With no basketball on the horizon at present, it is perhaps good that we have NHL hockey, even if that hockey is played about 140 miles southwest of Cleveland.
The Columbus Blue Jackets are unfortunately dead last in the Western Conference's Central Division, already five points behind the Detroit Red Wings, but as the season is only four games old, nothing can be said to be settled in stone anywhere in the standings.
Be that as it may, let's have a look at some power rankings from various sources, and see where Columbus stands in relation to the rest of the league in the opinion of those sources.
ESPN.go.com has the Blue Jackets ranked 25th out of 30 teams, and their poll, which came out after only two games had been played by Columbus, has this to say:
"If there's a good-looking 0-2-0 team, this is it. They had good spurts in both losses, but the pressure is already on the Jackets to post some wins."
The ESPN.go.com site has the Red Wings first, followed by the Buffalo Sabres, the Philadelphia Flyers, the San Jose Sharks and the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Taking a look at Fox Sports's power rankings, the Sabres are on top, followed by the Sharks, the Washington Capitals, the Penguins and the Flyers.
And where does Fox Sports have the Blue Jackets? All the way down in 28th place. With this to say (in a rather dismissive blurb, in my opinion):
"Losing James Wisniewski to an eight-game suspension after he signed a $33 million contract in the offseason does nothing to help a team that has never really enjoyed any sort of success."
Now for the experts' opinion (in my opinion, at least). The Hockey News has the Flyers at number one, followed, in order, by the Red Wings, the Penguins, the Sabres and the Sharks. THN ranks Columbus at 26th, and has this to say about the team from Ohio's capital:
"Still looking for their first victory after three games, Jackets have still had some decent stretches of play."
Be sure to check back weekly for updates to the rankings and a look at where Our Columbus Blue Jackets fit into the mix.