As a sports writer, and a huge hockey fan, there are very few moments that pull you out of the zone that is your love for hockey.  Monday night, though, was one of those moments.  Playing in Russia, Alexei Cherepanov, a 19 year old prospect for the New York Rangers, playing for Avangard Omsk alongside his hero Jaromir Jagr, collapsed suddenly on the bench.  His heart had stopped, and after attempts to regain a heartbeat, Cherepanov did not awaken, and had passed on.

This comes as a huge shock to not only the New York Rangers, but the hockey world itself.  This was a young kid with a bright future.  Jaromir Jagr, after leaving the Rangers to play in Russia, joined Cherepanov on Avangard Omsk.  Jagr quickly became Cherepanov’s idol, and the two would often remain on the ice after practice to continue training.  Jagr had even told Tom Renney, head coach of the Rangers, that at his current playing level, Cherepanov could have played on the Rangers 2nd line.

The death also comes as a shock to me as I write this.  I had spent countless weeks 2 years ago during the Flyers breakdown season, hoping the Flyers would draft Alexei.  Cherepanov’s draft ranking fell, and eventually went midway in the first to the New York Rangers.  I remember distinctly telling my friend Tom, a huge Rangers fan, that that pick was a steal, he easily was a top 10 player, and that Cherepanov was going to be big.

From both myself and BleepingIdiots.com, we wish all the love and support to Cherepanov’s friends and family in these trying times.

The 3rd inning proved to be the crucial turning point in game 1 of the post season. As the weather started getting a bit shaky in the bottom of the third, Cole Hamels bunt caused the Brewers to have mistake-after-mistake. The Phils got another break when Chase Utley pounded a ball to center field that bounced right off the tip of the centerfielders glove.

Cole Hamels pitched a 8 inning shutout performance that was gem-like, and threw a ruthless change-up in his 9 strikeout performance.

Lidge came in the 9th to close out a 3 run lead, and sealed the deal after letting up 1 run.

Game 1: 3-1 Phillies

Travis Henry won’t be wearing #20 anymore, but he’ll always have a 20 bag close by…

Former Denver Bronco running back Travis Henry has been arrested for trafficking multiple kilograms of cocaine, the federal Drug Enforcement Administration announced today.

Henry and another man, James Mack, were arrested Tuesday after “as a result of a multi-kilogram cocaine transaction” in Centennial, Jeffrey D. Sweetin, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA’s Rocky Mountain Division, said in a statement.

The two men are being held pending the filing of federal drug charges in U.S. District Court later today in Denver.

-Rocky Mountain News

I intended on reviewing NHL 09 within a week of its release.  As you can guess from the title, this won’t be it.  I will say that the game is INCREDIBLY good, and is in the running for sports game of the year.  That being said, I’ll get to this eventually.  Until then, go out and buy it, and take my word for it.

I’m out to play.

Ed Hochuli, you blew the game (no pun intended).

Ed Hochuli, one of the premier officials in the NFL changed the outcome of division rivals San Diego Chargers and Denver Broncos. Jay Cutler rolled out from the 1 yard line, cocked back to throw, and lossed the ball… The whistle blew, and the arm came forward. San Diego linebacker Tim Dobbins picked up the ball and fell out of bounce.

Following the blown call, the Broncos scored to come within 1 point, and opted to go for the 2 point conversion with 24 seconds remaining in the game. Mike Shanahan made one of the ballsiest decisions in sports history. I can not in my memory compare this decision to go for the win to any other scenario. I guess he figured he deserved to lose the game, so what the hell… The Broncos successfully converted and sent a lightning bolt to the heart of the Chargers.

“I can’t say that the ref cheated us because that’s a fine,” Phillips wrote. “I can’t say that the Broncos didn’t win that game because that’s being a sore loser. I can’t say that it was a mistake that the replay machine wasn’t working in the first [quarter] cause that would be a lie. . . . As a competitor it should never come down to the last play, but it did and we let it slip away.”

-Shaun Philips on YardBarker.com

Ed, you totally screwed the Chargers over, but I will give you credit that you were man enough to admit it….

All those zebra-striped muscles must cloud his decision making.

“The common denominator was me being in both places, but I will let you make that assessment,”

-T.O.

This monday night division rivals Philadelphia Eagles play the Dallas Cowboys on the national stage. This week 2 game could very easily influence the teams success in the rest of the season, the NFC East is one of the most competitive divisons in football and every division victory is going to effect the post season. A loss in this game will only make a team 1-1, but don’t overlook the importance of this matchup.

It’s only friday and some fireworks are already sparking. Outspoken Terrell Owens has made comments regarding the former relationship between himself and Eagles quarterback D-McNabb. Terrell just cant seem to drop this subject every time they mention his name. Some verbal shots were taken at Donovan that seem to be a bit selfish and uncalled for.

“I will say that Donovan made me a better receiver in Philadelphia, but I think Donovan would have a hard time admitting I made him a better quarterback,”

-T.O.

Since leaving getting kicked out of Philly, Owens has flourished in Dallas with Tony Romo and was actually able to get along with the quarterback for more than new year. I give Terrell credit for admitting that Donovan made him better, but I have difficulty understanding why Donovan wouldn’t say the same. The statistics prove that they were nasty together…

In 2004, Donovan had his best statistical season, while T.O. had 77 receptions for 1,200 yards and 14 touchdowns in 14 games. Fortunately T.O. got injured and we never had to see Andy Reid in those tights.

In Week 1, T.O. had 5 catches for 87 yards and a touchdown. Donovan had 361 passing yards and 3 touchdowns in week 1 against the Rams.

“I remember being in that stadium and hearing them chanting my name, and that couldn’t bode well for Donovan.”

-T.O.

Does Philadelphia miss T.O.? The success the 2 had together is undeniable…. But we will never know what they COULD have been together.

Think Brett Favre will get injured this season? hah, he hasn’t missed a game in 288 games and he is 38 years old! (nearly 39). Brett Favre doesn’t even know what it is like to miss a game, let alone sit on the sidelines.

Do you think Brett Favre will throw more Int’s then TD’s?? He’s only done that 4 times (once in Atlanta) in his career, and he has been in the NFL for 17 seasons.

Don’t let the Jets record last year fool you, they have weapons. Favre’s ability to stretch the field will allow Thomas Jones to do what he does best and run the ball, Jones won’t be seeing any 8 in the box this year. Favre will also be working with 2 big time recievers in Jericho Cotchery and Laveranues Coles.

Brett Favre’s sunday debut included a 2 magical moments…

Favre had a 56 yard touchdown bomb off a beautiful play action to Cotchery in the first quarter.

In the 2nd quarter without Place Kicker Nugent, the Jets were forced to go for a 4th and 13. After quickly avoiding to pass rushers, Favre had the intelligence to throw the ball up in the air knowing that an interception is as good as an incompletion. The ball seemingly punt-like flew 22 yards and landed in the hands of leaping wide-receiver Stuckey.

Favre Debuted with 194 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Moving on, Toronto fans should be overjoyed.  Brian McCabe is gone, and cap space has opened up!  McCabe was set to take a $5.75 million cap hit onto the Toronto, a team that is desperate to get its young guns going.  With McCabe gone and the possibility of Sundin leaving as well, a good $8 million will be freed up, though later than I’m sure Toronto wanted.  In the deal that sent McCabe to Florida, Toronto also gives up a 4th round pick in 2010, and in return get Mike Van Ryn.  Van Ryn missed plenty of time due to injury last season, only playing in 20 games.  He only had 2 points last season, but produced roughly 30 points the 2 seasons prior.  He also is a cap hit of $2.9 million, thus opening up nearly $3 million.  Toronto wins in this trade.  They desperately needed to open up space, and they made a good move.  Still, a smart move was made by Florida, who waited until September 1 because Toronto had to pay McCabe a $2 million bonus that he was still owed by that date.

Other tidbits to note:

-Chris Chelios is reported to be signing one more year with the Red Wings, thus extended the long running gag that the word “retire” does not exist in Chelios’ vocabulary.

-The Kings have signed Jarret Stoll to a four-year, $14.4 million contract!  Good signing!   Stoll was picked up in a deal that brough Matt Greene and Stoll to L.A. from Edmonton in exchange for Lubomir Visnovsky back in June.  

-The Bruins have signed Stephane Yelle to a one year, $750,000 contract.  Last season, Yelle put up 12 points in 74 games.

-The Thrashers have signed Zach Bogosian to a multi-year deal.  The rest of the deal is disclosed according to team policy.  Bogosian was drafted 3rd overall by Atlanta in this years draft.

-The Senators have signed Brad Isbister to a one-year deal.  It’s a two-way, so Isbister has the ability to be sent to the minors without clearing waivers.  Last season, Isbister put up 11 points in 55 games.

-Trevor Linden will have his number (16) retired by the Canucks this season.

-Marian Gaborik has mentioned that he liked it in Minnesota, but is willing to accept options from other teams, as he has yet to sign, and is unsure how he will fit in with the Wild.

“I like it here, I am willing to stay here, but I also know what my options are if we won’t agree on the terms.  I’m not saying I’m leaving. I’m not saying I’m staying. I’m saying I have one year left on my contract.”

—

That’s all for now!  Enjoy the weekend.  Go watch some NFL, football season’s back!

QB- Ben Roethlisberger, Matt Ryan

RB- Michael Turner, Brandon Jacobs, Thomas Jones, Laurence Maroney, Kevin Jones

WR- Roy Williams, Roddy White, Anquan Boldin, Eddie Royal, Bobby Engram

TE- Tony Gonzalez

K- Stephen Gotskowski

Defense- Patriots

Alright so that is my team so far, let me know what you think about this team. I think i have a pretty solid chance at winning it all this season!

1.) Tim Tebow- 1st of all is Tebow who played vs. Hawaii on Saturday and posted mediocre numbers completing 9-14 passes for 137 yards and 1 td and carrying the ball 9 times for a total of 37 yards. All in all not a bad day but nothing heisman worthy either.

2.) Chris Wells- vs. Youngstown St.- Wells started off the day looking as heisman worthy as we all thought he would as he amassed 111 yards on only 13 carries and 3 catches for 10 yards. Unfortunately for Wells, he went down in the 3rd quarter with a foot injury. The severity of the injury has not yet been given to us.

3.) Michael Crabtree- vs. Eastern Washington - Crabtree played well on saturday but still did not really put up superstar numbers.  He was however able to make it into the endzone as he fiished off the day with 9 catches for 73 yards and a score.

4.) Chase Daniel- vs. Illinois - Daniel opened up his season on saturday night against a tough Illinois team but they were not tough enough as Daniel was able to show us why he is one of the top Heisman contenders this season as he completed 26-45 passes for 323 yards 3 toughdowns and 1 pick.

5.) Pat White - vs. Villanova - Saturday was truly a great day for Pat White as he showed doubters that he able to drop back and pass the ball and that he feels he can play QB at the next level.  After watching the game i notice that he still has alot to work on as he was only playing vs. Villanova and not a top defense, but still his numbers are on White’s side as he threw 33 passes completing 25 of them for 208 yards 5 TD’s and 1 INT. White also showed his value as a runner as he was able to accumulate 63 yards on only 9 carries.

6.) Matthew Stafford- vs. Georgia Southern - This was a gimme game for Georgia which is something we all knew from the start and Stafford used this game to start himself off on the right foot in true Heisman form. Stafford went 13-21 for 275 yards with two TD’s and 0 picks. NOTE: he would have had higher number if they ahd played him the whole game

7.) Sam Bradford- vs. Chattanooga - Bradford fell into a similar situation as Stafford where as the team he played against was so awful that they only needed him for about 1 half of football.  Bradford was still able to make it count though as he went 17-22 for 183 yards and 2 scores with 0 ints.

8.) Knowshon Moreno- vs. Georgia Southern - Due to the fact that Georgia was beating on Georgia Southern, Moreno like Bradford and Stafford only played for about a half. He was able to find the endzone three times though as he rushes the ball 8 times for 59 yards and the three touchdowns.  He also added another 53 yards on 2 receptions.

9.) Hunter Cantwell- vs. Kentucky - Now starts my two sleeper picks for Heisman and unfortunately for both Cantwell and myself, things did not go as well as i had hoped. Cantwell Struggled to complete a majority of his passes as he never seemed to look truly comfortable  as he only completed 20-43 passes for 152 yards with 0 scores and 3 picks…Not looking very Heisman worthy so far but we will se if this talented QB can turn his season around

10.) Josh Freeman- vs. North Texas - I am happy to say, that my pick for Heisman winner put on a great show on Saturday vs North Texas. Freeman showed a combination of stellar pocket prescense and great mobility on his way to completing 18-24 passes for 252 yards and 3 TD’s. He also added 23 yards on 5 carries and 2 TD’s, so far he has looked the best but the season is still oyung and there is alot of fotball left to be played.

Check back next week to see how our Heisman predictions fared against their week 2 opponents,