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.
No comments:
Post a Comment