Archive for the ‘hockey’ Category

Let’s call it Wednesday

Posted: March 29, 2017 by Sports Time Radio in basketball, hockey, sports, Sports Time Radio, Uncategorized
0

With nine games left in their regular season the Cleveland Cavaliers find themselves out of the top spot in the Eastern Conference. Now the Cavaliers trail the Boston Celtics by just a 1/2 game for the #1 seed, but when was the last time a team with LeBron James hasn’t controlled the top spot. After winning last seasons championship and making the trip to the finals in 2015; the Cavaliers have played a lot of basketball. Also don’t forget that this is LeBron James’ 6th straight trip to the NBA finals. There are a lot of questions surrounding this Cleveland team and you have to wonder if this is the year that they don’t get out of the Eastern Conference and make the NBA Finals. Now even with all of the complaining he does you have to figure that James will find an extra gear and get the Cavaliers into the finals again, but you never know. Who could be the Cavaliers toughest challenger.

Right now the Cavaliers would get a 1st round match up against the Indiana Pacers. It would be difficult to see Indiana or any of the bottom tier teams who will make the Eastern Conference playoffs beating the Cavaliers in a 7 game series. Now if the Cavaliers are the #2 seed they could draw a very tough match up against the Washington Wizards in the 2nd round. Now even though the Celtics are the team with the better record I believe that the Wizards are the team that could be able to knock the Cavaliers off. Washington has one of the best back courts in the NBA with John Wall at point guard and Bradley Beal as the shooting guard. They have a couple of solid bug men in Center Marcin Gortat and Forward Markieff Morris. The Wizards other starter is Otto Porter Jr. who is currently the 3rd best 3-point shooter in the NBA; percentage wise. Now Wall can be that classic get to the basket type of point guard and it seems as though the Cavaliers haven’t found a rim protector to stop a driving point guard. Are the Wizards built to beat the Cavaliers and possible represent the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals.

So say the Cavaliers get into the Eastern Conference finals where they meet the Boston Celtics. Could the Celtics be the team to knock the Cavaliers out of the playoffs? The biggest thing I’ve heard the expert say about the Celtics is they can’t win because their best player is their point guard Isaiah Thomas. Now Thomas is clearly the Celtics best player and averages 13 more points per game then any of player on the team, but there are some solid pieces around Thomas. The NBA has shifted away from dominant big men, but Al Horford is still a solid NBA player and has added a 3-point shot to his game. Horford makes 35.5% from behind the 3-point line. Now a healthy Avery Bradley would be a big, big plus for the Celtics not only against the Cavaliers, but for the entire playoffs. Bradley has played in just 49 games for the Celtics this season. Bradley did play 31 minutes on Sunday in the Celtics 112-108 win over the Miami Heat. The Celtics face the Milwaukee Bucks tonight, so we’ll have to see if or how many minutes Bradley plays tonight. Could you see the Celtics beating the Cavaliers ion a playoff series?

Now over in the Western Conference it appears to be a three team race to the NBA Finals. The Golden State Warriors have the #1 seed with the San Antonio Spurs 2 1/2 games behind them in the standings; then there’s the Houston Rockets in 3rd nine games behind the Warriors. Golden State would get the Portland Trailblazers in the 1st round. San Antonio would face the Memphis Grizzlies in the 1st round while Houston would draw the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 1st round. Do you have an upset in one of these three possible opening round playoff series? If all three teams where to advance the Warriors would gat the Jazz or the Clippers in the 2nd round while the Spurs and the Rockets would face off against each other in the 2nd round. So who would be the better match up for Golden State in the Western Conference finals; the Spurs or the Rockets? It’s a tough call to make, but do you have either the Spurs or the Rockets getting past the Warriors in a Western Conference finals match up. The Warriors have also been to back to back NBA Finals; so they’ve played a lot of basketball. Remember though the Warriors are expecting Kevin Durant to return from his injury for the playoffs. Will Durant be the spark Golden State needs to return to a 3rd consecutive NBA Finals.

I have a feeling that the NBA wants to see Golden State against Cleveland for the third year in a row. Now I’m not going to say it, but I think we all know that the NBA has a way of getting the teams they want in the finals.

The Carolina Hurricanes beat the Detroit Red Wings 4-1 last night in the NHL. Now most people might look at this and think it’s just another NHL game and maybe it was, but with this loss the Red Wings where eliminated from the playoffs with this loss. This will be the first time since the 1989-90 season that the Red Wings won’t be taking part in the NHL playoffs; ending a 25 year run. The 25 season streak had been the longest active playoff streak in sports. Now that the Red Wings streak is over the San Antonio Spurs have the longest active playoff streak at  seasons. The Boston Bruins hold the record for most consecutive seasons of making the playoffs at 29. The Bruins made the playoffs from 1967 to 1996. The Chicago Blackhawks had a streak of 28 consecutive seasons of making the playoffs from 1969 to 1997. The Red Wings streak of making the playoffs 25 seasons in a row in tied for 3rd best with the St Louis Blues. The Blues made the playoffs from 1979 to 2004. Will have to see if this is just a one year absence from the playoffs for the Red Wings or if will take them some time to return.

You can listen to Sports Time Radio live on BlogTalkRadio.com or you can find the podcast anytime you want at TuneIn.com

You can find me on Twitter @Burketime

Let’s call it Wednesday

Posted: March 22, 2017 by Sports Time Radio in basketball, hockey, sports, Sports Time Radio, Uncategorized
0

With the NBA regular season almost wrapping up the talk has turned to allowing players to sit out games. This started quite a few years ago when the San Antonio Spurs would let their stars take a game off. I believe pretty much every NBA team has know taken to doing this with their top players. It’s a difficult situation for commissioner Adam Silver to try and navigate, but I remember San Antonio being fined for doing this for a nationally televised game. I don’t truly believe these guys need games off, but there’s no rule against or probably even a way to make a rule against it. This is going to become an issue when it’s starts to hit the NBA in the pocket book. Now they just signed there new television contract about a year ago; so they won’t have to deal with that for a little while, but they will have to deal with the companies that buy their commercial time. On Saturday the nationally televised game was the Los Angeles Clippers hosting the Cleveland Cavaliers. This was the first of back to back games for the Cavaliers as they where facing the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday. Cavaliers coach Tyron Lue decided that LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love needed the night off against the Clippers; so they would be rested to face the worst team in the Western Conference the Lakers. What I’m always confused by when teams do this is why do they all have to sit out the same game? Couldn’t one or maybe two of them sat out Saturday’s game against the Clippers and then the ones that played Saturday could sit out Sunday’s game. Now the Cavaliers aren’t the only team to do this, but they’re the latest team and it seems as someone may have finally noticed. Now some how the NBA got ESPN along with TNT to greatly over pay for the rights to broadcast their games in this last contract. If you’re building your primetime line up around an NBA game your going to need those top players who are healthy to be in uniform and play. If the television provider isn’t happy and then the ratings drop and the advertisers aren’t happy; what do you think this is going to lead to? If the money from the television contract comes way down the next time the deal comes up and if the advertising revenues come down do to the ratings dropping; how do you think the players will feel about smaller salaries? The NBA salary cap took a huge jump this season because of that new television deal; so it could just as easily come down if the next television deal isn’t so lucrative. It will be interesting to see if the commissioner will be able to work with the owners and the players union to come up with a solution for this issue. Teams aren’t doing anything against the rules by keeping these players out, but if a fan from a non-playoff team has bought a ticket to see one of these top guys play and they sit out because they’re resting it’s a huge disappointment for that fan and there’s a chance you’ve just lost a ticket buyer. Now a team can easily cover this by saying the player has a minor injury and he’s taking that game off, but I think a fan would rather hear that then dealing with a millionaire not playing because he needs his rest. To me it’s a bit of a joke that these guys can’t play because they need rest. It’s an game season and players can’t seem to handle that. You would think there are plenty of blow outs during an NBA season where you can find the time to give these players the rest they need. Maybe I’m just to old to understand how guys who get to play a game for a living and are very, very well paid to do it can’t handle an 82 game schedule. What would these players do if they actually had to work five days a week like most of the fans who go to their games and watch them on television do. Maybe there’s someone out there who can this explain this to me. If you can please feel free to leave it in the comments; I need the help.

During the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-1 win over the Buffalo Sabres last night Sidney Crosby came up behind Ryan O’Reilly and put his stick between his legs and pulled it up. It was an incredibly dirty play and while the cameras caught it the referees didn’t and there was no penalty called. Now Crosby is one of the NHL’s top stars, but after this play you have to ask the question; should he be suspended? The video is already online; so you can take a look at it and judge for yourself, but I think I’d like to see the NHL give him a one game suspension. I don’t think that’s over reacting and on the other side of it if the NHL does nothing will people see this as favoritism because of the name involved. I’ve heard different experts and writers weigh in on this and the majority of then believe there should be no penalty at all for Crosby’s actions. I wonder how they would be feeling this morning if it was O’Reilly who did that to Crosby. The Penguins have 10 games left in the regular season. Pittsburgh also has 101 points and have clinched a playoff spot. If the NHL did decide to suspend Crosby for just one game they might actually be doing Pittsburgh a favor by giving Crosby a day off before the Penguins try to defend their Stanley Cup championship. Go out and hunt the video down online and take a look at it. Then please feel free to leave your opinion in the comments. Do you think Crosby should be suspended or should the NHL just fine him or is just letting this go the right thing to do.

You can listen to Sports Time Radio live on BlogTalkRadio.com or you can find the podcast any time you want at TuneIn.com

You can find me on Twitter @Burketime

How was your week

Posted: March 4, 2017 by Sports Time Radio in hockey, sports
Tags: , , , ,
1

Eight months ago the Montreal Canadiens and the Nashville Predators swapped All-Star defensemen. The Canadiens received Shea Weber and in return they sent P.K. Subban to Nashville. On Thursday Subban made his first return to the city of Montreal. Subban spent the first 6 seasons wearing a Canadiens sweater and the team played a tribute video for him that brought him to tears. Subban made two All-Star teams (2013 and 2015) and won the Norris trophy with Montreal in 2013 and the video was a nice touch. The Canadiens did go on to win the game 2-1 in Subban’s return visit. Also something with this trade that doesn’t seem to happen to often is that it’s benefitted both teams.

It’s the home stretch in the NHL regular season as most teams have 20 games or less left to play. With teams looking to find there way into the playoffs it’s a tough time of the season for a team to suffer an injury. The Buffalo Sabres who are trying to make a playoff push and find themselves 4 points out of the final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference just suffered a big loss due to injury. Kyle Okposo who is the Sabres leader in points this season suffered an injury to his ribs and is expected to miss both of the Sabres games this weekend and possibly more. Being that it’s an NHL injury there isn’t a lot of information out there about Okposo’s injury. Okposo had 2 assists in Buffalo’s 6-3 win Thursday night over the Arizona Coyotes before being injured. Okposo was the team’s top free agent addition last summer and leads Buffalo with 43 points. Okposo has scored 19 goals and has 24 assists in 63 games this season for the Sabres.

The Sabres first game without Okposo is Saturday night when they’ll host the 29-26-8 Tampa Bay Lighting before they head to Pittsburgh for a Sunday match up against the 39-16-8 Penguins. It would be a long shot for the Sabres to make the playoffs as they’d have to jump five teams for that final wild card spot, but Tampa Bay is one of those teams ahead of them in the standings; so a win tonight would at least keep there playoff hopes alive. There’s no actual timetable for Okposo’s return, but the Sabres are hopefully he’ll return for Tuesday nights home game against the 30-26-7 Philadelphia Flyers.

The Chicago Blackhawks also had an injury loss as they placed defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson on injured reserve with an “Upper Body Injury”. Hjalmarsson was on the ice for just 3 minutes in the Blackhawks 6-3 win over the Arizona Coyotes on February 23rd. Hjalmarsson has missed the Blackhawks last three games and is expected to miss Chicago’s game tonight against the 32-23-9 Nashville Predators in Nashville. There is a chance that Hjalmarsson will return for the Blackhawks next set of back to back games. Chicago host the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday March 9th before they head to Detroit to face the Red Wings on Friday March 10th.

While Hjalmarsson isn’t a scoring defenseman having 14 points on the season. Scoring 5 goals on 9 assists, but he averages over 21 minutes of ice time per game for the Blackhawks. That’s the 3rd highest average on the team. Hjalmarsson has played in 60 games for the Blackhawks and is 2nd in the NHL in shot blocks. Hjalmarsson has blocked 156 shots this season and is second to Erik Karlsson of the Ottawa Senators who has 168 shot blocks this season.

Another loss for the Blackhawks was back up goalie Scott Darling who was hurt in practice before last nights game and is expected to miss three weeks. Darling had to fill in for Blackhawks #1 goalie Corey Crawford who was out with an illness last week and won both of his starts, Darling has actual won his last 4 starts in a row and is 16-5-2 as a starter this season. While Darling is out injured the Blackhawks have called up goaltender Jeff Glass from Rockford of the AHL to serve as Crawford’s back up.

Week two of the NASCAR season takes the teams to Atlanta Motor Speedway for the Folds of Honor Quik Trip 500 on Sunday. Kevin Harvick took the pole for Sunday’s race with a qualifying speed of 190.398 m.p.h. Ryan Newman will start 2nd while Kyle Busch starts 3rd, Rickey Stenhouse 4th and Brad Keslowski will start 5th to round out the Top 5. Last week’s winner Kurt Busch will start 13th in Atlanta.

There where some qualifying issues as five teams didn’t clear inspection. Michael McDowell, Cole Whitt, Jeffrey Earnhardt, Derrike Cope and Cody Ware were the five drivers who failed to post an official lap when the 20 minute clock expired; ending the first of three qualifying rounds. Their position in the starting field was determined based on 2016 championship owner points. There where also a couple of teams that just made it out with enough time to get onto the track for qualifying. Team Penske’s (#22) Joey Logano and Stewart-Haas racings (#14) Clint Bowyer just made it. Logano will start 6th while Bowyer will start 25th on Sunday.

In last nights 135-130 win by the Cleveland Cavaliers over the Atlanta Hawks the Cavaliers set a record for the most made 3-pointers in a game with 25. The Cavaliers hit on 25 of the 46 (54.3%) 3-point shots they took against Atlanta. LeBron James led the way with six made 3’s. Kyrie Irving had five made 3’s as part of his game high 43 point night. Channing Frye, Kyle Korver, Richard Jefferson and Derrick Williams all had three 3’s. While Iman Shumpert hit two 3’s.

The Cavaliers broke the record that was just set by the Houston Rockets on December 16th 2016 against the New Orleans Pelicans. It was Korver who hit the 25th and final 3-pointer for the Cavaliers against his former team. Korver spent five seasons with Atlanta before being traded earlier this season to Cleveland.

How long do you think this record will stand? I’m not even sure if it will make it to the end of the regular season which is April 12th. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Rockets regain the record and of course the Golden State Warriors would be a front runner to break this record. Of course with this style of play in the NBA just about any team in the association could break this record on any given night. What team do you think will break this record? and when?

You can listen to the Sports Time Radio podcast in BlogTalkRadio.com or find the podcast any time you want at TuneIn.com

You can find me on Twitter @Burketime

How was your week

Posted: February 25, 2017 by Sports Time Radio in basketball, hockey, sports
Tags: , , , ,
0

The NBA trade deadline was Thursday at 3:00 p.m. Eastern time and while there where some moves made none of the big name players that where rumored to be traded where. After all the talk and b.s. reporting that went on Carmelo Anthony is still with the New York Knicks. Jimmy Butler is still with the Chicago Bulls and Paul George is still with the Indiana Pacers. As it turned out the only superstar that ended up being traded was DeMarcus Cousins and the Sacramento Kings swore up and down that they wouldn’t be dealing him.

Now the rumors on Anthony had cooled greatly as the deadline got closer; so it’s no surprise at all he’s still with the Knicks. There are very few places to even try and deal Anthony and with his no-trade clause he doesn’t have to accept any type of deal. Once there was no deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers there was talk about the Los Angeles Clippers and even some rumors of a deal with the Boston Celtics, but in the end none of those happened. Maybe if Kevin Love was healthy there would of been more movement on an Anthony deal. Now I guess we’ll have to listen to the rumors heading into the off season.

Now the Bulls made a deal sending Taj Gibson and Doug McDermott to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Cameron Payne, Joffrey Lauvergne, Anthony Morrow and a 2018 2nd round pick, but Butler stayed put. While Butler’s name came up quite a bit the only team he was ever really linked to going with was the Boston Celtics. Maybe this is another deal that heats up when the draft pick the Celtics own that used to belong to the Brooklyn Nets has a draft spot associated with it.

Paul George’s name came up very late in the trade deadline rumors and George came out and said that he wouldn’t re-sign if he was traded; so you have to think that pretty much killed any deal involving him. At first the trade talk was that the Pacers would be looking to add pieces around George, but as the deadline approached the talk started to turn that the Pacers might look to deal George instead of acquire players to put around him. When was all was said and done Indiana did nothing at the deadline.

Now there where a couple of trades made at the deadline just not that blockbuster that was talked about. The Philadelphia 76ers decided to finally deal one of there big men as Nerlens Noel was traded to the Dallas Mavericks for Andrew Bogut, Justin Anderson and a protected 1st round pick. It’s been reported that the 76ers will buy Bogut out; so he’ll be a free agent. The Mavericks also waived Deron Williams. Remember on Valentine’s Day the Toronto Raptors acquired Serge Ibaka from the Orlando Magic for Terrence Ross and a 2017 1st round pick. Well at the trade deadline the Raptors acquired P.J. Tucker from the Phoenix Suns for Jared Sullinger and a 2nd round draft pick in 2017 and 2018. While Tucker isn’t a big time scorer he is a very good defender who could be used to match up in a playoff series with LeBron James if those teams met. In the end the big winners at the trade deadline may end up being the Cavaliers. While the Cavaliers didn’t make a trade at the deadline the reports are that they’ll sign Bogut and Williams as free agents. James complained weeks ago that the Cavaliers needed another playmaker at the point guard position and while he’s not the player he use to be Williams would definitely fit that roll. By adding Bogut they’d be getting a solid big man to come off the bench with championship series experience. How did your favorite team do at the trade deadline?

With the NBA trade deadline past it’s time for the NHL to head towards there trade deadline. The NHL trade deadline is this Monday February 29th. There where a couple of moves made yesterday as teams look towards the deadline.

The Anaheim Ducks acquired Patrick Eaves from the Dallas Stars for a conditional 2nd round pick in the 2017 NHL Draft. Eaves is 32 years old and was tied for the Stars lead with 21 goals, including 11 on the power play, which ranked fourth in the NHL. His 37 points in 59 games are an NHL career high. Eaves can become an unrestricted free agent after this season.

The other deal saw the Chicago Blackhawks send a 3rd round pick in the 2017 NHL draft to the Detroit Red Wings for Tomas Jurco. Jurco turned 24 in December and had no points and two penalty minutes in 16 games with the Red Wings this season. He had 39 points (15 goals, 24 assists) in 159 NHL games over four seasons with Detroit, including eight goals in 36 games during the  2013-14 season. Jurco has been described as a “project”, but the Blackhawks are hoping that a change of scenery helps Jurco like it did Richard Panik after they picked him up at the trade deadline last season.

Just like with the NBA there will be some big names that will come up in trade rumors. Brian Boyle of the Tampa bay Lighting, Shane Doan of the Arizona Coyotes and New York Islanders goalie Jaroslav Halak are some of the names out there. It also appears that the St. Louis Blues would be willing to move defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk as a rent a type player. Shattenkirk’s names recently came up as a possible trade candidate after he turned down a long term deal from St. Louis. Who knows if we’ll see any of these players dealt, but by Monday we’ll have the answer.

On the ice Friday night the Washington Capitals picked up there 13th straight home win by beating the Edmonton Oilers 2-1. Tom Wilson and Justin Williams scored the goals for Washington and Braden Holtby made 30 saves in goal as the Capitals tied their record for consecutive home wins. Washington is headed out for two games on the road; so they won’t be able to break their record for consecutive home wins until March 2nd when they host the New Jersey Devils.

You can listen to the Sports Time Radio podcast on BlogTalkRadio.com but you can also find the podcast any time you want at TuneIn.com

You can find me on Twitter @Burketime

How was your week

Posted: February 4, 2017 by Sports Time Radio in football, hockey, sports
Tags: , , , ,
0

It’s just one day until the New England Patriots face the Atlanta falcons in Super Bowl 51. It looks as though kickoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. cst on Sunday, but do they ever start on time? I’m just glad that it’s time for the game as the two week build up to it gets tiring. There are only so many times we can hear about Tom Brady being a 6th round draft pick or the fact that this is the first time a lot of the Falcons have made it to the Super Bowl. While the stories get boring no matter what they are or how hard the media tries to come up with different angles on them.

The big story line now is what kind of condition will Falcons center Alex Mack be in. All reports are pointing to him playing, but how long will he be able and will he be able to perform. As the center Mack is in charge of making all the Falcons line calls and adjusting protection for quarterback Matt Ryan. The other Falcons injury question is wide receiver Julio Jones. Jones was limited in practice, but is fully expected to play. Some good injury news for the Falcons was that pass rush specialist Dwight Freeney was removed from there injury report. As I’m sure you could’ve guessed the Patriots injury report is quite full. tight end Martellus Bennett and wide receiver Malcolm Mitchell are listed with knee injuries. Wide Receiver Chris Hogan is listed with a thigh injury that has been bothering him though the playoffs. On the Patriots defense Dont’a Hightower has a shoulder issue while two defensive tackles Alan Branch (toe) and Vincent Valentine (back) made the injury report. Also Patriots safety Nate Ebner left the AFC championship game with a concussion and still hasn’t been cleared tp return. With the exception of Ebner and of course barring any type of injury set back it appears all of these players will play in the game.

If you’re a betting man the Patriots are -3 point favorites right now and the over/under on the game is between 58 1/2 and 59 points. That is the highest over under for any Super Bowl. Of course being that it’s the Super Bowl you can find prop bets on just about everything. If you’re not interested in betting on the actual football game there are plenty of other prop bets out there. You can bet on the national anthem, the halftime show, the announcers (Joe Buck and Troy Aikman) Who’ll win the M.V.P. and if they’ll televise a handshake between Roger Goodell and either Tom Brady, Bill Belihick or Robert Kraft if the Patriots where to win. There are even more prop bets out there, but they’re just too many to list here.

Tomorrow on the Sports Time Radio podcast we’ll reveal are picks on the game. Obviously will pick our winners of the game, but we also do the final score and who we think will win the M.V.P. award. If you’d like to play along with us feel free to leave your picks in the comments here or e-mail them to SportsTimeRadio@Hotmail.com If we get your picks on time will announce yours on air right along with our picks. Really I’d like to see a good game.

In some other football news Michael Vick has said he plans to retire. Vick didn’t play in the 2016 season, but spent 13 seasons in the NFL. This of course is nor counting the 2007 and 2008 seasons when he spent some time in prison and was suspended for his involvement in a dog fighting ring.

The Atlanta Falcons traded up in the 2001 pick to take Vick #1 overall. Vick spent the first six years of his career with the Falcons. Vick made 67 career starts for the Falcons, but played in a total of 74 games for them. He was 38-28-1 as a starter and took them to the playoffs in 2002 and 2004. After his suspension Vick returned to the NFL with the Philadelphia Eagles. Vick spent five seasons with the Eagles appearing in 54 games starting 42 of them. Vick went 20-20 as a starter for the Eagles. Vick spent the 2014 season with the New York Jets where he played in 10 games starting three of them where he went 1-2 as there starter. 2015 saw Vick join the Pittsburgh Steelers where he played in five games starting three of them going 2-1 as a starter for them.

In his career Vick played in 143 games starting 115 of them. As a starter his record was 61-51-1. Vick threw for 22,464 yards with 133 touchdowns and 88 interceptions. Now many will remember Vick for his running ability as a quarterback. In 2006 Vick ran for 1039 yards. In his career Vick rushed for 6109 yards with 36 touchdowns. Vick averaged an amazing 7.0 yards per carry in his career and had a career long run of 61 yards.

Vick had hoped to play in the 2016 season, but was never signed by a team. He did return to the Georgia Dome as a guest of the Falcons for there regular season finale on January 1st. Falcons owner Arthur Blank called Vick “an important player in our history” and the Falcons fans gave Vick a great reception at halftime when he was introduced.

It looks as though the National Hockey League will be playing some games overseas. The NHL is waiting on word for the National Hockey League Players Association on whether they’ll approve two regular season games overseas. It would be the Colorado Avalanche and the Ottawa Senators who would play a two game series in Stockholm Sweden on November 10th and 11th. The NHL would also like to have two pre-season games between the Los Angeles Kings and the Vancouver Canucks played in China. The China trip would involve either two games in Beijing; or one in Beijing and one in Shanghai.

The NHL still hasn’t made a decision on if it’s players will be allowed to compete in the 2018 South Korea Olympics, but the players would like to continue playing in the Olympics. The players would love a decision on there Olympic participation before the Sweden and China games are schedule,  but it doesn’t look like that will happen. The NHL, the NHLPA, the International Ice Hockey Federation and, for the first time, the International Olympic Committee are scheduled to meet in New York on Friday. It’s doubtful, but maybe they’ll come to a decision then on if the NHL players will be allowed to compete in the Olympics. Do you want to see the players from your favorite team play in the Olympics?

You can listen to Sports Time Radio on BlogTalklRadio.com, but you can also get the podcast anytime you want at TuneIn.com

You can find me on Twitter @Burketime

How was your week

Posted: January 14, 2017 by Sports Time Radio in basketball, football, hockey, sports
Tags: , , , ,
0

The Divisional round of the NFL playoffs kicks off today with two games. The other two games are Sunday. Just like last week I’m going to put your Saturday picks in here to keep us honest. Mr. Fantasy and I will let you know who we’re all going with on Sunday’s podcast. The first game has the Seattle Seahawks at the Atlanta Falcons. We are split on this game as Mr. Fantasy and Schaumburg Stu are going with the Falcons and Dan the Man and I are taking the Seahawks. The second game today has the Houston Texans at the New England Patriots. This was the only game this weekend we all agreed on and no surprise we all picked the Patriots to win this one.

Because of the weather in the Kansas City area the NFL adjusted the Sunday schedule to try and make travel safer for everyone getting to and from the game. The Pittsburgh Steelers at the Kansas City Chiefs game was originally scheduled to kickoff at 12:05 p.m. but with the weather situation in the area the game has been moved to a 7:20 p.m. kickoff time. The other game on Sunday hasn’t been moved. It’s still a 3:40 p.m. kickoff time for the Green Bay Packers at the Dallas Cowboys.

Back in Week 6 the Seahawks beat the Falcons 26-24 in Seattle. Atlanta was driving at the end of the game and with the clock running down Matt Ryan tried to hit Julio Jones with a long pass down the middle of the field. It appeared as though Richard Sherman interfered with Jones on the play, but there was no penalty called. What I’m trying to figure out is why everyone thinks that if pass interference would’ve been called on that play that Atlanta would’ve won it. Even if the penalty had been called the football would’ve been at the Seattle 35 yard line. Now that means it would’ve been a 52 yard field goal that Matt Bryant would’ve needed to make for the Falcons to win the game. What I’m not understanding is why everyone thinks that a 52 yard field goal is a gimme and that Atlanta would win. Bryant is a very good kicker. He made 34 of 37 field goal attempts with a long of 59 yards, but two of his three misses on the season where from 50+ yards. Bryant also missed one extra point this season. Apparently the first game between these two teams featured the only missed call by a referee in the NFL this season and then a guarantee that a kicker would make a 52 yard field goal. I can’t be the only one who thinks this is ridiculous.

The Patriots/Texans game is also a rematch from the regular season. In Week 3 the Patriots beat the Texans 27-0 in New England. Since this game was back in Week 3 Tom Brady was suspended and Jimmy Garoppolo was injured; so that means Jacoby Brissett was the Patriots quarterback for the game. Now neither team is the same as they where back in Week 3, but New England is favorite by 15 1/2 to 17 points in the betting lines. That’s a very big point spread for a playoff game. Brock Osweiler started the game in Week 3 and he’ll be under center for Houston tonight. Osweiler went 24 of 41 for 196 yards with an interception in Week 3. Lamar Miller ran for 80 yards on 21 carries in that game and Ryan Griffin caught 8 passes for the Texans. Houston is also coming into this game with the #1 ranked defense in the NFL. Now back in Week 14 the Patriots faced the #1 defense of the Baltimore Ravens. Tom Brady threw for 406 yards against that defense as New England won 30-23. We’ll have to see if we get a good game or if we get the big win that the odds are predicting.

There was a marquee match up in the NHL last night as the Washington capitals hosted the Chicago Blackhawks. Both teams had 59 points coming into the game, but you wouldn’t know that by the way the game went. Washington totally embarrassed Chicago skating to a very easy 6-0 win. The Capitals put the game away very early as they scored three goals in the 1st period. Jay Beagle started the scoring for Washington with his 7th goal of the year. :13 seconds later Nicholas Backstrom made it 2-0 with his 12th goal of the season. Brett Connolly picked up his 6th goal of the season to make to score 3-0 with just under three minutes left in the 1st period. The Blackhawks managed to hold the Capitals to just one goal in the 2nd period. Tom Wilson scored for Washington with three minutes left in the period. It was Wilson 3rd goal of the season putting Washington up 4-0 after two periods. T.J. Oshie scored his 12th goal of the game just about eight minutes in to the 3rd period to make the score 5-0. Beagle then picked up his 2nd goal of the night and his 8th on the season with about 1:30 left to play.

Braden Holtby made 24 saves to post his league leading 6th shutout. With the shoutout Holtby’s Goals Against Average dropped to 1.85 for the season. All-Star Corey Crawford was a joke in goal for the Blackhawks as he allowed 5 goals on 30 shots. Even the Blackhawks back up goaltender Scott Darling found a way to give up a goal as he was beaten 1 time out of the 4 shots he faced.

It would be great if Blackhawks fans could say that the team was just looking ahead to there game against the Minnesota Wild on Sunday, but I don’t think that was the case. Now Minnesota is just two points behind the Blackhawks in the Central division standings of the Western Conference and if Minnesota wins there game tonight against the Dallas Stars the teams each have 59 points when they met on Sunday.

The NBA regular season is just about halfway over and Russell Westbrook just picked up his 19th triple-double of the season. Westbrook had 21 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds, but also had 10 turnovers as the Oklahoma City Thunder lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves 96-86 last night. Westbrook had a rough shooting night going 7 of 23 in the game and just 1 of 10 from behind the 3-point line.

According to records; Westbrook is the only player since 1973-74 to record multiple triple-doubles with at least 10 turnovers in a single season.

You can listen to the Sports Time Radio podcast live on BlogTalkRadio.com but you can also listen to the podcast any time you want at TuneIn.com

You can find me on Twitter @Burketime

Let’s call it Wednesday

Posted: December 21, 2016 by Sports Time Radio in Auto Racing, basketball, hockey, sports
Tags: , , , ,
0

Week 15 in the NFL just wrapped up and Dan the Man came out on top of our picks with a 13-3 record. The difference was Dan the Man was the only one who had the Carolina Panthers beating the Washington Redskins on Monday night. Schaumburg Stu and Mr. Fantasy where both 12-4 for the week while I was 11-5. Overall Schaumburg Stu looks to be on his way to winning this years contest as he is 148-76through 15 weeks. Dan the Man took 2nd place back by a game over Mr. Fantasy. Dan the Man is 141-83 and Mr. Fantasy is 140-84. That of course means I am in the cellar and it looks like I’ll be staying there. I’m 130-92 overall. There are two weeks left for our picks.

With the NHL coming up on there Christmas break it’s a bit of a surprise that the Chicago Blackhawks have the most points with 48. With the hard salary cap the NHL has the Blackhawks have had to allow top players leave through free agency and others have had to be traded away to keep the team under the salary cap. The Blackhawks are carrying six players 25 or under on their roster. The Blackhawks have six rookies that are contributing to the teams success. Ryan Hartman has 6 goals and 6 assists in 30 games. Vinnie Hinostroza has 3 goals and 5 assists in 26 games. Tyler Motte has 4 goals and 3 assists in 28 games. Gustav Forsling has 1 goal and 3 assists in 29 games and Michal Kempny has 2 assists in 23 games. The Blackhawks had to pick up a lot of these points while there captain Jonathan Toews and #1 goaltender Corey Crawford have been out injured.

While the Blackhawks are at the top right now there are some teams right behind them. The Pittsburgh Penquins and the New York Rangers have 47 points on the season. The Columbus Blue Jackets who are on a 10 game winning streak right now and the Montreal Canadiens have 46 points on the season. The Philadelphia Flyers and the Minnesota Wild each have 42 points and the Washington Capitals, Ottawa Senators, San Jose Sharks and St. Louis Blues all have 4 points this season. Either way it should be an interesting race for the President’s Cup.

Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers is the NHL points leader with 40. McDavid also leads all other players in assists with 28 while Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penquins leads the league in goal scoring with 22. Ryan Suter of the Minnesota Wild is the plus-minus leader at +22. In goal Devin Dubnyk leads all goalies in three of the four major categories. Dubnyk leads in Goals Against Average with a 1.55, Save Percentage at .948 and shutouts with 5. Sergei Bobrovsky of the Columbus Blue Jackets in the wins leader with 19.

As for the rookies. Patrick Laine of the Winnipeg Jets leads in points with 29 and goals with 18. Mitchell Marner of the Toronto Maple Leafs leads in assists with 15. Xavier Ouellet of the Detroit Red Wings is the plus-minus leader at +9. In the goal it’s all Matt Murray of the Pittsburgh Penquins as far as rookies go. Murray leads in Goals Against Average at 1.85, Save Percentage at .938, Shutouts with 2 and Wins with 13.

The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Milwaukee Bucks 114-108 in overtime Tuesday night. LeBron James scored 34 points and in the process passed Moses Malone for 8th on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. James now has 27,442 career points. Shaquille O’Neal is 7th on the list at 28,596. James has a good chance to get past O’Neal before the season ends.

While James moving up the scoring list on the Cavaliers win was a positive the chance that they may loss J.R. Smith with a broken thumb is the negative. Smith exited the game in the 1syt half when it appeared he injured his thumb trying to strip Giannis Antetokounmpo of the basketball as he drove to the basket. The X-rays taken at the arena were inconclusive, according to the Cavaliers. Smith will travel back to Cleveland with the team and be re-evaluated Wednesday. Smith, who signed a four-year, $57 million extension with Cleveland in the offseason after the Cavaliers championship win entered Tuesday’s game averaging 8.8 points on 33.7 percent shooting (35.8 percent from 3). Smith  previously missed six games because of knee and ankle injuries this season. The Cavaliers take on the Bucks again Wednesday night this time in Cleveland as the teams are playing a back to back; home and home series. The Cavaliers are on top of the Eastern Conference with a record of 20-6 while Milwaukee is currently .500 at 13-13.

We’re coming up on Christmas day where the NBA will run out five games for fans to watch. The first game is at 11:00 a.m. and features the Boston Celtics at the New York Knicks and is on ESPN. The second game with a scheduled 1:30 p.m. start time has the Golden State Warriors at the Cleveland Cavaliers in an NBA finals rematch is on ABC. Game three has a 4:00 p.m. scheduled start time has the Chicago Bulls at the San Antonio Spurs on ABC. The fourth game is scheduled to start at 7:00 p.m. and has the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Oklahoma City Thunder on ESPN. The fifth and final game of the night is scheduled to start at 9:30 p.m. and has the Los Angeles Clippers at the Los Angeles Lakers on ESPN. I know the Clippers and the Lakers play in the same building, but for scheduling purposes the Lakers are the home team. All the game times I listed are for the Central time zone.

The top series in NASCAR is getting a new name. Sprint will no longer be the top sponsor for NASCAR. Starting with the 2017 season will have the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. Monster Energy will be the 5th different name for the top series. It was known as the NASCAR Winston Cup Grand National Division from 1971 to 1985, the NASCAR Winston Cup Series from 1986 to 2003, the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series from 2004 to 2007 and the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series from 2008 to 2016. Even with the new sponsor and the modernized NASCAR logo that moves the colors solely to the left of the wording instead of having colors behind it, includes the sanctioning body’s name after the series sponsor for the first time. NASCAR kept one thing the same; the word Cup is still in the title.

You can listen to Sports Time Radio live on BlogTalkRadio.com You can also find the podcast any time you want at TuneIn.com

You can find me on Twitter @Burketime

 

How was your week?

Posted: October 22, 2016 by Sports Time Radio in baseball, basketball, hockey, sports
Tags: , , , ,
0

The NHL is just 5 or so games into the regular season and even though they haven’t played very many games there are only 2 undefeated team left in the league. The Washington Capitals are 3-0 while the Vancouver Canucks are off to a 4-0 start. The Montreal Canadiens don’t have a loss, but they’re 3-0-1; so do you count them as undefeated? While there are 11 teams with just 1 win this early in the season every team does have at least that 1 win. It’s way too early to panic if you’re teams not doing well, but it looks as though there’s a little parity at the start of the NHL season.

Stat wise early on Brent Burns of the San Jose Sharks and Brad Marchand of the Boston Bruins lead the league with 9 total points. Richard Panik of the Chicago Blackhawks and Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs have 5 goals apiece to lead the league. Burns and Marchand are the assists leaders with 6 each. Marchand along with his Bruins teammate David Pastrnak are the +/- leaders at +9 to start the season. Cam Talbot of the Edmonton Oilers is leading at goaltenders in wins at 4 to start the season. Al Montoya who’s filling in for an injured Cary Price in the Canadiens net is off to a good start with a Goals Against Average of 1.30. Montoya also leads in Save Percentage at .962. Montoya along with Semyon Varlamov of the Colorado Avalanche and Phillip Grubauer of the Washington Capitals each have 1 shutout this season.

I know it’s extremely early in the NHL season and these teams and these players might not stay at the top of the leaderboard as the season moves on, but it’s fun to look and see who’s off to the best starts. Then you never know if a player gets on a run he can carry that momentum for a while and he might be a great add to your fantasy team.

The Sports Time Radio auction style fantasy draft is tonight. Stephen Curry is ranked as the #1 player on the board and he’s followed by his new teammate Kevin Durant. Are you willing to pay over $100 for either of these guys? I believe that’s what they both went for in last years draft. James Harden is 3rd, Russell Westbrook is 4th and Karl Anthony Towns is 5th in the player rankings. I am very high on Westbrook as I think he’s going to play like he has something to prove every night. Westbrook pout up huge stats while sharing the basketball with Durant; so how will he do with Durant now in Golden State. Since there’s no set draft order for the players I have to hope that I have the money to compete when Westbrook’s name come up for bid. The Top   fills out with Kawhi Leonard at #6, Giannis Antetokounmpo at #7, Chris Paul at #8, Paul George at #9 and Anthony Davis at #10. This is a head to head style category league; so players who do more than one things well can be very important to your team. It’s a solid Top 10 list, but for are league Harden can be a tough guy to have as all he does is score. If you end up with him you have to find players to help you fill out your other categories, but to be fair having a big time scorer isn’t a terrible thing. The other Top 10 guy that I have to stay away from is Davis. There’s no doubt that he’s a great player and one of the best players in the NBA. when he’s healthy. Davis played in 61 games last season and has never played in more than 68 games in a season. Health and even sometimes rest is something you have to take into consideration when drafting. LeBron James who is one of the best and in some people’s mind the best player in the NBA is one of those type of players. James is ranked #11 in our league, but with the talk of him getting more games off how much is he worth this season? If you get James for let’s say 60 games and there’s a cheaper player a tier lower who’ll you’ll get for 80 games the guy playing 80 games will do more for your category league than James will. Plus you’ll have some extra money to spend somewhere else. I actually learned this first hand two seasons ago. I ended up with Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili all of the San Antonio Spurs. You hear those names and you think they’re all great players and probably Hall of Fame players. The issue ended up being their head coach Greg Popovich likes to rest his players and as you all know this a player who’s not playing doesn’t do anything for your fantasy team no mater what format you’re in. It’s always fun to do the draft even though sometimes it can be long, but it’s time for the NBA to get started.

Game 6 of the NLCS is tonight. The Chicago Cubs have a 3 games to 2 lead and they have the league E.R.A. Leader Kyle Hendricks player card on the mound. The Los Angeles Dodgers turn to their ace Clayton Kershaw to get the series to a Game 7. Looking at the pitching match up you might say the Dodgers have an advantage, but don’t under estimate Hendricks with how well he’s pitched at Wrigley Field this season. So while Kershaw may have an advantage I don’t think it’s as big as some people will. One big advantage both pitchers will have is weather. It’s going to be much colder in Wrigley Field tonight than it has for any other game in this series and that’s not good hitting weather. This was the pitching match up for Game 2. The Dodgers got a 1-0 victory in that game with the only run being scored on an Adrian Gonzalez home run. Hendricks was handled like we’ve seen most starters handled in these playoffs. He pitched just 5 1/3rd innings while Kershaw was allowed to pitch and went 7 full innings before turning the baseball over to Kenley Jansen for the final 2 innings. It’s setting up to be a low scoring game and you never know the team that scores first might get a win. So will we see a Game 7 tomorrow? Or will the Cubs be packing their bags for Cleveland and Game 1 of the World Series?

Sports Time Radio can be heard on the BlogTalkRadio.com website as well as on TuneIn.com

You can find me on Twitter @Burketime

How was your week

Posted: October 15, 2016 by Sports Time Radio in baseball, hockey, sports
Tags: , , , ,
0

The Cleveland Indians took Game 1 of the ALCS 2-0 over the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday night. Corey Kluber showed why he was a Cy Young candidate pitching 6 1/3rd innings of shutout baseball against a very good hitting Blue Jays line up. After Kluber the Indians went to their bullpen; first to Andrew Miller to hold the game for and 1 1/3rd innings and to closer Cody Allen for a 1 inning save and a 1-0 lead in the series. Kluber gave up 6 hits and walked 2 while striking out 6 batters. Kluber’s pitch total piled up as he reached 100 pitches over his 6 1/3rd innings. Miller did give up a hit, but struck out 5 while Allen struck out 1 batters in his inning of work.

The Blue Jays got very good pitching out of Marco Estrada, but just couldn’t give him any runs to work with. Estrada saved the Blue Jays bullpen pitching an 8 inning complete game. Estrada gave up 2 runs on 6 hits while walking 2 and striking out 6. A 2-run home run by Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor  in the bottom of the 6th inning was the only real mistake Estrada made. Estrada was able to get through the game on just 101 pitches.

The Indians got 6 hits in the game and 3 of them where by Lonnie Chisenhall. Interestingly Chisenhall got his 3 hits while seeing just 4 pitches. Lindor was 2 for 3 with a run scored and 2 RBI’s. Carlos Santana had the other Indians hit while Jason Kipnis scored the other run after he walked in front of the Lindor home run.

The Blue Jays got 7 hits in the game with 2 Josh Donaldson, Edwin Encarnacion and Michael Saunders each getting 2 hits a piece. One of Encarnacion’s hits was a double. Troy Tulowitzki had the other hit for Toronto. The Blue Jays may be dealing with an injury as 2nd baseman Devon Travis left the game in the bottom of the 5th inning with what was being called a right knee injury.

The teams turn right around for Game 2 this afternoon. Toronto is sending 20-game winner J.A. Happ to the mound to try to even the series while the Indians are going with Josh Tomlin as their Game 2 starter. Originally Trevor Bauer was going to get the Game 2 start for Cleveland, but he cut the pinky on his throwing finger and needed stitches. Because of the injury Bauer has been moved back to Game 3.

The NLCS gets started tonight with the Chicago Cubs hosting the Los Angeles Dodgers. In a must win situation in Game 5 of the NLDS the Dodgers pulled out all the stops. Closer Kenley Jansen pitched 2 1/3rd innings in the game while throwing 51 pitches; so there’s a good chance he won’t be available for a closing situation tonight. Then after making a start on 3-days rest Clayton Kershaw came in to get the save in Game 5. Kershaw did only throw 7 pitches in the game, but he had to warm up and again he was coming off a start he had made on 3-days rest. So taking this all into consideration the Cubs should have a big advantage in Game 1 and maybe even in the series. The Dodgers are going with Kenta Maeda as their Game 1 starter. Maeda took the loss in Game 3 of the NLDS. He lasted just 3 innings and gave up 4 runs. The Cubs in contrast where able to set up their starting rotation and will go with Jon Lester in Game 1. Lester threw 8 shutout innings while picking up the win in Game 1 of the NLDS. There was some talk yesterday that Kershaw will try to come back for Game 2, but that it would be for just 5 or 6 innings. While the Dodgers are scrambling the Cubs are set. They know that it’s Kyle Hendricks in Game 2, Jake Arrieta in Game 3 and John Lackey in Game 4. Not only is the rotation set, but the Cubs will have a full bullpen to use if needed. That has to be a big plus for the Cubs coming into this series.

Now both teams have some hitters they’d like to see get going in this series. While Corey Seager did hit 2 home runs in the series against Washington his average was just .130. Adrian Gonzalez homered in the NLDS as well, but his average was just .200. Chase Utley at .188 and Yasmani Grandal at .125 are two other players the Dodgers would like to see start hitting. On the Cubs side both Anthony Rizzo and Addison Russell where 1 for 15 (.067) in the NLDS series. Jason Heyward’s hitting struggles continued into the first round of the playoffs as he hit .083 in the NLDS. Dexter Fowler at .133 and Ben Zobrist at .188 are two other guys the Cubs would like to see get going in this series against the Dodgers. Both teams where able to advance with these hitters struggling, but it could make things so much easier for them of a few or even better all of them could get on some type of hot streak even for a game or two.

We had our fantasy hockey draft last Saturday night and I was pretty happy with the way my team came out. Then the injury bug hit me right before the season started and then into the first couple of games. I grabbed defenseman Kevan Miller of the Boston Bruins late in our draft. It’s a category league and he is a solid plus minus guy though his career. Miller broke his ankle right before the season started and needed surgery on it. Miller is scheduled to be out 6 to 8 weeks. Then the season started and Evander Kane of the Buffalo Sabres went crashing into the boards in their first game of the season and cracked 3 ribs. There’s no real timetable for Kane’s return as Sabres head coach was quoted as saying “It’s weeks, depending on the severity, and in the oblique area it’s something you’re going to deal with even when you come back with the rotation and the discomfort.” Then believe it or not I picked up one more injury. In the first game of his season Bryan Little of the Winnipeg Jets collided with Bryan Bickel of the Carolina Hurricanes and got hurt. Little has a Lower Body Injury and is expected to be out an indefinite period of time. Winnipeg head coach Paul Maurice said “We’ll have a better idea of just how long in a couple weeks.” So it’s going to be weeks before they even know how long Little will be out. Hopefully your fantasy hockey season didn’t get off to the same type of start mine did. Looks like I need to get on the waiver wire.

You can listen to Sports Time Radio on BlogTalkRadio.com or you can go and listen to the podcast any time you’d like on TuneIn.com

I’m on Twitter @Burketime

Let’s call it Wednesday

Posted: October 12, 2016 by Sports Time Radio in baseball, football, hockey, sports
Tags: , , , ,
0

Week 5 of the NFL season is in the books and our pick contest continues to roll along. Schaumburg Stu won Week 5 with a record of 10-4. Dan the Man, Mr. Fantasy and I all finished Week 5 at 8-6. On the season Schaumburg Stu is in the lead with a record of 47-30. Dan the Man is in 2nd at 44-33. I’m holding down the 3rd spot with a record of 39-38 while Mr. Fantasy is in the cellar at 36-41. We’re off to Week 6.

The Chicago Cubs used 4 runs in the top of the 9th against a terrible San Francisco Giants bullpen to win their NLDS series 3 games to 1. Down 5-2 going into the 9th inning it looked like this series was headed back to Wrigley Field for a Game 5 on Friday. Derek Law was on the mound to start the 9th inning, but after a single by Kris Bryant he was removed for left handed specialist Javier Lopez. Lopez didn’t do his job as he walked the left handed hitting Anthony Rizzo and was taken out of the game for Sergio Romo. Ben Zobrist greeted Romo  with a double to score Bryant and advance Rizzo to 3rd. Chris Coghlin was announced as the pinch hitter for Addison Russell; so the Giants countered by bringing Will Smith into the game to pitch. The Cubs countered that move by Putting Wilson Contreras in for Coghlin. Contreras singled off of Smith as both Rizzo and Zobrisy scored to tie the game 5-5. Jason Heyward bunted badly into a fielders choice, but a throwing error by Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford allowed Heyward to move up to 2nd base. Giants manager Bruce Bochy made a double switch as Gorkys Hernandez entered the game to play leftfield and Hunter Strickland was brought in to face Javier Baez. Baez singled to centerfield to score Heyward and give the Cubs the lead at 6-5. The top of the 9th finally ended as David ross hit into a double play, but by that time the Cubs had scored 4 runs on 4 hits and with the help of 1 Giants error had taken the lead.

The Cubs made some defensive moves to start the bottom of the 9th inning. Zobrist moved to 2nd base, Contreras stayed in the game in leftfield and Baez moved to shortstop. In the end none of those moves mattered as Hernandez, Denard Span and Brandon Belt all struck out swinging against Cubs closer Aroldis Chapman.

The Cubs now wait until Saturday to host the winner of the Los Angeles Dodgers/Washington Nationals series in Game 2 of the NLCS. The Dodgers/Nationals series is headed back to Nationals Park for Game 5 on Thursday. The Dodgers forced a Game 5 by picking up a 6-5 at home in Game 4 yesterday.

Clayton Kershaw made the Game 4 start for the Dodgers on 3-days rest. Kershaw pitched 6 2/3rd innings giving up 5 runs on 7 hits. He struck out 11 and walked 2 while throwing 110 pitches. Kershaw left the game with the bases loaded in the top of the 7th inning. Pedro Baez hit Jason Werth to force home a run and was removed from the game. Luis Avilian then gave up a single to Daniel Murphy bringing in 2 runs and tying the game at 5 apiece. Kershaw ended up with a no decision, but he ;left the bullpen in a tough spot. A Chase Utley single off Washington reliever Blake Treinen in the bottom of the 8th inning drove in the game winning run for the Dodgers. Kenley Jansen picked up the save for the Dodgers working the bottom of the 9th. Jansen struck out the first two batters of the innings and then Bryce Harper grounded out to 2nd base for the final out of the game.

With the lead in the series the Nationals choose to hold back Max Scherzer. Now they have Scherzer on regular rest for the Game 5 at home. Los Angeles turns to Rich Hill to make the Game 5 start. Scherzer took the loss in Game 1. He pitched 6 innings giving up 4 runs on 5 hits while striking out 5. Hill was the losing pitcher in Game 2. He pitched 4 1/3rd innings giving up 4 runs on 6 hits while walking 2 and striking out 7. Who do you have winning Game 5 and moving on to the NLCS?

Did you have both of the American League series ending in 3-game sweeps. Maybe you did, but I bet you didn’t have the teams right. The Toronto Blue Jays easily handled the Texas Rangers in their series to advance to the ALCS. Then it was the Cleveland Indians who where missing 2 of their top 3 starting pitchers sweeping the Boston Red Sox out of the playoffs. The Rangers did have the best record in the American League and while they where a bit of a favorite coming into the series with the Blue Jays; it’s not a huge shock that Toronto won the series. It’s a bit of a surprise that they swept, but not that they won it. In the other series the Red Sox should be nothing, but embarrassed. I can understand Game 2 as Corey Kluber is one of the top pitchers in baseball, but they got beat on games started by Trevor Bauer and Josh Tomlin. Both back of the rotation guys that the Indians where forced to use due to injuries to Carlos Carresco and Danny Salazar.

The only Red Sox who showed up in the series where Brock Holt who hit .400 with a home run and rookie Andrew Benintendi who hit .333 with a home run. Jackie Bradley Jr. hit .100, David Ortiz hit .111, Dustin Pedroia hit .167 and Mookie Betts hit .200. These big Red Sox hitters where shut down by a guy in Bauer who had an ERA of 4.26 this season and Tomlin who came in with an ERA of 4.40 for the season. The Red Sox where the trendy pick to win it all coming into the playoffs, but I’m sure those guys who where on that bandwagon won’t admit to being there right now.

The NHL season get sup and running tonight with 4 games on the schedule. The Toronto Maple Leafs and the Ottawa Senators will be the first two team s to drop the puck tonight. Then it’s the St. Louis Blues at the Chicago Blackhawks, the Calgary Flames at the Edmonton Oilers and the night wraps up with the Los Angeles Kings at the San Jose Sharks.

You can listen to Sports Time Radio on BlogTalkRadio.com or you can find the podcast any time you’d like at TuneIn.com

I’m on Twitter @Burketime

 

Older Entries
Newer Entries