Bye weeks are a luxury. They are supposed to happen once every four months. So what team benefits more from this bye week and what team is on their Facebook saying, “I can’t wait for this Sunday.”

The most valuable thing for the Patriots is that Grankowski can rest. While he is not expected to practice until the Super Bowl, he will play. At the very least he can be used as a decoy.

Brady also has a week to reflect. I don’t know if anyone can stop a determined Brady who is pissed at himself for his last game. Brady and Belichick only have four losses after a bye week, but two of them came in the playoffs. But I think the two of them will sit down, watch some tape, and come out with some fire power.

On the other hand, the Giants were playing their best football and the bye week may only cool them off.

The Giants are riding the high horse after there fourth straight elimination game win, including their game against Dallas. So now they have a break. This could have a serious dent on the confidence that is flowing through Manning and his players.

Coughlin needs to make sure that his players are prepared and focused. They have been riding a high all the way into the Super Bowl and, with that possibly gone, who knows what team will show up.

In the end the bye week helps the Patriots. They are the ones limping into the Super Bowl after a lucky miss, and needed to refocus.

Weekly show about the Montreal Canadiens and the rest of the NHL. This week’s show will airs today at 5pm ET and is hosted by Chris G, Reggie, and Erica.

We will be talking about today’s game between the Habs and the Caps. We will be joined by Harry Hawkings from RockTheRed.net . We are looking forward for your phone calls!

We promise that you will get more then the 15 seconds you get from traditional talk radio to voice your opinion.

Phone: 1-877-455-4945
email: habs.360@hotmail.com

Click here to listen to this week’s show.

Follow me on twitter www.twitter.com/chrisg1980

If ever there was a goaltender that personified the stereotype that goalies are a different breed:moody, superstitious, and routine oriented, it would be Ed Belfour. His quirks, combined with his undying work ethic and passion to succeed, made him a Stanley Cup champion and one of the game’s greats – and recently a member of the Hockey Hall Of Fame.

While other goaltenders his age were being drafted in to the NHL and spending their days in the CHL, the un-drafted Belfour spent his junior years with the Winkler Flyers of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League. At the age of 21, he moved on to the NCAA and lead the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux to a national championship. Finally, someone would take notice and the Chicago Blackhawks signed the free agent Belfour in 1987, though he spent the better part of the next two seasons playing with their minor league affiliate Saginaw Hawks of the IHL.

The Eagle would take the league by storm with the Blackhawks in 1990. He captured the Calder, the Vezina, and was named to the NHL’s 1st All-Star Team. His Hawks were ousted by the Minnesota North Stars in round one that year, but Eddie would take his Hawks all the way to the Cup Final the following year. They lost four straight to Mario Lemieux and the Penguins in a series that saw every game except one won by just one goal. Regular season success was no problem for Belfour, but playoff success seemed to be hard to come by and naturally questions began to arise. Could he win the big one ?

Despite his successes and accolades league wide, Belfour fell out of favor with the Hawks – as they did with him too during the 1996-97 season, and he would be traded to the San Jose Sharks. His play seemed to be on a down slide and he would become a UFA in the summer. Meanwhile, the Dallas Stars seemed to be just one or two pieces away from greatness. Andy Moog had been the Stars goaltender since the move to Dallas and it seemed an improvement at the position was a dire need. Bob Gainey would take a chance on Ed Belfour and he would not be disappointed. Belfour took the Stars from good to great, helping them capture their first ever President’s Trophy in 1998. With a 1.88 GAA and a .916 SV%, his numbers were incredible and the improvement in goal was obvious. His popularity in Dallas was through the roof and Reunion Arena was filled with chants of ” Eddie ! Eddie ! Eddie ! ” several times per game.

Belfour was huge for the Stars on the run to their first Stanley Cup as he bettered Grant Fuhr, Patrick Roy, and Dominek Hasek on the way. He posted a 1.67 GAA and a .935 SV% in the playoffs that year and stopped 53 of 54 shots in nearly six periods of play to outlast Hasek in that final game. If that doesn’t prove he could win the big one, I don’t know what does. Though Nieuwendyk won the Conn Smythe, that could have just as easily have been The Eagle receiving the honor.

He would come up big for the Stars in the 2000 playoffs as well, of course falling just short. Just like Nieuwendyk, his final season with the Stars would be 2001-02. Belfour would continue to play another four seasons and into his 40′s where he would remain among the league’s best.

Your goaltender is your final line of defense, and Belfour brought a nearly impenetrable  one to the Stars. His will to win, his fiery competitiveness, and his focus made him one of the best goalies ever to play the game.

The Stars will honor him in a pregame ceremony tonight for his recent induction in to hockey’s holy land – the Hall Of Fame.

Remember when Paul Pierce said last year that the New York Knicks and Boston Celtics should not be considered a rivalry?

It is time to lay that statement to bed as the two teams put on a heart stopping classic back and forth game that ended with a Celtics 91-89 win. Paul Pierce continued his excellent play leading all scorers with 30 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists. Kevin Garnett scored 15 and grabbed 8 rebounds with one of those rebounds giving him his 10,000th career defensive board.

The fourth quarter of this game saw the Celtics rally behind Pierce and Ray Allen who had 9 of his 14 in the quarter. Both teams played sloppy down the stretch and tempers flared on multiple calls from the referees. Boston thought they had the game in hand when Pierce nailed a 3 with the shot clock winding down that would have gave the Celtics a 93-89 lead with 14 seconds remaining. Upon further review the call was overturned (rightfully so) and Boston’s lead was reduced to 90-89 giving the Knicks possession.

Landry Fields missed a wide open corner three, Pierce corralled the board and was promptly fouled making one of two pushing the lead to 91-89.

Coach D’Antoni, who has been under heavy fire for the Knicks recent slippage, head scratchingly inserted Steve Novak into the game on the Knicks’ final possession with 4 seconds left to play. Naturally Novak, who hadn’t played a minute in the game up to that point, got the final shot and missed an off balance three fading to his left in the corner sealing the Celtics comeback victory.

Carmelo Anthony lead the Knicks with 26 points, Tyson Chandler double doubled with 20 points and 11 rebounds, and A’mare Stoudemire also chipped in 16 points and 11 rebounds.  Nevertheless it was Novak who attempted the final shot.

If you would have told the Celtics that Novak would be taking the game winning shot for the Knicks, I am sure you would have heard a collective “Please and thank you!”.

The Knicks have now lost 11 of  their last 13 games inexplicably and fall to 8-15 on the season.

Boston limited New York to just 34 points in the second half and improved to 12-10 on the season. Lost in the commotion of this game was the return of Rajon Rondo. The Celtics point guard had missed 8 straight games with a lingering wrist injury but gutted out 34 minutes tonight in his return.

This renewed rivalry will resume on March 4 when the two teams meet again.

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/7537208/nfl-adding-more-thursday-games-schedule-commissioner-roger-goodell-says

Things are getting ugly in Montreal. This has been a nightmare of the season for the Canadiens, and frankly, it seems that just when you think it can’t get any worse, it always does. The problems with the team are well documented, so I don’t want to waste your time giving my opinion on why this team is not performing. In fact, rather than harp on negatives, I prefer to look at how they can make the best out of this bad situation.

In a nutshell, the organization needs to start thinking about the future, and not about how they can maybe squeak into the playoffs and get run over by New York, Boston, Philly or Pittsburgh. It’s not going to happen. Even if it only took 92 points to make it in, that would mean the Habs would have to go 21-7-3 the rest of the way. This team is simply not good enough to pull that off.

Now that we got that out of the way, here is my 10-point plan for the remainder of the season, which would hopefully act as the starting point for a successful 2012-13 season.

1 – Trade Andrei Kostitsyn

Do we need to look at TSN’s list again of teams looking for a top 6 forward? Kostitsyn has his critics, but he has a great skill set, he has good size and he can put the puck in the net. Would be an attractive rental for a playoff team, and the Habs could potentially acquire a decent prospect in return.

2 – Trade Hal Gill

Gill notoriously elevates his game come playoff time, and there would be no shortage of interest should he be made available. With the demand for defensemen high and the supply low, perhaps the Habs could squeeze out a second round pick for Gill.

3 – Trade Travis Moen

Moen has a Stanley Cup ring, plays with jam and is a very capable third line shutdown winger that can chip in with some offense. He is yet another player that would be in high demand should he be made available. Like Gill, the possibility of acquiring a second round pick in return for Moen is not unreasonable.

4 – Don’t trade Tomas Plekanec

Not that this is rumored or anything, but with the number of teams looking to acquire help at the center ice position, I have to think teams will be calling Montreal to check on his availability. This is the kind of move that should be made in the offseason (I believe they should explore it in the offseason), not right now.

5 – Keep Louis Leblanc in the NHL for the remainder of the season

The priority now should be development for next year, and I feel it is important that the Canadiens start defining a role for Leblanc going forward, so that they know where they can pencil hm into the lineup at the start of next season.

6 – Call up Aaron Palushaj from the AHL

Palushaj, the player Montreal got in return for Matt D’Agostini, has never really gotten a real chance to showcase his skill at the NHL level. He is a point per game player on a bad Hamilton team, has tons of speed and has good vision. Use the rest of the season to play Palushaj in the top 9 and see if he figures into Montreal’s plans for next year.

7 – Announce that Andrei Markov will miss the rest of the year

I doubt this will happen, which is more a testament to the stubbornness of Pierre Gauthier than anything. His famous words: “ca progresse bien”, which translated means “he is progressing well”. There is no point in risking further injury to Markov; the goal should be to have him healthy and ready to go for the 2012-13 season.

8 – Re-sign Carey Price

Want a way to make your fans happy? Re-sign your franchise player to a long-term (4-6 years) deal. What better time to do it than when the team is struggling.

9 – #FailForNail or #FailForMikhail

Ok, I don’t actually mean trying to lose so that they can draft Nail Yakupov or Mikhail Grigorenko. What I mean is if you get rid of your expiring contracts and you turn your attention towards the development of your young players (i.e. getting them more ice time), naturally the team will continue to fall in the standings. This will result in the franchise getting their highest draft pick since Carey Price at #5 overall in 2005.

10 – Ownership should make a decision NOW if they plan on firing Pierre Gauthier, and if that’s the case, do it NOW and put an interim GM in place.

The Canadiens should absolutely turn their attention to next season, and that means if ownership does not envision Mr. Gauthier retaining his role as General Manager for the 2012 offseason, he should not be the one calling the shots as the February 27 trade deadline approaches.

Let’s say Woody Allen and Jiminy Glick matched up against Conan O’brien and Richard Kiel in a 2-on-2 pick-up game.  One would expect the taller pair to run away with the victory 9 out of 10 times.  Last night against the Jazz, it wasn’t Glick and Allen but Monta Ellis and Stephen Curry that went against all odds and took over the game despite the presence of Al Jefferson and Paul Milsap.

History in the NBA has shown that size is important when chasing relevancy and of course, a championship.  Take a look at the last 10-15 years and consider the success of Tim Duncan and the Spurs, Hakeem and the Rockets, Shaq and the Lakers.  I hate to take some merit away from a guy like Iverson, but the 2001 finals was a tough gig for him with an aging Mutombo and an underwhelming Todd MacCulloch trying to prevent Shaq from averaging less than 33 per game.  Lastly, the Magic had no business being in the 2009 NBA finals without a guy like Dwight manning the paint.

Dating back to the years when Cookie Monster was my hero and I was filling up my Huggies 5 times per day, the Celtics needed McHale, the Lakers needed Kareem, and the Pistons needed Rodman and Lambieer.    

There’s a reason that the Warriors overpaid for 7-footer, Kwame Brown, and had to sign journeyman, Earl Barron, after Brown tore his pectoral muscle.  There’s a reason why they are giving an undersized Ekpe Udoh so many minutes at center.  They understand the philosophy of a winning team, which encompasses a dominant center.  There’s still a gaping hole at center and I don’t think Biedrins, Udoh, or Barron are the answer, which explains the rumors of Ellis slouching on the trading block over the summer.

Although the ambiguously dynamic duo of Curry and Ellis was successful last night in a win over the surging Jazz, the Warriors will continue to try to squeeze juice out of a raisin at the center position with the trade deadline fast approaching and not much to pick at on the free agent market. 

Woody needs to be paired with Conan and Glick with Kiel just like Jefferson and Milsap needed Earl Watson and Devin Harris last night.   Would the movie Twins have been half as funny if Arnold Schwarzenegger’s long lost twin was Jean-Claude Van Damme and not a butterball like Danny Devito?

I don’t think the Warriors have given up on Ellis and Curry but history speaks much louder than the present situation.  With Harris (hamstrung) and Watson (ankle sprain) sitting out last night’s game, D-League special, Jamaal Tinsley was asked to take the point but doesn’t have the speed anymore to cover Ellis and Curry.

As beat writers and analysts have been screaming this year, ‘The Warriors need to get back to their running game’, they may have the right idea.  The Warriors ran the Jazz out of the gym last night, scoring 71 points in the second half and took good care of the ball with only 8 turnovers. 

The Warriors get the Kings tomorrow, which could produce another high scoring affair that will hopefully be in favor of the Warriors.

After this past weeks midweek league games, the race for the league title, Champion’s League spots, and Europa League have blown wide open. U.S.A’s Landon Donovan was a huge part in the shock 1-0 victory over Manchester City, as he provided the assist to newly transferred Darron Gibson. The other surprise’s this week was The Gunners tie to bottom of the table Bolton Wanderers, and Chelsea’s tie to giant killers Swansea. The rest of the clubs currently fighting within all came out victorious in their recent fixtures including a 2-0 victory for Manchester United over Stoke City, Tottenham 3-1 over Wigan, Newcastle 2-0 against a struggling Blackburn side, and surging Liverpool 3-1 over Wolverhampton.

With both Manchester clubs at 54 points and 5 points ahead of third place Tottenham, one can only assume that the race for the premiership has almost dwindled down to the rival teams. There is no doubt that Tottenham can make a run, but with the United and City are playing I cannot see both teams dropping 5 points while Hotspurs make a flawless run to jump both clubs. With that being said I believe that those three clubs have definitely locked their place for a Champions League spot. Chelsea are clinging on to the fourth spot currently, but despite not dropping full points as of late, their performances have struggled. Their defense is aging and often are not consistent, Juan Mata started off hot but has recently cooled off, there is the Fernando Torres situation (which I feel differently about), and where have the likes of Malouda, Drogba (yes, I am aware of the ANC), Meireles, and Kalou, who were all vital to the club last season (not Meireles) have been relatively useless. I don’t see them being in the top 4 at the end of the season, 5th is probable, but I see them getting beat out.

Arsenal and Newcastle are also two clubs that I see not being a part of the top 4. Newcastle started off hot, but plagued by injury and the loss of a few players to the African Nations Cup, they have dropped off. With that being said, I think Newcastle are just a few players short of being part of the elite group of clubs. Give them a season or two, and if they can make the right moves, hang on to Demba Ba and Tim Krul, I can see the Toon’s being fierce in the EPL. Arsenal are in a similar situation. They have been hot in the mid-season with RVP being arguably the best player in the league. But a few injuries here and there and another big blow to future hopeful Jack Wilshere, the Gunners are currently sitting in 7th and I don’t see them moving out of that spot. Which would bet their first time since the 95-96 campaign that Arsenal did not find their name in the Champion’s league qualification.

Finally this brings me to the current sixth place team, Liverpool. Liverpool have ridden an emotional roller coaster so far. Showing signs of brilliance and horrid 90 minute displays. However, I believe this is going to be the season that Liverpool get themselves back into the Champions League since the 08-09′ season. Why? well for one Steven Gerrard has certainly boosted the squad and trouble maker Luiz Suarez is also finally set to return this upcoming week. Andy Carroll is starting to find his feet, and players such as Charlie Adam, Craig Bellamy, and Dirk Kuyt have all been playing exceptionally well this season. On paper the Reds have all the right players to be extremely successful, and I believe they are starting to put themselves in the right form to reclaim their fame.

Final season prediction’s:

1. Manchester United

2. Manchester City

3. Tottenham

4. Liverpool

5 Chelsea

6. Newcastle

7. Arsenal

Every year you hear about how hundreds of millions of dollars are wagered on the Super Bowl.  With the last football game of the season upon us, we thought we would post a great site for wagering on this years Super Bowl.

Pinnacle Sports has been in the industry for over 20 years and has been a big supporter of this site.  Here is the site link if you want to sign up and put a few bucks down on the BIG game!

http://www.pinnaclesports.com/information.aspx?id=5566&refer=xleesports

One game left until all teams are back to being undefeated. Good news is that Bills fans can put yet another disappointing season behind them, bad news is that the Bills had another disappointing season. But I won’t go into that today because I’m here to celebrate the 2 teams that made it to the big game….ya right!

It’s tough for me to decide which team I want to lose. Do I want New England to lose because I hate them that much, or would it be better for them to win so Bills fans can say we beat the Super Bowl Champs? On the other hand, do I want New York to lose? I’m constantly haunted by Super Bowl 25 when “WIDE RIGHT” became a household name, but that really wasn’t New Yorks fault was it?Buffalo found a way to lose that game. You got to give New York some love, they beat up on Atlanta, they took out the 15-1 Super Bowl Champs and went into the hostil environment of Candlestick park and stripped San Francisco of a Super Bowl berth. Therefore I will take….

New York 24-20 over the New England Patriots.

Another scenario is that New England wins and Tom Brady and The Hoodie go off into the sunset hand in hand with their Super Bowl rings and never return to the NFL again.

Please take a few minutes and fill out my annual Super Bowl Pool. Enter HERE!

Cheers with beers! Have a great Super Bowl Sunday. Best day of the year.