Bill Simmons = Roger Bannister, and This Writer is Saying Thank You!

I got an email today (March 31, 2009).

I know what you’re saying, only one? Ok, I got a couple emails today. Now that we have got that out of the way, I got an email today from Rory Brown here at the one and only Bleacher Report.

Now Rory and I have never met, so I’d assume that many of you got the same email I did. On the other hand I did feel a little special, as my favourite website had decided to drop me a line.

I didn’t know what exactly Rory had in mind, but it turns out he asked me for an article or slideshow addressing the best and or worst of EPSN. Simple task, except one snag, I’m Canadian for crying out loud!

(Every time I see an ESPN related article around here they seem to be taking it on the chin. Maybe missing my daily dose of Stuart Scott isn’t the worst thing in the world.)

Now as far as catch phrases, top 10’s and sport center duos, I’m of no use, I live in a relatively ESPN free zone. (Except for The Herd.)

There are plenty of things about ESPN that bug me including their current Anti-NHL agenda.

(We can see what you’re doing by the way.)

You know the one that allows that them to play off the NBA like its god's gift to five on five sports.

Yeah I’m looking at you Cowherd (if you’d like to debate it, I’d be glad to call in to your show. Yes, I do listen and enjoy most of it).

But this isn’t about the negative, it’s about the positive. One in a Million of us want to be sports writers ever get to be a sports personality. One in a Million ever gets to do this for a living.

That being said I wanted to take this opportunity to thank ESPN.

The odds are long, the opportunities slim, but ESPN has given us hope. They have given us page 2, the Sports Guy, Bill Simmons.

It allowed every kid that thought he knew a little more than the next guy to have a dream. Doesn’t everybody think they know more than the next guy when it comes to sports? Doesn’t everyone deserve a dream?

Bill Simmons has been known for his edgy and non-traditional sports coverage. He is hip, he is interesting, and he is what the people wanted. But more important he was already what the people sounded like. A prefect fit to tell a generation, it’s not about whom you know, or your education.

Although I am sure his Masters in Journalism from BU doesn’t hurt.

He’s not perfect, he’s far from it, but he’s collecting a pay check to be himself. To sell sports the way he sees it. More importantly he is living our dream. Write enough, be seen enough, be interesting enough (be interesting, see Colin I do listen), and one day you could be Bill Simmons.

So what do you do with all those interesting writers following their "inner Simmons"?

You’ve got to send them somewhere. I believe Zander said it best when he said, “I'm pretty sure we knew just as much about the games we watched as the media personalities who were paid to cover them.”

Now not everyone does this to further a career, not everyone does this with aspiration of one day collecting a pay check that says, _________sports.com or the _________ Times on it. But I’d venture a guess none of us would mind.

What changed with Bill Simmons?

In an attempt to make this a sports article, it was the same thing that changed with Roger Bannister.

Now most people know Roger’s story, and if you don’t I’ll tell you. In 1954 he became the first human to run the mile in under four minutes. It was a feat previously thought impossible.

Following that in the next seven months 37 people accomplished the feet, in the next three years 300 people ran the mile in under four minutes. All that changed was it was possible.

So thanks to Bill Simmons for being the Roger Bannister of the Computer sports world.

So thanks to Zander, Bryan, and The Daves for providing the platform for aspiring writers like me to get our elbows off the bar, and our opinions to the world.

In the words of a former number one ranked writer her at the Bleacher Report Lisa Horne in her departing article. “May the Editor Gods shine their light on all of you. May all your dreams come true. May you be the next Bill Simmons, the next Rick Reilly, the next Bill Plaschke, but remember to be yourself.”

And thank you ESPN, the effects of a decision you made completely autonomous of the Bleacher Report to hire Bill Simmons have reverberated through the gifted writers and wildly creative content displayed here.

It tells the Todd Civin, Lou Capetta, Jesus Melendez, Mark Mariano, Revo Boulanger’s (those are some of my favourites, there are too many to name) of the world that maybe just maybe, they’re the Bill Simmons, maybe they're the next Lisa Horne.

For that small chance and for ESPN for providing it, I just want to say Thank You.

Bleacher Report Community, you may not return to your regularly scheduled ESPN bashing,



David Allan

Clutch vs. Choke Artist: The St. Patrick's Version

Sometime around 11:00 p.m., where ever you live, Fuglys and Cougars are going to gain an average of two to three points on the typical how hot is he or she on scale of one to ten.

I mean let’s be fair there are plenty of us that will file into a fine establishment this evening to knock back a few or few too many tasty beverages to celebrate the fact that St. Patrick drove the snakes out of Ireland. (Or at least that’s the reason I am doing it.)

I mean why else could you possibly be shuffling out of the house on a Tuesday night, only to wake up with a ringing in your head that only three Extra Strength Tylenols, Two Gatorades and a Pale of Coffee can cure?

Oh yeah, that’s right because in those three hours between 11pm and 2am we’ll see the dating equivalent of the bottom of the ninth. Most of you are going to take your chance at the plate.

I know what you’re saying; I could do this any Saturday night I want. You’re right, but all those Saturday’s are like the regular season.

They don’t count.

They are all prep work, pre-season, practice for the one that matters.

Somebody has to take the shot with the clock winding down and what I've learned in life? I believe Gene Hackman said it best in the replacements: “Winners want the Ball!”

Now what does picking up the cutie in the tight green t-shirt and jeans have to do with sports?

Well let's take a look. It is my contention that your ability to be clutch, to come through when it matters most, to shine through in this situation. I am probably never going to get to stand at the dish at Fenway Park trailing in the bottom of the ninth with the bases loaded. (When I say probably, I mean never.)



All that being said, it my assertion that the same confidence, the same self-assuredness that it takes to drive the 2-2 count off the wall for a bases-clearing double, or calm a player into drilling a game winning three, will come to the forefront tonight. It'll come right around the time you make your way through "Hi my name is (fill in the blank) or How are you this evening?"

And here is my proof.

Tom Brady, New England Patriot Quarterback, four Super Bowl Wins

Mr. Clutch in New England. The 2007 AP Athlete of the Year and 2007 NFL MVP, has the regular season touchdown record. Brady made his way into four Super Bowls where he is 3-1 and in the fourth he managed to give his team a lead with moments left on the clock.

Unfortunately. Brady can’t play on defense or the Pats may have a fourth. Now we look at what he has done in his private life since coming to the NFL.

Sure the list is short, but it’s solid: Tara Reid, the "American Pie" wild child, the Actress, Model and Stunner Bridget Moynihan is his baby mama, and he just married the highest paid model in the world, the Brazilian Bomb Shell known as Giselle Bundchen. CLUTCH!

Tiger Woods, Pro Golfer, 14 PGA Major Victories

We can agree Woods is as clutch as they come right? He’s got 14 majors, he is the four time AP Sportsman of the Year and twice dug down to extend his latest US Open win on a torn knee.

Oh and is Tiger as smooth with the ladies as he is with clutch on the golf course? It certainly looks like that is the case. He started out solidly with attorney and cutie Joanna Jagoda, But Tiger's greatest off-field achievement was that he made took a sleeper and turned her in to a goddess. This Jared Mayo-type draft pick made Elin Nordegren, with name and body to remember, Tiger once again shocked the world. CLUTCH!

Sergio Garcia, Pro Golfer, Choker

While Tiger is managing a stunner like Elin, we have Sergio Garcia dating Morgan-Leigh Norman. That’s right the guy that coughed up the 2007 British Open with a Sunday lead is dating the daughter of the guy that coughed up every major but the British Open on Sundays.

Not only is Sergio dating a Norman’s daughter, who looks like every other girl you see walking down the street, he has managed to catch a cause of the choke from her father. Sergio most certainly has not been clutch and his work with the ladies shows that despite his Spanish playboy facade that his game is weak both on and off the greens. CHOKER!

Josh Beckett, Boston Red Sox Starting Pitcher, 2003 World Series MVP


Back to clutch, lets talk Josh Beckett, you know the wonderkid that in 2003 went into Yankee Stadium and stomped out the Bronx Bombers at the tender age of 23.

In that series he started two of Florida’s 6 games, and went 1-1 with an ERA of 1.10 including a five hit, nine strikeout shut out in game six to clinch the world championship. He followed that up in 2007 with a post-season for the ages.

He went 30 innings striking out 35 while only giving up 2 walks and 19 hits. He gave up a grand total of four earned runs in four starts on his way to a 4–0 record.

In the post-season he is a lifetime 7-2 and both those loses came in 2003. Oh yeah and the Big Texan had both Danielle Peck and underwear model Leeann Tweeden on his arm. CLUTCH!

Alex Rodriguez, 3rd Baseman, Hall of Fame Choker

Which leads me to the inspiration for this article, I mean we’ve talked about all the other pluses and minuses in A-Rod’s game over the past few months. Now let’s talk about whether the dude has “game” or not.

To be fair we know he can play, but how about when it counts. I’d say no. Cynthia was the equivalent of winning three regular season MVP’s and he managed to screw that up.

Then he proved just like on the diamond, he couldn’t carry over the momentum to when it counts. He's worth $27 million a year and he couldn’t convert.

Instead he manages to pick up a Russian import in Toronto that dances at The Brass Rail and looks like she bench-presses cars in her spare time.

He then managed to match that act of futility on the field when he got only 41 hits vs. 38 strikeouts in 39 post season games. He then followed that up by dating Madonna at the age of 114 (editor's note: Madonna is 50).


Come on! She looks more like Skeletor or Tom Petty and doesn’t look anything like the Material Girl that bedded Mark Messier 20 years ago. (For the record The Moose is considered on of the great winners of all time, he managed to score a young Madonna and Captain of six Stanley Cups, two Hart’s, two Conn Smyth’s, and 295 points in 236 playoff games. The Messiah brought Broadway its first cup in 54 years.)

Derek Jeter, Shortstop, 4-Time World Series Champion, Hall of Fame Clutch

Derek Jeter is Mr. November. He's also been with his share of Ms. March, April, June and Septembers When it counts he bats .309 in 495 career trips to the plate and is wearing four World Series rings.


Oh yeah and his little black book looks like the Maxim Hot 100 list. He has been seen out with Mariah Carey, Jessica Alba, Vanessa Minnillo, Jordana Brewster, former Miss Universe Lara Dutta and Jessica Biel. CLUTCH!

All I can say is if my theory is correct. (And it’s clearly a flawless theory. I mean I did write this while in a lab with a white coat on.) Than based on my current better half, I’m a lock for an extra base hit in the bottom of the ninth on a cool October night at Fenway or a double eagle on the 18th at Pebble Beach in the US Open.

So as the evening draws near and the booze starts to flow which are you? Jeter or Arod? Tiger or Sergio? Clutch or Choke Artist? You decide.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Chess Master's Moves at the Trade Deadline

Two moves...tick, tick...still two moves. Alright, so are we better off today than we were a day ago?

I see you nodding your head yes. But this leaves me with a very interesting thought in mine. Maybe it’s me, but I think Peter Chiarelli’s move on deadline day were brilliant. I know an aging winger and a defenseman.

Remember, I am talking about the Boston Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli. You know that really smart guy that seems to make all these brilliant moves? Yeah, that guy.

I know I’ve been away from my friends here in Bruin-ville. I apologize I’ve been working on spring previews for Major League Baseball. But the equivalent of Palm Sunday on the NHL calendar had my eyes glued to the TV.

I mean this is Canada; Deadline day gets more coverage than elections, wars, and visits by heads of state combined. The lead up to the trade deadline had many a Bruins fan assessing needs and wants. I heard we don’t need anything as a common refrain.

So about a week ago I started thinking, why would this Bruins team make a move? They are deep, they are young, and can score. Then it hit me, look at the cap situation and the number of young players the Bruins have. The type of let's-win-it-right-now moves the Bruins made yesterday makes perfect sense.

Let me first say that Mark Recchi and Steve Montador make you a better team today. The Bruins are better prepared for the play-offs on Mar. 5 than they were on Mar. 3. So I have no problem with the moves from a win now stand point.

To be fair, this league has become more of a win now league than ever.



Look at the Bruins to be free agents next year and follow me to find why these moves aren't just good, but a great. A free-agent class led by Phil Kessel, David Krejci, Matt Hunwick, Tim Thomas, PJ Axelsson, Stephane Yelle, Byron Bitz, Manny Fernandez, and Shane Hnidy and after yesterdays moves add Steve Montador, Mark Recchi to the list.



Now that list isn’t up there to scare you, just put it in perspective. How do you get all those guys back under contract? Next part may frighten you a little bit, so grab something to bite down on; I promise you’ll be happy when we’re done.



In the new NHLyour window to win is tight, just ask the Pittsburgh Penguins, unless you can manage your stars and build around them a la the Detroit Red Wings. Yesterdays moves mean that the Bruins are committed to only 14 players for next season at a total cap hit of $42.5 million.



If I was to estimate that the cap will be approximately the same as it is this year. (It might be less because revenues are down, but stay with me because it will affect all teams spending proportionally so it doesn’t matter that much.)



That would set the number at about $59.5 million, giving the Bruins a free $17 million to spend to resign key players like Kessel, Krejci, Hunwick and Thomas.



Now I know what you’re saying, we didn’t really need the room because three of the four are restricted free agents.



Although that is true, there is nothing in the collective agreement that says that a GM won’t throw a ton of money the way of Kessel or Krejci for that matter, a young player that has turned himself into a point a game centre at the age of 22 and looks to be getting better. (A la the Kevin Lowe situation with Thomas Vanick and Dustin Penner a couple of years back.)



This maybe paranoia but to be fair it’s not completely out of the question to see at least one of these guys get a big deal the Bruins have to match in order to retain the youngster.



You currently have Tuukka Rask under contract for another year at $850,000 and signing Thomas to deal seems like the way to go. Then you have to ask are we ready to commit $6 million to Thomas at the age of 35?



Minnesota just put four years and $24 million into Backstrom. I think Boston is kidding itself if it things Thomaswon’t be looking for a similar deal, at least dollar-amount wise.


He is coming off back to back all-star seasons and a year where he looks primed to finish in the top three goals against and save percentage. (He’s currently ranked first in both.)


So I know on the surface yesterday’s moves look ok, but when you drill down a little deeper it is proof that the Bruins are committed to winning right now, and realize these are the kinds of sacrifices you must make in the new NHL to win for years to come.


Tick tock, click...check...your move Eastern conference.

The A's On Top Again Out West?! Looks Like

Alright so I did it. I finally broke down and tried to figure out what all the fuss was about. Boy was I surprised as my first little stats experiment. I mean I am not Dr. Frankenstein. But who is? Well, Bill James I guess.



Who is this Bill James guy and what can he tell me that I didn’t already know as it relates to building the perfect beast, or starting line up anyways.


Well, I am sure there is more to life than simple (or complicated) math, he did give me one very interesting set of stats.

We now know them as runs created. Now why does that matter? Well I’ll tell you why, because with that stat I am going to prove why the Oakland A’s are going to be your American League West Champions.

Let’s not start there though. Lets look at the reasons people are going to tell me that there is simply no way that the A’s can pulls this off.

I mean the Angels were the only team to win 100 games in 2008. The A’s on the other hand managed a measly 75 wins, one less than their counter parts in Texas. Good for 3rd in a very sad division if I do say so myself.

So where do I see the A’s making up a 25 game difference in 2009?

I feel like to compare the Oakland A’s to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (I still can’t say that five times fast.) We have to look at pitching and offense. Could we compare defense? Sure we could, but is a long and drawn out process and here is what I know. The Angels will look a lot the same, there biggest question, is can Kendry Morales give you the same solid defensive presence at first that you got from both Casey Kotchman and Mark Teixera. I don’t think he can, and if people think that a gold glove firs basemen is worth his weight in…well gold I’d say take a look at Steve Garvey. Start by searching, 193 game errorless streak, it will help.

It’s not accident that the players around Garvey were also picking up gold gloves when he was on the bag. Now in Anaheim you are asking a relative unknown to fill the place of a 2 time gold glove infielder.

The A’s on the other hand, to be honest aren’t exactly known for their ability to “go get it”. But they’ll have Travis Buck and Ryan Sweeney in an improved outfield and a perennial gold glove winner in Eric Chavez back at the hot corner after two injury plagued seasons.

Are they equal? Not by any stretch, but I think that the A’s are going to be better defensively, while the Angels are going to do well to maintain there lofty status as a good defensive team.

Let’s look at pitching for a minute. Clearly the Angels have the advantage here with names like Lackey, Weaver, Saunders, or at least that’s what you would be led to believe. But here is where my research takes an interesting turn. Running the Angels starting rotation, top 5 bullpen options and closer, vs the A’s through a formula for Fielding Independent ERA, you find out something very interesting.
For all the names the Angels have when you look at a homeruns allowed, walks, hit by pitch, strikeouts and innings pitched they are not any better than what the A’s are going to trot out there this season.

Now I did this research based on last years pitching numbers, and that being said the A’s pitchers only combined for 778 2/3 vs the 1005 logged by the Angels.

But as innings pitched is the divisor in the equation it should adjust the stats accordingly. So I am not simply interested in the fact that the A’s gave up a mere fraction or 54% of the Angels home run total while logging 77% of the innings. Although interesting the Fielding Independent ERA for both squads show us that the A’s pitching staff is better by 0.34 runs per game. Not much you say, I agree. Not much indeed, and if Kendry Morales can contribute the defense of a Mark Teixera maybe it’s even a wash when we go fielder by fielder.

Then let’s say it is, and flip to the other side of the coin. We know that Billy Beane’s obsession began with finding out how to create as many runs as possible. Beane became famous for paying for attributes which he deemed “valuable” and passing on players that had other gifts that traditionalist saw “value” in, but that Beane saw as irrelevant. He also says how these irrelevant skills drove the price of a player up. He wasn’t looking for five tool players. He was looking for players with one tool, and the less of the other ones they had the better. It allowed him to compete for less.




Well he has done it again. Billy Beane is looking at a number of things but at the end of the day, he’s looking at Runs Created. We can debate whether it works or not all day, but the fact of the matter is, his teams have made five playoff appearances since 2000.

More importantly what do the numbers of this years team say? Well it says the A’s will score 816 runs or about 170 more than a year ago. That 816 would’ve been the 5th highest in the major leagues last year. What about the Angels? Glad you asked, their Total runs created is 738. Or about 25 less runs than a year ago. Kind of looks like the loss of production of an All-star first basemen to me. People can talk about adding Abreu, but you also must factor in for the loss of a very productive Garrett Anderson.

I will preface that the above numbers are based on players 162 game major league averages, so it does not account for the decline of certain players like Abreu, Vladdy, or Giambi, or the increase in productivity from the likes of a Napoli or Matt Holliday over there averages so far.

But if distribution is equal, by my estimates anyways, the A’s are ripe to take back the West, and pull off what many would consider a huge upset.

You heard it here first….

Extra Extra Yankees Tied Directly to Economic Fallout (Irony, Satire, please don't take seriously)

It’s a recession.

The Yankees haven’t won a World Series in nine years. I mean, if that isn’t a recession, I don’t know what is.

Stay with me for a minute. I know the problems of the economy are very real. I understand there is no joke about people losing their homes or there jobs. But sports are our escape from all of that, aren't they?



But then I got to thinking, then I got to reading. That’s right, despite what you may think, I can read, and occasionally I do think before opening my mouth. I often don't do both, so this is special.

Quick background, the Dow Jones Industrial Average opened on May 26, 1896 with a score of 40.94.



From there it took until 1972 to hit 1000 points. But the scores I am interested in, follow the strike in 1994. So, just previous to the 1995 season, Feb. 23, 1995 to be exact, the DJI hit 4000.

It was in 1995 that the Yankees began a spending spree that, by 2007, had accounted for over $1.6 billion in pay roll. But let’s break it down shall we.

Find TicketsPowered by FanSnap.comThe index began its unprecedented climb. In the first four years, the New York Payroll was No. 1 in the majors only twice, but it did jump from $47 million to $63 million according to USA Today.

So what does that have to do with anything? I mean, tell us something you we didn’t know? Oh, how about the fact that, while the Yankees were on this run of consecutive post seasons the Dow Jones Industrial also pushed its way into uncharted territory.

The Yankees 13 straight playoff appearances are second all-time only to the Braves. But in the grand scheme of things, the Yankees appear to affect or mirror the economy. Atlanta, although a nice city, doesn’t have the same influence over the economy as Wall Street.

So, as the Yank’s were slam-dunking four rings, 13 straight playoff appearances, and repeatedly cracking the $200 million mark, Wall St. was climbing, and climbing. All the way up to 14,100 points it went.



So as Jeter and co. were setting Yankee records, the DJI was setting financial records. Why does this matter?

Well I just find it intriguing that the years the Yankees streak stopped are also the years the Dow Jones and the economy went in the tank.

Follow me from 1995 to 2000 when the Yankees rattled off four World Series Titles, the industrial average jumped from 4,000 to 11,700. Pretty unreal if you ask me, a 7,700 point jump is unprecedented—between 2000 and 2004 it barely moved. You think that has anything to do with the economy knowing the Bronx Bombers were about to cough up a 3-0 lead? I think so. Although continuing to make the playoffs, the Industrial was not as robust as in its growth.

Then the Yankees did the unthinkable, they missed the playoffs, and in that same year the average collapsed. Not only did it collapse, but it went into a free fall around Oct. 1. The same Oct. 1 that saw Jeter, Jorge, and Petite clean out their locker early in pin stripes for the first time.

Now this all looks a little suspicious with the Industrial Average at about 7,800 after the collapse of 2008.

The government was scrambling and they dreamt up a bailout package, as did Cashman and the Steinbrenners. So far the US government has spent approximately $1.5 trillion on a bailout since October. While the Yankees, in their version of a bailout package, have dedicated approximately a $.5 billion to contracts for C.C., AJ, and Tex to keep themselves “a float.”

This conspiracy may be bigger than steroids, greenies, HGH, Pete Rose, and the Black Sox Scandal all together.

But then again, there are no such things as conspiracies right?

Boston Bruins' Future Looks as Bright as the Past

It’s funny you know, how history repeats itself.

I was just listening to the local Toronto alternative rock station and they had an interview with Justin Pogge.

You know, the same Justin Pogge the Leafs decided to keep.

You know, the reason that we Bruins fans are now so excited about Tuukka Rask and not Justin Pogge. (Boston requested either/or in the Andrew Raycroft trade.)

I only mention this because one of the on air personalities referred to how skinny Pogge was, at 6'3" and 190 pounds. His counterpart more directly said, “Yeah we’ve got to get you on that Tim Thomas diet.”

Now normally this banter would’ve only mildly amused, but Pogge's response started a snowball of thoughts in my head that I just had to get out. His answer, “Yeah, that guy is like a Ninja Turtle.”

Now first, what the heck does an off-the-cuff comedic statement about a 22-year old AHL goalie and a Saturday morning kids cartoon that ran from 1986 through 1996 have to do with the Bruins starting netminder? Other than the obvious parallels like when Thomas spins on his back, I could occasionally mistake him for Michelangelo?

Well, I got to thinking—I know, a dangerous process in and of itself.

Let’s start here: How good were those Bruins teams from ’86 to ’96?

Well in the '86-87 season Bruins lost in the first round of the playoffs. Not surprising as we tend to do that a lot. But the following year we marched all the way to the Finals.

That run to the Finals started a series of the most beloved and heart breaking Bruins teams in memory. We against lost in the Finals in 1990. We managed heart breaking loses in the conference finals in 1989, 1991 and 1992. Every year from 1986 to 1996 we made the playoffs, and on six separate occasions managed to go more than one round.

So what am I saying? Bring back the Ninja Turtles? Well they did, in 2003 and are currently working on there seventh season, so that’s not the answer.

But let’s look at Tim Thomas and throw him into the “which NHL player does he remind you of” machine? Could it be the dough-shaped Andy Moog? Let me explain.

Moog wasn’t pretty, he just won. He split starts for most of career, he was too short, too fat, and at the end of the day for all the complaints he was a winner. He was a starting goalie in the NHL and lost his job to the flashy first-round pick Grant Fuhr.

Although not quite the journeyman that Thomas was, Moog was in Edmonton for three Stanley Cups. In those three years he played, 38, 39 and 46 games. He put together a record of 77-28-7 over that span.

Over 47 games in the 1985-1986 season, he was 27-9-7. So in those four years, his winning percentage was 0.675, and by 1987-1988 he found himself on the Canadian National Team. He played 31 games, then headed back to the NHL to split starts with Reggie Lemelin.

Is this the same story as Tim Thomas’ journey through Europe, the AHL, IHL and ECHL? No, but I hope you are getting some of the parallels of disrespect.

Has Thomas carried us to the Promised Land yet? Unfortunately not, but under the steerage of Moog we saw three conference finals, and two Cup finals. Thomas sure looks like he has that kind performance in him.

Lets again get in the way back machine for a minute. Wasn’t our first line during those years a tough, rugged goal scorer and a savvy, play-making center? We’ve all heard the Lucic and Cam Neely comparisons. But what about Marc Savard and his doppelganger—his ghost from the past, if you will?

It doesn’t take too long to look into those teams and find one of the greatest assist men of all time. I present to you Adam Oates—1420 career points, 1079 of them assists. Before Oates it was Craig Janney having 100-plus-point seasons feeding the puck on to the tape of the goal scoring monster.

If this is true, then Chara must be Raymond Bourque, a power-play quarterback that longs an inhuman amount of minutes every night. Again, do they play exactly the same way? No, but both today’s Norris Candidate and the multiple Norris winner of yesteryear (all 5 were won between the years 1986 and 1996) do fill the same need for a stud anchoring the blue.

It’s also strikingly similar the balance of talent behind the big men. Hagwood, Wesley, and Galley managed to put in 38, 36, 35 points respectively from the back end. This year's version boasts Wideman, Hunwick, and—although hurt for most of the season so far—Andrew Ference supplying secondary firepower from the back end.

Then again, how far is Shawn Thornton from being Lyndon Byers?

So what am I saying? Well guys, what I am saying is just like Turtle soup, there is a recipe for success, and I think that Chef Chiarelli has put the right ingredients in the pot.

Now let's see if they can cook up something worthy of being served from Lord Stanley’s Mug.

That would be pretty radical, if I do say so myself!

I Want The Truth! But Can We Handle the Truth?

Usually I’d take as much joy and pleasure as anyone in watching the dismantling of that smug look off of A-Rod’s face. Unfortunately for me today there lies out there a bigger question. Why is it just A-Rod taking the fall and is what he did so bad in the grand scheme of things? I mean the lying to cover it up is, but let’s just talk about the steroid issue.

A-Rod is taking a lot of heat, but he’s not alone. There are 104 names on that list. I want to know who they are. They all submitted samples that were to be used to determine how deeply the problem of steroids in baseball went. It wasn’t supposed to be for disciplinary reasons. Well considering how hard Alex is about to be /is currently being judged in the court of public opinion I want answers, not just from Alex, from the other 103 as well.

Since my faith that we could see the home run record be broken by someone not on drugs has ultimately been shattered, I’ve got to know. I’ve got to know if Albert Pujols is on that list. I’ve got to know if Ken Griffey Jr. ever tested positive. I want to see if I need to start turning a blind eye to the accomplishments of Manny Ramirez. Or at least reconsider how I frame him in the all time discussion, good or bad.

I can no longer sit back and defend the players I love based on the fact that I love them. I hated A-Rod the Yankee; I hated him because he was better than any player I had ever seen. I hated him for all the right reasons. He plays for the Yankees and he was unbelievably talented. But if you thought for one second I wasn’t going stand up and applaud when he broke the homerun record your fooling yourself. I sat in my chair one night and discussed with a friend of mine whether we thought Alex could get to 800 homeruns or not.

That’s right 800 pause and think about it for a minute. As it sits today Alex is at 553 homeruns. Oh and he is only 32 years old. So now the joy of both him surpassing a tainted 762 and the day of possibly hitting number 800 should be thrown into question. Then I started to wonder, who was “clean” and do I care?

Cause with the drugs Alex was better than anyone I’d ever seen. Then again isn’t that the case to be made for the previous record holder too? I mean we all know the case against Barry, lets talk Hank, let us just see how deep the rabbit hole goes.

But what’s makes the record legitimately Aaron’s? I mean didn’t he partake in performance enhancing drugs. On page 268 of his on his own autobiography, “I had the Hammer: The Hank Aaron Story” he admits to trying Greenies.

“The 500thhome run came against Mike McCormick of the Giants, which meant that Willie Mays was on the field at the time. Willie elected not to have his picture taken with me that day, saying it wasn’t appropriate for him to fraternize with a player whose team had just beaten the Giants. For years Willie had been king and I’m sure that he wasn’t crazy about me elbowing into his territory. Most fans and critics still considered Willie to be a better player than me. It seems like the only ones who took up my cause were my team mates. Guys like Uecker and Boyer used to argue with the visiting writers who didn’t think I belonged in the class with Mays. It made me feel a little awkward to sit by my locker and hear them going on like that, but don’t think I didn’t appreciate it. [new paragraph begins] Actually, the 1968 season wasn’t the best time to present my case. It was the first time since my rookie year that I didn’t drive in or score 100 runs. I was so frustrated that at one point I tried using a pep pill—a greenie—that one of my teammates gave me. When that thing took hold, I thought I was having a heart attack. It was a stupid thing to do…”



Now why in the world would I drag that up you ask? Well that goes hand in with some interesting information printed by Dr. Bennett Foddy, PH D. and holder of the Harold T. Shapiro Fellowship in Bioethics at Princeton University’s Center for Human Values. He makes a very compelling case for why Greenies would have been performance enhancing drugs.

“What this example shows is that baseball is a sport in which the usual set of performance enhancements is ill-suited to enhancing player’s number. The core skills of baseball- pitching, catching and hitting – are not best enhanced by drugs that make a player stronger or faster. The strongest player can still miss the ball or hit it straight up in the air.
In fact baseball – like golf, cricket, or archery – is a quintessentially brain-centered sport. The most important weapons any player has are in his brain: the speed of his reflexes, his spatial processing, his vision and his fine tuned muscle memory. In the case of baseball, only the ball needs to go faster, higher and longer.” Pg. 77-78, Your Brain on Cubs.

Then later on Foddy sites specific examples of the effects of amphetamines specifically on baseball players.

“Amphetamines produce little or no enhancement in reaction time but significantly reduce the effect of fatigue on a person’s ability to track a moving object such as a ball. Dextroamphetamine, an amphetamine variant this is popular as a recreational drug, improves decision-making and reduces impulsivity in healthy human beings, which would be an effective enhancement for batters that tended to swing at balls outside of the strike zone.” Pg. 79 Your Brain on Cubs.

So what if Hammerin’ Hank was getting better pitches to hit, not because of keen eye, but because he was drug enhanced? Is 755 really a legitimate number? Is that really the record?

This is just another witch hunt through the grand old game, if we are going to continue with this non-sense. I am sick of half truths and half information. We’ve all seen the game soiled enough. Can we just flush out all the non-sense so I don’t have to endure another Jose Canseco book?

I want to truth, Bud, WE CAN HANDLE THE TRUTH!! The game needs it, and its fan I need it, cause to be honest, I want to say I am comfortable with them all being cheaters, but I’m not.

***special thanks for Bennett Foddy for the quotes from Dan Gordon’s, “Your Brain on Cubs.”