TV RIGHTS

 As one of the wierdos that still follows hockey, I can say two things. If you haven't been watching the NHL playoffs at all, you're really missing out. To this point, they have been more exciting and produced better match ups than the NBA playoffs have, and its still only the first round. Today and tomorrow showcase THREE game 7's, with the possibility of a fourth, all of which are series that should have ended before the weekend. Seems like the NHL couldn't have asked for a better draw. Second, and more importantly, within the last week the NHL renewed its impromptu TV contract with VS and NBC, established after the lockout and the leagues fallout with ESPN. While the NBC games are well done, and VS has begun to spread in to more and more homes, I really think the NHL messed this one up. Aside from college football, the NHl probably had the biggest chance to grow in the event of a NFL/ NBA lockout next season. While you have to appreciate them sticking with the companies that gave them a chance to get back up on their feet, passing on a renegotiation with ESPN probably cost them hundreds of millions of dollars. As it is now, VS is the main medium for hockey outside of your local team(s) telecast. with a nationally televised game on NBC every weekend once football ends. A strong showcase that does a good job of maximizing exposure of the leagues best. Still, a weekly prime time game on the most recognized sports network in the world seems a lot more lucrative. The NFL has HD, a million camera angles, and leads the pack in presentation. The NBA has the best TV coverage and two of the best announcer panels with TNT and ESPN. Hockey is similar to baseball -- for most people you have to be there. For baseball its the nostalgia, for hockey its the intensity. Hockey, live, is arguably the best sport there is, but it also loses the most on TV. You'd think then that Gary Bettman and the powers at be would want to try and solidify one of the weakest parts of their sport by pairing with the best and giving themselves more room to expand their sport. When opportunity presents itself, you have to take it. The NHL really missed theirs. 

SHORT STORIES

Have been pretty busy the last, which means I have been slipping on the posts. In an attempt to make it up to all of my 3 readers, here are five short stories from the past week of sports in no particular order.

PLAYOFFS (NBA)

So far the NBA playoffs have gone somewhat as expected. Yes there were three opening game losses by the Spurs, Magic, and Lakers, but everyone was quick to blow that out of proportion. As a Laker fan, I am not concerned unless the series is 3 - 2 Hornets, and the Lakers are down 10 with thirty seconds to go on the road. It doesn't matter who you are, playing any team in a best of seven series is difficult to sweep four straight games. Move on with your lives if you really think these teams will get bounced in the first round. I think the biggest story so far has been how close every match-up has been to this point. Of the twenty or so games played so far, only three have been decided by more than 10 points. Moving forward to the second round, the drama should really pickup regardless of the match ups.

PLAYOFFS (NHL)

Almost upstaging the NBA, the NHL playoffs have been just as good so far if not better.  Despite one series that was a complete mismatch (Detroit sweeping Phoenix in 4), every other series has had some marquee moments and the chance for a major first round upset. Earlier this week I was in Philadelphia and can say that if the Flyers lose in the first round to Buffalo, the next images you will see of the city of Philadelphia will be those of rioters and fireballs. 

FOUR ACES WITH A JOKER

Speaking of the City of Brotherly Love, I attended my first Phillies game this past Monday night. Expecting to see a team that seem destined to win the whole thing, I came away with the notions that led to the title above and what was supposed to be a fully fleshed out post. Essentially, while the team is anything but struggling, they lean heavily on the first four pitchers in their rotation (The Aces) while juggling a handful of wildcards (The Joker). As the season rolls along the teams offense, health, fifth starter (currently Joe Blanton), and relief pitching and how they handle them will continue to be the wild card in the teams success. That said, with the exception of injury none of these are truly detrimental to the team at this point and they are still a favorite to represent the NL in the World Series as the season moves in to its second month.

VIVA FOOTBALL

While nothing has been settled yet, it seems that peoples fears of no NFL this fall can be put to ease. With a court ruling forcing mediation, its only a matter of time now before the two sides come to some sort of agreement. While we may lose some mini camps, I don't think the lockout will infringe on the actual season and honestly never really have. Yes the owners make money regardless if football is played or not, but they stand to make a lot more when there is a season. At the end of the day all that matters is what makes them the most money. 

LOSS FOR WORDS

It's pretty ironic to title something "Loss For Words" and then write about it two seconds later, but that's pretty much where I stand with the current situation in the Dodgers front office. For those who dont know, Los Angeles Dodgers' owner Frank McCourt has been in a legal battle for ownership of the team with his wife after filing for divorce two years ago. The situation has become so bad, that this week Bud Selig and Major League Baseball seized control of the organization essentially to protect them from themselves. The New Orleans Hornets get taken over by their respective league. Not one of the most storied franchises in their sport, with a talented young nucleus and anything but money problems. The state of which the McCourts have run the Dodgers in to is shameful. After two straight NLDS appearances in '08 and '09, a legitimate window for this team to make a run at a title has seemingly closed. Hopefully the McCourts do right by the players and fans and sell the team as soon as possible to someone more responsible than themselves.

So there you have it. One weeks worth of stories all rolled in to one. Next week should have a little more down time, allowing me the time write more full, daily posts.

                                                         

MORE COWBELL

How fitting. One last meeting with their biggest rival, one last battle with their arch nemesis Kobe Bryant, one last crushing defeat. Amongst a handful of "Save Our Kings" signs, one fan was ready to admit the seemingly inevitable: "If You Can't Beat 'Em, Join 'Em ... In LA." A dismal end to another proud, small market fan base. At the very least the Maloof brothers have made it clear they want the team out, rather than the (illegal?) heist job that took place in Seattle with the Sonics. Losing money on the Kings, the Maloofs desire a bigger money market and a building that only requires minimal upgrades rather than a complete overhaul, or an entirely new building, such as needed currently in Sacramento. Billionaires complaining about losing money never sits well with anyone though, especially angry fans. At this point however, it's just a lose - lose if you're a Kings supporter. If the team moves: No NBA anymore and you have to find something else to do in Sacramento which may as well be akin to looking for one specific needle in a stack of needles. If the team stays: You're stuck for two or three years with owners that don't want to be there, and would most likely refuse spending the money needed on the team or a new facility. I liken the Kings current position to WWE wrestling. The most recent glory years were the late 90's, early 2000's, but the last half decade has been dismal and drama filled -- a change of the guard, that has young stars trying to carry the load until the casual fan can make their return piggybacking on a contender. All we need now is Chris Webber returning for a series against the Lakers a la The Rock returning for Wrestlemania this year, and the comparison is full proof. Just go with it. Its been a decade since the Kings momentarily took the place of the Celtics as the most hated team in basketball if you were a Lakers fan. These games were physical, close basketball games games showcasing some of the games best talent, usually ending with dazzling finishes, individual performances, and controversy (see 2002 WCF officiating). I'll miss screaming out "F--- the Queens!" I'll miss the atmosphere and intensity. I'll miss the noise maker debate: Cowbell or Cell Phone. One thing I will never miss though is Doug Christie's idiotic hand-in-the-air gesture after every made basket, including 4 ft jumpers two minutes in to the game in the third game of the season like he was the second coming of Jesus. So fitting it's the Lakers that potentially seal their fate. Again. If this is indeed the last we see of the NBA in Sacramento, much respect to a die hard fan base that deserves better. Hopefully they don't fold easily without a fight. But, as the saying goes, "If You Can't Beat 'Em, Join 'Em ... In LA."

HUMBLE PIE

Every now and then everyone has to cut themselves a big slice of humble pie. This weekend that person was Rory McIlroy, the young, Irish phenom on the PGA tour. Holding a slim lead with with 9 holes to play, a bad tee shot on 10 sent him in a downward spiral to a round of 80 and finishing ten strokes off the eventual winner, Charl Schwartzel. Normally, I would have no criticism for someone so young in such a precarious position -- a one stroke lead, on the biggest stage of your sport, with some of the best players in your sport chasing you down. McIlroy brought some of it on himself though with disparaging comments made about Tiger Woods and his actions over the last year and a half. In position to walk the walk, he crumbled with Tiger pressuring him to play mistake free, and in some ways boosted Tiger's golf image and just how remarkable he was at the same age. (In 1997, at nearly the same age, Tiger steamrolled the competition on the way to his frist green jacket.) There's a saying that every great poker player goes broke once before they make money, so in the same way McIlroy must taste defeat before visiting his local tailor to get his jacket sleeves hemmed. He is too young, and too talented to no be in position for golf's ultimate prize again. Next time, hopefully, he remembers his round yesterday and uses it to finish what he started.

On a separate note, if Tiger Woods had finished off a remarkable rally on the back nine I was prepared to write that while he may not fully be back, he is better. For all of his accomplishments in golf, he has never once come back in the final day of play to win a major. Yesterday was arguably the closest he has been. While everything he has gone through publicly and privately in the last 18 months has broken him down in every sense of the term, I feel like once he turns that corner his mental toughness will be stronger than ever. That coupled with his talent and dedication to golf may may make him better than before, if possible. Last year Woods waded in a sea of emotion to a fourth place finish. This year he took it. As he reinvents himself on and off the course, I expect we will see more of that.

NOW WHAT

March Madness is over, so what's next?. If you're like me, baseball doesn't really start until the NBA/ NHL playoffs are over. 162 games played all summer long is a lot, so keeping track of what is going on during games four and five seems pretty tedious. It's also impossible to really gauge anything until a month in anyways. Luckily, there's plenty this year to keep you entertained until the boys of summer really pick up. The NBA playoffs are shaping up to be one of the best ever. In either conference there are four conceivable representatives in The Finals, and every team has enough pros and cons that it is inconceivable to proclaim an early champion. Last summer through this year's trade deadline was one of the busiest ever. Lebron and Bosh leave for Miami to play with Wade, Amare Stoudemire and eventually Carmello Anthony go to the Knicks, the Lakers improved their bench, the Spurs returned to championship form, Derrick Rose has become an elite player, Dwight Howard has truly become a dominant center, the Oklahoma City Thunder become that much more viable trading for a championship center in Kendrick Perkins, while the Celtics must adjust without him and lean on two aging O'neals, Shaq and Jermaine. There are at least fifteen potential Finals match ups that seem logical. Then there's the NHL. I realize most of this country poo poos hockey, but have you ever been to a game? Especially a playoff game. Hockey is potentially the most entertaining game live with a faster pace of end to end action than any other sport. Letting loose a pack of wild animals, most with Jack-O-Lantern smiles, always makes for a good time -- especially in a seven game series. Two things to look for this year. The Vancouver Canucks have far and away been the best team this season. Being the sport of choice there, it always adds to the excitement when a team from Canada is a top candidate to win it all. Second, never ending overtimes. I love it, some people hate it, but I think that it is solely due to the fact that it is hockey. No one complained when a Syracuse game went 6 OT's a few years ago in the Big East tournament, did they? Watching a game go the length of two full ones in to a third and fourth overtime is exhausting, exciting, nerve racking, and a bunch of other three syllable words I can not think of. As the game continues on, every offensive chance eventually has you on pins and needles. It's a novelty among the major sports, and another reason to watch. So there you have it. There's something for everyone unless all you care about is NFL Football, in which case you're in a picket line somewhere while simultaneously glued to the NFL Network. Rejoice sports fans, the world is your oyster.

MARCH MADNESS BRINGS APRIL SADNESS

Does defense win championships, or does your opponent starting the game 1 - 22 inside the three point line?. Yesterday I wrote that this game was must see TV, and I would still argue that after the fact simply because the the on goings seemingly defy the odds. Both teams had seven minute stretches of zero field goals from the floor. After Butler mercifully ended theirs in the second half after finally making a lay up, they then had another six minutes of infertility. I say "finally making a lay up" because they literally missed ten of them for the game. It was as if the baskets had a small sign underneath that said, "Rims are not regulation size," as seen at your local state fair. Some credit has to go to the UCONN defense and their length, but still more than half of these shots were uncontested, within fifteen feet, and found every way possible not to drop through. The game came down to UCONN and their scorers finding some sort of rhythm in the second half, and Butler being unable to. When people look back on this game I think they'll remember it as one of the worst championship games played in memory, and that's unfortunate. The road to the final four was one of the best compilation of tournament games ever. Buzzer beaters, overtimes, star match ups, Gus Johnson, etc. -- this year had it all. Both teams had impressive runs to Monday nights game, some thinking UCONN's may have been the best ever. Another thing I hope that's not forgotten after one atrocious game is how remarkable Butler's run was this year and last, and hopefully this isn't the last time we hear from them for an extended period of time. Before this weekend, the 2011 tournament grade was easily a solid A. Now it may have dropped to the C+/ B- range, and that's just sad.

TEXAS TWO STEP

At the end of every sporting season as teams battle down until only two remain, or an Apple 2 determines who plays who behind closed doors (college football), media soon begin picking the match-up apart piece by piece. Part of their analysis usually entails deciding whether or not the game has mass appeal, or only caters to the fan bases of those particular teams. By my personal standards, this game can't be missed. UCONN may not carry the weight of a Duke or UNC, but they are a reputable program and a proven winner. Unless you live under a rock, you know that tiny Butler finds themselves 40 minutes away from cutting the nets for the second year in a row. Last year's loss was so agonizingly close, approximately 3 inches, that I think the casual fan would tune in to see if they can be one shot better this time around. It's an extremely difficult task to make back to back trips to the final four, let alone as a mid major that doesn't have the same pull for top prospects as other schools do. Win or lose, what Butler has done in the last 12 months may not be seen again for a long time if ever, so the chance to witness history is always something that should be take advantage of. Another rarity, Butler returns a team to the title game full of senior leadership. In the era of the one and done, a team with this much experience is scarce. On the flip side, UCONN comes in with a lot of young talent. Kemba Walker needs no introduction, and Freshman Jeremy Lamb has made a case for why they will be a top contender heading in to next year. Where Butler holds the edge in experience, UCONN can match it with raw skill. All of the counter dynamics are really what makes this game sound so entertaining on paper. Lets hope it plays out that way.