Steve Rushin on Hockey for Sports Illustrated

Been quite a while since I've posted to this blog (as online writing efforts have been directed here), but recently came across an excellent piece of hockey writing.

From the Sports Illustrated website (maybe just even the mobile version of SI based on the link), was "Hooked on Hockey Again" by Steve Rushin. He's a solid writer and while short, the piece captures some of the elements of tradition I find endearing as well around the game.

Chip Kelly Oregon Ducks Piece from CNNSI

This of course isn't hockey-related, but I've posted football stuff on this blog previously so when I think about linking here to a story about my beloved Oregon Ducks football, I say "why the heck not?"

The Ducks have been very much in the news lately with multiple players arrested for various legal transgressions (and at least one already booted off the team)... and now there's news about the two most acclaimed current Duck players, Jeremiah Masoli and LaMichael James. James suspending for a game and (Heisman hopeful QB) Masoli for the entire season.

The extent of my knowledge about each case has been (and for the most part still is) limited to knowing that Masoli plead guilty to a charge of felony (reduced to a misdemeanor with his plea) burglary with the theft of a laptop and James plead guilty to a misdemeanor harassment charge after an incident with an ex-girlfriend.

This being said, I had no huge opinion about each case except for how they both relate to my twin views I have about (1) athletes on the teams I follow and (2) what I want from said teams followed.

The first is that I recognize that because someone plays for "my team", it does not make them a good guy... some people are just plain bad guys (see: Phillips, Lawrence who played for the 49ers among other teams). Because they're on my team, I don't have to have any illusions that they're somehow a cut above any "riff-raff types who play on teams I don't root for".

The second view is in a way contradictory, but... not really. When I think about my fandom for a given team, it's great for me to think that "my guys" might win a Stanley Cup/World Series/BCS Title, but the more important thing to me is that I be entertained and happy when I'm paying attention.

Yes, part of being entertained is certainly having a good team that's headed towards a championship goal, but part is also my not feeling embarrassed about the guys who are on the field. It's one thing entirely to know that everyone I want to succeed isn't someone I personally admire, but would be another to think that someones skill level gives them a completely different set of rules than apply to the rest of the team (see: Phillips, Lawrence and his Nebraska Cornhusker playing time after a bevy of domestic violence episodes). Basically, all I ask of the players on teams I support is that they try hard, live up to (or exceed) abilities and don't embarrass me to cheer for them... basically, entertain me.

Back to the issue at hand with said Oregon Ducks... I'm certainly not saying Masoli and James are bad dudes, in fact they may be great upstanding guys, but am saying that they have to be held to the same standards that would apply to less skilled players... with those standards hopefully being ones that would cause the University or fans that cheer for it's teams to not be embarrassed. It's not that I cheer the suspension of either (with Masoli's of course having more impact), but I am happy that Athletic Director Mike Bellotti and Head Coach Chip Kelly (with I imagine the input of University President Richard Lariviere) made decisions that don't seem to simply pander to the talent and potential for success on the field.

All of this said... I agree completely with (and enjoyed reading) Andy Staples from his tongue in cheek titled "Coach's decision a head-turner" on CNNSI. Solid.

Original Six Piece from Sports Illustrated

So glad hockey's back. Along with that and detailed in the Michael Farber piece "It's All About The Six" are the cornerstone franchises: the Boston Bruins, New York Rangers, Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs, Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks.

Such good times.

NHL Franchise Empire Building

After just posting about the Penguins remarkable Cup Finals win over Detroit, I think it also makes sense to highlight and link to a couple of excellent articles about how the two team got there (and may well remain at this elite level for years to come).

First came a terribly interesting Sports Illustrated piece by Michael Farber (yep, he does do most of the SI hockey writing) titled "Spirit of '89". Written about the draft in which Detroit took the fairly unheralded Nicklas Lidstrom along with an additional cadre of players who would start the Red Wings resurgence, it's a great look at how the organization operates... and drafts really really well.

After this came not necessarily a companion Pittsburgh piece by Farber, but rather one which showed how the Penguins have perhaps as good of a chance as Detroit to remain at the top level of the NHL year over year. Titled "Same Time Next Year?", it's... a very descriptive title.

Solid stuff and lots of things can change in the NHL (perhaps even more so than with some of the other major sports), but one thing that likely won't soon is these two teams being the ones to beat in their respective conference.

Pittsburgh Penguins - 2009 Stanley Cup Champions

Wild. Absolutely a wild and incredibly entertaining Stanley Cup finals.

Here's a look told through the lens of Michael Farber and his Sports Illustrated articles as well as SI covers (not of course actually sent to all mailboxes in America covers, but covers that you can see on the magazine's website nonetheless).

Started up something like this (and with accompanying story):

Then the Penguins showed amazing resolve... leading up to this (copied from Getty Images):

Finally, it was all over (and written about here by Farber in SI):

Bobby Ryan Story from Sports Illustrated

Really interesting story in the February 9 issue of Sports Illustrated on Bobby Ryan of the Anaheim Ducks.

To this point in his career Ryan has been best known for being the second pick in the 2005 NHL draft behind Sidney Crosby. However, the piece by Michael Farber titled "No Looking Back" (linked from the SI Vault) shows just how many different layers of interest there are to Ryan's story (which is totally different than "Brian's Song", but any chance to drop in an "I love Brian Piccolo" reference can't be passed up).

His current status as an NHL Rookie of the Year candidate (11 goals scored in the month of January) combined with his time spent in the minors this year due to Anaheim salary cap reasons (odd, but true) is a good story in and of itself, but Ryan was a story even before the Crosby draft year. As Farber does an excellent job summarizing (a book could I'm sure be written about it), Ryan spent from 1998 to 2000 living under a false identity given to him by his father that had jumped bail and taken the family with him. Yep... an interesting story to be sure.

Bruins / Sharks Story from Sports Illustrated

Interesting (and almost haiku-named) story "Two Strong [Boston: 33-8-4 / San Jose: 33-6-5]" from the Jan 26 issue of Sports Illustrated.

Written by Michael Farber, the piece looks at the top two teams by record in the NHL (each leading their conference) and draws some fascinating parallels between them. Most hockey fans know of the Joe Thornton connection... he being traded in Nov 2005 for Marco Strum, Keith Primeau and Brad Stuart.

However, this Farber story brings out something else the top players for each team have in common... a reputation to overcome. From the the story itself, Sharks players looking to shed past labels are "Joe Thornton-'uninspiring' & Patrick Marleau-'undependable'" and Bruins players in the same boat are "Phil Kessel-'soft' & Marc Savard-'selfish'".

Intriguing stuff and while there's a lot of good teams out there, it would be great to see the two match up in the playoffs. Oh yeah... that would be in the Stanley Cup Finals if they meet!

Brett Hull's Free Pass

The current Jan 12 issue of Sports Illustrated has an article by frequent hockey writer Michael Farber titled "The Trouble with Sean Avery" and the thing I keep wondering isn't how Avery created such problems in Dallas, but who's responsible.

I suppose the easy answer with be that it's Avery, but as the Farber piece illustrates, trouble has gone along with Avery to each stop of his career. Now, after getting the big payday with the Dallas Stars, he seemed to decide to really cut loose.

So, this begs the question of who in the Star brain-trust was the driving force behind the Avery signing. The answer to this is pretty unanimously co-GM Brett Hull. Les Jackson is the other half of this two-headed tandem (with the arrangement the only of it's kind in pro sports), but Hull was the guy brought in to bring "pizazz" and the guy who pushed for the Avery deal.

The result is that now Avery burned out his welcome with the Stars, was suspended for a few games by the league and most importantly... told by team management (wonder if it was Hull or Jackson who told him?) that he's done playing for them. Interestingly, the team has stated that they will not pursue any sort of breach of conduct clause in the contract to recoup some of the money that Avery is still owed on the deal.

This stance by Dallas is interesting in that it seems to indicate that either there wasn't much language of the sort in the contract (which would be silly given Avery's past) or the Stars hope the whole thing (including Avery himself) just goes away quietly. The translation of this would likely be him getting paid full salary to not play hockey the rest of the year and then having the remaining three years of his deal bought out in the coming off-season.

Now, to the question of accountability. Hull appear to be the guy, but a separate SI piece titled "No Remorse over Avery Deal" shows his stance. Incredibly, he states that he "doesn't have remorse because he was trying to make the team better." If that's all it takes to absolve his poor decision, then apparently Hull plays by different rules than the rest of us in the working world. This doesn't mean Hull is a bad guy or should be blacklisted by the NHL for this move, but should at least call into question whether he's fully qualified to be an NHL General Manager... or co-GM as the arrangement in Dallas has it.

NFL Writing by Peter King

I know it's a definite departure from the hockey subject matter I've written about on this blog, but the recent Sports Illustrated article "What The 'backer Sees" is good enough for me to deviate from the past and include here.

Written by Peter King (he of the "Monday Morning Quarterback" columns on www.cnnsi.com), it's an extremely interesting look at how Tampa Bay Buccaneers all-pro linebacker Derrick Brooks approaches his matchups in each game and the amount of study he puts in. As a professional hobby of sorts, Brooks actually scouts college players who he would likely be going up against several years down the line.

Fascinating topic and features very detailed and insightful writing by King.

Let's Get it Started in Here...

Written here a few days ago was "Power Rankings Revisited"... a look how the teams I arbitrarily perceived to have the best shot at the Cup have fared in month one.

While I felt that it mattered to have a good start (or in the odd case of Anaheim, a terrible first five games followed by excellent second five), I'm now inclined to think it matters even more after reading "Down and Out: The numbers show that a weak October haunts teams that have Stanley Cup ambitions" from the Nov 3 issue of Sports Illustrated. One point made in the the article is that a fast start to the season establishes a team's confidence so that they can emerge fairly unscathed from any low ebbs that the season may provide (as happened with Detroit last spring).

Tieing this idea to the current (as of last Tuesday) Power Rankings from Scott Wraight at CNNSI and Ross McKeon at Yahoo! Sports, teams that aren't towards the top of the the rankings now may well have a tough go at getting there come next June.