Thursday, August 17, 2006
Why would the Coyotes sign Roenick and Nolan? Do they have any direction?
Who here honestly thinks Roenick and Nolan won't play up to their $1.25 million dollar contracts? Further more, why on earth would the Yotes pay $3 and $4 million for Sykora and Samsanov? They may end up with better seasons but I doubt they'll have 3x or 4x the season! Given money and length of contract, I'd much rather have Roenick and Nolan than Sykora and Samsanov.
On the outside the Yotes may seem like a confused franchise but from the inside it's a different picture. They are in the process of rebuilding but rather than completely tanking it and icing a bunch of AHL players, they are trying to stay competitive. As a fan I appreciate the approach and would rather watch them have a shot at the playoffs (where anything can happen) then just play for a lottery pick. It'd be one thing if they were mortgaging their future in the process but they are not. They are building a solid farm that over the next couple of years should finally start to produce!
btw...I'd also like to point out that if Roenick and/or Nolan have comeback years, think of what they'd be worth at the trade deadline with their cheap 1 year contracts? If the Yotes don't look strong enough to make the playoffs, they can dump those two for some picks and just keep stocking the farm. It certainly seems like a worthwhile strategy to me.
Yes Jovo is overpayed based on the past couple of years and I still have no idea why they basically gave Johnson away for free but the bottom line is the Yotes do have a vision, plan, direction or whatever you'd like to call it. It's just going to take a few years before it can come to fruition, so in the meantime they are doing their best to ice a decent team for the fans. I don't think you can ask for anything more!
On the outside the Yotes may seem like a confused franchise but from the inside it's a different picture. They are in the process of rebuilding but rather than completely tanking it and icing a bunch of AHL players, they are trying to stay competitive. As a fan I appreciate the approach and would rather watch them have a shot at the playoffs (where anything can happen) then just play for a lottery pick. It'd be one thing if they were mortgaging their future in the process but they are not. They are building a solid farm that over the next couple of years should finally start to produce!
btw...I'd also like to point out that if Roenick and/or Nolan have comeback years, think of what they'd be worth at the trade deadline with their cheap 1 year contracts? If the Yotes don't look strong enough to make the playoffs, they can dump those two for some picks and just keep stocking the farm. It certainly seems like a worthwhile strategy to me.
Yes Jovo is overpayed based on the past couple of years and I still have no idea why they basically gave Johnson away for free but the bottom line is the Yotes do have a vision, plan, direction or whatever you'd like to call it. It's just going to take a few years before it can come to fruition, so in the meantime they are doing their best to ice a decent team for the fans. I don't think you can ask for anything more!
Friday, August 04, 2006
More skill, Crosby or Ovechkin? Who has the better career? Who makes a better captain NEXT year?
When it comes down to skill, who is better - Crosby or Ovechkin?
This is tough to answer since they both have very different games. Crosby is definitely the better playmaker and has the better on ice vision. Ovechkin is the better pure goal scorer and has much more physical presence. Both are absolutely dominating phenoms! Basically Crosby is a great passer and good shooter, Ovechkin is a great shooter and good passer. At this point they are a tie.
Who will grow up to be the better star player?
While Ovechkin is one of my favorite players, I'd have to give Crosby the nod here. To do what he did last year as an 18 year old is nothing short of amazing. I do expect him to be a generational player like a Gretzky or Lemieux where as Ovy will probably be like a Jagr only more physical.
Who would you rather have as the captain next year?
This one is easy, hands down it would be Ovechkin. Much better attitude at this point (not harping on Sid the Kid, he just needs to mature), strong and inspiring personality and a true passion for the game. Ovy is way ahead of Crosby in terms of the C at this point in his career!
This is tough to answer since they both have very different games. Crosby is definitely the better playmaker and has the better on ice vision. Ovechkin is the better pure goal scorer and has much more physical presence. Both are absolutely dominating phenoms! Basically Crosby is a great passer and good shooter, Ovechkin is a great shooter and good passer. At this point they are a tie.
Who will grow up to be the better star player?
While Ovechkin is one of my favorite players, I'd have to give Crosby the nod here. To do what he did last year as an 18 year old is nothing short of amazing. I do expect him to be a generational player like a Gretzky or Lemieux where as Ovy will probably be like a Jagr only more physical.
Who would you rather have as the captain next year?
This one is easy, hands down it would be Ovechkin. Much better attitude at this point (not harping on Sid the Kid, he just needs to mature), strong and inspiring personality and a true passion for the game. Ovy is way ahead of Crosby in terms of the C at this point in his career!
Fighting in the NHL
Why is Fighting allowed and encouraged in Hockey, while in other Major sports fighting is frowned upon?
"In other sports, you fight, you are done for the rest of the game. In Hockey, you get a few minutes in a box, then are allowed to return to the ice and continue your assualt, on the other player."
My Response:
Fighting has always been part of hockey. Basically the philosophy in hockey is that players police themselves. So essentially when you have one player going around taking cheap shots or acting like an a$$, they are gonna have to answer to a teams enforcer. Players like Terrel Owens, Roger Clemens and well most of the NBA don't really exist in hockey (the closest might be Sean Avery) because when you act in the manner they do, you're gonna have to back it up. It's an old school mentality that I personally appreciate. I have no respect for the prima donna stars who constantly run their mouth (regardless of the sport) or play cheap. They don't know the meaning of honor or sportsmanship!!!
Fighting is allowed but absolutely NOT encouraged. For anyone to say different would be a sure sign of ignorance which judging by some of the answers so far there is plenty of that to go around. Fighting is very much regulated. It is a part of the sport and thus has rules that govern it. When you see a fight in baseball it's an out of control bench brawl. You never see clearing of the benches in hockey. In fact if you leave the bench it's an automatic ejection and likely suspension even if you didn't throw a single punch. Hockey is mono e mono, each man stands up for his own actions, they don't hide behind the flurry of kicks and haymakers of an entire team.
As for your "few minutes in the box and then are allowed to return to the ice and continue your assault" comment, you obviously don't even watch hockey. Rarely does a player ever fight twice, %90 of the time when it's over, it's over. If you instigate again you may be rejected regardless of reason and you'll most certainly put your team down a man which could cost the game.
As for those who like to minimize the game...duh...you can do that with any sport!! Who wants to watch someone take a pointy oval shaped pigskin across a 100yds of grass each Sunday? Who wants to watch someone try to hit a leather ball with a stick over a fence? What's so entertaining about hitting a small dimpled ball with a crooked stick while wearing plad pants? If you want to make any sport sound stupid it's not a difficult task!!!
Look for those of you who don't like hockey, that is fine but please don't go around spreading ignorant views on a topic you obviously know nothing about!
