Flag Waving

Last Thursday after defeating Portugal, and again yesterday after a 3-2 win over Turkey in the semi-finals of Euro 2008, I could be found driving around town proudly sporting a German flag from my car window. 

As I usually do during a major soccer event, I proudly support Deutschland, the birth-country of my mother.  Here in Canada, quite possibly the most multicultural country in the world, many of us have an affinity towards another country during a major tournament such as the Euro Cup.  If they were in the tournament, I could also support my other heritage connections of Scotland and the Ukraine.  

I was recently challenged that I should not be waving the flag of another country here at home.  But let’s get one thing clear – Canada is and will always be, first in my heart, mind, and emotional attachments.

Now let’s qualify this aspect to such widespread dedication to countries other than our own.

The last time I checked, Canada was not eligible for Europe’s major international soccer championship, played every four years.  If they were, let it be known I would 100% be cheering for Canada – and so should every other person between Vancouver Island and Cape Spear, Newfoundland.  If you live in Canada, you cheer for Canada.

There is only one other rule to flag-waving from your car or house – Once your country has been eliminated, your flag comes down!

MacLean, Kessel Off-Side

As per usual, on Saturday night I found myself getting ready to head out with a cold one and CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada pre-game show on in the background.  But something during this week’s show made me stop what I was doing to catch a closer look.  Host Ron MacLean took a couple minutes to grandstand his own personal agenda with relation to an incident during last Thursday’s Leafs-Bruins game.

The focus of his ridiculous mini-rant was to defend one of the linesmen during the game that waved off an off-side pass which allowed Phil Kessel to break in and score a big goal.  Now keep in mind I have a great deal of respect for MacLean and his talents on HNIC, but this was off-side – pardon the pun.  He no doubt requested from HNIC upper brass the chance to bring up the ‘non’ call and made sure to have a replay of the pass shown for the national audience and verbally applaud the linesman for making the right call.

MacLean, a referee himself, and whether he meant to or not, by taking issue with it made Leafs captain Mats Sundin look bad when he emotionally and colourfully questioned the call from the bench after the goal.  MacLean also tried to give a visual to his approval of the call with a replay – a replay at an angle which could not give a clear and concise view of the line and the puck.

I think MacLean stepped outside of his role as HNIC host and took the opportunity to get up on a soapbox on an issue he clearly had no right to speak on.  His job is to report and I feel opinions are warranted on certain issues but with the nature of the call and MacLean only having TV replays to go by he should not have offered up his take on national television.

NHL Rookie Race

This year’s battle for the Calder Trophy as the Rookie of the Year has come down to a two-horse race. Chicago’s Patrick Kane and Washington’s Nicklas Backstrom have separated themselves from the pack in what has been a very productive season for many rookies thus far. Kane and Backstrom are 1-2 in rookie scoring and it will come down to the final week to see who will come out on top.

Also having tremendous rookie campaigns are Peter Mueller in Phoenix, Jonathan Toews in Chicago, Carey Price in Montreal, Tobias Enstrom in Atlanta, Brandon Dubinsky in New York, and a pair of youngsters in Sam Gagner & Andrew Cogliano in Edmonton.

Follow me now through a brief trip into analyzing what is going to be an interesting rookie race as the final three weeks of the season are played out.

PATRICK KANE (CHI) – With the Blackhawks suffering injuries to key players this season, Kane has been a constant during his rookie season. He leads all rookies in scoring with 62 points in 73 games as he also leads the Hawks in scoring and in assists (45). His six PP goals are also tops for rookies and he ranks second in shots (171). Kane was the Blackhawks’ 1st round pick (1st overall) in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft. Together with teammate Jonathan Toews, already have the potential to become a tandem similar to Martin St. Louis and Vincent Lecavalier.

NICKLAS BACKSTROM (WAS) – Playing on a line with superstar Alex Ovechkin would make any rookie jumpstart his career on the right foot. After a slow start to this season, Backstrom ranks second on the Capitals as well as in rookie scoring with 60 points. He leads all rookies in assists with 49 which also ranks him tops for Washington and 12^th in the NHL.  The 20-year old Swede was the Washington Capitals’ 1^st round choice (4^th overall) in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.

PETER MUELLER (PHX) – Mueller has been a great addition to a young, re-building Coyotes team who have been fighting towards a playoff spot for much of the season. He plays on the first line with captain Shane Doan, plays the point on the power play, and currently leads all rookies with 21 goals and ranks third in rookie scoring with 48 points in 71 games. Coach Wayne Gretzky said of the 19-year old Mueller, “He never panics with the puck in his own zone or in the offensive zone. He’s hard to get the puck away from. He sees the ice well, he loves to score goals and we’ve been pleasantly surprised with him.”

JONATHAN TOEWS (CHI) – Another major addition to the Blackhawks lineup this season has been rookie centre Jonathan Toews. After finishing a great college hockey career at North Dakota, Toews broke onto the hockey scene at the World Junior Championships two years ago. He currently sits fourth in rookie scoring with 47 points in 55 games and ranks second in goals with 20. Toews has already shown enough maturity and leadership to be given the ‘A’ as one of Chicago’s assistant captains. Toews was the Chicago Blackhawks’ 1^st round choice (3^rd overall) in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.

CAREY PRICE (MON) – In similar fashion to past decisions with rookie goaltenders in Montreal, the Habs made the decision at this year’s trade deadline, to trade away Christobal Huet and give young phenom Carey Price the number one goaltending job leading into the playoffs. Since that trade, Price has gone 5-3 including two big wins over Martin Brodeur and the New Jersey Devils – a team they are chasing for the Eastern conference title. He is 17-12-3 with a 2.69 GAA and a .915 save percentage with two shutouts this season.

Hart Trophy Going Russian

With Penguins C Sidney Crosby, last year’s runaway MVP missing 21 games this season due to a high-ankle sprain, the race for the Hart Trophy is turning into an interesting one.  A legitimate case can be made for at least eight to ten players this year and maybe more.  Injuries to key players such as Dany Heatley, Mike Richards, Paul Stastny, and Crosby, who may have received consideration at the point of their injuries, unfortunately will not be factors this season.

The age-old debate also comes into play though on whether or not a player who’s team does not make the playoffs should be considered.  But think of it this way – Even if a team misses the playoffs while only winning 25-30 games, you have to consider just how important a player was in helping a miserable team even get to that point.

The following is a list of players whom I feel merit MVP consideration, in order of how I see the voting play out;

1.    ALEX OVECHKIN (WAS) – The human highlight reel leads the NHL with 54 goals and 95 points.  He will no doubt win the Rocket Richard Trophy as the league’s top goal scorer with the next closest player (Kovalchuk) at 45. Ovechkin has been in on 47 percent of Washington’s goals and has been the single reason they are fighting for a playoff berth.  Leads league in PPG with 18 and GWG with nine.  No team relies so heavily on one player like the Caps rely on Ovechkin.

2.    EVGENI MALKIN (PIT) – Currently battling Ovechkin for league scoring title with 92 points.  With Crosby out for 21 games, Malkin put the Penguins on his back and currently has them in a battle for the Atlantic division lead as well as the Eastern Conference. Malkin had 36 points in those 21 games as the Pens went 11-6-4 without Crosby.

3.    MARTIN BRODEUR (NJ) – After the Devils started the season on a tough 9-game road trip (3-5-1), Brodeur has led New Jersey to a 40-23-6 record.  The Devils are 26^th in the NHL in goals scored (180) which proves just how valuable Brodeur has been this season.  He is the only goaltender in the top 5 of most major statistics as he currently ranks second in wins (38), games played (64) and save percentage (.922), third in GAA (2.12), and fifth in shutouts (4).

4.    JAROME IGINLA (CAL) – After a tough start to the season (10-13-4 in first 27 games), Iginla has led the Flames back into a battle for the Northwest division title.  His 40 goals rank third in the NHL and he sits fifth in overall scoring with 79 points.  Iginla has been in on 42 percent of Flames scoring and leads the team (6^th in NHL) with a plus 25 rating.  Tied with Ovechkin for league lead in GWG with nine.

5.    JOE THORNTON (SJ) – Consistently amongst the league leaders in assists and points from year to year, Thornton is currently tied for the lead in the NHL with 62 assists and fourth in scoring with 81 points.  His Sharks are currently one point out of first place in the tough Pacific division and have the NHL’s best road record at 24-8-3. Thornton also has 32 more points than the next closest Shark in recently acquired D Brian Campbell (49).

6.    PAVEL DATSYUK (DET) – Playing on a team as deep in talent as Detroit will not make it easy for Datsyuk to gain many votes for the Hart Trophy but one cannot ignore his statistical contributions for the NHL’s first pace Red Wings.  Currently he sits seventh in league scoring with 79 points, third in assists with 54, and second in plus/minus with a plus 33 rating.

7.    DANIEL ALFREDSSON (OTT) – Ottawa captain Daniel Alfredsson leads the struggling Sens in goals (37), points (79), short-handed goals (7), and shots (198).  His 1.32 PPG ranks only behind Crosby (1.37) and Ovechkin (1.36).  While the big three for Ottawa have missed chunks of play due to injury combined with goaltending issues and a coaching change, Alfredsson has been the most consistent in keeping the Sens in a battle for the Northeastern division lead with Montreal.

8.    ALEX KOVALEV (MTL) – The Montreal Canadiens are currently atop the Northeast division and second in the Eastern conference – in large part due to the play of Kovalev.  He has 30 goals and 73 points and is on pace for his second best point total for his career.  His 42 PP points are tops in the NHL and his Habs also lead the league on the PP with a 24.8% success rate.

9.    RYAN GETZLAF (ANA) – Getzlaf is far and away the offensive leader on a solid Ducks team that is in a battle for the Pacific division title but who do not score many goals (176).  His 72 points have him contributing to 41 percent of Anaheim’s scoring.  He is tied for the fifth highest total in the NHL with 51 assists and is seventh in the league with a plus 24 rating.

10.  MARC SAVARD (BOS) – His 62 assists is tied with Joe Thornton for the league lead and is 13 points higher than teammate Marco Sturm’s point total.  He is 11^th in league scoring with 76 points and a fixture on the Bruins power play.  Without Savard, the eight other Bruins with 10+ goals may not be having such productive seasons.  Boston currently sits seventh in the East.

Honourable mention goes to;

11.  EVGENI NABOKOV (SJ) – Besides Brodeur is as valuable a goalie as there is in the NHL.  Ranks first in the league in games played (66), and wins (39), third in shutouts (6), and sixth in GAA (2.19).

12.  VINCENT LECAVALIER/MARTIN ST. LOUIS (TB) – Despite the fact that Lecavalier sits third (81 points) and St. Louis 15^th (73 points) in league scoring, the two high scoring forwards will unfortunately not garner enough attention for MVP voting due in large part to; A> their last place standing in the Eastern conference, and; B> their dismal minus-7 and minus-11 ratings respectively.

13.  JASON SPEZZA (OTT) – Even after missing a handful of games due to injury sits eighth in league scoring with 78 points.

14.  HENRIK ZETTERBERG (DET) – Currently ninth in league scoring with 77 points, Zetterberg will suffer the same fate as teammate Pavel Datsyuk while playing on a team deep in talent.

15.  MIKE RIBEIRO (DAL) – Sits 13^th in league scoring with 75 points as his Dallas Stars are tops in the tough Pacific division and second in the Western conference.  Also 12^th in the league in assists (48) and plus/minus at plus-22.

16.  MATS SUNDIN (TOR) – Other than Vesa Toskala, Sundin is the lone bright spot most nights on a Leafs team which will miss the playoffs for the third consecutive season.  Currently 12^th in league scoring with 75 points.

17.  ILYA BRYZGALOV (PHX) – Since the Coyotes claimed Bryzgalov off waivers from the Anaheim Ducks, their season has been turned around.  He has posted a record of 23-17-4 and helped climb Phoenix to within striking distance of a playoff position.

18.  ILYA KOVALCHUK (ATL) – Kovalchuk is second in the NHL with 45 goals but has not been consistent enough to help the Thrashers make a push towards the playoffs.  His minus-12 rating is also unappealing to voters but has had very little offensive help this season.

Is Bishop a Pawn?

With the recent acquisition of quarterback Kerry Joseph from the Saskatchewan Roughriders, the Toronto Argonauts appear to be heading into the upcoming 2008 season while hedging their bets with two ‘number one’ quarterbacks, again.  They introduced Joseph to the Toronto media on the same day that they announced the contract extension given to Michael Bishop through the 2010 season.

Last season, they surprisingly began the year with 44-year old veteran Damon Allen as the starter, and 31-year old Bishop as the back-up.  Allen went down early with an injury which allowed Bishop, in his fifth year, to finally get his shot as a CFL starter.  Given the opportunity after several failed attempts in previous years, Bishop went 11-1 in ’07 as the starter (2,920 yards passing, 22 TD’s) and led the Argos to the East Division title.  Unfortunately, injuries hampered Bishop last year which set him back at times but he definitely made enough strides towards finally becoming THE quarterback for the Argos. 

Now that the Argos have brought in the CFL’s Most Outstanding Player in Joseph, it begs the question ‘Just what were the Argos ultimate plans for Bishop while keeping him as a back-up for the past five years?’  He finally stepped out from behind Damon Allen’s shadow and proved he can be a quality starter for the Argos moving forward, yet general manager Adam Rita felt the need to bring in another big name quarterback. 

The Argonauts owed it to Bishop to let him take the team into the upcoming season as the starter instead of playing him as a second-fiddle quarterback which they have done since day one.  By bringing in Joseph they have sent a message to Bishop loud-and-clear, that they still do not feel he can take them to the Grey Cup – even after the season he had last year.

Toronto was 0-6 without Bishop in 2007.

NHL Math: Races Go Down to the Wire

As the National Hockey League heads into its final five weeks of the regular season, there are a number of teams still jockeying for playoff position.  As of Tuesday, there are still 14 teams battling for six playoff spots in their respective conferences.  Let us quickly break down some of the math created by the stretch drive towards the Stanley Cup playoffs. 

In the Western conference, Calgary currently holds down the sixth seed with 77 points and trails Northwest division leading Minnesota by just two points.  Vancouver (74) and Colorado (74) are close behind and subsequently hold down seventh and eighth in the conference, which will create an interesting showdown between the four for the division title and remaining playoff spots after that.  There are 15 head-to-head games involving these four teams which will create playoff-type hockey already in Mid-March – I know I’ll be staying up late to catch as many of these games as I can on the tube. 

Sitting just out of a playoff position currently are Nashville, by way of tie-breaker (74), Phoenix (71), and Columbus (70).  Unfortunately for the Coyotes and Blue Jackets is the fact that five teams ahead of them are battling for four spots.  Since three out of the five (Canucks, Avalanche, Predators) are already in their own little battle for the last two spots, Phoenix and Columbus need to finish the season four and five points respectively better than all three – which in my estimation and considering today’s ‘three-point game NHL’ is not going to happen.  

Another current example of how the three-point game now kills a team’s late hopes for a playoff push is in Toronto.  The Leafs are currently on a 6-1-1 streak in their last eight games earning them 13 of a possible 14 points.  This incredible play of late has earned them one single point of improvement in the chase for eighth.  This just proves how tough it will be for the likes of Buffalo (71), Washington (70), NYIslanders (69), and Toronto (68) to catch eighth place Philadelphia (74) with just 15 or so games remaining. 

But there is also a battle within the war for a playoff spot to be watched here in the Eastern conference.  Southeast leading Carolina sits atop the division with 73 points, only three points ahead of the second place Capitals.  The Hurricanes and Capitals will meet twice in the remaining five weeks of the season, which will be the key to either team making the playoffs as it appears winning the division will be far easier than catching the teams above them. 

 NEXT WEEK : THE ART ROSS & HART TROPHY RACES.

Take out the Shootout!

We are now in the midst of year three of the NHL shootout.  Coming out of the 2004-05 season which was wiped out due to the lockout, Commissioner Gary Bettman and the Board of Governors agreed to the implementation of the shootout as a way to decide tie games after overtime but only during the regular season.  Who are we kidding here – I hate it!

Maybe I’m more of a purist than others but I just don’t think that the use of an individualized skills competition is the answer here.  Let’s not be mistaken, the league and its owners needed to do something to bring attention back to a game which had been dragged through the mud for an entire season where no NHL hockey was played, but this just plain sucks.  Two teams play a hard-fought battle for 60 minutes of regulation and again at 4-on-4 for five minutes in overtime.  Five years ago that was good enough, we’d have a tie game and each team was awarded one point.  We now decide that this team game becomes a one-on-one individual breakaway contest to decide the outcome?  I’m sorry but that novelty has worn off on me.

The NHL doesn’t implement the shootout during the playoffs – so why do they during the regular season when team points are crucial towards just making the post-season?  Add to that the fact that the schedule has become conference heavy since the lockout ended and teams are playing most games against teams who are fighting for those same playoff births.  That extra point earned in a late season shootout can make the difference in one team making the playoffs and one team ending their season.

The NHL is the only league which decides the outcome of a tie game during the regular season with the use of a sideshow.  The NBA doesn’t shoot free throws nor does Major League Baseball hold a home run derby, they both continue playing a regular season game until a winner has emerged, whether that takes only one extra five-minute overtime or another nine innings they keep playing.  In an NFL overtime game, the first team that scores wins, even if the other team does not get a possession; this is referred to as sudden death. In a regular-season NFL game, if neither team scores in overtime, the game is a tie.

I would recommend the use of a 10-minute sudden death overtime period.  If you get two NHL teams playing at 4-on-4 for ten minutes you will more times than not have a winner – and hey, who decided ties were a bad thing for hockey?

Can anyone out there tell I’m a Leafs fan?

Built Ford Tough, but are the Raps?

After Tuesday night’s Raptors road win in Atlanta, we are strongly reminded of the differences between basketball and hockey.  With less than two minutes remaining in a game which was all-but-done and out of reach for the Hawks, Atlanta rookie Al Horford was charged with a flagrant foul after slapping Raptors T.J. Ford hard on the top of the head sending him crashing to the parkay floor.  Ford, who missed the entire 05-06 season due to a back injury, had to be carried off the court on a stretcher.

Now that we have the details of what happened clearly in our minds, let’s for a moment consider the contrast between what actually happened on the basketball court versus what would have happened to Horford if he were playing hockey for the Atlanta Thrashers.

After Ford went numb as his body and head slammed to the floor, first reaction from the Raptors was from coach Sam Mitchell, a former player himself.  Mitchell ran straight across the floor and was fuming with anger towards Horford and Hawks coach Mike Woodson.  Mitchell had to be restrained by an official as emotions ran high.  It should be noted that not one player from the Raptors came to the aid of Ford in a way that would show passion and anger towards Horford and the nature of the foul.

If this were hockey, and a star forward was hit with such disregard for safety late in a 4-1 game, one of the other players would definitely take it in his own hands to defend his teammate.  Coming to the aid of a teammate is one of the most instinctive of qualities most hockey players possess.  It did not seem as though any of the Raptors possessed a similar quality in Tuesday’s game.

This begs the question: Just how much passion and built hatred towards the opponent do basketball players have for the game within the game?  Off the court is another story.  Two guys can be the best of friends outside of the game, but between the lines for 48 or 60 minutes of a game, there are no friendships – it’s business.  There seems to be too much buddy-buddy on the basketball court, and when a foul of this nature brings little to no reaction from any of a players’ teammates, you wonder just where the level of intensity is with these guys.

Mitchell Report – Report

After sitting and watching former U.S. Senator George Mitchell present his report on the state of current drug issues within Major League Baseball yesterday, I am both optimistic and dumbfounded.  More so dumbfounded after Bud Selig spoke on behalf of the commissioner’s office with regards to its position on moving forward.   It is somewhat puzzling to try and comprehend just what Selig was doing even making statements with respect to the report, as he openly admitted to not even reading the darn thing.  He has had three days to thumb through it – What is he waiting for?  At a time when baseball seems to have hit the biggest wall it will need to climb since 1994, it did not seem as though Selig has a plan.

Well Mr. Mitchell has a plan, and I agree with most of it.  He suggests that there is more of a need to focus on the future of the MLB drug policy and use the past as an aid towards implementation of such testing.  His suggestion to forego punishment on players who have been or will be found to have used performance enhancing drugs is brilliant and I couldn’t agree more.  He continually made reference to the state of drug policies over the past years, and the fact that certain PED’s were not banned or properly tested for in past years.

I have always stood by players like Mark McGwire and Barry Bonds on this issue.  If a substance was not banned by the sport at the time it was used, you cannot point a finger in their direction – It should be pointed at Major League Baseball for the inadequacies in its drug testing.  Granted I will agree that it is morally wrong to try and applaud what a professional athlete has accomplished during his/her career due to the use of steroids but this is not the issue.

Commissioner Selig states that each and every player named within the report, which presently lists 78 players including Roger Clemens, Jason Giambi, and Eric Gagne, will be investigated further as well as many others.  Each will be handled on a case-to-case basis and there will be no precedent set from one towards another.  He also agrees that more independent testing needs to be performed and unannounced at that.

Often two completely different topics are meshed into one argument.  When determining how we should react to a situation like Barry Bonds breaking Hank Aaron’s long-standing HR record, or Roger Clemens winning seven Cy Young awards, we should not be considering the fact that they used steroids during their careers.  We should look at MLB drug policies and whether or not these PED’s were banned.  Rules are made to be broken – but if the rules aren’t yet properly and clearly defined, they cannot be considered broken.

Click here for a full list of the players named in Mitchell Report – http://www.tsn.ca/mlb/feature/?fid=11302&hubname=

Toughest Job in Hockey

During a trip to Detroit back in mid-November, I had the opportunity to sit with two of the hardest working forwards in the NHL – Red Wings gritty forward Aaron Downey and Columbus Blue Jackets enforcer Jody Shelley.  It was on the day of a big central division game between their respective clubs.  Columbus was on a bit of a roll and Detroit was in first place in the Western Conference so this divisional game had some underlying importance to it, even this early in the season.

I was standing with Downey on the home bench when he called for Shelley, who was still on the ice alone, firing pucks at an empty net.  Shelley skates over and the two shake hands.  They ask if each other will dress for tonight’s game.  Downey will not as he was put on waivers earlier in the day, and Shelley doesn’t know as he explains that he hasn’t yet this season.

You would think they were asking due to the fact that they might have to meet up at centre ice at some point, but they aren’t.  They genuinely want to see each other succeed.  They are part of a fraternity within the NHL.  A brotherhood of men who never take for granted what it means to have a job in the NHL.

It is during the conversation that Aaron describes to Jody just how he got to Detroit. “In the summertime I actually called Ken Babcock, (laughing) he was on the golf course.  I explained I was in great shape but I was out of work and wanted a tryout with the Red Wings.  He told me he was interested and he would get back to me.  He called up (GM) Kenny Holland and all Kenny apparently said was ‘hmm…intriguing.’” The two laugh.  “They invited me to camp on a tryout basis and here I am.”Downey then explains how ‘special’ a group these guys are in Detroit and that they are collectively the hardest working group he’s ever known.  Shelley sounds real impressed and says that it does sound ‘special’ and is genuinely happy for Aaron.  “Good for you, man – That’s great!”Shelley then starts to describe the lack of playing time he’s gotten this season and that he expects to get into 25-30 games.  He’s not worried though because he is in a contract year and has actually asked to be traded.

One thing not to be mistaken about these two is that they are NOT goons.  Just because they fight as part of their job as hockey players doesn’t make them ‘meat-heads’ or ‘thugs.’  They understand the game and have skill – whether you see it on a nightly basis in the NHL or not – they do.  They fight when necessary and play very important defensive roles when they are on the ice.

At first glance, you wouldn’t think that these pugilists were two of the more dedicated hockey professionals, especially considering their playing time (Downey had played sparingly in eight games and Shelley had yet to dress for the Blue Jackets) but I can tell you, from first-hand knowledge that these two are.

They both were on the ice for at least an extra 15 minutes working on shooting and skating drills while their teammates were done and in the dressing room.  One might think that NHL tough guys have no skill, no talent, or no head for the game – well it couldn’t be further from the truth.

Since that conversation, the two have fought twice and I would imagine still call one another over to the bench to chat as buds on gameday.