Brad Hubbard Basketball, Hockey, MLS, NHL, Soccer

What to Watch Sat. 3/29 – Sun. 3/30

Again, it’s March Madness. Enjoy it while you got it!

Saturday March 29th

Manchester City  vs Arsenal – 10:30am NBCSN: It’s a Saturday and you have two of the top teams in the Premier League on the pitch. Yep, it’s gonna be a good day.

Florida vs Dayton – 3pm TBS: Florida is a team to bet on to win the NCAA tournament but Dayton is this years Cinderella.

Detroit Red Wings @ Toronto Maple Leafs – 4pm NHLN: Four teams in the Eastern Conference are tied at 80 points. These are two of them. Let’s do it.

Wisconsin vs Arizona -6pm TBS: The top two seeds meet to see who gets to go to the Final Four.

Toronto FC @ Real Salt Lake – 6:30pm MLS Live: TFC is the story of this young MLS season. But RSL is still RSL and Rio Tinto is a very tough place to play. You’ll also see the two of the top mid fielders the US has to offer in TFC’s Michael Bradley and RSL’s Kyle Beckerman.

Columbus Crew @ Seattle Sounders – 7pm MLS Live: Columbus is one of the surprise teams in the league this year. But it’s tough to get three points in Seattle. Even if the Sounders are without the services of Clint Dempsey.

Anaheim Ducks @ Vancouver Canucks – 7pm NHL GameCenter: Vancouver is five points back of the final playoff spot in the West. Anaheim is in but they are still fighting for a better playoff seat.

Sunday March 30th

Liverpool vs Tottenham – 8am NBCSN: Tottenham is still in the mix for a spot in the Champions League next season. Liverpool is looking for the same thing but has 12 points on the Spurs. We’ll see what happens.

UCONN vs Michigan St – 11:20am CBS: Final Four is on the line.

Michigan vs Kentucky – 2pm CBS: Michigan gets another shot at the Final Four.

Chicago Blackhawks @ Pittsburgh Penguins – 4:30pm  NBCSN: Since the Chicago embarrassed the Pens outside at Solider Field the Blackhawks haven’t been as dominate. They are still a top team in the league but let’s be frank, the Pens want revenge.

 

 

 

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Brad Hubbard Basketball, Hockey, MLS, NHL, Soccer, UFC

What To Watch Sat. 3/22-Sun. 3/23

Be advised, March Madness is in full swing. See it on TV and online throughout the weekend via CBS and Turner.

Saturday March 22nd

Chelsea vs Arsenal – 5:45am NBCSN: All aboard for some top flight soccer on a Saturday morning!

Tampa Bay Lightning @ Pittsburgh Penguins – 10am NHLN:  If ice, sticks and some of the world’s best players is more your thing then the NHL Network has you set on Saturday morning.

Montreal Canadiens @ Toronto Maple Leafs – 4pm NHLN: It’s the Habs vs the Leafs. They are both in playoff contention at the end of March. You’re welcome.

LA Galaxy @ Real Salt Lake – 1pm NBCSN: RSL has been nothing but good over the last four or five years. But so have the Galaxy. It’s a display of some of the leagues best players and two teams that don’t seem to like each other very much.

San Jose Earthquakes @ Sporting KC – 5:30pm MLS LIVE: Both teams are coming off of tough Champions League losses during the week. SKC is a tough place to play but San Jose is a tough team. Or as they say in Quakes territory, ‘Goonies never say die!’

Sunday March 23rd

St. Louis Blues @ Pittsburgh Penguins – 10am NHLN: Two of the best teams in the east face off in Pittsburgh.

Real Madrid  v Barcelona – Noon beIN Sports: El Clasico is on. Messi, Ronaldo, Bale, Fabregas and then some. See two of the best clubs square off with some of the best players on the planet.

Dan Henderson vs Shogun Rua – 4pm FS1: The last fight between the two was, in some circles, the best MMA fight…ever. So don’t miss rounds 6-10.

Brad Hubbard Soccer

Dynamic Duo

The revival at Liverpool continues. A 3-0 win over a struggling Manchester United side and take the season series. There are a lot of reason for Liverpool’s resurgence and one of the main reasons would be the work of the two players up top, Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge.

Dynamic Duo

Luis Suarez has 25 goals in 24 games and Daniel Sturridge has 18 goals in 21 games. Liverpool should end up with two players with 20 + goals for the first time in a long time.

The thing that makes this dynamic duo so special and fun to watch is how they play together. They anticipate, have some brilliant 1-2’s and know exactly when to break. It’s a combination teams spend years looking for and rarely find. Two players up top who work well together.

The next time Liverpool plays watch these two on and off the ball. It’s almost too easy at times. And the worst part for opposing teams is that they just keep coming. One attack after another, after another. They never stop.

Things are going well at Anfield. The question now becomes how long can this relationship last? Will injuries or money break it apart? Only time will tell but in the mean time enjoy it.

Brad Hubbard MLS

MLS 2014 Preview

By Brad Hubbard | @bradhubbard

The 19th season of MLS kicks off this weekend. Sporting KC will attempt to defend their title against a serious pack of challengers. From perennial favorites like LA, Houston and Salt Lake to the upstarts in Portland and the dark horse in Toronto.

MLS 2014 KICK OFF

Can SKC Do It Again?

Sporting KC may have the most dynamic roster in all of MLS. From Graham Zusi and Benny Feilhaber in the middle, Matt Besler and Aurelien Colin in the back and multiple attacking options up top. Most of the team remains intact minus Keeper Jimmy Nielsen. It’s up to manager Peter Vermes to keep this team motivated. They way he screams, it shouldn’t be a problem.

NYRB 4 REAL?

The New York Red Bulls finally won a trophy of some kind last season when they walked away with the Supporters Shield. With that monkey off their back it’s time for them to take home and MLS Cup or a US Open Cup.

Like usual, there have been front office and player changes this off season. However, Thierry Henry and Tim Cahill still anchor the Red Bull attack and that means that Jonny Steele and Jamison Olave should get plenty of chances like they did last season.

New York finally found a goalkeeper they can rely on in Luis Robles. If he has a season similar to last year then he could be looking at an All-Star spot.

One interesting addition is Bobby Convey. He can do everything when on and healthy. If he can find a role then his service could lead to even more goals.

Sigi’s Last Stand?

Sigi Schmidt is in the last year of his contract. They previous times this has happened to him he has won an MLS Cup. First in LA then in Columbus. Seattle needs more playoff success but what they really need is an MLS Cup Final appearance.

Seattle cleaned house to an extent but they still have Clint Dempsey, Osvaldo Alonso, and Brad Evans. The added Chad Barrett and Kenny Cooper up top and brought in Chad Marshall to provide leadership and stability in the back. The have all the ingredients to win the cup now they just have to prove it.

The New and Improved TFC

If you’re an MLS fan you may have noticed that Toronto FC made some big money moves this offseason. Enter US National Team Captain Michael Bradley, England National Team striker Jermain DaFoe, Brazilian striker Gilberto and multi-MLS MVP Dewayne De Rosario.

One of the bigger additions might very well be defender Justin Morrow. He’s young but with a lot of MLS experience. Look for him to shut down any counterattacks that come his way.

Let’s face facts, TFC has to get into the playoffs…and win. Missing the playoffs would be a disaster. Getting in and not winning a game would hurt but it’s a foundation to build on.

Porter-ball Round 2

The Portland Timbers last season were something that their avid fan support could be proud off. The won the western conference and went deep into the MLS Cup playoffs knocking off arch rival Seattle in the process.

Now they have to do better.

Portland is loaded with attacking options but everything hinges on Diego Valeri and WIll Johnson. If Valeri can stay on the pitch then watch out. If he can’t and Johnson does not repeat the MVP caliber performance that he had last year then it could be a long season in the Rose City.

Portland has proven that they can withstand key injuries but with manager Caleb Porter’s style of play, injuries are always a concern.

The Heat Is On

DC United had, with all due respect, a horrendous year last year. Manager Ben Olsen is back for another go round and has been given a great tool to succeed with in US National Team forward Eddie Johnson.

Johnson needs to be a rock start. DC has hedged their bets though with the addition of striker Fabian Espindola. Add these two with new addition Davy Arnaud and Sean Franklin and they should make a nice nucleus when you add in existing players Chris Pontius and Nick DeLeon.

Now all that’s left is a winning season and a soccer specific stadium to get DC back amongst the elite teams in MLS.

There are a lot of interesting questions to be answered over the next several months and that’s if there are no big player movements. So let’s get this started already!