Category Archives: Sports

Jim Veltman – Mammoth Head Coach?

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The Mammoth fired their head coach the other day after a 0-2 start, and GM Steve Govett, who’s never coached a lacrosse game in his life, has announced that he will be taking over as coach. We’ll see how long that lasts. But if he’s looking for a new head coach that does have some lacrosse coaching experience, former Rock captain Jim Veltman is available. The Mammoth had some interest in Veltman a couple of years ago, asking him to retire to join their coaching staff. He declined, played one more year, and then retired to join the Rock’s coaching staff. The entire staff other than Veltman was then unceremoniously fired a couple of months into the next year, and it was announced that Veltman would join the front office in an unspecified position. As far as I can remember, the Rock have never mentioned his name again.

Veltman has never been a head coach at the NLL level, but he was one of Glenn Clark’s assistant coaches for a short while. He has been coach (for a while, a player-coach) of the OLA’s Ajax-Pickering Rock for a while, so he certainly has coaching experience.

If Veltman is hired by the Mammoth, just remember folks – you heard it here first.

Weirdest. Lacrosse game. Ever.

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The 2010 Rock home opener was last night at the ACC, and it was a great game – it was very physical, the score was close throughout, and it went to overtime. There was a lot of fighting and tons of penalties. It was also rather weird, in that there were a number of things that happened that I don’t think I’ve ever seen before, but more on that later. The Rock won it 8-7, with rookie Garrett Billings scoring the winner in OT after a beautiful behind-the-back pass from Colin Doyle. It was very nice to Doyle back in a Rock uniform after being traded away three years ago in one of the worst trades in Rock history.

Doyle is known for being a scorer and team leader, and you will never find a better clutch player anywhere, but he’s a pretty tough dude as well. He doesn’t fight much – I’m sure his coaches won’t generally let him since he can’t score from the penalty box – but it happens, and five minutes into his Rock return, he got involved (and held his own, I thought) with Boston’s Paul Dawson, who’s known to be a good fighter. Of course, Boston losing Paul Dawson for nine minutes (roughing + facemasking + fighting major) is a little easier for the Blazers to take than Toronto losing Doyle for nine. But after Doyle and Dawson were in the box, and before the next whistle was even blown, four other fights broke out around the benches. The refs let them all go until the players decided that they had had enough and just walked away, and then all eight players were given game misconducts. Luckily for the Rock, Boston lost league MVP Dan Dawson and a couple of other offensive guys, while two of the players the Rock lost weren’t likely to see much floor time anyway. The unmistakeable message from the Rock was “You will not touch our captain.” I am not a fan of fighting in lacrosse or hockey, and I think starting four fights was a bit extreme, but I did stand and applaud as the Rock players headed to the dressing room after standing up for their teammate and captain.

As rare as a Colin Doyle fight is, there were a number of things in that game I don’t think I’ve ever seen in a lacrosse game before – and I’ve seen every Rock home game but one in the last nine years:

  • Four separate fights on the floor at the same time
  • Eight players ejected at once
  • Coincident facemasking penalties (I’m not sure I’ve ever seen facemasking penalties at all, actually)
  • Goaltender leaving the crease penalty
  • Unsportsmanlike diving penalty
  • Dan Dawson fighting – Dawson pounded the snot out of Pat McCready, who’s a decent fighter himself. I suppose being 6-foot-5 and consistently punching downwards helps

The first quarter alone must have taken 45 minutes to play. Things settled down after that, mainly because neither team could afford to lose more players. Losing Dan Dawson really hurt the Blazers offense, while the Rock defense was decimated – all four Rock players tossed were defenders. There were times when both Doyle and Manning were playing D – I figured that they just got caught on the floor during a quick transition, but then realized that they had to play defense because almost half of their defenders were in the dressing room.

Bob Watson now has a GAA of less than 7.00 after two games, which is pretty unbelievable. He made some pretty key saves in OT, but throughout the game, Cosmo was even better. If not for some of Cosmo’s acrobatics, this game would have been over long before it was.

So the game was pretty weird, but in actual fact, the whole Rock experience was a little different too. Two for the Show were not there (sorry, have to dry my tears before continuing… (snif) OK, I’m better now), and for the first time ever, none of the players (save Whipper) had nicknames. The attendance was only about 11,000 – I was surprised at how low that was. I was expecting 14-15,000 or so. They did have the same “hostess” as last year – the pretty girl who gives stuff away, and she had a helper this year. I question the wisdom of asking fans trivia questions for prizes during play, which caused me to miss a goal, but then I suppose that’s my own fault for not watching the game. The fact that I let that draw my attention away from the game it itself a little weird, considering it was a really good, albeit weird, game.

Roberto Alomar and Richard Nixon

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On my way home from work today, I was listening to a Prime Time Sports podcast from the other day, the day after the Baseball Hall of Fame announcement. During the show, Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star made perhaps the dumbest comparison in the history of, well, anything. They were discussing the fact that some players are not voted in to the Hall for years and then are voted in, when nothing changed in the meantime to suddenly make them HoF-worthy. Griffin said:

Richard Nixon in 1960 was no different than the guy in ’68. He was not elected in ’60, he got to be President of the United States in 1968.

He’s comparison the election of a President with the selection of a player into the Hall of Fame. This is not just an apples-to-oranges comparison, this is apples to Volkswagens. And I don’t mean Beetles, because they’re sort of round like an apple, I’m talking about a Touareg or one of those big old bus things. And one that’s not red. Or green. Or yellow.

1971_VW_bus

  • I don’t know what the population of the US was in 1960 or 1968, but it was well over a hundred million, most of whom were eligible to vote. A large percentage of them are less than fully informed on the issues and where the candidates stand on things. There are about 500 professional baseball writers who can vote for the HoF, and they all follow baseball in great detail because it’s their job. You and I may not agree with them all of the time, but they are better informed on baseball than the majority of voters are on politics.
  • When you vote for the President, you choose exactly zero or one of the candidates. There are only a handful of candidates, and usually only two that have any real hope of winning a Presidential election. Not only will people vote for you if they want you to be President, but they may vote for you if they don’t want the other guy to be President. Perhaps people thought Kennedy was a better choice for President in 1960, but that Nixon was a better choice than Hubert Humphrey in 1968. The HoF voters can vote for any number of eligible candidates, so voting for one doesn’t automatically mean that you can’t vote for someone else. If you think Andre Dawson and Tim Raines are both worthy, you can vote for both of them. If you don’t think Dawson is worthy, you don’t vote for Raines to try to keep Dawson out.
  • You elect a President for what you think he is going to do. You elect a baseball player to the HoF for what he’s already done.
  • Does he really think that Richard Nixon was no different in 1968 than in 1960? He may not have served as a Senator or Congressman during that time, but things happened during his life that changed who he was. Plus the country changed, so even if he wasn’t right for the country in 1960, he may have been in 1968. None of that means anything when electing someone to the HoF. What Alomar did during his career will not change between now and a year from now.

I’m not sure what surprises me more – that a professional journalist would make such a meaningless comparison, or the fact that none of the three other professional journalists / broadcasters on the show called him on it.

Rock 2010 season opener

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Just watched the Toronto Rock – Boston Blazers game on TSN2. Dave Randorf and Brian Shanahan did the announcing, and did a fine job. Randorf isn’t that familiar with lacrosse or the NLL, but is doing a far better play-by-play job than many other lacrosse neophytes I’ve heard in the past. The video is very clear (apparently in HD, though I don’t have HD), and the whole thing is just very professional – much better than the Score did a few years ago. After a couple of years without it, it’s great to see Rock games on TV again. All the games are streamed live on the internet, but this is just orders of magnitude better.

One thing I hate about watching lacrosse on TV is that the announcers always feel like they have to explain all the rules – over and back, shot clock, crease violations, stuff like that, during every game. I understand that lacrosse is a niche sport and they’re trying to build interest among those watching who may be unfamiliar with it, but it’s still annoying to those of us who already know it. Another thing I hate is that lacrosse doesn’t get the high-paying advertisers, so we get lots of the short-infomercial type commercials – MicroForce, Slap Chop (we actually have one of these, with a different name, and it works really well), Palm Wallet… (Having said that, the second half of the game had less of these than the first half.) Of course, lacrosse is on TV rarely enough that I’m not going to complain about it. Uh, except now.

First Rock goal of the season: rookie Creighton Reid? Unassisted? After a bad play by Dan Dawson? What planet are we on again?

Rock rookie Garrett Billings scored four in the first half of his first ever NLL game and one more in the 4th. Hominuck, LeBlanc, Reid and Billings each scored in their first Rock game. Beautiful.

Remember when I said that the return of Colin Doyle might help Blaine Manning rebound from last year? Manning has a hat-trick in the first half and another goal in the 4th, while Doyle had a goal and seven assists.

Troy Cordingley said at half-time that they’re doing all the “little things” well, and one of the things he specifically mentioned is getting on and off the floor quickly. How did he manage to coach Josh Sanderson in Calgary last year? Sanderson is an outstanding player, but during his time in Toronto, he was always brutal for taking his time getting off the floor.

Other notes:

  • The edges of the carpet looks like they don’t fit near the edges. The time-delay video of the conversion from ice to lacrosse floor was very cool.
  • There were an awful lot of empty seats right behind the benches.
  • Boston should have won their challenge in the second quarter – the ball didn’t cross the line before the player stepped on the crease line, so the goal shouldn’t have counted.
  • Is Troy “potty mouth” Cordingley really a first-grade teacher? Wow.
  • A couple of times Boston players looked like they wanted to fight – kudos to the Toronto players for not responding.
  • Both Boston goalies are former (very capable) backups for Watson in Toronto. Watson outplayed them both, though Cosmo really pulled it together in the second half.
  • The NLL has a new stats provider this year, but they had problems in the second half of the game. Last year, Pointstreak was usually a couple of minutes behind the game, but right now, ten minutes after the game ended, the web site still says it’s 12-5 in the third, and has for half an hour or so.

Anyway, it was a great game, and it was surprising how different the Rock team looks compared to last year. I’m sure it’s not entirely because of Doyle’s return, but they seemed to be brimming with confidence, and playing smart. Looking forward to the home opener next Friday!

Oooooooh, Roberto!

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The baseball writers of America put their heads together recently and came up with this year’s list of inductees into baseball’s Hall of Fame. The HOF is a place that honours what should be “the best baseball players of all time”, but the players in the Hall are more accurately described as “the most popular baseball players among baseball writers”. For the most part, the lists are the same, but there are some players not in the Hall who should be, and some who are in but shouldn’t be. I wrote about the mystifying voting procedure last summer.

Anyway, the only player to get inducted this year is Andre Dawson, who I think is deserving. It took eight years for Dawson to get in, and when asked about that, he came up with this bit of brilliance: “If you’re a Hall of Famer you’re eventually going to get in“….mmmmmmkay. It’s actually the other way around, Andre – if you get in, then you’re a Hall of Famer. On the other hand, if you’re not a Hall of Famer and you get in, then you are a Hall of Famer. Reductio ad absurdum. QED.

Of course, it’s more interesting to talk about those who didn’t get in than those who did. Bert Blyleven missed again, this time only by five votes. I’m not sure about whether or not Blyleven deserves to be there. He was a very good pitcher, no question, but he only won 20 games once, and only made the All-Star team twice in a twenty-two year career. He also lost fifteen or more games seven times. Blyleven’s numbers remind me of Don Sutton – when Sutton was inducted into the HOF in 1998, many said that he didn’t deserve to be there. The argument was that Sutton was a very good pitcher for a very long time, but I don’t think that’s what the Hall of Fame is for. Sutton also won 20 games only once, and Blyleven looks the same – long career, good numbers with some great years, but never outstanding.

Roberto Alomar, on the other hand, was outstanding. He played in twelve consecutive All-Star games and won 10 Gold Glove awards. He only played in Toronto for five years (was it really only five?), but was one of the most talented players (arguably the most talented position player) ever to wear the uniform. He could hit, he took walks, didn’t strike out a lot, he could run, he could steal bases, and boy, could he play defense. Watching Roberto play second was just a joy – I remember going to games at Skydome with a bunch of friends and mimicking the Alberto shampoo commercials when he did something spectacular: “Oooooooh, Roberto!”. He only missed by eight votes – you might say he was within spitting distance of getting in (I’m afraid I can’t take credit for that one). I’d love to hear the voters who didn’t vote for him explain why not, but he’s pretty much a lock for next year.

As for the spitting incident itself, there are writers (Marty Noble is one such moron writer) who have admitted that they have not forgiven Alomar for that, although the umpire who was involved has. Look at the numbers people, look at the All-Star appearances, the Gold Gloves, how important he was to the teams he played for (if not for Roberto Alomar, the Jays would still be waiting for their first World Series), how he was the best second baseman in baseball for a decade or more, and how he lowered the ERAs of all kids of pitchers thanks to his defensive prowess. And after a sixteen year career of that calibre, you’re going to deny him Cooperstown because of a one-second loss of control? A loss of judgement? A brief, sort of periodic total breakdown of judgement? Some kind of judgement failure? Some kind of failure to, you know, have judgement? (Sorry, faded into a Tragically Hip thing there)

Other players who missed out: Barry Larkin, Lee Smith, Jack Morris, and Tim Raines. Larkin and Raines should definitely be there – I might even have put them in before Dawson. Smith isn’t a lock but I would support him, and Morris is in the same boat as Blyleven and Sutton – very good for a long time, but probably not HOF material. Having said that, I’d put Morris in before Blyleven or Sutton – and Sutton is already there. Oh, and Mark McGwire didn’t make it either, but he never will. Even without the whole steroid issue (which should be a non-issue since he took them before steroids were illegal in baseball), he just wasn’t a good enough all-around player to make the HOF. In case you’re curious, I think Bonds and Clemens should be in (they were both locks before they ever touched steroids), and McGwire, Sosa, and Rose should not.

In other baseball news, one of the best pitchers of the last twenty years retired on Wednesday. When Randy Johnson was on his game, he was right up there with Clemens and Maddux as the best in baseball. Nobody had a nastier stare, and the fact that he’s taller than half the NBA made him even more intimidating. Any season where a pitcher has 20 or more wins and 6 or fewer losses and had an ERA under 2.50 is accurately described as incredible – and Johnson had three such seasons. Ten All-Star games, five Cy Youngs, World Series co-MVP, even a no-hitter and a perfect game. And given the era in which he pitched and the fact that he was a power pitcher, it’s amazing that he was not even mentioned in the Mitchell Report, and I have never heard any suspicions of him using steroids. A guaranteed first-ballot Hall of Famer. Of course, I thought Roberto Alomar was too.

NLL 2010 season preview

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Lacrosse season is almost upon us once again! Here are my predictions for each NLL team – I will revisit this posting at the end of the season to see how I did.

Attention Facebook readers: You might want to click the “View Original Post” link at the bottom of this note. Facebook sometimes messes up the formatting.

 

East

Boston Blazers

In: Matt Abbott, Dave Cutten, Ryan Hotaling, Mike Kirk, John Ortolani, Matt Smalley, Mike Stone

Out: D Carter Livingstone, F Jay Thorimbert, D Dilan Graham, D Curtis Ptolemy, F Bryan Bendig, T Jason Bloom

Burning question: Will the Blazers suffer the sophomore jinx after an impressive inaugural season?

Comments: With Cosmo in net and no significant changes, I don’t see any reason why the Blazers shouldn’t at least contend for a playoff spot in the East again this year. However, I think the Knighthawks and Rock improved more during the off-season.

Prediction: Fifth

 

Buffalo Bandits

In: D Chris Driscoll, F Frank Resetarits, F AJ Shannon, F Jon Harasym, D Darryl Gibson, G Angus Goodleaf

Out: D Pat McCready, D Clay Hill, G Mike Thompson, D Phil Sanderson, D Rich Kilgour, F Cory Bomberry, F Brian Croswell, GM Darris Kilgour (though he’s still the coach)

Burning question: Will Tavares ever age?

Comments: For a team that went to the division final last year, there are a lot of changes on the Bandits roster. Mike Thompson was a better-than-average backup goalie, but he’s gone and they have a rookie backing up Ken Montour – if Montour falters at all, the Bandits might have a problem. Losing Sanderson, Kilgour, and McCready will hurt, but Chris Driscoll was one of my favourite Rock players over the last few years, and Darryl Gibson is a solid defender as well. The Bandits have been so good for so long now that it’s hard to count them out as long as Tavares and Steenhuis are around.

Prediction: Third

 

Orlando Titans

In: D Mike Ammann, D Steve Ammann, D Michael Evans, F Dan Hardy, F Ryan Learn, F Kenny Nims

Out: F Jamie Rooney, T Keevin Galbraith, both Titans fans

Burning question: The Titans went to the finals last year, and are likely to be in contention this year as well, but will anyone in Orlando care?

Short term prediction: Second

Long term prediction: The Titans will last a year, maybe two, in Orlando before either moving again or folding for good.

 

Philadelphia Wings

In: F Dan Teat, F Bill McGlone, F Kevin Huntley, F John Christmas, D Bob Snider, F Jason Crosbie, F Josh Sims

Out: F Athan Iannucci, F Merrick Thomson (for a while), F A.J. Shannon, D Rob Van Beek, F Jon Harasym, F David Mitchell, D George Castle, D Benson Erwin, T Matt Bocklet

Burning question: Does gaining Dan Teat and Jason Crosbie make up for losing Athan Iannucci and Merrick Thomson? (Answer: no.) Bonus question: Iannucci will miss the entire 2010 season, but will he ever again live up to the expectations he set in 2008?

Comments: If the Wings were counting on Athan Iannucci to help them rebound from a lacklustre 2009, they had to change their tune during the offseason when he announced that he would miss all of 2010. They picked up a couple of scoring threats, notably Dan Teat, but did nothing to help their defense. Maybe they’re hoping to win a lot of 21-18 games. Then just before the new year arrived, the Wings put Merrick Thomson on the Physically Unable to Perform list, and haven’t said how long he’s out for. That’s bad news for Wings fans.

Prediction: Sixth

 

Rochester Knighthawks

In: F John Grant, F Scott Evans, F Andrew Potter, G Aaron Bold, F Peter Jacobs, D Regy Thorpe, GM Curt Styres

Out: D Sandy Chapman, G Ben Every, D Troy Bonterre, D Pat Cougevan, F Ken Millin, F Dean Hill, D Bill Greer, GM Regy Thorpe

Burning questions: Is Grant fully recovered? Is the Gary Gait experiment over?

Comments: After a disastrous start, the 2009 Knighthawks (minus John Grant and Scott Evans) made the playoffs, losing to the Titans in overtime. Adding Grant and Evans should bring the Knighthawks back into contention. Then again, the 2008 Knighthawks, with Grant and Evans, didn’t make the playoffs.

Prediction: First

 

Toronto Rock

In: F Colin Doyle, D Phil Sanderson, D Pat McCready, D Sandy Chapman, F Mike Hominuck, D Creighton Reid, D Brendon Doran, D Anthony Lackey, F Garrett Billings, F Stephan LeBlanc, D Drew Petcoff, F Kim Squire, GM Terry Sanderson, coach Troy Cordingley

Out: F Lewis Ratcliff, F Luke Wiles, D Chris Driscoll, F Craig Conn, F Matt Carroll, D Peter Lough, F Michael Fleming, D Chad Thompson, F Mark Scherman, F Bill McGlone, F Jason Clark, F Jason Crosbie, GM Mike Kloepfer, coach Jamie Batley

Burning question: I had this entry already written when the Rock had to go and trade for Colin Doyle, so now I have to write it all again. The original burning question was “Who are all these new people and why are they no better than last year?” Now it’s: “Can the Rock find the old Blaine Manning now that Colin Doyle is leading the search party?”, although having just gone through the In and Out lists, the “who are all these new people” part still definitely applies.

Comments: Can’t tell the players, or the captain, coach, GM, or owner, without a program. Stepping up the defense (which they have definitely done) was absolutely necessary, but someone other than Colin Doyle has to score goals. Blaine Manning has dropped in productivity (both in numbers and visibility on the floor) since Doyle left, so he needs to find his way again. If Watson gets hurt, the Rock are in deep trouble in net – I just don’t think Steve Dietrich is up to the task of being a starting NLL goalie any more.

As much as I love seeing Doyle back, I wouldn’t call the Rock a lock for the playoffs quite yet. Four of last year’s top six scorers (Ratcliff, Wiles, Crosbie, and Conn) are gone. If Doyle’s offense replaces Ratcliff’s, and Hominuck replaces Crosbie, we’re still down over 100 points from Wiles and Conn. Then again, Blaine Manning may rebound from a few off seasons with the return of Doyle, and Garrett Billings is a highly rated scoring prospect. Kim Squire’s career was cut short due to personal problems off the floor, but if he’s managed to exorcise those demons, he can be a very exciting player to watch. The defense is a lot better, but the goalie tandem of Watson and Dietrich is probably the oldest in the history of the NLL.

Prediction: Fourth

 

West

Calgary Roughnecks

In: T Rob Van Beek, F Carlton Schuss, D Rob Kirkby, D Craig Gelsvik, F Craig Conn, G Chris Levis, coach Dave Pym

Out: F Curt Malawsky, F Kyle Goundrey, D Greg Hinman, D Kyle Couling, G Pat Campbell, coach Troy Cordingley, assistant coach Terry Sanderson

Burning question: Where Terry goes, Josh has been sure to follow, and so GM Brad Banister probably has Terry Sanderson’s phone number blocked. Is Josh even allowed to talk to his dad?

Comments: Malawsky is now an assistant coach, but they’ve got Craig Conn to replace him, and they’ve also brought defenders Rob Kirkby and Craig Gelsvik back from retirement. But it’s rare that a team lose the head coach (and an assistant coach) in the offseason following a championship win. We’ll see how much of Calgary’s success from last year came from the coach. I suspect a fair bit of it did, but this is still a very talented team.

Prediction: First

 

Colorado Mammoth

In: F Ilija Gajic, F Alex Gajic, F Chad Culp, F Cory Conway, F Cliff Smith, D Ryan McFayden, D Kevin Unterstein, D Matt Wilson, F Shaun Dhaliwal, F Peter Veltman, T Brad Richardson

Out: G Gee Nash, F Dan Carey, D Jim Moss, F Gavin Prout, F Andrew Potter, D Ray Guze, D Matt Leveque, F Tyler Crompton, F Matt Danowski, F Chris Gill, F Gary Rosyski, T Tim Booth, T Bryan Safarik, T Mike Ward

Burning question: How will the Mammoth deal with the loss of the only captain in team history? Bonus question: Are there any more Gajic brothers?

Comments: Lots of changes for the Mammoth. Alex Gajic and Cliff Smith were Colorado’s first round draft picks. But the Mammoth weren’t happy with having two of the top five picks, they parted with the only captain in team history to get the #2 overall pick Ilija Gajic.

This might be the first step in a rebuilding process for Colorado, who had six years of dominance before finishing with their first-ever sub-.500 season last year. It’s not like the team will suck this year, but I don’t see them finishing any higher than third.

Prediction: Fourth

 

Edmonton Rush

In: T Brodie Merrill, F Gavin Prout, F Derek Malawsky, F Ryan Powell, D Scott Stewart, D Ryan Ward, G Matt Disher, GM/coach Derek Keenan

Out: F Ryan Benesch, D Callum Crawford, D Scott Self, F Dan Teat, GM/coach Bob Hamley

Burning question: Is this the year the Rush finally don’t suck?

Comments: Adding Merrill, Prout, Powell, and Malawsky certainly adds to the possibility of a non-last-place finish – this would only be the second time in five seasons.

Prediction: Third

 

Minnesota Swarm

In: F Ryan Benesch, D Scott Self, D Callum Crawford, D Alex Turner, F Sean Thomson, F Brock Boyle

Out: D Ryan Ward, F Chad Culp, D Ian Rubel

Burning question: The Swarm have been a pretty decent team over the last few years – even winning the East two years ago – but have never won a playoff game. Is this the year?

Prediction: Fifth

 

Washington Stealth

In: F Luke Wiles, F Lewis Ratcliff, T Tyler Codron, F Joel Degarno

Out: F Colin Doyle, G Aaron Bold

Burning question: Where the fuck is Everett, Washington?

Comments: Colin Doyle tied Josh Sanderson’s league assists record (though he was later eclipsed by Sanderson and Dan Dawson) and won the league scoring title, and Rhys Duch set a new rookie scoring record, but overall, 2009 was a disappointing season for the Stealth. The Stealth now have Lewis Ratcliff and Luke Wiles but lost Doyle – numbers-wise, this is a net positive for Washington, but losing a player like Doyle is more than just numbers. Still, I think the Stealth are in pretty good shape for 2010.

Prediction: Second

Long Term Prediction: The Stealth had a decent team last year but couldn’t draw flies in San Jose, which has a population of almost a million people. So they moved to Everett, a town of about 100,000 people 30 miles north of Seattle. This is like the Rock moving to Barrie, except that Barrie is 25% bigger than Everett. They have a class-A baseball team called (I’m not making this up) the Everett AquaSox. The Stealth will continue to have the lowest attendance in the league (though it might still be higher than in San Jose), and will be gone before you can say “Columbus Landsharks”. Though maybe I’m wrong and they’ll get lots of people driving down from southern B.C. to keep the numbers up.

 

Overall Standings

East

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

West

  1. Calgary
  2. Washington
  3. Edmonton
  4. Colorado
  5. Minnesota

The big trade and the other big trade

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This week was quite a landmark week in Toronto sports. Roy Halladay, quite possibly the best pitcher in Toronto Blue Jays history, and Colin Doyle, quite possibly the best player in Toronto Rock history, were both traded – Halladay left Toronto while Doyle returned. Halladay’s trade was expected and, I suppose, logical, but saddening, while Doyle’s return is a cause for celebration.

I am really going to miss Roy Halladay. He is the best home-grown pitcher the Jays have ever had, and rivals Roger Clemens for the best overall pitcher in Jays history. He won a Cy Young, and finished in the top five in Cy Young voting five times. His stats over the past few years have been staggering; according to Wikipedia, “From 2002-2008, Halladay has a .698 winning percentage, 113 wins, 9 shutouts, 37 complete games, and 7.14 innings per start, all of which are the best in the American League in that time frame.” Think about it – no AL pitcher (and only one NL pitcher) won more games during that time span, and Halladay played for some pretty mediocre Blue Jay teams. And 37 complete games in seven years – nobody else even has 20. Last year Halladay had nine – the only other pitcher to have more than four was Zack Greinke, the Cy Young award winner, who had six.

But the stats aren’t the whole story. Halladay is simply a joy to watch. I loved watching an opposing hitter look at strike three from Doc. Rarely did you see the batter argue that it wasn’t a strike; more often, you would see the “Holy crap, that was a nice pitch” look on his face. Doc was widely known for his work ethic and his stamina (the complete games I mentioned above). He first came up looking like a star and then totally forgot how to pitch. He was sent all the way down to A ball, a move which would destroy the confidence (and likely career) of lesser mortals, but Halladay worked his ass off and used that opportunity to rebuild his delivery. When he made it back to the majors, he became untouchable. And in this era of an athlete’s fall from grace becoming commonplace (Kobe, the Steroid Kings of baseball, even Tiger), you will never find a classier athlete than Doc anywhere. The deal isn’t finalized yet, so it’s not clear who the Jays are getting in return, but it looks to be at least three good prospects that the Phillies don’t want to give up. I figure if Pat Gillick wants to hold on to them, they’re likely players we want to have.

Colin Doyle was the Toronto Rock’s best player for many years. He won five Championships with the Rock, was named Championship Game MVP three times, and League MVP once. He was first or second in team scoring every year that the Rock existed, including their year as the Ontario Raiders when Doyle won NLL Rookie of the Year. Almost three years ago, Doyle was inexplicably traded to the San Jose Stealth and the Rock’s fortunes departed with him. Of the three seasons he was in San Jose, the Rock missed the playoffs twice, while the Stealth made the playoffs all three years. Doyle is a scorer – a powerful forward who can plow through defenders on his way to the net – but he can also be a playmaker. Indeed, Doyle hasn’t finished with less than 53 assists since 2002, putting him in the top five every year. He, like Halladay, has a strong work ethic and is a fan favourite. He has the ability to make those around him better, and thrives under pressure. Doyle was the captain of the Stealth and is the logical choice to succeed Chris Driscoll as captain of the Rock. As good a player as Lewis Ratcliff is, Doyle is better and I think the Rock just made a big step forwards towards making the playoffs for the first time in three years.

Amazing stats of the day

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Before their win over Anaheim on Monday, i.e. over the first eight games of the season, covering almost 485 minutes, the Toronto Maple Leafs had played with a lead for a grand total of six minutes.

The last time Mariano Rivera gave up runs in different innings in the same game was June 1999, and he has never done it in the post-season (ref: Ed Price). His career postseason stats are unbelievable:

Division Series: 34 games, 51.1 IP, 0.35 ERA, 0.58 WHIP
League Championship Series: 30 games, 45.2 IP, 0.99 ERA, 0.83 WHIP
World Series: 20 games, 31 IP, 1.16 ERA, 0.97 WHIP.

Sure, he gets worse as the post-season goes on, but his “bad” is everyone else’s “amazing”. It’s people like him, Andy Pettitte, and Derek Jeter that make it harder and harder to hate the Yankees. But I’m doing my best.

I Believe in Our Saviour, The Brian

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So the Leafs haven’t started the season so hot. In fact, they can’t really be any colder than they have been. Every part of the team is having troubles, and word on the street is that this is the worst team in the league, which means that the Leafs might have sent Boston a first overall draft pick in exchange for Phil Kessel. There’s been a lot of talk about some of Burkie’s deals, and the fact that he is so obviously building a team full of fighters and tough guys. But surely there’s a method to his madness: his teams in the past have always had tough guys protecting his skilled players and allowing them to do their job. Nobody was going to run Teemu Selanne because they knew Chris Pronger or Brad May or someone would be on top of him in a second. This gave Selanne a little extra space, which he used to his advantage. That’s the strategy that Burke is using in Toronto as well – get a bunch of tough guys to protect the skilled players. Of course the problem is that there are no skilled players to protect. That’s why Colton Orr is only averaging 7 minutes a game – he’s got nothing to do, so he’s always hanging around Phil Kessel’s house.

But if you are planning on purchasing a fifty-karat diamond, wouldn’t you get the state-of-the-art security system installed first? You’re not going to buy the diamond and then leave it on the kitchen table until the security system gets installed a week from Tuesday. You make sure that the security system is in place and working flawlessly before you go pick up the diamond. So when Phil Kessel returns and Burkie trades Lee Stempniak, Jason Blake, and a third round pick to Washington for Alex Ovechkin, he’s already got the protection in place.

Of course, that trade isn’t going to be quite that easy. Might have to bump the draft pick to a second-rounder.

Please note that this article might be one of the only ones written this season about the Leafs and Brian Burke that didn’t use the word truculence once. Go me.

European coaches in the NHL

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Back in the 70’s and 80’s, there were only a handful of European-born or Russian-born players in the NHL, a few Americans, and a ton of Canadians. You had your Borje Salmings and your Peter Stastnys and your Jari Kurris but it wasn’t until the late 80’s and early 90’s (after the breakup of the USSR) that you really started seeing a lot of Russians and Czechs and Slovakians and such in the NHL. So over the last twenty years, there have been hundreds of European-born players in the NHL, and many of them have had long playing careers. Some have even made the Hockey Hall of Fame.

So where are all the European coaches?

Former players moving on to coaching is commonplace: of the thirty current NHL head coaches, twenty of them played in the NHL at one point. (In case you’re curious, the ten that have not are Paul Maurice, Ken Hitchcock, Peter DeBoer, Todd Richards, Jacques Martin, Barry Trotz, John Tortorella, Cory Clouston, Todd McLellan, and Andy Murray.) But not one of the thirty current NHL head coaches was born outside of Canada or the US.

Are Europeans simply not interested in coaching at the NHL level? Are they being discriminated against somehow? I don’t have any insight or opinions as to why this is happening, but I think it’s an interesting question.