Giants Take TE Jerell Adams in Round 6

With their last scheduled pick, the Giants have selected Jerell Adams, the TE from South Carolina.   Adams is an all around TE who can catch run and block.  His career at SC was hampered by poor QB play, but he still managed 15 yards a catch and excellent blocking in the run game.  This guy has major upside and completes a draft class that has really upgraded the offensive skill positions.

Now, unless the Giants trade back in, they are done, and can begin romancing an important UDFA class.   What's more, they have four or five months to come up with an alternate solution for the OL.   I'll begin my draft review when we're sure they're done and have a good handle on the UDFA's.

Giants Take UCLA RB Paul Perkins

The Giants just drafted dual thread RB Paul Perkins out of UCLA.  This is another really good player.  Very tough, but can also make you miss and catch the football.  Probably their best 5th rd running back pick since David Meggett, but he will remind you more of Tiki Barber.  May be the best back on the Giants right off the bat. They're having a really effective draft.   But they still have to fix the OL for any of this to work.

Giants Take LB BJ Goodson

BJ Goodson was a Clemson captain, who was very instinctive and productive.   He had a big pro day where he ran faster than expected, after being known for his quickness.   Great against the run, has work to do in coverage.  First LB pick of the McGovern era.

Giants Take S Darian Thompson in the Third

Boise State is one of the college programs I follow, and for years I've been wondering when the Giants would grab a Bronco in the draft.  They just did by taking Free Safety Darian Thompson in the third round.   Darian is a big interception guy, who can also tackle and hit.  Darian ran a bad 40 at the combine, but he plays faster than that, and also is one of those guys who just knows how to play.  Sort of like Will Hill was but without the apparent off field interests.   He'll probably end up a starter eventually, but will certainly up the competition in the Giants young Safety group right off the bat.  They're having a terrific draft.

Giants Take WR Sterling Shepard at 40!

I am so psyched.  This has been my guy since before he opted out of last year's draft. Combining Sterling with Odell and maybe Cruz, and it will be impossible to defend.  Each of them has elite body control, route ability and run after catch. This is yet another EXPLOSIVE WEAPON for the Giants.  We did it again in round 2!

Giants on Day 2

Today, the NFL will run rounds 2 and 3 of the 2016 Draft.    That's a mixed blessing for the Giants, as well as the audience.   The Giants have historically just MURDERED the second rounds of drafts, getting guys like Marshall, Strahan, Tiki, Snee, and on and on.  It's been phenomenl.  The third round, not so much.  Justin Tuck, Greg Jackson and some filler.  Anyway, the Giants will do it again tonight as there are a lot of good players left.  I'm hoping for Sterling Shepard as I now believe our OL fix could best be served by a trade.   Go Giants!

Giants Take Eli Apple at 10

After seeing their top 3 targets disappear - two by virtue of teams leapfrogging them the Giants were left to pick from injured, disgraced and red chip players.  The move to make was a trade down, but who knows what was available.   Apple should have been available after a trade down.  I happen to like him a lot, but not at 10.  He's the kind of big, physical CB that the Giants have done well with over the years.  Nice enough player, but just an awful start to the draft for the Giants.   Leapt over twice!!

UPDATE:  If the Giants can go on to fix the OL, this could still work out beautifully for the GMen.  Eli is just 20 years old, but some of the metrics services had him as the best DB in the draft.  That augers upside, and in a few years, he could be a great Giant.

Giants: Draft Day

So, the NFL Draft is finally here, and I've never been less excited.   It think it's a couple of things.  First, I don't think the Giants did enough in UFA before the draft to take the pressure off the picks.  So they're heading into this with major needs, not just wants.  Second, because of the inturies to Jaylon Smith, Myles Jack, and others, the top 10 of the draft, and indeed the first round is talent challenged.  Third, for over a month, there's been a persistent rumor that the Giants are taking Georgia LB Leonard Floyd, and he's tackle challenged.

The smart offseason would have seen the Giants fix the OL in the first two days of UFA, then target Zeke Elliot in the first round.  However; that's not what they did, and they now go into the draft having to find a starting caliber RT.  So Jack Conklin makes a ton of sense for them at 10.  He's been a riser, but frankly, Ronnie Stanley who I loved last year, had a down final season and questions about his want to and toughness arose.  So Conklin is the guy they should target.  No questions about his toughness or character.

The concern is is they'll draft Floyd. Floyd is a talented guy, who can rush the passer and run with receivers and TE's.  He blew the the doors off the combine and is an official freak.  Also, he has an impressive wonderlic for a front 7 defender. The Giants have been looking for a player with those traits for a generation.  The problems with Floyd are sort of two fold, first, he'll be 24 when the season starts, second, he can't tackle and isn't physical.

Having said all that, I can absolutely understand the Giants excitement about getting a "swiss army knife" or a player who's like the "queen on a chessboard" in terms of attack angle.  But they are going to have to teach him to tackle, and that fact that he will already lived 24 years without doing so, will make it a real challenge

In any event, I'd still pick Zeke Elliott and hope to get lucky with a right tackle in round two.

This Week on the Blog

Ugh, the Rangers season just ended several weeks earlier than we'd been used to. Should be a very interesting week coming up.

Rangers:  The Rangers just looked pedestrian and ambivalent as they were eliminated in 5 by the morally corrupt Penguins.  Just a terrible turn of events and one that you could see coming or could also see the opposite coming with this bunch of weirdos.   They need changes, and the first should be a coaching change.  AV is a good coach, but he's not a good coach when it comes to mixing in youth. It cost the Rangers in the Finals two years ago and has cost the Rangers every year since.  And the Rangers have to figure out what to do with Girardi and Staal, as well as Nash, and also have to find the cap room to keep Kreider and others.  It will be yeoman's work, but must be done.  We'll stay on top of it and on top of them.  There may or may not be a little gap here between winning seasons because of all of the missing draft picks.

Giants:  The Giants will draft more players this week.  Unfortunately, they still have a lot of needs, notably on the OL, and more or less everywhere on the defense.   Also, WR, RB and TE.   As of right now they only have 6 picks.   What will they do?

Yanks: Yanks will go for the sweep against Tampa tomorrow.   But their hitting has not been able to support their starters - even when the starters offer quality starts, which keeps them from maxing their overwhelming bullpen and could ultimately lead them to being .500ish team with an historically great BP.

Knicks: The Knicks are already performing their coaching search or pretending to.  Rambis was a disaster but several writers are pushing the narrative that he'll be back.  Blatt is another candidate, and  I'd rather see Luke Walton.  There will also be trade talks, with the name Darren Collison coming up today.   We'll see how really any of it is by July.

Alright, been busy, but will try to do my usual NFL Draft stuff, and cover any breaking Rangers or Knicks moves. If there's time, I might be able to write something about the Yankee minor league system.

Giants Bring Back Josh Brown

I posted a pic of P Brad Wing, because he also signed his tender.  I don't think anyone was panicking, but not having either signed before the draft, would have created some fear of pick squandering, so a bit of a relief.  Wing must become more consistent, and Brown pretty much has to stay the same, though he did miss a big kick or two toward the end.   Still, when you're in the top 10 of every round, you don't want to be taking punters and kickers.

This Week on the Blog

Rangers just won, so that series is tied.  Yanks lost their 4th on the row earlier.  Giants are still working out, and getting ready.  Knicks are still pondering the future.  And otherwise, I hope it was a good week for you.

Rangers:  If the Rangers don't win the Stanley Cup, and I don't think they will, AV must go.  Once again, he screwed around with McIlrath which he as done all year.   And all McIlrath is, is a reliable and ultra tough defensive defenseman.  In other words, exactly what the Rangers have lacked.  Also, today, Kreider scored, JT Miller had three assists, and Skjei had an assist.  5 points for first rounders.  That's why it was so stupid for Sather to trade first round picks like they were going out of style.  Stepan was cheapshotted, and may be concussed, but he was a second rounder and the case against trading those, too.   MZA was a foreign  find and he scored. Brassard was the key piece in the Gaborik deal, and he scored, and so did Nash, who cost a first and young core.  Series comes back to NYC tied, and the Rangers should be able to take it.

Yanks:  The Yanks have been an up and down team so far, and may be all year. They have lost their offensive ethos, and thus, even when they get good pitching, which they did today, they can't back it up with grinding and runs.   Kaprielian is pitching for the Tampa Yanks now, and Diethrich Enns is already cruising for Trenton, and Brody Koerner is making his second start for Charleston today.

Giants: The Giants are in no-man's land with the tenth pick of a terrible first round.  I count two healthy players worth getting excited about: Jalen Ramsey and Zeke Elliott.   The rest are fungible with a slight nod to the OL talent, which all seems reasonably healthy.  It is monumentally disappoiting that the Giants didn't get the OL fixed ahead of the draft.  But it still must be fixed.

Knicks:  Phil Jackson spoke to the media this week and befuddled them.  It seems he is insistent of choosing a coach from his tree. Golden State says they will not block the Knicks from talking to Luke Walton, and that's who it should be.   Also, they need to trade Melo.

That's all for now.  Have a great week everyone!

ILB Kelvin Sheppard to Sign With the Giants, RB Bobby Rainey, too

Kelvin Sheppard has announced on Twitter that he will be joining the Giants tomorrow.   Now, along with Jasper Brinkley, this gives the Giants two run stuffing LBs.  I wonder if they intend to play them together on run downs -- and do those exist anymore?  Or will just one of them make the team.  I'm a little worried that they're bringing Sheppard in to sub for Leonard Floyd in short yardage?  Puzzling.  The Giants are Kelvin's 4th team, though he is only 28.  The Bills drafted him out of LSU in the third back in `11.  Then they traded him to the Colts.  Then he signed with the Dolphins as a free agent.

Hope the Giant opponents don't check to a pass play every time he takes the field.

They're also signing RB Bobby Rainey, a 28 year old back who made the Ravens as a UDFA back in 2012, and has bounced around since.

This Week on the Blog

This past week was sort of so-so for the teams.  This week things should get a little more interesting.

Yanks:  The Yanks have started their season, and the only starter who has looked good through one turn is CC.  That will change, but it's a good sing that CC was able to pitch well.   They've been playing in bad weather and that can cause trouble for the guys who are inexperienced in it.   They should all settle in.  Andrew Miller is a man, and I'm glad they didn't trade him.  Starlin Castro has started the season playing to his upside.  So has DiDi.

On the farm, the Tampa Yanks are undefeated, the Railriders and up and down, as is Trenton and the Riverdogs go NO-HIT last night. Yikes.  But like the big league rotation, the kids will sort themselves out.  That's what the minors are for.

Rangers: The Rangers will start their playoffs this week and will either play Pittsburgh or Florida, depending on what the Islanders do today.  They're a little banged up and McD and E. Staal may both miss time to start the series.  We'll know later.  In general, AV didn't spend enough time getting the young kids ready for these playoffs, so if the injuries continue, it could be a quick exit for NYR.  Fortunately,  Kreider and Stepan are hot and that's always been a good thing for the Rangers.

Giants: The Giants seem to be putting all of their OL eggs in the draft basket.   That's not awful, as there are several good OT and OG prospects that could help the Giants in this draft.   Unfortunately, they'll have to use premium picks to get them. That means they won't be able to use those premium picks or playmakers.  And they need those, too.  Conversely, if they use the picks on playmakers, they'll putting off the OL issue again.   As it is one of the top two picks has to be an OL, and 2 of the top 5 should be.  They could have taken care of this early in free agency, but have chosen to keep their powder dry for some reason.

Also, the Giants report for their offseason program starting tomorrow.  So there could be more media.

Knicks:  The Knicks will end their season this week with a whimper.   Then they will begin an all important offseason, we're they must start building around Porzingis, and find a coach who can coach.

I'm wishing all of you a great week.

Rangers Clinch

Kreider scored his 20th and the Rangers finally clinched a playoff spot.  Unfortunately, McDonagh left the game with an injured hand and that does not bode well for the playoffs.  Hopefully, it will get Dylan McIlrath at least a game.   AV has hurt the kid and hurt the team by not playing Dylan, and it's just another reason why, barring a cup, I want a new coach.

Giants Sign Will Johnson

The Giants today probably surprised a lot of people by making Will Johnson a little used HBack/Fullback from Pittsburgh their first OFFENSIVE FA signing.  He'll probably be more of a fullback or the old fback roll that used to be populare in some versions of the WCO.  He can catch and block, but doesn't exactly fill a screaming need.

Btw, they are also entertaining Miami 2 down run stopping LB Kelvin Sheppard today.  This makes me worried that they really will draft Leonard Floyd and will use this guy along with Brinkley as the LB's on run downs.   We'll see what else happens.

The OL still needs help, as do the DB's.

UPDATE

The Giants also signed OL Ryan Seymour, who's just 26 but has been on the team a year plan.   Now he's got a one year deal with the Giants.  He had previously worked under Solari in San Francisco.  He probably takes over the old Dallas Reynolds role, as he's even more versatile than Dallas was.

Further, the Giants also signed C Dillon Farrell, who had been with the 49ers and probably also goes back to the days of Solari.  He'll compete for the backup spot, probably freeing Seymour to back up the other stuff.

Yanks: April Thunder

There are a few different ways to look at this April's Thunder Roster.  First, it's apparently still cold back East, and so they might be holding some of the younger players back in the warm weather for awhile and  certainly by may or June guys like Mateo and Clarkin might be up in AA. Or you could look at it as the break in the conga line between the old player development regime and the new one.  Hard to say, but right now, it looks a little like the Island of Unwanted Toys -- which is not to say there aren't prospects on the team.  Some of them are just stalled.

Outfield

Tyler Austin
Mark Payton
Jared Mitchell
Juan Silva
Jake Skole

Tyler Austin is probably in a make or break season here.  Before his wrist and other injuries, Tyler was one of the top prospects with the Yanks, and possibly around baseball.  He could hit, hit with power and steal bases with impunity. But the injuries seem to have compromised him.  Which is sad. He's a great kid and few stories would be nicer than a big comeback season for Tyler.

Mark Payton had a good first season after he was drafted, but because of the clock, he probably needs a big season, too.  Oddly, Payton sort of plays a speed position and game, but his timed speed in his draft year was pedestrian.  Scrappy guy.

Jake Skole was the 15th overall pick by the Texas Rangers several years ago. He seems to be the minor league edition of the Yanks' major league collection of other team's high picks like Hicks and Ackley.   Maybe he'll wake up and be what the Rangers hoped he'd be.

Juan Silva was a long time Reds minor leaguer who more or less peaked in rookie ball.

Jared Mitchell was the 23rd overall pick of the 2009 draft by the White Sox.  He had a really bad ankle injury in 2010 that seems to have slow tracked him.  But here he is, a 27 year old in AA.

Infield

Tyler Wade
Dante Bichette Jr.
Billy Fleming
Dan Fiorito
Jonathan Diaz
Delbinson Robinson
Jose Rosario
Matt Snyder
Donovan Solano

Tyler Wade is the bottle rocket from this group.  He's going to be a major league shortstop and how far he goes probably depends on how his hitting progresses, because he can play D and RUN.

Dante Bichette Jr. was a monster in the rookie leagues then somehow fell apart for the next few years.  This might be his last chance to come correct.  The talent has always been there, and it's really mysterious that he hasn't stepped up.  Great kid, too.

Billy Fleming was an undrafted signee out of WVU back in 2014 and has played okay but is probably just an org guy given what else is coming up behind him.

Dan Fiorito was signed as an undrafted back in 2012.  He has good size but hasn't really put himself on the map.

Jonathan Diaz is a 30 year old ex Blue Jay and ex Sox.

Jose Rosario was a Yankee IFA signee back in 2009.  He's shown signs of hitting, but hasn't really turned the corner and become a hitting prospect and he's probably just about out of time.

Matt Snyder was the Yanks 10 rounder back in 2012 and like Rosario has shown signs, but is probably running out of time,

Donovan Solano is a former Miami Marlin big leaguer.  He's 28 and was originally a St. Louis Cardinal IFA.  He was considered a darkhorse to make the Yanks as a Ute, but here he is on the Island of Unwanted Toys.

Catchers

KJ Alexander
Eddy Rodriguez
Sebastian Valle

KJ Alexander was an undrafted signee out of Dallas Baptist back in 2014. It's probably a tribute to the Yankee scouts that so many of their undrafted are at least climbing the organizational ladder.

Eddy Rodriguez was a Reds 20th rounder several years ago and will probably be a lot of help to the pitching staff.

Sebastian Valle was an undrafted player signed by the Phillies in 2006 and was at one time their number 8 prospect.  But now he's on the Island.  I have absolutely no preference as to which among these guys plays on a given day.

Pitchers

Cale Coshow
Daniel Camarena
Tyler Jones
Jaron Long
Angel Rincon
Caleb Smith
Eric Ruth
Alex Smith
Miguel Sulbaran
Phil Wetherell
Matt Tracy

Some of these guys are or have been pretty interesting.

Cale Coshow is a guy that everyone thought was a reliever.  A big power pitcher, he was put in the rotation to work on his secondary stuff.  Funny thing was that he held his stuff through his starts and now, if the secondary stuff catches up, the Yanks could have a surprise starter on their hands.   Could be a classic power guy.

Daniel Camerena knows how to pitch.  He's a little lefty they drafted a few years ago who got better and better before getting injured.  It will be interesting to see how firm his fastball is this season, because the cat knows what he's doing on the mound.

Tyler Jones as a Braves 11th rounder back in 2011.  He's been a decent reliever since.  Yanks signed him as a minor league FA.

Jaron Long is the soft tossng son of Kevin Long.  He had been cruising through the minors until last year.  We'll see if he got his soft tossing mojo back or whether it's time for his Dad to teach him to hit.

Angel Rincon has been a pretty good minor league reliever for the Yanks since they signed him in IFA back in 2010.

Caleb Smith is a lefty the Yanks took from Sam Houston State back in 2013.  He started out really well, and I don't know if it was an injury or something else, but for awhile he looked like a breakout candidate.  Probably a big year for him.

Eric Ruth is a distant relative of the Babe.   He pitched well two years ago, but not as well last year.

Alex Smith has been a minor league reliever for the Yanks who has put up some great numbers before running into trouble lately.

Miguel Sulbaran was the little lefty they got for Nunez, and he's had moments of clarity and anguish as a Yankee,

Phil Wetherell is one of those big righties they've been drafting for last several years.  He showed up with power and a splitter, but hasn't moved like he might've, so he'll try it again.

Matt Tracy is a big lefty.  This is sort of a sad story so far.   Matt was sort of the lefty version of Adam Warren upon signing.  Underrated collegian with upside.  He threw hard and knew how to pitch.  For awhile he was a sleeper candidate, but I guess he got hurt and lost his power.  Let's hope it snaps back.  He's a lefty so he's due a million chances.

So there you have the April version of the Thunder.  Help will be on the way, though.

UPDATE

Help already started arriving as Jake Cave and Dustin Fowler have joined the Thunder.  I think Jared Mitchell is gone.  In any event, Jake and Dustin can both play CF though Jake may be a bit faster and Dustin may have more power.  Both will play in the bigs.

Yanks: Riverdogs Announce Their Opening Day Roster

The Yanks minor league full season minor league affiliates star playing on 4/7 and, thus, are starting to release their minor league rosters.   Just from looking at this one, it's apparent that the Yanks will be making ample use of EST again this year to stash guys.   Here we go.  I'll break them down by group.

Outfielders

Trey Amburgey
Jhalan Jackson
Kendall Coleman
Jeff Hendrix

This could be a sort of exciting group while it lasts.  All four guys have exciting qualities, and Amburgey, Jackson and Hendrix could all move up quickly.   Amburgey is probably be the big story here.  He was drafted last year and played extremely well in the CGL and NYPL.   So well, in fact, that I thought they might start him in the FSL instead of the Sally.  He's shown 5 tools and we'll have to see if they keep playing up.

Coleman is also intriguing.  He was a big prep pick a few years ago, but has been injured annually since.  He, like Jackson, is a pure RF, with good size, nice speed and loads of power projection.  We'll see if this is the year he puts it all together.   It's his first shot at full season ball.

Jhalan Jackson was a late blooming college pick last year. He got a little better each year he was in college.  We'll see if he does that here.  He's a prototypical RF, who started his NYPL career like a house on fire, before struggling as the season went on.  He has a good arm, can run, and has plus bat speed and power.  His progress will depend on his ability to identify pitches.  He's sort of the low minors version of Aaron Judge in that respect.

Jeff Hendix was a toolsy college pick with upside.  He played well last year, though not as well as Amburgey, but well enough to encourage.  We'll see how he takes to Gregg Colbrunn's coaching.

An interesting thing about the Riverdogs, is, that because of Colbrurnn family preferences, the Dogs have one of the best hitting coaches in all of Baseball working with their kids in Charleston.  So it would behoove all the hitting prospects to listen up and work.

Infield

Hoy Jun Park
Kyle Holder
Chris Gittens
Connor Spencer
Thairo Estrada
Angel Aguilar

This already looks like an intriguing mess.  Because in truth, there are 4 shortstops and two first basemen listed.   So who's going to play second and third?  Estrada and Aguilar have shown some versatility in the past but it's going to be interesting and something we could see around the organization for the next few years and the plethora of signed and draft shortstops gets digested.

The good news here is that Park, Gittens and Estrada are potentially excellent hitters.  Connor Spencer and Aguilar have also shown signs, but need to get going.   And Kyle Holder, who was the supp pick last year still has to develop a bat to guy with outstanding defense at short.   Gittens and Jackson may see a lot of time at DH.


Pitchers

Domingo Acevedo
Will Carter
Cody Caroll
Travis Hissong
Claudio Custodio
Simon De La Rosa
Anyelo Gomez
Josh Rogers
David Palladino
James Reeves
Andrew Schwaab
Brody Koerner
Willie Gabay

Domingo Acevedo is the big ticket here.  He's the 6'7" flamethrower with the killer change and the developing slider.  He's already pitched in the AFL, and could be a fast mover.  The only reason he's starting in Charleston is that he hasn't played full season before, and they might want to see where the slider is at before they get aggressive, like they were with Severino two years ago.  We should know by FSL time if he's going to mirror that path.

Josh Rogers was an overslot college lefty who was a late sign last year.  We'll see if he can justify it, but he too could move quickly if he shows talent.

Will Carter was the closer for Alabama, just as David Robertson once was.

Cody Carroll is a big righty and David Palladino is an even bigger righty.  Both of them need to show well to keep playing.   Palladino's been around awhile, and if he finally puts it together, could be fun to watch.

Brody Koerner was an intriguing righty pick out of Clemson last year.  James Reeves was a lefty out of the Citadel.

Simon De La Roza has been a long term international project.  He's another guy who could put it all together and cruise or wind up in a relief role.

Claudio Custodio is a pitching conversion who will probably be in the penn and on a short leash.

Andrew Schwaab was a dominant college reliever the Yanks signed after last year's draft, so he could be a mover, too.  Making it this far as a second year undrafted is impressive.

Travis Hissong is an organizational reliever.

Anyelo Gomez is a 23 year old RHP who k'd 18 in 11 innings in the GCL last year.  This could be another fast mover.

Will Gabay seems like another organizational reliever, and is already 24.

Catchers

Radley Haddad
Eduardo Navas

Haddad is a left swinging catcher the Yanks signed a few years ago and will be 26 this year.

Eduardo Navas is sort of interesting.  He's just 19 and a switch hitter.  He's from Venezuala, and was part of the 2013 IFA class.  He hasn't hit at all, but if he ever does, he could be something because his defense has already gotten him into full season.  It will be interesting to see how much he plays.

So there you have it, the April Riverdogs.  And, obviously names like Finley, Gilliam, Hensley and DeCarr are missing and presumably bound to start in the EST.

It will be interesting to see how they start out.

This Week On the Blog

This week was more or less crummy from a health and activity standpoint for our teams, let's hope they can soldier on and in the Yanks case, get off to a strong start, and in the Knicks case, finish with dignity.   The Giants have work to do, and the Rangers have to get ready for the playoffs.

Yankees: The Yanks start their 2016 season at 1:05 EST Monday against Dallas Kuechel and the Houston Astros.  The same pitcher and team that ended their 2015 season.  Tanaka will start, but still remains a question mark.   Unfortunately, this week the Yanks lost promissing Bryan Mitchell, who had made the team to a foot injury that could keep him out till July or August.   Things may be over by then.  In other grim news, Andrew Miller will endeavor to pitch through an injurted wrist on his glove hand.  He was fine doing so today, btw.  And Aroldis Chapman will begin his suspension.  After today's game, the Yanks traded extra C Carlos Corporan to the Rays for cash.   Arranging deck chairs?  We'll see.  Severino, Pineda and Eovaldi looked mostly good in ST.

The really exciting news for the Yanks from my point of view is that the full season Rail Riders, Thunder, Tampa Yanks and Riverdogs all start playing games on Thursday.  I have some work to do, but if I get time and rosters in time, I will try to preview those teams.

Rangers: The Rangers will get another shot to lock up a playoff start in a little over and hour.  They've have too many 3rd period collapses for comfort this season, and that doesn't bode well for the playoffs.  No news on Buch yet, but they are starting to sign college free agents, and grabbed a 24 year old F from Umass-Lowell named Adam Chapie earlier this week.  Chapie's a right shot, but not at all imposing at 6'1" 185.  Maybe he can skate.  Meanwhile, sign Buch.

Knicks: Zinger has a shoulder, and has missed the last two games.  They seem to have split them.  Their season ends April 12, and their real work begins.

Giants: The Giants continued to sit on their hands this week, and are currently overburdening their draft by leaving big holes on the OL,  as well as at nickel back, and FS.  They talked to Jerraud Powers this week, but nothing has come of it, and if they gave him an offer, he seems to be shopping it.  Feels like they should have gotten more done by now.

I hope all of you get all you want done this week.  Have a great one!