Tuesday's Thoughts

While counting down the days to pitchers and catchers, here is what's on my mind this morning:

* The NFC Championship Game turned into an instant classic with Seattle's stunning come from behind overtime win over Green Bay. While everyone will point to the botched recovery of the onside kick by the Packers, the game was lost in the first half when Green Bay had to settle for field goals in the red zone as opposed to touchdowns. As a Browns fan I know that it always comes back to bite you.

* The New England Patriots emphatically became the AFC representative in the Super Bowl by manhandling the Indianapolis Colts 45-7. You can't help but be impressed and respect the job that both Bill Belichick and Tom Brady have done with the Patriots.

* While the NFL has become a passing league, both Super Bowl teams received huge games from running backs in the Conference Championship games. I guess you still need to be able to run the ball to win in December and January.

* If the Indianapolis Colts are to take the next step, they must be able to find a running game. Ahmad Bradshaw was playing well prior to his injury but the ex-Giant running back will be 29 years old next year and is on the small size. They thought Trent Richardson would be the answer but he wasn't even dressed for the playoffs. Without a go to back, Andrew Luck is going to have a tough time as evidenced by Sunday's game.

* The Chicago Bears made an excellent move by hiring John Fox to be their head coach. Fox is a defensive minded coach and that should bode well for a team that has been awful defensively for the last two years. The other thing about Fox is that he has had a history of building good coaching staffs and that will be important particularly as it relates to the offensive coordinator position.

* Can't wait to hear what the NFL finds out from their investigation on the claim that the Patriots deflated footballs in order to give their team a better grip on a wet ball. The Patriots may have taken over from the Yankees the title of "Evil Empire".

* Mike Harrington's column in Sunday's Buffalo News about the state of the Buffalo Sabres is right on point. Harrington calls into question the team's quest to be able to select Connor McDavid or Jack Eichel when there is hardly anything in place to help either of these kids if they get one of them. What veteran help is in place? Brian Gionta and Matt Moulson? Give me a break. And what about Jeremy White's man crush, Mikhail Grigerenko, who is becoming the latest NHL draft bust. Moreover, what about the fans who spend good money to come and watch the Sabres play. Some are buying the notion that this season is necessary to get the next Sidney Crosby. But there are no guarantees and it is foolish to think that an 18 year old kid is going to automatically turn a franchise around that is devoid of talent. As Harrington put it, this organization is a joke.

* I have no problem with the NCAA reinstating Joe Paterno's victories to his record which made him the most winning coach in college football history. What happened with Sandusky had absolutely nothing to do with those wins. The fact that the NCAA included this as part of a settlement shows that there was no basis for its action other than to bury Paterno.

* The All-Star break can't happen soon enough for the Toronto Maple Leafs as they dropped their fifth game in a row losing to the Carolina Hurricanes 4-1 at the ACC last night. But for the last 6 minutes of the game, the Leafs looked like a team totally lost. With each loss mounting it is becoming a foregone conclusion that they will not make the playoffs. As a result, Brendan Shanhan and Dave Nonis should take a page out of Knicks President Phil Jackson and start tearing things down.

* Not sure what is up with Tyler Bozak but he looked awful last night. He has regressed badly since the early part of the season and management should explore what kind of market there is for the soon to be 29 year old center. Jonathan Bernier is another player who did not look good last night and by his own admittance did not play well on Saturday night against St.Louis. If it were me, James Reimer would get the start in Ottawa on Wednesday. Based on what I saw last night, Nazem Kadri needs to be paired with Phil Kessel for the rest of the year. They seem to have a good chemistry and provided some real offensive creativity which the Leafs are in desperate need. Another player who seems to be regressing is James van Riemsdyk.

* The Dion Phaneuf bashing has grown to epic proportion and I believe it is unwarranted. He didn't ask to be captain and he didn't hold a gun to Nonis' head over his current contract. As has been said by many, he's not a number one defenseman but he is a top 2 or 3. I thought last night he tried very hard to get things going for his team yet he will still be criticized. A guy who should be criticized is David Clarkson. While it is true that Clarkson didn't hold up Dave Nonis for his massive free agent contract, the problem is unlike Phaneuf there is no redeeming value to Clarkson's game. Clarkson being on the second power play unit is an absolute joke and he is nothing more than a fourth line player at this point. He's also taking valuable ice time away from a younger player.

* There is no question that the Leafs are missing Peter Holland, Joffrey Lupul and Leo Komorov. As these players come back, it will be time for some moves to be made. If the Leafs are not going to use David Booth then they should put him on waivers. Trevor Smith should be sent back down to the Marlies and Troy Bodie should not be in a Maple Leaf uniform again. The Leafs need to explore if there is truly a market for Joffrey Lupul and if there is they need to move him. I'm not sure what to make of Cody Franson. Based on his age and his ability to score from the blue line, I would like to keep him. But management needs not to overpay and if they determine in their discussions with Franson's agent that his price is too steep, then they need to move him. With respect to David Clarkson, he would be healthy scratch. The Leafs need to give guys like Sam Carrick more ice time. Why bring Matt Frattin up if you are not going to give him regular minutes. If he can't get that ice time then you need to send him back down and he needs to stay with the Marlies.

* And finally, does anyone really care about the NFL and NHL All-Star Games?