Dustin's D League

Broduer’s Shaky Performance and Team Canada’s Future

Mon, 22 Feb, 2010 05:39:20 GMT

There’s no doubt in my mind that Martin Brodeur is the greatest NHL goalie of all time. His numbers are impeccable, and he’s brought home more hardware then James Cameron’s Avatar.

However, put under pressure in last nights game versus the United States in which Canada lost 5-3 Brodeur failed to get the job done, and its not the first time.

The 37-year-old who’s won three Stanley Cups with the New Jersey Devils (most recently in 2003) has only led his team past the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs once since the lockout.

Last season with the Devils leading a first round playoff series with the Carolina Hurricanes 3-2 I watched Brodeur allow four goals in back to back games and my jaw dropped as my playoff pool goaltender allowed two goals in the final minute and a half of game seven to lead his favored team to an early trip to the golf course rather then the Eastern Conference semi finals.

Just one season before their disappointing loss to the Canes the Devils with Brodeur between the pipes fell to the fifth seeded New York Rangers in just five games, which meant another first round departure for the Devils. Brodeur wasn’t a huge help, allowing four goals in both games four and five.

Now before you exit your browser screen because you think I’m trying to bash the games greatest goaltender here me out because in no way am I trying to say that the Devils playoff misfortunes over the past few seasons have been soley Marty’s fault, nor was Canada’s loss last night, what I’am trying to say is that over the past few seasons, when put under pressure Brodeur has fallen flat on his mask.

Last nights four goals on 22 shots against the United States was just another example. Not to mention that Marty seemed to be more curious if he could swing the puck out of the park on the States second goal rather then trying to keep it out of the net.

But now shifting strides as to why Canada lost last night because it was more then Brodeur’s poor batting average.

Simply put, United States goaltender Ryan Miller was outstanding. Making 42 saves on 45 shots Miller proved once again why the Vezina trophy should be a shoe when he may have been questioned a little after losing five of his last six starts prior to the Olympic break.

Miller’s goaltending and what Catroina Lemay Doan would call gutsy play from the young United States team, who only have three players on their roster above 30 years old are probably the only reasons why they won considering they were doubled in shots by Canada and playing against a home crowd.

For Canadian fans the loss must be frustrating and a sixth place preliminary finish may leave you feeling more then unpleasnt, but there are positives to be drawn from the sour loss on Sunday.

The 1-1-1-0 finish means the Canadians will have to play Germany on Tuesday and win in order to qualify for the quarterfinals.

You have to think head coach Mike Babcock will go with Roberto Loungo in goal the rest of the way and the game against Germany will allow Roberto to shake out any tweaks in his game before entering the elimination round, thats saying Canada beats the Germans.

The Germany game will also give Canada another game to attempt to gel as a team and hopefully give Babcock and the rest of the coaching staff a chance to figure out who to play with Sidney Crosby and Rick Nash.

A Canadian win on Tuesday would mean the ever-anticipated Crosby/Ovechkin rivalry would be reignited a bit earlier then expected as the Russians would face Canada in the quarter finals on Wednesday, the winner getting a spot in the semis.

Although the game would not have a gold medal presentation at its conclusion it would have the two most dominant hockey powers and arguably the biggest hockey rivalry of all time (Russia vs. Canada).

But I guess we should worry about the Germany game first because for all we know, there could be another Tommy Salo on the horizion.

Should Tavares Be Left Off the Calder Trophy Ballot?

Tue, 9 Feb, 2010 01:34:22 GMT

John Tavares of the New York Islanders has been one of the most talked about hockey players since he was an early teen. At fifteen he was granted “exceptional player” status by the Ontario Hockey League in order to play for the Oshawa Generals.

Tavares became the youngest OHL player ever and scored 45 goals and 77 points in the 2005-2006 season. Year by year he continued to build and by the end of his fourth OHL season Tavares had tallied 215 goals and 433 points in just 247 games. On top of that Tavares won two gold medals playing for Canada at the World Junior Championships in 2008 and 2009.

And then came the hype for the 2009 entry draft. Tavares was projected to be drafted #1 overall by most, but some news outlets including myself gave some leeway for Swedish defenseman Victor Hedman who eventually went 2^nd overall, Tavares went first.

After a strong start to his first NHL season, 19 points in his first 21 games, Tavares seemed to be shaping up to be exactly what he was expected to be, an elite NHL player. But a coldstreak has him sitting at just 33 points in 58 games (0 points in his last 5 games and 14 points in 37 games) and an awful -14 rating.

Tavares’s average play has opened the door for other rookies to obtain the spotlight and possibly the Calder trophy.

Matt Duchene: The third overall pick from the 2009 draft, Duchene has played an integral part to the Colorado Avalanches extremely successful season thus far. Duchene tops all NHL rookies with 39 points (18 goals) and has scored 12 points in his last 12 games.

And Duchene isn’t the only rookie who’s had success on the Avs this season, Brandon Yip who made his Avs debut in mid December has scored 16 points in 21 games and Ryan O’Reilly has proven to be a regular on the Avs third line chipping in with 20 points and a +7 rating in 58 games.

Tyler Myers: His six foot eight frame is origianally what got him noticed but Buffalo Sabres first round draft pick Tyler Myers adds more to the Sabres roster then a massive body . The monster defenseman is third among all rookies in scoring with 31 points and leads all Sabres defensmen in ice time at just over 23 minutes a game.

Tuukka Rask: The 22-year-old rookie goaltender has been one of the bright spots in whats been a disappointing season for the Boston Bruins. As of today the Bruins are on the outside of the playoff picture looking in and although they are tied in points with the eighth place Philidephia Flyers (they’ve played one more game than the Flyers and therefore are behind them in the standings) its far off from the first place Eastern Conference finish from last season.

Although still considered a backup goaltender to Tim Thomas, Rask has started nearly half of the Bruins games (26) and has recorded impressive numbers with a 2.02 GAA and a .929 save percentage. With rumors swirling about Tim Thomas’s future as a Bruin, Rask may have found himself a starting role as an NHL goaltender.

James van Riemsdyk: Although he drew cold in December where he only scored one point in 15 games, van Riemsdyk started the season hot with 18 points in his first 16 games. His +7 rating is first among all Philidelphia Flyers forwards and he's third among all rookies in scoring with 31 points and only averages 13 minutes on the ice per game.

So as the 2009-2010 season closes in on its last 20 plus games, you have to wonder whether John Tavares will pick up the slack and help the Islanders gain back some ground in the Eastern Conference playoff race and get himself back to the top of the NHL rookie list.

Dealt to the Devils: Assessing The Trade That Lands Ilya Kovalchuk in New Jersey

Sat, 6 Feb, 2010 03:54:48 GMT

It has been an extremely busy week around the National Hockey League to say the least. The Toronto Maple Leafs acquired Dion Phaneuf and J.S Giguere on Sunday, the Columbus Blue Jackets fired head coach Ken Hitchcock on Wednesday and now the New Jersey Devils have won the Ilya Kovalchuk sweepstakes, acquiring the Russian superstar last night.

In exchange the Thrashers receive defenseman Johnny Oduya, forwards Niclas Bergfors and Patrice Cormier and the Devils first round selection in the 2010 entry draft.

Unlike the two players the Leafs attained in Sundays trades, the movement of Kovalchuk has been spoken of and speculated for months. It was just a matter of figuring out what team he would be traded to and when, especially when the report came out recently that Kovalchuk rejected a 12 year 101 million dollar contract extension from the Thrashers

Although at first glance it may seem obvious that the Devils won this deal, the ultimate winner remains to be determined.

The Devils do pick up one of the most dangerous offensive talents in Kovalchuk but will Ilya reign in “hell” for long? His contact which pays him at total of 7.5 million dollars this season (the Devils pay him 2.2 million) expires at the end of this season and you have to wonder whether the Devils can afford to pay Kovalcuk that kind of money (potentially more) when forwards Brian Rolston, Zach Parise and Patrick Elias are all set to earn five million dollars each in 2010-2011.

As well, in losing Johnny Oduya in the deal the Devils lose a key piece of their defensive core. Would money in the off-season (rather then going to Kovalchuk) be better suited towards signing a big name defenseman like Marek Zidlicky or Pavel Kubina both of whom can quarterback a power play? Especially with Paul Martin becoming a UFA come July 1^st.

On the flip side there are experts in the hockey world who believe that Thrashers general manager Don Waddell took a backwards step with his franchise and lost big in the Kovalchuk deal. But Waddell did the best he could with the situation he was put into.

With his hands basically tied behind his back Waddell not only acquired a core defender in Oduya but a young speedy forward in 22 year old Niclas Bergfors who although has been held off the score sheet for much of 2010, has proven in stints this season that he can contribute offensively on a game to game basis. Waddell also received the Devils first round pick and prospect Patrice Cormier.

Also the huge amount of cap space that Kovalchuk would have taken up is now free and with all three of the Thrashers goaltenders becoming free agents this summer Waddell could use some cash to lock up a legitimate starting goaltender. Apologies to Johan Hedberg and Ondrej Pavelec who have performed admirably during points of this season, neither has shown they can consistently perform as an NHL starting goaltender.

On top of that is it worth putting money down to sign Kari Lehtonen who hasn’t played a game all season?

In the end losing a star like Kovalchuk is any GM’s nightmare, but Waddell can at least be content that he added a couple of assets in the process. And although losing Kovalchuk may bump them out of the playoffs this season, it gives them room to add depth and improve their team for seasons to come.

As for Lou Lamoriello and the Devils, Kovalchuk is a player who could push them to the Stanley Cup and if he does they will have to be considered the winners of this deal.

Rental player or not.

Blast From the Past: Former NHLers Set to Take the Stage in Vancouver

Thu, 4 Feb, 2010 10:50:42 GMT

Part of me wants the Olympics to begin because I’m excited to see the Team Canada hockey team attempt to reestablish themselves as the best team at the international level.

The other part of me though wants the Olympics to begin just so I can stop hearing about believing and destiny.

It was inspiring at first but enough already.

It seems like the Olympic hockey hype in this country has been underway ever since Canada embarrassed themselves with a seventh place finish at the Turino Olympics in 2006.

So I won’t be talking about Canada’s team or Team U.S.A for that matter because quite frankly anything that has needed to be said about those two teams has been said and been said more than twice.

Instead here is a little chatter about the European teams rosters who will take the ice in Vancouver just over a week from now. More specifically the players we once knew.

With the recent trend of players leaving the NHL to go play professionally or semi-professionally in their home countries, the Vancouver Olympics provides a stage for former NHLers to prove that they still have what it takes to compete with the finest the NHL today has to offer.

Playing for Russia: Sergei Fedorov, Alexander Radulov and Alexei Morozov.

Fedorov: On June 25^th 2009 Sergei Fedorov left the NHL and signed a two-year deal with Magnitogorsk of the Kontinental Hockey League. Fedorov is the highest scoring Russian born player of all time with 483 goals. In his first season with Magnitogorsk Fedorov has nine goals and 28 points in 47 games.

Radulov: After a promising 2005-2006 campaign in the QMJHL where he scored 152 points as a member of the Quebec Remparts, it looked like Alexander Radulov had a promising NHL career ahead of him. However, after only two seasons as a member of the Nashville Predators, he signed a three-year deal with Salavat Yulaev Ufa of the KHL even though he was under contract with the Predators for one more season. An article in USA Today in 2008 quoted Predators GM Dave Poile saying that he would be extremely surprised if Radulov didn’t return to the NHL at some point. Nearly two years later Radulov is still playing for Ufa.

Morozov: After playing seven years as a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins and scoring 84 goals from 1997-2004 Alexei Morozov went to play for Kazan Ak-Bars in Russia during the NHL lockout. Morozov never returned to the NHL even though rumors over the past few

years have suggested that the Penguins 25^th overall pick from 1995 might make an NHL return. In six seasons with Kazan Ak-Bars Morozov has tallied 161 goals and 354 points.

Playing for Czech Republic: Jaromir Jagr and Petr Cajanek

Jagr: Arguably the most prominent non-NHL player in the world Jaromir Jagr left the NHL in 2008 when dedcided to pursue a career in the KHL. He signed a two year contract with Avangard Omsk and led his team in points in the 2008-2009 season with 53 in 55 games. Jagr recently made headlines in North America when a series of fights during a game between Avangard Osmk and Vityaz Chekov resulted in 691 total penalty minutes and a calling of the game. To this day Jagr is one of the most prolific NHL goal scorers to ever play andis 12^th all time with 646 career goals.

Cajanek: A brief stint in the NHL saw Petr Cajanaek spend four seasons in St. Louis from 2002-2007. Never known as a flashy player Cajanek chipped in every once in a while scoring a career high 15 goals in 2006-2007. However, Cajanek was waived the following season and with no offers from other NHL teams he moved to play in the Russian Super League and now plays for St. Petersburg of the KHL where’s he’s reached 21 goals and 40 points in 46 games.

Playing for Slovakia: Ziggy Palffy

Palffy: After the NHL lockout in 2004-2005 Zigmund Palffy signed a three year contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins worth 13.5 million dollars. But in the midst of the 2005-2006 season Palffy abruptly retired due to a reported shoulder injury. In 2007 Palffy returned to hockey as a member of Skalica HK 36 of the Slovak Extraliga (the highest level of hockey in Slovakia). Palffy had some great seasons in the NHL with back to back 40 plus goal seasons while playing for the New York Islanders in the mid 1990’s and three straight 30 plus goal season’s playing for the L.A Kings in the early 2000’s.

Playing For Sweden: Peter Forsberg

Forsberg: When he was healthy and playing for the Colorado Avalanche in the mid 1990’s and early 2000’s Peter Forsberg was one of the most dangerous players in the NHL. However, after an Art Ross trophy winning season in 2002-2003 injuries began to scratch away at his career. Since the lockout in 2004 Forsberg has never played a full NHL season spending two years as Philadelphia Flyer before being shipped to Nashville to play only seventeen games as a Predator. Since 2008 Forsberg has been back playing for Modo of the Swedish Elite League where he has scored eight goals and tallied 17 points in 14 games.

It will be interesting to see which of these players will make the most impact, improving their countries chances of taking home the gold in Vancouver.

Sidenote: Other former NHLers playing in Vancouver include Jozef Stumpel and Branko Radivojevic (Slovakia) and Niko Kapanen (Finland).

The Flames Are Big Winners in Sundays Blockbuster

Tue, 2 Feb, 2010 07:18:37 GMT

After another winless weekend dropped the Toronto Maple Leafs to last in the Eastern Conference standings, general manager Brian Burke made a couple of big moves to shake up his hockey club who are losers of their last six games.

And the deals Burke made were all the rage in the Toronto media on Sunday, most notably the trade made with Daryl Suter and the Calgary Flames.

The deal which brought big name defenseman Dion Phaneuf, forward Fredrik Sjostrom and prospect defenseman Keith Aulie to Toronto and sent forwards Niklas Hagman, Matt Stajan and Jamal Mayers to Calgary along with defenseman Ian White looked at first to be favored towards Toronto because of the big name they picked up in Phaneuf. However, after a closer glance I’m going to explain why the Flames received the better end of the deal.

Without a doubt the Leafs receive the best player in this deal in the likes of Dion Phaneuf. His physical presence fits into Brian Burke’s philosophy and his booming shot will be a huge benefit for the Leafs power play. He’s proven at just 24 years of age that he can score in excess of 15 goals a season.

But in terms of depth of the deal the Flames cashed in huge.

Matt Stajan has proven that he can score 15 to 20 goals a season and is on pace for 60 points which would be a career high. Not only will Stajan push Daymond Langkow for the number spot at center to play with Jarome Iginla but his acquisition will probably push the likes of Olli Jokinen out of Calgary. There are already rumors swirling about the possibility of Jokinen being shipped to the New York Rangers in exchange for Chris Higgins and Ales Kotalik.

Along with Stajan up front comes winger Nik Hagman who will add some scoring on the wing where the Flames haven’t had much other then Iginla and Rene Bourque. Hagman scored his 20^th goal in a loss to the L.A Kings on January 26^th. This marks the third straight season where Hagman has scored 20 or more goals.

On the back end the Flames added Ian White, who has really made a name for himself in Toronto this season. Although he may be unknown in other hockey markets White was arguably the Leafs top defenseman this season. At many points of the season he was the only plus rated player and was logging the minutes of a number one or two defenseman averaging 23:46 minutes a game. White has also scored nine goals this season and got a lot of opportunity on the Toronto power play.

The Flames also added Jamal Mayers who brings a major physical presence as well as a lot of penalty kill experience which the Flames lost in Fredrik Sjostrom.

In getting rid of Phaneuf yes the Flames lose a big time young defenseman but it almost seemed like there wasn’t room for an offensive, expensive defenseman like Phaneuf on the Flames roster. Jay Bouwmeester and Robyn Regehr make a combined 10.5 million dollars this season and Mark Giordano has proven he can log the minutes of a top four NHL defenseman averaging close to 21 minutes per game as well as chip in offensively. He already has eight goals and 15 helpers this season.

So yes at the end of the day the Leafs end up with a big name player, but the Flames add major depth and secondary scoring with their acquisitions from the Leafs.

Acquisitions that without a doubt will spring the Flames back into a playoff spot in the Western Conference.

Fighting Hart

Thu, 7 Jan, 2010 07:58:27 GMT

So after a hiatus of about three full months “The D League” is back blogging for the sports page network. So lets get right to it.

It’s been an eventful first half of the NHL season; we’ve seen broken records, fired coaches and an abundance of stars injured. But with the season half gone there’s no better time then now to decide who the leagues MVP is thus far.

And the nominees are:

Marian Gaborik, New York Rangers: For all of his nine years in the NHL Gaborik has been seen as a tremendous offensive talent who has been plagued by injuries. The ultimate question has always been what can he do with a full season of play under his belt? Especially since in just 17 games last season he notched 13 goals and 23 points.

Well since being picked up by the New York Rangers this past off season Gaborik has proved himself to be an elite NHL forward leading the league in goals with 28 and second in the league in points with 53. Ranger fans knock on wood because a healthy Gaborik would make him one of a handful of game breakers in the NHL.

Ryan Miller, Buffalo Sabres: Believe it or not, only one goalie ever has managed to capture the Hart Trophy, that being Jose Theodore in 2001-2002 after a remarkable season in Montreal. But Ryan Millers numbers this season speak large dividends as to why the Buffalo Sabres goaltender should get serious consideration for the trophy.

Millers save percentage (.934), goals against average (2.05) and shutouts (5) are all number one in the league for goaltenders who have played the majority of their clubs games. (Boston Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask technically holds the top GAA in the league with 1.92 but he’s only started 17 games.) Also Miller’s 24 wins is second among all goaltenders to only New Jersey Devils, Martin Brodeur who’s 27 wins leads the league.

Henrik Sedin: I had an extremely tough time choosing a third candidate for the award for the obvious reason that Joe Thornton is tied for the leagues lead in points with Henrik Sedin at 58.

But, at the end of the day what separated Sedin from Thornton is the division of goals and assists between the two players. Both primarily play makers Sedin has shown a stronger ability to put the puck in the net then his counterpart. Also, most experts would have figured that Sedin would have struggled when his brother Daniel was injured early in the season but Henrik averaged a point a game in his brothers 18 game absence. What would happen if you took Heatley away from Thornton?

At the end of the day both are great players but I felt Sedin was more worthy of the nomination.

My mid-season hart trophy winner: Ryan Miller. Sabres fans just pray that Miller doesn’t fall off the face of the planet like Jose Theodore did after he won the Hart with Montreal in 2002.

What does everybody else think?

Post a comment below with your nominees and winner.

Guest Column: Looking Ahead In NCAA Football

Fri, 20 Nov, 2009 07:26:46 GMT

The NCAA football schedule hits Week 12 and already attention is focused on the SEC Championship game, to be played a couple of weeks from now. It will, barring a complete disaster, be a matchup between the #1 Florida Gators and the #2 Alabama Crimson Tide. This sports betting website currently has the Gators as the odds-on favorite to win the SEC at 5/9, with Alabama sporting odds of 7/5.

The BCSí Top 5 teams remain unchanged from the week previous with the Gators at the top, the Tide No. 2 and the Texas Longhorns, TCU Horned Frogs and Cincinnati Bearcats rounding out the Top 5 in that order.

Florida hasnít deviated from top spot since the BCS rankings first came out a little over a month ago and with two more easy games before the conference championship, there is no reason why the Gators shouldnít remain at the top of the BCS rankings heading into the big game.

This week, Florida has a tilt against the Florida International Golden PanthersÖthis should be a blowout. It is one of the biggest pointspread margins of the season with, sports betting sites listing the Gators as 43-point favorites.

Florida is currently riding an 11-game straight up winning streak. They have recorded a mark of 9-5-1 ATS the last 15 times theyíve been listed as a favorite of 8 points or more, but theyíre only 2-5-1 ATS in the last eight in that spread range. Although 43 points is a wild spread to ask a team to cover.

Sports bettors are still enamored with the #1 team in the nation, as 74% of all the betting volume on this is laying the 43 points.

A quick note on the Total in this one: the last eight times the Gators have been favored by eight points or more, they have a mark of 1 Over, 6 Unders and 1 Push.

The Gators should be able to get by FSU the week after when the cross-state rivals meet.

Since 1995, Florida is 5-2 ATS in seven home games against the Seminoles.

All signs point to the Gators being undefeated going into the early-December SEC title match against Alabama.

With the exception of a blip in early-November, Alabama has been a constant in the BCSí two-spot this season.

The Tide also have a powder-puff game this coming week against Chattanooga, but looking ahead, there could have trouble vs. the Auburn Tigers during Thanksgiving weekend.

ëBama has struggled in its last eight games against Auburn, going 2-6 SU (these two have recorded 2 Overs and 6 Unders in those games).

In the Tideís last seven road games against the Tigers however, they may be 2-5 SU but are 5-2 ATS.

Alabama has been a great road team in its last nine overall away games, going 8-1 SU and an impressive 8-1 ATS.

This much-anticipated SEC Championship matchup in a couple of weeks will be the biggest game of the year so far in college football.

Good luck this weekend.

YouTube's Latest Sensation And A Coaching Protege

Mon, 5 Oct, 2009 03:31:07 GMT

In 2006 the hockey world was introduced to Brendan Peters otherwise known as “mini kipper,” an 11-year-old boy who lives in Calgary and became famous from copying anything and everything Calgary Flames goaltender, Mikka Kiprusoff did. (click here to see “mini kipper”)

But recently the world has been introduced to a new sports impersonator, Josh Sacco.

Sacco has become the latest YouTube sensation with his impersonation Kurt Russell’s (who plays famous coach Herb Brooks in the movie Miracle) speech to the U.S Olympic hockey team before upsetting the Soviet Union in 1980.

A four-year-old toddler, from Spring Hill, Tennessee, a town just outside of Nashville, Josh enjoys the movie Miracle so much that has seen it close to 150 times.

In his rendition, Josh hits the mark on everything that Kurt Russell has to offer, from the pat on Jack O’Callahan’s back (Saaco pats his air hockey table) to the beige sport jacket and powder blue button down shirt.

The only thing the kid seems to be missing is Russell’s comb over style haircut and his illustrious plaid pants. Maybe a pair of checkered Joe Boxer pajama pants would have sufficed for Josh.

The video, which is posted on YouTube has reached over 700,000 views and 539 comments.

And it doesn’t stop there, The Ellen Degeneres show as well as the Sports Illustrated and USA Today web sites have featured the video too.

Not to mention that The Minnesota Wild and The University of Minnesota have contacted Jim, and the Nashville Predators invited Josh to recreate the speech for a scoreboard video that will debut during the team's home opener on October 8^th.

One of the most impressive parts about Rizzo’s (Josh’s nickname, after 1980 U.S Olympic captain Mike Eruzione) interpretation of Russell is that he is unable to even read yet. Meaning that there was no speech coach or script to help Josh along the way.

But what’s next for Josh?

Well with the 2010 Winter Olympics only months away and the U.S hockey team skating is as an underdog, maybe they need a little Josh Sacco to push them in the right direction.

“Tonight we skate wif em. Tonight we stay wif em and we shut them down because we can.” – Josh Saaco.

Click here to check out the video, its sure to make your day.

Pulling The Plug On Toskala This Early Would Be Wrong Move For Leafs

Fri, 2 Oct, 2009 08:32:06 GMT

Let me start by giving Toronto Maple Leaf fans a little flashback. Two years ago, Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price was a rookie and was given the reigns of the Canadiens after general manager Bob Gainey traded starter goalie Cristobal Huet to the Washington Capitals.

Few questioned the move of trading Huet because Price was seen as the next golden boy in goal for the Canadiens. In fact, an article posted on NHL.com in 2008 compared Price to Patrick Roy. Roy is arguably the greatest goaltender to ever play the game.

The same season that Huet left Montreal, Price nearly led the first seeded Canadiens to a first round exit in the playoffs when the Canadiens nearly lost to the eighth seeded, Boston Bruins in game seven.

But few called out the rookie goaltender because it was his first ever playoff series.

But in 2008-2009 Price showed little signs of improvement, his 23 wins was 23rd among NHL starting goaltenders and his save percentage of .905 was 26th among NHL goaltenders who played more then 40 games.

And it didn’t take the Montreal faithful long to turn against Price once the playoffs came around. In the second period of game four in the first round against the Boston Bruins, Montreal fans cheered sarcastically when Price made a stop on a dump in from Boston after already allowing three goals. Price finished the series 0-4 with a 4.11 GAA and a .878 save percentage. Disastrous numbers to say the least from a goalie who was supposed to be leading factor to the Canadiens success.

Moral of the story is that Price faltered under the immense pressure in Montreal and was made the starting goaltender in 2008 after only 26 NHL career games played.

Now how does this relate to the Toronto Maple Leafs?

Well after a tough loss last night ironically to Carey Price and the Montreal Canadiens Leaf fans are already calling into radio stations saying that they want starting goaltender Vesa Toskala out and young backup Jonas Gustavsson in.

I say that’s the wrong answer.

If the Leafs pull the plug this early on Toskala and Jonas Gustavsson plays great, Brian Burke is left to deal with a four million dollar back up goaltender in Toskala who he can’t move.

Leaf fans who like Gustavsson should be hoping that Toskala plays the first chunk of the season and plays well so he can give himself some value and making it easier for Brian Burke to move him later on in the year if they choose to go with Gustavsson as their number one goaltender.

And even if Burke is able to move Toskala things can still go south. Leaf fans need to be aware of the possibility of Gustavsson folding under the pressure of playing in Toronto, much like what Carey Price has done in Montreal over the past two years.

Then you’re left with no goalie.

The only way to handle this situation it seems is to give both goaltenders a chunk of games. If after that Brian Burke and Ron Wilson are convinced that Gustavsson is the starting goalie that’s a situation you deal with when the time comes.

But to say Toskala needs to get out of the net after one poor performance is simply ridiculous and unfair.

And even more ridiculous is to say that Jonas Gustavsson deserves to come in as the starter, he has yet to play a full NHL game!

So Leaf fans before you start to hop on the Gustavsson bandwagon maybe you want to watch him play a real game first.

Kessel Gamble Should Pay Off For Leafs

Sat, 3 Oct, 2009 02:58:55 GMT

Guest Column - By: Adam Halberstadt

The rumors had been circulating for months. Ever since the fall through of the draft day deal between the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs involving Phil Kessel, you just knew that Toronto Maple Leafs GM, Brian Burke wasn’t finished in his pursuit of Kessel.

In the days leading up to the draft in late June, the media was abuzz with rumors surrounding a potential trade that would see the Maple Leafs ship veteran defenceman Tomas Kaberle to the Bruins in exchange for 21 year old winger Phil Kessel. However, miscommunication between the two teams caused the potential deal to collapse, and Kessel - a restricted free agent coming off a career-best 36-goal campaign – proceed to negotiate a new deal with the Boston Bruins.

In the days leading up to training camp, the media learned that the Kessel negotiations had come to a standstill and it seemed as though a deal with the Bruins and Kessel would not be consummated in the near future.

This was all Brian Burke needed to hear. As with the John Tavares sweepstakes, Burke made it open to the media that Phil Kessel was a player whom he believed fit the build of the top line forward he had been searching for in the off-season. After an attempt at signing unrestricted free agent forward Michael Cammalleri was unsuccessful, Burke was unable to land a top six forward to help strengthen the Maple Leafs scoring depth. However, with the opportunity to now pursue a trade or sign restricted free agent Kessel to an offer sheet, Burke was not going to let the chance slip through the cracks.

In the end, Burke was able to pry Kessel out of Boston, but at a steep price. He mortgaged the Leafs future by trading a first round pick and a second round pick in next years draft as well as a first round pick in the 2011 draft. News of the trade left Leafs Nation with mixed feelings. Kessel was indeed the player Toronto desperately needed but the fact that it took three draft choices to land the speedy winger created cause for concern, as it seemed as though it was a case of history repeating itself in Leaf land. (trading away the future that is)

But to put things into perspective, let us keep a few things in mind. Kessel is only 21 and is coming off a 36-goal season, not to mention he did it in only 70 games. He was drafted 5^th overall in 2006 and has already played three full years at the NHL level. This isn’t another Owen Nolan or Brian Leech scenario where first round picks and prospects were exchanged for a superstar on the decline. This kid is young, quick and has plenty of goals - and years - ahead of him.

First round picks are not always a sure thing, especially when they occur late in the round. Brian Burke is a true believer that Kessel is one of the missing pieces to the puzzle, and the picks that the Bruins have received will not be in the top 10.

Burke was brought into Toronto and given full autonomy because he has a track record of taking risks that proved successful. Let’s all have a little faith and trust that Burke and his staff have made the right decision. We all know it would be a hell of a lot worse if a GM like Bryan Murray were at the helm, because in the situation of the Ottawa Senators, a lack of risk taking has turned a Stanley Cup contending team into one still searching for an identity.

Giving John Ferguson Some Thanks

Wed, 30 Sep, 2009 03:42:49 GMT

Ok Leaf fans don’t exit the screen just yet, here me out first.

Like most other Maple Leaf fans from about 2004-2008 I wanted to pull my hair out at almost every transaction former GM, John Ferguson Jr. made. Andrew Raycroft, Jason Allison, Jeff O’neill, Eric Lindros, Brian Leetch as well as many others were players picked up by Ferguson and all were basically disasters or were signs of plain bad managing.

Raycroft was as good as having Carlton the Bear in between the pipes, Jason Allison was as speedy former Toronto Raptor, Oliver Miller (if you don’t remember Miller click here for a photo and you can picture how fast he was on the hardwood) and Brian Leetch’s tenure in Toronto was as almost as long as Alonzo Mourning’s.

Yes, I could go on for days about Tuukka Raske away for Justin, unloading 10 draft picks (including three first rounders) and giving Pavel Kubina, Tomas Kaberle, Mats Sundin and Darcy Tucker no trade clauses, but why bother?

Ferguson is gone and finally the Leafs are moving in the right direction. And I don’t think I’m alone when I say the pre season has been a breath of fresh air watching the young kids dominate all over the ice.

But where did they all come from?

Yes, Christian Hanson and Tyler Bozak were picked up by Brian Burke near the end of last year and Nazem Kadri was drafted 7^th overall this past summer, but what about the others?

After all, as of right now only one of the so called “kids” has gotten the nod from coach Ron Wilson to be a part of the lineup come the season opener on Thursday.

Forward, Viktor Stalberg who scored six pre season goals for the Leafs.

Another so called “kid” made a name for himself on the back end even with the strong forces they already have. Carl Gunnarsson, who had a goal, an assist and was a +3 in eight preseason games.

But where did these two “kids” come from?

Stalberg, 23 and Gunnarsson, 22 are both to old to have been drafted this past summer or even the summer before that when Cliff Fletcher was in control.

For those of you who haven’t been able to figure it out here’s a hint, JFJ.

John Ferguson drafted both Stalberg and Gunnarsson while GM of the Leafs. Unfortunately Ferguson didn’t hang on to his job long enough for him to watch both of them develop.

So I guess no matter how many mistakes Ferguson made, as we look to the present, with Stalberg rumored to be playing on the top line with Stajan and Blake and Gunnarson most likely a top the Toronto Marlies defense core I guess we kind of have to say…

Thanks John.

Islanders Reportedly Giving Rob Schremp A Chance

Tue, 29 Sep, 2009 05:52:18 GMT

Rob Schremp was once one of the most exciting players to dawn a London Knights uniform. But since being drafted by the Edmonton Oilers 25th overall in the 2004 draft, Schremp hasn't been able to crack the Edmonton Oilers lineup as a regular.

Schremp was most recently cut by Edmonton two days ago after a 5-4 overtime win against the Vancouver Canucks.

"We just had quite a few similar players," said Edmonton head coach Pat Quinn on cutting Schremp." We are trying to change our appearance here and get some size and grit in our lineup and that was a factor in our decisions."

Quinn's decision would send the 23 year old Schremp back to the Oilers Springfield affiliate for the third year in a row, a team that he led in 2007-2008 with 76 points.

So Schremp's NHL hopes for 2009-2010 looked to be over but the New York Islanders have reportedly given the speedy and flashy forward a chance.

The Islanders are a young team in the rebuilding process and could be a perfect environment for Schremp to learn and develop from veteran Doug Weight as well as young forwards John Tavares, Kyle Okposo and Josh Bailey among others.

In 2005-2006 Schremp led all OHL scorers with 145 points. Below him were current NHLers such as Wojtek Wolski, Bryan Little, Bobby Ryan and then teammate David Bolland.

More so then his in game talent, Schremp is most known for his jaw dropping shootout skills which took the You Tube world by storm just a few years ago.

Click here to see for yourself. (fast forward to about 30 seconds.)

He's Still Got It: Favre Leads Vikings To Victory In Dramatic Fashion

Sun, 27 Sep, 2009 09:03:35 GMT

With 10 seconds left in the 4th quarter and the Minnesota Vikings down by three to the San Francisco 49ers, Viking quarterback Brett Favre gave Minnesota fans a little magic.

With the ball on the San Francisco 32 yard line, Favre aired it out to receiver, Greg Lewis who was in double coverage. Lewis leaped somehow came down with the ball in the back of the endzone and was able to drag his right foot down for a touchdown.

The touchdown pass capped off an 80 yard drive that had the Vikings march from their own 20 yard line in just 87 seconds.

Favre's touchdown pass was his second on the day, put his passing yards to just over 300 in the game and improved the Vikings record to 3-0 in the 2009-2010 season.

The 49ers saw star running back Frank Gore go down early in the game with an ankle injury after only rushing the ball once for four yards. Gore was coming off an incredible game against the Seattle Seahawks where he rushed for 207 yards.

The loss is the 49ers first of the season as they fall to 2-1.

Next Monday night Favre will be at the center of attention when the Vikings take on his former team the Green Bay Pakers.

The Great One Steps Away From One Great Big Hockey Mess

Fri, 25 Sep, 2009 05:25:35 GMT

He holds or shares 61 NHL records; he’s won four Stanley Cups, an Olympic gold medal (as GM in 2002); he’s a 10-time Art Ross Trophy winner, a nine-time Hart Trophy winner, and an 18-time NHL All Star.

He is the greatest player to ever lace up the skates or strap on a helmet, period!

But after four years behind the Coyotes bench as head coach, finishing with an overall record of 141-163-24 and months of rumors towards Gretzky leaving the Coyotes, today Wayne stepped down.

The reason behind his resignation is simple: The fact is no matter how this Phoenix bankruptcy matter works itself out, neither side had Gretzky as the future head coach. Wayne saw stepping down as the best way to move forward.

But how did he fare as a head coach in the NHL?

Some would say he failed just by looking at his losing record as head coach of the Coyotes. But, look back to the middle of January last year. The Coyotes sat in fifth place in the Western Conference and Gretzky’s name was being said in the same sentence as coaches like Claude Julien, with regards to Jack Adams nominees.

You don’t just get thrown into the mix of Jack Adams nominees without proving yourself as a legitimate head coach.

Wayne Gretzky was developing himself as a head coach. As Bill Watters put it on the FAN 590 radio show earlier today, “Wayne was a work-in-progress; he was learning on the job.”

With Gretzky still on the helm and 19 million dollars in cap space still available to the Coyotes, they could have continued to build towards success in 2009-2010.

But instead, Gretzky’s resignation digs them into a larger (of what already was) a massive hole in the ground.

The Next Step for Gretzky

I think at this point Wayne needs to take a back seat for a few days, and as Bill Watters stated, “I can bet that there will be owners lined up to try and align Wayne Gretzky with their organization within the next couple of days.”

So whether it be a front office job or an associate coaching job, Wayne will not be far from the game for long, and soon enough the opportunity will come for Wayne to be the bench boss of an NHL team.

Hopefully that team will have less baggage then the Phoenix Coyotes.

And after seeing what he can do behind the bench of another franchise, we will then be able to judge his coaching abilities.

How To Get Into Your Opponent's Head When Playing Poker

Tue, 22 Sep, 2009 07:30:17 GMT

In the game of poker there are many variables that affect how well you play, and how often you come up with winning the pot. One aspect that can control is body language and getting into your opponents head.

The most common way to get into you opponents head when playing poker is to differentiate your body language. Some players who play in person and at tables will wear articles of clothing and accessories such as sunglasses to try and get into their opponents head.

The most effective way to change your opponent’s outlook of your playing style is to do something irrational, something that up until this hand has been an uncommon characteristic of you. This could be anything from looking at your cards, flashing a smile and adding a raise, commonly known as a bluff. Doing this will have your opponent questioning themselves and the quality of their hand. Making the smile near the end of the turn, or during your opponents turn will have a much more damaging effect on them.

If you are an online player, and take advantage of the poker tournaments online you can do things such as making quick calls or raises. Taking no time at all to determine your next move. An alternative to this method is to take longer than necessary to choose your next move, this will have them wondering why you are taking so long, and maybe this person is thinking everything through before they move. Likewise with the quick calls your opponent will question how this person is so confident in their cards and playing ability that they can make a decision in a split second.

If there is an online messaging system built into your online poker playing website you have the choice of words to get into your opponents head. Saying things such as this is a good hand, or anything along those lines will definitely have your opponent questioning your methods and current cards. You don't want to so anything provocative, that is an unprofessional and unclassworthy way to alter your opponent, and will most likely result in your banishment from the tournament and website.

So overall if you are playing in person, or online, there are various tricks and tips that will help you get into your opponents head, and make winning so much easier. Remember body language and varying your style to get the best results.

Lack of Ball Possession Doesn't Stop Manning In Win Over Phins

Tue, 22 Sep, 2009 02:05:47 GMT

With three minutes and forty four seconds left in the fourth quarter, Indianapolis Colts reigning MVP quarterback, Peyton Manning put together a quick 80 yard drive to put the Colts up 27-23.

Although Manning stole the show late in the fourth quarter, the game had a ton of action from the Dolphins offense as well.

Courtesy of Miami's infamous "wildcat offense" running backs, Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams were able to rush for a combined 205 yards and two touchdowns. (Both by Brown)

Dolphins quarterback Chad Pennington looked decent in the loss completing 33 passes for for 183 yards but he was unable to manufacture any big plays and that is partially at the fault of his receivers. With 35 seconds left in the fourth quarter Pennington aired out a pass to Ted Ginn in the endzone but the ball slipped through the receivers finger tips.

Colts tight end, Dallas Clarke set a career high for receiving yards tonight with 183 including an 80 yard reception for a touch down on the very first play of the game.

Even though the Colts offense only had possession of the football for just over 13 minutes (less then 1/4 of the game) they were still able to improve to 2-0 this season.As for the Dolphins, they fall to 0-2 and look for their first win Sunday against the the San Diego Chargers.

New NFL Merchandise For Your Favorite Team

Fri, 18 Sep, 2009 06:49:24 GMT

As the NFL season gets into full swing each fan tries to come up with more and more ways to show their favorite team's true colors.

Well the people of Accessory Geeks can be of major help.

Visit www.accessorygeeks.com and check out the latest NFL team styles for your Ipod.

Kimbo Slice's Road To Redemption Begins Tonight

Wed, 16 Sep, 2009 09:18:07 GMT

It was just under a year ago that the YouTube fighting sensation, Kimbo Slice lost to Seth Putruzelli by knockout, in a fight a part of CBS Saturday Night Fights. The match lasted 14 seconds.

Putruzelli was not even supposed to be Slice’s opponent in the match, but an eye injury to Ken Shamrock (his original opponent) forced Putruzelli to step in and fight Kimbo.

At that moment in time Slice was a fighter for the Elite XC, but just weeks after his loss to Putruzelli the company went bankrupt and Slice was left on the outside of the fighting world looking in.

Slice’s fighting career didn’t begin in the ring of the Elite XC, in fact his debut in Elite XC wasn’t until November, 2007. His career began on the streets… literally. In 2003 he began fighting in unsanctioned street fights in which he brutally beat down his opponents. These fights were taped and circulated the Internet through You Tube.

When asked about Kimbo Slice, President of the UFC, (Ultimate Fighting Championship) Dana White stated that if Kimbo ever wanted to fight in the UFC he would have to go through the Ultimate Fighter television show and win it.

The Ultimate Fighter has been through nine seasons on national television and has seen fighters like Michael Bisping, Forest Griffin, Matt Serra and Rashad Evans become stars in the UFC, beginning with winning the Ultimate Fighter series.

Tonight is the premiere of The Ultimate Fighter season 10: Heavyweights and the list of 16 fighters among Kimbo Slice includes four former NFL players and the former IFL (International Fight League) heavyweight champion.

The 16 fighters will be divided up into two teams, one coached by former Light Heavyweight champion and former Ultimate Fighter winner, Rashad Evans and the other will be coached former Light Heavyweight champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson.

Is Slice’s addition to the show simply a ratings grab by UFC commissioner Dana White, or can Kimbo prove to the world that he is a true Ultimate Fighter.

Tune in tonight to find out.

Tom's Tremendous Touch Leads Pats

Tue, 15 Sep, 2009 05:02:55 GMT

It was only one year ago that New England Patriots quarterback, Tom Brady went down with a torn ACL and MCL in the Patriots opener against the Kansas City Chiefs.

The injury had him miss the entire 2008-2009 season and had the Patriots miss the playoffs for the first time in six seasons.

Tonight, on the 40^th anniversary of Monday Night Football and the 50^thanniversary of the New England Patriots, the spotlight was back on Brady and he performed in dramatic fashion.

In a game that some thought would be a romp in the Patriots favour looked to be finishing quite the opposite with Trent Edwards and the Buffalo Bills leading 24-13 with just over five minutes remaining in the game.

That’s when Brady took over.

In just over three minutes, Brady drove the Patriots down to the Bills 18 yard line and threw a zinger to open receiver Benjamin Watson in the back of the end zone.

A missed two-point conversion put the score at 24-19 Bills and meant the Patriots needed the ball back and a touchdown to give them a chance to win.

It was shortly after that Bills kick returner, Leodis McKelvin fumbled on the kick off giving the Patriots the ball back on the Bills 31 yard line, with under two minutes left, and Brady the opportunity to harness a victory.

Brady capitalized; hitting Benjamin Watson again over the middle with 50 seconds left giving the Pats a 25-24 lead.

And the Bills inability to put together a quick offensive drive and get into field goal range gave the Patriots a big opening victory.

Although Brady’s numbers were solid, throwing for 378 yards and two touchdown passes, his game was far from perfect as he failed to throw the deep ball.

But when it counted Brady performed at an MVP caliber.

In other notes:

Trent Edwards looked solid for Buffalo throwing 212 yards and two touchdowns.
Wes Welker proved to be one of Brady’s favorite targets making 12 catches for 93 yards.
In the battle of #81, Randy Moss proved to be the better receiver tonight, making 12 catches for 141 yards compared to Terrell Owens one catch for 27 yards.

Dammit Terrell I had my popcorn ready.

Derek Jeter: Making History On A Historic Day

Fri, 11 Sep, 2009 07:25:43 GMT

I remember it vividly. I was in my sixth grade gym class when our gym teacher got a phone call. We were young, so hearing a phone ring in the middle of class was unusual and the class broke into laughter as we listened to the teachers ring tone go off.

He walked back into the gym after being on the phone for a little over a minute with a distraught look in his face. “A plane just crashed into one of the Twin Towers,” he said in his deep Yugoslavian accent.

It was Sept. 11th, 2001.

I was only ten years old at the time so I was not big on watching the news but I remember not being able to take my eyes off CNN that day as over and over they played the clip of the two planes crashing into the towers.

For weeks they had memorials, ceremonies, and moments of silence for those who had gone missing or been killed in the terrorist attack. But no ceremony sticks out more to me now than the one on Sept. 26th, 2001.

It was the first game the Yankees had at home since the attacks, so New York mayor, Rudy Guiliani joined members of the FDNY and NYPD on the field of Yankee Stadium for a pre-game ceremony. They were given a “boisterous ovation” as Sports Illustrated described it, from the 33,777 Yankee fans who gathered at Yankee Stadium that night.

I’m sure the millions watching at home were on their feet too.

They say sport has the power to bring people together in times of tragedy and that night was a prime example.

Where else could close to 35,000 New Yorkers get together in one place to cheer for the heroes of their city and watch a team that they all love dearly?

Eight years later on the anniversary of Sept. 11th, baseball fans have the opportunity to tune in and watch history in the making.

On Wednesday, Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter tied Yankee legend Lou Gehrig’s hit record at 2,721, tying the two for most career hits as a New York Yankee.

So tonight as we remember the tragedy of eight years past, New Yorkers and baseball fans alike can also celebrate as we watch one of the best and classiest players of our time attempt to break an extremely meaningful record.

As Gehrig's famous saying goes, "today I consider myself the luckiest man in the world."

All of us watching tonight should consider ourselves lucky too.

Fantasy Hockey: Who Do You Have At Number Four?

Thu, 10 Sep, 2009 04:51:41 GMT

What I love about a hockey pool isn’t drawing the first or second pick and inking either Alex Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin to my roster (although I’ll happily take any of those three.)

Personally, I love when the grind begins. During the 7th, 8th, 9th or even 10th round of your draft depending on how many people are in your league. Drafting a player like Marc Savard in 2005 (when he was a nobody) at the point in the draft when some feel the picks don’t matter, and then watching Savard have a career year, performing better fantasy wise then even your first pick... Yes that actually happened to me.

But this season "the grind" may get going a little bit faster then usual, quite frankly faster then you can count to the number four.

You don’t have to be a big hockey fan to know that 1,2,3 in a fantasy draft is going to go Ovechkin, Crosby, Malkin (in no particular order) but after that its anybody’s guess… even those of us who consider ourselves big hockey fans.

So since the busiest people in the NHL during the summer are the General Managers we’re going to give them a break and you’re going to take your best shot at being a GM.

Your one job, deciding who to pick fourth in a fantasy hockey pool.

To make this a little fun after reading this article please take a quick second to answer the poll question on the right side with the player you would pick fourth in a draft from the list provided. (If you're reading this on Dustin's D League site just click the link below to complete the poll.)

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/251804-fantasy-hockey-who-do-you-have-at-number-four

So without further adieu, your options.

Option 1: Ryan Getzlaf

In just four NHL seasons Getzlaf has gone from a work in progress to a star in full stride. Last season he tallied a career high of 91 points, and led the 8th seeded Ducks to the western conference finals.

But what makes him stand out from the others? Well at just 24 years old Getzlaf has already hoisted the Stanley Cup and a pattern in his career numbers show that his point totals increase significantly season by season. Maybe 2009 is Getzlaf’s 100-point campaign.

However Getzlaf does have some negative side in the fantasy world for those of you who play with goals worth more then assists. Getzlaf has yet to break the 30 goal plateau in his career, 25 being his career high.

Option 2: Zach Parise

The young speedy forward iced almost every one of his career totals with 94 points last season leading a fresh new trend in New Jersey… Goal scoring. Like Getzlaf, Parise’s numbers have increased significantly season by season and his +/- in 08/09 was 7th among all NHL skaters at +30.

What separates Parise from the rest is his natural ability to score goals. His 45 goals last season was 3rd among all NHLers. Also injury has yet to plague Parise, in his four seasons he has just missed two regular season games.

Unfortunately the Devils fresh style of play could be shut down as defensive specialist Jaques Lemaire has taken over behind the bench. Lemaire’s trap approach to the game could cut down on the Devils time in the offensive zone and thus chip away at Parise’s offensive numbers.

Option 3: Ilya Kovalchuk

The Russian sniper has been an elite NHL goal scorer since his rookie career when he tallied 29 goals in just 65 games. Since then we’ve seen Kovalchuk score 40 plus goals five times over the last six seasons.

What separates Kovalchuk from the stars is the fact that he’s in a contract year and we all know how players put in extra jump in their game when they know it will pay big dividends in dollars at the end of the season.

Unfortunately Kovalchuk falters from being on a bottom feeder team. Never in his career has Kovalchuk been a plus in the +/- category and I doubt this year will be any different. If you were curious, his career total in that category is a -85.

Option 4: Jarome Iginla

Arguably the most all around player in fantasy hockey Iginla seems to grind his way to glory year in and year out. He has scored 35 plus goals in each of the last seven seasons.

His ability to consistently perform on the power play is what gives him an extra stride. His 291 career power play points gives him the edge in fantasy leagues that score power play points as worth more then even strength points.

However, experts are saying that no Mike Cammalleri could be a detriment to Iginla’s offensive numbers. As well last season was the first time since 2003 that Iginla has fallen into the minus category in +/-.

Option 5: Pavel Datsyuk

When you’re playing in a winning environment, odds are you’re going to play like a winner and there is no doubt that that has been the case for Detroit Red Wings star forward, Pavel Datsyuk. For three straight years Datsyuk has had 60 plus assists and his +/- last season was third in the NHL at +34.

His defensive abilities are unlike some other snipers within the NHL. He plays in the defensive zone with the same intensity that he does in the offensive zone. That ability leads to more ice time that sometimes can translate into more offensive production.

While other players named above may still have more to prove, Datsyuk may have reached his maximum. As well Datsyuk goes through streaks where he may go a number of games without scoring a single goal.

Option 6: Other

The other selection is more for the poolie who may like taking a top notch goaltender in the first round. Otherwise there are few other names aside from maybe Jeff Carter and Joe Thornton who could be considered as a top eight or nine selection.

In truth any of these guys will make a good 4th pick making your job as GM hard to mess up but please don't follow Yahoo! Sports and take Corey Perry if you pounce on that mystery fourth pick.

Baseball's Golden Boy and Our Generations Last Hope

Wed, 2 Sep, 2009 02:50:20 GMT

Yesterday afternoon Albert Pujols hit his 42^nd homerun of the 2009 season.

But that homerun means so much more then pushing Pujols to 69^th all-time in home runs, it gives baseball fans a glimmer of hope that “hey maybe there is one big time power hitter of our time who isn’t on steroids.”

But then on the other hand maybe he just hasn’t got caught yet.

I don’t mean to take a cheap shot at Pujols because as a sports fan I know important it is for the game of baseball to have a guy like Pujols smashing dingers without cheating but as a sports fan I also know that at this point its hard to believe anybody isn’t shooting up or popping pills in baseball.

But following what Pujols does both on and off the field it would be heart breaking to find out that this guy was cheating.

Pujols first child Isabella was born with Down syndrome and in 2005 him and his wife Deidre launched the Pujols Family Foundation which is dedicated to the love, care and development of people with Down syndrome. As well the Foundation focuses on helping the poor in the Domincan Republic, Pujols home.

The Albert Pujols Wellness Center is scheduled to open this fall, and is dedicated to helping adults with Down syndrome. Pujols also supports the Ronald McDonald House and the Boys and Girls Club of America.

In 2008 Pujols was commended by baseball for his work off the field when he was presented with the Roberto Clemente Award, an award presented to the one player who exemplifies sportsmanship, community involvement and contribution to his team.

On the field Pujols accomplishments are also tough to compare with. In just his ninth season in the majors Pujols sits at 361 homeruns, hitting for 40 plus homeruns in five of those seasons including this season. To put his numbers into perspective, it took Barry Bonds 14 seasons to hit 361 homeruns and Alex Rodriguez 11 seasons. Pujols is also only 29 years old meaning he’s got many years left to try and give Bonds homerun record a run for its money… Legally.

Interestingly enough Pujols home run numbers have consistently stayed above 30 over the course of his career, unlike someone like Barry Bonds. At the beginning of Bonds career he weighed 185 lbs and only hit for 40 plus homeruns twice in his first 10 seasons. By 1997 he weighed 205 lbs and by 2001 (the same year he hit for the record 73 homeruns) Bonds weighed 228 lbs. He stayed that weight to the end of his career and from 1997 to 2007-he hit for 40 plus homeruns seven times.

As for Pujols, there are no exact stats but all you have to do is look at pictures of when he came into the league and look at pictures of him now to see that there has been no significant changes to his body type unlike a Barry Bonds.

Pujols also holds some interesting stats in 2009 that the average baseball fans may not look at. He leads the league with 39 intentional walks, on base percentage (.443) and slugging percentage (.669) For those who care to know slugging percentage is calculated by:

1. Adding up all official at bats. Do not include those at bats that resulted in a walk, sacrifices or hit by pitch.

2. Add up total bases. Total bases are how many bases you reached in all the times you hit safely.

3. Divide total bases by official at bats.

The equation basically calculates how powerful the hitter is, the record being held by Barry Bonds (.863) who set it in 2001. Pujols has led the league in this category three of the last four years.

When asked about Pujols, Kansas City Royals ace pitcher Zach Greinke simply said, “You come to learn that every hitter is human, except Pujols.”

So as Pujols tries to capture his 3^rd NL MVP and first homerun title, baseball fans, sit at home and pray that this one didn’t cheat.

Steve Yzerman: One Of Few Rising Stars In The Front Office

Mon, 31 Aug, 2009 02:59:49 GMT

With NHL free agency settling down over the last few weeks, one of the hot topics of conversation within the hockey world seems to be the 2010 Olympics, and in my hometown its all about Team Canada.

Over the past week 40 or so Canadian players have tried to impress the coaching staff and upper management of Team Canada to try and ice one of the 20 plus roster spots for Vancouver 2010.

But rather then giving my predictions of who’s going to make the squad and who’s not, I thought I’d look at someone involved with Team Canada who is working his way up to one day being a prime NHL general manager.

Steve Yzerman.

What were once the stars of my generation on the ice are now becoming the men in suits who we see quick flashes of during games sitting up in the executive boxes. Brett Hull, Steve Yzerman, Joe Nieuwendyk and most recently Mark Messier just to name a few.

Yzerman seems to be getting all the necessary credentials that will eventually put him in charge of an NHL franchise. He currently serves as the Vice President of the Detroit Red Wings, working with the NHL’s top GM, Ken Holland, and is the executive director for Team Canada 2010. He also captured gold as the GM of Team Canada at the IIHF World Championships in 2007.

But Brett Hull seems to be the only one of the four I mentioned earlier with at least a season of GM experience that being with the Dallas Stars from 2007-2009. (Nieuwendyk has taken over the position) However, he never seemed to be in the sports news doing very much positive during his tenure.

For one, Hull took major heat last season after his Sean Avery signing went sour. According to Sports Illustrated the Avery signing was considered Hull’s baby after the two were teammates in Detroit and shared a house together. Hull had thought that Avery’s energy would help a Dallas dressing that seemed to be going stale.

Obviously not the case.

Before I start to blabber my main point is that Brett Hull wasn’t fit to be an NHL general manager. After less than a season of front office experience Hull was appointed as co-GM with Les Jackson. It simply wasn’t logical.

But its not only former NHL stars who have struggled in the front office recently, Tampa Bay Lightning owners Steve Koules and Len Barrie are having trouble as well. Since the two took over the Lighting at the end of the 2008 season there have been reports that they've had heated arguments on various subjects such as the future of GM Brian Lawton and star forward Vinny Lecavalier. Former head coach of Tampa Bay, John Tortorella was quoted referring to Barrie and Koules as a couple of cowboys, and the two allegedly lied to former stud defenseman Dan Boyle trading him to San Jose shortly after signing him to a contract extension.

Simply another case of bad management due to lack of experience.

In the past we've seen other people with lack of experience take over NHL franchises such as former Toronto Maple General Manager John Ferguson Jr.

But it’s not all bad the NHL is lucky to have new up and coming faces like Boston Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli who led the Bruins to first place in the Eastern Conference in 09 in just his third season as GM. He is also responsible for bringing in Jack Adams trophy winner Claude Julien.

As well Mark Messier has now stepped into a front office role with the New York Rangers as special assistant to GM Glen Sather.

As for Yzerman, hopefully one day he can leave a legacy performing off ice duties on par to the legacy he left performing on the ice.

A Dramatic Summer To Say The Least

Fri, 28 Aug, 2009 04:39:45 GMT

For me, summertime is the most boring time of the year when it comes to the sports world, because quite frankly, I can’t get my mind invigorated in the game of baseball.

So since baseball takes over summer like anabolic steroids takes over baseball players, there isn’t much left for me to watch other then poker and bowling.

Not taking anything away from tennis or golf, but what kept me entertained in sports this summer was all the drama that occurred both on and off the playing field in all sports.

It's like MTV came in and said that the sports world needed to spice things up for the slow moving summer.

So the same people who brought you The Hills and Laguna Beach decided to bring a show that would just encompass all the sports world had to offer in the summer of 2009 in one six episode mini series called, Lying, Cheating, Stealing and Killing Dogs…The Life of a Pro Athlete.

Episode 1: Homeless

In the heat of NHL free agency, one story seemed to be recurring day after day.

Dany Heatley demanded to be traded from the Ottawa Senators early in July. Despite the shock felt from Senators GM Bryan Murray, he found an offer for Heatley that would move him to the Edmonton Oilers. The trade failed to go through because Heatley rejected it. Close to two months later Heatley is still searching for a new home, but for now he’s stranded in Ottawa. If I were him, I wouldn’t want to step foot in the Senators' dressing room.

Leaving Heatley nothing, but homeless.

Episode 2: Caught Shooting Up

The Major League Baseball steroid saga has gone from crazy to outlandish. First Roger Clemens then Andy Pettitte, then A-Rod, Manny, and now David Ortiz.

Ortiz was among what is now known as "The list" of over 100 players who tested positive for performance enhancing drugs in 2003. Thus raising the question again: Who isn’t on steroids?

Episode 3: Cabbie

Just weeks ago Patrick Kane of the Chicago Blackhawks was arrested along with his cousin in his hometown of Buffalo, NY after allegedly assaulting a cab driver for 20 cents.

The cab fare was apparently $13.80 and Kane and his cousin handed the driver $15. When the driver only handed them back $1 in change, the two assaulted the driver over the 20-cent difference.

Kane is set to make $875,000 this season with a $2.85 million bonus.

Episode 4: Second Chances

We’ve been waiting for almost two years to see if a team would give Michael Vick a chance, after he was released from prison for upholding a dog-fighting ring within his own home.

Well despite what the dog lovers of Philadelphia may think, the Eagles have taken a chance on Vick signing him to be the backup for quarterback Donovan McNabb. Time will tell if Vick still has the jaw dropping speed and agility that once made him an elite NFL quarterback.

Episode 5: Back yet Again

After all the speculation, Brett Favre has once again decided to stick around the NFL for another season, this time with the Minnesota Vikings. I personally think it's enough already, hasn’t the guy tarnished his legacy enough?

Episode 6: He She

To close out the summer of scandals, my personal favorite, is Caster Semanya: man or woman?

Semanya won the gold medal for South Africa in the women's 800 meter at the World Athletic Championships in Berlin on Aug. 19. But her deep voice and manly build left people asking whether she was actually a woman, literally. Semanya is now being tested by a team of doctors to figure out if shes really a woman.

There were other dramatic moments this summer like San Jose Sharks Patrick Marleau’s captaincy being stripped, and Michael Beasley of the Miami Heat checking into a rehab center, however, the show writers didn’t have enough room to mention everything in the six episode arc that MTV gave the mini series.

The sad part about all this summer drama is the real sports action falls by the waste side, and their were some fantastic moments this summer. Y.E Yang became the first Asian born male golfer to win a major title defeating Tiger Woods at the PGA Championship, Roger Federer and Andy Roddick relinquished their rivalry in one of the most epic Wimbledon finals ever, and Usain Bolt broke yet another world record.

Forget Semanya somebody should test Bolt, because there is no way he is human.

Working Against the Cap: Who Can The Blackhawks Afford to Keep?

Thu, 20 Aug, 2009 01:45:15 GMT

The NHL salary cap has been slightly increased for the 2009-2010 season from $56.7 million to $56.8 million.

This came as a surprise to some NHL general managers including Toronto Maple Leafs GM Brian Burke who said he’d be shocked if the cap didn’t drop a couple million dollars this season in an interview with a New Jersey newspaper in May.

However, general managers across the league are more concerned with the effect the economy will play on next years salary cap, with rumors swirling of the cap dropping significantly next season, possibly to 50 million dollars.

Since 2005 the salary cap has gone up significantly each year allowing teams to have some wiggle room to make off-season acquisitions, however a drastic fall in the cap could catch teams off guard and could be a thorn in their side in trying to build a consistently competitive franchise.

One team in particular that worries me is the Chicago Blackhawks.

The Hawks are a team that resurged themselves this past season led my offensive young guns, Pat Kane and Jonathan Toews, making the playoffs for the first time since 2002 and marching all the way to the Western Conference Finals where they lost to the Detroit Red Wings in five games.

In the off-season the Blackhawks signed offensive forward Marian Hossa to a monster 12-year deal as well as Tomas Kopecky from the Red Wings and John Madden from the New Jersey Devils to short term contracts.

The Blackhawks are four million dollars over the salary cap going into the 2009-2010 season but that isn’t quite what worries me. It’s that as of now there cap hit for 2010-2011 is already estimated at 42.5 million.

And that’s with 10 free agents including stars Pat Kane and Jonathan Toews. Luckily for Chicago Toews and Kane are still under rookie contracts which pay them $875,000 each this season otherwise the Hawks cap hit this season would be in the high sixties.

My point is that Toews and Kane’s rookie contracts expire come July 1^st 2010 and if they both live up to the obvious on ice expectations this season odds are they are going to want deals which pay them upwards of four million dollars a piece.

That would make the Hawks cap hit higher then the possible 50 million dollar cap of 2010-2011. Leaving them with eight free agents including a backbone defenseman Duncan Keith who only makes 1.9 million this season, playmaker Andrew Ladd, role players John Madden, Ben Eager and Adam Burish and other roster fillers on forward, defense and between the pipes with very little to no cap space to sign them all.

And knowing Patrick Kane he’ll fight for every penny he can get… literally. Good luck Stan Bowman.

Looking Back: NHL's Booms and Busts of 2008 Free Agency

Fri, 12 Jun, 2009 08:13:54 GMT

I’ve decided that I’m not going to bore anyone with another article on my prediction for Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals tonight. I’ve read plenty already, most of which make great points favoring either the Wings or the Pens.

One thing I can say is that at the end of tonight one team, either Detroit or Pittsburgh will hoist Lord Stanley’s mug. But come tomorrow, hockey fans will need more to think about, listen to, and watch than a piece-by-piece breakdown of Game 7.

With the NHL's free agency only a few weeks away, teams around the league are looking to sign big names like the Sedin twins, Martin Havlat, and Jay Bouwmeester. But every season, certain blockbuster signings turn out to be busts and some low-key signings make general managers look like geniuses.

So as the 2008-'09 season comes to a close, I thought why not look back at some of last summer's signings, including which ones turned out to be booms and which turned out to be busts.

After his third straight 30-plus goal season, on July 1 the New Jersey Devils signed veteran forward Brian Rolston to a four-year deal that would pay him just over $5 million per season. Rolston failed to produce, only notching 15 goals and 32 points.

Although he averaged five less minutes on the ice per game (just 15:05 per game) than his last season with the Wild, Rolston still scored less than 20 goals, something he hasn’t done since the 2000-'01 season.

Therefore, Rolston is a bust thus far.

Wade Redden and Markus Naslund were two big offseason acquisitions by Glen Sather and the New York Rangers. Redden signed a six-year, $39 million contract in July and Naslund signed for two years, $8 million.

However, the two failed to live up to expectations.

After a couple of rough years in Ottawa, some felt that Redden would find himself again in New York. He was never a goal-scoring machine, but he used to be someone who could anchor a power play and play solid in his own end.

In '05-'06 Redden was a +35 rating. But this season, Redden only managed to notch three goals and was a -5 rating.

As for Naslund, he had his lowest point total (46) since 1997-'98 with Vancouver. Naslund was also a -10 rating and decided at the end of this season that it was time to hang up the skates for good.

Both Redden and Naslund have been, or were, busts.

David Backes was one of many young talents to break out in St. Louis this past season. In his third NHL campaign, Backes tallied 31 goals (more than his first two seasons combined) and 54 points.

Backes and many of the St. Louis players were refreshing booms.

Possibly the biggest signing of the 2008 offseason came from Detroit in signing Marian Hossa to a one-year, $7.4 million deal. Hossa scored 40 goals this past season, helping an already strong team up front.

Who would have thought that after basically rolling through the 2008 playoffs en route to the Stanley Cup, the Wings could get more talented? Hossa proved it.

A definite 2008 offseason boom.

Chris Chelios: Time To Call It Quits?

Tue, 9 Jun, 2009 01:49:40 GMT

The Detroit Red Wings are one victory away from capturing their second straight Stanley Cup and we all know that it’s their immense depth and mix of young and old that makes them so successful as a team.

But does the end of yet another Stanley Cup run, win or lose, mark the end of Chris Chelios’s 25 season NHL career where he scored 185 goals and 948 points?

Maybe it should.

What else does the guy have to prove? He’s one three Stanley Cups, three Norris Trophies, he’s played in the Olympics and been the U.S teams captain, played in 11 all-star games and his most impressive feat, he is playing at 46 years old.

I know that Chelios once said his goal is to play until he’s 50, but is he still able to keep up. Between being a healthy scratch and being injured this past season Chelios basically fell out of the Wings lineup only playing 28 games all season and tallying 0 points.

Chelios becomes an unrestricted free agent this July and any Detroit fan has to wonder if it’s in the organizations best interest to pay Chelios the $750,000 that he’s making now, next season. Even when Chelios has dressed there are certain games where he sees no more then four minutes of ice time.

In no way am I trying to bash Chelios, any player who can stay in the physical condition he’s in and play for this long deserves to be applauded, but it has gotten to the point where his age and the speed of the game have caught up to him.

Which makes sense considering some of the teams he’s playing against have players who could be Chelios’s son.

He’s even got a year up on Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock.

One of my biggest pet peeves as a fan is to watch great players play to the point where they can no longer compete at a high level.

Chris Chelios is a future Hall of Famer and one of the best defenseman of our. If the Wings can pull off a victory on Tuesday or Friday, what better way to end your career:

Hoisting the Stanley Cup.

Just don’t break it like you’ve done before.

Alex Rios Needs To Think Before He Acts

Sat, 6 Jun, 2009 08:06:51 GMT

One of the big questions when it comes to professional athletes in modern day society is whether or not they should be role models.

In fact I wrote a huge piece on it for school. In that I gave the athletes the benefit of the doubt and basically said that these men and women are not superhuman and they are going to make mistakes whether it be Michael Phelps getting caught smoking marijuana or Toronto Maple Leafs forward Juri Tlusty posting naked pictures of himself on the internet.

But as an athlete there are certain things that just come with the territory like signing an autograph or getting a picture taken with a fan.

Athletes need to realize that they are the heroes of children around the globe like it or not.

Alex Rios, right fielder for the Toronto Blue Jays, clearly doesn’t understand that.

I was shown a video about an hour ago of Rios having words with a Blue Jays fan after he refused to sign an autograph for a kid on the streets on Toronto.

Alex was walking on the street with his girlfriend or wife when he was approached by one kid for an autograph. Not only did Rios not sign the kid’s piece of paper but he didn’t even acknowledge that the kid was standing there.

It was then that the situation escaladed.

The fan, possibly the boys father yelled, “the way you played today Alex you should be lucky someone wants your autograph.” Alex struck out five times in a game that day.

Alex responded so eloquently, “who gives a f***.”

The two went back and forth for about twenty seconds yelling at each other, Rios doing most of the swearing until Rios finally got into his car.

So lets rewind the situation. Rios’ first mistake was not even acknowledging that the kid was standing beside him asking for an autograph.

If that kid had a poster of Rios in his bedroom you can bet it’s gone now.

You know I’ll give Rios a small break here in terms of signing the autograph. But at least acknowledge the kid and say ‘hey listen buddy I’m so sorry but I gotta run.’

Rios then goes onto to drop the f-bomb three or four times to a fan on the street, in front of this young kid. Are you kidding me? Alex get into your car and walk away, you’re not only a professional athlete but an adult and there is a kid standing right there.

Rios later apologized saying that it was a long day, he was upset that he couldn’t help the team win and he lost his cool.

Sorry Rios I don’t buy it and let me explain why.

In February I was in Florida with my girlfriends family and we ran into Alex Rodriguez. Ironically, it was the same week that A-Rod had admitted to using steroids.

My girlfriends two little brothers being sports fans wanted to meet A-Rod so we went up to him. Rodriguez didn’t come off as the best guy in the world but at least he shook the boys hands and threw on a smile. He could of just as easily brushed the kids off and walked away.

Point is he made the kids night doing something so simple and I think he was going through a pretty rough day to. Considering at the time he was probably the most hated man in sports.

Athletes and celebrities need to realize that doing something so small for a fan, like giving a handshake, can go a long way.

Sad that Rios needs to take a lesson on how to be a role model from a cheater.

check out the Rios incident at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=au7J9MZ7SX0

Role Call: What the Pens Need To Win Game Four

Thu, 4 Jun, 2009 10:04:49 GMT

If the Stanley Cup finals series goes six or seven games Evgeni Malkin, who sits at 33 points right now, could very well be the first player since Wayne Gretzky to score 40 points in the playoffs. (Gretzky did it in 1993)

However, Pens players, coaches and fans can’t only rely on their big guns to win games for them, especially when Sidney Crosby has only been able to muster one assist in the first three games of the Cup final.

This series lies deeper then the first line of defense or offense of the Penguins and Red Wings.

I recently wrote a piece which talked about the “unsung heroes” of Detroit and why the Wings are a modern day dynasty.

In order for Pittsburgh to be successful tonight in game four and for the rest of this series they need those types of unsung heroes, the same types of players that won them game three.

In game three Max Talbot had two goals and was a +2 rating. Talbot has been one of the only role players to show up for the Penguins, tallying six goals and nine points in 20 playoff games.

Although Kris Kunitz isn’t providing anything spectacular offensively he is making his presence felt physically. In game three Kunitz was credited with 11 hits, only five less than the entire Red Wings team.

Kris Letang logged nearly 20 minutes of ice on Tuesday night and contributed big with a goal and an assist. If Letang can continue to produce offensively some of the pressure can be taken off offensive star, Sergei Gonchar.

Who the Pens need to step up

Jordan Staal has not scored a goal in seven games and only has tallied two throughout these playoffs. I understand his job is not necessarily to put pucks in the net but if it’s to be a shutdown defensive forward then a -7 rating doesn’t cut it either.

Tyler Kennedy has established himself as a small gritty forward who can make things happen offensively as well. But he to has been nearly invisible on the scoresheet only netting three goals in 20 games, these playoffs. Much like Staal, Kennedy’s number one asset to the Pens may not be to score goals but a -5 rating isn’t what you want out of a defensive forward.

Did anybody know that Philippe Boucher was a part of the Pittsburgh defense? Yes, the same Philippe Boucher that scored 19 goals with Dallas in 2006/2007. Boucher has the ability to produce offensively but simply hasn’t shown up for the Pens, and therefore didn’t even dress for Pittsburgh in game three. If he’s given another chance he simply needs to help out on the back end.

From Talbot to Boucher, there are some Penguins who just need to continue to play their game and others who really need to step up.

A loss tonight and the Penguins can waddle onto the golf course early.

The Vets Can Still Hack It

Thu, 4 Jun, 2009 09:55:39 GMT

Growing up hockey names like Sergei Gonchar, Niklas Lidstrom, Bill Guerin and Chris Osgood were hot commodities around the league.

Ten years ago Lidstrom was second among defensemen with 57 points, Gonchar was second among defensemen in goals with 21, Guerin was a 30-goal scorer and Chris Osgood’s numbers were in the upper echelon of goaltenders around the league.

It’s nice to see that 10 years later, in a league that is going through a perhaps “life cycle” and being over taken by young stars, these four veterans are helping their teams march through the Stanley Cup playoffs and finals.

Nicklas Lidstrom: Most people’s jaws drop when they hear that Nicklas Lidstrom is 39 years old because the guy play with an offensive prowess of a young kid and the shut down defensive game of a hefty veteran.

Arguably one of the best defenseman of all time has grown and matured in to the player he is now right in front of our eyes. Lidstrom’s game has stayed amazingly consistent over his 18 years in the NHL (all those with the Detroit Red Wings) only dropping below tallying less then 40 points twice in his career. (One of those years he only played 43 games.)

Lidstrom’s game is showing no signs of slowing down as he tallied 59 points and is up for his seventh Norris Trophy. He’s averaging close to 25 minutes of ice in the Stanley Cup finals as he looks to lead the Wings to another Stanley Cup.

Sergei Gonchar: Gonchar has always been known as an offensive defenseman who struggles in his own zone. However, his offensive talents have always had him near the top of the league over the past several years. The 35 year old missed much of this season due to injury, but his playoff numbers have been solid with 14 points and a +4 rating. Gonchar is proving himself to be both offensively and defensively sound, defending against some of the best players the game has to offer.

Gonchar bounced back from a knee injury in the second round of the playoffs and has been a huge factor in helping his team compete. Tuesday night Gonchar scored the game winner to cut the Red Wings series lead in half 2-1.

Chris Osgood: Osgood was called out by the media after arguably his worst season ever between the pipes and people thought that he was going to be the reason for Detroit’s downfall. Well the 36 year old did more then just bounce back in these playoffs, most members of the media have Osgood winning the Conne Smythe Trophy is Detroit goes onto win the Stanley Cup. His numbers speak for themselves, a 2.00 GAA and a .972 save percentage.

Osgood doesn’t become a UFA until 2011/2012 but one has to beg the question if he the Conne Smythe and another Cup with Chris call it quits.

Bill Guerin: Guerin was once a 50,60 and even 70-point play in his career. But over the last few seasons we haven’t seen that side of Bill Guerin. But the 39 year old has been resurged this post season. After moving from Long Island to Pittsburgh Guerin has been kind of resurged getting some time on a line with Sidney Crosby. Although he has performed very much thus far in the finals, in the past 13 games Guerin has racked in 12 points.

As some of these veterans time in the NHL ticks down it’s interesting to wonder where their respective teams would be without them.

Where would the Toronto Maple Leafs have been without Phil Housley in 2002/2003?

The Unsung Heroes: Why The Detroit Red Wings Are a Modern Day Dynasty

Thu, 28 May, 2009 01:11:24 GMT

The Detroit Red Wings won the Western Conference finals series last night with an overtime winning goal from Darren Helm.

Meaning that for the 5^th time in 12 years the Wings are going to make a trip to the big dance. On the previous four trips the Wings have won the Stanley Cup, but those of you who read my blog a couple days ago know that this time around I think things are going to be a bit different.

That being said there is something that Detroit has that has them consistently competing for Lord Stanleys mug. Since 2000/2001 the Red Wings have finished 1^st in the Western Conference five times and 2^nd three times.

Yes they’ve had their fair share of superstars over the years in Steve Yzerman, Pavel Datsyuk, Brett Hull, Henrik Zetterberg, Niklas Lidstrom and Sergei Fedorov just to name a few.

But there has been a piece of the puzzle beyond the superstars that I believe has given the Wings an extra push for the past two seasons and especially in this years playoffs: the unsung heroes.

In their last meeting with the Blackhawks the Red Wings were missing arguably their two best players in Pavel Datsyuk and Niklas Lidstrom, but the team still managed to demolish Chicago 6-1.

Other stars Marian Hossa and Henrik Zetterbeg each had a pair of goals but guys such as Valtteri Filppula chipped in with a goal and two assists, Niklas Kronwall had two assists, and in the absence of Lidstrom, Brad Stuart logged nearly 27 minutes of ice on the back end. These guys helped carry Detroit in a pivotal game four.

It was only last season when people asked the question “who is Johan Franzen?” when he notched 13 goals and 18 points helping Detroit to the Stanley Cup. In that same season Dan Clearly scored 20 goals, making a name for himself as a skilled grinder.

In 2006/2007 NHL goaltenders were introduced to Thomas Holmstrom’s rear end as he tallied 30 goals and is now famous for his work in front of the opposing teams net.

For years Kris Draper and Kirk Maltby were praised by fans and made a living in Detroit by killing penalties. Kris took that living internationally when he earned himself a spot on the 2006 Canadian Olympic team.

Finally, the guy who I truly thought would be Detroit’s Achilles heal, Chris Osgood has been nothing short of stellar in this post season. Posting a 2.17 GAA and a .921 save percentage at times Osgood has been Sogood.

Although I think they are going to fall to the Penguins come the finals, over the last 10 plus years the Detroit Red Wings have made a case for why they should be considered a modern day dynasty and they couldn’t of done it without the play of many unsung heroes.

And Larry Murphy of course.

Win And They Will Come

Wed, 27 May, 2009 01:40:09 GMT

I don’t know another person who finds the Jim Balsillie vs. Gary Bettman more annoying then I do so all I’m going to say about the fight for the Phoenix franchise is this.
As a Canadian, a Torontonian and as a hockey fan, I would love to see another team in southern Ontario.

I’m a die-hard Maple Leafs fan, but like many others, I’m not a die-hard Leafs fan who can pay $200 for a good seat at a game.

So yes I would love to see a team in Hamilton and yes, I would drive from Toronto to Hamilton to watch a game.
But the annoying battle for the Coyotes has got me thinking a little bit, not so much as how much a slice of pizza and a drink would cost at the new arena in Hamilton compared to the Air Canada Center, but moreover, what does it take to put fans in a stadium?

I did some research. I took five teams (Chicago, Pittsburgh, Washington, Boston and Carolina) and looked at their attendance in a season where they did poorly in the standings and a season where they did well in the standings or were coming off a strong season.
Chicago Blackhawks: In 2003/2004 the Blackhawks were atrocious, finishing 29^th in the league with only 20 wins, their attendance fell victim only averaging 13,253 fans at home per game.
All the sudden with some rebuilding and good drafting the Blackhawks sit in the Western Conference finals and finished 6^th in the league this season. Their attendance remarkably skyrocketed to an average of 22,243 per game. An average increase of close to 9,000 fans per game.
Pittsburgh Penguins: Back in 03/04 the Penguins were a disaster. Finishing in dead last in the league the Pens also averaged only 11,877 fans per game and were on the verge of going bankrupt.
But inking Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin in back to back drafts and adding a pretty deep supporting cast the Pens are now on their way to the Stanley Cup finals for the second straight year. Their attendance has shot up as well; in 2008/2009 the Pens averaged 17,076 fans per game, a difference of over 5,000 fans per game.

Carolina Hurricanes: The Hurricanes were a franchise that many felt would always struggle to fill their seats. In 2003/2004 they finished 11^th in the Eastern Conference standings and only averaged 12,330 fans per game. All the sudden a season after winning the Stanley Cup the fans began to fill in.
In 2006/2007 the Hurricanes averaged 17,386 fans per game, an increase of over 5,000 fans per game. You can bet that as the team continues to improve on the ice, the fans will continue to pour in.
The same kind of idea exists now in Washington and Boston as well. As their team win games, teams that once struggled to fill their seats aren’t struggling anymore. Didn’t you see Washington’s version of “the sea of red?” Pretty incredible.

My point is that in cities where the hockey team isn’t the first priority, a lot of the time the arena seats can only be filled if the team is succeeding on the ice.

The funny part is I don’t think the Phoenix Coyotes are far away from success. I think they need to start by resigning the cheap young talent they picked up in Nigel Dawes, Scottie Upshall and Petr Prucha and then they need a couple of free agents.

With over 11 million dollars in cap space the opportunities to grab a big name center like Mike Cammalleri and a big man on the back end like Mike Komisarek are options not out of the question.

If they can then draft another solid defenseman like Spokane Chiefs, Jared Cowen or a forward like Brandon Wheat Kings, Brayden Schenn the Coyotes could be on their way to building a solid core of young talent.

The Coyotes have never been able to be consistently successful on the ice. Sure they’ve made the playoffs here and there but consistency is what I believe to be the main reason for the franchises major debt and problems. If teams in all parts of California can put people in seats then so can a team in Arizona.

As the famous line from the famous movie “Field of Dreams” goes, “Build it and they will come.”

Build a competitive team in Phoenix and the fans will come. But you need an owner who’s willing to spend money on players rather than lawyers.

March of the Penguins

Tue, 26 May, 2009 03:08:32 GMT

I'm not going to lie, in my playoff pool I had the Penguins going down in the first round to the Philadelphia Flyers. Well call me any name you want now for that prediction.

On the other hand I called Bill Guerin to step up after a lousy round one performance and he has 10 points in his last 10 games.

So instead of making anymore crazy far fetched predictions, I'll make a small prediction.

The Stanley Cup finals will consist of the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Detroit Red Wings.

Don't let your jaws drop too far I know that was right out of left field considering the Pens and Wings haven't won their series' yet, but I'll take my chances since both have sizable leads in their conference final series.

But don't take me to the bank on that statement, it wasn't long ago that I wrote about how the Washington Capitals were as good as eliminated when they were down 3-1 in a series with the New York Rangers.

So then comes the real question: who hoists the Stanley Cup from mid June.

Here comes the prediction.

I'm going to go against the main stream on this one and say the Pens take the Wings this year and win the Stanley Cup finals rematch.

Call me whatever name you want for that one but let me give an explanation first.

Crosby aint no kid

I'm not Crosby's biggest fan. Partly because I like Ovechkin better and partly because I think Sidney is way too by the book in terms of his personality.

But nothing I say about his personality is going to inflict on the fact that this guy is a remarkable talent.

His on ice product has clearly matured since last playoffs and his numbers show it. After 16 playoff games last year Sidney had just 4 goals. This season he has nearly quadrupled that number with 14 goals thus far. Crosby isn't a kid anymore, well maybe his age says so, he's only 21 but his on ice production is that of an all star veteran. I think he's ready to make the next step.

The Best 2nd liner of all-time

Quite frankly I wanted to write an entire blog about Evgeni Malkin earlier in the season. My personal opinion is that the guy is under appreciated. A pretty ridiculous title for the one who tallied the most points this season with 113.

The under appreciated Malkin may only be the case in Canada where Crosby is the golden boy, but in truth any team with Malkin on their second line is headed in the right direction.

Leading the league in playoff points with 28 Malkin has responded to media criticism that said he failed to show up in round 2, with nine points in only three games against the Carolina Hurricanes in round 3.

If this continues Malkin will be on fire come the finals. I wouldn't want to be his opponent.

Thicker Skin

Last season the Pittsburgh Penguins were not ready for the Detroit Red Wings when the finals commenced.

In reality the Penguins walked all over the three teams they played against in the previous rounds sweeping the Ottawa Senators rolling over the New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers, both in five games.

This season has been a little bit different. The Pens struggled in round one with the Flyers and were almost forced to the brink if it wasn't for a game six comeback. They beat the Flyers in six games.

Any sports fan knows about the Pens/Caps showdown, one that saw the faces of the three best offensive players in the world under one roof. The Pens took the Capitals in an epic seven game series. Epic except for the dreadful game seven.

Now they are on the path of sweeping the Carolina Hurricanes, the same team who took out Marty Brodeur and the New Jersey Devils and the first place Boston Bruins. Beating the Canes could instill the perfect amount of confidence in the Penguins when they walk into the Joe Louis Arena for game 1.

Where is Pavel Datsyuk?

Yes, I know he's hurt but where was he even before that? He has one goal in 13 games this playoffs. I understand that analysts say he does many other great things aside from putting pucks in the net but truth being, come the finals your best player needs to be your best player.

Solid on the back end and poised between the pipes

Former head coach, Michelle Therrien so eloquently once called the Pens defense “the softest defensive squad in the league." That hasn’t been the case this playoff.

Eric Staal has been completely invisible this series, with zero goals. He has his brother Jordan and the Pens defense to thank for that. Hal Gill has been paired with Rob Scuderi in this series and the two combined with a solid Pens 3rd line have completely shut No. 12 down.

Kris Letang and Sergei Gonchar have been solid puck movers on defense where Mark Eaton and Brooks Orpik have continued to be "stay at home" defenders. Letang stepped up earlier in the playoffs when Gonchar went down and has tallied nine points in these playoffs and is continuing to learn from one of the best offensive defensemen in the league.

Between the pipes, Marc-Andre Fleury continues to improve and at points is this series, commentators have brought up Fleury in team Canada 2010. I personally wouldn't go that far but Fleury has a lot to be proud about thus far.

A 4th line with talent

Head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Dan Bylsma has given Canes coach Paul Maurice something to really think about when it comes to matchups. Bylsma has been double shifting Crosby on the 4th line with Miroslav Satan and Craig Adams. Satan and Adams have combined for 11 points this playoffs and playing with Crosby could ignite former all-star, Satan making for an extremely dangerous 4th line in Pittsburgh. Mike Babcock should start thinking.

Another notable move by Bylsma was putting Max Talbot up on the second line. After all he is a superstar. Chika Chika yea.

Check out this link if you didn't catch that line.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOrvdvczpEA

What Have You Done For Me Lately

Fri, 22 May, 2009 09:16:51 GMT

A few days ago General Manager of the Toronto Raptors, Bryan Colangelo resigned head coach Jay Triano to a three-year deal.

It’s not so much that the Triano deal bothers me it’s that the deal makes me contemplate what it is the Bryan Colangelo has done as General Manager for the Toronto Raptors since coming in 2006.

Now I know many Raptors fans reading this are already against me because you may feel that Colangelo is the best thing to happen to the Raptors since Damon Stoudamire but if you look at the moves and transactions he’s made since he got here you might understand where I’m coming from.

Now I’m not blaming the Raptors failures simply on Colangelo, I’m simply stating what he’s done, compared to what he could have done.

Trading Charlie Villanueva

To be honest, this was Colangelo’s first mistake and it came in June of 2006. As I explain other deals Colangelo made following this one you will understand that future mistakes stemmed from this deal.

In June 2006 Colangelo traded Charlie Villanueva to the Milwaukee Bucks for point guard T.J Ford.

The Raptors originally picked up T.J after he took a year off due to injury and therefore ran an immediate risk for the Raptors.

In the two seasons prior to coming to Toronto T.J averaged 7.1 points per game in 2003/2004 and 12.2 points per game in 2004/2005.

His only season with the Raptors Charlie V averaged 13 points per game and was a legitimate fan favorite.

This trade went on to bite Colangelo a couple years later when T.J fell to injury and Charlie V continued putting up solid numbers in Milwaukee. This past season Villanueva put up an average of over 16 points per game and T.J is no longer a Raptor.

Drafting Andrea Bargnani

The T.J deal went on to bite Colangelo even harder come the 2007 draft. The Raptors got lucky in winning the lottery and snatching the number one pick. However, because the Raptors point guard spot was already filled by T.J Ford the Raptors went onto draft big Italian Andrea Bargnani over young point guard Brandon Roy.

In his first season Roy’s numbers were better then both T.J and Bargnani’s. Roy averaged close to 17 points per game compared to Bargnani’s 11 per game and T.J’s 14.

Even Roy’s rebounding numbers have been better then Bargnani’s over the course of their careers thus far. Roy is averaging 4.6 rebounds per game and Bargnani averaging 4.3.

Roy now plays shooting guard as apposed to point guard, meaning that if he came to Toronto he would have evolved into a shooting guard, making room in the starting lineup for Jose Calderon at point guard.

This season Brandon Roy led the Portland Trail Blazers to the postseason averaging close to 23 PPG as T.J and Andrea sat at home watching. Not to mention in two playoff appearances thus far in his career Bargnani is only averaging 8.9 points per game.

Jermaine O’Neal Acquisition

Quite frankly I don’t think this deal needs much explanation. Colangelo traded for O’Neal in the summer of 2008 with hopes that he would be another big man that would finally complement Chris Bosh.

The risk of the deal obviously being that O’Neal has been plagued by severe injuries throughout his career.

O’Neal only averaged 13 points per game and 7 rebounds per game in his 41 games as a Toronto Raptor. On February 13th 2009 O’Neal was traded to the Miami Heat along with Jamario Moon in exchange for Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks, which leads me into my next point.

The Marcus Banks Contract

Paul Jay, a writer for CBC.ca explained that the Banks contract could hurt the flexibility of the Raptors in 2010 when big names like Chris Bosh become free agents. Banks will make 9 millions dollars over the next two years and to do what? Banks has averaged just over 6 points per game over the course of his career and will likely provide the Raptors with nothing more then a filled seat on the bench.

Colangelo’s Resume

I understand that when Colangelo first came to Toronto he was considered to be the messiah. But lets face it this messiah we know as Bryan Colangelo has never one a championship and has never led the Raptors past the first round in the playoffs, so I think its time we start raising some eyebrows. Especially after the disastrous season we just finished and quite frankly the terrible second half we had last season leading into the playoffs.

As I think about what the Raptors need to get back in the winners circle there is only thing that comes to mind:

Onions baby, onions!

Raise a Glass or Syringe to the Class of 2013?

Fri, 22 May, 2009 09:38:10 GMT

The sports media and fans alike have labeled this era in baseball as the “steroid era” and rightfully so. When many of your biggest stars over the last five or ten years admit or are caught with using performance enhancing drugs, what could be a better name for them.

This dark cloud that follows these steroid linked players will follow them beyond their days in the ballpark and will make for an appealing storyline come 2013.

You see come 2013, Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds and Sammy Sosa all who have been linked to steroids will become eligible for the Hall of Fame. Not to mention that players such as Jose Canseco, Rafael Palmeiro and Mark McGwire will most likely still be on the ballot as writers such as John Rolfe of Sports Illustrated have assumed.

Palmeiro, Canseco and McGwire will all be eligible for the HOF prior to 2013 (McGwire and Canseco were both eligible in 07) but most say that they will be snubbed by Baseball Writers because of their steroid link, making for in interesting ’13 ballot.

Begging the question, should these cheaters be left out of Cooperstown or will 2013 be the year of forgiveness?

John Rolfe, a writer for Sports Illustrated wrote a piece earlier in the year that took the mainstream approach when he basically said that anyone who put up big numbers in baseball in the last 20 years cannot be trusted. A valid point considering six of the top twenty home run hitters of all time are linked to steroids.

Rolfe went on to say that the writers are going to have to look to guys like Mike Piazza when voting in 2013 and just hope that they don’t get caught for anything illegal in the near future.

Another writer for the Oakland Tribune argued the exact opposite. He basically stated that excluding the big three – Sosa, Bonds and Clemens in 2013 is not the answer and Cooperstown is a museum for baseball history, not baseball heaven.

A part of me agrees with Carl Steward, the writer for the Oakland Tribune. He raises a great point that in the end, yes these guys cheated, and yes they should be penalized but they can’t be forgotten completely and held out of the HOF forever considering they are some of the biggest names of our time.

However, the more and more I think about it I have to agree with Rolfe. These guys are cheaters and inducting them, even 20 years down the road sends a bad message to fans as well as players. What, you can cheat and if you were good at it and put up good numbers, a few years down the road we’ll forgive you and put you into the Hall of Fame?

I’m sorry but as much as these guys are some of the best players in baseball and I’ve watched them all put up some impressive numbers, I can’t agree with putting cheaters into the Hall of Fame no matter how far down the road it would be.

In particular as a Blue Jays fan, Roger Clemens was one of the best players I’ve ever been able to witness play on a daily basis.

I look back then to that moment when he was on the Yankees and tossed the broken bat at Mike Piazza in the 2000 World Series.

Roid Rage? Probably.

Juicy Jussi, the Battle of Two Heavyweights and the Underdogs of Excitement

Fri, 22 May, 2009 09:39:32 GMT

One of the most amazing parts about playoffs in sports is that the teams and players involved have the opportunity to wipe the slate clean and start fresh. As well, the fact that come playoff time it’s anybody’s ball game.

But rather then discussing the upsets we witness time and time again where the first place honcho is knocked out by the eighth place underdog I’m going to dig a little deeper and talk about the individuals who suddenly have come alive during the playoffs, specifically in the NHL.

In 2005/06, the hockey world watched as round by round the Edmonton Oilers, an 8th seed eliminated three higher ranked teams including the top seed in their conference and marched to the to the Stanley Cup finals. Leading the charge was Oiler forward Fernando Pisani. Pisani scored 14 goals in the playoffs, only four less then he scored all season long.

In 2007/08 the Detroit Red Wings, who were known as “chocks” due to previous early exits from the playoffs after strong regular seasons, walked into the 07/08 playoffs, once again on top of the NHL mountain. After only notching 38 points in 80 regular season games, Johan “The Mule” Franzen tallied 13 playoff goals in 08 carrying the Detroit Red Wings over the playoff hump and to Lord Stanley’s Cup along with stars Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg.

The theme of unlikely heroes has carried itself into the 2008/09 playoffs as Jussi Jokinen who before this playoffs was really only known for his impressive shootout numbers, helped the Hurricanes to a first round upset over the New Jersey Devils and a 3-2 series lead over the Boston Bruins in round two. What’s amazing about Jokinen’s performance thus far is not his numerous goals but yet the timing of them. With six goals in the playoffs three of them are game winners and one led to Carolinas late game seven victory over the Devils.

If Jokinens knack for scoring late continues, the Canes could be walking the same road they did in 06… The road to the Stanley Cup.

The Battle of Two Heavyweights

In black shorts and yellow trim, Boston Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara is 6”9 and weights in at about 255 lbs.

His opponent, in red shorts and white trim, Carolina Hurricanes forward Eric Staal is 6”4 and weighs in at about 205 lbs.

The two have been matched up against each other all series long and the 50 pound weight difference proved to be irrelevant to Eric Staal. In the first rounds [games] between the two, Staal basically dominated the Great Wall of Chara.

But likely Norris Trophy winner, Zdeno Chara isn’t going down without throwing a few blows to his opponent. In round five between the two tonight, Chara pummeled Staal on a few occasions as the Bruins cut the series lead to 3-2.

With great series’ like Washington vs. Pittsburgh and Anaheim vs. Detroit a Carolina vs. Boston series seemed to be an underdog when it came to excitement and fan appreciation in the second round. But as the series moves to game six and story lines continue to build hockey fans have to be happy with what they’ve gotten out of this series thus far.

My personal favorite storyline… Paul Maurice behind the bench of a winning team. Anyone at MLSE want to comment?

Crosby and Ovechkin: Part of a Complete Breakfast

Fri, 22 May, 2009 09:40:43 GMT

Make sure to read the prediction that follows the short rant.

To be honest, when I was growing up eating breakfast was one of my favorite parts of the day. I’d walk downstairs grab a bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch or Count Chocula and I’d sit down in the kitchen and watch an episode of Saved by the Bell. As I got a bit older the Saved by the Bell turned into Sports Center, but none the less it was never a game of playoff hockey.

Well for hockey fans along the West Coast, playoff hockey will be apart of a complete breakfast on Saturday.

Quite frankly the most hyped up playoff series in recent memory, with three of the best stars in the game today all in the same building and some hockey fans have to wake up in order the catch the game?

I don’t know about others but I wait all year for playoff hockey, and for a series like this my entire life to able to watch it I have to be in a certain mind set. You know pizza, wings, friends a big screen.

Many writers have done pieces on how the Penguins/Capitals series is any NHL marketers dream. I don’t think an afternoon/morning game was apart of that dream. Hockey fans all over Alberta and British Columbia, few in California and many others across North America won’t have even had their morning coffee once the pregame show takes the air.

I know this whole situation isn’t the NHL’s fault since the scheduling for the playoffs is probably done months in advance, but this series is such a great opportunity for the NHL to air the best of its talent to the entire world and to throw game one in the afternoon/morning is like taking Bob Cole off full time playoff coverage on CBC… It’s a sin.

What’s next, Game 7 on TSN 2? Oh God!

Now for my series prediction.

Now obviously, the performances of Alex Ovechkin, Alexander Semin and Mike Green vs. Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Sergei Gonchar are huge in terms of swaying the series. As fans we hope for many spectacular performances from these guys because each of them has the power to electrify the crowd and take charge of a game.

But in the end I don’t believe that this series will be won or lost based on the performances of one or two guys on each team. I think it will be a combination of the superstars, goaltenders and the secondary players who need to step up for their team to win.

The Caps – Beyond the obvious stars

In my “Capping Out” blog I talked about how Mike Green needed some support on the back end in order for the Capitals to have a shot of a comeback. Well he got that support from veteran, Tom Poti. In game five, six and seven of the first round, Poti averaged about 23 minutes of ice time and in game 6 he led the Capitals to victory with a goal and three assists. In the seven game series Poti tallied seven points three of which were on the powerplay, meaning Pittsburgh has to watch Poti and Green on the point in round 2.

It was like a blast from the past when Sergei Fedorov ripped home the game-winning goal against the New York Rangers in game 7 of their first round series. After an extremely slow start in the first four games of the first round where he only notched one point, he stepped in up in game five through seven tallying a point in each of the three Capitals victories. As the playoff grind rolls on, a veteran like Fedorov needs to continue to produce in clutch situations.

Critics are saying that Simeon Varlamov wasn’t tested very much in round 1. I think the guy deserves a ton of credit, after surprisingly starting in game 2 after a lack luster performance by Jose Theodore in game 1. I’m a numbers guy and Varlamov posted pretty good ones with a 1.17 GAA and a .952 save percentage. Obviously I’m not expecting the same numbers from him in round 2, but if he can be consistent between the pipes it would make for a big help for the Caps.

The Pens – Beyond the obvious stars

Bill Guerin and Sergei Fedorov fall into the same category for me. Obviously not the same player types but they are both skilled veterans who scored few or one goal in round one. The only difference being that Fedorov won the series with his goal and excelled throughout the series where as Guerin started round 1 strong and practically did nothing in the second half. Guerin needs to bring his physical as well as skilled sides for round 2.

Mark Eaton scored a couple of big goals in round 1. Definitely not known for his offense Eaton helped the Pens march back from a 3-0 defecit with a goal in Game 7 against the Flyers. He posted a +4 ratng in that game. Eaton also scored a big insurance marker in game one to secure the opening game for the Pens. If he can continue to provide that extra push it could help the Pens march on.

Marc-Andre Fleury posted solid numbers in round 1 with a 2.39 GAA and a .922 save percentage. However I questioned Fleury on a few occasions in that series. He got beaten up by the Flyers on two occasions and if wasn’t for a strong Pens offense it would have been a third time in game 6. It’s only right to believe that the hefty Washington offense s going to throw more at Fleury then the Flyers did. We need to see the Fleury of the 2008 playoffs.

This series is so tough to predict going into game 1 Saturday but my edge is going with the Caps in 7. Partly because of the high they are on after a huge comeback in the Rangers series. But if the Caps start slow like they did in round 1 you can bet the Pens will burry them.

Caps in 7.

Capping Out

Fri, 22 May, 2009 09:42:59 GMT

The Washington Capitals have had a tough time in their first round match up with the New York Rangers.

Most would have seen this series as a walk in the park for the offensively explosive Capitals, but their offense in the 2009 playoffs thus far has been one of the reasons the Caps will be hitting the greens early.

But I’m going to start from the goaltending and work my way up to the forwards to explain why the Caps won’t be advancing to round 2.

The goaltending for the Washington Capitals this season hasn’t been something to brag about. Jose Theodore was barely able to break a .900 SV% and his GAA was a very sub par 2.88 with only two shutouts.

Theodores playoff career has never been something to get too excited about either. In 43 NHL playoff starts Theodore has posted a record of 19-24, a 2.70 and has never carried a team past the second round. So although Simeon Varlamov has been stellar in net for the Caps since taking over in game two, in a back and forth, pivotal game like game one, you need a goalie that can make the big saves in order to potentially steal the game for you and help you draw first blood in the series. Theodore only managed to make 17 saves on 21 shots.

Moving up the ladder, Washington has not been known to play a shut down defensive game but this series has exposed their weaknesses defensively. In fact in their round 1 series thus far the Caps defensive core has combined for a minus five rating.

Leading the charge on defense, Mike Green who looked brilliant in the regular season has done close to nothing in this series. The guy scored 30 goals and 73 points in 68 games and the Washington Times said he showed comparisons to legend, Paul Coffey. But Green has practically been held off the score sheet in the four games against the Rangers. He’s registered just two assists.

Next up on the chopping block, the Caps offense.

I hate to be the one to call out the Capitals offense after the spectacular season they had but every playoff fanatic knows that once the puck is dropped in Game 1 of the quarterfinals, whatever your team accomplished in the regular season, means nothing other then what building you’re playing in.

In this series the Caps offense has not been good enough. More specifically Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and Sergei Federov. The three Euros have combined for one goal in this series. The Caps also need guys like Brooks Laich, and veterans Viktor Kozlov and Michael Nylander to pick up their socks and start producing offensively.

All of that combined could spark a little magic for a struggling Caps team who face elimination Friday Night.

And maybe a little vodka for Alex Ovechkin might help too.

The Pucked Up Playoffs Part One: The Erroneous East

Fri, 22 May, 2009 08:00:34 GMT

Here we go again. Throw your razors in the garbage because its playoff time so what better time to post the NHL playoff blog then minutes before the puck drop of Game 1 of the 2009 NHL playoffs.

I think us hockey fans are in for a real treat as this could shape out to be one of the most interesting playoffs in recent years. So without further adieu my 1st round playoff predictions from the Eastern Conference. Stay tuned later tonight prior the drop of the puck in the Vancouver/St Louis game when I post my Western Conference Predictions.

Boston(1) vs Montreal(8)

This series needs no introduction. The history between these two teams goes way back and as any fan knows these teams have met several times in recent years in the playoffs. Since 2002 Boston and Montreal have met three times in the 16 team hunt for the Stanley Cup and all three times the Canadiens have come out victorious.

This year however I think the tables are going to be turned in Bostons favour. The Bruins finished 1st in the east and have quite frankly become an offensive powerhouse this season. With the likes of Savard, Kessel, Krejci, Chara and a hopefully healthy Bergeron it will be tough to stop the Bruins. Not to mention the Canadiens anchor on the blue line, Andrei Markov is out due to injury and will likely miss the series or at least the first few, pivotal games.

Carey Price has posted decent numbers this season with a GAA of 2.83 and a .905 save percentage. Hopefully he will have a better playoff showing then he had last year but the numbers sure aren’t in the 21 year olds favour. In five starts against the Bruins this season Price went 1-2-2 and posted a 1-2-2 GAA.

On the other side of the rink we have Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas who has a season good enough to give him serious Vezina Trophy consideration.

I say Bruins in 5.

Washington(2) vs New York Rangers(7)

I don’t have much to say about this series. I’m not a huge Rangers fan other then Sean Avery but if veterans like Gomez and Drury get going we could have a series on our hands. There is an extreme lack on playoff experience in the Capital dressing room and a goaltender who is very hot and cold.

Then again Alex Ovechkin has the talent to tear open a game and we’ve seen what he can do in a regular season game. Hopefully he has learned a lot from the seven game series with Philadelphia last season and can break open in the playoffs this year.

I say Caps in 6.

New Jersey(3) vs Carolina(6)

This is a series that many people will be paying attention to due to the fact that over the final stretch of the season the Canes have been so good and the Devils so bad. But to be honest every team goes through a rough patch at one time or another as the season goes, the Devils just did it when everyone was paying attention. Look where Pittsburgh was a couple of months ago. Tenth in the conference and now they have home ice in the first round. Look at the team the Devils are playing. They were a just above .500 at the all star break and look at them now. Many are favouring them to win this series.

For those of you who read my “Devils Demons” blog, you know that I’m a big fan of the Devils mix of young and old. Guys like Parise, Zajac, Langenbrunner and Shanahan. Throw in a little Marty “playoff” Brodeur and the Devils are on their way to a first round victory.

If you put the Canes against any other team in the conference I say they win in the 1st round but the Devils, I don’t think so.

Lets not forget what the Devils are made of.

I say Devils in 6.

Pittsburgh(4) vs Philadelphia(5)

Fans need to understand that this Penguins team is not the same team they were last season. In fact they aren’t even close. No Hossa, Whitney, Roberts, Laraque, and Malone just to name a few. This teams has ZERO secondary scoring and I mean that. They did not have any player on their roster score more then 30 points other then Crosby and Malkin. So unless Ruslan Fedetenko and a repeat of the 03 playoffs with Tampa this team is going to struggle.

Philadelphia on the other had seven players score over 30 points this season and they look very similar to the team we saw last year in the post season plus Simon Gagne.

I think the Flyers are still looking for revenge on that 6-0 loss in game five of the Eastern Conference Finals last season when they were embarrassingly eliminated by the Penguins.

This will be a great first round match up but I say Flyers in 7.

Not enough time for a clever one liner. Enjoy the games.

The Pucked Up Playoffs Part Two: The Wacky West

Fri, 22 May, 2009 07:57:54 GMT

Minutes before the Vancouver Canucks and the St Louis Blues break open Western Conference post season play. The Blues join the Chicago Blackhawks and the Columbus Blue Jackets as teams who have either never been to the playoffs or are returning to the post season after a long hiatus. But enough blabbering, lets get to some predictions.

San Jose Sharks (1) vs. Anaheim Ducks (8)

I have to say about a week ago I was looking at a Ducks teams who were seeded 7th to play the Detroit Red Wings and I was excited to see an upset in the making. However now that the Ducks have been matched up to play the Sharks I’m doubting a Ducks upset in the first round more and more.

The Sharks have always been a team I choose to win the Cup but this year more then ever because of the offensive and veteran additions of Dan Boyle and Rob Blake on the blue line. Blake and Boyle both provide the “been there” attitude that San Jose has not had in previous years.

However don’t count the Ducks out. After in early exit last season the Ducks had to play playoff hockey down the stretch in order to secure their playoff spot and it would be stupid to doubt stars like Getzlaf, Perry, Selanne, Niedermayer and Pronger all guys who one the Cup in 07 with Anaheim.

My one question for Anaheim is who is starting in goal? I believe that’s why the Sharks win this series, simply goaltending.

Sharks in 7.

Detroit (2) vs Columbus (7)

This is my playoff upset. After watching the Ducks team who won the Cup in 07 be eliminated in 08 in the first round I realized how tough it probably is for players who win one year to have the same intensity and playoff desperation the following year. That combined with Columbus being a fresh addition the NHL playoff picture who have a lot of young excited talent mixed with a few veterans players like Mike Commodore and Raffi Torres as well as Mike Peca is a big part of why I think the Jackets will upset the Wings.

But much like the Sharks Ducks series I think this series hangs largely with the goaltenders and Chris Osgoods 3.09 GAA and .889 save percentage just doesn’t do it for me.

If Steve Mason can be the same goaltender that has some critics voting him for the Vezina then I think the Blue Jackets can take this series.

Columbus in 7.

Vancouver (3) St Louis (6)

Two teams that are hot. Both have hot goaltenders. I give the Canucks an edge however with more experience.

Although the Sundin pick up has not worked out as well offensively as the Canucks would have liked it to but Sundin will provide the presence on and off the ice to push the Canucks the extra mile.

Goaltending: Although Chris Mason is hot with only 2 regualtion losses and 10 wins since March 15th, Luongo has been hot as well. His 2.34 GAA and .920 Save percentage have a slight edge over Masons numbers this season.

I like the Canucks in 6.

Chicago (4) Calgary (5)

I love Toews and I love Kane. But they are just too young. I believe the rough and tough Flames will outlast the Blackhawks.

Looking at Chicago there two stars remind me of a lesser version of Crosby and Malkin in their first playoff. They were just too young and inexperienced to get by the highly skilled and tough Ottawa Senators.

However, if Mike Cammallerli and Olli Jokinen don’t show up in there first playoff appearance and Mikka Kiprusoff decides to take the spring off the Blackhawks could pull this out.

I say Flames in 6.

Steaming Stamer

Fri, 22 May, 2009 08:02:43 GMT

Steve Stamkos has turned up the heat over the last little while. In fact since the All Star break the 18-year-old has averaged nearly a point per game with 25 points in the last 31 games.

But this season hasn’t gone exactly according to plan for the media and fans who projected Stamkos to be the next young star to touch ice in the NHL.

In his first 44 NHL games Stamkos only notched 18 points, not exactly what one would expect out of the projected Calder Trophy winner and what now former Tampa Bay Lighting coach Barry Melrose called “the future of the Tampa Bay Lighting” in an article in the Toronto Star back in July.

IN JULY! Are you kidding me? You call a kid the future of the franchise before he even laces up the skates in an NHL game?

Never mind a game, before he even entered training camp!

To me the problem sprung right there. At least give the kid a season in the NHL before you call him the future of a franchise. But to be honest the media and fans can’t help it. This past June we were so hungry and blood thirsty for another young phoneme that with Stamkos going first overall, that’s what he was going to be… Our next superstar or as Melrose called him “future of a franchise.”

I hate to say it but NHL fans have been spoiled over the last few years. The last three forwards to go #1 overall in a draft were Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin, and Patrick Kane. All players we would call superstars.

So to put a kid in a pair of shoes nearly impossible to fill is simply setting him up for failure from day one and that’s what we did to Steve Stamkos.

Its funny though that when we as fans finally gave up on the idea that Stamkos was a special player, he heats up with 25 points in his 31 games. So now the critics pupils drift back towards Stamkos putting him back in the Calder Trophy race. Imagine if we would of left Stamkos alone from day one, we might be looking at a 70 point rookie.

Whats interesting is we have seen the “draft disease” affect so many over the years and so many of these infected draft picks go on to lead great careers. Here’s a few:

Jason Spezza was the 2nd overall pick in the 2001 draft but in his first season in Ottawa he only notched 22 goals. Stamkos notched his 21st last night against New Jersey.

Rick Nash was drafted 1st overall by Columbus in 2002 and only notched 17 goals in his rookie campaign.

In the 2003 draft Eric Staal went 2nd overall and only scored 11 goals in his rookie year.

All those players were 1st or 2nd overall picks, had sub par rookie seasons are now are considered elite players in the NHL.

Who is to say the same can’t happen to Stamkos?

I guess in the end Barry Melrose could be right when he calls Stamkos “the future” but don’t say it before a kid even laces up the skates in an NHL game. Plus Stamer has a lot of work to do before he can say his name in the same sentence as guys like Spezza, Staal and Nash. But the second half of his rookie campaign has been a big step in the right direction.

As for Melrose’s future… (State your opinion here)

The Devils Demons

Fri, 22 May, 2009 07:52:59 GMT

This season has been a special one for the New Jersey Devils. When Martin Brodeur went down in early November, many people in the hockey world wrote off the Devils season.

Pierre Lebraun said in a piece on espn.com earlier in the season that with Brodeur out the Devils would likely miss the playoffs. This wasn’t the first time somebody had written off the Devils. In an article on espn.com at the beginning of the 2007 season the Devils were projected to miss the playoffs by writer, Scott Burnside.

Well the Devils proved Burnside wrong in 2007 and Lebraun wrong this season. So a lot of kudos needs to be thrown out to certain Devils players for their performances this season. Some have been applauded around the hockey world already while others haven’t been applauded quite yet.

Zach Parise: When Parise notched 31 goals in the 06 season and then 33 in the 07 season he raised eyebrows to many who probably before then didn’t know much about the speed forward. A piece in U.S.A today on the 2008 World Championships described the new faces on the U.S team as a new car smell and players such as Parise could make the jump to Olympian status in 2010. But after the career season he had/is having this season some are calling Parise “America’s Leading Man.” In fact a piece in the Hockey News magazine called him just that. Parise has notched 41 goals and 88 points this season. Oh and he’s only 24 years old.

Travis Zajac: Who? Yes before this season the average fan wouldn’t know the first thing about Zajac considering his career high in goals was 17 and assists 25 going into this season. But the 2008-09 season has been a true coming out party for Zajac. Notching 20 goals already Zajac is on pace for about 70 points this season. Zajac is going to score more points then dollars this season, his contract only paying him just over $984,000 per season. But you can bet before he becomes a restricted free agent this July the Devils will slap him with a fat contract extension and a nice little salary raise. This kid is only 23 years old.

Jamie Langenbrunner: Quite frankly the 33-year-old has had a career season this year. He’s always been known as a solid playoff performer, notching 18 points in the Devils 2002-03 playoff run and 17 points in the 1998-99 Dallas Stars runto the Cup. However, his season stats over the years haven’t been anything to jump up and down about, only scoring 60 points in one other regular season Langenbrunner has tallied 63 points this season and will definitely bring a huge veteran presence to the Devils playoff run.

Paul Martin and Johnny Oduya: When Martin Brodeur went down this season you can imagine how much extra pressure was put on these two guys shoulders. This season they’ve logged a combined average of over 22 minutes of ice time per game and are a combined plus 46. Oduya has already broken his personal points record with 28 this season and Martin is on pace to match his own career high of 37 points. These two are no Scott Stevens/Scott Niedermayer duo, but they have been two huge pieces the Devils success puzzle this season.

Goaltenders: I’m not going to ramble about the Devils goaltending this season other then when Martin Brodeur went down Scott Clemmensen picked up just about all the pieces. In his 40 starts this year Clemmensen posted a 25-13-1 record with a 2.39 GAA and a .917 save percentage. Not bad for a goalie who has only had 68 starts in his whole career. As for Martin Brodeur need I say more that after missing 50 games due to injury Brodeur came in and stole the show breaking Patrick Roy’s all-time wins record and looks ready to make another march towards the Stanley Cup.

Other notables this season for the Devils have been Patrick Elias who is on pace for 85 plus points and Brendan Shanahan who has been another great veteran presence.

What I find most interesting about the Devils is there mixture of young and old. Guys like Shanahan and Lagenbrunner playing with kids like Parise and Zajac. A mix of will, drive, youth and experience.

As for coach Brent Sutter, he has taken a team who has always been known to win games due to solid defense and turned them into a team that wins games off offense and defense combined. But if I were you Brent I wouldn’t get to comfortable behind the bench because even a great coach isn’t always Lou Lamoriello’s coach.

Right Claude Julien?

Hedman Could Sneak In At Number One

Fri, 22 May, 2009 07:51:13 GMT

For the basement NHL teams this season has been dedicated to the pursuit of John Tavares of the London Knights.

But as we edge closer and closer to the end of the season its becoming apparent that the team who is most likely to snatch the first pick in the draft may pass up on John Tavares.

Seventy games into their season the New York Islanders sit at 56 points and dead last in the Eastern conference. They will likely finish there come the end of the regular season thus giving them the largest chance at picking first in the 2009 Draft. In other words they would have the largest chance of drafting John Tavares.

But every time I look at the Islanders depth chart I think more and more about them taking Victor Hedman with the first pick and I’m going to explain why:

1. After giving up Chris Campoli in a trade with the Senators the number two slot on defense is now being filled by veteran, Radek Martinek. The soon to be 33 year old isn’t the guy who I see anchoring the Islander defensive core as they go through a rebuilding process. Martinek rakes in an average of 21 minutes of ice time a night. Having Hedman fill Martineks slot would allow for him to rake up a lot of ice time and play in pressure situations. Much like the Leafs did with Luke Schenn this season.

2. Playing for Modo in Sweden Hedman has had the opportunity play with former NHL players. The Modo defensive core has a combined 609 games played in the NHL. For an 18 year old kid like Hedman to have the opportunity to learn from such former NHL players it can only be good for you own experience and improvement as a player. As well it may help in his transformation to the National Hockey League.

3. For any rookie phoneme coming into the league one of the keys to success is having a couple of veterans who can lead you through the first little while of your career. If you look at stars like Sidney Crosby and Wayne Gretzky, both guys were/are great talents but when they came into the NHL they had veterans to lead the way for them. If you look at the New York Islanders that veteran presence is minuscule. Up front aside from Doug Weight, who may not be apart of the Islanders next season, most of the forwards are made up of young guys like Blake Comeau, Kyle Okposo, Frans Nielsen and Jeff Tambellini. Who is around to provide the veteran wisdom for Johnny T? Hedman on the contrary can learn from veteran defensemen such as Mark Streit and Brendan Witt.

4. If the Isles draft Hedman they continue to build up a solid defensive core to play in front of Rick DiPietro who hopefully will stay healthy next season. The Isles then have 10 million dollars in cap space to go and pick up a couple of talented forwards to lead the way up front. Not to mention this season the Isles rank 26th in the league in goals against averaging 3.14 per game. They could use a solid defenseman.

None the less drafting Hedman over Tavares would be a bold move on GM Garth Snows part and if Tavares turns out to be the star that he’s projected and Hedman turns out to be only average the Islanders would put another tick next to drafting disasters.

Maybe they should ask Mike Millbury for some advice.

Brodeur or Roy....I'll Leave It Up To You

Fri, 22 May, 2009 07:49:26 GMT

All this talk about who’s better, Brodeur or Roy is extremely nauseating. So I’m not going to argue for either one of these guys because to be honest, I’m getting a head ache just talking about it.

Martin Brodeur and Patrick Roy are the two best goalies of all time. Why can’t we just leave it at that?

No, No, Brodeur broke, arguably the hardest record for an NHL goaltender to break this past week and we have to find a way to criticize it.

So instead of me choosing one of these goaltenders as the best of all time I’m just going to crush the Brodeur criticism and raise some Roy criticisms that have never been put on the table. It may sound like I’m being biased to Brodeur but I’m not. I just believe it’s unfair that Brodeur has broken an incredible record and anytime you blurt out his name and best in the same sentence your told no its Roy because:

1. Marty Brodeur has 27 shootout wins and shootouts didn’t exist when Roy played.
That is a fair point. But look on the other side of that. Roy played a total of 1029 games in his career, Brodeur has only played 987. Meaning that Brodeur has 42 more games to play before he reaches 1029 games in his career. I’m willing to say in those next 42 starts Brodeur will have a record of at least 27-15, which basically cancels out his shootout wins and still allows him to break Roy’s record.

2. Marty Brodeur has always been known to be apart of a defensive team that has made him look good.
Another fair point, but can we flip and look at the other side of the coin again. What about the New Jersey offense? Excluding this season, since 2001-2002 the Devils have never posted a goals for average above 2.74. Meaning Brodeur GAA better of been good otherwise the Devils wouldn’t have been successful in those years. By the way since 2001-2002 the Devils haven’t missed the playoffs, and haven’t finished lower then 6th in the East. Maybe Brodeur has made the Devils look good?

Its time for Patrick Roy to take a little bit of criticism.

1. The argument that Brodeur has been apart of a team with an extremely solid defensive core has been made a million times over. Yes the likes of Scott Stevens, Scott Niedermayer and Ken Daneyko makes for a strong back end but I’ve never once heard people talk about the back end Roy had. Adam Foote, Rob Blake, and Ray Bourque were apart of the Colorado defensive core when they won the Cup in 2001 with Roy in between the pipes.

2. What about the offense that Brodeur never had? When they won the Stanley Cup in 2001 Colorado had an offensive powerhouse consisting of Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg, Milan Hejduk, Alex Tanguay and Chris Drury. When Brodeur carried the Devils to the Stanley Cup in 2003 the Devils didn’t have one player score 30 goals.

So that’s all, take the points as you wish, just do me a favor, don’t criticize Brodeur’s wins record. The guy has won 552 games fair and square. But beyond that the bottom line is Roy and Brodeur are the greatest goalies in NHL history. Interesting that neither of them have ever won a Hart Trophy. I guess we have to leave that one to Jose Theodore.

Brodeur:                            Roy:

GP: 987                             GP: 1029
Wins: 552                         Wins: 551
GAA: 2.20                          GAA: 2.54
SV%: .914                         SV%: .912
SO:100                              SO: 66
Cups: 3                             Cups: 4
Vezinas: 4                     Vezinas: 3
Gold Medals: 1              Gold Medals: 0
Hart Trophy: 0                  Hart Trophy: 0

Sprinkle Some Madness Into January

Fri, 22 May, 2009 07:46:51 GMT

The middle of March is a great time for sports fans. The NHL and NBA are both in the final stretch of their respective regular seasons, spring training for Major League Baseball is in full swing, and of course, March Madness gets under way for NCAA Men’s Basketball.

I think I watch the Madness for the same reasons as the next guy, buzzer beaters, comebacks, upsets and the fact that on any given night anything can happen.

But, as exciting as March Madness is, I think the NCAA has a tournament format that they aren’t using to its full potential. Why not take the NCAA basketball tournament format and let football use it too.

I personally think the “Bowl” format NCAA football uses now is stupid. Who cares about who wins the Tostitos Bowl or the Fiesta Bowl or the f**kin Papa John’s Pizza Bowl for that matter. Please don’t make me list off the other 28 bowls college football has cause I might have carpal tunnel afterwards. I mean how many bowls can you have? Sixteen teams that all can give themselves the title of Champions. Well that’s not lame at all.

I know football is obviously a little bit more grueling and physical then basketball so playing up to six games in a three-week period might be insane.

What if instead, you took the top 32 ranked college football teams in the United States and threw them into a four-division bracket much like you see in college basketball. Each team in the four divisions would be ranked one through eight and the tournament would be played on a week-by-week basis over the course of five weeks. Meaning round one would take place over the first week, round two over the second week and so on and so forth. One game a week seems substantial.

You throw all these games into January, when many of the “Bowl” games are played right now and you could call the tournament the Papa Johns January Journey of College Football. Wow doesn’t that just roll right off your tongue.

I’m obviously not looking at the fine details here, like the people in the NCAA who are raking in the cash to have big companies like Papa Johns have a football game named after them. But come on, aside from Rutgers and NC State fans, who really cares about the 2008 Papa Johns.com Bowl Champion?

Lets get the top 32 college football teams, throw them in a tournament bracket and after five weeks crown one the National Champion.

But more importantly, does the winner of the Papa Johns.com Bowl get a free party size?

The WBC: A Bright Spot In Baseballs Darkest Hours...That's All

Fri, 22 May, 2009 07:45:00 GMT

I have to admit, I’m not a big baseball fan and I’m not sure when I will be… My apologies baseball fans but for some reason I need a sport with a high level of intensity, physicality and lots of excitement. And although a walk-off homerun in the bottom of the 15th of an ALCS game is as exciting as it gets in sports, the rest of the baseball season doesn’t quite do it for me.

Not to mention all the lying and cheating that goes on in the game. Definitely doesn’t help me find a place in my heart for baseball. It also doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand that all the crap going on in the game is awful for its fan base. Especially when some of your biggest stars are apart of it.

But the WBC has definitely come into play at the right time to stop the yapping about steroids for a couple weeks leading up to the regular season when writers are going to have to focus on the actual game rather then the scandals that surround it.

Even with missing stars such as Albert Pujols, Manny Ramirez, Ryan Howard and now Alex Rodiriguez who’s out with an injury the WBC has still managed to provide some instant classics. Canada’s dog fight against the U.S.A and Netherlands upset over the Dominican Republic are two in particular that have to of had fans on the edge of their seats.

All that said, what’s bothering me about the World Baseball Classic is the geniuses who are saying that this tournament or whatever you want to call it is “Baseball’s comeback” or that it will peak America’s interest in a former “National Pastime.”

I say thats a bunch of B.S. You’re going to attempt to tell fans that with all the scandals that have taken place over the past year that this tournament is going to erase it all and the game is going to go back to normal?

Baseball is going through its toughest times since the strike in 1994. The Mitchell Report, Clemens and now A-rod, as a sports fan all you can ask yourself is whose next? Players and fans alike might want to hit me over the head with a bat, but its gotten to the point where people must be thinking to themselves that you can’t play baseball without a performance enhancing drug by your side.

Although the WBC can’t save baseball it has been able to bring an unbelievable excitement to the game in a time when it needs it most and it’s a tremendous “prequel” to the 2009 season which is just under a month away.

People will never forget the scandals that have taken the game by storm over the past decade, but the 2009 World Baseball Classic has been pretty unforgettable as well, with more to come.

T.O: The Ultimate Villain in Sports

Fri, 22 May, 2009 05:05:25 GMT

In every sport, fans label at least one player as “the villain.” He/she is the one person in their respective sport who you as a fan love to hate. In the MLB you have Barry Bonds, the PGA Tour, Phil Mickelson, the NHL, Sean Avery and the NBA, Raja Bell, Bruce Bowen and for Toronto fans Vince Carter. Some NBA fans also say Kobe Bryant but I think he just falls under the “He’s so fu**ing good we have to hate him” category.

But there is one athlete who rises above them all. One guy who even if you don’t follow his sport you know his name and what he’s all about. One guy who we’ll call “The D League’s douche bag” or the definitive dick head. Whichever you prefer. We all know him, some dislike him and some despise him. He’s Terrell Owens.

There are some guys who I listed above whose antics I can stand. Like Sean Avery. Ok the guy may or may not have crossed the line when “he said his sloppy seconds” statement, but I would be lying and so would any sports fan who is reading this right now, if you said you didn’t laugh when you heard him say it.

As for Terrell Owens’ his touchdown celebrations I love. But his attitude towards everyone around him I cannot stand. Watching him tear into his teammates on the sidelines during games is despicable and disgraceful. We talk about how guys who take steroids should be ashamed because they are role models to kids. But if I’m a parent it’s just as bad to see Terrell Owens on the sidelines then it is to see A-Rod admit to steroids. A kid is more likely to go onto the football field and act like an idiot and treat his teammates like garbage because his hero Terrell Owens does it then he is to stab himself with a needle because his hero Alex Rodriguez did it. I’m not downgrading the stupidity of a guy taking steroids so please don’t take it that way.

Recently Owens signed with the Buffalo Bills for about 6.5 million dollars and to be honest I don’t get it. He was a douche in San Francisco, a douche in Philadelphia, a douche in Dallas and you can bet he’s going to be a douche in Buffalo. One better, he’s now the veteran of a young team, or in other words the leader and supposed role model. Now that’s a funny joke.

Ok, I admit, if all goes according to plan, T.O could be a nice fit for the Bills and a great for young quarterback, Trent Edwards. But at the same time T.O was supposed to win a Superbowl with the Eagles and he didn’t. The Cowboys were also supposed to be one of the most dangerous teams in the NFL with T.O, they weren’t. I’m not saying that it’s all Owens’ fault; I’m just saying that nothing goes according to plan with Terrell Owens around. So if things in Buffalo go like things went in Phili and Dallas then Owens’ could single handedly tear Trent Edwards and the team apart.

But T.O, before you rip into Edwards on the sidelines remember, that’s your teammate, that’s your quarterback and if you do that it’s simply not fair. Tear, tear.

The Resurgence Of "The Diesel"

Fri, 22 May, 2009 05:05:56 GMT

Sometimes sports has a little too much drama for me. All the off the field garbage reminds me of one of those stupid MTV reality shows.

I admit that all the sports drama makes for good stories, most of which I enjoy writing and reading about, but its upsetting that sometimes the athletes’ off field crap takes away from their on field performances.

So today being Shaquille O’Neal’s 37th birthday I thought we’d recap the ups, downs and turn arounds of his career… On the court.

For a star in any sport, your career is usually summed up in this five or six step process: Note I say usually.
1. You reach your peak.
2. You play at your peak for a number of years.
3. You begin to slide off the peak.
4. You continue to slide until you hit rock bottom.
5. You retire.
6. Some will try to make a comeback.

Then there are the few stars that go through this process:
1. You reach your peak.
2. You play at your peak for a number of years.
3. You begin to slide off your peak.
4. You continue to slide off.
5. You stop yourself before hitting rock bottom.
6. You begin to climb back to what you once were.

The 2nd process suits Shaquille O’Neal quite well after what he’s done this season.

For 13 seasons Shaq was the guy on the basketball court you didn’t want to f**k with. Averaging 26.7 points and 11.9 rebounds per game. His game numbers speak for themselves but in case they don’t feel free to add on:
4 NBA Titles
2 NBA scoring championships
an NBA MVP
1992/93 Rookie of the Year
3 All Star Game MVP’s
15 All Star Game appearances.

However, the 2006/07 season brought what looked like the beginning of the end for Shaq’s career. He was plagued by injury and his on court presence was disintegrating. By about the mid point of 2007/08 his numbers had dropped to just over 14 points and 7 rebounds per game.

Shaq was then shipped over to the Phoenix Suns but the new scenery didn’t play much of a help to him only averaging 12.7 points in his first season (29 games) with the Suns. It looked like it was all coming to an end for Shaq after 16 seasons in the NBA.

This season however, he returned for another season with the Suns and what a difference its been. Shaq has been able to stay healthy and dress for 54 of the Suns 61 games and his numbers have drastically improved from the last two seasons. He’s averaging close to 19 points and 9 rebounds per game as his team tries to make a run for the 8th playoff spot in the Western Conference.

Although he will never quite be the Shaq of old, it’s nice to see a guy who has brought a great deal to the game of basketball have success late in his career. Plus he still does a great interview. Right Ru Paul… I mean Chris Bosh.

Happy Birthday Shaq!

The Ups, Downs, And Over Expectation: Looking Back At Deadline Day

Fri, 22 May, 2009 04:43:49 GMT

For my third blog post I really wanted to explore another sport but for Trade Deadline purposes I had to stick with the NHL for this one. But post #4 which will come within the next few days and will definitely move away from the NHL.

Now that the housekeeping issues are dealt with I can move on. The NHL Trade Deadline for some hockey fans is like a national holiday. You spend the day flipping through your two or three sports channels watching and waiting for all the deals to go down. What could be better?

Well for me, Deadline Day is the most frustrating and annoying day of the hockey season.

I swear there is something about watching and waiting for the big deals that are “supposed” to happen, that’s like nails on a chalkboard. Then worse then nails on a chalkboard, continuing to watch until 3 o’clock and then you realize the days deals are done and one of the biggest of the day was Bill Guerin for a conditional draft pick. It’s laughable. What happened to Bouwmeester, Gaborik, Hejduk, Smyth and several others who again were “supposed” to go.

I wanted to pull my hair out.

But instead of doing that I’ll share some of the deals and teams I DID like on Deadline Day.

Phoenix: For whatever reason I’m a Coyotes fan and I can’t say much out of what I saw from them on Wednesday other then, young blood, young blood, and more young blood and I love it.

Olli Jokinen didn’t work out the way the Coyotes would have liked him to only raking in 42 points thus far, so shipping him out and dropping his 5.25 million salary was the right idea. Not to mention they grabbed a first round pick and another young and cheap (1.5 million) forward in Matthew Lombardi. Lombardi has 30 points in 50 games and will likely see more ice as a Coyote, (possibly centering the top line) hopefully leading to more offensive production.

- The Coyotes also shipped out Defenceman Derek Morris to the Rangers. Morris is supposed to be an offensive d-man but his offensive production has been close to non existent this season (5 goals and 12 points in 57 games)

- In exchange for Morris the Coyotes received young forwards, Nigel Dawes and Petr Prucha. Prucha has had a rough couple of years in New York after a solid rookie season (47 points) and few years back. Hopefully a new scenery with less expectation in Phoenix will help the young forward resurge his career.

- As for Nigel Dawes he has had a tough season in New York with only 19 pts in 52 games after a promising 29 points in 61 games last season. Hopefully like Prucha a new scenery in Phoenix will allow Dawes to loosen up and be the top 6 forward New York had planned him to be. Also in the Morris deal the Coyotes acquired veteran defencemen, Dmitri Kalinin.

- Finally the Coyotes added forward Scottie Upshall from the Philidaphia Flyers in exchange for tough guy Dan Carcillo. Upshall has 21 points in 55 games this season playing on the 3rd line in Phili and could see first line duty in Phoenix.

- All in all the Phoenix Coyotes continue to add young talent and build a young team. If all goes well with the kids the Coyotes have a very bright future whether its in Phoenix or elsewhere.

Toronto: Leaf fans I know many of you may be disappointed with Wednesdays events, only shipping out forwards Nik Antropov and Dominic Moore, both for 2nd round draft picks, wasn’t your idea of a busy day, but, really what did you honestly expect?
You say first round picks, I say for who?
You say we should of dealt Blake, I say nobody wants his ridiculous $4.6 million contract.
You say what about Vesa, I say he’s out for the year.
You say what about for more for Moore and Antropov, I say you got exactly what those two guys deserved. Moore will be a third liner on Buffalo and Antrpov ain’t going to be higher in the Ranger depth chart then Gomez or Drury.

This is the beginning of Brian Burke’s long stint in Toronto and after many years of disaster with JFJ this team isn’t going to correct itself overnight. The way I see it the Leafs grabbed a couple draft picks and continue on the road to rebuilding. Hopefully Burke drafts well in June and grabs a couple young free agents over the summer. So Leaf fans relax, your GM is heading in the right direction but face the facts, you are going to have to lose a bunch before you start to win. As for the goalie thing today I don’t really get it other then Joseph cant play that many games to close out the season and Pogge just isn’t ready for the NHL.

Calgary: This team is going to be dangerous come playoff time after making the biggest deal of the day and adding another scoring centremen in Olli Jokinen. If we see the Jokinen of years past he is a guy that can score 30 plus goals in a season, however we still have yet to see how he fairs in playoff hockey. The only other question I have for Flames coach Mike Keenan is who centers Jerome Iginla, Cammalleri or Jokinen. If I’m Keenan I have to stick with Cammalleri.

The Flames also added defenceman Jordan Leopold from the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for Lawrence Nycholat, Ryan Wilson and a 2nd round pick in 09. Leopold was a member of the Flames during their Stanley Cup run in 2004 and adds chemistry and depth to a back end that saw Marc Giordano down recently to injury. In 64 games with Colorado, Leopold had 6 goals and 20 points.

Ottawa: In the first deal of Deadline 2009, the Sens grabbed goaltender Pascal Leclaire from the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for Forward Anton Vermette. If we see the same Leclaire we saw in 2007/08 (24-17-6 GAA: 2.27 S%: .919) then Leclaire could be the goalie that the Sens have never had. If not, Lecalire could be another Lalime.

The Sens were looking ahead to next season with the Leclaire deal because he will be out for the rest of the season with an ankle injury.

So these were the four teams I enjoyed most on a rather boring Deadline Day. One other notable team being the Edmonton Oilers who acquired Patrick O’Sullivan from the L.A Kings and Ales Kotalik from the Buffalo Sabres late in the day to try and keep that 7th spot in the Western Conference.

All that’s left to say about the 2008-2009 NHL Trade Deadline is, TSN I want my $3 spent on TEXT ALERTS back.

He Wears His Heart On His Sleeve..... Stop Criticizing Him For It

Fri, 22 May, 2009 04:38:10 GMT

I originally wanted to make this blog a weekly one but this morning I was reading something that really pissed me off, and its not the first time that its been brought to my attention.

You know I understand the NHL critics bashing a guy like Sean Avery for making dumb comments in front of a camera or ranting about Ryan Hollweg for some of his stupid head shots at the beginning of the season, but to bash Alex Ovechkin for celebrating after every goal he or his linemates score… That’s completely ridiculous.

The fact is the kid goes out there on a daily basis and does things on the ice that make fans jaws drop to the floor. That goal he scored against Montreal a couple weeks back was the nicest I’ve ever seen, aside from his famous goal against Phoenix a few years back… If you’re a hockey fan you know the one, no need to say anything other then, on his back swinging his stick over his head.

But its not only the goals, the hits, or the play making that make him a joy to watch (although those definitely play a part)… Its the passion. Every time he or one his teammates scores he looks like any other NHLer would after they win the Stanley Cup… Can’t wait too see what he looks like when his turn at the Cup comes around.

All that being said, those skills and character traits combined make Alex Ovechkin the most “electrifying” player in the NHL and arguably in all of sports.

So you’d think the NHL critics would smile and say we love this kids heart and passion. You’d think they’d say “finally we have a face for our game”…Because quite frankly there isn’t much personality or charisma behind the talent of Sidney Crosby. No, No instead guys like Cherry come down on Ovechkin and tell him to act like a good old Canadian boy.

Gimme a break, Alex Ovechkin is on his way to his second straight 50 plus goal season and once again is looking like he can take home all the hardware at the NHL Awards in June.

Ovechkin is going to be the face of the game for at least the next 10 years and if more guys played with the passion that he does, our game might have better T.V ratings in the States.

As for Crosby’s comments, I think the kid is just jealous that at this point in time Ovechkin has the spotlight and he’s stuck in the shadows.

By: Dustin P.

Check up here on Friday for a third edition of “The D League.” Thanks for reading.

Double Dose of Schenn possibility for Leafs

Fri, 22 May, 2009 04:30:56 GMT

     As the final 20 games wind down for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Leaf fans continue to lick their lips at the slim chance of getting John Tavares with the #1 pick in the 2009 entry draft.

     Unfortunately for those fans, as it looks right now the Leafs are going to finish on the outside looking in to both the playoffs but more importantly another draft lottery.

     Right now the Leafs sit in 11th spot in the Eastern Conference and 24th in the league, three points up on the Colorado Avalanche who sit in the final lottery spot. Meaning unless they have an extreme downwards spiral in these last 20 games, or General Manager Brian Burke puts a voodoo spell on New York Islanders GM Garth Snow the Leafs aren’t going to get Johnny T.

     Realistically when the season comes to an end the Leafs will likely finish between 24th and 27th spot in the league leaving them with a first round pick between 4th and 6th overall. So if Leaf fans take their eyes off the unrealistic hopes of future stars John Tavares and Victor Hedmen they will see a certain somebody not too much further down the draft list with a very familiar last name. Luke Schenn’s brother, Brayden.

     This year, in his rookie season with the Brandon Wheat Kings of the WHL, Brayden scored 28 goals and tallied 71 points in 66 games winning rookie of the year. Schenn is a 6?00 200 pound center who is described by mynhldraft.com as “a mature player for his age, who possesses a laser wrist shot and is not afraid to get his hands dirty in the corners.

     Brayden’s brother Luke has made a name for himself in Toronto this season becoming a distinctive fan favorite and in an interview earlier in the season Luke said it would be pretty special to have two brothers playing together at the same time in Toronto.

     Brayden Schenn may be no John Tavares but he may be another piece of the puzzle for the rebuilding Leafs. Besides GM Brian Burke does have a thing for brothers.

By: Dustin P.