Thursday, September 04, 2008
Thursday's Thoughts: TSN, Mats Sundin
by Jes
Americans have every right to be envious of our televised hockey coverage, especially that provided by The Sports Network (TSN), which has supplanted CBC as THE station to watch hockey on a regular basis, especially since they stole the frickin' theme song.
Unfortunately, the producers at TSN don't seem to have heard of the credo "too many cooks spoil the broth". While the network has always prided itself on getting well-known experts to be analysts on their hockey shows, it has long gotten past the point where there are just too many talking heads.
Look at the TSN roster of talking heads ...
James Duthie (studio host who tries too hard to be funny)
Bob McKenzie (The Insider and draft expert)
Darren Dreger (a former host who is suddenly an insider. Too stuck in MSM clichéd way of looking at the game)
Dave Hodge (Old man still kickin around. Likes to rant)
Keith Jones
Matthew Barnaby (surprisingly OK)
Darren Pang
Glenn Healy (utter crap and Leaf apologist)
Pierre McGuire (MONSTER!!!)
Mike Milbury (as bad as he ever was)
Scruffy, the janitor (more insightful than Healy)
Maggie the Monkey (psychic mammal)
Plus other special guests they get during the playoffs and D-day. In the past, they had Neil Smith, Jeremy Roenick, and Mike Keenan.
All too often, these "experts" (Mike Milbury is an expert, but on sucking) get very little screen time, and TSN is constantly switching from one face to another to get in a sound bite. It feels hurried and sporadic, and you can tell that they are trying their damndest just to fit people in, rather than provide in-depth analysis and insight the consumers demand.
So, the TSN solution appears to be to bring in MORE talking heads ... John Tortorella and Ray Ferraro.
On the positive side, I think both of these guys will be a huge benefit to TSN's roster. Tortorella is always a great quote, and unlike Milbury, actually knows what he is talking about and has actually had some actual success. Ferraro has proven himself to be well-spoken and a cool customer. He's worked hard to become an off-ice analyst and provides a lot more insight than the likes of Glen Healy and Greg Millen.
If TSN really wanted to improve their product, they'd get rid of some of the fat and trim off Milbury, Healy, Pang (he can go back to ESPN or Versus), and keep McGuire to the play-by-play booth.
---
Want to know where Mats Sundin head is these days? It's certainly not on hockey, since he's not even doing on-ice training.
Nope, the big lug is going to be playing Poker for the near future, leaving you wonder if any team ought to bother chasing the guy for much longer. His head obviously isn't in the game, and he certainly doesn't seem to have the FIRE that you'd want out of him.
Looking at what is left on the UFA market, however, can give you an idea why Gillis and his peers are still offering their first-born daughters to Sundin for his sacrificial fodder supply.
Other than Shanahan, no other uncommitted UFA is really worth the Canucks bothering with. Matvichuk and Murray might be able to play decent roles, but the rest is crap.
10. Nolan Pratt, 32, D. Slow, crappy.
9. Stephane Yelle, 34, C. Just signed with Boston. The Canucks don't need another Byron Ritchie failure.
8. Jeff Hamilton, 30, C. Who?
7. Geoff Sanderson, 36, LW. Soft, unproductive, and useless. Why does any team bother with this guy?
6. Bryan Smolinski, 36, C. Been there, done that.
5. Martin Gelinas, 38, LW. Again, the Canucks don't need another gritty 3rd-4th liner. Canucks fans still love the guy, but he's not that useful any longer.
4. Richard Matvichuk, 35, D. I wouldn't mind having him around in a 6th-7th defenseman role, especially over Nolan Baumgartner.
3. Jassen Cullimore, 36, D. Sloooooooooooooooooooooooooow.
2. Glen Murray, 35, RW. A decent sniper, but has serious health concerns. Canucks ought to give ice time to a prospect.
1. Brendan Shanahan, 39, LW. I'd like to see him on the Canucks, as he could provide 25-30 goals and take some heat off of the Twins and Pavol. Unfortunately, I doubt he'll come to a West Coast club.
Americans have every right to be envious of our televised hockey coverage, especially that provided by The Sports Network (TSN), which has supplanted CBC as THE station to watch hockey on a regular basis, especially since they stole the frickin' theme song.
Unfortunately, the producers at TSN don't seem to have heard of the credo "too many cooks spoil the broth". While the network has always prided itself on getting well-known experts to be analysts on their hockey shows, it has long gotten past the point where there are just too many talking heads.
Look at the TSN roster of talking heads ...
James Duthie (studio host who tries too hard to be funny)
Bob McKenzie (The Insider and draft expert)
Darren Dreger (a former host who is suddenly an insider. Too stuck in MSM clichéd way of looking at the game)
Dave Hodge (Old man still kickin around. Likes to rant)
Keith Jones
Matthew Barnaby (surprisingly OK)
Darren Pang
Glenn Healy (utter crap and Leaf apologist)
Pierre McGuire (MONSTER!!!)
Mike Milbury (as bad as he ever was)
Scruffy, the janitor (more insightful than Healy)
Maggie the Monkey (psychic mammal)
Plus other special guests they get during the playoffs and D-day. In the past, they had Neil Smith, Jeremy Roenick, and Mike Keenan.
All too often, these "experts" (Mike Milbury is an expert, but on sucking) get very little screen time, and TSN is constantly switching from one face to another to get in a sound bite. It feels hurried and sporadic, and you can tell that they are trying their damndest just to fit people in, rather than provide in-depth analysis and insight the consumers demand.
So, the TSN solution appears to be to bring in MORE talking heads ... John Tortorella and Ray Ferraro.
On the positive side, I think both of these guys will be a huge benefit to TSN's roster. Tortorella is always a great quote, and unlike Milbury, actually knows what he is talking about and has actually had some actual success. Ferraro has proven himself to be well-spoken and a cool customer. He's worked hard to become an off-ice analyst and provides a lot more insight than the likes of Glen Healy and Greg Millen.
If TSN really wanted to improve their product, they'd get rid of some of the fat and trim off Milbury, Healy, Pang (he can go back to ESPN or Versus), and keep McGuire to the play-by-play booth.
---
Want to know where Mats Sundin head is these days? It's certainly not on hockey, since he's not even doing on-ice training.
Nope, the big lug is going to be playing Poker for the near future, leaving you wonder if any team ought to bother chasing the guy for much longer. His head obviously isn't in the game, and he certainly doesn't seem to have the FIRE that you'd want out of him.
Looking at what is left on the UFA market, however, can give you an idea why Gillis and his peers are still offering their first-born daughters to Sundin for his sacrificial fodder supply.
Other than Shanahan, no other uncommitted UFA is really worth the Canucks bothering with. Matvichuk and Murray might be able to play decent roles, but the rest is crap.
10. Nolan Pratt, 32, D. Slow, crappy.
9. Stephane Yelle, 34, C. Just signed with Boston. The Canucks don't need another Byron Ritchie failure.
8. Jeff Hamilton, 30, C. Who?
7. Geoff Sanderson, 36, LW. Soft, unproductive, and useless. Why does any team bother with this guy?
6. Bryan Smolinski, 36, C. Been there, done that.
5. Martin Gelinas, 38, LW. Again, the Canucks don't need another gritty 3rd-4th liner. Canucks fans still love the guy, but he's not that useful any longer.
4. Richard Matvichuk, 35, D. I wouldn't mind having him around in a 6th-7th defenseman role, especially over Nolan Baumgartner.
3. Jassen Cullimore, 36, D. Sloooooooooooooooooooooooooow.
2. Glen Murray, 35, RW. A decent sniper, but has serious health concerns. Canucks ought to give ice time to a prospect.
1. Brendan Shanahan, 39, LW. I'd like to see him on the Canucks, as he could provide 25-30 goals and take some heat off of the Twins and Pavol. Unfortunately, I doubt he'll come to a West Coast club.
Labels: Brendan Shanahan, Mats Sundin, media, TSN, UFA
Friday, August 15, 2008
Friday's Frank Frothings
by Jes
From my correspondence with Blues fans over the years, there is one player that is almost universally venerated by most of them.
Brett Hull?
Al MacInnis?
Pavol Demitra?
Close, but it's Brendan Shanahan.
It's hard not to like Shanahan, the blue-collar scoring star with the charming good looks, lyrically pleasing surname, and gritty work ethic that most fans love in a player. Blues fans never saw quite that level of dedication in Hull, or that type of charm in Al MacInnis.
When Shanahan was dealt to the Whalercanes for Chris Pronger, it was almost like a hole was ripped in the fabric of Blues fandom. Even the fact that Shanny went on to success with the hated Wings didn't seem to dampen Blues' fans respect for the dude.
So, you can imagine how excited Blues fans are feeling at the prospect of Brendan Shanahan signing with the club for next season.
Jeff Gordon of St. Louis Today outlines many reasons why Shanny would be a good fit with the Bluenotes. He also makes the point that the Blues are getting some sweet PR points just by saying they'll attempt to sign Shanahan.
Of course, the Blues have had a bad habit of signing or trading aging forwards all too often in the past: Tkachuk, Weight, Guerin, Richer, Derek King (ugh), etc ... but I think Shanahan is worth going after.
Yes, he's 39, but he's still capable of producing some offense. Sure he's declined, but the guy is still a very good 2nd line winger with good skating ability. The Blues certainly have the cap space, so make it happen!
---
Over at his legendary blog, Joe Pelletier is counting down his Top 20 photos in hockey history. So far, he's posted #20 and #19.
Just a hunch, but I'm willing to bet a few Slovak Crowns that Bobby Orr's "Superman" will be #1.
---
There has been a lot of chomping in the media about how Canada's pathetic showing at the Summer Olympics. Yes, a pasty, somewhat out-of-shape (I haven't been to the gym much these days) hockey blogger has as many medals at the rest of Team Canada combined! ZERO!
Over at the National Post, blogger Scott Stinson opines that Canada just doesn't care enough about winning.
A few beefs and reefs.
1. Riots in Montreal and Vancouver suggest that fans don't always accept losing very well.
2. Many fans are upset that a Canadian team hasn't won a Stanley Cup in 15 years. That said, most players in cup winning teams are Canadian, so what's the big dealio?
3. Sport is just that. SPORT! The fact that anyone would riot over the result of a soccer game or hockey game shows how insecure, immature, and petty those people are. Sport is supposed to be entertaining, and if you are not a player or working for that particular organization, what the hell does a loss really mean for you?
Sure, I get upset and happy and all that, but I've never felt the need to light a car on fire ... although I do want to light Greg Millen on fire :)
4. Canada does treat sports like a hobby more than a profession, unless you play hockey, or maybe baseball. In Hungary, a professional fencer is seen as a professional fencer. How many Canadians would take that seriously as a career? In Canada, a fencer would work at Wal-Mart part time to support themselves.
5. Canada has, in the past, accepted "personal bests" far too often. Instead of wanting a GOLD MEDAL, we hear "Oh, I beat my personal best!" Bah, your personal best isn't good enough
6. Then again, who the hell really cares if we get Olympic medals or not? I've lost most interest in this Olympic mafia, and I don't really care to watch weightlifting or shot put.
7. Of course, I went nutso, as did the entire country, when Canada won Gold at Salt Lake City. Perhaps we just don't care enough about other sports.
From my correspondence with Blues fans over the years, there is one player that is almost universally venerated by most of them.
Brett Hull?
Al MacInnis?
Pavol Demitra?
Close, but it's Brendan Shanahan.
It's hard not to like Shanahan, the blue-collar scoring star with the charming good looks, lyrically pleasing surname, and gritty work ethic that most fans love in a player. Blues fans never saw quite that level of dedication in Hull, or that type of charm in Al MacInnis.
When Shanahan was dealt to the Whalercanes for Chris Pronger, it was almost like a hole was ripped in the fabric of Blues fandom. Even the fact that Shanny went on to success with the hated Wings didn't seem to dampen Blues' fans respect for the dude.
So, you can imagine how excited Blues fans are feeling at the prospect of Brendan Shanahan signing with the club for next season.
Jeff Gordon of St. Louis Today outlines many reasons why Shanny would be a good fit with the Bluenotes. He also makes the point that the Blues are getting some sweet PR points just by saying they'll attempt to sign Shanahan.
Of course, the Blues have had a bad habit of signing or trading aging forwards all too often in the past: Tkachuk, Weight, Guerin, Richer, Derek King (ugh), etc ... but I think Shanahan is worth going after.
Yes, he's 39, but he's still capable of producing some offense. Sure he's declined, but the guy is still a very good 2nd line winger with good skating ability. The Blues certainly have the cap space, so make it happen!
---
Over at his legendary blog, Joe Pelletier is counting down his Top 20 photos in hockey history. So far, he's posted #20 and #19.
Just a hunch, but I'm willing to bet a few Slovak Crowns that Bobby Orr's "Superman" will be #1.
---
There has been a lot of chomping in the media about how Canada's pathetic showing at the Summer Olympics. Yes, a pasty, somewhat out-of-shape (I haven't been to the gym much these days) hockey blogger has as many medals at the rest of Team Canada combined! ZERO!
Over at the National Post, blogger Scott Stinson opines that Canada just doesn't care enough about winning.
Consider, also, the number of times you have read about a sporting event in some other nation and wondered if the people weren't just a little bit crazy. A soccer match in South America sets off a bloody riot. A referee in Europe has to run from a hail of firecrackers after making a questionable call. Have their been similar such incidents in Canada? Some Calgarians lifted their shirts and/or peed in public during the Flames' playoff run a few years back, but that's about it. And we were shocked. A Canadian team hasn't won the Stanley Cup -- our own trophy -- in 15 years, and how upset are we?
A few beefs and reefs.
1. Riots in Montreal and Vancouver suggest that fans don't always accept losing very well.
2. Many fans are upset that a Canadian team hasn't won a Stanley Cup in 15 years. That said, most players in cup winning teams are Canadian, so what's the big dealio?
3. Sport is just that. SPORT! The fact that anyone would riot over the result of a soccer game or hockey game shows how insecure, immature, and petty those people are. Sport is supposed to be entertaining, and if you are not a player or working for that particular organization, what the hell does a loss really mean for you?
Sure, I get upset and happy and all that, but I've never felt the need to light a car on fire ... although I do want to light Greg Millen on fire :)
4. Canada does treat sports like a hobby more than a profession, unless you play hockey, or maybe baseball. In Hungary, a professional fencer is seen as a professional fencer. How many Canadians would take that seriously as a career? In Canada, a fencer would work at Wal-Mart part time to support themselves.
5. Canada has, in the past, accepted "personal bests" far too often. Instead of wanting a GOLD MEDAL, we hear "Oh, I beat my personal best!" Bah, your personal best isn't good enough
6. Then again, who the hell really cares if we get Olympic medals or not? I've lost most interest in this Olympic mafia, and I don't really care to watch weightlifting or shot put.
7. Of course, I went nutso, as did the entire country, when Canada won Gold at Salt Lake City. Perhaps we just don't care enough about other sports.
Labels: Brendan Shanahan, Olympics
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
New York Ranger$ Can't Buy Success
Not too long ago, the New York Rangers were a team full of high-priced superstars that lacked cohesion and a work ethic and continually missed the playoffs. Ah, those were the days.
Thanks in large part to Mark Messier's ego and need to play 18-minute a night when he was clearly outmatched, the Rangers never did collectively perform to the level of each individual player's ability added up. Lesser squads did far more with less talent, while the Rangers simply tried to fix problems by throwing more money in the fire.
After the lockout, the Rangers seemed to 'get it'. They let some of their young kids, such as Tyutin, Prucha, and Ortmeyer, get some key ice time. The Rangers used their money to sign 'smart' free agents, such as Marek Malik, and Brendan Shanahan, to fairly cheap deals. We saw the Rangers actually *gasp* make the playoffs and look like a pretty competitive team.
Then, the salary cap was raised, and suddenly the Rangers reverted back to form. We saw the Rangers sign some expensive contracts, some of the awful variety. Clearly, Glen Sather, free of some financial restraints, did not learn from his past mistakes.
Aaron Ward - $5.5mil over 2 seasons
Matt Cullen - $11.2mil for 4 seasons, and then they send him back to the Canes.
Scott Gomez - $51.5mil over 7 seasons.
Chris Drury - $35.25mil over 5 seasons.
The Rangers figured they could steal some karma from the Canes after the magical Raleigh run. While signing Ward wasn't a horrible deal, signing a 3-year line forward, as Cullen was, to that sort of deal with just nutso.
Figuring they ought to get some prime talent, instead, the Rangers spent a lot of money on a hard-to-coach playmaking centerman and a dearly overrated 2nd-line pivot, instead of re-signing Michael Nylander, a player who clearly meshed with the hard-to-please Jaromir Jagr.
The entire result of this has been a drought of African proportions. After last night's 1-0 loss to the Penguins, a team that has troubles stopping goals, the Rangers now find themselves having gone 2 games without a goal, and struggling with just 13 goals for in 8 games, by far the worst such totals in the league.
Yes, the Rangers can't even get 2 goals a game, despite having more talent, up front, than many other teams.
Let's assess the damage
Jaromir Jagr: 8GP 1-7-8
Chris Drury: 8GP 1-5-6
Scott Gomez: 8GP 2-1-3 (just 1 assist?)
Martin Straka: 7GP 2-1-3
Brendan Shanahan: 8GP 1-1-2 (WTF?)
Petr Prucha: 8GP 1-0-1
So, despite the fact that evil Swede Henrik Lundqvist is doing a great job in the nets (92.7SV%), the Rangers are 2-5-1 and generate just 21 shots on goal per game.
If I had to theorize as to what is wrong with the Rangers, it appears that they have a lot of finesse and little grit on their scoring lines. Clearly, there are a lot of egos to be stroked and few are willing to pay the physical price to get 'er done.
One weird stat that pops out is that Shanahan has 50 shots on goal in his 8 games, so he's clearly getting his chances. Of all of the players that should bounce back, he ought to be the one.
Thanks in large part to Mark Messier's ego and need to play 18-minute a night when he was clearly outmatched, the Rangers never did collectively perform to the level of each individual player's ability added up. Lesser squads did far more with less talent, while the Rangers simply tried to fix problems by throwing more money in the fire.
After the lockout, the Rangers seemed to 'get it'. They let some of their young kids, such as Tyutin, Prucha, and Ortmeyer, get some key ice time. The Rangers used their money to sign 'smart' free agents, such as Marek Malik, and Brendan Shanahan, to fairly cheap deals. We saw the Rangers actually *gasp* make the playoffs and look like a pretty competitive team.
Then, the salary cap was raised, and suddenly the Rangers reverted back to form. We saw the Rangers sign some expensive contracts, some of the awful variety. Clearly, Glen Sather, free of some financial restraints, did not learn from his past mistakes.
Aaron Ward - $5.5mil over 2 seasons
Matt Cullen - $11.2mil for 4 seasons, and then they send him back to the Canes.
Scott Gomez - $51.5mil over 7 seasons.
Chris Drury - $35.25mil over 5 seasons.
The Rangers figured they could steal some karma from the Canes after the magical Raleigh run. While signing Ward wasn't a horrible deal, signing a 3-year line forward, as Cullen was, to that sort of deal with just nutso.
Figuring they ought to get some prime talent, instead, the Rangers spent a lot of money on a hard-to-coach playmaking centerman and a dearly overrated 2nd-line pivot, instead of re-signing Michael Nylander, a player who clearly meshed with the hard-to-please Jaromir Jagr.
The entire result of this has been a drought of African proportions. After last night's 1-0 loss to the Penguins, a team that has troubles stopping goals, the Rangers now find themselves having gone 2 games without a goal, and struggling with just 13 goals for in 8 games, by far the worst such totals in the league.
Yes, the Rangers can't even get 2 goals a game, despite having more talent, up front, than many other teams.
Let's assess the damage
Jaromir Jagr: 8GP 1-7-8
Chris Drury: 8GP 1-5-6
Scott Gomez: 8GP 2-1-3 (just 1 assist?)
Martin Straka: 7GP 2-1-3
Brendan Shanahan: 8GP 1-1-2 (WTF?)
Petr Prucha: 8GP 1-0-1
So, despite the fact that evil Swede Henrik Lundqvist is doing a great job in the nets (92.7SV%), the Rangers are 2-5-1 and generate just 21 shots on goal per game.
If I had to theorize as to what is wrong with the Rangers, it appears that they have a lot of finesse and little grit on their scoring lines. Clearly, there are a lot of egos to be stroked and few are willing to pay the physical price to get 'er done.
One weird stat that pops out is that Shanahan has 50 shots on goal in his 8 games, so he's clearly getting his chances. Of all of the players that should bounce back, he ought to be the one.
Labels: Brendan Shanahan, Glen Sather, Jaromir Jagr, Messier, Petr Prucha, Rangers, rants
