Canucks Hire Head Coach Travis Green

Some people aren't going to like it, but you can't please anyone when your trying to hire a new head coach in a Canadian Hockey market. They decided to go with the safe pick, which from what everyone says was going to bolt elsewhere if Vancouver didn't hire him this time around. 

Travis Green will be the 19th head coach in one of the toughest markets to succeed in. There was no slam dunk pick this time around. The only for sure thing we know about the Canucks next year is that they will be tied for first place at the start of the year. 

Benning and Linden say they are going to stay the course, whatever that means is anyone's guess. At this rate, the rebuild will take forever and that won't make fans happy. There isn't a

fast forward button like there is on EA Sports NHL 17.

This is the price you pay for keeping two 36 year old twins from Sweden. The reality is though they don't want to be moved. 

So, the Canucks Management will have to work with what they have. Trying to do the best they can to put themselves in position to succeed when the Sedin's retire. 

The Sedin's are too slow of players to make the team a playoff team, if the Canucks are going to make the Playoffs next year they will have to rely on a breakout youngster to have an amazing season. 

I think this pick is a no lose choice for the Canucks. Low risk and and high reward. The Castlegar BC native has payed his dues over the years that has seen him coach in in Portland Oregon in the WHL and Utica New York in the AHL. He lost in the Memorial Cup and Calder Cup respectively. 

Travis Green is the right fit because he is a hockey guy, will help the players that are going to come up from Utica next year as they will feel more comfortablw with him behind the bench. If he presses the right buttons it is going to get the fans around British Columbia back on the banwagon that has sat fairly empty since 2013. 

My concern is that Green's resume is too similar to Willie Desjardins was when he was hired in 2014. Desjardins had success at the WHL and AHL level before but was canned after three years after only one playoff appearance. 

Overall, there is way more I like about this hire than I don't. Green said all the right things in the press conference Wednesday morning at Rogers Arena and I'm very excited to see what is in store for the Canucks next year and more importantly tomorrow at the NHL Draft Lottery. 

My Drifting Blog about ESPN's Cuts

Once upon a time I wanted to be Journalist, Sports Center Anchor. I didn't and I'm glad I decided not to with ESPN's cuts yesterday that shook the sports world with so many high profiled sports personalities being let go. 

Now that we are in 2017 anyone can write a sports blog these days or be a talk show host through Youtube. It's quite easy actually. A lot of us just don't feel that we have the time and effort to do it. 

The NFL Draft is today, a day of hope for the 31 teams that didn't win the Super Bowl last year to have hope that they will acquire what they need to take them to the next level. I have always thought that the NFL Draft was boring and slow. At times that can be the case but they value of picking the right player is so crucial to your organizations success. 

NBA and NHL playoffs tonight again as we have two elimination games in basketball. April is one of  the best sports months because there is so many things to watch. 

A sports blog should be unique to you. I don't want to sit here on the computer dissecting the key event of the key event in most important sport of the day. That is boring and sometimes words don't come to you on a given night. 

 I want to write about something that makes sense to and put my opinion into it and deliver it to the audience the best way I know how. 

I'm glad I became a Super Bowl Champion in 2014. I was 20 years old and I was overdue. Nothings guaranteed in life but the one thing that should be guaranteed is that sports should always brings us together. Be debatable and let our emotions flow with the results. 

I want to write about anything that comes to mind. Mostly the big five sports  including the various soccer leagues and soccer stories. It's time to make life fun again!   

My Revamped Champions League Group Stage

Pot 1 Team Coeff  Real Madrid[TH] 176.142  Barcelona 159.142  Leicester City 15.256  Bayern Munich 163.035  Juventus 107.087  Benfica 116.616  Paris Saint-Germain 112.549  CSKA Moscow 48.71 Team Coeff  Atlético Madrid 144.142  Borussia Dortmund 110.035  Arsenal 105.256  Manchester City[LR] 99.256  Sevilla 95.642  Porto[LR] 92.616  Napoli 90.087  Bayer Leverkusen 89.035

Pot 2

Team	Coeff
Basel	87.755
Tottenham Hotspur	74.256
Dynamo Kyiv	65.976
Lyon	63.049
PSV Eindhoven	57.112
Sporting CP	51.616
Club Brugge	43.000
Borussia Mönchengladbach[LR]	42.035

Team	Coeff
Celtic[CR]	40.460
Monaco[LR]	36.549
Beşiktaş	34.920
Legia Warsaw[CR]	28.000
Dinamo Zagreb[CR]	25.775
Ludogorets Razgrad[CR]	25.625
Copenhagen[CR]	24.720
Rostov[LR]	11.716

Pot 3

Villarreal

60.142

    Roma41.587

 Olympiacos70.940

 Viktoria Plzeň44.585

 Astra Giurgiu11.076League Route

 Shakhtar Donetsk81.976

 Ajax58.112

 Anderlecht54.000

 Fenerbahçe40.920

 Sparta Prague40.58

 PAOK37.440

 Steaua București36.576

 Monaco36.549

 Young Boys24.755

 Rostov11.716

Pot 4 

Red Bull Salzburg

42.520

APOEL	35.935
BATE Borisov	34.000

Qarabağ	13.475
Rosenborg	12.850
Astana	12.575
Sheriff Tiraspol	10.575
Red Star Belgrade	7.175
Dinamo Tbilisi	5.875
FH	5.750
Trenčín	5.400
F91 Dudelange	5.050
Žalgiris Vilnius	4.925
Hapoel Be'er Sheva	4.725
Olimpija Ljubljana	4.625
Vardar	4.200
IFK Norrköping	3.975

So in this new format, the easiest group possible would be CSKA Moscow, Copenhagen, Young Boys  and IFK Norrkoping. To think that one of those teams would have to win the group would be exciting for all four teams. I will admit, last years Swedish Champions might struggle a bit but not to the extent that Malmo struggled the past few years. 

The easiest group possible in the current format this year would have been CSKA Moscow, Bayern Leverkusen, Club Brugge and Legia Warsaw. The odds of that group coming to fruition was slim to none and at the end of the day, I doubt that group would have been competitive anyway. 

A larger group stage opens up the door for more competitive matches. The Champions League Group Stage isn't competitive right now not because the lower teams are bad, but more so because their are too many strong teams with only 8 groups. 

Creating a 64 team group stage isn't ideal but it gives the lower level teams a way bigger chance at avoiding strong teams. 

Lets face it, Ludogorets Razgrad had no chance at getting out of Group A this year which featured Arsenal, PSG and Basel. Placed in Pot 4 and drew two strong teams and to be honest fared decently all things considered. 

Not saying at all that every group would be competitive but the chances are higher. A tough group in the new format would be Real Madrid, Tottenham Hotspur, Roma and Red Bull Salzburg. Based on the numbers that would be the hardest group possible. 

If you still don't believe me, simulate a draw yourself. The 32 team group stage is horrid for UEFA right now because the Top 16 are so much better than the next 16 teams in UEFA. This format would make European nights fun again in smaller countries. As of now, too many countries have long droughts of not competing in the group stage. That needs to change, UEFA needs to grow soccer in their 55 countries. Not just the three cities that are named Barcelona, Madrid and Munich.