Breaking down brackets, Hockey East style

By Chris Maza

Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

With all the talk about brackets going on, I thought I'd join in the fun, though not in the classic March Madness sense. The Hockey East tournament starts up tomorrow and I'm here to break down how this tourney will shape up.

First, lets' take a look at my bracket:

First, let's take a look at the Quarterfinal matchups. I did this at the beginning of the week, but let's go into a little more detail.

No. 1 New Hampshire vs. No. 8 Vermont

UNH won the season series against UVM, 2-0-1, and has not lost to a Hockey East team at home in 18-straight contests (14-0-4) dating back to last season. That said, the Catamounts took the Wildcats to overtime in both ends of the series at the Whit on February 19 and 20. Vermont needs to win this series to have any shot at the national tournament and the only reason they have any shot at all is because they have early-season wins over top-ranked Denver, No. 6 Yale and No. 14 Minnesota-Duluth. Since then things haven't gone well as they have gone 5-6-5 since beating M-D in the Catamont Cup in the beginning of January. UNH still has a shot to get in without going deep in the tournament, but winning this series would go a long way towards guaranteeing a spot.

Projected results: UNH wins series, 2-1 (W, 3-1; L, 4-3 OT; W, 4-2)

No. 4 Maine at No. 5 UMass-Lowell

Lowell was in an absolute tailspin, picking up just six of a possible 20 points at one point, but salvaged the season with a 3-0-2 record over the remaining games. Maine went from a team that had a shot at the No. 2 seed to a team that was really lucky to capture home ice after going 2-6-0 over the Black Bears' last eight games. The two teams actually both ended the regular season tied with Boston University with 28 points, but Maine and BU won the conference wins tiebreaker vs. Lowell, 13-12, and BU won the head-to-head tiebreaker with Maine, giving the teams their seeding. Maine holds the head-to-head advantage over Lowell, but the Bears have problems, mostly stemming from goaltending. Scott Darling was suspended after missing the final two games of the regular season and there are reports he's getting treated for alcohol-related issues. His replacement didn't fare well in the two contests against UMass at home, getting chased in both, allowing four goals on 17 shots in the first and two goals on five shots in the second.

Projected results: UMass-Lowell wins series, 2-0 (W, 5-2; W, 4-3)

No. 3 Boston University vs. No. 6 Merrimack

Merrimack had an impressive end of the season, going 6-2-2 over its last 10 games and all but the last two were meaningful games against teams fighting for the postseason. What was most impressive was the 3-1-1 mark on the road over that span. Before that, Merrimack had been dismal on the road with an 0-12-0 record. But has Merrimack really turned the corner? Probably not. And facing BU at the Aganis Arena, where the Terriers are 8-3-2 is probably where the ride ends for the Warriors.

Projected results: BU wins series, 2-1 (L, 4-3; W, 5-1; W, 3-2)

No. 2 Boston College vs. No. 7 UMass

The Eagles are the only team in the conference to record 20 wins this year and while they fell short of winning the regular season title, they are the best team in Hockey East, ranked fourth in the nation. Throw on top of that the fact that they have completely dominated the Mass Attack this season, going 3-0-0, and things don't look good for the Minutemen. The wins include a 7-1 drubbing at the Mullins Center that could have been far worse. I can attest to that. I was there. I was also there for the 3-1 win the Eagles had over the Minutemen and again, it could have been far worse. Bottom line, UMass has one of the best scorers in the country, but little else. Boston College has more speed, better stick handling, better goaltending and defense and is just plain more talented.

Projected results: BC wins series, 2-0 (W, 4-1; W, 3-1)

That will pit UMass-Lowell against UNH against each other and will open another chapter in the story of the Battle of Comm. Ave in the Semifinals.

No. 1 UNH vs. No. 5 UMass-Lowell

This is where things can get bad for the Wildcats. UNH was a sub-.500 team away from their Olympic-sized ice sheet in Durham, going 7-9-2. UNH plays a wide-open style of hockey and when the play is more bunched, the team has a hard time. Lowell and UNH skated to a 1-1-1 mark during the regular season. It's an interesting matchup that pits one of the best scoring teams in Hockey East against the top team in scoring defense.

Projected result: UNH wins, 4-2

No. 2 Boston College vs. No. 3 Boston University

What can be said about this rivalry that hasn't already been said? Pretty much everything is pretty well documented. They split the season series, 2-2-0. The Eagles and Terriers split the first two games, then BU captured the Frozen Fenway game by a score of 3-2 after dominating most of the game and BC captured the Beanpot. 4-3, in a game it dominated most of the way. BU's style of play makes them a formidable opponent for the Eagles, who rely on their defense to create offense. BC's transition game is what makes them tough, especially against attacking teams like UMass and UNH. But teams like BU that like to control the zone and use their defensemen to cycle the puck instead of just attacking the net find more success against the Eagles. Still, BC has been one of the best teams in the nation and the power play could be a major part of this game. BU has racked up the second-most penalty minutes in the league and Boston College has the best special teams in Hockey East.

Projected result: Boston College wins, 2-1

That brings us back to where we were a week ago - with UNH and BC playing for a Hockey East title.

No. 1 UNH vs. No. 2 Boston College

BC has dominated the play between the two squads. The record for the three-game regular-season series is in favor of the Eagles just 0-1-2 with a one-point difference in points scored, but both ties required third-period comebacks by the Wildcats, including a 3-goal effort to capture the regular season crown. Still, it should be interesting with two young teams (four seniors on each side) vying for the title.

Projected result: Boston College wins, 5-3

Hit on Savard brings two major problems to light

By Chris Maza
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

The Boston sports world (or at least that fanatical, hardcore faction known as Bruins fans) is buzzing in the wake of the brutal hit laid upon center Marc Savard. Savard took an elbow to the side of the head from Pittsburgh Penguins winger Matt Cooke after putting a puck on net that left him down on the ice with a grade 2 concussion during the B's 2-1 loss.

Take a look at the hit here.

Was it a dirty hit? Was it an ILLEGAL hit? Shouldn't Cooke be suspended?

First of all, yes, it was a dirty hit. However, it was technically not an illegal hit because the NHL has no hard, black-and-white rules about hits to the head. Elbowing could have been called, but it would have been a tough sell because at full speed, it does look like a shoulder. Even when slowed down, it is not an obvious infraction. Dirty players like Cooke know how to mask dirty hits. He didn't come flying in with his elbows up, but lifted his elbow to head level just as he was passing Savard. The league is now trying to cover up the fact it was an elbow by stating they looked at the tape for about an hour and a half and ruled it was a shoulder.

The real issue here is the fact that regardless of whether or not a hit delivered to the head was with a shoulder, elbow, hand or whatever, there should be rules punishing players who put other players in serious danger with obvious blows to the head. Cooke realistically can't be suspended for a hit that wasn't a penalty. And that is the league's fault.

The league has shown little interest in protecting players in the past and this is just another example of it. Every rule change the league has implemented has been in order to increase excitement in the game. Some have argued that while it wasn't an obvious elbow, it should have been called anyway, pointing out how many times questionable hooking or tripping calls have been made. There's a very real difference here: The league's focus on tripping and hooking was not a measure taken to make the game safer, but rather to increase offense, give forwards more free reign to maneuver in the zone uninhibited.

I'm not saying that these guys need to be babied. There was a time not all that long ago when players played without helmets at all. But the fact of the matter is players are bigger, stronger and faster than they ever were and with the league expansion, the talent isn't there the way it used to me, so there are more goons, more headhunters, that make their living just blasting people without contributing any talent to a team. There's nothing wrong with enforcers. But when enforcers become headhunters, then there is a problem and the league is the only entity that has the power to curb that problem and they can do that by enforcing penalties for hits to the head they way they do in the college game now.

These rules should not limit players who rely on toughness from using that attribute, but rather should encourage clean physical play. Yes, it exists and is one of the things that makes hockey such a great and unique sport.

And while we're on the subject of toughness, that subject is the second problem this incident brought to light. Toughness. The Bruins don't have any.

The best player on the team just got laid out and whether it was a dirty hit or not, someone should have responded. Michael Ryder, for example, was behind the play at the blue line, saw it happen and did nothing, continuing to coast into the zone. But let's not lay it all on one guy. No one did anything, whether immediate or over the last five minutes of the game. If a team's best player gets hit, you expect that team to respond an lay some lumber on the opposing team's best player, but Sidney Crosby was virtually untouched. Even Evgeni Malkin would have been a suitable target. But instead the Bruins showed no heart, no guts and showed the league they are a group you can walk all over.

Empty title for UNH in otherwise lost weekend

By Chris Maza
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

First of all, let me take the time to congratulate the University of New Hampshire Wildcats on winning the regular season Hockey East title for its eighth regular-season title and third in the last four years. For sure, it is an accomplishment, especially with the amount of unrest there was in the league this season. And for me personally, it was a pleasure to be there at ice level to see it.

That being said, the Wildcats did little to help themselves in terms of the big picture. UNH captured just one of a possible four points in the weekend tilt and despite winning a trophy, actually hurt themselves when it comes to winning hardware that actually matters.

Don't let the trophy fool you. UNH is not the best team in Hockey East. Not by a long shot. The past weekend proved that as through seven periods of hockey (six regulation and one overtime), the Wildcats were outplayed in six of them. UNH was unable to beat Boston College at all this year, and while going 0-1-2 while being outscored 10-9 against the Eagles isn't terrible, the quality in all three contests was on BC's side. Remember that in both of the two ties, UNH needed frantic third-period comebacks to salvage a point and UNH was totally out-played by the Eagles on Saturday, getting outshot, 40-18, in a 3-2 loss.

Now the Wildcats have put them in a must-win situation. They are in the top-10 in the PairWise Rankings, which are designed to mimic the system used by the NCAA when seeding teams, but remember that teams outside the top-16 in the rankings can make the tournament by winning their conference tournaments. Therefore, if you want in, you had better have a pretty good spot within the top-10. At this point, the regular season champs run a very real risk of missing the national tournament altogether, which would snap an eight-year streak of making the tounament, the second-longest in the nation.

Win the whole thing and the PWR is meaningless in terms of getting in and rankings only matter for seeding. But the Wildcats have to at least win their quarterfinal series against Vermont at the Whittemore Center to improve their stock. Vermont is still ranked in the USCHO poll and is tied for 16th in the PWR, so a sweep in that series would do wonders. That followed by a win over either UMass-Lowell or rival Maine would solidify their place as a tournament team. But lost out in that first round and forget it.

One thing teams need down the stretch and in the playoffs is great goaltending and after this weekend, that is one thing I am convinced the Wildcats have. Brian Foster made some huge saves in an overtime period of the 3-3 tie on Friday that was spend almost competely in the UNH zone and on Saturday, he made 37 saves, giving him 69 on the weekend with a .920 save percentage.

Boston College finished the regular season as one of the hottest teams in the nation, picking up 17 of a possible 22 points in February to improve to No. 4 both in the USCHO and PWR rankings, giving them a very good shot at a No. 1 seed in the national tourney. The interesting thing to watch for in the playoffs is who gets the start between the pipes - frosh Parker Milner or John Muse, the veteran with a national championship under his belt? My money is on Milner, who has been outstanding down the stretch, aside from one bad period on Friday night, and owns a 1.91 GAA. Muse was less than spectacular on Saturday and Jerry York has shown no qualms about sitting a veteran for the hot hand in the past.

So let's take a look at the quarterfinal matchups of this Hockey East Tournament:

No. 8 Vermont at No. 1 UNH
Vermont has remained in the national tournament conversation because of some tough early-season wins against non-conference opponents, but have done very poorly within the league. The Catamounts do hold a 2-1-0 record against the Wildcats this season, but UNH has yet to lose a game on home ice.

No. 7 UMass at No. 2 Boston College
This season the Eagles have absolutely owned the Minutemen, who needed help to get into the tournament and got it. BC has not lost to UMass (3-0-0) and have held the Mass Attack to one goal in all three games, while potting 10.

No. 6 Merrimack at No. 3 Boston University
The storyline in this one is great. Due to inconsistency and injury, BU was a basement team at the beginning of the season and ascended all the way to a third seed and home ice. Merrimack has been that cute little cousin who tries really hard, but just can't play with the big boys over the last few years, but have come on late to make a solid case as a team to watch and fear in the tournament by beating some of the better teams in the league.

No. 5 UMass-Lowell at No. 4 Maine
Both of these teams have shown nothing but inconsistency this season. Maine looked like it could compete for a two seed at one point, but a sweep by lowly UMass at the end of the season displays that this team still has a lot of problems. Not the least of those problems is the fact that their starting goaltender missed the final series of the season and was suspended indefinitely while reportedly being treated for alcohol-related problems. Lowell is in a very similar situation (other than the suspension issues), having been one of the top teams to start the season, falling almost out of the tournament altogether, then rebounding.

Prediction:
UNH over Vermont, 2-1.
UMass-Lowell over Maine, 2-0
BU over Merrimack, 2-1
BC over UMass, 2-0

In another related topic, Hockey East proved to be one of the most unpredictable leagues in college hockey. My preseason predictions were way off, as were the predictions of both USCHO and InsideCollegeHockey.com, the two major online sources for national college hockey news. Let's take a look at just how different the Hockey East landscape ended up from how it looked before the season started.

As you can see, myself, USCHO and InsideCollegeHockey all failed to be clairvoyant enough to forsee injuries to BU and all of us thought UMass-Lowell would be fighting for top billing in the league after a strong finish to last season. All of us saw UNH as more of a middle-of-the-road team than an actual contender and none of us forsaw Merrimack making a late-season run into the playoffs as the sixth seed.

Great signing (Wilfork) by the Patriots

By Chad Garner

Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

Don't call the New England Patriots cheap!

While the Pats typically don't throw money around like an out-of-control gambler, they do spend when they think it's a great investment.

So kudos to the New England Patriots for realizing they needed to dig deep to sign the best nose tackle on the free agent market. Better yet, the best tackle in all of football.

Welcome home again Vince Wilfork.

The big man and force in the middle of the Patriots defense will be staying in Foxboro for five more seasons after inking a five-year, $40 million deal.

I said it before, the Pats needed to sign Wilfork no matter the price.

And a signing bonus of $18 million and $25 million guaranteed proves to Patriots Nation that their team spends big when they need to.

Yes, the Pats have a lot of holes to fill, but Wilfork was a must and it's one great start to free agency.

Just imagine that defense without the big man in the middle this season. You got it, it wouldn't be pretty and opposing teams would run on us like crazy.

Wilfork is a major key to this defense, and it's nice to know he'll be for quite a while.

Again, great signing Patriots, and keep doing your thing Wilfork!

Fantasy Baseball: Positional Rankings - Shortstop

By Jim Ingram

Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

The fantasy position of shortstop has really transformed, once again, the past few years. For a short period of time it had turned into a power hitting position. With the exception of a select few, the position has once again turned into a position that provides average, runs, stolen bases and on base percentage.

The Top 20:

1. Hanley Ramirez - Marlins

2. Troy Tulowitzki - Rockies

3. Jimmy Rollins - Phillies

4. Derek Jeter - Yankees

5. Jose Reyes - Mets

6. Alexei Ramirez - White Sox

7. Jason Bartlett - Rays

8. Yunel Escobar - Braves

9. Stephen Drew - Diamondbacks

10. Rafael Furcal - Dodgers

11. Asdrubal Cabrera - Indians

12. Elvis Andrus - Rangers

13. Jhonny Peralta - Indians

14. Miguel Tejada - Orioles

15. Ryan Theriot - Cubs

16. J.J. Hardy - Twins

17. Erik Aybar - Angels

18. Alcides Escobar - Brewers

19. Ian Desmond - Nationals

20. Everth Cabrera - Padres

The Top 20:

Hanley Ramirez - H-Ram is truly the only elite player at this position in my opinion. He literally does everything at the plate. He hits for average, hits home runs, drives runners in, steals bases and scores runs. What else do you want? Nothing, really and that is why he's the #2 overall ranked player in fantasy baseball

The 2nd Tier:

Troy Tulowitzki - Tulo really put it together again last season. He almost hit .300 (.297) and had his first 30 homer season. I attribute the total of 92 RBI on a struggling Colorado offense for a good portion of the season. Look for him to build off last season and only improve.

Jimmy Rollins - I really battled putting Rollins at the #3 slot for this position. I really like Jeter better, but Rollins still steals bases. His average has dropped each of the past two seasons, but he did hit more homers and drive in more runs.

Derek Jeter - Despite not being a Yankees fan, Derek Jeter is one of my all time favorites. He does everything at the plate extremely well. He'll never hit 30 home runs, but who cares when you put up good numbers at every other offensive category.

On the Rise:

Alcides Escobar - The Brewers are finally giving the young shortstop a shot at starting after trading J.J. Hardy to the Twins. He did hit .304 in 125 at bats towards the end of the season last year and was very impressive.

Ian Desmond - Desmond should push Christian Guzman out of his position this year. Like Escobar, he also impressed in 21 games last year. He has a good bat, with decent power and a good glove. Look for him to get more playing time as the season goes on.

Elvis Andrus -The slick fielding shortstop made great strides in the 2nd half last season. He hit .280 after the All Star break. He sure is a light hitting player, but adds 30+ stolen bases to his game.

Jose Iglesias - The Red Sox apparently love this guy. From all the reports I've read, and heard, he could play defensively in the majors right now. He did impress with his bat in the Arizona League, but the Sox really think he needs at least another year in the minors.

On the Slide:

Rafael Furcal - Furcy really frustrates me as a Dodgers fan. Until last season, I always thought that if he's healthy, then he's a very good player. Unfortunately his knee problems have slowed him down on the base paths and in the field.

Miguel Tejada - Miggy can't really play the position anymore, but who cares. He'll at least still hit for you. I doubt he'll put up numbers similar to last year when he hit .313. His power numbers are way down and I don't expect him to ever hit more than 15 in a season again.

Marco Scutaro - I really didn't like this signing by the Red Sox. Having one good year does not make you a full time starter. He'll never be more than a role player for me, and I expect him to struggle in the Sox lineup this year.

Christian Guzman - He really should lose most of his playing time with Ian Desmond on the team. He can still hit for average, but do nothing else.

Look for the Outfield rankings this weekend.

It's ok to be disappointed, B's fans. But don't go crazy.

By Chris Maza
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

So the Bruins allowed the NHL trading deadline to pass without making a splash. Let's not go crazy. No one did.

Sure, it's ok to be a little disappointed. After all, the team that scored the fewest goals in the NHL to this point this season did nothing to improve its abilities in that area.

But there are a couple of things to consider. First is the fact that the Bruins are right up against the cap. The trades they did make opened up a couple million dollars, but the Bruins were in the exact same position as pretty much every other team in the league in terms of wiggle room financially. No team really made a big deal because no team looking to make a deal had the cap room to take on a large contract. The Bruins were no different.

The second thing is in regards to what the Bruins actually had to offer another team. If you were a general manager trying to strike a deal with the Bruins, if you look at the assets on the team that could be acquired, who would you want? Michael Ryder? No. You would be looking at the first-round draft picks.

And you know what? I don't blame Peter Chiarelli for not selling the farm. I wouldn't, either. I don't doubt he tried, but the only carrot that really looked appealing to anyone else is the one that both he or I would be unwilling to give up.

The Bruins are what they are this year and Chiarelli can be blamed for that. But he also realized that because they are what they are, one player is not going to make that much of a difference and certainly isn't worth such a valuable asset as two first-round picks. In reality, the Bruins are not devoid of talent. They are devoid of healthy talent. Through how many games have the lines that were projected at the beginning of the season actually played together? Not nearly enough. And now with Bergeron expected to be out, there will be more shifting.

It's very possible the shifting lines will continue all season and as a result, we will have to endure the punchless B's. But the sacrifice now is being made for the future good of the team. I understand it. Everyone else should, too.

NFL Free Agency begins tonight

By Jim Ingram

Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

In case you didn't know, or even realize, the 2010 NFL Free Agency period begins tonight at 12:01 AM. Personally, I am very excited, and intrigued, how free agency will shake out this year with an uncapped season. If you follow this blog, than you know that I am a Patriots fan.

I have very mixed feelings on how the Patriots will operate this off season. It looks certain Logan Mankins will be back now that he was assigned the 1st & 3rd round tender. With that being said, the biggest move they need to make is signing Vince Wilfork to a long term deal.

They have three 2nd round picks this year, so I wouldn't be surprised to see them sign a restricted free agent, and surrender one of those picks. I wouldn't be surprised to see them make a trade for a wide receiver like Anquan Boldin or Brandon Marshall. I also wouldn't be surprised if the Patriots decide to retain most of their own free agents, sign Tom Brady to an extension, and not make a huge splash in free agency. Of course, I could wake up tomorrow and the Pats could have signed Julius Peppers and traded for Greg Olson. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.