I just knew this hiatus wouldn’t last long.
First and foremost, a fond farewell to the great Bill Walsh. Though I only saw Mr. Walsh coach one game, it made just a tiny impact on me. The date: January 28, 1990. The place: Louisiana Superdome. Super Bowl XXIV. Though I barely knew what football was, I knew the San Francisco 49ers were my dad’s favourite team. After watching my first NFL game, I knew why they were his favourite team. Turns out, a 55-10 win in the championship game is a pretty impressive feat. My favourite team was chosen for me that night. For that, I am forever indebted to Bill Walsh.
As for the rest of us, well, we can thank Mr. Walsh every time our team runs a quarterback draw on third-and-long, gaining a fresh set of downs. Love your team’s possession receiver? The three-step drop followed by a dump-pass just over the line of scrimmage? We’ll all miss Bill Walsh, but he’ll never be forgotten.
And the bad news… yet another piece of human garbage in the sports world. All I can say for this guy is, at least he didn’t commit any crime.
Dave Harrison of the Ottawa Citizen has decided women don’t belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame. Thanks, Dave. He suggests only feminists like women’s ice hockey. What wonderful insight. I’m not ready to cast aside the NHL for women’s professional hockey, but I’ll re-watch the 2002 Olympic gold medal game long before I’ll sit through a Minnesota Wild-Columbus Blue Jackets tilt in mid-November. It was the high-water mark for women’s international hockey, not unlike the way the 1987 Canada Cup was probably the pinnacle of men’s international hockey.
Even better, Harrison’s idea we build a women’s sports hall of fame somewhere in western Canada. While I’m all for a national women’s sports hall of fame, the idea of not including the likes of Vicky Sunohara and Geraldine Heaney (if only as apology for making them wear pink jerseys at the first World Championship), Cammi Granato, Angela Ruggiero, Cassie Campbell, Danielle Goyette and Hayley Wickenheiser and the other women to pioneer and grow the game in the Hall, while the likes of Clarence Campbell, Harold Ballard and Bill Wirtz continue to reside among the honorees, is insulting not only to women, but to all hockey fans, and anyone else that believes in equality.
Not only do these women deserve to join the likes of Wayne Gretzky (who took the play behind the net) and Bobby Orr (who taught us all how exhilarating it is to watch a defenseman carry the puck across centre ice), and Boom Boom Geoffrion (whom Sheldon Souray can thank for the $27 million Kevin Lowe recently handed over), and Jari Kurri and Esa Tikkanen (who taught us Europeans were as talented as Canadians, and as tough), but also they deserve an entire wing like the one recently created for international hockey.
To once again reach back to my youth, nothing was more instrumental in my becoming a hockey fan than seeing the Stanley Cup. More recently, the joys of the Hall were found in unexpected artifacts like Steve Begin’s Saint John Flames jersey in the Calder Cup display alongside Raffi Torres’ Hamilton Bulldogs jersey. Or Jaroslav Halak’s Slovakia jersey on display long before he nearly saved Montreal’s 2007 season. Or spotting Mike Gartner’s helmet from across the room. Or taking my kid brother to the Hall.
The virtues and joy of the Hall of Fame are clear to anyone that’s ever been. And if the Hall ever wants to escape the stigma of being the so-called NHL Hall of Fame, the pioneers of women’s hockey need to be a part of it. Some will say these women would never succeed in today’s National Hockey League, but neither would Joe Malone or Howie Morenz-- and nobody questions their importance.
Monday, July 30, 2007
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Absenteeism
Dear readers
Sorry for the down time. As I’m sure you’re getting used to, it happens now and then. Especially when the sports news is slow.
That said, we’re in the midst of an unprecedented basketball scandal, an NFL star is being linked to a dog-fighting ring, and the biggest cheater in sport is about to break one of the most hallowed records in all of sport. And Sports With Steve is nowhere to be found? What gives?
Well, to be completely honest, I just can’t muster the energy to be outraged. Instead, I’m wallowing in apathy brought on by a complete and utter lack of surprise.
A middle-aged man gambling on sports? No news there. The fact it’s a professional official makes it a very grave situation for the National Basketball Association, but in more than 100 years of professional sport in North America, it’s just the fourth big-time gambling incident (and that’s allowing for the Janet Gretzky, Rick Tocchet thing to be considered big time). In any given European league or international soccer match, there’s likely to be more than four crooked players, coaches and officials on the pitch at any given time. And soccer’s popularity isn’t hurting because of it.
As for Mike Vick, awful as dog fighting is, it’s not quite on the same level as driving around with a trunk full of guns like Tank Johnson, being implicated and questioned in multiple shooting incidents like Pacman Jones, serving time for drug-related offenses like Jamal Lewis, or plotting and executing the murder of your pregnant girlfriend like Rae Carruth. I love dogs, and in no way do I intend to minimize the need to eradicate dog fighting, and the people responsible for it, but I think the number of players in the National Football League that are willing to minimize the value of human life is a bigger problem. And, for what it’s worth, the fact Vick was too stupid get out of the dog-fighting business after Jones and Johnson were served hefty suspensions tells me he deserves the season-long suspension I expect NFL commissioner Roger Goddell to hand down. His mandate is very clear: you wanna make millions to play football on Sundays? You’d better get it together off the field.
And Barry. Barry, Barry, Barry. A man who miraculously gained weight, and a highly-refined home-run stroke at age 36. We’re not even talking about whispers, secrets or innuendo. Since setting the single-season home run record in 2001, it’s been widely speculated, assumed, and flatly stated that Barry Bonds is a steroids user. Anabolic steroids are a controlled substance in the United States-- their use is illegal. In Major League Baseball, though, the lines have always been a little more blurred. Through Grand Jury investigations and countless hearings, we’re all pretty sure now that Bud Selig et al turned a blind eye to the fact Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa were undoubtedly using performance-enhancing drugs in the summer of 1998, when they sparked a renewed interest in baseball and saved the game from financial ruin while chasing Roger Maris’ home run record. So it’s pretty hard to be all that upset about it now. Major League Baseball made their bed…
To me, it’s a whole lot more upsetting that after all the work the Tour de France did to ensure a level playing field, the current leader was sent home from the race Wednesday for failing a drug test. It’s a whole lot more disappointing to me to see the Hamilton Tiger-Cats’ GM calling for the CFL to use American-born on-field officials in an effort to improve the product. Just so we’re clear, the Tiger-Cats are still 0-4 with all the American officials they can find.
But perhaps this sort of thing is the source of my negligence. Or this, this, or even this. I guess I’m saying real life is getting in the way, and I’m sorry I’ve not given these stories the attention they’ve deserved. But there’s a little more going on right now, and the importance of hitting a baseball wanes compared to these other things.
I’ll be down for most of the rest of the summer, but as we move toward the start of hockey season, I’ll get back into the swing of things. Enjoy the weather, I'll be here for you when the frost comes.
Sorry for the down time. As I’m sure you’re getting used to, it happens now and then. Especially when the sports news is slow.
That said, we’re in the midst of an unprecedented basketball scandal, an NFL star is being linked to a dog-fighting ring, and the biggest cheater in sport is about to break one of the most hallowed records in all of sport. And Sports With Steve is nowhere to be found? What gives?
Well, to be completely honest, I just can’t muster the energy to be outraged. Instead, I’m wallowing in apathy brought on by a complete and utter lack of surprise.
A middle-aged man gambling on sports? No news there. The fact it’s a professional official makes it a very grave situation for the National Basketball Association, but in more than 100 years of professional sport in North America, it’s just the fourth big-time gambling incident (and that’s allowing for the Janet Gretzky, Rick Tocchet thing to be considered big time). In any given European league or international soccer match, there’s likely to be more than four crooked players, coaches and officials on the pitch at any given time. And soccer’s popularity isn’t hurting because of it.
As for Mike Vick, awful as dog fighting is, it’s not quite on the same level as driving around with a trunk full of guns like Tank Johnson, being implicated and questioned in multiple shooting incidents like Pacman Jones, serving time for drug-related offenses like Jamal Lewis, or plotting and executing the murder of your pregnant girlfriend like Rae Carruth. I love dogs, and in no way do I intend to minimize the need to eradicate dog fighting, and the people responsible for it, but I think the number of players in the National Football League that are willing to minimize the value of human life is a bigger problem. And, for what it’s worth, the fact Vick was too stupid get out of the dog-fighting business after Jones and Johnson were served hefty suspensions tells me he deserves the season-long suspension I expect NFL commissioner Roger Goddell to hand down. His mandate is very clear: you wanna make millions to play football on Sundays? You’d better get it together off the field.
And Barry. Barry, Barry, Barry. A man who miraculously gained weight, and a highly-refined home-run stroke at age 36. We’re not even talking about whispers, secrets or innuendo. Since setting the single-season home run record in 2001, it’s been widely speculated, assumed, and flatly stated that Barry Bonds is a steroids user. Anabolic steroids are a controlled substance in the United States-- their use is illegal. In Major League Baseball, though, the lines have always been a little more blurred. Through Grand Jury investigations and countless hearings, we’re all pretty sure now that Bud Selig et al turned a blind eye to the fact Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa were undoubtedly using performance-enhancing drugs in the summer of 1998, when they sparked a renewed interest in baseball and saved the game from financial ruin while chasing Roger Maris’ home run record. So it’s pretty hard to be all that upset about it now. Major League Baseball made their bed…
To me, it’s a whole lot more upsetting that after all the work the Tour de France did to ensure a level playing field, the current leader was sent home from the race Wednesday for failing a drug test. It’s a whole lot more disappointing to me to see the Hamilton Tiger-Cats’ GM calling for the CFL to use American-born on-field officials in an effort to improve the product. Just so we’re clear, the Tiger-Cats are still 0-4 with all the American officials they can find.
But perhaps this sort of thing is the source of my negligence. Or this, this, or even this. I guess I’m saying real life is getting in the way, and I’m sorry I’ve not given these stories the attention they’ve deserved. But there’s a little more going on right now, and the importance of hitting a baseball wanes compared to these other things.
I’ll be down for most of the rest of the summer, but as we move toward the start of hockey season, I’ll get back into the swing of things. Enjoy the weather, I'll be here for you when the frost comes.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Where's Steve?
Hey all, I'm around, getting kind of bored of the silly season. The dog days of summer are upon us, and it's too hot to think, let alone type. I'll be around if something big happens. For now though, you guys don't need me to tell you I'm disappointed with the Ottawa Senators trading Peter Schaefer, but it was a necessary trade if the Sens want to re-sign Ray Emery. He's a restricted free agent, and expecting a big raise. The Sens are in a bit of cap trouble, and will probably still have to dump more salary this summer to get Emery signed.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
The Crosby Cap
Memo to every NHL free agent between now and London’s summer Olympics: you’re not getting a max deal, and you’re probably not even getting anywhere near the $7 million-a-year contracts Chris Drury, Scott Gomez and Daniel Briere were given this summer.
Here’s why: Sidney Crosby’s new deal is only worth $8.5 million a year. The Pittsburgh Penguins announced the reigning MVP’s contract extension Tuesday, and with one contract, accomplished something the salary cap, and all the collusion in the world never would have. They capped NHL salaries.
If you’ve ever seen Crosby operate, you know there’s no one in the league that’s even close to him. After just two NHL seasons, Crosby is rapidly approaching Wayne Gretzky-like territory. It says here, that before his current deal expires, Crosby will have 1000 career points. He does not have a contemporary.
Two guys that rank at the top of the “everyone else” list are Joe Thornton and Jarome Iginla. They signed contract extensions this summer that will see them earn an average of $7.2 million and $7 million a season, respectively.
Had these three contracts been in place two weeks ago, it’s safe to say Drury, Gomez and Briere would not have been offered the money they signed for. Drury is a proven leader, with a winning track record (though he hasn’t won much without Joe Sakic), Gomez has enjoyed some success, and Briere is coming off a career-year. None of these guys have the kind of track record Thornton and Iginla do, both in terms of leadership and point production. None of those guys have been Hart Trophy or Lester Pearson nominees, and none of those guys have won Art Ross Trophies.
No MVP awards or scoring titles? Here’s $6 million, don’t ask for more.
TOUR TRACKER
Well, it’s not the first time I’ve been wrong, and it certainly won’t be the last, but contrary to the feeling in the cycling world, Tuesday’s third stage of the Tour de France did not yield a new overall leader. Switzerland’s Fabian Cancellara won the stage, posting a time of six hours, 36 minutes, 15 seconds, retaining the yellow jersey in the process. Germany’s Andréas Kloden trails Cancellara by 33 seconds for the overall lead.
Wednesday’s stage four is 193 km from Villers-Cotterêts to Joigny, grazing the foothills of the mountains in the Brie Champenoise and Pay d’Othe regions. In 1539, the Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts was signed in Villers-Cotterêts, declaring French the official language of the kingdom. Riders will travel almost entirely south-southeast, and with another 193 km of flat land, Cancellara is a good bet to retain the yellow jersey.
Here’s why: Sidney Crosby’s new deal is only worth $8.5 million a year. The Pittsburgh Penguins announced the reigning MVP’s contract extension Tuesday, and with one contract, accomplished something the salary cap, and all the collusion in the world never would have. They capped NHL salaries.
If you’ve ever seen Crosby operate, you know there’s no one in the league that’s even close to him. After just two NHL seasons, Crosby is rapidly approaching Wayne Gretzky-like territory. It says here, that before his current deal expires, Crosby will have 1000 career points. He does not have a contemporary.
Two guys that rank at the top of the “everyone else” list are Joe Thornton and Jarome Iginla. They signed contract extensions this summer that will see them earn an average of $7.2 million and $7 million a season, respectively.
Had these three contracts been in place two weeks ago, it’s safe to say Drury, Gomez and Briere would not have been offered the money they signed for. Drury is a proven leader, with a winning track record (though he hasn’t won much without Joe Sakic), Gomez has enjoyed some success, and Briere is coming off a career-year. None of these guys have the kind of track record Thornton and Iginla do, both in terms of leadership and point production. None of those guys have been Hart Trophy or Lester Pearson nominees, and none of those guys have won Art Ross Trophies.
No MVP awards or scoring titles? Here’s $6 million, don’t ask for more.
TOUR TRACKER
Well, it’s not the first time I’ve been wrong, and it certainly won’t be the last, but contrary to the feeling in the cycling world, Tuesday’s third stage of the Tour de France did not yield a new overall leader. Switzerland’s Fabian Cancellara won the stage, posting a time of six hours, 36 minutes, 15 seconds, retaining the yellow jersey in the process. Germany’s Andréas Kloden trails Cancellara by 33 seconds for the overall lead.
Wednesday’s stage four is 193 km from Villers-Cotterêts to Joigny, grazing the foothills of the mountains in the Brie Champenoise and Pay d’Othe regions. In 1539, the Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts was signed in Villers-Cotterêts, declaring French the official language of the kingdom. Riders will travel almost entirely south-southeast, and with another 193 km of flat land, Cancellara is a good bet to retain the yellow jersey.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Blast off
First up, a shout-out to my little brother. He’s 16 today, so if you live in the Niagara Region, it’s probably best you stay off the roads. Now, back to business.
I’m not a homerun guy. I can count the number of dingers I’ve hit in my life while wearing mittens. It’s just not something I’ve done in my life. So to play baseball, I learned to hit a lot of line drives, get on base a lot, and play pretty good defense. As a general rule, I don’t think very highly of the long ball, even if Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, Heather Locklear and Mark McGwire taught us all a long time ago, chicks dig the long ball.
That said, there’s something special about the spectacle of the annual Home Run Derby the night before the All-Star Game. As we all know, baseball is a game for fathers and sons, and one of my fondest memories as a child is the pride I felt watching my father (who, like most of our fathers, never got a sniff of the big leagues) hit home runs. Seeing the young players with their young sons watching and adoring every minute of the event is a touching image. Some of my highlights from the night:
· Albert Pujols, of 266 career home runs, asking his song “think I got three more in me?” I don’t know a child under age eight that doesn’t think his dad could hit three home runs.
· Early on, when it looked like Matt Holliday of the Colorado Rockies just might run away with this one, and he put a big rubber stamp to that idea by launching a ball over the left field seats, into the parking lot.
· The interview with Willie McCovey, when he talked about the kinds of home run derbies he participated in during his playing days. His line: “Willie Mays always won.”
· Watching the relative light-weight Alex Rios hold his own against Pujols, Vladimir Guerrero, defending champ Ryan Howard, Justin Morneau and Prince Fielder. It was especially nice to see Rios’ old teammate Orlando Hudson cheering him on. Teammates are teammates for life, and that’s rarely more evident than in baseball.
· Vlad launching a ball more than 500 feet, nearly hitting the giant glove in left-centre field. Followed by a reporter asking Vlad if he’d ever hit a home run like that before, and Vlad recounting a 502-foot blast at Stade Olympique in Montreal. A home run which is still marked on the seat it landed in.
Lastly, Vlad may have won the final round, but Rios still hit more homers than anyone else in the competition.
TOUR TRACKER
Gert Steegmans claimed victory in stage two of the Tour Monday morning. The Belgian rider rode into the Belgian town Gent in three hours, 48 minutes, 22 seconds, and was followed by fellow Belgian Tom Boonen. Switzerland’s Fabian Cancellara remains the overall leader and will retain the yellow jersey heading into Tuesday’s third stage.
Stage three sees the riders head south from Waregem. After passing Flanders, they’ll pass into France near Brunehaut, Belgium and continue south to Denain. They’ll head southeast from Denain to Fontaine-au-Bois, then south to Guise before heading south and southwest to Trosly-Breull. From there, it’s due-west in a 15-km sprint to Compiègne for the completion of the 236 km stage. Stage three is the longest stage of the Tour, will start around 4 a.m. EDT, and is expected to yield a new overall leader.
I’m not a homerun guy. I can count the number of dingers I’ve hit in my life while wearing mittens. It’s just not something I’ve done in my life. So to play baseball, I learned to hit a lot of line drives, get on base a lot, and play pretty good defense. As a general rule, I don’t think very highly of the long ball, even if Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, Heather Locklear and Mark McGwire taught us all a long time ago, chicks dig the long ball.
That said, there’s something special about the spectacle of the annual Home Run Derby the night before the All-Star Game. As we all know, baseball is a game for fathers and sons, and one of my fondest memories as a child is the pride I felt watching my father (who, like most of our fathers, never got a sniff of the big leagues) hit home runs. Seeing the young players with their young sons watching and adoring every minute of the event is a touching image. Some of my highlights from the night:
· Albert Pujols, of 266 career home runs, asking his song “think I got three more in me?” I don’t know a child under age eight that doesn’t think his dad could hit three home runs.
· Early on, when it looked like Matt Holliday of the Colorado Rockies just might run away with this one, and he put a big rubber stamp to that idea by launching a ball over the left field seats, into the parking lot.
· The interview with Willie McCovey, when he talked about the kinds of home run derbies he participated in during his playing days. His line: “Willie Mays always won.”
· Watching the relative light-weight Alex Rios hold his own against Pujols, Vladimir Guerrero, defending champ Ryan Howard, Justin Morneau and Prince Fielder. It was especially nice to see Rios’ old teammate Orlando Hudson cheering him on. Teammates are teammates for life, and that’s rarely more evident than in baseball.
· Vlad launching a ball more than 500 feet, nearly hitting the giant glove in left-centre field. Followed by a reporter asking Vlad if he’d ever hit a home run like that before, and Vlad recounting a 502-foot blast at Stade Olympique in Montreal. A home run which is still marked on the seat it landed in.
Lastly, Vlad may have won the final round, but Rios still hit more homers than anyone else in the competition.
TOUR TRACKER
Gert Steegmans claimed victory in stage two of the Tour Monday morning. The Belgian rider rode into the Belgian town Gent in three hours, 48 minutes, 22 seconds, and was followed by fellow Belgian Tom Boonen. Switzerland’s Fabian Cancellara remains the overall leader and will retain the yellow jersey heading into Tuesday’s third stage.
Stage three sees the riders head south from Waregem. After passing Flanders, they’ll pass into France near Brunehaut, Belgium and continue south to Denain. They’ll head southeast from Denain to Fontaine-au-Bois, then south to Guise before heading south and southwest to Trosly-Breull. From there, it’s due-west in a 15-km sprint to Compiègne for the completion of the 236 km stage. Stage three is the longest stage of the Tour, will start around 4 a.m. EDT, and is expected to yield a new overall leader.
Monday, July 09, 2007
Meet me in Champs-Élysées
Saturday afternoon in London, 189 men departed on a 22-day journey to Paris’ Champs-Élysées, testing their abilities, their bodies, and above all, their will.
That journey is the one and only Tour de France. The pinnacle of individual athletic achievement.
Certainly, the riders will take a round-about way from London to Paris. Stage two takes the riders into Belgium before heading south to Compiègne, France. From there, they’ll head southeast into the mountains along the France-Switzerland border. These first two mountain stages cover more than 360 km. I’m exhausted after driving a car though the hilly terrain over Northern Ontario. From the mountains, they’ll again head south toward Marseille. The riders will then spend five days making their way through more mountains along France’s southern coast, before heading north again in stage 17.
The final four stages are along flatlands, and bring the riders to the end of their 3,550 km journey-- a journey Google Maps tells me is actually only 460 km.
While most of the cycling world would rather the last decade of Tours not exist, having been rocked by doping scandals and dominated by American riders (they’ve won eight in a row now) representing a nation that largely ignores the Tour, the 2007 Tour is a time for renewal of faith, and for optimism for a brighter future.
All 189 riders signed the Union Cycliste Internationale’s anti-doping charter. Riders that did not sign the charter are not permitted to ride in the 2007 Tour, and like any athletic event, it’s a little more fun to watch without worrying about doping (unlike a particular event happening in San Francisco later Monday night).
So a hearty good luck to all of this year’s riders. Though only one man will wear the yellow jersey July 29th, all of the Tour’s riders are champions of the athletic spirit.
Elsewhere, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats are still terrible. After dropping their home opener Saturday night, by a 30-5 score, against the hated Toronto Argos, the Tabbies have now been outscored 67-14 in their two games, and are yet to score a touchdown of any kind. They host the Montreal Alouettes Saturday night, in a true clash of the titans. At 0-2, the Als and Cats have combined to score just one touchdown and just 44 points in the young season. In case you’re not scoring along at home, each of the six other teams have scored 45 or more of their own points so far this season. Avoid the rush, get your tickets early.
TOUR TRACKER
Saturday’s Prologue stage was won by Fabian Cancellara of Switzerland, who also retained the yellow jersey after Sunday’s first stage.
Australian Robbie McEwen claimed Sunday’s first stage, despite falling off his bike in a crash with 20 km remaining in the stage. His time of four hours, 39 minutes, one second is more time than I’ve spent on a bike in the last year.
Monday’s stage two started around 5:30 a.m. (EDT), and is expected to take five hours for riders to complete. Riders will travel southeast from Dunkerque, crossing into Belgian territory near Oost-Cappel traveling to Poperinge. Riders will then head east to Ypres before heading north toward Oostende. They will head southeast again, toward Lichtervelde, where they’ll head almost exclusively East through Tielt to Deinze and northeast into Gent.
That journey is the one and only Tour de France. The pinnacle of individual athletic achievement.
Certainly, the riders will take a round-about way from London to Paris. Stage two takes the riders into Belgium before heading south to Compiègne, France. From there, they’ll head southeast into the mountains along the France-Switzerland border. These first two mountain stages cover more than 360 km. I’m exhausted after driving a car though the hilly terrain over Northern Ontario. From the mountains, they’ll again head south toward Marseille. The riders will then spend five days making their way through more mountains along France’s southern coast, before heading north again in stage 17.
The final four stages are along flatlands, and bring the riders to the end of their 3,550 km journey-- a journey Google Maps tells me is actually only 460 km.
While most of the cycling world would rather the last decade of Tours not exist, having been rocked by doping scandals and dominated by American riders (they’ve won eight in a row now) representing a nation that largely ignores the Tour, the 2007 Tour is a time for renewal of faith, and for optimism for a brighter future.
All 189 riders signed the Union Cycliste Internationale’s anti-doping charter. Riders that did not sign the charter are not permitted to ride in the 2007 Tour, and like any athletic event, it’s a little more fun to watch without worrying about doping (unlike a particular event happening in San Francisco later Monday night).
So a hearty good luck to all of this year’s riders. Though only one man will wear the yellow jersey July 29th, all of the Tour’s riders are champions of the athletic spirit.
Elsewhere, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats are still terrible. After dropping their home opener Saturday night, by a 30-5 score, against the hated Toronto Argos, the Tabbies have now been outscored 67-14 in their two games, and are yet to score a touchdown of any kind. They host the Montreal Alouettes Saturday night, in a true clash of the titans. At 0-2, the Als and Cats have combined to score just one touchdown and just 44 points in the young season. In case you’re not scoring along at home, each of the six other teams have scored 45 or more of their own points so far this season. Avoid the rush, get your tickets early.
TOUR TRACKER
Saturday’s Prologue stage was won by Fabian Cancellara of Switzerland, who also retained the yellow jersey after Sunday’s first stage.
Australian Robbie McEwen claimed Sunday’s first stage, despite falling off his bike in a crash with 20 km remaining in the stage. His time of four hours, 39 minutes, one second is more time than I’ve spent on a bike in the last year.
Monday’s stage two started around 5:30 a.m. (EDT), and is expected to take five hours for riders to complete. Riders will travel southeast from Dunkerque, crossing into Belgian territory near Oost-Cappel traveling to Poperinge. Riders will then head east to Ypres before heading north toward Oostende. They will head southeast again, toward Lichtervelde, where they’ll head almost exclusively East through Tielt to Deinze and northeast into Gent.
Friday, July 06, 2007
JP Ricciardi has compromising photos of Ted Rogers
Building a winner 604
Advanced Techniques for Attracting Free Agents 101
-by the Gay Accountant
There is no magic formula for successfully attracting and signing big-time free agents. But here are some hints to help you and your team in your quest.
1- Quickly identify the player or players you want to acquire. By doing so, you can focus solely on that player (or those players), and court them by visiting them, giving them tours of your team’s city and building. Leak the identity to the media, so as to create a buzz among fans and media. These things will impress the player. Additionally, have your current star players sit down with the free agent(s) to offer a player’s perspective about playing and living in your town.
2- Ensure you win the bidding war for your targeted player by offering a contract that far exceeds the player’s market value, both in dollars and in years. Do not leak this information to media sources, as the media buzz will almost surely turn to backlash in regard to the unwarranted length and value of the contract offer.
3- When targeting your free agent, don’t waste time, effort, energy or resources ensuring the player is healthy. With modern medicine and training techniques, player injuries are a thing of the past, especially for pitchers. While nearly all pitchers do require ulnar collateral ligament reconstructive (Tommy John) surgery nowadays, they usually return from the surgery throwing harder than ever, and further arm injury is frankly the stuff of fairy tales. Oh, and closers with one year of closing experience should absolutely be given $47 million, while starters with a history of arm trouble (ha! Gotcha, there’s no such thing) and a career record below .500 should be given $55 million. If-- and we’re talking about an if the size of Jupiter-- they do get hurt, just lie about it. Sports writers and fans aren’t doctors-- or smart. They’ll never know the difference, and they’ll never know you’re lying.
4- Sit back, and watch your team dominate.
5- Should your team fail to qualify for the playoffs during the first five years of your five year plan, that’s OK too. Keep selling the dream. Again, sports fans aren’t smart. They’ll eat it up. If season six gets off to a rocky start, and those free agents’ health problems are actually real, well…
6- … just blast them on your radio show. Say you wish you’d never signed them for as much money as you did and question their actual skill level. Diminish their contributions and abilities, and question their commitment to play through pain. Hell, it’s not like your dumb-ass manager overworked the $55-million starter, and under-worked the $47-million closer and perpetuated the injuries.
**********************************************************************************
Look, J.P., I know I’ve been trying to tell everyone that will listen that you’re useless for most of the last three seasons. And you and I know I’ve been calling for you to be fired (John Gibbons, too) for just as long. But this, this really was something else. Publicly calling out your players is one thing, but apparently you haven’t noticed A.J. Burnett is one of the only guys that’s lived up to the contract you gave them (including IR Halladay and Vernon Wells). The guy’s been busting his ass on the bump, tossing more innings and pitches than most pitchers would ever even consider, and acting as a rare bright spot on this team that’s so badly underachieving. Without Burnett, you can kiss 2006’s second-place finish goodbye, and without Burnett, the Jays would only be dreaming of sitting 11.5 games back.
Ted Rogers, I beg of you, do the right thing, and rid your team and fans of the menace that is the Gay Accountant.
Advanced Techniques for Attracting Free Agents 101
-by the Gay Accountant
There is no magic formula for successfully attracting and signing big-time free agents. But here are some hints to help you and your team in your quest.
1- Quickly identify the player or players you want to acquire. By doing so, you can focus solely on that player (or those players), and court them by visiting them, giving them tours of your team’s city and building. Leak the identity to the media, so as to create a buzz among fans and media. These things will impress the player. Additionally, have your current star players sit down with the free agent(s) to offer a player’s perspective about playing and living in your town.
2- Ensure you win the bidding war for your targeted player by offering a contract that far exceeds the player’s market value, both in dollars and in years. Do not leak this information to media sources, as the media buzz will almost surely turn to backlash in regard to the unwarranted length and value of the contract offer.
3- When targeting your free agent, don’t waste time, effort, energy or resources ensuring the player is healthy. With modern medicine and training techniques, player injuries are a thing of the past, especially for pitchers. While nearly all pitchers do require ulnar collateral ligament reconstructive (Tommy John) surgery nowadays, they usually return from the surgery throwing harder than ever, and further arm injury is frankly the stuff of fairy tales. Oh, and closers with one year of closing experience should absolutely be given $47 million, while starters with a history of arm trouble (ha! Gotcha, there’s no such thing) and a career record below .500 should be given $55 million. If-- and we’re talking about an if the size of Jupiter-- they do get hurt, just lie about it. Sports writers and fans aren’t doctors-- or smart. They’ll never know the difference, and they’ll never know you’re lying.
4- Sit back, and watch your team dominate.
5- Should your team fail to qualify for the playoffs during the first five years of your five year plan, that’s OK too. Keep selling the dream. Again, sports fans aren’t smart. They’ll eat it up. If season six gets off to a rocky start, and those free agents’ health problems are actually real, well…
6- … just blast them on your radio show. Say you wish you’d never signed them for as much money as you did and question their actual skill level. Diminish their contributions and abilities, and question their commitment to play through pain. Hell, it’s not like your dumb-ass manager overworked the $55-million starter, and under-worked the $47-million closer and perpetuated the injuries.
**********************************************************************************
Look, J.P., I know I’ve been trying to tell everyone that will listen that you’re useless for most of the last three seasons. And you and I know I’ve been calling for you to be fired (John Gibbons, too) for just as long. But this, this really was something else. Publicly calling out your players is one thing, but apparently you haven’t noticed A.J. Burnett is one of the only guys that’s lived up to the contract you gave them (including IR Halladay and Vernon Wells). The guy’s been busting his ass on the bump, tossing more innings and pitches than most pitchers would ever even consider, and acting as a rare bright spot on this team that’s so badly underachieving. Without Burnett, you can kiss 2006’s second-place finish goodbye, and without Burnett, the Jays would only be dreaming of sitting 11.5 games back.
Ted Rogers, I beg of you, do the right thing, and rid your team and fans of the menace that is the Gay Accountant.
Thursday, July 05, 2007
Where's my Pigskin Pete?
“Good morning, Also-ran Central.”
Thankfully, it seems 24 of the NHL’s 30 general managers were too busy with their barbecues and fireworks Wednesday to give the free agent market their full attention. As such, it’s going to the backburner today.
The bigger issue is something Sportsnet.ca reported Wednesday in a column by Perry Lefko. Alongside all the other JV crap the Hamilton Tiger-Cats have pulled in the last eight-- never mind, let’s call a spade a spade-- 18 months, almost all of which will be forgiven if the team starts to be competitive, they’ve crossed the line with this one thing:
THERE IS NO PIGSKIN PETE!
That’s right. After gutting the roster, fielding the worst team in recent memory (probably in team history) while players were tanking to get their coaches fired, bringing Ron Lancaster back, further gutting the roster, forcing Mike Morreale and Rob Hitchcock to retire, and countless other transgressions (including asking me to renew my season tickets), the team has the gall to open their home schedule without a Pigskin Pete? Worse still, the team appears to be indicating they’ll play the season without.
This is the last straw. TC and Stripes are fine and dandy, but mascots are important. Youppi! was such an icon that after the Expos left Montreal, the Canadiens adopted him (and the Youppi!ville museum at the Bell Centre is amazing). And who would even think of playing one game in Philadelphia without the Philly Phanatic? Pigskin Pete is the same kind of iconic mascot. In eight months, the Ti-Cats couldn’t find one jolly fat man in the whole Golden Horseshoe? This is abhorrent. I still haven’t forgiven the Blue Jays for replacing BJ Birdie with Ace (and Jay Force can lick me), and I’m not sure I’ll be able to forgive the Ti-Cats for this one.
And that’s not the only outrage from Wednesday. Kobayashi was beaten at the Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Competition (I bet you didn’t know that’s what the event’s called). We have a new hot dog-eating champion of the world: American Joey Chestnut, who set a world record by eating 66 whole hot dogs in 12 minutes.
And Jeremy Roenick is retiring. Clearly, he stayed too long, and in recent years his mouth had him in the news more often than his play did. But he’s an all-time All-Francis guy (by the way, I haven’t filed an All-Francis team since before the lockout, but I promise it’ll be back next season). His overtime goal to knock Toronto out of the 2004 playoffs plays in my eternal Leafs highlights reel (sandwiched between Wayne Gretzky’s high stick on Doug Gilmour, and Zdeno Chara tossing Bryan McCabe around like a rag-doll). And his early days in Chicago were the stuff legends are made of. I don’t know anyone that won’t miss Roenick. Sadly, he spent too much of his career in the desert and didn’t win enough championships to be a lock for the Hall of Fame, but it says here his 1,170 points are more than enough, and those early days in Chicago (596 points in 524 games) leading up to the 1996 World Cup of Hockey helped put USA Hockey back on the map. Not only should Roenick be a lock for the Hall, he should be a first-ballot inductee.
Now, my life this week: the free agents.
Montreal signed Tom Kostopoulos, who should see about as much ice time as Youppi! this season. Kostopoulos signed for two years at $1.8 million and actually scored seven goals last season, along with 15 helpers. He’s a good spare part, but if Montreal thinks they’re going to win with four fourth-lines, they’re sadly mistaken.
The New York Islanders signed Ruslan Fedotenko (who has a Stanley Cup-winning goal to his credit) to a one-year, $2.9 million deal. Fedotenko is a top-line candidate with the recently dismantled Islanders.
Buffalo finally kept one of their free agents, re-signing Teppo Numminen to a one-year, $2.6 million contract. Numminen was a steadying force on the Sabres blue line last season, and may be considered to take over the team captaincy.
The Atlanta Thrashers also re-signed one of their own Wednesday, locking Slava Kozlov up for three years at $11 million. Kozlov has been very productive in Atlanta during the last four seasons, and three of his five highest-scoring seasons have come in that time, including a career-high 80 points last season. He’s a good fit in Atlanta, and playing with Ilya Kovalchuk has Kozlov playing like he’s 10 years younger than he really is.
Lastly, just because he hasn’t taken enough of a beating in the media since 2004, the Yankees’ Alex Rodriguez has a sore hamstring and may skip the All-Star Game. I can’t imagine the New York Post will react negatively.
Thankfully, it seems 24 of the NHL’s 30 general managers were too busy with their barbecues and fireworks Wednesday to give the free agent market their full attention. As such, it’s going to the backburner today.
The bigger issue is something Sportsnet.ca reported Wednesday in a column by Perry Lefko. Alongside all the other JV crap the Hamilton Tiger-Cats have pulled in the last eight-- never mind, let’s call a spade a spade-- 18 months, almost all of which will be forgiven if the team starts to be competitive, they’ve crossed the line with this one thing:
THERE IS NO PIGSKIN PETE!
That’s right. After gutting the roster, fielding the worst team in recent memory (probably in team history) while players were tanking to get their coaches fired, bringing Ron Lancaster back, further gutting the roster, forcing Mike Morreale and Rob Hitchcock to retire, and countless other transgressions (including asking me to renew my season tickets), the team has the gall to open their home schedule without a Pigskin Pete? Worse still, the team appears to be indicating they’ll play the season without.
This is the last straw. TC and Stripes are fine and dandy, but mascots are important. Youppi! was such an icon that after the Expos left Montreal, the Canadiens adopted him (and the Youppi!ville museum at the Bell Centre is amazing). And who would even think of playing one game in Philadelphia without the Philly Phanatic? Pigskin Pete is the same kind of iconic mascot. In eight months, the Ti-Cats couldn’t find one jolly fat man in the whole Golden Horseshoe? This is abhorrent. I still haven’t forgiven the Blue Jays for replacing BJ Birdie with Ace (and Jay Force can lick me), and I’m not sure I’ll be able to forgive the Ti-Cats for this one.
And that’s not the only outrage from Wednesday. Kobayashi was beaten at the Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Competition (I bet you didn’t know that’s what the event’s called). We have a new hot dog-eating champion of the world: American Joey Chestnut, who set a world record by eating 66 whole hot dogs in 12 minutes.
And Jeremy Roenick is retiring. Clearly, he stayed too long, and in recent years his mouth had him in the news more often than his play did. But he’s an all-time All-Francis guy (by the way, I haven’t filed an All-Francis team since before the lockout, but I promise it’ll be back next season). His overtime goal to knock Toronto out of the 2004 playoffs plays in my eternal Leafs highlights reel (sandwiched between Wayne Gretzky’s high stick on Doug Gilmour, and Zdeno Chara tossing Bryan McCabe around like a rag-doll). And his early days in Chicago were the stuff legends are made of. I don’t know anyone that won’t miss Roenick. Sadly, he spent too much of his career in the desert and didn’t win enough championships to be a lock for the Hall of Fame, but it says here his 1,170 points are more than enough, and those early days in Chicago (596 points in 524 games) leading up to the 1996 World Cup of Hockey helped put USA Hockey back on the map. Not only should Roenick be a lock for the Hall, he should be a first-ballot inductee.
Now, my life this week: the free agents.
Montreal signed Tom Kostopoulos, who should see about as much ice time as Youppi! this season. Kostopoulos signed for two years at $1.8 million and actually scored seven goals last season, along with 15 helpers. He’s a good spare part, but if Montreal thinks they’re going to win with four fourth-lines, they’re sadly mistaken.
The New York Islanders signed Ruslan Fedotenko (who has a Stanley Cup-winning goal to his credit) to a one-year, $2.9 million deal. Fedotenko is a top-line candidate with the recently dismantled Islanders.
Buffalo finally kept one of their free agents, re-signing Teppo Numminen to a one-year, $2.6 million contract. Numminen was a steadying force on the Sabres blue line last season, and may be considered to take over the team captaincy.
The Atlanta Thrashers also re-signed one of their own Wednesday, locking Slava Kozlov up for three years at $11 million. Kozlov has been very productive in Atlanta during the last four seasons, and three of his five highest-scoring seasons have come in that time, including a career-high 80 points last season. He’s a good fit in Atlanta, and playing with Ilya Kovalchuk has Kozlov playing like he’s 10 years younger than he really is.
Lastly, just because he hasn’t taken enough of a beating in the media since 2004, the Yankees’ Alex Rodriguez has a sore hamstring and may skip the All-Star Game. I can’t imagine the New York Post will react negatively.
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
Four sticks (OK, many more)
Good God it never ends.
Day four of the free agency period brings more big money, and even more questionable signings. And though it’s only day four, it truly feels like day 7,938.
First, re-signings. Anaheim locked up Brad May for two more years (no terms), and Edmonton will have Raffi Torres for three more years at a cool $6.75 million. I’m a big fan of Torres, but I’d be hard-pressed to say I think he’s a $2.25 million a year player. He brings a lot of fire, but not so many goals. He was huge for Hamilton back in 2003, so there’s always a place for him in my heart, just maybe not at that price.
Also huge for Hamilton back in 2003: Mathieu Garon, who the Oilers signed to a two-year deal (no terms) Wednesday. Garon played in 32 games for the Kings last season, missing time because of injury and Dan Cloutier. He posted a 13-10-6 record with a decent 2.66 goals-against average and tidy .907 save percentage. He will back up Dwayne Roloson in Edmonton, and with his reputation for being streaky, may even challenge the incumbent 37-year old for playing time. It is a long-held belief that Garon is a solid goalie with the potential to start, and the Oilers could have a solid duo between the pipes this upcoming season.
Vancouver signed a motley crew of players Wednesday including forwards Byron Ritchie and Brad Isbister (no terms) for reasons no one outside of Peter Griffin (Dave Nonis)’s office can fathom; goalie Curtis Sanford (one year, $600,000) to back up Roberto Luongo; and some minor league players. Ritchie and Isbister don’t bring a whole lot to the table. Ricthie recorded a career-high 14 points last season, while Isbister, a former 20-goal scorer, recorded a career low five (in just 19 games). Sanford; however, is a very dependable back-up, who actually saw action in 31 games for the Blues last season. He will go a long way to helping the Canucks understand the following: just because you have Roberto Luongo, doesn’t mean he has to play all 82 games.
New Jersey went almost completely off the deep end, inking Dainius Zubrus to a six-year, $20.4 million deal. Maybe $3.4 million a year isn’t too much money for a guy that’s only once played more than 75 games in a season, and maybe $3.4 million a year isn’t too much money for a guy that’s only once registered 60 points in a season, but six years is absolutely too long a contract for a player with said criteria. It should also be noted Zubrus’ highest point totals came in two seasons riding shotgun with Alex Ovechkin. Before being traded to Buffalo toward the end of last season, Zubrus had 109 points in 131 games alongside Vouching (compared to 107 in 200 games with the Caps pre-Ovechkin), and just eight points in 19 games in Buffalo, while seeing similar ice time.
Another former Sabre, Jiri Novotny (traded to Washington for Zubrus) has another new home. Novotny signed a two-year deal (no terms) with Columbus. Novotny has some scoring ability, and could realistically play on any of the Blue Jackets lines. Specifically, he may be able to find strong chemistry with Sergei Fedorov.
Eric Belanger signed in Minnesota for a much more reasonable $5.25 million over three years. Belanger split last season between Carolina and Atlanta, and will be well-served by a move back to the Western Conference. Though Belanger has never amassed more than 37 points in a season, he has registered at least 33 in each of the last four. Belanger has some defensive weaknesses, but he‘s fleet of foot, and the Wild may find him to their liking.
Tampa Bay will bring Brad Lukowich back for another tour of duty. Lukowich signed a three-year deal (no terms) to return to Tampa Bay, where he enjoyed his best statistical season in 2004 (five goals, 19 points, plus-29, rock-solid playoffs en route to the Stanley Cup). Lukowich’s best days are behind him, but he’ll be comfortable in Tampa Bay, and still has plenty left in the tank.
The Los Angeles Kings went for another dive into the free agent pool, signing goaltender Jason LaBarbera to a two-year deal (no terms) and defenseman Brad Stuart to a one-year deal worth $3.5 million. LaBarbera spent last season in the American league (despite a solid 29-game stint with the Kings in 2006), and like Garon, is widely regarded as a potential starting goalie. It’s not like this has ever happened before, but if Dan Cloutier misses any time next season, LaBarbera is an excellent failsafe. And again with not questioning Kings’ GM Dean Lombardi, he drafted Stuart back in 1998, and Stuart became an excellent defenseman. He struggled in Boston under the shadow of being “the guy we (the Bruins) got for Thornton,” but should flourish in Los Angeles, where he’ll likely play on the top pairing with Lubomir Visnovsky. Meanwhile, The Kings’ blue line corps then follows with Jaroslav Modry, Rob Blake, Tom Preissing and Jack Johnson. Barring a trade, I think it’s safe to say the Kings like their defense, and won’t be pursuing Sheldon Souray.
Day four of the free agency period brings more big money, and even more questionable signings. And though it’s only day four, it truly feels like day 7,938.
First, re-signings. Anaheim locked up Brad May for two more years (no terms), and Edmonton will have Raffi Torres for three more years at a cool $6.75 million. I’m a big fan of Torres, but I’d be hard-pressed to say I think he’s a $2.25 million a year player. He brings a lot of fire, but not so many goals. He was huge for Hamilton back in 2003, so there’s always a place for him in my heart, just maybe not at that price.
Also huge for Hamilton back in 2003: Mathieu Garon, who the Oilers signed to a two-year deal (no terms) Wednesday. Garon played in 32 games for the Kings last season, missing time because of injury and Dan Cloutier. He posted a 13-10-6 record with a decent 2.66 goals-against average and tidy .907 save percentage. He will back up Dwayne Roloson in Edmonton, and with his reputation for being streaky, may even challenge the incumbent 37-year old for playing time. It is a long-held belief that Garon is a solid goalie with the potential to start, and the Oilers could have a solid duo between the pipes this upcoming season.
Vancouver signed a motley crew of players Wednesday including forwards Byron Ritchie and Brad Isbister (no terms) for reasons no one outside of Peter Griffin (Dave Nonis)’s office can fathom; goalie Curtis Sanford (one year, $600,000) to back up Roberto Luongo; and some minor league players. Ritchie and Isbister don’t bring a whole lot to the table. Ricthie recorded a career-high 14 points last season, while Isbister, a former 20-goal scorer, recorded a career low five (in just 19 games). Sanford; however, is a very dependable back-up, who actually saw action in 31 games for the Blues last season. He will go a long way to helping the Canucks understand the following: just because you have Roberto Luongo, doesn’t mean he has to play all 82 games.
New Jersey went almost completely off the deep end, inking Dainius Zubrus to a six-year, $20.4 million deal. Maybe $3.4 million a year isn’t too much money for a guy that’s only once played more than 75 games in a season, and maybe $3.4 million a year isn’t too much money for a guy that’s only once registered 60 points in a season, but six years is absolutely too long a contract for a player with said criteria. It should also be noted Zubrus’ highest point totals came in two seasons riding shotgun with Alex Ovechkin. Before being traded to Buffalo toward the end of last season, Zubrus had 109 points in 131 games alongside Vouching (compared to 107 in 200 games with the Caps pre-Ovechkin), and just eight points in 19 games in Buffalo, while seeing similar ice time.
Another former Sabre, Jiri Novotny (traded to Washington for Zubrus) has another new home. Novotny signed a two-year deal (no terms) with Columbus. Novotny has some scoring ability, and could realistically play on any of the Blue Jackets lines. Specifically, he may be able to find strong chemistry with Sergei Fedorov.
Eric Belanger signed in Minnesota for a much more reasonable $5.25 million over three years. Belanger split last season between Carolina and Atlanta, and will be well-served by a move back to the Western Conference. Though Belanger has never amassed more than 37 points in a season, he has registered at least 33 in each of the last four. Belanger has some defensive weaknesses, but he‘s fleet of foot, and the Wild may find him to their liking.
Tampa Bay will bring Brad Lukowich back for another tour of duty. Lukowich signed a three-year deal (no terms) to return to Tampa Bay, where he enjoyed his best statistical season in 2004 (five goals, 19 points, plus-29, rock-solid playoffs en route to the Stanley Cup). Lukowich’s best days are behind him, but he’ll be comfortable in Tampa Bay, and still has plenty left in the tank.
The Los Angeles Kings went for another dive into the free agent pool, signing goaltender Jason LaBarbera to a two-year deal (no terms) and defenseman Brad Stuart to a one-year deal worth $3.5 million. LaBarbera spent last season in the American league (despite a solid 29-game stint with the Kings in 2006), and like Garon, is widely regarded as a potential starting goalie. It’s not like this has ever happened before, but if Dan Cloutier misses any time next season, LaBarbera is an excellent failsafe. And again with not questioning Kings’ GM Dean Lombardi, he drafted Stuart back in 1998, and Stuart became an excellent defenseman. He struggled in Boston under the shadow of being “the guy we (the Bruins) got for Thornton,” but should flourish in Los Angeles, where he’ll likely play on the top pairing with Lubomir Visnovsky. Meanwhile, The Kings’ blue line corps then follows with Jaroslav Modry, Rob Blake, Tom Preissing and Jack Johnson. Barring a trade, I think it’s safe to say the Kings like their defense, and won’t be pursuing Sheldon Souray.
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
Money for nothing
Here we go again. Right off the top, Bates Battaglia (who I have an excellent photograph of) signed a two-year deal with Toronto ($1.3 million) and Lukas Krajicek signed a two-year deal with Vancouver worth $2.2 million. In retrospect, Vancouver pulled Florida’s pants down in the Roberto Luongo trade, but the proof is in the pudding. Krajicek was the other guy Vancouver got in that trade, and if the trade went down today, the Canucks would be giddy to get Krajicek alone for Bertuzzi.
The Los Angeles Kings dove into free agency headlong. It’s no secret they wanted Chris Drury, and I’m actually very surprised he didn’t sign in L.A. Now, back at the draft, I said I wouldn’t question anything Kings’ GM Dean Lombardi does, so with that in mind I’ll just mention the Kings’ signings and not comment on their various values. Defenseman Tom Preissing (four years, $11 million, when the hell did Preissing become a marquee free agent?), Michal Handzus (four years, $16 million), Kyle Calder (two years, $5.4 million) and Ladislav Nagy, who I thought was primed for a big season in 2007, got a one-year deal, I don’t have dollars yet. Again, I won’t question Dean Lombardi. Dean obviously knows something the rest of us don’t.
Washington, probably fearing they were below the minimum salary, backed up a dump truck full of money at Michael Nylander’s house. I’m not sure Nylander’s worth $19.5 million over four years (OK, screw it, I’ll say it-- he’s not), but the Caps needed to sign someone with a profile. I said it last season with Dickie Zednik, I said it earlier in the week with Viktor Kozlov, for Nylander’s sake, here’s hoping the third time’s the charm. Maybe Nylander is the guy the Caps are looking for, to play with Alex Ovechkin. Although, more likely, he’ll be asked to help Nicklas Backstrom find his way in the NHL.
Montreal signed two veterans yesterday to help out the youth movement they seem to be avoiding. Defenseman Roman Hamrlik caught Habs’ GM Bob Gainey having a senior moment and scored a four-year, $22 million deal. I’m reading good things about Hamrlik, but he’s never impressed me, and I’m thinking he’s no more worth $5.5 million a season than Sheldon Souray is. The Habs also signed Brian Smolinski for one year, $2 million. It’s an easy deal for both teams. Smolinski is a bit of an insurance policy it seems, in case highly-touted prospect Kyle Chipchura can’t make the jump next season. If that’s the case, they should have just brought Radek Bonk back.
But, seeing how Nashville signed Bonk, that’s going to be a problem. The Predators locked up Bonk and defenseman Greg de Vries to two-year deals. No terms available, but anything under $2 million a year for each of them sounds about right. Bonk was one of Montreal’s most consistent performers last season and should not have been run out of town. De Vries is past his best-before date, but he’s still serviceable.
Chicago made an astute signing, which is very odd. They inked Robert Lang to a two-year deal, again, no money terms available at this time. Why are teams still pulling the whole “it’s club policy not to discuss contract terms” routine? There’s a salary cap now, and we fans need to know the terms of contracts. Anyway. Lang is still a crafty centre, and he’s added a good defensive element to his game. He could enjoy great success playing alongside Martin Havlat.
Atlanta really went against the disclosure grain. Ken Klee, multi-year contract. Thanks guys. Like de Vries, anything under $2 million per works, otherwise he’s just giggling and rolling in money he won’t earn.
Anaheim took an expensive flier on Todd Bertuzzi. It’s a two-year deal worth $8 million. If Bertuzzi can regain his pre-Steve Moore incident form, it’s a steal. That Bertuzzi was a $10 million player. The current Bertuzzi has looked disinterested at best, and could be a liability.
And Calgary, apparently not content with their current crop of grey-beards, signed Owen Nolan for reasons no one will ever truly understand (kinda like signing their new coach).
The Los Angeles Kings dove into free agency headlong. It’s no secret they wanted Chris Drury, and I’m actually very surprised he didn’t sign in L.A. Now, back at the draft, I said I wouldn’t question anything Kings’ GM Dean Lombardi does, so with that in mind I’ll just mention the Kings’ signings and not comment on their various values. Defenseman Tom Preissing (four years, $11 million, when the hell did Preissing become a marquee free agent?), Michal Handzus (four years, $16 million), Kyle Calder (two years, $5.4 million) and Ladislav Nagy, who I thought was primed for a big season in 2007, got a one-year deal, I don’t have dollars yet. Again, I won’t question Dean Lombardi. Dean obviously knows something the rest of us don’t.
Washington, probably fearing they were below the minimum salary, backed up a dump truck full of money at Michael Nylander’s house. I’m not sure Nylander’s worth $19.5 million over four years (OK, screw it, I’ll say it-- he’s not), but the Caps needed to sign someone with a profile. I said it last season with Dickie Zednik, I said it earlier in the week with Viktor Kozlov, for Nylander’s sake, here’s hoping the third time’s the charm. Maybe Nylander is the guy the Caps are looking for, to play with Alex Ovechkin. Although, more likely, he’ll be asked to help Nicklas Backstrom find his way in the NHL.
Montreal signed two veterans yesterday to help out the youth movement they seem to be avoiding. Defenseman Roman Hamrlik caught Habs’ GM Bob Gainey having a senior moment and scored a four-year, $22 million deal. I’m reading good things about Hamrlik, but he’s never impressed me, and I’m thinking he’s no more worth $5.5 million a season than Sheldon Souray is. The Habs also signed Brian Smolinski for one year, $2 million. It’s an easy deal for both teams. Smolinski is a bit of an insurance policy it seems, in case highly-touted prospect Kyle Chipchura can’t make the jump next season. If that’s the case, they should have just brought Radek Bonk back.
But, seeing how Nashville signed Bonk, that’s going to be a problem. The Predators locked up Bonk and defenseman Greg de Vries to two-year deals. No terms available, but anything under $2 million a year for each of them sounds about right. Bonk was one of Montreal’s most consistent performers last season and should not have been run out of town. De Vries is past his best-before date, but he’s still serviceable.
Chicago made an astute signing, which is very odd. They inked Robert Lang to a two-year deal, again, no money terms available at this time. Why are teams still pulling the whole “it’s club policy not to discuss contract terms” routine? There’s a salary cap now, and we fans need to know the terms of contracts. Anyway. Lang is still a crafty centre, and he’s added a good defensive element to his game. He could enjoy great success playing alongside Martin Havlat.
Atlanta really went against the disclosure grain. Ken Klee, multi-year contract. Thanks guys. Like de Vries, anything under $2 million per works, otherwise he’s just giggling and rolling in money he won’t earn.
Anaheim took an expensive flier on Todd Bertuzzi. It’s a two-year deal worth $8 million. If Bertuzzi can regain his pre-Steve Moore incident form, it’s a steal. That Bertuzzi was a $10 million player. The current Bertuzzi has looked disinterested at best, and could be a liability.
And Calgary, apparently not content with their current crop of grey-beards, signed Owen Nolan for reasons no one will ever truly understand (kinda like signing their new coach).
Monday, July 02, 2007
No more, no more
Alright, we’re back with more free agent signings.
Shortly after I decided to enjoy Sunday’s Canada Day festivities, the Colorado Avalanche decided to offer Captain Canada a fat contract. Ryan Smyth joins the Avalanche for five years at $31.25 million. Smyth is a nice addition to Colorado’s lineup, and becomes a natural successor to Joe Sakic’s captaincy whenever Sakic retires. It’s tough to say exactly where Smyth fits into the lineup every night, but probably on a second line with Andrew Brunette.
The Smyth signing came on the heels of landing rugged defenseman Scott Hannan for four years and $18 million. Hannan is a nose-to-the-grindstone type. He plays hard every shift, and he makes it very hard for opposing forwards every shift. He’s been a key cog for the San Jose Sharks, and the Avalanche are absolutely going to love him. They haven’t had a mean defenseman like Hannan since Adam Foote bolted for Columbus. Hannan will probably play on a top unit with John-Michael Liles.
Two things I find interesting about the St. Louis Blues signing Paul Kariya. Actually, I could probably do a whole week’s worth of writing just on this signing, but I digress. You’d really think a guy the Blues just signed for $18 million over three years would be on their website’s roster page, no? Furthermore, I love the fact the press release offers no info about Kariya since before the lockout. It mentions the three years in Colorado and Nashville, but no mention of the numbers (35, 85, 76 points), which clearly illustrate the Kariya the Blues just signed isn‘t the Kariya Nashville got in 2006. We’ll see though. Where does Kariya fit in? Your guess is as good as mine. David Backes and Lee Stempniak are practically the only guys young enough to be able to skate with Kariya, which may leave Keith Tkachunk and Doug Weight on the second line.
Next, Pittsburgh decided to bring in some more veteran help. I think I like the additions of Darryl Sydor (two years, $5 million) and Petr Sykora (two years, financials not disclosed). Sydor still gets the job done, and he’s been through the wars (Western Conference circa 1996-2002). He was great in 1999 when the Stars won the Stanley Cup, and he was at his absolute best in 2004 when he won the Cup with Tampa Bay. In Pittsburgh, he’ll slide into the second pairing alongside Mark Eaton very nicely. Sykora’s where things get interesting. He’s produced at a fairly consistent level over the last few years, around 50 points a season. But no matter the money, the Pens brought him in to ply with either Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin, and 50 points will not be acceptable. The Pens also signed super-backup Dany Sabourin for two years, just over $1 million total. In case you weren’t awake, Sabourin came into one of Vancouver’s playoff games this year at the start of overtime because Roberto Luongo was having an equipment malfunction. Sabourin was excellent, holding the fort and leaving fans breathless, until Luongo returned. It reminded me of the time a flu-ridden Marc-Andre Fleury replaced a useless David LeNeveu, and backstopped Canada to a big win at the World Juniors.
Paul Kariya who? The Nashville Predators aren’t taking the loss of Kariya laying down. Around lunch time on Monday they inked Jed Ortmeyer to a two year deal worth $1.5 million. Ortmeyer cracked the Rangers lineup 41 times last year, scoring twice, and adding nine helpers for 11 points. Pro-rate that over a full season, and the name Kariya is already a distant memory in the Music City.
OK, one more thing about Paul Kariya signing in St. Louis. Don’t you think Blues fans are going to love mocking Kansas City fans in two years, having signed away KC’s best and most recognizable player?
Shortly after I decided to enjoy Sunday’s Canada Day festivities, the Colorado Avalanche decided to offer Captain Canada a fat contract. Ryan Smyth joins the Avalanche for five years at $31.25 million. Smyth is a nice addition to Colorado’s lineup, and becomes a natural successor to Joe Sakic’s captaincy whenever Sakic retires. It’s tough to say exactly where Smyth fits into the lineup every night, but probably on a second line with Andrew Brunette.
The Smyth signing came on the heels of landing rugged defenseman Scott Hannan for four years and $18 million. Hannan is a nose-to-the-grindstone type. He plays hard every shift, and he makes it very hard for opposing forwards every shift. He’s been a key cog for the San Jose Sharks, and the Avalanche are absolutely going to love him. They haven’t had a mean defenseman like Hannan since Adam Foote bolted for Columbus. Hannan will probably play on a top unit with John-Michael Liles.
Two things I find interesting about the St. Louis Blues signing Paul Kariya. Actually, I could probably do a whole week’s worth of writing just on this signing, but I digress. You’d really think a guy the Blues just signed for $18 million over three years would be on their website’s roster page, no? Furthermore, I love the fact the press release offers no info about Kariya since before the lockout. It mentions the three years in Colorado and Nashville, but no mention of the numbers (35, 85, 76 points), which clearly illustrate the Kariya the Blues just signed isn‘t the Kariya Nashville got in 2006. We’ll see though. Where does Kariya fit in? Your guess is as good as mine. David Backes and Lee Stempniak are practically the only guys young enough to be able to skate with Kariya, which may leave Keith Tkachunk and Doug Weight on the second line.
Next, Pittsburgh decided to bring in some more veteran help. I think I like the additions of Darryl Sydor (two years, $5 million) and Petr Sykora (two years, financials not disclosed). Sydor still gets the job done, and he’s been through the wars (Western Conference circa 1996-2002). He was great in 1999 when the Stars won the Stanley Cup, and he was at his absolute best in 2004 when he won the Cup with Tampa Bay. In Pittsburgh, he’ll slide into the second pairing alongside Mark Eaton very nicely. Sykora’s where things get interesting. He’s produced at a fairly consistent level over the last few years, around 50 points a season. But no matter the money, the Pens brought him in to ply with either Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin, and 50 points will not be acceptable. The Pens also signed super-backup Dany Sabourin for two years, just over $1 million total. In case you weren’t awake, Sabourin came into one of Vancouver’s playoff games this year at the start of overtime because Roberto Luongo was having an equipment malfunction. Sabourin was excellent, holding the fort and leaving fans breathless, until Luongo returned. It reminded me of the time a flu-ridden Marc-Andre Fleury replaced a useless David LeNeveu, and backstopped Canada to a big win at the World Juniors.
Paul Kariya who? The Nashville Predators aren’t taking the loss of Kariya laying down. Around lunch time on Monday they inked Jed Ortmeyer to a two year deal worth $1.5 million. Ortmeyer cracked the Rangers lineup 41 times last year, scoring twice, and adding nine helpers for 11 points. Pro-rate that over a full season, and the name Kariya is already a distant memory in the Music City.
OK, one more thing about Paul Kariya signing in St. Louis. Don’t you think Blues fans are going to love mocking Kansas City fans in two years, having signed away KC’s best and most recognizable player?
Sunday, July 01, 2007
Perhaps frenzy was a bit strong, but...
Well, free agent day. I’ll focus on this as long as I can, but I have to be honest, we’re nearly two hours into it and the biggest signings so far are two guys re-signing with their own teams.
The San Jose Sharks and Joe Thornton have come to terms on a three-year contract extension at an average cap hit of $7.2 million. And it’s being reported the Calgary Flames and Jarome Iginla have agreed to terms on a similar deal, though it’s not been finalized yet.
St. Louis also kept one of their own in the fold, resigning former Calder Trophy-winning defenseman Barret Jackman to a one-year, $2.2 million contract.
11:48 (MDT): Todd White to Atlanta (and the floodgates opened?), four years, $9.5 million, very good deal for both sides. White is not a big point-getter, but he has shown the ability to produce at the right times (aka: in the clutch), and he plays very well in his own end. He should fit in well in the defensive system Bob Hartley is still trying to implement in Atlanta. He will be a solid third-line forward, and solid leader.
12:14: Where would we be without re-signings? Pittsburgh has re-signed Ryan Whitney, and thankfully, TSN.ca isn’t offering any details.
(update: six years, $24 million)
12:23: Tom Poti is the next to go, signing a four-year deal with Washington for an annual cap hit of $3.5 million. That’s way more money than I’d spend on Poti, but it’s a move the Caps had to make. Poti is somewhere between traffic cone and invisible in his own end of the rink, but he makes a good first pass, and that’s something the Caps have been lacking. Ideally, they’d like to get a winger or centre to move the puck to Alex Ovechkin, but the importance of a good first pass out of the defensive zone can’t be overstated.
12:28 The Florida Panthers continued their quest for relevancy with two very nice mid-level free agent signings. First, I like Brett McLean, I think he’s a very good player, and a very useful part, but there is absolutely no way he’s worth more money than Richard Zednik. Not the nights ol’ Dickie decides to play, anyway. We all thought Washington was going to be a good fit for Zednik last year, but that didn’t work out so well. Nonetheless, when Zednik wants to be, he’s a dynamic offensive threat. He should provide scoring help for Olli Jokinen. Zednik is a steal at two years, $3.25 million; McLean could be a steal at three years, $5.1 million. He’s posted 31, 40 and 35 points the last three seasons, and will be given every chance to improve those numbers in Florida.
12:51: The Ducks make a big splash, locking up defenseman Mathieu Schneider for two years, $11.25 million. Schneider has resurrected his career in Detroit, and was always a fan-favourite while playing in Los Angeles. Up the road in Anaheim, he should star on the Ducks blue line. Schneider’s signing will likely set the bar for the deals Sheldon Souray, Scott Hannan and Brian Rafalski accept before the end of summer. The biggest thing to keep in mind with this signing is that it probably means the Ducks are expecting Scott Niedermayer to retire.
1:18: I’ll use this lull to comment on the Tiger-Cats pitiful performance Saturday night. Despite a new coach, new GM, and what appears to be a 90 per cent roster overhaul, the Cats apparently still think you can win football games by not scoring touchdowns. It’s not gonna happen guys. Without a doubt, my favourite moment of the game came with the Cats backed up to their own two yard line. First, they take an unbelievable procedure penalty which backs them up to the one. Now, they run a passing play, with a seven-step drop. So Jason Maas is deep in his own end zone now, and he fires a pass out to the flat where he find Brock Ralph for a completion. Trouble is, Ralph’s still a yard deep in his own end zone when he makes the catch. I love a good safety, even if it’s against my own team, so I started to cheer for it, when Ralph drops the ball, and the Stampeders recover for a touchdown. No wonder I’m going grey. I have faith this year’s team will fare better than last year’s 4-14 squad did, if only because it’s nearly impossible for so-called professionals to perform worse than the 2006 Tiger-Cats. But just for the fun of it, let’s see how long this touchdown-less run can go. We’re at four quarters.
1:43: After a one-year European hiatus, Dick Tarnstrom is coming back to Edmonton. The Oilers missed him more than anyone though they’d realize last season, and just bringing him back constitutes a serious upgrade to their defense corps. The Oilers also signed Denis Grebeshkov, but let’s see if he ever even makes it to Edmonton. Both guys got one year deals, no word on the money yet.
1:49: The Flyers continued their overhaul signing Daniel Briere to an eight-year $52 million deal. The deal works out at an average cap hit of $6.5 million a year and immediately improves the Flyers’ offense. The length of the deal also gives the Flyers’ young guns room to grow. This team is still two or three years away from making big waves in the East, but this deal is long enough that Briere will still be around when the Flyers are ready to contend. The deal includes a no-movement clause, which means no trades, no buyouts, nothing. These guys are together for the next eight years.
2:01: Calgary loves investing big money in crummy defensemen that are well past their prime. Cory Sarich was a big part of Tampa Bay’s Stanley Cup win in 2004, but he hasn’t done much since then. It’s a five-year deal worth $18 million, and I sure hope the Flames know something about Sarich and Adrian Aucoin that the rest of us don’t.
2:04: Brian Rafalski lands in Detroit with a huge five-year, $30 million deal. Rafalski replaces the departed Schneider, but joins Nik Lidstrom, and creates a one-two blue line punch in the motor city that only the Ducks can rival. Dark days are on the horizon in New Jersey.
2:43: Yanic Perreault is off to Chicago for some unknown reason. One year, $1.5 million, and it really just leaves me scratching my head.
3:16: Boston Bruins add gritty winger Shawn Thornton, I’ve always liked this guy. No terms available yet.
3: 45: Radek Dvorak to Florida on a two-year deal, and that sound you hear is a collective yawn.
4:05: Carolina signs Jeff Hamilton to a two year deal for $1.6 million. This was a whole lot more interesting and a whole lot more fun when I didn’t have to pretend to care about the players involved.
4:07: Tampa Bay may have the steal of the day, signing Michel Ouellet to a two year, $2.5 million deal. Ouellet has shown a lot of offensive skill in his time in the league, but he couldn’t find a way to make it work in Pittsburgh. Ouellet may be the winger the Lightning have needed to play with Vincent Lecavalier since the day Lecavalier came into the league.
4:36: Atlanta continues to stockpile also-rans, as they prepare for a difficult season ahead. They’ll send $1.5 million Eric Perron’s way over the next two years. Perron is a small guy with offensive ability. But he has to play bigger than his size.
5:33: The Toronto Maple Leafs make a big splash. They make a big splash every year, but since they signed Curtis Joseph, they’re the only ones that have been getting wet. This one may change things. The Leafs have inked Jason Blake to a four-year, $20 million deal. The small, fiery winger plays well beyond his size, plays in the corners, and will make a good line mate for Mats Sundin. And hey, if I absolutely had to give $5 million a year to Pavel Kubina, or to Blake, I’d pick Blake.
5:36: It’s too bad the New Jersey Devils aren’t going to be very good for a while, because the New York Rangers just signed away Scott Gomez. If that’s not the kind of thing that sparks a sagging rivalry, I don’t know what is. The deal is seven years, $51.5 million, and gives the Rangers a great setup man to play with Jaromir Jagr (or after Jagr retires, Petr Prucha). Assuming Gomez can handle Broadway.
5:50: This guy can handle Broadway, TSN.ca is reporting the Rangers have also signed Chris Drury for $35 million over five years. Mega-bucks for Drury, and suddenly the Rangers are spending like crazy again. There’s no denying all the things Drury brings to the rinks. He can score, he can pass, he can skate, he kills penalties, wins faceoffs, if hockey had a version of baseball’s five-tool player, Drury would be exhibit A. Plus he brings a mountain of those beloved intangibles. This deal probably leaves Brendan Shanahan twisting in the wind, but it also leaves the rest of the Eastern Conference shaking in their skates.
5:56: I just navigated away from the trade trackers, and see the Edmonton Oilers have traded their captain Jason Smith. And less than three months after they traded their inspirational leader, and pseudo-captain Ryan Smyth. Smith goes to Philadelphia with Joffrey Lupul (thanks for showing up in Edmonton, Joff) in exchange for Joni Pitkanen and Geoff Sanderson. Philadelphia pulled a major fast one on the Oilers in this deal. Pitkanen has been sliding downhill for the last two seasons, and it’s tough to say if he’ll ever get back on track. Sanderson’s been around so long, he played for the Hartford Whalers. The Flyers on the other hand, get a guy in Lupul with tremendous upside, but who was playing in the wrong situation. An Edmonton native, the key piece of the Chris Pronger trade, and grandson of a team owner, Lupul couldn’t handle the pressure in Edmonton. In Philly, he’s just another one of the young guys. And Jason Smith. Look up “warrior” in the hockey dictionary, and Smith’s picture is stamped beside it. At a shade under $2 million a year, Smith is an absolute steal.
6:05: Viktor Kozlov to Washington for two years, $5 million. Stop me if you heard this last year with Dickie Zednik, but this guy could be a great fit with Alex Ovechkin.
6:14: TSN has a ticker atop their homepage announcing Scott Niedermayer’s retirement. I won’t get into it all here, but some time during the week, I’ll have a proper SWS sendoff for Niedermayer.
6:18: Screw this. I’m going to celebrate Canada Day. Hope you all enjoyed it, and we’ll be back next year for more of this. But also later in the week to have a look at the great Scott Niedermayer’s career, Major League all stars, and only the Lord knows what else.
The San Jose Sharks and Joe Thornton have come to terms on a three-year contract extension at an average cap hit of $7.2 million. And it’s being reported the Calgary Flames and Jarome Iginla have agreed to terms on a similar deal, though it’s not been finalized yet.
St. Louis also kept one of their own in the fold, resigning former Calder Trophy-winning defenseman Barret Jackman to a one-year, $2.2 million contract.
11:48 (MDT): Todd White to Atlanta (and the floodgates opened?), four years, $9.5 million, very good deal for both sides. White is not a big point-getter, but he has shown the ability to produce at the right times (aka: in the clutch), and he plays very well in his own end. He should fit in well in the defensive system Bob Hartley is still trying to implement in Atlanta. He will be a solid third-line forward, and solid leader.
12:14: Where would we be without re-signings? Pittsburgh has re-signed Ryan Whitney, and thankfully, TSN.ca isn’t offering any details.
(update: six years, $24 million)
12:23: Tom Poti is the next to go, signing a four-year deal with Washington for an annual cap hit of $3.5 million. That’s way more money than I’d spend on Poti, but it’s a move the Caps had to make. Poti is somewhere between traffic cone and invisible in his own end of the rink, but he makes a good first pass, and that’s something the Caps have been lacking. Ideally, they’d like to get a winger or centre to move the puck to Alex Ovechkin, but the importance of a good first pass out of the defensive zone can’t be overstated.
12:28 The Florida Panthers continued their quest for relevancy with two very nice mid-level free agent signings. First, I like Brett McLean, I think he’s a very good player, and a very useful part, but there is absolutely no way he’s worth more money than Richard Zednik. Not the nights ol’ Dickie decides to play, anyway. We all thought Washington was going to be a good fit for Zednik last year, but that didn’t work out so well. Nonetheless, when Zednik wants to be, he’s a dynamic offensive threat. He should provide scoring help for Olli Jokinen. Zednik is a steal at two years, $3.25 million; McLean could be a steal at three years, $5.1 million. He’s posted 31, 40 and 35 points the last three seasons, and will be given every chance to improve those numbers in Florida.
12:51: The Ducks make a big splash, locking up defenseman Mathieu Schneider for two years, $11.25 million. Schneider has resurrected his career in Detroit, and was always a fan-favourite while playing in Los Angeles. Up the road in Anaheim, he should star on the Ducks blue line. Schneider’s signing will likely set the bar for the deals Sheldon Souray, Scott Hannan and Brian Rafalski accept before the end of summer. The biggest thing to keep in mind with this signing is that it probably means the Ducks are expecting Scott Niedermayer to retire.
1:18: I’ll use this lull to comment on the Tiger-Cats pitiful performance Saturday night. Despite a new coach, new GM, and what appears to be a 90 per cent roster overhaul, the Cats apparently still think you can win football games by not scoring touchdowns. It’s not gonna happen guys. Without a doubt, my favourite moment of the game came with the Cats backed up to their own two yard line. First, they take an unbelievable procedure penalty which backs them up to the one. Now, they run a passing play, with a seven-step drop. So Jason Maas is deep in his own end zone now, and he fires a pass out to the flat where he find Brock Ralph for a completion. Trouble is, Ralph’s still a yard deep in his own end zone when he makes the catch. I love a good safety, even if it’s against my own team, so I started to cheer for it, when Ralph drops the ball, and the Stampeders recover for a touchdown. No wonder I’m going grey. I have faith this year’s team will fare better than last year’s 4-14 squad did, if only because it’s nearly impossible for so-called professionals to perform worse than the 2006 Tiger-Cats. But just for the fun of it, let’s see how long this touchdown-less run can go. We’re at four quarters.
1:43: After a one-year European hiatus, Dick Tarnstrom is coming back to Edmonton. The Oilers missed him more than anyone though they’d realize last season, and just bringing him back constitutes a serious upgrade to their defense corps. The Oilers also signed Denis Grebeshkov, but let’s see if he ever even makes it to Edmonton. Both guys got one year deals, no word on the money yet.
1:49: The Flyers continued their overhaul signing Daniel Briere to an eight-year $52 million deal. The deal works out at an average cap hit of $6.5 million a year and immediately improves the Flyers’ offense. The length of the deal also gives the Flyers’ young guns room to grow. This team is still two or three years away from making big waves in the East, but this deal is long enough that Briere will still be around when the Flyers are ready to contend. The deal includes a no-movement clause, which means no trades, no buyouts, nothing. These guys are together for the next eight years.
2:01: Calgary loves investing big money in crummy defensemen that are well past their prime. Cory Sarich was a big part of Tampa Bay’s Stanley Cup win in 2004, but he hasn’t done much since then. It’s a five-year deal worth $18 million, and I sure hope the Flames know something about Sarich and Adrian Aucoin that the rest of us don’t.
2:04: Brian Rafalski lands in Detroit with a huge five-year, $30 million deal. Rafalski replaces the departed Schneider, but joins Nik Lidstrom, and creates a one-two blue line punch in the motor city that only the Ducks can rival. Dark days are on the horizon in New Jersey.
2:43: Yanic Perreault is off to Chicago for some unknown reason. One year, $1.5 million, and it really just leaves me scratching my head.
3:16: Boston Bruins add gritty winger Shawn Thornton, I’ve always liked this guy. No terms available yet.
3: 45: Radek Dvorak to Florida on a two-year deal, and that sound you hear is a collective yawn.
4:05: Carolina signs Jeff Hamilton to a two year deal for $1.6 million. This was a whole lot more interesting and a whole lot more fun when I didn’t have to pretend to care about the players involved.
4:07: Tampa Bay may have the steal of the day, signing Michel Ouellet to a two year, $2.5 million deal. Ouellet has shown a lot of offensive skill in his time in the league, but he couldn’t find a way to make it work in Pittsburgh. Ouellet may be the winger the Lightning have needed to play with Vincent Lecavalier since the day Lecavalier came into the league.
4:36: Atlanta continues to stockpile also-rans, as they prepare for a difficult season ahead. They’ll send $1.5 million Eric Perron’s way over the next two years. Perron is a small guy with offensive ability. But he has to play bigger than his size.
5:33: The Toronto Maple Leafs make a big splash. They make a big splash every year, but since they signed Curtis Joseph, they’re the only ones that have been getting wet. This one may change things. The Leafs have inked Jason Blake to a four-year, $20 million deal. The small, fiery winger plays well beyond his size, plays in the corners, and will make a good line mate for Mats Sundin. And hey, if I absolutely had to give $5 million a year to Pavel Kubina, or to Blake, I’d pick Blake.
5:36: It’s too bad the New Jersey Devils aren’t going to be very good for a while, because the New York Rangers just signed away Scott Gomez. If that’s not the kind of thing that sparks a sagging rivalry, I don’t know what is. The deal is seven years, $51.5 million, and gives the Rangers a great setup man to play with Jaromir Jagr (or after Jagr retires, Petr Prucha). Assuming Gomez can handle Broadway.
5:50: This guy can handle Broadway, TSN.ca is reporting the Rangers have also signed Chris Drury for $35 million over five years. Mega-bucks for Drury, and suddenly the Rangers are spending like crazy again. There’s no denying all the things Drury brings to the rinks. He can score, he can pass, he can skate, he kills penalties, wins faceoffs, if hockey had a version of baseball’s five-tool player, Drury would be exhibit A. Plus he brings a mountain of those beloved intangibles. This deal probably leaves Brendan Shanahan twisting in the wind, but it also leaves the rest of the Eastern Conference shaking in their skates.
5:56: I just navigated away from the trade trackers, and see the Edmonton Oilers have traded their captain Jason Smith. And less than three months after they traded their inspirational leader, and pseudo-captain Ryan Smyth. Smith goes to Philadelphia with Joffrey Lupul (thanks for showing up in Edmonton, Joff) in exchange for Joni Pitkanen and Geoff Sanderson. Philadelphia pulled a major fast one on the Oilers in this deal. Pitkanen has been sliding downhill for the last two seasons, and it’s tough to say if he’ll ever get back on track. Sanderson’s been around so long, he played for the Hartford Whalers. The Flyers on the other hand, get a guy in Lupul with tremendous upside, but who was playing in the wrong situation. An Edmonton native, the key piece of the Chris Pronger trade, and grandson of a team owner, Lupul couldn’t handle the pressure in Edmonton. In Philly, he’s just another one of the young guys. And Jason Smith. Look up “warrior” in the hockey dictionary, and Smith’s picture is stamped beside it. At a shade under $2 million a year, Smith is an absolute steal.
6:05: Viktor Kozlov to Washington for two years, $5 million. Stop me if you heard this last year with Dickie Zednik, but this guy could be a great fit with Alex Ovechkin.
6:14: TSN has a ticker atop their homepage announcing Scott Niedermayer’s retirement. I won’t get into it all here, but some time during the week, I’ll have a proper SWS sendoff for Niedermayer.
6:18: Screw this. I’m going to celebrate Canada Day. Hope you all enjoyed it, and we’ll be back next year for more of this. But also later in the week to have a look at the great Scott Niedermayer’s career, Major League all stars, and only the Lord knows what else.
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