Weekly Takes - Monday, January 31 Edition

Weekly Takes - Monday, January 31 Edition

1. My three stars from the Maple Leafs win over the Ducks on Wednesday…

1. John Tavares

2. Mitch Marner

3. William Nylander

Simply put, the Leafs best players were their best players on Wednesday. A well-deserved win that should not have taken a shootout to complete.

2. My three stars from the Leafs ugly win over the Red Wings on Saturday…

1. Michael Bunting

2. Pierre Engvall

3. Marner

Easily their worst win of the season but a win is a win. What a find Bunting has been.

It is one thing to sign him on the cheap, it is another to sign him to a two-year contract on the cheap. What a signing by Kyle Dubas.

3. The Baseball Hall of Fame will likely forever be without its greatest hitter and one of its greatest pitchers.

What are we doing here?

4. Pascal Siakam returning to his old self – and then some – is a franchise-altering development for the Raptors.

I truly did not think he would get back to his old self given it has been almost two years since he played at the level he is now playing at, but him doing so gives the Raptors a legitimate second option on a championship team, with Fred VanVleet showing he can be a number three option.

The biggest question left is whether Scottie Barnes can one day soon become the go-to option or whether or not they will have to part ways with a core piece to find a number one option.

Either way, everyone should feel a lot better about the future of the Raptors than they did coming into this season.

5. Anyone who has watched the Bengals for the last two months should not be surprised that they are Super Bowl-bound.

No, I did not have them beating Kansas City (all though I did take them at +6.5), and yes, they are a flawed team given how bad their offensive line is, but on the defensive side of the ball, they have elite playmakers, and offensively, they have one of the best running backs on the planet, one of the best wide receiver rooms in the NFL, and Joe Burrow, who checks off every single box for a franchise quarterback.

The reality is, Burrow is every bit as good as Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, etc. He can beat any team, on any given week, for the next decade-plus.

6. That includes the Rams in the Super Bowl, but it is hard not to think back to last year when the Bucs pass rush was simply too much for the depleted Kansas City offensive line to overcome.

Mahomes did everything he could in that game but Kansas City was simply outclassed in the trenches. I expect the same thing to happen to the Bengals in the Super Bowl.

7. Next week, I will make my Super Bowl prediction, spread prediction, and prop bet favourites after going 2-0 in Championship Weekend.

On the entire season, I am now 134-134.

No pressure for the Super Bowl.

8. Watching Canada’s win over Honduras had me once again thinking why TFC refused to give Liam Fraser a proper opportunity.

What upside he has.

9. Throughout the entire final round of World Cup Qualifiers, it has felt as though Canada is the best team in CONCACAF.

Now, after beating the States without their best player, there is simply no doubt about it.

The Men’s National Team is the best team in CONCACAF and a top 15 soccer country in the world.

It’s happening.