Four Left Standing

So now that we're down to the Conference Finals in the NHL, it's interesting to note that the four teams remaining are the last four Stanley Cup Champs -- the Penguins in '09, Blackhawks in '10, Bruins in '11 and the Kings last year.  So you have your defending champion taking on the President's Trophy winner (most regular season wins) in the Western Conference Final, and you have the Penguins (the team Jerome Iginla spurned the Bruins to play for) matching up against those Bruins in the Eastern Final.  And there's always the fact that Matt Cooke ruined the career of former Bruin Captain Marc Savard to add some drama and motivation and edge.
I found it surprising that this is the first time the last four Cup champs were the last four standing since sometime in the '50s.  The NHL being a six-team league up until the late '60s, you'd think this would've have happened more often.  But I digress.

I believe we have the four best teams in the league remaining and I felt they were the four best when the playoffs started but usually major upsets take out a few of the "best" teams.  You have outstanding matchups here in the Conference Finals and you're guaranteed a doozy in the Finals, no matter who matches up -- LA against Boston?  Talk about deep and physical teams going at it.  LA versus the Penguins?  Another deep team in Pittsburgh but one that seems to have unlimited offensive firepower going against the defending champs, plus star power any time the Penguins are involved.  How about an Original Six matchup between Chicago and Boston, two of the best sports towns in the country.  Or even the Blackhawks against the Penguins?  While I feel this is the least interesting matchup from a hockey standpoint (no real good reason for feeling that way, just that one matchup has to be least) but what a great matchup it would be anyway and it would be the matchup with the most marquee star power -- Malkin, Crosby, et al, vs Toews and Kane and company.
So who will match up in the Cup Finals?  I hate to say this and never bet against my Bruins but the Bruins are the fourth best team here.  I think we'll learn a lot about this series from game one because if the Bruins team that played the Rangers shows up, it'll be a long series.  And if the Bruins can exploit Pittsburgh only real weakness, goaltending, then they could pull the upset.
Same proviso regarding the western series -- which Blackhawk team shows up will make a big difference.  But even then, they're gonna have to solve Jonathan Quick.  Edge to LA.
What do you all think?  Hey Brent, how'd you end up with your picks?

CABLE PROBLEMS NASCAR STYLE.

Hello all, it's been a while, giving this another try, just a short one because I'm tired of writing stuff and it kept getting lost.
Anyway, Cole's notes version is this, the internet and yours truly were not getting along the last few months, but hopefully that's over.
Anyway quick little thought on the above, I think NASCAR made one of the best decisions I have ever seen since I started watching the sport. Maybe a little more control was needed on what was done by whom to what, but, and that to me that is the catchword, this is something that was under nobodies control and no one deserved to have damage that may have altered the outcome for them, my two guys in the race 18 and the 88 both had damage and both got back to square one and both blew engines later in the race. I know the bosses players are doing pretty good, so good luck to them.
Well we are off to the Monster this weekend and if this goes well I shall see ya'll on Monday, I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

A Picture Says Everything

Now I get nine days away from the NBA, and so does my team. Go Spurs Go!

A few hockey thoughts

To the Boston Bruins, you can't afford to give games away, even when you're up three games to none.  I give the Rangers credit, they came out and played hard in game 4 but that game was essentially over when the Bruins had a 2-0 lead.  Then comes a "fluke" goal and a brain freeze, and voila, it's tied.  And even though the Bs got the lead back again, the Rangers were fully engaged at that point and proceeded to score two more goals to win in OT, both of the latter goals were hard-working, smart goals. 
Back to the two goals the Bruins gave the Rangers:  I can only guess that Tuukka was coming out of his net to coral a wayward shot to give it to his defense but at the precise moment he starts to do that, the puck is deflected and Tuukka all but ties himself in knots trying to get back to the net.  Yes, you're a better puck handler than Tim Thomas was but that's no great accomplishment.  Play it when it comes to you and that's it.  On the second one Chara has a brain cramp and doesn't realize there's a Ranger on his tail behind the net, his D partner didn't warn him or he couldn't hear it; and the puck is stolen from him and just as quickly put in the net.  Some blame goes to Rask here too as he also was not aware.  You don't need to be aware, just have the goal covered when the puck is near it.  Then if it's stolen, you're not surprised.
All in all the Bruins are the better team and should win one of the next three games but why tempt fate?  You've already seen first hand that a team can come back on you down three games to none (witness the playoff series against Philly three years ago); the Leafs came back on you after being done three games to one and should've beat you; and your AHL team just got beat after being ahead three games to none.

The best team doesn't always win.  Witness the roll the Bruins got on two years ago (de facto becoming the best team at that moment) but they weren't the best time as we commonly think of that term.  Just last season an 8th seed beats a 7 seed in the Cup Final to win it all.  Some experts poo poo momentum but I won't.  Momentum is a factor but also getting your team and its game together (peaking) at the right time is everything.  So while in my humble opinion the four best teams in the league are still alive (Pittsburgh, Chicago, Boston, LA), one of them, Chicago, is on it's last leg because (part B of this paragraph) you can't undervalue experiencing playoff success at the highest levels.   Exhibit A?  The Detroit Red Wings, left for dead three weeks ago and now on the verge of eliminating the best team from the regular season.  Exhibit B to a lesser extent are the Boston Bruins, who in the first three games of this series with the Rangers looked like the team that won the Cup two years ago.

John Tortorella is a bore and the NY Rangers are not the NY Yankees.  You can insert your own examples as to why Torts is a bore...I just wanted to say it publicly.  The Rangers have tried mightily before their one recent Cup and since to buy a championship with horrible results.  Mark Messiers don't grow on trees for one thing and even as the Yankees have learned more often than not the hard way, bringing in an all star team does not a great team make.  You're free to offer your own examples of the wasteland that is the high-priced failures of Rangers past and present, Brad Richards being just the very latest.  Even Rick Nash qualifies here because great players don't always success under the bright lights of NY, they're sometimes already over the hill or in the case of people like Nash, they're the wrong player for the style your coach wants to play.

Trivia question:  Without cheating, which means looking it up in any way, name as many NHL goalies as you can who played at the University of Maine.  Hint:  There's two currently in the league, one very much alive in these playoffs.  Another is the current GM of a team that made this year's playoffs.

PS  My new favorite player is Torey Krug, who's being compared here in New England to my all-time favorite player, Don Sweeney.  Too bad he doesn't wear number 43, my favorite number, which is being worn by another of the three young Bruin defensemen that have risen to the occasion in these playoffs, young Mr. Bartkowski.

The Long Story Of The North Star Athletic Association

In April, the press reported about the formation of the North Star Athletic Association in the NAIA. It will be comprised of 6 schools: Jamestown College, Valley City State University, Dickinson State University, Dakota State University, Presentation College, and Mayville State University. Only Presentation College was not a part of the DAC-10 that dissolved in 2011.

Changing The NASCAR All-Star Race

After trying to fall asleep during the NASCAR multiple times this past weekend, I believe that there needs to be changes made to the race.  I am not talking tweaks to the race, I am talking major race changing rules. I am talking things that many "racing purists" would consider blasphemous. But something needs to be done. The All-Star race is becoming the Pro Bowl like. And that is a bad thing.

Found On The Internet: Old Spurs

No discussion of the San Antonio Spurs can begin or end without talking about the advanced ages of Tim Duncan (37), Manu Ginobili (35) or Tony Parker (a spry 31), but one thing I’ll never accuse them of is being too old. Especially since they took down the physical Memphis Grizzlies easily in Game 1 yesterday.

The Grizzlies had no answer for Parker, and Kawhi Leonard, Danny Green and Matt Bonner (he’s 33 BTW) made sure it rained threes all day long.

If this is how it’s going to be, go ahead and make plans for a Spurs – Heat final. And maybe this time our bench will beat them.

Washington Capitals: We Mourn For Thee

A few weeks ago I was riding high.  Not so much on the fact that the Capitals were on the way to sealing the deal (the "deal" being the Southeast Division) against the Jets, but that we had defeated the dreaded Bears from Boston.  You might think I was taking pleasure in giving the business to our favorite "Maine-iac," or perhaps my good friend Matt from "Bah-sten."  No, I was especially thrilled to be able to harass the crap out of my neighbor, Christian--a 10-year old kid.  Christian is a conflicted little child--he constantly wears a Detroit Red Wings tee shirt while rooting loudly for the Bruins.  Every time he sees me, it's all about the Washington "Crapitals!"  So, for the 27 April game, I bet Master Christian $1 and when we beat Boston 3-2 in OT, like I child, I ran outside and made Christian cough up my buck!!  But I gave him a chance to win it back by betting him $2 that the Bruins would lose in the playoffs, and that the Caps would win.

I haven't seen Christian in a week, I have his $2, but I think he's waiting to ambush me (...I gotta watch my back!)

However, it was during that April 27th game that Zeb and I traded texts and twits and emails over how horribly Zeb felt the zebras called the game.  From my perspective, I thought they were all good calls--Zeb felt they were inconsistent and untimely.  I didn't (couldn't, wouldn't) see his point then, but I think I do now.

In his summary blog of the first round of the playoffs, Brent wrote:  "The Capitals were robbed by the officials with the Rangers having a two-to-one ratio of Power Plays.  Even though the Rangers PP looked horrible, having to kill off a penalty can cause problems with your own team.  Caps fans have every reason to be upset at the NHL and it's officials."

I couldn't agree more.  I'm not going to grouse, bitch, moan, groan, or complain--I want to believe the refs are human and make mistakes.  But I readily admit that there is something to be said for consistency in officiating.  In the picture to the left, you clearly see nine (9) Rangers on the ice, and on this very play, the refs did call a penalty for too many men on the ice---ON WASHINGTON!!!!  No, I'm not kidding and this is not hyperbole.  They gave the Rangers the PP and the Caps went on to lose Game 3 and the rest is, well, history.

As for the Caps' season, I'm not bitter, just bitterly disappointed that the Caps do, in fact, seem to have "choke-itis."  But I am nonetheless proud of my team and I remain a loyal homer.  The Washington Capitals are a 39-year old NHL expansion team; they've made the playoffs 24 of those 39 seasons (61%).  Eight times they won the division.  Ten times they advanced past the first round; only twice did they make it into the semi's, and just once to the Stanley Cup where they were trounced by the high flying Red Wings.

Oh well...I guess it's time, once again, to sing the Washington, DC, Unified Sports Team Fight Song: 

       (...ahem...) 

"I know all there is to know about the crying game; I've had my share of the crying game..."

Anyone Have a Samsung Big Screen?

Gently used for Leafs games. Suffered an accident around 7:20pm PST or thereabouts. Parts only. Click here for more details.

No, it’s not mine!

Couldn't Resist

Check out Brick in the background.  Yeah, he's a homer and not the best but you can't argue with his passion.
Go ahead and hate.

The Game 7 Experience

Ladies and gents, I’d love to tell you about how great the Bruins were in coming back from a 4-2 lead to win in overtime. I’d love to tell you how I’m proud of how my Leafs proved me wrong and took this series to a Game 7. But I can’t. Real life means I can’t arbitrarily call in sick midway through my work day to watch a hockey game, so I can’t break down what happened to the Leafs or why. Instead I’ll tell you about how great today was from a hockey fan’s perspective.

For me, it began as soon as I woke up. I work from home, and I didn’t want to be like a mushroom and rely on text messages from Zeb to tell me what was going on. What did I do? I spent about an hour or so moving all the furniture around in my living room so my computer desk faced the big screen television. I didn’t care whether or not I’d actually get to watch the game since Mondays are the busiest work days for me. I wanted to experience it, even if it were only a few seconds every ten minutes or so.

This Game 7 was unlike any other for one specific reason. The only thing hotter than James Reimer in goal was the weather. By the time my work day started, it was 102 degrees and the thermometer was still in triple digits by the time the puck dropped. I can honestly say I was one of the few Leafs fans that watched the game in a heat wave.

I glanced up every so often to see what was going on, but I missed a lot of the game. I knew when each team scored, and I got to see Phil Kessel score to make it 3-1, but I have no idea who did what without looking at the box score. But from the bits and pieces I saw I remember why I fell in love with this game as a kid. I loved how each team took chances. They rushed the puck from one end of the rink to another at a pace I haven’t seen since I watched Smythe Division hockey games in the early to mid-80s. There was no neutral zone trap to cut down scoring chances. There was no clutching and grabbing to slow down puck carriers. It was “Here I come, whatcha going to do about it?” hockey and while I sat in my cushy computer chair I only needed the edge.

The best part of the night? You won’t believe me but I’ll tell you. With about five minutes left in the game, Zeb texted me to congratulate me on the Leafs winning the game. I texted back, “Thanks but it ain’t over yet.”

Boy, was this one time I wish I were wrong.

Am I sad over this loss? No. I expected the Leafs to lose in six games because hardly anyone on the roster has ever played hockey past the first weekend in April. But the team surprised me. They got their butts kicked in Game 1, but once they realized what kind of effort it takes to win playoff games they went back to work. They lost a heartbreaker in Game 4, yet they came back and took the next two games to put the Bruins on the ropes. They almost pulled off the upset, but in the end their inexperience caught up to them.

There’s a lot to be hopeful for next year, such as:

• Phil Kessel is no longer scared of the Big, Bad Bruins. For the past four years, I wondered if it would have been best to make Kessel a healthy scratch against his old team. He scored four goals this series, and even had one Canadian sports writer on my Twitter feed joke that Claude Julien needs to get Zdeno Chara away from all those matchups against Kessel.
• James Reimer is the unquestioned #1 goalie in Toronto. His performance should shut down any rumors of Roberto Luongo or anyone else being traded to the Leafs this summer.
• Cody Franson showed he can be a reliable defenseman. When he arrived from Nashville, he was considered a power play specialist and a defensive liability. Now he’s a legit top four defenseman that doesn’t make you cringe whenever the puck is in his end.
• Jake Gardiner is all that and then some. I would not be shocked if he won a Norris Trophy in the next five years. Once he gets more NHL experience, it will be scary to see how good the Leafs can be in their transition game.
• Nazem Kadri has what it takes to be a #1 center in the NHL, but he needs more experience and consistency. There is no way Leafs should pay Tyler “Blackface” Bozak $8 million a year to be the default #1 guy in the middle, and it’s obvious Mikhail Grabovski is not the answer. Someone has to step up, and that someone is Kadri.

I’m proud of these guys. I know this loss hurts, but I hope when they wake up tomorrow they realize they did the best they could with the team they had – and the Canadiens had a four-day head start to sharpen up their golf game!

1st Round Eliminated NHL Teams and The One Major Thing That They Need

East:

NY Islanders - Goaltending. Evgeni Nabokov looked like a second tier goalie. A couple of outstanding saves and the Isles knock off the Penguins. But the young talent is there on offense and defense.

Montreal - Heart. The Canadiens thought that they should be handed victories. They showed no heart when the series got tough for them, just cheapness with thuggery. Michel Therrien showed that he is an ineffective Head Coach. And if it was true that team Captain Brian Gionta was crying in Therrien's arms because the Habs were going to lose the series, then they need a new captain.

Washington - A Better Reputation. The Capitals were robbed by the officials with the Rangers having a two-to-one ratio of Power Plays. Even though the Rangers PP looked horrible, having to kill off a penalty can cause problems with your own team. Ovechkin didn't play to his potential and Holtby is a fine Goalkeeper for the Caps. Caps fans have every reason to be upset at the NHL and it's officials.

Toronto - Experience. I am impressed with the young players in the Maple Leafs lineup. James Reimer looks like he could be the Curtis Joseph of the Leafs for many years. Toronto deserved to win the series, but inexperience came and bit them on the ass. The funny thing is that you have to give Brian Burke credit for his patience with the oung kids before being axed.

West:

Vancouver - Direction. After being beaten by the divers of Vancouver South, this team appears to need a complete overhaul. You start at head coach, go through the goaltending and then start looking at the defense that looked like they belonged in the AHL.

Anaheim - Wingers. The Ducks got real good goaltending from Hiller, the defense played rather well and the centermen were a strength for the Ducks. The Wingers need to show up and play.

St. Louis - Focus. This team played a real tough series against the Kings. They could have won the series but there were lots of distractions behind the scenes. The coach is fighting with players, the players are revolting and the leadership couldn't resolve the two. Ken Hitchcock has went back to his taskmaster ways and causing problems.

Minnesota - A better Top 6. Everybody is screaming that Mike Yeo should be fired. Why? This team gets devastated by injuries annually. He made it into the playoffs with Pierre Marc-Bouchard, Cal Clutterbuck, and Charlie Coyle as Top 6 forwards. That means you have problems. The Devin Setoguchi and Dany Heatley trade that was supposed to bring offense to the Wild didn't work. You can put some of the blame at Yeo's feet, but more should be put on the player's shoulders.

Great Hockey

Tonight's game 7 between the Bruins and Leafs will be called an all-time classic because of the Bruins comeback and win in OT but the Leafs were the better team tonight and deserved a much better fate. 
I won't get into the game details much but the loss of Redden before the game and Seidenberg on his first shift meant the Bruins had to rely on two rookies on the back end, and the Leafs repeatedly exposed them.  But the Bruins didn't quit, brought back by Milan Lucic's physical play and energy, a guy who's been deservedly maligned of late.
But this series overall is some of the best hockey I've seen in a long time.  It's right up there with the Cup Final against Vancouver in my mind.  The Bruins spanked the Leafs in game 1, making them run around and look rattled; but give that bunch a ton of credit...they came back and never quit after that.  Despite giving up those goals at the end tonight, Reimer was terrific between the pipes.  If you didn't see it, Game 4 of this series was THE BEST game I've seen in a very long time, bar none.
So hopefully the Bruins have found their offense because now it's time to face the Rangers and Henrick Lundquist.
I wish my friend could have experienced what I'm experiencing right now.  I must would've preferred this comeback had happened against the Canadiens.
PS  Yes, RJ, you still gotta eat crow and we're still waiting for that Spurs post.

Rangers Ballpark in Arlington

As some of you know, a very good friend of mine (and author on this blog) moved to the Dallas/Fort Worth area a year or so ago.  He invited several of us to come down to his place for a weekend and to go see the Red Sox play in Arlington.  Thanks again for the great seats, AA.
Suffice to say we had one helluva time getting together, as well as eating lots of fatty meat and drinking lots of alcohol.  There was also no shortage of belly laughs and ribbing to go around.  I will put up a piece on my personal blog All Things Zebster, hopefully this afternoon about the whole trip.  This short post is really about going to the game.

L-R My Bro, Ellery, Tim and AA

I cannot possibly impart the enormity of this ballpark and I'm not sure the above picture does it justice either.  If you've seen a game there on TV, you know it's big but the outside footprint of this place is arguably 50% bigger than what you would normally consider the ballpark.  I think you could fit four Fenways in there.  The façade has longhorn impressions all along a center strip.  As with many of the new ballparks, there are restaurants and pubs within it, along with your traditional ballpark vending outlets.  We stopped at one of the pubs, Bodington's, for a cold one before getting to our seats.

Yours truly

Little Brother

 

We all dreaded the fact that John Lackey was pitching for the Sox, even though his previous outing was pretty good coming back from the DL.  Well, we had a bird's eye view of his very first pitch sailing over the left field wall off the bat of Kinsler but he did settle down and pitch fairly well.  The Red Sox bats have been kinda dormant lately and this game was no different.  The game was 3-1 Rangers until they got a couple more in the 8th to make the final score 5-1.  The Red Sox downfall was also as much attributable to bad defense at the infield corners as it was the lack of offense, but it was a reasonably close and well-played game, which was really a sidebar to being out together and sharing our friendship and mutual love of the game and the Sox.  I'm not sure there's really anything else I'd rather do with my time.
Thanks again, AA, for being such a great host and to Tom, Tim and Ellery for the awesome companionship and camaraderie.

PS  Ellery is the lone wolf in our group when it comes to favorite teams.  Like the rest of us he's a Sox, Bruins and Celtics fan (yeah, I know, AA, you hate basketball) but while the rest of us are Patriots fans, Ellery is a Cowboy fan.  This pic's for you, Ell.

Ell in front of Cowboy Stadium

 

PSS Once we arrived back to AA's, we watched the DVRed Bruins/Leafs playoff game, which the Leafs won, which I did not know the outcome despite RJ's text to me during the Sox game.  LOL  And we did play a round of golf the following day.  Not sure if I'll throw that into the weekend blog or come back here and post one just about that.

HAIL TO THE WASHINGTON #@*!*%

Here’s my view on this “Redskins” controversy.

First, I’m torn because I absolutely agree that the term “redskin” is pejorative.  To use the analogy, I wouldn’t want to support a professional team named the “Washington Sambos.”  However, there’s a reality to this story that’s not being talked about much. 

First, I think there is a degree of disingenuousness and hypocrisy by Native Americans, and by other American “minorities,” particularly by African Americans.  I have no doubt that over time—as soon as the first “pale face” spoke the words “red skin”—that it became a slur against Native Americans.  I wonder…when Native Americans first learned English, was the term “white man” used innocuously, or did it soon have a “racial” bite?  I’ll bet that in those early days of American colonialism and settling the “wild, wild west,” calling Native American Indians “redskins” didn’t exactly have the same context (at first) as when American culture referred to Asians as “yellow,” or Hispanics as “brown,” or how in the antebellum South, “blacks” was used equally negative to describe Americans of African descent.  But it is a fact that many Native American Indian tribes used face paint for many purposes—religious, celebrations, and in war.  Many cultures around the world use body paint for similar reasons, but early American settlers in the west, who first encountered hostile Indian tribes, would naturally (in ignorance or fear) refer to their painted attackers as “red-skinned.”  Is that were the word comes from?  Did that quickly become a slur in the lexicon of the white man?  Of course.  I’m not trying to argue that Native Americans brought this on themselves, I’m just saying the term has a basis in historical fact.  And while it definitely falls squarely in the same class as “nigger,” “kike,” “chink,” “slope,” “spick,” “honky,” “cracker,” or any other racial slur, I see “redskin” a little differently.

Second, I bristle at my African American friends who join the argument against the Washington Redskins logo, while justifying the proliferation of the word “nigga” as a term of endearment.  And don’t feed me this bullshit that “nigga” is DIFFERENT from “nigger.”  Some Blacks wholly embrace the term “nigga,” and the entertainment industry has made its use extremely profitable for both hip hop artists, and their white producers, agents, and sponsors.  I won’t even go into how much Hollywood enriches itself by the financial exploitation of all of these terms SOLELY for their pejorative connotation!

(Quick quiz:  Do you know what an “apple” is?  It’s a Native American slur used against other Native Americans to describe a person who’s “red” on the outside, but “white” on the inside.  Hmmmm…)

When the NCAA declared that all member schools had to change their mascots and team names that evoked these racially divisive terms (“Chiefs,” “Redmen,” “Braves,” “Warriors,” “Illini,” etc.), they gave a pass to Notre Dame (the “Irish”) and especially to the Florida State “Seminoles,” who still proudly (and legally) display their painted-face Indian head logo.  The Seminole Nation is split on this topic—Oklahoma Seminoles hate it, while Florida Seminoles profit from it!  Yes, the word “redskin” is bad, but what’s to be said of 30,000 Atlanta Braves “fans” when they break out into that incessant tomahawk chop thing—are they as racist as Dan Schneider and his 90K singing fans when the team scores a touchdown?

When the Redskins moved from Boston (the “Boston Braves”), the wife of the owner (George Preston Marshall) wrote the lyrics to its now iconic fight song:

Hail to the Redskins!

Hail Victory!
Braves on the Warpath!
Fight for old D.C.!
Run or pass and score -- we want a lot more!
Beat 'em, Swamp 'em,
Touchdown! -- Let the points soar!
Fight on, fight on 'Til you have won
Sons of Wash-ing-ton. Rah!, Rah!, Rah!

Hail to the Redskins!
Hail Victory!
Braves on the Warpath!
Fight for old D.C.!

But the original lyrics were (in CAPS):

Hail to the Redskins!

Hail Victory!

Braves on the Warpath!

Fight for old DIXIE!

Run or pass and score -- we want a lot more!

SCALP 'EM, SWAMP 'EM -- WE WILL TAKE 'EM BIG SCORE

READ 'EM, WEEP 'EM, TOUCHDOWN - WE WANT HEAP MORE

Fight on, Fight on -- 'Till you have won

Sons of Wash-ing-ton. Rah!, Rah!, Rah!

Hail to the Redskins!
Hail Victory!
Braves on the Warpath!
Fight for old DIXIE!

Did she write those words to openly demean Indians?  Did she use the term “redskin” in the same (racist) context as if the team were named the “Washington Sambos?”

Hail to the Sambos!

Hail Victory!

Coons on the Warpath!

Fight for old Dixie!

Run or pass and score -- we want a lot more!

Shuffle on a-long then mop the den floor.

Slave on, Slave on ‘till you are done

Shiftless, la-zy bums!  Rah!, Rah!, Rah!

What sense does that make?  None, and I argue that while the term “redskin” is certainly offensive (then and now), to argue that the Washington Redskins football club IS racist and the organization’s intent is to perpetuate racism, is just a plainly stupid argument.  (I mean, when was the last time, outside of Hollywood, that you heard anyone, ever, seriously refer to a Native American as a “redskin” in that context?  In 1938, it was just a mascot and had no more cultural meaning to the team than a “pirate” meant to Oakland or Pittsburgh.  But today, 2013, it’s a business—BIG business (take a look at how much money the NCAA makes on the sale of school logos).  The Redskin logo means billions in revenue to Dan Schneider, NBC, FedEx, and Landover, MD, just as that blood-thirsty, murderous pirate means jobs (and profits) to Oakland and Pittsburg.  Sure, Dan Schneider could have said he’d never change the name without capitalizing the word “never,” but by saying it that way, he’s putting all of us on notice that he’s not going to be pushed around, and from a business perspective I don’t blame him for the stance he’s taken.  (I think you’re a crappy owner, Danny, but I’m on your side on this issue!)  If the Redskins change their name, will I continue to support the team—hail to the...(uh, hell to the yeah)!  But I disagree with this particular “PC” snit.  The argument is out of context and is being personalized. 

And I’ll say this--I’ll bet you cash money that while they’re pissed off over this “redskin” thing, there are probably more than a few Native American Indians who bop their heads and sing along (openly) to Kanye’s hook:  “Now I ain't sayin' she a gold digger, but she ain't messin' with no broke niggas!”

I’m just sayin’.  Okay:  Flame on!

Something To Think About

Manti Te’o reached a deal to sign with the San Diego Chargers.

In somewhat related news, there’s no word on whether or not fake girlfriends or wives get half his stuff if he gets divorced or in a nasty palimony suit in the state of California.

5 Observations About the 2013 NHL Playoffs (Updated)

I have watched the majority of the NHL Playoffs so far this year and there are some things that I have seen that are becoming a trend. Some are good, some not so good, and some are just really ugly. So let's list what I am seeing.