I haven’t posted one of these in a while, this one made me laugh…
“Leafs trade their #1, Schenn, and Kaberle to Tampa for the second pick.
Then the leafs trade a package (no names yet ) and the #2 pick to the isles.
Leaf fans…would you do it?
I would for sure.”
Only one problem with this rumour. We are 10 weeks from the draft. You can’t make this deal unless you have a guarantee that the Isles will make the deal to go from 1 to 2, or agree not to take JT at 1. Here is the bigger problem. If you trade Schenn, Kaberle and #7 to get to 2. What the hell do you have to trade to get from 2 to 1 or to get the Isles not to take JT? In other words, you can’t overpay for the 1st trade if you have to make another one! I am not suggesting that the rumour isn’t out there, rather that it makes little to no sense right now (if at all).
“She is definitely hot…………..unfortunately her hotness is wasted when she is on radio…………..if you are looking for an intelligent discussion about serious issues you will never find that during her weekly radio appearance……….she is wacky and likes to have fun…………I can see why some people would think that it is hard to listen to but her act doesn’t bother me all that much.” Mike S.
She is way better looking in that photo then she is on the radio. On the radio she sounds like she just crawled out of an ashtray. Do you folks remember the Fabulous Sports Babe..that is what I thought Kathryn looked like before I saw this photo:
Fab Sports babe on the left
“As one ink-stained wretch commented after the game: “He didn’t just throw his team under the bus, he backed it over them too.” Mike Zeiseberger on Ron Wilson’s post game comments
“We don’t have enough guys who care about each other,” Wilson continued. “We have a few guys who should look in the mirror and say: “I’m not trying hard enough in my own end. I’m cheating in order to get easy points.” “Right now, it’s a garden full of weeds and I’ve got to pull out some weeds,” Wilson said. Ron Wilson
Raise your hand if you disagree with Wilson’s assessment. He is right. There are too many mental midgets on this team. Antropov’s play is a joke. A total unmitigated joke. If this is really about nerves about being traded he had better grow up and fast. He is playing a man’s game and is expected to act the same way. You aren’t going to believe it, but he should spend some time with Jason Blake. Say what I will about Blake at least he has put up. He may never be worth the value of his contract, but at least he is playing hard. I may still loathe him, but I have a hell of a lot more respect for him then I do for Antropov. The guy has gone totally soft in a hurry. The only guy I respect less right now is Jonas Siegel who has defended the guy.
“Let’s start with thumbs down to the makeover of the Maple Leafs, which hasn’t started yet – and so it’s really thumbs down to the effect the uncertain future is having on certain players.” Dave Hodge
Dave, I remember watching you when you had dark hair and wore really ugly baby blue blazers! The thumbs down should, in this case be going to the player’s themselves who all need to each grow a pair:
“Free agent-to-be Nik Antropov, who would have reason to believe he’d be traded no matter where he was born, has been in a plus-minus free fall since Burke took over. he has gone from plus two to minus 12. Same with the other Nik – Hagman – who’s European and small. Before Burke – plus three – now, minus nine”
Agreed with the conclusion…blame the guys though…
“”Start Here…Eric Francis in today’s Calgary Sun writes….”Enjoy Michael Cammalleri the rest of the season, because on July 1, he’ll be a Toronto Maple Leaf, making almost as much money as Jarome Iginla” While I do agree that Cammalleri may very well be elsewhere, possibly even by the deadline, my sources in Toronto say the Leafs aren’t going to be clamoring over him. Fact is Cammalleri is not viewed as a “sure thing” and in this economy may find it hard to pull Iginla-like numbers. There are enough teams that will be in the running that Cammalleri’s price will be solid, but enough people remember his last season in LA. Especially certain important people who were playing across town.”
No, I haven’t lost my mind. Good pickup by Hanky on this one, and even better to dispute it. Don’t get me wrong, I like Cammalleri, but at 27 years old I am not sure he is Burke’s answer…
It’s over… Really over. Even John Belushi’s Animal House Character John “Bluto” Blutarsky would admit It’s over. Really folks, we haven’t seen anything like this around here for a long time. The trading of Vince, the trading of Gilmour, the trading of Felix Potvin, all come to mind sort of. Never, and perhaps becuase of the digital age has a bigger mess of a situation ever been made. Personally, I think there are a lot of people out there who in retrospect look pretty foolish. This constant need to be first is just not journalism. The quality of reporting goes way down and the fans suffer. I think lots of folks should be embarrassed.
Let me start with the easiest target. Hanky is an easy target. To his credit he built a very solid audience. He is proof of the hunger there is for knowledge in the great game of hockey. Whether it is only in Canada and a select group of US markets and then a handful of die hards in other US markets, we are a dedicated bunch who live online looking for anything, literally anything to fill that hunger. However, (and for the record I am not calling Hanky a journalist) the Sundin Saga has also painted Hanky in the worst of light. I am not sure how many people out there read his column tonight after the signing but mannnnnnnnn. How can he say once “as I told you” with any degree of dignity. I mean come on. Yesterday he gave Sundin to NYC his highest rating E5:
“I was told it is done by three sources. Mats to the Rangers. Stay tuned much more to come including how the Rangers will make it work. Update: I am told that one of the teams involved in these sweeps has been informed of Mats decision…”
As the fine folks at hockeyanalysis.com pointed out, Hanky had him going to almost every team in the league at one point. It became an industry (hockey) joke. It takes a big man to admit when he is wrong….That clearly isn’t the case here. (and I don’t buy the my job is to only report what I hear crap…)
I hate to do this, as it is totally unfair, but the next guy who blew this one is McCown. When I say I hate to do this, I mean to jump from Hanky to McCown. There is no comparison between the two and they are so far apart, Hanky at the North Pole, McCown at the South. And too much in between to mention. For that reason alone, McCown has some splaning to do. He is the most listened to sports talk show in the city, hell maybe even in the country. He said on his show today that the syndication of the show on sportsnet may be the largest audience that network gets for non live sporting events. He is huge, he is entertaining and he is the measuring stick. Yes he has had a long head start, but I am sure that the fine folks at 640 have their eyes squarely on his show when the books come out. For McCown to be so bold, so confident and so wrong….. OH MY. The guy is clearly connected. I don’t doubt for one second that someone high up whispered in his ear. No one, and I mean no one opened his lips on the air. That prediction sat out there uncontested for 4 days until fact proved it fiction. The night after his prediction (or maybe 2 nights) Kypreos was on the air and McCown said (after Barry clearly disputed the accuracy of the report) “Oh, it’s happening. It’s like your dinner tonight, you may not know when or where, but it is happening.” Even the director of communication for the nhl twittered about McCown’s bold statement when he went it. In essence the league itself broadcast what McCown said. Does this hurt McCown? probably not. Do his rating go down? no. Do his sponsors care? no. Does he credability take a shot- you betcha. I am not in the media business. I just have to believe that when you are about to go on the microphone you have to pretty sure when are going to be this bold given whom you are..Bobcat blew this one big time.
No one in the Toronto Papers really ran amok with this story. There were no bold predictions per se. They were more followers then leaders. There was a ton of useless fodder on whether he should come back here, whether he would come back here, whether he would be welcome back here….yadda yadda yadda. Larry Brooks was really the first one who publicly brought up the Rangers (Hanky aside, and he brought up the winnipeg jets at one point i think). He never said done deal that is for sure. He did say last night that Sundin would give them until the end of the month. That didn’t happen. Some egg on his face too I guess. Berger doesn’t watch TV so who knows what he was thinking. Not much was said, but man did this story eat up time, energy and kill a lot of trees.
In the end, Mat’s proved he is human. Kyreos said it perfectly tonight about the guy he got to interview over in Sweeden. “Mats was upset about giving the Leafs a discount last season and he wanted to make up for it.” Despite the money, I never really thought he would go to Vancouver. I just didn’t see it. I should have though, because like it or not, this came down to one issue; MONEY. Had the rangers gotten the MONEY up, he probably would be a Ranger. They couldn’t and he isn’t. I don’t begrudge Mats that. The guy is entitled to make what the highest bidder is willing to pay. I think a lot of people painted Mats with rose colored brushes. In the end, he isn’t so unlike the rest of us. He followed the buck. In fairness, he really hasn’t done it before. He never bolted the buds despite the fact he probably could have gotten more elsewhere. At 38, if someone is willing to pony up 10 million why the hell not. Give Gillis credit. He is a former agent and he knew the most important lesson. He set the bar. I don’t care who else was in the game. Their offer was being compared to 10m. Is whatever team offers the next highest amount worth taking less money? That answer is usually no. Gillis did what he as an agent would want a gm to do. Open the market high and wait. Keep the dialogue open and remain patient. Say all the right things, keep them interested and eventually it will come down to $. It almost always does.
I can’t believe how quiet the papers are all at 11:50pm. The story broke around 6pm and with the exception of Damien and the Hat, no one else of major consequence has anything posted. Damien is right in his column. After the obligatory shot at the leafs (at least he admitted he hates Toronto) he says that this should be good news for the buds”
“The signing of Sundin, you see, breaks the logjam. Everyone who didn’t get him can aggressively turn to Plan B, and a team like the Maple Leafs, who will most certainly be sellers between now and the March trade deadline, just saw their assets increase in value.Nik Antropov, for instance, is now worth more than he was yesterday. Unless Atlanta decides to trade Ilya Kovalchuk or Tampa tries to move Marty St. Louis or Minnesota opts to dump Marian Gaborik, Antropov might end up being the best forward available by the deadline. ”
I agree in principal. It takes two (or sometimes three) to tango though. I do find it curious how a guy is a proverbial stiff when he is HERE but has real marketability when it comes to the deadline. It smells a little of the setting of the table for the first Burke attack. Can’t you see it coming? I can’t believe that Burke couldn’t get more for __________? Take the positive spin fro Damien, at least he has an article up.
What is missing? The attack on the point that matters:
“I never believed in rent a player to start with, if you wanna be part of a team thats going to have a chance to win the stanley cup or a team that will go far in the playoffs, uh my opinion has always been that you be there from training camp at the start of the season to be part of the group and uh that’s another reason too”
That is what i am waiting for. It will be interesting to see who takes the time to really call him on it. Simmons did a little bit. The sun has such a brutal website that it isn’t up yet if it is going to be so I can’t tell you. Mat’s is entitled to change his mind. To say that he has never believed in something is as strong a statement as you get. Sundin used that as his main reason not to leave last year. He probably sold all the others on the same thing. He then turned his back and did just that. At the very least, had he signed over the summer you could say he would have been true to his word. Now, the guy who Cox told us has always been an honest guy is, ummmm, a liar?
I am interested in seeing what Cliff has to say. So far I haven’t seen anything from him. Burke’s response was irrelevant. I am more interested in his reaction to the brutal exhibition in Boston then his opinion on Sundin that’s for sure.
Then there is the issue of course of what will this do to his legacy. Will he be Ray Bourque and win a championship? Will he mirror Borje and Cujo and curse the day he left? Only time will tell. You know my opinion, the odds are way against him. The good news is he has lots of dough to hedge those odds with right?
I am really glad this over. It will a nutty day tomorrow with all the press to talk about. I will try to post as best i can. I am taking the family south for 10 days and am going to try and beat out the storm so the trip to the airport begins at 445am. about 4 hours and 35 minutes from now. I don’t know how well I am going to be able to post from the ocean (assuming i make it down there) so LT has graciously accepted my begging to help out.
Let me say this however. I started this blog in May or June I believe. It has been a blast every minute. It hasn’t been a chore in my daily routine like others can be. To those of you who are kind enough to read what i have to say and especially those who feel compelled enough to comment or email I can’t thank you enough. I hope everyone out there and your families have a happy, healthy holiday season (Damien, Steve, Howard, bob, Brady, Wilbur you guys too).
Ahhhhh yes, the dog days of sum, I mean winter. Let’s review Brian Burke becomes GM, team goes out west, plays pretty poorly in the final 2 games, during the second of which a veteran defenceman gets benched for the entire period before going -3. The team gets back and hires a new head of hockey operations, looses a close game to the Washington Capitals, and at the same time the stud defenceman gets injured (likely for 2 weeks) and one it’s better forwards (Hagman) to injury too. I think that sums up the leafs no? The Raptors fire their coach, who only a couple of seasons ago won coach of the year honors. The new coach is a canuck(first time that has ever happened) and has gone 0 for 2 since. Collectively those two teams have had a change in their ownership structure. Over in Blue Jay land, the GM meetings are now here and the owner just died and the word is the payroll is being dramatically cut. Elsewhere in Toronto, the Buffalo Bills played my (no, I don’t own them) Miami Dolphins in the first ever regular seas game to be played in Canada or Toronto.
Elsewhere, Sundin appears to be on the verge of deciding to make a decision whether or not play this season and then maybe where too. Sean Avery has been suspended for 6 games and ordered to be assessed for the need for anger management therapy. He has apparently asked the PA not to appeal or file a grievance on his behalf (giving Glen Why Can’t I Be Maple Leaf GM ulcers). The Canes fired their coach and replaced him Paul Maurice. Tampa Bay fired it’s coach too this season and may actually be worse under Rick “The Bet” Tocchet. The economy is in the crapper (and going to get worse) and the NHL board of Governors are going to discuss that (and hopefully litany of teams who are allegedly in various stages of financial disarray. ) The Detroit Lions improved to 0-13 (improved is the right word right???) In US college football, Oklahoma and Florida finished 1-2 in the BCS and will play for the BCS national championship on Jan. 8 in Miami. In US college hoops the Michigan Wolverines stunned the Duke Blue Devils who were ranked #4 prior to that tilt…
Forgive me if I left anything out… Why the review? Well, in my usual tour of the papers, tv stations, websites today I can honestly say I didn’t find one single article worth reading or writing about. No joke. With the exception of the blurb on Simmon’s piece which I wrote mainly for Eye….and to bash Howie, again, there was nothing, zip, zero, nadda, zilch to even consider discussing. With all of the above going on, and more I am sure, I was stunned at how little was written or spoken that actually peaked my interest, had me on my blackberry to ping someone, or get my blood boiling. Did you read Larry Brooks today? Don’t bother, there was nothing there. Seriously, even his take on the Avery story was a complete bore.
So, perhaps this is a week in review, or the after effects of another phenomenal festivus last night but here is hoping that it isn’t a sign of things to come. I used to really like Sunday’s for sports media purposes…. Today I felt cheated.
Very few things make me nauseous. This one thing that I saw made me ill enough to the point that I have taken some time today to contemplate stop writing. You see I do this to blow off some steam. It is a great distraction from the regular rigors of daily life and I really love writing. I find the fact that a few people enjoy what I have to say the ultimate compliment. When the happy howie issue came to fruition a few weeks ago, I was honored to be included in the group who drafted the email that was posted all over. The good folks at PPP, He Score He Shoot, Down Goes Brown, Eye, Cox (and more, sorry if I left you out) have been at this longer then I , and then again, who the hell am I???? My point is that the one thing I admire about the NHL these days is the adaptation of technology and in a lot of major markets the blogosphere. As much as I loathe Hanky, he is a perfect example of the appetite for hockey info online. There are so many great fan sites out there that pay tribute to our teams, our games, it really is a great online world we live in.
The best thing about the web is that it really is the world wide web, and anyone, anywhere can post an opinion. So, what has me sick? Well, when a person allegedly prey’s on young children, takes kids from their families and has the type of reputation that a certain individual has (irrespective of a recent court finding) it makes me sick to see that this person is writing a blog about hockey. Yes folks, a colleague was kind enough to forward to me a link to David Frost’s hockey blog and I have been sick ever since.
There are folks out there I don’t know and don’t like. There are folks out there I do know and don’t like. Perhaps I don’t like too many people. I don’t know Dwayne or Hanky. I don’t like that he posts constant crap on his sight (him personally, not some of the other writers on his site). I don’t like Howie’s writing either, but I don’t know him either. I dislike his writing because I think he is a fraud. I think he wears Maple Leaf boxers, sleeps on a bed with Maple Leaf sheets and has photos of himself with his favorite buds all over his house. I think he is a fraud because the negativity he spews isn’t genuine. I think he does it to keep up with the Cox’s and the Simmons in this town. I have nothing against the person as I don’t know him.
I don’t know David Frost (thankfully). I have read way too much about the guy and have formed an opinion of him that I am sure you all can guess. We in this country (whichever North American one you likely live in) enjoy freedom of press and freedom of expression. I know that very well, but for some reason the fact that this guy is writing about hockey is driving me nuts. Is it that one of his former players is serving time for trying to kill him? Oh wait, that player is featured on the blog. Yup there is Frosty’s favorites (which gives me all kinds of disgusting thoughts) and Danton’s den. I am curious is that the den from which he allegedly tried to have Frost offed or the jail cell he is currently living in?
The guy is trying to be controversial. He is going to try and get idiots like me to write about him so that others will go to the site and read what he has to say. More so you can bet he is going to profit from it. So I am not going to provide you a link and I am not going to give you the address. This is not the traffic crash you have to look at. Like the famous line in the Naked Gun movie…move along there is nothing to see here. The site was registerd on the 19th of this month. Maybe I am late to the game. Others will write about it. Others will print it. You decide if you want to look, me, one look and I am done…. Who knows, I am sure this is exactly the type of blogger that would fit in well with Hanky…
” I do not want Mats Sundin back.” Hate me for it, call me names, whatever, I do not want him back on this team. It is not because he is european, it’s not because i don’t think he is a great player. I don’t want him back. If I were at the first game, I wouldn’t give him a standing ovation. I don’t want him back.
If that, Kevin makes me a liar, so be it…..
“Gibson: “Oh he would get a standing ovation. No question. You show me a Leafs fan that does not want Mats Sundin back, and I’ll show you a liar. How does this guy not help your team? I am sick and tired of the Tavares talk. There’s no guarantee that you’ll get the #1 or #2 pick. I mean has anyone seen Atlanta or the Islanders this year?”
If Sundin comes back, he is a liar. He made it clear, and got a ton of respect for it, when he said he can’t be a rental player. He has to be there from training camp on. At the time I called bullshit. However, I gave him the benefit of the doubt. I still give him that. The minute he steps on the ice, he becomes a fraud. The reality is he didn’t have to wave his no trade clause. The reality is he didn’t have to give a reason. He could have stood up and said, I am not waiving it because i earned that right. I could have lived with that. To stand up and look all teary eyed into the camera and spew on about not believing that going somewhere midway through the season is right only to do that yourself….sorry man, I have no time for you….
There is no upside for him coming to the Leafs and it has nothing to do with Tavares. I think Ron Wilson is trying to change the culture of the team. Sundin returning means that change will stop. It will be his room again and his team. Any progress in the character department COULD be lost. Mat’s is a great player. Let him go chase a cup elsewhere. Anywhere he goes with the exception of Ottawa and I would cheer for him. If he goes to the Rangers and they come to the ACC I would support him in Ranger Blue. I don’t want him on the Leafs. That ship has sailed, that era is over. Come back when we put your name on the rafters.
Back from having his appendix out, nothing has changed in Hanky Land (except that I am hearing strong rumors of his intent/desire to sell hankybuzz.com)
Has anyone suggested, or heard a thought that says Cliff is out there trying to deal Kaberle right now? Didn’t think so. The one thing I have read is from Hanky writer Happy Howie Berger that Kaberle probably regrets not waiving it last year and likely would this year at the deadline. Which, I happen to think is true.
Meanwhile in Hankyland we get:
“On Kaberle being moved from the Leafs…
Just say No. It will not happen. As of now, there is no way he is waiving. Things can change, but know this: As much as it took to get McCabe to accept a deal, it will take ten times that to get Kaberle to accept one. He wants to retire a Leaf plain and simple. He will either re-sign in Toronto or play in Sweden I am told, but he will not be a rental. Not in his blood at all.”
Of all the dumb shit this guy writes, this may take the case. Sorry, the leafs trading for Jay Bouwmeester, that was dumbest thing ever. In any even this is way up the list. He may want to retire a leaf, but should the buds not make the playoffs, as expected this year, his NTC is temporarily gone, and I would be wiling to bet so will he. As for the not in his blood… A certain former captain that used to wear #13 for the Leafs said the same thing. Yet, people a hell of a lot smarter then me, one, who’s name rhymes with “girdle” has the Rent A Sundin sign out for the whole world to see…. Look, all joking aside. Why are we talking about this on October 27th? He isn’t being traded now, he isn’t being asked to waive his no trade now. So if you are trying to drum up leaf news to boost your UV’s to increase value for the sale of hankybuzz, try something moderately on the plausible side…
Many people ask me “what goes on at the GM Meetings?”, and “is there plenty of trade talk?”. The truth about the real drama of the NHL GM Meetings is this.
Most of the meetings are chaired by Colin Campbell and a ton of house keeping issues are brought forth. There is an agenda which is circulated to all who attend. Quite often the league will need to get the GMs and their Ass’t GMs up to speed on issues from the CBA, by-laws, rules, media issues, suspensions, NHLPA issues, contract issues, etc. And of course they’ll be asking for the GM’s input on decisions that have to be made by the league on how certain issues will be handled.
GM’s have the opportunity at some of the longer meetings to put forth items on the agenda which they feel would help some part of the game, whether that be playing rules or business rules etc. Some of the same GM’s think through the issues and try to bring forth new concepts while many of the GM’s never come up with anything new and are just along to listen and vote. Probably alot like the Senate or Congress. Usually the meeting starts around 9 am and breaks for a buffet lunch and then continues on till early afternoon, so that the managers and league personnel can catch a flight back to their home city. It is at the lunch break that any trade talk is initiated by the GMs. It may be only fact finding or planting seeds by teams. The deeper discussion will happen on the phone over the next couple of days if the seeds that are planted are germinated.
Many times, however, you leave a GM meeting not being able to describe what went on of any substance at the meeting because either you literally can’t recall anything dramatic, or something dramatic was talked about but you can’t talk about it. As you are all aware of, when general house keeping is the mainstay of a meeting it all glosses over after a while.
General Manager’s Meetings are good for a number of reasons. They bring the managers together all at one place at one time to foster face to face dialogue and conversation on how to improve the league and the game. They bring the NHL league personnel face to face with the GMs and foster better interpersonal relationships. And lastly, they are exciting for the teams and the fans who hope that perhaps this meeting will lead to their team getting a chance to improve and take a step towards their ultimate goal of winning the Stanley Cup.
In another useless blog on Fox sports, Big Al writes about the 5 ways Bettman should improve the NHL.
This one is by far the best:
“Move the press boxes closer to the ice. Hockey is incredibly fast, but because press boxes are as far from the action as they can possibly be, the game looks slow. Many American writers are new to the game and aren’t aware of the speed at which it is played. If they were, they would write in more glowing terms. Since basketball takes this approach, it’s surprising that Bettman hasn’t mandated it.”
So it’s just for the new American’s to the sport eh Al? There is next to no chance of this happening. Where would they put the pressbox and who is going to pay for the lost real estate in moving some seats to accommodate the pressbox? If I was going to list 100 things that need to be changed this wouldn’t crack it.
His number one is classic too, “Get a better TV deal”, yeah, like I am sure Bettman and co haven’t thought about that yet…I am sure they aspire to have the worst TV deal in pro sports. Don’t you think that if they could do better then their current deal they would????
Al, do us a favor, go back to doing what you do best….which is what you do in between these usless posts, NOTHING!
