LA Dodgers 2013

After another long period of no entries I am pleased to report that the Dodgers turned their season around. Prior to their June 22nd game against the Padres they were in last place 9 1/2 games behind the Arizona DBacks. They then went on an historic 42-8 run gaining the lead in the NL West that they held until the end of the season.

They are meeting the Atlanta Braves in the NLDS and are currently tied at a game each heading home to LA. Except for injuries to Matt Kemp & Andre Ethier and the fact that several members of the bullpen are showing signs of fatigue, they seem poised for a long play off run.

Expectations are high & criticism of manager Don Mattingley is acute. With the recent firing of Dusty Baker by the Reds there is a sense that if the Dodgers don't make it to the World Series there will be a change in leadership.

Game On!

The NHL lock out is over!

There will be a Hockey Night in Canada this Saturday. There will be Don Cherry in the Coach's Corner. But will the fans and viewers return.

I am confident that the Canadian fans will be back in droves but will the fans in the southern portions of the USA return to support their teams. I think that the teams in places like Phoenix, Dallas, the Florida teams especially Tampa Bay, Nashville, Columbus, Carolina and possible the California newer teams - San Jose & Anaheim - may experience some lean times. The best thing going in their favor will be that football is almost over, baseball is still a few months away and the NBA season is entering its "dog days". Almost by default the fans may pay attention until the college basketball March Madness starts.

I have a funny feeling that the Edmonton Oilers will be a serious contender in the shortened season and that they will make the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Firstly, the core of their team has been together playing in the AHL in Oklahoma City and doing quite well. I suspect that alone will give them a significant advantage at the very onset of the delayed season. Secondly, with the season being shortened to 48 games they should hold on to a playoff spot after their anticipated quick start. Lastly, these players are very talented and this could be a major break out year for Eberle, Nugent-Hopkins and Taylor Hall. They should get a lot of confidence at this level now and they have all been with winning teams in the past. So I am going out on a limb and predicting that the Oilers will contend this year.

Presuming Sid the Kid Crosby stays healthy the Penguins would be an easy choice to do very well this year. I am sure that in most quarters they will be a favorite to go all the way. Malkin played in the KHL and should have no problem getting a quick start and continuing to dominate.

The big question throughout Canada will be whether a Canadian team will be able to hoist the Cup. My sense is that Vancouver's time has passed; Calgary is on the upswing but not strong enough to contend, Winnipeg has overachieved but will continue to improve, Ottawa seems unremarkable and as I said before Edmonton could surprise. That leaves the Leafs and the Habs - what a state these two historic franchises find themselves. There is little to be excited about in either city - Toronto has made no changes that would significantly improve their chances and have dumped their GM on the eve of the season's start; Montreal is paying Gomez to stay home thus acknowledging their mistake but this says nothing good about the management of this outfit. What a shame that the fortunes of these great teams have fallen so much that they are best considered also-rans.

The remaining teams from the Original Six seem to be faring much better as the Bruins, Blackhawks and Rangers should all make the playoffs and may even go deep but none of this group can be considered anything but a long shot for the Cup. Detroit is a different story; the Wings seem solid and presuming that their older roster can avoid serious injuries they very well could create another spring celebration in Hockeytown.

Other teams that could contend are the Washington Capitals, Philadelphia Flyers, LA Kings, and New Jersey Devils. Teams that just seem to be non-factors (at least to me) are the Islanders, Buffalo, Carolina, Florida, the woeful Tampa Bay Lightening, Nashville, St. Louis, Colorado, Anaheim, Dallas, Phoenix, San Jose, Columbus and Minnesota. In other words a vast majority of the teams will be going through the motions which supports my notion that there are far too many teams in the NHL.Even though 16 of the 30 teams make the Stanley Cup Playoffs my sense is that realistically speaking only 8 of those can be considered serious contenders.

But then again I consider myself a serious baseball fan so what do i know.

It's Hockey, eh?

Spending the Christmas and New Year's Holiday time period in London, Ontario, Canada - a long way from Southern California not only in terms of distance and climate but also in sports interests.

In London, as well as all of Canada, the entire sports world has been focused on the NHL Strike and the World Junior Hockey Championships. These two issues are somewhat related in that one of the consequences of the NHL Stoppage is that Canada was able to send their very best junior aged players to these World Championships.

The Canadian Juniors waltzed through the preliminary round undefeated, received a bye into the semi-finals and met the United States today to determine who would play in the Gold Medal game. Canada had already defeated the USA in the round-robin 2-1.

Well it didn't end well for the Canadians - the USA dominated in their 5-1 victory and put the entire Dominion in mourning. The long knives are out this evening as every news show - not just the sports talk shows - are wondering what went wrong.  Yet if you switch to an American station (even ESPN) there is no mention whatsoever of the "great" victory of their U-19 squad.

The other major topic of interest in Canada is the NHL work stoppage. Desperation rules as a countdown has begun towards a deadline beyond which there will be no NHL hockey this season. News of this labor strife is barely noticeable in the USA outside the hard core sports networks. Life in many of the southern NHL venues has continued with little, if any, mention of a lost season.

At the same time the Canadian sports networks give some mention to NBA basketball, the NCAA Football Bowl season and the winter meetings of major league baseball. By "some mention" I mean that it gets a few minutes of each broadcast after the majority of the time is spent analyzing the NHL & World Juniors at a level commensurate with the American  Cable News Networks' coverage of the "fiscal cliff".

Who would have thought that a thin line like the "49th Parallel" would create such divergent sports interests. These countries operate in two different sports universes.