The Spirit of Business

We live in interesting times.  The recent showdown over the shutdown and the subsequent deal making, braking, and faking concluded on Wednesday night.  Despite being technically furloughed, I worked every day except two during the shuttering of the government, and truthfully it felt good to see something positive after so much effort.

Many will opine about the eventual deal reached at the 11^th hour, but I believe another settlement deserves our attention today.  I didn’t know about the story I’m about to spin until Wednesday night, but boy it’s a good one.  (For those who watched the documentary “Free Spirits,” I appreciate your clicking this link…you may proceed to the Bits if you like).  The story conveniently ends with what might arguably be the greatest business deal ever, and should be common knowledge to today’s sports aficionados.

Let’s turn back to 1974.  The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a professional league that somewhat competed with the NBA, but added its own specific brand to the sport.  The league pioneered the idea of mass marketing and running a team purely for entertainment value.  Teams played in big-time arenas and thus, being something of Little Brother to the NBA, worked to put butts in the seats through promotions and outrageous halftime shows.  But, we owe a little more to the ABA than Bobblehead Night.  The ABA first used the three point line, adopting it a full ten years before the NBA.  Imagine basketball now without the trey…it would be a different game, with lead swings coming only after much concerted effort.  Scoring totals for players like Kobe or Michael would be reduced.  The three-point field goal revolutionized basketball and created a new kind of player, the 3-point specialist.

The other thing we owe to the ABA is the slam dunk.  Another marketing strategy pushed playing above the rim to bring a more exciting brand of basketball.  While the NBA also had its share of slammers, the ABA looked to take it a step further.  The first Dunk Contest occurred at the 1976 ABA All-Star Game, a historical footnote that only adds to the legacy of a league that played with a red-white-and-blue ball.

Anyway, the league is significant for a lot of reasons, but was unable to keep itself going.  Eleven teams began the ABA in 1967, but only two of those eleven stayed in one city during the league’s existence.  Bob Costas has described it as a chance for people with “some money” to get in on the game of basketball by owning a professional franchise.  The league struggled from the get-go, with many different owners hawking teams and moving them to different markets.  As a brief aside, this led to some excellent team nicknames: Minnesota Muskies, Denver Larks, Louisiana Buccaneers, Baltimore Hustlers, Oakland Oaks, San Diego Conquistadors, and Washington Capitals to name a few.

But, another great nickname came to the team in St. Louis.  The Carolina Cougars, based mainly in Greensboro, were bought by two brothers, Ozzie and Dan Silna.  Looking to take advantage of a potential ABA-NBA merger, the Silnas moved to St. Louis, the biggest market then without an NBA franchise.  The team was dubbed the Spirits of St. Louis, another fantastic nickname from a league too often thrown to the historical dogs.

The Silnas brought in tons of players, leveraging another ABA innovation, drafting players early.  Moses Malone never went to college, moving right to the ABA’s Utah Stars.  The main get for these Spirits was Marvin Barnes, a player out of Providence who had been drafted number two overall in the NBA.  He chose the Spirits, adding another feather to the ABA’s cap.

And Barnes dominated the court, averaging 24 PPG in each season he played for the team.  In that first season, in which Barnes won ABA Rookie of the Year, he also averaged 15 rebounds per game.  While there isn’t a whole lot of tape from those days, his prodigious talent looks fairly evident on the small amount that I’ve seen.  Behind Barnes’ leadership, the Spirits beat the defending champion New York Nets in the playoffs, triumphing over Dr. J in his heyday.  Things looked up, but everything came to a halt one year later.

And that’s where this whole thing becomes important.  The ABA sought a merger with the NBA, a proposition that the leagues both took seriously.  After a series of negotiations, the NBA agreed to subsume four ABA teams: the Denver Nuggets, Indiana Pacers, San Antonio Spurs, and the Nets.  That left, by then, two teams on the outside looking in: the Kentucky Colonels and the Spirits.  Kentucky’s owners received $3.3 million in exchange for shutting the team down.  The Silna brothers had no intention of going quietly, and looked for some alternative deal to compensate their losses.

The resulting business settlement sounds not only prescient and genius now…it sounds like theft.  The Silnas agreed to a deal in which 1/7 of the TV revenue from each of the four merged teams would go directly into their pockets.  One-seventh from the Nuggets, Pacers, Spurs, and Nets…those were the terms.  And there was no term limit on this clause, as the contract granted this money “in perpetuity” to the Silnas.  As the literacy level of Americans seems to be decreasing precipitously, I feel compelled to reiterate that “perpetuity” means forever.

The Spurs’ success speaks for itself.  They have been a powerhouse in the West despite playing a supremely anti-ABA brand of basketball under mastermind Gregg Popovich.  The Nets reached their pinnacle in the Jason Kidd era, but have remained a viable franchise since the merger.  The Pacers are perhaps the second-best small market team in the NBA, doing well during the Reggie Miller years and enduring the tough Artest years before the current team of young studs (for my money, Indiana wins the championship in ’04 if the Malice at the Palace doesn’t happen).  The Nuggets aren’t as great a success story, but they continue to gain playoff berths.

So, how much TV revenue do you think those franchises have made since the ink dried in 1976?  As of last year, according to the New York Times, the Silna brothers have collected $255 million from the ABA merger.  All that after owning a team for two years that barely made a dent in the hierarchy of the ABA.  At the time of the deal, CBS paid the NBA a very modest amount for its games.  Now…the NBA receives about $930 million from all its TV contracts.  The same Times article pinpoints the Silna’s yearly earnings at $14.57 million presently.  Really not bad at all 35 years from the last whistle in St. Louis.

The Spirits, despite being forgotten, are an exceptionally compelling team for other reasons.  Their coach during that second season was Rod Thorn, the gentleman who drafted Michael Jordan in Chicago and helped build the Nets in the Jason Kidd era.  Of similar significance is the man who has been Thorn’s periodic boss, David Stern.  The current commissioner served as Outside Counsel to the NBA during the merger discussions, and generally receives credit for pushing both sides to reach an agreement on which teams would be collected.

The St. Louis players had mixed success going forward.  Barnes played four seasons in the NBA for four different teams and has admitted to doing drugs before, after, and during games while playing with the Celtics.  He wound up homeless in the early 90s and continues to work his way back to sustainability.  Moses Malone played in St. Louis during the second season, and he now sits firmly in the Hall and is one of the 30 (at least) best players ever.  Don Chaney went on to be a vaunted sixth man for the Celtics, Ron Boone held the record for consecutive pro games played for many years, and Mike D’Antoni has forgotten defense as a pro coach.

And yet, perhaps the best footnote on this team is their broadcaster: Bob Costas.  He has achieved the kind of cultural notoriety held by only a few broadcasters in the era of sports, allowing him to insert his own opinions without ridicule or shame.  His calls for Spirits games are, from what I’ve heard, not especially invigorating, but the associations with this short-lived team continue to amaze me.

There you have it, a team that has provided us with one of the best business deals ever and a mish-mash of associations too coincidental to not be mentioned.  For all of the discussions about how well sports does, it’s refreshing to hear that it wasn’t always the case.

Bit #1: Goodness these people need to shut up

I respect Jim Irsay’s honesty, but he needs to can it.  Irsay said he was “disappointed” that the Colts didn’t win more Super Bowls under Manning.  Technically speaking, I understand his sentiments.  The Colts won at least 12 games for seven straight years, yet only made two Super Bowls, winning one.  Yes, Manning could have won more championships, but Irsay’s comments are particularly idiotic.  Since his family moved the franchise from Baltimore in the dead of night, Irsay can only point to Peyton Manning for the team’s success.  I wrote an inaugural blog post almost two years ago laying out the unbelievable effect Manning had on the Colts prospects.  Yeah, he didn’t bring home enough rings, but expressing any kind of reservation about the man who singlehandedly resurrected the franchise is insulting.  I hope Peyton kills Indy this weekend by throwing it all over the yard and putting up a 56-0 sinning score.

The other guy who should shut it is Dwight Howard.  This past week, Dwight said he would like to see Orlando retire his #12.  Howard, in an interview with the Orlando Sentinel, said he was “a little upset” that the team allowed Tobias Harris to wear 12.  He elaborated by saying that the team did some “special” things while he was there.  Of course, he’s right.  Howard led the team to the NBA Finals, eliminating LeBron James in the process.  But, is he serious?  We are only two years removed from Howard’s attempts to fire his coach and general manager.  Howard’s antics put the basketball world onto his scent as being an immature star who could really use a dose of better judgment.  Eventually, I’d predict the number will be retired.  But, the wounds are still too raw (have you seen how the Magic are doing recently?) for Howard to expect that or to even express frustration about it.

Bit #2: What’s Wrong with the Caps?

I realize the season is young, but the Caps have a 2-5 record.  That’s unacceptable for a team that has tons of talent on its roster and has proven it during the past two seasons.  The big guns are firing.  Ovie has six goals, Backstrom has seven assists.  But, the problem remains (as it has for the last four years, Mr. McPhee) on the defensive end.  The injury to Jack Hillen, causing him to miss 4-6 months threw our defensive alignment awry.  John Erskine missing games also doesn’t help one bit, as he took a giant step forward last season with his play.  But, even with them on the ice, the team gives up too many goals.  Their 24 goals allowed are six above the league average.  No Caps player has a positive plus/minus rating, and the defensemen who have played are a combined -23.  Some of this also goes on the goalies, Neuvirth and Holtby, who both have save percentages beneath 90% and have goals-against-averages above three.

It comes down to needing to beat teams that we should beat.  Dallas and Carolina beat us in past weeks, and these are teams that ranked in the bottom half of the league last season.  The Caps also need to pick it up in order to deal with the new divisions, which make it tougher for them.

Bit #3: NFL Power Rankings

1.      Broncos (6-0)

See my comments about Manning above

 

2.      Chiefs (6-0)

Lots of folks looking forward to Week 11 when this team takes on Peyton.  Expect the two to be at 9-0 and looking forward to the playoffs.  I’m still not sold on this team deep into the playoffs, but stranger things have happened.

 

3.      Saints (5-1)

Tough loss for New Orleans, especially in a game where they fairly outplayed the Pats in many aspects.  The injury to Jimmy Graham, however, could be trouble after the upcoming bye week.  Of larger concern is the ineffectiveness of Graham on Sunday to catch a ball, which might be a blueprint for opponents going forward.

 

4.      Seahawks (5-1)

For a team that started as an elite squad, I’m not entirely sure how to read this year’s version.  Such a middling win over the Titans isn’t exactly cause for uproarious rejoicing, but the defense will keep them in games going forward.  Their opponents before the bye week: Arizona, St. Louis, Tampa Bay, Atlanta, and Minnesota.  They should be up here by then.

 

5.      Patriots (5-1)

I don’t know what you can say about Tom Brady.  He’s not been overwhelming this season, but my goodness he looked good on that final drive.  I will be in attendance during his game this weekend, and I bet the team defense continues.

 

6.      Colts (4-2)

Huge game this weekend against Denver as Andrew Luck gets his second straight primetime game.  The loss to the Chargers has to be put on the defense, who gave up a fair chunk of yardage to Ryan Mathews.

 

7.      49ers (4-2)

A team running under the radar the past two weeks, with their two games before the bye week against Tennessee and Jacksonville.  I have Vernon Davis on my fantasy team, boo-yah.

 

8.      Bengals (4-2)

They’ve won four of their last five, but sustainability is the real question.  Can Andy Dalton win enough games while not airing it out too much?  The defense is gross.

 

9.      Packers (3-2)

Everybody knows I love this team as a contender not being discussed right now, but the injuries to Randall Cobb and James Jones are problematic.  Rodgers has a great plug-and-chug mentality, but it bears watching as to what he’ll do.

 

10.  Bears (4-2)

Not sure I like putting them here, but the possible replacement is the Lions, who aren’t consistent enough.  Jay has a juicy matchup this week against Washington and Brandon Marshall looks to be sufficiently placated.

Week 5 Power Rankings

1.      Broncos (5-0)

Under adversity for the first time this season, Peyton Manning played up to the challenge.  Rather than reading the 2013 Book of Eli, Peyton marshaled an impressive two drives. He completed 78 percent of his passes with four touchdowns.  Some questions on defense, but very few people are giving Danny Trevathan props for a great pick. 

 

2.      Saints (5-0)

It’s tough to believe the stats pointed to a third place finish for the Saints prior to the season.  Drew Brees trails only Peyton in passing offense, but the real story should be the defense.  The Saints held the Bears to 18 points on the road, after holding the Dolphins to 17 the week before.  I just want to see Broncos-Saints at this point.

 

3.      Chiefs (5-0)

Alex Smith was toiling with an injury this time last season, and now look at him.  He’s throwing 30+ passes a game, and doing surprisingly well for always being called a “game manager.”  But, the defense won on Sunday, and has 21 sacks thus far.  Defense travels and anchors much better than a wide open aerial attack, so I give credit to Any Reid.  This team has a new swagger. (As a note, I am still not picking these guys to go far in the playoffs…think 2008 Titans under Kerry Collins and that’s how I’m looking at KC).

 

4.      Colts (4-1)

As statement wins go, beating the Seahawks at home one week after winning in SFO represents one heck of a two week stretch.  Andrew Luck might not be prolific, but he is winning games when needed.  He isn’t throwing picks either, with only two thus far.  Their Monday night game in San Diego might be a trap game, but Luck has answered the questions this season.

 

5.      Seahawks (4-1)

Still ran for 218 yards in a loss, and Russell Wilson gashed the Colts defense.  A 13-3 start remains likely, but I am looking to that Saints at Seahawks game on December 2^nd.  At this stage, that game will be for home-field advantage.

 

6.      49ers (3-2)

A new commitment to the running game looks to be bearing fruit.  177 yards last week and have run for 396 over these past two games.  Kaepernick had thrown for 45 yards at halftime against Houston, but the team remained up 21-0!  Don’t count them out yet.

 

7.      Patriots (4-1)

Ugly, ugly, ugly.  The Pats didn’t even play defense poorly in their game against Cincinnati.  Andy Dalton threw for less than 200 yards and looked terrible.  But, so did Mr. Brady, who snapped his streak of games with a touchdown pass.  His receivers don’t look great, and the Patriots remain the power of the AFC East, but can anyone look at them with the same kind of confidence as we have in years past?  A big home game against the Saints this weekend will help us figure out the identity of this team.

 

8.      Bengals (3-2)

Really a strong victory, and one that Cincy has not gotten in recent years.  That said, any improvement by this team needs to come from Andy Dalton, who seems to have lost the decisiveness he brought to the first two weeks of the season.  As a side note, anybody noticed Terence Newman has given up a 14 percent completion rate?

 

9.      Packers (2-2)

When Aaron Rodgers throws downfield like he did against Detroit, the Pack is tough to beat.  He went 5-for-7 on throws more than 20 yards downfield.  The injuries are racking up regrettably, as Clay Matthews’ thumb will certainly leave a large hole for this team.  But, the last time the Pack had tons of injuries, they won the Super Bowl.

 

10.  Bears (3-2)

A lot of the good things people were saying about the Bears weren’t there this past weekend.  Cutler got hit seven times and was sacked three times.  The run defense, suffering under the loss of Henry Melton, lost Melton’s replacement for the year.  Two straight losses, albeit to good teams, doesn’t work well going into a short week.  Great showing by Alshon Jeffery though.

Bit #1: Condoleeza Rice shouldn’t be part of panel

I am starting to have a tough time remembering my previous positions on Dibbles and Bits, but I really despise the idea of a committee for the college football playoff.  We have the BCS rubric, so why not let that be the judge of the top four teams.

The committee looks like an even worse idea when celebrities have a spot on it.  Look, Condoleeza Rice is arguably one of the smartest Americans around.  Like her or not politically, it’s tough to be both National Security Adviser and Secretary of State in the span of eight years.  She’s an admitted fan, and there’s a good case to be made that a woman used to high stakes decisions can do just fine in looking at college football teams.

And yet, I think this is a sham attempt to gain glamor.  I bet she knows football well, in much the same way a psychologist might know the Civil War through books.  All Average Joe fans engage the game through a medium, usually television, and Condoleeza Rice is no different.  Like you or I, she probably can’t design plays or analyze game tape.  She, like you and I, can make general observations that every once in a while might dig into some deeper points or conclusions.  I mince no words when I say that having a fan on the panel has some really good consequences.  That Ms. Rice demands and deserves respect from her peers adds a lot to her potential inclusion.  Whereas an athletic director or former coach might get bogged down in stats, the average fan uses the eye-test (the same eye-test that gave VCU a chance two years ago despite the numbers…and that worked out).

But, at least for now, the BCS needs to get it right with this format.  There need to be as few questions as possible lest calls begin for an expanded eight-team format.  To that end, the ones who will not mess up live and breathe the game.  It’s the same reason celebrity basketball fans aren’t on the March Madness panel.  Admittedly, that requires a deeper knowledge, but the idea still stands…those who are closest to the game are the best qualified to make decisions.  Condoleeza Rice is qualified, but she’s not the best qualified person for that job.

Bit #2: No Hope for the A’s

I so wanted the Athletics, a team long bereft of any success past the first round, to beat the Tigers last night.  But, with the bases loaded and no outs in the eighth, Max Scherzer retired the next three batters to keep Detroit up one.  It was one of those moments in baseball where you can palpably feel the importance of the moment.  Despite having another chance to beat the Tigers in Oakland, there’s almost no way the A’s do it after squandering a golden opportunity.  Justin Verlander, the Game 5 starter for Detroit, has not been his typical dominant self this season, but he rolled Oakland 6-0 in the deciding game last year.  Throw in the A’s miserable ability to close series (1-10 in series closing games recently) and there should be no question that Scherzer, the presumptive and deserving AL Cy Young Award winner, saved the Tiger season on Tuesday night.

NHL Preview 2013

I’m a few days late on this, but after watching hockey the last week I felt the urge to give my thoughts on how this season will go.  I realize, very few of you will want to wade through all of these, but I promise you hockey will be excellent this season.

Atlantic Division

1.      Boston Bruins

2.      Detroit Red Wings

3.      Ottawa Senators

4.      Toronto Maple Leafs

5.      Montreal Canadiens

6.      Tampa Bay Lightning

7.      Buffalo Sabres

8.      Florida Panthers

Overall: The addition of Detroit means this division should be really, really fun.  Four of the Original Six now play in the Atlantic, which means rivalries.  When looking at the rosters, it’s tough to doubt the Bruins.  Boston’s berth in the Finals last year was no shock and behind Tuukka Rask and a great tough guy attitude, they can compete with anyone on any given night.  Ottawa has also received some serious attention, mainly after staying relevant despite a rash of injuries last year.  I don’t have much faith they will stay healthy, but the defense is elite.

Biggest Changes: Take your pick, here.  The Bruins lost Nathan Horton (who put up over 50 points two years ago) but gained criminally underrated two-way forward Loui Eriksson.  Detroit brought in Daniel Alfredsson from their new division rivals, and while grizzled he showed no signs of slowing down last season.  My bet, though, is the addition of Jonathan Bernier in Toronto.  If the Leafs figure out who should be in goal on a consistent basis, they have the roster to be a force.  Remember, they were three minutes from eliminating the Bruins in the playoffs last year.

Best Player:  Steven Stamkos continues to toil on a team that’s fighting for relevance.  A two-time Richard Trophy winner (most goals in the league), expect him to be near the top again.

Worst Team: Many will point to Buffalo, but I’m going with Florida.  Tim Thomas is an addition in goal but after his year off I wonder how he’ll do.  Losing Stephen Weiss at center to Detroit also hurt them.  Watch for Jonathan Huberdeau to improve, though.

Playoff Spots:  Under the new format, the top three in each division get playoff spots, while the remaining two conference spots are treated as wild cards.  Based on the Metropolitan, no way this division gets more than its allotted three.

Metropolitan Division

1.      Pittsburgh Penguins

2.      New York Rangers

3.      Washington Capitals

4.      New York Islanders

5.      Philadelphia Flyers

6.      New Jersey Devils

7.      Columbus Blue Jackets

8.      Carolina Hurricanes

Overall: I will admit, after the Penguins finishing first this division is basically a guess.  The Caps, Jackets, and Canes are not used to playing these teams so often in the regular season, which will affect their ability somewhat.  The Pens are the class of the division undoubtedly, but I like the Rangers to rebound with new coach Alain Vigneault.  The Devils are the hardest team to predict in the entire league this year, mainly due to their goaltender situation, with two veritable starters in Brodeur and Cory Schneider.  When looking at the Islanders and potential MVP John Tavares, I remain skeptical of their defense but what an offense they have on Long Island.  Should be an interesting division to watch that will provide some surprises.

Biggest Changes: Besides the coaching change in New York, there are two that stand out.  The first is Philly bringing in Ray Emery and Steve Mason in an attempt to move on from the Bryzgalov debacle in net.  If the Flyers could get some solid play out of their goalie, they would have been much better last year at the very least.  The other change is a subtraction; the retirement of Ilya Kovalchuk takes a potent offensive force out of New Jersey.  This team, two years removed from a surprise Cup Finals berth, isn’t that bad, but has undergone a large makeover.

Best Unknown Player: I am assuming you don’t watch much hockey, but the players in this division are all good, so let’s stick with the relative unknowns.  At the top is Sergei Bobrovsky, the Columbus goalie who won the Vezina last year and almost singlehandedly brought the Jackets to the playoffs.  Was last season a fluke?  I doubt it, but in a deep division he will be tested.

Sneakiest Good Player: I am a homer on this, but my answer is Mikhail Grabovski.  The center, signed by the Caps to an extremely reasonable one year deal, will fit right into the power play game that Washington runs.  He also brings a great pivot to the table, and will be a great replacement for Mike Ribeiro.  Another entry here is Jeff Skinner in Carolina, who has some great hands and shooting ability.

Playoff Spots: Five

Central Division

1.      Chicago Blackhawks

2.      St. Louis Blues

3.      Minnesota Wild

4.      Dallas Stars

5.      Winnipeg Jets

6.      Nashville Predators

7.      Colorado Avalanche

Overall: This division isn’t gonna bring any top-end excitement.  The top two teams are indisputable.  The offense in Chicago and the defense in St. Louis are perhaps the two best units in the whole league.  After that, Minnesota is a fairly certain third place team through Ryan Suter and Zach Parise.  Past third is anyone’s guess.  The young talent at the bottom end of the division is prodigious.  Nathan Mackinnon in Colorado, Filip Forsberg (please come back to DC) in Nashville, Evander Kane in Winnipeg, and Tyler Seguin in Dallas are all rock stars that might experience breakout seasons.  Patrick Roy behind the bench in Denver might also add some intrigue.  Overall, though, should be a straightforward division come season’s end.

Biggest Changes: Putting Tyler Seguin in Dallas will be the most uncertain move seen in a while.  Seguin alienated Boston’s coaching staff and they grew frustrated with him.  Dallas continues to look for the heir to Mike Modano, and Seguin has the ability to throw the Stars into the playoffs.

Unexpected Good Season: Breakout is a terrible term for this, but Jay Bouwmeester has never really had a coming out party.  He’s always been a great skater and puck mover, but there hasn’t been much to look at in the past few seasons.  Well, with Alex Pietrangelo playing alongside him, Bouwmeester can take offensive risks, which will help the Blues as they struggle to win games offensively.  Don’t sleep on Vladimir Tarasenko in St. Louis either.

Guy I Feel Sorry For: Not a question, it’s Pekka Rinne.  He’s a workhorse goalie who might be stuck on a poor team for a bit.  That said, during the last 82-game season, Rinne was nominated for the Vezina, so he certainly could pull Nashville into the postseason picture.  Another guys is Ondrej Pavelec, the Winnipeg goaltender who while treated like a #1, rarely plays like it when needed.

Playoff Spots: Three

Pacific Division

1.      Los Angeles Kings

2.      San Jose Sharks

3.      Vancouver Canucks

4.      Anaheim Ducks

5.      Phoenix Coyotes

6.      Edmonton Oilers

7.      Calgary Flames

Overall: Many of the rivalries already existing will stay for the Pacific.  LA will be back after making the Western Conference Finals last season.  Jonathan Quick played lights out in the playoffs and will bring that over this season.  Between LA and the bottom, questions abound for each team.  Can San Jose finally get over the hump with their veteran lineup?  Is Vancouver, a perennial contender, able to win deep in the playoffs under new coach John Tortorella?  And, can the Ducks shock the league again through s surprising outburst?  Those three teams will likely finish in the top four, but I’m low on the Ducks.  It’s doubtful that, after trading Bobby Ryan to Ottawa, Anaheim will create as many scoring chances on the top line, even with Ryan Getzlaf back in top form.  Phoenix will also be an interesting team to watch, as ownership questions no longer loom, and Mike Smith in goal looks to recreate his 2011 season.  Edmonton has so much young talent I would not be shocked to see them emerge into the postseason, but we’ve been saying that for years.

Biggest Changes:  I’ve already mentioned the Bobby Ryan trade, which will be felt in Anaheim.  Mike Ribeiro, formally of the Caps, carried Washington in the early goings last year and may very well do so again.  If he’s playing well and Mike Smith shuts down the goal, Phoenix also has a shot.  The other change, and the biggest, is the addition of testy coach John Tortorella in Vancouver.  Torts had a miserable relationship with the New York media, but his toughness added a better dimension to a lagging Rangers team.  I expect that with the talent of the Sedin twins, the Canucks will take after their new coach and play with a little more toughness.

Worst Team: The NHL’s worst record will end up in Calgary.  The Flames have the long game in mind, as both Jarome Iginla and Mikka Kiprusoff are now gone.  GM Jay Feaster, who has held onto his job by a thread for the past two years, will lose it after a miserable season and Calgary will slink into the wilderness for a while.

Playoff Spots: I’m going with five to include Phoenix, but if Dallas plays well the Coyotes will be crowded out.

Bit #1: Some notes briefly…

The NBA announced it will end the 2-3-2 format for the NBA Finals.  This is a great plan, as travel now allows teams to fly back and forth with less effort.  Not to mention, a team getting three straight home games makes no sense.

Lane Kiffin being gone isn’t surprising, but the shock might very well be who will take his place.  Jack Del Rio, the Broncos offensive coordinator and former Jags head coach, is the odds-on favorite.  Whoever it is, I bet, won’t be a college coach and will look to recreate the success of Jim Mora at UCLA, who was also a pro coach.

The President’s Cup began this week at Muirfield Village in Ohio.  I don’t have a huge issue with the course, but the international event should take place at a course that we don’t see every year.  Muirfield also provides a huge advantage to the U.S., as there are seven Muirfield victories present on the U.S. roster.  The International team, too long uncompetitive in this competition, will not have the same kind of knowledge for the golf course.  I’m pulling for the Internationals in a way, since an International win will light some fire in this biannual matchup.

The recent talk that MLB should drop the one-game Wild Card game needs to stop.  The game brings in one extra team for the postseason and puts a higher premium on winning the division.  In addition, we all know that any team can win in baseball’s playoffs, so stop trying to expand the postseason.

One Game Out of First

After making the decision to start Matt Flynn in fantasy (said no one ever) I told friends that if the Skins lost yesterday, my Panic meter would hit a 12/10.  Having to play Vick, Rodgers, and Stafford wasn’t a whole lot of fun, and I wanted to think the much-maligned defense could still stop an average NFL quarterback.

We did, despite some really troubling parts of the winning effort.  But, first thing’s first: with the win, we sit one game out of first place.  A win against Dallas in two Sundays will propel us into a tie for first, assuming Philly doesn’t go on a tear.  As bad as the Redskins have been this season, the ability to even be sniffing the top of the division counts as a marvelous break in our favor.  I also think some credit should be given to this team for crawling out of a 14-point hole on the road.  Yeah, Oakland isn’t very good, but for a 0-3 team, I wonder if the players saw it all slipping away after Mychal Rivera scored.  I know I certainly did, so the performance by all involved provides a great jolt heading into the bye week.

I will come back more to some nit-picky defensive things, but we should acknowledge the unit played well when they needed to down the stretch.  After giving up a large game on a fake punt, the defense forced the Raiders to punt.  In the third quarter, after a horrendous fumble by Logan Paulsen, the defense forced a field goal three plays later that Janikowski missed.  While David Amerson’s touchdown certainly helped the team, I’m not entirely willing to give him tons of credit given the poor decision by Flynn.  But, the rookie executed when he needed to.  In addition, the seven sacks by the front seven were excellent, and it’s good to finally see those sacks come from multiple sources.  On offense, RGIII threw no interceptions, a remarkable improvement from the previous three games.  I liked the offensive play calling overall.  RGIII can air it out, but he did well to capitalize on short gains.  Of even better emphasis was the running game.  The Skins rushed for 32 times for 122 yards, a real improvement from the first three games in which the team fell far enough behind that rushing had to be abandoned.  Roy Helu’s work when Morris left the game helped to eat clock and to keep the play-action pass game relevant.  And, for me, that’s the strength of this offense.  Washington receivers generally have not distinguished themselves as great route runners or, for that matter, pass-catchers.  But, the play-action pass helped this team a ton last year and did so again yesterday.  Griffin went 10-for-13 for 119 yards on play-action passes.  I think yesterday’s play selection was what Kyle Shanahan wanted to do all year, and now that he’s seen the team respond to a deficit, I hope he continues to keep the team running downhill.

Given the above paragraph is rather long, this was an ugly win.  I also can’t help wondering, considering the inability of the Redskins to tackle, what Terrelle Pryor could have done if he started this game.  Broken tackles remain the largest weakness of this defense, especially when it comes to cornerbacks in the open field.  I think it’s also time to phase out London Fletcher…his poor play was noticeable yesterday, and the tackling machine we all love hasn’t been near a point of attack with any good regularity.  The time-sharing with Nick Barnett should help this as the season goes on.  Lastly, the offensive effort in general will not beat Dallas in two weeks, despite their weak secondary.  With any luck, RGIII will improve during the bye week.

Still, folks, we are in the mix for the time being.  Let’s enjoy it, because if yesterday is any judge, this won’t be around for long.

Week 4 NFL Power Rankings

1.      Broncos (4-0)

A point differential of +88, a quarterback without any picks, three wide receivers that all gain tons of yards…there looks to be very little stopping this team.  In order to beat Denver, someone needs to score at least 50 points.  The lack of a consistent running game will continue to be some red flag, but it doesn’t look like the Broncos will lose for a bit.  The game against the Patriots on November 24 looms large as their biggest test going forward, but I wouldn’t sleep on Dallas this weekend.

 

2.      Seahawks (4-0)

While Houston lost this game (rather than Seattle winning it), the Seahawks are 5-1 in their past six road games, a marked improvement from previous years.  It’s also impressive for this team to win games with Russell Wilson going crazy.  He makes plays when needed, a lot like the defensive unit.  I’m a little worried about Indianapolis this week pulling an upset, but it will be a small glitch, nothing more.

 

3.      Saints (4-0)

While a lot of attention has gravitated toward Denver, another potentially dominant offense is playing in New Orleans.  They are third in offensive yards gained and Drew Brees, amazingly, is only 36 yards behind Peyton.  The defense has been the real shock this season.  New Orleans has allowed less than 200 passing yards per game and only 13 points per game.  Given how tough the SuperDome can be for opponents, it’s fair to bet that New Orleans might be there at the very end.

 

4.      Patriots (4-0)

I haven’t been high on this team, and their defense still has some concerns.  But, Aqib Talib got paid on Sunday night, effectively cementing his place as a top tier cornerback and worth a new contract next year.  Tom Brady also shined against Atlanta (the first TD throw was one of the better flat-footed throws I’ve seen).  Considering that Atlanta was 34-5 at home, that’s a great win.  The loss of Vince Wilfork hurts, though.

 

5.      Chiefs (4-0)

While the gap looks to be more of a chasm, the Chiefs have an identical record to Denver.  The offense and defensive stats aren’t otherworldly, but KC doesn’t beat itself in games.  Should be an entertaining game against Tennessee this week.

6.      Colts (3-1)

As I said, I like Indy this upcoming week against Seattle.  A surprise win there definitely puts them in the driver’s seat for the NFC South.  They have run the ball much better than expected (149.5 per game on average), and Andrew Luck thus far hasn’t lost a game through a poor decision.  Like I said last week, he’s not lighting it up, but the Colts have gotten a jump start to making the playoffs.

 

7.      Lions (3-1)

Certainly a strange inclusion among the top ten teams of the league, but a healthy Reggie Bush makes a world of difference for the Lions.  His 180+ yards of total offense against a very good defense really turned my head.  Anytime Matthew Stafford throws the ball less than 40 times in a victory is a good thing.  If the Lions continue such a balanced game, they might be scary.  If they’re for real, though, we will know after they play Green Bay this weekend.

 

8.      Bears (3-1)

I still like the Bears and any ranking of them should mention just how much their defense can flat out win games.  But, Jay Cutler looked to be his old self, throwing a really bad interception in the third quarter.  We will see a great game between the Bears and Saints this week.

 

9.      Packers (1-2)

They were off this week, but nobody’s talking about the Packers.  If they lose this week, I promise I’ll drop them.

 

10.  Dolphins (3-1)

Not a pretty game last night, and any improvement has to come from the line out.  I could have put the Titans, Chargers, or Bengals here, but I think Miami would have a chance against those teams.