After a bit of a departure the past few weeks, we're back to the usual format today. Unfortunately for all of you, that means reading about hockey.
1. Welcome to Long Island, Captain Canada
They don't give me enough space here to fully describe the range of emotions that I went through yesterday. I woke up thinking that the Islanders, who were just one point out of the playoffs with two games in hand, were going to trade All-Star Jason Blake away because they couldn't work out a contract extension. The trade deadline came and went with no word of Blake being traded, so I went to class content that at least they weren't giving up on the season.
After sitting through an hour and 15 minutes of discussion about the Supreme Court, I get back to my room and my roommate asks, "Did you hear about the Islanders? They got Ryan Smyth."
ESPN analyst and mullet enthusiast Barry Melrose described the trade as hockey's equivalent to Derek Jeter getting traded, because of what Smyth means to the city of Edmonton. However, that isn't accurate, because the Smyth trade is equivalent to Derek Jeter getting traded to the Royals (cheap, once good in the 80s, never make the playoffs.the similarities are depressing for Islander fans).
At the end of the day, the Smyth trade is probably the most exciting trade that any of my favorite teams has ever made. It has gotten people talking about the team again, and hopefully his presence will help the Islanders win their first playoff series since I was seven.
2. People do still care about hockey
While the Smyth trade was big news in Canada and on Long Island, it barely made waves in sporting mainstream. However, last Thursday night's brawl between the Buffalo Sabres and Ottawa Senators shows that people can still be interested in the game.
Sure, no league is going to admit that they encourage fighting, but this brawl was great for the game. Not only did it get the league featured in the first 10 minutes of SportsCenter (which never happens), but people were legitimately entertained by the sight of Ray Emery smiling while beating up Martin Biron. I was out on Thursday night, and I noticed that when the highlights of the game came on, several people at the bar stopped their conversations to watch.
The Sabres and Senators played again over the weekend, in a game that featured 11 goals, several fights, and a bunch of big hits. The NHL missed a big opportunity by not having a good television deal. If that game was on ESPN, I guarantee some casual sports fans would have watched and enjoyed what they saw.
3. You've got to feel bad for Clippers' fans
Can anything go right for this team? A couple of years ago they had a great starting five (Andre Miller, Corey Maggette, Lamar Odom, Elton Brand, and the Kandi Man), but couldn't even make the playoffs.
Last season the Clip Show's revival was paired with the demise of the Lakers, but this season the status quo has been restored. Not only are the Clippers bad again, but the other night, promising young point guard Shaun Livingston went down with a horrific knee injury. He broke his knee cap and tore all three ligaments, leaving him lying on the ground looking like Paulie Walnuts had just paid him a visit with a lead pipe. I guess it could've been worse: Vito could have been the one with the pipe.
4. Gary Matthews Jr. implicated in a steroids scandal? Is anyone surprised by this?
Now, I'm not accusing Matthews Jr. of taking steroids, but I'm not surprised that his name has been linked to a steroids scandal. Any time a 32 year-old with 59 career home runs suddenly hits 19 home runs and makes the All-Star team in a contract year, I'm going to get a little suspicious. Unfortunately for the Angels, this came after they gave Matthews a $50 million contract, but I guess it's the universe's revenge for stealing Vlad from the Mets.
5. I feel stupider after watching the NFL combine
For years, NFL analysts like Mel Kiper have talked about the importance of the combine, making it seem as a dream for anyone who enjoys evaluating talent. In theory it sounds like it would make for great television: the best college players in the country trying to show off their skills, with millions of dollars on the line. That would have to be better than watching The Surreal Life: Fame Games, right?
Thanks to the NFL Network and its need to have programming during the offseason, the NFL combine was aired last weekend. I caught a couple of hours on Saturday, and my time would have been better spent watching a "Next" marathon on MTV. Nothing is less exciting than watching offensive lineman doing agility drills and tight ends running the same flat pattern over and over again.
The only enjoyable drill was watching tight ends do "The Gauntlet." That sounds menacing, but was only fun because occasionally someone would drop a ball, and watching the look on their face was hilarious because they knew that the drop probably cost them at least a round in draft position.
