Big Day in Leaf Land

Usually I sleep in until noon on Sundays for 2 reasons. 1) is because I love to sleep and 2) because nothing ever happens Sunday mornings before noon. Football hasn’t started yet and neither has the Raptors game. So I get my sleep and don’t miss anything.

That is until this Sunday.

I awoke this morning and checked Facebook as I was eating breakfast. The first thing I see on my newsfeed is a status update by my buddy Mcnea that reads, “Phanuef a Leaf. Who’d a thunk it?” I immediately went to TSN.ca to see if this was real and quickly discovered that it was true. The Leafs had traded the ultimate poo poo platter (Nikolas Hagman, Matt Stajan, Jamal Mayers and Ian White) for former Norris Trophy candidate and perennial all-star defensemen Dion Phanuef.

My first thought was to talk to NHL Insider Bryan Cruse. Here are his thoughts:

“The Leafs are absolutely horrendous, but at least we have something to cheer for. We can now cheer for Dion Phaneuf as he almost surely will tool players from the soft Eastern conference.

Some say who ever gets the best player in a trade, wins the trade, but I don’t agree necessarily. This was a very good deal for both teams. Toronto gets a fan-favourite and all-star defenseman who knows how to kick an ass for years to come, while Calgary has shored up most of the holes in their roster, at reasonable salaries.

In my opinion they booked their playoff ticket today but adding some offense. Their defence was pretty stacked, so it was obvious for a while that Dion would be the trade bait. I am just happy to see a blockbuster trade for the first time in recent memory and even happier it involved the Leafs and even EVEN happier that Toronto didn’t sell their future in the process.

I dreaded the worst when I heard who was coming here. I assumed that Luke Schenn would be part of some elaborate package including 2 additional 1^st rounders. So today was a good day.

The Leafs also lost Jason Blake and Vesa Toskala, but of whom I hate with an immense passion. We eat JS Gigueres $6 million cap hit next year, but he is undoubtedly better than Toskala and realistically could be a #1 tendie again, so meh.

Things to look forward to:

-Lots of headshots given out by Dion

-Never seeing the patented Jason Blake wrap around, followed by a weak wrister to the crest, again

-Exelby surrendering the #3 without a fight

-An easier/more enjoyable experience as the Maple Leafs GM in NHL10

-Sexy fights involving Elisha Cuthbert and Carrie Underwood in the private boxes during Leafs/Sens games

-Komisarek to make a crack to Phaneuf about nailing his girlfriend prior to Phaneuf- followed by a fight between the two- followed by Komisarek’s trip to the ER- followed by Komi’s exile to NYI or worse

-Reading about Phaneuf’s new labels as “scrub”, “bust” and of course “overrated” now that he is a member of the Leafs.

Things not to look forward to:

-Pierre McGuire’s on-air orgasms when he sees the Original “Monster” play with the “Human Eraser”

-Still giving Boston a retardedly good pick.”

I had the same thought as Cruse when I first saw the trade. I figured they had either given up Gustavson, Kessel, Kaberle, Kadri or Schenn but in the end they kept their core together and gave up a bunch of guys that had no place in the teams long term plans. Anytime you can get a 24 year old all-star defenseman for a bunch of guys who have inflated stats you need to do it. Props to Burke on that one.

As for the Giggy trade I am not so sure. He hasn’t been the same since Hiller came around so going to a team where the other goalie is being labelled the future of the franchise doesn’t seem like a change of pace. He will get more playing time and will be reunited with former goalie coach Francois Allaire who was his coach when he was in Anaheim. If anything Leaf fans can take solace in the fact that the contracts of Blake and Toskala are gone now.

My only real problem with the trades is that they really hurt the Leafs up front. Yes they got a new starting goalie and an amazing defenseman but they gave away 4 of their starting forwards. Blake, Mayers, Hagman and Stajan all started and were all producing (in one way or another). Now their roster spots will be filled by guys from the Marlies like Hansen and Staalberg. This is only a problem because I feel like those guys need more time in the minors.

Lastly I want to comment on Keith Aulie. People seem to be dismissing his value in this trade and referring to him as merely a throw in. Two years ago he played for Team Canada at the World Juniors and he is a former 4th round pick. He is massive (6-5 208lbs) and plays a physical game that will fit in well with the Leafs. Given time to develop he could become a solid contributor for the Leafs and a top 4 defenseman.

Overall this is a big day for the Toronto Maple Leafs and their fans. I listened to over 3 hours of sports talk radio today and it seems like every Leaf fan is happy. How could you not be? Your team lost White, Stajan, Blake, Hagman, Toskala, and Mayers and you got Phaneuf, Giggy, Aulie and Fredrik Sjostrom. No one from the core was lost and no prospects were traded. That is a solid day if you ask me.

The rest of the year will be a challenge as scoring will be hard to come by but the team clearly needed a shake up and this was as big a shake up as you are going to get. It is also a great way to make fans forget that 24 hours ago the Leafs got out to a 3-0 lead against the Canucks and ended up losing 5-3 (with Andrew Raycroft in net for the 2^nd and 3^rd periods) in one of the most embarrassing hockey games I have ever watched.

Random YouTube Video

Has Reggie Bush Finally Arrived?

One thing I have always found odd about sports is how a player can redefine their career with 1 game. A guy can go 6 years without being anything special, turn around and have 1 good season and become a "great player." You see it year after year in every sport.

Right now the guy that is going through a career rebirth is Reggie Bush.

Bush was drafted 2nd overall in 2006 by the New Orleans Saints and was supposed to be the next great running back in the NFL. The player that would revolutionize the game. So far in his career he has been anything but.

In 4 seasons with the Saints he has never topped more than 600 rushing yards and his receiving numbers have gone down every year he has been in the league. He did a decent job returning punts but he had fumble issues and never seemed to have everything click. Needless to say he was headed towards being a "bust."

Then the 2010 AFC Divisional game against the Arizona Cardinals happened and all was forgotten. In that game Bush had 5 carries for 84 yards (including a 46 yard TD run) and also scored on a punt return. Reggie had finally arrived.

No one was pointing out that the Cardinals were one of the worst defensive teams in the league, were giving up 455 yards per game in the playoffs, and couldn't stop Vince Howard and the East Dillon Lions. Instead everyone focused on Bush and how he had "finally lived up to the hype" and had "become the player everyone thought he would be when he was drafted."

With 1 game Bush had made everyone forget his mediocre career.

The analysts were shitting themselves as they had waited for this moment for 4 years. Finally they could gush about how great Reggie Bush was. They could finally tell all their Reggie Bush stories and make all their comparisons to Barry Sanders and Marshall Faulk. The comparisons were rampant and finally reached the point of lunacy 10 days ago.

Going into the NFC Championship game a debate started with the central question being, "who would you rather have: Reggie Bush or Adrian Peterson?" This was no joke. People were legitimately arguing who was a better running back in a 1 game scenario. It was even discussed on PTI. How is this even a question?

Reggie Bush has rushed for 1,940 in 4 seasons. It took Peterson less than 2 seasons to accomplish this feat and he now stands at 4,484 yards for his career. In terms of touchdowns Peterson has 41 for his career where as Bush has 28. Clearly Peterson is a superior running back who has showed that he can maintain playing at an elite level for a whole season where as Bush showed he could do it for 1 game against an inferior defensive team.

Peterson is the most important player on his team and the focal point of the Vikings offense where as Bush is the 5th or 6th best player on the Saints offense and is merely a cog in the high powered Saints offensive machine.

In the game itself Peterson fumbled twice but had 122 yards and scored 3 touchdowns while Bush fumbled a punt, scored a receiving touchdown and ran for 8 yards on 7 carries. So while Peterson had trouble holding on to the ball (while this was a contributing factor in the loss the Favre pick ultimately cost the Vikings the game) he clearly showed he is the better running back.

Now I understand that the media needs to create story lines to make the games more interesting but conjuring a useless debate like this is preposterous.

Don't get me wrong I am a Reggie Bush fan. I think he has tonnes of talent and is a perfect fit for the Saints offense but in no way do I think he has pulled a 180 on his career. He is still the same player as always, as he proved when he muffed that punt against the Vikings last week, and unless he makes some sort of major change to his game he will continue to be the same player.

The problem with Bush is that he doesn't fit the mold of any position in the field. Yes he can run but he isn't really a running back. He can catch but he isn't really a receiver. He is a man without a country. He is a Jack of all trades but master of none.

So what will the Saints do now? Bush still has 2 years left on his current contract but all signs point to him leaving before the deal expires. The Saints could trade him while has value is high but then he very well might become what they hoped he would become when they drafted him.

If Bush can have a big impact in the SuperBowl he might very well make everyone believe that he has in fact arrived. Until he shows me that he can be an effective weapon on a consistent basis against teams that don't have a suspect defense I will remain unwavering in my opinion that he is just another player that does well in a Sean Payton offense.

Random YouTube Video

A Great Call

Last Sunday Brett Favre made one of the worst decisions of his life. With the NFC Championship game against the New Orleans Saints tied 28-28 and the Vikings marching down the field Favre dropped back to pass on 3rd & 15. He scrambled and started up the right sideline and then for some reason decided to throw the ball over the middle of the field across his body. We all know how that ended.

Paul Allen, the Vikings radio broadcaster, called the play from the press box. Allen's particular call for that play has become an internet phenomenon and has gone viral. In case you haven't heard it yet here is it is:



Now this particular call is memorable because it is so funny. I will remember this moment forever and the phrase, "this is not Detroit man, this is the SuperBowl!"

Sports announcers have the ability to cement a moment in a fans brain forever with a simple phrase or sentence. Usually no more than 6 or 7 words is all it takes for a spectacular play to become legendary.

Think back on all the greatest sports moments of your life and you can still hear the voice of the announcer in your head. Phrases like, "the band is on the field!" and "I don't believe what I just saw!" are timeless and will be a part of the history of sport for as long as there is sport. People will tell their kids about those plays and the video clips and audio clips will live on as proof of a magical moment.

Guys like Marv Albert, Bob Costas and Al Michaels make great moments even better when their pure passion and joy comes through in their words when they watch something amazing happen in sports. These guys are the best of the best and know how to make a special moment even better.

Then there is Pierre McGuire.

If you don't watch hockey, or you aren't from Canada, then you probably don't know who Pierre McGuire is. He is an analyst for TSN and also does commentary for NBC when they show NHL games on Saturday afternoons. For the most part he is hated by all and is seen as a biased loudmouth who does his best to ruin every game he broadcasts.

He is so hated by NHL fans that several Facebook groups about him exists including "If Pierre McGuire as on fire I wouldn't piss on him to put it out," "Pierre McGuire is a Douchebag" and my personal favorite "Pierre McGuire ruins hockey." There are literally hundreds of groups dedicated to hating this man and they are all hilarious and justified.

One of the key aspects to being a good commentator is to know when to talk and when to shut up and appreciate what is happening. If something miraculous happens and you are part of a 2 man booth only 1 guy gets to say something. That is the rule. This is obviously a rule McGuire never learned and in 2009 it resulted in one of the worst sports calls of all time.

Allow me to set up the scenario.

Team Canada is playing Russia in the semifinal game at the 2009 IIHF World Junior Hockey Tournament. Russia is winning 5-4 with under 14 seconds to play. The puck is in the Russian zone but gets pinned up along the side boards. John Tavares manages to free the puck and backhand it on net. It is stopped by a Russian defenseman who attempts to smother the puck but fails allowing it to end up on the stick of Jordan 'the Messiah' Eberle who backhands it into the net for one of the greatest goals in Canadian Hockey history. Needless to say this is a To 5 sports moment for me.

Now listen to how McGuire ruins it:



"Eberle scores! Tie game! Can you believe it?!"

"I can!" Are you fucking kidding me?! One of the greatest moments in Canada Hockey history and you respond to a rhetorical question .2 seconds after it has been asked with analysis of how it happened. Let the moment soak in. Let Canadians nationwide bask in the glow of the fact that Eberle just cemented his name in the history books.

There is no excuse for this. None. McGuire should have been fired immediately after the broadcast ended.

It is not as though this is the only great moment he has ruined though. McGuire is notorious for ruining hockey games with his loser catchphrases such as, "he's a monster" and "big body presence." His commentary has become so routine and awful that there has been a drinking game created for it. Here is a link if you are interested in getting wasted in about a period and a half of hockey.

Needless to say McGuire is an embarassment and should be dealt with as soon as possible. He is in a position to be a art of someones life forever and to give sports fan memories they will keep with them forever and instead he just douches it up and makes a mockery out of one of the greatest professions out there.

Tangent: Yes I realize this post was nothing more than a poorly constructed rant bashing Pierre McGuire but I feel like it was necessary. He deserved it though right?


Random YouTube Video

+/- in the NBA

Over the past few years the NBA has been going through a bit of a statistical revolution. Owners and GMs have been looking for better ways of evaluating talent and have turned to nerds with computers to try and help them determine who has value and who doesn’t. As a direct result of this developing trend a bunch of new stats have been created for the sole purpose of player evaluation. One of those stats is plus/minus.

It works just like in hockey. If a player is on the floor when his team scores a basket then he receives a +2. If he is on the floor when the opponents score a basket then he goes -2.

The +/- is a telling stat for a number of reasons as it exposes guys for being awful defenders and can also help coaches figure out which combinations of players work. Basically you should be able to see who is helping you win games and who is hurting you. The key thing to remember however is that good players on bad teams may still have a low +/- as they are only 1 player on a team of 5. Still having looked at the league leaders the system seems to work pretty well.

I just spent the last few hours on NBA.com looking at the +/- of a bunch of guys and here are some comments and insights I feel are worth sharing:

1) 1) The #1 and #2 leaders of +/- are Kobe and LeBron, which makes a tonne of sense, but #3 is a real surprise. It is none other than Anderson Varejao. What is even crazier is that he is only 14 points below LeBron for second place. To me this proves either 1 of 2 things. 1) Varejao is a solid 2 way player that can score and also defend or 2) he plays with LeBron more than anyone else and is benefitting from the injuries to Mo Williams and Delonte West. Either way it’s crazy he is so high ranked.

2) 2) The Top 50 leaders in +/- play for 13 teams: Lakers, Celtics, Magic, Heat, Thunder, Suns, Mavericks, Cavs, Hawks, Nuggets, Blazers, Jazz and Spurs. Only 1 of those 13 teams isn’t a playoff spot right now and that’s the Thunder who are represented by Kevin Durant. This seems obvious because obviously if you have a high +/- it means you are winning games but the fact that there isn’t one aberration other than Durant is surprising.

3) 3) Who owns the worse +/- in the NBA? None other than Brook Lopez of the New Jersey Nets who is a whopping -420 on the year. That is a crazy number if you think about it. Other notable players who have a staggering awful +/- are Monta Ellis -182, Johnny Flynn -328, Tyreke Evans -175, Troy Murphy -235 and Charlie Villanueva -125.

4) 4) Only 1 player on the Utah Jazz is a minus. That man would be Kosta Koufas who is a -22 on the season. Everyone else on the team is a plus. Clearly we found the weak link on that team.

5) 5) The best 5 player combination +/- wise in the NBA is: Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, Kendrick Perkins, and Rajon Rondo. Combined they are a +166 which is only 29 points higher than Mike Biddy, Joe Johnson, Josh Smith, Al Horford and Marvin Williams who are a combined +137. In 3^rd place is the surprise combo of OJ Mayo, Mike Conley Jr, Zach Randolph, Rudy Gay and Marc Gasol of the Memphis Grizzlies.

6) 6) Of the starting 5 for the Western Conference All-Stars Amare Stoudamire has the worst +/- with a +87. While the Eastern Conferences worst +/- is Allen Iverson who is +21. Other than those 2 no starter is lower than +144.

7) 7) Was not surprised to see that a number of rookies were the worst players on their teams in terms of +/-. I already mentioned Evans and Flynn but there are others like DeMar DeRozan -82 and Jonas Jerebko -138.

You could literally mess around on NBA.com for hours looking at different player’s +/- and trying to ascertain information about them based on that number alone. Clearly the NBA is trying to become a bit more like baseball with the influx of stats and the dependence on them and really all it does is help the fans, GMs, owners and coaches to understand the game better.

If a player is -420 then that is a warning sign. If a certain bench player is leading his team in +/- with a +31, like Marco Belinelli for the Raptors, then maybe he needs more playing time.

+/- is one of the best stats out there because all it does is show how a player impacted a specific game. Was he a help or a hindrance? Is a guy going through a streak where he is consistently finishing as the worst +/-? Did a guy finish with a minus even though his team won huge? These are all things fans should pay attention to and coaches as well.

More stats never hurt.

Random YouTube Video

SuperBowl Plot Lines

After a 16 week regular season and 3 rounds of playoffs only 2 teams remain the Colts and the Saints. The two best teams in football will meet 2 weeks from now in Miami in the SuperBowl. This will be the first time since 1993 when the Cowboys played the Bills that both #1 seeds will be playing each other and even though I am a Jets fan I couldn’t be happier about the match up.

Before I get to the SuperBowl itself I need to talk about what happened today.

First my Jets. Mark Sanchez played a solid game but for some reason we just couldn’t establish the run at all. Shonn Greene left the game early with an injury and that seemed to knock some life out of us. The gameplan of shutting down Wayne and Dallas worked for the most part and we forced the other receivers to make plays and they did. Collie and Garcon were both amazing.

It would have been nice to see the Jets in the SuperBowl but it just wasn’t our year. Next year Sanchez will be a little better and maybe we will add 1 more guy to the secondary to compliment Revis. Overall it was a good season with lots to build on.

As for the Vikings I couldn’t be happier with what happened to them today. Brett Favre got destroyed all game and never looked comfortable. Adrian Peterson fumbled so much that he was eventually replaced by Chester Taylor. The best part was how all the Vikings fans got strung along like this team was going to win and then they lost in overtime, its poetic really.

Never mind I lied. The best part of the game was Favre throwing that interception with under 20 seconds left. That play right there defines his whole career. He is a gunslinger aka a moron who tries to force everything and win it all on his own. That was the dumbest pass I have ever seen and it will haunt Favre forever. What makes it better is that if Favre chooses to retire, again, then that would mean his last play as a Packer, Jet and Viking would be an interception. There is a God.

Now for the Colts and Saints.

This SuperBowl is going to be an awesome game. You have 2 high powered offenses and 2 mediocre defences. The two best quarterbacks in the league are going to be facing off and there should be tonnes of scoring. It would take a miracle for this game to be boring.

There are a lot of really interesting plot twists for this game though:

Saints Try to Win #1

The New Orleans Saints have never won a SuperBowl. I remember back when I was a Saints fan my dad told me that I would never live long enough to see them win and now they are just 1 win away from losing the nickname the “Aints.”

Only 15 teams have never won a SuperBowl: Bills, Bengals, Titans, Chargers, Eagles, Vikings, Panthers, Falcons, Seahawks, Cardinals, Browns, Jags, Texans, Lions and of course the Saints. Of those 15 teams the Browns, Jags, Lions, Texans and Saints have never even played in a SuperBowl game. Well now that list will shrink to 4.

Meanwhile the Colts are trying to win their second SuperBowl in three years and establish themselves as the best team in football. For them this game would mean just another trophy in the case and just another stat to put on Peyton Manning’s Hall of Fame resume. That isn’t to say that it isn’t important for them it just lacks the impact that a Saints win has.

The City Needs This Win

New Orleans desperately needs this win. After Hurricane Katrina destroyed most of the city it was the Saints that helped rejuvenate the people. People rallied around the success of the Saints and saw the resurgence of the team as a sign that the city was resurging after the disaster. It is safe to say that no team means more to its city than the Saints do to New Orleans (with the possible exception of the Packers).

How much would it mean to the city of New Orleans if the Saints won the SuperBowl? Imagine the parade that will be held on Bourbon Street, it will be like Mardi Gras on crack. A city that was almost completely under water only 5 years ago will have come full circle and will be able to move on and be known for something other than a natural disaster.

Indianapolis on the other hand won 2 years ago and doesn’t need this as bad as New Orleans does. This is why 99% of North America will be cheering for the Saints. How could you not want them to win? There is no one on the team to hate and it would be such a feel good story.

The Archie Manning Angle

To the people of New Orleans Archie Manning is a hero. He was the quarterback of the Saints for 11 years and still has strong ties to the city. Archie is also the father of Peyton Manning. What does he do?

Does he cheer for Peyton and turn his back on his adopted hometown? Or does he root for the Saints and look like a terrible father? There is no real win-win here as clearly someone is going to be upset.

Archie came out after today’s game and said that he would support his son. "I'm pulling for the Colts 100 percent," Archie Manning said. "It's not even close." Even though he said this I still think he would be alright if the Saints won. He knows how much the victory would mean to the city and how much good it would do.

The 16-0 Discussion

It wasn’t long ago that both these teams were headed for 16-0 seasons. The Colts felt that 16-0 wasn’t important and opted to rest their starters to save them for the playoffs (worked out well) while the Saints went for 16-0 and failed. Two different philosophies and yet the very same outcome. Neither team finished undefeated and yet they are meeting in the SuperBowl.

This is a plot line I really don’t want to be covered greatly as it has already been beaten to death but knowing the sports journalism world there is a 0% chance this doesn’t get discussed as great length. “What if the Colts had played their starters in weeks 15 and 16?” There are way too many other good stories to focus on for this to become the major theme of the game.

No matter what happens this is going to be a great game. I am really excited about the fact that I don’t have a vested interest in who wins. Last year I was pulling for the Cardinals because I hate the Steelers but this year I can just sit back and enjoy the game for the football.

If the Colts win I will be happy because I like Manning and it would further cement his status as ‘best quarterback ever’ and if the Saints win I will be pumped for the city of New Orleans. Going into the playoffs all I wanted was the Vikings and Chargers to lose. Had those two teams met in the SuperBowl I probably wouldn’t have watched the game. Thankfully that didn’t happen and instead we are treated to a championship game with the two most deserving teams playing.

This game has all the potential to be a classic.

Random YouTube Video

One and Done is Killing the NBA

If you follow college basketball, even peripherally, then you know who John Wall is. If you don’t then here is some background info on him. Wall is a freshman guard at the University of Kentucky, the consensus #1 pick in the upcoming NBA draft and one of the most hyped college players of the past decade.

He is also 19 years old and in 5 months he will be a millionaire.

Wall is just one of many young men that will be leaving the NCAA after only year to enter the NBA draft and pursue their dream of becoming an NBA legend.

This may seem like a dream scenario for the NBA to have a guy like John Wall in their organization but in reality it is anything but. By allowing players like Wall to enter the NBA after only 1 year in the NCAA a flawed system has been created. This current system encourages players to leave school early thus rushing into a league that they, for the most part, are ill equipped to handle. The NBA season is much longer than the college season (82 games in the NBA vs 38 in NCAA) , the competition is much stronger and the room for error is much smaller.

In essence by allowing these players to join the NBA after only 1 year the league is ruining its “farm system” and diluting its talent pool with players who have no business being in the league. Players who stay in college longer generally have a better understanding of the game because they had more time to grow and mature as players. They also gain more experience and perspective which is invaluable when entering the NBA.

Yes there are guys like Tyreke Evans, Kevin Durant and Derrick Rose who made the jump to the NBA after only 1 year in school without skipping a beat, but for every exception to the rule there are 10 guys that prove the rule.

DeMar DeRozan (inconsistent), Jrue Holliday (averaging a 5 pts/game), BJ Mullens (scrub), JJ Hickson (career bench player), Kosta Koufas (awful), Donte Green (bench player), DeAndre Jordan, Bill Walker (playing in the D-League), Mike Conley Jr. (not as good as AI), Brandan Wright, Spencer Hawes (getting better but is still dusty), Thaddeus Young, Javaris Crittenton (soon to be in jail) and Daeqoan Cook (career highlight will be winning 3pt contest) were all freshmen when they were selected in the 1^st round of the NBA draft and so far they have proven to be ineffective NBA players.

Here are 2 steps the NBA should take to solve this problem:

1) 1) Allow potential NBA players to take “Basketball” as a major. If people can major in Art and Music why can’t someone major in Basketball? Let the courses be about the history of the game and about life as an NBA player. Kids could learn about the dangers of being young, rich and famous. This would better prepare players for the new challenges they will face once they enter the NBA.

2) 2) Make the minimum amount of time spent in college 2 years. This would put the NBA on par with the NFLs eligibility rules and it would force kids to actually have to go class. Maybe the kids would form a bond with the school and get some pride and want to stick around to win something like Tim Tebow did with Florida. This might encourage a few more kids to stay for 4 years and actually graduate which is supposed to be the ultimate goal of going to college is it not?

But does the NBA want to solve this problem? Do they care that the majority of ‘one and done’ kids are terrible or are they more focused on the ones that turn out to be great? Does the league mind that they are robbing these kids of a chance to get an education? God forbid someone get a career ending injury. What would they fall back on? I mean Mike Conley Jr. isn’t qualified to run a Dairy Queen let alone the Memphis Grizzlies offense.

As long as there are players like Rose, Evans, Durant and Wall out there the NBA will do their best to get them into the league as fast as possible. If that means that they are diluting their talent pool with unprepared and underdeveloped players then so be it.

I understand that the NBA is a business and that priority #1 is filling the seats but they need to recognize that they are hurting their own product. Attendance numbers are down across the board and that might have something to do with the amount of dusty players that are currently in the league. Yes guys like John Wall will bring out the fans but no one wants to see John Wall dribble around a bunch of teenagers who don’t understand how to play system basketball.

It must also be noted that a lot of people that watch the NBA also watch college basketball. People who follow college basketball are often more hardcore than your average NBA fan. Why is this important? Guys that stay at a school for 4 years, like Tyler Hansbrough, gather a following. UNC fans love him and I am sure that more than a few of them started paying attention to the Pacers once he got drafted by them.

But who got attached to Thaddeus Young? He was in and out of Georgia Tech in an instant. The man up and vanished like a fart in the wind. Now he is just another role player in the NBA, a 21 year old that could have been a legend at GT and gained a following that would have supported him into his NBA career. Instead the only people that were excited when he was drafted by the 76ers were his parents and maybe his buddies who figured they would get an Xbox out of it or something.

The NBA needs to smarten up and realize that the current system they have is flawed. It has some success but for the most part it creates too many problems. Change needs to be made and soon or else we might see a starting 5 of Conley Jr, DeRozan, Holliday, Hickson and Hawes. I shudder to even think of it.

Random YouTube Video

Cheap Shots

In case you haven't seen it yet here is a video of Patrice Cormier absolutely destroying Mikael Tam during a game on January 17th

The hit has started a heated debate about cheap shots in hockey and what is to be done about them. On one side are the people who argue that it is all part of the game and there is nothing that can be done because there will always be cheap shots. On the other side are the people who feel like Cormier should face a severe punishment from the league and should also face legal consequences as well.

Countless people have given their opinion on what should be done and how the league can crack down on hits like this but in the end there is only 1 way to stop cheap shots like this, keep your head up and pay attention.

99% of cheap shots in hockey occur when one player has their head down and isn't paying attention. Remember when Paul Kariya got lit up by Scott Stevens, head down. Or more recently when Zach Kassian laid out Matt Kennedy with a massive hit, not paying attention.

Parise Breaks Rule #1

Matt Stajan Getting Owned (head down)

Stajan Doesn't Learn His Lesson

Scott Stevens on Lindros (head down in the trolley tracks)

Here is Steve Downie Killing Dean McAmmond (notice how McAmmond watches his pass instead of paying attention to his surroundings).

Ask Eric Lindros, if you skate with your head down you are going to get killed. It is a simple truth.

When playing minor hockey one of the first lessons kids are taught is to always keep your head up and always be alert when you're on the ice. Well it seems like some of these kids never learned that lesson or maybe chose to ignore it because too often in hockey games today I see guys skating around with their heads down.

Should the coaches be blamed? Partially, but the main culprit is the NHL.

In an effort to try and make the game more exciting a bunch of new rule changes were implemented which opened up the ice and gave players more freedom to skate without worry of being interfered with. This initiative was spearheaded by Comissioner Gary Bettman in an attempt to make the game more appealing to Americans.

What has resulted is that now players feel like they can't be touched when they have the puck so they don't need to worry about the other guys on the ice. The end result is a bunch of smaller guys flying around the ice trying to deke the whole team with their heads down. This more often than not results in cheap shots because players take it upon themselves to hit guys who aren't paying attention.

By no means I am condoning this sort of play and my feelings don't apply to guys who hit from behind, go for the knees, or use their stick as a weapon. Those guys need to be dealt with because they are intending to injure someone. These other guys like Cormier and Kassian are just playing physical hockey and imposing their will on the other team by laying out morons who don't follow rule #1.

Now a message to all of those softies out there who cry, "if a guy has his head down you shouldn't hit him." Go play tennis or maybe try knitting. Hockey is a contact sports. Let me say that again so you fully understand me. Hockey is a contact sports. This means guys hit one another during the course of a game because it is part of the game.

When I played football in high school one of the guys on my own team would always hit me from behind during practice because I would stop and watch the play instead of actually being involved in the play. At first I would get real pissed off because we were on the same team but after getting laid out 3 or 4 times I got the message and it never happened again. Play until the whistle blows and always be alert, lessons for life right there.

Hockey is a fast paced game and if you don't always have your head in the game bad things can happen. It is a sport that is played at blinding speed by a bunch of mammoth men who have knives on their feet and sticks in their hands. If you step onto that sheet of ice and think for 1 second that you are invincible or that you won't get hit then you are an idiot.

You know the best way to stop cheap shots from happening? More cheap shots. Do you think Phil Kessel is going to try and skate through a whole team with his head down anymore after seeing what will happen to him? Hockey players may be stereotyped a morons but no one could watch the hits that have been doled out lately and not learned a lesson.

As for people saying that legal action should be taken against these guys they need to smarten up. It's hockey, that is just the way the game is played. Always has been and always will. Now if a guy hits another player with his stick well then that is a different story. That becomes assault with a weapon and intent to injure. There is no place for things like that in sports and legal action should be taken in those extremely rare cases. In terms of a guy leaving his feet to ring someones bell there is a system in place for dealing with that, it's called 2 minutes for charging.

No doubt Patrice Cormier will get a harsh sentence from the QMJHL due to the extraordinary amount of pressure the league is under from the media. I understand that they have to do something to appease the masses and Cormier will probably be made an example of but I don't really feel like there should be any consequences.

In the end the players will police themselves, as they have always done, and the game will continue as it is. Guys like Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin will never be touched much like Joe Sakic and Steve Yzerman before them had free passes but as for everyone else it is simple, keep your head up and be alert.

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Judging Success

With their win on Sunday over the Chargers the Jets earned the right to play the Colts in the AFC Championship. Needless to say I couldn't be more pumped about this fact but having said that if I was asked as a fan if I consider this season a success I would have to say no.

Were there a lot of positives that have come out of this season already? Yes, but when it comes to sports there is only 1 way to judge success and that is by championships won. If the Jets don't win the SuperBowl then this season wasn't a success.

This of course is only my belief and maybe I am expecting too much or maybe fans of other team expect so much less which rubs off on the team itself and allows them to label seasons where they didn't win it all a "success."

This is my main problem with Leaf fans.

In a recent article I chirped Leaf fans for cheering Curtis Joseph like he was some sort of hero when he never won anything for them. I got a tonne of emails about this and had people telling me I was a moron because Joseph led the Leafs to the playoffs in 4 straight seasons and is 4th all-time in regular season wins.

My response was simple: how many Stanley Cups did he win and how many Vezina trophies did he win?

The answer is 0.

Here is a man who never won a single award and never won a Stanley Cup. He won a lot of regular season games but was never good enough to take his team to the Cup Finals and win it all and was never the best goalie in the league. Therefore his career can be deemed impressive but not successful.

If you asked Joseph what his 2 goals were going into his NHL career I am 100% positive his response would be to win a Stanley Cup and a Vezina award. He achieved neither and I am sure that will bother him until the day he dies.

Yet Leaf fans will give him a standing ovation and treat him like a God simply because he took them to the playoffs.

When did the most stories franchise in hockey allow its expectations to sink so low? When did it become OK to simply just make the playoffs?

A sad day for the Toronto Maple Leafs and their fans really.

It isn't just the Leafs that have this problem however as in every major sport there are certain teams that have become so terrible and so downtrodden that they feel like making the playoffs is a success, or in severe cases having a winning record is a success.

Let me tell you right now that going 43-41 in the NBA is not a "successful" season. That is not good enough and should never be considered good enough under any circumstances. If fans start to believe that meager accomplishments like a winning record are good enough then the players will believe it as well and then everybody just starts aiming for mediocrity.

Back to the Jets.

While their current season may not be a success if they don't win the SuperBowl there are still a lot of positives to build on.

Mark Sanchez has done as well as anybody could have hoped for a rookie quarterback and a 3-4 defense that lost its nose tackle (Kris Jenkins) and still was ranked #1 overall is always a good thing. Revis emerged as the top shutdown corner in the league and Shonn Greene stepped up big time after Leon Washington went down.

So there were good things to talk about about unless they bring home the Lombardi trophy it will have all been for not.

This is the one thing I like about Yankees fans. They expect to win every year and are thoroughly disappointed if they don't. They may be obnoxious douchebags who are for the most part bandwagon fans but at least they don't settle for merely making the playoffs. Fans from other teams could learn something from them.

In the end it all comes down to how you as a fan define success. Do you define success by championships or by meager accomplishments? Do you judge players based on awards won or meaningless statistics like 'wins in the regular season?'

I refuse to settle for 2nd place and I don't think other people should be happy with 2nd place either. In the immortal words of Herm Edwards, "you play to win the game!"

Preach Herm. Preach

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J-E-T-S JETS! JETS! JETS!

"We ballers. Let's Go. People always hatin on u but we seem to prevail everytime just comin with the negativity and we will respond."

That is a tweet from Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis today after a 17-14 win over the San Diego Chargers. A win that almost nobody expected and that will send the Jets to Indianapolis to play the Colts next week in the AFC Championship.

Going into the game no one was giving the Jets much of a chance, as every single member of both the CBS and FOX pregame shows picked the Chargers to win. But in the end the Jets stuck with what had worked for them all year - running the ball and playing solid defense - and got the victory. It may not have been the most exciting game but they won and that is all that matters.

Shonn Green was the MVP today as he racked up 128 yards with 1 TD on 23 carries. His 53 yard run in the 3rd quarter broke the game open for the Jets and was the longest postseason scoring play in franchise history. Not to be forgotten is Mark Sanchez who played a solid game. He made the 1 mistake which ended up as an interception but other than that he did a good job protecting the ball and standing tall in the pocket. He didn't win us the game but he also didn't lose it for us which is all you can ask for from a young quarterback.

I was really worried after the 1st quarter as the Jets started the game four straight three-and-outs but then realized that they had played the worst quarter of football I had seen them play all year and they were only down 7-0. This was still a game up for grabs.

From there the Jets defense took over and showed a bend but not break will that forced the Chargers into kicking field goals. This would prove to be the key to the game as Nate Kaeding missed 3 field goals and cost his team the game.

It must also be mentioned that the Chargers made a lot of mental mistakes that hurt them in the end as they had 4 false start penalties, in their own stadium, and 2 personal fouls one of which was given to Vincent Jackson for kicking the challenge flag thrown by Rex Ryan after Jackson had made an unreal catch. If that penalty hadn't occurred and if Jackson had kept his cool the Chargers would have had the ball at the Jets 23 yard line instead of the 38. Only one way to describe that move by Jackson, bush league.

Staying on the topic of shitty attitudes I feel I must talk about Philips Rivers who is a Grade A douchebag. He is notorious for talking trash during the games and often gets really personal. He is also a really poor sport and often throws tantrums if he loses (like back in 2006 and 2007 when the Patriots beat the Chargers). Today he was at it again when he basically cried to the ref after Revis came down with an unreal interception. I hate Rivers and there is nothing better than watching him walk off the field after losing a playoff game. Keep racking up those regular season wins though buddy and you will be in the HOF in no time.

Since I am a Jets fan I am loving life right now. I was really worried about Rex Ryan as a coach mdiway through the season as he seemed fond of not using timeouts and being unable to manage the clock late in games. The Sanchise was another point of concern this season as he was throwing interceptions left and right but he has settled down as of late and seems poised and calm in the pocket making a lot of smart decisions.

What I love most about the fact that the Jets are going to the AFC Championship is how it validates them to all the people who were saying they only got in because teams rested their starters. Did the Bengals rest their starters in the Wild Card game? Did the Chargers rest their starters today? No, and the Jets shut them down completely and imposed their will on the ground.

Now the Jets get an opportunity to face the Colts again. Everyone remembers that it was the Jets that beat the Colts in Week 16 and brought an end to their perfect season. A game that spawned a huge debate about not just whether it was right or wrong to rest your starters but also whether the Colts should have gone for the perfect season.

The Jets took advantage of the fact that Peyton Manning was on the sidelines for the 2nd half and won the game keeping their season alive. Now they will have to play Manning for a full 4 quarters and see whether or not they are the better team.

Another wrinkle worth mentioning about the fact that the Jets won is that it upset the pattern that was developing so far in these playoffs. Before the 5th seed Jets knocked off the 2nd see Chargers all the top seeds were winning. Minnesota beat Dallas earlier in the afternoon and earned a shot to play the Saints in the NFC Championship. That game will be the 1st seed (Saints) vs the 2nd seed (Vikings).

In the AFC it will be the 1st seed (Colts) vs the 5th seed (Jets). So if the Chargers had won then it would have been the best teams in both conferences playing each other for a chance to go to the SuperBowl. Too bad the Jets ruined the pattern.

Jets Head Coach Rex Ryan said it best, "a match up that probably nobody wanted, but too bad."

Comments like these are nothing new for Ryan as he has become quit notorious for his brash comments to the media about how great his team is and about how underrated he feels they are. He even went as far as saying he thought the Jets should be the favorite to win the SuperBowl going into the playoffs. Some might say he was crazy but if you look at the way playoff games usually unfold then it really isn't that crazy.

The Jets are a team that plays great defense and runs the ball. These are the 2 most important aspects of the game when it comes to the playoffs. You need to be able to shut down your opponent and set the pace of the game with your rushing attack. The Jets can do both these things and proved it today by limiting the #1 ranked passing attack to just 14 points.

The only problem the Jets have is scoring a lot of points. Should the defense collapse for a quarter and give up 14 or 21 points then of course it will be hard for the Jets to come back as they really don't have that quick strike ability but let's just hope that doesn't happen.

I was planning on not mentioning this since I din't want to jynx it but I feel it deserves some discussion. I want to point out the lucky breaks that the Jets have gotten so far in these playoffs. So far through 2 games their opponents kickers have missed 6 field goals. 6! Shayne Graham missed 3 times in the Wild Card game last week and today Nate Kaeding missed 3 field goals. These are two of the top kickers in the game so the fact that they screwed up so badly is an absolute fluke. I will admit this and I am OK with it because it means that the Jets might be a team of destiny. I just hope the trend continues next week with Matt Stover.

So here we are. Down to 4 teams and the New York Jets are one of them. Rookie quarterback and a rookie head coach. They could break so many records if they win on Sunday and get to the SuperBowl most notable would be Rex Ryan getting a chance to break the curse of fat coaches not winning the SuperBowl.

I am pumped the Jets made it this far and the whole season has been a great success. Having said that I still think we can win it all and win our first SuperBowl since 1969 when Namath made "the guarantee." Now let me hear all the Jets fans out there:

J-E-T-S JETS! JETS! JETS!

Random YouTube Video (Courtesy of Bryan Cruse)