Weekly Takes - Monday, December 25 Edition

Weekly Takes - Monday, December 25 Edition

1. My three stars from the Maple Leafs loss to the Rangers on Monday…

1. Tyler Bertuzzi 

2. Auston Matthews 

3. Jake McCabe 

A deserved loss, in the sense that the Leafs were not the better team, but they got as unlucky as a team possibly can, between having no power plays and all of the unlucky bounces. A 50/50 game that went in the Rangers favour.

2. My three stars from the Leafs embarrassing loss to the Sabres on Thursday…

1. William Nylander

2. Matthews

3. Matthew Knies

An awful performance from almost everyone involved. Ilya Samsonov hit rock bottom, Sheldon Keefe should have pulled him way earlier, and the players played their worst defensive game in the Matthews era.

They were due for a stinker, but this was an all-timer.

3. My three stars from the Leafs bounce-back win against the Blue Jackets on Saturday…

1. Matthews

2. Mitch Marner

3. John Tavares

Martin Jones kept the Leafs in it throughout the first period before the Leafs locked in for the last 40 minutes.

First place in the Atlantic is in reach, more so with Matthews playing like the MVP frontrunner. 

4. My 2024 World Juniors Predictions…

Group A…

1. Canada 

2. Sweden 

3. Finland 

4. Germany 

5. Latvia 

Group B…

1. USA

2. Slovakia 

3. Czechia 

4. Switzerland 

5. Norway 

Gold: USA

Silver: Canada 

Bronze: Sweden 

On paper, this is the worst Canadian team in a few years, but they will be in the mix. Their forward group is deep. It all comes down to whether their goaltending holds up. Whether or not that happens is anyone’s guess. A true Canadian tradition in recent years.

5. All of baseball are losers for the Dodgers ending up with Yoshinobu Yamamoto, as they have formed as close to a dream team as one possibly could in the sport of baseball.

But the Jays are winners by having him not sign with the Yankees.

The Jays are still a solid offseason + reasonable internal growth away from being able to compete for the AL East crown.

They would not have been if Yamamoto signed with the Yankees.

6. The Steelers should explore a George Pickens trade in the offseason in case he truly is heading off the rails, but they should lean toward keeping him, as it is tough to truly judge the mental state of anyone on the Steelers when the offensive playcalling, offensive line, and injuries have been as bad as they are.

The Steelers cannot afford to make a trade that they will regret for ten years. And a Pickens trade could certainly do that.

7. Pittsburgh’s season is all but over, regardless of how well they played against the Bengals on Saturday. But it is not technically over, and because of that, they should be doing everything they can to beat the Seahawks on Sunday.

That means starting Mason Rudolph.

8. My Week 17 NFL Picks, after going 5-8 in Week 16…

• Browns (-6.5)Lions (+6)

• Ravens (-3)

• Titans (+4.5)

• Pats (+13.5)

• Rams (-6.5)

• 49ers (-13)

• Cardinals (+12.5)

• Saints (+3)

• Jaguars (-6)

• Bears (-3)

• Colts (-3)

• Steelers (+3.5)

• Broncos (-6)

• Kansas City (-7.5)

• Packers (+3)

On the season, I am now 123-108, with the three Christmas Day games still pending.

9. My College Football Playoff Predictions…

• Rose Bowl: Michigan beats Alabama 

• Sugar Bowl: Washington beats Texas

• National Championship Game: Michigan beats Washington 

It is now or never for Michigan. This is the team. 

10. My 2023 year-end awards in the North American sports scene…

• Best Moment: LeBron James passes Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the most points in NBA history 

• Best Game: Bills-Eagles in Week 12

• Best Team: Denver Nuggets 

• Most Impressive Team: Texas Rangers 

• Best Executive: Kelly McCrimmon 

• Best Coach: Bruce Bochy 

• Best Player: Nikola Jokic 

• Most Impressive Player: LeBron 

• Breakout Player: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 

11. My 2023 year-end awards in the Toronto sports scene…

• Best Moment: John Tavares’ overtime goal in game six of round one against Tampa Bay

• Worst Moment: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. being picked off in game two of the Wild Card Series 

• Best Team: Argos 

• Worst Team: TFC

• Best Executive: Pinball Clemons  

• Worst Executive: Masai Ujiri 

• Best Coach: Ryan Dinwiddie 

• Best Player: Chad Kelly 

• Breakout Player: Scottie Barnes

• Most Disappointing Player: Guerrero Jr.