First Prize In Bob's Lottery

I'm aware that it's actually Gary's lottery, however I'm not going to let facts get in the way of a good pun.

Anyways, I'm glad that Crosby went to Pittsburgh as opposed to Anaheim. Yes, Edmontonians would have been able to see him play live more often were he playing in Anaheim, however at the same time it would mean that Anaheim would have yet another superstar that they didn't deserve. To say nothing of the increased odds of the words "Mighty Ducks of Anaheim" appearing on the side of the Cup. Pittsburgh at least has passable hockey pedigree. As well, I'm looking forward to a Mario-Crosby-Recchi line (though, by the time the Pens come to Edmonton two of them may be retired). Combined with Marc-Andre Fleury and the expected influx of free agents (when you can't make more elsewhere, you may as well sign to play with Mario and Crosby) the Penguins should be pretty good this year.

I am glad that hockey is back, and I like the agreement for the most part. That being said, I think a bunch of the rule changes are, well, stupid. Particularly the restriction on allowing goaltenders to play the puck and, of course, the shootout. I'm not sure who these fans are that are clamouring for shootouts, but I'm certainly not one of them. I just wish that the NHL would quit trying to suck up to people that at most will have only a passing interest in hockey at the expense of the die-hards.

And, on to football. I took a bit of a beating last week, but there were lots of results that few sane people would predict. Hopefully this week will be better.

Toronto and Montreal
Alright, we get it. The Als aren't as good as they used to be. And their vaunted defence gave up 51 points last week. I'm still picking them. This will be Montreal's first shot at Toronto since the Eastern Final last year, and they really are a different team at home. That being said, both teams should be looking to make amends for poor outings, so it should be a close game. While Toronto will have had the bye week to prepare, I'm going to go with Montreal regardless.

Ottawa and Saskatchewan
This is the hardest one to pick this week. As we saw last week, Saskatchewan is starting to feel the effects of all those injuries. Likewise, Ottawa has really improved over the course of the year, and were the first team to score more than one offensive touchdown on the Esks defence. I'd like to think that Saskatchewan is going to bounce back after what happened last week, but Ottawa really seems to be on a roll as of late. This is more a "gut" pick than anything else.

Calgary and B.C.
I think perhaps that I've let my disdain for the Stamps in general, and their overrated and overpaid quarterback in particular, influence my judgment. Calgary still has a good defence, and they have a lot of weapons on offence (I've been particularly impressed with Reynolds so far this year). As well, as we saw last week, B.C. is not as good as their record would seem to suggest. That being said, I think Calgary is going to have a bit of a letdown after last week's big win. B.C. will remain undefeated, at least for now.

Hamilton and Edmonton
Hamilton was rather unlucky not to come away with a win last week. Apparently they're also signing Khari Jones, though as I think we saw here during training camp, his best days are probably behind him. At any rate, after meltdowns by Montreal and Saskatchewan last week, I think it's fairly safe to say that Edmonton has the best defence in the league right now. As well, while the offence has been in a bit of a rut as of late, they're still doing enough to win. Hamilton will win a few games this season, but this game won't be one of them. Edmonton should win, as Joe Montford comes back to haunt his former team.

Winnipeg and Toronto
Well, this certainly puts Edmonton's poor performance against Winnipeg in a different light. The Bomber have really stepped it up on defence, and they racked up a lot of points offensively against the Als. Toronto has historically been weak against the run, so I'm expecting another big game from Charles Roberts. As well, Toronto does get stuck with the short week, which usually has meant a loss for teams in that position. That being said, I'm still not completely sold on Winnipeg. Toronto should win, but I'm a bit less confident than I should be.