One Teams Treasure Will be Another Teams Trash - All-Star Game 2012

All-Star games are a unique thing in sports. Some people like them and some people hate them. Every All-Star game has their own way of doing things. In NBA, it is East against West in a different NBA arena every year. The NFL does something similar except it is at the end of the year and it is held annually in Hawaii. The NHL over the years has mixed it up. At one point, it was North America against the World. A few years ago the altered it and went to East against West. Since then the NHL has went to an old fashion street hockey game where two captains pick the players they want.  In addition, the last player picked wins a car.

The MLB All-Star game is different in its own way. Ever since 2003, the wining league of the All-Star game would receive the honor of having home advantage in the World Series. The decision was triggered after the 2002 All-Star game at Miller Park ended in a tie.

At first, I thought it was a great idea. After all, the original way of determining who would have home advantage in the World Series was also a 50/50 thing. In the odd years the National League winner had home advantage while in the even years the American League representative had home advantage.

For years after, the American League dominated the All –Star Game. At one point they had won every game from 2003-2009. Therefore, from 2003 to 2009 the American League had home advantage. In  2010, the National League ended the drought by defeating the A.L 3-1 at Angels Stadium.

In 2011, the N.L. All-Stars started a two game winning streak when they won 5-1 in Arizona’s Chase Field. Again, the National League won the honor of having home advantage. Up until this time since the World Series rule was changed, there had been no Game seven’s of the World Series.  

In the World Series it was the heavily favored Texas Rangers against the Cinderella St. Louis Cardinals. The Cardinals needed a miracle to just get into the playoffs. Luckily for them, the Cards caught fire and won the Wild card on their way to winning the Pennant. With the N.L. winning the All-Star game, the Cardinals had home advantage instead of the Rangers.

As things unfolded, the Rangers took a 3-2 series lead back to St. Louis. In Game six, baseball fans may have witnessed the most intense game ever. The Texas Rangers were one strike away (multiple times) from capturing their first world series in team history. Ultimately, St. Louis like they had done all September battled back to force the first Game seven under the new “home advantage rules.” The Cardinals won Game 7 6-2 shattering every Ranger fans heart around the world.

Who knows what would have happened if the Rangers had home advantage. In the NBA and NHL the team with the best record gets to have home advantage. If that were the case the Rangers would have had it. Something so small in July should not impact something so big in October.

At the end of the day, I don’t think its fair that the winner of the All-Star Game, their respective league gets to have home advantage in October. One teams treasure will be another team’s trash come the fall. More importantly, the team that has the home advantage might not deserve it.

The rule was good for awhile, now its time for a change. Lets do it the right way. Let the best record have home advantage come October. 

Canucks Sign Jason Garrison to Six Year, 27 Million

Mike Gillis wasted no time trying to fill the missing pieces from the Canucks 2012 team that won the Presidents Trophy but were ousted by the eventual Stanley Cup Champions the L.A. Kings. On July 1^st, the first day that Unrestricted Free Agents were allowed to sign with another club, Gillis made a splash when he signed defensemen Jason Garrison on a 6 year 27 million dollar contract.

Garrison, who played with the Florida Panthers last year, had a great year tallying 16 goals while adding 17 assists. Garrison is only 27 and was undrafted. The White Rock B.C. native has had a long road to the NHL. He has made stops along the way in the BCHL, NCAA, and AHL before being a part of the Florida Panthers during the 2008-09 season.

Garrison will help mostly on the offensive end. He is an offensive defensemen that will certainly help the Canucks power play, which was pitiful from January on. Garrison will also help on the defensive end. He is a career +9 player, which is a really good +/- stat to have. Having a good +/- means that he is an important player to have on the ice when the team is winning in the third period.

Furthermore, Garrison averaged 23 minutes of ice time last year. This should help the Canucks on their depth chart, as they won’t be leaning as heavily on Bieska and Hanhuis in key situations. Despite having a good seven or eight defensemen under contract, the Canucks last year really only had three defensemen they could go to during crunch time. With the departure of Sami Salo, the Canucks needed a defensemen that could fill the holes that Salo will leave.

Garrison could be the guy to replace Salo on the blue line. Even though Salo was injured a lot of the time, he was an important player for the Canucks. His hard shot when he was healthy was a very tough shot to stop at times. Garrison has the makings of delivering what Salo brought in previous seasons.

In addition, the Canucks have lost three key defensemen in the past four seasons. In 2009 Mattias Öhlund left for Tampa Bay, in 2011 it was Christian Ehrhoff’s turn to get a pay raise and headed to buffalo. Each of the previous two times the Canucks were still a threat in the Western Conference the next year. If Garrison has a good year next year, the Canucks will surely make it three times in a row.

Personally, this was a risk worth taking for the Canucks. Vancouver may have improved their team while also getting younger. The Canucks couldn’t afford missing out on signing a defensemen this summer. The only question remains is if he signed the right one. Just watch, if Garrison turns out to be a bust, the Canucks fans will want Gillis fired faster than he can say “I tried”. In contrast, if Garrison is on the team that wins the Stanley Cup, Gillis will be considered amazing. Just remember, this signing was worth it, even though it’s a bit of an expensive price to pay. 

Pavel Bure Gets Inducted into the Hockey Hall Of Fame

From 1991-2003 Pavel Bure attracted many fans to come to the arena to watch him play in the NHL. He was the type of player that had the ability to score at any point of his shift and could make something out of nothing.

Out of his thirteen years, he played nine of those years with the Vancouver Canucks. While playing for the Canucks he scored 254 and added 224 helpers. He played in all but four of his playoff games with the Canucks and took the Canucks to within one game of winning the Stanley Cup in the spring of 1994.

For Bure, the spring of 1994 was a time he and most Canucks fans will not forget. The Vancouver Canucks entered the 1994 Stanley Cup playoffs as severe underdogs. They were up against the heavily favored Calgary Flames who were poised to win their second Stanley Cup in six years.

After falling behind 3-1 in the series, Geoff Courtnall and Trevor Linden scored overtime winners in Games five and six. This set up an enormous Game seven back in Calgary. After five periods, the teams were still tied at three thanks to Kirk Mclean's amazing save to keep the Canucks season alive. In the third overtime, Pavel Bure was sprung free on a break away and beat Mike Vernon  to give the Canucks the series upset.

That moment is what most Canucks fans remember about Bure. He had an outstanding run in the playoffs in 1994 leading his team with 16 goals. 

After the 1995 lockout shortened season, he started battling injuries in the 1996 and 1997 seasons.  He only played in 78 total games in two years. In 1998, Bure bounced back to have a 51 goal season. Unfortunately, Bure was traded the next year to Florida on January 17^th 1999. The most exciting Canuck to ever wear the black and yellow had played his final game with the team who he had got drafted by.

In the next four seasons as a Panther and a New York Ranger, Bure had two more successful seasons.  He led the Panthers in scoring in the 2000 and 2001 seasons. He finished up his career as a New York Ranger. At this time, his point total had dropped off significantly as he only tallied 30 points in his final year.

On top of his achievements as a Canuck, he also played numerous times with the USSR and eventually Russia after the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. Bure collected eight medals including two at the Olympics. (Silver in Nagano and Bronze in Salt Lake). In 43 international games, Bure racked up 39 points.

Despite not winning a Stanley Cup ring, Bure had a very exciting a brilliant career. He surely deserves getting inducted into the Hall Of Fame. For his career he was over a point per game in the regular and the playoffs. He also was close to his 500^th goal milestone at the end of his career. He will also receive the honor of being the first Vancouver Canucks player inducted into the Hockey Hall Of Fame in Toronto. 

Nightmare in L.A.; Galaxy win 3-0

The Whitecaps on Saturday night had another disappointing road performance. The Whitecaps had thought they had turned a corner from last years 3-0 type outings but have now produced poor efforts away from B.C. Place three out of the last four times. These nightmare games were a huge problem last year and are now starting to become nightmares this year.

Saturday night’s painful 3-0 loss to the L.A. Galaxy is what might keep this team from not coming elite. The Whitecaps are a year and a half into their MLS career and have showed signs of inconsistency. Last year, the team would win 4-2 and then come back the next game and lose 4-0. This year, the team is more mature but the effort isn’t there every week.  

When the Galaxy went up 3-0 on Saturday night in the 41^st minute, L.A. had more goals then the Whitecaps had shots on goal. That wasn’t the start that any soccer team wants on the road, let alone when you’re playing the defending MLS Champs. It was if the Whitecaps had went to Disneyland in the morning and had came to the Home Depot Center forgetting the real reason they were in California for.

The Caps are still in a good position, third in the Western Conference and seven points clear of not making the playoffs. The team will be in a great spot if they get their act together on the road. The Whitecaps are currently on five games, four time zones and two-country road trip. The road trip is quite crucial, as losing games could put this team in a hole moving forward.  

It will be impossible to tell what direction Vancouver is going in. They lost their chance at the CONCACAF Champions League last month and might lose their shot at MLS playoffs. Despite being new to the MLS stage, expectations are high for the Whitecaps. Therefore, if the Whitecaps are going to take the next step forward, blowouts on the road have to stop.

The Whitecaps will have a bit of a break before their next game. Vancouver will travel to Colorado for a critical game against Colorado FC.  The game starts  at 6:30 and can be seen on Sportsnet One.  

Luongo Or Schneider

When backup goalie Cory Schneider was putting up starting goalie like numbers during the Canucks magical 2011 season, a lot of fans knew this situation would come for the Vancouver Canucks. That situation is finally taking place.

Schneider who will become an RFA at the end of June, is due for a big pay raise. Therefore, the Canucks won't be able to afford to keep both goalies.

Over the next three weeks or so, General Manager Mike Gillis will have to decide of what goalie he wants move forward with for the Vancouver Canucks. Before the playoffs, I thought they would be going with Luongo. He gets way too much criticism for what happens with the Canucks. To be honest, without him the Canucks don’t even get to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final.

However, since the avoided goalie controversy this year and the fact that Schneider started the remaining three games of the Western Conference Quarter Finals against the Kings, it would make no sense to let Schneider go now. Cory Schneider has proven numbers in the playoffs. He has now played in four playoff games and has given Vancouver a chance to win in every game.

In addition, despite Luongo’s harsh media attention after some losses, it might be time to move on from the Luongo era. Letting Schneider go, might solve nothing in net. Except for 2011, the Canucks have to an extent underachieved during the playoffs. Yes, the playoffs are a coin toss sometimes but his problems weren’t always on the ice. His answers to the media after games weren’t always the best. His “at least I didn’t let in seven (goals) its progress” after Game 6 of the 2010 Western Conference Semi Final. The remark didn’t sit well with the media.

A new era could also bring fresh air to the locker room. At some parts of last year it seemed that there was a Stanley Cup hangover around this team. Only time will tell if that was a one-year thing, If it happens again next year there will need to be massive changes. On a lot of nights last year the Canucks seemed to be just going through the motions. If Luongo is traded, there could be a mind shift to get this team focused in winning a Stanley Cup.

The only reason why it makes sense to trade Schneider is because of trade value. At age 33, trading Luongo won’t be as appealing as trading Schneider. The one thing that Vancouver will get back in the Luongo deal is relief in where Gillis won’t have a huge contract to deal with. In contrast, trading Schneider, the Canucks will get more back in return.

At the end of the day I think Luongo will be traded. If that weren’t the case, Luongo wouldn’t have made a list of teams he preferred to go to. Whatever decision Gillis makes, it will be a significant trade in Canucks history. If he makes the right trade he’ll be a genius. However, if he makes the wrong trade he’ll be a goat.

Interleague Play in the Eyes of Greg von Matt

In most professional sports, interleague play happens through out the year, big matchups are usually hyped and  are often circled on the fans calendar of when an important team is scheduled to come. The rules in each conference are generally the same and are sometimes divided geographically.

Baseball is different. The thirty-team league is divided into two leagues. American League and National League. In the American League there are 14 teams, while in the National League there are 16 teams. In the American League there is a Designated Hitter, however in the National League the pitcher will bat often in the 9^th spot.

 

Those are just some of the differences that separate Baseball from the other three professional leagues (NHL, NBA and NFL). In addition, in baseball interleague is only 11% of the 162-baseball season. In other sports, it can be go up to 25% of a team’s schedule.

Every year since 1997 around June, interleague play has taken center stage. Now a days; what broadcasters talk about is how baseball can make interleague play better. Personally, I think a lot of that stuff is cliché. Nothing in life is perfect and there are always cons to adjustments with anything that is made in life or in sports. In fact, I have my own opinion on adjustments interleague play that I could share at a later date.

For me, since I was born in 1993, it’s hard imagining a season without interleague play. It always seemed to be a staple in the Mariners schedule. Every year, the Mariners would play the Padres six times and an alternating division another ten or so times. I thought that it was cool that the Mariners pitchers had a chance to step up to the plate a handful of times. I never questioned it. I just accepted it.

Being a Mariner fan also meant something a bit more when the Mariners played on the road in interleague play. That question was where would DH Edgar Martinez hit? Edgar was a converted DH when he had a horrible hamstring injury in an exhibition game at B.C. Place in 1993. Therefore, he was forced to play an unusual position or come off the bench late in the game to pinch-hit on the road in interleague play.

Now, interleague play is something I look forward too. After all, the Mariners lack of wins should bring some smiles to the fans. Since interleague play begun the American League has won the majority of games against the National League.

Next year, interleague play will be thrown a curve ball. The Houston Astros will be making the switch from the NL Central to the AL West. This will even up the two leagues so that each league has 15 teams. As a result, there will be interleague play every day next year. The move can only help baseball, as I believe this interleague play idea that was started in 1997 is going in the right direction. 

The Catch 22 of the Vancouver Canucks

It has been exactly a year since the Boston Bruins beat the Vancouver Canucks in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. The memories are still with us, they will always be with us. The dramatic Stanley Cup run was special but the nothing will please this Vancouver hockey market unless they win the Stanley Cup.

When the defending Western Conference Champions started their season, the team had one goal. That goal was to mirror what the Pittsburg Penguins did a few years earlier, which was, lose the Stanley Cup and come back the next year to win it.

The task was very challenging. Before the Penguins did it in 2009, the last team to accomplish the challenge was the 1983 and 1984 Edmonton Oilers. The Oilers had lost to Mike Bossy and the New York Islanders in 1983, but had came back in 1984 to return the favor to Al Arbour’s hockey team.

It’s a task that is completed every quarter century. The fans of the Vancouver Canucks expected it to happen almost twice in half a decade. Of course a Game 7 loss to the Boston Bruins on June 15^th wouldn’t have been possible if it weren’t for the heroics of Alex Burrows on April 26^th 2011.

On April 26^th 2011, the entire province was focused on one thing that night. Only one thing mattered that day. Nothing else mattered. That one thing was a Game 7 between the Presidents Trophy Winning Vancouver Canucks and the defending Champions the Chicago Blackhawks. The Canucks were on the verge of blowing a 3-0 series lead against their arch rivals. The Blackhawks were giving the Canucks nightmares in every way. Fortunately, the Canucks were able to prevail in sudden death overtime to give the Canucks some revenge to the team who had knocked them out of the playoffs the previous two years.

Why is this important? As the Canucks season wore along this year, it was evident that the Canucks had no gas left in the tank. Their two-month Stanley Cup run from a year before was finally taking a toll on them.

However, it becomes a catch 22 for the Vancouver Canucks. As a result of the unpredictable matchups in the Stanley Cup playoffs, it is quite easy to say the Canucks could have streamed rolled their way through the Western Conference. The Canucks would have hit the jackpot by getting the sixth seed New Jersey in the Stanley Cup Final.

As good as it may have sounded, this may have not been the case. Lets say Chicago does beat the Canucks in that seventh game. It’s not as easy as to say the Canucks would have gotten rested up for another Cup attempt. A first round exit to the same team three years in a row would have meant changes. The changes could have been all the way from 1-2 players from the Canucks current core to the head coach.

Those changes could have led to a different style of Canucks hockey this year. Therefore, the Canucks wouldn’t have been in as good of a position to make a Stanley Cup run. As it turned out, the Canucks Stanley Cup run in 2011 resulted in the Canucks having no energy to make another run this year. It all becomes a catch 22 that was hard to avoid for the Vancouver Canucks. Just take a look at the Vancouver Canucks stats in their first round series against the Los Angels Kings. The stats told the story of the series and half the reason that was the case was fatigue.