#<- 19 scored and the roster is 23 ? i think but each game has 18 so

[19871997]

connor mcdavid by himself has more points in these playoffs than the team total of all the teams that were eliminated in round one.

cmd: 42 jets: 41 tbl: 40 vgk: 38 nyi: 36 tor: 35 lak: 35 nsh: 31 caps: 18

[rutgersmcgroarty]

Since the draft is coming up I present to you the university of michigan 2021 draft trio:

the umich draft trio consists of 3 players that played at the university of michigan this past season and are projected to go in the top 10. You've got the one i think everyone knows, owen power who is projected to go 1st overall, matty beniers who is projected to go 2nd overall and kent johnson who is projected to go 9th. they're my favourite players in the draft and really hope yall grow to like them as much as i do because they're amazing

Kent Johnson, #13:

from port moody, bc

born October 12th 2002

played for the trail smokers eaters in the bchl before coming to umich

led the bchl in scoring with 101 points in 52 games. Was names to the first-team all-bchl. Was named canadian junior hockey league top forward of the year. Had a 46-point season as a rookie in 2018-19 and was named bchl all-rookie and interior division rookie of the year

one of the most entertaining players I've seen play at michigan and he has some amazing hands

by amazing hands, i mean that he does shit that i didnt even know existed

Finished second on the team in scoring with 27 points on 9 goals and 18 assists in 26 games. Ranked second in rookie scoring in the big ten, third in the nation rookie points per game

Started his collegiate career on a four-game point-scoring streak and had a four-assist game in his debut

was on the big ten all-freshman team, was a all-big ten honorable mention, and was nominated for the hobey baker

fun facts:

his brother kyle plays for yale

he can juggle a ball on his stick while standing on one foot

he has beautiful hair

looks scarily like someone from my math class

won the bronze medal at BC provincials he's 2nd year of peewee

a really big breakfast guy (his favourites are pancakes and crapes)

was a canucks fan, his favourite player rn is pettersson (the canucks pick 9th btw so there's a very high chance he goes there)

"at some points you cant coach him anymore" - mel pearson

Matty Beniers, #10:

from hingham, mass

born november 5th 2002

played at the ntdp before coming to umich.

his u18 season he was second on the team in scoring with 41 points (18 goals, 23 assists) in 44 games. Scored 23 points in 42 games in his first year with the ntdp in 2018-19. Got called up his u17 year and won bronze at the 2019 IIHF U18 Men's World Championship

he was the youngest player on the us world junior team and world championship team this year

this year he had 24 points (10 goals, 14 assists) in 24 games - 3rd in the league in freshmen scoring and 4th nationally. he scored Michigan's first goal of the season and started his career on a four-game point streak

was on the big ten all-freshman team and was a all-big ten honorable mention. was also on the college hockey news all-rookie team.

like to skate circles around ppl

fun facts:

he’s a really good singer

was supposed to go to harvard but transferred to michigan last minute when the ivy league cancelled it's season

he has a super cute dog named bella

his sister goes to cornell, and his dad played football there

his mom performed on broadway (which is how he learned to sing)

says that "he needs to work on his goal scoring mentality" (matthew you lead the team in scoring i think your goal scoring mentality is fine)

very smiley and bubbly

very very smart (pre-med major)

doesn't chirp very much (not surprised matty is way too nice to do that)

his mom moved to michigan with him when he went to the ntdp

his coach made him sing in front of his whole ntdp team at the beginning their u17 year (he sang the jersey boys)

Owen Power, #22:

from mississauga, ontario

born november 22nd 2002

played for the chicago steel in the ushl before coming to umich

in the 2019-20 season he was the USHL defenseman of the year and he led the league's defensemen in scoring with 40 points. he was named to the ushl first-team all-star, the ushl All-Rookie Team in 2018-19 with 28 points in 58 games.

"kid canada," youngest player to ever play for canada at the world championships

at 6'5, 214 lb he is, as tsn like to say "a big boy"

was a preseason all-big ten honourable mention, was fourth in the big ten in defenseman scoring, seventh in the big ten in freshman scoring, 2nd in the nation in freshman defenseman points per game and had a three-point (2 goals) game in his collegiate debut (as a defenceman).

was on the all-big ten second team, was a unanimous selection on the big ten all-freshman team, was a finalist for big ten freshmen of the year, was nominated for the hobey baker, was college hockey news rookie of the year, and was on the college hockey news all-rookie team

is supposed to go first overall

he has an absolute rocket of a shot, a really good stickhandler, and a really good skater

fun facts:

used to play lacrosse during the summer when he was younger, won a national championship

he likes to play basketball, so here's a video of him and the rest of the umich team playing (he airballed it and it was vv funny)

sports management major but dosent know exactly what it is

celebrity crush is selena gomez

his nickname is the big dog

was supposed to go to the ojhl but chose to go play in the ushl when the steel drafted him

takes his chicken wings with barbecue and nothing else

prefer doing school online

the first thing he wants to do next season is watch a football game at the big house

his favourite player to watch right is victor hedman (he also thinks that hedman is the best defenceman in the world rn)

had a rink in his backyard and that's how he fell in love with hockey

he would pretend to be crosby while on that backyard rink (owen arent you supposed to be a defenceman lmao)

not a big tv/movie guy, he mostly just watch's sports during his downtime (why am i not surprised)

he like to golf but is "not very good" (his handicap is a 10 which is appenrently good so)

if he weren't a hockey player he would be a lacross player

lebron is the athlete he dislikes the most

he doesn't say (chirp) much on the ice (once again i am not surprised lmao)

if matty and him got the chance to play each other at worlds (they didn't cause matty was scratched the first time and injured the 2nd) someone would have gotten whacked in the leg/foot but nobody would have really said anything

basically Michigan could very easily have 2 players picked in the top 5 and 3 players picked in the top 10. and if you haven't realised how special that class is, they also have thomas bordeleau and brendan brisson in it, which means that they're soon gonna have 4 first rounders in one class, and 6 nhl draft picks. (for context a lot of teams don't even have 6 drafted players on the entire roster)

[junker-town]

Western Illinois, Year 33, 2039-2040

The Leathernecks attempt to win national title No. 8 in our College Hoops 2K8 simuation.

Welcome back to our simulated dynasty with the Western Illinois Leathernecks in College Hoops 2K8. You can find a full explanation of this project + spoiler-free links to previous seasons here. Check out the introduction to this series from early April for full context. As a reminder, we simulate every game in this series and only control the recruiting and coaching strategies. Dynasty mode runs for 40 years.

Before we pick up with the Leathernecks at the start of Year 33, here’s a recap of everything that happened last season:

We returned four starters from a Sweet 16 team the year before, and began the new campaign ranked No. 10 in the preseason polls. We lost our first two games of the season to Florida and Indiana, and then won out through the conference tournament. We entered the NCAA tournament at 28-2 on the season.

We were given a No. 6 seed to the big dance. We beat George Washington in the first round, Stanford in the round of 32, Baylor in the Sweet 16, and Houston in the Elite Eight. We then faced No. 1 seed Ole Miss in the Final Four and lost, 90-84.

We recruited for four scholarships and landed four players: PG Arvydas Hardy, SF Reece Mascoll, PF Al Reece, C Felipe Hopes. It was ranked as the No. 5 recruiting class in the country.

Here’s a first look at our roster for Year 33:

When we won our seventh national championship at the end of Year 28, it capped a run of three natties in four years for our Leathernecks. We haven’t cut down the nets since. Last year’s Final Four run had us so close to our goal. While we did lose three players to graduation, the bulk of the lineup that we started during last season’s tournament run returns.

We begin the season No. 13 in the preseason polls. Let’s meet the starters:

Randolph Pompey, redshirt junior, 87 overall: Pompey flew under the radar as a recruit (No. 134 overall, No. 58 point guard), and came in with the worst potential rating (D grade) in program history. Why did we take him? We loved his size at 6’5 PG out of high school, and he’s grown three inches to 6’8 as he enters his redshirt junior year. Pompey is an excellent finisher, a solid three-point shooter (83 rating), and has great awareness on both ends. He’s only average as a ball handler and passer, and grades out as a C+ in quickness. After an excellent game in our Final Four loss to Ole Miss last season (23 points, 10 assists), we think he can take the next step and become a dominant point guard. We’re not going to complain if his low potential rating means the NBA doesn’t want him early. Native of Mesquite, TX.

Scott Doornekamp, redshirt junior, 91 overall: Doorekamp was another three-star recruit who looks poised to completely outplay his ranking. We moved him into the starting lineup for last season’s tournament run and he gave us a consistent scoring punch as a 6’6 wing who can shoot. Doornekamp is our highest-rated three-point shooter (88 rating), and grades out as an A in finishing, a B in dunking, a B in handling, and an A- in passing. He also has A speed and A- quickness. He should be our focal point this year as Dave French’s replacement in the lineup. Native of Erie, PA and projected first round pick.

Spanky Fanning, redshirt senior, 93 overall: Fanning started for us last season before we replaced him in the lineup with Doornekamp for the tournament run. The 6’6 wing has always been a shaky three-point shooter, but has worked to improve to a 75 rating in that area. He has a lot of great ‘glue guy’ style attributes: he grades out as an A- passer and ball handler, an A in on-ball defense, A- in strength and quickness, and solid awareness on both ends. Will he be able to hit enough shots to take us on a long tournament run? Former No. Former No. 92 overall recruit out of Davis, CA.

PF Ernesto Mack, redshirt junior, 88 overall: Mack is a super strong 6’8 power forward who can defend the rim and score inside. He has a 92 rating in shot blocking and a 90 rating in strength as he enters the starting lineup for the first time as a junior. He’s great on the block on either end of the floor, and is only average as a rebounder, but we find his A- passing and ball handling grades to be intriguing. Former No. 108 overall recruit and No. 8 power forward out of Columbus, Ohio.

Vinnie Harmon, redshirt senior, 93 overall: Harmon averaged 19 points per game last year as a first-time starter, and should be poised to take on an even greater offensive load as a senior. His scoring package is basically unstoppable: he grades out as an A- in finishing and midrange shooting, a B+ in three pointing, and an A+ in offensive rebounding. An explosive vertical athlete, Harmon has an ultra aggressive offensive mentality, kills it on the glass, and projects as about average as a defender. Former No. 122 overall recruit and No. 8 center out of Cincinnati.

Our bench will be made up of four redshirt sophomores: SF D.J. Stapleton (84 overall), C Stevie Strong (85 overall), SG Rob Borchardt (83 overall), and PF Kendric Morales (82 overall). Stapleton is another glue guy-style wing who struggles to shoot, Borchardt looks like a potentially really good 3-and-D wing, Morales is a natural center who can shoot, and Strong looks like a solid all-around big.

We also have four true freshmen from the No. 5 recruiting class in America. Each player will redshirt. They are:

PG Arvydas Hardy, 79 overall, C- potential: 6’3 point guard from Mesa, AZ was rated as the No. 12 overall prospect and No. 6 point guard. He’s our second highest-rated recruit ever, and the fourth highest-rated true freshman we’ve ever had.

SF Reece Mascoll, 80 overall, C potential: 6’8 small forward from Riverside, CA looks great but he’s only rated as a 70 in three-point shooting which is a little disappointing. No. 40 overall recruit, No. 4 at his position. He’s tied for the second-highest rated true freshman we’ve ever had.

PF Al Reece, 75 overall, C- potential: 6’11 power forward from Glendale, AZ was rated No. 138 overall, No. 19 at his position.

C Felipe Hopes, 74 overall, B+ potential: 6’11 center from Federal Way, WA was rated No. 139 overall and No. 8 at his position.

Recruiting

We have two available scholarships and want a high-impact shooting guard to pair with last year’s class. We decide to offer the following players:

6’2 PG Cecil Wilkins, No. 9 overall player and No. 4 at his position, out of Cincinnati

6’6 SG Jerald Elliott, No. 35 overall player and No. 9 at his position, out of Sacramento

Wilkins would be our highest-rated recruit ever if we can land him. Elliott looks like he has an ideal mix of size and shooting for an off-guard. There are some solid backup options if we miss out, but it seems worth it to swing for the fences in this situation.

We have high expectations as the No. 13 in the preseason polls. Let’s do this.

Regular season

Here’s what our non-conference schedule looked like:

@ Michigan, Great Alaskan Shootout, vs. St. John’s, @ Ole Miss, @ Florida, @ Stanford, vs. South Florida, @ San Francisco, Gossner Foods Holiday Class, vs. Illinois State.

Who did we do? Well ....

WE BEAT EVERYONE*

*except

Ole Miss.

Yeah, the team that knocked us out in the Final Four last year beat us again to ruin our perfect start. If we draw them again in the tournament I’m probably going to freak out a little bit.

You will notice that Harmon went ham scoring the ball in the loss to Ole Miss. That was also a theme of the non-con slate. Dude was going off for 30+ points every week. He wasn’t just our most consistent scorer by a mile, he dragged us to victories offensively every night. It felt like that man had 20 points by the time he tied his shoes.

We got up to as high as No. 2 in the polls during our non-conference run, and hovered within the top 10 even after it. Now we had to lock down our tourney bid during conference season.

Can we run the table in Summit League play?

Yes we can. We run the table 18-0 in the regular season and then sweep through the Summit League tournament to lock down the automatic bid.

We’re entering the tournament at 33-1 overall.

In terms of how the conference games went, our win over Southern Utah paints a pretty good picture:

Fifty two damn points. Vinnie Harmon dropped 52. Yes, that’s a program record. No, that wasn’t the only time he broke 40 — he also did it on several other occasions. I can’t remember another player who put up big scoring numbers as consistently as he did.

The end of season stats confirm what I suspected: this is the greatest scoring season in Western Illinois history:

Harmon averaged 27.5 points per game — just amazing. That’s the greatest scoring season I’ve ever seen from a ‘Neck. He finished third in the NCAA in points per game only because of some weird glitch that had two players with overall ratings in the 50s averaging close to 40 per game.

I noticed that Harmon has more than 2,200 points for his career. That’s a program record too, surprising the great Roberto ‘Jorts’ Djordjevic who played for us many years ago. He’s only going to add to that total during our tournament run.

Harmon basically took 3x as many shots as everyone else on the team, but shout-out to Doornekamp for still averaging double-figures and hitting 50 percent of his threes. We’re going to need him as much as Harmon for this tournament run.

We’re 33-1! What kind of seed are we going to get??

2040 NCAA tournament

We’re given a No. 3 seed in the NCAA tournament. I thought we had a case for a No. 1 or No. 2 seed, but we’ll take it. That’s our highest seed in many years.

Our opponent in the first round is No. 14 seed Hartford. Hartford is rated as a 77 overall. We’re rated as a 100 overall.

Here’s a look at our roster heading into the tournament:

It’s a roster that’s almost perfect. We have a dominant center in Harmon, a sweet-shooting two guard in Doornekamp, a 6’8 point guard in Pompey. I’m just worried Spanky Fanning, who is tied for our highest-rated player, won’t give us enough three-point shooting to ensure a long run. Having a knockdown shooter at the small forward position has been so critical during some of our earlier runs that I decide to make a change: sophomore Rob Borchardt, who projects as a straight 3-and-D guy, is moving into the starting lineup. Spanky will lead the bench.

Does it feel weird to bench your highest rated player on a team that’s 33-1? Well, yeah. But let’s see how it goes.

Hartford looks completely overmatched in this game. This better be an easy dub:

Win, 100-65. We’re onto the round of 32.

Hartford played valiantly in the first half, and we only led by four points at halftime. Fortunately, we blew the game open coming out of the break and went on to a blowout victory.

The Doornekamp-Harmon inside/outside combo was doing work. Scotty D. went 4-of-7 from three-point range and finished with 25 points. Harmon popped off for 23 points and 14 rebounds on 9-of-20 shooting. Randolph Pompey, our 6’8 point guard, just missed a double-double with eight points and 10 assists. I’m already giving him a Tyrese Haliburton comp.

As for replacing Spanky with Borchardt in the lineup .... we just didn’t look right in the first half. I’m starting to regret that move.

The win sets up a game with No. 6 seed Texas A&M in the round of 32

We draw the Aggies in the second round. They’re significantly better than Hartford, of course, but we’ll still have a noticeable talent advantage against them.

Before the game begins, we’re making a change to the starting lineup: Fanning is back, Borch is going to the bench. I think that was a galaxy brain substitution by coach in his old age. We looked better with Fanning on the floor against Hartford, so we’re hoping that continues.

Sweet 16 on the line. Let’s go!

Win, 96-77! For once, we didn’t have to rely on being a second half team. We crushed them right out of the gates.

This was just a really complete performance from our guys. Everyone contributed. All five starters finished in double-figures, led by another double-double from Vinnie Harmon (19 points, 13 rebounds). Doornekamp was able to hit shots and get to the line, while Pompey (13 points, seven assists, three steals) played another heady two-way game at point guard.

I also thought Fanning played a great all-around game, and really looks like the connective tissue of this team. He finished with 13 points, five assists, three rebounds, and two steals on 4-of-8 shooting.

Great team win. Let’s keep it rolling.

The win sets up a game vs. No. 2 seed Pepperdine in the Sweet 16

Pepperdine has built a great program in this sim and have been consistently getting top seeds in the tournament. They are basically what Gonzaga is IRL.

This will be our biggest challenge of the tournament so far. Can we punch our ticket to the Elite Eight? Let’s go!

Win, 103-95! It started to get a little scary in the second half, but we held on for the win.

The starters really carried us in this one. Harmon was amazing again in what was probably his best game of the tournament so far: 24 points, 13 rebonds, six assists, and five blocks on 10-of-16 shooting. He’s already the program’s all-time leading scorer and keeps adding to his reputation. If he carries us to a championship, does he have a GOAT case?

Harmon also did this in the game and I can’t stop thinking about it:

Absolute legend.

I love our backcourt so much, too. Randy P. popped off for 20 points and 13 assists with two steals and two blocks. Felt like one of the best point guard performances we’ve ever had. Doornekamp is just the picture of consistency. He finished with 21 points on 7-of-12 shooting.

Another great game for Spanky (15 points, four assists), and Ernesto Mack played well too. How about eight points and a couple of threes from D.J. Stapleton off the bench!?! I’m loving the way we’re coming together right now.

The win sets up a game with No. 4 seed West Virginia in the Elite Eight

The Mountaineers are loaded. They enter the game as a 98 overall. We’re a 100 overall.

West Virginia has a pretty sick roster. They are led by a pair of senior guards rated in the 90s, but it’s their front court that has us shook. WVU has a 7-foot power forward, a 7’1 center, and another 6’11 big man off the bench. Typically we have a huge size advantage in the front court, but that won’t be the case in this one.

I’m nervous. Final Four on the line. One time, ‘Neck Nation. One time. Let’s go!

***

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***

***

Win, 126-79! Holy hell, we dominated that game. It was such a blow out that we decided to sim to end in the second half.

Just look at our shooting numbers as a team: We hit 44-of-70 shots from the field (63 percent) and 17-of-23 shots from three-point range (74 percent). Did I mention we went 21-of-22 from the line, as well? We really couldn’t miss.

Everyone was so good that it feels foolish to call out individual performances, but let’s do a few shout-outs. RANDY. Our 6’8 lead guard went off for his second straight double-double with 15 points and 10 assists. He’s so good. Scotty D. hung 22 points on an absolutely effortless 5-of-6 shooting from three.

The two hooked up for this alley-oop early in the game:

Harmon couldn’t make a layup, but did go 11-for-11 from the foul line. All four members of our bench kicked ass too, with each of them finishing in double-figures in scoring.

That was such a killer performance. We’re onto the Final Four!

The win sets up a game with Baylor in the Final Four

Baylor enters as a 98 overall. We’re a 100 overall.

We lost in the Final Four last year and we can’t fathom getting so close only to fall short yet again. Baylor was a team we beat in the Sweet 16 last year, so I’m sure they have revenge on their mind.

We are so close to getting national title No. 8. Don’t stop now, boys. Let’s go!

***

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****

Win, 82-71! WE’RE IN THE NATIONAL TITLE GAME.

It wasn’t super pretty, but we got the job done. Scotty did it again. Doornekamp went off for 26 points on 11-of-19 shooting to carry us again offensively. We needed him in this one because Harmon had his first weak game of the tournament, finishing with only seven points but still adding 13 rebounds and three blocks.

Pompey and Fanning were great too. Randy went off for 15 points and six assists, while Spanky had 14 points and five assists on 7-of-9 shooting from the floor. Spanky is the king of the pump fake, apparently:

We could keep going, but why? We’re about to play for a national title. Let’s get it.

The win sets up a game with Louisville in the national championship

It’s been five years since we last won a national title. That’s a long time for this program.

If we want to catch John Wooden’s 10 national championships before the series ends after Year 40, we need to win this game to get No. 8 for us. We’re playing for all the ‘Necks who fell just short before us.

Only Louisville is standing between us and a title. Let’s go!

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Win, 82-73! Western Illinois are national champs!

Say it with me: second half team! Louisville looked great in the first half, rattling our guards with a full court press to take a four-point lead going into halftime. I was nervous, but I should have known our guys are always better in the final 20 minutes.

Scott Doornekamp put a bow on an amazing tournament run by dropping 21 points even when he was cold from three-point range (1-of-6). Pompey had his third double-double of the tournament run with 16 points and 11 assists. He also had four steals and a block. Gosh, I love having a 6’8 point guard.

Louisville made a run late to make it interesting in the final minutes. It was a connection from Randy P. to Scotty D. that sealed the win for us.

We haven’t even talked about Harmon yet. Another monster stat line of 18 points, 22 rebounds, but he needed 24 field goal attempts to get there. While this wasn’t his best game, Harmon was obviously incredible throughout this run. He was already the program’s all-time leading scorer. Now he has a national championship for his GOAT argument, too.

Did I mention he was named tournament Most Outstanding Player? If the Macomb Daily says it, it must be true.

Harmon ends his career with 2,452 total points. I’d like to imagine a 40-something Roberto Djordjevic was in the stands to see the torch get passed.

National title No. 8! We’ll have seven seasons left before the series ends after Year 40. We need two more national titles to tie John Wooden, and three to surpass him. Harmon and Fanning are graduating, but everyone else could be back. Scotty is projected as a first rounder, so we’ll see what does. If he returns, we’ll be thinking about going back-to-back next year.

Holy cow, we just had a 39-1 season. Maybe our best ever??? Let’s raise the banner!

Please clap for my photo editing skills.

Now it’s time to move onto the offseason.

Offseason

National champions for the eighth time under Coach Rick: Western Illinois University. Feels good to write that again.

Harmon and Fanning both get drafted. Again: 2,452 career points for Harmon, a program record. Harmon somehow doesn’t get named an All-American. We’re never getting that coaching point. I’ve lost all respect sorry this is absolutely rigged for money ... Or ratings in not sure which. I won’t be silent .

DOORNEKAMP IS COMING BACK. One more year with Randy and Scotty. We are blessed.

I decline all job offers, replacement an assist, and we’re ready to roll into recruiting.

Recruiting

We have been recruiting for two scholarships all year. While we didn’t land anyone at the early signing period, we do have a player ready to commit on the first day of the spring signing period. Jerald Elliot, a 6’6 shooting guard out of Sacramento, is a ‘Neck.

I’m super excited about this one. Elliott is ranked as the No. 35 overall player in the class and the No. 9 player at his position. He averaged 14 points per game and hit 40.9 percent of his threes on the AAU circuit while also posting nice defensive stats. We needed a two-guard to go along with last year’s four-man class and we think Elliott is perfect for the job.

We lost out on Cecil Wilkins, the top-10 overall point guard prospect we offered, early in the season. We offered his scholarship to another shooting guard, Augustine Bruthelieus, as insurance in case we didn’t get Elliott. While we considered ditching our offer to Bruthelieus to search for a big man, he’s ready to commit and is the highest-rated player available.

Bruthelieus commits to Western Illinois a couple weeks later.

Bruthelieus is rated as the No. 42 overall player and No. 10 shooting guard. The San Diego native looks like he has some intriguing playmaking skills and may eventually end up getting moved to point guard.

I’m feeling good about this class! Now it’s time to make our schedule for next year:

Cyclone Challenge, @ Washington State, vs. Indiana, @ UConn, vs. Illinois, @ Michigan State, @ Colorado State, @ Purdue, vs. Ohio State, @ Arizona

Year 34

Here’s a first look at our roster for Year 34:

We start the year No. 4 in the polls.

Bruthelieus is rated as a 79 overall with C+ potential. Hell yeah. Elliott is a 76 overall with B- potential. Also very good. Both players will redshirt. We also have our sick freshman class from last year joining the rotation after redshirting. I’m super excited for them.

The next stream is tentatively scheduled for Sunday, March 8 at 8:30 p.m. on Twitch. Follow my channel for updates. Go ‘Necks.

For email updates on this series, subscribe here.

[spicynbachili1]

Is Evan Fournier doing what’s needed early on?

The Orlando Magic knew they’d want an enormous season out of Evan Fournier so they may enhance in 2018-19. Early on, how is he doing?

Though a lot of the offseason was concerning the Orlando Magic persevering with to implement their youth motion, the advance of a few of the gamers already on the group was meant to assist as nicely.

Gamers reminiscent of Jonathon Simmons and Nikola Vucevic have been appeared upon as veteran presences who may supply rather a lot on the court docket. Whereas they’ve yielded combined outcomes up to now, the identical can be true of Evan Fournier.

An offensive-minded 2-guard, his means to attain the basketball was one thing the Magic have been going to should lean on as new head coach Steve Clifford discovered his method on that finish of the court docket based mostly on the gamers at his disposal.

For that cause, and extra on high of that, there was an inexpensive quantity of strain on Fournier to start the marketing campaign. It’s far too early to speak about how a lot of an element he may find yourself being for Orlando, however with 4 video games within the books it’s value looking at what we’ve seen up to now.

Nonetheless solely 26 and in his seventh 12 months, Fournier has begun the season averaging 17.5 factors per sport, a shade under his profession excessive (17.eight) and a way above his profession common of 13.2 factors per sport. This may increasingly not final, however there’s cause to assume that that quantity may stay comparatively constant.

(Picture by Brian Babineau/NBAE by way of Getty Photographs)

It is because Fournier additionally presently averages the second-most factors per sport on the roster, behind solely middle Nikola Vucevic, who has had a blistering begin to the marketing campaign at 18.eight factors per sport. So as to add to that, Fournier additionally poured in 31 factors in that robust one-point loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.

This was the fourth 30-point sport of Fournier’s profession, and an early indication that he was able to assume much more management offensively. With gamers like Jonathan Isaac and Mohamed Bamba serving to defensively, Fournier is freer to be the attacking participant we all know he’s.

That scoring contact has additionally seen Fournier publish the second highest plus/minus on the group for the final two video games, posting a +19 towards the 76ers and a +10 towards the Boston Celtics. Fournier can level to his contributions as a cause the group is 2-2 up to now.

That is even higher when you think about the Sixers and Celtics are purported to be two of the highest three groups within the East this season. That being stated, the much less stated concerning the 32-point beatdown at residence to the Charlotte Hornets earlier than that, the higher.

I am unable to determine this Magic group out, get completely blown out by the Hornets, and tonight they beat Boston on the TD Backyard with four gamers having a double double its insane

— Kyrie Irving stan #freerondo (@therockparmar2) October 23, 2018

Fournier had a deplorable plus/minus of -33 on the evening, by far the worst mark of any Magic participant who took to the court docket (the following worst was a -24 for each Vucevic and D.J. Augustin). Fournier scored 12 factors.

Again to the positives although. Fournier presently has a Participant Effectivity Score of 16.2, with the league common being 15.zero. In the meanwhile, Fournier has the fourth-highest PER on the group, however it’s presently a profession excessive too.

The place it will get patchier, although, is whenever you look past the essential numbers and Orlando’s respectable begin to the season. Regardless of Fournier placing up strong scoring numbers, the Magic have an offensive ranking of 99.eight (28th within the league).

When Fournier is on the court docket, that quantity jumps as much as 102.four — proof that he’s serving to on the offensive finish the place he’s purported to. But if that quantity have been utilized to the Magic as an entire, they’d nonetheless rank 28th on this class (the Memphis Grizzlies sit 27th with a ranking of 103).

It’s unfair to say that Fournier’s stats have been of the empty form, however there’s a case to be made that that is true. His efficient discipline objective share of 48.5 % is by far a profession low. So too is his Three-point taking pictures share (34.5 %).

Fournier can be averaging extra Three-point makes an attempt per sport (7.Three) than ever earlier than as nicely. This factors to a participant being much less environment friendly than in years passed by, although it’s solely been 4 video games. Regardless of placing up some equivalent scoring numbers, it’s taking Fournier extra photographs to get there.

That is additionally mirrored in his utilization charge (26.eight), which once more is by far a profession excessive. In his protection, Fournier can be averaging a profession excessive in assists up to now (four.eight per sport, third on the group) exhibiting that he isn’t at all times making the unsuitable resolution.

At this stage although, the actual knock on his sport has been on the defensive finish. It will not be the place Fournier is supposed to excel, however there may be additionally no query the Magic generally is a top-10 outfit on this class whenever you mix Clifford with the defensive-minded gamers right here.

Fournier doesn’t fall into that class, however it’s on everyone to do their half on that finish of the court docket. If something, the flexibility of fellows like Simmons, Bamba and Isaac to change and rotate is a luxurious for Fournier, who can cover on weaker offensive opponents.

These gamers additionally sweep up the errors and missed rotations by Fournier. Sadly, when he’s on the court docket, the Magic have a defensive ranking of 110.1. When he’s off the court docket, the Magic protection drastically improves to a defensive ranking of 98.7.

That is the worst mark of Fournier’s profession. Orlando presently ranks 11th in defensive ranking total (106.eight). That quantity figures to enhance regardless, however think about how good the Magic could possibly be as a unit if Fournier improved even a bit bit. As a substitute, he’s going within the different course.

All of which is to say that to begin the season, Evan Fournier has been fairly good for the Orlando Magic, with a couple of obvious flaws. He’s doing what he’s purported to: rating the basketball and carry a lot of the load offensively.

Digging deeper although, it’s clear there is a component of inefficiency to his sport for the time being. Defensively he’s a minus, and the profession lows in a few of his taking pictures columns are trigger for concern too.

Subsequent: Week 2 NBA Energy Rankings

A 2-2 begin and a few aggressive basketball out of the Magic as an entire might masks a few of the areas Fournier will not be pulling his weight, however that should change quickly earlier than he’s uncovered. Proper now it’s a case of labor achieved, however far more to be achieved shifting ahead.

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from SpicyNBAChili.com http://spicymoviechili.spicynbachili.com/is-evan-fournier-doing-whats-needed-early-on/

[junker-town]

We took the worst college basketball program ever to the NCAA tournament in a simulated video game

Western Illinois’ quest for a college basketball national championship in ‘College Hoops 2K8’ turns up in Year 4 and Year 5.

Welcome back to Western Illinois’ chase for a national championship in College Hoops 2K8. We introduced the idea and simmed through the first season in the opening installment of this series, then played through Year 2 and Year 3 in the second chapter. Here’s a recap of everything that happened in the last post.

Year 2 was a disaster on the court — 10-18 overall and a dead-last finish in the Summit League. The saving grace was a terrific four-man recruiting class headlined by three-star shooting guards Wilbur Messy and Tracy Hehn.

Year 3 was incredible. Western Illinois finished 23-9 overall, won an absolute thriller in the Summit League tournament championship game, and reached the NCAA tournament for the first time in program history.

Took a No. 13 seed into the big dance against Florida, got blown out.

Signed two promising recruits when the season ended, 6’4 point guard Giovanni Nelke and center Deke Van, both coveted three-stars.

Let’s look at the roster again heading into Year 4:

This is the first incoming recruiting class I’ll have the luxury of redshirting because I finally have enough depth throughout the roster. Both Nelke (who has already grown an inch to 6’5) and Van are sitting the year, and look really promising long-term with C+ potential.

We’re going with a tight eight-man rotation this year (we had been playing nine before this season) and finally have a rotation with only players I recruited. Apologies to long-time holdover SG No. 23, who will be relegated to garbage time this season.

Western Illinois is ranked 83 overall. Next best team in the Summit League is Oral Roberts at 78. This season is conference-tournament-title-or-bust all the way.

I have two scholarships available heading into the season. Going to try to something new this year and recruit junior college players. This serves two purposes:

Getting players on the same timeline as Nelke and Van

Two of the goals I have to hit to get a coaching attribute point are “sign a four-star recruit” and “sign a five-star recruit.” It’s going to be easier to get guys rated that highly at the JUCO level.

I offer two five-star JUCOs on the first week. Point guard Damon Hendriks from Simi Valley, California, and power forward Dawud Byfield out of Los Angeles.

Hendricks’ top priority is reveals itself to be “playing at a big program,” which doesn’t bode well for Western Illinois. I’m still sticking with him. Byfield loves Stanford, but they haven’t offered yet.

I actually have a real non-conference schedule this year. My first game is against Colorado.

Big win, 73-69.

Sophomore shooting guard Tracy Hehn pops off for 18 points, while the starting front court of Bud Richards and Ferdinand Thompson each drop 16 points in the win. Great omen for the rest of this season. Let the rest of America know: the Leathernecks are ready.

Well, shit, maybe not: we lose to Sacramento State in the next game. My team shoots only 1-for-14 from three. Next up is a game with Washington — rated as a 93 overall. We take a 73-67 loss. Another terrible shooting night, 24-of-63 from the field and 5-of-23 from three.

Here’s a rundown of the next month or so:

Blow out a solid Troy team (82 overall), 84-57, with six players in double-figures. Next up: 16-point win over McNeese State.

Beat Montana State, 88-50. Bud Richards goes off for 26 points and six blocks on 7-of-10 shooting from the field and 2-for-2 from three. Then crush North Dakota State and South Dakota State.

Lose a heartbreaker to Creighton, 64-63, then get a win against Wichita State, 86-74. Richards hangs 21 points and three blocks on the Shockers. We lose by one to UW-Milwaukee the next game (Richards: 19 points, six rebounds, and five stocks), then beat UT-San Antonio by six (Richards: 24 points, 10 rebounds, and four blocks). My guy is having the breakout junior season we’ve been waiting for.

Next up is my first game vs. a ranked team: No. 24 Iowa State, a 92 overall. BUT THE CYCLONES ARE GOING DOWN.

That’s a big win. Ugly game offensively (28-of-63 from field, 5-of-19 from three, 8-of-18 from the foul line) but we gut it out. We lose to Oral Roberts in a conference game next, 79-76, to fall to 11-5 overall.

Next five games: four wins followed by a loss to IUPUI. Rematch against Oral Roberts is next: I get blown out, 101-76. Holy shit. That’s the low point of the season. They score 56 on us in the second half, which just isn’t going to cut it. We go 5-1 over the final six games, with our only loss is to Southern Utah.

At 21-8 overall and 14-4 in conference, we win the regular-season Summit League title and head into the conference tournament as the top seed. The in-season recruiting period is also over, with Hendriks looking like a safe bet to sign, and Byfield likely coming if his leading school — Stanford — is caught without an open roster spot in the spring. I’ve been recruiting a three-star small forward as a backup if I lose out on Byfield.

Before advancing to the conference tournament, I look at the roster again. I suddenly have three players (Richards, Hehn, and Messy) rated in the 80s now. That teaching boost is starting to pay off.

Summit League tournament

We’re opening the tournament with South Dakota State, the same team I needed an overtime thriller to beat in the title game last year. Things are easier this time: Leathernecks win, 83-56. Richards: 21 points. Wiedemann: 19 points.

Next up is Oral Roberts, who has already beaten me twice this year and smoked me by 25 last time I played them.

I really shouldn’t be so worried for this, but ....

Jesus. 89-77 loss. I really just allowed Oral Roberts to score 54 second half points in an elimination game.

We’re 22-9 overall, but it’s a disappointing season without a tournament berth. But just when I think the season is over .... Western Illinois gets chosen for the NIT, with a first-round matchup against Clemson.

NIT

Clemson is 19-12 overall, but they’re damn good: rated as a 93 overall. I don’t have a great feeling about this.

Lose, 86-81. Season over. We end the year 22-10. Maryland wins the title.

OH YEAH: Richards wins Summit League Player of the Year. That gets me a coaching attribute point.

I have three points to improve my coach. I give one each in offense, defense, and teaching. I get offered the Idaho job and turn it down. I also overhaul my assistant coaches and find a gem in Danny O’Sullivan, who is A- at teaching and C+ at scouting. He’s a C- in offense, but we’ll live with it.

Now, it’s time to lock up my recruits. Hendriks — a 6-foot point guard — signs after the second week, giving the program its first-ever five-star recruit as a JUCO player. When Stanford drops out for Byfield the next week, I land both of my targets.

With my first recruiting class set to be seniors in the upcoming season, I’m loading up the non-con schedule for Year 5. I’m opening the year with Illinois, and also schedule DePaul.

This is the last ride for Bud Richards, Marvin Cisse, Ferdinand Thompson, and Andre Wiedemann. I’m getting emotional just thinking about it.

Year 5

Here’s a first look at the roster.

Wow, new arrival Hendriks is a 77 overall. He’s my fifth-best player immediately, but I still decide to redshirt him given my depth at guard. He’s going to be ridiculously good after four years. Byfield also looks solid as a 72 overall with B- potential. I redshirt him, too.

Nelke has grown to 6’6 now. I’m changing him to shooting guard, where he goes up three points to 77 overall as a redshirt freshman. We’ll be going with a 10-man rotation this year, with Waller and Ward rounding out the bench.

Also, I just noticed I have five California guys on this roster, and still no local kids. Chicago Public League coaches are sarcastically calling me “Ricky California.”

We’re rated 87 overall heading into the year and are clearly the favorites in the Summit — Southern Utah is the next best team at 74. No excuses this year.

This is going to be a huge season for recruiting, too

In addition to this being the best team I’ve had yet at Western Illinois, I also have five scholarships to fill. My first thought for recruiting: I need to fill out my starting lineup of the immediate future with a JUCO forward. I already have two guards (Nelke, Hendricks) and two bigs (Byfield, Van) who will all be redshirt sophomores next year, just need one more guy on their timeline to finish out that starting five. The ideal haul for this season would be one five-star JUCO wing paired with four top-150-rated high school seniors.

This five-man class is going to seriously shape the future of the program, but it also won’t be easy given how few recruiting points I have at a school as small as WIU (I covered this in the introduction). Here are my offers on the first day you can do it:

Dane Janiszewski, small forward, five-star JUCO freshman

Burton Ballinger, center, No. 214 (No. 15 C)

Alberto Tangara, small forward, No. 165 (No. 35 SF)

Hugh Spong, point guard, No. 181 (No. 56 PG)

Darell Hicks, power forward, No. 136 (No. 26)

The stakes are at an all-time high in every possible way this year. I think that calls for a press conference.

Coach Rick press conference

Alright, it’s time to start this shit.

First game: @ Illinois.

There would be no better way to open the biggest season in program history than by beating the Illini in Champaign. We want to show the rest of the state that the Leathernecks are the new premier basketball program in Illinois.

Unfortunately that does not happen.

The offense just totally dried up, and we could not defend the perimeter. They had one guy hit 10 threes! I actually watched this game, but there are in-game highlights coming later in the season (spoiler alert), so I will spare Leatherneck Nation the pain of watching the Illini smoke me.

We play in a tournament the next week and go 2-1, but lose to Northern Illinois. Turns out we might not even be the premier directional basketball program in Illinois.

Then comes the recruiting bloodbath. Janiszewski is offered by FIU, Hicks is offered by Green Bay-Wisconsin, Tangara is offered by North Florida, Sprong gets a Robert Morris offer. I drop all over them and completely redo my board.

I do have a big lead for Ballinger, and convince him to sign at the end of the in-season recruiting period. This is the first fall recruit I’ve had Western Illinois — great grab as a top-15 center who averages a double-double and makes a serious impact defensively.

We beat Dayton the next game, 87-81, behind big games from Richards and Thompson. Here’s where I’m at with recruiting:

I have an offer out to Earnest Robertson, a four-star point guard from Los Angeles ranked No. 51 overall and No. 21 at his position. Obviously, this would be the biggest recruit in program history. UCLA and Oregon lead for Robertson, but his recruitment has a long way to go and I’m still his only offer.

I extend an offer to five-star shooting guard Arvydas Kavaliauskas out of Lithuania. I also offer Josiah Taybron, a 6’8 small forward ranked No. 109 overall (No. 21 at his position).

My final offer goes to Ira Willis, 6’7 power forward out of Queens, ranked No. 82 overall and No. 17 at his position.

I’m still chasing high upside guys over lower ranked prospects who I might have a better chance with. I’m hoping I can land one or two of these highly-ranked guys and still have some decent players left to choose from in the spring to fill out my class.

DePaul game is next. They’re an 89 overall, I’m an 88. This would be a huge win — and I get it, 63-47.

Like everyone says: Coach Rick, defensive mastermind. We beat UMBC, 87-54, with all five starters in double-figures the next game, then pound Saint Louis (Richards: 24 points and seven rebounds; Hehn: 17 points on 5-of-7 shooting from three).

My Leathernecks are 7-2 overall as the schedule full turns over to conference play. Is my team good enough to run the table in the Summit?

I win the first eight games by an average margin of about 15 points. We’re currently 15-2 overall and undefeated in conference on Jan. 23 when we drop 123 points on Oakland in a blowout win where Nelke — possibly my star of the future — scores 19 points off the bench on 5-of-5 shooting from the field and 4-of-4 shooting from three-point range. This is a demolition.

At the same time, It’s not going as well on the recruiting front. Each one of the four players I’ve offered is slow playing it. The good news is they’re slow playing it for everyone, not just me. It doesn’t make this any less nerve-wracking though considering I have so many scholarships to fill. Here’s what the board looks like right now — none of these guys are even close to committing.

I sim through the regular season and win out. Richards drops a career-high 35 points against UMKC in my last game. We end the regular season at 25-2 overall and 18-0 in conference.

No heartbreak in the Summit tournament this year, please.

Summit League tournament

Despite my sparkling record, I have no confidence I’ll get an at-large bid should we be upset in the conference tournament. First game is against Fort Wayne. I take home a 78-62 win with Richards leading the way with 21 points and 12 rebounds. Next up is South Dakota State in the semifinals. I win, 93-67, with Hehn dropping 26 points and Thompson finishing with 21 points and seven rebounds.

Now I have Southern Utah in the title game. Let’s go!

Oh, my God. My first conference loss of the year, and it happens in the title game, 84-80. I think I just felt my stomach fall out of my body. If this is Richards’ last game, at least he goes out with a new career-high of 37 points.

But wait! We get an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament

I can’t believe it. Is this the first at-large bid in Summit League history?

The Leathernecks are a No. 11 seed against Miami (Florida) in the first round. My team’s overall rating is up to a 90 now, with Richards at 87 overall as a senior, and Hehn and Messy at 84 and 83 overall, respectively, as true juniors. The Hurricanes are rated as a 94 overall.

No. 6 Miami (Florida) vs. No. 11 Western Illinois, NCAA tournament opening round

You know I watched the full game and cut up highlights — as a reminder, I’m not actually playing any of the games throughout this series, just watching the computer play it out.

Leatherneck Nation, let’s do this.

The soundtrack for this game is “The Better Parts of Space” from my bud Patrick Cosmos’ 2017 album Tonal Rotors. Support his music here.

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HELL YEAH.

What a win! Down eight with just over six minutes left, and we battle back. Messy was knocking down everything in the second half, and Wiedemann controlled the game from the opening tip. Love to see it. Also shouts to my center of the future, Deke Van, with the big 8-8-2 game without missing a shot.

WESTERN ILLINOIS IS STILL DANCING.

Next up: No. 3 seed Florida State in the Round of 32.

No. 11 Western Illinois vs. No. 3 Florida State, NCAA tournament Round of 32

This game features commentary from my bud, Zach (@ZM_Baseball), and I. It was incredibly intense from the opening tip to the final buzzer. Please enjoy more than seven minutes of Leathernecks basketball:

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One. Stop. Away. From the Sweet 16. And the refs bail out FSU with a whistle. UGH.

Incredible game, incredible season. Western Illinois will be back.

UCLA wins the national championship. My seniors — my first full recruiting class — have graduated:

Richards exits school with 1,614 points for his career — he somehow didn’t win back-to-back Summit League Player of the Year awards, which is a crime. Wiedemann, Cisse, Thompson ... all of them had great careers. And now the program moves forward.

Western Kentucky and UIC offer me a job. No thank you. Instead, I use my new coaching attribute points to boost my offensive and defensive ratings up to a B- and my teaching up to a B+.

Fall recruiting

I still have a ton of work to do in recruiting and I’m not optimistic.

Robertson — my four-star point guard ranked No. 51 overall — signs with UCLA after the second week. Damn.

One by one, everyone else also signs with another school, with one exception: power forward Ira Wells, who commits to WIU on the last week and becomes the first top-100 prospect in program history at No. 82 overall.

I just went 2-for-5 on open scholarships because I don’t have enough recruiting points at Western Illinois to make up ground late in the spring. This isn’t a death sentence for the program, but definitely a set back. I’m going to have to do major work on the recruiting front next year.

After setting my schedule, I sim forward to my sixth year.

Year 6

Here’s the first look at the roster:

To be continued.

If you want email updates on this series, fill out this form and get future articles sent straight to your inbox.

[richmacleod]

After a lost year, Vic Black is fighting his way to get back to the big leagues

The story of 27-year-old, right-handed relief pitcher Vic Black is one that has it's fair share of peaks and valleys. Spending time in both the Pirates and Mets organizations from 2009-2015, Black has shown the potential he's capable of. Recently, however, his story has become one of shoulder troubles, minor league stints and uncertainty.

Born in Amarillo, Texas on May 23, 1988, Vic Black isn't one of your typical stories about a professional baseball player who was born with the immediate love of the game. In fact, it was quite the contrary for him.

As many people likely know, football is a dominant force in Texas and as a kid, it's what Black watched the most. As far as other sports, the only other thing he ever really watched was volleyball, and that's thanks to growing up with his three sisters.

It wasn't until he was a 10-year-old that Black first made the decision to play baseball. And still, it wasn't because he had the burning passion to do so.

"I think I got in the last year you could be in coach pitch, and it was because my buddies were playing," Black told About.com. "I don't think it was a desire like 'man, that looks like so much fun,' I just couldn't hang out with my friends because they had to go play baseball, so I said 'that's a bum deal, I'll just go play.'"

Seven years later, Black was fully immersed in the game of baseball, playing for the Golden Sandstorm of Amarillo High School... As a catcher.

"The longer you're in the field, the more you understand the game around you," Black explained.

While he has dealt with neck and shoulder problems throughout his career, Vic has never had any elbow issues and believes that both the health of his elbow and a better understanding of the way the game is played are thanks to playing in the field throughout his four years at Amarillo High.

It wasn't until the end of his high school days that Black began to see what he could do on the mound. "I loved throwing from the outfield, I loved playing long toss," Black went on to say. "You start getting that feeling like 'it's getting there kinda fast.' I'm looking at the other guys throw it, but then I throw it and I think, 'there's something different.'"

Black claims that for the most part he didn't know much of what he was doing on the mound those days, but his velocity became an impressive trait as he was able to dial his fastball up to 96 MPH in the final game of his senior year.

"Being able to throw hard, it's something you get excited about," Black explained about his velocity. "This is fun, I wanna go do this as much as possible."

While he was still a work in progress as a pitcher, Black's velocity was dynamic enough to get him drafted out of high school as a pitcher in the 2006 MLB Amateur Draft. As chance so happens, Black was selected in the 41st round by a team he would wind up on years later: The New York Mets.

"I knew I had the kind of arm to attract them," he recalled, "but to go do it at that time would've been unwise due to, honestly, no development whatsoever. That young, there's so much to be learned in college and you're given the opportunity without the expectation that somebody's going to take your job if you don't do well."

Considering this, Black ultimately decided not to sign with the Mets and headed to Dallas Baptist University instead.

Soon after arriving to college, Black made the full transition from catcher to pitcher. "You receive the ball well, but the whole picking it and not really being able to hit thing isn't gonna quite play out," manager Eric Newman joked with him. From that moment on, it was all about pitching for Black.

In three college seasons, Black appeared in 48 games (42 as a starting pitcher). While his 4.64 ERA wasn't enough to impress teams on it's own, he was able to draw plenty of interest after amassing 246 strikeouts in 246.1 innings pitched. That equates to a career 9.00 strikeouts per 9 innings rate.

After being taken in the 41st round of the 2006 MLB Draft, Black found himself ascend to the 49th overall pick in the supplementary first round, taken by the Pittsburgh Pirates just three years later. To this day, Black is the highest draft pick in Dallas Baptist University history—a school that was once home to current and former major leaguers such as Freddy Sanchez, Ben Zobrist and Ryan Goins.

While it would still take three seasons to reach the big leagues, Black feels the lessons learned in the minors were not time wasted.

"The biggest thing that I had to learn was that it doesn't happen right then," he said. "Especially when you get drafted high, you're thinking this means that I'm ready. Stephen Strasburg was our No. 1 pick that year and everyone was saying 'oh, he's ready' and as someone who was 48 picks behind him I was thinking 'yeah, I think I might be, too.' You get that mindset, but then you get there and you start facing challenges."

Entering 2010, Black was the 12th ranked prospect in the Pirates farm system, however due to shoulder and bicep injuries, he appeared in just 29 games over the course of his first two years. It wasn't until the 2012 season that he had his first full minor league season, where he really began to make his name.

Now a full-time reliever, Black dominated Double-A during 2012 as he recorded a 1.65 ERA while racking up 13 saves and a whopping 85 strikeouts in just 60 innings pitched.

After posting a 2.51 ERA in Triple-A Indianapolis up through the All-Star break the following season, Black finally got his first shot at the big leagues as Pirates closer Jason Grilli went down with a strained right flexor tendon.

"My roommate at the time Duke Welker starts banging on the door, yelling 'Vic, your phone's going off!'" Black recalled. "I finish up showering, I'm in my pajamas and Duke is refusing to answer my phone, so I take it out, call my manager back and the first thing he says to me is 'pack your bags, you have to be at the airport in an hour.' At first, I wasn't even sure if it was joke or not."

It wasn't.

Black hopped on a plane to meet the Pirates in Washington, D.C. for their series against the Nationals. Finally, he was a big leaguer.

"It was blazing hot, I was sweating through my suit but it was the greatest thing in the world," he said about his trip to the ballpark that day.

Just one month after making his major league debut, Black's world changed as the Pirates traded him to the Mets—the team that originally drafted him out of high school—along with Dilson Herrera in exchange for Marlon Byrd and John Buck.

Despite Pittsburgh being on the cusp of breaking a 21-year postseason drought and leaving the only organization he had ever known, the new opportunity that presented itself was something that was exciting.

"I got called up, debuted in D.C., got traded a month later and then met the Mets for the first time... in D.C.," Black said, chuckling at the odds of such a thing happening. "It was cool, I was in a spot where I could get an opportunity to pitch the way and in a role I'd like to, but it was really what my agent said that was exciting. He told me 'Vic, there's L.A., there's Chicago, but then there's New York. They don't even compare.'"

Black finished out the 2013 campaign by pitching in 15 games for the Mets out of the bullpen, going 3-0 with a 3.46 ERA, 12 strikeouts and four walks in 13 innings pitched, but it was the following year that saw him really take a step forward.

While he did begin the 2014 season at Triple-A Las Vegas, it wasn't long before Black found his way back to the major leagues with the Mets and, once again, he showed his potential. In 41 games with the team that season, Black recorded a 2.60 ERA with 32 strikeouts (albeit with 19 walks) in 34.2 innings pitched.

Yet again, though, the injury bug bit the 26-year-old reliever as he sustained a pinched nerve and herniated disc in his neck, along with a shoulder strain that caused him to be shut down for the remainder of the season.

Even with the injuries, Black seemed as though he was set up to be a part of the Mets bullpen for years as he had been nothing but productive for the team at the major league level in each and every big league stint.

Then came 2015.

In the beginning of the season, Black found himself working his way back from the shoulder injury which curtailed his 2014, hoping to make his way back to the majors. Unfortunately, that's not what happened.

"It was a struggle," Black admitted. "There were some days where my arm didn't feel good, there were other days where it felt great but I just couldn't seem to figure out why. It didn't make any sense, we had seen several doctors who didn't really have a grasp on what could've been going on, it became more of a 'we think' situation, so we let it play out."

By the midway point of the season, Black continued to struggle mightily in the minor leagues as he posted a 25.86 ERA with 18 strikeouts and 14 walks in 18.1 innings pitched over 20 appearances between Single-A St. Lucie, Double-A Binghamton and Triple-A Las Vegas. The right-hander also had to deal with a groin issue that sidelined him for over a week in the first half of the season. After that stretch, however, things seemed to be headed in the right direction as the right-hander had a stretch of allowing just one run in 11.1 innings pitched over 12 appearances.

"I felt like I was kind of getting some rhythm back," Black explained. "My agent had some conversations with the front office who told him to keep me focused and that when rosters expand in September, there's a good chance I could be called back up."

With not much time left before the rosters expanded, things seemed to be on course for Black, who entered a game looking to keep the tying run at third from scoring with two outs. Much to everyone's surprise, the batter at the plate laid down a perfect suicide squeeze to tie the game. The following night, things continued to fall off the rails as Black was hit hard, allowing three runs in less than a full inning and blowing the save in the process.

"This is not happening right now," Black thought at the time. "In the past I don't get hit. If I give up runs it's because I walked a couple guys and then missed a pitch. I just didn't know what was happening."

On August 30th, just two days before the major league rosters expanded, the Mets acquired reliever Addison Reed in a waiver deal with the Diamondbacks and the team informed Black ahead of time that he was being outrighted, leading to the end of his career in New York.

"I wasn't showing what I did the year before so with that and the move they made, they couldn't afford to keep me on the 40-man roster at that point," Black said of the team's reasoning.

What began as a promising Mets career ended with injuries and frustration for Black, who admits that the end of the 2015 season did get to him at times. With all of the injury problems he's experienced over the years and the recent news of his former teammate Jenrry Mejia receiving a lifetime ban from baseball due to three PED violations, I asked Black if he's ever felt the temptation of steroids to keep him on the field and help him make his way back to the majors.

"I had a conversation with my dad back in 2011 when I had just come off of a year and a half of injuries and throwing 86-87 MPH. At the time a few guys in the big leagues had been suspected of using and my dad just looked at me and said 'don't you ever do that,'" Black explained. "My response to him was that with everybody there will come a point where we just can't play well enough to compete at this level anymore and when that day comes and I can't naturally do this anymore, I'm fine with walking away."

Today as pitchers and catchers begin their first workouts of the 2016 season, Black has yet to find a new team. And while he would love to return to New York, a place he describes as home now, he realizes his time with the Mets has come and gone. As such, Black posted a public goodbye to Mets fans on Twitter earlier in February, as he felt they deserved to be acknowledged after all of the support they'd given him over the years.

Soon to be 28-years-old, Black continues to remain optimistic at his chances to return to the major leagues. "For me to be able to play 15 more years past this, I think that would be a testament to staying true in battling the situations as they continue to come," Black said of his remaining goal. "I still believe I can do it, there's no doubt in that."

Still unsigned, Black aims to be ready to pitch again later this summer, whether it comes on a major or minor league contract. All he asks for at this point is another shot. And for someone with the ability to reach 97 MPH consistently on their fastball and break off a curveball like he's shown he can do, he probably deserves one.

Today, Vic Black cherishes his time with the Mets and even though it's come to an end for now, he remains hopeful of a reunion down the road one day. "I got to be a part of the city, and not just a player," Black said of New York. "And that was the best part of all."

[paradoxicalca]

r/hockey NHL Power Rankings Week 3: Feeling Blue Edition

/r/Hockey NHL Power Rankings Week Oct 14, 2019 - Oct 20, 2019Thank YouThank you to all of the volunteers doing the power rankings. Each ranker has their own system and have their own reasonings and analyis. It truly is a lot of work.RankersSpoilerOrganizersSpoilerVisualizationThe visualization contains historical data, so you can see how your team has done over time. Hopefully, we can run this for many years in hopes that we can see the rise and fall of teams by /r/hockey opinion.It automatically updates so feel free to bookmark. You can find it hereProcessHow does this work? Throughout the course of the week rankers are able to access an app that will allow them to rank teams. At the end of the period we calculate the average ranking for every team and collate all of the analysis provided by rankers.The app then generates a post that is first proofread and then posted to /r/hockey!Rankings (28/31 Rankers Reporting)Ranking (avg)TeamDeltaOverall RecordRecord This WeekComments1 (1.52)Colorado Avalanche-7-0-13-0-1Avs are strange they are winning, but at the same time they are very sloppy with many issues. The giveaways are sometimes out of control and the defense is often scattered. The Power Play is bad right now very stationary missing Barrie hurts. The first line looks normal which is unusual for a line that is typically so dominant. On the positive this team is a collective unit and its depth is showing up. The stars are flashing at different times and different lines are breaking through each night. Whether Kadri, Burakovsky, or Jost players are replacing the top lines dominance. The top line is still a sleeping giant and I worry for the rest of the league when it wakes up. Calder update: not a great week for Makar which is saying something still multiple assists on the week and 7 points in 8 games so far.2 (3.86)Edmonton Oilers37-1-12-1-13 (4.07)Buffalo Sabres27-1-13-1-0Its obvious that the west coast style of hockey was a shock to us, but we still managed to pull off 4/6 points for the trip. Victor Olofsson has cooled off a bit along with the powerplay, but our 5 on 5 play has been exceptional to compensate. Rasmus Dahlin is now second on the team in scoring to Eichel and second in PIMs to Kyle Okposo, who along with the Roaring 20's line has looked fantastic. We can't continue this pace forever, but I can dream right?4 (5.07)Boston Bruins-25-1-21-0-2The Bruins started off strong this week with a big win against the Ducks and Pasta scoring 4 goals! The rest of week had middling results with a shootout loss to the Bolts and an OTL to the Leafs. The Bruins still struggle to score 5v5 against the Bolts with all 3 goals coming on the PP. More secondary scoring is starting to show up on the scoresheet which helps but not at the level the team would like. The Bruins need more than the first line putting up points.5 (6.41)Carolina Hurricanes-36-3-01-2-06 (6.69)Vegas Golden Knights-6-3-02-1-0The Golden Knights are boasting one of the league's best special teams. Cody Glass's addition on the top unit has added an extra dimension to it allowing them to score on 30% of their power play chances. The penalty kill has only allowed two goals while scoring 4 short handed. Marc-Andre Fleury has been lights out lately playing like a Vezina candidate. But you have to ask the question if the Golden Knights are playing Fleury too much having him play all but one period in the season.7 (7.79)Anaheim Ducks36-3-02-2-0Ducks are living on the edge. Finishing problems have not been solved but Rakell looks night and day better than last season. Current team mood(not including Calgary): https://ift.tt/33urMd4 With wins over Buffalo and Carolina, the ducks look to shock teams thinking they can pull 4 points from a socal swing. Also does anyone have a power play goal for sale?8 (7.83)Washington Capitals-6-2-23-1-0Holtby has been much improved these last couple of games. Which is great news for Caps fans and bad news for everyone else. I think he may have realized his payday is coming up and he needs to get his numbers back to 2016-17 year. Although I would be okay with him repeating his playoff numbers from 17-18.9 (8.66)Pittsburgh Penguins56-3-02-1-0Despite having the most extensive injury list to start the season the boys are still playing at an elite level and winning games against tough opponents. Even in a loss against Vegas that game was kept close until very late but the Flower is going to do what he does best.10 (9.03)Toronto Maple Leafs-15-3-12-1-011 (12.21)Tampa Bay Lightning-4-3-12-1-0I really don't know what to make of this team yet. D has looked solid, and the PK hasn't been terrible (just need to win more faceoffs). The offense seemed to pick it up a little more, generating 46 shots against Colorado. The powerplay however, has looked awful, dropping from 28% last season to 16% this season.12 (13.86)Nashville Predators-4-3-11-1-1Well, the good news is the Preds found their missing PP. The bad news is now we need to start putting up flyers for their PK.13 (15.03)New York Islanders75-3-03-0-0Isles look to be getting into a groove now. Goaltending is solid and Mat Barzal is showing off his scoring while Nelson follows his regular Brocktober schedule. Wahlstrom being called up is very exciting with him showing some great skills, despite not getting his first goal yet. Next week's roster moves will be interesting, with Eberle hopefully returning to health and Dobson riding watching from upstairs lats couple of games.14 (15.03)Montreal Canadiens44-3-22-2-015 (15.21)St. Louis Blues-83-2-30-1-2This team is still hungover. Good play from some players but not really cohesive yet. Still early in the season though.16 (15.59)Calgary Flames-5-4-13-1-0A 3-1 week was the bounce back that the Flames needed, however an abysmal effort leading to a 4-1 loss against LA leaves fans wondering what kind of team the Flames are this year.17 (15.83)Arizona Coyotes54-2-13-0-0While the Coyotes have had one of the top D-groups in the league since last season, offense has finally started clicking for the Desert Dogs. The Coyotes have taken 9 of the last 10 available points, scoring 4.6 gpg over the previous week, and only allowing 2 gpg. The PP has heated up to over 30% in this time frame, and Darcy Kuemper set a franchise record for most consecutive games allowing 2 of fewer goals. Kuemper has not allowed more than 2 goals against now since March.18 (16.1)Vancouver Canucks55-3-03-1-0I suppose I should say something I'm thankful for this year, but as a true Canucks fan I'd rather just be an entitled little egg eater and not give thanks for anything. This team is pretty good, but what I really deserve this year is a Stanley Cup win, or maybe the first overall draft pick if we miss the playoffs. Ideally, the Canucks will win both, otherwise it's time to #firebenning. Anyway, The Canucks turned around their early season slide with a very convincing win at home vs. the Kings and a less-convincing shootout win vs. the Flyers. The top line continues to be somewhat stifled, but that's okay because there are now various interesting players to watch on this team. Miller and Hughes have both come exactly as-advertised, Markstorm is tight, and Pearson appears intent on revitalizing his career. Myers is big, and while I don't know how his play will end up on statlines, he is very fun to watch.19 (17)Winnipeg Jets-65-5-01-2-0Tough, week was tough. Last week saw us win 3 in a row, this week saw us lose 3 in a row. The truth is we're probably somewhere in the middle of that. No one is doubting this teams offensive depth or skill level, The defense continues to leave much to be desired. Rumblings of Buff's return continue to give us this false sense of hope about the season. The tenders have been decent, through this tough stretch. Not alot to say at this point. The forward core is good enough to score on anyone, but if they run into a hot goalie, like they did vs the Isles they are going to lose. Frustration isn't the correct word, I'd say it's more of a malais. Also, they failed to sell out a game for the first time in 2.0 history, I understand it was vs the Gila River Coyotes on a Tuesday while there was snow on the ground on October 15th, but still, not a great sign.20 (20.34)Florida Panthers13-2-32-0-1Can the Panthers end a game in regulation? Can the Panthers hold on to a lead? No and no. But they managed to win against Nashville without Barkov, pretty good.21 (21.79)Columbus Blue Jackets33-3-21-0-2Three solid performances this week, but both overtime losses were games that were very winnable. Poor power play performance continues to plague the Jackets and this year the penalty kill seems to be having issues too. Cam Atkinson is on the right wing side on the PP and it doesn't seem to be working. Outside of special teams, though, the young Jackets team has looked pretty good at driving the game though puck possession. There were multiple shifts vs Chicago that were a minute plus of sustained pressure and chances in 5 on 5 situations. Only issue here is burying chances which should eventually happen if this play keeps up. Two tough opponents this week should be a good test. Expect to see Elvis get his first win soon!22 (22.86)Philadelphia Flyers-52-3-10-3-0Thanks to the backup ranker, I'm a student who is working as well so sometimes time escapes me. Thanks again for covering last week. That being said, the flyers made me sad and I want them to not suck. Oilers hurt our Goodboye(tm) Hart, we lost to the flames who I feel we should have at least been able to take to overtime, and I dont want to talk about the stars game. Lets just hope that we do that hockey thing better this week.23 (23.48)New York Rangers-82-4-00-3-0This team's starting to look a little more as I expected. Actually a little worse than I figured. It may have been due to the schedule, but holy shit was this a painful week. There were only about 20 minutes of hockey that I was hyped about this week and that was the third period against the Canucks. Defense needs to be addressed and the forward lines need to be sorted out. Andersson still deserves more minutes and Kakko should get time with the first line and possibly even the first power play unit. Hopefully this upcoming week gets better.24 (23.52)San Jose Sharks33-5-01-1-0Much better week for the Sharks. The rookies are starting to look more comfortable, and everything is starting to fall into place. The team is starting to regain confidence and everyone's playing much better than the first week.25 (23.62)Chicago Blackhawks32-3-12-1-0Kirby Dach made his NHL debut last night. The 3rd line of Saad-Kampf-Kubalik has been the most consistent, and arguably our best line so far. They have a 60.75 CF% and 67.90 FF% at even strength, and the team has a 46.54 CF% and 42.91 FF% when none of them are on the ice. The Hawks are a much more physical team, averaging 31.3 hits/game, up from 16.5 last season. But are hurt by poor special teams: they are 3 for 18 on the PP (16.7%) and 12 for 18 on the PK (66.7%).26 (23.79)Los Angeles Kings-13-5-01-2-0no bueno for the kings this week, Drew Doughty may have exerted dominance in his love-hate relationship with Matthew Tchakuk. along with a flying Mark Giordano superman appearance. The Kings look poised for mediocrity or worse again.27 (23.86)Detroit Red Wings-83-5-00-3-0We expected regression to hit at some point, things took a turn for the worse as they went 0-3 getting killed by VAN/CGY. The “veterans” seem to be hindering development. Dropping Bertuzzi from the top line to create “balanced” scoring was unnecessary by Blashill as no increased production came from Athanasiou along with decreases in Larkin/Mantha hot start. Most teams in the league load up a top line(COL/BOS) or have players to spread out(VGK/STL). Detroit is definitely not the latter and having Darren Helm on the top line kill many opportunities for Larkin/Mantha. Defense is still lackluster outside of Hronek and the Goaltending is still hard to evaluate since the defense is playing so poor. However I still maintain that Howard and Bernier do well enough to keep the WIngs in games. Their loss against EDM was a good step forward as Bertuzzi rejoined the top line near the end of the game and they were able to keep the EDM studs from running up the score.28 (27.59)New Jersey Devils22-4-22-1-0WE DID THE THING! It may have taken us longer than everyone else but we did it and against the Rags, making it all the sweeter. Predictably, the rampant calling for Hynes' head in the sub and GDTs have largely subsided, though he is still very much on the hot seat. Hughes got his first goal of hopefully many against his brother's team, and it ended up being the GW and only goal. The team as a whole seems much more cohesive and the pieces are starting to fall into place. And in possibly the best news of the week, we signed Nico long term, 7 years 7.25 AAV with a MNTC. Having Nico signed until 2027 is a relief knowing exactly how much a high talent player will be making before the offseason hits.29 (28.24)Dallas Stars-32-7-11-3-0If you're panicking this week, I don't blame you. I am, too. Things went almost as bad as they could have. The negatives are many. We're all aware of them, so let's try to be optimistic. What went right this week? Hintz and Heiskanen continue to deliver. Bishop showed he can still stand on his head for a win. Perry and Gurianov look promising. Can we take our successes against Philly and triumph against the Senators tonight? Can we use this win to build momentum and get key players back to playing elite hockey? Lets hope... otherwise, it's going to get messy, and you'd have to imagine that drastic changes are on the table.30 (29.97)Ottawa Senators-11-5-10-2-1An incredibly boring loss against the Minnesota Mild this week pointed the Sens' tank back in the right direction this week. Despite an incredible performance from Nilsson in Las Vegas and finally recording a goal on the powerplay, the team managed no wins and only a single point over the course of this week - exactly the kind of performance they want to continue if they wish to remain at 31st in the standings for the best possible shot at 1st overall pick in the 2020 draft. The only concerning part about this week is in Chabot, Tkachuk, White, and Zaitsev all clearly looking frustrated by the team's struggles; It will be a test of new coach DJ Smith and the "veteran presence" guys that Dorion brought in to keep locker room morale up in this tough rebuild year.31 (30.14)Minnesota Wild-2-6-02-2-0This blurb requires more effort than the Minnesota Wild have shown so far this season. Were it not for a dumpster fire of a matinee game against Ottawa, Minny would still be looking for their first win of the season going into Sunday's tilt against Montreal. 8 games in and Brad Hunt is the leading the team in points. Seems pretty fitting as the rest of the team is playing like total Hunts (unfortunate that one important key on my keyboard is broken). r/hockey NHL Power Rankings Week 3: Feeling Blue Edition Source

[torentialtribute]

MARTIN SAMUEL: Portrush was a hit, so now let’s take The Open to Wales

All reasons not to take the Open to Royal Portrush are now just as advanced to keep it away from Royal Porthcawl.

The roads are too small, the infrastructure is insufficient, there is not enough room for the crowds, there is not enough room for the hospitality.

And yet when the success of Irish golfers – especially those from the north – made the screams to return to irresistible portrush, a way was found to make it work.

Irish Shane Lowry won The Open at Royal Portrush on Sunday evening

host in Northern Ireland a great Open, it took place for 237,750 spectators – most of them attending outside of St. Andrews.

For the first time in history, every ticket was broken in advance. The Irish public responded magnificently to this opportunity and The Open will definitely be back – and soon.

The promise was that if this worked, Portrush would get two Opens in the next 30 years. Now there is talk of bringing it back as early as 2024.

Royal St George's in Sandwich will host next year, the 150th Open will be held in St Andrews, of course, in 2021, with Royal Liverpool already named after 2022.

Muirfield & # 39; s reward for finally recognizing that half of the planet exists, is likely to open in 2023, leaving Portrush as a favorite for 2024, with Royal Lytham out of favor .

So what about Wales? Not in 2024, but soon. How is it possible that one of the four countries in the UK has never held The Open – with the last R&A statement made in 2015 after Porthcawl successfully organized a Senior Open announcing it & # 39 ; not the intention & # 39; was a Welsh addition to consider going to the roster.

For the first time in history, each major card was picked up in advance

Those who know Porthcawl – 30 miles west of Cardiff, 20 miles east of Swansea – say it is the same as all connections in Britain. It was Tom Watson's enthusiasm for the place that forced the R&A to reject it.

& # 39; There is no weak hole & # 39 ;, he said. & # 39; It would be a great Open Championship course. I fell in love the moment I saw it. It's just a great hole after the other, everything you want on a golf course. & # 39;

Fred Couples and Bernhard Langer have confirmed this approval.

Yet Wales has never produced an Open champion – Ian Woosnam & # 39; s 1991 The victory of the American Masters is the only major victory of a Welshman – meaning that the R&A is not under pressure to protect the region. rewarding because it was Northern Ireland when Rory McIlroy, Graeme McDowell and Darren Clarke came to the fore.

Does Wales have to wait for three Woosnams before it is recognized?

And is the reason that Wales, in comparison, has not achieved enough in golf that the R&A treats the region as unimportant?

It is very unfortunate. The Welsh audience proved effective for the Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor in 2010 and events at Portrush showed what can be achieved with a little bit of will, and how new territory can be captured and captivated by an opportunity.

Porthcawl has more to it than just geography. It would be a unique Open location – one where the sea can be seen on all 18 holes – and free of complications that affect many of the traditional courses.

Muirfield gets a knock on the head to change his position, but the ladies' section in Porthcawl is so important that the rooms enjoy the prime location in the clubhouse.

Porthcawl has more to it than just geography – it would being a unique open location

Tiger Woods played it and lost to Gary Wolstenholme in the 1995 Walker Cup at the age of 19. And at 7,200 meters, it has moved with the times.

It was only the circumstance that deprived Porthcawl of his place on the roster anyway. The R&A championship committee wanted to add it to their list earlier and to facilitate this the changes in the course started in 1933.

After the second world war the redesign was embedded when the Second World War broke out and by the then it was over, Porthcawl's chance had disappeared.

Yet the most arresting argument was to revisit its potential as a future open location – to make it a priority – cam when this year's champion, Shane Lowry, was considering what it meant to have an Irish winner of an Open in Ireland.

& # 39; I think people have watched golf today who have never watched golf before, & # 39; he said.

Every sports manager talks about growing the game. So how can the R&A continue this exclusion? If Porthcawl still needs a Woosnam, where will inspiration come from if visitors are just amateurs and old men?

Murray's lack of self-pity is a great lesson for unfortunate Duval

David Duval was a great golfer. At the Masters in 2001, he shot a score that the tournament would have won size four every year. He became second. Tiger Woods has won. He won many tournaments when Duval was at its peak.

We will never know the extent to which this frustration and disappointment have contributed to a sudden decline. Injuries certainly also played a role – but it couldn't have helped.

On Thursday during the Open, Duval took so many on the seventh that he lost count. By Friday evening he was 13 shots off the field.

Some say he should not have accepted the invitation – which he will receive every year until he is 60, because he won at Royal Lytham in 2001.

Yet Duval struggles strongly with the career from another great person whose timing was a little different: Andy Murray. Just like Duval, he came in a time of fierce competition.

The fight of the American golfer David Duval contrasts sharply with the career of Andy Murray

Just as Duval was overshadowed by Woods, anyone playing tennis in the same era as Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic can be considered the short drop too have drawn.

Murray never sees it that way. Never complains, never complains about his fate. He thinks that taking this trio has improved him, inspired him to achieve standards that he would never have achieved otherwise.

The absolute absence of self-pity is one of the most impressive aspects of his character.

Who knows where Duval's game could be now, would have been more philosophical and even more thankful for his battles with Woods? Not 27 past par, maybe.

Koepka's ticking time bomb for the US

For those who still wonder why the United States can have more than half of the world's top 10 golfers and the Ryder Cup record that, frankly, it sucks, it was all there in portrush.

Brooks Koepka could be seen looking at rule officials and tapping an imaginary watch while waiting for his compatriot, JB Holmes, to play the 12th.

Later he moaned about the slowness of Holmes's play. & # 39; What I don't understand is when it's your turn to hit and your glove isn't on, & # 39; said Koepka. "He does nothing until his turn."

And he's right. Holmes was an age and is known for it.

Yet one can hardly imagine that potential teammates of the European team cause problems for each other in this way. Not least because Koepka would have been very aware that Sunday was probably the worst day of Holmes' professional life.

He started his last lap in third place, 10 under par and after a round of 87 – 16 above par – he concluded that it was 67th.

Brooks Koepka (C) tapped an imaginary watch while waiting for JB Holmes (R) to play the 12th

You could imagine even in a single game such as golf, there could be sympathy between players who are one day on the same team, a comforting word, at least a bit of understanding.

Holmes can also be considered as mitigating circumstances. He needed brain surgery in 2011 to tackle a condition that caused dizziness. He still has an assistance dog, Ace, who helps him calm down when the situation strikes.

So it is an important achievement that he is competing at all and not entirely unreasonable to think that Koepka, however frustrated, would not wish to make a bad situation worse.

Perhaps he feels like world number 1 that with 23 Americans separating him and Holmes – ranked 57th – keeping companionship is not a priority.

Yet Holmes created the United States Ryder Cup team on two previous occasions – coincidentally in 2008 and 2016 the only two times that the US won this century.

Meanwhile, the mystery of American underperformance continues.

What game does Poch play now about his traces of the future?

Last season ended with speculation about whether Mauricio Pochettino would leave Tottenham, and this season begins with the manager discussing the same topic. Even though he has decided to stay.

So why would you bring it up? Why announce that he would have left if Tottenham had won the Champions League.

If Pochettino would have stopped if Tottenham had defeated Liverpool, in what other circumstances could his head be turned around?

If Ole Gunnar Solskjaer makes a bad show of his first full season in Manchester United? It is all so unnecessary. Pochettino remains. End of story. Why would you comment on what was possible?

The champions of Pochettino say that uncertainty about his future last season was an exercise in brinkmanship to convince Daniel Levy to invest in players.

Yet Tottenham has already spent £ 54 million on Tanguy Ndombele, with another £ 80 million due this week on Giovani Lo Celso and Ryan Sessegnon. If it was brinkmanship, it worked.

So what game is being played now?

] Last season ended with speculation about whether Mauricio Pochettino would leave Tottenham

It is money that speaks to the city in China, does not make friends

Manchester City left with a stabbing reprimand from the state Run news agency, Xinhua. The club was accused of arrogance and an attempt to win & # 39; wallets, not hearts & spirits & # 39 ;.

The fact that criticism of the English-language website of Xinhua was included means that it was also meant to be read here.

& # 39; Their performance in China was nothing more than a commercial obligation, and their lack of enthusiasm and indifferent treatment of their hosts contrasts sharply with representatives of other clubs, "Xinhua noted.

"Wolves could no longer do to deal with fans and treated China with the utmost dignity. Today those clubs leave with new respect and new fans; Manchester City leaves with neither. & # 39;

Given that City was preparing a pitch during a visit to 2016 that was so bad that the game with Manchester United could not be played, it could be considered a two-way street.

What this episode does reveal, however, is a rather surprising naivety about traveling to the Premier League to the east. There are hearts and minds all over the world.

Manchester City was accused of arrogance and an attempt to win & # 39; portfolios & # 39; & # 39; by Xinhua

Yet Premier League clubs do not just go somewhere. What interests football are markets.

None of the clubs are in China for a cultural experience, for making friends, or for a well-conceived altruistic reason.

Every smile, every courtesy, every charity visit is billed in one way or another. Perhaps Manchester City behaved unpleasantly during their journey. Maybe elite success comes with elite successes.

But anyone who thinks the Premier League Asia Cup – or the International Champions Cup, or one of the pre-season jamborees taking place on continents – is anything but the purses of an almost touching innocence.

Perhaps the Chinese believe that gambling company claims that it also wants to make sure that football shirts are not allowed to advertise.

What are you going to say about Gareth Bale when he is 30 years old, he makes a move to China because they have the only clubs that can match his wages at Real Madrid?

So far, the aversion of Zinedine Zidane to Bale & # 39; s talents is enigmatic. Even if he is not a starter under the new coach, his value as a replacement impact has been demonstrated.

For Zidane to use 22 players – 11 in each half – in a friendly relationship with Bayern Munich on the weekend, and leaving Bale on the standard seems counterproductive.

But if Bale rejects chances to play in a leading European league for financial reasons and good recordings of top-class club football – and perhaps international football, given the standard of competition in China – then Zidane & # 39; s judgment will be justified.

If Bale makes money, he loses. Only by playing at a level that matches his ability can he continue to win.

So far, Zinedine Zidane (right) aversion of Gareth Bale (left) talents is a mystery

There have not been a single day in the series this summer in which the cricketers of England were not played out by Australia .

So it is ridiculous that a kind of moral victory is supposed over Australia's refusal to set a goal for England to pursue Sunday.

England, trailing 6-0 in the series, stated 145 is short for the total of the first innings in Australia in an attempt to make the visitors run stupid.

This is praised in some circles as a sort of success for England – presumably to avoid questions of a somewhat more searching nature.

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[thrashermaxey]

Ramblings: Carolina Updates; McLellan in Los Angeles; Pominville; Devon Toews – April 18

  In a surprise to no one, both Andrei Svechnikov and Micheal Ferland were not practicing with the ‘Canes on Wednesday. The former following his fight against Alex Ovechkin, the latter an upper-body injury. On the bright side, Calvin de Haan was practicing with the team. He was on as an extra meaning he may not be ready for Game 4 but he is cleared, so it’s a comfort level thing for de Haan now.   

With Svechnikov and Ferland out of the lineup, the coaching staff loaded the top line with Teravainen, Aho, and Niederreiter. Staal and Williams were flanked by Warren Foegele.

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The Los Angeles Kings held a press conference introducing Todd McLellan as their next head coach. You can read my take on the hiring here.

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Something that caught my eye in Cam Metz’s article a couple days ago in his Eastern Edge column. He wrote about production against expected production from right wingers in the Atlantic division. One guy whose name stood out: Jason Pominville.

In 837 minutes of five-on-five ice time, Pominville posted 2.01 points per 60 minutes. Among the 252 forwards with at least 800 minutes, only 86 forwards managed at least two points per 60 minutes at 5v5. Pominville’s rate was the same as Brayden Schenn and Joe Pavelski. Pominville accomplished this despite playing only about a third of his ice time with Jack Eichel.

Going back three seasons, Pominville’s aggregate points/60 minutes at 5v5 (1.93) is the same as Gustav Nyquist, and higher than other wingers like Pavelski, Alex Radulov, Evander Kane, and Justin Williams.

Now, there is a lot more to hockey than just simply a points rate at five-on-five, but it’s clear that Pominville can still be productive in the NHL in a lesser role, and can do so even in a low-scoring environment. However, he turns 37 in November and it’s a wonder how much he does have left.

I’ll be interested to see where he lands this summer.

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The Selke Trophy finalists were announced Wednesday night:

  2019 Selke Finalists: Bergeron (BOS), O’Reilly (STL) & Stone (LV)

— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) April 17, 2019

  I don't have a particular problem with any of the choices. Maybe guys like Crosby, Couturier, and Barkov deserved some recognition but it's not like there's an egregious nomination in there. People may quibble with Bergeron's games played or something. I won't. 

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A couple late goals brought the Leafs within one, but Boston skated out of Toronto with a 6-4 win, evening the series at two games each. David Pastrnak scored two goals less than two minutes apart in the second period, while Auston Matthews would reply with two of his own. Matthews had seven shots on goal and over 21 minutes of ice time in what was probably his best game of the series.

Brad Marchand had a goal and two assists, his second multi-point game of the series. He’s now up to six points in four games.

Charlie McAvoy had a power-play goal and an assist less than seven minutes into the game, his first points of the series.

Here’s a thought I’m starting to come around on: McAvoy should be a guy fantasy owners target this offseason. I suppose a strong playoff performance could change the conversation, but it seems like when discussion about the top young defencemen in the game occurs, McAvoy is often left out. It’s often Dahlin, or Chabot, or Heiskanen, or even Hughes, though he’s less frequent. Cale Makar has now exploded on the scene. It almost seems like McAvoy has been in that conversation so long, going back to the 2017 playoffs when he played 26 minutes a night as a 19-year old, he’s graduated beyond the expectations of a young defenceman. The fact that he’s missed some time also works in favour of muting expectations, even though he’s played over a 40-point/82-game pace for his regular season career. Torey Krug very well may not be around in a year because of an impending cap crunch. The price may be high, as it should be, but maybe not high enough.

*

Nashville never got off the ground against Dallas as the Stars took a 4-0 lead with just under seven minutes remaining in the first, cruising to a 5-1 win to also even their series at two games apiece. Roope Hintz scored his first two goals of the series, his second multi-goal game of the season, while John Klingberg had three assists to give him five helpers in four games this series.

Pekka Rinne was pulled after the fourth goal.

Not too much to glean from a game that was over with over 45 minutes of game time left.  

*

Update on the late game in the morning. 

*

The wounds are still fresh in Tampa Bay but there has been a lot said and a lot more will be said about their sweep. They’ll cover everything from the Lightning choking, to injury issues on the blue line, to guys like Kucherov and Point being pushed off their game. And there are a lot of legitimate reasons why Columbus took the series over the Bolts.

Let’s not lose the sight of two things:

Even the most pessimistic models would have had Columbus winning that series roughly once every five chances.

Teams usually don’t win a playoff series when they get .856 goaltending.

I think that last point is kind of going overlooked here in the immediate aftermath of Tampa Bay being bounced from the postseason. We can talk about the Columbus forecheck, the lack of scoring from Tampa’s top players, the injuries to either side, whatever. The fact of the matter is that your goaltender saving 86 percent of the shots he faces is unlikely to lead to success.

And bad goaltending happens all the time. Andrei Vasilevskiy is going to be in the mix for the Vezina Trophy as the best goaltender of the regular season and he had a couple poor four-game stretches in the regular season. For example, from March 23 – April 1, he posted an .843 in four games. There was a run of four games from December 18 – 29 where he posted an .891. Stretches like this happen, it just happened to be at the worst time possible. If you want to know how important having, at the least, solid goaltending is in the playoffs, just look at the San Jose-Vegas series.

Hopefully there isn’t a knee-jerk reaction from Tampa. This is a very good roster from top to bottom and most of their core is locked up. Hockey is random, teams just need to give themselves as many kicks at the can as they can possibly manage.

On the flipside, I was very pessimistic for the Jackets even after the trade deadline, but their play since has proven themselves true contenders. It’s nice to see a general manager be rewarded for taking a tremendous risk even if I thought the risk was foolish at the time. I’ll take the ‘L’ here and say congrats to the Jackets and their fans. They’re going to be a handful for any team to try to expel from the postseason.

*

Speaking of the Columbus deadline acquisitions, Matt Duchene had a fantastic series with seven points in four games. Aside from the seven points, he led the team in adjusted shot share at five-on-five and Columbus outscored Tampa Bay 4-1 when he was on the ice at five-on-five. He didn’t do a whole lot in the regular season post-deadline but his play in the first round made his acquisition completely worth it. What a marvelous series.

*

I don’t understand the slander the Penguins are catching. We knew the Islanders were a very good defensive team that had arguably the best goaltending tandem in the NHL this year. Pittsburgh hasn’t missed the playoffs in 13 seasons and have three Stanley Cups in the last decade. They can’t win every year, you know? Maybe the fact that it’s a sweep caught some of us by surprise, but does it really matter if your team gets bounced in the first round in six games rather than four? 

*

On the topic of Matt Duchene pulling through, how about Max Pacioretty and Jordan Eberle? Remember when those two were players a franchise couldn’t rely upon for big performances? Pacioretty has 10 points in four games with the Sharks on the verge of elimination while Eberle had four goals and six points in the four-game sweep of the Penguins.

Their respective performances are just a reminder to casual hockey fans that they’re very good players.

*

On the topic of the Islanders: is there anyone on that team more unheralded than Devon Toews? He may be playing on the bottom pair but he’s been very good on that bottom pair in the playoffs, sporting a shot share 7.7 percent above the team average, the Islanders outscored the Penguins 3-1 with him on the ice, and he even registered two power play points in the series.

Looking ahead to next season, it’s hard to see a big jump fantasy-wise. They may lose Eberle to free agency and there’s no guarantee that the young prospects like Oliver Wahlstrom or Kieffer Bellows are going to be reliable scorers in 2019-20. Expecting the Islanders to be higher scoring next year than this past season may not be reasonable. At least, not yet. We’ll see what happens to the roster in the summer.  

It’s an interesting situation because Toews has seen some time over the last month or so running the top PP unit. Ultimately, I think that spot belongs to Ryan Pulock in 2019-20 but at the least, the coaching staff sees Toews as a challenger to that spot. Maybe we see a Will Butcher-type season where Toews only plays 18 minutes a night or whatever, but because of the heavy top PP exposure, he can push 40 points.

All the same, it was an impressive rookie season, albeit shortened to fewer than 50 games, and he’s looked as impressive in the playoffs. Having him develop into a top-4 defenceman – and he may be one already – would be a huge boost to this franchise and a winning lottery ticket for dynasty fantasy owners.

*

In the fallout of the Tampa series, one player I’m very interested in fantasy-wise, outside of their top stars obviously, is Anthony Cirelli.

It was a stellar season for Cirelli with 19 goals and 39 points, with only one power play point mixed in. I think that’s important to point out: 39 points might not seem like a great total, but he also had just 24 minutes of PP time over the course of the regular season. When looking at his primary points per 60 minutes at five-on-five, he fared better than some players who were often in the top-6 like J.T. Miller and Ondrej Palat.

This Tampa team will look a bit different next season. There is a cap crunch coming with Kucherov’s extension kicking in and Brayden Point due to be re-signed. With all the no-trade clauses on the team, by process of elimination, it seems likely that Miller is traded. Cirelli also centred Steven Stamkos in Game 4. The coaching staff clearly thinks a lot of Cirelli.

I’m still skeptical, of course. Some of the micro-stats like zone entries and exits weren’t great, but his defensive numbers were excellent. In an ideal world, I think Tampa wants to run Point-Stamkos-Cirelli down the middle but this isn’t always an ideal world. I’ll be fascinated to see where Cirelli slots when the exhibition season rolls around.

from All About Sports https://dobberhockey.com/hockey-rambling/ramblings-carolina-updates-mclellan-in-los-angeles-pominville-devon-toews-april-18/

[kansascityhappenings]

Restocked Kansas nabs No. 1 spot in AP Top 25 preseason poll

RALEIGH, N.C. — Kansas coach Bill Self sees big holes when he looks at his roster after losing three starters, including Associated Press All-American Devonte’ Graham.

The voters in the AP Top 25 poll see something different: a roster restocked so well that Jayhawks will start the season as the nation’s top team.

Kansas checked in at No. 1 in the preseason poll released Monday, earning the top spot to start a season for the third time in program history, all under Self. The Jayhawks topped the ballot for 37 of 65 voters, nearly double that of No. 2 Kentucky.

“Obviously we lost a lot off last year’s team with Devonte’, Svi (Mykhailiuk) and Malik (Newman), so I’m a little surprised that the writers put us there this preseason,” Self said in a statement to the AP. “It’s definitely a spot we welcome and certainly know the goal is to be playing to that ranking by when it counts the most.

“With the young players, we know it’s going to take some time before we’re anywhere close to where we’re going to be, but I do like this team and I think we have a chance to be very good.”

The Jayhawks return veteran starters in junior 7-footer Udoka Azubuike and senior Lagerald Vick from a team that reached its first Final Four since 2012. They’re also adding transfer help from Memphis twins Dedric and K.J. Lawson as well as California’s Charlie Moore — all double-digit scorers on their previous teams.

And yet, the previous two times the Jayhawks started at No. 1 didn’t end well. The 2004-05 squad lost to Bucknell in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. And the 2009-10 team that held the top spot for 15 of 19 weeks overall and won 33 games lost to Northern Iowa in the second round.

The ranking comes as the program finds itself entangled in the federal corruption case tied to payments used to steer recruits to certain schools. Testimony during the recent first trials included references to Self and sophomore forward Silvio De Sousa , though Self isn’t charged with wrongdoing and it’s unclear if De Sousa’s status will be affected.

CLEAR CHOICES

Voters established a clear top tier: Kansas, Kentucky, No. 3 Gonzaga and No. 4 Duke. Those four teams appeared in some combination at the top of nearly half the ballots (32 of 65).

John Calipari’s latest group of touted recruits helped the Wildcats earn 19 first-place votes to open as a top-5 team for the eighth straight season.

Gonzaga’s ranking is the program’s highest in a preseason AP poll, though the Zags have reached No. 1 during the regular season before. As for Duke, the Blue Devils had started No. 1 in each of the past two preseason AP polls.

The points gap between the Jayhawks and the Blue Devils (129 points) at fourth was slimmer than between Duke and fellow Atlantic Coast Conference program Virginia (166 points) at No. 5.

FRESH START

Speaking of Tony Bennett’s Cavaliers, one of the biggest things to watch will be how well the Virginia responds to the most historic of tournament losses.

The Cavaliers ended the regular season as the unanimous AP No. 1-ranked team and the No. 1 overall NCAA Tournament seed, yet somehow became the first 1-seed to lose to a No. 16 against UMBC. Bennett said all the right things about learning from that moment. And his team returns Kyle Guy (14.1 points), Ty Jerome (10.6 points) and its best NBA prospect in sophomore De’Andre Hunter.

Virginia has its highest preseason AP ranking since Ralph Sampson’s final team opened at No. 1 in 1982-83.

LOFTY START

The Martin twins are back along with Jordan Caroline, and that has Nevada starting the year with the program’s highest ever AP poll ranking at No. 7 after last year’s NCAA Sweet 16 run .

CHAMPS AT 9

No Jalen Brunson, no Mikal Bridges, no Final Four most outstanding player Donte DiVincenzo. And yet reigning national champion Villanova checks in at No. 9.

The Wildcats still have Eric Paschall and Phil Booth back while adding Albany graduate transfer Joe Cremo. There’s also a bit of respect built into this ranking, both for the stature of program Jay Wright has developed (two national championships in three seasons) and for the Wildcats’ dominating romp through the postseason.

CONFERENCE WATCH

The ACC had the most teams ranked of any conference: Duke, Virginia, No. 8 North Carolina, No. 15 Virginia Tech (its highest spot since the 1995-96 season), No. 16 Syracuse, No. 17 Florida State and No. 22 Clemson.

The Southeastern Conference was next up with five teams: Kentucky, No. 6 Tennessee, No. 11 Auburn (the program’s highest ranking since 2000), No. 18 Mississippi State and No. 23 LSU.

The Big 12 had four (Kansas, No. 12 Kansas State, No. 13 West Virginia and No. 20 TCU), while the Big Ten and Pac-12 each had three, led by No. 10 Michigan State and No. 14 Oregon, respectively.

THE WATCH LIST

Hello again to Porter Moser, Sister Jean and Loyola (Chicago), last year’s Final Four surprise . The Ramblers were only three points behind No. 25 Washington, putting them just outside the poll.

Marquette was next with high-scoring junior Markus Howard back, while Archie Miller’s second year at Indiana has the Hoosiers lurking nearby as well.

Several power-conference teams like Florida, Nebraska, Maryland and Wisconsin could find their way into the poll with a few early wins.

from FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports https://fox4kc.com/2018/10/22/restocked-kansas-nabs-no-1-spot-in-ap-top-25-preseason-poll/

from Kansas City Happenings https://kansascityhappenings.wordpress.com/2018/10/22/restocked-kansas-nabs-no-1-spot-in-ap-top-25-preseason-poll/

[reliableremodeling]

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/r/hockey NHL Power Rankings Week 26 Knightfall Edition

/r/Hockey NHL Power Rankings Week Mar 25, 2019 - Mar 31, 2019Thank YouThank you to all of the volunteers doing the power rankings. Each ranker has their own system and have their own reasonings and analyis. It truly is a lot of work.RankersSpoilerOrganizersSpoilerVisualizationThe visualization contains historical data, so you can see how your team has done over time. Hopefully, we can run this for many years in hopes that we can see the rise and fall of teams by /r/hockey opinion.It automatically updates so feel free to bookmark. You can find it hereProcessHow does this work? Throughout the course of the week rankers are able to access an app that will allow them to rank teams. At the end of the period we calculate the average ranking for every team and collate all of the analysis provided by rankers.The app then generates a post that is first proofread and then posted to /r/hockey!Rankings (26/31 Rankers Reporting)Ranking (avg)TeamDeltaOverall RecordRecord This WeekComments1 (1.08)Tampa Bay Lightning-59-15-41-1-0Tampa doesn’t play well after a long break. That has been established quite well this season. There isn’t much more I can say about the Bolts that hasn’t been said I’m going to focus on some baby Bolts. Carter Verhaeghe leads the AHL in points with 75 (30 G 45A), Alex Barre-Boulet is second in rookie scoring with 60 ponts (32 G 28 A), Cal Foote also a rookie has 29 points ( 9 G 20A +16) as a defenseman, Alexander Volkov continues to show strong two way play in his second season (20 G 20A). Taylor Raddsyh is 8th in rookie scoring (17G 26A), Boris Katchouck is still trying to find his footing, Mitchell Stephens who almost made the team out of camp but had an unfortunate injury has played well since his return. Suffice it say there are a lot of good young players developing in Syracuse.2 (3.56)Boston Bruins147-23-91-3-0Oof. It seems neither Toronto nor Boston want home ice advantage in the first round. Both teams are losing to lottery contenders. At least 🍝 got a hattrick against the Rangers and Backes got his 7th goal of the season; passing James Neal.3 (3.88)Calgary Flames-149-23-72-2-0And that is how the West was clinched.4 (4.28)Washington Capitals247-24-83-0-0Starting this week I'm ranking teams based on who I think will win the cup, biases included - Caps are second. We absolutely took it to the Bolts last night, with each member of our old top line scoring twice, dominating them as much as you can dominate that team. I'm fully torqued entering the 'loffs, literally counting down the days like it's christmas. Both Carolina and cum bus scare me, but the post-TDL Caps can beat anybody. Russian machine never breaks babes.5 (7.32)New York Islanders246-26-72-1-0Clinched? Fucking Right! Isles had the chance to clinch on Tuesday night versus CBJ but played awful and lost badly. Thursday they constantly played down 2, chasing the Jets. They were down for about 58 minutes throughout the game, but scored 2 goals with less than 90 seconds to go to tie, and steal the win in Manitoba. They kept momentum from there to dominate Buffalo and clinch a playoff spot before April for the first time in almost 30 years. Lehner looks like a wall in net and is maybe the most loved Islander right now. Eberle has a hot hand scoring lots of goals after a long dry spell, Barzal is finally seeing results for his hard work, and other guys like Bailey are chipping in after a long cold streak. This team looks to be heating up again at the perfect time, looking like they will finish as the #2 in the Metro with home ice advantage for the first time in a long long time. If things play out well they could be playing Washington for the division title on the last day of their season.6 (8.12)San Jose Sharks-144-26-91-3-07 (8.44)Nashville Predators444-29-62-1-0Ignoring the result of the CBJ game (Saros is apparently no Michael Jordan when it comes to flu games), it's been a pretty okay week to be a Preds fan. Fabbro signed on so fears of another Vesey situation were finally put to ease. He even made his debut, not an earth shattering one mind you but it was solid nonetheless. That does burn the first year of his ELC which will expose him in the Seattle expansion, but current speculation is that was a term to him actually signing. In other player news, Arvidsson has tied the Preds single season goal record with only 55 GP. Watson completed his AHL conditioning stint, and it will be interesting to see how he gets slotted into the roster. Turris is... yeah. The Central is up for grabs, with any combination of NSH, STL, or WPG in the top 3 a distinct possibility. The Preds final three games are @ BUF, v VAN, v CHI, games that they should be able to win and go into the playoffs at least lukewarm and potentially with home ice advantage. Key word there being 'should'.8 (8.72)Winnipeg Jets-445-29-40-3-09 (9.52)Toronto Maple Leafs-145-26-71-1-1A tale of two teams in the month of March...Team A was missing two of their Top 4D for basically the entire month of March. Collected 16 of 30 points. Posted a CF% of 44.9%, a xGF% of 44.3%, and a PDO of 103.51...Team B was also missing two of their Top 4D for the entire month of March. Collected 15 of 28 points. Posted a CF% of 54.4%, a xGF% of 55%, and a PDO of 98.7...Guess which of these teams is expected to become a Conference Finalist and which is expected to be bounced quickly in Round 1? TOR is Team B but there's been a lot of "they don't look good" punditry over the Leafs' recent play despite the reality that they've been downright dominant (5th in CF%, 5th in xGF%). Unfortunately, their goaltending fell apart to the tune of a .892 Team SV% in March. It's the kind of thing that can sink ANY team in the NHL, no matter how well the rest of the group is playing. The good news is Freddy and the Buds have one final week to tighten up. Otherwise it will truly be Bruins in 5.10 (10.08)Carolina Hurricanes-43-29-71-3-0The Canes are still finding a way to stay in the thick of it with every game being a must win game. Losses have come from one bad period of hockey against some of the top teams in the league, namely Tampa and Washington. The month of December is haunting the team, 2 points from one of those terrible games would have gone far this month. Previous week went 3 - 2, beating the Wild cleanly, Montreal in OT, and Flyers was alot closer of a game than the scoresheet would show. Washington beat the team for the two losses of the week, both in the third period. The hope here in Canes Country is that those 4 points don't haunt us too. Mrazek is emerging more and more as our #1, but expect the shuffle to keep happening till playoffs come (if and when) Svechnikov has grown into the scoring talent that was promised with the second overall pick (and top forward in the draft) Hamilton continues to show why he is the best defenceman from his draft year with two goals, and continues his streak of games wi11 (10.4)Columbus Blue Jackets345-30-44-0-0What a time to get hot. This Jackets team that we are watching right now is what we expected to see after the TDL. Every line has been playing great as we seem to have finally stumbled on the right combinations. Bob is literally a brick wall and our offence has been just as good. Over the last 5 games the Jackets have outscored their opponents 24-4. This final week is going to be exciting, and we could land anywhere from 3rd in the metro to 9th in the East.12 (10.52)Pittsburgh Penguins-43-25-112-1-0I don't have much to say this week except who'd have thought in December we might finish with more points than the Leafs? We're one game from extending the longest active playoff streak in the NHL. It's been a good season all things considered.13 (11.44)St. Louis Blues-42-28-82-1-0The Blues finally clinched the playoffs this week, and if you told me 3 months ago that we'd be fighting for the division I'd have said "yeah and 25 year old goalies can debut after 6 years in professional hockey and contend for the Calder." Memes do come true i guess14 (12)Vegas Golden Knights-542-30-70-3-1Even the Stone age is not invulnerable to having average goaltending.15 (13.72)Dallas Stars141-31-73-0-1I put the Stars at 8 this week because we earned 7/8 points and we look like the Western team to beat heading into the playoffs. My major concern is that we win too much and end up in a worse matchup against Nashville.16 (14)Montreal Canadiens-142-29-82-1-017 (17.52)Arizona Coyotes-38-33-82-0-1That game against the Avalanche could be the final dagger in this season but as we have been doing we keep clawing our way back. Just need some help.18 (18.08)Colorado Avalanche136-29-132-0-02 Big wins this week! We beat back the two desert teams, to establish our selves in the second wild card. Its not over yet, but we have control of our own destiny. The Captain is back just in time for or final push. On the bad side Rantanen's injury might be a bit more severe than first reported, but he should be back for the playoffs. One final push this week we need at least two wins, three guarantees it. Also Cale Makar is Hype and Avs prospects are showing well in the NCAA tourney.19 (19.68)Minnesota Wild136-34-91-2-0And so closes the window on the Minnesota Wild.20 (20.44)Philadelphia Flyers-237-34-81-2-0Fade us fam. Hail Gritty. Praise be unto Wawa. And screw William Hill commercials.21 (21.52)Florida Panthers-35-32-122-2-0Roberto has turned back the clock again. We still don’t know if this is his final season but if it is lets give him a sendoff that he deserves.22 (21.92)Chicago Blackhawks-34-33-111-1-1The Blackhawks' PP went 3 for 32 in March (29th in NHL), the PK allowed 10 goals in 32 opportunities (also, 29th). Excluding empty net goals, 5 of the Blackhawks' 7 losses this month were by 1 goal. They'd likely be in a much different position playoff-wise if they'd gotten some help from their special teams. DeBrincat (5G, 5A in March) has caught up to Kane (1G, 10A) for the team's lead in goals at 41. DeBrincat is the second-youngest Hawk to hit the 40-goal mark (after JR). That also makes him and Kane the second pair of American-born 40-goal scorers on a team (after Mullen & Stevens, 91-92 Penguins), and the first pair of Hawks since the 90-91 season (Roenick & Larmer). Gustafsson (5G, 4A) scored his 17th goal of the season, the most by a Hawks dman since Byfuglien in 09-10 (also 17). Caggiula returned from a concussion on Sat, while Kampf left with a facial/dental injury. When healthy, Kampf has been one of the best defensive forwards in the league. Sikura still awaits his first NHL goal.23 (23.36)Vancouver Canucks134-35-102-1-0The future is here, sort of. It's here like the era of the electric car is here - there's plenty of flashy things to get excited about, but there's still many, many hurdles to overcome. The arrival of Quinn Hughes allows this season to end on a warm note and leaves many hopeful that the Canucks might secure one of those "young team overperforming" playoff berths next year. It was also pretty awesome to see Edler crack the all-time goalscoring record for a defenceman. Otherwise, the lack of regulation wins prevents this team from moving much either way in the power rankings.24 (23.92)Edmonton Oilers-134-35-91-1-125 (25)Anaheim Ducks-133-37-102-1-0Rakell must not think we are out of the playoff race. He had a natural hat trick against the oilers. Ducks keep on slipping slipping slipping up the standings and out of the jack Hughes race. Best part of the week: Jake Dotchin has to exit the game yesterday because he was technically scratched while playing for an injured player26 (26.52)New York Rangers131-34-132-2-0Georgiev is starting to show why he is the heir apparent to the throne.27 (26.6)Detroit Red Wings231-38-104-0-028 (27.48)Buffalo Sabres-231-38-100-4-1I'm willing to give goaltending a pass for now, given how god-awful our defense has been. This week we lost to not one, not two, but THREE of the four teams below us in the standings. In March we have 2 wins, and neither came in regulation. If you look back further, we have 3 total wins in our last 21 games played, and as I write we are down 0-3 to Columbus. In that stretch we have been out-scored 45-84. If that isn't depressing enough for you, just remember that we were first place in the league at one point this season. Where are we now? Oh yeah, bottom five. Again.29 (28.32)New Jersey Devils-129-40-101-1-1Most of us are either trying to find the "sim to the draft button" or enjoying getting a glimpse to our possible future with our young guns. Some games are decent and competitive like taking the blue hot blues to OT. Others are like like 4-0 to the wings. As long as this kind of play doesn't continue into next season, we should be alright. But Lord do I miss TayTay.30 (28.8)Los Angeles Kings-29-40-92-1-1The Kings self-sabotaged their draft lottery a bit this week- the young guys are doing well and Austin Wagner showed off his wheels with a sweet McDavid esque sprint.31 (29.76)Ottawa Senators-28-44-62-1-0Beating Toronto twice in the span of a couple weeks is probably the best thing to happen all season. /r/hockey NHL Power Rankings Week 26 Knightfall Edition Source

[thegloober]

Mailbag: Wild Card Game, Chapman, Realmuto, Goldschmidt

Yankeemetrics: Smackdown at Tropicana Field (Sept. 24-27)

We’ve got 12 questions in this week’s mailbag, the final mailbag of the 2018 regular season. As always, RABmailbag (at) gmail (dot) com is where you can send your mailbag questions each week.

Tanaka. (Mike Stobe/Getty)

Robert asks: Starting pitcher for the Wild Card? How about the one least likely to implode in early on. Any stats on who most often throws a scoreless 1st and 2nd inning? Probably no Didi to bail us out again this year.

The other day Aaron Boone mentioned the Yankees might only let their starting pitcher go through the lineup one time in the Wild Card Game, even if he’s effective. I’m not sure that’ll happen — if the starter goes nine up, nine down with five strikeouts, are they really taking him out? — but the Yankees have made it pretty clear they’ll be ready to go to their bullpen at the first sign of trouble. Anyway, here are the numbers (ERA/FIP/opponent’s OPS+):

Happ Severino Tanaka 1st inning 3.90/4.49/76 4.22/3.31/104 4.00/3.75/103 2nd inning 2.40/3.22/76 2.25/2.37/50 2.67/3.12/75 1st & 2nd innings 3.15/3.86/76 3.23/2.85/78 3.33/3.44/90 1st time thru lineup 3.03/4.29/92 2.60/2.74/79 2.70/3.12/87

Reminder that the first inning is the highest scoring inning, historically. That’s the only inning in which each team’s best hitters are guaranteed to hit. If the Yankees are only looking for someone to get through the lineup one time, it has to be Severino. And not just because of the numbers in the table. Tell him to air it out for nine batters and you’re getting a 100 mph heater and a razor blade slider. Severino can dominate anyone. The Yankees have to piece together 27 outs in the Wild Card Game. My guess is the bullpen get the majority of those 27 outs.

Joe asks: This might be a little extreme, any chance if Yanks make it to the ALDS, they leave Chapman off the roster and ready him for the ALCS? Don’t remember a time he looked good against the Red Sox. Maybe if they keep him on the roster, he doesn’t pitch at Fenway even in a save opportunity?

There’s no chance the Yankees will leave Aroldis Chapman off the postseason roster, in any round against any opponent. Chapman has really struggled against the Red Sox — he’s allowed 16 runs in 16 innings against the BoSox while with the Yankees — but he has the ability to dominate any lineup. You roll with your best players in the postseason and trust them to do what’s needed to win. What’s the alternative here? Tommy Kahnle? Sonny Gray? Yeah, no. Chapman’s recent history against the Red Sox is ugly and I’m not sure I’ll feel comfortable with him on the mound in a close game against the Red Sox, but he is far too good and far too talented to avoid in the postseason because of 16 bad innings spread across two and a half years.

Joe asks: Do you think that the presence of Yankees scouts with the Marlins could make an offseason swap of Sanchez for Realmuto a possibility? How would a trade look?

The Marlins would have to kick in more. I’ve gotten a lot of “why not trade Gary Sanchez for J.T. Realmuto?” questions this year and most suggest a package headlined by Sanchez for Realmuto. That is completely backwards to me. The Marlins would have to give up a package headlined by Realmuto for Sanchez. Consider …

Sanchez is two years younger.

Sanchez is under team control through 2022. Realmuto is under control through 2020.

Realmuto’s breakout season at age 27 in 2018 (.278/.342/.487/128 wRC+/+4.8 WAR) is no better than Gary’s age 24 season in 2017 (.278/.345/.531/129 wRC+/+4.4 WAR).

Aside from his caught stealing rate, the defensive numbers on Realmuto aren’t good at all.

I have no interest in selling low on Sanchez to buy high on Realmuto. Realmuto’s really good and I don’t have any reason to believe he won’t continue to be really good the next few years. But Sanchez is younger, is under control longer, and every bit as talented (if not more). If Gary were on some other team right now, I’d get a zillion questions asking whether the Yankees should buy low, and I’d say absolutely yes. Keep Sanchez. Don’t trade him for the flavor of the week. You’re never going to win anything if you cut bait the first time young players struggle.

Matt asks: Is it worth it to dismiss Josh Bard after this season and hire a former manager to be a bench coach? With bullpen management being a clear weakness for Boone perhaps an experienced manager can offer some help.

From what I understand, Josh Bard is very highly regarded within baseball. He’s considered a rising star in the coaching and managerial ranks. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if we hear him connected to some managerial openings this winter and see him possibly go for interviews. Some of Aaron Boone’s bullpen management is dumb. The A.J. Cole thing is ridiculous. But, generally speaking, Boone uses guys in the right spots, in my opinion. David Robertson is the fireman. Dellin Betances faces the other team’s best hitters. That sorta stuff. It’s up to Boone to improve his improve his bullpen management. It’s not on the bench coach. Boone has to learn and gain experience. Besides, I suspect the front office has a lot of input — let’s call it “providing guidance” — into bullpen moves. I’m not sure a veteran bench coach would change much, if at all.

Goldy. (Ralph Freso/Getty)

Craig asks: Paul Goldschmidt. Some speculation that the D-backs could deal him over the winter – do you think the Yankees would/should make a play for him? What would it take?

Next season is the last season on Goldschmidt’s contract (it’s a no-brainer $14.5M club option year) and he’ll hit free agency at 32, which makes things dicey. He’s obviously great — Goldschmidt is hitting .291/.390/.538 (146 wRC+) with 33 homers and Gold Glove caliber defense this year — but paying big dollars for a first baseman’s age 32+ seasons isn’t something teams are eager to do these days. That has led to speculation about a trade his offseason.

If the Diamondbacks are open to trading Goldschmidt, the Yankees absolutely should make a play for him. He’s a dominant player who is a big upgrade at first base. I like Luke Voit, he’s been awesome, but I wouldn’t hesitate for a second to replace him with Goldschmidt. The Yankees have a lot of players in the prime of their careers or entering the prime of their careers. Anything they can do to increase their odds of winning the World Series in the short-term is worthwhile. The time to go all-in is right now. If not now, then when?

In a perfect world the Yankees would build a trade package around Greg Bird and Chance Adams, but I’m not sure that’s realistic. I’d want Justus Sheffield as part of a package if I were the D’Backs. I don’t think that’s unreasonable for a player as good as Goldschmidt, even one year of him. I’m not convinced Arizona will trade him. I think they’re more likely to keep him and try to win in 2019. If they’re open to trading Goldschmidt, the Yankees have to at least check in. Elite players are always worth acquiring.

Luke asks: All this talk about 10+ HRs out of the ’18 Yanks, and the next closest is Tyler Austin at 8 – womp. What about how many HRs have we gotten out of each position – has to be 20 per position, right? Any records close to being broken there?

I don’t know how to look this up historically, so I don’t know whether the Yankees are approaching (or setting) any records here, but it is pretty insane how much the home run production is spread out. The Yankees have not only gotten 20+ homers from every position except one (left field), they’ve gotten 20+ homers from every lineup spot except one (ninth). The numbers:

Homers by Position Catcher: 29 First Base: 32 Second Base: 24 Shortstop: 33 Third Base: 26 Left Field: 19 Center Field: 29 Right Field: 37 Designated Hitter: 30

Homers by Lineup Spot 1. 27 2. 38 3. 26 4. 43 5. 33 6. 26 7. 23 8. 25 9. 19

That is pretty crazy. Can Gleyber Torres (or whoever ends up playing second base) hit three home runs this weekend? Can the ninth place hitter sock one? I can’t imagine many teams throughout baseball history have received 20+ homers from each position and/or each lineup spot.

Zeke asks: What’s your opinion on bad contract swap for Ellsbury and Samardzija? Maybe Yankees can throw in one low level prospect to make it work?

I think we’re heading into the third straight offseason with “Ellsbury for Samardzija?” questions. Jacoby Ellsbury was hurt all season and a non-factor. Didn’t play a single game. Jeff Samardzija pitched to a 6.25 ERA (5.44 FIP) in 44.2 innings around injuries. They both have two years left on their contracts and the money is similar enough ($43M vs. $36M) that it shouldn’t be a significant obstacle in a trade.

It boils down to this: What reclamation project do you want, the 34-year-old starter or the 35-year-old outfielder? I honestly don’t know. I feel like Ellsbury is more likely to help you as a fourth outfielder than Samardzija is as a starter or even as a reliever at this point. Plus Ellsbury just had hip surgery. If his rehab carries over into early next season, the Yankees collect insurance money to offset his salary, and the savings might be worth more than whatever Ellsbury or Samardzija gives you on the field. I dunno. Two bad options here.

Frank asks: Do you have any interest in a Robbie Cano reunion for the first base job? If so, how much of Cano’s contract would Seattle have to eat to make the deal plausible?

Nah. Robinson Cano is forever cool with me, but he’s going to turn 36 years old in October, and there’s still five (!) years and $120M remaining on his contract. It’s all downside too. Cano’s best years are behind him and you’d be acquiring his heavy decline years, the years the Yankees wanted to avoid when they reportedly capped their offer at seven years. The Mariners would have to turn him into what, a $5M a year player for the Yankees to even consider it? Even then, do you want to pay $5M a year for his age 36-40 seasons? Nah. stay away from the declining dudes on the wrong side of 35, especially when there are multiple years remaining on their contract.

Miller. (Jason Miller/Getty)

Andrew asks: Looking at your recent bullpen post. Why not bring back Andrew Miller as a FA? Let Britton walk and sign Miller who should be a cheaper? We already know he can handle NY and would give us insurance if/when Betances leaves after next year.

I suspect we’re going to hear a lot about a potential Miller reunion this winter. It’s worth a longer discussion outside a mailbag setting (and after the postseason). Miller turns 34 next May and he went into last night’s game with a 3.38 ERA (3.10 FIP) and a 31.2% strikeout rate in 32 innings this season. That is obviously very good. It also qualifies as his worst season as a full-time reliever. He’s also missed time with a shoulder impingement and ongoing knee problems that date back to last season. The Indians even sent him to see the Cleveland Cavaliers doctors to figure out the knee issue. Miller is awesome. I don’t know anyone who didn’t love him when he was with the Yankees. The question is who do you want the next three years, Miller during his age 34-36 seasons or Zach Britton during his age 31-33 seasons? As good as Miller is, I don’t think it would be unreasonable to consider Britton the better investment going forward.

John asks: Assuming a RH starter in the Wild Card game, shouldn’t Walker start over Voit?

Nah. Voit’s been hitting righties pretty hard these last few weeks. He went into yesterday’s game hitting .291/.384/.570 (158 wRC+) against right-handers this season, and that was before his 3-for-3 with a double and a homer game. Neil Walker’s had some big moments with the Yankees — what are the odds he comes up with a random huge hit in the postseason? pretty darn good, I’d say — but he is hitting .234/.326/.390 (94 wRC+) against righties. Voit will swing-and-miss a bunch against big velocity from righties. That’s not unusual though. Everyone does that. Otherwise he’s hit righties very hard and I’d go with him over Walker against a righty in the postseason. (The fact Greg Bird is not even part of this conversation tells you how terrible he’s been.)

Keane asks: Do you think the Yankees might experiment with more bullpen games or an opener next year?

I could see it, yeah. I don’t think the Yankees or any non-Rays teams would do it as often as the Rays have this year, but it’s worth considering. Inevitably there will be injuries and the Yankees will have to turn to young kids to fill out the rotation next year. That’s just part of baseball. And when you have someone like that, like Domingo German or the Chance Adams spot start this season, it’s definitely worth considering using an opener more often. It’s not something I would look to do regularly. There will be some times when it makes sense though, and I hope the Yankees embrace it.

George asks: I had one question after reading your article about re-signing Andrew McCutchen. You mention a three-man (Judge, Stanton, McCutchen) rotation in the corner outfield and DH spots, but who is the backup for center field? If Hicks gets hurt, or needs a day off?

That’s a good question and that’s something the Yankees would have to figure out. Is Ellsbury on the bench? If yes, he’d be the obvious backup center fielder. Judge played center field in a game earlier this year, so the Yankees are comfortable running him out there. Comfortable enough to let him do it fairly often? Or on an everyday basis should Aaron Hicks get hurt? I dunno. The same question applies to Clint Frazier. I wouldn’t want to play McCutchen in center field in anything more than an emergency. He’s been pretty terrible out there the last few seasons. This is definitely something the Yankees would have to figure out should they re-sign McCutchen. You need quality backup options at this up-the-middle positions. They can be awfully hard to fill.

Yankeemetrics: Smackdown at Tropicana Field (Sept. 24-27)

Source: https://bloghyped.com/mailbag-wild-card-game-chapman-realmuto-goldschmidt/

[thrashermaxey]

Ramblings: Two Russians sign, Sid stymied; Stone, Stastny stoked; Jackets, Jets jacked and more (Apr 15)

  Ramblings: Two Russians sign, Sid stymied; Stone, Stastny stoked; Jackets, Jets jacked and more (Apr 15)

***

In early December I traded Vince Dunn for Nazem Kadri in my keeper league. At the time, I wanted the depth forward as it would keep me in the hunt. I also wanted a playoff guy and Kadri was a lock for the playoffs, whereas clearly Dunn and his St. Louis Blues were, uh…done. They were bottom dwellers at the time. And as a bonus, Kadri had a great second half last year and although that was due to playing with Mitch Marner (which wasn’t going to happen again this year), I figured there would still be an uptick. Well, that entire transaction has derailed and I feel like I gave up a good quality young defenseman for nothing. With Kadri’s track record of dirty hits, he’s going to miss time and likely lots of it. So as a playoff asset, he’s done. And he never had that second-half uptick so he really didn’t help the bottom of my roster very much, either.

*

Dante Fabbro’s ice time on Saturday dipped from 11:45 to 9:11. I wonder if that means Matt Irwin or Yannick Weber draw in for him next game. Fabbro still hasn’t seen a sniff of PP action in six games of professional hockey.

*

Well it’s done. A week ago I didn’t expect this to happen. Not even when I had my “interview” with Nikita Gusev’s agent a couple of weeks ago. I thought this would come in the form of a signing in late June, or an announcement in August. But things have moved quickly over the last week and Vegas has actually signed Gusev to a one-year entry-level contract. The 26-year-old has dominated the KHL – and the international stage – for a couple of years now, and he’s ready to step into the lineup right away. Not only that, but he is actually eligible to play, since he wasn’t signed as an unrestricted free agent. It would surprise me if this happened in the very next game, as teams tend to give players such as this some time to get to know the system. But I don’t think they’ll wait too long. He could have an Artemi Panarin-type of impact. Vegas already has their first two lines in stone (or “Stone”, if you will):

William Karlsson – Jonathan Marchessault – Reilly Smith

Max Pacioretty – Paul Stastny – Mark Stone

Which means that if Gusev were to get into this lineup, he would knock out Tomas Nosek and play on a line with Cody Eakin and Alex Tuch.

Out of curiosity I searched my files for the oldest thing I wrote on Gusev and I found a few interesting things:

1. I had him ranked 18th in my Top 20 Forwards from the 2012 Draft to own in a keeper league, from the 2012 Fantasy Prospects Report.

2. In the draft write-up for that year in the FPR (before the draft took place), we had the following words on Gusev:

Nikita Gusev – LW (CSKA, MHL)

Nikita Gusev was the diminutive offensive star of the 2012 U20 WJC who has been passed over in two drafts already. There are plenty of knocks against Gusev – mainly his size (5-9) and his nationality (Russian) but given his dominant performance for Team Russia where he tallied nine points in seven games there is certainly some upside here. He thrived on a line with Lightning prospect Nikita Kucherov and given that Tampa Bay’s GM Steve Yzerman has shown no hesitation in selecting Russian talent, it would not be surprising to see Gusev end up with a lightning bolt on his chest. His puck control, creativity and vision are elite and even if he is not willing to transfer to North America right away, he is certainly worth a flyer in this year’s draft.

Upside: Top line playmaking winger (Marty St. Louis/Claude Giroux-esque), 25-40-65+

3. In 2012 for The Hockey News.com, I wrote the following:

If he were “Joe Smith” from out of the OHL, and was 6-0, 175, then this dynamic player would have been one of the five or six highest forwards drafted. Instead, he’s Nikita Gusev from out of the KHL and he’s 5-9, 163. He’s already been passed over in two drafts. But TB made a great pick using a seventh rounder on him. He’s a long-term project and “boom or bust”. He’ll either be a high-scoring star, or we’ll never see him in the NHL. Only the deepest leagues should consider him, as he is several years away.

*

I have since included Gusev in every FPR since, so seven editions and counting (because he will be in this one as well – out June 1st).

*

It was the Mark Stone – Paul Stastny – Max Pacioretty show as the 1B line has turned into the first line and the 1A line is now the clear-cut second line. What an add all three of these players turned out to be. This has been a battle of the big-name adds with Stone, Stastny and Pacioretty up against Erik Karlsson and Gustav Nyquist. Both teams spent big, but one team will be out first round.

Stastny and Stone each had five points, while Pacioretty was in on just two. Shea Theodore, unheralded, but he snuck three assists in as well.

Joe Thornton only got two minutes for this, but look for a suspension to be announced soon I’m sure:

{youtube}sgWdoMuZKrw{/youtube}

*

Great fight between Evander Kane and Ryan Reaves late in the third.

{source}<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Ryan Reaves and Evander Kane drop the gloves in Game 3 <a href="https://t.co/Ypuy3QqAmI">pic.twitter.com/Ypuy3QqAmI</a></p>— Brady Trettenero (@BradyTrett) <a href="https://twitter.com/BradyTrett/status/1117649589488640000?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 15, 2019</a></blockquote>

<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>{/source}

*

There was a Deadline Deal this year that I must have missed. You know, the one where the Islanders went back in time and traded Jordan Eberle 2018 straight up for Jordan Eberle 2012?

Eberle has had a great postseason so far, with five points. A bit of a late surge to juice up that UFA contract this summer. He’s been playing with Anders Lee and Brock Nelson, but Sunday Mat Barzal was bumped up to that line in place of Nelson, in a move that piled all the hot players onto one line. The three of them have now combined for 12 points in the three games.

Can the Islanders shut Sidney Crosby down for four games? It doesn’t seem like it’s possible, but here we are. Crosby is still looking for point numero uno. Jake Guentzel, Patric Hornqvist and Nick Bjugstad are the other key offensive players with goose eggs after three games.

Jared McCann was back in the lineup for the Penguins, but he wasn’t put on the Crosby line. Trying to shake things up a bit, Coach Mike Sullivan went with:

23.8%

HORNQVIST,PATRIC – MALKIN,EVGENI – MCCANN,JARED

20.2%

CROSBY,SIDNEY – GUENTZEL,JAKE – SIMON,DOMINIK

16.7%

CULLEN,MATT – RUST,BRYAN – WILSON,GARRETT

14.5%

ASTON-REESE,ZACH – BJUGSTAD,NICK – KESSEL,PHIL

  Now with their backs against the wall, I would go with Crosby/McCann/Guentzel, Malkin/Kessel/ZAR, Bjugstad/Simon/Hornqvist, Cullen/Rust/Blueger. But I’m no coach.

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Not only was Nikita Kucherov out of the lineup for the Lightning due to his suspension, but the team was also without star defenseman Victor Hedman. He’s out with a – gasp – unknown injury. Unknown to us, I mean. I’m pretty sure it’s known to him and the Lightning. The Blue Jackets were without Markus Nutivaara, who was injured by Kucherov in the hit for which he was suspended.

But whatever the reason, the Blue Jackets dominated the Lightning again and have seized a 3-0 series lead in what has easily been the shocker of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Columbus took five or six weeks to get the new roster to mesh and things have come together just in time. On paper, back at the end of February, the Jackets looked awesome. But they needed a two-time Vezina winning goalie backstopping them and they didn’t have that. Until mid-March. That was when Sergei Bobrovsky’s alarm went off and he arrived for the 2018-19 season.

I also think the arrival of Oliver Bjorkstrand as a top-six player has helped. It’s like adding one at the deadline. Bjorkstrand has 26 points in his last 40 regular season and playoff games – 18 of them are goals. That’s a 36-goal full season pace (pretty tough math there). So not only did this team add Matt Duchene and Ryan Dzingel in February, but they also added an improved or more comfortable 36-goal man in Bjorkstrand. Will this be enough to win one of the next three games? And I say “three” instead of four because if Tampa claws back to a Game 7 they’re not losing it.

Another advantage – Torts is rolling four lines. The top line is getting 17 or 18 minutes, and the fourth line is getting 13 minutes. For Tampa this is more like 20 minutes and 10 minutes.

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Erik Cernak, not really an offensive defenseman but more of a two-way guy, leads the Lightning with three points.

This is the first time Tampa Bay has lost three games in a row this season. Also the first time Columbus has one three playoff games in a series.

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Nikita Gusev wasn’t the only Russian star to sign with an NHL playoff team. Columbus signed Vladislav Gavrikov, a defenseman who played with Gusev on SKA St. Petersburg. There were also questions as to whether or not Gavrikov would sign, too. Funny enough – the Jackets have two defensemen hurt and had to actually dress Adam Clendening Sunday. Gavrikov is 23 and he moves into the Top 100 on my Fantasy Prospects list for defensemen. His upside is minimal (mid-30s) but he’s close to a sure thing when it comes to making it into the NHL. At least, as much as one can be a sure thing. You can read our scouting report on him here.

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Kevin Hayes was demoted to the fourth line and promptly scored a goal en route to a Jets win.

Jordan Binnington only faced 29 shots, but six of them were goals. But the Jets poured it on early, with 13 shots in the first and 12 in the second. However, despite just four shots in the third, Winnipeg scored three of them. The first indication that Winnington is indeed human.

I noted (above) the ice times of different lines for Columbus and Tampa. It’s worth noting that Winnipeg coach Paul Maurice had his fourth line play just 7:30, other than Hayes who played 11 minutes. Jack Roslovic and Mathieu Perreault just 7:30 each. I don’t believe the Jets can go deep if that’s what they think of their bottom forwards. I don’t think it’s Winnipeg’s year, but I think they’ll get there some day soon.

And I think Connor Hellebuyck will be the guy to take them there. A good “buy low” in my eyes. I think this was just an off year.

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In one of my leagues I have a decent playoff team carrying over from the regular season, but I didn't think I could win because the goalies on my team that made the playoffs aren't great ones. I'd much rather own a Rask or a Vasilevskiy. But my goalies – Sergei Bobrovsky and Robin Lehner – aren't doing so bad after all.

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Playoff data is rolling for Frozen Tools, simply change the relevant drop-box from Regular Season to Playoffs. Eric Daoust has also added TOI charts, which look pretty awesome. You can check out TOI and Points charts here in the Chart Generator. But Eric is also putting these charts where relevant. For example if you were looking at Kevin Labanc and you wanted to compare him to Timo Meier, click the Info/Analysis tab and type Meier’s name in the box. Besides the comparable stats one over the other, there is also this TOI chart game by game:

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See you next Monday.

          from All About Sports https://dobberhockey.com/hockey-rambling/ramblings-two-russians-sign-sid-stymied-stone-stastny-stoked-jackets-jets-jacked-and-more-apr-15/