What a night it was for the Toronto Raptors and their fans, who were most certainly treated to an entertaining game versus the Golden State Warriors. The Raptors came out on top winning the game 112-108 in overtime, before a sellout crowd of 19, 800 at the Air Canada Centre.
The Raptor fans were almost tricked out of a victory as their team dominated in the first quarter, but the Warriors hung around. In the second quarter with the Raptors up 45-33, the Warriors went on a huge 14-2 run to close the lead. Golden State was led by Al Harrington and Stephen Jackson. A large part of the comeback should be attributed to the ball movement of the Warriors. They were driving to the net, and kicking the ball out to open perimeter players, who made no mistake. And the Raptors didn’t help out their own cause as they were sucked in by the ball carrier and left the wings open.
The fast break was also on for the Warriors, as they did a good job of breaking out. And the score ended up 51-50 at half-time in favor of the Raptors.
After the Raptors’ strong opening quarter, where they were getting the ball inside, and getting buckets. They completely went away from that, and kept on taking the jumper. They were knocking them down, but when they missed, that allowed the Warriors to get back in the game and keep the game close. Both teams had respectable nights with their shooting, as the Raptors shot 51% and the Warriors 44%.
With only a slim two point lead heading into the fourth quarter, the Raptors almost let this game get away from them, but didn’t. They were led by Chris Bosh, their leader, who poured in 31 points, grabbed 9 rebounds, and now has 58 points in the first two games of the season. CB4 made shots drop in the clutch and demanded the ball with confidence.
After a slow opening night, Andrea Bargnani had a breakout game, including last season, and scored 19 points off the bench, with 5 boards, in 30 minutes of play. In the first half, he had ten points in ten minutes, and three dunks. One of those dunks was created when Andrea faked a pass, and his defender, which left an unguarded basket. He was confident with his shot and drove the ball whenever he had the chance. What really stood out was he didn’t settle for three’s after getting a few points, like he did so often last year. At one point, he passed up a three point shot and drove the ball. His defence was glowing too, with three blocked shots. They key now is, if he could repeat this effort versus the Milwaukee Bucks, on back-to-back nights.
With the game winding down, the Raptors held a 94-93 lead with less than a minute to play. The defence came up big as Jermaine O’Neal blocked a drive by the Warriors. The block was so hard, that the ball went right to Al Harrington who knocked down an uncontested three ball for the lead at 96-94.
The Raptors came right back, giving the ball to their All-Star, and CB4 tied the game with two free throws. After another defensive stop, the Raptors had the final possession of the game, but missed the game winning shot with 0.7 seconds left.
In overtime, it was all Raptors, as they began the extra frame with 6-0 run and didn’t allow the Warriors to score a point in the first 2 ½ minutes. That was all she wrote, as the Raptors won the game.
From start to end, you could just see the players feed off the energy being provided by the fans. One of the players that really wanted to make a splash was Jermaine O’Neal. He didn’t do so much on the stat sheet, but his defensive presence was there. He showed the Raptors faithful what he was all about with three huge blocks. Due to foul trouble, he was unable to play significant minutes in the fourth with five fouls, and ended the night with only five points.
Anthony Parker was another player who stepped up big time with 23 points, including a wicked circus shot with his back towards the rim, and he just flipped up the ball. He went 7/10 from the field and 3/5 from three point range. Once again the point guard play was fantastic by both Jose Calderon and Roko Ukic, as the two only combined for two turnovers.
On the Golden State side, Andris Biedrins had a slow game after the first quarter, where he had ten points and five rebounds, but was lost from there. The deciding factor in overtime was the stamina of Al Harrington, Stephen Jackson and Cory Maggette, who all logged big minutes, and just didn’t have anything left to give in the extra session. They did fill up the stat sheet with 26, 19 and 14 points respectively, but it still wasn’t enough.
For the second straight game the Raptors were out-rebounded 46-36, and 17-6 on the offensive rebounds. They did win in the free throw category shooting 86%, compared to Golden State’s 68%.
The opinions and thoughts expressed in this or any other article written by 12nadnuk are of his thinking and what he thinks is correct or close to it in the sporting world. If there are any problems by anyone, 12nadnuk is open for rebuttal and what not, and honest criticism. There is also a comments section, so feel free to post what is on your mind about the article. Thank you for reading.
Friday, October 31, 2008
LEAFS WEEKLY VOLUME 1 (Oct. 9 2008-Oct. 31 2008)
The first month of the Toronto Maple Leafs season is in the books, having played 10 games and compiling a record of 4-3-3 for 11 points. Right now, that’s good enough for tenth place in the East. The four wins this year, beats the total of three from last year after the ten game mark.
Picking up points in 7 out of 10 games isn’t too bad either, and have earned 11 out of a possible 20 points. For a team that wasn’t expected to do much, have shown that they can at least compete on a regular basis. That’s what this Leafs edition is all about.
The Leafs may be a -7 in the goals for (26)/goals against (33) category, but have won games on the strength of good defence. They don’t give up in any game and no matter what the score, and battle to the end. There is plenty of evidence of that, if you look at the latest game the Leafs played in New Jersey against the Devils.
They were down 2-0 early in the game, and battled back for the lead, 3-2. They did lose the lead, 4-3, but came back again, 5-4. The Leafs ultimately won the game 6-5 in a shoot-out. There was also another game versus the Anaheim Ducks in Toronto, where the Leafs were down early again 2-0. They fought back to tie the game, but lost 3-2 in the shoot-out. Then there was the game in Boston versus the Bruins. Again, they found themselves down 2-0, but won the game 4-2.
Even in the games they have lost, they were really never out of a few of them.
The more amazing thing is, the Leafs don’t have a ‘go to’ goal scorer. There leading scorer is Nik Antropov with four goals, and the next highest totals are Matt Stajan and Alex Ponikarovsky with three each. Everyone has chipped in and contributed the best they can. The best offensive player on the team is Niklas Hagman. The stats would make you think otherwise, but this Finn brings it every night and plays like a Canadian kid.
Then there are some players who just can’t get it right. I think it is safe to say the new Public Enemy No. 1 is now Jason Blake, who has taken over those reigns from Bryan McCabe with ease. Jason Blake can’t even buy a goal or score for the life of him. He only has one goal and three assists on the year, and to top that off has a success rate of 2.7% on 38 shots. He is the Leafs’ leading shooter, with all his soft wristers from the blue line, which flutter towards the goalie like a butterfly, or a bag caught in the wind. This guy seriously needs to get the boot out of Toronto.
Another player that really needs to step it up, and who was expected to, is Alex Steen. After an 18 goal rookie campaign, his numbers have steadily dropped off. This year is no different, as he has only scored once, which came in the latest game versus New Jersey, and has 3 points on the year, with a -2 rating.
Overall, the Leafs have had a good start to this 2008-2009 NHL season, and it shows that the team has bought into Ron Wilson’s coaching system. The preaching of defence is the strongest voice in the locker room, and that is how the 4 wins were achieved. We Leaf fans shouldn’t get to comfortable with the record or expect a 40 win season. Remember there are still 72 games left in the season. This Leafs team still doesn’t have ‘it’ to be a great team, because right now they are at an ‘okay’ status.
One telling sign that could explain all this is the Leafs defence corps. The Leafs this season have already dressed eight defencemen, and only two of them have a rating on the plus side. Those players are Anton Stralman (+3) and Mike Van Ryn (+2). And too add Mike Van Ryn has been a pleasant surprise this year with his solid game and leads all Leafs defenders with 2 goals and 4 assists.
The other six defencemen have a combined -19 rating. Those players are Tomas Kaberle (-2), Pavel Kubina (-6), Jonas Frogren (-5), Luke Schenn (-4), Jeff Finger (even) and Carlo Colaiacovo (-2). Those numbers right there aren’t so pleasing, but that’s the way things might go, and those numbers could only grow.
One of the worst things that could come from this is how Luke Schenn might react. He is only 19, what if he ends the season with a -45 rating? That could kill any players’ confidence. Leafs management believes that this is the best for him to stay in the NHL, but Leafs management hasn’t gotten anything right in the past 42 years. What could make them seem right now? This is complete stupidness.
Another thing, Pavel Kubina flat out sucks and is a piece of shit hockey player, that can’t skate, is too slow, and has shown little to no leadership qualities in his 2 ½ years in Toronto. I am just counting down the days he has left in his contract, which is this and next year.
Don’t expect the Leafs to tank the season for a quality draft pick. That’s what management wants, but the players on this team have pride and dignity.
7 DAY OUTLOOK
Nov. 1 ’08 vs. New York Rangers Nov. 2 ’08 @ Carolina Hurricanes
Nov. 4 ’08 vs. Carolina Hurricanes Nov. 6 ’08 @ Boston Bruins
An Original Six match-up versus the Ranger on Saturday nigh should be exciting. The last game these two teams played ended in 1-0 shoot-out decision for the Rangers at MSG. The Leafs will see the Hurricanes for the first time this season with a home and away series. Will face the Bruins for the second time this year, and the Leafs won the first meeting 4-2 at the TD Bank North Garden.
Picking up points in 7 out of 10 games isn’t too bad either, and have earned 11 out of a possible 20 points. For a team that wasn’t expected to do much, have shown that they can at least compete on a regular basis. That’s what this Leafs edition is all about.
The Leafs may be a -7 in the goals for (26)/goals against (33) category, but have won games on the strength of good defence. They don’t give up in any game and no matter what the score, and battle to the end. There is plenty of evidence of that, if you look at the latest game the Leafs played in New Jersey against the Devils.
They were down 2-0 early in the game, and battled back for the lead, 3-2. They did lose the lead, 4-3, but came back again, 5-4. The Leafs ultimately won the game 6-5 in a shoot-out. There was also another game versus the Anaheim Ducks in Toronto, where the Leafs were down early again 2-0. They fought back to tie the game, but lost 3-2 in the shoot-out. Then there was the game in Boston versus the Bruins. Again, they found themselves down 2-0, but won the game 4-2.
Even in the games they have lost, they were really never out of a few of them.
The more amazing thing is, the Leafs don’t have a ‘go to’ goal scorer. There leading scorer is Nik Antropov with four goals, and the next highest totals are Matt Stajan and Alex Ponikarovsky with three each. Everyone has chipped in and contributed the best they can. The best offensive player on the team is Niklas Hagman. The stats would make you think otherwise, but this Finn brings it every night and plays like a Canadian kid.
Then there are some players who just can’t get it right. I think it is safe to say the new Public Enemy No. 1 is now Jason Blake, who has taken over those reigns from Bryan McCabe with ease. Jason Blake can’t even buy a goal or score for the life of him. He only has one goal and three assists on the year, and to top that off has a success rate of 2.7% on 38 shots. He is the Leafs’ leading shooter, with all his soft wristers from the blue line, which flutter towards the goalie like a butterfly, or a bag caught in the wind. This guy seriously needs to get the boot out of Toronto.
Another player that really needs to step it up, and who was expected to, is Alex Steen. After an 18 goal rookie campaign, his numbers have steadily dropped off. This year is no different, as he has only scored once, which came in the latest game versus New Jersey, and has 3 points on the year, with a -2 rating.
Overall, the Leafs have had a good start to this 2008-2009 NHL season, and it shows that the team has bought into Ron Wilson’s coaching system. The preaching of defence is the strongest voice in the locker room, and that is how the 4 wins were achieved. We Leaf fans shouldn’t get to comfortable with the record or expect a 40 win season. Remember there are still 72 games left in the season. This Leafs team still doesn’t have ‘it’ to be a great team, because right now they are at an ‘okay’ status.
One telling sign that could explain all this is the Leafs defence corps. The Leafs this season have already dressed eight defencemen, and only two of them have a rating on the plus side. Those players are Anton Stralman (+3) and Mike Van Ryn (+2). And too add Mike Van Ryn has been a pleasant surprise this year with his solid game and leads all Leafs defenders with 2 goals and 4 assists.
The other six defencemen have a combined -19 rating. Those players are Tomas Kaberle (-2), Pavel Kubina (-6), Jonas Frogren (-5), Luke Schenn (-4), Jeff Finger (even) and Carlo Colaiacovo (-2). Those numbers right there aren’t so pleasing, but that’s the way things might go, and those numbers could only grow.
One of the worst things that could come from this is how Luke Schenn might react. He is only 19, what if he ends the season with a -45 rating? That could kill any players’ confidence. Leafs management believes that this is the best for him to stay in the NHL, but Leafs management hasn’t gotten anything right in the past 42 years. What could make them seem right now? This is complete stupidness.
Another thing, Pavel Kubina flat out sucks and is a piece of shit hockey player, that can’t skate, is too slow, and has shown little to no leadership qualities in his 2 ½ years in Toronto. I am just counting down the days he has left in his contract, which is this and next year.
Don’t expect the Leafs to tank the season for a quality draft pick. That’s what management wants, but the players on this team have pride and dignity.
7 DAY OUTLOOK
Nov. 1 ’08 vs. New York Rangers Nov. 2 ’08 @ Carolina Hurricanes
Nov. 4 ’08 vs. Carolina Hurricanes Nov. 6 ’08 @ Boston Bruins
An Original Six match-up versus the Ranger on Saturday nigh should be exciting. The last game these two teams played ended in 1-0 shoot-out decision for the Rangers at MSG. The Leafs will see the Hurricanes for the first time this season with a home and away series. Will face the Bruins for the second time this year, and the Leafs won the first meeting 4-2 at the TD Bank North Garden.
NADNUK12’s WEEKLY NHL POWER RANKINGS
1. New York Rangers (10-2-1, 21 points, 1st in the league)
2. San Jose Sharks (9-2-0, 18 points, 2nd in the league)
3. Detroit Red Wings (7-2-2, 16 points, 3rd in the league)
4. Montreal Canadiens (7-1-1, 15 points, 4th in the league)
5. Calgary Flames (6-3-1, 13 points, 7th in the league)
6. Minnesota Wild (6-2-1, 13 points, 6th in the league)
7. Anaheim Ducks (6-5-0, 12 points, 11th in the league)
8. Washington Capitals (5-3-1, 11 points, 13th in the league)
9. Buffalo Sabres (6-2-2, 14 points, 5th in the league)
10. Boston Bruins (5-3-3, 13 points, 8th in the league)
11. New Jersey Devils (5-2-2, 12 points, 9th in the league)
12. Carolina Hurricanes (5-2-2, 14 points, 10th in the league)
13. Nashville Predators (5-4-1, 11 points, 14th in the league)
14. Philadelphia Flyers (4-3-3, 11 points, 15th in the league)
15. Pittsburgh Penguins (5-4-2, 12 points, 12th in the league)
16. St. Louis Blues (5-4-0, 10 points, 17th in the league)
17. Toronto Maple Leafs (4-3-3, 11 points, 16th in the league)
18. Vancouver Canucks (5-5-0, 10 points, 18th in the league)
19. Colorado Avalanche (5-5-0, 10 points, 19th in the league)
20. Dallas Stars (4-4-2, 10 points, 20th in the league)
21. Chicago Blackhawks (3-3-3, 9 points, 22nd in the league)
22. Ottawa Senators (4-5-1, 9 points, 24th in the league)
23. Edmonton Oilers (4-4-1, 9 points, 21st in the league)0
24. Tampa Bay Lightning (3-3-3, 9 points, 23rd in the league)
25. Columbus Blue Jackets (4-6-0, 10 points, 27th in the league)
26. Phoenix Coyotes (4-4-0, 8 points, 25th in the league)
27. Florida Panthers (4-5-0, 8 points, 26th in the league)
28. Los Angeles Kings (3-5-1, 7 points, 28th in the league)
29. Atlanta Thrashers (2-6-2, 6 points, 29th in the league)
30. New York Islanders (2-6-1, 5 points, 30th in the league)
These power rankings are made by nadnuk12
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
GREAT START TO SEASON
The 14th season in Toronto Raptors history went very well with a 95-84 victory over the re-tooled Philadelphia 76ers. The majority of the crowd was decked out in Phillies gear, and were drawn to the game due to discounted tickets. That was only if you had a World Series game 5 ticket. You couldn’t spot a 76ers jersey for the life you, and everywhere you looked, you’d see a Phillies jersey.
The Raptors did start off the game slow and were very sluggish in the opening quarter. The 76ers were grabbing rebounds at will, and their inside duo of Elton Brand and Samuel Dalembert paid off big time. They had offensive rebounds, and out-rebounded the Raptors 56-33. If the 76ers had finished off their offensive rebounds with some baskets, the end score could’ve been closer or a different result, maybe.
Lost in the first quarter was Andre Igoudala. He barely got any touches and his name was hardly heard, except for a dunk late in the game. A lot of the 76ers offense revolved around getting the ball deep.
Really, the only bright spot for the 76ers was the first quarter, and after that they looked lost. Their offense wasn’t clicking like it did to start the game, and they turned the ball over plenty of times. The Raptors took advantage of those turnovers and didn’t return the favor as they protected the ball. The 76ers had 17 turnovers and the Raptors only had 11.
Coming into this season, a lot of people wondered if Jermaine O’Neal and Chris Bosh could co-exist. Well, that question was answered emphatically. Even though this was only one game, they did a lot of good things playing together, and separately too if one of the two were taking a breather.
In the first half, the two towers traded some big time dunks. First it was JO who blew by Elton Brand and slammed it home with his left hand. That dunk was a game changer, and slowly things started to go smoothly for the Raptors, and there was a momentum shift, if you will. After that dunk the Raptors won the final three quarters and outscored the 76ers by 14 points. JO’s jumper was consistent as well.
Not to be outdone, CB4 came right back with a two handed jam of his own. Pretty much the same move was made, but from the opposite side of the court. His jumper was as smooth as ever.
The two players, O’Neal and Bosh combined for 44 points and 19 rebounds. Individually they both had solid nights as Bosh scored 27 and had 11 boards, while O’Neal had 17 and 8 in 35 minutes of play.
The point guard situation for the Raptors went just as advertised. Jose Calderon was his fine self, sharing the ball, protecting the ball and showed off his smooth shooting stroke.
The backup point guard play of rookie Croatian Roko Ukic wasn’t too shabby. He played 16 minutes, scored 4 points and dished out 2 assists. He stuck to his game and didn’t get out of his comfort zone, like so many rookies do.
The seven foot Italian Andrea Bargnani was seldom used in the game and played a quiet 20 minutes. He did show some signs off improvement, but his defense was lacking.
The small forward position duties were split evenly between Jamario Moon and Joey Graham. Both players had good showings, to start the year. The one constant you could always count was the play of Anthony Parker. He always found some open room and never took a bad shot, and scored 9 on the night. He had the task of guarding Andre Igoudala and shut him down, holding him to 15 points.
In the end, the Raptors held off a late surge by the 76ers as they cut the Raptors lead to six points with less than three minutes left to play. On the next play Jason Kapono came back with a clutch three pointer from the corner and that put the Raptors up by eleven, and that pretty much sealed the game. The three point shooting from the Raptors was scorching and went 10-16 from three point land. The biggest lead of the game for the Raptors was 14 points.
The opinions and thoughts expressed in this or any other article written by 12nadnuk are of his thinking and what he thinks is correct or close to it in the sporting world. If there are any problems by anyone, 12nadnuk is open for rebuttal and what not, and honest criticism. There is also a comments section, so feel free to post what is on your mind about the article. Thank you for reading.
The Raptors did start off the game slow and were very sluggish in the opening quarter. The 76ers were grabbing rebounds at will, and their inside duo of Elton Brand and Samuel Dalembert paid off big time. They had offensive rebounds, and out-rebounded the Raptors 56-33. If the 76ers had finished off their offensive rebounds with some baskets, the end score could’ve been closer or a different result, maybe.
Lost in the first quarter was Andre Igoudala. He barely got any touches and his name was hardly heard, except for a dunk late in the game. A lot of the 76ers offense revolved around getting the ball deep.
Really, the only bright spot for the 76ers was the first quarter, and after that they looked lost. Their offense wasn’t clicking like it did to start the game, and they turned the ball over plenty of times. The Raptors took advantage of those turnovers and didn’t return the favor as they protected the ball. The 76ers had 17 turnovers and the Raptors only had 11.
Coming into this season, a lot of people wondered if Jermaine O’Neal and Chris Bosh could co-exist. Well, that question was answered emphatically. Even though this was only one game, they did a lot of good things playing together, and separately too if one of the two were taking a breather.
In the first half, the two towers traded some big time dunks. First it was JO who blew by Elton Brand and slammed it home with his left hand. That dunk was a game changer, and slowly things started to go smoothly for the Raptors, and there was a momentum shift, if you will. After that dunk the Raptors won the final three quarters and outscored the 76ers by 14 points. JO’s jumper was consistent as well.
Not to be outdone, CB4 came right back with a two handed jam of his own. Pretty much the same move was made, but from the opposite side of the court. His jumper was as smooth as ever.
The two players, O’Neal and Bosh combined for 44 points and 19 rebounds. Individually they both had solid nights as Bosh scored 27 and had 11 boards, while O’Neal had 17 and 8 in 35 minutes of play.
The point guard situation for the Raptors went just as advertised. Jose Calderon was his fine self, sharing the ball, protecting the ball and showed off his smooth shooting stroke.
The backup point guard play of rookie Croatian Roko Ukic wasn’t too shabby. He played 16 minutes, scored 4 points and dished out 2 assists. He stuck to his game and didn’t get out of his comfort zone, like so many rookies do.
The seven foot Italian Andrea Bargnani was seldom used in the game and played a quiet 20 minutes. He did show some signs off improvement, but his defense was lacking.
The small forward position duties were split evenly between Jamario Moon and Joey Graham. Both players had good showings, to start the year. The one constant you could always count was the play of Anthony Parker. He always found some open room and never took a bad shot, and scored 9 on the night. He had the task of guarding Andre Igoudala and shut him down, holding him to 15 points.
In the end, the Raptors held off a late surge by the 76ers as they cut the Raptors lead to six points with less than three minutes left to play. On the next play Jason Kapono came back with a clutch three pointer from the corner and that put the Raptors up by eleven, and that pretty much sealed the game. The three point shooting from the Raptors was scorching and went 10-16 from three point land. The biggest lead of the game for the Raptors was 14 points.
The opinions and thoughts expressed in this or any other article written by 12nadnuk are of his thinking and what he thinks is correct or close to it in the sporting world. If there are any problems by anyone, 12nadnuk is open for rebuttal and what not, and honest criticism. There is also a comments section, so feel free to post what is on your mind about the article. Thank you for reading.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
IT WAS JUST ONE OF THOSE GAMES
The Leafs dropped their first game after winning two straight, and failed to record a point after three games.
The Tampa Bay Lightning picked up only their second win of the season on the strength of Vincent Lecavalier’s two goals and goaltender Mike Smith’s impressive performance.
Early on in the game the Lightning struck and scored the opening goal of the game. The goal came from Jussi Jokinen off a nice pass from Mark Recchi in front of the net. The Leafs were quick to respond on a power play goal from Matt Stajan, which barely beat Mike Smith. That goal was Stajan’s first of the year.
Throughout the game, Tampa Bay captain Vincent Lecavalier proved why he deserves more ice-time after only averaging 19 minutes on the season and only played 16 minutes the last game. Lecavalier was every where offensively and defensively. After the Leafs tied the game, he stormed back on his second break-away in the first period and made a sick move to score. That forehand-backhand fade-away is now becoming a signature move of his. What was more impressive, was how he managed to stay onside by a toe, with the amount of speed he had coming down the wing.
In the second period, and on another power play, Lecavalier scored his second goal of the game on a backhand deque to the top shelf, in tight. That power play was awarded do to a stupid hooking penalty taken by Jamal Mayers on the offensive end of the ice. On the play, local boy Steven Stamkos recorded his first career NHL point with one of the assists. He was about to score his first ever goal too, but missed by millimetres. Stamkos skated down the wing, faked the forehand shot, went around the net and slid the puck along the goal line through the crease.
Going into the third period, the Leafs were down 3-2 after Mike Van Ryn scored in his second straight game off a rebound on the power play. That was all the Leafs could get, because Mike Smith was just that good. He did a lot to deserve the win with his strong puck play. With those plays, he created scoring chances for his team, and shut down chances for the Leafs.
The Leafs had a strong night on the fore-check and out-shot the Lightning 39-25. The power play was a bit better, but could’ve done a better job to execute on them. In the first they had 1.18 5-on-3 advantage but failed to score, and overall went 2-6.
In the penalty department, both teams took a combined four delay of game penalties for shooting the puck over the glass. Tampa Bay had one of them, while Toronto had the other three.
In the game, rookie John Mitchell had a breakout game, and was one of the best Leafs on the ice. He was rewarded with more ice time and time on the top line.
For the second straight game Jonas Frogren was a healthy scratch and I doubt he agreed to leave Sweden for Toronto to watch games from the press box. Something has to be done on the blue line to free up some room for him. One guy you can scratch off that list is Luke Schenn. He is sticking around for now, and even if he plays a bad game, he is still staying. If he gets sent down now, it will look stupid on the Leafs right after he just surpassed the nine game mark.
The opinions and thoughts expressed in this or any other article written by 12nadnuk are of his thinking and what he thinks is correct or close to it in the sporting world. If there are any problems by anyone, 12nadnuk is open for rebuttal and what not, and honest criticism. There is also a comments section, so feel free to post what is on your mind about the article. Thank you for reading.
The Tampa Bay Lightning picked up only their second win of the season on the strength of Vincent Lecavalier’s two goals and goaltender Mike Smith’s impressive performance.
Early on in the game the Lightning struck and scored the opening goal of the game. The goal came from Jussi Jokinen off a nice pass from Mark Recchi in front of the net. The Leafs were quick to respond on a power play goal from Matt Stajan, which barely beat Mike Smith. That goal was Stajan’s first of the year.
Throughout the game, Tampa Bay captain Vincent Lecavalier proved why he deserves more ice-time after only averaging 19 minutes on the season and only played 16 minutes the last game. Lecavalier was every where offensively and defensively. After the Leafs tied the game, he stormed back on his second break-away in the first period and made a sick move to score. That forehand-backhand fade-away is now becoming a signature move of his. What was more impressive, was how he managed to stay onside by a toe, with the amount of speed he had coming down the wing.
In the second period, and on another power play, Lecavalier scored his second goal of the game on a backhand deque to the top shelf, in tight. That power play was awarded do to a stupid hooking penalty taken by Jamal Mayers on the offensive end of the ice. On the play, local boy Steven Stamkos recorded his first career NHL point with one of the assists. He was about to score his first ever goal too, but missed by millimetres. Stamkos skated down the wing, faked the forehand shot, went around the net and slid the puck along the goal line through the crease.
Going into the third period, the Leafs were down 3-2 after Mike Van Ryn scored in his second straight game off a rebound on the power play. That was all the Leafs could get, because Mike Smith was just that good. He did a lot to deserve the win with his strong puck play. With those plays, he created scoring chances for his team, and shut down chances for the Leafs.
The Leafs had a strong night on the fore-check and out-shot the Lightning 39-25. The power play was a bit better, but could’ve done a better job to execute on them. In the first they had 1.18 5-on-3 advantage but failed to score, and overall went 2-6.
In the penalty department, both teams took a combined four delay of game penalties for shooting the puck over the glass. Tampa Bay had one of them, while Toronto had the other three.
In the game, rookie John Mitchell had a breakout game, and was one of the best Leafs on the ice. He was rewarded with more ice time and time on the top line.
For the second straight game Jonas Frogren was a healthy scratch and I doubt he agreed to leave Sweden for Toronto to watch games from the press box. Something has to be done on the blue line to free up some room for him. One guy you can scratch off that list is Luke Schenn. He is sticking around for now, and even if he plays a bad game, he is still staying. If he gets sent down now, it will look stupid on the Leafs right after he just surpassed the nine game mark.
The opinions and thoughts expressed in this or any other article written by 12nadnuk are of his thinking and what he thinks is correct or close to it in the sporting world. If there are any problems by anyone, 12nadnuk is open for rebuttal and what not, and honest criticism. There is also a comments section, so feel free to post what is on your mind about the article. Thank you for reading.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
WELCOME TO THE NHL LUKE SCHENN
This kid is staying beyond the nine game mark, which allows teams a small bit of wiggle room to play their prospects and not get it counted towards a year in their contract.
Luke Schenn has done everything right, whatever it took to stick around. He is most certainly the real deal and has already shown it at the tender age of just 18. He has already beaten out regulars in the Leafs lineup such as Carlo Colaiacovo and Ian White, who have more experience. Jonas Frogren was a healthy scratch to, to make room for Jeff Finger.
The game he just played was his baptism into the NHL. First, the holy site, at the hockey capital of the world, Toronto. Then the cathedral, the Air Canada Centre and on a Saturday night. To add more, it was a game versus their faggot provincial rivals the Ottawa Senators. This was Schenn’s first true taste of a real rivalry game, instead of that drubbing at the hands of Montreal.
The night got started as Luke Schenn got into his first ever NHL scrap with Ottawa goon Chris Neil, who showed he is truly an asshole. And put himself up with Sean Avery in the league of being classless and bitches. Schenn went after Neil, because Neil went knee-on-knee with Matt Stajan and Schenn took exceptions into his own hands.
Chris Neil imitated Ryan Hollweg and how he has crashed players into the boards, and got a ten minute misconduct penalty for his actions. Neil also fell into the same category as his dooshbag captain Daniel Alfredsson, for when he made a stupid gesture mocking then Leafs captain, Mats Sundin. Then Neil wouldn’t accept a fight with an actual tough guy Jamal Mayers, who knows how to fight. Instead, Neil likes to pick on eighteen year olds and act all tough, which is truly pathetic.
Anyways, back to Schenn and how he held his own in the fight. Then he put in another solid effort defensively playing 20 plus minutes on the night. Luke Schenn is the future of the Leafs and we’ve already gotten a taste of what he can do. The most promising thing is he isn’t even in his prime. Imagine what he’ll do then.
As for the game itself, it shaped up to be a good one for the Leafs and a horrible one for the Senators.
The Leafs did it all in the game, blocked shots, drew penalties, excellent cycle game, out shot the Senators 38-24 and had 21 shots in the first. The end result and total domination didn’t do justice for the Leafs on the scoreboard, as the end result was 3-2 Leafs. The score could’ve been up there, but Alex Auld had a solid night in net. You can also point to the Leafs power play, as it still needs some major fine tuning as they only went 1-6, and 1-3 in the first period.
Ottawa just turned in a bad game, they weren’t even in it. They showed some aggression with the body, but the Leafs matched them. The Senators couldn’t control the Leafs’ strong puck movement or cycle game. Shots and passes got through very easily.
The two goals Ottawa scored were ‘whatever goals’ and didn’t show any signs if they were going to comeback. The first goal came from Shean Donovan and cut the Leaf lead in half, 2-1. That goal got a lucky tip from Donovan and he didn’t even know what was going on. On the same play, a Leaf player was without a stick. The second goal came from Dean McAmmond who took a shot, was stopped, but squeaked through and went off a Leaf player and in, in the final minute of play.
The Leafs scoring came from Dominic Moore on the power play in the first, and the Leafs worked the puck, got it to the net, a scramble ensued and Moore scored into the empty net. The second goal came from Mikhail Grabovski, which made the score 2-0 in the second. That goal was Grabovksi’s first of the year and as Leaf. The shot was a wicked wrister that went above the shoulder of Alex Auld. Earlier in the first, Grabovski had a breakaway chance to open the scoring but was stopped by the post on a backhand deque. The game winning goal was scored by Alex Ponikarovsky off a rebound, through the five hole of Auld to seal the game with 6.23 left to play.
Jeff Finger, the multi-million dollar free agent signing finally played and looked good. He showed signs of rust and off timing, but slowly got his step back and into the rhythm. On one play, he swept the puck out of the crease, which was going to tie the game at two. That was really a game saver. Finger played 19 minutes on the night.
What can you say about Vesa Toskala, another game where he was it and was the deciding factor once again. The shot total may make you think twice, but some of the saves were difficult ones.
The Leafs finally won their first home and Saturday night game of the year.
The opinions and thoughts expressed in this or any other article written by 12nadnuk are of his thinking and what he thinks is correct or close to it in the sporting world. If there are any problems by anyone, 12nadnuk is open for rebuttal and what not, and honest criticism. There is also a comments section, so feel free to post what is on your mind about the article. Thank you for reading.
Luke Schenn has done everything right, whatever it took to stick around. He is most certainly the real deal and has already shown it at the tender age of just 18. He has already beaten out regulars in the Leafs lineup such as Carlo Colaiacovo and Ian White, who have more experience. Jonas Frogren was a healthy scratch to, to make room for Jeff Finger.
The game he just played was his baptism into the NHL. First, the holy site, at the hockey capital of the world, Toronto. Then the cathedral, the Air Canada Centre and on a Saturday night. To add more, it was a game versus their faggot provincial rivals the Ottawa Senators. This was Schenn’s first true taste of a real rivalry game, instead of that drubbing at the hands of Montreal.
The night got started as Luke Schenn got into his first ever NHL scrap with Ottawa goon Chris Neil, who showed he is truly an asshole. And put himself up with Sean Avery in the league of being classless and bitches. Schenn went after Neil, because Neil went knee-on-knee with Matt Stajan and Schenn took exceptions into his own hands.
Chris Neil imitated Ryan Hollweg and how he has crashed players into the boards, and got a ten minute misconduct penalty for his actions. Neil also fell into the same category as his dooshbag captain Daniel Alfredsson, for when he made a stupid gesture mocking then Leafs captain, Mats Sundin. Then Neil wouldn’t accept a fight with an actual tough guy Jamal Mayers, who knows how to fight. Instead, Neil likes to pick on eighteen year olds and act all tough, which is truly pathetic.
Anyways, back to Schenn and how he held his own in the fight. Then he put in another solid effort defensively playing 20 plus minutes on the night. Luke Schenn is the future of the Leafs and we’ve already gotten a taste of what he can do. The most promising thing is he isn’t even in his prime. Imagine what he’ll do then.
As for the game itself, it shaped up to be a good one for the Leafs and a horrible one for the Senators.
The Leafs did it all in the game, blocked shots, drew penalties, excellent cycle game, out shot the Senators 38-24 and had 21 shots in the first. The end result and total domination didn’t do justice for the Leafs on the scoreboard, as the end result was 3-2 Leafs. The score could’ve been up there, but Alex Auld had a solid night in net. You can also point to the Leafs power play, as it still needs some major fine tuning as they only went 1-6, and 1-3 in the first period.
Ottawa just turned in a bad game, they weren’t even in it. They showed some aggression with the body, but the Leafs matched them. The Senators couldn’t control the Leafs’ strong puck movement or cycle game. Shots and passes got through very easily.
The two goals Ottawa scored were ‘whatever goals’ and didn’t show any signs if they were going to comeback. The first goal came from Shean Donovan and cut the Leaf lead in half, 2-1. That goal got a lucky tip from Donovan and he didn’t even know what was going on. On the same play, a Leaf player was without a stick. The second goal came from Dean McAmmond who took a shot, was stopped, but squeaked through and went off a Leaf player and in, in the final minute of play.
The Leafs scoring came from Dominic Moore on the power play in the first, and the Leafs worked the puck, got it to the net, a scramble ensued and Moore scored into the empty net. The second goal came from Mikhail Grabovski, which made the score 2-0 in the second. That goal was Grabovksi’s first of the year and as Leaf. The shot was a wicked wrister that went above the shoulder of Alex Auld. Earlier in the first, Grabovski had a breakaway chance to open the scoring but was stopped by the post on a backhand deque. The game winning goal was scored by Alex Ponikarovsky off a rebound, through the five hole of Auld to seal the game with 6.23 left to play.
Jeff Finger, the multi-million dollar free agent signing finally played and looked good. He showed signs of rust and off timing, but slowly got his step back and into the rhythm. On one play, he swept the puck out of the crease, which was going to tie the game at two. That was really a game saver. Finger played 19 minutes on the night.
What can you say about Vesa Toskala, another game where he was it and was the deciding factor once again. The shot total may make you think twice, but some of the saves were difficult ones.
The Leafs finally won their first home and Saturday night game of the year.
The opinions and thoughts expressed in this or any other article written by 12nadnuk are of his thinking and what he thinks is correct or close to it in the sporting world. If there are any problems by anyone, 12nadnuk is open for rebuttal and what not, and honest criticism. There is also a comments section, so feel free to post what is on your mind about the article. Thank you for reading.
Friday, October 24, 2008
THE LEAFS AFTER 1967
The Toronto Maple Leafs, one of the most famous and talked about teams in the history of the NHL. The Leafs also have one of the more broad histories as well. When you talked about the Leafs, you would think of the Original Six, Stanley Cups and Conn Smythe. Now when you talk about the Leafs these days, you think of horrible ownership in Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, the monopoly they have built, and an unsuccessful team on the ice for 42 years.
The Toronto Maple Leafs franchise has taken one of the biggest back seats for any sports franchise in North America. The Leafs, when they were founded in 1927, to 1967 had won 11 Stanley Cups. From then on to the present day zero Stanley Cups, and nothing to cheer about.
Also from the years of 1927-1967, the ownership was one of the best in the game, which made the Leafs a model franchise. The Leafs were a family business with the head boss being Conn Smythe. Without him there would be no Stanley Cups, no Maple Leaf Gardens, and well no Toronto Maple Leafs. With Conn Smythe running the show, the Leafs were the team, one of the best, constantly winning championships. Most importantly, Conn Smythe expected success on the ice, which is totally different nowadays as a lot of teams go for the dollar first.
Just how good were the Maple Leafs compared to their Original Six counterparts? Well, they were pretty damn good and here are some stats to prove that from 1926, when the Stanley Cup was only awarded to NHL franchises, up until 1967.
The Leafs won 11 Stanley Cups through those 41 years, which was an average of four Cups a decade. Twice in that era, they won the Cup twice three years in a row, and became the first true NHL dynasty. The first Stanley Cup came in 1931 which was the only one in the thirties. In the forties, they won five Cups, in the fifties once and in the sixties four times. Also in that era, the Leafs made the Stanley Cup Final 19 times.
The championships came in on a steady flow and even when they didn’t win the Cup, they still competed hard and had good successful regular seasons. From 1927-1967, the Leafs had 27 winning seasons (having a record above .500 only, and doesn’t include even .500 records) and qualified for the playoffs 34 times. Anytime the team did miss the playoffs, they would qualify the next year. Only on one occasion the Leafs missed the playoffs on back-to-back seasons, 1957-58.
Those numbers right there are just unbelievable stacked up to the other Original Six teams, and the amount of success couldn’t be matched, except only for Montreal. At the time, Toronto and Montreal had the biggest rivalry and were racking up Stanley Cups.
Here’s how the other Original Six franchises stacked up to the Leafs from 1927-1967:
BOSTON BRUINS --> 3 Stanley Cups, 10 Finals, 21 winning seasons, and 28 playoffs
CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS --> 3 Stanley Cups, 7 Finals, 14 winning seasons, and 23 playoffs
DETROIT RED WINGS (founded in 1932-33) --> 7 Stanley Cups, 18 Finals, 21 winning seasons, and 29 playoffs
MONTREAL CANADIENS --> 14 Stanley Cups, 20 Finals, 29 winning seasons, and 38 playoffs
NEW YORK RANGERS --> 3 Stanley Cups, 7 Finals, 17 winning seasons, and 22 playoffs
TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS --> 11 Stanley Cups, 19 Finals, 27 winning seasons, and 34 playoffs
What a 41 years the Leafs had, and at the same time the city of Toronto was slowly cemented as the hockey capital of the world. A lot of things have changed since those 41 years, compared to the last 41 years. Ownership has changed dramatically; it isn’t the once proud family business it used to be. The ownership now is a corporate monster headed by money first idiot executives who don’t know a thing about hockey. The owners now probably don’t even know how to spell hockey. After 1967 when Conn Smythe didn’t have full ownership of the team, as he sold half of his shares in Maple Gardens Ltd. to his son Stafford. Things began to go down hill and in a hurry.
Stafford Smythe had an ownership group, consisting of himself, a newspaper baron John Bassett, and a jackass named Harold Ballard. When Stafford died, Ballard bought his shares and had the majority stake hold in the team. Things were never the same for the Toronto Maple Leafs after that.
Through the 1970’s and ‘80’s, the Leafs didn’t do much and had disputes with their star players over contracts and money. Ballard didn’t care much about winning as he did for his love of money. I don’t want to be mean or anything, but Harold Ballard was one of those people that lived for to long and were always filled with hate. When Harold finally died in early 1990, Steve Stavro bought his shares and had the majority shares of the team.
Stavro cared about the team winning and didn’t interfere with hockey operations. With that, the Leafs were once again a competitive team.
Another mistake in ownership was made when Stavro sold his shares to the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan fund, and were officially in control in 2004. After selling his shares, Stavro shortly passed away.
The ownership which is MLSE consists of the OTPP (58%), CTV Globemedia (15%), TD Bank (14%) and Kilmer Sports Inc. (13%). Right there is the problem with the Leafs, because it has all become a money game, and was like that since 1970. Since the OTPP officially had the majority hold in MLSE in 2004, the Leafs have never made the playoffs, and have missed them for the past three years. With the lockout of 2005, you can make that four years. The Leafs franchise had never missed the playoffs three years in a row dating back to the early 1920’s.
With ownership changes and so many different corporations having a stake in MLSE, they own and control the Leafs, Raptors and Toronto FC. One thing is weird and mind boggling. How is it that the Raptors are having so much success and are on the rise to becoming an elite team and the Leafs are stuck at the bottom of the NHL? That is just unbelievable to see. One of the main guys screwing around with the Leafs is Richard Peddie the CEO, who is extremely smart when it comes to making money. When it comes to sports or hockey, he is so stupid and has no clue as to what he is doing. And MLSE has made so much money, that it is impossible to beat those marks. This group doesn’t care about their franchises, they want money first. The Raptors are lucky they found hard nosed guy in Bryan Collangelo, because the only way he accepted his job was if Richard Peddie would stay out of his way, and the job title of team president. It worked, but what happens when Collangelo’s contract runs out and he decides to sign on elsewhere?
The only way the Leafs will ever win a Stanley Cup is if this bullshit ownership changes to one person, or if they can find someone like Collangelo in the hockey world.
With all those changes with the ownership, here are some Leafs stats compared to the other Original Six franchises from 1968-2008, 41 years (2004-05 season locked out).
BOSTON BRUINS --> 2 Stanley Cups, 7 Finals, 36 winning seasons, and 26 playoffs
CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS --> 0 Stanley Cups, 3 Finals, 22 winning seasons, and 30 playoffs
DETROIT RED WINGS --> 4 Stanley Cups, 5 Finals, 20 winning seasons, and 24 playoffs
MONTREAL CANADIENS --> 10 Stanley Cups, 11 Finals, 34 winning seasons, 33 playoffs
NEW YORK RANGERS --> 1 Stanley Cup, 3 Finals, 23 winning seasons, and 29 playoffs
TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS --> 0 Stanley Cups, 0 Finals, 21 winning seasons, and 26 playoffs
These days, ownership doesn’t look as if it will change anytime soon and will continue to do what they do best, make money first.
Even with the hundreds upon thousands of Leafs fans across Canada and the US, there will never be a shortage of demand for a ticket. A regular guy can’t afford a ticket to a Leafs game because MLSE has prices suited only for the rich and corporate. True Leafs fans still make it out to the games, but over pay and they get treated to a horrible product on the ice.
If you ever watch an old game from Maple Leaf Gardens, there was energy in the building, and you could just feel the passion. The fans cared enough to come early and watch the whole game. Now, the Leafs crowds at the Air Canada Centre cater to the corporate crowds who pretty much have a majority of all the seats for the season. These guys wear suits to the hockey game, a suit! They only go to the game because they got the tickets for free and to brag the next day at work. During intermissions, they leave their seats for a smoke or the more commonly known ‘sushi break’ and return late to the game. They don’t even care enough to watch the whole game, and talk business or are on their Blackberry’s or iPhone’s. There’s no more passion in the building either, it’s all gone because of MLSE and their money, and will only sell tickets to the highest bidder who will overpay.
The media these days is much worse as they are always on the team and expecting more all the time. The media in Toronto has certainly influenced players’ decisions on coming to play for the Leafs in the past and now. Especially this season, the team isn’t built for the playoffs and yet the media would expect the playoffs. When the Leafs don’t make the playoffs, the media will want know why they didn’t. Any type of move made from anywhere on the team, will be reported and talked about and get blown up. Every single move is scrutinized to a tee, and the media just over does their job sometimes. With the media always talking shit, it turns fans away from the team and then they start talking shit about the team.
There are so many Leaf fans out there who are died hard fans, but don’t want to admit it or show it because of the state the team is currently in and the past failures. It’s all because of MLSE. Fans across Canada of other teams and just in general always bash the Leafs. In my opinion they are just jealous because everyone always talks about the Leafs and they get the most media coverage across Canada. Whatever the public wants or whatever is in demand will be out there. Still, fans of other teams talk shit and always make fun of the team. Even fans who live in the GTA complain about the coverage the Leafs get and how everyone talks about them. Well then, what do you expect, you live in a Leafs region or Leafs Nation. The again, with the Leafs not having won then or now, those fans have points to make fun of the Leafs. It is sad to write that as a Leafs fan, but it’s the truth.
Whatever happens with this team, there will always be legions and hoards of fans wanting to watch the games, go to the games and ready to buy anything with the Leafs logo on it. There will always be a passion for this team and there will always be fans to watch and cheer the Leafs, win or lose. We have been doing it for the last 41 winless/Cupless years, and we will continue to do it because we love hockey and the Leafs.
We the fans of the Leafs are the only one’s who can stop MLSE and what they are doing to our beloved franchise. We control what they do because we are the one’s pumping money into their bank accounts and we can stop that too. If we all just stop giving MLSE our money, then they will learn to change or maybe even sell the team. It’s a big sacrifice not going to Leafs, Raptors or Toronto FC games, but something has to be done or we’ll never see championships from those three teams. It’s all up to us, it’s hard, it can happen, but it won’t. Why, because of all the corporate season seat holders who will still go to the games and pay big bucks. MLSE is smart, they’ll find other ways to make money, but we the fans have the ability to just stop what we are doing and stay at home to watch the games. We will always have the final say, and all we have to do is put it in use.
The opinions and thoughts expressed in this or any other article written by 12nadnuk are of his thinking and what he thinks is correct or close to it in the sporting world. If there are any problems by anyone, 12nadnuk is open for rebuttal and what not, and honest criticism. There is also a comments section, so feel free to post what is on your mind about the article. Thank you for reading.
The Toronto Maple Leafs franchise has taken one of the biggest back seats for any sports franchise in North America. The Leafs, when they were founded in 1927, to 1967 had won 11 Stanley Cups. From then on to the present day zero Stanley Cups, and nothing to cheer about.
Also from the years of 1927-1967, the ownership was one of the best in the game, which made the Leafs a model franchise. The Leafs were a family business with the head boss being Conn Smythe. Without him there would be no Stanley Cups, no Maple Leaf Gardens, and well no Toronto Maple Leafs. With Conn Smythe running the show, the Leafs were the team, one of the best, constantly winning championships. Most importantly, Conn Smythe expected success on the ice, which is totally different nowadays as a lot of teams go for the dollar first.
Just how good were the Maple Leafs compared to their Original Six counterparts? Well, they were pretty damn good and here are some stats to prove that from 1926, when the Stanley Cup was only awarded to NHL franchises, up until 1967.
The Leafs won 11 Stanley Cups through those 41 years, which was an average of four Cups a decade. Twice in that era, they won the Cup twice three years in a row, and became the first true NHL dynasty. The first Stanley Cup came in 1931 which was the only one in the thirties. In the forties, they won five Cups, in the fifties once and in the sixties four times. Also in that era, the Leafs made the Stanley Cup Final 19 times.
The championships came in on a steady flow and even when they didn’t win the Cup, they still competed hard and had good successful regular seasons. From 1927-1967, the Leafs had 27 winning seasons (having a record above .500 only, and doesn’t include even .500 records) and qualified for the playoffs 34 times. Anytime the team did miss the playoffs, they would qualify the next year. Only on one occasion the Leafs missed the playoffs on back-to-back seasons, 1957-58.
Those numbers right there are just unbelievable stacked up to the other Original Six teams, and the amount of success couldn’t be matched, except only for Montreal. At the time, Toronto and Montreal had the biggest rivalry and were racking up Stanley Cups.
Here’s how the other Original Six franchises stacked up to the Leafs from 1927-1967:
BOSTON BRUINS --> 3 Stanley Cups, 10 Finals, 21 winning seasons, and 28 playoffs
CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS --> 3 Stanley Cups, 7 Finals, 14 winning seasons, and 23 playoffs
DETROIT RED WINGS (founded in 1932-33) --> 7 Stanley Cups, 18 Finals, 21 winning seasons, and 29 playoffs
MONTREAL CANADIENS --> 14 Stanley Cups, 20 Finals, 29 winning seasons, and 38 playoffs
NEW YORK RANGERS --> 3 Stanley Cups, 7 Finals, 17 winning seasons, and 22 playoffs
TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS --> 11 Stanley Cups, 19 Finals, 27 winning seasons, and 34 playoffs
What a 41 years the Leafs had, and at the same time the city of Toronto was slowly cemented as the hockey capital of the world. A lot of things have changed since those 41 years, compared to the last 41 years. Ownership has changed dramatically; it isn’t the once proud family business it used to be. The ownership now is a corporate monster headed by money first idiot executives who don’t know a thing about hockey. The owners now probably don’t even know how to spell hockey. After 1967 when Conn Smythe didn’t have full ownership of the team, as he sold half of his shares in Maple Gardens Ltd. to his son Stafford. Things began to go down hill and in a hurry.
Stafford Smythe had an ownership group, consisting of himself, a newspaper baron John Bassett, and a jackass named Harold Ballard. When Stafford died, Ballard bought his shares and had the majority stake hold in the team. Things were never the same for the Toronto Maple Leafs after that.
Through the 1970’s and ‘80’s, the Leafs didn’t do much and had disputes with their star players over contracts and money. Ballard didn’t care much about winning as he did for his love of money. I don’t want to be mean or anything, but Harold Ballard was one of those people that lived for to long and were always filled with hate. When Harold finally died in early 1990, Steve Stavro bought his shares and had the majority shares of the team.
Stavro cared about the team winning and didn’t interfere with hockey operations. With that, the Leafs were once again a competitive team.
Another mistake in ownership was made when Stavro sold his shares to the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan fund, and were officially in control in 2004. After selling his shares, Stavro shortly passed away.
The ownership which is MLSE consists of the OTPP (58%), CTV Globemedia (15%), TD Bank (14%) and Kilmer Sports Inc. (13%). Right there is the problem with the Leafs, because it has all become a money game, and was like that since 1970. Since the OTPP officially had the majority hold in MLSE in 2004, the Leafs have never made the playoffs, and have missed them for the past three years. With the lockout of 2005, you can make that four years. The Leafs franchise had never missed the playoffs three years in a row dating back to the early 1920’s.
With ownership changes and so many different corporations having a stake in MLSE, they own and control the Leafs, Raptors and Toronto FC. One thing is weird and mind boggling. How is it that the Raptors are having so much success and are on the rise to becoming an elite team and the Leafs are stuck at the bottom of the NHL? That is just unbelievable to see. One of the main guys screwing around with the Leafs is Richard Peddie the CEO, who is extremely smart when it comes to making money. When it comes to sports or hockey, he is so stupid and has no clue as to what he is doing. And MLSE has made so much money, that it is impossible to beat those marks. This group doesn’t care about their franchises, they want money first. The Raptors are lucky they found hard nosed guy in Bryan Collangelo, because the only way he accepted his job was if Richard Peddie would stay out of his way, and the job title of team president. It worked, but what happens when Collangelo’s contract runs out and he decides to sign on elsewhere?
The only way the Leafs will ever win a Stanley Cup is if this bullshit ownership changes to one person, or if they can find someone like Collangelo in the hockey world.
With all those changes with the ownership, here are some Leafs stats compared to the other Original Six franchises from 1968-2008, 41 years (2004-05 season locked out).
BOSTON BRUINS --> 2 Stanley Cups, 7 Finals, 36 winning seasons, and 26 playoffs
CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS --> 0 Stanley Cups, 3 Finals, 22 winning seasons, and 30 playoffs
DETROIT RED WINGS --> 4 Stanley Cups, 5 Finals, 20 winning seasons, and 24 playoffs
MONTREAL CANADIENS --> 10 Stanley Cups, 11 Finals, 34 winning seasons, 33 playoffs
NEW YORK RANGERS --> 1 Stanley Cup, 3 Finals, 23 winning seasons, and 29 playoffs
TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS --> 0 Stanley Cups, 0 Finals, 21 winning seasons, and 26 playoffs
These days, ownership doesn’t look as if it will change anytime soon and will continue to do what they do best, make money first.
Even with the hundreds upon thousands of Leafs fans across Canada and the US, there will never be a shortage of demand for a ticket. A regular guy can’t afford a ticket to a Leafs game because MLSE has prices suited only for the rich and corporate. True Leafs fans still make it out to the games, but over pay and they get treated to a horrible product on the ice.
If you ever watch an old game from Maple Leaf Gardens, there was energy in the building, and you could just feel the passion. The fans cared enough to come early and watch the whole game. Now, the Leafs crowds at the Air Canada Centre cater to the corporate crowds who pretty much have a majority of all the seats for the season. These guys wear suits to the hockey game, a suit! They only go to the game because they got the tickets for free and to brag the next day at work. During intermissions, they leave their seats for a smoke or the more commonly known ‘sushi break’ and return late to the game. They don’t even care enough to watch the whole game, and talk business or are on their Blackberry’s or iPhone’s. There’s no more passion in the building either, it’s all gone because of MLSE and their money, and will only sell tickets to the highest bidder who will overpay.
The media these days is much worse as they are always on the team and expecting more all the time. The media in Toronto has certainly influenced players’ decisions on coming to play for the Leafs in the past and now. Especially this season, the team isn’t built for the playoffs and yet the media would expect the playoffs. When the Leafs don’t make the playoffs, the media will want know why they didn’t. Any type of move made from anywhere on the team, will be reported and talked about and get blown up. Every single move is scrutinized to a tee, and the media just over does their job sometimes. With the media always talking shit, it turns fans away from the team and then they start talking shit about the team.
There are so many Leaf fans out there who are died hard fans, but don’t want to admit it or show it because of the state the team is currently in and the past failures. It’s all because of MLSE. Fans across Canada of other teams and just in general always bash the Leafs. In my opinion they are just jealous because everyone always talks about the Leafs and they get the most media coverage across Canada. Whatever the public wants or whatever is in demand will be out there. Still, fans of other teams talk shit and always make fun of the team. Even fans who live in the GTA complain about the coverage the Leafs get and how everyone talks about them. Well then, what do you expect, you live in a Leafs region or Leafs Nation. The again, with the Leafs not having won then or now, those fans have points to make fun of the Leafs. It is sad to write that as a Leafs fan, but it’s the truth.
Whatever happens with this team, there will always be legions and hoards of fans wanting to watch the games, go to the games and ready to buy anything with the Leafs logo on it. There will always be a passion for this team and there will always be fans to watch and cheer the Leafs, win or lose. We have been doing it for the last 41 winless/Cupless years, and we will continue to do it because we love hockey and the Leafs.
We the fans of the Leafs are the only one’s who can stop MLSE and what they are doing to our beloved franchise. We control what they do because we are the one’s pumping money into their bank accounts and we can stop that too. If we all just stop giving MLSE our money, then they will learn to change or maybe even sell the team. It’s a big sacrifice not going to Leafs, Raptors or Toronto FC games, but something has to be done or we’ll never see championships from those three teams. It’s all up to us, it’s hard, it can happen, but it won’t. Why, because of all the corporate season seat holders who will still go to the games and pay big bucks. MLSE is smart, they’ll find other ways to make money, but we the fans have the ability to just stop what we are doing and stay at home to watch the games. We will always have the final say, and all we have to do is put it in use.
The opinions and thoughts expressed in this or any other article written by 12nadnuk are of his thinking and what he thinks is correct or close to it in the sporting world. If there are any problems by anyone, 12nadnuk is open for rebuttal and what not, and honest criticism. There is also a comments section, so feel free to post what is on your mind about the article. Thank you for reading.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
LEAFS PERSEVERE IN BOSTON
A Leafs comeback was finally completed as Toronto beat the Boston Bruins 4-2 in front of a scarce TD Bank North Garden.
After another poor start to a hockey game, the Leafs found themselves down 2-0 early for the second straight game. And for the second straight game the Leafs staged a comeback, and this time completed it with a win in regulation.
There was a positive for the Bruins as Patrice Bergeron scored his first goal of the year, and first since missing 72 games last season due to a concussion injury. That goal meant a lot to Bergeron on a mental note. The other Boston goal was scored by Blake Wheeler that was deflected in off Leaf defenceman Anton Stralman. That was all Boston could get, and those goals were scored in 31 seconds.
The Leafs could’ve easily bowed out of this game because the Bruins actually looked like bears on the ice. They were playing big and mauled any player that came into their sightline. Just ask Matt Stajan, who got knocked down on a clean body check by Denis Wideman. The kid, Luke Schenn, came in and stood up for his teammate and went after the Bruins. He was penalized but the Leafs didn’t mind it. Next time Matt Stajan shouldn’t admire his passes, instead he should keep his head up.
Then Milan Lucic got into the act and rubbed out Mike Van Ryn along the boards and the glass itself shattered into pieces. The two players got out of the incident with not a scratch, while two fans got cut above their heads.
The Leafs didn’t back down in this game, they played hard and got themselves a power play in the second period. They made good use of it with a Mike Van Ryn goal, which was his first as Maple Leaf, and of the year. On the night, the Leafs went 2-7 on the power play.
That goal pretty much summed up the night in those two minutes; because they did everything right to score a goal. With some good hitting, a cycle game, smart passing, and set up screens.
Still in the second, the Leafs scored an even strength goal from Nik Antropov who deposited a pretty pass from Alex Ponikarovsky. And Antropov now has four goals in his last three games. The line of Stajan, Ponikarovsky and Antropov has really been playing well together ever since head coach Ron Wilson called them out.
Heading into the third it looked like another Leafs game was headed for overtime or the dreaded shoot out, but didn’t. The go ahead goal all started from their own end of the ice. Boston’s Phil Kessel streaked down the ice, was stopped by Luke Schenn, and he made the outlet pass to get the Leafs out of the zone. In doing so, got checked by Michael Ryder into the boards and paid the price for a good goal. Alex Steen dumped the puck into the Boston zone; the Leafs retained the puck, took a shot towards goal and was stopped. The rebound leaked out to Anton Stralman who scored the game winning goal through the legs of Tim Thomas with 9.14 left to play in the game.
From then on, the Leafs held on, and Boston had their chances if a few bounces went their way. For good measure Nik Hagman scored into the empty net with two seconds left in the game on a power play that ran out the clock.
Once again the Leafs were backed by another strong start from Vesa Toskala who made 26 saves and recorded his 100th career NHL victory. Mike Van Ryn has really come into his own and is playing some good smart hockey. With each passing game Luke Schenn is building his case to prove he belongs in the NHL with the Leafs. Jason Blake was a healthy scratch for the game due to his bad performance so far this season. Jeff Finger, it looks like will make his Leafs and season debut this Saturday, October 25 versus the Ottawa Senators after recovering from a broken toe.
The opinions and thoughts expressed in this or any other article written by 12nadnuk are of his thinking and what he thinks is correct or close to it in the sporting world. If there are any problems by anyone, 12nadnuk is open for rebuttal and what not, and honest criticism. There is also a comments section, so feel free to post what is on your mind about the article. Thank you for reading.
After another poor start to a hockey game, the Leafs found themselves down 2-0 early for the second straight game. And for the second straight game the Leafs staged a comeback, and this time completed it with a win in regulation.
There was a positive for the Bruins as Patrice Bergeron scored his first goal of the year, and first since missing 72 games last season due to a concussion injury. That goal meant a lot to Bergeron on a mental note. The other Boston goal was scored by Blake Wheeler that was deflected in off Leaf defenceman Anton Stralman. That was all Boston could get, and those goals were scored in 31 seconds.
The Leafs could’ve easily bowed out of this game because the Bruins actually looked like bears on the ice. They were playing big and mauled any player that came into their sightline. Just ask Matt Stajan, who got knocked down on a clean body check by Denis Wideman. The kid, Luke Schenn, came in and stood up for his teammate and went after the Bruins. He was penalized but the Leafs didn’t mind it. Next time Matt Stajan shouldn’t admire his passes, instead he should keep his head up.
Then Milan Lucic got into the act and rubbed out Mike Van Ryn along the boards and the glass itself shattered into pieces. The two players got out of the incident with not a scratch, while two fans got cut above their heads.
The Leafs didn’t back down in this game, they played hard and got themselves a power play in the second period. They made good use of it with a Mike Van Ryn goal, which was his first as Maple Leaf, and of the year. On the night, the Leafs went 2-7 on the power play.
That goal pretty much summed up the night in those two minutes; because they did everything right to score a goal. With some good hitting, a cycle game, smart passing, and set up screens.
Still in the second, the Leafs scored an even strength goal from Nik Antropov who deposited a pretty pass from Alex Ponikarovsky. And Antropov now has four goals in his last three games. The line of Stajan, Ponikarovsky and Antropov has really been playing well together ever since head coach Ron Wilson called them out.
Heading into the third it looked like another Leafs game was headed for overtime or the dreaded shoot out, but didn’t. The go ahead goal all started from their own end of the ice. Boston’s Phil Kessel streaked down the ice, was stopped by Luke Schenn, and he made the outlet pass to get the Leafs out of the zone. In doing so, got checked by Michael Ryder into the boards and paid the price for a good goal. Alex Steen dumped the puck into the Boston zone; the Leafs retained the puck, took a shot towards goal and was stopped. The rebound leaked out to Anton Stralman who scored the game winning goal through the legs of Tim Thomas with 9.14 left to play in the game.
From then on, the Leafs held on, and Boston had their chances if a few bounces went their way. For good measure Nik Hagman scored into the empty net with two seconds left in the game on a power play that ran out the clock.
Once again the Leafs were backed by another strong start from Vesa Toskala who made 26 saves and recorded his 100th career NHL victory. Mike Van Ryn has really come into his own and is playing some good smart hockey. With each passing game Luke Schenn is building his case to prove he belongs in the NHL with the Leafs. Jason Blake was a healthy scratch for the game due to his bad performance so far this season. Jeff Finger, it looks like will make his Leafs and season debut this Saturday, October 25 versus the Ottawa Senators after recovering from a broken toe.
The opinions and thoughts expressed in this or any other article written by 12nadnuk are of his thinking and what he thinks is correct or close to it in the sporting world. If there are any problems by anyone, 12nadnuk is open for rebuttal and what not, and honest criticism. There is also a comments section, so feel free to post what is on your mind about the article. Thank you for reading.
104TH WORLD SERIES GAME 1 PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES VS. TAMPA BAY RAYS
It was a battle of two left handed pitchers to kick off the 104th World Series between the Phillies and Rays at Tropicana Field, which played host to its first ever World Series game.
In the end Cole Hamels got the best of his counterpart Scott Kazmir.
The Phillies south paw pitched an excellent game pumping change-up after change-up to the Rays batters. The Rays were checked at only five hits through nine innings. With that, only one true ball was hit to the outfield, and that was all the Rays could do. Even when it looked like the Rays batters were about to get to Cole Hamels, they didn’t. Hamels just locked in and pitched, and won. In these playoffs he is now 4-0, sports a 1.55 ERA, and has 27 strikeouts over 29 innings.
The Phillies batters backed up Hamels with some early run support coming in the first inning. It was Chase Utley who provided the early lead with a two run homerun. Before the series, Phillies legend Mike Schmidt said the batters need to be patient and work the count. That was the case as Utley was down in the count 0-2 and battled back to get a fastball of his liking. Before that, Jayson Werth drew a one out walk to get on base. Another run was added in the fourth when Carlos Ruiz got an RBI groundout to make the score 3-0. The Phillies could’ve got more runs but didn’t as they lacked in the ‘runners in scoring position’ category, and went 0-13 on the night.
In the second inning the Phillies really could’ve put a dent in the game and out of reach for the Rays. They had two men on at first and second with zero outs. Chris Coste popped out, Carlos Ruiz walked to load the bases, and Jimmy Rollins flied out to BJ Upton at centre. Shane Victorino tagged up from third trying to score, but was gunned out at the plate from a strong throw by Upton, and the inning ended on a double pay.
On the play that scored the third run for the Phils, the Tampa defence was playing deep in the infield, and didn’t move in to try and cut off the run at home. That proved costly for the Rays as they could only muster two runs, and lost 3-2. Carl Crawford had a solo homerun and Akinori Iwamura had the only hit that went to the outfield. It was a RBI double
Other opportunities were there for the Rays as the number nine hitter Jason Bartlett was walked twice.
The first time he walked was in the third inning and it was a man on first and second with one out situation. Iwamura hit a single to load the bases, but BJ Upton grounded into a double play.
The second time Bartlett walked was in the fifth, there were two outs, and he was the only man on base and quickly stole second. That time Iwamura cashed him in with a double.
There were also plenty of Philly errors that weren’t taken advantage of. In the first, Iwamura reached on a Ryan Howard error to leadoff the Tampa half of the game, but again BJ Upton grounded into a double play.
The second error, again made by Ryan Howard with zero outs allowed Carlos Pena to get on base. Shortly after that Pena was caught stealing and ended any kind of threat.
Anytime the Rays tried or had some kind of threat going, Cole Hamels silenced their bats, and the Tampa power hitters had a dismal night at the plate. BJ Upton, Carols Pena, Evan Longoria and the only one to get a hit Carl Crawford, went a combined 1-16, with 5 strikeouts and BJ Upton alone left five men on base.
Overall both teams lacked to score runs and both teams did have solid pitching throughout too.
The power bats of the Phillies were quiet too, with the lone exception of Chase Utley. Jimmy Rollins went 0-5, with two strikeouts and left five men on base. Ryan Howard, the Major League’s homerun leader with 48, still hasn’t hit one in these playoffs, and went 0-4 with three strikeouts and left four men on base. The career Phillie, Pat Burrell was quiet as he went 0-3 with two strikeouts.
As they’ve been doing in these playoffs, the Phillies got timely hits and runs, from a variety of players. At the same time Ray’s pitcher Scott Kazmir did settle down and threw strikes, but his mistakes were the deciding factor as he walked four and got tagged for six hits in six innings. From there the Tampa bullpen shut down the Phillies.
In the ninth Brad Lidge came in and closed out the game with a 1, 2, 3 inning. He had to face the meat of the Tampa batting order, and he made it look easy while making the Rays look silly. Lidge struck out Pena, Longoria and got Crawford to fly out. In these playoffs Lidge is 6 for 6 in save opportunities and is perfect for the whole year including the regular season where he was 41 for 41.
In the end, the Phillies needed this game and got it. The Phillies pitching staff compared to the Rays’, doesn’t match-up quite as well, and the Rays definitely have the edge there.
The opinions and thoughts expressed in this or any other article written by 12nadnuk are of his thinking and what he thinks is correct or close to it in the sporting world. If there are any problems by anyone, 12nadnuk is open for rebuttal and what not, and honest criticism. There is also a comments section, so feel free to post what is on your mind about the article. Thank you for reading.
In the end Cole Hamels got the best of his counterpart Scott Kazmir.
The Phillies south paw pitched an excellent game pumping change-up after change-up to the Rays batters. The Rays were checked at only five hits through nine innings. With that, only one true ball was hit to the outfield, and that was all the Rays could do. Even when it looked like the Rays batters were about to get to Cole Hamels, they didn’t. Hamels just locked in and pitched, and won. In these playoffs he is now 4-0, sports a 1.55 ERA, and has 27 strikeouts over 29 innings.
The Phillies batters backed up Hamels with some early run support coming in the first inning. It was Chase Utley who provided the early lead with a two run homerun. Before the series, Phillies legend Mike Schmidt said the batters need to be patient and work the count. That was the case as Utley was down in the count 0-2 and battled back to get a fastball of his liking. Before that, Jayson Werth drew a one out walk to get on base. Another run was added in the fourth when Carlos Ruiz got an RBI groundout to make the score 3-0. The Phillies could’ve got more runs but didn’t as they lacked in the ‘runners in scoring position’ category, and went 0-13 on the night.
In the second inning the Phillies really could’ve put a dent in the game and out of reach for the Rays. They had two men on at first and second with zero outs. Chris Coste popped out, Carlos Ruiz walked to load the bases, and Jimmy Rollins flied out to BJ Upton at centre. Shane Victorino tagged up from third trying to score, but was gunned out at the plate from a strong throw by Upton, and the inning ended on a double pay.
On the play that scored the third run for the Phils, the Tampa defence was playing deep in the infield, and didn’t move in to try and cut off the run at home. That proved costly for the Rays as they could only muster two runs, and lost 3-2. Carl Crawford had a solo homerun and Akinori Iwamura had the only hit that went to the outfield. It was a RBI double
Other opportunities were there for the Rays as the number nine hitter Jason Bartlett was walked twice.
The first time he walked was in the third inning and it was a man on first and second with one out situation. Iwamura hit a single to load the bases, but BJ Upton grounded into a double play.
The second time Bartlett walked was in the fifth, there were two outs, and he was the only man on base and quickly stole second. That time Iwamura cashed him in with a double.
There were also plenty of Philly errors that weren’t taken advantage of. In the first, Iwamura reached on a Ryan Howard error to leadoff the Tampa half of the game, but again BJ Upton grounded into a double play.
The second error, again made by Ryan Howard with zero outs allowed Carlos Pena to get on base. Shortly after that Pena was caught stealing and ended any kind of threat.
Anytime the Rays tried or had some kind of threat going, Cole Hamels silenced their bats, and the Tampa power hitters had a dismal night at the plate. BJ Upton, Carols Pena, Evan Longoria and the only one to get a hit Carl Crawford, went a combined 1-16, with 5 strikeouts and BJ Upton alone left five men on base.
Overall both teams lacked to score runs and both teams did have solid pitching throughout too.
The power bats of the Phillies were quiet too, with the lone exception of Chase Utley. Jimmy Rollins went 0-5, with two strikeouts and left five men on base. Ryan Howard, the Major League’s homerun leader with 48, still hasn’t hit one in these playoffs, and went 0-4 with three strikeouts and left four men on base. The career Phillie, Pat Burrell was quiet as he went 0-3 with two strikeouts.
As they’ve been doing in these playoffs, the Phillies got timely hits and runs, from a variety of players. At the same time Ray’s pitcher Scott Kazmir did settle down and threw strikes, but his mistakes were the deciding factor as he walked four and got tagged for six hits in six innings. From there the Tampa bullpen shut down the Phillies.
In the ninth Brad Lidge came in and closed out the game with a 1, 2, 3 inning. He had to face the meat of the Tampa batting order, and he made it look easy while making the Rays look silly. Lidge struck out Pena, Longoria and got Crawford to fly out. In these playoffs Lidge is 6 for 6 in save opportunities and is perfect for the whole year including the regular season where he was 41 for 41.
In the end, the Phillies needed this game and got it. The Phillies pitching staff compared to the Rays’, doesn’t match-up quite as well, and the Rays definitely have the edge there.
The opinions and thoughts expressed in this or any other article written by 12nadnuk are of his thinking and what he thinks is correct or close to it in the sporting world. If there are any problems by anyone, 12nadnuk is open for rebuttal and what not, and honest criticism. There is also a comments section, so feel free to post what is on your mind about the article. Thank you for reading.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
ANOTHER SHOOT OUT LOSS
Another game, another loss, another shoot out loss, and another two points gone, this time to the Anaheim Ducks.
The Leafs all but had this game with their 2-0 deficit comeback.
As the game went on the Leafs got better after a slow opening period where they surrendered two goals in the first ten minutes. The first was from Francois Beauchemin from the point and the other was from, now sniper, George Parros off a Leafs giveaway.
Heading into the second period it looked like it was going to be another bad game for the Leafs, but they made things interesting. The Leafs took control of the game with some good fore checking and it paid off, as Nik Antropov scored off a bounce from the boards. Head Coach Ron Wilson has stressed shoot more pucks towards the goal and crash the net. That’s exactly what happened as Pavel Kubina took the shot from the point and the crowd formed. Matt Stajan was one of the catalysts as he made a big hit in the corner to keep the puck in the zone, which led to a cycle game. That strategy took some getting used to as a few plays were just empty shots on goal and that was it.
The three players that were in Ron Wilson’s dog house were Nik Antropov, Alex Ponikarovsky and Matt Stajan. That line produced two goals, both by Antropov. For the start of the game rookie John Mitchell played on the top line. The three players that were in the dog house were given their chances to prove the coaches wrong and show them what they could do, and they did.
The Leafs team played as solid as any team could play, and most importantly they played as a team. Their team defence was excellent and that showed mightily in the third period when the Leafs didn’t allow the Ducks to get a shot on goal. In doing so, the Leafs out shot Anaheim 13-0, and overall 38-21.
And as the game was winding to a close, the Leafs scored in the final minute to send the game to overtime, tied at two.
This game most certainly could’ve had a higher score in the Leafs’ favor due to Ducks’ goalie JS Giguere’s bad rebound control. He was letting out rebounds like no tomorrow and the Leafs missed on a lot of them. Except for the one when they tied the game off a Mike Van Ryn point shot that was stopped, but Antropov buried the rebound. Before that the puck was lying in the crease and was shot off Giguere’s pad and into the corner.
On the Leafs side, Vesa Toskala turned in another solid goaltending performance, and Luke Schenn played another solid twenty plus minute defensive game.
To start overtime the crowd was on their feet and really into the game, because the Leafs battled and played hard. And it paid off for them. Not too many chances were created, but the Ducks did have a chance to win the game when they had a two on one rush. Cory Perry snapped the puck off the inside of the post and out. With that, another game headed for the shoot out.
A surprise move was made by Ron Wilson as he took out Toskala and replaced him with Curtis Joseph for the shoot out. It was a 50/50 move because Toskala hasn’t had much success in the shoot out and Joseph had been sitting on the bench the whole game.
In the Leafs latest practice Ron Wilson practiced the shoot out for half an hour and it didn’t pay off. The Leafs lost in the shoot out 2-0, and the final score of the game was 3-2 for the Ducks. The Leafs decided to shoot first, and sent out Nik Kulemin and Tomas Kaberle, whom both missed. The Ducks Teemu Selanne and Cory Perry both scored, and Perry had the clincher.
Another reason the Leafs lost was their fruitless power play, as they went 0-4, and had a 32 second five on three advantage in the third. Overall the Leafs have now lost five straight and have only one win in six games this season.
The opinions and thoughts expressed in this or any other article written by 12nadnuk are of his thinking and what he thinks is correct or close to it in the sporting world. If there are any problems by anyone, 12nadnuk is open for rebuttal and what not, and honest criticism. There is also a comments section, so feel free to post what is on your mind about the article. Thank you for reading.
The Leafs all but had this game with their 2-0 deficit comeback.
As the game went on the Leafs got better after a slow opening period where they surrendered two goals in the first ten minutes. The first was from Francois Beauchemin from the point and the other was from, now sniper, George Parros off a Leafs giveaway.
Heading into the second period it looked like it was going to be another bad game for the Leafs, but they made things interesting. The Leafs took control of the game with some good fore checking and it paid off, as Nik Antropov scored off a bounce from the boards. Head Coach Ron Wilson has stressed shoot more pucks towards the goal and crash the net. That’s exactly what happened as Pavel Kubina took the shot from the point and the crowd formed. Matt Stajan was one of the catalysts as he made a big hit in the corner to keep the puck in the zone, which led to a cycle game. That strategy took some getting used to as a few plays were just empty shots on goal and that was it.
The three players that were in Ron Wilson’s dog house were Nik Antropov, Alex Ponikarovsky and Matt Stajan. That line produced two goals, both by Antropov. For the start of the game rookie John Mitchell played on the top line. The three players that were in the dog house were given their chances to prove the coaches wrong and show them what they could do, and they did.
The Leafs team played as solid as any team could play, and most importantly they played as a team. Their team defence was excellent and that showed mightily in the third period when the Leafs didn’t allow the Ducks to get a shot on goal. In doing so, the Leafs out shot Anaheim 13-0, and overall 38-21.
And as the game was winding to a close, the Leafs scored in the final minute to send the game to overtime, tied at two.
This game most certainly could’ve had a higher score in the Leafs’ favor due to Ducks’ goalie JS Giguere’s bad rebound control. He was letting out rebounds like no tomorrow and the Leafs missed on a lot of them. Except for the one when they tied the game off a Mike Van Ryn point shot that was stopped, but Antropov buried the rebound. Before that the puck was lying in the crease and was shot off Giguere’s pad and into the corner.
On the Leafs side, Vesa Toskala turned in another solid goaltending performance, and Luke Schenn played another solid twenty plus minute defensive game.
To start overtime the crowd was on their feet and really into the game, because the Leafs battled and played hard. And it paid off for them. Not too many chances were created, but the Ducks did have a chance to win the game when they had a two on one rush. Cory Perry snapped the puck off the inside of the post and out. With that, another game headed for the shoot out.
A surprise move was made by Ron Wilson as he took out Toskala and replaced him with Curtis Joseph for the shoot out. It was a 50/50 move because Toskala hasn’t had much success in the shoot out and Joseph had been sitting on the bench the whole game.
In the Leafs latest practice Ron Wilson practiced the shoot out for half an hour and it didn’t pay off. The Leafs lost in the shoot out 2-0, and the final score of the game was 3-2 for the Ducks. The Leafs decided to shoot first, and sent out Nik Kulemin and Tomas Kaberle, whom both missed. The Ducks Teemu Selanne and Cory Perry both scored, and Perry had the clincher.
Another reason the Leafs lost was their fruitless power play, as they went 0-4, and had a 32 second five on three advantage in the third. Overall the Leafs have now lost five straight and have only one win in six games this season.
The opinions and thoughts expressed in this or any other article written by 12nadnuk are of his thinking and what he thinks is correct or close to it in the sporting world. If there are any problems by anyone, 12nadnuk is open for rebuttal and what not, and honest criticism. There is also a comments section, so feel free to post what is on your mind about the article. Thank you for reading.
Monday, October 20, 2008
104th WORLD SERIES PREVIEW PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES VS. TAMPA BAY RAYS
This year’s edition of the Fall Classic should be an exciting one to watch, as both of these team’s posses great speed and hitters.
Hosting games 1 and 2 are the upstart Tampa Bay Rays, a team that nobody picked to even make the playoffs in spring training and yet here they are in their first ever World Series appearance. The Rays will be taking on a hungry franchise in the Philadelphia Phillies, a team that has done what they were expected to do, and have only won one World Series in the teams’ 125 year history.
The Tampa Bay Rays took a bit of a harder route to get to the World Series. In their ALDS series versus the Chicago White Sox, they won handily three games to one, en route to face the defending champions, Boston Red Sox in the ALCS. In the League Championship Series, the Rays held three games to one series lead and were up7-0 and only nine outs away in game 5 from the final. The team collapsed and lost that game 8-7, and lost game 6, 4-2. A series that didn’t look like it would go seven games did. Like so often in the season when everyone thought the Rays would fail, they didn’t. And the extremely young Rays just got back up, showed their true colours and maturity, and took the series.
Both of their playoff match-ups were won by power hitting, speed on the base paths, strong pitching and a high baseball IQ. The team was led by the bats of Carlos Pena, BJ Upton, and super rookie Evan Longoria. Pretty much the whole team chipped in and got base hits and home runs at will. They made a lot of wins look easy and effortless. Even though they did have a rude awakening versus the Red Sox, they still won because they stuck to what they know how to do best.
A lot of credit goes to manager Joe Maddon. His unusual style of managing a ball club prevailed and led the franchise to heights never seen before.
The opponent, Philadelphia Phillies, making only their sixth World Series appearance took an easier route to get to this point.
In their NLDS match-up versus the Milwaukee Brewers, they won the series three games to one. In the NLCS versus the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Phillies won four games to one, and went a combined 7-2 to make the final. In both series wins, the other teams’ offence was shut down with strong defence, except for the two losses. And in both series, the Phillies jumped out to 2-0 leads, due to home field advantage, and that allowed them to have more breathing room.
The success of the Phillies wins came by strong starting pitching, and situational pitching. The Phillies got clutch hits whenever it was needed, and rode strong scoring innings to victories. Probably the two best and hottest players on the team are pitcher Cole Hamels and the ‘Flying Hawaiian’ Shane Victorino.
Cole Hamels has led the pitching staff, is 3-0 in these playoffs and has an ERA of 1. While Shane Victorino has done it all, from the batters box to the outfield on defence.
Even though the Phillies have gotten clutch hits, the whole team needs to produce better. Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley have shown their brilliance here and there, but have to be more consistent. Ryan Howard, their slugger, just hasn’t done anything. He certainly has had a horrible post-season.
Things to Watch
For the Rays, if they keep their hitting and pitching going, they should be fine. They have come off a seven game series though, and some players, most likely the pitchers, will be tired. It is better to play everyday when you’re hot than to have an extended break. The Rays, when the World Series begins, will have had a two day break. This is better than what the Phillies had, who will have had a six day break.
The youth factor and inexperience of the Rays may kick in, but all season long they have gone about their business and so far have proven everyone wrong playing like veterans. They have certainly impressed the baseball world with their post-season performance so far. So I doubt we’ll see them play like inexperienced youths.
Errors were also a key with the Tampa Bay Rays defence, and for the most part have done a good job of not committing any. The thing about baseball is you can commit one error and a string of them begins. That happened to Tampa while facing the Red Sox and that was the reason why they lost games 5 and 6, and committed six errors combined.
The Phillies will have to show that the six day break did not affect their game. We all know what happened to the Colorado Rockies a year ago in the World Series when they had a seven day break and got swept 4-0.
If the Phillies can somehow get back into their modes then they’ll have a good chance of winning. First their three key bats need to wake up and realize where they are and start producing. Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley and Ryan Howard better have a good series if the Phillies even want to keep up with the Rays.
Pitching won’t be a problem for the Phillies except for Brett Myers. He tends to walk a lot of batters and if he does that to the Rays batters, he’ll get burned because the Rays have exceptional speed.
The Phillies can win if their veterans and experience come through. Those batters can work the counts and get to the Rays bullpen and ware them down quicker. The Phillies defence was very good with minimal errors. The Phillies also have good speed through the lineup, and that will be a key for them.
Prediction
If the Rays want to win the World Series, they’ll have to win games 1 and 2 at home, and then win at least one game in Philadelphia. They cannot give the Phillies the upper hand at all in this series. If the Rays can accomplish such a scenario, they can at least head back home to Tampa with the series lead at 3-2.
If the Phillies want to win their second World Series title, they’ll have to win either game one or two in Tampa. And if they can win both, they pretty much will have locked up the World Series heading back home for games 3, 4 and 5 where they are perfect so far in these playoffs at 4-0. The Phillies must get a split in Tampa or else their dead ducks. The Phillies have shown in these playoffs it doesn’t matter where they play because they are capable of winning anywhere.
- Rays win if they can win games 1 and 2.
- Phillies win if they can win game one or two, or both.
In the end, I think the Rays will win the World Series in six games, just due to too much rest the Phillies have had. That kind of rest in baseball is just too long. Things have just gone very well for the Rays all season long and have a more balanced lineup and pitching staff.
Quick Hits
Philadelphia Phillies founded in 1883
Citizens Bank Bark, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
6 World Series appearances (1915, ’50, ’80, ’83, ’93, 2008)
1 World Series title in 1980
2008 season --> 92-70 NL East Division Champions
2008 playoffs --> home 4-0 road 3-2
Tampa Bay Rays founded in 1998
Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, Florida
1st World Series appearance
2008 season --> 97-65 AL East Division Champions
2008 playoffs --> home 4-2 road 3-2
Hosting games 1 and 2 are the upstart Tampa Bay Rays, a team that nobody picked to even make the playoffs in spring training and yet here they are in their first ever World Series appearance. The Rays will be taking on a hungry franchise in the Philadelphia Phillies, a team that has done what they were expected to do, and have only won one World Series in the teams’ 125 year history.
The Tampa Bay Rays took a bit of a harder route to get to the World Series. In their ALDS series versus the Chicago White Sox, they won handily three games to one, en route to face the defending champions, Boston Red Sox in the ALCS. In the League Championship Series, the Rays held three games to one series lead and were up7-0 and only nine outs away in game 5 from the final. The team collapsed and lost that game 8-7, and lost game 6, 4-2. A series that didn’t look like it would go seven games did. Like so often in the season when everyone thought the Rays would fail, they didn’t. And the extremely young Rays just got back up, showed their true colours and maturity, and took the series.
Both of their playoff match-ups were won by power hitting, speed on the base paths, strong pitching and a high baseball IQ. The team was led by the bats of Carlos Pena, BJ Upton, and super rookie Evan Longoria. Pretty much the whole team chipped in and got base hits and home runs at will. They made a lot of wins look easy and effortless. Even though they did have a rude awakening versus the Red Sox, they still won because they stuck to what they know how to do best.
A lot of credit goes to manager Joe Maddon. His unusual style of managing a ball club prevailed and led the franchise to heights never seen before.
The opponent, Philadelphia Phillies, making only their sixth World Series appearance took an easier route to get to this point.
In their NLDS match-up versus the Milwaukee Brewers, they won the series three games to one. In the NLCS versus the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Phillies won four games to one, and went a combined 7-2 to make the final. In both series wins, the other teams’ offence was shut down with strong defence, except for the two losses. And in both series, the Phillies jumped out to 2-0 leads, due to home field advantage, and that allowed them to have more breathing room.
The success of the Phillies wins came by strong starting pitching, and situational pitching. The Phillies got clutch hits whenever it was needed, and rode strong scoring innings to victories. Probably the two best and hottest players on the team are pitcher Cole Hamels and the ‘Flying Hawaiian’ Shane Victorino.
Cole Hamels has led the pitching staff, is 3-0 in these playoffs and has an ERA of 1. While Shane Victorino has done it all, from the batters box to the outfield on defence.
Even though the Phillies have gotten clutch hits, the whole team needs to produce better. Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley have shown their brilliance here and there, but have to be more consistent. Ryan Howard, their slugger, just hasn’t done anything. He certainly has had a horrible post-season.
Things to Watch
For the Rays, if they keep their hitting and pitching going, they should be fine. They have come off a seven game series though, and some players, most likely the pitchers, will be tired. It is better to play everyday when you’re hot than to have an extended break. The Rays, when the World Series begins, will have had a two day break. This is better than what the Phillies had, who will have had a six day break.
The youth factor and inexperience of the Rays may kick in, but all season long they have gone about their business and so far have proven everyone wrong playing like veterans. They have certainly impressed the baseball world with their post-season performance so far. So I doubt we’ll see them play like inexperienced youths.
Errors were also a key with the Tampa Bay Rays defence, and for the most part have done a good job of not committing any. The thing about baseball is you can commit one error and a string of them begins. That happened to Tampa while facing the Red Sox and that was the reason why they lost games 5 and 6, and committed six errors combined.
The Phillies will have to show that the six day break did not affect their game. We all know what happened to the Colorado Rockies a year ago in the World Series when they had a seven day break and got swept 4-0.
If the Phillies can somehow get back into their modes then they’ll have a good chance of winning. First their three key bats need to wake up and realize where they are and start producing. Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley and Ryan Howard better have a good series if the Phillies even want to keep up with the Rays.
Pitching won’t be a problem for the Phillies except for Brett Myers. He tends to walk a lot of batters and if he does that to the Rays batters, he’ll get burned because the Rays have exceptional speed.
The Phillies can win if their veterans and experience come through. Those batters can work the counts and get to the Rays bullpen and ware them down quicker. The Phillies defence was very good with minimal errors. The Phillies also have good speed through the lineup, and that will be a key for them.
Prediction
If the Rays want to win the World Series, they’ll have to win games 1 and 2 at home, and then win at least one game in Philadelphia. They cannot give the Phillies the upper hand at all in this series. If the Rays can accomplish such a scenario, they can at least head back home to Tampa with the series lead at 3-2.
If the Phillies want to win their second World Series title, they’ll have to win either game one or two in Tampa. And if they can win both, they pretty much will have locked up the World Series heading back home for games 3, 4 and 5 where they are perfect so far in these playoffs at 4-0. The Phillies must get a split in Tampa or else their dead ducks. The Phillies have shown in these playoffs it doesn’t matter where they play because they are capable of winning anywhere.
- Rays win if they can win games 1 and 2.
- Phillies win if they can win game one or two, or both.
In the end, I think the Rays will win the World Series in six games, just due to too much rest the Phillies have had. That kind of rest in baseball is just too long. Things have just gone very well for the Rays all season long and have a more balanced lineup and pitching staff.
Quick Hits
Philadelphia Phillies founded in 1883
Citizens Bank Bark, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
6 World Series appearances (1915, ’50, ’80, ’83, ’93, 2008)
1 World Series title in 1980
2008 season --> 92-70 NL East Division Champions
2008 playoffs --> home 4-0 road 3-2
Tampa Bay Rays founded in 1998
Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, Florida
1st World Series appearance
2008 season --> 97-65 AL East Division Champions
2008 playoffs --> home 4-2 road 3-2
The opinions and thoughts expressed in this or any other article written by 12nadnuk are of his thinking and what he thinks is correct or close to it in the sporting world. If there are any problems by anyone, 12nadnuk is open for rebuttal and what not, and honest criticism. There is also a comments section, so feel free to post what is on your mind about the article. Thank you for reading.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
LEAFS IN NO CONDITION TO PLAY A FULL 60
Once again the Maple Leafs had a strong start to the game but faltered as the game drew on. It showed steadily, as the Leafs started out playing a strong first, but got warn down and were overmatched by the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Leafs really need to work on their game stamina and conditioning.
It was a milestone night for two Penguins players, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.
First Sid the Kid, who had a goal and three assists on the night. In doing so, he scored his first goal of the year, 100th of his career. Recorded his 200th assist (ended the night at 202) and overall his 300th career point (ended the night at 302). As for Malkin, he had a total of four assists and hit the 200 mark and ended the night with a total of 201. In total these two superstars had 7 assists and 8 points while playing on the same line.
The Pittsburgh goals were scored by Pascal Dupuis, Miroslav Satan on a power play, Sidney Crosby and Petr Sykora on another power play. For the night the Penguins went 2-4 on the PP.
With those brilliant performances, that was all the Penguins needed in securing a 4-1 victory at the Mellon Arena.
The Leafs once again had their chances to have a different outcome to the game but couldn’t score when the opportunities presented themselves. In the first period alone the Leafs had four straight power plays and only converted on one of them. Nik Antropov was the recipient of a rebound goal, and now has his first goal of the year. The score was tied at 1 after the first period.
The stingy penalty kill unit of the Penguins did get the job done so a lot of credit goes to them. The Leafs couldn’t read how the Penguins had two men cutting off the two Leafs point men, and didn’t make a pass down low.
This time around the Leafs did play a disciplined game, but only for half. In the third the penalties piled up and the Penguins ran away with the game.
As usual the Hagman, Kulemin, Grabovski line was working hard, but they’re having trouble scoring. The potential and talent is there, but the results so far, aren’t.
18 year old Luke Schenn was given a tougher task, and that was to battle Crosby. Every shift Crosby took, Schenn was back on the ice to cover him, and did a decent job of it. In the end Crosby and his line were too much and prevailed.
After the game in New York, Vesa Toskala was given the night off and Curtis Joseph filled in nicely and had a nice game going, but his defence let him down, just like they did Toskala oh too many time this season. And Alex Ponikarovsky saw little ice time during the game and was benched for parts of the second and all of the third period. This began in New York when Ponikarovsky took a stupid hooking penalty in the Rangers zone, and didn’t play in the overtime period
In five games this season, the Leafs have only one win and have only earned four out of a possible ten points.
The opinions and thoughts expressed in this or any other article written by 12nadnuk are of his thinking and what he thinks is correct or close to it in the sporting world. If there are any problems by anyone, 12nadnuk is open for rebuttal and what not, and honest criticism. There is also a comments section, so feel free to post what is on your mind about the article. Thank you for reading.
It was a milestone night for two Penguins players, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.
First Sid the Kid, who had a goal and three assists on the night. In doing so, he scored his first goal of the year, 100th of his career. Recorded his 200th assist (ended the night at 202) and overall his 300th career point (ended the night at 302). As for Malkin, he had a total of four assists and hit the 200 mark and ended the night with a total of 201. In total these two superstars had 7 assists and 8 points while playing on the same line.
The Pittsburgh goals were scored by Pascal Dupuis, Miroslav Satan on a power play, Sidney Crosby and Petr Sykora on another power play. For the night the Penguins went 2-4 on the PP.
With those brilliant performances, that was all the Penguins needed in securing a 4-1 victory at the Mellon Arena.
The Leafs once again had their chances to have a different outcome to the game but couldn’t score when the opportunities presented themselves. In the first period alone the Leafs had four straight power plays and only converted on one of them. Nik Antropov was the recipient of a rebound goal, and now has his first goal of the year. The score was tied at 1 after the first period.
The stingy penalty kill unit of the Penguins did get the job done so a lot of credit goes to them. The Leafs couldn’t read how the Penguins had two men cutting off the two Leafs point men, and didn’t make a pass down low.
This time around the Leafs did play a disciplined game, but only for half. In the third the penalties piled up and the Penguins ran away with the game.
As usual the Hagman, Kulemin, Grabovski line was working hard, but they’re having trouble scoring. The potential and talent is there, but the results so far, aren’t.
18 year old Luke Schenn was given a tougher task, and that was to battle Crosby. Every shift Crosby took, Schenn was back on the ice to cover him, and did a decent job of it. In the end Crosby and his line were too much and prevailed.
After the game in New York, Vesa Toskala was given the night off and Curtis Joseph filled in nicely and had a nice game going, but his defence let him down, just like they did Toskala oh too many time this season. And Alex Ponikarovsky saw little ice time during the game and was benched for parts of the second and all of the third period. This began in New York when Ponikarovsky took a stupid hooking penalty in the Rangers zone, and didn’t play in the overtime period
In five games this season, the Leafs have only one win and have only earned four out of a possible ten points.
The opinions and thoughts expressed in this or any other article written by 12nadnuk are of his thinking and what he thinks is correct or close to it in the sporting world. If there are any problems by anyone, 12nadnuk is open for rebuttal and what not, and honest criticism. There is also a comments section, so feel free to post what is on your mind about the article. Thank you for reading.
Friday, October 17, 2008
A GOALTENDING CLINIC AT MSG
Vesa Toskala, Stephen Valiquette and a few goal posts stole the show. It was only fitting that it happened at one of the most famous arenas in the world, Madison Square Garden.
Throughout the game the Leafs showed great promise with their speed, and battled in the corners. Their puck control was relentless and the shots on goal piled up to only five. It looked as if it should have been more, but a lot of shots went wide of the target. Etobicoke native Stephen Valiquette kept the New York Rangers in the game after the first.
One of the better lines for the Leafs so far this season, Nik Kulemin, Niklas Hagman and Mikhail Grabovski played a great cycle game and caused havoc. Dominic Moore also showed his great speed and it always looked as if he was the first man on the loose pucks.
The second and third periods were more of the same, with great goaltending and strong offensive play from both sides.
In the second period it was pretty tight, both teams skated and battled hard. In the third period the Rangers took over and the Leafs were hanging on by a thread. Horrible penalties were taken and I mean stupid. That was the case when Alex Ponikarovsky got called for hooking in the offensive zone, which should never happen. So far this season he has had a slow start or misses Mats Sundin a whole lot at centre. I guess he was one of those players that Mats Sundin made better. Luckily for the Leafs, Vesa Toskala bailed out the team and so did those two red piped behind him.
On back-to-back rushes the Rangers hit three posts. The first came off a slap shot through a crowd that hit one post, which caused the puck to slide across the red line and hit the other post. On the next rush, the Rangers only hit one post, but kept their attack going, and it was furious.
60 minutes couldn’t solve the dead lock and overtime was needed to settle the scoreless game. Both teams had two minute power plays to try and crack the goalies.
First it was the Leafs when Hagman drew the penalty skating into the zone on a strong solo rush, and Michael Roszival got called for holding.
The power play still needs work as the Leafs didn’t score, had plenty of ice to work with and didn’t manage to get a man in front of the net. With an opportunity to show head coach Ron Wilson he deserves to play, Matt Stajan played on the power play and was invisible. On the other side the Rangers didn’t score on their chance, but only had 90 seconds to work with, due to overtime ending.
For consecutive games the Leafs headed into a shoot out and still couldn’t get the extra point.
The Rangers sent out Nikolai Zherdev, Nigel Dawes and Fredrik Sjostrom. The Leafs countered with Matt Stajan, Nik Kulemin and Jason Blake. The Rangers shot first, as Zherdev and Sjostrom scored and Kulemin was the only scorer for Toronto.
Matt Stajan was given another opportunity to get the coaching staff to think twice about him, but hardly made a good move to score. And the top line of Alex Ponikarovsky, Nik Antropov and Jason Blake had another slow game. That line has hardly been noticeable and didn’t do too much in the offensive zone. That line only has two goals combined on the season and Nik Antropov still hasn’t scored.
The Leafs as a whole played a good game, but minus the penalties. Luke Schenn still continues to impress with his game, and is showing he deserves to stay the whole year. Vesa Toskala kept the Leafs in the game with his solid goaltending and has saved the Leafs from either losing or losing badly in two of the four games played so far.
The opinions and thoughts expressed in this or any other article written by 12nadnuk are of his thinking and what he thinks is correct or close to it in the sporting world. If there are any problems by anyone, 12nadnuk is open for rebuttal and what not, and honest criticism. There is also a comments section, so feel free to post what is on your mind about the article. Thank you for reading.
Throughout the game the Leafs showed great promise with their speed, and battled in the corners. Their puck control was relentless and the shots on goal piled up to only five. It looked as if it should have been more, but a lot of shots went wide of the target. Etobicoke native Stephen Valiquette kept the New York Rangers in the game after the first.
One of the better lines for the Leafs so far this season, Nik Kulemin, Niklas Hagman and Mikhail Grabovski played a great cycle game and caused havoc. Dominic Moore also showed his great speed and it always looked as if he was the first man on the loose pucks.
The second and third periods were more of the same, with great goaltending and strong offensive play from both sides.
In the second period it was pretty tight, both teams skated and battled hard. In the third period the Rangers took over and the Leafs were hanging on by a thread. Horrible penalties were taken and I mean stupid. That was the case when Alex Ponikarovsky got called for hooking in the offensive zone, which should never happen. So far this season he has had a slow start or misses Mats Sundin a whole lot at centre. I guess he was one of those players that Mats Sundin made better. Luckily for the Leafs, Vesa Toskala bailed out the team and so did those two red piped behind him.
On back-to-back rushes the Rangers hit three posts. The first came off a slap shot through a crowd that hit one post, which caused the puck to slide across the red line and hit the other post. On the next rush, the Rangers only hit one post, but kept their attack going, and it was furious.
60 minutes couldn’t solve the dead lock and overtime was needed to settle the scoreless game. Both teams had two minute power plays to try and crack the goalies.
First it was the Leafs when Hagman drew the penalty skating into the zone on a strong solo rush, and Michael Roszival got called for holding.
The power play still needs work as the Leafs didn’t score, had plenty of ice to work with and didn’t manage to get a man in front of the net. With an opportunity to show head coach Ron Wilson he deserves to play, Matt Stajan played on the power play and was invisible. On the other side the Rangers didn’t score on their chance, but only had 90 seconds to work with, due to overtime ending.
For consecutive games the Leafs headed into a shoot out and still couldn’t get the extra point.
The Rangers sent out Nikolai Zherdev, Nigel Dawes and Fredrik Sjostrom. The Leafs countered with Matt Stajan, Nik Kulemin and Jason Blake. The Rangers shot first, as Zherdev and Sjostrom scored and Kulemin was the only scorer for Toronto.
Matt Stajan was given another opportunity to get the coaching staff to think twice about him, but hardly made a good move to score. And the top line of Alex Ponikarovsky, Nik Antropov and Jason Blake had another slow game. That line has hardly been noticeable and didn’t do too much in the offensive zone. That line only has two goals combined on the season and Nik Antropov still hasn’t scored.
The Leafs as a whole played a good game, but minus the penalties. Luke Schenn still continues to impress with his game, and is showing he deserves to stay the whole year. Vesa Toskala kept the Leafs in the game with his solid goaltending and has saved the Leafs from either losing or losing badly in two of the four games played so far.
The opinions and thoughts expressed in this or any other article written by 12nadnuk are of his thinking and what he thinks is correct or close to it in the sporting world. If there are any problems by anyone, 12nadnuk is open for rebuttal and what not, and honest criticism. There is also a comments section, so feel free to post what is on your mind about the article. Thank you for reading.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
2008-2009 NBA Forecaster WASHINGTON WIZARDS (43-39, 5TH EAST CONF.)
Injuries hurt the Wizards last season. Not at any point in the season did Gilbert Arenas, Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison get to play together.
Everyone knows what Arenas is capable of doing, but knee injuries have slowed him down and have hurt the Wizards during the playoffs. So will Arenas be healthy this season and at least play seventy games? Last season Butler and Jamison shouldered most of the load and got the team into the playoffs. Both of those players can shoot and drive the ball.
To compliment those three players, the Wizards also have DeShawn Stevenson who came into his own last season, and filled in nicely for Arenas. Then there is the inside game which was okay with Brendan Haywood as he put up respectable numbers.
Overall, the Wizards have a good team and could do a lot of damage if they can stay healthy. Their scoring is good, their defence could use some work, and the bench can get the job done as well here and there. They have veteran Antonio Daniels who can run the point once in a while. Juan Dixon who can get into a scoring groove, and hit shots at a high percentage. They also have Nick Young the primary backup or maybe starting point guard. Andray Blatche a power forward who is still young and rookie JaVale McGee. Who could get a lot of paying time if he can play solid defensively, because he has a big seven foot, 237 pound frame.
A lot of respect goes out to head coach Eddie Jordan. He kept this team together through the injuries and when everyone had written the Wizards off.
POSITIVE --> ARENAS, BUTLER AND JAMISON ALL PLAYING TOGETHER.
NEGATIVE --> HEALTH ISSUES FOR ALL THREE PLAYERS LISTED ABOVE.
X-FACTOR --> GILBERT ARENAS AND IF HE CAN STAY HEALTHY, BECAUSE HE CAN DECIDE WHETHER THE WIZARDS WILL BE GOOD OR REALLY GOOD.
SLEEPER PICK --> NICK YOUNG SHOWED A LOT OF PROMISE LAST SEASON.
PREDICTION --> PLAYOFFS YES AND IN THE 5-8 SEEDS. WILL GET 40-45 WINS.
OVERALL --> IF ARENAS, BUTLER AND JAMISON ARE HEALTHY AND PLAYING TOGETHER THEN THAT WILL BE SOMETHING TO WATCH.
The opinions and thoughts expressed in this or any other article written by 12nadnuk are of his thinking and what he thinks is correct or close to it in the sporting world. If there are any problems by anyone, 12nadnuk is open for rebuttal and what not, and honest criticism. There is also a comments section, so feel free to post what is on your mind about the article. Thank you for reading.
Everyone knows what Arenas is capable of doing, but knee injuries have slowed him down and have hurt the Wizards during the playoffs. So will Arenas be healthy this season and at least play seventy games? Last season Butler and Jamison shouldered most of the load and got the team into the playoffs. Both of those players can shoot and drive the ball.
To compliment those three players, the Wizards also have DeShawn Stevenson who came into his own last season, and filled in nicely for Arenas. Then there is the inside game which was okay with Brendan Haywood as he put up respectable numbers.
Overall, the Wizards have a good team and could do a lot of damage if they can stay healthy. Their scoring is good, their defence could use some work, and the bench can get the job done as well here and there. They have veteran Antonio Daniels who can run the point once in a while. Juan Dixon who can get into a scoring groove, and hit shots at a high percentage. They also have Nick Young the primary backup or maybe starting point guard. Andray Blatche a power forward who is still young and rookie JaVale McGee. Who could get a lot of paying time if he can play solid defensively, because he has a big seven foot, 237 pound frame.
A lot of respect goes out to head coach Eddie Jordan. He kept this team together through the injuries and when everyone had written the Wizards off.
POSITIVE --> ARENAS, BUTLER AND JAMISON ALL PLAYING TOGETHER.
NEGATIVE --> HEALTH ISSUES FOR ALL THREE PLAYERS LISTED ABOVE.
X-FACTOR --> GILBERT ARENAS AND IF HE CAN STAY HEALTHY, BECAUSE HE CAN DECIDE WHETHER THE WIZARDS WILL BE GOOD OR REALLY GOOD.
SLEEPER PICK --> NICK YOUNG SHOWED A LOT OF PROMISE LAST SEASON.
PREDICTION --> PLAYOFFS YES AND IN THE 5-8 SEEDS. WILL GET 40-45 WINS.
OVERALL --> IF ARENAS, BUTLER AND JAMISON ARE HEALTHY AND PLAYING TOGETHER THEN THAT WILL BE SOMETHING TO WATCH.
The opinions and thoughts expressed in this or any other article written by 12nadnuk are of his thinking and what he thinks is correct or close to it in the sporting world. If there are any problems by anyone, 12nadnuk is open for rebuttal and what not, and honest criticism. There is also a comments section, so feel free to post what is on your mind about the article. Thank you for reading.
2008-2009 NBA Forecaster UTAH JAZZ (54-28, NORTHWEST DIV. CHAMPS., 4TH WEST CONF.)
The Jazz have one of the better up and coming teams in the NBA. All they need to do is take that next big step forward.
The makeup of this team is as solid as it will ever be. Some players just need a bit more fine tuning and this team will be legit contenders. Already playing like a seasoned veteran is Deron Williams, a complete package point guard and holds this team together. He may be the only one ready for that next step.
Carlos Boozer is developing into becoming one of the premier big men in the game. He already has the fundamentals and deep drives into the playoffs to build off of. Andrei Kirilenko may just be the player to get this team to the next level. He has shown he can play defensively and can score but not consistently. Mehmet Okur is a big man with a nice shooting touch and has championship experience to his credit with Detroit in 2004. Together these players can play a solid game and with all the playoff experience they have had, it could be their time now. It looks like all they need is just one more solid player who could push them to the next level.
Head coach Jerry Sloan can take the team their, as he has already been there and done that. He is one of the best and smartest coaches in the NBA. He has seen it all and with his wisdom and knowledge of the game the Jazz have a solid team. In the wings some young talent is being brought up and developed in Paul Millsap, Ronnie Price and Kosta Koufus. The bench for the Jazz is a good one to including Kyle Korver and Ronnie Brewer.
POSITIVE --> GREAT OUTLOOK ON TEAM.
NEGATIVE --> THEY DON’T HAVE A BIG TIME IMPACT PLAYER OTHER THAN DERON WILLIAMS.
X-FACTOR --> ANDREI KIRILENKO.
SLEEPER PICK --> MATT HARPRING ALWAYS TURNS IN A SOLID DEFENSIVE SEASON.
PREDICTION --> PLAYOFFS, BOOK IT, AND 50+ WINS. WILL WIN DIVISION TITLE.
OVERALL --> WINNING BASKETBALL, AND GOOD DEFENSIVE EFFORTS.
The opinions and thoughts expressed in this or any other article written by 12nadnuk are of his thinking and what he thinks is correct or close to it in the sporting world. If there are any problems by anyone, 12nadnuk is open for rebuttal and what not, and honest criticism. There is also a comments section, so feel free to post what is on your mind about the article. Thank you for reading.
The makeup of this team is as solid as it will ever be. Some players just need a bit more fine tuning and this team will be legit contenders. Already playing like a seasoned veteran is Deron Williams, a complete package point guard and holds this team together. He may be the only one ready for that next step.
Carlos Boozer is developing into becoming one of the premier big men in the game. He already has the fundamentals and deep drives into the playoffs to build off of. Andrei Kirilenko may just be the player to get this team to the next level. He has shown he can play defensively and can score but not consistently. Mehmet Okur is a big man with a nice shooting touch and has championship experience to his credit with Detroit in 2004. Together these players can play a solid game and with all the playoff experience they have had, it could be their time now. It looks like all they need is just one more solid player who could push them to the next level.
Head coach Jerry Sloan can take the team their, as he has already been there and done that. He is one of the best and smartest coaches in the NBA. He has seen it all and with his wisdom and knowledge of the game the Jazz have a solid team. In the wings some young talent is being brought up and developed in Paul Millsap, Ronnie Price and Kosta Koufus. The bench for the Jazz is a good one to including Kyle Korver and Ronnie Brewer.
POSITIVE --> GREAT OUTLOOK ON TEAM.
NEGATIVE --> THEY DON’T HAVE A BIG TIME IMPACT PLAYER OTHER THAN DERON WILLIAMS.
X-FACTOR --> ANDREI KIRILENKO.
SLEEPER PICK --> MATT HARPRING ALWAYS TURNS IN A SOLID DEFENSIVE SEASON.
PREDICTION --> PLAYOFFS, BOOK IT, AND 50+ WINS. WILL WIN DIVISION TITLE.
OVERALL --> WINNING BASKETBALL, AND GOOD DEFENSIVE EFFORTS.
The opinions and thoughts expressed in this or any other article written by 12nadnuk are of his thinking and what he thinks is correct or close to it in the sporting world. If there are any problems by anyone, 12nadnuk is open for rebuttal and what not, and honest criticism. There is also a comments section, so feel free to post what is on your mind about the article. Thank you for reading.
2008-2009 NBA Forecaster TORONTO RAPTORS (41-41, 6TH EAST CONF.)
The Raptors took a back seat last season compared to the 2007 season when they had 47 wins and won the division title. One of their main problems was the lack of inside scoring and inside defence.
To help fix that problem general manager Bryan Collangelo brought in Jermaine O’Neal from the Indiana Pacers in exchange for T.J. Ford. Hopefully the experience and inside game Jermaine O’Neal possesses will pay big dividends for the Raptors. One of the intriguing storylines for this year will be J.O. and Chris Bosh playing together in the post. Right there is a problem for other teams trying to match up defensively. Another aspect these two represent is one player plays more of a low post game, J.O. And Chris Bosh plays a high post type of game. Look for both of these players to make cutting passes to each other. It will take some time for them to get some chemistry going, but once they start clicking the possibilities are endless. The health of Jermaine O’Neal is another question too, and his health will determine the outcome of the trade. It would either be a good trade or a bad trade; I see no middle ground to this.
Chris Bosh should be an improved player and leader after winning gold at this past summers’ Olympic Games. He was also on the court during crunch time, led the team in rebounding over Dwight Howard, and has experienced winning at a high level, and knows what it takes.
Two players on this team that should have improved seasons if this team wants to go far in the playoffs are Andrea Bargnani and Jamario Moon. The former number one pick in the draft has shown signs of improvement over the summer and in training camp. Some things he is currently working on are his dribbling, defence, shooting touch and he bulked up. Bargnani is the key to the Raptors success, because he is a seven footer that can shoot three’s and if he can start cutting to the rim regularly, then the floor and space to work with will open up. Now if J.O., Bosh and Bargnani are playing at high levels now that will be fun to watch and the opposition will have defensive nightmares.
Then there’s Jamario Moon, the sophomore who showed his defensive abilities last season but lacked on the offensive. He is a talented young athlete with plenty of hang time and can be a game changer. If he can develop more of a ‘slasher’ type of game then the Raptors will be better for it. And a player in his position or in Anthony Parkers’, those are usually for high scorers. That could be the one thing holding the Raptors back from further success.
If there is one guarantee on this team it is Jose Calderon. He takes care of the ball and his teammates when he distributes the ball. He has shown he can shoot the ball at a consistent level, work off the high screen and drive to the net.
This year will also determine the future of head coach Sam Mitchell, who will have two years remaining on his contract at seasons end. There is much more talent on this team with J.O., and it will be Mitchell’s job as to how he will utilize the talent and if the Raptors can go to the second round. If the Raps. don’t make the second round and everyone stayed healthy, Mitchell should be the first to go.
Overall, the Raptors need to improve on the defensive end, while the offence is go to go from the starting 5 to the bench. Jason Kapono is one of the first options off the bench, a sharp shooter. Rookie Roko Ukic and Will Solomon will battle for the back up PG position. So far, Roko Ukic has shown he is better of the two. Joey Graham seriously needs to find his game; he’s been given way too many chances to succeed.
POSITIVE --> ALL-STAR CHRIS BOSH AND JERMAINE O’NEAL IN THE MIDDLE
NEGATIVE --> JERMAINE O’NEAL’S KNEES. CAN THEY HANDLE AN 82 GAME SHEDULE, AFTER ONLY PLAYING 50 OR LESS GAMES IN THE PAST THREE YEARS?
X-FACTOR --> ANDREA BARGNANI. HAS TO GET BETTER AND NOW, IF THE RAPTORS WANT TO BE A SERIOUS SONTENDER.
SLEEPER PICK --> ANTHINY PARKER. ALWAYS TURNS IN A SOLID SEASON, BOTH OFFENSIVELY AND DEFENSIVELY.
PREDICTION --> PLAYOFFS, BOOK IT, AND IN THE 4-6 SEEDS. WILL IMPROVE ON 41 WINS.
OVERALL --> IT WILL BE AN INTERESTING START TO THE SEASON. ALL EYES WILL BE ON JERMAINE O’NEAL AND CHRIS BOSH.
The opinions and thoughts expressed in this or any other article written by 12nadnuk are of his thinking and what he thinks is correct or close to it in the sporting world. If there are any problems by anyone, 12nadnuk is open for rebuttal and what not, and honest criticism. There is also a comments section, so feel free to post what is on your mind about the article. Thank you for reading.
To help fix that problem general manager Bryan Collangelo brought in Jermaine O’Neal from the Indiana Pacers in exchange for T.J. Ford. Hopefully the experience and inside game Jermaine O’Neal possesses will pay big dividends for the Raptors. One of the intriguing storylines for this year will be J.O. and Chris Bosh playing together in the post. Right there is a problem for other teams trying to match up defensively. Another aspect these two represent is one player plays more of a low post game, J.O. And Chris Bosh plays a high post type of game. Look for both of these players to make cutting passes to each other. It will take some time for them to get some chemistry going, but once they start clicking the possibilities are endless. The health of Jermaine O’Neal is another question too, and his health will determine the outcome of the trade. It would either be a good trade or a bad trade; I see no middle ground to this.
Chris Bosh should be an improved player and leader after winning gold at this past summers’ Olympic Games. He was also on the court during crunch time, led the team in rebounding over Dwight Howard, and has experienced winning at a high level, and knows what it takes.
Two players on this team that should have improved seasons if this team wants to go far in the playoffs are Andrea Bargnani and Jamario Moon. The former number one pick in the draft has shown signs of improvement over the summer and in training camp. Some things he is currently working on are his dribbling, defence, shooting touch and he bulked up. Bargnani is the key to the Raptors success, because he is a seven footer that can shoot three’s and if he can start cutting to the rim regularly, then the floor and space to work with will open up. Now if J.O., Bosh and Bargnani are playing at high levels now that will be fun to watch and the opposition will have defensive nightmares.
Then there’s Jamario Moon, the sophomore who showed his defensive abilities last season but lacked on the offensive. He is a talented young athlete with plenty of hang time and can be a game changer. If he can develop more of a ‘slasher’ type of game then the Raptors will be better for it. And a player in his position or in Anthony Parkers’, those are usually for high scorers. That could be the one thing holding the Raptors back from further success.
If there is one guarantee on this team it is Jose Calderon. He takes care of the ball and his teammates when he distributes the ball. He has shown he can shoot the ball at a consistent level, work off the high screen and drive to the net.
This year will also determine the future of head coach Sam Mitchell, who will have two years remaining on his contract at seasons end. There is much more talent on this team with J.O., and it will be Mitchell’s job as to how he will utilize the talent and if the Raptors can go to the second round. If the Raps. don’t make the second round and everyone stayed healthy, Mitchell should be the first to go.
Overall, the Raptors need to improve on the defensive end, while the offence is go to go from the starting 5 to the bench. Jason Kapono is one of the first options off the bench, a sharp shooter. Rookie Roko Ukic and Will Solomon will battle for the back up PG position. So far, Roko Ukic has shown he is better of the two. Joey Graham seriously needs to find his game; he’s been given way too many chances to succeed.
POSITIVE --> ALL-STAR CHRIS BOSH AND JERMAINE O’NEAL IN THE MIDDLE
NEGATIVE --> JERMAINE O’NEAL’S KNEES. CAN THEY HANDLE AN 82 GAME SHEDULE, AFTER ONLY PLAYING 50 OR LESS GAMES IN THE PAST THREE YEARS?
X-FACTOR --> ANDREA BARGNANI. HAS TO GET BETTER AND NOW, IF THE RAPTORS WANT TO BE A SERIOUS SONTENDER.
SLEEPER PICK --> ANTHINY PARKER. ALWAYS TURNS IN A SOLID SEASON, BOTH OFFENSIVELY AND DEFENSIVELY.
PREDICTION --> PLAYOFFS, BOOK IT, AND IN THE 4-6 SEEDS. WILL IMPROVE ON 41 WINS.
OVERALL --> IT WILL BE AN INTERESTING START TO THE SEASON. ALL EYES WILL BE ON JERMAINE O’NEAL AND CHRIS BOSH.
The opinions and thoughts expressed in this or any other article written by 12nadnuk are of his thinking and what he thinks is correct or close to it in the sporting world. If there are any problems by anyone, 12nadnuk is open for rebuttal and what not, and honest criticism. There is also a comments section, so feel free to post what is on your mind about the article. Thank you for reading.
2008-2009 NBA Forecaster SAN ANTONIO SPURS (56-26, 3RD WEST CONF.)
The Spurs are one of the most veteran and experienced teams in the NBA and have a combined ten championship rings in just three players (Tim Duncan 4, Tony Parker 3, and Manu Ginobli 3). The Spurs just lost out to the New Orleans Hornets for the division title due to a seasonal tie break.
With the same team intact from last year the veterans will lead this team to another 50+ win season. This time around and what should be the immediate future of the team in Tony Parker, Manu Ginobli and Fabricio Oberto, should get more work and touches. With Tim Duncan, Michael Finley, and Bruce Bowen all having played over ten years in the NBA, their bodies can still go through the grind, but not like they could’ve three or four years ago. With the roster the Spurs have, an 82 game schedule should be no problem.
In the past three years T. Parker and M. Ginobli have proven they can both lead this team to wins and score with regularity. Parker is one of the best point guards in the game who can do it all. His drive to the net is something else and sometimes can’t be stopped. Ginobli still puts up 15 points a game even though he is coming off the bench. Shooting and driving to the net come as a regular routine to him. The experienced Argentine Oberto so far has shown he can handle the NBA caliber of players, since he has already played for winning teams in Europe and Argentina internationally.
With Duncan, Oberto and Finley in the frontcourt, and Parker and Bruce Bowen in the back, winning games won’t be a problem. The bench is just as solid as it has a perfect mix of veterans and young players learning from some of the best.
POSITIVE --> HARD WORKING TEAM THAT KNOWS HOW TO WIN.
NEGATIVE --> NOT TOO MANY BLEMISHES HERE.
X-FACTOR --> MANU GINOBLI PROVIDES THAT EXTRA SCORING.
SLEEPER PICK --> BRUCE BOWEN. A LOT OF FOCUS IS ON HIS DEFENSIVE ABILITIES, BUT HE CAN ALSO SCORE.
PREDICTION --> PLAYOFFS, BOOK IT AND 50+ WINS. WILL BATTLE FOR DIVISION TITLE TO THE END.
OVERALL --> SOLID DEFENSIVE EFFORT EACH NIGHT AND WINNING BASKETBALL.
The opinions and thoughts expressed in this or any other article written by 12nadnuk are of his thinking and what he thinks is correct or close to it in the sporting world. If there are any problems by anyone, 12nadnuk is open for rebuttal and what not, and honest criticism. There is also a comments section, so feel free to post what is on your mind about the article. Thank you for reading.
With the same team intact from last year the veterans will lead this team to another 50+ win season. This time around and what should be the immediate future of the team in Tony Parker, Manu Ginobli and Fabricio Oberto, should get more work and touches. With Tim Duncan, Michael Finley, and Bruce Bowen all having played over ten years in the NBA, their bodies can still go through the grind, but not like they could’ve three or four years ago. With the roster the Spurs have, an 82 game schedule should be no problem.
In the past three years T. Parker and M. Ginobli have proven they can both lead this team to wins and score with regularity. Parker is one of the best point guards in the game who can do it all. His drive to the net is something else and sometimes can’t be stopped. Ginobli still puts up 15 points a game even though he is coming off the bench. Shooting and driving to the net come as a regular routine to him. The experienced Argentine Oberto so far has shown he can handle the NBA caliber of players, since he has already played for winning teams in Europe and Argentina internationally.
With Duncan, Oberto and Finley in the frontcourt, and Parker and Bruce Bowen in the back, winning games won’t be a problem. The bench is just as solid as it has a perfect mix of veterans and young players learning from some of the best.
POSITIVE --> HARD WORKING TEAM THAT KNOWS HOW TO WIN.
NEGATIVE --> NOT TOO MANY BLEMISHES HERE.
X-FACTOR --> MANU GINOBLI PROVIDES THAT EXTRA SCORING.
SLEEPER PICK --> BRUCE BOWEN. A LOT OF FOCUS IS ON HIS DEFENSIVE ABILITIES, BUT HE CAN ALSO SCORE.
PREDICTION --> PLAYOFFS, BOOK IT AND 50+ WINS. WILL BATTLE FOR DIVISION TITLE TO THE END.
OVERALL --> SOLID DEFENSIVE EFFORT EACH NIGHT AND WINNING BASKETBALL.
The opinions and thoughts expressed in this or any other article written by 12nadnuk are of his thinking and what he thinks is correct or close to it in the sporting world. If there are any problems by anyone, 12nadnuk is open for rebuttal and what not, and honest criticism. There is also a comments section, so feel free to post what is on your mind about the article. Thank you for reading.
2008-2009 NBA Forecaster SACRAMENTO KINGS (38-44, 11TH WEST CONF.)
After trading one of their better defensive players, Ron Artest, the Kings may be just a bit worse on defence.
The Kings right now are in a rebuild type of mode. Whereas they are not tanking on any season, and remain competitive. With a good mix of youth that showed their flare last season, and some veteran experience, the Kings put up a respectable season. The youth really helped the team and showed the future sooner rather than later in Francisco Garcia and Kevin Martin. Both players had solid years and showed the coaching staff they could score and lead the offence, even though both aren’t primary point guards. Look for both of those players to get a heavier workload and plenty of more touches. Some of the other youth on this squad is sophomore Spencer Hawes the seven foot centre, who management hope will become their starting centre in a few years.
Until that happens the veteran of ten years in the NBA, Brad Miller, will take on the starting centre duties. Last season was a down year for Miller as a lot of his numbers dropped. Mikki Moore who was signed on two years ago was brought on to provide energy and a defensive presence in the middle, but so far he has been a bust.
Last years team just didn’t get into the right mind set of getting every player involved and head coach Reggie Theus should fix that problem, if the Kings even want to finish above .500. This Kings team is pretty much Kevin Martin’s, so the youth movement is on in Sacramento.
POSITIVE --> GOOD BUILDING BLOCKS IN KEVIN MARTIN AND FRANCISCO GARCIA.
NEGATIVE --> TOO MUCH VETERAN EXPERIENCE WHERE TIME GETS KILLED FOR YOUNGER PLAYERS.
X-FACTOR --> BRAD MILLER HAS TO GET BACK TO HIS FORMER SELF.
SLEEPER PICK --> BENO UDRIH. A LOT OF PEOPLE OVERLOOKED THIS GUY LAST SEASON.
PREDICTION --> PLAYOFFS, NOT THIS YEAR. SHOULD GET SOMEWHERE IN BETWEEN 30-40 WINS.
OVERALL --> KEVIN MARTIN SHOULD BE BETTER AND MOST OF THE SUCCESS WILL RIDE ON HIS BACK.
The opinions and thoughts expressed in this or any other article written by 12nadnuk are of his thinking and what he thinks is correct or close to it in the sporting world. If there are any problems by anyone, 12nadnuk is open for rebuttal and what not, and honest criticism. There is also a comments section, so feel free to post what is on your mind about the article. Thank you for reading.
The Kings right now are in a rebuild type of mode. Whereas they are not tanking on any season, and remain competitive. With a good mix of youth that showed their flare last season, and some veteran experience, the Kings put up a respectable season. The youth really helped the team and showed the future sooner rather than later in Francisco Garcia and Kevin Martin. Both players had solid years and showed the coaching staff they could score and lead the offence, even though both aren’t primary point guards. Look for both of those players to get a heavier workload and plenty of more touches. Some of the other youth on this squad is sophomore Spencer Hawes the seven foot centre, who management hope will become their starting centre in a few years.
Until that happens the veteran of ten years in the NBA, Brad Miller, will take on the starting centre duties. Last season was a down year for Miller as a lot of his numbers dropped. Mikki Moore who was signed on two years ago was brought on to provide energy and a defensive presence in the middle, but so far he has been a bust.
Last years team just didn’t get into the right mind set of getting every player involved and head coach Reggie Theus should fix that problem, if the Kings even want to finish above .500. This Kings team is pretty much Kevin Martin’s, so the youth movement is on in Sacramento.
POSITIVE --> GOOD BUILDING BLOCKS IN KEVIN MARTIN AND FRANCISCO GARCIA.
NEGATIVE --> TOO MUCH VETERAN EXPERIENCE WHERE TIME GETS KILLED FOR YOUNGER PLAYERS.
X-FACTOR --> BRAD MILLER HAS TO GET BACK TO HIS FORMER SELF.
SLEEPER PICK --> BENO UDRIH. A LOT OF PEOPLE OVERLOOKED THIS GUY LAST SEASON.
PREDICTION --> PLAYOFFS, NOT THIS YEAR. SHOULD GET SOMEWHERE IN BETWEEN 30-40 WINS.
OVERALL --> KEVIN MARTIN SHOULD BE BETTER AND MOST OF THE SUCCESS WILL RIDE ON HIS BACK.
The opinions and thoughts expressed in this or any other article written by 12nadnuk are of his thinking and what he thinks is correct or close to it in the sporting world. If there are any problems by anyone, 12nadnuk is open for rebuttal and what not, and honest criticism. There is also a comments section, so feel free to post what is on your mind about the article. Thank you for reading.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
2008-2009 NBA Forecaster PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS (41-41, 10TH WEST CONF.)
An excellent season was posted by the Blazers and the group of players they had. This time the team will be better as Greg Oden will be making his much anticipated NBA debut and Spaniard Rudy Fernandez will join the team as well.
The Blazers are already a good team, but everyone will now get to see Greg Oden in the fold and what he can do. Brandon Roy who will be entering his third year in the league already has had two impressive seasons. He has also shown he can play on both ends of the court, lead the team and be a big time scorer. Then there’s LeMarcus Aldridge who has gotten better each year and will play alongside Oden. Joel Przybilla will be the lock in the middle due to his veteran presence and should solidify the frontcourt.
While in the backcourt there’s Brandon Roy and point guard Steve Blake. Both players have shown some good chemistry with each other and both can lead the offence with good control of the ball. This Blazers team all around is very good, still young, but will win games.
Coach Nate McMillan can go to his bench with confidence as they will have Rudy Fernandez a rookie that won’t play like one because of his experience. Channing Frye a power forward and Sergio Rodriguez another point guard who had a good season. These guys will get plenty of opportunities and others of the bench include Martell Webster, Travis Outlaw and two rookies Nicolas Batum and Jerryd Bayless.
Expectations will be high this year, as well as they should be and this Blazers team will be improved and so will their record.
POSITIVE --> STRONG YOUTH WITH EXPERINCE AND CAN PLAY, LED BY BRANDON ROY.
NEGATIVE --> MAYBE THE YOUTH WILL SHOW.
X-FACTOR --> GREG ODEN AND WHAT HE CAN DO IN THE NBA.
SLEEPER PICK --> RUDY FERNANDEZ IS A SHARP SCORER, AND COULD AT SOME POINT MAYBE INSERTED INTO THE STARTING 5.
PREDICTION --> PLAYOFFS YES, IN THE 6-8 SEEDS. WILL BE IN A DOG FIGHT THOUGH.
OVERALL --> GOOD WINNING BASKETBALL TO WATCH AND A HEAVY EYE WILL BE ON GREG ODEN.
The opinions and thoughts expressed in this or any other article written by 12nadnuk are of his thinking and what he thinks is correct or close to it in the sporting world. If there are any problems by anyone, 12nadnuk is open for rebuttal and what not, and honest criticism. There is also a comments section, so feel free to post what is on your mind about the article. Thank you for reading.
The Blazers are already a good team, but everyone will now get to see Greg Oden in the fold and what he can do. Brandon Roy who will be entering his third year in the league already has had two impressive seasons. He has also shown he can play on both ends of the court, lead the team and be a big time scorer. Then there’s LeMarcus Aldridge who has gotten better each year and will play alongside Oden. Joel Przybilla will be the lock in the middle due to his veteran presence and should solidify the frontcourt.
While in the backcourt there’s Brandon Roy and point guard Steve Blake. Both players have shown some good chemistry with each other and both can lead the offence with good control of the ball. This Blazers team all around is very good, still young, but will win games.
Coach Nate McMillan can go to his bench with confidence as they will have Rudy Fernandez a rookie that won’t play like one because of his experience. Channing Frye a power forward and Sergio Rodriguez another point guard who had a good season. These guys will get plenty of opportunities and others of the bench include Martell Webster, Travis Outlaw and two rookies Nicolas Batum and Jerryd Bayless.
Expectations will be high this year, as well as they should be and this Blazers team will be improved and so will their record.
POSITIVE --> STRONG YOUTH WITH EXPERINCE AND CAN PLAY, LED BY BRANDON ROY.
NEGATIVE --> MAYBE THE YOUTH WILL SHOW.
X-FACTOR --> GREG ODEN AND WHAT HE CAN DO IN THE NBA.
SLEEPER PICK --> RUDY FERNANDEZ IS A SHARP SCORER, AND COULD AT SOME POINT MAYBE INSERTED INTO THE STARTING 5.
PREDICTION --> PLAYOFFS YES, IN THE 6-8 SEEDS. WILL BE IN A DOG FIGHT THOUGH.
OVERALL --> GOOD WINNING BASKETBALL TO WATCH AND A HEAVY EYE WILL BE ON GREG ODEN.
The opinions and thoughts expressed in this or any other article written by 12nadnuk are of his thinking and what he thinks is correct or close to it in the sporting world. If there are any problems by anyone, 12nadnuk is open for rebuttal and what not, and honest criticism. There is also a comments section, so feel free to post what is on your mind about the article. Thank you for reading.
2008-2009 NBA Forecaster PHOENIX SUNS (55-27, 6TH WEST CONF.)
So much talent on this Suns team still hasn’t led too much success in the playoffs. In the regular season they are as good as anyone and only finished two games out of first in the West.
With a new head coach, Terry Porter, the Suns run and gun style of play may not be in the coach’s plans. Maybe more of a half court style of play to get Shaquille O’Neal more involved in the mix. If that happens and Shaq can score, then more room for Amare Stoudamire will open up. If any of those players get double teamed then they will have shooters waiting on the wings. When two time MVP Steve Nash is running the offence then good things will happen no matter what style of coaching is implemented.
The backcourt led by Steve Nash and Raja Bell have both proven they can play and score. The bench is good to go as well, with Leandro Barbosa and rookie centre Robin Lopez. With Lopez, his development should be done at a smart pace. As he has plenty of veteran experience around him in Stoudamire, Shaq and Grant Hill.
Some things may be a cause for concern for the Suns. Jerry Porter is a rookie head coach so that might be a problem in its self. Grant Hill and his chronic injury problems, will they keep him sidelined again at some point in the season? This Suns team with its core group of players has gone through too many losing playoff seasons together. When the playoffs roll around all the negative thoughts will rush back into their heads and haunt the team. This team needs to break up its core group of players.
POSITIVE --> STEVE NASH AND AMARE STOUDAMIRE.
NEGATIVE --> HEAD COACH JERRY PORTER.
X-FACTOR --> SHAQUILLE O’NEAL WAS BROUGHT IN TO IMPROVE THE INSIDE, AND NEEDS TO HAVE A STRONG SEASON. HEALTH ISSUES ALSO A PROBLEM FOR HIM.
SLEEPER PICK --> MATT BARNES OFF THE BENCH WILL GET CHANCES TO PLAY AND MUST MAKE THE MOST OF THEM.
PREDICTION --> PLAYOFFS BOOK IT. 50 WIN SEAON, YES.
OVERALL --> WILL SEE A DIFFERENT STYLE OF BASKETBALL COMPARED TO YEARS PAST.
The opinions and thoughts expressed in this or any other article written by 12nadnuk are of his thinking and what he thinks is correct or close to it in the sporting world. If there are any problems by anyone, 12nadnuk is open for rebuttal and what not, and honest criticism. There is also a comments section, so feel free to post what is on your mind about the article. Thank you for reading.
With a new head coach, Terry Porter, the Suns run and gun style of play may not be in the coach’s plans. Maybe more of a half court style of play to get Shaquille O’Neal more involved in the mix. If that happens and Shaq can score, then more room for Amare Stoudamire will open up. If any of those players get double teamed then they will have shooters waiting on the wings. When two time MVP Steve Nash is running the offence then good things will happen no matter what style of coaching is implemented.
The backcourt led by Steve Nash and Raja Bell have both proven they can play and score. The bench is good to go as well, with Leandro Barbosa and rookie centre Robin Lopez. With Lopez, his development should be done at a smart pace. As he has plenty of veteran experience around him in Stoudamire, Shaq and Grant Hill.
Some things may be a cause for concern for the Suns. Jerry Porter is a rookie head coach so that might be a problem in its self. Grant Hill and his chronic injury problems, will they keep him sidelined again at some point in the season? This Suns team with its core group of players has gone through too many losing playoff seasons together. When the playoffs roll around all the negative thoughts will rush back into their heads and haunt the team. This team needs to break up its core group of players.
POSITIVE --> STEVE NASH AND AMARE STOUDAMIRE.
NEGATIVE --> HEAD COACH JERRY PORTER.
X-FACTOR --> SHAQUILLE O’NEAL WAS BROUGHT IN TO IMPROVE THE INSIDE, AND NEEDS TO HAVE A STRONG SEASON. HEALTH ISSUES ALSO A PROBLEM FOR HIM.
SLEEPER PICK --> MATT BARNES OFF THE BENCH WILL GET CHANCES TO PLAY AND MUST MAKE THE MOST OF THEM.
PREDICTION --> PLAYOFFS BOOK IT. 50 WIN SEAON, YES.
OVERALL --> WILL SEE A DIFFERENT STYLE OF BASKETBALL COMPARED TO YEARS PAST.
The opinions and thoughts expressed in this or any other article written by 12nadnuk are of his thinking and what he thinks is correct or close to it in the sporting world. If there are any problems by anyone, 12nadnuk is open for rebuttal and what not, and honest criticism. There is also a comments section, so feel free to post what is on your mind about the article. Thank you for reading.
2008-2009 NBA Forecaster PHILADELPHIA 76ERS (40-42, 7TH EAST CONF.)
Another team that surprised the league was the upstart 76ers of last season. Even though they finished below .500, they were one of the best teams in the second half of the season, which got them into the playoffs.
This time around the 76ers won’t be any pushover team, with the signing of Elton Brand to a lengthy contract. With him and Samuel Dalembert in the middle, a lot could be done all around, and not just in the frontcourt. Brand is the more proven player of the two, but the opposition will still have trouble matching up defensively, and who will they double team? And I still didn’t mention Andre Igoudala, a superstar and is already the leader of this team, and go to scorer. Now those three present serious problems for the opposing teams. So the addition of Brand was huge, not only did the 76ers help bolster their inside game. The signing will also help the development of Dalembert and Igoudala. Keep an eye on Dalembert and his attitude, as he bailed out on Team Canada this past summer like a sucker.
The backcourt seems good to go as well, as Andre Miller has proven he can run the point in an up tempo style of play. It doesn’t hurt when your point guard can drive the ball. Alongside Miller is Willie Green a scorer who has progressed steadily in the last two seasons.
The bench isn’t too bad either with Reggie Evans a strong rebounder and Louis Williams the backup point guard who has done a good job so far in Philadelphia.
POSITIVE --> ELTON BRAND AND THE FRONTCOURT.
NEGATIVE --> DALEMBERT’S ATTITUDE AND ELTON BRAND’S HEALTH ISSUES.
X-FACTOR --> ELTON BRAND AND ANDRE IGOUDALA. IF BOTH PLAYERS CAN PLAY AT A HIGH CONSISTENT LEVEL THEN IT WILL ONLY HELP THE 76ERS RISE ON UP IN THE STANDINGS.
SLEEPER PICK --> WILLIE GREEN. ALWAYS SEEMS TO FLY UNDER THE RADAR AND PUTS UP GOOD NUMBERS.
PREDICTION --> PAYOFFS YES, AND IN THE 5-8 SEEDS.
OVERALL --> EXCITING BASKETBALL TO WATCH, AND A BETTER SEASON RECORD.
The opinions and thoughts expressed in this or any other article written by 12nadnuk are of his thinking and what he thinks is correct or close to it in the sporting world. If there are any problems by anyone, 12nadnuk is open for rebuttal and what not, and honest criticism. There is also a comments section, so feel free to post what is on your mind about the article. Thank you for reading.
This time around the 76ers won’t be any pushover team, with the signing of Elton Brand to a lengthy contract. With him and Samuel Dalembert in the middle, a lot could be done all around, and not just in the frontcourt. Brand is the more proven player of the two, but the opposition will still have trouble matching up defensively, and who will they double team? And I still didn’t mention Andre Igoudala, a superstar and is already the leader of this team, and go to scorer. Now those three present serious problems for the opposing teams. So the addition of Brand was huge, not only did the 76ers help bolster their inside game. The signing will also help the development of Dalembert and Igoudala. Keep an eye on Dalembert and his attitude, as he bailed out on Team Canada this past summer like a sucker.
The backcourt seems good to go as well, as Andre Miller has proven he can run the point in an up tempo style of play. It doesn’t hurt when your point guard can drive the ball. Alongside Miller is Willie Green a scorer who has progressed steadily in the last two seasons.
The bench isn’t too bad either with Reggie Evans a strong rebounder and Louis Williams the backup point guard who has done a good job so far in Philadelphia.
POSITIVE --> ELTON BRAND AND THE FRONTCOURT.
NEGATIVE --> DALEMBERT’S ATTITUDE AND ELTON BRAND’S HEALTH ISSUES.
X-FACTOR --> ELTON BRAND AND ANDRE IGOUDALA. IF BOTH PLAYERS CAN PLAY AT A HIGH CONSISTENT LEVEL THEN IT WILL ONLY HELP THE 76ERS RISE ON UP IN THE STANDINGS.
SLEEPER PICK --> WILLIE GREEN. ALWAYS SEEMS TO FLY UNDER THE RADAR AND PUTS UP GOOD NUMBERS.
PREDICTION --> PAYOFFS YES, AND IN THE 5-8 SEEDS.
OVERALL --> EXCITING BASKETBALL TO WATCH, AND A BETTER SEASON RECORD.
The opinions and thoughts expressed in this or any other article written by 12nadnuk are of his thinking and what he thinks is correct or close to it in the sporting world. If there are any problems by anyone, 12nadnuk is open for rebuttal and what not, and honest criticism. There is also a comments section, so feel free to post what is on your mind about the article. Thank you for reading.
2008-2009 NBA Forecaster ORLANDO MAGIC (52-30, SOUTH EAST DIV. CHAMPS., 3RD EAST CONF.)
A surprise 52 win season and a division title last season, my just be repeated again this year by the Magic.
It will be a tougher task though this year with the Atlanta Hawks and Washington Wizards being a bit stronger. In the end it may just be the Magic, led by a solid core of players. When you have one of the best big men in the game, Dwight Howard a freak of nature, there is no stopping the inside game. This guy is only entering his fifth year, imagine him when he is in his prime, scary thoughts arise. To compliment the frontcourt the Magic do have Rashard Lewis, Hedo Turkoglu and Tony Battie. R. Lewis is an explosive scorer and can average 15-20 points a game. H. Turkoglu is always a three point threat and can drive when his shots are clicking. Tony Battie is another big body down low. The backcourt is also solidified with Jameer Nelson and had a breakout season last year.
There are some problems with this team as well. The starting 5 is set, but beyond that, which is the bench, really isn’t that good. Just like last season the starting 5 was heavily relied on and will be again this year.
I am a bit skeptical with this team and what they can achieve as a group. Some players aren’t big time game performers such as R. Lewis and H. Turkoglu. R. Lewis is way overpaid and only signed with the Magic because they offered the fattest contract. So, Lewis is here for the money and that showed during last years playoff’s against the Detroit Pistons in the second round. He and H. Turkoglu vastly under-performed and couldn’t score. The team as a whole just doesn’t have that make up to go far. D-12 is a good building block, but he needs a better supporting cast, because he is a winner.
POSITIVE --> INSIDE GAME OF DWIGHT HOWARD.
NEGATIVE --> BENCH, AND CLUTCH PERFORMERS.
X-FACTOR --> JAMEER NELSON. GREAT SEASON LAST YEAR AND CAN FOLLOW UP.
SLEEPER PICK --> DON’T SEE ONE.
PREDICTION --> PLAYOFFS, BOOK IT. MAYBE ANOTHER 50 WIN SEASON, AND DIVISION TITLE.
OVERALL --> GOOD BASKETBALL HIGH LIGHTED BY DWIGHT HOWARD AND WHAT HE CAN DO.
The opinions and thoughts expressed in this or any other article written by 12nadnuk are of his thinking and what he thinks is correct or close to it in the sporting world. If there are any problems by anyone, 12nadnuk is open for rebuttal and what not, and honest criticism. There is also a comments section, so feel free to post what is on your mind about the article. Thank you for reading.
It will be a tougher task though this year with the Atlanta Hawks and Washington Wizards being a bit stronger. In the end it may just be the Magic, led by a solid core of players. When you have one of the best big men in the game, Dwight Howard a freak of nature, there is no stopping the inside game. This guy is only entering his fifth year, imagine him when he is in his prime, scary thoughts arise. To compliment the frontcourt the Magic do have Rashard Lewis, Hedo Turkoglu and Tony Battie. R. Lewis is an explosive scorer and can average 15-20 points a game. H. Turkoglu is always a three point threat and can drive when his shots are clicking. Tony Battie is another big body down low. The backcourt is also solidified with Jameer Nelson and had a breakout season last year.
There are some problems with this team as well. The starting 5 is set, but beyond that, which is the bench, really isn’t that good. Just like last season the starting 5 was heavily relied on and will be again this year.
I am a bit skeptical with this team and what they can achieve as a group. Some players aren’t big time game performers such as R. Lewis and H. Turkoglu. R. Lewis is way overpaid and only signed with the Magic because they offered the fattest contract. So, Lewis is here for the money and that showed during last years playoff’s against the Detroit Pistons in the second round. He and H. Turkoglu vastly under-performed and couldn’t score. The team as a whole just doesn’t have that make up to go far. D-12 is a good building block, but he needs a better supporting cast, because he is a winner.
POSITIVE --> INSIDE GAME OF DWIGHT HOWARD.
NEGATIVE --> BENCH, AND CLUTCH PERFORMERS.
X-FACTOR --> JAMEER NELSON. GREAT SEASON LAST YEAR AND CAN FOLLOW UP.
SLEEPER PICK --> DON’T SEE ONE.
PREDICTION --> PLAYOFFS, BOOK IT. MAYBE ANOTHER 50 WIN SEASON, AND DIVISION TITLE.
OVERALL --> GOOD BASKETBALL HIGH LIGHTED BY DWIGHT HOWARD AND WHAT HE CAN DO.
The opinions and thoughts expressed in this or any other article written by 12nadnuk are of his thinking and what he thinks is correct or close to it in the sporting world. If there are any problems by anyone, 12nadnuk is open for rebuttal and what not, and honest criticism. There is also a comments section, so feel free to post what is on your mind about the article. Thank you for reading.
2008-2009 NBA Forecaster OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER (20-62, 15TH WEST CONF., formerly the Seattle Supersonics)
First of all, this name the Thunder and the logo’s colour scheme are so stupid. This team isn’t in the WNBA (no fence) or the extinct ABA. This is just a sad name that will translate into a sad season on the court.
There will definitely be plenty of empty seats at every home game this year. The only attraction, or the only reason you would want to go out and see this team play is for Kevin Durant. He is pretty much the only player on the roster who has proven he can play at a good level. For a rookie last season, he had a standout year which culminated in him winning the Rookie of the Year award.
Besides Durant, the only other players with five or more years of NBA experience are Desmond Mason, Earl Watson, Joe Smith and Chris Wilcox. That bunch right there isn’t very reliable. Desmond Mason has yet to prove he can score consistently and Joe Smith is a good veteran to have around. How much can Smith possibly do at the twilight of his career? Earl Watson isn’t the greatest point guard and will be challenged for that position by rookies Kyle Weaver and Russel Westbrook. One of those two rookies will most likely be the starting PG at some point in the season. Chris Wilcox is a big body on defence, but scoring wise he hasn’t done much to attract a lot of passes.
There will be problems all around for this Thunder team in all facets of the game and will struggle for wins, mightily.
POSITIVE --> KEVIN DURANT AND HIS UPSIDE.
NEGATIVE --> UNBALANCED ROSTER.
X-FACTOR --> ONE OF THREE ROOKIES ON THIS TEAM, WHO WILL GET PLENTY OF PLAYING TIME: RUSSEL WESTBROOK, KYLE WEAVER AND DJ WHITE.
SLEEPER PICK --> DON’T SEE ONE.
PREDICTION --> NO PLAYOFFS, PROBABLY ANOTHER 15TH PLACE FINISH AND WILL GET A HIGH LOTTERY PICK.
OVERALL --> LOSING BASKETBALL NIGHT IN AND NIGHT OUT.
The opinions and thoughts expressed in this or any other article written by 12nadnuk are of his thinking and what he thinks is correct or close to it in the sporting world. If there are any problems by anyone, 12nadnuk is open for rebuttal and what not, and honest criticism. There is also a comments section, so feel free to post what is on your mind about the article. Thank you for reading.
There will definitely be plenty of empty seats at every home game this year. The only attraction, or the only reason you would want to go out and see this team play is for Kevin Durant. He is pretty much the only player on the roster who has proven he can play at a good level. For a rookie last season, he had a standout year which culminated in him winning the Rookie of the Year award.
Besides Durant, the only other players with five or more years of NBA experience are Desmond Mason, Earl Watson, Joe Smith and Chris Wilcox. That bunch right there isn’t very reliable. Desmond Mason has yet to prove he can score consistently and Joe Smith is a good veteran to have around. How much can Smith possibly do at the twilight of his career? Earl Watson isn’t the greatest point guard and will be challenged for that position by rookies Kyle Weaver and Russel Westbrook. One of those two rookies will most likely be the starting PG at some point in the season. Chris Wilcox is a big body on defence, but scoring wise he hasn’t done much to attract a lot of passes.
There will be problems all around for this Thunder team in all facets of the game and will struggle for wins, mightily.
POSITIVE --> KEVIN DURANT AND HIS UPSIDE.
NEGATIVE --> UNBALANCED ROSTER.
X-FACTOR --> ONE OF THREE ROOKIES ON THIS TEAM, WHO WILL GET PLENTY OF PLAYING TIME: RUSSEL WESTBROOK, KYLE WEAVER AND DJ WHITE.
SLEEPER PICK --> DON’T SEE ONE.
PREDICTION --> NO PLAYOFFS, PROBABLY ANOTHER 15TH PLACE FINISH AND WILL GET A HIGH LOTTERY PICK.
OVERALL --> LOSING BASKETBALL NIGHT IN AND NIGHT OUT.
The opinions and thoughts expressed in this or any other article written by 12nadnuk are of his thinking and what he thinks is correct or close to it in the sporting world. If there are any problems by anyone, 12nadnuk is open for rebuttal and what not, and honest criticism. There is also a comments section, so feel free to post what is on your mind about the article. Thank you for reading.
Monday, October 13, 2008
A MESS ON THE ICE ALREADY
It was a game of thirds. The Leafs ripped things up in the first (1/3) and got ripped in the last two periods (the other 2/3) by the St. Louis Blues.
In the first the Leafs dominated the game making up for their poor start against Montreal, but that was all the Leafs made up for. Three goals were scored in the first frame, from good puck control in the offensive end and some strong back checking to take a 3-0 lead. The first goal came right after an early power play for the Leafs had expired, and St. Louis couldn’t get their positioning back. Tomas Kaberle scored his first goal of the year from Mike Van Ryn who also got his first point of the year and as a Maple Leaf. Nikolai Kulemin scored his second goal of the year on a backhand and Alex Ponikarovsky scored his first of the year. Nik Antropov had two assists in the period. Both goals came off of strong back checking and a good cycle game. That was shown when Ponikarovsky scored as Jason Blake slid a pass to the net and was deflected in. The 3-0 lead looked good, but the Leafs forgot to play the rest of the game.
The St. Louis Blues came right back and in a hurry to tie the game. Brad Boyes scored his third goal of the year off a rebound let out by Vesa Toskala. The save that lead to that rebound was high light reel stuff, as the Blues were on a 3 on 1 rush. One play that really helped St. Louis get back into the game was when Ryan Hollweg hit Alex Pietrangelo from behind. Hollweg was called for a five minute boarding major and a ten minute game misconduct, which got him tossed from the game. With that, he will most likely receive some sort of punishment, either a hefty fine or another suspension, which could last up to three games. With the Blues on a five minute power play they scored twice and had the Leafs penalty killing unit scrambling.
The Leafs did take back the lead when Niklas Hagman scored his first goal of the year and as a Leaf, off a face off won by Jamal Mayers. On the scoring line, Mayers picked up his first point as a Maple Leaf, and rookie John Mitchell registered his first career NHL point with an assist. While in the second, the Leafs had a four minute power play after Pavel Kubina was cut on a high sticking double minor. During that power play, the Leafs then got a 5 on 3 advantage and didn’t score. They couldn’t even set up in the zone and add to the 4-3 lead. Special team were also a problem, were last year, and it looks like will be again.
With a 4-3 lead in the third, the Leafs got caught up in an up and down game which was very exciting. The end result was a game tying goal from Paul Kariya off a backhand. It was a pretty equal third period which then lead to overtime, where neither generated much success. In the shoot out the Blues won going 2 for 2 and won the game 5-4, while the Leafs went 1 for 3. Nik Antropov went first and missed the net, Nik Kulemin went second and scored, and Pavel Kubina went last to tie the shoot out, but was stopped by Manny Legace. The St. Louis shooters were Andy McDonald and Brad Boyes.
Just to add, Ryan Hollweg is a stupid hockey player and a liability every time he steps onto the ice. Forget about him being tough, because he isn’t, due to the fact all he does is hit players from behind and get suspended. The really stupid thing was how he got suspended in the pre-season for doing the same thing. You have to be real a dumbass to get suspended in the pre-season.
The opinions and thoughts expressed in this or any other article written by 12nadnuk are of his thinking and what he thinks is correct or close to it in the sporting world. If there are any problems by anyone, 12nadnuk is open for rebuttal and what not, and honest criticism. There is also a comments section, so feel free to post what is on your mind about the article. Thank you for reading.
In the first the Leafs dominated the game making up for their poor start against Montreal, but that was all the Leafs made up for. Three goals were scored in the first frame, from good puck control in the offensive end and some strong back checking to take a 3-0 lead. The first goal came right after an early power play for the Leafs had expired, and St. Louis couldn’t get their positioning back. Tomas Kaberle scored his first goal of the year from Mike Van Ryn who also got his first point of the year and as a Maple Leaf. Nikolai Kulemin scored his second goal of the year on a backhand and Alex Ponikarovsky scored his first of the year. Nik Antropov had two assists in the period. Both goals came off of strong back checking and a good cycle game. That was shown when Ponikarovsky scored as Jason Blake slid a pass to the net and was deflected in. The 3-0 lead looked good, but the Leafs forgot to play the rest of the game.
The St. Louis Blues came right back and in a hurry to tie the game. Brad Boyes scored his third goal of the year off a rebound let out by Vesa Toskala. The save that lead to that rebound was high light reel stuff, as the Blues were on a 3 on 1 rush. One play that really helped St. Louis get back into the game was when Ryan Hollweg hit Alex Pietrangelo from behind. Hollweg was called for a five minute boarding major and a ten minute game misconduct, which got him tossed from the game. With that, he will most likely receive some sort of punishment, either a hefty fine or another suspension, which could last up to three games. With the Blues on a five minute power play they scored twice and had the Leafs penalty killing unit scrambling.
The Leafs did take back the lead when Niklas Hagman scored his first goal of the year and as a Leaf, off a face off won by Jamal Mayers. On the scoring line, Mayers picked up his first point as a Maple Leaf, and rookie John Mitchell registered his first career NHL point with an assist. While in the second, the Leafs had a four minute power play after Pavel Kubina was cut on a high sticking double minor. During that power play, the Leafs then got a 5 on 3 advantage and didn’t score. They couldn’t even set up in the zone and add to the 4-3 lead. Special team were also a problem, were last year, and it looks like will be again.
With a 4-3 lead in the third, the Leafs got caught up in an up and down game which was very exciting. The end result was a game tying goal from Paul Kariya off a backhand. It was a pretty equal third period which then lead to overtime, where neither generated much success. In the shoot out the Blues won going 2 for 2 and won the game 5-4, while the Leafs went 1 for 3. Nik Antropov went first and missed the net, Nik Kulemin went second and scored, and Pavel Kubina went last to tie the shoot out, but was stopped by Manny Legace. The St. Louis shooters were Andy McDonald and Brad Boyes.
Just to add, Ryan Hollweg is a stupid hockey player and a liability every time he steps onto the ice. Forget about him being tough, because he isn’t, due to the fact all he does is hit players from behind and get suspended. The really stupid thing was how he got suspended in the pre-season for doing the same thing. You have to be real a dumbass to get suspended in the pre-season.
The opinions and thoughts expressed in this or any other article written by 12nadnuk are of his thinking and what he thinks is correct or close to it in the sporting world. If there are any problems by anyone, 12nadnuk is open for rebuttal and what not, and honest criticism. There is also a comments section, so feel free to post what is on your mind about the article. Thank you for reading.
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