Archive for 18. week of 2004

May 7th, 2004

Another Decision For The Man

Through Fanblogs, I found out that the Colorado Court of Appeals has ruled against Colorado football player Jeremy Bloom in his quest to overturn an NCAA rule that bars athletes from accpeting outside endorsement income.

I've written about Bloom before, a wide receiver for the Buffaloes who is also an Olympic freestyle skier. He claims that he needs his endorsement income to help fund his freestyle skiing career. Kevin Donahue at Fanblogs thinks Bloom needs to get his priorities straight:

I think the NCAA is right here. You can't let athletes maintain their eligibility if they're getting paid to endorse Ben Gay. Bloom needs to decide what's most important to him, modeling & skiing or playing for the 'Buffs.

I laid out my reasoning on this issue a long time ago -- the NCAA doesn't have this rule in place to protect amateur standing, it has it in place to protect the economic value of the endorsement contracts it concludes with companies like Nike. Contracts that athletes like Bloom don't enjoy any benefit from. If athletes like Bloom become associated with products that compete with ones their universities endorse, the value of that sponsorship gets diluted.

On a professional level, this happens all the time -- witness Cowboys owner Jerry Jones concluding a sponsorship deal with Adidas, while then-Cowboys running back Emmitt Smith completed a separate deal with Reebok. But thanks to the "amateur" standing of college athletes, universities get to exploit college athletes to the maximum.

Here's another example: Back in 2000, I went to Homecoming at Ohio State University. While there, I purchased an Ohio State jersey with a number 8, the number worn at that time by quarterback Steve Bellisari. But because Bellisari was an "amateur" he didn't get a dime from the sale of that jersey.

Unfair? Absolutely. And it's the kind of exploitation that happens everyday in the name of protecting amateurism in college athletics.

Posted in Business by Eric McErlain | 4 Comments »

 
May 7th, 2004

Hockey Protectionism

Through Ben Wright, I leanred about the CBC's plans to air a hockey reality program called Making The Cut. The show will feature 68 amateur hockey players all vying for a chance to crack an NHL roster.

But not everybody is welcome, as you need to check the fine print:

Some notes worth mentioning from the eligibility requirements- no pros or semi-pros allowed, all entrants must pay a $55 entry fee (Keenan expects 12,000 applicants which would net sponsors and the CBC $660,000 CDN), all players must have a full set of CSA approved gear, including a half visor on their helmet and only Canadian citizens or permanent residents are eligible.(Emphasis mine, editor)

So no Americans need apply (or any other international players for that matter). Couldn't very well have some mucker from Minnesota-Duluth or some poor sod stuck on an oil derrick near Sverdlovsk getting a shot at the Canadian dream, now could we? How typical -- one might even term it a "Don Cherry-like xenophobia". Of course, this would not preclude players with dual citizenship (like Brett Hull and Adam Deadmarsh) from competing. Here's hoping one slips in.

After all, we let Jesse Palmer on The Bachelor, didn't we?

Posted in Hockey by Eric McErlain | 6 Comments »

 
May 7th, 2004

AHL Player Suspended

Hamilton Bulldogs forward Alexander Perezhogin, who delivered a two-handed stick-swing to an opponent's face in an AHL game last week, was suspended through the end of next season by the league today:

Perezhogin slammed his stick into Cleveland Barons defenseman Garrett Stafford's face during an April 30 playoff game in Hamilton, Ontario.

Stafford, on his knees when he was hit, fell to the ice in convulsions, blood gushing from a gash on his face. He needed 20 stitches and had a concussion.

The players' fight began when Stafford swung his stick at Perezhogin, striking the back of his helmet. Perezhogin responded with the baseball-like swing to Stafford's face.

In addition, Stafford received a six-game suspension for precipitating the incident. Here's AHL President David Andrews:

While in my opinion the action of Mr. Stafford was clearly a contributing factor to the incident, the reaction by Mr. Perezhogin was indefensible in terms of both its nature and its real and potential consequences. . .

This incident is fortunately not representative of the standard of competition that the American Hockey League and its players have stood for over the past 68 seasons. Our players, coaches and fans have been shocked by the nature of this incident, and its widespread international exposure has dishonored our league and the sport of hockey.

Beyond today

Posted in Hockey by Eric McErlain | No Comments »

 
May 7th, 2004

The Sport Of Deposed Kings

Via Skip at The Sports Economist, I read this piece by Steve Pearlstein in the Washington Post about the precipitous decline in the fortunes of the horse racing industry, and how state regulators need to get out of the way and let market forces lead to consolidation and a healthier industry overall:

You'll hear all sorts of complicated explanations for why this is so and who is to blame. But the reason is pretty simple: This is the kind of mess you get when 50 state governments all try to micromanage an industry.

It started decades ago when politicians discovered they could raise revenue without raising taxes by legalizing a relatively harmless form of gambling. As part of the deal, legislators and governors took it upon themselves to decide how many tracks there would be, who would own them, how many days or nights they could race and how the betting pot would be divided.

In time, however, these arrangements proved so useful to the states that there were too many tracks, too many racing dates and too many horsemen for any to operate profitably.

Tracks had no choice but to cut back on marketing and modernizing their facilities, leading to a cycle of declining quality and falling attendance.

He's not kidding. Last year, I joined a group of friends for their annual pilgrimage to Pimlico to watch the Preakness. And I can say without reservation that it was worst sports experience I've ever had in my life.

From the moment I stepped out of my car into ankle deep mud in a parking field, all the way to my departure, there was nothing even a bit compelling or exciting about my trip. At Churchill Downs in Louisville, a trip to the Kentucky Derby is a trip back in time. But in Baltimore, a trip to Pimlico, which now may lose the Preakness now that Maryland has rejected bringing slot machines to race tracks in the state, is like a visit to the ruins of racing.

The grandstand, which seems to have been renovated more than a few times in the past, is a monument to disrepair. The saddest moment of the day came when I took a trip to a men's room filled with cracked mirrors and smashed fixtures, yet still served faithfully by an aging attendant dispensing paper towels.

Instead of generating excitement, the place literally sucked the energy from my body, leading me to abandon the track before the Preakness was ever run. As I walked back through the rain-soaked parking field to my car, it was clear the only folks having any fun at the Preakness were the thousands of twenty-somethings who crowded the infield for a day full of drunken revelry.

If I had only been ten years younger.

I don't say this as a horse racing neophyte, but rather as someone who grew up with the business practically in my back yard. My hometown, Floral Park on Long Island, bumps up against Belmont race track, the home of the third leg of the Triple Crown, the Belmont Stakes. My next door neighbor's son was a horse trainer, and one Summer he brought me on board to work as a hot walker.

Bottom line: I don't want to see horse racing die, but I can't see the business recovering once their biggest fans -- many of whom never come to the racetrack because of off-track betting parlors -- begin to age and die off. But with state governments so tightly involved in regulating tracks, and sharing in their revenues, it doesn't seem to me that the sort of consolidation the business needs in order to stage a comeback can ever happen.

Posted in Misc. Sports by Eric McErlain | 2 Comments »

 
May 7th, 2004

Lonely Links

In today's Wall Street Journal, James Sterba takes a look at why golf, despite the fact that it's attracting record numbers of spectators and television viewers, is experiencing sluggish growth as a participant sport (subscription required):

While today's touring pros tame, even belittle, the courses they play, most golfers play badly. They're likely to slice drives into the rough, plop balls into ponds, dribble worm-burners down the fairway, muff chips and choke on putts.

Modern golf courses, more often than not, are built and groomed to impress very good players, not help average golfers. They are often difficult. Play slows down. Golfers find themselves waiting between shots. They stew (in the electric carts the course requires them to rent) about getting no exercise. They ask themselves whether the $60 or $120 or more they paid for this five-hour ordeal was money well spent. Some conclude it wasn't. They feel vaguely fleeced. They play less -- or quit.

Nearly three million of the 26 million adult golfers in the U.S. quit each year, says the National Golf Foundation, an industry research group. Why? Health, job and family obligations, and other spare-time attractions are some of the reasons. But underlying those, dropouts say in surveys, is this: The game is too difficult, too time-consuming and too expensive.

The article goes on to mention that the average score for men reported by the U.S. Golf Association for an 18-hole round is 96. I'm a little chagrined to mention that Captain Off Wing has never even gotten a whiff of 100, and the only time he ever broke 80 was on a putt-putt course snuggled beside picturesque Hempstead Turnpike.

While I've never felt vaguely fleeced after playing a round of golf, more often than not, I walk away feeling like I might have made the round a lot less enjoyable for my more experienced friends. Playing more often really isn't much of an option given the constraints on my time, which means time for extra trips to the driving range or even lessons are out of the question as well (not that lessons could fit into my budget these days, competing for funds with basics like home decorating and repair).

Of course, none of this comes into play when it comes to watching Tiger Woods or Christie Kerr drop a shot to within a foot or two of the cup from 100 yards out on television -- something which often lifts me out of my seat and inspires me to trade high-fives with the brother-in-law.

Then again, maybe that's part of the point. We watch precisely because it is so hard, and having experienced the challenge up close and personal, we appreciate it all the more.

Perhaps this is an example of how the health of televised golf might not be directly related to the health of the golf industry as a whole.

Posted in Golf by Eric McErlain | 3 Comments »

 
May 6th, 2004

Boswell On Bonds

From time to time, I have a bone or two to pick with Tom Boswell of the Washington Post, but he's still the best baseball writer in the business -- most recently evidenced by this morning's brilliant column on Barry Bonds:

Finally, Bonds elaborated a perfect defense against all those who tar him with "speculations." Yet, to do so, he used both his late father and his brother as human shields. For years Bobby Bonds's alcoholism during his career was an open secret. "Some players are hungry. Bonds is thirsty," was the snide-but-true justification by every team that traded him, often after he had an excellent season -- on the field. Yet, even after Bonds died last season, few in the media mentioned it out of respect. No one waved it like a flag.

Until Barry, so ambivalent, so adoring, so wounded by his father, did it on Tuesday night.

"I wish my dad didn't drink in his day, but I can't change that. He's still my father. Just because my dad drank and was an alcoholic, does that mean I was [drinking] with him? My brother does drugs, he's recovering, but he's still my brother and I love him to death. But am I going with my brother, doing drugs?" Bonds said to deflect his guilt-by-association problems with the indicted Victor Conte and Greg Anderson.

Like Bonds, Ted Williams was roundly despised in his day by sportswriters. Yet, in his declining years, became a far more beloved figure than many of his ink stained antagonists would have ever imagined. One has to wonder if such a fate awaits Bonds as well. Not that he would care.

Posted in Baseball by Eric McErlain | No Comments »

 
May 6th, 2004

Rink Notes

We've got to wait how many more days before the start of the Conference Finals? I guess it will be good practice for next season, when we don't know if we'll get to watch much hockey at all.

The Tampa Tribune's Martin Fennelly is getting a little uncomfortable with the playoff success the Lightning has been enjoying thus far. But when you play the seventh and eighth seeds in your conference in the first two rounds of the playoffs, success like this shouldn't exactly be unexpected. Then again, when you finish first in the your conference, you're expected to capitalize on your good fortune with performances like the ones the Bolts have put in.

Pat Quinn, who has one year remaining on his contract in Toronto, will be back as head coach of the Leafs next season. BTW -- great seats are still available at the Air Canada Centre. Though I'm shocked, it looks like Tony Granato will get to keep his job in Colorado too. And in Florida, the Panthers talked to ex-Sens coach Jacques Martin about the head coaching job there, though management says interim head coach John Torchetti is still the frontrunner.

Out in Vancouver, the Canucks are expected to announce that Dave Nonis will be their new general manager. Tom Benjamin is still angry about all of this, and he's got a right to be. Tom also talks about the hockey most of North America isn't watching, the World Championships, and Hockey Rodent has a report on Team USA's surprising victory over the hometown Czechs.

On The Wings has shaken off post playoff depression, and is looking to the future on the blueline.

And in case you missed it, St. Louis Blues forward Mike Danton was extradited to Illinois to face charges in that alleged murder for hire plot that still lacks a target with a name. The plea was not guilty. Danton's agent, David Frost, just talked with the AP, and claimed that Danton was delusional and under the influence of painkillers and sleeping pills when he arranged the alleged contract hit.

In happier news, the AP has caught up with former NHL coach Kevin Constantine. Looks like somebody has found a home in the WHL.

Posted in Hockey by Eric McErlain | No Comments »

 
May 6th, 2004

Memory Gap

Unlike a lot of other folks, I don't have much of a problem with Major League Baseball's co-marketing agreement with Columbia Pictures to promote the release of Spider-Man 2. To tell you the truth, I don't understand what all the fuss is about.

After all, how many ballclubs happily slapped ads for the Gap on their outfield walls in left-centerfield and right-centerfield gaps over the past few years? I don't seem to recall any hue and cry over that promotion.

As for the folks at Columbia Pictures, all I can say is "Bravo". In just a few days they got more publicity for their money than they would have from a conventional advertising buy at a fraction of the price.

POSTSCRIPT: Spider-Man 2 was co-written by 1989 Catholic University graduate Alfred Gough -- a man who sat next to me in Freshman Honors Composition back in 1985. Congratulations to Al, who is also Executive Producer of Smallville.

UPDATE: The courageous Bud Selig decided to cave. What a joke.

And speaking of having a bone to pick with Tom Boswell:

For once, the public actually shoved an attempt at rampant commercialism back down the throats of the philistines who proposed it. Maybe they can put ridiculous "swooshes" and stupid little animals all over our clothes, but they better not mess with the baseball diamond! At least we draw the line somewhere, even if the choice of battlegrounds -- a picture of a spider's web on home plate -- must seem odd in other cultures.

The public? No, more like a gaggle of sanctimonious sportswriters.

Posted in Baseball by Eric McErlain | 5 Comments »

 
May 5th, 2004

Wrapping Up Guerrero

Richard Sandomir of the New York Times weighs in on Lisa Guerrero's departure from Monday Night Football:

Still, you have to wonder if [MNF Producer Fred] Gaudelli's expectations of her were too high, or whether he misjudged how far her past experience and skills would take her [Guerrero]. She had never been a featured player in a prime-time environment. She had done live sports reports on cable, and she had taped interviews and news updates for Fox Sports Net's "Best Damn Sports Show Period,'' but she never had to provide live reports in 20 seconds between Michaels's and Madden's remarks while thousands of fans screamed around (and at) her.

Gaudelli said his research into Guerrero showed that she possessed "charisma and a way about her,'' and that when required "she rose to the occasion.'' But hopes based on what she could become - another Suzy Kolber? - did not pan out.

Interestingly enough, Sandomir never asks why Kolber wasn't tapped for the job, though Steve Zipay in Newsday has reported that Michelle Tafoya got the job in part because of the personal intervention of MNF host Al Michaels. In USA Today Rudy Martzke tells us what we could all see ourselves -- that Guerrero was simply out of her depth, and had to continually refer to notes to keep up.

Salon's King Kaufman is a little more harsh:

Guerrero, a B-list actress, was comically inept in her one season on the sidelines after a few years as set dressing on various Fox Sports shows. Or at least she would have been comical if her performance hadn't been so sad and insulting to football fans.

John Levesque of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer was one of the few voices to rise in support of Guerrero. Well, sort of:

We view with outrage this recent development because (a) Lisa Guerrero is easy to look at and (b) Lisa Guerrero is easy to look at.

Did she contribute greatly to the nation's understanding of football?

Of course not.

But, please. Was that really part of her job description?

No, but a little football knowledge wouldn't have hurt. As for Off Wing HQ, I still think Kolber should have gotten the job.

Posted in Football by Eric McErlain | 6 Comments »

 
May 5th, 2004

NHL Playoff Notebook

Philadelphia 3 Toronto 2 OT: That massive snapping sound you heard coming from Canada last night was caused by about a third of the nation angrily shutting off their televisions after Jeremy Roenick ended last night's game in OT, spoiling a splendid comeback and sending a team of aging stars to the golf course. As Stephen Brunt of the Toronto Globe and Mail puts it, the sting this year is a little different:

Because who knows when the next hockey year will roll around. Because who can tell how accommodating a brave new economic world might be for a team that has traditionally relied more on its vast stores of cash than on brains and innovation.

And because this incarnation of the Maple Leafs, an over-the-hill gang that for a time bore a striking resemblance to the ancient heroes of 1967 -- the last Toronto team to win the Stanley Cup -- in dawn's light simply looks old, and full of question marks, especially with a long, labour war looming just beyond the horizon

Click here to see what Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun thinks about next season. As for Roenick's goal, it almost didn't happen, courtesy of a train wreck hit Darcy Tucker laid on the Flyers' Sami Kapanen:

As Kapanen strode full speed toward the puck, Toronto's Darcy Tucker came like some combination of Ronnie Lott, Scott Stevens and the bullet train to Tokyo. He hit Kapanen with all the force he could muster.

Roenick, on the bench, didn't just see it. He felt it.

"Scary," he said. "I got hit just like that here last year. Same guy."

Tucker gave Roenick a concussion during a playoff game at the Air Canada Centre last April. So Roenick knew exactly what was happening as Kapanen struggled to get to the bench.

"If he stays down, they blow the play dead," Roenick said. "As long as the guy is trying to get up, they usually let it go. Sami is tough. He got up."

Kapanen is so tough, he got up three times. That's how many times it took for him to get his legs under him well enough to make it to the bench. His teammates had to pull him over the boards and off the ice. Roenick was one of them, but he had another problem.

"I was supposed to go on for my shift," Roenick said. "So I'm trying to pull Sami in and get past him at the same time."

The rest, as they say, is Flyers history. Now, it's on to Tampa Bay for the Eastern Conference Finals against a healthy and rested squad. BTW -- Tampa Bay swept Philadelphia in their four games this season, outscoring the Flyers 18-8.

Philadelphia wins series 4-2.

San Jose 3 Colorado 1: History was denied last night in Colorado, as San Jose's incredible depth finally overwhelmed the Avalanche. The Sharks put the game away in the second period when they scored three times in 11 minutes, a spree capped off by an incredible goal by an up and coming playoff hero:

Jonathan Cheechoo and Ricci broke in 2-on-1 against Paul Kariya, a forward caught in a defensive position on the power play. Cheechoo's delay shook Kariya, and the San Jose forward beat Aebischer at 12:03 for the Sharks' first three-goal bulge since Game 2.

"I was going to pass it to Reech, but he (Kariya) fell down in the passing lane,'' Cheechoo said. "I didn't want to hit him; I'd done that already in the series. I got around him and I had an open space to shoot at.''

Believe me, it looked a lot better on video -- so good in fact, that Kariya is probably wishing he didn't come back from his ankle injury to play last night.

Despite all the fun, Ray Ratto at the San Francisco Chronicle is still counseling caution, despite the fact the Sharks had never been this deep in the playoffs before:

Now, they're, well, closer than they were, but not close enough yet. Because, though all this history is fine and dandy for the fans, who expected nothing and got more than they ever have, the players operate on the theory that history is only useful in the rearview mirror.

"This is a big obstacle we just cleared," said center Vincent Damphousse, who scored Tuesday's first goal, "but we're no more than a month away (from winning the Stanley Cup). If we want it, we can get it."

Back in Denver, there are nothing but questions -- whether they're talking about Kariya, Teemu Selanne, or Peter Forsberg:

He has given his heart, his soul and his spleen.

Question is: Does Peter Forsberg have anything left to give the Colorado Avalanche?

And if he does have gas left in the Saab, does the sweet-skating Swede even want to return for an 11th season in the NHL?

Questions or not, the Avalanche look to be in far better shape going into the offseason than their rivals in Detroit. Even if they lose all three of those players named above (two of whom -- Kariya and Selanne -- contributed next to nothing this past season), there still loaded to the gills with talent, with Joe Sakic around for another season.

Shed no tears for the Avalanche.

San Jose wins series 4-2.

Posted in Hockey by Eric McErlain | 4 Comments »

 
May 4th, 2004

Rink Notes

Vancouver Canucks Op Ed isn't happy with Orca Bay's decision to let Brian Burke find a new job. They're right to be upset, as Burke will almost certainly have another team on the brink of a Cup sometime in the next few seasons. The Canucks clearly would have been right there if not for the Bertuzzi incident.

Want to beat David Aebischer? Here's how PJ at Sharkspage says you can do it:

San Jose will need to pile bodies in front of the crease and aim high, preferably blocker side. Getting big goalies moving side-to-side will open up the five hole.

Meanwhile, remember how Sharks head coach Ron Wilson called out a number of players after their OT loss to Colorado in Game Five. Looks like Sharks defenseman Mike Rathje is a little annoyed with Wilson:

"I just gave them the puck, basically, from what I hear" from the coach, Rathje said after practice, declining to discuss the play in greater detail. "I'm not going to focus on one play out there. It's a 60-minute game, a 25-guy team."

Rathje has been the only Sharks skater on the ice for the three Colorado goals that have brought the Avalanche to within one win of San Jose entering today's Game 6 in Denver.

Back East, there's joy in Philadelphia, as it looks like Robert Esche will start Game Six tonight in Toronto. Though Flyers head coach Ken Hitchcock reported that Esche was suffering from "flu-like symptoms" that resulted in him being pulled from Game Five, most folks are acknowledging that Esche probably suffered some sort of head injury during Game Four. Last night on ESPN, there was open speculation that the Flyers would be reluctant to report that Esche has suffered a concussion, as league rules would mandate that Esche be held off the ice for at least one week before returning.

Puts the whole Eric Lindros/Flyers saga in a different light now, doesn't it?

Up in Toronto, Mike Ulmer of the Toronto Sun is pretty fatalistic:

MAYBE YOU remember the conflicts facing characters from high school English: Man versus man, man versus himself? I ask because the greatest obstacle facing the Maple Leafs is not the big, hard-skating Philadelphia Flyers.

The Leafs' greatest hurdle is the little voice lurking inside each player that says: "Why bother? There's already enough pain in the world. Why go looking for more?"

I understand what he's talking about. Unfortunately, the Leafs play will only reinforce this notion, as I predict they will win tonight, only to lose Game Seven in Philly later this week.

Posted in Hockey by Eric McErlain | 4 Comments »

 
May 4th, 2004

Golf Notes

I've said this before, but it probably bears repeating: Tiger Woods is no longer the best golfer in the world. That title now belongs to Vijay Singh, who with yesterday's win at the HP Classic moved further ahead of Woods on the Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index. For more details, check out Blogger Vance and The Golf Blog.


Mike Cowan, better known to the world outside the PGA Tour as Fluff, will be Michelle Wie's caddy at the Michelob Ultra Open on the LPGA Tour. Cowan, who normally works with Jim Furyk, had the week free due to an injury to Furyk. It's not like Wie couldn't use the help, and he isn't the first professional caddy to work with Wie since she and her father B.J. had a run-in with LPGA Tour Pro Danielle Ammaccapane last year.

While I'm sure Cowan is happy working with Furyk, there's a part of me that wants to see him work with Wie full time. What would be more fun than to see the same quirky character ride shotgun for two of the greatest phenoms the game of golf has ever seen? For more LPGA Tour fun, check out Women's Golf Watch over at Mass Live. You'd do well to pay attention, as Women's Golf is exploding in a way reminscent of the way Women's Tennis forced its way into the public conciousness a few years ago with a combination of superior athletes and compelling personalities.

Posted in Golf by Eric McErlain | No Comments »

 
May 4th, 2004

No Secret Garden

Thinking of a future as a sports agent? Maybe you should think again. That's the advice Baltimore-based agent Tony Agnone gave to Washington Times reporter Bob Cohn for a piece in today's newspaper:

"Much to my chagrin," he said. "I try to explain to them [his students] it's not the best thing in the world. It's a very competitive business. I try to convince them there are other things to do besides being an agent." "It's a situation that's very competitive, very time consuming. It's got to be done very meticulously, and there is some involvement of luck. If the planets are all aligned, it works." According to figures provided by the NFL Players Association, the planets are seriously spinning out of control. Of the approximately 1,300 NFLPA-certified agents, almost 70 percent do not represent even one active player. Ten percent of the agents represent 75 percent of the players. "If those aren't sobering statistics for anybody considering this business, then obviously they're the people who like to go to Las Vegas," Agnone said.

That's much the same story I've been told by one agent I know, Dan Tobin. And in many ways, the story he told me, and the way he told it, reminded me a lot of the conversations I had with many ex-classmates who had continued on to law school after graduation. I wonder if there's a connection.

Posted in Football by Eric McErlain | 3 Comments »

 
May 4th, 2004

NHL Playoff Notebook

Calgary 1 Detroit 0 OT: When is the first day of Summer? If you go by the calendar, it's June 21. Culturally, here in the States, we usually mark Memorial Day Weekend as the traditional kickoff to the Summer season.

But in Detroit, the start of Summer is marked differently -- especially over the last 10 years. That's because Summer in Detroit usually starts the morning after the Red Wings play their last game of the season.

Most years, that date has been closer to June 1st than May 1st. But for the second year in a row, the best lineup pizza money could buy wound up going home early. And you have to wonder if last night was the last look we got at a unique collection of NHL All-Stars -- a lineup that changes in the league's collective bargaining agreement might make impossible to replicate ever again.

Here's Mitch Albom:

Paradise lost. Bottom line: Detroit's dream season fell two rounds and 10 victories shy of a Stanley Cup. In other words, not even close. It ended with a defeat to a No. 6 seed. It ended with a gasping power play, a slowed defense, and a big goose egg, when Martin Gelinas, who played a brilliant game all night long, popped the puck past Curtis Joseph, who stopped all the shots but that one.

It ended with the Wings promising a storm, but delivering only gloomy clouds.

"I expect our best hockey is still in front of us," Brendan Shanahan had said before this game.

Unfortunately for Shanahan and the Red Wings, just the opposite is the case. During this series, the Wings looked old. They looked slow. They looked like they expected to be able to turn on the juice and overwhelm the Flames at the time and place of their choosing. But the Flames took their best shot -- including the incredible emotional let down in Game Four when their incredible comeback was blunted by the Wings on home ice in Calgary -- and then managed to overcome Detroit with speed, superior goaltending (but not by much), relentles forechecking (harrasment, thy name is Craig Conroy) and stifling positional play.

And speaking of Calgary, the team that's moving on and keeping the Spring thaw at bay for at least another playoff round, the elation is all about Martin Gelinas -- a player who first became known to us as a "kid" with the 1990 Edmonton Oilers, but decided that wasn't all he wanted to do with his career.

Now, 14 years after that first Stanley Cup appearance, Gelinas has become the first player in the history of the league to end three separate playoff series on an OT goal. Said teammate Jarome Iginla of Gelinas' goal:

We don't draw that up, that's Gelly always in those spots," said Jarome Iginla, who started the play by grabbing the puck in the corner and pushing to the front of the net.

"He works so hard, every shift you know you're going to get absolutely everything and he won't stop whacking away."

He's got at least one more series of whacking ahead of him. As for the fans in Detroit, enjoy the Summer. At least the Tigers are playing better these days.

Calgary wins series 4-2.

Posted in Hockey by Eric McErlain | 8 Comments »

 
May 3rd, 2004

Burke Out In Vancouver

Any number of hockey teams in the hunt for a quality general manager will probably be glad to hear that Vancouver Canucks owner John McCaw has decided to replace Brian Burke in the team's front office. Tom Benjamin says he's surprised, and I am too. Burke did a great job reconstructing the Canucks and turning them into one of the top flight teams in the West. Now it looks like he'll have that opportunity again someplace else.

Posted in Hockey by Eric McErlain | 3 Comments »

 
May 3rd, 2004

MNF Dumps Guerrero

ABC announced today that it was replacing Monday Night Football sideline reporter Lisa Guerrero with Michelle Tafoya:

"Michele will be a great asset to 'Monday Night Football,'" Mike Pearl, senior vice president and executive producer at ABC Sports, said in a statement. "She has done a terrific job on our NBA telecasts, and she will bring to the show a first-rate knowledge of the NFL. She is a top-notch reporter."

While I'm sure Tafoya is going to do a great job (a broadcaster I like a lot), I still think ESPN should have picked Suzy Kolber, currently working as the sideline reporter for ESPN's Sunday Night Football broadcasts.

These days, Kolber is most famous for deftly deflecting a drunken pass thrown by Hall of Famer Joe Namath during an interview in the midst of a Jets-Patriots game at the Meadowlands last season. That's a shame, as she's not only the best sideline reporter out there, but also displays a impressive depth of knowledge about the intricacies of pro football -- something she first showed as host of Edge NFL Matchup.

Posted in Football by Eric McErlain | 1 Comment »

 
May 3rd, 2004

So Much For Rest In Peace

In all the furor over an unthinking op ed on the death of Pat Tillman that ran in the student newspaper at UMass Amherst, I forgot to link to this piece by Matt Taibbi of the New York Press:

THE INSTANT I heard that former Arizona Cardinals safety Pat Tillman had been killed in action in Afghanistan, my heart sank. "There goes the first 20 minutes of tonight's Sportscenter broadcast," I thought sadly. Red Sox-Yankees highlights would have to wait, while Stuart Scott and Suzy Kolber performed their obligatory grim ablutions over ESPN's computer-generated, soft-piano rhythms.

Yeah, I'm sure plenty of others had that reaction too.

UPDATE: And more trash courtesy of MSNBC.

CORRECTION: Here's Rall's original cartoon about Tillman, which it pulled down unannounced earlier today. Link courtesy Instapundit.

Posted in Football by Eric McErlain | 2 Comments »

 
May 3rd, 2004

Sticking Up For The CBC

After my rant in support of Don Cherry in his fight to keep his job on Hockey Night In Canada, Tom Benjamin has stepped up with a vigorous defense of Cherry's employer, the Canadian Broadcasting Company:

There is nothing wrong with public broadcasting or the CBC and there are lots of things that are good about it. I am happy to contribute tax dollars to the corporation and I would be willing to contribute more.

The fact that many CBC programs do not draw great ratings is not a bad thing. Considering the kinds of programs that do draw great ratings, it is a good thing. The network can fairly be described as elitist, but I don't think that's a bad thing either. I think it is a good thing that there are programs about books, about the opera and even about the Hockey Journey of the Tootoo Brothers. Does it matter whether any or all of these programs will lose a ratings war to the 133rd repeat of a Simpsons episode?

Not to me. The CBC delivers the most reliable and interesting public affairs and news programming in North America. If the choice is public ownership or Rupert Murdoch ownership, give me the public every day of the week. One provides very much needed diversity - it is mandated - and the other panders to the lowest common denominator both with news and with programming.

Even the CBC website compares favourably to every other website in the internet. Where else can you find the Wayne Gretzky story - clip after clip - but in the CBC Sports archives? The CBC hockey coverage is, in a word, outstanding.

Who does it better? Who does any of it better?

As someone who only gets to watch the CBC's hockey coverage, I really have no standing to dispute Tom's assertion about the quality of their programming (I'll leave that to Colby Cosh). But one thing is clear to me, and ought to be clear to anyone else watching this story: no matter how much you might hate Cherry, you can't dispute the fact that he helps keep Hockey Night In Canada profitable, and that those profits help pay for the raft of low-rated programming that Tom professes to love so much.

As for his Rupert Murdoch crack, I got a real chuckle out of that one, as it demonstrates just how far the gulf of understanding between our two countries really is. Does Tom think that Americans are forcibly strapped into our Lazy Boys every night to receive our daily affirmation from Chairman Rupert? It isn't as if Murdoch completely controls everything -- we still have Mike Eisner, Sumner Redston, and Jeff Immelt to deal with as well.

Then again, while the thought of having Murdoch running a media conglomerate seems to fill Tom with dread, I can't think of anything more distressing than having a country's leading communications company being run by the government -- diversity mandates or not.

Posted in Hockey by Eric McErlain | 8 Comments »

 
May 3rd, 2004

NHL Weekend Roundup

Mats Sundin looked none the worse for wear on Friday night, scoring twice in leading the Maple leafs to a 3-1 win over Philadelphia and evening their series at two games a piece. It didn't take long for Philly to shake it off, as they thrashed Toronto back home in Philly on Sunday, 7-2.

Keith Primeau led the way for the Flyers, scoring three times in the rout. More importantly, the Flyers lost starting goalie Robert Esche to an undisclosed "upper body injury," he suffered sometime in the first period of Sunday's game. Flyer head coach Ken Hitchcock said he would disclose exactly what Esche's injury was on Monday, something that led Rich Hofman of the Philadelphia Inquirer to write:

"...After her conviction, Marie Antoinette was paraded in the back of a cart among the mobs lining the streets of Paris. She was taken to the guillotine on October 16, 1793. There, she suffered an upper-body injury."

- from Hitchcock's "History of France"

In any case, Esche was examined by a neurologist yesterday, and the Toronto Sun is speculating that he may be suffering from dizzy spells that began not long after he was struck on the mask by a shot from Toronto's Bryan McCabe during Game Four. As for Mr. McCabe, Game Five was an event he'd just as soon forget, as he ended the day at -5:

"There's no explanation for it, no reason for it," McCabe said. "I'm a professional, and I've been in the league for nine years. There's no reason for an effort like that. The loss is solely on my shoulders. A lot of their goals were the direct result of my mistakes out there."

Indeed, McCabe hit a rare double: He played terribly, gift-wrapping the Flyers' first and third goals, and finishing with a minus-5, meaning he was on the ice for all but two of the Flyers' goals. Then he took full responsibility. Imagine that - a professional athlete holding himself accountable for his mistakes.

"It was probably my worst game as a professional," he said. "But I can't dwell on it."

He get his next chance to redeem himself on Tuesday night back in Toronto. Meanwhile, back in Tampa, John Tortorella is cackling with delight at his good fortune.

The mood is not so light and sweet in Detroit, where the Red Wings lie just one game short of elimination after Saturday's 1-0 loss to Calgary. Understandably, much of the attention this morning concerns the horrible injury suffered by Wings' captain Steve Yzerman. Here's Mitch Albom:

Maybe this summer, we see the end of an era we have enjoyed for nearly a decade. The team will break up. Players will retire or be let go. The league may even shut down.

In light of such doom and gloom for Hockeytown, where do you turn for a bright spot?

How about this? Yzerman has three beautiful daughters and a beautiful wife. And for the rest of his life, he'll be able to see them with both eyes. There's a positive to think about, as the negative seems to be raining all around us.

For more on the possible options for Yzerman and the Wings, clickhere. In marked contrast is the mood in Calgary, where the Flames have a chance to finish off the Red Wings at home, but are hoping to avoid a repeat of a dramatic result from their last playoff series:

That 5-4, triple-overtime loss to Vancouver on April 17 "was an experience, more so because we learned what not to do," said Flames defenceman Andrew Ference on Sunday morning, after a team meeting and optional skate at the 'Dome.

"We came out at home, and got down 4-0 really quick. Later on . . . it turned out to be a tremendous hockey game, but it was a really good lesson to learn how a desperate hockey team plays when they're against the ropes," said Ference.

The San Jose Sharks are another team trying to make sure history doesn't repeat, but Colorado's Joe Sakic had other plans as he scored an OT winner for the second straight game in Colorado's 2-1 win on Saturday in San Jose. Of course, the history they're trying to avoid is becoming just the third team in NHL history to blow a 3-0 lead in a best of seven series -- a distinction currently shared by the 1942 Detroit Red wings and the 1975 Pittsburgh Penguins:

The 1975 Flyers earned distinction by winning the first three games of their series against the New York Islanders, then losing the next three games.

But the Flyers then avoided infamy by winning Game 7 at home and went on to win the Stanley Cup.

Terry Crisp, a center for those Flyers, has some advice for the Sharks.

"This is the playoffs so I hate to even bring up the 'P' word but certainly don't panic in this situation," Crisp said.

"If you were good enough to go up 3-0, obviously you were doing something right. Quit worrying about past ghosts and past records. If I'm San Jose, I'm saying there's nothing to get too excited about: We weren't supposed to sweep them. If anyone had picked a sweep, they should've been given a saliva test. Three-two now? This is the way it should've been to begin with.

"Colorado isn't going to give San Jose a free pass."

San Jose head coach Ron Wilson decided to rattle some cages over the weekend:

"A couple of guys have failed miserably to get the job done," he said. "So this is going to be a great opportunity for people to show what they're all about. Do you have what it takes when it really matters?"

Wilson didn't name names, but turnovers by defenseman Mike Rathje in overtime in the past two games led to goals by the Avalanche's Joe Sakic, who scored the tying goal halfway through the third period Saturday after the Sharks iced the puck to set up a faceoff deep in San Jose's end.

Also, the Sharks have gotten only one assist from forward Nils Ekman, who was second on the team in scoring this year with 22 goals and 55 points.

"Some guys have to learn that if you made a mistake in the last game, it does not carry over into the next game," Wilson said. "Now the test is going to be that certain individuals forget their failings and wipe the slate clean and move on.

"That's the challenge. It's not my challenge. Some players have to do it. They have to step on the ice and play."

On the bright side of the hockey news, Colorado's Steve Moore was able to travel with the team for Saturday's game in San Jose, though the injured center isn't talking to anybody about his recovery pending any legal action he might take against Vancouver's Todd Bertuzzi.

Posted in Hockey by Eric McErlain | 1 Comment »

 
May 3rd, 2004

Au Revoir, Joe’

Montreal Canadiens center Joe' Juneau announced his retirement Sunday after 13 seasons in the league. Here in Washington, Juneau is best known for scoring the most famous goal in franchise history, an OT game winner in Game Six of the 1998 Eastern Conference Finals against the Buffalo Sabres and sent the team to their first and only appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals.

(Within seconds of the score, my roommate at the time and I drove straight to the Caps practice rink at Piney Orchard to welcome the team home in the wee hours of the morning. It was a great moment.)

It was the high point of Juneau's stint with the Caps, a time of diminished expectations when it came to the brainy, but ultimately frustrating forward (Juneau graduated from RPI with a degree in Engineering). When he broke into the league with Boston, Juneau played on a line with Adam Oates and Cam Neely. He had 30 goals and 72 assists in his first full season in the league, and then never approached that level of play again, even when he was reunited with Oates here in Washington.

And I'd probably be remiss if I failed to mention that Juneau was a drummer in a band named the Offwings.

CORRECTION: Ben Wright points out that Neely only played a handful of games during Juneau's rookie year. His success that season ought to be properly credited to Oates.

Posted in Hockey by Eric McErlain | No Comments »

 
May 2nd, 2004

Can The Wings Win Without Stevie Y?

If the Detroit Red Wings are going to turn things around in their playoff series with the Calgary Flames, they're going to have to do it without their captain, center Steve Yzerman. After getting struck in the face by the puck during Saturday's loss to Calgary, Yzerman had to undergo more than four hours of surgery today to repair a scratched cornea and a broken left eye socket.

Vancouver Canucks Op Ed has an interesting post on visors, and the history of protective equipment in the league. That's an issue we examined briefly back in December 2002, in the aftermath of a nasty injury suffered by Buffalo's Jochen Hecht.

POSTSCRIPT: Please note that Vancouver Canucks Op Ed is not on hiatus, just posting more sporadically until they complete a redesign in time for next season. Be sure to stop by.

Posted in Hockey by Eric McErlain | No Comments »