Ordering "Hits" In The NHL

I will readily admit that I don't follow hockey all that much. However, I'm pretty sure that coaches telling players to take out opponents probably isn't as prevalent as it might have been in years past. One recent incident that might have been influenced by a coach's direction, though is the Todd Bertuzzi attack against Steve Moore. In case you've forgotten about it, and the fact that Moore suffered a broken neck because of it, here's some video for you.



Last night, the CBC reported that Bertuzzi may have been told by his coach, Marc Crawford, that retaliation of some sort needed to be taken against Moore.

A statement of claim filed in court by Moore's lawyer and obtained by CBC alleges that Crawford pointed to Moore's name and number on a board in the Canucks' locker room during the second intermission of that game and said "... (Moore) must pay the price."

In an accompanying document, Moore's lawyer claims Crawford's statement was disclosed by Bertuzzi while under oath, and by Canucks general manager Dave Nonis.

A month earlier, during a Feb. 16 game in Denver, Moore checked Canucks forward Markus Naslund and that led to talk of retribution against him, culminating with the Bertuzzi hit a month later.

Like I said, I don't follow hockey too closely, but are "enforcers" and "goons" still employed by teams just for the sake of retaliation? I imagine that there are probably still some around. Though, it is sad to hear of a coach singling an opponent out in an effort to get one of them to hurt that player. It will be interesting to see what the NHL thinks of this new evidence. I doubt they will do much with it, but I can't imagine that Gary Bettman is pleased to hear it.

Expanding Your Knowledge

With their win Monday night, the Colorado Rockies advanced to the World Series. Doing so is an amazing feat not just because they almost missed the playoffs this season, but also because of how young their franchise is. In case you've forgotten, the Rockies entered the league in 1993 with the Florida Marlins as baseball's Major League expanded. Another interesting note is that within a two-year timespan('93-'95) each of the other major sports leagues(NHL, NFL, NBA) also added a pair of expansion teams. Why don't we take a look at how they all have fared up to this point.

Expand Your Knowledge After The Jump

MLB
Colorado Rockies: The Rockies started play in 1993, and finished 6th in their division with a 67-95 record. They've tied or exceeded that winning percentage every year since then. The '06-'07 season has been their best to date in terms of wins and performance in the playoffs. Currently, they're making their first appearance in the World Series. Their previous best finish was in 1995 when they lost to the Atlanta Braves in the NLDS.

Florida Marlins: The Marlins were the other expansion team added in 1993. They too finished 6th in their division that season with a record of 64-98. However, it only took the Marlins five years to make their first appearance in the World Series('97), and they ended up winning it all. The following year, 1998, the Marlins were a shell of the World Series team after a "fire sale" of most of their best players. That season they became the only team in MLB history to lose 100 games after winning the World Series in the previous season. The downturn would only last five seasons, however, as the Marlins made it to the World Series in 2003 and won it all again.

NHL
Anaheim Ducks: The Ducks entered the NHL in 1993, and finished 4th in their division with a record of 33-46-5. They missed the playoffs for their first three years before losing to the Red Wings in the conference semifinals in 1996. The Ducks made just one more playoff appearance, in 1998, over the next five seasons before making it to the NHL Finals and losing to the Devils in 2002. They missed the playoffs in 2005, but returned in 2005, losing to the Oilers in the conference finals. In 2006, however, the Ducks again made it to the Stanley Cup Finals, this time beating the Senators and taking the title.

Florida Panthers: The Panthers were the other NHL team added in 1993, and they finished 5th in their division with a record of 33-34-17. They missed the playoffs for their first two seasons, but in their third, 1995, they made it all the way to the NHL finals. Ultimately losing to the Avalanche. Over the next ten seasons, the Panthers made two more playoff appearances('96 & '99), but lost both times in the conference quarterfinals.

NBA
Toronto Raptors: The Raptors were one of two teams added to the NBA in 1995, and they compiled a record of 21-61 in their inaugural season. They missed the playoffs their first four seasons, but in 1999 they earned a playoff berth and were knocked out in the first round by the Knicks. They made their second straight playoff appearance in 2000, and advanced to the conference semifinals where the 76'ers beat them. In 2001, they returned to the playoffs, but lost again in the first round. This time to the Pistons. The Raptors missed the playoffs for the next four seasons, but returned in 2006 after winning the Atlantic Division. Though, they were bounced in the first round by the Nets.

Vancouver(Memphis) Grizzlies: The Grizzlies were the other team added in 1995, and they started off with a record of 15-67. They endured nine straight seasons of missing the playoffs, and a move to Memphis, before earning their first playoff berth in 2003. Where they lost in the first round to the Spurs. The Grizzlies followed up their first playoff appearance with a second one in 2004, but lost again in the first round. This time to the Suns. In 2005, the Grizzlies made their third straight playoff appearance, but again lost in the first round. This time to Mavericks.

NBA
Carolina Panthers: The Panthers were one of two NFL teams added in 1995, and put together a record of 7-9. In just their second year, 1996, they made it to the playoffs and advanced all the way to the conference championship where they lost to the Packers. The Panthers missed the playoffs for the next six straight seasons before they earned another berth in 2003, and made it all the way to Super Bowl. Ultimately losing to the Patriots. The Panthers missed the playoffs in 2004, but returned in 2005 where they lost in the conference championship to the Seahawks. They missed the playoffs again in 2006.

Jacksonville Jaguars: The Jaguars were the second NFL team added in 1995, and compiled a record of 4-12. They made four straight playoff appearances over the next four seasons, losing in the conference championships twice('96 & '99) and the wild card playoffs('97) and divisional playoffs('98) once. The Jags failed to make the playoffs over the course of the next five seasons, but reappeared in 2005, losing to the Patriots in the wild card round. They missed the playoffs in 2006.

So there you have it, a quick rundown of some of the other expansion teams that were added to their respective leagues around the same time that the Rockies were. Combined, the eight teams have a postseason record of 107-97, with six championship appearances and three championships. The Rockies have already contributed to that first number this season and hope to increase that second one to four.

Are You Sure You Want To Look Like Him?

MSNBC is running a promotion of sorts where they ask readers that believe they resemble MLB players to submit a picture for the rest of us to ridicule compare.

Currently, there are 20 pictures from brave souls who believe they look like a big leaguer. Of course there are a few "Derek Jeters", an "A-Rod", two(!) Travis Hafners and a guy who I guess could resemble David Justice if he's trying to hide from the authorities by pulling his hat way down(yeah buddy, your chin looks exactly like Dave Justice's).

There are also a few "lesser known" look-a-likes, such as "Bob Wickman" and "Kei Igawa".

Also submitted were photos of look-a-likes that might not exactly be the most popular in certain cities and/or settings. They include Carl Pavano(I really hope that guy doesn't live anywhere near New York), Joe Torre(yeah, the NYC probably isn't so good for you either buddy), Mark Prior(though, the only time you might ever see the real Mark Prior at Wrigley Field will probably be in the stands), Mark McGwire(hit dingers or testify before Congress?!), and of course Barry Bonds(always keep an eye open for an irate Curt Schilling).

Seeing some of those look-a-likes made me wonder if resembling them was really such a good thing. At some point you run a risk of being accosted by people who actually hate the person you look like. After thinking about how crappy your day would be if you got assaulted for resembling a hated rival(like the diehard Red Sox fan that looks like Joe Torre). I thought I would come up with some athletes (current or retired) that you probably wouldn't want to resemble. Feel free to add your ideas in the comments.

NFL
O.J. Simpson: When people applaud O.J. for being asked to leave an upscale steakhouse, you probably don't want to be mistaken for him. Bill Romanowski would have to be included somewhere as well.

NBA
Maybe Kobe Bryant in Vail? Or Ron Artest in Detroit? What about Bill Walton in general?

MLB
Some baseball fans probably harbor a strong dislike for McGwire, Sosa, Bonds, etc. because of the steroid haze that they've helped cast upon the record books. Eventhough he's not really an athlete, I'm sure there are more than a few fans that wouldn't hesitate pimpslapping Bud Selig.

NHL
Todd Bertuzzi's assault on Steve Moore didn't make him anymore popular. Tie Domi made a career out of challenging players on the ice, and there are probably a few guys out there who would challenge a look-a-like on the street or in a bar.

Put On Your Jerseyka It's Time For the Stanley Cupukah

About three months ago, the Buffalo Sabres and Ottawa Senators had a fight and a hockey game broke out. Afterwards, the staff at WGR 550 in Buffalo put together a song celebrating the occasion, and it eventually made its way to YouTube with highlights of the "brawl" among other things.

As fate would have it, the two teams are set to face off on Thursday, May 10 in the first game of the Eastern Conference Finals. So to get you ready for that, here's the song/video set to Adam Sandler's "The Chanukah Song".