Milton blog

Adrian Peterson, fresh off his single-game NFL rushing record, and the electrifying Vikings take on the equally potent 7-1 Packers at Lambeau this week in what should be a beauty!

Well folks, won’t you put your hands together and welcome back the Milton Pigskin Prognosticator after a two-week hiatus sun-tanning in Florida… He’s just in time after my pathetic Week 9 performance - now I can go back to making my picks quietly in the ‘comments’ section….

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you: The MPP!

(The MPP takes the podium)

Thank you, thank you, Milton Sports Guy. And now, without further adieu and after much investigation and research, I present to you the correct Week 10 winners against the spread (Home team in CAPS):

TENNESSEE over Jacksonville (pick ‘em)
These division rivals split their series last season, with the home team winning both games. Both teams figure to be in contention for the playoffs with above-.500 records, however the Titans are more evenly balanced with the 3rd-ranked rushing offense and the second best overall defense in the league. The Jaguars’ 5th-ranked rushing offense will face the league’s top run defense. Close match-ups, but they favour the home Titans.

KANSAS CITY over Denver (pick ‘em)
Like the above game, these division rivals split their series last season, with the home team winning both games. However, both of these teams need to turn it up a notch if they hope to contend for the postseason. Both teams had key players injured last week who may not suit up – Denver’s QB Cutler injured his leg while the Chief’s RB Larry Johnson has a sprained foot. Denver’s potential QB loss is a much bigger loss, so expect K.C. to win this game at home.

Buffalo (-3) over MIAMI
The winless fish go up against an AFC rival they lost to both times last season by 10 or more points – and the Dolphins are playing worse than last year while the Bills are playing surprisingly better than last season. Take the crappy Bills to cover over the even crappier Dolphins!

Cleveland (+9) over PITTSBURGH
Pittsburgh swept this divisional series last year, won their first meeting in week one, 34 to 7 and the Steelers are 6-2 this season. However those facts alone are VERY misleading. Consider these facts: 1. Cleveland is much improved from last season with the surprise success of back-up unknown QB Anderson being 5-2 in his 7 starts (more wins than the Browns registered all of last season), 2. Charlie Frye was starting QB in the Brown’s week one loss to Pittsburgh this year, then Anderson won the job starting in week two, 3. Pittsburgh’s 6-2 record is largely over teams with losing records this season. 4. Pittsburgh’s coming off a Monday game win – one less day to prepare, and are likely overconfident. 5. The Browns currently have the 4th-ranked overall offense, while the Steelers counter with the league’s top-ranked overall defense. All of that being said, Cleveland is now in a position to challenge the Steelers and therefore will beat this spread and has a solid chance to win the game (who woulda thunk it!).

NEW ORLEANS (-11.5) over St. Louis
Once upon a time there were two teams that started the season off with four straight losses (the Saints and the Rams – this season) – from there, these two teams went in opposite directions with the Saints winning their next 4 games while the Rams rattled off four more losses (hey, at least they’re consistent!). Saints QB Drew Brees is averaging just under 300 yards per game over his past 5 games – resulting in the Saints now having the 4th-best pass offense in the league. In their four straight wins the Saints have won three of the games by eleven or more points versus better teams than St. Louis, and the Rams have lost five of their games this season by more than 12 points this season - so why stop now.

Atlanta (+4) over CAROLINA
The 4-4 Panthers have a better team than the 2-6 gone-to-the-dogs Falcons, however there’s a very good chance the Panthers may have to start their #4 QB, an undrafted rookie by the name of Matt Moore who may or may not have a helmet (#1 QB Delhomme likely out for the season with elbow injury, #2 QB David Carr may have sustained a concussion last week and #3 QB old-man Testaverde is out nursing his Achilles tendon). Starting a rookie who is #4 on the depth chart means you or I may know the Panthers’ offensive scheme better than he does. Not a winning formula in today’s NFL.

WASHINGTON (-3) over Philadelphia
The Eagles swept the Skins last season, but the Skins won the first meeting this season in week 2 in Philly by a score of 20-12. The ‘Skins are 5-3 this season, with all three loses coming against very strong teams (Giants 24-17, Packers 17-14, Patriots 52-7) – with two of their three losses to top teams ending up very close. Meanwhile the Eagles are 3-5, and over the past five games McNabb has only thrown 4 TD passes while being sacked 23 times. The ‘Skins had a top defense before being spanked by the Patriots in week 8 – look for them to regain their form at home in this one.

Minnesota (+6) over GREEN BAY
This game has lots of explosive potential – with the Packers having the 5th-ranked overall offense in the league (#2 ranked passing attack) and the Vikings have the top-ranked running game thanks to rookie sensation Adrian Peterson, who broke the all-time single game rushing yard record last week. Minnesota also counters with the #2 run defence in the league allowing them to keep this one close.

Cincinnati (+4.5) over BALTIMORE
The Ravens were 7-1 at home last season and are 3-0 at home this season, as well they have the 3rd ranked overall defense in the league. The Bengals are a dismal 2-5 despite having the 5th-best passing attack in the league and they beat Baltimore in Cincy 27-20 in week one. I like the Bengals to beat the spread for a few reasons – they’re due for a win, they average 29 points per game this year and the Ravens only average 16 points per game. Cincy’s weakness is their defense – but Baltimore hardly possesses a dangerous offense that could exploit it.

OAKLAND (+3.5) over Chicago
The Raiders have the 4th-ranked running game and the Bears D has been soft against the run this year, having given up 119 net rushing yards or more the past 4 games. The Bears also lose in the match-up of their offense against the Raider defense, as the Bears rely heavily on their passing game (having under 100 rushing yards for 6 straight games) but run up against the Raiders 4th-ranked pass defense. These are two big match-ups that favour the Raiders, plus they’re on home turf - the “Black Hole.”

N.Y. GIANTS (+1) over Dallas
These teams split their series last season, and Dallas won the first match-up this year in week one by a score of 45-35. The Cowboys are 7-1 while the 6-2 Giants have won six straight! This match-up would have a lot more hype around it if it wasn’t for the incredible Patriots-Colts game just last week. I like the Giants at home in an upset for this game – they’ve built-up some great momentum the past six weeks, having allowed their opposition to score more than 17 points in just one of the last six games, and Eli Manning is starting to play more like his big brother.

Detroit (+1) over ARIZONA
Not sure why the 3-5 Cardinals are favoured against the 6-2 Lions… Sure they won last years match-up 17-10, but the Lions were 3-13 last season and are a totally different team this year. The Cardinals lost their starting QB for the season weeks ago and back-up Warner has his non-throwing arm basically taped-together at the elbow – he’s playing with one arm, and an old one at that! Unless RB Edgerrin James finally remembers how to run the ball this week, the Cards have no hope!

Indianapolis (-3.5) over SAN DIEGO
The Chargers have been inconsistent at best this season, while the Colts will be looking to very aggressively re-assert themselves as an AFC contender after losing their first game of the season to the Pats last weekend. The Colts have the third-ranked offence and fifth-ranked defense in the league, while the Chargers are struggling to show any sign of their 14-2 2006 team this season. This game won’t be close!

SEATTLE (-10) over San Francisco
The 49ers will continue their tail spin (having lost 6 straight) due to a complete lack of offense (having only scored over 17 points once this year) while Seattle has no choice but to start playing better than their 4-4 record if they all want to keep their jobs till the end of the season. Seattle beat the 49ers 23-3 in week 4 and swept the series last season as well – this will continue.

Survivor
Here’s a summary of my correct picks in the first six weeks, with week 6 my only blemish:
Week 1 - Denver over Buffalo
Week 2 – Pittsburgh over Buffalo
Week 3 – Carolina over Atlanta
Week 4 – Dallas over St.Louis
Week 5 – Tennessee over Atlanta
Week 6 – Seattle over New Orleans XXX you let me down Seattle!!!
Week 7 – Washington over Arizona
Week 8 – Cleveland over St. Louis
Week 9 – Tampa Bay over Arizona
Week 10 – New Orleans over St. Louis

Now Milton, what do you think?

The Milton Pigskin Prognosticator is a weekly contributor to MiltonSearch.com. His NFL picks can be read on Fridays every week from now until Super Bowl Sunday. Submit your predictions vs. the spread and see how well you stack up!

This week’s big game pits the undefeated and defending Champion Colts against the undefeated and unstoppable Patriots. Will success rain down on the Colts this week? A better question may be whether we’ll be able to watch it…

I’m back to grace you with my NFL picks again this week after a surprisingly successful week 8.

The Milton Pigskin Prognosticator is back in town now after vacationing in Florida with his family for a couple of weeks. However, he was a little too beat to do his usual exhaustive research (understandable after spending so much ‘quality time’ with the wife and kids) so I’m courageously standing in for yet another week.

Week 9 features the Pats/Colts matchup we’ve all been waiting for with both teams sporting tidy, unblemished records, which has everybody pretty pumped up. The way both teams have dominated so far is pretty much rendering the rest of the regular season meaningless - it sure seems as if they’ll meet again in the AFC Championship Game in January, with the winner more than likely hoisting the Super Bowl Trophy a week later. Here’s all I’m concerned about: Will I be able to watch the game? Sportsnet just announced their schedule for Sunday - East (Atlantic) and West get the Pats/Colts, while the Ontario and Pacific regions get the epic Seahawks/Browns contest…. Granted, I’m a Seahawk fan, but come on. Looks like I’ll be checking out the Buffalo CBS affiliate or informing my wife and kids I’ll be ‘out’ for awhile…. This game can’t possibly not appear somewhere on my TV this Sunday, can it??

Okay, here we go, with the home teams in capitals:

BILLS (+1) over Bengals
The Bills are looking good of late and as I said last week, the Bengals seem disinterested. This one’s a no-brainer with the Bills in the friendly confines of Ralph Wilson Stadium.

Broncos (+3) over LIONS
I’m taking the 3-4 Broncos on the road at 5-2 Detroit? This is the usual ‘they’re not THAT good’ or ‘remember they’re still the Lions’ game for Detroit where everyone gets suckered into taking them to cover and they promptly lay an egg.

Panthers (+4) over TITANS
I don’t know. I just don’t know.

CHIEFS (-2) over Packers
Just a hunch. I like the way KC has been playing lately and they’re always tough at home, even against the frozen-turf-tested Packers. Do you really see the Packers going to 7-1? Neither do I.

Chargers (-7) over VIKINGS
A risky call here, but Minnesota seems to be fading and the Bolts may be finding their groove.

Niners (+3.5) over FALCONS
The good thing about not having NFL Sunday ticket: I won’t accidentally stumble across one single play from this game.

SAINTS (-3) over Jags
Ditto the Chargers/Vikes comment above. Saints=Chargers; Jags=Vikings.

JETS (+3.5) over Redskins
‘Redskins’ seems like an appropriate word to describe Washington after the thorough spanking the Patriots gave them last week. Ouch.

Cardinals (+3.5) over BUCS
I so want to take Tampa but I just can’t figure them out - and then there’s all the injuries….

BROWNS (-1) over Seahawks
Add both of these teams to the ‘can’t figure ‘em out’ list also.

Patriots (-5.5) over COLTS
Since the name ‘Super Bowl’ is already taken (correct me if I’m wrong), let’s call this one the ‘Awesome Bowl’. I mistakenly went against the Patriots last week. I’m hoping for a close game here, but I think the Pats just have too many weapons and will pull away in the 4th quarter. The only chance Indy has is if they can hire Dr. Evil to steal New England’s ‘mojo’. The Pats ‘have it going on’ this year…

Texans (+3) over RAIDERS
Houston isn’t that bad. Oakland is.

Cowboys (-3) over EAGLES
Will the Andy Reid thing be a distraction or will it bring the Eagles together? This is Philadelphia we’re talking about: distraction. It won’t matter - the Cowboys have their own mojo going on this year…

Ravens (+9) over STEELERS
A tough one. I don’t really know what to expect out of the Steelers - they could crush the Ravens especially at home or it could be a close game…. Let’s go with a close game just for fun.

Survivor

(Pick one team to win outright each week, trying to put together the longest streak of consecutive winning picks while not able to pick any given team more than once during the season.)

My streak is at 2 games now, using Washington and then the N.Y. Giants last week. I have absolutely no idea who to go with this week - I don’t see any absolute locks jumping out at me - even the Patriots. Hmmmm. I’m going out on a big limb and picking Buffalo. Funny, I felt confident in them earlier, but not now…. I was also thinking of taking the Niners to beat Atlanta but the game is in the ATL and as bad as the Falcons are, I just have no faith in San Fran. Buffalo it is!

Now Milton, what do you think?

The NFL goes international: The Miami Dolphins and New York Giants square off in Wembley Stadium in London, England this Sunday

Well, the Milton Pigskin Prognosticator has left me high and dry for the next two weeks as he’s off vacationing with his family at Disney World in sunny Florida (the nerve). This means you the readers are left with my questionable NFL Week 8 picks based on my knowledge (or lack thereof) of the NFL landscape…

It goes without saying that I really don’t follow football THAT closely. I know the standings and the major happenings around the league, but don’t expect any head-to-head comparisons from years past, key injury updates or offensive/defensive team rankings.

For the next two weeks, the NFL picks against the spread on MiltonSearch.com will quite simply be my best guesses.

Just being honest.

Before we get to this week’s matchups, I’ve been saving up some thoughts on a few other topics from around the world of sports…

Hockey Horror Picture Show

Maple Leaf Borje Salming needed about 250 stitches after a skate blade cut his face during a 1986 game in Detroit

I couldn’t resist. Just in time for Halloween comes this article from the Star’s Paul Hunter lists the top 10 most horrifying, calamitous (and non-fatal) NHL incidents ever to be seared into the memory of hockey fans.

To protest or not to protest

I could go on and on at the misfortunes of the Toronto Maple Leafs both on and off the ice this year, but I think I’ll save that one for now. That’s worthy of a topic on it’s own and I touched on a few of my issues with John Ferguson Jr. in the offseason. Here’s a fun article by Miltonian Mike Cluett on his disappointment with this year’s Leafs. I agree Mike. I’ve weaned myself off of the Leafs slowly since the lockout. The lockout which brought radical change to the NHL from which they’ve pretty much been the slowest team to react and adjust to - and it shows in the standings and in their quality of play nightly. I’m right there with you Mike - yeah, I still tune in every Saturday night, but it’s getting tougher and tougher to stay interested. Vancouver though? The Canucks?? They’re winning because they didn’t mess around when it came to acquiring a goaltender, but I’ll stay up late and watch their games once they pick up another bona fide scorer or two. I guess Vancouver’s not that bad. You could have said Red Wings, Flyers or Habs….

A Super Bowl in London?

The Dolphins and Giants take the field at Wembley Stadium in London this Sunday as the NFL continues to go international. Foreward-thinking commish Roger Goodell has mandated that all NFL teams play 1 game every two years outside of the good ‘ol U S of A and I think it’s a good thing. There were even mentions of eventually playing a Super Bowl outside of the U.S. which could be interesting…

I enjoyed my time perusing various forums and blogs over the past couple of weeks to see how John Q. NFL fan feels about all of this - as expected, Americans were less than thrilled with this proposition. Most of the comments were along the lines of “it’s our game, no Super Bowl should ever be played outside of the USA” and “keep the Super Bowl where real NFL fans are/can watch it.”

Pretty humourous stuff. Get over yourselves, Yanks. The NFL is the last North American league to not fully tap into international markets. Who can blame Goodell? The NFL isn’t just popular inside the U.S., and playing regular season games in other countries is a no-brainer. Every other league is doing it, trying to think out-of-the-box and increase revenues. Why not let fans here in Canada or Europe get a taste of some real NFL action? As far as a Super Bowl goes, again, why not?

The reaction was hilarous - like Americans wouldn’t watch the game if it was overseas or something… Are you kidding? It’s traditionally one of the most globally watched events already. Even when it’s held in America, only 70-80,000 people are there watching live. It’s the one game where the location really doesn’t matter. London, Berlin, Paris, Guam, Paducah, Kentucky…. The stadium will be packed and millions will watch worldwide. End of story.

It’s not like many fans of the two teams travel to the game either - Super Bowl spectators aren’t there to watch the game and cheer for either team. It’s a corporate schmooze-fest. Everyone is there just to say they were there, so again, the actual location of the game is really a non-issue. The NFL even currently has a two-week layoff between the AFC/NFC Championship games and the Super Bowl which is ridiculous and excessive, but would justified if you were to play the game in Europe.

In short, a Super Bowl in London would be a great idea. It would be a huge success and it would have absolutely no negative effect on the teams or fans. It’s going to happen at some point, so a message to those of you below the 49th: you had better get used to the idea.

The Toronto Bills?

Continuing along the lines of the previous topic, was the announcement this past week that the Buffalo Bills would like to play one regular season game and a pre-season game every other year in Toronto in an attempt to increase revenues by extending themselves more substantially into the Southern Ontario market.

Where this could really pay off is if the Bills could tap into the Toronto business community to help fill up their corporate boxes. Accessing Toronto, North America’s 5th-largest market, should allow the Bills to compete a little more easily with some of the NFL’s big spenders in the short term, even if current season-ticket holders lose a home game a year.

Long term, things could get interesting… Much has been made about the Bills’ financial struggles of late. The NFL is beginning to price out some of America’s smaller but more passionate markets. It’s hard to imagine the Bills franchise thriving long term in Buffalo, whose population is declining, now the 50th-ranked TV market in the U.S., down from 33 a decade ago. Much has also been made about owner Ralph Wilson’s plans - he has openly said that upon his passing (he’s 89 years young), the team will be sold to the highest bidder. You can bet Misters Tanenbaum and Rogers will be among those bidders….

Again, my time spent on NFL chat rooms and forums this week was entertaining…. There were the usual comments about how Toronto wouldn’t be able to support an NFL team, so why bother - “they can’t even support baseball or basketball”, “all U.S. sports have failed in Canada - why give them football?”. If I had a nickel every time I read those two statements, well, I’d have a few extra nickels today… I love the whole attitude like Toronto is some backwater or something, and few Americans actually realize that the U.S. Greenback has now displaced the Canadian dollar as the new ‘Monopoly money’ of North America. The Jays hold their own in MLB attendance. Considering they’ve got a yearly lock on third place, their attendance is about where it should be. The Raptors rank easily among the top NBA teams in attendance and apparently had the highest % of season ticket renewals this offseason…. I guess Toronto hates U.S. sports though.

Memo to our neighbours to the south: Toronto will easily support an NFL franchise. Yes there are problems - the Rogers Centre is below NFL standards for capacity, so that stadium would be temporary if a franchise were to move to T.O. Then, there’s the whole CFL/Argos/TiCats issue (I still think the CFL could work though - in Southern Ontario there are CFL fans and NFL fans - two different groups - allso, the CFL would be the more affordable football option for those priced out by bloated NFL ticket prices). Toronto is bursting with corporate dollars, and there would be no shortage of people willing to fork over the big bucks it would take for season’s tickets. A Toronto franchise would be an absolute success, no doubt about it. Granted, the tailgate parties may pale in comparison to Buffalo’s, but hey, maybe Toronto police will relax public drinking laws a little (yeah, right).

The next question is: what’s in it for the NFL? The NFL is already huge in Canada so do they really NEED a Toronto franchise? Since U.S. TV ratings don’t include Canada, then will a Toronto franchise really improve the league? The NFL is so big that I don’t think fans only watch their regional team - NFL fans watch every game they can no matter who’s involved for the most part, so I don’t see U.S. ratings falling off during Toronto games as much as they would in other sports. Any negative TV ratings would be offset by a huge increase in revenues that a market like Toronto could produce as opposed to a Buffalo, Jacksonville or New Orleans. The other thing you hear from most Americans is that there are several U.S. cities more deserving than Toronto - such as LA. Los Angeles is obviously a huge market, but the NFL hasn’t been there for awhile and things seem to be hunky dory, so I just don’t see the need to have a team there. They also have stadium issues as well. Also, I think it’s Goodell’s goal to become the first NFL commissioner to go global. The first step is random regular season games outside the country, but I have a suspicion he’s also like to oversee the first international franchise.

I also read an interesting theory: that Buffalo’s Toronto ‘experiment’ is just that. If things go well in Toronto, then it’s Goodell’s plan to either move the Bills or have them sold to a Toronto group at some point (within 5 years), and Buffalo will be granted an expansion franchise which will start playing 5 years after that in a brand new stadium rather than the outdated Ralph Wilson Stadium à la the ‘new’ Cleveland Browns after the ‘old’ Browns became the Ravens. Who knows? Buffalo is a passionate NFL market and it would be a shame to see them lose the Bills - I can understand the NFL wanting to be in both Toronto and Buffalo. The fact that Buffalo is a declining market though makes me doubt that you’d see franchises in both cities.

We’ll wait and see I guess. My thought is this: I believe the NFL wants to come to Toronto, and I think it will happen in the next 5-10 years. I know the CFL will have something to say about it, so we’ll see how that plays out, but I think it’s only a matter of time. Will it be the Bills that move here, the Saints, the Jaguars or will Toronto be granted an expansion franchise? That is the question.

Until then, chill out Buffalo. One game a year at the Rogers Centre won’t kill you and for now, it’s going to make your team more viable in your city.

It must be good to be a Boston sports fan

Can we just crown the Pats as Super Bowl champs right now? It’s getting a little sickening watching them just toy with their opponents week after week. ‘Spygate’ was the worst thing to happen to the NFL this season - the Patriots already looked like the favourites to win it all, but now they’ve got a chip on their shoulder and have made it their mission to not just win, but obiliterate, annihilate and demoralize the opposition. The only thing left to see is their game vs. Indy coming up. We’ll know at that point whether or not they have any challengers this year.

The Red Sox also look poised to win it all, with a 3-0 lead *yawn* over the Rockies.

Something changed when the Sox won in 2004. They lost that ‘loveable loser’ thing they had going on (which the Cubs still have) and became as evil and hated as the Yankees. Okay, maybe not quite as hated as the Yankees, but it’s definitely 1 and 1a at this point. And just think Blue Jay fans - you get to have not one, but BOTH of them in your division…. You’ve been in third place for most of the past decade and don’t expect much different for the forseeable future.

It makes you wonder how the other leagues so easily adopted salary caps but MLB has never been close to having one. I know a high payroll doesn’t guarantee anything, but I think you’ve got to do something before this league begins to really crumble - there are too many teams that are nowhere close to competing for a playoff spot year-in, year-out and you wonder how much longer it will take for fans of those teams to just lose interest altogether. You know the large market owners are trumpeting this Rockies playoff run as a reason not to institute the cap and that anything can happen, regardless of payroll…. Oh, the irony.

Oh yeah, and then there’s undefeated Boston College, coming off an improbable comeback this week vs. Virginia Tech and the suddenly relevant Celtics ready to begin the season featuring the dynamic trio of Pierce, Allen and Garnett.

Enjoy it while it lasts, Beantown.

Ok, NFL Week 8:

(Home team in CAPS)

Browns (-3) over RAMS
The Browns have surprised me this year, but can they be trusted to win this game? This has all the makings of the Rams’ first win, but I’ll take Cleveland because they need to win a game like this to prove to people that they are decent and that they are getting better. Plus the Rams suck.

Lions (+5) over BEARS
Could the Lions go to 5-2? I hadn’t even considered that possibility. The Bears have to beat the Lions at home, right? I don’t know. When in doubt, take the points.

Jaguars (+3.5) over BUCS
The Bucs have injuries, and they’re struggling - and they’re FAVOURED by 3.5 vs. the 4-2 Jags?? Take the points.

Colts (-7) over PANTHERS
The spread seemed kinda low considering the offensive numbers the Colts have been putting up and then I read that the Panthers’ QB’s are David Carr and Vinny Testaverde? Next.

Bills (+3) over JETS
The Bills are fiesty and the Jets stink. We’ll find out this week if the Bills’ strong play of late is confined to Western New York or if they can bring it East to the Meadowlands.

Steelers (-3.5) over BENGALS
You gotta take the Steelers in this one. If the Steelers are going anywhere this year, they need to start making their move now and the Bengals seem disinterested to me.

VIKINGS (+1) over Eagles
I can’t figure out either of these two teams. When in doubt, take the points AND the Vikes are at home. Next.

Raiders (+7.5) over TITANS
I can’t believe I’m taking the Raiders, but after the Titans nearly blew that big lead vs. the Texans last week, I’m afraid 7.5 may be too many for them to cover.

49ERS (+2.5) over Saints
This game is this week’s official ‘game to avoid watching a single play’ game.

Giants (-9.5) over Dolphins (in London)
Quite the marquee matchup for the folks in jolly old England. What a way to promote the NFL product: the New York football Giants clobbering the pathetic Dolphins by 2+ touchdowns… Enjoy.

Redskins (+16) over PATRIOTS
Ladies and gentlemen, this week’s pinata: the Washington Redskins. It’s likely the Pats will put the beatdown on the ’skins and win by probably 18-21, but they’re not going 19-0 against the spread. That’s NOT happening, so dammit, I’m trying the Redskins!

Packers (+3) over BRONCOS
The only team the Broncos could host where their cold-weather home advantage means nothing. Ok, I guess there’s the altitude as well - I forgot about that. Hell, I’ll stick with the Pack.

CHARGERS (pick ‘em) over Texans
Best of luck with the recovery process to everyone in the San Diego area.

Survivor Pool

(Pick one team to win outright each week, trying to put together the longest streak of consecutive winning picks while not able to pick any given team more than once during the season.)

Okay, my streak ended two weeks ago, but I got it going again last week when the Redskins edged the Cardinals. This week I’ll go international and take the Giants to beat the Dolphins at Wembley. The Dolphins can’t beat the Giants, right? At least not unless they can use the big inflatable guy in that photo of Trafalgar Square above….

Now Milton, what do you think?

Good Canadian boy Jeff Francis gets the Game One start leading the red-hot Rockies into the World Series vs. the Red Sox

2007 World Series Preview

Having won 20 of their last 21 games, the Rockies enter the 2007 World Series on an unprecedented hot streak. After scoring three runs in the bottom of the 13th to eliminate my Padres in a one-game playoff (I’m still not sure Matt Holliday touched the plate, but that’s a discussion for another day), then shredding the Phillies and Diamondbacks effortlessly, they look almost unbeatable.

That is, until they were forced to wait 9 days to begin the World Series thanks to the deep-thinking baseball schedule-makers. This will be the Rockies’ longest layoff without playing a game since February! Combine that with the fact that they’re matched up against a Bosox team that just rebounded from a 3-1 deficit to beat a very talented Indians squad, outscoring them 30-5 over the last 3 games, and suddenly you realize that even though they’ve won 20 of 21 (I still can’t believe that), they come into Fenway Park tonight as a huge underdog.

Although the Red Sox relied heavily on a couple of rookies (Youkilis and Pedroia) in winning the ALCS, you have to like their experience with many of the players still around from the 2004 championship team that rallied from 3-0 down to take out the Yanks and then the Cardinals for the title. Todd Helton is the token wiley old vet on the Rockies’ roster, but he had yet to reach the postseason before this year.

This should be a good series if you like offence - both Fenway and Coors Field are two of the best hitters’ parks in the game, humidor or not. Boston’s pitching should be ok though - I can’t see Colorado hitting Beckett at Fenway, although they may score some runs off a tired Dice-K as the series moves along, and I’m interested to see if Francona pitches knuckleballer Wakefield in the thin air in Denver in games 3, 4 or 5. The talk is that the higher altitude could really wreak havoc on that knuckleball, so that could be fun. Otherwise, I can’t see Boston’s offence letting up after they completely dismantled the Indians pitching staff. Colorado has some nice arms, and Canadian Jeff Francis has been impressive, but this isn’t your average cream puff National League lineup. The Red Sox have an intimidating array of hitters and I’m afraid things may get ugly…

I can see the games in Boston getting out of control quickly if the young Rockies start to fall behind and get rattled by the tough Fenway crowd. The games in Denver could get ugly also if guys like Ramirez and Ortiz start nailing 400+ ft. homers in the thin air and the Rockies’ offence sputters…

Basically, what I’m saying is that despite the streak, I just don’t like the Rockies’ chances here. Believe me, I have no love for the Sox and will be openly cheering against them (imagine adding Colorado to the list of newer teams that have won championships over the last few years that are just hard to accept: Angels, Diamondbacks, Marlins, Lightning, Ducks, Hurricanes to name a few), but it’s their year. They’ve been the best team in the majors all season and they enter the World Series arguably as hot as the Rockies given their pounding of the Indians, and they’re much more ‘fresh’, having only 2 off days to Colorado’s 9.

My prediction then? Well, I’ll have to say Red Sox in five games. Things could get interesting if Colorado can come up big and steal one of the first two in Fenway, but I see things shaking down like this: Boston easily sweeps the first two at home, then they go up 3-0 in Colorado before the Rockies take one only to lose in 5. I’m also predicting that the Sox victories will be big - much like the last 3 games vs. the Tribe where they unmercifully just kept piling on the runs.

Let’s hope the Rockies make it a series, but my gut is telling me that between the Red Sox and Patriots, it’s a good year to be a sports fan in Beantown.

Now Milton, what do you think?

Will the Patriots remain unbeaten? Maybe the more intriguing question is whether or not they can cover a 17-point spread against the league’s worst team, the 0-6 Dolphins….

Arizona (+7) at Washington
Washington is the clear-cut favourite to cover this spread – playing at home, having the 3rd ranked defense in the league AND playing a Cardinal team that is likely down to their third string quarterback for this game – Tim Rattay, whom they signed just after week 5 (so he’s still no where close to learning the play book for his new team – which will mean the Redskin D are licking their chops for a feast at home).
Redskins

Atlanta (+8.5) at New Orleans
Saints fans have to be praying that last weeks first win over Seattle means their team is finally back on track, and with the two teams leading their division having major injuries (4-2 Bucs down to third-string running back, and 4-2 Panthers having lost their star QB Delhomme for the season) the Saints have to take advantage of the opportunity they’ve been given (as their only other division opponent is the Falcons – say no more)! The Saints blew the Falcons out of the water in both meetings last season by scores of 23-3 and 31-13 – and that was when the Falcons had an All-Star QB.
Saints

Baltimore (-3) at Buffalo
The Ravens 4th ranked defense will spell trouble for the football-illiterate Bills. The only positive the Bills have is a great special teams unit – if they kept them on the field all game they’d have a shot! Baltimore should have no problem winning by over a FG in this one, and they beat Buffalo last season by 12 points.
Ravens

Minnesota (+9.5) at Dallas
Although only 2-3 this season, the Vikings have yet to lose by more than 7 points in their three loses – and that was to Favre when he threw for 332 yards – their other two loses were each by a field goal – so watch for this to continue. The Vikings strong defense (#2 rush defense in the league) and their awesome running game (ranked #1 in the league) will keep them in this game against an impressive Cowboy team that will be looking for redemption after being pounded at home by New England last weekend. Watch for Dallas to start this game flat, after two tough games (winning with the last play against Buffalo in the Monday-nighter two weeks ago, then being throttled by the Patriots in week 6).
Vikings

New England (-17) at Miami
I’d take New England to cover a 30 point spread in this game – they’re 6-0 with each win so far thus season being by at least 17 points, so why the hell would they not be able to keep that up against the horrendous Dolphins who have a honest-to-goodness “Lemon” for a QB. At least Lemon does complement a nicely fried fish!
Patriots

San Francisco (+9) at N.Y. Giants
The 49ers – who were offensively-challenged with QB Alex Smith in their line-up are really hurting for points with him still out nursing a sore shoulder. Sure back-up QB Dilfer looks like a spry young pup compared to re-incarnated Vinny Testaverde, but he’s not a game breaker. Watch for the Gaints D to feast on old-man Dilfer, as they did when sacking McNabb 12 times two weeks ago.
The New York Football Giants

Tampa Bay (+2) at Detroit
Detroit’s fifth ranked passing game will hope to duplicate the success the Colts had throwing against the Bucs for over 250 yards two weeks ago, however the Bucs D can focus on the Lions air attack knowing their running game is as weak as a kitten – averaging under 65 yards per game the past 4 weeks. The Bucs will win this game if their defense plays like they’re capable of.
Bucs

Tennessee (-1) at Houston
Before losing QB Vince Young with a leg injury last week the Titans were 9 and 2 in their past 11 regular season wins, with their only loses being to New England and Indi – the top two teams in the universe! Tennessee beat Houston in both meetings last season, but if Young is not playing Houston will win, despite going up against the top ranked run defense in the league, as Texans QB Schaub has looked good throwing for about 300 yards per game the past three weeks.
Texans

Kansas City (+3) at Oakland
With Duante Culpepper at QB the Raiders have the 3rd best rushing offense in the league, however K.C. has been keeping their opponents ground games minimized and they beat Oakland both times last season. Watch for Larry Johnson to have a great game against Oakland, with this game going down to the wire.
Chiefs

N.Y. Jets (+6) at Cincinnati
The Bears listened to me and benched Gross-man for Griese (and are already reaping the rewards), now I have to get the Jets to realize that the Chad Pennington era has to come to an end if they want to improve – he’s a bum! Trick question – which of these two teams has the better defense – the correct answer is “neither” as they’re both non-factors, with a slight edge to the Jets who’ve at least held two opponents to under 20 points, while the Bengals have yet to achieve this. Only because it’s in Cincinnati and because the Jets will in all likelihood start Chad the Bum again I’ll take the Bengals to cover.
Bengals

Chicago (+5) at Philadelphia
Brian Griese is starting to click as the Bears starting QB – throwing for 369 yards last week and as a result the Bear defense needs to get back on track with their ability to make things tough on the very sackable Donovan McNabb (sacked a back-cracking 18 times in the last three games!). The Bears will play tight in this game and could very well beat the Eagles at home.
Bears

St. Louis (+8.5) at Seattle
Seattle won both meetings against this division rival last season – but both were won by only 2 point margins. Rams back-up QB Frerotte should have an easier go passing against the soft Seattle secondary, which have averaged less than 1 INT per game over their past 5 games, while the Rams have thrown 8 INT’s in the past two weeks.
Rams

Pittsburgh (-3.5) at Denver
Pittburgh is 4-1, and is coming off a bye week with the #1 overall defense in the league (2nd against the pass and 4th overall against the run) along with the second best rush offense. The Broncos have been mediocre at best, with three straight loses and no chance against a much stronger Steelers team.
Steelers

Indianapolis (-3) at Jacksonville
Tune in for this game – it should be a great one! This game will not be a given for the Colts – as the Jags have the 5th best offense and the top pass defence in the league – meaning Manning’s passing game will be challenged. The Jags come into this game with four straight wins, and are yet to allow their opponents to score more than 17 points in a game. On top of that the Jags defeated Indi in one of their two meetings last season by a blow-out score of 44-17, and are a better team this year with Garrard at QB (who has yet to throw a pick this year).
Colts

Survivor

(Pick one team to win outright each week, trying to put together the longest streak of consecutive winning picks while not able to pick any given team more than once during the season.)

Here’s a summary of my correct picks in the first six weeks, my streak ending in week 6 with New Orleans shocking the Seahawks in Seattle.

Week 1 - Denver over Buffalo
Week 2 – Pittsburgh over Buffalo
Week 3 – Carolina over Atlanta
Week 4 – Dallas over St.Louis
Week 5 – Tennessee over Atlanta
Week 6 – Seattle over New Orleans XXX, you are dead to me Seattle – you let me down!
Week 7 – if I wasn’t eliminated last week, I’d pick Washington over Arizona – with the Cardinals potentially starting their recently signed third string QB they’ll be up to their eyeballs in turnovers….

Now Milton, what do you think?

The Milton Pigskin Prognosticator is a weekly contributor to MiltonSearch.com. His NFL picks can be read on Fridays every week from now until Super Bowl Sunday. Submit your predictions vs. the spread and see how well you stack up!

It’s a battle of the undefeated teams in Big D – and the MPP sees Romo and The ‘boys suffering their first loss

Cincinnati (-3) at Kansas City
This is a battle of two underperforming teams, a battle of the Bengals 3rd ranked pass offense against the Chiefs 5th ranked pass defense. I like Cincinnati for the following reasons: they won in K.C. last season 23-10 AND they’re coming off a bye week which has provided them extra time to prepare along with extra time to dwell on the fact that they’ve lost three straight games – they won’t lose 4 in a row and K.C. will no longer be in the top five for pass defense after this weekend.
Bengals

Houston (+3) at Jacksonville
Houston beat Jacksonville in both of their meetings last season and a high percent of the Jacksonville offense this year has been their running game – which will face one of the better run defenses they’ve had to face so far this season. The Texans offense is producing fairly consistently, averaging 23 points per week while the Jags have yet to score more than 23 points in a game all season.
Texans

Miami (+4.5) at Cleveland
With Miami’s inexperienced back-up quarterback, their 0-5 record (with the first 4 losses being with their “experienced” QB) and a road game on top of all that - the odds are stacked against these poor fish out of water.
Browns

Minnesota (+5.5) at Chicago
With the Vikings coming off a bye week and three straight losses (all close games), they should come out firing on all cylinders and impressive rookie RB Adrian Peterson will look to expose a middle-of-the-road Bears run defense to keep his team in this one.
Vikings

Philadelphia (+3) at N.Y. Jets
Both these teams have been huge disappointments this season – each team with just one win. I like the Eagles over the Jets as their only win this season was against a much better team (Detroit) than the Jets – who have only beat the winless Dolphins and by 3 points. I hate to think of what Michael Vick would do to either of these teams if they’re ever reincarnated as a dog!
Eagles

St. Louis (+9.5) at Baltimore
Baltimore’s offense is far from awesome so far this season – they’ve beaten three of the lower level teams (Jets, Cardinals and 49ers) by only as much as 7 points – so the Rams should be able to beat this spread – especially with their capable back-up QB Frerotte having shaken off the rust in his start last week where he threw for 242 yards and 3 TD’s.
Rams

Tennessee (+3) at Tampa Bay
Even a Bucs fan would take the Titans to beat the spread – they’re playing great ball while the Bucs have lost their top two ball carriers to injury (Cadillac Williams and Michael Pittman) – meaning the Tennessee 3rd ranked league defense can focus in on QB Garcia and give him a really tough day.
Titans

Washington (+3) at Green Bay
Brett Favre runs up against the highest ranking pass defense he’s faced thus far for the season in Washington (8th in the league) and the best total defense they’ve faced as well (3rd). The Packers looked far more human last week losing to a 1-3 Bears team, and the 3-1 Skins are looking far better than da Bears so far this year – meaning the Packers will have stiffer competition than last week.
Redskins

Carolina (+4) at Arizona
Arizona has lost half of their QB tandem for this week, with Leinart out indefinitely. Watch for the Panther defense to keep them in this game by putting lots of pressure on QB Warner. Two of Arizona’s three wins this year have been by only 3 points, so Carolina is the smart choice for this match until field goals are worth 4.5 points to cover this spread.
Panthers

New England (-5) at Dallas
This should be the Monday night game, with two perfect 5-and-0 teams going head-to-head. The Patriots have the 2nd best offense and defense and have won each of their games convincingly (by a minimum margin of 17 points). The Cowboys have allowed an average of 6 points more per game than New England – and that has been against 5 fairly impotent offenses. The ‘boys stand to lose some of their swagger this weekend.
Pats

Oakland (+10) at San Diego
The #1 ranked Oakland rushing game will run the ball down San Diego’s throat this weekend. The Raiders have averaged 261 yards/game rushing the past three weeks (including games against decent Bronco and Dolphin defenses). San Diego could very well win this game, but certainly not by 10 points with QB Culpepper looking great orchestrating the Raider offense that’s had a bye week to prep for this game.
Raiders

New Orleans (+6.5) at Seattle
What’s the cure for a Seahawk team that was shut-out in Pittsburgh last week? 3 out of 4 doctors would prescribe a game versus a Saints team that has allowed an average of 30 points per game to be scored against them. The Saints have lost by an average of 17 points per game, so covering 6.5 points is very achievable for Seattle at home.
Seahawks

N.Y. Giants (-3.5) at Atlanta
The Giants have racked-up 3 straight wins after losses to two tough teams (Dallas & Green Bay). Once recently-acquired QB Byron Leftwich gets comfortable with the Falcon offensive schemes they may be able to contend – but he’s not there yet.
Giants

Survivor
(Pick one team to win outright each week, trying to put together the longest streak of consecutive winning picks while not able to pick any given team more than once during the season.)

Here’s a recap of my correct picks for the first 5 weeks:

Week 1 – Denver over Buffalo
Week 2 – Pittsburgh over Buffalo
Week 3 – Carolina over Atlanta
Week 4 – Dallas over St.Louis
Week 5 – Tennessee over Atlanta

For week #6 I’ll take Seattle over New Orleans – coach Holmgren won’t let his team lose at home to a winless team after being shutout on the road the previous week – playoff contenders don’t let that happen.

Now Milton, what do you think?

The Milton Pigskin Prognosticator is a weekly contributor to MiltonSearch.com. His NFL picks can be read on Fridays every week from now until Super Bowl Sunday. Submit your predictions vs. the spread and see how well you stack up!

Matt Holliday crashes in to score the winning run, clinching the a wild card berth for the Rockies and eliminating San Diego

After watching my beloved Padres get eliminated from postseason contention in the 163rd game of the year in heartbreaking fashion vs. a division rival, it’s time to look ahead and make my Division Series predictions…

Let’s start in the American League, where in my mind, all signs are pointing to a Yankees/Red Sox ALCS, which is always bittersweet. Do I really want to watch those clubs advance - two evil empires and perennial division rivals of the local team, the Toronto Blue Jays? Of course not. I hate both clubs with a passion and I’m just praying for a year in which both clubs’ big free agent signings totally backfire and each team misses the playoffs… Like that’s going to happen. BUT, if they have to play, it’s always good television. The two highest-spending clubs, steeped in tradition matching up is always chalk full of drama… Anyway, I just think it’s a New York/Boston kind of year - I don’t like the Angels and the Indians are good but young.

Boston Red Sox vs. the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
I think Boston sweeps this one. The Angels are a little banged up, and even when healthy during the season, this club didn’t impress me. I know they ran away with their division, but when I got the chance to see them play the Jays earlier in the season, they were less than impressive. It seems like it’s Boston’s year — I have to take them until someone proves they can beat them.
Red Sox 3-0

Cleveland Indians vs. New York Yankees
The Tribe are a great young club, but they’re just that: young. Other than the ageless wonder, Kenny Lofton, they have exactly zero playoff experience. Does that matter? Maybe not that much — but against a veteran Yankee club looking to make amends for two straight first round exits, I think it will. If the Yankees lose, it will be because their pitching let them down yet again, which was the case two years ago vs. the Angels and last year against the Tigers. Cleveland has the better pitching staff, but I think the Yankee lineup will wear them out. They’ll split in Cleveland and the Yanks will win both back in the Bronx.
Yankees 3-1

Okay, now the National League. Yes, it still hurts seeing the Rockies travel to Philly, but I think my Padres were a flawed team. They rely too much on their pitching staff, which just hasn’t come through in the clutch the last two playoffs. Factor that with an anemic offence, and I think the Phillies make quick work of them in 3 or 4 games. Padres: go and re-tool - bring in a couple of bats and continue to tweak the pitching staff and come back next year. Until then, go away - you don’t have the tools to win in October. The Rockies are a well-balanced team (and they’re also red hot, winning 14 of 15 down the stretch) who should give the Phils all they can handle. The Cubs/DBacks series should be good too, although I won’t be watching the first two games in Phoenix with those late start times…

Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Chicago Cubs
Well, the Cubbies are back to the postseason, so here we go again: How will they screw it up in dramatic fashion yet again? Well, lucky for Cubs’ fans with heart problems, I think they’ll be gone quickly before having the chance to perform another monumental collapse in the NLCS on the verge of the World Series…. The DBacks are young and scrappy, have a great pitching staff, home advantage and are playing with a nothing-to-lose attitude. The Cubs have some loose cannons on their team, including their manager. That will cost them at some point. Oh, and they’re not really that good, either.
DBacks 3-2

Philadelphia Phillies vs. Colorado Rockies
The Rockies are red hot, amazingly winning 14 of 15 down the stretch, including a dramatic 13-inning come-from-behind victory in a one-game playoff vs. the Padres to qualify for the dance. The Phillies played well down the stretch also, winning the division on the last day, a game earlier than the Rockies. Will the Rockies continue their run, or are they running on empty now after making the playoffs? Normally, we fall in love with the hot team down the stretch when in fact, in the last few seasons, teams that struggled in September were able to right the ship and knock out the up-and-comers (see last year’s World Series Champion Cardinals, and the White Sox before them). So take the Phillies right? Well, no. The Phillies still had no right being in the playoffs — I think it had more to do with the Mets’ unfathomable collapse than their play. The Rockies earned it. They have a young, balanced team with some solid pitching and Holliday and Helton tearing the cover off the ball. The Phillies’ big slugger, Ryan Howard on the other hand, has a high strikeout total. He’s the kind of player that puts up big regular season numbers but falls flat on his face in the playoffs when the pitching is tougher and the pressure is on…
Rockies 3-1

Now Milton, what do you think?

Sidney Crosby models the new RBK Edge NHL uniforms the league has switched to for the 2007-08 season

The NHL is all wet — literally. The combination of intense activity, indoor arenas, and full-body uniforms with loads of padding creates a lot of sweat, plus the skate blades are constantly creating ice spray, which condenses as it hits the players. So when the Reebok folks were designing a new uniform system for the NHL, they devised a series of moisture-repellant fabrics. For months now league officials have been doing this little party trick where they pour a glass of water onto one of the new jerseys, so everyone can see how the water rolls right off.

But here’s the thing: All that moisture has to go somewhere. And according to a growing chorus of complaints from NHL players, it’s going mainly into their gloves and skates, which have become a sloshy, saturated mess.

Another unintended consequence of the new uniforms: They’re so stretchy and, in some cases, so prone to tearing along the seams that they’re easy to pull over an opponent’s face during a fight, which can lead to major problems.

All of which shows that changing an entire league’s uniforms en masse, as the NHL and Reebok have done this season, is a tricky proposition. There’s no precedent for it among the major team sports — the closest parallel is the sea change in baseball triggered in 1970 by the Pirates, who switched from button-up vests, belted pants, and flannel fabric to a pullovers, elastic waistbands, and double-knit polyester. Within three years, all 24 MLB teams had gone to polyester, 14 had switched from button fronts to pullovers, and 16 had switched from belts to waistbands.

But that gradual transition happened incrementally, whereas the NHL changes — which involve graphics and aesthetics as much as new fabrics and tailoring considerations — are being thrust upon us all at once. With the regular season slated to begin this weekend, every single team has new uniforms, although some of the changes are more modest than others.

We’ll get to the new designs in a minute, but first here are some leaguewide provisions to keep in mind:

• There are no “third” or alternate uniforms this season — just home and road. Alternate unis may reappear next season.

• The league is sticking to the same home/road protocol that’s been used in recent years: colors at home, white on the road.

• Back in January, at last season’s All-Star Game, the refs wore silver armbands, instead of their usual orange. At the time, it was announced that this change would be made permanent this season. That plan has now been scrapped, and refs’ arms have been orange-banded as usual during preseason games.

OK, now let’s look at those much-ballyhooed new team uniforms, which Reebok reportedly worked on for 37 years, at a cost of $19 trillion (give or take a billion). With so many new designs, a team-by-team breakdown would be too unwieldy (if you want to see how your favorite team looks, there’s an excellent series of photo galleries here). Instead, let’s examine some of the trends and tropes that run through many of the new designs. In fact, in honour of these trends, I’ve categorized the teams into seven ‘divisions:’

THE APRON STRINGS DIVISION

Description: Apron-like piping that runs down the front of the jersey, or sometimes from the collar to the sleeves. Often repeated on the back (and, in the case of the Blues, onto the pants). Sometimes clashes with captaincy designations.

Teams Affected: Panthers, Oilers, Capitals, Predators, Blues, Avalanche, Thrashers, Flames.

Milton Sports Guy says: Worst thing to happen to hockey since Gary Bettman became commissioner. In fact, since this happened on his watch and seems to sum up everything that’s gone wrong during his tenure, we should henceforth refer to the piping as “Bettman stripes.”

THE DIAPER EFFECT DIVISION

Description: Unfortunate flap of white created by the new jerseys’ rounded shirttail hemlines. Somewhat less egregious version sometimes seen in other colors.

Teams Affected: Most teams with straight waistline stripes, including the Rangers, Blackhawks, Canadiens, and several others.

Milton Sports Guy says: For generations hockey jerseys have had straight hemlines and straight waistline striping. But the new jerseys all have these scooped hemlines (I still haven’t heard a decent explanation for why), which just don’t work with a hockey jersey’s traditional abdominal striping — the straight stripes and the curved shirttail invariably clash. One way around this problem, as several teams have figured out, is to put curved piping right along the hemline edge (compare the two approaches here — it’s no contest); another is to eschew lower striping altogether as the Leafs and Coyotes have done. But a much better solution would be to go back to straight hemlines.

JERSEY SQUEEZE DIVISION

Description: Narrower chest area than before, due to all the new stretch panels and seams that have been added in the upper-chest/shoulder areas of the jersey, leaving less room for chest graphics.

Teams Affected: The Rangers have had to make their diagonal insignia more vertical (compare last season to this season), several teams have been forced to move their captaincy designations either too close to the collar and crest or to the other side of the jersey, and Dallas’ star-based design had to be scrapped because the new jersey’s construction made it impossible to reproduce.

Milton Sports Guy says: Textbook case of engineering trumping design.

READ ANY GOOD UNIFORMS LATELY? DIVISION

Description: The use of words and/or numbers on the front of the jersey.

Teams Affected: Islanders, Sharks, Lightning, Stars, Canucks.

Milton Sports Guy says: The trend of front-jersey numbers began last season with the Sabres, and I still doesn’t see the point of it. You’ve already got numbers on the back and on the sleeves, so the additional number feels extraneous, plus it clutters everything up. But I kinda like what Vancouver and Dallas are doing, in part because it hearkens back to NHL history. It’s hard to argue with the elemental simplicity of a well-executed jersey crest, but I’m intrigued by the alpha-numeric trend — let’s see where it goes.

THE REE-BOX DIVISION

Description: Little contrast-colored tab to showcase the Reebok logo (as opposed to just having the logo be the same color as the surrounding fabric, as had been standard practice in the past).

Teams Affected: Avalanche, Panthers, Blues, Predators.

Milton Sports Guy says: Most offensive case of logo creep ever. It’s one thing to slap your logo onto a design; it’s another to make it part of the design. Then again, maybe I’m being too harsh. After all, it’s not as though the Reebok folks have plastered their logos on helmets, gloves, hip pads, sticks, goalie mitts and blockers, goalie pads, or the blue line, have they?

STRIPES THAT DON’T STRIPE (Sleeve Division)

Description: The odd phenomenon of sleeve stripes that wrap only part of the way around the sleeve.

Teams Affected: Oilers, Panthers.

Milton Sports Guy says: Look, it’s simple: You either have sleeve stripes or you don’t. You can’t have it both ways.

STRIPES THAT DON’T STRIPE (Hosiery Division)

Description: Slanted sock stripes that don’t wrap all the way around.

Teams Affected: Senators, Lightning.

Milton Sports Guy says: When the new Reebok uni system was unveiled at last season’s All-Star Game, the sock stripes were the silliest design element. I figured it was just one of those ill-advised “innovations” that so often afflict all-star uniforms. Surely nobody would want to incorporate that sock concept into a regular team design, right? Wrong.

I know I sound like a big curmudgeon here, but what other option is there when so many of the new design elements are so insipid? Here are some bright spots: The Original Six teams have all pretty much stayed true to their roots; the Sharks and Coyotes have done excellent updates; and the Wild have taken one of the league’s best alternate uniforms and turned it into one of the league’s best home uniforms.

“OK,” you’re saying, “but those are all pretty old-school looks. Don’t you like anything new?” Actually, yes. One team has come up with a new design that feels at once classic and contemporary: the Blue Jackets. Sleeve piping instead of ‘Bettman stripes,’ hemline piping instead of waistline stripes — looks good, right? Even from the back. This, friends, is the future of hockey uniforms. Or at least it should be.

What do you think, Milton?