Pardon My Bias

Not hard to see how the Bruins are number one with Vezina, Norris, and Selke candidates. Photo courtesy of NHL.com

1 – Boston Bruins (28-12-1) Last week: 3

This is getting a little too Red Sox-Yankee like for my taste.

2 – New York Rangers (28-11-4) Last week: 1

Should be quite the rivalry game when the Rangers and Bruins finally meet.

3 – St. Louis Blues (26-12-6) Last week: 4

They may have less wins then the Hawks and Wings, but the Blues don’t need the shootout nearly as often.

4 – Vancouver Canucks (28-15-3) Last week: 2

At this point, just crown them Northwest champs.

5 – Detroit Red Wings (28-15-1) Last week: 5

Kinda scary when the Wings could finish fourth in their division. Central is that tough this year.

6 – Philadelphia Flyers (26-13-4) Last week: 6

James Van Riemsdyke is just the latest Flyer to go down with an injury.

7 – Chicago Blackhawks (27-13-6) Last week: 8

You may be confused as to why the Hawks, despite being tied for the league lead in points are seventh. You are incorrect to assume it is because Dan Carcillo got shelved.

8 – San Jose Sharks (25-12-5) Last week: 7

The Sharks should look out for the Kings. Well, until the Sharks wind up playing some more games, as they have five in hand.

9 – Washington Capitals (24-17-2) Last week: 10

Slowly the Caps turned things around and are back on top of their division, which turned into the least crappy team contest again.

10 – Nashville Predators (25-15-4) Last week: 12

8-1 in their last nine, and winners of five straight. Next up is the Rangers however, so how’s that for test?

11 – Pittsburgh Penguins (23-17-4) Last week: 11

Crosby Watch: Visiting a chiropractor. Not a great sign.

12 – Dallas Stars (24-18-1) Last week: 9

The Stars are in a bit of tumble, though only two points out of playoff spot (along with basically three other teams).

13 – Florida Panthers (21-14-8) Last week: 14

They finally relinquished control over the Southeast, which for the Panthers still may be a landmark.

14 – Ottawa Senators (25-15-6) Last week: 17

You got to admit the Senators are completely exceeding expectations this season. Their roster on paper is a joke, but they are on a roll.

15 – Los Angeles Kings (22-15-9) Last week: 18

If the Kings keep playing like they have at this point they may finish the season with more OT losses than regulation ones. Under .500 with 100 points? Could happen.

16 – New Jersey Devils (25-17-2) Last week: 20

The very idea of trading Ilya Kovalchuk shouldn’t even be considered seeing how vital he is to their shootout success, and how vital that has been for the Devils’ success.

17 – Toronto Maple Leafs (22-17-5) Last week: 13

Looks like the Leafs are hitting a cold spell again.

18 – Minnesota Wild (22-16-7) Last week: 15

The death spiral for Minnesota continues.

19 – Calgary Flames (21-20-5) Last week: 22

Sutterfest part one ended with Darryl, the former coach and GM, besting his brother Brent, who is the Flames current coach, hired by Darryl. Thankfully, the active player Sutters weren’t involved.

20 – Winnipeg Jets (20-19-5) Last week: 16

As is the way of the Thrasher-Jet, Winnipeg drops three in a row to go from one point out of eighth, to five out.

21 – Colorado Avalanche (24-20-2) Last week: 21

Seymon Varlamov should at least get to participate in the All-Star game’s skill competition for the breakaway contest.

22 – Phoenix Coyotes (20-18-7) Last week: 19

The Coyotes’ record to start 2012? 1-5. And that’s how you become even less relevant.

23 – Buffalo Sabres (19-20-5) Last week: 23

All of a sudden the Sabres are in danger of dropping to dead last in their division.

24 – Montreal Canadians (17-20-8) Last week: 24

All of a sudden the Canadians are close to being out of the cellar in their division. Looks like trading Cammalleri solved everything.

25 – Edmonton Oilers (17-23-4) Last week: 26

It appears the Oilers have returned to being those Oilers.

26 – Tampa Bay Lightning (17-23-4) Last week: 25

It also appears that no matter how good Steven Stamkos is, the rest of his team really isn’t.

27 – Anaheim Ducks (15-22-7) Last week: 28

Threaten to trade guys, and the Ducks turn it on. Whether they can maintain that should be interesting, though they came on strong late last season also.

28 – Carolina Hurricanes (16-24-7) Last week: 27

At the bottom of a pretty bad division. Hopefully the Canes load up on draft picks so they can address their depth issues.

29 – New York Islanders (16-20-6) Last week: 29

The Islanders being the Islanders.

30 – Columbus Blue Jackets (12-27-5) Last week: 30

Maybe if you took the Jackets out of the Central they would be better. Or maybe they are why the rest of their division has such insane records.

Sports still has a little room for romanticism. Even if stories of scandals, trash talk and overzealous figures steal the bright lights of the front pages, you can find stories that would warm you up just as well as a campfire would on a cold night. Although these stories are sometimes too few and too far between, it’s hard not to get caught up in the moment when the triumph of the forgotten individual or downtrodden team catches your attention.

David Carr, Joey Harrington, Patrick Ramsey, Byron Leftwich, Kyle Boller, Rex Grossman, J.P. Losman, Jason Campbell, Vince Young, Matt Leinart, JaMarcus Russell, Brady Quinn. Since 2001, those quarterbacks have all been chosen in the first round of the NFL draft. And all of those QB’s on the list have vastly underachieved in their careers and, for the most part, have been relegated to bouncing around from team to team, trying to get a job that would at least let them wear a backwards baseball hat and hold a clipboard.

This last offseason, Alex Smith could have joined that group. It is no stretch to say that no one would have blamed him for doing so–in fact, his story is so analogous to that of an abused child that many would have argued that he needed the NFL equivalent of Child Protective Services to get him the hell out of San Francisco. Not that many 49ers fans would have minded. Then, along came Jim Harbaugh who played Robin Williams to Alex Smith’s Matt Damon in Good Will Hunting. He saw something in Smith that no one else either could see or wanted to see and, once Smith made it clear that he still wanted to make it work in San Francisco (for some reason), Harbaugh, in turn, made it clear that he wanted Smith back as well. And so began a relationship that defies the laws of logic, sense and modern-day NFL quarterbacking.

——

http://www.cbsnews.com/i/tim/2012/01/14/120114-Alex_Smith-AP120114156405_620x350.jpg

Perhaps it would be too easy to say that the 49ers victory over the Saints was poetic for all the right reasons. In the 49ers first home playoff game in almost a decade, Candlestick Park regained its former glory, as the sea of red in the stands watched familiarly as a quarterback willed the franchise to another signature playoff win. You could have sworn this game took place in the late 80′s or early 90′s. But in 2012, the story was different. It was Vernon Davis, an agile and fast tight-end, who led the team with 180 receiving yards. It was Donte Whitner, not Ronnie Lott, who set the tone on defense by delivering spine-tingling (and concussion-causing) blows to Saints ball-handlers. It was Aldon Smith doing Charles Haley impressions and Justin Smith, like a raging bull, aiming for the matador instead of the red veil. It was Alex Smith with two “game-winning” fourth quarter drives in his first playoff game.

Paragraphs can be written about how the 49ers have overcome every possible hurdle to be 14-3 so far this season and be one game away from the Superbowl, but those paragraphs would miss the point because this is not a story about beating the odds or defying expectations. This is a story about redemption. Not for the defense that could never get stops when it mattered most. Not for their coach who hated living the gigantic shadow that USC draped over the PAC-10. Not for their fans who have had to accept that the old days will never be transposed into the future. But for the quarterback who has every right to lift a giant middle finger to many, many people who watched him deliver one of the most unbelievable finishes in recent NFL memory.

Alex Smith, however, will never raise that middle-finger. Paradoxically, that is why he was much-maligned over his previous 6 years in San Francisco. Mike Singletary and Mike Nolan despised the fact that he seemed as meek and timid as they come. He was berated as being too shy and not capable of being a leader, so much so that his on-field play was a reproduction of the countless doubts and pressures that weighed on his mind. He was robotic, stiff and afraid. That’s precisely why it was so unimaginable that he should be the one on Saturday to help his team overcome the juggernaut Saints and win the game in a fashion in which no one expected the 49ers to win: in a shootout. It required bravado, fearlessness and belief from a quarterback that seemed to be running empty on all 3 categories. He made throws that were easy on the eyes and on the hands of his receivers. He flashed athleticism that everyone thought was gone with the wind, along with the rest of the traits that made him a contender for the #1 pick back in 2005.

Vernon Davis, who had the game of the his life, took time to compare Alex Smith to the kid who everyone used to pick on in grade school. Davis remarked that he could see Smith as the kid who everyone throw rocks at and spit on. Just like almost every other kid who gets shunned in such a way by his peers, Smith was never the type to fight back on the outside. In fact, Smith’s story is the true Revenge of the Nerds, he endured all the crap for six years and now he’s throwing that same crap in the faces of those who constantly tried to buried him in the past few years. That includes me. Several times I found myself wondering how in the world Smith could be fixable and I genuinely believed that he was more fit to be encased in a padded room than in an NFL pocket. I buried him once in 2009, then he came back to life. Then I buried him again last year and now he engineers one of the most masterful fourth quarter playoff performances of all-time. Hyperbole? Perhaps, but remember that, as previously stated, there is some room for romanticism left in sports.

This all is not to say that the story of this years 49ers is one to put a bow around. There are still chapters to be written in this book. But the first chapter is titled “Redemption’s Son” because Alex Smith is where this story started, even if it was seven years ago. And he still holds the pen.

The Rangers still are red hot three games into 2012. Photo courtesy of NHL.com

1 – New York Rangers (26-9-4) Last week: 2

The Rangers have proven lately they are the team to beat in the Atlantic, and out east that is the top division by a landslide (outside of the Islanders).

2 – Vancouver Canucks (26-13-3) Last week: 5

The Canucks, who only have more points thanks to the Bettman system and having played more games, earn the two spot with a 4-3 win on the road against Boston.

3 – Boston Bruins (26-11-1) Last week: 1

Moving down only due to one team being hotter (the Rangers) and a defeat to a rival (the Canucks). Still, the Bruins are terrifying when clicking. 6-0, 8-0, 6-1, and 9-0 wins over the past few weeks spells dangerous clearly.

4 – St. Louis Blues (24-12-5) Last week: 6

Hitchcock continues to push more out of his squad then just about anyone thought possible.

5 – Detroit Red Wings (26-14-1) Last week: 7

A split with the Hawks, and solid past few weeks has the Wings back in the top five, but they better watch their backs.

6 – Philadelphia Flyers (24-12-4) Last week: 4

The Flyers’ defense has been a little worrisome lately, giving up almost four goals a game on average over the past two weeks.

7 – San Jose Sharks (23-11-4) Last week: 9

After two home losses to the Ducks and Canucks, San Jose goes on the road only to beat both of them and find themselves in a four game winning streak.

8 – Chicago Blackhawks (24-13-5) Last week: 3

Things go from bad to worse in Chicago with Patrick Sharp due to miss three to four weeks, while the team is in a four game skid.

9 – Dallas Stars (23-16-1) Last week: 10

For what it’s worth, the Stars haven’t been to the shootout in almost two months. In my book, that makes their wins more meaningful. Sorry, Colorado and New Jersey.

10 – Washington Capitals (21-16-2) Last week: 14

Up until a loss to the Sharks the Caps appeared to have found whatever they were lacking for so long, winning four straight in a fairly easy manner.

11 – Pittsburgh Penguins (21-15-4) Last week: 8

No Staal, no Neal, no Crosby, no Letang, no Martin, and no wins. Four straight losses, and barely averaging over a goal a game.

12 – Nashville Predators (22-15-4) Last week: 15

Nashville isn’t going away, making the Central division even tougher. Though, to be fair, the Preds have had some help with a rather easy stretch of games lately.

13 – Toronto Maple Leafs (21-15-5) Last week: 11

Thank god Tim Thomas won the fan ballot for the All-Star game. James Reimer isn’t an All-Star. He just isn’t. The rest of the team goes rather up and down, but look to be heading up again.

14 – Florida Panthers (20-13-8) Last week: 13

Only two wins in their last eight could spell trouble for the Panthers, but with the Southeast as big a crapshoot as it is their chances are as good as anyone’s still.

15 – Minnesota Wild (21-15-6) Last week: 12

With the Canucks running away with the division (again), the Wild are going to need to up their game to even get a playoff spot. One win in twelve games is a sure fire way to not get it done.

16 – Winnipeg Jets (20-16-5) Last week: 20

Slowly but surely, the Jets are turning into a bubble team. They probably won’t get much further than that with the lack of offensive depth on their roster.

17 – Ottawa Senators (22-15-6) Last week: 21

A Bettman point beneficiary. Also, proof as to why fans voting for anything is a bad idea.

18 – Los Angeles Kings (20-15-7) Last week: 18

Another Bettman point beneficiary. The Kings had earned points in every game under Darryl Sutter up until a loss to…Columbus? Oh, that is bad. Also, the offense is dead last. So much for a new direction.

19 – Phoenix Coyotes (20-17-5) Last week: 17

Only two wins in their last eight and those came against the likes of Minnesota and the Islanders.

20 – New Jersey Devils (23-16-2) Last week: 23

The Devils are extremely talented in the skills competition. 8-1 in the shootout. Only 15-17 outside of it.

21 – Colorado Avalanche (23-19-1) Last week: 22

The Avalanche are even more talented in the skills competition, going 7-0 in the shootout. They are also even worse outside of it, being 16-20 in game that ended naturally.

22 – Calgary Flames (19-19-5) Last week: 19

Rene Bourque is on a pace to be suspended for 30 games if he keeps it up.

23 – Buffalo Sabres (18-18-5) Last week: 16

If it wasn’t for Thomas Vanek and Jason Pominville I don’t even know how bad the Sabres could possibly be the way they are playing currently.

24 – Montreal Canadians (16-18-7) Last week: 26

The first time in a long time I haven’t had the Canadians ranked 26^th. Erik Cole has gone from free agent bust, to top scorer, while Eric Staal has crapped out. It appears we all had that relationship backwards.

25 – Tampa Bay Lightning (17-20-3) Last week: 25

Win a few, lose a few. Unfortunately that won’t get Tampa out of the hole they dug for themselves. Really a shame Roloson blew his chance.

26 – Edmonton Oilers (16-22-3) Last week: 24

Speaking of blown chances, remember when the Oilers were the up and coming team this season? From November on, Edmonton has gone 9-21 and 4-12 from December. Ouch.

27 – Carolina Hurricanes (14-22-7) Last week: 27

Still no Jeff Skinner, and somehow Cam Ward still hasn’t gone ballistic on how little help he gets in games.

28 – Anaheim Ducks (12-22-6) Last week: 28

At least they beat the Blue Jackets and Islanders. Apparently the Ducks are willing to listen to any trade suggestions (just no Selanne or Koivu).

29 – New York Islanders (14-19-6) Last week: 29

With a chance to move up in the ol’ rankings (since I know the Islanders are deeply invested), they blow it with loss to the Ducks and only a shootout win over the Canes (which I don’t count).

30 – Columbus Blue Jackets (11-25-5) Last week: 30

I thought they already had fired a head coach once so far this season?

So another year has arrived, along with the spectacle of the NHL’s Winter Classic (featured by Bridgestone, in case you missed it). Once again, it also displayed a very exciting game. Well, from the second half on. Still, I can’t help but find a few little things the league, the Classic, and NBC for that matter should work on…

Photo courtesy of NHL.com

The Legends Game is awesome even if it gets relegated to the backwaters of the NHL Network. The fans of the teams show up in massive force, and frankly everyone seems to enjoy it. In my ever so humble opinion, the Legends Game really shows off the old glory days of hockey more than the actual Winter Classic game. You just have a bunch of guys who are out there enjoying playing, and of course they want to win, but there’s no one trying to kill each other out there unlike Mr. Werewolf of Phily, Scott Hartnell. Or if they do want to kill each other, they do a really good job masking it.

Figuring out your start time would be a good idea. It really wouldn’t be the NHL if they didn’t do something slightly moronic, and switching the start time of the game in 24 hours beforehand certainly qualifies. The fact the league said it was for player safety works as a nice reason as to why, but why no one thought, “Oh, it might be sunny out and light reflecting off the ice may be problematic.” And guess what? It barely interfered with the Rose Bowl.

Mike Milbury being asked for analysis always blows my mind. Seriously, what in the hell is he doing being asked for anything besides to step away from a child? Is he NBC’s response to Don Cherry? And did no one inform them that Don Cherry shouldn’t tried to be replicated? And at least Cherry was successful as a coach. Maybe not a ton, but he didn’t run the Boston Bruins into the ground such as the state the New York Islanders are in.

You know, there is another part of the country outside of the Northeast. I’m not saying have the Winter Classic in Phoenix, nor even have the Coyotes involved in one. But seeing how the furthest west the league went was to Chicago playing Detroit shows that they and NBC really have their minds set only on a few certain teams. Cities that I am surprised have been ignored outright for a chance to host are St. Paul and Denver. The NHL, and their rating’s game they have with networks, discovered that even with only one impassioned city that viewership can still be impressive. I know the whole underlying theme is the history of the game and teams involved, but rotating between only six or so teams gets old really quick. Which leads to…

Really hard to argue that it's not just a really flashy spectacle. Photo courtesy of NHL.com

Ease off the old time hockey feel. Yes, it is fun. And yes I said the Legends Game does show off the history and past time of hockey, but that’s just the thing. It does enough of that. Wearing retro jerseys does enough of that. The fact the game is being played outdoors like we never invented refrigeration and rely on cold weather does enough of that. The Classic is a spectacle. Because it says, “Hey look, we have technology and refuse to use it in this case even though we are taking that technology we refuse to acknowledge this once to make sure what we do here works fine.” The Winter Classic is the sport world’s hipster movement. Yeah, it is cool to remember what things were like back in the day, and going back to try that out is fun. Like oversized glasses or Atari. But once you start flaunting it too much and shoving it down people’s throats that crap bugs people. Hockey fans and really anyone that has ever heard of ice knows that the Winter Classic is a nod to the really old days. There is no need to beat everyone over the head with the fact, we get it, so show the audience some respect to figure that out on their own.

Once a year is the perfect amount. And yes Canada can keep doing the Heritage Classic. It really doesn’t dilute the experience of having Canada run their own show. Because yes, the Winter Classic is a relative cash grab, but also is a fun event for its quirkiness. So it having it once for all of America and once for Canada works. It does already have a bit of tradition to it, as in you expect to see a listing for it on your DVR guide around New Year’s Day, and hockey fans do enjoy attending even though I am sure the view from wherever at Citizen’s Bank Ballpark probably sucked. It’s a fun experience. Once a year. It’s a good amount. Plus it’s something Canada copied (sort of) that the league instituted. I don’t know if that will ever happen again.

Lastly, don’t mic the audiences during the flag bearing, especially in Philadelphia. I know, reinforcing stereotypes, and it wasn’t just Flyer fans to be fair. Shouts of “RANGERS SUCK” and “F@#& THE FLYERS” are going to be shouted. Yes, even during flag bearings before national anthems. And you don’t need to have the mic turned on to the audience during that period. Just saying…

And now for a few suggestions for future Winter Classics:

San Jose vs. Detroit @ Comerica Park

These two teams don’t like each other. Shocking that there is a rivalry in the west, but both teams have big time talent, and there is a history with the Wings so all the bases are covered.

Boston vs. Minnesota @ Target Field

Boston showed they can carry ratings on their own, so a small market like Minnesota shouldn’t worry the league or networks. Minnesota has the weather for an outdoor game, and even though the North Stars aren’t exactly the Wild’s history Minnesota goes crazy for hockey.

Chicago vs. Colorado @ Invesco Field

The weather in Denver would be fine, and I highly doubt the Broncos can keep winning with Tim Tebow. Again, a golden chance for the league to recognize the west coast a bit.

What would we do without the Pinstripe bowl to decide between Rutgers and Iowa State? Please observe the size of the crowd. Photo courtesy of TheGazette.com

Los Angeles vs. New York Rangers @ MetLife Stadium

For all wondering, the stadium is Giants Stadium. And yes, I know that the Devils would be the more apt team. However, the Rangers are the bigger draw and a good ol’ NY vs. LA match are plenty entertaining. Obviously, Yankee Stadium would be the better locale, but with some greedy jerks deciding to get involved with the BCS racket for another pointless college bowl game that spot likely won’t open up. Which sucks.