Stanley Cup Bracket Prediction

The Series for the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs are as follows:

Western Conference-

St. Louis Blue v. Minnesota Wild

Nashville Predators v. Chicago Blackhawks

Anaheim Duks v. Winnipeg Jets

Vancouver Canucks v. Calgary Flames

Eastern Conference- 

Montreal Canadiens v. Ottawa Senators

Tampa Bay Lightning v. Detroit Red Wings

New York Rangers v. Pittsburgh Penguins

Washington Capitals v. New York Islanders

My Predictions for advancement are:

Western Conference- 

Minnesota Wild v. Chicago Blackhawks

Anaheim Ducks v. Calgary Flames

Eastern Conference-

Montreal Canadiens v. Detroit Red Wings

New York Rangers v. New York Islanders

My Conference Championship Predictions are:

Western Conference-

Anaheim Ducks v. Minnesota Wild

Eastern Conference- 

Montreal Canadiens v. New York Rangers

My Stanley Cup Final Prediction is:

Stanley Cup Final-

Anaheim Ducks v. Montreal Canadiens 

I Select the:

Tim Tebow to Sign with the Eagles

The Philadelphia Eagles have made a lot of surprising offseason moves, and continue to keep making them.  The Eagles and Tim Tebow have made an agreement to sign the former Heisman Trophy winner.  About a month ago the Eagles said they were only going to sign Tebow if they could trade Matt Barkley.  Unable to trade Barkley, the Eagles looked to sign Tebow anyways.  Tebow is still looking to follow his dream as being a quarterback in the NFL.

I am not sure what to think of this trade.  I think Matt Barkley is better quarterback then Tebow, but I think their will be a battle for a roster spot between them.  I think what happened with Tebow and the New England Patriots will happen again with Tebow being cut and not making the regular season roster.  I think the Eagles could be doing this for publicity and possible increase in ticket sales for preseason games.  I could be wrong, maybe Chip Kelly sees some use of Tebow in his offense schemes.  I think Tebow could also be a tight end or another position other than quarterback.  It seems Tim Tebows name is always coming and he always seems to find his name in the headlines.  Maybe we will all see if it is finally "Tebow Time".

To read more go to: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2400184-tim-tebow-to-sign-with-eagles-latest-contract-details-comments-and-reaction

The Padres and Braves Make a Huge Blockbuster Trade

The San Diego Padres traded Cameron Maybin, Carlos Quentin, Matt Wisler, Jordan Paroubeck and the 41st pick in June’s draft to the Atlanta Braves for Craig Kimbrel and Melvin Upton (formally B.J Upton).  The traded happened just a few hours before the Cubs and Cardinals opening night game.  This was an attempt for the Braves to lower their payroll and start to rebuild and develop their young prospects.  Atlanta will save $53.35M in this trade with the Padres.

I think this was a great move by both teams.  The Braves were able to free up a lot of salary, and the Padres have added one of the best closers in baseball.  It was a huge surprise that the Braves would trade Kimbrel, who is one of the best closers the MLB.  It was obvious the Padres wanted Kimbrel the most, and the Braves threw in Upton to try to lower their payroll.  I think the Padres have made great moves in the offseason, and I think they have a chance to make playoffs and go far in playoffs.

To read more go to http://nypost.com/2015/04/05/braves-padres-double-down-with-shocking-kimbrel-blockbuster/

Patrick Beverley to Miss the Remainder of the Season

Houston Rockets' guard Patrick Beverley will miss the remainder of the 2015 season and playoffs.  Beverley had injured his wrist, and was going to find out if he could play through it or not.  Beverley learned that he needed surgery.  He has completed his surgery and will have to wear a cast for 10 weeks.

This is a huge loss for the Rockets while they go into playoffs.  Beverley was having a good year and was a key part of the team.  With Dwight Howard returning, and James Harden having an MVP caliber year, I think the Rockets can still make late run in playoffs without Beverley.  It is always sad to an athlete get injured for the remainder of the season.  I think Beverley will come back and be just as productive before the injury.

To read more go to http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2407067-patrick-beverley-injury-updates-on-rockets-guards-wrist-and-return

Texas Fires Head Coach Rick Barnes

After 17 years the University of Texas has decided to fire their head coach, Rick Barnes, after a disappointing 2014-2015 season.  Texas went 20-14 and lost the first round of the tournament to Butler.  Barnes' contract goes until 2019, but includes a $1.7M buyout if he is fired this spring.  In his time with Texas, he has taken Texas to the NCAA tournament 16 times, but has never made it past the third round.

I think it is always sad to see a good coach get fired.  I believe Rick Barnes will find a new destination, and it will help to improve that teams' program.  I think the the departure between Texas and Barnes, will help to bring a new fresh start for both.  Coach Barnes will be missed by Texas and athletes like Kevin Durant and TJ Ford highly praised their former coach.

To read more go to http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2403963-rick-barnes-fired-by-texas-latest-details-comments-and-reaction

Bloomsburg Baseball Player Kicked Off Team for Tweet About Mo'ne Davis

Bloomsburg University's baseball team has kicked off one of their players for putting up a vulgar tweet about Mo'ne Davis.  This players name was Joey Casselberry, and he was a sophomore first baseman.  He was also second on the team in hitting last season with .389 average over six games.  Bloomsburg University was extremely saddened by this tweet and did not want to be represented as a University like that, so they thought it was the best decision to dismiss him.

I think the Bloomsburg baseball team and University made the right choice.  Athletes are constantly being watched and they are representing not only them-self, but the team and University.  Social media is a big problem with athletes and has costed them scholarships and getting kicked off the team.  The Bloomsburg player should not have tweeted about Mo'ne Davis with that much disrespect. Bloomsburg made the right choice and hopefully other athletes will use this as a wake up call when they ever think about tweeting a vulgar tweet.

To read more go to: http://www.si.com/more-sports/2015/03/21/bloomsburg-university-baseball-mone-davis-offensive-tweet

Christian Yelich Signs New Contract with Marlins

The Miami Marlins have recently signed outfielder Christian Yelich to a 7 year deal with $49.7M.  The contract also has an eighth year club option worth $15M with a $1.25M buyout.  The max value of the contract is $63.32M.  This is very interesting to see because the Marlins have signed Giancarlo Stanton to a huge deal as well.  It is obvious the Marlins are looking into the future by signing young stars to big deals.

I think the Marlins have the potential to be one of the best teams in the upcoming years.  With great young talent, they have the chance to develop around each other in the years to come.  I think this was a great move by the Marlins, and Christian Yelich has the potential to be an elite player.

To read more go to http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2401491-christian-yelich-to-sign-with-marlins-latest-details-reaction