- 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.
Monday, April 14, 2008
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!!
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!!
Monday, April 7, 2008
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!
- 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!
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
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.
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.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
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.
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