Andrei Markov is still an elite defenseman and a power play threat while veteran Roman Hamrlik and Josh Georges will depth to the defensive core and Ryan O’Byrne will be an extra on the blueline.Returning forwards include Andrei Kostitsyn and Tomas Plekanec, who both should light the lamp more often in 2009-10. The Boston Bruins are still the team to beat in the Northeast Division, even without Kessel and even though they haven’t made the playoffs in two seasons, the Buffalo Sabres are slightly ahead of them.However, looking at the Eastern Conference in general, the New York Rangers still don’t have a No. 1 center, and Toronto, Ottawa and Tampa Bay are still beneath the Habs.Montreal will be in the playoffs again in their 101st season. ) No. 
2 Texas (2-0) vs Texas Tech (2-0) Line: Texas -17.5Texas is looking for revenge this week for the 33-39 defeat last season at the hands of the Red Raiders that put a damper on the Longhorn title hopes. The Cowboys were roping the Longhorns in the first half last week before the stampede occurred in the second half.Despite the 544 yards of offense and 41 points scored against Wyoming, the Longhorns failed to cover for the second week in a row.The Red Raiders won 38-13 against North Dakota in week one and 55-10 last week against Rice. Taylor Potts is the new quarterback for Texas Tech, but it really is hard to tell from year to year that the? personnel? has changed. The offense still throws the ball and piles up the yardage and points.Potts has a Big 12 leading 861 yards passing and nine touchdowns while completing 67 percent of his passes.Both of these teams can pile up the points and yardage.

Both teams have yet to be tested defensively but will probably have a long day on that side of the ball.? If Texas cannot get to the quarterback, Potts will pick them apart. Texas Tech is 1-0 against the spread and Texas is 0-2 against the number this season. On a side note, the OVER has hit the last five times these two teams have played.The margin between these two teams is not great. 17.5 is just too many points to give against an offense like Texas Tech which can strike in bunches.Dave's Pick: Texas Tech 17.5Be sure to sign up for our FREE WEEKLY FOOTBALL PICKING CONTEST WITH CASH PRIZES.. ) It's such a hot topic, my inner Bills fan is demanding I write about it. What am Ireferring to You've got to know by now.T.O.Who elseHis recent comments have been discussed more than the Kanye West/Taylor Swift incident.Well maybe not that much, but it sure seems like it.It's been sizzling on all the sports networks and media outlets For those of you living under a rock, here's what T.O.
said: (paraphrased of course)"We missed some chances against New England There's always room for improvement. I like how we played until those last five minutes, and Trent did a great job of managing the game, although we could take more shotsdown field, utilizing Lee's and my own abilities."Let's take a closer look.? Terrell Owens is a competitor. Owens' former teammates and competitors have the utmost respect for his tireless work ethic. The Bills' offense put them in great spot to pull off the upset, but a few unfortunate bounces went against Buffalo, and they lost.What isn't being taken away from the game is that Owens' mere presence directly resulted in a monster statistical night by Fred Jackson and the beginning of a possible resurgence of Trent Edwards.Yes, we know that because Brandon Meriweather was playing deep incenterfield the screen play was viable, but the Bills faced no stacked boxes.For once.Imagine that.The Patriots were deathly afraid of Evans or in this case Owens hitting the home-run.What am I getting at Well if the Bills win the game, there's absolutely no way you hear Owens mutter a word about the lack of looks his way.Ever think he feels partially responsible being a seasoned veteran, and most likely a future Hall of Famer when his team goes down His competitive spirit isn't allowed to take over and get upset at a loss It happened with Jordan It happened with Rice.The man speaks his mind. How sick of hearing the same old "Football 101" postgame soundbytes are you Because I'm beyond sick to my stomach."We played hard, but hats off to their defense.""We take this season game at a time, and have to get ready for next week."Give me a break Give me something with substance. That's supposed to be the point of interviews.The point is supposed to be to get inside the head of what the athlete is thinking.