Category Archives: Sports

Another stupid trade

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The Rock made another stupid trade today. 2006 2007 Rookie of the Year Ryan Benesch, who the Rock received in the Colin Doyle trade, and solid defender Derek Suddons were sent to the Edmonton Rush for a couple of draft picks. Benesch was benched for the last two games of last season and the first two of this season, but during the off-season, Rock GM Mike Kloepfer was quoted as saying that there was no problem with Benesch, and he was an important part of the Rock’s future. Guess not.

I don’t understand this move at all. First off, Benesch had a great rookie year (did I mention he was Rookie of the Year?) and his numbers did drop last year, but it’s not like they fell off substantially. He was still the third leading scorer on the team. Good defenders are never flashy and don’t put up big numbers, but Suddons was one of the better defenders on the team. And yet all the Rock get in return are two draft picks? Granted, next year’s draft is said to be one of the strongest ever, but still, you never know what you’re going to get with draft picks. And now, what do the Rock have to show for getting rid of Colin Doyle (who, incidentally was recently ranked number one on NLLInsider.com’s top 50 players in the NLL)? Chad Thompson, Cam Woods (traded for Kevin Fines) and a few draft picks. Thompson is decent and Woods is a very good defender, but I’d take Doyle over them any day of the week and twice on Sunday.

I didn’t have a problem with the Wilson/Wiles/Hoar trade this past off-season, but after the Doyle/Benesch one, this one ranks right up there with the dumbest trades in Rock history.

Updated NLL predictions

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Since I posted my predictions of the NLL East and West divisions, there have been a few changes in the league. The team rosters have been released, a number of players have announced that they will not play in 2009, but most importantly the Chicago Shamrox have ceased to exist, and their players scattered to the four winds in the umpteenth NLL dispersal draft. Here are my updates to my previous comments:

East

Toronto

All the rumours I’ve read about Craig Conn say that he’ll be ready for action mid-January, so me might miss the first two or maybe three games. If he’s fully recovered and as good as he can be, he’s a big addition for the Rock. The Rock also picked up Bill McGlone from Chicago, and I know nothing about him. He had 40 points in 16 games in 2007, which is hardly MVP-worthy but pretty decent, though his production dropped by 50% in 2008. Goaltending is still a concern. I watched the first game of the season, and the Rock’s offense looked pretty solid, even without Conn.

Buffalo

They’ve lost Brett Bucktooth, possibly for the year, and I forgot that they will now have Sean Greenhalgh, who missed all of last year.

Rochester

So much for “not many changes”. Grant is still gone, but so now is Scott Evans, and the Gaits reunite once again as Gary’s twin brother Paul is the new head coach. As far as I know, Paul has zero pro lacrosse coaching experience, so that will be interesting.

Philadelphia

Athan Iannucci had surgery in the off-season, and from what I heard, was supposed to be out for a couple of games at most. Now there are rumours that he should be back mid-season, and I’ve read at least once that he may be out for the entire season. Losing the reigning scoring champ and league MVP is a pretty big blow.

Also Peter Jacobs retired.

Boston

They were going to be a pretty decent expansion team anyway, and now adding former Goalie of the Year Anthony Cosmo makes them even better. Jake Bergey chose to sit out the year rather than play with someone other than the Wings. I think this is odd, considering the Wings have twice left Bergey unprotected in expansion drafts, and he was chosen by Boston each time. The first time he was traded back to the Wings, this time he decides to sit out. Perhaps the Boston GM shoud have given Bergey a phone call before picking him?

Chicago

Ummm, gone.

Prediction

Losing Iannucci is major, so Philly is no longer my pick to win the division. I’m a little more optimistic on Toronto and a little less on Rochester. Chicago was last anyway, so that doesn’t really affect anything. Boston got better, but I don’t think they improved enough to put them into the playoffs. End result:

  1. Buffalo
  2. Philadelphia
  3. New York
  4. Toronto
  5. Rochester
  6. Boston

West

Calgary

One thing I missed that’s different about 2009 for the Roughies is the return of captain Tracey Kelusky, who missed half of last season. Shawn Cable is not on the roster, but he only played 7 games last year (for 5 points), so that’s not much of a loss points-wise. Avery was released, so it’s only Campbell and King in goal.

San Jose

Much-hyped rookie Paul Rabil has been signed, so add one to the list of potential offensive stars on the Stealth.

Portland

The only change here is that Dallas Eliuk has now officially retired. No big surprise, and he wasn’t going to be playing anyway.

Prediction

No changes.

The NLL season is on…

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…and the Rock are tied for first overall! And that’s after the game! A few thoughts about the game:

  • Great that we could watch it for free through nll.com!
  • The video quality wasn’t any worse than the $7 B2 games from last year, I didn’t think. Not bad in a small window, but not really watchable full-screen for any length of time.
  • Nice to see the Rock offense spread around — hat-tricks by Manning, Biernes, Wiles, and Ratcliffe. McGlone’s goal was very nice, and Manning’s seeing-eye goal to win it was nice too. Crosbie with 6 assists, Ratcliffe with 5, Wiles with 4.
  • No Craig Conn. No big surprise.
  • More of a surprise: no Ryan Benesch. He was benched at the end of last year, but Mike Kloepfer said during the off-season that there’s no problem with Benesch and that he’s a big part of the Rock’s future. Then he doesn’t play the opener. An upcoming trade, perhaps?

Stability in the NLL

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OK, this is getting ridiculous. There’s a news report saying that the owner of the Chicago Shamrox is trying to sell the team, and they might fold (as early as this week) which would require yet another dispersal draft. Is anyone else getting tired of this? The last time an NLL season began with exactly the same teams as the previous year (in the same cities) was 1993. Here’s what’s happened since:

  • 1994: Removed Pittsburgh
  • 1995: Added Rochester, removed Detroit
  • 1996: Added Charlotte
  • 1997: Removed Charlotte
  • 1998: Added Ontario and Syracuse, removed Boston
  • 1999: Ontario moved to Toronto
  • 2000: Added Albany, Baltimore moved to Pittsburgh
  • 2001: Pittsburgh moved to Washington, Syracuse moved to Ottawa, added Columbus
  • 2002: Added New Jersey, Montreal, Calgary, Vancouver
  • 2003: Washington moved to Colorado, removed Montreal
  • 2004: New Jersey moved to Anaheim, Albany moved to San Jose, Columbus moved to Arizona, removed New York and Ottawa
  • 2005: Added Minnesota, removed Vancouver
  • 2006: Added Edmonton and Portland, removed Anaheim
  • 2007: Added New York and Chicago
  • 2008: Removed Arizona
  • 2009: Added Boston, removed Chicago?

Sometimes franchises fail because lacrosse just didn’t sell in that city (Ottawa, Anaheim). Sometimes they fail because of corrupt or incompetent ownership (Vancouver). In the case of Arizona, it was some mystery reason that made no sense — they shut down operations because the season was cancelled, but then the season was resurrected two weeks later. Arizona management announced that they had already shut everything down and couldn’t restart it in time (though every other team managed it), so they’d just sit out 2008 and return in 2009. Of course they didn’t return at all, so it sounds to me like they used the season cancellation as an excuse to fold up operations since they weren’t making much money. This is too bad (particularly for Arizona fans), since they had a very good team that made the finals twice in three years. The Chicago thing sounds like another mystery reason — their owners say that it’s just too difficult to manage the team in Chicago from their offices in Atlanta and LA. Mmmmmmkay. Never heard of phones? Email? Video conferencing? Hell, hire someone who lives in Chicago that can run things.

What the hell ever happened to due diligence, not only on the part of NLL ownership groups, but on the part of the NLL itself?

Apparently the Chicago owner announced that he wanted to sell the team during the middle of last season, which means that less than two seasons after he bought an expansion franchise, he’s trying to sell it. Did he not consider the “difficulty” of running a team from a thousand miles away before spending $3 million to buy an expansion franchise? Did the NLL not ask him how he intended to run the team from a thousand miles away?

Twenty-one NLL teams have folded or moved since the league was formed in 1987. Of those, four only lasted a single season. Compare that to the NHL, where a total of eighteen teams have folded or moved since 1917. Three cities (Pittsburgh, Washington, and New Jersey) have had NLL teams fail twice, and the New York Titans are threatening to make it four. Does this sound like a good league to purchase a franchise in?

Having said that, the Toronto, Colorado, Calgary, Philadelphia, Buffalo, and Rochester franchises are all healthy. I don’t know about Edmonton, Minnesota, Portland, or San Jose, and I haven’t heard too much lately in the way of negative rumours about those four. I really hope that the late 90’s and early 2000’s were a kind of experimental phase for the NLL, where they tried lots of new markets, many of which failed. Now that they have a core of seven or eight franchises that are doing well and are unlikely to fold, perhaps we’ll see a little more stability.

On rebuilding

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I read an article on general borschevsky’s Maple Leafs blog the other day that contained the following text at the bottom:

Brian Burke believes Mats Sundin is not interested in returning to Toronto. No one seems to mind. Despite the obvious need for a top line centre, despite the need for veteran leadership, despite the fact that this team is already better then last year’s team and that the playoffs are just a short win-streak away,…

As soon as I saw the line about “the playoffs are just a short win-streak away“, I cringed. I immediately commented on the article, saying that this is why many people think that Leafs fans are stupid. No matter how bad the team is, these die-hards always seem to think that if we just make the playoffs, the Cup is ours. Or that making the playoffs, even if you get swept in the first round, makes the season a success. I wrote a little while ago about delusional Leafs fans who think that every year is the year. I, on the other hand, have accepted the fact that this year’s Leafs are not a contending team, and are likely not even a playoff team. In the long run, this is probably good, in that they will get a higher draft choice, and Our Saviour will pick the next Sidney Crosby.

For the record, general borschevsky is neither delusional nor stupid. He responded to my comment, saying that making the playoffs may not mean a Cup victory, but it does mean that we’ll be watching the Leafs in the playoffs, and it’ll be exciting and entertaining. And for those of us not employed in the sports industry, that’s what sports is, isn’t it? Entertainment? This is a good point — neither Toronto nor Pittsburgh won the Cup last year, but I am quite sure that Pittsburgh fans enjoyed last year’s playoffs a lot more than Leafs fans did.

There are three reasons a team misses the playoffs:

  1. Your team sucks because you are rebuilding, and after a few years, you will be a contender.
  2. Your team sucks because you are rebuilding, but after a few years, you will still suck.
  3. Your team just sucks.

Of course, the difference between groups 1 and 2 can only be seen through hindsight. The Leafs have missed the playoffs three years in a row, and I think they were squarely in group 3 during that span. They were not rebuilding — you don’t trade away a prospect and a draft pick for Yanic Perrault if you’re rebuilding. But the Leafs are clearly rebuilding now, so if they miss the playoffs this year, it will be because they have moved to either group 1 or group 2 — only time will tell which one.

I have been a Leafs fan my whole life. In that time, I have never watched a Leaf game hoping that they lose. So why is it that I cringe when someone suggests the possibility that the Leafs might make the playoffs this year? Because I have managed to convince myself that in order to get good, the Leafs will have to suck for a while. I mean really suck. It’ll be a tough couple of years (or more), but if Our Saviour does what everyone seems to think he will do, the Leafs will be a really good team in four or five years. I know that there’s no guarantee (losing is a necessary but not sufficient condition for building a winning team), but I have some confidence, so I’m willing to put up with the sucky years, mainly because the only other option is stay mediocre-at-best for the rest of whatever. So I’ve convinced myself that the Leafs will suck for a few years but in the long run, this is a good thing. I’ve braced myself for the pain. Then someone says “the Leafs could make the playoffs!” and I realize that if that happens, the pain will likely still come, it’s just been postponed.

I love analogies. I’m not always good at coming up with them, but I love them. So here’s my analogy. Sorry if you’re reading this over lunch.

You went for dinner at the local greasy spoon and had the monster chili burger with onion rings and big piece of coconut cream pie. And a Diet Coke. Man, was that good. But a couple of hours later as you’re sitting down to watch the Leaf game, you realize that the Diet Coke just isn’t sitting well. Damn, shoulda had the chocolate shake. The discomfort turns to pain, and a few minutes later, you start to wonder if your dinner might, ahem, come back. Twenty agonizing minutes later, you’re now hoping it will come back, since that will likely make the pain stop. You make your way to the bathroom not looking forward to what’s about to happen, but ready for it. But when you get there, the bathroom door is locked — your roommate, who went for dinner with you, is in there already with similar issues. Do you bang on the door and thank your roommate for allowing you to put off the inevitable upchucking? No, because as unpleasant as it’s going to be, you know it’s necessary, and you’ve braced yourself for it.

Dumb analogy? Well, sure it is. Dinner is likely coming back up anyway, whether the bathroom door is locked or not, whereas the pain of not making the playoffs but not getting any better either can continue indefinitely. So here’s another one:

You’re in the dentist’s office getting a filling. The dentist is about to stick that four-foot needle in your mouth (and then wiggle it around just in case you can’t feel it). You grip the armrests, leaving visible dents that patients that use that chair the next day can still feel, bracing yourself for the most unpleasant part of any dentist visit. (Aside: I’ve had many fillings and four or five root canals and crowns, and for me, the needles are always the worst part.) Just before the dentist gives you the needle, he remembers something. “Oh, hold on” he says, puts the needle down, and starts fiddling with some other equipment. You breathe out, having been given a little reprieve. A minute later he picks the needle up again and says, “OK, I’m ready now”. You grip again, and again he says “Oh, wait a sec” and puts the needle down. Now say he keeps doing this, several times. First off, you might want to find a less forgetful dentist. Secondly, by the seventh time he does this, you’re ready to yell “Just give me the damn needle, will you?” Do you want the needle? No, but you know it’s necessary and you’ve braced yourself for it.

So when someone suggests that the Leafs might make the playoffs this year, I say no. Not because I want them to lose, but because they are rebuilding and they need to lose for a while in order to get better. It’s necessary, and I’ve braced myself for it.

Straight outta left field

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Just announced: Brian Burke is the new Leafs President and GM. Wow, didn’t see that one coming.

I was going to call it the worst-kept secret in sports, but I don’t think anyone attempted to keep it secret, even when Burke was still employed by the Ducks.

Now that Our Saviour has come, the Leafs are a lock for the Stanley Cup within three years, right? If you believe the Toronto sports media who have been going apeshit over Burke for a year, you might believe that too. Personally, I will reserve judgement for a while. At least let the man arrive in Toronto before you start planning the Stanley Cup parade.

NLL West 2009 predictions

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I did my analysis of the NLL East two weeks ago, so now I’ll do the NLL west. I realized after I posted the east review that I should probably have waited for the rosters to be announced. I know about the major trades and such, but there are always players that are released and free agents signed that either aren’t announced or are announced quietly, so I’m partially going by last year’s rosters. Once the rosters are announced, I’ll look things over and post updates if necessary.

Calgary Roughnecks

2009 will be Calgary’s first full season with Josh Sanderson. Sanderson joins an already potent offensive group with Kelusky, Toth, Ranger, Cable, and Curt Malawsky, and they also signed Kyle Goundrey. The Roughnecks went 8-10 last year including the playoffs, but 4-2 with Sanderson in the lineup. Shooter is an impact player who will definitely have a positive impact on the ‘necks. The loss of veteran Steve Dietrich won’t make too much of a difference, since he played less than Pat Campbell last year anyway. The Roughnecks have both Ryan Avery and Matt King, both decent backups to Campbell.

Colorado Mammoth

In the past, trading Gary Gait away would be considered a major move for any team, but it’s almost a non-issue for the Mammoth since he’s been retired for three years. Actually, losing Gait is a plus for the Mammoth, since they picked up Andrew Potter and two first round draft picks from the Knighthawks essentially for nothing. Gee Nash is a top 5 goalie in the NLL and now has Andrew Leyshon backing him up. Gary Rosyski joins Gavin Prout, Dan Carey, and the always fun to watch Brian Langtry on the offense. This franchise has been at or near the top of the pack since they were in Washington, so it would be a mistake to count them out.

Edmonton Rush

The people who sew the names on the back of Edmonton Rush jerseys have really been earning their money in the past year. They made five trades in March alone last year (four on trade deadline day), and have made eight more since the season ended. In are veteran goalie Steve Dietrich, Spencer Martin, Cam Bergman, Andrew Biers, and Lindsay Plunkett, and out are Brendan Thenhaus, Kurtis Wagar, Matt King, Kyle Goundrey, Ben Prepchuk, and Dan Stroup. They also traded Troy Bonterre, but signed former Rock Tim O’Brien to play the same goon role. I’m surprised they released Stroup and losing Prepchuk will hurt as well. They also lost Mike Accursi who played part of last year with the Rush. Goaltending looks solid with Dietrich and Palidwor, but that’s a lot of offense to lose, especially for a team that was 4-11 and last place overall last year. Barring yet more trades, I don’t see the Rush contending anytime soon.

San Jose Stealth

Big changes for the Stealth! Former goaltender of the year Anthony Cosmo is gone, as are Gary Rosyski, Luke Wiles, Paul Dawson and a bunch of others. In are Peter Veltman and Matt Roik and a bunch of young kids. Colin Doyle posted his opinions on his blog after week 1 of training camp; he didn’t say whether they’d be better or worse, but he did say they’d be “bigger and a little more athletic”, and that the offense will “have a different flavor to it”. Not sure what he means by that exactly. Lots of the defenders are American rookies, and American lacrosse players tend to start with field lacrosse and learn box later. As Doyle says, “the learning curve will take some time”. With this many changes to the roster and this many American rookies, I don’t see the Stealth repeating as Western division champs.

Minnesota Swarm

The Swarm move from the East to the West division, and might be poised to take over the west. Goalie Nick Patterson showed he was the real deal last year, Craig Point was Rookie of the Year, and Ryan Cousins was Defensive Player of the year. The Swarm was third in the NLL in scoring last year, and had five players over 50 points, all of whom are returning. If the sophomore jinx doesn’t hit Point like it hit the previous ROTY, Ryan Benesch, I see the Swarm being a major player in the west.

Portland LumberJax

The LumberJax won the division in their first season, and then sucked rocks in their second season. Last year, they were pretty ordinary in the regular season, just squeaking into the playoffs, where they caught fire and went to the Championship game. Given all that, I have no idea how to predict what the Jax will do this year. The Jax lost Dan Dawson to Boston, and with all due respect to Brodie Merrill, he was their franchise player. Future Hall of Famer Dallas Eliuk has retired (or at least won’t be playing this coming year — there are rumours that he has not retired and may play in 2010, but he’s 44 now so I doubt that), but he wasn’t their starting goalie last year anyway. They did sign Dan Stroup and traded for defender Brad MacDonald, but the loss of Dawson might just push the LumberJax back down into “sucks rocks” territory.

Summary

New kids on the Western block Minnesota should take it. San Jose won’t repeat, but will still make the playoffs. Calgary and Colorado will be there too, as always, but there might be a pretty big gap between fourth place and fifth, with Portland and Edmonton finishing out of the playoffs.

Prediction:

  1. Minnesota
  2. Calgary
  3. Colorado
  4. San Jose
  5. Portland
  6. Edmonton

Update: After Chicago vanished and the rosters were released, I updated my predictions.

NLL East 2009 predictions

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Lacrosse season is almost upon us! The season starts at the end of December, and the teams are getting their rosters ready now. I don’t think I’ve done this in the past, but here is my mini-analysis of the NLL’s Eastern division as well as some predictions for how the teams finish. The teams below are listed in no particular order; I’ll get to the predictions at the end. I’m a Rock fan so I’ll start with Toronto.

Toronto Rock

It turns out Dan Ladouceur did not retire at the end of last year as previously believed (though I never did see an official statement to that effect), but will play at least one more year. Honestly, I’m not sure how much Laddy can contribute anymore. He used to be a very solid defenseman, but he’s not nearly as effective as he once was — though I do remember saying after one game last year that he played really well. Jim Veltman did retire which is a big loss for the Rock, but he will join the coaching staff and I think he’ll do a good job there. I’m happy with the Rock’s choice of Chris Driscoll as the new captain. He’s a veteran player who’s respected, and is also one of the unsung heroes of the Rock over the last few years. He can score with the best of them but also plays solid defense and is pretty quick on transition as well.

Manning and Ratcliff will lead the offense, and hopefully Ryan Benesch can shake the sophomore jinx that plagued him last year. Aaron Wilson is gone but was replaced by Luke Wiles, and I mentioned before that he looks like a similar player to Wilson anyway, so that’s a wash. If Craig Conn is healthy then he will be a strong addition. Jason Crosbie has scored more than 50 points in four of the past six seasons, so even if the two big “ifs” (Benesch and Conn) don’t produce, the offense is still better.

We lost Veltman but gained Stephen Hoar. Hoar is a good defenseman, but he’s no Jim Veltman. But Veltman was a hundred and eighty years old while Hoar is 26. At best, that’s a wash. There weren’t any other major defensive or transition changes, so call the defense a little worse, but not significantly.

My biggest fear for the Rock is goaltending. Bob Watson is coming off a Goaltender of the Year award, which is pretty impressive for a 7-9 team that didn’t make the playoffs. But he’s also 38, and Mike Poulin, a very capable backup, is gone. Mike Attwood, the new backup (gotta have a goalie named “Mike”, apparently), has played a total of zero minutes in the NLL. If Watson gets injured or just can’t play as well as he used to, the Rock could be in serious goaltending trouble.

Overall the Rock are improved, but it may not be by much. Exactly how much depends on Conn, Benesch, and Watson.

Buffalo Bandits

Not much to say here. They’re the defending champs and have made no major changes in the off-season. Tavares is 40 now but doesn’t seem to be slowing down, and Steenhuis and Powless are only likely to get better.

Rochester Knighthawks

Not many changes for the K-Hawks this year, but they are significant. Out: John Freakin’ Grant, arguably the best player in the game right now, and Stephen Hoar. In: Gary Freakin’ Gait, arguably the best player in the game ever, and Aaron Wilson. Gait is not likely to be what he once was — heck, when he retired in 2005, he wasn’t what he once was. But he’s still Gary Gait, and though he won’t replace Grant, he and Wilson together might, numbers-wise anyway. Last time Grant was injured for a while, Shawn Williams stepped up admirably and became the de facto team leader. Might that still happen with Gait on the team? Sure it could.

But if Wilson+Gait=Grant, then the Knighthawks are a Hoar short of the same team that missed the playoffs last year. From that point of view, it could be argued that they’re not much improved from last year, and I suppose that’s true. But I don’t see the Knighthawks missing the playoffs this year. Why do I think Rochester will improve while I’m not so sure about Toronto? Easy: Rochester underperformed last year, while Toronto didn’t.

Weird: Grant will not play this year, but he will be an assistant coach in Rochester. John Grant the injured player coaching Gary Gait the former NLL Championship-winning coach seems a little weird.

Philadelphia Wings

No major changes in the off-season for the Wings either, though reigning MVP Athan Iannucci got injured in the summer league and there were rumours that would not be 100% this coming season. If that’s true, that’s a big blow to the Wings, but from what I’ve heard recently, those rumours were unfounded and Nooch will be ready to go. Kyle Wailes has been signed and has apparently dealt with his work visa issues, and so he will be able to play this year, so he joins Iannucci, AJ Shannon, and Merrick Thomson on the offense. Geoff Snider broke Jim Veltman’s loose balls record last year, and is an absolute monster on faceoffs. The Wings have Hajek, Jacobs, and Taylor Wray on defense, and they also have Rob Blasdell and Brandon Miller in goal, possibly the best one-two punch in the NLL.

I expect big things from Philly this year

New York Titans

The Titans went to the eastern division final last year, and now have a new coach in Ed Comeau. What else can I say but that they are an all-round solid team? I remember seeing Jarett Park play last year and was impressed, and Jordan Hall was a heckuva player as well. Powell, Boyle, and Maddalena make for a pretty potent offense, and Matt Vinc was an All-Pro last year. Turns out Americans can play box lacrosse after all. Who knew?

Boston Blazers

Meh — they’re an expansion team so they’ll suck, right? Maybe not. The Blazers grabbed Dan Dawson from Arizona in the dispseral draft (or was it from Portland in the expansion draft?), and remember Dawson brought the LumberJax from missing the playoffs to the Championship game the very next season. They also got Jake Bergey from Philly, and a couple of pretty solid goaltenders both named Mike: Miron and the aforementioned Poulin. Will they make the playoffs? I’d say probably not, but this will not be one of your 2-14 expansion teams (à la Edmonton or Ottawa).

Chicago Shamrox

Chicago only made one major move in the offseason, but it was a doozy. The Shamrox acquired Anthony Cosmo, one of the best goaltenders in the league, from San Jose for Matt Roik, a better-than-decent goaltender himself, and a couple of draft picks. This doesn’t immediately turn them into a contender, they’ll need some more offense for that, but they might win a few more 11-9 games rather than losing 17-11.

Summary

The East will be a tight race, as it always is. I think the Bandits and Wings have to be your top two teams. New York proved last year that they can compete with anyone, and I think Rochester will rebound from an off year, so that gives you your top four. This means that Toronto, Chicago, and Boston will not make the playoffs. Man, I hope I’m wrong about Toronto, but I have no idea which of my top four would have to drop out for Toronto to get in. If I had to guess, I’d have to say Rochester.

Prediction:

  1. Philadelphia
  2. Buffalo
  3. New York
  4. Rochester
  5. Toronto
  6. Boston
  7. Chicago

I’ll do the NLL West next.

Update: After Chicago vanished and the rosters were released, I updated my predictions.

Leafs fans are revolting

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Howard Berger posted an article last week on his blog that insulted Leaf fans in every way possible. He called us sheep, delusional, easily placated, and said that we have “an insatiable willingness to accept whatever garbage is tossed [our] way”. His point is that the powers-that-be at MLS&E are getting rich off of us stupid Leaf fans who continue to buy tickets and merchandise in record numbers. He even brags about how much money he personally is making from Leafs fans who read his blog. Then after all that Leaf-fan-bashing, he adds the postscript: “p.s. You’re the very best, most devoted fans in the world… don’t change a thing” If you asked every sports writer in Canada to write something more patronizing and ass-kissing, I doubt anyone could.

After posting this garbage article, he then has the nerve to disallow comments on it. Well OK, he hasn’t formally disallowed them. Comments are moderated, which is fine, but in the four days since the article was posted, he hasn’t seen fit to approve a single one. I left one myself that hasn’t been approved, and if you think that mine is the only one, you’re as delusional as us Leaf fans.

Update: Between the time I wrote this article and the time I published it, Mr. Berger and/or the Fan blog people approved 25 comments on this article, including mine.

Are there delusional Leaf fans out there who see a three-game win streak in October and want to plan the Stanley Cup parade? Sure there are. Are there delusional Leaf fans who hate a particular player and want to trade him for a bucket of pucks one day and then want to nominate him for the Hart trophy the next? Sure. Are there Sens fans who do the same? Yes, absolutely! Canadiens fans? Yes! Red Wings fans? Yes! Predators fans? Well, probably not. But Berger lives and works in Toronto, probably the biggest hockey market in North America, if not the world. In absolute numbers, there may be more hockey fans in Toronto than any other city in the NHL (with the possible exception of New York City, just because greater New York has four times the population of the GTA and two NHL teams — three if you include New Jersey). Every city has its share of delusional fans, so it stands to reason that if your total number of fans is higher, you’re going to have more delusional fans. And guess what? These delusional fans are also frequently the loudest, so a sports writer like Berger is going to hear from them a lot more than from us realistic fans. But Howard Berger has covered the Leafs for years, so I would have thought that by this point, Berger would be smart enough not to paint all Leafs fans with the same brush.

Even my favourite sports broadcaster, Bob McCown, has talked about Leafs fans as sheep in the past. He doesn’t say it because people buy lots of tickets or merchandise, or even because they support a team that hasn’t won a Stanley Cup in forty years; he says that people that cheer for a team that so openly treats them like garbage are sheep. I guess I can understand his reasoning, but I’ve grown up in Toronto and have been a Leafs fan all my life. I can’t just up and change teams, though I do admit to having had doubts in the past.

A bunch of Leafs blogs have gotten together and written an open letter to Leaf fans saying that we’ve had enough of media types criticizing and insulting us. They suggest a “revolt” of sorts, saying that we do have alternatives to these media types who blame Leafs fans for failings of Leafs players, coaches, and management. These blogs provide commentary and insight on the Leafs without the condescension of Mr. Berger and other Toronto sports writers because they are written by actual Leafs fans. I don’t have the time to read all of these blogs myself, but I do read Down Goes Brown, which I find quite insightful and thought-provoking and sometimes just funny. Pension Plan Puppets has some good stuff as well, though there seems to be less discussion and analysis and more “Go Leafs Go!” on that one.

For my part, I have removed the Toronto Star’s Damien Cox’s blog from my blog list. I have only been reading it for a few weeks and I never found it all that insightful anyway. I never subscribed to Berger’s blog in the first place. Now I’m posting this article in support of this “boycott” of sports writers who think of Leafs fans as moronic sheep while they make money off of us.

Having said all that, I’m not going to stop listening to McCown.

The hockey story that just won’t die

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Mats Sundin had a physical in Toronto the other day in preparation for his return to the NHL. Toronto apparently has cap room to sign Sundin, but why the hell would they? They’re trying to rebuild and are letting the young kids play to see what they’ve got. Would Sundin make the team better? In the short term, yes, but at the expense of taking playing time away from the kids. They’ve already got veterans like Blake and Kaberle for the kids to learn from. News flash (via Ron Wilson): the Leafs are not going to contend for the Cup this year (or likely for at least the next couple), so what would be the point of signing Sundin?

Nobody from the Leafs organization will say this out loud, but you have to know they’re thinking it: they also don’t want to be too good this year, otherwise their chances of winning the John Tavares sweepstakes get lower and lower.

Sundin has said that if he plays this season, it will be his last season. But this is the same guy who refused to waive his no-trade clause last year (when the Leafs could have gotten something for him) because he didn’t like the idea of being a rental player. He said that playing for the Stanley Cup is only meaningful if you’ve been playing with the team since the beginning of the season. And now, less than a year later, he’s sitting out until two months into the season and is hoping to sign with a Cup contender, and then he’ll retire after the season’s over. In other words, he’s sitting out specifically so that he can be a rental player.

I harbour no ill will towards Sundin; if he comes back with another team (even the Senators or Habs), best of luck to him. But part of me will remain angry with him for a while because of his refusal to waive his no-trade clause last season. He could have made the Leafs a better team in the long term by agreeing to a trade for draft picks and/or prospects, but he didn’t want to do that because (he said) he didn’t want to be a rental player and (he said) he wanted to remain a Maple Leaf. I accepted both of those statements at the time. But his actions since the end of last season conflict with both of them, and now I don’t know what to think. It’s kind of too bad that he won’t get the retirement send-off that one of the best captains in Leaf history should have had. Rather than have the big celebration of his career in his last-ever game in Toronto like Jim Veltman had this past year, the Sundin era in Toronto just faded away.