Guess who the biggest loser is with the Wizards hitting the Lottery? I say the Capitals. They go from being the best-run franchise in the region last summer to the NHL's usual place in most markets. Instead of VinnyZorn, the Redskins are being run by the son of George Allen and a two-time Super Bowl winning coach. Instead of "Natinals" and "flying sausage sandwiches" the Nats are actually playing good baseball with a pitching phenom in Stephen Strasberg warming up in Triple A. And instead of constant Gilbert-talk, Wizards fans will avidly await the arrival of a #1 draft pick-- who unless he turns into Kwame Brown/LaRue Martin will mean the start of the next era.
The Caps had a window of opportunity to become a more prominent player in DC (and they still are)... armed with home ice in the Eastern Conference playoffs they should still be playing and gathering headlines. Instead, it's wait for the draft and toughen up for next spring (we know Bruce Boudreau's bunch can win the fall and winter). When they come back this Labor Day, there will be a completely different landscape than last September.
The Wizards have the task of not messing up this windfall; most have them choosing between Ohio State's Evan Turner or Kentucky's John Wall. In today's guards game, you almost can't pass up a point-man like Wall... although Turner's one heck of a building block. And he hasn't been coached by John Calipari.
Speaking of the current Kentucky coach, what is with the rumor mill that has him headed to Chicago as a package deal with LeBron James? Unfortunately most NBA brain trusts think that the ideal pro coach is one who either excels in a shorter-season sample with a completely different method for acquiring talent or somebody who sounds good on TV (Doug Collins/Mike Fratello corollary).
I will admit it-- TV sucks this year. We say goodbye to 24, Lost, and Law & Order-- three of my favorite shows. And they're not going out gracefully. 24 has given us a full season of moles, women making bad life decisions and Freddie Prinze Jr. Lost has made me yearn for the streamlined straight-ahead feel of 24. And L&O's plug gets pulled without even a farewell episode-- I mean who wouldn't watch Jack McCoy's retirement party? The only other shows on network TV I'm readily into have been sagging as well. How I Met Your Mother forced a Barney-Robin duo that was tough to stomach... and then broke the pair up as soon as I bought the two of them together. The highlight was the faux movie "The Wedding Bride" (please Youtube the trailer)... funnier than the actual TV show it appears in. Meanwhile, The Office has given us a baby... and in Andy's pursuit of Erin a rehash of Jim's courting of Pam. Thanks for getting me back into reading, idiot-box.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Monday, May 17, 2010
May malaise... Horse Sense... Conference Carousel...
Midmay. Still enough April showers in the mix with 90 degree days but the pool remains closed. The Derby and Preakness are in our rear-view mirror yet there's no reason to look forward to the Belmont Stakes. The NBA Playoffs turn from an every-night affair to a sporadic TV occasion. Hockey's playoffs become completely unexplainable- but even more difficult to find (on Versus unless there's a James Bond Movie Marathon). NBC cancels Law & Order but keeps the Marriage Ref. And I'm deprived of Chicken Wings. Midmay-- neither spring nor summer; simply in the way.
Orange ending-- Syracuse Lacrosse's two-year reign as National Champs came to an end with a stunning 9-8 double overtime loss to Army in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in the Carrier Dome. The high-octane offense netted just four goals in the final three periods. The denying defense allowed a momentum-changing score by the Black Knights with one second remaining in the first half. SU was crushed on faceoffs as well; if you don't have the ball you can't control the tempo, score or both. I should have known when I couldn't order chicken wings at my alumni group's gamewatching location-- seriously, no chicken wings? You're a bar! Showing sports on TV! Really, no wings? I'm holding the bar responsible for the SU loss.
Goin' to the Glue Factory-- "Lookin at Lucky" rode to victory at the Preakness... meaning there will be no Triple Crown winner again this year (Seattle Slew and Carl Yastrzemski remain the trivia answers). And guess what? We won't even have "Lookin at Lucky" (for heaven's sake at least throw in a g or an apostrophe--do you think you're Splenda or something?) or Derby winner "Super Saver" in the Belmont Stakes. That means instead of little buzz there will be no buzz whatsoever at the Belmont next month... and horse racing will go back into hibernation until next May (with the brief Breeder's Cup wakeup this fall).
My proposal to make horse racing relevant again: let's recognize that today's horses are different-- the way they've been bred (and inbred), their training methods (chemical assistance included), etc-- and recognize that you can't run a three year old three times in five weeks and expect optimum performance without ruining the horse. Move the Preakness to the first Saturday in June. Move the Belmont to the First Saturday in July. Let the horses regain their steam before trotting them out again to face poor performance or injury. Create some buzz about your sport. Yes, horse racing is all about tradition. And a world without tradition is as shaky as a fiddler on the roof-- but you're house is about to be bulldozed in the new-look sports neighborhood. Your tradition was set in the 19th century-- please join us in the 21st!
Orange ending-- Syracuse Lacrosse's two-year reign as National Champs came to an end with a stunning 9-8 double overtime loss to Army in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in the Carrier Dome. The high-octane offense netted just four goals in the final three periods. The denying defense allowed a momentum-changing score by the Black Knights with one second remaining in the first half. SU was crushed on faceoffs as well; if you don't have the ball you can't control the tempo, score or both. I should have known when I couldn't order chicken wings at my alumni group's gamewatching location-- seriously, no chicken wings? You're a bar! Showing sports on TV! Really, no wings? I'm holding the bar responsible for the SU loss.
Goin' to the Glue Factory-- "Lookin at Lucky" rode to victory at the Preakness... meaning there will be no Triple Crown winner again this year (Seattle Slew and Carl Yastrzemski remain the trivia answers). And guess what? We won't even have "Lookin at Lucky" (for heaven's sake at least throw in a g or an apostrophe--do you think you're Splenda or something?) or Derby winner "Super Saver" in the Belmont Stakes. That means instead of little buzz there will be no buzz whatsoever at the Belmont next month... and horse racing will go back into hibernation until next May (with the brief Breeder's Cup wakeup this fall).
My proposal to make horse racing relevant again: let's recognize that today's horses are different-- the way they've been bred (and inbred), their training methods (chemical assistance included), etc-- and recognize that you can't run a three year old three times in five weeks and expect optimum performance without ruining the horse. Move the Preakness to the first Saturday in June. Move the Belmont to the First Saturday in July. Let the horses regain their steam before trotting them out again to face poor performance or injury. Create some buzz about your sport. Yes, horse racing is all about tradition. And a world without tradition is as shaky as a fiddler on the roof-- but you're house is about to be bulldozed in the new-look sports neighborhood. Your tradition was set in the 19th century-- please join us in the 21st!
Will they become the Terrific Twelve or the Super Sixteen? The Big Ten looks to expand... and the league is sizing up Notre Dame (natural midwest fit but too snooty to join a conference), Missouri (completes western wing of states aka Iowa-Missouri), Pitt (close to Ohio State and Penn State), Nebraska (tapping into that underrated Omaha TV market) and Rutgers (technically in the New York market, but really?). Other names in the mix include Syracuse and Maryland-- I won't even get into that. Perfect world-Notre Dame joins up and the Big Ten Plus Two stays at an even dozen-- any more than 12 schools and the league becomes unwieldy, especially for football. Also, the expense drain on non-revenue sports can't be minimal.
Hoops Heaven-- could we have another Celtic-Laker Finals? Both teams looked solid in winning their respective game ones. Conspiracy Theorists will pore over every 50-50 call... and focus on how the league wants no part of a Suns-Magic matchup. The problem with a four tier playoff system is the conference finals get stretched out so the Finals can begin on a certain date. Thus, we have three and four days off between games... just when we're getting the pro basketball buzz it fades away.
Hockey Hell-- the NHL Playoffs always are a rather contrarian affair; how can you explain the Eastern Conference Finals between 7th seeded Philadelphia and 8th place Montreal? Not only did the Canadiens dispose of the defending champs and annointed ones-- they rallied to win series in the grasps of both the Penguins and Capitals. This of course is small potatoes compared to what Philadelphia did-- rallying from a 3-0 series hole to beat Boston. It happened in the 1940's (Toronto topping Detroit) and the 1970's (Islanders over Pittsburgh)... and the Bruins turn whatever karma the rest of the hub had to offer (Sox, Celts and Pats 6 titles) into compost. Out west San Jose faces Chicago in the biggest week for the Sharks since Chino shot Tony.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
What a Relief! Skins shifting... New Bison Boss...
Thank goodness for the Nationals. Really? What was that? After the Caps playoff implosion and the Wizards hibernation (plus a Redskins Draft season where the Burgundy and Gold braintrust actually didn't do anything ridiculous)... the DC Nine is giving fans cause for celebration this May. For some reason aren't going away after their first winning April in some time. While 14-13 means NIT Bubble in some worlds, it begs for answers in the NL East.
For starters, its the relief-- while closer Matt Capps leads the league with 11 saves, Tyler Clippard is holding hitters to a .127 batting average. Sean Burnett and Jesse English have also pitched well over the first month of the season. The question from here is can this four stay fab as the summer heats up...
Pitching pickups...not half bad-- Livan Hernandez is shining (4-1, 0.99 ERA) while Jason Marquis is struggling (0-3, 20.52 ERA)... while many could have expected the reverse this spring, it's not a major surprise. However, the key for the rotation is for the other starters to get their ERA sub-6.
Offensive challenges-- Nyjer Morgan has had an up and down start... with a 3 to 2 strikeout to walk ratio and stealing success rate of just 50%. Still, the sparkplug atop the order is providing enough juice to get the middle of the order motor going... while Josh Willingham and Justin Maxwell are both producing at the plate. Adam Kennedy and Pudge Rodriguez may not be putting up numbers, but their value in the field and clubhouse transcends mere stats.
In the middle of all of this has been the sharp management hand of the organization by Mike Rizzo and in games by Jim Riggleman. The two aren't making as much news as their respective predecessors, and that's probably a good thing.
Skinsationalism-- Marko Mitchell (August 2009 MVP) and Anthony Montgomery are among those released by the Redskins in the most recent roster purge... leading one to believe that when the final 53 is in stone come September-- the holdovers from the Zorn Regime will be few and far between... especially regarding the non-starters.
From the shores of Tripoli-- rarely does Howard steal the college hoop headlines-- but with the naming of Kevin Nickelberry as its new coach the Bison make some waves in the MEAC. Nickelberry spent the last year coaching the Libyan National Team after three seasons guiding Hampton to a 49-44 mark. Will this turn around the recent trend of HU ho-humness on the hardwood? Sometimes any change is good.
For starters, its the relief-- while closer Matt Capps leads the league with 11 saves, Tyler Clippard is holding hitters to a .127 batting average. Sean Burnett and Jesse English have also pitched well over the first month of the season. The question from here is can this four stay fab as the summer heats up...
Pitching pickups...not half bad-- Livan Hernandez is shining (4-1, 0.99 ERA) while Jason Marquis is struggling (0-3, 20.52 ERA)... while many could have expected the reverse this spring, it's not a major surprise. However, the key for the rotation is for the other starters to get their ERA sub-6.
Offensive challenges-- Nyjer Morgan has had an up and down start... with a 3 to 2 strikeout to walk ratio and stealing success rate of just 50%. Still, the sparkplug atop the order is providing enough juice to get the middle of the order motor going... while Josh Willingham and Justin Maxwell are both producing at the plate. Adam Kennedy and Pudge Rodriguez may not be putting up numbers, but their value in the field and clubhouse transcends mere stats.
In the middle of all of this has been the sharp management hand of the organization by Mike Rizzo and in games by Jim Riggleman. The two aren't making as much news as their respective predecessors, and that's probably a good thing.
Skinsationalism-- Marko Mitchell (August 2009 MVP) and Anthony Montgomery are among those released by the Redskins in the most recent roster purge... leading one to believe that when the final 53 is in stone come September-- the holdovers from the Zorn Regime will be few and far between... especially regarding the non-starters.
From the shores of Tripoli-- rarely does Howard steal the college hoop headlines-- but with the naming of Kevin Nickelberry as its new coach the Bison make some waves in the MEAC. Nickelberry spent the last year coaching the Libyan National Team after three seasons guiding Hampton to a 49-44 mark. Will this turn around the recent trend of HU ho-humness on the hardwood? Sometimes any change is good.
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