Devils double Sabres 6-3

  The New Jersey Devils scored three third-period goals to break open a tie game and defeat the Buffalo Sabres 6-3 in Buffalo.

Pavel Zacha scored two power-play goals ( 9, 10), and the line of Jack Hughes (8), Yegor Sharangovich (9), and Janne Kuokkanen (6) each scored a goal with two assists.

Jesper Boqvist scored his first goal of the season to finish the New Jersey scoring recap.

Aaron Dell finished with 24 saves in an unexpected start to grab his first win as a Devil.

New Jersey will play Pittsburgh Friday, unsure what I'll be watching then for recaps...

Hell Raisers

1) I wonder if someone didn't see Aaron Dell tonight and consider trading for him as playoff depth in the net?

Dell did allow three goals, but all three were on rebounds and he hasn't played in over a month, so he was acceptable to me, but this could have been a showcase game for an interested team.

2) Pavel Zacha's two power-play goals bring him to three on the season, but considering Zacha's assists and the team has only sixteen PP goals on the season,  Zacha has points on half of the Devil's power-play goals- Stat credit- All About The Jersey.

3) This is shorter than usual due to time constraints, but you had to enjoy the game by the Jack Hughes line.

Hughes at his core is a pass-first center and the key to his growth will be to have finishers on each side of him.

Perhaps the Devils are onto something...

Devils ship Zajac, Palmieri to Islanders

    I haven't watched as many New Jersey Devils games of late, mainly because of the period of time when it seemed like the Devils played and lost to the Washington Capitals every game (I'm not exaggerating, the Capitals and Devils played eight times this season and Washington has won all eight) and let alone the pain of being forced to watch on the Capitals network with the worst commentating team in hockey.

Still, I've been paying attention and the struggling team was certainly going to be a seller at the upcoming trade deadline.

Tom Fitzgerald moved early and traded the team'ss top asset as New Jersey traded Kyle Palmieri and Travis Zajac to the nearby New York Islanders for a package that included the Islanders' first-round draft choice in this year's draft.

Both Palmieri and Zajac will be free agents at the end of the season and both are thought to be willing to consider a return to the Devils with Palmieri's agent having talks with the Devils for the week previous to the trade as the two attempted to come to an agreement on a contract extension.

Zajac waived his no-trade clause to make the deal, likely because of the location and his past with the Islanders GM Lou Lamoriello and the Devils are possibly considering an attempt to work on a contract with him as a free agent as well.

The thirty-year-old Palmieri had sat out the past two games to keep him healthy for a possible trade but had seemed a bit down this season with eight goals and nine assists in thirty-four games with only one goal on the power play.

Palmieri has been one of the league's better power play scorers over the recent seasons as a Devil, so the Islanders are hoping that he returns to that form in blue and orange.

Zajac turns 36 next month and his long(eight-year) contract that he was signed to by Lou Lamoriello (two teams ago for Lou) finally ends at the end of next season.

I've thought the contract was an overpay ( in length), but Zajac's effort and leadership have never been in question, and it's sad to see him in another uniform.

Zajac has seven goals and eleven assists this season for New Jersey in thirty-three games for the Devils, but I'm not sure that Zajac will be more than a penalty killer or a situational player for the Islanders.

Still, he is a leader, might help on faceoffs a little, and for an Islander team that is going all-in for the second consecutive season (the Islanders have now traded their first-rounder at the last two trade deadlines)

The first-rounder is the centerpiece of the Devils' return as the Devils also received a conditional fourth-rounder to be decided by the Islanders for either the 2022 or 2023 draft and minor league forwards Mason Jobst and A.J. Greer.

The pick will become a third-rounder if the Islanders reach the Stanley Cup Finals, which gives Devils fans a conflicted decision for rooting for the Islanders in the playoffs.

The faster they go out, the higher the first-rounder will be, while the longer they last the better the chances that the fourth-rounder becomes a third.

Neither of the two players acquired should be considered prospects and are more than likely players to make the trade work that could help Binghamton.

At 27, Jobst has never played a minute in the NHL, and after a college career at Ohio State, Jobst scored five goals in 44 games for AHL Bridgeport last season and hasn't scored in seven games for the Flying Tigers this season.

The 24-year-old Greer scored one goal in thirty-seven games spread out over three seasons with Colorado but has spent the last two seasons in the AHL with Colorado, and this season with Bridgeport, Greer has scored a goal and an assist in ten games.

The former second-rounder seems the better bet to have a chance to stick around and maybe has a chance for promotion this season if the Devils make further trades, but I wouldn't count on him to be more than AHL filler or an occasional injury callup.

Honestly, I'm kinda "meh" on this trade.

Not for trading Palmieri and/or Zajac, I'm OK with that with impending free agency.

I'm not sure Zajac may not retire after the playoffs, and if he does play next season the Devils along with the Islanders and hometown Winnipeg Jets are likely the only teams that he might return to play for.

And a first-rounder is more than many expected to bring back for Palmieri.

However, that first-rounder is going to be near the back of the first round at worst, and in the low twenties at best, and the players involved have a better chance at being out of the organization by next season than they do as contributors to the Devils.

In the end, the Devils winning this trade will come down to how they use the Islanders first-rounder and that answer is several years down the road.

 

Cleaning out the Inbox

  The inbox isn't quite overflowing, but there are a few interesting items of note and it is always good to stay caught up.

USA Today writes of the late George Carter, who passed away last November with next to nothing to show for a career that saw Carter as one of the best forwards in the ABA.

Carter averaged eighteen points a game in an ABA career that saw him play for seven different teams and Virginia twice but fell on hard times after his basketball career ended, suffering from throat cancer and had difficulties finding work.

The Dropping Dimes Foundation is an organization that helps former ABA players that aren't eligible to receive an NBA pension and yet with the ABA out of business, many of these players are out of luck.

Dropping Dimes has calculated that there are 105 living players that played three seasons or more in the ABA, but do not qualify for an NBA pension and that the NBA could pay each player $400 per month at a total of 1.8 million per year, which will become less each year as players pass away.

The NBA needs to do the right thing here and help these former stars out to live the rest of their life with a decent standard of living.

The Athletic writes of the short-lived Teddi Bears dance troupe' that danced at the Richfield Coliseum during sparsely attended Cleveland Cavaliers games during the Ted Stepien reign of error in the early 80s.

The Teddi Bear team included Stepien's daughter and as the article quotes from the media of the time, they were booed every night by the few fans watching Stepien's folly in Richfield.

I've often thought that the great sports book waiting to be written is about the three years of Cavalier basketball when Ted Stepien owned the team, and the Teddi Bears are just a small part of that.

The Atlantic wrote this article in May 2018 and it has to be read to be believed.

This story makes the film "Slap Shot" look like a documentary as it's the story of the Danbury Trashers of the United Hockey League and their two seasons of existence which had the following items to name a few-

An expansion team purchased by a mobster.

Said mobster names the team after his waste management "business".

Hires his high school senior son as general manager.

Signs players that make the Hanson Brothers look like Mario Lemieux.

Brags about having TEN goons on his roster and watches them brutalize the league.

That's just the basics and for all of that craziness- The Trashers reach the league finals in their second year and never play another game.

Because the owner is indicted by the federal government.

A story that has to be read...

Ten Things I Think

   I had a bunch of random thoughts on my mind and decided to incorporate them into the blog.

I am hoping to make this a regular feature, so I am looking for a name for this- drop me a line through whatever avenue that you read this and if I select something that I like, I'll try to scrape up a prize of some type for the winner...

1) As an avowed mustard lover and one that usually has several in the fridge such as Cleveland's Bertman's, Harrisburg's Miller's, and others that look interesting in the store- a new contender has emerged- Plochman's "The Works".

The Works says it's a Chicago-style mustard with relish already in it and it is definitely a must (pun-intended) for those of you that like relish and/or dill pickles.

The lovely Cherie also swears by this one, and the only one of the local supermarkets that carry it is Weis Markets, so give the Works a try, should you see it available.

2) I try to watch fewer political programs of late mainly because I feel that so few are where I'm at politically and that few are able to play anything other than a game of "What About"?

Is it possible that maybe just maybe, one can believe that wrong is wrong for ills from either side of the fence and not make it only about ideological "friends and enemies"?

3) I suppose this is why I do like the Bulwark because it seems the closest to what I believe.

I'm maybe slightly to their left socially and pretty even up fiscally, but they are closest to my feeling of you can say the Andrew Cuomo's are awful as well as disliking the former president and not be wrong.

4) One final political note- I've also cut back my political podcast listening for a bit and why I haven't added any pay products of late, but I always stop and listen when Amanda Carpenter makes a podcast appearance (Or her CNN spots, but I've got that cut back as well).

I'm a big fan of her writing and I promise (on the word of my financial backer Fred Landucci! Ha Ha!) if the podcast returns, I'll take a shot at trying to get her to do it!

5) I'm not as down as many on Carolina trading for Sam Darnold for a 2021 6th and 2022 2nd and 4th with the Jets.

Matt Rhule and Joe Brady might have luck with Darnold that the Jets never had, but Darnold should have no excuses this time if his career doesn't progress.

6) One thing that I've missed from Covid-19 is a good Chinese food buffet.

Sadly, I'm afraid that few large restaurants will return from Covid.

Insurance will likely be higher and would-be owners will be more reluctant to open an already difficult business to start up.

7) I was really hoping that North Carolina would hire Steve Robinson to replace Roy Williams just so I could once again see Steve Robinson pull a "Steve Robinson".

8) For as much as I love the internet, the information at your fingertips, and all that you can read, it's sad that a generation will go by to not know the excitement of seeing a new sports magazine or comic book in a grocery store or pharmacy and have it be a complete surprise.

Looking for the latest boxing magazine, Street and Smith's sports preview, issue of Green Lantern, or a pack of Topps at a Sheetz or 7-11 was a thrill for a kid that loved to collect and read, and losing that is an underrated factor in why kids are losing interest in so many things that kids loved in previous eras.

9) The mail still is the main avenue that this country uses for getting packages and their needs.

No matter what the internet has improved on billing and purchasing, there still is a need to move those items from the start to your home or business.

The USPS has flaws, but they have been bloated out of control since Louis DeJoy was installed to "fix" it- His latest idea is to charge more, slow their service, and have fewer open hours for the various offices around the country.

The answer is plain- this is not how normal businesses are "fixed". 

It's time for him to go.

10) If I could change one thing to streamline healthcare, it would be to make a universal insurance/payment card that all companies would need to provide.

A friend's wife works at a local doctor's office and she reports that is the biggest hassle with multiple companies doing their cards in different formats, making them harder to decipher, slowing the process down, which can result in mistakes to squeeze between the cracks.

Is it asking too much for one format?

Hope you like this post, I haven't felt like writing about baseball with the Indians' gumball-like bats of late, so thought I would do something different.

Back later, with a turkey in the backyard and I was glad Fred Landucci wasn't driving in the area at the time!

Boxing Challenge: Herring retires Frampton in six

    In the preview for Jamel Herring's WBO junior lightweight title defense against former junior feather and featherweight champion Carl Frampton, I wrote that this was one of those rare championship fights that brought to mind the pro wrestling stipulation of "Loser Leaves Town" with both fighters reaching the time where they have plenty of questions regarding their future in the sport.

Jamel Herring retained the title via sixth-round knockout and Carl Frampton in the ring following the defeat announced his retirement to "leave town".

Entering the fight, Herring had the size advantage from the tale of the tape, but once the bell rang the size difference was glaring and it made sense.

Herring had started his career as a lightweight and Frampton had begun his at junior featherweight, so the boxer, Herring, was physically the larger and stronger man.

Herring started strong, establishing himself as willing to stand his ground, and Frampton, who was unable to move to the inside and do the work needed for him to thrive for the first two rounds.

However, Frampton began to win some exchanges in round three, which was a close round that could have been given to either fighter and Frampton clearly won the fourth round along with cutting Herring over his left eye with a cut bad enough that Herring could have concerns about the fight being stopped as the fight continued.

With the tide starting to roll towards Frampton in the fifth round, Frampton began to pick up the pace even more but was dropped by a straight left from Herring that he was never able to truly recover from.

Frampton wouldn't survive a second time, as Herring landed a crushing uppercut that sent Frampton down early in the sixth round.

Frampton rose but was met by a volley of punches from Herring that sent a groggy Frampton into the ropes and when Herring landed another strong left that hurt Frampton, the corner leaped to the ropes to signal surrender for their man.

Frampton would announce his retirement in the ring with an emotional statement and I think he means it.

Frampton will be remembered for splitting his series with Leo Santa Cruz and his win over Scott Quigg in one of the bigger fights of the last decade in the U.K.

As for Herring, he will have two choices, he could face Shakur Stevenson in another fight that he will be the underdog in a WBO mandatory defense, but Herring could ask for a waiver in order to unify his title with that of WBC champion Oscar Valdez.

The other option could be for Herring to vacate the WBO title, which would likely be filled by Stevenson's June fight against unknown Jeremiah Nakathila, fight Valdez, and the winner would then unify against Stevenson.

I'd place Herring as a solid underdog against either Valdez or Stevenson, especially with his recent problems with cuts, but I wouldn't rule him out completely as he seems to fight his best when the least is expected of him.

In the boxing challenge, Ramon Malpica scored a point for the Herring victory to cut my lead back to two points at 38-36.

Boxing Challenge: Akhmadaliev stops Iwasa in five

    In his home country of  Uzbekistan, M.J.Akhmadaliev easily defended his WBA and IBF junior featherweight titles for the first time with a dominating fifth-round stoppage of former IBF champion Ryosuke Iwasa.

Akhmadaliev won every round and did stun Iwasa in the fifth sending him backward around the ring, but the stoppage seemed premature as Iwasa wasn't in serious trouble when the fight was stopped.

The ending was a bit deflating, but Iwasa seemed to be in need of a miracle to get back into the fight, which he had shown no signs of having any hope of providing.

For Akhmadaliev, who stated that he wants to unify his two titles with those of WBC champion Luis Nery and WBO beltholder Stephen Fulton, he may in a position to be arguably the best fighter in a division that is controlled by another promoter- in this case, PBC.

PBC promotes both Nery and Fulton, WBA minor titleist Brandon Figueroa, top contender Raeese Aleem, and former champion Daniel Roman, who Akhmadaliev won his titles from in 2020 via split decision that could have just as easily tipped towards Roman as Akhmadaliev, as none of those fights seem likely anytime soon, despite any of those matchups appearing to be terrific matchups.

Unless the WBA steps in and mandates an Akhmadaliev-Figueroa or Akhmadaliev-Aleem fight, his best fight that could be made may be against another WBA minor beltholder in Ronny Rios, who is promoted by Golden Boy, but I'd peg Akhmadaliev as a strong favorite against Rios.

Akhmadaliev may very well be in a position that has been so well known in boxing in recent years- a very talented fighter that may be the best in his division, but cannot find any of the top boxers in his weight class willing to agree to fight him.

In the boxing challenge, I added two points to Ramon Malpica's one to move my lead to 38-35.

Boxing Challenge

      The boxing challenge will have two title fights on two platforms and both are outside of North America in locations that rarely will feature world championship boxing.

ESPN+ and Top Rank will broadcast a world championship pairing from the United Arab Emirates, which is essentially a "loser leaves town" crossroads battle with the winner defending the WBO junior lightweight title against maturing superstar Shakur Stevenson for a sizable paycheck and the loser perhaps considering retirement.

Champion Jamel Herring kept his title by disqualification when Jonathan Oquendo continued to smash his head into Herring's all throughout the bout and was finally disqualified in the eighth round when Herring's cut was ruled too bad to continue.

The ending was deserved, but Herring seemed a bit relieved at the fight's ending as, despite Herring being far ahead on the cards, Oquendo was beginning a rally that likely would have fallen short, Herring avoided a rough final few rounds by the ending.

Carl Frampton has won his last two fights since losing a decision to featherweight champion (at the time) Josh Warrington and could be hitting his highest weight wall at 130 pounds after winning championships at 122 and 126 pounds.

Herring's a boxer that is good enough to win a title but isn't quite elite, while Frampton was elite at lower weights when he fought up to his nickname "The Jackal", but hasn't been quite to that level since his decision win over Nonito Donaire.

If that version of Frampton enters the ring, I think Frampton breaks Herring down to win a lopsided decision, but if not, Herring outboxes Frampton on his way to a close but clear decision.

The card from Dubai starts at 2:00 EST.

Meanwhile, over on DAZN from Tashkent, Uzbekistan, WBA, and IBF junior featherweight titleist M.J. Akhmadaliev will defend the pair of belts for the first time against Ryosuke Iwasa of Japan.

Akhmadaliev won a split decision over Danny Roman last January in a terrific fight and looks to be on his way to bigger things, should he dispose of mandatory challenger Iwasa, who once held the IBF championship in 2017-18 and defended it once before losing it to T.J. Doheny by a controversial decision.

Iwasa could give Akhmadaliev some trouble, but I think the naturally bigger Akhmadaliev will hurt Iwasa in the middle rounds and has a chance for a late-round stoppage.

Akhmadaliev could have future defenses from the WBA against PBC fighters and minor WBA champions Brandon Figueroa and Ronny Rios or another PBC fighter in number one contender Raeese Aleem, but the question is that why Danny Roman isn't higher in line considering the closeness of his loss to Akhmadaliev.

I scored that fight a draw and Roman deserves a rematch before anyone gets further consideration.

The card starts at 10 AM EST on Saturday

In the boxing challenge, I lead Ramon Malpica 36-34.

WBO Junior Lightweight Title. 12 Rds 

Jamel Herring vs Carl Frampton

R.L; Herring Unanimous Decision

TRS; Frampton Unanimous Decision

WBA and IBF Junior Featherweight Titles. 12 Rds

Murodjon Akhmadaliev vs Ryosuke Iwasa.

R.L: Akhmadaliev Unanimous Decision

TRS: Akhmadaliev KO 10