DO WE REALLY NEED MORE OUTDOORS?

     As I'm sitting here writing this it is a beautiful 78 degrees in Dunkirk NY, very warm nice weather for a mid-April day.  It's very similar to the weather in Los Angeles on a day like January 25th.  Could you imagine a hockey game in this environment  Well start imagining it because the NHL is planning on adding 5 more outdoor games in a addition to the Winter Classic on New Years Day.  Kings-Ducks at Dodger Stadium on January 25th, the New York Rangers on January 26th and 29th play both the New Jersey Devils then the New York Islanders at Yankee Stadium, on March 1st the Chicago Blackhawks play the Pittsburgh Penguins at Soldier field and finally a battle of two Canadian teams as the Canucks and Senators play March 3rd at BC Place.  I understand the whole point that the outdoor games will provide huge amounts of money for everyone involved and that they are locally driven.  But, why does there need to be FIVE more of them?  I think over time this will dilute a market already being beaten to death by the amount of College and Minor hockey games are being played outside.  I hope that is not the case, because the Winter Classic has been put together so well by the league and I don't know why they would try to mess with that system.  Also, I think these games should be put in markets struggling more to gain hockey interest to try and attract more fans to the games.  Put one in Columbus against the Flyers so their fans have something to be excited about, or Carolina, or Florida.  I'm not saying it's out of the question that they would put these teams in that position.  But, if the more outdoor games idea turns into a National Media ratings, it will turn into much more of an "NHL on NBC" type slate of games then one that could truly help hockey in the places that help is needed. 

A DUKE FAN'S TAKE ON KEVIN WARE + FINAL FOUR PREDICTION

Duke is hated by almost anyone and everyone in the college basketball world.  It does not take any motivation for anyone who isn't a fan of the Blue Devils to want them not to just lose, but get dismantled every time they step on the floor.  As a Duke fan, you embrace that hate.  You love that everyone hates Duke because the main reason that everyone hates Duke?  Because Duke is better than everyone.  But on Sunday in their Elite Eight matchup with Louisville, being a Duke fan felt like a crime to the world and made you feel like you were rooting for the bad guys more then I had ever felt in watching a game before.

The moment that Kevin Ware landed, you knew it was a serious injury.  The shot of Tyler Thornton grimacing, Chase Behanen on the ground in tears, Russ Smith in tears, it was a horrific scene.  And that's the moment where cheering against Louisville then made you feel like, you were just wrong.  For the first time I knew cheering for Duke was wrong. And you knew it was meant to be for Louisville.  Duke was having a hard enough time in the first have creating good opportunities.  The pressure was too much for Duke's guards, and Gorgui Dieng caused enough attention in the paint for Duke to give up a ton of penetration to Peyton Siva and Russ Smith.  Duke has had trouble with guards that could penetrate see: the blowout loss and even the win over the Miami Hurricanes.  Shane Larkin had his way with the Blue Devils.  in the second half, Dukes guards couldn't find open looks and you just knew Louisville was winning for Kevin Ware.

That young man, who averaged less than 5 points a game and less then 17 minutes, has handled everything right since his injury.  He has handled it with humor and taken it in a light way.  The whole world is rooting for him.  And for a Louisville team, who many experts picked to win the National Title without this extra motivation because of their smothering pressure defense and great guard play, now have an even better reason to win the title. To win it for their fallen brother.  Now, Final Four Predictions.

Louisville (1) vs. Wichita State (9)

There will be no shock in this game. (Sorry, couldn't help myself) I know Wichita State is a 9 seed, but I don't see them as a Cinderella.  They are a team who was in the top 15 in the country at one time this season.  But their road to the final four has been the easiest of any team by far.  Beating an always underacheiving Pitt team, a Gonzaga team who although had a very impressive season in the WCC were not deserving of their 1 seed, a La Salle team who was good, but in my opinion was just enjoying being at teh Sweet 16, but I was impressed with their win over Ohio State.  But Malcolm Armstead can't shoot 6-21 against Louisville.  How will the Shockers' star guard handle pressure the whole game from Siva and Smith? My vote is not well. Siva and Smith will take over this game and the Cardinals will roll to the National Title Game.

Louisville 68 Wichita State 50

Syracuse (4) vs Michigan (4) 

This matchup is very intriguing to me.  The length of Michael Carter-Williams and Brandon Trische and the guard positions are what have caused teams in the tournament to really struggle with the zone.  Before the tournament, you knew teams would struggle with the zone, but how would Syracuse's offense perform.  Well James Southerland has gotten hot shooting again and Syracuse with their suffocating defense has become a tough draw for anyone.  They dismantled an Indiana team who people thought were on a collision course with Louisville in the title game.  Both of these teams were Top 5 teams during the season at some point and fell off later in the year.  But Trey Burke has played lights out during the tournament finding the perfect balance between facilitating and scoring for a team with great athletes on the wings like Glenn Robinson 3 and Tim Hardaway Jr. Nick Stauskas can hit a 3 from anywhere and the emergence of Mitch McGary down in the post as a big man who runs the floor very well has brought Michigan back to its top form.  The key to beating Syracuse's zone is finding a way to penetrate it and then either kicking out and finding good shots or overloading the zone either forcing Syracuse to move with the players or distorting the zone.  I think Michigan presents Syracuse's biggest challenge in the tournament because they can run the ball up the court and have the athletes to play the game at a high pace and get easy buckets in transition.  Michigan will look to push the ball to not allow the zone to get set up, Syracuse will look to establish the zone every chance they get.  I believe Michigan's athletes and the great play of Trey Burke at the point guard position will allow the Wolverines to win a close game and go to it's first National Championship since the Fab 5.

Michigan 77 Syracuse 71

Jacob Majka