The Perfect Rocket

Ok, Roger, is she lying too?

The story surfaced yesterday and by now everyone has heard about Roger Clemens and the country singer. Whom he took back to a hotel room when she was 15. Now, I'm never going to allege that I am the most saintly person in the world. I have my moments of ups and downs but even I know that a grown man, with a wife and two kids, and a 15-year-old in a hotel room, alone, when they are not related, is a BAD idea. Even if nothing happened (and according to stories nothing did until later when she was legal...I guess Rog has some sense), this has got to be one of the worst judgement calls (right up there with lying to Congress).

Either the world really is out to get him or he is profoundly stupid. No one if backing him up. Even the country singer has confirmed the story. Granted she was vague and gave no details but she said that she cannot refute anything that appeared in the Daily News story. I understand that since President Clinton, it's become "cool" to say "I did not have sexual relations with that woman." Notice Clemens never said that. The statement (again from his legal team and not from him) stated that nothing "inappropriate" happened. I suppose later he will say that having an extra-marital affair was not inappropriate. Perhaps he and Debbie were like Ross and Rachel and "on a break" when he was involved with Ms. McCready (sorry for the "Friends" reference but you know that you all watched it during its first few seasons). I dunno. All I know is that he just keeps looking worse and worse. I'm wondering how many more people he will accuse of lying before all this is over.

The best part is that even now if he wanted to come clean and admit everything he would walk right into a perjury indictment. Just be a man. Admit it like Pettitte and Knowbloch and everyone else who has owned up to it. Say it was a poor decision. Come away with a little dignity and maybe save a speck of the reputation you had as one of the greatest pitchers of all time because right now all you look like is a fool.

Wastin' away on Draft Day

OK, so maybe it was a boring weekend. I say this only because the highlight of my Sunday came late in the day after 6:00pm when my biggest excitement was wondering who was going to be "Mr. Irrelevant". That's right boys and girls, I watched the NFL Draft all weekend.

My love of college football (and really most college sport) is no secret (unless of course you have not been reading my blog before in which case you have no idea what I'm talking about). So I have always enjoyed watching the first couple rounds of the draft of Day one to see when players I know will be drafted and who the Patriots pick. But on Sunday, I found myself sitting around with nothing to do and nothing really worth watching on TV so I put on the rest of the draft and it really was an enjoyable day.

As the rounds continued late in the day I found myself wondering if perhaps my attachment to BC players has gotten a tad high as I found myself getting increasingly angered whenever a team would take a cornerback who was not Dejuan Tribble (he was finally taken in round 6 by the San Diego Chargers) or a safety instead of Jamie Silva (not drafted) or a linebacker instead of Jo-Lonn Dunbar (not drafted). I must have called Old Man Pike a half a dozen times, "How could they choose him instead of Tribble?? Tribble ranked higher on Scouts, Inc.!!" (No need to say it, geeky, I know).

I was loving every Mel Kiper argument with Todd McShay (and they had a great one...I don't think they like each other much). And my favorite moment every year, when they replay Kiper ripping into the Indianapolis Colts for passing on Trent Dilfer to draft Marshall Faulk and the guy from Indy immediately after ripping into Kiper (in case you missed it, Dilfer was never anything but an also-ran QB in the NFL even if he did win a Super Bowl with the Ravens, but Faulk ended up being one of the most complete running backs to ever play the game). After which Chris Berman makes the obligatory joke about Mel's hair over the years. I wonder if Mel ever considers jumping out of his seat and slapping Berman around with his large bound draft analysis book screaming, "It's not funny anymore!! Stop using the same joke every year!!" Then again, I guess Berman has made his career on rehashing the same jokes.

One of the most interesting pieces of the draft is when one of the guys that ESPN is tracking with video footage ends up not getting picked early. Last year, the painful wait for Brady Quinn almost made me want to reach into the TV and just give the guy a hug. This year it was Chad Henne & Brian Brohm. As those kids waited and waited, ESPN kept cutting back to them. To Brohm's credit he at least seemed to be having a good time while he was watching the draft. He seemed to have rented some room and was having a party. Henne on the other hand looked bored and annoyed with the whole process. He didn't even seem excited when he was actually drafted while Brohm was at least smiling.

Henne may be in one of the best situations of the first 4 taken. Matt Ryan has the unenviable task of trying to right a ship with more holes than the Titanic in Atlanta. There will be little patience from the fan base for Ryan to learn and grow into his role. The best thing that could happen to him would be for Joey Harrington to have a career year and keep the starting role so Matt can learn. Joe Flacco has to fight it out with Kyle Boller for a job that no one has been effective at since the team moved to Baltimore. Brohm will probably not start this year unless Rodgers really screws up as I think Green Bay needs to give him the chance to prove he can run the team since they look him so high in the draft a few years ago. Henne, is behind John Beck (who Parcells has been less than thrilled with) and Josh McCown who has yet to prove he can be a #1 guy. Henne could step right in and start now. Four years at Michigan should have him prepped for this moment. It should be interesting.

For Matt Ryan, I truly hope that he does not start this year. The best QB's seem to be the ones who sit first in this day and age to learn the pro game. Brady, Romo, Rivers, Hasselbeck. These guys all got quality time on the bench before stepping in to be the man. It's a rare talent that can step right in and be successful. For every Peyton Manning, there are many Tim Couch's who are put in too early and it ruins them. Even Manning & Carson Palmer who started right away had their worst years has rookies.

This is why I love the draft. Listening to these guys getting called is all a gamble to see if they can live up to the hype. There is a Tony Mandrich (1st round bust) in every draft. But there is also a Tom Brady (6th round Superstar). Let the fun begin.

Return of Psycho T

In the season where everyone is mimicking The Clash and asking, "Should I stay or should I go?", it was refreshing to see one college superstar stay to fulfill his four year commitment. Tyler Hansbrough announced that he will return to the University of North Carolina for his senior season.

I must admit that I follow this more than some may and not just college basketball, but college hockey (obviously) and college football (if I told you the number of times a day that I check the Transactions pages for the NHL of ESPN, on the AHL website, and on INCH looking to see if Gerbe has signed yet, you would think I was crazy). I love thinking mentally about the holes certain people's departures leave on teams who now have to recruit for positions they may have thought we filled for the next season. But it's always nice to see a great talent return for one more year and fulfill his/her commitment and give the fans something to watch for one more year.

I must admit that I like the NBA system where they allow you to declare but not hire an agent so you can see if its worth coming out yet and not actually give up your eligibility. It used to be tragic when kids would have dreams of a lottery pick and then not go at all and they gave up their school eligibility for nothing. Happily, the NHL doesn't have that problem because you can be drafted without having to actually sign which allows you to stay in school (or in juniors) and still have the promises of NHL dreams to come.

I am glad to see Hansbrough come back. I'm sure the rest of the ACC does not agree with me and I know Old Man Pike doesn't. Yes, he gets calls he shouldn't and goes to the line wayyyy more times than he deserves. But you have to love the way this kid plays. He gives everything that he has on the court every night and helps his team win. I remember two seasons ago, when he had his nose smashed by a Duke player while going for a layup. He was a bloody mess. Did he ask to come out? Did he writhe in pain on the floor? No, his first reaction was to get up and show that he wasn't hurt and that he wanted to kill. The look in his eyes was pure Hannibal Lector. I loved it. He would have made a fabulous hockey player! The fact that UNC won the game against Coach Crinkle (how does his nose do that??) and the Dukies just made it even better. I enjoy watching him play as long as it's not against my team.

Kids will leave early every year in all college sports. I don't want to overly congratulate Hansbrough for staying because that's what you're supposed to do. However, it was still refreshing to see. Normally when someone is named player of the year they are guaranteed to jump ship (unless they can't by rule), to know we get one more year of that crazy man diving for loose balls and attempting to drive through 4 defenders for that bucket is good news for college basketball fans everywhere. You listening Mr. Gerbe? One more year isn't such a bad thing is it?

Reason to be happy

Yes, I know. The Bruins lost on Monday night. But there is still reason to be happy. Not just because BC won their third national championship a little over a week ago now (no, it never gets old). But there is reason to be excited about the Bruins. I was reading a blog on the Boston Globe website that basically torn down the Bruins and said there was no reason to be any more excited about this loss than the other first round losses for 2004 and before. I disagree. For the first time since the early 90's (i.e. before Ulf Samuelsson's dirty hit), there is reason to hope.

The Bruins were the number one seed back in 2004 when the Canadiens beat them after falling behind 3-1 (a feat that the Bruins were unable to duplicate this year) but there was not the same excitement there was this year. Thornton was still invisible in the playoffs and the late season additions (oh Sergei Gonchar we hardly knew you) did not seem to really gel with that team. No one in Boston seemed genuinely excited about the Bruins being in the playoffs even though it was against Montreal and the Fleet was having trouble selling tickets.

This year, people cared. My friends who don't watch hockey at all conceded that even they were looking to join the bandwagon. Even Bill Simmons wrote an column on the Bruins this year. If that isn't a change in attitude I don't know what is. This team can be good. They showed it at times this year and with the off-season to fully heal Bergeron and Alberts should both be back next year to provide depth.

There are holes. They need scoring and if they don't make a serious run at Marion Hossa then I might question if things have really changed in the organization the way it seems to have changed for the fans (at least for a few weeks here in April). Also, though I have been impressed with what Thomas was able to do this year, they still need a reliable #2 to take some of the burden off of him. Is it Rask? Is Fernandez going to stay healthy for a whole year? Maybe someone else? These are important questions. But the youth movement and their ability to contribute when it counted (Kessel, Lucic, Krejci) makes me feel pretty good for next year. Will they be the best team in the league, no, but if they can keep up the intensity that I saw down the stretch and in the playoffs they will be playoff contenders and an awful lot of fun to watch.

A couple of observations:

- I dislike Montreal. Not to the extent of BU or the Yankees. I think this is partly because since the Bruins have struggled the rivalry has meant less around Boston than it used to. As I mentioned in a prior blog it takes some real drama to keep a rivalry alive. That being said, I may root for the Habs in the next round. They have to play Philly after the Flyers knocked out Ovechkin and the Capitals last night in overtime. Philadelphia's brand of dirty hockey does not help the game and their continued winning only aggravates the situation.

Thorsen last night intentionally pushed the Capital defenseman into Cristobel Huet to allow that game to be tied at two. He was not looking for the puck, he was not looking to make a hockey play, he was looking to force Morrisonn into Huet to get him out of position and allow his teammates to shoot at an open net. That no penalty was called for interference allowed Philly to be rewarded (once again) for their dirty tactics. Though I will not enjoy Montreal moving on to the next round, I would rather see that than see Philly advance.

- Congrats to Jeremy Roenick and the Sharks. Roenick had retired in the off-season and decided to come back for one more year (at below market value) and had two keys goals last night that provided a spark to the move the Sharks on to round 2. I know there are those out there who dislike Roenick's tendency to open his mouth a little too much but he's making the most out of probably the final season of a Hall of Fame career and it's exciting to watch.

Seasons change

Tonight, the Bruins play Game 7 versus the Canadiens. As many have mentioned before, this is a team that was not even expected to make it past 5 games with the Habs nevermind drive them to 7. As I mentioned before in this blog, you saw a change with this team in the final regular season matchup with Montreal. They started to believe that they could beat them and after Game 3 they knew it. Though they may not admit it, I think most of the Bruins think they should have already won this series, that they should have won either Game 2 or Game 4. Alas, it comes down to tonight and it should be fun.

People keep asking me about the Red Sox and I have to defer such conversation since the Bruins are still playing. It's great. The past few years my season outlook doesn't change until both BC Hockey and the Bruins have been eliminated from the playoffs. I will still pay attention to the rest of both the NCAA and the NHL playoffs but it is with considerably lest gusto and I start to actually pay attention to the Sox a little bit. Not this year.

Not that I have been ignoring the hometown team. Even now I have Gamecast running on my computer following this afternoon's tilt while I am writing this blog. But it is more for background noise than anything else. Let's face it, with the length of the baseball season, day-to-day scores don't really matter until you get into June anyway. Sure a bad first couple of months can really hurt and take you our of playoff contention early but I don't think that was ever a concern for the Red Sox this year.

Speaking of change (or lack thereof), Hank Steinbrenner has apparently picked up where his father left off (I know, I know...this blog entry is straying from topic to topic but that's the way it goes sometimes). He's sticking his nose into the day-to-day managing of his team. By trying to force Joe Girardi to place Chamberlain into the starting rotation, he's doing more harm than good for his team. He needs to understand that this is why one hires manager, to manage the team. If he wants to manage so bad he should fire Girardi and sit on the bench himself.

You put Girardi in the untenable position of either starting Chamberlain or facing the wrath of his boss and the NY media & fans. In order to do so, he would need to remover Kennedy, Hughes, or Mussina from the rotation. This would be telling either Kennedy or Hughes that you have lost faith in them (which may not be too bad a thing considering how poorly they have pitched so far) or removing Mussina (which would effectively be telling him that his career is over). It's too early for this. Hughes & Kennedy need to be shown that the team has confidence in them if they are truly NY's future. Mussina may be done but there is no way that he will take a bullpen role and the alternative would be to release him for Joba who has not started in the majors. He has overpowering stuff but he has yet to prove that he can pace himself with that 100 mph fastball over 7 innings.

I dislike the Yankees. As a team and an organization. But Steinbrenner forcing Joba into the starting rotation when he is clearly effective in his current role may do more harm than good...wait a minute...what am I thinking...by all means, put Joba in!!! : )

Be Nice...Until it's time to not be nice

I have watched as much as I have been able to of the Bruins/Canadiens playoff series this year and I find that the old hatred is still there after so many years. Many will recall that the Red Sox/Yankees rivalry seemed to be slightly dormant and not with a great amount of intensity until 2003 and then the infamous Varitek v. A-Rod scuffle in 2004 that brought the fire back. I think this Bruins/Canadiens series may do the same for that storied rivalry.

Much like the Sox & Yanks, the B's & Habs has been decidedly one-sided historically as the Canadiens have dominated Boston in the post-season and have the most Stanley Cups of any NHL team (and by a fairly sizable margin at that). But the two have always played it tight and always wanted to beat the other.

As this series has played on the intensity has only increased. A player the Bruins view as a future offensive star in Phil Kessel was actually benched for three games because Coach Julien wanted to increase the physical level of play and a guy with about 7 credited hits all season was not going to be the one to get that done. It worked. The team threw their weight around for three games, winning one and really deserving to win the other two but the offense was still lacking. Last night, with Kessel back in the line-up for offensive spark, the B's picked up 5 goals and forced a game 6.

All this background has a point. The ill-will between these teams is long standing and perhaps that is why Guy Carbonneau said some of the things he has been saying over the past couple weeks since the Bruins knew they would play the Habs in the first round. Carbonneau played for several years with the Canadiens and I'm sure his love for the Bruins is only slightly higher than Stone Cold Steve Austin's love for Vince McMahon. But his comments have been downright arrogant and rude.

Traditionally, during a series, when you hear a coach speak about the opposing team, it's always very PC and deferential. There is a lot of, "Well, they're a good team" and "We won't take anything for granted". This has not been the case for Coach Guy. After the Bruins won Game 3, he remarked that he was not in the least bit worried. He said that the Bruins had won 1 out of 14 so what was there to be worried about.

I'm not sure whether to be upset or impressed. On the one hand you have to give the guy credit for coming out and speaking his mind and not filling the local sports page with the usual platitudes. You don't see candor like this much outside of Ozzie Guillen and he's just plain crazy (though he does make stories about the White Sox real interesting some days). On the other hand, why would you want to fuel the other teams fire. The Bruins already felt like they should have won Game 2 and they do win Game 3 and really dominated much of Game 4. One lucky bounce the other way and the Canadiens are looking at a 3-2 hole coming back to Boston for a sold out Garden in Game 6. Not exactly a series you should be too cocky about.

But I guess this is why we love rivalries. It brings out this intensity in people. The games have been intense and the fans have been some of the most intense Bruins fans I've seen in years. Maybe Guy got caught up in the moment or maybe he really doesn't respect the Bruins. Either way, the B's have shown they can hang with the Canadiens and hopefully, for the good of the fans, and for the NHL in general, this series will be something the teams can build on for next year and bring hockey passion back to Boston. Varitek and the Sox brought life to their rivalry maybe Guy & the Canadiens are helping breathe a little fire back into the B's as well.

Enjoying today and looking to tomorrow.

I originally started this saying that I didn't know what I was going to talk about, but once I got into it this became a little capsule of enjoying BC's title and little reflection on what the future may hold for the Eagles. So enjoy.

Let me start by saying that I am still feeling the joy of the BC national title. Mrs. Pike and I attended the victory celebration and autograph session at Conte Forum on Monday and it was a lot of fun. It was nice to see the guys up close and to get some autographs on my Superfan T-shirt. I had a brief but pleasant chat with Brock Bradford and Mrs. Pike chatted up Joe Adams. All the players were perfect gentlemen and I was impressed at their willingness to stick around after the celebration to continue to sign autographs because of the large number of people that were there who couldn't get signatures earlier.

One of the funny things was looking at the signatures of some of these kids after the fact. Not just the established players (Brennan, Bradford, Gerbe) but also the freshman (Muse in particular). Their signatures looked very practiced and professional like they knew at some time in their lives they would be signing autographs and that they need a cool signature to go along with that fame. Maybe some of these kids really did feel that they would be stars but to have the stylized signatures some of them had was truly impressive.

Now comes the big question of whether Gerbe stays or goes. I believe he will leave and I think that is the prevailing school of thought in the university as well. Just reading the comments from Gene Defilippo and Jerry York it seems like they have already accepted that fact. When Coach York was on the Bruins broadcast the other night, Rick Middleton mentioned how he wasn't losing that many people and before he even finished the sentence York was jumping out with a qualification that those minor losses was only "IF" Gerbe was not lured away by Buffalo.

Normally I have an issue with kids leaving early. But junior year is better than freshman year (or in the case of Kyle Okposo - halfway through freshman year). A good friend of mine, EA, once said that if you score or assist on the winning goal in the national championship game you get to leave early (this of course was said after 2001 when Krys Kolanos and Chuck Kobasew both left for the NHL). In Gerbe's case, not only did he score the game winner, but scored another and assisted on the final 2. I think figuring into EVERY goal in the national title game gets him a free pass.

Realistically, there isn't much more for him to do. You could say he should come back because with him in the line-up and the addition of Tommy Cross & Edwin Shea to defense BC would be the odds on favorite to win it all again. But I think his stats would not be what they were this year. Granted he would get reunited with Bradford (provided he can stay healthy) but that would cut into his goal production as everyone would not be relying solely on him to score. Nathan Gerbe will probably never have another year as statistically outstanding as this one and he should cash in on that before his 15 minutes are up. Will he make it in the NHL? I hope so, for his sake and for BC pride. But it's an open question and the more money he can make up front by cashing in on what he accomplished this year, the better off he'll be in the long run.

I think next year, BC will be fine. We will still be a contender in Hockey East even if Gerbe leaves. The experience that the freshmen (especially Petrecki, Muse, & Whitney) gained with this season will be very valuable for next year and getting Bradford back should maintain our scoring touch. Should Bradford have the year that he seems capable of, I have no doubt we will still be able to light the lamp sufficiently to win 15-20 regular season games.

No matter what it should be fun as always and if Gerbe leaves I wish him the best and I will be there at the Garden for the first home game between Buffalo and Boston next year. Hoping he scores but hoping that it's not enough for Buffalo to win.

Other thoughts

- Having been at the Frozen Four all weekend I was unable to watch games 1 & 2 of the Stanley Cup playoff series between Boston and Montreal. I saw highlights and spoke with Old Man Pike who filled me in on the scoring of those two games. It seems as though Boston may be starting to turn this Montreal problem around. Coming into the series they were 0-11 in their last 11 contests with Montreal. However, in the final regular season match-up Boston pushed Montreal to overtime before falling in shootout. In game 2 on Saturday, they came back from down 2-0 to force another overtime when the refs apparently took the game from them (I did not see it but the words "diving" and "cheap penalty" were thrown around on highlights I saw). Last night, the Bruins took their first lead on Montreal all season and were able to close the deal in OT. They are finally healthy and they are gaining confidence each time. Should they win game 4, this series could go either way.

- How silly is it that some guy buried a David Ortiz jersey in the new Yankee Stadium? Or was it sillier that the construction crews actually took time out to find it and dig it back up to remove it from the foundation? Why would the guy tell anybody he did it before they were done? If he keeps his mouth shut until the stadium is complete then it would still be there. (No comment on the possible link between this and Ortiz's inability to hit anything but air so far this season...I think that has more to do with the ability to swing without pain which has altered his motion more than anything else.)

- Last night I remembered why I dislike Red Sox games on ESPN. I have to listen to Joe Morgan go on and on about his opinion on everything. Sometimes its valid analysis but most times he just spends his time tearing players apart. I am not saying this with a Red Sox bias (I will admit I am more sensitive to it during Sox games), he does it to all teams at all times. It seems that ESPN pays him just to say negative things and stir up debate instead of actually breaking down game action.

WINNERS!!

Boston College captured their 3rd NCAA hockey national title on Saturday defeating Notre Dame 4-1. After being present for the past two heartbreaking losses, this was a special moment. It was the first title I have been able to share with Mrs. Pike (whom I had not yet met when they won in 2001) so it made it even better.

Looking at the talent on this team compared with the last two seasons you wouldn't think that this would be the year. Freshman goalie, only one All-American (granted a very good one), other freshmen at important positions, lack of defensive depth, players getting thrown off the team, and the team's second-best player only playing 4 1/2 games all year. But they pulled it out.

Before the tourney you heard Jerry York talking about how this is one of the best teams he has ever had. Not necessarily in talent (once you get past Gerbe there is no top-flight player on the roster like a Boyle, Shannan, Eaves, or Gionta) but in cohesiveness and "team" attitude. This seems to be a theme for Boston champions of the past few years.

The Patriots of 2001 and Red Sox of 2004 certainly showed this attitude even more so than the championship teams of later years. Granted the Red Sox were loaded with talent but they had the "idiot" attitude that some feel carried them over the top and enabled them to come from 3-0 against the Yankees. Certainly the Patriots of 2001 had that as well. It has been said that management in San Antonio will only make deals that they feel will keep the Spurs chemistry as a team intact as that is the key to championships. One can hardly argue with the results.

Will the 2007-08 BC team go down as one of the greatest ever? Probably not. The 2001 team certainly had more talent at many positions and were a deeper scoring team. But they captured championship number three by playing as a team and elevating their play when it mattered the most. Congrats Eagles!!

Weekend thoughts

- The Bruins make the playoffs for the first time since the lock out. They're reward...The Canadiens whom they have lost to 8 times this year and 11 in a row overall. Great...

- On the topic of the Bruins, there is some hint that Bergeron may play should they make it past the first round. I don't think this is such a good idea. Not that he isn't ready but there is no way that he will be 100%. He hasn't played since the Prison Ward (otherwise known as the Philadelphia Flyers) took him out in October. He will be rusty and its going to take him time to get back into the flow of the game. Not only that but the team has been able to gel with him out of the line-up. Great hockey comes from finding the right line combinations and I'm not sure I want to throw someone essentially brand new into the mix. The kids (Lucic and Krecji especially) have elevated their game and someone is going to lose ice time if Bergeron were to return. I understand it may be an emotional life (as Carolina used back in 2006) but it might cause more harm than good. He should sit no matter what and take the whole off-season to get 100% and start next year fresh.

- Speaking of Philly, I watched a Philly game against Pittsburgh last Wednesday and there is no two ways about it. Scott Hartnell is just plain dirty. I twice saw him go late into piles and intentionally aim for an opposing players head. He did it to Andrew Alberts months ago and only lost two games for it. One of these days he is going to seriously hurt someone and they aren't going to come back. Why does going for someone's head garner a lighter sentence than stomping on someone's foot (see Chris Simon & Chris Pronger)? Once is just as dangerous and some may say a blow to the head is more so.

- Finally some exciting basketball this weekend. UCLA held tight with Memphis for most of the game and UNC came back strong after a miserable first half that cost them the game. Credit to Kansas for putting the lock down when UNC got with in 4 (same kudos to Standford women for doing the same to UConn when they got within one last night). Let's hope that tonight's contest shows some of the same flair and is not the blow-out, snooze-fest that the last two title games have been.

- Since there is still college hockey to be played and the Bruins are in the playoffs, the Sox have not quite made the radar yet. I have yet to watch a full game but what I have seen so far has not been good. Not sure if Toronto is good or they're feeling the effects of Japan or if the bullpen is just starting slow. All I know is that if they went on a 3-4 stretch in the middle of the season people would just see it as a slump, since it is happening now the panic button is starting to get pressed. Gotta love Boston fans!

Retiring & Not a Moment Too...Late?

Last Sunday night say the final wrestling match in the long career of Ric Flair. Love him or hate him, he was a force in professional wrestling for 34 years and won championships with different promotions (NWA, WCW, WWE/F) a record 16 times. His mic skills were legendary and his ability to anger the crowds was unparallelled. I remember watching him as a young kid and absolutely hating him with his in-ring antics of running away and low-blows and dirty tricks. But it worked. He did what he was supposed to do and got the crowds to despise him and love whoever he fought. He deserved the send off he got at Wrestlemania and at Raw on Monday night. But I got to thinking, shouldn't this have happened a long time ago?

It seems in this day and age where people milk every last drop out of their fifteen minutes of fame it seems that sports figures are no different. They keep playing or performing way past their time to hold on to some glimmer of the player they were or to get that last pay check. One area we see it often is the world of boxing where fighters are routinely taken advantage of by people like Don King who lines his pockets with the majority of the money from the bouts while his fighters get bruised and battered. Many are forced to fight beyond their years just to make ends meet and at the risk of not just present health but future health as well.

Ric Flair has looked a shell of the once great wrestler. Watching him these past few years have been painful as he has clearly been slowed and limited by age. He is a shade of "The Man" that he used to be. We saw this with Cal Ripkin as well. In his final few years at times he was more of a liability to the Orioles than anything. Until his season last year many could have said the same for Brett Farve's two prior seasons as well.

It difficult for fans to accept when someones time has come and gone and clearly by the teams of many the retiring player, its difficult for them as well. However, watching once great athletes degenerate before out eyes tarnishes their legacy in some respects. You want to see that old greatest that you revered but they are simply not capable of maintaining the level of excellence. Their bodies wear down and it affects their play and affects what they can offer their fans. Sometimes its better to be Jim Brown or Barry Sanders and walk away while you are still good. Let your fans last memory of you be of your great accomplishments, not of a decrepit old man holding on to the past.

Maybe its the weather

As noted in my blog on March 13th, "State of Maine", the University of Maine is facing an uphill battle next year. Owners of the 3rd best postseason winning percentage in the past ten years, they may be a while before they see the postseason again. Yesterday, their best freshman Andrew Sweetland left school for the NHL. Including Ben Bishop and 7 graduating seniors, Maine is down nine players from this season's less than stellar squad. I still think Denis-Pepin will leave school as well. He has nothing to prove and this is clearly not going to be a championship team next year. Their best returning forward is a junior who had 11 pts (5 goals) and he only played 11 games his sophomore year. It could mean they will be good in two years when these two large classes but if they can't keep the prize of the class (Teddy Purcell & Sweetland come to mind) it makes building back that much more difficult.