Real Sports Talk with E-Money

I seriously considered using this column to go on a rant about different things that are going on around campus that have really pissed me off/confused the hell out of me, but that is what my non-sports information thing is for. With that said, it is time to get down to business.

The NFL season added yet another turn in the road, as non-playoff and playoff teams really established themselves this past week. Green Bay is the best team in the league; there is no doubting that. Beyond that, you just may as well pick a team out of a hat. New Orleans offense is nearly impossible, but that defense outside of Jonathan Vilma is sub-par at best. The Lions seem to be too undisciplined to be a serious contender, and I personally still do not think that San Francisco is a great team (Alex Smith is still their quarterback, and Patrick Willis is hurt). On the AFC side of the equation, New England's defense is still extremely shaky (despite playing OK as of late). Oakland and Denver have quarterbacks who can scare the hell out of you (for better and for worse). Houston seems to have suffered too many injuries (T.J. Yates is obviously young and inexperienced, and Andre Johnson and Mario Williams being out kills this team), and Baltimore has lost to Jacksonville while Pittsburgh barely beat the Chiefs and Colts. All of these teams obviously have different things that they are strong at, but each one has a ton of negatives as well (Green Bay's defense didn't show much against the Giants, besides the Clay Matthews' interception). What I am saying is that this season is still unpredictable, and come playoff time, it is anyone's Super Bowl to win. As far as different awards go, Aaron Rodgers is the NFL MVP (though Drew Brees will be a close second), DeMarcus Ware is the defensive player of the year (NFL high 15 sacks despite not really being talked about), Andy Dalton is the offensive rookie of the year (his touchdown to interception ratio is much better then Cam Newton's, and his team's record is much better), while Von Miller and Patrick Peterson should be co-defensive players of the year.

In the world that is the National Hockey League, or NHL, supposedly for the 2012-2013 season there will be new "conferences" (these are divisions, not conferences, but that is besides the point). The idea with this sure as hell isn't sexy, but it ultimately gives the NHL some attention, and will promote some of the league's best rivalry more than they already have become.

The conference names have not been announced yet, but it seems assumed (to me, at least) that the names will be the original division names in Adams, Norris, Smyth and Patrick. If the NHL decides to call these divisions something other then this, then shame on them. You have to acknowledge and respect where the roots of your sport came from, and this is another great way to do so. As far the divisions go, the first division consist of teams in Western North America, including the Sharks, Flames, Kings and Canucks. The second division is Mid-Western teams, with the exception being the Stars. Also in this division are the Blackhawks, Red Wings, Blues and Predators. In the third division, the Bruins, Lightning, Canadians, and Sabers are within this division (you have to put the Florida teams in one division, right?). The final division is within the Mid-Atlantic, including the Rangers, Capitals, Penguins, and Devils. The fourth division appears to have the most amount of talent within it, but time will tell as to which is truly the strongest one. A lot of details still have to be worked out between commissioner Gary Bettman and the NHLPA, but this idea ultimately will get something the NHL wants, and that is getting the casual fan back. To get away from the future, the Bruins have been unbelievably hot behind Tim Thomas in net, as well as Tyler Seguin improving with each game in his young career. One team that has been struggling greatly over the past three weeks is the Washington Capitals. Two of the Caps best players (in Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom) are a combined -14, and both have yet to score 10 goals individually. With time, the Caps will end up back in the top 4, but will have to turn it around soon so that they will end up in the playoffs.

In other irrelevant (though I find interesting) sports news:

-Enough with all of the Chris Paul and Dwight Howard are going here or there. Let time play itself out.

-Robert Griffin III should be the Heisman winner. If he wasn't on Baylor, this team would be .500 at best (though receiver Kendall Wright is awesome).

-The Miami Marlins have impacted the entire MLB since their move. The Jose Reyes and Heath Bell signings are huge for that team.

-The Big East football conference now consists of Boise State, Houston and Central Florida. Let that sink in. At least this will probably lead to an eventual playoff system.

-Best Non-BCS bowl game? Houston against Penn State in the Ticketcity Bowl

-Best NFL game of the upcoming week? Houston traveling to Cincinnati. How will the Texans, who are starting a lot of back-ups right now, play against the Bengals, who are desperate for a win to stay in the playoff race.

Non-sports information of the week

-Shout-out to Kyle Brumfield who is a first-year defender for Plymouth State's men's hockey team. Not only has Brumfield played in multiple games this year, he has also gotten a 100 on a Calculus-2 test a few weeks back (shout-out to the calculus-2 professor as well, Mr. Hett; he is a hell of a teacher.)