Hockey Analyst Roll Call

In our last podcast we briefly talked about a current active hockey player that has made his career after the game has passed him simply by his classy and "original" interviews. Here is a short list of some players, active & retired, off the top of my head that I think would be great as a hockey analyst in no particular order:

Mats Sundin - Say what you will but after over a decade of dealing with the Leafs/Canadian sports media, this guy can field questions and hardly sound cliche.

Brendan Shanahan - Have you seen his mocking of the Senators players from a few years back? This guy has a sense of humor and would be a welcomed addition to any broadcasting team.

Ron Tugnutt - A personal favourite. Being from Ottawa I often listened to him in his interviews on our local sports radio and thought he was well spoken. Does this mean it can be carried over to television? Maybe not, but I'd like to see him try if offered. (Must have been an Oiler that year I was in my coma)

Trevor Linden - Former Canuck, Isle and Hab who's words are listened to and respected. Involved in the NHLPA, Linden has a good idea about the intricacies of the game.

Joe Thornton - Other than a slightly missed judgement call a few off-seasons ago which landed him some community service hours, Big Joe still carries the class and attitude of a true professional. That professionalism should be carried over to television.

Craig Conroy - The best for last. If you don't know why he'll be in broadcasting after the game then you don't watch hockey that closely, simple.

Now the worst...

...REPLACEMENT NEEDED, EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY:

steve@aroundsports360.com

Podcast!

This week we discuss Plax's gunplay, David Frost miraculously avoiding prison, and all kinds of sloppy seconds. Get it? What that guy said? Ya you got it. Listen to the podcast by clicking on the link below! AS360.com Podcast Season 3 - Episode 4

Breaking News!!!

In what can only be described as a stunning turn of events, Detroit may have to relinquish the Stanley Cup and hand it off to the Toronto Maple Leafs. A coalition consisting of teams from Ottawa, Montreal and Toronto have petitioned NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman to remove the 2007-2008 cup from Detroit. Last year the three tams combined to score 759 goals while racking up 126 wins. Detroit had a mere 54 wins and scored only 257 goals. The coalition states that due to the fact the Red Wings are currently 3rd overall in the league, hockey fans have lost faith in the current champions. This change is needed to restore confidence in the game of hockey. Mr. Bettman has returned early from a spending spree in Europe to deal with the crisis. While he is no longer captain of the Maple Leafs, Mats Sundin would be presented with the cup, perhaps as early as Dec. 6th on CBC's Hockey Night in Canada before the Maple Leafs host the Capitals in a rare nationally televised game on the network. Management for the Detroit Red Wings has requested that the league be shut down until Jan. 26th at which time perhaps cooler heads will prevail. Bettman may decide to replay the 2007-2008 Stanley Cup Playoffs at a cost of 300 million dollars during which time all other vital issues will remain unsolved. steve@aroundsports360.com

A question

With Plaxico Burress healing his self-inflicted gunshot wound to the thigh and now facing criminal charges, I started thinking about the root of the problem with these athletes who find themselves in the news for all the wrong reasons.

Before I go on, I want to state that I am in no way being an apologist for these men. What they do criminally comes with no excuse and they should be held accountable just like every other normal person.

If an athlete feels they may be placed in a threatened position, they have a few options.

1) Hire protection.

2) Enter a safe establishment. Don't go to a club that has to check for weapons or make you feel like you need to strap the gat.

3) Stay home, play scrabble.

These options are some ways to ensure the safety for athletes however I think that there may be one more that could prevent any future-related problems. Should professional leagues make player salaries public? In more ways than one I am beginning to think that they shouldn't.

I think of Wal-Mart, Sony, Tim Horton's. Do these companies release this information about their employees to the public? No, nor should they. What about actors? We may know what a movie pulls in from the box office, but we only sometimes hear what the actor actually earned for his/her performance.

If this private piece of information is withheld it might provide a sense of security for athletes, actors or anyone else making the millions I wish I had. And really, is there any reason for John Q. Public to know this information? Not really. If worried about a salary cap for our favourite sport, then just have the league release the status of the team's payroll as a whole. If John Q. Public then thinks that this release of information isn't accurate, who cares. It doesn't change anything for the sports fan.

Listen, a bad apple is a bad apple. If someone would act against league conduct regardless of this idea then so be it. However this could be a method of protecting a league's assets and maybe Plaxico then doesn't bring the gat to da club.

At least we wouldn't have to hear about the Yankees ridiculous offers anymore.

McCoy

steve@aroundsports360.com

Well that should end all the Tom Brady trade talk

Great day yesterday if you're a Steelers fan. Two things for sure if you are one...a) you're pleased as punch that they beat the Patriots, and b) your a dickhead. Matt "Not Tom Brady" Cassel showed his true colours yesterday. After back to back 400+ yardage games versus the Jets and the Dolphins, he fell back to earth (hard) against a strong Steelers defensive corps. This was a measuring stick game for Cassel. For the past two weeks all we've heard is how good the guy is and how much money is going to get thrown his way in 2009. There were even Tom Brady trade rumours. I kid you not. Well, after an afternoon that included two inopportune fumbles, five sacks, two interceptions, and a passer rating of 48.7%, that talked has died down considerably. And rightfully so. I can't believe I even have to write this blog actually. Nothing like a planning a future for a never-will-be quarterback after TWO good games (one of which the Pats lost by the way, to the Jets). If the Patriots ever pulled a move off that made Matt Cassel their current and future starting quarterback, I would find a very high cliff somewhere. The loss was huge for New England. The two teams they need to catch in the AFC WildCard race, Baltimore and Indianapolis, both won. The only solace is that the Jets laid an egg against Denver. What this means is that the Pats probably have to run the table the rest of their schedule. Good news is, they play in Seattle next weekend. Bad news is, Matt Cassel will be their starting quarterback. Le sigh.