Thursday, Jan 15

Sens Win 2 in A Row!
The Ottawa Senators have a winning streak! Let the push for the playoffs begin!
Probably not. But if the Sens are ever going to turn their horrible season around, they have to use this momentum to take at least 2 of 3 at home next week vs playoff shoe-ins, the Habs, Caps, and Devils.
Saturday night’s game vs Montreal should be a doozy, assuming the Sens come to play…with this group you never know.

Michel Terrien’s Days Numbered in Pittsburgh?
Get the suspicion that Coach Terrien feels like a parent whose kids don’t listen to him anymore?
The Penguins are growing up and they may be getting tired of Terrien’s authoritative leadership. His hard nosed style seemed like a perfect fit for a young team that needed a strong hand a couple of years ago, but as with a lot of disciplinary coaches, that style grows tiresome to professional athletes after a short while. The Senators were tired of Craig Hartsburgh as soon as he stepped on the ice for his first practice!
The Penguins are flying under the radar as a dissapointment because everybody wants to talk about how bad the Senators are, but if the Penguins continue to putter away in 10th place, expect a coaching change, even though they signed Terrien to an extension before the season.

Michael Farber on Sean Avery
Great piece by Michael Farber on Sean Avery. It was in the Jan.12 issue of SI and can be found in “The Vault” section of the website, cnnsi. Here’ an excerpt;
“Avery was guilty of hockey’s deadliest sin: being a lousy teammate. There can be room for personal agendas in other sports—think Terrell Owens with the Cowboys—but hockey takes a dim view of square pegs in their perfectly rounded holes. The ethos is different. Unlike baseball clubhouses, where players sit facing their stalls, or football locker rooms, where players are segregated by position, a hockey dressing room is designed so all players face toward the center, gazing at one another. Avery did not look at his teammates in Dallas. Between periods he would often sit by himself in the hallway, headphones on, a citizen of Planet Sean. When Avery was in the dressing room, according to Stars veteran Mike Modano, he was often on his phone, discussing a potential book deal or his movie project, a romantic comedy based on the life of the only NHL player to spend his summer as an intern at Vogue. (Avery handled a variety of assignments including assisting on fashion shoots and “guest editing” on mensvogue.com during his time at the magazine last year.)”

Steelers/Eagles This Weekend
Sounds risk free, but I think these teams advance. I’ve been picking the Steelers since week 10, and the Eagles are playing the best football in the NFL. The Steelers are too tough and battle tested after that grueling schedule. The Eagles beat up on the champs on their own turf last week. Hopefully it will be a better game then the 15-6 Eagles victory when the two teams played in October.

Steelers/Ravens Should be Classic
This game is going to be great. They may not combine for 20 points but it will be flat out “smash mouth” football. The weather should be freezing and the crowd will be crazy! Baltimore will walk in there with all that cocky swagger. Can’t wait!