I’m sorry it’s been a while since my last post, but with kids out of school, a real estate search, and intermittent power outages, time has been scarce! Anyway, this is today’s issue of 4 Play, which coincides with my 9th anniversary of marriage to my lovely wife Naomi. Love ya babe!
- NHL: The offseason duldrums have officially set in, with all of the major UFA players signed up, and the best RFA (Steven Stamkos) being retained by his team. So, hockey fans, what do we do now? Well, let’s start speculating! Will there be any trades of significance made over the remainder of the summer? Will there be any major surprises next season in the overall standings? Who has improved the most, and who got worse? Will Winnipeg lend legitimacy to the ex-Thrashers? Who will win the scoring trophies in 2011-12? Are there any players you think will break out to have big seasons? My answers to some of those questions are as follow: There will be some trading. Washington is poised to be cap-strapped, and I envision them making a deal to divest themselves of some salary. The acquisition of Tomas Vokoun makes them less reliant on pure offence, so someone like Alex Semin could be on the block for the right return (which I suspect would be a first-round pick plus a prospect at the minimum). That’s about all I can see on the trade front where major players are involved. — That leads me to question 2, in which I would say the Caps are the most improved, as they addressed their most fundamental weakness: goaltending. Philly also improved with the addition of Jaromir Jagr (a stunning signing in my opinion), but they had to shed away Mike Richards and Jeff Carter to add Ilya Bryzgalov to address their Achillies’ heel as well. They’ll be a force in the Eastern Conference this season. — Who got worse? Well, that’s a tough call at the moment, as there was a lot of movement early in the offseason. I’d pin it between Dallas (lost Brad Richards) and Avangard Omsk (lost Jagr to Philly). — Will Winnipeg embrace the Thrashers? Absolutely! This franchise is on the ups, and they certainly proved it by selling out their season ticket quota in 17 minutes!!! I will be watching them every chance I get, and believe that there is a strong core there to make this team a legitimate threat to contend for the Cup within 5 years. — As far as scoring champs go, I’d put my money on Steve Stamkos or Rick Nash for goals this upcoming season. Nash finally has a setup man in Jeff Carter, and I like the potential I see on that team with that combination. Carter is more of a scorer, but I think the combination of he and Nash gives the Jackets a double threat that matches up well with any team in the league. Add to that the acquisition of James Wisniewski, and you have a “wish and a player”! — Finally, in terms of a breakout season, I expect Nikita Filatov to have a big year in Ottawa. With Jason Spezza feeding him the puck, I believe he could be every bit as good as his projections suggested prior to being drafted 6th overall by Columbus.
- PGA Tour: Watching Darren Clarke win the Open Championship at Royal St. Georges was a treat. He’s the European equivalent to John Daly (without the life meltdowns), and a real lunchpail type of guy. He was steady throughout the tournament, and provided some hilarious sound-bytes. His statement of “with the permission of the R&A, I’d love to fill the Claret Jug with some of that black Irish stuff (Guinness beer)” was a testament to his down-to-Earth personality. I’m a converted fan for sure! The question arose between my wife and I whether it would be appropriate for him to thank his former wife who died of breast cancer 5 years ago, considering that he is now engaged to another woman (former Ms. North Ireland). My wife argued that it may depend on how long he was married to his ex-wife, while I suggested that it’s not the same as thanking someone you got divorced from. Well, Darren never mentioned her by name, but there was a tear-jerking moment as he said that there was someone up above who he had to credit for supporting his career. Absolute class. Speaking of class, the tournament organizers were very classy in holding a moment of applause (not silence) for the departed Seve Ballesteros, who passed away this year from brain tumors. Applause all around on a well run tourney!
- Womens’ Sports: Many people were shocked when Japan defeated the United States at the Women’s World Cup of Soccer. I didn’t watch the game, but from what I understand, the USA totally dominated the game, and gave up two 1-goal leads over the course of it. But, when I looked at the stats, USA outshot Japan by a wide margin, but of 17 shots, only 2 were on target. Seems kinda ridiculous to me! But, let’s face it, it is women’s soccer, and the whole sport is only in the developing stages. This is nothing like watching the men play. In fact, it’s worse than watching highschool boys play. From the little bits I watched on television, it amounts to 20 women running around aimlessly chasing a soccer ball. It’s nearly as bad as watching women’s hockey, which I maintain should not be in the Olympics until there are more than 2 teams competing for gold. I’m not dissing womens’ sports, I’m just saying that they need time to get to a level where it is actually fun to watch. As it stands now, I can watch my 8-year old twins run around chasing a ball and it is almost as much fun! One thing I’ll give the ladies credit for where soccer is concerned, is that there is far less diving and faking of injury. Good to see they are at least coming into the sports world with some class! Quite frankly, the only sport where I find it enjoyable to watch women (not for looks alone) is golf. While they can’t possibly compete with the elite men of the world, they are very good at it, and I actually tune in for some LPGA events. Keep it up ladies! You’ll get there some day!
- Charles Barkley vs. Joe Sakic: At the recent celebrity tourney at Lake Tahoe, Joe Sakic made a hole-in-one to win a million dollars (half of which goes to charity). Clearly, athletes are able to transfer their skills to sports which aren’t necessarily their primary sport. Sakic was stunned, as he didn’t expect to ever make an ace, but he’s a strong guy with good balance and hand-eye coordination. On the other side, Charles Barkley, who underwent massive golf-surgery at the hands of swing coach Hank Haney (look up the Haney Project), and still can’t swing like a normal person. His form reminds me of someone having a seizure mid-way through their downswing, and while I can’t profess to have a pretty golf swing, I’ll take mine over his any day if it’s purely for cosmetics. One thing that is stunning is that Barkley can still hit the ball a very long way. The problem is that nobody is looking at the ball flight, but rather everyone is looking at how stupid he looks while making his shot. I implore the reader to check this out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s50K65PNeBU . If that doesn’t make you laugh, you simply lack a sense of humour! If you didn’t catch Sakic’s ace, here it is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17-ZSLlnAZQ
Anyway, that’s all I have for today, but I’ll be back and storming next Monday with more 4 play for y’all.
Until then,
Na Zdravi!
DR
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Written by Dan Rakusan
A huge Rangers (NHL), Falcons (NFL), PGA Tour and soccer fan, I have been writing semi-professionally for about 7 years now. I try to impart information with some degree of humour, and always have an opinion. PSB is another feather in my cap, and am really proud of the team assembled here, and look forward to the long-term journey PSB is embarking on in terms of establishing itself as the best sports blogging collective on the net! Look for articles such as 4-Play, Rangers blogs and PGA Tour updates, along with my NFL handicapping service!
