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jimblanceusa · 4 years

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Reading list: The Denver Post sports department’s favorite sports books to ride out the coronavirus

With everyone sitting around the house these days, and nowhere to go, what better time to get lost in a few books?

If you’re looking for a new title — or perhaps an old one — The Denver Post sports department has compiled a list of its favorite sports books. Even with a stay-at-home order in place, this ought to keep you busy for a while.

“Ball Four,” by Jim Bouton (1970) — The tell-all that rocked baseball, Seattle Pilots pitcher Jim Bouton journals the 1969 season and the trials, tribulations, victories and hilarities that go into everyday life as a big-league ballplayer. From Mickey Mantle to Bowie Kuhn, Bouton paints a vivid picture of major-league life, including the unsavory parts such as player infidelities and widespread amphetamine use. Still relevant to this day, especially in its portrayal of labor strife between players and owners. Kyle Newman

“The Boys of Summer,” by Roger Kahn (1972) — A seminal coming-of-age book that totally transfixed this young farm boy who could only dream of the world Roger Kahn inhabited. It was the storytelling, the weaving of personal reflections and the dreams of young men, and what happens when those men grow old, that made it so memorable. Kahn’s book spawned a genre of insider accounts, none living up to the original. Scott Monserud

“The Last Season of Weeb Ewbank,” by Paul Zimmerman (1974) — Before Dr. Z became Dr. Z of Sports Illustrated fame, he was the Jets beat writer for the New York Post. I came across this book when it was referenced in another football book and immediately went to Amazon to buy it. The book about Ewbank’s final season as the Jets’ coach is a great read about getting behind the scenes of a training camp and NFL game week and just how much access media had in the old days to the teams they covered. Ryan O’Halloran

“Once A Runner,” by John L. Parker Jr. (1978) — A novel about undergraduate miler Quenton Cassidy at a fictional university based on the University of Florida. The 1978 book is a cult classic among serious long-distance runners and tells the story of Cassidy’s extreme training rituals, under the tutelage of Olympian Bruce Denton, in his quest to run a sub-4-minute mile. Daniel Boniface

Matt Schubert, The Denver Post

Some of The Denver Post sports department’s favorite books.

“Breaks of the Game,” by David Halberstam (1981) — A Pulitzer Prize winning journalist steps into the chaotic, complicated mess that was the NBA of the late 1970s, when issues of race, labor strife and drug abuse cast a shadow over a struggling league. Halberstam embeds himself with the 1977-78 Portland Trail Blazers, who suffer a tragic fall from grace a year after stunning the Philadelphia 76ers in the 1977 NBA Finals. Aside from the storytelling, what makes this book exceptional are the figures Halberstam captures, including the irascible Maurice Lucas, the enigmatic Bill Walton and the brilliant Dr. Jack Ramsay. Matt Schubert

“Shoeless Joe,” by W. P. Kinsella (1982) — Kinsella weaves a magical tale about baseball, heroes, love and dreams. An Iowa farmer hears a voice: “If you build it, he will come.” The “he” is Shoeless Joe Jackson of the 1919 Chicago Black Sox scandal. The “it” is a baseball stadium carved out of a cornfield. Even if you have seen the movie “Field of Dreams” that was based on Kinsella’s novel, it is worth picking up. The author’s vivid descriptions and wonderful characters (some of whom don’t appear on screen) will transport you to a cornfield in Iowa where dreams do come true. Lori Punko

“Life Its Ownself,” by Dan Jenkins (1984) — The list of sequels that surpass the originals is a short one, but leave it to the late, great, reprobate Jenkins to do just that. “Life Its Ownself” steps into the big shoes of “Semi-Tough” and bursts the outsoles. NFL running back Billy Clyde Puckett tells the story, and I dare anyone to go more than two pages without having to stop to laugh out loud. You could argue that the book didn’t age well, but it remains a superb time capsule of 1980s sports culture — and often a nice piece of wisdom about the title. Mike Judson

“The New Thinking Man’s Guide To Pro Football,” Paul Zimmerman (1984) — Bill Barnwell? Peter King? Dr. Z got there first. Zimmerman wrote about football like the game was Chaucer, and he was the coolest literature professor on the planet. The man timed performances of the national anthem, then wrote a column about it. Like “Ball Four,” many of the universal truths in the “Thinking Man’s Guide” — and some of the B.S. it called out — still ring true. Sean Keeler

“Hajime no Ippo,” George Morikawa (1989-present) — For more than 30 years, this long-running Japanese graphic novel has followed the journey of Makunouchi Ippo and his gradual mastery of the sweet science of boxing. Morikawa blends the intricate dance between opponents inside the ring with a sweet coming-of-age story that happens outside it. Joe Nguyen

“If I Never Get Back” by Darryl Brock (1989) — A baseball writer struggling with his everyday life stumbles while boarding a train en route to cover a game. When he comes to, he discovers he’s a young player boarding a train to join his new team — the Cincinnati Red Stockings — in the summer of 1869. Realizing he’s a mediocre player immersed in the early days of professional baseball, he uses his knowledge of the sport and its history to help his team in other ways. (He invents the bunt and ballpark food.) Along the way, he develops a passion for life and takes advantage of the era — including seeking out Mark Twain. — TJ Hutchinson

“Friday Night Lights,” by Buzz Bissinger (1990) — The town is Odessa, Texas in 1988, the team is Permian High School football and the dream is the glory that winning brings. But there are huge costs. Teenagers’ lives are fulfilled but also shattered, values are compromised and football becomes a false god. As the New York Times book review put it: ” ‘Friday Night Lights’ offers a biting indictment of the sports craziness that grips … most of American society, while at the same time providing a moving evocation of its powerful allure.” Patrick Saunders

“Loose Balls,” by Terry Pluto (1990) — Marvin Barnes. Fly Williams. Wendell Ladner. Slick Leonard. The ABA had more characters than a Warner Brothers cartoon, and Pluto’s first-person, anecdotal collection is a stitch from start to finish. The truth of the nine seasons of the ABA was stranger than Will Ferrell’s fictional “Semi-Pro” film could ever hope to be. And twice as funny, to boot. One of the grandpappies, for better or for worse, of the “oral history” style of sports storytelling. Sean Keeler

“Worst Team Money Could Buy,” by Bob Klapisch (1993) — Devoured this book as a high school student and couldn’t wait to cover pro sports one day. Klapisch, then with the New York Daily News, and Harper, then with the New York Post, chronicled the overpaid/underperforming 1992 New York Mets. In a month-by-month chronicle, the writers inserted vignettes about a day in the life of a baseball writer, being trapped on the tabloid’s back page and catching up with old sources, plus lists of their all-time good guys, bad guys, best cities, etc. Ryan O’Halloran

“The Life of Reilly,” by Rick Reilly (2000) — Ok, so this is definitely a stump for a Colorado native and former Denver Post sportswriter, but the point stands: Reilly owned the back page of Sports Illustrated for over two decades, and this collection of sports columns will make you laugh, cry and feel all sorts of ways about sports. With his signature style and wit, Reilly brings out the important and thoughtful side of sports, with plenty of Colorado players, coaches and stories featured in the book. Kyle Newman

“The Punch,” by John Feinstein (2002) — It would be nearly impossible to compile a list of great sports books without mentioning at least one title from Feinstein’s voluminous catalog. While some may prefer “A Season on the Brink” or “A Good Walk Spoiled,” there’s a human element to “The Punch” that makes it one of his best. Detailing the events surrounding perhaps the most infamous punch in professional sports, Feinstein shows how one event forever altered the lives of the two men involved in it — the L.A. Lakers’ Kermit Washington’s and Houston Rockets’ Rudy Tomjanovich. Matt Schubert

“Moneyball,” by Michael Lewis (2003) — The sabermetrics that are now standard in today’s game were just beginning to make their way into MLB front offices during the 1990s and around the turn of the century. Lewis’ modern-day baseball classic profiles general manager Billy Beane and Oakland as the franchise takes advantage of market inefficiencies to make the low-budget A’s competitive. Kyle Newman

“Positively Fifth Street,” by James McManus (2003) — Gambling. Murder. The mob. This intricately woven tale of Las Vegas and the World Series of Poker takes readers on a wild ride as McManus makes a run to the Main Event final table while also covering the murder trial of Rick Tabish and Sandy Murphy for Harper’s Magazine. Along the way, McManus recounts the history of no-limit Texas Hold’em, the signature game of the WSOP, as well as the story of the Binion family and its patriarch Benny Binion — owner of Binion’s Horseshoe casino, WSOP founder and father of Tabish and Murphy’s alleged victim, Ted Binion. Matt Schubert

“Three Nights in August,” by Buzz Bissinger (2005) — Seen by some as the baseball establishment’s answer to “Moneyball,” this book follows St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa as he navigates a critical series against the Chicago Cubs in August 2003. Bissinger, who also penned the classic “Friday Night Lights,” takes readers inside the mind of one of baseball’s greatest tacticians as he wrestles with how to manage the Cardinals’ lineup, pitching staff and his own omnipresent demons. Matt Schubert

“Clemente: The Passion and Grace of Baseball’s Last Hero,” by David Maraniss (2006) — This is so much more than a biography of a baseball legend. It explores racism in America, paints a picture of baseball in a changing world and goes beyond the myth of Clemente, who played baseball with “a beautiful fury.” Maraniss’ prose paints Clemente as a true hero, and not just because he died in a plane crash on Dec. 31, 1972, while delivering aid to earthquake victims in Nicaragua at the age of 38. Patrick Saunders

“Game of Shadows,” by Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada (2006) — The lying. The cheating. The news conferences with athletes professing their innocence and astonishment that a drug test had come back positive. Read “Game of Shadows,” the brilliantly written expose by the reporters who broke the BALCO story, and you’ll lose any illusions about the depth of cheating within professional sports. Decades from now it’ll stand the test of time as the definitive accounting of the steroid era that nearly brought down baseball. Scott Monserud

“The Blind Side,” by Michael Lewis (2006) — Few non-fiction novelists capture a subject quite like Lewis, who’s extensive and eclectic canon of work includes “Moneyball,” “The Big Short” and “Liar’s Poker.” In his foray into football, Lewis examines the historical evolution of the left tackle position as edge rushers like Lawrence Taylor changed the way the game was played. Football luminaries like Bill Walsh, Bill Parcells and Nick Saban all make appearances, as Lewis deftly weaves in the incredible story of Michael Oher, an undiscovered gem who spent his early years living on the streets of Memphis. Matt Schubert

“Pistol: The Life of Pete Maravich,” by Mark Kriegel (2007) — As a teenager, I became fascinated by Maravich but never got to see him play on TV. I had to make do reading stories in Sports Illustrated about an electrifying basketball magician wearing gray, floppy sweat socks and attracting sellout crowds wherever he played. Kriegel’s book is a wonderfully written fast-paced tale of a man who transformed the game he loved but was haunted by demons he could not shake. Scott Monserud

“Arnie & Jack,” by Ian O’Connor (2008) — It would be too easy to list a John Feinstein golf book since I’ve read them all. I went with O’Connor’s book that was released about a decade ago. The cover picture – Arnold Palmer helping Jack Nicklaus line up a putt during a team competition – was a great hook and recapped their battles on the course, but Palmer’s command of the sport’s fans and endorsement opportunities. A great read. Ryan O’Halloran

“The Book of Basketball” by Bill Simmons (2009) — This humorous and thoughtful deep dive into the history of the NBA is essential reading for any hoops head. After giving his thoughts on “the secret” of the game, Simmons delves into how the league got to where it was in 2009 (going all the way back to the days of Mikan) before ranking the greatest teams, champions and players off all time in a witty and exhaustive manner. Sure, Simmons gets a little verbose. And, yes, he goes heavy on a few ham-fisted pop-culture references. But if you care at all about the Association, this is the breeziest 697-page read you can find. Matt Schubert

“Baseball in the Garden of Eden: The Secret History of the Early Game,” by John Thorn (2011) — Written by the official historian of Major League Baseball, Thorn enlightens baseball fans as to the game’s true roots. Who really invented America’s pastime, and who were the movers and shifters in the early stages of a game dominated by gambling? Surprising and informative, even the most studied baseball fans will get plenty out of this piece of history. Kyle Newman

“The Art of Fielding,” Chad Harbach (2011) — This novel is set at a small midwestern college and tells the story of elite shortstop Henry Skrimshander, who is destined to be a first-round pick in the MLB draft before a routine throw derails his life and upends his college experience. The characters are rich and the story engrossing. There’s no need to be a baseball fan to get wrapped into this story, either. Michael Singer

“Unstoppable” by Anthony Robles, 2013 — An incredible biography about Arizona State’s one-legged wrestling champion. Robles, born without his right leg because of a birth defect, became a wrestling icon with his Division I national championship in 2011. The book profiles the courage and strength he summoned throughout his life and athletic journey, going from a scrawny high school wrestler who got dominated to the one doing the dominating at ASU. Kyle Newman

“The Summer of Beer and Whiskey,” by Edward Achorn (2013) — Set in the rough-and-tumble days of 1880s professional baseball, the book profiles the upstart American Association, which appeared poised to challenge the National League for dominance of the sport. Chris Von der Ahe, an eccentric, innovative and fearless German immigrant, takes center stage as the daring owner of the St. Louis Browns and a founder of the American Association. With popularity in baseball waning because of scandals, gambling and thugs that weighed down the sport in the 1870s, Von der Ahe, the Browns and the American Association breathe new life into the sport. And, of course, there are plenty of colorful characters (and lots of boozing ballplayers) along the way. Kyle Newman

“Captain Class,” by Sam Walker (2017) — What makes a sports team great goes beyond X’s and O’s? What makes a great leader in the locker room can be defined, and the answer might surprise you. For what it’s worth: Avs captain Gabe Landeskog uses it as reference book. Mark Kiszla

“Basketball (and other things),” by Shea Serrano (2017) — Have you ever wondered where Air Bud would get selected in a fictional basketball player draft? What about Lola Bunny (Space Jam), Sidney Deane (White Men Can’t Jump) or Will Smith (Fresh Prince)? Of course you haven’t. Serrano answers the basketball questions you didn’t know you needed answers to. We’re talking trivial questions, like which was the most important NBA championship ever, and more pressing questions, such as “If 1997 Karl Malone and a bear swapped places for a season, who would be more successful?” In other words, essential reading. Michael Singer

“Football For A Buck,” by Jeff Pearlman (2018) — The life and times of the USFL … short in terms of life/times (three years), but long on stories about how the fledgling football league lured several top college players, including Jim Kelly, Reggie White and Herschel Walker, to play in the summer. Pearlman’s narrative is equal parts hilarious and informative — tales about travel, tryouts, pay checks, stadiums and our current commander in chief, who wanted to challenge the NFL in the fall and failed miserably. Ryan O’Halloran

“Range,” by David Epstein (2019) — This is not necessarily a sports book, per se, but there are definitely elements that apply. The book begins by comparing Tiger Woods (a specialist) to Roger Federer (who dabbled in skiing, wrestling, swimming, skateboarding, basketball, ping pong and tennis). Epstein makes the convincing argument that dabblers are often better in the long run, be it athletes, musicians, artists or inventors. A compelling book that will make you reconsider the best way to learn. Michael Singer

from Latest Information https://www.denverpost.com/2020/03/27/best-sports-books-reading-list/

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laurendzim · 4 years

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Reading list: The Denver Post sports department’s favorite sports books to ride out the coronavirus

With everyone sitting around the house these days, and nowhere to go, what better time to get lost in a few books?

Matt Schubert, The Denver Post

Some of The Denver Post sports department’s favorite books.

from News And Updates https://www.denverpost.com/2020/03/27/best-sports-books-reading-list/

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judefan825-blog · 4 years

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flauntpage · 6 years

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How in the World is Vegas’ Success “Bad” for the NHL?

I was browsing Twitter dot com this morning when I came across Anthony Gargano’s opinion on the Las Vegas Golden Knights:

“No expansion team should ever be able to win a league, its just started, its nonsense just like the Marlins winning the WS, there’s real fans that are starving since 1975 for this, it’s about real fan-dom” – @AnthonyLGargano

— 975TheFanatic (@975TheFanatic) May 21, 2018

“It’s about real fandom.”

Hmm, alright, I disagree, but I’ll play along.

Sure, it’s not like Las Vegas hockey fans are desperate for the Stanley Cup. They haven’t been waiting since 1967, like Toronto fans. They aren’t St. Louis, Vancouver, Buffalo, or Washington, who have never won a title. They aren’t any of the eight other teams that joined the NHL after 1979 and still haven’t won a cup.

By the same token, I’d assume Flyers fans, who have been waiting since 1975, would at least be annoyed to see an expansion team cruising through the playoffs while enduring a slow rebuild under Ron Hextall and Dave Hakstol.

So if you wanna roll your eyes at Vegas’ success or say it’s “corny,” I get that. It’s corny that a brand new team comes into the league and rips off a bunch of wins while diehard fans of traditional hockey teams get to enjoy another first-round playoff exit.

But I’m not sure what fandom really has to do with anything. Is there some rule in place that you have to suffer through 20 years of losing before you’re allowed to win? Do you have to “pay your dues?” Do you have to endure a Joe Jurevicius or Rodney Harrison situation before Nick Foles comes along? It’s such a Philadelphia way of thinking, that a “low” must predate a “high,” and if it doesn’t, it’s somehow not authentic.

People have somehow twisted the Vegas story into a narrative that “this is bad for the NHL,” and I don’t know why that’s being tossed around. I find the story compelling. I’m watching the playoffs with more interest than ever before.

Beyond the fragile fandom argument, it seems like there’s not a ton to stand on. I mean, you could certainly point to the fact that the expansion draft rules were changed in 2017 and that teams were allowed to protect fewer players (9 or 11) than in the 2000 expansion draft (12 or 15). Vegas had much more to choose from than Minnesota and Columbus and didn’t really have to navigate any tricky salary cap issues since they were starting with a blank financial slate. All of that was a big advantage for them.

And you can say that this looks bad for the NHL because it further dilutes talent across the league, but that argument always holds very little weight. There are more than 350 million people living in Canada and the United States, so it’s not like dressing 20 more players for an expansion team really sucks up all of the skilled athletes. People said the same thing about MLS, that adding more teams would dilute the product, but that hasn’t been the case at all. The league is more competitive and has more quality players than ever before.

You could maybe say that this hurts the NHL because throwing a bunch of nobodies together shows that star power really doesn’t matter. All you really need is a team-first group of solid grinders and a hot goaltender to win a cup, yeah? Or no? Maybe? I don’t know.

All of that considered, it’s not like the expansion draft was stockpiled with anything more than third or fourth line talent and question mark goaltenders. There were some nice veteran pieces, like Deryk Engelland and James Neal, but I don’t think anyone expected Jonathan Marchessault and Erik Haula to put up 75 and 55 points. Luca Sbisa? William Carrier? Pierre-Edouard Bellemare? Ehh, okay. Marc-Andre Fleury was in decline and Calvin Pickard didn’t even stick on the roster.

Most of these guys were just that – “guys.” Vegas wasn’t stealing Mark Schiefele or Nikita Kucherov for their expansion season. Nobody really said, “wow, VGK just crushed the expansion draft.”

What they did crush were some draft-related trades, specifically capitalizing on Florida’s cap issues. With the Panthers about to be $5 million on the hook for Reilly Smith, Vegas agreed to take him as part of a deal that guaranteed they would also draft Marchessault. Florida patched up their cap a bit and VGK got two of their best players for absolutely nothing.

It was similar with Minnesota, who sent Alex Tuch out west if Vegas agreed to select Haula in the draft.

Those four players – Tuch, Haula, Marchessault, and Smith – are among the top-six point-producers for Vegas this postseason. The other two are Neal and William Karlsson, whom Vegas agreed to select from Columbus if they would also take on the retiring David Clarkson’s $5.25 million contract. The Jackets also threw in a couple of draft picks.

Karlsson ended up leading the Knights with 78 regular season points, so go figure. It was like the NHL’s version of the best Sam Hinkie move of all time. It’s like getting Khris Middleton and a first round draft pick simply for agreeing to take on Jason Terry’s contract and leaving Giannis alone.

And that’s what happened with most of their draft-related trades, general manager George McPhee totally fleeced multiple teams in a pseudo-Hinkie fashion.

More than anything, the Knights simply started with a core of angry players, dudes who were deemed not good enough and left unprotected for Vegas to scoop up. Playing with a chip on your shoulder is very easy to exercise in hockey, for sure, where more guys get on the ice and energy and hustle and vigor are more tangible traits to measure. And the coach, Gerard Gallant, was unheralded, too, a retread type who had never won a playoff series in four full seasons with the Blue Jackets and Panthers.

I agree with this:

To anyone trying to claim Vegas in Cup final is an embarrassment:

You’re really discrediting the work of George McPhee and Gerard Gallant.

Did YOU know William Karlsson was this good, for instance? No. No, you did not.

This is friggin’ incredible. Stop whining — enjoy this!

— Matt Larkin (@THNMattLarkin) May 21, 2018

That’s pretty much it. They hit on a bunch of acquisitions and put together a roster that nobody thought would be anywhere close to this level of competitiveness. Imagine if the Eagles had 53 Alshon Jeffery types on “prove it deals,” and that’s kind of what Vegas is – a bunch of guys with something to prove.

And when you take it off the ice, you look at the Vegas shooting that took place on October 1st, just a few days before the start of the NHL season. It was a tragedy that galvanized the community and created a bond between a brand new team and its nascent fan base.

This is worth watching if you haven’t seen it before, the speech Engelland made after the shooting:

I look at all of this and don’t really see anything that’s “bad” for the NHL, at least not in a long-term sense. Vegas could always fall back to Earth or eventually run into the cap issues other teams face. The chip on the shoulder will no longer be there and guys who were playing out of their minds might regress a bit.

For now, though, it’s a classic sports story, complete with the same Eagles-related underdog angle that everybody loved back in January and February. You’ve got a bunch of pissed off guys playing out of their minds and proving people wrong, and that’s more American than anything I can think of.

How in the World is Vegas’ Success “Bad” for the NHL? published first on https://footballhighlightseurope.tumblr.com/

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amtushinfosolutionspage · 7 years

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Your Favorite NHL Team Is Going to Blow It at the Trade Deadline

It happens once a year like clockwork. The names are usually big, the expectations are always high and even though you know you will come away disappointed, you can’t avert your eyes from it. No, it’s not a big budget DC movie—it’s the NHL’s trade deadline.

Instead of wasting your time by looking at the needs of teams and potential available players and getting your hopes up, I’m going to give you the straight truth about the deadline—your GM will botch it and/or the players your team gets won’t matter. Maybe your team will acquire a draft pick that becomes the star player that leads your team to a title in 2026, but chances are, your GM will screw up the pick like he’s screwed up everything else.

So here’s why your stupid team will screw up the trade deadline.

Listen to the latest episode of Biscuits, VICE Sports’ hockey podcast

31. Arizona Coyotes

When your organizational philosophy is, “Spend as little on the team as possible so we can invest it in cryptocurrency,” the Stanley Cup isn’t in your future. John Chayka took over a team with 76 points two seasons ago and, after an offseason designed to improve the team immediately, they are on pace for 61 points this season. That would be the fewest points in team history. Look for Chayka to acquire dead salary cap money or a talented young player he will trade again in two years.

30. Buffalo Sabres

What possible trade can a team make when the team is haunted? Can it acquire a Ghostbuster? Jack Eichel has to be one of the five unhappiest millionaires in the world. Why does Stephen King set all his books in a fake New England town when Buffalo is clearly the scariest place in the world? The Sabres are somehow worse than they were two years ago when they landed Eichel.

29. Ottawa Senators

https://sports.vice.com/en_ca/embed/article/wjp8zb/ottawa-deserves-better-than-eugene-melnyk?utm_source=stylizedembed_sports.vice.com&utm_campaign=vbppmx&site=sports

We are two weeks away from owner Eugene Melnyk firing the GM, coach, trainer, a popcorn guy in the lower bowl of the Accumulated Debt Center, and a parking attendant so he can do the jobs himself and save a few bucks. I’m no hockey scientist but when your trade deadline strategy is to shed money like you’re Montgomery Brewster, the Stanley Cup isn’t in your plans. Ever. Melnyk should just put himself in the lineup for a Leafs game and get it over with. Maybe he’ll do that after he deals Erik Karlsson for 35 cents on the dollar.

28. Montreal Canadiens

Imagine being two years removed from having traded PK Subban and still being in charge of that roster? This is like Exxon letting the guy who crashed an oil tanker into an iceberg chart courses for all future tanker voyages. And now the Habs are letting Marc Bergevin make another round of franchise-altering decisions. Somehow I doubt Max Pacioretty for Ryan Callahan straight up will help the Habs end their Stanley Cup drought.

27. Vancouver Canucks

Listening to Jim Benning talk about why he re-signed Erik Gudbranson as opposed to trading him should make clear why the Canucks are doomed. Instead of fleecing a team for a second-round pick, Benning wanted to lock up a defenseman that’s never been good but people thought he’d be good a decade ago. Also, he’s tall. A professional talented evaluator is basing decisions on the length of a guy’s stick. I’m excited to see if Benning forgets to trade Thomas Vanek. “Oh, right, that guy is a UFA after this season, isn’t he? That’s on me, guys. My bad.”

26. Edmonton Oilers

Canadian teams all suck again, huh? Do you think the Oilers have a handler for Peter Chiarelli at things like the GM meetings? Like, there’s a guy with a taser that renders Chiarelli unconscious if he ever wanders into a room alone with David Poile so he doesn’t trade Connor McDavid for Nick Bonino. “The Oilers are in the market for some wingers” is a damn fun sentence to type. What a league!

25. Detroit Red Wings

This once-proud franchise is desperately and obviously in need of a rebuild, which was why after last season it was fun to hear Ken Holland say, “Nobody wants to see a rebuild.” Hey, when you’re packing 6,000 per night into a taxpayer-funded pizza joint, you have to get to 85 points any way you can. Waiting to trade Petr Mrazek until his value was at an all-time low is the type of progressive thinking you want from a general manager that’s not under contract for next season. Hanging on to Mike Green until he has a lingering upper-body injury days before the deadline? Holland is playing chess while you’re playing checkers, my friends.

24. Chicago Blackhawks

It’s hard to see a way the Blackhawks bounce back any time soon. Cap circumvention is no longer allowed and they are out of valuable players to package with bad contracts in trades that only help in the short term. What exactly would Stan Bowman have to attach to Brent Seabrook to get another team to take him? The formula for time travel? The pee tape? They say it’s wrong to take delight in the misery of others but that does not include the Blackhawks.

23. Florida Panthers

I love that the guy who let Jonathan Marchessault and Reilly Smith go to Vegas in exchange for massage coupons is once again helming a pivotal point for the franchise. What do you think Dale Tallon would have paid for Erik Gudbranson in a trade? Aleksander Barkov and a first? Tallon is probably only still employed by the Panthers because of a human resources paperwork error. He’s Milton from Office Space but with power. He will yet again be given the opportunity to drag the team down even further because nothing matters in this organization. It’s a great reflection of America, when you think about it.

22. New York Rangers

I totally have faith in a front office that fancied itself a contender seven months ago when it gave Kevin Shattenkirk a gigantic contract and is now announcing to the world it will sell anyone that is bolted to the ice. You mean the fellas that overpaid Brendan Smith and then sent him to the AHL are plotting the course for the future? How do you not have confidence in that sort of vision?!? This is also the leadership group that chose Dan Girardi over Anton Stralman. The Rangers went 54 years between their last two Stanley Cups and it will be another 100 years before they win another one.

21. Columbus Blue Jackets

The Blue Jackets could somehow acquire John Tavares, Erik Karlsson, Ryan McDonagh, Rick Nash, and sign a 24-year-old clone of Wayne Gretzky created from his DNA, and John Tortorella would still find a reason to play Jack Johnson and Brandon Dubinsky 40 minutes a night. This is also the team that let William Karlsson go in the expansion draft, so there’s no one to trust here. Either the trade will be bad or the trade will be good and Tortorella will cut the player’s ice time because he refused to block a shot with his dick in practice.

20. New York Islanders

Garth Snow has botched more picks than a greasy-handed defensive back and wasted the prime years of a Hall of Famer, but hell yeah, let’s have him in charge of the biggest decision in franchise history… what to do with John Tavares. In any other sport, the GM trades the elite talent headed for free agency when the team is at best a coin flip to make the playoffs, then pushes to re-sign him in the offseason. But this is the dumbest sport in the world, so the GM that’s underwhelmed for a decade will hang onto Tavares for the rest of the season and potentially lose him for nothing instead of reaping a bounty of futures at the deadline (that he’d probably botch, anyway). The Islanders are the Kobayashi Maru of hockey.

19. Carolina Hurricanes

This is the fourth season of Ron Francis’ reign as GM and he’s got a shot to bring the Hurricanes to the playoffs for the first time since 2009. Francis already messed up his best chance to improve the goaltending with his idiotic signing of Scott Darling (please do not search for my opinions on Darling before this season) and now the team is one or two pieces away from being a perennial playoff contender, so look for him to pull the trigger on someone like Kris Versteeg or James Wisniewski, moves that won’t help or hurt either way.

18. Colorado Avalanche

Joe Sakic is still in charge of the Avalanche, right? It’s amazing how after he netted a bunch of prospects and picks for Matt Duchene, suddenly people wondered if he was now good at his job. He is not. It’s not a great transaction history for Patrick Roy’s best buddy. He found a way to get less for Nick Holden than the Rangers did. Life is a mystery but you can be assured that Sakic will get suckered by someone that had fewer than 1,000 points in their NHL playing career.

17. Calgary Flames

Brad Treliving has done well and the Flames are headed in the right direction, but there’s still a little bit of that We Need Guys Who Will Punch Your Dicks Guys thing that doesn’t help. I could see the trade report across the scroll: “Flames acquire C Zac Rinaldo from the Coyotes in exchange for sixth-round pick.” And that will be the Flames’ only move.

16. Los Angeles Kings

Dean Lombardi’s ghost is still running things if the Kings think Dion Phaneuf on the roster for the next 100 years helps. The Kings won two Cups after robbing the Blue Jackets blind at the deadline so I will withdraw this if there is a big Kings-Blue Jackets trade on Monday that sends Artemi Panarin to the Kings for Phaneuf in a 1-for-1 deal. Maybe the Coyotes are the new Blue Jackets but somehow I don’t think Tobias Rieder is headed toward a Jeff Carter/Marian Gaborik finish to the season.

15. New Jersey Devils

It’s been an unexpectedly great season for the Devils, who look locked into a playoff spot with two months to play. But really, what did Ray Shero really do here? He answered a late night drunk dial from Peter Chiarelli and robbed him in the Adam Larsson-Taylor Hall trade; won a draft lottery that landed him Nico Hischier, and dealt Adam Henrique for Sami Vatanen in a no-brainer deal that was only possible because of winning the draft lottery. Shero is due to drop a turd on the floor. Maybe he brings Douglas Murray out of retirement.

14. Philadelphia Flyers

Ron Hextall hasn’t been a buyer since becoming a GM in 2014, as the Flyers have mostly been bad thanks to another former Flyer running the team into the ground. Hextall has made some good deals away from the deadline, and getting Petr Mrazek was one of them. I guess what I’m saying here is the Flyers suck and there’s nothing Hextall can do to help this team win a Cup this year. The Flyers have been run by an ex-player since 1994; guess how many times they’ve won the Cup over that stretch? It’s zero. That was an easy game.

13. Anaheim Ducks

Last year, Bob Murray acquired Patrick Eaves and the Ducks lost in the conference finals with Eaves missing most of the playoffs with a high-ankle sprain. Two years ago, Murray loaded up by landing Patrick Maroon, Brandon Pirri, and Jamie McGinn, who made it possible for the Ducks to lose in the first round in seven games instead of six. The list of times Murray did the wrong thing goes on and on.

12. Minnesota Wild

Some GMs get their jobs because they were awesome at hockey decades ago; others get the gig because their dads were GMs. Meet Chuck Fletcher, the guy who let Alex Tuch go to the Vegas and gave up a first- and second-round pick at last year’s trade deadline for Martin Hanzal, who legally dies before every postseason. I don’t know what Fletcher has up his sleeve this year but I bet it’s used to overpay for someone who doesn’t help the Wild win more than five playoff games.

11. St. Louis Blues

Doug Armstrong might be Batman. He’s made a lot of bad moves yet he uses these diversion tactics and people think he’s a hero. He’s adapted to the darkness. Remember the Ryan Miller deal? Goodness. That was also the Steve Ott deal. The Blues have been fading since a strong start so your only hope is he’s out fighting crime and using a weirdly deep voice instead of taking calls from other GMs.

10. San Jose Sharks

Doug Wilson has been pretty much winging it since he tried to shame Joe Thornton into accepting a trade a few years ago and then the Sharks got good again. Despite an aging core, Wilson never looked at rentals, and instead focused on getting players with term left on their contract, like Jannik Hansen. Why make your team much better in the short term when you can do virtually nothing to help it over a longer timeline with guys like Hansen? Sharks hockey, baby!

9. Dallas Stars

Jim Nill once traded a conditional first-round pick for Kris Russell. That’s the end of this section.

8. Pittsburgh Penguins

Jim Rutherford has actually made some helpful moves at the deadline to help the Penguins win Cups. But just like other wise GMs, Rutherford has already fortified his contender with [squints at roster] Riley Sheahan and [rubs eyes] Jamie Oleksiak. When you run out of cap space, you always do it for a 30-point center and the Dallas Stars’ worst defensemen. Someone should do a study on how many GMs create legacies by winning titles with another GM’s players and put Stan Bowman and Jim Rutherford statues outside the Other People’s Titles Hall of Fame.

7. Washington Capitals

Against all odds, after a summer of shedding salary and useful players, the Capitals are still near the top of the league. Objectively worse than they have been the past two years, Brian MacLellan has said he doesn’t expect the team to be buyers like they were last year, because as we all know, Alex Ovechkin will not continue to age, nor will Nicklas Backstrom. It’s also important to pin your team’s perpetual shortcomings on two months of Kevin Shattenkirk, this way you can be gun shy about landing a big name again. If at first you don’t succeed, trade for Michal Kempny.

6. Toronto Maple Leafs

https://sports.vice.com/en_ca/embed/article/yw34xw/nhl-gms-keep-their-jobs-whether-they-suck-or-not?utm_source=stylizedembed_sports.vice.com&utm_campaign=vbppmx&site=sports

From the team that brought you “Patrick Marleau for three years and $19 million” last summer comes the exciting late-winter follow-up, “some guy Mike Babcock likes that isn’t all that helpful.” I don’t know who is coming to Toronto but you know it will be someone that gets too many minutes and isn’t all that skilled. Maybe it will be Roman Polak’s cousin Greco Polak who will play 22 minutes a night because he’s “hard to play against.” Someone should let the Leafs know their window to win a title is open sooner than they expected so they should go back in time and get Marleau’s cap hit off the books so they can add an expensive defenseman.

5. Winnipeg Jets

I like to picture Kevin Cheveldayoff around deadline day like other people are when it comes to visiting the dentist. He knows he has to go but he’s constantly putting it off for silly reasons. “What’s that? Ken Holland’s on the phone? Oh, um, tell him I can’t talk trade right now because… ummm… my dog’s sick, yeah. Sorry.” Then enough time passes and instead of his teeth falling out his team falls apart. They say when a door closes, God opens a window. Maybe that window is a championship window in Winnipeg and God is Cheveldayoff, ready to land a fourth-line winger for a sixth-round pick.

4. Nashville Predators

David Poile does all his work before the deadline so he can spend deadline day doing things like signing 37-year-old men that haven’t played hockey in eight months. When it’s time to load up at the deadline, that’s when Poile lands all his playoff healthy scratches, like PA Parenteau and Mike Santorelli. The Preds lost James Neal in the expansion draft and as a Cup favorite, it’s great to see Nashville looking into offensive-minded replacements like Rick Nash, because any time you can snag a guy that hasn’t cracked 40 points in three seasons and consistently falls flat in the playoffs, you have to look into that.

3. Boston Bruins

Once you add Nick Holden to a Cup contender, isn’t your job already done? Don Sweeney can put his feet up and relax now that he added the defensemen who was run over during last year’s playoffs by the run and gun Ottawa Senators. When you have a fast moving boat, it’s always important to tie anchors to it. Look for Sweeney and Cam Neely to add to the “Bruins culture” by acquiring 100 pounds of literal grits to rub on David Pastrnak’s body.

2. Tampa Bay Lightning

Steve Yzerman is a tremendous GM when it comes to arriving at a job where the foundational pieces are already there or using a terrible CBA to leverage great RFAs into taking bad deals because other GMs are too chicken shit to use an offer sheet. At the trade deadline, this is when Yzerman lands guys like Braydon Coburn and Ryan Callahan. He’s also the guy who let Jonathan Marchessault walk for nothing and gave three-goal scorer Callahan $6 million a year through 2020. That’s the guy you want evaluating talent for a Cup favorite.

1. Vegas Golden Knights

What a season. What a time to be a sports fan. An expansion team with championship aspirations in its first year. And what other general manager would you have in charge of a team like this other than George McPhee? The guy who traded Filip Forsberg for Martin Erat and got in on the ground floor of the Capitals Can’t Get Past The Second Round movement is now tasked with getting the team over the top. Maybe a trade of Alex Tuch for Brent Seabrook? Tie McPhee to a blackjack table all day Monday. It’s the only way Vegas wins.

This article originally appeared on VICE Sports CA.

Your Favorite NHL Team Is Going to Blow It at the Trade Deadline syndicated from https://australiahoverboards.wordpress.com

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flauntpage · 7 years

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Your Friday Morning Roundup

The Phillies lost to the Dodgers 5-4. If you’ve been someone that hasn’t followed the Phillies since June, this shouldn’t be a surprise to you. The Phils lost to the best team in baseball, not a shock.

But dig deeper into that 61-92 record and you see the Phillies have actually been good since the All-Star break. They’ve gone 32-34 overall and 18-15 in their last 33. They went 29-58 in the first half.

During that stretch, the Phillies have lost their title as baseball’s worst team, which now belongs to the San Francisco Giants by a game. They’re close to leapfrogging the White Sox and Tigers as well, and are four-and-a-half games behind the Mets for fourth in the NL East.

A big reason for this surge has been the arrival of their highly-touted prospects. And throughout this Dodger series, they played a huge role in the team’s three wins.

Monday night, Aaron Altherr hit the first grand slam home run Clayton Kershaw ever gave up. Rhys Hoskins hit a bases-clearing three RBI double Tuesday night and batted in another run. Altherr was clutch once against the following game, thanks to a game-tying homer in the seventh, followed by a two RBI single.

Yesterday, Hoskins, who started at first base, and Nick Williams drove in all four runs the Phillies would score, while J.P. Crawford drew three walks.

We saw a glimpse of what the 2018 Opening Day lineup could be. No Tommy Joseph. No Maikel Franco. No Cameron Rupp. Cesar Hernandez started at second base, but that could change if Scott Kingery excels in Spring Training.

There’s still plenty of things for the Phillies to fix, especially their pitching. But it’s been a long time since the team was fun to watch. And thanks to the prospects, they’ll be fun to watch for the final nine games of the season.

That starts tonight with the team’s final road series of the season against the Atlanta Braves at 7:35. Ben Lively goes on the mound against Sean Newcomb.

The Roundup:

Sticking with the Phillies, Tommy Joseph knows his role has changed, and he’s been professional about it.

Reliever Jesen Therrien might be out for the entire 2018 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery.

Ryan Lawrence has five candidates who could replace Larry Andersen on the Phillies radio team next season, including Jayson Stark:

Sometimes you put a list together and you feel really good about the names on it, but you’re searching for one last one to top it off. And then you realize that it’s probably the most obvious and best fit of the bunch. Broadcasting experience? Check. Stark worked at ESPN for nearly two decades. Baseball knowledge? Check. Stark is as plugged-in as anyone in baseball and has been for nearly 40 years working at the Philadelphia Inquirer and ESPN.com. Encyclopedia-like knowledge of the Phillies? Check. Stark is a former Phillies beat writer who wrote about baseball in Philadelphia and around the league while at the Inquirer for 21 years. He still lives in the area. Like Glanville, Stark was shockingly let go during ESPN’s layoffs in April. He should still be writing somewhere, surely, but maybe in 2018 he can be like Ken Rosenthal and write for one company while broadcasting for another.

Lawrence also interviewed Joey Davis, the area scout that signed Hoskins and a few other rookies.

The Phanatic got a date with Dodgers reporter Alanna Rizzo prior to yesterday’s game.

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The Eagles are still trying to figure out their situation at safety. Rodney McLeod, Corey Graham, and Jaylen Watkins didn’t practice yesterday with hamstring injuries. Is new arrival Trae Elston ready to play on Sunday? Les Bowen has more:

Would defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz try some sort of four-linebacker look, with [Kamu] Grugier-Hill covering in the box? Is there any way to get Elston ready, even for one specific package?

“I really don’t know,” Elston said, when asked if the Eagles’ defense was similar to what he played in with the Bills. “I’m just trying to run fast, do it full speed.”

With Jalen Mills and Rasul Douglas as the probable starters at cornerback this week, and Sidney Jones waiting to play, are the Eagles grooming their next long-term starters at the position?

Or could they go and get Malcolm Butler from the Patriots? Albert Breer thinks it’s possible:

Who would be the trade partner? The Eagles make sense. And they have a versatile front seven piece that would fill a major need for the Patriots and has been tied to trade talks in the past: linebacker Mychal Kendricks.

Speaking of Jones, Elijah Qualls thinks he’ll be a top corner when he finally plays in the NFL:

DT Elijah Qualls was a terrific guest on Pro Football Report. He's convinced his college teammate, Sidney Jones will become an elite corner.

— Merrill Reese (@mreeseeagles) September 22, 2017

In what might be a historic running back class, the Eagles failed to get an impact running back. But everything will be alright.

We’ll have game predictions later today.

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The Flyers fell to the Bruins 2-1 in overtime last night. Travis Sanheim scored the lone Flyers goal in the third period on a shorthanded opportunity, and Brian Elliott stopped all 18 shots he faced in two periods of work. The big worry was the power play units, going 0-for-9 in the game.

The team also reduced their training camp roster by 18 players. Notables include 2016 first round pick German Rubtsov heading back to Chicoutimi of the QMJHL, Philippe Myers going to Lehigh Valley’s training camp. The roster currently sits at 36 players.

But the toughest decisions have yet to come.

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Chris B. Haynes has a small Joel Embiid update:

chris b haynes reporting on embiid, says he's expected to do some basketball activity during camp, no one has a timetable http://pic.twitter.com/SpCQwp59LE

— Drew Corrigan (@Dcorrigan50) September 21, 2017

One of the big questions surrounding the Sixers that doesn’t involve Embiid’s health is how Brett Brown will use Markelle Fultz, according to David Murphy:

“I feel like the city and the media has to recognize that he just turned 19 a few months ago, and we all get how unforgiving the NBA is,” Brown said, “and there are weaknesses obviously that we have to address in his game, and we really want to go hard at this defense, but I think when you ask what do we see at first glance, I see a person, a real person, I see somebody that is incredibly gifted and the game comes easy offensively, I see someone who will be challenged defensively, especially as it relates to NBA point guards, and then how does he navigate NBA seasons and the rhythm of an NBA season at 19 years old, we will all learn more about.”

The team will also give center Jahlil Okafor every chance to play while he’s being shopped.

A realistic worst-case scenario from the Sixers this season. And be sure to take a listen to Kevin Love’s latest podcast, featuring Tom Moore:

Episode 6 of the Sixers Science podcast is live, featuring the ever insightful @TomMoorePhilly https://t.co/trhYu03iPh

— Kevin Love (@KevinLove_76) September 21, 2017

The team will also hold their Blue x White scrimmage at the Palestra October 1.

Kyle Neubeck of Liberty Ballers is leaving his post as Managing Editor. But he also teased he’ll continue to write about Philly sports full-time somewhere soon.

Finally, Benjamin Simmons:

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Temple got crushed by #21 South Florida 43-7 in Tampa. The Owls recorded 89 yards in the air and -4 rushing yards. Their defense gave up 408 total yards to the Bulls, including 312 on the ground.

Speaking of the Owls, even though Matt Rhule has yet to win a game as Baylor’s head coach, he’s still the right pick to lead the Bears. I wish he never left Temple.

Tim Reilly reminds you Joe Paterno may not have been the perfect head coach at Penn State.

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In other sports news, last night’s Thursday Night Football game between the Rams and the 49ers was…entertaining?

First play INT✅ 10 TDs✅ 80 points✅ Muffed punt✅ Fumbled kickoff✅ Missed 2pt conversion✅ Onside kick✅ Game-sealing sack✅#LARvsSF

— Rich Eisen (@richeisen) September 22, 2017

This is some incredible football. Gotta be one of the highest effort games I've seen in a while.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 22, 2017

Amazing how all the people who complain about Thursday Night Football spend their Thursday nights tweeting about Thursday Night Football.

— Peter Schrager (@PSchrags) September 22, 2017

It was the highest-scoring TNF game in the history of the series.

Former Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez had a severe form of CTE in his brain when he committed suicide in April.

Jose Baez, Hernandez’s lawyer, said Hernandez’s brain showed a level of damage that was seen in players with a median age of 67 years.

Baez said he had filed a lawsuit in federal court against the Patriots and the N.F.L. on behalf of Hernandez’s daughter, Avielle. The suit seeks unspecified damages for loss of parental support. The suit alleges that the Patriots and the league were “fully aware of the damage that could be inflicted from repetitive impact injuries and failed to disclose, treat or protect him from the dangers of such damage.”

The Giants offensive line, as explained by a New York radio host.

Andre Ward, the undefeated light heavyweight boxing champion that was considered as one of the best in the world, unexpectedly announced his retirement.

Golden State head coach Steve Kerr said the team will discuss if they will visit the White House when they all meet later in the fall.

Screw the NCAA:

Texas A&M distance runner Ryan Trahan says that he has been ruled ineligible and warned by his university for using his name, image and likeness as an athlete on his YouTube page to promote a small company that he started. NCAA bylaw 12.4.4 rules that an athlete “may establish his or her own business, provided the student-athlete’s name, photograph, appearance or athletics reputation are not used to promote the business.”

In addition to his running, Trahan has his own YouTube channel with 14,000 subscribers and nearly one million views where he shares tips and insight into his training. He also promotes Neptune water bottles, a company that co-founded with a friend in 2016. Trahan just started his freshman year at Texas A&M after a successful high school career.

Clemson kicker Greg Huegel is out for the year after tearing his ACL on the last play of practice.

From being a running back on the Steelers to being one of the main minds behind Ballers, Rashard Mendenhall has found his dream job.

An interesting read by Nick DePaula on the race for sneaker companies to sign Giannis Antetokounmpo to a deal:

To kick things off this week, Bucks teammate (and Adidas endorser) Thon Maker walked Antetokounmpo out to the parking lot of the team’s practice facility after a Tuesday morning workout. Awaiting him was a truck full of size 16 Adidas sneakers, including everything from pairs of the coveted Yeezy Boost series to Adidas Originals staples like the Stan Smith and running models like the UltraBoost.

With his current Nike endorsement deal set to expire on September 30, Antetokounmpo is assessing his options. Rather than take brand pitches at their headquarters, as some players do, he insisted on hosting the meetings in Milwaukee, in order to not disrupt his no-frills workout schedule leading up to his fifth season — a season in which he has MVP aspirations.

Loving these new Colorado State unis:

Colorado State will wear these special State Pride uniforms Nov. 11 vs. Boise State. Love the helmet look http://pic.twitter.com/u7HeVW9IQm

— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) September 21, 2017

LaMelo Ball got roasted and it’s beautiful:

LaVar's gotta find this clown and whoop him for disrespecting LaMelo like this. http://pic.twitter.com/OkJxqGZzNS

— Thomas Duffy (@TJDhoops) September 21, 2017

The NHL might want to let their players go to the Olympics in 2022:

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In the news, Philadelphia police have charged a man after a pipe bomb scare Wednesday in East Oak Lane.

Two men are on the run after stealing about $2,000 worth of cigarettes at a Wawa.

North Korea could test a hydrogen bomb over the Pacific Ocean.

Hurricane Maria left a devastating mark on Puerto Rico.

Your Friday Morning Roundup published first on http://ift.tt/2pLTmlv

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