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Health & Fitness

The Olympics are here!!!

Men’s Hockey On the Attack

Even though the US Men’s hockey team has yet to arrive in Russia, most hockey analysts expect the US to dominate. In Group A, our stiffest competition will come from home town heroes, Alexander Ovechkin and the Russian National Team. The Russian team although headlined by big NHL names, has 9 players from the Kontinental Hockey League, including former NHL Star Ilya Kovalchuk. From my standpoint it certainly looks as though Russian President Vladimir Putin has given favor to the KHL players, considering they came back to the motherland to play. Our Hometown Hero New Rochelle’s own Kevin Shattenkirk* and team USA start off these games by dueling with Zdeno Chara and the Slovakian team. The Slovaks will be a tough test, even without superstar Marian Gaborik, who is out with a broken collarbone. Marian Hossa will look to mirror the offensive numbers of the late Pavol Demitra who was the overall point’s leader in the 2010 Olympics. Demitra died in the 2011 Yakolev plane crash which killed the entire Lokomotiv Yaroslavi hockey team.

*While Kevin’s NHL biography states his birth place as Greenwich, CT, he played his youth hockey in New Rochelle. I had the pleasure of playing with Kevin and his older brother Keith, when we played for the New Rochelle Lightning Travel Hockey Team.

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Just Because the Superbowl is over Doesn’t Mean We Can’t Talk Football

Now that National Signing Day is over and the young high school football players have made their big decisions, we can now focus on those players who have declared for the NFL Draft. Today the NFL announced the invitees to the combine, which include Johnny Football, Taj Boyd, Jadaveon Clowney, Teddy Bridgewater, Blake Bortles and Taylor Lewan. It is truly the year of the Quarterback, with so many big names declaring.  I will run down what I think the Top Five picks will be:

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  1. The Houston Texans select … Blake Bortles, Quarterback, Central Florida

    It’s no surprise that Matt Schaub is not the answer in Houston. The Texans are missing a big time Quarterback and Blake Bortles could be the missing link. Houston coach Bill O’Brien is known to be a “Quarterback Whisperer,” and could have this big pocket passer throwing down field in no time.

  • The St Louis Rams select … Jake Matthews, Offensive Tackle, Texas Tech

    It looks like the Rams are sticking with Sam Bradford, thus negating the need for a Quarterback in the first round. Considering Bradford was injured this past season, picking Jake Matthews is a logically choice. Matthews can play tackle on either side of the Quarterback and will be the perfect complement to former first round pick Jake Long at the other tackle position.

  • The Jacksonville Jaguars select … Teddy Bridgewater, Quarterback, Louisville

    Bridgewater is a franchise Quarterback , and like the Houston Texans, the Jaguars need one. Bridgewater’s biggest strength is his ability to read the defense, he can either find the best check-down option in the air or get the yardage with his feet. Bridgewater is a Cam Newton like player, minus the cannon for an arm.

  • The Cleveland Browns select … Johnny Manziel, Quarterback, Texas A&M

    In the media, the Browns have talked about picking Johnny Football as their franchise Quarterback and I have two theories about this strategy. One is that this a diversionary tactic, maybe forcing one of the picks before them picking Johhny Football in a panic or forcing someone to trade up to grab him. My second theory is that they actually pick Manziel, culminating a bad season with another bonehead decision. I think Johnny Football will have a tough go in the NFL, being not only undersized, but also never playing against great defensive competition.

  • The Oakland Raider select … Sammy Watkins, Wide Reciever, Clemson or Jadaveon Clowney, Defensive End, South Carolina

  • What I want the Oakland Raider to do and what I think they will do are completely different. I want the Raiders to pick Sammy Watkins the dynamic Wide out from Clemson. He would made a great complement to the current Quarterback Matt McGloin, who is a big armed pocket passer. What I think the Raiders will do, is pick Jadaveon Clowney, who has all the characteristics of a typical Raider. The big and fast Defensive End from South Carolina, has that nasty attitude that is closely associated with the Raiders and their fans. Clowney has had much controversy surrounding him this season as he reported to spring practice over weight and out of shape. His performance in the combine will determine if he stays in the Top Five.  

     

    Come back next week, as I breakdown the US performances in the Olympics, break down some college basketball and continue to Mock Draft

     

     

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