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Return of the
Rant
Blurted it here first
3/22/05 - By Mike Lee
What better time than the
present to start my rant column back up? With all the misery that hockey and
the rest of the sports world is spewing right now, it would seem rather
appropriate. But then again, is there any point in beating the dead and
festering horse that is NHL hockey? Probably not, but I'll rant nonetheless.
Seems that the league and players union have moved onto plan M. As in,
lock a bunch of monkeys into a conference room and see what they produce. It
certainly couldn't stink any more than the human negotiators came up with
earlier this year. The brilliance that is the NHL submitted two more proposals
to Bob Goodenow on Thursday, and surprise, both plans were rejected.
I'm almost tempted to petition the media to boycott reporting anything remotely
close to hockey news until the monkeys finalize a new collective bargaining
agreement. Neither side can use the media to posture if the media is refusing
to let itself be used as a leveraging tool. Come on TSN, show some back bone.
That proposal has got to be better then reporting on the nothingness that comes
from the bungling negotiations.
No Gretzky at Worlds
No
big surprise when Wayne Gretzky announced that he would not run Team Canada
during the upcoming World Championships in Austria next month. Gretzky's mother
is being treated for lung cancer, so he passed on providing his guidance as
team boss.
Gretzky said all the right things in declining to man the
helm of Canada's national team, but you have to wonder how big a part the
ongoing labor dispute may have contributed to his decision? After all, should
he be motivated to lead a band of players, while he's locked in mortal combat
against those same players?
Why lead a bunch of spoiled ingrates to
hockey's international pedestal if they're stabbing him in the back. Gretzky's
an owner remember?
No disrespect to his mother's situation, but would
you blame him for skipping out if she weren't sick? You'd get no complaints
here.
Spring Training Rant
I just had to mention
something about Barry Bonds piss & vinegar impromptu press conference in
Arizona this afternoon. Boo hoo, poor Barry. He's finally a broken man? Boo
hoo.
Yeah right. If Bonds thinks that he can play the "poor me, I've
finally tired of the attacks" card as a means to woo public sentiment, then he
must think we're all buffoons. Bonds is the poster boy for all things wrong
with professional sports today. Bonds has made a living from spewing venom
whenever he's in a bad mood. Nobody cares.
Now there's talk that the feds may be interested in
making an example of him for being less than forthright either with Grand Jury
testimony or tax evasion on unreported card show money. Either way, whatever
Bonds is cooking, stinks.
Claims are surfacing in the hockey world
that illegal substances may be running rampant amongst NHL players. Heck, if
Barry Bonds can pound out 73 home runs in a year, perhaps a Roofie or two will
result in a 50 goal season.
The 80's, 90's and half of this current
decade could have asterisks on every sports mark on the books.
Get
Your Fix
Ok, if you're starting to go through withdrawals, there
are alternatives. Oh, sorry, yes I have moved on to the next subject, so no,
Roofies and Juice are not included in that list of alternatives!
I'm
talking about the NCAA Frozen Four Tournament, which starts on Friday. Sixteen
schools from across the United States, clash for the National Championship.
Bostom College and Mercyhurst kick the tournament off in Worcester, Mass at
1:30pm (PST).
B.C, Denver, Minnesota and Colorado College are top
seeds in their respective regions. Michigan is a 2 seed in the Midwest region,
even though the Wolverines won 30 games this season. Look for several Shark
prospects to participate in the tournament.
The event wraps up with
the title game in Columbus, Ohio on April 9th. ESPN will cover most games.
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