Olympic hockey's future

The Sochi Winter Olympics have ended and with it the debate of the standing of Olympic Hockey's future has begun.  The National Hockey League is seriously considering putting an end to the Olympic break during the NHL regular season. 

Some arguments say the risk of star players injuring themselves is not worth it. Of course this happened in Sochi. New York Islander's star John Tavares suffered a serious knee injury while playing for team Canada that has ended his season. I understand the owners' frustrations when a player on their team goes down while playing in a different uniform than theirs. At the same time it's an injury that's part of the sport in general. Whether they play in the Olympics or not the risk of injury is the same.

NHL players should play in the Olympics for as long as Hockey is an Olympic sport. The Olympics is about the best athletes in the world competing against one another in their respective sports. If NHL players are disallowed the rest of the world will have a clear advantage over teams like USA and Canada who's players were all from the NHL. It'll go back to the days where the Soviets had "amateur" players who just so happened to have played for years together. It wouldn't ban all pros from the Olympics it's just the NHL. 

The NHL doesn't do well in the ratings as it is. How will it do when it goes against the Olympics? Ask the NBA. Not only was All-star weekend terrible, it wasn't the only sport on then. If you are a sports fan you didn't have to watch it just for the sake of watching sports. The Olympics were on and were a lot more interesting. Put it into perspective, nationally the NBA is viewed by more than the NHL. If the NBA cannot compete then how will hockey? 

The Olympics is a platform to grow the game of Hockey in the United States. Be honest, did you know who T.J. Oshie was 3 weeks ago? I'll tell you now, I saw his name on the roster and thought "who?!" How many recognize the name now? Exactly! What he did in the game against Russia was UNBELIEVABLE. It went viral and for days afterwards that's all people could talk about. A country who isn't so high on hockey was in a frenzy as a result of a hockey game. That game sparked the interest of so many and MAYBE it'll make them interested in watching the NHL. 

Bottom line the Olympics aren't just a global sporting event it's a collaboration of sports which people, sports fans or non sports fans, watch because of national pride. What better show to put on for everyone than highly paid athletes playing for their country with passion and heart. It's rare for a sport's best athletes to actually care about a game when money is not on the line. Why ruin that? 

Super Bowl Sunday

After an exciting season in the NFL it comes down to only two teams. The AFC champion and # 1 ranked offense battles the NFC champs and best ranked defense in a historical Super Bowl. The first Super Bowl ever to be played outdoors in a cold weather climate in Met Life Stadium in New Jersey.

 A game in which the outcome could solidify Bronco Quarterback Peyton Manning's legacy and bring silence to his doubters. A win would give the reigning MVP his second ring and possibly cap off an outstanding career.  

On the other side a Seahawks win would mean second year quarterback Russell Wilson would be the shortest quarterback to ever win a Super Bowl. A feat once considered impossible for a sub 6 foot tall quarterback. Wilson listed at 5'11" would break a barrier which just might influence the thought process of general managers in future drafts. A position once focused on who had the size, arm strength, and pocket presence is changing before our eyes. More and more mobile quarterbacks are finding success in today's game and the height of a quarterback is slightly less important when GM's look at their draft board. For this Saints quarterback Drew Brees can be thanked. At 6 feet tall Brees has become one of the leagues top quarterbacks with arguably the best offense in recent years. He led the Saints to a Super Bowl win against the Colts, then quarterbacked by you guessed it Peyton Manning. Wilson looked up to Brees. He modeled his game after him because of their commonality of being undersized quarterbacks. He saw Brees was successful and used it as inspiration to chase his dream of a playing in the NFL. 

My prediction for tonight is the Seattle Seahawks will win the first Super Bowl in franchise history and hand Peyton Manning his second loss in the biggest game of the year. Russell Wilson will win most valuable player of the game and break down a wall in which future "undersized" quarterbacks will be able to run through on their way to chasing their dreams of playing in the NFL.