BracketBusters are happening this weekend and it’s a perfect time to try and take advantage of some lines that may be off. Unlike conference play, the books are trying to set lines for games featuring teams that have not, in most cases, played each other recently. The teams were paired together and scheduled as matchups that should be close, because the teams are relatively equal and from conferences of similar strength. But, as always, if you look beneath the surface, there are going to be opportunities of value.

For one thing, understand that these games don’t mean the same to both teams. A team who is on the bubble for an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament will need this game more than a team that is solidly in the field and just needs another resume-padding victory. Also, watch for this to be a look-ahead or letdown spot for certain teams. Obviously, BracketBusters is made up of teams who aren’t from the power conferences, because those teams are going to get postseason bids anyway. Teams who have a big conference game on the horizon, like Akron and Ohio, may be looking ahead at a game that will mean more in the grand scheme of things.

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New General Manager Jarmo Kekäläinen is expected to join the Blue Jackets on Wednesday, just in time for Thursday night’s game in Detroit, and maybe he’ll be able to put the team at ease. Since Kekäläinen’s hire, the Jackets are winless and have scored just six goals. Injuries and slumps have been the theme of the season thus far and the players, and coach Todd Richards, appear to be feeling the pressure of Kekäläinen’s hire.

Since opening the season with a shootout win and a shootout loss, the Blue Jackets have managed just seven out of 28 possible points. With their three-game losing streak, the Jackets are now the worst team in the NHL, one point behind Washington, who has a game in hand. For Jackets fans, the saving grace has been the team’s 3-4-2 home record, where they have played competitively. They have just one win in seven tries on the road, with all six losses in regulation. The Jackets have three road games left on this six-game road trip. Those three games are against Detroit, St. Louis, and Chicago, so the gap in the Central Division standings is likely to grow.

Sixteen games into the season, Fedor Tyutin remains the Jackets’ leading scorer. The Blue Jackets are tied for 22nd in goals scored, yet are 14th in shots on goal. The team simply lacks the forward talent to compete on a nightly basis, an issue that has plagued the team since its inception.

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This is one installment in a team effort by The Cleveland Fan, highlighting the top local sports figures by jersey number. Please weigh in with your thoughts, in the Boards. As David Letterman would say, “For entertainment purposes only; please, no wagering.”

“Hey Greg, were Hanford Dixon and Frank Minnifield really as good as everyone says?”

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This is one installment in a team effort by The Cleveland Fan, highlighting the top local sports figures by jersey number. Please weigh in with your thoughts on the Boards. And as David Letterman would say, “For entertainment purposes only; please, no wagering.”

After you hear something, and hear it often, you might start to believe it because you have no reason not to.  I can skip the drumroll and all of the suspense to let you know the most obvious pick this series is going to offer, and yes it is sad that Bernie Kosar doesn’t take home the #19 honors, but Robert Feller would likely be in the Top 2 or 3 on a list of Cleveland’s best athletes, period.  The thing about Feller is that he has this reputation for a less than desirable bedside manner.

Ordinarily, we’d dismiss something like that; we did that with Albert Belle.  I mean, honestly, go out there and hit a ton or win a ton on the bump, and you can swear at busses filled with nuns on the Innerbelt.  That’s how it works with us, we leave morality and decency at the door, if it’s the price for doing business with folks who might help erase the current significance of 1964 (or 1948) in our parts of the world.  With Feller, it’s more of a history lesson than anything else, but he was an ambassador of Cleveland Indians baseball, even if the naysayers claimed that his abrasive side made it easy to forget his accomplishments and accolades.

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