The NHL Wins!

Regardless of how the Conference Finals play out, the NHL is going to have a good matchup and an interesting storyline. Detroit-Pittsburgh rematch from last year would probably be the first choice, however. Anyways, let's looks at the potential:

Chicago is a team on the rise. Full of young superstars and a hot goalie, who the team was looking to get rid of earlier in the season.

Detroit is Hockeytown. The team is dripping with stars and talent. Their fourth line could be some teams best line. The defending Cup Champs.

Pittsburgh has two of the best players in the game in Crosby and Malkin, a coach who is no longer "interim", and a bunch of deadline moves that pushed them into the playoffs.

Carolina can win it's second Cup in five years. Add that to Tampa's, Anaheim's, and Dallas', and who keeps saying that hockey can't work in the Sunbelt?

Here's hoping for two seven game series and some Staal on Staal crime.

My Baseball Hall of Fame Vote

Following up on the last post, this is a list of players who would receive my vote for the Baseball Hall of Fame:

Fred McGriff Roberto Alomar
Derek Jeter Carlos Delgado
Roger Clemens Ken Griffey, Jr.
Mark McGwire Manny Ramirez
Rafael Palmeiro Jim Thome
Trevor Hoffman Gary Sheffield
Barry Bonds Sammy Sosa
Craig Biggio Alex Rodriguez
Jeff Bagwell Greg Maddux
Frank Thomas John Smoltz
Mariano Rivera Tom Glavine
Ivan Rodriguez Mike Piazza
Curt Schilling Pedro Martinez
Chipper Jones Ichiro Suzuki
Mike Mussina Randy Johnson


Fringe Players(retired or at the end of their career):
Joe Carter Jack Morris
Vlad Guerrero Jorge Posada
Andy Pettitte Edgar Martinez
Billy Wagner Alan Trammell
Don Mattingly David Cone


Players on their way:
Albert Pujols David Wright
Johan Santana Hanley Ramirez
Roy Halladay Chase Utley
Roy Oswalt Jose Reyes
Carlos Beltran Miguel Cabrera
Joe Mauer Justin Morneau
Ian Kinsler CC Sabathia
Ryan Braun Alfonso Soriano
Ryan Howard Jonathan Papelbon

I apologize if I missed anyone. This was totally off the top of my head.

Baseball's Hall Monitor

I was 10 years old when I started following sports, baseball in particular. It was the summer of 1987. I still remember trading the 1987 Topps baseball cards, the ones with the wooden border, with my friends. The thought of getting my hands on a Roger Clemens, Mark McGwire, Jose Canseco, or Barry Bonds was unbelievable. These players were Gods. Rising stars who were heroes to millions of kids. Sadly, when my son is 10 years old, these same players will not be looked upon in the same manner that my generation looked upon them. Was what they did wrong? Yes. Did they let millions of fans down by their actions? Yes. Do they deserve to be in the Hall of Fame? YES. Clemens, Bonds, etc. were no saints, that's for sure. But instead of comparing them to players from the past, at least their records anyways, compare them to the players they played against. Is it fair to compare Barry Bonds records to Babe Ruth's? No. Yes, Bonds did steroids. I think we can all figure that one out. But Barry also had more specialized pitchers to face, smaller ballparks, he played against Black, Hispanic, and Japanese players, which Ruth did not. There are too many variables to compare one to the other. Same with all of these current players who are suspected of PED's. Not all of their numbers are because of PED's. Compare Bonds, Clemens, ARod, etc. to the players they played against. Were they the best of THEIR generation? Then they deserve to be in the Hall of Fame. This might be a simplistic view, but if a batter is on 'roids and he is facing a pitcher who is on 'roids, then it seems like an even playing field to me. Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire, Alex Rodriguez, and Rafael Palmeiro were all the best players of their generation. All deserve to be in the HOF. Plus, let's be honest, if baseball wants this "scandal" to go away, they need these players in the Hall. There's more talk of players who are NOT in the HOF than there are of who is. Shoeless Joe Jackson is a HOF-caliber player. If he had been elected, no one would remember the Black Sox scandal of 1919 and no movie would have ever been made. Same with Pete Rose's gambling. If this current group of players are never elected, this "Steroids Era" will never go away. Except for ARod, Palmeiro and Manny Ramirez, who failed tests, all that is keeping these players out are allegations. The ones that did fail tests, just put that on their plaques in the Hall.

Please Put Jordan Talk to Bed

It's been awhile since I saw Michael Jordan play, especially at an elite level, so my memory could be a bit fuzzy. But I can not recall ANY game, any PLAYOFF game where his team fell behind 21-3 to a team that was missing it's two best players. No Yao, no McGrady, no chance. For the Lakers? Couple this with the performance of the Lakers in the Finals vs. Detroit a few years back and Kobe's performance in that game 7 vs. Phoenix in round 1 a couple years after that, and friends, Kobe Bryant is not even close to Michael Jordan. The only player who plays today that could be in the discussion would be LeBron James. That's it. Kobe's an awesome player. An all-time Top 10 player. Just not a Top 3 player.

Legends of the Fall

It always seems that fans and sports writers are more concerned about an athlete's legacy that the actual athlete himself. They can never get over why an athlete would retire and come back or why they wouldn't retire while they "were on top", such as what John Elway did a decade ago. Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, boxer after boxer, and more recently, Roger Clemens, and Brett Favre have been questioned and made fun of while they attempt comebacks. I don't understand it. I want Brett Favre to come back and play football. I wouldn't consider myself a fan of his, but I do enjoy watching him play. "Why would he come back and embarass himself?" "He needs to quit before he tarnishes his legacy." HOLD ON. One, it's HIS career. Two, it's HIS choice. Three, it's HIS legacy. Brett Favre, and all elite athletes for that matter, started playing their sport when they were small children because they enjoyed it and were good at it. They enjoyed the competition, the comraderie on the sidelines, bench, locker room, etc., and the thrill of winning. However much money they make, rarely do those joys disappear. Many times, the game they play defines who they are. They NEED it. Brett Favre has mountains of money and what seems to be a great family. But he NEEDS football. It's the only thing he knows. It's what he enjoys doing. I do not begrudge him that. It's obvious he's playing, or wants to play, for love of the game. If someone(Minnesota Vikings) still thinks he can play, then have at it. If he's having fun, then we should be happy for him.