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Home / Archive: 15. March 2009
By Louis “King of Roncesvalles” Pisano…
From the drop of the puck between these division rivals there was something in the air that smelt like overtime, or was it nachos. The thunderous hits rang throughout the building, amongst the 3500 fans gathered, from start to finish. Adam Munro got the start and in Justin Pogge’s words after the game, “He played unbelievable I mean he’s been doing that all year and its good having that guy behind ya and ya know putting a little pressure on, it’s good.” Munro stopped 30 in the 2-1 OT win for the Marlies. Munro was humble by saying “I felt pretty good out there tonight and the guys did a great job and we got the goal at the right time and we got the big two points against a big division rival like that.”
The Monsters took the lead in the first on a goal by LW #11 Randy Rowe and just below the press box where I sat, a group of 20 or so Lake Erie fans cheered, whom I found out later were the Captain of Monsters, Chris Durno’s, friends and family. I talked a bit with Toronto native Chris Durno about this experience. “It was awesome I mean, obviously I haven’t gotten to play much in Toronto since I turned pro, so every chance I get is, ya know it’s great seeing all the family and friends here.”
The Marlies answered in the second when RW #19 Jeremy Williams potted his 22nd goal just one behind team leader Yuri Tlusty.
The third period saw the teams trade something else as Toronto’s Daryl Boyce and Lake Erie’s Matt Hendricks dropped the gloves just three seconds in, in what some might call a staged fight. During this back and forth tilt both players knee’s hit the ice at one point or another from a punch, but finally Boyce toppled Hendricks which brought about a huge roar from the crowd. The two players had run into each other a few times during the game and exchanged a few words at the end of the second period so when asked about the battle in the context of the so called staged fight which is on the lips everyone involved in hockey in any aspect, Daryl Boyce had this to say “There’s definitely some bad blood there at the end of the second period and I just sort of wanted to resolve the issue and sort of try and get some momentum for the boys and sure enough we got the win.”
The winner was scored by C #17 Tim Stapleton when he streaked down the right wing and let a slap shot fly beating the goalie Tyler Weiman on the far side. If he hadn’t worn a helmet, and had long flowing hair, and was wearing a Montreal Canadiens #10 jersey I may have mistaken him for the Flower…Guy Lafleur! Stapleton said of his OT winner, “It was kind of a broken play, obviously it started with Adam making a game saving save and I thought I had the guy beat, their defenseman I thought I could have came in close and maybe had a breakaway but I figured if I shot it the goalie wouldn’t be ready for that, and I was fortunate enough to have it go in.”
The Marlies play their fourth game in five nights and third game in a row 4 pm Sunday at the Ricoh Coliseum, when they host the division leading Manitoba Moose in what could be a playoff preview.
by Stoker Dafire… Youngstown, Ohio, is a tough industrial city that in recent years has seen hard times come and go.
However, the city has a long historic tradition of coming back from the brink of adversity, and Youngstown, like many other cities, will no doubt weather this latest economic storm.
Most boxing fans know the city as being the home of boxing legend Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini but its also the hometown of Kelly “The Ghost” Pavlik, boxing’s undisputed middleweight champion of the world.
Although Pavlik has had a brilliant career before this, it’s not until the last two years that he has come into his own and gained World recognition.
In January 2007, Pavlik amassed a record of 29-0 with 26 knockouts, which awarded him a fight on an internationally televised HBO broadcast where he defeated Jose Luis Zertuche.
Pavlik then silenced most fans and critics by administering a thorough beatdown against top ranked contender Edison Miranda.
The next fight in Pavlik’s career was a testament to his enormous fighting will, and no doubt his greatest boxing achievement.
After weathering an early hammering and subsequent knockdown in round two, Pavlik rallied and stopped Jermaine Taylor to win the world recognized middleweight championship of the world.
Pavlik fought three times in 2008, but the fight that will haunt him forever is the “catch-weight” 170 pound decision loss to timeless legend and boxing superstar Bernard “The Executioner” Hopkins.
Resembling an aged and masterful professor, the 43-year-old Hopkins overcame 4-1 odds and put a one-sided, 12-round trouncing on his unwilling student.
If this ghastly loss to “The Executioner” has haunted “The Ghost,” it’s extremely hard to tell, however; because since the loss, he has exorcised his demons quite nicely with a win over Marco Antonio Rubio on Feb. 21.
This weekend, the IBF middleweight champion Arthur Abraham defeated Raul Marquez by technical knockout to defend his IBF middleweight boxing title for the eighth time, so he remains undefeated.
Abraham is an extremely exciting and courageous warrior who fought on to victory after having his jaw broken in a heavy-handed affair with Edison Miranda.
Abraham is now a fan favorite due to his thrilling victory over Miranda, so a unification match between Abraham and Pavlik is a real possibility; the exciting bout is rumored to be scheduled for this summer.
If true this would present a great opportunity for the tough Ohioan.
In my opinion Abraham is no Hopkins and a thrilling unification bout would be a “ghost-buster” win for Pavlik, and he would be well on his way towards nullifying the nightmare loss to Hopkins.
I’m a firm believer that not unlike the great city of Youngstown, Pavlik will also demonstrate in the coming years his talent for overcoming adversity.
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- Change has a considerable psychological impact on the human mind. To the fearful, it is threatening because it means that things may get worse. To the hopeful, it is encouraging because things may get better. To the confident, it is inspiring because the challenge exists to make things better.-King Whitney Jr.
by Jameson Fleming… NEW YORK — Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim has had trouble putting into words his thoughts on the most outstanding parts of this year’s Big East Tournament. He was at a loss on how to recount the ‘Cuse’s six overtime thriller against Connecticut.
Boeheim had the same problem after point guard Jonny Flynn won the Dave Gavitt Trophy for the Big East Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.
“You can’t even describe how he played down here. He played as good as you can play the game.”
Louisville’s Terrence Williams had more to say about the ‘Cuse star.
“I told Andre [McGee] that was the best point guard in the country to me, just the way he handles the ball, the way he runs his team, and the way he is always smiling.”
Flynn handled the ball with incredible efficiency. The sophomore tallied 37 assists in four tournament games and turned the ball over only 14 times in 181 minutes of play. The 37 assists broke the Big East Tournament record set by Marc Jackson who notched 36 in 1986.
Because of his performance over essentially five games worth of basketball in four days, Flynn became the first player since Georgetown’s Victor Page in 1996 to win the tournament’s most outstanding player award.
Flynn was so good that he even impressed teammate Paul Harris who played with Flynn in high school.
“I’ve never seen him play like that. That’s the best basketball he’s ever played.” Harris said. “The whole world sees how much heart he has.”
In the locker room after the Syracuse’s 76-66 loss to Louisville, Harris also said he had to tip his hat to the aforementioned Flynn and sharp-shooter Andy Rautins for the effort they gave.
Absent from Harris’ short list of players was Eric Devendorf who broke the Big East record for most points in a single tournament. When informed about Devendorf’s feat, Harris had a blank look on his face.
“He did what?” Harris asked rhetorically. “Whose record did he break? How many points did he have?”
After being told Devendorf had 84 points, breaking Connecticut’s Ben Gordon’s record of 81 points in 2004, Harris didn’t seem so shocked. “Oh wow. That’s great for Devo. He stepped up and led us these past couple days.”
“He brought his game all four nights. He was there game in and game out,” Rautins said of Devendorf.
The ‘Cuse shooting guard almost broke another record over the four nights, drilling 15 three-pointers, one shy of Connecticut’s Albert Mouring who knocked down 16 in 2000.
Devendorf’s emergence and Flynn’s consistent dominance finally gives Syracuse the stability in the backcourt it hasn’t seen all year. The duo lead the Orange in scoring in each Big East Tournament game except against Connecticut when Flynn led the team and Devendorf was third in scoring, but still put 22 points on the board.
Devendorf’s four-game performance earned him a spot on the 2009 Big East Championship All-Tournament Team, but afterwards Flynn grabbed the attention of at least one Louisville fan.
After the game, when the Big East announced Flynn won the Dave Gavitt Trophy, some Cardinal fans expressed their displeasure that a member of the Orange, not a Cardinal won the award. But one fan was OK with it, but his approval came with a big but.
“He was great. But I don’t want to play him next year. He better go pro.”
by Shane House… With the exception of last night’s 8-6 win, Martin Gerber’s play in net has been solid. In every game that he has played, he has given the Leafs a chance to win.
He has also shown that he still has the ability to make the big save when needed to.
Before this, when he played for the Ottawa Senators, he showed no confidence. Even while playing with the AHL team, the Binghamton Senators, he only had three out of five possible wins and a 3.15 GAA.
Those type of numbers really could harm your chances at sustaining an NHL career.
But luckily, Brian Burke was in the market for a goaltender to replace Vesa Toskala, because neither Curtis Joseph or Justin Pogge seized the opportunity to start.
So it was a match made in heaven.
At worse, Martin Gerber could have just finished out the season on an average note and walked off into the sunset to never be heard from again.
Instead, Martin Gerber might as well have saved his career so far—showing that he can still play at a high level. If he can keep this up, he might be playing himself into a longer stay with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
With the expected retiring of Curtis Joseph at the end of this season, and the obvious fact that Justin Pogge is just not ready for the NHL yet. It looks like there will be an opening behind Vesa Toskala next season.
The only problem I could see happening with this is Gerber not accepting that he would be a back-up for this team. But hopefully, he is willing to accept that. Because by the looks of it, Vesa Toskala needs a little competition in net, and Martin Gerber is just the type of goaltender who could give it to him.
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by Sean Paddison… All this hype about Wilson and Burke in Toronto got me thinking.
The NHL style game changes dramatically over a four-year period, especially in the last six years.
The trouble is that the people hiring new general managers and coaches are often individuals who make the safe play, or look for a “track record” of success.
The flaw in this style of thinking is that today’s heroes will be yesterday’s zeros within two years or more in the NHL. Just look at the trend. What happened to Carolina, Tampa, Ottawa, and Pittsburgh.
For ownership to really be successful moving forward, I believe they need to be one step ahead of what is happening right now. They need to be able to locate a GM and coach tandem that has enough forward vision to see what will be needed in the league three years from now.
Modern technology and research techniques allow coaches to develop solutions to help them beat previously-unbeatable teams. The Penguins record this year is a strong example of what happens when coaches have enough time to learn how to beat other teams.
Sure, Brian Burke found that perfect formula to take the Ducks to the top; however, the chances that that formula will continue to work “as is” are pretty remote. Since Burke surprised the NHL with a tougher, faster lineup, the copycat parade commenced.
However, Detroit found a different formula to answer Burke’s.
There will always be certain constants that help teams succeed, outside of the GM and coach influence. These constants are things like excellent scouting systems, fan support, and a patient ownership group.
This article obviously begs the question: Who out there right now has the vision required to win within the next three years?
I, for one, am not sure right who has that vision, as I’m not in daily contact with the sharp minds out there.
There are a few, rare GMs out there who have matured and adjusted their strategies to compensate for the game’s changes. Scotty Bowman comes to mind as a dynamic and intelligent hockey mind.
I’m looking forward to seeing who the next great mind will to be. I have my eye on Gilmour, Yzerman, and Nieuwendyk as having massive potential.
Perhaps pairing Wilson with Burke might bring about new ideas, personally, I’m not convinced.
by Kale Sherar… With the MLB regular season set to commence in less than a month now, many managers are about ready to determine their final rosters. The Toronto Blue Jays appear to be one of those teams who has one or two too many.
The Blue Jays have three spots remaining and have four players (plus a fifth long shot) vying for that position. Unfortunately, one of them will be going to the Jays Triple-A affiliate in Las Vegas, or possibly to another team. The four in contention are John McDonald, Jose Bautista, Joe Inglett, and Kevin Millar. The fifth outsider is Russ Adams, but it appears likely that he will not make the team.
Since the Blue Jays rotation is not their strong point this season, the team will need a better offensive showing than last year. Unfortunately for Johnny Mac, that is not his cup of tea. Last year he hit .210 with one home run and 18 RBIs in 84 games. What McDonald is known for, however, is his stellar defensive game. He has a career .971 fielding percentage, and had .980 last year. The question with him is do the Jays want to sacrifice some offence to improve their defence?
Jose Bautista spent time with two teams in ‘08. In Pittsburgh, he played 107 games, collecting 12 HRs and 44 RBIs with a .242 average. With Toronto, he hit .214 with three HRs and 10 RBIs in 21 games. Of course, his offensive numbers aren’t too stellar, but he has a solid .961 (career) fielding percentage. While he does provide a slightly better offensive game than McDonald, his defence isn’t quite as good.
Kevin Millar was signed from the free-agent “bargain bin” last month. He played 145 games with Baltimore last year, with a .234 average. His power numbers speak better than his mediocre average though, as he collected 20 HRs and 72 RBIs. Last season for the Jays, Vernon Wells led the team with 20 HRs, and Rios led with 79 RBIs.
Millar appears to be a lock, as he can hit, and has a career .993 fielding percentage (.995 last year). He will provide a reliable bat off the bench, and would be able to fill in should Overbay become injured again.
Last in the running in Joe Inglett. He had a career year last year in many categories. He played in 109 games while hitting .297. He collected three HRs and 39 RBIs and stole nine bases. He also had a perfect fielding percentage last year, and has a career .986 fielding percentage. It would appear as if Inglett may also be a lock for one of the bench positions.
If my predictions are right, then John McDonald will battle it out with Jose Bautista for the final spot. Personally, I can see McDonald getting the nod, as he is more proven than Bautista, and has a better defensive game. If the Jays offence can improve on their lackluster showing from last year, then the team can afford to sacrifice a little power for an improved defence.
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