Fresh Faces For College Football In 2008

May 31, 2008 By Leave a Comment

By: Jason Collette

I have been writing about fantasy sports for going on six years now, mainly about baseball. In that time, I made a niche as one of the early guys who covered minor league baseball players from a fantasy baseball perspective because I was always looking for ways to get ahead of the competition in my leagues.

Naturally, this is something that plays well into fantasy college football because the players come and go out of programs quicker than women in Derek Jeter’s life.

If you are going to pick a freshman for one of your roster spots, it needs to be a good pick because the odds of that player being productive for you are slim. Just how slim is it? Each year, cfbstats.com posts a top 100 players for rushing, passing, and receiving. Looking over those numbers paints a grim picture for freshman.

white pat Fresh Faces For College Football In 2008Since 2004, thirteen of the players who appear on the Top 100 rushers list were freshman, and three of those (Pat White (right, Icon SMI), James Starks, and Joel Armstrong) were quarterbacks. Of those same players, only sixteen of them rushed for more than 1000 yards and only ten freshmen in the last four years have both rushed for more than 1000 yards and scored ten or more touchdowns.

The numbers are even worse for freshmen wide receivers as only seven percent of those same top 100 lists have been populated with freshmen. Only eight of those freshmen have topped 1000 yards in a season and only five of those players scored ten or more touchdowns. If you play in a BCS only league, the numbers are more grim as only Michael Crabtree and Jeremy Maclin have broken 1000 yards as a freshman these past four seasons.

For Quarterbacks, the numbers are not quite as bleak. On a pure passing basis, 10% of freshmen quarterbacks have made Top 100 passing totals in the past four seasons. However, only three percent of those players passed for 2500 or more yards in a single season. The good news is that eight of those ten players were quarterbacks of BCS programs.

Overall, 118 players make up the 1200 players that have populated the Top 100 lists since 2004. That translates into a 10% success rate for fantasy college players turning a freshman draft pick into a significant contributor to a fantasy roster. With those kind of slim odds, it behooves you to know your 2008 freshmen and decide which ones are worth rostering and which ones are worth talking up to your leaguemates so they burn a roster spot on a player that has a 90% chance of disappointing.

Over the next few weeks, I will break down some of the freshmen, by conference, that might be factors in 2008 college offenses starting with Conference USA next week. I will alternate divisions each week so that both BCS and non-BCS schools get equal coverage. What a novel concept.

Fantasy College Blitz


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How Wall Street Sees Soccer

May 31, 2008 By Leave a Comment

By Susan Hotopp

Yesterday’s Wall Street Journal included not one, but two pieces of football-related reporting. And you won’t find either one on the sports page, either. (Yes, there is a sports page in every Friday’s Weekend Journal ).

I’ll give you three guesses at what I find objectionable in Culture Clash: Soccer Fans, Art Elite Butt Heads. This fascinating story describes how Basel, Switzerland is coping with the nearly simultaneous influx of football supporters for Euro 2008 and visitors for “the world’s most prestigious contemporary art fair.” The latter include the sort of people who are prepared to pay $600,000 for a sculpture that’s comprised of numerous small rooms, each decorated with political images.

Dear readers, you’re no doubt seething with indignation, as was I. Something is wrong with the world when honest, hard-working supporters of the Swiss and Czech national teams must share Basel with denizens of art snobbatoria from around the globe. But would you believe that the WSJ has a different take on this? They’ve quoted a New York art advisor who claims that “soccer hooligans drove our room rates through the roof.” Curiously, she believes that “This has ‘Christopher Guest movie’ written all over it.”

Does she mean a film like Best in Show? And the art people are like the high-strung, status-conscious couple whose weimeraner attacked one of the judges? (You really must see this film, if you haven’t already).

We see a photo of a wild-eyed, flag-waving man and boy juxtaposed next to an elegant couple standing in front of a no doubt significant piece of modern art. Most of the article is spent describing the art crowd’s dismay, but the author did apparently speak to one footy supporter. He is a social worker who counsels “troublesome soccer fans.” Really, I’m not making this up.

In Soccer Players Drain Coffers,
Steve McGrath takes a look at a recent Deloitte report on wages, revenues, and profitability in European football. (The full article is not available online without a subscription. If you have access to the print version, please see page C2 of the WSJ, May 30, 2008).

There’s nothing offensive about this story, unless you’re a Chelsea fan. During the 2006-7 season, Chelsea paid 132.8 million pounds in player salaries to Arsenal’s 89.7 million and Manchester United’s 92.3 million. I suppose Chelsea did win two trophies in 2007 (the Carling Cup counts, right?) and United only won the Premiership. The Journal said nothing about this, noting only that neither London club has won the Champions League.

Other interesting facts: John Terry was the highest-paid player in the Premiership in 2006-7, Premier League salaries as whole are 75% higher than those in La Liga, and Bundesliga operating profits of 250 million euros exceeded those of the Premiership (141 million euros), for the first time ever. As a percentage of revenue, player salaries at top clubs are at record levels (63%). High salaries lead the clubs to take on debt and raise ticket prices…etc., etc. You won’t catch me wringing my hands over any of this, though. When fans stop buying tickets and watching televised matches, the salary spiral will stop.

There’s supposed to be no such thing as bad publicity, but I think that the tiresome, offensive tone of the Culture Clash article far outweighs the Journal’s neutral coverage of European club football finances. The former, after all, occupied a prominent front-page position in Friday’s popular Weekend Journal and “Soccer Players Drain Coffers” was placed on page two of the Money & Investing section.

That probably wasn’t obscure enough for John Terry, though. The Journal still had room to run the now-famous photo of him seated on the rain-soaked pitch after that critical missed penalty in last week’s Champions League final.

Soccer Orb


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Foreign Investors In English Soccer A Fact Of Business Now

May 29, 2008 By 1 Comment

By Derek Braid

There is an epidemic in the United Kingdom. It’s not black death or skinheads, but foreign ownership of English Football clubs. Before you close this tab… hear me out.

On the heels of rumors out of Toronto that Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (owners and proprietors of all the major sports franchises in Toronto) is searching for a team to buy within the English football realm, I’ve become vexed by the demand for this particular asset class. You have to consider that painfully rich men are so because they know how to manage their money, hence their investments are typically sound. But is the driving force behind this phenomena purely economical or for sport? What happens to teams that fall under foreign ownership and what has brought about this superficially-peculiar trend?

As it turns out, the answer to why was sowed by the seeds of early English ideals: prosperous business endeavors fostered through free markets and product distribution. Specifically, the English Football Association decided in 1992 to allow capitalism to dictate their operations resulting in the sale of television rights to a satellite service for distribution. Viewed as sell outs by other European nations who initially turned their back on the opportunity, they’re now faced with the collateral damage brought about by those decisions: the demand for capital and foreign ownership.

The ownership docket is stocked with grossly wealthy foreigners. In addition to the Canadian interest expressed above, add Dubai International capital to the list of those in search of a franchise. Additionally, more successful parties have already landed several notable franchises, namely: Chelsea (Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich), Liverpool (Americans Tom Hicks and George Gillet), and Manchester United (US tycoon Malcolm Glazer). We can be assured their interest in the game took a back seat to their investment concerns, but how do those with genuine fanatical interest in the beautiful game take to the invasion? For some insight, lets bring this scenario closer to home.

Imagine the riots in Indianapolis if Yang Huiyan purchased the Colts? You couldn’t swing a dead cat in and around the Lucas Oil Stadium without hitting a Colts fan seething with outrage. Cries of, “why don’t they stick to table tennis!” are echoed loudly, with others screaming, “…all the Chinese know is humping, Communism and dog eating! Leave the NFL alone!” The day the headline brakes every Chinese restaurant in the state of Indiana will be surrounded by angry, blood lusting crowds – a reaction this side of the pond might even deem rational (Ok, maybe just the Americans.)

Or maybe Canada too. What if the Montreal Canadians were purchased by Mukesh Ambani? You could bet your ass the province of Quebec wouldn’t lie down quietly. They’d rightly fail to see the merits in allowing a cricket-loving billionaire the rights to control their franchise. And finally we’ve arrived at the krux of the issue — clearly the owners money is good, but are their intentions?

Some owners make a habit of menacing with their teams day-to-day affairs: Al Davis and Jerry Jones come to mind (thankfully for Cowboys fans to differing results). Foreign ownership has the potential to put your organization on shaky ground if the person with the controlling interests has no prior knowledge of the sport, something these English teams seemed to overlook. Fortunately however, these wealthy owners know the value of winning. Even those rich enough to afford to lose millions would never tolerate it if things could be changed, which brings us full circle: allowing foreigners to invest and/or purchase franchises serves as a brilliantly orchestrated security blanket for organizations looking to secure future success.

When the new ownership plunks down a sizable chunk of their fortune, they do so with the intention of using the professional sports franchise as a vehicle to grow said fortune. Thus, winning as a model for growth, brand loyalty and positive return on investment becomes paramount to the guys who sign the cheques. Does this win-to-profit ideology suss out?

Yea. Chelsea just finished second in all of Europe, losing to Manchester United. Liverpool won the UEFA Champions League in 2005, won the FA Cup in 2006, and finished as runner-up in the UEFA Final of 2007. This success has ensured spots on the top 10 revenue-producing clubs in the world for Manchester United (4th) and Liverpool (10th) with Chelsea undoubtedly nipping on their heels. Finally, we’ve found the reason for the lack of outrage from the English: winning cures all ails.

Cloud 9 Sports Blog


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NASCAR: “I’m A Cup Driver And I Deserve Better Than You.”

May 28, 2008 By Leave a Comment

By Bob Ellis

During a late caution in Saturday’s Nationwide race Denny Hamlin deliberately drove up the track into Brad Keselowski’s car crushing in the front left corner of Brad’s car and wrecked the car’s aerodynamics in the process.

Just before Denny did this move Brad did bump him from behind to let him know he didn’t like the way he was racing him just before the caution flag. There was no damage done to Denny’s car as a result of the bump though, it was more of a “Hey, smarten up” kind of bump.

The two drivers had been racing each other pretty hard for the position before the caution and I guess they didn’t like the way the other one was racing them.

This all eventually led to a confrontation on pit road between crews after the race.

As far as I’m concerned Denny’s arrogant display of unearned self-entitlement on the track lacks respect for the sport and his fellow competitors.

Denny’s “I’m a Cup driver, and you’re not” attitude shows just how big his self-inflated head really is.

Hey Goodyear, need another blimp?

Denny has to remember Brad is competing for the Nationwide Championship and he is going to race anyone hard that late in the race to get the points. Being a Cup driver does not give Denny the sense of entitlement that he feels he deserves, in fact, it should be the opposite as he is a poacher on the series regulars. That position he occupied not only represented 3 – 5 points, but also a larger paycheck. Cup drivers are both point poachers as well as purse poachers.

Now sure Denny can come back and say that he is racing for the Owner’s Championship and that is fine but so is Brad.

My message to Denny is that you are on the track to race your fellow competitors not pull some prima donna crap because they are actually challenging you for the position you are only entitled too if you can keep it, not because you are a Cup driver.

Your actions on the track, and in your post race interview Saturday were arrogant and selfish.

As my son says, “Why don’t you act your age and not your shoe size?”

If you want to earn the respect you think you greatly deserve for being ‘a Cup driver’ then you need to start showing some of it too.

NASCAR Ranting and Raving Blog Has Been Ranked The 7th Most Influential Nascar Blog By Sports Media Challenge As Seen On Their Sports Blogs Index™ Top 10 NASCAR Blogs.


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The Health and Fitness Advice Ramble: Exercise and Cancer, ANTM Scam, Vitamin D and More

May 28, 2008 By 2 Comments

By Sal Marinello (The Healthy Skeptic)

There’s a lot to cover including how exercise may protect women from breast cancer, how America’s Top Model may have been rigged and why you should relax and enjoy the eats and drinks this Memorial Day – or any holiday for that matter.

Exercise May Protect Women From Breast Cancer. Researchers tracked 65,000 nurses aged 24-42 and found that women who started exercising as young as 12-years old can offer protective benefits from breast cancer when older, and that both young girls and middle-aged women can reduce cancer risk by exercising. Women who were physically active as teens and young adults were 23% less likely to develop post-menopausal breast cancer than sedentary women. This is yet another feather in exercise’s cap that offers more proof that exercise offers a wide-range of protective benefits. Bottom line, nothing but good can come from exercise so exercise.

America’s Next Top Model. The winner of this year’s America’s Next Top Model reality show – the American Idol of the modeling business – was won by a young, “plus size” model. However, the word is circulating that the fix might have been in and that this plus size winner was approached and told to gain weight in order to be considered a plus sizer so she could be on the show. Glamour shots and other modeling photos show that winner Whitney Thompson was anything but plus size. Here’s yet another example of how “image makers” are dishonest and why you should be highly skeptical of anything you read, see and hear in the mainstream media with regard to representations of the human form.

Vitamin D. There’s been stories that Vitamin D can offer protection from cancer. Just like any of the other stories of this kind, where vitamins, minerals and foods are reported to have preventative or curative effects, be skeptical and don’t go overboard. Scientists think adults may need 1000 international units per day (I.U.s), possibly 1500 I.U.s per day for cancer prevention with 2000 I.U.s per day as the upper limit. With words like think, may and possibly, and the fact that the experts don’t even know what the daily Vitamin D requirement is, nobody should be jumping to start dosing up. Vitamin D is stored – along with vitamins A, E and K – so any excess is not just excreted, so people should not just starting taking these vitamins with the “more is better” approach.

The Health and Fitness Advice Ramble: Exercise and Cancer, ANTM Scam, Vitamin D and More

Government Unveils Adult Fitness Test. The President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports published a fitness test for adults that is the “grown up” version of kids’ President’s Physical Fitness Award. The test measures aerobic fitness, muscular strength and flexibility for individuals over 18-years old. Aerobic fitness is measured by either a 1-mile walk or 1.5-mile jog, muscular strength measured by push-ups and half sit-ups and flexibility by the sit-and-reach test. You can enter scores on-line and get a score and rank for every age. This is by no means a perfect test or the best test, but it is a start and is worth looking into for those of you who may be couch potato-ing it a bit too much and who need to jump start into a fitness regimen.

Memorial Day Eating and Drinking. A holiday, any holiday, is a terrible time to start worrying about what you eat and drink. The holidays shouldn’t be a time to worry about what you eat and drink either, but a time to enjoy all the special things holidays offer. Those of you who do the right thing for the most part, shouldn’t stress over going to a party and eating a hot dog or a hamburger with the works, French fries, chips and dip, macaroni salad or any of the other great stuff that you encounter at a Memorial Day – or during the upcoming 4th of July – weekend get-together. Have fun enjoy the food, drink, company and good times that come from getting together with great friends and family. I know I will.

Join me every Saturday morning at 11 AM EST on Health And Fitness Advice Radio, on BlogTalkRadio.com.

Sal blogs at Health and Fitness Advice


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Spokane Chiefs Win Memorial Cup

May 26, 2008 By Leave a Comment

If I were to ask you what is the toughest trophy to win in all of sports what would you answer? The World Cup? Stanley Cup? World Series?

Try the Memorial Cup.

First introduced to honor the lives of Canadian soldiers killed in World War I in 1919, The Memorial Cup is a prestigious tournament in which junior teams from Canadian Hockey League compete. The CHL is made up of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), Western Hockey League (WHL) and Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). Every year, each league sends a representative (that is, its champion) to the tournament.

There are currently a total of 60 teams that make up the CHL. The Champions of each league get the chance to play in the tournament. A fourth team – the city that hosts the rotating tournament -is also included.

Not only do teams have to win their respective leagues they then go on to battle for the Memorial Cup to see who will reign supreme in Canadian hockey. Athletes generally only have a window of about five years to try and win it.

This is why it’s one of the toughest trophies to win.

Not only that, the Memorial Cup is an exciting tournament to watch.

The next logical step is to have the winner of the Memorial Cup take on the NCAA champion in the United States. One crowns the Canadian champions and the other the American. Why not seek a North American champion?

For 2008, the Memorial Cup was made up of the Kitchener Rangers (champions and host) and Belleville Bulls of the OHL, Gatineau Olympiques of the “Q” and Spokane Chiefs of the WHL.

The Chiefs, who became the first American team to win the MC in 1991, captured their second title after defeating the Rangers in the final 4-1.

Notes: Since 1969, The WHL has won the Memorial Cup 18 times, followed by the OHL with 15 and the ‘Q’ with 8.


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Racing Round Up: NASCAR, Indy 500, F1

May 26, 2008 By 1 Comment

By Bob Ellis

The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series

Awesome finish with rookie driver Donny Lia not being afraid to use his bumper to notch his first victory.

NASCAR Nationwide Series

Kyle+Busch+2008+Charlotte+Nationwide+Spring Racing Round Up: NASCAR, Indy 500, F1
Some pretty good drama near the end between Hamlin and Keselowski and their crews. I’ll be writing more about this tomorrow, and let me tell you its gonna be a rant!
Kudos to Kyle Busch with yet another NASCAR victory. Man this guy has won in all 3 of NASCAR’s top series with 4 different teams for 3 different team owners (JGR has both Cup and Nationwide teams that Kyle drives for).
NASCAR Canadian Tire Series
Scott Steckly (No. 22 Tow Truck In A Box/Erb Group Dodge) started this season off tScott+Steckly+Cayuga+May+2008 Racing Round Up: NASCAR, Indy 500, F1he same way as he ended last year’s season, in Victory Lane.
Series Champ Andrew Ranger couldn’t get it dialed in and spent most of the race mired in the middle of the field. He eventually finished the series opener in 17th place.
The F1 Race in Moneco
Great job by Lewis Hamilton’s team to keep him where he was on the track with exLewisHamilton1 Racing Round Up: NASCAR, Indy 500, F1cellent pit strategy regarding tires and the weather. That great pit work eventually earned Hamilton the victory and the points lead.
Hey F1, here is some advice for you; get rid of the 2 hour time limit because it sucks!
The Indy 500
Scott Dixon is the 19th driver in the race’s 92 year history to win from the pole, and it wScott+Dixon+Indy+500+Winner+2008 Racing Round Up: NASCAR, Indy 500, F1asn’t as easy as it sounds either. When the eighth and final yellow came out Dixon was in 2nd to Vitor Meira but Dixon was able to leave ahead of Meira upon exiting. Dixon then had to hold off the rest of the field for the final 15 laps – in lapped traffic for the last hand-full of laps no less – to claim the victory and the bottle of milk.
Notice I didn’t write about a certain driver of a blue and black car? Why you ask? Simple. She is a race car driver and did exactly what any competitor would have done after an incident like that, regardless of gender. With that being said there really is no story.
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Kasey+Kahne+2008+Charlotte+Spring Racing Round Up: NASCAR, Indy 500, F1
Kasey Kahne pulls out the win tonight in a race that seemed to jinx anyone who led the race.
After leading 64 laps early Kurt Busch hit the wall while running second, after leading 61 laps Brian Vickers lost a wheel while in 3rd place, Dale Jr hit the wall while leading, Jimmie Johnson ‘done blowed up’ while leading, and Tony Stewart blew a tire while leading with just 3 laps left.
Kahne became the first driver since Jimmie Johnson in 2003 to win both the All-Star Race and the 600.
Great ending for Jeff Gordon who took a 10 to 15th place car and finished solidly in 4th place using great pit strategy and fuel conservation techniques (driving slower).
Who would have thought that Dale Jr could even be in the top 10 after hitting the wall, yet he managed to finish in 5th. Wow.

NASCAR Ranting and Raving Blog Has Been Ranked The 7th Most Influential Nascar Blog By Sports Media Challenge As Seen On Their Sports Blogs Index™ Top 10 NASCAR Blogs.

Bob blogs at NASCAR Ranting and Raving Blog


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Giro d’Italia: Riccardo Ricco A Sore Spot On The Race

May 26, 2008 By Leave a Comment

By Peloton Jim

With one week down, I have to reaffirm the Giro as the world’s best stage race. From course design to day in and day out combativeness, the Giro is a must see. With that said, I am watching this year’s race with a little pit in my stomach. It only takes two words to describe the source. Riccardo Riccò.

If you are a regular reader, you know that most of my life lessons come from my father. Since I cite his wisdom so much, I’ll have to assign him a nickname (importance of this later). I will call him PatronJim. One of the lessons I think of more than any other is understanding the difference between confidence and cockiness.

I could not stand the young cocky Lance Armstrong. I don’t think I was alone in this assumption. Then a mature, post-cancer Lance exuded supreme confidence that for the most part, stayed on this side on the cocky line. That Lance was someone I could watch race and enjoy his victories.

I have to say that Mr. Riccò is way over on the other side of the confidence/cocky line. Little things give it away. Confident people don’t give themselves nicknames. Self-nicknamed “The Cobra” is closer to self-named “The Hoff” than he is to The Boss. The other thing is to disparage other riders. When Lance gave Jan “The Look” he explained he was checking the whole peloton for signs of fatigue. While we knew better, the confident Armstrong did not need to expand. When Riccò looks back, he says ” Before I attack, I look into the eyes of the other riders to hypnotize them with fear. Like a Cobra.”

Giro dItalia: Riccardo Ricco A Sore Spot On The Race

Having talent to back it up does not excuse someone from cocky behavior. It just makes it hard to appreciate what a talent he is. It also makes it hard to watch a race where Riccò stands a real good chance of winning.

Part of me is watching the race for the grand spectacle it presents race fans. The other part is hoping Riccò’s words end up biting him in the ass. Like a Cobra.

Endless Cycle


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The Wings And Pens: Motown Is Dead, An Idea For The NHL, And Other Thoughts

May 24, 2008 By Leave a Comment

By Beaker

Quasi Game notes for Game 1:

Intro:

Enter Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red Wings

Who picks the music at the Joe? Music is supposed to; I thought anyway, reflect the identity of a team. It should reverberate and send shivers down the spines of both allies and foes. I didn’t get that feeling with the music selected in Detroit.

Holmstrom Goal disallowed

His comrades fought beside him – Van Owen and the rest
But of all the Thompson gunners, Roland was the best
So the CIA decided they wanted Roland dead
That son-of-a-bitch Van Owen blew off Roland’s head

I’m not sure why whenever I see Tomas Holmstrom I think of Warren Zevon’s Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner. He’s a mercenary that roams the goalies crease and the NHL has a contract on his head.

Seriously, it’s a bit ridiculous how they are focusing on him and goalie interference. It’s as if they send out an email to their refs explaining what the penalty of the day is.

“Today call goalie interference. No ass in the crease. Nail that son of a bitch Holmstrom.”

All of a sudden Holmstrom is an issue. It’s a head (or balls) scratcher because gosh darny-di-darn it, earlier in the playoffs hockey fans witnessed one of the greatest goalie interference incidences in a long time during the Washington-Philadelphia series on a goal that should have been disallowed. The Flyers went on to win the series.

Holmstrom is now the scapegoat.

Now he’s suddenly Holmstrom the Feckless Goalie Runner.

Penguins playing like their really young. There are many great budding young teams in the NHL. The Washington Capitals, Chicago Blackhawks, Montreal Canadiens, Philadelphia Flyers and even the Ottawa Senators. But the Pens have been singled out as the best chance to build a modern day dynasty. Stay tuned.

Osgood: Easily the most under rated goalie in hockey.

I never get people who assert they “are not sold” on Osgood. What the heck can this guy do more? He has won two Stanley Cups. I thought winning is a sure bet into being considered “great.” Judging how many titles an athlete wins is a dubious way to judge athletes. Anyway, what else does he have to do? Shoot a three-pointer? Hit a home run? Sweep harder?

The Wizard of Oz is 10-2 with a fantastic .931 save percentage in the 2008 playoffs and just shut-out the immensely talented Penguins. The truth is, Osgood has always been a great goalie. Perhaps even among the best. He’s just overlooked. I don’t know why.

Here’s an idea for My New NHL

Why not get a legendary player – like Jean Beliveau or Gordie Howe – have them sit with young, rising stars – like Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin – and let them have a conversation about life and hockey? A heart to heart if you will. It could be riveting stuff if used right. No fluff. Let them talk with honesty. What better way to connect hockey history with its future?

The “there’s never been a European captain to win the Cup” argument and debate is rooted in ignorance and stupidity – One that doesn’t merit any further discussion. If you’ve engaged in it you’re letting you’re myopic lenses cloud your mind and you should stop. Led by Swedish legendary defenseman (yes, he’s a playing legend in my book) Niklas Lidstom, the Wings have a chance to put an end to the madness.

Final analysis:

Detroit is really good. A slick, sleek and stupendous machine. They take Game 1 with a 4-0 victory over Pittsburgh.


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NHL: Find The Right People And Just Win

May 24, 2008 By Leave a Comment

By Derek Braid

Oprah is a ludicrously successful person, but she didn’t say that about hockey. /shock/ I think she might know it exists though. Regardless, this is how your NHL team can find success just like O.

This is an interesting time of the year for the NHL in which something incalculably vital to organizational success is going on under the guise of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. This determinant of success is in reference to the host of managerial and coaching contracts being discussed and subsequently signed over the last few weeks.

The invaluable role that coaches and managers play in team success can too easily be overlooked. These types of decisions which influence your on-ice product so tangibly are becoming of increasing importance in an NHL rich with parity. Your teams’ path is laid for the future through the executive restructuring ongoing throughout the Spring months currently upon us. How important are the decisions your team is making right now? Very.

In any walk of like, often people of superior talent and intelligence rise to the top – this is why the smartest guys on Wall St. are hedge fund managers, why infomercials feature the same people repeatedly, and of course, why Crosby, Zetterberg, Malkin and Datsuk are so much better than their peers (but, thats another topic altogether). This excruciating analogy speak to the collective desperation in which teams – from all sports leagues — explore the Saharan pool of available world-class management.

Naturally, the off-season is a happy place where teams dream of a bright future often overlooking the 50% chance they have of finishing in bottom half of the standings. The rampant delusions around this time of year lends itself to the symbiotic shuffling of management and coaching. So you pull the plug on the old hack(s) and bring in the new miracle worker. Funny thing about that though….

There aren’t many miracle makers in the business of orchestrating winning sports franchises. All the guys old enough to recall a legacy worth remembering are dating themselves back to the Battle of Queenston Heights (alright, maybe just back to hippies). My point remains: the value of good management is priceless.

Take a quick look over the dog-and-pony show that is the Maple Leafs GM search and you’ll have to look no further. The media has obsessed endlessly because it so important to them! Just picture Trader Cliff on the blood pressure monitor 24/7 as he endlessly searches for an adequate solution. Other teams has since resolved their vacancies however, with Dallas, Colorado and Vancouver all putting the pieces in place recently in preparation for the draft.

The Stars locked up the incumbent Brett Hull and Les Jackson by ceremoniously removing their Interm tag, Colorado decided to go back to Tony Granato (who was the bench general from 2002-04), and Vancouver told coach Alain Vigneault that he can wait another year to be a lame duck. (I guess Van City GM Mike Gillis is the old ball breaker hes made out to be.)

Lest we forget the lengths that people and organizations go to in an effort to retain good talent. Several have gone so far as to deny the right to negotiate with an individual under contract (even if, contrary to the customary practice, that job was a promotion).

This is a ruthless business where cash-cow markets can take advantage of their dough simply because there are no salary limitations within the managerial ranks. It encourages the thought: Why are managers and coaches making Darren McCarty-type money, when sane rationality dictates they should be living like Crosby? Eventually, it will come to this, or market principles tell us it should. There will be a great deal of resistance from some owners, but over the course of time their dollar will get stretched by fielding poor teams manifest through poor decision-making executives. In time, it will force these owners to make it rain on someone capable of winning.

How can one deem a GM capable of delivering victories? I’m a strong believer in established team identity as a predictive measure of success (in all sports). Managing means developing this identity and exemplifying it on the ice with the players of the ilk required. It’s like seasoning the perfect bone-in Rib Eye streak, or playing jenga – its all about balance and timing. Its about managing the right ingredients to fit the mold you deem most likely to produce championships. But, its not easy…

This is evident around this time of year when we see and hear all of the organizational restructuring (as the GM-types might say it) around the league. It reminds you how exposed and vulnerable they are in a position that always demands success – not merely from the fraternity of their peers, but the ravaging fanatics who pay their salary with ever ticket. Being a GM or a coach is all about risk-reward: thankfully for them, those who succeed are being increasingly compensated for their work. This is a trend, unlike the men themselves, with a termination date far out of sight.

Cloud 9 Sports


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