Virginia on Saturday but one thing is certain

Virginia on Saturday but one thing is certain...Boston College will be in it until the end in the ACC Every year, every game, every play.. After several weeks of mediocre play, the New York Rangers have shown themselves to be, if anything, predictable. Regardless of who is in net, or how well stars like Gaborik or Kotalik perform, this team is too easy to play against.Trading for a hitting defenseman at this time of the season would be very difficult since many teams have major injuries on the blueline.Acquiring a top calibre defender who would protect the goalies from crease crashers and overzealous rebound attempts would command a heavy price in trade talks.As for trade partners, the Blackhawks, Oilers, Ducks, Coyotes, and Maple Leafs are all teams that could upgrade the Rangers Frontline without needing a star forward in return. With McDonagh, Sanguinetti, Michael Sauer, and Potter, the Blueshirts have the necessary depth to plug in on defense if they choose to swap one of their defensemen for some more power forwards up front.But the trade route isn't the only option for improving the team. Another way of strengthening the team while simultaneously improving competitiveness within the organization is to call up a young power center like Evgeny Gratchev, who has been rated as the organization's top prospect by several scouting services.Although listed as a Winger, Gratchev was originally a pivot with excellent versatility and size at 6'4", 220 pounds.Another key move would be to pair the giant 6'7" Brian Boyle with two speedy wingers like Higgins and Callahan or Avery and Lisin to maximize his reach and size while offsetting his mediocre acceleration.Handing more playing time to Grinder/Enforcer D Byers or D. Brashear could also be useful if they could minimize their non-fighting penalties and play a smart effective game.But the most important thing is to find speedy power forwards that can score regularly. Players like Voros have value in this league but for the NYR the value is minimal since he doesn't play a high speed style. Although the team is struggling in the Faceoff Dot, its the lack of strength in front of the net that prevents them from scoring goals from tips, rebounds and screens on the power play. They started hot with a 26 percent PP effectiveness for the first few weeks and once teams scouted the NYR Power play, they didn't change up the second unit to offer a different look.I'd look into acquiring either A Ladd or D Byfuglien of the Hawks, or the Ducks' E. Artukhin to help solidify the lineup.Promoting Gratchev could also have the intended effect of increasing the "power" quotient of the team.Just a hypothetical 4 lines without trades could haveGratchev-Prospal-GaborikAveryAnisimov-LisinKotalik-HigginsParenteauBrashear-Boyle-CallahanEventually, when Dubinsky returns, the focus will be on assembling a line with three larger forwards who can skate, pass, and overwhelm opposition defensive schemes with their hustle and strength.e.g.GratchevDubinskyCallahanAvery-Prospal-GaborikKotalikAnisimovLisinBrashearBoyleParenteau (At this point, Higgins could become either a spare or trade piece) The team's needs are many, but a strong fourth line and improved power forwards that can score aren't going to be solved by underplaying Brashear or by inserting experimental grinders like Voros into the lineup. The team needs more grit, yes...but the grit must be matched with size AND acceleration. Then, even if the fourth line plays only 12 minutes a match, they will force the opposing team to match lines because the NYR fourth line will be a threat instead of a liability.. Let's do some simple arithmetic: Pau Gasol Los Angeles Lakers .As we saw in the game against the Chicago Bulls, you don't need to be a mathematician to see what the answer is.After missing 11 games, Pau Gasol returned to the Laker's starting lineup and scored 24 point and grabbed 13 rebounds to lead the team to a 108-93 win over the Bulls. Gasol was pretty active on the floor despite still getting back to game condition.

He even said "I was looking forward to the first timeout" to reflect his continuing journey to get back into shape.Gasol's return also reduced the scoring load on Kobe Bryant. Kobe scored 21 points but he got enough points to eclipse Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's franchise scoring mark. Assuming Kobe continues his average of 30 points per game till the end of the season and plays all the remaining games, he will eclipse The Logo's mark by the All-Star break next year. (A supporting point in Kobe's case as the Lakers' All-time best Scorer)Going back to Pau Gasol, this serves as a warning to the rest of the league that the Lakers are even more dangerous with their length back and offensive prowess aligning with every game. If you even do more math, here's a formula the rest of the league is staring fearfully:Pau Gasol Los Angeles Lakers Lakers FTW!Technorati: Los Angeles Lakers This article is also featured on Big Lakers Fan. It is not a matter of if Stanford football coach Jim Harbaugh will leave the Cardinal.It is a matter of when.That reality is sad for the few passionate college football fans in the Bay Area who are desperate to see the local media cover college sports like their neighbors in Los Angeles do, but it is the truth nonetheless.The chances of Stanford winning a national championship at some point in the next 30 years are about as slim as seeing an attractive stripper at the Hustler Club in San Francisco, and that's saying something.All realistic Cardinal fans know this, and while Harbaugh may publicly state that he thinks winning a championship is possible, in private, he would acknowledge that doing so at Stanford is a stretch to say the least.But more importantly, he realizes that the chances of winning a championship at another institution are much higher, and that he has the opportunity to be considered as a favorite for pretty much any Division-I college football and NFL jobs that open up in the near future.Collectively, the privileged fraternity of college and pro football coaches are like the stock market.A coach's peak value is high, but there is also no limit to how low their stock can fall and how hungry their boosters can get.Harbaugh's counterpart in tomorrow's Big Game knows this better than anybody.Jeff Tedford garnered the same amount of praise that Harbaugh is receiving today back in 2004, when he led the Bears to a 10-2 record and groomed a first-round quarterback in Aaron Rodgers.Back then, reporters and analysts were quick to mention him as a candidate for high-profile college football and NFL jobs that sprang open.That is not the case today.He chose to stay at Cal and is the headmaster of a stagnating program at a school whose administration doesn't value football enough to give him the support that he needs to legitimately compete for a Pac-10 title.I don't see how that fate would be any different for Harbaugh if he stays at Stanford.

Their athletic department has won 15 consecutive Director's Cups, which is given to the school that is considered to have the best all-around athletic program.In other words, those trophies mean that Stanford's athletic department wants all sports to do well, and isn't going to sacrifice one or two in order to put its football program in a position to be in the top ten every year.And the Harvard of the West's admissions standards will never allow for Harbaugh to compete with USC and Oregon in the long-run either.Harbaugh has experienced recent success in getting high-caliber athletes to come to Stanford, and beating USC by 34 points will help that cause substantially, but it is unlikely that his team's rosters can be as deep as that of the Trojans and Ducks year in and year out when his pool of prospects is limited.And that would most likely eventually put him in the same position as Tedford; the author of perennial bowl teams, but teams whose amount of consistent success leaves fans wanting more, which is unachievable for schools that don't place football on a pedestal like Florida and USC do.Cardinal fans still have a lot to be optimistic about though.It is unlikely that Stanford will be without Harbaugh for at least the next two seasons.Notre Dame has become a death wish for any coach, and I doubt that he'd want that job even if it opened up, as he is the highest definition of a Michigan Man, being one who played for Bo Schembechler (that job won't open up this year, but it might by this time in 2010, and despite his opinionated comments about the school in 2007, I bet that he'd be able to get it).He is much more likely to take the Bobby Petrino route and ride his star quarterback to a BCS game (which won't happen this year) before leaving for the NFL or a more recognizable college team, with the bowl bid and a rebuilt program serving as justification for his decision.There are only so many coaches who have a chance to win a national championship or a Super Bowl in their lifetimes.The 45-year old Harbaugh has been blessed with that chance, and he should take advantage of it.That means leaving Stanford.. When the much respected Henry Winter takes aim, the target should raise its hands in surrender. Ironically, this is Thierry Henry in his sights, the owner of the hand which caused the problem in the first place. And here’s why he should be banned from taking part in South Africa next summer.The video evidence debate has been given another shot in the arm this week by Monsieur Henry’s televised juggling exhibition.

So what are the arguments for and against the use of technology to help referees take informed decisionsThis writer also has one or two things to say about the use of technology, drinking Guinness, footballing nicknames and anything else which randomly pops into his head He even thinks the Irish will soon be after the referee That’s ridiculous. They’ll get Henry first and then invade Sweden.And as speculation about the World Cup draw pots grows, two reports offering contrasting visions of the likely pots have arrived. This American site has exactly the same teams in each pot as set here yesterday. For some reason, there are a number of differences in this analysis by the Daily Mail.