Watford v SunderlandSunderland have done it and Sam Allardyce has deliver

And oh how the enigmatic goaltender shines in the spotlight, much to the chagrin of the league. Bryzgalov is just what the NHL hates: unique, outspoken, not from Red Deer. The embattled and well-traveled goaltender is the antithesis of the typical NHLer. His idiosyncrasies, strange even for a goalie, rankle the entire NHL establishment, from players to management to media to that guy who lives in the apartment below yours with his mother who has a "prominent Predators blog." And as Bryz adds some animation to the typically lifeless NHL discourse in his return to centre scrum, its interesting to consider why hockey hates him so. [Getty Images] For much of his career, Bryzgalov and his delightfully absurd aloofness was left to the bliss of the uncovered hinterland of the NHL. He was allowed to ply his trade in Anaheim and Phoenix with relatively little attention paid. But, in league circles, his oddities were well known, and even celebrated when the media required moments of levity. But upon his arrival in hockey hotbed, and noted goalie-killer Philadelphia, the affection the league had for Bryzgalov turned quickly to venom. His play certainly didnt help, but many an average NHLer with a slight sense of humour has been left to his own devices. But Bryzgalovs appalling strangeness in the eyes of the hockey establishment, a sinister outfit run by old white men housed in a secret lair below the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, made him a pariah, and nearly led to the end of his career. And by "end of career" I mean playing in Edmonton. Perhaps no player has incurred the wrath of the NHL like the man the Wild acquired as insurance, and who is now their last hope to extend the season. But why? Unfortunately, hockey lacks Bryzgalovs. Of the four major sports leagues, it by far eschews personality and flavour more than all others. Hell, out of any sport it certainly boasts the most boring membership. No interview is less interesting than conversations with hockey players. Vanilla mocks the rabid blandness of NHLers. And those in NHL circles who do have personalities, like Sean Avery, Ted Nolan, or P.K. Subban, find themselves ostracized from the community, or like Subban unfairly labeled as troublesome on and off the ice. One would think a league that has struggled to find a market against its more successful sports brethren would embrace personality, but thats not the hockey way. Bryzgalov is more than a goalie, more than a hockey player. Hes a genuinely interesting and interested person. He has big questions. Like, "Im very into the universe, you know like how was created, you know, like, what is it, you know? Solar system is so humongous big, right? But if you see like our solar system and our galaxy on the side, you know, like, were so small you can never see it. Our galaxy is like huge, but if you see the big picture our galaxy (is) like a small tiny-like dot in the universe." Bryz is the opposite of boring. [HBO] But hockey is a factory of boring. The sport grabs youngsters at an early age, sends them to cosmopolitan metropoli like Chicoutimi, Lethbridge, and North Bay, and where representatives of the old boys club teach them to lack in colour and dissenting opinion. There must be courses in stock answers and cliché given to aspiring NHLers, lest they find some horrific off-ice personality. One can imagine a factory churning out 62 defencemen and gritty fourth line centres somewhere outside of Medicine Hat whose only answers are limited to: • Gotta play all three periods and go hard into the boards. • Its the coachs decision. • I enjoy CBCs Heartland. Unfortunately, this formulaic tendency has corrupted on-ice play as well. In the past quarter century weve seen the game become more systems-based, removing individuality and scoring from the game. (Lets call this Lou Lamoriellos fault.)Hockey enjoys being the definition of innocuous. What it finds funny, or interesting, is in the Jeremy Roenicks of its world, a sort of low brow, low risk comedy that makes Canadian sitcoms look like the bastard children of Louis CK and Sarah Silverman. And that affection for the benign has lowered scoring, homogenized the product, and made beat reporters quest for an interesting quote an exercise in futility. Bryzgalov is the kind of guy you like to keep in your pocket and take out at parties. He was the star of HBOs24/7, an ambitious show that tries to find intrigue in NHL locker rooms.His personality is as endearing as it playful. Hes intelligent, well read, and happy to speak on any subject. And the NHL hates him for it. This is a man who when asked if he feared the powerhouse Pittsburgh Penguins before a playoff matchup with his Flyers responded, "Im not afraid of anything – except bear. But bear in the forest." Whats not to love? The pundits cited his personality as one of the reasons he failed in Philly, despite the fact that the Flyers organization is a wasteland for goalies whose failures have been the result of a flawed organizational concept as opposed to a Russian who enjoys tea and literature. Whats most painfully difficult to entertain in this NHL with a hatred of the entertaining is the notion that there arent more personalities like Bryzgalov. The difference with Bryz is that he shares his self with the world. I cant even describe the weird that my peers tend towards in the privacy of dark corners of Montreal bars, so one cant be naïve enough to believe that similarly intriguing oddity doesnt exist in NHL locker rooms. NHLers are only permitted to show their game face, or as Bryz puts it, "You know, I have many faces … masks. In home, I have one face. Public, I have other face. Uh … ahhhh, on ice I have different face. Day off I have four face. With you [media] I have fifth face." The tradition of the league has implemented a gag order upon its membership, which limits both its on- and off-ice products. The marketing of contemporary sport is about personality. Its what makes the moments between on-field greatness interesting. Chad Johnson, Dennis Rodman, or Steve Lyons would never be allowed to exist in the NHL. From a young age, their personalities would never be given the chance to blossom into anything other than milquetoast. Bryzgalov once said, "OK, they fire the puck from the blue line. Chief usually yelling block the shot at the defensemen. They doesnt have the goalie gear, but they have to block the shot. So who is more crazy, me or the defencemen? Who is more weird?" No one, Bryz. No one. And thats a shame. For both the sport and its fans. This is likely his last few weeks as an NHL goaltender. And then exit Bryzgalov, pursued by bear. Royals Jerseys China . Gorges is believed to have suffered the injury while blocking a shot with a hand during Montreals win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday. The Canadiens added to their defensive depth this week by acquiring veteran Mike Weaver from the Florida Panthers. Kansas City Royals Store . It led to his downfall on Tuesday. The Major League Soccer club fired Rennie after a second straight up-and-down season that saw the Whitecaps start strong before limping across the finish line. https://www.cheaproyals.com/ . Wrights first stint with Milwaukee was on a 10-day contract from March 14-23. He played in two games, averaging six points and two rebounds in 16. Kansas City Royals Pro Shop .Patterson marked his anniversary by proving his worth — once again.Lou Williams poured in 26 points, and Patterson drained two huge three-pointers late in the fourth quarter, as the Raptors topped the Denver Nuggets 112-107 in overtime Monday. Fake Royals Jerseys . -- The Atlanta Braves added to their extensive wave of long-term deals with their young stars on Sunday by agreeing to a $42 million, four-year contract with All-Star closer Craig Kimbrel.With the Premier League season coming to a close this Sunday, Paul Merson gives his predictions for the final round of matches. Champions Leicester end their campaign at Chelsea, while Tottenham need a point against Newcastle to ensure they finish second.Third-placed Arsenal host Aston Villa, while the battle for fourth sees Manchester City go to Swansea and Manchester United entertain Bournemouth - with both games live on Sky Sports, along with Stoke v West Ham. All games kick-off at 3pm on Sunday. Midweek predictions Result Mersons prediction Norwich 4-2 Watford 2-0 Sunderland 3-0 Everton 3-1 Liverpool 1-1 Chelsea 2-1 West Ham 3-2 Man Utd 1-2 Who will take the final Champions League place and will Spurs finish second? The Magic Man gives his final predictions of the season...Man Utd v Bournemouth - live from 2.30pm on Sky Sports 1 HD United need to win. They were really poor against West Ham but I think they will get the three points. Bournemouth have had a great season but they have not been that good lately and United must win and hope Swansea do them a favour.PAUL PREDICTS: 2-1 (15/2 with Sky Bet) Manchester United lost to West Ham after leading 2-1 Stoke v West Ham - live from 2.55pm on Sky Sports 3 HDIm doing this game for Soccer Special and I think the Hammers will win. If they do they have a chance of finishing fifth and after all their hard work the other day they will be keen to get another good result. Stoke have played some good football through the season but sometimes they are not as hard to beat as they used to be. They are good footballers and you are always going to get hot and cold when you get those kind of players. Some of them are luxury players and when they are hot they are hot and when they are cold they are cold.PAUL PREDICTS: 1-2 (15/2 with Sky Bet) West Ham beat Manchester United in midweek Swansea v Manchester City - live from 2.55pm on Sky Sports 2 HDI think there will be a twist in the games between United and City. Swansea will give City a game and it will be nervy the whole way. If its 1-1 then it will be nervy because a late Swansea goal would knock City out of the top four. There is a lot to play for and everybody wants to win their last home game, that sells season tickets. Swansea have been in quite good form too, beating West Ham and Liverpool recently.PAUL PREDICTS: 1-1 (15/2 with Sky Bet) Swansea romped to victory over West Ham last weekend Arsenal v Aston VillaI cant think of anywhere worse for Villa to go on the last day. Arsenal have to win and I think its going to be a big win to end a disastrous season for Villa. They have 17 points and they won three of those on the first day of the season. There is zero chance they are going to spring a surprise at the Emirates.PAUL PREDICTS: 4-0 (17/2 with Sky Bet) Olivier Giroud scored in Arsenals last outing at Man City Chelsea v LeicesterWhich Eden Hazard is playing? If he turns up like he has done in recent weeks then it will be a different game. He has been unbelievable recently, his performance against Liverpool was one of the best of the season, that was what he was doing most weeks last year when they won the title. Eden Hazard scored a fine solo goal against Liverpool in midweek It will be an open and entertaining game, Leicester wont want to end their season on a losing note so there should be goals.ddddddddddddPAUL PREDICTS: 2-2 (11/1 with Sky Bet)Everton v NorwichThe players havent looked like they have been playing for Roberto Martinez recently and now he is gone. Now the players will run around and look like they are making an effort. Five costly games Where it went wrong for Roberto Martinez The last few weeks they have been absolutely atrocious. Norwich will be deflated after their relegation and Everton will turn it on.PAUL PREDICTS: 3-0 (16/1 with Sky Bet) Roberto Martinez was sacked after defeat to Sunderland West Brom v LiverpoolLiverpool will play their reserves with the Europa League final next week. The final is the be-all and end-all for them, they have to win it to get into the Champions League next season. Its a massive game for Liverpool, I cant see them not resting players at the weekend.PAUL PREDICTS: 2-0 (12/1 with Sky Bet) Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp is expected to rest players Southampton v Crystal PalacePalace are another team who will probably be resting players with the FA Cup final next weekend. Its pointless not resting players, they only get in a cup final once in a blue moon. Southampton are a decent team finishing the season well and they will want to get in the Europa League.PAUL PREDICTS: 3-0 (7/1 with Sky Bet) Southampton beat Tottenham in their last match Watford v SunderlandSunderland have done it and Sam Allardyce has delivered again. Watford were beaten the other day by Norwich but this will be an open game. Sunderland will be relaxed and play and its Watfords last game of the season so I think there will be goals.PAUL PREDICTS: 2-2 (11/1 with Sky Bet) Sam Allardyce has kept Sunderland in the Premier League Newcastle v TottenhamIf Spurs dont get a draw it would be an absolute shocker. I reckon they will get the point they need to finish second. Newcastle are down but they have to put on a show for their fans. They cant just go there and lie down after being relegated, they will have to make it a hard game for Tottenham otherwise the fans will get frustrated. PAUL PREDICTS: 1-1 (11/2 with Sky Bet) The Sky Sports Today team look at where it went wrong for Newcastle this season PLAY SUPER 6Theres £250,000 up for grabs in the Super 6 game on Sunday. All you have to do is predict the scores of six selected matches from the Premier League. Its free to play so get your picks in now for the chance to win.ENTER HERE! Also See: Jeffs Super 6 advice QUIZ: The 15/16 season Super 6 Up to ￡30 free matched bet ' ' '