How To Fix The NHL (Part 2)

Back again for Part 2 as the NHL's new commissioner. Here's a recap:
Part 1: Contract Phoenix & Florida

We are now down to 28 teams which provides a much better talent base, along with that we need to get a better fan base. How do we do that? Go back to the basics. That means go back to Canada. It's where hockey began and people live for the sport.

Relocation-
Canada currently has 6 teams, more than any other major sport in North America. That may seem like a lot, but it really isn't when you consider just how much passion Canada has for their native sport. The viewership that hockey had for 2010 Winter Olympics was phenomenal in Canada. Hockey Night in Canada is a huge hit. Even though the Toronto Maple Leafs are terrible (see: Waffle Nation), their fans still come to games in big numbers. Canada can and will support additional teams.

I'm not going to go crazy and move a ton of teams to Canada, only 2 in my proposal. The Atlanta Thrashers to Winnipeg and the Carolina Hurricanes to Quebec.

I am aware that both cities had NHL teams before and it didn't end well, but each is more than capable of hosting a team. They have both expressed interest in having NHL hockey return and have an arena ready or are ready to build. Atlanta and Raleigh were part of the southern expansion that was tried and failed miserably. Neither does well in terms of attendance or fan passion. When you think of either place, hockey is hardly what comes to mind. Between the contraction and relocation, hockey would be getting out of places where it had no business to begin with.

Look for Part 3 next week when the league begins to take shape.

Melo Moving On

Tonight marks the debut of Carmelo Anthony...with the Knicks. He spent the last seven and a half years balling in Denver. Five of those years he couldn't make it out of the first round of the playoffs. Then in 2009 they made it to the Conference Finals, only to run into the machine that is the Lakers. You can't blame the guy for getting sick of going nowhere. He spent this last off season watching his two buddies team up together in South Beach. For an added bonus they got Chris Bosh to come too. Melo has had to carry the Nuggets by himself, with occasional help from the likes of Allen Iverson or Chauncey Billups. Not quite the same as adding LeBron or even Bosh. Then he watched as Amare Stoudemire went to New York, a place that Melo definitely wanted to go. The Nets were often rumored to be in trade talks for Melo, but let's be honest here, nobody wants to go live in New Jersey. That was a Russian billionaire and Jay-Z pipe dream.

Now I'm not a big hoops guy, but I like this move. It actually piques my interest in the NBA. Let's take a look back at the last 12 NBA champions. There have only been five different teams that have won the title: Lakers (5), Spurs (4), Celtics (1), Heat (1), Pistons (1). Compare that to the NFL: 10 different champions, MLB: 9 different champions, NHL: 9 different champions. That shows you there's not a whole lot of parity in the NBA. It's the one sport where you truly need superstars to win. The Celtics have the Big 3 (Rondo, Pierce, Allen), the Spurs have their own trio (Duncan, Ginobli, Parker), the Heat have theirs (Wade, LeBron, Bosh),and the Lakers have Kobe and Gasol, which counts as 3 because Kobe is that good. These are the only teams that have a legitimate shot at winning it all.

However, there are two teams that are on deck to become elite: the Bulls and Knicks. The Bulls have Derrick Rose and Carlos Boozer, so they're one piece away from their own big three. And now the Knicks have Melo and Stoudemire so they're also one piece away (Chris Paul anyone?). This gives us two more teams that have a shot at winning. Obviously Chicago and New York are two of the biggest markets in the league. The NBA has to be happy that these once proud and great franchises that have sucked lately, are now back in the picture. It should make for a somewhat intriguing playoffs this year. I'll guess we'll find out in, late June.

Recap in Racing

“Are you kidding me!?”

Trevor Bayne couldn’t have said it any better after he crossed the start finish line to win the 53rd running of the Daytona 500. In only his second start in the Sprint Cup, and one day after turning only 20 years old, Trevor Bayne made history as the feel good Cinderella story on Sunday. Staying near the front of the pack for most of the day, Bayne avoided a record number of cautions that left very few cars without damage by the end of the day. The new pavement at Daytona, while smooth, has created a new form of restrictor plate races where cars needed to literally push each other around in two car teams in order to keep up. The need to keep contact with another car led even the best drivers to be simply spun around in mid pack and in front of the field generating more than one infamous “Big One”. Bayne, who is only set to participate in a few Sprint Cup races this season, stated Monday that the plan is still for him to race a full Nationwide series schedule, one step below the Sprint Cup, in hopes of competing for the championship.

Breaking News from Formula 1:
Late Monday morning it was made official by the Crown Prince of Bahrain that pre-season testing next week, in addition to the opening round of the Formula 1 season the following week, have been postponed to increasing unrest in the country. "At the present time the country's entire attention is focused on building a new national dialogue for Bahrain," the Crown Prince said. It is not clear if the race itself is going to be rescheduled, but as the series currently has one of its busiest calendars in years, it seems highly unlikely the race will happen this season. Teams now are scrambling to get their equipment, which was shipped to Bahrain weeks in advance, to Barcelona, where the teams currently are, and where testing has been rescheduled to take place next week. While many details are currently being worked out, the only thing that seems certain is the first race of the season will now be down under at the Australian Grand Prix on March 27.

How To Fix The NHL (Part 1)

Let's face it, the NHL needs some changes. A random Monday night WWE show draws more TV viewers than the NHL's Winter Classic. This is Part 1 of a series, not sure how many they will be, but I can promise you that they won't stop until the NHL is perfect. Or at least it will be able to truly call itself one of the 4 major sports leagues.

This portion will focus on contraction. The NHL would be getting addition by subtraction, not only in terms of talent but also interest in the game.

Contraction-
30 teams in the NHL is two too many right now. While in the expansion phase, they spread themselves too thin by expanding at a torrid pace. The talent level isn't acceptable and by removing 2 teams, it will have a league-wide improvement. The NHLPA probably wouldn't be in favor as it would cost 35 players a job, but they would be in favor of other parts of the overhaul so it would be part of the compromise.

The increase in talent would improve the game and it's appeal to fans. It would be faster and better hockey overall. Each team would basically be adding a 3rd line player in place of a 4th liner. Might not seem like a big deal, but the trickle effect would help to narrow the gap between the elite teams and the bottom feeders. A little parity can't hurt.

With that said, in my proposal the two teams that are contracted are the Florida Panthers and Phoenix Coyotes.

Phoenix is an easy pick as they are currently owned by the NHL, minimum compensation would be needed. They are also one of the lowest teams in attendance even though they are one of the best teams in the league.

Florida is annually one of the worst teams in attendance and part of the NHL's attempt to bring hockey to the south. It has failed miserably in South Beach as hockey just doesn't seem to mix well with the sand. 2 teams in the state of Florida works for most sports, but not hockey.

Look for Part 2 next week!

Mock Draft Mockery

Ahh, springtime. The snow is melting, the sun is shining, and it’s a beautiful day outside. But somewhere in a dimly lit room inside the confines of the ESPN campus, Mel Kiper and Todd McShay are hard at work. What is it that they are working on you ask? Why the Mock Draft of course. Every year around this time they start popping up all over. So called “experts” post their mock drafts on various blogs and websites. Kiper and McShay are lucky enough to get paid by ESPN to do theirs. Take a minute to sit back and think about the mock draft process.

Mock drafts for 2011 began in 2010. And I don't mean late 2010, I mean in April. Like right after the 2010 draft ended. How ridiculous is that? Why not spend a few days reviewing the draft that just took place instead of planning for the one that's 364 days away. Don't get me wrong, ESPN has plenty of people employed to review the NFL draft, I'm not suggesting more coverage of it. But if McShay's work is done after the draft, then give him a month off. He probably deserves it.

But here's the real problem, nobody has any idea how the football season will play out. That goes for college and the NFL. Not only does he try and predict who goes where, but he tries to predict what team will be picking where. His top 5 picks for 2011 were:

1. Buffalo (too easy, they're always terrible)
2. St. Louis (blew it on the last game of the season and missed the playoffs)
3. Kansas City (hell of a turnaround and actually hosted a playoff game)
4. Tampa Bay (went 10-6 and missed the playoffs on tiebreakers)
5. Cleveland (they play in a tough division, but they did beat the Patriots)

Now let's see where those teams will actually be drafting this year:

Buffalo: 3rd
St. Louis: 14th
Kansas City: 21st
Tampa Bay: 20th
Cleveland: 6th

How about his top 5 picks for 2011 player wise:

Andrew Luck, Stanford
Marcell Dareus, Alabama
Anthony Castonzo, Boston College
Adrian Clayborn, Iowa
Cameron Heyward, Ohio State

And again let's see where these players are ranked now:

Andrew Luck - 2012 #1 overall pick, going back to Stanford
Marcell Dareus - 7th overall, #2 DT
Anthony Castonzo - 25th overall, #3 OT
Adrian Clayborn - 15th overall, #3 DE
Cameron Heyward - 30th overall, #8 DE

(rankings are based on Scout Inc.'s Top 32 on 2/15/11)

It's interesting to see how things change over the course of 10 months. Only 1 of the early top 5 players is in the current top 10. And he's not even regarded as the best player at his position. And the supposed #1 overall isn't even going to the NFL. Perhaps they should wait a few months before they start mocking it up.

Now I must admit that I actually like Todd McShay. I think he is one of the better evaluators of the draft and once the draft actually rolls around I like reading his stuff. This is more of a shot at ESPN. We don't need mock draft 6.0 or whatever number they get to this year. Just focus on ranking the players by their positions and then you can start putting together a real mock draft sometime after the combine and all the pro days. Although don't' get me started on the combine. I'm still waiting for an explanation on how a guy's season stats get overlooked because he looks good in shorts and a t shirt. (See: Troy Williamson)

Waffle Nation



If you aren’t aware of the W-Awful phenomenon its time to eat up, because there is a new way to show your team just how unhappy you really are…

Lately it seems like waffles are becoming much more than just a pancake with syrup traps.  They have become a simple, edible way of showing your team that they are, well, W-awful. Is it a stretch? Well yes, I don’t see myself trotting down to a game with the inside of my coat lined with Eggos, partially because I can’t imagine being around waffles that long and NOT eating them.  However, some residents of Toronto are joining a growing nation of fans who are very, very unhappy with their beloved team.

I like the waffle idea, while it could be a stretch to some; I think it’s actually an up front way of telling your team what’s on your mind.  I mean really, if a Cavs fan threw a waffle on the court you think Antawn Jamison would say, “Golly, I wonder what that means?”  No! Waffle=awful, simple and strait to the point.  Yes, you may be asked to leave and not come back for a while, but if your team is bad enough to drive you into a breakfast throwing rage, some time away probably wouldn’t be bad for your health.

Sports Cheat Sheet for Fans without Football

With the Super Bowl Madness done and pro football as we know it coming to an end, for what could be a very long time, here's an update on what is going on in sports and what we have to look forward to. Consider it your cheat sheet for sports as you come out of your NFL coma.

NBA: If you have a superstar such as Kobe or LeBron, your team will win. If not, you don't have a shot at the championship. That explains all the chatter about where Carmelo Anthony is going to go. There's rumors about NY, NJ, or now even LA. After a trade is done, are we going to get an ESPN special telling us where he's going to take his talents? I can't hardly wait...

NFL: The owners and the players aren't getting along. If they don't figure something out, no NFL season. Pretty simple, but somehow they've made it really complicated. Don't you love multi-billionaires arguing with multi-millionaires about a couple hundred million dollars? In case you haven't figured it out yet, the NFL is all about the money.

NCAA Basketball: I guess I should clarify with men's basketball. We don't care about women's basketball here. Not yet at least. Plus nobody is going to beat UConn anyway. On the men's side it looks like it will be one heckuva tournament this year. No real dominant team as even the now no longer undefeated Ohio State Buckeyes have had to claw their way out of a few games in the Big 10. And we all know how Big 10 (or is it 12 now) teams choke in the spotlight. It really will be pure madness in March (and April, because nothing seems to end when it is supposed to anymore, but that's another blog topic in itself).

MLB: Spring training starts soon. Baseball fans get really excited about this. I don't quite understand. If they enjoy watching minor leaguers play against each other so much, then why are attendance numbers so low for minor league baseball? Let me know when April comes so I won't have to watch #76 pitch to #94 knowing that both of them will be playing High A ball in a few weeks.

NHL: Believe it or not, there's actually a professional hockey league in the U.S. For whatever reason, it just doesn't draw that many people. Maybe because people in 80 degree weather don't want to go watch a sport played on ice. Again, another topic for another day. This is kinda like NCAA bball, the fun starts when the playoffs begin.

Euro Soccer: I'm not going to waste my time because nobody in the U.S. cares. Go Chelsea! (No, that's not just some girl. It's actually a team).

NCAA Football: Just got done with signing day which I have discovered doesn't actually mean that much. Recruiting helps, but if you can't coach them it doesn't do you a lot of good. With that said, Alabama will win the BCS in 2011-12.

Tennis: Federer and Nadal. Handful of women, mostly with really hard to pronounce names. That's who's good.

MMA: I'm starting to get into this more and more. Here's a name for you to remember, Jon Jones. He's gonna be the best in a couple of years. Until then, make sure to tune in and watch Brock Lesnar. He's an animal.

PGA: Tiger isn't what he used to be. Will he ever be again? I doubt it. The young bucks out there aren't intimidated by him like golfers in the past. There is actually a pretty cool youth movement happening right now, be sure to take note. Oh and The Masters is in a couple months.

There's your cheat sheet, print it out and take it with you to your local sports bar. With it, you'll be able to stay in any sports conversation. Or maybe have a few people want to beat you up.

WELCOME

Hello, and welcome to our first installment of theplayer2benamedlater, before we get down to business I would like to give you a quick background of what you can plan on seeing and experiencing in the near future at theplayer2benamedlater.  The goal of us here at theplayer2benamedlater is….well to talk sports, ALL SPORTS (ok maybe not all but most, I will predict cricket coverage may be lacking) and hopefully provide a story or two for you a day in order to inform, educate, and above all else, entertain. We here at theplayer2benamedlater are doing this for fun, as this is our passion, and hopefully you will have fun going along on this experimental ride with us. I can hear you now, there is already so much out there to read and watch, what’s so different about you guys? Well, first of all ease up on us, we are just getting started, why do you have to be so critical? Sit back and enjoy the ride, which will include many of the sports and events that we believe don’t get enough credit  in the U.S. such as a healthy dose of those things you wont see a lot of on the SPORTSCENTER. Don’t take that the wrong way, we love the Sportscenter, but really, east coast bias anyone???

You can expect to see future articles from the likes of Dr. Dangles, our resident hockey expert (No he isn’t a doctor, but the story goes that he did send a guy once. And knowing him, the hit probably wasn’t legal) who will cover everything from NHL to the KHL and all the prospects in between.

In addition, insight from our fantasy sports expert “THE EMPIRE”, is he really an expert? Well I can’t talk trash because he beat me in all five fantasy football leagues this season…..and I think won most of them. That’s all the props he needs from me to be classified as an expert, even though I can hang my preseason call of Arian Foster (who was on all my fantasy teams FYI) over his head a little bit, but it’s all I got before he starts throwing the “where’s your rings” banter back at me and I go down for the count. Oh, and if you can’t figure out what baseball team he supports you have no business reading this blog.

Finally, we obviously will cover much more than what I just mentioned. In addition, a lot of what we discuss here will depend on you the reader.  Sports is great because everyone has their own opinion, what they would and wouldn’t do. So send us topics, stories, things you want to hear about more often, questions, comments, you name it.  

So keep your head up, because you’re about to get hit in the ear hole, with sports, a lotta sports.