2012 - Page 48 of 114 - Last Word On Sports

Former Big Leaguers Grinding it Out in Independent Baseball

Posted on August 21, 2012November 5, 2021 by Max Warner

After hearing yesterday that 50-year-old Roger Clemens is making a comeback in the independent Atlantic League on a team which features several former Major Leaguers, I was intrigued about what other stars of yesteryear I might find hidden throughout baseball’s various Indy Leagues. Independent leagues are minor leagues that are not affiliated with any Major League clubs, and Indy League rosters have a lot in common with the casts of direct-to-DVD movies: one or two recognizable names hidden amongst a pile of Jane and John Does.

Reading through the rosters of independent league teams can be a trip down memory lane. It can also be a trip that helps you discover the whereabouts of Jason Lane, the former Houston Astro who I found playing for Clemens’ new team, the Sugar Land Express of the Atlantic League. I quickly decided that the world needs to know about the Jason Lane’s still playing baseball in places like Newark, Bridgeport and Rockland, and I decided to take you on a light-heartened journey which highlights eight interesting, former Big Leaguers currently playing Indy Ball:

Angel Berroa, New Jersey Jackals, Can-Am League

How does the 2003 AL Rookie of the Year end-up in Indy Ball? Former Royal Berroa has no on-base skills (career .303 OBP) and he can’t field (career .965 Fielding %), and it’s a wonder that he actually lasted 8 seasons in the Show with stats like that. Berroa is posting a .902 OPS in Indy Ball this year, and has played left field, second base and shortstop. Somewhere, a National League team may have found their 25^th man.

Pedro Feliz, Camden Riversharks, Atlantic League

Feliz always could hit for some power in the Show (4 seasons with 20 homeruns or more), but his career .288 OBP punched him a one-way ticket to Indy Ball in 2011. Feliz has an .836 OPS this year, but just 11 walks in 212 plate appearances, which is more of an indictment of Feliz’s legendary hacker tendencies than it is about the ease of hitting Atlantic League pitching.

Jose Canseco, Worcester Tornadoes, Can-Am League

What more needs to be said about baseball’s favourite juicer? At 47, Canseco is batting .194 with 1 home run in 20 games in the Can-Am League this year. Jose needs to start eating the type of corn flakes which made him such a feared slugger in the Majors, or else quit baseball before he loses any remaining shred of dignity. Even Satchel Paige eventually realized that he needed to retire from baseball.

Armando Benitez, Long Island Ducks, Atlantic League

Being a current or former closer for the Mets means that you are destined to continue playing well after you should have retired (John Franco), that you may have been charged with a committing a violent crime during your career (Frank Francisco), or both (Francisco Rodriguez). In Benitez’s case, his 5.96 ERA and 1.81 WHIP this year in Indy Ball should tell him loud and clear what he needs to do this offseason.

Gustavo Chacin, Rockland Boulders, Can-Am League

Chacin had a cologne fragrance named after him in 2006, one season after his only decent year in the Show (13-9, 3.94 ERA). Unfortunately, the former Jay has a different kind of smell associated with his pitching these days, as he has surrendered 115 hits and 11 bombs in just over 100 innings in Indy Ball. Yikes.

Shea Hillenbrand, Bridgeport Bluefish, Atlantic League

When Hillenbrand was traded by the Blue Jays in 2006, he wrote “the ship is sinking” on the team chalkboard as a parting shot. Ironically, Hillenbrand would last only one more season in the Show before he washed upon the shores of the Atlantic League in 2008. After 4 years away from the game, Shea is back, but he is getting “swamped” by Indy League pitching, posting a measly .590 OPS.

Tony Phillips, Edinburg Roadrunners, North American League

Yes, he’s that Tony Phillips. The 53-year-old had over 2,000 career hits in the Show, last played for Oakland in 1999, and is posting a .682 OPS with 2 steals in Indy Ball this year. As Lloyd Christmas stated in Dumb and Dumber, “senior citizens, although slow and dangerous behind the wheel, can still serve a purpose”.

Scott Kazmir, Sugar Land Skeeters, Atlantic League

If you thought Kazmir was done when he was released by the Angels in 2011 after posting an ERA above 17.00 in Triple-A, check out his stats this year in Indy Ball: 7.89 ERA, 1.99 WHIP in 8 starts. Don’t feel too sorry for Scott, he made nearly $31 million during his Major League career.

The Indy Leagues are not quite the garbage dump I have made them out to be. Some Indy Leaguers, such as Scott Richmond, have parlayed strong showings in unaffiliated baseball into Major League contracts and experience. Others have gone to independent baseball after spending significant time in the Show, and have earned a return trip to the Majors. In July of this year, former MLB veteran Lew Ford did the latter when he went from the Atlantic League to the Baltimore Orioles, making his first appearance in the Majors in five years, long after many had written him off for good. But for every Lew Ford success story, there are ten Scott Kazmir stories in the independent leagues of baseball.

…and that’s the Last Word.

Follow me on Twitter: @MaxWarnerMLB

Top Shelf Prospects: San Jose Sharks

Posted on August 21, 2012November 5, 2021 by Ben Kerr

Welcome to today’s edition of “Top Shelf Prospects” – a team-by-team look at the top prospects in the NHL. As I continue my alphabetical journey, I bring you a look at the San Jose Sharks.

As always you can find a complete listing of my previous articles here. Since we had an extensive NHL Draft preview, I will not be reviewing the players who were drafted in the 2012 draft, as there have been no games since then, and my reports on them will not have changed. What I will be doing is linking you to those articles, as well as taking a look at prospects that were acquired before this year’s draft; their progress, and their chances of making the 2012-13 roster of the NHL team in question. I will also bring you one sleeper pick – a player who was either drafted in the 4th-round or later, or was an undrafted free agent signing who I pick as my darkhorse to make the NHL. For those wondering, the cut-off for what is or isn’t a prospect is typically about 45-50 NHL games played or being 25 years old. These are not static rules though, as I may make some exceptions depending on the circumstances.

Ruling: Due to the combination of his age (24 years old), his NHL experience (43 career games), both being borderline, and the fact that he was signed to a 1 way NHL contract, I’m going to declare Tommy Wingels as graduated.

2012 Draft Prospects Reviewed:
Tomas Hertl

Top Prospect #1; Matt Nieto, Right Wing
Born Nov 5 1992 — Long Beach, CA
Height 5.11 — Weight 183 — Shoots Right
Selected by the San Jose Sharks in round 2, #47 overall at the 2011 NHL Entry Draft

I really don’t want to write the next few paragraphs, but I feel that I have to. You see, there are a lot of rumors out there on message boards, and on the internet about our next prospect, Matt Nieto. A lot of those comments and rumors are unfair to this kid, but the only way to dispel them, is to acknowledge Nieto’s past mistakes, and the mistakes of his BU teammates and acknowledge what actions Nieto has allegedly been accused of by credible sources, and what is baseless speculation. The reality is that when you search Matt Nieto’s name some of the baseless speculation comes up and is reported at fact. I’m going to try and cut through it here.

The reality is that Matt Nieto is a talented player who is trying to recover his off-ice reputation following a 2011 suspension at the US NTDP for allegedly being involved in an incident of sexual harrassment at Pioneer High School. The facts here are unclear, and Nieto was never found guilty of any offence. However the rumors are out there and the fact is that while we cannot confirm the sexual harrasment rumor, Nieto was given a long suspension from USNTDP Hockey. Nieto has apparently being trying to move past this incident, however unfortunately for him, trouble seems to be following him around. Nieto of course is a talented winger at Boston University. Now, I stress that it appears that Nieto has done nothing wrong, while at BU, however the entire hockey program is being tainted right now by two very serious incidents. In January BU Junior defenceman Max Nicastro was arrested and charged with sexual assault on a female student. These charges were later dropped by prosecutors who felt they did not have enough evidence to convict, however the student in question stands by her allegations and may still launch a civil suit. Nicastro remains suspended from school and the hockey team despite the verdict.

The second incident involves fellow former BU teammate Corey Trivino who was arrested in December and charged with breaking and entering, assault, breaking and entering with the intent to commit rape, and trespasing. While some of the more serious charges were dropped, Trivino did plead guilty to 2 counts of assault, and the trespassing charge.

These two incidents have led to the appointment of a task force to conduct a formal investigation of the culture of hockey at the BU program. Now again Nieto has not been formally charged with anything, and there are no indications that he has done anything wrong while at BU, however for a kid who is trying to escape the alleged transgression of his past, the actions of his teammates certainly don’t help. Unfortunately for Nieto, this won’t help the whispers that follow him, and will not help him in his quest to make the rumors to go away. As a teammate with his own prior incident (one that is similar but far less serious than those alleged against Nicastro and Trivino) Nieto has been unfairly lumped in with these individuals. This is the unfortunate reality of his situation, and the fact that many people will make judgments of guilt by association. Nieto will need to keep his head up in real life, and not just on the ice, and walk an extra straight and narrow path in the coming years as a result of the situation he finds himself in. All that said, it would appear that Nieto has matured a lot and understands the situation he is faced with. He has committed to stay at BU this season, and to try to help the program rebuild in order to help the team’s tarnished reputation, and his own.

Now to the on-ice report. Nieto is a great skater who creates offence with his speed. His excellent acceleration, ability to change gears, crisp edgework and cuts, and great top end speed make him extremely difficult to defend off the rush. Defenders must back off and respect his speed, because if they don’t he can blow by them on the outside and cut hard to the net. If they do back off, Nieto is given the room to be creative. The room necessary to use his strong stickhandling, vision, and passing ability to set up teammates. He also has a very good, very quick release on his wrist shot which makes him a dangerous shooter off the wing. However he needs to add velocity to the shot before he can be considered a sniper. Nieto is willing to work on the boards and in front of the net, but quite simply is not strong enough at this point.

Defensively Nieto also shows strong skills. He is relentless in pressuring the puck carrier, causing many opponents to panic and cough up the puck. Nieto also has very good positioning, great anticipation, and quick feet which help him to create a lot of turnovers in the defensive end. Since his skating is so good and the transition game so quick, causing turnovers in the defensive zone has become a way that Nieto is able to create offence with his strong defensive play.

During his next season with BU, Nieto should focus on bulking up and preparing for the pro game. He has some very good potential, and could be a top 6 forward down the road. He is however a player the Sharks will need to be patient with, as he’ll take some time.

Top Prospect #2, Freddie Hamilton, Centre/Right Wing
Born Jan 1 1992 — Toronto, ONT
Height 6.01 — Weight 190 — Shoots Right
Selected by the San Jose Sharks in round 5, #129 overall at the 2010 NHL Entry Draft

The older brother of Bruins Top Prospect Dougie Hamilton, Freddie Hamilton is a forward who just finished his junior career playing with his brother on the Niagara Ice Dogs. The Hamilton Brothers helped lead the Ice Dogs to the OHL final, however they ran into the London Knights, who beat them in a very hard fought series. Freddie also played with his brother on Team Canada at the 2012 World Junior Tournament and came home with a bronze medal. The sons of Canadian Olympians Doug Hamilton (1984 Bronze medal, and 1988, rowing) and Lynn Hamilton (nee Polson, 1984 Basketball) the Hamiltons are clearly blessed with good athletic genes.

Freddie Hamilton is a decent skater with good speed and acceleration. He is strong on the puck and has good balance. One of his best attributes is his ability to get in quickly on the forecheck and put pressure on defenders causing turnovers and helping to create offense. More a playmaker than a scorer, Hamilton’s vision and passing skills are decent. He is at his best controlling the puck down low on the cycle game. He wins his share of board battles at the OHL level, but will need to get stronger to continue to win battles against pros. Hamilton’s shot is decent, but nothing to write home about. He needs work on his release, as too often he telegraphs his intentions and it takes him too long to get shots off allowing goalies and defenders to adjust. While there is some offensive game overall it is pretty limited.

Hamilton’s future in the pro game is as a physical checking line centre. He is tenacious in puck pursuit and pressures opponents to make plays quickly and outside their comfort zone. He is a physical presence, who loves to hit, and get involved along the boards. Just like his offensive game, his defensive game would also be helped by bulking up. Hamilton has good positioning and a willingness to sacrifice his body to block shots. He also contains his opponents and forces them to work on the outside. Hamilton is an efficient penalty killer.

Freddie Hamilton will need time in Worcester playing for the Sharks AHL affiliate in order to adjust to the pro game, and get physically stronger. However I do believe he has s a good chance to make the NHL as a checking line player in the coming years.

Sleeper Pick, Matt Tennyson, Defence
Born Apr 23 1990 — Pleasanton, CA
Height 6.02 — Weight 212 — Shoots Right
Signed as a Free Agent, March 2012

Tennyson was a highly coveted free agent defenceman out of Western Michigan University who was signed by the Sharks as a free agent this spring. Tennyson was the Broncos top defenceman and -played big minutes for the squad. Coach Andy Murray used the talented rearguard in all situations.

Tennyson is a two-way defender whose game is built on a foundation of very good skating. He has good top end speed and acceleration which allows him to create offence by joining the rush. His quick cuts, good edgework, and solid pivots help him on the defensive end as he is hard to beat off the rush. His quick feet allow him to close gaps quickly and throw some big hits.

Tennyson is a power play quarterback who shows good poise with the puck on his stick, and has good stickhandling and puck protection skills. He has good vision, and crisp passing ability to set up teammates. He also has a decent slapshot.

Defensively Tennyson is a physical player who throws his weight around, is good in board battles and clears the front of the net. However he needs work on his decision making and positioning. He is a bit too much of a riverboat gambler and can get caught out of position and too deep on rushes, and by pinching at bad times at the opponent’s blue line. He also has issues where he gets himself out of position by going for a big hit, or by chasing the puck too much.

Tennyson has the tools to be a top 4 defender in the NHL. However he is a risk, and a bit of a project. He’ll need at least a full season in the AHL, and given his age will need to progress quickly. There is untapped potential here however, and it will be up to the Sharks Development team to bring it out.

The Sharks system has been hurt by trading away recent picks, and top prospects like Charlie Coyle and Michael Sgarbossa. Overall they currently have one of the weaker systems in the league. College free agent pickups like Tennyson and Travis Oleksuk certainly help to build depth, but it just isn’t enough. There is a serious lack of blue chip talent here. Recent drafting has not been good as the Sharks have not had a single pick from the 2009, 2010, or 2011 drafts play a single NHL game to date. The Sharks core led by Thornton, Marleau, and Boyle, is aging and Doug Wilson will need to make some very astute moves in the coming years or the team could be looking at a painful rebuild when those players move on. There quite simply is little in the system that will replace their elite talents.

Please feel free to leave your comments below and to follow me on Twitter @LastWordBKerr

Euro Football Rundown: Memorable moments from the Weekend

Posted on August 21, 2012November 5, 2021 by Luciano Giuliano

LastWordOnSports is proud to announce a new column, “Euro Football Run-Down“.

Tired of sifting through dozens of sites looking for the football news that matters in a relatively compact package? That is exactly what Euro Football Run-down will solve each Tuesday morning. Essentially, we scour the weekend’s news stories, and find what we believe are the most important from around Europe’s biggest leagues, storied clubs and its most celebrated athletes.

Without further ado, the “RUN-DOWN”!

5) Juventus defeats AC Milan to lift Trofeo Berlusconi

Favoured to repeat the scudetto triumph from last year, Juve stood up to the occasion to make their intentions known and that is that the Old Lady will be relentless once again when the new season begins. La vecchia signora battered the Diavolo 3-2. Although the scoreline may hint otherwise, the Juventini were very much in control of the match and ran out deserved victors. The Trofeo Berlusconi is a traditional friendly normally between Milan and Juventus. Out of the past 22 editions, the Rossoneri faced off with the Bianconeri 19 times. After Sunday’s victory, Juve has now won ten times against Milan’s nine – so it’s pretty even. The superstition attached to this encounter is that the winner normally does not win the Italian Serie A. Last year, Allegri’s men won 2-1 and ended up losing the scudetto to Mr. Conte and Co. (Juve). Should the Old Lady be worried this time around?

4) Man City attempts to lure Daniele De Rossi away from Roma

Roberto Mancini has long been an admirer of the Roma-native midfielder and would love to have ‘il capitan futuro’ at the helm sooner rather than later. It is thought that Man City has offered AS Roma £31 million for his services and £7 million per year salary to the player. Very tempting, isn’t it? There aren’t too many professionals around who would refuse such a lucrative deal. Giallorossi head coach, Zdenek Zeman, has communicated his desire to keep hold of DDR as he is a major part of the project in Rome. Sunday, during the Roma – Aris Salonika (Greece) friendly, the fans held out banners expressing their feelings about the possible transfer. Today, the Italian media is suspecting that DDR will proclaim his love for his hometown and reject Man City’s offer. What a refusal it would be.

3) Barcelona’s bang to start of new campaign already leaves Real Madrid behind

The Blaugrana began life without Pep Guardiola on the bench and unsurprisingly defeated Real Sociedad 5-1 at the Camp Nou. At the 16^th minute mark, it was already 3-1 with goals from Carles Puyol and a brace from Lionel Messi. Pedro added a fourth before half, while David Villa shot the final nail in the coffin at the 86^th minute. Very satisfying indeed for new coach Tito Vilanova to have Puyol and Villa back from lengthy injury layoffs and scoring goals already. This will certainly open the eyes of Real Madrid coach, Jose Mourinho, whose side drew 1-1 after leading on 10 minutes with a Gonzalo Higuain opener. The Portuguese tactician is content with the point as Los Blancos controlled the play, but feels his players should have won and knows they can give more. Certainly, with the players he has at his disposal, Mr. Mourinho will surely defend his title from Barcelona seeing that Spain’s La Liga is pretty much a two-team league anyway!

2) Paris Saint Germain ties second consecutive game

After spending €140 million in the 2012 summer transfer market, star-studded PSG was only able to earn a draw on day 1 of Ligue 1 last week. Shockingly down 2-0 against 10-men Lorient at home stadium ‘Parc des Princes’, the Parisians were saved by new €20 million signing Zlatan Ibrahimovic who bagged two goals on his debut to save PSG from an embarrassing loss. On day 2, PSG were held again to a scoreless draw this time to lowly AC Ajaccio – a side that has only been in the top flight for one year. Coach Carlo Ancelotti has spoken publicly of his disappointment but, at the same time, is remaining calm and is satisfied of the ‘progress’ made so far. Progress? Really? Its going to be a long process. PSG currently sit in 9^th spot with two points.

1) Citizens win without Sergio ‘El Kun’ Aguero

No Aguero, no problem? Man City boss Roberto Mancini looked worried on the sidelines when Aguero went down in agonizing pain and had to be substituted at the 14th minute with Edin Dzeko. Really? Did anyone read that statement correctly? Worried – with the players Mancini has? Well, maybe he worried a little. But then David Silva missed a penalty on 17 minutes. Was the worry-meter rising then? Perhaps a little more? No? Ok. How about after Southampton took a 2-1 lead after Carlos Tevez bagged the go-ahead? Surely, it was time to worry then. Are you kidding? No worries at all! Give the ball to Dzeko and he’ll equalize, and then give it to Samir Nasri and he’ll put it in for the victory. The match ended 3-2 for Mancini’s boys. In all seriousness, the coach has expressed his concern for the Argentine who scored 30 goals in his debut season in the EPL last term and fears he will be out of action for a long while with a suspected twisted knee. Reports suggest that Mario Balotelli also went down holding his knee in pain during a six-on-six cool-down match between ranks. Without ‘El Kun’ and Balo, it is indeed a worrying situation for Man City especially with Dzeko and Tevez in the starting line-up – did you catch the sarcasm there?

…and that’s the last word.

What to do With Bobby Valentine?

Posted on August 20, 2012November 5, 2021 by Mark Modeski

Bobby Valentine has been a baseball mainstay as a player, a coach, and a manager fairly consistently since 1969. Bobby’s career as a player was never too outstanding. Mired by injury, he never shone too brightly and never batted over .260. Valentine is best known for his managing. While he has been brilliant at times, he has never been afraid to let his temper get the best of him – his temper is what people first associate with him. In 2011, Valentine was given a new opportunity with the Boston Red Sox, but to-date has experienced disappointing results.

Valentine’s win-loss ratio is right about .510 over the course of almost 2,500 games. While never winning a World Series title, he has managed to take home the pennant on two occasions. In 1986 he was a whisper away from winning Manager of the Year accolades, finishing second in voting (losing to Red Sox manager, John McNamara). To say Valentine doesn’t have credentials to be a big league manager based on these stats alone, would be ignorant. It was his credentials, his past successes, that helped Valentine land his latest managing stint with the Sox.

Valentine has been in the news as of late for his underperforming Red Sox, despite one of baseball’s highest payroll’s from which to work. Valentine took the helm of the Bosox at the start of the 2011-2012 season, and the expectations for the team were very high. However, as we land more than halfway through the season the Red Sox sit well out of first in the AL East (12.5 games) with a 59-61 record – and are still a fair distance out of the second Wild Card playoff berth. Naturally, as most would do with such a talent-laden team, most have put the blame on Bobby for the poor season performance – and Valentine doesn’t disagree.

In a post-game conference recently, Bobby gave himself an “F” for his managing performance thus far this season. His players wouldn’t disagree, either. Reportedly a group of Red Sox players went to team ownership and said that they no longer wanted to play for their manager. Distention in the ranks is one of the hardest challenges for any coach or manager to face.

So, can Valentine be blamed for all of the team’s woes? Yes, and No.

The Red Sox have had a season similar to a lot of other professional teams this year in that they have been hit with some major injuries to key players in the mix. Working with a broken starting line-up and pitching rotation, there definitely have been challenges that Valentime has been faced with. Despite these injuries, Valentine is still responsible for making the best out of the tools he has, which is a line-up that most organizations would die for.

So where does Valentine go from here?

Valentine still deserves his keep for the rest of the season. While the Red Sox will no doubt miss the play-offs again this season, Valentine should have a chance to turn things around for the season. If the Red Sox finish the season on a winning note, putting together an impressive win streak, Valentine may redeem himself. He would also have some strong confidence and momentum going into next season.

However, if Valentine can’t get it together by the end of the season he needs to be axed. When that much money is being spent on one payroll, results are expected. Think of how you would feel if you gave a jeweler a lump of gold and an impressive diamond and you got back a mangled ring with a chipped diamond haphazardly glued on. Not to mention, that if he can’t win back the confidence of his team then he can’t expect to get the best results from them. It reminds me of when Butch Carter was let go from the Raptors after being exposed as a fraud for telling false war stories to his team – they lost confidence in him, and then they just lost.

A manager’s job is to put his pieces in the right place. Clearly, Valentine hasn’t being doing that – injuries or no injuries. Let him have the season… but, dangle that sword over his head.

… and that is the last word.

Follow me on Twitter – @LastWordMark

Top Shelf Prospects: St. Louis Blues

Posted on August 20, 2012November 5, 2021 by Ben Kerr

Welcome to today’s edition of “Top Shelf Prospects” – a team-by-team look at the top prospects in the NHL. As I continue my alphabetical journey, I bring you a look at the St. Louis Blues.

Ruling: At 23 years old, with 52 Career Regular season games and 2 playoff games, Ian Cole is considered graduated.

2012 Draft Prospects Reviewed:
Jordan Schmaltz

Top Prospect: Vladimir Tarasenko, Right Wing
Born Dec 13 1991 – Yaroslavl, Russia
Height 6.00 — Weight 192
Selected by the St. Louis Blues in round 1 #16 overall at the 2010 NHL Entry Draft

The St. Louis Blues waited patiently for 2 years after drafting Tarasenko in 2010 while the talented winger played out his contact in the KHL. In that time they’ve watched him develop, whether it was captaining Russia to gold at the 2011 World Junior Championships, joining the Men’s team at the IIHF World Championships or having a real breakout performance offensively in the KHL this season. This summer, when his contract ended, the Blues put on the full-court press to bring him to North America for next season. To the delight of Blues fans and management, the move paid off as Tarasenko signed an Entry-Level Deal and will officially join the Blues organization in 2012-13.

Tarasenko is an offensively gifted right winger blessed with tremendous skill, and the hockey sense to take advantage of it. He does his best work down low, where his great balance, puck protection, and stick handling allow him to play a strong puck control game off the cycle. He has great vision and tremendous passing ability. He also knows how to take the puck to the net, and has soft hands to finish in tight, and a quick, accurate shot to finish plays from further out. Tarasenko thrives in the dirty areas of the ice, as he wins more than his share of board battles despite his small frame. When he cuts to the net he is hard to contain and is not easily moved from the front of the net.

When it comes to Tarasenko’s skating, his top-end speed is good, but it does not define his game. Rather it is the other areas of his skating that really define him. He is quick, agile, and has great edgework, which helps to make him very elusive. His balance and strength on his skates are superb. He is extremely difficult to knock off the puck. His acceleration is great, and Tarasenko often uses his ability to quickly change speeds to elude a defender.

It is likely that Tarasenko will be on the Blues main roster to start the season (assuming the season starts on time). He is NHL ready, and I’m sure he would not be pleased to learn he came to North America only to find himself making less than his KHL wages playing in the AHL. Tarasenko will be given every opportunity to succeed, and rightly so, the kid has the talent to be a very important player in the NHL.

Top Prospect #2: Jaden Schwartz, Centre/Left Wing
Born Jun 25 1992 — Melfort, SASK
Height 5.10 — Weight 190 — Shoots Left
Selected by the St. Louis Blues round 1 #14 overall at the 2010 NHL Entry Draft

Jaden Schwartz is another talented offensive forward the Blues selected in the first round of the 2010 NHL draft. It might be unfair to call him the Blues number 2 prospect, as it’s more of a 1a/1b scenario with Tarasenko and Schwartz. Schwartz signed his ELC late last season after finishing his second of two fantastic years at Colorado in the NCAA and even played in 7 games for the Blues. As a freshman, he had an incredible year scoring 47 points in 30 games and bringing Colorado all the way to the West Region final in the Frozen Four tournament. He led his team in scoring despite missing significant time with a broken ankle he suffered playing for Team Canada in the 2011 World Junior. This past season he scored 41 points in 30 games for Colorado, and returned to the World Juniors as the Captain of Team Canada, winning a bronze medal. In 2009-10 Schwartz led the USHL in scoring with 83 points in 60 games.

Schwartz has extremely soft hands and is a wizard with the puck. A tremendous stickhandler, he has a lot of impressive moves in his arsenal. He also has a very hard, very accurate wrist shot with a good release. Couple these together and Schwartz is a natural goal scorer. He is also a creative playmaker, with excellent vision and crisp passing skills. He is extremely creative with the puck, but also has the ability to slow the play down to wait for an opening. Schwartz is not afraid to go to the dirty areas of the ice and is involved in board battles and in working the front of the net. However, he still needs to add strength to his frame to be more effective in these areas.

Schwartz’s skating is built off of a long and powerful stride. His top-end speed is very good, but his biggest asset is his acceleration and ability to change speeds. Schwartz’s ability to turn it on and quickly reach another gear often leaves defenders in his wake. He also has good ability and strong edgework which makes him elusive in the offensive end of the ice.

Schwartz is a solid two-way player who is an effective penalty killer. He backchecks hard and has good positioning. His quick feet and good anticipation help him to cut off passing lanes, and to create turnovers. He is also a willing shot blocker.

Schwartz will be a full-time NHLer soon. It may even happen at the start of this season depending on how he looks in training camp. However, the more likely scenario is that Schwartz will start off in the AHL on a mission to gain weight and get stronger. Once that happens, expect him to be a stalwart in St. Louis.

Top Prospect #3, Ty Rattie, Right Wing/Left Wing
Born Feb 5 1993 — Airdrie, ALTA
Height 6.00 — Weight 167 — Shoots Right
Selected by the St. Louis Blues in round 2 #32 overall at the 2011 NHL Entry Draft

Ty Rattie’s offensive production exploded last season as his 57 goals were the 2nd most in the WHL, and his 121 points had him finish third. He continued to be a productive player in the WHL playoffs, helping the Portland Winterhawks to the WHL final. This skill set was noticed by the brass at Hockey Canada who had Rattie on the top line at the recent Canada/Russia Challenge. He would impress in the four-game tournament, and it looks like he will have a good chance to be a key player for Canada at the 2013 World Junior Championships.

Rattie is a talented offensive player, and pure sniper off the wing. He has very good hockey sense and a knack for finding open ice in the offensive zone. He seems to elude defenders and find free patches of ice from which he can unleash a deadly accurate wrist shot. His release is deceptively quick and eludes goaltenders and he has a great one-timer. Rattie is also not afraid to go to the front of the net despite his size and works to score rebounds tip-ins and deflections. He is also a talented playmaker, finding open teammates and setting them up with crisp, tape to tape passes. Rattie does work to get involved in battles in the corners and along the boards but simply needs to improve his upper body strength to be effective in this area.

Rattie also plays an efficient defensive game with good positioning and an excellent ability to put pressure on the puck carrier. However, this is another area where increased strength would greatly improve his game.

Rattie’s skating was described as weak by many analysts in his draft year, and that was certainly the case. However, Rattie has taken strides to improve this year. He has improved his stride making it much smoother, and this has led to increases in his top-end speed and acceleration. Now he’s not a burner by any means and his skating is still average at best, however, the improvements he has already made are a positive sign for the future.

Rattie is likely to spend another season in the WHL. He needs to add bulk and continue to work on his skating. However, those are things that can be improved with hard work. Rattie’s natural gift for scoring goals on the other hand, is the type of offensive talent you can’t teach. If he reaches his potential, you can expect him to develop into a solid second-line winger in the future.

Sleeper Prospect: Jani Hakanpaa, Defence
Born Mar 31 1992 — Kirkkonummi, Finland
Height 6.05 — Weight 220 — Shoots Right
Selected by the St. Louis Blues round 4 #104 overall 2010 NHL Entry Draft

Hakanpaa is a giant, coming in at 6’5″ and 220 lbs at just 19 years old. The defender has been a member of Finland’s national junior team in each of the last two tournaments. On his club team he graduated to the SM-Liiga this past season.

Mainly a defensive defender, Hakanpaa plays a rugged, physical game. He uses his size and strength to overpower opponents along the boards and keeps the front of the net clear. He also plays well positionally, and blocks shots and cuts down passing lanes with his huge size. Offensively, Hakanpaa’s biggest asset is a very good slap shot and one-timer. He can really let it fly. He’s not a powerplay quarterback though, and one shouldn’t expect big offence from him at the next level.

Like many big defencemen, Hakanpaa requires further work on his skating. He will need to improved his pivots so that he is not beaten to the outside off the rush. His top-end speed is decent for a big man, but that isn’t saying a lot, and there is certainly room for improvement. His edgework and agility are below par at this point. Some time spent working on this aspect of his game would certainly improve his chances to make the NHL.

Recently signed to an Entry Level contract by St. Louis, Hakanpaa will likely be loaned back to his SM-Liiga squad, also called the Blues, for the 2012 season. He is a bit of a project, but his size and physicality make him an intriguing one.

Prior to the lockout, the Blues were consistently among the top teams in the NHL. Unable to get over that last hurdle and win a championship, the Blues were forced to rebuild post-lockout and have been accumulating assets for several years now. They are a good young team who have established a core of solid youngsters like Backes, Perron, Oshie, at forward; Shattenkirk and Pietrangelo on defence, and Halak and Elliot in goal. That core took a giant leap forward this past season under Ken Hitchcock, learning how to and making the playoffs this year. The Blues now will look to a solid group of prospects which also includes goalie Jake Allen, defencemen Jordan Schmaltz and Joel Edmundson, and the forwards discussed to add to and compliment that core. The Blues are building a solid club, and hope that this time they have the talent in place to get over that final hurdle.

Feel free to leave your comments below and please follow me on Twitter @LastWordBKerr

Jack'd Off: How Penalty-Happy Officials can Change a Game

Posted on August 20, 2012November 5, 2021 by Jack Stone

The English Premier League is back! That entertaining goal-scoring league that attracts the largest global audience year after year, has begun, and goals are being scored left, right and centre.

Through the first nine matches in week one, there have been 26 goals scored. This is with Manchester United, who have added the league’s defending scoring champion, Robin Van Persie, still to play. But the interesting thing about these goals is how a relatively high percentage of them have come as a result of penalties.

Last season Manchester United took the most penalty kicks in the league. From 2000-2010 on the other hand, they were received much fewer than most teams. What gives? I don’t want to get into good penalty calls versus bad penalty calls, but certainly there have been too many penalty calls! In just nine games this season, we have already seen seven penalties called.

It’s not just in the EPL either. It seems football leagues around Europe have seen an increase in penalties, and I am getting sick of games being decided this way, especially for undeserving calls. Using my own favourite side, Manchester United, as an example, I acknowledge they were awarded too many penalties last year, which ultimately affected several games in a big way.

I particularly remember one early morning dragging myself out of bed at 6:30am EST while feeling “under the weather” from last night’s festivities, to watch the Devils take on the Queens Park Rangers at Old Trafford. Less than 10 minutes into the match Ashley Young was awarded a penalty shot (taken by Wayne Rooney) for what I believe was a poor call by the referee. And to make matters worse, in addition to the penalty, the referee showed a straight red card. Rooney made good on his shot, and the match appeared ruined in less than 10 minutes. It turns out that QPR actually put on a great performance that day and despite playing with 10 men, that penalty ended up the only goal of the match. Hats off to the Rangers, coal in the stocking for the refs, but you get the idea. QPR down a goal and a soldier at Old Trafford all thanks to a poor penalty call.

Even the line judges can, and do, call penalties, and have become far too penalty happy. I also remember another fine morning getting up early to watch my Devils play Newcastle. United played well, leading 1-0 until late in the match when Rio Ferdinand performed a fantastic and completely “all-ball” tackle against a Newcastle forward in the penalty area. The head referee saw the play just as I did, but moments later pointed at the penalty spot! The linesman had signaled to the referee that Ferdinand had fouled the Newcastle player, changing the referee’s decision to award a penalty. Demba Ba converted the penalty and the match ended in a 1-1 draw.

I wonder what might be the cause of this increase in penalties. Is the Premier League trying to increase goal-scoring to suit a new audience (North America, perhaps)? Are players becoming that much better at fabricating fouls? Is the game that much faster that defenders are more often forced into sloppy tackling? Perhaps those are far-fetched, but whatever the cause, penalties are being rewarded with increasing regularity.

This afternoon United heads to Goodison Park with newly-acquired Robin Van Persie. I am genuinely excited for tomorrow’s match. I just hope the game is decided by the players, and not by trigger-happy officials.

Feel free to weigh-in with your thoughts about penalties below.

Crosby, Staals, Nash, or Young: Team Canada in 2014

Posted on August 20, 2012 by Grant Alexander

The Summer Olympics have ended and as hockey fans we are now over two years removed from Vancouver 2010 and the “Golden Goal”. It is also less than two years away from what awaits in Russia in 2014. So while we are stuck in international limbo (with all due respect to the World Juniors and the World Championships), and NHL limbo (will they lockout again? UGH) why not speculate on what’s to come? We know all of the players, and barring some miraculous season by a rookie next year, it’s just a matter of who’s who. But for this exercise we need to set a few ground rules.

1. Lets assume the NHL will allow the players to participate. The NHL wants their new deal approved and concessions from the players, while the players want the Olympics. It seems that this can be one bone the owners throw the players at the end of the day.

2. Let’s assume Crosby is healthy, and at the top of his game… the glass is half full from where I sit on my couch. Unfortunately reports on Chris Pronger don’t look as good, so lets count him out (for now).

3. We can only pick current NHL players. I know there is some young talent floating around out there, like Nathan MacKinnon (draft eligible in 2013), or stud prospects like Jonathan Huberdeau but for now let’s stick to what we know for sure.

Now that we have a base, it’s time to build your team. Here is my list of Canada’s best players by position (in no particular order). Who would make your “Team Canada” to represent our country and defend our gold medal? Feel free to go off the board if you think I overlooked someone.

C– Crosby, Stamkos, Giroux, Tavares, Toews, Thornton, Spezza, Getzlaf, E.Staal, J. Staal, B. Richards, M. Richards, Seguin, Lecavalier, Nugent-Hopkins, P. Bergeron, Couture, Henrique, Skinner, Gagner, Duchene.

RW– St. Louis, Iginla, Perry, Nash, Eberle, Versteeg, Parenteau, Doan, Briere, Read, Horton.

LW– Marleau, Heatley, Lucic, Lupul, Neal, Hartnell, Benn, Hall, Sharp, Moulson, Whitney, Marchand, Smyth, Ladd, Morrow.

D– Campbell, Wideman, Weber, Phaneuf, Boyle, Pietrangelo, Bieksa, Del Zotto, Keith, Letang, White, Burns, Hamhuis, Doughty, Seabrook, Bouwmeester, Subban, Vlasic, Girardi, Beauchemin, Souray, Schenn, Giordano, Cowen, Brewer, Demers, Hamonic, Ellis, M. Staal, Myers, Jovanovski, Green, Gudbranson.

G– Brodeur, Luongo, Fleury, Price, Ward, Smith, Elliot, Crawford, Garon, Theodore, Giguere, Emery, Reimer, Biron.

My Team

For my selections there were a few key things I was looking for; speed, youth, puck possession, and special teams. For 2014 we are heading back overseas to Russia, so that means European-style hockey, on Olympic-sized ice. We haven’t faired well over there in over half a century, but it doesn’t mean we can’t. We need to suck up our pride and play more of a European style of hockey, which means, speed, puck movement, puck possession, and trap style defense. So first things first, no more old-boys club! We realized this in ’06 when we took our ’02 gold medal team and got destroyed. Yes our team in 2010 was great, but it’s now four years removed and there is no reserved seating! So let’s say goodbye to, Brodeur, Boyle, Niedermayer, Pronger, Heatley, Iginla, Thornton, Marleau, and Morrow. They have served us proudly over the years, but it’s now time to pass the torch.

Forwards

For the forwards, I made three scoring lines and one checking/PK line. Since Canada has a plethora of talented centermen, for my scoring line centers I wanted players that are good on the draw (puck possession), and still play at a high skill level. Crosby, Giroux, and Toews fit that criteria perfectly. Toews could easily play on one of the top two lines, but I would use his strong two-way play on the PK as well.

My first line wingers were obvious choices to me. I wanted Crosby to have the two purest goal scorers available for targets, and to me it’s Stamkos and Tavares. My fourth line came easily as well. I wanted big hitters that could forecheck hard, control the puck, and kill penalties. Getzlaf and Perry give nightmares to opposing forwards with their big bodies, and they have long sticks to clog up passing lanes. They are also more than used to killing penalties in Anaheim, and their chemistry makes them an offensive threat too. I wasn’t quite sure who should complete the line with Bobby Ryan being American, but it didn’t take me long once I looked at the list of names. Originally I was thinking Nash, but Eric Staal is definitely the right fit here. He’s tall and lanky, plays the PK, and he eats a lot of minutes. He is also a left-handed shot which is the missing component on this line.

The 2nd and 3rd line wingers were a little more difficult. With so much talent left out there it’s hard to choose, but I really like the young trio in Edmonton. I see big things coming in the future for these guys, including a trip to Russia. The only problem is I am locked in at the center position so I only have room for two of them on a line, and the third will have to be my 13th forward. Right now I have Eberle and Hall playing the wings with Giroux while Nugent-Hopkins sits on the bench. The Nuge will no doubt be a great hockey player, but so far we’ve only seen one season from the rookie, and he has had some injury problems, so for now he’s the odd man out. He is, however, my solution if Crosby doesn’t play, because I can easily put him in at center on the second line and move Giroux up to Crosby’s spot on the first.

For the last two wingers I took a rising star in Seguin, and a gritty power forward in Benn. Both are young, fast, and should fit in nicely on the Toews line pulling double duties on the PK.

Forward Line 1- Tavares (LW), Crosby (C), Stamkos (RW)

Forward Line 2- Hall (LW), Giroux (C), Eberle (RW)

Forward Line 3- Benn (LW), Toews (C), Seguin (RW)

Forward Line 4- E. Staal (LW), Getzlaf (C), Perry (RW)

13th Forward- Nugent-Hopkins

Defensemen

One of the biggest roster mistakes by Team Canada was in ’06 when we tried to add extra offense from the backend. We brought Brian McCabe as a “Power play specialist” and he just ended up being a defensive liability. It was probably our biggest mistake, besides Gretzky not shooting in ’98, and Crosby not making the team in ’06. Anyways, we’re looking for defensive defenseman, with some speed and puck-moving skills to handle the big ice. I also don’t mind a bit of age on the backend to provide calm nerves and veteran leadership, but obviously not at the cost of game play.

Four names screamed out at me; Weber, Letang, Doughty, and Keith. I like Weber and Letang together on line one because I think they complement each other nicely. On line two I have Doughty, and the young stud from St. Louis, Pietrangelo, who is no stranger to playing for Canada, and should be a stalwart on this team for years to come. For line three I reunited Keith and Seabrook. I know they haven’t been playing as well as they were a few years ago, but I like their familiarity, and compatibility. There is never a lot of practice time before the Olympics, and it’s nice to have a veteran duo that is completely comfortable with each other. The 7th D-man was tough. Do you take a tougher defenseman like Phaneuf? A bigger guy like Myers? Or do you bet on a rookie sensation like Ellis or Gudbranson? In the end I had to give New York it’s props. They have three Canadian defenseman that have been shutting the door all year for the Rangers; Girardi, M. Staal, and Del Zotto. Of these three, I like the young, speedy, Del Zotto. He can move the puck, jump into the rush, and in another two years time should be fully developed.

Defense Line 1- Letang, Weber

Defense Line 2- Doughty, Pietrangelo

Defense Line 3- Keith, Seabrook

7th Defenseman- Del Zotto

Goaltenders

It’s funny, this is the category people like to argue about the most, but for me it’s the easiest one to pick. Broduer is too old now, which in my mind leaves four possible replacements; Luongo, Fleury, Price, and Ward. Maybe it’s all of those years in Carolina, but I think Ward is the worst one of the group, so he’s out. Luongo has been more than shaky lately, but he’s our veteran, and I’d like him there as a third string. Now it’s between Fleury and Price. Again, for me, this isn’t a hard decision. Fleury has a Stanley Cup ring, and Price doesn’t. I know it seems like a childish remark, and it has a lot to do with the difference in the teams they play for, but bottom line, a ring equals confidence. That confidence goes a long way when playing for your country in front of the whole world. Anyway, to me it’s good enough for the game one start.

Goaltenders- Fluery (starter), Price (back-up)

3rd Goalie- Luongo

My captain, and I’m sure it’s no surprise, would be Crosby. He was almost captain four years ago, which would have been a little premature, but he does deserve it now. My assistants would be Weber, and Toews. I love the presence Weber brings, and hopefully he is sporting an early beard in Russia, because he can look pretty intimidating. And Toews, or “Captain Serious” as his teammates call him, is Sakic-like with his quiet leadership. He has captained a Stanley Cup winning team, and was by far the best player on the ice for us four years ago.

Captain- Crosby

Assistants- Weber, Toews

So there you have it. This is what my team would look like if I had to pick it now. What do you think? Would you tweak a few things? Overhaul the whole lineup? Or leave it the same?

What would your 2014 Team Canada look like? Please leave your lines in comment space below.

Women and MMA – Can They Live Together?

Posted on August 19, 2012November 5, 2021 by Mark Modeski

Ronda Rousey headlined last night’s Strikforce event, and defended her title the best way she knows how – arm bar submission in the first round. It was an exciting :54 to say the least! Rousey maintained her perfect record, and also set-up the opportunity for the biggest women’s MMA match of the year by calling out Cris “Cyborg” Santos. Today the internet has been abuzz with editorials of last night’s fight, and about the emergence of women’s MMA as a mainstay. The question now is – does anyone really care that much?

Women’s MMA has really only emerged within the mainstream over the last few years. Since then there have been a few fighters that have made a name for themselves and have helped to gain the sport some notriety: Gina Carano, Cris Santos and Rousey to name a few. While there have been a few small promotions that have been dedicated to women’s MMA, Strikeforce has been the most notable organization to promote fights regularly (Strikeforce actually held the first female fight in 2006 with Carano headlining). When Strikeforce was bought up by the UFC, fans of women’s MMA around the world celebrated as they felt that it was only a matter of time before the sport would hit the big stage. To date, we have yet to see that happen.

Scott Coker, who is the lame-duck CEO of Strikeforce, has been a massive fan of female MMA – unfortunately, his new boss and UFC president (Dana White) has been less embracing of it. White has often been outspoken about the viability of women in MMA to draw a crowd. While White was cageside last night, a lot of his social media activity during the fight last night really showed how much time he devotes to learning about women’s MMA, e.g. “Wow! Now I know who Julie Kedzie is!!!”, tweeted White. Kedzie, by the way, is the No.1 contender now (equivelent to a Shogun or Machida).

The fact of the matter is, you’ll probably never see women’s MMA reach the UFC on a consistent basis; there are far too many pieces missing.

First off, you lack a deep enought talent pool to keep people engaged. As it stands right now, Rousey is probably one of the only big names in the sport that is currently active. It really is quite difficult for one fighter alone to carry the weight of an entire sport on her shoulders. Imagine the UFC being nothing but the middleweight division as it stands right now – how engaged do you think you would be to watch just Anderson Silva fight in a championship fight? Are there any other middleweight fighters that could really carry the headline on a card? Rousey is fun to watch, but she can only fight so many times in a year – and when she isn’t fighting, the sport is losing interest.

The next important factor to take into account is general interest in women’s sports. I am by no means trying to be sexist here, but there truthfully is not the same level of interest in women’s sports as there is for men’s – and this goes well beyond MMA. If you dispute this fact, how many people reading this article right now know if the WNBA still exists (it does, by the way)? Why has women’s boxing never gained the same numbers as men’s boxing? We live in a society unfortunately, where people show greater interest in male oriented sports, as such there is greater promotion of them. I won’t go into some of the reasons as to why I think this is the case, because I think it would take away from the point that is being made. It is just the reality.

I do hope that there is a chance for women’s MMA to survive. Anything that is going on out there for MMA, helps to grow the sport. You can’t grow a sport by limiting it.

I will however be honest – If you asked me if I would watch it occasionally, though I would say: “Yes.”

However, if you were to ask me if I would regularly watch women’s MMA, I would undoubtedly say: “No.”

… and that is the last word.

Follow me on Twitter – @lastwordmark

The Top Athletes Who Never Won the Big One – Part Two

Posted on August 19, 2012January 2, 2021 by Michael Kovacs, ADMIN

Earlier I posted Part one of the list, featuring numbers 10 through 6, but now it’s time to get to the nitty-gritty (is that still a word?) If you missed them you can click here to see it. Now here is the remaining part of my list of top athletes to never win the big one, beginning with 5 and ending with my top athlete never to have won the big one.

5. The final five on my list starts with the iconic Utah Jazz, Karl “The Mailman” Malone. In his years in the NBA, Malone was joined to the hip with teammate John Stockton, who makes my “Honorable Mention” list. In his 18 years in the league, he spent 17 with Utah before attempting to win that elusive championship with the Lakers. His 36, 298 points is good for the second greatest total in history, and added to that he ranks first in defensive rebounds, free throws attempted and free throws made. Regarded as one the game’s most dominant power forwards in the history, Malone won the league MVP in 1997 and 1999. Having appeared in the NBA Finals twice, once with Utah and the other with the Lakers, the trophy eluded him before his retirement in 2004. There was no doubt in including Malone on my list of “Top Athletes Never to Have Won the Big One”.

4. Ken Griffey Jr., or “Junior”, tops my list of MLB players who never won a championship. Yes, there are other very worthy baseball players, even some on this list, but for me the seasons in the 90’s were dominated by Junior. Griffey is fifth on the list for career home runs, and is tied for the record of most consecutive games with a home run at eight. This long-time Mariner also played for the Reds and White Sox. He was known as much for his power as his defence, appearing in 13 all-star games and winning an incredible 10 Gold Gloves. A lifetime .300 hitter, well, .297, Ken led in most hitting categories for much of the 90’s, and was easily the best player in baseball in his prime. His widespread appeal only helped MLB’s image, particularly in the “Post-Strike Era”. Though his career never thrived outside of Seattle, his years spent there is nothing short of legendary. The fact he did all this and has never come under the scrutiny for PEDs that McGwire, Sosa, Bonds and A-Rod did is also a point in his favour.

3. When the Red Wings drafted Marcel Dionne little did they know what he would turn out to be. Unfortunately for them, he spent most of his illustrious career with the Los Angles Kings. It’s hard to argue with this star’s 1700+ points, eight 100-point seasons and five straight 50-goal seasons. However, being isolated in the pre-Gretzky Los Angeles market really limited his potential. It’s amazing to think what he accomplished without the luxury of a suitable supporting cast.

2. Dan Marino is a very close second. One of the greatest pure passers in the history of the game, “Marino to Duper” and “Marino to Clayton” became part of NFL vocabulary for much of the late 1980’s and 90’s. There are no shortage of reasons why this legend did not win the “big one”. In his career with the Dolphins, he amassed 61,361 yards, 420 touchdown passes, 252 interceptions, and had a career quarterback rating of 86.4. In 1984, he quarterbacked perhaps the greatest season ever by a quarterback; he threw for over 5000 yards and 48 touchdowns. Yes, 48. Forty-eight. With 147 wins, he is far ahead of the competition. Marino appeared in nine Pro Bowls, and won the league MVP. There is very little this guy didn’t do – well, he didn’t win the Superbowl.

1. We have finally reached number one. For me Barry Sanders is the greatest player I have ever watched who never won. Barry is simply the best pure rusher I have ever seen. To put it in perspective, I have been watching professional football closely since the mid-late 80’s. I put Barry ahead of Emmit Smith, Walter Payton, Eric Dickerson, Adrian Peterson, Ladanian Tomlinson, and any other rushers over the past three decades in pure running ability. Can you imagine what Barry would do if he were playing for the current Lions team, and not the one of old who routinely sucked? Lights out, Barry would dominate the ground game. His starts and stop, turn-on-a-dime style left his admirers in awe, thinking, “How did he not break his ankle turning like that?” Barry dominated, but the Lions could never surround him with proper blocking and scheming. He retired with 15,269 rushing yards, 2,921 receiving yards, and 109 touchdowns (99 rushing and 10 receiving). He was only one season away from surpassing both Emmit Smith and Walter Payton for the all-time rushing yards lead when he got into a dispute with Lions’ ownership and subsequently retired. Sanders only played ten season, all of which he was an all-star.

Honorable Mentions: John Stockton, Mike Gartner, Dan Fouts, Barry Bonds, Anthony Munoz, Tony Gwynn, Eric Dickerson, Ryne Sandberg, Adam Oates…. really, there are so many.

There you have it. As I said, this is NOT a complete list. These are the players I feel deserved a championship in the time I have been watching sports. Please add to the list by commenting on this article. Better yet, come up with your own and post below.

Follow me on Twitter – @LastWordOnSport

Sports. Honestly. Since 2011

Year: 2012