Devils sink Islanders 5-2

Five different Devils lit the lamp on Long Island and led the New Jersey Devils a 5-2 win over the Islanders.
After the Devils overtime loss to the Panthers (not covered due to work),the Devils have earned seven of a possible eight points over their last four games.
Devils goals to Ilya Kovalchuk (13 power play),Dainius Zubrus (7),Mattias Tedenby (5),Rod Pelley (3) and Vladimir Zharkov (1).
The Devils host Pittsburgh on Thursday.

Hell Raisers

1) Despite the Devils latest hot streak,the Devils are still six points behind the Islanders and currently are the worst team in hockey.
I am not sure how I feel about a late season run.
One way to look at things is that winning is always fun and beats watching the mess of a losing club.
On the other hand,I would hate to see a bunch of what turns out to be meaningless wins be the difference in a top three pick and a top ten pick....

2) Interesting game for Mark Fraser,who had his first ever multi-point game with two assists,fought Zenon Konopka and was beaten on both of the Islander scores.
Plenty of camera time for Fraser...

3) Finally,the first career goal for Vladimir Zharkov!
Zharkov had missed so many chances and luck came into play on a few of them,but sometimes in similar situations the players waits so long to come through that when it happens-a flood of good things happen.

4) Mattias Tedenby finally returned after a parade of scratches and scored a goal with an assist added as well.
Tedenby seemed to have the right attitude after the game as the first thing that he referred to was working more on the defensive end.
When a young player that is a noted scorer realizes what he needs to work on,a good career can be expected...

5) And glad to see former Buckeye Rod Pelley get a two point game as well.
If Pelley could ever get to the 12-15 goal mark in a season,he could eventually be a Selke award contender down the road.....

6) Matt Corrente will miss two to four weeks with a shoulder ailment suffered against Tampa on Friday.
No word on a replacement for the defenseman from Albany...

Photo Credit-AP Photo

Ryan Van Bibber Interview

I had the chance to ask some questions of Ryan Van Bibber of Turf Show Times,which is the top blog on the St.Louis Rams about his thoughts on Pat Shurmur's stint as the Rams offensive coordinator and to try to get some ideas on what Shurmur will be bringing to Cleveland.
Thanks to Ryan for his time in getting back to me and check out his site for any other Rams information that may interest you...

TRS: I know Pat Shurmur is a West Coast offense coach,but with the Rams did they run the true WCO or more of a mixture due to Steve Spagnuolo's preferences?

RVB: They did run a scaled back version of the WCO under Shurmur in St. Louis for a couple of reasons. First, they lacked talent at WR, and once Mark Clayton was lost for the season, they had no way of stretching the field with any consistency. Second, Shurmur kept the short passing game to help Sam Bradford's transition to the NFL. Another factor was a relatively young offensive line featuring a rookie LT and a second year RT, who didn't play much in his rookie season

TRS: Shurmur's offenses ranked near the bottom of the league in both of his seasons in St.Louis,was this lack of personnel,a lack of creativity in play calling or both?

RVB: Like I said above, the Rams low scoring offense was mostly a product of missing playmakers at WR and TE and inexperience at other key positions. They did improve their scoring by slightly more than a TD per game, but that was coming off a 2009 campaign in which they averaged less than 11 PPG. Spagnuolo kept it pretty conservative too, putting more of the onus for holding leads on the defense, a unit with more talent and experience. The question we all had was whether or not Shurmur and Spags would open it up in 2011 with more talent and another year in the system.

TRS: How popular was Shurmur with close followers of the Rams?
Were Rams fans pleased with his work or frustrated?

RVB:  Fans got frustrated with Shurmur, mostly as a straw man for the offense's inability to score points, the reasons for which are mentioned above. I think once the season ended and fans realized just how far the Rams had come, and how much they still needed, there was much greater understanding and tolerance for what they did on the field this year. However, another season of too conservative play would not have been tolerated.

TRS: Do Rams fans feel like their offense took a hit with the loss of Shurmur,a bump up with his replacement or generally blase'?

RVB: The biggest concern is the impact on Sam Bradford. As you know, Shurmur played a big role in his development, guiding him to one of the most successful rookie seasons in history. Bradford's smart though, and nobody is going to confuse him with Alex Smith. He should be able to handle a change in offense should the Rams go that way with their new OC.

TRS: I saw only two Rams games this season,but did see the final "play in" game vs Seattle.
Shurmur's play calling seemed pretty mundane and the lack of running the football with Steven Jackson against a less than strong defense raised some red flags for me.
Is that reasonably accurate?

RVB: Yes. Nobody can explain that game. In the days after, though, Spagnuolo took the blame for the way the team approached it. If the Rams don't improve next year, fans will not forget that game.

TRS:  Sam Bradford seems to be a big fan of Shurmur and the hope is that Colt McCoy will feel the same way about the tutelage.
Shurmur's reputation is of a QB guru with Donovan McNab in Philly and Bradford.
Should Browns fans expect McCoy to show improvement right away from working with Shurmur?


RVB: I would hope so. It's kind of funny to see Shurmur going from Bradford to McCoy, given the Red River Rivalry those two had in their college careers. McCoy seems well-suited to run that type of offense. Shurmur's great skill with QBs is to play to their strengths and set them up to be successful before asking them to press the limits.

TRS: What should Cleveland fans expect from a Pat Shurmur offense other than the WCO?
Any variations that he will mix in a bit?

RVB:  That's a good question that I'm not sure I have the answer for. Fans in St. Louis were waiting to see what the offense would really look like with some playmakers around Bradford. Losing Donnie Avery and his replacement, Mark Clayton, really took something away from what the Rams could do. I suspect he'll take it slow since McCoy hasn't had a full season of NFL experience and since the Browns will also be looking to bring in some receivers around him.

TRS:  Finally,After seeing Shurmur for two seasons,do you think the Browns made a good or bad hire and why?

RVB:  I think it is a smart move, from this point in time anyway. It seems like Mike Holmgren is going to be something of a de facto head coach, bringing along Shurmur the way Shurmur brings along young QBs

Thanks again to Ryan for taking the time to talk with us.
I will be back later tonight with a look at the Devils afternoon game against the Islanders....

Striking Down the Lightning!

The Tampa Bay Lightning struck first,but they didn't strike best as the New Jersey Devils gunned in the next four goals in the first period and cruised to a 5-2 win over the Lightning.
Devils goals to Ilya Kovalchuk (11 and 12),Patrik Elias (10),Travis Zajac (7 shorthanded) and Brian Rolston (3).
Devils are in Miami tonight against the Panthers,but just basic coverage as I must go into work early and therefore miss the game....

Hell Raisers

1) Martin Brodeur was tremendous in net with save after spectacular save including one on Ryan Malone that he stopped inches before the entire puck crossed the goal line.
Brodeur has posted back to back solid games,could his rest signal a return to form?

2) The win snapped an 11 game road losing streak that dates back to their win in Chicago on November 3rd and was just the second time all season that the team has won back to back games.
A win against Florida tonight would be the first three winning streak of the season...

3) Loved the fact that Ilya Kovalchuk is firing the puck off the wing and taking advantage of his strength-his shot.
Even if Kovalchuk hadn't scored two goals in this one,his change of style bodes well for him and the team-IF he keeps it up.

4) Travis Zajac's shorthanded goal brought a long team drought to an end in that stat as well.
Zajac sent Dwayne Roloson to the showers early,but Tampa's defense was little help to the veteran goalie...

5) Patrik Elias found the open net on a rebound,which is something the team has struggled with.
Could the reported long practices be evening the breaks out a bit?
If that is the case then the team should have a huge second half.

6) Mattias Tedenby a healthy scratch again as Jacques Lemaire isn't happy with the rookie's defensive play.
I would rather Tedenby play at Albany than sit with the Devils...

7) Anssi Salmela was placed on and cleared waivers.
Salmela is still with the team for now...

Photo Credit-AP

Playoff Pigskin Pickin Machine

The machine returns with a more detailed look than last weeks quickie version.

First we start with the AFC game on Saturday.
Baltimore vs Pittsburgh.
I have been told that the painfulness (not a real word) that this battle of the thugs causes me should enable me to ignore this battle of felons,so I'll do just that.
Moving on.

The Jets travel to Massachusetts against the sizzlin hot Patriots.
The Jets are going to need a huge game from either the ground game or Mark Sanchez to win this one.
Considering the way New England is playing,that will be a tough sell.
In other words,Bill Belichick with a week to prepare against Mark Sanchez looks pretty clear to me.

The NFC has the most underrated matchup with the Packers in Atlanta against the Falcons.
Two keys in this one.
The first is this-Can Green Bay run the ball with their unheralded backs against Atlanta in a manner similar to the way they did against the Eagles?
The other features the Packer pass rush against Matt Ryan.
If the Pack can rush Ryan consistently,they likely win this game....

Seattle tries to run the miracle train one more week in Chicago after a stunning win over the Saints last week.
Seattle did beat the Bears in Chicago earlier in the season and Jay Cutler certainly is capable of putting up the 3 and 4 interception game that Seattle would need to win,but the Seahawks seem overmatched with their offense and will need quite a few breaks in this one.
However,the upset is possible....

Our Picks
Ignored (Just kidding) Steelers 16-13
Patriots 31-21
Packers 24-20
Bears 24-13

Pat Shurmur hired as Browns head coach

The selection is a less than sexy one and every time that I think of this,I keep seeing the androgynous Saturday Night Live character "Pat" in my vision,but the Cleveland Browns hired the offensive coordinator of the St.Louis Rams,Pat Shurmur as the latest head coach in what seems to be a parade of thousands.

Shurmur is a less than inspiring pick to me,but at least he isn't Marty Mornhinweg and that is something in his favor.
It appears that Shurmur's main attraction to the Browns was his background in Mike Holmgren's beloved West Coast offense having been trained by Holmgren's top protege' Andy Reid and since Shurmur came up through the Eagles organization,GM Tom Heckert has plenty of familiarity with Shurmur as well.

My main issue with the hire was the overly conservative offense that Shurmur ran with the Rams.
I watched both Rams games against Seattle and wasn't overwhelmed with his play calling in either contest.
In the final game of the season against Seattle,a game that truly was the playoff opener,Shurmur ran Steven Jackson just eleven times in a 16-6 Rams loss and seemed reluctant to let Sam Bradford go down the field very often.
Does any of this sound familiar to you,Browns fans?
Some of this sounds very similar to the Brian Daboll disaster,doesn't it?

Shurmur does seem to have set a strong foundation for success with Sam Bradford and looks to be an excellent choice to be the coach tutoring Colt McCoy,which is a key to the success of the team for both next season and beyond,but I have questions mainly due to his lack of experience.
Experience is not always a end game for a good/bad coach,but I am saying that Cleveland is once again in the position of being the entry level position for head coaches.
First time head coaches are such pot luck and with the West Coast guys,the pot luck has been even more so as they have ranged from successes from Andy Reid and Jon Gruden to middle of the roaders such as Steve Mariucci and failures such as Marty Morninweg.
My main complaint on the WCO coaches are that they have one consistent thread through them all-all of them think they can turn crappy QB's into great ones just by inserting them into their scheme,but as long as McCoy gets to play the full season,I can live with whatever backup is brought in.

All in all,I am pretty non-plussed with the hiring.
However,I trust Mike Holmgren's judgement for the most part and I am willing to give his choice the benefit of the doubt.
Holmgren needs to be right on this one as considering the limb he crawled upon for the selection of Shurmur is a short one.
Browns fans are open minded enough to give Pat Shurmur a chances based on the credibility of Mike Holmgren,a failed Shurmur tenure would take much of that away from this front office...

Photo Credit-Chuck Crow-Cleveland Plain Dealer

On the signing front

We finally finish 2010 with a whole bunch of thanks!

If I credited the wrong person with help,please accept my apologies as I should have noted them and not gone on total memory.

In no order at all other than how they are coming off the pile,Thanks to-

Jason Christensen,who sent me an Auburn Doubledays set signed!
Jason also helped me with a New Britain set and gave me others that were too numerous to mention,along with his huge help with the Altoona Curve,which featured Andrew Lambo,who had been just obtained from the Dodgers and was a huge pickup.
Notable players were Ben Revere and Bill Bullock (New Britain) and Rudy Owens,Bryan Morris and Chase D'Arnaud (Altoona).

Big Don helped me with some Altoona players as well with D'Arnaud,Owens,Jordy Mercer and Josh Harrison as the standouts.

The always reliable Bill Cover helps me out throughout the year and in this batch,Bill helped me with with Harrisburg players Steve Lombardozzi (I can still hear Karl Micka-Foos screaming that name!),Michael Burgess and one of my all time favorite Suns in Marvin Lowrance.

Tom O'Brien always comes up big for me and his stuff in this batch was great!
Bowie Baysox,Akron Aeros,a few late season callups from Altoona and Portland and great stuff from Indy ball as well.
Notables include Xavier Avery,Brandon Waring and Caleb Joseph (Bowie),Bryan Morris (Altoona),Alex White,Nick Hagadone,Kelvin De La Cruz and the elusive Lonnie Chisenhall (Akron),Anthony Rizzo (Portland),Andy Etchebarren,Danny Cox and Willie Upshaw (Indy Ball).

Chris Rodgers helped me with a few players from the Charlotte Knights with the best pickup being manager and former Indian Chris Chambliss.
Chambliss was special to me as his signature was the player on the glove that I used all through youth baseball.
Jordan Danks also signed his CL prospect card among others.

The "Superfan" David Sloan swapped me a Kurt Angle signature and the daughter of the late Kerry Von Erich,Lacey in a small trade.

Jeff Heimberger had Jimmy "The Boogie Woogie Man" Valiant sign three cards for me at my brother's local Indy wrestling show.

I had a few come in through the mail with former Cardinal pitcher John Stuper and former Browns tackle Doug Dieken signing.

Ebay even added one as I grabbed a certified Spencer Haywood for cheap.
Haywood was a star in both the ABA and NBA.

But the biggest one of all goes to Travis Aldous.
Travis traded me one of my "Mt.Rushmore" wants in Jack Nicklaus for a signed team set of Lakewood.
This one was the biggest this season and thanks to Travis for the help!

The previous "Rushmore" was Nicklaus,Sandy Koufax,Jim Brown and Bobby Orr.

Who will replace Nicklaus?
The huge score would be the late Pete Maravich,but if we keep it to the living,it looks to be Kareem Abdul-Jabbar or maybe Phil Mickelson.

Thanks again to each and every one of you for all the help from 2010!

Time to clean up

Finally have some time to write after a few days of a mixed bag of time killers.
I plan on trying to get a few things up and in the air today.

The Devils split their last two games since my last writings with a 6-3 win over Tampa (That's right-SIX) and a close 2-1 loss in Philadelphia to the Flyers.
Not a ton of other news from the Devils and since time has gone by,I'll skip on Hell Raisers for those games and maybe add a note or two to the next game review.
The Devils hit the Florida show on Friday and Saturday against the Lightning and Panthers.

The Pirates added reliever Jorge Julio to the system to a minor league deal.
Julio was at one time a closer,but now appears to be playing out the string....

Sorry to hear of the passing of Cookie Gilchrist at the age of 75.
Gilchrist was the best power back of the Buffalo Bills in the infancy of the AFL and also spent time with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the CFL as well.
Gilchrist played linebacker in the CFL as he was a stalwart on both sides of the ball there.
Gilchrist was the first AFL rusher to rush for over 1000 yards in a season and his 243 yard game against the Jets in 1963 was the league standard for yards in one game.

Ryan sends me an interesting link on how to kill the BCS and doing it with the remote.
Simply put-Don't watch.
I suppose I am a middle of the roader with that as I watched Ohio State in the Sugar and Wisconsin in the Rose with Ryan.
I passed on the Orange and Fiesta as I knew they would be mismatches and only watched the end of the BCS title game at work.
This plan is an extreme long shot,but could be somewhat effective....

Big Don sends me a link to how the city of Kinston plans on dealing with the final season of baseball at Grainger Stadium this season.
This was a huge blow to Kinston and I was struck by one line in the article by David Hall of the local Kinston newspaper-"It came completely out of the blue ... but everyone I've talked to in baseball says the only way a deal like this happens is if nobody knows about it. The best way to kill a deal is to make it public."
Interesting stuff and something I will keep in mind.....

ESPN.com looks at the sad state of the Cleveland Indians here.
In many ways,the Indians are a sadder case than the Pirates to have fallen so quickly and being so dull to watch to boot.
The Tribe is a cautionary tale that as much as people like me want to send stars for prospects to rebuild,it doesnt always work.
Look at the Sabathia deal with Milwaukee,Matt LaPorta was supposed to be a cant miss and yet thus far he has.
Michael Brantley doesn't seem to be much different at the plate than he was when I saw him with the West Virginia Power and those were the main chips in the deal.

So far,all the SAL and Carolina league coaching staffs that will play in Hagerstown or Frederick have been announced (to my knowledge anyway) except for three.
The Greensboro Grasshoppers and Delmarva Shorebirds from the SAL and the Frederick Keys from the CL have not released staffs as of now.