10 Thoughts going into the 2013 NHL Season

After 113 days of frustration and uncertainty, the NHL lockout came to an end on January 6. What once seemed like a lost season will now feature a 48-game schedule crammed into 99 days starting January 19. Here are some thoughts on the end of the lockout and some of the bigger headlines leading into Saturday's opening night.

1. Shortened season will favour rivalry games, leave out inter-conference matchups

Much like this year, the NHL salvaged a 48-game season after the 1994-95 lockout. The difference between now and then is that there are 4 more teams in the league, meaning no time for out-of-conference games and leaving teams to play two of their division rivals 5 times and the other two division teams 4 times. That means teams will play within their division in roughy 38% of their games. In a normal 82-game NHL season, teams play 24 division games which works out to 29% of their schedule. Will this have a significant effect on this season's standings?

2. Expect strong teams in weaker divisions to dominate regular season standings

 This might seem a tad obvious as it happens to a certain degree every season, but I expect teams like Boston and Vancouver to shoot to the top of their respective conference standings faster than usual. Vancouver was the only playoff team in the Northwest division in 2011-12, and the only team with over 90 points in the regular season (Calgary had exactly 90, the lowest total for teams finishing second in their division). While I expect Edmonton and Minnesota to improve their records I still think the Canucks are far and away the best team in the division. Likewise, Boston will likely benefit from playing a large portion of their season against the likes of the Canadiens and Maple Leafs, two young teams who I expect will be among the worst teams in the Eastern Conference. Using the same logic, weak teams in stronger divisions will suffer through worse-than-usual seasons. The Blue Jackets and the Islanders were the only teams in their respective divisions to miss the playoffs last season, and with the shortened schedule it will seem like these teams will be getting crushed by their strong division rivals every other night.

NFL Divisional Round: QB Lessons

What a great weekend of football, eh? After a disappointing wildcard round, the NFL Gods smiled down on us and provided a really exciting slate of games this time around. There was a lot to take away from the divisional round but I learned the most about the quarterbacks. Here are the 5 big things I learned this weekend:

1. Colin Kaepernick is... pretty effing good.

Two words sum up Kaepernick's performance on Saturday night against the Packers: holy shit. Let's not delve too deep into this and just look at the raw numbers: 17-for-31 for 263 yards and 2 touchdowns through the air; 16 rush attempts for 181 yards and 2 touchdowns on the ground. Again, holy shit. Kaepernick accounted for 444 yards, while Green Bay as a team netted just 352. Every other team should be terrified by the mere thought of playing this guy.

One last time: holy shit.

Associated Press

2. Joe Flacco is... gonna get paid this off-season.

NFC Divisional Round Preview

Green Bay Packers @ San Francisco 49ers - Saturday 8:00 PM

The QB Battle: The Biggest 49ers Story This Season
(AP)

For my money, this is the game of the weekend. While technically a rematch of a Week 1 affair (which the 49ers won 30-22), in reality both teams are vastly different than the teams that squared off in on September 9.

The biggest difference for San Fran—of course—is at quarterback. Alex Smith started for the 9ers in Week 1, but handed the reigns to Colin Kaepernick mid-season (had the reigns wrestled away from him?) and the team hasn't looked back since. By now you know the differences between Smith and Kaepernick, but let's list them here anyway: Kaepernick is more mobile than Smith, has a bigger arm than Smith and takes more shots downfield than did Smith. It was highly debated for weeks, but the change at QB has made the 49ers offense more explosive.

Let's be real here, though. No matter who plays under center for San Francisco, this team is all about defense. They are undoubtedly the most physical defensive unit in the league, and were in the top-3 both in terms of total yards allowed, and points allowed. From the line through the secondary, these dudes can flat out play. Even better for the 49ers, defensive tackle Justin Smith is expected to play in this one. Smith is essential to the defense, calling stunts and opening up holes for the San Fran pass rushers (notice how Aldon Smith's production steeply declined when Justin Smith was out?). The D can keep San Francisco in almost any game, and will manage keep this one close.

AFC Divisional Round Preview

Baltimore Ravens @ Denver Broncos - Saturday January 12th, 4:30 PM

I've got this weird feeling that this one will be close, even though Denver is the better team in almost every way. Close or not, the Broncos should win this one and advance to the AFC Championship.

Peyton Manning, it turns out, is really quite good. Who'd have thought? Manning has transformed the Broncos into one of the most explosive teams in the league on offense and he should be able to tear up a poor Ravens secondary. The running game will add a bit, but to me this game comes down to Denver's passing attack. I'm thinking 70-ish yards for Knowshon Moreno as the lead rusher, and over 300 for Manning.

Getty Images

10 Things I Think I Know: The NBA Season So Far

The 2012-13 NBA season is quickly approaching the halfway point, and now that I've watched approximately 500 games—give or take—I think I'm starting to figure the league out. Here are 10 things I'm pretty sure I know about this NBA season.

1. The Heat and Thunder will be the top seeds heading into the playoffs

Sorry to start the list off with this one, guys, it's pretty boring. The Heat and Thunder have been the class of their respective conferences for a couple years now, and I really don't see that changing. The Heat will almost certainly be wire-to-wire winners of the East, while the Thunder may have to fight it out with the Spurs and Clippers. Still, I expect Kevin Durant and co. to end up as the number 1 seed in the West going into the playoffs.

2. LeBron James will win another MVP Award

My notes for this list actually had "Durant as MVP", but the more I thought about it, the more convinced I became that LeBron will take home the hardware. He's the best player in the world, he's putting up ridiculous numbers and his team hasn't played their best ball yet. Watch LeBron improve his game as the playoff push heats up, and watch him run away with the MVP votes.