Bleacher Report - Articles by Tim Stein

Round One Begins: Calgary vs Chicago—Check Out Fire on Ice Live Tonight

Tim Stein — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 02:14:27 -0400

If you read my last column, you read that I did (indirectly) predict that the Calgary Flames would finish fifth in the West Conference. At the very least I did prognosticate that it was very likely. Also at the time, the Flames, going through a rash of injuries, hadn't reached the apex of shelving players.

The end to the season basically began unbeknown to anyone right around the time Rene Bourque was placed on the injury list with a "lower-body injury" (high ankle sprain).

Then the team lost Todd Bertuzzi in favor of knee surgery. Like the line in the movie: "The hits just kept on coming", more and more players fell to the injury bug.

The Calgary Flames pretty much limped to the finish line, gutting out the last few games of the regular season with only 15 skaters.

The game they played against the Canucks was lost, not from the team's lack of depth, but by Vancouver's Roberto Luongo playing like a man possessed, stopping an incredible 21 shots by the Flames in the first period alone.

I would be very surprised indeed to see "Bobby Lou" (as we call him in these parts) able to repeat that performance in these 2009 playoffs.

Come Thursday, it will be a completely different story. You can bet that the Calgary Flames will draw from the final game of the season when they broke out for four unanswered goals after giving up the game's first tally.

They got their back-up goalie's first win of the season. Of course if you saw the game you would be tempted to say that Curtis McElhenny stole the win with a series of highlight-reel saves.

The team will also have a full complement, able to ignore a salary cap that was just as crippling as all the injuries they suffered to key players, since the salary cap becomes a non-issue come playoff time.

Technically speaking, the post-season is exclusively for the owners, and the players are playing for free, for the Cup and for a million-dollar pay-off for winning it all, to be split amongst the players.

The day after the season ended, GM Darryl Sutter called up a slew of talent from the farm team, the Quad-City Flames. This included banished defenceman Anders Ericsson, who had to clear re-entry waivers before joining the parent club.

Other call-ups include Kyle Greentree, Dustin Boyd, and goalie Leland Irving who is currently thought to be the heir apparent to Miikka Kiprusoff.

Because of the Flames' (expected and dreaded) implosion down the stretch, everyone it seems is writing them off. Considering that the Chicago Black Hawks swept the season series, this might just be the prediction to go with.

However, the last time the Hawks faced a fully healthy Flames team, they barely squeaked out an overtime victory.

The return of Rene Bourque gives Calgary that edge they enjoyed for most of the season on the penalty kill. Bourque has the speed and is a legitimate threat to score short-handed. Remember, he was in the middle of a career year with 21 goals when he went down with his ankle sprain.

Dion Phaneuf will be available for the opening round, and he is always a threat to score from the point. As well, the team is expected to re-activate stalwart stay-at-home defence-man Rhett Warrener if needed.

And with Robyn Regher expected to be unavailable in the first round, we just might see Rhett given the nod to fill the big void left by possibly the game's most effective shut-down force on the blue line today.

So the team now has to take on the one team that I said scared me the most. The Hawks are still scary, but they too stumbled down the stretch.

Despite everyone playing up the fact that the gang will play excited hockey in their first playoff round, people are forgetting that there are a whole lot of very talented players on the Flames who have also yet to play their first post-season tilt.

Players such as Ollie Jokkinen and goals-leader Mike Cammalleriare champing at the bit to play, and you can bet they'll be itching to make some kind of impactful statement.

The best prediction I have seen so far is the Hawks winning in six. Calary's most immediate goal is to gain the split in Chicago. If they can manage a series' tie in the first two, then the much vaunted home ice advantage reverts to the Flames.

I see this particular series going the distance and you read it here first: Do not be surprised to see Calgary advance to round two, despite all the circumstances favoring Chicago.

Want to talk some playoff hockey? Join me for Fire On Ice tonight (Wednesday) at 10:00 pm, EST, located at http://www.wildtalkradio.com. We'll take your calls and take a look at all the first-round match-ups, including the games that will have just ended as we go live to air!

Down to the Wire (Again): Never a Dull Moment in the West

Tim Stein — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 03:52:26 -0400

Every hockey season, it's the exact same story for me. Come training camp, I am glued to my local sports-radio station daily, soaking in all they have to offer on the upcoming NHL season, The Northwest Division, and the Calgary Flames.

I am ravenous, listening intently to all the speculation on who has a shot to make the team, who has a chance to sign with the organization, who might make a good mid-season call up due to injury, etc.

I listen to all the exhibition games I can, and catch all the ones shown on the tube. Like all fans of "my team," I follow every deal, every line combination, every on- and off-ice happening.

Unlike some, I follow so intently as a result of my personal analytics of what I can expect for the upcoming season. One think I do not do is get too high with a win or too low from a loss.

In fact, I refrain from going to the extreme one way or the other in my thoughts of my team's chances through the first quarter of the season. The reason for this is quite simple: Its a long season, and October's play simply can never dictate January's play.

Take a look at the "class" of the league, the Detroit Red Wings. For the first half of the season, they looked every bit the Stanley Cup champs they are, neck and neck withe the Conference- and league-leading San Jose Sharks, even temporarily taking over that coveted top spot.

Recently however, cracks that have appeared in that armor over the season to this point have widened into definite fissures. The Wings' biggest flaw has been exposed. their goaltending is extremely suspect.

Not to take anything away from the accomplishments of Chris Osgood or to make light of Ty Conklin, but neither one can at this point be considered "clutch." Osgood's best days are behind him, while Conklin has not got enough experience to be able to shoulder the kind of workload Detroit will be expected to face come the post season.

Detroit's saving grace this season, just like seasons' past, is the explosiveness of its offence. This however has lately showed the signs of fatigue an extended previous season and short summer can have on a team in this era's NHL.

This is a team quickly tiring out. Wings fans should worry: This team is on track to have a scary first round against an opponent you can guarantee will be extremely hungry and opportunistic.

Additionally, it is still mathematically possible (however unlikely) that they can be ousted as second seed in the conference by the Calgary Flames, a team that was not too long ago only three points back of the Wings.

This is despite the fact that Calgary has to keep a constant eye on the rear-view mirror watching the Vancouver Canucks.

This is the time of the season to really pay attention the sport. Instead of watching your team blow a three-goal lead to win by the skin of their teeth, you wind up accepting that a win is a win, and that the boys found a way to hang on for that ever-so-important victory.

The way teams played at the beginning of the season is generally not indicative of how they wind up playing when it really starts to matter. This is the time it really starts to matter.

The most thrilling division right now to watch is the NHL's Northwest Division, currently led by the Calgary Flames. Certainly it's not the strongest division this year as in previous seasons, but nevertheless, it is still the tightest, toughest division in the league.

Currently only two teams in the Western Conference are absolutely, definitely guaranteed home ice when the first round starts, and those two are San Jose and Detroit.

It is very likely that Calgary will be the third team, but that is not a lock at all. The chances they could fall as far as fifth are very real, and the Flames will have to play their best hockey of the year in the remaining 10 games of their season to ensure third seed.

For them, the post-season warm-up began in earnest against the Red Wings on the 23rd , a game for which they were full marks for the win over Detroit.

One very possible scenario would see the Vancouver Canucks take over third spot, dropping the Flames to fourth, and still enjoying home-ice advantage. However, their likely opponent, should this happen, would be the only team in the West that scares me as a Flames fan: The Chicago Blackhawks.

It is most likely that things will remain status quo enough that Vancouver and Chicago will face each other in the first round, which should please most fans of all the other teams in the West.

The energy and enthusiasm of the Hawks will be enough to seriously push the Canucks to the brink at the very least, leaving whichever team winds up victorious an exhausted and spent bunch. The only real question mark here is who gets home ice advantage.

After the top five teams, the rest of the pack is the biggest question mark. Spots six through 11 are separated by a grand total of only seven points, with 12th place Dallas only three points out of eighth, and the LA Kings eight points out of eighth spot, the race to the finish should definitely be an entertaining one, barring a total collapse by any of the teams in spots 6 through 13.

As a Flames' fan, I am interested in the potential first-round match-up between Calgary and the Ken Hitchcock-coached Columbus Blue Jackets, though out of all the possible opponents at the onset of the second season, this is the team that worries me the most.

The only team I would really be afraid to see the Flames face happen to be the Hawks out of Chicago, which at this point is only likely if both clubs can make it to the Western Final. I have my doubts about the Hawks getting that far. But what about Calgary?

The Flames have been a hurting club since the last half of February, with several very key ingredients on the shelf due to injury. These injuries have sparked the call-ups of several of the kids available on the farm, the most impressive of which has been Jamie Lundmark.

He is certainly making the most of his time with the big club, being dubbed as the Wings' Killer by the hometown crowd for his performance in two games vs. the Wings.

That being said, it can almost be excused that the team has had such a so-so March, with the injuries being the final catalyst for GM Darryl Sutter to pull the trigger on trade deadline day to land Olli Jokkinen, widely regarded as THE trade of the season.

Now, imagine this club at the onset of the postseason: All members expected to be ready and available when called upon. The Calgary Flames will boast one of the most dangerous combinations of lines in the entire league, with four lines you would not want to face in a brightly lit street, never mind a dark alley.

This alone has to be enough to deservedly place Calgary among the biggest threats for the Cup. Throw into the mix this season's winningest goalie in Mikka Kiprusoff, and you can practically kiss the disappointments of previous years good-bye.

Absolutely, this is definitely the best time of the year to be a true hockey fan! The West promises to offer a very exciting finish. I can't wait!

Saving The Game: Fixing the NHL's Woes

Tim Stein — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 19:25:08 -0500

It was recently put to me that the NHL's poor-to-begin-with popularity is currently on the decline in the States (again). This article will address my ideas on "repairing" the game.

First and foremost, the NHL absolutely needs to standardize what it dishes out for discipline. After an elbow to the head, for example, the offending players who have been called on the carpet at the NHL HQ have been handed several different punishments, from fines to multigame suspensions. This has to change.

Ideally, certain types of offences would be met with standard, strict and uniform punishments. If a certain infraction merited a five-game suspension for one player, then all players who commit the same offense are given the exact same punishment.

In keeping with this, all punishments should be graduated or "stepped" for those who are repeatedly found guilty of doing the same thing over and over again.

For instance Chris Pronger, while being one of the NHL's top 10 defensemen, is notorious for dishing out the high elbow. So, suspend him for two games the first time he is given a match penalty, then five games the second time, then 10 games, and so on until you hit the magical 25 games suspended. From there, introduce fines of increasing intensity.

The second thing the league needs to do is stop ignoring Canada! In their quest for the "holy grail" (a better market share in this case, not the Stanley Cup), the ones in charge, led by Gary Bettman, seem to think that putting a team in a city that has to offer $10 tickets and free beer to attract the casual fan makes sense. All this while deserving cities like Hamilton are left salivating and other burgs such as Winnipeg and Quebec City are now knowing the feeling of losing something they didn't realize how much they loved.

You can increase competitiveness by inserting the Lightning into Hamilton, and returning the Coyotes to Winnipeg. Buffalo would definitely benefit from this, and so would Detroit, Philadelphia, and Minnesota simply from added competition.

Next, some on-ice rules need to be changed or eliminated altogether. This instigator rule for fighting is one of the worst rules that has ever been implemented. The players must be allowed to police themselves and each other as they used to in the past.

Stick work by players has actually increased since this silly rule came about. I do not want to sound like Canada's Donald S. Cherry here, but the reduction of the hacks and the slashes and hooks and all that would be realized if Goony Goonison was allowed to go after the other team's tough guy, Thuggy McTuggison, after Thuggy slashed Goony's all-star centre, with the proviso that both would serve equal time in the sin-bin afterwards.

Of course, this scenario is one that could be expected only if the refs missed the slashing call in the first place.

At least one other rule change implemented a couple seasons ago I dearly would love to see rescinded is the stupid trapezoid "no-goalie-area."

The idea for this in the first place was to work on increasing scoring, yet I have seen a lot of potential scoring opportunities never materialize because the goalie is no longer allowed to find himself out of position. I have witnessed so many games where goals have been scored on a turnover because the goalie was in the corner, misplaying the puck.

Probably the most important tweak I could possibly think of would be exposure. Instead of chasing the almighty buck and putting games on a network that at least half of the American population doesn't even have access to, take a short-term hit to get games on national TV, such as NBC, CBS, major sports networks such as ESPN—no 1, 2, or 3, but the "Big Dawg."

Work with media outlets to stop burying hockey in the sports sections. The best way to sell something is to advertise. The best advertising is putting your product in peoples' faces as much as you can. The more the games are on Saturday afternoon sports, the more people will finally relent and watch. It's the simple law of inertia, and one of the first things they teach in advertising class.

I'll leave you all with food for thought. Go to Anytown Canada any time of the year and you will find kids playing street hockey. Once the game is played, even on a residential roadway, one becomes hooked by it. Make the game more accessible to the kids, sell to the kids, and the parents—the ones you can sell that Ford truck to in your ads—will follow.

If what I have said here rings a bell with you, join us all for my show Fire On Ice at http://www.wildtalkradio.com, where we will talk about all this and a lot more, this Wednesday night @ 10 p.m. EST!

Did Jericho Scare Ya, Mick?

Tim Stein — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 05:41:30 -0500

So, wrestling fans, how many of you have seen the Mickey Rourke movie "The Wrestler"? I admit that my current plans do not include a sojourn to my local cinema to partake this celluloid presentation. I just don't really feel like shelling out my cash for this apparently critically-acclaimed look at the seedier side of the Indy wrestling scene. I've had enough of that in real life.

I'm sure Mr. Rourke gave an absolutely stellar performance, but if I want to investigate the personal side of a pro wrestler in the down-side of his career or his life, I'll pick up one of the many and various biographies out on the market.

I have Penny Banner's "Banner Days", and I do want to read Bret Hart's bio, even though I probably know enough of my fellow Calgarian to pen an unauthorized verion on my own.

Don't get me wrong: I do intend to see the movie—the very hour it comes out on DVD. I expect, based on everything I have heard, that the movie and the acting will wind up entertaining me. I do expect to see Mickey Rourke on my screen long before the DVD is released though.

At the SAG (Screen Actors' Guild) Awards just over a week ago, while being interviewed on the red carpet, Rourke stated that he was going to WrestleMania and that Jericho had better watch out. This of course set up the next night's Raw, with Y2J in the ring cutting his promo on Rourke, which of course meant we could expect a match between these two at WWE's Superbowl of pay per views.

Just a few days later however, this plan apparently kiboshed by Rourke himself. He even appeared on Larry King Live along with Jericho, via satellite, to put the breaks on this idea. Something however during the interview hit me: Chris Jericho was on the program not as Chris "Jericho" Irvine as he has been in the past, but as "Chris Jericho", the WWE performer and bad guy wrestler. Showing up on Larry King in character has caused me to smell a rat.

It has been fairly widely accepted by the mainstream that Mickey Rourke took three giant steps forward in both his personal and his professional life with the movie. He has been told since his SAG interview not only by his agent but by a myriad of others in "Hollyweird" that if he were to show up at WrestleMania, get into the ring and wrestle an actual wrestler, he would wind up taking two steps back.

Additionally, since his performance has generated such a serious buzz within the Academy of Motion Pictures, he is now genuinely considered a legitimate contender for an Oscar for Best Actor. As a result, his handler and the studio wants nothing to get in the way of his chances.

To play it safe, it has been decided that he not follow through on what is considered to be a very bad move for his career. However, the Oscars are on February 22. WrestleMania is not until April. Don't be to surprised to see him actually show up at the event, as earlier promised. Rourke may be in line for the Best Actor nomination, but his fairly recent past is already working against him. The odds are great he won't win the little golden statue.

Should he lose out on Oscar, I don't see him losing out on his chance to put what he learned to one "real" test.

Calgary Flames: News And Notes

Tim Stein — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 17:29:51 -0500

According to a report on Hockey Night in Canada, the Calgary Flames will clash with the San Jose Sharks in a double-header in Flames goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff's hometown country of Finland. The report stated the Flames will kick off the 2009-2010 season in Helsinki.

The Edmonton Oilers' organization, in playing "spoil sport", successfully stopped a Calgary radio station from playing a parody song entitled "GOALA", referring to the Oilers' 10-2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres last week.

After lobbying the league and Rogers Broadcasting, Calgary's FAN 960 was politely asked to remove the tune, parodied after The Kinks' "Lola", from their website and cease playing the song on their station.

FAN 960 complied, yet at the same time pointed out how childish the team made themselves look.

Of course the injunction did not stop some enterprising individual from turning the parody into a video and posting it on YouTube.com (http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=SwkgW1PM4XE). The Oilers contended that the song used copyrighted material, primarily audio clips of the Oilers' broadcast team.

This past week saw the Flames beat the Nashville Predators by a score of 3-1. This win marks the first time in franchise history that the Calgary Flames have swept the Predators in their regular season series.

The Flames have been involved in a few trade rumors lately. Most notably is the speculation that they were interested in the Ottawa Senators' goaltender Martin Gerber. There have been a few other rumors to add to this. Mostly the ludicrous suggestion that defenseman Chris Pronger would join the team in a trade with Anaheim.

Any Flames fan will know that any trade GM Darryl Sutter makes will never make the rumor rounds.

Rumors posted anywhere usually means you can pretty much strike it off your possibility list. The more you hear of a trade rumour involving the Flames, the less likely it will take place.

With his second hat-trick of the season against the Buffalo Sabres this past week and eight goals in his past four games, center Michael Cammalleri has shot past captain and right wing Jarome Iginla in the goals-scored department.

As of today, Cammalleri has 25 goals, while Iginla has 19. Though the Calgary captain leads the team in points with 55, the real work begins very soon. With No. 13 set to become an unrestricted free agent July 1, many fans in the city are clamoring for GM Sutter to re-sign him as soon as possible.

The problem at this moment is the restriction of the salary cap. The minimum Cammalleri should make would as of now break that cap.

Of course, nothing would come into effect until a new contract kicks in. The prevalent rumour is that Cammalleri wants to play in Toronto next season. Cammalleri is from Richmond Hill, a suburb of Toronto.

Former Calgary Flames assistant coach Wayne Fleming has finally made the big breakup with Avangard Omsk of the Kontinental Hockey League.

This time, it's clear that he is no longer the head coach of the Russian hockey club, and Fleming is on his way back to Canada from Siberia.

Only three weeks ago, Fleming was apparently let go during the second intermission of a league game. Avangard, which had been trailing at the time, won 2-1 in overtime after assistant coach Igor Nikitin took over his spot behind the bench.

Right Wing Jarome Iginla finally scored his first-ever goal at the annual NHL All-Star game last weekend in Montreal. Iginla has been to the yearly event five-times in his career. After the game, he was quoted as saying, "There were 23 goals scored. I was bound to get one of them."

Starting Monday with a game against the Colorado Avalanche, the Calgary Flames will face the prospect of playing 13 games in 26 days, an average of one game every other day. With the team only five points behind Detroit for second in the Western Conference with a game in hand, there is a very real possibility of them challenging for the second seed in the conference.

Calgary Flames: Are We "Elite" Yet?

Tim Stein — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 21:41:46 -0500

I cannot believe how desperate Calgary Flames fans seem to be. Not desperate for their team to make the playoffs...they've done that consecutively since 2004.

No, they're collectively desperate to be able to recognize their team as "elite".

Despite the horrendous start to the season, the Calgary Flames sit comfortably in the third seed in the Western Conference, at the time of this writing, only seven points back of the Detroit Red Wings. This finds them first in the Northwest Division, eleven points up on their nearest challengers: Minnesota, Edmonton, and Vancouver, all tied at fifty-one points.

This, one would expect, would keep the fans of the Flames happy and indeed elated with the way the season has turned out to this point. Yet it seems that they just aren't satisfied enough.

Everywhere in the city, when talk turns to the Flames, invariably the latest argument comes up: Not who should start, who should be traded who should be fired, but is the team now elite or not, after beating the league-leading Sharks two games in a row. The answer seems to be split 50-50. The definitive answer is no. Not yet.

There are several criteria that the Flames need to achieve to attain the stratospheric status of "elite". One challenge has been met twice so far: They knocked off the Sharks, at home, decisively, then at the Shark Tank, after what can be considered a "lucky" goal. Another challenge met is the almost-remarkably strong third periods they play. This team is learning how to win, not just learning to win, and is beginning to develop that necessary killer-instinct needed to win play-off games.

The one thing people apparently conveniently forget is the 6-1 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks right before the identical-score loss to San Jose that everyone loves to point to as Calgary's turning point. In fact, they have yet to beat Chicago, or Detroit for that matter; two teams you can expect to be in the final four in the Western Conference come the end of the first round of the play-offs. They'll likely join Calgary and San Jose for the onset of the second round.

If the Flames—who have been touted throughout the league by various scribes as a strong threat to go deep this spring—plan to do any kind of damage in the post-season past the first round, they'll have to prove they can convincingly beat the Wings and Hawks, and not just San Jose. Not only this, but they have to show dominance on the "inferior" teams, particularly Phoenix, Vancouver, Dallas, and Edmonton.

The acid test for the team began last night against Buffalo, and continues with a whole lot of games in a very short span of time leading to the play-offs. One thing they have to do is give up the thought of goalie Miikka Kiprusoff becoming the first NHL net-minder to win 50 games in a single season. He's going to be heavily relied on come April and May, and the team needs a fresh number one between the pipes. This means they will have to let his back-up, Curtis McElheny start more games and actually show up on the ice during games he starts.

Bottom line: Are the Flames "elite"? No. But they are teetering on the brink.

Bret Hart: Reopening Old Wounds

Tim Stein — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 14:19:00 -0500

I remember clearly watching this all unfold on Raw one night.

Vincent K. McMahon, Jr. stepped through the ropes and into the wrestling ring. Turmoil and backlash was about to erupt in the world of the then WWF, and Vince wanted to address the crowd as Vince McMahon the man—not Mr. McMahon, the heel character.

His intent was to talk to wrestling fans both in attendance and watching on television. (Remember that when this occurred, the wrestling federation hadn't quite gotten the "F" out.) The arguably biggest current star of the WWF had just left the company for several reasons, not the least of which were acrimony, bitterness and no little amount of animosity.

As Vince raised the mic to his mouth to speak, he had to pause for a moment. The crowd in attendance had started "The Chant", which quickly rose in intensity and pitch.

This recently-departed talent is none other than Stone Cold Steve Austin. Yes, Austin. The chanting, however, isn't his one-word catchphrase: "What??" It instead hearkens back almost five years and is continually heard in every single Canadian city visited by the-then WWF, now WWE: "You screwed Bret! You screwed Bret!"

Despite McMahons spin-doctoring, it is not just a few fans in one city clinging to a memory; it is an entire country of Hitman fans letting the man know that we will never forget what happened in Montreal.

An entire country!

Now, not every wrestling fan in Canada is a Bret Hart fan, granted, but those who are almost delight in pointing out that "you did, in fact, screw Bret!"

Vince wasn't the only culprit, of course. Earl Hebner was the referee for that match. And then there was HBK himself, Shawn Michaels.

Shawn finally admitted that he was in fact in on the screw-job. His attitude was rather quite contrary to the tenets of his new-found relationship with his God: A kind of "Yeah, but so what" sentiment that he apparently had no problems admitting. Where's the remorse, the contrition? All that is there, is hypocrisy.

Hebner himself seems to have been the least touched of everyone involved, and I don't really care too much about his role anyway. He was more of a pawn in the whole affair, but he has recently made much light of his role at live shows, going so far as to mimic (read mock) Hart's ring-entrance.

Vince has done the complete circuit, spinning out his own version of events, apparently attempting to convince the public that he and those involved were the good guys. On one Canadian tv show called "Off The Record" on TSN (The Sports Network, Canada's version of ESPN), the host, Mike Landsberg asked who really screwed Bret.

Vince did his best politician's imitation by talking a lot and saying nothing. Landsberg would not let it go, however. He kept probing and cutting the fat off Vince's answers to the point that Vinny Mac actually admitted that, yes he did screw Bret in Montreal.

He did, right after the admission—in fact, during it—do everything possible to point out that his answer was viable from only one point of view. But what about Bret's role? How guilty is he himself of the mess in Montreal?

Why did it all go down the way it did?

How did it all happen?

Bret has been accused of taking wrestling too seriously.

I disagree.

He always took the business seriously. His family background pretty much assured that.

Face it, wrestling is serious business. Any entertainment industry is. The actual wrestling, however...well, in reality, Mr. Showstopper Shawn wouldn't be able to carry Bret's jock. Remember that next time you hear him yapping about slapping "Canada's hero" all over the ring.

Let's look at the events leading up to Survivor Series '97. Bret was about to leave WWF for WCW and a lot of money.

He didn't want to go.

Vince pushed him in that direction. You've all heard the many reasons for this ad infinitum: Bret would have too much power; his salary demands would bankrupt WWF, etc.

Bret wanted to stay in WWF. He possessed something that is rapidly becoming a rare commodity these days: Loyalty. He was willing to take less money and a lower downside.

Ultimately, Bret's naivete may have precipitated his downfall. What do I mean by this?

Bret is from Western Canada. I live in the same city. In fact, I have more than a passing acquaintance with Canada's first family of wrestling: My family has been involved in local media since the fifties, and as a result, I have had several encounters with the Harts.

My son was named Owen in an indirect tribute to the late Owen Hart. At one point, I created DVDs and provided play-by-play for the last incarnation of Stampede Wrestling. I agree it is somewhat naive, but like Bret seems to believe in also, I embrace what I call "Western Values".

A handshake is a contract, and your word is your bond. He made an agreement with Vince, was prepared to hold up his end of the bargain, and expected Vince to do the same.

Big mistake, huh?

How did the screw-job affect the wrestling world as we know it?

The long and short of it: The killing of the Hitman character in the WWF gave rise to Mr. McMahon, heel promoter of the business, and spawned the new era of "Attitude." Sure, the Austin-McMahon feuds launched "Attitude", but its genesis was that November night in Montreal.

When all is said and done, Hitman fans all want one thing: An apology to Bret from all those involved. You know who you are.

After all, "You screwed Bret!"

Could "The Wrestler" Unite Pro Wrestlers?

Tim Stein — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 18:22:59 -0500

The movie "The Wrestler" is getting much hype on the internet among what we call the "IWC" (Internet Wrestling Community). In fact, this attention has gotten to the point that the star of the movie, actor Mickey Rourke is expected to appear at this year's WrestleMania in a slightly different role than he has previously played.

We saw last Sunday at an awards ceremony that Rourke has basically admitted to not only preparing to wrestle, but is targeting WWE's Chris Jericho as his opponent.

The movie itself might help revive the "sports entertainment" venue of pro wrestling by bringing back "old" fans and in fact drawing new ones, but the fact that something director Darren Aronofsky mentioned in one, or some, of several promotional interviews for the flick has seemingly gone under the radar intrigues me.

It's very well-known in the industry and fairly well-known to fans that contracts that these athlete-entertainers sign with such federations as WWE and TNA, and most all of the other "minor-league" federations are heavily-laden clauses and exceptions, etc., that really favor the employer rather than the employee, including a no-compete clause we hear so much about.

This no-compete clause basically denies a fired ring grappler from plying his trade and making a living for three months. This can be a real hardship, especially if said released wrestler has an injury and has to pay out of his own pocket all medical expenses, since nowhere in these contracts is any stipulation to provide for these medical repairs.

It is also known to many that on several occasions the topic of a wrestlers' union has cropped up. There was even a recent lawsuit launched on the basis of a certain company paying medical expenses for injuries suffered "on the job." The idea of a wrestlers' union goes way back, way before Vince McMahon basically monopolized the business to the point that several point to him and the WWE for the decline in interest in the "sport."

In an effort to avoid certain taxes and levies in the majority of locations, as well as licensing, etc., the WWE has done a masterful job of moving pro wrestling out of the "sports arena" (pardon the pun) and into the realms of entertainment, basically turning his "performers" into, "actors", or at the very least "stuntmen" publicly.

Everyone knows nowadays that pro wrestling is an orchestrated play with a pre-determined outcome, but it wasn't always that way (this is where the term "kayfabe" is from, for the three of you reading this who didn't know). All of this was a very closely-kept secret in the wrestling world for decades.

Is it real? Is it fake? All you hard core fans know the story of the pro wrestler who beat the crap out of a tv talk-show host who asked those questions. The older ones will remember the "feud" between Andy Kaufmann and Jerry Lawler where Lawler at one point slapped Kaufmann on live late-night TV (The David Letterman Show) and Kaufmann swore on the air before storming off. It wasn't until the bio-pic Man In The Moon that most of us realized it was all a set-up (called a "work" in the business).

This is where the statement by the director of "The Wrestler" comes into play. As far as unions go, wrestlers are pretty much split, with the well-paid ones (the "top-carders") admitting they have no problems paying their own medical bills. The more vocal ones are the "mid-carders" and "curtain-jerkers" who don't have that top payday.

Now, unionizing a la the NFLPA or any other major sports' players union, has always failed spectacularly or never really gotten off the ground. However, Aronofsky's take on the subject deserves a lot more press than it has been given.

Since these pro wrestlers are now, thanks to McMahon and the WWE, considered more entertainers than athletes, what is to stop any of them from joining an already-established and very powerful union? Surely, their status in the entertainment industry allow them to qualify for membership in the Screen Actors' Guild (SAG).

As performers, this is what the vast majority of the "up-and-comers" as well as established stars of the sport should seriously look into.

As powerful as Vince McMahon is, he is nowhere near powerful enough to stand up to that union, and in fact his actions in turning his product into more entertainment than sport might be seen as the architect of this mass migration, if it were to ever come about. The idea I think deserves a lot of merit, and at least a gander at by those who could be affected by it. If it does happen, Vince will only have himself to thank. Or to blame.

Crosby, Malkin, Ovechkin: Who Is Today's Best Hockey Player?

Tim Stein — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 12:26:09 -0500

This is an argument I have had with several hockey fans from around North America: Who is arguably the best player in the game today?

Unfortunately, living in the West, I have to deal with fans in the East who are inundated with all the hype and glory of Eastern-based players such as Sid Crosby, Malkin, and Alex Ovechkin.

There is very little news from Western teams, and players such as Peter Forsberg, Patrick Marleau, Shane Doan, and Jarome Iginla get secondary notice from the Eastern-based media.

In fact, the outstanding players on western-based teams that do get real notice are either players that have previously played in the East or are so special that they simply cannot be ignored.

Sid the Kid is a very impressive young talent. He will likely become a very big-name player in a few seasons, provided he goes about his craft the way he has done since breaking into the league. But is he the best of the league so far?

What about his teammate Evgeni Malkin? Fifteen goals and 59 points after 35 games played, he's currently leading the race by 12 points, which happens to also be the number of points he has over his teammate Crosby. But is he the best out there on the frozen surface?

The third of this impressive trio is of course the "new" Russian Rocket, Alexander Ovechkin. He's also got 47 points, is tied for second in the points race, and when he winds up, is one of the more exciting players out on the ice today. Both he and Crosby are definitely worth the price of the ticket. Is Alex the best player out there?

What have Malkin and Crosby done? Well, they went to the Stanley Cup finals with the Penguins against Detroit. That in itself is an accomplishment deserving merit, even if they lost in their quest for the hardest pro sports trophy to acquire.

Ovechkin has invigorated a team stuck in the middle of "There's nothing else to do, let's go watch ice hockey." He's brought interest and excitement to a team that was promised this and let down by Jaromir Jagr a few years ago.

All this makes it fun to watch these players play the game. One day Sid will likely have to contend with comparisons to The Great One himself, even more than he already has.

But like it or not, truth of the matter is Mark Messier was a better all-round hockey player than his teammate of so many years was. I've gotten grief over this statement as well, usually form fan-boys and puck bunnies who aren't into the game itself, just the individual player's razzle-dazzling.

So what makes one "the best" at his game? Goals? Points? Certainly these factor into the formula heavily. But they are just two factors. There are several other things you need to take into account when deciding on the best. Everything fits into one general category: Overall leadership.

What comprises overall leadership? You need drive, determination, grit, talent. You have to despise losing, hate the other team, get not just angry but truly pissed off at someone or something, no matter how trivial.

You have to bring everything to every game and leave it all on the ice. You lead your teammates by example more than by encouraging words in the dressing room before the game or between periods.

You have to be ready to at least figuratively spit in the faces of the other team and its fans. You want the puck more than the other guy does, and will do everything you can to take it.

You need all of this to the point where you say to your teammates "Let's go", and they not only follow you but get inspired by your play.

Overall leadership goes hand-in-hand with being able to tell the rest of your team, "Hop on my back guys! We're going through that wall of theirs."

I have to admit, I have not seen enough of this type of game-changing ability in most of the NHL's team leaders. Oh sure, most of them show flashes here and there, don't get me wrong. I just have not seen this consistently over a player's career for the last several years.

When was the last time you saw a headline in the sports pages like those written regularly in rags like the Montreal Gazette back when Henri Richard was playing? Game stories led with titles such as: "Richard 3, Red Wings 1"?

When was the last time you saw a player so thoroughly dominate a game that he literally changed the course and the flow of a game, and did this not just for a contest or two or for a month's worth of games, but literally for a full season? It's a real rarity nowadays. It has always been hard to come by, actually, throughout the seasons.

I think I'm one of the lucky ones who has witnessed this kind of leadership for the last dozen years. Up to this season, game in and game out, Jarome Iginla has led by example.

Countless times he has taken his team, the Calgary Flames, on his back and refused to lose. He is one of the nicest guys off the ice with his "Aww shucks" attitude and extreme humility.

He literally transforms into the irresistible force when he is on the ice, in the game, and there are very few immovable objects that can stand in his way. Jarome doesn't get into "the zone". He IS "the zone".

Flames fans absolutely love it when Iginla is hit, when he is taunted, aggravated, creamed into the boards or leveled with an open-ice check. Not because the fans dislike him, or think it makes the game more interesting, but because these incidents actually further motivate him.

We collectively encourage other teams to take a run at our captain because we know how he'll respond. Jarome, already playing the game at the elitist of levels, finds an extra gear when he gets pissed off, elevating his game even further.

Thus, for a decade, he has dominated the game. He has been the quintessential leader you want your team to have. Take no prisoners, drop the gloves at the slightest insult, set up or score the timeliest of goals, that IS Jarome Iginla.

This season is a little different than Flames fans have been used to. Some are even saying Iginla's been invisible for a lot of games. The reason is simple and a very good one.

This year, Iginla finally has the supporting cast he's been lacking for the rest of his NHL career. He is not needed to be the force he has been for every game as he has been in past seasons.

Yet, he "invisibly" has tied for sixth in league-scoring this season. The last few games, he has shown how dominant he can be, helping lead his team to victories, being the catalyst for most of the club's December wins.

I've converted several Penguin, Philadelphia, and Sabres fans to my way of thinking concerning Iginla, simply by getting them to watch him play games. Once you see him play regularly, thanks to NHL Center Ice, you get to see just how truly good he really is at his craft. Jarome Iginla is arguably the best player in the game today.