In this, like any other issue, there are myriad factors - not the least of which is Gary Bettman's pig-headed insistence that the NHL won't stop work for two weeks in February of 2014 to let the best players participate in the Games in Sochii. That problem will probably work itself out over the next few years but the bigger problem is that the wonderful spectacle that was Olympic hockey in Vancouver this year will do next to nothing to raise the ratings for the NHL.
Why is that?
No fighting in Olympic hockey. That's the main difference - people who don't watch (hell, people who won't watch) the NHL will watch Olympic hockey. The inverse does not exist. Olympic hockey games are exciting because the action is far more fluid than the NHL, in which action rarely goes for more than five minutes without some pea-brained "enforcer" dropping his gloves and pummeling away at some other lout who is equally unencumbered by such quaint trappings as "sportsmanship" and "fair play".
The NHL has players whose known job it is to fight the other team's big guy who does the exact same thing. The NHL also has horrible ratings in comparison to the other major sports and has a tough time recruiting new fans. Olympic hockey teams don't have "enforcers" and Olympic hockey is far more exciting and got stellar ratings, even among non-hockey fans. Some of that is, of course, due to the whole national pride "thing" (which is another issue I have - why would anybody be proud of something that is not an accomplishment? But I digress...).
Another problem? The archaic scheduling system by which each team plays six games versus each of their four divisional opponents; there are 30 teams in the NHL, and each team plays 30% of its games against 7.5% of the teams in the league. With the large number of games on the schedule and the vastly increased number of teams in the league since the scheduling format was adopted, the time for change has long been here.
Monday, March 1, 2010
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Bears get Jeff George 2.0
Ok, by now everybody knows the news Jay Cutler and a 5th rounder to da Bears for Kyle Orton, da Bears' 1st and 3rd rounders this year AND their 1st-rounder next year.
Wow.
Bears owner Jerry Angelo got what he wanted, a high-profile Pro-Bowl quarterback with a cannon for an arm. They added LT Orlando Pace to the mix to protect the young QBs blind side; Pace will probably still make the Hall of Fame but he has missed almost half of the games in the last three years, so it's a little early to say what will happen there.
Broncos owner Pat Bowlen got what he wanted, which is to be rid of the bad-attitude, me-first Cutler, who has the physical gifts but has not shown the maturity that is needed to guide an NFL franchise. Cutler is physically gifted, some say the most physically gifted young QB in the league...how often does the most physically gifted QB win it all vs. how often does a team with a hard worker (like Kyle Orton, who played much of last year on a blown-up ankle) win the Super Bowl? Allow me to refer you to the Super Bowl winning QBs since the year 2000:
Kurt Warner - A true wild-card, nobody saw him coming.
Trent Dilfer - Nobody expected big things from him.
Brad Johnson - Nobody expected big things from him.
Tom Brady - Josh McDaniels was his QB coach.
Tom Brady - Josh McDaniels was his offensive coordinator.
Ben Roethlisberger - Nobody expected big things from him.
Peyton Manning - Pedigree QB, everybody expected this. Eventually.
Eli Manning - Little brother, same pedigree...a little more surprising.
Ben Roethlisberger - People had seen him win and play hurt but many still expected little.
Cutler will throw for more yards than Kyle Orton next year, that is pretty much a given even with the utter lack of WRs in Chicago. Whose team will win more games? My guess is the team being led by a team-first guy.
Cutler's career has two paths: some people think of him as the next Brett Favre, an unabashed gunslinger who has all the tools and no fear........or Jeff George, a cannon-for-hire whose potential never came close to being realized. There are those in Denver who think he will be the next Ryan Leaf, but that seems a touch extreme.
This deal was a no-brainer for both teams. The Bears needed a big name under center, the quarterback carousel in Chicago hasn't been working for a long time. Cutler has the numbers to back up the big deal...except the wins. It's tough to pin all of that blame on a QB who handed the ball to seven different RBs last year and had to stand on the sideline and watch as his team's D let people run and throw all over them....but he has still lost more games than he has won.
To be fair, so has Orton, but nobody is calling Orton a franchise QB. Yet. We'll see what Josh McDaniels can do with him - McDaniels does have a fairly respectable record when it comes to working with QBs (let's remember here that he develped Tom Brady and Matt Cassell) and there must be a reason he didn't want Cutler as his guy.
Both teams got what they need, but the Broncos can do a lot with three first-round picks in the next two drafts. They can combine a first-rounder and one of their later picks to try and move up a handful of spots and get Mark Sanchez or Matt Stafford if one is still available, or they take Knowshon Moreno or maybe they get the defensive beast that is Brian Orakpo from Texas, who must pundits have projected as a starter right out of the gate.
Bottom line - the Broncos are flush with options and draft picks and the Bears have hitched their entire franchise to a rocket-armed head case who could turn out to be the next Brett Favre or the next Jeff George.
As with everything, only time will tell.
Wow.
Bears owner Jerry Angelo got what he wanted, a high-profile Pro-Bowl quarterback with a cannon for an arm. They added LT Orlando Pace to the mix to protect the young QBs blind side; Pace will probably still make the Hall of Fame but he has missed almost half of the games in the last three years, so it's a little early to say what will happen there.
Broncos owner Pat Bowlen got what he wanted, which is to be rid of the bad-attitude, me-first Cutler, who has the physical gifts but has not shown the maturity that is needed to guide an NFL franchise. Cutler is physically gifted, some say the most physically gifted young QB in the league...how often does the most physically gifted QB win it all vs. how often does a team with a hard worker (like Kyle Orton, who played much of last year on a blown-up ankle) win the Super Bowl? Allow me to refer you to the Super Bowl winning QBs since the year 2000:
Kurt Warner - A true wild-card, nobody saw him coming.
Trent Dilfer - Nobody expected big things from him.
Brad Johnson - Nobody expected big things from him.
Tom Brady - Josh McDaniels was his QB coach.
Tom Brady - Josh McDaniels was his offensive coordinator.
Ben Roethlisberger - Nobody expected big things from him.
Peyton Manning - Pedigree QB, everybody expected this. Eventually.
Eli Manning - Little brother, same pedigree...a little more surprising.
Ben Roethlisberger - People had seen him win and play hurt but many still expected little.
Cutler will throw for more yards than Kyle Orton next year, that is pretty much a given even with the utter lack of WRs in Chicago. Whose team will win more games? My guess is the team being led by a team-first guy.
Cutler's career has two paths: some people think of him as the next Brett Favre, an unabashed gunslinger who has all the tools and no fear........or Jeff George, a cannon-for-hire whose potential never came close to being realized. There are those in Denver who think he will be the next Ryan Leaf, but that seems a touch extreme.
This deal was a no-brainer for both teams. The Bears needed a big name under center, the quarterback carousel in Chicago hasn't been working for a long time. Cutler has the numbers to back up the big deal...except the wins. It's tough to pin all of that blame on a QB who handed the ball to seven different RBs last year and had to stand on the sideline and watch as his team's D let people run and throw all over them....but he has still lost more games than he has won.
To be fair, so has Orton, but nobody is calling Orton a franchise QB. Yet. We'll see what Josh McDaniels can do with him - McDaniels does have a fairly respectable record when it comes to working with QBs (let's remember here that he develped Tom Brady and Matt Cassell) and there must be a reason he didn't want Cutler as his guy.
Both teams got what they need, but the Broncos can do a lot with three first-round picks in the next two drafts. They can combine a first-rounder and one of their later picks to try and move up a handful of spots and get Mark Sanchez or Matt Stafford if one is still available, or they take Knowshon Moreno or maybe they get the defensive beast that is Brian Orakpo from Texas, who must pundits have projected as a starter right out of the gate.
Bottom line - the Broncos are flush with options and draft picks and the Bears have hitched their entire franchise to a rocket-armed head case who could turn out to be the next Brett Favre or the next Jeff George.
As with everything, only time will tell.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Jeff George, Jr.
Where, oh, where will whiny Jay go?
OK, Cutler is good, he is young, he is confident/cocky, he has a cannon for an arm....but he is also petulant. Look at any footage of him and he has a bitchy look on his face...seems like he just has a pissy outlook on things. His teammates, toeing the party line, will say that he is a good leader and a competitor but once this inevitable trade occurs, chances are very good that their song will change its tune, and quickly.
So where is he going to go?
Detroit? That seems to be the popular opinion, but it just doesn't make sense for the Broncos to trade for the #1 overall pick and have to commit to the obscene amount of guaranteed money that goes with that pick.
NY Jets? That seems possible, given the way they are throwing money around these days; some people have called Jay Cutler the second coming of Brett Favre, so maybe....
The two teams that make the most sense don't exist. How's that, you say....neither Mike Shanahan nor John Gruden has a head-coaching job at the moment. Both seem like such obvious choices, Shanahan drafted Cutler and wanted to make him the face of the franchise and Gruden is well known as a QB collector.
Should Cutler get traded anywhere that has a tenuous coaching situation, I say look out for Shanahan to come in the next year.
OK, Cutler is good, he is young, he is confident/cocky, he has a cannon for an arm....but he is also petulant. Look at any footage of him and he has a bitchy look on his face...seems like he just has a pissy outlook on things. His teammates, toeing the party line, will say that he is a good leader and a competitor but once this inevitable trade occurs, chances are very good that their song will change its tune, and quickly.
So where is he going to go?
Detroit? That seems to be the popular opinion, but it just doesn't make sense for the Broncos to trade for the #1 overall pick and have to commit to the obscene amount of guaranteed money that goes with that pick.
NY Jets? That seems possible, given the way they are throwing money around these days; some people have called Jay Cutler the second coming of Brett Favre, so maybe....
The two teams that make the most sense don't exist. How's that, you say....neither Mike Shanahan nor John Gruden has a head-coaching job at the moment. Both seem like such obvious choices, Shanahan drafted Cutler and wanted to make him the face of the franchise and Gruden is well known as a QB collector.
Should Cutler get traded anywhere that has a tenuous coaching situation, I say look out for Shanahan to come in the next year.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Post-Super Bowl musings...
First off - nice look for Michael Phelps having pictures surface with his face shoved in a bong. I wonder how big that dude's lungs are?
Kurt Warner now has the first, second and third most passing yards in a Super Bowl. Ever. Hey, NBC - Matt Millen? Really? He didn't lose any credibility for you guys? Great.
OK, I know he makes the big plays in the big games, but I still think 85% of the QBs in the NFL can do what Roethlisberger does if they have three minutes to throw the ball every time. Did the refs call a single offensive holding penalty on the Steelers? I understand not wanting to slow down an already time-bloated game, but OH MY GOD.
On the other hand, two other QBs in the NFL (Brady and Manning, P.) can do what Warner did yesterday. What is even more amazing about Warner is that since that thumb surgery a couple of years ago he can't really grip the ball, which is why he wears that glove on his throwing hand - the tackiness allows him to rest the ball on his hand and then spin it out of his hand upon release (as I am sure you heard several times yesterday). Having said all that, "Ben" does have two rings. Having said that, I hope he buys his offensive line a LOT of nice toys in the offseason. I refuse to drink the Kool-Aid on Roethlisberger although I think that puts me in an ever-shrinking minority.
Oh, and enough already about Roethlisberger "engineering" drives - he leads drives, but "engineering"?
As impressive as Harrison's 100 yard TAINT was (Touchdown After INT), the womanly tackling efforts by the Cards offensive players were truly pathetic. How many passes did the Cards receivers drop in the flats? They were so scared of Polamalu taking their heads off that they were all afraid to look the ball in.
I still haven't seen a still photo that shows both of Santonio Holmes' feet in the endzone. There was obviously nothing to overturn the TD, but I am looking forward to seeing the enhanced photos that will come out later this week. I guess it just depends on who does the enhancing. ;)
Robert DeNiro did a great Bruce Springsteen impersonation.
What a game.
Kurt Warner now has the first, second and third most passing yards in a Super Bowl. Ever. Hey, NBC - Matt Millen? Really? He didn't lose any credibility for you guys? Great.
OK, I know he makes the big plays in the big games, but I still think 85% of the QBs in the NFL can do what Roethlisberger does if they have three minutes to throw the ball every time. Did the refs call a single offensive holding penalty on the Steelers? I understand not wanting to slow down an already time-bloated game, but OH MY GOD.
On the other hand, two other QBs in the NFL (Brady and Manning, P.) can do what Warner did yesterday. What is even more amazing about Warner is that since that thumb surgery a couple of years ago he can't really grip the ball, which is why he wears that glove on his throwing hand - the tackiness allows him to rest the ball on his hand and then spin it out of his hand upon release (as I am sure you heard several times yesterday). Having said all that, "Ben" does have two rings. Having said that, I hope he buys his offensive line a LOT of nice toys in the offseason. I refuse to drink the Kool-Aid on Roethlisberger although I think that puts me in an ever-shrinking minority.
Oh, and enough already about Roethlisberger "engineering" drives - he leads drives, but "engineering"?
As impressive as Harrison's 100 yard TAINT was (Touchdown After INT), the womanly tackling efforts by the Cards offensive players were truly pathetic. How many passes did the Cards receivers drop in the flats? They were so scared of Polamalu taking their heads off that they were all afraid to look the ball in.
I still haven't seen a still photo that shows both of Santonio Holmes' feet in the endzone. There was obviously nothing to overturn the TD, but I am looking forward to seeing the enhanced photos that will come out later this week. I guess it just depends on who does the enhancing. ;)
Robert DeNiro did a great Bruce Springsteen impersonation.
What a game.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
NFL coaching interviews
NY Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo has been a popular name to be bandied about in head coaching conversations after the Giants dominated the postseason with their defense last year.
Problem is, seems like he's "not interviewing well" this year. No? Really? Hm, wonder why?
Could it have anything to do with the fact that he is busy? You know, doing his job.
Problem is, seems like he's "not interviewing well" this year. No? Really? Hm, wonder why?
Could it have anything to do with the fact that he is busy? You know, doing his job.
Monday, December 29, 2008
2008 NFL Regular Season Recap
Wow.
Wowitty-wow-wow-WOW.
What an incredible season - where to start?
Brady going down seven minutes into the season and Matt Cassell taking the reins and leading the Pats to 11-5. Or the fact that 11-5 didn't get the Pats into the playoffs?
Or the lowly, lowly Lions achieving historical lowliness by meowing their way into the record books as the first 0-16 team ever. Coming off a perfect preseason, too....hey owners - time to stop charging full price for preseason games. You greedy pricks.
But I digress. How about Favre's flip-flop?
Or the Dolphins, coming off 1-15 last year, picking up the discarded Chad Pennington from the Brett Favre scrap heap, then (should be) MVP candidate Pennington going back to the Meadowlands and beating Old Man Brett and the New Jersey Jets to win the AFC East. The Dolphins introducing the Wildcat to the NFL. The Dolphins committing the fewest turnovers in a season in NFL history? What? What were the preseason odds in Vegas on the Dolphins winning the AFC East?
How about Matt Ryan - the most poised rookie QB ever? Just for fun, let's look at Matt Ryan's rookie season's numbers vs. Peyton Manning:
Peyton Manning - 326/575 (56.7%), 3739 yards, 26 TD, 28 INT, team finished 3-13
How about all of the football pundits who confidently predicted that a Jags-Cowboys Super Bowl was all but a foregone conclusion?
Wowitty-wow-wow-WOW.
What an incredible season - where to start?
Brady going down seven minutes into the season and Matt Cassell taking the reins and leading the Pats to 11-5. Or the fact that 11-5 didn't get the Pats into the playoffs?
Or the lowly, lowly Lions achieving historical lowliness by meowing their way into the record books as the first 0-16 team ever. Coming off a perfect preseason, too....hey owners - time to stop charging full price for preseason games. You greedy pricks.
But I digress. How about Favre's flip-flop?
Or the Dolphins, coming off 1-15 last year, picking up the discarded Chad Pennington from the Brett Favre scrap heap, then (should be) MVP candidate Pennington going back to the Meadowlands and beating Old Man Brett and the New Jersey Jets to win the AFC East. The Dolphins introducing the Wildcat to the NFL. The Dolphins committing the fewest turnovers in a season in NFL history? What? What were the preseason odds in Vegas on the Dolphins winning the AFC East?
How about Matt Ryan - the most poised rookie QB ever? Just for fun, let's look at Matt Ryan's rookie season's numbers vs. Peyton Manning:
Peyton Manning - 326/575 (56.7%), 3739 yards, 26 TD, 28 INT, team finished 3-13
Matt Ryan - 265/434 (61.1%) 3,440 yards, 16 TD, 11 INT, team finished 11-5 and made the playoffs.
Of course, Matt Ryan had a running back, but he also had to deal with the Vick fallout and started his tenure in "the ATL" with what can best be described as a frosty reception from the fans who will always support Vick. Not a problem for Matty Ice.
How about 3 rookie left tackles starting all 16 games for their respective teams?
How about all of the football pundits who confidently predicted that a Jags-Cowboys Super Bowl was all but a foregone conclusion?
How about the Baltimore Ravens making the playoffs (and winning on the road in the wild-card round) with an aging defense and a rookie QB who was playing D-1AA college ball last season?
How about the Chargers - preseason darlings who disappeared and were totally out of it at 4-8, survived the crazy Hochuli game versus the Broncos that gave an ominous start to the season, but the wenat ahead and made the playoffs. Oh, and they beat MVP Peyton Manning and his Colts in the wild-card round.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Evaluating Mike Singletary as an NFL head coach
Train wreck. As much as I hate to say it, he is a complete train wreck of a coach.
Did you catch the end of MNF? An unmitigated disaster, and then he capped it off by throwing Mike Martz under the bus in the post-game press conference - I can't recall the last time I saw an NFL head coach deflect blame from himself and put it on someone else, no matter who was at fault.
Martz's rationale for making the call was that he thought the ball was going to be on the one yard line, but that after the officials reviewed the prior play, the ball was on the two and a half and that the clock would start on the ref's whistle. Well, "Mad Scientist"...why didn't you scream into Shaun Hill's ear (Earth to Mike Martz, Earth to Mike Martz - the QB can hear you when you talk into the that thing in front of your mouth that looks like a microphone) to spike the ball, then you could have called the right play for the situation?
The question is - was that the problem, or was it the personnel package? Where was Frank Gore? On the sidelines. Who was carrying the rock? Michael Robinson, who is Singletary's guy. How can I say that?
Well, he has carried the ball six times this year. Three in each of the two games that Samurai Mike has "coached".
It's too bad, I loved him as a player and I admire his sensibilities, but he is done. I imagine they'll let him finish the season, because I can't see a franchise having three head coaches in one season. However, I will be shocked if anybody ever gives him another head coaching job.
The ironical thing is, no matter how terribly he performs, I bet it'll double his motivational speaker fees; he can now be billed as a former NFL head coach.
Did you catch the end of MNF? An unmitigated disaster, and then he capped it off by throwing Mike Martz under the bus in the post-game press conference - I can't recall the last time I saw an NFL head coach deflect blame from himself and put it on someone else, no matter who was at fault.
Martz's rationale for making the call was that he thought the ball was going to be on the one yard line, but that after the officials reviewed the prior play, the ball was on the two and a half and that the clock would start on the ref's whistle. Well, "Mad Scientist"...why didn't you scream into Shaun Hill's ear (Earth to Mike Martz, Earth to Mike Martz - the QB can hear you when you talk into the that thing in front of your mouth that looks like a microphone) to spike the ball, then you could have called the right play for the situation?
The question is - was that the problem, or was it the personnel package? Where was Frank Gore? On the sidelines. Who was carrying the rock? Michael Robinson, who is Singletary's guy. How can I say that?
Well, he has carried the ball six times this year. Three in each of the two games that Samurai Mike has "coached".
It's too bad, I loved him as a player and I admire his sensibilities, but he is done. I imagine they'll let him finish the season, because I can't see a franchise having three head coaches in one season. However, I will be shocked if anybody ever gives him another head coaching job.
The ironical thing is, no matter how terribly he performs, I bet it'll double his motivational speaker fees; he can now be billed as a former NFL head coach.
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