It's 2010, not 1910...

I'm usually the guy that wants more human element into officiating of sports, but after this weekend, I can't make that argument for soccer!

Let's face it...the Simpsons had it right when it called soccer "low-scoring with lots of ties"...it's already hard enough to score goals...

One goal easily swings the tide in favour of the scoring team, therefore, it's so important for the officials to get all goal calls right...

How can FIFA justify spending millions of dollars for amazing and clear HD, and yet not allow referees to use the footage from said cameras?

Wait, how is there no goal judge if the use of technology isn't going to be allowed for usage? Pay two extra guys to sit on both goal lines!

Not only is the broadcast of their games using amazing technology...the FIFA website is modern with ads promoting their EA Sports video game

Simply, why is everything surrounding FIFA and the World Cup so modern and caught up with '10 technology except for the actual game itself?

I wonder what Sepp Blatter's use of technology outside the office is like....I'm assuming he's reliant on 2010 technology like everyone else

You experts know nothing!

After what happened at the NHL draft last night, I swear, that's the last time I ever deal with anything having 2 do with the word "mock"...

No longer will ask mock questions, nor will I even look to buy mock chicken (not a big loss...) and I will never look at a mock draft again!

The obvious picks are made at 1-2 as a lot of people expected...Taylor Hall goes to Edmonton and Tyler Seguin goes to Boston...all are happy

Did Cam Fowler and Brandon Gormley develop some sort of disease that Anaheim and Phoenix respectively weren't aware of? So much for Top 5...

Anaheim must have been ecstatic with Fowler at 12....how many times did they check to make sure he wasn't already taken and it was missed...

Same deal for Phoenix and Brandon Gormley at 13....a Top 5 guy all season long drops to 13? That pick could be talked about for a long time!

Wonder how Sens fans are feeling after the team decided 2 trade the pick to St. Louis for David Rundblad...does that add any extra pressure?

I like their thinking...if the Sens feel there's no one available that projects better, then pick up Rundblad with 1 year more experience...

The Draft is finally here!

It feels like we've been talking about it forever, but we'll finally get to know who the Edmonton Oilers will select just after 7 o'clock...

Even though Hall and Seguin are considered to be 1a/1b...it would be a huge shock 2 me to see the Oilers take Seguin...they just can't do it

It's not due to anything Seguin can control either...it's simply a case of public opinion...the Oilers fans want Hall and it's the safe move

It's exactly the same situation that the Islanders with John Tavares....they couldn't possibly take Hedman...in the end, both teams improved

The 1-2 from the 2008 Draft has worked out well 4 both TB and LA as well....Stamkos just won the Rocket and Doughty should win a Norris soon

But 2007 was a different story...Patrick Kane goes 1 to the Hawks and has been a superstar...Van Riemsdyk goes 2 and hasn't really done much

What the Oilers don't want is a repeat of the 2007 NBA/NFL Drafts as the #1's turned out to be huge busts and the #2's became instant stars!

2007 NBA Draft: 1) Greg Oden - Portland 2) Kevin Durant - OKC, and 2007 NFL Draft: 1) Jamarcus Russell - Oakland 2) Calvin Johnson - Detroit

NHL Awards Show Recap (or portion of one...)

8:30 – What an odd to start a hockey awards show with Snoop Dogg rapping and Travis Barker...I just could never see a hockey locker room blaring Snoop to get themselves ready for Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals. Major points to Snoop wearing a Number 99 “Snoop Gretzky the Great” jersey...but he’s immune to being given a jersey foul

8:35 – Jay Mohr comes on stage...what the hell happened to him? He’s gotten really fat in his older years, and yet, he’s got the haircut of a 7 year-old...man, he’s really bombing with these hockey-themed jokes...am I hearing piped-in audience laughter?

8:40 – Mark Wahlberg comes out to present Rookie of the Year...he looks confused...wait a minute, he’s talking about Canadians and their drinking habits...is that a hint of why he’s confused? Then he reads his teleprompter with as much energy as you would get from speaking with an automated voice messaging system...he announces the winner as Tie Domi...wait what? Obviously that was a joke, but before he had a chance to actually announce Tyler Myers as the win, the music plays and the three nominees look confused as what to do.

Myers comes out with a piece of paper and reads his acceptance speech...could they get a microphone that isn’t chest high for him? I can barely hear him...Myers finally finishes his speech (thank god!) and the camera pans out to Jay Mohr...if you look close, he rolls his eyes after what was just an awful couple of minutes of TV

8:45 – Natasha Henstridge and Luc Robitaille come out to present the Selke...oh man, it’s just so awkward to watch an actress that doesn’t care about hockey and a former hockey player with a lack of personality try and do a 60 second teaser of a trophy.
Pavel Datsyuk has the line of the night so far, “Thanks to the Detroit Red Wings for paying me.”

8:50 – They have a red carpet interview with Henrik Sedin...does every NHL produced broadcast have to include a 60 second locker-room style interview that is more about filling time than it is about keeping people engaged?

8:55 – George Strombolopolous interviewing Patrick Kane and Patrick Sharp...Kane is a major pimp as he has his arm around one of the models...awesome! George then throws it to a performance by Cirque de Soleil...really?

What does this have to do with anything? You’ve got artistic dancing, followed by break dancing and then tandem dancing...it’s almost like the 30 teams got together and all submitted one idea that they wanted to see in this show, then the league put it all together...we’re only a few minutes into the show and it’s so obvious why no other league puts together a show like this...

9:00 – Ron MacLean and Ted Lindsay come out and all of a sudden, everything is right with the world again...the NHL doesn’t need rapping and dancing to hand out awards
Alex Ovechkin wins the Ted Lindsay award and comes out...he truly is the one guy that the league can sell as someone with awesome talent, but some personality as well...but of course, in true NHL fashion, they jump the cue on his acceptance speech and move on to the next award. People were right about this being a trainwreck.

9:05 – The next presenter comes out only to be confused because Ovechkin still was at the microphone and wanted to finish his speech. Ovechkin finishes his speech and the presenter is re-introduced with a hint of a chuckle by the female voice
The comedian says, “I’m so-and-so and you don’t know me...” No we don’t, they must have used up all the star power already...he then goes on to make a joke about a lack of black people at the Olympics or in the crowd...I guess there’s a reason why we don’t know you with predictable comedy like that...

He introduces a Bobby Ryan/Ryan Getzlaf skit which was really funny...this is what they need more of...Ryan and Getzlaf don’t have much personality, but at least these kind of things give them a chance to get out in the spotlight a bit more...

9:10 – Back to the Red Carpet for an interview with the Rocket Richard winners, Sidney Crosby and Steven Stamkos...don’t really care what they had to say, but Steven has got the sharpest looking suit of the night by far.

9:15 – John Slattery is introduced by Jay Mohr...who are these people? I haven’t heard of the last two “celebrity” presenters...he presents the coach of the year award...do I still have to watch this? I guess I have to since I committed to writing about it...uggghhh...

Dave Tippett wins...I just find it so funny that Tippett comes out to the stage with the house DJ the first one that he sees...Tippett with the one-liner that he’s probably been working on for months, “I would thank the owner, but I don’t the names of all 29 owners.”

9:20 – Next award is being presented by Jamie Kennedy and some guy...is this how far Jamie Kennedy has dropped in his career? They mumble through the start and then finally start with the teleprompter script...Kennedy mispronounces the Vezina trophy as the Vezna trophy which leads to a humourous exchange, until we find out that it was scripted because they then agree that they have to decide who’s going to read the name of the winner...

Out comes Jay Mohr with a referee sweater on and envelope in hand and the presenter that picks up the envelope in a faceoff battle gets to read the name...why do I feel like I’m writing about the moments of a WWE wrestling event?

Ryan Miller wins the award...I just this show to be over already...this is really painful to do...

9:25 – Another red carpet interview with Martin Brodeur this time as he talks about winning the Jennings trophy.

9:30 – Jay Mohr comes back and goes to the impersation well for the first time as he pretends to be Tracy Morgan, then presents Shinedown to perform some song...this is the kind of music I think when it comes to hockey players, but it’s just not the right setting to have heavy metal music being played with everyone in suits and ties. I loved the polite applause...was that the piped-in TV applause again? I think so...

9:35 – George is back to interview Mike Green...only to be interrupted by the Geico caveman...actually, the caveman walks into the suite, then walks away with Mike Green having a puzzled look, but following caveman out...was that a subliminal ad for Geico by the NHL? Shameless...

After that, I’m done...I can’t watch anymore...My apologies, but I just couldn’t stomach anymore...the only uses I could think of for this 90 minutes would be to either

1) Look for an alternative to the death penalty besides the electric chair or the firing squad
2) Use as a non-violent means of torture

I would really like that hour of my life back...

Lots of activity!

Not bad for a lazy June day, but with the salary cap system in place, there's not many days that don't have NHL news anymore...that's great!

Loved the Horton trade on both sides for the Bruins and the Panthers as both teams continue 2 help go forward in their respective directions

For Boston, they pick up Nathan Horton and Gregory Campbell for a pretty low price and can create more excitement with Hall/Seguin coming...

For the Panthers, they get another first round pick to give them 5 picks in the first 50 selections...the rebuild finally has some direction

Don't really like the signing of Tomas Plekanec by the Habs...seems like too much of an investment that's been up and down in his short time

These are the kind of contracts that can really be a thorn in the side of a GM/franchise if the player doesn't live to the terms of the deal

And I love the proactive thinking by Steve Tambellini to put in Tom Renney as coach of the Oilers now...it's all a part of the big change...

So much excitement for the Oilers with either Hall/Seguin + Jordan Eberle + possibly Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson...could be a quick turnaround!

I hope the NHL saves some news for August when it really gets slow...or else it's previews galore and time to look at some vacation time :-)

Now that's what I call a sticky situation...

All this Spezza talk reminds me of the South Park episode where each character has a chance to say, "That's what I call a sticky situation."

But usually in "sticky situations" involving a player wanting to be traded, the player is the 1 making his point across that he wants out...

But here, the person that keeps adding more fuel to the fire is Sens GM Bryan Murray...and the fire grew even more with yesterday's comments

I'm trying to decide why Murray would comment about Spezza to the media and further speculation...what is the end gain by opening his mouth?

My only genuine theory is that he's just too candid for his own good and doesn't shy away from a question...you can all stop laughing now...

Either that or the Senators are tired of waiting for Spezza to live up 2 his full potential or they believe he's reached his peak already...

Let's look from all vantage points...if Murray wants him and Spezza wants to stay, why bring up convos that were supposed to remain private?

If Murray wants him 2 stay, but Spezza wants out...why make your bargaining position look weaker by portraying him as someone who wants out?

If Murray and Spezza both want out, then both sides should agree 2 keep their mouths shut in order to make a move that's good for both sides

Something doesn't add up...it's clear that one or both sides are unhappy and something has 2 be done...that's what I call a sticky situation

Poor Dustin

What a difference 45 minutes can make in one's life...That's the amount of time it took for Dustin Johnson to go from hero to goat at Pebble

In 45 minutes, he went from being someone in complete control of a tournament 2 a player who was forced to shoot left-handed due to mistakes

It was such an inconceivable collapse that Hollywood screenwriters would shy away from this scene since it would be deemed 2 unbelievable...

It certainly cost him a chance at winning the U.S. Open yesterday, but my concern for him is not short-term, but rather the long-term effect

Does he take it as a positive and learn from his mistakes? Does he ultimately learn how to harness this awesome power that he's been gifted?

Or is he always going to have this loss in the back of his mind and have it haunt him every time he`s in contention or in a position to win?

It's hard 2 imagine, but at just close to 26 years old, he's already at a crossroads in his career...how does he recover from that collapse?

If he's got one thing going for him other than his golf game, it's the fact that he's still blessed by the fountain of youth and Father Time

For someone being referred 2 as an ice man in Round 3 by anyone within an inch of a mic, it was miles from what we saw in the final round...

We'll certainly find out now what kind of mental resolve the young man has...he's gonna need every little bit of that resolve to remain sane

Happy Father’s Day

No twitter today since I wanted to get my thoughts out in full without any real limitations, but this entry will be dedicated to talking about my dad.

It’s amazing how your life is shaped by your parents and how much influence you take from your mom and dad. For Mother’s Day, I talked about how I gained a strong work ethic and a desire to succeed from my mom. For Father’s Day, I wanted to point how I got a love for sports and the “talking” bug from my dad.

My dad has a huge love for sports and is open to every kind. Of course, his favourite sport is hockey, but the little twist is that he prefers the junior game as opposed to the NHL. But he also loves watching the Blue Jays in the summer and the New England Patriots in the winter, and will even take time to watch the English Premier League.

But he’s the kind of guy that will just strike up a conversation with anyone in sight. The kind of thing that I get to do on a daily basis now by hosting a show, but this took some time to get used. You see, my mom was not a big fan of the open concept. I remember my parents getting into arguments in public because my dad would start talking to a complete stranger and my mom would be just livid with the idea because she didn’t want my dad to embarrass himself. How ironic that she would get mad about embarrassment when my sister and I were the ones that were embarrassed when the two of them would fight in public? But that’s another situation and I guess it worked ‘cause my parents are still married after 30-something years.

Anyways, I was always conflicted because I didn’t know what side to be on: mom or dad? But I guess the “talking” gene was something that was never going to get away from me.

I told the story on the air before, but for those who missed it, my first recollection of any sporting event was my dad taking me to an Ottawa 67’s game when I was 4 years old. My dad was/is/always will be a fan of the 67’s and he couldn’t wait to take me the first chance he got.

We would always show up 30 minutes before the game in order to get a good seat, watch the players warm up and get some ol-fashioned Dad dinner of hot dogs and a coke. The first time he took me, he pointed to the players and asked, “Do you want to be one of those guys?” and I responded by saying, “No, I want to be one of those guys,” as I pointed to the press box. Hard to imagine that I even knew what a press box was at that early stage of my life, but I guess I did.

So I combined what makes my mom so special and what makes my dad so special and now, here we are 27 years later and I get to do something every day that I absolutely love.

Mom had her turn, so today, here’s the best way I could think of to say, Thanks Dad! :-)

The Americans are pissed!

I don't usually feel bad for Americans when things don't go their way in sports since they win so often and are often arrogant in victory...

But I don't have enough hatred 2 overlook what was a complete travesty yesterday as the Americans were robbed of an unbelievable comeback...

What the referee from Mali saw is still a mystery to everyone other than himself and that is just frustrating as a North American sports fan

It's also frustrating since the referee can hide and never publicly justify what went through his mind as he made that call against the U.S.

And North American sports fans can't wrap their heads around the fact that the referee doesn't have 2 justify any of their calls to the fans

North American sports fans are accustomed to receiving quick information from referees about the calls they make, then get an instant replay

When a referee throws a flag in football, he alerts the fans about the call, then the fans decide to either cheer/boo and the game re-starts

In hockey, calls are made by the referee and the PA announcer tells viewers what the call was....for baseball, umpires calls are black/white

In the end, the U.S. still have a good chance to get through since all they need 2 do is beat Algeria, but it still doesn't make it right...

Gerry Cooney is such an interesting case because there were so many ways (both positive and negative) that you could look at his boxing abilities and his career in general.

On the positive side, you could see someone with such tremendous one-punch knockout power that you could easily sell him as someone that will bring great excitement every time he steps into the ring. On the negative side, he could be seen as a novelty act because he could be seen as one-dimensional and a fighter with a lack of skill (other than the one big punch) and stamina.

When it came to his promotion outside the ring, there is certainly a lot of negativity towards the way he was touted as the “Great White Hope” when he fought for the heavyweight title against Larry Holmes in 1982.

He was, and still is, always quick to point out that it was not his idea to be given that kind of label. But he can’t dispute that the way he and the fight were promoted allowed him to pick up a 10 million dollar payday for that one fight and have the fight be shown in almost 150 countries around the world.

I’ve always felt bad for Cooney because of how he was portrayed as the Great White Hope. Unless he was someone that had a hatred for coloured people and could truly embrace that title, he was never going to be comfortable in his own shoes. He clearly wanted to be known and remembered as a great fighter and not for the colour of his skin.

It would be like me being the Great Brown hope for the Team 1200 since I’m the only coloured person currently on-air with the station. But I don’t look at the other personalities by the fact that they’re all white. It would make me feel extremely uncomfortable to be in that position, so I couldn’t even imagine the pressure that Cooney must have felt with a worldwide audience interested in how he does in the ring.

In watching that fight a couple of times in my life, I thought Cooney had a good performance against maybe the most under-rated fighter of all time in Larry Holmes, but it was just not meant to be. Cooney would become one of many guys throughout the years of boxing that would come agonizingly close to winning the title only to come up that little bit short.

It’s unfortunate though that the idea of race wars between whites and blacks is conjured up every time the name Gerry Cooney is brought up because that’s not the way he would want it to be. I’ll be very interested to hear what he has to say about the fight, his role within the fight and how being known as the “Great White Hope” affected him then and is still affecting him now. I’m sure it allows him to still have that notoriety, but again, at what cost?

All comes back to Positive vs. Negative.

Smokin' Joe Frazier

Today, the boys on the afternoon show will get a chance to do the show live from Lansdowne in advance of the Ringside for Youth event that happens every year in support of the Ottawa Boys and Girls Club. People get a chance to see some great amateur boxing, help support a great cause and rub elbows with of the greats that the fight game has ever produced.

This year is no exception as both Smokin’ Joe Frazier and Gerry Cooney will be in attendance tonight at the event.

I’m such a big fan of boxing myself and it’s a little disappointing that I won’t be able to be there in person, but circumstances dictate that I stay back and help out with the show from in-studio today, so all I can tell myself is that there will be other years, but since I do have the blog, I figured I would share some thoughts on both fighters.

I’ll start with Joe Frazier. Even though I’m only 27 years old, I’ve always made it a point of watching older fights from the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s in any way that I can so that I could get a sense of the history of some of the great fighters of all time. Joe Frazier is a fighter that I’ve seen so many times on replays because his style allowed for fan-friendly fights all the time. His record of only having 7 of his 37 fights go the distance will attest.

In a city full of talented fighters like Philadelphia, what separated Frazier from the rest wasn’t his skill-set (although he was very skilled), but it was his heart, determination, hunger and a hell of a left hook. His head was consistently bobbing and weaving to make up for the lack of height he fought with in the heavyweight division. All of this combined allowed him to become a world champion and a legend in the sport.

And yet, whenever people think about him, they think only about the losses that he suffered. He only lost 4 times in his career, but 3 of those losses still haunt his legacy to this day. In the trilogy against Muhammad Ali, he won the first fight, but lost the next two...but ask anyone on the street if Frazier beat Ali and most would tell you no.

He also lost twice to George Foreman with the first loss as devastating of a loss as a fighter could have. Like a lot of other people, I believe Frazier was never the same after the savage beating that George Foreman unleashed in their first fight. The picture of Foreman’s clubbing blows forcing Frazier down to one knee and Howard Cosell yelling, “Down goes Frazier! Down goes Frazier!” will be etched in stone forever. Foreman’s beating of Frazier and others led him to be the overwhelming favourite against Ali for the Rumble in the Jungle.

All the negative aside, he stood very tall as one of the elite in the sport during his time, especially in a division that was so stacked and helped to keep boxing a part of the mainstream during the 60’s and 70’s. When I listen to him today, I won’t be thinking about the losses. I’ll be thinking about a truly great fighter that would wipe the floor with any of the heavyweights out there now if he could go back in time to when he was on top of the game.

Because of rain?

Doing my daily reading of both the Ottawa Sun and Citizen to get ready for today...I read a good blog entry from James Gordon of the Citizen

Talks about the value of Jason Spezza 2 the Senators and how some of his negatives are overblown by fans of the team and people in Ottawa...

Then I remembered reading about a rally happening on Parliament Hill Saturday to show support 4 Spezza and convince him to stay in Ottawa...

I re-read the article, only to see at the bottom of the screen, "The rally will be held unless it rains, or Spezza gets traded before then."

Wait, what? Someone or some people would go through all the trouble of organizing a rally and then be willing to throw it away due 2 rain...

Are they saying, "We love having Jason in Ottawa and want 2 show our support, but we don't love him enough to stand in the rain for him..."?

Could you just imagine how the course of history would differ if most/all of the important rallies of modern history were cancelled by rain?

It's just another example of how Spezza is shown support when times are good, but when things are bad (or if it rains), it quickly goes away

I wanna play with my LEGO again...

If you read the blog, you know that entries have twitter-like comments followed by several entertaining videos at the bottom without comment

But there are the rare videos that require comment because they are just so funny...I just hope I'm not talking this clip up way too much...

Seeing the U.S./England match highlights in LEGO form will no doubt be the highlight of my day...is that sad? It has to be, but I don't care

Maybe I'm suffering from exhaustion or I just happened 2 see this at the absolute right time, but I was crying and laughing at the same time

I know it takes a long time 2 put something like that together, but I've gotta be able to see that way more often...that's just brilliant...

It also makes me bring up feelings of jealousy I would have for kids that had every single piece of LEGO on the market thanks to the parents

I got to play with the same 100 pieces of LEGO over and over again, while that kid was playing with his LEGO construction set or racing car!

And there's another video there too of Kevin James and Adam Sandler being funny or looking stupid...depends on how you look at things... :-)

Giant World Cup Post

Took 2 days to watch 8 soccer games since I'm doing things outside the house and falling asleep on the couch a bunch of times, but it's done

Before I get into some soccer takes (that seems weird to me), gotta get in a couple of thoughts on the broadcasts of the games themselves...

If you're stuck watching the games in regular def instead of HD, do yourself a favour and buy a HD set...difference is apples and oranges...

Kudos to match commentators calling 90 mins on their own....it's a refreshing change from 2-3 man constant voice broadcasts of North America

Would the one-man soccer broadcast ever work though if the commentator didn't have the generic, yet necessary, British accent? I doubt it...

Why does Bob Lenarduzzi give me the same vibe of lack of credibility that Mike Milbury does on NBC hockey broadcasts? Maybe it's just me....

I've also noticed what it takes for a player to execute the perfect dive....when they call soccer the beautiful game, the diving is included

There's been an epidemic of diving in the NHL over the last couple years, but hockey players have nothing on soccer players on this subject!

The perfect dive involves: a jump into the air followed by a good roll...the more rolls, the better....then hands in the face and screams...

I've got the over/under on how many times I see soccer players give the thumbs-up to each other during World Cup at 1000...what's your pick?

I go to bed every night with the sound of vuvuzelas stuck in my head...I might have permanent ear damage once the month of soccer is over...

My guess is that I will say the word vuvuzelas about 100 times between now and the end of the World Cup, then never say it in my life again!

What a sight it was when South Africa was able 2 take the first goal of the opening match...I felt bad for them when the Mexicans tied it...

First time I fell asleep during World Cup was during France/Uruguay's 0-0 match...they all can't be exciting, but if only half of them could

Just so ironic whenever Thierry Henry appeals with the referee for handball from the opposition....he should be carded for that on the spot!

Pretty sad that anytime I think of Uruguay, all I can picture is Homer Simpson telling me, "You are gay...." Yes, I know...terribly immature

Just 2 save myself from having to explain that Simpson reference to anyone who's unaware of it... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8wMLwsYxjA

Korea beats Greece 2-0...question for major soccer fans...is that a case of people underestimating the Koreans or the Greeks being that bad?

Didn't Greece just win the Euro 6 years ago? I know they weren't expected to win it that season, but they did...the 2010 team looks awful...

Most people I've talked 2 have told me that the U.S./England matchup was the best of the tournament so far...my vote is Argentina/Nigeria...

Great up and down game with chances for both sides all over the place...even with the loss, I like Nigeria to be successful going forward...

There aren't too many players that capture your attention with a touch of the ball, but Lionel Messi is certainly 1 of those special guys...

England didn't do anything to make me believe they'll do well in this competition....they make it past the group stage, but then get exposed

The Americans will certainly be happy with the result...other than the mistake made by Robert Green, the Americans didn't do much 2 threaten

Speaking of Green, I'm sure he's being nice and roasted even 48 hours later...then he'll have a good game and everything goes back to normal

I'll bet the World Cup schedulers were more than happy to have this decision to make....what game is the highlight/prime-time game of Day 3?

The choices: Slovenia vs. Algeria / Serbia vs. Ghana / Germany vs. Australia...sorry to fans of the 1st four countries...no offense intended

Would love to know who the Algerian barber is....although with all the blonde hair colouring, it wouldn't be a barber, rather a hair stylist

Great to see an African team not only compete, but win as well...Ghana gets the first win of the tournament for African nations over Serbia!

Just imagine what the atmosphere would be in a stadium if/when an African country makes it past the group stage and into the knockout rounds

Final Game 6 Thoughts

Going back to the Twitter format 'cause it's been so long since I did it....there's a bit of a challenge that I enjoy by writing in this way

Wanted to comment on things about Game 6 that we didn't really get a chance to discuss on Sportscall this morning...we got a bit sidetracked

First off, if 1 thing from the final game was indicative of the whole season in general, it was how inconsistent the calls by referees were!

As Glenn Healy put it, "The obvious calls are being missed and the calls being missed are obvious." Just about ruined a perfectly good game!

I ragged on Jeff Carter lots in the last few days surrounding Games 5-6, but I didn't realize how much Richards and others struggled also...

What happened 2 the review of the winner? I know the puck was in and it might be nit-picking, but proper procedure wasn't followed at all...

However, knowing how the NHL works, there's no way they would have taken back the goal from Chicago....even with proper evidence to overturn

Just ask the Buffalo Sabres and their fans about Stanley Cup "winning" goals that could have been reviewed and taken back...not happening...

I'm slacking again...

My apologies for not getting a daily blog up on a consistent basis over the last couple of weeks or so, but things have been so hectic for me. This includes the much-talked about move into a new condo, the purchase of a new 2010 Hyundai Elantra GL and then a whole bunch of decorating ideas thanks to my babe, Rosalie. So, things are definitely good on this end...we just have to get through the end of this week and then we’ll finally have a sense of normalcy.

A couple of non-hockey thoughts:

1) Holy freakin’ god! Stephen Strasburg is already a phenom! When most pitchers are making their major league debut, they’re just hoping to get through the first inning alive. The normal line for a pitcher in his first major league start goes something along the lines of: 4.1 IP, 4R, 6H, 2BB. All Strasburg did was go: 7 IP, 2R, 14K...Combine that with a guy that’s getting as much hype (if not more) in 2010 1st overall pick Bryce Harper and the future is looking good for the Nationals.

2) When talking about the Lakers, all we do is focus on how good Kobe and Pau Gasol are as a 1-2 threat...and the guy that everyone dismisses is Derek Fisher. But when it comes to the finals, the guy that comes up in the clutch moments that win championships is none other than Derek Fisher. Why do we keep making the same mistake of overlooking what this guy can offer to the Lakers over and over again? Score one for the players and Phil Jackson because they keep telling us throughout the regular season about how valuable Fisher is to the ball club and we dismiss them as just giving us “athlete-speak”

3) I just realized that I watched two-thirds of a Nationals vs. Pirates game in June...I think hell has officially frozen over. That would be like me taking time out of my day to make sure I watched the first two periods of the Islanders vs. Panthers in November or watching Golden State vs. New Jersey in February. Heck, I even PVR’d the game just in case I missed something.

4) Has anyone else been embarrassed in front of the guys after the recording reminder came up for a show that your girl chose? I had a lot of fun trying to explain to the boys about why “Ellen” was being recorded...

5) Now I’m really off-topic, but what the hell has happened to TLC? I used to be able to watch shows that took me step by step on how to remove a brain tumour...now all I can watch is reality shows about (in no particular order): small people, fat people, families with 8 kids or more, mall cops, cake makers, hoarders, etc...is this how people have chosen to be entertained? If that’s the case, please Lord, I beg of you, help us all!

Lakers v. Celtics

I just about started off the entry by talking about the history surrounding the two teams and the rivalry that has been built up by facing each other in the Finals so many times, but I remembered how much I ragged on media people bringing that up so often in the last entry, so I will forego that...

Instead, I just wanted to focus on the matchup itself...to me, this is as intriguing of a championship that the NBA has had in a long time because there are so many contrasts between the two teams besides their East Coast/West Coast differences. Let’s look at a couple of them...

First, just in team makeup alone, the two sides couldn’t be more different. In talking about the Lakers, everything revolves around Kobe Bryant, and rightfully so because he’s one of the Top 3 players in the game. The Lakers’ problem is they’re very vulnerable if Kobe is neutralized or stopped altogether.

On the opposite side, the Celtics can be called a true team because they have so many different parts that they can rely in if one breaks down. An opposing defence has to deal with trying to neutralize Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo. Now, none of the four possess the threat of breaking out for 60-70 points like Kobe can, but the question remains, “Do you pick the team with one 5-star stud player in L.A. or the team with four very good players in Boston?”

Also, the Celtics are known for being a hard-nosed kind of team and will look to make the play much more physical. If it means cheap shots after the whistle or flagrant fouls, the Celtics are not above doing that to get an edge mentally or physically.

The Lakers are a team that relies on much more finesse and skill. Kobe can handle the boost in physicality that the Celtics can offer, but how will Ron Artest/Pau Gasol and company feel about playing a rugged style? Artest will like the physical nature, but will his emotions get the best of him? Will Pau Gasol start to disappear as the bumping and crashing begins to get tougher?

There’s also some intriguing one-on-one battles to look for...in no particular order:
1) Any Celtic Player vs. Kobe Bryant

Again, if the Celtics can neutralize Kobe or stop him altogether, they make the Lakers very vulnerable, but much easier said than done...the player chosen for this assignment will be key...

2) Rajon Rondo vs. Derek Fisher

This is a complete mismatch on paper in favour of the Celtics...how do the Lakers help out Fisher defensively? If Fisher is left on an island by himself, he’s in a lot of trouble, but Phil Jackson won’t allow it...

3) Kendrick Perkins vs. Andrew Bynum

Bynum is not healthy at all, but can Perkins pick up his game to take advantage of Bynum not being at 100%?

4) Bench Play

The Lakers bench has been ineffective more nights than not...meanwhile, the Celtics have gotten contributions from Glen Davis, Rasheed Wallace and Nate Robinson off the bench...they help themselves out a lot by winning this battle over the Lakers

Use of History in Previewing Playoff Series

This is something that has been a pet-peeve of mine ever since I could remember. As I’ve gotten older and hopefully a little bit wiser, my frustration level for people spouting off irrelevant numbers has gone way up and my patience level for those who choose to use said numbers in an effort to seem more educated has gone down significantly.

In the regular season, we’re not inundated with irrelevant statistics dealing with historic trends and records between two teams. We might see a couple of these stats near the bottom of a regular season matchup, but they’re pretty much an after-thought and ignored. The trend towards useless numbers appearing in regular-season reports is starting to gain steam thanks to stats agencies, but once we get to the playoffs in any major sports, it’s like a tidal wave of numbers and head-to-head records that really have no meaning whatsoever.

Lee had one the other day that was just so perfect when it came to irrelevancy...I know, I know...some people just shook their head and said to themselves something along the lines of “When does he ever say anything relevant?”...let’s just move on for the sake of the entry... :-)

He mentioned that the winner of Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals historically had roughly a 75% win percentage in winning the Stanley Cup finals altogether. He seemed proud of that stat, meanwhile, my first thought to that was “What relevance does a team winning Game 2 of the Stanley Cup finals in 19xx have to do with the Chicago Blackhawks winning Game 2 on Monday against Philadelphia?” Pure coincidence if you ask me...

There are plenty of other examples of irresponsible and irrelevant historical references being thrown out as the American media has several days to hype-up the Boston Celtics/L.A. Lakers rematch from two years ago and past years.

I just laugh at some media members’ notion that the 2010 Lakers and Celtics are playing with extra-added pressure because they don’t want to let down teams from past glory in the 50’s, 60’s or 80’s...give me a break! They only care about what’s happening in 2010. Kobe Bryant is not going on the court looking to live up to Magic Johnson...Rajon Rondo is not looking to do a little extra to live up to the name of Larry Bird.

I understand the tough spot that media are put in because each playoff game is supposed to be more important than the next...thus, the job is to get the fans as excited about the games as possible. The problem is that every single playoff game is just not going to have the huge swings of emotion and several games can be predictable and uneventful.

So, what well does an overworked media person go to? Well, the irrelevant stat well because nothing can fill up space and require more words than numbers and records.

So please, I beg of you, next time you read a historical record reference, think of the relevancy of the stat and proceed with caution...we’ll all be better off for it!

Moving is Just Death

Hopefully a couple of people realized that I was not hosting Sportscall Wednesday as Matty K came in to fill in for me as I finished off a move into my place downtown.

I absolutely love the place and it’s going to be an amazing pad to sit back, relax and watch hours and hours of sports. But I will say this, I better not be moving for a long time...the last couple of weeks were a nice reminder that picking up and moving your life to somewhere else is a complete pain in the...I better not finish...

I certainly have a deeper appreciation now for the veteran/fringe NHL players that end up being an afterthought on so many teams and asked repeatedly to move from franchise to franchise. The guy that moves 10 times in 10 years has a little more appreciation from me today.

Thanks to my good buddy, “the Swiss Miss” Chris Wyss for helping me out with all the heavy lifting and of course, my babe, Rosalie for being there...no heavy lifting for my girlie, but she did an awesome job of just keeping guard...LOL

By the way, Chris doesn’t get the nickname because he’s girly in any sort of way...I just like how it rhymes...most people call him “the Bear” actually...but enough about nicknames...

A couple things that I re-learned as I moved the last couple of days...

1) IKEA furniture is still really difficult to put together despite the fact that they give you a step-by-step instruction booklet and handy Allen Keys. Christian and I had to go back a couple of steps at least four times because we had put in a board upside down or the wrong way...The worst part is that I laugh at that cartoon of the IKEA guy calling IKEA for help every time because I’m so confident that this will be the time that I put together a piece of IKEA furniture properly on the first try...problem is that I become so frustrated that calling IKEA becomes a viable option after a while...

2) The simple act of offering a delivery guy or hookup guy something to drink does wonders for the service you get. And I don’t ask just because I want better service...I ask because these people are doing hard work for me and I’m grateful for it. I managed to turn one delivery guy from being the epitome of surly to in a joking mood after just offering some water...hilarious!

3) People pack things for the new place that should really be going to the garbage or to a donation centre. The thing I’m focusing on the most here is clothing...I swear I moved about 5 bags worth of clothing when all my “go-to” clothes could have fit in only 2 bags. I’m determined to pick and choose way better and donate the rest that I don’t want.

It’s been a taxing couple of days and simply put, I’m just glad it’s over...