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  • What is Darrelle Revis Worth to the Jets?

    Revis Island can be a lonely place for receivers.  At the moment it’s also a lonely place for a Darrelle Revis.  The man who was hands-down the best defensive player in the league last year is not practicing or spending time with his teammates, and it HAS to be a frustrating way to follow up [...]

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  • Ponikarovsky Signing Gives LA a Line of Corsi Kings

    For those of us that believe outshooting the opponent is the most surefire way to victory in the NHL, the LA Kings signing of Alexei Ponikarovsky should set off fireworks. 

    In his book, Moneyball, Michael Lewis referred to Kevin Youkilis’ as “The Greek God of Walks”.  For NHL GMs, Ponikarovsky could be Ukrainian for “Net-peppering Ninja”. 

    I [...]

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  • Sports Opinionated is 1 Year Old!!!

    Exactly one year ago, I decided to start the Sports Opinionated blog over on Blogger.com.  The goal was to give myself a creative outlet to express my many views on sports, whether misguided or fact-based. 

    My goal when I started was to write 2-3 posts per week on anything that I was passionate about and to [...]

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  • The NHL’s Most Intriguing Free Agents

    Let’s put it this way.  I don’t give a flying puck where LeBron is going on July 1st.  I care about celebrating Canada Day and seeing where NHL free agents end up.  As a fan, there are always players that are more fun to track than others, since they could have a big impact on [...]

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  • Published on Puck Prospectus: The Tomas Plekanec Contract

    Here is the latest analysis I wrote for the great team at Puck Prospectus.  Feel free to read it over there with this link or continue reading below. 

    The reason I wanted to explore the contract value was the initial reaction so many people had to the dollar figure.  I personally felt it was WAY too much [...]

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Change of Focus on S-O, New Serie A site launched!

As much as I love soccer, especially Serie A and the EPL, Sports Opinionated has been a confusing read for our fans.

Typically, the fans of North American-based sports are not the same fans of soccer, although that is changing somewhat.  That said, Sports Opinionated will narrow our focus to just hockey and football (the North [...]

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Sports Opinionated is 1 Year Old!!!

Exactly one year ago, I decided to start the Sports Opinionated blog over on Blogger.com.  The goal was to give myself a creative outlet to express my many views on sports, whether misguided or fact-based. 

My goal when I started was to write 2-3 posts per week on anything that I was passionate about and to [...]

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Departing ‘Dinho?

It’s only been a few short seasons since Ronaldinho’s over-hyped arrival at Milan.  He arrived with a lot of fanfare at a club that needed to sell tickets and jerseys. He was brought in as much for his fame as his talent, which had been dwindling at Barcelona.

For 21 million Euros, he brought two seasons [...]

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World Cup Semi-Finals : Get Prepped

There were 4 great games on the weekend that provided us with some fantastic action.  Now we’re down to only four teams and two games over the next two days.

We just published another Pink Shirt Wise Guys podcast, so you’ll be able to get a recap of the key points from the past matches and [...]

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Dear FIFA, Give Your Heads a Shake

After watching a thrilling comeback by the Netherlands yesterday to knock Brazil out of the World Cup, most fans were treated to yet another riveting finish to a game.

Unfortunately, the overtime match between Uruguay and Ghana ended in some controversy.  With the score level and a mere 30 seconds or so left on the clock, [...]

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The Most In-Form Forwards Left in the World Cup

We’re into the knockout rounds now and today the goalkeepers saw more balls than a neuter clinic (yes, that could have been dirtier, this is a reputable website…sort of). 

Given that offensive display, it’s time we took at look at which forwards are in the best vein of form so far in South Africa.  I put [...]

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Italy Out of the World Cup: Live Blog

Here is the live blog I did on the Italy-Slovakia match for Bleacher Report this morning.  Crazy final 30 minutes but ultimately the defending world champs are out.

Ciao, I’m Ryan and I’ll be your live blogger for the Italy-Slovakia match. Hopefully I can provide some insight for you throughout the game, especially for those that [...]

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USA beats Algeria, but no credit for Tim Howard

Team USA scored a dramatic injury-time goal to move on from Group C today.  Reporters and analysts alike are praising Landon Donovan’s finish, Michael Bradley’s control of midfield and Jozy Altidore’s ability to be a mismatch for Algeria’s defenders.  All three of these players made their mark, and Clint Dempsey also played extremely well until [...]

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Pink Shirt Wise Guys: Review of Italy vs New Zealand and more

We recorded another podcast last night after a disastrous result for Italy vs New Zealand.

Here’s the synopsis:

In this desperate Pink shirt Wise Guys Podcast, Pete and Pops hit the panic button and plead for Marcello Lippi to smooth out the Azzurri’s scoring woes.  The podcast provides many stats to prove that the offensive strategy of [...]

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Heskey is a Passer, but England Need a Scorer

With England getting ready to put their World Cup hopes on the line against Slovenia, they are obviously searching for answers in their squad selection.  Especially after scoring only 1 goal in two games against the USA and Algeria, they need a spark more than ever.

While many people are content to criticize the pairing of [...]

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Argentina vs South Korea: World Cup Game Recap

Just like yesterday, I did a live blog for Bleacher Report on the Argentina-S.Korea game.  Take a read below if you missed the game, or just want to see if I know what I’m talking about.

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Chile vs Honduras: World Cup Game Recap

Here’s the live blog I did for Bleacher Report this morning on the game.  It’s in reverse order, so should be read from the bottom up.

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World Cup – new podcast and live blogs

We’re well into the full swing of the World Cup.  By the end of Wednesday’s games, each team will have played their opening match, and we’ll have a better idea of what each squad brings to the table.

Pete and I just completed another edition of the Pink Shirt Wise Guys podcast, evaluating Italy’s draw with [...]

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Italy's Chance At Glory...or Frustration

The World Cup starts in less than 48 hours.  As usual, Azzurri fans will be wringing their hands, having hushed conversations about Italy’s chances and sweating the team’s poor form leading up to the tournament.

They crashed out of the Confederations Cup early and haven’t looked great in the pre-tournament friendlies.  That said, they managed to [...]

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Marouane Chamakh – Arsenal’s New Striker

Just thought I’d throw up a quick comparison of Arsenal’s new 6′1″, 154 lb (yes, you read that correctly) striker from Bordeaux.  I was curious to see how he compared to Arsenal’s other offensive players. 

Is he the saviour?  You tell me.

It looks like his primary use could be as depth behind RVP and [...]

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World Cup 2010 Starts This Week: Be a Prepared Fan

For most of us soccer fans, this week kicks off a few weeks of pure joy.  For those that are more casual fans, the beginning of the tournament can be a little overwhelming if you’re not familiar with the teams or the players.

If you’re just now getting into the hype or just want more info [...]

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World Cup 2010: The Most Efficient Forwards

Inevitably, as we start to get excited about the World Cup being just around the corner, the arguments arise as to who will win the Golden Boot or score the nicest goal of the tournament.  For casual fans, the forwards are the focal point, as they are the face of the team, due to a [...]

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Marcello Lippi’s Mountain Men Have Lost Touch With Reality

And so the excuses begin…

In his selection of the most offensively challenged Azzurri in decades or maybe ever, Marcello Lippi has began reciting excuses.  Today’s loss to a more conditioned and much more prepared Mexican side poses the question: What the hell have the Azzurri been doing for the past 2 weeks?

Criticism of a World [...]

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Italy's Great Forward Debate: Who SOARed the highest?

It’s a topic we all love discussing, and we all have different opinions about.  Some of us would rather see a pure poacher in the lineup while others believe that target men are the most effective and still more believe that a striker who plays well with the ball at his feet is essential.

We can [...]

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Tribute to Italy's World Cup Hero

Ever since the World Cup in 2006, there has only ever been one name I would have had stitched only my Italy jersey.  Most people would naturally assume that name would be Andrea Pirlo, Gianluigi Buffon, Alessandro Del Piero or Fabio Cannavaro for their outstanding performances. 

Some Italians would undoubtedly have Francesco Totti’s name adorning the [...]

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