Bleacher Report - Articles by Patrick Cwiklinski

Curtain Call: So Long, Bleacher Report, Thanks for the Memories

Patrick Cwiklinski — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 23:03:06 -0500

It really has been a crazy few months.

With my life as a university student and aspring sports journalist now in full effect, my time spent on Bleacher Report has become increasingly limited and I find myself in a massive struggle to find the time to shoot out new articles.

That, in short, is why I have made a tough decesion to leave B/R.

There was no conflict with another writer or comment that really got under my skin, it really all comes down to time management and as stands right now, as I am sad to say, Bleacher Report is at the bottom of my priority list.

So instead of leaving people who follow my work hanging and wondering if I've dropped of the face of the Earth, I've decided that leaving this statement, if you will, would provide some kind of closure as to where I've gone.

With that in mind, I want to keep this farewell as short as possible, but I did want to thank some people in the B/R community that has really made me feel welcomed and more confident about my work.

First off, to every single one of 52 fans, I am very humbled and grateful that you have taken an interest in my work and it is because of you that I wrote for B/R as long as I did.

To Leroy Watson who was always quick to comment on my articles and give me positive reinforcements.

IceMan, my fellow Vancouver Canucks fan who would keep me up to date with what was going on with my favourite team.

Jonathan Mathis, a genuinely nice guy who is an immensely talented writer, be sure to check out his stuff.

If I've missed anyone I apologize, I'm just sort of doing this on the fly but you know who you are.

Lastly, thanks to anyone who ever read any of my pieces ever, you made those hours spent in front of the computer worth while.

If anyone would like to keep in touch with me and what I'm up to, feel free to drop me an e-mail at patrick_cwiklinski@msn.com, I will respond.

So that about sums it up, thanks a lot everybody who helped me get to this point in my life and I wish you all the best in continuing with your own writing or wherever your life may take you.

It's been fun.

Reunited and It Feels So Good: Forsberg and Naslund Rediscover Hockey

Patrick Cwiklinski — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 19:12:43 -0500

He was only gone for just over six months, but Markus Naslund is back.

The 36-year-old Swede has come out of retirement and is set to join his childhood friend Peter Forsberg, playing for their hometown team of MoDo of the Swedish Elite League (SEL).

Naslund, who walked away from the final year of his contract with the New York Rangers in May and left behind $4 million US, will play the remainder of the season for free and not take up any cap space for MoDo.

"I'm really looking forward to playing with MoDo again and the fact that Peter and I will do it together is, of course, something really special," Naslund said in a statement. "I will do anything to get in shape and hope I can add something on the ice."

Naslund's retirement from the NHL was largely seen as a premature but was likely the result of a huge decline in production during his later years with the Vancouver Canucks and his short and rather unmemorable stint as a Ranger last season.

Forsberg, who is also not playing under a salary for MoDo, was the center of a yet another media frenzy after it was reported that he could be making a return to the NHL this season, a rumor that was buried after it was announced that he would be playing in Sweden this year.

There is also speculation that both Forsberg and Naslund may be playing for MoDo in order to get in shape for Team Sweden at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, but for the time being it seems as though both players are just trying to rediscover their love for hockey.

And who can blame them?

Forsberg's name has become notorious as a highly talented but extremely injury-prone player, while Naslund's success rate dropped drastically when his line-mate and go-to guy Todd Bertuzzi was traded to the Florida Panthers in 2006.

Forsberg and Naslund will have to dig deep and find those two kids from Örnsköldsvik who didn't use worry about playing for a contract or endorsements and just played the game because it was something that brought them joy.

More money, more problems, as they say.

What these two players have now have is a rare opportunity to show the world they are still capable of competing at an elite level and perhaps even clean up their now tarnished names.

An opportunity that no matter what anyone says, cannot be taken away from them.

And even if they decide to never return to the NHL again, they will always remember the season they learned that it wasn't always about money, but it was always about heart.

Craig Anderson's Miraculous Month of October: Is This Guy for Real?

Patrick Cwiklinski — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 11:21:15 -0400

Hate him or love him, Craig Anderson has been the story of the NHL this October.

With dwindling expectations for the Colorado Avalanche coming into the season, general manager Greg Sherman initially brought Anderson in to add some goaltending depth to a team seriously lacking it but ultimately got a lot more than he bargained for.

Literally.

Anderson, who spent his last three seasons with the Florida Panthers, came to Colorado as a relatively inexperienced goaltender having only played in 109 NHL games since being drafted twice.

Once, 77th overall by the Calgary Flames in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft and secondly, 73rd overall by the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft.

During his tenure with the Panthers, Anderson proved to be a more-than-adequate backup in limited play behind starter Tomas Vokoun but looked for a bigger role and decided to cut his losses, leaving Florida to join the Avalanche during the 2009 offseason.

As a considerable upgrade over Colorado's on-and-off starter Peter Budaj, Anderson was finally able to get a shot at claiming the number-one spot and once the regular season got underway, he showed exactly why he was just the man for the job.

The Avalanche suddenly began winning games albeit early critics calling them flukes and freebies. However, Anderson kept his composure and began to shock and awe, leading last year's Western Conference bottom-feeders to the top of pot this month.

In 12 games with the Avalanche, Anderson has recorded two shutouts complimented by an incredible 1.97 GAA and a .940 save percentage, as of Wednesday, to lead his team to one of its best starts in franchise history.

Talk about "carpe diem."

If that's not enough, Anderson set a franchise record with 11 consecutive starts to begin the season and shattered Patrick Roy's old milestone of seven wins in October as he earned his eighth of the season against the Detroit Red Wings last Saturday.

Yes, the Patrick Roy.

With such a sizzling start, Anderson will now face adversity moving ahead with such a high bar set early in the season. Skeptics will likely question the 28-year-old's consistency and write him off from producing any post-season success should the Avalanche make it that far.

However, if Anderson is able to somehow remain red-hot and continue to lead the Avalanche in the right direction, it's not at all far-fetched to think of seeing the Illinois-native suiting up as one of the back-ups for Team USA at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

But as cliche as it sounds, only time will tell.

The only thing that is certain now is that Anderson has long paid his dues in the NHL and is here now to prove that not only is he capable of being a starter but also a game-changer.

And in this bizarre month of fall that will not soon be forgotten, who are we to say otherwise?

The Jig Is Up: Why Roberto Luongo Should Hand Over the "C"

Patrick Cwiklinski — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 03:08:53 -0400

On Sept. 30, 2008, history was made when Roberto Luongo was named as the 12th team captain of the Vancouver Canucks, a bold move by upper management that made the Montreal-native the very first goaltender to be named captain by the organization and merely the seventh in NHL history.

A bold move but perhaps more importantly, a publicity stunt.

Ever since he was acquired from the Florida Panthers in 2006, Luongo has undoubtedly been the Canucks' franchise player, bringing a close to the long-running tradition of the "goalie graveyard" in Vancouver.

With Luongo's future in Vancouver threatened by his expiring contract at the end of the 2009-10 season, general manager Mike Gillis knew he'd have to do something big to remind Luongo that he was the most important member of the team and the Canucks needed him.

And so, Captain Luongo was born.

Of course, as a goalie, Luongo was rather limited in many aspects and was unable to skate out and talk to referees about a call or really get his team motivated apart from making a big save.

Heck, the league doesn't even recognize Luongo as a legitimate captain.

These jobs, as minor as they may seem but in reality are crucial when broken down, fell into the hands of the assistant captains, Mattias Ohlund, Willie Mitchell and Ryan Kesler.

During the 2009 offseason and after weeks of speculation, Luongo signed a 12-year extension with the Canucks, securing his place as the team's bona fide superstar for years to come.

Alright, mission accomplished, Mike, time to hand the "C" over to someone else.

What do you mean you're sticking with Luongo? Come on.

Here's the thing: Luongo is a phenomenal goalie who leads by example and a lot of times steals games for the Canucks but at the same time he's also a goalie who likes to stay out of the watchful eye of the media and shies away from conversation for the most part.

Hold on a second, aren't those the same reasons fans criticized Markus Naslund as captain?

Luongo's passion for winning is uncompromising and it showed especially during an interview after the Canucks' made their disappointing exit from the playoffs last season in which he broke down and told the media that he'd let his teammates down.

However, there's a difference between passion and leadership.

A difference that Luongo has yet to distinguish.

Sure, Trevor Linden may have been passionate when he was the captain of the Canucks during 1994 Stanley Cup Finals but it was under his leadership that they were able to come within two goals of their first title.

Something running on sheer emotion won't get you.

All this and not to mention the fact that Luongo has enough to worry about in his own crease without having to deal with outside distractions and the pressures of leading a team to prominence.

The sad truth is that Luongo is only the captain of the Canucks because he's a name, and not just a name, the name. Much a name like Mark Messier who will likely go down in history as quite possibly the worst captain in Canucks' history.

The point?

Luongo is the face of the franchise for the Canucks and will be until he decides he won't be anymore but what he has to remember is that he is on a team and he won't be able to accomplish anything if he goes out and does it alone, he needs his team to guide him to that place where he can "seal the deal"—so to speak.

The question?

How can someone lead if he himself has to be led?

Time To Shine: Michael Grabner Gets Shot on Vancouver Canucks Top Line

Patrick Cwiklinski — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 22:14:09 -0400

It's not the normal custom that a dismal preseason performance results in an opportunity to play on the first line of a major-league team but given some dire circumstances, there doesn't seem to be a heck of a lot of options.

Michael Grabner was recalled by the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday from the team's AHL affiliate, the Manitoba Moose, after an impressive start to his season with four goals and two assists in five games.

The 22-year-old winger reported to practice the same day in Vancouver where he was seen skating with Henrik Sedin and Alex Burrows on the top line.

Grabner's return to Vancouver comes on the heels of an injury to the Canucks' top sniper Daniel Sedin who suffered a broken foot during a game against the Montreal Canadiens last Wednesday and is expected to be out of the line-up four to six weeks.

Pavol Demitra, another one of the Canucks' top six forwards, is also on the long-term injury reserve with no official word on his comeback date yet.

Grabner now gets his second chance this year to prove his worth after a disappointing preseason that didn't see him leave a lasting impression in a Canucks jersey and had people doubting his abilities as a future big-time hockey player.

Originally touted as a scoring machine when drafted fourteenth overall in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, Grabner has made a career of excelling at the AHL-level but has yet to find success in the NHL.

This was supposed to be the year he made his leap.

Although Grabner would have likely not have received such a golden opportunity had it not been for the withstanding injuries to Sedin and Demitra, he's here now and knows that to not be written off as another failed high draft-pick, he'll have to translate his offensive style onto a much larger stage.

And it isn't as though the Austria-native is a stranger to scoring goals as he registered 30 goals for the Moose last season, tying centre Jason Krog for the most on the team.

With Grabner's promotion also comes Steve Bernier's demotion back to the third line where he'll re-join Kyle Wellwood to try and boost his lack of offensive contribution as well. Meanwhile Guillaume Desbiens, who joined the team against the Dallas Stars last Sunday, was re-assigned to Manitoba for the time being.

If Grabner can manage a cool demeanour amidst the frenzy surrounding the Canucks these days then he will surely find his game and prove that he is a valuable asset as a top prospect. However, if he gets caught up and fails to make something happen again, it could very well spell the end to Grabner's dream of becoming a full-time NHL player.

The Canucks will visit the Pengrowth Saddledome on Friday in a rematch to last week's regrettable performance against the Calgary Flames that saw them fall their Northwest Division rivals 5-3. Grabner is expected to be in the line-up, playing alongside Henrik Sedin and Burrows.

The People's Champion: Tim Thomas and His Rigid Road to Success

Patrick Cwiklinski — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 13:10:27 -0400

Tim Thomas was once a nobody.

Just another failed goaltender who would never be quite able to break into the NHL and instead spend the bulk of his career in and out of minor leagues, crawling his way over international waters to play in Finland's premier hockey league.

Forgotten if ever remembered.

Upon being drafted 217th overall in the 1994 NHL Entry Draft by the Quebec Nordiques after his freshman year, Thomas continued to play college hockey for the University of Vermont for the next three years where he would go on to post a 81-43-15 record, a 2.70 GAA, a .924 save percentage, as well as to this day remaining second all-time in the NCAA Division I in career saves with 3,950.

However, Quebec never called.

After college, Thomas had brief stints with the Birmingham Bulls of the ECHL and the Houston Aeros of the IHL before leaving North America and opting to play in Finland's SM-liiga for HIFK.

In the SM-liiga, Thomas would find success and be awarded the Urpo Ylönen trophy as the league's top goalie in 1998 after winning a championship with HIFK. The Flint, Michigan native was soon recognized by the Edmonton Oilers who would sign him as he made his return to North America in an attempt to further pursue his non-existent NHL career.

Edmonton left him out in the cold.

Instead of soaking in NHL glory, Thomas began his 1998-'99 season with the Hamilton Bulldogs of the AHL before deciding to cut his losses and go back to Finland to play for HIFK where he still remained a big deal for bringing the team their first championship in 15 years.

In 1999-'00, Thomas made his second return to North America, however this time he did so without attracting the interest of an NHL team and played for the Detroit Vipers of the IHL.

The following season, Thomas packed his bags again for Sweden to play for AIK of the Swedish Elite League where he quickly became a fan-favorite after leading the team to its first playoffs in four years.

And then an opportunity arose.

Thomas joined the Boston Bruins organization in 2001 but decided to stay in Europe where he would see more playing time in the SM-liiga, this time as a member of Oulun Kärpät.

In 2002, Thomas made his third return to North America as a member of Boston's AHL affiliate, the Providence Bruins, before getting a small taste of the major league when he was finally called up to play in his first NHL game for Boston at the age of 27.

And a small taste was all he needed.

Thomas played the next season with Providence before leaving for Finland again during the NHL lockout in 2004-'05. While playing for Jokerit, Thomas became the first player on the team to win the Kultainen kypärä award for best player as voted by the players since Teemu Selanne in 1991 and also walked away with the Lasse Oksanen trophy for best player.

If he was ever going to play in the NHL, now was the time.

While still under contract with Boston, Thomas continued to play for Providence in hopes of getting called up by the big club again and after coincidental injuries to both Andrew Raycroft and Hannu Toivonen, it became his turn to show and prove.

Thomas made the most of his opportunity and solidified a spot on the roster after an impressive first season with the Bruins where he exceeded expectations playing in 38 games, posting a 2.77 GAA, with a .917 save percentage.

Raycroft was soon traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Thomas received a three-year extension.

Initially, Toivenen was set to start for the Bruins at the beginning of the 2006-'07 season but after he struggled with his new duties, Thomas stepped in and stole the show for a second straight season, leading him to win the Boston Bruins 7th Player Award in back-to-back seasons thus becoming the only goalie in team history to win the honor twice.

Everything finally seemed to click for Thomas as he entered the 2007-'08 season a new man with new confidence in his abilities especially with Toivenen now out of the picture. But as always in his career, adversity faced him once again, this time in the form of another goalie.

Manny Fernandez.

Fernandez was signed by the Bruins during the 2007 offseason and many hockey analysts believed he would be the starter with Thomas backing him up.

And then another injury.

As if it was his destiny to take over as the starting goalie, Thomas again embraced the role after Fernandez went down with his early-season injury and backstopped his way to his first NHL All-Star game as well as led the Bruins to their first playoffs since the 2003-'04 season.

And then there was this season.

Thomas took the starting job in Boston and with a very impressive 36-11-7 record, a 2.10 GAA, and a .933 save percentage. He led his team to their first Eastern Conference title since the 2002-'03 and made his second appearance as an NHL All-Star.

After the season ended with the Bruins falling out in the second round of the playoffs, Thomas went on to win the William M. Jennings Trophy with Fernandez for the fewest goals allowed by team goaltenders as well as the Vezina Trophy for the NHL's top goaltender and a few words during his acceptance speech said it all.

"I've been more worried about getting my name on a roster than getting my name on the Vezina Trophy."

At 35, Thomas came from nothing and battled his way to the NHL to become not only one of the league's top goaltenders but the top goaltender with a Vezina Trophy now added to his resume. He had to come back to North America four times before being able to call Boston home upon signing four-year extension this year.

Tim Thomas was once a nobody, but now he is a somebody and that somebody has defied all the odds and silenced all the naysayers who said he would never make it.

The true essence of an underdog.

Specs, Lies, and Video Games: Why Some NFL Players Are Mad at Madden

Patrick Cwiklinski — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 22:00:19 -0400

Roy Williams is one angry dude.

Like many football fans, the always-colorful Dallas Cowboy was quick to pick up a copy of the eagerly anticipated Madden 10.

Upon opening the game, to his shock, Williams noticed his speed rating had gone down from the previous year's edition by six points from 92 to 86, forcing the former Pro Bowl wide receiver to speak out about the atrocity.

“I can’t be mad because I didn’t have a good year last year. They go off that year, but geez Louise, 86 speed? That’s like tight-end speed, like I’m a slowpoke.”

At first glance it may appear as though Williams is acting like any another egotistical athlete and simply overselling his abilities as a football player but if you look a little deeper, he might just have a point.

In 2008, Williams did not match the success he had in 2006 or 2007 when he was still a member of the Detroit Lions, however, it's also important to note that after he was acquired by the Cowboys he wasn't 100 percent and had to make big adjustments to a new offense midseason.

If that isn't enough, there's always playing behind Terrell Owens on the depth chart.

It's not an excuse as much as it is a sort of explanation. But where in the midst of all that did his natural speed suddenly drop off?

And as mad as Williams was, he wasn't the only player in the NFL who went public with how he really felt about his Madden rating.

Seattle Seahawks wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh wasn't at all impressed with his overall rating of 91, feeling that the numbers didn't coincide with his play and in turn he decided to give up playing Madden altogether.

At least until the folks over at EA bump his virtual counterpart up to at least a 130 overall.

“I understand I averaged 10 yards a catch, but it’s the offense, not me. I’m not playing Madden no more until they get my rating right. I used to be the best in the world at Madden. I’m going to miss not playing it, but until they do me right, I’m not playing it any more.”

Now that's more of what we're used to, a football player who's full of himself and isn't afraid to come off as vain. And while Williams may actually present a valid argument as to why his speed should not have been tampered with, Houshmandzadeh and his 91 rating do not.

As the sixth best NFC wide receiver in the video game, Houshmandzadeh is behind five players all of whom in real life are, bluntly put, better than him: Larry Fitzgerald, Steve Smith, Anquan Boldin, Roddy White, and Calvin Johnson.

Quite honestly, Houshmandzadeh is even lucky to have a rating of 91 after coming off his worst season statistically since 2002 with 902 yards and four touchdowns, a mere third of the touchdowns he amassed the season before.

Come on T.J., 91 overall can't be that bad, just ask Washington Redskins long snapper Ethan Albright.

Albright had the lowest overall rating of all NFL players in Madden '07 at 53 out of a possible 99 and he quickly became the subject of Internet parody in a mock e-mail addressed to John Madden written by Juan Turlington for a satirical sports website called the Phat Tree.

To rub more salt in the wound, long snapping isn't even a rated skill in Madden.

"Some guys are into it. I'm not. Doesn't register with me at all. Rate me whatever, I don't care."

Who knows where Albright's care-free attitude regarding the matter came from, did he sincerely not care about his Madden rating or was he so embarrassed about his rating that it seemed like the only smart thing to say to avoid even more embarrassment?

Does it even matter?

The point is, players really shouldn't take these sort of petty things to heart because at the end of the day, no matter how popular Madden is and how big your ego is, it's only a video game.

Not reality.

It's easy to see how some, as well as which, players would take issue with Madden ratings as though their larger-than-life personalities propel them to succeed in every aspect of football, even virtual.

That's why nobody, apart from Emmitt Smith, complains when they're too good in the game.

On the flip side, it also has to be an extremely strenuous task for EA Sports to accurately rate every single player included in their game year in and year out flawlessly.

There are going to be mistakes and slip-ups and that's when players should realize that the conclusion a video game draws about them isn't an exact science at all.

And who said football players weren't insecure?

Wildcat In The NFL: Here To Stay Or Doomed To Fail?

Patrick Cwiklinski — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 22:49:40 -0400

During the Michael Vick press conference that introduced the troubled NFL superstar as the newest member of the Philadelphia Eagles, current Eagles starting quarterback Donovan McNabb had some interesting words when the topic of Vick and the recently popularized Wildcat offense at the NFL-level was brought up.

"It was something that came out last year with some teams starting to do it, but I don't think it will last that long."

McNabb did, however, admit that the Wildcat worked in college but it seems according to him, as it stands in the NFL, its effectiveness will only deteriorate.

Tell that to the Miami Dolphins.

The Wildcat became the Dolphins bread and butter last season as they took the AFC East division title by surprise because this was the same team that a mere year earlier had been the laughing stock of the entire league after going 1-15.

Miami's Wildcat was mostly the brainchild of Dolphins quarterback coach David Lee, who had run the same formation as an offensive coordinator for the Arkansas Razorbacks in 2007.

Lee also was also named "Innovator of the Year" in 2008 by Sporting News for introducing the Wildcat to the NFL.

The Dolphins began to integrate the Wildcat in the third game of the 2008 season, and they found immediate success with it after thumping the New England Patriots 38-18. In the victory, they used the formation against the Patriots on six plays—producing five touchdowns.

After their upset over the Patriots, Miami also began to garner a great deal of publicity for their use of the Wildcat that began with lining up either running back, Ronnie Brown or Ricky Williams, in the shotgun formation—with the option of handing off, running, or throwing.

In the weeks that would follow, the Dolphins would continue to rely heavily on the Wildcat and it paid off, as they would eventually finish the season with a 11-5 record and make the playoffs for the first time since 2001.

But the big question that still remains is: can the Wildcat stand the test of time?

Given the evidence, it's safe to say that the Wildcat has so far only really worked in the NFL with the Dolphins. And though other teams have since began instituting it as a part of their own playbooks, there has still yet to be another team that has used the formation with such a favorable outcome.

Many teams have also claimed that the Wildcat takes an inordinate amount of time to prepare for and requires that not every offense is built to accommodate such a play.

One of the saving graces that came with the Wildcat was the fact that no one had really seen it in action at the NFL level. This gave the Dolphins the element of surprise, as teams didn't anticipate the Wildcat and in turn, they were able to win their fair share of games by getting the jump on them.

That, in turn, could ultimately be the Wildcat's downfall.

It became evident that by the time playoffs came around, teams had already began to catch onto the offensive scheme and were better prepared for it.

The best example of this was when the Baltimore Ravens knocked out the Dolphins in the first round of the playoffs. They did so with relative ease after spending time to find ways to contain the Wildcat.

So will it last?

At this point, it's rather difficult to say. On one hand, it's going to be a stretch for teams to start incorporating it next season simply because of the awareness that has been raised as a result of how much the Dolphins ran it.

However, there is a possibility that the new generation of college players coming into the NFL will be more versatile and perhaps already have experience running the Wildcat, giving them the necessary edge to keep the play alive and well.

Pat White anyone?

Whatever the answer is, it's bound to be an exciting journey to get to the answer to the perplexing question that has become the Wildcat.

No More Heroes: Whatever Happened to Just Plain Amazing?

Patrick Cwiklinski — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 01:13:53 -0400

Lance Armstrong is a freak of nature.

Sorry, but what else do you call a man who was diagnosed with testicular cancer only to come back and not only compete professionally again but to make all anybody that ever played any kind of sport else look inferior by winning the Tour de France seven years in a row?

Athlete? Please.

Alas, Armstrong's utter domination of the Tour de France came to an end on July 7, 2009 when he placed third overall in the competition after not having entered it in three years.

But even with the coveted yellow jersey given to 26-year-old Alberto Contador of Spain, Armstrong showed that he could still compete and be a threat among the best of them, at 37-years-old nonetheless.

But just as crucial to Armstrong naysayers were his test results for use of performance-enhancing drugs and for a twenty-fourth time on March 17, 2009, the result was exactly the same.

Negative.

And yet, there are those who believe and will continue to believe that Armstrong is a steroid-user and question not only his talent for racing bicycles but also his integrity as a human being.

There is no denying the fact that with everything that has happened with Armstrong's life from his cancer to working with controversial trainer Michele Ferrari, the odds have him pinned against the wall, begging for mercy.

But since when did sports become about settling for less than everything?

Is it naive to think, with all the advancements in modern medicine and science, that there still can be such thing as phenoms?

If it is in fact ridiculous to think so, then does that mean current sports icons like Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt are doomed to the same life of constant speculation and questioning?

If that's the case, you might as well just stop watching sports entirely.

Because isn't watching something incredible unfold in front of your very eyes what sports are all about?

Isn't history being made on the court, field, rink, track, etc. what sports are all about?

And perhaps most importantly, isn't defying the odds what sports are all about?

Of course there will always be those who abuse the system and use deception as a means of getting ahead, those people exist in every occupation and aspect of life. However, I refuse to sit here and let a few rotten apples spoil the bunch because I sincerely believe that there is still such thing as amazing.

A callow hope maybe, but nevertheless a necessary one in order to keep a passion alive.

So are sports destined to succumb the ongoing and past scandals of such athletes as Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, Jose Canseco, Ben Johnson, Marion Jones, and Floyd Landis or are there enough people still out there who believe that not every exceptional athlete is using steroids?

In other words, are sports as we know it, damned?

If we allow the first thought that comes to our heads whenever an athlete cleans up at a tournament or destroys an opposing team in a game to be "he's definitely juicing" then that is a mindset that can't be altered with no amount reassurance.

And maybe it's a mindset that has been purposefully created because people love to see their heroes in vulnerable positions, stripped of their "powers" and brought back down to a humanly level.

But in these turbulent worldly times, couldn't we use a hero or two?

Thanks for Nothing, ESPN: The Exploitation of Erin Andrews

Patrick Cwiklinski — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 02:07:52 -0400

Okay, so by now most of you are familiar with the Erin Andrews video scandal that is currently rearing its ugly head around the world of sports.

No? Well if you aren't, here's a quick rundown.

Andrews is an American sportscaster who works for ESPN as a sideline reporter for various sporting events. It also just so happens that Andrews is a strikingly attractive woman who was named as the sexiest sportscaster in the United States by Playboy Magazine last year.

Yes, there is a list.

Andrews has recently found herself as the subject of a voyeuristic video filmed by a Peeping Tom that was released onto the Internet that showed the 31-year-old walking around naked in her hotel room.

The video had apparently been available to watch on the Internet for months before Andrews even had any knowledge of it being filmed. However, only in the past week or so the video skyrocketed in popularity and soon became one of the top searches on Google, leaving Andrews out in the cold to try and fend for herself.

In a statement released by Andrews' lawyer it said "While alone in the privacy of her hotel room, Erin Andrews was surreptitiously videotaped without her knowledge or consent."

And that's exactly what it comes down to, privacy.

The bottom line is that a woman was deprived of her privacy and forced to become the centerpiece of a video that she would have never been in if it hadn't been for that line being crossed.

Or at least that's what the network would like you to believe.

It goes without saying that what the individual who filmed Andrews did was absolutely disgusting and heinous but the more I looked into the entire ordeal, the more I found out about the truth behind female sportscasters and their employers.

The first thing was to examine ESPN's roster of female sportscasters because there was no recollection in my mind of there being any unattractive women behind the microphone. After looking at it on an even a broader spectrum, there were none that I could remember working at any sports network at any time.

A disturbing trend that raised a question.

Is Andrews working at ESPN because of her savvy sports sense or because she is quite simply, as chauvinistic as it may sound, eye candy for the male population that makes up the majority of the viewership?

If Andrews can truthfully look at herself in the mirror and say to herself, "I have this job because I am the most qualified person to do this job and I do not have it because of the way I look," then there ceases to be a problem.

But as soon as she starts second-guessing why she's there, then maybe she has the job for the wrong reasons.

There's nothing wrong with being attractive on television, actually quite to the contrary, it's a massive part of being in the limelight and there's nothing that can really change that outlook nor necessarily should it. But as soon as having good looks come before actually being at your job, call me old-fashioned but something is wrong with that picture.

And that's not to say that Andrews is some kind of ditsy sportscaster by any means; it's just an observation of the type of women these networks are targeting to work their programs because she could very well be just as smart in her field as she is pretty.

It still, however, remains too much of a coincidence that most of the female sportscasters in the industry today resemble models much more than female equivalents of Chris Berman.

At the end of the day Andrews is still a victim, but as much as she is a victim of the person who decided to film her in her hotel room, she is also a victim of exploitation, the exploitation of female sportscasters by the big sports networks that should be held at least somewhat accountable for creating something that everyone wants a piece of for reasons that don't involve sports.

Joe Sakic Says Goodbye: A Somber Day In NHL History

Patrick Cwiklinski — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 20:45:57 -0400

For anyone who watched Joe Sakic's retirement press conference on July 9, 2009, they saw the humble superstar fight back tears as he spoke of leaving the game that he'd put so much of his heart and soul into over the years. He was a prime example of the one word that the 40-year-old's career has become synonymous with.

Class.

In the 20 years that he spent in the NHL, Sakic earned a reputation for not only being an amazing offensive talent, but he was also equally recognized as a player that brought a seemingly endless amount of integrity and sportsmanship everytime he hit the ice.

Overlooking the points, records, and trophies, Sakic was above a player who always put his teammates before himself with an unselfishness that has become a rarity in the league today.

It's become a sad reality that many big-name athletes have concocted this delusion that they are entitled to all the money and fame that comes their way, forgetting that even that though they are immensely talented in their field—it's still a privilege.

This is something that Sakic understood better than most and never took for granted in a career that spanned over two decades. So when Sakic announced that he would be hanging up his skates for good last week, it signified, pardon the cliche, the end of an era and also brought to surface an important question.

Who will carry on the torch?

A question that is put forth not only in a skill sense but more importantly in a sense of who will be able to match that skill with an unfathomed devotion and respect towards hockey.

Looking at the NHL as a whole, there is without question no shortage of star-power and talent but the potential for another Sakic, Mario Lemieux, or Steve Yzerman looks shockingly grim.

Is that why Pavel Datsyuk has won the Lady Byng for the last four years in a row?

Not to castigate Datsyuk, he has earned his spot as one of the league's elite players who carries himself like a true gentleman, but even with that, he is still nowhere near procuring a Sakic-like eminence.

As for Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovenchkin, arguably the NHL's two biggest currently active superstars, it'll likely be a mountain to climb if they ever hope to catch up. Four seasons in the NHL and most of the comparisons that people have made between them and their predecessors only involve points.

Not leadership. Not perseverance. Not sportsmanship. Not the will to win.

While Colorado Avalanche fans eagerly anticipate top prospect Matt Duchene's NHL debut in the near future, a player who has been often been billed as the next Sakic—there will still undoubtedly be a feeling of great emptiness as No. 19 is raised to the rafters never to be worn again.

Sakic's retirement is one of doleful pessimism as it marks a shift in priorities as the honour and pride that come with winning a Stanley Cup take a backseat to hunt for multi-million dollar contracts. A shift that has been in the making for years but upon Sakic's departure will be complete.

Marian Gaborik: Paying for the Player He Is or the Player He Can Be?

Patrick Cwiklinski — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 23:39:36 -0400

When healthy, it goes without saying that Marian Gaborik is one of the NHL's most prolific goal-scorers that poses just as much of an offensive threat as players like Alexander Ovechkin, Ilya Kovalchuk, and Dany Heatley.

When healthy.

You see, Gaborik's problem has nothing do with his play when he's on the ice but rather the amount of time he spends off it.

A lot.

Upon being drafted third overall by the Minnesota Wild in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft, Gaborik's first three years in NHL saw him miss a total of only 16 regular season games as he quickly rose to stardom becoming the team's franchise player.

And despite playing under a very defensive-minded head coach in Jacques Lemaire, Gaborik still managed to enjoy back-to-back 30-goal seasons in 2001-02 and 2002-03.

It seemed as though things could only go up for the talented young winger but his career would take a serious turn for the worse when he returned to the NHL after the lockout for the 2005-06 season.

A groin injury would see Gaborik miss 16 games during the season though he would still be able to register a career-high 38 goals. The injury, however, would never fully heal over the next few seasons.

In the 2006-07 season, Gaborik missed a total of 34 games but still delivered another 30 goals and in the following season he would remain almost completely healthy when he reached a personal best of 42 goals and 41 assists for 83 points.

And then there was last season.

With a resume of injuries that makes Peter Forsberg look healthy as a horse, Gaborik struggled with back and groin problems all season as well as having hip surgery done in January that saw the 27-year-old play a mere 17 games for the Wild in the 2008-09 season.

However, Gaborik's more recent injury-plagued seasons did not phase the New York Rangers in their decision to sign the speedy Slovak to a five-year contract worth $37.5 million, averaging at $7.5 million a season.

The Rangers, who are indeed no strangers to expensive contracts with the likes of Chris Drury and Wade Redden, dished out the most money on the first day of the free agent frenzy when signing Gaborik which raises the question as to what exactly New York is paying for.

On one hand, if Gaborik, who claims he is totally healthy, stays in the lineup for more than 70 games, he should prove to be an asset that may very well lead the Rangers in goals and points as well as play a crucial role for the team if they are able to make the playoffs.

On the other hand, if Gaborik succumbs to recurring injuries then he could quite possibly end up missing a chunk of the season because of it, resulting in a situation where the Rangers have a great talent on their roster but are unable to use him for more than 40 games a season.

So the question is, are the Rangers paying for the player that Gaborik is or the player that he can be?

If the Rangers are satisfied with the way Gaborik is regardless of his notorious injuries that have tainted his otherwise impressive career as a hockey player and will not take issue with the fact that he may miss a handful of games in the five years he's there, there fails to be a problem.

Because as is evident through his career with the Wild that he is still an impact player no matter the amount of games he plays and whether he shows up for 17 or 81, he'll still produce points.

But if the Rangers are expecting Gaborik to stay 100% healthy during his tenure in New York then there could be a bit of a conflict. And realistically speaking, someone who has had such major injuries in the past is likely to have those same injuries repeat, perhaps not to the same extent but enough to prove costly.

At the end of the day, the Rangers are in possession of one of the most gifted and sought-after free agents of this year's market but only time will tell if Gaborik will finally shake off the injury bug and live up to his true potential as a consistent elite winger or spend the bulk of his time in New York visiting different hospitals throughout Manhattan.

Vancouver Canucks: Sedins Re-Up, Ohlund Leaves for Tampa Bay

Patrick Cwiklinski — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 13:04:37 -0400

It's official, Daniel and Henrik Sedin are staying in the only NHL city they've ever called home.

With the free agent frenzy now underway, Vancouver Canucks General Manager Mike Gillis finally came to terms with the Sedin twins, locking them up to a pair of five-year contracts that will average $6.1 million a season.

The signing comes just a few weeks after the Sedins reportedly sought a 12-year, $63 million extension as well as rumours that talks had broken off between Gillis and the twins after the draft in Montreal.

The Sedins have both surpassed the 70-point mark in the four seasons since the lockout and are among the league's most consistent point-producers. In the 2008-09 season, both twins finished with 82 points with Daniel leading the Canucks in scoring with 32 goals and Henrik leading the team in assists with 60 as well as enjoying a career-high in goals with 22.

Meanwhile, Mattias Ohlund, the longest serving Canuck as of the 2008-09 season, has left Vancouver for greener pastures, signing a seven-year contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning worth $24.5 million.

Ohlund spent all 11 seasons of his career thus far with the Canucks and heads to Tampa Bay as a big-bodied, veteran defenseman that will likely lend a hand to the development and growth of fellow Swedish player and Lightning top prospect, Victor Hedman.

The re-signing of the Sedins gives the Canucks some stability on offense to work around and build off while the departure of Ohlund frees up valuable cap space that the team will need if they plan to make any major deals.

Through Youthful Eyes: The Bleacher Report Learning Experience

Patrick Cwiklinski — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 18:56:02 -0400

About 10 months ago, I stumbled upon a website called BleacherReport.com, partly as a result of mere chance and partly because it was exactly what I was looking for.

At the time, of course, I had no idea it was what I was looking for.

Described as a "fan journalist" site, I had virtually no idea of what I was getting into when I decided to sign up for a membership except for the fact that I wanted to write articles about sports for people to read and discuss.

My passion.

I started with a small article about a player from the Vancouver Canucks. That piece got just over 400 reads, and I said what most people would say when over 400 people have read your work.

"Sweet!"

For my second article, I decided to tackle a bigger challenge: Michael Vick and his dog fighting scandal, as well as putting forth a controversial question to the readers: Does Michael Vick Deserve A Second Chance?

With the second article amassing over 3,000 reads, I said what most would say when over 3,000 people have read your work.

"Wow!"

As time went by, I wrote more and more articles and eagerly anticipated the response they would bring with them. So much to the point that I would log on to one of my school's computers during the lunch hour just to see if there were any new reads or comments left behind.

In a matter of months, Bleacher Report suddenly became a site that I visited regularly, reading and writing articles, giving and receiving comments, and for the first time in my life, I felt as if people cared about what I had to say regarding sports.

Because, at least in my eyes, it doesn't matter how large of audience is reading what you wrote if it's not the right audience that's reading it.

And in the time that I've been writing articles I have felt as if every single one of my articles have been presented to the right audience. Good or bad, well-researched or poorly researched as they might have been, they have never been read by the wrong people.

A feeling that I didn't have when I first joined Bleacher Report.

As hard as it is to admit, I used to be a lot more of a stubborn person than I think I am today. I used to cringe at the sight of a negative comment and think of ways how to make some sarcastic response to salve my ego. But after a while, I realized something.

At 18, I figured that I have to be one of the younger writers on this site, so why was I so hard on myself when things didn't go precisely according to plan in terms of how my articles were received?

Am I a bad writer? Do people not like my style? Am I too pushy leaving messages on people's bulletin boards to read my articles? But the conclusion I came to didn't involve any of these scenarios.

It's all a part of a learning experience.

I realized that by asking myself all these questions, I had taken all the negative feedback that I had been faced with and turned it into a situation where I could develop as a writer because I wanted so badly to prove them wrong.

Isn't that what good writers do?

Maybe it is and maybe it isn't, to know the answer to that question I first must become one.

But what I can say is that had it not been for Bleacher Report I would have definitely still wanted to pursue sports journalism as I am planning to currently, but I would have likely missed a very important life lesson.

And you know what? I just realized that's what I've been looking for all along.

Jordan Schroeder: The Canucks Next Cliff Ronning?

Patrick Cwiklinski — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 16:58:45 -0400

Vancouver Canucks General Manager Mike Gillis may not have made any big trade splashes at the 2009 NHL Entry Draft in Montreal but picking up the highly-touted Jordan Schroeder from the University of Minnesota at pick 22 overall in the first round could be deemed a big splash in its own right.

Going into the draft, Schroeder was ranked as one of the top five North American players according to the NHL's Central Scouting Bureau and most media outlets had the Minnesota-native somewhere in their top 15.

So what stood in the way of this skilled young centreman being picked up by a team earlier in the draft? Well that's quite simple.

Size.

At 5'8'', 175 lbs, Schroeder doesn't exactly fit into the type of frame that's become the norm for NHL players these days; big. But make no mistake, what this 18 year old lacks in height and weight, he makes for in raw point-producing ability.

In 35 games with the U of M's Golden Gophers last season, Schroeder scored 13 goals and added 33 assists for a total of 45 points, finishing second on the team in overall scoring. He also notched another 11 points in six games with Team USA at the World Junior Championships in Ottawa, another showcase of just how offensively skilled he really is.

Though Schorder has been most commonly compared to Boston Bruins play-making center Marc Savard who carries a similar stature at 5'10'', 195 lbs, Canuck fans won't have any trouble locating the last little guy who made a big impact in Vancouver.

Cliff Ronning.

In 366 games played with the Canucks, Ronning amassed an impressive 328 points for Vancouver as well as having played a pivotal role in the team's 1994 Cinderella playoff run with 15 points in 24 games.

With almost identical body-types down to the last inch and pound, there are definitely higher expectations for Schroeder then there were for Ronning when he came into the league as he was picked in the seventh round, 134st overall, but to live up to those expectations is another thing altogether.

However, the post-lockout NHL has also become more small player-friendly with players like Savard, Martin St. Louis, and Brian Gionta flourishing under the new system.

So what's to stop Schroeder from joining these ranks? Well, perhaps it's only time that's standing in the way of discovering if the Canucks are in possession of the next Ronning.

With Schorder, the Canucks managed to get their hands on arguably the biggest steal at the 2009 NHL Entry Draft and with top prospects like Cody Hodgson, Michael Grabner and Cory Schneider already in the mix, the future of this Vancouver team looks very bright indeed.

The 2009-2010 Philadelphia Flyers: Shades Of the Broad Street Bullies

Patrick Cwiklinski — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 00:58:27 -0400

The Philadelphia Flyers may not have added any significant top prospects to their roster at the 2009 NHL Entry Draft in Montreal, but they did manage to reel in one of the biggest names thrown around.

The Flyers made the biggest splash, trade-wise, at the draft, acquiring Chris Pronger and Ryan Dingle from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for Joffrey Lupul, Luca Sbisa, two first-round picks in 2009 and 2010, and a conditional third-round draft pick in 2010 or 2011.

The addition of Pronger gives the Flyers yet another level of something that they have been seemingly pursuing a lot of these days, toughness.

And say what you will of the 6'6'', 214 pound native of Dryden, Ontario but if there's one thing no one can deny, it's that that Pronger is one intimidating human being.

Encompass in the fact that the former Stanley Cup champion is also among the league's top point-producing defensemen, and suddenly there is plenty of reason for opposing teams to be shaking in their boots once Pronger steps onto the ice for the Flyers this coming season.

The Pronger trade comes right on the heels of the signing of Ray Emery just a couple short weeks earlier on June 10, 2009. It's a signing that gives the Flyers arguably their feistiest goaltender since Ron Hextall, also a former Stanley Cup Finalist.

Though the free agent signing period has yet to commence for the 2009 off-season, Flyers General Manager Paul Holmgren seems to already be on the cusp of being the mastermind behind perhaps the most stalwart group of hockey players in Philadelphia since the franchise's heyday in the 1970's.

Or perhaps it's just a coincidence that in the last four months, the Flyers have added players like Daniel Carcillo, Emery, and Pronger to their roster. Could be, but doubtful nevertheless.

It's no secret that the Flyers have been less-than-impressed with the offensively gifted, but fragile Daniel Briere who has yet to make a major impact in Philadelphia and still remains a big question mark for the team heading into the '09-'10 season.

Meanwhile, Mike Richards and Jeff Carter continue to flourish for the Flyers with both players enjoying career years during the '08-'09 season and bringing a gritty, blue-collar edge to Philadelphia's offensive squad.

Though it's hard to believe that Holmgren is finished with his offseason wheelings and dealings, the Pronger move is likely to be the biggest wave to hit the City of Brotherly Love this year and with a track record like his, why wouldn't it be?

Emery adds solid goaltending to a team that has gone through a slew of netminders only to find some kind of defect in each one of them. Though Emery may not carry the star caliber of some of the other goalies that Philadelphia may have had their eyes on, his year in the KHL has certainly helped his highly-publicized attitude problems as well his overall play posting a 22-8 record and a 1.86 GAA in 36 games played with Atlant Moscow Oblast.

As for Carcillo, Flyers fans got a good taste of the type of game he brings to the rink and we could probably just let the penalty minutes do the rest of the talking.

It's been a long time coming for Flyers fans, but if Holmgren's latest moves are any indication of the direction this team is going moving forward, there is lots to be excited about.

For the first time in close to forty has a Flyers team looks mean and imposing. Even though the roster for the 2009-1010 season is still far from being set in stone, Philadelphia's newest kids on the block look like as though Holmgren has taken a page out of the notorious Broad Street Bullies era.

As the for the remaining 29 teams in the NHL, take notice, because from the looks of things the 2009-1010 Flyers will not be a very fun team to play.

Where's Your Integrity, Dany Heatley?

Patrick Cwiklinski — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 02:41:49 -0400

Dany Heatley is undeniably one of the NHL's brightest stars today but underneath the prolific goal scoring ability, great size, and deceptive speed, there lies a disgruntled young man.

So disgruntled in fact, that on June 9, 2009, Heatley filed a request for a trade from the team that had just signed him to a lucrative six-year contract in 2007.

The Ottawa Senators.

With the news of Heatley's trade request hitting media outlets like a hurricane, the 28-year-old winger suddenly became the talk of the hockey world with many different scenarios being played out as to where he may end up being traded to, all topped off with a list of 10 teams that Heatley was willing to play for.

I'll admit, at first I was ecstatic to hear about the availability of such an offensive talent and like most people excited to have heard their team on Heatley's list, I took some time to contemplate what scenario would have him in a Vancouver Canucks uniform.

But with the dust settling now and things seeming to be winding down as to where Heatley may go, I find myself repulsed with the idea of having him in the line-up as member of a hockey team.

It's not because of his hefty contract or the reality of having to part with other quality players to make room for him. Or because of last season being his least productive since before the lockout. And it's not because of anything that Toronto Maple Leafs General Manager Brian Burke said.

It's because of something Ron Hextall said. Hextall, the retired goaltender who is now the assistant GM of the Los Angeles Kings, said some words that set me straight.

He talked about the fact that not only does Heatley have a no-trade clause but he also wants to pick where he wants to go. He mentioned Heatley having problems with his coach when he played for the Atlanta Thrashers and as well problems with two coaches in Ottawa.

And even though Hextall clearly stated that what the Kings biggest need is a high-scoring left winger, a void that Heatley would easily fill, and the team being on his list of desired teams, he said that he doubts they're willing to give up a package of players and prospects in exchange for the former Calder Memorial Trophy winner.

Talk about sticking to your guns.

Whatever it was, even if Hextall was just making up reasons to ease fans into letting them know they didn't want to take on Heatley's contract, the things that he said during that press conference stuck with me and made me question Heatley's integrity as a professional hockey player and as a human being.

Like Hextall said, requesting a trade from Atlanta was understandable under the circumstances with everything that had happened with the horrific car accident that claimed the life of his teammate, 25-year-old Dan Snyder.

I get it.

However, signing a a long-term deal in Ottawa, having problems with both Craig Hartsburg and Cory Clouston and then asking for a trade to one of ten places has to raise some concern as to what kind of person Heatley is.

Again, Heatley's pure talent for hockey is not in doubt here but what is in doubt is his commitment and dedication for the team which plays for.

Who's to say that if things go awry with his new team that he won't ask for another trade and another until somebody realizes that teams shouldn't have to accommodate the player, the player should accommodate the team.

Somewhere amidst the rumours and speculation, I starting thinking about how Heatley could gallop in on his white horse and bring a Stanley Cup to my beloved team and forgot what it meant to be a part of a team.

A cooperative unit.

And if there's one thing that the stats won't show is that though Heatley may score a lot of goals, his latest stunt to get out of Ottawa has shown that he has a big zero in the team player column which counts for a lot more than any amount of points in my books.

Brett Favre: Why Another Comeback Will Not Taint His Legendary Status

Patrick Cwiklinski — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 20:18:01 -0400

It goes without saying that Brett Favre is one of the greatest NFL quarterbacks of all time and that his name will undoubtedly go down in the Pro Football Hall of Fame for his incredible achievements and contributions to the game of football.

It also goes without saying that a player of Favre's calibre doesn't come around very often, and when he does, it shouldn't come as a surprise that teams are still willing to put good money into a 39-year-old player, because even past his prime, Favre is still better than most quarterbacks half his age.

That is the difference between a great player and a legend.

A great player will do a lot for about 10 seasons, maybe even lead his team to a few championships. But once that expiration date hits and he comes back to play for a few more seasons, it just gets embarrassing and reputations are tarnished.

A legend is a player that is timeless. That's not to say that when a player reaches a certain age he is still the same player that he once was during his prime, because that just wouldn't be true.

But a legend is a player that can play those same 10 seasons, come out of retirement, and still make people not second-guess why he's a future hall-of-famer.

When Michael Jordan returned to play for the Washington Wizards after his second retirement he didn't lead his new team to an NBA Title, put up as many points as he did with the Chicago Bulls, or even technically make the first NBA All-Star team in 2003.

I don't hear anyone bad-mouthing Jordan's legacy.

As a matter of fact, Jordan is so respected that if he were to make another comeback this coming season, his legacy would still have "the greatest basketball player of all-time" written all over it, because that's who he is.

However, obviously, to call Favre the "Michael Jordan of the NFL" would not be at all accurate because Jordan has done far more for the game of basketball than Favre has for football, but it is clear that certain legacies just stick.

So you think a couple comebacks are going to destroy the legacy of one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time?

I don't think so.

Even if Favre were to sign with the Minnesota Vikings this season, you think people would be talking about that in 10 years and not the fact that he hold the NFL records for most career touchdown passes, most career passing yards, most career pass completions, and most victories as a starting quarterback?

Or how about that he was the first player ever to win the AP MVP three times, or that he led the Green Bay Packers to seven division championships, four NFC Championship Games, two NFC Championships, two Super Bowl appearances, and one Super Bowl championship—will they overlook all those things as well?

Not a chance.

You might be sick of hearing about another comeback in the works, but one thing you know is that at the end of the day, when it's all said and done, those two, or however many seasons that Favre finishes his career off with, won't change the impact he has had on the game of football, and that is something that can only be done by a player who is truly a legend.

Sedins: $63 Million Over 12 Years Each, Genius or Ludicrous?

Patrick Cwiklinski — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 02:19:39 -0400

The wheels have finally started to turn.

Two of the summer's hottest upcoming unrestricted free agents, Daniel and Henrik Sedin, have finally broken the silence as to what kind of contract they're hoping to sign if the Vancouver Canucks wish to keep them around for years to come.

How does $63 million over 12 years each sound?

At first glance it may look as though the Sedins fell completely off their rockers when asking for such a massive contract (times two, no less) but if that is in fact your conclusive belief, I advise you to look again.

The Sedins were Vancouver's top offensive players last season with 82 points each and respectable playoff point production. They have consistently hit the 70-point mark since the 2005-2006 season which the same cannot be said for most other players who have signed very lucrative long-term deals with their respective teams.

Chris Drury, Scott Gomez, Daniel Briere, Ryan Smyth, to name a few.

With their contracts expiring, the Sedins have expressed major interest in continuing their careers with the Canucks and it seems as though they are ready and willing to take a pay cut if need be.

Broken down, $63 million over 12 years is $5.25 million per year, significantly less money than most other players of the Sedin's offensive calibre make.

On top of that is the fact the Sedins are now only coming into their prime and something tells me that there is still more to come from this pair of offensively-savvy Swedish twins, especially if they turn up their physical game which we did see rise a bit over past years this season.

Sure, I agree that 12 years is a very long time and a lot can change between 28 and 40, but how will we ever know if a chance isn't taken?

It's the exact same chance the Canucks would have to take if they were to let the Sedins go in favour of superstars like Marian Hossa and Marian Gaborik who are likely going to ask for similar contracts length-wise but at a higher cost.

I say to not give up on the Sedins just because the Canucks failed to make an effective playoff run once again and build off them, especially at the steal price that they're willing to stay in Vancouver for. Because if anything can be said it's that you don't know how good you have it till it's gone.

CFL-NFL: You Scratch My Back, and I'll Scratch Yours

Patrick Cwiklinski — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 21:56:58 -0400

Ricky Williams once said of his Canadian Football League (CFL) experience that "People accepted me more, people didn't think I was weird, people thought I was actually normal while I was playing football and that's something that I never really experienced before."

Will somebody please get Michael Vick on the line.

Sure, Williams was rather subpar during his short stint with the Toronto Argonauts while under suspension for drug abuse in the National Football League (NFL), but the experiment cannot be labelled as a failure by any means.

Williams's star presence provided the Argos marketing with a golden opportunity to sell more tickets and memorabilia than ever before. On the flip side, the Miami Dolphins, the NFL team which Williams had been under contract with, benefited from the situation as well, as they got back an active, seemingly clean football player in 2008 as oppose to what he may have become had he not signed in Toronto.

How quickly things change.

Former CFL commissioner Tom Wright, in his final state of the league address, introduced a new rule, which was to be implemented at the start of the 2007 CFL season and prevents a player under suspension in the NFL from signing with a CFL club.

"The Ricky Williams Rule" as it has come to be informally known as.

Granted, Vick was caught up in a much more serious crime than Williams, one that he served prison time for, but just imagine the kind of media field day that would follow if he signed in Canada.

Front page, nationwide.

Obviously, Canadians aren't stupid, they're fully aware of Vick's notoriety factor, and some kind of protest would be sure to follow, if in fact he was somehow able to sign with a CFL team. But the pressures of playing in, oh, let's say, Vancouver, as opposed to really anywhere in the United States, would undoubtedly be dramatically less.

Then, after a year, Vick could return to the NFL, pending if they allowed him to get reinstated, and sign with a team there, in shape and out of trouble, while the CFL can be happy with the truckloads of they money made off his star caliber.

Everybody's happy.

But unfortunately, it's time to burst this hypothetical bubble, because as long as "The Ricky Williams Rule" stands, it doesn't seem as though Vick, or any other troubled NFL stars for that matter, will be heading up to the Great White North to play football anytime soon.

It's a shame really, these two leagues should be working with each other and even if that means setting up an NFL refugee camp in Canada, so be it. Because everyday that the NFL gets closer to expanding north is everyday that the CFL comes one step closer to dying.

There's No "Lu" in Team

Patrick Cwiklinski — Thu, 21 May 2009 01:36:52 -0400

It's unfortunate that the only things most people are willing to remember about the Vancouver Canucks 2009 Stanley Cup Playoff run is how the team managed to lose 7-5 to the Chicago Blackhawks, and blew their second round series in six games with one of the so-called best goaltenders in the entire league between the pipes.

Granted, Canucks captain Roberto Luongo chose the worst possible time to let in seven goals for the first time during his tenure in Vancouver. However, all the heat he’s amassed since the team’s early playoff exit, or so from both the fans and the media is really unfair.

Pardon the Terrell Owens-esque statement.

I’m not saying let’s all gather around and shed a tear for a man who’s contract is worth a total of $27 million over four years.

But unless you’re empty on the inside there’s now way you can’t help but to feel at least a little bad for Luongo after watching the post-game interview, in which he nearly broke down talking about how he let his teammates down.

It’s like instant amnesia.

Luongo had a phenomenal first round performance against the St. Louis Blues, and everyone was praising his performance. Then when things get a bit shaky against the Blackhawks all of sudden he became enemy of the state, and people begin to question whether he should be invited to play for Team Canada at the 2010 Winter Olympics.

I also understand how easy it is to be frustrated with someone who consistently plays as well as Luongo.

To see someone like that fall flat on their face at such a key moment in the team’s season is hard to swallow, but I don’t think that Canuck fans are necessarily angry at him personally, but rather at the entirety of the organization’s failure to win a Stanley Cup in its 39 years as an NHL franchise.

It also doesn’t help the way Luongo is portrayed in the media as the savior of hockey in Vancouver. The angel like portrayal allows people to have unrealistic expectations for him to fulfill.

As we’ve learned so many times throughout the history of sports is that fans are impatient. They want immediate results and the pressuress for a star player to perform can sometimes be overbearing.

The fact of the matter is that Luongo is the best thing to happen to the Canucks in quite some time. Although he is without question partially responsible for his team’s second disappointing exit from the playoffs in two years, he should not be held fully accountable.

Hockey is a team sport and the Canucks lost as team. That means each one of those 20 players that were dressed for the game attributed to the reason for any kind of success or failures.

As another long offseason begins for Canuck fans there’s going to be a million scenarios played out about what could have been had they beat the Blackhawks, and advanced to Western Conference Finals.

The only thing I can say to that is if you dwell too much on the past, then the future has a way of repeating those same mistakes. Thus, there’s no point in beating yourself about what happened, because it’s that part about looking ahead that gives us hope.

Roy: You Won't Like Him When He's Angry

Patrick Cwiklinski — Wed, 20 May 2009 20:59:03 -0400

There's no denying the fact that during his career as an NHL goaltender, Patrick Roy was a spectacle.

There's also no denying the fact that thus far in his career as head coach of the QJMHL's Quebec Remparts, Roy has also been a spectacle, but for a different reason.

Well, kind of.

Apart from being arguably the greatest NHL goalie of all time, Roy has also gained some notoriety for his " charismatic" approach to the game, on and off the ice.

Scraps with Mike Vernon and Chris Osgood at the height of the Colorado Avalanche/Detroit Red Wings rivalry in the late 90's, being arrested for domestic violence, and more recently, as coach, giving his own son, Jonathan, the go-ahead to senselessly pound on an opposing goalie are all things that can be found on the 43-year-old's resume.

Temper, temper.

Roy's natural talent when it comes to the game of hockey is not in question, but what strikes me as disturbing is how many times he's gone way overboard in situations that don't necessarily call for his input anyways.

So now with all the speculation as to whether or not Roy will in fact become the next head coach of the Avalanche, the organization should take a long hard look at his issues of uncontrolled anger that have clearly not yet been resolved even after all these years.

The team needs to make their decision, at least in part, based on that aspect of his personality.

Sure, there are a million reasons why you'd want Roy behind your bench: his unbelievable determination, his success as a junior coach, his knowledge of how to win a Stanley Cup.

These are all things that are extremely valuable to any team. But at what cost?

It's almost a given that Roy would make the Avalanche a better team, partly because of the fact that they can't get much worse than they were this past season. But I can already envision questionable calls from referees and press conferences after dismal performances, and at least in my mind those scenarios end with a lot of profanity or a lot of someone's face getting bashed in.

The truth is that I would love to see Roy coaching in the NHL sometime in the next few years. I believe that he'll make a great coach, or at least a better coach than Wayne Gretzky.

This will all happen one day, but I'm just not sure if he can take a position of such high responsibility without having to kick some bad habits first.

The Phoenix Coyotes Saga Comes Down to Canada vs. Gary Bettman

Patrick Cwiklinski — Sun, 17 May 2009 21:16:43 -0400

As far as hockey in Canada goes, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman is just about as close to the embodiment of pure evil as there can be.

And that’s putting it nicely.

On May 5, Phoenix Coyotes majority owner Jim Moyes filed for bankruptcy after yet another season of deteriorating arena attendance and overall mediocrity from the Arizona sports franchise that he’s owned since 2001.

That same day, Moyes announced that he had agreed in principle to sell the team to PSE Sports and Entertainment, headed by Canadian billionaire Jim Balsillie, for $212.5 million and part of the deal would include having the Coyotes relocate to a new city in Southern Ontario, particularly Hamilton.

Not on Bettman’s watch.

The commissioner quickly jumped into the picture, stating that Moyes may not have even had the authority to file the bankruptcy petition and that the NHL was committed in maintaining the team in the Phoenix area. Soon enough, Moyes was stripped of virtually any authority he had as owner, thus leaving the Southern Ontario deal with Balsillie up in the air as the matter made its way to court.

After an unresolved hearing on May 7, bankruptcy court judge Redfield Baum scheduled a second hearing for May 19, to determine who is actually in control of the team.

However, NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly stated that regardless of how the judge rules, the league owners will get the final say in whether or not to approve the Coyotes move. Daly also added that Bettman doubts Balsillie’s bid for the team will be successful and even going so far as to say that Balsillie was “acting in total disregard” for NHL rules when he made the bid.

First, let me start by asking whose bright idea was it to move a hockey team to the middle of the desert in Arizona in the first place? But okay, I guess I can swallow that one, I mean if Anaheim and Tampa Bay can be successful and win Stanley Cups then maybe the desert isn’t such a bad place to have a hockey team after all, right?

Wrong.

The Coyotes have been a lackluster team throughout their entire 12-year existence, making the playoffs for a total five times and being knocked out of the first round each time.

But hey, I’m still willing to not give up on a team if they’re at least building somekind of fanbase and making money, but seeing as how the Coyotes have the third lowest average attendance in the entire league behind the New York Islanders and Atlanta Thrashers, it doesn’t look like they’re making much of anything these days.

Meanwhile, in Hamilton you have a city full of hockey-nuts that would easily fill the NHL-size Copps Coliseum’s capacity of roughly 19,000 on a nightly basis. Almost guaranteed.

But of course with Bettman in charge we might never see that become a reality. As he said himself, the only way he sees there being a team in Hamilton is if it was by expansion. He even said he would move the team back to Winnipeg before moving to Hamilton.

Ouch.

Now I’m not trying to come off as a Canadian hockey activist and I do feel for the fans that do support the Coyotes in Phoenix and don’t want to see them go. With that being said I also don’t feel as if the city is a large enough hockey hub to keep the franchise there in tact—if you’re going to relocate, why not move it to a to Hamilton where there’s sure to be a massive fanbase resulting in a lot of money.

Regardless of the outcome of the hearing, The NHL needs to take a long hard look at teams like Phoenix, Atlanta, and the Islanders and really ask themselves if it’s worth keeping these dying franchises on life-support or start moving them elsewhere.

That also doesn’t necessarily mean exclusively to Canada because there are also many passionate hockey cities in the United States as well, but since Balsillie obviously has the money and motive to bring the Coyotes to Hamilton, why not?

With Starbury Out of the Picture, Better Days Ahead for the New York Knicks

Patrick Cwiklinski — Fri, 01 May 2009 19:43:45 -0400

If the truth be told, the New York Knicks were already a team in decline prior to the arrival of Stephon Marbury on January 5, 2004, but little did they know just how much worse their woes would get with the Coney Island-native in their line-up.

From 1987 to 2001, the Knicks consistently made the playoffs on an annual basis and it wasn't until 11-time NBA All-Star and Hall of Famer Patrick Ewing left New York via a trade to the Seattle SuperSonics in 2000 that things started to go downhill.

Marbury came to New York halfway through the 2003-04 season after being traded from the Phoenix Suns and helped the Knicks reach the playoffs for the first time since Ewing's departure.

Despite the disappointment of being swept by the New Jersey Nets in the first round of the playoffs, Marbury proved to be a valuable asset and made his first appearance for Team U.S.A. at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, winning a bronze medal and scoring a U.S. record 31-points during a game against Spain.

In his first full season with the Knicks in 2004-05, Marbury looked to be heading in the right direction as the team's franchise player, enjoying a career year in field-goal percentage with .462 and free-throw percentage with .834.

However, that would be about all he enjoyed during his time in New York.

The Knicks missed the playoffs again in 2005 and the losing trend would continue as Marbury's attitude worsened. In the 2005-06 season, Marbury was involved in a highly publicized feud with then-Knicks head coach Larry Brown that would end with Brown's dismissal from the organization.

On June 22, 2006, Knicks owner James Dolan replaced Brown with New York's President of Basketball Operation, Isiah Thomas, under the condition that he show "evident progress" or be fired.

Marbury made sure of the latter.

The Knicks 2006-07 season under Thomas showed some improvement over the year before but the growth would be short-lived.

At the start of 2007-08 season, Marbury was again in the middle of a feud with another Knicks head coach in Thomas. After a season of rumours of the two coming to blows on a plane and blackmail threats, Knicks fans became fed-up with the direction the team was going in and while Marbury stayed put for another season, Thomas was fired.

Thomas' replacement was 2004-05 NBA Coach of the Year, Mike D'Antoni and with him, the Knicks signed Chris Duhon, who would ultimately take Marbury's position as starting point guard.

Marbury was placed on the Knicks inactive list and according to D'Antoni it was a move made to avoid embarrassing the 32-year-old with limited playing time.

D'Antoni apparently told Marbury that he could play 35-minutes a game if he wanted to but Marbury refused and on December 1, 2008 he was banned from attending Knicks practices and games and was instructed to stay home.

On February 24, 2009, Marbury and the Knicks agreed to a buy-out after much speculation and upon clearing waivers two days later and becoming a free agent, Marbury signed with the Boston Celtics.

But is it Marbury that gets the last laugh after all?

With the Knicks missing the post-season for a fifth straight season, Marbury has a shot at making it to the second round with the Celtics tomorrow night and though his play has been limited, an NBA Championship for Marbury would be the ultimate "in your face" to the Knicks.

But Knicks fans already know not to despair because anyone who follows basketball in New York will tell you that Marbury's release is the best thing to happen to the team in a long time.

Now, the Knicks have a chance to build a strong team around players like Nate Robinson and Wilson Chandler and with ta Marbury-free atmosphere it will give the team some room to breathe and shift their focus back to basketball as oppose to another season-long soap opera starring No. 3.

So while things may not look so promising right now trust me when I say, Knicks fans get ready for better things to come.

NHL Writers: Bleacher Report's Second-Rate Citizens?

Patrick Cwiklinski — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 22:42:00 -0400

Please note: By writing this article, it is in no way my intention to disrespect other sports and glorify hockey, it is only an opinionated column that is meant to shed some light on the state of the NHL on BleacherReport.com. If I have offended you or your sport in any way, I apologize.

If you're like me then you might be feeling a little discouraged.

Why is that you ask?

Well for starters I'm in no way, shape, or form a veteran of Bleacher Report and I don't claim to be, but from my...er...let's see now...eight months as a member of this fine sports writing establishment, I have noticed a few things.

You see, the fact of the matter is, I'm a big ol' hockey nut and it's because of this that I mainly write about hockey.

Shocker, isn't it?

Anyways, whenever I write about something I always try to do the best job possible as I know many other members of Bleacher Report's NHL community do. But sometimes I get the feeling our work is going somewhat unnoticed.

You can probably guess what I'm getting at here.

The truth is the NFL and MLB mainly run this website and that's fine and dandy with me because those are sports that I watch and have a ton of respect for. What I want to know is what about the NHL?

When I'm writing a hockey story, I write it knowing full well that article reads are going to top out at about 200, maybe 400 if I make some kind of top ten list that attracts people.

That doesn't bug me because I know that not everything I write is something people are going to want to read.

But the playoffs are on for crying out loud.

A while back I wrote the article Does Michael Vick Deserve a Second Chance? I'm not trying to be full of myself here as much as I'm trying to make a point, but it was a hit. It was a very popular story that got thousands of reads, hundreds of comments, and a bunch of POTD votes.

At first I thought it was because I wrote about such a controversial topic that it became a success, but looking back I'm not so sure.

Obviously the Michael Vick affair was huge and I wrote the article at a time when the topic was still very hot. But, there are days when I wake up and wonder if it had involved a hockey player, would it have had the same impact?

How about, Does Sean Avery Deserve a Second Chance?

Granted, Sean Avery didn't have dog fights in his backyard but let's say, theoretically, he did. Would it have had as many reads as the Vick story did, as many comments as the Vick story did, and as much front page coverage as the Vick story did?

I doubt it.

Because after looking at the number of reads of NHL stories compared to NFL stories, I don't like my chances. However, I refuse to believe there isn't a big enough NHL fanbase on this website that wouldn't be compelled to read it and comment.

Maybe I'm wrong.

Maybe hockey fans are a rare breed on this website and maybe we'll never make it over a 1000 reads unless we're senior writers with over 300 articles or making a list of the top ten greatest hockey players.

Are we second-rate?

Does this make us less than the NFL writer who gets about 600 reads within a half hour?

Not a chance.

Sure, the NFL has over 7000 members, and the MLB over 6000, while the NHL has just a little over 3000. There might be more fans of football and baseball in North America.

Those are givens.

But my point is that as people who follow the great game of hockey, you should not get discouraged just because you don't get as many reads or comments for your NHL story as a NFL one.

Don't take it personally. Because that's not a reflection of your writing skills, it's a reflection of the popularity of the sport on this particular website.

So in other words, keep your head up and keep writing about whatever you feel comfortable writing about, hockey or any other sport for that matter, and never let anyone tell you that you're a failure because you didn't make it to the front page.

Because, as long as you tried your best and thought you did a great job then that's not the only thing that matters.

You matter.

The NHL's Top Ten Draft-Day Steals

Patrick Cwiklinski — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 23:36:20 -0400

Every year a select group of young players are drafted into the National Hockey League in hopes of becoming hockey's next big thing. But sometimes it isn't only the players who are picked high in the draft that go on to become some of the greatest ever to play the game. This is a list of some of those players.

Begin Slideshow

Avery: Hate Him Or Love Him, He's Still a Difference Maker

Patrick Cwiklinski — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 21:32:02 -0400

New York Rangers head coach John Tortorella made a controversial decision to bench Sean Avery in game five of the Eastern Conference Quarter-Finals between the Rangers and the Washington Capitals, a series that New York could taken with a win, in order to "make a point."

Tortorella was apparently unhappy with Avery taking six minor penalties and a misconduct in the last two games of the series, and the tip of the iceberg seemed to be the two questionable penalties that the 29-year-old took in game four against Capitals defensemen Milan Jurcina and Brian Pothier.

That sounds more like the Avery we're familiar with.

It's a well documented fact that Tortorella isn't Avery's biggest supporter, and there is surely some reluctance in having him on his team. Then again, which coach or player would invite him onto a team with open arms given his notorious reputation? When he's on the ice he's vile, aggravating, and really just an overall pain in the ass.

But it works.

In 86 career regular season games, the Rangers went an impressive 50-20-16 with Avery in the line-up, and a measly 9-13-3 in the 25 games in which he did not dress. Not to mention in 18 playoff games with the Rangers during his first stint in New York, Avery recorded a respectable 12 points in addition to 33 penalty minutes.

I'm not pro-Avery by any means, but tell me this guy doesn't make a difference.

Of course there's the locker room cancer aspect of the situation. Avery is a loner who's also not keen on taking orders from anyone, and that often times results in him creating his own agenda. His attitude also makes him a liability and his teammates often keep their distance from him because of it (Brenden Morrow and Marty Turco in Dallas come to mind).

Here's the million-dollar question: is it right to leave a player in who has a positive effect on the outcome of games, but a negative effect on the individuals on his team?

Debatable, but hockey is a team sport.

I don't blame Tortorella for scratching Avery. He did what he felt was right for his team, and wanted to send a message to the troubled agitator that if he's going to play like that, there will be consequences. But at the same time, the playoffs are not the time when you're suppose to start messing with your line-up unless your team is down in the series or in players.

The Rangers were none of the above.

In fact, with the Capitals as the favourites going into the series, the Rangers have really surprised people with their lead over the second-seeded team in the Eastern Conference. While this lead that can be largely attributed to Henrik Lundqvist's magnificent play between the pipes, if Washington does manage to make it to game seven, the Rangers will face the danger of elimination.

Of course, if the Rangers don't allow that scenario, there won't be any problems.

We'll never know if the result would have differed had Avery been in the line-up against the Capitals in game five. Perhaps it was just the sheer desperation that Washington played with that won them the game, and having Avery there for New York wouldn't have made much of a difference. As I said, we'll never know. But one thing that is for certain is this: the Rangers are a better team with Avery wearing the red, white, and blue.

Dear Habs Fans: Don't Make the Same Mistake Twice

Patrick Cwiklinski — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 23:02:36 -0400

By now, virtually everyone who follows hockey and has access to a television or the Internet has seen the now infamous highlight from game four of the 2009 Eastern Conference Quarter-Finals between the Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens in which the centennial team was eliminated from the playoffs.

You know the one.

After letting in four goals in two periods, Canadiens goaltender Carey Price was mocked by fans at the Bell Centre as they cheered sarcastically after he stopped a weak dump in. A frustrated Price put his arms in the air, and a media hurricane ensued.

The first thing to spring to everyone's mind was the similarity between the Price incident and a similar one involving Patrick Roy in which he allowed nine goals on 26 shots in a game against the Detroit Red Wings on December 2, 1995.

Like Price, Roy was also sarcastically cheered after stopping a weak shot and responded by putting his arms in the air in mock celebration. After being pulled in the second period, Roy skated to the bench, stormed pass head coach Mario Tremblay and was seen saying something to Canadiens' team president Ronald Corey.

The night would soon be remembered as Roy's last game for the Canadiens.

The message from Roy to Corey spoke for itself.

Let's call a spade a spade. Price has every right to be just as fed up with Habs fans as Roy was, but even though he had to endure all that criticism from his own crowd, he didn't seem react in the same way Roy did, and so far we haven't heard anything from Bob Gainey regarding a trade.

And why would we?

Price had a solid season with a 23-16-10-1 record, a 2.83 GAA, and a .905 save percentage. It's not great but it's not bad by any means.

It seems that the 21-year-old goaltender, ever since winning the Calder Cup with the Hamilton Bulldogs and joining Montreal the following season, has been put up on such a high pedestal by Habs fans that anything short of a shutout every second game and an annual Stanley Cup is a failure.

Along with that, did anyone really think (not hoped), in all honesty, that the Canadiens would stand a chance in the playoffs against the powerhouse that is Boston.

If so, you're only kidding yourself.

I believe that the Canadiens also failed to give Price a veteran backup goalie who would be able to perhaps walk him through certain playoff situations and support him in that aspect.

Instead the almost equally NHL-experienced Jaroslav Halak was Price's backup all season and even though he didn't play poorly, he was unable to offer the playoff smarts that Price could have used.

I have a hard time believing that someone like Curtis Joseph wasn't available.

The truth is that the Canadiens playoff collapse should not be put squarely on the shoulders of a goaltender who himself is still a kid and growing.

The raw talent is there and soon the time will come when Price will flourish and become the player everyone knows he can be. So enough with the trash talk and the trade talk because there's a lot to look forward to with such a promising goalie between the pipes.

And to the Habs fans, who choose to be bitter towards Price, don't make the same mistake twice.

The Things We Do: Staying Loyal To The Game

Patrick Cwiklinski — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 02:27:34 -0400

There are 12 seconds left, your heart starts racing, and your blood starts pumping, you’ve been here a million times before yet it always feels like the first time. Suddenly, those 12 seconds start to feel like an eternity and even though you know what the outcome will be you can’t help but to hold your breath in solicitous anticipation.

It’s instinct. There is a deathly-like quiet and you could have sworn you heard a clock languidly ticking in your head as time slowly oozes and your eyes watch attentively. Then there’s the sound.

To a normal person it’s nothing more than an obstreperous noise that pierces the ear without rationalization. But to you it’s something more; to you it’s a sound of hope, a sound of joy, and a sound of victory. You launch off the edge of your seat and jump vigorously in the air, shouting, hugging the person next to you in gratification.

The game is over but the winning sensation has just begun. This is you, a sports fan pledging allegiance to the team which has earned your affection and devotion, and though the reasons for you choosing your team over another are always different from someone else’s, the emotions are always the same.

We’ve all been there before. Regardless of whether your loyalty is to a team that plays soccer, football, baseball, basketball, hockey, tennis, or any other sport, it doesn’t matter.

You take every win with the same exuberance and every loss with the same bitterness as the men and women who take to that field, rink or court everyday do. There is no in-between.

So what in our minds triggers us to travel a thousand kilometres for the sole purpose of seeing our favourite team play as visitors in hostile territory? It can’t be sheer boredom or curiosity, can it?

No, no, it has to be something more than that, something that cannot fully be explained unless you’re apart of it. A feeling so strong that it makes a grown man with a wife and two daughters who sits in an office all day in a suit want to arrive to an arena with thousands of people, shirtless, face painted and above all, no remorse for doing so.

If you can pinpoint exactly why we feel this way towards sports then it’s obvious that you don’t fully understand because a large part of that feeling is the mystery of its hold over us.

But be aware as to never cross that line. That fine line between being a fan and being a fanatic is so thin that it is almost invisible to the human eye. We’ve all heard about the so-called hooligans that go to sporting events with the deliberate intention to only cause chaos by starting fights and riots.

Those are not fans. Those are individuals who hide behind the title only to exploit the name of a team so that they can have an excuse to carry out acts of violence. That’s not passion, that’s vanity in the most destructive of forms.

But it all goes back to the same question that’s been posed for so many years and so many generations, a perplexing question, and that is when it comes to sports, why do we do the things we do. Why do I wake up in the morning and decide to write an article regarding my favourite team?

Why do I cheer whenever they score a goal? Why do I buy tickets to games? Why is it always on my mind? I don’t know the answers to those questions and perhaps I never will. What I do know, however, is that I’m not alone.

I know that whenever my team scores a goal or wins an important game there will always be that person to cheer with, to laugh with, to conject with, and that is the type of camaraderie that no concert or film gathering can ever offer because it must be believed in to flourish.

Canucks: Recession? What Recession?

Patrick Cwiklinski — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 21:09:12 -0400

Chances are that if you’ve turned on the television or opened a newspaper in the past year or so, you know all about the plummeting economy and how Canada and the United States are currently smack in the middle of a recession. However, if you’re a Vancouver Canucks fan, you’re also aware of the fact that the postseason is in full effect and even though playoff ticket prices are at an all-time high, you’ll be hard-pressed to find any for sale, unless you intend to spend a fortune buying from a scalper.

With Canuck playoff ticket prices beating out both Calgary and Montreal (in their centennial year, no less) for the highest in Canada, ranging from $102.50 to a farcical $401.50, it doesn’t seem as though the state of the economy is having any sort of backlash in sales. So, how is it possible for the average fan, that may or may not have been one of the roughly 23,000 people to have lost his/her job in British Columbia last month, to afford what is without doubt the hottest ticket in town, particularly at this time of year? There may not be a black and white answer to that question. but there are definitely some encompassing factors.

There are, of course, the die-hard Canuck fans who bleed in team colours and don’t seem to take issue with the high prices because it’s become such a big part of their lives, that to suddenly stop would be aberrant and treacherous. Then there are the so-called “upper-crust,” the socialites of Vancouver who have made their appearances at GM Place habitual. More times than not, however, these people are not actually there to enjoy the game, but rather to have something to palaver over crumpets and tea the next day (excuse the stereotype). The truth is that it doesn’t matter whether it’s the hardcore or the affluent buying tickets, it all goes back to supply and demand.

The Canucks are undisputed as the most successful sports team in B.C. history and part of that can be attributed to geographic affiliation, but being the only major league franchise in the province doesn’t hurt sales, either. At one point in time, Vancouver was home to an NBA team (the Grizzles, anyone?), but with a losing record, diminishing ticket sales, and its owners, Orca Bay Sports and Entertainment (who, incidentally, also owned the Canucks at the time), beginning to lose money as well, it was discernible that the Grizzles would be unable to sustain themselves for much longer, and thus the move to Memphis in 2001.

The failure of an NBA franchise in Vancouver can be partially blamed on the dominance in sales of the NHL team that Vancouver shared an arena with for six years. And by taking out the competition (not necessarily on purpose), the Canucks have remained at the top of the B.C. sports food chain. In other words, don’t expect an NFL, MLB, or any other kind of major league sports franchise to move in while the Canucks are in town, because there just isn’t enough room for two equally flourishing teams in Vancouver.

With the Canucks season ticket sell-out streak on-going since November 14, 2002 and playoff tickets also gone in the blink of an eye, there don’t seem to be any signs that the franchise is going to lose any sort of money in these discouraging economic times. Yet the story ends with a sigh from the fans who want to be a part of the action and can’t afford to because of the ridiculous pricing. As for me, I’ll be at home enjoying the game on T.V. while trying to tackle the arduous task of trying to grow out my playoff beard.