The East is a Beast

January 22nd, 2008

For What it’s Worth: $95.99-The WHL’s Eastern Conference playoff race will be one for the ages.

It’s said, “West is Best,” but in the Western Hockey League this season, the East is a beast. With just two months left in the regular season, the Dub’s Eastern Conference playoff chase is shaping up to be a pier-six brawl (forget those pansy brawls on piers one-through-five). As of this writing, the east’s top 8 teams are all above the break-even mark. The last time the Eastern Conference had all of it’s playoff qualifiers at .500 or better was 1997. Perhaps a good omen for the Lethbridge Hurricanes (Byron Ritchie rulez!!).

The top seed right now, Calgary, is powered by one of the league’s top offences. The Hitmen already have 9 players with at least 10 goals, and should have a couple more join the double-digit ranks. As an added bonus, Kelly Kisio’s club has also allowed the least amount of goals in the conference. Still, Kiss had yet to smile this season.

Regina leads the East Division. The Pats loaded up for a post-season drive, adding veterans JD Watt, Ryan Bender and Ryan DePape among others. Currently rolling, on a 6-game win streak, Regina is a gritty group, seemingly built for spring hockey.

After the division leaders, comes a whack of clubs, including Lethbridge, which can contend in the end. Kootenay has most of its team back that racked up 104 points and second in the conference a year ago. Moose Jaw made the biggest splash at the trade deadline, acquiring Ty Wishart from Prince George. Wishart joins Keaton Ellerby as a pair of NHL first round picks on the Warriors blue-line. Brandon lacks star-power, yet the Wheat Kings are tied with Calgary with 170 goals for and boast the conference’s second best goal differential at plus 41. Medicine Hat, while not quite as dangerous as last year, is still the defending WHL champ. Swift Current, currently in 8^th, is the third highest scoring team in the east, with an opportunistic blue-line and a goalie in Travis Yonkman who’s can steal a hockey game. Better bring something extra, like a steel chair or some brass knucks to this fight.

Then there are the Hurricanes. The team has changed its identity as the season has progressed. While offence was thought to be the strength of the club heading into 2007-‘08, team defence has emerged. The ‘Canes are second in the conference in goals allowed (just one more than Calgary). Since the start of the New Year, Michael Dyck’s crew has allowed a measly 9 goals in 7 games. The addition of overager Jeff May has bolstered the blue-line (although it looks like the ‘Canes must make do without Jesse Craige for a while. The 19-year-old rearguard was injured Saturday against Tri-City, and is out indefinitely with a knee injury). Better defence? Sounds like a recipe for a long playoff run.

Right now, just 9 points separate the Eastern Conference’s top 7 teams. We pretty much know who’s making the post-season, but predicting seeding is fruitless. These contenders better bring their best for the next 8 weeks. All I know is it’s going to make for fantastic hockey, with a playoff-like intensity in most barns on most nights from here on out. And as a fan, that’s all I can ask for.

Deadline Daze

January 14^th, 2008

For What it’s Worth: $67.92-The Lethbridge Hurricanes did enough at the WHL trade deadline.

The Western Hockey League’s trade deadline has come and gone. The Lethbridge Hurricanes were fairly quiet, making just one swap. The team added 20-year-old defenceman Jeff May from Prince Albert in exchange for two prospects and a 2008 2^nd round bantam pick (the ‘Bridge had an extra 2^nd rounder thanks to the Justin LeClerc deal with Kamloops before the season). While other teams were making some big splashes, the ‘Canes kept the water in their pool. And really, I’m okay with that.

The Hurricanes completed their big trade back in November, a 7-player swap with Portland. Coming east, were Colton Sceviour, Nick Hotson and Lucas Alexiuk. Sceviour’s proved to be streaky (he’s played 25 games in the ‘Bridge, held off the scoresheet in 14 of them, meaning he has 21 points in 11 other games). The 18-year-old is a plus-13 in his time with the ‘Canes, and will be around for at least another season. Hotson missed a month with an injury; however, the 20-year-old does have some offensive touch (he ended up as the ‘Hawks leading scorer last season) and size. Alexiuk is a depth defenceman, and at 18, he too will be around next season.

What’s nice for the ‘Canes, is the trio was acquired 3 months ago, allowing for some chemistry to develop. While making a deadline deal gives players less time to adjust to new surroundings.

Moose Jaw picked up Ty Wishart...ooh! Regina added JD Watt…ahh! Calgary brought in Brock Nixon…yippee! Spokane welcomes Justin McCrae…wow! Sure, all these teams think they’re better than they were before the deadline, but in the end, only one team will go to the Memorial Cup. The prices paid this year were high; it was really a sellers market. So for all the wheeling and dealing, just one club is truly going to be satisfied with the end result.

The Hurricanes pretty much stayed the course. There’s nothing to suggest this team can’t compete for a WHL title this season. They have enough scoring, one of the deepest blue-lines in the league and a stable goaltending tandem. A better power play would sure help things. The team was middle of the pack at the end of November: 9^th overall. Now the ‘Canes are 18^th in the Dub with the man advantage (conversely the penalty kill is improving, ranked 19^th heading into December, it’s now 14^th).

And if the ‘Canes come up short this spring, next year the organization will field another competitive team. Zach Boychuk, Dwight King, Sceviour, Carter Bancks, Jesse Craige, and Juha Metsola will lead a strong crop of 19-year-olds. The likes of Carter Ashton, Luca Sbisa and Cam Braes will come back for their second year in the league. Who knows who might return as overagers, but with the right trio of 20-year-olds, this roster is nearly complete.

Remember, Roy Stasiuk and company are committed to building a team that’s competitive on a yearly basis. In junior hockey it’s almost impossible. With the yearly turnover, teams have small windows of opportunity to win championships. The London Knights were unstoppable 3 years ago; now the OHL club is closer to missing the playoffs than it is to contending for top spot in its conference. It’s all about stability, building a list of players that can give a team a shot more often than not.

Certainly, making a lot of moves around the trade deadline will help a team win its share of headlines. But, championships banners are raised as the result of a long-term planning, executed 365 days a year.

Spare Change-Thoughts from a busy weekend watching sports.

FWIW $75.00-Win the turnover battle, win in the NFL playoffs.

Simply put, keep a hold of the football! New England, San Diego and the New York Giants all won the turnover battle in their conference semifinals this weekend (Patriots +2, Chargers +2, Giants +1) and they won their games.

Green Bay bucked the trend; overcoming two Ryan Grant fumbles in the first 5 minutes of the game against Seattle, and the Packers pasted the Seahawks by 22 points. Winning the turnover battle means little if you have no heart.

So book it, New England versus Green Bay in Super Bowl XLI*. (Remember the Baceda Kiss of Death, BKD for short. Consult the archives for more info).

FWIW: $99.90-American Idol promotion is bad for my brain.

It was bad enough watching Indianapolis lose in the NFL Conference Semis this weekend (yet another prediction up in smoke, although I did predict San Diego to win the Super Bowl before the season started…no I really did…ask Rob!), but who’s the advertising genius who came up with those American Idol promos? Seriously, how did this concept come about? It’s bad enough they were appallingly annoying. But (some other Canadian TeleVision network) ran them 78 times a game. Does (some other Canadian TeleVision network) really think NFL fans are the target audience they’re missing to watch some glorified karaoke?

And really, I think there should be more commercials during an NFL game. I love it when a team punts, then there’s a break, then the other team scores on it’s first play from scrimmage, then there’s a break, then there’s a kick-off, then there’s a break, then a play is run as the quarter ends, then there’s a break, then a guy gets hurt on second down, then there’s a break…

FWIW: $88.53-Bob Cole must retire… in there…he’s dangerous…he wants to score Harry!

I think when it comes to the “voice” of Hockey Night in Canada, either you love Bob Cole or you hate him. I really don’t have any animosity towards Cole, since I don’t know him. But, his voice is reaching a new level of shrillness that’s hard for a human to listen to, never mind a dog.

I really think Bob will go when Mats Sundin either calls it quits or is traded from Toronto (and I don’t mean retire…).

And when Bob retires you just know Peter Loubardias is taking his place.

FWIW: $71.90-Celtics kryptonite? Just Wiz on them.

In NBA action, Saturday night I watched Boston blow a fourth quarter lead to Washington, the Wizards eventually coming up with a 7 point win in D.C. The Wiz completely dominated the boards in an ugly street-fight of a game. Now, the C’s have lost two straight for the first time this season, blowing another 4^th quarter lead to Washington, dropping an 88-83 loss tonight. Gilbert Arenas? Who needs him? As for the Celtics, the defence is great (leading the NBA) but the offence is struggling (for them anyways) a bit. Ray Allen’s shooting just 41 per cent from the field, and why the hell does Kendrick Perkins need to touch the ball so much in the half-court offence? Quibbles for a 30-6 club.

That’s all for now kids…play safe!

FWIW's Crystal Ball

January 3^th, 2008

The FWIW Crystal Ball

Happy New Year everyone! I know it’s a time for resolutions (mine include making money and continuing my strong track record of breathing properly). It’s also a time for predictions. And you know ‘For What it’s Worth’ is getting in on the fun. So, I’ve dug out the crystal ball from Aunt Mae’s root cellar and peered into it for a few hours.

For What it’s Worth: $71.19-The Lethbridge Hurricanes make a long playoff run.

Despite a shaky end to December, the ‘Canes should finally win their first playoff series since 1997; the year the team won the WHL championship. The Boys From the ‘Bridge are fighting for first in the Central Division and Eastern Conference. The team has a differential of plus 19 in goals for and goals against, 6^th in the league as of this writing.

If the playoffs started today, the Hurricanes would play Kootenay. The Ice are currently on top of the season series 4-0. However, the ‘Canes are probably just employing the old rope-a-dope strategy, baiting their Cranbrook rivals into over-confidence.

Making it out of the first round will give the local side a great deal of confidence, which will carry it past it’s second round opponent. And if things play out according to form (and that always happens!), a match-up with Calgary in the conference final bodes well for the Hurricanes, who have beat the Hitmen 6 of their last 8 meetings.

FWIW: $6.89-A player punches Glen Healy or Pierre McGuire.

Both broadcasters provide their “analysis” from between the benches during TSN’s NHL coverage. I’ve got to believe players are overhearing what these two are saying during a game. And I’ve also got to believe their “analysis” is going to push someone’s buttons (Sean Avery’s the obvious choice) and an NHLer will take a swing at one of them.

FWIW: $55.16-Jarome Iginla wins the Hart Trophy.

The Calgary Flames captain is making his case as the NHL’s top player. While I expect Sidney Crosby to have a huge second half surge, Iginla is throwing together his best professional season. The 30-year-old is on pace for 58 goals and 110 points. Iggy’s had a number of line-mates so far this season, Daymond Langkow, Kristian Huselius, Alex Tanguay, and Craig Conroy. All of them are much more effective when number 12’s on the ice than when they’re on another line. Seriously, could you imagine if Iginla ever played a full season with a true top NHL centre? Put him on a line with Joe Thornton and he would top 70 goals!

This season, Iginla may not win the Rocket Richard Trophy (Atlanta’s Ilya Kovalchuk gets to face easier competition and should take the goals race) or the Art Ross Trophy (I still expect Sid the Kid to come out on top, just 5 points off the pace right now); the Flames will make the playoffs fighting for the Northwest Division crown. While the other top suspects (Kovalchuk, Crosby, Vincent Lecavalier) will all fight for tee times this spring. The biggest rivals to Iginla for this award are Henrik Zetterberg (the top player, on the top regular season team-Detroit) and Dany Heatley (the best player on the second best regular season team-Ottawa).

FWIW: $36.79-The Boston Celtics take the NBA Championship.

Celtic pride is finally back! Off-season trades by C’s General Manager Danny Ainge have proved, as always, whoever gets the best player, wins the deal. Swapping 18 players for Kevin Garnett from Minnesota was a masterstroke. Acquiring Ray Allen from Seattle for 3 others was important as well. With just 3 losses in their first 30 games, the Celtics look like a runaway train. While Garnett, Allen, and Paul Pierce (Big 3 Redux?) get all the press, Boston has some fine role players. Eddie House and James Posey provide big sparks off the bench, the former for his instant offence, the latter for his defensive tenacity and 3-point touch.

The key is sophomore point guard Rajon Rondo. The ex-Kentucky Wildcat is showing he can play with the big boys, averaging a shade under 10 points per game, while shooting 52% from the field. Rondo also keeps his turnovers down, a big improvement over his rookie campaign.

Sure, there are some other great teams out there (San Antonio, Detroit, Phoenix) but the C’s have Garnett’s burning desire leading them. Piecre, Allen and Garnett are all playoff battle tested, losing in conference championship series. And the Celtics are hoping it up like the Spurs (last year’s champs), playing the best defence in the NBA right now, and scoring efficiently on the offensive end, a winning combination. Who knew it would take 12 years for title number 17?

FWIW: $4.12-Roger Clemens or Barry Bonds explode.

Allegedly (hahahaha!), these two baseball superstars took boatloads of performance enhancing drugs to pile up Hall-of-Fame totals. I think one, or both, will actually explode from all the crap they’ve (allegedly…hahahahaha!) put in their bodies.

FWIW: $95.01-This year’s Super Bowl will be the biggest of all-time.

Ratings will go through the roof as the top two teams in the AFC, New England and Indianapolis and the top two teams in the NFC, Dallas and Green Bay, have huge North American fan bases. If the Patriots make it, it’s no contest. A team going for a perfect 19-0 season? Last year’s game, Super Bowl XLI, between Indy and Chicago drew over 93 million viewers States-side, the largest crowd to date. MASH’s 1983 finale is the most watched U.S. programme in history, with over 105 million tuning in. Expect more if the Pats are playing in Glendale in February (Jacksonville-Washington on the other hand….)

FWIW: $100.00 Global Lethbridge continues to provide great coverage of Southern Alberta sports.

Just a plug for the work Paul Kingsmith and myself do around here. Tune in at 6:00 and 11:00, 7 days a week on Global Lethbridge for ‘real’ Southern Alberta TV sports coverage. Or if you have the satellite, remember you can watch on-line at www.globallethbridge.com”

All the best for ’08….I’ve got a cast to do….

Perplexing Perfection

December 28^th, 2007

Just a bit of a preamble before I get into some thoughts about the end of the NFL regular season. I’m going to scale back the dollar values in my “For What it’s Worth” blog entries. I’m not going to exceed $100. Just so there’s some sort of scale that better represents what I really think what my rants are worth. So, from this point onward, the top of the scale is $100, the bottom .01 cent (of course, I reserve the right to break this rule at any time, and remember, FWIW’s are in Canadian Dollars, unless otherwise specified).

For What it’s Worth: $54.18

The New England Patriots are one game away from writing a new chapter in the NFL history books. As of this writing Bill Belichick and company are one victory shy of a perfect 16-0 regular season. And despite this tremendous accomplishment, I’m not awed by the Pats like many football fans are.

As we all know, the 1972 Miami Dolphins is the only team to win all its game in a campaign, going 14-0 in the regular season. The ‘Phins then won all 3 of their playoff match-ups, beating Washington 14-7 in Super Bowl VII. This was before my time, so I can’t really say if this club is the greatest team in NFL history, but due to it’s accomplishments, it’s in the conversation (although I’m sure I’d have loved to cheer on Larry Czonka, Mercury Morris and Nick Buoniconti…what a set of names!).

There’s no question, this edition of the Patriots is a great side. The incomparable Tom Brady leads the offence. Randy Moss has re-established himself as the league’s greatest deep threat at wide receiver. The offensive line is amazing, allowing Brady the time to throw deep balls, and still opening up holes for the run game that’s averaging 4.2 yards per attempt (tied for 9^th in the NFL-not bad for a club that’s not know for it’s run game).

The defence has its playmakers. Asante Samuel is one of the top corners in the league. Mike Vrabel has 12.5 sacks to lead a veteran linebacking crew. The Pats are fourth in the NFL in team defence, allowing 286.5 yards per game, and are tied with Tampa Bay giving up a league low 15.9 points per contest.

Yet, I believe the Patriots will lose somewhere in the NFL playoffs. And despite running the regular season table (I’m giving New England a Week 17 win over the New York Giants-the G-Men can’t improve their playoff standing with a victory and will sit their starters for most of this game, while the Pats are going for 16-0 baby!), the Pats story will be the ultimate tale of peaking too early.

New England’s resume includes its share of impressive victories. A come-from-behind victory over the defending Super Bowl champs, Indianapolis in November, a 48-27 pummelling of NFC regular-season titlists Dallas in October. Plus, w’s against playoff bound Pittsburgh and San Diego.

However, the Pats got fat on the rest of their schedule: two wins apiece over Miami (1-14), the New York Jets (3-12) and Buffalo (7-8) in the AFC Least. In fact, the Pats 15-0 mark has come against opponents a combined 23 games under .500.

New England’s looked pretty mortal in the past 5 weeks. Narrow victories over Philadelphia (led by back-up quarterback A-J Feely, who threw a fatal late game interception) and Baltimore (Brady’s last second TD, helped by a controversial penalty on fourth down, keeping the Pats last drive alive) had plenty of red flags.

Here’s the crux of the matter, the Patriots have a fatal flaw. The team has difficulty stopping the run. Look at the stats, and New England’s ranked 9^th against the run, allowing less than 100 yards per game. Very respectable. However, most teams early in the campaign abandoned running the ball against the Pats because they were behind by 20 before the kick-off. In the last month, teams have averaged 125 yards per game. In the near-loss to Baltimore, the Ravens gashed the Patriots for 166 yards on the ground.

It all comes down to the match-ups in the post-season. Looking at the AFC draw, I believe the Pats would have no trouble trouncing the Steelers (who have defensive issues), Chargers (who have coaching and quarterbacking issues), and whoever grabs the final wild-card berth-Titans/Browns (who each have not-enough-talent issues).

However, Jacksonville can give the Patriots a game. Knowing New England’s weakness, the Jaguars can exploit it. Dynamic duo of Maurice Jones-Drew and Fred Taylor (who should combine for over 2000 yards of rushing goodness) can pound the rock with the best of them. But if the Jags quickly fall behind the Pats, there’s no way David Garrard will lead them back throwing the football.

The best bet (still) is Indianapolis. Is Tony Dungy’s crew the least appreciated Super Bowl champ of all-time? The Pats pursuit of perfection has completely overshadowed Indy’s 13-2 campaign. The Colts are getting healthy at the right time. Indianapolis’ 3^rd ranked offence welcomes back Marvin Harrison. The all-pro wide out is recovering from a knee injury, which has sidelined him for 10 games. As impressive as the Colts offence is, the defence is becoming one of the NFL’s best. It’s ranked third in the league as well, despite losing top pass rusher Dwight Freeney to a season-ending foot injury.

I see Indy heading to Foxboro late next month and pulling out a close victory thanks to a healthy dose of Joseph Addai and the ability to stonewall any Patriot running attack. Call it 31-28 Colts in the AFC Championship game.*

So, a 16-0 regular season is great…but an undefeated post-season is much, much better.

*A word of caution, I’ve rarely predicted anything correctly. It’s known as the B.K.D. (Baceda Kiss of Death). So don’t go and bet the mortgage on the Colts winning the Super Bowl. In fact, the Patriots will probably win in a walk.

Bandwagon Anybody?

FWIW: $5756.93

It’s time for Southern Alberta to jump on the Lethbridge Hurricanes bandwagon. Often a stigma is attached to bandwagon jumping…in this case….get over it. If you like hockey, then it’s easy to like these ‘Canes.

This year Michael Dyck’s crew has accomplished plenty in the Western Hockey League’s first half. There’s nothing like a streak of points in 14 straight games (a 13-0-0-1 run to boot!) to get people talking. Scouts have noticed, giving the ‘Canes props, ranking them in the Canadian Hockey League’s top ten briefly this month.

If you like offence, the Hurricanes have enough firepower to satisfy. Gifted players like Mitch Fadden and Zach Boychuk look great on the highlights (as seen on Global Lethbridge Sports @ 6&11, or watch on-line @ www.globallethbridge.com, for those of you who have a “satellite”), but to see their moves in person is even better. Sure, the ‘Canes are only 7^th in the ‘Dub’ in scoring, but they don’t get to pad their stats by playing Portland 9 times a year.

If you like defence, the ‘Canes are vastly improved in keeping the puck out of their net. The club is giving up just over 2.6 goals a game, and share a pair of netminders, Michael Maniago and Juha Metsola who are 9^th and 10^th in GAA in the WHL respectively. The blue-line is anchored by their captain, Foremost’s Ben Wright (c’mon support a local-ish kid), 17 year-old rookie Luca Sbisa (who’s playing for Switzerland at the U20 World Championships starting boxing day in the Czech Republic) and 18 year-old Jesse Craige (who’s quietly putting together a fine campaign, leading the ‘Canes in plus-minus).

There’s plenty of grit to this ‘Canes squad as well. While they don’t have anybody matching Mike Reich’s douchbaggery (thank the hockey gods), Mitch Versteeg, Luke Weins, and Mike Wuchterl aren’t afraid to chuck some knucks.

The best reason to watch the Hurricanes is that more often than not, the club gives an honest effort. These kids are trying hard, trying to get better, trying to improve, trying to become a force in the ‘Dub.’

Make no mistake, the ‘Canes have a great amount of local support. However, there’s plenty of room at the Enmax Centre for about a thousand more fans. The team is averaging just over 3600 fans for their first 22 home games; the capacity of the old Sportsplex is nearly 4800. A game against Calgary on December 12^th, with first place in the Central Division and Eastern Conference on the line, drew just 3200. That’s pretty disappointing.

So Southern Alberta, it’s time to support major junior hockey again. Start now. Buy some tickets; check out the Hurricanes for one or two (or all) of their 14 home games left. Get to know the team. Become a fan again. It’s more fun than you probably remember. And as for the decade plus since the Hurricanes won a playoff series, forget about it. There was a time (not too long ago) when Medicine Hat was the WHL’s laughing stock. Now you can’t get a seat at the Arena. And the way the Hurricanes are shaping up for this season, and the future, the balance of power just might be shifting down Highway 3. Remember, it’s always best to get on the bandwagon early….than too late, or even worse, not at all.

For What it's Worth

December 19, 2007

“And ye shall bloggeth the truth.” Anonymous

I see a lot of potential in the ‘blog,’ (short for the Latin phrase ‘weblog,’) so I’m diving in with my own, “For What it’s Worth,” (I really like to get in on a trend in it’s early stages). On a semi-frequent basis, I plan to cover a wide range of topics. Expect to find a lot of thoughts on Southern Albertan sports (the Lethbridge Hurricanes, high school athletics, toupee chasing) and whatever else fuels my muse (the NHL Draft, Leeds United football, George Parros’ mustache).

And because I want to give any readers full value, I’ll include a price tag (For What it’s Worth-FWIW, get it?) to my thoughts. The higher the price, the more I’m inclined to believe in what I’ve written.

For example:

FWIW: $1500.00-The New England Patriots are a good football team.

FWIW: $138.90-Roger Clemens used steroids as much as Barry Bonds did.

FWIW: $.06-Chris Simon will win the NHL Lady Byng award.

Some entries will be long, insightful (*fingers crossed*) and thought provoking. Others will be shorter, amusing (*fingers crossed*) quick hits.

So stay tuned, jump on the FWIW bandwagon while there’s plenty of good seats and warn your friends.