Saturday March 24 3 PM
My head hurts. Not a hang-over hurt. Not a normal headache. More of a dull ache. Maybe it's a withdrawl sympton. I've been off the air for over a week. Haven't had a Guinness or Jamieson since last sunday. Been away from Terry Ryan since later that night as he, in the words of the late Danny Gallivan "gingerly negotiated his way" down the ice- filled steps of my place, a St. Johns Leafs hockey bag flung over his left shoulder, another bag of jeans, t-shirts, cd's and dvd's he purchased while in Montreal flung over the same shoulder, while his right hand clutched a pair of hockey sticks he used to help lead the Melnick in the Afternoon team to the first ever Team 990 Molson-Ex Hockey Challenge Championship three days earlier.
Now he was gone. In an Atlas taxi heading to the airport. And my head started to hurt. Ryan-itis?
Long before I got to know him, I always liked Terry Ryan. What was not to like? A big winger with a bigger heart who could fight and score. Yeah, there were players the Habs probably should have selected (most notably Jerome Iginla) instead of using the 8th overall pick in the 1995 draft on Terry. http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/draft/nhl1995e.html
But how many players across the country were coming off the kind of season Ryan had for Tri-City? Playing on the same team as Daymond Langkow and Sheldon Souray, Ryan scored 50 goals, 110 points in 70 games while racking up 207 penalty minutes. He added another 27 points including 12 goals in 17 playoff games.
When he first joined the Habs Terry impressed, if not with his skating, then certainly his willingness to mix it up. He has a tape of me from the the old "Habs This Week" tv show I used to host suggesting that he might one day develop into a Rick Tocchet style player. Not exactly cherry picking his opponents, among Terry's early NHL dance partners was Tie Domi. Unfortunately that moment might be his lasting NHL legacy. NHL totals: 8 games, 0 points, 36 PIM. What happened? It's a tale better left told by Terry himself. Suffice to say the Ron Corey move of canning Jacques Demers and Serge Savard didn't help.
I met him over breakfast last summer while he was in Montreal for a ball hockey tournament. Turned out we share a love of sports and music. Very similar tastes. He also tells a great story.
And he was interested in radio. So he agreed to join me every monday at 4:10 from his home/office or on the road somewhere in St. John's. We talk, surprise surprise, hockey and music.
Looking for any reason at all to return to Montreal Terry jumped at the chance to play in The Team 990 Molson Ex Challenge. Especially as it lead into St. Patrick's Day weekend. While there seemed to be an awful lot of trash talk in our studio leading to the event (most notably by PJ Stock) I've always subscribed to the wonderful quote from who knows where (if anybody knows the source please pass along) "When you lose say little, when you win say less".
Based on the quote I should stop right here. But a bit of background info. I used to play hockey regularly (weekly, usually friday nights, saturday mornings at 3 or 4 AM) in my 20's; semi-regularly( once or twice a month, whenever a team needed a goalie) in my 30's, and almost never since I turned 40 (the odd charity game-last one I played in was five years ago, I think we(I) got beat the Alouettes, most of whom were very hung over and nasty on the ice. I do remember Shaun Starr playing defense, farting his way through most of his shifts, while Jacques Demers coached from our bench). Even though I didn't play much I skated often, especially with my kids, as I lived across the street from Westmount Arena for nearly a decade. I was very much looking forward to playing in the Molson Ex Challenge. Until I started to prepare for it. Lifting weights wasn't the hard part, although I did feel unusually gassed after three sets. Then I hopped onto my stationary bike in an attempt to peddle through the new John Fogerty concert DVD, The Long Road Home (It's terrific; Fogerty hardly looks or sounds like a guy in his 60's), or at least 20 minutes of it. One song in and I started to feel dizzy. Then I nearly fell right off. A completely blocked left ear was obviously affecting my balance. I tried the same exercise the next day with the same result. A call to my doctor eventually led me to an ear specialist who told me what I already knew except that it could last six weeks. Following a return visit the following week I was sent to the Audiology department at the Jewish General Hospsital for more tests (which included repeating taped messages of a soothing voice: "Say the word....castle" (I thought the word was hassle), "Say the word...tick" (I thought it was tit but realized it couldn't have been, I took a wild guess and said tick). Turns out I do have some permanent hearing loss, due mostly to aging and way too many concerts. Ear plugs are definately in my near future, perhaps as soon as this friday as I'm scheduled to catch The Allman Brothers at The Beacon Theatre in New York.
While I continued to work on the air, terribly over-compensating for my left ear blockage by blasting my headphones to the max, I was beyond uncomfortable. While many of us have worked or tried to work through various illnesses or injuries, I could no longer do my job properly because I could not hear myself. Kind of like a musician without a stage monitor.
And any hopes of making myself feel better by playing some hockey and running PJ Stock into the crossbar were dashed when "Who'll Stop The Rain" seemed to be turning into "Strawberry Fields Forever". I resigned myself to not playing. But I wouldn't miss the event. So I made my Bell Center coaching debut. How many men can say they stood where Guy Carbonneau stands and own a perfect record?
Special thanks to our Twin Towers on defense, Martin Paulhus and Paul Lambert, nearly 300 pounds of skill and muscle. Our second defense pair was right out of Molson headquarters, Geoff Molson with converted right winger Bradley Ogier, who once played against Chris Pronger in high school.
Team Marinaro might have had a Luongo in goal (Leo, very good) but nobody played better than our own 40 year old Triple D Domenic "Dominator" Durante who played up to his nickname.
Successful coaches know when to change on the fly and play matchs ups when possible. These guys made it so easy for me, all I really had to do was chew on some ice:
Marc Lussier, career beer leaguer Mark Bartholomew, longtime teammates Chris Hoffman and Anthony "Tony" Granato, Julien "The Comet" Francis, Bill "Vassy" Vassilas, Robert Varillo, and our regular contributors; Lorne "The Advisor" Rubin (better than any other freelancer), Andie "She's really getting dressed with us?" Bennett (and UNdressed!) and our captain Terry Ryan.
Marinaro has apparently been whining about not getting much rest between games. Each game was 24 minutes. That's a total of 24 minutes. Running time. Wonder what John Torterella would say?
Anyway, it was a great event. A mini fantasy camp for everybody involved. Special thanks to Molson's, The Bell Center (especially security and zamboni staff) La Cage Aux Sports and our on ice officials: Kevin Mitchell, Kevin Rechil, Derek Widgington and Tommy Carkovic. Look forward to defending the championship-while playing-next year.
Back to Ryan. His on ice mission now accomplished (I left the dressing room prior to the first game to let Terry adress his teammates. His remarks were apparently Messier-like in depth and inspiration. Grown men and women will be weeping for years whenever they're asked about it.) Terry's actual work was just starting. Shmoozing with the masses before running into old friends deep into the night at Hurley's, co-hosting Friday morning editions of The Stock Exchange and The Montreal Forum (thoroughly embarrassed by his teams' 0-3 mark, PJ Stock shipped off to Boston for the weekend), guesting with Stephen Brunt and others at our annual St. Patrick's Day blow out at Hurley's, discovering people and places and bodies he never knew existed while arriving in time for a saturday breakfast show at McKibbins with Joey Elias, heading to the Bell Center early enough prior to the Habs-Leafs match up to catch up with old friends Ron MacLean and Don Cherry, hanging out in their studio for a period before heading into a private lodge run by relatives of Marinaro, meeting up again at Hurley's following the game with a few members of the Canadiens family in the not-yet-officially-opened-for business brand new wing of the Pub (it's going to be gorgeous) on the second floor, resting up just long enough to land with a thud on The Team 990 float for the parade on sunday, taking the microphone during a computer malfunction, imploring hundreds along Ste Catherine and Fort to "Visit the Ryan's this summer in St John's!!!". And then his work was done. Oh, to be 30 again.
With Ryan safely (?) back home, my condition seemed to worsen. While I detected some movement in my ear tube (when sneezing) the rest of my body seemed to be telling me that I had done enough damage for awhile. I couldn't move for the week. Literally.
I slept. I shuffled to the sofa. I read. I ate. I watched hockey. I shuffled back to bed. I read more about Conrad Black than I ever thought I would. I read about a new 36 hole golf course going up in Israel adjacent to the Sea of Galilea. Craters from Hamas attacks will be turned into sand traps. I listened to music. Neil Young at Massey Hall 1971 is sensational. The new Rickie Lee Jones (The Sermon On Exposition Boulevard) is inspiring. The Stooges first cd in 30 years (The Weirdness) sounds like...The Stooges! If you like guitar heroes check out Joe Bonamassa. His latest is an all blues effort with help from Jason Bonham. Yes, they cover Zeppelin. http://www.jbonamassa.com/index2.htm
At least I still had an appetite. But I still can't hear out of my left ear. Next week will mark the magic 6 week period since I first noticed the blockage. I'll remain off the air until it clears up, or until the Canadiens clinch a playoff spot, whichever comes first.
Amazing what above average goaltending can do for a team, huh? Or, in the case of the NY Islanders without Rick DiPietro and the Habs prior to Halak II, below average goaltending. No deep mysteries. No wondering why the team is so listless (A Hall of Fame broadcaster recently went on tv to suggest that a friend of his, who has season tickets at ice level, complains that players in the penalty box show no emotion! The surest sign yet that there must be a coaching/leadership/chemistry/talent problem on the team.)
Over the years I have grown a very high tolerance level, as is a necessity in this business, for those who might sound off base on a particular topic. Everyone is entitled to an opinion should be printed on business cards for anybody in talk radio. But I must confess there is one topic I have virtually no time left to discuss, clearly no patience for and frankly, at this stage, no respect for anybody who buys into the Saku Koivu is not a real captain bullshit. It's enough to make my head throb, again. We all get e-mails from listeners who want to know why, after 10 years without winning "anything", I continue to support Koivu in the manner in which I do. As if simply by having the 'C' on his sweater gives him the power to carry everybody on his back and all the way to what...a Stanley Cup? Can anybody tell me which team Koivu has been a part of while he's been here that should have gone further than it did? You want him to, at some point, "guarantee a win" in a key game, a la Messier, who by the way, spent the last seven years of his career OUT of the playoffs?
If you have yet to figure out what kind of competitor, talent, spirit and leader this man is than you're either blind, ignorant or simply prefer to take out your frustrations on the most visible player(s) available, outside of the goaltender, without regard to facts or evidence.
It was very gratifying then, as part of lie-on-my couch week, to hi-lite PVR material which included tributes to Koivu on TSN and HNIC. The occasion was Koivu being cancer free for five years. And how he has helped and inspired so many others, without lifting a Cup.
That's character. That's leadership. That's a winner. In more than three languages.
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Friday, March 9, 2007
After A Week Like This...
Friday March 9, 8:45 PM
Just another week in Habland....
La Presse devotes six pages in it's monday sports section to "L'Affaire Kovalev", printing what it says is a word for word transcript of an interview a Russian journalist says she conducted with Kovalev on his birthday (Feb 24)... Kovalev is critical of Guy Carbonneau and some teammates, especially the French ones... La Presse says it heard a portion of the interview....Francois Gagnon offers up a vigorous defense of his paper on The Team 990 morning show, saying the paper has the conversation on tape...Kovalev denies everything, then addresses his teammates before they publicly go to bat for him, some suggesting there is no chemistry problem on the team (Saku Koivu: "Best room we've had in 10 years")...Out of nowhere Jack Todd emerges, describing La Presse as "brave" and a journalist he's never met or read as "courageous"...Todd then returns to work on his life story, entitled "One New Adventure In The Cuckoo's Nest"...PJ Stock, a frequent critic of Kovalev, demands a copy of the so-called taped interview...A veteran Russian journalist, who also happens to be Kovalev's biographer says he doesn't believe the story, and the publication it originally appeared in "constantly makes things up"...The journalist in question says a lot of what appeared in La Presse is not what Kovalev told her, that there must have been something "lost in the tanslation"...Stock and Gagnon battle it out on 110%....Making the best use of a prop in public since Russian Premier Nikita Kruschev banged a table at the UN with his shoe, Stock pulls out a black cassette ('The Best of Boston" had been taped over), taps it on the table and asks Gagnon for proof that Kovalev said what La Presse had reported....Gagnon, for the first time in his professional life cannot get a word in...Stock, outnumbered four to one, makes like Henri Richard versus the Bruins in Boston circa 1959 and wins a unanimous decsion over all of his opponents...Gagnon finally gets to speak (yell) off the air as he chases Stock down the hallway...TQS staff alert security as Stock turns to face Gagnon and fires back...Enrico Ciccone, warming up in the Green Room for his appearance the next night, begins to stretch...Stock manages to get into his Anglo car without further incident...calls a radio friend to tell him that "It got ugly"...Kovalev is described in print as "The Godfather of the Russian Mob" inside the Canadiens dressing room....Andie Bennett reports to pratice and is besieged by the media, wanting to know what had happened between Stock and Gagnon...Gagnon, supposedly enjoying time off with the wife and kids rips Stock in his blog...Pierre McGuire calls in from Edmonton wanting to know what happened between Stock and Gagnon...Stock reluctantly appears on the air at six, obviously angered by Gagnon's blog...Gagnon appears on the air, as scheduled, the next morning at 8:05...says he shouldn't have said that La Presse had a tape, and was hopeful that he and PJ could laugh about the previous night...Dave Stubbs interviews Yvan Cournoyer and Richard for The Gazette...both legends suggest media coverage of Kovalev is out of control and could scare players away....Cournoyer suggesting the French press could "demolish" Montreal as a hockey city...The Habs play the surging Thrashers in Atlanta...29 minutes into the game they trail 6-0...Kovalev is nearly invisible...Carbonneau "gets tough" at practice...Rejean Tremblay bookmarks everything for future use in "Lance et Compte"...
Meanwhile...in New york Chris Simon tries to slice off Ryan Holweg's head with his stick....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOdGMaaV-8A
I'd suspend Simon for the rest of the regular season (15 games) , the playoffs, plus 10 games next season.
Time to prepare for some much needed levity at the Irishman of the Year Breakfast. Don't forget we'll carry it live beginning at 9 AM.
Favorite Drinks:
1. The Macallan, 12 years old
2. Jack Daniels Single Barrel
3. The Macallan, 25 years
4. The Macallan, 10 years (60% alcohol!)
5. Knob Creek
6. Tequila (Cuervo shot)
7. Johnny Walker Blue
8. Guinness
9. Heineken
10.Dr.Pepper
-The worst thing about some men is that when they are not drunk they are sober.
William Butler Yeats
Favorite Irish Musicians:
1. Van Morrison
2. U2
3. The Pogues
4. Rory Gallagher
5. The Chieftains
6. Thin Lizzy
7. The Undertones
8. The Clancy Brothers
9. Luka Bloom
10. Sinead O'Connor
-The most beautiful music of all is the music of what happens
Irish proverb
Just another week in Habland....
La Presse devotes six pages in it's monday sports section to "L'Affaire Kovalev", printing what it says is a word for word transcript of an interview a Russian journalist says she conducted with Kovalev on his birthday (Feb 24)... Kovalev is critical of Guy Carbonneau and some teammates, especially the French ones... La Presse says it heard a portion of the interview....Francois Gagnon offers up a vigorous defense of his paper on The Team 990 morning show, saying the paper has the conversation on tape...Kovalev denies everything, then addresses his teammates before they publicly go to bat for him, some suggesting there is no chemistry problem on the team (Saku Koivu: "Best room we've had in 10 years")...Out of nowhere Jack Todd emerges, describing La Presse as "brave" and a journalist he's never met or read as "courageous"...Todd then returns to work on his life story, entitled "One New Adventure In The Cuckoo's Nest"...PJ Stock, a frequent critic of Kovalev, demands a copy of the so-called taped interview...A veteran Russian journalist, who also happens to be Kovalev's biographer says he doesn't believe the story, and the publication it originally appeared in "constantly makes things up"...The journalist in question says a lot of what appeared in La Presse is not what Kovalev told her, that there must have been something "lost in the tanslation"...Stock and Gagnon battle it out on 110%....Making the best use of a prop in public since Russian Premier Nikita Kruschev banged a table at the UN with his shoe, Stock pulls out a black cassette ('The Best of Boston" had been taped over), taps it on the table and asks Gagnon for proof that Kovalev said what La Presse had reported....Gagnon, for the first time in his professional life cannot get a word in...Stock, outnumbered four to one, makes like Henri Richard versus the Bruins in Boston circa 1959 and wins a unanimous decsion over all of his opponents...Gagnon finally gets to speak (yell) off the air as he chases Stock down the hallway...TQS staff alert security as Stock turns to face Gagnon and fires back...Enrico Ciccone, warming up in the Green Room for his appearance the next night, begins to stretch...Stock manages to get into his Anglo car without further incident...calls a radio friend to tell him that "It got ugly"...Kovalev is described in print as "The Godfather of the Russian Mob" inside the Canadiens dressing room....Andie Bennett reports to pratice and is besieged by the media, wanting to know what had happened between Stock and Gagnon...Gagnon, supposedly enjoying time off with the wife and kids rips Stock in his blog...Pierre McGuire calls in from Edmonton wanting to know what happened between Stock and Gagnon...Stock reluctantly appears on the air at six, obviously angered by Gagnon's blog...Gagnon appears on the air, as scheduled, the next morning at 8:05...says he shouldn't have said that La Presse had a tape, and was hopeful that he and PJ could laugh about the previous night...Dave Stubbs interviews Yvan Cournoyer and Richard for The Gazette...both legends suggest media coverage of Kovalev is out of control and could scare players away....Cournoyer suggesting the French press could "demolish" Montreal as a hockey city...The Habs play the surging Thrashers in Atlanta...29 minutes into the game they trail 6-0...Kovalev is nearly invisible...Carbonneau "gets tough" at practice...Rejean Tremblay bookmarks everything for future use in "Lance et Compte"...
Meanwhile...in New york Chris Simon tries to slice off Ryan Holweg's head with his stick....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOdGMaaV-8A
I'd suspend Simon for the rest of the regular season (15 games) , the playoffs, plus 10 games next season.
Time to prepare for some much needed levity at the Irishman of the Year Breakfast. Don't forget we'll carry it live beginning at 9 AM.
Favorite Drinks:
1. The Macallan, 12 years old
2. Jack Daniels Single Barrel
3. The Macallan, 25 years
4. The Macallan, 10 years (60% alcohol!)
5. Knob Creek
6. Tequila (Cuervo shot)
7. Johnny Walker Blue
8. Guinness
9. Heineken
10.Dr.Pepper
-The worst thing about some men is that when they are not drunk they are sober.
William Butler Yeats
Favorite Irish Musicians:
1. Van Morrison
2. U2
3. The Pogues
4. Rory Gallagher
5. The Chieftains
6. Thin Lizzy
7. The Undertones
8. The Clancy Brothers
9. Luka Bloom
10. Sinead O'Connor
-The most beautiful music of all is the music of what happens
Irish proverb
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
Of Awards, Playoff Races, Goalie Coaches & 110%
Wednesday March 7, 7:45 PM
Let me get this out of the way before I forget, yet again.
The first Team 990 Sports Personality of the Year luncheon was a tremendous success. We couldn't have pulled it off without the incredible spirit of cooperation from the staff at Place D'Armes Hotel. Most of the tables were purchased without a moment of hesitation. Many thanks to Bill Hurley, Gerry O'Regan, Peter & Jerry Kakkaroubous, Peter Bitharas, Nigel & Carmine at Champs, Christine Pickrell and the entire Pickrell clan at Westmount Florists, Lorne Rubin, Lloyd Fischler, Gary Silverman, Ed Langton, Peter Pisoto, Steve Traynor, John Gillman, George Fontopolous, Roy Halpin, Spiro Krallis, John Christofaro, Linda Nolet, Mike Chiasson,The Montreal Alouettes, The Montreal Impact, The Montreal Royals, Rodger Brulotte, Randy Tieman, Ron Reusch, Arpon Basu, Jimmy Montgomery Sr, Bruce Roberts, Dino Cerasa, Donald K Donald, GEG, Warner Canada and many others.
But the man who deserves the most love is Noel Butler who conceived the idea during a drunken stupor at another fundraiser at some other radio station. Noel pulled off the biggest single day in the six year history of the station while working on a floss-string budget.
Some Hi-lights: Otis Grant putting an end to speculation that he's fueding with former longtime manager/trainer Russ Anber by explaining that Russ is the only man-other than himself-to ever touch his genitals...Anber, on crutches, poking fun at Tony Marinaro...Peter Dalla Riva, dryly but effectively warning Russ what happens to those who make fun of Italians...then presenting the Coach of the Year Award to the wrong Tony Iaucaduca(long story)...Denis Casvant presenting the Female Athlete of the Year Award to a ravishing Charline Labonte of McGill... Elliott Price & Brulotte comiserating on the loss of baseball...Shaun Starr presenting the Community Volunteer Award to a shocked Trevor Williams...Joey Elias travelling in from Ottawa to be with us making 200 people laugh...then heading right back to Ottawa via Via but not without putting out an SOS for Ms. Labonte...PJ Stock accepting the only award voted on by The Team 990 listeners, which went overwhelmingly to Saku Koivu, and delivering his brief address in French only...and Pierre McGuire bringing the room to a standstill with his keynote speech on life, success and leadership, ending it to a standing O....And the food was amazing...Oh yeah, all this happened on my Dad's 82nd birthday.
Wait till next year.
Perfect segue, huh?
I believe the Canadiens lost the opportunity to go to the playoffs at the trade deadline(see earlier posts). While they sit just one point out of 8th place as I write this I feel even more strongly about them not getting in as I did prior to the start of the season when I thought they'd make it. I also thought Sergei Samsanov and Alex Kovalev would scoree 55 to 60 goals between them.
Looking at the schedule of not only the Habs but their main competitors as well, keeping in mind the various moves that were made on or prior to february 27th, the Canadiens appear to need a minor miracle to make it. They've already lost winnable games to the Rangers and Bruins. One of the best indicators of the relative strength of a team is goal differential. Only the Bruins have a worse mark in that department than the Canadiens. And then there's goaltending.
Can I be the first to ask not how hard he works but just how effective Rollie Melanson is as a goaltending coach? Is it just me or has every goaltender he's worked with at the NHL level gotten worse instead of better? Jocelyn Thibeault. Jeff Hackett. Jose Theodore. Cristobal Huet. David Aebischer. See a pattern here?
It figures that with four days off between the loss in Boston and tomorrow night in Atlanta some firestorm at Camp Habitant was going to develop. I've seen enough of these in nearly 30 years but it's usually a tabloid involved. Oops, La Presse sports is a tabloid.
Rule #1 in journalism: Consider the source. I'm playing catch up on this Kovalev "he said she said" story but what I do know sounds awfully murky to me. What saddens me more than anything is that the debate has degenerated into yet another French-English battle, specifically Francois Gagnon vs PJ Stock. If I had never seen 110% before I would have thought that PJ's performance on tuesday night was out-of-control and over-the-top. But the more I watched it online earlier today( http://www.tqs.ca/emissions/110/) the more I admired PJ's stance. He was giving those guys a taste of their own medicine. And he finally figured out that you can dominate a show by not taking a breath. Afterwards, off the air, as we discovered earlier today, Gagnon told producers he'll never again appear on the same show as PJ. And then the two raised the audio level of debate to Blue. With TQS Security on stand-by.
Kovalev and Samsanov have had lousy years. That much is obvious. I happen to think the coaching staff shares at least some of the blame. There was no chemistry going all the way back to training camp when Mike Ribeiro played between them. Thomas Plekanic's season was going nowhere until he was taken away from them. A crucial part of coaching is getting the most out of your players. In this instance, we'll find out by this time next year if Guy Carbonneau could have/should have done more with these guys or if they both suddenly morphed into Mariusz Czerkawski.
This much we do know: Both were free agents. Both decided to sign with Montreal. Saku Koivu, who's been booed at home, decided to re-sign, with a no-trade clause (I still think he's nuts). Craig Rivet, who saw-and read- his share of misery (remember Rejean Tremblay writing, "Who the fuck is Craig Rivet?") loved playing here. As difficult as it is for Bob Gainey to attract free agents, why are some members of the media so anxious to rip apart some of the few guys who choose to be here? And is the level of vitriol, let alone criticism, the same for players who are french? I think it's a fair question. I have to search for a meaningful answer.
Stephane Richer was a flake. Terrifically talented to be sure but his heart simply wasn't into playing every night. Did he ever get it a la Koivu and Kovalev? I don't remember if he did. What I do remember is certain Francophone media members rejoicing when Rejean Houle commited yet another blunder and sent Lyle Odelein packing to re-acquire Richer. (Richer played less than 80 games in his second tour with the Habs. Odelein won a Cup in Jersey).
Pierre Turgeon was even more talented than Richer. But posessed even a smaller heart. Yet some in this town tried to turn him into Jean Beliveau II. As he was under- producing in a playoff series one spring a member of the Canadiens organization said I should back off from criticizing Turgeon because he was "Playing with the flu". When I mentioned this to a member of the coaching staff I was told "He's not playing with anything...he's playing LIKE shit". Or, to quote from the wonderful Gare Joyce book "When The Lights Went Out (How One Brawl Ended Hockey's Cold War And Changed The Game):
A Former Canadiens star says that his old team's problems in the mid-90's started with Turgeon, the most skilled player in the line up at the time. "You're never going to win", he said, "When your captain has the balls of snow peas."
Page 295 http://www.randomhouse.ca/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780385662741
Claude Lemieux, three years into his NHL career, had managed to alienate everybody. Teammates, coaches, officials, even some fans (ask former bartender Noel Butler). Yet Rejean Tremblay writes that Pat Burns (French mother) is subconsciously biased against french players.
The decline of Jose Theodore was chronicled in a much more accurate manner in the english media.
Michel Bergeron? Hey, I give him credit. Couldn't win in the playoffs as an NHL coach. Couldn't keep his job as a radio analyst. So he gets born again as a French Don Cherry. Applauded and admired by many of the same people who think Cherry should be banned from radio and tv.
Double standard? Pas ici.
Entre les lignes
P.J. Stock reproche aux médias francophones et aux partisans qui parlent la même langue qu’eux d’être constamment sur le dos des vedettes surtout si elle ne parle pas français. Ce doit être pour ça qu’il a passé les trois premiers mois de la saison à décrier Guillaume Latendresse, à dénoncer ses moindres erreurs et à rire de tous ceux qui l’appuyaient alors qu’il défendait bec et ongle son ami Sergei Samsonov qui souffrait de l’incompréhension des journalistes, des amateurs et de son coach… En passant P.J. ce ne sont pas les anglophones du West Island qui t’ont adulé quand tu jouais à Victoriaville et qui t’ont rendu l’hommage suprême de retirer ton chandail l’automne dernier. Et ce ne sont pas juste les partisans du West Island qui t’ont appuyé quand tu mettais plus de cœur sur la patinoire, les rares fois que tu y posais les patins, à Montréal que les 17 autres joueurs qui t’y accompagnaient. Et ce ne sont pas juste des anglos du West Island qui t’écoute à la radio et qui se demande comment tu peux aujourd’hui leur cracher dessus… Think about it…
http://www.cyberpresse.ca/article/20070306/CPBLOGUES02/70306070&blogdate=20070306&cacheid=20070306
Let me get this out of the way before I forget, yet again.
The first Team 990 Sports Personality of the Year luncheon was a tremendous success. We couldn't have pulled it off without the incredible spirit of cooperation from the staff at Place D'Armes Hotel. Most of the tables were purchased without a moment of hesitation. Many thanks to Bill Hurley, Gerry O'Regan, Peter & Jerry Kakkaroubous, Peter Bitharas, Nigel & Carmine at Champs, Christine Pickrell and the entire Pickrell clan at Westmount Florists, Lorne Rubin, Lloyd Fischler, Gary Silverman, Ed Langton, Peter Pisoto, Steve Traynor, John Gillman, George Fontopolous, Roy Halpin, Spiro Krallis, John Christofaro, Linda Nolet, Mike Chiasson,The Montreal Alouettes, The Montreal Impact, The Montreal Royals, Rodger Brulotte, Randy Tieman, Ron Reusch, Arpon Basu, Jimmy Montgomery Sr, Bruce Roberts, Dino Cerasa, Donald K Donald, GEG, Warner Canada and many others.
But the man who deserves the most love is Noel Butler who conceived the idea during a drunken stupor at another fundraiser at some other radio station. Noel pulled off the biggest single day in the six year history of the station while working on a floss-string budget.
Some Hi-lights: Otis Grant putting an end to speculation that he's fueding with former longtime manager/trainer Russ Anber by explaining that Russ is the only man-other than himself-to ever touch his genitals...Anber, on crutches, poking fun at Tony Marinaro...Peter Dalla Riva, dryly but effectively warning Russ what happens to those who make fun of Italians...then presenting the Coach of the Year Award to the wrong Tony Iaucaduca(long story)...Denis Casvant presenting the Female Athlete of the Year Award to a ravishing Charline Labonte of McGill... Elliott Price & Brulotte comiserating on the loss of baseball...Shaun Starr presenting the Community Volunteer Award to a shocked Trevor Williams...Joey Elias travelling in from Ottawa to be with us making 200 people laugh...then heading right back to Ottawa via Via but not without putting out an SOS for Ms. Labonte...PJ Stock accepting the only award voted on by The Team 990 listeners, which went overwhelmingly to Saku Koivu, and delivering his brief address in French only...and Pierre McGuire bringing the room to a standstill with his keynote speech on life, success and leadership, ending it to a standing O....And the food was amazing...Oh yeah, all this happened on my Dad's 82nd birthday.
Wait till next year.
Perfect segue, huh?
I believe the Canadiens lost the opportunity to go to the playoffs at the trade deadline(see earlier posts). While they sit just one point out of 8th place as I write this I feel even more strongly about them not getting in as I did prior to the start of the season when I thought they'd make it. I also thought Sergei Samsanov and Alex Kovalev would scoree 55 to 60 goals between them.
Looking at the schedule of not only the Habs but their main competitors as well, keeping in mind the various moves that were made on or prior to february 27th, the Canadiens appear to need a minor miracle to make it. They've already lost winnable games to the Rangers and Bruins. One of the best indicators of the relative strength of a team is goal differential. Only the Bruins have a worse mark in that department than the Canadiens. And then there's goaltending.
Can I be the first to ask not how hard he works but just how effective Rollie Melanson is as a goaltending coach? Is it just me or has every goaltender he's worked with at the NHL level gotten worse instead of better? Jocelyn Thibeault. Jeff Hackett. Jose Theodore. Cristobal Huet. David Aebischer. See a pattern here?
It figures that with four days off between the loss in Boston and tomorrow night in Atlanta some firestorm at Camp Habitant was going to develop. I've seen enough of these in nearly 30 years but it's usually a tabloid involved. Oops, La Presse sports is a tabloid.
Rule #1 in journalism: Consider the source. I'm playing catch up on this Kovalev "he said she said" story but what I do know sounds awfully murky to me. What saddens me more than anything is that the debate has degenerated into yet another French-English battle, specifically Francois Gagnon vs PJ Stock. If I had never seen 110% before I would have thought that PJ's performance on tuesday night was out-of-control and over-the-top. But the more I watched it online earlier today( http://www.tqs.ca/emissions/110/) the more I admired PJ's stance. He was giving those guys a taste of their own medicine. And he finally figured out that you can dominate a show by not taking a breath. Afterwards, off the air, as we discovered earlier today, Gagnon told producers he'll never again appear on the same show as PJ. And then the two raised the audio level of debate to Blue. With TQS Security on stand-by.
Kovalev and Samsanov have had lousy years. That much is obvious. I happen to think the coaching staff shares at least some of the blame. There was no chemistry going all the way back to training camp when Mike Ribeiro played between them. Thomas Plekanic's season was going nowhere until he was taken away from them. A crucial part of coaching is getting the most out of your players. In this instance, we'll find out by this time next year if Guy Carbonneau could have/should have done more with these guys or if they both suddenly morphed into Mariusz Czerkawski.
This much we do know: Both were free agents. Both decided to sign with Montreal. Saku Koivu, who's been booed at home, decided to re-sign, with a no-trade clause (I still think he's nuts). Craig Rivet, who saw-and read- his share of misery (remember Rejean Tremblay writing, "Who the fuck is Craig Rivet?") loved playing here. As difficult as it is for Bob Gainey to attract free agents, why are some members of the media so anxious to rip apart some of the few guys who choose to be here? And is the level of vitriol, let alone criticism, the same for players who are french? I think it's a fair question. I have to search for a meaningful answer.
Stephane Richer was a flake. Terrifically talented to be sure but his heart simply wasn't into playing every night. Did he ever get it a la Koivu and Kovalev? I don't remember if he did. What I do remember is certain Francophone media members rejoicing when Rejean Houle commited yet another blunder and sent Lyle Odelein packing to re-acquire Richer. (Richer played less than 80 games in his second tour with the Habs. Odelein won a Cup in Jersey).
Pierre Turgeon was even more talented than Richer. But posessed even a smaller heart. Yet some in this town tried to turn him into Jean Beliveau II. As he was under- producing in a playoff series one spring a member of the Canadiens organization said I should back off from criticizing Turgeon because he was "Playing with the flu". When I mentioned this to a member of the coaching staff I was told "He's not playing with anything...he's playing LIKE shit". Or, to quote from the wonderful Gare Joyce book "When The Lights Went Out (How One Brawl Ended Hockey's Cold War And Changed The Game):
A Former Canadiens star says that his old team's problems in the mid-90's started with Turgeon, the most skilled player in the line up at the time. "You're never going to win", he said, "When your captain has the balls of snow peas."
Page 295 http://www.randomhouse.ca/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780385662741
Claude Lemieux, three years into his NHL career, had managed to alienate everybody. Teammates, coaches, officials, even some fans (ask former bartender Noel Butler). Yet Rejean Tremblay writes that Pat Burns (French mother) is subconsciously biased against french players.
The decline of Jose Theodore was chronicled in a much more accurate manner in the english media.
Michel Bergeron? Hey, I give him credit. Couldn't win in the playoffs as an NHL coach. Couldn't keep his job as a radio analyst. So he gets born again as a French Don Cherry. Applauded and admired by many of the same people who think Cherry should be banned from radio and tv.
Double standard? Pas ici.
Entre les lignes
P.J. Stock reproche aux médias francophones et aux partisans qui parlent la même langue qu’eux d’être constamment sur le dos des vedettes surtout si elle ne parle pas français. Ce doit être pour ça qu’il a passé les trois premiers mois de la saison à décrier Guillaume Latendresse, à dénoncer ses moindres erreurs et à rire de tous ceux qui l’appuyaient alors qu’il défendait bec et ongle son ami Sergei Samsonov qui souffrait de l’incompréhension des journalistes, des amateurs et de son coach… En passant P.J. ce ne sont pas les anglophones du West Island qui t’ont adulé quand tu jouais à Victoriaville et qui t’ont rendu l’hommage suprême de retirer ton chandail l’automne dernier. Et ce ne sont pas juste les partisans du West Island qui t’ont appuyé quand tu mettais plus de cœur sur la patinoire, les rares fois que tu y posais les patins, à Montréal que les 17 autres joueurs qui t’y accompagnaient. Et ce ne sont pas juste des anglos du West Island qui t’écoute à la radio et qui se demande comment tu peux aujourd’hui leur cracher dessus… Think about it…
http://www.cyberpresse.ca/article/20070306/CPBLOGUES02/70306070&blogdate=20070306&cacheid=20070306
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Habs Sold Their Season
Tuesday February 27th 9:30 PM
.....As I was saying....veteran players on the team, following the loss of Craig Rivet, with opponents above and below them all arming up for the stretch drive, and with nobody added to the mix, save for a 4th string goaltender, have to wonder if the front office has packed it in. So they followed that lead tonight in New York. A performance against a depleted Rangers team that has to go down as their worst effort of the year. Coincidence? No way San Jose Rivet. Don't blame the players for this one.
On the one hand they're told that Rivet was expendable (check comments from Souray, Koivu, Higgins and others who feel differently) but the younger defenseman they got in return can be a valuable NHL player. So where the heck is he while Steve Begin tries to play with a foot that's as mashed up as my late Bubby's potato pancakes, and Sergei Samsanov and Chris Higgins are going through more kleenex than a 12 year old Pamela Anderson wanna be?
I thought when he made the deal with San Jose on sunday that Bob Gainey was loading up for another move. It would be nice to know if he came close. The fact that he refused to talk today, while the NHL sells the day as a marketing tool (in Canada anyway) should result in a fine. Perhaps not Lindy Ruff fine territory but a fine nonetheless. Even simple "Yes" or "No" answers would at least tell part of the story.
So, if Gainey couldn't add to the mix, while everybody around him did, it's no surprise that the players responded as if they had been told their work for the season was meaningless. And of all the people around the Canadiens family, none more so than Gainey himself, along with Carbonneau and Muller, should know the ripple down effect of losing a valuable, popular leader at this time of the year. Craig Rivet never wore the 'C' but he was at the least a co-captain.
Maybe by Friday in Buffalo the players will channel their disappointment into anger. Gainey? Maybe by Friday he'll have something to say.
.....As I was saying....veteran players on the team, following the loss of Craig Rivet, with opponents above and below them all arming up for the stretch drive, and with nobody added to the mix, save for a 4th string goaltender, have to wonder if the front office has packed it in. So they followed that lead tonight in New York. A performance against a depleted Rangers team that has to go down as their worst effort of the year. Coincidence? No way San Jose Rivet. Don't blame the players for this one.
On the one hand they're told that Rivet was expendable (check comments from Souray, Koivu, Higgins and others who feel differently) but the younger defenseman they got in return can be a valuable NHL player. So where the heck is he while Steve Begin tries to play with a foot that's as mashed up as my late Bubby's potato pancakes, and Sergei Samsanov and Chris Higgins are going through more kleenex than a 12 year old Pamela Anderson wanna be?
I thought when he made the deal with San Jose on sunday that Bob Gainey was loading up for another move. It would be nice to know if he came close. The fact that he refused to talk today, while the NHL sells the day as a marketing tool (in Canada anyway) should result in a fine. Perhaps not Lindy Ruff fine territory but a fine nonetheless. Even simple "Yes" or "No" answers would at least tell part of the story.
So, if Gainey couldn't add to the mix, while everybody around him did, it's no surprise that the players responded as if they had been told their work for the season was meaningless. And of all the people around the Canadiens family, none more so than Gainey himself, along with Carbonneau and Muller, should know the ripple down effect of losing a valuable, popular leader at this time of the year. Craig Rivet never wore the 'C' but he was at the least a co-captain.
Maybe by Friday in Buffalo the players will channel their disappointment into anger. Gainey? Maybe by Friday he'll have something to say.
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Rivet Traded...and more
Sunday February 25 6:30 PM
Just came into the office to pick up my bag of tricks, logged on to check some e-mail, and arriving in my Inbox almost simultaneously was a message from The Canadiens that they had traded Craig Rivet to San Jose for Josh Gorges and a first round draft choice next June. This marks the second time a Habs GM has acquired a defenseman named Josh (what-you don't remember Josh DeWolf?)I like Craig Rivet very much. He's the ultimate team player. Clearly not as important on the ice as Andrei Markov and Sheldon Souray. But important nonetheless. More valuable than Francis Boullion. Yes, Bouillion gives you a lot, can skate well, plays bigger than his size, etc. But I'll take Rivet. Bouillion was awful saturday on Long Island. He was knocked off the puck early by Victor Kozlov and played jittery in his own end the rest of the afternoon. Even though he doesn't back down from anybody Bouillion is often seperated from the puck by opposing forwards. While Rivet lacks Bouillion's mobility, and as much as he struggled this season, he's been much more reliable in his own end. And has been more effective on the point on the second power play unit.
The Canadiens will receive a low first round pick and a young NHL ready defenseman for a player who wasn't in their plans. On the surface a good deal for Gainey. But while Atlanta gets Alexei Zhitnik and Keith Tkaczuk, Carolina picks up Anson Carter, the Penguins apparently ready to move on Georges Laracque, the Rangers earlier acquring Sean Avery and Pascal Dupuis and the Islanders recent acquisition of Marc Andre Bergeron makes you wonder if last Thursday's improbable comeback win in Nashville has Gainey re-examing his priorities. Maybe he needs an additional first round pick to eventually deal one in return for an impact type rent-a-player. If not, I can guarantee you that the veterans in the room will be looking at each other wondering if the front office has packed it in.
The victory in Nashville wasn't completely wiped out by the loss to the Islanders but the eastern conference match up had a lot more on the line. Don't sell the Islanders short. They've been a strong five on five team all season. Ted Nolan's record speaks for itself. Weak on the power play, especially without Alexei Yashin, they improved it with the acquisition of Bergeron. Now, after a slow start following his 15 year contract signing Rick DiPietro is playing as well as any goaltender in the east not named Martin Brodeur.
As I was saying in my last post, the Canadiens were looking for a spark from an unexpected source and Jaroslav Halak and Andrei Kostitsyn have supplied it since their arrival from Hamilton. And clearly Michael Ryder and Sergei Samsanov have look more dangerous offensively rather than just offensive. Is it now David Aebischer's turn?
I love the way Halak has looked in the four games he's played. True, he'd love the Jason Blake backhander back, but more than made up for it with several terrific saves the rest of the game. Aebischer getting the start against Toronto surprises me. He better be good. The Canadiens play their following five games on the road. In New York against the Rangers, in Buffalo, in Boston, in Atlanta and in St Louis prior to returning home against...the Islanders.
Coming up in the next day or two a complete wrap up of the first ever Team 990 Sports Personality of the Year luncheon friday at Place D'armes hotel. Saku Koivu was the overwhelming choice-as voted on by listeners-as personality of the year.
Favorite Habs from Craig Rivet's NHL debut (1994-95):
1. Mike Keane
2. Lyle Odelein
3. Turner Stevenson
4. Mark Recchi
5. Patrick Roy
Just came into the office to pick up my bag of tricks, logged on to check some e-mail, and arriving in my Inbox almost simultaneously was a message from The Canadiens that they had traded Craig Rivet to San Jose for Josh Gorges and a first round draft choice next June. This marks the second time a Habs GM has acquired a defenseman named Josh (what-you don't remember Josh DeWolf?)I like Craig Rivet very much. He's the ultimate team player. Clearly not as important on the ice as Andrei Markov and Sheldon Souray. But important nonetheless. More valuable than Francis Boullion. Yes, Bouillion gives you a lot, can skate well, plays bigger than his size, etc. But I'll take Rivet. Bouillion was awful saturday on Long Island. He was knocked off the puck early by Victor Kozlov and played jittery in his own end the rest of the afternoon. Even though he doesn't back down from anybody Bouillion is often seperated from the puck by opposing forwards. While Rivet lacks Bouillion's mobility, and as much as he struggled this season, he's been much more reliable in his own end. And has been more effective on the point on the second power play unit.
The Canadiens will receive a low first round pick and a young NHL ready defenseman for a player who wasn't in their plans. On the surface a good deal for Gainey. But while Atlanta gets Alexei Zhitnik and Keith Tkaczuk, Carolina picks up Anson Carter, the Penguins apparently ready to move on Georges Laracque, the Rangers earlier acquring Sean Avery and Pascal Dupuis and the Islanders recent acquisition of Marc Andre Bergeron makes you wonder if last Thursday's improbable comeback win in Nashville has Gainey re-examing his priorities. Maybe he needs an additional first round pick to eventually deal one in return for an impact type rent-a-player. If not, I can guarantee you that the veterans in the room will be looking at each other wondering if the front office has packed it in.
The victory in Nashville wasn't completely wiped out by the loss to the Islanders but the eastern conference match up had a lot more on the line. Don't sell the Islanders short. They've been a strong five on five team all season. Ted Nolan's record speaks for itself. Weak on the power play, especially without Alexei Yashin, they improved it with the acquisition of Bergeron. Now, after a slow start following his 15 year contract signing Rick DiPietro is playing as well as any goaltender in the east not named Martin Brodeur.
As I was saying in my last post, the Canadiens were looking for a spark from an unexpected source and Jaroslav Halak and Andrei Kostitsyn have supplied it since their arrival from Hamilton. And clearly Michael Ryder and Sergei Samsanov have look more dangerous offensively rather than just offensive. Is it now David Aebischer's turn?
I love the way Halak has looked in the four games he's played. True, he'd love the Jason Blake backhander back, but more than made up for it with several terrific saves the rest of the game. Aebischer getting the start against Toronto surprises me. He better be good. The Canadiens play their following five games on the road. In New York against the Rangers, in Buffalo, in Boston, in Atlanta and in St Louis prior to returning home against...the Islanders.
Coming up in the next day or two a complete wrap up of the first ever Team 990 Sports Personality of the Year luncheon friday at Place D'armes hotel. Saku Koivu was the overwhelming choice-as voted on by listeners-as personality of the year.
Favorite Habs from Craig Rivet's NHL debut (1994-95):
1. Mike Keane
2. Lyle Odelein
3. Turner Stevenson
4. Mark Recchi
5. Patrick Roy
Friday, February 16, 2007
Maudit Canadien!
Feb 16th 2007 9:30 PM
Fire Carbonneau. Fire Gainey. Trade Koivu (but before you do strip him of his captaincy). Fire Muller. Fire Jarvis. (What about Rollie Melanson while you're at it?). Bring in more French guys. Aye yaye aye, here we go again.
And the mental giants in the media have it all figured out. Alex Kovalev is hurt because Sheldon Souray popped him when they got into a fight during the closed door meeting following last saturdays loss to Ottawa. Saku Koivu is playing poorly and taking too many bad penalties because his buddy Craig Rivet was a healthy scratch. Kovalev is telling everybody who hates him to fuck off by saying that he won't continue to play hurt. Bob Gainey is an idiot because he wouldn't go on the record with Journal De Montreal hockey writer Marc De Foy during an encounter on the road at a coffee shop. None of this is true, as far as I know, except for Gainey and DeFoy briefly sharing the same air space in New Jersey.
I'll pick up on this in a moment, but here's an early candidate for e-mail of the year:
From: "Bill Maslen"
To:
Sent: Friday, February 16, 2007 3:48 PM
Subject: Montreal Maroons or Morons ?
> People wonder why quality free agents don't come to Montreal? Look no
> further than the dump Samsonov campaign after half a season, or the "is
> Kovalev really hurt" propaganda running amok in the public and the local
> media. Why have the captain and Les Boyz "run out of gas"? Why are the
> goalies looking more like Theodore than "Close the door"? Has the coach
> lost the room? What a joke folks, you need to relax!
>
> We're begging Gainey to trade our biggest offensive weapon on defence
since Larry Robinson instead of trying to find out if he will stay here at a
> reasonable cost. The minute you become a star in Montreal, you're never
good enough any more. People forget that Guy Lafleur was booed towards the end
of his run here, and we all know what happened with St. Patrick.
>
> At this rate, we will be holding a 40th anniversary of our last Stanley
Cup in a few years if the fans and media around here don't get a grip on
reality and develop the patience and understanding necessary to develop a real
positive atmosphere to draw players here instead of repel them.
>
> Please give these guys a break and be realistic with your expectations.
> Hounding and chasing the stars away is not solving anything, and frankly,
I can't wait until Carbo has had enough of the dumb questions and flips the
> bird at us again.
Nicely done Bill.
Guy Carbonneau is going to develop into a terrific NHL coach. He's learning, like Claude Julien before him, how to do it on a daily basis, without the previous pro experience that Julien had. His hand-picked assistant Kirk Muller is spending his first pro season behind a bench. Mistakes have been made. Not fireable offenses.
Save for comments strictly relating to possible NHL rule changes (to Mathias Brunet of La Presse) Bob Gainey has not spoken publicly since the death of his daughter Laura. He never comments on trade rumours and is hardly going to issue one of those dreaded votes of confidence for his coach. So DeFoy and his allies are insulted. Like that's got anything to do with the state of the team.
Has Gainey made mistakes? Absolutely. Ribeiro for Ninimma doesn't loook good. I thought he would make a trade following that awful loss to the Leafs in Toronto following the all star break. Not knowing what's been offered, it looks like he might have waited too long. Perhaps showing too much confidence, especially in some of the players he acquired.
Let's take a closer look at some key forwards on the Canadiens and what could have been reasonably expected of them offensively(De Foy did a nice job this week pointing out that the top four forwards on the Habs this season are a combined minus 57):
Actual Typical Diff
Koivu 45 pts (47) (-2)
Kovalev 38 (46) (-8)
Ryder 36 (43) (-7)
Samsanov 40 (23) (-17)
The first table is how many points each player currently has. The second is where they should be based on a typical NHL season through their respective careers. Clearly, there is some juice missing. After scoring 25 & 30 goals in his first two seasons, at age 26, Michael Ryder has found the unlikely ability to slide backwards. Kovalev has been playing hurt and Samsanov has been the biggest free agent bust since Mark Davis. http://www.retrosheet.org/
So did Carbonneau lose the room when Rivet was scratched? Or merely his captain?(a captain who beat an aggressive form of cancer, nearly lost an eye while his team went down without him, but still gets dumped on because he's not Vincent Lecavalier) Did Cristobal Huet fail to get home by midnight? Even without Richard Zednick and Jan Bulis are there still too many Europeans on the team? Not enough French guys? Oh, so many deep questions to ponder.
For two seasons in a row the Canadiens have hit a wall at Christmas time. Last year they were re-energized by the coaching change and Cristobal Huet. This year, it appears a nasty virus has, in part, knocked them toward the bottom of the eastern conference. I've spoken to several respected scouts in the last week or so and theyre all in agreement. The Habs' gas tank is on empty. Hamilton Bulldogs coach Don Lever told me this week the same thing happened to his team until Jaroslav Halak stood on his head and stole a couple of games. Barring a dramatic player move or two a second wind this time around is going to have to come from an unexpected source. Halak? Andrei Kostitsyn? Samsanov? David Aebischer?
And Darcy Tucker is about to re-join the Leafs. This could get worse before it gets better.
Fire Carbonneau. Fire Gainey. Trade Koivu (but before you do strip him of his captaincy). Fire Muller. Fire Jarvis. (What about Rollie Melanson while you're at it?). Bring in more French guys. Aye yaye aye, here we go again.
And the mental giants in the media have it all figured out. Alex Kovalev is hurt because Sheldon Souray popped him when they got into a fight during the closed door meeting following last saturdays loss to Ottawa. Saku Koivu is playing poorly and taking too many bad penalties because his buddy Craig Rivet was a healthy scratch. Kovalev is telling everybody who hates him to fuck off by saying that he won't continue to play hurt. Bob Gainey is an idiot because he wouldn't go on the record with Journal De Montreal hockey writer Marc De Foy during an encounter on the road at a coffee shop. None of this is true, as far as I know, except for Gainey and DeFoy briefly sharing the same air space in New Jersey.
I'll pick up on this in a moment, but here's an early candidate for e-mail of the year:
From: "Bill Maslen"
To:
Sent: Friday, February 16, 2007 3:48 PM
Subject: Montreal Maroons or Morons ?
> People wonder why quality free agents don't come to Montreal? Look no
> further than the dump Samsonov campaign after half a season, or the "is
> Kovalev really hurt" propaganda running amok in the public and the local
> media. Why have the captain and Les Boyz "run out of gas"? Why are the
> goalies looking more like Theodore than "Close the door"? Has the coach
> lost the room? What a joke folks, you need to relax!
>
> We're begging Gainey to trade our biggest offensive weapon on defence
since Larry Robinson instead of trying to find out if he will stay here at a
> reasonable cost. The minute you become a star in Montreal, you're never
good enough any more. People forget that Guy Lafleur was booed towards the end
of his run here, and we all know what happened with St. Patrick.
>
> At this rate, we will be holding a 40th anniversary of our last Stanley
Cup in a few years if the fans and media around here don't get a grip on
reality and develop the patience and understanding necessary to develop a real
positive atmosphere to draw players here instead of repel them.
>
> Please give these guys a break and be realistic with your expectations.
> Hounding and chasing the stars away is not solving anything, and frankly,
I can't wait until Carbo has had enough of the dumb questions and flips the
> bird at us again.
Nicely done Bill.
Guy Carbonneau is going to develop into a terrific NHL coach. He's learning, like Claude Julien before him, how to do it on a daily basis, without the previous pro experience that Julien had. His hand-picked assistant Kirk Muller is spending his first pro season behind a bench. Mistakes have been made. Not fireable offenses.
Save for comments strictly relating to possible NHL rule changes (to Mathias Brunet of La Presse) Bob Gainey has not spoken publicly since the death of his daughter Laura. He never comments on trade rumours and is hardly going to issue one of those dreaded votes of confidence for his coach. So DeFoy and his allies are insulted. Like that's got anything to do with the state of the team.
Has Gainey made mistakes? Absolutely. Ribeiro for Ninimma doesn't loook good. I thought he would make a trade following that awful loss to the Leafs in Toronto following the all star break. Not knowing what's been offered, it looks like he might have waited too long. Perhaps showing too much confidence, especially in some of the players he acquired.
Let's take a closer look at some key forwards on the Canadiens and what could have been reasonably expected of them offensively(De Foy did a nice job this week pointing out that the top four forwards on the Habs this season are a combined minus 57):
Actual Typical Diff
Koivu 45 pts (47) (-2)
Kovalev 38 (46) (-8)
Ryder 36 (43) (-7)
Samsanov 40 (23) (-17)
The first table is how many points each player currently has. The second is where they should be based on a typical NHL season through their respective careers. Clearly, there is some juice missing. After scoring 25 & 30 goals in his first two seasons, at age 26, Michael Ryder has found the unlikely ability to slide backwards. Kovalev has been playing hurt and Samsanov has been the biggest free agent bust since Mark Davis. http://www.retrosheet.org/
So did Carbonneau lose the room when Rivet was scratched? Or merely his captain?(a captain who beat an aggressive form of cancer, nearly lost an eye while his team went down without him, but still gets dumped on because he's not Vincent Lecavalier) Did Cristobal Huet fail to get home by midnight? Even without Richard Zednick and Jan Bulis are there still too many Europeans on the team? Not enough French guys? Oh, so many deep questions to ponder.
For two seasons in a row the Canadiens have hit a wall at Christmas time. Last year they were re-energized by the coaching change and Cristobal Huet. This year, it appears a nasty virus has, in part, knocked them toward the bottom of the eastern conference. I've spoken to several respected scouts in the last week or so and theyre all in agreement. The Habs' gas tank is on empty. Hamilton Bulldogs coach Don Lever told me this week the same thing happened to his team until Jaroslav Halak stood on his head and stole a couple of games. Barring a dramatic player move or two a second wind this time around is going to have to come from an unexpected source. Halak? Andrei Kostitsyn? Samsanov? David Aebischer?
And Darcy Tucker is about to re-join the Leafs. This could get worse before it gets better.
Friday, February 9, 2007
The Week That Was
Friday February 9 8:10 PM
I know there was a lot of snickering when we announced the death of Anna Nicole Smith Thursday afternoon at 3:55 but I just felt sad. I had met her years ago at the old CIQC studio in Verdun when she paid an early morning visit to Jim Duff's show. She could barely stand let alone speak. As she slurred her way through a quicker than expected chat with Duff I felt a lot of anger build up towards the P.R. flak she was with. How could they allow her to embarass herself on the air like that? I don't remember what she was selling (other than herself) but she was an absolute wreck. I don't know what she's done professionally since that bizarre morning six or seven years ago, other than realize she had become a joke. But there's nothing funny about susbtance abuse. First thing I thought of when she died was how she had lasted this long.
Puts the Canadiens slide into perspective a little, huh? Maybe his critics ought to cut Pierre McGuire a little slack now that Christobal Huet looks merely mortal. Back in november McGuire said publicly that while it was obvious Huet was playing exceptionally well he wanted to wait until the 60 game mark before hopping on the Huet as star-goalie bandwagon. Maybe he
IS just good, not great. Nothing wrong with good.
Michael Ryder might end up scoring 40 goals somewhere else (John Leclair light?) but I'd rather see him go if it means prying a Peter Forsberg or a Bill Guerin away in time for the playoffs. The Canadiens have a lot of similar offensive minded players in their system, not as big as Ryder, but definately quicker. And organizational depth in goal. Bob Gainey has to pull the trigger before it's too late.
I caught the first of a series of sold out shows by Arcade Fire at the Ukranian Federation Hall (corner of Hutchison and Fairmount) tuesday night.. I love what the band is doing, giving back to its core fans before they next see them in the cavernous Bell Center. It was fun to be there in the cramped old place. Win Butler and Company may have produced the best Wall of Sound since Phil Spector but his vocals were buried in the mix of 10 instruments on stage. Bruce Hills of Just for Laughs had the same reaction but we were in the extreme minority. The acoustic-based new songs from "Neon Bible"sounded beautiful.
http://www.arcadefire.com/flash.html
So the old debate about whether we'll ever see a current male pro athlete in a team sport come out was rekindled this week when former NBA center John Amaeche announced he is gay(through a taped interview with ESPN to be seen monday). As I stated on the air, I hope to be around when it does happen. The stated argument against such a development is the extreme negative reaction to that possibility, from teammates and "fans". Do you honestly think any amount of verbal abuse heaped on such an athlete would be worse than what Jackie robinson went through 60 years ago? Or Hank Aaron while he was chasing Babe Ruth's ghost in 1974? I think we will see a brave guy, backed by a brave organization(no jokes about the tomahawk chop) reach that point where player and team see the greater good. And I think it'll happen when that athlete, whomever it might be, is in the final year of his career.
Having said all that, it's very sad that members of the media in this city, and in this country, are not yet prepared themselves to come out. And I don't mean just the sports media. I am aware of a few openly gay sportswriters and radio hosts in the United States, but outside of Richard (Bugs) Burnett in Hour where are they on this side of the border? Reminds me of my early days in this business when I worked in the same building as an FM Radio News Director who's behavior at company Christmas parties was legendary. Yet he always went home to his wife and kids. Until he could no longer wait for "special occasions". So he got divorced and came out. Another well known male media type used to invite guys out to strip joints after last call to get them worked up enough so he could pleasure them (yes, I was invited once). How sad, I thought, to have to keep up a front, to live a lie, and for whom exactly? The guy was awfully lonely. Never made it to 60.
http://outsports.com/entertainment/20050218gumbybookexcerpt.htm
Had the great pleasure to interview Packers legend Jerry Kramer("Instant Replay") prior to the Super Bowl. In the course of our conversation about the Packers dynasty of the 60's Jerry talked about how many players of his generation were in dire financial need. Abandoned by the current NFL owners and Players Association. I was outraged to learn that one of his best friends was getting a pension of $126 a month. Sounded even worse than the NHL pension fund fiasco that the late Carl Brewer battled for years to correct. Sure enough, moments after we spoke, Jerry had a press conference which too many media outlets, especially those directly connected with the NFL, chose to downplay or ignore completely. But among those who were listening was one of America's finest columnists, Ray Ratto of the San Fransisco Chronicle:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/02/02/RATTO.TMP
www.jerrykramer.com
Favorite NFL stars of the 60's:
1. Jim Brown
2. Joe Namath
3. Jerry Kramer
4. Daryle Lamonica
5. Gayle Sayers
6. Bob Hayes
7. Roman Gabriel
8. Johnny Unitas
9. Dick Butkus
10.Jim Otto
I know there was a lot of snickering when we announced the death of Anna Nicole Smith Thursday afternoon at 3:55 but I just felt sad. I had met her years ago at the old CIQC studio in Verdun when she paid an early morning visit to Jim Duff's show. She could barely stand let alone speak. As she slurred her way through a quicker than expected chat with Duff I felt a lot of anger build up towards the P.R. flak she was with. How could they allow her to embarass herself on the air like that? I don't remember what she was selling (other than herself) but she was an absolute wreck. I don't know what she's done professionally since that bizarre morning six or seven years ago, other than realize she had become a joke. But there's nothing funny about susbtance abuse. First thing I thought of when she died was how she had lasted this long.
Puts the Canadiens slide into perspective a little, huh? Maybe his critics ought to cut Pierre McGuire a little slack now that Christobal Huet looks merely mortal. Back in november McGuire said publicly that while it was obvious Huet was playing exceptionally well he wanted to wait until the 60 game mark before hopping on the Huet as star-goalie bandwagon. Maybe he
IS just good, not great. Nothing wrong with good.
Michael Ryder might end up scoring 40 goals somewhere else (John Leclair light?) but I'd rather see him go if it means prying a Peter Forsberg or a Bill Guerin away in time for the playoffs. The Canadiens have a lot of similar offensive minded players in their system, not as big as Ryder, but definately quicker. And organizational depth in goal. Bob Gainey has to pull the trigger before it's too late.
I caught the first of a series of sold out shows by Arcade Fire at the Ukranian Federation Hall (corner of Hutchison and Fairmount) tuesday night.. I love what the band is doing, giving back to its core fans before they next see them in the cavernous Bell Center. It was fun to be there in the cramped old place. Win Butler and Company may have produced the best Wall of Sound since Phil Spector but his vocals were buried in the mix of 10 instruments on stage. Bruce Hills of Just for Laughs had the same reaction but we were in the extreme minority. The acoustic-based new songs from "Neon Bible"sounded beautiful.
http://www.arcadefire.com/flash.html
So the old debate about whether we'll ever see a current male pro athlete in a team sport come out was rekindled this week when former NBA center John Amaeche announced he is gay(through a taped interview with ESPN to be seen monday). As I stated on the air, I hope to be around when it does happen. The stated argument against such a development is the extreme negative reaction to that possibility, from teammates and "fans". Do you honestly think any amount of verbal abuse heaped on such an athlete would be worse than what Jackie robinson went through 60 years ago? Or Hank Aaron while he was chasing Babe Ruth's ghost in 1974? I think we will see a brave guy, backed by a brave organization(no jokes about the tomahawk chop) reach that point where player and team see the greater good. And I think it'll happen when that athlete, whomever it might be, is in the final year of his career.
Having said all that, it's very sad that members of the media in this city, and in this country, are not yet prepared themselves to come out. And I don't mean just the sports media. I am aware of a few openly gay sportswriters and radio hosts in the United States, but outside of Richard (Bugs) Burnett in Hour where are they on this side of the border? Reminds me of my early days in this business when I worked in the same building as an FM Radio News Director who's behavior at company Christmas parties was legendary. Yet he always went home to his wife and kids. Until he could no longer wait for "special occasions". So he got divorced and came out. Another well known male media type used to invite guys out to strip joints after last call to get them worked up enough so he could pleasure them (yes, I was invited once). How sad, I thought, to have to keep up a front, to live a lie, and for whom exactly? The guy was awfully lonely. Never made it to 60.
http://outsports.com/entertainment/20050218gumbybookexcerpt.htm
Had the great pleasure to interview Packers legend Jerry Kramer("Instant Replay") prior to the Super Bowl. In the course of our conversation about the Packers dynasty of the 60's Jerry talked about how many players of his generation were in dire financial need. Abandoned by the current NFL owners and Players Association. I was outraged to learn that one of his best friends was getting a pension of $126 a month. Sounded even worse than the NHL pension fund fiasco that the late Carl Brewer battled for years to correct. Sure enough, moments after we spoke, Jerry had a press conference which too many media outlets, especially those directly connected with the NFL, chose to downplay or ignore completely. But among those who were listening was one of America's finest columnists, Ray Ratto of the San Fransisco Chronicle:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/02/02/RATTO.TMP
www.jerrykramer.com
Favorite NFL stars of the 60's:
1. Jim Brown
2. Joe Namath
3. Jerry Kramer
4. Daryle Lamonica
5. Gayle Sayers
6. Bob Hayes
7. Roman Gabriel
8. Johnny Unitas
9. Dick Butkus
10.Jim Otto
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