2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs Round Two Predictions

The first round has come to a close, and there were many exciting games, multiple 7 game series, an end for a beloved arena, and the return of playoff hockey for the Winnipeg Jets.

Here are final results for all the series:

EASTERN CONFERENCE
New York Rangers defeated Pittsburgh Penguins in 5
Washington Capitals defeated New York Islanders in 7
Montreal Canadians defeated Ottawa Senators in 6
Tampa Bay Lightning defeated Detroit Red Wings in 7

WESTERN CONFERENCE
Anaheim Ducks defeated Winnipeg Jets in 4
Chicago Blackhawks defeated Nashville Predators in 6
Calgary Flames defeated Vancouver Canucks in 6
Minnesota Wild defeated St. Louis Blues in 6

The 2nd round matchups are as follows:

EASTERN CONFERENCE:
New York Rangers vs. Washington Capitals
Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Montreal Canadians

WESTERN CONFERENCE:
Anaheim Ducks vs. Calgary Flames
Chicago Blackhawks vs. Minnesota Wild

The 2nd round matchups begin today, so here are our predictions from everyone apart of SS on Sports.

Solly (Co-Host): Wild in 7, Ducks in 6 Rangers in 6, Canadians in 7

Steve (Co-Host): Wild in 7, Ducks in 6 Lightning in 6

Danny (Intern): Wild in 6, Ducks in 5 Canadians in 7

Jeff (Director): Wild in 7, Ducks in 6 Rangers in 6, Canadians in 7

Greg (Director): Blackhawks in 7, Ducks in 7 Capitals in 7, Lightning in 7

Brendan (Manager): Blackhawks in 6, Flames 6 Canadians 6



-Article Written by Intern/Fireside Chat Host Danny Delaney

DH Debate Should It Be Universal?

Ever since it became a league rule in 1973, this debate has raged on. The Designated Hitter. Should it be universal or abolished? After what happened this past weekend, the debate has gone back on. Adam Wainwright, the St. Louis Cardinals’ ace and long considered the best pitcher in the National League behind Clayton Kershaw, is finished for the season. Wainwright injured his ankle and Achilles’ tendon in an at-bat on Saturday night in Milwaukee. The injury has forced the Cardinals to place him on the disabled list, with the injury keeping him out for the season. Some feel that because Wainwright was hitting on Sunday he got hurt. That is true. But who's to say that Stanton could have gotten hurt getting hit by a line drive all the same. This is where the debate picks up. Should there be a DH across the board? Should the rule be taken out? Should it just be dropped and kept as is?

There are a couple reasons why the DH rule should be kept around and used in both leagues. For those who believe in the DH, it does have advantages. Many careers have been prolonged, and, in a few cases, created long, productive careers for players who are weak fielders or have a history of injuries. Perfect examples are guys like Edgar Martínez and David Ortiz, who had plenty of pop in their bat, but weren't as good in terms of fielding. Hall of Famers George Brett, Carl Yastrzemski, and Paul Molitor continued their careers longer than they ordinarily would have without the rule. Barry Bonds, who spent his entire career in the National League and actually won eight Gold Gloves earlier in his career, was used strictly as a DH later in his career when the San Francisco Giants played away interleague games due to his poor fielding. Another advantage that the DH rule has is that it takes the pitchers out of the equation. meaning that pitchers don't have to take the bat and get up to the plate and swing.  Besides the injury to Wainwright, look at what happened to pitcher Chien-Ming Wang. His career came into decline, according to some, due to an interleague game injury has been cited in support of the designated hitter. On June 15, 2008, Wang was taken out of an interleague game versus the Houston Astros due to a right foot injury he sustained while running the bases, something he was not used to doing, since pitchers do not bat in the American League. Wang was diagnosed with a torn Lisfranc ligament and a partial tear of the peroneus longus of the right foot. The cast was removed on July 29, but the extensive rehabilitation process prevented Wang from being an effective pitcher at the major league level since.

Of course, you have people looking at this from the other way. Some feel that injuries like this were caused because pitchers have to hit. Look at Wainwright. Look at Wang. Max Scherzer had to have a start pushed back because he jammed his thumb while batting. The argument could be made that people come to the park to watch a guy like Clayton Kershaw throw the ball not try and hit it. Kershaw and Scherzer, just to name a few, are guys who people come to see stand on a hill and pitch the ball. By having a DH, it would take that factor out of the system. Then again some feel that by not having the pitchers hit, its un-baseball like and it takes away a skill that all baseball players should be somewhat able to do. I for one, don't want to see Mets Ace Matt Harvey have to be taken out of a game and miss a month because he got hit on his pitching hand while in the batters box.

In hindsight though, you have no way to project players getting hurt. A pitcher could just as easily blow out his knee chasing down a ground ball back to the mound or going over to cover 1st base than he can running out of the batters box. I have never had a problem with the way things are done around Major League Baseball. It took a while for the DH rule to be accepted but it has become part of the game. It forces managers to think differently depending on what park they're in. Yes it sucks Wainwright's season had to end the way it did, but that's part of baseball, hell its a part of sports. Long story short is, no matter how hard you argue or fight the DH rule will stay pat in the American League and pitchers will still hit in the NL. Would I like to see it change? Yeah it wouldn't be so bad an idea. But the quality level of the players isn't the same to be able to sustain the position in both leagues. Injuries happen and putting in the DH in the NL I don't think is going to change that. It may prolong what is inevitable in players getting hurt, but injuries happen. The DH won't be joining the NL

What Happened To The New York Islanders?

What went wrong here? When the season started, there was a lot of hope and optimism about the New York Islanders, a team that was on the up and up. Going into their opening round series against the Capitals, the Islanders were looking to break a 21 year drought between playoff series wins, the longest such drought in NHL history. The team was coming off one of its best seasons in recent memory, going above and beyond expectations anybody had for the team. This club was looking for a great way to close this era of Islanders hockey, and send off Nassau Coliseum with a cup. Well that didn't exactly happen, as the Islanders fell in a hard-fought, seven-game series with the Washington Capitals. This was a series the Islanders had plenty of chances to win this series, but they had shot themselves in the foot, not only in the series but even leading up to the series.

I've talked about this before, it would benefit a team, more often than not, to go into postseason play hot. That wasn't the case with the Islanders. They stumbled in. What we saw from the club early in the year, scoring depth and punch, just wasn't there at the end of the year. Sure John Tavares finished in the top ten in the league in scoring, sure Brock Nelson was in the top ten in rookie goal scoring. But otherwise, there wasn't much hope, or balance, in the forward lines. The team couldn't find the same magic late in the year than they had in the start of the year, which was kind of sad. There's no denying that there's a lot of talent on the hockey team, that was evident through most of the regular season and at times in the playoffs. Games one three and six of the series, the games in which the Islanders actually won, gave you hope and a reason to believe that this team was really on the verge of making that push to the next level and finally getting over the hump, so to speak. But, alas, reality came crashing down on the Isles, allowing the holes once again to be shown.

One thing that really stuck out to me was the powerplay, or should I say lack there of. There's no way possible that a team can really do damage when it goes 0 for 14 on the powerplay in a series. 0 for 14 on the man advantage. Let that sink in. Most teams that are even remotely successful will find a way to bury the puck at least one time on the man advantage. An issue that I'm sure the Islanders will look to address in the offseason.

Then there's the fact that the team had trouble in the series of playing a full 60 minute hockey game. Not sure what it is, but the Islanders had a tendancy to show up in spurts or net even at all, not just during this series, but during the regular season as well. there were times during game seven where it seemed like the Capitals could do whatever they wanted with the puck and the Isles skated around like a bunch of chickens with their heads cut off. It was really a tough thing to watch. I know it does happens to a team where once in a while, teams will have a bad game and be on their heels. But it happened more than once to the Isles in this series, none more evident than I'd say most of game seven. It was almost too painful to watch. I'm sorry but in game seven the Islanders had no heart what so ever. To make it even worse, not only did they not show heart but they couldn't even generate offense. Eleven total shots on goal in the entire game by a hockey team. To make matters worse, of those eleven shots, three of them came off the sticks of forwards. For a hockey team to be a success, they need to have the forwards fire the puck on net. Caps goalie Braden Holtby wasn't tested at all in game seven.

To go along with the lack of heart and secondary scoring was inexperience. While players like Johnny Boychuk, Nick Leddy and Lubomir Visnovsky have extensive playoff experience, the Isles roster was filled with players who had appeared in just a handful of games in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Guys like Tavares, Okposo, Bailey, Clutterbuck, Martin and a few others have a little bit of experience but not enough. Some of those key leaders had played no more than half a dozen playoff games in the NHL. Throw in the fact that three key young guns in Brock Nelson, Andres Lee and Ryan Strome had never played in a Stanley Cup Playoff game before, and it makes it easy to see why the Isles faultered in certain situations. A more experienced team would have made a stronger showing in Game 7 and probably would have put the Caps away in Game 2 as well.

There was one bright spot in the series and that was goalie Jaroslav Halak. He played out of his mind for the Isles, hands down he was their best player. As good as Halak was, he can only do so much. The fact that the Islanders were missing their top two defenseman was a big blow. Travis Hamonic wasn't available in the series due to a knee injury suffered near the end of the regular season, whicih turned out to be a HUGE loss for the team as Hamonic had been the Isles best defender, and all around defender to boot, all season long. Then to make matters worse, Lubomir Visnovsky was taken out during Game 4 on Tom Wilson’s questionable hit. Visnovsky was the team’s most experienced defenseman, a big plus on a squad full of younger players. He also was a good passer and a key component of the second power-play unit. Without Visnovsky, the Isles lost a lot of intangibles and an already thin defense was compromised further. Not having those two guys there, and then to lose Calvin De Hann near the end of game five made it even tougher on the team.

Don't get me wrong the Islanders had an outstanding season. Nothing can ever be taken away from them for the year they had. Still it was a bitter pill to swallow to see the team go down the way they did. A tough way to close the doors on Nassau Coliseum.

2015 Subway Series Preview

It's Time. Once a year the Mets and Yankees face off in the battle of New York. Its been a summer tradition ever since Interleague play began back in 1997. This series is a little bit different than any other in the rivalry between the two teams. Normally all six games are played somewhere around late May early June and are played in the same month. This year the series is split, with the first three played at Yankee Stadium this weekend, and the final three played at Citi Field September 18th-20th. This is the first time I can remember in quite a while the two teams coming into the series both feeling good. Before we get into whats going on this weekend, lets take a quick walk down memory lane.

June 16th, 1997. That was the date of the first ever meeting between the teams, a game which the Mets won 6–0 behind Dave Mlicki throwing a complete game shutout. The Yankees would take the next two games and take the opening series. With what we are about to see this season, it marks the 19th series between the two teams. Seven times (1999, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2010 and 2014) these two teams have split the series, the Mets have won the series three times (2004 and 2008, winning four of six, then 2013 a four game sweep) while the Yankees have won the other eight series. The only time the Yankees swept the series was in 2003 when they won all six games. The Yankees have a 56–42 regular-season advantage over the Mets, who have won four straight at Yankee Stadium, but lost both games at home last year.

That was then and this is now. Both teams are coming in hot to the start of this series. The Mets head into this series with the best record in baseball (13-3) and an 11-game winning streak. During this hot streak run of the Mets, they have outscored their opponents 57-31. Starting pitching for the Blue and Orange has been good during this stretch, throwing up a stellar 2.79 ERA, to go along with 60 strikeouts and only 10 walks. To go along with this clutch starting pitching as of late, this Mets team has displayed clutch hitting and reliable relief pitching. Jeurys Familia has done a fantastic job of taking a stranglehold on the closer's job after the suspension of Jenrry Mejia. The Mets bats have been a bit of an intrigue lately. Wilmer Flores has been hitting .421 over the last week, with eight hits and four RBI, going along with two homers. Juan Lagares too has been coming around a little with the bat over the last week, hitting .333 over the last week. Lagares has eight hits four RBI over that span as well. Daniel Murphy still hasn't quite come out of his slump yet, but he has driven in six runs over the last week, which could be a sign of things to come for the Mets second baseman.

When it comes to going into an American League ballpark, most National League teams are at a slight disadvantage when it comes to using a DH. The Mets have a couple of capable bats to use to DH. One is John Mayberry Jr., who is off to a hot start, sort of. he has an on base percentage of .3780 and he is hitting .250, but its coming from a small sample size. Besides if the Mets want to change things up with the DH, besides using Mayberry, they can also keep Duda and Cuddyer, giving those two guys a day off from playing in the field. So the Mets do have a little going for them heading to this series. But as good as it has been, there is a down side to this. The Mets are coming into this Subway Series a little bit banged up. No David Wright (hamstring), no Travis d'Arnaud (broken finger), Jerry Blevins (broken forearm) are all out of the picture due to injuries. In fact, the Mets are also without their three best non-Familia righty relievers in Bobby Parnell (Tommy John surgery), Jenrry Mejia (elbow, suspension) and Vic Black (shoulder). Lefty Josh Edgin (Tommy John surgery) is also out. And finally, Zack Wheeler (Tommy John surgery) is also done for the year. So the Mets have had success but it has come at a bit of a price.

Lets not forget, the Yankees (9-7) have a three-game winning streak after a 7-3 road trip. The Yankees just won three of four from the Tigers in Detroit and have won six of their last seven games overall. They've outscored their opponents 41-20 in the seven games. Oh and the Tigers had the 2nd best record in baseball behind the Mets, so it marks another tough series from the Bronx Bombers. What has made this even more intriguing for the Yankees, is that they started the season off miserable. They went 2-4 to open the year, playing really sloppy baseball. The Yankees committed nine errors in the first six games, but since then have only three. The Bronx Bombers have righted the ship over the last week and a half and are playing much cleaner baseball. Like the Mets, the Yankees are a run prevention team, and at the moment they are performing as capable. Sure the Yankees are dealing with injuries, same as the Mets, but its nowhere near as bad as the boys in Queens. Ivan Nova (Tommy John surgery) and Chris Capuano (quad) are a few weeks from returning to the rotation and utility infielders Jose Pirela (concussion) and Brendan Ryan (calf) are expected back in May. That's it. The Yankees are definitely the healthier team heading into the Subway Series.

For a while it looked like Alex Rodriguez was going to carry the Yankees. He has four homers and eleven RIB, oh and he is hitting .265 for the year. He has been hitting pretty well this year, despite missing all that time last year with the whole suspension thing he had to take on. A-Rod has responded and somewhat carried the club through the early stages this season. A-rod has some company in the power department. Mark Teixeira does have five home runs and thirteen RBI, both of which lead the club, which is great despite the fact that he's hitting .196 on the season. There have been a few bright spots for the Yanks coming into the series. Chris Young has been hitting over .400 for the last week and is tearing the cover off the ball this year, so expect him to be in the lineup for the series this weekend. Ellsbury and Gardner have both been hitting well, each hitting over 300 for the year.

So here's the dates, times, TV channels and pitching matchups for this first Subway Series:
Friday: Jacob deGrom (2-1, 0.93 ERA) vs. Michael Pineda (2-0, 5.00 ERA), 7pm (WPIX)
Saturday: Matt Harvey (3-0, 3.50 ERA) vs. CC Sabathia (0-3, 4.35 ERA), 4pm (SNY)
Sunday: Jonathon Niese (2-0, 1.50 ERA) vs. Nathan Eovaldi (1-0, 3.12 ERA), 8pm (ESPN)

So there you have it. Subway Series round one is ready to rock. So sit back, relax and get ready for three days of fantastic baseball!

Islanders Show Resolve Against Capitals

Heading into this opening round series, the New York Islanders were looking to do something that hasn't happened in 22 years. Win a playoff series. The division finals against the Pittsburgh Penguins, thanks to David Volek's Overtime goal in game seven, was the last time the Islanders won a playoff series. This year the Isles look like they are finally ready to buck the trend and advance in the playoffs. Standing in their way have been the Washington Capitals, a team who many predicted to take the series. But the Islanders have been proving people wrong in this series, managing to turn a few heads as they have played to an even series through the first four games. Through the first four games of the series, the Islanders have proven that they won't be pushed around in this matchup with Washington.

Of course, there are problems the Islanders are going to have in the series. For one the team is the only one in the playoffs that hasn't scored a powerplay goal, going 0 for 10 in the series with the man advantage. Its not just the fact that they haven't scored on the powerplay, its the mere fact that they barley take shots on the powerplay. What the Islander powerplay does too much of is look for the perfect shot or try and set Tavares up for a deflection. Why waste time doing that, just get a body in front of the net and start firing the puck. Even if a Washington defender gets in the way of the shot, at least it creates more havok on the ice and will open up more shooting lanes to get pucks through to the net, which is what your supposed to do on the man advantage. There have been times where they have been badly outplayed by Washington, like in the late stages of game two, and the third period of game three.Then there's the case of the broken stick. It seems that Tavares has had trouble with his sticks in the series. There were a few times I can clearly recall when he had a golden chance to score and his stick would snap in half on him. I know that's seen as being a little to critical but I call it like I see it.

With all that being said, there have been plenty to be happy about to from the Islanders so far in the first four games of the series. One of the big things to take notice of is the physical play in the series. The Islanders have been able to control the play along the boards and in the corners, thus to a degree keeping the Caps on their heels. Despite not having the teams best defender Travis Hamonic out of the lineup, the Islanders have been abel to keep Washington in check. I'll admit Nicklas Backstrom is having a good series with six points in the first four games, but the Isles defensive unit has held Alex Ovechkin to just two goals in the series. That says a lot considering Ovechkin scored 53 times during the regular season.

yes there have been some lacks on offense. Tavares has had a good series but he has the skill to play better, which he will. Okposo is showing he has the ability to perform in the playoffs. Josh Bailey has been playing quite well through the first four games. Casey Cizikas and Cal Clutterbuck both have had an impact in this series, both have scored big goals and Cal came a crossbar away from winning game four. Both those two guys especially have been able to get open ice thanks to their physical play opening up space on the ice to be able to operate. Now its time for the Isles to start making adjustments. Now not only is travis Hamonic not in the lineup, but Lubomir Visnovsky is not going to be available to play Thursday, because of the injury suffered in game four on the hit by Tom Wilson. So now its more on Nick Leddy, Johnny Boychuk and a very surprising Brian Strait to hold down the fort and keep Ovechkin in check.

Are there going to be faults in the Islanders? Sure. No hockey team ever plays a perfect game or perfect series. But the Islanders are right there to take this series, they need to win two of the next three games so it is possible. Now they just have to finish the job.

2015 NFL Schedule Announced

Well well well it looks like Sunday's around the Country are now set. The National Football League has announced the schedules for the 2015 regular season. Sure we will get into what the Jets and Giants are doing this season don't worry. That's a little later on in this post. The new schedule announced by the league offers plenty of intrigue for the new season,. with matchups that will keep fans sitting on the edge of their seats all season long. Between the games in London, the new faces in returning places and playoff rematches from last year, there is a lot to talk about from the NFL season.

First up we have the London games this year. First up, is the week four matchup between the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins from Wembley Stadium. Its a kickoff at 9:30 AM on October 4th. Then in week seven, on October 25, the Buffalo Bills will play the Jacksonville Jaguars. Finally, in week eight, on November 1, the Detroit Lions will take on the Kansas City Chiefs. Then we have a few playoff rematches. Green bay and Seattle face off week two IN Green Bay. We know what happened between the teams in Seattle back in January in the NFC title game. So now its going to be interesting to see how this plays out in Green Bay. Also in week two, September 20th will have a 4:25 kickoff as Dallas heads to Philly to take on the Eagles. This marks the first chance the Cowboys get to take on former back in DeMarco Murray. Then Murray makes his return to Dallas in week nine on November 8th, which is going to be fun, just based on how well he is going to be received by the Dallas faithful. Moving to week six, October 18th on Sunday Night Football, its the rematch of last years AFC title game. That's right, the Patriots head to Indy to take on the Colts. Here's hoping the Colts don't get blown out in this one, unlike their last meeting in the playoffs. Sticking with the playoff rematch theme, we get another one in week 14. Sunday, December 13th, with a 4:25 kickoff, Green Bay and Dallas face off for the first time since catch-gate, the playoff game that was decided last January by the rule of non-catch for Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant.

But wait there's so much more. Week Eight, Monday Night Football, November 2nd, we will see the Colts head to Carolina to take on the Panthers? Why is this one so intriguing? Well because its Cam Newton going against Andrew. The top overall pick of 2011 facing the top overall pick of 2012. This one should be fun to watch. Of course there is the dealings of one Peyton Manning. He and Brady face off one more time in the regular season, coming on Sunday Night Football in week 12, November 29th. That night Peyton and the Broncos host Brady and the Patriots. This rivalry has lost some of its lust over the last few years, but it's still fun to talk about. Then there's the Broncos game in week nine, Sunday November 8th, Peyton and company head to Indy to take on the Colts. This marks the final time, in all likelyhood, that Peyton will return to Indy to play a game. One final game that really sticks out to me, comes in week five on October 11th at 4:25, the Cowboys play host to Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. It's two elite quarterbacks and oh yeah two of the teams that most of the country doesn't like. So it should be fun to watch.

Now lets take a look at the local teams shall we.

Here is the 2015 schedule for the New York Giants:
September 13 8:30 p.m. EDT at Dallas Cowboys AT&T Stadium NBC
September 20 1:00 p.m. EDT Atlanta Falcons MetLife Stadium Fox
September 24 8:25 p.m. EDT Washington Redskins MetLife Stadium CBS
October 4 1:00 p.m. EDT at Buffalo Bills Ralph Wilson Stadium Fox
October 11 8:30 p.m. EDT San Francisco 49ers MetLife Stadium NBC
October 19 8:30 p.m. EDT at Philadelphia Eagles Lincoln Financial Field ESPN
October 25 4:25 p.m. EDT Dallas Cowboys MetLife Stadium Fox
November 1 1:00 p.m. EST at New Orleans Saints Mercedes-Benz Superdome Fox
November 8 4:05 p.m. EST at Tampa Bay Buccaneers Raymond James Stadium Fox
November 15 4:25 p.m. EST New England Patriots MetLife Stadium CBS
Bye
November 29 1:00 p.m. EST at Washington Redskins FedEx Field Fox
December 6 1:00 p.m. EST New York Jets MetLife Stadium CBS
December 14 8:30 p.m. EST at Miami Dolphins Sun Life Stadium ESPN
December 20 1:00 p.m. EST Carolina Panthers MetLife Stadium Fox
December 27 1:00 p.m. EST at Minnesota Vikings TCF Bank Stadium Fox
January 3, 2016 1:00 p.m. EST Philadelphia Eagles MetLife Stadium Fox

That was the Schedule for the Giants. Here's what the 2015 season looks like for the New York Jets:
September 13 1:00 p.m. EDT Cleveland Browns MetLife Stadium CBS
September 21 8:30 p.m. EDT at Indianapolis Colts Lucas Oil Stadium ESPN
September 27 1:00 p.m. EDT Philadelphia Eagles MetLife Stadium Fox
October 4 9:30 a.m. EDT vs. Miami Dolphins Wembley Stadium (London, England) CBS
Bye
October 18 1:00 p.m. EDT Washington Redskins MetLife Stadium Fox
October 25 1:00 p.m. EDT at New England Patriots Gillette Stadium CBS
November 1 4:05 p.m. EST at Oakland Raiders O.co Coliseum CBS
November 8 1:00 p.m. EST Jacksonville Jaguars MetLife Stadium CBS
November 12 8:25 p.m. EST Buffalo Bills MetLife Stadium NFLN
November 22 1:00 p.m. EST at Houston Texans NRG Stadium CBS
November 29 1:00 p.m. EST Miami Dolphins MetLife Stadium CBS
December 6 1:00 p.m. EST at New York Giants MetLife Stadium CBS
December 13 1:00 p.m. EST Tennessee Titans MetLife Stadium CBS
December 19 1:00 p.m. EST at Dallas Cowboys AT&T Stadium NFLN
December 27 1:00 p.m. EST New England Patriots MetLife Stadium CBS
January 3, 2016 1:00 p.m. EST at Buffalo Bills Ralph Wilson Stadium CBS

So that the schedule for the NFL for this season. So tell us, what games are you looking forward to the most this season?

2015 NBA Playoff Preview

The 2014-2015 NBA regular season has finally come to an end. There were many teams in the league that played more than what fans expected. Also, actually once again, the Western Conference once again proves that the NBA playoff system should change, but that is another argument for a different day.

Here are all the standings from each conference.

Eastern Conference
1. Atlanta Hawks (60-22)
2. Cleveland Cavaliers (53-29)
3. Chicago Bulls (50-32)
4. Toronto Raptors (49-33)
5. Washington Wizards (46-36)
6. Milwaukee Bucks (41-41)
7. Boston Celtics (40-42)
8. Brooklyn Nets (38-42)

Western Conference
1. Golden State Warriors (67-15)
2. Houston Rockets (56-26)
3. Los Angeles Clippers (56-26)
4. Portland Trail Blazers (51-31)
5. Memphis Grizzlies (55-27)
6. San Antonio Spurs (55-27)
7. Dallas Mavericks (50-32)
8. New Orleans Pelicans (45-37)

It is sad how one team in the West that didn’t make it to the playoffs, OKC (45-37), would’ve been a top contender if they played in the East. But we will bring that question on the table during one of our recordings.

Here are the matchups.

Eastern Conference:
#1 Atlanta vs. #8 Brooklyn
#2 Cleveland vs. #7 Bston
#3Chicago vs. #6 Milwaukee
#4Toronto vs. #5 Washington

Western Conference:
#1 Golden State vs. #8 New Orleans
#2 Houston vs. #7 Dallas
#3 Los Angeles vs. #6 San Antonio
#4 Portland vs. #5 Memphis 

Here are our predictions given by everyone who is apart of Solly and Steve on Sports. 

Solly (Co-Host): Atlanta in 4, Cleveland in 5, Chicago in 6, Washington in 6 Golden St. in 4, Houston in 6, San Antonio 7, Memphis 5

Steve (Co-Host): Atlanta in 4, Cleveland in 5, Chicago in 5, Washington in 7; Golden St. in 4, Houston in 6, San Antonio in 7, Portland in 7 

Dan (Intern): Atlanta in 4, Cleveland in 5, Chicago in 4, Washington in 7 Golden St. in 4, Houston in 7, San Antonio in 6, Memphis in 7

Jeff (Tech Producer): Atlanta in 4, Cleveland in 5, Chicago 5, Washington in 6 Golden St. in 5, Houston in 7, San Antonio in 7, Portland in 6

Brendan (Talent Manager): Brooklyn in 4, Boston in 4, Milwaukee in 4, Toronto in 4 New Orleans in 4, Dallas in 4, Las Angeles in 4, Memphis in 4

Greg (Director): Atlanta in 5, Cleveland 4, Chicago in 5, Toronto in 7 Golden St. in 4, Houston in 7, San Antonio in 6, Memphis in 7


-Article Written by Intern aqnd Fireside Chat Host Danny Delaney

2015 Stanley Cup Playoff Preview

The NHL regular season has come to a close and now the playoffs are next. The 2014-2015 NHL playoffs begin on Wednesday April 15 with four games being played. The 16 teams that made the playoffs are as follows:

Western Conference:
1. Anaheim Ducks
2. St. Louis Blues
3. Nashville Predators
4. Chicago Blackhawks
5. Vancouver Canucks
6. Minnesota Wild (Wild Card)
7. Winnipeg Jets (Wild Card)
8. Calgary Flames

Eastern Conference:
1. New York Rangers (President’s Trophy winner)
2. Montreal Canadians
3. Tampa Bay Lightning
4. Washington Capitals
5. New York Islanders
6. Detroit Red Wings
7. Ottawa Senators (Wild Card)
8. Pittsburgh Penguins (Wild Card)

Here are the matchups:

Western Conference:
#1 Ducks vs. #4 Winnipeg
#1 Blues vs. #4 Wild
#2 Predators vs. #3 Blackhawks
#2 Canucks vs. #3 Flames

Eastern Conference:
#1 Rangers vs. #4 Penguins
#1 Canadians vs. #4 Senators
#2 Lightning vs. #3 Red Wings
#2 Capitals vs. #3 Islanders

Everyone apart of Solly and Steve On Sports has made predictions on who will move on to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Co-Host Steve, our intern Danny, and our other intern Brendan did not make their predictions for the Rangers/Penguins series due to the fact they are all superstitious.

Here are our predictions:

Solly: Blues in 7, Blackhawks in 6, Canucks in 5, Ducks in 6 Rangers in 6, Islanders in 7, Lightning in 7, Senators in 7

Steve: Wild in 7, Blackhawks in 5, Canucks in 6, Jets in 7 Islanders in 6, Lightning in 6, Senators in 6

Jeff: Blues in 6, Blackhawks in 7, Canucks in 4, Jets in 7 Rangers in 6, Islanders in 7, Canadians in 5, Red Wings in 6

Danny: Wild in 6, Blackhawks in 6, Flames in 7, Jets in 7 Senators in 7, Red Wings in 7, Capitals 6

Brendan: Blues in 6, Blackhawks in 5, Canucks in 4, Ducks in 4 Senators in 7, Red Wings in 4, Capitals in 5

Greg: Wild in 6, Blackhawks in 6, Flames in 6, Ducks in 6 Rangers in 6, Capitals in 6, Canadians in 6, Lighting in 6



-Article written by Intern/Fireside Chat Host Danny Delaney

The Blue Devils Rule College Hoops

For the fifth time in the history of the program the Duke Blue Devils were able to cut down the nets as National Champions. This title comes after a 68-63 win over the Wisconsin Badgers at Lucas Oil Stadium. This national title game had a little bit of everything. There were 13 lead changes in the first half alone, there were freshman leading the offensive charge. Oh and Duke overcame a nine-point second-half deficit and foul trouble to its two biggest stars to pull away with the crown. Of course, what would a title game be without a controversial call thrown in there too.

Duke freshmen guards Tyus Jones and Grayson Allen led the Blue Devils with 23 and 16 points, respectively. Duke held the largest lead of the opening half at six points. Wisconsin did not shoot well early, but managed 11 second chance points as they erased the deficit. At the half, the game was tied 31–31, marking the such tie since 1988. Wisconsin, which lead the nation in fewest committed fouls per game, recorded just two first half fouls. Duke meanwhile committed seven fouls. Jones and Allen really stepped up their game, mostly because Jahill Okafor sat the final 4:47 of the first half after picking up two fouls. Okafor had 10 points despite spending most of the second half on the bench, with foul issues. Okafor was outplayed by Badgers senior center Frank Kaminsky. Kaminsky finished with a double double, with 21 points and 12 rebounds. He played quite well, helping keep this Badgers team in this basketball game all night.

When the 2nd half started, Wisconsin came out hotter than Duke. Wisconsin scored first in the second half and held the lead for most of the half. Both Okafor and Justise Winslow spent extended periods on the bench due to foul trouble, which put Duke at their disadvantage, allowing the Badgers to grow their lead. By the time the game hit the 13:25 mark, Wisconsin had grown the lead to its largest of the day at nine points. Duke woke up at that point and began to narrow the gap. Even as Wisconsin was building a lead, the foul situation was reversing itself – by the 11:43, game fouls were even at 9 for each team. However, Okafor picked up his fourth foul at the 9:18 mark, sending him back to the bench. Duke looked to be in trouble with their best player sitting on the bench. This is where Tyrus Jones really started to pick up the slack and take the game over. Jones had 19 points in the second half as the Blue Devil guards got more aggressive in driving to the basket. This hard charging offense by Duke started to throw Wisconsin off their game, as the Badgers started getting called for more fouls. Jones wasn't the only Blue Devil who asserted his will in the 2nd half, Grayson Allen did the same thing. Hell at one point Allen had outscored the Badgers 8-3 in the 2nd half.

Then we got hit with a little controversy. With 1:53 left, a loose ball went out of bounds and the officials initially ruled that Wisconsin’s Bronson Koenig touched it last, awarding the ball to Duke. After a length replay review, the officials announced that the call would stand even though it appeared that the ball may have been last touched by Duke's Justise Winslow instead. Here's the picture proof (Courtesy of USA Today Sports). You can clearly see in the picture hitting the ball going off Winslow's finger. The vine and videos that have shown this same shot online have backed up the opinion that the call was wrong. According to reports from Yahoo! Sports, many were perplexed (and rightfully so) by the officials explanation of the call that "they just couldn't see anything." How could you not see anything. the video shows the ball going off his finger? Human fingers don't bend that way on their own. I understand that the officials are humans and that they are going to make mistakes, its human nature. But come on this was obvious that the ball hit off Winslow and the ball should have gone back to the Badgers. The ball went back to Duke and on the ensuing possession, freshman Tyus Jones drilled a three-pointer to extend Duke’s lead to eight and all but put an end to the Badgers’ title dreams.

This championship win is the fifth in nine trips to the title game for Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski and his third championship won in the city of Indianapolis. Duke had done it twice before, beating the Kansas Jayhawks in 1991 and then beating the Butler Bulldogs in 2010. Mike Krzyzewski just broke a tie with legendary Kentucky coach Adolph Rupp, who won four NCA titles at Kentucky and is now second only to John Wooden, who won the tournament 10 times at UCLA. The Blue Devils are now tied with Indiana and archrival North Carolina with five championships, trailing only Kentucky (eight) and UCLA (11) in college basketball history. Wisconsin was playing in its first championship game since winning the title in 1941, the third year of the NCAA tournament's existence.

When the tournament was over, the all tournament team was named. Sam Dekker of Wisconsin, Frank Kaminsky of Wisconsin, Andrew Harrison of Kentucky, Justise Winslow of Duke and the Most Outstanding Player of the entire tournament in Tyus Jones of Duke were named to the all tournament team.

Congratulations to the Duke Blue Devils for winning their 5th National Title in the sport of basketball in school history!

2015 MLB Predictions

The time has arrived, Major League Baseball is set to go with the 2015 season. This marks the first full season with Rob Manfred as Commissioner of Baseball. We're coming off a season last year in which the Giants knocked off the surprising Kansas City Royals in the World Series. Kansas City beat a surprise Baltimore team in the ALCS. Going into this season, we have some new faces managing teams in Houston (A.J. Hinch), Texas (Jeff Banister), Arizona (Chip Hale), Minnesota (Paul Molitor), Tampa Bay (Kevin Cash) and the Chicago Cubs (Joe Madden). Baltimore, Detroit and the Angels are all trying to reclaim their division crowns, while Kansas City and Oakland are looking to get back into the playoffs as well. same can be said for Washington, St. Louis and the Dodgers winning their divisions. Pittsburgh and San Francisco want to get back in as well. Some teams, like Seattle, Boston and San Diego got a lot better. Then you have teams like Philadelphia, Texas and Arizona who either didn't improve at all or got worse. So there's a lot that has changed around the game heading into the new season.

Spring training is done. Rosters are now set. Teams are ready to rock and roll. With all that being said, here's our predictions for the 2015 Major League Baseball Season.

Matthew 'Solly' Solomon (Host):

AL East: Boston Red Sox

AL Central: Detroit Tigers

AL West: Seattle Mariners

AL Wild Card: Chicago White Sox

AL Wild Card: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

AL Cy Young: Felix Hernandez, Mariners

AL MVP: Mike Trout, Angels

NL East: Washington Nationals

NL Central: St. Louis Cardinals

NL West: Los Angeles Dodgers

NL Wild Card: San Diego Padres

NL Wild Card: Pittsburgh Pirates

NL Cy Young: Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers

NL MVP: Giancarlo Stanton, Marlins

Steven Carollo (Host)
AL East: Boston Red Sox
AL Central: Detroit Tigers
AL West: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
AL Wild Card: Cleveland Indians
AL Wild Card: Baltimore Orioles

AL Cy Young: Chris Sale, White Sox
AL MVP: Mike Trout, Angels

NL East: Washington Nationals
NL Central: St. Louis Cardinals
NL West: San Diego Padres
NLWild Card: Los Angeles Dodgers
NL Wiald Card: Chicago Cubs

NL Cy Young: Adam Wainwright, Cardinals
NL MVP: Bryce Harper, Nationals

Danny Delaney (Intern)
AL East: Baltimore Orioles
AL Central: Cleveland Indians
AL West: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
AL Wild Card: Seattle Mariners
AL WIald Card: Detroit Tigers

AL Cy Young: Felix Hernandez, Mariners
AL MVP: Robinson Cano, Mariners

NL East: Washington Nationals
NL Central: St. Louis Cardinals
NL West: Los Angeles Dodgers
NL Wild Card: San Diego Padres
NL Wild Card: Pittsburgh Pirates

NL CY Young: Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers
NL MVP: Giancarlo Stanton, Marlins

Gregory Delaney (Executive Prodcer):
AL East: Baltimore Orioles
AL Central: Detroit Tigers
AL West: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
AL Wild Card: New York Yankees
AL Wild Card: Seattle Mariners

NL East: Washington Nationals
NL Central: St. Louis Cardinals
NL West: Los Angeles Dodgers
NL Wild Card: Pittsburgh Pirates
NL Wild Card: San Diego Padres

There you have it, our predictions for the 2015 Major League Baseball Season!