So long and thanks for all the fish!

Well, the death of this blog was inevitable. It went from a dead sprint to a screeching halt in a matter of a few months, due to some time issues and other factors taking away from posting. But good news! A co-worker and I have started a new blog http://sportsjive2010.wordpress.com (another reason for the lack of recent posts).

If you enjoyed reading my rants and raves, please check out the new website. It is just in the beginning stages of creation, but soon will be up and running with daily posts from more than just me.

Thanks for the support for all of those who took time out of their day to read.

This has to stop

*Thanks to Boston Globe for image*

Bruins watched as their playoff chances were carried off the ice last night in a stretcher. Late in the third period, during a 2-1 game, Marc Savard took an absolute cheap shot to the head while shooting from the top of the slot from Penguins Matt Cooke. As you can see from the video (bottom of the article) notorious scum-bag Cooke, leans his shoulder into the head Savard while he is sliding backwards in the slot, well after the shot had been taken. Cooke received no penalty for the hit.

Let me emphasize my point: THERE HAS TO BE AN END TO HITS LIKE THIS.

This will most certainly be a pressing topic at the NHL's 30 general managers meeting this week. But most likely the rule on headshots and concussions wont be altered until next season, if at all.

OK, I understand that if a rule against blind-side hits is established then players would find a way to exploit it. But take into account those who are protected versus those who would suffer from the rule. This would diminish the role of the enforcer on the ice, the most despicable player on the team. Sure, there might be few more suspensions thrown around, but it would absolutely decrease the amount of pointless injuries from cheap shots as well as create a much needed guideline for what is acceptable in the NHL.

Bruins head coach, Claude Julien, wants serious action taken against Cooke:

(From Bruins Blog)
A guy like that has to be suspended. That's the way I see it, because it's an elbow to the head from the blind side. That's exactly the examples they show of what we've got to get out of this game. We have a guy who's got a concussion. Our best player. He's going to be out for a while. He was [unconscious] on the ice for a bit. That's unacceptable.

NHL officials are expected to have their opinion announced by this afternoon.

UNDER CONSTRUCTION!!

Please excuse my current leave of absence and lack of posting over the last month, but I have been working quite a bit and have been working on another project. Currently I along with another avid sports fan are the process of making a sports podcast/blog, something bigger than this blog. Now that I have a little more time I'm going to try to post as much as possible, but I'll keep you informed about the new podcast.

Bruins slide out of playoff position...

After last years regular season domination, no one thought the Bruins would fall so low that they'd be bumping elbows with the bottom dwellers. Alas, the time has come. The B's stand 10th in the Eastern conference with 54 points, the same number as the Islanders....ouch. Who or what is to blame due to the recent 1-7-1 slide? On offense they have struggled to convert power plays. In the past 7 games they did not score a single power play goal and currently are last in the NHL in goals scored. Blame the injuries maybe? No Marco Sturm, Steve Begin and most damaging Marc Savard. Not according to NESN's reporter Kathryn Tappert:

The injuries? It’s part of the game. The Bruins, believe it or not, are among the league’s best for man games lost. Heading into Sunday’s game against Carolina, Boston was ranked 24th among the 30 NHL teams. Translation: 23 other teams in the league have more bumps and bruises and players missing due to injuries than the Boston Bruins. No excuses.

Tim Thomas is doing all he can, although is having a sub-par season in comparison to last year. He ranks 16th of all goalies in the NHL with saves. While back up goalie Tukka Rask has a save percentage of .925. Pretty good, but sees a significant less amount of ice time.

Numbers only go so far, if the team morale is down in the dumps they wont play well. Tim Thomas said this after Saturday's loss to Ottawa:

Maybe ‘frustrated’ is not the right word. It’s part of it. You know, I’m disappointed. I think as an overall effort from the team, we gave a real good effort. We’re just not getting the results that we need to.

What's eating this promising team full of potential? Whatever it may be, hopefully it will be shaken off soon and they bounce back into playoff contention.

NCAA coaches flee from respected schools under investigation

As of last night, Lane Kiffin stepped down as Tennessee head coach and took the place of Pete Carroll at USC. Carroll accepted a job with the NFL's Seattle Seahawks earlier this week. Although he denies running away from USC's ongoing investigation, it seems suspicious that he is bolting from a program he invested so much time and effort into building.

Carroll said [his depature USC] “not in any way” did it come as a result of USC’s impending troubles. Among the allegations are charges that former USC running back Reggie Bush took cash and gifts from recruiters, and later violated rules by helping Carroll recruit Louisiana running back Joe McKnight. -- FOX Chattanooga

Tennessee's football program is also under close watch due to allegations of recruiting infractions. Kiffin pretty much sent out some bombshell to convince some barely legal kid to come play football for his program. If that's not genius then I don't know what is, too bad it's against the rules.

Since Tennessee Coach Lane Kiffin took over in December 2008 after being fired as the Oakland Raiders' coach, the Volunteers have committed at least six secondary N.C.A.A. violations — unintentional violations that provide minimal recruiting or competitive advantage. Interviews with multiple recruits and their family members revealed that the N.C.A.A. has strong interest in Tennessee’s use of recruiting hostesses, students who are part of a formal group at the university that hosts all manner of prospective students at campus visits, including athletes. It is not clear whether the university sent the hostesses to visit the football players. -- NY Times

These Nixonian exits are the American way, are they not? Tell 'em Lane.

Finally!

As of yesterday afternoon around 3, notorious slugger Mark McGwire admitted in a tear-filled interview to the use of performance enhancing drugs during his MLB career. We all know he did it, it just came down to when he was going to come clean (no pun intended) and acknowledge it. According to McGwire, the reason he used HGH and steroids was to recover from injury faster, "I did this for health purposes. There's no way I did this for any type of strength use." McGwire claims he was given a gift to hit a baseball, and the fact that he used these drugs did not assist him in smashing all those home runs.

Tony LaRussa McGwire's manager during most of his MLB career reaffirms McGwire's claims, stating that he is one of the hardest working guys in baseball and still is. LaRussa and the Cardinals opened their arms to the ex-hero of St. Louis in October, putting them on his staff as hitting coach replacing Hal McRae. This was an obvious cry for help from McGwire to baseball. After hired we all played the waiting game, it was just a matter of time until he admitted his wrong doing and we got on with our lives. For those of you that see McGwire as a talentless hack who cheated his way to the top, go try and hit a 95 MPH fastball over 350 feet, then and only then can you complain.

Random thought: Maybe Pete Rose should give Mark McGwire's PR agent a call.

Ali Tribute

I usually don't watch youtube videos that run over 2 minutes, but I made an exception for this. If you have even the slightest interest in Muhammad Ali you'll appreciate this.



ALI BOOMAYE!