MDPucks

I'm not talking about how those teams draw at home. I'm talking about how they draw on the road. How many sports or hockey fans have you ever heard say, "OOOOHH! The Columbus Blue Jackets are in town! I've got to see them!" Now before you say Rick Nash is a heck of a player, which he is, how many sports fans even know who Rick Nash really is? You can say the same with any of those expansion teams which I listed including Tampa that has Lecavelier and St. Louis. Sure Minnesota sells out and Columbus draws well (not as well as before) but that doesn't mean they're great draws when they go on the road. Minnesota's problem to me is their nickname is brutal and draws, "What the heck is a wild?" type comments so there's no juice when they go on the road. The NHL expanded as a band-aid to put some pre-lockout expansion-fee cash in the pockets of the owners who were losing mad money thanks to the Rangers and Islanders overpaying for flat-liners like Valeri Kamenski and Alexi Yashin and bumping up the market for good players. The sport has over-expanded which has resulted in dillution of the talent pool and worse attendence. What the NHL should consider are holiday tournaments which are done in college hockey. How about NJ, NYR, NYI, and a wild card do a Metro Tournament? How about PHI, PIT, WSH, and a wild card do a Mason-Dixon Tournament? How about an All-Canada Tournament?

The problem isn't the schedule. Its that the schedule brings teams that nobody gives a sh!t about. The only post-expansion 92 teams that anybody shows up to watch play on the road are San Jose and Ottawa. Who cares about Atlanta, Carolina, Florida, Tampa, Columbus, Nashville, and a Minnesota team with the name "Wild"? Part of the problem here in DC with the Caps attendence is nobody cares about any of these teams in the Southeast division, especially on weeknights. They'd rather see the old Patrick Division and Canadian teams. As a neutral Devils fan the only SE Division team I'd watch play the Caps is Carolina. You'll never be able to get Detriot out of the West because that leaves Chicago as the only Original 6 franchise out there. If I were king: Northeast (Beleavau-Orr Trophy) -------------------------------------- Boston, Montreal, Toronto, Buffalo, Ottawa, Columbus Atlantic (Arbor-Lemieux Trophy) -------------------------------------- New Jersey, NY Islanders, NY Rangers, Philadelphia, Washington, Carolina, Tampa Bay Central (Hull-Howe Trophy) -------------------------------------- Chicago, Detroit, St. Louis, Dallas, Minnesota, Colorado, Atlanta Pacific (Gretzky Trophy) -------------------------------------- Phoenix, LA, Anaheim, San Jose, Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary

That's one hell of a pass by Langs.

Marty playing like he's had too much cough medicine. That turnover in front didn't help but that was brutal. Offense actually looks diecent tonight too. Looks like they'll need 5 on Turco tonight though.

I'd hate to be Kyle Boeller and the Ravens paper-mache offensive line this week after the Pats get to chew on this film for a week.

That was a nice check-off by both Brady and Gaffney who slid into the hole left by the blitzer.

Finally Feeley throws a panic int when the Eagles were driving. Although the pocket was collapsing a little the Eagles had picked up that blitz too.

All is right in the world again as Maroney takes it in. Pats up 31-27 with 7:20 left. What the Eagles have done is shown the NFL what you can do against the Pats when you have very good offensive line play and your QB doesn't sh!t a brick the second he goes on the field. Feeley has stood tall in the pocket and he's been given confidence by his offensive line. That's allowed him to pick on the Pats secondary.

Most Eagles fans have been saying that for 5 years.

Pats offensive and defensive lines got whipped by the Eagles in the first half. It wasn't like the Eagles were doing anything special either. That being said the Patriots have gone to plan B and are now running the ball effectively with Maroney setting up play actions and screens (which they killed the Eagles on in the Super Bowl 3 years ago). Eagles get a huge break as Moss is flagged for a phantom offensive pass interference in the endzone on a TD. Then Gostkowski misses a mid-range FG. Edit: Funny, now ABC's graphics replay is saying the FG was good. Wonder if this will be a competition committee consideration next year putting some sort of sensor in the ball with the Cle-Bal screw-up last week and this.

That Brodeur guy... He's kinda good. End 2 3-1 Good guys.

There goes Jagr's Lady Byng in one period. Ugh, empty net and whiff.

New Jersey is incapable of putting 2 passes together. Just play puck pressure PK and its all over for the Devils. Henrik Huge Pads just gets to watch the futility. Big save by Marty.

Worse defense by Brookbank. 2 d-men on one Ranger in front leaving the other wide open for a tap in.

In the Boston area the Lowell Sun has a Trentonian-sized reputation as a third rate newspaper. Tsongas Arena is simply a white elephant that won't be filled by the Devils, UML, or any other hockey team because there are better arenas and there's too much hockey in the area between the Bruins, 12 colleges, and AHL teams in Worcester, Manchester, and Providence.

All 12 people that get NFL Network will enjoy that one. If a football game happens and nobody is watching... Did it really happen???

Belicheck is a disciple of Parcells in playing the "us against them" angle against the media. I remember a famous Giants Parcells press conference where he was asked a question about the Simms-Hostettler QB controversy and he responded, "That's why I call you guys [press] commies. Subversive from within!" The big difference between Parcess and Belicheck is that Parcells has that Don Rickles personallity which the press ate up because it gave them quotes and headlines. Belicheck has Al Gore's personallity, although I will say he's much more open during his weekly Monday radio sitdown on WEEI.

How does the NFL send a rookie head ref's crew to the biggest regular season game of the season? Where's Ed Hocculi and his 25 inch pythons of pain??? Question now is can the Colts beat a physical San Diego or Pittsburgh in the playoffs then go on the road to frozen Foxboro and have enough gas left in the tank. That's what killed the Pats last year was the San Diego playoff game taking such a toll left them no gas in the second half of the AFC Championship game. Presumable the Patriots will have a much easier and one-demensional Kansas City, Cleveland, Baltimore, or Buffalo type team as their first round opponent.

Detroit was never "hockeytown" to start with. If the Bruins ever got their head out of their ass Boston and the Twin Cities would be the best two U.S. hockey cities.