This year it's almost assumed that Alexander Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby will be the top two - by a wide margin - rookies for the Calder trophy. And while Ovechkin deserves to not only be in the race, and to win, it is not simply a two-man race; there are a few other rookies that deserve credit.
Simply put, Alexander Ovechkin is the reason that the Washington Capitals are not in the bottom of the league; he's like Rick Nash in that regard - as soon as Nash returned from injury, the Blue Jackets improved from the very bottom of the league by a few spots. Alexander Ovechkin has scored over 90 points this season, is on pace to score over 100, and has a good shot at the Art Ross this year. He is a legitimate superstar in the making - and he, moreso then anyone else, deserves to win the Calder.
Henrik Lundqvist is one of the few people that can legitimately contend to beat out Ovechkin. He's backstopped the New York Rangers to not only a playoff birth, but to the top of their division - for the first time in years - and has posted great numbers in the process (30-11-9, 2.18 GAA, .924 save %).
Dion Phaneuf, the scrappy defenceman in Calgary, is another good choice: in the position where stats mean the least, he's put up a good season. He's already making a reputation for himself as a hard-hitting player who has 44 points (going into tonight's game against the Oilers) and knows how to score (he's ranked in the top five for goals scored by a defenceman) and has a plus/minus of +4 - not much lower then Ovechkin's (+6).
Alex Steen is a dark horse of a choice - in a bad, bad year in Toronto, Steen stepped up and had a solid effort this year, getting 37 points (sixth on the team) in 65 games. Both him and Kyle Wellwood - who is also posting some good numbers, with 36 points and a +/- of +4 - show that the Maple Leafs have some brightness on the horizon.
And yes, there's Sidney Crosby. He's had a great year, scoring 83 points and getting 96 penalty minutes. He's the star of the future in Pittsburgh (or Houston or Winnipeg or Las Vegas or whereever the team moves).
Ovechkin deserves to win - and he will. Trust me.
Friday, March 31, 2006
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
Final thoughts, WBC 2006
It was sometime around 11:30, maybe midnight, when it hit me - Japan's fireballing Shunsuke Watanabe has got to be the most overlooked pitcher in the world. Seriously.
Maybe he didn't post the best numbers - despite working 13 innings (putting him in the top 4 in innings pitched) he didn't record a single win or save, posting a 1.98 ERA (third among the Japanese starters) and only posted 6 K's. But he pitched marvelously when it counted, including a great performance against Korea where he retired 13 batters in a row and allowed only one hit and two walks in six innings.
And he was ridiculously fun to watch - who doesn't love a phenomenal submariner, whose delivery goes so low as to almost touch the mound? Watching one of his pitches - especially his curve-ball - was more fun then I've had with any other pitcher in the Classic and maybe ever.
Sure, Japan had better pitchers - ones that had wins, saves or a lower ERA to their credit. But nobody was more fun to watch then Watanabe. And if I remember anything about this tournament, it'll be watching his curve-ball, starting almost at the mound and almost floating up and away, a pitch that nobody in the American Majors is doing today and won't be doing anytime soon.
Maybe he didn't post the best numbers - despite working 13 innings (putting him in the top 4 in innings pitched) he didn't record a single win or save, posting a 1.98 ERA (third among the Japanese starters) and only posted 6 K's. But he pitched marvelously when it counted, including a great performance against Korea where he retired 13 batters in a row and allowed only one hit and two walks in six innings.
And he was ridiculously fun to watch - who doesn't love a phenomenal submariner, whose delivery goes so low as to almost touch the mound? Watching one of his pitches - especially his curve-ball - was more fun then I've had with any other pitcher in the Classic and maybe ever.
Sure, Japan had better pitchers - ones that had wins, saves or a lower ERA to their credit. But nobody was more fun to watch then Watanabe. And if I remember anything about this tournament, it'll be watching his curve-ball, starting almost at the mound and almost floating up and away, a pitch that nobody in the American Majors is doing today and won't be doing anytime soon.
Friday, March 17, 2006
Daigle's the man
A Couldabeen = A shouldabeen + time = Alex Daigle.
It's that simple, right at the root level. Someone who could have been a legend (Cam Neely is the quintessential example) is really somebody who should have been a legend, plus time.
Alex Daigle was the first overall pick in the 1993 NHL Entry draft - drafted ahead of players like Jason Arnott, Chris Pronger, Paul Kariya and Adam Deadmarsh - after two great seasons in the QMJHL (he netted over 110 points in each season, more then double what he would get in the NHL).
And he was a bust. Sure, he wasn't exactly Ryan Leaf, but he sure wasn't anywhere near as good as people hoped he would be.
But he's still not too bad. He's spent 10 of the last 12 NHL seasons in the league, scoring over 300 points. He's coming off a 50+ point season in 2003-04 and while he hasn't reached that same plateau this year, he still should have a few years left in him as a decent grinder.
And that's why the Maple Leafs should claim him off waivers.
Why not? He's had more points in the last two seasons then Eric Lindros has, and is about equal with Jeff O'Neill. He's someone who can be counted on for a few goals and more then a few assists. He's a grinder and would work nicely on a line with Alex Steen or Mats Sundin. And, most importantly, he's cheap (he signed with the Wild for less then a million dollars, at 500,000 (source)
The Leafs have made some bad moves and had some back luck this year, such as Eric Lindros, and they need some help for a stretch at the postseason - so why not Daigle? Sign him to a conditional one-year contract and see if he's still got some gas in the tank.
After all, this is the Toronto Maple Leafs we're talking about. The team that traded for Phil Housley and Doug Gilmour for what turned out to be one game for each (ever!) in 2003. The team that felt Ed Belfour was still a starter. The team that signed Jeff O'Neill, Eric Lindros and Jason Allison yet passed on Mark Recchi.
Come on and sign him, what's the worst that could happen? He's cheap and there's almost no expectations. He's not going to work against the cap and can maybe score a few clutch goals. Signing him would be no worse then signing O'Neill or Lindros, which the Leafs already did.
It's that simple, right at the root level. Someone who could have been a legend (Cam Neely is the quintessential example) is really somebody who should have been a legend, plus time.
Alex Daigle was the first overall pick in the 1993 NHL Entry draft - drafted ahead of players like Jason Arnott, Chris Pronger, Paul Kariya and Adam Deadmarsh - after two great seasons in the QMJHL (he netted over 110 points in each season, more then double what he would get in the NHL).
And he was a bust. Sure, he wasn't exactly Ryan Leaf, but he sure wasn't anywhere near as good as people hoped he would be.
But he's still not too bad. He's spent 10 of the last 12 NHL seasons in the league, scoring over 300 points. He's coming off a 50+ point season in 2003-04 and while he hasn't reached that same plateau this year, he still should have a few years left in him as a decent grinder.
And that's why the Maple Leafs should claim him off waivers.
Why not? He's had more points in the last two seasons then Eric Lindros has, and is about equal with Jeff O'Neill. He's someone who can be counted on for a few goals and more then a few assists. He's a grinder and would work nicely on a line with Alex Steen or Mats Sundin. And, most importantly, he's cheap (he signed with the Wild for less then a million dollars, at 500,000 (source)
The Leafs have made some bad moves and had some back luck this year, such as Eric Lindros, and they need some help for a stretch at the postseason - so why not Daigle? Sign him to a conditional one-year contract and see if he's still got some gas in the tank.
After all, this is the Toronto Maple Leafs we're talking about. The team that traded for Phil Housley and Doug Gilmour for what turned out to be one game for each (ever!) in 2003. The team that felt Ed Belfour was still a starter. The team that signed Jeff O'Neill, Eric Lindros and Jason Allison yet passed on Mark Recchi.
Come on and sign him, what's the worst that could happen? He's cheap and there's almost no expectations. He's not going to work against the cap and can maybe score a few clutch goals. Signing him would be no worse then signing O'Neill or Lindros, which the Leafs already did.
Monday, March 13, 2006
Too late for an Oscar nomination
So, you want some drama, right? Something to keep you on the edge of yr seat, something with an amazing ending, something that is, quite simply, a thrill ride? Well, put down that copy of King Kong; I’ve got something for you.
It’s starring this young kid, Gerry McNamera, in the lead role – a role that he was seemingly born to play. It was almost like every key event was not just revolving around him, but that he was the event. He pulled out a legendary performance in four quick days and became the catalyst of this story. And what a story it is…
The Orangemen just barely made it into the playoffs this season, while their star player found himself with a new nickname: The Overrated Gerry McNamera. They weren’t supposed to have much of a chance (They had dropped their last three games by no less then 10 points (including a 108-69 blowout loss against DePaul) and came into the Big East championships as an unranked team. Even the most optimistic people had their doubts: They’d have to win four games in a row - in four days, no less - while playing at an exhausting pace. Sure, teams had played four games in a row like this, but no team had ever won all four games. ‘Underdog’ isn’t quite a strong enough word to describe their position going in – they weren’t even seriously discussed as having a chance.
Thusly, their first win was a thriller over Cincinnati – they barely scraped by, winning by just one point (74-73). Gerry McNamera took the team on his back in the final seconds of the game, running the length of the court with the ball and draining a three-pointer with just tenths of a second left to play. Still, they had just had trouble beating a team that had a worse record then they did. It was a classic, yes, but did it mean much?
As it turned out, it did.
The next day they played Uconn, widely thought to be one of the better teams in the conference – ranked #1, in fact. And again, McNamera pulled out the performance of a lifetime, the kind that isn’t supposed to happen twice in a row, less then 24 hours apart: He scored 17 points and had 12 Assists, one shy of the record, as well as a long three-pointer to send the game into overtime with 5.5 seconds left – which they then won, 86-84 (on another McNamera three-pointer). On national TV after the game, Gerry pulled another Mark Messier, saying that Syracuse was “definitely in” to March Madness.
But to be assured to get in, however, they needed to keep winning: this time against Georgetown, another team that was ranked higher then them. And once again, history was against them: teams were 0-16 in this tournament after playing an OT game. And to add to that, by this point, McNamera had played for 80 minutes of 85 minutes that his team had played (two full games in two days). By halftime, Syracuse was down by 15 points and had yet to lead the game at any point – and Gerry was hurt and spent more time on the bench in just that half then he had in the last two games combined. But McNamera did it again, sinking three after three after three, slowing getting the Orangemen back in the game. And with less then a minute he did it again, sinking a final three to bring them within one point – followed up by stealing the ball and dishing it to Eric Devendorf for the game-winning shot. One more game.
Fast forward another 24 hours – they were in a situation that just a handful of teams had been in: they had won three games in three days to make it this far, to the Big East Finals – but no team had ever won the fourth game. If they won they would be the first team to make it that far, as well as the lowest seed to ever win the title. It was time to make some history.
It’s starring this young kid, Gerry McNamera, in the lead role – a role that he was seemingly born to play. It was almost like every key event was not just revolving around him, but that he was the event. He pulled out a legendary performance in four quick days and became the catalyst of this story. And what a story it is…
The Orangemen just barely made it into the playoffs this season, while their star player found himself with a new nickname: The Overrated Gerry McNamera. They weren’t supposed to have much of a chance (They had dropped their last three games by no less then 10 points (including a 108-69 blowout loss against DePaul) and came into the Big East championships as an unranked team. Even the most optimistic people had their doubts: They’d have to win four games in a row - in four days, no less - while playing at an exhausting pace. Sure, teams had played four games in a row like this, but no team had ever won all four games. ‘Underdog’ isn’t quite a strong enough word to describe their position going in – they weren’t even seriously discussed as having a chance.
Thusly, their first win was a thriller over Cincinnati – they barely scraped by, winning by just one point (74-73). Gerry McNamera took the team on his back in the final seconds of the game, running the length of the court with the ball and draining a three-pointer with just tenths of a second left to play. Still, they had just had trouble beating a team that had a worse record then they did. It was a classic, yes, but did it mean much?
As it turned out, it did.
The next day they played Uconn, widely thought to be one of the better teams in the conference – ranked #1, in fact. And again, McNamera pulled out the performance of a lifetime, the kind that isn’t supposed to happen twice in a row, less then 24 hours apart: He scored 17 points and had 12 Assists, one shy of the record, as well as a long three-pointer to send the game into overtime with 5.5 seconds left – which they then won, 86-84 (on another McNamera three-pointer). On national TV after the game, Gerry pulled another Mark Messier, saying that Syracuse was “definitely in” to March Madness.
But to be assured to get in, however, they needed to keep winning: this time against Georgetown, another team that was ranked higher then them. And once again, history was against them: teams were 0-16 in this tournament after playing an OT game. And to add to that, by this point, McNamera had played for 80 minutes of 85 minutes that his team had played (two full games in two days). By halftime, Syracuse was down by 15 points and had yet to lead the game at any point – and Gerry was hurt and spent more time on the bench in just that half then he had in the last two games combined. But McNamera did it again, sinking three after three after three, slowing getting the Orangemen back in the game. And with less then a minute he did it again, sinking a final three to bring them within one point – followed up by stealing the ball and dishing it to Eric Devendorf for the game-winning shot. One more game.
Fast forward another 24 hours – they were in a situation that just a handful of teams had been in: they had won three games in three days to make it this far, to the Big East Finals – but no team had ever won the fourth game. If they won they would be the first team to make it that far, as well as the lowest seed to ever win the title. It was time to make some history.
Thursday, March 09, 2006
World Baseball Classic - Early thoughts
I shouldn’t be as happy as I am right now – at least, I don’t think so. My team, Team Canada, just lost 9-1 to Mexico and, barring a massive upset of team South Africa beating the United States, we’re eliminated from the World Baseball Classic.
But I can’t be that sad about this. Team Canada won a classic, nailbiter of a game against South Africa on Tuesday. Then on Wednesday, we beat the US in one of the largest upsets in recent memory. We weren’t supposed to be 2-0 going into the Mexico game and even the most hopeful optimist wouldn’t have thought that Canada would have led the US by eight runs at one point. Canada looked, if just for a moment, like a place very much like the US. We were proving that we do more then just play hockey, despite whatever the commentators on ESPN 2 were saying.
And this loss should have crushed us back down to Earth. We lost, in a convincing way – Nine to one. We were out-hit, out-pitched, out-played by a superior team. And we held them to one run after the 6th inning. We won two games, almost crushing the US in one, and we did it with a patchwork team comprised mostly of minor leaguers and baseball journeymen.
This can’t take that feeling away from me; not even a 100 – 0 loss, called after the first inning, could take this away from me.
Long live the Baseball Classic – and thanx, Team Canada, for the memories.
More to come shortly...
But I can’t be that sad about this. Team Canada won a classic, nailbiter of a game against South Africa on Tuesday. Then on Wednesday, we beat the US in one of the largest upsets in recent memory. We weren’t supposed to be 2-0 going into the Mexico game and even the most hopeful optimist wouldn’t have thought that Canada would have led the US by eight runs at one point. Canada looked, if just for a moment, like a place very much like the US. We were proving that we do more then just play hockey, despite whatever the commentators on ESPN 2 were saying.
And this loss should have crushed us back down to Earth. We lost, in a convincing way – Nine to one. We were out-hit, out-pitched, out-played by a superior team. And we held them to one run after the 6th inning. We won two games, almost crushing the US in one, and we did it with a patchwork team comprised mostly of minor leaguers and baseball journeymen.
This can’t take that feeling away from me; not even a 100 – 0 loss, called after the first inning, could take this away from me.
Long live the Baseball Classic – and thanx, Team Canada, for the memories.
More to come shortly...
Friday, March 03, 2006
Shot to death at the IHOP
Long story short - A pack of drunken teens flee an IHOP after skipping the bill. Uniformed officer runs outside to stop them. The stories differ - officer says they aimed the SUV at them; kids say they were trying to get away.
Either way, one kid is dead.
We live in a society where the Police are viewed as menaces to society - hired thugs for an oppresive government; some kind of G. Gordon Liddy thug character. We say it's their fault every time that someone dies at their hands - and when the cop is the one that dies first we very rarely express the same kind of rage that we do when he fires first.
Recently an officer in Ontario was repremended for drawing a X on a Native flag - an act of overt racism. Yet to call the officer a pig, a fucking swine beast communazi shit-faced redneck motherfucker is okay - even a little passe. We can hit them, spit on them and do whatever we please; they cannot do the same.
But that's not what this is really about. This is a case of the officer doing his job; what he had previously sworn to do. He put his life on the doing his job; it's just that somebody else did too, perhaps unknowingly - he had to know that cops carried guns, though - and they lost the game.
Click. Bang - that's all it took.
But that's not the end of the story; not by a longshot. Whereas if the officer was hit, perhaps killed, by the SUV we'd express a small amount of outrage - for a few hours, anyway - this time we're going to get the bottom 0f this. This was the pig's fault; he overreacted to the situation; he should be brought to justice, dammit. And he'll get dragged over the coals for this; thrown under the bus; whatever metaphor you want - he'll have shit to pay.
Well hey - this is the 21st Century. The Goverment taps yr phone; they can check where you go on the Internet; The Smoking Man has created an illusion of Democracy to appease the masses - that's why we have Prime Time TV, NASCAR and 21 different magazine reporting on the same celebrites - right? Let's all get together and protest this horrible act; and then we can all smoke some of this fine hashish that I stole from that dumb assfuck hippie on the corner and listen to some Fitty.
Well - maybe this is it. Maybe the Police are the New Enemy.
And maybe, down in the parking lot of an IHOP an officer acted justly and rightly - but we'll never admit that. We would have ran, turned our back and just ate in peace. It's Somebody Else's Problem; never our own. But then again, we wouldn't have had the guts to face a car full of drunken teens driving right at you, aiming to kill you for no good reason at all. And we can't stand it that somebody did - the fact that someone died is secondary, really, but it sure provides a better looking piece of ground to occupy - much better then the ground we already occupy.
Thursday, March 02, 2006
More Spring - Quick hits
Thanx to the NFL and the impending 'Black Friday', I've decided to cut the fat and just make a quick line-type predictions for the rest of the MLB - I'll write up a Jays one, but that shall come later.
NL East:
NY Mets (Right team, right place)
Atlanta (NL Wild Card winner)
Philadelphia (Good, but not good enough - yet)
Washington
Florida
AL West:
Oakland (They just barely lost last year, and should be able to pull it off this year)
LA Angels (Still need more offence)
Seattle
Texas (Good team in an excellent division)
AL Central:
Chicago White Sox (powerhouse team that only improved in the offseason)
Cleveland (Will be hard-pressed to match the Sox)
Detroit (!) (If they can stay healthy and the rookies their hitting and pitching should get them to .500)
Minnesota (Good pitching but little else)
KC Royals (No surprise here)
*****
Down across the border, the #1 league in America is taking a huge hit - the NFLPA and the NFL are no longer on speaking terms as talks are falling apart like a Russian car on a salted highway. Teams are preparing to cut their star players so they can fit under the new cap and the situation is "about as dire as dire can be" according to NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue. This is almost zero-hour now - will yr favorites make the cut? Already my star-running back from my fantasy team - Mr. Mike Anderson - has been cut off, as has all-around awesome guy Sam Adams; now rumors of Warrick Dunn being kicked off the Falcons offence are floating around.
Will this be a strike of NHL proportions? Will we see scab-player football? Will I have to cut up my Steelers T-shirts as Hines Ward signs with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers?
No saying - right now there's more questions then there are answers... but one thing looks all but certain - tomorrow's NFL has the potential to be a very different NFL then yesterday's...
NL East:
NY Mets (Right team, right place)
Atlanta (NL Wild Card winner)
Philadelphia (Good, but not good enough - yet)
Washington
Florida
AL West:
Oakland (They just barely lost last year, and should be able to pull it off this year)
LA Angels (Still need more offence)
Seattle
Texas (Good team in an excellent division)
AL Central:
Chicago White Sox (powerhouse team that only improved in the offseason)
Cleveland (Will be hard-pressed to match the Sox)
Detroit (!) (If they can stay healthy and the rookies their hitting and pitching should get them to .500)
Minnesota (Good pitching but little else)
KC Royals (No surprise here)
*****
Down across the border, the #1 league in America is taking a huge hit - the NFLPA and the NFL are no longer on speaking terms as talks are falling apart like a Russian car on a salted highway. Teams are preparing to cut their star players so they can fit under the new cap and the situation is "about as dire as dire can be" according to NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue. This is almost zero-hour now - will yr favorites make the cut? Already my star-running back from my fantasy team - Mr. Mike Anderson - has been cut off, as has all-around awesome guy Sam Adams; now rumors of Warrick Dunn being kicked off the Falcons offence are floating around.
Will this be a strike of NHL proportions? Will we see scab-player football? Will I have to cut up my Steelers T-shirts as Hines Ward signs with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers?
No saying - right now there's more questions then there are answers... but one thing looks all but certain - tomorrow's NFL has the potential to be a very different NFL then yesterday's...
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