Jacques Back in Jersey

Well I am back on here sooner than I thought I would be. The New Jersey Devils announced that Jacques Lemaire is the new coach. This will be the second time that he has coached the team. He is joining a team that has a lot of promise for a cup. Including Zach Parise, Brian Rolston, and according to Russo's prediction; Martin Skoula. If Lemaire was hired a week earlier I could have seen Veilluex joining the Devils. He will be joined by his longtime friend/teammate/assistant coach Mario Tremblay. Lemaire claims that his team will have more offense in his past teams, but we will see how long that lasts. Saw this one coming as soon as Sutter left the team.

Wild Summer

Throwing on a fresh post here for the first time in eh, almost three weeks. Got to keep this blog current, you know? Anyway, a lot has happened since I last blogged on here. Martin Havlat was signed which is great, considering Gaborik has been long gone. We picked up two solid defensemen and a couple prospective defensemen. Oh yea, we drafted a Minnesotan in the first round, in Nick Leddy! And the best news that I could ever ask for: Veilluex is no longer with the Wild! It was a great day in Minnesota when that was announced. Now we just need Punto off of the Twins. But, that is the same situation as the Wild had with Veilluex. Until Gardenhire is gone, Punto will be in a Twins uniform.

I thought the Wild had a solid draft this year. I like the initiative they took to acquire more picks in the middle rounds. All those picks were at the X yesterday for the Development Camp. I was quite impressed with the talent on the ice, it showed we had a promising future ahead of us. Colton Gillies was a man among boys out there. I thought Cretin graduate Chris Hickey was very solid, he handled the puck very well and had an all around solid scrimmage. One guy who had a horrible scrimmage was Petr Kalus. This clown did nothing but hold on to the puck and hold on and hold on and well you get the point. He held the puck for so long that at one point a guy in the crowd yelled, "pass the puck a$$ hole." He got a good laugh from everyone around him. All I seen out of Kalus was being selfish, favoring his right leg, and playing extremely dirty. Including somewhat of a clothesline at the end of the first half of the scrimmage. The Shattucks duo looked very good out there, as did both team's goaltenders. In the end it was Clutterbuck's white squad beating out Burns and his fedora's green squad, 7-4.

Well that is all I can muster to think of right now since I am at work. Hopefully, I will be able to add a new blog in the coming days. Thanks to Hockey Wilderness for the picture below. I saw it and said, "Hey that's me!" Click on the picture for a clearer vew.

Quick Wild Talk

There is less than 24 hours until the New York Islanders make the first selection of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. Minnesota Wild fans are excited to see what the Wild will do tomorrow. With the talks of trades and the big question: who will the Wild choose? Russo states the Wild are tossing around all three Minnesotans and some other names. I am still hoping the Wild choose Gopher forward Jordan Schroeder. Russo also said that it looks like the Los Angeles Kings are the front runners for Dany Heatley. Which is disappointing to Wild fans, even though it was a long shot to aquire him. But, Chuck is surely still in many different trade talks and I am confident that he will make some sort of deal tomorrow.

I attended the Minnesota Wild Summer Bash today and took in the festivities in downtown St. Paul. I got a chance to ask James Sheppard a couple of questions. When asked about the draft tomorrow he said, "it will be exciting to see who we pick and who the other teams pick..with three Minnesota guys in there it will be interesting to see where they end up." I asked him about his draft day experience and he described it as follows: "a lot of my family was there with me and when they called my name it was awesome." I also asked him if the new style the Wild will play will be better for him than the Lemaire regime. "Yea it will definitely be different, and I am excited to see how it all works it out. Jacques did a great job of coaching us and this will be different from his style for sure." Thanks to James for taking the time to answer my questions.

I just wanted to jump on and throw that little bit in there. I will be on alert all day tomorrow for major news from the Wild or any big trades in the league. I will be blogging tomorrow after the draft tomorrow night. During the day I will try to tweet as often as possible when new news comes out. https://twitter.com/BetchaSports

2009 NHL Mock Draft

I wanted to kind of put up how I think the board will look like after the first round tomorrow night. Of course once teams start making trades and other things, the board will probably look completely different. But, as the order is set right now these are my picks. Each player has their name then (position, height, weight, team, and country they are from.)

1. John Tavares (C, 6'0", 183 lbs., London (OHL), Canada)
This is the pick that everyone seen coming. Islanders fan have been excited about this pick since the end of the season when they were chanting his name. He tallied 50 points in 24 games for the London Knights last season. Look for him to be on the NHL roster next year. Many debated that Tavares would not go first because of his lack of speed and his defensive skills. Which brings me to the number two pick...

2. Victor Hedman (D, 6'7", 229 lbs., Modo, Sweden)
Touted as the best european skater available in the draft. He is a big defensemen, but moves like a smaller guy. He is very mobile, and has excellent puck sense. He is fully capable of being a leader and playing 20 minutes right away. Hedman recorded 21 points in 43 games for his Swedish Elite League club and earned the Rookie of the Year honors in 2008-09.

3. Matt Duchene (C, 5'11", 200 lbs., Brampton (OHL), Canada)
Duchene is a pure offensive player who also is a great penalty killer. He has great speed, and has the ability to read the play. He put up 79 points in 59 games and was voted the Best Playmaker and Best Stickhandler in the OHL Eastern Conference Coaches Poll.

4. Evander Kane (C, 6'1", 176 lbs., Vancouver (WHL), Canada)
He has power forward qualities and he does not like being denied access to the net. Anytime he has the puck he is heading straight for the net. He will be a 200-pound forward in the NHL. He plays bigger than his size, and has surprised a lot of people with his strength going to the net. He tallied 96 point in 61 games with Vancouver of the WHL last year.

5. Magnus Svensson-Paajarvi (LW, 6'2", 200 lbs., Timra, Sweden)
Man do the Kings love their European players, thats why I chose to put Magnus here. He is a speed extraordinaire, ability to freeze defenders and make all his good moves work even more effectively. He is the stereotypical Euro coming to the NHL. He looks to be the only player besides Tavares that is NHL ready.

6. Brayden Schenn (F, 6'1", 198 lbs., Brandon (WHL), Canada)
He has learned a little about the NHL from his older brother Luke Schenn and he knows how to go to the net. He is a threat to score at all times on the ice and dishes the puck very effectively to his linemates in getting the amount of assists that he does. He has the power forward mindset. He put up 88 points in 70 games for Brandon (WHL) last season.

7. Jared Cowen (D, 6'5", 220 lbs., Spokane (WHL), Canada)
He has size and looks to be a big guy to put at the blue line. This is exactly what GM Brian Burke loves: size and toughness. It will take him a year or two in the minors to develop speed and get used to fast pace style of the NHL. When he gets there he will be a force to be reckond with. He posted 21 points in 48 games for Spokane (WHL) last season.

8. Zack Kassian (RW, 6'3", 210 lbs., Peterborough, Canada)
Kassian is one of the toughest guys in the OHL and probably the entire draft. He is at his best when he is playing physical and tough along the boards. He protects the puck very well and fights through checks. He has very good play-making and puck-handling abilities. This guy will be able to play the game while getting involved in the fisticuffs. He tallied 63 points in 61 games with Peterborough while racking up 136 PIM.

9. John Moore (D, 6'2", 189 lbs., Chicago Steel (USHL), USA)
Moore is a gifted skater with tremendous skill that allows him to create time and space with the puck and offensive opportunities. He passes the puck like a pro and has a big time shot as well. He has great leadership qualities and comes in knowing he has to get better everyday. He put up 39 points in 57 games for Chicago (USHL) last season.

10. Carter Ashton (RW, 6'3", 205 lbs., Lethbridge (WHL), Canada)
He knows the game and really is astute at the power-play and penalty kill, offensive and defensive parts of his game. He is the stereotypical power forward. He skates well and has a decent skill set. He recorded 50 points in 70 games for Lethbridge (WHL) last season.

11. Scott Glennie (LW, 6'2", 177 lbs., Brandon (WHL), Canada)
He is a tremendous skater, an excellent puck handler, and scores many different ways. Glennie has the power forward abilities and is compared to Jonathan Cheechoo and Jonathan Toews for the kind of offensive ability. He put up 70 points in 55 games last season for Brandon (WHL).

12. Jordan Schroeder (RW, 5'10", 175 lbs., U of MN, USA)
He has a phenomenal wrist shot and he can beat you by putting the puck in the net, going around a defender, or freezing the goaltender and passing it off to one of his wingers. He is hard to knock off the puck and has good speed. The only concern for Schroeder is his size, this is what causes him to drop to 12th in the draft. He tallied 40 points in 32 games with the Gophers last season and won the WCHA Rookie of the Year.

Thanks to the NHL for some of their scouting information.

A Busy Week In Hockey

Just over a week after the NHL season ended, things are heating up in preparation for the upcoming season. With the NHL draft starting Friday teams are wheeling and dealing to get things accomplished. General Manager's phones are ringing off the hooks hearing from other GM's about deals, talking to players, and staff. The past few weeks have been time for each organization to evaluate their team, look at what they need to improve on, who they are going to draft, and if they will improve through free agency or trades. All these things are going through every single general manager's mind. Another thing that is on their minds is adjusting to the certain possibility of having a salary cap, which is at about 56.6 million, could lower by a few million dollars lower. Which is one of the factors fueling Ottawa to trade Dany Heatley to take some stress off of the cap. Other organizations have been busier long than that; looking for a new GM, coach, or a whole new staff. One of those organizations is the Minnesota Wild. Chuck Fletcher has had a busy few weeks himself, and it won't end for quite awhile. He has to deal with free agents starting on July 1st.

So far the rumors are bouncing off the walls as we come to the draft tomorrow. Big names are getting thrown around as usual, as teams try to relieve some of their cap stress. The two types of players that teams are offering are about average players with big contracts and big time players with expiring contracts or wanting big raises. A name that is getting tossed around a bit is former Gopher Phil Kessel. It is unclear if the Bruins will trade him for sure, but they are listening to offers. They Bruins are about $6 million under the cap and Kessel is expected to ask for somewhere around $5 million a year. Boston have to clear some cap room for more substantial players coming up next year, including Marc Savard and Zdeno Chara. Like all trade talks, Chuck Fletcher is involved in talks for Kessel as well. But, Boston wants a first round draft pick and a top young prospect for Kessel. Which would cost Minnesota the 12th pick tomorrow and someone like James Sheppard. It is rumored that the Wild have been looking into acquiring Penguins winger Ruslan Fedotenko. As for Minnesota trading Josh Harding there are a lot of speculations, including trading him to the St. Louis Blues are are very interested. They have a full artillery of young players that they can deal for Harding. Other teams reportedly interested are Edmonton, Colorado, Detroit, St. Louis, Philly and Toronto. According to rumors the Wild are offering Harding and Wild D Marek Zidlicky to Toronto for Leafs D Tomas Kaberle. That is a pure rumor though, there are no sources confirming this. One player that the Wild could be shopping is top draft pick Pierre Marc Bouchard. He had a verbal no trade promise from Risebrough, but that does not mean that he is safe with Fletcher at the helms. He is a big cap hit and did not step up after his 50 assist season two years ago.

Another thing to mention is Marian Gaborik has reportedly bought a house in Vancouver. Is this a sign that he is going to sign with the Canucks? It could show that Vancouver is already in talks with Gaborik, which is tampering. The Wild already filed tampering charges against the Canucks before when Vancouver allegedly talked to Pavol Demitra early. Demitra ultimately signed with the Canucks. If they sign Gaborik that could mean that Vancouver loses their top two players the Sedin twins. So it looks that Gaborik is as good as gone. Another top player leaving the team for nothing.

So the draft is tomorrow and there is looking like a lot of deals can go down anytime within today and tomorrow. I will be on later today if any trades or big news comes out. Otherwise, I will be on tomorrow after the draft with a full days recap. Thanks to Michael Russo and his "Russo's Rants" for all the inside information on hockey. I will also probably tweet about things as they go on. Check it out at https://twitter.com/BetchaSports

Too Much Too Soon

One of my favorite quotes and scenes from the classic hockey movie Slap Shot. It has been about a week since I have been on and man do I have a lot to talk about. From the ice to the diamond to hoops to everything. First off lets start with the biggest news in the hockey world; the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Red Wings in seven games to capture the chalice. The game was very close after one and then the Pens broke out a two goal lead after two. Then, for the first ten minutes of the third it was pretty much dump and chase on the Pens' end. Something that makes me cringe after watching it for so many years here in Minnesota. as soon as the Red Wings stepped up the heat and scored the Pens realized they would have to do the same. They held control of the puck pretty well at the end of the third besides a couple of flurries. Anyway, the team I picked to win this series since my picks at the start of the season (Blackhawks beat Montreal in 6) fizzled out, prevailed. For everyone who said there is no way they can beat the Red Wings, I told you so. There was too much compassion, leadership, and determination to stop the Pens. Geno won the Conn Smythe thank goodness. If it would have went to Crosby it would have been a sad day in the hockey world. Speaking of Crosby, he did not shake all the hands of the Red Wings players, including captain Nick Lindstrom. Another classless act the Sidney. So the Pens win it! Lets not have a repeat next year ok? Positive- Pens beat the Red Wings and Geno gets the Conn Smythe. Con- Crybaby Crosby gets a cup.

Good news out here in the State of Hockey. The guy who I thought was going to be hired as the Wild coach has been hired. Now former assitant San Jose assitant coach Todd Richards has been hired to succeed Jacques Lemaire. This is a Minnesota boy, which we absolutely love, and this could show Fletcher is willing to actually bring Minnesotans to play for the Wild. Richards is going to bring an up tempo, hard nosed, attack the puck style of hockey. It is going to require the defensemen who usually sit back to come up and take part in the scoring. Fletcher said this is a guy he was looking for because he expects a lot but is fair, and he is a strong communicator. This could also help bring Wild center James Sheppard to his full potential, this style of play is right down his alley. Anyway, Todd has a long list of accomplishments and jobs. He is leaving his assistant coaching job in San Jose where they have been the top team or close to it for the past couple regular seasons. Richards also spent four seasons as an assistant in Milwaukee, winning one Calder Cup with the team. He also spent time as the head coach for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, where he met Fletch. As a player, he won two WCHA titles with the Gophers, a 1991 Calder Cup with Springfield, a 2001 Turner Cup with Orlando of the IHL. He was also the IHL Defenseman of the Year in 1993-94. He is very deserving of this and hopefully he can help bring Lord Stanley to where it belongs.

16 year old baseball phenom, Bryce Harper out of Las Vegas high scool is skipping out of his final two years in high school. He is going to be a JUCO so he can be eligeible for the 2010 draft. He figures that he is already good enough so why not move on? And boy is he right, kind of. It just shows another flaw in the system, allowing this 16 year old kid to get his GED and go to junior college. All so he can go on and get his projected number 1 pick and $20 million guaranteed. He has already enrolled and sign to play with the college's baseball team. Just a few weeks after he graced the cover of Sports Illustrated, he made this announcement. Will he be struck by the SI curse? Or will he actually suceed through this situation?

The Lakers won their 15th NBA title ousting the Orlando Magic and winning the series 4-1. I don't have too much to say about this because I really don't have much of an interest in basketball. Look what team we have to watch here in Minnesota. Kobe proved to the world that he could win a title without Shaq. Who is part of trade talks that are heating up after they cooled down during the regular season. Now all of the barriers that stopped this trade during the regular season are cleared and he could be headed to the Cavs with LeBron James.

Sad but expected news from the New York Times today. Sammy Sosa has been named as one of the 104 players that tested positive for performance enhancing drugs in 2003. There really is not too much information about this yet. But, it is sad that the beloved Cubbie used the juice. Even though, it was pretty much expected after his home run race with fellow juicer Mark McGwire in 1998.

I do not have much left to say besides a few things about the teams I watch. The Twins continued their dominance of National League teams with a 8-2 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Joe Mauer went 4-4 with an rbi to help lead the Twins past the Pirates. This brings his average up to .429 on the season, and speaking of average Nick Punto went 1 for 3 and brought his average up to a whopping .213 on the year. Much higher than his .083 in the WBC for Italy. Also, the Cubbies and White Sox game was postponed tonight because of rain. That is all I have for now, I will have a more in depth look including quotes from the presss conference today for the new Wild head coach.

And The Number 1 Pick Is....

It is expected that the Washington Nationals are going to take pitcher, Stephen Strasburg from San Diego State in tonight's MLB Amateur Draft. This twenty year old righty stands at 6'4" and 220 pounds. His fastball has topped out at 103 m.p.h and he has a nasty curve ball. Over his two year college careers he has pitched 206 and 1/3 innings while going 21-4. He has struck out 228 batters over two years including 23 in his sophomore year against the University of Utah. You name it this kid has already done it. The only thing he has yet to accomplish: get drafted and signed to a big league contract. Strasburg was passed up by all thirty teams in over fifty rounds when he entered the draft after high school. Now after two years of college experience he is expected to sign around a six year $50 million contract. That is if the Nats can come to terms with his "advisor" Scott Boras, who is known to hold out until he gets top dollar for his clients. I will cover more on this as negotiations start taking place.

Sources are saying that New Jersey Devils head coach, Brent Sutter, will announce he is stepping down from his position today. It is speculated that he will join his brother who is the gm for the Calgary Flames. This opens up doors for a new coach, which will be the 15th time GM Lamoriello will be faced to hire a coach. If he does not hire himself for the third time. Something must be wrong if you go through 14 coaches over 20 years. You are averaging just over one season for each coach. One man that could be interested in the job is former Wild coach Jacques Lemaire. He stated that he wants to coach again, out east, and for a GM he knows. What better than an organization that he lead to the Stanley Cup?

Some quick notes:
- The courts will decide if the Coyotes will be sold to Jim Basille, even with no support from the league owners.
- Bobby Cox has picked up his 2000th career win as a coach.
- The Twins continue to have problems winning on the road.
- Game three for the NBA Finals is tonight. The Lakers lead the series 2-0 over the Orlando Magic.

And It's All Tied Up

The Pittsburgh Penguins have been darn near unstoppable at Mellon Arena this year. As they tied up the series last night to two games a piece. The Pens easily took care of the Red Wings with another 4-2 victory, as the series heads back to the Joe on Saturday. A big reason for the win was Pittsburgh finally got a lot of help out of their pride and joy Sidney Crosby. He contributed with a goal and an assist, as did big Evgeni Malkin. Fleury was hot for the Pens last night as he stopped 37 of 39 shots and secured the game for the Pens. Detroit struggled on the power play last night, having four chances and not being able to convert on any of them. The Pens went one for three on their power plays. Game five is slated for Saturday, at 7 p.m. CDT on NBC.

The Wild organization will be saying goodbye to their longtime assistant coach Mario Tremblay. He did not make the cut for the head coaching job and was disappointed by that. He was offered to be an assistant coach, but Tremblay felt it was best if he moved on. It is suspected that he will join the Montreal Canadiens' coaching staff. Mike Ramsey is in the last year of his contract and may be heading out as well. The other two assistant coaches Matt Shaw and Bob Mason are expected to stay on the Wild bench.

Chuck Fletcher held a press conference today with a few newspapers. He said that he has talked to Gaborik but there really hasn't been any negotiations yet. He also said he is starting to trim down his list of coaching candidates. The front runners still appear to be: Todd Richards, Craig MacTavish, and Peter Laviolette. He also hinted at wanting to make a move before free agency, which means around draft time. The people he is reported to be shopping around are Josh Harding, Benoit Pouliot, and unfortunately Derek Boogaard. It is also mention that Mark Parish, who the Wild are still paying, wants another shot with the team.

In baseball news, Randy Johnson won his 300th game last night with the San Francisco Giants. He went six innings, while gibing up one run on two hits and striking out two. The Atlanta Braves released Tom Glavine who is just five wins away from 300. He was not happy with the way the Braves organization handled it, but said a couple teams have called already.

A funny note here: Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty announced he would not be running for a third term as governor. He started his announcement out with this: "Good afternoon. Thanks for coming to the announcement that, in light of the Brett Favre situation and its unsettling impact on the people of Minnesota, I am signing an executive order requiring St. Paul native Joe Mauer, in addition to catching for the Twins, to also play quarterback for the Vikings. These are tough times, Joe, and everybody has to dig deep." Pretty good joke by the Governor, as everyone knows Joe was the Gatorade National Player of the year in 2000 as quarterback for Cretin-Derham Hall. He turned down a scholarship to play QB for Flordia State.

That is all I can muster up for now. I will have an update added to this post. So check back for more.

Thank You Mr. Talbot

The Pittsburgh Penguins finally got it together at home tonight. The Pens won game three of the Stanley Cup Finals tonight with a score of 4-2. Much in part of Max Talbot's two goals and three assists from Evgeni "Geno" Malkin. The Pens struck first in the first period followed by two goals by the Red Wings, but Kris Letang tied it up when he netted his fourth goal of the playoffs. The rest of the scoring was done by the Pens, who converted on two of their three powerplay chances. While the Red Wings could only strike on one of their two chances. Detroit edged the Pens in shots and faceoffs. Yet, the Pens were able to prevail and cut the series lead down to 2-1 in favor of Detroit. Game four is slated for Thursday in Pittsburgh at 7 p.m. CDT on Versus.


The Cubs officially said goodbye to their Gatorade dispenser yesterday. Just days after two brutal attacks by Ryan Dempster and Carlos Zambrano, the dispenser will be moved into the hallway. It looks like Ryan Theriot may have a thing with the dispenser because he wants to take it home. Dempster who attacked the machine in the first place said this, "I'm going to miss it. It's part of our team. I gave it a big hug." He must have forgiven the machine that played a trick on him before he attacked it (see yesterday's post).

Just some other things of note:
- Ichiro has hit safely in his 26th striaght game tonight.
- Joe Mauer hit his twelfth home run of the year as he went three for three in the Twins' 4-3 win over the Cleveland Indians.
- Last years' comeback story in Josh Hamilton for the Texas Rangers could be out up to two months with a abdominal strain.
- Ratings are up big in both the Stanley Cup playoffs and the NBA playoffs.
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Malkin’s Suspension Rescinded, Canadiens pick Martin

Like I predicted last night Evgeni Malkin was not fined or suspended by the NHL for receiving an instigator with less than five minutes left in the game. NHL Disciplinarian Colin Campbell said: "None of the criteria in this rule applied in this situation. Suspensions are applied under this rule when a team attempts to send a message in the last five minutes by having a player instigate a fight. A suspension could also be applied when a player seeks retribution for a prior incident. Neither was the case here and therefore the one game suspension is rescinded" (Puck Daddy). The biggest reason that he did not get suspended was because it is the playoffs and they would lose ratings if they lose this year’s potential MVP. This system has been hit and miss in the playoffs, let alone the whole season. Scott Walker was not given a suspension either when he viciously sucker punched Aaron Ward. If it were the regular season both would have been suspended no questions asked. Anyway, they need to be more consistent with their rule book.

The Montreal Canadiens hired Florida Panthers GM Jacques Martin for their head coaching position. Martin has proved that he is a better coach than a talent evaluator. Martin has coached fourteen season, this will be his fifteenth and first with the Habs. He has coached the St. Louis Blues, Ottawa Senators, and the Florida Panthers. Over his fourteen seasons of coaching, Martin has established a record of 517-406-119. This includes three division championships with the Senators and eight total playoff appearances. Leading the Senators in the 2002-2003 season to the conference finals. We will see if Martin is the missing piece that the Habs have been searching for.

Chicago Bulls Rookie of the Year, Derrick Rose, is facing accusations by the NCAA. Even though he is down to earth and a charitable young man, he was not strong in academics. Rose is being accused of having grades changed in high school to help his recruiting chances and he is being accused of having someone take the SAT for him to get into Memphis. More info on the story at Yahoo Sports.

Here are some other stories to check out:
- Jamie Moyer won his 250th Career Game. Yahoo Sports
- The Green Bay Packers are switching to a 3-4 defense. Yahoo Sports
- No one wants to recruit top prospect Lance Stephenson because of his poor personality. Rivals
- The Florida State baseball team put up a 37 spot on Ohio State. Rivals
- A historic May by Joe Mauer. Star Tribune
- University of Minnesota baseball was eliminated by LSU. Star Tribune

Another Win for the Red Wings....

Well Detroit out played the Pens again tonight and secured and 2-0 lead in the series with a 3-1 win. Not too much to say about this game besides the end. With 19 seconds left in the game Osgood was "pushed" and a scrum occured. I'm excited to say Geno picked up his first career NHL scrap. He took on Zetterberg, and in my opinion Geno definitely took this one. He was also hit with the instigator and misconduct. Since there was less than five minutes left and he received the instigator Geno and his coach will be fined $10,000 and Geno will be suspended one game. Of course the league will probably rescind the fine and the suspension. Anyway game three heads over to Pittsburgh on Tuesday at 7 p.m. CDT on Versus. The ratings were reported to be pretty low for the first game of the series. We will see what tonight's numbers look like when they are released.

Something good to hear coming out of the Dallas Stars' camp. Joe Nieuwendyk was named GM today replacing co-GMs Brett Hull and Les Jackson. Nieuwendyk served as the Special Assitant to the GM for the Toronto Maple Leafs last season. He played with the Stars for seven seasons winning the Cup witht them in 1999. Joe is a great guy and a very intelligent hockey mind. He will serve the team well over his tenure.



The Twinkies edged out the Rays today 3-2. Nick Blackburn improved his record to 5-2 on the year and Joe Nathan picked up his 9th save of the season. Otherwise, there isn't too much to say about this game. The Cubbies unfortunately got rocked tonight, losing 8-2 to the Dodgers. Marshall gave up five runs in the first inning and finished his day going 4 and 1/3 innings giving up eight runs on eight hits. Also, something surprising from this game was that Eric Milton started for the Dodgers. He looked pretty good too, he pitched 5 and 1/3 innings and gave up two runs on six hits while striking out four. Not too shabby for the former Twin.

Well I just wanted to get on real quick after the game tonight. I will hopefully have a lot more tomorrow and maybe an article about who knows what.

Prime Time Baby!

Well the Red Wings took game one last night in a 3-1 win. After a pretty close first period, Detroit took the game from there. Scoring a goal in each of the next two periods. It was also a pretty clean game despite some scrums after the whistle. Only three penalties in the game all taking place during the second period. Neither team was able to convert on their chances though. Osgood played a solid game and Marc-Andre Fleury did not play too shabby himself. The first goal of the game pretty much set the mood. A goal off a huge carrom off the boards behind the net scoring on an unexpected Fleury. That was a pretty soft goal, Fluery should have been more prepared. Those boards were very lively last night though. I don't know is you seen this but, Crosby gave Kirk Maltby a little tap on the skate to send a message. It continued with some verbal jousting, but knowing Crosby he will cower in fear or he will jump the guy. Anyway, game two is on tonight during prime time on NBC. The puck is scheduled to drop at 7 p.m. CDT.

After leading 3-1 through most of the second period, the Manitoba Moose dropped game 1 of the Calder Cup Finals 5-4 in OT to the Hershey Bears. Alexandre Giroux completed a hat trick in OT to give Hershey the win. They take the 1-0 lead in the series of course. Game 2 is Tuesday, June 2nd, at 7:30 p.m. CDT at the MTS Centre.

Did anyone see the White Sox- Royals game last night? It was throwback jersey night and those had to be the ugliest jerseys I have seen in my life. Whoever came up with the idea to wear those specific jerseys was out of their mind. The White Sox ended up winning the game 5-3. The updated power rankings came out a few days ago and it has the Dodgers leading followed by the Yankees, the BoSox, and the Cardinals. Some others of note: Brewers are 7th, the Cubbies are 10th, the Twins are 17th, and the Nationals are last in the league at 30th.




Just a quick note: the Minnesota Gopher's baseball team beat Southern 11-8 in the elimination game. The Gophers will play Baylor again today the winner goes on to play LSU. Whoever wins will have to beat LSU today and tomorrow to win the region and move on to the super regions. Also, Texas and Boston College played a game yesterday that lasted 25 innings! Longhorns reliever Austin Wood threw 169 pitches, and the Longhorns and Eagles combined for 171 at bats. The game took seven hours and three minutes to complete. Texas ended up winning the game 3-2.

One more little thing: in tennis news; Rafael Nadal lost to 23rd seed Robin Soderling in four sets. Nadal was 31-0 on clay courts and has never lost at the French Open until today. Well I will have more later tonight after the hockey game. I will have to be switching in between game 2 and Sunday Night Baseball. Like I mentiond the Cubbies play the Dodgers at Wrigley Field. Well that is it for now.

Stanley Cup Finals Start Tonight!

The Stanley Cup Finals start tonight at the Joe. Eventhough it is currently 1-1 in the second period. Both teams not looking too bad right now. I will write more after the game tonight. But, my prediction is Penguins in six, despite the fact I totally do not want Crosby to ever win a cup. But, my hatred I guess you could say, for the Red Wings is more than for Crosby. Plus, I want Geno to get at least one in his career :)

The Calder Cup Finals started tonight, for all you who do not know that is the AHL- minor league finals. This series puts the best offensive team in the league you could say in the Hershey Bears(Washington Capitals' affiliate) versus the Manitoba Moose(Vancouver Canucks' affiliate). It is currently 2-1 in favor of the Moose after the first period. My pick for the series is Hershey in 7, even though I would love to go with the Manitoba Moose. Mostly, because I was a big fan when they used to be the Minnesota Moose.

The Twins lost today against David Price and the Rays. Price who is a great young prospect went 5 2/3 innings, while striking out 11! The Twins left eight on base which kind of hurt them. It also does not help that there was not too much offense either. Liriano started and got rocked again. Frankie went four innings while giving up four runs on seven hit and bringing his season ERA to 6.60. Casilla who was called up yesterday because of Punto being put on the DL, went 1 for 4 with a rbi. Which is better than Punto would have done anyway. Series finale is tomorrow, Blackburn will go for the Twins and former Twin Matt Garza will go for the Rays, First pitch is scheduled for 12:38 CDT on WFTC. By the way, the Cubbies shut out the Los Angeles Dodgers 7-0. They play the Dodgers on Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN tomorrow night in the friendly confines of Wrigley Field at 7:05 CDT.

Well thats all for now until after the Pens-Red Wings game. Orlando is up big on the Cavs after the first half. Vikings are already building around Percy Harvin, just another way to try to build their confidence. Who is going to be throwing to him? Jackson and Rosenfeld are not going to cut it and the Vikings should figure that out. Also, I might put up something that my friend and I were discussing about moving the Phoenix Coyotes. Go Pack Go!

Hey Tichenor! What's Your Deal?

Unfortunately, the Twinkies lost to the BoSox in yesterday's series finale. But, the excitement I guess you could say came in the seventh inning.Triple A umpire call up Todd Tichenor completed the umpire's grand slam. Tossing both team's catcher and manager. This guy obviously has a short fuse or his panties are up in a bunch. Or they are in a bunch all the time considering this guy has a history of tossing players and coaches out when he umpires games. MLB and Bonehead Selig should pay more attention to the guys they let ump the games. Obviously, this rook isn't ready to take the step up the the big league. He should stay down in Triple A to polish his skills or down to Double A to lengthen his short fuse.

Chief Z got hit with a six game suspension and a fine for his classic tantrum against the Pittsburgh Pirates. But what does he care? He made his point and gave us something to relive on Best Damn's top 50 for many years to come. He will probably miss one start and the Cubs will be missing his .261 average with 1 homerun. Plus, that Gatorade machine was not looking so hot after Chief was through with it. It was also attacked by Ryan Dempster a couple days prior. This could be because of the machine sleeping with Z's wife or playing a joke on Dempster.

That Canadian Jim Balsillie released some sketches of how the major renovations would look for Copps Coliseum. Another tectic he is using to try and get the NHL to let him buy the team and relocate. This guy refuses to give up, they don't need another hockey team in Canada let alone in Hamilton. Of course there really should have never been a team in Phoenix in the first place. Hey Bettman, there is a beautiful empty rink sitting in Kansas City. Or move another team to the State of Hockey :)

What else is there.... oh ya the Colorado Rockies have fired manager Clint Hurdle and replaced him with bench coach Jim Tracy. The Rockies have a 18-28 record and are currently dead last in the NL West. The team who made it to the World Series two years ago are 14 games out of the division lead. What happened to these guys?

The University of Minnesota baseball team opens up their regional play tonight against Baylor. Hopefully the U can make a solid run into the playoffs this year. The hitting is definitely there, they just need to the pitching to be better than usual.

The Cubbies won today in a seventh inning rally. This improves their record to a game over .500 at 24-23. The Twinkies open their series against the Rays in St. Petersburg. The Twins are currently sitting one game below .500 and four games out of the division lead. Nick Punto's groin is still sore, so we won't have to watch his feeble attempt at being a baseball player. Any other team in the league would not start this scrub let alone pay him $2 million a year. Well Baker vs. Shields, should be a dandy if Baker can pitch well. First pitch at 6:38 p.m. Oh ya here is something...Jim Souhan from the Star Tribune wrote a piece on how Anthony Swarzak should replace Liriano in the rotation. Do you know anything about baseball or do you just talk out of your expletive?

Update

Here are some articles from today to take a look at:
- Great insight by Roman Augustoviz about Eight Minnesotans heading to Toronto for the scouting combine. Star Tribune
- Peter Laviolette could be in the hunt for the coaching vacancy for the Wild. Star Tribune
- Chicago Blackhawks Eulogy. Puck Daddy
- Cool little insight on some hockey supersitions. The Hockey News
- A small bit on Target Field and the difference in distance in the two stadiums. A Fans View...from Section 220
- Texas Rangers could be seeing a new owner in the near future. Yahoo Sports
- Tarkenton has some choice words about Favre. Pioneer Press

There are some articles that I found intresting so far today. Looks like the Washington Capitals' steroid problem does not have any merit. Who uses steroids in hockey anyway? Got my little bit on the college players up. Maybe a little something about the Twins later tonight. Lakers beat Denver last night but who cares? Magic looking to upset the Cavs tonight. Watched some Mike and Mike this morning, have to agree with them that the city of Cleveland is the most championship deprived city right now. They haven't hoisted anything in pro sports since the Browns won the NFL championship in 1964! Look for an article about the most unlucky sports cities. Well thats it for now, I will be back on later tonight.

Leaving Early: A Problem in the College Hockey System

More and more college hockey players are leaving their respected colleges for the pros. This has been a natural occurrence since end of the lockout in 2005 when about two dozen Division I players decided to sign pro contracts rather than finish school. When it happened again the next year leaders of the college hockey conferences were starting to become alarmed. The main reason for the fleeing underclassmen: money. The entry level bonuses are now capped at $85,000. This makes it a smaller risk for teams to take on prospects, and let them develop for cheap in the minors. The longest an entry level contract can be for 18-21 year old, which is the typical age group defecting from the college ranks to the pros is three years. The maximum amount the contract can be is $900,000 a year; this amount will increase to $925,000 a year in 2010. For the elite college players, this is enough of an incentive in itself.

Many of these college players are leaving after their sophomore year. Figuring two years of experience has made them improve as players and as individuals. All of these players leaving already know that they are going to get that NHL dream contract. Every player usually enters the draft when they are 18-20 and the team who selects them has exclusive negotiating rights for two years then they become an unrestricted free agent. In the case of the college players, the teams have the player’s rights until 30 days after they leave college. Most of the college students know that their stocks are higher after successful campaigns in the first two years of college. After that, there is a risk that their value decreases. Thus, those who rather be playing in the pros instead of in the classroom leave early.

A problem that has college programs upset is NHL teams luring away players while in the midst of a season. An example is when the New York Islanders lured away Kyle Okposo from the University of Minnesota. Eighteen games into the season he announced that he would be leaving. Garth Snow made the comment, “Quite frankly, we weren't happy with the program. They have a responsibility to coach, to make Kyle a better player, and they were not doing that.” This might have been part of the persuasion, but you got to believe that money signs played a huge part in this defect.

Many coaches say that they want their players to be successful on the ice as well as in the classroom. Like Gopher head coach Don Lucia stated: "We have had numerous players sign and play in the NHL, but just as important many more move on to have successful careers after graduating from the University of Minnesota. We have always and will continue to work to ensure our players reach their potential on the ice and in the classroom." These players cannot play hockey their whole like and most of them will not last more than a few years. The student-athletes have to remember that they are students and it is their job to obtain the degree they are at college for.

The NHL should really consider working with the NCAA to make measures tougher for the player to leave. It is too easy for the player to just get up and go after the semester ends. If a player only wants experience for a year or two they should go play in a lower minor league system or for a junior league. The players should also have to be committed to finishing school before they are allowed to leave. Look at it this way: many of the players need to mature as people and as a player. So stay the whole four years and get the experience you need. What are they going to do when they are done and they are not bringing in a hockey salary?

Special Thanks for the info from:

NHLSCAP.com

NHL Draft Day Basics by Jamie Fitzpatrick, About.com

What a Game!

What a game five out of the Joe tonight. This was one of the best playoff games I have seen in awhile. Unfortunately my pick to win the Stanley Cup this year couldn't pull it off againt the Red wings. But man this was a game to remember. Phenomenal goaltending by Huet and Osgood. Not to mention the amazing toe save by Huet while on his stomach in the weaning seconds of the game. This was a hard fought defensive effort by both teams. Of course with Darren Helm scoring the game winning goal in overtime for the Red Wings. This rook came out of nowhere, I have never heard of him until this game. I gained a lot of respect for this guy, he worked very hard and kept banging away (one of the few good things you will hear me say about the Red Wings). This workhorse is going to have a solid career if he keeps up this hardwork. Anyway, we are going to get a rematch of last year's Stanley Cup finals (lets hope for a different outcome).

Some other things that I would like to mention:
- Just wanted to say congratulations to Pat Quinn on getting the Edmonton coaching postition. This was a guy I was in huge favor of coming to Minnesota as a GM or coach.
- Patrick Roy turned down the GM/coaching offer from the Avalanche. Possibly waiting until Colorado can be a winning team?
- Looks like Fenway is next year's site for the Winter Classic. Boston vs. Montreal would be wicked awesome.
- Longtime New Jersey Devil centerman Bobby Holik announced his retirement.
- Caps and the NHL are denying the steroids reports. Expect a rant about this later when more info becomes available.

In other sports:
- Twins win tonight against the Red Sox, with a big "comeback" from Denard Span. The rookie Swarzak goes up against Beckett in the series finale.
- Anyone see Zambrano throw out the ump in the Cub's 5-2 win today? Chief Z with a priceless Cubbie moment.
- Randy Johnson looking like he can pick up win number 299 tonight.
- Congrats to the Tommies on their D3 baseball title.
- What a comeback by Syracuse over Cornell in the NCAA Lax championship eh? Write this down: Johns Hopkins wins it all next year.

Well thats it for now. Look for a write up on the college hockey players tomorrow, maybe more insight on what is going on in the Wild's front office, and possibly something on the Caps' steroid hiccup.

Upcoming Topics

- Look for an article tomorrow about how college hockey players leaving early for the pros is becoming a problem.
- Possible steroids scandal in the Washington Capitals' camp
- Blackhawks-Detroit Game 5
- Possibly more on the Wild coaching situation

The Fletcher Era: A Step in the Right Direction?

It will be announced today that the Minnesota Wild have hired Pittsburgh Penguins’ assistant general manager Chuck Fletcher to be the new general manager for the franchise. He will be replacing Doug Risebrough who was relieved of his duties in April after coach Jacques Lemaire stepped down as head coach. After an in depth search by Wild owner Craig Leipold, Fletcher beat out other candidates: broadcaster Pierre McGuire, Anaheim assistant general manager David McNab, and acting general manager Tom Lynn. Fletcher will have the challenge of hiring a new coach, and trying to sort out the Marian Gaborik situation.

Fletcher, 41, will be much younger than his predecessor, but he does not lack in experience. Fletcher, who graduated from Harvard in 1990, grew up in the hockey world watching his Hall of Fame father, Cliff Fletcher. Fletcher has spent time as the director of hockey operations, assistant GM, and vice president of amateur scouting and player development for the Anaheim Ducks, assistant general manager for the Florida Panthers, and, most recently, assistant general manager for the Pittsburg Penguins organization. While in Pittsburgh Fletcher has scouted, been involved with contract negotiations, and directed operations for the Penguins’ AHL team. Fletcher will no doubt use his intelligence and hockey sense to scout up and coming players in the system, and he will play an intricate part in the draft.

One of the first tasks that he has to take care of is hiring a coach by July 1 for free agency. It will be tough to top the excellent hockey mind of Jacques Lemaire. The Wild have been playing a trap style hockey since its inception. This style focuses more on the defensive aspects of the game instead of overloading on scorers. Fletcher’s mindset will likely change this style and develop more into a more offensive rather than defensive type of system, like the one they use over in Pittsburgh. This means he will probably look for a coach who has close to the same philosophies as him, as well as someone Fletcher he close with. Some candidates include: Pat Quinn who also interviewed for the general manager position, Craig MacTavish, Kevin Constantine, Todd Richards, John Torchetti, and Newell Brown. Right now it looks as if Todd Richards is the favorite because of his relationship with Fletcher, and it sounds like that’s the guy Pittsburgh wanted to bring in after they fired Therrien.

Another thing he will have to take care of is the Marian Gaborik situation. Talks during the season between Risebrough and Gaborik’s agent Ron Salcer stalled out. It sounded as if the Wild were offering around $8 million a year but, I think they only offered at the most a three to four year contract due to his injury problems. While Gaborik was looking more in the range of $9 to $9.5 million a year over five to six years. It looks as if they will test the market, but who knows, maybe the change in face will help out the negotiations. Fletcher was a part of the huge 58 million dollar contract for former Russian bust Pavel Bure. Look for Fletcher to reel in at least one big fish in the free agency pool. Hopefully the Wild can bring home former Gopher Phil Kessel if he does not resign with the Boston Bruins.

Something that Fletcher will need to address is signing a key player or two during free agency who can help the team now, instead of the build from within program that it seems all Minnesota teams do. It is great to develop players and bring them up, but bringing those like Olvecky and Gillies in before they are ready can be detrimental to their development. Gillies, who the Wild chose to put on the roster because he would have had to play two years in junior hockey since he was not able to play in the AHL or ECHL yet. This effected him because he got less than a season in and did not help the cause very much. He could have used the two years in juniors to develop into a solid third line hockey player, instead of a player watching from the press box. It would be a step in the right direction to further them as a threat to get more than one scoring all stars on the team.

The fans would also like to see Fletcher make that blockbuster deal around the trade deadline. Too many years have gone by where the Wild needed help and they did not make a trade, or they acquired players who did not make enough of an impact. Ideally they should package some of those younger player or those whose contract is about to expire for someone who can help the cause and be a factor on the score sheet.

Something else that I would like to see is the reevaluation of our players. Those like Stephane Veilleux who was safe under Lemaire because he was his Punto of the team. Besides being a solid checker, Veilleux was nonexistent for many years on the score sheet. The Wild finally gave him a reality check when they placed him on waivers during the offseason last year to say, “Hey step up your play or you are out.” Another player is Kim Johnsson, a good defensive player, but I would like to see a little more offense out of him. He makes that good first pass that is very important for all defensemen. Maybe with the new system, he will step up his scoring more. So far, I feel that he has not lived up to his over 5 million dollars a year contract. One more thing: Give Derek Boogaard more ice time. Boogaard works the intimidation very well, but when you put him in front of the net it is the goalie’s worst nightmare. He will score more and our power play can be more effective with Boogaard screening the goaltender.

Fletcher will have some flaws to fix with the Wild, but I am sure he will do a good job. This guy has one of the best hockey minds for a younger person in the league. All of his valuable experience will pay off. If all goes well and the Wild make some key moves through free agency and trade, look for another Northwest division title, and look for them to go deeper than the first round in the playoffs. Also… look for coaching news coming within the next month before free agency starts.

Tarnished? Juice and Major League Baseball

I was recently watching the Twins game against the New York Yankees, when I saw something that made me question the game. In the bottom of the 11th inning, Alex Rodriguez belted a two run shot to end the game. As soon as my friends and I saw this we instantly said, “What a juicer.” To myself I thought, “How many has this guy actually hit on his own without the juice?” Don’t get me wrong A Rod was a good player in Seattle before he joined the Rangers and started taking the juice. So why did he choose to? In his words, it was to live up to the expectations and get that big contract.

Many of these up and coming players right out of high school see all the stars in the game today and say, “How can I be like him and get that big contract?” Many do what is right and work hard and make their way through the farm leagues. But some, like A Rod choose to take the lower road. There is an unprecedented amount of pressure on these young players to make it in the “Bigs”. This is not a small problem that started recently; this is a huge problem that has been going on since the 1980’s and has not been taken seriously until fairly recently.

Since the days of Jose Canseco, this has been a problem that, until recently, has been ignored completely due to the fear of tarnishing the game. Back before baseball started making a feeble attempt to toughen toughening the regulations of drug testing, players were known to take steroids in the club house. It was kind of an “I know nothing” kind of thing. No one wanted to rat out their teammates, and no one wanted to acknowledge that it was a problem. Finally a sorry excuse for a Commissioner Bud Selig addressed the problem by hiring Senator George J. Mitchell to make a report that took him 20 months to complete. In spite of the fact that it did not hold an incredible amount of surprises, this 409 page report helped expose the problem in baseball. By the way, if you have the time and attention span I suggest reading this report; it is worth the time.

What this report did was to help baseball start taking steps to refurbish the image of Major League Baseball to the world. Along with this report came stronger punishments. In 2005, Rafael Palmeiro was suspended just ten games for testing positive for a banned substance. After the report and the new guidelines, first time offenders are now given fifty games for their first offence. The biggest player to see this handed down to him is Dodger’s outfielder Manny Ramirez. An interesting comment from former Yankees pitcher David “Boomer Wells, who pitched a perfect game against the Twins hung-over. “I think that would be great. No 50-game suspension. Ban them right away,” Wells said. “That would stop it in a heartbeat, especially with the money they are giving out today. It would be incredible if they did that. You wouldn’t have to worry about steroids or HGH.” This is almost a good idea except for the fact that baseball would be ruined if they lost their star players because of steroid use.

In my opinion, the best thing for MLB to do is give out the suspensions, take classes on steroids, have players forfeit their pay checks for those games suspended, and have an asterisk placed next to their name when Hall of Fame voting comes around. With a new exhibit in Cooperstown called “Wall of Shame,” come see your juicers. Usually for the players who don’t have a huge ego unlike A Rod the embarrassment of being associated with steroids is enough for them. So the next time you see someone cranking the ball 500 feet out of the park think, “Hey is this guy a juicer?”

Interested in Learning More? Check out the following books:

- Juiced by Jose Canseco, he tells it how it is, believe him or not.
- The Mitchell Report by Sen. George J. Mitchell, it gives you an insight on what was going on and some possible solutions to fix it.
- Game of Shadows by Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams, gives you the inside look of Bonds, BALCO, and more.