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Last Word On Sports

Sports News Since 2011. Honestly.

Last Word On Sports Logo

Sports. Honestly. Since 2011

Year: 2012

Fantasy Football: Deep Sleepers

Posted on by Bobby Scott

For those of you who are in a fantasy football dynasty league like myself, and depending on how many keepers your league allows, you will likely agree that it is oftentimes difficult to search and find information on the Internet for sleepers. Most of the time these so called “sleepers” end up being keepers in your dynasty leagues, rendering the article useless.  Fantasy goers are always looking for the next big thing but don’t want to have to spend a high draft pick on someone who could be a bust.   I compiled a list of players who should be available late in your draft and have tremendous potential when they get their chance to play.

When looking for potential players I always try to look at starters that shouldn’t be starters and research if there is any depth behind them.  Another way to look at it is to find players who have produced on a limited basis, but haven’t yet played a full season.   Last year I focused on three players who I didn’t believe were starting calibre: Felix Jones, Tim Hightower and Joseph Addai.  I’ll admit that I reached on Delone Carter as Addai’s backup, but as I already had Addai on my team it was worth a hand cuff.  I missed the train on Roy Helu, but was able to pick up Demarco Murray late and it was working out great until his injury.

Below is a list of players you can pick up late that will have an impact not only this year but years to come.

1 – Vincent Brown – WR – San Diego Chargers – 5’11” 184lbs. (Age 23)

With Vincent Jackson gone to the Bucs, the Chargers are going to need someone to step up and right off the bat and I’ll tell you Robert Meachem isn’t the answer.  We’re talking about a guy who had one of the best QB’s in the League throwing him the ball in Drew Brees and still produced average numbers through his entire career – he simply isn’t going to improve in year 6.  Malcolm Floyd and Meachem are strictly deep threats and San Diego needs a more dynamic receiver to step up in 2012.  Brown, the 2011 3rd round pick, is in his second year out of San Diego State and has a lot to prove. Philip Rivers has already built a good relationship with Antonio Gates but will need to build a new relationship on the outside. Brown will easily pass Eddie Royal on the depth chart to become the number three receiver and soon push Floyd and Meachem for  #1.

2 – Alex Green – RB – Green Bay Packers – 6’0” 225lbs. (Age 24)

When you look at the Green Bay Packers it is hard to say there is room for improvement on offense. But what Green Bay does need is a running back that can help grind out in short-yardage situations.  James Starks will start the year as their starter, but slowly you will notice Green to start cutting into his carries and eventually take over as the number one back. Last year Ryan Grant and Starks spilt the workload but neither used the opportunity to establish themselves as a true number one running back. Green Bay finished 27th overall in rushing, not good enough for a team that started 13-0 with plenty of opportunities to run the clock out. Green Bay will keep defences honest this year with a good mix of rushing and passing. Green could be the missing piece to another Green Bay title.

3 – Ronnie Hillman – RB – Denver Broncos – 5’9” 200lbs.  (Age 21)

Willis McGahee will also start the season in Denver as the number one back, but how long will he last? Last season McGahee looked like a legitimate number one back posting close to 1,200 yards rushing and averaged 4.8 yards per carry. Can he post numbers like that again this year?  Playing with a running quarterback can add up to a full yard per carry to a running backs rushing average, before last season McGahee had never before averaged more than 4.1 YPC as a feature back.  Add this to the fact that McGahee is not a particularly good receiving back and that he turns 31 during the season, and you get the picture that he might not be the best fit for the new look Broncos in 2012. Denver will look to their young receiving core early and often and that means 3rd round pick Ronnie Hillman. Hillman rushed for 1,784 yards in 2011 with an average of 137 yards per game in a 13 game schedule last year at San Diego State. Hillman should get a chance to prove himself as a 3rd down back right away. Look for him to step up to the plate and take advantage of this opportunity.

4 – Vick Ballard – RB – Indianapolis Colts – 5’10” 217lbs. (Age 22)

The Colts are in a rebuilding year after finishing last overall and securing the first overall selection in Andrew Luck. They are going to look to surround Luck with young talent that the team can build on over the next couple of years. Currently Donald Brown is the number one back with Delone Carter as the number two. Brown was the Colts’ first round pick in 2009 and has yet to make a serious impact. He’s had three years to prove himself to not only the coaches, but fantasy owners like myself, and has yet to distinguish himself. Ballard will have no problem surpassing Carter on the depth chart and eventually cutting into Brown’s carries. But Ballard will also need to work on catching out of the back field before he can be a true number one. This will be a nice late steal, or look for him on the waiver wire after week 1.

5 – Danny Amendola – WR – St. Louis Rams – 5’11” 188lbs. (Age 26)

If you’re in a PPR league this will be a nice addition to your team.  Amendola will be off most fantasy radars after taking a year off on the IR in 2011. Quarterback Sam Bradford has subpar talent around him with the likes of second year TE Lance Kendricks and the oft injured Steve Smith. Brian Quick will be a wild card but you can expect Amendola to pick up exactly where he finished off before injury being Bradford’s go-to-guy.  My expectations are that he’ll put up similar stats to 2010 posting upwards of 80 catches and possibly 800 yards. Look to Amendola to be someone who can fill in on bye weeks that will put up consistent numbers.

6 – Fred Davis – TE – Washington Redskins – 6’4” 247lbs. (Age 26)

Let’s face it, after the top-two tight ends in Jimmy Graham and Rob Gronkowski, which will most likely be unavailable, all the other tight ends are pretty much the same. Once it reaches the middle rounds most fantasy owners will look at their roster and see the TE spot is empty and try to fill it with their next pick. But there is still a lot of talent available in the mid-rounds, it is better to look to fill these positions with WR’s and RB’s. Davis will be a steal in the late rounds. Last year he was second only to Grownkowski in yards per game. He was later suspended under the league’s substance abuse program and missed the last 4 games. This year with the addition of RG3 and Pierre Garcon look for Davis’ production to get a nice boost from last year’s numbers.

The above players are some early suggestions for those of you who have upcoming drafts. Some bonus players to keep an eye on are Leonard Hankerson WR WAS, Robert Turbin RB SEA and Doug Baldwin WR SEA.

Check back for my follow-up articles on my picks, as well as some players to watch on the waiver wires.

Feel free to post comments below.

Top Shelf Prospects: Carolina Hurricanes

Posted on by Ben Kerr

Earlier this week I launched “Top Shelf Prospects” a look at the top prospects for all teams in the NHL. So far I have looked at the Anaheim Ducks,  Boston Bruins, Buffalo Sabres, and Calgary Flames. Continuing along our alphabetical journey through the NHL, we have the Carolina Hurricanes. 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 the draft, 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.

2012 NHL Draft Pick Reviews:
Phil DiGiuseppe, Erik Karlsson, Trevor Carrick

 

Top Prospect: Ryan Murphy, Defence
Born Mar 31 1993 — Aurora, ONT
Height 5.11 — Weight 176 — Shoots Right
Selected by Carolina Hurricanes round 1 #12 overall 2011 NHL Entry Draft

Ryan Muphy brings elite offensive skill to the blue line, and will one day quarterback the Carolina powerplay.  He has elite skating and outstanding stickhandling.  Murphy is a threat to go coast to coast any time he touches the puck in the OHL.  He escapes forecheckers with ease and gets the puck moving quickly, leading the Kitchener Rangers’ transition game.  He is comfortable both leading the rush, and in joining as a trailer for the late shot.  In all areas of the ice, he is calm and poised with the puck on his stick.  This aids both on the rush and when set up in the offensive zone.  Murphy has outstanding vision and crisp passing skills, making him deadly on the point on the power play.  He also has an excellent weapon in an accurate and powerful slapshot that must be respected, and pulls defenders up to the point.  This spreads the opposition’s defence on their penalty kill and makes Murphy’s other talents even more deadly.

Defensively Murphy’s size may be an issue in the pro game.  While he probably isn’t gonna be able to go out and grow 4 inches in height, he does need to spend time in the weight room and bulk up the frame he does have.  Right now he still has difficulty containing bigger forwards on the cycle game, in the corners, and clearing the front of the net.  If he can bluk up, he can solve this issue.  He also has a tendency to sometimes lose his man in coverage.  His positioning and stick work are solid however, and his ability to move the puck quickly out of the zone helps him greatly in the defensive zone.  Murphy’s mobility also makes him a tough defender to beat on the rush, and he is very capable in those types of one on one situations.  Overall though, his defensive game needs refining. This is not to say Murphy is complete liability out there, his defensive game does have some promise, like many young players he just has some areas that need a little work is all.

Murphy was dominant in the OHL and as an offensive force he is pretty close to being NHL ready, but the defensive side of the game is still a work in progress.  With Carolina having Joni Pitkanen, Joe Corvo, along with youngsters Jamie McBain and Justin Faulk already on the roster, there might be a bit of a log jam for offensive defencemen right now.  As a 1993 birthdate his options for this season are a return to Kitchener in the OHL, or playing in the NHL in Carolina. I think he will end up back in junior. I also think Murphy would also be well served to play some time in the AHL getting used to the increased size and physicality of the pro game before he goes to the big leagues.  He’s a great prospect, just one who isn’t quite ready for the big leagues just yet.  With patient development, he could be a major impact player for the Canes.

 

Zac Dalpe, Centre
Born Nov 1 1989 — Paris, ONT
Height 6.01 — Weight 195 — Shoots Right
Selected by Carolina Hurricanes round 2 #45 overall 2008 NHL Entry Draft

Zac Dalpe has certainly shown his value at the AHL level, putting up 23 goals in 61 games in 2010-11 and another 18 goals in 56 games last season.  He uses his hard accurate shot and good release to beat goalies and pile up the goals.  He has a hard slapshot and has been used by the Checkers as a point man on the PP. He also has good vision and is an excellent playmaker at the centre ice position.

Dalpe is also a dangerous scorer off the rush.  He is able to control the puck and make plays at speed which makes him especially dangerous.  He likes to beat defenders wide, and then drive the puck hard to the front of the net.   Dalpe’s skating stride is a little bit jerky, and his first step quickness and acceleration can be improved.   Once he does get going though, he does have good top end speed, and uses this to surprise catch the opposition out of position with quick turnovers and transitions to offence.

Dalpe has spent the last two years making regular trips from Charlotte (home of the AHL Checkers) to Raleigh and back again.  However he does look like he is NHL ready and I expect him to make the Hurricanes out of training camp.  With Brandon Sutter moving on to Pittsburgh, (and talk that the Canes want both Staals and Skinner all in the top 6); there is room for a another centre heading into training camp.  Dalpe’s biggest issue will be that he still needs some work defensively and as such may not be the ideal third line centre.  However should coach Muller decide to use the Staals as a two way matchup line, Dalpe could certainly slide into the third line in an offensive capacity.

 

Sleeper Pick:  Justin Shugg
Born Dec 24 1991 — Niagara Falls, ONT
Height 5.11 — Weight 194 — Shoots Right
Selected by Carolina Hurricanes round 4 #105 overall 2010 NHL Entry Draft

If there is a theme song for Shugg’s junior career it would be by DJ Khaled.  All he did was win, with three straight trips to the Memorial Cup Final game, and two Championships.  Shugg is a sniping winger who uses his good hockey sense and instincts to find openings in the opponents defence.  He seems to always find a way to get open and when set up unleashes a very good wrist shot, or excellent one timer.  He is a quite simply a pure sniper.

Unfortunately, Shugg is a bit of a one-trick pony.  He could be a lot more physical.  His skating needs work, and his defensive game is lacking.  He needs to give more effort backchecking and needs to play a stronger positional game.  Shugg is also not very physical and could stand to win more board battles.  These deficiencies meant he spent part of his first pro season in the ECHL before moving up to Charlotte in the AHL.

Shugg is still a long shot, and he’s got areas of his game that need to improve.  He’s a one trick pony right now, but his trick is scoring goals, and that is always in demand.  For that reason, I think he’s the top sleeper in the Carolina System.

 

Overall Carolina’s prospect system is a bit shallow.  However this is due in part to making the big club better. Jeff Skinner is a 20 year old NHL star, rather than a prospect.  They traded a top pick plus Brian Dumoulin to grab Jordan Staal, who is a young impact player.  Justin Faulk is another 2010 draftee who progressed quickly through the system and is now a full time NHLer.  Zach Boychuk and Drayson Bowman are graduates who have now played 72 and 69 NHL games respectively.  This means that when we compare Carolina’s prospect depth vs other clubs, the team suffers in this comparison.  But with so much youth already contributing at the NHL level, in this case, such comparisons are not a fair assessment of the future of the team as  Jim Rutherford continues to build a solid young club.    One area that can be criticized, is that the Hurricanes really need a quality goaltending prospect in the system.  They drafted 2 this year, but the loss of Mike Murphy to the KHL really hurts as there isn’t a really good goalie prospect in Charlotte.

Feel free to leave your comments below and follow me on twitter @LastWordBKerr.

The Battle for Swimming Supremecy Begins in London

Posted on by Greg Persson

Athletes from around the world will hit the pool today for the beginning of eight straight days of swimming. The swimmers garner a great deal of attention whenever the Summer Olympics come around due to the fact that a country which excels in the pool can add a massive amount of medals to their tally. Excluding the marathon, a total of 32 medal events make up swimming at the games for a total of 96 opportunities for countries to gain medals. So who are the men and women to watch?

Let’s begin with the men. Michael Phelps, aka super-fish, will be looking to dominate in London just as he did in Athens and Beijing. Despite Ronda Rousey’s opinion (check it out on youtube if you have a chance), Phelps is one of the world’s best athletes. He already owns the records for most gold medals in a single Olympics with 8, as well the record for most gold medals in Olympic history with 14. Phelps now needs just 3 medals to break gymnast Larisa Latynina’s record of 18 Olympic medals.  It seems only a matter of time before Phelps accomplishes this feat. He should dominate the butterfly but will have some competition in the medley as teammate Ryan Lochte has matched him step for step this year. Look for Lochte to give Phelps his biggest test in the 400m medley where he is ranked first overall (with Phelps ranked second). The Men’s 200M IM will be the glamour event of the pool and is one of the hottest tickets for these games and is being billed as the big Phelps/Lochte showdown. Beijing’s double silver medalist in the medleys, Hungary’s Laszlo Cseh, is the best bet for a darkhorse to spoil an American 1-2 party.

In other singles events, Lochte is also favored in the 200m backstroke and the 200m freestyle, especially with Phelps not competing this time around.  Aside from Lochte, the short distance freestyle events will feature two Aussies medal contenders  in James Magnussen and James Roberts.  Another contender to watch is Yannick Agnel of France who is ranked in the top three in both the 100m and 200m free. Look for these races to be fast paced, exciting and close.  The 50m sprint is one event that is almost always fun to watch.

China and Korea are favorites to own the longer distances as Yang Sun of China and South Korea’s Tae Hwan Park have both looked incredible this year in the 400 m and 1500 m respectively. Japan are favoured to pick up medals in the back stroke and breast stroke events. The legendary Kosuke Kitajima will be looking to repeat the double gold he achieved in the breaststroke four years ago in Beijing.

Canada’s Medal hopes on the men’s side lie with bronze medalist at Beijing and double silver medalist at the 2011 world championships, Ryan Cochrane.  His best event is the 1500m.  Brent Hayden will also look to repeat his performance at the worlds where he grabbed silver in the 100m freestyle.

As always seems to be the case, the relays should be the Americans’ to lose.  However they do need to watch out for countries like France, Australia, China and Japan who all field strong teams, and will be looking to pull off an upset.

Today’s medal festivities for the men begin with the 400m medley and the 400m freestyle so we will get to see super-fish, Lochte, Cseh, Park and Sun in action which should very entertaining.

On the women’s side, the Americans will also be favoured to bring home a large medal haul in the pool. Missy Franklin is the golden girl of the American team.  She is participating in 7 events and has a legitimate chance to bring home 7 medals. Franklin is a gold medal favorite in the backstroke.  Franklin will face stiff competition in Anastasia Zueva from Russia. Another American hopeful is Allison Schmitt who will look to overcome France’s Camille Muffat as well as Kylie Palmer and Bronte Barratt to stake her claim in the 200 m and 400 m freestyle events. Meanwhile Rebecca Soni is the gold medal favorites in the breaststrokes respectively.  Caitlin Leverenz and Elizabeth Beisel are the top challengers in the medleys as they attempt dethrone the double Olympic champion from Beijing, Australia’s Stephanie Rice.

The Europeans are very strong in the spring freestyle distances.  The Number 1 ranked swimmer in these events is Ranomi Kromowidjojo of the Netherlands. Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrom, who also looks good in the butterfly,  will be a top contender, as will Germany’s Britta Steffen.

And what of Great Britain, our gracious hosts? Britain has a very strong women’s team in the pool, Francesca Halsall will attack the shorter distances while Rebecca Adlington will look for gold in the longer swims as she is ranked 2nd in the 400m and 1st in the 800m freestyle. The British will also look for a medal from Hannah Miley in the medley.

The Canadian women also have hopes in the pool. Jillian Tyler, Tera Van Beilen and, bronze medalist at the worlds, Martha McCabe will be contenders in the breaststroke events, while Julia Wilkinson and Sinead Russell will take on the backstroke. In the medley, Erica Morningstar should have a good showing as well.

The women start today with the 400m medley and the 4X100 freestyle relay which should feature a war between the US, the Netherlands, Germany and the Aussies.

So as you can see there is much more to focus on than just Michael Phelps at the Aquatics Center and the next eight days promises to be fast-paced and full of great performances.  I can’t wait for the first splash.

Feel free to leave your comments below.

… and thats the Last Word.

NASCAR goes Camaro: The Family Sedans will be left in the Parking Lot

Posted on by Chris Bruce

Today, Chevrolet announced that the Chevy Impala, the long-time base car for Chevy based teams in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, will be replaced in 2013 by the Camaro.

Today I feel excitement, pure and simple. Excitement, the same that I felt way back in 2007 when our friends over at Chevrolet let the world have a peek at the new Camaro, a car that was to be released in 2009.   And now today I feel that same excitement, as NASCAR is only one car away from putting the four door family sedans (converted to look like two doors for the races) out to pasture. As of 2013 the NASCAR Nationwide Series will finally have the Camaro!

It just comes off the tongue so wonderfully – Camaro vs. Mustang vs. Challenger. Next year the Nationwide Series will see the return of the Big 3 duking it out in the corners with cars that have the look and passion of the same muscle cars you can actually buy at your local dealer and drive home.  (Minus the roll cages, harness, safety equipment, racing tires,  etc etc. of course).   But the look of the sleek muscle car is back.

Many years ago there was a saying in Stock Car racing, “Win on Sunday, sell on Monday.”  Well I’m not sure if that saying will come back but it just feels right today.

Today, we took one step closer to actually being able to feel like we can passionately cherish and own the same cars we cheer for on the weekends.   I don’t know many guys that can say they feel that passion when they test drive a Chevy Impala with factory spoiler and tinted windows.  Instead NASCAR and its manufacturers are finally making the right moves and bringing us back to the days of seeing real, honest to goodness muscle cars on the tracks.  Bringing us back to the feelings fans shared for the cars way back in 1987 when we had Bill Elliot in the #9 Ford Thunderbird, Dale Earnhardt in the #3 Monte Carlo SS and Cale Yarborough taking to the track in the #29 Oldsmobile Cutlass.

Such great news has me hoping that NASCAR does the right thing and has the Mustang, Challenger & Camaro fighting it out in the Sprint Cup Series for 2014.

Oh and Toyota, wake up, its time to keep up with the Jones’ and put the same kind of sleek looking vehicle into the field.  Perhaps we can replace the Camry next.

… and that is the Last Word.

Feel free to leave your comments below.

What Happened to Ricky Romero?

Posted on by Greg Persson

Ricky Romero’s outing on Wednesday against the red hot Oakland Athletics was not the sort of performance you would expect from the ace of an American League team. By the middle of the second inning, Romero completely lost control and was replaced. It was a bases loaded walk (one of several in his short outing), which capped off a 66-pitch, 6 walk and 8 hit debacle. When the book was finally closed, Romero was charged with a miserable 8 earned runs in an inning and a third of work. Now even top pitchers like Jered Weaver and Justin Verlander have rough starts but unfortunately the sub-par lines have become more the rule than the exception for the Jays’ number-1. In the month of July, Romero’s ERA is 8.88 and his previous month wasn’t that much better at 7.33. Only two of his last nine starts have been quality starts, and his record is a deplorable 1-6 in that span. So the question that on most Jays’ fans minds is  – What happened to Ricky Romero?

Let’s turn the clock back one year ago. Romero had a career year with an ERA of 2.92 and a WHIP of 1.14, solidifying himself as the top starter on the Jays rotation. Other than the odd tough start here and there against opponents like the Red Sox and Yankees, who pretty much always hit well anyway, Ricky was very consistent. Only July saw him post an ERA over 4 (4.31), and 20 of his 26 outings were quality starts, certainly good enough to warrant his top spot. In fact, the last two months of the season saw Romero only have one non-quality performance and that was at Yankee Stadium, which isn’t friendly to any visiting pitcher. By the end of the year expectations were fairly high for both him and Brandon Morrow. As the 2012 season progressed, Ricky shrugged off a tough start in Cleveland to finish off April with four good starts, including an 8.1 inning, 3-hit masterpiece against the powerful BoSox.  May and June were much weaker months as Romero’s control started to falter.  The walk totals began to climb and it seemed like he wasn’t fooling anyone. If Romero’s walk totals weren’t high the hit totalswere inflated – a trend that has continued until Wednesday’s 16-0 drubbing, the worst shutout loss in Jays’ history.

There are a couple of factors which may have contributed to this collapse. Let’s begin with the heightened expectations on the Jays this year. When patrons of Leaf games began chanting “Let’s go Blue Jays” in March, that was a pretty clear indication that the extra wild card meant that the fans expected baseball beyond the first week of October. Generally three players tend to take the brunt when the fans demand greatness: the top hitter (Jose Bautista), the closer (Sergio Santos, who didn’t really stay healthy long enough to factor in) and the ace (Romero). Bautista struggled out of the gate but he had to deal with these expectations last year coming off his 54 home run season and the power slack was picked up by Edwin Encarnacion and Kelly Johnson early on. Joey Bats eventually hit his stride. Romero on the other hand has the honor of singlehandedly carrying the starting rotation after three of the Jays’ first five starter options went down with major injuries. In my opinion, due to the uncertainty of the other four pitchers in the rotation, there has been too much pressure on Ricky to throw a gem each time he hits the mound.

Mechanically, Romero has a strong arsenal of pitches; he has a curve, slider and change-up, which all complement his 2 and 4-seam fastballs very well. The issue arises when his curve and slider aren’t moving the way they should and wind up either hanging, or are too far out of the zone to trip up the hitters. Romero has had to rely extensively on his fastballs as his other pitches have not been as effective as they were last year. Romero’s fastball tops out at around 95 mph on his best day, which is not good enough if the hitters are sitting dead-red. He isn’t Jamie Moyer, but he is also certainly not Randy Johnson. When Ricky is striking out batters it’s because he’s making the hitters respect his curve and slider which can drop into or out of the sweet-spot in the blink of an eye, and just when they least expect it, blow a fastball by them. The ball is falling out of the zone too early and when it does get in there it stays up, not allowing for the soft ground ball and ideally the double play if the batter does make contact. If Ricky wants to bounce back he has to find his curve again.

Jays manager John Farrell has stated that Romero will continue to make his starts and a trip to the minors is not on the agenda as of yet. The fact that most of the Jays pitching staff is laid up probably contributes to Farrell’s stance. Personally, I think that Romero has too much talent and has too good a body of work to be written off and his current slump should end as the Jays enter August. As for the playoffs, it is not likely in the Jays future with their pitching health woes, not to mention Bautista’s injury and the strength of the AL West teams in particular. They’ll likely be an above .500 team and Romero will retain his number 1 spot, or at least a 1a with Brandon Morrow.

Feel free to leave your comments below.

Tim Thomas: A shameful act, A shameful man.

Posted on by Ben Kerr

Tim Thomas is at it again.  Exposing his politics for all the world to see, and this time its ugly.

Recently Chik-fil-A owner Dan Cathy made some very controversial remarks in speaking out against gay marriage.  His remarks have brought great controversy in the media and a fire storm of boycotts, political backlash, and even a lost business partner with the the Jim Henson Company pulling its toys from Chik-fil-a locations.  You can read more on the story here.

On Thursday, Tim Thomas posted a message proclaiming his support for Cathy’s homophobic and bigotted stance on his facebook page.  Thomas praised the stance of Cathy and even posted the following quote from Cathy “I think we are inviting God’s judgment on our nation when we shake our fist at him and say, ‘We know better than you as to what constitutes a marriag. I pray God’s mercy on our generation that has such a prideful, arrogant attitude to think that we would have the audacity to try to redefine what marriage is all about.”

The bigotry here is astounding.  The belief that all citizens of America, even those who do not practice Christianity should be forced to live by the words of its bible is appalling.

As someone who was raised Catholic myself, I am appalled by the church’s stance on gay marriage and believe it goes against every single thing that Jesus tried to teach the world about Respect, Decency, Tolerance, and treating one’s neighbour as we would expect to be treated.  To believe that we have any right to stop two consenting adults from being married and from receiving the important legal rights and privileges that go along with it is the height of arrogance and bigotry.  The hypocrisy these faiths teach in their stance is sickening, and I hope one day their leaders WAKE UP!

Why do we take one line out of the bible and justify our bigotry against gays with it.   But ignore the 10,000 other pages that preach tolerance, respect, and treating your fellow man as an equal, and the way you would want to be treated?

That said we live in a multicultural society, of many religions, and even non religious people.   To believe our laws should be set by the tenets of any one faith is discriminatory and quite frankly reeks of medieval thinking.  To discriminate against someone based on that faith and their sexuality is absurd and goes against everything I stand for as a human being.

Hopefully one day we will look back on the discrimination against people who identify themselves as LGBT , the same way we look back at the discrimination against African Americans in the 60s, as a dirty, shameful, and hurtful part of our history, never to be repeated again.  Tim Thomas and Cam Janssen (for his comments a few weeks ago) deserve to go down in history remembered the same way as former Phillies Manager, Ben Chapman (who unleashed a racist diatribe at Jackie Robinson when he broke baseball’s colour barrier).

I ask all who read this, to boycott Chik-fil-a, and to boo Tim Thomas the next time he returns to an NHL rink, if ever.

 

Feel free to leave comments below, and follow me on twitter @lastWordBkerr.

Report: Alex Semin signs with Carolina

Posted on by Ben Kerr

Reports are swirling on twitter that Alex Semin has signed a one year deal with the Carolina Hurricanes.  The Report apparently originates from the Russian News paper, SovSport.  First (that I saw) to have the report in English was Matias Strozyk of Elite Prospects and this was quickly followed up by Dmitry Chesnokov of Yahoo Sports.

Semin is a much maligned player, and was called a “coach killer” on this year’s TSN Free Agent Special by none other than Pierre McGuire.  Semin scored a disappointing 54 points for the Capitals last season, and only 1 goal in their 7 game loss to the New York Rangers in the second round.  However, some such as our very own Maksim Vasilyev took a look at Semin and believe he was unfairly maligned as he simply did not have any consistent linemates or support in Washington.  You can read his piece here. 

This shouldn’t be a problem in Carolina which will have a deep top 6 next season that is likely to feature Eric Staal, Jordan Staal, Jeff Skinner, Jussi Jokinen, Tuomo Ruuttu, and Semin.  Semin will surely be given a featured role on the Canes, and paired with a very good centre who could have an excellent season next year.  This move certainly puts his fantasy stock on the rise for poolies.

However, it will be up to Semin to show that he can play big in big game situations in the NHL.  His overall playoff stats aren’t bad, but Semin has disappeared in 7 game playoff losses to Pittsburgh, Montreal and New York in 3 of the past 4 seasons.  In Washington’s 21 games in those series, the noted sniper has only scored 2 goals.

Carolina coming off a year where they missed the playoffs, is clearly no lock to make them next year.  However with the additions of Jordan Staal and Alex Semin expectations will be high.  With a reported one year, $7 million deal, Semin will have the opportunity to prove critics wrong and show that he can be a top offensive force in the NHL.

Comparing Loyalty: Robin van Persie vs. Thierry Henry

Posted on by Michael Kovacs, ADMIN

Who wouldn’t want to have one of the all-time greatest players in Arsenal’s storied history return to the club, in whatever capacity?  That was rhetorical, of course.  With the news that Henry has made it known that he wishes for a return to Arsenal either as a player or as a coach, Gooners the world over are excited for the most part. Most fans hailed his return mid-season in a loan spell from New York, and many went so far as to wish Arsenal would complete a transfer for the legend. Thierry Henry is amongst all-time great names such as Adams and Bergkamp, who made Highbury (and in Henry’s case, Emirates Stadium) their home.  They won trophies, gained fame, and were at all times loyal – kind of. Much has been made about Robin van Persie’s open letter to fans stating he would not sign another contract at Arsenal.  Certainly RvP has seen his name dragged through the mud of North London for his, umm, openness?  While he is 29, so too was Thierry Henry when he made his exit to Barcelona.   Also, Henry’s time at Arsenal last eight years… the same time span as RvP.  It has really left me wondering two things:

  1. Is there a real difference in the manner in which Thierry left versus how Robin has made his intentions be known?
  2. Assuming van Persie leaves, will the fans feel the same about him as they do now about Henry?

When Thierry Henry left Arsenal, it wasn’t very shocking for most fans.  Barcelona had been rumoured for some time to be after the Frenchman.   In fact, Barcelona made a strong push for him in 2006 after the Champions League final, but Henry instead renewed his contract with AFC.  However, a year later, and after David Dein’s (vice-chair) and with the uncertainty of Arsene Wenger’s tenure at Arsenal (his contract was almost up), Henry requested a transfer to Barcelona.  When asked about the motivation to sell him, Arsene Wenger simply said, “It was Thierry’s decision to leave Arsenal, but he goes with my blessing.”  At his first press conference after signing with Barca, their new striker had this to say; “It’s the only thing I didn’t win at Arsenal but the most important thing is that Barcelona is successful and they win silverware.” Clearly we knew his motivation.

It’s clear that Thierry Henry was the catalyst behind the move to Barcelona, however he chose to make his thoughts known behind the scenes.  Robin van Persie on the other hand, slapped everyone in the face with his announcement.  But is that necessarily a bad thing?  How has he become the goat, where Thierry Henry is still hailed as a legend and hero?  I’m not saying I agree, nor do I disagree with either player’s manner in which they conducted themselves, I only wish to discuss how their actions have been interpreted, to be clear.

If you haven’t read the letter by now, feel free to chase it down at RobinVanPersie.com – I’m sure he still has it available.  For those interested, I did write several pieces about the letter specifically, and about the transfer in general (find them here and here).  Simply, the letter very clearly states that he is at odds with Arsenal’s management, and there is a great divide in the way they believe the team should move forward (why a player feels they should have input is beyond me – yes, I know, that sounds naive).

The more I think about it, the more I tend to believe he did what many players do any way, it’s just that they do it in a quieter, behind-the-scenes kind of way.  Does that make it better? Worse? Equal?  Therein lies the crux of the problem right now… most feel van Persie is a bloke for having said he was refusing to re-sign at Arsenal.  But if Henry had done the same, would we not have dragged him through the mud as well?  Sure, fans were very upset at Henry’s departure, but it’s not even close to how supporters feel toward Arsenal’s current #10.  Was Henry pardoned because he said what Robin did, but did so away from the media and fans?  Is there any way we can actually hail RvP for having been so open and honest with fans?  Okay, maybe that’s going a wee bit far.

Look, I don’t like the openness of the letter that Robin wrote, not because I don’t feel he has the right to write it, but rather because I am a very passionate gooner and it feels akin to an attack on my family.  I can only assume many other AFC supporters feel that way also.  I can appreciate that he is doing what he feels best for his career, though it will never sit quite well with me – much like eating bad yoghurt.  In the end, there really isn’t a difference to his motivations for leaving versus TH14’s motivations.  They both want to win silverware and feel (felt) they have a better shot elsewhere.  They aren’t the only ones who subscribe to the “grass is greener” theory, and they won’t be the last.  As much as it pains me to see van Persie leave, at least he isn’t Samir Nasri…don’t get me started on him!

…until tomorrow, lads.

Top Shelf Prospects: Calgary Flames

Posted on by Ben Kerr

Earlier this week I launched “Top Shelf Prospects” a look at the top prospects for all teams in the NHL. Monday I started with the Anaheim Ducks, Tuesday I moved on to the Boston Bruins, and yesterday I looked at the Buffalo Sabres.  Continuing along our alphabetical journey through the NHL, we have the Calgary Flames. 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 the draft, 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.

2012 Draftees Profiled:
Mark Jankowski, Patrick Sieloff, Jon Gillies, Brett Kulak, Coda Gordon,

 

Top Prospect: Sven Bartschi, Right Wing/Left Wing
Born Oct 5 1992 — Bern, Switzerland
Height 5.10 — Weight 181 — Shoots Left
Selected by Calgary Flames round 1 #13 overall 2011 NHL Entry Draft

In 1981, Lanny McDonald joined the Calgary Flames.  After scoring 66 goals in 1982, his epic mustache became the face of the franchise.  When he finally retired after winning the Stanley Cup in 1989, he did so after playing half a season with the player who would be the new face of the franchise for most of the nineties, Theoren Fleury.  When Fleury left the Flames in 1999, he was playing on a team that featured the Flames next stud Right Wing, and face of the Franchise for the 00s in Jarome Iginla.  Today as Iginla is entering what surely is the twilight of a long and illustrious career, a new stud Right Wing is ready to join the Flames.  Sven Bartschi came up late in the season as an emergency recall from Portland of the WHL and wowed the Calgary faithful scoring 3 goals in 5 NHL games.  The Flames and their fans certainly hope they have found the heir to the throne of terrific Calgary Flame Right Wingers.

Bartschi absolutely destroyed the WHL last season, scoring an incredible 94 points in just 47 games.  He followed that up with 34 points in 22 playoff games.  Bartschi was quite simply the most dominant offensive player in the league last season.  Offensively, Bartschi possesses every weapon a talented winger should have.  He has very quick acceleration, excellent balance, great edgework, agility and and good balance on his skates.  This combined with his soft hands, and quick stickhandling make him extremely dangerous off the rush.  He is often able to fool a defender and leaving him looking silly as he cuts by him for yet another scoring chance.  Bartschi is also a pure sniper, with a deadly accurate wrist shot and very deceptive release.  This aids him in piling up the goal totals, after Bartschi uses his great hockey sense help him to find openings in the defence. With good puck control ability, excellent vision, and hard crisp passing skills, Bartschi is also a talented playmaker.  He knows how to find the open man and puts the puck right on the tape giving teammates plenty of opportunities to score.

Bartschi may be listed at only 5’10”, but he is a tenacious forward who is relentless in puck pursuit and forechecking.  He is also a courageous player who is not afraid to take a hit to make a play and is not afraid to go to the dirty areas of the ice to score goals.  Defensively, Bartschi must continue to move his feet and be actively involved in his own zone when he doesn’t have the puck.  This is an area that he should work on to improve.

Due to his October 1992 Birthdate Bartschi is eligible for the AHL next season.  However I think that given the splash he made last spring, it would not surprise me at all if he made the big club in training camp.  Perhaps it is time for Bartschi to learn what it means to lead the Flames, and there is no better person for him to learn that from than Jarome Iginla.  A solid mentorship would help Calgary both now and in the future.

 

Max Reinhart, Center
Born Feb 4 1992 — Vancouver, BC
Height 6.01 — Weight 185 — Shoots L
Selected by Calgary Flames round 3 #64 overall 2010 NHL Entry Draft

 Max Reinhart is the son of former Calgary Flame Paul Reinhart.  He is also the older brother of recent New York Islanders Draft pick Griffin Reinhart, and 2014 NHL Draft prospect Sam Reinhart.

Since being drafted Max Reinhart has really grown as an offensive force for the Kootenay Ice and become a real leader for the team.  Reinhart is a fast skater with good agility and quick moves.  He has shown the ability to create offense off the rush and he is able to control the puck and make plays at high speed.  Reinhart sees openings and is able to make good crisp passes to teammates.  While Reinhart is more of a playmaker than a goal scorer he also has a deceptive shot that can often beat goalies and find the back of the net.

Reinhart is wiling to mix it up along the boards, and to be involved in both the offensive and defensive zone.  However he really needs to work on adding some bulk to his frame in order to be more successful in these aspects of his game.  It is likely that Reinhart is still at least a year away and that he will play in the AHL next season.

 

Sleeper Special: John Gaudreau, LW
Born Aug 13 1993 — Carneys Point, NJ
Height 5.06 — Weight 150
Selected by Calgary Flames round 4 #104 overall 2011 NHL Entry Draft

Listed at just 5’6″ and 150 lbs, it is easy to see why Gaudreau fell to the 4th round of the 2011 draft despite good stats for Dubuque in the USHL.  Gaudreau left Dubuque and was a freshman at Boston College last season.  The pint-sized scorer was an integral part of the team that would win the NCAA Frozen Four tournament.

What Gaudreau lacks in size he makes up for in skill and heart.  He is an explosive skater who leaves opponents in his dust, and is able to cut wide on defenders and take the puck to the net.  He also has very good hands, and a wide variety of moves that enable him to beat defenders one on one.  Gaudreau has excellent puck control and good vision.  He is a creative player who is willing to try plays that many other players never would, and as an 18 year old freshman at BC, he found these moves would continue to work against NCAA competition.  Gaudreau has shown no fear at the NCAA level, challenging opponents in the corners and the front of the net.  He has high level hockey IQ and is often able to find the soft spot in a defence and get open to unleash his accurate one timer.

I like Gaudreau as a sleeper because if he was a player with the exact same skill set, but 4 inches taller, he easily would have been a first round pick.  Gaudreau has all the talent necessary to make the next level, the question will always be if his body can hold up to the NHL rigour long term.

 

In reviewing the Flames system, I saw a group that was very thin after Bartschi.  Reinhart is a decent prospect but there are very few NHL teams that would have him considered the 2nd best player in the system. The third best Flames prospect is goaltender Leland Irving, a 2006 draft pick who has been developped slowly and steadily and who is now knocking on the door to take a backup job with the Flames.  In fact he did a great job in a short callup for them last season.  However the team’s prospect depth really fell off after that, and this was a very thin system prior to the 2012 NHL Draft.  Next in line would be Greg Nemisz, a former first round pick from 2008.  However the former Windsor Spitfire has not been able to translate his offensive game from the OHL to AHL.  He’s beginning to look like a bottom 6 player and marginal prospect at best.

All hope is not lost though, as I felt the Flames did a very good job of adding much needed depth at this year’s draft, and I really liked what they did in getting great value with many of their day 2 draft picks.  Their 1st round pick, Mark Jankowski, has been widely criticized, however he has also been praised by respected scouts such as Craig Button.  We also know that the Flames own GM Jay Feaster has lavished very heavy praise on the youngeter, stating that he may be the best player in the draft. He’s a player I can’t really comment too much on, as I did not have the opportunity to see him last year, but I am intrigued and hope to get a good viewing of him a soon as possible.

What I do know is this, the infusion of talent that this draft provided is extremely important and has helped the Flames replenish many areas of a depleted prospect pipeline.  Its no secret that some of the Flames best players (Jarome Iginla, Mikka Kiprusoff, …) are aging and will not be around forever, and so continuing to build their stable of prospects will be important for the Flames in the next few seasons.

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