Pete’s Futbol Experiment Update: Group Stage Over

June 20, 2012 Leave a comment

So all of the preliminaries are out of the way for this year’s Euro 2012 and I’m still watching. Not enthusiastically, mind you, but I’m still on board and I don’t believe I’m bailing any time soon. After all, we are approaching the exciting part of the tournament, the knockout stage.

It turns out I didn’t watch as many matches as I thought I did. I missed more than I saw. Here’s what happened:

GROUP STAGE

WATCHED

Poland 1, Greece 1 – Draw

Russia 4, Czech Republic 1

Italy 1, Spain 1 – Draw

Ireland 1, Croatia 3

England 1, France 1 – Draw

Ukraine 2, Sweden 1

Germany 2, Netherlands 1

Italy 1, Croatia 1—Draw

Spain 4, Ireland 0

England 1, Ukraine 0

 

MISSED

Netherlands 0, Denmark 1

Germany 1, Portugal 0

Greece 1, Czech Republic 2

Poland 1, Russia 1 – Draw

Portugal 3, Denmark 2

Sweden 2, England 3

Ukraine 0, France 2

Czech Republic 1, Poland 0

Greece 1, Russia 0

Croatia 0, Spain 1

Portugal 2, Netherlands 1

Denmark 1, Germany 2

Italy 2, Ireland 0

Sweden 2, France 0

 

So I was able to watch 10 and missed 14. So I’m 10 for 24, so I’ve watched about 42 percent of the matches in the Group Stage. It’s not a majority, hell it’s not even half, but I think I have a decent perspective so far. Unfortunately, I wanted to see the most exciting games possible and for me, that means games that result in a team actually winning. Well, unfortunately for me, I witnessed every draw except for one. That’s right, out of the five draws, I witnessed four of them. I want winners!

 

As for the tournament pick ’em I’m in, here’s a screen shot of how poorly I’ve done with my selections, even after advice from the Montrose Super Fans.

A little too much red for my liking

 

Out of 16 people, I’m in a three-way tie for last place. This doesn’t come as a huge surprise for me, considering how little I know about soccer. But I at least figured the advice of the Super Fans would give me some sort of competitive edge. But there’s still plenty of futbol to be played, so somehow, someway, I’m still optimistic I can finish strong.

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Pete’s Futbol Experiment Update: 4/6 Games Watched

June 10, 2012 Leave a comment

I have now watched four games of this 2012 European Championships.

Poland 1, Greece 1 – Draw

Russia 4, Czech Republic 1

Italy 1, Spain 1 – Draw

Ireland 1, Croatia 3

*Missed Netherlands vs. Denmark, Germany vs. Portugal

My excitement level so far:  3

(Scale of 0-10, with zero being how excited I’d be to find a band aid stuck to the bottom of my foot and 10 being how excited I’d get to see the Pittsburgh Pirates win a World Series)

So far, I’m not overwhelmed in anyway. These games have been exciting at times, but for the most part I find myself disinterested. It’s the group stage, which means games can end in ties and no one is at risk of getting knocked out of the tournament.

I’m hoping that once we get by the group stage, the intensity will pick up, as well as the scoring. The two draws were probably the most entertaining games that I’ve watched so far, but they were still ties and at the end of the day, I can’t stand ties. I want winners.

A Few Notes

I’m guessing the three things that will continue to bug me throughout the tournament are flare-throwing fans, ties and flopping players.

Why do fans throw flares onto the pitch? It’s idiotic, makes the place smokey and it delays the game. Oh, and also it’s a FLARE. It could burn a player pretty badly. I’d compare it to the stupidity of fans in baseball or football running onto the field during the game, but it’s worse. It’s dangerous. You just don’t see that happen in American sports. At the most, morons might spill a beer on the players beneath them, but you don’t see any flaming debris being chucked onto the playing surface. Stop it. Soccer fans already have a bad enough reputation as it is.

Are soccer players really that easy to injure? Every time two players go up for a header, they both fall down and flail around like they were hit by sniper fire. Then, as the game continues, one or more players remain on the ground only to get up 30 seconds later, apparently fine. Are they really trying that hard to draw a call? It’s embarrassing to watch. You’re grown men, act like it.

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Pete’s Futbol Experiment: Day One Random Commentary

June 8, 2012 Leave a comment

DAY 1

 GAME 1- POLAND VS. GREECE

The first thing I noticed was that the commentators mentioned that the European Championships are more difficult to win than the World Cup. Wow. Had no idea, and have no idea why. They never really said.

Question 1- Why is this tournament more difficult to win than the World Cup?

Super Fan Rakesh- Bigger concentration of good teams in Euros, but still missing some outstanding teams. Group stages are more difficult.

It’s just 5 minutes in and there’s actually been a decent amount of action. Poland has had a few offensive chances.

Announcers are reiterating what I was told about this group from the Montrose Super Fans, Group A is “soft” and “weak.”  That brings me to my next question.

Question 2- How is each group decided? I know there aren’t seedings because it’s a round-robin format, but there has to be a way those four teams in each group are decided right?

Super Fan Rakesh- Random draws.

Fourteen minutes in we have our first “injury.” Ludovic Obraniak from Poland. Didn’t seem to be that big of a collision. Player is back up and back to normal after lying on the ground for 20 seconds. That annoys me. Was he injured? No. He was hurt. Shake it off and don’t waste our time watching you pretend you have some sort of injury.

16:47 And in just over a quarter in real football (15:00) Poland scores off a header. Pretty cool centering play and headed in by Robert Lewandowski. Now that’s a polish name! #Pride It was only a matter of time (I’m assuming) Poland has been putting pressure on Greece for the majority of the game.

Aaaaaand another injury. They’ve taken his shoe and sock off and spraying him with the magic spray. You know what my next question will be.

Question 3- What is that spray? What does it do? Is it like Icy Hot?

Super Fan Rakesh- Pain relieving spray, like Icy Hot.

Greece is playing with 10 players while the injured fella is being attended to. If the remedy for the player’s injury is a bit of spray then it doesn’t seem worth putting his team down a man for any amount of time. Walk it off?

After a collision between a Polish player and a Greek player, both go down and throw arms up into the air. Looked like a pair of dives to me, but what do I know?

Stadium is packed full of Polish fans. They whistle every time the Greeks get possession. It’s nearly as annoying as Vuvuzelas.  I’m guessing it’s supposed to get the Greeks off their game. But really, I think it’s just annoying.

 Question 4- How long is the grass on these fields? It doesn’t seem to be as short as golf greens, but maybe the fringe?

The net seems so damn big. How do these guys miss from in close? I’m guessing it’s harder than it looks, certainly under pressure.

It’s nearly half way through the match and Greece hasn’t had any legit scoring chances. They look incredibly inept.

First red card at 43 minutes. ENTIRE Greek team is pleading with ref to change the call. Did look like a crap call, I don’t know what he did to deserve the ejection.

Greece is mobbing the referee and getting a yellow card. They are arguing an alleged hand ball. Not getting the call. Maybe they should play better and score rather than arguing everything. That’s a sign of a really struggling team. Frustrated by its own limitations.

So we are now at the half and the score is 1-0. Poland was entertaining for a few minutes, Greece is a bunch of whiners and so far, this game is not turning me into a soccer fan.

So the ref that gave the red card apparently does that a lot in “La Leaga” whatever that is. Gotta be careful around ticky-tacky refs.

So if you lose the opening game, apparently it’s basically impossible to qualify for next round. Is that BS? I guess Greece can’t afford to lose one game in the group stage.

But scoring one goal seems like an insurmountable task for Greece at this point, so they should probably give up.

And at 50 minutes, Greece scores, making my previous comment…not…good.

Now we have a ball game! Can this end in a tie? That would irritate me.

 American Soccer Fan Charlie Ash’s Commentary- Yes. Tie’s in the group stage. The top two from each group advance to the knockout rounds. Once knock out rounds start then there are no ties.

In the group stage:

3pts for a win

1pt for a draw

0pts for a loss

WOW goalie gets a red card and there’s a penalty kick! This game is starting to interest me. Poland has been in control basically the whole game and now, Greece can take the lead. This is karma from that earlier phantom red card to Greece.

SAVE! WOW I don’t know what’s crazy in soccer, but this is now crazy.

That offsides call prevented a goal. I’m guessing there’s no replay in soccer? The call was actually correct, but the situation reminds me of a certain Briere goal in the Pens/Flyers series that should have been called offsides.

Since the game was tied, there hasn’t been much action. I guess both teams are playing for the tie? That’s no fun, whatsoever.

Game ends in a 1-1 tie. It was exciting at times, but ultimately I can’t stand ties. In competition, there should be a winner and a loser. Period.

 

GAME 2 CZECH REPUBLIC VS. RUSSIA

First 10 minutes are done and I haven’t seen anything to note so far. My only question is why is the Czech goalie wearing wrestling head gear?

GOAL RUSSIA AT 14:29. A centering ball gets headed into the post and the rebound is pounded in. 1-0 blowout so far. Yes that was sarcasm.

Aaaaaand someone throws a flare onto the field. Yes, a flare. A. How does someone get that into the stadium? B. Why the hell would you throw a flare onto the field? Are all soccer fans mindless idiots?

RUSSIA SCORES AGAIN IN THE 23RD MINUTE. Great through ball/centering pass and a quick kick past the goalie. 2-0 and the rout is on.

Czechs better do something. They are just getting out played…I think.

After seeing these giant stadiums filled to the brim, it’s hard not to give “futbol” some credit. This kind of popularity is unrivaled, even in American college football. People just love this stuff.

And the Czechs are back in the game, netting a GOAL in the 51st minute. A great move by the Czech player to get around the goalie and tuck it home. I’m pleased that both teams have scored in both games I’ve watched so far. Nothing turns me off about soccer worse than goose eggs on the board.

Small collision just occurred. Both players fell, then immediately got up and said nothing. THAT’S what I want to see. Play the sport, don’t run your mouth, don’t complain for penalties and don’t act as if you were taken down by sniper fire.

Another thing I have to give soccer, there are some smoking hot females at these matches and the camera operators aren’t afraid to show them. Kinda like watching an NBA game.

Noticed that I haven’t written nearly as much during this game as the first. Am I paying less attention? Maybe. But I also think that I’m starting to get used to the many things that initially caused me to pause.

Also, this game hasn’t been quite as interesting, I think?

RUSSIA EXTENDS THE LEAD TO TWO. Some player whose name I can’t pronounce or spell has his second of the game. He DRILLED it right past the goal keeper and with 10 minutes left, it doesn’t look like the Czechs can do much now.

RUSSIA PUTS THE NAIL IN THE COFFIN. Only minutes after the previous goal, the Russians strike again. Great ball handling and a superb individual effort to fire the ball past the goalie. Keeper got a hand on the ball, but it wasn’t enough to keep it out of the net. Out of the four teams I’ve watched today, the Russians seem to be the most dominant.

The Czechs play Greece in their next game. I anticipate that to be…ugly? Not very fun to watch? I’d take Greece over them right now, just based on the surge they were able to generate late in their game against Poland.

Game over. Russia takes it 4-1. Once they went up big, I lost a lot of interest, just like the 4-0 Kings win in the Stanley Cup final. Blowouts are boring once they happen and this one didn’t happen until late. Generally, was a pretty entertaining game. The more goals, the better as far as I’m concerned. But there weren’t any red cards in this game and the penalty shot in the Greece/Poland game added extra drama. Poland/Greece wins the day.

 

My Overall Take After Day One

Unfortunately, this just doesn’t feel as dramatic as the World Cup, and that was to be expected. But I feel that I was able to sit here and watch soccer without complaining for the most part. I still hate seeing players pretend they’re hurt and ties infuriate me. There was some drama in the first game with a penalty save and some strange calls, so I was pretty entertained. The Russia/Czech game wasn’t as good because it was one-sided, but still interesting. I like goals. The more the better. I don’t know how I’ll feel as I continue to watch group play, but I’m guessing that once the teams emerge from the groups, the soccer will be far more entertaining.

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Pete’s Futbol Experiement: Watching the 2012 European Soccer Championships

June 8, 2012 Leave a comment

I’ve never been a soccer fan. I played youth ball when I was a little kid, but beyond that I never gained much interest in the sport. In fact, I’ve come to criticize a lot about it – from the cheesy flopping to the annoying vuvuzelas to the injuries that seem to happen every two minutes.

But I can’t argue against the popularity of soccer abroad. There still isn’t much of a market for it here in the States, but it seems like the rest of the world is perpetually compelled by the sport. So, in the spirit of keeping an open mind and having nothing else to do during the day, I’ve decided to watch as many Euro matches as I can and give my own personal commentary.

I’m trying to understand the draw to this sport. I really do want to give it a chance, so that means I’ll have to watch it enough to know what’s going on in front of me. It may not prove to be all that much fun – I doubt I’ll come out of this experience as a soccer fan – but if nothing else, I’m broadening my horizons and learning another sport. In the quest to be a true sports writer someday, it certainly couldn’t hurt to know a bit about the world’s most popular game.

To help me get a little more into these matches, I’ve entered a pool with some folks that I’ve played fantasy football with. Some of them are die hard soccer fans and they follow the Premier League closely during the season. It might seem like I’m in over my head when it comes to picking winners against these guys, but I have a little trick up my sleeve.

It just so happens that I live with a pair of huge soccer fans — Conor and Rakesh. Since we live on Montrose Avenue, I’m going to refer to them as the Montrose Super Fans. Conor is from Dublin, Ireland and has lived with us for about a year now. He’s a staunch supporter of the Liverpool Premier team. Rakesh is from Chennai, India and he supports Arsenal.

Both of these guys know what they’re talking about when it comes to soccer. They get up early on the weekends and watch matches, commonly waking me up. But instead of annoying me during the Euros, they’re helping me to first place in the pool and also helping me understand the sport and culture I know so little about. Last night, we had a group discussion about who will escape their groups and who will eventually win the Euro Cup.

The following are the basics that I took away from the discussion. I asked only for a brief breakdown of the two teams my roommates believed would emerge from each group. I want winners and I don’t want to get my head fogged up with the details of the supposedly weaker teams. Based on their explanations, I’m trying to compare the teams and groups to American sports teams that I am familiar with. I may be correct in these comparisons, or I may be way off. It’s not science, just opinion based on a small amount of information. This is my breakdown of the Euro 2012 field.

 GROUP A

CZECH REPUBLIC

GREECE

POLAND

RUSSIA

When discussing this group, the words “weak” and “wild card group” came up quite a bit. So I easily deemed this the weakest group of the tournament. It contains Poland, one of the host nations. As one would guess, host nations usually do well in tournaments like this. The local support helps their team on the pitch. But apparently, Poland is a pretty weak host nation. The Super Fans did pick the Polish to advance out of the group, but only because the group itself is extremely weak and it’s basically a crap shoot.

TOP TWO TEAMS TO ADVANCE

1. Russia– They are the favorites to advance from the group. The Super Fans tell me that they consistently deliver in major tournaments. There are no outright stars on this team, but the team itself is organized and they work well as a cohesive unit. There are no huge stars, but they’re good enough to get out of a bad group. I’m comparing this team to the Phoenix Coyotes. No huge stars, but good cohesive play that helped them advance in the 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs.

2. Poland– Like I mentioned before, the Super Fans picked Poland to advance because they are a host nation and host nations usually over perform. With the help of their home crowd, Poland is hoping to intimidate their opponents enough to earn the right to advance past the group stage. I don’t know how much home field advantage plays into soccer, but I’m going to compare this team to the Seattle Seahawks. Not a great team overall, but Quest Field certainly is a loud and difficult stadium to play in.

 GROUP B

DENMARK

GERMANY

NETHERLANDS

PORTUGAL

This group generated the most lively conversation out of any of them. This was described to me as the “Dream Group.” Apparently, every team in this group is pretty good. Ultimately, Denmark gets screwed because they have a good club, but everyone else is better. It’s difficult to look past Germany and Holland.

 TOP TWO TEAMS TO ADVANCE

1. Germany– They are a hot team right now. They’re a well-oiled machine and they have star power. The Germans are considered the second-best team in this tournament by the Super Fans. They have young stars that are maturing from the 2010 World Cup. Their players play for outstanding Premier teams. They should be fun to watch. I’m comparing them to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

2. Holland– This is another hot team. They made the last World Cup final but lost to Spain. They have a pair of super stars and they play a sound, technical game. This team plays by the book and is damn good at it. I’m comparing them to the Detroit Redwings.

GROUP C

CROATIA

IRELAND

ITALY

SPAIN

This group is arguable the second strongest in the tournament. They should challenge the best group and their group winner should lay claim to runner-up for the tournament. This group contains the previous World Cup winners, Spain. And according to the Super Fans, the Spaniards are the favorites to advance as the best team from the group. Aside from Spain, the second team to advance from this group is tough to call, it’ll be a struggle.

 TOP TWO TEAMS TO ADVANCE

1. Spain– The Super Fans say that Spain “plays soccer the way it is supposed to be played.” They teach lessons on the field. They have the best goalie and the best centermen in the group and maybe in the entire tournament. This team has both style and substance and they are the favorites for the tournament. Everyone else will have to go through Spain to win the cup because they have the stars of the Spanish Premier Division backing them up. I’m going to compare the Spanish team to the Miami Heat.

2. Ireland– Super Fan Conor may be hurting me with this pick by being a homer, but I figured I’d give it to him. The Irish have an average team,  but they play with heart and passion. They are tough to break down. They play a defensive-style game and they are good at winning tight matches. They reach deep down for their efforts and have a terrific coach behind the bench. I’m going to compare them to the San Antonio Spurs, good coach, they get the job done but are boring to watch.

GROUP D

ENGLAND

FRANCE

SWEDEN

UKRAINE

This is the second weakest group in the tournament. There are a lot of questions regarding these teams, so it’ll be tough to tell who emerges. One note that is worth mentioning: The Super Fans disagreed on the second team to advance in this group. Rakesh picked England and Conor picked Sweden. I picked Sweden ultimately because Conor’s argument was more convincing. According to Conor, England is over-hyped and has underachieved.

TOP TWO TEAMS TO ADVANCE

1. France– This team gets results.  They are reemerging after a miserable in World Cup. That team didn’t gel because of their coach. But things are a little different now. This talent will gel and come together better. They have a good mix of younger and veteran players. The French may even have an outside shot at the finals. I’m comparing this team to the Los Angeles Kings (but don’t expect France to dominate like the Kings have.)

2. Sweden– This is the controversial pick in the apartment, but I feel good taking Sweden. They might not be a better team than England, but there is less pressure on them to perform compared to the English. According to Conor, “England promises more than they should.” I’m comparing this team to the Nashville Predators — a good, solid team that people like, but not expected to escape a tough division.

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Will Centre County Locals Doom Sandusky?

June 7, 2012 Leave a comment

Today, the final jurors were picked for the Jerry Sandusky sexual misconduct trial. The 12 jurors and four alternates were decided today and yesterday for the trial that’s set to begin on Monday, June 11.

More than 600 jury duty summonses were sent out to residents in Centre County, where Penn State University is located. The judge said before jury selection that people with Penn State connections would not automatically disqualify potential jurors, just as they could pledge to be impartial. So it came as no surprise that many of the jurors have Penn State ties.

According to reports from various media outlets, at least four of the first nine jurors selected had some kind of direct Penn State connection and all four of the jurors selected today said they had ties to the school. One is a full professor at Penn State. Another is an administrative assistant and a dance teacher at the continuing education program at the school.

The jury also includes a Penn State senior, a man with bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the school and a woman who has been a football season ticket holder since the 1970s. One of the alternate jurors selected is a woman in her 30s who graduated from Penn State in 2007 with a degree in human development. There are also a handful of people who claim to have no ties to Penn State or Sandusky.

For a detailed breakdown of all the jurors, here’s a great place.

My initial gut reaction told me that I don’t trust Centre County residents to have the ability to be completely impartial in this case. I believed that anyone who lives or works in Centre County probably has a strong, negative opinion regarding Jerry Sandusky.  I thought a jury made up of locals would help the prosecution in the end. It even seemed reasonable to think that any one of these jurors could have lied about being impartial for the chance to lock up Sandusky for life.

After all, Penn State is the life-blood and driving force behind the population in Centre County. Anything that negatively affects Penn State negatively affects Centre County. Penn State has a bigger alumni association than any other school and many of them reside in that region. And even if you live there and don’t have a direct connection with the university, odds are good you are a fan of the football program and its late coach Joe Paterno.

Paterno, one of the most prominent and respected people in the history of Penn State, was fired because of the Sandusky allegations. He died of cancer shortly after and some believe it was because he lost the will to fight his disease with football no longer in his life. If you’re old enough to be a juror for this trial, you’re old enough to know how much Joe Paterno meant to the university and the surrounding area. Even if you agreed with Paterno’s firing, it’s difficult to ignore that Sandusky was the root of it.

BUT…

Just because Centre County has such a huge contingent of Penn State and Joe Paterno fans doesn’t mean people there can’t be impartial. The defense wanted to keep the jury limited to locals for a reason. It wanted Centre County residents because they would have a better understanding of the case and because Centre County has a greater population of well-educated individuals than other rural, central Pennsylvania regions. The defense decided it would benefit Sandusky more to have more educated people with Penn State pride than less educated ones without it.

That strategy may pay off for Sandusky.

Even if there are people on the jury who lied about their impartiality, could it be possible that all of them did? Maybe, but it’s unlikely.

The fact is, it takes only one person to hang a jury. If Sandusky’s defense can convince just one person on that panel that he’s innocent, he might have a chance. But can Sandusky’s defense convince every juror he’s innocent on all 52 counts?

I highly doubt it, even if there is a lack of physical evidence.

The odds are stacked against Sandusky that he’ll get off scot-free. But if by some unlikely turn of events he comes out of this trial as a free man, move over Lou Gehrig. Sandusky will be latest ‘luckiest man of the face of the earth.’

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Kings Show Why Penguins Should Move Staal to Wing

June 5, 2012 Leave a comment

The Los Angeles Kings are a game away from winning the Stanley Cup. They’ve been winning in dominating fashion, most notably because of their intense forecheck along the boards, where they plaster opponents and recover the puck.

One main reason that forecheck works so well?

Left Wing

Dustin Penner 6-4, 249 lbs.  —> 3G 8A

Dwight King 6-3, 234 lbs. ——> 5G 1 A

Right Wing

Dustin Brown 6-0, 209 lbs. —> 7G 10A

These guys have shown what big, physical wingers can do and they’ve done it in the postseason.

Remind you of any CENTERS on the Penguins roster?

Jordan Staal 6-4, 220 lbs.

It’s just a thought experiment, but think about the work that Staal does on the forecheck. He’s a big, physical player anyway, so why not move him to the wing alongside Sidney Crosby? He’ll score even more, get more ice time and he’ll be pleased that he’s no longer a third-line guy. That would give him more incentive to stay with the Penguins, making him easier to sign. And think about how loaded the top-two lines would look:

Neal-Malkin-Kunitz

Staal-Crosby-Dupuis

That’d be fun to watch.

Getting bigger on the wing is something the Penguins should be looking to do anyway.

Look at the Penguins current wingers.

LEFT WINGS
NO. NAME AGE HT WT SHOT BIRTH PLACE BIRTHDATE
24 Matt Cooke 33 5-11 205 L Belleville, Ontario 9/7/78
14 Chris Kunitz 32 6-0 193 L Regina, Saskatchewan 9/26/79
26 Steve Sullivan 37 5-8 161 R Timmins, Ontario 7/6/74
25 Eric Tangradi 23 6-4 221 L Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 2/10/89
RIGHT WINGS
NO. NAME AGE HT WT SHOT BIRTH PLACE BIRTHDATE
27 Craig Adams 35 6-0 197 R Seria, Brunei 4/26/77
45 Arron Asham 34 5-11 205 R Portage La Prairie, Manitoba 4/13/78
9 Pascal Dupuis 33 6-1 205 L Laval, Quebec 4/7/79
18 James Neal 24 6-2 208 L Oshawa, Ontario 9/3/87
12 Richard Park 36 5-11 190 R Seoul, South Korea 5/27/76

There isn’t exactly a wealth of size there.

And I know, Dan Bylsma‘s system is based more on speed and mobility. But it couldn’t hurt to have a few bigger guys that can turn the puck over and offer a physical presence on the ice. We already know that Staal skates pretty well for a big man. He fits the mold of the system and he also fits the mold of what the Kings are doing right now.

I’m certainly not the first one to suggest this. Pittsburgh Tribune-Review columnist Dejan Kovecevic suggested this move earlier this year.

I’m just saying now that there’s tangible evidence of how the move could work out.

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Offseason 2012: First Crosby Rumors of the Year

June 5, 2012 2 Comments

Yesterday, Pittsburgh sports radio pundit Mark Madden told listeners on 105.9 the X that he heard Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby reportedly wants a deal worth $125m over 14 seasons, equating to $8.92 million per year. The Penguins and Crosby’s agent can officially begin negotiations on July 1, leaving one year remaining on Crosby’s current contract.

Considering that he makes $8.7 million now, the dollar amount is a bargain for the Penguins — especially if the salary cap goes up after the next collective bargaining agreement.

The obvious point to consider is the contract length. Fourteen seasons is a long time — an entire career for most hockey players. But more importantly, it’s a long time to sign a player with concussion problems.

The Penguins nor their fans will forget the agonizing days during Crosby’s recovery. We didn’t know if he would play again in the 2010-2011 season or EVER AGAIN. And then after his second setback in this year’s regular season, doubts were at an all-time high regarding Crosby’s ability to take hits without re-aggravating concussion symptoms.

I remember asking myself if this was something Penguins fans would have to go through every season until an early Crosby retirement. How long could the captain possibly last in the NHL if he couldn’t take an occasional hit up high? Whether the NHL cracked down on head-shots or not, the accidental hit would still undoubtedly occur.

But fortunately Sid recovered from his second head-shot and was able to play in the final 28 games of the season including six playoff games. In that span, he still collected 37 points with eight goals in the regular season and eight points and three goals in the playoffs.

Those were numbers posted by a guy coming off of a brain injury with far less time on the ice practicing his craft before hand. Now that he’s completely healthy again by all accounts (including his own), he has the opportunity to conduct a full offseason without distraction.

The last time he was able to do that was the summer before 2010-11. And if you remember that season, you remember why he’s the best player in the NHL. In 41 games, he had 32 goals, 34 assists and was on pace for 64 goals, 68 assists and 132 points. And during that span, he had a 25-game point streak in which he notched 27 goals (including three hat tricks), 24 assists, and 51 points.

To me, there’s no debate about whether or not to give him this contract. It’s a great big, bold, double-stamped YES.

Sure, there’s risk involved. But there’s always risk involved in a collision sport like hockey. Any player’s career could end on opening day this fall — especially if the NHL doesn’t start to crack down more on hits to the head. But when you’re dealing with the best player in the world, you give him what he wants.

If Crosby stays healthy, the Penguins will sell out for at least 14 more seasons and probably have a chance at the Stanley Cup for all of them. As Madden said on his show, that contract “gives the Penguins a license to print money.”

Penguins GM Ray Shero could also go a different route by offering Crosby more money, but fewer years on the contract, so his past concussion problems wouldn’t be as big of a liability.

I’m guessing Crosby would be a lot less receptive to that idea. If the whole issue was about money, Crosby would ask for a lot more money, not just $228,571 more per year. Sid is financially set for life, he doesn’t need more money.

It’s the length of the contract that’s the primary issue for Sid.

And let’s say that Shero did offer him fewer years and more money and Crosby doesn’t accept. Do we really want there to be negotiation issues and possible bad blood? What if he holds out and there’s a ton of drama and uncertainty. I wouldn’t expect that to happen, but you never know when you’re dealing with a player’s livelihood, especially one with as much popularity in Pittsburgh as Sidney Crosby. Contract negotiations can be a real pain and create real distractions. Crosby doesn’t want that. Shero doesn’t want that. The fans don’t want that.

Signing Sid for forever for whatever amount is a good deal for Sid, the Penguins, the city of Pittsburgh and the NHL.

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A quick thought on Tiger Woods: major or bust

June 4, 2012 Leave a comment

I’ll make this quick…

Tiger Woods captured his second victory of the year yesterday at the Memorial. He looked like the vintage Tiger, coming from four shots back to climb to the top of the leader board by day’s end.

Oh, and he did this en-route to taking the lead.

Boy, it sure is nice to see him making shots like that again.

But Tiger is not “back.”

Again.

As impressive as the victory was, this tournament was not a major. That’s how the true greats are measured and that’s how Tiger measures his own success.

We saw a similar scenario unfold earlier this year when he won the Arnold Palmer Invitational, followed by his worst performance ever at the Masters as a pro when he tied for 40th.

Now, we are only 10 days away from the U.S. Open, Tiger’s next chance to win his 15th major.

If he wins it, then I’ll be willing to say he’s truly “back.”

If not, we’ll have to wait until the Open Championship in July to have the same conversation.

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Penguins Add Depth, Experience Between the Pipes

June 4, 2012 Leave a comment

Although most of the hockey talk in Pittsburgh right now is regarding the uncertainty of Jordan Staal’s future with the Penguins, the organization made an interesting roster move in the goalie department that I think should garner plenty of attention: the signing of veteran goaltender Tomas Vokoun.

The Washington Capitals traded Vokoun, an impending unrestricted free agent, to the Pittsburgh Penguins for a seventh-round pick in the 2012 NHL entry draft. The deal is for two years and worth $4 million.

I was pleased to hear that the Pens made a move for a backup goalie, but the price of the contract seems a bit higher than one would expect. Not only will Vokoun make $1.4 million more than previous backup Brent Johnson, he will also make more than every other backup goalie in the NHL in the 2012-13 season.*

*There are currently 14 backup goalies who are either restricted or unrestricted free agents this offseason, so Vokoun’s contract may not end up the biggest by the time next season rolls around.

Minus the 14 backups without a contract right now, the average salary for backups in 2012-13 will be $1,910,937. And that number is skewed by the $3.7 million due to Nikolai Khabibulin of the Edmonton Oilers this upcoming season.*  If you remove Khabibulin’s salary from the mix, the league average will be $1,788,333 — and that makes Vokoun’s contract $211,667 more than the league average.

*Khabibulin was technically the starter at the beginning of last season until his numbers dropped off in midseason. So if Devon Dubnyk signs a new contract, he will be the starter this year leaving Khabibulin to be an expensive backup (if he doesn’t retire).

Is Vokoun really worth that much money to ride the pine for the majority of the season? After all, the Penguins are ranked dead-last in the NHL in cap room coming into 2012-12, and stars Sidney Crosby and Staal are due contract extensions after next season.

In Vokoun’s 14-year NHL career, he has a .917 save percentage, a 2.55 goals-against average and an overall record of 287-284-78. In his best season, he went 36-18-7 with the Nashville Predators. He was an All-Star in 2004 and 2008 and he is currently ranked 6th in career wins among active goalies with 287.

Even if the numbers aren’t dazzling, I’d say he’s worth the higher-than-average price tag. He has plenty of experience and has always been pretty solid between the pipes. That’s what you need for a guy coming off the bench 20-25 times a season. You only need to look as far as the Eastern Conference winning New Jersey Devils and their veteran backup Johan Hedberg to see how much a crafty veteran can help a team. Vokoun may not prove to be as valuable of a backup as Hedberg has been, but I’d be willing to bet that Vokoun is more than capable of having a better year than Brent Johnson did this year

Johnson went 6-7-2 with a .904 save percentage and averaged 2.63 goals against. At times, he was very good, but his collective work was pretty difficult to watch. He seemed lost and allowed soft goals with regularity. And toward the end of last season, it seemed as if the Penguins had lost all confidence him, allowing rookie Brad Thiessen to make the backup starts for a while. Management said that Johnson was suffering from flu symptoms for a while and also claimed he had an injury — two reasons that sidelined him and necessitated the call up of Thiessen. But I’m willing to bet Johnson’s unimpressive starts played into the reasoning for the call up just as much as his illness and injury.

Johnson’s struggles seemed to affect starter Marc-Andre Fleury down the stretch. Fleury started 64 games and played in 67 this season and he never claimed that he was worn down from playing in that many. But No. 29 certainly wasn’t his normal phenomenal self from the middle of March on this year.

It’s my guess that Marc-Andre was affected by multiple factors. He had to be worn out from playing so much, but I think he may have also felt more pressure to go out there and perform more often because of Johnson’s struggles. He may have been pressing to get wins because he knew that Johnson just wasn’t getting the job done in his absence.

Penguins GM Ray Shero said the move to was to help Marc-Andre Fleury play in fewer games to keep him fresh. Michelle Crechiolo and Sam Kasan, writers for the Pittsburgh Penguins, reported what Shero said on the Penguins website earlier today:

“This is to help Marc-Andre. It’s to help his game,” Shero said. “We still believe in Marc-Andre Fleury. He’s one of the better goalies in the league. But the position is demanding, both physically and mentally. If you can get a quality guy like this that has a track record like Tomas has, mentally it will give Marc a break, but it also challenges him. It challenges Tomas as well. This is the best goaltending tandem we’ve had in a long time.”

In 2009 when Marc-Andre won the Stanley Cup, he started 61 (and played in 62) games in the regular season, notching a record of 35-18-7. He was backed up by the trio of Dany Sabourin, Mathieu Garon and John Curry. The three finished the season with a collective record of 10-10-2. As you can see, there wasn’t much difference in the number of games Fleury played in this season compared to ’09. But Fleury was three years younger and he had a better team playing in front of him. He didn’t have as much pressure on his shoulders to be lights out every night because he didn’t have to be. The defensive core and the team defense shouldered the load more.

Fleury will probably never admit that he was worn out, even if Shero and the rest of the Penguins believe he was. But one thing is apparent, teams that have a great No. 1 and a solid No. 2 have had some outstanding seasons lately.

Last year, it was the Boston Bruins. Tim Thomas was their most important contributor, capturing a Conn Smythe en-route to a Stanley Cup victory. But he also had one of the best backups in the league in Tuukka Rask. Thomas notched 35 victories in each of the last two years, with Rask winning 11 in each of those years, as well.

The Vancouver Canucks further illustrate the point. Roberto Luongo has been outstanding the last two years, leading his team to a Stanley Cup Final in 2010-2011 and a President’s Trophy this season. In those seasons, he registered 38 and 31 wins, respectively. And in both of those seasons, he was backed up by Cory Schneider, who claimed 16 and 20 wins. Because both were impact guys, they took the pressure off of each other to perform and kept each other fresh for the long haul.

Will the duo of Fleury and Vokoun be the next great pair in the NHL?

I’m guessing probably not. But that doesn’t mean the two can’t support each other enough to win a Stanley Cup. As I mentioned earlier, Fleury didn’t have the greatest of backups in his Cup victory season, but he still won it.

Adding Vokoun is a step in the right direction, but the team playing in front of the two will ultimately determine how hard the goalies will need to work between the pipes. If the Penguins defensive coverage is as bad as it was in the playoffs this season, then it won’t matter who the two goalies are, they won’t be good enough to lift the Cup next June.

But if the defense can play even slightly better, while Fleury is back to his normal, stellar self with Vokoun being a solid, better-than-.500 goaltender while playing 20-25 games, the Pittsburgh Penguins can return to the glory of ’09.

If all of this will happen remains to be seen, but I’m excited to find out.

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Thank You Nicklas Lidstrom

May 30, 2012 2 Comments

As a 24 year old, I often think that I haven’t been around to see many of the players that dominated their sports because I feel that the true legends played and retired before I was even born.

Greats like Babe Ruth, Walter Payton, Wilt Chamberlain and Bobby Orr come to mind.

Even players who did play during my life often get put into this category since I was too young to really remember them. These are guys like Larry Bird, Joe Montana and Mike Schmidt.

And I’ll admit, there are also players like Wayne Gretzky who played well into my life that I don’t really remember because I took them for granted at the time and didn’t realize their importance to the world of sports. I really regret these instances because a player like Gretzky will probably never come along in my life time.

But I realize I can use these regrets to remind me to appreciate the greats of sports that are still playing.

That brings me to Nicklas Lidstrom.

The Detroit Red Wings announced today that there will be a scheduled a press conference tomorrow at 11 a.m., which will be attended by Lidstrom and general manager Ken Holland. It’s reasonable to assume that Lidstrom may announce his retirement from hockey.

Without a doubt Lidstrom is and will be one of the best players to ever lace up skates. The 42-year-old captain has compiled quite a list of achievements and statistics in his 20-year career. He has won four Stanley Cups, seven Norris Trophies, one Conn Smythe Trophy and was an All-Star 11 times.

The Swedish defenseman was also the first European-born NHL captain to win a Stanley Cup, which earned him a membership in the Triple Gold Club – a group of 25 players who have won an Olympic Games gold medal, a World Championship gold medal and the Stanley Cup.

Lidstrom was one of the smartest defenseman in the history of the NHL. His ability to read plays in front of him and always be in ideal position made him impossible to deal with for opposing teams. He could score, distribute the puck, kill penalties and work the power play.

He wouldn’t overwhelm you with his physical game, but he didn’t need to. He could make you turn the puck over by being in perfect position.

And when Lidstrom was on the ice, chances were a lot better that the Wings would score a goal instead of their opposition. He ranks 8th all-time in career plus/minus as a plus-450. He leads all active players in this category, as well as games played.

I could go on and on.

Now I’ll admit that I still probably didn’t watch Lidstrom play as much as I should have. I grew up a Penguins fan and my broad interest in all NHL teams and players didn’t develop until around the 2000s. For the majority of my life, I was busy watching Lemieux, Jagr and then Crosby and Malkin.

But there is one memory of Lidstrom that I will never forget. He was part of the greatest sports memory in my life to date. It was June 12, 2009. Game 7 of the 2009 Stanley Cup Finals — Penguins versus Redwings.

Neither the Pens nor the Wings had lost a game at home in the series. Pittsburgh had the momentum going into Game 7, coming off of a Game 6 home victory, but the Red Wings lost only one game at home during the entire playoffs — and it came in triple overtime.

Pittsburgh held a 2-1 lead in the final minutes of the third, but Detroit surged and put immense pressure on the Pens. With only seconds left, Detroit forward Henrik Zetterberg blasted a shot from the right circle on Pittsburgh netminder Marc-Andre Fleury. The puck deflected off of Fleury’s pads, sending it to the far left side of the ice. Lidstrom was there to receive the rebound (in perfect position as always) with the entire left side of the net gaping in front of him. He blasted a shot with two seconds remaining, only to have Fleury dive across to stop it and end the series.

Never have I transitioned from such a feeling of impending doom to pure elation so quickly. I was sure Lidstrom would bury the shot because, well, he was Nick Lidstrom. When my team was able to stop him to secure a Stanley Cup victory, it only further solidified the fact that the Penguins were the best in hockey. I don’t know if I’ll ever have a moment like that again.

So thank you Nicklas Lidstrom for coming up short just that one time. I’ll never forget your legendary status and how it made me feel that day.

If you retire tomorrow, it will be a retirement well deserved.

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