Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Devils win in the igloo and thoughts on things that I missed

Sorry, it has been a while, just didn't have time when I had things to write or things to write when I had time.

The New Jersey Devils used two Zach Parise power-play goals (7 and 8) to nip the Penguins in Pittsburgh 2-1.
The Devils played their best all-around game of the year and with the exception of a Johnny Oduya miscue that handed Pittsburgh their only goal, looked pretty much flawless.
Marty Brodeur handled every shot except the mentioned goal by Evgeni Malkin and looked excellent in goal.
Jamie Langenbrunner assisted on both Parise goals, while Brian Gionta and Mike Mottau each picked up a secondary assist.
Colin White returned to the team for his first action of the season and provided some toughness on the blueline.
Once Paul Martin is able to return-the Devils should be back to full strength.
The Devils move to within one game of .500 on the season at 9-10-2 and will return to action Friday in Atlanta for a game vs the Thrashers.

I realize that the NFL week is over, but wanted to add a few thoughts on what I missed.
The Browns 33-30 overtime win over Baltimore was about as crazy a win that I could dream about.
Sidebar-I wish I could find a video of "Murderin' Ray" Lewis mumbling his way up the tunnel after Phil Dawson's tying field goal was ruled good.
"It's over-we won".
But still to allow a pathetic offense such as Baltimore's to score 30 points, still makes me wonder about this week's game vs Houston.
The Texans can score points and they have a wideout that can get deep in a hurry in Andre Johnson.
The Texans have playoff hopes of their own and Cleveland cannot afford to take the game Sunday lightly.

The officials made the correct call, but the NFL needs to allow field goals to be reviewed in the future IF the review is based on something tangible such as contact with the goalpost/crossbar.

Meantime, for the locals.
MASN does a simulcast of someone named Anita Marks and her talk show and it seems Ms.Marks either is ill-informed on the NFL rulebook, the actual on-field call on Dawson's kick, or both.
Marks spent 30 minutes whining Monday that "even though the kick was good, it was reviewed and the rulebook says you cannot review a field goal".
Read the rulebook and you will see that Video review is not allowed on field goals.
But on this play, the video was NOT reviewed, the officials grouped together and reviewed the kick without video.
That is allowed and the proper way to deal with the situation.
Wally Williams (former lineman for the Browns and Ravens) attempted to tell Marks this at least 3 times (and that is just the 30 minutes that I could stomach watching), but she refused to either listen or understand.

I have not watched the Seahawks 30-23 win over the Bears yet, but I will as the week goes on.

The Angels swapping SS Orlando Cabrera for White Sox hurler Jon Garland appears to help both teams.
Cabrera will be a huge upgrade for the Pale Hose over Juan Uribe and Garland should settle into the Angel 4th rotation spot nicely.

Ryan sends us a note on the passing of Dick Wilson at the age of 91.
Who was Dick Wilson and why does his death merit mention here?
Well, most of you 30 and up (and Ryan) might remember Wilson's commercials as "Mr.Whipple", who implored his grocery customers to "please don't squeeze the Charmin" bathroom tissue.

Ryan also sends us another sad note of the passing of former Packer center Jim Ringo at the age of 75.
Ringo also is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

A Jim Ringo story for you goes like this.
At the end of the 1963 season, Ringo brought an agent to his contract talks with Packers Coach/GM Vince Lombardi.
This was at the time when agents were far from welcome in contract discussions and Lombardi was far from being open to the agent.
Lombardi excused himself from the room for a few minutes and returned and said to the agent that he was not allowed to talk about Ringo's contract.
When the confused agent asked why not, Lombardi replied "Mr.Ringo now plays in Philadelphia for the Eagles".
Shows how times change!


The Ashland Arrows appearance in the state semi-final is Friday in Dublin,Ohio.
The Arrows will battle the Cincinnati Anderson Redskins for the right to play for the State championship.

Finally, the Indians signed Masahide Kobayashi to a 2 year deal with a club option for a third.
Kobayashi last pitched for the Chiba Lotte Marines and I will be asking about him from our man in Japan Brandon Siefken.

Photo Credits
Parise-Gene Puskar-AP Photo
Dawson-Jamie Squire-Getty Images
"Mr.Whipple"-TV Land
Ringo-Topps cards

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