NHL preview - Southeast Division

Unlike the NFL, where I try to rock and roll with as little info as possible, when it comes to hockey I devour pretty well everything. For a couple years now I’ve been able to name almost every player in the league. Such expansive knowledge has led to some bloated NHL write-ups in the past, usually averaging more than a page per team. I’m going to try my best to keep it concise here and give you the things you need to know to be ready for hockey season. So here we go, a division a day until Thursday. Season starts Wednesday, and hopefully your fantasy draft is a week into the season like the one I’m in, as I’ll be offering a fantasy sleeper and a promising rookie for each team in the league. Today, we start with the defending champs and the Southeast Division.

Division overview.

First thing I have to say is that I love this division. A couple years ago after way too many drinks I said this division was only a couple years away from being a powerhouse. Last I checked, the last two Stanley Cup winners call the Southeast home and for the first time in history, we may be looking at four playoff teams from the Southeast. Teams are listed in order of projected standings, playoff teams are in bold.

Carolina Hurricanes

There is no reason the defending champs can’t win this division. They lost three key players from last season in Matt Cullen, Aaron Ward and Martin Gerber, but feel they’ve found competent replacements in newcomer Scott Walker, and homegrown Frantisek Kaberle and Cam Ward. Walker is an excellent pick-up from Nashville. He brings leadership and underappreciated skill. Kaberle is on the shelf to start the year. Coupled with Aaron Ward’s departure, many of the Canes’ defensemen will be playing big minutes for the first time in their careers. Their play will determine the fate of this team. Cam Ward was lights out in the Canes’ run to the Cup, and there is no reason to believe he can’t follow in the footsteps of other goalies that have won the Conn Smyth Trophy as a rookie, only to put together hall of fame careers after.

Fantasy Sleeper: Scott Walker had 16 points in 33 games in Nashville last year. With a new centre and more aggressive offense, he should eclipse Cullen’s 49 that he’s in town to replace.

Rookie Watch: Barring injury, the Hurricanes don’t figure to ice many rookies this year after having five players play out their Calder eligibility last season.

Atlanta Thrashers

Atlanta finished last season two wins shy of the playoffs, and another spring in Atlanta without playoff hockey will start an avalanche of rolling heads from front office. Assuming goalie Kari Lehtonen is in better shape and plays more than 38 games, there is no reason to believe the Thrashers can’t compete for the top spot in the division. Losing top centre Marc Savard and his 97 points hurts, but the Thrashers have lots of offense coming from Marian Hossa and Ilya Kovalchuk. Once again, the onus falls on the defense to get better. This is a sound group led by the undervalued Niclas Havelid. Steve McCarthy brings some offensive pop in his first full season in Atlanta, while Greg DeVries is going to be expected to improve. The biggest upgrade on defense is the arrival of former Duck Vitaly Vishnevski. The hard-hitting Russian will be asked to clear the ice in front of Lehtonen and be an imposing presence in the Thrashers’ end of the rink.

Fantasy Sleeper: McCarthy had 10 points in 16 games with Atlanta last year, compared to six points in 51 games with Vancouver. He’ll quarterback one of Atlanta’s power play units.

Rookie Watch: Braydon Coburn had a very good year in the American League last year and is expected to make the team out of camp as a top six defenseman.

Tampa Bay Lightning

With Brad Richards, Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St-Louis, the Lightning have a trio of forwards at the top most teams should envy. Beyond that are the question marks, and the reasons Tampa Bay will likely miss the playoffs this season. While neither Sean Burke nor John Grahame were particularly adept between the pipes last year, Marc Denis is relatively untested after years of playing in Columbus. This will be his first shot at being in any kind of a spotlight. Filip Kuba is a hard-hitting defenseman that eats minutes like children eat candy, and he’ll quickly become a fan favourite, while helping the departed Pavel Kubina become a distant memory. Cap mis-management will ultimately be the result of further downfall in Tampa, but for now, it’s simply a matter of too much youth. The defense is thin, as is the fourth line and secondary scoring. The playoffs may be too much to ask of this group.

Fantasy Sleeper: No real sleepers here, though one can expect Martin St-Louis to improve on his 61 points from last season.

Rookie Watch: Nikita Alexeev appears to be the only rookie with a real shot of making the club. The talented Russian is big, but doesn’t play the game the way a 6’5”, 230-pounder should.

Florida Panthers

First and foremost, the Bertuzzi-for-Luongo deal was great for this team. Todd Bertuzzi is a big, mean, menacing forward that can control every aspect of the game so long as he’s motivated. That Bertuzzi was on display during a home-and-home series between Vancouver and San Jose that ultimately decided each team’s playoff fate last season. With that Bertuzzi every night, the Panthers are going to make some noise. Losing Roberto Luongo hurts, but the Panthers were in more desperate need of a game-breaking skater than a gave-saving goalie. Bryan Allen and Alex Auld also came over from Vancouver, and should shine in south Florida. Ruslan Salei is a hard-hitting minute muncher and helps the Panthers blue line fill out nicely. The forward group is still a little thin, but the addition of Bertuzzi means fewer top-defensive pairings for youngsters like Stephen Weiss, Nathan Horton and Rostislav Olesz.

Fantasy Sleeper: Olesz scored 21 points in 59 games as a rookie, and could thrive in his second NHL season.

Rookie Watch: Anthony Stewart will start the year in the American League, but the demotion shouldn’t last long. Look for Stewart to be lighting NHL lamps by Halloween.

Washington Capitals

Without going too Alex Ovechkin crazy… Alex Ovechkin is the greatest thing that ever happened to this franchise. Can you imagine if this kid had played with Adam Oates when he was in Washington? It’s not impossible to imagine Oates getting in some skating drills and trying to make a comeback to play with Ovechkin. The biggest moves the Caps made in the off-season were A: losing captain Jeff Halpern to free agency; B: losing heart-and-soul winger Brian Willsie to free agency; C: adding defenseman Brian Pothier through free agency; and D: trading for winger Richard Zednik. Zednik is a fantastically gifted player, but has never been able to play at a high level with consistency. Alongside Ovechkin, he could post career-high numbers. The Caps will ice essentially the same team that landed them in the draft lottery last year, and they’ll be headed back to the lottery this year.

Fantasy Sleeper: Either Richard Zednik or…

Rookie Watch: Rookie Tomas Fleischmann scored 63 points (33 goals) in 57 games with Hershey of the American League last year.

Hockeyhockeyhockeyhockeyhockeyhockey with one baseball

While I was writing the NFL picks, all of this stuff happened, and I can’t let it slide.

Steve Konowalchuk of the Colorado Avalanche retired. I loved this guy. He suffers from a disease which can lead to an irregular heartbeat, and that’s forced his hand to end his playing days. Before Alex Ovechkin came along, Konowalchuk was the only reason to watch a Washington Capitals game, and not because he’d score goals the way Ovechkin does, but because he was a coach’s dream. Hard-working, good face off guy, good penalty killer. One of those guys your team just doesn’t go very far without. The Avalanche acquired Konowalchuk early in the 2003-04 season and he was a key cog in their run to the second round of the playoffs. He played just 21 games last season because of injury, and his absence was a big part of the Avs poor regular season. We’ll miss you Steve.

David Schoenfield’s column at ESPN.com today offered a pretty spectacular prediction, which I’m hoping to see: Johan Santana vs. Roger Clemens in game seven of the World Series.

Yesterday, the Montreal Canadiens claimed Patrick Traverse off waivers from San Jose. Terrible news. The last time Traverse (who will henceforth be known as “Reverse”) was with the Canadiens, he cleared waivers and was sent to the minors (along with Karl Dykhuis) where he was probably the worst defenseman us Hamilton Bulldogs fans have ever seen (other than the departed Ron Hainsey). Now, in a completely inexplicable move, he’s back because Canadiens’ brass just didn’t think rookie J-P Cote could cut the mustard for an extended run with the big club to start the year. It’s a shame, too. Cote is a fine defenseman, one of the best Hamilton’s ever had. He had a couple of brief call-ups last season and played very well. At one point, he was even on the first penalty killing unit. So while I’m glad the Dogs will have Cote again this year, it’s really heartbreaking that his demotion comes at the hands of yet another Reverse disaster waiting to happen. Worse still, when the Habs smarten up, they’ll be forced to send Reverse back to the minors, which means another stint in Hamilton (if he clears waivers). Ugh.

In a move we’ve expected for some time now, the Carolina Hurricanes have traded their first-round pick from the 2005 draft, defenseman Jack Johnson. Johnson was the third overall selection in 2005, and is regarded as NHL ready, but has twice turned down contract offers from the Hurricanes to continue his college career. In need of warm bodies on the back end, the Canes dealt Johnson’s rights and defenseman Oleg Tverdovsky to Los Angeles for defenseman Tim Gleason and forward Eric Belanger. Belanger will slide nicely into the centre spot on the Canes’ third line while Gleason will move into the top four on the blue line. It’s a good deal for Carolina, but we’ll only see how it all goes down after we’ve seen what Johnson can do in the NHL. Eric Belanger’s departure opens space at centre for two rookies to make the Kings’ lineup -- Patrick O’Sullivan and Anze Kopitar. Johnson will skate with the Michigan Wolverines again this season.

NFL Week 4 plus

Some quick hits before the NFL picks.

Daniel Cabrera of the Orioles came oh-so-close to throwing a no-hitter last night. Great stuff. That’s a bad team, whose fans have to be getting restless, and it would have been nice to give the fans a really high note right near the end of the season like that.

Since we’re talking Baltimore, let’s jump to D.C. where the Nationals seem prepared to cut manager Frank Robinson loose. Robinson is a very good manager that helped in the development of some of the Nats very good young talent. The perception of the 2006 version of the team is that they underachieved, especially with the presence of a talent like Alfonso Soriano on board. It’s a shame to see him go, and one can only hope his old-school style can catch on somewhere else.

Staying with the National League, do the Mets have a chance in the playoffs without Pedro Martinez? It says here that in the weak NL, the Mets still have a chance to win some games, and very possibly reach the World Series. Martinez had one of his worst seasons this year, statistically, and really doesn’t seem to intimidate the way he once did. Even without on of the greatest arms the game has ever seen, the Mets are still the only team in the NL to pass 89 wins (a number only the Padres can reach by winning all three of their remaining game), and can’t be overlooked in October.

And speaking of overlooked, maybe the Cardinals should go ahead and actually clinch the division title next season. Now, they’re in a pretty awful situation. Three games left, a half-game lead on the Central, they’ve lost eight of their last nine games and on the verge of one of the most epic collapses we’ve seen in the three-division era. They lost the first game of their four-game set with Milwaukee this weekend, and Houston is heating up at just the right time. The Astros are in Atlanta for three games this weekend to close out. I got my Elias on for this one. It’s the first time in the three-division era these two teams have played a series this late in the regular season. All-time, the Astros hold a 5-3 edge in their season-ending series with the Braves, outscoring the Braves 30-28 in those eight games.

No good segue here, just a statement. Joe Mauer’s home run last night carved his name into my tablet with the heading American League MVP. Bottom of the ninth, two out, down 1-0. A win gives you a tie for the division title with three games to go, and Mauer -- as he’s done all year -- came through. He hit a dinger to tie the game, and the Twins won in extra innings. Joe Mauer for MVP.

Now on to the picks. Gotta make up for last week’s 6-8. 29-17 overall, and as always, the bold is the pick.

Arizona @ Atlanta

Turns out I told my mom to pick Arizona in this game. That was a bad idea. Sorry mom, Arizona sucks.

Dallas @ Tennessee

Four weeks, four T.O. distractions. Says here that since I’m finally giving up on the Titans, they’ll probably pull one off.

Indianapolis @ New York Jets

Dear Peyton and co. I’m sorry I doubted you twice already this year. It won’t happen again.

Miami @ Houston

Even Miami has to be good enough to beat Houston.

Minnesota @ Buffalo

Dear J.P. and co. I’m done with you. I hate you all and I hope you lose every remaining game.

New Orleans @ Carolina

Monday night’s win was awesome, but I’m worried that high may have been too high. Carolina’s the pick.

San Diego @ Baltimore

Again, I very much gave my mom the wrong pick here. Sorry again mom. Gotta stop catching me on lunch breaks. I’m driving the Chargers bandwagon.

San Francisco @ Kansas City

Legitimately, I am picking the 49ers because I think they are the better team. Sure, I picked a team better than San Fran to lose in KC this year, but that was before I realized how bad the Chiefs are. They don’t have a QB, an O-line, nothing. Turn up the suck KC, turn up the suck.

Detroit @ St. Louis

This one’s going to haunt me all season and I know it.

Cleveland @ Oakland

The Browns were hanging with Baltimore last week, and Oakland is in a sad state of affairs so far this year.

Jacksonville @ Washington

Is it OK to drive two different AFC bandwagons?

New England @ Cincinnati

Well, there’s the strike out. Sorry mom, I’m pissed off at New England and don’t believe they can beat a pretty quality Cincinnati team. Which of course, is usually the point the Pats have turned it around the last few years. But still.

Seattle @ Chicago

First real test for the Bears and it says here they pass with flying colours.

Green Bay @ Philadelphia

You’re telling me this sad sack bunch of Packers can make prime time, but the 2005 first-overall pick can’t? I am no longer on speaking terms with the NFL.

F.U. T.O.

Double-shot today, since I completely forgot to post yesterday.

Today I ask, why the hell do I care that Terrell Owens may or may not have attempted to commit suicide yesterday?

I have enough trouble mustering up any kind of sympathy for regular people that can’t battle their way through their tough high school lives, or whatever problems they have in their lives, let alone millionaire athletes.

In addition to my inability to give a damn, there are conflicting stories from every side of this thing, and it’s possible we’ll never know the truth.

Plus, there’s a school of thought (to which I subscribe) that says the idiots that don’t get the job done are even bigger cowards than the people that do kill themselves.

Another thing that nags at me about this whole Owens thing, which is just the latest pathetic chapter in a pathetic story, is the fact he’s on the front page of pretty well every sports website out there right now, and I repeat, we have now idea what actually happened.

Meanwhile, Sunday afternoon a 19-year-old defensive back for Rice University died during a workout, and the story was buried.

Dale Lloyd, a freshman at Rice is a student-athlete, playing for a respectable football program at a school with a respectable academic record just trying to have a chance to make the pros.

Student-athletes are faced with enormous pressure every day of their lives, and most of them don’t end up cashing in on the talent they have.

So when a student dies, trying to live the dream, the story really shouldn’t be buried by a maybe-maybe not suicide attempt by one of the game’s leading money makers and the game’s leading prima donna-- a man who, by most accounts, makes a mockery of the dream every time he opens his mouth.

To Terrell Owens: go away.

To the family and friends of Dale Lloyd: all the best in this difficult time.

Lastly, and off-topic completely, an updated link from the end of the Ken Griffey Jr blog a couple days ago: Click

From yesterday:

For the second time, this space is forced to come face-to-face with a legend leaving the world of golf.

Byron Nelson passed away yesterday at age 94.

Memorials and tributes will pour in, as will tales of the legend. All of them will come from figures more authoritative than this space, so please, indulge in what others have to offer.

From this corner of the Internet, we’ll admire the stats and the numbers because it’s what we’ve grown accustomed to. Having never seen Nelson play, we can only marvel in what the numbers tell us he accomplished.

Among those accomplishments is an 11-tournament winning streak in the summer of 1945, which paved the way to his record 18 wins that year. Both records still stand today, and by comparison, Tiger Woods’ longest winning streak is his current streak of five tournaments.

A major part of Nelson’s story is a lifelong battle with fellow legend Ben Hogan, as well as a strong rivalry with Sam Snead. Alongside Nelson’s 52 PGA Tour victories, Hogan and Snead helped the trio finish with 196 victories between them, including 21 major title wins, and another 18 second-place finishes.

Before Jack Niklaus won the Masters at age 23 in 1963, Nelson was Augusta’s youngest winner at age 25.

And above all his accolades and triumphs on golf courses all over the world, it was his reputation as one of the nicest and friendliest golfers around that made Nelson the fan favourite he was.

So long, Byron, the game was better when you were with us.

I don’t know what Ken Griffey Jr. ever did to the baseball gods, or whatever other gods out there have conspired against him, but it hurts me that he did it.

Like just about everyone else in my age group, Griffey was my favourite player as a kid. I had a big poster and followed his every move. I even tried to hit like he did back then. Of course, it didn’t work out so well for me, or maybe I’d be playing in the Major Leagues.

Also like so many other people my age that loved Griffey, the strike, his leaving Seattle, and his injuries led to a breakdown in our relationship. I moved on to other players, and always just felt sad about the way things ended between us.

But no more!

A friend of mine is still a huge Griffey fan, and he gives me daily updates. That old flame was coming back just as the Reds were heading into August leading the Wild Card, and I found myself cheering for Griffey and the Reds (it helps that I love Adam Dunn for breaking the strike out record a couple years ago). Then Griffey got hurt and broke my heart again. He’s always been kind of like an alcoholic ex that you just keep giving second, third, fourth and fifth chances to. I can’t stay mad, and I’ll always want nothing but the best for him.

So it was pretty awesome to see him come off the disabled list last night and launch a game-winning three-run shot for the Reds. Sure, they’re out of the Wild Card hunt now, and in the end, the dinger won’t mean a whole lot, but it sure was nice to see it.

And it was pretty nice that it was Griff’s 563^rd home run. That moves him into the top ten all time, tied with Mr. October Reggie Jackson.

It’s hard to really celebrate 10^th when Barry Bonds is only a couple dozen homers from the all-time record, but it’s a pretty great feeling to see a guy that was one of the reasons I ever played baseball reach such a great milestone-- especially since he’s so broken down now.

Somewhere along the way, this nearly perfect baseball specimen had most of it slip away, and he became mortal. But his home run last night helped recapture some of the magic that makes the great players great, and this great game even greater.

Thanks to Ken Griffey Jr. for the memories, the hope of what’s left to be seen, and for saving me from writing about some asshole that makes left turns for a living.

Save this

Congratulations to Trevor Hoffman of the San Diego Padres, who became Major League Baseball’s all-time saves leader yesterday.

Saves are a tricky stat in the way a closer has to be at the top of his game for such an extended period of time while playing for competitive teams. It’s no guarantee a closer will get 50 chances every year.

It’s also no guarantee closers would ever have come into existence. Historically, they’ve been maligned nearly as much as designated hitters have, but there’s no questioning their place in the game today.

And there’s no questioning Hoffman’s place.

He’s not at the dominant form that had him in the NL Cy Young race in 1998 (hen he had 53 saves in 54 opportunities and a 1.48 ERA), but he’s been consistently overpowering. He may even be better in the last three years than he was in the three years before surgery cost him all but nine games of the 2003 season.

Hats off to Trevor Hoffman, 479 save and counting.

Some other cool things from the weekend:

Brett Favre of the Green Bay Packers became the second player in NFL history to throw 400 touchdown passes. He’s behind only Dan Marino in that department, and would have passed him by now if the Packers had any receivers to throw to for the last two years.

Rutgers? We talkin’ ‘bout Rutgers. Thanks, AI, I got it from here. Rutgers is ranked for the first time in nearly 30 years. Now if only they could prove themselves in some sort of playoff format…

And Jay Gibbons of the Baltimore Orioles hit his wife with a foul ball. Who hasn’t wanted to foul one off their wife before? She’s OK, and it may lead to some changes at Camden Yards, plus it was my favourite story of the weekend.

NFL Week 3

Carolina @ Tampa Bay

I read somewhere during the week that Bucs’ quarterback Chris Simms has something like one touchdown pass and nine interceptions. Carolina can beat Tampa, even without Steve Smith.

Chicago @ Minnesota

Chicago runs their in-division record to 3-0.

Cincinnati @ Pittsburgh

Cincinnati hasn’t done a whole lot to impress anyone, other than beating a bad KC team in KC and a bad Browns team at home. The Steelers have done even less to impress me, but somehow, I can’t pick against them in this one.

Green Bay @ Detroit

Clash of the titans!

Jacksonville @ Indianapolis

I don’t like Indy’s chances until their running game gets going. This game is a good test for Jacksonville’s defense, and it’s one I think they’ll pass.

New York Jets @ Buffalo

So is everyone in the AFC East going to finish 8-8?

Tennessee @ Miami

Too much bad karma hanging over Tennessee right now, there’s no way they can lose.

Washington @ Houston

Can I pick the tie? Someone is going to be bad enough to lose this game, and the smart money’s on Houston.

Baltimore @ Cleveland

Who knew Baltimore was good again? I’m not picking against them until they give up a touchdown.

New York Giants @ Seattle

Seattle looked bad against Detroit, and barely better against Arizona. There’s no way they can hang with the Giants, who taught me a lesson last week in picking against them.

Philadelphia @ San Francisco

This didn’t go well in Philly for the 49ers last year (42-3), and I can’t see it going much better at home this year.

St. Louis @ Arizona

I guess?

Denver @ New England

The Pats are that rare NFC East team that has the ability to finish above .500.

Atlanta @ New Orleans

Sorry, Nawlins, I’m all over your bandwagon, but those Falcons are too good.

Dallas, Kansas City, Oakland and San Diego are having a backyard BBQ with a group of Pac-10 officials.

The pain of it all

I have my pitchfork. I have my torch. Let’s go get that monster.

That monster is the NHL preseason.

I hate to jump onto a trend like this kinda late, but after reading the list of headlines at ESPN.com’s NHL homepage, it’s time to speak up.

Todd Bertuzzi, Zdeno Chara, Sergei Fedorov, Mark Recchi and Evgeni Malkin all left preseason games this week with injuries.

Let’s see: Bertuzzi, all star; Chara, all star; Fedorov, all star; Recchi, all star; Malkin, projected all star.

Fantastic.

Let’s take it another step.

Bertuzzi, Florida’s best player; Chara, Boston’s best player; Fedorov, among Columbus’ best players; Recchi, critical leader on a young Penguins team; Malkin, among the best players at the 2006 World Championship.

I don’t want to say the preseason needs to be eliminated. It’s vital to helping some guys get in shape, and is worth literally hundreds of thousands of dollars to other players. Bubble guys that make a team out of camp instead of being shipped to the minors need the preseason.

Which begs the question: why are established stars not only playing in their team’s first two preseason games, but also getting hurt in them?

Sure, Bertuzzi and Chara are playing with new teams, and Malkin is a rookie that needs to learn the level of play in the NHL. But guys like Bertuzzi and Chara can find chemistry with their new teammates in practice.

It’s not like Florida and Boston are teams with real playoff aspirations, and they can’t afford three or four weeks’ worth of games at the beginning of the season to work their new guys in.

And it’s good for fans. Halifax played host to a pair of preseason games this week, featuring local hero Sidney Crosby. A town called Salmon Arm that won a contest to be Canada’s best hockey town will host a preseason game this year. The Leafs and Sabres formerly annual visits to Hamilton and St. Catharines were phenomenally popular.

So there is no need to abandon preseason games, but coaches really need to think a little more logically about how and when to use their star players.

Bye bye Tie

The bad news: I just wasn’t feelin’ it yesterday, and I skipped out. My apologies.

The good news: I’m back at it today.

The better news: Peter Gammons is out of hospital. Pete is pretty much the reason “sports” and “journalism” are words that go together.

The best news: Tie Domi retired yesterday!

Now, there’s no such thing as a good Maple Leaf. By the very nature of having any association with that organization, you immediately become evil. Like, shooting kittens evil-- and that’s just at the lesser end of the evil.

Tie Domi resides somewhere a little closer to say… Overlord of the Underworld. This guy has been the bane of my hockey-enjoying existence for the better part of the last decade, and frankly, I’m happy he “couldn’t put on another jersey,” thereby destroying the minds of hockey fans in another town.

Actually, let me backtrack here, a little. Tie does a lot of charity work, and has been a very good citizen in his time in Toronto. On a personal level, he’s one of the good guys.

But he can’t play a lick of hockey, and he got paid more than $2 million dollars a year in his last contract.

And Leafs fans, those horrible, horrible people, they love him for it! Tie scores a goal, he gets the front page of the Toronto Sun. Ties gets an assist, he can be pictured with the Sunshine Girl in a compromising position.

This is a guy that challenged a Flyers fan to a fist fight, while serving a fighting penalty, and Leafs fans loved him for it.

Starting to see the trend?

Tie Domi couldn’t play hockey, and the so-called centre of the hockey universe loved him for it. That’s wrong on so many levels, it’s mind-boggling.

Lakers fans love Kobe despite the charges he faced. I don’t have to agree with it, but at least Kobe can play the game.

Giants fans still love Barry Bonds despite the persistent steroid rumours, and again, I don’t have to like it, but Barry can mash. The guy can flat-out play.

Domi could fight, but even last year he proved that he can’t much do that anymore.

There is no place in the game for a guy like Domi anymore, so let me be the first to say “don’t let the door hit you on the way out.”

Of course, he’s taken a job as some part of TSN’s NHL broadcasts, which is just one more reason to spend the extra money on the Centre Ice package.

So that's what a win looks like

Another day, another shooting. This time five student-athletes at Duquesne in Pittsburgh were shot over the weekend. It really is just a game, folks.

A little horn-tooting here, as well. But it seems this guy was 13-2 yesterday with the football picks.

Anyway, on to the good stuff.

I came into this weekend preparing to write about the Hamilton Tiger-Cats’ continuing ineptitude. It was my assumption, and probably the assumption of others, that they would once again fail to score a touchdown, making it five home games in a row without one.

Man, were we wrong!

They scored a punt-return touchdown, a passing major, and a rushing touchdown -- all in one game. It’s the first time all year they’ve scored three touchdowns in a game, and just their second home win all year.

Even though the crowd appeared to be the smallest of the year so far, it was an energetic crowd and it was great to see the players feed off the fans.

The downside is that the defense turned in one of their worst performances of the year and nearly cost the Cats the game.

But no matter, they can’t take it away from us now, it’s a win! Let’s go Tigers, eat ‘em raw!

Sorry for all the rah-rah stuff. It was exciting, and it’s not been often the last few years I’ve had an opportunity to relish a Ticats win.

One other thing from the weekend, did anyone see the kid in Houston drop the home run ball? Poor little guy was crying and everything. I hope he’s not scarred for life.

Friday. You know what that means, it’s time for some uneducated football picks.

Before I get to the picks, I have a couple items I need to address.

Item, the first: Mark R. Downs Jr. is a piece of garbage. This useless piece of crap paid an eight-year-old t-ball player $25 to bean an autistic teammate to prevent the autistic child from playing in a playoff game.

I don’t even know where to start with this, so I won’t. You know the details, you can make your own conclusions. There’s nothing I can say you’re not thinking.

Item, the second: Wednesday afternoon, the Montreal Canadiens were going to hold a press conference to announce their plans to retire Serge Savard and Ken Dryden’s jersey numbers this season. That announcement was cancelled because of a shooting at Dawson College in downtown Montreal, located near the Forum. Two students were killed, including the gunman. I’d like to express my condolences to the families of the deceased, and best wishes to the 19 other people injured.

These kinds of things, tragedy and out-and-out stupidity, are reminders that we’re fortunate to have such a wonderful daily distraction like professional sports. Whether it be rookie pitchers throwing no-hitters, and warming our souls and reminding us just how great sport is, or idiot kickers acting up again, we need to enjoy what we have.

On to the football. As always, my pick is bolded.

Buffalo @ Miami

I liked the Bills in the upset last week, and they blew it, losing by a safety. The Bills practice facility was probably not a fun place to be this week, so I’m taking them again on the road in hopes they’ve learned a thing or two about playing all four quarters.

Carolina @ Minnesota

I can’t even believe the Vikings won last weeks. What’s worse, I can’t believe they’re going to win this week, in a short week to boot.

Cleveland @ Cincinnati

Huge win for Cincy last week at Kansas City. They’ve got my vote pretty much from here on in. At home, following a big win to start the year, there is no reason to think they can’t go to 2-0.

Detroit @ Chicago

I may not pick Detroit at all this season. I don’t believe they’ll go 0-16, but I’m sure as hell not going to put any faith in them.

Houston @ Indianapolis

Indy needed some help to win last Sunday night, but Houston didn’t need any help rolling over for Philly.

New Orleans @ Green Bay

The Packers should get some points this week, but still not enough to win. This may be, in the Brett Favre era, the only time anyone has ever picked Green Bay to lose two home games in a row.

New York Giants @ Philadelphia

Spoiler alert? Are we watching this game again in late January, with a lot more on the line? We very well could be. This one’s a saw-off. This early in the year, I’m going with the Eagles, only because they’re at home.

Oakland @ Baltimore

Somebody underestimated the Ravens last week. They responded by pasting the Bucs, and handing down the biggest beat down of the weekend. Oakland, meanwhile, were awful at home against San Diego, which pretty much makes this one a no-brainer.

Tampa Bay @ Atlanta

Remember when the Bucs were the only team that could contain Mike Vick? I think Bruce Springsteen had a song about the good ol’ days.

Arizona @ Seattle

Hawks fans, repeat after me: “I trust Hasselback to throw a touchdown.” Nine points will get you past Detroit, and it used to get you past Arizona, but Seattle had better bring some offense this week. If the Seahawks don’t score a touchdown, I’ll never pick them again.

St. Louis @ San Francisco

I remember a time, even when the 49ers starting slipping, that the Rams were two guaranteed wins on the Niners’ schedule every year. I miss those days. And, my official theory of how things changed in this “rivalry” is to attribute the change directly to the teams’ uniform changes. The Niners added that stupid gold and black trim to their jerseys (which jazzed up a boring home jersey, but completely ruined a beautiful away jersey-- see the Giants current away shirts), and they’ve been in the tank since. The Rams went ahead and switched from royal and yellow to navy and maize, and things just haven’t been the same since.

Kansas City @ Denver

I hate Denver, and hope they never win another game, but the Chiefs looked awful last week. I will say that this win for Denver will have absolutely nothing to do with Jake Plummer’s “proficiency.”

New England @ New York Jets

Who knew the Jets could win a game? Let’s see them win two.

Tennessee @ San Diego

Tennessee battled back nicely against the Jets. But the Chargers are not the Jets. Also, I’m pretty much driving the Chargers’ bandwagon this year.

Washington @ Dallas

Washington has fallen out of my favour. So they’ll probably screw me and win this game, but I just don’t see Dallas losing.

Pittsburgh @ Jacksonville

Holy crap, I’m going off the board finally. Go Jags.

Well, I picked too many favourites to have a very good week (14), but we’ll see how it goes. Last week: 9-7, and, amazingly, overall: 9-7. Have a great weekend, we’ll see you Monday morning.

Kicking the tires

Goddamn kickers. When will they learn?

Word comes down yesterday that the backup punter for Northern Colorado, Mitch Cozad, is alleged to have stabbed the team’s starting punter, Rafael Mendoza.

College kickers stabbing one another? Are you kidding me?

Division I-AA kickers stabbing one another? That’s even more insane.

Wasn’t all this kicker nonsense bad enough when Mike Vanderjagt called Peyton Manning out a couple years ago?

How about the feud between Todd Sauerbrun and one of the Gramaticas which ended in Sauerbrun claiming he’d rather forfeit his Pro Bowl selection than play alongside the Gramatica in Hawaii?

Or my all-time favourite news item regarding kickers, Sauerbrun popped for steroids?

What in God’s name is wrong with you people? Other than Adam Vinatieri, does any kicker ever have the right to say or do anything?

Well, if nothing else, thanks for the blog idea, Mitch. But the rest of you, try to stay within yourselves and behave, OK?

Good God.

Item two: Jesse Lumsden.

Those who follow CFL or CIS (Canadian university) football already know this name. He’s the guy everyone assumed the Hamilton Tiger-Cats wasted a first overall pick on. We’ll finally get the chance to find out, as he’s reportedly signed a long-term deal in Hamilton after he was cut by the Washington Redskins a few weeks ago.

The Tiger-Cats are 2-10 this season, and were officially eliminated from the playoffs last Saturday when they lost 11-9 to the Toronto Argos.

A similar situation happened last season.

Just as the Cats’ season was wrapping up, Lumsden was cut by the Seattle Seahawks, and came back to Hamilton to run back some punts and convert some second-and-short situations.

With two NFL training camps worth of experience, and two training camps worth of learning and grooming, he may be ready to dominate the CFL the way scouts assumed he would after his CIS career ended.

Or, he’ll be the next item on a long list of errors Hamilton’s front office has made over the last few seasons.

Oh, those Islanders

Fifteen years??

Oh my. Doctors don’t even have to commit to school for 15 years, but the New York Islanders are jumping in with both feet on this one.

Yesterday, the always entertaining (except on the ice) Islanders announced they have signed star goalie Rick DiPietro to a 15-year contract that will pay him $67.5 million dollars over the term.

The deal reportedly breaks down to $4.5 million a year for the 15 years, and is also said to be guaranteed – even in the case of injury.

What will the Islanders think of next?

I’ve read some bits coming from both sides of this (side one: the Islanders are stupid, side two: what’s a starting goalie going to be worth in 10 years?), and they all make sense. I’m from the side of the fence that always worries about precedent.

What’s to stop Alex Ovechkin from walking into George McPhee’s office this morning and demanding a 15-year deal at the end of his current contract?

Such a deal would keep Ovechkin in Washington until he’s 35 (by comparison, and this may be a little early but the hell with it, Brendan Shanahan is 37), and I don’t think anyone on the planet (other than DiPietro’s agent) would even consider DiPietro as valuable as Ovechkin is.

What’s to stop a team like Ottawa from giving a player like Jason Spezza a similar 15-year deal, maybe worth more money ($5.5-$6 million per), being hamstrung by the deal when it no longer makes sense in the league’s economic framework, and using the albatross of a contract as an excuse for their inability to compete? Sound familiar?

The Isles have never used their 10 year Alexei Yashin deal as an excuse, but with one player taking up nearly 20 per cent of their cap space last year (only about 16 this year), the Isles just don’t have the options other teams do.

But instead of being a cynical jerk about this deal, maybe I should be glad a player drafted after free agency opened up is going to play a 20-year career with one team, and that his team wants him to play his 20-year career there.

It’s an unorthodox deal, and 15 years sure is a long time, but let’s see how this thing goes.

Marlins gone wild

Let’s go with Wild Card today. Aren’t those Florida Marlins just making an absolute mockery of everyone in baseball?

What’s their payroll, 40 k or so? Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if I make more money than some of the players on Florida’s roster. And look at them! Here they are, ready to make another run at the post-season.

They were magical back in 2003 when they won the World Series after posting a 19-29 record thru May 22, when they dropped their seventh-straight game.

This year’s Marlins were 12-31 on May 22, following a win that snapped a seven-game losing streak.

As of this writing, they’re 2 games behind San Diego in the hunt for the NL Wild Card, they’re rocking a $15 million payroll, Anibal Sanchez only gave up four hits last night (which is a nice way to follow up a no-no), and this team is battling.

They’re pretty fun to watch (much like the Juan Pierre-led 2003 edition), and come on, outside of New York City, who wouldn’t love to see the $15 million Marlins knock off some big payrolls en route to a spectacular October?

Reminders from the Marlins: the ball is round, and the games are not played on paper.

As an aside, Shawne Merriman really didn’t decapitate anyone last night? Not even close? Consider this corner disappointed.

This and that

Well, that was a busy sports weekend.

Let’s start with the classy move, and we’ll pass along best wishes and condolences to Patty Berg’s family. Berg was a founding member of the LPGA in 1950 and served as the tour’s first president until 1952. She won 60 tournaments in her career, including 15 major titles. She was the Associated Press’ female athlete of the year three times, and served three years in the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II. What have you done? Hat’s off to Patty Berg, by all accounts a pretty stellar human being. She was 88 when she died Sunday.

Can Roy Halladay ever pitch a full season?

See you later, Mike. Michael Schumacher, probably the greatest open-wheel racer of all time is retiring at the end of the Formula One season. With three races to go, Schumacher is in the hunt for his eighth series championship. He holds every conceivable record for the F1 circuit, and unlike so many high-profile athletes in North America, he’s been a great humanitarian while he’s been at the top. Schumacher’s charitable contributions have been numerous, and his prowess on the track unmatched. Those in and out of the auto racing community will miss him, unlike Jack “DNF” Villeneuve, who also announced his retirement from F1.

And, yes, I’m in the camp that believes the Giants got jobbed last night by that phantom pass interference call. But at least we’re all healing from 9/11.

Oh, Jack.

One of the stories at tsn.ca today is about Jacques Villeneuve leaving the Formula 1 circuit. In the article, DNF talks about not having to prove anything to anyone. He speaks of his track record, which includes a F1 championship nearly a decade ago. Interestingly, Villeneuve's championship win in 1997 was also the year he last won a race, and I'm not convinced it's not the last time he even finished a race. The guy redefines hack almost every time he gets behind the wheel. He says NASCAR may be his next stop, which should be a little easier for him since he'll only have to turn one way.

The guy is dragging F1, his father, and the music business down. This corner is, frankly, happy to see DNF leave.

Week 1 NFL picks

Recalling my gambling days, I’ve always found the over-abundance of information available about the weekly NFL matchups to be a bit of a handicap. There are times you can know too much.

So if you’re reading my picks each week, you’re not going to find any wonderful insight, or some nugget of info that’ll blow the lid off your fantasy league; just a guess, and maybe a couple sentences offering the reason. The team in bold is my pick.

Miami @ Pittsburgh

The Dolphins looked great in the preseason, but it was just that – preseason. For now, I’m going with the champs.

Atlanta @ Carolina

It looks as though this may actually be a pretty epic clash between these NFC South rivals for the next couple of years, which is nice. Strong rivalries make leagues better. No Steve Smith is a hiccup for Carolina, but they should have enough to win this one.

Baltimore @ Tampa Bay

This one makes it three home teams in a row. I have no special faith in Tampa, I just have no reason to believe Baltimore is going to be good any time soon.

Buffalo @ New England

I’m going off the board here. New England’s defense looked shaky in the preseason, and Buffalo may just have enough weapons to pull this one out.

Cincinnati @ Kansas City

A great test for both teams. They both seem to have aspirations of making some sort of run this year, and a week 1 loss will test Cincinnati’s resolve.

Denver @ St. Louis

I hate Denver. St Loo is the pick.

New Orleans @ Cleveland

Drew Brees just loves these game-breaking running backs, doesn’t he? If Reggie Bush is half the back LaDainian Tomlinson is, the Saints are going to look very good this year.

New York Jets @ Tennessee

The Jets are playing for a first-overall pick next spring. Tennessee may soon join them. For now, Tennessee gets the nod.

Philadelphia @ Houston

I can’t even name the guy Houston drafted ahead of Reggie Bush. Hope you enjoy playing for the first-overall pick again this year Houston.

Seattle @ Detroit

Well, Detroit’s in shambles. Jon Kitna looks like he’s got the starting job, that can’t be good. But I can tell you this, I’m not picking a team QB’d by Kitna to win many games.

Chicago @ Green Bay

Too soon for the tundra of Lambeau Field to freeze, and too late in the career for Brett Favre to pull many wins out for this Packers team.

Dallas @ Jacksonville

I haven’t read the words Jacksonville or Jaguars once in the entire preseason. Every day I read about Terrell Owens’ escapades in Dallas. Seems like a no-brainer to me.

San Francisco @ Arizona

Ugh.

Indianapolis @ New York Giants

This game’s been getting some hype, which invariably means Peyton Manning will fall apart and the Colts will lose.

Minnesota @ Washington

Can “ugh” be the write up for two games in the same week? This early in the season, and there are already enough teams no one cares about to garner two “ughs”? Competitive balance my ass.

San Diego @ Oakland

Black hole, Raider Nation, blah blah blah. Philip Rivers doesn’t need to do a whole lot to help his team win some games. He basically just has to show up and give the ball to LT, and let him and the defense do what they do.

Ask and ye shall receive

A touch of background info here. A couple days ago, Washington’s Ramon Ortiz took a no-hitter into the ninth inning. In the bottom of the eighth inning, he hit his first career home run, then promptly gave up a hit in the bottom of the ninth.

So I got to thinking, when the hell was the last no-no?

Answer: Randy Johnson’s perfect game back on May 18, 2004.

Been a while, no? A tad too long, no? I mean, they say good pitching beats good hitting, so what’s the problem here?

Now maybe it’s just because I never could hit a home run, so I focused on learning to play defensive baseball, but I’ve always been a big fan of an old-fashioned pitching gem. Watching a pitcher with a 12-6 curve that makes you wonder if there was a time zone in there is an absolute joy. Those of us that saw the aforementioned Johnson pitch in his prime, (before he came to New York) were truly blessed to see such an amazing performer. It was practically impossible to get a hit off the guy, not just because he could bring it around 100 mph on nearly every pitch, but because he threw great breaking stuff and great off-speed pitches. That big, swooping slider of his must have looked like the second baseman was throwing the pitch, and sure enough, he’d paint baseball white and stitching red all over the black.

A guy like Toronto’s Roy Halladay is another one. He’s got a great curve, and he mixes in those breaking pitches so perfectly, one has to imagine it’s only a matter of time before he tosses a no-no of his own. Mark Mulder was one of those guys before injuries slowed him down. Tom Glavine, in his prime, and still today has the ability to make umpires believe the plate is twice as wide as it actually is.

There’s something magical in that.

So I sat around the house bitching and moaning that no one had thrown a no-hitter in more than two years, and all I wanted was for someone to do it.

And last night, my wish was granted.

Florida Marlins rookie Anibal Sanchez, making just his 13th start of his Major League career shut down the Arizona Diamondbacks, putting together one of the greatest feats in all of team sport. He had some help from his defense and from the official scorer, but a no-no is a no-no, and this 22-year old rookie has one.

Great work, rook. You’ve made me a happy man, and I can’t wait for the day I’m watching Stump the Schwab and they ask the question: “What Florida Marlins pitcher ended the Major Leagues’ longest no-hitter drought in September 2006?”

Anibal Sanchez, that’s who.

Let's do this

OK, I'm not the promising type. In fact, it's been years since I last made one. And just because I have a new blog doesn't mean I'm going to start any time soon. But, I will give a solemn vow to you, my loyal (and as yet non-existent) readers, that I will offer nothing but completely biased opinions on sports topics from day to day.

I live near Toronto, so there will be a lot of Toronto-centric stuff here. I'm a pretty big Jays fans, so you'll see some pretty regular Jays stuff here. I hate the Maple Leafs, so there will rarely be Leafs content here. I love the CFL, so you're gonna have to sift through some pro-CFL stuff, and maybe even a little NFL bashing, too. NHL preview will start in the next few days, and that'll go pretty much daily from here until the start of the season. NFL picks will be up probably on Fridays. Seems like a reasonable day to post them, unless there are Thursday games. Then as this thing picks up steam, and maybe a regular reader or two, I'm open to suggestions.

And once I figure out html code, I might even spice the page up a little bit.

Big one coming tomorrow to kick things off. See you then