The New Jersey Devil

Three years ago, Ilya Kovalchuk and the New Jersey Devils shocked the NHL world when both sides agreed to a 15yr/$100 million contract (after the NHL rejected a 17-year deal).
Now, with 12 years remaining on the contract, Kovalchuk stunned the Devils on Thursday by announcing that he is retiring from the NHL to, presumably, go back to Russia to play in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).
Kovalchuk's announcement drew instant criticism, claiming that he was unfaithful and disloyal to New Jersey, who committed so much to the superstar. But, with the contract officially voided and Kovalchuk free to sign with any team he wishes, it seems like the appropriate time to look at this decision from both sides affected by the decision.
Starting with Kovalchuk, he did leave 12 years and $77 million on the table, a large sum of money that any person would love to have coming their way. However, according to the Russian, it was not a decision made about money, but rather family. He would rather go back to his native country where he can be close to his family the entire year and be around people that he grew up with playing the game.
This wasn't an abrupt decision for Kovalchuk, but a rather drawn out decision. He voiced his uncertainty with playing in the NHL at the beginning of last year's lockout-shortened season and made it known how he felt with the Devils front office.
But, lets take a minute and think that maybe this was a financial decision by Kovalchuk. Sure, $77 million is a lot of money, but spread it out over the duration of the remaining 12 years of his contract and he's really only making an average of $6.42 million over that span. Once again, that is a lot of money, but think about this: the KHL doesn't have a salary cap and is known to throw boat loads of money at star players in the hopes of keeping them in Russia and hoping that they don't flee for the NHL.
The brief taste of the KHL that Kovalchuk got last year during the lockout may have been enough to make him want to stay there permanently, but the money must have made that decision a whole lot easier. If he does sign in the KHL, it is likely that he will sign with his former team, SKA St. Petersburg and make a lot more money than he ever would in the NHL. With his yearly salary and bonuses (which have been known to be quite nice) it could very well take Kovalchuk half the amount of time to make the $77 million that he would get back in North America.

As for New Jersey, no matter who your favorite team is, it's hard not to feel a little bit bad for them. After all, it did invest its entire future in one player.
When the league rejected the 17-year contract because it felt that it was circumventing the salary cap, the NHL penalized the Devils by forcing them to surrender a 1st round pick in one of the next several years, a pick they have yet to surrender.
On top of that, Kovalchuk's large contract and AAV (average annual value) made it hard for New Jersey to put together a full lineup (remember the game when it only dressed 15 players because of salary cap reasons?) of NHL-caliber players.
The Devils were forced to let their young star Zach Parise walk in free agency last summer because they were unable to afford his free agent demands. Fast forward to this free agency period and New Jersey had to do the same thing with unrestricted free agent David Clarkson. Burdened by Kolvy's contract, one of the Devils' top-three offensive threats was left to sign with another team because they couldn't find the cap space to fulfill his yearly pay.
Sure, that's the way it goes when you put that much money into one player, but had Kovalchuk really committed to his desires to play in the KHL and not the NHL, it may have allowed the Devils to approach resigning Parise and Clarkson a little bit differently.
Parise would have been hard to resign because he was off to Minnesota before the lockout even began, but Clarkson is a whole different story. He signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs just days before Kovalchuk made his decision to opt out of his contract. Reverse these decisions and Clarkson would most likely still be on New Jersey and things may not look as bleak for the Devils.
It was a shocking decision made by one of the NHL's biggest superstars. Kovalchuk won't be bothered by this decision one bit because he'll be back in his home country still making loads of money, but don't be surprised if this takes the 2012 Stanley Cup finalists a few years to recover from.

*All images courtesy of Google Images*

Making It In ESPN

ESPN.  It is every sports journalist’s dream to one day work for the largest sports outlet in the entire world.

However, the company is no longer strictly journalism.  One of the largest parts of the company is the Stats and Information Group, also known as SIG.  This group handles all the stats and analysis that we see on the television screen, making sure that it is accurate, but still getting it on the air in a timely manner.

Within the SIG department are four main departments: the Bottomline, Production Research, Stats and Analysis, and Analytics.  Much of the research and stats come from databases such as the Elias Sports Bureau, TruMedia, and two summers ago, ESPN introduced MLB TruMedia.

Three people that work within the Stats and Analysis department are Hillary London, Erin Quinn, and Caroline Stedman are responsible for putting together many of the stats that you see pop up on screen.

Quinn and Stedman are both very young and just in the beginning of their time at ESPN, but have immense amounts of experience that can take them a long way. 

Stedman graduated from Amherst College in 2012, where she played for the women’s basketball team and was named an All-American and NESCAC Player of the Year.  The summer going into her junior year of college, she studied in Costa Rica, where she became fluent in Spanish, a trait that proved very valuable to her when she applied to ESPN.  Now, even though she is working in analytics, she is trying to use her knowledge of Spanish to help her move up in the sports world.

“I am currently working my way towards becoming a certified translator,” said Stedman. 

By becoming a translator, Stedman can use her knowledge of both Spanish and sports and work her way up in the organization and in the sporting world.

Quinn is currently in her third year with ESPN, her first full-time job right out of school.  She, like Stedman, went to school in Western Massachusetts, graduating from the all-girls school Smith College in Northampton, Mass.  Rather than learning a language like Stedman, she stood out to ESPN with all of her experience, interning for a minor league baseball team and then also at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. 

The round of interviews that she went through to finally be hired by ESPN were lengthy, but certainly worth the time.

“After I originally talked to them on the phone, I had to take a 45-minute email test,” said Quinn.  “Following that, I had about four or five phone interviews and then finally was asked to come to the campus in Bristol and have an in-person interview and observation.”

And finally, there is London.  She is the experienced one in the group, a production manager within SIG.  Unlike Quinn and Stedman, she didn’t go right into the stats world, but instead, followed her passion of lacrosse and coached collegiately for 11 years, before she left to take a position at ESPN.  Now, she works with statistics, but is also one of the people that hires applicants like Quinn and Stedman.  For her, everyone that applies to ESPN loves sports, but she looks for more.

“In your cover letter, I want you to include a story about how sports have played a role in your life,” London said.  “Everyone says that they’re passionate about sports, but you need to include why this (job) will help you with what you want to do.”

All three of them took different routes to get where they are now, but for all of them, it is their passion in sports that will make them successful.

To Hell and Back

In 2007, Michael Vick had it all.

He had recently signed the richest contract in NFL history with the Atlanta Falcons, a 10 year/ $130 million deal with $37 million guaranteed.  But all of that disappeared when he was arrested and found guilty on dogfighting charges, causing him to go to jail for 18 months of his life.  The 18 month penalty was a much harsher penalty than what the law had called for, but Vick was used as a scapegoat.

Following his release, Vick signed as a free agent in 2009 with the Philadelphia Eagles and has since seen himself go from a near MVP candidate, to one of the most hated men in Philly.  But, back in 2010, ABC News' Bob Woodruff had a chance to sit down with Vick and talk about everything that Vick had been through: his time in Atlanta, how he lost everything, and how he has found his way back.

Coupled with the piece was a written story by Jennifer Metz that goes into more detail than the two and half minute video piece that Woodruff put together that details Vick's life in more detail.  By putting the two together, you get the visual side of the story, seeing Vick's life through highlights and video interviews and then the much more in-depth story of how Vick lost everything and got it all back again in the written piece.

Together, the multimedia package does a fantastic job of putting everything out there about Vick, but the one thing that really stood out to me as odd was the one-on-one interview that Woodruff had with Vick in the auditorium.  I didn't really like how they had the interview side-by-side as opposed to being face-to-face.  Had they been set up in front of each other, it would have forced Vick to look more directly towards Woodruff and talk TO him, rather than be next to him and talk BY him.  By setting them up that way, it was almost giving Vick a chance to avoid eye contact and not make it as personal as what it could have been.

On a positive not, I liked how there were multiple video packages put together.  The first one, the 2:33 package is the real story.  The next video that pops up is all the interview that Woodruff has with Vick, so you're able to hear more about what Vick has to say about his life.  The final video is Vick at his introductory press conference when he signed with the Eagles in 2009, giving you the full sports aspect of the story and showing him finally back from where he had gone.

Overall, this piece was well put together, nothing less than what one would expect from ABC News.  Even though I wish the video could have been longer, the written story did a fantastic job capturing everything about Vick and is certainly a great piece about a person trying to get a second chance at life.

Paving His Own Path

Ever since he was a journalism major at George Mason University, Matt Lee has lived by the quote that late Apple co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs once said: "Don't be afraid.  You can do it."

It was this message that got Lee out there and gave him the confidence to apply to jobs and internships as a senior in college, with very little experience in the field of journalism.

"It was like a chip on my shoulder because I wasn't doing myself any favors by going there," said Lee of his decision to go to George Mason, a school not well-known for its journalism program.  "My one professor told me 'look, let them tell you no.  Don't take yourself out of it before you even give it a shot.'"

In essence, Lee's journalism professor was telling him to not be afraid because he can do it.

Following his graduation from George Mason in 1998, Lee took a job at Washingtonpost.com as the online producer, working mainly the night shift.  It was Lee's job to take all of the print content and put it online, but working online was not the ideal job that Lee had for himself.

"I wanted to be a beat reporter of some sorts," said Lee.  "I had no idea where this was going to take me and all the old guys there were telling me that what I was doing was just a fad."

By taking an online job at Washingtonpost.com, Lee was pursuing something outside of his comfort zone.  Not being afraid of the task at hand.

When Lee graduated, there were only three routes for him to take in the field of journalism: newspapers, radio, and broadcasting.  But, with the invention of Google, Facebook, Twitter, and other interactive social media sites, journalism was rapidly changing.

Lee excelled as the online producer and was one of the key guys in starting the first blog for Washingtonpost.com.  This experience led to Lee getting a call from one of his colleagues who had a job opening at ESPN.

"I got a call from one of my old colleagues and she had a job opportunity at ESPN to work on the news desk," said Lee.  "I didn't get that job, but I did get a job as the lead editor for the Insider section."

That opportunity led to Lee getting to where he is now, as the senior blog editor for ESPN.com.  Four years ago, when he first took the blog editor position, Lee's staff consisted of only three or four writers.

"We hired traditional beat reporters to cover each specific NFL division and blog about them and give analysis within each division," said Lee.

Along with the NFL blogs, his small team of writers also wrote college football blogs, covering each of the major conferences.

Today, Lee's staff of writers has tripled to nine writers and their content has also expanded to to college basketball and major league baseball, on top of the NFL and college football blogs.

Lee is in his sixth year at ESPN and is a long way from that insecure college student from George Mason.

"One thing I would tell anyone pursuing journalism is to find something passionate and blog and write about it.  Find something you love because this is a tough business," said Lee.

Find something you love, and, oh, don't be afraid.  You can do it.

Concussions Changing The Way The NFL Is Played

Imagine yourself on queer street, not knowing where you are, being sensitive to light and sound, and constantly nauseous.  Now try to imagine those same feelings while having them in front of 70,000+ screaming fans every Sunday.

Those are the immediate effects of a concussion and the injury that is the reason why fans and critics alike are calling for a change to the nation's most-popular league.  The high-level speeds and hitting that occur in an NFL game make the sport one of the most violent in the world, but fans still love to see one of their team's favorite players light up the opposing player.  Unfortunately, it is ruining the game everyone loves.

On October 7th, Washington Redskins rookie quarterback and No. 2 overall draft pick Robert Griffin III (RGIII) suffered a nasty blow to the head in the 3rd quarter in a game against the Atlanta Falcons.  Upon viewing the hit and seeing RGIII's immediate reaction following the play, any sensible person could see that he was not ok.  Following the game, head coach Mike Shanahan admitted that his quarterback suffered a "mild" concussion and he was not just "shaken up" as the team previously stated, meaning that Griffin would now have to go through a series of tests that the league put in place so that players who suffer head injuries won't come back too soon.

Now, the Redskins are facing potential fines from the league because of the original diagnosis of RGIII as only being "shaken up."  However, in a different report and mentioned on Yahoo Sports "Shutdown Corner" blog, the Redskins' medical staff denies any claims that they downgraded Griffin's head injury and went through the correct medical steps to diagnose his injury, including asking him the quarter and score of the game, which he failed.  After he failed that test, the trainers took him back into the training room and examined him further.

RGIII was drafted to be the team's prized possession and the organization's future, so it only seems fitting that the team would do anything possible to have him on the field.  However, risking his future now is a dumb move, especially since he started the following weekend against the Minnesota Vikings.  So much for really protecting the prized jewel.

The NFL has done everything it can to try to reduce the number of concussions in the game, by putting harsher punishments on helmet-to-helmet hits and blows to the head, but it's just the way the game is played.  Sadly, the NFL community and sports world lost a legend last May when former NFL linebacker Junior Seau committed suicide.  The cause of this: too many concussions over the course of his career.  

Seau is one of many NFL stars that have ended their lives early because concussions led them to having mental problems following their careers. 

On the same day as RGIII's concussion, Kansas City Chiefs' QB Matt Cassel also suffered a serious concussion, one that kept him out of the following week's game.  Prior to the hit that knocked Cassel out of the game, his play had been poor, throwing two interceptions on 9-of-15 passing through the first three quarters.  But, it was the reaction that the fans had after Cassel had been knocked out, causing him to be taken out of the game.  The hometown fans cheered when he was removed from the game, causing Chiefs' offensive tackle Eric Winston to go on a rant about how embarrassed he was at the reaction the fans had when Cassel was injured.

Much like RGIII, Cassel may return in short time, but the reality of concussions can be seen in the sad stories of Seau and the other NFL stars that have committed suicide: concussions are not something to mess with and can cause a lot more long-term damage than the short-term pain they initially create.

We should only be thankful that the NFL is trying to do something to fix this.

Tony Romo All The Talk Following MNF Failure

http://storify.com/pstroh65/tony-romo-all-the-talk-following-mnf-failure

Author Sean Glennon Talks His New Book And The Great Quarterback Debate

In author Sean Glennon’s new book, Tom Brady vs. The NFL: The Case for Football’s Greatest Quarterback, Glennon put his own spin on the greatest quarterback of all-time debate by claiming that Tom Brady is the best quarterback the league has ever seen.

"This book is meant to start arguments in bar rooms, on the radio, and in comment sections," said Glennon.

Brady was selected 199^th overall in the 2000 NFL Draft, has won three Super Bowl titles with the New England Patriots and has become the poster-boy for elite quarterbacks in the NFL, leaving many critics and fans debating whether or not he is, or will become, the greatest quarterback to ever play the game. 

Glennon is one of those people.  He makes that case in his book that, even though Brady is still playing in the league, he has already surpassed the likes of Terry Bradshaw, Roger Staubach, and Joe Montana for the greatest quarterback to ever play the game.

"This book almost killed me because I had to take all these stats and put them into a narrative,” said Glennon.  "I wanted to be able to compare Brady to the other great quarterbacks from a perspective of knowing the game."

Glennon began writing his book roughly 18 months ago (although he isn’t exactly sure how long it actually took) while he was a columnist at the Boston Phoenix newspaper.  He was approached by Triumph Publishing Co. to write a book comparing Brady and Peyton Manning.  Almost a year into writing the book, Glennon realized that the real debate is not between Brady and Manning, but instead, it is about where Brady ranks among the greatest quarterbacks of all-time.

Glennon took this idea and ran with it, doing extensive research and looking up the stats of 14 retired quarterbacks and some of the game’s best active NFL quarterbacks, but wanted to come at it from the angle of being informed.

He didn’t want to bash great quarterbacks of the past just to make his point.  He wanted to use his knowledge of the game to tell why each quarterback was so great, but why Brady was better.  An approach that can be difficult when comparing a quarterback from today’s game to quarterbacks that played in a time when the game was completely different.

“It’s hard to compare quarterbacks today to Roger Staubach and Terry Bradshaw because it’s just a different style of game,” said Glennon.

Today, it seems as though Brady has surpassed nearly every quarterback on the “Greatest of All Time” list, except for the legendary Montana.  When it came to this debate, it was this argument that Glennon enjoyed most while writing his book.

“The most interesting story for me was telling the story of Joe Montana, the second greatest quarterback of all time.”

Glennon knows that there will always be people out there who will back Montana and everything he accomplished.  His perfect 4-0 record in the Super Bowl, his zero interceptions thrown in Super Bowl games, and all the other records and stats that he compiled during his illustrious career.  But, the way Glennon sees it, Brady has already been to five Super Bowls, one more than Montana ever got to and Brady is the only quarterback in history to win his first 10 playoff games.

“This argument may be settled by the time Brady’s career is over, one way or another,” said Glennon.

Currently, Brady sits at 12^th on the all-time passing yards list, one spot ahead of Joe Montana and over 30,000 yards behind Brett Favre, who has 71,838 yards passing.

Bloggers and the Media vs. Sports

For my sports journalism class, we had to read two pieces online that had to deal with sports bloggers and the media having struggles with major professional sports leagues.
In the first article, "Buzz Bissinger vs. Mark Cuban on Twitter," you see a professional blogger (Bissinger) and his one-sided argument with Dallas Mavericks' owner Mark Cuban.  Cuban started the "Twitter war" off by calling Bissinger a coward for some of the stuff that he wrote in one of his articles about player and fan stereotypes in the NBA.  Bissinger responded to Cuban with his own little rant, but when Cuban took the high road and decided to not respond back, it was Bissinger who repeatedly attacked Cuban for not backing up his claim of being a so-called coward.
Bissinger's followers got involved and also began criticizing Bissinger's pieces, in which case, he expanded his war to casual followers and attacked them for not reading his full article and reading both sides to Bissinger's claims about stereotypes in the NBA.  But, before I continue any further with Bissinger, I want to get to a second piece that ties into the media and sports issue.
In the second piece we had to read, a piece from the New York Times written in 2008, the author, Tim Arango, talks about the growing tensions between major sports leagues and media members and the restrictions being put on media outlets to only being able to publish so much multimedia content per story.  The piece starts off with a side-story about how Cuban (yes, him again) began banning all bloggers from being allowed into the team locker rooms because their credibility as journalists was lacking.  But, the NBA said he had to let major news outlet site bloggers into the team room, so his response was to let in any blogger.  Now certain leagues put restrictions on how much multimedia content news organizations can publish on a site, whether it's 30 second highlight clips, or two pictures, the leagues have control over the media.
Now, the reason I wanted to tie these two stories together before I got to my main point is because of this: a bloggers' credibility as a journalist is tarnished by what Bissinger displayed on Twitter.  There is a reason for why Cuban began banning bloggers into the team locker room and it was because he didn't see them fit to cover the stories accurately.  Now, I'm not saying Bissinger doesn't cover things accurately, but the way he acted on Twitter doesn't make him seem professional in the slightest.  He is a blogger and is opinionated, which is what differs a blogger from a regular news reporter.  But, his cursing and attacking others because they simply didn't agree with his piece shows me that he really shouldn't deserve the respect of high-ranking personnel, such as Cuban.
And it is people like him who are the reason why there are strains between leagues and the media.  Leagues are tired of unprofessional media members who abuse the power that they have to display content, so they need to decide who should cover and print what and who shouldn't be allowed to cover at all.

The Championships at Wimbledon Predictions

So today marks the start of the Championships at Wimbledon, possibly the most prestigious of the four grand slam tennis events.  With only a few weeks between the conclusion of the French Open and the start of Wimbledon, players have minimal time to prepare for the grass court major.  Therefore, a strong history with solid results, not only on grass, but in Wimbledon is what you need to base predictions on come Wimbledon time.
On the Men's side, it's always safe to predict one of the top-four players in the world, whether it's #1 Novak Djokovic, #2 Rafael Nadal, #3 Roger Federer, or #4 Andy Murray.  Coming into this year's tournament, I went out on a limb and made a bet with a friend of mine saying that this was the tournament that Murray breaks through and finally gets Great Britain its first major title since Sir Fred Perry won his last major back in 1936.  Murray has shown signs of possibly breaking through in majors, only to be stopped in the finals in three tries at earning his first major.

However, this year may be different for Murray.  He has teamed up with tennis legend Ivan Lendl and with Lendl's knowledge of the game and past history in the sport, many experts think that a first major title is just over the horizon for Murray.  And there's no better time for that to happen than right in England.
Now on the Women's side, you'd be better off drawing a name out of hat and your odds wouldn't be ridiculous.  The women's game hasn't had a clear-cut number one in what seems like forever.  But, after winning the French Open a few weeks back, Maria Sharapova conquered the career grand slam and also took hold of the world number one ranking on the women's side.  Her game is well-suited for Wimbledon, using her strength to hit the ball through the quick, skidding grass courts at Wimbledon and I think she is the heavy favorite coming into this year's tournament.

But, don't count out Caroline Wozniacki, who, until the French Open, was the top-ranked woman in the world and has come oh so close to winning her first major title.  The only downside with Wozniacki is that she can stumble at any given time in any given round in a major and have an early exit where she doesn't even see the second week.  Sharapova is the smart choice here, but don't be surprised if some unknown comes out of the blue to win on the grass courts at Wimbledon.

Images courtesy of Google Images

Eight Sporting Events to Attend Before You Die

With so many sporting events around the world, every country has its own specialties in the world of sports.  But, there are only a select few that capture the attention and amazement of everyone in all corners of the globe.

8. The Championships at Wimbeldon- This is the prize tournament for anybody who has ever played tennis.  To one day, play on the lawns of Wimbeldon and hopefully hoist the trophy as the champion.  There seems to be nothing better than playing on Centre Court in front of 10,000+ "proper" Englishmen and getting them all riled up over an amazing match of tennis.  Even if for just one day, this is an event that truly needs to be witnessed.

7. U.S. Open of Golf- I luckily had the opportunity to witness this event last summer when Rory McIlroy broke through and put on a Tiger Woods-esque performance, dismantling the field by eight strokes.  Even with the tournament well in his grasp after the first 36 holes, the atmosphere of 40,000+ people around the grounds of some of America's most amazing golf courses, roaring at the make of every great shot gets your blood pumping.  The U.S. Open is the one event where groundskeepers try to make the course as difficult as possible, hopefully bringing the best players in the world to their knees.

6. The Kentucky Derby- It all starts here.  For 20 horses, they all come in vying for the prestigious Triple Crown.  But, for one horse, they exit the mile-long sprint victorious and still have their dreams of being the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed completed the task 34 years ago.  The "Run for the Roses" is considered the most exciting two minutes in sports and in those two minutes hope can turn into agony for so many.

5. 24 Hours of Le Mans- The French race is a marathon.  Actually more than a marathon.  It takes years of training in order to handle the 24 straight hours of racing around the illustrious Circuit de la Sarthe in France, in a test not of a car's speed, but the car's endurance.  It is the oldest active car race in the world, making it a must-see before you exit the world.

4. The Master's- "A tradition unlike any others."  This golf tournament, the first major of the season for the world's best golfers, is the only major played at the same course every year, Augusta National in Georgia.  The pristine conditions of the course in early April make it one of the first signs of Spring and every year, it brings out the best of the golfers.  In fact, the very beauty of the course got CBS golf analyst David Feherty banned for a few years when he explained that the greens were "smoother than a girl's bikini wax."  Only at the Master's.

3. The Super Bowl- The two best teams in the NFL, battling for 60 minutes to win the Vince Lombardi Trophy, with over 100,000,000+ watching worldwide.  No wonder this is the biggest sporting event in the United States.  Football is gradually eclipsing baseball as America's game and the way the NFL is expanding, it will soon take over soccer as the World's Game.  But, until that time, football has its own stage on a world-scale, when on one night in early February, football's best team is crowned champion.

2. The Olympics- Is there anything better than the Olympics?  Well according to this list, yes, but in the Olympics you have the best athletes each nation has to offer competing against one another to win the ever so coveted gold medal.  The only thing that would make this event better is if each country had more to offer.  But still, it is great to see the rivalries arise over the course of a month every two years (winter and summer Olympics).  This year's Summer Olympics in London, England should be quite a treat for everyone watching both live and at home.

1. The World Cup- This might be the one event, when for every four years, everyone gathers around their televisions for a month during the summer and roots on its national soccer team.  The world's game puts on display its best athletes to see which nation is the best in the world.  Whether you like soccer or not, its a national thing, pulling together with your buddies, hitting up a bar, and cheering on your national team, there is nothing better.

Welcome to the Show, Bryce Harper

With much anticipation, the 2010 first overall pick by the Washington Nationals, Bryce Harper, will be making his big league debut today for the Nats.  His travels to the bigs has been a closely watched one at that, with many people expecting his debut to come last season when the rosters expanded in September, but that never came.  Then, many expected him to crack the opening day lineup this season, but still, he was sent back down to AAA-Syracuse to start the season.  But, finally, he will make his debut against the Los Angeles Dodgers out in LA tonight.

The former 1st-overall pick back in 2010, has had a solid career feasting on pitchers in the minor-league, with a .290 average, 18 home runs, and 61 RBIs.  In order to preserve him, the Nationals organization has converted him from the catcher position to an outfielder, hoping to save his knees and legs and allow him to be one of the many cornerstone pieces of the organization, along with Stephen Strasburg, for many years to come.  His fielding numbers in the minors average out to a .953 fielding percentage, with his best numbers coming in RF, while he showed signs of need-for-improvement in LF, where he .857 average with Syracuse this year ranks way below the average. 

Harper, much like Strasburg, was highly-touted at a young age, when he graduated from high-school in three years so he could attend junior college and begin playing against kids who were three-five years older than him.  He has been featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated as "The Chosen One" and was showcased in a home-run derby in Tampa Bay, FL, where he is most-known for launching a home-run off the back wall at Tropicana Field, one measured over 500-feet. (skip to 3:00 for the home-run derby footage)

For the soon-to-be 20-year old, Harper's path to "The Show" has taken him through A-Hagerstown, AA-Harrisburg, and finally AAA-Syracuse, before he finally dons the Nationals uni in a regular season game tonight against the Dodgers.  First pitch is scheduled for 9:10 p.m.

NHL Award Predictions

The NHL Award Show isn't for another several weeks, but the finalists for the major awards have been released, so I've decided that now is a good time to give my loyal readers my predictions.

Hart Trophy (MVP): Evgeni Malking (Pittsburgh)- The league-leader in points (109) is hands down the favorite to win this award.  For much of the season it was a three-man race for the scoring title, but Malkin was able to pull away down the stretch and was the only player to eclipse the 100+ point mark.  But that isn't what did it for me.  The fact that he was able to put the Penguins on his back while Crosby and other stars were out and lead them to the No. 4 seed in the playoffs and the second-most points in the Eastern Conference showed a lot of his critics that he can play in both ends of the ice.

Vezina Trophy (Best Goalie): Henrik Lundqvist (New York Rangers)- The three finalists (Lundqvist, Jonathan Quick, and Pekka Rinne) all had tremendous years and each one is in the top-5 of all of the major goaltending statistical categories and are all deserving.  But, I think what puts Lundqvist over the top is the fact that he led the Rangers to the top-spot in the Eastern Conference and the second-best record in the NHL.  Quick led the league in shutouts and had the second-best GAA, while doing it for the Kings who ranked 29th in goals scored.  If not for him, the Kings probably would have missed out on the playoffs and would be on the golf links rather than in the second round.  As for Rinne, the former 8th round pick is what we like to call a workhorse, playing in 73 of the 82 games this season for the Nashville Predators and led the league in wins (43) and saves (1987).  All three are very deserving.

Norris Trophy (Top Defensemen): Shea Weber (Nashville)- Everyone thinks the young-gun Erik Karlsson is going to win it based on the fact that he led all d-men in points.  However, his defensive zone play needs improvement and therefore, I think he's out.  Chara and Weber are clearly the elite of the defensemen in the NHL and I think it's Weber's ability to play over 26 minutes (26:09) per game and be a force in both the defensive and offensive zones is what gets him his first Norris Trophy.

Selke Trophy (Best Defensive Forward): Patrice Bergeron (Boston)- Over the past handful of years this award could easily be named after Datsyuk, who has won it three of the past four seasons.  However, Bergeron's numbers don't lie.  He doesn't light up the stat sheet, but his +35 rating led the league and he won 936 faceoffs, also most in the league.  If this year wasn't enough for Bergeron to finally break through as the winner, then I don't think he'll ever win it.

Calder Trophy (Rookie of the Year): Matt Read  Gabriel Landeskog (Colorado)- You mean to tell me that Read's rookie-leading 24 goals doesn't even get him nominated?  Huh.  Well in that case, I have to give the award to Gabriel Landeskog.  The second overall pick in last year's draft tied for the rookie lead in points (52) with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (1st overall), but RNH only played in 62 of Edmonton's 82 games.  However, Landeskog was a +20 to RNH's -2 and Landeskog had the Avalanche fighting for a playoff spot coming down the final two weeks of the season, something that hasn't happened in the past few years.  Landeskog will clearly be the cornerstone of the Avalanche franchise for year's to come.

Jack Adams Trophy (Best Coach): John Tortorella (NY Rangers)- The finalists have yet to be announced for this award, so this is just off of my assumptions.  But, the guy that everyone came to love (due to his passion for the game) during HBO's 24/7 led the Rangers to the top-seed in the Eastern Conference and the second-best record in the NHL.  He's always been a fiery coach and he managed to take a team that has always seemed to underachieve and play a full season and never looked back.  Coming into the season, he was one of the many coaches on the hot-seat and got his team to perform at a top level and even had some of his passion rub off on his players.

All images courtesy of Google Images

What's Next For Roberto Luongo?

In its final media session of the season, Vancouver Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo came out and said the one thing that people were wondering: would he waive his NTC (no trade clause) and choose to leave Vancouver?  Simply put, yes he would.
Luongo has been a goalie who has come under a lot of scrutiny over the past few seasons, called a choke-artist and titled the "goalie that can't win the big game."  Now, the 33-year old netminder, who was replaced after Game 2 in favor of the young, up-and-coming Cory Schneider, is on the hot seat as to whether he would be willing to come back.
With Schneider an RFA (restricted free agent), it is obvious that the Canucks are in a tough spot about whether or not it wants to commit to Luongo for the remaining 10 years of his 12yrs/$64mill and let Schneider walk.  But, after this past playoff series, a 4-1 series loss to the eighth-seeded LA Kings, a series in which Schneider played three of the five games and earning the only victory, all the while playing very well for the Canucks, it seems that the short leash on Luongo has all but run out and it is time for him to leave.

Luckily, for Luongo and the Canucks, his contract was front-loaded, with $16 million of his contract already paid for in the first two seasons, he shouldn't be too hard to ship out.  He is still due $38 million over the next 10 seasons, but his cap hit is $5.33 million, not making him too unreasonable to bring on, especially if its a team who is in need of a goalie (i.e. the New Jersey Devils).
Schneider, who is very close, if not already, is in his prime and will demand a pretty penny and it won't surprise me if Vancouver gives him what he wants.  So I ask the question: where will Luongo wind up next?
We already went over all of the cap stuff regarding Luongo, now it's a matter of trying to come up with a list of teams who are in need of a #1 goalie and have the pieces to give up to obtain him.  My first team, I already stated above, is the New Jersey Devils.  They have over $12 million in caps space available, but only 13 players under contract for next season.  They'll definitely have to give up a couple players to get Luongo, but can definitely take on his contract.  And oh yeah, both future-HOF goalie Martin Brodeur and Johan Hedberg are UFAs at the end of this season.
The second team I see him going to is, well back to Florida.  He really came onto the scene in Florida and the Panthers have close to $24 million in cap space and are losing back-up goaltender Scott Clemmensen to free agency.  Veteran netminder Jose Theodore is under contract for one more year, but at a measly $1.5 million.  It has 16 players under contract for next season, but a few key RFAs it will need to re-sign, including Wojtek Wolski and Kris Versteeg.
My final destination is the Edmonton Oilers.  Edmonton is a young team, who are just a few small steps and pieces away from finally making the playoffs.  They have the space to take on his contract and also some pieces that Vancouver will be willing to accept in return.  Nikolai Khabibulin is under contract for one more year at $3.75 million and after taking a backseat to Devin Dubnyk in the latter part of the season, he can clearly handle being an over-paid backup.
The options will be there, now we just have to wait and see.

My 2012 NFL Mock Draft

So, unless you've been living under a rock for the past couple of weeks, you know that the 2012 NFL Draft begins Thursday (just the first round.  Somehow the NFL made picking players a three-day event).  But, every day it seems that ESPN has had Mel Kiper Jr. and Todd McShay on ranting and raving about who should go where in the first round, who their sleepers are, and who they think are overrated.  In my opinion, the real draft begins with the third pick, the Minnesota Vikings.  Everyone knows that Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III aka RG3 are going 1-2 respectively, but the #3 pick is a toss-up.  So, without wasting anymore time here is my mock draft top-5 and any other notable picks.
1. Indianapolis Colts- Andrew Luck.  This is clearly no surprise.  I mean, the whole Peyton Manning saga revolved around whether or not they wanted to waste its top-pick on Andrew Luck sitting behind Manning.  Well, Manning is gone and so it's obvious that this is soon going to be Andrew Luck's town.

2. Washington Redskins- Robert Griffin III.  The Redskins traded up with the St. Louis Rams to get the #2 pick and it's been pretty much unanimous with all NFL scouts that RG3 will go directly after Luck.  RG3 is being compared to the likes of Michael Vick and Cam Newton (last year's top-pick) with his athleticism and throwing ability, while also having the ability to turn a five-yard sack into a first down.  He'll be a huge asset in the nation's capital come next season.

3. Minnesota Vikings- Matt Kalil.  This has been a toss-up.  Clearly Minnesota feels comfortable in the offensive side of the ball with its main position players in QB Christian Ponder, RB Adrian Peterson, and in the WR department.  Now it's just a matter of whether or not it wants to assess a defensive need or an offensive need.  I went with the offensive need.  Kalil is a big, mobile OT who can help give Ponder protection in the pocket, while also allowing Peterson to have huge holes to run through and if needs be, can block down field for any short passes to the wide receivers.  I like Matt Kalil to go in this spot.
4. Cleveland Browns- Justin Blackmon.  Any pick that helps assess the team needs at the star offensive positions will be a good one for the Browns.  Whether that be a QB, RB, or WR, they need help.  McShay likes them to take QB Ryan Tannehill from Texas A&M, but I think that they have a good, not great QB in Colt McCoy.  Now, it needs to give him the personnel to work with.  Blackmon is the top-WR prospect in this year's draft and by giving McCoy a big target to throw to, I think the team will begin to see success and good results, not just from McCoy, but from the entire team as well.

5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers- Morris Claiborne.  So his Wonderlic scores sucked.  Dude can ball.  Put him in the defensive backfield with Ronde Barber (I think he's older than my dad) and Aqib Talib and you have yourself one heck of a defensive backfield.  The youngest team in the NFL already has a good-young core, so it will only be a matter of time until they get it all together.  Claiborne is certainly a piece that will help make this team a lot better.
6. St. Louis Rams- Michael Floyd.  I know I said the top-5 picks, but the Rams are in desperate need of some help and need a notable WR to help out Sam Bradford and Stephen Jackson.  If Blackmon is still on the board, it will certainly grab him, but the way I see it, it will have to settle for Michael Floyd. Floyd had a great career at Notre Dame and made it apparent that he can be the go-to guy for an offense.
15. Philadelphia Eagles- Fletcher Cox. You didn't actually think I'd leave out my beloved Eagles in this, did you?  The Eagles need desperate up the middle defensive help and after trading for DeMeco Murray, it solved its LB woes, now it needs help along the DL.  Cox is getting a lot of hype, so it won't surprise me if it ends up trading away Asante Samuels to possibly a top-10 team to get Cox before anyone else takes him.
32. New York Giants- Coby Fleener.  It's hard to say what the Giants actually need after winning the Super Bowl, but it suffered tough losses at the TE position to Jake Ballard and Travis Beckum in the Super Bowl, so who knows whether they'll be fully healthy from their ACL surgeries.  Coby Fleener was a huge target for Andrew Luck at Stanford, so expect him to be the first TE off the board and be the final pick in the 1st round.

The Problem With the Sox

Blowing a 9.5 game lead in the month of September to miss the playoffs is bad.  Blowing a 9-0 lead to your rival is even worse.  So what is the problem with the struggling Boston Red Sox?
After a historic collapse last September, the Sox needed a change.  And that change came with the firing of manager Terry Francona and the leaving of GM Theo Epstein, who became the President of the Chicago Cubs.  Unfortunately, Francona wasn't the problem.  By dismissing Francona amidst the rumors of him losing control of the clubhouse and members of the pitching staff drinking in the clubhouse on their days off, the organization made clear that the problem didn't lie in the hands of the players, but that it was Francona's doing.

Francona was easily the best manager that the Red Sox ever had.  He ended the dreaded "Curse of the Bambino" and was able to make the team prominent and powerful once again.  But, his firing (or resignation, or whatever you want to call it) was about as big a mistake that could be made.  When the team hired Bobby Valentine to become his successor, it seemed a step in the right direction.  Valentine is known as a fiery manager who is strict and doesn't accept bullshit from his players.  Simply put, he demands respect.
But he doesn't play the game.  Everything came out on Saturday when, entering the 7th inning, the Red Sox led the New York Yankees 9-1.  Back-to-back seven run innings for the Bronx Bombers changed that score in a hurry and the boo-birds rained down on Bobby-V every time he made a visit to the mound to change pitchers.  But he isn't the one pitching.  Clearly Alfredo Aceves is unhappy that he isn't in the starting rotation.  He sucks now.  Daniel Bard is a fragile piece that, if you ask me, should have stayed in the bullpen.  It is always a risky move trying to convert someone who is dominant for 1-2 innings when throwing 98-100mph and then trying to force him to tone it down to 94-95mph for 5-6 innings.  It just doesn't work.  He's struggling.  And most importantly, Josh Beckett.  He's a drama-queen, hot-head, Mr. Big-shot who clearly doesn't care about anybody or anything but himself.

Beckett should have been the one to leave last season, not Francona.  But, instead, now the Beantowners are stuck with him and the crappy record that comes with being a team with no identity, except the one of being a team with a brutal starting rotation and a bunch of selfish players.  Don't get me wrong, Lester is too talented to pitch this poorly all season and Bucholz is still in the comeback stage of missing the last half of the season last year with a serious injury, so he'll come around.  You obviously still have the leadership of Pedroia and Youkilis and Ortiz and Gonzalez, but everyone else is up in the air.
Right now the Red Sox are sitting in last place in the treacherous AL East and quite frankly, they don't seem to be leaving there anytime soon.  The aura is gone in Boston.  And who knows how long it will take to get it back.

100 Years of Fenway

So today was the 100th birthday of Fenway Park.  America's ballpark, with so much tradition, history, and allure, it was quite a spectacle.
Despite the slow moving ceremony, it was a grand gesture by the Boston Red Sox organization to invite back any living members from every Red Sox team in the organization's history.  I can say that I HATE the Red Sox, but it is an organization that has so much tradition and is one of the cornerstone organizations in the history of the MLB.  There are a few teams that every boy growing up would want to play for and the Sox are one of them.  So, for role players on past teams to share the same field as Red Sox greats such as Carl Yastrzemski, Carlton Fisk, and Pedro Martinez, today was a day that will live forever in the hearts and eyes of Boston players.

The happiest moment in the whole ceremony for me was seeing former manager Terry Francona come back and pay tribute to the fans of Boston.  He was by far the best manager that the organization has ever had and the way that he was dismissed from the team this past offseason didn't do him justice.  But he stoned up and paid tribute.

And what better way to cap off the pre-game events than by setting the record for largest toast, with everyone raising a glass of Welch's sparkling grape to 100 years of Fenway Park history.  Too bad the Sox lost 6-2 (hahahaha).

Where's the Goaltending in the Flyers vs. Penguins Series?

I'm sure I'm not the only one who's been asking this for the past week, but where is the goaltending in the Flyers vs. Penguins series?
Even someone who loves goal scoring would have to be disgusted by the lack of defense and goaltending that has been on display in the first four games of the series (thankfully, my beloved Flyers still hold a 3-1 series lead).  But, in the first four games, the teams have combined to score 45 goals! That's 11.25 goals/game, a disgusting number.  It's sad that the first game of the series saw seven goals given up in a Flyers OT win and that was considered the defensive struggle of the series.
Since that game last Wednesday, the scores of the games have been as followed: 8-5 Flyers, 8-4 Flyers, 10-3 Penguins.  Frankly, I'm embarrassed as a goalie myself that this is actually happening in the playoffs.  But, any Flyers fan who has watched them closely this season knows that $51 million goalie Ilya Bryzgalov is streaky and has been known to look lost out there, but for Marc-Andre Fleury to be just as bad, if not worse, is a complete surprise in itself.

If the Flyers go on to win this series (and I swear to God, they better), then they are going to need a huge improvement not just in the goaltending department, but in the entire defensive zone.  I've been saying it since they went up 2-0 in the series that they're going to need to be able to win close games, such as Game 1, and not just outscore opponents because as everyone witnessed last night, the scoring well can run dry and then they give up double-digits.
Let's hope that Bryz turns things around and finds his month-of-March groove, in which he had a shutout streak of over three games and only gave up more than two goals twice.  Let's hope that is very, VERY soon.

I'm Baaaaaaaaack! And Talking NHL Playoff Suspensions

So, today, my sports journalism class had our first minor group function together, meeting at 1:30 at the Isenberg School of Management to have a private talk with sports journalist Kevin Blackistone, probably more known by everyone for his frequent appearances on ESPN's "Around the Horn."  One thing that he always tells his students is to start a blog, and it got me thinking, "well, since I already have one, I should probably start back up with it." So, I'm BAAAAAAAACK!
My first post in my first attempt at a comeback will have to deal with the immense amounts of NHL suspensions being handed out by former NHL star and current NHL head of disciplinary Brendan Shanahan.  Today marks one week since the 2012 NHL Playoffs began and already there have been more suspensions handed out than the Boston Bruins have goals (that's at least six).  The playoffs are a time when you would expect to see great play from star players, but this year, it has been more of a blood-bath on the ice than finesse and skill.  Don't get me wrong, there has been plenty of fantastic play, but the suspensions handed out by "Shanny" have overshadowed the results of the series.
Most notably, the Pittsburgh Penguins have had three players suspended for a total of six games, all from a result of actions in its Game 3 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday.  Forward Craig Adams (1 game), 40+ goal scorer James Neal (1 game) and forward Aaron Asham (4 games) will all be serving time on the sidelines for incidents that have come in a heated, intense, rivalry.  Head Coach Dan Bylsma was fined $10K for his team's actions.

The majority of the suspensions handed out have been due to contact to a players' head, a huge part of the new NHL that the league is trying to move away from.  Chicago Blackhawks forward Andrew Shaw was suspended three games for delivering a blow to the head of Phoenix Coyote goalie Mike Smith when Smith came out behind the net to play the puck.
Many avid hockey fans that have been hooked to their TV sets this past week watching all of the action believe that the tone was set at the end of Game 1 of the Nashville Predators vs. Detroit Red Wings series when Preds d-man Shea Weber grabbed superstar Henrik Zetterberg's head and slammed it into the glass, only triggering a $5K fine from Shanny.  The inconsistency in the decisions from the NHL has triggered many hockey fans to be unhappy because there is a sense that certain players are being favored in questionable situations.
Coyotes forward Raffi Torres is the most recent recipient of a suspension, as he has been suspended indefinitely until he has a hearing with Shanahan about his hit on Blackhawks forward Marian Hossa, forcing Hossa to be carted off the ice on a stretcher.
The complete list of all suspended players is below:
Byron Bitz (Vancouver)- 2 games
Matt Carkner (Ottawa)- 1 game
Carl Hagelin (NY Rangers)- 3 games
James Neal (Pittsburgh)- 1 game
Aaron Asham (Pittsburgh)- 4 games
Craig Adams (Pittsburgh)- 1 game
Nicklas Backstrom (Washington)- 1 game
Andrew Shaw (Chicago)- 3 games
Raffi Torres (Phoenix)- Indefinitely

Week 10s Best and Worst NFL Performances

Here is Week 10s Best and Worst Performances.  I'm sorry for missing Week 9s, so I'll make sure to make this edition that much better.

Best:


Chicago Defense: It looks something like a Christmas list with the amount of gifts that the Lions handed the Bears' defense, but nonetheless, it was quite an accomplishment for Da Bears!  They intercepted Matthew Stafford four times, recovered two fumbles, had two defensive touchdowns, and recorded four sacks.  The defense alone would have beaten the Lions, but just for good measures, their offense also scored 23 additional points.

Aaron Rodgers: He's becoming a mainstay in the "Best" performances category, but with another four TD effort and 250-yards passing, he is making it easier and easier to pencil his name into the MVP slot.  With the Packers' undefeated record and his outstanding play, people are beginning to talk about Rodgers in the same category as Tom Brady from his unprecedented season in 2007-08.

Denarius Moore: The rookie had by far his best performance as a pro on Thursday night against the Chargers, catching five balls for 123 yards and two TDs.  He may become Carson Palmer's new favorite receiver as a deep threat because the dude has nasty speed.  Expect to see his numbers consistently climb for the rest of the season and remember where and when this kid had his breakout game.

Worst:


Matthew Stafford: And just as soon as everyone jumped on the Lions' bandwagon, they came up with a performance this past weekend that resembled their 0-16 days.  This was of course a fluke on every level, but especially for Stafford.  His four interceptions on Sunday doubled his total for the season.  He'll have to get it turned around fast before the Lions' big Thanksgiving tilt against the Packers.

Ryan Fitzpatrick: Even with a Harvard education, Fitzpatrick couldn't solve the Dallas defense, getting picked off four times.  His performance made the Dallas defense actually look good and we all know that can't be possible... can it??  But, anyways, after a hot start, Fitzpatrick and the Bills have cooled off and are now sitting in tie for second with the Jets, one game behind the Patriots.  But there's still a lot of football remaining and remember, nobody circles the wagons like the BUFFALO BILLS!

Colts' Offense: On the one day when the Colts' defense actually played somewhat well (only surrendering 17 points), their offense chose to take the day off (although they've taken the whole season off) and only scored three points against the lowly Jaguars.  Every loss is another game closer to selecting Andrew Luck as the top pick in next year's NFL Draft, unless of course, Luck elects to stay in school for his senior year (which he may do just to avoid the Colts).

And there you have it, Week 10s Best and Worst Performances.  Don't worry Colts fans, there's always next season, when you actually have your beloved Peyton Manning back.

*Images Courtesy of Google Images*

Joe Frazier, RIP

Amidst all the controversy surround Penn State, the world lost a great human-being and athlete, Joe Frazier.  Frazier died early this morning at the age of 67 to liver cancer.
The once former heavyweight boxing champion of the world was easily one of the greatest fighters the sport has ever seen, but was never able to fully reach his peak because he fought in the Muhammad Ali era.    Despite stiff competition, Frazier battled Ali in three epic battles, defeating Ali in "The Battle of the Century" when he became the first person to beat Ali at Madison Square Garden.  The two finally resolved their epic three-part series with the "Thrilla in Manilla," when Ali beat Frazier by TKO after Frazier's trainer didn't allow him to go out for the 15th round because he couldn't see.  Ali later said after that fight that that fight was the "closest to dying that I know of."

In their three fights, Frazier was able to go 41 of the 45 possible rounds.  However, growing up in the Ali era forced Frazier to fight his critics rather than his opponents.  He had to constantly try to work out from Ali's shadow, ultimately never winning that battle.
In his 37 career fights, Frazier amassed a record of 32 wins (27 KO) 4 losses and 1 draw.
But, in the end, it seemed that his toughest battle was that of cancer and one that put him down for the count.
Joe Frazier was a great fighter, but an even greater person.  Rest In Peace Smokin' Joe.

*Images courtesy of Google Images*