Minnesota Twins 1B Justin Ernest George Morneau has won the 2006 AL MVP Award. YEs the guy who I believe is not even the most valuable on his own team won the award for the whole damn league. Nevermind that slowly and quietly Canadians, not to mention BC Boys, are dominating American sports. Victoria, BC native Steve Nash is the reigning NBA 2-time MVP, and now to me, just as inexplicably, New Westminster, BC's own Morneau has won the AL MVP. As a fellow British Columbian living in the States, I'm ecstatic for Morneausy, and the incredible improvement he showed this year. He hit .321/.375/.559 with 34 HR's and was 2nd in the AL with 130 RBI, obliterating his previous career highs. Most Improved player in the American League? Without question. But just as Nash wasn't the league's best nor most valuable in either year he won it, Morneau was neither the Twins best or most important player.
Upon hearing the announcement, I emailed the following to my buddy Jer: Morneausy won the MVP. Wow. Just Wow. I love him and he's a Vancouver boy and all, but wasn't he the 3rd most important player on his own team? I'm counting Santana and Mauer ahead of him, and you could make an argument for Nathan and Liriano as well. Did I mention wow?
Jer's response was excellent as always, and it's this reasoning that won Morneau the MVP:
I see your point about Morneau, but I disagree in a sense. As far as leadership, he probably is the third most important person on his team, but you have to immediately rule Santana out because, whether you agree with it or not, he’s a pitcher and most writers aren’t going to vote for a pitcher. And as far as Mauer being more important than him, he is, in a sense, but Morneau played every single day (153 games) while Mauer played 120 games. In addition I think the non-tangible fact that by Morneusy being the power hitter that the Twins needed all along, this allowed the rest of the lineup to fall into place as it did (i.e. Torii being able to be a #6 hitter, Mauer being a #3 hitter), so the entire lineup was able to bat where it should and so to it’s greatest potential. There is no chance that Torii has the offensive year that he had if he isn’t batting in the 6th position. Plus, outside of batting average, his numbers are just better than Mauer.
I told you it was a good argument, yet I still disagree. For one thing Santana was this team's runaway MVP. He completed the pitcher's Triple Crown (Wins, ERA, K's) and was the unanimous selection as the Cy Young Award winner. Jer is absolutely right that "most writers aren’t going to vote for a pitcher" to which I think the writers are wrong. No matter how well Morneau or Mauer or the rest of the lineup hit, they weren't winning the AL Central without Santana's 19 wins, 2.77 ERA, and 247 strikeouts. They don't even get close. And if you're having a conversation about which player you'd want to start a franchise with, Santana's one of the first 3 names you'd come up with. So tell me again why he shouldn't be in the MVP conversation? (Jer wasn't arguing this point by the way, but I believe Santana's efforts works against Morneau's case).
As for Morneau being more important than Mauer, here I also disagree. Yes his numbers are better (except for average and OBP), but Mauer's a much better defensive player at the game's most grueling position, which even though it obviously doesn't, should count for something. Him getting on-base at a .429 clip also makes the jobs of the hitters behind him that much better. And although I totally agree that Torii Hunter had a career year because the Twins weren't counting on him in the middle of the order, you can attribute this just as much to Mauer and Cuddyer as you can to Morneau.
Beyond that, Mauer and Santana are the best players in the league at their position, and it's not even close right now. Morneau is certainly one of the better first basemen in the AL, but honestly, even factoring in their non-existent defense, HONESTLY- if you could have Travis Hafner (42HR, 118 RBI .297/.402/.583), David Ortiz (54 HR, 137 RBI .287/.413/.636) or Morneau, which one are you taking? You're kidding yourself if you don't say Morneausy is 3rd on that list.
Oh and one other thing: bottom of the 9th, 2 outs, with the winning run at second. Who would you want at the plate- Mauer or Morneau? You're kidding yourself if you pick Morneau there too.
When Denver kicker Jason Elam booted a field goal to tie the game with 1:47 left in the 4th quarter, my roommate Kris and I looked at each other and said "Too much time." The cameras then panned to the sideline showing Indianapolis Colts QB Peyton Manning standing with offensive coordinator Tom Moore. And honestly? They could have been two guys standing beside a grill in the tailgate lot or by the water cooler, or at their kids' baseball game. They were calm and cool and confident as could be. They were faced with one of the most difficult things to do in sports- the 2 minute drill- and they had no doubts they would get it done. None. It wasn't a question of WOULD they be able to get into field goal range, it was more deciding which way to do it this time? Something different to ####e it up maybe? I could have sworn I saw Manning say "too much time!"
Giving Manning 1:47 to set up a game-winning field goal with all 3 timeouts? It just wasn't fair, and anybody watching knew it. SHouldn't there be a new rule (for regular season games only, of course) that Manning should only be given under a minute and 1 timeout, just to make it interesting? But the NFL allowed him to keep all that time and all those timeouts and Manning surgically ripped the heart out of the Broncos in one of the toughest venues to win in sports: Mile High at night. A dump pass here, and handoff there (a handoff!! See now that's just getting cocky), and then a couple of passes to Reggie Wayne (he of the 3 TD day who abused poor Bronch CB Derrant Williams all game) and they were in range. IT was bad enough that you knew Manning would get them in position, but to have the greatest clutch kicker in history jogging off the sidelines to seal it? And of course he did. Colts win again, and remain undefeated.
Manning looked like the best QB who ever lived in that game, and yet last night proved for me yet again that Tom Brady is still the best. BRady did what he's rarely allowed to do in the Patriots team-first system, which was go out of the shotgun and pick teams apart. Last night it was a good Vikings D he carved up (at another time we'll delve into why Belichek IS the best coach in the game. With 2 good running backs he could have tried to pound the ball against a good run D. Instead? He airs it out all game long. Even up 24-7 in the 3rd, he continued to let Brady go shotgun, and Brady continued to complete passes. Anyway, another story for another time but just wanted to mention it). We're so quick these days to want to name everything the best or worst ever, to name instant greatness when one of the hallmarks of greatness is of course longevity and consistency, two measures that can't be judged or granted instantly. But we continue to make the ridiculous comparisons, like one of the guys in NBC's Sunday Night Broadcast saying with a straight face that new Cowboys QB Tony Romo reminded him so much of BRett Favre. And Joe Montana. Really? Why leave out Roger Staubach, Bart Starr and Johnny Unitas? Ridiculous.
But for all the overhype we have to endure, the Brady/Manning rivalry is every bit as good as Montana/Marino was. Manning with the gawdy stats and the playoff failures, and Brady with the 3 Super Bowl rings. These 2 teams play Sunday Night on NBC (thank god it's not on E!SPN) and you're going to get these 2 guys shoved down your throat for the next 5 days, but no matter how much they overhype it, these two are the real deal: and nobody else is even close. That more than anything is what I took away from their two impressive performances, that as bad and mediocre as NFL quarterbacks are these days, Brady and Manning are head and shoulders better than anybody else (sit down Mr. Favre. Sit down). I would still take Brady over Manning 7 days a week and twice on Sundays. I still need to see Manning get to the Super Bowl to put him ahead of Brady. I think Manning will take Marino's place as the greatest statistical quarterback in history, but like Marino I don't think he wins a Super Bowl. I'd like to be proven wrong because it would only enhance the rivalry, and let's be honest, after last year's gawd-awful Steelers/Seahawks Super Bowl, we NEED somebody like the Colts in there to give it some juice.
Manning does have more talent around him than Marino ever did (just the fact alone that he's had a running game around him), and I wonder if Manning's slowly learning from what happened to Marino and Montana, and now Brady. After his incredible record-setting 2004 season when his Colts still fell flat in the playoffs, I think the light went on for Peyton. Marino tried all those years to win it by himself and it never happened. But I think he looks at Montana and BRady, who are great when they need to be, but don't have to put up the gawdy stats, and is starting to take a page from them. Will he throw more than Brady will or Montana did? Absolutely, and with that arsenal of receivers, he should. But Manning's proved the last couple years that he's willing to put his ego and big passing numbers aside to win ugly if that's what it takes, because a win's a win no matter how you get it- especially in the playoffs. I think Manning's taking what the defenses give him more than ever, and like Brady, can turn it on and take over when need be. If he had Vinatieri kicking for him last year against the Steelers instead of "The Drunk Kicker" we be talking about him as a Super Bowl champ instead of doing another A-Rod impression. Look no further than the Broncos game for an example. He was 14-17 for just 132 yards and no TD's in the first half. The game was close and Manning was taking what he was given. IN the 2nd half he decided to make Derant Williams his personal ####, throwing again and again to Reggie Wayne. It resulted in the Colts victory.
Am I openly cheering for Goliath, for Peyton, for the guy that's being shoved down our throats as the new Face of the NFL? I am. For the sake of good and watchable football in an age of inconsistency and mediocrity, I'm dying for a juggernaut and a dynasty and a rivalry. The folks at E!SPN and other outlets are doing everything possible to make us believe in contrived rivalries and "great" players, but there's nothing forced about the Pats and Colts. Contrasting styles meeting twice a year (hopefully anyways) to battle for football supremacy. Can Peyton shake the "A-Rod of football" tag? Can Brady continue to be the best quarterback on the planet? We'll get a glimpse of it this Sunday night, and I know I'll be watching, because in today's NFL, it's Brady, Manning...and everbody else.
SAY IT AINT SO, JOE New York Yankeess manager Joe Torre has won 4 World Series, more than any other active manager. He's won 1079 regular season games in his 11 years in the Bronx, that's an AVERAGE of 98 wins a year!!! Just think about that for a minute. He's great with his players and even better with the press, and yet today, Torre probably gets canned. Why? Because he hasn't won a title in 6 seasons. So it goes in New York.
I heard an explanation for why Torre's taking the fall today, and it was actually applied to Ty Willingham at Notre Dame (who, by the way, has my Washington Huskies at 4-2, and ALMOST pulled off the upset against USC). In college football, if you FEEL like a top 10 program (and feel's the key word there), then only a National Title will do. Ty Willingham's a good coach. I'm grinning ear-to-ear that he the Irish fired him, because he's going to do some good things at UDub. But ND felt like Willingham wasn't the best coach out there (Urban Meyer was. Remember that the next time a Golden Domer sings Weis' praises. He wasn't their first choice. Or 2nd. Or 3rd...Luck o' the Irish). Despite a very good record, both in the standings and academically, he wasn't in the title hunt every year, so he got the axe. Frank Solich averaged 9 wins a year at Nebraska and got fired. Ron Zook is the laughing stock of Gainesville. Know how many wins a year he averaged before the Gators pink-slipped him? 8. 90% of the college programs out there would kill for that. Not at Florida.
And the same applies for the Yankees. With the highest payroll in baseball, their goal is a World Series title. Every year. And because Torre hasn't won one in 6 years, they're going to find somebody else. Torre's the best manager in baseball, and Lou Piniella or whoever replaces him won't be as good. So it goes in New York.
THE LESSON HERE IS AS FOLLOWS: 1) Good Pitching Still Beats Good Hitting The Yankees had the best hitting lineup ever. Ever. And they lost to Detroit. The Tigers pitching was awesome. Kenny Rogers had the game of his life, and maybe the most important game for the Tigers since 1984, with his win in game 2 in the Bronx. The Yankees pitching was suspect all year, and in the end it got them. Talk all you want about the Yankees payroll and that's why they won their 4 Titles. It also helped they had good starters and a lights out bullpen- something the Tigers seem to have now. And so do the A's. Should be a good series.
2) A-Rod will never, EVER win a World Series I started saying this about 3 years ago, how A-Rod and Peyton Manning could go down as the greatest regular season performers ever in their sports- but they'll never win the Big One. With The Greatest Lineup In History around him, and no other Goliaths in the postseason, I thought A-Rod would prove me wrong this year. Nope. The guy just doesn't have "It". He just doesn't, and the Yankees know it now. Honest to goodness I think he gets moved in the offseason. I have no idea where he goes, but I think he will, for the same reason Torre's gone. He is the best player in baseball, but not in New York, and he hasn't produced AT ALL in the postseason. I know the Yanks are getting a good deal on his contract (Texas is STILL paying for a good chunk of it) but the guy was a huge distraction this year, and it seemed like he's lost the respect of some of this teammates. He proved this year he just can't handle the world's brightest media spotlight, and that he'd be better off being the game's highest paid player somewhere else. Where that somewhere else is, I don't know, but I'd be surprised if he's still in Pinstripes for spring training come March.
AT THE OTHER END OF THE SPECTRUM FROM THE YANKEES IS... your Minnesota Golden Gophers football team. What an awful, awful loss. Bad enough that the Gophers kicker misses an extra point (the Sports Guy has made this comment, and for good reason: with all the bloody soccer players in the world, and we can't find 119 guys to consistently make extra points and 35 yd field goals in college?!?!?), but what's worse is he should have been off the hook. That pass intereference call on 4th down against Trumaine Banks was just plain lying. THERE WAS NO PASS INTERFERENCE!!! I'm not sure when Jer will be able to rationally talk about this. His hatred for Mason may have just eclipsed mine for Kevin McHale. Since I wasn't born into the Wolves, I have the option of no longer following them to maintain my sanity. Jer? Not so much. Hang in there fella.
WHAT'S UGLIER? Rosie O'Donnell in a bikini, or the Minnesota Vikings offense? GO GET JERRY PORTER! NOW! The Raiders season is finished and Porter, a big-play WR, can be had for pennies on the dollar. This offense stinks. Any defense can play the run AND the pass by simply bringing your safeties up 5 yards off the line of scrimmage. Why? Because Brad Johnson can't or won't throw it any farther than that. They have no weapons on offense. They've got less than 2 weeks to go get one before the trade deadline, or there'll be no playoffs for the Purple. By the way: that Buffalo team that beat the Vikes last week? Got demolished 40-7 by Chicago yesterday. Just keep that in mind.
Do we even need to review the Vikings or Gophers losses? If you read this site Friday, you'd have known it was going to happen. The Gophs season is essentially over, and if the Vikings don't find a way to get some offensive touchdowns, there's could be as well. But the Twins? My goodness the Twins!
This just feels like the year of destiny, doesn't it? I've been sitting here all morning trying to rationalize their strengths and weaknesses, but what this team has done and is still capable of doing defies logic. There's really no other way to say it. Tied with the Tiggers going into the weekend, I would have said a Gopher win over Michigan was more probable than the Tigers getting swept by the Royals, a team I pointed out on Friday (as did everybody else) that were just OWNED by Detroit. And yet it happened. The Twins took 2 of 3 from a White Sox team that had to feel like it was playing in the Twilight Zone instead of the Metrodome. They had a playoff team down there on the SouthSide, and a team that on paper was better than the Twins or Tigers, yet they'll be watching the playoffs from home instead of defending their title. And I think that's the point: it takes more than talent to win a World Series. You have to have luck and chemistry, and since June the Twins have had a ton of both.
The chemistry, with the "Smell those Runs" campaign started by backup catcher Mike Redmond, is the best in baseball. Seeing them on the field after the game, watching the Jumbotron to await the DEtwah/KC finish, they just looked like a team of guys that really liked each other and really got along. The Yankees are unquestionably the best team in the postseason. That shouldn't be argued by anyone. They have flaws, sure, but that offense alone is enough to overcome any pitching woes they have. But don't they seem like a bunch of hired guns forced to work together? Like every guy there wants to win for himself (well other than Jeter), not for the other guys in the room? Sure there's an "I" in Minnesota, but there's also t-e-a-m! And that's what gives your hometown 9 as good a chance as anybody to win their first World Series since 1991.
Now back to logic. DO NOT, for one second, take this Oakland team lightly! I know the Twins won't, but I worry there's a lot of fans out there who are already dreaming about a Twins/Yankees ALCS (let's be honest, if the Tiggers take a game, I'd be surprised. I won't bore you with the breakdown but they don't match up well at all with the Yankees. Not that anyone does, but you know). Don't. Worry about the guys in Green and Gold first, because they're a very good team and have been just as hot as the Twins down the stretch. This is a Billy Beane "Moneyball" team to a tee: solid pitching, good defenders, and patient hitters. Their lineup doesn't get much respect (then again neither does the Twins outside the Land O' Lakes), and the only offensive category they're better than MInnesota in is homeruns (and this isn't exactly the Reggie Jackson A's of the 1970's or the Steroid Boys of McGwire and Canseco), but they've still got some veteran hitters that can hurt you.
The Twins have baseball's best bullpen (scroll halfway down this column by Jason Stark to see other teams raving about the Twins pen), but the A's have starting pitching, something the Twins are very thin on. Both clubs fit the "Little Engine that Could" tag, so it should be a great series, but the A's don't have Santana, Mauer, Morneausy (who, by the way, was sporting a Todd Bertuzzi Vancouver Canucks t-shirt during postgame fesitivities. Kind of brings a tear to the eye watching the local kid), or any ability to "Smell those Runs" so the Twins get the edge.
HOWEVER, Minnesota has to win the opener tomorrow. Let me repeat that: they HAVE TO WIN THE OPENER. And just because Santana's on the hill tomorrow, doesn't make Game 1 a gimme. Zito is not only a lefty, which makes it tough on Mauer and Morneau, but he's also a soft-tosser, which seems to give the Twins fits this year (see Redman, Mark as an example). As Buster Olney points out in his blog (I'd link to it but if you don't have Insider there's no point), if Zito gets the fastball over for strikes early, he's going to make life difficult on Twins hitters because his big curveball, maybe baseball's best, becomes almost unhittable.
The pen will be the key here, and as Olney also points out, not only is the Twins pen better, but the A's don't have a lefty to neutralize the M&M Boys. If the Twins can get to Zito early, or at least battle him and get him out by the 5th or 6th, their chances look pretty good.
OF course as this Twins team proved over the weekend, they don't worry too much about logic or matchups or strengths and weaknesses: they just go out and win. And they're 11 more away from a World Series Title, no matter how improbable that may seem.
3 Minnesota teams in action this Sunday, so let's get to it (probably more if you count hockey, but really, is anybody ready for hockey in September? Of course not)
CHICAGO WHITE SOX @ MINNESOTA TWINS, Friday 7:10, Saturday 11:10am!!!!!(that's not a typo), Sunday 1:05pm. (FSN and channel 29) Final regular season weekend for your hometown 9, when we'll find out if they'll be hosting Oakland or more likely, traveling to the Bronx early next week. Twins and Tiggers are all square, but the Stripes have the tie-breaker, so the Twinks basically need to sweep this weekend in order to win the division. And even that may not be enough as Detwah has taken 13 of 14 from Kansas City so far this year. Minnesota's record against baseball's worst team? Just 10-6. Look no further than that stat as a reason they probably won't win the division.
However, my roommate Kris made a great point last night on why that might not be a bad thing: everybody's scared of the big, bad Yankees, and rightfully so. They are clearly the best team in baseball and clearly the best bet to win the World Series. However, if the Twins win the division and defeat Oakland, they'd likely play the Yankees in a 7 game series. But if the lose the division, they'd play the Yankees in a best-of-5. I figure the road through to the World Series goes through the Bronx Bombers, so as Kris would, I'd rather play them in a 5 game series instead of 7, with Santana throwing twice, including the opener. Once we find out who the Twins are playing, we'll break it all down for you as always, but for now, don't be heartbroken if the Twins don't win the pennant this weekend.
Remember this: 3 of the last 4 World Series champs (Boston, Florida and Anaheim) were all wildcards- and all of them had to go through the Yanks.
#6 Michigan Wolverines (4-0) at Minnesota Gophers (2-2), Saturday, 7:00pm (ESPN) Big 10 football Saturday night under the lights- er dome. That outdoor stadium can't get here fast enough. Then again neither can a defense, a new coach, and a new athletic director. The GOphs have played Michigan tough the last few years, but it's hard to see this one being anything but a Maize and Blue parade of touchdowns. In those past couple of years, the Gophs had a great rushing offense and a decent defense. This year, the ground game as been better, but certainly not great, and the defense has been worse than usual, which is saying something for a Glen Mason team.
Making the uphill battle even steeper is that Michigan has been absolutely possessed this year, coming off their first 5 loss season in forever. Their D has allowed, are you ready for this- 74 yards rushing. Not on average. TOTAL. They held an always-powerful Wisconsin rushing attack to under 20 yards last week. That's not a good sign. And after last year's upset, I don't think there's any chance of a trap game for the Wolverines. There's just no way they overlook Minnesota this year. This a revenge hungry team, and the Gophs will be on the menu Saturday night.
MINNESOTA VIKINGS (2-1) at BUFFALO BILLS (1-2), Sunday, noon (Fox) I'm trying not to be Mr. Negative this weekend, but I think the Bills win this one. They've played three pretty good games, and could just as easily be 3-0 as 1-2. The D has been stout and they've got a good back in Willis McGahee (just ask him, he'll tell you). JP Losman actually completed some passes last weekend, throwing for over 300 yds for the first time in his young career. It'd be nice to see the Vikings score, what do you call those- OH YEAH an offensive touchdown, but I doubt it in a low-scoring slugfest, and you know Ralph Wilson stadium will be rocking because, honestly, what else is there to do in Buffalo? These two are evenly matched, but I see the Vikes sitting at .500 after this weekend. Hopefully I'm wrong.
Come back for more chipper and cheerful analysis next week! Have a good weekend everybody.
* Now that the ballpark issue has been settled in Minnesota, the looming question for the Twins has now become what to do with Torii Hunter? The guy HAS been the face of the franchise, but with the emergence of Joe Mauer and Hunter being owed $12 million for next season, he could be roaming center field for some other team by August. Local scribes have scoffed at the idea that trading Hunter is a necessity, that with the new ballpark coming, the Twins can now afford to keep him and show Twins fans they're serious about spending for a winner. Hunter had been relatively quiet of late, saying all the right things when asked about his future in the Land O' Lakes. But today in Ken Rosenthal's column, Hunter for the first time says he'd like to play elsewhere to save his legs from 4 more years of pounding on the Metrodome concrete- I mean, turf. Hopefully, this will encourage Twins GM Terry Ryan to look to move Hunter. THe Twinks have won 14 of 16, but are STILL 11 games behind the Tigers for first, and 9.5 behind the White Sox for the Wild Card lead. Although I'm in the minority on this one, I don't think the Tigers are coming back to earth. They've got veteran hitters up and down their lineup, and most importantly, have one of the league's best pitching staffs. Everyone is in agreement that the White Sox aren't slowing down either. The Twins are close to contending, but I don't think they'll be within striking distance (i.e. 6.5 games back of the Sox) by the end of next month. They need to deal Hunter, Stewart, and Lohse and build around a VERY solid core of Mauer, Santana, Liriano, Nathan and Morneau. Twins fans will keep coming to the park to watch those guys this year, and I believe are smart enough to understand that building for a very bright future makes more sense than a futile run at an unreachable playoff spot this year.
* Baseball's All-star game has officially become a joke. Fan voting is all the rage in all the major sports, because apparently these leagues believe fans will be more likely to watch if they get to vote in players. Well that's certainly true if you live in Boston and New York, because the Red Sox and Yankees are dominating the voting, and there's going to be more deserving players left at home because of it. Yanks or Sawks are the leading vote-getters at 6 of 8 positions for the American League, and only two- David Ortiz and Derek Jeter- are deserving. The all-star game is a mere popularity contest for the largest markets, and because of this some deserving players will be left at home. Most notably is Twins catcher Joe Mauer, who as of today is leading the majors in hitting at .369, but is probably won't be an all-star in 2006. Sox catcher Jason Varitek is leading, and has no business playing in the all-star game. White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen gets to choose the reserves, and has already said he'll take his own guy, A.J. Pierzynski, as the backup instead of Mauer. Sure, Guillen can point to his team having a great year and currently having ZERO all-star starters, as well as only getting to take one of his two prized first basemen. A legitimate beef, but don't take out your frustrations on a deserving guy. At least the game's best left-handed hitter, Big Papi, will be keeping Konerko or Thome out of the all-star game. There is catcher more deserving than Mauer but because of politics and biased fan-voting, Mauer won't get to go. Nice work, MLB: here's an opportunity to promote one of your rising young stars in the league, but instead you'd rather shove the overhyped Sox/Yankees rivalry down our throats one more time. Feel free to waste your time trying to vote in Mauer here.
* I'll let the Strib's Jim Souhan say what Jer won't let me: the Wolves need to consider dealing Garnett. And I'll add something Souhan didn't: IF the Wolves could get from the Bulls the #2 pick, next year's #1 from the Knicks, Ben Gordon and Luol Deng they couldn't pull the trigger fast enough for me. Although this would be the first time in history Kevin McHale has actually gotten 1st round picks instead of giving them away.
* I'm probably the only person in America who got excited about all the wheelings and dealings from the NHL's draft weekend, but I thought I'd share my joy anyways. Not only did my Vancouver Canucks make a HUGE deal to get Roberto Luongo, the franchise goalie we haven't had since...ok well we've never had a franchise goalie. But we got rid of Todd Bertuzzi in the process. Look, I was a big Bertuzzi guy even after the Steve Moore incident. It was tragic what happened to Moore and I wish him the best but the media's hatred of Big Bert was ridiculous. I've seen worse hits than his (Claude Lemieux hitting Kris Draper face-first into the boards is one example), but people who didn't care about and don't understand hockey took this as their chance to take shots at a game I love. Bertuzzi deserved the suspension he got, and I would have been fine with him getting another 30 games or so to start last season, but people's inability to move on baffles me. However, it was obvious after the incident Bert needed a change of scenery. He may never be the same player he was before the lockout, but if it's going to happen, it wasn't going to be in Vancouver. If Canucks GM Dave Nonis can lock-up (Lock it up! No YOU LOCK IT UP!) Luongo long-term my boys are on the fast-track back to Cup Contention. And in an added bonus, it creates the opportunity to get rid of extremely overrated goalie Dan Cloutier, who has basically been the bane of my existence.
* Great move by the Minnesota Wild to get Pavol Demitra from the LA Kings over the weekend. Yes, the Wild had to give up promising center Patrick O'Sullivan and the #17 pick from Saturday's draft, but the ramifications of this deal could be twice as nice. Demitra is a solid 2-way player that will finally give the Wild another bonafide sniper. Not only that, he and Marion Gaborik, the youngster the Wild are trying to keep, are good friends and showed great chemistry in the World Cup. This move not only boosts their offense now, but if it can encourage Gaborik to stay, it'll be a huge boost to the team for years to come.
* So I was looking through some old posts yesterday, trying to find one that I swore I wrote comparing Adam Morrison to Wally Sczcerbiak, proving that Morrison will be a better pro than people believe. Apparently I never wrote it (which means I WILL write it this week), but I did find the following from my NBA preview...
Mark Cuban needs to deal the Diggler now for as much as he can get, and build around someone else because the Dirk will not lead a team to the title. I had high hopes for him that maybe, just maybe, he'd be the first European to step-up when it mattered. Of course that was right before chewing out Jason Terry at the end of game 5 and then missing all 5 of his shots in OT. Maybe if he didn't shave his head every year things would be different, but I doubt it.
I was right at the time I wrote it, but boy I'm REALLY wrong now!! Dirk Nowitzki has risen from a good NBA player to one of the league's 5 best in the post season (I'll at least point out that he hasn't shaved the 'do this year), and I think this has been a good lesson for me to learn. Dirk hadn't come up big for the Mavs when it mattered, but he worked his tail off this offseason, and is now pretty much unguardable. He's shown more of a willingness to go into the post, and is killing the smaller guys down there that used to give him trouble. And the outside shooting? Yeah, it's still there.
I wrongly believed that if you couldn't get it done in the playoffs on more than one occasion, as was the case with The Dirk, then you'd NEVER get it done. Well Dirk has proven me wrong, as did Lebron. Unless you're Peyton Manning or Alex Rodriguez (who never have been and never will be clutch), apparently you CAN learn to be clutch!!
* A poll on ESPN.com had Dirk rated as the league's 5th best player behind Lebron, Wade, Kobe and Duncan. I agree with all of those except Duncan- even when 100% (which TD was not this year), his free throw woes make him less valuable than Dirk.
* Not that I'm ever right with predictions, but I like Dallas to win the series. They've got the size to contain Shaq (and by "contain" I mean make him work for his points), and guys like Josh Howard and Marquise Daniels to slow down Dwayne Wade (and by "slow down" I mean keep him shooting under 70% from the field). They also have the quickness on the perimeter to do what Detroit couldn't: drive to the basket on the slower Heat forwards and guards. Oh and have I mentioned Dirk is unguardable? Because he is. SHould be a fun series, although it's ridiculous we have to wait till Thursday to start it.
* Stanley Cup Finals start tonight (congrats to the 4 or 5 households that actually get OLN). I'm cheering for Edmonton because they're a Canadian team (and their best players are generally Canadian) and I hate Carolina (although I obviously support all the great Canadian players the Canes have). Carolina is a prime example of why the NHL isn't working and will never work in the South: Carolina has been one of the worst franchises for attendance since their inception. Sure, the place will be packed for the games, but how many people down there really care? The South has very passionate sports fans (as college football and that sport where guys drive cars and turn left for 4 hours will attest), but unless the team's in the Finals, the people don't show up. Send the team back to Hartford, send the Coyotes back to Winnipeg, and get rid of Florida, Tampa, Atlanta, Nashville, and Anaheim. Please.
* I may be losing my manhood, but I'm actually interested in the World Cup of Futbol. I still find a full soccer game to be boring, but the intensity with which fans in the rest of the world follow this sport, well it's impressive, and almost enviable. I still love the story that in the 2002 World Cup, Ireland (my ancestors) voted to change their clocks to Korean time (something like 9 hours ahead) so that they wouldn't have to watch the games at work. I don't think the amendment passed, but that's still impressive. THAT'S a passionate fan base. Of course the Irish didn't make it this year, and neither is Scotland (my other "homeland") but oh well.
* I'm REALLY ready for football season!! These June and July Sundays when there's NOTHING on reminds me how much I miss football.
* Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chris Henry was arrested for the 3rd time in 6 months. He's the early leader for the 2006 winner of the "Onterrio Smith Award for Athlete Who Just Doesn't Get It".
