I know that this week is tax deadline week, but has anybody been as busy at his/her job then Brendan Shanahan has over the past week? I do not remember a year in which the NHL playoffs have had as many fights and dirty hits as the start of this year’s. Shanahan has already issued 7 suspensions and other various fines to players for dirty hits. That number is expected to climb thanks to Raffi Torres cheap shot last night on Marian Hossa, which sent Hossa to the hospital. Shanahan had to issue a total of 7 suspensions for ALL of last year’s playoffs. The funny thing is, Shanahan hasn’t done nearly enough this year. The suspensions given out are not as long as they should and the fines are nowhere near the amount where they should be. It’s time for him to FINALLY put his foot down and do something, and it should start with Raffi Torres. Get rid of this guy for the rest of this year’s playoffs and even have the suspension carry over into next year. He’s a dirty player and a repeat offender. Pretty much every series has had its fair share of controversy which has resulted in some sort of discipline from the NHL. In case the NHL hasn’t noticed, concussions are a hot topic in sports nowadays. Every NHL team had player’s miss time this year with concussions. The game’s best player, Sidney Crosby, missed significant time due to concussion symptoms. How Shanahan and Commissioner Gary Bettman can watch what is going on within this game and then only hand out 1, 2, 3 or even 4 game suspensions and act like it is a fair enough suspension is a joke. How he can watch the blatant head shot Shea Weber put on Henrik Zetterberg and only give a $2,500 fine is a joke. I love watching playoff hockey. The intensity of playoff hockey is the best out of all major sports in America. It’s a shame that this year’s playoffs is being turned into a side show with all of the cheap hits.
All the media coverage I have heard about the NHL playoffs this year has been the head shots, the fights, and the injuries sustained from dirty hits during the games. I have no idea who is actually winning all the series. Nobody is talking about that. Nobody is talking about the actual outcome of the games. If the NHL wants to actually matter in America again, it’s time to get the thugs that cause the negative headlines out of the game.
On the Diamond…
· It only took Bobby V 10 games to get the Red Sox organization and fan base riled up over something he said to the media. He has openly questioned Kevin Youkilis work ethic and commitment to the team after a slow start by Youkilis. Dustin Pedroia, the new leader of this team, has come out and supported his teammate. Bobby V has since apologized, which says a lot actually, but the damage has already been done. Youkilis didn’t do himself any favors last night, going 0-4 with 4 strike outs. I’m not sure if it is ever a good idea to publicly call out a player’s work ethic, it definitely isn’t when you are the Boston Red Sox and your in last place in your division. I don’t think the Red Sox are as bad as their record indicates though. They have played the Tigers, Blue Jays, Rays, and Rangers. They next take on the Yankees this weekend. That’s a tough schedule for any team to go through. After the Yankees, they have the easier teams such as the A’s, Royals, Mariners, and Twins. Before I bury this team, let’s see where they stand once they start playing some of the easier teams.
· Congrats to 49 year old Jaime Moyer, for becoming the oldest pitcher to ever win a game yesterday. He went 7 strong innings giving up only 6 hits, 2 walks, and 0 earned runs. According to MLB Tonight, no pitch reached higher than 79mph during the entire game. Moyer now has 268 career wins, tying him with Jim Palmer for 34th on the all-time list. Does he have enough left in his arm to get to 300 wins?
· A rough start for Johan Santana yesterday. He didn’t get out of the second inning, and gave up 4 hits, 1 walk, and 4 earned runs. Ouch.
· How sick is the Washington Nationals starting pitching? All 5 starters have ERA’s less than 3.00. Seeing Strasburg, Zimmerman, Gonzalez, and Edwin Jackson out there every day has me thinking this team might forget about a wild card berth and go right for the division crown. I’m very impressed. Could this be the best top to bottom starting rotation in all of baseball?
· Ozzie Guillen returned from his 5 game suspension last night for a home game against the Chicago Cubs. According to MLB Network Radio, there were no fan protests before or during the game. Attendance was around 24,500, which was down a little bit from the approximately 30,000 that were at all 3 games over this past weekend. Not sure if the drop was due to Ozzie, or due to the fact that it was a Tuesday night game as opposed to weekend games. For now, it seems like the fans of Miami have forgiven Ozzie.
· Justin Verlander is a beast. Its only April, but he just threw a 131 pitch complete game in which his last pitch hit 100 mph. He was finally able to get his first win of the year, but what is Jim Leyland doing having his ace out there in mid-April throwing 130+ pitches? I love the concept of having a starter finish what he started, but in mid-April? Against the Royals? This team is expected to be playing into late October, for Tigers fans sake, let’s hope Verlander doesn’t waste all his 100 mph bullets during the regular season.
On the Gridiron…
· The NFL schedule has been released. Bills fans better get out the winter jackets for this season as 4 of the final 5 regular season games are at home. The Bills also get a Thursday night home game against the Dolphins. I love all the additional Thursday night games this year. Now that I have Direct TV, I can actually watch them.
· There is no doubt that the ratings for the Sunday night game between the Broncos and Saints will have higher ratings than the 4th game of the World Series which will be played that same night. MLB has to be pissed about this. This will be the first time that the NFL has scheduled a game for a Sunday night during the World Series. This night will be another example of why the NFL is the only sport that America really cares about. I know I’ll be watching the World Series, but for the millions out there that will be betting the NFL game, the World Series will be an afterthought.
· I saw today that Antonio Cromartie is expecting his 11th and 12th kids as he and his wife are expecting twins. With the 2 new additions, the scoreboard reads – 4 kids with his current wife, and 8 other kids with 7 different women. Love it.
On the Homefront…
· Congrats to all you public accountants for making it through another busy season. I hope you all partied hard yesterday. Now it’s time to concentrate on the next season…..softball season! CTBK has a new leader this year in Zack Wagner, but the returning team should be able to compete for another championship. Always good times at Canisius College.
That’s all I have today. Until next time….
No comments:
Post a Comment