Tomorrow, the NHL goes crazysauce

So, tomorrow is the open of NHL Free Agency. There will probably be 100 roster moves tomorrow alone. That's crazysauce, right?
I'm wondering why it's not like this in other sports? Why does it take an entire offseason for players to sign and move teams? I bet within an hour, there will be 20 players signed to ostentatious new contracts. Too bad the NBA Lockout has to start on the same day, otherwise you would hear all about where Brad Richards  will end up.
Wait. Brad Richards is the top of the class this year? Psh, Lame. And on the "All free agent team" by TSN has Anttie Miettinen on the 2nd line? Holy awful.
As you were...

My favorite image of the year

No matter what the season, I always love it when you get to watch the Stanley Cup champions hoist their prize, the Stanley Cup. Something about those iconic trophies, from the Stanley Cup to the World Cup that are just amazing, touching, to see a team celebrate with.





So, how about for Vancouver's sake, we hink about what happened only on the ice, and not outside of the arena.

I wish Minnesota had a hockey team...

The Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens played a 2OT thriller in Boston today. IT was some of the best hockey I've seen in a while, not the least of which were the two plays seen in the video from NHL.com

My new favorite to win the Cup is Boston, especially if Tim Thomas keeps playing like he did tonight. Hockey is great.

The key to everything in the NHL

I mentioned in the Links that the NHL has signed a new TV contract with NBC and Versus for the next 10 years. In the Toronto Globe and Mail's article on the subject was this line:

The anticipated loss of one or two U.S. franchises to Canada does not appear to have been an impediment to the new contract. Phoenix and Atlanta, both thought to be targets for Canadian relocation, are both in the top 12 American media markets. 

Aha. Now it becomes crystal clear. Gary Bettman has been extraordinarily reluctant to even suggest that one of those Sun Belt teams that is so frequently derided for their lack of fans could be moved north, and people generally couldn't quite wrap their head around why. But just like the Big Ten wants to expand into New York, and everyone wants to expand into Texas, it's about media markets. The more giant cities the NHL was in, the better chance for more money out of an American TV contract. The Canadian contract wouldn't gain much value with an additional team, because hockey would be watched their regardless.
Now that the teams in Phoenix and Atlanta (for example) have survived this long for the benefit of the league, the owners of those teams will no longer be left to twist in the wind. Finally, low revenue teams are going to be allowed to head back to Canada where they belong.

Roster management ON SPEED

Today is the NHL trade deadline, which is at 2pm CT. I absolutely adore the trade deadline in the NHL. The other notable deadline, the MLB deadline is so often an exercise in futility, where the day's excitement is either sapped by deals coming a couple days before the deadline, or it never manifests period and it's all talk. Frustrating.
Not the NHL. Every year, they say that they think it's going to be a quiet deadline in the NHL, and every year, there are about 50 players moved. The mentality in the NHL through the season is that lines can get stale and need to be shaken up. This is the last chance for teams to shake things up and they take advantage in spades.
Except Minnesota. Doug Risebrough was the worst. He never bought when they needed to buy and they never sold when they needed to sell. I'm still pissed about Gaborik. Last year, at least Chuck Fletcher, the Chuckster, as it were, went ahead and traded Eric Belanger for a draft pick, so he at least pays attention.
Still, with 150 minutes to go, there is a depressingly low number of deals so far, for all teams. Only 2! Come on!

NHL Favorite Team Relationship Status: It's Complicated

There is only 1 sport where I actually switched my favorite team. I was born a White Sox fan. I starting liking the 49ers when they won the Super Bowl on my 2nd birthday. The Bulls won all 6 of their titles when I was between the ages of 8 and 15 (pretty impressionable), and until I decided to go to school at Purdue, I watched college sports for the fun of watching, knowing that I would figure out my favorite team as soon as I chose my college. So what's that 1 sport where I actually switched? Hockey.

Just like the Bulls, the Blackhawks rose up to be one of the top teams in the NHL right in my impressionable age wheelhouse, from about 1988-1993. They had a solid team that was fun to watch, led by guys like Jeremy Roenick, Chris Chelios, Stever Larmer, Michel Goulet, and later in their run, Tony Amonte and Gary Suter too. At Goalie, the President's trophy winning 90-91 team and the Stanley Cup finalist 91-92 team had one of the best goalies of the era, Ed Belfour. It was a great time to be a Blackhawks fan, even if they were overshadowed by the Bulls during that time.

Then, late owner "Dollar" Bill Wirtz as he was called in the Chicago papers decided he needed to pinch some pennies and made some terrible decisions. The dismantling started in about 1994, when some of the other strong contributors of the previous years' teams started to disappear. At least they had Jeremy Roenick and Ed Belfour to rebuild around right? Wrong. Roenick was traded to Phoenix just before the '96-'97 season and Belfour was traded to San Jose halfway through the '96-'97 season. Instead of rebuilding, over that time period, the Blackhawks made a lot of other questionable moves, like overpaying washed up guys and mixing them with super young guys that never seemed to pan out or were immediately sent away to another team as soon as they showed promise.

In the mean time, because I was such a fan of Roenick with the Blackhawks, I started rooting for the Coyotes too, who were just starting out in Phoenix in 1996. I liked the novelty of a team in a super hot place, their crazy uniforms, and the fact that they had a pretty solid team where the top 2 scorers were both American (Roenick and Keith Tkachuk). In the mean time, the Wirtz family was ruining the Blackhawks, and they went on a run of only 1 playoff appearance in 10 years, not to anyone's surprise. After a year or two, the Coyotes were elevated to my favorite team, almost because I didn't want the Blackhawks' plans on how to run their team to succeed.

So then I went to college. In Indiana. I basically stopped caring about hockey. After college, I lived in Hockeytown USA for a year right after the season was canceled, so I didn't follow hockey then either, and then I moved back to Indiana, where no one cares. So then I moved out to Phoenix in 2008, home of my bankrupt favorite team from what felt like a lifetime ago (even though it was only about 7 years). I was sure they were going to move away, so I didn't want to get involved with them again. I even wrote a guest post about it on Barry Melrose Rocks last year after I won their NCAA tournament pool.

So my "It's Complicated" situation started about a year ago, when I realized that the Blackhawks were actually being run seemingly well and went deep in the playoffs. I actually watched some games and found myself rooting for them again...a team I loved as a little kid but haven't rooted for in 12 years. I figured with the Coyotes moving, it would be easy to be a casual Blackhawks fan again living in a town with no hockey team. Instead, the Coyotes stayed in Phoenix and put together an incredible '09-'10 season. I even watched a few of their regular season games this year, the first time I've done that with any NHL team in almost 10 years.

When this first round of the playoffs rolled around, I noticed I was more interested in watching the Coyotes than the Blackhawks, maybe because they are local and some people occasionally actually talk about them now, or maybe its because I never really "quit" the Coyotes as my favorite team like I did the Blackhawks...I just don't know. So I think that settles it. It may only be because I live in Phoenix, but the Coyotes are my favorite NHL team and I will accept the Blackhawks back as my #2 for nostalgia sake.

Even though the Blackhawks could possibly pull what they did 15 years ago and let me down again, I think this new found love for the Coyotes is even more dangerous. They still haven't won a playoff series since 1987. They still could potentially move away. They could go back to being awful again next year because no one can seem to figure out even why they were good this year. But hey, maybe the owner of my favorite MLB and NBA teams, Jerry Reinsdorf, will buy them and become the first owner to win a title in 3 sports, and I can say I was there with them from the beginning, when the team moved to Phoenix from Winnipeg in 1996.

So since the Coyotes are gone from the playoffs this year, Go Blackhawks, but if they ever meet in the playoffs, I'm going to take the risk and root for the Coyotes. Sorry Blackhawks, you're the crazy ex-girlfriend, but we can still be friends.

A Birthday Visit from JR

Hey Ryan, it's your old buddy Jeremy Roenick here. A little birdie told me it was your birthday today. I want it to be a good one, so I have some ideas on how to celebrate like a champion. For example, here's what I did on my birthday last year:




First, I kicked the hot Swedish chicks out of bed. They're nice, but they can get clingy at times. Then I wiped the eyeliner and mascara off my face (to this day I don't know what happened that night, but I'm sure it was pretty wild.) After a big-ass breakfast, I called up Joe Thornton. He won't admit it, but Big Joe misses JR Time a LOT. Then I called up Daniel Carcillo, but he hung up on me. What a jerk. 


After the calls, I played a little NHL94 and made Gretzky's head bleed, because that's always fun. And "Swingers" was such a great movie. Oh well. I went on the patio, grilled some steaks and drank a lot of beer (but since you're from Minnesota, you may want to skip this step, since I think you would burst into flames upon contact with the sun.) 


It gets a bit fuzzy after that, but I know the Swedish girls came back and we had a golf cart. Then there was an awful lot of tequila...you know, screw it. Here are some tits to look at:

Happy Birthday! Your buddy, JR. P.S.: Say hi to your mom for me.

Oh, Brother, Where Art Thou?

Saku Koivu & Mikko Koivu

Many female Wild fans were saddened to learn that Saku Koivu signed a contract with the Anaheim Ducks. I’m sure many of the male fans are saddened, too, but females will mention the fact that besides being an incredible hockey player, Saku is incredibly hot.*

*I'm making Ryan reconsider his idea of having a female presence on his site, one sentence at a time! I should clarify here that I don’t watch sports for cute guys. I’ve had favorite players who were not attractive. However, I will admit that I consider attractiveness of some players as an added bonus.

Wild fans were looking forward to Saku Koivu joining the team not only because he is a great hockey player with a well-established career, but he’s also the big brother of the Wild’s oft-Captain (and guy with the best name in professional sports), Mikko Koivu. The boys are nine years apart in age, and haven’t had many opportunities to play with each other, and only limited opportunities against each other. Having brothers, I know I’d have a hard time playing against them. I’m competitive enough that I want to win. But I’m sympathetic enough that I wouldn’t want my brothers to lose. A bit of a dilemma, really.

Yet, Saku Koivu chose to take a smaller contract from Anaheim. It seems crazy, since he’s getting older, so the risks of injury being career-ending are greater. He’s not playing with his brother. Moving from the western conference to the eastern conference means he’ll face off against his brother more often. Thinking about the ramifications, though, it makes perfect sense. And Saku thought about it:

“I kind of felt that Minnesota’s Mikko’s place at this point. I wanted him to have his own privacy in a way and make his own name and career. And I just felt there were too many risks for us as brothers and as family members to join on the same team and kind of compete for the same ice time.

“I think Mikko was really excited about the possibility for us playing on the same team and I can’t deny, if you really think about the possibilities and only the positive side, it would have been a pretty exciting thing. But I looked at it in, I guess, a more negative way and I was thinking, ‘what if this happens or what if things won’t work out?’ And right now, we have such a great relationship and I was too afraid to challenge that. You never know what is going to happen. For me, this was a safer option and I felt myself, I felt more comfortable.

“When I spoke to Mikko today, he understood totally. I guess I looked at things as more of an older brother and I wanted to protect him in a way and I felt there were too many risks for me to sign there.”

The risks of playing together included the fact that the Wild have become Mikko’s team. Even though Marian Gaborik was the longest-established player on the team, and even if he had been healthy all year (ha!), it still would’ve been Mikko’s team. From reports, both Brothers Koivu are natural leaders. Things easily could’ve come to a head as the Elder had to submit to the Younger—and perhaps the Younger would have a hard time not acquiescing to the Elder.

But the real issue is what would happen if Saku had a bad year. Presumably, Mikko would be Captain at some point (and if the captaincy isn’t rotating with the loss of Jacques Lemaire, Mikko is a strong candidate to be named Captain). How would the younger brother deal with his leadership role with his older brother struggling (and even vice versa would be a bit of a struggle).

So, while it’s sad that Saku Koivu won’t be playing with his brother in Minnesota, it makes perfect sense. Plus, now his kids are close to DisneyLand. I wonder if he would consider that a good thing, or if he’ll rue that decision.

A Farewell to Injuries

I had a tendency to refer to former Minnesota Wild wing Marian Gaborik in uncomplimentary terms often enough (the word “Delicate” was often used). The guy simply didn’t stay healthy. I have pretty poor health (nothing serious, fortunately), but at least I can show up for work almost every day. Sure, my co-workers hate to listen to me coughing, but if I stayed home every time I got a cough, I’d miss about two months every year. My job doesn’t require me to be healthy, unlike someone in the entertainment industry, like a singer, actor, or athlete. They need to be healthy to perform. If they’re not healthy, they tend to fade away.

That being said, Marian Gaborik was one of my favorite hockey players to watch when he was healthy. The boy has amazing talents on the ice. He’s exciting to watch, because he can do things that seem impossible—and make them seem effortless. Every good athlete does this, sure. The first Wild game I attended, and the third hockey game I’d attended in my life, Marian Gaborik got a hat trick. I didn’t know much about hockey, but I knew what a hat trick was, and I knew how rare and special they were. It made the game that much more exciting. (I later learned it was the first ever hat trick by a Minnesota Wild player, too!) Things like that make a player a special memory.

And that’s all Marian Gaborik will become. He has now signed a 5-year contract with the New York Rangers. (Really, Gaby, couldn’t you sign with the Islanders, so I could watch you and my former favorite Gopher, Kyle Okposo?!) While I adore Mikko Koivu, has been healthy (Mattias Ohlund breaking his leg excepting), it’s hard to forget your first favorite player. The guy who made the game special to you by making your first game special.

I wish him well, but I shall always be sad that I don’t get to see him regularly. Of course, with his injuries, it’s not like I ever did.

A Game 7 Looms...

Pittsburgh. Detroit. Joe Louis Arena. Stanley Cup Finals. Game 7. How could you not watch? Grab a cold Labatt Blue or Molson Canadian (or if you are a diehard of these 2 teams, a Stroh's or Iron City) and plop down in front of your TV on Friday night at 5 PM Pacific (7 PM for you Minnesotans) and watch the fireworks.

Buy or sell. Don’t just sit still.

It was the NHL trade deadline yesterday and Ryan already wrote about this in brief last night, but I already had this half-written, so pretend this is new. The Minnesota Wild made no changes to their team.

There is such a thing as doing nothing because it's better than doing the wrong thing (trading good prospects/players for mediocre players is worse than just keeping the bad players), just like there's addition through subtraction (getting rid of a player who is hurting the team and getting nothing in return).

At any trade deadline, I'm usually reasonable when no trades are made by Minnesota teams (because there almost never are). However, this year that didn't apply to the Wild. Their one star player--who's never played a full year healthy, although he came close last year, and isn't ready to return from his surgery this year--is an unrestricted free agent this summer. Unrestricted means that he can do whatever he wants. Restricted free agents have to bargain with their present team (the details are long; it’s similar to baseball’s arbitration). At any rate, Marian Gaborik is unrestricted. He's already implied he will not play for the Wild anymore. And he will probably play a best-case scenario of ten games the rest of this year (and it's always worse-case with him).

The Wild are in the middle of a swan dive--they’ve lost four in a row (one in overtime) and are in the middle of a long stretch of mostly games on the road, an issue nearly every team struggles with. Each game they're playing a little worse than the one before. They're on the outside looking into the playoffs, with little hope of attaining it.

From fan reports, their minor league team/prospects aren’t inspiring. There are a few guys that could be good, some that might be decent, but none that project to be great. The Wild have very few draft picks due to past trades. They've let a lot of players walk in their unrestricted year for nothing. (Baseball offers draft picks to teams whose star players leave via free agency and was offered a contract; this is not true in of unrestricted free agents in hockey.) Also note that hockey has a salary cap, so teams cannot just go out and buy all the best players.*

* People ask for baseball to have a salary cap. I don't think this is necssary, but I think baseball polices itself quite well without a salary cap. That's another topic, though.

At some point, a GM has to realize one of two things has to happen: he has to re-build, or he has to throw all his cards in. As the Wild didn't have any cards to throw in: that is, the only players they had that were tradable were the ones they needed to win. Their role-players weren't worth enough to get better players to support their stars. And none of their stars were good enough to warrant enough better supporting players in a trade. In short, there simply wasn't hope to build a winning team this year with the players they had. Unless they got the exact right GM who was just naïve or ignorant enough.

So they didn’t trade their injured, soon-to-be unrestricted free agent, star player for anything, didn’t trade any of their decent players for prospects or low draft picks, or trade a few of their decent players for a star or two. They stood still, believing somehow this team that can barely manage to score three goals in a game will be okay.

The team needed to be buyers or sellers. They couldn’t afford to stand on its own.

I’m an optimist, but I’m realistic. I just don’t see it happening.

And if you think I’m dramatic, you should hear the season ticket holders.

Timberwolves update: 18-42 (0-3 since last time, 14-27 since McHale).

Marian Gaborik Injury Status: He’s still with the Wild. And will start playing towards the middle/end of March for a few games, and then gleefully wave good-bye. If Niklas Backstrom, who just signed a four-year contract with the Wild, isn’t fuming, he’s probably drunk.

It’s also my half-birthday today! Whee!

Minnesota never does anything

The Wild are just out of the playoffs (three points, but with games in hand). They are on the cusp of losing their best player in franchise history, Marian Gaborik. Now would be the time to make a hard push for the playoffs before they enter a dreaded rebuilding period. They might not have a chance for a couple of years.
OR they could accelerate that rebuilding process and make sure they get a return for Gabby, trading him to one of the teams lobbying hard for him, like the Canadiens, for example. It would suck in the short term, but would likely pay off sooner rather than later.
If there was any team to make a trade in the NHL, if there was any team with viable reasons to be either buyers OR sellers and have an active day today, it was Minnesota. Instead, in true Minnesota fashion, Doug Risebrough and the Wild sat on their hands and made sure to be as dull and uninteresting as possible. On a day when there were 22 trades and 45 players changing teams, the Wild couldn't find it in them to do anything. Horrible.

Winter Classic

It won’t be right, but it won’t be wrong either. If you’re looking for some proper way to start off your new year, consider watching a game played at one of the most historic sports venues in the nation. I speak, of course, of Wrigley Field.

I wanted to go to Wrigley Field and watch a game today. What? It's the middle of winter? So? There will be a game played at Wrigley Field on January first, between the Chicago Blackhawks and the Detroit Red Wings. I'll watch hockey at Wrigley. I'd probably watch kids play freeze tag at Wrigley, too. It's just a beautiful stadium.

It’s a beautiful thing for sports fans in the US (and Canada, too), but I wonder how many kids on the ice today won’t really get the significance. They won’t understand the history of Wrigley and Wrigley's ivy-covered outfield. Or that football (the Bears) was played there for a year. Or of the hapless Cubs who can't even win a game of freeze tag. The captains and alternate captains of the Detroit Red Wings are all from Europe. I don’t know how much they’ve heard about Wrigley. And yet, I’m not sure that makes a difference.

It’s a fun game. Hockey was played outdoors. It’s still played outdoors by kids. It’s simply fun. It’s a real game—not an exhibition—so it counts. Just another regular season game. But it’s still a part history.

Sit back and watch.

(Someone said they should head to their nearest craft store to buy fake ivy to hang from the outfield walls. I agree.)

Oh, Brother.

Last January, I had the privilege to attend a “Wild Unplugged” event. Two members of the Minnesota Wild appeared at a local eating establishment, and fielded questions from the fans. At that event, Branko Radivojevic and Mikko Koivu (who undisputedly has the “Most fun to say” name in the NHL) took the stage. Someone asked them whom they would pick, out of anyone in the NHL, to play for the Wild. Radivojevic picked Sidney Crosby. Mikko immediately picked his big brother, a guy you may have heard of: Montreal Canadiens’ Captain Saku Koivu.

Tonight, in St. Paul, the Brothers Koivu will appear in the same NHL arena at the same time--just on different teams--when the Montreal Candiens face the Minnesota Wild. Both brothers will also wear the letter “C” on their chests, designating them as captains of their respective teams. This is the first time brothers have been captains of their respective teams since 1987, so it’s nothing to sneeze at. (This was not known until the season begin, because the Wild name a new captain every month; although Koivu the Younger is the permanent Alternate Captain for the year.) They’re brothers; they’re both excellent hockey players, and have the leadership skills to be captains of a professional team.

But the Brothers Koivu didn’t grow up playing hockey together all the time. Saku is eight and a half years older than Mikko; Mikko was 10 when his big brother was drafted, and 11 when Saku left home to start his professional career. As adults, they’ve played on the same teams in Finland, but obviously never in the NHL. They play in different divisions and under different systems but I decided to compare their first three NHL seasons (note: NHL rules have changed through the years, which could affect same stats).

Saku was 20 when he made his NHL debut, while Mikko was 22 (when Mikko was 21, the NHL was in a lockout, so it’s hard to say whether he would’ve made his debut or not). In their first three years, they played nearly an equal number of games (201 for Saku, 203 for Mikko). Saku holds the edge in most categories: goals by 14, assists by 27, points by 41 (easy math!), power-play goals by 1, power-play assists by 10, short-handed goals and assists by 3 and 1 respectively, and game-winning goals by 4. Mikko leads his big brother, through the first three years, in points by 2 (+10), and penalty minutes by 14. Saku was the better player--possibly--through the first three years. Unfortunately, I couldn’t locate stats such as “minutes played” and as in most sports, defensive stats are hard to find, usually because they’re harder to calculate.

As for their leadership, Saku was named captain in his fifth year, while Mikko was named captain in his fourth. Again, that’s not a comparable fact, because Mikko was older entering the NHL. Even more important is the timing. The Canadiens name captains for the year, where the Wild name captains by the month (it does not have to change. Reports are surfacing that Mikko will hold the captaincy of the Wild in November as well). There would be more chances for Mikko to be named Captain than for Saku.

Tonight: Brother versus Brother. More importantly, which brother will Mr. and Mrs. Koivu be rooting for in St. Paul? It should be noted that Saku was in St. Paul last night to go out to dinner with his parents. Mikko was in Dallas playing in a hockey game.

I'm bad at fantasy sports

As I alluded to yesterday, I had the big fantasy hockey draft last night. I think it went all right for the most part. I had the first pick in the draft, was all ready to go, then got distracted at the last moment and missed making my pick to start things off, much to the laughs of everyone else there.
I ended up with Alexander Ovechkin, Rick Nash and Olli Jokinen as my top three picks, as well as nabbing notables like Brian Campbell and Minnesota Wild right wing Pierre-Marc Bouchard. Not bad.
And then I drafted Marcel Hossa. He may have a good season, but it's not going to be in this country. Crap. Earl Sleek can't stop laughing at how stupid I am, I'm sure.

The pressure is on

So tonight I am entering in the live draft for my fantasy hockey league, put together by Kevin, the headmaster at BMR. It includes notable hockey blogs like Scotty Hockey, Pensblog, Off Wing Opinion, Battle of California, Carolina on Ice, and Loser Domi. So I don't get destroyed, I'm making sure to do some research before I head into battle this season. Dino Ciccarelli still plays, right? (Wish me luck)

Grammarians in the Canada

According to the TSN video summary, there is pretty big news coming from the NHL. Apparently, former Ottawa netminder has found work in the Russia. Perhaps he will clean himself up, playing in the Mytishchi, but frankly, everyone knows they have blow in the Russia too.

Video summary of the Wild's day

The Minnesota Wild got off to a fairly quick start to the free agent signing period, faster than the other Minnesota team that I'm particularly fond of when it comes to adding players, in any case. In any event, here's what they did, along with a bit of a video for each player.

First, the Wild added depth at the blueline, acquiring Marek Zidlicky from Nashville. Someone in Tennessee is going to be sad to see him go.


Next, Andrew Brunette returned to Minnesota, three years after winning the hearts of hockey fans in the state by guiding the team to the Western Conference Finals.


Not but a few moments ago, Craig Weller, formally of Minnesota-Duluth, lately of the Phoenix Coyotes was signed to replace the now departed Todd Fedoruk. His video is the most awesome.

Free Agent Frenzy

I find roster management in the NHL to be fascinating. Things aren't going well? Make a 7 player trade to shake things up. July 1st? Sign 14 players and take a look at the next season. Chemistry in this sport is crazy.
To catch you up with the Wild, the team of record here at the Times, the rights to Brian Rolston have been traded to the Lightning, and it looks as though he won't sign there. Maybe the Wings. Pavol Demitra, not finding enough other Pavols in Minnesota, is out, perhaps to Vancouver. With the cap space that clears out, the Wild are looking to make a splash, but the free agent market sort of sucks. There's Marian Hossa, who people seem to think the Wild should pursue, but in all reality, they'll probably reacquire Andrew Brunette and call it a day.
But you know what? The NHL is crazy. Anything could happen, anyone could sign anywhere. In fact, I'm skating for the Panthers tomorrow. I'm not very good, but that could net me a 1.2 million dollar contract there anyways.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

I don’t like golf. I know, I probably shouldn’t admit that here, but so be it. But let’s clarify this: I don’t hate it because I think it’s dumb or people who play it are talentless. That's not true at all. I just have no desire to play it or watch it. It’s not my sport. That being said, golfers are amazing athletes. Even the great Wayne Gretzky agrees with me: "You ever tried to golf? You better be a good athlete if you try to golf."

I’ve always thought Tiger Woods was an amazing athlete. What he’s done for the sport both through playing and publicity has been stunning. In a sport where a non-fan (such as myself) viewed the average competitor as a middle-aged white guy, Tiger Woods came in and broke the racial barrier and age barrier.

We’ve established the golfers are athletes (if you disagree, take the argument up with Gretzky). We’ve established that Tiger Woods was phenomenal. Thus, I really respected Tiger Woods.

But recently he was asked about NHL’s Stanley Cup Playoffs. Game five was an amazing game: it went into a third overtime before the game was finally won by the Penguins, who were trailing in the series, having only won one of the first four. It was a sudden death overtime that, had the Red Wings won, would’ve meant death to the Penguins. Pretty exciting. If a basketball playoff game went into three overtimes, I’d be impressed with the excitement.

Tiger said about the hockey playoffs: "I don't really care," he said with an impish smile. "It's all about the Dodgers. I don't think anyone really watches hockey anymore."

If he had left off the last statement, things are okay.* To be honest, baseball had started, the Wild were out of playoffs…I didn’t follow the Stanley Cup Championship series much--I knew the Red Wings were ahead in the series (and won), and that they were playing the Penguins. I heard about the triple overtime game. But I didn’t watch any of the games. I didn’t go off searching for articles about it. I didn’t really care--it’s all about the Twins. But there was absolutely no call for the last statement by Tiger Woods. Just because you don’t watch hockey doesn’t mean no one is. If that were true, I could say that no one watched soccer (football for the Europeans). I don’t care about it, and I don’t watch it. But even I’m smart enough to know that stadiums are filled with fans all around the world--more than any other sport, if I understand correctly.

It’s okay to joke around, but you better add addendums to your statements. “I don’t think anyone really watches hockey anymore. :short laugh: It’s been a great playoff series and a nice win for the Penguins.” If you haven’t been following it, just admit it, but don’t disregard the fans who are watching.

I know nothing about golf, but I wonder if more people paid to watch hockey (at all levels) last year than paid to watch golf (at all levels). Irrelevant. As a professional athlete, Tiger should be showing respect to other professional athletes, rather than dismissing them. You don’t hear brain surgeons saying that what heart surgeons do isn’t important. It’s professional respect.

(And this applies to fans, too. Just because Yankees fans as a whole are obnoxious is no reason that you must be obnoxious back. Moral high ground, people.)

*Or if he were a well-known hockey fan. For those in Minnesota, Twins first baseman Justin Morneau could make that statement because it’s well-known that he’s a big hockey fan. In fact, if you buy NHL 2K8, you could even pick Justin Morneau as your goalie.