The 2007 NHL season was a myriad of hope before game one, yet the outlook continued to look even brighter as the season carried on. Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews were as good as billed, Robert Lang seemed to be the missing veteran the Hawks needed on and off the ice, and Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook started to prove the commitment placed in them. The stadium was packed and oddly enough, home games were on TV. Then it started to go sour…in the injury department. Havlat, Williams, Toews and Adams left the team (at different points) without consistent offensive production. Here’s five reasons the playoffs look like a dream right now:

1. Nikolai Khabibulin: If there was one acquisition that Dale Tallon hoped would be stable for this team, it was this one. Unfortunately, it never happened. Just watching Khabibulin makes you wonder how dominant he was with Tampa in winning the Stanley Cup. Hawks fans thought it was a lack of defense that supported his erratic and inconsistent play, yet with the emergence of Keith, Seabrook, Wisniewski, and Byfuglien and the acquisition of Brent Sopel, Khabibulin still is lost at sifting his way through a screen, wanders and overplays shots in or near the crease, and has been utterly inconsistent. He ranks a lowly 33rd in GAA and 34th in save percentage. If only he could play Calgary every night…

2. Injuries: I swear both Tallon and Denis Savard were just waiting for Martin Havlat to be sidelined due to injury at multiple points of the season, but to lose Toews (who far surpasses his nineteen years of age), Williams, Adams, Wisniewski, and Patrick Sharp really left this team with a slew of line issues. Even with the injuries, its nice to see Patrick Kane holding his own when many thought his frame couldn’t handle an NHL season.

3. Veterans: Besides Robert Lang, who would you keep here? Yannic Perreault and Sergei Samsonov were brought in to help create more offense, but it wasn’t long before Samsonov was scratched and then waived. Perreault’s moniker is being the modern-day Peter Zezel in terms of faceoffs, but I’m disgusted as to how many times he gets tossed for overstepping the drop. Add Rene Bourque, Andrei Zyuzin, and Tuomo Ruutu to the mix and let’s start bringing up guys from Rockford.

4. Special Teams: If memory serves my right, the Blackhawks were ranked as high as fifth in power play conversions early in the season. That’s dropped to 27th (14.8%) as of today. Coming into Sunday, the Hawks encompassed going 1 for 33 on the power play. That’s dismal, but injuries have severely hampered this teams ability to create consistent power play lines and thus create scoring opportunities. The Blackhawks rank 16th in the penalty kill category (81.5%) and even lead the league in shorthanded goals. It never seemed as if Savard could figure out who would play forward on the kill. Thank God for Sopel though as he’s provided some calmness around his own net instead of trying to force the puck out of their own zone.

5. Cohesiveness: This team seems a lot more “together” in years past, but Savard still questioned their commitment about a month ago. Injuries surely have not helped this factor with guys on different lines each night, but if there is one bright spot its the way Kane and Toews play together. Other than contract renewals, these guys have like 15 years to go on the same line. The problem is the Hawks still give up more goals than they score, yet amazingly rank sixth with a plus 13 in plus/minus.

The Blackhawks are not “officially” out of the playoffs yet, but need must-wins against Columbus and Nashville to create any chance of getting a spot. If not, I’d like to see how the younger prospects fit in the mix with the roster that will be here in 2008. If nothing else, it looks as if we’ll get to see this team further develop…and at home and on TV.

Technorati Tags: Chicago Blackhawks, Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Nikolai Khabibulin, Robert Lang, Patrick Sharp, Duncan Keith

Mike Imrem (Daily Herald) has an article about the departure of Bobby Knight from Texas Tech. You can read it for yourself, but it pretty much encompasses every negative aspect of Knight and goes a step further to include his friendship with Bill Belichick.

I don’t think its necessary to re-hash all the negatives and pull out every stat that Knight encompassed during his tenure as a head coach. It’s pretty evident that he was a controversial coach/man and when he had his time in front of the media, he often came across as obnoxious and beligerent. With that being said, I think everyone should try to focus on what Knight accomplished off the court with his players. Sure there were incidents with Neil Reed and the eventual cause for his termination from IU involving Kent Harvey.

Knight may have been black and white in terms of public appearances, but he didn’t use that format when dealing with his players in terms of culture. They came to him raw and undeveloped, and left his program as better athletes and better men. Look at people like Steve Alford, Mike Krzyzeweski, and Isiah Thomas. Even ask his own son who was berated on live TV on the bench. Ask any of them, and they’ll tell you their future careers as players and coaches were formed under the tenure of Bob Knight.

As crazy as Knight seemed publicly, he always ran a clean program and weighted on court performance with off court responsiblity equally. He always made sure that players with scholarships due to their athletic ability rewarded themselves with a good education. It was rare to ever hear any of his players involved in off court shenanigans including alcohol, drugs, or gambling. He had many chances to upgrade to the pros, but never lost his focus and committment to his players at Indiana or Texas Tech. He was devoted and promised he’d be there when his recruits signed a letter of intent. If Bob Knight spoke it, it was law.

If nothing else, his players learned one key item: respect. Unfortunately, that sometimes ended up with physical intervention, but nonetheless it reinforced that he was in charge above all else. Maybe that’s what sports needs today? With the lessons learned from past players who entered college and pro’s still as children and acted like children. Knight wouldn’t be applicable for youth or high school sports, but he’s a perfect fit for the college and pro level. He taught his players the game and also taught them how to be men off the court.

With his departure, most will focus on his negative approach to coaching and conducting himself publicly. I say ask his former players what they thought about him.

Technorati Tags: Bob Knight, Indiana University, Steve Alford, Texas Tech, Mike Krzyzewski, Isiah Thomas

Just a few observations…

1. Media: There’s nothing more enjoyable than seeing Sean Salisbury and Keyshawn Johnson back themselves into a corner with a “super safe” pick and then try to B.S. their way out of it and talk like it never happened. I’ve never seen sports commentators turn 180 like that before. These 2 clowns had New England going 19-0 like it was taking candy from a baby and then did their best Houdini acts in the after-game coverage.

2. Peyton Manning: Was it really necessary to go back-and-forth to him in the box to see his reaction? I know it’s Eli’s brother, but just another chance for Joe Buck to spew.

3. Jason Taylor: You would think that when you receive an award from the wife of the best running back of all time, you’d show some appreciation. Yes Jason, Roger Goddell wasn’t the only person to your left.

4. Eli Manning: I remember him coming onto the field for the first possession and wondering what type of game was in his future. If memory serves me right, just about every ball was right on target. He got it done on third down and kept drives going. Guts is clearly defined when throwing to Plaxico Burress in single and triple coverage. Eli, please make sure you give at least half of your Super Bowl bonus to David Tyree. I hope Rex Grossman was watching and taking notes.

5. Time of Possession: The Giants won this matchup with a near minute surplus. The Giants (and Patriots) were 50% on third down conversions, but it was the Giants who seriously benefited in this area by keeping the Patriots offense off the field.

6. Giants D: Brady gets knocked down 18 times. Unheard of all year. The key was the defense’s ability to get pressure from the front four all game long. Brady never really seemed comfortable in the pocket and it was noticeable on much of his throws. The other key factor was the ability to shut down the Patriots screen.

7. Randy Moss: Got a touchdown and 62 yards, but the Giants kept him out of the game as much as possible. Besides the touchdown, I say the Randy Ratio was a big zero.

8. Kevin Boss: I had a feeling that the Giants were going to get a big play from their tight end at some point in the game. The result was a 45 yard reception that led to a touchdown a few plays later. With all the talk from Rodney Harrison, it was his missed tackle that led to the play.

9. Giants O: I enjoyed the scheme that was employed by the offense. They went to the shotgun and spread the Patriots out and still mixed in the run when needed. The routes over the middle were open for much of the game. It seemed to help make Seau, Vrabel, and Bruschi look their age.

10. Poise: The Giants had it and the Patriots didn’t. Brady looked like a sixth round pick and Manning sealed his future with a Super Bowl win and MVP.

Overall: I picked the Giants to win 23-20 and though the score wasn’t right, the Giants got the huge win. Seriously, this game had all the makings for an upset and the Giants played the role of David. No one knows, but it looked like the Patriots bought into the 19-0 record and a perfect season. The Patriots made the mistake of running into the wrong team at the wrong time. Just about everyone counted them out and it set the table for a Super Bowl win…and me winning $112 bucks.

Technorati Tags: Super Bowl XLII, Eli Manning, Tom Brady, New England Patriots, New York Giants

Unfortunately, the end of the NFL season is upon us. The cold weather (very cold here) is making things even more difficult, especially when there seems to be nothing good on TV in terms of sports (although ESPN’s replays of “NFL’s Greatest Games” is a nice touch…). We enter the second week before the Super Bowl and just about everything is “Live: From Phoenix“. The usual hype is absolutely a bore and it was just a year ago that these 2 morons received their 15 minutes of fame at Super Bowl Media Day. I’m sure Rex Grossman would have “dropped the ball” when (or if) the bride reporter asked to marry him.

In either case, the shift will begin to focus to Sunday and 4 hours of intense coverage. This could turn out to be a very special Super Bowl if the Patriots go 19-0 and hush the 1972 Dolphins and the notion that the 1985 Chicago Bears were the best team ever.

While all that is true, there should be some haste taken by everyone in the Patriots corner (or those who claim to be) in such a big game. Super Bowl XLII has the makings for quite the upset and majour losses in Las Vegas. Here’s what may happen on Sunday:

What the Patriots Will Do: When you’re 18-0, what would you change? What I like most about the Patriots is their patience. Calm, cool and collective. There never seems to be an ounce of urgency, but even against Baltimore, they remained as focused as could be. An intangible asset the Patriots held this year was time of possession. Not a glaring stat, but something the Pats use to their advantage in every game. On paper, they only lead the Giants in T.O.P. by a mere minute, but the other advantage they have is their ability to get it done on third down (48.2%). Even with Randy Moss, the Patriots are as methodical as can be and will opt for the sure, short route (i.e Wes Welker/Kevin Faulk) when its there rather than going down field to Randy Moss. When a defense goes to a nickel or drops just about everyone back, the Patriots still have Laurence Maroney to handle the ball. Even worse for opposing teams is the fact that Brady can eat a seven course meal with the protection he has on just about every down. Utilizing a zone package is a formula for trouble with the multiple receiver sets the Patriots display and use. One more thing about the Pats offense is the constant utilization of check downs and audibles. Guessing right before the snap usually accounts for guessing wrong when the whistle blows.

Defensively, the Patriots (even with age) still conduct business as usual no matter who the opponent. The key here is Rodney Harrison. Even still, the blitz packages used (usually multiples) are a hindrance to an opposing offensive line and distort most schemes. The only soft spot I see in the defense (and this is a stretch) is containing the run. And I do mean a stretch…

Key Offensive Player: Matt Light
Key Defensive Player: Ashante Samuel

What the Giants Will Do: You wont find it on paper, but the Giants always seem (lately) to keep close in the game on both sides of the ball. This is an odd team, but also a team you don’t want to face in a crucial game. Offensively, their biggest asset may just be the running game with Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw. The bigger question will be the ability to run the football consistently allowing Eli Manning to set up with play-action and the ability to keep the Pats defense at bay with blitz packages. As far as Manning is concerned, its more like Jekyl/Hyde and its anyone’s guess as to how he’ll perform, however, he looked poised and confident against Green Bay and utilized Plaxico Burress just the way he was designed.

Defensively, the biggest key will be to keep the Giants offense in the game and that may not be a stretch considering what the Giants have done defensively this postseason. Expect to see the Pats cautious with the screens and focus more on the middle to deep middle routes in an effort to exploit the secondary. It didn’t work for Green Bay, but then again this is New England. The Giants defense will decide how much of a chance they have in winning.

Key Offensive Player: Kevin Boss
Key Defensive Player: Kawika Mitchell

Overall: Very eery matchup here and it almost seems as if the Patriots have gone 18-0 too easy. The biggest factor will be the Giants ability to convert on third down and keep the ball out of Brady’s hands as much as possible. The Giants will need to start quickly and will depend on a defensive turnover to pull this one out, but I have a feeling they’ll play spoiler on Sunday. Expect a late field goal by Tynes to win it. My opinion, but the champagne is pulled out by Don Shula and his 1972 Dolphins.

My Pick: Giants 23 Patriots 20

Technorati Tags: New York Giants, New England Patriots, Bill Belichick, Tom Coughlin, Tom Brady, Eli Manning, Randy Moss, Junior Seau, Brandon Jacobs, NFL, Super Bowl XLII