Give it time

In the aftermath of the Johan Santana trade, it seems as though the comment boards on articles and blogs have become a "bash Bill Smith" wall. Who are we to be so critical right off the bat? I know Johan is worth a lot, maybe and probably more than we got for him, but the Minnesota fans that are trying to analyze this trade and find the negatives need to lay off. As a Twins fan for life, I've seen them through the good and the (very) bad. But as a real Twins fan, I have as much faith in our scouting system as I do in anything. If you go back and look at previous trades, it just shows that Minnesota generally knows what they're doing. If you look at this trade realistically, Bill Smith would not just give away Johan for nothing. I've heard people say he was backed into a corner, or he waited too long or whatever, but I strongly believe Smith did the right thing. I follow Minor League Baseball, but I'm not going to pretend to know about these guys we got from the Mets. All I know about them is what I've read from reputable sources. Nobody really know whether these guys will pan out or not. What gives us the right to jump on Smiths back just because we don't know what will happen? If you are a true Twins fan, give it some time. Nobody thought the AJ Pierzynski for Joe Nathan, Francisco Liriano and Boof Bonser trade would work out, and now look at us. Have faith in our scouts and our General Manager. This upcoming season very well might not turn out the way we were hoping as Twins fans, but if we finish third or fourth in the division, that's not disappointing, it's just frustrating. Every team eventually has to start fresh at new positions with young players. I've heard the term "rebuilding" thrown around when referring to the Twins, but I don't see how anybody could tag the Twins as rebuilding next year when we just signed Justin Morneau and Michael Cuddyer and recently acquired Delmon Young to complement Joe Mauer in the lineup. The season might not be the best; We may finish below .500, we may miss the playoffs, we may make the playoffs and win the World Series, but until that time comes when these prospects that we got from the Mets either flop or help us win, everybody should back off of Bill Smith and just give him a chance for him to show us what he's made of.

Prospects acquired for Johan Santana:

1. Carlos Gomez (Outfield): Height-6'4"

Weight-195

Throws/Bats-R/R

Upside-Great defensively, very fast with decent power.

2. Deolis Guerra (Pitcher): Height-6'5"

Weight-200

Throws-R

Upside-Young (18 years old), above-average changeup.

3. Philip Humber (Pitcher): Height-6'4"

Weight-210

Throws-R

Upside-Good control

4. Kevin Mulvey (Pitcher): Height-6'1"

Weight-170

Throws-R

Upside-Good command, mixes pitches well

Too little, too late?

Teemu Selanne, after taking 53 games off to "ponder retirement," has decided to return to the Anaheim Ducks to play the remaining 29 games in the regular season. But should he be allowed back this season after such a long break? Of course, all Ducks fans will say yes, and I would expect nothing less. Selanne, who is 37 years of age, recorded 48 goals and 46 assists last year while on the Stanley Cup winning Ducks. The fact that I hail from Minnesota and have had a chronic feeling of hatred for the Ducks since last years playoffs has no bearing on the stance I am taking here. I griped about the fact that Wes Walz took an enormous amount of time off from the Wild barely into the season to figure out that he wanted to retire, and if players are going to take forever to figure out if they want to return or not, they should have it figured out before the season starts (of course if some sort of emergency comes up with a player, that's a different story). The Ducks have now had two guys, Selanne and defensemen Scott Neidermayer, that have taken a ton of time off to think about whether they wanted to retire or not. Selanne says that he was on the brink of retiring until he got back to going to games and being with the team.

"If Brian Burke had told me he needed a deadline in training camp or November, I wouldn't be here today," Selanne says.

That deadline that Teemu speaks of is exactly what needs to be implemented to prevent guys from coming in halfway through the season. I know there is already some sort of date that is set for players to return, but that date needs to be moved way up for it to have any effect. Allowing Selanne to join the team now robs a player who has been working hard all season to either get sent down, waived, or traded, all because a veteran decided 53 games into the season he can't step away from the game. I understand how hard it is for these older guys to have to even think about retiring, but seriously, these guys are grown men and they ultimately know what they want to do. Even teams that make it to the Stanley Cup have a couple months to ponder what they want to do regarding playing. Why was it so hard for Selanne and Neidermayer to figure that out in the offseason? The fact that Selanne is deciding to rejoin the team now just looks like he is taking the easy way out. I can just imagine him thinking "Wow, I'm not even playing half of the season yet I can rejoin the team, make millions, and have a shot at another Cup." I believe that if a guy wants to win the Stanley Cup, he should have to go through training camp like the rest of the players on the team and not take the easy way out just because he can. Yes, Selanne's wife just had a baby seven weeks ago, and yes I understand that changes his entire life, but what needs to happen then is for him to sit out the entire season and then think about coming back next year. Now I've never been a big fan of Commissioner Gary Bettman, and I know he won't think anything of this whole situation, but the fact of the matter is there needs to be an earlier deadline set for players to return to action. I would say they have up until the first game of the season to sign a contract. If you haven't signed a contract with a team by the drop of the first puck, then you should have to miss out on the season. Both Selanne and Neidermayer need to show some respect to their organization. I know that GM Brian Burke welcomed both of them back with open arms, but somewhere in the crazy mind of his he's got to be thinking that it's a hell of an inconvienence for these guys to show up when they did. It will be interesting to see if Selanne's return to the Ducks, who are currently in 5th place in the conference, will be positive or negative. I'm sure players and teammates are glad to see him back. Who wouldn't want a 40 goal scorer to rejoin their team? But I also have to believe there are those few players on the team that resent the fact that Selanne was given all that time and now he gets a free pass based on his resume.

Wild win, move back into first

After a disappointing loss to the Flames just two nights ago, the Wild were looking for a game to show them they still belonged at the top of the Conference. In their last game before the All-Star break, the Wild outlasted the Colorado Avalanche 3-2 in a win that put them back into first place in the Northwest Division. Pavol Demitra scored his 10th goal of the season and Niklas Backstrom made 28 saves to pace the Wild against a depleted Avalanche lineup. Without stars Joe Sakic, Ryan Smyth, and Paul Statsny, Colorado kept the game close, but in the end it was the healthy team that took home the W.

Todd Fedoruk got the Wild on the board first as he scored on a nice tip-in from a pass right down the middle from Demitra just five and a half minutes into the contest. After escaping defenders in the neutral zone, Demitra skated down the left boards and shot a pass across the ice to Fedoruk, who was streaking down the middle waiting for the tip. Just 8 minutes later, the Wild doubled their lead when Marian Gaborik found Brian Rolston sneaking up the middle of Colorado's zone. Rolston held the puck for a second, and then blasted a patented Rolston slapper past Jose Theodore, who was just hoping to get a piece of the puck. The Wild thought that they would be able to close out the first with a two-goal lead, but former Wild forward Andrew Brunette connected on a wrist shot to get the Avalanche back within one with 28 seconds remaining in the period.

The second period opened quickly when Marek Svatos found Wojtek Wolski with a wide-open net to put Colorado back even with the Wild just two and a half minutes into the frame. Both teams had their chances after that goal, but Theodore and Backstrom held strong for their teams. The Wild finally cashed in at the 13:41 mark of the second when Demitra caught a pass from defensemen Kurtis Foster and scored the eventual game-winner on a wrist-shot from just inside the slot. The rest of the game featured shots back and forth, but nothing to show for it, leaving the Wild with the edge 3-2.

This was a huge win for the Wild, going into the All-Star break beating Vancouver and Colorado within 4 days is big at any point in the season, especially now. It is imperative the Wild figure out what they need to work on and fix it going into the home stretch of the season. Every game from here on out can decide whether the Wild end up with the 3rd seed in the playoffs or if they miss the post-season completely. Hopefully the Wild can use the momentum they picked up with this recent road trip and use it to their advantage. Most of the Wild now get a few days off to recuperate and be with their family. Gaborik will be traveling to Atlanta to partake in the All-Star Game festivities (he is slated to be part of the inaugural Breakaway Challenge). After the break, the Wild get right back to work taking on the Anaheim Ducks at home before traveling to Columbus and then coming right back home to take on the Red Wings, Stars, and Islanders.

My Three Stars for game #50 in Colorado:

1) Pavol Demitra

2) Wojtek Wolski

3) Todd Fedoruk

I'm speechless (Hence why I blog)

Before I say anything, I urge you to take a look at this link:

The Ringmaster Rolls On

That is today's (January 17th) E-Ticket on espn.com. E-Ticket is pretty much an article that is written for print for ESPN The Magazine, but they end up featuring on their website. They only do it every so often, but it usually is an article that evokes some sort of strong feeling, whether it be controversy, hate, love, or anything in between. I want people to read this article because when I read it for the first time today, it reminded me why I wanted to get into sports writing as part of my future career (hopefully). Discard the fact that the article is about Victor Conte, the mastermind of the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Op (or BALCO as it's known in the sporting community), who almost single-handedly killed the game of Baseball. I want you to look at the article not only for the content, but also for the writing. The way that Patrick Hruby has captured the range of emotions from this man, the man who made Marion Jones the toast of her country at the Sydney Olympics and then ultimately lead her running into prison, is absolutely amazing. As previously mentioned, I desperately want to be involved in sports journalism once I get out of college and get on with life, and although Hruby may not be as recognized as other writers in the sports world, I can only hope that one day I can crank out an article that captivates someone as Hruby's did to me.

What made this article jump out at me was the way it was conveyed: It had the reporting aspect, the personal aspect, and the short quips that make a story worth reading. He did a great job of making it non-partial too; whether you love Conte or hate him, this article appealed to all. I've always had a split opinion on Conte. From a Baseball fans stand point, he is someone that I loathe and wish would have never gotten in the way of something that didn't need fixing. From a personal stand point, I think he's a genius. A college dropout who doesn't even have a degree started up a business that eventually gained the trust of athletes such as Barry Bonds, Marion Jones, and Bill Romanowski. He is a quick thinker and knows how to say what he needs to, and that's a very admirable quality for a person. Any journalist could go in, speak with Conte, take down a few quotes from him, and fill in the rest later. But Hruby takes the quotes, organizes them perfectly, and parlays the words into pages of brilliant and entertaining reporting. Conte should be thanking Hruby for this article; I have to admit, when I read the article, it really made me think long and hard about what I think of Conte, and for reasons I can't explain, I'm starting forgive him for what he did to Americas game.

Patrick Hruby's article made me remember why I want to get into the business of sports journalism, and I thank him for that. I read sports stories every day, and some catch my eye, others I'll skim through and I won't think about them a second time. I can't help but think that if this story had come out even as recent as a year ago what my reaction would have been. I feel like I would have taken it the wrong way and been fuming at Hruby for putting Conte in somewhat of a "good light." But after reading and re-reading this article many times, it is obvious to me that this is what I want to do, and I can only hope that one day I can write a story as powerful as Hruby did.

Craig Leipold takes over majority share of Wild

This is major news for the sporting world in the state of Minnesota. As a tried and true Wild fan since their inaugural season back in 2000, I hate to see Bob Naegele go, but from what I've read about Craig Leipold, it seems as though this decision is for the best. Leipold, the founder of the Nashville Predators and former owner of the team, takes over as the majority owner of one of the most successful hockey teams in the NHL. Leipold sold the Predators in November of 2007 citing rising operating costs and bad fan attendance (yet another argument as to why there should not be teams near or below the sun belt), and claims to have lost upwards of $70 million while owning the team. I can definitely see why this guy decided to get out of Tennessee and come up to the State of Hockey.

Leipold won has won the respect of virtually the entire hockey world while working to bring a salary cap and other restrictions on teams so that small-market teams can compete with the big boys. I'm assuming that Leipold, looking to make a splash in his first season with the Wild, will do his best to lock up future superstars that the Wild have (Pierre-Marc Bouchard and Nick Schultz), and trade guys that are on the down-swing of their careers (Brian Rolston and Pavol Demitra). The Wild are currently a good team, but in the wicked competitive Western Conference, they really need to figure out how to get more defense and one more superstar into this city to really be a team to be reckoned with (maybe Mike Comrie?). Just over halfway through the season, the Wild are sitting at a very uncomfortable 48 points, barely good enough for the 7th spot in the conference. With the second half of the season already upon us, it is imperative the Wild focus on defense to be able to stay afloat for the playoff race. I believe that Leipold will do his best to make the Wild a better team, and I think that he is a guy that is willing to take a chance on a big trade or a big signing to see how it may work out (Peter Forsberg in Nashville). Hopefully Leipold will do what he needs to do to make the Wild a perennial contender within two or three years.

Bob Clarke: Once a Flyer, always a Flyer

Bob Clarke, a former member of the Broad Street Bullies of the 1970's Philadelphia Flyers teams, has his own opinion on the sucker punch administered by Steve Downie on Jason Blake last Saturday night:

"When he went after Jason Blake, I loved it."

Clarke, who is now the Senior VP of the Flyers, couldn't stray further from the truth in my mind. Now don't get me wrong, I know Clarke is a guy that knows hockey; he scored 358 goals and had 852 assists in his 15 year career with the Flyers. But to say that a guy deserves a sucker punch, he comes across as a moron. As a true hockey fan myself, I like seeing the physical play; guys laying wicked checks on other guys and players standing up for teammates with a good ol' fashioned fight. We see dangerous hits every game that is played, but the majority of people that watch hockey do not want to see intentional cheap-shots happen. I'm O.K. with Downie going after Blake with a fight; challenge the guy and show him you mean business that way. When a guy has him arms being held back by a referee, don't hit him then. Hitting a guy when he is most vulnerable is the sign of a total wuss.

"Blake was a guy who had no problem going out and saying [Downie] should be suspended for life or suspended for the year," Clarke quipped. "When you say something that stupid, why shouldn't this kid go after him for it?"

Because, Mr. Clarke, Blake never threatened you, any of your players, or anyone on the team. If he had hit you with a cheap-shot earlier, feel free to engage the guy in a fight. But to do something fairly unprovoked is not the way to go. We've seen what happens when a guy gets hit when he's not paying attention (Todd Bertuzzi and Steve Moore), and we don't want any more incidents like that to get out of hand.

The second quote by Clarke was in reference to an earlier incident involving Downie. That Saturday night was just young Steve Downie's 4th career game in the NHL. The reason it took him so long to reach the NHL was because just a few months ago, Downie laid a vicious hit on Ottawa's Dean McAmmond. As McAmmond carried the puck around the back of the net, Downie, skating full-speed, raised his elbow and leveled McAmmond. That earned him a 20 game suspension handed out by League Disciplinarian Colin Campbell. Blake had said publicly that Downie deserved more games, and apparently the Flyers organization disagreed with him to the point that they were willing to risk another suspension by Downie to get back at him. It's a sad day in the NHL when guys go back to dishing revenge by taking a cheap-shot at a guy who can't defend himself, and as long as the guys like Bob Clarke remain in office with their state of mind, that's the way hockey will be.

Skoula sits, Wild win...Coincidence? I think not

After a disappointing loss at the hands of the San Jose Sharks a few nights ago, the Wild were looking for a way to bounce back in to the win column. They found that way in the form of quick scoring and solid defense against a good Dallas Stars team. After failing to keep the momentum against the Sharks, the Wild jumped out to an early 3-0 lead and never looked back, en route to a convincing 6-3 win versus the Stars.

Marian Gaborik had two goals, and Brent Burns added three assists to propel the Wild to a win over a Dallas team that demolished them two weeks ago with an 8-3 defeat. The Wild got into some trouble early when Brent Burns was called for interference just 3:44 into the game. The Wild were able to stifle the Dallas powerplay, which had been connecting on 20.5 percent of their chances this year, before Brian Rolston took a penalty at the 8 minute mark of the first, this one also for interference. Looking at the prospect of giving up the first goal of a game for the sixth time in a row, the Wild responded in a big way when Pavol Demitra flipped the puck out of the neutral zone to a streaking Gaborik who caught Marty Turco committing early. Gaborik backhanded the puck over a sprawled out Turco to put the Wild up 1-0 with only the second short-handed goal for the Wild this year. Less than two minutes after the Wild scored first, Demitra cashed in with a goal of his own when he wristed a shot past Turco and into the back of the net. It took the Wild just another two minutes to score yet again, this time it was Pierre-Marc Bouchard who joined the scoring frenzy to put the Wild up by 3 goals in the first period. That third goal by the Wild was enough for Stars coach Dave Tippet to pull the plug on Turco and replace him with backup Mike Smith. The Stars would answer back with a goal of their own only a minute after the Wild, but Gaborik extended the lead again with another goal with just 1:30 left in the first.

The second period started off fairly even as the Wild and Stars traded shots before the Wild finally scored again with a goal from Eric Belanger. Belanger received a beautiful pass from Gaborik and Belanger, using the perfect screen Aaron Voros was setting up, rifled the puck past Smith to put the Wild at a comfortable 5-1 lead. The Stars would respond with two consecutive goals in the second period to get the game to 5-3, but that's as close as they would get. Mark Parrish nailed the coffin shut with a goal with less than 4 minutes left and the Wild came away with a 6-3 victory.

The most notable aspect of the game was the absence of Martin Skoula at the blue-line. After a series of articles written in the local paper about Skoula the last few days, Jacques Lemaire may have been feeling a little bit of pressure to sit Skoula to see what happens. The Wild fans have been clamoring for Skoula, who has now sat a total of 2 games while in a Wild uniform, to be benched in favor of a better defensemen such as Keith Carney or Kurtis Foster. Tonight, Carney was the lucky recipient of the ice time and he proved that he still has some game (at least more game than Skoula). Lemaire has shown an infinite amount of confidence in his seasoned blue-liner, but what he sees in Skoula is something that pretty much everybody in the State of Hockey is missing. Lemaire says that Skoula uses his big size to his advantage, yet the last time I saw him intimidate a player with his size was...I can't even remember. Guys skate right around Skoula and usually that leads to a goal. I do not believe it is coincidence that the defense was good tonight with the absence of Skoula; I feel the blue-line is much safer without him there. I don't know what stat Lemaire is looking at, but what I look for in a defensemen is his +/- ratio. A player gets a + if he is on the ice when his own team scores; a player receives a - if he is on the ice when the opposing team scores. Let's take a look at the defensemen on the Wild and compare that stat:

Brent Burns: +2
Kim Johnsson: -6
Kurtis Foster:-4
Petteri Nummelin:+2
Nick Schultz:-3
Keith Carney:+7
Sean Hill:-4
Martin Skoula:-13

That stat is pretty telling. Generally when a coach plays a guy that is terrible on either side of the puck, it means he adds some sort of threat on the other side. When Skoula plays, he is at the very least a liability on defense and he adds absolutely no scoring threat whatsoever. What Lemaire sees in him, I have no idea. Carney on the other hand, a seasoned veteran who is a career +163, sits pretty much every game. And even though Foster is a -4, he adds a scoring threat that is pretty much unmatched by any of our other defensemen (minus Brent Burns), yet he's been a constant healthy scratch. I am glad to see that Lemaire, whether he took the articles and the fans reaction to heart or not, finally did what every Minnesota Wild fan was looking for: giving Skoula the heave-ho. Now the only thing that would make it better would be for Doug Risebrough, the Wild General Manager, to let Skoula go for good.

A little of this, a little of that

I'm just sitting here watching the Kings/Blawkhawks game on NHL Network and felt like writing. All in all it was a great New Year. Fun night with a couple of different stops without any hitches. The day after went smooth too. A lot of Bowl games today and none of them disappointed...well, almost none. Hawaii, the perrenial WAC Conference underdog, met most peoples expectations and completely fell flat on their faces. Colt Brennan didn't have any time to unload the football, causing turnover after turnover, and the defense could not stop the Bulldogs offense to save their lives. I am disappointed that the Rainbow Warriors could not pull out a victory, but I believe that they accomplished what they needed to this season to show that the WAC Conference is for real.

The other big bowl game of my day was the Outback Bowl which pitted Michigan against an overpowering Florida team. Tim Tebow, 2007's recipient of the Heisman Trophy, was on his game all day. Luckily for me, a huge Wolverines fan, the Michigan offense led by Chad Henne and Mike Hart was even better. Henne passed for nearly 400 yards and Hart ran for over 100 as Michigan prevailed 41-35. That game was Lloyd Carr's last game as coach of the Michigan Wolverines, and he will be missed. Carr finished his tenure at Michigan with a record of 122-40, damn good for a guy who inherited a team with a wicked history that he needed to continue. Now Rich Rodriguez, who led West Virginia to a BCS Bowl berth in 2005 and 2007, will take over the reins for the Maize and Blue. I'm sure he will do just fine coaching the team. I don't believe that his record will be the problem, the only thing the coach of Michigan really needs to do is beat Ohio State, and I believe that with Rodriguez, Michigan will bring in the right recruits to do that.

That's all for now, I just wanted to write for the sake of writing. We'll see how the Wild rebound after that crazy loss to the Sharks just last night. Skoula better be a scratch tomorrow, if he's not...I guess he's not. But we all know he deserves to be. The Blackhawks look like crap without the tandem of Kane and Toews. They are still a talented team, but drastically different without the two young studs together.