The Last Of The Mohicans

Figured I did an MMA blog, thought I'd change it up some more with a baseball blog. A little out of season but suck it up...

Going through my daily sports search online, I came across an article informing the reader that Roy Halladay had bought ad space in the Toronto Sun and posted a "Thank you". Can someone already oozing class somehow ooze even more? The answer is YES! This guy is a class act as a person and an athlete. I have always had a soft spot for sports stories, and to watch an athlete, such as Roy Halladay, definitely pulls at my emotional strings.

In an era where athletes usually make the jump to the Big Leagues or fade away, Roy overcame, what was appearing to be him fading away, the odds and made it back to the Show. In my opinion, Halladay is the greatest pitcher to ever dawn a Blue Jays uniform, and is currently (and has been for the last number of years) the best pitcher in the MLB. Halladay has some very solid pitches, but his selection is nowhere as dominating as some current MLB pitchers. I think you would be hard pressed to argue that Halladay's selection of pitches is better than those of Santana or Hernandez, Burnett, even Lincecum. That's not to say that Roy doesn't have good pitches. He has great pitches, but its his mental approach to the game that separates him from all other pitchers and maybe any other pitcher who will ever pitch again.

The mental approach I see with Halladay when he pitches, I can honestly say I haven't seen from another athlete, each time competes, except possibly for Tiger Woods, who I believe is the mentally strongest athlete on the planet. I know most athletes realize that they're lucky that they make a living playing a game, however, I don't think that most realize that the game they play is still a job and they are compensated handsomely to do so. Halladay is not one of those athletes. As Jack Armstrong would put it, Halladay brings his "Lunch pale and hard hat" every fifth day. Not to say professional athletes don't take what they do seriously, I believe that Halladay just took it to a whole other level, which could usually be seen his training, game preparation, stats, and finally his eyes during competition.

Furthermore, usually when athletes ask to be traded I have anger and resentment towards them, but this was different. He never came out and said he wanted to leave Toronto, however, he did provide management with the impression that he would be exploring options after his contract ended. Even with a no-trade clause he was willing to let the Jays explore opportunities, so that they would be left with more than just draft picks. More than some Toronto athletes can say *cough* Carlos Delgado *cough*.

At the end of the day, I rarely want to see athletes who leave Toronto do well, however, I would love to see the Phillies win one for Halladay. I don't think there'll be anyone booing Halladay when the Phillies visit in June. The 'thank you' he gave us today is just icing on the cake. Looking back the fans of the Toronto Blue Jays should be a lot more thankful than that!

P.S. Whatever became of Gustavo Chacin?

An MMA Post!!

I know, I know, MMA doesn't have GMs, but I have a buddy who is tired of reading about a sport he has no interest in, so I promised I would write a post regarding his favourite sport (and obsession) MMA, more specifically the UFC.

The other night we were discussing the UFC in general and we started talking about the current champs. I thought it was too bad that Brock Lesnars career might be in jeopardy. I personally feel that, if/when he comes back, he'll completely dominate the Heavyweight division. This led to thinking about how if that were to occur, that 4 of the 5 weight classes would have current champions that are practically unstoppable. These divisions of course being lightweight (BJ Penn), Welterweight (George St-Pierre), and middleweight (Anderson Silva). Personally I have always kind of liked dynasty's in sports, which I feel is a similar comparison, where teams make themselves the team to beat. I like having someone where there's an underdog. A David vs. Goliath type scenario. Definitely the 3 latter champs are the current Goliath's in their respective divisions.

Let's look division by division. After Penn dismantled Florian I didn't see anyone else who might be able to even compete with BJ. Following the complete domination of Diego Sanchez, I know that there is no one in the division at the same level of Penn. Similarly, in the welterweight division, when Fitch couldn't put a dent in St-Pierre's armour, I just couldn't see anyone who would be able to knock GSP off as Champ. Finally, Silva is on a whole other level. Sure, he dominated in the middleweight division, but it worries me how good he has looked as a light heavy too. No one in the middleweight division has come close. The closest I can remember was the Henderson-Silva fight, where it can be argued Henderson won the first round. However, that doesn't matter really, when Silva stops you in the 2nd round. After moving up to light heavyweight for a couple of matches, assuming they did tit to try and keep things interesting, Silva completely destroyed the competition, including former light heavyweight champ Forest Griffin. To further show this point, the Griffin fight was provided to put someone in the cage who would push the action against Silva, thinking that this might cause a problem for him. In addition, this wasn't one of those fights where you're putting a former Champ against someone who is past their prime and just trying to have it look like Silva is good in another weight class. Griffin is still in the prime of his career, and Silva has shown he can be a force in 2 weight classes.

On the flip side, I also enjoy parity in sports. That's why I wanted a salary cap in the NHL, and it's the reason the NHL has become so exciting. Anyone can win, any night. I believe that with these dominating champs, it makes the competition look weak, and to an extent, can leave fights appearing inconsequential. This is one of the reasons I still enjoy watching the light heavyweight division. The division is so deep that, although Machida appears to be a great competitor and Champion, there are still many fighters who appear capable of winning that title. With Silva appearing that he could be a force in two divisions, it's scary. In addition, I would imagine that from a marketing perspective, in the short term, the David vs. Goliath fights may sell, however, long term, I have no doubt that the audience and fans may become frustrated with no change or possibility of change in champions.

Lastly, at one point I suggested that the fighters in the UFC weren't very good, simply because they couldn't beat the current champions, but my friend was quick to point out, and made a good point, that if you were to take away the current Champions then the UFC is still full of great fighters and the parity would be amazing, which is very true.

Just a thought...

Todays Thoughts...

Colorado Avalanche

I keep hearing everyone say that the current Colorado Avalanche are a flash in the pan team. I have even stated in previous blogs that I thought they would eventually fall down in the standings. However, am I really surprised that they're doing that well? The answer, if you pay attention to the NHL as a whole is NO! And the answer is fairly obvious. Does no one remember last year when Stastny missed time with an injury and Joe Sakic's farewell tour was shortened around Christmas from a snow blowing accident? Before last year everyone was raving about the young up and comers such as Wojtek Wolski, Marek Svatos, and Paul Stastny. In fact, I remember thinking to myself, could Colorado have somehow out maneuvered the pendulum that swings, which allow teams to be really good until their great players are due to retire, then rebuild until they're competitive, and then they compete at a high level again, and then the cycle restarts. Sakic was nearing retirement, Patrick Roy retired, Peter Forsberg was battling injuries, Blake appeared to be at the end of a solid career (since has had a great resurgence in San Jose), David Aebischer didn't appear to be the goalie of the future they had hoped (I for one never thought he would be anything more than an average backup), and Foote was traded, which I believed was due to the fact that management realized that the pendulum had swung in the direction of a rebuild.

Before last years awful season, where they accumulated a disappointing 69 points, they had 3 straight, post lockout seasons of 95 points. Definitely the losses of Sakic and Stastny for extended periods had an affect on this, in addition to poor starting goaltending in the name of Peter Budaj. Now fast forward to today, where the defence, including such solid shutdown defensemen as Adam Foote and Scott Hannan both returning to the players, which they can be, Paul Stastny healthy and playing like the front line centre many thought he would be and the signing of a solid number one goaltender named Craig Anderson, Colorado looks poised to return to their play in recent years where the playoffs were a certainty. In addition, the Avalanche continue to have solid depth with the likes of Milan Hejduk, John Michael-Liles on defense and Budaj as a backup, which appears to be a much more comfortable position for him. And from that one poor season they now have the likes of both Matt Duchene and Ryan O'Reilly. With those two up and comers adding to the already young mix of players, including breakout players Chris Stewart and Kyle Quincey, I am not buying into the flash in the flash in the pan theory. Not too say that the Avalanche have completely dodged the pendulum swinging the other way, perhaps they simply were able to skip the rebuilding mode and are remaining competitive, although not yet challenging for a Championship. Although I must say, with the strong play of Matt Duchene this year as a rookie and Wolski finally hitting his long awaited stride, that time may not be that far away.

Will the real Conn Smythe Winner Please Stand Up...

I want to start this blog off my first congratulating Mr.Darren McCarty for his career, although not stacked with points and accolades he, in my memory, will be known more for his playoff heroics than his grit and toughness. More on this later...

When many think of the grinders (or role players, tough guys, whatever suits your fancy) who have come and gone players such as Barnaby, Probert, Wendel Clark and even current NHLer Maxime Talbot will all come to mind. Not to say that the hits they threw or even the fights they had weren't entertaining or didn't help their team, but in my opinion I surely hope that's not all they are remembered for because they did alot more for their teams than that, and should be remembered for more.

When I think of Probert I think of the fights he took part in. Of course the Marty McSorly fight comes to mind, but we should also remember that those hands were used for more than just beating opponents physically. In fact, not many know that Bob Probert participated in the annual NHL All-Star game during the 1987-88 season. Obviously I wasn't watching hockey at this time, but when I read this accomplishment by Probert I had to admit that I saw him in a completely different light.

An event I do recall, although I was at a young age, was Wendel Clark's hat trick against the LA Kings during Game 6 and Game 7 of the Conference Finals during the 1992-93 playoffs. Whether the Leafs should have moved on to the Finals has been and always will be debated but the fact remains that what Wendel Clark did throughout the playoffs, and specifically during the Conference Finals, is the definition of "Carrying a team on one's back". Examining his play and the statistics as well, points out how extraordinary he really was.

The most points Wendel Clark ever accumulated in one NHL season was 76 (93-94), which was also the only time he ever averaged anywhere near a point per game, except for his amazing 92-93 playoff where he accumulated 20 points in 21 games. After all is said and done and you see the bone crushing hits and one punch knock outs, Wendel Clark, I hope, is remembered more for his leadership and ability to rise to the the occasion than the physical punishments his opponents had to endure.

Another example of a moment in hockey that I actually viewed live, and in fact, left me a little choked up was a hockey moment with Matthew Barnaby. Known as a pest and instigator, by my own admission as well, I found a new respect for Matthew Barnaby on Mother's Day of 1998. During the post-season of 1998, where he tied for team lead in points at 13, he recorded a hat trick in game 2 of the Eastern Conference Semi Finals against the Montreal Canadians. Although scoring the hat trick was an amazing feat, especially for a so-called "pest" or "agitator", what he did at the end of the game was what I remember being special. With his mom coming to the game he dedicated his hat trick to her as a Mother's Day present. The sincerity with which he spoke is something I will never forget.

Finally, before I get back to Mr.McCarty we need to discuss someone more recent. That someone would be Maxime Talbot. With the Penguins losing Game 5 of the Conference Quarter Finals and appearing to be on their way to losing Game 6 down 3-0, Talbot did something forbidden and rarely seen during the NHL playoffs..... He got into a fight.
He dropped the gloves with Daniel Carcillo and to put it lightly, Talbot lost. However, this started a fire with his teammates, which led to a huge comback, a 5-3 win, and eventually onto Stanley Cup glory. In addition, to cap off what he started, Talbot netted the two Penguin goals to solidify Game 6 and the Stanley Cup victory. Not to take anything away from Evgeni Malkin as the winner of the Conn Smythe trophy, however, Malkin would have never dropped his gloves to inspire the way that Talbot did, and it frustrates me to an extent that players such as Talbot are overlooked.

Now for Mr.McCarty (I said I would come back to him), and my favourite and first memory that comes to mind. It's not his toothless grin or watching him sing lead in a rock band or even thoughts about his off-ice demons, it is his Stanley Cup winning goal in 1997 against the Philadelphia Flyers, where he deked Janne Niinimaa out of his jock strap...Actually, I'm pretty sure over a decade later Niinimaa is still wondering what happened.

It's not that I don't think that previous Conn Smythe winners are deserving, I think that I get frustrated from the lack of recognition that the true work horses receive. At the end of day, I believe that star players (i.e. the Crosbys, Malkins, Zetterbergs, or Neidermayers) lead their teams to the playoffs, but if those teams don't have great goaltending and warriors (i.e. the Clarks, Talbots, McCartys, Marchants and the Lemieuxs) then the championships wouldn't be wrong. At the end of the day though, they're all just happy to have the chance, to earn their paychecks, and know that they have the respect and admiration of their teammates. The Championships they win are worth more than any Conn Smythe trophy is, which in todays game, is pretty refreshing.

Olympic Outlook

With just over 3 weeks until Steve Yzerman announces the complete Team Canada roster for the 2010 olympics it's time to review...

In Goal

Luongo won the battle of starting goalies when his Canucks outplayed the New Jersey Devils and Martin Brodeur. Obviously this won't decide who will be starting for Team Canada as the blame can't rest solely on the shoulders of the goaltender, however, it is interesting to see, which goaltender stepped up. At this point and time, I still think there is debate who will be starting for Team Canada in Vancouver, however, I believe that there is no doubt that the three goaltenders will be Luongo, Brodeur and Fleury (Fleury as the 3rd string). Personally, I still haven't wavered in my opinion that Brodeur will and should be the starter. In any case, the future of Canadian goalies is reassuring, with names such as Fleury, Ward, Mason and Price (when he has shown flashes of being a solid NHL goaltender) leading the charge.

Up Front

In addition, it seems like everywhere I look I see people arguing that Stamkos should be on Team Canada. I'll admit that he is having an amazing year and I would love to see him wearing a Team Canada jersey but it always comes back to who will he replace? I had my doubts whether Joe Thornton, after his constant playoff choking year after year, would be left off his team, however, after an incredible start to the season, I wouldn't be surprised to see his line in San Jose, including Heatley and Marleau, be an actual line on Team Canada. Furthermore, Crosby will be on the team, which leaves 2 open centre spots, as Steve Yzerman has gone on the record of stating that he prefers centres to play centre and if possible to keep it that way when filling out the teams roster.

 Team Canada has always, and appears to be continuing to follow previous trends, to have a well rounded team by picking players not solely on their offensive abilities but their ability to play specific roles and the adaptability to move into other roles in case of injuries. This is where I believe that Stamkos loses out. With Thornton and Crosby as the 2 offensive centres, I don't believe that Stamkos game is well rounded enough to play that 3rd or 4th line centre role. But let's be honest, Stamkos is only 19 years and there is no doubt that he'll be helping Canada win Gold in future olympics for years to come (hopefully NHLers are participating in them!!), but I think people forget of a young 18 year old NHLer who was left off Team Canada's olympic roster and in fact scored 102 points in that rookie season. You might have heard of him, he'll be the number centre for Team Canada in 2010, Sidney Crosby.

Now here are my predictions up front:

Now these might not be the exact lines but I figure it'll be easier to list the players in that fashion.

Nash - Crosby - Iginla

Heatley - Thornton - Marleau*

St.Louis - Toews - Doan

Smyth* - Richards* - Morrow*

For the players with Stars beside their name I feel as if they require discussion. Where I had a feeling Joe Thornton might be left off the Olympic team, I didn't have Marleau even on the radar. After his solid start though, I truly believe that he has played his way on the team and I can't see Steve Yzerman leaving him off. Same goes for Smyth, Captain Canada appeared to have finally reached his end of representing Canada at the Olympics but after his strong start and demonstrating his ability to play with elite players, I think that he'll make the team not only because of sentiment but because he's earned it. The only worry I have is about the injury he sustained. Hopefully he can come back before the announcement and play a few strong games. After starting off the season on fire Richards has come back to earth but is still playing his gritty two way game that will serve him well in making this team. The same can be said for Morrow, in addition to the fact he missed most of last season with an injury, his bounce back this year is impressive.

In addition, I believe that if there is in fact a taxi squad or if there are to be other players who make the main roster it will come from the California State, in the form of Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry, both Anaheim Ducks. After slow starts from both, they have picked up their individual games. Unfortunately for the Ducks, it has not equated to wins.

Manning the Backend

I think other than the slight debate about who will be actually starting in goal, the defense for Team Canada, in my opinion, if fairly cut and dry. The starting pairing and anchors to the team will be a reunion between Chris Pronger and Scott Neidermayer, both getting older but remain top defensemen, both on their respective clubs and league wide. After them, you can be sure to see newly signed to long term contracts, Duncan Keith and Jay Bouwmeester, two very smooth skaters with good all around games. Rounding the top 6 will be two defensemen, who don't receive as much publicity due to their markets than their skill level, Dan Boyle and Shea Weber.

 After having been on my radar for a possible roster spot and at the very least a taxi squad spot, I believe Brent Burns' game has struggled this year, and after recently suffering a concussion, has all but shut the door on any possibility of him being in the mix. As for the final taxi squad position, allowing for one defenseman, it will come down to Dion Phaneuf, who seems to have finally found his all around game, even if it means lower offensive totals, and the LA Kings stud defenseman Drew Doughty, who has not only fast tracked the turn around to respectability for Los Angeles but has demonstrated that he will definitely be the anchor of Team Canada for years to come.