Below is the latest installment of “Overrated, Underrated,” my humble critiques of Sporting News’ weekly positional rankings. I’ll tackle one player at QB/RB/WR/TE I believe to be overvalued (“Danger!”) and one undervalued (“Sleeper”). RANKINGS: QB | RB | WR | TE | K | D/ST Danger! QB Tom Brady, Patriots (Ranked No. 5 at position) vs. Jets: Two consecutive strong performances shouldn’t welcome Brady back to the top five quite yet....

Before we get into the Week 8 forecasts, here’s a reminder that if you have any questions about sports weather or how weather could impact play (and, potentially, your fantasy, DFS, and gambling decisions), don’t hesitate to reach out to Rotogrinders’ meteorologist Kevin Roth on Twitter (@KevinRothWx) or check out the hourly NFL weather forecasts on RotoGrinders. To take your game to the next level, subscribe to RotoGrinders’ exclusive WeatherEdge tool and see how different weather conditions have impacted historical scoring....

But that’s the case right now in Las Vegas, where most books have installed Washington as a 1-point favorite over the Packers. In the other three games, the road team is favored. MORE: Full NFL playoff schedule There’s still no word on whether Andy Dalton will return Saturday, but the Bengals would likely be favored with him under center. NFL playoff opening lines Saturday, 4:35 p.m. ET, ABC Chiefs (-3) at Texans....

That, quite frankly, upsets Cincinnati Bengals offensive lineman and NFL Players Association president Eric Winston, a 10-year veteran in the league. MORE: NFL players diagnosed with CTE | Giants owner says concussion crisis should be priority No. 1 Jeff Miller, the NFL’s vice president of player health and safety, admitted last month there is a connection between football-related head trauma and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). Despite that admission, NFL owners like Cincinnati’s Mike Brown, Dallas’ Jerry Jones, New England’s Robert Kraft, Cleveland’s Jimmy Haslam, Indianapolis’ Jim Irsay and Houston’s Bob McNair have continued to deny a link....

On Monday, EA Sports revealed the latest ratings ahead of the video game’s release on Oct. 14, putting the top 10 players at each position. It comes to no one’s surprise that Connor McDavid is the highest rated player in the game. He’s the only one to have a rating of 95, with Auston Matthews, Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar at 94. More of the ratings will be revealed shortly and The Sporting News will keep you posted on everything....

The players participated in six categories highlighting the specific skills necessary to play the fastest game on ice. The winner of each event earned $25,000. Johnny Gaudreau (puck control), Marc-Andre Fleury (save streak) and Connor McDavid (fastest skater) aimed to defend their respective titles from 2018 . Gaudreau and McDavid succeeded in retaining their titles while Fleury was upended by a king. USA Hockey’s Kendall Coyne-Schofield (fastest skater) replaced Nathan MacKinnon and became the first woman to officially participate in the skills competition....

Commissioner Gary Bettman made it official on Saturday when he and Blue Jackets director of hockey operations John Davidson announced that the festivities will take place at Nationwide Arena on Jan. 24-25, 2015. MORE: Hockey Halloween: NHL players’ costumes for 2013 Columbus was originally awarded the 2013 All-Star weekend but that event was canceled due to the lockout. "The Commissioner made a promise, and that promise has been kept," Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman said....

But Friday night he ventured into uncharted territory by calling his first regular season MLB game. MORE: Minor league team to have ‘Full House’ day The 69-year-old Emrick joined Bob Costas in the booth for MLB Network’s national broadcast of the Pirates-Cubs game from Pittsburgh’s PNC Park. It’s a dream come true for the longtime Pirates fan. “Imagine yourself as a fan, and you’re handed the microphone for the night … and you spend the night watching your team play live,” Emrick said on the MLB Network pregame show....

The “Two Man Advantage” may fill easily based on increased demand. That has an $8 entry with $30,000 prize pool. Note: There are also several “Short Handed Special” tournaments with some intriguing payouts. With scoring down, Vegas has a few over/unders at six, but watch for potentially higher scoring matchups that could dud. Also, do keep in mind there is a blizzard along the East Coast (which people have heard incessantly about), so information will come in just slower than desired in some cases....

Having a father and an uncle who played in the National Hockey League certainly prepared him for this moment. “They’ve been my biggest two role models for everything,” Patrick said of his father, Steve, and uncle, James. “Their personalities are a lot different. My dad’s a little bit different from my uncle. My dad’s a goof, always making jokes, and my uncle is a little more serious; but they’ve both been good for me....

At the top of this talented group of pivots is American-born dynamo Jack Hughes, whose brother Quinn is a defenseman who went seventh overall to the Canucks. Jack is an elite playmaker with explosive speed and ankle-breaking fakes, and the goals he scores are of the highlight-reel variety. It’s too early to say he’s a lock to go first overall in 2019, but his impressive pre-draft resume makes it easy to say he’s the favorite....

The Habs announced on Thursday restricted free agent winger Artturi Lehkonen re-signed to a two-year deal with an AAV of $2.4 million. The 24-year-old played all 82 games for the first time in his three-year career last season recording a career-high 31 points (11-20-31) in the process. NHL free agency 2019: Complete list of all 31 teams’ UFA, RFA players A second-round pick by Montreal in 2013, the Finland native should surpass 300 games played in a Canadiens uniform early into the second year of his contract if he remains healthy....

Duchene, who was traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets at the deadline last February, is reportedly weighing his options as he prepares to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1. The 28-year-old center met with the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday and is expected to meet with the Nasvhille Predators on Thursday. NHL FREE AGENCY 2019: Artemi Panarin and the top UFAs by position Duchene had 58 points in 50 games with the Ottawa Senators before being dealt to the Blue Jackets, where he racked up four goals and 12 points in 23 games to close out the regular season....

Mikita, who played 22 seasons in the NHL, all with the Blackhawks, had been in declining health when he died at age 78 last year. His family donated his brain to the Boston University CTE Center. The postmortem study revealed Mikita had Stage 3 CTE, one stage below the disease’s severest form. CTE, caused by repeated contact to the head, can be diagnosed only postmortem. Dr. Ann McKee, the center’s director, announced the findings during the Concussion Legacy Foundation’s Chicago Honors Dinner on Friday at the request of the Mikita family, The Associated Press reported....

Kreider left Wednesday’s game against the Washington Capitals under mysterious circumstances in the first period since it did not appear that he suffered an injury during any of his seven shifts. Reporters even speculated that perhaps Kreider was ill, though the team later stated he had an upper body injury, fueling speculation that he had a concussion. Rangers coach Alain Vigneault revealed Thursday after practice that Kreider had swelling in his arm prior to the game at Madison square Garden....

Reebok has the rights to make NHL jerseys. Its parent company, Adidas, apparently is considering putting its own name there instead of Reebok. As part of that, we may see an extension of the current contract, which runs through 2016-17. That'd be interesting; Reebok Hockey has a handful of high-profile athlete endorsers, including Sidney Crosby. Odds are he's not strapping on adidas skates anytime soon, but the juxtaposition would be funny — sort of like LeBron James wearing adidas jerseys....

The NHL announced the suspension Friday evening. MORE: The best active NHL player at every jersey number, 1 to 97 The incident occurred during the first period of Tuesday’s 4-1 loss to the Wild. Keith and Coyle were competing for a loose puck when Keith fell to the ice and from his back swung his stick upward, striking Coyle in the nose and drawing blood. Keith was assessed a match penalty for intent to injure, which carries an automatic one-game ban, at minimum, dependent on a league review....

Last week, we talked at length about the Eastern Conference playoff picture and how it’s shaping up to be a three-horse derby down the stretch. That’s still the case, but the Panthers have hit a bit of a snag and are quickly running out of time. This week, we’re going to take closer look at what’s going on in the Western Conference. Spoiler alert: it’s every bit as crazy as the East and with far more leap-frogging going on on a nightly basis....

According to the former 14-year NHL netminder, the constant buzz of conversation and story-telling is a product of Weekes’ parents and their outgoing personalities, a character trait that has since been passed down to the NHL veteran. MORE: Sharks pummel Kings | Bruins top Red Wings | West predictions When Sherali Najak — Senior Producer of CBC’s Hockey Night In Canada — approached Weekes with the opportunity to do color commentary for HNIC in 2009, the decision was relatively easy....

Also Friday, the Rangers and Canadiens can end their respective series on home ice. MORE: Ducks finish sweep of Jets | Carcillo struggling with Montador’s death | Orpik hit with skate, beer All odds are current as of Thursday evening. Check out our live odds page for updated numbers from Las Vegas. Penguins at Rangers (New York leads series 3-1)Best Pittsburgh line: +170 (MGM, Westgate)Best New York line: -185 (Westgate, Wynn, CG Technology, William Hill)Total: 5 (under -130)...