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ELY… The 2014 NFL regular season has kicked off, and it will be an interesting ride. Yes, I know, I have written many times about my disdain for the league and their business practices. Believe you me, that hasn’t changed one iota. If you can’t run a $9 bil per year business without taxpayer handouts, perhaps you shouldn’t be in business. Anyhow, for several seasons I have participated in the national “Upickem” contest. The game appears in a lot of prominent newspapers across the nation. It is kind of fun to take part in, no matter your level of interest.

Back when I paid a fair amount of attention to the local club, the Minnesota Vikings, I had a couple of years where I did pretty good. In my best year of picking, I finished in 500th place out of about 12k entrants in the Metro part of the game, and about 1400th in national rank out of 220k. I got a kick out of that because as I have gotten older, I have become less and less of a guy who studies stats, standings, or otherwise. My picks were usually based on my observations of a team in games I was at or saw on TV. And back in the day I watched a lot of games. I’m not a guy who can break down a game for you from a technical standpoint and then verbalize it for you. Football is not my number-one game.

But in thinking about it the other day, I guess I have seen quite a lot of football. What I do have is a gut feeling about the game, and that is what I rely on these days. I can develop a mental ranking of teams if I get a chance to see them with some frequency. But therein lies the rub, as I don’t watch much anymore. I saw a total of about a quarter and a half of the Vikings game this afternoon.

Don’t get me wrong, I still love football. It is the NFL that’s under my craw, and even the NCAA to an extent. I mean, just how “dirty” is big-time college football these days? Anyway, last year was about my worst year in the time I have been participating in the contest. I finished in the mid-6000s in the Metro rank, and way past 100k in the national standings. So I wasn’t sure if I was going to do it this season, but then the first pre-season email reminder came and I had to give it a go.

After last night’s Bronco-Colt tilt, I was at 9-5. I have picked the Giants over the Lions and the Cardinals over the Chargers in tonight’s opening Monday night doubleheader. I am uneasy about the Giants pick, but my reasoning is that the Lions have been so inconsistent over the years that I can’t pick them with confidence, and the Giants surely won’t be as bad as last season. My best opening day ever I went 14-2. Not bad. The NFL is a hard league to pick these days, though, even for “geeks.” Get in the contest if you haven’t, and I’ll keep you posted…

THE ANNUAL NHL PROSPECTS TOURNAMENT kicks off this Friday at Traverse City, MI, and it should be another top-notch round robin tourney. This year features Columbus, Detroit, Minnesota, and St. Louis in the Gordie Howe division and Buffalo, Carolina, Dallas, and the New York Rangers in the Ted Lindsay group. The tourney will run through the 16th and conclude with games for 7th, 5th, 3rd and 1st place amongst the eight participants. There will be coaches, scouts, and NHL execs there in large volume, and plenty to see and do away from the arena. The tournament is hosted by the Red Wings and their AHL club in Traverse City, and the locale is not far from the shores of Lake Michigan. If you are looking for a fall getaway and a chance to see some of the up and coming NHL talent, this is a pretty good event to go see.

As of right now, this is the list of Wild draft picks and invitees that will appear at Traverse City: Forwards – Olivier Archambault, Jessey Astles, Ryan Walters, Andrew Ryan, Brady Brassart, Ralphael Bussieres, Zack Mitchell, Chase Lang, Reid Duke, Tyler Graovac, Pavel Genys, Ryan Graham, Kurtis Gabriel, and Reid Gardiner. Defensemen –  Matt Dumba, Tanner Faith, Christian Folin, Guillaume Gelinas, Hunter Warner, Gustav Olofsson, Dylan Labbe, and Alex Gudbranson. Goaltenders will include Brandon Whitney, Johan Gustafsson, and Alexandre Belanger. The Iowa Wild coaching staff will be handling duties behind the bench, with Kurt Kleinendorst and his assistant Steve Poapst on hand.

I firmly believe that Dumba and Folin have a shot at making the big club roster this year, with Dumba the better of those two at this time. Out of the forwards I like Bussieres and Gabriel, but with the big club pretty much set at forward, they will be seeing the majority of their ice time south of the Metroplex. Gustafsson is the best of the three net minders going to Michigan and just might be the anchor goalie at Iowa this year if Wild GM Chuck Fletcher doesn’t get a contract worked out with Darcy Kuemper sometime soon. The latest news there is that Kuemper’s agent is taking a look at the KHL right now. I sincerely hope that’s not the case.

Surely the “K” will overpay for some North American players, but from what I can gather, the conditions over there aren’t the greatest and the travel is quite spread out. I think that if Kuemps is looking for the best long-term plan for his hockey career, the Wild and the AHL are the best thing for him at this time. With the uncertainty surrounding Wild goalie Josh Harding and his health situation, Kuemps would be the first call up under the circumstances. But I am hoping that is not necessary and that Hards will be good to go for the season. He is a player who can win games for you on nights when the team isn’t doing well; he is that capable.

It’s all about to start! Let’s go, Wild! PEACE

Marc Elliott is a sports opinion writer who splits his time between Minnesota and his hometown in Illinois…