NHL.. No Love Lost

It seems that after a 119-day lockout, no matter where you reside, your local NHL team has been embraced by its fans with open arms. With opening day attendance soaring over numbers of recent years, it seems as though the fans have been desperately waiting to see their favorite players return to the ice.

I had the opportunity to witness this first hand, from the glass of the United Center. From the moment the words "Oh Say..." left Jim Cornelison's mouth, the crowd did not miss a beat. Roaring, and applauding like they have been accustomed to; in keeping with their Blackhawks tradition, you couldn't help but feel hockey was back.

Sell out crowds across the league, and record high dollar sales prove that the NHL has not lost a place in the hearts of their fan base. But what does a shortened season mean for the league?

Could the 48 game season be a sign of things to come? My feeling is that the excitement of a 48 game season will be heightened because of the limited amount of games. Games are likely to be held more important, and a playoff push will come earlier in the season, thus creating an exciting urgency in the eyes of not only fans, but players as well. After this season, and the NHL continues to play their 82 game regular seasons, will fans grow tired of watching games that ultimately don't matter?

This idea is much like the stir in the NBA. After the 2012 lockout, 66-game season, which proved to be one of the more exciting seasons in recent history, the nba seems a bit more prolonged as they have gone back to the 82 game format. Could this be a wake up to commissioners that a shortened, more competitive season should be thrown onto the table?

Thank you for reading.

BS, I mean...BCS

So after an extremely mismatched and boring bowl season, there was only one way to cap it off. With yet another unbearable game to watch. How the BCS allowed an "Independent" team to play for a national championship is beyond me. Did they honestly think we were going to get a good show?

Brian Kelly and his Fighting Irish had absolutely no answer for Bama's hot start. Down 28-0 at the half and unable to put up a single point of offense in the first half, Kelly said "we have to make tackles"... That's it? I'm sorry coach, but tackling a guy, isn't going to put the ball in the end zone.
Maybe deep out patterns called on 3rd and 2, 3rd and 7, and 4th down; going up against ine of the most lock-down corners in the NCAA had something to do with deficit. In all fairness to Notre Dame, they had no business being there. They haven't had to see an offense or defense like that all season. Hopefully, moving forward the BCS will take into account that there are much more deserving teams of the spotlight.

On the other hand, I'd like to see a little less favoritism for the SEC. They all end up losing to each other, and staying in the top 15. I think this bowl season showed that they can be beat: ie. South Carolina squeaking by a weak Michigan team. Clemson of the ACC beat LSU, in a "big" bowl game, and alas Louisville beating the pulp out of Florida. What does that say about the "greatest conference"? It just didn't sit well with me that Georgia and Oklahoma had to watch teams far inferior in BCS bowl games.

There has to be a better way for the BCS to grade teams. It's an extremely biased and unfair system. Even with the new playoff system being put into place; it will be a 4-team playoff format, with those teams being chosen by a committee. Although it will be a step in the right direction, but i'm not counting on an unflawed system. With so many teams and conferences, it's almost impossible to make it fair, but maybe if we take the competition of the game a little more seriously come bowl time, rather than how much money each team will generate, it may be a step in the right direction.

Thank you for reading.

Geriatric Lakers. Can They Be Cured?

Last night Kobe Bryant had a simple answer for their loss to Philadelphia; "We're old...". We know! It's no secret that the Lakers are old. But how do they over come it? People like me will tell you that hiring Phil Jackson, and his proven triangle offense would have been the perfect solution to this problem. But let's try to take the situation given now, and see how the lakers can move forward.

I believe that this situation is one where Coach D'Antoni needs to change his style of offense in order to properly suit the players he has on the court. If you have older, post-up players; a fast-paced "D'Antoni" style of offense is not the answer. When you have an aging team, you need to be comfortable in the half court set. A good coach can make these adjustments.

The Lakers have had their share of issues this season. With the injury to Steve Nash, and Dwight Howard coming off of back surgery, it has been a challenge to get this team on the court together to work on those new relationships. D'Antoni has also had a problem working Pau Gasol into the lineup. That in itself is inexcusable. You are given a team with 5 former all-stars; you find a way to work them into your system.

As little credit as Erik Spoelstra gets for his part as Head Coach for the Miami Heat, he was challenged with this task, and is continually making adjustments. With the evolution of the Miami Heat since the addition of Lebron James and Chris Bosh, Coach Spo has had to evolve his team into a "small ball" team. Using their athleticism to compensate for their size, and in a sense, defying the laws of NBA physics. Although the Heat still have a lot to figure out, they are well on their way to making the adjustments they need, certainly further along than the Lakers. That is what "coaching" is. Taking your talent, and formulating a system that works for them.

This has not yet been the case in LA for D'Antoni and the Lakers. By sticking to his "quick point" offense, the Lakers will fail. Until he can can set his ego aside, and embrace the challenge of building something new, he will be holding that team back. But let's face it, having Kobe on your team is always a step in the right direction.