Welcome To New York Wilson Ramos

The Catcher. Plays a key role on a baseball field. He controls the pitching staff for his team, controls the run game for the opposing team, and can provide some offensive production as well. A guy who can do all three, and do them all very well, is rare to come by in the Major Leagues. One guy who can be put into that category is Wilson Ramos, who had been one of the highly touted free agents on the market this winter at the catcher position. He's not on the market anymore, as he's signed a two year deal, with a club option for a third year, worth $19.5 Million. The team that signed him was the New York Mets and it managed to kill two birds with one stone. It got them a player they really needed and it didn't cost them players in order to get him.

First, lets look at the signing at face value and what it means to the Mets. Ramos is a good hitting catcher. He's a .273 lifetime hitter, a guy who averages at least 10 home runs and more than 75 RBI's in a season. He hit .307 last year with 15 homers and 70 RBI split between Tampa Bay and Philadelphia. He's been battling back after dealing with tearing his ACL late in the 2016 season. Of catchers with at least 1,000 plate appearances over the past three seasons, Ramos’ OPS of .826 is second, behind Gary Sánchez and ahead of Buster Posey, Willson Contreras and Yasmani Grandal. Seeing numbers like that makes me as a Mets fan happy, knowing we have a guy who can get on base and can hit.

Facts are, the Mets haven't had security, from an offensive perspective at least, from the catcher position since Mike Piazza. The only guy that's come close to being able to really produce as a catcher for the Mets since Piazza was Paul Lo Duca. Lo Duca wasn't off the charts great at the plate, but he was very serviceable. Now they know they have a guy behind the plate who can rake a little with a bat in his hand. HIs defense is about average, maybe a little bit above it. His offensive production can cover for it. He's not going to set the world on fire with his bat, but he will be able to do enough to be very productive with this New York Club.

Now here's the other plus side for it for the Mets. Everybody knows that New York had been in talks with the Miami Marlins about J.T. Realmuto. The Marlins were reportedly demanding at least one of Amed Rosario, Michael Conforto, and Brandon Nimmo in any deal for their star catcher. That's too high an asking price. Yes getting Realmuto from the Marlins would have been huge, but it also would have come at too high a cost. Nimmo and Conforto could be major building blocks for the outfield. Getting rid of Rosario in the deal would have added another HUGE hole that the Mets would then have to have gone out and try and fill. There was also one rumor floating around that the Mets could have been involved in a three team trade with the Marlins and Yankees that could have seen Noah Syndergaard traded to the Bronx with Realmuto heading to NY. Thankfully that never happened, because that too would have left a hole on this team, this time in the starting rotation, which is a strength of the Mets.

Getting Ramos was a great signing by new GM Brodie Van Waganen. It got the Mets a need to fill, especially with Travis d'Arnaud still recovering from Tommy John Surgery. They got a catcher that they needed, one who has a good offensive upside, and it didn't cost them any pieces that could have created another hole for this team. Good signing by Brodie and Welcome to New York, Wilson!

NFL Clinching Scenarios Week 15

We got three weeks left in the regular season in the NFL. Week 15 kicks off today, and there's a lot on the line this week. Here's what the clinching scenarios look like for this week's action around the league.

NFC
CLINCHED
Los Angeles Rams: NFC West division title
New Orleans Saints: NFC South division title

NEW ORLEANS SAINTS
-New Orleans clinches a first-round bye with a win and a Bears loss or tie
-New Orleans can also clinch with a tie and a Bears loss

LOS ANGELES RAMS
-Los Angeles clinches a first-round bye with a win and a Bears loss or tie
-Los Angeles can also clinch with a tie and a Bears loss

CHICAGO BEARS
-Chicago clinches NFC North division title with a win or a Vikings loss, or they and the Vikings tie
-Chicago clinches a playoff berth with a win or a Redskins loss or tie

DALLAS COWBOYS
-Dallas clinches NFC East division title with a win, or a tie and Washington and Philly losses, or just losses by both Washington and Philly

SEATTLE SEAHAWKS
-Seattle clinches a playoff berth with a win or a tie and losses by Minnesota Washington and Philly

AFC
CLINCHED:
Kansas City Chiefs: Playoff berth
Los Angeles Chargers: Playoff berth

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS
-New England clinches AFC East division title with a win and a Miami Loss or a tie and a Miami loss
-New England clinches a playoff berth with a win and a Tennessee loss OR a tie and losses by the Titans, Ravens and Colts

HOUSTON TEXANS
-Houston clinches AFC South division title with a win and losses by the Titans and Colts OR a tie and a loss by the Colts and Titans
-Houston clinches a playoff berth with a win and losses by  Miami Pittsburgh and Baltimore OR a tie and losses by the Colts, Steelers, Titans, Dolphins and Ravens

Best & Worst Of NFL Week Fourteen

We got a month left to go in the NFL season and things are getting tight. Three teams, the Rams, Saints and Chiefs, have already clinched playoffs. More are getting close after Sunday's action. We had a crazy finish in Miami, a comeback win in New York, and quite a few others turned into nail bitters. Now we hit the time of the year where there's a lot of scoreboard watching and there was plenty of reason to do so on Sunday. We had a two hundred plus yard rusher and two receivers had more than two hundred receiving yards. Enough talk, lets get into it right now. Here's some of the best and worst from the week that was in the National Football League.

Best:
Derrick Henry, Running Back Tennessee Titans
Tennessee pulled itself to over .500 at 7-6 thanks to a huge 30-6 win over Jacksonville. A big reason for that was the performance of running back Derrick Henry. To get the party started, in the middle of the second quarter, Henry ripped off a 99 yard touchdown run. On that run, he stiff-armed A.J. Bouye into oblivion and broke multiple other tackle en route to the score. That was just the tip of the iceburg. By the time the day was done, Henry finished with 238 yards rushing and a mind blowing four touchdowns. Jacksonville has been hit or miss on defense this year, and Henry just lit them up like a Christmas tree. Tennessee is hanging around in the playoff race and Henry is hitting his stride and becoming a big threat as a back in this game. Good on ya for this day mate.

Worst:
Pittsburgh Steelers
This is not the time of year you should be slipping up, especially if you are one of the teams considered a favorite for the Super Bowl. They went into Oakland on Sunday looking to right the ship. They were down three with time running down and had a shot at the end of the game to at least force overtime. Then kicker Chris Boswell slipped on a potential game-tying field goal as time expired, allowing Oakland to walk away with a 24-21 victory. Pittsburgh has now lost two straight games and is fading on a possible lock for postseason play. They now sit at 7-5-1 and have Baltimore (7-6), Cleveland (5-7-1), and Cincinnati (5-8) breathing down their necks. Injuries have been an issue, but this would be an epic collapse if Pittsburgh coughed up the AFC North. They need to stop shooting themselves in the foot and step their game up to distance themselves from the rest of the divison. Having Big Ben miss a little time due to injury and having Joshua Dobbs play as awful as he did isn't a good sign in the stell city.

Best:
Saquon Barkley, Running Back New York Giants
Another day at the office for Saquon Barkley. He helped the Giants roll in a big way to a 40-16 win over the Redskins. The line for Barkley on the day was as follows: 18 carries for 197 yards and a touchdown. At one point, Barkley ripped off a 78-yard run for a score, which marked the fifth time this year that Barkley had a scoring run of 50 or more yards. That just so happen to tie Randy Moss for the most 50 or more yard scoring plays in a year by a rookie. It also put him over the 1,000 rush yard mark for the year, something a rookie hasn't done in quite some time. The Giants were looking for a special, game breaker time player. They got one in Barkley. When many people counted them out, New York is still managing to hang around in this playoff race. Things are heating up for the Giants, who are still going to have to win out to have a chance. With Barkley playing the way he has over the last few games, he's got a real shot to power them into the post season. He's been very, very good this year.

Worst:
Mark Sanchez, Quarterback Washington Redskins
We talked above a little about how things went between the Giants and Redskins. While it was good for Big Blue, not so much for Washington. Mark Sanchez was a part of that, showing why he was a free agent until there was a need for him in the Nations Capital. He was sacked five times, finished the day going 8 of 15 for 27 yards and two picks, one of which was returned for a touchdown. It lead to the Giants blowing the doors off the Skins. In the end, he mercifully was pulled in favor of Josh Johnson in the second half. There had been complaints all over the place against Washington for why Colin Kaperknick hadn't been signed when the Redskins starting losing signal callers to injury. They instead of Colin, pluck Sanchez off the heap. What he did on Sunday showed why teams hadn't signed him. Things are going from bad to worse in Washington, as the division race is slipping away fast.

Best:
George Kittle, Tight End San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco went into battle with the Denver Broncos on Sunday, a game which the Niners dominated to the tune of a 20-14 win. A big reason San Francisco walked away with the victory was the play of their tight end George Kittle. Kittle has had a major coming out party and a monster day on Sunday. Kittle had seven catches for 210 yards, four yards short of the NFL record for yards by a tight end. Of those 210 yards, 85 of them came on a monster TD grab. Kittle averaged 30 yards a catch on the day, something that you'd normally see out of speedy wide receivers. Kittle can hang with some of the fastest receivers in football. Kittle broke the 49ers franchise record for most receiving yards in a single season by a tight end. Oh and there are still three more games left to play. There's no telling how far this Kittle kid can go in this league. Not bad for a second-year former fifth-round pick out of Iowa.

Worst:
Josh Allen, Quarterback Buffalo Bills
Josh Allen is a man of many talents, both good and bad. One thing he's really good at is running the football. Over the last three weeks, Allen has ran for 321 yards, most over a three week stretch by a QB since Michael Vick in 2006. That's great. But here's the thing, Allen is a quarterback. He's paid to pass the football. He wasn't very good at that on Sunday's 27-23 loss to the Jets. Yes he went 13 of 26 for 206 yards. But he never tossed a touchdown, was sacked three times and threw two horrible interceptions. Both came during times when the Bills needed to respond to a Jets touchdown. On the season, the rookie is completing just over half his passes. Even worse, he has thrown just five touchdown passes and has nine interceptions. That’s a horrible ratio. This could be growing pains in Buffalo, Josh needs to just learns to hang onto the ball better.

Best:
Amari Cooper, Wide Receiver Dallas Cowboys
Dallas came up big when it needed to, beating the Eagles 29-23 on Sunday. Sure Dak Prescott wasn't at his best on the day. He had three turnovers and missed a golden chance late on a deep ball with Michael Gallup. He made up for it in a big way, hooking up with midseason pickup Amari Cooper. Cooper was the real story on the day, helping Dallas to their overtime win. He with a massive game. He finished with 10 catches for 217 yards and three scores. Those scores came late in the 44th quarter and the winner in overtime. Since joining Dallas, Cooper has found his game again, with 40 catches for 642 yards and six touchdowns. His season has pulled a complete 180 since the trade to Dallas, and now he's a big reason why the Cowboys hare hanging around in the hunt in the NFC East title picture.


Worst:
Cam Newton, Quarterback Carolina Panthers
I kind of feel bad for Christian McCaffrey here, who had a pretty good day in what turned out to be a losing effort. Cleveland beat Carolina 26-20 and Cam Newton has looked off again this week. As a matter of fact, Newton has been missing practice all year with a lingering issue in his throwing shoulder. Sunday, he looked like something was getting to him, other than the Browns defense. Newton went 26 of 42, which is astounding considering his shoulder issue. He failed to throw a single touchdown, had one interception and once again his ineffectiveness as a passer cost his team a game. Carolina has now lost five straight games and sits at 6-7. Looks like their playoff hope is pretty much out the window.

Best:
Miami Dolphins Home Luck
This rivalry game between the Dolphins and Pats was entertaining from start to finish. Both quarterbacks looked good at times and both teams made big plays when needed. It look as if New England was going to walk away with its 10th win of the year. tom Brady lead a big drive near the end of the game. He drove his offense on a perfectly executed four-minute drill that went 10 plays and resulted in a field goal to take a five-point lead with just 16 seconds left on the clock. Looks like a lock win for the Pats right? WRONG. Ryan Tannehill threw a short pass to Kenny Stills, who then lateraled to DeVante Parker, who then lateraled to Kenyan Drake. Normally, these last-gasp plays end in disaster. This one did, too. For the Patriots. Rob Gronkowski, who was on the field for this play for some weird reason, couldn’t catch Drake near the end zone, and the running back scored the game-winner with zeroes showing on the clock. Not only did this play keep the Dolphins in the playoff hunt, it was the longest game-winning touchdown with no time remaining on the clock in modern NFL history.

Worst:
Jameis Winston Quarterback Tampa Bay Buccaneers
You saw a tale of two games from Winston on Sunday against New Orleans. The good was the fact that he threw a pair of touchdowns, both of which went to Cameron Brate, his tight end. It was of big help to Tampa, as they built a 14-3 lead on the Saints. Then the wheels came falling off. New Orleans woke up and steamrolled the Bucs, walking away with a 28-14 win. Winston had his flashes, which we touched on. Then he had a bad second half. All told, Winston, who’s has been really struggling and is fighting for his job, went just 18 of 28  for 213 yards. His second-half performance, which was average at best, was capped off by an interception on Tampa Bay’s final possession. Even worse, Winston got into a heated argument with his center, Ryan Jensen, during this game. That shows a poor attitude. Can't have that happening in this league.

NFL Clinching Scenarios Week 14

It's getting close to playoff time in the NFL. We got less than a month to go in the regular season. So every week, we break it down to let you know, how has a chance to clinch what in the NFL. So here's what teams can clinch what playoff spots this week.

NFC
CLINCHED: 
Los Angeles Rams -- NFC West division title
-Rams can clinch a first round bye with a win

New Orleans Saints
-Clinches NFC South division title with either a win or tie OR a Carolina loss or tie
-Clinches a playoff berth with a loss by Minnesota, Philadelphia and Washington

AFC
Kansas City Chiefs
-Clinches a playoff berth with either win or tie OR losses or ties from Miami, Indianapolis and Tennessee

New England Patriots
-Clinches AFC East division title with a win or a tie

Houston Texans
-Clinches AFC South division title with either a win and Titans loss or tie OR with a tie and a Titans loss

Los Angeles Chargers
-Clinches a playoff berth with a win and losses by Miami, Denver Indianapolis and Tennessee OR a tie and losses by Miami, Denver and Indy and Indianapolis and Tennessee don't tie

Best & Worst Of NFL Week Thirteen

Week Thirteen has come and gone in the National Football League. The week started off with three games with non playoff teams scoring wins over possible playoff bound clubs. Order was restored by the end of the week, but there was still a lot to look at. Green Bay is looking for a new head coach, Cam Newton found a way to make the Bucs defense look fantastic, while Atlanta mailed it in against Baltimore, and did it at home no less. You also know its a weird week around the league when Josh Allen, a Quarterback mind you, had more rushing yards on the week then Todd Gurley. It was an interesting week, that's for sure. With that being said, here's a look at some of the best and worst of the week that was in the NFL.

Best:
Josh Allen, Quarterback Buffalo Bills
Yes I know it's weird seeing this in the winners category, considering, considering that the Bills lost to Miami 21-17. I know Josh Allen was picked off twice, but he made up for it in other ways. He went 18 of 31 for 231 yards and two touchdown throws. He also had nine carries for 135 yards. yes you did read that correctly, Josh Allen had 135 rush yards on nine carries, which was the second most rush yards in the league this week, trailing only Phillip Lindsey of Denver (more on him later). Allen did everything he could to try and get the Bills a win but came up just short in his effort. But it was that effort that got him here on this list. With more games like this in the future, Allen has a bright future in Buffalo.

Worst:
Cam Newton, Quarterback Carolina Panthers
Things didn't go very well for the Panthers on Sunday, falling to the Bucs 24-17. Newton was a big reason for that. he threw four picks in the game, three of them falling into the hands of safety Andrew Adams. Lets give credit where its due, Tampa Bay made good plays to haul in the interceptions, but honestly not a single one of them was a good throw or decision by Newton. Worse still, the Bucs turned Newton’s two first-half interceptions into 10 points. In a game that was decided by a touchdown, Newton’s poor game was the difference. Think about this too. About a month ago, the Panthers were siting at 6-2 and looked to be in good shape as a possible playoff team. Now, Carolina has lost four straight games and sit at .500. They're in danger of missing out on the playoffs, in a year that held some promise. Newton has got to play better and limit the tunrovers if the Panthers want to stand a chance of getting into the post season.

Best:
Phillip Lindsey, Running Back Denver Broncos
Denver kept things moving on Sunday against the Bengals, to the tune of a 24-10 victory. Big reason for that was Phillip Lindsey, who had himself a day on Sunday. He went off against the Bengals, carrying the ball 19 times for a league best 157 rushing yards and two touchdowns. It's safe to say that he was the best player on the field in that game, for either team really. Lindsay has piled up 571 yards and six touchdowns from scrimmage, and that's just in the last five games alone. If he’s able to continue carrying this type of load the rest of the way, there’s a chance Denver really could sneak into the playoffs. Hey they're on a four game win streak and sitting just outside that 6th and final playoff spot. It's possible Denver could get in and Phillip Lindsey is a big reason that the Broncos sit where they sit right now.

Worst:
Kirk Cousins, Quarterback, Minnesota Vikings
New England dominated this game, beating the Vikings 24-10. On paper, Kirk Cousins looked like he had a decent game, made a couple of mistakes but it wasn't that awful. At least that's what the box score said. The eye test is something totally different and Cousins was bad on Sunday. He never really took shots down field against the Pats, mostly relying on the dink and dunk to his running backs. Cousins never really tried to go at the Pats defense and it cost him. Minnesota only scored one touchdown against New England and that was partially on Cousins. The Vikings needed their big money playnmaker to step up and make the big plays and he wasn't able to do that against New England. It could possibly come back to haunt Minnesota if somehow things really fall apart for them.

Best:
New York Giants Playoff Hopes
When you consider all the things that the Giants have been through this season, its a miracle that they are still in the hunt. Mathematically, they're still very much in this thing, now sitting just three games behind the division leading Cowboys with four weeks left in the regular season. This is thanks to a thrilling 30-27 overtime win over the Bears on Sunday. Eli Manning drove fans crazy early on with some of his sloppy play. With the way the first half went, many Giants fans were clamoring for him to be benched. But thanks to the play of rookie running back Saquon Barkley, and yet another touchdown pass from Odell Beckham Jr. on a trick play, New York is still alive. The way they manage to keep themselves alive for a playoff chase, with how things went for them through the first half of the season is amazing. They're still in it, while having to play the Redskins, Titans, Colts and Cowboys the remainder of the season. If the Giants can keep up that steady pace, there's an outside chance that the game with Dallas on the final day of the season could be for a division title.

Worst:
Green Bay Packers Playoff Hopes
Going into this year, there was a lot of hope surrounding the Green Bay Packers. They had a look to them that told the fans, and the rest of the league, that they had what it takes to be a playoff team. They were two touchdown favorites going into Sunday's action against the Cardinals. Well, they fell flat on their faces, losing 20-17 to Arizona. As if things weren't bad enough for the Pack, the team announced after the game that they parted ways with head coach Mike McCarthy. This can be seen as rock bottom for the Packers. Green Bay's offense looked flat, as there seemed to be a level of disconnect between McCarthy and Aaron Rogers. There's other areas that need addressing. When Aaron Jones gets only 11 carries on the day, it's a sign of the troubles. When Green Bay mailed this game it, it was a sign that the team has flatlined. Expect more changes to come in Green Bay.

Best:
Los Angeles Chargers Offense
Pittsburgh had never lost a home game in which they lead by 14 points. Los Angeles was down by 16 at halftime. From a Pittsburgh perspective, the game looked like it was in the bag. Los Angeles offense woke up, scoring 23 unanswered points in the second half. Part of it came from a miracle touchdown after two Pittsburgh defenders collided in the end zone on what appeared to be an interception. Then Desmond King returned a punt 73 yards for a touchdown to tie things up. The two teams then traded touchdowns again, and the game ended with a Chargers field goal as time expired. But that only happened because the Steelers were flagged for being offsides three plays in a row. Yes, it was messy and freaky. But in the end, Los Angeles proved it has the mettle to compete for a title this year. The Chargers showed they are ready to be a playoff team right now and can be a threat in the AFC playoffs.

Worst
New Orleans Saints Offense
Talk about a team that had its momentum stopped dead in its tracks. The Saints had a ten game winning streak going into it's Thursday Night matchup against Dallas. New Orleans defense did it's part, as Dak Prescott got sacked seven times, and the Saints held Ezekiel Elliott to just 3.3 yards per carry while allowing just 13 points. For some reason, it was that New Orleans high powered offense that went ice cold. New Orleans managed to tally just 176 yards of offense, putting 10 points on the board. It was the worst offensive showing we’ve seen from the Saints since the 2001 season. When you consider how well the Saints offense has produced in a lot of games this year, its mind blowing.They're tied with the rams for being the 2nd highest scoring team in the NFL this year, behind only Kansas City, and they were shut down by the Cowboys of all teams. I think this could be just a blip on the screen, but it is something to maybe keep an eye on going into this weekends action and down the line towards the playoff push.

Best:
Marcus Mariota, Quarterback Tennessee Titans
Tennessee looked in tough shape going into week thirteen, when it came to a playoff spot. They only had five wins. To make things look worse, they were down 16-0 to the New York Jets at one point. At the end of the day, the Titans walked away with a 26-22 win and Mariota was a key piece to that comeback win. Yes he was sacked three times and did have a pick six. But the rest of the state line was good, going 20 of 31 for for 282 yards and two touchdowns. His two deep throws to Taywan Taylor during the second half sparked the offense, which scored twice through the air. Tennessee finished the game scoring the final thirteen points of the game and put themselves right back in the hunt in the AFC playoffs. At 6-6 they still have a chance and it was thanks to the play of Mariota in this case to keep the Titans hopes alive.

Worst:
Indianapolis Colts Win Streak
Indy had been one of the hottest teams in Football going into Sunday's meeting with Jacksonville. That hot streak came to an end thanks to a 6-0 Jaguars win. Andrew Luck had been on a streak of throwing three or more touchdowns in a game in each of the last eight games before this one. That came to an end. Indy was kept off the scoreboard and the offense turned the football over twice. To be fair, the Colts defense did a fantastic job and manage to keep Jacksonville in check. Indy had a shot to win with a touchdown at the end. But the game fittingly ended on a controversial play that caused the clock to run out, rather than give Luck one more shot at a touchdown. Just kinda seemed like a bad way for Indy to fall in this one. Now they have to regroup and get ready to face a red hot Houston team.

College Football Bowl Games Announced

It's the most wonderful time of the year for College Football Fans. Bowl season has arrived. In total, there are 40 bowl games scheduled between now and the National Championship Game on January 7th. So let's not waste the time and get right into it. Here's the full list of this year's Bowl games.

College Football Playoff (December 29th, Title Game January 7th)
College Football Playoff semifinal at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic 
No. 2 Clemson vs. No. 3 Notre Dame 4 p.m. ET on ESPN AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas

College Football Playoff semifinal at the Capital One Orange Bowl
No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 4 Oklahoma 8 p.m. ET on ESPN Hard Rock Stadium Miami Gardens, Florida

College Football Playoff National Championship
Levi's Stadium Santa Clara, California 8:00 pm Orange Bowl winner vs. Cotton Bowl winner

Now for the rest of the dates of the Bowl Games:

December 15th
Air Force Reserve Celebration Bowl
North Carolina A&T vs. Alcorn State Noon ET, ABC Mercedes-Benz Stadium Atlanta

New Mexico Bowl
North Texas vs. Utah State 2 p.m. ET, ESPN Branch Field at Dreamstyle Stadium Albuquerque, New Mexico

AutoNation Cure Bowl 
Tulane vs. Louisiana-Lafayette 2:30 p.m. ET, CBSSN Camping World Stadium Orlando, Florida

Mitsubishi Motors Las Vegas Bowl
Fresno State vs. Arizona State 3:30 p.m. ET, ABC Sam Boyd Stadium Las Vegas

Raycom Media Camellia Bowl
Georgia Southern vs. Eastern Michigan 5:30 p.m. ET, ESPN Cramton Bowl Montgomery, Alabama

R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl 
Middle Tennessee vs. Appalachian State 9 p.m. ET, ESPN Mercedes-Benz Superdome New Orleans

December 18th
Cheribundi Boca Raton Bowl 
UAB vs. Northern Illinois 7 p.m. ET, ESPN Howard Schnellenberger Field at FAU Stadium Boca Raton, Florida

December 19th
DXL Frisco Bowl
San Diego State vs. Ohio 8 p.m. ET, ESPN Toyota Stadium Frisco, Texas

December 20th
Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl 
Marshall vs. South Florida 8 p.m. ET, ESPN Raymond James Stadium Tampa, Florida

December 21st
Makers Wanted Bahamas Bowl 
FIU vs. Toledo 12:30 p.m. ET, ESPN Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium Nassau, Bahamas

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
Western Michigan vs. BYU 4 p.m. ET, ESPN Lyle Smith Field at Albertsons Stadium Boise, Idaho

December 22nd
Jared Birmingham Bowl 
Memphis vs. Wake Forest Noon ET, ESPN Legion Field Birmingham, Alabama

Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl
Houston vs. Army 3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN Amon G. Carter Stadium Fort Worth, Texas

Dollar General Bowl
Buffalo vs. Troy 7 p.m. ET, ESPN Ladd-Peebles Stadium Mobile, Alabama

SoFi Hawai'i Bowl
Louisiana Tech vs. Hawaii 10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN Aloha Stadium Honolulu

December 26th
SERVPRO First Responder Bowl
Boston College vs. Boise State 1:30 p.m. ET, ESPN Cotton Bowl Dallas

Quick Lane Bowl
Minnesota vs. Georgia Tech %:15 p.m. ET, ESPN Ford Field Detroit

Cheez-It Bowl
California vs. TCU 9 p.m. ET, ESPN Chase Field Phoenix

December 27th
Walk-On's Independence Bowl
Temple vs. Duke 1:30 p.m. ET, ESPN Independence Stadium Shreveport, Louisiana

New Era Pinstripe Bowl
Miami (FL) vs. Wisconsin 5:15 p.m. ET, ESPN Yankee Stadium New York

Academy Sports + Outdoors Texas Bowl
Baylor vs. Vanderbilt 9 p.m. ET, ESPN NRG Stadium |Houston

December 28th
Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl
Purdue vs. Auburn 1:30 p.m. ET, ESPN Nissan Stadium Nashville, Tennessee

Camping World Bowl
West Virginia vs. Syracuse 5:15 p.m. ET, ESPN Camping World Stadium Orlando, Florida

Valero Alamo Bowl
Iowa State vs. Washington State 9 p.m. ET, ESPN Alamodome San Antonio, Texas

December 29th
Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl
No. 10 Florida vs. No. 7 Michigan Noon ET, ESPN Mercedes-Benz Stadium Atlanta

Belk Bowl
South Carolina vs. Virginia Noon ET, ABC Bank of America Stadium Charlotte, North Carolina

NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl
Arkansas State vs. Nevada 1:15 p.m. ET, CBSSN Arizona Stadium Tucson, Arizona

December 31st
Military Bowl Presented by Northrop Grumman
Cincinnati  vs. Virginia Tech Noon ET, ESPN Jack Stephens Field at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, Maryland

Hyundai Sun Bowl
Stanford vs. Pittsburgh 2 p.m. ET, CBS Sun Bowl Stadium El Paso, Texas

Redbox Bowl
Michigan State vs. Oregon 3 p.m. ET, Fox Levi's Stadium Santa Clara, California

AutoZone Liberty Bowl
Missouri vs. Oklahoma State 3:45 p.m. ET, ESPN Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium Memphis, Tennessee

San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl
Northwestern vs. Utah (-8.5) 7 p.m. ET, FS1 SDCCU Stadium San Diego, California

TaxSlayer Gator Bowl
NC State vs. Texas A&M 7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN TIAA Bank Field Jacksonville, Florida

January 1st
Outback Bowl
Mississippi State vs. Iowa Noon ET, ESPN2 Raymond James Stadium Tampa, Florida

VRBO Citrus Bowl
Kentucky vs. Penn State 1 p.m. ET, ABC Camping World Stadium | Tickets Orlando, Florida

PlayStation Fiesta Bowl
No. 11 LSU vs. No. 8 UCF 1 p.m. ET, ESPN State Farm Stadium, Glendale, Arizona | Tickets Glendale, Arizona

Rose Bowl Game Presented by Northwestern Mutual
No. 9 Washington vs. No. 6 Ohio State 5 p.m. ET, ESPN Rose Bowl Pasadena, California

Allstate Sugar Bowl
No. 15 Texas vs. No. 5 Georgia 8:45 p.m. ET, ESPN Mercedes-Benz Superdome New Orleans

Islanders Homecoming A Success

Last night was one of the nights that fans and players alike will not forget. It has been three long years since the last game was played at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. The exact date was April 25th, 2015. That was the date of Game Six of the opening round loss to the Washington Capitals. Since then, the Islanders have had to call Barclays Center in Brooklyn home. Anybody who's gone to the games there can tell you, its not quite the same thing. It's not home. Long Island is. Nassau Coliseum is. Last night, in a 3-2 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Islanders came home.

Tailgating started at 7AM, a full twelve hours before puck drop. That was an indication as to how badly this area needs this team. A complete sellout of 14,500 if not more, packed the Coliseum to watch the game. It was loud in that building. I was watching on TV and you could feel the energy and electricity coming through the TV screen. So just imagine what the building must have felt like. It was quieted halfway through the hockey game when the Jackets took a 2-0 lead. Then the tide started to turn. Andres Lee got the Isles on the board and the building EXPLODED. It got even louder a few minutes later when Anthony Beauvillier tied the game. The icing on the cake came in the 3rd when Casey Cizikas capped it off with the game winner a little over seven minutes into the 3rd.

Some things never changed in the building. They supposedly put $70 million into rebuilding the place. The corridor was still just as crowded, from what I heard. The lines for the bathrooms were still just as long, from what I heard And the noise was still the same. It's still a very tough place to play for opposing teams. Fans are right on top of you and when we have reason to, Islanders fans can make life hell for opposing teams, because of how loud we can get. Players have even said it that playing there was different than any other building in the league.

Last night's outing was proof that the team never should have left. It should have been temporary at most while the building was torn down and totally rebuilt from the ground up. That's not what happened. Nassau County screwed up, leaving the Islanders to head to Brooklyn for good until Belmont gets built. As an Islanders fan, I'm extremely thankful that a deal was able to be reached so the team could play at the Coliseum for 21 games a year till the new building comes around. It's meant so many great memories going to games at the old barn. I've spent quite a few good winter nights in the building, watching hockey. Might not have always been winning hockey, but it was hockey never the less.

It would only be one or two games a year, maybe more if I got really lucky. It was through the bad years and the good times. It meant quality time with my family going to a game. It meant that even for a few hours, no matter how tough things got at home, it was an escape and all was right with the world. Might not have been a lot of wins during the late 90's but it was still fun never the less. It brings back so many great memories and I can't be any happier that the Islanders are back, at least for a little while, at the Coliseum. It was a sight for sore eyes last night that's for sure.

Anybody who was at the game last night, or even saw it on TV, can tell you the same thing. They're happy the Islanders are back on Long Island where they belong. The build was just as loud as ever. It may have gotten a slight face lift and was, on the whole, the same building. Nobody cared. The Blue and Orange were right back where they belong. They should have never left. Last night's game proved that.