPN
Liberty Bowl - Memphis, TN
Arkansas Razorbacks vs. East Carolina Pirates
ECU beat Houston in the C-USA title game, thus preventing the Liberty Bowl from being very interesting. I think Arkansas runs away with this one in a romp.



9:00PM - ESPN
Alamo Bowl - San Antonio, TX
Michigan State Spartans vs. Texas Tech Red Raiders
The Disappointment Bowl. MSU was supposed to contend for the top spot in the BigTen, or at least be a factor. Texas Tech lost to Texas A&M. But MSU can't win games. I'll take the Red Raiders here. The game is only 350 miles from their campus, a stone's throw in Texas.



More previews on Monday. Happy New Year!

COLLEGE BOWL PICKS/PREVIEWS PART VI*

Here are the New Year's Day Bowls. There's some really good ones to enjoy while nursing your New Year's Eve hangover.

11:00AM - ESPN
Outback Bowl - Tampa, FL
Northwestern Wildcats vs. Auburn Tigers
Northwestern? Really? Good for them, I guess. They're actually pretty good, going 8-4, 5-3 in the BigTen, and they were the ones who finally beat Iowa. Auburn started hot, but lost 5 of their last 7. But they did give Alabama a good fight, they will have many more fans supporting them in Orlando, and it's hard to pick against an SEC team. I'm predicting an Auburn victory.



1:00PM - CBS
Gator Bowl - Jacksonville, FL
#16 West Virginia Mountaineers vs. Florida State Seminoles
This will be a fun game to watch. I think WVU is a bit overrated here. Also, Tallahassee is a mere 3 hour drive from Jacksonville. FSU is without a doubt the best 6-6 team in the country, and they'll pull out the upset here.



1:00PM - ABC
Capital One Bowl - Orlando, FL
#13 Penn State Nittany Lions vs. #12 LSU Tigers
Without a doubt, the best non-BCS Bowl out there. PSU couldn't win the big games this year, which has been a pattern for them recently. They'll win 9+ games, but are incapable of topping a quality team. LSU is a quality team. And LSU will win this for the SEC.



4:30PM - ABC
Rose Bowl - Pasadena, CA
#8 Ohio State Buckeyes vs. #7 Oregon Ducks
Another great match-up, that will turn into another disappointment for the BigTen. Oregon lost to Boise State on their blue field, and lost at Stanford. They also beat Utah. Ohio State is very good, but still just shy of the level they need to be at. They lost to Purdue. Apart from their wins against Penn State and Iowa, there's not much they can boast about. I say Oregon wins their first Rose Bowl since 1917.



8:30PM - Fox
Sugar Bowl - New Orleans, LA
#5 Florida Gators vs. #3 Cincinnati Bearcats
The BCS's master plan develops here, as an undefeated team (Cincy) is assured to go down. There's no way Florida doesn't demolish the Bearcats. I'm picking Florida and rooting for Cincinnati. Maybe if the Bearcats win, Tim Tebow will hang himself.

COLLEGE BOWL PICKS/PREVIEWS: PART V*

Time to pick the New Year's Eve Bowls, and there are some tantalizing ones on the menu. All these games are on Thursday 12/31.

12:00PM - ESPN
Armed Forces Bowl - Fort Worth, TX
Houston Cougars vs. Air Force Falcons
Good C-USA/MWC match-up here. Houston has the shorter trip, but there are plenty of Air Force people in Texas who will come out in support of AFA. Houston's put up 29+ in every single game, including a win over Texas Tech. They also beat #19 Oklahoma State in Stillwater. Still, they lost to ECU. Air Force is a solid mid-pack Mountain West team, but Houston's too much for them.



2:00PM - CBS
Brut Sun Bowl - El Paso, TX
Oklahoma Sooners vs. #21 Stanford Cardinal
I think everyone outside of Pasadena and Berkeley have been Stanford fans this season. The Cardinal is one of only 2 teams that beat Pac-10 Champ Oregon. Oklahoma will have more fans with the game in West Texas, and I think this will be an exciting contest. But I'm going with OU to win.



3:30PM - ESPN
Texas Bowl - Houston, TX
Navy Midshipmen vs. Missouri Tigers
The Tigers are part of a dreadful Big XII North that was nothing short of a joke. I think Navy sails away with this one.



6:00PM - NFL Network
Insight Bowl - Tempe, AZ
Minnesota Golden Gophers vs. Iowa State Cyclones
Both teams boast 6-6 records, so the game should at least be a close one. ISU feasted on North Dakota State, Army, and Kent State to get their 6 wins. Minnesota had South Dakota State and Syracuse. ISU sucks on toast, Minnesota is just kind of bad. Minnesota wins.



7:30PM - ESPN
Chick-fil-A Bowl - Atlanta, GA
#11 Virginia Tech Hokies vs. Tennessee Volunteers
Complete mismatch. Then again, the ACC has struggled against the SEC this season. But Va-Tech never plays at the same level as the ACC. I think this game is a blowout in favor of the Hokies.

FOUR PATRIOTS GOING TO PRO-BOWL

Tom Brady will backup Rivers and Manning at QB. Logan Mankins will start at guard. Wes Welker is a backup WR. And Vince Wilfork will start at tackle.

No Patriots were snubbed. And frankly, who cares. Being named to the Pro Bowl team is more of an honor than actually playing in it.

This will be Brady's 5th Pro Bowl. Logan Mankins' 2nd. Only Vince Wilfork's 2nd. And Wes Welker's 2nd.

The Vikings boast 8 players named, the Eagles 7 the Colts 6, the Cowboys 6, New Orleans 5, Baltimore 5, San Diego 5. Arizona, Houston, and Denver also have 4.

Source:
NFL

BYE BAY

The Mets have signed Jason Bay to a 4 year, $66 million deal. And I'm left to scratch my head. The Red Sox, who spent $51.1 million for the right to talk to Daisuke Matsuzaka, and who allocated $70M over 5 years for JD Drew, apparently couldn't match this 4 year, $66 million deal.

Now, $16.5 million per year isn't peanuts. Especially for a guy as inconsistent as Bay. But I'll say this much; the Red Sox better find a way to spend the $66 million they've saved by not signing Bay, either this off-season or the next. Because 36 HR, 119 RBI guys don't grow on trees.

A look at the Red Sox lineup as of now:
1. CF Ellsbury
2. 2B Pedroia
3. 1B Youkilis
4. C Martinez
5. RF Drew
6. DH Ortiz
7. 3B Lowell
8. LF Cameron
9. SS Scutaro

Once a pitcher gets out of the 1st, the 2nd and 3rd could literally be no-sweat innings.

Source:
MLB

PEYTON MANNING'S DIARY

Dear Diary,
I feel just awful. We lost to that mean fatty Rex Ryan and the Jets. It wasn't my fault! Coach Jimmy made me not play. We were up 15-10 when Coach Jimmy took me out. He told me he wanted me to stay healthy so I couldn't stay in the game.



I like Coach Jimmy, and I don't want any owies to happen before the playoffs, but I wanted to play! Don't tell anyone, diary, but on Sunday, I wished that sour puss Bill Belichick was my coach. He'd never give up on a 15-10 game. But he'd probably yell at me too, and Coach Jimmy never does that. And I doubt Bill Belichick would ever take us out for pizza and orange drink after.



The whole time I was on the sidelines, I was just so angry and frustrated. I kept hoping Coach Jimmy would say "Peyton, you're back in, buddy!" Last night I had a dream that he did just that. But on Sunday, he never did. I even kept my helmet on, hoping he'd put me back in. But he didn't. :-(



That night, I was so upset. Me, Reggie, and Dallas had a good cry in the locker room. But something was missing. This was the first time I've lost and didn't have Coach Tony with me. And that hurt. So when the bus dropped me off at my house, I snuggled into my big comfy racecar bed, and dialed Coach Tony's number.



It was nice talking to him again. He read my a story from his book: Quiet Strength



My favorite quotes from the book were:

"Things will go wrong at times. You can't always control circumstances. However, you can always control your attitude, approach, and response."

And...

"My purpose in life is simply to glorify God. We have to be careful that we don't let the pursuit of our life's goals, no matter how important they seem, cause us to lose sight of our purpose."

After he read me his whole book, I asked him to read me Where the Wild Things Are. It was a bit scary, but I fell asleep and didn't have any bad dreams!!!



Until next time, diary! I love you!

LIGHTNING STRIKE TWICE

It'd be easy to blame luck and the refs for this loss. But I'm gonna take the high road. This game was lost BY THE BRUINS in the 2nd period. Tampa Bay's late goal, which turned out to be the game-winner, did come on a power play. A power play which came from a bad call (Sobotka called for boarding because Lecavalier lost his balance). But that bad call came from good play by the Lightning, keeping the puck in the offensive zone.

Tim Thomas was stellar. But we're back to the pattern of his excellent outings turning into losses.



Marco Sturm's goal was, in a word, nifty. And the Bruins as a whole calmed themselves in the 3rd period. But it's sad how usual it is for the B's to fall behind by 2 goals, and then calm themselves to play solid hockey.

The Bruins host the Thrashers Wednesday night.

Source:
ESPN

Photo Credits:
AP Photo/Chris O'Meara