his is an exciting franchise," LeBla | Forum

The Premier League action is coming thick and fast on Sky Sports with seven games being televised live in just six days, and Paul Merson is here with his final midweek prediction. Ionut Radu Inter Milan Jersey . Weve had Manchester Citys 3-0 win at Chelsea on Saturday, Leicesters thrilling 2-2 draw against West Ham, Arsenals 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace, Tottenhams awesome four-goal showing at Stoke in Monday Night Football, Citys 1-1 draw at a rejuvenated Newcastle, and Liverpools 4-0 derby thumping of Everton.Arsenal against West Brom on Thursday completes the feast of football, with the Gunners in dire need of boost following their disappointing showing against Palace. See who Merson is backing below...Arsenal v West Brom - Thursday, 7pm, Sky Sports 1 HD The feast of football ends on Thursday as Arsenal take on West Brom How have Arsenal not won the league? You look at their fixtures now and they have the perfect run-in, but inconsistency has again cost them. I dont see them having any problems against West Brom at the Emirates. It will be a comfortable win for the Gunners.PAUL PREDICTS: 3-0 (Sky Bet odds: 11/2) Mersons earlier predictions...Chelsea v Manchester CityThe gap between Manchester City in fourth and Manchester United in fifth is just five points and I fully expect Louis van Gaals side to close the gap by the time kick-off comes around at Stamford Bridge. Its a massive game for City.They had a brilliant result in midweek and you have to hand it to them after they reached the Champions League semi-finals, but they cannot take their eye off the ball against Chelsea. Its still a huge ask to win the Champions League so the league is crucial. However, I think Chelsea win and blow the top four wide open.PAUL PREDICTS: 2-1 - Result: 0-3Leicester v West HamI was really disappointed in West Ham the other night. I had only really seen highlights of Slaven Bilics side this season and thought they looked excellent, but having watched the whole game against Manchester United, they were really poor.United put in a very good display at Upton Park but for me, West Ham didnt do enough. They didnt get enough crosses into the box and there is no point playing Andy Carroll if you are not going to get the ball into the penalty area. If youd have asked me for a prediction on Monday Id have said Im not sure, but now I cant see anything but a Leicester win.However, I still see a twist to come in the title race.PAUL PREDICTS: 2-1 - Result: 2-2Arsenal v Crystal PalaceArsenal are the best team in the world when the pressure is off. They will win this game because Crystal Palace are now in a position where they can afford to rest players ahead of the FA Cup semi-final.They can lose this game heavily, it wont matter. The manager, the players and the fans will move on to Wembley.PAUL PREDICTS: 3-0 - Result: 1-1Stoke v TottenhamI never really go against Stoke at home. They are a very good team in front of their own fans but for me Tottenham win. I really fancy an away win. I have been impressed with Spurs, they are a good, good team.Looking ahead to next season, Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United and Liverpool all need players. Tottenham need only a few fringe players, they dont need players to go straight into the team. I really think they are well up there again next season, one of the favourites.PAUL PREDICTS: 1-3 - Result: 0-4Newcastle v Man CityDepending on results, Newcastle could well be staring relegation in the face come Tuesday night. Defeat to Swansea and a Norwich victory against Sunderland at the weekend would see Rafael Benitezs side nine points adrift of safety with five games to play.Its also a crucial game for City in the race for the top-four places so they will be going all out for three points at St James Park. Its difficult to see past a City victory, with Manuel Pellegrinis side securing all three points.PAUL PREDICTS: 0-2 - Result: 1-1Liverpool v EvertonRoberto Martinez will be hoping it snows and the game gets postponed. Its a nightmare fixture for Everton with an FA Cup semi-final just around the corner. I have to back Liverpool here. Its a huge game on Merseyside but with the Wembley date in mind, I see Jurgen Klopps side winning easily.PAUL PREDICTS: 3-0 - Result: 4-0 Get a Sky Sports Day Pass Don;t miss Arsenal v West Brom. Watch live on NOW TV for ￡6.99. No contract. Also See: 7 games in six days on Sky Charlies midweek predictions Fixtures Live on Sky Davide Santon Inter Milan Jersey .J. -- Marshawn Lynch said Thursday it will be good to get back to football after the Seattle quiet talking running back wrapped up his final mandatory media session of Super Bowl week. Hernanes Inter Milan Jersey . Anthony Davis had 31 points and 17 rebounds in his seventh straight game with more than 20 points, but that was only enough to keep the Pelicans competitive into the final minutes. Andrew Bogut had 10 points and 15 rebounds for Golden State, which rebounded from a loss a night earlier in Oklahoma City and snapped a two-game skid. http:///...el-Schelotto-Jersey/ . It just didnt show when he hit the ice. Berra made 42 saves and Kris Russell scored at 1:32 of overtime, lifting the Calgary Flames to a 3-2 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday night. After years of wondering in the desert, the Phoenix Coyotes ownership saga appears to be over. An arena lease out clause could bring into question where theyre playing five years from now, but on Monday the NHL finalized the sale of the Coyotes to the IceArizona group led by Renaissance Sports & Entertainments George Gosbee and Anthony LeBlanc. Approval of the US$170-million sale came from the board of governors, which ended the leagues ownership of the beleaguered franchise. "This was an incredibly complicated deal that didnt get wrapped up quite literally until 8 oclock this morning after pretty much a full weekend of working on it going through the night," LeBlanc said on a conference call. "No rest for the weary, as they say, and were jumping right in now." LeBlanc, Gosbee and nine other owners - the vast majority of whom are Canadian businessmen with connections to Arizona - are jumping in to a long process that includes adding staff on the business side and trying to sell tickets to grow the Coyotes reach. Part of the effort includes a name change to the Arizona Coyotes, likely effective for the 2014-15 season. The NHL had owned the Coyotes for the past four years, shortly after Jerry Moyes put the team into bankruptcy and through failed attempts by Ice Edge Holdings led by White Sox and Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf and then Chicago investor Matt Hulsizer to buy it. With IceArizona now officially in charge, the next step is strengthening the fan base. "What this franchise has not had over the past 12 years is theyve never had that combination that I think you need to be successful in the majority of sports markets," LeBlanc said. "That is strong, stable ownership combined with at least the understanding that you have the potential of your franchise winning." The Coyotes missed the playoffs during the lockout-shortened 2013 season but made it the three previous years under coach Dave Tippett. Before bankruptcy, the team most recently made the playoffs in 2001-02. LeBlanc had tried to purchase the team before as part of IceEdge. He teamed up with Gosbee last year, bringing in Daryl Jones, Avik Dey and others before securing NHL approval and financing. "I think its every Canadian boys dream to own a hockey team," Gosbee said. "Ive always wanted to. But it had to be the right deal. When I started talking with Anthony and Daryl over the years, I think the right deal was in the making here in January. I wanted to own the team because I thought, at the end of the day, its a sound investment." Negotiating a five-year out clause as part of a 15-year lease deal with the city of Glendale for Jobing.com Arena was made for business reasons, but it also raised skepticism, especially for a group of men with Canadian roots. "Im a good, solid Canadian like a good number of people in this ownership group and unfortunately its very difficult for people to accept that hockey can be successful in a non-traditional market," LeBlanc said. "But we like to point to markets like San Jose and Dallas, even in the Carolinas, where hockey has really thrived. We feel that the same will happen here. But the reality is its an investment and we have to protect ourselves, and hence the reason for the out clause." LeBlanc told the board of governors that the out clause was the most "negative" part of the Coyotes loong and winding sale process, which included contentious Glendale city council meetings that cast doubt on the final resolution. Davide Santon Jersey. "I think the onus is on us to put the product out there and to sell the suites and the tickets so that this is no longer a conversation piece," LeBlanc said. Even with that conversation piece, Gosbee was "ecstatic" about getting the deal finalized. His Calgary home was damaged in Junes flooding, but Monday brought some good news on the Coyotes front. "The home can be built up again," he said. "Ill start working on that project in the fall. Its a great day for me with the announcement that weve got this team." For general manager Don Maloney, Monday brought even stronger emotions than the arena lease deal that gave the Coyotes at least five years of security. "It feels like Christmas morning around here," Maloney said in an interview from his office in Glendale. "Were just very, very happy, relieved, grateful." The ownership group will be led by Gosbee and LeBlanc and include Dey, Jones, Gary J. Drummond, W. David Duckett, W.R. Dutton, Robert Gwin, Scott Saxberg, Craig Stewart and Richard Walter. Asked about the Edmonton Oilers large ownership group that existed before Daryl Katz took over, Gosbee likened the Coyotes structure more to that of the Calgary Flames after their move from Atlanta. "Theres a strong, tight-knit ownership group here," Gosbee said. "Everybody really knows of each other. If we werent doing this deal, theres a good chance a lot of us would be out for dinner next week or watching a football game." Instead, theyre working together to own a hockey team. "The National Hockey League believes in Arizona as an NHL market and that these new owners can provide the Coyotes the opportunity to secure a stable, long-term future in Glendale," commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement. Giving the Coyotes a stable, long-term future has a lot to do with business, which LeBlanc and Gosbee will be heavily involved with. As far as hockey operations, not much is expected to change, with the exception of some more money being available. "Our involvement will be almost exclusively on the business side and let Don continue to work his magic," LeBlanc said. Magic off the ice involves trying to sell out the arena and building more of a following in Arizona. If IceArizona is successful at doing that and the franchise does not lose $50 million in the next five years, the out clause will be moot. "This is obviously a franchise that has historically lost money," LeBlanc said. "You look at the track records of the individuals: Nobody in this group gets into anything with the expectation of failing. Our view is this is a franchise that has not had the opportunity to really show its potential." The potential is there, finally, and LeBlanc and Gosbee hope winning and financial success follow. "This is an exciting franchise," LeBlanc said. "Now that were the owners we think weve got the Stanley Cup contender for the next 10 years, but we truly feel that fans are going to look at this club and say, This has a real strong potential of winning. And what do you know? For the first time in years this franchise, there is no question it is tied to Arizona, and we have good, strong local ownership." Wholesale Jerseys China ' ' '