The Great One

Wayne Gretzky’s career point record will never be broken plain and simple. He is called “The Great One” for a reason. He amassed 2856 points over his career in the regular season with 1485 games. Gordie Howe is in second place in the all time point records with 1850 points in 1767 games. “The Great One” has 1006 more points than Howe in 282 less games. He averaged 150.3 points per season and that’s factoring in his later seasons which were less than average. Many people consider Sidney Crosby “The Next One.” Even if “Sid the Kid” keeps up his current pace, he would have to play for about 28 or 29 seasons to come close to the last record. In other words, he would have to play late into his 40’s and stay injury free, while keeping his pace steady. Call me crazy, but that seems like a long shot. How about another angle? Throughout history, the only other player that actually stood a chance at even touching his record was Mario Lemieux. He is the closest to Gretzky’s single season point record of 215 with 199 points. Unfortunately Mario’s career was rocky and injury filled, so he could not stay consistent throughout his career, which is something that is critical to even coming close to any record. Unless there are some dramatic changes in the rules of hockey or how people lay the game, I believe Gretzky will stay “The Great One” and the record will stand unbroken.

The Future of the Anaheim Ducks

Scott Niedermeyer was officially suspended Tuesday because the star defenseman of the Anaheim Ducks did not report to training camp. The 2007 playoff MVP has not yet decided whether he will retire early at the age of 34. Teemu Selanne is in the same boat as Niedermeyer except that Selanne is 3 years older. What could this mean for the Ducks this season? Let’s break it down into a few different scenarios. For instance, if only Scott Niedermeyer retires this season I believe that it will not make as such a huge impact as others believe. This may come as a surprise to some, especially to Ducks fans, but I truly believe that if one of these players do retire, Niedermeyer would be the preferable choice. Even without Niedermeyer and his playoff MVP and captain status, the Ducks still have an outstanding defense consisting of Francois Beauchemin, Mathieu Schneider, and of course Chris Pronger. If Selanne retires on the other hand, there will be a much larger impact on the Ducks offense, beacause he is the heart and soul Ducks offense. Sure they have Andy McDonald, emerging star Ryan Getzlaf, and recently acquired Todd Bertuzzi, but none of these players have proved to be as dynamic and influential as Selanne. Todd Bertuzzi may be able to pitch in on offense, but with his disappointing stint in Detroit and his questionable back, he may fail to make much of an impact in Selanne’s absence. If both decide to retire, we’ll be seeing a much different Ducks team this year. With two of their most respected, skilled, and feared players gone, the Ducks will have to get elevated play from everyone on their roster, especially on offense. Finally, If neither decide to throw in the towel, the Ducks are going to make another trip to the playoffs if not a repeat appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals. Regardless of which scenario actually happens, it’s going to be interesting to see how this season turns out for the Anaheim Ducks.

Greg Oden: Another Heart-Breaking Pick, or Still-Destined for Greatness Player?

Greg Oden, the number 1 pick of the 2007 NBA draft, is going to miss his rookie season due to knee surgery. The Portland Trail Blazers, who attained him out of his freshman year at Ohio State University, have gone through something very similar to this before. On draft day, 1984, the Trail Blazers picked, with the number 2 overall pick, Sam Bowie over Michael Jordan. As you all know, Michael Jordan went on to be the greatest player in NBA history to this day. But some of you might not have heard too much from Sam Bowie. Bowie played in Portland for four seasons, averaging 10.5 points, according to ESPN.com, but was plagued by injury and had surgery on his leg as many as five times. Bowie retired in 1995, after two more stints, with the New Jersey Nets and Los Angeles Lakers. Some ask if Portland should have gone with Texas super star Kevin Durant, but the Trail Blazer organization stand by their decision. “If you could look in Oden’s eyes today, you will see that this kid is what we want, and I have no doubt he will be back. I always believe things happen for a reason, “ Portland’s general manager Kevin Pritchard said. “People need to realize: Oden will be back.” However, I cannot help but think if Oden’s future will prove to be as Bowie’s was, bleak and injury prone.

Being from Indianapolis, my high school played against Oden and Conley, and the rest of the Lawrence North Wildcats’ superstar team, winners of 3 straight Indiana state championships and one undefeated (29-0) season, a 24-2 season, and a 29-2 season. I had the opportunity to speak with him, after a game against us, about what he was going to do after high school (at this point he had not decided where to go), and he is one of the nicest, well-spoken basketball players I’ve talked to. He wasn’t cocky, he wasn’t ignoring those who wanted to speak to him. This is one reason, I believe, that he will be able to continue on in Portland, despite a rookie season ending surgery. For the roughly 4 years I’ve known him, everything he believed he could do, he HAS done. So why should this be any different? Why should sitting out one season, strengthening himself, put doubt over him whether he will be able to play at his potential? I believe that he will come back next season and be just as good, if not better, than he was in the pre season this year. If you disagree, that’s your problem, but you watch and see, then you’ll feel like an idiot when he’s helping to lead the Portland Trail Blazers into the playoffs, and at some point, possibly and NBA Championship.

OJ in trouble again...

Why is it so hard to stay out of trouble when you’re a professional athlete? OJ Simpson is in trouble again. Reportedly, Simpson went into a hotel room in a casino in Las Vegas, Nevada to retrieve football memorabilia that was stolen from him. Among stolen items were his hall of fame certificate and a picture of him with J. Edgar Hoover. No charges were filled yet but the confrontation was reportedly an “armed robbery with guns.” However, Las Vegas Police captain said that no weapons were recovered. According to Simpson, he set up a meeting with the dealer while he was in town for a friend’s wedding. When he walked in, he said that he just mentioned that he thought that some of the item’s were his and that was the end of it. However, according to one of the collector’s, Bruce Fromong, Simpson broke in the room while wielding guns and other weapons.

Yankees vs. Red Sox

So the play offs are approaching. That means that major league baseball teams across the country are in a race to make it to the divisional series. Games in the next few weeks are very detrimental to teams’ successes this season. Flashback to April 2007. Everyone was joking about how horrible the Yankees were doing. Now they are second place in the American League East division and leading the wild card race. Tonight, they start a three game series against archrivals, Boston Red Sox. They will be playing in Boston at Fenway Park, which gives the Red Sox a slight advantage, as the Yankees will have to deal with intense Boston fans. This match up also will have important ramifications for both teams. Boston can either widen or shorten the 5.5 game lead that they currently hold over the Yankees. However, New York has a lot to gain if they can play well during these next three games. If they can pull off a sweep, this would give them an advantage in the American league East division. However if they still play well, they can widen their lead for the wild card. However, it seems unlikely that Boston Red Sox left fielder, Manny Ramirez, will be able to play in the series due to a strained left oblique that was injured during the last meeting with the Yankees. It’s never a dull moment when the Red Sox and the Yankees meet.

What Was Belichick Thinking?

Bill Belichick, head of the New England Patriots, has been caught in one of the most controversial cheating scandals that football has ever known. This past Sunday, against the New York Jets, the Patriots were caught videotaping the Jets’ defensive signals. Not only were they incredibly obvious about it, just standing at the end of the field, but they were at The Meadowlands in New York. When the Jets’ realized something was going on, they alerted league and stadium security, and they were indeed videotaping the Jets’ defensive signals. Now, everyone in the league, including the officials and everyone in their little offices, realize that the teams watch the coaches on the sidelines to try and pick up signals. That’s why the home team always has their backs to the press box, pretty much. What the Patriots did is extremely rare, according to one NFC personnel director, because it is against the rules. This is the first time that an AFC personnel director has EVER heard of something like this happening. “The accusation far outweighs what is actually happening,” says one NFC general manager, adding “Now the arrogance of thinking you could get away with it? That’s the beauty of this….It’s the height of arrogance.”



One assistant coach claims that the legal stealing of plays is just “good coaching”, but when you start using video equipment to steal signs, you’re off the reservation. Another reason that most coaches have never tried anything like this before is due to the fact that it may not be worth the risk of getting caught, of attaining the first punishment for something like this. Like Belichick, for example, was fined $500,000, the Patriots were ordered to pay another $250,000, and they had to forfeit draft picks for spying on an opponent’s defensive signals. Now what surprises me the most is, the Patriots had already beaten down the Jets in first round of the playoffs just last year. Why is Belichick so threatened to the point of videotaping the opponents’ defensive signals? Why can’t he just have his assistants do what all other teams do, that being visually watching them and watching for the signals?

Now, league commissioner Roger Goodell only considered suspending Belichick, but then thought better of it, and decided to come up with something much more longer lasting. He fined Belichick with the largest fine in league history, $500,000, which is roughly 12% of Belichick’s 2007 salary. And on top of that, the Patriots were forced to forfeit their first round draft pick for this next season, and possibly will have to give up more, but this is still unknown. I leave you with just one question, was it really worth it? Was trying to get a little bit of an edge on the opponent really worth possibly making your team lose a top incomer next year, and ruin your reputation?

Why's everyone so mad at Ozzie?

So the Chicago White Sox are 24 games behind first place in the American League central division. This puts them in last place. For a team that won the World Series just two years ago this is quite a turn around. Now manager, Ozzie Guillen's job is on the rocks. I don't understand why, when a coach of any team, not just baseball, has a rough year, the blame is automatically placed on him. Exhibit A: Lloyd Carr of Michigan football fame. There are so many factors that go into whether or not a team is successful. This business with Guillen is borderline ridiculous. I don't really understand how someone can go from being name American League Manager of the Year and then two years later be at risk for losing his job. Ozzie has quite a bit of credit to his name including being just 7 wins away from being 9th on the club's all time managerial victory list.

Even though the Sox are tied with Tampa Bay for the worst record in the MLB, Ozzie still has a lot of hope for the team. A recent press release said that Ozzie joked with his sons about probably being the only manager to sign back with a team after being in last place. Ozzie has proven what he can do with the White Sox after leading them to the first major league championship in 88 years. He has a lot of faith that he can get the team back to the level they used to be at. He puts a lot of blame on himself saying that this season he tried too hard to stay out of the spotlight. The media gave him a lot of criticism for the way the team has been playing. He says that he won't let this get to him in the future.

So, even though this year may have gone to hell, the White Sox still have Ozzie Guillen until 2012. I have a lot of faith in this decision and a lot of hope that things will work out. I don't foresee a repeat of this year's disappointments. As for this year, Chicago still has the Cubs right?

And so begins football season...

And so begins football season. Both college and pro teams have started their journey's in hope of finding themselves in a bowl game or the playoffs. However, it seems that a lot of die hard fans may find this year a very frustrating one. By now, Appalachian State's David vs Goliath-esque victory over University of Michigan is no secret. But add in Oregon's win yesterday and Michigan's season is arguably over. Add in Chad Henne's injury and it would seem that Michigan would have little to hope for. There was a lot of talk about Lloyd Carr possibly being dismissed as coach after Appalachian State. But why? He's proved himself more times than not as a great coach. Maybe overconfidence on behalf of the players should be to blame. Afterall, why should they have put effort into worrying about an "easy win" with the Notre Dame game coming up?

However, Michigan arch rivals, Notre Dame, have no place to be excited however. Being as their season is off to a depressing 0-2 start as well. Apparently this new rookie quarterback of theirs is not filling the shoes of his predecessor.

However, there are important big ten games coming up the next few weeks. Next weekend Michigan and Notre Dame will play and one of the teams will inevitably have a win for the season. All of a sudden the Notre Dame vs. Michigan game becomes a lot more important for each team than it has in the past because the loser of this game will be 0-3.