Nothing brought in the new year better than a pond hockey game in a snowy Great Lakes city. Buffalo, forever linked to those early 90's Bills playoff games where the temps were low and the turf was covered in snow. Fans still coming out in droves, some in the skimpiest of attire (the men usually).
But the great sight last New Year's was seeing Ralph Wilson stadium packed with excited hockey fans. Who couldn't have been excited, not only was Sid the Kid coming to town but so was NBC and the whole hockey establishment. The Winter Classic was the NHL's opportunity to reintroduce itself as being different but most importantly a fun, exciting sport again. Though there was little scoring, the feel and the players made up for it. The ending, a shootout goal by Crosby, sealed the deal for the league. No better way than to have the games biggest star score the first game winner of 2008.
Now the NHL has done something smart and are trying to replicate it. Wrigley Field will host the second Winter Classic. The Blackhwaks will host the Detroit Red Wings, a match up of divisional rivals, both of which are tops in the league.
Chicago is trying to rebuild it reputation in the league as a force of youth. Patrick Kane and Jon Toews are the stars of tomorrow.
Detroit is the defending champs led by a veteran core of Lidstrom, Datsyuk and Osgood. These guys are the steady contenders.
Either way it is great to see an Original Six match up. Outdoor games being played in great hockey cities. Obviously it won't be long before we see Toronto-Montreal or Calgary-Edmonton, but those are difficult to draw an American audiance in.
The fact remains these games are great for hockey and great for television. It happens once a year on a holiday with the possibility of a great viewing crowd. Let's keep up the good work NHL, it's been a hell of a comeback.
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Friday, December 26, 2008
Yankee Fans: I cannot feel your pain... ever!
After Marky Mark went from sunny California to the Big Apple where every at bat and every trip to the barber shop is examined, the Yankees proved once again that the only God in sports is the Almighty Dollar. This is a team assembled by a corporation set out on creating robots that are so uniform and sterile, you'd think they didn't have reproductive organs.
See, growing up in a family where most of our sports allegiances have suffered decades without a conference championship let alone a World Championship, I can never ever feel sorry for a group of fans who have waited only since 2000 for the hopes of a title.
Yankee fans are always believing that their wealth and the fact that they always recieve the best players is what makes them the best. Combine that with their desire to have the most boring looking lineup and rotation in baseball (called "The Yankee Way") makes them more intolerable than having your toe nails being pulled out.
This Yankee Way has been a thorn in my side. Groups of players known for their flair and color are not good enough to be Yankees or would be promptly told to change "their ways" for the "Yankee Way."
To me this is more of a group of historically rich fans to think of themselves as richer. For them winning the World Series is like Mr. Burns getting another ivory back scratcher. These titles are so plentiful some of them are really of no value and no signifigance to the fans. While easily any Phillies fan could treasure both of their teams Fall Classic triumphs. For someone like myself who grew up an Indians fan, the only recollection I have is failure through David Justice/Tom Glavine and Edgar Renteria.
While Yankee fans are down in the dumps since 2000 but are now riding an optomism that can only surpass how they felt since Joba became a starter (based on what again?), these fans will become unbearable. Major League Baseball, outside of the New York market has enjoyed success over the last several seasons as many teams unfamiliar to postseason play have become stars to it. Honestly who could have thought that ten years we would see Tampa, Colorado, Detroit, Chicago AL and Houston in World Series play, let alone two Red Sox World Series wins? I know I couldn't. Let the Yanks buy their players, it's gonna happen but don't ever let me think that people should pity their fans.
See, growing up in a family where most of our sports allegiances have suffered decades without a conference championship let alone a World Championship, I can never ever feel sorry for a group of fans who have waited only since 2000 for the hopes of a title.
Yankee fans are always believing that their wealth and the fact that they always recieve the best players is what makes them the best. Combine that with their desire to have the most boring looking lineup and rotation in baseball (called "The Yankee Way") makes them more intolerable than having your toe nails being pulled out.
This Yankee Way has been a thorn in my side. Groups of players known for their flair and color are not good enough to be Yankees or would be promptly told to change "their ways" for the "Yankee Way."
To me this is more of a group of historically rich fans to think of themselves as richer. For them winning the World Series is like Mr. Burns getting another ivory back scratcher. These titles are so plentiful some of them are really of no value and no signifigance to the fans. While easily any Phillies fan could treasure both of their teams Fall Classic triumphs. For someone like myself who grew up an Indians fan, the only recollection I have is failure through David Justice/Tom Glavine and Edgar Renteria.
While Yankee fans are down in the dumps since 2000 but are now riding an optomism that can only surpass how they felt since Joba became a starter (based on what again?), these fans will become unbearable. Major League Baseball, outside of the New York market has enjoyed success over the last several seasons as many teams unfamiliar to postseason play have become stars to it. Honestly who could have thought that ten years we would see Tampa, Colorado, Detroit, Chicago AL and Houston in World Series play, let alone two Red Sox World Series wins? I know I couldn't. Let the Yanks buy their players, it's gonna happen but don't ever let me think that people should pity their fans.
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Yankee Fans, I Feel You're Pain
Before I say this, I'd like to kindly ask all Red Sox fans to put down their pick axes, crossbows and hatchets, because....I feel bad for Yankee fans. How can you not empathize with a group of people who are forced to cheer for the most boring, manufactured, colorless team in the history of baseball?
When the Yankees signed first baseman Mark Texiera to a 26-year, 10 zillion dollar deal in the off-season, they crossed the final T and dotted the final I on selling away any chance at their team having a soul. Now officially every player on the team has proved that, to them, money is more important than baseball.
Some of the Yankees players probably had to close their eyes and take a drink before signing their name in blood. Think about Johnny Damon. After winning the world series with the Red Sox, Damon signed with the Yankees. I'm guessing it wasn't because he looked good in blue and white. Since Damon has been a member of the Yanks, he has smiled less than Clint Eastwood.
If you are a Yankee fan, how can you be happy? Isn't what makes a championship team great the role players? You know, it's that guy you never expect to hit the home run or the unsung hero who bunted for a single the play before. That is what makes a sports fan fall in love with a team.
Take a look at some previous world series heroes. All 5 foot nothing, 100 and nothing pounds of David Eckstein won the world series MVP award in 2006. Bill Mazeroski, who hit seven home runs in 1960, hit the walk-off, series winning home run. Pat Borders, who hit .253 with 69 home runs for his career, won the world series MVP for Toronto in 1992.
Sure you have you're big stars, your quarterbacks and slam-dunkers, but its the mix of stars, along with blockers and rebounders that make a winning team lovable.
But, I may be going to far to assume the players' salaries will amount to winning. Would you trust your janitor to put in 100 percent, do his work with joy and excitement and push it to the limit? Or would you assume that he's only doing it because he's getting paid to.
I heard someone say the Yankees winning would be good for America. Hmm, are we a nation that only cares about winning no matter how we got there? I'd like to think not. I'd like to think we were the underdogs who beat the British in the Revolutionary War. But maybe today's sports fans would have cheered for the red coats, or even rooted on Napolean in his attempt take Asia.
Yes, I do feel for these people who will cheer on the Yankees. Because even if they do win the world series, for the rest of time, everyone will always remember them as the team who bought it, not earned it. Remember the 1997 Marlins?
How could you expect anything less from an organization who gasps at a goatee? Those who love baseball don't want crew cuts, they want excitement and a child-like passion from their favorite players. If they Yankees won the series, instead of a dog piling, they'd be meeting with their agents to find out about the bonus.
Just look at who the Bronx Boring are trotting out in the field this year: at first base, Al Gore. Second, a rocking chair. Third, my old P.E. teacher. Left field, that monotone public adress announcer guy. On the mound, a box of cheerios (not the ones with honey). Behind the plate, Mona Lisa. And closing, well, thats still Rivera. The guy is amazing on the mound, but has about as much jolt in him as a West Palm Beach retirement facility.
I'd be more excited watching C-Span than YES this season. How can you not feel bad for fans that have to endure that?
When the Yankees signed first baseman Mark Texiera to a 26-year, 10 zillion dollar deal in the off-season, they crossed the final T and dotted the final I on selling away any chance at their team having a soul. Now officially every player on the team has proved that, to them, money is more important than baseball.
Some of the Yankees players probably had to close their eyes and take a drink before signing their name in blood. Think about Johnny Damon. After winning the world series with the Red Sox, Damon signed with the Yankees. I'm guessing it wasn't because he looked good in blue and white. Since Damon has been a member of the Yanks, he has smiled less than Clint Eastwood.
If you are a Yankee fan, how can you be happy? Isn't what makes a championship team great the role players? You know, it's that guy you never expect to hit the home run or the unsung hero who bunted for a single the play before. That is what makes a sports fan fall in love with a team.
Take a look at some previous world series heroes. All 5 foot nothing, 100 and nothing pounds of David Eckstein won the world series MVP award in 2006. Bill Mazeroski, who hit seven home runs in 1960, hit the walk-off, series winning home run. Pat Borders, who hit .253 with 69 home runs for his career, won the world series MVP for Toronto in 1992.
Sure you have you're big stars, your quarterbacks and slam-dunkers, but its the mix of stars, along with blockers and rebounders that make a winning team lovable.
But, I may be going to far to assume the players' salaries will amount to winning. Would you trust your janitor to put in 100 percent, do his work with joy and excitement and push it to the limit? Or would you assume that he's only doing it because he's getting paid to.
I heard someone say the Yankees winning would be good for America. Hmm, are we a nation that only cares about winning no matter how we got there? I'd like to think not. I'd like to think we were the underdogs who beat the British in the Revolutionary War. But maybe today's sports fans would have cheered for the red coats, or even rooted on Napolean in his attempt take Asia.
Yes, I do feel for these people who will cheer on the Yankees. Because even if they do win the world series, for the rest of time, everyone will always remember them as the team who bought it, not earned it. Remember the 1997 Marlins?
How could you expect anything less from an organization who gasps at a goatee? Those who love baseball don't want crew cuts, they want excitement and a child-like passion from their favorite players. If they Yankees won the series, instead of a dog piling, they'd be meeting with their agents to find out about the bonus.
Just look at who the Bronx Boring are trotting out in the field this year: at first base, Al Gore. Second, a rocking chair. Third, my old P.E. teacher. Left field, that monotone public adress announcer guy. On the mound, a box of cheerios (not the ones with honey). Behind the plate, Mona Lisa. And closing, well, thats still Rivera. The guy is amazing on the mound, but has about as much jolt in him as a West Palm Beach retirement facility.
I'd be more excited watching C-Span than YES this season. How can you not feel bad for fans that have to endure that?
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