The NHLPA player reps have unanimously voted to refuse to provide their consent to allow the realignment plan proposed by the NHL Board of Governors earlier this year to be implemented in time for next season
This begs the question of why? This plan seemed to be one that fans for the most part liked. It led to less overall travel for players, while also giving players the opportunity for every player to visit every city each season. It seemed like a win/win/win for players. So whats the hold up.
Three letters. C. B. A.
There is a lot of cost savings in this planned re-alignment for owners and some of the most powerful teams in the league were pushing it strongly. Its definitely something the owners want to happen.
It appears to me, that as an educated guess the players want this to be their C.B.A. leverage. Its their answer to the issue the owners have held for the last few years, participation in the Winter Olympics which the players overwhelmingly support.
The public battle on the new CBA has begun, and one can infer from this decision that behind the scenes negotiations aren’t going well.
As hockey fans lets all hope that we can get this all settled in time for training camp next year, but this has to be seen as an ominous start to these talks.
The Olympic participation and the Re-alignment plan may seem like minor bargaining chips in the bigger war which will involve the dynamics of the salary cap, guaranteed contracts, and the percentages of revenues the players are entitled too… but even minor bargaining chips are still bargaining chips.
Seems that the PA wanted to add one more chip on their side of table today.
On New Years Eve, 2011 the Montreal Canadiens visited the Florida Panthers in what was, for the most part a typical NHL game. However one ugly incident marred the whole affair.
At the end of the first period there was a scrum in the Florida end. After the referees broke things up, they announced that Kris Barch (who was on the Florida Bench and not the ice) was being given a game misconduct.
After the game the linesman stated that Barch made a racial slur at Canadiens Defender PK Subban, and was given the game misconduct for his actions. His conduct was reported to the league. His exact comment was, “Subban, Did you slip on a (bleep) banana peel?”
Today the league gave Barch a one game suspension and Barch has stated that it was not racially motivated and that this is all a misunderstanding.
What a crock… Does Barch really expect us to believe this? We all remember the incident in London early this year involving Wayne Simmonds and a banana being thrown at him. This was huge news in the hockey world. The racial undertones of a black player and a banana were talked about throughout the media and could not be ignored in the hockey media.
And now Barch is saying that just three months later he didn’t realize that a comment about a banana made to another black player would be seen as being racially motivated? Puh-lease.
That the NHL accepted Barch’s explanation and limited the suspension to merely one game is a joke.
There is quite simply no place for this in the league and the NHL had the opportunity to send a real message here.
How this is only 1 game when Sean Avery and James Wisniewski got much harsher punishments for sexual innuendo, actions, and comments that were misogynistic in nature seems very odd to me. The NHL really should have taken a much harsher stand against something that should be unacceptable in the sport. 5 games at minimum was required here.
All 68 teams that enter the March Madness Tournament want this photo.
With a new year comes the half-way mark of the college basketball season. It marks the start of the conference season, which is always where the men are separated from the boys. With that in mind, it’s time to nut-up and make some predictions for the greatest tournament on the planet: March Madness.
The Winners Let’s start us off with the conference winners. In alphabetical order (based on conference), here is what I am calling:
Conference
Projected Winner
ACC
North Carolina
America East
Albany
Atlantic Sun
Belmont
Atlantic 10
Xavier
Big East
Syracuse
Big Sky
Weber St.
Big South
VMI
Big Ten
Ohio St
Big West
Long Beach St
Big 12
Baylor
Conference USA
Southern Miss
Colonial
VCU
Horizon
Valpo
Ivy
Harvard
MAAC
Iona
Mid-American
Kent State
MEAC
Norfolk St
Missouri Valley
Creighton
Mountain West
UNLV
Northeast
Robert Morris
Ohio Valley
Murray State
PAC 12
California
Patriot
Lehigh
Southeastern
Kentucky
Southern
Charleston
Southland
Lamar
Summit League
Oral Roberts
Sun Belt
Middle Tennessee
SWAC
Alabama State
West Coast
Gonzaga
Western Atlantic
Nevada
A few notes to go with these calls: ACC: Talent (UNC) should beat coaching (Duke). Atlantic 10: I think they rebound from early-season losses; they’re still a good team. Big East: I don’t think the Orangemen can be touched. A tough conference, yes, but they are the class. Big Ten: With potential Player of the Year on the floor with the Buckeyes (Sullinger), they should almost run the table in the Big Ten. Big West: At the time of writing, Long Beach State’s RPI is 16. This is a dark-horse team, capable of beating the tranitional powerhouses; just ask Xavier or Pitt. Big 12: I like Baylor, but if Missouri wins the Big 12, I wouldn’t be surprised. C-USA: At the time of writing, Southern Miss’ RPI is 17. I believe they are a better team than Memphis. Colonial: Don’t expect a repeat of their Cinderella run from 2011, but VCU will be back at the dance. Missouri Valley: The Jays are just too good to write them off. Mountain West: UNLV is another dark horse; just ask UNC or Illinois. PAC 12: As much as I want to put Arizona on that line, the Wildcats have shown they will fail under pressure, unlike Baylor. Southeastern: Sorry Florida, Missippi State and Alabama; Kentucky is just too good. West Coast: Gonzaga, for the tenth time in thirteen years.
The At-Larges
After the 31 automatic bids are handed out to the conference champions, the rest of the field is completed using the Rating Percentage Index (RPI), as well as some other tools employed by the NCAA Division I Basketball Selection Committee. With the strength of the “power conferences” consolidated to only a couple this year, I think we see a resurgence of the mid-majors and a lot of them given tickets to the dance. Here are my projections for at-large bids:
This projection gives the Big Ten a total of eight slots in March Madness; the Big East, Big 12 and SEC get seven each; Missouri Valley gets four; Mountain West, PAC 12 and the WCC earn three each; the ACC, Colonial and Mid-American only have two total, including their automatic bid; and everyone else gets only their automatic.
The conference season has begun and we are a mere two months away from Selection Sunday. Two months of “should they be in”, “has ____ done enough?”, or “should we favour the Power Conferences?”. Two months of buzzer-beating, heart-pounding, rim-rattling, fan-screaming conference play. (I present Exhibit A.)
And then the Madness begins. Sweet, sweet Madness.
TSN reported yesterday that the Calgary Stampeders have traded veteran quarterback Henry Burris to the Hamilton Tiger Cats in exchange for quarterback Kevin Glenn, Mark Dewit and a conditional pick.
Burris and his large contract became expendable after struggling early this season and with the emergence of Drew Tate. After 3 seasons in Hamilton, Glenn was not able to lead Hamilton to a winning season and advance to the Grey Cup. The Tiger Cat offence did not show up in the Eastern Final against the Bombers. In fact, that has been the knock on Glenn for years – he can’t win the big game.
I think this trade works out for both teams. The Cats get a proven Grey Cup winning quarterback that knows what it takes to win. The Stamps get to put Burris’ $400,000 salary towards upgrading other parts of the team. Glenn, although he hasn’t won when the pressure is on, is still a great veteran quarterback that Tate can learn from. He also won’t cost as much as Burris.
After driving to Raleigh North Carolina and seeing the Leafs blow a late 3-1 third period lead and lose to the lowly Hurricanes in over-time, my opinion that Ron Wilson needs to be fired was once again reaffirmed.
A large reason why the Leafs recent slide continues is because of their poor penalty kill. Lately anytime, they take a penalty, a goal is pretty much guaranteed for their opponent.
Now the Leafs canned both of their assistant coaches at the end of last season, and spared Wilson. Their play has marginally improved this season, but still is not great. They still are in danger of missing the playoffs again, for the seventh straight season, if they don’t pick up their socks. The team roster has been completely overhauled, assistant coaches replaced, and a new general manager has been installed. The only hockey operations person who hasn’t been replaced is the head coach. What other team do you know of besides my Toronto Maple Leafs that hang on to a coach that hasn’t made the playoffs for 3 consecutive years with one team? Wilson’s record barely is over .500. At the end of the day, he can’t hide behind smoke screens and mirrors forever and he has to be held responsible. He’s got to go!!!!!!
I don’t know what Leaf General Manager Brian Burke was thinking extending his contract on Christmas. As far as I’m concerned, Wilson’s record with the Leafs doesn’t warrant a contract extension. As much as I hate the Habs, I give them credit for giving Jacques Martin a chance to coach the team. It didn’t work out, and so they turfed him. Look for current Canadien Head Coach Randy Cunneyworth to be canned at season’s end, if not before.
ROSE BOWL, #10 Wisconsin vs. #5 Oregon (Jan. 2, 5pm, ESPN) Looking at these two teams statistically, they’re very similar except in one category: points allowed. Wisconsin ranks 6th, Oregon 45th. Both teams are strong on offense and each has a stud running back in Montee Ball and LaMichael James. I think the difference in the game is going to be Oregon’s defense versus the offensive line of Wisconsin. The Badgers’ linemen average 6’5″ and 320 pounds- the largest in college football. In fact, only two NFL teams have larger offensive lines. Russell Wilson will have plenty of time to throw, and Montee Ball should get his usual excellent blocking. I’m picking the Badgers by 10.
FIESTA BOWL, #4 Stanford vs. #3 Oklahoma State (Jan. 2, 8:30pm, ESPN) This looks to be one of the more entertaining matchups of the year. Neither team is significantly stronger than the other in any major statistical categories except passing yardage (OSU 2nd, Stanford 26th), both have excellent quarterbacks, and both have had blowout wins and close wins over some very good teams. Oklahoma State is ranked much lower in points allowed (60th, versus 23rd for Stanford) but the actual difference is only about 5 points per game. It should be a close, back-and-forth game, but I like Stanford to prevail.
SUGAR BOWL, #13 Michigan vs. #11 Virginia Tech (Jan. 3, 8:30pm, ) After three years of football purgatory, the Wolverine faithful should turn out in droves in New Orleans for the team’s first BCS Bowl since 2007. Michigan outranks Virginia Tech in rushing yards (12th vs. 29th), points scored (22nd vs. 52nd) and by a slim margin in points allowed (7th vs. 8th). VT, on the other hand, has the edge in passing yardage (66th vs. 90th), a predictable stat considering that Michigan is in the process of transitioning from the spread to a pro-style offense. QB Denard Robinson is the team’s leading rusher, and I think he’ll be the difference in this game one way or the other. As Robinson’s passing improves- and it has noticeably this year- the Wolverines’ offense has become increasingly difficult to game-plan for. I’m picking Michigan in a close game.
ORANGE BOWL, #23 West Virginia vs. #15 Clemson (Jan. 4, 8:30pm, ESPN) Clemson got off to a fantastic 8-0 start this season, beating three ranked opponents, before losing three of their last five. West Virginia suffered a September loss to LSU, which isn’t a big deal, but they also lost to unranked conference foes Syracuse and Louisville. In short, it’s hard to know what to expect in this game as both teams have had very up-and-down seasons. Statistically, both teams are very similar, but it’s important to keep in mind that while the ACC is considerably stronger than the Big East. In other words, Clemson has similar stats to West Virginia while playing against stronger competition. The Tigers played five ranked teams and won four of those games; the Mountaineers played two and won one. I think Clemson’s level of experience against strong teams could turn out to be the difference in this one. Tigers win.
BCS CHAMPIONSHIP, #1 LSU vs. #2 Alabama (Jan. 9, 8:30pm, ESPN) Let me start by saying I do expect there to be at least one touchdown scored in this game. I still expect the game to be close, though. Alabama has a much better passing game, averaging about 40 yards per game more than LSU. I give LSU a (very) slight edge in the run game- while Alabama’s Trent Richardson is obviously a huge threat, LSU can mix it up with Spencer Ware, Michael Ford, and Alfred Blue, and QB Jordan Jefferson is capable of racking up the rushing yards himself. The defenses are also very close; Alabama has the better all-around defense, but LSU’s defensive backfield is a huge takeaway threat. On special teams, LSU has a big advantage. Several players, most noteably CB Tyrann Mathieu, are known for long kick and/or punt returns, and the previous matchup between these two teams proved that LSU has the superior kicking team. Additionally, punter Brad Wing has shown a freakish ability to pin teams inside their own 10-yard line.
On the topic of special teams, I’m looking forward to seeing what LSU coach Les Miles has up his sleeve. The Mad Hatter has been unusually restrained this year, calling very few trick plays other than a fake punt against Florida. I fully expect to see some of the gadget plays he’s known for in this game. However, it’s very, very difficult to defeat the same team twice in one season when the ability levels are this similar and the familiarity with each other so great. I’m picking Alabama by a TD or less.
After driving to Raleigh North Carolina and seeing the Leafs blow a late 3-1 third period lead and lose to the lowly Hurricanes in over-time, my opinion that Ron Wilson needs to be fired was once again reaffirmed.