NHL realignment-Bettman gets one right??

Today with the Devils and Seahawks playing tonight and my vacation nearing its end (two more days),I hope to try to get caught up with some of the promised posts from my day trips.
I'll start with the NHL realignment plan.
In short and to my surprise-I like it.
I could do without this silliness of all four being called "conferences" instead what they are in "divisions",but that is a minor quibble at best.

The New NHL!!!1

My main problem with it is that the two Western groups (Although they do not call them that) have eight teams in each of their two,while the Eastern has just seven in theirs.
In other words,if you play in the Western side-you have an extra team to have to finish ahead of to make the playoffs.
My fix would be simple for that-add the Columbus Blue Jackets to the Eastern bunch and everything equals out nicely.
This could still work out without touching anything as Phoenix could move and the new city could slip into a current seven team conference easily if needed (Quebec City?).

Other than that-I really like it.
Now you play every team in the league home and home every year (Check!),you get to play the teams inside your division (oops,conference) the most times for rivalries (Check!) and you return to the fiercest battles in the hockey world-two rounds of playoff hockey inside your group against the rivals and teams that you know best (HUGE Check!).

For the Devils,the plan worked out for the gate,but on the ice,the Devils group looks to be the toughest top to bottom with the three New York area teams (Devils,Islanders and Rangers) and the two Pennsylvania teams (Flyers and Penguins) that currently make up the Northeast Division being joined by former Patrick Division foe Washington and the Carolina Hurricanes.
But,I like it because this is going to be the toughest division and the best to watch hard hitting hockey in of the bunch,so I really think this is going to work out.

Winnipeg loses somewhat as they were placed with Chicago,Columbus,Dallas,Detroit,Minnesota,Nashville and St.Louis and being the only Canadian team in the group.
I am sure the Jets would have preferred being placed with the Flames,Oilers and Canucks,but as the team grows,I would bet that rivalries will start with Minnesota and maybe someone else.

I hope the league returns to tradition and renames the conferences like the old divisions-Patrick,Adams,Norris and Smythe,but if not here are my four names for them based on legends-Orr,Howe,Richard and Hull.

All and all-a good idea as I shake my head that Gary Bettman might have gotten one right...

Two Fight Saturday! Xavier brawls with Cincinnati,Peterson upsets Khan!

Two fights this Saturday with one being sanctioned and condoned and the other being nowhere near the same.

I always look forward to the Crosstown Shootout between Xavier and Cincinnati as I have written about before.
Usually I am always watching it live,but with the Devils matinee' and Rachel's sudden intense interest in the Devils,I decided to tape the game and watch the Devils live.

The game was a lopsided 76-53 beatdown as the Muskies paid the Bearcats back for a twenty point defeat in last years shootout,but the eighth ranked Musketeers will have more attention paid to the final few seconds than for a dominant victory as both teams brawled in what might be the ugliest fight in college basketball since the 1972 Ohio State-Minnesota brawl and has the potential to perhaps end the rivalry after 79 games.
Strong double digit scoring games from four Musketeers and a double double from center Kenny Freese will be forgotten along with an excellent 18 point 12 board game by UC's Yancy Gates in favor of punches thrown,stomps missed and a bloody Freese being led off the floor.

As an Xavier fan that does not have a true hatred for the Bearcats,I must admit that the words of Xavier's Tu Holloway afterwards does not help the program or the incident any and even if spoken out of adrenalin fueled emotion were still far from acceptable after an outburst such as this.
“That’s what you’re going to see from Xavier and Cincinnati,” Holloway said. “We got disrespected a little bit before the game, guys calling us out. We’re a tougher team. We’re grown men over here. We’ve got a whole bunch of gangsters in the locker room—not thugs, but tough guys on the court. And we went out there and zipped them up at the end of the game.”
Not exactly the type of words to calm the waters,is it?

The game featured trash talking throughout,which is something else that the game of basketball could use cracking down upon,but nothing severe until the incident started.
Mick Cronin of Cincinnati seemed much more concerned about things than Xavier's Chris Mack,who did not seem to take things as seriously,although I am not saying that Mack laughed it off either.
I would wager that a handful of players will get one game suspensions with Xavier's Dez Wells getting the worst Muskie suspensions and Yancy Gates and Cheik Mbodj likely getting hammered with long suspensions for their antics.

The game truly was a black eye for the game,the city and both schools and I would wager that the schools will find a way to carry on the Shootout with high quality officials for next years game,plenty of security and lots of talks to all members of both programs to attempt to avoid issues in next year's game...




Washington D.C was the site of the upset of the day as the hometown fighter LaMont Peterson lifted the WBA and IBF Jr.Welterweight titles from heavily favored Amir Khan via a controversial split decision.

Peterson won by 1 point on two cards after Khan lost a point on two separate occasions (In rounds 7 and 12) for pushing.
Had only one point been deducted,Khan would have escaped the Nations Capital with a draw,if neither,Khan would have won a razor close unanimous decision.

I scored the fight 113-112 for Peterson,6-6 in rounds,one point lost for Peterson,who was dropped in the first round,although I thought it was a questionable knockdown and a minus two for Khan for the point losses.
SO on my card,the points taken off did decide the winner of the bout.
Many reports of the bout have written that Khan was never warned for pushing off,but that is untrue.
I heard the referee warn Khan on several occasions,but he never made the final conclusive warning "One more time and I am taking points!".
I understand Khan's frustration,but where was it when he got the hairline decision over Marcos Maidana?
Or from Khan's trainer Freddie Roach when Roach-trained Manny Pacquiao got a worse decision than this over Juan Manuel Marquez last month?
For once,the house fighter lost a close decision,the house fighter wins about ten of these to the one that they lose,so I'll save my indignation for now.
Khan will get a deserved rematch and he will get his chance to clean the slate...

Photo Credits-Both AP Photo

Late stop foils Devils in loss to Montreal

The New Jersey Devils had a chance to tie the game with less than a minute remaining after being down by two goals against the Montreal Canadiens and their best player in shootout play taking on Carey Price with a penalty shot.
However,Price blocked Zach Parise's shot and Montreal skated away with a 2-1 win at the Rock.
Nick Palmeiri scored his first goal since his return from Albany (4) with five minutes to go in the game for the only New Jersey goal.
The Devils are off today before back to back games in Florida on Monday and Tuesday against the Lightning and Panthers....

Hell Raisers

1) Martin Brodeur looked solid in goal in this one.The first goal was a no chance in hell shot by Max Pacioretty,who had no one even near him and the second was off a rebound off Brodeur's chest.
Brodeur dove for the puck,but it moved too far away and Erik Cole (Yuck) scored the goal as a passive Mark Fayne (who caused the play to begin with) stood idly by.
I was pretty pleased with Brodeur's play.

2) Mark Fayne not only allowed Erik Cole to get into position for the game winner,he created the sequence with a VERY light clear that Montreal intercepted (I think it was new Hab Tomas Kaberle,but not 100% sure).
Fayne's play has dipped quite a bit lately,in my opinion....

3) Five penalties by the Devils today with one goal allowed.
The PK team is still playing very well,too many penalties and many of them careless.
Today's careless blunder was Adam Henrique's dumping a puck over the glass for a delay of game just as a Dainius Zubrus penalty was preparing to expire.
Henrique is still learning,so I can somewhat excuse that,but this is becoming a nightly pattern with the Devils.

4) This is a bit of Monday Morning Quarterbacking on my part,but I wish Zach Parise had gone to the backhand against Carey Price,.
The backhand going high has been so effective this season and I would have to have seen Price against that shot...

5) Alexander Urbom and Matt Taormina both saw action in the loss and looked decent enough.
I suppose the main adjustments are between increased speed of the NHL game and the importance of sticking with your man far tighter than in the AHL.


I will be back later with a look at a surprisingly strong Saturday with Xavier's brawl with Cincinnati in the Crosstown shootout and Lamont Peterson's upset win over Amir Khan in Washington D.C.

Cooking on the Pirates hot stove

The Pittsburgh Pirates spun some wheels and made some deals as the Buccos cooked on the Hot Stove at the Winter Meetings as they signed two players,traded for one,drafted a player in the Rule 5 drafts major league version and a few in the minor portion that included one that could surprise some people and dropped some players as well.

The biggest names to hit the Steel City were the two free agent signees as the Pirates added righthanded pitcher Erik Bedard and former Pirate outfielder Nate McLouth.
Bedard is the type of pitcher that has ace like stuff,above average numbers,is just 32 and only cost 4.5 million with another half million in possible incentives.
So what could be the issue?
Well,Bedard has not made more than 24 starts in each of the last four seasons,which raises durability issues and is why the Pirates had a chance to sign him in the first place.
Bedard features one of the best curveballs in the majors and IF he can stay healthy,gives the Pirates a horse at the top of the rotation and at the cost that Pittsburgh will be paying him,could be quite a valuable trading chip at the trade deadline.
This is exactly the type of signing that I like to see the Pirates make.

Wish I could say the same for the return of Nate McLouth,who I have always liked as a player,but watched his game decline as a Brave and most likely found his true level after a career year with the Pirates in 2008.
McLouth's numbers were passable in 2009 as he split the year with Pittsburgh and Atlanta,but suffered through two bad seasons that included an assignment to the Braves AAA affiliate in Gwinnett last season.
Contact has never been McLouth's strength as even in his best season hit just .276 and things have gotten worse with averages of .190 and .228 in the last two campaigns.
The cost is high yet low as dumb as that sounds.
1.75 million is not a lot to pay for a fourth outfielder that can play all three outfield positions,but I think Pittsburgh could have gotten a player that as struggled like McLouth a bit cheaper than that.
Not an awful signing,but nothing to get excited about either as McLouth's trade value would likely not be high even with a rebound as his track record would then indicate a PNC Park bias.....

Pittsburgh swung a deal with the Kansas City Royals to land Yamaico Navarro from the Royals in exchange for two minor leaguers,including former second round draft pick Brooks Pounders in the deal.
The 24 year old Navarro spent most of his career in the Boston system before being traded to the Royals in mid season last year.
Navarro can play second,third and short and has hit well in the minors,although not nearly as well in his MLB cameos with Boston and Kansas City.
Upside?Could be a guy that plays three or four days a week as he gives the starters a rest at three spots and hits closer to his minor league numbers.
Downside? Major league pitching confounds the bat and the glove is not as versatile as the scouting report indicates...
Brooks Pounders throws a lot of strikes but his stuff is nothing sensational.
I might have held onto Pounders for another season,but this is not an trade to go raving mad over.
The other player in the deal going to Kansas City is infielder Diego Goris,who has yet to move out of the Dominican Summer League.

The Pirates released Ross Ohlendorf rather than offer him arbitration as the process would have resulted in far too high of a risk for the possibility of yet another injury riddled season from the righthander.
Ohlendorf could not be re-signed for less than 1.62 million,which was too rich for the Pirates blood as well as mine.....

Jason Jaramillo and Pedro Ciriaco were designated for assignment and will likely not be returning next season.
The Pirates signed catcher Jose Morales to compete with Michael McKenry for the backup catching spot behind Rod Barajas with the loser going to AAA Indianapolis.
Morales spent last season with Colorado.

The Bucs offered Derrek Lee arbitration,which Lee declined.
Pittsburgh is still trying to ink Lee to a new deal,but if he signs elsewhere,the team will receive a compensation pick between the first and second round in the draft.
The Pirates?A comp pick? Wow!

Pittsburgh made a mildly surprising pick in the Rule 5 draft with the selection of shortstop Gustavo Nunez from Detroit.
Nunez turns 24 before spring training and hit very poorly in his 131 at bats at AA Erie,which is his only stint above High A ball.
I have my doubts about Nunez sticking on the roster,especially with the acquisition of Yamaico Navarro.
Pittsburgh lost righthanded pitcher Brett Lorin to Arizona in the draft,where he will need to stay on the Diamondback roster all season,which I have my doubts about as well...

The Pirates selected three players in the AAA phase of the draft at $ 12,000 apiece and do not have any restrictions on a level that the players must stay at.
Simply put-for the twelve grand each,the players are theirs.
The most intriguing pick to me was lefthanded pitcher Aaron Poreda from the Padres,who had acquired the former first rounder from the White Sox in the Jake Peavy trade a few years back.Poreda was the featured prospect in the deal at the time,although Clayton Richard has been the player that San Diego received more mileage out of.
Poreda has suffered through control issues,but still has posted impressive strikeout numbers.
The 6'6 Poreda is just 25,so I am interested to see if the Pirates have a shot at straightening out his issues as if they can,the team might have itself quite a find..

Pittsburgh selected two catchers in the AAA portion as well.
The Pirates tapped Francisco Diaz from the Phillies and selected Charlie Cutler later in the round from the Cardinals.
Not sure what the Pirates saw in Diaz,who has never played in a full season league,played in short season in the United States last season in Williamsport for the first time and hit just .211 with no homers in 36 games there.
It has to be defense and throwing because I do not see much else.....
Cutler is 25 and not a power prospect,but has hit fairly well at his stops in the St.Louis system and did fairly well at AA Springfield last season.
Bucs Dugout has reported that Cutler's knees are bad and that could be a reason that the Cardinals lost interest in him.

The Indians made little news in the meetings as the only news was the Tribe losing pitcher Marty Popham and outfielder Donnie Webb in the AAA draft,both who I had seen a few times in Frederick.
Neither are large losses to the prospect pipeline.....

Devils pull out win over Ottawa in shootout

The New Jersey Devils needed goals from Zach Parise and Adam Henrique to finish off a 5-4 shootout victory over the visiting Ottawa Senators at the Rock on Thursday,but this game had far more than that.
The Devils fell behind 3-0,scored the next four goals with two of those being shorthanded,saw the fight of the year thus far,saw Ottawa tie the game with a shorthanded goal with five seconds to go and then win in the shootout.
What a roller coaster ride!
Devils goals scored by Ilya Kovalchuk (8),Zach Parise (8 shorthanded),Dainius Zubrus (8 shorthanded) and Mattias Tedenby (1).
The Devils host Montreal later today at 1:00.


Hell Raisers

1) Martin Brodeur allowed two first period goals and was replaced by Johan Hedberg from the start of the second period forward.
Brodeur was not injured,so the decision was a Pete DeBoer one.
Brodeur has been replaced by Hedberg in two of his last three starts...

2) The Devils allowed their first power play goal of the season at the Rock with Daniel Alfredsson's second period goal,but that was excusable considering that the goal was a five on three situation...

3) Two shorthanded goals in the same game?
That seemed to be more the opponents forte this season,but the goals by Zach Parise and Dainius Zubrus added even more to the penalty killing crew.
The Patrik Elias pass that allowed Zubrus to score was a beautiful sight to see....

4) Fight of the year for the Devils this season as Mark Fraser took on Zenon Konopka,who often battled the Devils when he was an Islander.
Fraser was active due to the Andy Greene dislocated toe injury that will sideline Greene for the next four weeks.



5) The Devils may not be the most explosive team in the league,but they are tough to whip when it comes to the shootout.
Between Zach Parise and Ilya Kovalchuk,the team has two stars that are tough to beat and the Devils continue to come up with shootout stars such Adam Henrique on this night and and David Clarkson earlier this season.

6) This game was exciting,but I cannot go too easy on the awful first 25 minutes or so from the Devils.
Poor defense,a less than active offense and a general malaise that even the Parise goal did not truly take away.
The Devils have two wins in a row now,but their inconsistency can drive one off the rails at times!

7) The Devils lost Andy Greene and Anton Volchenkov aggravated a hand injury in the Ottawa game,so Matt Taormina and Alexander Urbom have been recalled from Albany.
No word on whether either will be in the lineup for the game against Montreal today...

Photo Credit-AP

Cowardly hit ruins hard nosed defensive struggle in Pittsburgh

Sorry these posts are a day late (but hopefully not a dollar short),but I needed to rest after an awesome day trip (and a little bit more) to get almost all of my Christmas shopping finished.
Man,it is good to need just a thing or two to be completed before the real rush starts!
In any event,it is good to be back (in blogville at least) and I have plenty of things that I need to catch up with here.
I do not go back to work until Wednesday night,so I'll have time to add Thursday's Devils win (Next post up), today's Devils matinee against Montreal,the Pirates and their flurry of moves,NHL realignment,my thoughts on the NBA's rejection of the Chris Paul trade,a few food stops and one of the most moving experiences that I have had at a site ever.
Hope you enjoy those as I hammer them out over the next day or two.

The Cleveland Browns went toe to toe with the Pittsburgh Steelers and gave them all they wanted for most of a 14-3 loss to the Steelers,but a cowardly hit,a questionable decision to put a dazed quarterback back into the contest,that quarterback's bad decision and a slip by the teams best cornerback contributed to the loss.
I have very little to say about the Browns offense other than the first drive,but give the defense credit-they showed up after a few off outings and slugged out with the Steelers and made them work for this one.
Cleveland falls to 4-9 on the year and hits the air to Arizona next Sunday against the suddenly revitalized Cardinals...

Brownie Bits

1) James Harrison is a cheap shot artist and needs to be suspended.
Period.
End of discussion.

2) You can look at things one of two ways.
One-Harrison is a talented player that does not have to play in the manner that he does and just enjoys playing like a thug on the street or two-he has to play that way in order to succeed in the league because he is not talented enough to play straight up.
I tend to believe it is the former of the two,but I am open to the latter.

3) If the league was really serious about the crackdowns on concussions,try this plan implemented for size.
I realized head hits can happen.Once is an accident,twice a coincidence and three is a pattern.
Try this plan on for helmet to helmet shots.
One hit-15 yard penalty,two hits (If these hits occur over the course of a season) 15 yard penalty and warning that this is the next punishment,three hits-removal from the game,one game suspension and two game checks lost.If it happens again,tighten the punishment further.
Watch how much James Harrison straightens up when "his kids college fund is threatened" according to the noted psychologist Mike Tomlin.

4) One more Harrison note (and this tells you how exciting the game was offensively when I spend 4 notes on the opposing linebacker,read this quote-“From what I understand, once the quarterback leaves the pocket, he’s considered a runner,” “All the defenseless(ness) and liberties that a quarterback has in the pocket are gone and you can tackle him just as he’s a running back. The hit wasn’t late, so I really don’t understand why it was called.”
Well,Dumbass-the rule says the following-
One: "If a player uses any part of his helmet (including the top/crown and forehead/'hairline' parts) or facemask to butt, spear, or ram an opponent violently or unnecessarily." 
Two: "Forcibly hitting the defenseless player's head, neck, or face with the helmet or facemask, regardless of whether the defensive player also uses his arms to tackle the defenseless player by encircling or grasping him."
Three: "Lowering the head and violently or unnecessarily making forcible contact with the 'hairline' or forehead part of the helmet against any part of the defenseless player's body."
All of three of those apply and on NONE of these does it specify the difference between a quarterback and running back,so his ridiculous argument that McCoy was not in the pocket carries ZERO water.
The point is that you launched your helmet without any attempt to avoid contact with the opponents helmet and made heavy contact with said player.
McCoy's running had nothing to do with it.

5) Colt McCoy should have never re-entered the game and that might have made a difference.
The oft-criticized Seneca Wallace had moved the team to the Pittsburgh five before the return of McCoy,who then was called for intentional grounding and then was picked off in the end zone to end the threat.
NFL Network's camera crew had great shots of McCoy at the line of scrimmage and he looked clearly out of sorts.
The league has some explaining to do on this one as the concussion decisions are no longer made by the teams,but by independent contractors paid by the league.

6) Colt McCoy's father was critical of his return to the game as well.
I think Brad McCoy was right,but I also think his opinion was irrevelant and made his son look bad like he needs dads statement on the matter.
The man loves his son,but I didn't have to read about it...

7) Note seven and finally to something not related to the Harrison cheap shot.
I understood the reversal of Colt McCoy's TD run in the first quarter,that was a good call,but what I didnt understand was why the Browns did not try to lean McCoy in on the third and mere inches call.
Instead Peyton Hillis was hammered for a loss of two and then Phil Dawson's field goal.
If you push the pile and McCoy is still short,you can try again on fourth down.
The Hillis play put Cleveland in a tougher situation....

8) Give the Browns defense credit for the turning of Rashard Mendenhall away four times at the goal line and keeping the team in the game.
D'Qwell Jackson and Chris Gogong each had terrific games and Gogong was the star of the goal line stand.

9) I don't like Ben Rothlisberger,but give him all credit for toughness that you can give after the ankle injury last night and returning.
I would not say that he was all that effective after his return,but he did keep Charlie Batch off the field and that might have won Pittsburgh the game...

10) No special teams issues either.First time in a while I have written that!

11) This game just did not have much going on.
If Harrison would not have smacked McCoy,this could have been very short..

Photo Credits
Cheap Shot:Justin Aller-Getty Images
Rothlisberger"AP Photo

Awful Bowl Season

Well,the bowl season looks pretty bleak with just two teams of mine in bowl and minor ones at that.
Ohio State will take on Florida in the Gator Bowl in a higher bowl than the Buckeyes truly deserved and Boise State returns to the Las Vegas Bowl for the second year in a row,this time taking on Arizona State and lame duck coach Dennis Erickson.

News Flash-the BCS is terrible.
I do not think Oklahoma State would have beaten LSU,but I would have liked to have seen their high powered offense try.
Instead we get another LSU-Alabama game after their first was about as exciting as watching mulch applied to the ground.
I like Nick Saban as a coach,but isn't he the guy that said if you cannot win your division then you shouldn't play for the national title?
This one looks like a less than thrilling matchup,but the BCS does have two interesting games and two that are not interesting at all.

The Rose Bowl looks fun with Wisconsin against Oregon.
Lots of points to be scored and the two just appear to be evenly matched-This one should be fun as should the Fiesta Bowl with Oklahoma State battling Andrew Luck and Stanford.
The Cowboy-Cardinal matchup is also worth your time.

Wish I could say the same for the Sugar and Orange.
The Sugar tapped michigan,who didn't even win their Big Ten division over exciting division titlist Michigan State and then took Virginia Tech of the ZERO quality win season.
What a joke-tell me that about six-ten other teams don't deserve BCS bids over either of these two....
The Orange gives us ACC Champ Clemson,who staggered down the stretch with only a three point win over Wake Forest allowing them to avoid a four game losing streak entering the ACC title game against Virginia Tech,who the Tigers whipped twice on the season against the pathetic Big East and their "champion" West Virginia and their one whole win over a team ranked at the time WVU played them.
This one might set the record for the lowest ratings for a BCS game.

Lower level bowls that might be worth your Tv viewing includes the following.
Alamo Bowl:Baylor vs Washington-Worth watching only to see Robert Griffin III,who if he is available for the Browns and they do not pick,I am doing a post on why the Browns drive me nuts!

Meineke Bowl:Northwestern vs Texas A & M-Could be fun as Pat Fitzgerald always has the Wildcats ready to play against the Aggies,who fired Mike Sherman after Texas A & M lost the lead against any good team they played...

Outback Bowl: Georgia vs Michigan State-two teams that deserved better bowls might hook up in a good one.

Just as an added bonus-Robert Griffin III gets my Heisman vote.
I love Andrew Luck,but does anyone believe Baylor is even .500 without this guy?
Andrew Luck is going to be a Colt,but I can dream for Cleveland to be the destination for Griffin,who has all of the tools a passer needs...

All and all-a pretty uninspiring set of bowls this season.