Coach

I gotta admit that I was never a big believer in coaching making a big difference in professional sports. I always figured it was all about the players. I mean come on, does a 58 year old fat guy really make that much of a difference when there are 20 athletes with supreme physical skills? Unless he is Santa (had to use him at least once considering the season), I used to argue that he made a negligible difference.

Recently I have had to eat my words. Big time. Coaching has become a huge difference in the major sports. I believe it is partially because the athletes have plateaued in terms of physical inequality. They are able to be very similar in terms of strength and speed due to major improvements in training. I'll let a few examples do the talking for me using the 3 sports that I believe coaching makes the biggest difference in. The NBA has recently turned into a superstar's league. The system and decent players can only get you so far.

NFL- Look no further than 2 teams that are playoff bound. Jim Harbaugh has turned the San Francisco 49ers completely around. They haven't had a winning season since 2002 until this year when they already have the NFC West locked up. He has turned former #1 overall bust into a very serviceable QB. The team fights in every game and has a renewed swagger that you haven't seen out of any recent 49er teams. Very impressive work done by Harbaugh on a team with very few personnel changes compared to last year. The other coach making a big difference this season has been Wade Phillips of the Houston Texans. He isn't a head coach, but rather the defensive coordinator. He has taken a defense that was at the bottom of the league last year and now has them at the top. Much like Harbaugh, there are very few personnel differences. He has formed a scheme that fits the athletes that he has at his disposal. The improvement goes entirely to his credit.

MLB- Kirk Gibson was able to pull off a 29 game swing this last summer when he took the Arizona Diamondbacks to the playoffs. Just a year ago they lost 97 games, this season they came away with 94 wins. The change of attitude in the clubhouse was a major factor. As many will remember, Gibson hit one of the best HRs in the history of baseball with his World Series game winner on basically 1 leg. He was a warrior and he took that same philosophy to the Diamondback players this year. He took no excuses and demanded the best out of them everyday.

NHL- 3 young teams made coaching changes this year and all have paid off handsomely. The Minnesota Wild and Florida Panthers each hired new coaches in the offseason and both have almost met last year's results without even being halfway through the season. The St. Louis Blues also made a change early in the season and it has paid off huge with only 2 regulation losses in 20 games thus far. Mike Yeo (MN) & Kevin Dineen (FLA) are first time coaches at the NHL level while Ken Hitchcock (STL) has been around for more than 15 years. All are showing that a new voice and approach in the locker room can push a team to succeed.

How To Fix The NHL (Part 3)

Back again for Part 3 as the NHL's new commissioner. Here's a recap:
Part 1: Contract Phoenix & Florida
Part 2: Relocate Atlanta to Winnipeg & Carolina to Quebec

As important as it is to get rid of hockey in the south where people don't care much about it and return it to Canada and the passionate fans up there, it is equally important to keep rivalries intact and peak interest in the NHL. With the relocation comes the challenge of realigning the divisions to better reflect the geographic alignment of the league.

Realignment-
Much of the NHL and it's divisions will stay the same, but a few key moves will help to ignite more fan interest in a few areas. The Eastern Conference will see the biggest changes, especially the Southeast Division as 3 of the teams have changed locations or been eliminated. I'll go through each division individually and explain why teams should be placed there. 14 teams in each conference and 7 teams in 2 divisions.

Eastern Conference:
-Northeast Division
Boston
Montreal
New York Islanders
New York Rangers
Ottawa
Quebec
Toronto

This could also be named the Canada Division. Or the Old Tyme Division. Or many other things that have to do with tradition. These are all teams that don't like each other and fan bases that despise people who cheer for another team. Canadians take pride in their city and their team, some of the rivalries up there are legendary. Boston and New York dislike each other with a passion. All cities are close to each other as well providing for a good fan following at away games. Every game in this division will have a playoff atmosphere.

-Atlantic Division
Buffalo
Columbus
New Jersey
Philadelphia
Pittsburgh
Tampa Bay
Washington

While there are a few teams that don't like each other in this division, it will be mostly made up of sprouting rivalries. It will be very competitive and provide for some exciting hockey. This division is currently made up of superstars on their respective teams and with a wide open feel, those players should prosper.

Western Conference:
-Central Division
Chicago
Colorado
Dallas
Detroit
Minnesota
Nashville
St. Louis

The main factor in this division is geography, but along with that comes rivalries from other sports as well. With Colorado being the only team outside of the Central Time Zone, fans won't have much of a problem catching their teams on TV when they are on the road. Most fans in these markets also travel well and will make their presence known on the road. There will be some great hockey played here.

-Pacific Division
Anaheim
Calgary
Edmonton
Los Angeles
San Jose
Vancouver
Winnipeg

As with the Central Division, the teams here will be mostly in the same time zone and this is a huge factor as the teams are spread out along the coast so travel won't be as prevalent. This doesn't mean the atmosphere at the games won't be any less spectacular. Three of the most passionate Canadian fan bases are in this division along with some very good California teams. Basically Canada vs California, teams won't be given any breaks by their fans and will be expected to compete every year.

Now that you are able to see where the teams will be and who they'll play the majority of their games against, there is only 1 part left in this series. Be sure to check back soon to see the finale.

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.

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!