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12:12 pm - Comments
Hope everybody had a nice weekend. I am going to tackle a few comments in this one. It may get a little long but stick with me here. There is some good stuff up there that I am a little dissapointed did'nt spark more reaction but oh well.
Kinger- Oh my god man, get off your knees. R.J. is not the second coming man. You do not have to shill for him just because he is a Pittsburgh guy. The reality of it is you are supposed to play where you get drafted. The guy is pulling an Eric Lindros here. So if you defend R.J, you are defending Eric here too. Is there any doubt that Eric was a punk when he refused to play in the great white north. Why should we feel any diffrently about R.J. That being said, I thought I was pretty fair in the article I wrote bashing both the Nucks and R.J. I guess you did not think so. Burke is a toolbag. He is alot like Billy Beane of the Oakland Atheletics. He let the success he enjoyed in a small market get to his head. He thinks he can run his mouth off about any subject now that he has a winner in the Nucks. As far as playing in the AHL is concerned, I really do not think thats the best idea for him. There are tons of guys in the AHL on NHL only contracts. That means to play in the AHL they would have to cross the pickit lines. In the past some have done that, most notably Torey's favorite Pirate Keith Osik. But for the most part it will not happen which means the AHL will be severly watered down. All the Junior prospects will stay with thier Junior teams meaning he will be playing against retreads and midlevel prospects. It might be good just to get back on the ice but the talent level will be so skewed who knows what kind of development will be going on. I saw somewhere he was done with the U.S. National Team but I guess you have the inside info here. When do you hear people say that quotes were taken out of context???? When people say really stupid stuff just like the Kessler quote. There is no defendind that. It was just a really dumb thing to say.
Torey-Goff- I think the owners do know that the NFL CBA is the best one in sports. Its just impossible to get a players union to pass something like that after everybody has seen what it has done to the NFL. The best we can hope for is the NBA CBA which is bassicly the same except contracts are guranteed.
As far as expansion goes Bettman really had good intentions here. The franchise start up cost was redistributed directly to the owners which helped bail out teams like Ottawa, Buffalo, Calgary and the Pens. At first he was trying to expand in areas that love sports teams. That and areas that do not have pro sports teams that capture the public eye (ie: The Wild, Bluejackets and Preadators) When he expanded to the sunbelt Bettmen was going for the TV contract. He put franchises in huge markets like Pheonix, Miami, San Jose, Dallas the Carolinas. He wanted to be able to go to ESPN and say "Look were in all the major markets." The problem is ESPN did not care. That 120 million TV deal is the main reason hockey finnances are so bad. The NFL has a 2.2 billion dollar deal. When that funnels down to the teams they get 77 million dollars which is enough to cover payroll. When the NHL funnels down they get 6 million a team which basically means they cannot even pay their star player. The TV deal just kills the NHL. Expansion has diluted the talent level but not as much as you would think. Right now you are seeing the Mario-Wayne affect where a bunch a kids who grew up watching them are ending up in the NHL. There are tons of great players 18-25 in the NHL right now. (ie:Kovalchuck, Heatley, Nash and Spezza)
You hit it right on the head Torey. Hockey needs to change a few things to make it TV friendly and more high scoring. When the NFL was a running league the rules were changed to favor the pass. When runs were down in baseball they put in the DH. When points were down in the NBA they put in the three point line. Hockey has got to adapt. Purists say that will skew the game and maybe it will. You cannot compare Babe Ruth and ARod because of the juiced ball theory. But who cares if it is going to save the game.
The first thing they need to do is change camera angles. The last game I saw was from the Kasslings owners box whixh is practicly on the roof. However, I got to see the paterns on the ice and the dynamics of line changes in the NHL. The NHL is the only pro league where players change on the fly. Embrace that, show the casual fan why thats a big deal and how a bad change can effect the game. Show the team concept behind hockey and how if your not in the right spot your killing your team. The way it is now 1/3 of the screen is the crowd and bench, thats no good. Move the nets back. It creates better shooting angles all over the ice and increases the chance of a rap around goal as the forward can more effectivly use the net as a pick. Officals have to be more consistent. You could probably say that about any league but it is most evident in hockey. In the playoffs and the last 5 minutes of any game you never see penalties called. Either call it that way the whole game or call it down the streatch. You can't have lawlessness at certain times because the officals are affraid to impact the game. Goalie Gear is a joke. There is no where to shoot the puck. If your going to penalize forwards for illegal curves you have to crack down on goalies. In fact cut it down as much as possible to increase scoring. The two line pass is as good as gone so I won't even comment on that.
Lastly the NHL All Star game is the best in sports and gets underplayed. The skills competition should be a major event as it is the only one like it in sports. Yea the NBA has one too but the best players do not take part in it anymore. The best in hockey do. Play it up.
Thats it for now.
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03:54 pm - Sorry
I forgot to comment on one of my favorite posts to date. But first, that was a helluva NHL all star game. It was what hockey should look like. Flow and continuity.
No Ron Cook and I are not engaging in any boy/man love. The real problem is Cook has realized he is an idiot and is stealing my column ideas from this very site!!!!! Can you believe he is blatenlty ripping off my ideas? I am writing a letter to the editor. For the record I do in fact hate Ron Cook because the guy is so god damn negeative. Nothing is ever good enough for him and he always blasts the Pens. He is right about the Pitt schedule though. ND opened on 15-2 run last night but Pitt came back to win. I am calling it right here, they lose to the Hall. Thats right boys take it to your bookies Pitt losses monday night on the road. Its a doughnut game as Kirk would say. With UCONN on Sat. Pitt will look right past the Hall and drop one they should have won.
Morelli- Hey theres no place like PSU if you want to be a gym teacher. Have fun Morelli teaching 8th graders dodgeball after you flame out in college. The QB coach in PSU is Jay Paterno. Boy I wonder if he got that job because he knows alot about the QB position. Have fun Tony learning from a guy who latched onto dadies coat tails.
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05:49 pm - Tulane
If you ask for it, it shall come. How bout this for service Dylon.
ยป More From The Times-Picayune
Tulane Football News
Frank Scelfo decides to stay
Tulane coordinator turns down Pitt
Sunday February 08, 2004
By Fred Robinson
Staff writer
New Orleans might be the city that care forgot, but it isn't the one Tulane offensive coordinator Frank Scelfo is ready to say good-bye to.
Scelfo, citing strong emotional ties to Tulane and the city, said Saturday that he turned down an offer to become the offensive coordinator at the University of Pittsburgh.
"This was a great experience for me. Pittsburgh is a great place with a great facility, and (Coach) Walt Harris is a first-class guy, but I had to follow my heart," Scelfo said. "Tulane University and the city of New Orleans are pretty special for me. I saw a lot of passion in a lot that happened last spring, and I couldn't see myself leaving. It's hard to walk away from all the things this city has done for me and my family. That's what it boiled down to."
Scelfo has been with Tulane for eight seasons and has served as the Green Wave's recruiting coordinator and assistant head coach, directing the team's wide receivers, tight ends and quarterbacks. He's the only coach on the staff that was an assistant on the 1998 undefeated team.
Scelfo, whose brother Chris is the Wave's head coach, said he understood that taking the Pittsburgh job would have given him more visibility as an offensive coordinator and could have moved him closer to his goal of being a head coach.
Scelfo would have replaced J.D. Brookhart, who left Pittsburgh to become the head coach at Akron. He had been on Harris' staff at Pittsburgh for seven seasons.
"You've got to take chances in life, but this one wasn't the time," Scelfo said. "When you say Big East and BCS, wow, that's big time. But I think we're big time, too. Why not us? Maybe I'm just looking at it in a different way, but why leave this place?"
The Pittsburgh salary, he said, "would have been a pretty good bump, but it wouldn't have been life-altering."
But more pay and coaching in a high-profile conference wasn't enough to convince Scelfo to take the job. He said his wife, Holly, and two sons were ready to make to the move to Pittsburgh if it was what he wanted. And his brother couldn't have been more encouraging, he said.
"Chris was very supportive. In fact, I had great support from everyone," Scelfo said. "That's what made the decision so hard, and in the end, that's what made it so easy."
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05:54 pm - Morelli Madness
I know this is a hell of alot of posts for one day but I am a dork and throwing one more up. I highly suggest you read this whole article at Pittsburgh Live but I will give you a few quotes from it. Its about how Morelli decided on PSU but the stuff about Morelli and his Dad is just to funny to pass up. I gurantee that the Morelli family will never do an interview for the Trib again. The piece is titled A Recruiting Odd-ysse
Greg Morelli has been criticized for living vicariously through Anthony, but no one can question his devotion to his only son. "They don't know me," Greg, 42, said. "I'm one of the best fathers in the world. I'm tired of being the bad guy."
"They really rolled out the red carpet," Greg Morelli said that day. "I walked in Walt Harris' office and they had an authentic jersey with No. 14 on it. He said, 'It's yours as soon as you make a commitment.'
"They've got my heart now." By this past Wednesday, Greg Morelli had undergone a complete change of heart. He stood by his son at the Penn Hills media room, beaming as Anthony announced his choice: Penn State
Theirs is a tale of an overzealous father and the prodigy son he guided through a recruiting process described by coaches and analysts as one of the most bizarre the college football world has seen. And one this city won't soon forget.
That he invested countless hours into Anthony's development. That they are so close, they have matching barbed-wire tattoos on their left biceps.
"Nothing they do surprises me," Lemming said. "Pitt was on its way to having one of its best years in a long time. When Morelli left, it snowballed. So, you can probably blame that on his dad." Greg protests assertions that he was a puppeteer, and he resents portrayals as a "Daddy Dearest." "This was Anthony's decision," Greg Morelli said. "It wasn't daddy's decision."
After the meeting, Morelli realized his chances of playing early - an important factor in his decision - were slimmer than expected when he committed. "Palko and (Luke) Getsy have been down there two years and know the offense like the back of their hands," Morelli said. "I felt like I was behind." Morelli started to listen to his family's pleas to look at other schools. One family member said Anthony, who went against their wishes in picking Pitt without taking other official visits, simply "didn't want to face the firing squad again."
The Lions' offense is familar, in terms of style and terminology, to what Morelli ran at Penn Hills. Of course, he and his father complained about Indians coach Neil Gordon's run-oriented attack, pining to pass more often to showcase Morelli's arm. "I liked the Pitt offense. It's great for a quarterback and receivers," Morelli said. "As far as my decision, there's a lot of similarities from Penn Hills to Penn State. I don't have to throw all of that out the window."
Penn State recruiting ace Tom Bradley opened the door for coach Joe Paterno, who charmed the Morelli family. The Lions convinced Morelli to take an official visit, where he became enamored with 106,537-seat Beaver Stadium, the stability of the Big Ten Conference and the possibility of early playing time. Some recruiting analysts disagree, pointing to Penn State's dismal track record in producing pro quarterbacks. Kerry Collins of the New York Giants is Penn State's only active NFL quarterback. "You leave a bona fide quarterback coach in Walt Harris," Lemming said, "to go to a school that isn't known for developing quarterbacks." Jay Paterno, however, is expected to be replaced as quarterbacks coach. His successor will be pivotal the development of Morelli, who possesses NFL tools but needs to improve his mental approach to the game.
Johnson advises Morelli and his father to concentrate less on their NFL ambitions and more on learning the intricacies of the most important position on the field. "These are young, high school kids. Some have a little better arm, some a better head, this or that," Johnson said. "They've got a few steps from here until Sunday games. I wouldn't mention Sunday to these kids ever. That's a long road ahead, a lot of third-and-10s away. I've heard his dad say that. It's crazy. They better get real. The NFL is a long way away."
I thought there were some interesting things there but to much for me to write about right now. I will get back to this.
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