NHL To Hold 6 Outdoor Games In 2014

Reports have indicated that the NHL will be holding 5 Outdoor games in the 2014 half of the 2013-14 Season in addition to the January 1st Winter Classic in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The 5 additional games will take place at the following locations:

• Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California on January 25, 2014: Ducks at Kings
• Yankee Stadium in Bronx, New York on January 26, 2014: Devils vs. Rangers*
• Yankee Stadium in Bronx, New York on January 29, 2014: Islanders vs. Rangers*
• Solider Field in Chicago, Illinois on March 1, 2014: Penguins at Blackhawks
• B.C. Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada on March 2, 2014: Senators at Canucks

*-According to an ESPN Report, the Rangers will be the "visiting team" at Yankee Stadium for BOTH games because Jim Dolan doesn't want to lose any home games at MSG. It's unfortunate and I hope that this will change.

First up in the series is the Winter Classic on January 1, 2014 at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Michigan with the Detroit Red Wings hosting the Toronto Maple Leafs. The logos and unis have been released and you can read about them on SportsLogos.net at this link: http://news.sportslogos.net/2013/04/08/a-detailed-look-at-the-2014-winter-classic-jerseys/

I am currently working on uniform & logo match-up possibilities so stay tuned, this will take a few days. 

Here's a sneak peak:

All logos used in this post are from SportsLogos.net . All Yankee Stadium pictures were taken by me on Opening Day 2013. The marquee concept is a combo of both.

Tonight's The Night: WrestleMania 29

The big day has finally arrived for wrestling fans around the globe, it's WrestleMania. Tonight I will be in attendance at the Show of Shows in section 345 of MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NEW JERSEY (not NY). These past few days have been nothing short of awesome in the NY/NJ area. I attended two sessions of WrestleMania Axxess at the IZOD Center and got to meet some of the WWE Superstars and attended the Zack Ryder signing at the WrestleMania Superstore at MetLife Stadium. 

Friday night Vince McMahon revealed the set for WrestleMania and I must say I am disappointed with it. I think the set looks great but my problem with it is that there's only one (debatable) portrayal of New Jersey in the set (the Statue of Liberty). My biggest question for WWE is: why is the Brooklyn Bridge in the set? The George Washington Bridge would have been perfect for the NY/NJ event, the Super Bowl Host Committee used it for their logo (https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc3/402217_317871934918183_2006362985_n.jpg). Well it is, what it is...I guess.

Here's the OFFICIAL Card for tonight's show:

Note: I'm hoping for a surprise US Title Match, it's a shame that Antonio Cesaro will not be featured on the card since he's been US Champion since SummerSlam. It's also a shame that AJ Lee won't be competing tonight but instead managing "Ziggy & Big E". AJ vs Kaitlyn would certainly be better then watching the Bellas and the Funkadactyls.

YouTube Pre-Show Match for the Intercontinental Championship:

Intercontinental Champion Wade Barrett vs. The Miz

Main Card:

Tons of Funk (Brodus Clay & "Sweet T Tensai") & The Funkadactyls (Cameron & Naomi) vs. 

Team Rhodes Scholars (Cody Rhodes & Damien Sandow) & The Bella Twins (Bri Bella & Nikki Bella)

Fandango (Faaaahn-daaaan-gooooo) (w/Summer Rae*) vs. Chris Jericho

*-NXT Diva Summer Rae has recently replaced the unknown dancer as Fandango's valet

Ryback vs. Mark Henry

Sheamus, Randy Orton & Big Show vs. The Shield (Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns & Dean Ambrose)

WWE Tag Team Championship Match:

WWE Tag Team Champions Team Hell No (Kane & Daniel Bryan) vs. Dolph Ziggler & Big E. Langston (w/AJ Lee)

No Holds Barred Match:

 Brock Lesnar (w/Paul Heyman) vs. Triple H* (w/Shawn Michaels)

*-If Triple H loses, he must retire

World Heavyweight Championship Match: 

World Heavyweight Champion Alberto Del Rio (w/Ricardo Rodriguez) vs. Jack Swagger (w/Zeb Colter)

The Undertaker's WrestleMania Streak (20-0) on the line:

The Undertaker vs. CM Punk (w/Paul Heyman)

WWE Championship Match (Greatness vs. Redemption):

WWE Champion The Rock vs. 2013 Royal Rumble Winner John Cena

Well there you have it, the WrestleMania 29 Card. Here are my predictions for tonight: 

• Miz will win the IC Title
• Team Rhodes Scholars & The Bella's will win
• Y2J over Fandango
• Ryback over Henry 
• Shield over Big Show Orton & Sheamus
• "Ziggy & Big E." over Team Hell No
• Triple H over Brock Lesnar 
• ADR retains
• Punk ends "The Streak"
• Cena finally beats Rock

ENJOY THE SHOW EVERYONE!

WRESTLEMANIA XXIX Preview & Prediction

With WWE Elimination Chamber in the books we're now 48 days away from WrestleMania 29! Here's what's been confirmed so far:

2013 Royal Rumble winner John Cena will challenge WWE Champion The Rock in a WrestleMania 28 rematch.

Jack Swagger won the World Heavyweight Championship #1 Contender at WrestleMania Elimination Chamber Match last night.

Alberto Del Rio defeated the Big Show at Elimination Chamber and barring a Dolph Ziggler Money In The Bank cash-in, will face Swagger at WrestleMania.

Here's how I think the rest of the WrestleMania Card will look:

Dolph Ziggler will probably face Chris Jericho and possibly cash in MITB on the winner of the World Championship match, which I'm hoping if he does takes place before his match with Y2J. I honestly wouldn't mind seeing 2 World Heavyweight Championship matches (well technically 3). Wishful thinking but it is still a possibility.

Randy Orton will probably turn heel soon and will likely be facing off against a top babyface and if the internet is right he will be going up against Sheamus at WrestleMania.

Ryback will likely go one on one with a monster heel either Big Show or Mark Henry. The reason being WWE wants to create a WrestleMania moment with Ryback shell shocking either one of those two big men. Henry makes more sense as he's on a rampage and Ryback could be the only one capable of stopping him.

CM Punk will be in a main event match and will likely face The Undertaker if Taker decides he wants to wrestle this year. If not I can see him being thrown in the WWE Championship match.

Brock Lesnar will obviously be facing Triple H after Lesnar returned to WWE a few weeks ago and F5'd Triple H's father-in-law Vince McMahon. Triple H will return soon, say he wants to avenge Vince and himself after his SummerSlam loss and who knows maybe we'll see this one inside Hell In A Cell.

Kane and Daniel Bryan look to be imploding so they will likely face one another.

Rey Mysterio vs Sin Cara was discussed but who knows what's going on with those two in terms of injuries.

I'm sure The Shield will have a spot on the card, Antonio Cesaro will likely defend the US Title in some way and Wade Barrett will probably face Bo Dallas for the Intercontinental Title.

And if WWE remembers the divas, the only Divas Championship match that would make sense would be AJ facing Kaitlyn. If the match does happen, face or heel AJ will probably get one of the biggest pops of the night. I could see her doing what Christian did at WrestleMania 18: her music hits, hometown crowd pops, then Justin Roberts will bill her from Tampa, FL. *If anyone can find a video of Christian's WM18 entrance I'd appreciate it, couldn't find a good one.

What I speculate isn't final but some of those matches could turn out to be true. Who knows what they'll fit into the 4 hour show and half hour preshow.

Here's a quick rundown:

John Cena vs The Rock (c) for the WWE Championship (Confirmed)
Jack Swagger w/Zeb Colter vs Alberto Del Rio (c) w/Ricardo Rodriguez for the World Title (Confirmed)
Dolph Ziggler vs Chris Jericho
Ryback vs Big Show or Mark Henry (Probably Henry)
CM Punk vs The Undertaker
Brock Lesnar vs Triple H (Hell In A Cell?)
AJ vs Kaitlyn
Kane vs Daniel Bryan
The Shield will be on the card
Wade Barrett vs Bo Dallas (YouTube preshow?)


I'm sure things will begin to start falling into place and the next 48 days are going to be interesting for WWE. I will be in attendance at MetLife Stadium on April 7 in Section 345 and I'm sure WWE will do a good job with the show. Before I end this post I'd like to share what my view for the show of shows will look like:

took this picture prior to the Chargers-Jets game back in December, my seats were actually on top of the Jets tunnel (diagonal) but I decided to go up to the 300 level to see the view I'll have for WM29.

Stay Tuned for another blog post coming up before the end of the month!

I'M BACK!

After a long hiatus that's lasted longer then the NHL Lockout, I am back. I've hardly had any free time since September and I have some now so we're getting right back to business here on the blog. I'll try to post as often as I can between work and school! So let's get back at it...

Back to Football

Hey everyone, I hope all of your summers were good & now with schools across America back in session, it's time for America to get...

That's right everyone & for those of you who've been living under a for the last week, tonight is the start of the NFL season at MetLife Stadium when the Super Bowl Champion Giants play host to their NFC East rivals, the Dallas Cowboys.

I say Dallas takes this one in a nail biter, here's my playoff picks that I'll be sticking to for the season:

NFC Predictions:

NFC East Champion- Dallas Cowboys
NFC West Champion- San Francisco 49ers
NFC North Champion- Green Bay Packers
NFC South Champion- Atlanta Falcons
NFC Wild Card- Philadelphia Eagles
NFC Wild Card- Detroit Lions

Notes: I say the Eagles & Lions edge out the Bears and the Giants for the Wild Card spots.

AFC Predictions:

AFC East Champion- New England Patriots
AFC West Champion- Oakland Raiders
AFC North Champion- Baltimore Ravens
AFC South Champion- Houston Texans
AFC Wild Card- New York Jets
AFC Wild Card- Pittsburgh Steelers

Notes: I say the Jets and Steelers get in as Wild Cards with the Broncos barely missing out.

That's it for today's post!

Tomorrow I'll be back to talk about the unveiling of the new New York Knicks uniforms! (I've seen them and they are awesome!!)

Knicks New Uniform Speculation

As stated on this blog back on December 20, 2011 I said that the Knicks will be donning new uniforms for the 2012-13 NBA season. I'm on the record of saying that I hope the new uniforms will resemble the uniforms that were used from 1968-79 & 1983-1997 (this hideous design was used from 1979-83 http://sportslogos.net/logo.php?id=nh3u1lmmt6g47rr5q6v5oemgd), for those of you unfamiliar with Knicks uniform history I'm talking about the uniforms that the Knicks wore when Carmelo Anthony debuted with the team (pictured above). The shorts weren't always the same but the jersey was. It looks like I'll be getting what I've wished for as the uniforms that have been in use since 2001 have been on clearance racks since the Knicks fell to the Heat in the playoffs. I may have to go over to nbastore.com & customize a swingman for myself (why not it's what they wore when I went to my first Knicks game back in 2008).

To add to the speculation this picture of a Jason Kidd t-shirt popped up on nbastore.com which has a new script and a new logo on the neck, it's not the old "Subway Token" logo but rather the new alternate/fauxback logo that was added last year which can be found on the great sportslogos.net:

The new Knicks keep adding to the speculation as recently acquired guard Ronnie Brewer has changed his twitter avatar to this (see below). Now you have to remember the day the Knicks used those uniforms, Ronnie was playing for the Bulls and he clearly knows how to perfect photoshop.

I really hope I'm right, I praying that through all of this (as far as logos & uniforms go); the primary logo is the only bad thing about this era. I wouldn't mind seeing the Knicks bring back the blue & orange Yankee style interlocking NY and the old logo that was used until 1992 brought back. I can't get everything I want but I will certainly take this!

Come September I'll have a full logo & uniform preview up for the 2012-13 NBA season. I'll have one for the NFL coming later this month.

Reviewing The Past Month

Hey everyone sorry for the lack of posts in the last month, my laptop got a virus a while back, i forgot the password to the site & my laptop's getting fixed now so I should have things the way I want them as soon as I get it back (hopefully soon!). I've been pretty busy this summer & so has the world of sports so without further adieu let's recap everything big that's gone down (with the exception of the Penn State Scandal, I will not comment on that situation, not my gig & it disgusts me!).

So let's see last time I posted LeBron didn't have a ring, Jeremy Lin was technically still a Knick, Rick Nash was a Blue Jacket, Zach Parise & Ryan Suter were out for new contracts, Zack Greinke was a Brewer, Ichiro was a Mariner, John Laurinaitis was ruling WWE with People Power and I was 18. Well all that's changed.

Lets start with the NBA, LeBron James finally won a Championship as the Heat beat the Thunder in the NBA Finals. Ray Allen later took his talents to South Beach with Rashard Lewis. Anthony Davis & Austin Rivers are off to the Big Easy as the newest Hornets. Jeremy Lin signed a tender with the Houston Rockets and Linsanity in New York came to an end when the Knicks refused to match the Houston offer. The Knicks dumped Jared Jeffries and brought back Ray Felton, Marcus Camby & Kurt Thomas in return to go along with Jason Kidd and Ronnie Brewer. Toronto nabbed Landry Fields in another RFA signing. The now Brooklyn Nets brought in Joe Johnson while re-upping Deron Williams, Kris Humphries, Brook Lopez & Gerald Wallace. Steve Nash is now a Laker, Lamar Odom a Clipper. Dwight Howard drama will certainly run through the rest of the off-season at the least.

Now to the NHL, Free Agency & Labor Negotiations are in full swing. Zach Parise and Ryan Suter were the most sought after targets on the market and both of them signed 13 year $98 million deals with the Minnesota Wild. Jaromir Jagr sees bigger things in Texas and signs with the Dallas Stars. Alex Semin is going  to Carolina to join a team that now has 3/4 of the Staal brothers with the Draft Day addition of Jordan Staal. My Rangers lost Brandon Prust & Rulsan Fedetenko to free agency to Montreal and Philadelphia respectively while adding Taylor Pyatt, Jeff Halpern and Aaron Asham. The team also traded Brandon Dubinsky, Artem Anisimov, Tim Erixon and a 2013 first round pick to the Columbus Blue Jackets for Rick Nash, Steven Delisle & a 2013 third round draft choice.

I'll try to get in an MLB trade deadline recap in tomorrow. I'm pleasantly surprised by the Ichiro to the Yankees deal, barring an injury in the next two days I'll be seeing him live this Wednesday when I go see my Yankees take on the 2nd place Orioles!

In WWE, I witnessed the end of the "People Power" Era in WWE as John Laurinaitis was "fired" by Vince McMahon at June's No Way Out (Great Show for a non Big 4 PPV). Monday Night RAW made TV History with it's 1000th Episode on July 23rd.

We are now back to football as NFL Training Camps are underway across the nation!

Now as far as my summer's gone, if you're following me on twitter (@mike_iannaccone) you'll know by now that I've been to my share of events since the last blog post which includes:

• WWE's No Way Out on June 17th at the iZod Center
• Braves-Yankees on June 19th at Yankee Stadium
• Indians-Yankees on June 26th at Yankee Stadium (The Dwayne Wise Game)
• Angels-Yankees on July 14th at Yankee Stadium

and here's my list for the rest of the summer:

• Orioles-Yankees on August 1st at Yankee Stadium
• Cardinals-Phillies on August 12th at Citizens Bank Park
• Red Sox-Yankees on August 17th at Yankee Stadium
• NY Jets Training Camp on August 23 & 24th at the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center in Florham Park
• Panthers-Jets on August 26th at MetLife Stadium

I hope to add Mets-Astros on August 25th to my schedule because I'd love to go for Mike Piazza bobble-head day, hope my cousin has a clear schedule!

Oh yeah, 1 last thing...On July 9, yours truly celebrated his 19th birthday. I hope I get to keep doing this for a long time. I'll be back full time soon! Until then, STAY TUNED!!