United We Stand, On Wednesday We Fall

A new season begins Wednesday for the ABC League. With the quest for the Fleming Cup beginning, I also felt the need to provide the odds for week 1 and a breakdown of favorites & underdogs.

So here goes the 100% error free picks of the week:

Game 1 Puck Hawgs Vs. Red Alert
Hudson in net for Hawgs & Hansen minding the net for Red Alert should provide a great match up. I watched the Pucks Hawgs during training camp and saw a work ethic second to none with Dudechenko. "She's an animal on the ice...we're all scared of her", commented Captain Beede. "She was very upset when she heard there was a hat trick rule in place." Her firepower coupled with superior speed of Gannon & Tessau makes this an easy pick. As for Red Alert, the 4-J Line (Jim, Joe, Josh & Justin) have made it very clear they are not happy with their 5th linemate, Paul. "We made a bid to pick up Jon Rech to give us the 5th J, but Tony felt Paul was a better choice." This being said, all eyes will be on the Battista Bros to keep the damage to a minimum during this game. Hawgs by 2.

Game 2 Cup o Kryptonite Vs. Yankee Doodle Dandy Tattoo
With Kryptonite being my choice for best regular season record, I believe they begin down that road in Week #1. A late season acquisition of Richard Huyck should prove to be huge. Richard retired back in 2002 when he played with the Des Moines Dungeon. After a 2 year lay off, he made a comeback and played with the Ankeny Ant Eaters for 4 more years. During that off-season, he had surgery on both knees, shoulder replacement & hair implants. This was enough to cause him to retire again. But on a warm summer afternoon this past year, Matt Johnson recruited the once famous, now rejuvenated Huyck. His name & retirement are just like the famous Favre (prounounced Farve)...and Huyck (prounced Hike). As for YDD Tattoo Voodoo they play this game like poopoo. They won't lose EVERY game this season, but week one will have them on that track. It will take a few games for guys like Tim "Jerry" Lewis, Dan "Me Too" Toomey, and Caleb "I wish I was Woody" Harrelson to get their game on track. With Reeves facing 40-50 shots this game, he'll only be able to do so much. Kryptonite by 4.

Game 3 Irwins Vs. Alien
With Bast being on the upswing in his career, a solid offense scoring goals & a defense that is unbeatable (that includes me), this pick would be a no-brainer in favor of Alien...however, Bast misses the home opener due to his volunteer efforts building squirrel shelters in Oklahoma. "We know squirrels need houses, but we need our goalie", sobbed Knipper when he heard the news. "Its a bunch of #@!%#^" Alien sub goalie is Barker, and although that seems like a comparable replacement, Blaine is the best 3 period goalie, not 6 periods. He'll be well spent 5-6 minutes in and even I can't stop the shots for him. Irwins on the other hand has players like adult league veteran Potthoff, newcomers Place & Johnson, and always lethal Rob "18" Wheeler. Team captain Irwin stated "We're gonna beat those Aliens so bad they wish they played in another galaxy." Big words...but accurate. Irwins by 3.

Good luck to all!