Bleacher Report - Articles by Greg Sheehan

Bruins-Hurricanes: Boston Contributes to the Other 29 Percent

Greg Sheehan — Fri, 15 May 2009 13:23:50 -0400

The team that scores first in a Game Seven wins 71 percent of the time.

Game Seven of the Bruins-Hurricanes playoff series took place here in Boston last night and a grueling series, as well as the Bruins season came to a close toward the end of the first overtime period.

It was early on when I found optimism, when Byron Bitz scored with 7:42 remaining in the first period.

But like jinxing a no-hitter the local channel New England Sports Network gave us a stat at the bottom of the screen during the next face off;

The team that scores first in a Game Seven wins 71 percent of the time.

So ever the eternal Boston pessimist even with so much recent success I spent the next few minutes considering how comfortable I was with a 29 percent chance that our season would end by the time the TD Banknorth Garden cleared out.

Ending a season is a pretty substantial event, and 29 is a large chunk of 100.

For example; if you were to watch 29 percent of Caddyshack, you would certainly lose your mind in laughter and catch some classic scenes.

If you are going to jump off a building onto a soft set of mattress but you have a 29 percent chance of breaking your neck, would you do it?

No, you wouldn’t feel comfortable with that other 29 percent. It's a lot.

So before that first period came to a close Carolina had tied up the game and I was looking for the statistic for the team that gives up the lead in the first period in Game Seven.

To fast forward to the very end of a hard fought, intense series, Carolina seemed to have a bit more gas in the tank and took Game Seven from us on home ice. After leading the series three games to one, Carolina withstood everything that Boston had and hung on just long enough to walk away with the win.

Today, on an overcast spring day in Boston the sky over the Black and Gold is a bit gloomier but we all tip our hat to the erstwhile Hartford Whalers against Pittsburgh. If they win that series they play the winner of the Detroit-Chicago series in the West.

I give them a 29 percent chance to win the Cup based on the way they played Boston, which is a good percentage with four teams left.

Sure it doesn’t sound like a lot, but...29 percent happens.

Read more from Greg Sheehan at www.turningtwo.com.

Branding the New England Patriots: A Behind-the-Scenes Look

Greg Sheehan — Thu, 14 May 2009 10:46:28 -0400

Read more from Greg Sheehan at www.turningtwo.com

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If I could take a few minutes of time to contact anybody on the New England Patriots, I would actually walk past the playing field and in to the main office, specifically into the marketing department.

In fact, I have even made some phone calls, but to this point have been unable to land an interview.

To me, the branding of the New England Patriots is an incredible journey; the logo was completely reinvented in the mid 1990’s and now stands as one of the most recognizable in sports. I would suggest that a large part of this has to do with their success and notoriety, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

For years, a trip to Patriots game was a long journey away from the city in a traffic battle to nowhere, but in 2007 the Kraft Group used all that real estate to create a unique destination, one which would be an attraction even when the Patriots were not playing.

Here’s the wikipedia description of “Patriot Place”:

"Patriot Place is an open-air shopping center built around Gillette Stadium, home of the New England Patriots. Phase 1 opened in the Fall of 2007, which included the construction of a small strip mall containing Bass Pro Shops, Staples, Christmas Tree Shops, Bed Bath and Beyond, an Olive Garden, and Circuit City (now closed).

"Phase 2 will include a 4-star hotel, and the opening of the stores in the mall portion. This includes a Red Robin and a Hollister Co., among others. The Bass Pro store is the first location in New England. It is also home to one of the first locations for Showcase Cinema’s Cinema de Lux brand, as well as many others opening shortly after."

The Patriots took advantage of their distance from major cities and made it an opportunity, taking a large step for branding the franchise.

Here is a list of my questions, I’m trying to figure out which ones are the best;

Every team’s goal is to win a Championship. In terms of marketing, what does a Championship mean for the brand? Do new possibilities emerge? After winning a third Championship in four years, was there a limit on the value of the brand or did even more opportunities arise?

Many NFL franchises are closer to large metropolitan areas, with less room to build up their ancillary attractions, do you think that having so much room to build will make up for the distance from Boston and Providence?

What type of impact does geography have on marketing possibilities? Do franchises in a metropolitan area have any advantages? Are there any other NFL franchises with a similar proximity between two cities that have provided insight to maximizing profit in Foxboro?

What have you learned from other Boston teams? Which of their marketing strategies do you watch the closest?

Does having a historic affiliation with the Bruins, Celtics, and Red Sox bring Patriots fans from all over New England? Is there a way to measure that?

The Detroit Lions recently changed their logo after an 0-16 season. How can a logo change effect the bottom line, is it simply a merchandising tool or can it really create a stronger affiliation between the consumer and the product?

If you were to rank the value of each logo in the NFL, how would you rank “Pat the Patriot” before the logo change, and how would you rank it now? Are they any specific examples of comparative values? How does it rank next to the Dallas Cowboys star?

The Dallas Cowboys, in addition to their star, have developed a lot of goodwill, if we are to use that term for the difference between the value of a business and the value of its hard assets, and their value has yielded them a new stadium.

While “goodwill” usually enters the mathematical equation when a business is being sold, how easy or difficult is it to access that value and use it for future development without having hard assets on hand?

When you consider reinvesting money into the franchise, how much of the money is cash on hand, how much is based on projected earnings, and how much is borrowed? What about on ancillary spending like Patriot Place?

With so much market volatility recently, many sports franchises have offered some pricing discounts on their concessions and possibly on some tickets or parking, how are you able to make cost-conscious decisions with projects that are currently still in development?

It appears that Patriot Place was going to feature a Circuit City store, but that company is no longer in business. Patriot Place looks like it will be a retail mecca; has the recent financial crisis made you slow down any developments or even cancel plans for certain items?

To get to where the Patriots are today, the football operation side has performed tremendously, arguably the most successful football team in the salary cap era.

When and if the NFL salary cap is removed, how much of the revenue stream should be allocated to the football side, and how much should be focused on continuing to build up the local attractions and retain the value of the brand?

If there is no salary cap in the NFL in the future, how will you determine what your player spending v. marketing budget will be?

Can you give an example of a marketing idea that was unpopular at first but met great success?

Speaking of goodwill in its more popular definition, in terms of reaching out to fans and making some charitable steps to enrich the community, how hard is it to determine which cause to support and what your limitations are?

Do you encourage players to host charitable events and let them use the facilities or perhaps use merchandise to help them meet their personal goals?

Miami changed their stadium’s name to Land Shark Stadium, looking to bring in Jimmy Buffett fans “Parrotheads” and encapture the Miami laid back fun in the sun lifestyle. Is there a celebrity indigenous to New England who would have a marketing impact on Gillette with the same kind of deal?

New England Patriots 2009 Week-by-Week Predictions

Greg Sheehan — Wed, 13 May 2009 17:39:39 -0400

The 2009 New England Patriots will go 12 and 4. What bolder time to predict an team's entire schedule than the prior May. Lets take a look at how things are looking for the Red White and Blue and identify from where their challenges could come in 2009. Before we get to the meat and potatoes, lets take a quick overview of the 2009 composition. NOTE: This slideshow assumes that Tom Brady starts the season healthy.

Begin Slideshow

A Patriot for a Day

Greg Sheehan — Fri, 08 May 2009 15:21:38 -0400

Read more from Greg Sheehan at www.turningtwo.com

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A perfect time for a camera would have been in the Summer of 1990, when I looked above the red and white checkered counter top at a Pizza Hut in Lowell, Massachusetts and saw a drawing to be, “The Official Tee Boy of the New England Patriots.”

I’m sure my eyes popped out of my head. Could this have been the precise moment that I became a fan of the Patriots?

No, because their Playoff run and appearance in Super Bowl XX in early 1986 against Chicago was quite memorable. I wanted the Patriots to win desperately and I felt embarrassed that a team with a music video and household appliances filling in at running back could make us look so bad.

Where was our Super Bowl Shuffle? Why didn’t we have a Washer/Dryer combination stand up unit at defensive line/running back?

After 1986 we would still wear our “Squish the Fish” T-shirts and if you took good care of your “Berry the Bears” T-shirt you would later be rewarded with stares, hugs and enormous props (Raymond Berry was the Head Coach at the time). I “borrowed” one of these rare vintage t-shirts from one of my close friends and he took great exception, as you can imagine…I gave it back, that’s how close a friend he is.

If it wasn’t wearing T-shirts from 1986, there were still lingering effects and notable flashes to the team that kids could love, some more painful than others. My personally painful example came when I was playing football in my front yard on a chilly, fall New England evening, 2 on 2 of course, no pads…like 11 years old. When it came time for the extra point I tried to show off and I kicked the almost frozen ball barefooted like Tony Franklin.

Lets just say that was a mistake I never made again. For a while I was timid to kick a halfway inflated soccer ball barefooted, even on a mild summer afternoon.

By the time 1990 came around I was a seasoned fan—although Sundays were pretty tame for me in those days, and Patriots games weren’t always the feature of the networks like they are today. Author Ken Knight points out that “From 1988 through 1990, the New England Patriots were mired in a seventeen consecutive home game blackout streak.”

If you are going to like your local team even when you can only see half their games on television, you really have to want to like the team. I’m happy to say, looking back on that drawing in 1990, my actions proved that something really excited me about the New England Patriots. The team had just gone 5 and 11 and the upcoming season they would go 1 and 15.

I stayed at that Pizza Hut in Lowell for hours with my aunt filling out these forms; name, address, home number—they didn’t ask for email or cell back then—until my hand was sore and there was no pizza left.

A couple days later, I went back with my mother and we filled out more slips.

The entry deadline passed and what felt like an eternity was probably only a couple of months later when I found out that my name had been drawn. Week 8 against the Buffalo Bills was MINE.

As part of the prize, I could bring four more people, I would get a tour of the erstwhile Foxoboro Stadium, I would get a team autographed ball, some media and other press materials, five tickets to the game, passes to watch the game from the sidelines, a T-shirt that announced my role as the Pizza Hut Tee Boy, and of course, after the Patriots kicked off to Buffalo I would run out on the field and pick up the Tee.

We got to the Stadium pretty early in the day, there was no tailgating for us, it was all business. Standing tall, I led my guests into the Patriots offices after declaring our presence to security and before long we were on a tour of the brick and mortar team headquarters.

After making it down to the locker rooms we took the team’s well traveled route to the playing field, and my friends and I sprinted immediately.

I noticed things that day that I would never see on television, that the field was pitched down toward the sidelines to drain water from the playing field; the distance between the stands and the field was much further than it looked on from a higher point of view, the angle of the seats from field level, they seemed to be stacked straight upward on top of each other. As I strode toward the far end zone it felt like a professional NFL yard was so much longer than the yards at my school’s football field. After the type of run that epitomized the fantastic transient spirit of youth I will always look at the NFL’s gridiron with some familiarity and also a great deal of respect.

Before long I was directed to the sideline for the video promo; they recorded me in an empty stadium running out to a naked Tee at midfield, where I picked it up and ran back to the sideline and smiled into the biggest camera I’ve ever seen, it seemed to have more moving parts than the Batmobile.

Did I say empty stadium? Well not quite…there was a beefy human running laps around the field, a massive physical specimen with agility.

I didn’t want to bother him, but I had just collected the Tee for the video promotion and the cameraman was directing me to stand still on the sideline and smile. I was standing directly in the middle of the large NFL player’s circuit, only seconds away.

I was caught like a deer in headlights and to this day I don’t know if the camera got what would happen next. Adam Lingner, #63 was an offensive lineman for the Buffalo Bills and he absolutely manhandled me, picking me up like an empty potato sack and he hoisted me over his shoulder and continued to run for a few yards.

If you were to ask me, at what moment did the Buffalo Bills become my second favorite NFL team, that would be it.

I composed myself eventually, and for long enough to get the publicity shot that would be featured on the huge Diamond vision screen, and over the next few hours the stadium filled and I prepared myself for the coin toss.

As the teams came out and took the field the action was a blur from eye level. The speed was blinding and they were only practicing.

I watched Marc Wilson and Steve Grogan play catch on the sidelines and with no effort the huge football shot out from their perfected release points. It was a windy day and the perfect spirals moved from release to target with little turbulence.

Standing on the the sideline and looking at 53 professional football players is pretty intimidating for a 12 year old kid but there was so much to take in—the mosaic audience was a visual puzzle but to the ear, it blended together into a monster that could erupt at any moment. I learned about the interplay between the television and the game itself, that commercial timeouts had to be yielded their fair pragmatic sanctions. Behind the bustling line of players along the sidelines I noticed for the first time a dotted line that reminded me of Les Nessman’s office on WKRP in Cincinnati reruns.

Security and staff treated this line as sternly as Les Nessman treated his office, I was not allowed inside for any reason, even if I knocked.

I held my breath during the coin toss and the Patriots took the ball first, so my moment in the sun would have to wait until halftime. I led my faithful guests to our complimentary seats and we sat there for about five minutes before we realized that we had passes to stand on the sideline, we might as well get back down there and enjoy the once in a lifetime opportunity.

I was on the Bills sideline when something hit me on top of the head and felt like a football. I was jostled, my eyes shook a little bit in my skull.

It was a roll of toilet paper. This is where I learned not to taunt the masses, I turned around and faced that mosaic again and there was no way to identify the miscreant who just hit me on top of the head with a pin-point throw. I clenched my jaw and turned back around, it would be years before I could give that phantom some props for toilet paper accuracy.

Before long I was distracted by the awe of the moment, and a game in which Thurman Thomas dominated. He would go on to lead the league in yards from scrimmage and be the most reliable weapon heading in to the Super Bowl against the Giants.

I talked a lot of trash that year because in fact, in Week 8, when the Patriots hosted the Bills I stood about three feet from Thomas, just across a dotted line on the ground. I told him “Good game Thurman” and he gave me a thumbs up.

He must have known I was the Tee Boy. Pizza Hut. Official.

When the first half came to a close we went over to the Patriot's sideline and I defiantly crossed the dotted line into the empty players and coaches section and sat on the bench. Unlike my and many other schools, their bench had a long bag of hot air behind it, being filled by a wind powered heating unit, so that hot air would blow out underneath the bench and warm up your legs if you were sitting there.

And we were sitting there. And it was cold, and the hot air felt great, so my friends and I put our feet inside the heated air vent—it wasn’t dramatically hot because we weren’t close to the heat source, and it made halftime seem to fly by.

Halftime passed so quickly in fact, that we forgot that the players would come back out of the locker rooms with plenty of time to spare, so there I was with my feet in their heating unit, on their bench, and a herd of red and white came thundering in my direction. I remember struggling to get my feet out of the heating vent without falling down or getting caught, it wasn’t a very close call, but it sure felt like it.

Before long the Patriots were lining up for kick off and my big moment was here, I watched the ball soar away into the sky and get lost in the crowd, then a mess of jerseys meshed together and the action heeded to a series of whistles, and I was off. I don’t remember running out there or picking it up or running back, and it was over as quickly as it began.

My promotional video was shown on the Diamond vision screen, the crowd acknowledged the PR move by Pizza Hut and the Patriots and somewhere a clandestine group of toilet paper thieves and archers celebrated their own efforts.

I stayed on the sideline as long as I could, reading the names on the jerseys; Mosi Tatupu, Irving Fryar, Hart Lee Dykes, trying to watch the plays develop from field level, watching the team recycle itself and pause, then jolt into action again for a few moments, and as the lights came on and the sun went down I took with me an unforgettable template of NFL reference.

The long wait to leave the parking lot was not a chore but a journey into the next part of my life, not as a new Patriots fan, but one a bit more blessed than most.

That was the best 1 and 15 season I could have asked for, and its 2009 - that autographed team ball rests about a foot and a half away from my computer.

Don't Stop Believin': NCAA Gives Detroit a Free Throw

Greg Sheehan — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 16:30:16 -0400

Magic Johnson was available for interview on ESPN Sports Radio just minutes before Michigan State’s Final Four Appearance at Ford Field on Saturday night, and the local boy turned superstar told us what things looked like outside the walls of Detroit’s football stadium.

“Detroit needs something, Michigan needs something to feel good about.”

He was probably talking about his Michigan State team in part, but when you step back for a moment, economically speaking, Detroit does need something.

Every once in a while, sports, our favorite distraction can become more than just a show. I think of the Beijing Olympics most recently as one of those times. Providing an economic and political boost, last Summer’s games showed us that our greatest sporting events can transcend the bounds of competition.

After Hurricane Katrina, the NFL opened their Monday night rotation in the Louisiana Superdome, bringing some attention to an area that felt overlooked while standing through a crisis.

Nationwide, our economy has ripped jobs from people, but that was thought to be impossible in Detroit. Auto-manufacturing was our beating economic heart, and buying US cars was the American way. Generations of laborers found out early in their lives that they could follow in their father’s footsteps and work hard at a good job and retire with a family.

Their health insurance would be paid for, their pensions would be secure, they wouldn’t have to learn any other skills or trades, it was the American promise.

Slowly, good old-fashioned competition brought more options to consumers, cars that didn’t have health care and pension costs buried in to each unit. As US cars got larger, foreign cars stayed small and efficient; gas prices went up and consumers shied away from American made gas-guzzlers.

Enter the recent financial crisis and consumers have less money to spend, and their credit has been getting worse as they steal from Peter to pay Paul. Credit which has become so much more precious since lenders have their hands tied and can’t give out the loans they used to.

The city boys born and raised in South Detroit are searching for jobs where they don’t exist, finding that their trade is replaceable, and that their futures are trembling in uncertainty.

These phenomena are surely affecting people across the country, but Detroit is a city that stands out in my mind as one that was already in decline before our banks asked for a bailout. The financial crisis has only made things worse.

Magic Johnson couldn’t be more correct: “Detroit needs something, Michigan needs something to feel good about.”

The NCAA has given Detroit a boost by bringing the Final Four to Michigan; a financial shot in the arm, and something to feel good about. To be featuring Michigan State in the Championship game is even greater for the local Spartan fans. If only for a moment in the scheme of things, it invites us to sing at the top of our lungs our favorite song about the city boy from South Detroit...

“Don’t stop believin'.”

Is Stephen Strasburg an Imaginary Man?

Greg Sheehan — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 16:02:47 -0400

On April Fool’s Day of 1985, George Plimpton gave us the fictional tale of Mets super prospect Sidd Finch. The article was published in Sports Illustrated under the guise of reality and, as legend has it, many readers believed the story to be true.

Including myself.

When I go back and read the prose again, it's easy to believe every word because Plimpton’s pen is that well-crafted, although some of the facts seemed too gaudy to believe.

Finch could throw a baseball at 168 mph with pinpoint accuracy, and he said his name Sidd came from “Siddartha,” which means “Aim Attained,” or “The Perfect Pitch.”

In Plimpton’s next article the following week, Sidd Finch held a press conference to withdraw from baseball and retreat into a new life. As mysteriously as he appeared, he was gone.

For years, it was difficult to find anything comparable in sports, and I always found it intoxicating to be able to dive into something so incredulous—even if, after all, it would be a mirage.

Then, recently, I came across newspaper clippings at my local library, boasting incredible statistics about a player halfway across the world (San Diego) who featured a blazing fastball and had mastered the art of the strikeout.

I’ve been known to glance through the minors and the college system from time to time, hoping that maybe I could discover the next Sidd Finch. So when I came across this player, all I could do was protect my emotions by casting doubt on the reports.

It's easy to doubt these stats:

He struck out 23 players in one game. This year, he's struck out 88 batters in 42-and-one-third innings pitched.

This must be Sidd Finch. Is this April Fool’s Day?

In those 42-and-one-third innings, he walked eight batters and gave up only as many runs. With an 11:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio (and strikeout-to-earned run ratio), his WHIP is apparently 0.756.

For every metric I came across, Strasburg exceeded the normal human limitations.

His high school GPA? 4.37.

His sinker? 97 mph. His slider? 94 mph. His curveball? 86 mph. His fastball? 103 mph.

The record for strikeouts in nine innings in a major league game is 20, and Strasburg's average strikeout total per nine innings pitched is 18.7.

OK, so maybe that stat was taken from a college sample. What about the best baseball players in the world?

He was the only college player on the last U.S. Olympic team, and when he faced off against the Venezuelan national team, he struck out five of the first six batters he faced.

When he faced the Netherlands, he started out by taking a no-hitter into the seventh inning.

The problem here is that I’ve been burned before. I believed that Sidd Finch was real, and there are not many stats I can keep down without passing along my disbelief.

So, with a shielded heart, I’ll sit back and watch the story continue to unfold. I’ll watch and see Sidd Finch finally personified, and I’ll trust that there’s no April Fool’s Day prank to shut my hopes down.

And I’ll wake up tomorrow, and Stephen Strasburg will still be the most unbelievable pitcher in baseball.

The San Francisco Treat: Kurt Warner's Gold Rush

Greg Sheehan — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 18:31:08 -0500

The Associated Press reports that Kurt Warner is getting the private jet treatment by the San Francisco 49ers. San Francisco seems serious but Arizona’s interest is quite serious as well; the Cards have an offer on the table for two years at $20 million. Kurt’s interested in two years for $28 million.

For Arizona, life without Kurt Warner means life with Matt Leinart, which isn’t horrible. In San Francisco, life without Kurt Warner looks pretty awful even though Shawn Hill relished in new coach Mike Singletary’s system. You can expect that San Francisco to make every effort to rip Warner away from their division rivals and forseeably lock the NFC West before camp breaks.

Warner wants Matt Cassel money, $14 million per year, the amount that New England would have had to pay if they kept Cassel. This number is a reflection of the franchise tag tool, which guarantees that a player will make as much as the fifth-highest paid player at that position.

So at 38 years old, will Warner be the fifth-best quarterback in the NFL for two years?

Wasn’t he a backup a couple years ago?

For San Francisco, the investment seems to go beyond what Kurt Warner can do on the field. Critics of the 49ers offense seem to recognize that they have all the talent in the world, except at quarterback. They could spend a draft pick on a QB without instant expectations, and slide him in right under Warner’s tutelage. He would not only be a great mentor but he would also infuse the Bay area with some promise.

Raider fans might even watch.

So the private jet treatment gets afforded to Warner, he’s passed a physical and the negotiations have started.

For a guy who got a second chance at an NFL career, and at age 38, he’s got one final chance to get a solid contract, and you can believe that if he gets anywhere near two years for $28 million, he might consider flying Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald on their own private jets for quite some time.

Lito Shuffle: Lito Sheppard Traded to New York Jets

Greg Sheehan — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 19:58:39 -0500

Lito Sheppard signed with the Jets today, trading draft picks to the Eagles in a move that will certainly help their defense.

Sheppard is not a shutdown corner, but many teams would be happy to have him, especially the Jets—who ranked 29th in pass defense last season.

This move gives the Jets a second corner with pro-bowl experience, and while many fans are wondering how life will go on with out Brett Favre and Chad Pennington, the front office is looking at the big picture—having just signed Bart Scott to shore up their defense.

The Associated Press reported that Philly will take a fifth round pick from New York in exchange, and a conditional pick in next year’s draft.

Most fans remember that Asante Samuel was the primary corner in for the Eagles, but Sheldon Brown took starts away from Sheppard.

So the deal appears to work well for both teams, and probably could have happened sooner.

Read more from Greg Sheehan at www.turningtwo.com.

The Brass Bonanza: What the Lockout Did for the NHL

Greg Sheehan — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 04:09:59 -0500

Perhaps a moniker for the arrogance of the NHL in the days before the lockout, the “Brass Bonanza” was actually the fight song of the erstwhile Hartford Whalers.

For the diminutive selection of fans who remember New England's second hockey team, hearing the music brings back smiles, but eventually frustration.

The Hartford Whalers satisfied the needs of two very small cities between New York and Boston (the combined population of Hartford and Springfield was under 400,000 in 2008).

Local fans adored their team—but in terms of NHL finance, Hartford was one of many failing franchises.

Carolina's market potential was greater, and in the face of market inflation in other sports, a heart transplant was required, in this case from an unwilling donor.

Like an allegory from “Any Given Sunday,” the battle of hockey purism vs. capitalism took place on a rink with a dollar sign painted just beneath the center line.

In the years leading up to the lockout, the talent of the NHL had been watching contracts escalate in other sports, and the union fought for an increasingly larger cut of the cake.

This forced an impasse in the NHL labor equation; the collective bargaining agreement (C.B.A.) operated with no stipulated salary cap.

Premier talent commanded ridiculous salaries, perhaps acceptable in a more marketable sport, and with no ceiling. In fallout, the contracts of medium- and lower-level talents bore higher salaries, and with no regulations on team and individual player spending, the NHL spent more money than it generated.

In the last year before the lockout, the NHL lost $221 million and there was not enough income to support 20 out of 30 NHL teams.

The NHL was paying out a higher percentage of their annual income to their players than any other sport. The few teams that collected profit were able to put together more competitive teams, offsetting the parity of the league and furthering its financial disarray.

The owners who paid these salaries were damaging the league, and many considered their own pocketbooks before the best interest of the league, and the players who flaunt their talents are just as culpable. Cf: Boston’s Dave Ellett and Harry Sinden, circa 1997.

While player contracts followed the success of other major sports, the NHL’s marketability did not—making contract regulations an impending necessity.

Owners proffered limitations on what players could be paid based on revenue (a term called "cost certainty"), which in effect is a salary cap, and the player's union deflected this away from the bargaining table faster than a puck from Gerry Cheevers’ face.

The players’ stance was that salary caps and their progeny will never be accepted by the union; that the NHL was over reporting their deficit; and that the state of the NHL was a nation of profit.

The former collective bargaining agreement was a labor contract entered into by the NHL (owners) and the NHL Players’ Association (union), and carried with it an implied duty of good faith.

Thus, while the individual player sought more money, the players' union bargained in good faith that a salary cap was bad for the constituency. The NHL could not institute a salary cap upon an unwilling union without constituting unfair labor practice.

With the salary cap wedged in a scrum, an impasse seemed inevitable. The CBA expired on Sept. 15, 2004 and NHL commissioner Gary Bettman announced a lockout; knocking the union out cold, and at the same time ripping revenues away from owners and local businesses around the venues.

When sports labor disputes reach an impasse, each opponent is entitled to legal recourse: the owners may lockout the players, and the union may strike.

At this point in the pre-season, a union strike would have been a flimsy jab at the owners who have two available defensive responses to a strike.

They could have grappled with the international labor conflict which precludes using replacement players for Canadian franchises, or, avoid severe pecuniary loss by foregoing the myriad operational and labor contracts that bolster an NHL campaign.

A union strike is most effective during the season, compromising the potential profit and goodwill from the Stanley Cup Playoffs, when players have already earned a chunk of their annual income and abstinence cuts into the aforementioned operating and advertising contracts already extended to the NHL.

In the other corner, the lockout takes the effect of a first round TKO. Immediately after the CBA ended on Sept. 15, the NHL used their concerted action and every team locked their doors to NHL players until they could come to terms.

The NHL avoided entering into any operating contracts needed to undergo a season, and they avoided paying the labor contracts owed to the players.

The NHL prepared for an idle term rather than losing millions of dollars again, and the union opinion was very clear; never to accept a salary cap, even if it would take years.

Players who love the game could be playing in minor and amateur leagues for much less money, and the NHL’s only means of profit seemed to be down to their residual merchandising value.

Representatives of each side used their legal guns to fight for money and the dispute had hurt the fan the most, who was penalized like a third party jumping in to a Craig Mactavish beatdown.

Beyond the NHL’s popularity, ancillary participants were compromised: venues built with government money supported by publicly held bonds, concession and maintenance staff, team administrative personnel, local restaurants and vendors, airlines, parking garages, hotels, car rental agencies, luxury suite sales, broadcasting and sponsorship agreements, Las Vegas bookies…

Was it worth it?

The NHL is currently in the peak of their desired structure. Salary restrictions keep teams from loading up on talent year after year, and while there are some standout teams in the league, the fight for the playoffs have never been closer.

Games in November have much more meaning, and the competitive balance of the NHL is the model for any sporting conglomerate.

This means smaller cities like Hartford could have been spared, it means Buffalo will continue to keep its team and Toronto might even gain one, or possibly Hamilton, Ontario.

This means that teams like Columbus and Nashville can build from the ground up, and this year we're starting to see their scouting investments pay off in terms of on-ice talent.

Some may say that the NHL is doomed because of the lockout, but there really can't be a better system.

Did they lose some fans? Of course, but those fans are missing out because the sport is better now, and if this trend of parity continues, new fans will emerge and old ones will return.

Lets not confuse a poor world-wide economy with poor NHL performance, and lets not expect the NHL to bounce in to the forefront as our nation's top sport when it was never headed in that direction to begin with.

Hockey is back. It's not going backwards anymore. It's time for you to come back.

Read more from Greg Sheehan at www.turningtwo.com

Stamp the Calder Trophy Right Now, NHL's ROY is a Shutout

Greg Sheehan — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 16:35:49 -0500

Blake Wheeler shifts from a green rookie to a Black and Gold powerhouse, but the 2008-2009 NHL Rookie of the Year is already decided.

There are plenty of former contenders worth mention, so here are your top 10 NHL rookies at the Trade Deadline.

10. Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay, Center

Some may clamor for Stamkos to be higher just because he was the No. 1 overall pick and they could cite the attendant hype that goes with it. Others may simply take his overall numbers at a glance and leave him completely off this list.

He takes the No. 10 spot only by his recent performance, where over the past two months he’s been a much more serviceable NHL center than through his first 14 weeks. While Tampa Bay got off to a horrific start (remember how quickly they fired Barry Melrose?) don’t take their frustrations in management out on Stamkos. He can be a star someday and he’s showing signs of life.

Look at him as a long-term potential star and watch him makes strides over this last stretch.

9. Jonathan Quick, Los Angeles, Goalie

Quick could easily be rated higher, after all he didn’t really see any action until late December and since then he’s been named the every day backstop for the Kings.

You could try to spread out his stats over a full season and make the argument that if he held his role for a full year he’d have more wins, but his GAA average leaves room for improvement and simply put, there are better rookie Goalies than him out there.

Over the next few months he could certainly climb this list but for now, he’s No. 9.

8. Patrick Berglund, St. Louis, Center

Berglund has been one of the most consistent rookies on this list but this list-maker, as well as his coaching staff all feel like he can do more. He was recently demoted to the 4th line in St. Louis, and it seems to have inspired him to work harder.

He’s not going to blow you off the page with his stats, but he’s a great two-way player with a solid Plus/Minus of 14. He seems to be the type of guy who will rely on others to make him better at this early stage of his career.

7. Jakub Voracek, Columbus, Wing

Columbus has plenty to cheer about when it comes to young talent. Vorecek is one of those players who can play defense and contribute offensively, but to take that next superstar step he’s going to need to see, and take advantage of the special teams offense.

He looks to be just on the outside looking in with under 13 minutes of ice time per game but over the past couple of months has shown spurts of productivity. Compared to the rest of the pack he could move up or down a spot over the next couple of months, but don’t expect more than a solid, respectable rookie campaign.

6. Derick Brassard, Columbus, Center

Had Brassard not met a season-ending injury, there’s no doubt that he’s much higher on this list. In just under 15 minutes of ice time over 31 games he scored 25 points with a plus minus of 12. At this point in the season he has half as many games under his belt as most other healthy rookies and he’s still in the top 10 in rookie scoring.

As the next few weeks play out he may get kicked out of the top 10, I understand that, but even with only 31 games under his belt, he’s one of the top 10 best rookies this year as of this point.

5. Kris Versteeg, Chicago, Wing

When you think of Chicago you think of young talent; you even think of Calder Trophy worthy young talent as recently as last year. Toews and Kane have been the guys getting the mainstream attention but Versteeg is making a strong case to join their ranks.

Versteeg leads all rookies in scoring with 44 points in 56 games and a Plus Minus of 16. He leads all rookie forwards in time on ice and he’s been not just used, but relied upon in the power play and in the shorthanded formations.

If you are a Chicago fan you hope other teams continue to focus on your big names; you’d be content to let Versteeg do his damage as a quiet assassin.

4. Pekka Rinne, Nashville, Goalie

Rinne is your everyday starter in Nashville and for a team that has trouble scoring, they can do a great job playing Defense and it starts with Rinne. The Preds are in the top 10 in the NHL in Goals Against Average, Rinne challenges Mason in Win percentage, save percentage, goals against, and Shutouts. By the end of the season Rinne will compile a resume as solid as any goalie, rookie or otherwise.

Rinne got off to a slow start when he wasn’t the feature of the game plan in Nashville, but ever since he took over the everyday controls he’s been a quiet force and leader of a quiet defense.

He could easily move up this list over the next few weeks.

3. Bobby Ryan, Anaheim, Wing

Ryan was the number two rookie until Teemu Selanne came back to his line. For whatever reason, whether it was chemistry or less scoring chances, Ryan has fallen back to earth, but his season stats are still worthy of taking a long look.

In only 44 games played he’s second among all rookie with 39 points and has the best points per game average in the entire rookie class. His plus-minus is plus-9 and he’s shown that he can excite the crowd and put the biscuit in the basket as good as anybody, but his scoring has fallen off and he slipped out of the number two spot, even with eight power-play goals.

2. Blake Wheeler, Boston, Wing

Wheeler has been the durable stud that Boston knew he would be; the question was when. The answer is all year long. In 61 games he’s got a respectable 36 points and while making the stat sheet has been inconsistent for him, he leads the entire NHL in plus/minus and nearly doubles the next most proficient rookie in that area.

He’s been a major force on what I call the alchemy line in Boston, with David Krejci and Michael Ryder, because the chemistry between these individual players has yielded peak performance from the entire line. He’s not going to shoot the lights out but he’s earned responsibilities on special teams and has been the consummate Bruin forward in just his first year.

Aside from his plus/minus his great team play could go unnoticed and anybody from my top five could be runner up for the Rookie of the Year; some voters may weigh pure scoring higher than others. At the trade deadline Wheeler has this spot by an edge.

1. Steve Mason, Columbus, Goalie

Steve Mason will be a Rookie of the Year who is a true product of the Salary Cap. The Western Conference is so close that every game for Columbus is huge, and many have a playoff feel to them. Mason could have put up his numbers years ago in a different atmosphere and been a respectable goalie. The additional pressure that he faces night in and night out is what makes his stat line so incredible.

Steve Mason is going to be the cornerstone of Columbus and you’ll notice that three top rookies are on this Columbus team, and their fans couldn’t be happier about Hockey in Ohio than they are these days. As if Rick Nash wasn’t enough to get a crowd going.

Mason leads all everyday rookie goalies in wins and goals-against average, and his save percentage is .919. What’s more exciting is that he leads the NHL in shutouts, and is on pace to win 30 games in his rookie campaign.

Read more from Greg Sheehan at http://www.turningtwo.com/

Boston Bruins: Sit Back and Watch From The Top

Greg Sheehan — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 20:53:42 -0500

First of all, the Bruins will not make a trade for Vincent LeCavalier.

March 4 is just days away and your Bruins have to evaluate the trade tool: Is it a benefit for your club? Are other teams going to use it also? What is the club's trade philosophy?

Last Year's Trade Deadline: Bruins did nothing

To examine a team's trade philosophy its useful to turn back the clock and see how the current management uses the tool.

Last year they did very little—but why? Surely they had the pieces to move and they had the room to grow.

Last March, Boston had two key players with serious injuries; Manny Fernandez and Patrice Bergeron. These openings gave Tim Thomas the responsibility of being an everyday goalie with young players.

From a trade point of view, sometimes when your team is struggling, trading away your youth doesn't get you to a peak level. The exchange is your future and the reward still does not gain health for your injured stars.

The Bruins went on to face Montreal in the first round of the playoffs and pushed their rival to the seventh game of that series. In the meantime they were able to gel their young players and give them a very intense playoff experience.

By NOT trading at the deadline the Bruins management provided confidence and seasoning to a team that would eventually regain Patrice Bergeron and Manny Fernandez free of charge in the 2008-2009 season.

This year's team needs: Not much

Boston got off to a good start and has played even better since then. Recently the trade talks have heated up since Boston has lost more games than their fans (THIS YEAR) are used to, but overall, where are the Bruins soft?

Starting from the most important position:

Goalies

Tim Thomas: 26 wins, .932 save percentage 2.06 GAA - He leads the NHL in BOTH

Manny Fernandez: 14 wins, .921 save percentage 2.24 GAA - Manny's GAA in top 5 in the NHL

Considering Boston scores 3.31 goals per game, this isn't bad, but it also shows Boston's biggest surplus. Either one of these goalies could yield something nice in return and Boston has Tuuka Rask playing in Providence who got a spot start and pitched a shutout in New York.

Defensemen

Boston's blue line is clearly doing something right here—in conjunction with their goalies, Boston leads the league with a 54 +/- and six Bruins are on the top 13 in the NHL in plus minus.

Dennis Wideman and Zdeno Chara are on that list and the only team with two defensemen ranked that high. While you need more than two defensemen as a rule of thumb, Aaron Ward is 26th out of all players and Andrew Ference is one of the best penalty killing defensemen in the NHL.

Is there a surplus here? Possibly.

Matt Hunwick was able to step in nicely in scattered starts and playing time, but all in all without more NHL testing from Hunwick you wouldn't want to trade him, and you wouldn't want to trade a valuable defensemen thinking that you've got plenty to back it up. In fact, you can never have enough defensemen.

Is there a need here? Perhaps—if anything—a more offensive minded defenseman who really attacks the point like a Dan Boyle or a Mike Green would be an area to focus on.

Centers

Boston is finding success by throwing a dynamic set of forwards at other teams. David Krejci, Mark Savard and Phil Kessel are the highest scoring threesome in the NHL, and while its not a Sidney Crosby/Evgeni Malkin combination, the Bruins have three great playmakers and these are guys that also play defense.

Add in Patrice Bergeron and you've got 4 solid centers running the offense.

No surplus here, no needs.

Wings

Statistically, this is the only area on the Bruins that could be substantially improved, but they have been dominant this season without having one great line but four dynamic ones that can also hit and play defense.

You wouldn't trade just to move Blake Wheeler, Milan Lucic, or Michael Ryder, so I'd be surprised if the Bruins make a stretch.

So why trade?

Washington and New Jersey seem to be Boston's most immediate threats. New Jersey just got Martin Brodeur back and sent Scott Clemensson down to Lowell, who was playing great in net.

This is like picking up a free agent in the middle of the year and with his playoff experience could give New Jersey an edge in any playoff series.

Washington has that amazing feel to them because their top line is so incredible. However, if they get deeper they could make teams play a full 60 minutes of ardent defense, which would only help when Ovechkin decides he wants to take over the third period.

Pittsburgh just got Gonchar back and when they start clicking they will make the playoffs as one of the hotter teams in the NHL (behind New Jersey in terms of playing great hockey).

Montreal is one of the hottest teams in the NHL and they just addressed their biggest need by picking up Mathieu Schneider and will present themselves to the Eastern Conference playoffs as one of the fastest teams in the NHL.

Can the Bruins get better? Yes, and they should, but we wont see any blockbusters—they are too close to the salary cap and have too much youthful talent to go for a LeCavalier.

Next year's free agent market looks solid and the team is too dynamic to break up. We'll see some fresh legs from their farm system give the top lines some help and rest.

Goalies and defense are the most important positions in the NHL, then centers, and with the Bruin's youth they have a long term formula in place and its good enough to win right now.

Winning in the postseason requires that extra edge, and I think that Boston already has it.

Read more from Greg Sheehan at www.turningtwo.com

The Quest for G:lbert Arenas - A Fan's Journey

Greg Sheehan — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 17:34:45 -0500

The way the rain was pouring down on the windshield and windows I could barely hear or see anything beyond the glass. The interior light struggled to stay lit inside my 1991 Honda Accord so I went through my checklist one last time.

Wallet: Check.

Cell Phone: Check.

One admission ticket to tonight's Wizard's game: Check.

Spending money for Nachos and other candy, maybe some triple-dips: Check.

My car was struggling to provide heat and light for much longer so I figured there was no need for me to press my luck. I gave up the thought of listening to the end of that Eddie Money song that was just getting good, knowing that as a result it could be in my head all night, but off went the radio, the interior light, the engine, the headlights.

The rain felt even louder now without competing against the music and the light. I put on my Indiana Jones hat and opened the door into the pouring rain.

I was a few blocks away from the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. where on most winter nights I could catch up to a group of fans making haste through the dark weather, a walk on which most nights I would have been thinking about the sports radio in my head that I was just listening to, or most likely, I'd be spinning my reaction to Gilbert Arenas' latest blog entry.

But Winter 09 was a different animal in many ways in Washington. Excitement was high in the Capital but Wizards attendance was low. Interest was down, and Gilbert had stopped blogging.

What happened to Gilbert the rehabbing writer? The assassin?

Alone in the street I ran across to my usual convenience store, it was empty except for Gen's buddy that was just always in the store. I don't think Gen was his real name but he owned the place and we got along well so, whatever.

I made my way right over to the Nacho's and started squeezing out as much "free" melted cheez as I could. There was a time I could yell NACHOOOOOOOOOOOO and the place would go nuts. I stopped for a moment and silently acted-out a "Nacho" yell toward Gen but he didn't even care. Neither did his buddy.

"You go to Wizards game?" This was Gen asking the question as he started to ring up the Nachos.

"G-man—you think I'm out in this weather for my health? Hey when's Arenas coming back?"

"Arenas? No blog! He gone!" Gen hated Arenas lately. He could have passed for an Arizona fan.

"Gen, its ok - I'll find him!" He knew not to believe me, but I was on a quest to find him.

He gave me my change, I took it, I smiled at Gen's buddy and left the store.

I put my head down and raced through the rain, crossed a block dodging cement borne trees along the sidewalk and I could see the lights of the Verizon Center up ahead. At the corner of the next block I paused to give a shout to my friend who wasn't really a basketball fan but lived close to the Verizon Center.

Our timing was perfect as usual and he saw me fighting off the winter night's weather from his warm apartment and opened his window so we exchange our traditional password.

"Hibachi."

Once upon a time we screamed this word. Tonight it was as perfunctory as his closing the window to the rain and the Wizards.

I tossed all this around in my mind and before long the rain let off its assault on my head neck and shoulders and I made it through the open air where a crowd used to be and gathered myself inside the Verizon Center.

My Wizards season ticket used to have a lot more value; there was a time that this weather wouldn't bother me - to see a Wizards game I'd sleep in the snow.

To see a Bullets game? Forget about it, I'd spend a week out there.

To see the Wizards, NOW? Maybe I'm older but I felt really cold and wet.

Before long I was over myself and back on the Quest for G:ilbert Arenas. My Partner in Crime, who I called the dipstack from the front-back Nick knack paddy-whack O'Neal usually met me above Section 110 which is across the floor from the Wizard's bench. He saw me and our journey was unspoken; down 11 rows, take a left, fight over the four dudes between us and the aisle and enjoy the game.

Those guys weren't there, neither was the Wizard's February atmosphere (even though last February was HORRIBLE), and there was no sign of Arenas coming back to push the Wizards into the playoffs, even if we had to face Cleveland or Boston.

I wondered about next year for a moment; we've almost got the least wins in the NBA, we'll get a lottery pick next year. Maybe the Wizards are giving up an unintentional intentional pass - like when a pitcher throws junk just to walk a guy but doesn't get in to the formalities of an intentional walk.

I wonder if the Wizards are just giving the season away with the future in mind? I wonder if that's why Gilbert has been so quiet?? Is he in on it? I asked Nick and he didn't seem to want to admit it even if it was true.

"Hibachi's probably been feeling a little upset with the knee thing, let the guy chill."

"But he was supposed to be back in mid-January! I drafted him on my fantasy basketball team. I'm gonna ask him."

"Agent Zero! Don't-"

At this time I guess my emotions and adrenaline of the quest got the better of me and I ran down to the second row of Section 111 and started shouting at Arenas over the players who were warming up. He might have been looking at me, he might have been watching basketballs rally for the rim, but for a moment I was sure he saw me.

I made it back to me seat embarrassed and proud; "He saw me."

Nick was not impressed but a little bit interested; "What did you say to him? Did he say anything back?"

"Oh you'll find out. He'll be blogging again now."

My quest for G:lbert Arenas was complete, and I started singing "Take me Home Tonight" in my head.

Read more from Greg Sheehan at www.turningtwo.com

What To Do with Clay Buchholz and Phil Hughes

Greg Sheehan — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 19:27:30 -0500

Maybe you're in a fantasy baseball keeper league and you found these guys years ago. Maybe you're getting ready for your fantasy baseball draft this year.

Or just maybe, you are the Boston Red Sox or New York Yankees. I'll address all these positions by answering the same question:

What do we do with Clay Buchholz and Phil Hughes?

Let's look at their similarities:

Both were highly rated as prospects, and both got off to promising starts. Somehow, both are heading in to the 2009 season with their rotation spot very much in jeopardy.

Heading into 2008, Clay Buchholz was the top pitching prospect in the deep Red Sox organization.

At first, he drew comparisons to Joba Chamberlain based on their anticipated arrival dates, their K/IP ratios in the minors, and their body of work in 2007. Joba's ERA was 0.38 and Clay had a no-hitter.

Phil Hughes headed in to 2007 rated the No. 2 prospect in the Minor Leagues by Baseball Digest.

Like Buchholz, in only his second major league start he threw a no-hitter through 6 1/3 innings. Both players left the game with a no-hitter, but Phil Hughes pulled his hamstring and couldn't finish.

Clay went nine thanks in part to Dustin Pedroia, who made one of the best defensive plays at second base I've personally ever seen.

In 2008, Hughes struggled with a rib injury and Buchholz struggled with his fastball and his confidence.

By the end of the year, Clay was sent back to the minors, and Hughes was able to make two starts at the major league level, finishing with an eight-inning game against Toronto in late September.

Considering their inconsistent 2008 campaigns, why do they deserve a spot in the rotation?

I can't simply assume that every former prospect will automatically be handed a spot in a rotation. However, I have to assume that when a team is reluctant to trade them, they foresee some development and contributions.

Instead, both teams made additions to their pitching staff rather than counting on their developing systems to carry the workload.

What To Do with Phil Hughes

The Yankees starting rotation appears to be:

1. CC Sabathia

2. AJ Burnett

3. Chien-Ming Wang

4. Joba Chamberlain

5. Andy Pettite

I'm confident that this batch of arms will generate an opening.

Burnett has had some injury problems, CC put a lot of innings on his arm last year, Wang is on his way back from an injury, Pettite is a consistent pitcher but one year older, Joba Chamberlain will likely be on an innings-pitched limitation, and if anything happens to Mariano Rivera, you have to assume that Joba would go right in to the closer's role.

This is a great position for the Yankees to be in, considering that there are young pitchers coming up behind Hughes that can start or close games.

If you have Hughes on your fantasy team, you want Joba to set up Rivera, or even better, you want Hughes to get traded to an NL West team where he can collect some great stats in exchange for wins.

If you are the Yankees, why would you trade Hughes? Where are you soft?

Can you get trade value for him if he's not in the rotation?

Predictions

Fantasy keepers league GM's should hang on to him. If he's that good, he has to start somewhere, sometime soon.

Fantasy Draft Prep

He's going to be a top-75 starter because he has to pitch at some point. Perhaps it'll be in spot-starts, but when he does, he will eat innings. He's bulked up in the offseason, and with that lineup he's going to get some great run support.

If Joba moves to the bullpen, Hughes will be a sleeper to be your No. 2 starter, and you can get him for cheap.

New York Yankees

Trade him at the deadline in a package for another bat in the outfield. Matt Holliday should be available for a sign-and-trade, for example, with Oakland.

New York has Mark Teixeira, but I don't think that the offense is as deep as its pitching. Personally I'd move Joba to the bullpen and stretch him out another year, but I can see Hughes getting flipped for a bat.

What To Do with Clay Buchholz

During this offseason, we saw the Texas Rangers, namely Nolan Ryan, show a lot of interest in Buchholz. As I understand these communications, Texas was prepared to trade one of their top catching prospects.

While at the time Boston didn't have their every day catcher, they didn't feel like they'd need one.

Jason Varitek was a free agent who just hit .220, and to sign him with his free agent restrictions, the signing team would also have to give draft picks to the Red Sox. Forseeably, there wasn't a lot of interest in Varitek and Boston was able to re-sign the Captain.

So, you could argue that Boston evaluated Buchholz higher than either one of Texas' catching prospects, but on the other hand you could argue that Boston simply didn't feel that a catcher was the desired trade reciprocal for Buchholz.

There is no doubt that Boston certainly thinks highly and thoroughly of Buchholz's talent.

His no-hitter was an exciting victory for the scouting department and they have adjusted his release point to help him cement his transition into the big leagues.

Whether to decrease arm strain, increase deception and control, or speed, Buchholz was a work in progress over the 2008 season and never hit his stride.

Boston's rotation is deep.

1. John Lester

2. Josh Beckett

3. Daisuke Matsuzaka

4. Tim Wakefield

5. John Smoltz

Before Smoltz pitches in late May or June, the last spot will probably go to Brad Penny, with Michael Bowden and Justin Masterson available for spot starts, as well as Buchholz.

For Buchholz to earn a rotation spot, he basically has to pitch well enough to put Wakefield in the crowded, deep bullpen.

With so many one-inning pitchers in the bullpen, Masterson seems to be the de-facto long relief man, which would be Wakefield's most probable role if he's moved to the bullpen.

Predictions

Fantasy keeper-league GM's should realize that last year was his rookie year and should realize that pitching consistency is very tough to come by. Just look at Justin Verlander.

But they should also realize that Clay is turning 25 this year, and if you are waiting for a late-bloomer, you should set a cutoff date with Clay.

I wouldn't get too concerned about the crowded rotation here in early February, we'll see him at some point and if he wants a spot he has to earn it. Pitching well creates a trade value for Boston during the season that might not be there right now.

Set the egg-timer for the MLB trade deadline if you are considering his long-term potential unless you can stack up on a lot of keepers.

Fantasy Draft Prep

As of today, you don't even need to draft him, but that assumes that Penny breaks camp with the early four or five spot. You could take a flier on him in late rounds, considering that Lester threw a lot last year, Dice-K missed time, Beckett has battled injuries, and Wakefield has to be due for an arm problem.

Ok, maybe not, but Penny and Smoltz are returning from some serious reconstruction. The problem is that unlike Hughes, Buchholz doesn't appear to be able to flaunt his dominance.

We haven't seen his high-90s fastball. Hughes ended the year throwing eight innings against Toronto, while Buchholz ended the year in the minors looking for his fastball.

The upside to having him on your fantasy team is much more long-term than immediate. Watch him in the spring—he can only go up from here.

Boston Red Sox

Michael Holley of WEEI was asked about having a surplus of starters in the Boston rotation some time ago and said that "these things have a way of working themselves out."

What I took from that is that starting pitching is precious, having too much is not a dilemma, and you can't possibly project when and where the need for additional pitching will arise.

Boston is in a catch-22: If Buchholz matches his potential, he's priceless—he's untradable.

The way he's pitching now, he's not giving Boston the trade value that he could demand, so Boston is hesitant to sell him at a discount.

My prediction is that Buchholz enjoys another year going back and forth between the majors and the minors, and don't expect to see him get traded this year.

Read more from Greg Sheehan at www.turningtwo.com

Did Alex Rodriguez pave the way for Future Steroid Users? Absolutely.

Greg Sheehan — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 04:36:46 -0500

Don't fret Alex, you could be the Best Steroid User of All Time; although if you keep making steroids less taboo like this, you're going to ruin the fun for everybody.

If you're like me, you have a fantasy sports draft with your friends consisting of a steroid-only player pool—Barry Bonds...Lance Armstrong...Slammin' Sammy Sosa...Ben Johnson. Every year someone tries to include Jesse the Body Ventura or Debo from Friday just to get rumors and conversation started.

Until recently, A-Rod was on the human list and he was highly ranked. For instance, crowds of Barry Bonds' haters were warily jumping on to Alex's sturdy shoulders hoping that HE would break Barry's home run mark, only NOW, if he does, it won't be quite so nice.

Alex's life-long fans won't be able to use the steroid argument against Bonds when vying for A-Rod to be the top Sherpa on baseball's home run mountain.

So, enter A-Rod into the fantasy steroid user player pool. The general consensus, so far, is that the top two Steroid Users of all Time are Barry Bonds and Lance Armstrong. But what are the criteria that we use? How do we compare one versus the other?

Here are my suggestions:

1. You gotta love you some steroids and you have to be crazy good

Let's face it; playing baseball without taking steroids is like going through a conversation with a beautiful woman and not looking at her breasts. You tell yourself that you're doing the right thing, but that devil on your shoulder is telling you that doing the right thing is not worth it.

For Alex, he had already signed a 10-year, $250 million dollar contract before he got to Texas, where the Steroid shots "began." If his story is true, he could have done the right thing, enjoyed his contract, played baseball for a living, and yada, yada (yawn). How boring.

Instead, A-Rod decided to stare right at the proverbial breasts, challenging her to see how long he could look without getting caught.

To his credit, he didn't get caught immediately. Basically our woman of proverb said, "Did he just?" and her friend said, "He was totally staring at your breasts."

Alex had his way with the juicy topic and hit 156 home runs in three years—winning a MVP award for an awful team. That never happens.

Who knows how much the needle affected his playing years outside this window, but the man has a serious resume. If he played for a contender in that three-year span, he could have been MVP each year. In MVP voting, he came in sixth, second, and first in TEXAS.

Hence the Bonds' comparisons, there is a period toward the end of Barry's career in which he seemed to get bigger and more dominant and most people point out this to be Barry's dance with the juice, but you can only wonder how long he really was taking the stuff.

Both Barry and A-Rod love them some steroids, and both of them, at least during specific windows, were crazy good.

2. You should be a bit of a jerk—keep it fun for the fans

This is where Bonds and Lance Armstrong get their high marks. You've never seen an interview with Bonds that made you want to send him an e-vite to your summer cookout.

When he had his show on ESPN, "Bonds on Bonds," you would watch to see if he would kick any children in the face on his way to the ballpark—and then spit at them—and then spit at their mother.

In cycling, Greg LeMond threatened how Armstrong looked in a tight yellow shirt and Lance went off on LeMonde, according to ESPN's Outside The Lines. He seemed to always have the cancer argument to hide behind when people were too critical.

Whether he said it or not, there always seemed to be that "watch what you say about the cancer survivor" aspect to his persona and grandeur. As much as it made him more legendary, it saved him from more scrutiny—whether deservedly so or not.

He certainly didn't seem to complain much about having that PR shield when he did all but test positive for steroids on his way to winning the Tour De France year after year after year. So, whether you like him or hate him, you can see that he comes across as a bit of a jerk, making him perfect for our fantasy league.

So, where does A-Rod fit in? He's got the notoriety, but it's hard to say whether he's a jerk. You'll remember that he pulled the "castle" move with Madonna—made famous in chess and having affairs in British castles.

Perhaps, both are applicable here. Some would argue that this move broke up two marriages and brought a lot of unnecessary attention to his teammates.

What about the opt-out move during the '07 World Series? Some say he was trying to make a story when Boston was playing against Colorado, but most people didn't care and he fired Scott Boras. So, how much of a jerk can he be?

What about the reports of "A-Fraud" in Torre's book? What about slapping the ball out of Bronson Arroyo's glove during the playoffs or yelling when another player was about catch a fly ball? What about mouthing off to Arroyo and forgetting that Varitek was right behind him?

Does the guy have some character flaws? Sure—(I'm a Red Sox fan and I will be VERY VOCAL this season at Fenway when A-Rod come in to town) but is the guy a jerk? If so, does he compare with Bonds and Armstrong?

It's a tough one. He sure has notoriety, though, and that's worth something.

3. So what's the tiebreaker? It can NOT be candor; I know this much.

Lets step back for a moment.

The term steroids has been rolled out broader than the American flag at Fenway Park on Opening Day and has just as many holes in it. We can't say for sure which ones are dangerous anymore, so as a public health conscious, baseball society, the safety for children issue has been devalued.

What's worse, as more people do it, we are losing the power behind the words, "You cheat at baseball."

There are less and less stones to throw, and if a player tells the truth, we can't use the classics like the "Palmeiro" or the "Sosa" or even the "Mark McGwire" to cast hypocrisy on them. Hypocrisy, if you remember, was treated much more severely than the act itself, at least publicly if not legally also.

So what's the most we can pin on A-Rod? That he took steroids? That's about it. The dust will settle, he'll keep playing, debates will die down, and he could be the best baseball player of all time.

The only verdict will be delivered in what, FIFTEEN years when Alex is on his first Hall of Fame Ballot, when he's one of the wealthiest athletes in the world, and when the steroid era is accepted, and he can walk right in.

Players are learning that the penalty for lying is much worse than the penalty for telling the truth. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that he came completely clean by his own volition.

I'm sure there are plenty of details that he's hiding. BUT, you need a great lie or controversy to be at the top of our list, and Alex lessened the shock for the next guy by moving the taboo away from steroid use.

In the meantime, he's not facing allegations of tax fraud keeping him out of the game, and whatever is happening to Roger Clemens over there in That's Just Awful, Texas, is staying away from Alex...for now.

So, he can keep playing, he can work on his resume, and he'll turn this in to a positive for many because let's face it, the headhunting for steroid users in baseball has toned down a little bit. It's not as shocking, and it's not as culpable as it used to be.

Our fantasy league of steroid users needs really bad, embarrassing villains or the league just isn't as fun. So for this list, he ruined the fun for us a bit.

On the bright side, maybe staring at breasts during conversations will be more accepted someday, too, if you acknowledge that you are doing it...or maybe, women won't mind as much if you're making $25 million a year.

Read more from Greg Sheehan at www.turningtwo.com

Is Barry Bonds The Best Steroid User Of All Time?

Greg Sheehan — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 19:23:23 -0500

The other day I joined my friends to prepare our fantasy draft for the upcoming spring, however we always have a tough time agreeing on what metrics to use, and sometimes its tough to just pick a sport to focus on, so we use our imagination.

Which player has the best haircut?

Best looking wife?

This year we finally decided to draft the best alleged Steroid Users of All Time so that we could create and manage a fantasy group of former heroes to boast and laugh about. Almost as soon as we determined the scope of our challenge, I ran right to the drawing board to create my draft list. We had a random drawing and I know I'm picking fifth; here's how I rank my top five players based on things we know and also those colorful things we can assume as the drivers of public opinion.

No. 1 - I think it has to be Barry Lamar Bonds. ESPECIALLY with all this news coming in to light about the failed drug tests, Government witnesses and recorded conversations with Greg Anderson. This type of hype is just like CC Sabathia's performance for the Brewers last year; he's guaranteed to jump way up your Fantasy Baseball draft even though he was already a Cy Young type of guy.

Barry has been fighting a legal battle off the field and has ripped off a string of some of the best lies we've ever seen. An example to refresh your memory, Barry says he thought he was using flax seed oil, but Barry, didn't you notice that your head expanded 3 hat sizes in one season? At age 42?

You can't make this stuff up.

Aside from the blatant lying that nobody believes, he was an absolute stud while using said juice. He's the Career Home Run king, and he hit 73 Home Runs in one season. Lets be honest with each other as fans (even if Bonds wont), there are a TON of guys that have taken steroids and have been just OK.

If he simply pulled a "Pettitte" or a "Giambi" and owned up a little bit, he'd probably be the DH for the New York Yankees right now - instead, he stuck with the denial, which is why he's such a notorious steroid user and so high on the list. Pettitte, and Giambi, if you just stuck to lying, you could have been on this list too, but you told the truth. Tough luck.

Bonds is the mold of this fantasy group - great performance on the juice, great denial, and great attention leading up to draft day.

No. 2 - Lance Armstrong

Lance gets high marks for similar reasons to Bonds; he was completely dominant while on the juice, and he denies it vehemently. Passionately. The problem with Lance is that you have to separate his heroic efforts in beating testicular cancer from his cheating, and this line often gets lost on people. For me, to be honest with ranking the best steroid users of all time I've had to search for signs of cheating that have had nothing to do with cancer.

One clear example is when Outside the Lines reported that Lance Armstrong told Greg LeMonde, "If you ever tell anybody about this I will make your life a living hell."

He's considering a comeback now - which we can believe to mean that he didn't really retire, he simply took a timeout because the heat was coming. But now, not only has the heat died down a bit, but the "stuff" has probably improved and he can create a great story with a clean run at the Tour De France. He can't comeback and lose because then he'll be a fraud, he has to win; he's older too, so he's gotta have some great steroids in the cupboard.

This will be great to watch. But for now, you can't deny his roid credit when he threatened Greg LeMonde for challenging his appearance in a tight yellow shirt.

No. 3 - Mark McGwire

If John McGraw were alive today he would suggest that the Oakland A's in the 1990's looked like a bunch of white elephants...on steroids. The Bash Brothers were the studs of steroids, and they were on the prowl for drugs as if in a scene from CHiPs (guess which one was Ponch). Now the elephants on their sleeves look like the players themselves and when Mark went to the Cardinals, he was a spin off of the bash brothers and he finally had the stage to himself.

With Sammy Sosa pounding home runs and pounding supplement needles, Mark was determined to not look back and he gave Barry Bonds a goal to overcome. So the performance is there and the denial is incredibly memorable, in the form of taking the fifth amendment privilege which in legal terms might have prevented self-incrimination, but in the court of public opinion was a respect black hole.

Now, let's pause for a moment because Jose Canseco performed well on the juice and also brought his name to steroid prominence with his book. I should remind readers that an all-time steroid user never comes clean in this league.

Jose not only came clean, but he used a book to disclose the names of every man who injected his buttocks, very much like a Heidi Fleiss spin-off.

No. 4 - Ben Johnson

I could probably wait for the snake draft to come around again to draft Ben Johnson, but I secretly rank him this high...the dude beat Carl Lewis in the Olympics. That takes a lot of balls, no matter what they say steroids do to them.

So there's two things here, beating Carl Lewis, and making it as far as he did in a much stricter testing setting, the Olympics. The Olympics are like the ultimate challenge for underground doctors, cross refer to the German Women's Swimming teams of the past. Those scientists had some serious devotion. Ben got himself a temporary Gold Medal, instant notoriety at a quadrennial event without going to jail, well done.

No. 5 - Slammin' Sammy Sosa

Sammy would have gone much higher, but his form is just sloppy. First of all, the credentials are there, great performance, hysterical denial in a public forum; check and check.

What detracts from his ranking are a couple things that a great Steroid, no, an All-Time Steroid user shouldn't do. A), he pulled his back out from "sneezing" and missed some playing time. We all know that "sneezing" is the perfunctory causation excuse for all marginal physiological side effects of steroids. Everybody knows that already so its not a great denial. Just like Giambi with the stomach parasite line. Nobody buys it Jason, you're an admitted user so just get yourself off the list unless you want to bring a strong denial or maybe even threaten Greg LeMonde.

Worse, he double-cheated when he corked his bat. HOW THE PAUL BLART MALL COP do you cork a bat AND take steroids? That's just making a mockery of the Steroid world. If you aren't good enough with just steroids and lying about steroids/bilinguality, then corking a bat isn't going to put you over the top. Bat corking does not a top steroid user make.

Illegal foregin substances are to be used strictly in the body. You don't double-cheat.

You're up next, who will you draft?

Texas High School Coach Wins a Basketball Game 100-0: Coach Gets Fired?

Greg Sheehan — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 03:05:24 -0500

This editorial is NOT a recap of the lopsided basketball game, but a conduit for discussion on fairness.

Some might say that to flaunt your dominance over the lying body of a defeated opponent is an insult to that opponent and shows a lack of class, a lack of sportsmanship.

Some might say that playing with a half-empty tank against a struggling opponent is an an insult to that opponent and shows a lack of class, and a lack of sportsmanship.

For Coach Micah Grimes, he found himself in a no-win situation by coaching his former Covenant School girls basketball team to a 100-0 romping of Dallas Academy on Jan. 13 at Covenant.

I have no primary sources to present here except to say that the debate is palpable, and both sides have compelling arguments. I'd like to present this article as as discussion to get people talking about this, and here are a couple points that I have come across while tracking this story.

Again, I'm not going to address specifics of this game, but consider these pro's and con's.

In favor of the high score:

1. A win is a win, no matter what, and the true spirit of sportsmanship and honor for the game is to play at the highest level possible from start to finish. Look, it's not fair that Tony Parker gets to win Championships, play NBA basketball every day, AND be married to Eva Longoria, but you have to respect the guy for his accomplishments.

2. There is no reason to cast malfeasance on a team that was able to play basketball with superior efficiency. Let's not assume that the losing team gave it their all from start to finish, why should they be rewarded with our empathy?

3. We are taught all along that its not whether you win or lose, and that the scoreboard doesn't matter. Why do we decide to teach youngsters these tenets of sportsmanship only to retract them when the unexpected occurs? Doing so only reinforces the suppressed suspicion that winning and scores really are quite important.

In opposition to the high score:

1. There's a point where you are clearly embarrassing your opponent, you know that you have outclassed your opponent, and if you exact the purpose of dressing your efforts with round, gaudy numbers, then at that point you are the ones outclassed.

2. If a man challenges you to a fight, and then he puts on a blindfold, ties his legs together, his wrists behind his back and then faces the wrong direction, do you simply push him over or do you take out a bazooka and fire 15 rounds at him?

If the Lakers were playing this team they would have acted like they'd KNOWN they were superior and they would have taken Kobe out of the game.

3. Sports and life require moments of charity as well as competitiveness. This is the nature of sports; this is why we use them in schools to present exercise, and this is why sports promote spiritual and emotional balance. More than anything, it really is about how you play the game, and we should always focus on why we play in the first place.

Read more from Greg Sheehan at www.turningtwo.com

Someday, Andy Pettitte Will Get More Hall of Fame Votes Than Mark McGwire...

Greg Sheehan — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 00:31:18 -0500

Here's to that "Cheated his ass off but CONTRITE future Hall of Famer" near you.

Let's just SAY...For a second, that Andy Pettitte/Jason Giambi gets in to the Hall of Fame, and Barry Bonds does not. I give you, a simple compare and contrast;

1. We KNOW both took steroids.

2. One admitted it.

2a. The other was the best hitter we've ever seen.

Hey, I know, let's let the inferior player into the Hall of Fame because he batted 1.000 in Honesty!!!

Baseball fans...It's time for an intervention if you think for a second that guys like Pettitte and Jason Giambi will deserve to get in to the Hall but these guys won't: McGwire, Clemens, Bonds, Palmeiro.

Before I leave that statement to firm itself in cement, I have to recognize some important factors here.

Palmeiro got busted lying, he peaced out from baseball, Viagra dropped him, his moustache probably even dumped him as well. Clemens is in a "he-said, she-said" battle with some other underlying legal issues chasing him around since he didn't man up and show contrition like Giambi and Pettitte (both are still playing and Roger can't even throw batting practice).

Bonds, sure he was a jerk, he thought he was above the media since he was Pirate and apparently thought he was above the IRS and Fed court system for years as well. In the court of public opinion, he refuses to speak about his use, and guess what, he's blackballed.

MLB can use the Federal suit against Bonds as their reason for not allowing him back, and try to shut him and his big old record out...Quick—What's the Career Home Record? Don't look it up - what is it?

I know you know the number if you're a Bonds guy, but 755 is still trying to get its own 755 History Month and that other number can't be covered up quick enough.

Mark McGwire, no serious legal trouble; but he didn't man up and now he's effectively blackballed; 23.5 percent of the HOF votes in '07 and he's gone down since, probably because of the Mitchell report and Barry Bonds being an awful lightning rod for Steroid rights when it comes to contrition-expecting writers...

How come Pettitte and Giambi are still playing though, when they did the same thing that haunts these guys? I can understand that Clemens and Bonds have some additional "stuff" going on, but Palmeiro got busted and hit Taco Bell immediately. What if he had just told the truth? And McGwire?

Between Pettitte and Giambi, either of these two guys could get more Hall of Fame votes than Clemens, Bonds, McGwire, Palmeiro. This is not my piece about whether or not steroids is right, but we're looking at a place where baseball WRITER's vote.

Fame is very much about storytelling and the length and hue of the cape that flows behind the player, which sadly includes whether or not they were contrite, and not, as we'd like to believe, an individual audit of skill.

NOTE

Pete Rose will need a lot more than contrition, so many years forward, to be considered to the Hall of Fame, but we must celebrate his statistics ON the field, because they were not fabricated by drugs.

Read more from Greg Sheehan at www.turningtwo.com

College Football Playoff? Yes, We Can! What You Can Do To Help the Cause

Greg Sheehan — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 03:43:48 -0500

Simply put, money talks.

Like an election where everybody gets to vote for their representatives, when it comes to sporting events and decision makers who rely on sponsorship money, we can choose whether or not to buy their product.

When it comes to college football, you DO live in a democracy, and you vote with your wallet.

To take it one step further, we can BOYCOTT those sponsors who are preventing us from watching college football naturally matriculate itself until a winner is determined, on the field of play and not in hypothetical formulae.

The following is a short list of the top sponsors of Bowl games who could arguably make even more money hosting a good playoff game, but the heavy hand of the marketplace needs to force them in that direction.

Let's consider that FedEx, Tostitos, Citi, and Allstate are the major sponsors of the largest Bowl games, and that the winners get paid $17 million, some of which comes from these key sponsors, and none of this money goes to the players themselves. Get it?

To show my resolve toward a college football playoff, I will no longer use any of these products, but instead I will support either their direct competitors or alternative products.

So, the top of the Boycott list, once again, is FedEx, Tostitos, Citi and Allstate. I like the sound of the UPS Opening Round or the Geico Semifinals, don't you?

I just saved a bunch of money by switching to Geico, AND I'm stating that the College Football system is NOT in good hands with Allstate.

But what about all the other games?

Let's take a look—AT&T is a sponsor—no problem, I'm staying devoted to my T-Mobile contract because AT&T doesn't support the college football proletariat.

Konica Minolta; thanks but no thanks, I'm a Kodak guy. Brut? I know what that smells like. It smells like BS, and you can't spell BCS without BS.

New Mexico department of Tourism...well, I can't hate on New Mexico. So I'll use AAA to find my way around, thanks. Capital One, I know what's in my wallet, and it's a positive step away from you and toward a playoff system in NCAA football.

You get the idea, and that's the first step. I'm not suggesting that you avoid watching the games, no—watch them closely, with a notepad, and write down the name of every sponsor that you see, because they are stepping on your dreams of having a Championship Tournament!

I will be right there with you, ready to Boycott, even if it means that I have to abandon Lucky Charms or Big Red.

Read more from Greg Sheehan at www.turningtwo.com

The Boston Bruins Don't Care If You Watch...But You Really Should

Greg Sheehan — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 01:31:30 -0500

Where we come from, we love hockey, and for the die hard-in this area, our love for hockey ranks probably a seven to maybe an eight on the Toronto/Buffalo scale. Lets face it—when you live in the Boston area these days there are plenty of distractions in the local sporting world.

Nonetheless, many of us know the feeling of waking up before sunrise to go to hockey practice, we remember what mom and dad really looked like before they had their coffee, and we remember what it was like to look in the local paper at the NHL standings.

We knew where to find hockey cards, we knew which of our friends had a relative that played with Craig Janney or the Thayer Academy boys, and we knew what our own prized possessions were.

For me it was a game used Reggie Lemelin stick and an autographed Bobby Orr book, "Orr on Ice," which my mother got before I was born, when she had Bruins season tickets. My close friend boasted several, SEVERAL autographed pictures of Ray Borque that would make my heart race in envy.

We remember what it was like to need hockey to keep our blood pumping when the days grew incredibly shorter and colder. We all knew how to get to Hockeytown on the bustling Route 1 in Saugus and in our elder days can now relate to the hockey moms and dads who would say, "I was just out this way last night."

We skated our tails off, met girls, some of us got in to great schools and great colleges, and most of us would watch the best hockey players we've ever seen play in professional leagues yet never make a big splash in the NHL...but it brought the standings even closer to your blood when you could affiliate a team with a childhood friend who had natural talent.

Then the lockout came and went and crushed our youthful memories. Sure we'd get out and skate if given the chance, but the scoreboard watching fell away as the standings never changed for an entire season.

Since then NHL fans have endured a strict, slow rehabilitation, starting first in those cities that have always had hockey and need it to get by, most of which lie near our beautiful International Boundary to the North.

In Boston there's been a delay; there has been a cough in the muffler and the starter hasn't been what it used to be. Even when considering their latest success its been a tough haul to get people on board, even those pals who used to car pool with you to Pee Wees.

But, as always, the spoked B will carry on and will always be willing to let you come aboard and seems lately to be very worth your respect.

They boast one of the best hitters in the league in Milan Lucic, as well as a legitimate top five contender for NHL Rookie of the year in Blake Wheeler. Chiarelli has brought a familiar forward to the team in Michael Ryder, and everybody knows about the star who got hurt in the early weeks of last season, Patrice Bergeron.

There is no doubt that scoring will increase this year, and some of our stars from last year are showing no problems getting on the stat sheet.

We've got two guys fighting for every save in the net, and truly have developed a great lineup on our special teams, although the loss of Ference on the short handed side of the puck could possibly lead to a move for another defenseman.

I'll leave that review as cursory to let you do your own research as you get back in to the Bruins, I suggest looking at the scoring differential this year as compared to last year to begin, then take a look at who the top Goalie is in the NHL—no, start with this little nugget.

I can boast on this November morning that the Bruins have more points per game played than anybody else in the entire league; but it IS all about how you finish in this sport.

So let's watch it together.

Give thanks for the food on your table next week and give thanks to your family, give your cousins their due hugs and kisses, and take an extra second in the sports section to see how the B's are doing.

Read more from Greg Sheehan at www.turningtwo.com