The Stars Come Out

Last night, the hockey world was focused on Windsor for the CHL/NHL Top Prospects game. The game features the top players from the three Canadian junior hockey leagues: WHL, OHL, QMJHL. The game served as a coming out party for a couple of different players.

• Emerson Etem, Medicine Hat Tigers, forward: Coming into the game I did not know that much about Etem, but after the game I felt like he was someone that I should keep my eye on. He showed great speed every time he was on the ice. The California kid will be a key part of next years World Junior Championship team.
• Austin Watson, Peterborough Petes, forward (above in the red): The former Spitfire made a great return to his former town. He was great on the penalty kill and showed a lot of heart. Another kid that could be on next years United States World Junior Team.
• Stanislav Galiev Saint John Sea Dogs, forward: He has the best vision of anyone on the ice. The first time that I have seen him and loved him.
• Nino Niederreiter Portland Winterhawks, forward: Was awesome in the World Juniors Championships with the Swiss and again during the prospects game he was all over the place creating and driving defenders nuts.
• Ryan Spooner, Peterborough Petes, forward: Loved the energy that he brought to the game was all over the place at times.
• Brandon Gormley, Moncton Wildcats, defense man: Solid. Solid in his own end, solid going forward. Will have a very long and successful career.
  

A Nation of Great Football Players

Watch CBS News Videos Online

60 Minutes Scott Pelley traveled to American Samoa to find out how a territory with a smaller population than a pro-football stadium sends more players to the NFL than any similarly populated place in America. This is an amazing story and very well done.

Spalding Hoophall Classic Notebook

This weekend the nations best high school basketball gathered in Springfield for the Spalding Hoophall Classic. Here is some thoughts on the showcase event:

• Why do I think that Northland High School (Ohio) is the best team in the US.
• Seen Northland's Jordan Potts a couple of times and for a sophomore he is not bad, for a kid.
• With sophomores Potts and Jalen Robinson, who is committed to West Virginia, this Nortland team has some staying power despite losses of Sullinger and Weatherspoon.
• Oak Hill Academy head coach Steve Smith is better dressed then most college coaches.
• One thing that is clear with Oak Hill this year is that they lack that player that takes over in crunch time. Like a Brandon Jennings.
• Northland has now wins over Findley Prep and Oak Hill Academy this year. Find me a team ever with two likes that.
• Despite being only 14 years old Simone's Jabari Parker is the complete package. Inside and outside. Played well in their game against Newman-Goretti from Philly.
• Fell bad for Kendall Marshall. His Bishop O'Connell team is just over matched against St. Bens.
• I think St. Benedicts is better then half of the teams in college basketball. They are one of the longest high school teams that I have ever seen.
• Love Marshall he looks like a point guard that is going to have a good stay at UNC.
• Rutgers is getting a steal in Gil Biruta of the Gray Bees. My only question is if Fred Hill will be there to coach him.
• Its funny seeing Kevin Boyle Jr playing for St. Pats. I remember him sitting on the bench as a kid when St. Pats played Camden in the an epic TOC semifinals at FDU a bunch of years ago. Camden had DeJuan Wagner and it was a classic game.
• Findlay Prep's Corey Joseph would look perfect in a Villanova jersey. Perfect for Jay Wright guard offense.
• The first half of the St. Pats and Findlay Prep game has been better then most college game that I have seen.
• Findlay Nick Johnson and Joseph might be the best high school back court that I have ever seen.
• St. Pats Michael Gilchrist (pictured above) has been banged up all day but has continued to play hard, showed a ton of heart during the game.
• Findlay vs. St. Pats simply amazing a great game better then most college games I have seen.

The Cover Story: Nearing the Super Bowl

Vikings/Saints and Jets/Colts the NFL Final Four is now set. Here are the ways some of the newspapers around the country covered yesterdays games. For some it was a good story, while for others it was not as good.

San Diego Union Tribune

The Dallas Morning News
The New York Daily News
The Star Tribune

Ndamukong Pele

Can you imagine being a striker in the premier league and having to face Ndamukong Suh in central defense. Strikers are happy that he chose football inside of the world's game.

I need to ask permission

I'll start this with a simple statement I'm not a Liverpool fan, but I do want them to do well because it's good for soccer around the world. I heard that Rafa wants to sign a player during the window, but first he must check to see if its ok. I know what some of you are thinking, ok he has to check with the board, but over the last couple of weeks that is not the case he would have to check with the variety of different supporters club that represent fans of the teams.

During the last couple of months several of the high profile supporters clubs have complained that the current American owners have not supported Rafa in the transfer makers. Word came out this week that the current owners are looking to sell the naming rights to the new stadium when its build. Its a shame that it will not be called Anfield, but that is the way of the world. After the word came out many supports group came out blasting the plan

""Can you imagine the Nou Camp or Bernabeu being bulldozed by Barcelona or Real Madrid, or Inter Milan leaving the San Siro? You’re talking about football’s cathedrals, and Anfield is one of them. There is too much heritage, history and tradition for it all to be thrown away,'' Graham Agg, secretary of the German Reds official supporters’ club told the Daily Mail. "I just can’t imagine going to somewhere like the Budweiser Stadium to support Liverpool, and I’m sure there are plenty who feel the same .''

You can not have your cake and eat it too. This would be a way for Liverpool to help raise money for Rafa to spend on over rate players. So you can not complain about the money he is given if you are preventing the club from making money that they will be giving to him to spend in the transfer window.

The issue over the proposed naming rights to any proposed new stadium shows the larger issues that is happening at the historic club. Do the supports groups have too much power with the club. All soccer fans agree this is the not the greatest group running Liverpool, but anytime an issue comes up supporters groups associated with the club talk about all of the negatives associated with the idea. I know Liverpool fans are going to be like you are picking on us, I understand that all of these group do great things in the community and I praise them for that, but sometimes I feel like they might be holding the club back.

I wonder if Rafa checked with the different supports groups before he signs Marouane Chamakh in the off season, hey just asking.

So Young but been around so long

Sure Taylor King is only a sophomore at Villanova, but it feels like he has been along for so long and now he is finally starting to settle down.

When King was in eight grade he committed to follow most Southern California kids dream and play for UCLA. In high school, King played at the legendary Mater Dei program where he enjoyed a successful high school basketball career, posting the third highest career point total in California high school history.

This is where things get a little dicey for King, during his senior year he decided to change his mind and turn down UCLA and head to the Tobacco Road to play for Duke. While at Duke things did not go that well for Taylor and he did not make the impact that many people thought that he would. Some people even called him soft and not a hard work.

So after the one year, he decided to change his mind again and head to the Main Line and head to Villanova. After sitting out last season King finally looks to be the player that many people thought that he would. King has made a solid impact in his first year with Jay Wright. Last night, King played a huge roll in 'Nova 92-84 comeback win over Louisville. King finished the day with 12 points and seven rebounds in 23 minutes of action. The thing that stands out for me was that King was all over the floor and getting involved in the action. King has great skills and the ability to shoot the ball from all over, but now it appears that he has added the toughness that can carry 'Nova very far in March.

Despite only a sophomore, King is finally showing the skills that many people thought he had, sure it took a couple of steps to get there, but it appears that he is finally there.

The economy is wrecking havoc with everything

During the last year the failing economy has had an effect on all kinds of markets from the stock market to the housing market to the transfer market, yes the transfer market. So far the winter transfer market has been a complete bore. Everyday I wake up and read the BBC's morning headline for soccer and usually during this time of year there are a bunch out there for players on the move, but this year they are lacking big time. It seems like the biggest name that is being throw around in England is Kenwyne Jones of Sunderland, yes Kenwyne Jones. Sure he is a good player but a whole transfer window should not center on a player that is only ok.

Most teams are looking out for all kinds of bargain basement loans deals. You are never going to get a player that is going to make a difference in a loan deal, usually these deals are for player that are not needed for by their current team.

Sure tomorrow I will wake up and look at all of the rumors when I get to work, but nothing there will make me run and text all of my soccer loving friends. The economy needs to get better for a variety of reasons from jobs to the stock market, but it also improve so soccer fans can have fun again with the rumors of the winter transfer market.

Where do we go from here?

Last night was tough, today has also been tough. When your teams crashes out of the playoffs like the Eagles did last night, its hard to figure out what is next and with the Birds that is no different. During the game one thing became really clear, the Cowboys are better then the Eagles right now. Unlike most Eagles fans, I can admit that, this might be their year and that is that.

The one thing that I'm struggling with is where the Birds go from here: do they blow everything up and start over or do they try to just add a couple of people and take another shot at it. Right now I'm leaning toward adding a couple of more defensive players and taking another shot at it. The Eagles need to add some size on the d-line and maybe some more help in the secondary. As for firing Andy and trading Mc5, that is not worth it at this point. For one this is the second youngest team in the league and there is still room for it to grow. Blowing up would mean getting rid of someone our best players like Peters, DJ, and Brent. That would lead us down the track of being a 5-11 team.

While most fans might scream for the end of the era, just be careful this is the most successful era the Eagles have ever had and if its blown up there is no guarantee that we will ever get back to this level. So I say we grow up a little and head back at it again and just remember the Giants did not make the playoffs, so that will make any Eagles fan smile for a couple of seconds.

A Way to Solve the Big Freeze Issue in England

The big freeze has wrecked havoc on the Premier League this weekend. Five of this weekend's English Premier League fixtures have been postponed because of concerns for the safety of spectators making their way to grounds in freezing conditions. Saturday's Fulham v Portsmouth, Sunderland v Bolton and Burnley v Stoke matches were all called off on Friday, as was Sunday's Liverpool v Tottenham match at Anfield and the game between Hull and leaders Chelsea after heavy snowfall in Hull and more postponements might be comings. With all of the games being called off the rest of the season is going to look like a busy festive period fixture list.

I know this is going to sound out of line but maybe the Premier League and its clubs should follow the model of Ajax and build stadiums with retractable roofs. I know what people are thinking how is that going to work. I'm not saying domes, I'm saying when planning for these new stadiums maybe the clubs should take a page out of the Amsterdam Arena's book and build something with a roof that can be opened and close. The roof does not have to stay all of the time and will not, it will only be closed in the case of extreme weather, like what has hit England this weekend.

People who consider themselves traditionalist will say this will take something away from the game and that there is something that can be said about playing a game at Hull City in a snow storm. Sure that is great but we have already crossed that bridge and we are not coming back. Just go back to when the World Cup was in the United States. Games for the showcase where played in the Silver Dome in Detroit, yes indoors. So if FIFA says that it can be played in doors what is the difference if we have retractable roofs on some of these stadiums. This way we will not have a weekend like this where the showcase game of the weekend Liverpool vs. Spurs is canceled because of the weather.

Top Plays of the 2010 World Junior Championships

The final was epic, the rest of the tournament was ok, but here are the top 10 plays from this years World Junior Champions. I promise this is the last post about the tournament.

What a difference a year makes

A year ago, the United States World Junior Championship team was getting ready to play in Ottawa with dreams of unseating Canada as the top U-20 team in the world. Colin Wilson, Eric Tangradi, James van Riemsdyk, and Thomas McCollum comprised one of the more talented teams that this country has sent to the showcase, but things unraveled quickly. First there was the mess that was the New Years Eve game against Canada in which the Red White and Blue led 3-0 before blowing the lead and getting their doors blown off. After that mess the team then went out in the quarterfinals and ended up finishing up fifth place. Not the result a team with that must talent should have.

After the tournament USA Hockey had to take a long look in the mirror and figure out what happened. One of the things that came under attack was the US National Team Development Program. The National Team Development Program, based out of Ann Arbor, Michigan, is made up of a select group of players that have tried out and been selected as the most talented in the nation. The NTDP consists of two teams; the U.S. National Under-18 Team, and the U.S. National Under-17 Team. The criticism was that the program produced good players, but players that did not play for the front of the shirt.

Fast forward a year and their is a different tone surrounding USA Hockey. First the U-18 goes out and wins the title in the age group. The U-17 teams goes out and wins the title in that age group. Then on Tuesday night, the biggest of them all the Junior Team goes out and beats five time defending champion Canada in the final. Sure the Canadian team was more talented but this USA team had something that the team last year did not have: heart and toughness. Sure they blew a two goal lead in the final, but this team would not take no for answer and came back and won won in OT.

The best thing about all of these titles is that they beat Canada or some type of Canadian team in the final. So much for being the a step under Canada, the United States has all of the trophies now.

With the Olympics a couple of weeks away, I hope the men's team shows that the heart that the junior team did this week, if so maybe they can shock the world like the kids have done over the last couple of months.

The Cover Story: Oh Say Can You See

Last night a spunky group of kids from the United States took down the big bad hockey power. No this is the not the Miracle on Ice, but it might be just as important the national Junior Team defeated five time defending World Junior Champion Canada in epic 6-5 overtime game. Newspapers north of the border are not taking the loss well.

Here is how the newspapers in Canada covered the epic game:

The Windsor Star

Ottawa Sun

The Gazette

The Calgary Sun

The Cover Story: The NHL Winter Classic

Over the last couple of years the National Hockey League has started to steal the spotlight away from college football bowl games and to theirselves with the Winter Classic on New Years Day. This year the Bruins defeated the Flyers in a classic at Fenway Park, the best one of the series so far. The game featured a fight (the first in Classic history), hard hitting and a game played with a passion.

Here are how some of the papers in the Boston area covered the action from Fenway Park:

Boston Globe

Telegram and Gazette (Worcester)

Should the NFL follow the Premier League

The final weekend of the NFL regular season is here and there are still a bunch of things to figure out, like who is going to win the NFC East, the wildcard spots in the AFC, and seeding. During the final Sunday of the season, games will kickoff at 1 p.m., 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. Some teams might know that their games means nothing as they take the field because of earlier results.

In know this is going to sound euro centric, but maybe the NFL should look at changing the way that they do the final weekend of the season. Instead of having three different start times maybe they should have all of the games start at the same time, like they do in the Barclays Premier League. During the final day of the Premier League season all of the games start at 4 p.m. . This assures no funny business between the clubs. This makes for fun for all of the fans at the stadiums. All of them are on the cell phones and have radios in their ears to make sure they know what is going on at other sites around the league. At one point your team could be in at another point with results going the other they could be at. But at the end of all of the games there is no more waiting.

Sure the final weekend of the NFL season will be great, cause it always is, but starting every game at 4 p.m. would make for classic drama.

The Storm Troopers are failing

Florida did it for the SEC Title Game, Miami did it for the Champs Sports Bowl, Arizona did it for the Holiday Bowl. What do this three teams have in common, during the before mentioned games the teams played in what is called the ""Storm Trooper Look'' and lost. Oregon started the trend a couple of years ago, when they came out against Washington and had white helmets, white jerseys, white pants and white shoes.
Sure the look was cool but now its getting out of control and bringing teams bad luck. Look at the results. Tempting the football gods is not good and for schools like Florida and Miami there is no reason to use this type of gimick and the results have shown that the football gods were not happy about their choice in uniforms.

Who said Hockey is not growing?

Look back at the United States World Junior Championships over the last couple of decades and it reads like a list of hockey playing states. From Minnesota to Wisconsin to Michigan, this years teams has representatives from those states and a couple of different ones.

A bunch of years back the National Hockey League decided to put teams in Florida, Arizona, Carolina, and Atlanta at the time the leadership said it was make the sport grown and by the looks of this years United States WJC team it appears to have worked.

Eight members of the teams are from nontraditional hockey playing areas. Defenseman John Carlson, Colonia, NJ; Matt Donovan, Edmond, Okla; John Ramage, St. Louis, Mo; Tyler Johnson, Spokane, Wash; Philip McRae, Chesterfield, Mo; Kyle Palmieri, Montvale, NJ; Luke Walker, Portland, Ore; and Jason Zucker, Las Vegas (pictured above).

Sure there are reason why these players are coming from different areas. One reason is that they are sons are former NHLers, like Ramage and McRae, and their fathers played in the those cities and have decided to live their after their playing careers have ended. But with the other kids it looks like their love of the game continued to grow despite playing in an area that did not embrace the sport.

Did you ever think that you would see the day where the a kid from the bright lights of Vegas would be playing the WJC. I'm just waiting for the day when the half of the WJC team is from Sun Belt state, don't laugh, its coming.

World Junior Thoughts and Views

In a couple of hours, the World Junior Championships will be kicking off in Western Canada. During the last couple of years, the tournament has been a must watching at the OTWT home offices, almost becoming a holiday tradition.

After hours of reviewing the rosters, here are the three teams that I think that will medal during the tournament.

Gold: Sweden. Last year the yellow and blue clad gang gave a really good Canada team all that they could handle in the final. This year they take their charge one step further and win the gold and stop Canada's dream of a sixth straight title.

Silver: Canada: Last years team was anchored on defense by Myers and many other that are not back. This year team is not as good as last years.

Bronze: USA. Last year the United States came in thinking that they might be walking out with gold medals. That did not happen and the United States left Ottawa with egg on their face. Last years team featured a bunch of superstars, this years team is a lot different and that will show on the ice. Cam Fowler is going to lead this year. I think that they could be surprise team overall.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all from our family. While everyone is enjoying the presents and food don't forget the great week of sports that are on offer from the bowl games to the World Junior Championships to the great list of Boxing Day fixtures in the Barclays Premier League. So enjoy all.
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They are everywhere

First they sold themselves to people coming over the Delaware Memorial Bridge, now Rutgers is selling themselves to high school students. While I was covering a event at Southern Regional, the home of former Scarlet Knight Clark Harris, I noticed a Rutgers poster on the wall of the gym. The poster said "R You Next" and featured photos of former knights in the league. Its good to see Rutgers getting out in promoting themselves.
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