Goodbye,Dayton

It's hard being a pet owner.
Oh, it is more gratifying than you can know (if you aren't one), but it always has the heartbreak at the end.

Tonight, I decided to make that decision with the consultation of my family and try to do what is best for Big Ed (Dayton).
The big boy was just in distress and I just couldn't stand to watch this anymore.
The diagnosis was terminal cancer early last week from his blood test and despite an initial boost from the medication, after a few days, Ed returned to being ill and I just don't want to see him suffer.

It's hard to believe the big guy was here just eight and a half years.
It seemed so much longer.
Long time readers might remember the short post-Welcoming Dayton   that introduced him after Battlin' Bob and I brought him home.
Dayton had some issues at his previous home (not mean ones at all), so his family was looking to move him away-we were willing to welcome him and we loved having him in our home as part of our family.

Dayton was the perfect fit in many ways for our home.
He liked things quiet and so do we, but the mildest disruption would send him barking and so many visitors would think he was this out of control dog that was crazy.
It was the opposite.
In many ways, he was the easiest dog to deal with that I have ever had.
He liked his cage, he felt at home there and I wanted to make him happy.
Ed did his job-he barked loud and he brought attention to people that were arriving.
He did his job to the very end-when Ryan came over to help me with the final ride, Ed hauled himself to his feet and barked to let me know someone was there.

I'll miss Big Ed more than I can say.
He did his job and he did it well.
Boxers are susceptible to cancer and Ed was no different.
We loved him for his eight and a half year run here and only wished it could have been longer.
I'll remember him best like this-in the picture that his previous owners advertised him with.
Some personality that few others got to see, but that those of us honored to have him with us were proud to be part of our family.
Ed loved to ride in the car and he was better in the car, despite his size than any of our other smaller dogs.
On his last ride, he was still going back and forth, looking out the window doing what he loved to do...

A lot has changed since January of 2009.
Back then, Teddy was the dog hanging around with Ed, now it's Posey.
Ryan was living here then and Ed's the final link to his days here.
Ironically, Ryan has an adorable new pug puppy named Oscar that we just met on Sunday.-Starts and Finishes.
Friends that were around a lot then, aren't around as much and new friends that we didn't know at all or barely knew at all have become a major part of our lives.
Life starts and ends and people and pets come and go, but it's important in times like these to remember how special they are before they go and be able to reflect on the good times as well.

Thanks to Ryan for being so helpful in taking Ed to vet appointments and the final walk.
Thanks to Doug Hopkins, Fred Landucci, and Derreck Chupak for calling almost every day to check on Ed and his family and being available if we needed anything.
You all are appreciated...

See ya' Big Ed, I hope I've lived a good enough life to see you again someday.
Give Teddy my best.

Editor's Note: I just wanted to add a brief note to this and thank everyone for their kindness at this time.
Facebook can be a crazy place, but if you have a certain level of decorum and if you pick and choose who you friend (I'm pretty choosy, maybe even to the point of snotty), it can be a really great thing.
I've gotten notes ranging from my best friends to family members to former players of mine to friends of mine in the graphing community today that offer condolences on the loss of Ed.
It makes me think of the importance of pets to all of us.
Almost everyone has felt the loss that we felt last night and I think that's why folks are so feeling when we lose these members of our family -they have been there too.
Today has been a very tough day and there is a vacancy where Ed used to be here (literally, Ryan took his cage last night with him, so we wouldn't have to look at it.
Still, even with it not there, it'll take a while before it truly "isn't".
It's tough walking to the kitchen and not seeing him looking at me, sniffing my hand and waiting for me to turn toward the fridge, standing at attention waiting for the always coming treat.

It'll get better, but I did want to thank everyone for their thoughts and comments-they mean more to me and my ladies than you can know.
Facebook can be a pretty nice place when used properly.
Today it was.
Thanks again.

Devils trade for Marcus Johansson!

Early Sunday evening,time was being well spent.
I had finished up graphing with Doug Hopkins in Frederick with the Lynchburg Hillcats,ate at the always terrific Uncle Maddio's pizza and channeled my inner Ken Patera
to push some cars around my driveway to create more space until they run again (Anyone want to come help me with a battery jump and a alternator?) and finally sat down to finish the previous post that I started on the Cavaliers signing Kyle Korver.

First,I checked Twitter for any news and was stunned to find out that Ray Shero and the New Jersey Devils had used their cap space to add a forward that should instantly move into their top six and at the low cost of a second and third rounder in next years draft!
The newest Devil comes courtesy of a cap strapped division member (they are rivals only to us) in the Washington Capitals as Marcus Johansson is on his way to New Jersey!

The 26 year old Johansson reached a career high total in points last season (24 goals 34 assists) and scored 20 and 17 goals in the previous two years,so those numbers are not likely to be a career year as he seems to just be entering his prime years and he'll be spending those in New Jersey as Johansson is under contract for two more seasons and the Devils will get a chance to see if those two seasons are enough to sign him to an even longer deal.
Johansson will likely be the second line left wing,although I think he'll see some time at center as well.

Add it all up and the Devils added a talented playmaker that puts pucks in the net,but can pass well in addition for the cost of Florida's second rounder (added for taking the final year hit on the cap for Marc Savard) and the third rounder of Toronto (compensation for the Leafs hiring Lou Lamoriello).
The Devils basically brought in a top six forward for taking a year of someone else's bad contract,letting a GM go that didn't want to be here anymore and used those assets to "help" Washington get under the cap!
Give it up to Ray Shero for this deal!!

I don't think Ray Shero is finished yet.
The Devils still haven't reached the salary cap floor yet,they are badly in need of a defenseman (maybe two) and right wing is pretty weak behind Kyle Palmieri.
Consider the sudden depth at center and left wing and the Devils may be in position to move someone from a position of strength to acquire a few pieces at a position of need.

Stay tuned,I'm not sure that the Devils are a playoff level team just yet-with a defensive corps like that,I don't see that happening yet,but for the first time in what seems like forever-this New Jersey Devils team suddenly has some exciting,young offensive players and even if they aren't great in the standings yet,they are going to be fun to watch!

Cavaliers Re-Sign Kyle Korver

The Cleveland Cavaliers didn't have a ton of cap space,so keeping players important to them that are already by Lake Erie was of the essence.
The team without a general manager managed to do what they wanted most among their own free agents by re-signing three point bomber Kyle Korver to a three year contract worth 22 million over the term of the agreement.

Korver averaged ten points a game after being acquired from the Atlanta Hawks in mid-season,but did have his share of disappointments in the playoffs,most notably missed shots late in the pivotal game three loss in the finals to Golden State,a loss that the series turned on and sent the Cavaliers down the road to the series defeat.
That's not to say that I see Korver as a disappointment as his league leading total of 45 percent from three point country was lower than his number in Cleveland,where he shot 48 percent from behind the arc.

Korver will provide a strong outside shot that the Cavaliers will need,but I do have concern about a foot injury that saw him miss a month of his time in Cleveland.
Foot injuries don't tend to get better as players age,they often recur and I'm mildly bothered about the potential for more missed time.

There are some questions to be answered by the 36 year old Korver,but looking at the big picture-where are you going to get a similar zone buster with his range for seven million dollars a year?
Answer-Usually,you aren't and with the Cavaliers cap issues,keeping Kyle Korver was almost a mandatory signing.
All things considered,the Cavaliers kept a player that they had to keep-despite some questions.

Back soon with a Devils trade that caught me out of the blue!

Horn shocks Pacquiao-Boxing Challenge

In a shocker on national television in the return of elite boxing to ESPN from Brisbane,Australia,Jeff Horn gave a spirited and gritty performance and challenged Manny Pacquiao all night and gave him all he wanted.
The problem is that he didn't win and yet Horn,who was almost out on his feet in round nine,received the unanimous decision and the WBO welterweight title.

Remember when I talked about Andre Ward losing the narrative after his loss to Sergey Kovalev in their first fight because instead of getting deserved credit for showing heart and courage,he got heat for getting an undeserved decision?
That's exactly what happened tonight because instead of Jeff Horn earning credit for far exceeding expectations and giving Manny Pacquiao all he wanted,the narrative is Horn winning a fight that he shouldn't have been given.
I scored it 116-112 for Pacquiao and even if it was closer than the other famous fight that saw the Hamburglar arrive in a Pacquiao fight (1st fight vs Timothy Bradley,I scored that one 10-2),it still saw the wrong guy get the win.
Top Rank went for the bucks in having Pacquiao fight on the road and the crowd was a strong one.
What they forgot was that when you go to the hometown,some times you get a hometown decision.



Ramon Malpica and I earned no points for that,but we did get a point for the seventh round knockout in the co-feature by Jerwin Ancajas over Teiru Kinoshita to retain his IBF junior bantamweight title.
Ancajas is one of many exciting fighters and fits well in a loaded 115 pound division.
The challenge stands at 79-74.

As for the ESPN broadcast-there's some flaws.
I've always thought Joe Tessitore was a little overrated as the blow by blow announcer,but he's not terrible.
Teddy Atlas was a favorite of mine for years,but has become so shrill and almost insane with some of his out of control takes and Timothy Bradley was a nice fighter,but is bad at the broadcast table to the point of referring to Australia as "Argentina".
Atlas loves our sport,but needs to take things back about three notches.
The problem is that boxing doesn't have a large bench to move experienced announcers into place to take those spots,so it'll be interesting to see how that plays out.
That was nothing compared to the studio where the disinterested Steve Levy  worked with blowhard Stephen A.Smith,who rightfully railed against the decision for about an hour,but did it in a way that made me crave Advil.
Smith also spent time hitting boxing for not being UFC and how wonderful UFC is.
That's fine,but if I'm ESPN and Top Rank,I don't really want a guy on air talking about another product that my promotion or network has no involvement with being so much better than what we are putting on the air.
ESPN and Top Rank clearly has some decisions to make as this series rolls forward....

This could have been a great night for boxing,but instead it's just a controversial one...

Cavaliers sign Jose Calderon

The free agency period started with the Cleveland Cavaliers expected to be passive  in the market as they were thought to be more involved on the trading side in order to create space to eventually make some moves.
Cleveland was rumored today to be involved in serious talks with the Houston Rockets that involved Iman Shumpert,but with no news on that front finalized,the team without a general manager still managed to add a player to the roster and it is a player that I think could have more of an impact than you'd think from a player that averaged less than four points a game last season.
The signing of Jose Calderon for the veteran minimum of 1.5 million seems like a small move and it is,but he just might be the exact type of player that this Cavalier team needs.
Calderon will more than likely slot in as the point guard for the second team unit and this means that as expected,Cleveland will allow Deron Williams to leave via free agency.

Jose Calderon played for two teams last season (Lakers and Hawks) averaging three points and two assists a game over an average of thirteen minutes a game,which is a slip from his numbers from his previous season with the Knicks-until you look at minutes per game and you see that he played almost half as many minutes.
It then becomes apparent,that his statistics were just about the same per minute of play and he really hasn't slipped that much at the age of 35.

What Jose Calderon is as a player and what he brings to Cleveland is this-a pass first point guard to spell Kyrie Irving and do what Irving and the departing Deron Williams don't always do-put the ball in the hands of the scorers and give them their best opportunity.
Calderon isn't going to score a ton,but he never has and his skills should fit a second team offense that should have more than enough scorers/shooters,but need someone to get them the ball and run the offense.

For the price and for the role that he is needed to play-I really like this addition.
I think Jose Calderon (if he doesn't get too old overnight) could be a help and a very underrated addition to the Cavaliers..

Devils sign Brian Boyle,lose Beau Bennett

Photo Credit:Unknown

The free agency period for the New Jersey Devils began with a meh as the team signed one new player,lost one off the roster and received a body blow as the one player that the Devils seemed to covet most,signed with a rival team.

Let's start with the big blue monster in the room as the Devils biggest positional need didn't get addressed as the best player at his position (defenseman) chose a little less money to take a offer from a more glamorous franchise as Kevin Shattenkirk,a player often mentioned with the Devils in rumors before the signing period,signed a four year deal with the New York Rangers for over 26 million in total dollars.
The Devils had the most cap space in all of hockey and added more with the releases of Mike Cammalleri (who quickly signed with the Los Angeles Kings today) and Devonte Smith-Pelly,so they had the most money to offer the offensively skilled Shattenkirk in theory.
Now,whether they actually offered the most or not,I don't know,but they could have and I'd bet that they did.
Sometimes,money doesn't always talk and the Devils are in a position currently,that they may have to overpay players to come to Newark until the winning returns.
It's disappointing because Shattenkirk would have instantly added a piece that upgraded not just the position,but the entire team.
Ray Shero will still likely sign a defenseman or perhaps trade for one,but not landing Shattenkirk hurts and the Devils will have to do something at the position.

The Devils did add a player in veteran center Brian Boyle to a two year contract at a little over three million per year,
The 32 year old Boyle scored 13 goals with 12 assists in splitting last season between Tampa Bay and Toronto.
Boyle had previously spent time with the Kings and Rangers before heading to Tampa.
The large (6'6) veteran plays a very physical game,likes to throw his body around,is an above average penalty killer and is above average in winning faceoffs.
Boyle is pretty consistent in scoring goals as he usually is good for double digits (10 to 15) and should be a good fit on the fourth line especially,maybe even a little time on the third line when needed.
I'm OK on the signing.
Nothing to get excited about and it is a small overpay,but the Devils certainly have the cap space for a mild overpay and Boyle should upgrade the fourth line over the bunch that was sent out last year.

The red and black lost a player too as Beau Bennett left the Devils to sign with the St.Louis Blues on a one year deal for 650k.
Bennett was obtained last year from Pittsburgh and scored 19 points (6 goals,15 assists) in 65 games.
Bennett had a background with Ray Shero and John Hynes and I liked him as a player with energy,but he's always had problems staying on the ice and despite rumors that Bennett wished to stay,the Devils did not make him a qualifying offer.
Fear The Fin (a San Jose Sharks site) uses advanced metrics to show why some think Beau Bennett could be a steal for the Blues.

I'm not sure the Devils improved very much today.
Brian Boyle will add some special teams help and he does shore up the center position on the fourth line,but I was hoping the Devils would re-sign Beau Bennett and the cost would not have been oppressive.
Put that aside and look at the failure to bring in a defenseman and it's not tough to see that the Devils might have been running laterally on day one..

Easter decisions Shafikov

It was a pretty rare main event for Al Haymon's PBC-it was a good action fight,close throughout and a decent crowd (not sure how many were comp tickets though) for Toledo Ohio's Robert Easter and his IBF lightweight title defense against mandatory challenger Denis Shafikov.

And then the decision was announced and it was Hamburglar time.
As you know,when I see a miscarriage of justice on boxing scorecards (not always seeing a different winner in a close fight),I use the Hamburglar for the main picture.
I wasn't upset at Easter winning a unanimous decision (Ramon Malpica and I each earned two boxing challenge points to move to 78-73),it was a close fight that I scored 114-114 and I'd have no problem either way-as long as the scores were close.
They weren't,
One judge scored 116-112 (8 rounds to 4),which was a little long to me,but plausible as there were lots of close rounds.
However,the masked face of the Hamburglar arose with the other two cards-TWELVE to ZERO!!
Two judges scored a fight that I saw at 6-6 with all twelve rounds for the hometown fighter!!!
I felt bad enough for Shafikov in losing his third (and likely last) shot at a world title,but I felt even worse after those cards-those guys had their minds made up before the fight started!

The scorecards ruined a pretty decent fights with good action that swung back and forth,
Shafikov walked forward and threw a lot of punches,but sometimes was wild with his shots,while Easter was on his heels often and had to fight inside more than he would have liked,but was more effective there than I thought he would be.
Easter doesn't have a lot of options in his weight class,as there isn't many top contenders there with PBC,so he's likely to have an optional defense in his next bout,while Shafikov will likely go back to the drawing board and try to find a way to get his fourth shot at a title.

I'll be back with Manny Pacquiao's ESPN debut against Jeff Horn,unless the Cavaliers or Devils are able to make some news on day one of free agency...