Welcome back to The Weekend That Will Be… where I Bearcat crank out the most difficult post of the week by predicting all the important stuff that is going to happen in the near future so that you can focus on avoiding your family, comparing your life to the disaster in Haiti and drink until you are black out drunk.  Lots to cover so let’s get right too it…

Olympics:
                                                
Over the years how many times has NBC and the American press presented a USA Ski Team member as the next great white hope for Olympic Gold.  The Ski team seems to do well in all those non-Olympic events winning all around the world except when it really matters.  Maybe it is just me but it seems like American skiers are just not worth the hype.  Case in point this year:  Lindsey Vonn.  She has been lifted up by the NBC, the AP and by SI as America’s best hope for gold and with her multiple events America’s winter answer to Michael Phelps. SI puts Vonn on the cover of their Olympic preview and then they have her posing in the swimsuit issue only to have her first Vancouver presser be about the fact that her shin has a bruise that may mean the end of her medal chances.   Shit.  Now people like ESPN’s Jim Crapple Caple are pushing that Vonn might be the next Kerri Strug… Give me a break.  Skip the downhill skiing and just stick to the hockey for hopes of Olympic gold.  Olympic hockey is going to be fantastic this year and if you can’t root for the USA hockey team then you damn well better be rooting for the Canadian team.  I really want to see what it is like for the Canadians to win gold in their national game on home turf.  Interesting fact:  Team Canada has never won a gold medal on Canadian soil.

Max Power and I discussed the upcoming NBC/Olympics fire hose and I asked him if he would be watching; his response: “Ehh. I am more of a Summer Games guy. Even a bum can do the skeleton and finish within a few seconds of the others.”  I kind of agree but the reason to watch the Winter Games is for the bone crushing injuries.  The best you can hope for in the Summer Games is someone getting hit with a stray javelin.  But in the winter events someone is going to be turned upside down in the Super G while flying twenty feet in the air then barrel roll like a NASCAR driver on the Dayton infield.  It will be horrific and I will love it.  Someone will end up going down the bobsled on their head ala Cool Runnings. In speed skating someone will crash into the soft boards and get a limb nearly shorn off with the razor sharp speed skates and it will happen live on the your TV!  You can’t skip this stuff.
Prediction:  Vonn will race and will not get a gold, Team Canada Hockey will win gold, USA will win the medal count but not the gold count and there will be one career ending Theisman like injury that will be played on a near continuous loop for us all to see.  I can’t wait.

Box Office:
                                
                                        Julia Roberts has a six minute scene in this movie 
                                 and she was paid millions of dollars for those six minutes

There is one movie this week that is going to win the weekend, Valentine’s Day.  This one has all the big names.  In fact there are 19 names above the movie poster’s title.  19.  Mrs. Bearcat has decided that we will be going to see this movie over the weekend.  I brought up the fact that it looks like an American version of Love Actually and she agreed.  She even has alluded to the fact that this movie will not be nearly as good but she wants to see it anyway.  Tons of stars and the promise of watching them fall in love along with at least a couple tear jerking moments it too much to pass up even if it will be a second rate retread.  Also coming out this weekend: The Wolfman (please make this go away), Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief  (Looks like a tween Clash of the Titans).
Prediction:  Love Actually Valentine’s Day finishes first with Percy Jackson and The Infidently Long Title finishing above Avatar (just barely) in second place.

College Basketball:
                           
                                                                     Hail to Pitt!!!

#4 WVU at #23 Pitt (Tonight 9:00pm ESPN)
Pitt has lost four of it’s last seven games losing to USF, the Hoyas, Seton Hall and WVU in a game that was more Beyond Thunderdome than basketball.  Now it is time for payback.  The Oakland Zoo tonight will need to live up to it’s name. The Pitt team has to see this as the biggest game it has played up to this point in the 09/10 season.  This is also the last chance for Pitt to get a quality win over a ranked opponent until the Big East tournament in March.  I have to go with Pitt because it is just the right thing to do.  Yeah, I am a homer… so what.  You should be rooting for Pitt too.  Rooting for Bob Huggins is like rooting for Nurse Ratchet.
Prediction: Pitt 65 WVU 59

#12 Tennessee at #2 Kentucky (Saturday 9:00pm ESPN)
Just one other match up of opponents in the top 25 this weekend and that brings the Volunteers to tussel with the Wildcats of Kentucky.  The Vols are 18-5 while UK is 23-1.  Calipari’s players are better paid then then those of Bruce Pearl.  In the end that is all that matters in this one.  Calipari will do anything to get wins. 
Prediction:  Wildcats 89 Vols 76

Motorsports:
                            
                           I spent 10 whole minutes on Google Images; 
               and this is the sketch of Dale Earnhardt that I chose to use...

NASCAR is back.  This Sunday welcomes the beginning of the NASCAR Sprint Cup season with the Super Bowl of autoracing, the Daytona 500.  Apparently Dale Jr. is on the front line which means that when he does not win it will be an even bigger disappointment to all of his fans.  I do have to give credit to NASCAR for one thing,  they have relaxed the rules in regards to contact between the cars during racing and we should see more of that bump drafting stuff.  As we all learned in Days of Thunder “rubbin’ racing” so there should be more rubbin’ out there which means more racing and more wrecks.  Almost enough to make me want to watch.  In case you did not know, it has been nine years since Dale Earnhardt hit the wall at Daytona and was killed.  (I watched the end of that race and the infamous crash live.) Expect this to be discussed adnausium if Dale Jr. is near the lead as the race winds down.
Prediction:  Wrecks… lots of wrecks.

Baseball:
                    
                      She is getting an early start on the Cubs 2010 season...

What in the wide, wide world of sports is baseball doing in TWTWB?  Well guess what sports fans… next week pitchers and catchers begin reporting for spring training.  I can almost hear ZJ pleasuring himself to the prosect that baseball is just around the corner.
Prediction:  Max Power will be disappointed in the Yanks even if they win another World Series, SpinTrick is getting excited for the reappearance of the Extra Inning package on cable and ZJ will continue to look for a reason to become Pirate fan (Hint: There isn’t one and I would know.) 

Hockey:
We now turn to DSB's resident hockey expert Plain White TS who will breakdown the coming weekend in hockey with is own special blend of homerism and review of the current standings. Take it away Plain White...
                            
                        This has nothing to do with hockey 
                I just really thought it needed to be part of DSB

B-E-A-R-S Bears, Bears, Bears Whoooo!!!!:  The Bears have an action packed weekend of games as they look for win number 40.  Friday and Saturday they are on the road, facing the Albany River Rats and WB/Scranton Baby Pens, then rounding out the weekend at home to welcome the Lowell Devils.  The Bears have been tearing up the AHL lately, leading the league, by holding an incredible lead of 20 points over the second place team in their division.  Can this “Chocolate Tornado” be stopped?  We will see if the Rat have anything for them, however a review their past doesn’t look too good.  Hershey has taken 3 of the last five match-ups, including the 10-3 slaughtering.  But what about the “Baby Birds”?  WB/Scranton hasn’t been able to find a W against Hershey since October, losing six of the seven games so far.  These games are always good to watch or listen to thanks to the nice instate rivalry that has grown.  Sunday the boys return home, and welcome familiar face, and fan favorite, Louis Robitaille back to Giant Center Ice.  Robitaille is expected to play for Lowell against the Bears, and is excited to return to Hershey. (Robitaille played for Hershey from ’05 to’08)  This is the first time stepping on Hershey ice for an opposing squad, but as always I would expect to see him put on a show, especially for his old fans in “Woooo-town”.  This is the second and final meeting of the Devils and Bears for the season.  A quick glance at the Devils stats doesn’t show too much, but this is third game in as many days and I always grow leery of these. I just hope that everyone steps up and plays their part, and they can grab the 18th consecutive at the GC.
Predictions:  With Washington plucking players, and rearranging of the roster, I see a challenging road this weekend.  I’m sticking with my team though, and going with my heart, Bears with the “Hat-trick”, 3 Ws.

Washington Capitals:  While unfortunately this week saw the end of the “Washington Wrecking Ball”, the Caps keep on rolling.  Even though the winning streak was halted at 14 by the Montreal Canadiens Wednesday, (Habs scored with 7 seconds remaining in OT, taking it 6-5) and the Caps suffered another nail-biter loss 6-5 in Ottawa last night, they still push forward.  Alexander Semin netted three goals for the “hatter”, giving Washington three hat-tricks in as many games.  Ovechkin on Sunday, Laich on Wednesday, and Semin on Thursday.  With the losses this week, Caps now share the number one league rank with San Jose.  Washington has only one game this weekend before the Olympic break.  They finish out a week of road games in St-Louis facing the Blues.  This is the only meeting of the season for these two teams.  I wouldn’t expect much of a game here; St Louis is right around the 500 mark for the season.  I look to see Ovi rally his troops and snag one more win before the medal games begin.  (Ed. Note: Ovi is a dirty player and Bearcat hates him)
Prediction:  Caps close out their road trip with a W. 

Pittsburgh Penguins:   The Penguins have two games at home before the break.  First this evening, against the New York Rangers, and Sunday they finish out against the Nashville Predators. This is the fifth meeting between “Bearcat’s Birds” and the Rangers, Pens capturing all four previous game with wins.  Expect the Rangers to be looking for payback; however I don’t see them finding it.  As far as Nashville goes, this is the only time all season these teams meet.  The “Preds” are only five points behind the Birds in the standings, 12th overall to Pitt’s 9th.  They seem to have been creeping their way up the board, but I don’t see them grabbing a win against “Sid and the Boys” this weekend.
Predictions:  Penguins continue the Ranger Crush.  Predators put on a show, but not enough, Pens close out weekend with 2 Ws.

Philadelphia Flyers:  The Flyers have two games this weekend.  A home and home series with the Montreal Candiens.  Tonight “The Habs” come south, and tomorrow the Flyers go north.  These are the first two match-ups of three for these teams.  While the Flyers continue on their crap-shoot method of winning games, they find themselves only one point behind the Canadiens in league standings.  Both teams sit almost evenly matched.  Even though I despise the Flyers (Ed. Note #2: It is traditional for DSB writers to hate the Flyers), I must admit, these games will be good hockey to watch. With both teams so close in the standings, both will want to get a W before the break.   If I stick to my method of the Flyers winning equation, I see L’s coming their way.  Either way, good hockey to watch before the great hockey begins.
Predictions:  I see these games being split.  “The Habs” take the first one, The Flyers take the second. Both teams winning on the road. (Ed. Note #3 Fuck the Flyers)

Olympic Preview:  Here is the list of guys from the teams we talk about to look for in the Olympics. 
From the Caps:   Alex Ovechkin, Alexander Semin, and Semyon Varlamov – Russia; Nicklas Backstrom – Sweden; Tomas Fleischmann – Czech Republic   Caps may have more, hard to track them all down though….
From the Pens:  Sergei Gonchar and Evgeni Malkin – Russia; Sidney Crosby and Marc-Andre Fleury – Canada; Brooks Orpik – USA
From the Flyers: Mike Richards and Chris Pronger- Canada; Kimmo Timonen – Finland; Oskars Bartulis – Latvia; Ole-Kristian Tollefsen – Norway. (Ed. Note #4 After that list and Bearcat’s inability to spell nearly anything Microsoft Word’s spell check system just committed suicide)

Beatoff material:
                               
The Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition has reached newsstands this week.  I have to give it up to SI for one great thing about the SI:SE … The fact that they somehow convinced women who would never pose in Playboy to wear mesh “swimsuits” or better yet body paint is just a marvel.  While the internet has been the watershed technology for jerking it the Swimsuit Edition still will always hold a special place in my spank bank.  Body paint is truly the one part of the Swimsuit Edition that will never get old.
Prediction: Carpel Tunnel

Shout outs:
                    
If you are looking for something to do this weekend be sure to check out Sara Bozich’s blog or her column from yesterday’s Patriot News. Also for you outdoorsy types this weekend brings your last chance to attend theEastern Sports and Outdoor Show. Finally, if you are a Central PA, Pittsburgh or Philly blogger and would like a link send an email to Max Power and I at EditorsDSB@gmail.com.  With Max Power’s daily Snooze Button post we are regularly looking for links will he will post stuff he likes so let us know you are out there!

Thanks for coming and suckling on Daddy's Sugar Ball...
Bearcat