A good replacement for Moss: Deion Branch

By Chad Garner

Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

Well, Randy Moss is gone, so it's time to start thinking about how this New England offense can recover and regroup.

And it could all start with the return of old friend, Deion Branch.

Remember, the same Branch that was a favorite weapon of Tom Brady from 2002-05.

But Branch was quickly traded away to Seattle over a nasty contact dispute.

But now, hopefully, the Seahawks can trade him back and for a lot less (hopefully it'll only cost a 5th-round pick, instead of how the Pats got a first-rounder from Seattle in 05).

Branch isn't a legit No. 1 receiver, but I would never expect him to post the numbers that Randy Moss did, either. But Branch is smart, he runs great routes, can help the younger players, is a security blanket for Brady and is good enough that teams must respect him on the outside and will hopefully not allow other teams to double-cover Wes Welker in the slot.

But perhaps his biggest plus is that he's a total team player. He knows how to play in a team concept and isn't worried about being the featured guy in this offense. He knows Brady spreads the ball around to the open receiver, too. He's not a full-blown diva, either.

See, these are some things that Randy Moss never understood. The sad part is, as good as Moss is as a receiver, he's simply too selfish and that's a major negative in New England.

So it could be a great addition for New England. Branch is not a 1,000-yard receiver (he did have 998 in 2005) but he could be in the right situation.

The Patriots need a proven veteran receiver on the outside to take some heat off of Welker. The young kids (Brandon Tate, Julian Edelman, Taylor Price) aren't the answer right now, but the Super Bowl XXXIX MVP is. Make the right decision, and bring back Branch.

Can anyone in Hockey East stop Boston College?

Can Hockey East make it four in a row? With Boston College at the top, it's very possible.

As the college hockey season gets rolling today, the main question on the minds of anyone who follows Hockey East is whether or not Boston College can continue one of the most dominant stretches in college hockey history. Since 1998, they have made the tournament eleven times (98, 99, 00, 01, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 10), been to the championship game six times (98, 00, 01, 06, 07, 08, 10) and won the whole thing twice (08, 10). Not a bad stretch.

What's more, you would be hard pressed to find a team that won a national championship that returns as many players as Boston College does this year. I'm not going to lay out a bunch of stats and returning players for you. Suffice it to say that just about every impact player is returning to that team. The Immensely talented Whitney brothers and the quiet, yet very effective Cam Atkinson figure to be the leaders of a team that is deep throughout.

It's saying something when Boston University coach says it's "obvious" that BC is the favorite in the league. And when Northeastern coach Greg Cronin predicts the cross-town rivals could win 40 games and calls the Eagles the "thoroughbred" of the conference, that speaks volumes.

To put Cronin's words in proper perspective, Maine won 42 games in 1993, setting an NCAA record. They went on to beat defending-champion Lake Superior, 5-4.

Maine has been a shadow of itself for the better part of this decade, but appear to be back on track behind the leadership of Gustav Nyquist, a Hobey Baker finalist who racked up 61 points in 39 games. After a rocky start, the Black Bears rebounded and made it all the way to the Hockey East championship game. But Maine needed to win the game in order to have enough of a resume to make the national tournament and failed to do so. Still, the 19-17-3 record indicated that things are on the upswing for Miane.

If there's one question surrounding Maine, it's goaltending. However, Maine only graduated one member of its blue line, which should make the job easier.

New Hampshire is the other team that probably has the most hope of unseating the Eagles. Last year's regular-season Hockey East champions have the second-longest active streak of tournament appearances with nine and could quite possibly have 10 after this season. As is the case with Maine, UNH is very green in goal. All-American Brian Foster played in 38 games last year, while this year's starter, Matt DiGiolamo saw just under 93 minutes all season. Still, he's getting rave reviews from coach Dick Umile, who noted while smaller than previous standouts Foster and former Hockey East Player of the Year Kevin Regan - both were 6-foot-2 - he is remarkably quick and athletic. The Wildcats also return five of their six defensemen, including All-American Blake Kessel.

UNH also is without its Hobey finalist from last year. Bobby Butler scored 29 goals and assisted 24 more for the Wildcats last season, but UNH is never short on scorers. Paul Thompson (19 goals), Mike Sislo (14 goals), Phil DiSimone (10) and Kessel (10) all return and who knows who else might pop up. Butler was not considered a top scorer for the team prior to last season.

BU always has to be in the Hockey East discussion, whether Boston College fans like it or not. After missing the postseason last year, Jack Parker's crew does have a lot of work to do. BU has just one senior on the roster surrounded by 17 freshman and sophomores. Perhaps that's what the Terriers need after the team looked very complacent the year after its championship run the year before.

Keiran Millan remains one of the best goaltenders in the conference and while he may never duplicate his outstanding freshman campaign, which included 28 wins and sub-2.00 goals against average, he will keep BU in most games.

Last year's upstart Merrimack, which almost bumped BU out of the Hockey East Tournament, bears watching in for no other reason than Stephane De Costa, the Warriors' phenom who scored 46 points in his rookie season.

Northeastern is looking to rebound and returns a lot of talent from a team that was left reeling after the departure of Hobey Baker finalist Brad Thiessen. Chris Rawlings eventually settled into the position and the team finished in the middle of the road in terms of team defense.

But the lack of a truly premier goaltender exposed some real offensive deficiencies for the Huskies, who were ninth in the league overall in scoring. Northeastern was just four points away from third place in Hockey East last year, but there was a severe logjam in the middle of the pack and despite being that close to home ice, Northeastern didn't go to the postseason at all, so it's hard to read just how good this team might be or might not be.

Overall, Hockey East does have question marks throughout, with the exception of Boston College, and should once again be the most competitive conference in college hockey.

Projected standings:
1. Boston College*
2. New Hampshire*
3. Maine*
4. Boston University
5. Northeastern
6. Merrimack
7. Vermont
8. UMass-Lowell
9. UMass-Amherst
10. Providence
* indicates NCAA tournament

Chris Maza is the owner of the Maza's Musings sports blog. Check out this post and others at http://mazasmusings.wordpress.com

Do you still Trust in Bill?

By Chad Garner

Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

There's no crying in football, either.

I know Randy Moss is gone, but it's already time to turn the page. There's still 12 weeks of the regular season to play, so there's no time tear up about Moss being traded to the Vikings.

But what I'm more ticked about is the compensation that the Patriots got from Minnesota. A third-rounder for one of the best wide receivers of all-time? Seriously, a third-rounder? It doesn't add up based on Moss' resume and career stats, but I guess the Pats are lucky to even get that much.

Remember, Moss has been vocal about wanting to get paid (a contact extension) and then there's reports that Moss had words with coaches and he was a bad seed in the locker room. Should any of that really surprise us? Moss, despite boatloads of talent, has always been a problem child. So knowing that the Pats weren't going to re-sign Moss anyway, why would the Vikes actually give up their first-round pick in the 2011 draft?

So, although Moss has the talent to fetch at least a first-round pick, the Pats had no leverage to broker that rich of a deal. So a No. 3 might not be that bad after all considering the circumstances.

Just think, everyone was up in arms that Laurence Maroney was traded to the Broncos for a fourth-rounder. That deal actually looks good now, considering it was only a 3 for Moss.

After this latest blockbuster, do you still Trust in Bill?

Ingy Predicts: 2010 MLB Postseason

By Jim Ingram

Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

Ideally, I would give you a detailed description of my 2010 Post season predictions. Unfortunately, I have a day job that I need to attend to. Regardless, take a gander at who I predict to win the World Series.

Moss back to Vikings signals white flag for Patriots

By Jim Ingram

Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

OK, full disclosure here. I couldn't stand it when the Patriots traded for Randy Moss. Of course, I was 100% wrong, and I fully admit it. I've now come full circle, as I can't stand how the Patriots traded Randy Moss to the Vikings for a measly 3rd round draft pick. To me this signals the Patriots surrender to the 2010 season.

I don't care what you think of Randy Moss, but the one thing I know is he makes the Patriots a better team. Despite not catching a pass against the Dolphins on Monday night, he still was a key contributor to me. How did he contribute? Randy Moss forces opposing teams to use their best corner to cover him most, if not all, of the game. Now that the Patriots no longer have their deep threat, what will happen to the likes of Wes Welker & Aaron Hernandez? Brady targeted Brandon Tate 5 times, 4 of them for a reception, but Tate is not ready to take over as the Pats deep threat.

Now onto the compensation received for the future Hall of Fame receiver. a 3rd rounder? Terrible value in my opinion. It doesn't matter to me that he's a free agent after the season, or that he's a 33 year old receiver looking for a new 3 year deal. He's still one of, if not, the best deep threats in the game. A 3rd rounder when the Pats got a 4th rounder for Maroney, and the Bills got a 4th rounder for Marshawn Lynch? A 3rd round pick when the Vikings were clearly desperate to get a proven receiver for Brett Favre? Ridiculous. So what if the Patriots now have two 1st round, two 2nd round, two 3rd round and 2 4th round picks. Unless the Patriots package picks and Logan Mankins for a player this year, this deal makes absolutely no sense to me.

Once again, say what you want about Randy Moss. Listen to how the media dislikes the man. I'll take what his fellow players say about the man. Regardless of his relationship with Bill, he was a beloved teammate who will be sorely missed.

In case you haven't figured it out, I hate this deal. It just feels like another Deion Branch to me. What do you think?

Ingy's 2010 MLB Predictions Review

By Jim Ingram

Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

Well, now that the 2010 MLB regular season is over, it's time to take a quick look back at who I predicted to win their divisions, and take the Wild Card spot. If you'd like to see the complete list of predictions, use the link to jump to the article:

Ingy's 2010 MLB Predictions

Now, here's to my review of what I predicted, and what actually happened:

As you can, see I did not do all that well. Make sure to check back Wednesday morning for the Playoff predictions.

Les Miles: Worst coach of a ranked team in football

By Chris Maza
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

It must be maddening to be an LSU fan. It must be even worse being the person that writes Les Miles' paycheck.

Throughout his tenure with the Tigers, Miles has been scrutenized for his terrible calls and especially for his lack of ability to manage a clock. But to this point, he's been able to dodge bullets and hasn't given LSU any real, tangible reason to fire him.

After Saturday's gift win over Tennessee, Miles made another Matrix-like bullet-dodging move, thanks to an illegal substitution penalty on the Vols. For those of you who didn't see it, with about half a minute remaining in the game, LSU was stopped on the Tennessee two-yard line with no time outs. Miles sends players in for a late substitution and runs one final play, which ends up being a bad snap to the quarterback on a rushed play that ends the game. Only it didn't end the game. Tennessee, in response to LSU's substitutions, made subs of its own and ultimately puts more players on the field than it took off. That gave LSU one more chance, which they took into the end zone for a touchdown.

Miles' stupidity was trumped by the stupidity of another coach and as a result, LSU doesn't drop in the AP poll and actually gained a spot in the USA Today rankings.

But Miles' bosses have to be looking at him extremely skeptically. He's wriggled his way out of situation after situation that could have led to his termination, but this game is possibly the last straw. How many more times is LSU going to allow him to take his team to the brink? Even one loss in such an embarassing fashion could lead to the unemployment line.

Chris Maza is the owner of the Maza's Musings sports blog. Check out this post and others at http://mazasmusings.wordpress.com.