Bagels & Biscuits

Do you prefer bagels and cream cheese or biscuits and gravy? Football on Saturdays or Sundays? Big 10 or SEC? The Braves or the Yankees? You know what? It doesn't matter. You can have it all right here.

Friday, December 22, 2006

The Kansas City Penguins? Get Used To It.

The Pittsburgh Penguins could have a new home next year. A failed attempt by the Isle of Capri gaming group to get a slots license has left the Penguins not knowing if they can build a new arena in Pittsburgh or if they must look elsewhere (The Isle of Capri offered to build a $300 million arena free of charge to Pittsburgh and the hockey team if they received a license to build a slots parlor in the city). Owner Mario Lemieux had a deal nearly in place to sell the team a couple of weeks ago, but that fell through. Now, he’s announced the team is off the market, and when the team’s lease with Mellon Arena (the arena they’ve played in since their formation in the 1960s) is up at the end of the season, they could be in the market for a whole new city.

It would be disappointing to see the Penguins leave Pittsburgh. They have had some great teams in the past and have a great rivalry with the Philadelphia Flyers. Plus, they have one of the most promising teams in the entire league. Their young core, including Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Jordan Staal and Marc-Andre Fleury is the best in the NHL. They actually have their last seven first-round picks playing on the team right now.

Some city is going to be lucky to have these young guys moving to town because they will be competing for the Stanley Cup in two or three years at the most (assuming the new location and potential new owners have the resources to pay for all the budding superstars).

With that, here are some of the possibilities for where they might go, and how the league should look at re-aligning teams to make the divisions accurate after the move. And, just a note, not sure if the name Penguins will be with the team next year either.

1. Kansas City – The most likely destination. Kansas City has been after a team for quite a while, and they have a brand new arena waiting for more tenants. With a modern arena in place and a city that wants a team, this makes the most sense. I’d say this is the likely location for the Penguins next year.

If this is indeed the move that is made, just a couple of teams could switch divisions to make this work. Kansas City slides into the Central Division creating some instant natural rivals (St. Louis being the most obvious). Nashville slides to the Southeast Division and Washington moves into Pittsburgh’s old spot in the Atlantic. Nashville is new enough that they don’t have big rivalries that would be affected. They are an up and coming team like Atlanta, and of course the last two Stanley Cup Champs reside in the Southeast.

Washington is a natural fit for the Atlantic because they used to play in a division with Philadelphia, New Jersey, the Rangers and Islanders. Re-igniting old rivalries by moving the Capitals into that division could actually save them. The Caps are in desperate need of something to spark some more support. They are averaging just under 13,000 fans a game and even then, not all of the “paid attendance” is showing up to games. Allowing them to play a ton of games against their old rivals from the 80s and 90s would energize the fan base, plus it would be easy for visiting fans to make the trip to D.C. This really would help the Caps (another up-and-coming team like the Penguins) probably as much as the Penguins.

I hesitate to make just a switch with Columbus moving to the Atlantic because Columbus is so close to Detroit and close enough to Chicago that they draw plenty of fans from those cities when the Red Wings and Blackhawks are in town.

2. Portland, Ore. – Portland supports one professional sports franchise already. They also have a junior hockey team in the city, so they have shown support for the sport before. This is probably the second most likely location for a move.

Moving to Portland could mean the Penguins move to the Northwest Division. From there, Colorado moves into the Central Division (who wouldn’t love to see the Red Wings and the Avalanche square off eight times a year). Nashville moves to the Southeast and Washington to the Atlantic. It’s a bit more of a stretch, but still doable. The second option would be to move Minnesota to the Central instead of Colorado, which is a very viable alternative.

3. Las Vegas – Vegas is probably a long shot, but this is a city that has been clamoring for a professional sports franchise for a long time. Hockey isn’t necessary the biggest sport for betting, so that would certainly help. Funding would probably be easy for a new arena. But the stigma of Vegas will be a serious drawback.

Moving the Penguins to Vegas would likely lead to a move to the Pacific Division. Then Dallas is off to the Central, Nashville moves to the Southeast and Washington to the Atlantic.

4. Winnipeg – They had a team once and they moved to Phoenix. Now they have a successful AHL team in the Manitoba Moose, so this is probably the least likely destination. If they couldn’t cut it as an NHL city once, what makes the league believe it would work a second time?

For this move, the Penguins would be moving into the Northwest, so that would lead to a similar scenario as if they move to Portland.

Clearly Kansas City, with a new arena and a desire to have a team makes the most sense. For re-alignment purposes, it could totally work, and it would provide the easiest divisional switches.

What do you think? Post your comments below on where you think the Penguins might end up and what divisional re-alignments would make sense.

Photo Source: http://www.cbc.ca/cp/hockey/061216/h121615A.jpg

Wednesday, December 20, 2006

Are You Missing Out?

Let me just disclose this is about hockey. If you have no desire to read about hockey, skip to the next post. Let me also add this is not about those playing hockey (I’ll probably be posting something on that in the next week). Nope, this is about someone broadcasting hockey games.

People debate and discuss the merits, strengths and weaknesses of baseball, basketball and especially football announcers regularly. Everyone has an opinion about Joe Buck, John Madden, Al Michaels and Marv Albert. Some might think they are good; some might think those guys suck. I am not here to talk about any of them.

I’m here to give praise the best play-by-play announcer in all of sports. He’s better at his job broadcasting sporting events than anyone broadcasting any other sporting event anywhere in the United States (I don’t have the pleasure or understanding of foreign languages to tackle broadcasters outside this country). His name is Mike Emerick.

He’s been a local broadcaster for the Devils for quite a while, and now also does games nationally for Versus (formerly the Outdoor Life Network). He’s broadcasted Olympic hockey, as well as water polo (yep, he made that fun to watch too). He isn’t a homer like most broadcasters, whether he is doing the local game or the national game. He gets equally excited when the home team scores a goal as the visitor. He never sounds rushed. He's been calling games long enough to know quite a bit about everyone in the league. The occasional mistake on a name is corrected before you know it.

All this and hockey is the toughest sport to do play-by-play (as far as team sports go – horse racing is probably pretty difficult too). With players shifting in the midst of action, it makes it tougher than baseball, football or basketball. He is about as smooth calling a game as the best players are at skating across the ice.

You might not like hockey, but if you appreciate the art of broadcasting a sporting event, take even just a few minutes to listen to Emerick. He really is the best at what he does. It’s not often that people get to witness the best, but Emerick is an opportunity to do just that. Who knows? He might even hook you on a sport that really is a lot of fun to watch.

Monday, December 18, 2006

'Losing Isiah' not quite the exec his former teammate is

They were once teammates in the same backcourt, playing a down-and-dirty style of basketball. Now they are in charge of running two different NBA franchises.

One has been wildly successful since moving upstairs — hiding behind the scenes while rebuilding an organization by making wise choices in the draft, allowing a coach named Larry Brown to come and go on his own terms and putting together a team that has already won one championship and has become a perennial contender.

The other has failed wherever he has been, has made terrible personnel decisions, poorly handled the firing of the same Larry Brown and never shies away from the cameras.

How decidedly different have the front office careers of Joe Dumars and Isiah Thomas been since they retired as players. It's pretty remarkable to see how much Dumars has thrived as Detroit's team president of basketball operations while Thomas has faltered as New York's general manager.


Among Thomas' career lowlights: running an entire league, the Continental Basketball Association, into the ground; overseeing the continued decline of the Knicks and picking fights with Denver Nuggets coach George Karl, San Antonio guard Bruce Bowen and ESPN analyst Greg Anthony, among others.

Dumars, meanwhile, has quietly reinvigorated a once-sagging Pistons franchise by stocking his team with hard-working players and hiring good coaches. Detroit wins most of the time. The Knicks usually lose. Dumars drafted a true talent from the Southeastern Conference named Tayshaun Prince. Thomas used a first-round pick on SEC also-ran Renaldo Balkman. Enough said, right?

In Dumars' case, yes. As far as Thomas is concerned..well...not exactly.

Not only is Thomas an incompetent executive, he has also become the face of a failing franchise. On the sidelines at Madison Square Garden, Thomas can be seen, carrying out his duties as head coach of the team he has helped construct. On the podium Saturday, there was Thomas explaining why his players may have taken out their frustration on the Denver Nuggets during the Knicks' 123-100 loss that dropped New York's record to 9-17.

If you haven't heard, there was a little brawl that took place over the weekend, and Thomas seems to have been behind New York guard Mardy Collins' hard foul of Denver's J.R. Smith that caused the two teams to engage in an old-fashioned donnybrook. For Thomas, it's the latest black eye that he and the organization he runs have shared. The man who once played for the Bad Boys is now known for being a bad general manager.

Maybe he should go seek the advice of his old backcourt buddy. At this point, what left is there for him to lose — except, of course, his foolish sense of pride?

Photo Sources: knicksonline.com, ESPN.com

Sunday, December 17, 2006

Random Baseball Thoughts

When thinking about this post I decided I would just write out some of my thoughts on a whole bunch of baseball issues instead of just picking one baseball topic to write about. Here they are:

Yankees – Andy Pettitte is a serious upgrade to the rotation. Forget what Rainer wrote earlier about clutch that sparked a huge debate. Flat out, Pettitte can pitch. He is still good and, after failing to land Daisuke Matsuzaka, Pettitte was a great choice to pick up for the rotation. He’ll probably slot in behind Mike Mussina and Chien-Ming Wang. Randy Johnson, assuming he’s healthy will be the fourth starter and Japanese import Kei Igawa will probably take the fifth spot in the rotation. That is a whole lot better than what they had going into the off season. Inserting Pettitte and Igawa (though still unproven) will probably put up better combined numbers than Wright and Pavano (or whoever took his spot because he inevitably would have been injured) would have.

New rumors have Melky Cabrera going to Atlanta as part of a three-way trade that could bring the Yankees Mike Gonzalez, the Pirates closer a year ago. Gonzalez is young and throws hard and would be a huge upgrade to a shaky bullpen. If they can swing that deal, the pitching staff, which was the Yankees soft spot a season ago, is vastly improved and puts them in a position to repeat as division champs and to potentially make another run at a World Series title. If Cabrera does go elsewhere, that could lead to a return for Bernie Williams as a part-time designated hitter as well.

Barry Zito – Among free agents this year, Zito is the last big man standing, and it’s just about time for him to cash in. But, where and for how much? Rumors are swirling that the Rangers are ready to offer $100 million for six years. The Mets, another big-time pursuer are said to be unwilling to go more than five years and about $75 million (they are basing it on Roy Oswalt’s extension he signed with the Astros last summer). Basically it will come down to if Zito is willing to take a few million less to play in a big city and a contender (the Mets) or go somewhere based on money (the Rangers).

When the Mets make their pitch for Zito in person, expect them to play up the city, atmosphere and all the extra cash in endorsements that playing in the largest city in America could bring. Zito’s father told the New York Times a couple of weeks ago for an article his son’s next contract wouldn’t be about money, but about legacy. Well, if Zito wants to create a lasting legacy and really wants to go where he has the best chance to win a ring, the Mets will provide the best option.

Red Sox – The Red Sox have improved their rotation (Daisuke Matsuzaka), their offense (J.D. Drew and Julio Lugo) and their bullpen (Brendan Donnelly, JC Romero). They also decided to hold onto Manny Ramirez, which I think was the best move they made all year. Manny makes everyone around him better, especially David Ortiz. Without Manny, Ortiz approaches Barry Bonds’s walk record (intentional and overall).

If they actually decide to move Jonathan Papelbon into the rotation, they still need to find a closer, but this team is certainly better than it was a year ago. Just a note on Romero; he pitched pretty bad last year, but if he can get back to pitching like he did in 2004 and 2005 in Minnesota, he will be a great addition to the pen.

San Diego Padres – The Padres have added Greg Maddux to the rotation and are looking to bring back David Wells. That would give them a rotation Jake Peavy, Chris Young, Clay Hensley, Maddux and Wells. That is a solid rotation. Peavy is a top-of-the-rotation guy, Young had a great year last season and Maddux regained some of his old self when he headed to the Dodgers at the end of the year. For a team with aspirations to win another division title, the rotation is their biggest strength.

Marcus Giles is a new target for the Padres as they look to upgrade on offense. The former Brave was non-tendered last week and San Diego makes the most sense. His brother plays on the team. He is from San Diego. And, the Padres need a second baseman. It all makes sense. They will have some competition though from the Mets and Red Sox for his services, but plan on Giles being the starting second baseman for the Padres.

Chicago Cubs – Mark DeRosa and Alfonso Soriano were added to the lineup and Ted Lilly and Jason Marquis in the rotation, the Cubs have added some pieces to help move them into contention in a division that was very weak last year. Soriano will provide a ton of power in hitter-friendly Wrigley Field. The question is; are the Cubs serious about having Soriano play centerfield? That could be, umm, interesting to say the least. Nevertheless, their offense is much improved. Derek Lee should be healthy after an injury-plagued 2006. Aramis Ramirez was re-signed as well, so this team should score runs.

The pitching staff is still a bit of a question. Lilly and Marquis were brought in and the Cubs overpaid. But I think every pitcher has been overpaid this off season. Lilly and Marquis will certainly help the rotation, so if you take cost out of the equation, those were both good moves to improve a shaky rotation from a year ago. If Mark Prior can ever stay healthy and Kerry Wood adapts to coming out of the bullpen, the Cubs have a legitimate shot at making the playoffs in 2007.

Jeff Bagwell – I just wanted to end up by mentioning Bagwell, who had to officially retire this week because of a chronic arthritic shoulder. Bagwell should make the Hall of Fame. In 15 seasons, all with Houston, Bagwell slugged 449 homeruns, drove in 1,529 runs, scored 1,517 runs and had a career .297 average. He was rookie of the year, won a most valuable player award, three-time silver slugger at first base and he was a four-time all star. He won one gold glove as well. He, like his teammate Craig Biggio, did so much for the Astros during his career and his numbers certainly are hall-worthy. I think he should make it.