The View From My Seats

New Site

2008-12-01T09:43:00.001-08:00

I'm no longer updating at this site. To continue to see my random thoughts from the sports world, you can find me at: www.viewfrommyseats.com

O Canada, Our Home and Naïve Land

2008-08-28T11:23:00.000-07:00

“Americans are benevolently ignorant about Canada, while Canadians are malevolently well informed about the United States.”
--J. Bartlett Brebner

Canadians may very well be well-informed about the U.S. on many occasions, just not this one. Very rarely do I read something that can make me so angry that I actually have to walk away from the article. Often times I’ll read something in another city’s newspaper and disagree (or even question their motives), but it doesn’t go much further than a dismissing laugh. The Calgary Sun’s coverage of Michael Cammalleri coming to town definitely struck a nerve—and I don’t think I’m the only one.

When an organization is able to land a point-per-game player, I understand that an entire city should be happy. I liked Cammy when he was in L.A., and at the same time I completely understand why he was traded. As of today, the trade the sent Cammalleri to the Flames for the right to draft Colten Teubert looks like a win-win for both teams. So why did a Calgary-based writer feel the need to bash King fans while covering Cammy’s arrival?

Apparently it will be a new experience for Cammy to play in front of die-hard fans. Let’s see, I spent my tuition money on tickets when I was in college. My friend has traveled all over to see the Kings play—including to the almighty Calgary. Philly Phan and his parents took me to games every year with their season tickets, even though it meant a 50 mile drive each way to south central LA on week nights.

Here’s the gold standard for dedication. When I was in Chicago for business in my early 20’s, I extended my stay for an extra day to catch a game between the Kings and Blackhawks. I took a bus (not the safest mode of transportation in Chicago) to the United Center (not the safest neighborhood in the Midwest) so I could cruise the lots for a scalper. I scored VIP tickets at the blueline, watched the Kings win 5-1, talked enough junk to hold my own vs. the 9,000 Blackhawk fans in attendance (post about 73892 Linnie’s Reds brought to me by my server). While drunk, I got BACK onto public transportation with my Kings jersey and with 20 angry Blackhawk fans. Throwing caution to the wind, I supported my team behind enemy lines alone. Tell me, does that sound like I was invested with my heart?

I have to remember that this was an unknowledgeable media member spewing his ignorance on a topic he clearly shouldn’t be tackling. I have no problem with him covering Cammalleri’s arrival to the Stampede City, but I’d rather he left out the personal attacks on a fan-base that he clearly has no familiarity in dealing with. I wonder if he’ll ever realize what it takes to follow a team when they’re NOT winning. Watching the Kings rebuild from the ground-up has been painful for all of the hockey fans in L.A. But just because it’s hard, it doesn’t mean that we’ll leave our team. King fans (maybe more than any other fans in L.A.) loyally stick through the ups and downs of the franchise. Obviously, the valleys have outnumbered the peaks in their 40 years, but that further highlights their dedication.

The writer goes on to explain how there will be pressure in Calgary because of the media’s attention towards their hockey team. That isn’t a hockey or a media thing, that’s a CULTURAL thing. Los Angeles is simply more laid back in every facet of life, not just sporting coverage. I could make the argument that if hockey results affect your everyday life, then maybe you should reassess your priorities in life. Fortunately, I won’t—mostly because then I would have to reassess my own preferences in life!

Just a parting shot towards that writer though. I was thinking about the histories of each of these franchises, and it occurred to me that some King fans have been invested in this team for 15 years longer than the Flames have been in existence. I’m not saying that Flames fans aren’t dedicated; I’m just saying that we’re on equal footing here. In fact, I know the Calgary Cowboys folded after two years in Alberta in the mid-1970s. I assumed it was because the WHA was struggling, but I came to find out that the team closed its doors because there was a lack of fan support and they could not sell enough season tickets.

Hey, at least L.A. fans support our teams enough that they don’t have to disband. But what do I know? Clearly I don’t care as much as anyone from Calgary.

Does the NHL view HOCKEY as a regional sport?

2008-08-19T16:47:00.000-07:00

I like to think of myself as a man’s man. I’m not down with chick-flicks, I am a drama-free zone when I’m at work, and shopping is NOT my favorite pastime. But when I flew to New York last week, I knew I’d be hitting up the NHL Store in midtown Manhattan. It’s not easy to find a Calgary Flames sweatshirt in Southern California, so what better place to find one than on the east coast? (Yes, in retrospect, I know that doesn’t make any sense whatsoever).

When I walked into the store, it didn’t surprise me to see New York Rangers and Pittsburgh Penguins stuff all over the place. The NHL looks like they’re ready to flood the market with as much “Winter Classic” apparel as possible even though it’s still 5 months away. Neither of those really shocked me—anytime I see anything from the league, they seem to be pushing the Pens, the Rangers, or the Winter Classic.

I think the most stunning facet of my visit was the stuff that I did NOT see. If the team wasn’t from the Northeast, their gear was noticeably absent from the “NHL Store.” Maybe it should be renamed the “NHL’s Atlantic Division” store. If that were the case, I’d have no problem with the selective gear they chose to push.

I’m not going to write about how they didn’t have a Calgary Flames hoodie for me to snatch. It seemed like this store (which is actually run by the NHL and Rbk) showed some of the fundamental flaws for the league as a whole. Not only did it show the imperfections, but it shows that the NHL knows that they have a problem. Let me explain…

The NHL (more specifically, Gary Bettman) has been trying to expand into non-traditional hockey markets ever since Gretzky was traded to L.A. Out were cities like Winnipeg, Quebec City, and Hartford only to be replaced with the Phoenixes, Raleighs, and Atlantas of the world. Here’s the problem: people in the Sunbelt don’t care about hockey. It pains me to say that, and I wish it wasn’t true, but let’s be real. People in Toronto care more about hockey than people in Tampa.

Clearly the NHL knows it too. In a retail environment where the almighty dollar is king, there was nothing resembling a Coyote or a Blue Jacket in the entire place. At first I figured that it was just the northeast-centric nature of New York City. But then I looked around a little more and it became clear that there were only a few teams adequately represented. Predictably, there were Maple Leaf sweatshirts, Sabre shirts and Montreal polos. Gretzky, Crosby and Ovechkin were very well represented. Of course, there were hats, shirts, banners and any other article of memorabilia you can imagine with Detroit’s logo and a Stanley Cup. All of that was anticipated.

But where was the Anaheim Ducks gear? Didn’t they win the Cup just a season ago? How about the Sharks who were the 2nd best team in the Western Conference? At first I thought it was a west coast thing. Then I looked for anything related to the Hurricanes or Lightning and again I was turned away. Last time I checked, they were the last 2 Eastern Conference teams to win it all. That’s when my mind turned toward something much bigger than a New York absorbed hockey league.

The only team from the West that was represented was the Red Wings. In a store that is supposed to represent the entire league, there wasn’t anything from below the Mason-Dixon Line. The league has to know that these franchises are struggling. Hell, they won’t even stock their own store with their stuff because they know it won’t sell. The entire point of the store is to make money, and they are only stocking gear from the northeast teams. That has to say something!

What about cities like Atlanta? The Atlanta market has already lost a team once and by all indicators they should lose the Thrashers as well. A team like the Florida Panthers can play to an arena 20% empty and that would mark a good season in regards to attendance. With the constant ownership questions surrounding the Predators, their future is “as stable as a drunk on shaky ground” (thank you Widespread Panic). If it was not for the league’s intervention, the Preds would already be playing their home games in Hamilton, ON.

It seems like the only things that will sell represent teams where hockey is part of the culture. Hockey isn’t going anywhere in Canada. In the states, Minnesota, New England and upstate New York look to have a grassroots hockey system that are as strong as ever.

As much as Gary Bettman may want to try, I don’t see how hockey is ever going become a way of life in the western and southern United States. I love this game more than what’s socially acceptable, but I’m in the minority. I completely understand the league offices making every attempt to expand and grow the game across the country. It’s good business to maximize the earning potential of the product. However, its also good business to cut your loses when expenditures are no longer an investment. The NHL’s broken business model led to the work stoppage a few years ago, only to be replaced with another flawed business model. Only 3 short seasons after the league lost a season due to a lockout (enforced by the owners), there are already franchises claiming they are losing money because of the rapidly rising salary cap. Wasn’t the entire point of giving up a season financial stability? Maybe it’s the notion of playing hockey in South Beach that’s causing the underlying economic difficulties.

There seems to be a disconnect between what the league says in public and what they produce when it comes time to make money. They SAY that the league is thriving all over the continent, yet the same 5 or 6 teams are constantly shown on NBC. They say the league is bringing in fans from non-traditional markets, but when they sell the merchandise those same franchises are nowhere to be found. It’s just not adding up. They’re not even using their store to promote there up-and-coming teams. It would be nice to see them be proactive in SOME area of their marketing scheme, wouldn’t it?

And to think, all I wanted was a Calgary sweatshirt.

The Greatest King’s Arrival

2008-08-09T13:00:00.000-07:00

“To love one that is great, is almost to be great one's self.”
--Madame Neckar

Twenty years ago to the day, hockey and the NHL changed forever. Canada lost one of its national treasures; while Southern California added yet another person to its repertoire of famous people. Two decades later and the ever-changing sports landscape has never been the same. Twenty years ago Wayne Gretzky came to L.A.

For all of his triumphs and accolades, Wayne Gretzky’s most enduring legacy is that he made the NHL viable in the Sunbelt. Whether hockey in the warm weather states has a long term future is a different conversation for a different day. If it wasn’t for the trade that Peter Pocklington made to send Gretzky to the Kings, expansion wouldn’t have been an option.

It wasn’t the record breaking skill that proved to be the most important attribute that he could contribute. Gretzky was able to create a buzz around the Kings that the team had never seen before (or since). He provided star power in a city that lives on star power. He personified the boost the fledgling team needed to merely survive. First the first time in their history, the Kings were able to bring-in the casual sports fan around L.A. Celebrities would come out in full force, and they in turn, brought the attention of the average Joe.

Native Canadian and California resident Alan Thicke always had a joke about the state of the Kings franchise before the arrival of The Great One. “What time does the game start?” someone would ask. His response: “What time can you be there?” Attendance wasn’t exactly the Kings strong suit in the early 1980s. As great as the Triple Crown line was, it never permeated the psyche of Californians. Gretzky’s arrival changed all of that.

I’ll never forget when I was in Vancouver 5 years ago for the 15th anniversary of the trade. The local news led with the story, TSN dedicated the first 10 minutes of their broadcast to the transaction, and it was on the front page of the newspaper. An “analyst” on one of the stations was talking about how Gretz left the land that he loved because, “that selfish B-actress wife of his needed to be in L.A. so she could star in Police Academy 7.” I’m paraphrasing there, but I think that captures the general degree of hate that was conveyed. I had no idea that it was STILL that big of a deal in Canada. I can just imagine what they were feeling in Edmonton.

One of the aspects of the trade that doesn’t get nearly enough attention is the part where Bruce McNall sent $15 million to the Edmonton franchise (in addition to the players sent to Alberta). In many ways, August 9, 1988 can be pointed to as the first time where small-market teams were forced to give up a star player because of financial concerns. Even though the Oilers were the dominate team in the 1980s, it was revealed that management was having money problems and THAT was the only reason they traded Gretzky. Little did the sports world know that this issue would be a slippery slope would lead to a pair of work-stoppages in hockey and eventually usher in the salary cap era.

All of the things that Wayne Gretzky brought the NHL have been beaten to death. I thought that on this memorable day, I’d remind all Kings fans to remember the excitement they felt on that historic day. I can’t believe it's been 20 years—but I’m still waiting for that Cup he was supposed to bring with him!

(Pictures can be found at Google Images)

Who is the better #19?

2008-08-08T09:00:00.000-07:00

"Our similarities are different."
-- Philip James Bailey

I was watching one of the classic series from NHL network last week and they were replaying some of the memorable moments from the Red Wings/Avalanche rivalry in the 1990s. Maybe it was the same #19 on their backs and maybe it was the “C” stitched to the front of their jersey—but I started comparing Joe Sakic to Steve Yzerman. Both were first round draft picks in the entry draft, both were scoring phenoms that immediately produced in the pros, and both were captain of their team by the age of 21. Each of them started on teams that were one of the worst in the league, yet both were able to lead their respective teams out of obscurity to multiple Stanley Cups. So that sparked an interesting thought: Who’s the better #19?

Any discussion that tries to encapsulate Stevie Y’s career has to begin with his leadership qualities. This is a man that is revered to this day in Motown for the things he did for the Red Wings organization—and by extension the city of Detroit. He is the type of captain that transcends the sport of hockey and seeped into the mainstream in his city. Billboards showed his face, his image represented the quiet working man’s mentality the city prided itself on, and he brought the Red Wings back to relevancy. Before his arrival in the mid-1980s, Detroit was less Hockeytown and more Tigerville. 20 years and 3 Cups later, the Red Wings own the city and are the model franchise for the entire league. The man’s number was basically retired by Wayne Gretzky for all of Team Canada because of the skills and qualities that he brought to their teams in international competition. I’d say he has his share of intangibles. Here’s what one of Detroit’s favorite columnists had to say about him:
“Yzerman is not the youngest, the strongest, nor the fastest, and he was never the biggest. But make no mistake, he is the maximus of gladiators, the man who fights wounded and bleeding, with a heart as large as any lion they spring on him”
--Mitch Albom

His most memorable performance was in the 2002 playoffs when he was able to score 23 points while leading the Red Wings to the Stanley Cup. The points were secondary though, as he was performing on basically one leg. Minus any noticeable cartilage in his knee, he was able to provide the leadership on and off the ice to lead his team to the Promised Land.

Besides all of the subjective qualities Yzerman brought to the rink, he was also able to deliver with his talent. By the end of his career, he was just 8 goals shy of 700 and finished 6th all time with 1755 points. His 155 points in the 1988-1989 season has only been matched by men named Gretzky and Lemieux. Later in his career, he willingly gave up some of his scoring role to dedicate himself to becoming a better two-way player. Once a defensive liability, by the end of his career he transformed himself into one of the best DEFENSIVE centers in the game. A leader, warrior, and former sniper who became responsible in his own end of the ice to guide his team to 3 Stanley Cups. That is his legend.

Joe Sakic’s career doesn’t have the awe of the Yzerman aura. Instead, he’s formed his legacy with a celebrated lightning quick wrist shot and more clutch performances than anyone in his generation. In his 2nd, 3rd, and 5th seasons in the league, he scored over 100 points (and narrowly missed the century mark in his 4th season despite missing 13 games due to injury). In addition to his early numbers, the case could be made that he’s aged better than fine wine. In the 8 seasons since his 30th birthday, Sakic has managed to be in the Top 10 in scoring six of those seasons. After missing almost 40 games due to injury last season, he was able to come back and score a point per game in the playoffs. Really, his best season was the 2000-2001 season in which he scored a staggering 118 points in the neutral zone trap era. If you adjust those numbers to the late 1980’s, that total translates to about 168 points. In addition to the mountain of points he collected, he also earned the Hart Trophy, the Stanley Cup, and came in 2nd for the Selke Trophy. Even while he was racking up one of his best statistical seasons, he was honored as one of the best defensive forwards. His 2001 year is one for the ages.

Like Yzerman, Joe Sakic has been a man that led by example. In a locker room that housed players like Peter Forsberg, Patrick Roy, Adam Foote, and Rob Blake—it was Sakic that was the unquestioned leader. In his greatest year (2001), he too led his team to the ultimate prize while battling through injury. In the 1st round, he injured his shoulder—and injury during the regular season that would have sidelined him for almost 2 months. Battling through injuries, he was still able to net 13 goals while dishing out 13 helpers en route to leading all playoff performers in points.

When all is said and done with Sakic’s career, he’ll be remembered most for his ability to raise his game in the most pressure packed situations. He has averaged over a point per game in his 174 career playoff games. He’s the career leader with EIGHT playoff overtime game winning goals. His 18 goals in the 1996 playoffs were second only to Wayne Gretzky’s all-time mark for a single playoff year. Even in the international spotlight, Sakic was a clutch performer in the most important moments. In the 2002 Olympics, he was the offensive catalyst to the Canadian Dream team. He netted 4 goals and 7 points (including 4 points in the Gold Medal game) en route to earning MVP of the Tournament honors. On the biggest of stages, he always raised his game to the highest level.

So who is better? As surprising as it was to me, I found that Joe Sakic actually has better overall career statistics. He has a higher career point per game average, a higher career PLAYOFF point per game average, and has been much more consistent throughout his career. Both have been the faces of their franchises over 2 decades and both are in the top 8 in career points. I guess it comes down to what you value more in a player. Leadership qualities cannot be measured by any number; yet at the end of the day, it’s production is what wins games.

I think I’ll just take both and call it a day…

Kings Development Camp 2008

2008-07-30T10:30:00.000-07:00

“With your past and your future precisely divided
Am I at that moment?”
--Phish

It’s always nice to be reminded from time to time that there’s going to be hope for the Kings. In a summer that has watched the free-agency period start with no reaction whatsoever from our management, the Prospect Camp was a much needed reminder where our future stands. We know that there are guys like Drew Doughty, Colten Teubert, and Thomas Hickey on the horizon for the next few years. But who else is there? You can read as many articles as you want praising the future, but sometimes it helps to see with your own 2 eyes. Here’s what I saw with my own 2 eyes:

Justin Azevedo (Forward): Much smaller than I thought in person. Sneaky, accurate shot, smart player that is good at bringing the defender towards him before making the pass. Best attribute is his hockey sense.

Andrew Campbell (Defenseman): 3rd rounder has some work to do. Looks like a good pick-up for his place in the draft. He reminded me of Davis Drewiske except a little bigger. He should fit in immediately as a 3-4 defenseman in Manchester this year.

Robert Czarnik (Forward): I was incredibly impressed with this kid. Robert has some serious wheels (even if he took a few nose dives into the boards). He has a nice quick shot and is already stronger on his skates that it would initially appear. I’m very excited about this guy.

Mike D’Orazio (Defenseman): Mike was an invitee to the Development Camp. He is on the smaller side, but a very mobile defenseman. In fact, Mike looked better than some of the guys that are actually property of the Kings. Good pass, looks like he’d be the kind of defenseman that would not hesitate to lead the rush.

Drew Doughty (Defenseman): The 2 things that stood out to me were his decisiveness and his intelligence on the ice. It almost looked like things were in slow motion for him. In the exact same “dump and chase” drills that had some of the defensemen flustered, he just looked as though he would cruise back, make a pass, and the drill would be done. He was just BETTER than anyone else in those drills. (And I was looking for flaws in his game). During the prospects game, he controlled the puck and the play at will. From my perspective, he lived up to any bit of hype he’s received.

Dwight King (Forward): Very powerful player. He almost looked like Wayne Simmonds with a better shot. In fact, he has a very good, hard, heavy shot. The difference? His hands aren’t the greatest. Someone at the rink mentioned, “You can teach grit, but not hands.” If they can get a little better, he’d remind me of Glen Murray.

Andrei Loktionov (Forward): Another guy with a high hockey IQ. During the one-on-one drills, he didn’t look very good (but he’d just stepped off of a plane from Russia, so that might have something to do with it). The 3-on-2 drills were much better for him. He had a knack for finding the open area in the high slot. He definitely has a good amount of upside. He had something “different” than all the other forwards. It just looked like he saw the game differently.

Oscar Moller (Forward): Oscar is a very good offensive player who is creative with good instincts. His shot looked alright, but the rest of his game looks polished. He’s probably the most creative guy in camp. Also, he had a great attitude the entire time and looked to be explaining drills/strategy with teammates between drills.

Garrett Roe (Forward): Very, very fast and has a lightning quick release on his wrist shot. I was impressed that someone with his tools would fall to the 7th round. When he went up against Teubert in one-on-one drills, you can tell he has the will. The only problem was that he simply isn’t strong enough yet. Give him a few years in college.

Linden Rowat (Goaltender): Really quick with his feet, not so quick with his hands. He’ll continue to develop in juniors.

Colten Teubert (Defenseman): Colten was an absolute monster. He was already positioning himself to play the body in the drills. Extremely strong and physical, looks like a future SHUT DOWN defenseman. Also looks like he could be future captain material. Demonstrated great leadership qualities and was extremely competitive. He has a lot of potential.

Vjateslav Voinov (Defenseman): His positional play was extremely good. Each and every play coming towards him, he was able to keep the forward to the outside and away from the premium scoring areas (no exceptions). The young Russian needs to develop a little more strength, but I like his potential and intelligence. Shows a lot of effort and grit every time he’s out there.

Alexander Weiss (Forward): The first day I wasn’t impressed at all. The second day he had a few nice tip-in goals and a few good shots. He showed the potential as a finisher and likes to go top shelf on goaltenders.

Geordie Wudrick (Forward): He looks to be in the same mold of Simmonds except for the fact that he’s more agile. He has the same type of body as Simmonds or King, which is to say that he’s a big boy. The difference is that he has better hands than either of them. He was the last guy off the ice; kind of looked like a rink rat.

Jeff Zatkoff (Goaltender): I thought he was the most impressive goaltender in camp NOT named Bernier. Jeff is a big goaltender that seemed mobile from post to post. I thought the goals he gave up were good goals; my fiancé thought they were cheap goals. I guess it’s all up to interpretation.

Marc-Andre Cliché (Forward): A good forechecker, he seemed to be one of those guys that didn’t stand out, but did everything well. Does not have a very hard shot, but he has speed that could make him an asset.

Jonathan Bernier (Goaltender): Very good. He was very solid with great rebound control. I didn’t see anything that made me doubt that he will be in the NHL one day. With the competition at the development camp, it’s hard to tell exactly HOW good he is though.

Vladimir Dravecky (Forward): Not impressive at all. Problems stick handling, couldn’t beat defensemen one-on-one, and the shot didn’t seem like much. I’ve already typed too much.

Davis Drewiske (Defenseman): He just looks mature. Positionally he’s good and not afraid to finish his man. Unfortunately, his hands aren’t as good as his positioning.

Thomas Hickey (Defenseman): Didn’t participate in any of the drills. He had screws taken out of his ankle which should be healed by the beginning of August. He’ll be there at the beginning of training camp. I'm curious to see how much he has progressed since last year.

Bud Holloway (Forward): Looked like he’s one of the best forecheckers at the camp. Consistently was able to dump and take it away from 2 defensemen.

Trevor Lewis (Forward): I was impressed with his overall game. Good play with speed and skill. He reminded me of a combination of Cliché and Moller. He’s a little bigger and better than Cliché and has hands similar to Oscar Moller (but not quite as good or creative). I think he could be an NHL guy in a couple of years.

Alec Martinez (Defenseman): Plays a quiet game for a defenseman. Really depends on his positioning. The one-on-one drills worried me because Simmonds was able to simply run over him on his way to the crease.

David Meckler (Forward): On Saturday, David buried 5 in a row. He has a hard and accurate shot. At one point, even the scouts were laughing and smiling because he was doing so well. David showed potential as a sniper. He must have impressed management because he signed an extension shortly after camp.

Scott Parse (Forward): Not a bad player, but I can’t put my finger on his skills. He just seems like a hard worker. He’s a little on the small side, but I kept noticing him. He just made good plays.

Joe Piskula (Defenseman): He plays really physical, plain and simple. His top end potential looks like a 5-6 physical defenseman.

Jonathan Quick (Goaltender): Good goalie. He was probably the 3rd best of the group behind Bernier and Zatkoff. Jonathan played better than the 3rd positioning would sound; just shows how deep the Kings’ goaltending pipeline is right now.

Wayne Simmonds (Forward): The guy is an absolute physical monster. The only player that could come close to his strength was Teubert. Their one-on-one drills were power personified. He always goes straight to the net (even in drills). He’s not the best stick handler, but it looks like he’ll go to the net for loose change for his entire career. I’m thinking that he and David Meckler will make a nice combo in Manchester this year.

Daniel Taylor (Goaltender): Not all that great. He leaves a lot of rebounds—so many rebounds that it was the first thing I noticed. His stick handling was also noticeably bad. Of the 5 goaltenders, I think he was the least impressive.

Kevin Westgarth (Forward): He looks like he’s trying to take on a leadership role in Manchester this year. His hands are for fighting, not scoring; so drills don’t really do much to show his “skills.”

That’s the wrap for this year’s Development Camp. There was a really good turn out of fans on both Saturday and Sunday. Honestly, you could feel a little bit of hope in the air. Everyone had smiles on their faces and seemed to be looking at the positives of the players. Maybe it’s because their potential is all we have to hold onto? Maybe the warm weather is getting to us…

(All photos courtesy of Michael Zampelli at LetsGoKings.com)

J-Bo's End is Near

2008-07-29T14:49:00.000-07:00

"Take a look again at things you have collected
In the end it all ties up so tall
To one big nothing, one big nothing at all"

--Dave Matthews Band

It must suck to be a Florida Panthers fan. When a King fan is the one uttering that statement, you know things are pretty messed up. The cornerstone to the franchise, the future of their blueline, and the face of their franchise (Jay Bouwmeester) just straight out said that he doesn’t want a long-term extension because he doesn’t want to play in Florida. Honestly, I can’t blame the guy.

We always talk about how we want our athletes to care about winning. Here’s a guy who wants his team to show some kind of direction and they don’t seem to be willing to do so. "Bouwmeester would not agree to sign anything longer than a one-year contract, telling the Panthers he wants to see what direction the organization is headed." I have to respect where Bouwmeester is coming from. By signing this 1 year $4.8 million contract, he’s obviously taking a sizable pay cut to have the option to become an unrestricted free agent after the season.

Normally, players want to become free agents so they can have their big cash-grab. By taking the 1 year deal to leave himself some options, he’s already turned down cash. The rumor was that the Panthers GM was offering 6 years at $6 million per year. I know that’s just a rumor, but that sounds like the terms that Florida was looking for. If that is true, then Bouwmeester just left $1.2 million on the table this year, not to mention the $30 million over the 5 following years.

Of course, if he signs a gigantic contract with a team like the Islanders or the Thrashers next year, then all of this is moot. But from everything that keeps coming out of his agent’s mouth, this is not about money. It’s about the future of the Panthers and the type of team that he’ll be playing with for the peak years of his career. After 5 seasons of losing with Florida, I doubt he wants his entire career following the same path. Since the Panthers just traded away their captain, still do not look like they have a visible direction for their franchise, and just hired a new coach, who knows what will happen with the team next year. If they continue to tread water near the bottom of the league, why should he stay? If he was the type of guy that didn’t care about winning and was willing to stay with a losing franchise, he wouldn’t be worth any money anyway.

I’m sorry Panther fans; this move just prolongs the inevitable. Whether he’s traded at the deadline or he leaves as a free agent next July, Jay Bouwmeester’s days’ in South Florida look to be numbered.

To the other 29 NHL teams: the line for his services starts to the left. Take a number.

(Side note: Earthquakes suck.)

Fly West Mr. Murray

2008-07-23T11:36:00.000-07:00

“Leadership and learning are indispensible to each other.”
--John F. Kennedy

There’s a difference between a good retread and a bad retread. Usually, the tell-tale sign is when you ask the fans of the coach’s former team and see what they think of him. So what better way to check Terry Murray’s credentials than to go straight to Philly fans? They have a tendency to hate everyone; so if he isn’t completely hated by now, then it should be a pretty good hiring.

The good thing about the Kings and Flyers constantly dealing with one another (apparently because of Lombardi’s relationships within their organization) is that my boy can give me the inside scoop on the people coming our way. Outside of being a Flyers fan, he has pretty good judgment when it comes to hockey. He’s a lot of help specifically with the eastern conference… I swear that dude knows NOTHING about hockey west of Detroit. When I asked him what was up with Terry Murray, his first reaction was a hesitant, “why are you asking?” I told him that it looked like the Kings were going to pick him up as their next head coach, and then I was pleasantly greeted with a list of expletives over the phone. “I was hoping he’d be OUR next coach! Damn it!” I took his anger as a good thing. If he was upset about losing an assistant coach, we might be onto something here. When he finally calmed down, again I asked what he knew about Murray. He broke down both of his tenures in Philadelphia and explained how he’s mostly responsible for the development of their young players. As soon as I heard that, I was sold. I don’t care if he’s been around the block a few times (euphemism for “retread”); if he’s good with young players, sign him up!

So it sounds like he did a good job in both of his stints in the City of Brotherly Love. The first time around, he took the team to the Stanley Cup Finals against the Red Wings. In fact, it was the spotlight of that very series that lead to his premature exit from Philadelphia. After a 6-1 loss in Game 3 of the Finals, he came out in the media and said, “It’s a choking situation.” Actually, a strong argument could be made to support his statement, but that’s beside the point. When you pissed off Eric Lindros AND Bobby Clarke in Philadelphia in the mid-1990s, the facts of any situation were secondary. He was fired after taking his team to the brink of a championship—a position they haven’t seen since.

His second (and most recent) run has been as an assistant coach. From everything I hear, it sounds like John Stevens put him in charge of their penalty kill and to help groom Philly’s younger players. In fact, it sounds like most of the Flyer fans hate John Stevens as their coach. If they were able to go from worst in the league to the Eastern Conference Finals in one year (and they still hate Stevens), there must be a reason. Of course, part of it can be attributed to acquiring a player like Daniel Briere. But I think a bigger part of their success was the development of younger players like Mike Richards, Jeff Carter, Randy Jones, Brandon Coburn, RJ Umberger, and Scott Hartnell. If the younger players were not able to grow into leadership and production roles, there’s no way the Flyers would have been able to right the ship so quickly.

Both of Murray’s other 2 NHL stops produced good/great results. In Washington, he was able to lead the Capitals to the Eastern Finals against the Bruins. Year in, year out, they experienced the most consistency in the history of their franchise. Hell, he was even able to make the Florida Panthers a contender. In 1999-2000, Murray helped guide the Panthers to 43 wins and 98 points (both franchise highs). Anyone that has the coaching ability to lead Florida to within a single victory of the century mark in points should be beyond reproach for the rest of his career. I mean, I think it’s harder to earn 100 points in Florida that it is to actually win the Cup in Detroit. That’s how hard it is to coach in South Beach! Definitely sounds like he was doing a good job.

Here’s the deal: I knew what characteristics I wanted for the next Kings to coach. First and foremost, he must be able to help develop younger players. If the Kings organization (and by extension, the King fans) are going to go through this tough rebuilding phase, then the coach better contribute to the development of the future. The team is depending on it to make them into a perennial contender. The perfect example is this upcoming season: if the Kings finish out of the playoffs, but each and every one of the young players makes significant strides within their development in the NHL, then it would have to be viewed as a productive year. I know people don’t want to hear it (and I don’t want to say it), but rebuilding takes time. There MUST be visible progress shown, but they won’t be playing deep into the playoffs overnight. It’s going to take time. Its Terry Murray’s mandate to make sure that all of the youth in the Kings organization continues to make strides towards filling their potential. If he succeeds in developing the talent, the wins will come.

The next quality I wanted for the head man of the Kings was a man that could preach defense. Under Marc Crawford, the Kings were notorious for having an atrocious defensive system. Even that gives Crawford too much credit, because I don’t think they had ANY system at all. This deficiency was highlighted whenever I watched yet another King goaltender get pulled out of a game because they were getting ZERO support in front of them. If they can get their team-defense figured out (forwards back checking as well as better play from defenseman), it will go a long way to working out the goaltending situation. Terry Murray, a former NHL defenseman, should be able to help on the defensive side of the puck. As long as he’s able to translate his wealth of knowledge into a system the players can fit into, it will be a vast improvement. A good system would play into the development factor as well. Let them grow within a system, see positive results, and gain confidence.

Lastly, the Kings were a complete disaster on the penalty kill last year. In both Florida and Philadelphia, his teams were always very strong on the penalty kill. Considering that Los Angeles was the worst team in the league on the PK last year, any improvement is welcomed. They were so bad, they gave up TWICE as many PP goals on the road than the Sharks did. That goes a long way to explaining why the Sharks were one of the favorites to advance deep into the playoffs, as well as clarifying why the Kings were one of the favorites to land Steven Stamkos.

As surprising as it is to me, Terry Murray may turn out to be the perfect fit for the present Kings team. His strong attributes seem to be tailor-made for the needs in Los Angeles. It’s a shock because usually I’m dead set against any recycled coach that’s already made tours around the league. My thoughts are usually, “If he got the boot from them, why would he be any better for us?” But the more I’ve thought about it, every situation is different. Dave Tippett’s been around for a while and I’d love for that guy to be the Kings’ coach. Andy Murray left the Kings about 2 and a half years ago, and it was just time to part ways. He was a great pick-up for St. Louis, but it was time for him to have a change of scenery. I know he’s a good coach, because I’d be completely open to having him come back after some time has passed. Once a coach’s message starts to fall on deaf ears, then its time for the team to move on to another coach. Plain and simple.

So what exactly is the difference between a good retread and a bad one? I think each situation’s different, but most importantly, the new coach has to be the right fit. Who’s right for the Kings rebuild could be completely different than the man for the Penguins Stanley Cup run. The teams are in different situations and should hire accordingly.

With all of the youth that looks to be on the roster this season, I thought that a young coach (possibly from juniors) would be perfect to help the younger players matured. But after looking into Terry Murray’s past, he looks like the perfect choice. If he’s able to accomplish the same things in Los Angeles as he has at all of his other stops, it should be a successful tenure.

Develop the kids, help the defense, and win. It doesn’t seem that difficult, does it?

NHL Schedule Day!

2008-07-18T21:56:00.000-07:00

“In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.”

-- Dwight D. Eisenhower

Once in a while I’ll have days that I realize that I need to get a hold of my life. Today is one of those days. The NHL schedule is out, and I’m planning my entire year accordingly!

The first thing I asked was, “When do we play the Sharks?” From a strictly emotional level, Staples Center should be electric. So when I saw that the Kings open with a weekend home-and-home with San Jose, I couldn’t have planned a better way to start the season. There should be a healthy hatred between those two teams no later than mid-October! Not to mention, it’s so early in the season, the Kings won’t be out of it… yet. Follow the two games against the Sharks with a home game against the Ducks and it should be an emotional first week of the season.

The next thing I looked for was the schedule in late November. My fiancé and I are getting married the weekend before Thanksgiving, so I wanted to know which game was going to be on in the background of the wedding pictures. Maybe we can get the photographer to take a picture of us with Joe Sakic or Bob Miller—via high def television, of course!

(This wouldn’t be the first time, there a precedent here. Our housewarming, there is Jim Fox in the background of a few pictures. Since the Kings came back from a 5 goal deficit in the 3rd period, they played an important role in breaking our house in properly.)

That same weekend the Kings head north of the border to do their annual swing through Alberta. I don’t know, but could fate be taking us to beautiful downtown Edmonton and Calgary for a mini-honeymoon? Who needs Maui? In fact, we’ve already talked about it and she’s all over this idea. Reason #851354 we are getting married: Hockey-themed Honeymoons.

With the new layout, I was curious to see if the Kings were traveling to Philadelphia or if the Flyers were coming out west to play in Southern California. My boy Alex and I have been betting on King/Flyer games for 20 years, so it’s always something to look forward to when the schedule comes out.

Well, the gambling gods must want me to kick-up the action in my life, because the Flyers are one of the 3 “wild card” teams from the east. Starting this year, the Kings will play against all 15 Eastern Conference teams (half at home and half on the road). 3 of the 15 will be special wild-card teams that the Kings will play at home and on the road. Looks like I’ll be collecting TWICE from Alex this year. Come to think of it, even if the Kings suck this year (probable), if they can sweep Philadelphia, I think this rebuilding year will be a little more palatable. As long as kicked goals are not allowed, the Kings have a puncher’s chance. Maybe the wager will be something like: “Whoever wins gets Ron Hextall.” (He’s the Kings current Assistant GM and former Flyer goalie). Here is why you’d want him on your team...

So those are some of the first thoughts on the schedule. I love how teams play every team from the opposing conference. Whoever at the league office that had the bright idea to play 8 games against division foes, only to NOT play some of the teams from the opposing conference… well, that person needs to be fired. (Hey, wasn’t it Gary Bettman? Hmmm.) I missed seeing all of the eastern conference teams, and I think it will be better for the sport as a whole. Now all the fans in the east will become more familiar with the players that are out west. There’s even a possibility that next year, each team will play in EVERY CITY at least once. Here’s how the new layout breaks down for this season:

-- 6 games vs. your own division (3 home/3 away) 24 games
-- 4 games vs. your own conference (2 home/2 away) 40 games
-- 1 game vs. the other conference (1 home or away) 15 games
-- 3 wild-card games against the other conference (makes up the home-and-home with another team) 3 games

-- Total Games = 82 games

Another thing that should be interesting is that the Kings’ schedule is so front loaded. Of the first 14 games, 11 of them are at home. They better get off to a good start or its going to be a really long season. The silver lining is that attendance for the two major home stands should be great, because the Kings won’t be mathematically eliminated in October or early November! (They usually wait and make that a Christmas gift). The bad part of such a home-heavy schedule in October is that they have to make up all of those road games at the end of the season. From the beginning of February, the Kings have 23 road games and only 11 home games. In fact, 12 of the last 16 games are away from the friendly confines of Staples Center. If the Kings are in the playoff hunt, well… they better know how to win on the road, or it will get ugly fast.

For anyone that’s looking for roadies, the weekend after Christmas has some potential. The day after Christmas (a Friday night), the Kings welcome the Coyotes. Saturday night, the ‘yotes return the favor and host the back end of the home-and-home in the desert. Since there’s usually some bad blood that spills over between games, it looks like we’ll be traveling to Phoenix for a holiday gift to ourselves.

Another potential trip is to head up to Quebec at the end of January for a game against the Canadiens in Montreal. Take a day off, and then catch a game with the Kings visiting Ottawa. It’s always nice to take in some of the passion from the fans in Canada. It so much more fun to be part of a game where the fans care, as opposed to, say… Anaheim?

The season conveniently ends against the same team it starts again: the Sharks. If by some act of God the Kings are still relevant by April, it’ll be great to see these two teams go at it for the last time of the season. Either they’ll be chasing a playoff spot, or chasing the top spot in the Hedman/Tavares sweepstakes.

All in all, this is just another step in getting through the dog days of summer. The beginning of the season will be here, just not soon enough. The Dodgers are killing me!

Off Topic: Is anyone else sick of Brett Favre news?

2008-07-16T07:56:00.001-07:00

This isn't hockey-related news, but its still something from a cold weather region!

Can we please stop with the Brett Farve retirement stuff? Honestly, I'm not saying he's a bad quarterback. Yes, he's one of the best ever (not THE best ever, which seems to be pre-ordained by everyone in Wisconsin). He was a gamer, but enough is enough.

With the antics of the last few years, he's starting to look less like Johnny Unitas and more like Terrell Owens. I just want to get this straight: he's always thought he could still play, but he retired because he didn't think the Packers were showing him enough love? Wow! How is that not T.O.?

Here's his last pass in the NFL. I think John Elway's last game was a lot better...

More hockey stuff later...

How Lowe Can You Go?

2008-07-15T10:30:00.000-07:00

“And the first one now
Will later be last
For the times they are a-changin'.”
--Bob Dylan

Any time a radio interview starts out with a general manager saying, “He’s a moron, first of all,” you know there’s going to be some fallout. I have to admit, as much as I hate mudslinging in the press, it’s about time that Kevin Lowe manned up and said something to Brian Burke. Ever since Kevin Lowe and the Edmonton Oilers signed then-Restricted free agent Dustin Penner to a 5 year, $21.25 million dollar offer sheet, the Anaheim GM has been taking shots at Lowe at every opportunity. For the most part, he’s been questioning Lowe’s tactics in building the Oilers team, as well as driving salaries upward around the entire NHL. He’s been insinuating that all of the skyrocketing contracts can be directly attributed to Lowe’s actions from last summer. Is he right? Maybe—but probably not. Has Burke acted like a child in this entire situation? Hell yes.

The major problem that I have with Brian Burke in this melodrama is that he’s not holding himself accountable for his own actions. When it comes to the escalating prices for free agents, each and every GM has played his part (except for Dean Lombardi, he doesn’t sign anyone to ANY contracts—therefore can’t overspend). Last season, he dropped a 2 year contract for $11.25 million on Mathieu Schneider. That’s the same Mathieu Schneider that was playing with the 3rd defensive pairing by the end of the season. How is that even remotely fiscally responsible? It’s also ironic that the man that is complaining about rising costs is also the man that is $2.4 million dollars over the cap right now. Come to think of it, the Ducks still have to sign RFA Andrew Miller, so there’s a good chance that their cap deficit will be over the $3M mark. Please tell me again…Who is the one complaining?

It’s not as though Burke has made savvy choices to set up the Ducks for the long haul. When you look at their pipeline, they are seriously lacking in depth in most positions. Bobby Ryan should be up with the big team for good this year. On the back end, Brian Salcido may make the team as a bottom-pairing guy if Schneider’s contract is moved. But that’s it. From all accounts, there’s nothing left in the cupboard.

I think the main reason that Burke is complaining about the salaries is because that’s the way that he’s always built his teams. It was one thing to try to build a team through free agency before the lockout. Nowadays, how can anyone expect to fill all of their holes through their checkbook? When there’s a cap, it seems like its common sense to build from within. Burke should be realizing that it’s simply not cost effective to BUY a contender in this economic climate.

On top of trying to buy talent to compete with the upper-tier teams, this looks like the last year before a potential drop of NHL depth for the organization. After next season, Brendan Morrison, Todd Marchant, Rob Niedermayer, Sammy Pahlsson, Travis Moen, Brian Sutherby, Brad May and George Parros all become unrestricted free agents. The daunting aspect to Anaheim’s problem is that those are just the FORWARDS who become unrestricted. Next season is also the last for 5/6 of their defense corps (only Chris Pronger is signed after next year, who has 2 years left on his deal). So like it or not, the Ducks look to be in for a rebuild after next season. There’s really only one person to blame for that. If you can’t figure it out, ask any Vancouver Canuck fan—they’ll be able to blurt out the answer faster than you can say: “Sedin Twins.”

(Edit: Since writing this, Anaheim signed yet another defenseman to a 1 year contract. So now they are currently $3.2 million over the salary cap—not counting Miller—and still, the only defenseman signed past next year is Chris Pronger. Brilliant.)

Apparently this is par for the course for Brian Burke. In Vancouver, he left the organization bare with aging players with huge contracts. If it wasn’t for Dave Nonis’s ability to unload the Bertuzzi mess to Florida in exchange for Roberto Luongo, Vancouver’s freefall would have been much more severe. Clearly Brian Burke has an affection for those Canuck teams and still has not learned his lesson, because he just signed another player from those teams. Hopefully for Brendan Morrison’s sake, he’ll be able to bounce back from a serious knee injury—but given Burke’s track record with moves lately, I wouldn’t count on it.

When the GM is speaking to the public as if he can do no wrong, he opens himself up to ridicule. Here’s a perfect example:

I could care less about the Ducks trade with St. Louis in the middle of last season. Andy McDonald was traded for Doug Weight in a move that was clearly to win now. I can respect that. But when the General Manager is in the press destroying another executive for his deals, I’m more inclined to look deeper into any deal by Burke. Since he’s been bullying other GM’s in the press, if the deal isn’t successful, I’ll judge swiftly and harshly. It’s just human nature. So let’s break out the microscope and analyze last year’s transaction:

1. So Doug Weight was brought in to win NOW. They didn’t win and Weight is gone. Strike 1.

2. Andy McDonald was moved to make room for Teemu Selanne’s contract so they would win NOW. They didn’t win and Selanne may or may not be gone. Regardless, there’s no contingency plan if he decides to retire. Bottom line: it doesn’t sound like it was handled well. Strike 2.

3. Andy McDonald was already more productive, younger, and a better fit than Doug Weight. The Ducks scoring woes only intensified when McDonald was traded. When a team is having problems scoring, trading away one of their best, young offensive players sounds counter-productive. Strike 3.

The only argument for making the trade is that they had to dump salary to stay under the cap. Now I ask you, whose fault is that? Is it because of Todd Bertuzzi’s contract that there was no room under the cap? Maybe Burke shouldn’t have offered $4 million per year after consecutive injury plagued, non-productive seasons. It’s not like the Neidermayer/Selanne situations came out of left field. Even if Burke didn’t think it was likely, there still should have been a plan in place.

Speaking of which, let’s fast forward to today with these 3 particular players. Bertuzzi’s contract has been bought-out and Doug Weight has left as a free agent. Contrast their situation to Andy McDonald’s with the St. Louis Blues. First and foremost, he’s still WITH the team (which is more than we can say about Bertuzzi or Weight). By all accounts, he’s the youngest and best of all the players mentioned at this stage in their respective careers. All in all, it’s a bad situation for the Ducks that was caused by multiple bad decisions by Brian Burke.

The most interesting part of this story has nothing to do with the pattern of bad decisions Burke has made. The far more fascinating pattern is the GM’s typical exit strategy from an organization. As previously mentioned, the Ducks will be a mess after next season with plenty of holes to fill all over the ice. Ironically, another free-agent to be after next season usually wears a coat and tie to games and watches from the press box. There have been rumors about Burke bolting to Toronto for over a year now. When confronted with a similar situation as he was in Vancouver, what’s to stop him from jetting north of the border? I’ve always found that the best predictor of the future is the past. And where he can find more television cameras eager to broadcast his face? Toronto would give him an avenue to run from a problem that he created and find more money, all while receiving more attention. It sounds like a match made in heaven!

It’s important to not forget that there are 2 sides to this story. Kevin Lowe offered not one, but 2 untraditional contracts last year. Before the offer to Penner which was not matched by the Ducks, Lowe and company presented a 7 year, $50 million offer sheet to Thomas Vanek. Buffalo matched the offer sheet, but it seemed to signal the direction the Oilers were going to go during the summer of 2007. Instead of throwing millions of dollars around for the older unrestricted free agents, Lowe decided to go against tradition and actively pursue RFAs in their early 20s that would better fit the overall plan he had set out for his team. He made a calculated decision that it would be worth the draft-pick compensation if he was able to land one of the young, NHL-ready players. You can debate whether they were good moves or not, but I understand where he’s coming from. When you draft a player, you’re goal is for them to develop into a 30 or 40 goal scorer. Instead of drafting players with his picks, he was trading the picks for a player that had already proven he was capable of producing at the NHL level. Anytime a GM aggressively goes after a young, proven NHL commodity, I’ll applaud his actions.

Even though there had been the opportunity for opposing GMs to sign restricted free agents to offer sheets since the new Collective Bargaining Agreement was approved, it was frowned upon to take advantage of it. Burke responded by saying, “If I had run my team into the sewer like that, I wouldn’t have thrown a grenade like that at the other 29 teams.”

Remember, Kevin Lowe did not do anything against the rules of the CBA. No, he was going against tradition. If I was the CEO of a major corporation, I’d love to have employees that were always thinking outside the box to bring valuable assets to my company.
Kevin Lowe was the first to go after a high priced player and accordingly, he was the first to offer up a contract of that magnitude. As he stated in his rebuttal of Burke’s year long comments, “The reality is, Rick Nash's contract a number of years ago, (Patrice) Bergeron's and (Ilya) Kovalchuk's; that sets the standard - that's been going on for decades,” (TSN.com). As market factors push prices skyward, there will always be noticeable leaps that in retrospect are milestones. I can’t fault the offer for Vanek, because it was actually matched by the Sabres. If it was completely out of line, then Buffalo would have simply walked away with 4 draft picks. Additionally, looking at Penner’s current contract, it’s in line with the market. It certainly doesn’t stick out like a sore thumb like Alex Rodriguez’s contract. The contract fits both the current financial climate and the player’s ability. Isn’t that the definition of a good contract?

Brian Burke has recently been complaining about the Penner contract because he had to sign Corey Perry to a contract extension. Again, I’m not sure why Burke is complaining that Kevin Lowe is forcing him to do anything. Signing Perry to a 5 year contract worth just over $26 million dollars was a strategic move to keep Perry in Anaheim long-term. Also, it looks like Perry is getting paid $1 million more per year with the Ducks than Penner is with the Oilers. Does that mean Perry’s contract is off the charts? Of course not.

The reality is that salaries are simply escalating. By all accounts, this feud between general managers has gone way past competition and is now personal. In fact, my favorite part of this story has just unfolded. At the end of the radio interview with Edmonton’s Team 1260, Kevin Lowe’s final words were, “What I really want to say about his bickering about parity and the salary cap is if you're unhappy about them, then trade him (Perry) our way, we'll be glad to have him." His sharp statement cuts through all of the financial BS. No concerns about “economic climates.” Just straight out, “if you don’t like having to pay your good players, we’ll be happy to take him off your hands and pay him ourselves!” Lowe clearly made a tongue-and-cheek remark to end the interview and drive home his point of how ridiculous Brian Burke has been.

In the interim, Gary Bettman has stepped in to tell both of the General Managers that enough is enough. Since we’re talking about 2 grown adults, this is over, right? Well, not exactly.

Apparently Anaheim’s GM has filed a complaint with the league office. I’ll quote this, because it’s so miserable that I can’t do it justice with paraphrasing. Regarding Lowe’s final statement about Corey Perry, Burke said, “Our understanding is that such an expression of interest constitutes tampering. We have asked the league to investigate whether a tampering episode has taken place.” I can honestly say, if they really wasted the league office’s time with such a pathetic complaint, that might be the most offensive part of this debacle. After a year of aggressively attacking Edmonton in any press outlet he could find, now he’s crying to the league office that THEY are the victims?

Maybe as a penalty, the Ducks will be forced to spend market value to retain their own players. The horror!

Offspring of a Female Dog

2008-07-07T11:32:00.000-07:00

“So why, oh why
Do I, look to the other side?
Cuz I know, the grass is greener,
But just as hard to mow…”

--John Butler

Man, Charles Dickens must have had it right when he was writing “A Tale of Two Cities.” “It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.” Ever since Thursday when Rob Blake decided to screw the Kings again, I’ve been trying to decide if it was the best of times or the worst of times. On the one hand, you have the fact that Blake, his horrible defense, his game that consists of zero heart, and his $5 million salary are gone. I’ve been waiting for Blake to leave since we signed him 2 years ago, so I have no right to be upset. On the other hand, there’s the problem that the Kings actually have to present a team that looks like they deserve to be in the NHL. Looking over their current roster, it looks more like an AHL defense corps. For that, equal blame goes to Dean Lombardi and Rob Blake.

When it came out that we were looking to sign Blake to a short term contract to mentor the young players coming up through the Kings pipeline, there could be some serious problems. First of all, if he was a short-term “bridge” player, Blake would have to swallow some of that pride that King fans have come to love him for. Secondly, the rumor was that the organization was looking to sign him in the range of $2.5-$3.5 million per year. After Blake made $6 million the last 2 seasons (I’m not sure if he earned more than the league minimum), I knew that he wasn’t going to be overly eager to sign a contract for half the salary. Taking that type of pay cut could be tough for your average NHLer to endure, but even more so with Blake. We’re talking an ego of epic proportions!

I can’t say this really surprises me. The minute I found out, I emailed a co-worker and compared him to the offspring of a female dog. After I tried to let the anger simmer for a while, the emotions didn’t subside. I sent a mass text to just about everyone I know comparing him to a feminine hygiene product. That helped a little bit. In fact, I reconnected with a friend that I hadn’t talked to in 6 months…. his entire response was, “Hell yes he is, how have you been?” See, a hatred for Rob Blake brings people together!

Clearly there are 2 sides to this story. Most of the Kings fans that have watched Blake over the last two seasons in LA agree that his game has taken a few steps back. Even though we knew he was a free-agent at the end of the season, it was pretty much understood that management would offer him his retirement contract and he’d finish his playing days in Los Angeles. For better or worse, it was just reality.

So after the organizations attempts to sign Brad Stuart and Brooks Orpik came up short at the beginning of the free-agency period, there was a real reason for signing Blake. With the younger players developing (but not quite at the NHL level yet), Rob would be needed to fill out one of the 6 defensive spots and serve as a role model that the younger players could emulate themselves after. First-round pick Drew Doughty has said that he’s grown up watching the Kings’ captain and views him as something of an idol. Since the trade with Lubomir Visnovsky, the top-6 increasingly looked like it would have to include Blake. It just seemed to go right along with most of us had assumed all year. He’ll resign (for probably too much money), his production will continue to slide, and he’ll retire. With San Jose’s offer, it looks like that plan that we’ve begrudgingly accepted has been permanently derailed.

Now the Kings organization is left without enough defensemen that are ready to play at the NHL level. The development plan with the younger players has been to bring them up slowly, through juniors, then the American league, and when they’re 100% ready, up to the NHL. This is supposed to be the plan with Colten Teubert and Alec Martinez (college instead of minors for Martinez). The organization wanted to let them gain confidence, and then when they were ready, the players would be able to adjust to the speed and skill under the best of circumstances. Since the Kings have had a history of rushing young defenseman to the NHL and watching them crumble under the pressure, most fans welcome this change in philosophy. Since Blake left, he has the potential to not only ruin the organization’s present, but also its future. Bringing some of these players up too early could be a disaster for their confidence.

It’s in this environment that Rob Blake decided to unexpectedly leave the Kings, in favor of their rivals in Northern California. We were going to resign him when we didn’t really need him—and he was more than willing. It seems like the moment that desire to resign Blake turned to necessity, he took his new found leverage and decided to do what he does best: look out for himself. He could have taken this opportunity to restore the faith of the fans that still haven’t forgotten 2001, but instead he only reinforced the perception of his selfishness. I honestly doubt he’ll be forgiven anytime soon.

As in any tragedy, there are more players that conspire to bring heartache. Every ounce of my being wants to place the blame squarely on the selfish athlete. But that would be too easy. Real life is messy and never so easily explained. How did Dean Lombardi let the situation get to this point? How in the hell was there no fall-back plan? Why are we looking at 2 players that barely made their team and 2 rookies looking to be important pieces of the line-up that will be depended on game in-game out?

Part of the blame has to go to the General Manager. If the Kings had exclusive negotiating rights for the entire off-season up until July 1st, how was a deal not in place? If Lombardi wanted to wait to see if he could sign Stuart or Orpik, he should have had the back-up plan in case both decided to sign elsewhere. Lombardi has stated that on July 3rd, Blake’s agent explained that the Sharks had made a proposal, and described the details of the deal. Lombardi responded by asking for more time because he, “needed to see what he could work out.”

Is it laziness, lack of decision making abilities, non-decisiveness, or simply gross incompetence? Neither of the 2 defensemen that Lombardi had targeted were a sure thing. There had to be a specific contingency plan in place in case they were forced to sign Blake for next year. Exact numbers should have been hammered out before July 1st to avoid, well…. to avoid THIS EXACT SITUATION! Furthermore, with the team that’s in place, both Blake and another defenseman were probably needed. Again, Lombardi was quoted in stating that the organization was looking to sign BOTH a left-handed shot from the point and Rob Blake. If that’s the case, then why wasn’t the deal finalized the day free-agency opened. Forget that, why wasn’t Blake locked up before free-agency? Since it was clear the Kings had no desire to go out and sign one of the top-tier defensemen (Brian Campbell or Wade Redden, just to name a couple), then Rob Blake was a predetermined piece to next years puzzle.

There’s that old saying, “fool me once, shame on you…. fool me twice, shame on me.” Everyone should have known where this was going to end up. If you put money in front of Rob Blake, then he’ll follow it. That’s how whores work. He’ll call it a business decision, but it wasn’t business when he openly whined how he wanted to retire as a King and move to the front-office when his playing days were done. I’m convinced that the only reason he wanted the Kings to resign him this year was because he figured that this situation was the scenario that presented him with the best opportunity to max out his earning potential.

When the Sharks failed in their attempts to re-sign Brian Campbell or lure Wade Redden to the west coast, they were forced into a position give to Blake a hard look. The Sharks are a Stanley Cup contender with their window closing. With the dissention of Campbell, they desperately needed a point man on the back end of their power play and another veteran in their locker room. Unlike the Kings, they had a back-up plan. When their Plan A & B failed, they aggressively went right after someone that would fill the gapping hole in their line-up. I don’t blame the Sharks; they did exactly what their organization thought they needed to do.

My problem with Rob Blake (and I think the problem that most fans have) is that this isn’t an isolated incident. We’re talking pattern here. This is the same player that refused a contract that would have made him the second highest paid defenseman in the entire league. How many people would refuse that type of offer from the team that he’d grown up with? It wasn’t only the notion of him turning down the proposal-- it was the manner in which he did it: whining to the media, telling anyone that would listen that he wanted to test free agency, and ripping the captain’s “C” off of his jersey. With acts and comments like these, he destroyed his trade value because every team in the league knew the Kings were going to be forced to unload him. One event after another, he tested the patience and the goodwill of King fans all over. Once he was in Colorado, he provided the cherry on top of the sundae of ill-will. After consistently stating his intentions to test free-agency (so he could cash in on his payday), he signed with the Avs before he was unrestricted. I still haven’t figured out why he couldn’t do that in L.A., nor have I figured out why he was so public with his desire to leave. I have no problem with a player wanting to leave. It was the overwhelmingly negative manner in which he did it that rubbed me the wrong way.

So this is the backdrop to the current situation. It’s not like this is a player that doesn’t have history. It’s not like it’s an isolated incident. It’s not like King Fans haven’t been trying to put those events in the past. With sports figures, the good comes with the bad. The good is that a person like Rob Blake can ask for $9 million a year to play a game that he loves. The bad is that when he asks for this payday, then leaves to chase the money, he’ll be marked as a greedy traitor for years to come. Everything has its price.

When Blake signed his last contract with the Kings after the lockout, there was a different economic climate in the sport. The financial side of the game was supposedly created so that all teams would be able to compete for the elite players. It was under these conditions that Rob Blake signed his 2 year, $12 million contract. While it was a step back from his previous contract in Colorado, it was in line with the new realities of the NHL. In fact, it could be argued that he was even overpaid when looking at comparable players. To this day, it’s the largest post-lock out contract the Kings have given out.

After the first year of this new contract, the Kings were in the position to trade this defenseman to the San Jose Sharks for one of their goaltenders: Evgeni Nabakov. At the time, they still had Vesa Toskula and it was much more desirable to trade Nabokov’s contract. Straight up, the Kings would be able to find that #1 netminder that had eluded them since Rogie Vachon. We’re talking 30 years of goaltending from the likes of Rob Stauber and Daniel Bertheume. When you look back and yearn for the days of Kelly Hrudey or Felix Potvin, you know that your team has had some serious problems in net.

Unfortunately, Mr. Blake didn’t see it that way. He had a No-Trade contract, and he took this opportunity to enact it. For a man that said he cared about the Kings, an incredibly selfish act. As an isolated act, this isn’t a big deal. It’s a veteran that’s respected around the league enacting a clause in his contract that he’d negotiated. Under the surface, with the wounds of 2001 still healing, it was a reminder of his biggest flaw: his character. Of course, as the Kings fans went into the season with Jason LaBarbara as the #1 goalie, you couldn’t help but wonder “what if” as the puck ended up in the back of the net with depressing regularity. (By the way, Nabokov was a finalist for the Vezina trophy and had the best year of his career)

Halfway through the season, it was painfully obvious that the Kings were not going to do anything that resembled winning last year. As the trade deadline approached, they were obvious “sellers” who were trying to cash in any tradable assets to help for their future. High draft picks were the target of choice, and Lombardi made it clear exactly what he was looking towards. Again, the San Jose Sharks came a-calling. This time, the Sharks offered their 1st round draft pick for the services of Rob Blake for the rest of the year. Again, the ball was in Blake’s court. He had spent the season praising the development plan of the Kings and how he hoped to land a job in the front office at the end of his career. His actions seemed to insinuate, “nevermind those selfish acts of the past, I have the Kings colors running through my veins.”

Please, I know better. At that instant, he had an opportunity to help the Kings more than he could on the ice. Accept the trade and the Kings would receive a valuable 1st round pick for his trouble. Not only that, he’d be a free agent at the end of the year and would be welcomed back to the City of Angels, quite possibly with a warmer reception than he’d had for a decade! So at this crossroad, what would Blake do? Well, he’d do what he always does, of course… turn the trade down. He went on to express that the only team he’d consider waiving his no-trade clause for would be the Colorado Avs. By going public, again, he handicapped Kings management from receiving an equitable trade proposal. After discussions, Colorado decided to bring back Adam Foote to help their blueline by trading their 1st round pick for his services. Apparently, the 1st round pick wasn’t even on the table during the negotiations with Los Angeles because the Avalanche management knew that they were the only team that Blake would consider. For the second time, he had cut the legs from under the Kings organization when attempting to trade him to Colorado.

So instead of “taking one for the team,” by accepting the trade and going to a contender, he stayed at his cozy job with the Kings where he could suck in relative obscurity while the rest of the league geared up for the stretch run. When presented with an opportunity to make a run at the Cup, Blake chose the path of least resistance (and hurt the Kings in the process).

After 2 seasons of talking about how much he wanted to stay with Los Angeles for the rest of his career, it became apparent that the Kings were the front-runners to resign him in free agency. Clearly he didn’t want to move at this stage in his career, and since the team he loved was trying to develop youngsters who idolized him at his position, he’d obviously stick around, collect a significant paycheck, and mentor the next generation. Of course, it’s never that easy.

When San Jose lost out on their two primary targets in free agency, their focus went back to the player that Doug Wilson had been trying to acquire for the last calendar year. But Rob Blake’s not interested, right? He’s been offered the chance to move to the contender in Northern California twice, and on both occasions he declined. But this situation was much different. He was being offered more money, and as most King fans will tell you, this is the altar to which Blake worships. Just for kicks, this situation would leave the Kings organization completely empty handed for an asset that they had attempted to trade multiple times.

No Evgeni Nabokov. No 1st round pick from San Jose. No 1st round pick from Colorado. No, that would treat this organization with respect. What’s the use in that? After all, there was potential money out there. Once again, this is not personal, this is business.

So here we stand on the 4th of July weekend. Rob Blake is a Shark. The Kings have about 4 defensemen that are qualified to play in the NHL, but I’m glad he’s gone. Hopefully this time, its permanent. I can only speak for myself, but I can’t wait for the first time San Jose visits Staples Center this coming season. I’ll be boo-ing from the parking lot. I’ll practice on the 5 freeway on the way. I’ll bring lozenges for myself, my fiancé, and anyone sitting in the same section as me.

It’s no wonder that he ended up on the same team as Jeremy Roenick. In the eyes of most King fans, they deserve each other. Here’s to the Sharks choking in the first round again! And here’s to another Kings season shooting for that #1 overall pick. If I’m simply driven by hate, it’s going to be a long year.

On that note: Booooooooooooooo!

Bartender, what do you have on draft?

2008-07-01T11:20:00.000-07:00

“I look to the future because it’s where I’m going to spend the rest of my life.”
--George Burns

When your team is mathematically eliminated before Halloween, you tend to grasp for anything that holds hope. So when the Kings started the season like they were doing their best LA Clippers impersonation, I knew it was going to be a long year on the ice. Normally I’d throw myself 100% into the draft. Being the eternal optimist, I’m always thinking that glory is only a year away (clearly as a King fan, I haven’t learned my lesson). Unfortunately, I’m still trying to recover from the shock of last years draft bombshell. With that bitter taste in my mouth, I’ve tried to avoid the excitement of the draft. Yet again, the Kings pulled me back in. I’m like a battered wife. I know I’m being abused, but I still can’t bring myself to leave!

So with this uneasy feeling, I felt the momentum of the pending draft building….

Day 1 – Friday

Enough negativity… the Kings just had a HUGE draft! Lombardi got the party started on the right foot by going with the safe, expected, correct pick with Drew Doughty at #2. Looking at the draft, and more specifically those top 4 defenseman that were at the top of the draft, Doughty looks like he could be the special one out of the group. After the GM went off the reservation last year with the Thomas Hickey pick, I’m not sure my heart could handle another selection like that. I’m not saying that Hickey wasn’t a good pick (in fact, he’s increasingly looking like he could be an important piece to the Kings future), I’m just saying that I needed something expected. So many times, things can be over-thought. When there’s a player that has a style of play that’s compared to Ray Bourque or Scott Neidermayer, the game plan should be simple. Stride up to the podium, smile big, say “Drew Doughty,” and run from the podium with an evil laugh!

The big decision seemed to be between Doughty and a kid named Zack Bogosian. Bogosian looks to be in much better physical shape at this early stage in his development and shot up all the draft scouting services in the last year and a half. While he doesn’t have the same type of special offensive upside, by all accounts he’s a little better in his own end.

Since the Kings were doing their best to avoid respectability at every turn, it was only natural to project which player would be part of our future. With such a long season, I’d gone back and forth as to whom I wanted wearing The Crown. Doughty had been consistently ranked as the best defenseman, but Bogosian seemed like a better fit with his grit. Any edge in physicality seemed like it would be my determining factor. It almost looked like the Kings defensemen were allergic to clearing out the front of the net.

In one swift kick to the head, my mind was permanently changed. I was reading “The Hockey News” comparisons for most of the highest projected picks, and Bob McKenzie provided me with the biggest red flag imaginable. “D comparable Rob Blake.” No thank you. Management should be focusing on getting rid of Blake, not bringing in a young clone!

Once I heard that, my attention was focused squarely on Doughty and what potential he may have. He’s an extremely polished player whose “hockey IQ isn’t high, it’s off the charts!” Intelligence on the rink is something that simply can not be taught. Another major sales point was the style of game that Doughty plays. Toughness is something that can be acquired through trades and free agency. High-end skill and talent are not as readily available. If Drew Doughty’s biggest deficency is that he lacks that “nasty streak,” then it is much easier to procure with another defenseman.

That leads us to the Kings next pick. Originally L.A. held the 28th pick in the first round from the Dallas Stars in the Norstrom trade at last season’s trade deadline. Immediately before the draft started, Lombardi acquired the 12th pick in the draft by trading away the first round pick (#28) and Michael Cammallari. Watching Cammy leave to Calgary was bittersweet, but expected. Ever since the arbitration fiasco before last season came to light, it was only a matter of time before he was shipped out of town. It was clear that management did not think they were going to be able to meet his financial demands when he became a free-agent and they did not want to watch him walk without receiving some sort of compensation. After hearing rumors of Jarret Stoll for Cammy, I was jumping for joy when I heard that the Kings picked up the 12th overall pick.

Immediately my attention turned to the possibilities at #12. Since the Kings have had a deficiency at defense in their pipeline since, well… since the franchise started 40 years ago, I was hoping for another blueliner. There was a guy that I liked for the 28th pick a few months ago, but the guys stock had risen so dramatically, it became apparent that he was going to go in the middle of the first round. Now, all the sudden, the Kings had a pick in the early/mid first round and would be in a position to grab him. The only question: Were the Kings as high on Colten Teubert as I was?

Teubert is a stay at home defenseman with a SERIOUS nasty streak. Good on his feet, better with his fists, he looked to embody all of the deficiencies that Drew Doughty could be lacking. The best comparisons I’ve heard on this kid are Adam Foote with more offensive upside, Robyn Rehger, and even Shea Weber of the Predators. I’m still smiling just thinking about it. Not only was Lombardi able to get a defenseman that was tailor-made for the Kings’ needs, he was also able to trade down a pick with Buffalo to #13 in exchange for the Sabres’ 3rd rounder next year. Icing on the cake!

A first round that had Drew Doughty AND Colten Teubert just about redeemed a year of futility on the ice. You can’t trade for the type of skill that Doughty has and you can’t over-value a character, shut-down type defenseman. By all accounts, Friday’s first round was a smashing success for the Kings. Now what would they do with the rest of their hoard of picks?

Day 2 – Saturday

After the Kings hit a home run with their focused picks in the first round, Dean Lombardi had a lot more freedom to do as he chose with his picks on the second day. Trade, forwards, more defenseman, I had no idea what he’d do. One thing that I did know was that we had the second pick in the 2nd round and there were two prospects that I was drooling over. Colby Robak from the Brandon Wheat Kings was one of those players like Colten Teubert to me. Since I started really looking into the prospects, he was one of those players that I was praying would somehow fall lower in the draft. When the Kings has the 28th pick overall, Robak was someone I hoped we’d get. Now, at #32, he was looking to be available. On top of that, Nicolas Deschamps had taken a tumble in down the draft board. A very good skating, 2-way center with a decent amount of upside seemed tailor-made to address a second glaring weakness for the Kings—a second line center. Currently, Brian Boyle is the make or break prospect behind Anze Kopitar at the pivot. If he doesn’t continue to develop and follow through with the flashes of brilliance that he showed in his brief call up to the NHL, the Kings could have a black hole at center. Deschamps would easily address this concern.

Either way, with Robak and Deschamps, the Kings looked to be able to have a smokin’ first 3 picks. Then comes the first bombshell…

“With the 32nd overall pick in the 2008 Draft, the Los Angeles Kings take Vjateslav Voinov from Russia.” For me, this was a surprise first and foremost because, well… I didn’t see it coming at all. Dean Lombardi has been known to favor North American juniors over underagers from Europe (especially Russia). When looking at potential draftees, I almost ignored all of the Russians outside of Filitov. With the pick, I went scrambling for something to spark my memory. He played in the recent Canada/Russia pseudo-Summit Series. Even though the Russians were thoroughly over matched in every phase of each game, Voinov kept battling until the end in each game. Extremely tough with (again) that nasty streak, he definitely rubs his opponents the wrong way. Some people compare the young Russian to another Russian from a decade ago: Darius Kasparitis. If Voinov progesses to maximize his offensive potential while retaining his nastiness, Vladamir Konstantinov could be a better comparison. Either way, the initial impression is that Vjateslav looks to be a good value in the 2nd round addressing an area of need.

Speaking of Russians, the Kings’ scouting staff chose another when they went for Andrei Loktionov. Playing center, he had 8 points in the U-18 World Championships for Russia. From all accounts, he sounds like an intelligent center with above average ice-vision. In fact, Loktionov has been training with the former Red Wing and newly elected Hall of Famer Igor Larionov. If the youngster can pick up any of that on-ice IQ by osmosis, he could be quite a play maker.

In a draft year that everyone was wary of selecting Russians due to a lack of a transfer agreement, Lombardi and Co. decided to use 2 separate picks on Russians. Both Voinov and Loktionov have expressed their desire to play in North America as soon as possible. In fact, Voinov was selected 5th overall in the CHL junior draft and Loktionov was picked 7th. If the two make the trip to Canada for juniors, they’ll be able to continue their development to the rougher, tougher style of game. Going into next year, there’s an outside chance that Voinov will even make the Monarchs. Only time will tell, but if both players come to North America then they were strong picks.

In the 3rd round, the Kings followed through and used all 3 picks (used one to move up a few spots). The first Kings selection of the 3rd round was Robert Czarnik. Playing for the U.S. Under-18 Developmental team, his strongest attribute is his skating ability. He has already signed to play with the University of Michigan, so it will be a few years before he signs a professional contract. Since he’s only 1 of 2 players drafted that will be in the college ranks next year, the organization can afford to watch him develop in the college ranks without having to rush his development.

The second pick in the 3rd round, the Kings traded up to #74 overall to select defenseman Andrew Campbell. At 20 years old, Campbell will end up playing with Manchester next year. Throughout the season at Sault Ste. Marie, Campbell transitioned in Lombardi’s mind from a project to a prospect. Even with the increase in efficiency in his game and a 6’5” frame, Andrew was not even ranked by Central Scouting. It looks like the Kings were so high on him; they traded up 7 spots to secure him in the 3rd round. Even if another team was targeting him in the mid-3rd round, this pick was definitely unexpected. He still looks to have a lot of work ahead of him, but he’s another player that addresses the lack of toughness the Kings defense demonstrated all season.

The last of the 3 players selected in the 3rd round was Geordie Wudrick from the WHL. A physical power forward, Wudrick is definitely a “north-south” type of player. He’s similar to another prospect currently in the Dub, Wayne Simmonds who was selected in last year’s second round: he doesn’t hesitate to drop the gloves. When given the chance to attack the net, Wudrick won’t go around a defenseman—he’ll go through him.

Wudrick’s play is in direct contrast to L.A.’s pick in the 6th round. Like Campbell, another overage player that will go directly to Manchester, Justin Azevedo isn’t your usual late round draft pick. He led the OHL in goals (over players like Stamkos and Tavares) and won player of the year honors for the entire CHL while playing with the tough Kitchener Rangers. He also demonstrated leadership qualities helping the Rangers compete to the final game for the Memorial Cup. Concerns about his size lead to his drop in the draft, but his productivity certainly warrants a late round pick. Even if he doesn’t pan out at the NHL level, he could turn out to be a Jason Krog clone and produce points at the AHL level for years to come.

Garrett Roe rounded out the Kings 2008 draft. Standing at 5’8”, Roe still has 3 years of eligibility at St. Cloud State. If he can continue his progression, he may be able to make Manchester in a few years. With his small frame, he’ll definitely have to increase his production if he wants to have a professional contract upon graduation.

All in all, a very good draft weekend for the Kings. With their first 3 picks, they were able to pick up 3 very good defensemen that all have the potential to make it to the NHL in the next 2-3 years. In Azevedo and Loktionov, Lombardi was able to find 2 players in the late rounds with some incredible upside. Throw in the fact that they were able to turn one of their 2nd round picks into Brad Richardson from the Avs (a speedy skater, with a very good wrist shot who has already made it to the NHL), the organization is much stronger in every area. In a time period that has been dedicated to rebuilding, it was important for the Kings to be successful in this draft.

Only time will tell, but its looking good so far.

Ding Dong, the Crow is Dead!

2008-06-12T11:36:00.000-07:00

“Greatness is more than potential. It is the execution of that potential. Beyond
the raw talent. You need the appropriate training. You need the discipline. You
need the inspiration. You need the drive.”

--Eric A. Burns

What a great surprise to get wonderful hockey news in the middle of June! At a time that Lakers vs. Celtics news is dominating the sports airwaves, the devoted enclave that is LA King Fan just secured a nugget of joy. After two awful years on the ice, the Kings fired Marc Crawford. Just typing that sentence brought a smile to my face. I feel no ill-will to Coach Crawford (the person); I just have greater feelings for the Kings (the organization). It’s not personal, its business.

I’m not sure that anyone saw this coming. Some of us have our hopes, but the common assumption was that Crawford would start the season with a short leash. If it was around Christmas and the Kings were in the same situation they were in last year, he’d be replaced. Instead, Dean Lombardi said that he looked at the team, the direction of the organization, and decided that the time to make a change was now.

After reading an interview with the GM, it sounds like there was a meeting with the ownership where they reiterated their desire to stay the course and build from within. Going further, it sounds like the Kings want to “let the kids play” sooner, rather than later. Already building a strong young nucleus, it’s realistic to imagine 3-4 rookies breaking into the line-up next year. Since a larger percentage of the NHL roster is going to be made up of players that are 2-3 years removed from Manchester, it’s going to be extremely important to find a coach that can help develop the younger players as they mature into their potential.

According to Lombardi, the most important qualities the next King coach will need to possess are trust and communication. While not openly stating that Crawford would not be able to continue to communicate with the younger players, it inferred that there were doubts moving forward (especially if they chose to go younger, not older). Crawford’s supporters are quick to point out that the development of players such as Dustin Brown and Patrick O’Sullivan have reached or exceeded any expectations. Detractors are quick with the rebuttal that the talented players are growing at the expected rate as they gained maturity with increased ice-time. Even if one was to make arguments for either side, I truly believe that this discussion is missing the point.

The problem with the Kings product over the last 2 years is that there has been no recognizable defensive system. How are defensemen supposed to grow individually if there’s no system to grow into? More importantly, how are ANY of the goaltending prospects supposed to thrive if they are promoted to the NHL, only to have defenseman running around in front of them? I’m a strong believer in putting people in a position to succeed, and as evidence by Jonathan Bernier’s stint at the beginning of 2007; the Kings were failing their prospects in this area. It’s understandable that there will be lapses with younger players at the position (especially defenseman), but their lapses should be within a system and not individual error with no built in safety net. When a Detroit Red Wing defender is beaten off the puck, he always has a second wave of support. When a King defender is beaten off the puck, there’s always too much time and space for the opponent to capitalize. Regardless of players, this is a coaching problem.

With the removal of a coach, the knee-jerk reaction is to speculate as to who will be the replacement. While the timing is out of the ordinary (season ticket renewals due by Friday the 13th and the draft the following week), Lombardi has already clearly stated that the coach of the future is a pivotal decision for the franchise and he will not rush to judgment. He’s openly expressed that his goal is to have a coach by July when the Kings have their prospect camp; as well as stating that it’s irrelevant if there’s a coach in place by Draft Day because they do not have any responsibilities other than meeting the kid. With this mindset, it’s clear that Crawford wasn’t released in favor of any specific candidate that has recently become available.

With the young players in the pipeline getting a chance to perform on the NHL stage, its imperative that the future coach’s strong suit is his teaching ability. Two of the names that are getting thrown around are John Tortorella and Paul Maurice (formerly of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Toronto Maple Leafs respectively). Both of these coaches have deficiencies—some shared and some unrelated. Both coaches saw young goaltenders with potential become completely ineffective under their watchful eye. John Graham was thrown to the wolves in Tampa. Neither Vesa Toskula nor Andrew Raycroft was able to live up to expectations in Toronto while Maurice was behind the bench. With Jonathan Bernier waiting in the wings (as well as Quick, Ersberg, Zatkoff, and Rowat), finding a head coach that is good with young goaltenders is incredibly important. It’s always nice to find a coach with experience, but it’s crucial to remember that the experience should be GOOD experience.

All things considered, this is the time to go with a young coach. Unfortunately, the reality is the Kings are not in the position to be worried about a leader with experience in the playoffs. The organization needs someone that can help build from within, develop the talent, and finally get the defense to start playing like a team. Once a system is in place that inherently protects each player by providing a back-up in the form of a teammate, the young players will be able to build confidence while learning at the NHL level.

Two intriguing candidates for the job are Craig Hartsburg and Mark Morris. Hartsburg, who most recently coached in the NHL with Anaheim, is currently coaching at Sault Ste. Marie in the Ontario Hockey League. He’s been successful in grooming players in the Canadian Junior league to the point that he’s been the head coach for Canada at the World Junior Championships. Over the past three years, he has won three gold medals, including two as head coach. If rookie development and production are the traits Lombardi is looking for, Hartsburg would be an excellent choice.

Another man with potential behind the bench is the Manchester Monarchs head coach, Mark Morris. The Kings’ affiliate was able to make the playoffs this year, despite a roster loaded with younger players. Even with their first round exit against Providence, the Monarch’s late season charge was looked at as the next step in the development of many of the organizations important prospects. As he’s built a relationship with players hopefully destined for the NHL, there’s a feeling among some that he would be the logical choice to continue the prospects’ growth.

No matter who is chosen to lead the Kings into this next stage of their rebuilding process, its clear that growth is expected on all levels. The first stage of the rebuilding process was to tear out the existing structure and lay a solid foundation for the future. Now it is important for the next coaching staff to build on the foundation. Growth in confidence, growth in development, and growth in the win column; if each of these expectations is satisfied, then Lombardi’s choice will be deemed a success.

Otherwise, the natives could get restless.

Beat LA?? You Can Do Better Boston...

2008-06-05T22:16:00.000-07:00

“I have just returned from Boston. It’s the only sane thing to do if you find yourself up there.”

--Fred Allen

1st Quarter

11:15: First minute of the game and the crowd is already chanting Beat LA. They’ve had 21 years, and that’s still all they can come up with. That’s not even MY observation, but even my fiancée knows its lame.

10:05: KG gets into the scoring mix early, D-Fish answers with a 3. I’ll take a 3-2 trade-off all game long.

8:14: Perkins looks like he has vagina hair on his face. Again, Renee’s take. She’s officially taking over this blog.

5:30: Kobe knocked in his first shot about half way through the 1st quarter, and yet the Lakers are still tied. I think Phil Jackson would take that scenario any day of the week.

5:00: Even though KG made his first shot, he still looks like he’s trying to contain his emotions. Great for rebounding, tougher to control the mid-range game.

4:47: Gasol has 6 points; he’s doing everything he can do to even his matchup with KG. If that matchup is even close, I’ll be shocked. Garnett is way too athletic for Pau.

3:07: Ray Allen just a nice drive and a kiss off the glass, then followed it up with a smooth step-back three. He must think the first 2 games are being played at Key Arena.

Kobe’s started 1-7. He’s supposed to be the one that has the experience, yet he’s the one that’s started of slowest. Clearly, the experience has been very important.

Sasha just drained a 3! I was just reminded that my office pool is dependant on Machine burying 3 treys. I’m not worried, after all: He’s named The Machine.

First period is over. I think the Celtics would like to be up by more than a bucket after 1. One positive development, Kevin Garnett didn’t spontaneously combust… yet.

2nd Quarter

11:30: Turiaf made a fade-away 20 footer. Obviously that was the play we set up during the break between quarters.

11:01: Sasha just gave us the first “what foul, on who?” look. The over under on that look for this series is right around 63462309.

9:39: Sam I Am is looking for his shot on every possession. KG who? This is HIS team!

8:12: D-Fish can bring rain down with some of those 3’s. Don’t need a shooter’s touch when you don’t hit the rim.

6:45: Paul Pierce just picked up his 2nd foul, probably a bigger deal Turiaf’s 2 fouls.
6:35: But Gasol’s 2nd evens THAT out.

5:59: Half way through the 2nd quarter and KG has 16 points and he’s shooting 66%, not to mention he’s put both of his defenders in early foul trouble.

--Side note: Did you know that these 2 teams have actually met in the finals before? I wasn’t aware that this was the “Most Storied Rivalry in the NBA.” Thankfully, ESPN and ABC remind me every 2 minutes.

5:14: PP was just called for an offensive foul, 3 fouls. He should be out for the rest of the half. The C’s are probably going to want the score to be dragged even slower now. Cassell is going to have to be responsible for scoring. No longer is it a perk, he’s needed.

4:17: After trailing most of the game by about 4-5 points, the Lakers take the lead. Closing each half was the secret to the Lakers success against the Spurs. Will they be able to close the same way against Boston?

3:33: What’s up with Garnett NOT knowing how to cover the pick-and-roll? Is it that Gasol is too athletic for KG? Hmmmm, probably not.

2:48: With PP forced to sit, Doc is forced to play some of the bench. The last 2-3 minutes have really highlighted that the Celtics can’t depend on their bench. Posey and Powe do not strike fear into the hearts of Laker fan.

1:36: Gasol is having an incredibly efficient first half. 5-7, 12 points. He needs to avoid another foul this half.

0:45: Any time D-Fish shoots, expect it to go in. Even if it’s a 22 footer, I’m shocked if it doesn’t go down. Mike Breen just said that Fisher has the 3rd highest shooting percentage in the history of the NBA Finals. When you consider he’s a guard that shoots the outside jumper, that’s truly amazing. The Laker point guard position: Where Amazing Happens.

0:03: Radmanovic missed a 3 to end the half; L.A. still is up by 5. I’m sure this is exactly where the Lakers coaching staff would like to be. (Closed half on a 16-6 run)

Halftime

Stuart Scott has a face made for radio. His eye is getting worse and even with glasses, he’s creeping me out. He should be the lead singer for Radiohead.

Again, apparently there is some kind of history between these two teams. I get it. Where’s that Dead Horse when I need it.

My side-action is NOT looking good. KG is scoring all kinds of points, PP and Kobe aren’t, and Sasha hasn’t been punched in the face yet. It’s early.

The first couple of minutes of the 3rd quarter are going to be big. The 5 point lead for the Lakers can easily turn into double digits, or it can be eliminated entirely if the Celtics start out hot.

3rd Quarter

11:15: In the first 45 seconds, PP went to the rack to score, then just banked in a 3 when he got fouled. 6 points, Lakers lead is immediately destroyed.

10:45: PP has 8 points in just over a minute. I guess he’s making the best of all the rest he had while he was on the bench in the first half.

9:34: Radmanovic just picked up his 4th. Mercifully, he’ll have to sit so someone else can guard PP.

8:59: Kobe’s started to get that look in his eye. Obviously, Pierce does too. Now Bryant has switched over to guard PP. He’s going to try to lock down. Who’s going to lock Kobe down?

8:00: Such a key for Pau to be able to score around the basket. When Odom breaks the defense down on the drive or when Kobe sees the double-team from KG, Gasol is the one that has contribute. After 24 minutes of basketball, efficiency from Gasol might be the biggest key to the series. Will the Celtics pay for helping?

PP’s down. He’s grabbing his knee, but he was elbowed in the face by his own teammate. Still haven’t seen an angle that shows what happened to his lower body. He was carried off the court, then put in a wheelchair. On the replays, neither the knee nor the ankle looks all that bad.

6:19: More bad news for the Celtics, Kendrick Perkins just committed a foul AND hobbled off the court. I have feeling that Boston is going to get even MORE physical in response to this.

5:04: Less than 2 minutes of playing time elapsed and PP comes HOPPING back onto the court. He must have been very, very injured. Looks like we have a new nominee for the Dwayne Wade “I Play Injured Because I Have Heart” award. Somewhere, Allen Iverson is laughing (and getting a tattoo). How long before the Willis Reed reference?

Side note: The new movie “Tropic Thunder” should just be called Three Amigos Part II. Honestly, nice originality.

4:41: I hope the refs don’t buy into all of this emotion from the Boston crowd. Renee loves that Van Gundy just stated that Pierce is “special” because he got hit in the face. You can’t teach talent.

3:55: It’s getting VERY physical. They’re letting a lot go, except when the Celtics shoot. I wonder what the free-throw differential is.

3:01: Fish with the Ally, Kobe with the Oop. Then immediately the next possession, ANOTHER foul on the Lakers. This one’s on Pau, still not sure what the call was.

2:29: Kobe’s got that look again. And I don’t think KG has made a shot since mid-2nd quarter. Sasha gave us another “Who Me?” look!

0:43: Mark Jackson just gave us the Willis Reed reference. I’d like to applaud both Jackson and Van Gundy to wait so long before they couldn’t hold it anymore.

Boston fan is very hatable. They’re like Utah Jazz fan, but before Jazz fan knew their role in the world. I’m thankful to have this reminder in the springtime as to why I hate the Red Sox and Patriots so much. King George should have tried harder in the Revolutionary war. Boston: Loathsome since 1776!

4th Quarter

11:50: Kobe’s not resting to start the 4th quarter. I wonder if he’s going to take control?

8:42: KG just made a great play to save the ball from a backcourt violation. Great hustle! That play combined with a few sloppy trips in a row by the Lakers has lead to the biggest lead of the game for the Celtics. Fisher needs to replace Farmar in a hurry. He looks like he’s playing a little out of control, almost like he’s in a little over his head. Fisher's calming influence is exactly what the Lakers need.

7:30: Kobe’s on the bench, Fisher just knocked down a long 2. Dangerous time with Kobe on the bench and the crowd into it. Thankfully, Sam I Am can’t read the 24 second clock.

6:45: Damn it Sasha. Step BEHIND THE 3 POINT LINE!!! He’s screwing my pool…

4:23: Luke Walton just was mugged going for a rebound, of course he was called for the foul.

3:43: Lamar Odom was just hit with his 5th foul. Pierce is playing with a lot of heart; he was able to make a free throw after he was viciously scratched. Renee’s labeled him a whiner. She’s swift and harsh with her judgments.

2:57: Wow, the Lakers just got a call. Odom narrowly avoided fouling out with a questionable charging/blocking call. Possible 3 point play. Lamar is usually very good at coming through with a solid brick in these situations. (3 point play completed, I’m not a believer.)

1:53: Announcers just gave the Big game resume for Gasol’s international career. Predictably, he missed his first free throw on queue. Thanks for the jinx.

1:33: Big, big follow dunk by KG off a 3 point miss by Posey. Gasol looked lost and certainly didn’t even pretend to box out. Hustle plays and fundamentals are all going to the Celtics right now.

1:01: Celtics at the line again. I think that’s the story of the game. If they don’t call the hand check, but call nickel-dimers down low, the Lakers will have no chance in this series. 8 point lead after the free throws.

0:16.6: Ball game. Lakers can’t buy a 3 and they aren’t fouling. Not the ideal recipe for a comeback. 5-20 in the 4th quarter. While the Celtics played very good defense during the game, the 25% from the field looked to be more of a function of the inability of the Lakers to knock down open looks from the outside. No matter the level of the game, series, or teams. If you miss 75% of your shots in a close game (and most are open looks), you’ll lose.

Epilogue: Kobe never turned it on. In the Spurs series, the typical pattern was for him to distribute in the first half, and look for his own shot from midway through the 3rd until the end of the game. The level of difficulty was very high on a lot of his shots, but neither he nor Odom went to the rim enough. The key to the BLOG’s (Bryant, Odom, and Gasol) productivity is the aggressiveness of Odom and Kobe. They never really went to the rim, weren’t able to create fouls, and ultimately weren’t able to finish. The Lakers are going to have to do a lot more of the little things if they hope to win this series. Perfect example is PJ Brown. The Celtics had players doing the little things, L.A. simply did not.

Easily the major turning point of the game was Paul Pierce’s “injury.” When he came back from the locker room, the crowd was re-energized and the Celtics took the physical play (and defense) to another level. Without that shot of adrenaline, I’m not sure they’re able to create the small separation that leads to the victory.

The tone for the series has been set. Apparently, these two teams have played before…

The End

2008-06-05T08:23:00.000-07:00

Stanley Cup Finals – Game 6 (June 4, 2008)

Detroit Red Wings vs. Pittsburgh Penguins

"The quickest way of ending a war is to lose it."

-- George Orwell

1st Period

5:14pm: The Red Wings look like they want this game WAY more than the Penguins. First minute of the game, the Pens can’t get it out of their own zone.

5:16: Maxim Talbot might be one of my favorite players of the playoffs. He was completely amped during the pre-game (chest bumping MAF), then laid the wood TWICE on his first shift. Oh, and he has a monster Playoff Beard!! At least the crowd understood that it was a big deal!

5:17: Malkin needs to get off the skids. He was just left alone in front of the net, had time and space, and shot it into the logo of Osgood’s jersey. Credit to Osgood? Or another example of Malkin not showing up this series?

--Side note: The first goal is so huge in this series. If Detroit scores first, I really get the feeling that they’ll clamp down. Not to mention, MAF has to be feeling great and might be getting into the Wings’ players head quickly.

5:21: Sydor just took a bad penalty. Reason 23487907 why I hate Kirk Maltby. He dove again, yet no one ever talks about this!

5:24: Maltby’s dive leads to Rafalski’s goal on the power play. Well, there’s the first goal. The crowd sounds to be rebounding, let’s see how the next few shifts look with momentum. (Replay: What a great pass by Zetterberg. I think both assists will go to Zetter and Datsyuk. Damn they’re good.)

5:26: Officials missed an obvious hook. The Wing player’s stick was caught in the jersey. Malkin interfered literally 2 seconds later… so maybe they’ll let the players play.

5:29: Replay shows that the Rafalski goal went off Hal gill’s leg…. Bad break!

5:33: Detroit has just taken two penalties in a row, Pens NEED to score on this 5-3. I’m shocked they actually called that Boarding call on Draper. Huge, because he’s also a penalty killer.

5:35: The Wings just killed that 2 man with no problem at all. If they can play even 2 men down, how the hell are they going to do anything at even strength? Malkin doesn’t even look dangerous. He has prime ice time, but Detroit is keeping him to the outside and he’s not even fighting to get to the scoring areas. Even on the 2 man.

5:38: Immediately after the 2 man expired, Lidstrom just caught a High-stick in the face from Adam Hall. Doesn’t it feel like this is exactly the time that the Red Wings will end this series? Big PK, then a PP goal would be devastating!

5:41: Good PK by the Pens. Really there was only one serious chance by Franzen. By the way, Brooks Orpik is going to make some coin as an UFA next year. Young, mean, and getting better every year. Also, Therrien just said that he’s ok with the Crosby/Zetterberg match-up. For an NHL coach, Therrien is a stupid man.

5:45: Datsyuk to Zetterberg. Penguins: Don’t let them shoot, ever.

5:50: Why the hell isn’t the Staal line against the Zetterberg line? Jordan Staal just blew up Datsyuk again. Therrien should be taking advantage of this matchup, and then he could get the Crosby line away from the Selke candidates.

5:52: Therrien just changed lines to matchup Staal and Zetterberg. I should be a coach. My services are available. Figures, it took him a period to figure this out—and Detroit’s playing with another freaking lead.

2nd Period

6:14: Finally! A long stretch pass, some transition game, leads to a minor penalty by the Red Wings. You almost get a feeling that this could be a chance…

6:16: Pens need to learn how to win a freakin' face-off. On the plus side, the last 3 shifts, Malkin’s had some jump.

6:18: Brooks Orpik is a Mack truck. Talbot is still playing with more energy than anyone on the ice (either team).

(Another side note: It feels like the Penguins need momentum to make anything happen, and they HAVE to make something happen during these rushes. The Red Wings are just a cold, heartless, machine…. They can strike at anytime. One fluke, one misstep, one bounce, one mistake and they’ll pounce on it. They’re dangerous 60 minutes of the game. It’s like the entire Red Wings team has taken the personality of Nicklas Lidstrom. Not a bad captain.)

6:25: Pittsburgh has lost that burst of momentum that they had, the game has settled down. This is when they need to watch out. Typically, this is when the Red Wings counterpunch and score.

6:25: Bad rebound by MAF, Filppula went to the net and scored. It’s the same script as always. I’ve seen this movie before.

Win a freakin’ face-off.

6:31: Face-offs. Back checking. Line matching. Driving the net. Detroit is DOMINATING in all of these areas.

6:36: Another mini-momentum swing going towards the Penguins. Talbot and Roberts creating chances. There’s some energy creeping back into the building, but they have to score. 6:15 left in the 2nd period, at some point moral victories don’t matter. They need to put the puck in the net, even if it’s ugly. In fact, Detroit just took a penalty in the offensive zone. Pittsburgh needs a goal. Not momentum. Not scoring chances. A goal.

6:41: Malkin scores on the Power Play! Finally they weren’t chasing. They were aggressive, Malkin was aggressive by stepping to the middle of the ice, and didn’t hesitate. The rest of this period are huge (4 and a half minutes).

6:43: Roberts took a high sticking penalty 200 feet from his own goal. Pens need a good PK. Seems like Detroit might have a problem setting this one up. Pens have jump. It just occurred to me that the Pens can’t counter-punch for shit.

6:47: Franzen just punched and elbowed Orpik in the face twice. Apparently Franzen got 2 minutes for Roughing; Orpik got his 2 minutes for Receiving.

3rd Period

7:09: The Penguins have to get some shots on goal early in the 3rd; otherwise the Wings might be able to get into their heads like Game 5.

7:13: Has Lidstrom ever been called for obstruction? Ever?

7:18: MAF isn’t having a great game. Zetterberg just got behind the Pens’ goalie. Even the goaltending is better for Detroit. They’re just better in every facet of the game.

7:19: Penguins are activating Defensemen. This could get ugly fast.

7:25: Emrick just said that the Pens just had their first shot on goal in the 3rd at about the 10 minute mark. I guess that speaks to the first comment of this period!!!

7:29: The game is slipping away. Detroit is just counter-punching. There’s a better chance Detroit scores on a rush than the Penguins scoring on a push.

7:36: Just less than 2 minutes left, Osgood finally has to make a save (and does). That’s one of the differences between the two teams tonight—timely goaltending. Pens pulled the goaltender.

7:37: With the goalie pulled, Gonchar scores! Hossa might have even tipped it. Pittsburgh should never play with a goalie, EVER. Should be an exciting last minute and a half!

45.8 seconds left. Easily the biggest face-off of the entire year. Somehow the Penguins need to figure out a way to win one of these. (Draper wins the face-off, again)

33.1 seconds left. The new “biggest face-off of the year”. Another win for Draper.

0:00.1: Oh my god….. I think the Pens just hit the post with less than a second remaining. The Pittsburgh players are still on the ice, exhausted, and almost stunned. Wow, it almost looked like it was going to be a repeat of Game 5. Unbelievable finishes.

There’s no way Osgood doesn’t win the Conn Smythe. None whatsoever. (Hank Zetterberg won it, what do I know?) Better team won—but I’d sure love to see one last game….

No Cal shouldn’t be part of California

2008-04-01T23:09:00.000-07:00

“Everybody's very happy
'Cause the sun is shining all the time
Looks like another perfect day
I love L.A.”
--Randy Newman

With the Kings/Sharks game and the Giants/Dodgers games being played simultaneously, I’ve been reminded exactly how much I dislike the entire Bay Area. From the announcers I’m forced to listen to for the Sharks to color of the Giants’ uniforms, I’m not sure that I can find a redeeming quality to anything these teams bring to the table. Definitely makes for an emotion filled Tuesday night.

Is there any team in the Major leagues that has as bleak of a future as the San Francisco Giants? Not only are they awful, but they’re OLD and awful. Usually when a team knows that their season is going to be lost, they’re clearly building for the future. Rich Aurilla and Ray Durham make up the right side of the Giants’ infield. Ladies and Gentlemen, you’re 1998 starting all-star team.

The Kings are already down by a goal. I’m convinced that I’m a masochist, I must love the pain. I know the Kings season is over. I know that we’re competing for the worst record in the league, and I’m also aware that the Sharks are 16-0-2 since they picked up Brian Campbell from the Sabres at the trading deadline. Its to our advantage to tank, lose the rest of our games, and do our best to lock up a better draft pick. If the Kings can stay the course and hold onto the worst record in the league, the worst they can do in the draft is pick second overall. I’m sitting here, and I certainly hope that they remember they screwed up the draft with that important win over the Coyotes in the last game of the season last year. Phoenix drafted Kyle Turris who was just rated as the 2nd best prospect in the world (not in the NHL); meanwhile, Los Angeles drafted Thomas Hickey—the next Brian Rafalski. Bottom line, the Kings need to lose for the rest of the season. I shouldn’t be watching this.

About 14 innings into the new baseball season and I’ve already found my new favorite Dodger: Larry Bowa. He had a world class blow-up while coaching third base. You have to love when a guy can get thrown out of the game for arguing about where he can stand on the field. Here’s how it went down: Ed Montague told him to move back to the coaching box, Bowa said no, words escalate and Montague chucked him. Nothing could have highlighted the differences between the Dodgers’ coaching staff than a calm (almost scared) Joe Torre trying to pry a red-faced Larry Bowa away from killing an umpire. Good news was Torre succeeded in saving the umpire. Bad news, the Gatorade cooler in the dugout wasn’t as lucky.

Would it kill announcers to have an idea of what they are talking about? The Sharks announcer just dropped the nugget that Joe Thornton has more points since he was traded to the Sharks than any other player in that same time period. He went onto add, “more than Sidney Crosby, more than Alex Ovechkin.” Thornton’s a great player that I’d love to have on my team… but lets be real. In the same time frame, Joe Thornton has played half a SEASON more than the two young guns. Of course he has more points! Comparing apples to apples, and Thornton doesn’t stack up as well. Its announcers like this that mislead their fans and create ignorance. The only other explanation is that they didn’t know that Thornton had an extra 30 games to play. Now that I think about it, that very well could be the case. We wouldn’t want facts to get in the way of selling the team as the greatest team ever. If this keeps up, I’m going to root for the Ducks over the Sharks—but that’s not even close yet.

Delwin Young with an infield single in the bottom of the 9th, Furcal scored from 2nd finish the Giants off for the second game in a row. The Dodgers are already 2 games ahead of San Francisco and its only April 1. They’re playing “I Love LA”

I really do love LA.

Where's the Little Guy?

2008-03-13T10:19:00.000-07:00

“Small opportunities are often the beginning of great enterprises.”
--Demosthenes

Lets skip Championship week. Lets just get through the next few days. My empty brackets are waiting—I’m ready for March Madness!

As much as I love the NCAA tournament, it’s this week immediately preceding the madness that is the ugly underbelly of college basketball. All around the country, there are small conferences, holding their tournaments that will determine whether the last 6 months of practice, pride, and determination will be rewarded. You see, when you’re from the Southern Conference (not Southeastern Conference, that’s a little different), you better win your conference tourney. Thankfully, Davidson won their league championship and will be tough match-up for a big name school in a few weeks. No matter what your RPI, strength of schedule, or out of conference record is—its pretty much proven that small conferences do not get the benefit of the doubt. It goes against everything that makes the NCAA tournament the best 3 weeks in sports.

Instead of rewarding teams for excellence over a 4-month span, the selection committee has a proven track record of compensating teams from big-name conferences for mediocrity. Each year we watch while the 7th or 8th best team from the Big East makes travel plans to their first round games, while a smaller school that may have been upset in their conference tourney is “rewarded” with an NIT berth (or nothing at all).

Every year we have glaring examples of what’s wrong. When I was finishing up my undergrad years, I watched UC Irvine get the shaft from the selection committee. The team won the regular season crown by going 25-3 before losing in the semi-finals of the Big West tournament. Their losses included a 2-point loss at UCLA and a loss conference rival Utah State (who was in the midst of a 15 game home winning streak and ended up beating Ohio State in the first round of the NCAA’s). Speaking of the Aggies, Utah State received their own dosage of this bitter tasting medicine following a one-point loss in 2004 in the Big West Tournament. Their reward for a 25-3 record and a #21 national ranking? An NIT home game! That’s more than the 2001 UC Irvine team can say; they were shipped off to play a first-round NIT game against Tulsa on the road, who ended up winning the entire tournament.

This year’s potential victim is VCU. Virginia Commonwealth won the Colonial by 3 full games (this is the league that has George Mason). After stumbling out of the gate on neutral courts to Miami and Arkansas, they extremely well for the rest of the season. They took the league schedule they had, did their best to play other teams that were to be strong this year, and handled their business throughout the winter. They beat two other bubble teams head-to-head (Maryland and Akron). Remember, this is the same team that won their conference tournament last year and parlayed that momentum into a first-round upset of Duke in the West bracket.

If VCU does not make the tournament this year, they will just be added to a list that includes a Butler team that went 25-5 in 2002, only to watch an mediocre Michigan State team (19-11) put on their dancing shoes. Similarly, while UCI was left on the outside looking in after the 2001 regular season, a 17-12 Georgia Tech team from the ACC snuck their way into one of the last spots in dance. Predictably, both the 2002 Michigan State Spartans and 2001 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets lost their first round games.

I’m not going to argue for one minute that the teams from lower conferences are as good as the larger schools. The have bigger budgets, better facilities, and usually better recruits at their disposal. They should be better. I’m simply advocating that we should give the smaller schools their moment in the sun for a season well played. #11 and #12 seeds should not be competing for the national championship. It’s enough for these teams to get INTO the tournament. Is a Michigan State team or Georgia Tech going to be happy with just making the tournament to lose in the first round? With their resources, they shouldn’t be! So why are we rewarding these teams that have average years in big conferences. Why not give teams the chance to show what they can do on the biggest stage? The first 2 rounds of the NCAA tournament aren’t special because of the 40-point blowouts or the 7th best Big East team beating the 6th best ACC team on a neutral court in Salt Lake City.

Wouldn’t it have been better to watch a potential Cinderella pull an upset or two and make a run into the second weekend of the Big Dance? If UC Irvine went 25-4, pulled an upset, and earned the opportunity to play a perennial power, people would still remember that season! Think of how the exposure and excitement could help the program with recruits and facilities. At a place like Alabama, a first round game is rarely remembered past the spring football game, must less past the first game of the next season.

Smaller programs with great records prove over the season that they can play as a team and learn to win. The 6th place Pac-10 team usually has proven little more than the fact that they can underachieve. The worst-case scenario when putting the smaller school into the dance is that they lose. Either way, the same teams would advance deeper into the Sweet 16 and beyond (remember, history tells us they are replacing a team that loses every year anyway). What we have to gain is so much more, the stories of small schools getting the chance to play against the big boys, exposure for players and coaches that otherwise wouldn’t get to play under the bright lights of the national stage, and a chance for communities to rally around their basketball team.

In the grand scheme of college basketball, it really wouldn’t matter. I’m penciling Kansas, North Carolina, and UCLA into the Elite 8, no matter who they match-up against in March. I’d rather watch the St. Mary’s of the world play instead of an underachieving North Carolina State. Each year they are a 7-10 seed, and they’re usually out by the end of the first weekend. Like when a Santa Clara team that’s led by Steve Nash is able to beat Arizona—that’s what I remember.

There's No Place Like Nebraska

2007-10-20T00:12:00.000-07:00

Earlier this week, I got a text from my best friend saying, “You fired your athletic director!” The next day, I received another message from the same friend saying, “You hired Osborne, live in the now.” Let me clarify—whenever my friend sends me updates, there’s always a motive. It’s never a quick message to remind me that my team is great. Instead, it’s usually just another modern way for a friend to kick me while I’m down. My friend is a jerk.

While usually my friends insults are spot on, I think that this time his negative messages are unfounded. While progress is important, tradition and continuity are vital in a place like Nebraska. The Coach Callahan era has brought the West Coast offense, top 25 recruiting classes, and multiple passing records. It’s the aspects that have disappeared in the last 4 years that might prove to be too important to ignore. You won’t be able to find any tangible statistic of what’s been lost. It’s a feeling—a feeling of hope, a feeling of connection that’s missing. There used to be a bond between the football team and the state of Nebraska. With the pro-style offense, Coach Callahan has brought a pro-style detachment from the fans. It’s the detachment (not the 3-8 record against ranked opponents) that is the major reason for unrest in the Cornhusker state.

When Steve Pederson was fired earlier in the week, it was clear that the university’s administration had heard the ground swell of discontent. With the announcement of Tom Osborne as interim AD, it’s clear that Chancellor Harvey Perlman knew the origin of the dissatisfaction. If the Solich era was “gravitating to mediocrity,” he might have set the bar a little too high for the Callahan regime. Just as the move to remove Frank Solich after the program fell from the nation’s elite was correct, the move to remove Bill Callahan for alienating Nebraska’s base and dismantling much of the program’s foundation is equally appropriate. It’s precisely the tradition that makes Lincoln a special place on Saturday’s in the fall.

There are intangible things about the Nebraska football team that brings generations together. I had about 10 family members visit to watch the USC-Nebraska game about a month ago. Without saying a thing, each and every person showed up wearing red. In a family that on the whole could care less about sports, we had a mini-reunion for the sole purpose to watch to see if this was the year that the Cornhuskers retook their place among the nation’s elite. After watching the pregame, seeing the family atmosphere, and feeling how much more this team was than simply a football team filled with student-athletes, the only person at my house that was not a family member was ready to wear the Corn-Head for the rest of the night. He was saying things like, “I think we have a chance if the crowd can stay in the game” and “Do we get the ball to start the second half?”

Half an hour with the family, and he was one of us. I doubt his belief in the Power of Red was because of Coach Callahan’s use of the slot receiver in the red zone. It might have been my Grandmother starting to weep because her family had come together while she was watching “God’s Country” in high-definition greatness. It might have been because he saw that it’s not a football team, but a way of life. It’s a greater family—and we’re always willing to accept new brothers and sisters.

Tom Osborne returning to the university is brings excitement that only members of this family can truly understand. Husker Nation isn’t excited about him bringing back the triple-option offense, nor is he expected to win 3 national championships within the next 4 years. It’s the return to excellence that makes us eager to turn the page. Rebuilding the foundation and returning a sense of normalcy to Memorial Stadium that had been a part of the fabric of Nebraskans lives for 40 years. The hope of the return of the renowned walk-on program that helped nurture the dreams of young boys all over the state. The return of legendary players of the past that have succeeded at all levels of football, yet still want to return to Lincoln to show their support. The hope of a coaching staff that would take players of all talent levels—players that were right for Nebraska football—and watching the players develop into better players and better men after their 4 years in the program.

Clearly the next coach will be someone with previous ties to the program. The short list of possible candidates is:

· Turner Gill: Current Head Coach at Buffalo and quarterback of the celebrated 1983 team.

· Bo Pelini: Current Defensive Coordinator at LSU who presided over the same position at Nebraska. Served as interim Head Coach in the Alamo Bowl after Frank Solich was fired at the end of the 2003 season.

· Paul Johnson: Current Head Coach at Navy while running an Option offense. Won two I-AA National Championships at Georgia Southern.

Regardless of whom the next Head Football Coach is at Nebraska, with the replacement of Pederson as Athletic Director, the football program has looks to be on the right track. The next step will be the installation of a coach that understands the Husker customs. Once the institution is reestablished in Lincoln, the mass voices will be satisfied. The people understand that success will not happen over night; once the team becomes a reflection of its people once again, fans of all generations will be accepting of the results.

If it’s possible to look forward to revisit the past, this is it.

Star Power in the West

2007-10-18T23:17:00.000-07:00

Who said there weren’t any stars in the National League Championship Series? It seems like there’s a lot of complaining about the teams that were matched-up in the NLCS this year. No star power, they say. Why is that? Are the two 25-man rosters solely made up of journeymen and average players? Of course not.

Star power has more to do with media driven hype than actual talent on the field. Brandon Webb won the Cy Young award last year, and is one of only 2 pitchers who have a legitimate chance to win it this year. Matt Holliday led the league in batting average and RBI’s, while hitting almost 40 home runs. Troy Tulowitzki is (as Todd Helton said), “a gold glove waiting to happen.” Not to mention that he should be the favorite to win this year’s Rookie of the Year. Talent is certainly not the problem with these two teams. The Rockies’ pitching staff as a whole has the best ERA in all of baseball since the All-Star break—yet few if any national media members can name even ONE Colorado pitcher.

It’s certainly not impossible to have a star in Denver or Phoenix. Joe Sakic has produced a pretty respectable career. Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling did pretty well in 2001 in the Valley of the Sun. A few people have heard of John Elway. Its not that the markets are too small to produce household names. It’s that the media picks-and-chooses who they want to promote each year. Each of these teams is loaded with young talent. Both have had prospects for the last few years that all baseball people have put towards the top of their rankings. Maybe it’s because Peter Gammons doesn’t have season tickets to the Rockies.

Instead, the problem is that it’s not the New York Diamondbacks against the Boston Rockies. The national media is so busy shoving the Yankees and the Red Sox down the public’s throat for 6 months, then blasts the public (and sport in general) when the ratings are horrific in the playoffs. Perhaps the media should look in the mirror and cover relevant stories instead of giving us a daily update of how many games the Yankees are behind in the loss column. Here’s a newsflash: The Yankees were a fundamentally flawed team since spring training—an old team with no pitching. When New York had the best record in the American League in the second half, they were beating up on the Royals, Devil Rays, and Orioles most of the time! The NL West had 4 teams that had a legitimate shot at winning the division at any point this season. In fact, the top 2 teams made the playoffs and the 3rd place team lost in a 1 game playoff. The 4th place Dodgers were even leading the division and wild card races as late as August. Yet still, only the AL East seemed to matter.

So what happens when the Rockies, who have won 21 of their last 22 games, roll into the World Series? If it’s against the Red Sox, they’ll be overmatched and given no chance at all to win. If it’s the Indians, well…. Would baseball even bother playing that series? Neither Colorado, nor Cleveland is a big market. What would be the point going through with a World Series that no one would care about? If a team from the East Coast was putting together this streak, it would be viewed at one of the best streaks of all time. Legendary even. Each SportsCenter broadcast would be led off with Rockies highlights. Then there would be the obligatory graphic comparing them to the 1935 Cubs as putting together one of the best streaks to finish a year of all time. Buster Olney and Tim Kurkjian would sit on the Budweiser Hot Seat each night and predict how much longer the Rockies could keep this up. Even if the coverage has been something less than heroic, the streak is still legendary.

What can I say, I like the idea of the 2 teams that are playing the best baseball battling each other for the Championship. Like last year, it’s nice to see that the logo on the hat does not determine the participants in the World Series. Is it bad to already be rooting for a Brewers vs. Blue Jays series next year? We better start promoting Prince Fielder and Roy Holliday if we want to avoid this problem next October!

Strength of Schedule?

2007-10-16T23:45:00.000-07:00

“The brightest crowns that are worn in heaven have been
tried, and smelted, and polished, and glorified through the furnace of
tribulation.”
--Edward Chapin

Are the Ohio State Buckeyes really the #1 team in the country? I think the message being sent here is that quality of schedule is for fools. With a 7-0 record that includes huge wins over Youngstown State, Akron, Kent State and Northwestern, the Buckeyes have managed to survive the early part of this unpredictable season without a blemish. The question is: Do they deserve to be?

What kind of message is being sent to the rest of the country when Big 10 teams line up more cupcakes than the bald dude from Ace of Cakes? Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure the players from Buffalo, Florida International, UNLV, and –ahem, Appalachian State earn scholarships just like the big boys. That’s not the point. The point is that we learn very little from a 38-6 victory by Ohio State over Youngstown State. The only thing that of substance that can be understood learned from games like this are negatives.

· A team struggles against a 1-AA team and they have weaknesses.

· A team loses to a lower echelon team and boosters will declare it a rebuilding year.

· A team pounds a weaker team, its viewed as simply “taking care of business”

After the first couple of weeks of the season, I respect Illinois more than any other team in the Big 10. By competing with a very good Missouri team until the last minutes, they probably had the best out-of-conference showing all year. The other nominees are Ohio State over the University of Washington (one of the worst Pac 10 teams), Penn State/Michigan over Notre Dame (yes, Notre Dame), and… well, that’s it. There are no other nominees, because Western Michigan and Syracuse don’t count.

So what happens when Ohio State runs through the Big 10 undefeated? Their high quality wins will be against Illinois (who lost to Iowa already) and Michigan. The last time Michigan played a team with any speed, they lost by 32 at home! What do these wins prove? Of course they should win these games—they’re Ohio State! Put the Big 10 against either the SEC or the Pac 10, and I seriously doubt they’d win a single game. Teams like LSU, Cal, Oregon, Florida, and USC have schedules that are so much more difficult that Ohio State, I’d respect a one-loss team from one of these conferences before I’d take the Buckeyes seriously.

All the players from Ohio State can do is go out, play the teams on their schedule, and win each game. My only fear is that after seeing such a rollercoaster year like this, athletic directors around the country will be inclined to take the easy victories in hopes of a BCS payday. The losers would not be the schools that chose to play a difficult schedule. The big losers would be the people that watch college football every Saturday, watching for the upset, waiting for greatness. A team can not prove greatness by beating weaker teams. Man up. Play someone decent. I’ll take a one-loss LSU (who beat Virginia Tech, South Carolina, and Florida) or Oklahoma (who took care of Texas and Missouri) over any untested undefeated team. If for no other reason, we know what these teams are capable of this year. By playing a decent schedule, you may lose, but at least we’ll find out how good they are that season. More importantly, they’ll find out how far they’ve come—and in the case of Ohio State, how far they still have to go.

"Oh Shit" players...

2007-10-10T22:12:00.000-07:00

Alright, so everyone knows who these players are. Every person that's every passionately followed a team knows this player very well. Its the guy that every single time he's on the rink, you involuntarily say "OH SHIT, he's out there again?" We're 4 games into the hockey season, and I've already realized that the Kings have 3 separate Oh Shit players. Three. You can dodge one or two of these guys, but 3 is too many for any team to consider themselves legitimate contenders. Here are this years earlier winners:

1. Rob Blake. He's actually been on the list for the last 4 or 5 years that he's been a King. I have no idea how many times Blake has pinched into the play for no apparent reason and gives up a 2-on-1 the other way. He joins the play and immediately I'm standing, hands on head, screaming at the TV: "Oh Shit!"

Worse yet, I'm not sure he's aware that its his responsibility to move opponents that are camped out in front of the Kings net. Because of this man alone, I'm convinced that the majority of the sports media has ZERO clue with hockey. In fact, I doubt they have even watched a game in its entirety. If they had, they'd know that Rob Blake is probably responsible for half of the goals the Kings give up in a given year. His plus/minus rating has to be Minus 9823740928734. At least. Maybe more. Perhaps its time to put him with a defensive minded partner.... maybe defensive minded forwards. Anything. This isn't working-- again.

2. Jaroslav Modry. Why did the Kings resign him? I think the day that Dean Lombardi resigned him, about 3000 fans seriously contemplated crossing behind the Orange Curtain and thought about becoming Duck fans. Under my breath, every time he steps on the rink for a regular shift, I mutter "Oh Shit" and prey to get through the shift with minimal damage. Everything for Rob Blake is true for Modry, except that whole All-Star thing. Jaroslav Modry for Mattias Norstrom (our Captain, our heart, our soul).... wonderful personnel move! (Side note: Who took over the Captain's C from the departed Norstrom? That's right, #4 in your program, but #1 in your heart: Rob Blake).

3. Jason Labarbara. Now this is the most problematic. When your goaltender is an Oh Shit player, there will be issues. His name is LaBeachball; that can't be a good thing! (from what I understand, he may not be able to stop a beach ball). I find myself cheering when he gives up 4 goals in the 1st period, because then there's hope that he'll be pulled in between periods. Best move ever, signing him to a one-way contract. It eliminated any possibility of him coming up from the "A" last year. Can we just send him back down and hopefully someone will pick him up off the waiver wire? Please? He makes me yearn for the days of Robb Stauber.

Its going to be a very long season. Can we trade all 3 of these guys for future considerations? Draft picks? Cash? A bag of pucks? I'm open for negotiations.....