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Last Word On Sports

Sports News Since 2011. Honestly.

Last Word On Sports Logo

Sports. Honestly. Since 2011

Month: April 2012

NHL Draft Prospect Profile #16: Olli Maatta

Posted on by Ben Kerr

Drafted 22nd Overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins

Our next prospect was the 1st overall pick in the 2011 CHL Import Draft.  The London Knights used their pick to draft Finnish defenceman Olli Maatta (Määttä) and haven’t looked back.  With the addition of Maatta, to existing players like Scott Harrington and Jarred Tinordi, the Knights assembled one of the best groups of defencemen in the OHL.   The Knights are currently in the OHL’s Western Conference Final against the Kitchener Rangers, and are a threat to go all the way to the Memorial Cup.  Maatta joins Teuvo Teravainen in leading this year’s group of Finnish born NHL prospects.

Defense
Born Aug 22 1994 — Jyvaskyla, Finland
Height 6.02 — Weight 198 — Shoots L

2011-12 London Knights OHL 58 5 27 32 25 25 11 1 11 12 2

Maatta came to London with high expectations based on his high selection in the CHL import draft.  He has lived up to the hype.  Maatta has shown to be a solid minute eating defencemen for the 1st place Knights.  Maatta is a versatile two way player, who has greatly contributed to the ongoing success in London with his ability to contribute in any situation.

Maatta possesses good size and excellent defensive instincts.  He is adept at reading the play and has excellent positioning in the defensive zone.  Maatta is not a big hitter, but he is very good at using his size to take opposing forwards out of the play and separate them from the puck.  Maatta is a good shot blocker, and anticipates well to cut off passes.  Maatta is a key penalty killer for the Knights.  Along with Harrington and Tinordi, Maatta gives London a big 3 of shutdown defencemen and effective penalty killers.

Maatta is also capable of adding some offensive skill from the blue line.  He is a decent puck mover who starts the rush with a hard and accurate first pass.  He’s a decent PP point man who is poised with the puck and has a hard and accurate shot.  We think he can be an effective 2nd unit PP player at the next level.

Maatta could use some work on his skating.  We find that his stride is unconventional and that he lacks explosiveness.  He can also sometimes be beaten to the outside by extremely quick forwards.

In addition to playing for London, Maatta also has a wealth of international experience appearing for Finland in both the IIHF World Junior Championships and at the Under-18 World Championships.  Unfortunately an injury suffered in the first game of the 2012 World Juniors sidelined Maatta for the duration of the tournament.

We’d believe Maatta’s maximum potential to become a defender similar to what Roman Hamrlik has been in his post lockout career.  An effective defensive player who can match up against offensive players, but who can also provide a little bit of offence and is able to log 20+ minutes per game in all situations.

… and thats the Last Word.

Production (K)lein: The Real Hero in the Preds-Wings Series

Posted on by Michael Kovacs, ADMIN

Mission (Nearly) Accomplished
The Nashville Predators are back home after completing a historic two-game playoffs sweep of theDetroit Red Wings at Joe Louis Arena last Sunday and again on Tuesday night. That they were able to take two games on Motor City ice is made even more impressive by the fact that prior to this series, they’d never even taken one. In their pair of previous Stanley Cup Playoffs Quarterfinal matchups versus the Wings, in 2004 and 2008, Nashville was literally oh-fer-The-Joe.

The dramatic victories this week have placed the boys from Music City on the never-before-tread ground of a 3-1 playoff series lead. They can now close out their longtime division rivals in unprecedented fashion with a victory Friday night at Bridgestone Arena.

The team has obviously played well since dropping the second game of the series in Nashville and placing the subsequent media circus distraction involving Shea Weber’s hit on Detroit’s Henrik Zetterberg behind them. Several players have stepped up to meet the challenge, however, I believe it’s more than fair to say that one player in particular hasn’t quite lived up to his name over that stretch.

He’s turning that name on its ever-lovin’ ear.

What’s in a Name?
I started out with the idea of subtitling this story, Nothin’ Could Be Kleiner – employing a very bad pun to celebrate the very good recent exploits of Preds’ veteran defenseman, Kevin Klein. However, I thought better of it – not because it might sound too corny (I mean, HELLO…think about who you’re dealing with here) – but rather, because it would literally be a cross-purposes sort of statement.

You see, Klein’s surname, in Yiddish/ancient German means, “little person,” so according to my scrambled way of thinking, “nothing could be Kleiner” might loosely be interpreted as, “nothing could be smaller” which would be just the opposite of this story’s intended message – which is how incredibly BIG he played in Detroit, logging perhaps the two finest back-to-back performances of his NHL career.

Klein scored the game-winning goals in both contests, and defensively, saved a sure game-tying attempt in the third period Sunday, blocking the wide-open attempt by talented Detroit rookie forward, Cory Emmerton.

‘Kleiner’ is a curious study in terms of his perception by the Predators’ fan base – or at least those who are vocal enough to talk about him openly on Twitter. The Mohawk coif he now displays – and has in turn inspired others among Nashville’s blueline corps to adopt – somewhat belies his quiet, unassuming, workman-like nature. He’s not someone who draws a lot of attention to himself.

However, to some Preds fans, Klein is the proverbial sturdy chair that we seem to always take for granted; never giving a thought to whether or not it will support our weight whenever we choose to sit; it just does its job.

It’s not a necessarily ‘pretty’ chair; and when guests come over, they don’t always rave about how great it is or how lucky we are to have it, but then again, neither do we.

Nonetheless, we appreciate our sturdy chair, that is, until it creaks or breaks down – then we rue the day we ever bought the stinkin’ thing. And that’s a pretty unfortunate stance as far as I’m concerned; pretty unfair as well.

Late Bloomer?
For those who have witnessed his entire NHL career, despite his recent heroics in Detroit, it’s somewhat hard to imagine Klein as some kind of offensive ‘late-bloomer.’  However, the increased output we’ve seen from the six-year veteran  – not only here in the playoffs, but in the past two regular seasons as well (e.g.: his 4g/17a/21pt totals in 2011-12 each tied or exceeded career highs), may indicate that an area of talent once promised but never quite delivered might still be in play.

When you consider the wealth of organizational depth that Nashville has on the blueline, it’s sometimes easy to forget that at the time he was selected in the now-legendary 2003 NHL Entry Draft in Nashville, Klein was the guy – not Weber – who was projected to someday share ice time alongside first round pick (#7 overall), Ryan Suter as part of the team’s D-pair of the future.

At any rate, that’s what HockeysFuture.com assumed they thought, as noted in the website’s2003 Draft Class profile for Nashville:

“The Predators actually compare Klein to first-round pick Ryan Suter. Nashville sees the two pairing up as one of [their] top defensive pairs a few years down the road. Klein, just like Suter, has excellent mobility and offensive skills. … Klein is known as a complete defensive talent.” [bolded emphasis: mine]

Surprised? You shouldn’t be. Klein was considered the real deal coming out of Toronto St. Michael’s in the Ontario Hockey League. He was nominated as the OHL’s Most Outstanding Defenseman of 2002-03, and was an OHL East All-Star that year.

Another profile described him as “great at both ends of the ice. Offensively he can lead the rush and pass to a forward or can take it all the way to the opponent’s net. He is very aware defensively and clears the net effectively at the OHL level. He doesn’t take undisciplined penalties.”

The HF review went on to say, “The 18-year old was considered a player with first-round potential, but somehow fell into Nashville’s lap at the 37th selection, overall.”

For you non-math majors, that’s 12 selections prior to Weber’s name being called at #49 of Round Two.

Oh. Wait. You mean you thought that everyone had projected Weber to one day morph into The Incredible Hulk on skates? Well, if that were the case, I think you could have bet the farm that Nashville, with its juicy trio of second round selections back in ’03, would have then grabbed Webs in the #35 slot which they also owned – two picks prior to their selection of Klein.

Um…hope you didn’t like that farm...

Nashville instead nabbed a big, speedy Russian power forward named Konstantin Glazachev (and we’ve all heard of HIM, right?) who, with the notable exception of three consecutive double-figure goal output seasons in the KHL, from 2008-09 through 2010-11, has yet to show any indication at all that he’s NHL-level material. In other words, ya can’t get ‘em all right.

But then again, who needs a future stud-superstar defenseman when you can absolutely steal a future career KHL journeyman forward instead? But I digress.

The reality regarding Weber’s perception going into the draft is that Nashville was the only team who really had him in their sites.  If you honestly believe that ANY of the 12 GMs who passed on him from selection #38 through #49 had HALF a clue about the kind of player he would become, I’d invite you to check back with me later – I have a wonderful real estate opportunity involving some ocean-front property in Oklahoma that I’d love to share with you.

Oh, and don’t get me wrong; back in 2003, the 17 year-old Weber was by no means considered a ‘project,’ per se; however, at 190 pounds, there were obvious concerns about his relatively slight body weight in comparison to his 6’3″ frame. On the other hand, at 18 years of age, Klein, while two inches shorter at 6’1″ and 187 pounds, gave way to Weber by only three ticks on the scale, while possessing all the polish of a top puck-moving defenseman.

Who would YOU have selected first?

Late Bloomer 2 (or should I say, Too?)
Nevertheless, it wasn’t long after he was drafted by Nashville that Weber apparently became exposed to gamma rays. He wouldn’t grow any taller, but he would rapidly begin filling out and packing on muscle. Thanks in part to a workout regimen mandated by the Preds, along with his own drive to get bigger and stronger, by 2005 Weber had increased his weight from 190 to 215 (on the way to his current weight of 234) pounds, and had already established himself as one of the top defensemen in both the WHL and Canadian Junior International play.

Meanwhile back in Nashville, the folks in the Preds’ front office were feeling as though they’d won the Lottery.

But if you need to tab anyone as responsible for Weber’s late-bloomer status (and in turn, a goodly part of the Preds’ kind fortune), it has to be good ol’ Ma Nature.

Shea’s August birthday certainly contributed to his status of being somewhat behind the 8-ball, physically among his hockey peers. Weber is about six months younger than most of those in his draft class, and that difference in age and associated physical development would follow him all the way through his entry into the NHL.

Even in his early years in the Western Hockey League, where he led the Kelowna Rockets to the 2004 Memorial Cup Championship, he was later in physical development than a lot of his colleagues. He was only 5’9″ the year he entered the WHL and wasn’t even drafted. But soon thereafter Weber began growing and improving quickly; a trend that would obviously be repeated when he turned pro.

Weber has himself stated that at the 2003 draft he was as surprised as anyone to learn that he’d been selected in the second round, which all seems so surreal, given the circumstances surrounding his career some nine years later.

“I was just sitting there for awhile and when I heard my name I was surprised because I thought it was going to be a longer wait than that,” Weber explained in a 2005 interview.

The good news for Preds fans is that Ma Nature’s procrastination (along with a crapload of foresight by Paul Fenton and his team) certainly worked to Nashville’s advantage with regard to the Predators’ future Captain.

New Kevin, or Just a One-Kleiner?
But for me, here’s the bottom line in this discussion: Everyone knows how good a hockey player Shea Weber is. Everyone knows that Ryan Suter was well-suited (no pun intended) as the #7 overall pick in the draft. But how much do we really know about Kevin Klein?

How much do we know about the way in which Klein perceives his own overall talent, beyond the shutdown defensive role he’s always played for the Predators? Could it perhaps be that the workman-like sense he’s always exhibited toward being a defensive specialist has limited the offensive potential that so many pointed to early in his career?

And could that all now be changing?

One thing I can say to anyone who doubts the puck-handling and shooting chops that are most definitely still a part of Klein’s skill-set: just watch the video of Sunday’s game; of Klein’s second period burst-through-the-defense, mini-breakaway, and the slick, sick shot he put past Detroit’s All-Star goaltender, Jimmy Howard, giving the Predators a 2-0 lead and essentially putting that game out of reach.

Klein then came back in Tuesday’s contest, and in the pivotal third period, as Marty Erat was being chased in the Wings’ zone – inexplicably, by three Detroit defenders – he trailed the play and again displayed a goal-scorer’s instinct, breaking in at just the right time to receive the puck in the slot, and deposit his second-straight game-winning goal.

In either scenario, Klein hardly looked like the often sad-sack defensive drone that unfortunately a number of Preds fans have made him out to be in their online comments. And to be fair, for as solid as he has been over the years, Klein also had some pretty poor luck at times.

However, if anyone thinks that the draft fortune the Preds enjoyed in their grand larceny of obtaining Weber somehow counter-balances the relative disappointment of Klein’s debatably unfulfilled potential, I respectfully disagree.

And I believe we may have witnessed a turning point.

I’m not suggesting that Kevin Klein has now discovered his inner Drew Doughty; I’m suggesting that hopefully, Kevin Klein has now rediscovered his inner Kevin Klein.

NHL Draft Prospect Profile #15: Zemgus Girgensons

Posted on by Ben Kerr

Drafted 14th overall by Buffalo Sabres

Our #15 ranked prospect is expected to be the highest drafted player ever from Latvia. Zemgus Girgensons is a big powerful centre who is the captain for the Dubuque Fighting Saints of the USHL, where he is a teammate of Michael Matheson.  He is committed to play NCAA hockey next year for the University of Vermont.  Should he choose to instead go the CHL route, his rights are owned by the WHL’s Kelowna Rockets.

Centre
Born Jan 5 1994 — Riga Latvia,
Height 6.02 — Weight 198
2010-11 Dubuque Fighting Saints USHL 51 21 28 49 46 7 11 3 5 8 8
2011-12 Dubuque Fighting Saints USHL 49 24 31 55 69 17

Zemgus Girgensons is a prototypical power forward prospect.  He possesses excellent size and great skating.  Girgensons has a powerful stride, very good speed and balance, and above average agility.  He uses these attributes to drive hard to the net and get to the dirty areas of the ice.  He is equally capable of driving wide on a defender and going around an opponent before cutting hard to the net, or bulldozing his way right through the opponent.  He adds to this great stickhandling and puck protection abilities.  He has good hockey sense, vision and passing ability adding a playmaking element to his game.  He also possesses soft hands in close and a good wrist shot, and these help him to be a natural goal scorer.

Girgensons is a good two way player.  He has effective hockey sense and positioning in the defensive zone.  He uses his size and long stick to angle opponents to the outside, and to cut down passing and shooting lanes.  He is a strong positional player in the defensive zone, who understands and sticks to his assignment.  Girgensons is an effective and valuable penalty killer, and is often matched up against an opponents top players in even strength situations.  He is just as willing to engage physically and win battles in the defensive zone as he is in the offensive end of the ice.

What we feel has kept Girgensons a step below similar ranked players like Radek Faksa and Brendan Gaunce is a lack of consistency.  There are games where he is the best player on the ice, an absolute dominant force in all ends of the ice, and looks like a clear top 10 pick.  However we’ve also seen that Girgensons have games where he gets frustrated and begins to press a little too hard instead of letting the game come to him. He can get into situations where he will overhandle the puck, make one too many moves, instead of taking the smarter easier scoring chance that is in front of him.  He also can sometimes take a bad offensive zone penalty on nights where he is being frustrated.  We do not believe that this inconsistency is not due to any lack of effort on his part.  It is merely something he will need to fix as he matures.  Girgensons has good intangibles and is a leads his Dubuque teammates by example.  His coaches have a ton of faith in him, naming him captain ahead of older more experienced teammates.

Unfortunately for Girgensons, his season recently ended as the result of a broken jaw suffered in Dubuque’s opening round win over the Under-17 USNTDP team.  He will be unavailable for the remainder of the USHL playoffs.  The injury curse of the 2012 Draft Class continues.  Last year he helped Dubuque win the Clark Cup as USHL Champions, and his injury is obviously a major blow to their chances of repeating.

We see Girgensons game, and his high end potential as similar to Ryan Kesler of the Vancouver Canucks; however he must develop more consistency if he is to reach this potential.  With time we believe that Girgensons should develop into an effective third liner in the NHL, however he does have the potential to develop his offensive game and become an effective two way player in the top 6 as well.

… and thats the Last Word.

Champions League Review: Taking Down the Spanish Giants!

Posted on by Luciano Giuliano

This year’s Champions League final will be played at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany. It is an extraordinary stadium seeing that it is new as it was built just prior to the 2006 World Cup. It is also a very vibrant atmosphere as seen in the first semi-final leg. The Allianz Arena is home to Germany’s most prestigious club, Bayern Munich, who are currently in the running for a place in the Champions League final. In case you were not able to see these fixtures, provided here are the reviews of the semi-final first leg matches between Bayern Munich v Real Madrid and Chelsea v Barcelona.

Bayern Munich 2-1 Real Madrid (Aggregate 2-1)

In front of their home fans, the Germans always come out hard and provide stiff competition for their opponents. This match was no exception indeed. However, it is never an easy game when playing 9-time Champions League winners, Real Madrid.

The fans made it easy enough for Bayern to settle in quickly. However, Los Blancos were well prepared and have the experience not to be intimidated in such high-profile matches. The visitors came close to taking the lead with their first chance of the game going to German born Mesut Ozil who fed Karim Benzema in the box for a fierce effort that was palmed over by Manuel Neuer, the Munich ‘keeper.

A slight hush loomed over the home crowd as the visitors grew in confidence. But, lucky for them, Munich was able to bag the go-ahead goal on 17 minutes as France International Franck Ribery blasted in the opener with a low shot after Madrid failed to clear a corner; 1-0 at half.

Any errors were most likely to be punished as the Spanish giants capitalised on a Munich defensive mistake in the second period which allowed Madrid to get back into the tie. Neuer did well to block a Cristiano Ronaldo shot which fell to Benzema who scuffed his effort across the face of goal. Luckily for Real that it fell to Ronaldo’s feet to put in a low cross for Ozil who was standing in front of goal unmarked for the easiest of tap-ins. 1-1 at the 53rd minute.

At the final stages of the game, Philipp Lahm delivered a splendid low cross for Mario Gomez to slide it into the back of the net. 2-1 Bayern Munich who now have a foot in the final at home.

The second leg will take place at the Bernabeu on Wednesday in Madrid, Spain.

 

Chelsea 1-0 Barcelona (Aggregate 1-0)

The other semi-final first leg fixture took place at Stamford Bridge where Chelsea welcomed current holders Barcelona.

The Blues boast an impressive record against arguably the best side in the world – no losses in the past 6 fixtures. Knowing this absolutely sparked some confidence in the Chelsea players who have turned their season around thanks to Italian head coach, Roberto Di Matteo.

Barcelona did impose their web-like style of play by holding possession and making crisp, short and one-time passes which can open any defence. This time though, they were not able to draw in and fool the Chelsea defenders who are always stubborn at home, keeping even the likes of Lionel Messi quiet this evening. At the Camp Nou though, it will be very tough to repeat the same feat against an upset Blaugrana side.

The Spanish giants were very unfortunate not to come out winners as the Barca players will rue their missed opportunities. In the 9th minute, Andres Iniesta filtered in a beautiful through pass for Alexis Sanchez who lifted the ball and had Blues ‘keeper Petr Cech beaten, only for the ball to slam the crossbar.

Cech continued to make impressive saves on Iniesta and Fabregas twice. At one point, the ex-Arsenal playmaker had the Czech international beaten only for Ashely Cole to clear off the goal line.

Chelsea were on their heels and would have accepted a tie at the interval, but were able to turn the result in their favour on the stroke of half time. Frank Lampard switched the ball to the left for Ramires who spotted an unmarked Didier Drogba for a first-touch effort to go past Barca ‘keeper Victor Valdes for his 3rd goal in five Champions League games.

In the second portion of the match-up, Barcelona managed to stir up more chances only for the English side to clear. Cech was called in to rescue his teammates on several occasions.

The game ended 1-0 for Chelsea who take this slight advantage to the Camp Nou in Barcelona.

The semi-final second leg of the Champions League will be played on Tuesday, April 24 in Spain.

 

Lingerie Football League Cancels US Season, Launches LFL Canada.

Posted on by Ben Kerr

The Lingerie Football League announced that they are cancelling their 2012 season.   The reason for the change is that the league plans on changing from a fall league to a spring and summer league in the 2012-13 season.

The League stated that they have plans to expand during the hiatus and continue to look for athletes, or talent, or (insert your own word) here to fill the new teams they have planned.  The planned expansion includes having separate league based in Canada and launching a version of LFL Australia.

The League also announced that they will hold promotional tours in Mexico, Australia, and Asia during the hiatus in an effort to expand their brand globally.  They have planned an “All-Fantasy Game” or All-Star Game for Brisbane.

The Toronto Triumph have moved from the LFL’s American Division to be part of the new all-Canadian league which be known as LFL Canada.  This league will play their games starting in the fall of 2012.  The league will feature four teams, the aforementioned Triumph, the B.C. Angels based in Vancouver, along with the Regina Rage, and Saskatoon Sirens who will be sure to be bitter hair-pulling rivals on the field.

The League is also planning LFL Europe league to launch in 2014.  Cities have yet to be announced.

The League also announced that it hopes to have its 4 champions (USA, Canada, Europe, Australia) meet in a tournament every four years to determine an LFL World Champion.

This sounds like an awful lot of plans for a league that really hasn’t shown the ability to generate profits at this point.  At Last Word we are skeptical that the league will even play in 2013 and wouldn’t be surprised to hear that all these big plans have gone up in smoke.  This very well could become known as the Women’s version of the XFL.

… and thats the Last Word.

The Offenders: NHLers in Hot Water

Posted on by Grant Alexander

Here is the master list of players involved in infractions, and the sentences imposed on them. We have only played one week in the first round of the playoffs, and have already passed the mark set for suspended players last year. Does that mean that the league has been too lenient in the past as to not deter the players playing now from acting inappropriately? Or is it just a case of tight competitive series featuring division rivals and other high-spirited bouts?

What do you think of the league’s (and Shanahan’s) work so far?

Too lenient? Not severe enough? Right on the money? Comment below and vote in our poll.

Is there anybody you would add or remove to/from the list?

What would be your message going forward?

– Byron Bitz, 2 game suspension

– Shea Weber, small fine

– Matt Carkner, 1 game suspension

– Carl Hagelin, 3 game suspension

– Andrew Shaw, 3 game suspension

– Craig Adams, 1 game suspension (assessed on-ice)

– Aaron Asham, 4 game suspension

– James Neal, 1 game suspension

– Nicklas Backstrom, 1 game suspension

– Raffi Torres, TBA

NHL Draft Prospect Profile #14: Cody Ceci

Posted on by Ben Kerr

Drafted #15 Overall by the Ottawa Senators

As we continue on through the draft prospects we now approach a very defence heavy portion of our rankings.  Next up is Cody Ceci, a huge, offensive defenceman who plays for the Ottawa 67’s of the OHL.  Ceci is currently having an excellent playoff for the 67’s and this can only help his draft stock in the eyes of NHL scouts for this coming June Entry Draft.

Defense
Born Dec 21 1993 — Orleans, ONT
Height 6.03 — Weight 210 — Shoots R

2009-10 Ottawa 67’s OHL 64 4 8 12 12 3 12 0 3 3 0
2010-11 Ottawa 67’s OHL 68 9 25 34 28 11 4 0 2 2 4
2011-12 Ottawa 67’s OHL 64 17 43 60 14 21 13 1 9 10 2

Ceci was the 2nd highest scoring defenceman in the Ontario Hockey League, (to Dougie Hamilton), and scored at nearly a PPG pace.  Ceci possesses one of the most feared shots in the OHL.  His slapshot is an absolute bomb.  He also has a hard and accurate wrist shot.  He is very poised and calm with the puck on his stick, taking the time to make the smart play.  He’s a good stick handler, and is an excellent passer, making tape to tape passes both to start the 67’s transition game, and in running the power play in the offensive zone.  He has the ability to both lead the rush, and join as the trailer, and can even go end to end at times.

Ceci’s skating stride looks awkward, and is certainly not textbook.  However it is something that works for him.  He possesses very good speed, agility, balance and has a good first step.  He is able to use his skating to be a true full ice player, and can recover back to his defensive position after taking an offensive opportunity.

Ceci’s defensive game has greatly improved this season.  He is effective at using proper angles and forcing opponents to the outside.  Once there he is able to rub his man out along the boards.  He has good defensive zone positioning and a long, active stick that helps him to cut down passing lanes.  He is also extremely effective at keeping the front of the Ottawa net clear, and at clearing the rebounds that sometimes collect there.  We would like to see Ceci add some additional bulk to his frame so he can win more board battles against particularly big and strong opponents.  We’d also like to see Ceci add more of a shot blocking element to his game going forward.

Ceci  is an excellent defensive prospect who will make a team very happy on draft day.  He’s shown great improvement in all aspects of his game this season and its been driving him up draft boards.  We believe that Ceci has the potential to become a defenceman similar to Brent Burns of the San Jose Sharks.

… and thats the Last Word.

CFL Approves Rule Changes

Posted on by Michael Kovacs, ADMIN

The Canadian Football League’s Board of Governors have announced that they have approved a rule change for the 2012 season.

Now, “Every scoring play…”, from the rouge to the touchdown, “will be subject to review”.

I’m definitely a proponent of using technology to assist in making games as fair as they can be, but have they crossed the line?  My problem is that I have a feeling this will only slow the game down further, making pauses and commercials longer. Wait, maybe that’s the point?  It seems every year in the 27 years I have had season tickets, the games are just a bit slower.  To be clear, I don’t mean they are played with less intensity.  I simply mean that the game is becoming very “technical”, and that usually means “slower”.

Maybe I’m jumping the gun? Perhaps it can work? Nah…

Now for two rule changes I DO like, which concerns player safety.  How many times did we see a player’s helmet fly off during a game?  I doubt that stat exists, but if it does I bet the number is ridiculously high, considering what can occur in that situation.  The CFL has amended its rules to include the following:

“If a ball carrier’s helmet comes off, the play will now be blown dead immediately. The line of scrimmage for the next play will be where the player’s helmet came off.”  Further;

“If a non-ball carrier’s helmet comes off, that player can no longer participate in the play. If he does, the player will be penalized 10 yards for illegal participation. If a player hits an opposing player who isn’t participating because he lost his helmet, he will be penalized 15 yards for unnecessary roughness.”

…and that is the last word.

The Build-up to the Kentucky Derby in Full Force!

Posted on by Dwayne Edwards

The first Saturday in May is quickly arriving.  It won’t be long before we see the garland of roses around the 2012 winner of the Kentucky Derby!

It seems as though there are a lot of favorites to win this year, but there is surely no heavy favourite. Arguments can be made for several horses, including my picks, which have changed over and over again as chalks get defeated and others rise to the occasion. This seems to be one of the best crop of three-year-olds in quite some time, and if one of these horses popped up to win the triple crown I would be very shocked. Dare I predict that all three Triple Crown races will have three different “top three” finishers.

Chances are the lowest odds in this race are going to be 4-1, and my guess is that Union Rags will be taking just a little more money than the rest. With his last performance only being a third in the Florida Derby, is that enough to consider him the top contender?  Perhaps.

Compared to a horse like Bodemeister who absolutely romped over the field in the Arkansas Derby beating his own stable mate by an incredible and increasing 9+ lengths. Now that’s what I like to see; a horse that improved from his last race, where he ran second to another top contender, Creative Cause.

Although narrowly beaten in the Santa Anita Derby this Creative Cause is definitely going to be hard to pass up in any bet. Whether you are betting to win, which he has a great shot at, he is certainly a player in any exactor, triactor, or superfecta. This horse proved he likes to run two-turns, ran third in the Breeders Cup and I personally believe he will be a contender come Derby day.

If this is the case how can you not include the horse that beat him in the SA Derby, I’ll Have Another? This horse is showing nothing but promise winning his last two races and bringing his jockey from Canada along for the ride. Mario Gutierrez will likely be riding in his first Kentucky Derby and you got to like his chances and his story!

Getting away from the west coast now, the Wood Memorial was a very good race with two more likely favorites for the derby finishing first and second. Gemologist looked as though he was going to get beat at the 1/8 pole as Alpha swooped up right beside him only to get turned away. Castellano had something left in the gas tank as Gemologist was earged on and responded as Alpha never got a nose in front. Can’t count out a repeat performance in the Derby from these two, every shot in the world for another 1-2 outing.

Now, the beautiful Hansen, yes he ran second in the Blue Grass, one of his two second-place finishes while winning all three of his other starts. The Blue Grass ran on the synthetic surface at Keenland was won by a horse proven to love that surface, Dullahan. After running second to the injured Algorithms in the Holy Bull, he then turned out a very impressive victory in the Gotham. Maybe after running second again the gorgeous grey is ready to bounce back and beat the best three-year olds in the land.

These are going to be the top choices come May 5th, but we all know this does not mean the only choices. Upsets are always happening, and some have their best performances in front of the largest crowds, while others crumble.

Other very fine athletes running with every chance to win are; Secret Circle; Mark Valeski; Rousing Sermon; Take Charge Indy; Daddy Nose Best; and definitely not to be forgotten about, Went the Day Well, who has the same prep races and the same jockey/trainer combo as last year’s winner of the Derby.

Well here it is, on the biggest stage, the mass amounts of money gambled on this race, I am going to place my small chump change wager in. I got dreams too, this tri could pay $50,000 or $500 but I am going with my top four picks, a $1 tri box Hansen, Gemologist, Alpha and Rousing Sermon.

…and that is the last word.