New York Senate Uses MMA To Cut Deficit And Help State Budget

By Brent Jacobs

Brent Jacobs contacted us on behalf of MMA Industries (www.mmaindustries.com). Asking if we would be interested in an article he had written which discusses a major issue taking place right now in the state of New York. NY has been discussing legislation that would legalize Mixed Martial Arts throughout the state. If passed, MMA would generate millions of dollars in revenue that could help with the NY deficit and ailing budget. Additionally, it would earn mixed martial arts popularity amongst a large crowd of New Yorkers that have been relatively distant from the sport up to this point. This being a big opportunity for the industry we offered to submit his article as a guest post and help get the word out. It is also a great opportunity for us to get our readers some content on a sport that we are relatively unfamiliar with. So enjoy!

The New York state budget has had a hard time fighting off a deficit throughout all of the overall economic problems that have plagued the country. This has caused the state to consider any and all ways to save money and help balance the budget, including closing down state parks and creating food and drink taxes on everyday products like soda. Some of these choices have been met with disdain from people of the state so the Senate continues to look for additional ways to raise money. The hopeful news is that they may have just found the perfect option that gives something back to New Yorkers rather than taking it away.

On June 16th, the New York State Senate passed a bill to legalize mix martial arts in the state of the New York. It still needs to be approved by the State Assembly in order to be a law, but passing the State Senate is a big deal for both the Empire State and Mixed Martial Arts. MMA, while being legal in many other states around the country, has been banned in New York since the mid-nineties which meant that prime venues like Madison Square Garden in New York City and the 50,000 seat Carrier Dome in Syracuse were off limits for holding MMA events. This would no longer be the case if the assembly passes the bill. Dozens of great venues in the state would be open to new events that would help grow the already popular sport of MMA even further while helping the state make money.

It's hard to imagine that New York state education and other programs would be a direct beneficiary of MMA, but that would be the exact case if the bill passes. Mixed Martial Arts is one of the most popular sports in the country and its popularity grows with every passing day. This would mean that the dozens of sold out shows that MMA has every year would finally bring revenue to New York.

To put the financial benefits of legalizing MMA into perspective, just look at the numbers of the sport according to Fannation.com:

• $340. That was the average ticket price of UFC 81 at the MGM Grand. While this may seem like a lot, people are paying it to see their favorite matches. One could imagine the amount of tax money that would go to directly financing state programs and projects. Also a factor to consider is the amount of revenue brought in by people coming from all across the country for the events that would be spending money on food and accommodations.

• 170 countries broadcast UFC and other MMA events, which brings in huge promotion for some not as well known New York state cities that may hold an event.

• MMA industries like UFC have gone from million dollar companies to billion dollar companies in less than a decade showing just how popular this sport really can be.

These numbers don't even account for New York based MMA gyms that will see new revenue to help train local fighters in a sport that was once outlawed in their home state. This will directly correlate with an increase in local sales of MMA gear, like MMA gloves. Hundreds of retailers will benefit from this boost. The increase in local fan-base will have a direct impact on the sale of MMA t-shirts that display their favorite fighter or industry brand. They have become a hot commodity as the sport has increased in popularity. There is no doubt that the reach of the bill, if passed, is not just huge for New York but is greatly important to its many citizens that are struggling because of the bad economy.

The state and Governor David Paterson have estimated that allowing the sport to be legalized would bring in an extra $2 million after two years for the state's $8 billion deficit and studies have shown that holding an event in Madison Square Garden would generate $11.3 million in economic activity. This may not seem like a lot but it's a step in the right direction for the state. This bill is something that New York has been trying to do for over the last two years but has failed in doing so. Even if the bill doesn't pass the assembly, Governor Paterson has stated he will include it in his emergency extender bill giving it another way to be legalized. Yet, right now is the time for the passing of this bill because now MMA is closer than it's ever been to being a popular and helpful force in the Empire State.

Happy Mothers Day and Throwin' a Bone.

I would like to semi-apologize to the readers for the dry work by TSF this weekend. We've both been super busy with work, graduation openhouses, and dinners. However, Sunday night I finally have a chance to get at you (with a full stomach mind you).

I want to start out by saying Happy Mothers Day. I want to give a special wish and thank you to the mothers of The Sports Flow: Linda Laszewski and Maureen Ming (Mama Mo Ming). We love you guys.

Readers can expect a more sports-related post, most likely by ming01, tomorrow afternoon being as WE DON"T HAVE SCHOOL BITCHES! We just have graduation practice.....so yea, be ready.

The Glorious Guest Post: San Francisco, On My Mind...

Hello, friends. My name is Ted. By this point, you probably know that I do most of my word-smithing over at this site, but occasionally I contribute elsewhere, such as Sports Flow. Today, I'm doing just that, with a look at the Bay Area's Athletic Renaissance.

It's a bad time to live in Dallas - think Romo's lack of ability to grab a snap, Dirk's proven ability to become a 3rd grade school girl in the playoffs, and the Rangers in general - or Houston (the Texans as a whole, T-Mac this postseason, and the current state of the Astros) - or even Washington (the Skins were laughable this past season, the Nats might break the single-season loss record, and the Wizards were swept in Round 1).

But, it's a good time to live in the Bay Area.

It's funny how things ebb and flow so quickly in terms of the geographic distribution of sports success. The A's and Giants have been good for a while - 2005 and 2006 were actually the Giants first losing seasons since 1996 - and the Sharks are always kinda sorta on the verge of something they never seem to get, but the current revolution in professional sports relevance by the Bay is quite startling. Consider:

The A's

The deal with the A's is simple: if they hang with the Angels until September, the division gets decided by those two teams meeting in that month. Nothing more, nothing less. The Rangers and Mariners, right now, aren't going to change that equation. Right now, the A's alternate between being a game back and being tied. Looks like another September of 10pm start times on the East Coast.

The Giants

The Giants, who were the NL representative to the World Series as recently as my senior year of college (crap - does that date me?), fell on hard times the past two seasons but look better now. They're only 3 games above .500 as of me writing this, but their pitching has been pretty good - Zito turned things around after a slow start, Matt Morris is reminding people he's still alive, Noah Lowry and Matt Cain are good young starters, and Tim Lincecum (while shelled in his first start) is at the MLB level, which can only be good over time - and their offense is extraordinarily old, but getting contributions from unlikely places (think back-up catchers). It helps that Bonds is sending them into orbit way faster than anyone expected he would.

The Warriors

The crown jewel of the current Bay Area sports scene, the Warriors were absent from the postseason for over a decade, then returned with a Baron Davis Bang, taking down the No. 1 seeded and prohibitive favorite Mavericks in six games. They're down 1-0 to the Jazz right now, but if you've seen any games played at Oracle Arena this postseason, you know it's gonna be pretty hard for them to lose there. As such, if they get 1 game in Utah, they might win this series. Warriors in the Western Conference Finals? Wow. Talk about a Bay Area sports renaissance.

The Niners

The Niners, arguably football's all-time proudest franchise, haven't been to the playoffs since 2002. Things are looking different for this season, though. Alex Smith is entering his third year - conventional wisdom dictates that's the year you break out, unless your surname is "Carr." Frank Gore led the NFC in rushing last year, and they picked up some defensive studs in the off-season: Nate Clements (free agent), Michael Lewis (free agent, not book author), and Patrick Willis (draft). Joe Staley in the late first round was decried by some as a bust, but I'd call it a steal. All he's gonna do is help protect Smith and Gore, and about five days before the Draft, people had him going No. 10. Mike Nolan, who's cool because he wants to wear a suit on the sideline, could become known as one of the NFL's better coaches in the next half-decade.

The Sharks

Since 1997-1998, the Sharks have missed the playoffs just once ('02-'03). Granted, they've never made the Cup Finals during that entire run - they made the Western Finals a few years back - but that's one of the more impressive runs in hockey across the past decade nonetheless. Joe Thornton is a stud (he's 27), Patrick Marleau is a lifer there and a stud (he's 27), Jonathan Cheechoo can score from anywhere on the ice (he's 26), and Vesa Toskala is only 29. In sum: get ready, TankHeads. There's another run or two in this bunch, as well.

The Glorious Guest Post: They pitch well out in the NL West

Hello, friends. This is Ted, a friend of the boys over at Sports Flow, checking in with some Sunday evening thoughts.

If you take a gander at NL pitching statistics through Sunday afternoon, here's one thing you'll (probably) find: the NL West is pretty good.

ERA? The boys in that time zone account for 5 of the top 14 pitchers overall, including Matt Cain of the Giants at No. 2 (1.54 ERA), Jake Peavy of the Padres at No. 5 (1.67), and Doug Davis of the Diamondbacks at No. 14 (2.79). Among those top 14, you don't even see Brandon Webb, the defending National League Cy Young winner.

Strikeouts? There's Webb, at No. 3 (34 K), right behind Peavy at No. 2 (36 K). That makes sense, because earlier this week, Peavy mowed down 16 guys in one game, including nine in a row at one point. Randy Wolf of the Dodgers, with 31 K, is tied for fifth in the league in said category.

In the other divisions in the National League, you tend to find the same guys clustered near the top of the pitching statistical leaderboards - Cole Hamels and Tim Hudson in the NL East; Jason Marquis, Ted Lilly, and Chris Capuano in the Central, among others. In the West, though, the mound talent is both excellent and vast.

Consider: the Dodgers, who currently lead the division, go with Brad Penny (himself top 12 in ERA), Derek Lowe, and Mark Hendrickson (a burgeoning good to very good strikeout pitcher); the Giants have Cain, Noah Lowry (another young stud), Matt Morris (one of the only 3-0 hurlers in baseball), and Barry Zito, whose two starts prior to his last one contained a run of scoreless innings; the Diamondbacks have Webb and Davis, but also Livan Hernandez (10 years removed from one of the more inspiring postseason performances in history, and still a good pitcher) and Randy Johnson (potentially one of the top ten pitchers in baseball history); and the Rockies, while bottom feeders, have Aaron Cook - he hasn't allowed a run in over 10 innings going into Sunday's game - and Jeff Francis, who shut out the defending champion Cardinals this season.

That's minimum 13 good to very good pitchers in ONE division. You're not likely to find that quality and depth - either in terms of overall baseball lore or just this season - in other divisions in baseball. The NL East and AL East might be close, but this season, if you want to see some high-end pitching, you better make sure you extend your bedtime a little.

The Glorious Guest Post: Pac Man Jones Situation - Can we shift the blame?

Hello, friends. My name is Ted, and I regularly write here, although I also pen things in other places, from time to time. Feel free to stop by my site and leave some love. I need all the help I can get, as a human being.

I'm doing a little guest work for my boys at The Sports Flow this morning, and since Pac Man seems to be on everyone's mind, I figured I'd address it as well. Here goes nothing:

The Pac Man Jones situation is obviously a black eye for both the Tennessee Titans and the National Football League as a whole. Not to restate the facts, because I'm sure most people who would read this site are already aware of them, but Pac Man has been involved in altercations in which the police were also involved ten times in the previous year.

It's the first part of the equation above - the Tennessee Titans - that I'd like to address. Listen, the situation with Pac Man is obviously a terrible one, and something we see far too often as sports fans. A guy with all the talent and ability in the world - stuff that an average Joe couch potato would kill for - either can't handle the pressures associated with athletic fame, or has loyalties too deep to less-than-desirable forces from back home, resulting in trouble. The situation repeats itself over and over again in sports, especially in the NFL, where 50 players have been arrested in the past year (mostly a slew of Bengals and Chargers, although the Chargers arrests are often glossed over, it seems).

The Titans, though, used to represent the pinnacle of sports management. First of all, they embody consistency: Jeff Fisher has been there since 1994, and Floyd Reese, before he walked this January, had been there about 13 or 14 years as well. Their draft process was once the top of the heap: they brought in Steve McNair and Eddie George in back-to-back years, serving as the cornerstones of their eventual AFC Title run and also representing two tremendous character guys. I've never heard a negative word uttered about McNair or George, except by a few disgruntled Titans fans (and maybe a couple of Baltimore ones this January).

Beginning in 2000, though, things began to slide a bit for the Titans. They brought in Albert Haynesworth that year - we all know what happened with him this past season (in the same game where Pac-Man covered T.O. one-on-one in what might represent the most emotionally f'ed up cover scheme in NFL history). They also brought in Pac Man two years ago. Other draft picks during this period include Keith Bulluck, who has never been arrested but seems like he's not entirely on the level.

Since the tragedy of Pac-Man became national news, various stories about his development have seeped out. He came from poverty, and lots of heartbreak; this is common among some top athletes, including Adrian Peterson, a soon-to-be NFL player who saw his brother murdered in front of him and had a dad spend time in jail. The difference is, Peterson doesn't "make it rain," or at least hasn't yet. There's a way to manage your life, and since NFL teams spend millions of dollars evaluating every component of a potential addition to their squad, these things need to be front and center. If the same Titans draft machine can grab Steve McNair, Eddie George, and Vince Young, it needs to be more vigilant on picks like Pac Man and Haynesworth, who are clearly troubled souls with displaced passions. The hot item on Pac Man these days is that when asked if he would choose his boys or the NFL, he replied without batting an eyelash, "My boys."

Now, I'm not trying to make a broad generalization here, although it might come across as such. For two years ('03 - '05), I taught in the inner city of Houston, at the elementary school level. Houston has produced a ton of athletes in the past decade or so, from hoopsters like Emeka Okafor to football guys like Young himself, to baseball players galore. Having worked in what is essentially "the ghetto," I can tell you that athletics in those communities are as important as it gets. The chances of escaping that life based solely on academic achievement or some type of non-sports extracurricular excellence is very rare, based on the way our society is currently structured. Kids play sports in the inner city for two reasons: (1) enjoyment and escape, and (2) a possible ticket out.

When and if you get that ticket out - if your persistence and your skills get to that level - you have a major choice on your hands. A guy like Allen Iverson, who has done jail time, has traveled with a posse / entourage since he was playing for Georgetown, but never got in seriously major trouble, or at least repeated scrapes with the law. He knows how to manage, generally speaking, the fact that when 1 gets a ticket out, everyone else wants to ride with him. Pac Man clearly doesn't, and that's sad - but it's a fact of life. If you throw millions of dollars at someone that might have spent a portion of their childhood going multiple days without eating, there's going to be a breaking point that he has to handle, and maturity doesn't always catch up at the same rate your 40 time does.

But it's the responsibility of the Titans, who hire guys solely to evaluate whether a kid can make these decisions about how to live a life with millions, to separate the "wheat" from the "chaff," if you will. Blaming Pac-Man for his transgressions is valid; he certainly could be a lot smarter with his decision making. Someone, though, needs to turn the harsh light of this situation on Fisher and Reese. How do you let this happen? Two of their first overall draft picks across the past seven years will miss a combined 21 games of man power between September of '07 and September of '09. Sure, they were big talents, but were they worth it?

All I'm saying is, Pac-Man isn't a nice individual, and neither is Haynesworth (seemingly). But is that truly their fault, or somewhat the fault of the men that put them in those situations despite likely having better judgement?

The Glorious Guest Post: One Day Left in Augusta

Hello, friends. My name is Ted, and most of you know me as the author of this sub-par site, although I do blog other places. The good guys at Sports Flow invited me aboard as a contributor down the road; my first piece, right here and right now, will be about The Masters. The tradition unlike any other has a mere 18 hours until its resolution - until the green jacket is gracefully slid onto someone's trembling shoulders (that is, unless Nick Faldo goes commando style and throws the thing on himself, then runs off the course waving a shotgun at anyone who dares to stop him).




I'll be the first to admit: I don't know much about golf. One of my good friends can list every single Masters winner since 1951 from memory, and was listening to The Masters on the radio at 9am this past Thursday. I'm not him; I was more inclined to write this post about "Masters of their Domain," because I know far more about George Costanza and Darren McFadden (the truest master of his domain in the sports world) than I do about any of these guys. Still, here's my thoughts:

At work this morning - uh, yea, I work on weekends - one of my friends inquired, "Who the hell is Brett Wetterich?" Another, more knowledgable on golf, began to answer. When the first then re-upped the question ante with, "Does he have any chance here?" the latter came back with a simple, yet elegant, statement: "He's going to need a lot of diapers by the end of the day, he'll be pissing his pants so much."

Indeed, Wetterich is not high atop the leader board as Masters Sunday looms. Rather, a familiar face - who shouldn't necessarily be - is. Tiger Woods bogied the last two holes on Saturday, yet still finds himself in the final pairing with Stuart Appleby, who is really good at winning championships named after luxury cars, yet would probably validate his professional resume with this one. Nantz made a big deal on Saturday about how every Masters winner since 1991 has emerged from the final pairing to walk, and Woods - at the time Nantz was harmoniously poeticizing onward in the clubhouse - was not slated to be in that group. It seemed to be headed for Rose and Appleby, and then Rose gagged on expectations and various other pollutants, and Woods found his way to a familiar place.

My question for Masters Sunday, then, is: Can anyone stop Tiger? If he's walking in the final group, is he at all beatable? Knowing how he approaches things, and taking into account the fact that he cannot be happy about his two bogies at the end Saturday, do you really think he'd be walking the course in a remotely tight game on Sunday and bogy those holes again? Don't you think he'd probably birdie at least one of them, knowing him and his "there are no rainy days" devotion to excellence?

I do. Then again, I get all my golf information via Wikipedia - I was just saddened to learn that Stuart Appleby's wife died in a freak accident back in 1998, surprised to discover that Justin Rose is from South Africa, and humorously aghast that Nick Faldo changes wives with the regularity some people wash their hands - so I wouldn't necessarily trust my pearls of wisdom here. Harrington is 1 off Woods, Phil and Retief and D. Toms (he was on The Simpsons! Oh crap, that was Tom Kite) are 3 off his pace, and Ernie Els is hovering way back farther than he should be, ready to make an unprecedented Sunday drive.

The simple fact of the matter is, it's Tiger's to lose. He'll walk that back nine with the fierce determination and competitive fire you've come to expect from him, the same fire that single-handedly allows you to respect Stanford basketball more at the games he attends. There are no rainy days in Tiger's world, you see, and there are no April Sundays in Augusta that don't end with a little green.

Who Will Win the Hobey?

The 2007 Hobey Baker Award will be announced on April 6th, the day before the National Championship Game. Maybe the winner will be playing the next day, maybe not. This year's Hobey Hat Trick finalists are an unheralded scrapper, a goalie with a legitimate shot to win, and the second leading scorer in the country.

The Candidate: Ryan Duncan, Sophomore Forward, North Dakota

The Stats: 31 goals, 26 assists, 17 power-play goals.

What to Like: Playing alongside two bigger names in T.J. Oshie and Johnathan Toews, it's Duncan, who hasn't been drafted, who has stood out. Duncan leads the WCHA in scoring, and was named the conference's player of the year. His 17 power play goals lead the country.

What Not to Like: Duncan's size certainly brings up some question marks, and you have to wonder how much he benefits from the attention that gets placed on his linemates. And, as we saw last year with Denver defenseman Matt Carle winning the Hobey, it usually goes to the best player and not just the best stats.

The Candidate: David Brown, Senior goaltender, Notre Dame

The Stats: 1.58 GAA, .931 Save Pct.

What to Like: Brown was a major factor in the Irish rising to the #1 ranking in the country this year, and them getting a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Without Brown in net, Notre Dame probably would have been upset by Alabama-Huntsville in the first round of the NCAA tournament. His 1.58 GAA and .931 Save Percentage are both top 5 in the country.

What Not to Like: Sure Brown has a 1.58 GAA, but Coach Jeff Jackson's style dictates that the goalie doesn't face many shots. In fact, Brown rarely faced over 20 shots a game. In a chance to really separate himself from the other elite goalies, John Curry of BU and Bobby Goepfert of St. Cloud State, Brown's Irish lost to CCHA rivals Michigan St. in the regional final.

The Candidate: Eric Ehn, Junior forward, Air Force

The Stats: 24 goals, 40 assists

What to Like: Ehn, the first Hobey Hat Trick finalist from either of college hockey's "mid major" conferences, College Hockey America and Atlantic Hockey, (Ehn's Falcons play in Atlantic Hockey) is second in the nation in scoring at 1.60 points per game. His Falcons nearly upset the #1 overall seed Minnesota in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

What Not to Like: Playing in Atlantic Hockey, Ehn doesn't face as stiff of competition as he would if he played in a stronger conference (think playing Canisius and Army vs. playing Minnesota and Wisconsin). Also, as outlined with Ryan Duncan, the best stats don't always win the Hobey.

The Winner: The only player that stood out in the NCAA tournament, and the only player still playing, Ryan Duncan will be the 2007 Hobey Baker Award winner, just the second ever from North Dakota.

Frozen Four Preview

Hey everyone. I just wanted to thank The Sports Flow for letting me come on and give you guys a Frozen Four preview. Before I get started let me toss in a quick plug for the other site I write for, http://www.thebaseballnation.com/ If you guys are big baseball fans like me you can come on and read articles by authors for every major league team. I write articles for the Twins, so if you're a Twins fan e-mail me at stephenfetch@thebaseballnation.com with any compliments, complaints, or things you want me to write about for my next article. Or,depending on who you're a fan of, you can even write articles. Contact bobbyglover@thebaseballnation.com for more. And please join our forum to talk some baseball. Ok with that being said, let's get to the hockey.

Semifinal One: Maine Black Bears (23-14-2, 14-12-1 Hockey East)
vs. Michigan State Spartans (24-13-3, 15-10-3 CCHA)

Overview: A rematch of an NCAA tournament game last year, in which Maine defeated the Spartans 5-4 in the East Regional Final. This year, Maine defeated St. Cloud State and Massachusetts in the East Regional, while Michigan St. defeated Boston University and Notre Dame to win the Midwest Regional

Forwards: Bryan Lerg, a junior left wing who originally committed to Michigan, leads the nation with 8 game winning goals. The Spartan forwards are an experienced bunch, starting just one senior but also just one freshman. However, their big concern is their depth. After Lerg's 23 the Spartans don't have another 20 goal scorer on their team.

Maine also isn't blessed with much depth, but they have two excellent forwards. Michel Léveillé (pronounced Me-shell Lev-e-yay) is their senior captain and unquestioned leader. Léveillé was an early Hobey Baker finalist in the early going, as he finished 19-25--44. Teddy Purcell is one of the best freshmen in the country, and won Inside College Hockey's freshman of the year award. When watching Purcell play the first think you notice are his soft hands. He is a great stick-handler and when passing he can put the puck wherever he wants to. Purcell (16-27--43) is one of the key's to the game, and is poised for future greatness, as Inside College Hockey writer Jeff Howe has predicted that as long as Purcell stays in school he will win at least one Hobey.

Advantage: Maine's top two lines will make a huge difference in this matchup.

Defense: Spartan defenseman Tyler Howells is a quick skater, and he is 7th on the team in scoring with 25 points. The Spartans will likely dress 7 defensemen for this Frozen Four, with their extra one being Mike Ratchuk. All in all, the Spartans D just isn't very good.

Maine Senior Mike Lundin has 20 points in 39 games, and although he isn't the most accomplished defensman, he can get it done both in his own zone and at neutral ice. Lundin leads the Black Bears in career games played, and he is a very cerebral player, using all the angles to his advantage.

Advantage: Maine has both the top end talent and overall depth to win this matchup.

Goaltending: Michigan St. goalie Jeff Lerg started every game for the Spartans this season, and went 27-13-3. With a 2.46 GAA and a .911 save percentage, Lerg can stop enough shots to let his offense win a game, and maybe for his cousin Bryan to pop in another game winning goal. Maine netminder Ben Bishop was hurt for much of the end of the 2006-2007 season. But when the 6'7" Sophomore has been healthy he has been good, with a 2.08 GAA and a .925 sve percentage. Bishop's size means he has to use his angles a lot less than Lerg, and gives him a natural advantage-but only if he works hard enough to use it.

Advantage: Now that Bishop is back, Maine has the clear advantage in this one, although they can still be succeptable to some blow-ups in net.

Who Will Win: As you could probably tell by the preview, Maine just brings too much to the table and will defeat the Spartans to advance to the title game.

Semifinal Two: North Dakota Fighting Sioux (24-13-5, 13-10-5 WCHA)

vs. Boston College Eagles (28-11-1, 18-8-1 Hockey East)

Overview: Another rematch, this game pits two semifinalists from last year, when BC defeated North Dakota to advance to the title game. This year, BC defeated St. Lawrence and New Hampshire to win the Northeast Regional, while North Dakota defeated Michigan and archrival Minnesota to win the West Regional. Boston College is the only automatic qualifier in the Frozen Four field, as the Hockey East Tournament champions.

Forwards: This is a classic matchup of depth vs. top-end talent. North Dakota's top line of Johnathan Toews, T.J. Oshie and Ryan Duncan is the best line in the country. However, other than those three, only Chris Porter, who had the game winner against Minnesota, and Brad Miller have over 20 points.

Boston College, on the other hand, has six forwards that can really put the puck in the net. Their high scoring forward is Benn Ferriero who has 23 goals and 23 assists. It seems like a different forward steps up for them in each game. Lately it has been Ben Smith, who centers the top line. In 6 postseason games since he moved up to the top line, Smith has 3 goals and 5 assists.

Advantage: While North Dakota has the edge in talent, it's Boston College that can run more quality lines on the ice.

Defense: Yet another matchup of top-end talent vs. depth, only in reverse. Two weeks ago, Boston College's star forward Brian Boyle (18-33--51) moved back to the blue line, where he will probably play in the NHL. However, Boyle still takes faceoffs and still likes to go to the net, as he did for his goal against St. Lawrence in the NCAA Tournament. BC's other top defenseman is Sophomore Brett Motherwell, who scored a goal against North Dakota in the Frozen Four last year.
North Dakota's top 6 defensemen may be the best 6 in the country top to bottom. They don't have the type of star power like Brian Boyle, but they do have Brian Lee, who was a top 10 pick in the NHL draft and Taylor Chorney, who captained this years U.S. National Junior Team. Robbie Bina leads the defensemen in scoring, and perhaps you remember back to his 80+ foot goal against the Gophers in Minneapolis.

Advantage: North Dakota's depth will help them frusterate Boston College's top lines.

Goaltending: Perhaps the biggest mismatch of the two semifinals, Boston College's Cory Schneider (21-11-1) has a 2.1 GAA and a .927 save percentage, and is a first round draft pick of the Vancouver Canucks. Phillipe Lamoreux on the other hand, won't be working in the NHL unless it's as a janitor. He has been playing well as of late, but he can't afford the five goal hiccup he had against Michigan in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Schneider was perhaps a little peeved that rival goalie John Curry of Boston University was named Hockey East Player of the Year, so all Schneider has done is win Regional Most Outstanding Player.

Advantage: Big, big advantage for Boston College, who has a goalie that can pitch a shutout every game.

Who Will Win: In a game better fit for Saturday night, viewers will get a high-flying, exciting game. But in the end I think the goaltending advantage means Boston College will move on to make it an all Hockey East championship game

Thanks for reading, I'll be back Tomorrow with a look at who will win the Hobey Baker award for the best player in the country. Until then, please leave any comments, questions, or general disagreements.

Allow Me to Introduce...

Mr. Stephen Alan Fetch, or as he is known in these parts as stephen a. Today stephen a will become the first ever guest writer on The Sports Flow. He will be posting a Frozen Four Preview this afternoon. Also he will be giving you readers a breakdown/preview of the Hobey Baker Award and its finalists tomorrow as well.

So, I understand and recognize that you readers may get sick of hearing from us day in and day out, and that's why we have him to talk NCAA hockey with you. So enjoy the next couple days and make sure to leave a lot of comments....