Weekend Recap

What a potentially devestating weekend I almost had on my hands.  In this case it wasn't the third time's the charm but rather the third day's the charm.

As posted below, Friday night i ended up at The Rock for the Devils vs Avalanche game and predicted a 4-2 outcome.  I was close, the final ended up being 3-2, however the Devils were on the wrong side (again) of the score.  For a team to have outshot thier oppostion 41-22 and only manage 2 goals is pathetic.  With so much offensive power on the bench, this is a team that should regularly be putting at least three in the back of the net each time out.  But okay, I get it, they're in an early season swoon.  Great thing about sports is the ability to play the next day and atone for your previous loss.  Or not...

Saturday the Devils hosted the Boston Bruins and nicely lost (again) by a score of 4-1.  What the f&ck is going on with this team?!?!  I know there are some rookies on defense and a newbie here or there on the offensive front but come on now, this is almost pathetic.  At least the team has the next few days off which will maybe refresh them, let them forget the first six games of the season and start fresh.  I would write some more about this game but I wasn't around to watch it as I was...

Down in Philadelphia for the New York Red Bulls' first trip to PPL Park to take on the Philadelphia Union.  The Red Bulls lost the match 2-1 but remain in first place in the Eastern Conference.  The Red Bulls close out their regular season this Thursday vs New England Revolution and all they need to do is win to clinch their second ever Eastern Conference Championship (first was back in 2000).

So entering Sunday I was a solid 0-3 through the weekend and I can say that I wasn't feeling the most confident with the Jets game, away in Denver.  Something in my gut told me this team would lay down, fall flat against a team it is clearly better than and walk into their Bye Week at 4-2 and right in the think of things in the AFC East.  And for the most of the game, I was correct.  Sanchez decided that it was the right time to throw some interceptions, the offensive line didn't want to block for LT or Shonn Greene.  The defense dared the Broncos to try and run on them and that's exactly what happened.  Denver ran for over 100 yards in a game for the first time all season.  Oh, and yes, how can I forget the horrible officiating that took place in the game?  Two OFFENSIVE Pass Interferences called one drive, a phantom Cromartie Pass Interference call, a 15 yarder on Jim Leonard for a helmet to helmet hit. Please.  But then... wait a minute... it's not over, it's not over baby.  Sanchez to Edwards, the Holmes, then Tomlinson.  Soon it all comes down to one play, 4th and 6; Sanchez looks right, looks left, scrambles, and some more before launching it downfield towards Holmes.  As the ball hits the green grass, Jets Nation is finally happy to see the yellow flag on the field!  Defensive Pass Interference!  Jets get the ball on the 2, LT punches in his second score of the day and the Jets move to 5-1, clear control of their division as they walk into their bye.

Not a pretty weekend at all, tough to watch.  But those last few minutes were beautiful.

Letdown

Are you serious?  Really??  What should have been an absolule thrilling victory to open their 2010-11 season instead turned into a pathetic, 1 point, Opening Night performance by the New Jersey Devils.

Get back at it tonight boys.  And get 2 points!

I've seen a championship... Actually, 3 of them

Finally a team that has given me many more good moments than sour ones.  The New Jersey Devils franchise has been one of class, consistency, grace, and wins.  Early on in their existence there were more than a few people who though the team was nothing more than a joke; a rag doll for their neighbors on the other side of the Hudson.  But from 1994 until the present, no no.  That's just not the case.  Three Stanley Cups (1995, 2000, 2003) will quickly change a person's perception. 

My first memories of the Devils were the end of the season and the playoff in 1994.  That year ended in defeat for the Devils, losing in Game 7, at Madison Square Garden, to the Rangers, in OT.  But, that's okay, it happens.  You see, that year marked the rookie season for Martin Brodeur.  The rest is history to be honest.  But something happened the following season.  The Devils became a dominant road team in the playoffs and became the first and only team to win the Stanley Cup by not having home ice advantage in the playoffs; capping off their first Stanley Cup with a four game sweep of the Red Wings.  Two other Stanley Cups followed within the next eight years.

This organization has always been a rock for me when it comes to sports.  I understand that they will not with the Cup every season, I'm not stupid, I know it can't be every year (even though it better happen again soon, I'm getting ansy).  Yet I know that every season they will be competitive, they will play hard, they will make the playoffs, they be exciting, they may dominate, they will play the greatest ever who also happens to be my favorite athlete of all time.  It's a comfort to know all of that.  To have a sense of pride that when you tell someone who your favorite team is, you know in your heart that there is no chance any person can knock them.  The Nets?  Too easy.  The Red Bulls?  Just think of their existence.  Mets?  Haha, oh man.  But not the Devils.  There's nothing there to knock, nothing to step on.

I have no clue how this season will play out.  Signing Ilya Kovalchuk to a long term deal is fantastic because it gives the Devils another legitimate offensive weapon behind Zach Parise.  But will Brodeur lose a step?  Will the roster shrink to much to get under the salary cap?  Will new coach John MacLean be able to win right away?  All of that will be answered shortly... however I have a feeling, I'll be smiling come spring.