COLLEGE BOWL PICKS/PREVIEWS: PART 2*

It's a great time of year. Spend the day at work, do Christmas shopping in the evening, then come home to watch some college football. On a weeknight! We actually have some intriguing games to watch, including one that's a whopper. So here are our previews for all of the week's games:

Tuesday - 8:00 PM - ESPN
Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl St. Petersburg Bowl - St. Petersburg, FL
Southern Miss Golden Eagles vs. Louisville Cardinals
Louisville actually beat UConn, and Syracuse. But they lost most of their other games. They were 3-6 against BCS teams. I think Southern Miss will take this game seriously, and prevail.



Wednesday - 8:00 PM - ESPN
MAACO Bowl Las Vegas - Las Vegas, NV
#19 Utah Utes vs. #10 Boise State Broncos
Not a bad pre-Christmas matchup. The Broncos will find their way to the Mountain West, where Utah will be their biggest competition. I'm rooting for the Utes, because I'm tired of the hype surrounding Boise State. Unfortunately, I think they're slightly more talented, and will win in a close, high scoring, and entertaining game.



Thursday - 8:00 PM - ESPN
San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl - San Diego, CA
Navy Midshipmen vs. San Diego State Aztecs
Both teams will be well-supported. SDSU, obviously, is playing close to home. But there are around 20,000 sailors stationed in San Diego. I'm going to go with Navy in this one.



Friday - 8:00 PM - ESPN
Sheraton Hawaii Bowl - Honolulu, HA
#24 Hawaii Warriors vs. Tulsa Golden Hurricane
Hawaii won 10 games. Of course, they played 13. They only lost once at home, and have the #1 passing game in the country. They throw for 387.8 yards per game, and scored 9th most in the country at 39.9 points per game. They're also 109th in rushing. Tulsa has a solid offense, but was ranked 84th in scoring defense. So I'll take Hawaii, and the over.



More picks to come on Thursday.

WHAT THE DUCK?

This game literally put me to sleep. Give soome credit to Jonas Hiller, who stopped 45 shots. But how many of those shots were any good? How many were aimed well? Have the Bruins ever seen this picture:



And if so, are they capable of hitting those targets, and at least forcing a goalie to do work to stop the puck?

The Bruins like to play a cycling offense, passing the puck around in the offensive zone. Strangely, their plan is to get the puck to the defensemen on the blue-line (60 feet from the net), instead of trying to pass the puck to the high slot or the faceoff circles (12 to 20 feet from the net). Then the defensemen blast a shot, and the Bruins hope it gets deflected.

This kind of close your eyes and shoot offense might be the best the Bruins can do, I'm afraid. Because so many of the forwards lack the puck skills to do anything else. Is it me, or do the Bruins seem to have the most trouble passing the puck without bouncing it over their teammates sticks? Concurrently, they also seem to have the most trouble handling a bouncing puck.

The guys who do have puck skills, typically lack the strength and physical presence to win battles.

I'd like to see the Bruins try to move their bodies around in their offensive cycling. That confuses the opponents, leads to missed assignments, and gets the goalie moving.

In the off-season, the Bruins' offense needs to be completely restructured and retooled. There's too many "playmaking" centers, and not enough play finishing wingers. Instead of trying to build 4 solid lines, the B's should try to assemble 2 very good lines. And they need forwards who can do multiple things, not just good passers, or good battlers, or fast skaters.

Both Bergeron and Recchi play the game the right way. However, they're both branch players. They're missing pieces to teams with strong cores. The Bruins do not have a strong core.

The B's have a few days off to sit in the corner and think about what they've done (1-3-1 in their last 5) before hosting Atlanta on Thursday.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

WAKE UP CALL

I'll be honest, I didn't see much of the game last night, so can't offer much opinion on it. It seems like the Pats went up against a solid defense, struggled at times, but in the end, they made the plays that won the game.

All of us were pretty confident about this game. After all, the Patriots were on a ridiculous tear of domination, and Green Bay would be without Aaron Rodgers. But the Packers really put up a scrap. The Pats couldn't convert on 3rd down, and if it wasn't for the turnovers they forced, and big plays on special teams, they would have lost.

The defense really has become more like the 03-04 glory years. They're opportunistic, and they're retrieving the ball.

It's kind of a cliche thing to say, but Dan Connelly is an ideal Patriot. A 71 yard kickoff return? For an offensive lineman? Who also plays fullback in goal-line situations.

Julian Edelman is starting to wear thin on me. We all assumed he'd be Welker Jr. last year, because he's a similar mold of player. That was probably an unfair level of expectation. Then again, he's been absent from the passing game. And I'd rather see Woodhead returning punts.

The Pats didn't clinch the division, or a bye, as the Jets beat the Steelers. However, they can clinch both with a win in Buffalo on Sunday. That would also clinch home-field throughout the playoffs.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

COLLEGE BOWL PICKS/PREVIEWS: PART 1*

It's bowling season. Which means a few dozen games between teams none of us have even seen yet. It means unpredictability. It means surprises. It means tantalizing inter-regional matchups. All three of these bowl games are this Saturday.

2:00 PM - ESPN:
New Mexico Bowl - Albuquerque, NM
BYU Cougars vs. UTEP Miners
Bowl season begins with a pair of 6-6 teams, so you'll forgive me if I don't get too excited. BYU's had a down year, but did have a 5-3 conference record. UTEP lost 5 of 6 down the stretch. I'll go with BYU in this one, purely based on conference records.



5:30 PM - ESPN:
uDrove Humanitarian Bowl - Boise, ID
Northern Illinois Huskies vs. Fresno State Bulldogs
NIU won 10 games, and ran the table in the MAC until the conference title game. Fresno nearly beat Nevada, and none of their 4 losses came to embarassingly bad teams. I'll pick Fresno State simply due to reputation.



9:00 PM - ESPN:
R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl - New Orleans, LA
Ohio Bobcats vs. Troy Trojans
An 8-4 MAC team against a 7-5 Sun Belt team. And who says we have too many bowl games? I'll pick Troy out of proximity. They're in Alabama, I think. But I'll still use an Ohio girl.



More picks on Tuesday.

ANOTHER 1 GOAL LOSS

The Bruins are in the middle of what I called "Exam Week." It's an 8 day, 4 game stretch when the Bruins would be playing the Flyers, Sabres, Canadiens, and Capitals. They're 0-1-2 in that stretch, and are in danger of earning an F.

I know they've all been 1 goal games. But the manner by which this team has lost is what's pissing me off. The Philly game was an excellent effort and a fine performance. The Buffalo and Montreal games, were not.

Last night, the Bruins gave up a quick goal. Granted, it was the softest penalty shot call I've ever seen. However, Lucic gave the Canadiens the breakaway with a pass that wasn't worthy of a high school scrimmage.

Lucic had his worst game of the season. He scored a goal thanks to good positioning, and a clever tip-in, but he gave the puck away all night. I honestly felt like he should've been moved to another line. The B's wasted Horton and Krejci's shifts by having Lucic out there. Hopefully he's not hurt, and he remembers how to pass.

I don't expect this team to score many goals. In fact, I was stunned to look at the numbers and see that the B's are 12th in goals scored per game. Doesn't that surprise you? What irritates me is the lack of patience and discipline in the neutral zone, and on defense.

Montreal's 2nd goal was helped by Shawn Thornton failing to do his post-faceoff duty and collapse toward the net. That allowed 3 Canadiens to hover around Thomas, against just one Bruin defenseman. Easy goal. Thornton's not accustomed to playing center, but by this point in his NHL career, he should know the basic defensive duties after a faceoff.

I've praised the 4th line all season, but recently they've aggravated me. They bring energy, with no chance of scoring. Then Thornton has the above brain fart. Then Campbell goes after Subban after a big hit, gets 2 minutes, and Montreal takes advantage with a goal.

Julien gets touted as a great coach because of his disciplined positional style. But I just don't see it. Discipline isn't discipline unless it's consistent. And the Bruins haven't been consistent.

The B's host the Caps Saturday night.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

REALLY, JETS?

When I heard that the Jets suspended Sal Alosi for the season, I thought that they handled things the right way. Especially when Alosi confessed that he'd instructed a couple sidelined players to line up as a "wall" for the play. But then Jets' special teams coach Mike Westhoff came out and said this:

"A number of teams do it. There is a pretty good team up north that lines their whole defense up when they do it, so it's something that just kind of happened... Well, if you watch them -- their defense when the opponent's punt team is out there -- they're up there pretty close to the line so it looks like they are trying to do it. Now are they doing anything illegal? Are they tripping anybody? Heck no. I'm not saying that. That's not the point. But, yeah, they're lined up there. Is it making a difference? I don't know. I really don't know, because to tell you the truth, before this happened, I never really looked at anybody's sideline in all my years."

You just have to love the Real World/Road Rules mentality they have down in the Meadowlands. It's great entertainment, isn't it? These coaches have no little voice in their heads that censors what they're about to say.

I honestly have no idea if the Patriots align their sideline players in any sort of wall in order to disrupt the gunners of an opposing team. Nor do I care. What Alosi did wasn't bad because it violated some unwritten sideline etiquette guideline, it was wrong because he intentionally interfered with a play.

Instead of moving on, saying no comment, or even saying "that was wrong of Sal," Westhoff runs his mouth about what the Patriots do.

As an organization, the Jets did the right thing to put this incident behind them. But they still have some soldiers that need to fall in line. Then again, when the head coach is best known for his mouth, it must be hard for him to convince his subordinates to watch theirs.

WHY THE CELTICS ARE WINNERS

I only saw the end of the game last night, but still saw quite a bit. Players like Pierce and Garnett just know how to win these games. It's that simple.

It was a brilliant play by Pierce, but more impressive was the timing of it. He essentially left the Knicks with no time to respond. How many times have we seen players hold on too long, and not get a shot off at all?

The C's are still the masters of their division, and the Eastern Conference.

DREW STAFFORD 3, BRUINS 2

I'm getting tired of Patrice Bergeron. It's kind of sad when the best he performed in the game, was in the post-game scuffle. He's adept at faceoffs, he's an excellent defensive forward, and you'll never see him make a mental mistake. But he's slow. My God is he slow. And when he gets a shooting lane, he'll either miss the net completely, or hit the goalie's chest, right in the logo.

He made the Canadian Olympic team because he does the little things. However, the Bruins don't have enough guys that do big things. I wouldn't mind trading Bergeron in the off-season, even if it were just for a draft pick. He belongs on a team that already has scorers, not a team that severely lacks them.

The refs were a bit iffy last night. Then again, killing 5 penalties is not a tall order. It is frustrating, though, that the 2 goals the B's allowed on the PK came from the 2 most questionable calls.

The most inexcusable goal was Buffalo's 2nd, which was a 5-on-5 goal. Thornton made an ill-advised pass in the neutral zone that got picked off. Then Boychuk failed to mark Drew Stafford, leaving him open for a one-timer in the slot. It was an unfair position to put Tuukka Rask in. Only Tim Thomas, or possibly Jesus, could have stopped that shot.

The Bruins' offense will struggle, which is why it's so important for the defense to not screw up like they did on that goal. I don't know why Shawn Thornton (of all people) is trying to thread the needle with low percentage passes like that.

Speaking of Thornton and his line, I like how regularly Claude Julien plays them. At the same time, it's not a scoring line. When you've held the puck for a minute in Buffalo's zone, and there's a faceoff in there, don't send out Thornton's line. Send a line that has a chance to score a goal. Send Krejci's line. This happened in the middle of the 1st period, and it baffled me.

I'll end on a rare positive note. 22 year old call-up Steve Kampfer (in German, his last name means "fighter") has acquitted himself nicely these last few games, replacing the injured Mark Stuart. He's not making mistakes, he's fast, and he's confident with the puck. He got an assist in this game, and genuinely earned the 20 minutes of ice-time he got.

The Bruins travel to Montreal to play the Canadiens tonight. In this 8 day stretch of tough games that started Saturday (Exam Week), they still haven't won yet. Tonight's a good time to change that.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo